Deepwood Weald pagophilus

set during the week of june 9th-15th, before this!

the time for cen to visit and sweep her away from this place and its shadows, came, and went, and he did not arrive.

sulukinak felt herself hollowed out by his absence.

it was not because of any true attachment, but a sense of abandonment which she had forgotten the taste of; and now that she waited among the trees for any sight or scent of him, she felt it keenly.

she paced and called for @Dutch and if he should come to her summons, he would find her circling a stump with a sort of agitated energy, unsure of what to do with herself.

With the both of his children, Dutch had been busier than ever. He still had time to worry about Sulukinak, however. Perhaps he worried more now than he had before their birth — for nightmares of her coming to take them had plagued him constantly since he first laid eyes on his youngest four.

He left them with his mother for now, and set off to answer her call.

"Shadow girl," he greeted her, not without warmth. But he was worried — for her, for his children, and for himself. Was this her farewell? "Are you well?" he asked her.

she stopped her pacing when he arrived. her tail-tip continued to twitch though, and there was a manic look to her eyes. bright and almost afraid, filled with worry.

the man cen did not come. in her usual way, she spoke quickly and plainly of what now bothered her.

has he been here? have you seen? perhaps she had been among the shadows for too long, and merely missed his summons - but perhaps he went without her?