King Elk Forest What Arrows

For a moment she worried that she had done something he didn't want. He froze when she touched him, and so she oóaway as if that was the reason for his discomfort. He did continue to walk though, coming closer to her and she felt a little relief. She didn't want to make him uneasy after all. Rowan shifted her gaze to him, brow furrowed a bit in thoughtful consideration. "Safer than in Donnelaith." She said gently. "The successor threw me out because of jealousy. My children are safe from her here, far away." Because Aria was the only one that she thought would cause them any strife. Her face shifted when he explained that they had lost a puppy in his pack. "I'm so sorry for your loss." She said softly, her gaze shifting to the ground for a moment. 

Was she safe here? She felt so. They were sheltered by the Creek, but then, Indra and Laurel had been stolen. Still she knew the determination of the male who had taken them. "I cannot imagine their grief." She said quietly. For her it would have invited to her a great rage and storm, and any concern that she had for the deaths she felt associated with would have turned into a hurricane. Rowan knew what he was saying, that her status would make things more difficult, but her choices were limited. She wanted her children to know their family and have the life she had not had as a child. It meant that the Creek was the best place for them. "The Creek may be small, but we care for one another." She promised gently. 

Yet again she tried to reassure him that she would be fine, and that she was safer where she was now. He believed this, or at least he believed she was safer where she was now as opposed to living in Donnelaith. Obviously, if the successor- which meant Lasher had likely been a leader- had been jealous, knowing that the pups were born of the former leader, they wouldn't be safe. It sounded to Shrike as though she'd possibly sensed the danger and left herself, rather than being exiled, though he wasn't ruling out that possibility. Those pups could have been perceived as a threat to the new leader's throne. What did surprise him was the fact that it was a female who had taken the throne and made Rowan's place in the pack precarious. Maybe she had been in love with Lasher as well, and envied Rowan for carrying his pups. It was hard to say- but it was certainly interesting. 

He clenched his teeth together when the sympathized about Peter's death. He nodded gently, and when she spoke again she seemed assured, as she had always been. But he still wasn't convinced- especially when he found out that the pack was small. That would mean there would be fewer to help her, and he didn't like that idea, especially when there was already another pair in the pack with pups. He reached over and touched the soft spot behind the ear closest to him, silently, lingering there for a moment before he moved on. He didn't have much to say, though there were many questions that brewed in his mind.

While Rowan didn't know the depths of Aria and Lasher's feelings towards one another - if there were any feelings or if there had just been a response of bodies as had been with them, still, Shrike was at least on the right track. Rowan could not bother with the thoughts of the pale female anymore, not without sacrificing her energies and efforts that should have been solely with her growing children. Rowan drew in a deep breath when she felt Shrike's nose brush against her ear and for an utterly selfish moment she relished in the touch of someone with no obligations to her. He was doing so because he wanted to and his brief touch meant so much to her. 

She'd blame it on hormones later, she'd call it the folly of being overwhelmed. She leaned into the touch before he pulled back and let the silence consume them again. "Would you come back to see me?" She asked, daring to be even the slightest bit hopeful that she might get to see him again. 

She didn't seem to mind his touch, but oddly, Shrike didn't feel inclined to try again. He'd wanted to both reassure her and express his own concern, and he felt he had done that. She might have wanted more, but Shrike knew in his heart that it was not his place to do so. He still had no idea how long Lasher had been gone, or if she was just turning her own grief into want. He still felt as though she was being too optimistic, but there was nothing he could do about that. And maybe things would just turn out right for her. 

When she asked if he'd stop by to see her again, he nodded deftly. "Sure," He said, in his usual, abrupt way. Having been told many times as a child that his abruptness often came off as being rude, he elaborated. "I'd like to. When?" He asked, knowing that if she gave birth soon, he woulnd't be able to come back to see her before the pups were born, and she would need some time post-birth to recover before meeting him again.

Rowan wasn't uncomfortable, she actually appreciated what came across to her as being thoughtful. Maybe the next time they saw each other she'd elaborate on her situation but the circumstances didn't matter in the end. She couldn't change things. Even if she could, the only thing she would have would be Lasher's death. She would have wanted him present for his children, to keep the pack safe - to preserve what she had come to know Donnelaith as. Rowan she didn't read too far into the male's mannerisms, she still felt relaxed and for her present dangers to be gone it was all she needed. "Whenever you'd like." She offered, trying to be as equally accommodating because it wasn't like she could risk the trip on her own. 

All she needed was the give birth outside of the Creek and just hope by some measure of fate that her call was heard by a friend. "I still have a few weeks, I belive. They just started moving - they still have some growing to do." Rowan wasn't sure of course but she felt like it was the natural progression of things. 

He knew he'd have to visit soon, before Rowan was engulfed in the responsibility of being not one but both parents to her children, so he made a mental note to visit, or to try to, within a couple of weeks so as to not make Rowan uncomfortable leaving her pack to meet him. She gave him a vague timeline, so he nodded quietly in agreement. They passed the few final minutes together quietly, and Shrike confimed once again that he would make an effort to visit her. In his own mind, he felt it would be more important to visit her after the pups were born and when they were old enough for Rowan to go out for a bit on her own. He'd try and bring something for her to eat, to alleviate the pressure of being a single mom. When he left, he kept Rowan on his mind, and hoped for the best for her in the upcoming weeks.