Ouroboros Spine lxi. you blinded me

The dove found herself restless, eager to be of more contribution now that her wounds had healed. There were a number of pelts that needed curing, those she had cut from carrion that had not been torn apart overtly or from her own kills. She had thoughts that they might make good gifts for @Kukutux or @Shikoba, or perhaps she would offer one to the newer members that she'd had yet to meet such as @Towhee. 

Lótë gathered as many of the stiff hides as she could in her jaws, grinning around them as she trotted through the village -- certain she made for an odd picture with a mouthful of fur. Her jaunty gait led her to the lake in the valleys of the Spine, where she was quick to pile her furs upon a slab of stone along the banks. 

Taking the first of the pelts, the herd-stalker dipped the skin into the water to soften and clean it -- humming softly beneath her breath as she worked, the sound muffled by the fibers pressed against her muzzle. 

For reference, this is before Olo finds out Kukutux is prego.

Just southward of the grove Aiolos stood in the shallows of Anik Lake. His attention was transfixed onto the waters, as stiff as a statue. A single foreleg lifted to his ginger chest and his long muzzle but am inch from the water's surface. Behind him, a large silvered brim laid to rest. Then, the Greek strikes for another.

Another success as Aiolos lifts his body high from the waters and onto his back legs. Making a turn to quickly move onto dry ground should the fish wriggle its way from his grasp. Strong jaws hold the fish tight, but the fish and its tail are strong still too. Aiolos feels the strain in his neck where old scars hinted to long gone muscle loss.

Flopping the fish to the ground to die out, he begins to strip at the others skin and scales. In this work, he hears the muffled humming of another wolf well at work- Lote, second wife. He lifts his head and sees her more southward down the bank and woofs in happy greeting.

So excited had she been to be up and about, the doe had completely missed Aiolos' presence until she heard a splash and glanced up -- yipping in return when sunman called out. Lótë gathered her things and moved them upstream to where the islander fished. 

"I greet you, Aiolos," she murmured in greeting after setting her pelts on the pebbled shores, smiling warmly. She had seen the ginger he-wolf a handful of times since being injured but had missed his company. The strain in their relationship, the awkwardness, seemed to have faded into easy companionship. He was a good father to their children and a good friend to have. 

"I see you've had luck with the fish today," the Nuiruk quipped as her head dipped, gesturing to the brim at his feet. "I imagine fishing is your area of expertise?"

The moment he called to her Lote yipped out a happy greeting which Aiolos in turn waved his tail at. She gathered her things and instead of meeting her half way in order to help her carry, he lowered his head and began to more quickly peel the scale and skin from the first fish. Aiolos would have lunch ready in just a moment! 

And I see you've accomplished quite a bit already this day. He speaks to her, dipping his head in the same manner she had but instead of to the fish, to the pile of hides. She had not at all been well for quite some time and was happy for her well recovery. 

Ah, yes it is. He says then. Kinda just came with the territory of living on islands most my life. Before then, I was born in a brackish bog not too far inland. Much water too. There after, he lifts the skinned with and walks near her to settle it before her feet. Had lunch yet?

"A fair bit, just purging the den of the sick smell," Lótë agreed with a slight crinkle of her nose, peridots flashing down to glance at the pelts in question. The herbalist couldn't wait to rid her home of the bitter scent. Her gaze returned to Aiolos' with interest as he answered, not as familiar with the difficult form of aquatic hunting.

"I see. There were streams and rivers in my homeland but I had not seen the sea until I arrived here," Lótë admitted, tension winding beneath her chest bone. She so rarely spoke of her birthplace that she had forgotten the ever careful sensation of not revealing too much. "Your trade is different though, yes? What was your chosen skill if not fishing?" 

"I hadn't," the dove admitted with a chagrined smile as sunman offered her the fish. "Thank you." The cloudberry stretched out and tucked into the fatty meat of the brim, content to break from her task for a time in order to eat and converse with the red he-wolf. 

Aiolos crinkled his nose, mimicking her with a smile. She spoke of her former home, of never seeing the ocean until coming here.  When she settled down to begin eating, Aiolos smiled widely with happiness of her acceptance and his efforts going directly to caring for her. He loved Lote dearly, even if they were not lovers. She was family now, both in name and both by the children they now all shared. 

I am a guardian... He answered to her then as she ate and listened. I was made to learn to defend myself at a very young age. When I was brought to another pack, being a warden and fighting your position was the only trade for men within the ranks. Lote did not particularly know Aiolos as a once slave in a Matriarchal pack, lest Kukutux spilt any knowledge.

Lótë nodded, her mouth being full of fish and finding that this seemed fitting for the burnished copper-pelted man. She had always known Aiolos to be gentle and seldom-spoken, much like first wife. But second wife imagine that he could be riled to quite a fury, much as Kukutux could -- they were a match that complemented each other well, sunlight and moonbeam. 

"You say you were made to learn...would you have chosen something else if given the chance?" The cloudberry painter asked this once she had swallowed and licked her chops clean, hesitancy clear in her tones and the way her ears dipped back nervously. Perhaps it was a personal question. 

"It sounds very different from Moonglow. I imagine it was a strange adjustment for you." Maybe Lótë was wrong, maybe the Spine had proven to be a peaceful change of pace as the islander aged. 

Aiolos pondered the question with a 'hrrmmm' oh his lips. To be honest, he didn't know and couldn't imagine what life would have been like. Many things could have been different, to thus send him on different paths. He was born a bastard, which he resulted in him being bitter and aggressive due to his treatment. When he was taken as a slave when his home pack lost their little war, Aiolos had more of a need to enhance his fighting skills to keep from being bottom of the barrel. Then, during a scouting mission, he had ended up here and lost track of those from that life. 

I have a feeling I'd still end up being a fighter. Even after I was a free man, taking place as a protector always seems to stick on me. Ying had thought it so when she met him, adding Aiolos to her band of guards of the wilderness. Then he joined their island home and naturally took to the position he had always known. I've never exactly chosen the duty or ranks I have been given, never asked for them. I've come into them because those woman I had ruled under sought them fitting. Even now, as he had been granted his second position as Leader.

Lótë's lashes fluttered in a surprised blink, not having known that Aiolos had once been a slave. "I understand." She did, better than he knew. The title of slave was never something she'd claimed but the dove knew what it was to be held hostage. And she too seemed to have followed the path intended for her, that of her foremothers, despite taking a new identity and fleeing the Land of Many Elms. 

"Perhaps that is why you're so well suited for them. Because you didn't ask for it." This was only soft musing aloud, Lótë didn't have the answers for either of them. "It often seems to be the way of things."

Surprise takes over the features of Lote as she blinks hard. Aiolos own ginger ears turn side ways and his head lowers. Though he could give vague hints freely, dipping into the details of his former life was something he did not prefer doing. Still, Aiolos could talk much easily of his time with the Nereides as a slave then the time he had spent with his birth family as a pup.

A good leader is often kind, brave and humble... Hua had been a very friendly and happy woman, pleasant to all. Andraste was humble and open minded. Kukutux was brave and strong of spirit and mind. A good leader all of them had been and were to him. I can only hope to be the same. He said softly and with a small, sheepish smile on his lips.

we can fade soon if you'd like? :)

"I think you are," Lótë murmured reassuringly with a small smile, for she found all of these qualities in her brother. Another moment passed and the duo fell into amicable silence, that which was only broken by the crunch of small bones and soft sounds of two wolves eating a meal in the company of one another. 

Sounds good to me! They need a new one anywaysss. Might throw one up in NF

His smile is soft and he falls quiet. Content to sit quietly with her and the sound of the river and lake next to them. They finish their meal together and Aiolos would be happy for their relationship which further bloomed.