Ravensblood Forest Back Home Again

Private for @Violante, @Vagabond is also welcome but not required. Please allow @Bilah to post first. Backdated to June 16th.

Bilah had escorted her home. Lenora waited at the borders, paws toying with the invisible line. She let out a nervous call, mostly for her mother, but she knew her aunt and probably uncle would come as well. She then looked to Bilah. "Do you think I'll get in trouble?"

Her trail led them back to a rather foreboding forest. He slowed automatically. Cautious as he approached the packs territory.  He nearly halted at the sight of the trees. The blood, sap he quickly realized, had frozen in place on their abnormally sturdy trunks.

His pace was still set regardless. Luckily his small companion had been content to drag her feet too. The reason for this she voiced to him now as they wait patiently outside her territory.

She was worried she would be in trouble. Truthfully, he couldn't say, he knew nothing of this place and its leaders, what would they do with their wandering pup? He spoke in an effort to calm her anxiety. 

"Your parents are going to have missed you something fierce. I'll bet theyll be more worried than angry at first. But you will have to learn somehow young one, that it is far too dangerous to leave home alone."

The call came, sounding for her, and she got to her paws immediately. She knew that call, how could she not? "LENORA!" Lorelai hurtled out of the tunnels as fast as her legs would carry her. She was safe, her girl was returned! This was all she thought as she raced along, coming to stop as the two figures appeared on the horizon. Fear gripped her, for a moment. She brushed it aside. "Lenora," the young woman cried, coming to ensnare her daughter in a vice-like hug. "Where on earth have you been?"

The call was not for her, but how could she not respond? The Vicera rose to her paws swiftly, and followed just after Lorelai. Violante arrived on the scene to see Lorelai embracing her lost daughter, and she turned dark eyes upon the stranger. Quietly, she introduced herself. "Greetings. Violante Cruor, Vicera of Sacrarium before you. This is Lorelai," she added, nodding to the other woman.

She looked down sharply at Lenora, then looked back to Bilah, inquiring, "Please, will you tell us how you came upon Lenora?"

Both her mother and her aunt appeared, and Lenora was soon consumed by her mother's frame, in an unwanted hug. The girl squirmed out of her mother's reach and gave her a baleful look. When Violante asked Bilah a question, the girl butted in, "I didn't go far, I was just at the river south of here." All of a sudden she regretted returning.

Bilah stepped forward. The sleek melanistic wolf that had joined them carried herself in a way that captured his attention. Not an overbearing leader, but a strong presence nonetheless. His form towered over her, he looked down, meeting her eyes with a friendly smile.

"I found her just south of here, she hadn't gone too far at all. Smart little bugger stuck by the river. I found her and escorted her back here, she even led the way. She made friends with a greyhound too." He chose to leave out the extra details of the greyhound's rescue and the pup's discontent and reluctance to return. "I am called Bilah.

Lorelai looked at her daughter, truly looked at her, and she saw the resentment in her eyes. The young Mystic's heart sunk, and she swallowed back a sob as her eyes quickly began to fill with tears. Distractedly, she sniffled, "Thank you for finding her, Bilah..." And she rounded on her daughter. "Why would you leave home like that?" Her tone was shocked, clearly in disbelief. This could not be the same daughter she had borne.

Violante shot a quelling look at Lenora as she interrupted, and she promptly ignored the girl's words, instead looking to Bilah. "If she were smart, she would have stayed home." Her words were cold as she looked to Lenora, and she shook her head disapprovingly.

To Lorelai, she offered a consoling shoulder. She had a sneaking suspicion that they would not like Lenora's answer to why she'd left home. Taking a deep, calming breath, the Vicera looked once more to Bilah. "How can Sacrarium reward you for your help?"

"I've roamed alone far too long. I'm curious about this place you call Sacrarium. That means sanctuary, does it not?" He paused as he thought. If it truly was, he could finally rest and stop roaming. He wasn't sure where his place was but what better place to be than one a silly little guide leads you to with the literal meaning behind the word.

He continued his request, his eyes gently matching the Vicera, as she called herself. "Would you give sanctuary to me?" He asked of her. "I'm happy to talk more if you wish, I understand strangers aren't to be trusted easily." He smiled warmly at the group.

Lenora can be skipped for the rest of the thread, though I might make 1-2 more posts with her!

Her daughter, under Violante's quelling gaze, did not speak again, and Lorelai turned her attention back to Bilah and the Vicera. Her tail wagged gently as he asked about joining, and she felt her spirits rise slightly. More wolves, especially one that could handle Lenora, would undoubtedly be nothing but good for Sacrarium.

Lenora knew better than to argue to Violante — she kept quiet, her gaze downcast, while the adults spoke. She snuck a peek at Bilah as he talked about wanting to join, and then she looked to her aunt. Would he be accepted?

Violante couldn't help but smile as Bilah spoke of sanctuary, and she told him, "Indeed, it does mean sanctuary. That is what I intended this place to be, for all those who might seek it." At his next question, she dipped her head and said, "Of course. You have done us a service today, and what better way to thank you?" Another smile, and she beckoned for everyone to follow her as she made her way towards the pond. To Bilah, she inquired, "What skills do you have?"

The Vicera spoke of skills, he thought about it. "I'm good with people." He wasn't sure how to explain it. "The little one eventually trusted me, although I did bribe her with fish." He winked at Lenora. "I like to help people, in any way I can. But I'd prefer to help people with my words rather than my strength."

Skipping/PP'ing Lorelai and Lenora with permission.

The Vicera snickered inwardly as Bilah mention he was good with people. He must be, if he was able to handle Lenora. The sound of rushing water grew louder, and as Violante rounded a bend at the foot of the mountain, she said, "Welcome to camp. Just beyond this spring, there is a series of tunnels where we make our dens." She paused at the water to drink, and she shared a glance with Lorelai. "I'll see to it that Bilah gets settled in." With the Mystic dismissed, she ushered her whelp towards the tunnels, promising that she would be grounded.

Violante turned back to Bilah. "So you are a counselor of sorts?" She pondered where to place him, and after a moment, decided, "Mystics of Sacrarium are healers of the body as well as the mind, among other things. What say you?"

Bilah looked all about as he walked with the Vicera. He loved the sound of the water, it filled him with a sense of peace. She quickly dismissed Lenora and her mother and turned back to him. He found his nose lifted to inhale the scent of the waterfall. It had been some time since he had seen and been around one of this magnitude. He smiled, his eyes bright, but he kept an ear to the Vicera so he did not miss a word. "I've never actually put a word to it, I suppose counselor is a good title. I would be happy to be a new Mystic of Sacrarium." It seemed with Lenora alone there would be plenty of work for him. He worried about his new friend, she didn't seem happy to be home at all.

Fading for us! I'm always open for more threads, just tag me.

It was settled then. Violante smiled. Then I welcome you to Sacrarium as our newest Mystic. They were growing, sort of, and more adults would frankly make everything easier. She gestured to the tunnels. Let me give you a tour, and find you a den. She would ensure he had everything he needed before she left.