Ankyra Sound Runaway

Lenora had run away again, but this would be her final time — she wasn't going back to Sacrarium this time! She had left in the night and found herself wandering the coastline. In the distance, in the sea, she could see islands; wolfscent came to her from that direction, but also further up along the coast. Had she just found two more packs?

she had come for a brief trip, and instead found herself curiously gazing upon a...child! why was there a child?

quickly she approached, keeping a friendly posture but undeniably a concerned crease to her brows.

little one, she hummed when close enough. where have you come from?

Lenora started as she heard a voice, and she looked to see an adult female gazing at her, questioning her. The girl was silent — she didn't want to say, because she feared she would be taken back home. Vaguely, she said, "Um... I came from... back that way." She jerked her chin behind her. "Who're you?"

she frowned softly, such vague directions left the whole coast as an option. perhaps even inland, if the child did not know where she had come from. jorunn felt something clutch her heart.

jorunn, she offered with a timid smile. do you have one with you? her copper gaze turned to look around into the sound.

The woman gave her name, and Lenora repeated it, feeling the name out. "Jor...unn. Jorunn." It was a strange name, but... pretty. She liked it. And now she had to give her name. She fibbed only slightly, offering her nickname and not her surname. "I'm Nora. Um... do you have any food?" She had wandered far, and hadn't had a meal in some time.

nora...poor, lonely nora. jorunn could feel her heart grow looking at the child. who had let such a young one wander so far? she could not be any older than erzulie's newest!

come with me, she offered with a softer look this time. the sea gives gifts, if she hears you are hungry then she may deliver for you.

Lenora grinned, her tail wagging swiftly as she began following Jorunn. She had never been this close to the sea before; she knew instinctively that it was dangerous, but she was with an adult, so she would surely be safe. "Is the sea like the river? With fish?" Back home, fish was a common diet, as the river flowed so close to their dens.

bigger than any river, she answered with a small grin, tail softly swaying behind her as she sought tide pools. fish and other odd creatures make it home. this she explained as she kept herself positioned between the sea and the girl.

are you hunter, nora?

Lenora had seen firsthand just how big the sea was; from her journey, it had followed her, and she must have gone for miles. She grinned toothily, her own tail swaying as Jorunn spoke. At her question however, the girl's expression drooped.

"No... Mama hasn't let us do anything fun yet! And me and Lenny are older than the other pups! That's why I ran awa — " she stopped suddenly, fearing she had said too much, and given herself away. Swallowing, she looked up to Jorunn and mumbled, "I... I don't wanna go back home. All I'm allowed to do is hang around the tunnels..."

the picture seemed to widen before jorunn all at once. this was not the case of negligent mother, from what the emerald could tell, but rather a child who had dared to take life by the reins. who did not comprehend the danger that may await.

oh, liten en, a soft frown breaking her farm features. your mother will worry horribly and terribly. lenny, too. a sibling, she guessed from the way the name was phrased. what will they do without you?

she was not ushering the child back home just yet, but she did wish to make her consider these things.

Lenora shifted guiltily as Jorunn spoke of her mother and sister. She knew they must be worried, she had already ran off once. Scuffing the ground, ears angled back against her skull, she mumbled, "Lenny... she hangs around Mama. And Mama... she just stays in the tunnels, or goes to pick herbs. But she won't let us do anything!" She was so frustrated. She looked up to Jorunn, a scowl on her muzzle now. "All I want to do is explore, but Mama says it's too dangerous. She doesn't ever leave the forest, she's so scared of everything! I hate it!"

her frown settled, soft without judgement but certainly not pleased with it all. mothers had plenty to be scared of, like this. a child who wandered too young.

an idea occurred to her.

will you make deal with me, liten en?

Lenora didn't like where this was going. She'd already been returned home once, and she'd gotten reprimanded for it. What would happen if she returned a second time? She looked up at Jorunn, sulkily. "Maybe... tell me the deal first." She was not naïve.

the girl was wise, jorunn smiled for this.

i was once a traveler. now i live in a good place by the sea. she explained kindly, soft and prepared for anything that the girl may toss her way. if you wish to see sights, go and tell your mother this. tell her of sapphique and that i, a scout, can train you. that i am happy to meet her before.

is this doable, liten?

Sapphique. She knew that name! They were friends, or at least friendly, with Sacrarium. She'd heard her mother speak of the seawoman, Erzulie, who had taught her how to heal. "Mama... mama might say yes," Lenora said uncertainly, her head tilting lightly to one side. Then, she grew excited, jumping to her paws with her tail waving swiftly behind her. "Can we go ask now?"

we feed you first, she instructed with a lazy smile. pleased that there seemed to, at the very least, be a way to get the girl to go back home.

then we take you back to mama. i will tell her how brave you are, exploring by yourself. she reached a limb out, hoping to gently nudged the child in playful jest.

last from me. I will get a backdated thread for returning her home!

Lenora nodded, grinning broadly. She would follow after Jorunn, excited for food as she was quite hungry. After she had eaten, Lenora would begin leading the woman towards Sacrarium.

closing up!

she would teach the girl how to search the tidepools, how to find the better fish from the shallows than braving the deeps. there was no need to get lost at sea if she would provide a meal on the edges for you.

for a moment, she felt...motherly.