Witch's Marsh triangle

She scarcely slept. Her whole body buzzed. Sialuk marched on. The sun now hovered just above the horizon, threatening to dip the landscape into darkness at any moment. The Moonspear woman felt like lightening itself, buzzing with the sensation of feeling alive and wanting—no, needing—physical touch. Golden rays of light filtered through the frozen marsh. In any warmer season, she would have been up to her elbows in mud, but the consistent cold temperatures had made it easy to traverse.

The Ostrega remained alert and on edge.

A familiar scent came to him as Glaukos was minding a herd of deer, and his attention drifted from one hunt to another. He did not speak to Druid about where he was going because he did not know, and did not think he would be long anyway.

The marsh was mostly frozen. He stole across it silently, seeking -- he wasn't sure. When he caught sight of Sialuk there was a simultaneous sense of joy and dread, because he'd been pining for the 'Spear and because he had not gone home.

And he thought of Druid, even while the wind blew Sialuk's scent his way.

She ranged along the western border, sniffing at Glaukos’s trail headed into the neighboring marsh. Druid did not deign to follow him, instead turning to continue her tireless march around the bypass. But even as she pivoted, the wind shifted and her mouth flooded with the color red.

Druid’s head turned sharply toward the bog, though she didn’t move right away. The scent of a stranger's estrus was coming from the same direction Glaukos had gone. She wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that. They weren’t formally paired but he was the father of her unborn children.

Curiosity drove her to trail after him. She halted as soon as she saw his burly silhouette. His back was turned to her, his face pointed at a pale she-wolf haloed by the setting sun. Druid nearly choked on all the red.

Elongated shadows across the frozen turf alerted her to the presence of another. A huge, hulking figure moved downwind from where she now stood still. Sialuk did not know him at first glance. Nor at second. Only when she lifted her paws to move toward him did the musk of him come to her. Fleeting memories of time spent in his embrace. Glaukos had not stayed long in Moonspear after the children had come, but she did not find fault in this.

She had sent him to check on the mother whom she herself had aided for a time. He had not returned, and she had not known why. It did not matter now. Sialuk wordlessly closed the distance between them, but stopped short when she saw another.

He had done what had been asked, but along the way he had faltered... if finding the odd man or woman and aiding them could be deemed as such. He had known his route home and become long and circuitous; now it seemed an impossibility, but also... Sialuk was here, now.

She spotted him and as the two moved to meet, she stopped short. Glaukos didn't think anything of this and continued, happy enough to close the distance and be swallowed up by the scent of her.

You are far from your mountain. He knew why; it was hard to ignore, and Glaukos didn't really want to ignore it. He wanted to be close to her again.

Glaukos didn’t even seem to notice her presence. Druid supposed she couldn’t blame him. The woman’s scent didn’t affect her the way it did him, even if it made her tongue curl against the backs of her suddenly clenched teeth. She swallowed and made a conscious effort to loosen her jaw.

She considered melting into the background and leaving them to the inevitable conclusion of their encounter. But what if Glaukos ran off with this stranger? What if he favored her offspring over Druid’s? The thought alone riled her, the strength of her own emotion catching her off guard.

Druid planted her feet, trying to keep a cool head even as Glaukos closed the distance between himself and the white she-wolf. She decided she wouldn’t mind if he took his pleasure with her, if it was only that. He didn’t belong to Druid, yet he did belong to Rivenwood and the children who would soon be born there.

Huffing out a breath, shaking the unexpected and unwelcome tension from her muscles, Druid strode forward. She tried to project casualness as she came closer to the pair and cleared her throat. The taste in her mouth was almost overpowering now; it kind of turned her stomach.

But up close, she had to admit the other lady was very pretty. She reminded Druid of Witch, which was strangely endearing. Druid’s head canted, two-toned eyes flicking politely between the two before settling inquisitively on Glaukos.

Glaukos did not notice the woman. Or he chose not to. The hulking man spoke.

It is your mountain, too, she reminded him. The other woman moved toward them, and Sialuk watched her movements. On her right thigh was a freshly-healed wound. It did not appear to bother her, and she moved with a grace that matched Sialuk herself. Her bright green eye reminded Sialuk of her own mother's, and the dark stalkings that covered all four legs accentuated all the right things. She was smaller than the Ostrega, dwarfed by the giant that was Glaukos.

They smelled strongly of each other, Sialuk realized. But Glaukos knew her ways, did he not? The Moonspear leader stretched her neck out to the other woman so that their noses hovered mere inches away from one another. Sialuk pulled in the air here, her focus now more on the woman than Glaukos.

Her voice reminded him of what he meant to get back to. That dread resurfaced as guilt, mingling with the need of a man's body reacting to the present moment, and what stood there before him. There was a moment of focus that broke when Druid came creeping by, and Glaukos began to stiffen, to watch her carefully, although he lacked guilt in that precise moment. She moved close and then away, and then it was Sialuk that took interest.

He did not wholly relax. Although it was clear enough Druid was not defensive of him or angry, he wanted to be careful. He chuffed to both of them, reaching out to test the tension between them with careful touches of his nose to Druid first, then Sialuk, not knowing if he should speak.

Better, he thought, to stay silent and watchful. He did not want harm to come to either of them - which was a startling realization.

No one spoke. Druid arched an eyebrow slightly, her eyes boring into the side of Glaukos’s face. It didn’t seem an introduction was forthcoming, so she turned toward the scented stranger, lips parting. They pressed together when the she-wolf sniffed toward her. Druid instinctively reached back, swallowing past the red to suss out other details about her.

Pulling back a few inches, she shot another glance at Glaukos, shook her head slightly and said, Well, in case he hasn’t gotten around to mentioning it yet, this is Glaukos, she said, oblivious to their prior familiarity as she continued, and I’m Druid. We’re from Rivenwood.

Her gaze rested inquisitively on those pale features, her eyes asking, Who are you? Where are you from? What do you want? Well, besides the obvious. The corner of Druid’s mouth pulled upward, the sway of her tail hopefully brushing aside any of the tension between the three of them.

Glaukos made no words, preferring instead to introduce them by touch. Sialuk did not object, though she did raise a brow and smiled coyly when Druid introduced him as well as herself. He had made no mention of the village to his new friend. The name of Rivenwood brought no memory to Sialuk, unaware that she had a connection to the place through Argent.

I am called Sialuk of village Moonspear; Glaukos knows this. He is yours? she asked, curious. The banter was not what she wished for, but she would not make enemies where she could avoid them.

He did not want to speak, but it seemed he would be required to. The two women introduced one another and when Sialuk asked after himself Glaukos was quick to interject.

I am my own. She is her own. His tone was low, but not uninviting. He looked to Druid in case what he said might offend but Glaukos did not see anything wrong with this. They were coupled only because of the season - there was no further definition to their situation.

The bypass is our home.

Enough with conversation! The irritation within him was growing; Glaukos wanted one thing, and the presence of Sialuk caused his desire to war with some sense of caution, and impatience.

He saw no other men here. Sialuk did not drive either of them away. Druid was not agitated; so, why were they here? The man breathed deeply and turned his hungry look from one woman to another.

No, she said right at the same time Glaukos said, “I am my own.”

She clapped her mouth shut and let him explain, eyes sparkling when he mentioned Rivenwood, their home. Druid felt a sense of possessiveness welling up inside her, though it wasn’t over him so much as their collective future.

Looking to the woman Sialuk, she said, I am carrying Glaukos’s children. If he chooses, then he’s welcome to give you children too. But I hope he chooses to come home to me in Rivenwood, Druid said softly, eyes settling on his bear-like face.

Of course, he might choose otherwise. Druid wouldn’t force his hand, though she didn’t know where that would leave her. Her heart thudded in her chest. It had been so long, she’d forgotten what it was like to have something to lose.

Then he did not intend to come home. Sialuk found herself saddened by this. Would Druid find herself in the same situation when the wheel of the year turned again? She found herself putting the wants of a stranger before her own. Cruelty and selfishness had never suited her, and that did not change today. This woman called Druid needed Glaukos as a father more than Sialuk needed children from him.

Go to Rivenwood, she said to Glaukos, no hint of jealousy or anger in her voice. Moonspear will be a friend to your village. Perhaps not as tightly knit as many of the other villages, but a friend nonetheless. Sialuk's eyes lingered on Druid a moment longer, hoping they could meet again without the distractions of today.

She did not want him? This stung, this caught in the web of his ego and Glaukos almost pressed the issue; the desire was there in the both of them. Was it that Glaukos had chosen Rivenwood? It could not have been Druid that turned Sialuk from him; she had her own wife and husband, and sharing was not alien to her.

His body was already reacting to Sialuk's presence and he would have ignored her words, except a part of him - that trained, domesticated, soldier part - knew he could not take what was not offered freely. He was frustrated, and confused.

But he obeyed.

Druid felt a measure of relief when the woman bade Glaukos go to Rivenwood, the command making clear her intention to abstain from his attentions. She sucked in a breath and glanced at the woman, gratitude perhaps in her gaze. Her attention then shifted to Glaukos, who appeared ready to obey this order, though she was not entirely reassured by the look on his face.

Take care, Sialuk, Druid though to say, waiting for the woman to step away before sidling closer to Glaukos. You took care of me. Now let me take care of you, she said lowly. Raising her head and her voice some, she added, But first, let’s get back to Rivenwood.

Sialuk departed.

He should have been glad to have her friendship. Instead, he was disgruntled for what might have been lost. The retreating shape of the woman and her alluring scent made him want to give chase, but he could control himself; and besides, Druid was ready and willing to make up for it.

They would return home — and even though he was ready to go, Glaukos stole one last lingering look in the direction of Sialuk's path, as he turned to follow after the woman carrying his children.