Mount Apikuni i can feel the light shine

a scent. her paws slowed, focus narrowing on the faint trail that drifted through the forest. she hadn’t intended to get distracted, but the healer’s presence was unmistakable. @Bracken, still under her care. the thought of her condition lingered in morwenna’s mind like a weight. healing took time, and time was rarely kind.

the caribou hide shifted over her shoulders as a light breeze caught it. a gift. a reminder. she pulled it tighter around herself, letting its warmth steady her thoughts. she wasn’t just a scout today; she was a caretaker. a role she had not always known but one she now held close.

bracken, she murmured under her breath, the sound of her voice barely carrying past her own ears.

she turned, following the trail with a quiet determination. the forest around her felt muted, as if respecting her focus. she thought of bracken’s wounds, the delicate balance between strength and vulnerability, and hoped she had done enough to ease the woman’s burden of pain.

the forest thinned, and her steps grew lighter, purposeful. she would find bracken and ensure that she was healing, whole. the doctor checks in, after all. always.

she had grown restless.

partially fearful that she had made a hasty decision. perhaps it was time to go stretch her legs again, roam wide and find some morsels of information to at least return with.

she had considered veering down into the valley again. just a quick visit... it would be nice to see the faces she knew again. some sense of familiarity might award her a bit of knowledge to feed into the mountain pack.

instead it seemed the valley had come to her. cloaked in...caribou?

loudly, bracken grunted a greeting. certainly looking better if not still thin. although that would likely never change.

bracken!

morwenna's voice lifted with a cheer, her stride turning into a bound that carried her closer to the figure emerging from the trees. relief eased the tightness in her chest as she took in the sight—bracken looked well, no blood, no limp. the worry she had carried softened at the edges, giving way to a small swell of pride for the healing she'd been a part of.

as she drew nearer, a new scent touched her nose. faint but undeniable—a pack. her brows furrowed for just a moment, something unnameable prickling at her chest. was it possessiveness? she shook the thought away, unwilling to entertain it.

how are you faring? she asked, her voice warm despite the quick flicker of doubt. you look so much better than before.

her gaze lingered, studying bracken with care, searching for any hidden signs of strain or unease. whatever questions lingered in her mind, she kept them at bay, focusing instead on the genuine joy of seeing her again.

did she?

she looked over herself as if this was news to her. warmth in her cheeks a bit of a sheepishness. she had missed the doctor from the creek, it was true, but she had not missed the embarrassing tangle of emotions that it inspired.

not bad, but messy. complicated. new.

it was much easier to not think about them too long.

not bad, her voice might have been meek if she could have managed it. instead it was low and husky as if she wished to hide beneath the depths of her voice. how you? the creek?

morwenna hummed softly, her head tilting as she let bracken’s words settle. there was a flicker of warmth at the sight of the woman before her, healthier, steadier, but still carrying that familiar edge of quiet resolve.

it is well, she replied gently, her tone measured but carrying the smallest hint of relief. her gaze lingered, thoughtful, before she dared to ask, and this place? the pack—what is it like?

her eyes traced bracken’s expression, searching for clues even as she waited for the words. there was a pang of curiosity, perhaps even something more, but morwenna kept it tethered. her own emotions, complex and unwieldy, were for another time. for now, it was bracken’s story she sought.

how did she explain it when it felt like she struggled to say half of their words?

proper. she said the word with a slight smile. Mon-Montagne de Ciguë. their name felt thick across her uncultured tongue.

matriarchy, monarchy.

these were words that she understood loosely and yet the heft of them in full was lost on someone as feral as bracken.

morwenna’s ear flicked, a quiet hum escaping her as she absorbed bracken’s words. her pale eyes swept the forest, the thick silence around them more telling than anything either of them had said so far. her friend’s uncertainty hung in the air, unspoken but not unnoticed.

it sounds… heavy, she murmured, her voice softer than usual, almost reflective. her gaze settled back on bracken, studying her. i don’t think it would suit you. a small, almost teasing smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, though her tone carried a thread of sincerity.

you’re meant for wild places, she added, nudging bracken lightly with her shoulder. not a world of rules and thrones.

the emotions within were wild flames. she could not contain them and that alone was a horribly daunting thing. twice now she had burned beneath the medic's gaze and care. both times it had left her feeling like scorched earth.

"you’re meant for wild places,"

a touch to her shoulder that had her blink a bit. the ghost of a smile crept over the giant's face.

what wild places help survive? she reached with teasing teeth to nip or poke.

for it was why she had gone to the vale. eager to survive and carve out a spot for at least the cruelest of the winter.

morwenna tilted her head, a quiet hum slipping past her lips as she considered bracken's words. the touch to her shoulder lingered in her mind, grounding her in the moment. pale eyes, soft as winter’s breath, met her friend’s gaze.

with me, she said simply, the words carrying weight despite their brevity. her voice was low, steady, as if the statement held an unspoken promise.

she glanced toward the horizon, the endless stretch of wilderness beckoning beyond the trees. her expression softened as she turned back to bracken, her tail giving a slow, thoughtful sweep. wild places don’t just help us survive, she murmured. they remind us who we are.

a small smile tugged at her lips, and she nudged bracken gently with her muzzle. besides, the wild could use more of you in it.

she did not want to burn.

she did not want to feel these tangled things and have no place for them. these kind of emotions were not for wild things. the flaming desire to flee at once told her as such. scared of them, scared of this.

with you?

she echoed it despite how it crawled out her throat like a hesitant thing.

you with creek. is the creek wild?

tag for mention

morwenna’s ears flicked at bracken’s question, her gaze softening as she considered it. she thought of the creek, its cold rush and winding ways, the life it nurtured and the paths it carved. it was wild, in its own way. but then, her thoughts drifted further—to the saatsine, to @Sun Eater, and how the wildness there was something else entirely. something untamed, raw.

she nodded slowly. the creek is wild, she said, her voice thoughtful, almost reverent. but it’s a quiet wild. a place where the earth breathes soft.

her pale eyes flicked to bracken’s face, searching. there are others… saatsine. they’re wild too. but it’s different. louder, fiercer. like the caribou and the storm. a shadow of a smile ghosted over her lips. i think there’s more than one way to be wild.

a quiet wild.

she could see the medic there, among cool water and soft earths. filled with herbal scents, laid in beds of new growth. she imagined this so deep in her mind that it felt real. in that place, in her mind, she was there too.

with her.

but others? saatsine. a loud wild that the medic compared to caribou.

why there? curiosity and wondering heavy in her voice. what ties did her medic have there that made her whisper them now in the thoughts of a future?

morwenna hummed softly, her pale gaze drifting toward the horizon as if she could see the saatsine lands from here. her mind turned over the stories she had heard, the fragments she had pieced together. they were not like the creek. no soft waters or quiet earth. they were something untamed, something primal.

they chase the caribou, she began, her voice low but threaded with fascination. they live by them, for them. the herds guide them, like spirits walking the land.

her eyes flicked back to bracken, holding her gaze with quiet intensity. it's different. louder. fiercer. a pause, as she let the words settle between them.

you say with you,

her dark gaze had gone to look out there, over the lands that could be seen. it called for her like an ache within her bones. it was not wise, but she was uncertain if it was any wiser to ignore it.

but you are not with saatsine.

a heartbeat —

do you mean to be?

did they both wish to run into the arms of some great unknown?

morwenna shifted slightly, her nose brushing against the familiar warmth of the caribou pelt draped over her shoulders. she took a breath, steadying herself, letting the weight of bracken's words settle over her like snow. her gaze flicked to her friend, soft but searching.

i think so, she murmured after a moment, her voice quiet, almost reflective. her lips pressed together briefly before she added, yes.

she paused, her eyes drifting to the horizon as if the saatsine's wildness could be seen in the distance. there’s something... something in them, in their way of living. it feels like a call. her voice softened further, the barest hint of a smile touching her lips. does it call to you too?

a thought —

a decision.

to run away with you?

a lump in her throat, a pulse that was suddenly racing wildly. the ground did not feel solid beneath her feet and her limbs felt akin to blubber.

morwenna's breath hitched, her throat tightening. she swallowed hard, her voice trembling as a tender yes escaped her lips.

her gaze dropped briefly, then lifted again, steady but soft. but... the right way, she added quietly, her resolve edging through the vulnerability. it has to be the right way.

yes.

yes, she rather wanted this. even if only for the unknown and wild aspect of all of it.

yet here was a block in the path that left her confused.

how? was running away ever right? how could it be done in such a manner?

morwenna's gaze softened, contemplative. the weight of bracken's suggestion pressed heavy on her chest, but she found herself nodding slowly.

we tell them, she murmured, voice steady but low. that we... need to find family. it's not untrue.

her eyes flicked to bracken's, searching for agreement or reassurance. a truth they can understand.

understand.

bracken couldn’t but maybe it was because she had never wanted to find them once she had left them. the world had become hers when she had left family.

yet here, beneath such a dazzling gaze, she thought she might conjure up any way to follow.

even if it meant slipping off into the night.

where meet you?

she is planning her route already.

the big lake in the valley, morwenna said softly, her pale gaze steady on bracken. it has a lot of ducks near it.

she paused, a faint smile touching her lips. i will collect you there. bring you to saatsine.