The Sentinels Such a lonely day, and it's mine

For @Shale, but AW.

Narcisa didn't want to travel this far, but she had. Now that she was here, she was glad she came—there was more food, and the towering trees bewildered her, if she were honest. They made good homes, too, and she did just that in the hollow at the bottom of one of them. She'd only been living here for a few days but had already fallen into a sort of routine. Sleep during the day, mark around her home, wake up at sunset to hunt throughout the night, then go back to sleep before the sun fully rises.

So, while things were business as usual, at sunset she awoke, marked around the tree she claimed as her own, and set out to find something to fill her stomach with her nose to the ground. There were a few creatures around: a deer, which seemed like too much effort, a turtle—also too much effort— and a few squirrels. Well, she guessed she was having squirrel tonight—assuming she could actually catch one.

As she tracked such a morsel alone, she couldn't help but let the thoughts of her family trickle into her mind. As much as they stressed and pushed her, she was incredibly lonely. Narcisa was an introvert, sure, but she needed some wolf contact. She continued on nonetheless, moving only out of hunger.

His emotions were like the tide--sometimes he felt them, other times he didn't. In and out, in and out. It wasn't as if he went from happy to sad to happy again. . .it was more like there was excess, then there was a void.

Today, he felt the void.

Shale left the plateau to explore and to hunt around late afternoon, and found himself in a towering forest, so close to the sea you could smell the salt. The scruffy gray man meandered for a while, not picking up any scents of substance. Until he did.

She appeared soon after he smelled her. A strikingly white wolf, with unusually colored eyes--she looked like a snowbank, stark bright in the sun. She glowed in the darkness of twilight, and he blinked at her, fearing absurdly she might be a ghost. More specifically, the ghost of his wife.

Shale stood back, giving her a low chuff to announce his presence. "Who are you?" he called out, voice hoarse.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she was hardly even thinking about food anymore as she tracked, so she didn't even notice the presence of another wolf until he spoke. The sound of his voice breaking the silent air startled her, and her head whipped upwards to gawk at him, heart thudding in her chest. Once what he'd said registered in her mind, she tentatively responded, ... I am Narcisa. Who are you? There was clear confusion in her expression as her brows furrowed. Now that she thought about it, that was a strange way to greet a complete stranger who meant no harm.

Well, she wasn't alone anymore. Perhaps some deity had granted her a wish, but whether this ended up being what she wanted or not was yet to be determined.

It wasn't the ghost of his wife. It wasn't a ghost at all. She spoke, and her presence was solid and comforting, not the ethereal lightness of a spirit. Shale didn't used to believe in scary tales, but he had felt things before that seemed to fly in the face of every belief he had once held. Seen things, wandering alone, hungry and despondent. Whether they were hallucinations or actual beings was still unknown to him.

"Narcisa," he responded, tasting the name gently on his tongue. "I'm Shale. Is this your home?"

He had seen white wolves before, but this woman was something different entirely. A snowy pelt, with tan spots here and there. But it was her eyes that drew him in. They were the color of pale dawn, pink and blue, something he'd never seen before in a wolf. She was thin, too thin--he wondered if she was hungry, and was having trouble bringing down prey.

She nodded at his question. Yes, I've made a home out of a nearby tree not long ago, She said before gesturing with a backwards flick of her tail. Still being new here, she wondered if he frequented this place and asked, Do you live nearby? It would be important to know who her neighbors were, after all.

He gave a noncommital shrug. "Nearer to the mountains," he said, pointing with his nose in illustration. "Tonight, though, I was restless." Understatement, he mused wryly, though the fleeting thought did not cross his face--to his knowledge.

His tail wagged at her answer. "A tree? So, I suppose that means you're alone?" Shale didn't mean to pry, but he was curious. He knew there was a band of wolves beginning to take root in the forest to the west of the plateau, and several close packs beside that, but he had not encountered any scent markings here.

Narcisa glanced towards the mountains he gestured to. Oh, so he wasn't much of a neighbor. She was disappointed, though she didn't show it. There were many mingling scents on his pelt, leading her to believe he belonged to a pack. When he asked if she were alone, she nodded and said, I am. Narcisa didn't mind disclosing this information, seeing as it was pretty obvious. She then asked him to confirm her own musings, You have a pack?

Shale nodded, dipping his head warmly. "My brother leads it," he said proudly. He had not lost the joy in finding his family here in Teekon, not even an iota. He knew too well how easy it was to lose someone--and how quickly they could depart.

"Hell of a time to be alone," Shale remarked, looking at the frosted ground. "Do you at least have any family or friends around?"

She looked very much like a wolf who'd seen some life, who'd lived enough to survive the winter alone. Regardless, she had a thin pelt and, again, was quite skinny, which worried him. Morningside didn't have enough room to support another wolf. . .but perhaps they could find a space, at least for this woman?

I thought I responded to this—sorry for the wait! ;o;

Hell of a time to be alone, He remarked, and she couldn't agree more. Narcisa gave a small, bitter chuckle at that. She wished she were still in a pack, but how things were back in her previous one... Wasn't worth it. She stood by that belief, even now as she starved alone. She'd find a new pack who understood and valued her for who she was and not who they wanted her to be.

Shale's question drew Narcisa from her thoughts, and she solemnly shook her head. It felt as if a shadow had encompassed her mind, as she was struggling to not break down right there in front of this male from the loneliness, the bitterness, the suffering. Not that he could have known what she was going through internally, but the questions of her relations only stung, at the moment.

Shale saw something in her expression that alarmed him; her eyes seemed to darken at his question, some deep force within them drawing inward, away. He had obviously given her some cause to be upset, and he shook his head in silent answer, speaking after a beat of silence to collect himself.

"I'm sorry if that hit too close to home," Shale said, dipping his snout in further apology to Narcisa. His amber gaze fixed on hers, trying to show her just how well he understood past trauma. "I've been there."

Wagging his tail once, he added, "Do you need a place to stay? Something better than a tree trunk all by yourself?" He really ought not to extend the gesture; he was no scout, and he had no idea how many more wolves the plateau could sustain. But the least he could do was offer, and take this woman to meet Grayday, if she so wished.

Her eyes had somberly fallen to the ground as she thought, but her pink gaze flicked back up at him when he apologized and seemed to relate to how she felt. It was comforting and made her feel significantly less alone in simply being understood.

What truly surprised her was his implication of a place to stay. Would he take her back to his pack, despite having just met her? Narcisa blinked before staring at him owl-eyed, hastily responding with an enthusiastic Yes. Since he offered, she assumed this meant they had room for her. While she was currently malnourished, she knew that she had skills to offer, especially if allowed to return to better health.

Still, while the prospect filled her with relief, gratitude, and hope, the idea of leaving the coast gave her a strange feeling. It was foreign and unwelcome—the fear of the unknown. She could tell from his earthy scent that his pack, like most other wolf packs, did not reside on the coast. But the coast was all Narcisa knew. Mixed emotions swirled within her, though she knew that going with him was her best option.

The corners of his mouth turned upwards in a smile as she answered in the affirmative, though he wasn't without a lingering feeling of worry. What if Grayday, or one of the other leaders, turned her away? Not because she wasn't wanted--that was rarely the case with his brother's pack--but because they couldn't take her?

"Look, I don't want to get your hopes too high," Shale said, eyes softening as he looked at her. "I don't call the shots on the plateau. But I can at least talk to Grayday. . .and bring you to him, if he says we have room for one more."

He glanced round the forest, trying to figure out its potential for a long-term stay. "If he says no, I'll find you a home," he said, turning his gaze back to her once more. "I can promise you that. It may not be my home, but it'll be a home. Somewhere to stay that's not alone in a tree trunk."

What was he doing? He'd known this woman all but a few minutes and he was already making promises? And promises he didn't even know if he could keep! It was, perhaps, a way of coping with the loss of his wife and children, putting himself before others, keeping wolves safe. It would likely mark his personality for the rest of his life.

When Shale explained that acceptance into his pack wasn't a guarantee, she nodded understandingly. What she didn't understand was what came next—he promised her that he'd find her a home somewhere, even if he couldn't get her into his pack. Not that she was ungrateful, but why was he so determined to help her when they'd literally met just moments ago? It was baffling.

Narcisa continued to gawk at him as he said this until words finally came to her. I... Thank you, Was all that came out, deciding that she'd rather not question him.

As he was questioning himself, he saw her look surprised at his offer. A low, rumbling chuckle escaped his maw as he continued, hoping to explain further. "I just don't like seeing anyone out on their own," Shale said softly, the smile returning to his face. "I've been alone. It sucks."

He didn't go on, didn't tell her that he thought she was beautiful and kind and that he'd love to have her by his side in Morningside. That even if she was rejected from the plateau, he'd take her to Easthollow, or a pack nearby, to keep her close, both on the map and in alliance. That despite only knowing her a few minutes, his instinct to protect, to love, had kicked into full gear, and was unstoppable now.

"So I will let you know," he said, nodding. "I'll return in a few days with Grayday's answer." Which he hoped would be 'yes.' Shale gave her a shake of his tail. "I should get back, though," he told her, voice apologetic. "It was nice to meet you. . .and I'll see you soon."

Shale explained himself a bit more, and when he smiled, Narcisa smiled back. It was a soft expression, full of gratitude and admiration for the man's generosity. She had no idea of the emotions blooming fervently inside of him, and while she already revered Shale, her feelings could not yet match his... But this didn't mean they never would.

When his tail began to wave, hers followed suit. She nodded at his words, disappointed that he was already departing yet also glad. It would only be a few days. It was worth the wait. It was nice to meet you, too... Safe travels, Narcisa gently replied. She was still trying to wrap her mind around all of this, trying to assure herself that yes, this was real.

It didn't feel right to just watch him turn away after such a kind proposition, and so she trotted up to him and rested her chin on his shoulder in an embrace. And thank you... She murmured once more, ears flattening and eyes closing as she did. Her tail began to wave more vigorously as she felt overwhelmed by emotion building up inside of her.