Emberwood How thick is wall?

For @Pihu and/or @Easy!

There were two new faces in the Emberwood, both of which were dear to his dear Bhediya. One of them had accompanied her on her brief voyage into the mountains. He'd let her go without him, for at least she had some company and wasn't totally alone.

Now, he intended to find out if that company was adequate or not.

The other, the young mottled girl. . .she seemed a mystery. He would very much like to get to know her as well, and so today, he strolled through the forest, seeking one or the other (or both!). What were they to Bhediya? How long had they known her? For clearly, there was a bond between them that went deeper than the normal.

Deeper than your bond with her, crowed the self-deprecatory devil on his shoulder, and Pygmalion scowled. All the more reason to figure these women out.

With her trip to the willows out of the way, the mottled shewolf had turned her attention to hunting. She had no plans to burden the pack with her own considerable appetite, and thus, had been frequenting the creeks and wetlands in the area to stock the caches with fish.

Even with her thick double-coat to protect her, her paws felt like ice cubes as she returned to the territory that day, her belly full and a medium-sized fish held loosely between her jaws. She'd caught the scent of larger prey that day, but wanted to put together a hunting party before going after it.

As she wove through the territory, she found herself suddenly facing an unfamiliar but scowling face. The woman halted in her tracks, ears pressing forward in interest as she observed him. The fish was dropped a moment later, and she offered a decidedly neutral, "Hello."

Too caught up in his thoughts, Pyg didn't notice the young woman until she spoke. He quickly adjusted his face to bear a happy smile, glad to find one of the wolves he was looking for in his path. Hello! he greeted, then his eyes shifted to the fish on the ground. Nice catch, lass.

I'm Pygmalion, Bhediya's mate, he introduced himself. Ye can call me Pyg, though. How d'ye know her? Ye seemed familiar when I saw ye two the other day. In the forest, mind—not about to give away the fact that he had "chanced upon" their meeting on the plains.

He continued to beam at her, waiting for a response. He was excited to get to know a wolf who was so apparently near and dear to his darling.

Whatever dark thoughts had twisted the man's features, he seemed friendly enough when he realized he had company. Easy's ears pricked at the sound of his voice, and she decided he had a rather pleasant accent. "Thank you kindly," she replied, and then alerted sharply as he introduced himself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said sincerely when the man had introduced himself and asked his question. He hadn't asked her name, but she supplied it anyway, "My name is Easy." No nicknames necessary. "Bhediya is my dam," she went on, feeling decidedly strange about saying so — but more because she felt it ought to have come from the man's mate rather than a perfect stranger than because she had any trouble reconciling with her absent mother. "We were separated when I was young, so she might not have mentioned me. We haven't had much to do with each other over the years," the girl cautioned, not wanting the male to be hurt if Bhediya had indeed neglected to mention her.

"How long have you known her?" she wondered, pleased to meet the man, and pleased to find him so friendly, even if she found herself a bit wary of him for reasons she couldn't quite place.

Ah, so this was Easy—Bhediya's daughter! She was very sweet and polite, just like her mother. His joy grew tenfold, nodding as she explained the situation. Aye, she mentioned something like that, he responded. Nay worry, lass; I'm glad ye were able to find her again.

Pyg rolled his shoulders in a moment's contemplation at her question. Ah, let's see. . .maybe a moon and a half or so? 'Twas love at first sight, he added, eyes glittering, though he kept the lovey-dovey talk to a minimum. This girl's dad had once been Bhediya's sweetheart, after all; musn't make things too awkward at this stage of their relationship.

Did ye live 'round here, before, or have ye been awa'? Pygmalion asked, dipping his head in invitation as he began to pad along the forest path. I can show ye to the nearest cache, if ye like.

He did not seem at all concerned about any of her own worries, which went a long way toward putting the mottled woman at ease. As did his interesting accent, and the casual diminutive of lass. If someone had come along calling her girl instead, she probably would've been put off, but she decided that Pygmalion was rather charming about it.

Her brows lifted a fraction when he said they'd only met a month or two ago; that seemed awfully quick to be in love with someone, but she supposed that when she measured it against her father's romances, there was not much room to give flak. And of course, she had never been in love, so she only had her family's lives to go off of. Steph and Aliac and Keoni had all been wolves Sunny had known for some time before making a move, and while she wasn't sure she remembered when Dawn and Aditya had become mates, it'd seemed like he'd always been a part of their family.

"That's sweet," she decided, putting her opinions on hold, for the moment. He seemed terribly happy, at least, and that had to mean something. "I'm familiar with the taiga and the valley, but I haven't spent much time here in the Emberwood," she told him, picking up the fish and tipping her nose toward him in a lead the way! sort of gesture. She did know where the caches were, but as she was not opposed to the male's company, she saw no harm in allowing him to 'show' her.

His face creased in a big smile as she spoke, and nodded at her assessment (limited as it may be). Pyg listened closely to the brief story of her travels. She had done more wandering here than him, at least so it seemed. Was she a scout like her mother?

Weel, I ken yer mother's over the moon tae have ye back, Pygmalion said, glancing back at her with a grin. And I'm happy for anything that makes her happy—and ye seem like guid company, anyway. A wink, and then he faced forward again, padding into the forest.

Your mother.

Easy's ears pulled back atop her head at this casual comment. She assumed that Pygmalion meant nothing by it, and that he was only making polite conversation. She thought about letting it slide before the faces of her real mothers in her memories forced her to speak up.

"Bhediya bore me, and I will always be grateful to her, for that," said Easy as she followed Pygmalion toward the caches, "I'd like to reconnect with her and find out more about that side of my heritage -- but my mothers, the ones that raised me, were called Pema and Catori."

Her voice was polite and not lacking in warmth; in fact, it was clear she was a bit uncomfortable making the distinction. She didn't want to talk about it any further with her mother's mate, so she was quick to change the subject to something else.

"Do you know how many other hunters are in this pack?"

What she said next surprised him. Well, not surprised, really—it was more that he felt a pang, both for his mate's and for Easy's sake. Their separation had left scars on both of them; for an instant, he thought ill of Bhediya. . .but only an instant.

Aye, I understand, he said solemnly, and then let the conversation be. She switched gears quite readily, and he was more than happy to go along with the new subject. I'm actually not sure. I can hunt fairly well, and I ken there must be a few others. . .hmm. . .

He pursed his lips thoughtfully, and then shook his head. Och, sorry, lass, Pygmalion said ruefully, smiling. I'm still tryin' tae get used to all the new faces 'round here.