Kildeer Rest lāredys ñuqigon

the air within the hut clung with the faint musk of caribou hides, their earthy scent mixing with the bitter cold that seeped through every crack. morwenna—yikaas k’edghildza now—moved softly over the earthen floor, her lithe frame casting fleeting shadows against the flickering firelight. the bundle in her jaws was carefully wrapped in leather, holding a salve she had crafted from pine resin and rare mosses unearthed beneath snowdrifts.

her silver eyes lifted, finding the starkissed woman seated near the hearth. the woman’s white star mirrored her own in a way that felt almost deliberate, as if the gods had drawn their marks upon both, their fates intertwined. sun eater’s scent was faint upon k’edghildza's coat, but she felt its absence deeply, an ache that nestled between her ribs. she swallowed it down as she set the bundle at shadowpaw’s side.

star girl she began, her voice low and steady, as if fearing the fire itself might consume her words. i’ve brought you this. it will warm the flesh and soothe what the ice seeks to steal. her silver gaze softened as she moved closer, the faintest whisper of sun eater’s lessons weaving through her gestures.

these winters are cruel, she continued, a quiet solemnity in her tone. so we must be kinder still. her breath was warm as it ghosted through the space between them, though she stepped back after a moment, giving her the room she herself had once craved in unfamiliar places.

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Shadowpaw awoke, but her sleep had been restless. In fact, it felt as if she hadn't slept at all. Was there anything more disturbing to a desciple of Starclan than a dreamless sleep?

Her body trembled violently from cold. Everything hurt, especially her heart. Odd odors and unusual herbal aromas made her nose twitch. A low, wise voice reached her ears…

Shadowpaw, disoriented, propped herself up on one elbow. “Don’t t-t-touch me,” her teeth clacked together as she shivered. “D-Don’t f-f-ucking touch me, b-bitch.” As far as Shadowpaw knew, the dark shepherd’s wife was complicit in her mother’s murder and her capture.

So she coiled in the corner like a viper. An unwilling hostage who wished for death but didn’t want it... her eyes swam in their sockets, desperately looking for a way out... or for the one-eyed shepherd, as if he was a ghoul who haunted every corner of Saatsine.

k’edghildza regarded the trembling shadow of a girl with quiet resolve, her posture unyielding as the venomous words struck her like brittle winter leaves against stone. for a moment, she remained still, letting the air thicken between them, her own thoughts spiraling but swiftly caged.

okay, she murmured, voice soft, almost lost to the crackle of frost at the den’s edge. stepping back, she moved deliberately, her willowy frame blocking the entrance, sealing it against the biting winds and stealing what little warmth the small space held.

the girl’s words did not surprise her; the fire in her eyes mirrored a grief and rage k’edghildza knew too well. folding her legs beneath her, the matriarch settled low, close to the cold earth, as if to ground both of them.

i won’t touch you, she added after a pause, her voice steady, low like the deep hum of distant thunder. but i must get you warm. her eyes, heavy with unspoken sorrow and resolve, lingered on the frail, shivering form.

So sorry for my delay & the fact I am moving so slowly @Star Eater!

The enemy backed off. The taught sinew of Shadowpaw’s muscles relaxed slightly… until the woman blatantly blocked the entrance to their shelter – Shadowpaw’s only hope of escape.

I must get you warm, the other pleaded. “No-no,” Shadowpaw resisted, insistent that she shouldn’t be touched despite her shivering body’s betrayal. The girl wouldn’t last five minutes in the exposed weather.

But what was that in the eyes of the sister Shepherd’s wife? Was it pity? Sympathy? Shadowpaw would have said anything – any lie – to get her way. Her tone changed. “Y-you need to let me go,” the girl pleaded. “I don’t want to be here… y-y-you have to tell him to let me go.”

please don't worry <33

around k'edghildza's shoulders was her own caribou hide. not the first one that sun eater had cut for her, fresh, but one that was a little thicker upon tooth to skin. she tugged it from her back, throwing it down before the girl's paws.
a gesture, despite her volatile words. k'edghildza had been a mother once, after all, and knew that the hubris of young one's can often over shadow the indigence of survival.
where would you go, then, girl? she asked of her, voice taking a cooler tone than what it had been before. she was not a wife to question her husband's motives, what he deems necessary, but they were on a cruising vessel together, one way or another.
you won't make it a full day alone in the cold. you know, you know this! she sought to reprimand, though she stayed firm in her position, only flashing of teeth before her.
with a gesture of her head she pointed to the caribou hide.

Anywhere but here! Shadowpaws mind screamed stupidly.

But how quickly the shepherd wife unraveled Shadowpaw’s tenuous scheme. Trapped couldn’t begin to described the feeling the think girl felt.

you know this!

Shadowpaw groaned as her painfully swollen paws took up the caribou hide and wrapped it around herself.

She felt new tears began to well in her eyes. “Why?” she demanded to know. “Why keep me here?”

star eater did not flinch at the girl’s outburst, nor did she soften beneath the weight of her tears. instead, she regarded her in silence for a long moment, eyes cool, steady.
it is my husband’s wish.
the words were simple, absolute. they left no room for argument.
sun eater brought you here. you belong to him now.
her voice was even, unreadable, but not cruel. there was no venom in her tone, no gloating in her stance. just truth, laid bare between them like the caribou hide the girl clung to.
you will not be harmed, she continued, quieter now, a thread of something almost gentle slipping into her tone. but you will obey.
she turned back to her work, as if the conversation was settled. because, in her eyes, it was.

Wrapping this up for us! Thanks for sticking with me! We need a new thread together soon :D

it is my husband’s wish.

Shadowpaw felt this was the most disgusting thing she had ever heard. The shepherd was a mother killing, prisoner taking tyrant. And his wife – she was either spineless or complicit in his actions. Either way, her permissiveness meant her approval. Or perhaps she, too, was a prisoner of the shepherd. Maybe she didn’t even realize it.

you will obey.

The woman’s flat tone felt pragmatic and robotic to the suffering Shadowpaw. Too cold to fire another comeback, Shadowpaw rolled over onto her opposite side and hugged the wall, turning her back to the Saatsine woman.