will get what you deserve

Nobody spoke of Lethe any more. After her death it seemed that the pack was cast in a sullen pallor. A stunned state that became subtly hostile as new positions were figured out. With Fox garnering the attention of the pack as the new alpha, things fell in to place - but nobody mentioned Lethe. Was it taboo to speak of the dead? Njal was unsure. He had never lost a pack member in such a manner before, as far as he could recall. Even in the north where things were so often ritualized, Njal could barely piece together a memory of funerary rites or anything of the sort. So was Lethe important? He thought so. Perhaps this was because it had been himself to discover the body; he felt he owed it to Lethe to grant her some form of recognition as an Alpha, even if he didn't know her well. It was a custom he could not shake.

So when Sveinn asked his question, Njal was struck solemn. He didn't know what to say - although the question itself was straight-forward, it brought many thoughts to the forefront of his mind. What relevance did Lethe hold to Swiftcurrent? And had he not found the body, what would have become of her? There had been a mourning howl and nothing more. "Yes," He admitted (or felt, with a pang of something similar to guilt, that he was admitting). "I found her in the river and she... Deserved better. It is not very good work." Njal commented, his voice quiet and almost nervous; it being the first time the man had spoken to anyone about finding the woman. He observed the curve of the rocks as he navigated around the rudimentary sculpture, unable to say much more on the topic. It wasn't until an uneasy silence crept around them both that Njal added, "It requires some maintenance that I have been too busy to afford it." And for that Njal was saddened, for it was a great insult to the previous Alpha to let the burial mound become so ruined.

But no more. He would not linger on thoughts of death and her passing. With an abrupt shift of direction Njal took a hefty stride towards the trees, and then paused to peer at Sveinn. "I can show you the rest of the territory if you would like, or let you find it on your own. The territory is large and," He paused to breathe, looking away from the bear shape briefly, "-aside from the Vale wolves, I do not believe we have any other rivals." Meaning that Sveinn was safe to wander the lands without an escort, if he deigned to do so. Njal was itching to get away but he wasn't sure why; only that the burial mound made him suddenly uncomfortable. He turned to watch Sveinn then, with ears erect and expression quite blank.