Prancing steps soon smoothed to a careful trot as they progressed up the ridge. Shoulder to broad shoulder, contentment following in the presence and wake of the pair as the carried forward. In the few purposeful bounds he had managed to get ahead of her, she adjusted her own steps to become wider, eager, surpassing his own til she came upon the ridge and beckoned him coyly with a playful tap of her tail against his muzzle.
And there they stood overlooking the treasure below. The Vale in its entirety nestled around the endless arms of the mountain and above it, the sky expanding to horizons unseen. The very clouds parting to bathe its light upon the majesty of nature’s creation below. Such a sight was breathtaking, and for a moment she was swooned by it. Her lips curled with a smile as she leaned comfortably against her dearest companion, adjusting only when to fold down to her haunches as she admired the open heavens above them. She did not know if Raheerah new this sight would be theirs in this morning, but she was certainly glad he had awakened her for it. She felt spoiled by the beast at her side.
And yet, the vision of such beauty incited within her a thought of the recent past, as her eyes drifted from the skies to the snaking creeks leading to the floral meadows. “My shadow…” she turned her muzzle to rest upon his shoulder. “I have news for your regarding the Creek dwellers…” Softly, she nipped at his shoulder then withdrew letting her eyes rest respectfully upon his muzzle. “I had encountered their members twice… and in hungered conditions. And both times they were desperate and unyielding. In the hopes that no other of the Vale would meet them in that manner, I spoke with their Alpha in hopes of peace.” As her raspy chords played on, a gentle smile crested upon her weathered lips, not unlike a mother disappointed in the conduct of their child. “My offer was declined…” she uttered, yet it was far from the end of it.
“They would seek to avoid the neutral lands and keep to their own in the hopes that we might avoid each other. We would have the nearest open lands and the Vale to ourselves for game… yet I fear that the decision will make those more in tune with nature desperate. Would the prey of the Creek not flee when the scent of wolves becomes too much to strong? Would we not see them retreat from here?” |