A quietness had fallen over the Vale and for Tenzin, it was relaxing. For whatever reason, the Dragon had gone and released the monk from purgatory. It seemed as if its mate had left as well though Xi'nuata's absence was missed where the Dragon's was not. He used this newly found freedom to wander the Vale with ease once again. The Dragon's fire had driven off the other Vale members too. A frown pulled on his lips as he slowly wove his way through the trees, slowing more when he caught traces of Dawa's scent. He looked toward his paws and saw where she had been pulling herself along the ground. That hurt him more than anything.
There were many things he had been prepared for, but her death was not one of them. She hadn't died yet but the process was going slowly enough to torture him. He had been contemplating putting her out of her misery while he had been brooding in the mountain, but finally admitted to himself it was something he could not do. He followed her trail with a concerned air. She would have noticed the absences and would probably be wondering if he had left her as well. Dawa's mother, Yonten, had always been a danger to his monkhood - and the same went for Dawa herself. He was not allowed to take mates or have children, yet he found himself caring for Dawa as if she were his own.
He saw her slumped over and stopped some ways behind her. He took in her solitary state and wondered what was going through her mind. Did she know she was surely pass away soon? He did not want her to believe it was because she was useless, but he wouldn't be able to lie to her about her injuries. It was because of those. He approached her with his head hung low and made a soft woof sound. "My child," he called gently to her as he moved to be beside her. "An important journey lies ahead of you," the monk said softly, lowering himself to his belly as he simply relaxed just being next to her. "There will be others waiting for you to guide you," he explained, but stopped suddenly as a dangerous scent turned the wind sour.
His ears pricked and he rose, standing tall but withholding any dominance in his stance. There was nothing to be dominant of now, not that he ever had been a dominant wolf anyway. Whatever trouble had come to them now, he would not be able to save Dawa. She was to be dead soon anyway, and if Tenzin could not do it himself, perhaps he shouldn't fight the chance to let some other do the deed for him. It was an awful thought and he cursed himself silently for it, but it was the painful truth. His eyes flicked wildly across the trees in search of who was approaching. "Your mother will be there," he continued, voice even more hushed than it had been before. "Your mother, my best friend, Yonten," he went on and choked on the name. It brought him great distress to speak of her to Dawa. He was not sure if she even knew Jampa was not her mother.
Tenzin lowered himself to his belly again, talking quickly. "You might not remember, but she died when you were born. Jampa looked after you, as did I," he was nearly on the verge of tears and it was completely ridiculous for him to even be so emotional. He had trained his entire life not to be bothered with such pain. "I loved her," the monk choked through the whisper and closed his eyes shut tight. "I loved your mother, and I love you, Dawa," he mumbled, opening his eyes to a blurry world that brought about a ghost in the woods. He held his breath as his vision cleared and he could make out the shape of one of the Creek wolves that had caused trouble with them before. From the looks of her, she didn't look like she was here to congratulate them on the disappearance of the Dragon. Perhaps she didn't know?
"You're everything to me," he said in one final whisper as he rose again, stepping forward to attempt and stop the stranger before she could rip into Dawa. The air about her was fiery and unsettling. "Friend," Tenzin called out, voice somewhat shaky due to his previous confessions. He knew this wolf was not a friend, but if he had been listening to Lecter correctly, this was the shaman's wife. The monk's respect for Lecter lead him to disassociate as much of the Creek as he could with Jinx, but it was hard for him to let go of feelings as he often did when he was dangerously emotional at the moment.