Silver Creek come, ye sisters, come

WC: 741

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Oryx flinched when she first heard the call, as it had come not from the man who had met her and invited her to join with his family, but from a female. All Oryx could hope for was that Harrison would keep an eye on her and guide her, so that she did not lose her way, or run into any situations that made her too nervous. She had been meandering about in the area, and had found herself a nice nook where she could dig herself a den by enlarging one made by some other creature, years before. She could only hope that she wasn’t being too presumptuous by digging a den...She had already been filled in on a few of the details, so she believed, then, that there was a chance that she would be chosen to reproduce in the upcoming year, and would need a den. First, of course, she would need to get chosen as a wife, and she could only hope that she would be one of the fortunate ones who would marry directly into the family...From what she could tell, the Odolf brothers had been recruiting other males as well, but she was clever enough to know that they would be the ones to take the higher ranks and, therefore, be the ones who were given breeding rights. She knew there was a chance she would have to wait another year...But what if the next year did not present itself well to her and her husband? Would they have to wait until she was almost a spinster to have children?

So she had begun to fulfill what she knew to be one of the very few roles that the females were permitted to have, and had been scoping out the area for herbs and plants that would be useful. She had gained some knowledge of medicines when she had been younger from her mother, who had been a wonderful medic. Oryx, with a healing touch as soft and gentle as silk, had followed in her mother’s footsteps and now she was grateful that her mother had given her the intelligence and information she had, which would hopefully make her as useful as possible to the wolves of Rosings.

All the while, of course, she was aware that she was to present herself as a lady, a refined and delicate, subservient but highly valued member of the group, so she maintained an appearance that was spotless and proper. While Oryx had naturally been inclined to tend to her pelt and appearance with fastidious care, she had even more reason to do so now, and had spent some time removing old, dead hairs and cleaning herself so that the silver streaks through her plush mane shone like strands of polished metal. The white tip on her tail was like a beacon, and the midnight black that brushed the rest of her frame was as dark and deep as perfect velvet. She had just finished tidying the fur around her shoulders when the female’s call summoned her, so she picked her way toward the assembly with an effortless grace, and cast her silvery-blue gaze around the group when she had joined them.

The ringleader was easy to pick out- she had the same noble air that Harrison had had, and the palest gaze that Oryx had ever seen; her eyes were so light in shade that the irises seemed to be white...It gave her an intimidating look, perhaps a bit hard for a wolf who was meant to be a gentle lady. Still, Oryx knew to defer to her, as she was the one who had brought these traditions with her, and who had summoned all the others. There was a lender agouti wolf with a gaze almost as light as Oryx’s, but the blue of her eyes was perhaps a bit warmer and less restless than Oryx’s was. Near her was a pale female, again with a light gaze, and a small frame that was built for grace. There was an earth-toned female among them who looked perhaps the most relaxed out of the group assembled there, whose eyes were the colour of lilacs. Quietly, she joined them, gaze soft and frame curved delicately as she sat, wrapping her white-tipped tail about her paws daintily. Respectfully, she would wait to speak until spoken to, and wondered how many others would be joining them.

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