Hushed Willows s e p a r a t i o n

Olive was very familiar with the willows’ plant life, having studied it almost every single day for a year. She knew where which things grew and when, when they might blossom, and how well they served wolf kind. She knew how to read the moods of plants and to discern what they might need in order to flourish — often times, this wasn’t much different than what babies needed to flourish. Sunlight, food, love and attention. These things, fortunately, came easily to all beings housed within the sanctuary. 

For this reason, Olive also knew when things were different. Things didn’t often change within the woods, unless a tree fell [which, so far, none of the holy willows had] or a cliff face disengaged and fell in a pile at the foot of the heights [also, thankfully, none had]. Today, the face of her sanctuary had changed in such an imperceptible way that, had one not been working on their mastery in ecology, they could have easily missed. However, Olive saw the gleanings of small buds that had been plucked from the landscape — and immediately, she knew that she had a gardener on her hands. 

She was most unsure if this wolf resided within the willows or was simply passing through, though she made her introduction the same either way. “May I offer you some assistance?” the dove cooed, doing her best not to startle the woman who was hard at work.