Hushed Willows A Silent Retreat

Are you afraid? Wake smiled curiously, his gaze steadying on her face from his position in the dirt. He didn’t appear to be at all concerned with the valid things she asked, nor did the fact that she asked them seem to disturb him. There was an answer for all her questions in his vainglorious head, and he did not mind providing them.

He remained a river of water, ever-flowing and bending, yet persistent in its path.

We will be neighbors, not nuisances, he seemed to wink. I chose that place because there are many wolves there, this is what makes it special to me. I willnot lie and say that there will be no quandaries, or, or challenges, but conflict and competition are nothing to fear, my lady. They are better than isolation.

Wake did not think she would feel the same. It also occurred to him that she might even think he was looking for trouble when—surely—this could not be further from the truth. He did not see her as the type to conscript to the high-risk-high-reward lifestyle, so he thought he must also tell her why their time could be well spent:

Just imagine if we can get along with these others, he invited her to think about what they could gain from his choice of location rather than what they were risking. That would mean alliances for us, bonds which we will always need, but especially now while we build.

Future teachers, hunting partners, colleagues, friends, family, packmates, defenders, rivals, lovers... Sure, feuding, famine, and fallout were all possibilities, too, but there was also a universe where those things might not happen. However, only time would tell if this was to be Wake’s reality.

And if it is not for us, then it is not. There will always be elsewhere.