Lost Creek Hollow and drew warmth of blood from bone

Wardruna does not move his head to glimpse at Sif again but knows she is there as she nestles into the fur of his shoulder. He offers a quirk of his lips at her murmur of the word ‘pretty’ and silently Wardruna agrees. Poet is pretty — but they all are. Each of them has something that captivates Wardruna, drawing him in, that sparks and maintains his interest in them. He had not came with any sort of intention of building a kvennabúr and until very recently wasn’t even sure that was what he was doing; yet each wolf the gods bring to him is a woman and thus far he is the only male — not that he views this as a bad thing. It is just how it happens, how the pieces are falling together naturally. At first, he’d only wanted a thrall to validate him, to make him feel like he was powerful because in the Spine the more thralls you had the more power in the pack you had. It was a show of dominance. They aren’t exactly thralls though, are they? And Noma …he wanted to free her from that title, perhaps to elevate her to Wife because she was the first and he cares about her, truly. Yet, he worries he’s damaged her too much that even if he did free her she would not stay. It’s not as if Wardruna would be able to blame her if she decided to leave.

Wardruna is drawn from the wander of his thoughts as Poet inquires what will be expected of her. Everything is flowing naturally but at a rapid fire pace that threatens to drown Wardruna who struggles to get a grasp and keep his head above the water. He still has to leave Easthollow and assure that they do not feel inclined to stick their nose any further in his business; he’s had some thoughts about it, about what their roles were to be. “To contribute,” Wardruna thinks that rather speaks for itself that is what any pack or group desires in it’s members: contribution to make it work like a well oiled machine. “and when the time comes, if you are able to, bear children.” He has no family name to offer children but he thinks that they, all of them, could build one together. ‘Able’ was a loose term, of course, she must also be willing and even if she is not there is not a shortage of women and it is heavily implied. There will be a choice, an option to refuse him but overall besides upping their chances of survival for the winter what else is the purpose of a ( potential ) pack if not to expand the generations?

460 words