Neverwinter Forest Loss

It had been her first breeding, and her cub hadn't survived. She had given birth to a tiny, sickly thing, and it's stillborn twin. Wojteka did not have high hopes, but she still grieved for herself and her lost children when she awoke that morning to find the other one had passed. This caused her to leave her den early; she tore it down, saying a silent prayer for her cubs, then just sat and stared; her mind and body were too numbed for anything else at the moment.

he had never seen such a beast up close.

not that he was close, mind you, but near enough to see it certainly meant he existed on its radar too. even as he remained eerily silent, a well of panic (how rare!) swelled in his chest. shallowed his breathing into something ragged and sharp.

oh, Heavenly Father, a whisper on the wind.

he exhaled in a jagged pattern, hawkish eyes transfixed upon the beast.

Wojteka did not know how much time had passed, but eventually, she realized she had company. Scent told her that it was, at least in part, a wolf; she could not identify what it was mixed with. Certainly nothing she'd seen before. Glassy, brown eyes stared at the creature, and it stared back. How odd. It did not seem aggressive - if anything, it looked scared of her. The grieving mother looked once to the remnants of her den, then back to the wolf-creature. Finally, curiosity got the better of her. "What are you?"

it spoke.

and his heart quivered with such fear he was uncertain if this was a creation of God or if the Devil had raised some trickery to test him.

a man of God, he hissed lowly, features serving more fear than they were anger.

what...what are you?

Wojteka grunted, displeased at the thing's hissing. Still, he looked frightened of her, and she felt anger prickling her fur - she'd done nothing to him. When he asked the same question of you, she grumbled, "I'm a bear." She gestured then to the collapsed den, with a wide sweep of her forearm. "You mention a God - then pay your respects to my dead children. They were my first, they deserved life." She would stare him down, grief drawn clearly on her face.

a bear.

a bear who spoke, who understood the concept of a god more than any beastly wolf he had spoken to.

it was a sign, surely. not that he had figured out what the sign meant yet but that was not the point.

he was meant to act. to spread his beliefs further than just canid creatures, it seemed.

who was he to decline? even as his willow figure trembled some on the edges, slow to approach the crumbled sight.

they…they do. i am sorry for your loss. truly.

and he was. beneath all of the fear he could read the grief stricken look upon her ursine face.

she was a mother, she had been intended to be a mother.

Heavenly Father, may You watch over these children in Your kingdom and raise them in heaven’s image. may You provide strength to their mother so that she may see through this. may You bless her with Your love in these trying times.

soft, mumbled with his head tilted down against his chest.

last rites and prayers had never been his speciality, but here he was. providing them all the same.

The bear's face was somber as the wolf said his prayer, a lone tear trailing down her face. When he had finished, she rasped, voice thick with emotion, "Thank you. I hope they will find peace." She didn't know what she had done to deserve the death of her cubs, but she hoped they had not suffered for long. Wojteka swallowed hard, then rumbled, "I have no business here any longer." A glance to the wolf-creature, and she asked, "Will you tell me what you are now?"

what i told you before was the truth, he supplied softly despite being tangled somewhere between awe and fear in the face of the ursine mother.

a man of God. besides that? some sort of willowy creature, sent to spread gospel.

a soft roll of his shoulders as he hoped it would appease the great beast.

and i should go do just that. i hope you find peace.