Neverwinter Forest [m] She stays perfectly quiet

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Lines indicate a minor time skip.

Running to the borders, her paws her heavy on the ground beneath her. But they were here! She knew it, she could feel it. A smile was spread on her muzzle, one that felt uncharacteristic these days. They would be waiting at the borders - she had been right to wait for them.

She saw the three - lined up and waiting for her, each grown into fine young wolves. Agnar, strong and wide of shoulder like his father, Freya tall and thin with her eyes, and Mundi, he had come out as the perfect picture of Eydis - just as Chevy said he would. Where was Chevy?...

She greeted each with a lap on the top of their head, asking where they had been and relentlessly nuzzling them just as she had when they were young and she had returned from a long hunt.

Eydis awoke with a start. She felt unsettled, and a moment later she recognized a familiar spark of hope in her chest. A dream, yes, and yet she wondered...

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Next she found herself running. Through the dens dug by Solharr, into the forest and onto the path that had appeared to her. Paws thumped on the ground, sticks broke and leaves crunched. She felt no fear of the stars above.

As she approached the border she saw nothing more than the territory beyond. They were not waiting for her.

She allowed herself to crumble onto the ground. Tired, disappointed, and out of breath. Her head to her paws, she wished she could cry.  Had it been a trick? Were the fae back to mock her?

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She rose to the sound of rustling after a moment. She had grown irritated, intolerant. Her head towards the sound, a growl sounding from her throat before she had the chance to think.

A flash of ginger fur shot out from the surrounding foliage.

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The creature had ran, and so she had given chase. Snapping at it's heels, barking as it evaded her, she was sure of was it was. A trickster - fae. She would not allow them to escape this time.

With a final lurch, she leaned forward and grabbed the small creature by it's back. She shook it, listening to the horrible cries that escaped it's throat. It was unlike anything she had ever heard before.

Aside from a few uncomfortable run-ins, Forneskja was a restful place to be. He enjoyed it most especially now that he had Seastorm to warm his bed. Aside from the minimal comfort her physical presence brought him, keeping her fed also kept him busier than ever.

Catamaran loved most to be busy.

He walked a late patrol on this night, hoping he would meet no others. None from the outside world, but almost more importantly, none from the forest's interior. None of those interactions had been terribly fun, and he was not looking forward to the next one. Especially not when his packmate came tearing toward the borders full of some emotion that Catamaran could not read but readily assumed was anger.

Unwilling to disturb her, he only watched as she collapsed. It was uncomfortable to witness, but he was compelled to remain nearby. She might be vulnerable in this state, and he did not want anyone harmed on his watch.

He jumped up along with her when she sprang into action, and he might've followed at a trot if she'd been running away from him. Instead, she was running toward him, and the bounty hunter only reeled back several steps as she caught her quarry and began tearing it apart.

He watched her from across the small clearing, wary and off-put by her behavior.

I hope this is ok!

A moment of clarity then hit her. She dropped the sorry creature, gasping for breath.

A fox. Now wounded and further terrified, it was quick to disappear into the night. But now she was alone, and the familiar feeling of discomfort returned. The feeling of being watched, judged. It was closer than ever before.

Her eyes lifted to a man stood before her. He was a stranger, but smelt of Forneskja all the same. She could not bring herself to speak, for what was to be said? Her emotions had gotten the best of her; it was a disgusting, embarrassing reality.

She wished it could have been an intruder - someone she would not have had to face again.

This treatment of the fox did not disturb the bounty hunter until it was released to live with its injuries. His head whipped 'round as it streaked past him, but he was unwilling to make any more sudden movements with the strange wolf so near. She'd noticed him — it would be difficult not to — but she didn't speak. This did not disturb him at first, but he found himself more and more uncomfortable with the fact as the seconds ticked by.

There was a protracted, uneasy moment before he decided she was not going to attack.

"Apologies," he said, though he did not look very apologetic. "I heard a commotion."

And now that it had ended, the night felt as black and as silent as death. He took a tiny step backwards, searching his mind for the right words to excuse himself.

She stared a moment longer, her eyes searching the face of the other. I mistook it for something else. She stated. It was the truth, after all. The fox had been mistaken for something far more evil.

You are Forneskja, yes? She did not wait for an answer. I would appreciate it if you would not speak of this. It stays between us. It was an order, not a request. Eydis knew very well that she had her troubles, but she would not allow herself to appear as a crazy woman to her pack members.

With a final nod of acknowledgement, she turned back towards the densite. Her pace was brisk, in a clear hurry to exit the awkward situation.

Only a swivel of the bounty hunter's ears betrayed his confusion. He saw no problem with killing foxes — it was the part where she set it loose injured that bothered him most. That, and the erratic behavior that could only be made more ominous by her own confusion. What had she mistaken the fox for to elicit such a reaction?

And, though he was conditioned to obey women, he rankled as her plea turned into an attempt to strongarm him. I'm sure you would, he thought, his expression unchanged. Thankfully, she seemed to have no need to hear more from him. Her retreat was observed with a flinty eye.

When he could hear her no longer, Catamaran set off to find the fox and dispatch it. It seemed kinder to him, and it would make a good gift for @Seastorm. Later in the morning, he presented it to her, and then recounted the whole of what he had seen and heard. He did not want the smaller wolf running afoul of the woman's maddness.

He was still deciding whether or not he wanted to report the event to Callyope.

Tag for reference.