Barrow Fields i left my flaming sword beside your bed

open, sprawling fields surrounded prophet in every direction from the mound she had perched upon.  there were many like it here, but this was the tallest vantage point she could find.  in the distance a group of deer grazed.

the wind had died down today and for that she was grateful; her coat did little to keep her warm, especially in these temperatures.  daytime had been tolerable, but in the evenings she found her legs quaking.  

she watched the deer, as she had many hours before she needed to concern herself with that.  prophet did not think they were aware of her presence.  not that it mattered.  she could not take one down on her own.  her stomach rumbled as a poignant reminder of this fact, and she closed her eyes as her head throbbed in pain.

in came a pinched breath through her nose, then out came a steady cloud from her maw.  she stood slowly, first propping her body up on her front limbs before she rose completely, setting out to find something to soothe herself with.

The harrowing feeling the gnawed at Angler's gut was armed with blunt teeth and a growl, the unsettling thing dropping his stomach and sending it into a slow churn of anxious unease. He walked lightly across the light of the dying horizon, the shadow cast far by the sun mirroring his deliberate movements. Before he had knew it, he was upon a small gathering of deer, and he felt he could not be alone, for they glanced across their shoulders and froze at something other than himself.

He walked along the lines of hills they sat in between, hunger was no factor for him now, and he was barely moved by the presence of deer when in groups. His mind was set on nursing the river's banks for a little more water the next day before heading out to the coast and walking south at that edge. however, stranger to the land, he would scout for more wolves wherever he went. He could catch a scent on the windless hills, but his eyes did not see the moving figure from the hill he now closed in on as his head bowed to the ground.

it was not long before the deer alerted her to a shadow, too large to miss, but too small to raise concern.  a wolf.  they walked with their head down, preoccupied, like they hadn't noticed her yet.  she watched for a moment, then began to close the distance between them, slow and deliberate. 

should the stranger not react violently, she would come to a stop, leaving ample room in case the stranger were to react explosively, deciding to observe for the time being.

Sensing a shift in the scent he followed, Angler lifted his head up. There they were, a rather lithe wolf with a coat brushed with dark markings. He felt an urge to freeze, but he also knew that if he were to establish himself in this land, he would have to gain confidence. There couldn't be a pack in this land, so he felt he was in his right to bristle his coat a little.

He stopped, mirroring the stranger, but than he moved toward them. Not directly, he would circle her, a challenge, a warning, a show of fearlessness, however it would be taken. His head was still instinctively low, and his tail did flex towards his stomach, but he willed through it.

"Are you walking through or scoring lunch?" He quietly inquired, his voice would not have been heard if there was wind, it was a soft whisper, false bravado in his body couldn't translate to his voice.

the light in her eyes bladed as she watched the stranger's approach, immediately unimpressed with the way she was regarded.  the strange wolf bristled and circled her.  unwilling to be caught alone in a fight, she took a steady step backwards.

but it seemed she would be spared.  for all the confidence the stranger a to embody, their soft words betrayed themselves.  it was sad to watch.

i came this morning to practice zazen, she said, unaffected.  i have a group with me, not far from here. a ward against any ill intent. i will be going back soon.

At their words, his ears dropped back. They flicked behind his head as he thought. He did not fully understand what they had said, but the latter half about the group did make him feel very silly. Of course the wolves here all had packs they never strayed far from, why else would there be wolves?

He shook his head, body loosening with the movement. He sat down on his rump and avoided eye contact with the stranger now, this could turn into a fight of one versus twenty if he was so unlucky.

"Thats alright then, I don't intend to stay here any longer either." He turned his eyes towards a clump of dirt that he lightly pushed around with his paws.

"Am I at the border of some pack, or are you all out far from home?"

she could sense the war within the stranger in the tension between their words and movements.  they announce, without prompting, that they don't intend on staying long.  it does not matter to me.  she paused, squinting against a flash of pain that bloomed behind her forehead.

we are traveling now, she informed, with some time left before we reach where we are going.  part of this filled her with dread, for she was weary of travel.  but she was grateful to have stumbled upon this pack as it was forming.  her own had been so established it would have been impossible to become anything other than she was. 

she did not want to think about what she was, so she didn't. 

what brings you here?

Angler listened to the wolfs words with a little bit of an absent mind, they seemed like a pretty typical wolf, a healthy smidge of both cautious and secretive, but all to inquisitive into the lives of others. He mulled over lying and saying he was going to a pack of his own, just in case some muscle was sent out to roughen him up, but he than recalled the wolfs pack was on the go, there'd be no need for him to lie to someone he would probably never see again.

"I'm traveling south to find some unoccupied rivers, or little packs sitting on them." He looked up at his listener, studying their face in case anything seemed to tip them off.

"I'll be heading to the coast soon, but i wont stay nearby for long, I'm just trying to avoid these mountains and their bigger packs."

the stranger's preoccupation with their own thoughts is obvious to rasha in the time it takes for them to respond.  the prophet's face remained solemn and inexpressive.

good luck, she says, unflinching gaze fixed upon the face of the shadow.  we are moving up the coast as well.  it may be beneficial to travel with us.  to this she rolls a shoulder; her tone is unexpectant, even if they agree she does not expect them to stick around.

The suggestion rolled of him with little weight, the wolf offering barely seemed to care if he came or not. The air around them barely seemed to mesh with Angler's in the dead air they sat in, their paths would not cross, they had only skid past each other on journeys to new destinations. Angler looked back down away and too his own paws.

"Im well aware of my comforts, I know your pack would be too stiff for me." he spoke with a slight bite, frustration building after traveling alone so long. Why did every wolf in this land seem to have an offer he just couldn't except? Hopefully their would be wolves vying for him to fill a spot in their packs when he got to the green pastures he searched for.

With that, Angler set off again. His head lay low and he came forward to the other wolf. He couldn't care enough to notice them.

ok to archive ☑

in truth, prophet only wanted the best for every wolf she crossed paths with.

an abrasive response, not unexpected.  there was a place in life she might have been more encouraging, but there were blockages in the way that would need time to be dealt with.  too many things had happened for her to effectively cope right now.

she steps aside as the stranger walks away.  later, she will find an herbal remedy for her headache and return to her fellowship.