Blackwater Islands When you smile be sure to smile wide

Spring had sprung officially and the last of the thaws had passed. The days were warmer and seemed full of rain.... and Bridget recognized the time when, normally, she would begin combing the forests and meadows for signs of new growth.

She was strong enough. She'd spent some time with each, as promised, teaching them what she knew and trying to rectify that, what she had learned of rhe island's offerings in particular, and what they might need going forward. Luckily the Listener seemed to learn fast. She should have probably guessed that from the name - no shit.

Anyway, in her mind, it was time. She'd grown more and more impatient ever since she and @Cerulean had spoken about it. Now she sought both the woman and @The Listener, hoping to find them. She wouldn't invade the space where the puppies were kept, but she did carelessly cross boundaries she'd never bothered to learn and that others had never bothered to correct. She had very little sense of the access she'd been granted.

Morgra got around much better now; she hardly ever fell and she could go much farther than normal. Because of this, she had also grown bolder and more willing to test boundaries. 

Today, she had ventured far from the safe place where she had grown from infant to curious toddler. She wasn't sure what to expect but she hoped it was something interesting; she had grown bored with her normal routine.

She found a stranger once she had ventured a good distance from her den, and she trotted over and took a seat in front of her. Morgra stared up at her with a curious frown. Who was this?

skippable! will post when i have something to add

a silent shadow followed morgra as she explored more of the world that surrounded them.  he realized it now to be impossibly large.  it never stopped.  everywhere he went there was more land in front of him, and he could only imagine it continued on and on and on.

the tan woman's presence shook him in a similar way.  how many others were there?  did they continue, too?  perplexed, he watched them from afar.

Bridget didn't come across any of the wolves that she was looking for, but she did gather a bit of a procession. One came right up to her but she spotted the other who was watching her as well. They must have been the pups that Morgana had borne. Bridget hadn't had the chance to spend much time around them, but she had to admit - they were rather cute. Were they supposed to be out here?

Hey there, half-pint. I'm on a little bit of a mission here. Have you seen The Listener? Maybe she could cover two paths here, get them back and find her conversation at the same time. If these two were out, one of the other Druids couldn't be that far off.

The spiderling recognized the listener. Her eyes lit up and her tail waved against the ground. Mom? she said in return. And even if she didn't quite understand the rest, she understood the question in the woman's tone. 

Not here, she said, though she wasn't really sure where her mother was. All she knew was that the listener was not in the cave from where she and her brother had just come. 

Morgra didn't yet register her brother's presence even if the woman had. If he came any closer, she would jump up and move to him to pepper his cheek and neck with kisses.

winding as the path to the sole exit from her den was, the children seemed to move in and out with ease. the listener glimmered with quiet pride as she swept onto the scene where her children had come to meet bridget. she was bold to come to the spiritglade, but the listener had never corrected her ignorance of the druids' ways. she had faith that the sunlit wolf would maintain discretion once the situation had been explained to her.

i see you have met morgra and ptolemy. my children, she did not wait for an answer. you have questions, i do not doubt. the answers are not meant for young ears. nor are the questions.

@Ingram would not be far behind her. when he arrived, she instructed him to take her children to the den. ptolemy, she trusted to follow. morgra, she did not.

when they had gone, she turned to bridget, her voice grave. morgana is dead. she was weakened greatly while carrying the children, and never recovered. her mind had weakened as well. she did not seem to recognize the children. she killed one, and might have killed the others if i had not intervened. she died two nights ago, she went on. i have raised them as my own, so they will not suffer knowing the truth. i must ask for your discretion in this matter. this, and what you have learned of our religion.

i decided to push this along with some powerplay because it is terribly outdated and that's my fault; please message me if you have any objections or requests for alterations <33 and i am so sorry to the pup players for cutting the fun short ;;

no worries!! We can keep this brief <3 if you like!

She didn't mind spending some time chatting with the pups, but Bridget was more than glad when the Listener came. She was surprised to hear her claim them as hers, but let it go. She hadn't seen Morgana in a long while and, if she didn't know her fate, could assume it well enough just from that single statement. Sometimes it was easier to let them know things like that when they were old enough to understand it, and sometimes it was simpler to just let the knowledge disappear entirely.

The Listener clarified and Bridget nodded. She'd been a good wolf, from what the medic could tell, and it was hard to think of her dead. Life happened. Childbirth was dangerous and while Bridget was a little irked to hear she'd died alone, without treatment, she knew by now this place had ways she didn't understand.

I'm sorry. It was a formality mostly, since she would have tried to help if she'd known, but Morgana and the Listener had been close. If there had been a way to save her, Bridget was sure the leader would have done so.

I don't mind keeping quiet about things here. Honestly, there isn't much I could say. You aren't a chatty bunch. She smiled, but the joke did have some affection behind it. They'd done her a huge favor and she wouldn't easily forget that. I think it's time I went home, though.