Wheeling Gull Isle Blue Tides

For @Heda. Keeping things vague but it can be assumed he has been lingering on the islands outskirts.

Time passed. The days blended into each other and Ensio had watched as Sweetharbor swelled. A band of wolves brought together to form a stable pack. One tucked away from the mainland and the drama's there. He was curious of them. Intrigued by their customs and beliefs. The Northerner had always been the rational sort, but his mind was young. Willing and pliable.

He had not committed himself to them. Not yet. He was still testing the waters, so to speak. The greater reason he hesitated centered around a single wolf; Heda. Their lives had already been closely connected in so many ways. From the earliest days at the glacier, towards the end at the summit. He needn't be a burden in her life, a raw reminder of times perhaps left in the dust of the past. He called for her now, to settle the question bogging down his mind.

heda was happy these days. when she was not hunting or singing, she was with bartholomew, eagerly soaking up his teachings.
she wanted to make a present for him soon, something to show sweetharbor's gratitude for his shepherding.
when ensio called to her, heda slowly straightened. she put away the feathers she had been arranging and descended the greenhills, watching as the small shape of the boy became larger and larger.
she had changed. he had too. heda smiled gently, inviting him to speak.

As she had seen in him, he saw the change in her. How she had grown. Had become so strong and now led Sweetharbor alongside Bartholomew. He was happy for her. Proud, for all she had endured to come so far. He had made his own strides. He still held turmoil, but it was contained. His grip on his once wild emotions was more steady.

Her smile was reflected back, his shoulders rolling under his tussled coat. Getting straight to the point, he spoke plainly. "I need to decide what to do with my life. I cannot keep going from one path to another." He was tired of it, being flung around from place to place. He needed stability. "I admire what you have here and this place fascinates me."

He breathed. "Do you want me to stay, Heda?" His face was serious but caring. "We've always been in the big picture together. Through good times and bad. But if staying is too harsh a reminder...then I will move on." They had been a constant in each others lives. Neither of which had been exactly smooth sailing. They both knew that and Ensio did not want to complicate things while she was at last, in a good place.

"i think a few months ago i would have asked you to leave, ensio." heda's voice was soft and direct. she studied him. they had been through so many things together. and now it felt as though they had grown apart.
but maybe that was gods will. maybe they had a chance now to truly know one another. "i want you to stay because you want to stay. not for me. not for anyone. for you." sweetharbor was where she had learned to focus on her own needs for the first time. she wanted the same for him.

After she answered, and plainly so, Ensio's mind was made up. "I do want to stay. I feel there is much this place has to offer me." He too, felt a gap had grown between them. He wanted to close it. "I am tired of drifting. Let us leave the past in the past. Start over, here, on a clean slate." They'd get to know each other and grow close all over again. And he could learn...maybe even heal with the proper guidance.

heda smiled, and brightly. "then come with me. i will take you to meet our shepherd. our teacher." her voice was filled with a reverent respect, and her eyes danced toward her friend. "i'll show you the island and introduce you to everyone, if you want. or you could get to know everything and everyone yourself."
her voice was elated; her gaze was bright on ensio.

He nodded, wearing a small smile for the first time in months. He remembered the man well, when he was first drawn to the island. "I am eager to speak with him." He accepted her invitation to be introduced to the others, tail swaying a little. "I would like to accompany you. After I get settled, I will take time to get to know each of them." He was an awkward northerner, out of place on a sea island. But reasons he could not yet understand had brought him here. He would make this work.