Qeya River but i hear them now, inhale the clarity

@Kekoa! Set before the pack meeting.

in her childhood, ilse had spent many lazy mornings sleeping away the daylight hours. now, one morning in adulthood where the sunlight streamed softly, she found herself awake. 

to pass the time, she began to prepare. she had gathered a small mass of herbs, just enough that she could carry with her. she picked them clean, set some out to dry and stowed others away. 

when that was complete, she began searching for something she could hold them in. a broad leaf was her first idea but she quickly found that it wasn’t a good one, so she set to the edge of the territory in search of something large and unique. she could not make such a kill on her own, but having her eyes on one would be enough for now.

Since his arrival Kekoa had felt unsure of many things. Unsure of if he should stay, unsure if he was welcome, and certainly unsure of whether or not he was a fraud.

Now he found himself pacing along the territories edge, tail low and ears inclined. He had plenty on his mind, he needed something to clear it.

A good run perhaps, or a successful hunt. Anything to boost his morale.

an unfocused eye is sometimes what is needed to see the larger picture. she had found a sheep with skin that appealed to her, though she worried about keeping it clean. goat hide would be easier to keep pristine. from where she stood she watched the expanse, patiently waiting for something to catch her eye. 

a brilliant display of autumnal hues lights her mind ablaze. oh, that’s perfect, she thinks, before realizing this thing was a wolf and not something she could kill just because she felt like it. probably.

hey, she says, because she doesn’t think he’s paying enough attention to have seen her yet. are you getting up to something?

Head whipping towards the sudden sound, he frowned. What did it look like? Clearly the answer was no.

However he had grown timid around the Saatsine wolves, enough to keep his mouth shut and shake his head instead.

He was beginning to miss swinging insults every which way.

she’s struck a nerve. she assumes this is one of the river wolves and reasons that it does make sense for him to be cautious around her. she can’t bring herself to have any empathy for him, though. if he didn’t want to be here, he shouldn’t have stuck around. 

okay, so he’s not up to anything. well, do you want to be?

No, not particularly. But he would still hear them out. "What did you have in mind?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

He was tired of fumbling with leaves - if it was anything but that he would likely accept.

he would soon find that her idea of getting up to something was to do completely above-board, dictator approved activities. nothing suspicious here.

i have been watching the herds pass through, trying to find a pelt worthy of carrying my medicine. i want something beautiful and easy to maintain, she says. if she’s going to enlist someone in this task she’s damn well going to be picky about it. i haven’t found anything here, but we can look on the other edge. i can’t bring down large prey by myself. given his age, she wasn't sure he could either ... but either way, two was better than one.

Well, that sounded like it was exactly what he needed. He lightened up a bit, nodding.

"Let's get going then - I'll follow your lead."

He said, beginning his trot to join up next to her. Whether or not they would be able to catch something it would certainly be fun.

he is easy to convince, yet still not as conversational as she would like. the more information she had about this place and those that inhabited it, the better. they were in whatever this master plan was together now, for better or worse. she led them the shortest way through the territory, letting the silence keep them company for some time before she tries again to break the ice. 

she would cut to the heart of any inquiry she might have. why have you stayed here?

He frowned at her question, for he did not have an exact answer. "I'm not completely sure, really. I think I'm just returning a favor." He responded. "One of your wolves brought me back here after I agreed to help their sick relative."

Of course he didn't know that the sick relative was a whole pack; it had been quite the pain. However, he had to admit that it was nice to be around other's again. Maybe that was why he had stayed.

she let him assume whatever it was he wanted to assume at the expense of additional information. she didn’t know there was another healer among them, nor did she know that a bargain had been struck for his services. whoever this sick wolf was, it wasn’t anselm — taking care of him was her job.

that’s okay, she said, inhaling as if she were drawing from the tail end of a long cigarette. i don’t really know, either. and she’d leave it at that, for it would not be long before they got to where they were going.

"What sort of animal are we looking for?" He asked in an attempt to move on from the topic at hand. He was much more interested in their hunt.

He questioned what sort of challenge this would be - surely nothing too bothersome.