everyone feel free to just skip to the end, though there is stuff about like @
Lila @
Serach and @
Darrah in the middle
Serach's smile was reassuring: he felt like something strong she could lean against. But of course for her goals to be realized one day
she would need to become something for others to lean on. And at the request for her help she felt the corners of her eyes begin to sting, her heart raw with emotion. "
Of course," she responded tenderly, bumping her head against his muzzle as he drew away.
Yet in a flash the heart-warming moment was disappointingly gone as others began to arrive. Leotie was first and she smiled so sweetly that Sahalie thoughtlessly moved with the girl to take up a space on the ground next to the brindled woman. Halfway to her seat she remembered Serach with a wince, and looked back as if to mouth an apology before she noticed he was smiling in amusement. She had no idea what that could mean. Suddenly there was Darrah and Alastor, Aponi and Lila, Kyna and Quentin all around her like a wall. The fuzzy feelings returned when she realized how many friends she had made and how much she adored every one of them. But being the stunted wolf she was, the dark girl had to crane her neck, bumping and brushing against the others, to get a good view of anyone else who was arriving.
Something caught her eye through the small crevice between wolves, and Sahalie turned and leaned to fully take it in. Naira had arrived, plopping Treyah on the ground and eyeing someone else the girl couldn't quite see. She decided it was her father, probably. The girl fought back a frown when she noted that they would be the few sitting apart from her and her friends. It hurt. Vaguely she noticed Reiko appear on the ground and come charging in their direction. Her eyes slid towards the other puppy, Lila, that the girl assumed must be the target. Her golden eyes blinked several times when she noticed that the white-chested girl was staring at
her. The smile the dark Tainn gave her was warm but shy—so much pressure for Lila to like her, what if she messed it up? But the cubs were very readily entertained by one another, and soon Lila was toddling off.
With the distractions of the cubs gone and walled in on every side by packmates the girl was suddenly overwhelmed by the feeling of connectedness. Each wolf seemed close enough that there nerves, tensions, and hopes seemed to radiate off of them. Or at least, it felt that way. Some particularly concerning scents were wafting up from her back where Ruenna was seated. This meeting was Ruenna's first, was that what all the trouble was? The grass was rustling with all the signs of a wagging tail, but the tear-stained face just did not seem as easy as it normally did.
All the yipping and squawking of the young ones made it hard for her to focus on what Serach was saying. A lot of it was already apparent: yep, they were meeting the pups, yep, he was leader now. "
Congrats Serach!" she barked loudly, before noting with some embarrassment that the rest of the wolves were taking this news silently. She ticked boxes off in her head as her ears twisted around to locate the puppies, and with wide eyes she spotted the dark form of Mako ambling closer and then suddenly bowling right into Reiko. Her mouth opened as if to reprimand the pup for being so rude and rough when she realized Mako was not
her pup. Maybe he was just doing what pups did. Sahalie hadn't had so many playmates, she wasn't sure if this was how it worked. Especially amongst
boys. She closed her mouth.
Her attention was dragged back to Serach at the sudden mention of her brother's name. Her mouth was open again. Sure, his muddy scent had been fading for a few days, but the girl had dismissed the change as normal wandering. But this was different, this was
more pain. How could she swallow the hurt when she had worked so hard to bring him home? Darrah's words and Leotie's nudge fell softly on her ears and she nodded in reply and breathed, "
Yeah." She was always okay. She had to be okay. Her eyes drove back through the wall of wolves to find Serach staring back at her meaningfully: he was saying sorry in his own way. The corners of her mouth twitched. Why hadn't Drift told her? Why hadn't her
dad told her? Her heart gave a painful throb as if to chastise herself: her dad had gotten injured shortly after hearing the news, of
course it had gotten lost. She shouldn't be hard on anyone. Especially the injured.
The cubs continued their rough housing, but Sahalie felt Ruenna still fidgeting at her back as if she meant to get up. Was she uncomfortable? What did she want? And suddenly the thought that had occurred to her only minutes ago finally dawned on her: Ruenna didn't really
know anyone. She was as well acquainted with a Bend wolf as much as the Bend wolves were acquainted with the pups they were meeting. And
Quentin too! Her ears swiveled, her mouth open again, before—
The dark yearling exhaled. Alastor was reminding her—and everyone else, really—that she had completely forgotten about their little "trip" in the regular bustle of her life. Her eyes whipped between Serach, Alastor, her father, and Spieden. Would they let her go? Were they okay with her going? Would everything fall apart if she were gone for more than a few days? She certainly hoped not.
"
And..and," she broke in, feeling awkward because this was now off-topic. But it felt important. "
We shouldn't forget our adultier new members. Everyone should welcome @Quentin and Ruenna!" Her body twisted around, looking for Q. "
He's in the back, I think. Q come out!" Her muzzle moved towards Ruenna, too, gesturing the girl to stand before turning back to Serach.
"
I hope you don't...mind. Me and Al wanting to go to Hearthwood and all. You can tell us the way, right?"
(This post was last modified: Jul 08, 2016, 01:10 AM by Sahalie.)