White Fir Notch Too good to give up on

For @Sylva ~

10/11/2016

Weather:

42° F, 5° C

Sunny, light breeze

10:48 AM

Raela lifted her head as she moved, pacing easily through the mixed fall forest. The breeze swept against her face and over her muzzle, cool and crisp. To other species this may have been considered chilly, but to her, now all but covered in an increasing amount of cozy  soft fur, the temperature was near perfect. Though the world was going dormant, it always felt so fresh this time of year. Autumn had always been her preferred season; the endlessly annoying insects all but retreated, she could jog for hours and not overheat, and some of the trees were just breathtaking in their beauty. 

Last autumn came with horrible memories, but here, striding through her and Gent's forest, with her children probably frolicking and exploring their changing world, it was hard to dwell on them. This was undoubtedly the best situation Raela had ever found herself in, even with the pack's relatively small numbers and the recent disappearance of their skilled hunter Merys, it was still better than the aftermath at the Crest, and surely superior to life on her own or with her birth pack. There would always be some stressor in her life somewhere, and she suspected that this winter would be no gentler than the last, but things were holding together. All of her litter was alive and safe and growing, which was almost a miracle in itself. As long as the little pack held on, there was a future for them. 

There was a specific member of that pack that the Queen sought out today, someone she hadn't spent as much time with since the aforementioned brood arrived. It was hard to check up on everyone as she preferred too, with those three hogging her attentions, but they were bigger now; almost old enough to roam the Notch's woodlands on their own, though the thought still unsettled her. The girl was not a difficult wolf to find, and the young woman's trail led straight to the waterside. It was heavily mixed with the smell of various plants, though the scent of Sylva herself was by now, distinctly part plant. The young woman had taken to her chosen bailiwick with gusto, and Raela couldn't have been happier. 

She thought to greet the youngster early, because Sylva was just as likely to squeak and tumble into the springs as she was to be simply startled if one didn't give her a head's up from enough distance. "Hey Sylva,"she greeted amiably, still a few yards back in the woods. The matriarch then strode casually out from the trees, tail held aloft and wagging gently. She was probably sorting herbs, judging by the piles of various neatness strewn about the grass. As to what they were, Raela was near clueless. She never had made up for her herb-less childhood curriculum. Unless it was poisonous, she had no idea. 

            

The young medic in training had a firm but gentle grip on a packet of herbs when she had heard Raela’s greeting, turning quickly, she stood among the small piles of precious plants and sat her newest bundle down, her thick tail wagging. It had been awhile since she and Raela had been able to talk on a solo basis, after the pups had been born, Sylva had wanted to give as much time to the Alpha to spend with them as she could, and by doing so she had managed to get into trouble with the Mandock wolves along the way. Though, she’d never admit it out load, the yearling had found herself with a small spark of jealousy at how much time the children had come to spend with their mother, a wolf that by circumstance, Sylva herself had come to think of as an adoptive mother, though she had never voiced that thought, unsure how Raela would have reacted to it.

“H-hey Raela.” the girl said quietly…...what? There wasn’t a flood of words this time? She dipped her head to her superior as she approached and settled down a few feet away, her brown gaze angled toward the herbs briefly as a stray breeze shifted one of the leaves. “No,” she said firmly as the breeze slowly gave way. The leaf had stayed in place under that glare as Sylva returned her attention to the Agouti Alpha “How are you doing today?” she inquired, tilting her head slightly to the side.

ThoughtDialogue

Fortunately her thinking had been correct, and the preemptive greeting did not make the yearling jump or stumble into the water. Good. The matriarch smiled in greeting; orange ears tipping forward to catch Sylva's own salutation, and finding it completely... normal. Her brows couldn't help but shift slightly upward at the lack of babbling, her smile growing more impressed than simply pleased. What progress they had made, with Sylva performing her duties just like any other pack member, and acting like one too. There was satisfaction in the idea that Raela had some paw in this beneficial change. 

Surely the girl's life was better here and now. The Alphess resisted the urge to drop her own head in reply, still having to remind herself that she was a leader, and had to make her posture reflect it. Instead she dipped her muzzle only, and watched with amusement as one of the girl's plants tried to 'escape' with the breeze. Raela chuffed and her smile closed into a smirk. Even if Sylva had been dead serious, it was still funny. The foliage seemed to obey, and at last their meeting could resume. A perfectly normal question was asked, in a perfectly normal number of words as well. 

"Good," she breathed contentedly, feeling the cool air against her fur once more. "It's so nice out today. What about you Sylva," she countered, bringing her hindquarters to rest on the grass and glancing at the herbs beside them. "Training with Gent seems to be going well?" The older woman added, hope in her voice. 

(This post was last modified: Oct 31, 2016, 07:38 PM by Raela.)