Drooping Willows Returned

Ra was not far from home. She could smell the members of her group vaguely, which only grew stronger still as she pressed forward slowly. Loach had been a mostly quiet companion on their venture to the lagoon but he was kind and patient with her slowness. Most other wolves were, either being by a truly good heart or by their pity, simply glad for that fact that it was not them who were blind. Though Ra understood the reason behind their pity, Ra had only been accepting and willing of the sacrifice of her vision of the mortal world, if only due to the gift it had given her in return. To her, this was far greater.

The hoped her group would understand. She hoped both @Hagar and her brother would. She knew @Niamh would without question. The gods had forced her to leave for a reason and hoped that vision could be played out into reality. Ra had learned that the western wolves lived along where the river split in the shadow of the mountains. Information now known but surely something which Clouse could relay, too. Where Loach had guided her and where she had started on her own was a middle ground then.

Here, in the Drooping Willows, she calls out for her family- she was coming home!

saying it takes place at (or at least very close to) the same time as this

If she was impacted by the smoke, she did not speak on it. Just how her post-partum still seemed to weigh upon her.

She only worried for both herself and her husband in silence. He worked endlessly, tirelessly and she fretted greatly. Yet she remained limited in her capability to help. Someone had to stay with their daughter, someone had to wait in the willows to see if they came home while parties searched.

That was what happened now, as she sat beneath a willow and looked out into the smoke-cloaked sky.

She had seen it before and how it had always been read as an ill omen.

She did not wish to stand here beneath the smoked skies anymore and yet she must. She knew that her bear-kissed would not leave the willows without the return of those he cared for. Admittedly she did not wish to leave either until at least Ra came home.

The Priestess who called out into the heavens now and the bat-ears upon the soothsayer stood tall.

Did she bring with her others? Could her husband find peace now?

Niamh rushed in a great flurry to where the pale woman had called from. Even if she had perhaps, in some ways, understood the pull to travel without word, it did not mean she had not worried. Oh how she had missed her dear priestess.

"Ra!" She called out in a choked voice, uncertain if she could stop herself before this became a colliding welcome.

adopt my brother!

note: mentions of fortune telling and magic are purely a belief system.

Her voice, it rang through the air! It was exactly the voice which Ra had longed to hear once more. Of course, she found family and blood in Avella and her children and cared for them dearly, but the connection between her and Naimh had swelled. First by their spiritual connection and then the time spent of Ra teaching Naimh of herbs and resting in the den where they were both limited of travel and kept one another from loneliness.

Niamh's legs move swiftly and soon she is upon Ra and they are dancing and bounding around one another in head-on greeting. Ra yips and barks happily. "Forgive my swift leave, Niamh. The Gods pushed upon me a path made to follow. I could not protest." She informed the woman for her days (maybe even more then a week?) gone missing. "They guided me to the wolves in the west- my brother's group lies there and a man named Loach which leads them."

                                                                                                   ⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆                                                              
"Moon Mother,
bring us your light, for the night is dark and full of terrors." 

Clouse was filled to the brim with relief when he heard his sister's familiar voice soar through the air. In a flash he was on his dark paws and nimbly sprinting the distance between himself and her call, slowing only when he could see her, unmarred and standing capably. Certainly not on death's door. Panting, he jogged the remaining yards, ears pressing forward to catch the chatter between Ra and Niamh.

He heard Loach's name and his teeth clicked shut, heart skipping a beat.

"You what?"

Clouse's voice was firm, but still he moved to check her over, ensuring that no harm had befallen her. She didn't appear like she'd only been able to scrape by...

For a terrible and selfish moment, she was glad the priestess could not see her. For her eyes welled with tears. Even if they stimmed from joy and relief!

She could never blame the woman.

Yet that had never made it any easier either.

She had been prepared to poke and prod into a long string of questioning, only for Clouse to come too. Still Niamh refused to not be here and not hear of what Ra spoke on. Even with the firmness in the dark male.

She was silent but steadfast. Prepared to glue herself firmly to the side of the woman, so that she would not wander off again so soon!

adopt my brother!

note: mentions of fortune telling and magic are purely a belief system.

Naimh is at her side and Ra is ready too, to answer all her questions, but Clouse comes swiftly! Ra had only expected such from her brother. It was the reason we he was here, so torn, in the first place. Clouse did not speak it, but Ra felt it. She felt a good deal many things greater then some.

He inspected her and she remained still, allowing him to do so as she explained. "The Gods shown me great mountains and much water and I followed." Clouse knew of them. He did not worship them, but did he at least believe? Believe his sister? "They brought me to Loach. His group is small, as is our own. I think we are meant to stand together as one. I saw in my visions then, a large group of wolves after a great hunt." But she frowns, lips pulling tight. Though the Gods shown her what she believed the best path not only for survival, but happiness, it was not her decision to make. It was that of Loach and Hagar.

                                                                                                   ⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆                                                              
"Moon Mother,
bring us your light, for the night is dark and full of terrors." 

Damn her Gods. Clouse scowled openly, only because he knew she could not see it. For now, Niamh was as good as a part of their backdrop. All he could think about was the impending collision of two very different worlds and the ramifications now in store for him. Things he would never be able to talk out with his sister without damaging the relationship between them, and Clouse had already burned far too many bridges in his life.

He put distance between them again, taking a few strides back while he chewed over how to respond.

"He's not going to leave without Avella," he spoke confidently, despite not truly knowing what Hagar might do when pressured. All he knew was that the man had seemed desperate enough over getting his co-leader back. Maybe Clouse could play on that, make sure the lumbering alpha didn't let the groups join. Because... because...

Ugh. This group was floundering. Ra's solution did make the most sense. He'd be stupidly risking their own safety to fight this, but... every fiber of his being did not want it to happen, all the same.

(This post was last modified: Aug 01, 2023, 07:35 PM by Clouse.)

Wounded by the truth.

Niamh's features threatened to contort into an ugly kind of look and instead only settled upon a look of discomfort. "Do you think he will let what remains of a family perish here instead to wait for her?" Her voice wanted to cut, to tighten and grip upon the small dark Archer.

She knew the threat of it was very real. An honor bound man driven to find those who had made large promises.

She wondered if, perhaps, he soul had been carved with the mark of Avella too deeply. If Niamh's cut among his heart was fresher and shallower, unable to compete. Not yet the weight of the woman who had stood at the helm before.

A shoulder pressed with a gentle tremble into Ra.

adopt my brother!

note: mentions of fortune telling and magic are purely a belief system.

There was silence, for a time and of course, she did not see that scowl he made, but the distance he now placed between himself and her seemed so very vast. Selfishly, Ra had not thought that perhaps Clouse did not want to share his other life with them. That he made only to be here in insuring Ra was comfortable and safe before leaving her again.

Niamh was not blind, however. She could openly see Clouse's distaste. It was first-hand an example of many around Ra not bothering to listen to her words when it came to gods.

Niamh spoke up in protest, pressing to Ra's side. Ra added, "And yet Avella has already left without him." She murmurs at the thought of her missing cousin. Avella was a strong woman, smart and loyal. It was unlikely she had just 'wondered off and gotten lost'. This meant she had either left her group on own accord or something rather tragic was keeping her from her family now. Ra hated to think which was worse.

"We will make Hagar see reason." The priestesses, together. Maybe they would need to make Clouse see reason too.

                                                                                                   ⋆｡˚☽˚｡⋆                                                              
"Moon Mother,
bring us your light, for the night is dark and full of terrors." 

Niamh responded with reason, and Clouse shot her a glare. No, Hagar likely would not. The errant Archer did not have a single card to play. Ra made another solid point, and he couldn't help a soft snort as he rounded on his wolfish heels. His temper was about to get the better of him, and he knew better than to stick around so that his sister could fall victim to it.

"I'll go round up Mouse," was his excuse, tossed over a dark shoulder and then the wolf was off. Not really to seek @Mouseling, but to find space for himself to deal with these unpleasant emotions and come to terms with what was going to be happening next.