Paradise Falls just do the next right thing

Blind Date for @Finley.

Marigold had returned to the most central Falls' cache with a few frozen hares she'd sniffed out. Their den had seemed to have collapsed on them for whatever reason, the bodies having been curled up tightly with one another. They had reminded her of their pack when she'd unearthed them and bore witness to the position they'd died in. When the end became certain, had they known it was coming? Or had it all come at once, sweeping them and their ignorance away hand in hand?

Needless to say, it had caused her thoughts to drift. She remained in that gloomy cavern of thought as she manipulated the earth, scooping away dirt, depositing the carcasses and then re-covering the stash. All routine.

Mar's ears swiveled to the sound of another wolf, and caught sight of Finley's clay-colored hide disappearing between the trees. Before the year turned, she had thought nothing of her distance to the woman. They were of separate families, busied enough by those they had to care for. Now, however, the older wolf was her leader. And, she was alone. The only adult left in her familial unit. At first Marigold thought it important to give her space, but time had passed now.

She followed after the other's trail, compelled to check in with her.

"Finley?"

(This post was last modified: Mar 18, 2024, 01:58 AM by Magg.)

Finley had been wrapped up in her own thoughts, the same ones as yesterday and the day before. What had become of her boys, of Jethro, what would become of her and Atara, the pack? How long would she need to lead them before Flair was better and able to challenge her way back to her rightful place? And just like yesterday, and the day before, she was not able to come up with any clear answers, or even any fuzzy answers. Just silence, and more questions.

So, when her name was called, she was happy for the distraction and even happier to hear that it was not Magg with more demands. Marigold was not a wolf she knew well, she wasn’t even sure they had exchanged more words than polite greetings and passing small talk. But, she knew how important the younger woman was to her father Chan, and that meant that she was important to the pack and to Finley.

Slowing down so the younger woman could catch up, she greeted her with a smile, ”Everything alright Marigold?” Expecting this to be some kind of leader task, it wasn’t like they had the kind of relationship where they hung out casually, but maybe they should. It wasn’t like the mother had many friends left.

Finley greeted her with a type of politeness that was... striking, to say the least. Steel-colored eyes blinked back her, momentarily caught off-guard for a reason even she couldn't quite place. In the next instant, her own tepid smile was back, an easy wag to her off-white tail as she answered.

"It is," she answered, assuming it went without saying that this was only in reference to 'things in general.' Clearly, everything was not okay, but neither of them needed to address it to be reminded of it all.

"I was wondering how you are? Anything I can do to better help?"

There was a lightness to her voice as her colorless eyes watched Finley's features. She hoped too that she did not need to explain that the woman only need to be as honest as she wished. Mar was all offer, and no request.

The leader watched as Marigold blinked at her for a moment almost frozen before returning to a wagged tail. Relief was evident on her face when she heard that everything was alright and that the younger woman wasn’t coming to her with some kind of a crisis. It felt like her next breath had more oxygen in it than the last and her heart rate began to steady. It was evident to her - and she assumed everyone else - she was not built for leadership, and every second of it put her on edge.

She was tempted to show her real emotions, but the larger part of her screamed to keep things light, keep everyone at arm's length. But, that hadn’t been working for her lately, she had run out of the few wolves that she had truly let in. Jethro was missing, Colette was dead, Flair and Chan caught up with her illness and his ongoing hardships. So, she settled for somewhere in the middle, allowing the smile to fade into something more neutral though she hoped the exhaustion was still hidden beneath some level of mask.

She thought for a moment before answering, ,”I’m…. Managing. Leadership wasn’t something I had even been actively working towards or saw myself doing, but I’m doing the best that I can.” Had she been fully honest she would have said that she hated it and couldn’t wait for it to be over, but this felt truthful enough. It was better than what she was trained to say which was everything is great! As long as you don’t look any closer you can’t see the cracks!

What could Marigold do to better support her? ”Honestly? I feel like I’m not as in touch with everyone as I should be - like Jethro and Flair used to be.” That had been evident by the outburst at the meeting when she had had no idea they were supposed to be sending a message to the Cove, ”I would appreciate if you could just help me keep an extra eye and ear out, and let me know if I’m missing anything.” Because she always felt like she was.