Exhausted and worn through, the tired Alpha made her way to her den in the late hours of the morning. She pulled herself onto the bed, closed her eyes for all of a second, and then opened them with a start. Motif she was suppose to be here. Poem was still out with Epitaph, but her youngest was supposed to be here.

She got quickly to her feet, and followed the scent trail of her child, it lead her to the makeshift infirmary, where she remembered shooing the girl to bed. It then moved onwards towards the thicket, and she would find her at the base of a tree between the thickets and the rapids.

She sighed when she saw the girl, curled up against the big cat, tiny against the larger form of the predator. She looked so tiny, and the frown lines she had worn the night before seemed to have soothed. Canni was good for her.

“Morning sleep heads” she said gently, knowing she needed to speak to Canni, she had heard of the wolves that had waylaid her when she had tried to get Motif to safety. She wasn’t going to forget that any time soon. Without Cannival… she didn’t want to think about it. If they had more time and resources, she would throw a celebration for the lion, but as it was everyone was worn, and prey was about to get scarce. The alpha had problems, every which way she looked.

Cannival "Morning sleepyheads." Cannival was awoken for the second time that night, though this time her dreams were free of fire and blood. Her head lifted gently from her paws, golden eyes set upon Shaye's own. Exhaustion worried at the alpha's features, and the lioness looked down towards the pup who slept peacefully against her. It was Motif who had brought Shaye here, surely. Even a mother so duty-bound could not rest without knowing where her pup had gone. Cannival suddenly felt very bad, and hoped she would not be blamed for Motif running off without Shaye's approval. "She only just fell asleep." The lioness' voice was a whisper, desperate to let the pup rest. "Can't she stay a little longer?" There was no doubt in her mind that Shaye was coming to pry her pup from Cannival's embrace and take her back to where the wolves no doubt all denned in some large, family huddle. "You.""Think.""Speech"

Shaye smiled,a soft laugh escaping her in a sigh, and it seemed to smooth some of the lines of age that had appeared on her overnight. “Yes, she can.” Shaye agreed, taking a seat near Cannival and keeping her voice soft. “I was told you saved her life, and for that I owe you a great deal. More than you received, when my wolves mistakenly stopped you. I’ll speak to them.. But I wish they had listened to the news, it would have saved everyone some grief.” she said with a grumpy sigh.

It still rankled that they hadn’t paid any heed to what she had howled in the news, and she wondered what else was slipping through the cracks. Her pack was so big now, that it was almost inconceivable to have pack meetings too often, bringing everyone together took time.

She looked down at Motif, cradled in the cats arms “It’s good to see her finding a friend, she’s been spending a lot of time by herself lately.” the age lines returned as she frowned, before looking back to meet Canni’s eyes. “I welcome you into Abaven with open arms now, you’ve earned that, but I understand if you wish to flee instead, after the way you were treated.. And.. times are about to get tough ahead. Tougher, I should warn you, for all of Abaven. I would like you to stay, but I understand if you choose not to.”

Cannival Cannival looked up from the sleeping pup as the alpha spoke. Most of the blame had fallen towards the wolves of Abaven's lack of attention to the current events. Somewhere inside, the lioness was saddened. It'd be easier to blame Shaye for the lack of welcome in the pack lands. At least if they'd not had been told of a lion living with them- or even told to be weary of her -that would be something easily rectified. The alpha had told her wolves that Cannival was there, however. Whether they ignored the information or forgot it or blatantly disregarded it made little difference. It was not Shaye that Cannival could blame for the events that had passed- it was the pack itself. As Shaye mentioned Motif, the lioness' gaze fell immediately back to her friend's slumbering form. There was little that Cannival would not do for the pup, and if not for her she'd likely have left these lands as soon as the fire was extinguished. The alpha spoke again and Cannival held back a cold laugh. Tougher? How could it get tougher? Tsunami? Flood? She shook her head slowly, careful not to disturb Motif with her movements. "I don't know what I'll do." Honesty came easily to the lioness, there was no reason to lie now. "I think Abaven has shown it's hand, and I doubt I'll ever be quite accepted here." A pause. "I don't know much of your culture, but I feel it's difficult to gain respect when the only person who wants you around is the alpha." A longer pause, and Cannival gave a pointed look towards Motif. "And her daughter." "I fear that to leave so soon would be too stressful for her so soon after a crisis, but then again if I am to leave... It'd be kinder to do it before she got to attached."   "You.""Think.""Speech"

Cannival admitted that she wasn’t sure what she would do, and Shaye nodded slowly. “It’s unfortunate, Leonce is a traveller, and Taffy.. Taffy get stuck in his own world with his demons. Of all the wolves in my pack, it surprises me least that these two didn’t know who you where” she explained

Cannival went on to explain how Abaven had shown its hand - considering her experience so far had been a few wolves under great duress, she was surprised that Cannival had passed judgement on her whole pack. She more expected that if Cannival might leave, it was because times in Abaven where going to be hard for a little while.

“Prey will have fled, and for a time we have one less fertile territory under our name, I would appreciate every able-bodied hunter, but I will not keep you if you wish to leave.” Shaye went on, and she would keep her word, she would post no issues to the lioness if she thought Abaven was a bit too exciting for her.

She frowned as she too looked down at Motif, who was curled up so peacefully in the lioness’s paws. Her heart was heavy, knowing how little time she had for her daughter during a crisis, and how much she wished to curl up with the girl and her sister for a few hours, before her duty called her out again. “Whatever you decide upon, please give me a heads up, so I can keep her from following you” Shaye said softly, knowing her daughter.

Cannival Cannival listened carefully as the alpha spoke. It was likely a figment of her imagination, but Shaye seemed to be trying awfully hard to get her to stay. Her reason was so clearly said in her words. Her pack was about to come into hard times, Cannival had no idea as to the injuries the wolves sustained but if Shaye was so worried, there must be many members temporarily out of commission. The question though, was whether she wanted Cannival around because she had proven herself to be a member of the Abaven family and that it was what was best for her, or if what Shaye spoke was true and she did not want to lose the lioness who could help them through the sparse hunting season. It made sense, at least. Wolves needed to hunt in packs to take down big game, whereas Cannival had taken down many large herbivores alone. Suddenly, the lioness felt very used. "Your hunters, they're injured then?" She tried to keep her whisper nonchalant, looking up to meet Shaye's gaze for any sign of manipulation. "I eat more then a wolf does, doesn't that concern you when you consider your dwindling supply of prey? Is it really worth it to you to keep me here when I can hunt just enough to keep myself fed?" Cannival did not mention that her own leg was still injured. She felt the shock within her bone each time she moved, but did her best to hide it. It went unnoticed easily, as she didn't get many visitors. It was easy to suffer in silence for most of her day, and when Motif came to see her she barely could feel the pain beneath the pup's infectious grin. It had occurred to her that if she decided to leave, Motif may try to follow. She had though long and hard about how to convince her to stay, but short of scaring the pup she had come up with no solution. Shaye seemed too busy to keep a watchful eye on her children, and even if she kept her locked away in a den somewhere the day Cannival chose to leave, that didn't mean that Motif wouldn't come looking for her when the opportunity arose- which it eventually, of course, would. "You.""Think.""Speech"

Shaye nodded her head at the question, missing the accusation in the lioness’s voice. “Some of them are, yes, and some of them aren’t. The dynamics for the hunting group will change for a while, and they’ll have an interesting time scouting out new herds.” she explained truthfully to the lioness. The lioness pointed out that she ate more than a wolf, and asked how Shaye felt about that. The Alpha looked ten years older as she looked to the lion, the mask she wore in front of the majority of her wolves slipped away to show the stress beneath. “No, because we will find a way, i’m thinking of heading to Kesali and begging some hunters and healer supplies from them. Abaven is about working together as a team, supporting each other, and finding a way. If you can hunt, I would ask you to help us there, if you know herbs, I would ask you help us to gather or check on the wounded. If you can not do either, then I would ask you sit in the heart of Abaven and look after our children in return, we would feed you, and offer you supplies. I only ask that you find a task that you can do“ she let her breath out in a sigh, half thoughtful, half worried. “I promised you sanctuary in Abaven, and I have failed you there. Now, in this time of chaos, when I see that you have the heart of a wolf, I ask if you would join us fully in our family and work together with us to rebuild. If you choose not to, then I can not afford to feed and house you, through you can stay in Abaven lands for a time if you feed yourself. I will not kick you out.” The Alpha explained, offering every last thing she could to the lion who had saved her daughter's life. She would make it work, and she hoped the lion stayed, but she wished times where better, and she could offer the lioness more. “It’s a poor reward for saving my child” she said, and plucked a feather she had tucked behind her favoured blue one, this was black with a hint of white, like her child. “I can only give you this, and promise that one day, you can ask a favour of me, and if I can fulfil it without hurting the wolves under my care, I will.” "Talk" "You" Think

Cannival A flood of mixed feelings fell over the lioness then, and she grew very ashamed as the alpha opened up to her of her worries. She had not had much time to talk to Shaye since she had first been put up for probation, but at some point she had made her out to be the villain- the leader of the pack who refused to trust and accept a lioness. It was very difficult to keep up this line of thinking, however, when her kindness was thrust before her so blatantly. "I will do what I can to help." Cannival said after lull in the alpha's speech. "I'd like to be considered a healer one day, so possibly there will be opportunities to learn with so many injured." She'd never turn down a chance to tend to the children, either. Her attention fell back to Motif for a moment as she pictured her future with these wolves. Yes, she could be persuaded to stay. Not just for Shaye and the Abaven wolves, but to watch her best friend to grow and thrive. As Shaye finished, Cannival's gaze shifted to the feather that she had pulled from behind her ear. It was truly beautiful, and the lioness recognized it's colors even in the low-light to be those of her tiny friend Motif. "Thank you." Her reply was heartfelt, and she wanted to take the feather to protect forever. She dared not move her paws however, as the slightest shift in her position could cause the pup to suddenly wake. Instead, she turned and lowered her head to present it to the wolf. "Could you put it there for me, behind my ear, like yours?" She asked, voice softened considerably with emotion. "You.""Think.""Speech"

"I can set you up as a healers assistant, I'm sure theyll appreciate the help" Shaye decided, hearing the lions interest in learning. "I was a healer before I was an alpha and I'll be among the injured any time I can, so feel free to come to me with questions" the Alpha explained, looking down at her daughter again as she spoke. She looked so peaceful, even when little frown lines appeared on her forehead, like her dreams had her lost in thought.

Cannival gratefully accepted the feather, and Shaye gave a very soft chuckle as she realised the lions predicament. "Of course" she agreed, as she leaned forward and gently tucked the feather behind the lions ear, presuming much as she gave the lion a fond lick on the forehead, and sneaking one onto Motifs sleeping expression as well, before pulling back. "Well, I think you could both do with some sleep, I'll be in our den if she wakes up looking for me" Shaye said. She was utterly exhausted, even if she was holding it back for the pleasure of the company and conversation. "Remember, all of Abaven is open to you now" she clarified, before giving them a parting smile, and turning to head to her much needed sleep
-exit shaye?-

Cannival One moment, the alpha was speaking of getting Cannival set up with a healer to learn from, and the next she was licking her forehead. The lioness was taken aback by the show of kindness, and took the opportunity to display her absolute confusion and shock as Shaye bent to place one upon Motif as well. As she pulled back, Cannival made sure that her expression returned to one more respectable. "Yes, I'll let her know where to find you." She said with a heavy blink as the alpha turned to leave. Shaye wasn't done yet, however, and once more she paused to be sure Cannival knew her probation was lifted and she could wander freely. The lioness was very glad to hear it, and as she settled her head down beside Motif she hoped to dream of all the adventures the two of them could find out away from the thicket. -also exit? via sleeps- "You.""Think.""Speech"