Come Softly, Come Swiftly

Kavdaya had been nipping sprigs of water mint when the soft song rolled through the Estuary. Of the wolves that had been inhabiting the Plains, she knew. They were young Zuriel's family. The girl was an apt mind, and it was during their talk, that some of the connections between Kavdaya and herself had begun to become clear; Erani. That one name had been like a legend among the Nomads. The Heir to The Redwoods, grand-daughter of Briena, daughter of Aoibhinn, who was lost in the massacre of the Redwood pack. No one had known where she had gone; her brother Cormalin had been near death when the Nomads had entered the clearing for their annual visit and found the pack in ruins. All that the Elders and assigned healers had been able to get from him at first was that he'd told her to run, and she had, and that was the last thing he had seen of her.

Kavdaya hadn't been born at that time. But she hadn't needed to be. It had become a sort of custom to stand in silence on the day the Redwoods had fallen, as a gesture of respect, and to tell the healers who decided to go on alone to other lands and other packs to spread their knowledge, or gain new knowledge, to keep an eye out for the lost Erani. Kavdaya held that missive particularly close. Erani was her distant cousin, through Alorek's line. Blood. Family. It finally made sense why the scents of these wolves were so familiar. They were Erani's descendents; her children, her line. And at least one of them had kept the interest in healing alive. So Kavdaya turned and followed the call, watermint still carried in her jaws, until she came to the small, still growing group of wolves.

The silver and black timber marked female sitting at the head of the group was easily picked out as the leader, Surreal. The massive male beside her... Kav felt her breath catch momentarily in her throat. He was the spitting image of the late Briena. Kavdaya's memories of the great Elder of the Nomads were fizzy; Briena had passed on during Kavdaya's puphood. Nodding to the other wolves, Kavdaya approached Surreal, dipping her head, allowing the mark upon her brow to show clearly as she announced herself to the silver woman. "I am Kavdaya of the Nomads. I would like to settle with you, if you don't mind?" Her eyes lifted to meet the mismatched eyes. There was a nod of acquiescence. She knew Surreal would want to speak afterward, so, she took a seat at the back of the group to see what would follow.

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think