Shelter

Walk | Talk | Think

Her assurances seemed to do the trick, and without a fuss Toprak curled up a little tighter on the floor of the cave and went quietly back to sleep. Mercianne smiled gently at her small victory, grateful to give her friend a break for a change. It was not often she was able to do things for others, though she was learning with her still new healing skills. At least in this way she had been able to help someone out, to do a kindness for them, and she was grateful to have been able to let him rest.

Turning her head, she rested it back upon the cave's floor and set her dark brown eyes on the entrance to the shallow shelter they had found, listening to the whistle of the wind and watching as the white of the flurries played across the dark backdrop of the night sky. It was mesmerizing and eerie, but not altogether unsettling. It was just another feature about the north that she had grown to accept. Just like the sometimes random dark spots that would appear through the snow when the weather had taken a turn like this.

But as the dark shape began to materialize and coalesce into a grey figure who practically filled up the small entrance to the cave, Merci realized what she had mistaken as a shadow was actually a wolf. Gargoyle stood before them, seemingly cursing his poor luck in taking shelter in an already full cave, and before he could take any real notice of who he had found she rose to her paws. Her head lowered with a timid smile, her tail wagging in an eager greeting behind her. "Gargoyle," she greeted, her quiet voice friendly if not surprised.

When he directed his attention toward her company, she sent a swift glance Toprak's way, hoping the presence of the rather intimidating-looking male had not startled him too much. "This is my friend, Toprak. We were visiting when the winds picked up, and this was the only place I could think to take shelter." It sounded like a weak explanation to bring a stranger to Glaciem territory to her own ears, particularly considering how tight security along the border had been of late due to unwanted attacks. But she hoped her own good standing with the pack, combined with Toprak's general friendliness, would appease any worries the Glaciem Chief had.