I'm Not a Cynic

Ellery could see her sibling’s body relaxing and felt herself relax as well, glad she’d managed to defuse the anxious mess that was Clouse Hervok-Archer. His teary grey gaze finally met hers and she did her best to soften her expression, though it may have come out a little awkward. No doubt Clouse would understand this, though. Her auds strained forward as he spoke, providing him her undivided attention. The things he mentioned she’d felt as well. The Dell wasn’t her home, it felt like nothing could tear part of her soul away from Vigil’s Keep where she’d been born. She still dreamed of the towering stone passageways and the warm, packed caves filled to the brim with the wolves she loved. But, it didn’t mean she’d long ago accepted their return to reclaim what was theirs was a fading pipe dream.

”Yeah, the Dell honestly isn’t my favorite place either. Those three old bats--ah, I mean your grandmother and her sisters, run it a bit...odd for my taste.” Ellery had been raised on the notion of Ancestors, the souls of the one’s departed family, and their influence over one’s life. Her mother had taught it to her, having learned it from her teacher Veho, and being as family centered as she was, the Hervok woman had stuck to it like glue. It felt solid and real, not like the teachings about a so-called ‘Moon Mother’.

”I’ve tried convincing Mother to let us find somewhere else, somewhere to call our own, but she wanted to let you guys get a little older first and at least experience your first winter before we packed up and jumped ship. So, I can’t say I blame you for wanting to leave,” she added, her tail swishing behind her voluptuous frame. But, that was probably where their similarities ended. Ellery had essentially had to be shoved away by Nineva to get her to strike out, not that she didn’t want to find her brother, but because her sense of duty to her mother and the rest of their family had outweighed her sense of adventure. The Hervok matriarch had told Elle that she needed time away from them, to see the world without them around, and while she didn’t agree, she wouldn’t say no to the silver woman.

”Have they been treating you okay? Well, Scully at least. Not so worried about Avella, but Scull tends to attract trouble like bees to honey,” she asked, finally taking the time to rake her persian gaze over her sibling’s body for signs of injury.