Hope and Despair
11-06-2013, 02:46 AM
|
Walk | Talk | Think Staring out across the waters, still lost in thought, Mercianne drew in a breath and with it came a familiar scent. It was not the one she sought - in truth she did not expect to find her daughter so easily and unexpectedly - though the effect it had on her was soothing. It seemed almost overnight that Knight Cloud had become a permanent fixture in her life, quietly slipping into it and making a place for himself there. He had helped her during their first meeting, slowly peeling away her defenses until she had opened up to him about her family and even went out of his way to assist her in catching a meal so that she could return to them swiftly. Since then he had been sticking close to the Cove and helping her with the children, acting as something like a mentor to them and even providing a sense of stability that she had grown to cling to. She tried not to think too deeply about the growing sense of need she felt with him, the desire to keep him close by for longer than he typically stayed, fearful of what those assessments might reveal, but there was still no denying that she felt better having him around. With a calming exhale, the creamy white wolf turned her head to glance at the male as he approached the last few steps, her expression soft though unsmiling. He hardly seemed in any better state than she did, visibly weighed down by whatever it was that was obviously bothering him considerably. She could not quite determine what that might have been, even with all the help he had been selflessly offering her, though his apology seemed to reveal a little of it. He was sad for her. For the loss she had suffered and continued to suffer, the painful lack of knowing in what state her daughter was in and where she could be found. Again, he was being selfless, and though having him inadvertently remind her of what she already knew was somewhat painful she managed to draw her expression into a half-hearted, somewhat bittersweet smile before it quickly smoothed away under a worrisome frown. I'm sorry too. On a sudden impulse, she stepped forward with the intention of butting her head with gentle gratitude against Knight's shoulder, though it changed somewhere halfway through the gesture into an impromptu nuzzle as she lingered there. "Thank you for being here," she murmured softly into his mottled brown fur, dark brown eyes closing in a moment of stolen peace. It had been suspected during their initial meeting that their seemingly accidental acquaintanceship had been set in motion by an unseen hand; in that moment she was inclined to believe that he had been placed in her life to help her get through this painful and exhausting ordeal. All the other sources of stability, all the others that she had once depended on, had vanished. Only he remained. But that seemed like a heavy burden to reveal to him on top of knowing that Kestrel was alone and missing somewhere out in the world, and so Merci kept it to herself, drawing herself with reluctance away from his shoulder so that she could stand on her own before him again and meet his green eyes. "I feel like we should be getting close now." Her words were as much a statement as a question seeking assurance, and revolved around her missing daughter despite their ambiguity. She did not feel certain of anything anymore. But her family was far too important to her to simply abandon her searching, regardless of her own rational thoughts that stemmed from her situation. |