Lead by Curiosity

While Ethne has joyfully welcomed new wolves into their fold, there is still a somber task that they have to perform. It is a bright spring morning when Haydée walks out to where her father’s grave is, in a beautiful section of the land, surrounded by flowers and shaded by old trees, and begins to stake out an area next to Gavoroche for where they will lay Baecette to rest. This is a heavy task and one that the small Leader has taken upon herself because she owes it to her sister and to sweet nephew that will never see another sunrise, to make sure certain that his final resting place is comfortable and ready.

With a grief-ridden heart, the small woman begins to paw at the earth, scraping her claws across the soft soil as she then cups them to pull the earth toward and she slowly begins to dig. Haydée’s features are tinged with melancholy and the weight of this final task that only she can offer her nephew, is apparent by the way her small shoulders sag inward. Slowly, the dirt begins to pile up and she moves it off to the side where it will be out of the way as the minutes slowly turn into hours. Mind turns inward, reflecting on this terrible loss and what it means for the entire pack while she loses herself in the calmness that comes from the simple repetitive chore.

The russet woman is so lost in her task and her own internal monologue that she completely misses the approach of Eltrys and, as his low baritones fill the air, she violently starts. Emerald eyes snap up to catch the man’s artic blue gaze as she blinks herself out of the half-stupor she had been in and offers the earthen-hued male a small, sheepish smile. Pausing in her task, the small woman sits back, resting on her haunches for a moment as she gently says, “Please. Call me Hay.” A warm, though sorrowful smile, fleetingly pulls at her lips before she blows out a small sigh.

Lifting a paw to point to the small gravestone next to the marked off area, her green gaze roves over to the other grave beside where she digging and says, “This… is Ethne’s graveyard. That is… where my father lays.” Voice is halting as she admits the heavy truth that this beautiful yet memory-laden area holds. Gaze tracks back over to the man, sorrow swirls in her green eyes as she explains, “When we came back from our last raid, we found out that one of my nephews had unexpectedly passed away. He had been sick for some time and…”

Words trail off as a shoulder lifts in a half-hearted shrug and she suddenly wonders if Baecette was only able to pass because his parents hadn’t been here. Maybe the boy had simply been clinging to life for as long as he had, for their sake. Looking down to take in her dirty paws and the stake off area, she quietly says, “I am digging his gave so that the scavengers will not reach him… and so that his body may be put to rest.” Because, even though it is small, it is the last gift Haydée can give to Baecette.



"Haydée Kedieo"