Walking the Edge

Walk | Talk | Think

To say Ashtoreth had only been affected by her encounter with the violent stranger in the form of her injured leg would have been an outright lie. He had left other scars, ones invisible to the eye, unseen but felt strongly at times by the she-wolf.

Now was one of those times. The sound of the gentle chuff, meant only as a greeting and announcement, nothing more, caused her to stop walking the second she heard it and to lift her head with a pointed, guarded stare at its source. She was tense, justifiably wary, at least until she recognized the wolf as a well known friend. Her body eased, her muscles relaxed, and she sighed inaudibly as she allowed her rigid tail to wag with a few gentle sways behind her. Thane. Immediately the sight of her superior left a feeling of guilt behind, knowing full well she should have come to him straight away about her injury and inform him of the time she would need to recover. Embarrassment had stopped her, however. The circumstances behind the injury were not ones that she was proud of, nor did she want to flaunt her poor judgment. But it was probably well overdue that she spoke with him, openly and honestly.

The course she wound upon the edge of the ravine brought her closer to the male, carefully picking a path while her ears perked and listened to his raised voice ask of her condition. Sheepishly, the she-wolf's ears fell back against her head, a thin, embarrassed smile stretching across her face. "I've been better," Ashtoreth answered, attempting at her usual good humor. It felt good to pretend, just for a moment, that she was her same old self, to ignore her injury and act as if nothing was wrong. But as she came close enough to speak casually with the Lead Hunter and her steps stilled to allow her to stand in his company she knew now was not the time for jokes.

It was time for an apology. "I'm sorry I didn't come to tell you about this sooner," she responded, her head and gaze lowered guiltily. "I was upset by my foolishness and let it draw me away from my responsibility. That's no excuse, but..." In no way did she enjoy having to admit to shortcomings, to anyone let alone someone that she was supposed to work very closely with on a regular basis, held such a respect for, and especially because she took such pride in her own work. Unsure of how else she might continue, Ashtoreth raised her head enough to peer upward at Thane wonderingly, hoping that his earlier friendly tone might hold promise that he didn't hold her actions against her too harshly.