Another attempt at an Apology

Walk | Talk | Think

A new find had been made that morning, and Callisto was currently making good on it. Valerian root, as she recalled, had played an important role to the lives of many Ebony wolves - herself included - when she had still be a part of them. It, along with two other plants, had staved off the effects of the epidemic that had been going around, and because of it and the quick acting of her pack mates she and countless others had been saved from the debilitating effects. Because of its importance, she had wasted no time in attempting to harvest the roots, carefully digging around them in order to expose a piece that she could remove and take back to her den for safe keeping.

Off to the side, her unwanted cat companion "supervised." The feline sat patiently with a curious but wandering stare, occasionally adding a helpful comment about the direction Callisto was moving in relation to the roots to ensure she made as little damage to them as possible. Even though she thought she was doing a fairly decent job of assisting - even if some of her remarks were not worded in the most supportive of ways - her mistress did not appear to agree and continued to throw irritable looks her way whenever another bit of helpful advice was offered. Not in a mood for conflict herself, the cat fell silent instead, and remained that way while Callisto worked, watching and observing but letting her attention drift when she felt the need to speak up again. At least this time she was keeping to the task at hand and not bringing up other topics that she knew riled up the black and grey healer quickly and easily.

Though as she sat there, her attention wandering yet again, the black cat realized she would not be the one to rile up her mistress today. That honor belonged to their unexpected guest. As her golden eyes spotted the black wolf with captivating blue eyes, she made only a slight noise before rising to her paws and very pointedly turning to leave, offering no excuse or reasons for her actions as she quickly disappeared into the thick vegetation.

In the middle of digging, Callisto only paused for a second as her companion made an unusual noise and then wandered away, her brow furrowing at the suddenness of the cat's actions but choosing not to give it further thought. She had plenty on her plate already just trying to get these roots up and out of the ground in one piece without needing to worry over what had made the cat run off. Better yet, maybe she should not question it at all and count it as a small blessing. She had not liked the cat anyway.

Only as she set back to digging in earnest, scooping up dirt and flinging it behind her, did she hear a familiar voice that caused the hairs on the back of her neck to rise as it spoke her name. Callisto froze, felt her body go unexpectedly cold, and thought then she understood the cat's actions. Mentally she cursed the feline, and though her thoughts whirled in confusion and dislike for the situation she now found herself in, the thin healer stopped, straightened, and rigidly turned to face Maximous with a hard, wary stare. She felt caught between an inexplicable urge to charge him and scare him off or to run and seek a hiding place until he left again. Instead, she made herself ask, in a voice that was guarded and distrustful, "What are you doing here?"