Erani

Erani padded along the side of a small river, tail swaying, belly swaying, and occasionally rippling as the pups in her womb writhed into different positions. The sky was cloudy, but no rain fell to dampen the earth or herself. She held in her jaws an assortment of herbs, having been gathering since early this morning. Life was happy, for the most part. However, she now knew that Neo would be being forced back to Valhalla soon. She knew hell would be down the path, and felt a pang of worry for her unborn litter. The talk with Chrysanthe had been very helpful, but it also made her wish Chrysanthe was a pup again, so that she could tell her to stay in the pack land. Gideon. The name made her jowls lift to expose her canines. If that male ever came near Chrysanthe? She realized that she was growling, low in her throat in chest, and let it go with a sighed gruff. She only hoped that Chrysanthe would stay away from that male. She sensed a bad feeling toward that direction. Epiphron and her mystery beau Maverick. Erani longed to meet this young male who had Epiphron in such a dream state. She?d been watching the young female who she considered a daughter, and whenever the lass thought she was alone, could see her mind venturing off elsewhere. However, in the last couple of days, Erani?d noticed Syrinx looking agitated over something. And on the day that Epiphron had snuck out to meet her secret beau, Erani?d seen Syrinx slip off after her. They?d returned some time later, and Syrinx had departed soon after. Erani turned and gazed into the clear, flowing deep water of the river. One could see straight to the bottom in the center. Fish undulated in the currents, sides gleaming and flashing under a momentary break in the clouds. It was a peaceful day. Cormalin was resting, she hoped, after a severe scolding after he?d come home bruised and his rump bloody. She?d patched him up, scolding all the while, while he kept the same abashed, innocent look of a brother that?s been thoroughly chewed out by the younger sibling that he adores with all his heart. Erani stretched out on the shore, watching the water sparkle. It was peaceful. But peace never lasts.

Walk | Talk | Think

Her previous day outside the territory had been well spent wandering the lands closest to the Valhalla in the west and had made it that much easier to return that afternoon. Having fully taken advantage of the good turn in the weather, Ash had spent a peaceful night inside of her den, uninterrupted by the loud rumble or thunder or the sudden crack of lightning, and woke feeling much more refreshed and energized than she had during the nights of the storm. Morning had dawned dim and grey, but it was still better than wet and muddy, and needing to make up for lost time she set out bright and early into the forest.

She had wandered purposefully and silently away from her chosen den, further out away from the center of camp in search of prey that she might make note of to bring back to Thane later that afternoon, whenever she might catch up with him again. Surely he was doing the same, or something similar, preparing for the hunt they would have to go on in order to catch now what they could not during the storm. And not wanting to disappoint, Ashstoreth was certain any help she could provide would have been appreciated and noted by the Lead Hunter when they did get around to meeting again.

Her efforts had only been partially lucky this time around, finding an area where a small herd had been grazing and then had moved on. Ashtoreth made notes to herself of the location of the clearing she had found, hoping to return with Thane when they got to hunting, and set off again, not entirely satisfied with her find but settling for it nonetheless. The sounds of the wildlife of the forest called and sang about her, a variable background noise to her meanderings, and eventually they were joined by the trickle and rush of a running river. Her dainty paws carried her closer, drawn to the sound, and eventually she came upon the bright and crisp waters, rolling steadily along but gentle and pristine enough that the river bed was still visible beneath the rippling surface. She paused at its edge, setting her grey and white forepaws into it as she took a swift drink, and then charted a course along its side to run parallel beside it for a while.

It was with surprise that she stumbled upon another. Lying on the same side of the river that she walked, the white wolf seemed peaceful and content, possibly just enjoying one of the first dry days they had managed to get in what felt like an eternity. Still sticking to her chosen path, Ashtoreth approached the resting figure quietly, her tail swaying in a friendly greeting before she was close enough to speak. She made a noise as she came closer, not wanting to entirely spook the wolf with her presence, and smiled brightly across the decreasing distance. "Hello," she greeted, the little grey wolf's skipping gait slowing to a leisurely stroll before she stopped before the other white wolf, tilting her head a little up at their cloudy sky. "So nice to not be soaked the second you leave your den, isn't it? I thought for sure we'd have some flooding after that."

Lowering her head and turning her rounded, smiling features on the blue-eyed wolf, she figured the practical introductions were next in order. "I'm Ashtoreth." She smiled friendly, hoping the other stranger would be just as open to conversation as she felt. It was not often that she got to speak with others of her pack - Thane hardly counted as he was her superior and Leon was...well, Leon - and she was eager to make more friends.