Spell-check spell-check >.> Also, I'm assuming Saphrina's a grey color, since your profile doesn't state otherwise...?

It was just two days before her departure, and Ralla's nerves were frayed from the preparations. Not only was she leaving behind her pack, she was leaving behind its safety and her newly adopted kin. Concerning newly adopted kin, she had been so anxious about Saphrina--she had been pacing in her hut some time before, this being uncharacertistic of the normally calm wolfess--and had decided to walk to the Town Hall to see her. It had been the Town Hall where Saphrina had remained for the time being, since it was easily accessible by a small pup in lupus form and where others could easily reach her. Ralla spent a lot of her time there in the days before, but she had also been preparing her hut for her long absence. Strolling along to the building, she stopped for a second when she heard the cry of terror, distinctivly a pup's. Saphrina! In a heartbeat she was racing off the rest of the way, terrified of what had caused the scream.

Bursting through the door, she saw no intruder or threat, but she did see the small child wailing on her cot, thrashing. Ralla hurried over and knelt, reaching out her hands to cup the pup's cheek and hold her side, trying to keep her from her thrashing. It amazed the white wolfess how small she was; the woman's two hands seemed to almost engulf the grey pup as she gently shook the crying child. "Saphrina!" she whispered, trying to coax the girl out of sleep. It was unwise to wake a pup forcefully, but rather it was best to try and pull them from their dreams. Moon knew if one was ever pulled from a dream that a part of their spirit would be rendered and left behind. "Wake up, little one. What's wrong?" But Ralla could only guess; those scars that marred the pup told a story of their own, and the nightmares themselves spoke in volumes.

Moon walks. "Moon talks." Moon thinks.

Would you like Kemo to join this thread? Technically, he's the 'daddy', since he and Ralla are almost to mate stage :3

Ralla picked Saphrina up and cradled her, coddling her to her downy-fluff chest comfortingly. She had cried only so hard once--the other times not really counting in passion--when she had learned that her own mother was gone forever. There's never anything as cruel or painful as losing a loved one... "Ayasha's off somewhere nearby; perhaps Chief Dawali's, or with Sakari."

Saphrina then wiggled down to stand in Ralla's lap, relaxation coming over her features as the girl began to display normal puppyhood signs, although she still had the aura of nervousness and sadness. When she called her "Mommy," Ralla's thought process ceased for a moment in sheer shock before registering that she was the 'mommy'. Which would technically mean that Kemo was the father...? That itself made the blush-prone wolfess flush in the cheeks, although she turned her attentions back to her newly adopted daughter. If one ever needed an example of a shot-in-the-dark decision, it would be how quickly Ralla had decided to take on two pups (and at such bad timing as well...).

She laughed a little as she placed Saphrina back on the cot and stood. "That's good; you need to get your strength back. Stay there for a moment," she said, walking to the back of the Town Hall where most of the storage was kept. She was looking for something a pup could eat easily--which was hard to find, since most dried and preserved foods were tough and hard to chew--but she found some ground corn that she could boil with dried fish. It would make a sort of plain stew, but it had enough nutrients that it could sustain the child. Humming softly she set a cast-iron pot overtop the Town Hall hearth fire and began to cook for Saphrina, melting snow from outside as the water. The pot had seen better days, but it served its purpose. "Saphrina," she said with a hint of seriousness tinting her voice, "you know that if you ever have a bad dream, you can talk about it, right? It's bad to keep scary things in." She would not pressure her any more than that, since the two were virtual strangers and it was up to Saphrina in the end, after all.

Moon walks. "Moon talks." Moon thinks.

LAAATTTEEEE DX

With a grin she watched as the pup did as most pups were especially good at--being cute--momentarilly forgetting the fright Saphrina had had. But with a few more stirs to the pot Ralla ceased the stirring and feeding of the tinder to let the contents simmer for a few minutes, rising from her crouching position to walk over to Saphrina as she told her story. The mere thought that a father could tell his child that she was a bad omen was terrible enough; she had heard many similar stories. Where Ralla was born, it was never up to the parents to tell their family such things; it was the Shaman's; what was supposed to be her duty to do. And in the end, Ralla had already carried out such duties in AniWaya and Nova Scotia; telling Alaine of her miscarriage, Ember's pups... It all seemed to center on children and death. For reasons she could not fathom, the Great Spirits and moon did not often send her good omens. Maybe because, when the good things come, they are all the more happy for being a surprise? She would have to be satisfied with the explanation, for there was no other to tell her other than the sources of her visions, and they had already proven silent to anything they did not wish to share.

She wondered if Saphrina knew the full magnitude and meaning of half the words she said. They were all so violent--far beyond what a pup her age should even say--and it made Ralla's stomach twist in sickness at the warped nature of her biological father. Close to tears, Saphrina looked as helpless as Ralla had first seen her on the night she had her terrible nightmare. She went over and cupped Saphrina's cheeks, smiling, looking into her good eye with her two forest green ones. "Of course not," she cooed to Saphrina, petting her head in soothing strokes. "I and no one here would ever hurt you. There's nothing to fear anymore." In Saphrina Ralla saw much; pain, innocence, longing, and a power. Each and every wolf had power, but what it was shaped into was difficult to tell until they themselves at least had an inkling to it as well. Still so young, Saphrina was unreadable in that particular aspect, although all else was laid bare in her unguarded virtue. She could smell the stew vividly now--or, rather, more so than before--and she could hear Saphrina's stomach growl in protest to not having yet been fed. She giggled at the sound and went to fetch a bowl for Saphrina to eat from, finding one and scooping the stew into it, blowing over it gently so she wouldn't burn her tongue. Likewise she did the same for herself, although Ralla sipped at it instead of ate like Saphrina had to in her lupus form.

Moon walks. "Moon talks." Moon thinks.

Ralla's ears were the first to pick up on an intrusion. She turned from her spot in front of Saphrina, straightening to better greet whoever had entered. She was not particularily irked by the disturbance, but rather worried more for Saphrina. I just hope she doesn't get frightened or upset that someone else is seeing her distraught, she thought. The stew was still steaming in Ralla's hand and she set it down to properly address the newcomer. "Hello," she said evenly back to the new girl's shy voice. She might've been friendlier had the shewolf not been staring so intently on her adoptive daughter, but because of the staring she felt a little more protective, perhaps moreso because of Saphrina's admission.

"Shiloh, my name is Ralla," the white wolfess said in response, a warm smile coming onto her face. She had met a girl much like Shiloh a while back--Pepper was her name--and she had been quite timid. But Shiloh almost spilled her heart right there that it took Ralla aback for a moment; most didn't share such a thought so freely. So placed into an awkward state, Ralla was a little hesitant to nod when Saphrina jumped down and looked to her. Not that she could control the pup, but...instincts were instincts, even if they were quite plain in the Shiloh posed no threat. She watched as Saphrina went over to scent Shiloh, sighing with a bit of relief as the child displayed some return to behavioral normalcy. At least she doesn't dwell long on those horrible dreams. All was going well--Shiloh was treating Saphrina with care, playing with her quite nicely--just a moment before Saphrina bit her hand. "Saphrina!" Ralla exclaimed, stepping forward to try and take Saphrina from the girl's hand. "I'm sorry Shiloh, she's...hungry," she said with a bit of a frown, at a loss for much of an explanation. "Saphrina, other wolves aren't dinner," she admonished quietly, setting the pup back down in front of her own bowl of stew. Turning over her shoulder, she gave a concerned glance to Shiloh. Saphrina's teeth were yet too small to puncture, but the shewolf's pride or affections might've been more hurt than her flesh. "Would you like a bowl of stew as well? The two of us can't finish the whole pot, I'm afraid."

Moon walks. "Moon talks." Moon thinks.[