Fore dated to the 17th

Word Count → 446

Neela dropped the deer down by its mate with a grunt, eyeing the knife wound in its spine with a small woof of satisfaction as she remembered the kill. Neela had been scouting around near the Wentworth Valley area for some last minute hunting and had come across two deer grazing together. Two lucky knife throws later had seen what was looking to be a short rations voyage turn into a well stocked one.

Neela was leaving the pack shortly to travel south to Halifax, a trip that would take just over two weeks and hopefully give the collie time to sort out her muddled thoughts and remedy her restlessness and nightmares through the best medicine that she knew, action and exploring. She was currently standing on the shoreline near the sight of her kills, the Meria roped up in the river nearby with a plank extending down to the shore; Neela had determined that it would be quicker to sail the Meria up and collect the deer that way rather than make two trips down with them.

Neela loaded the deer onto the ship whole and tied the bodies down. Processing and treating her kills would give her something to do once she hit open seas and with the rest of the ship having been fully stocked for the voyage beforehand at her dock she had little to do before she set off.

However something stayed her hand from the four ropes currently holding the Meria in place against the surrounding trees. There was an old superstition among the sailors of her old home that a boat which left port for an extended time without its crew properly bidding the port farewell would never return to that port. While Neela no longer lived in that village the superstition still niggled at her mind, and she definitely intended to return to Ichika. While her outlook, and appearance for that matter, had largely improved since her breakdown with Jace Neela still longed to leave for the journey, though it was more because she knew the experience would help her than some alcohol and insomnia induced delusion that Ichika was somehow causing her nightmares

Stepping to the side of the boat closest to the riverbank Neela lifted her head to the air and let loose a long, lilting howl; one of the few true wolf howls that she regularly used. The howl was long lived and was tinged with hints of farewell and sadness at leaving, drawn from Neela's feelings at the thought of never returning to Ichika..

Satisfied that she had warded away misfortune Neela began to busy herself making the ship ready to set off.