ooc:
It was becoming terribly apparent to the she-wolf just how horrid she was at finding the words to express how she felt. Even to simply convey a deep gratitude, she was at a loss of words and was left gaping like a starved fish as she scrounged her limited compendium in vain for the right words so tell her meaning. She was both blessed and cursed by growing up in a culture that spoke through gesture and expression rather than articulated word. A look could bestowed a more profound meaning than a series of words alone, but when she felt this was the norm, to speak one's intentions... she always found herself at an embarrassing loss.
"I...dont think you understand..." she tried to explain, wanting desperately for him to better understand what she meant. "Preparing... as in... finding this place for us to stake our claim... readying it for us to make a home...I.... I suppose is what I meant." Truly, she was terrible when it came to expressing her own feelings, even when it came to her love for Saluce, rarely did she say those words to him but instead found ways to show her faithful love for him. To teach and to guide she could use her words, but in the matter of herself and what she felt within, her strong voice never ceased to falter.
Willingly she fell back into the comfortable silence, letting her heavy footfalls speak as the answer to his suggestion. They walked on under the cool night with the pale glow of the starlit sky guiding them through the fragrant grasses. Her nose was tickled by the strange, yet alluring scent that reminded her fondly of the greens of home that grew beneath the shadow of the Northern mountain. In a strange sense, this new realm reminded her of the homeland often dreamed of. And each time her eyes laid upon a new spot of land, she expected to see the decor of a Nomad family, proudly displayed for the eye to see. The tanned hides of the Evan'ules, the treasured tails and skulls of the Exultare, the fragrant flora and skillfully woven trinkets of the Marecks... the beautiful songs of the Lamndas as they praised the ancestors for granting the pack its life.
"...the most beautiful..." caught in the fading wisps of a waking dream, she sighed dreamily as she strolled down the paths of her seasons journey, recalling the sights that had stolen her breath and left her to bask in the awe of their natural splendor. She had walked upon different ground and had seen many different places... but her heart would forever see the captivating face of the Northern mountain as more beautiful than any. "The mountain where I was born..." she said at last, bounding effortlessly over the lying log and falling again into a measured stride. "Touched by the ice and snow, just a little at its peak in the beginning of Spring, but its covered face in the Winter is so beautiful. In the night the stars would play atop the ice, dancing happily as their light made the mountain come alive as if it were smiling. And in the morning the sun would set it alight with a docile flame that shined more brilliantly than the sun, and as if in envy, the sun would climb and force its light to burn brighter... but in effect would only make the mountain more beautiful."
Releasing the breath of longing, she turned her gaze to the mountain. "I hope that in time I will see such a light on this face as well..." But for now, it appeared only as a dream... a wish. But certainly not a lost one. Returning her gaze to the path ahead, her ears drew forward to the gentle trickle of water. As they drew nearer with the scent of the lake at last gracing her nose, her pace quickened from its leisurely stroll to a curious bound as her eagerness to behold the treasure began to grow. It was silly, she knew, but could not resist the feelings that swelled. Taken but a youthful wonder, she took the hand of her dear friend and led him across the shallow bank to the water's edge.
The surface was calm and as black as the night, moving only as the gentle wind stirred it to lap lightly against the grained shores. Amidst the delicate lapping thundered the pounding rhythm of her heart in her ears, overworking itself as the awe-struck woman dare not breathe in fear of disturbing this tranquility. She looked out from the shallows of the lake to its inky, dark center but was again drawn to marvel at the light that played atop it. A reflection of the sky, she could see the stars in the lake and the waning face of the moon as it fawned over its own brilliance. A clear, perfect reflection... a heaven found upon the earth.