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The labor had begun two days ago, during the height of the thunderstorm. Aurèle had known it was coming, and been holed up in the small den in the high grounds. The pain had been immense, but not unfamiliar. Through this all, the crow had been with her—silent, but helpful. He had shown her where prey was, and acted as a hunting companion when she needed it. In those last days, when she could not hunt, he found her carcasses that kept her belly full.
Both children had been boys. One had the unique collar that his father had—both were a muddled white and gray, and she was certain that they would darken over time. She had cleaned them as instinct compelled her to do, and waited out the storm. On the second day, she had moved them back to her own den. They were there now, sleeping far in the back. The Aston woman sat outside, watching the storm clouds threaten to break, and waiting. She would no doubt need to hunt soon, but for now, she was content to enjoy the cool air.
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He'd noticed the increase of her scent around the place the day before this one, and now he sought what he knew to be her old den to see if it was his imagination playing tricks on him. Truth be told he had not really had much contact with her, but if she was the type to be very private, he did not want to invade. Now, of course, he just wanted to know if she was back, and perhaps why he hadn't seen her in some time. Her scent had dwindled, but not quite disappeared, and for him there was no telling the duration of her absence.
As he drew closer, scents of two younger ones gave away her reason to leave them. That phenomenon was something he didn't quite understand. Some females took comfort in being around others when giving birth, and some chose to be alone. As a medic, he always thought it was better to be around when such things happened, but it wasn't exactly up to him. A smile on his lips when she came into his view, Dawali was glad. She'd brought the tribe their second litter, looked good and well, and he was happy to see it all coming together.
"Welcome back, Aurèle. How are you doing?" His voice was warm and pleasant.
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She sensed rather then heard the red wolf approach. Aurèle turned her head and found the decorated male approaching her. Instinct immediately demanded she bristle, snap and snarl and send him away—this would have been characteristic of her regardless, but Dawali was her leader. This did not mean much to her, unfortunately. Even though she had been a member of the peculiar tribe for months she still saw little of the members and less of her own family. It had been a long while since she had seen her sister last.
Swallowing the urge to show aggression, the golden brushed woman smiled faintly. “Tired,” she answered honestly. “They were born two days ago. I just brought them back today. The trips wore me out.” There was no apparent loss of body mass, mostly because her fur hid the fact, but a certain lethargy lingered in her bones and her eyes were bloodshot. “I hope my absence didn’t cause too much of a problem.”
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He nodded as she spoke, and quickly offered his hand if she should need anything. As the chief of the tribe, it was the least he could do. It was his responsibility to see to it that this tribe worked, and if he did not care for its members, it would rot and die. And they were all his family now, whether they wanted to or not.
"I'll believe that. Look, if you need anything at all, don't be afraid to call. I helped out Tayui and I will help you as well, if you want it. We have stores of food in the stables, both fish and meat, so you won't have to worry about hunting unless you want to."
Silently, he wondered for a moment about these Aston girls and their fatherless litters, but he would save that question for another time. She was tired, obviously, and especially since he didn't know her well, he would not pry into that immediately. When she indirectly asked whether she had caused trouble by being absent, he automatically made a sound as if to dismiss the question entirely. If her absence had caused trouble? What a strange thing to ask. She'd brought them pups, and she should be proud. The rest of the tribe would be, when they heard. And Honoré and Tayui both would be once they heard the good news. Noir and her siblings would have someone to spend their time with as well. There were no cons to this happening, and it put a wide grin on his face.
"It is your right to give birth in privacy if you wish."
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[html] http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a329/ ... _raven.png); background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> I think that Dawali should explain what spirit guides are since she doesn't know. They should go have a cookout! Then we can make more people join us! :]
Certainly the offer of food was one that was welcomed. Aurèle knew that it would help keep her stomach full, but she also knew that her instinct would force her to find that rush. There was a reason that she so often kept the lupus form, living with her nomadic, feral instincts intact. “Thank you,” she said, smiling slightly. “I’ll likely make a trip there today.”
His smile, and general demeanor, was enough to make even typically stoic Aurèle smile widely. She was proud of the fact she had delivered them on her own. Proud not of their conception, but that they had been born healthy. That she had brought two sons into the world to continue her legacy. Now, she was immortal. The only thing that made her smile falter was the pied crow—it swooped out of the sky and landed on a nearby tree. Her eyes narrowed sharply, darkening a dangerous shade. Instinctive; the bird unnerved her because of his silence.
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[html] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/ ... itable.png); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> Yarrrr. What, now in this thread? :o
Word Count: 304
"The stored meats and fish are in the smaller box structure added to the stables." They both smiled, and Dawali concluded that perhaps she was not as reserved as he had previously thought. Maybe she was just one of those who took some time to warm up, and if that was the case.. well.. this would probably be a good time to warm up. He had done his part now, but he suspected there were others of the tribe that might want to get a look at the two new members of the tribe. Auréle had her sister and brother within the pack borders, too, and he was certain they would assist her with any need, whether she wanted them to or not. Honoré struck him as a person fond of children, even if his relationship with Noir seemed sometimes to be somewhat... strained.
As a crow swept down to settle in a nearby tree, it didn't take long for Dawali to understand that it was no normal bird. It moved differently, and for a trained eye a spirit guide could be easily distinguishable from any other creature. After all, their appearance was a chosen dress, a mask, a form to take to fit into the surroundings of the world. None had seen their true form, but somehow they sometimes chose forms that somehow reflected their persons. A halfway smile crept up in one of the corners of his mouth as he looked at it, but when his gaze returned to Auréle's he spotted a certain skepticism in its direction. Perhaps her aunt had more in common with her niece than Dawali had thought. Their guides were both male birds, and both females didn't quite like their guide. Assuming she had realized his role, he asked bluntly, "Do you know his name?"
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[html] http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a329/ ... _raven.png); background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> Yesum! Or maybe a new one from here and everyone can be like "horray you had puppies lady we never have met!"
The isolation and silence that Aurèle kept was not because she was reserved; it was mostly because she had a habit of saying too much and alienating people from herself. This was a fault of character. She had forgotten how to relate to people after three years on her own. Even her own sister, flesh and blood, was unable to really break through completely. A large part of this was Aurèle’s own doing. She loved Tayui, but she would never be able to forget all that had happened.
Perhaps, in some small way, she still blamed them. Dawali’s voice broke her concentration, and startled, her eyes widened slightly. As bright as they were, the surprise was apparent in them. “His name? I don’t even know why he’s still following me,” she nearly snapped, unable to mask the slight sound of annoyance at the question.
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[html] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/ ... itable.png); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> Your choice! I like long threads, but not everyone do :]
Let me know if you want me to add a section to this post and have Dawali suggest it, maybe? Or they could just build a fire and start cooking some piece of food, and other people smell it or something like that?
Her continued display of their strained relationship nearly made him chuckle. What, nobody had told her about this? Hadn't she noticed it in others? Well, perhaps not. Tayui had not yet met her spirit guide, though that was very understandable. She'd had a litter to focus on, after all. But if he was right thinking that Auréle was perhaps closest to her out of all of them, then it was not so strange that she had not thought of her link to the crow. Shooting the bird a smile, he looked back at the female, well aware that what he said might offend her. But, she would know better than to snap at her tribe leader, hopefully. His fears for the female rage had dwindled dramatically after his encounter with Brennt. He had greater things to fear than social exclusion. "He's not exactly following you, he's attempting to guide you. I believe that's your spirit guide there."
Taking a second look, he looked at the guide. The form it had chosen was the cousin of one considered a symbol of death and a bad omen. That species was not common around here, then again, neither was Auréle's kind. She was a strange female, and so was the bird, and its behavior towards her. All in all, it fit very nicely. "Go on, why don't you ask him his name? I'm sure he will answer, unless he's like my Gvihita. She didn't speak to me for a month, that one." His voice and demeanor was calm and gentle, but he could not help himself. Deeply within his eye a twinkle of humor was visible, and probably quite easy to catch if one paid attention to him at all.
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[html] http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a329/ ... _raven.png); background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> I'm good with either way! :]
Spirit guide. Her niece had spoken about that, but the concept had been brushed off as childhood banter. Something that her daft sister had told the children about, like she had when they were younger. Don’t you see, she’s right there? Aurèle had laughed and left her behind. Our aunt died, stupid! You must be crazy! Now, though, Aurèle knew why her sister had come here. She grunted, and her eyes finally turned back to the red wolf. Though she looked annoyed (and my, was she an expert at that), it was not entirely at her leader. His suggestion was as silly as any; even he seemed amused by the idea.
“The bird doesn’t talk,” she said flatly. “He hasn’t made any noise since he started following me.” And, as if to prove this point, the bird flew to another closer branch. Even though he did this, and even though he was regarding the red wolf curiously, no sound came from him. Lifting both brows while half-shutting her lids, the white wolf shot a sideways look at her superior. “So he’s supposed to guide me? To what, exactly?”
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[html] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/ ... itable.png); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> Sorry for the wait >_<
"horray you had puppies lady we never have met!"-time?
Word Count: 470
Auréle did not thaw to the bird, and her voice was anything but happy when she claimed it did not speak. Well then, it was another stubborn bird - right up Gvihita's alley. Or, perhaps he had not found a good excuse to speak with her yet, sometimes the guides chose to punish the wolves with tools much like a parent's. Any kid with an overly silent parent knows it's been doing something wrong. Dawali secretly guessed that it was acknowledgement the bird sought, but he chose not to voice this. Instead, he kept his gaze on it as it flew closer, amused. "They all know how to speak with us, but some choose not to. Perhaps there is a message in that for you - they have their own ways, trust me." He smiled, but tried to keep it on a polite level. The temptation of letting his amusement leak into that smile was strong, but he reminded himself that Auréle had just become a mother. Since nothing was as moody as a fresh mother, he kept it simple. Jokes would likely not go down well right now.
His gaze moved over to the femme in front of him, but flew for a split second back at the bird as she spoke. Guide her to what? Nothing at all, perhaps, or maybe life itself. He wasn't entirely certain, but for hundreds of years his people had enjoyed their company and wisdom. It should perhaps be enough in itself - although he could understand why she was not immediately thrilled. He had to remember that the concept was new to them, after all. "They don't guide you to anything in particular, I guess. But they help and support you through life. They provide trustworthy company when you need it the most. Pausing, he looked at the ground, knowing very well how valuable Gvihita had been to him. They grant you an outside view when your thoughts are turned inwards - keeps you in check and in balance.
His stomach growled, and with an embarrassed and wry grin he glanced at it before refreshing his usual face. Right, hunger. He'd forgotten about that. His head turned to the left as he glanced towards the path snaking itself through the landscape. It was more than likely that it ended up either in the village, or near the stables - and both places had food. "Are you hungry, Auréle? If you want, we could head to the stables and fetch something to eat, maybe set up the fire here?" He was more than happy to share a meal with her, and she was no doubt in need of a good portion of meat anyway. He'd witnessed the births of both his daughters - he knew it was no simple feat.
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