Silver Linings

For @Stjörnuáti

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The woman woke with a start, gasping softly as she did so, panting softly. She had enough nightmare, watching her children dying once again, but now she was awake and back in her den in Northfall..... except she wasn't. She slowly looked around, noticing how she was laying out in the open in a small pit of snow. She glanced up, blinking slightly as she saw the snow fall over her. Where was she?

She slowly stood up and looked around, nose to the ground as she sniffed, trying to catch any scent that she knew, but there was nothing there, nothing she knew.

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Another sunrise in solitude, something the stareater did not quite mind. He had spent many days, moons, and years under the morning light with no other to keep him company and this day was of little difference. This day found him low in the foothills of Mordfjall, the chill wind and snow meeting the more mild weather of the plains and woods to their south and southwest. He was not where the borders were quite yet, but he was certainly close enough to mark a spot or two here and there.

It was in the midst of this act that Stjornuati caught movement from the corner of his eye, head turning to pinpoint who or what it was. He was not so surprised to find another wolf, seemingly as bewildered as he'd found the last. No matter. Leg lowering to put his paw back on solid ground, the Northman strode towards the woman, a low bark of greeting announcing his presence. Synin, for the moment, was not to be found -- upon shoulder or lofty heights.

“Halló,” He offered, tail held neutral in the rising, expanding morning light. “Varstu bara að vakna? You have woken just now, yes?”

---

@Serenity

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She glanced around, trying to take everything in as she did so. Where was she? Where was her pack? Everything was different and she didn't know where her children were. About the time she started to have a panic attack, she heard a voice, gasping softly in surprise. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and lifted her head to look at the man, nodding her head hesitantly in greeting. "Hello there.... uh, sort of..." She tried to think of how to explain what just happened. "I've been in these lands for some time now... but I wasn't, well, here. I was within Northfall, in my den with my children...." 

She looked around, pinning her ears back slightly and clearly on the verge of a freak out. "And now I don't know what mountain range this is, but Northfall is gone, and so are my children.." She would finally look back at the man, her breath coming out ragged as she tried to keep herself calm. Last thing she wanted was to accidently have a panic attack in front of a stranger. Talk about embarrassing.

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Her surprise gave way to quick movements and a sort of defensiveness that all creatures took upon themselves when they were startled or out of their element. Perhaps it was all at once, in this woman's case. He couldn't blame her, not really; she was waking up to a stranger, in a strange land, no children, no pack, and no familiar landmarks. He would have been on edge, too, especially if his children were suddenly gone.

Cautiously, Stjornuati stepped closer, watching for her body language to tell him this was not acceptable. If she allowed it, however, the man would briefly press his nose to her shoulder fur, a gesture of comfort and condolences both. “This one knows not of Northfall but will help you look for your young. What are their years?” Ages, was the word he was looking for, but the man gave little care for such corrections at the moment. There was a deep motivation to help the woman, instilled in him by years of protecting and providing for the women of Stormhaven.

“Slow yourself,” He instructed gently. “Tell this one their names while searching.” Because sitting here and panicking wouldn't serve as good a purpose as looking for them.

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She tensed ever so slightly when he stepped forward but didn't stop him, curious as to know what he was doing. When she felt his nose against her shoulder, she let out a soft sigh and seemed to relax a little. She sighed and spoke softly, moving to sit down next to him, her eyes on the snow underfoot. "They are both young, my youngest is 9 months, and the other, my adopted, is about a year old." She looked up at him, forcing herself to breath in and out slowly, calming herself. 

"My adopted one, her name is Kailani, she's not a wolf though. And my other one is Cirilla." She shook her head slightly, trying to relax herself and blink back her tears as she thought of her children. "Thank you.." She whispered softly, aiming to press her head into his shoulder for a moment, clearly relaxing as she pulled away, looking up at him with a half-hearted smile. "What is your name?"

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It was always so curious when others reacted in a way that the man did not expect. While he had sought to comfort the sad woman with the gentle touch, he hadn't expected her to latch onto that as though it were a lifeline, hadn't expected her to shift and move closer, to sit right next to him and lean into him. Still, he focused enough to listen, taking note of names and ages, of the information she so willingly gave, all while her scent -- feminine and delicate, fresh -- wafter up into his nose.

He couldn't deny it being a pleasant scent; it had been some time since he'd had the companionship of another wolf, much less a female, and even that thought stirred things low in him. A savage though Stjornuati was, heartless he was not. He had promised to help the woman look for her young and it was exactly that which he would act upon, not those very instinctual, very male urges that chomped at the back of his brain as if a horse's teeth gnashing upon a bit.

She did not help things with the way she pressed into him, however, a low rumble of acknowledgment leaving him in reply to her unnecessary thanks. He had not helped her yet. “Stjörnuáti,” He answered. “Stjor.” An easier way of referring to him, having often found that others balked at the pronunciation of his name. “Yours?” He would wait for her answer then before asking another question. “Do you wish to seek them now?”

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She was a bit surprised that he let her lean into him, but she would accept it while she could. It had been a while since she had a strong body to lean into. And so, she figured she would take it while she had it. When he didn't shift away from her, she would seem to relax slightly with a soft sigh, letting her body settle against his. 

Deep brown eyes glanced up at him as he stated his name and she nodded slightly. "Stjörnuáti.." She struggled a little with the name, but didn't want to get it wrong. However, she mirrored him with her own. "Serenity." She smiled softly, though it didn't fully reach her eyes. As he asked if she wanted to begin her search now, it took everything within her to not instantly say yes. But, she knew she was exhausted, unfamiliar with the lands, and hungry. She wouldn't be able to focus on searching if her body wasn't up and ready as well. "I want to, but I need some time to rest and hunt." She would slowly stand, stretching out slightly, her shoulder pressing lightly against him if he didn't move away from her. 

"I don't know these mountains.. do you know of any good spots to hunt?" She was tired yes, but getting food in her system was more important at the moment.

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Serenity. He committed the name to memory, looking out across the snow while she settled herself and found her words. He was a patient creature at times, and while he did not quite understand all the nuances of the common tongue, the northern savage understood the need to be close, to need to touch. It was likely that he understood the language of the body better than he did the widespoken language most wolves seemed to speak here.

“If you are tired, hunting would not be easy.” Her reflexes would be down, her concentration, her ability to stay out of harm's way. It was not a judgement of her but of any wolf he would meet. “Come. This one has a cache upon the fjallshlíð — mountainside.” Stjornuati would stand then, tail gently flicking behind him as he awaited the autumnal woman's accompaniment. “You will eat and sleep. This one will search in time that passes.”

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She was a bit grateful that he didn't pull away or tell her to move. Being able to lean on someone was something she didn't know she needed as much as she did. She raised an eyebrow at his words, letting out a soft snort at how he spoke, though a smile still played on her features. "Demanding much?" She teased, but made no attempt to go against his words. 

Instead, she would nod and stand up, gesturing with her head for him to take the lead. "Lead the way." She nodded before cocking her head to the side as she walked with him. "What language was that by the way?" She asked, curious to know what other languages he spoke.

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sorry about the wait!

---

Her joke fell rather flat, for the gold crested male was foreign and so, did not understand all the nuances of humor, especially that which was based around an understanding of the common tongue. An understanding that Stjörnuáti certainly did not have. And so, with her tease swopping succinctly above his head, he led her as she requested, walking further up the mountain's slope, towards a nearby den.

Her question made his ear flicker, an involuntary form of acknowledgement that had been ingrained in him since he began learning the body-language-heavy way of his people. “It is the language of the North. One of few.” Not quite a full answer, but not secretive or suspect either. It was an answer to her question that granted her the knowledge she asked after, and he the privacy that his clan and that of Tartok's was known for. Their ways were not taught, nor explained to outsiders, unless they joined one of the clans. and not until then.

It was before they reached the den that Stjörnuáti drew to a stop at the cairn he'd made to mark his nearby cache. It was from there that he would fetch a rabbit that was no more than a few days old, plump from its apparently superior gathering ability. He would set the meal in front of her before giving her a bit of space, settling comfortably upon his belly while she ate.

/fade

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