Holding Down the Fort
50th of Spring, 514 A.V.
50th of Spring, 514 A.V.
Her world had turned upon it's head from a year previously. Everything the half breed thought she knew, thought she could hold onto was gone, save for her One True Mother of course, who would always embrace the wayward Witch wherever she roamed. Now instead of fighting in Myri's name she was befriending Dhani of every kind and other considerably more repulsive beings that made her Gnosis itch. She couldn't abandon her home even if she wished to, yet nearly all of its sentient inhabitants wanted her dead for one reason or another.
Sleep was always welcome now, straddled high up in the canopy, peeking through the thick foliage to see if Leth was shining down upon her or simply the blanket of stars that hung in the ebony night. Often dreams turned to nightmares, induced by paranoia that her fellow Myrians would capture her and drag her back to Taloba for treason, or that some Constrictor would do the same thing to her in Zinrah, sacrificing her to the Serpent Goddess. Her favorite dreams were those of Razkar, Ayatah, or Svan, and every now and again she would dream of the wolf pack she had met on the outskirts of Falyndar, the great Dire Alpha, her glossy dark coat and shining teeth.
But when her mind slipped into the treacherous expanse of the worlds beyond conciousness she had no idea of what was about to occur.
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A hand reached out and nudged her neck. It was a gentle motion, but D'Ilenia was not used to being woken in such a manner. Her eyes flashed open, mouth darting out to snap at whatever appendage had dared touch her. An instant too late she realized she was in human form, and her muzzle wasn't long enough to snap the hand which was withdrawn swiftly.
"Your watch now." The voice seemed bemused, and D'Ilenia's lips pursed, slightly frustrated as her yellow gaze peered upward to see the individual who had woken her. He was stocky and well muscled with a silver shock of hair and dark eyes: B'Elizzar. The female Kelvic cared little for her fellow wolf, one of the first Dires made in Ironrock. His superior size and strength made him particularly aggressive and sure of himself, and she disliked the way he assumed control over shifts as if he was her creator and could tell her where and when to go. She snorted at the ridiculousness of the thought and shifted upwards, slipping off the loose clothes so she could shift.
It took but a moment, B'Elizzar taking a measured step backward to allow her room and in the next instant a dark wolf stood in the woman's place, shaking her shoulders and padding without any acknowledgement to the Dire out from her quarters into the labyrinth of hallways that made up the Fortress.
She knew the way to Tomva's workplace as she knew the scents of the other wolves she patrolled with. Down two flights of stairs, past the rooms where they kept the raptors, down a narrow hallway that sloped a bit to the right and the last door on the left. The heavy wooden door was left open as always to allow Kelvics in animal form easy access, and D'Ilenia's creator sat where she normally did bent over a table scratching notes or perhaps another day's schedule, folders and reports piled high on either side of her.
The wolf trotted quietly up, but stopped herself a few feet away from her creator's heavy chair, sitting on her haunches and waiting patiently. It took little time for the woman to set down her writing implement and glance at the wolf, a smile spreading across her lips.
"D'Il, how are you?"
Tongue lolling she trotted forward. This was her cue, that she could receive attention. she paced forward laying her head in Savona's lap, eyes searching upwards and was given a wonderful scratch behind the ears as the woman began to talk.
"I just wrote up this week's schedule. Tonight you'll be watching over the stables, I was told a stallion or two was giving one of the groom's some trouble this evening."
She let out a whine.
"Enough of that." Tomva said sternly. "One of the dogs was injured so you'll be the big bad wolf that keeps them in line tonight, alright? B'El will relieve you in the morning and after that you'll be patrolling around the rookery." The hand was retracted from her head and D'Ilenia knew that was the end of her attention. She took a step back then turned on her heel and trotted briskly out of the room and towards the outside.
The she wolf did not enjoy horses. First of all they smelled, and no matter how frequently they were washed, brushed and trimmed they always smelled that way, even if it was covered up by lavender or some other scent. It was so musky and harsh, and that wasn't even considering their shykes, massive things that just sat steaming in the yards till a Groom or servant cleaned it up. Then of course they were so fussy and finicky. Massive creatures that could kill with a single well placed kick and most were frightened of their own shadow. The wolf shook her fur as she ran, taking solace in the fact that the dire male would have to look after them as well, he couldn't enjoy it either.
An Imperial watcher laying in a bed of hay pricked her ears and stared coolly at the wolf as she passed into the stables, slowing her gait and taking stock of the livestock there. This was going to be a long night.