~Solen~
First of Winter, 514 AV
First of Winter, 514 AV
Solen padded through the underbrush on quiet paws, breathing and looking, simply being here in this place. He had grown up in these woods, but he'd never been so close to other people, he had never known they were here. His siblings had kept him close to home, away from the farms on the edge of the lake, away from the facility that studied his kind like insects under a magnifying glass. They had taken away the fear that might have otherwise plagued his childhood, but was that a good thing?
He sat just behind the tree line, gazing down toward the lakeshore, it reminded him of how his sister had described the ocean. But there weren't crashing waves, instead they were small and silent ripples that seemed to be trying to crawl up the shore. It didn't smell of salt, it smelled of wet earth and plants.
A young woman walked along the shore, she was dressed simply, she was carrying her shoes and letting the water lap at her feet. She was crying, and muttering, and rubbing her face with her free hand.
Silently Solen circled around until he was behind her, she didn't hear him, the wet sand hid the noise his paws might have made. He stayed back, probably thirty feet behind, sometimes sniffing places where the water hadn't taken her scent. He could smell where she lived, it was different, but was pleasant. This close Solen could see the long brown braid wrapped around her head, the little rips and tears in her dress, how worn her shoes were.
She stopped walking, as if sensing his presence, she turned around. At first her eyes widened, Solen supposed she didn't see many wolves out here. She looked as if she was going to run at first, her tear stained face scrunching up like she was going to yell, but then she just sighed and slipped down to sit in the sand just out of reach of the water.
Solen padded slowly over, head and tail down, trying to appear harmless. The woman squinted her eyes shut as Solen got close. Solen licked her hand then sighed as he lay down next to her.
She looked surprised, but instead of running off she tentatively touched his fur, as if checking to make sure she hadn't gone mad. Solen sighed in contentment as she scratched behind his ears.
They sat like that for a while, the woman having ceased crying. Solen got up and drank some water from the lake, then looked at the woman. She studied him, tilting her head as she did so.
"Thank you." She said.
Solen didn't do anything, just stood there. After several moments he stepped over to lick her hand again before trotting off into the woods. Sometimes all that's needed in times of trouble is some good company. He had missed it the past fall, being alone was....well...lonely.
"People say things without using words, they tell you their whole life story in the way they stand, their deepest dreams are in the way they turn their head when you mention forgotten passions. Only...no one hears the things that aren't coming out of their mouth."
