my blood is a flood of rubies

precious stones

sariel had made a very big mistake. she’d thought there was one wolf, not two. there were two. she wasn’t sure how she’d miss the boy originally, but now that she knew he was there, she realized that she was going to regret her decision to speak to the woman. he was a chipper thing, speaking brightly before the other woman had a chance to speak. ”It’s a pleasure to meet both of you. I hope you don’t mind me showing up. I just heard the call and didn’t know if there was a limit to how much company you were looking for. My name is Tristan by the way, Tristan of Glorall.” there was a pause and then he broke out speaking again. ”You know how to FISH? I didn’t think a lot of other wolves knew how.” sariel stayed silent, not sure what the boy was talking about. her nose twitched though, and she was slightly surprised two more males had shown up in the time that this boy, tristan, had been talking.

both were silent and one was closer than the other to the group. as she listened, the one farther from the group strode across the sand. with amusement, she realized that he’d walked right past the group. her lips curled upwards slightly and she tilted her head downwards to hide it. something about his ignoring the group was hilarious to her and she didn’t think it wise to share that with the others; sometimes wolves got a little tetchy. another boy’s voice broke the silence, one she hadn’t heard before. ”Hello there. Getting to be quite a little gathering.” something about the way he spoke, sounding a little flat and a little not-quite-forced-but-forced, intrigued her. not many people sounded that way and she’d never really had the chance to dissect the tones and expressions they put into their words - she looked forward to hearing his responses to their “little gathering.”

there was the sound of splashing that followed and then footsteps. another male, smelling like the water, came forward and then spoke. ”I’m Ryker, and it looks like you’ve drawn quite the crowd.” something about how he spoke made her think that it wasn’t to the rest of them he was speaking to and she fell silent, sort of rolling her shoulders as if that would get rid of the uncomfortable feeling she was starting to get. in the silence that followed, her ears tracked the motion of the newest male. something along the lines of a giggle pushed through closed teeth when the new boy, ryker, threw himself down to roll. the wind shifted a touch and despite smelling another male on the wind, no one comes to introduce himself. she is perplexed by these wolves now - was this meeting part of some strange religion? she was new to the land, had been born and raised in a different piece of the land, but wouldn’t she have heard of a religion that required its members to greet strangers?

as a female joined the group, another ripple of discomfort rolled over her shoulders. it wasn’t that she didn’t like others, but there were so many bodies right now, so many strangers - it made her feel a little claustrophobic. she mentally tried to count everyone up in her head - six? seven? she swallowed thickly as the newest addition spoke. ”Hello all. I am Reian of Tavoira.” she wasn’t sure what exactly, that meant. of where? another person had introduced themselves that way, tristan if she remembered correctly. were those some form of royalty in this land? they’d had packs where she was born, but her mother and father never bothered to join any and didn’t bother to teach their children of them. it wouldn’t matter now that sariel was in a different land.

she didn’t have time to dwell on it any longer - a new male had joined. he was there but hadn’t said anything. confusion swept through her - was he in service to the girl? was he mute? she didn’t understand these wolves. there’s not much chatter between the wolves at this meeting, leading her to conclude that maybe this is some strange religion. before she ask about said religion, however, another female joins. she’s just as silent as the males who ignored the gathering. sariel’s almost annoyed, debates leaving. it’s so very strange - to start a gathering but not speak a word. she goes as far as to stand and carefully, slowly, pick her way from the center of the gathering but is halted by new smells - three females at different distances from the group and a male. he’s the closest and smells different than the rest of the wolves. some of them have similar scents on the edges of their coats, but the lingering smell on his doesn’t match anyone else’s. she supposes he’s from a different royal line.

she debates some more, internally and then continues picking her way to the edge and then sits there - it’s easier to breath now that there’s not quite so many bodies around her and the wind can reach her when it comes. another girl comes to sit at the outskirts around the same time sariel does, and the blind wolfess wonders why she doesn’t introduce herself. why none of them introduced herself. a weary sigh pushes through charcoal lined lips and sariel breaks the silence after it stretches out. ”this isn’t some sort of religious gathering is it? ‘cause it’s as silent as a funeral right now.” despite how the words might sound, her mouth curls upwards with humor.

957 WORDS || CREATED BY MOMO || LONER || UNBOUND || UNTOUCHED ©