for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
From her seat at the edge of the clearing, Iophiel’s violet eyes were drawn to the figure of a dark male as he stalked into the clearing, heading straight for a female that had arrived before she had. The world seemed to pause, the shadows that were always whispering at the back of her mind were quiet. The quiet was strange to her. The shadows had been strongest when she was farther from the land of her birth, yet they had always been present even here. Now their whispers had ceased completely?
Her heart felt heavy, although she could not say what it was heavy with. As the male moved to sit next to the female, the world seemed to begin to move again. Others appeared in the clearing, one wolf tackled another. Iophiel glanced at the others, but no matter how she tried to ignore the male, there was something about him that continued to draw her gaze.
She stood, two-tone tale waving out behind her. She paused a moment after she stood, eyes again fixed on the male. She wanted to be near him, wanted to approach him. So she did exactly what she had done when the shadows had begun to try to lead her back to Moladion. She turned around and walked the opposite way.
Her white paws led her away from the group, although she honestly did not pay attention to where they were taking her. Soon enough, she found herself by a small cave, finally out of sight of the gathering. She lay down by the cave entrance, the motion smooth in the lack of thought she gave them. What was that? Why had she been so drawn to the strange male?
Images flashed before her eyes, although she knew these were shadows and not real wolves in front of her. Her mother and father stood before her, eyes locked. Heyel and Cat Eye in the same pose. She had never met Cat Eye, but she knew her from the shadows, just as she had known Heyel was dead before the rumors reached the distant lands. His shadow had told her so. Not in as many words, shadows don’t actually do more than whisper, of course. No, but there was something about the way a shadow looked. It was obvious to her, though she did not have the words to describe it to others.
So the mystery wolf was her imprint.
So busy was Iophiel visting her shadows, that she was oblivious to anything around her. The wind picked up, leaves blowing across her, one orange leaf catching on her fur. A leaf caught by angel dust. Iophiel did not see it. All she saw were the shadows dancing in front of her.
discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you
| eight years | holds her own heart | Jumanji holds her soul | child of Azrael and Andromeda | claims no land her own |