She follows quietly beside Jinx as they set off toward her pack, doubt creeping into her poisoned mind with each padding footstep. Had it been a good idea to insist that she meet the other wolves? Or was she bringing death amongst them all, for him to glut himself on the richness of their unsuspecting souls? She ponders this in her silence, worry blossoming in her chest as she shoots a sideways glance at her companion. She tries to brush the feeling aside and allow the other wolf’s chatter about the world she’d wandered into soothe the uncertainty but as the trees of Enocra Woodland wrap their gnarled branches around the two of them, the sense of foreboding grows.
’You have a gift, little wolf. Death does not make mistakes in his chosen, yet you reject his gift. Why?’
The voice snaking its way through her thoughts makes her ears twitch and her lip curl with silent agitation; she tosses her head to clear her mind, but it is a useless effort that leaves the demons cackling with glee. Her gaze darts back to Jinx and she focuses once more on her description of the land, locking onto the sound to drown out the persistent, smug chittering of those wicked monsters. Soon enough, the trees fall away and the two of them step into a field brimming with flowers and tall grass, a warm breeze rippling it like a rolling wave. The sky above is bright and cloudless, too bright.
The grass is yellowed, thirsting for a good rain, but by the looks of it, there will be none today.
Perhaps this is how it begins. Had she been sent to curse the land anew, to bring drought to the poor souls who lived here so that they might die a slow and miserable death? She cringes inwardly, her lips pursed tight.
She hardly notices when they cross into the borders of the pack, lost entirely in her contemplations. It is only when Jinx breaks the silence between them - a silence she hadn’t noticed - that Sunai comes back to the present, her coal eyes roaming over the area warily. They move more slowly now, picking their way through the outermost border of the pack and further in before Jinx comes to a stop, speaking once more.
Sunai doesn’t fault her for her caution, giving a small nod and dropping to her haunches, her legs tired from the travel - not just the travel here, but to this place itself. ”This Aster…” she starts, testing the words in her mouth, pleased to find that her voice is less gravelly, less strained now that she’d begun to use it again. ”She will not be angry with you, will she? I do not wish to cause trouble for you.”
She doesn’t let the next thought fall from her mouth, though it is sticks in her mind like a splinter.
But maybe I already have.