The femme knew that she was weaker than most wolves. That some would rather die than try to live with her illness and be weak. But she had lived this long with it, and she wasn’t just going to give up now. But for some reason the male was getting to her, and his words hurt her. She didn’t need him to remind her how useless to the world she was. That she didn’t know how to hunt properly and that she had come close to starving on more than one occasion. Shilo had been forced to resort to scavenging from other’s kills like some meager forager. But it had kept her alive, and in the end that was all that mattered. The femme finally mumbled under her breath as she walked away from her captor. Sick to her stomach at the thought of getting food for him. But even in his injured state he was stronger and faster than her. And she still didn’t stand a chance against him.

And so the kalak found herself hunting in the only way that she knew how, by lying in wait for something to come to her. Eventually a rabbit did, and she was lucky enough to catch it before it got away from her. Forcing herself to save some for Perdere, she scarfed down some of the carcass. Carrying the rest of the meal she trotted back to the den that she had left, knowing that she had left him slightly left than half of the rabbit out of spite. Without a word, Shilo dropped the hare at his paws before going as far away from his as he could, curling into as tight a ball as she could to avoid interacting with the brute. Her audette perked for a moment when he mumbled out a quiet word of thanks, but she didn’t respond to him. It wasn’t like she had a choice. If she had come back with nothing she wasn’t sure what he would have done to her. Maybe eaten a part of her or something. Eventually the femme drifted off into a fitful sleep.

Shilo managed to fall into a deeper sleep than she thought possible, and she was surprised when she felt a gentler touch than she anticipated at her shoulder. For a moment the femme forget where she was and who she was with, and a contended sigh escaped her. When she lifted her head and realized what had happened, she shied away from him, afraid of what his next touch would be towards her. He spoke of going out to find her pack and the alphess that led it, and a sinking feeling dropped like a pit in her stomach. What was going to happen when Nimueh realized who she had brought to the pack and that she had only brought bad wolves to their borders without ever having done something to help the pack in some form. She glanced at Perdere nervously at his words, but remained silent. She didn’t want him to know how nervous she was about the future meeting, and she didn’t trust her voice not to shake. But the male’s next words surprised her, and her cool mint green orbs widened in shock. “Thanks again for the rabbit. It wasn’t much… but you exceeded my expectations.” She didn’t even realize that he had had any expectations for her. ”Um…don’t worry about it…” She spoke softly as she got to her paws and slowly followed him, keeping her distance but not as much as a distance as she had before.

The pair traveled in silence, but it wasn’t as…uncomfortable to Shilo as it was before. She was by no means happy to be with this male, but he hadn’t killed her or even tortured her really…at least not yet. And surely he would have by now if that was his plan for her, right? Maybe it didn’t need to be as bad as she thought it was going to be. Maybe. She didn’t want to have any hopeful thoughts just yet to have them crushed in the future. But things took an interesting turn when they got closer to the pack border. Shilo began to recognize where she was, and without realizing it, she picked up the pace and her long legs increased her stride. But it was an unfamiliar scent that reached her nares, and her face twisted in confusion. What had happened here? Nimueh’s scent was no longer along the borders, and it was not another packmates scent that had taken over. What had happened here? Before she could speak, Perdere spoke up, his words mimicking her thoughts. “This is the pack you named… but are you sure you named the right one?” Her form stopped at the edge of the border that was no longer familiar to her. ”Yes…but it’s not Nimueh’s scent. I don’t know why…”, her vocals mimicking the hushed tone of his. Her gaze was redirected as the sound of another approaching reached her ears. Maybe whoever it was was someone she would recognize, and could tell them what had happened while she was gone.

Picture and table credit to Casey!

//Shilo//Fae//Daughter of Shae and Caspian//Sister to Tiresias, Malina, and Rylan//Crith Thalmhainn//Teen//Violet//