☽ Ríonach ☾

          Rionach followed Narquelion's advice as she smushed the poultice onto another of Banrigh's wounds. She held it there for a few seconds before releasing which, as the herbalist had said, gave it time to stick and not fall off. The other she-wolf winced slightly and then smiled at her appreciatively. Rionach smiled back at her mentor, glad to be of some help after her ordeal. She finished applying the poultices to Narquelion's specifications, then looked up to see an enormous dark wolf grinning brightly at her.
          "Dalibor. Hello. I know you like to take care of her usually, but you were sleeping and I was right here so..." the young scout trailed off.
          "Don't worry about that at all, Rionach. I'm just glad she has such a good apprentice to watch over her while I'm not around. Thank you," Banrigh's mate replied gratefully, dipping his head to her in thanks.
          Dalibor sat down beside his mate and began to speak to her about how her morning was going and how she was feeling, so Rionach took her leave. She smiled as she went, hoping that eventually she might have the same kind of strong support system her mentor had.

-

          Rionach trotted through the trees, lost in thought as she tried to scout along a ridge where possible enemy pack activity had been reported. On this important a scouting mission she really shouldn't have devoted so much of her mental capacity to daydreams, but walking in the woods was the perfect setting to do such things. Her mind drifted to the other day in the den, speaking to Vift about settling into new roles and dealing with all of the new responsibilities. It had been a good conversation on both ends even though she was younger but had experience in a higher role, and he was older and wiser in general but had only just been promoted. He had had lots of helpful advice to give her, and he was quite a handsome wolf albeit older than she by a stretch. She shrugged the thought away with a derisive snort and then a smile, then she caught an unfamiliar scent.
          'Must be wolves from that other pack. Oh, I hope they're friendly,' she thought to herself, 'that'd save us all some time and struggle.' With that she continued forward to first observe the newcomers, and, if they turned out to be friendly, to make contact. After that it would be smooth sailing. The two packs would simply make a deal of some kind and then she could go home and take a well earned nap.

-

          The dark, moon-touched she-wolf slunk around a bush, eyes narrowed, ears forward and head cocked to one side. The bush's thorns shone in the dying light of the day, taunting her as she looked for a clear way in.
          "Damn. Come on, thorns, budge! Let me through already. I don't even want you, I want the plants hiding in your shade! Oh, why is it that all the non-deer-eaten plants are shrouded in thorns?"
          The dark, blue-furred she-wolf sat back on her haunches, defeated. Narquelion would've known how to get through. 'Ah, well,' she thought to herself as she got up again and resolved to come back later with a better plan. The deer would surely leave them alone under these prickly bushes until she could return. As she made her way back to the hollow the sun set fully, and she all but disappeared from any watchers' view. That was one benefit of her unusual coat. The other was that she could teach the other mysteriously moon-touched pups how to go about life with blue fur. She sighed as she passed two of said pups playing outside their den. She had never been able to figure out how they had all wound up with this unusual coloring. A few of the pups said it was their alpha lineage, since most of the moon-touched wolves in the Redfeather pack were the offspring of the previous alpha, Hakaan who had also had blue fur.
          "That kind of cockiness won't cause problems at all," the she-wolf muttered with a smirk as she finally pushed her way into her den.
          Setting down the herbs she had managed to gather, she stretched out her sore limbs and gave a quick shake to get the leaves and debris out of her fur. She checked in on a couple of sick hunters and made the rounds tidying up the place and clearing any obstructions in the tunnels. 'Wouldn't want anyone tripping over this mess if there was a problem,' she thought. The Redfeathers had already lived through a fire, and everyone was now quite careful about keeping exits clear. Finally all of her nightly chores were complete and she settled into her nest to catch some sleep. She hadn't had her eyes closed for more than five minutes before someone burst into the den calling for her aid.
          Grumbling, Rionach arose, grabbed a mouthful of herbs and trudged past her nervously babbling packmate, "oh just show me to the poor sap already."

-

        "Rasp! Get off of him, he isn't for climbing!"
        Rionach watched the grizzled white pupsitter give an exasperated huff and then groan as he flopped back down and rubbed his paws over his face. He was a good pupsitter, had been the best until these two particular pups had arrived in the hollow. They worked his nerves to the breaking point and it was very amusing for the blue-furred herbalist to watch. She decided to approach and offer her— well, not so reassuring presence since she was laughing, but still. He was so wrapped up in his muttering and clawing the dirt that he didn't notice the presence next to him until she cleared her throat with a poorly masked chuckle.
        "Rionach! I didn't- you didn't? Did you? Because if you did I was just- you know? It's their fault," he stammered, scrambling to straighten up and then jabbing a paw at the two pups who were still fighting across the hollow.
        "I- yes, I did. I'm sure it is their fault, it usually is," the blue she-wolf said with a smirk.
        Rionach dipped her head with another chuckle, feeling her ears burn as Sangre got lost in her gaze for just a moment too long. Realizing what he'd done the white wolf ducked his head, ears burning as well, no doubt.
    "It's alright, I think you're cute when you stress about your job. Just means you care," the she-wolf shot him a quick smile before flopping down beside him to watch the pandemonium that was Rasp and Juhan's fight.

[Starting 601]