Under the still surface of grief throbbed dull anger; the Oak King was mourning yet another failure, and soon might be mourning another loss.
The forest had a multitude of eyes, and all of them were his; he could watch the wolf approach, the ragged, (barely) living remains of his last attempt to put humans back on track. Where had it all gone so wrong? He had given his troublesome children mentors, guides, friends, and they had turned them into their victims.
She had entered his sanctuary, his hiding place, that place in every forest that one could only find after getting lost. She was at the core of his realm, and for her, that meant salvation. Herne stood up from his oaken throne, his movements slow and ponderous as he treaded through the blossoms, the dead hare dangling from his large hand. The clearing whispered around him about the newcomer, guiding him to her, and soon he found her and his heart broke just a little more.
“Welcome home,” he simply whispered as he came to kneel by the water next to her. He set the hare down on the ground in front of her and ran his hand along her bony spine, seeking to alleviate some of the pain from her many wounds. “Welcome back where you belong.”
She’d let her eyes fall shut, enjoying how the cool water soothed her throat. Her tongue soon stopped, however, and she allowed herself just to rest. It was nice, here, on the soft grass, with the sun warming her fur. Rinnah considered herself quite lucky for the first time in a long time. White ears twisted at the sounds of movement, but couldn’t be bothered to take a look.
This changed, however, at the sound of a voice, and her eyes cracked open, gaze lazily moving to catch sight of the one who had spoken. Rinnah could hardly do much more than to blink, taking in the somewhat odd visage. Had she grown up around more skin changers, perhaps she would’ve seen something like him, but it had only been her parents and sister. The hare in his hand was quite an enticing sight, though the wolf would not move an inch towards it.
Rinnah was jolted out of her quiet thoughts by the touch of his hand on her spine. She let out a startled noise, flinching obviously, though unable to move very far. It wasn’t her fault, really, nor was it his. Such a thing couldn’t be helped. However, it seemed as though she were started to relax beneath his hand, somewhat. After all, it wasn’t like he was human.
She watched him a bit warily, now. It was worth noting, however, that her eyes had cleared a bit, looking decidedly less dull, even a bit curious. Rinnah licked her chops a bit nervously, glancing toward the hair for a moment.
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