Reclaiming Pack

[Thalia]

Love, for Nimeda, was almost always distant. Unreturned, or sometimes unnoticed. You have been satisfied with too little, Noctua had said to her once. It was why she spoke at all. But there was bitterness behind Sierra’s smile, and a reluctance to share even that much of herself. The gratitude had been sincerely meant; Nimeda understood that though they were not looking for her specifically, her waking body was likewise reliant on the search she had witnessed tonight. She would remain here in some form, even if that connection was severed by death, and so she felt no true fear. But she understood her thanks to be meaningless nonetheless. “As you say,” she said, soft and thoughtful still. Sierra was not unfriendly. But she let the topic drop because it seemed the kinder thing to do.

Another woman joined them then; dark hair braided over her shoulder, arms corded tight with muscle and bright tattoos. Her gold eyes stripped Nimeda to the bone in a single offhand glance, but it was Sierra she turned to, tense in the way of a predator looking to another before deciding on threat or unimportant scenery. A juvenile wolf bounded at her heels, and another larger paced a step or two behind. She knew its dark, shaggy fur, and pulled her arms around her knees. But she only watched.