He had been here before so many, many times. Once he had lived here, in a hole in the ground, sheltering in his foxform even as he had held himself apart from those he should have cherished.
He had learned a harsh lesson in what they truly meant to him, and how little his resolve was worth when it came down to it.
Tonight, though, he sat upon a stone he had once shared with Isla, a granite outcrop in a clearing beneath the rising moon, murmuring softly to the wounded creature in his lap as he stroked the raven's back gently, holding it still as he sought to improvise a splint for its broken wing while it croaked and muttered grumpily beneath its touch. Isuma sat upon his shoulder, watching the operation with owlish interest and peeping encouragement to the corvid.
"Hush now, keep still," the white-haired outlander murmured to the bird, whether or not it could understand him. "I know it hurts, just bear with me a little while longer..."
He had learned a harsh lesson in what they truly meant to him, and how little his resolve was worth when it came down to it.
Tonight, though, he sat upon a stone he had once shared with Isla, a granite outcrop in a clearing beneath the rising moon, murmuring softly to the wounded creature in his lap as he stroked the raven's back gently, holding it still as he sought to improvise a splint for its broken wing while it croaked and muttered grumpily beneath its touch. Isuma sat upon his shoulder, watching the operation with owlish interest and peeping encouragement to the corvid.
"Hush now, keep still," the white-haired outlander murmured to the bird, whether or not it could understand him. "I know it hurts, just bear with me a little while longer..."
