Perioikoi

[Wayfarer]

It was late when Anton had gone to collect Sohvi from Leila. The two had spent some hours together, the pair had needed to become acquainted and it seemed that there had been some progress. That is to say, Sohvi had been sitting down with Leila and as far as he knew she hadn't bolted on Leila yet. A good sign, and with time she would hopefully become acclimatised to the others. Well, maybe Burrich would take longer, they'd passed by him as they'd gone to his home and her fingers almost bored their way through his arm as they walked past. Still, he hadn't been that much better when he'd first seen him either. But appearances were deceiving, he was no Aiel but a gentle giant.

 

His home was a goodly distance away from the village which placed it outside the effect of the stedding. Anton liked to leave himself open to dreams and he liked to have some privacy while he was at it. Something that would make this new situation interesting, he wasn't used to sharing the house with anyone. In fact, the entire time Sohvi had spent with Leila had been used by Anton to clean up the house as best he could. Unfortunately, he'd only had so much luck as his house was abandoned for extended periods. His home was too far away from anyone else to bother asking someone to take care of it for him and to be honest he was fairly indifferent as long as he had a roof over his head and somewhere to cook.

 

This was why he'd taken over an abandoned hut that had once been owned by another wolfkin, one who had moved into the stedding. It was a single room for everything, but that was all Anton had ever needed. A stove, a bed, a desk and a chest to put all of his things. As much as he could understand Miryana wanting Sohvi to stay with him because Sohvi already trusted him and they lived far enough away from the others for her not to freak out constantly, he wondered whether his home was all that suitable for it. Or him for that matter, he wasn't used to living with other people, not for a long time. Miryana's directive for Sohvi to stay with him meant that he would be cooling his heels for at least awhile.

 

"Here we are." With the bushes growing around it, his hut could have easily been missed. Still, the walls held and the door was stout and the thatching only leaked on the odd occasion. Opening the door for Sohvi, he let her walk in first before closing the door gently behind them. Spartan, but the furnishings did what they were meant to do and that was the main thing.

 

"If you're hungry I have some salted meat and a few pieces of fruit I picked up earlier. Or if you want to go to bed now my bed is over there, it seems I will be taking the floor until we get around to building you a bed of your own. I know its small, but I don't get bothered out here unless I'm needed and I suspect it shall be the same for you. People will wait until you are ready to talk to them."

 

Walking over to the stove, Anton helped himself to some tinder and kindling which he fed into the stove. Taking a flint from his pocket, he began to get to work on getting a fire going which would warm the hut up quickly enough. It was cold when left for too long like it was now, but there wasn't much to heat and it retained the heat for sometime after the fire died. "Whenever you need to change or such, all you'll have to do is ask and I'll go wait outside. If you need anything, all you need to do is ask and I'll see if I can get it for you. So, any questions so far?"

 

Anton frowned at the flint, any moment now.

 

 

Anton Averdal

Farpaw

[silhouette]

Though her day had been eventful, from meeting Miryana to meeting Leila to seeing other people, Sohvi found that she was still quite awake. It had been good to take a bath in Miryana’s house after all the time she’d spent outside. After a decent scrubbing she at least felt moderately clean again, and Miryana had given her something to wash her hair with, which also made it less course. She’d borrowed some clothing from… someone whose name she no longer remembered. All in all Sohvi had felt like an entirely new person. Until she had to go out and meet people again. Then she’d been same old Sohvi, too shy for her own good once more.

 

Leila had been patient enough, but Sohvi felt that the woman would be disappointed in her soon enough, when it turned out that Sohvi really wasn’t all that useful. At least Anton didn’t look at her as if he expected something from her, and for that she was glad. She was even glad that she could stay at his house, even after she’d seen it. It was… cosy. She told herself that as she walked around it and went inside, only to discover that it really was no bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. “Ehm.” She started when Anton asked her if she wanted to know more. Sure, she wanted to know more, but where to start? “Where can I put my things?” she had things now. Not a lot, but Miryana had found her a clean change of clothes, a nightgown and a brush, and other things she would probably need.

 

Turning about, Anton felt a sinking feeling as he saw that she had some things in hand. She would need somewhere to put them and he'd noticed that most women 'needed' their things to be out of sight. They also didn't like to mix their things in with other people's, especially men. In Sohvi's case, that would mean practically everyone, she needed her own space... Well, as much as could be afforded. "Can you strike a fire with flint?" Getting a nod, Anton stood and taking the few steps necessary to close the gap, he handed her the flint. "Put your things on the desk and start the fire while I get my things out of my chest. Well, your chest now. Go on." Smiling, Anton opened up his chest and frowned. Having a permanent home of sorts had led him to hanging onto far too many things. Anything beyond what was needed was excess baggage, but thats what he got for getting slack. Sighing, he began scooping out his things one by one.

 

Hesitantly Sohvi did as Anton asked of her, putting her things down and wandering over to the stove. They’d had one of those at home, and while her mother had often been the one to make the fire, she had taught Sohvi how to do it in case Sohvi got married and would be forced to tend to her own family. She quickly repressed that memory, as it wasn’t likely to happen now. Soon enough the fire was started, and it’s warmth seeped into the hut swiftly. Sohvi got up and looked at the pots standing on the stove. “Should we cook?” she asked, only half glancing at Anton. Maybe they could make stew. Suddenly her stomach rumbled, pointing out the fact that it wasn’t satisfied with the meal she already had.

 

The rumble that came from Sohvi's gut was enough to settle the question of whether they were going to eat or not. Laughing, he walked over to the stove and helped himself to one of the two pots that was sitting there, the other he laid aside on the ground. "I suppose we should. I'll go get some water, you look through that cupboard there and grab what food from there you'll need. I'll be back in awhile, ok?" Smiling reassuringly at her, he left and made for the nearest well. It occured to him he hadn't even asked her if she'd know what she was doing, but he had faith in her. If not he could handle it himself when he came back.

 

With a grin on her face, Sohvi went looking for whatever it was she could find. It wasn’t all that much, but she figured she could make due. Carrots, potatoes, some dried and salted meat. She put a strip of that in her mouth, and decided to use the rest of it for the dinner she was making. As she was working, the door to the hut opened slightly. Eyes High pushed himself inside. “Hi.” Sohvi said, smiling at her wolf companion. The wolf brushed past her legs as if he was some kind of oversized housecat, before hopping onto the bed, and watching her work. By the time Anton returned with the water Sohvi was still carving things into little blocks, humming while she was at it.

 

He wasn't supposed to be there. Frowning at Eyes High, Anton's response was immediate. Unlike some wolfkin, his home was not a common den for anyone to just wander through and he had most certainly not given Eyes High permission to wander in. Thankfully, the wolf was quick to leave if slightly amused at his request. Anton, on the otherhand, was simply grateful. As much as he had come to embrace this heritage of his, he also needed a place where he could be alone and away. In this hut, he could block out all the thoughts that were sent his way and simply indulge in Anton Averdal as opposed to Anton Farpaw. Taking the pot over to the stove, he sat it down before helping himself to the cupboard, cheese seemed like a good idea. "One of the main rules of this hut Sohvi is that there are no wolves allowed inside. There's little room as it is and when there are times where being around the wolves can be too much, you'll need a place to go where you can be by yourself for a time."

 

While she’d watched the exchange between Eyes High and Anton with amusement and interest, both those things faded when she found out that it was to be a permanent thing. Though she tried not to, she felt her lower lip quiver. “But he doesn’t hurt anyone.” She blurted out, walking over the door and peeking out just in time to see him lope into the woods again. “I like having him around. He doesn’t even talk much, he just… puts my mind at ease.” She sat down on the bed, exactly where the wolf had been moments before. She looked up at Anton again, her eyes misty with unshed tears. “Can’t you make an exception? I promise he won’t bother you.”

 

One of the few things that worked on him, the threat of tears. It felt like he was kicking a puppy, well, because puppies were defenceless. But, it wasn't just for his sake, it was for her was well. She needed to learn to set boundaries between herself and the wolves or it would make it harder to resist. Even if later on she decided she didn't like those barriers, but then, later on she would be free to do so, once she was past the howling. "I would if I could, but this is as much for you as it is for me. You're still in your howling period, you need to assert the more human aspects of yourself and create differences. If you spend too much time around the wolves, it makes it easier for you to give in to the wolfish side of your nature rather than reconciling both the human and wolf within you."

 

It was always the same. ‘It’s for your own good, Sohvi.’ How many times had she heard that by now? Whenever she couldn’t do something, or say something, or whenever she had to do something she didn’t like, it was always ‘for her own good.’ She was sick of it. A tear slid down her cheek. Then another. And another. “If Eyes High can’t be here then I don’t want to be there either.” She snapped, leaping up from the bed and running out the door in the blink of an eye. She ran into the woods, after the black wolf.

 

A frown was not quite how one would have described Anton's expression as Sohvi made a run for it, but there were elements of it there. At the pace she'd set, Anton had decided very quickly that he wasn't going to give chase. No, she could have her alone time with Eyes High, she would have to return sooner or later because he was the one with the food. If nothing else, Eyes High would know better than to indulge a cub's foolishness overlong. Maybe after she'd had her run and her time then she would calm down, but if he was going to have any peace in his own home then he couldn't simply cave the moment she shed a tear. She would have to learn.

 

But the truth was, Sohvi had no intentions of learning. Miryana had talked about staying human and keeping the wolf in her at bay as well, and as far as Sohvi was concerned, that was all a load of codswallop. Sure, she realised that she felt more wolvish than she had before the dreams had started. But that made sense, didn’t it? Of course she was going to have more wolvish tendencies now that her howling had started. But she was dealing with it. Had dealt with it over the past few days, and having Eyes High around wasn’t going to make that harder. It had been his amusement at her situation that pulled her through most of the time. He was the one who reminded her of the fact that she was human.

 

Unlike Anton, who had apparently decided that she was some kind of frail bird that needed to be protected from her own bad sides. “So much for saying I’m not a demon.” She said, glaring at a random tree. “If he really thought that, he wouldn’t tell me to keep that side of me repressed. Besides, I’m not nearly as much of a wolf as some of the people here.” Eyes High watched her pace, once again amused by all her human emotions. Oh, he had tried to convince her to go back to Anton, but she would have nothing of it, and the wolf knew better than to try to force a recalcitrant female to do as he wished. Wolves and Humans were very much alike in that.

 

Cooking the stew had taken time, but Sohvi had chosen not to show herself. Likewise, even after he had finished his portion of it, she had decided not to return. Eyes High at least was able to tell him what she was doing. Fuming for the most part, along with a good dose of sulking. Still, he wasn't going to go out and chase her now, she could deal with it in her own time and return when she was ready. If she chose to half freeze herself then so be it, at least if she was in that state she'd not have the capacity to stop him from picking her up off the ground and carrying her back to the hut. But, if he was needed then Eyes High would let him know. For now, he concerned himself with his bedroll and blanket, setting it up on the far side of the hut away from the bed. Like many problems, the sensible thing to do was sleep on it.

 

Anton Averdal

Farpaw

 

Sohvi Darwin

Shimmer

[silhouette]

It was cold out. Sohvi had known that when she ran out of Anton’s house, and she hadn’t cared then. She didn’t really care now either, but she did realise that she was probably going to get sick if she didn’t head somewhere warm. Eyes High seemed to think the same, his calls for her to return to the hut were becoming more and more urgent though. She ignored hi, and curled up at the base of a tree. She’d survived this way in Amadicia, surely she’d survive a night like this in the stedding as well. Soon enough she drifted into a restless sleep, which wasn’t disturbed by the images of wolves, but by the images of her family and… others.

 

It had been wishful thinking on his part perhaps to think that Sohvi's stubborness and anger would wear off and she'd return. Having been woken from his sleep by Eyes High and shown where Sovhi was sleeping, it had then been a good ten minute jog to find her. Curled up against the tree, she looked more her age than she had before. Pretty but young, and all too weighed down by something from the way she shifted uneasily as if her sleep offered no respite. Squatting down beside her, he began to poke one of her shoulders as he spoke gently. "Sohvi, wake up. Come on Sohvi, wake up now."

 

There was a hand on her shoulder, gripping too hard and keeping her in her place as angry voices held a conversation over her head. ‘She’s no good!’ a man’s voice, one she associated with father. ‘Brazen hussy.’ The spiteful tones of her sisters. ‘Witch!’ Jon’s voice as he called after her. The hand was shaking her. Shaking he.. her eyes shot open and she clawed at the thing that had it’s hands on her. “Don’t touch me!” she cried out, scrambling back, away from the tree and the hand. A few paces away, she realised that she was no longer home, and that she’d been dreaming. Instead of her father, Anton looked down on her. Worried, no doubt. “Just don’t…” she muttered.

 

Watching her carefully, Anton wasn't quick to say anything. He was still trying to figure out what exactly had occured, was the cry for him not to touch her due to him, a reflex action, or something in the dream that had held her in its grip? Something to learn with time perhaps, but for now there was a more pressing concern. Standing, he didn't offer his hand since she was afraid of his touch but gestured for her to get up instead. "Come on, you can't sleep out here in the cold. That might have worked further south in Amadicia but here in the Mountains of Mist you will quickly get sick."

 

With the dreams still in the back of her head, it was hard to remember why she’d been so angry with Anton. What had he done again? Whatever it was, it was nowhere near as bad as other things. That didn’t make it alright though. She was about to say no to him when Eyes High nudged her with his nose. ‘Go with him’ the wolf said. ‘If you say so.’ Sohvi thought, getting up and following Anton, her arms wrapped around herself the entire way. “You can’t keep running from things all the time.” She muttered, mostly to herself.

 

It was a quiet walk back, mainly because Anton was unwilling to jinx the good stroke of fortune that had Sohvi returning to the hut with a minimum of fuss. He was tired, he wanted to sleep and until Sohvi was settled in he wasn't going to be able to allow himself that luxury. Not now that she had demonstrated that she could chuck a tantrum and completely disregard her own well being in the process. Was that why Miryana had assigned her to him? As a lesson to him as much as to Sohvi? It was something Miryana would do, or the other Sages, they had a penchant for trying to fix people's problems, even when there wasn't one to begin with. Yet another reason he had become a Tracker instead of a Sage.

 

Closing the door behind Sohvi, Anton headed straight for his bedroll. And damned if he'd leave his boots on this time, if she made a run for it he'd let her have her headstart then run her into the ground. Frowning as he sat down on the bedroll and began working on one of his boots, Anton shook his head. He wasn't normally given to a temper, then again, he wasn't normally given to having people in his home either. Either way, she was most likely still hungry. "The stew is still simmering if you still want some."

 

Sohvi looked down on Anton now, not really seeing him, but understanding that his motives at least were better than the motives of others she’d met in her life. After a moment of two of silence she wandered over to the stove, picking up a bowl and filling it with the stew. It wasn’t as good as the things she had made back home, but she was hungry and it filled her stomach. As soon as the stew was finished she crawled into bed, not bothering with her clothes and just toeing off her shoes before pulling the covers up to her chin. “I’ve never bitten anyone.” She said out of the blue. “I’ve never howled at the moon, and I’ve never hunted anything with nothing but my teeth. I haven’t walked on all fours since I was a toddler either. I haven’t grown a tail yet, and I doubt it will happen any time soon.” And her dreams hadn’t been as bad with Eyes High around, but she wasn’t quite ready to admit that yet.

 

So, she hadn't forgotten. Sighing, Anton shucked off his breeches and got under the blanket, wishing his bedroll was a little more comfortable. A decent bed was one of the things he looked forward to during his time in the stedding but it was going to be sometime before he got his bed back. "I didn't say you had. On the otherhand, do you want to risk slipping? You remember the story I told you of when Janna came for me no? I could have killed her the first time we'd met. Its something I still remember when I see her, I don't want you to have something like that on your conscience. And you still have a time to go yet before the Howling is done, don't underestimate it."

 

“But I’m doing fine.” She said, after putting some effort into not gritting her teeth. “You’re still treating every single wolf as if it’s an enemy, but they’re not. If it hadn’t been for Eyes high I would have been insane, and I would have been a risk to myself and others. I probably would have killed myself for fear of being insane. He’s been nothing but kind and helpful, and you want me to send him out as if he’s a beggar.” She couldn’t help but grit her teeth a little at that. sighing, she rolled over, turning her back to Anton. She’d have to ask Miryana to find her a house somewhere else. Though she dreaded the thought of not having a friend around, she was also quite sure that she wasn’t going to be able to live with shunning Eyes High just because Anton wasn’t comfortable around wolves.

 

Patience was normally something Anton had in ready supply, a good thing because he still had some left in reserve. Even if those reserves were beginning to dwindle. "Eyes High normally lives outside, Sohvi. He's a wolf, living outside is what he does and is what I usually do when I'm on the trail looking for new wolfkin that are going through their howling for that matter. Look, he's only a few feet away, the only difference is that a single wall and him not shedding his fur throughout the hut. Besides which he's probably in your dreams as it is." Was she truly that dependent upon Eyes High?

 

“He’s also a friend, and you don’t toss a friend out of your house just because you’re worried he might leave his fur on your bed.” Sohvi’s words would have been harsher if she hadn’t been half asleep already. “I don’t hate all humans just because a few were nasty to me, and from what I’ve experienced wolves are a lot nicer than people.” She muttered, curling up a little more. She could already feel the dreams in the back of her head, calling for her to enter. Peaceful dreams this time, she hoped.

 

With her more strident tone dissipating in favour of a drowsy slurring, Anton decided to simply stop talking. Let her go to sleep, drift off and then postpone the discussion for another time. Another time, when he wasn't quite so irritated. It puzzled him, he'd dealt with far more annoying things but been less aggravated by them. Probably because he hadn't been able to fully sleep, that had to be it. Letting his head rest on his hands, he hoped that Sohvi would drift off more quickly so he could sleep in turn.

 

Sohvi Darwin

Shimmer

 

Anton Averdal

Farpaw

[Wayfarer]

There was a bit of confusion on Anton's part as he awoke to find himself looking up at the ceiling. While it wasn't unusual for him to wake up to the ceiling in his home, it wasn't the usual piece that he saw. Sitting up only to feel a dozen aches and pains throughout his body, he resisted the urge to lay back down as he looked about. He'd managed to roll off the bedroll, which also explained why he was rather cold as his blanket had fallen off during the night. This posed quite a problem as he was only wearing a his small clothes and a shirt.

 

Remedying this by slipping on his breeches as quickly as he could, he then wrapped his blanket over his shoulders before getting to work on the fire. A smidgeon of warmth catching alight, he started immediately on making breakfast which would go a long way to restoring him to a better mood. Meanwhile, Sohvi was in his bed blissfully asleep and now doubt dancing about with Eyes High in her dreams or somesuch. She would need to learn that one had to limit themselves at some point, he'd hate to see her end up like some of the Wolfkin that thought of the people around them as two legs instead of people.

 

When Sohvi had cracked one eye open a while ago, the had closed it immediately when the sight she was seeing started making sense. Anton, barely dressed, and still sleeping. On the floor, no less. What kind of a silly man would do such a thing? She’d turned her back to him again, and closed her eyes, trying to get some sleep. That was harder than it had been before, and her dreams, which were peaceful throughout the night, were now filled with nightmare memories of the farm. Of Rita and Jon and others. Though living with Anton would probably be harder than she had expected, it would be easy compared to living with her ‘siblings’.

 

After a while she woke again, this time to the sounds of Anton moving around. After a moment of contemplation she turned and peeked, seeing that he was dressed again. She pushed away the covers, and swung her legs out of the bed, wincing when her bare feet touched the cold floor. “Good morning.” She muttered, brushing her fingers through her hair in an attempt to get the tangles out. She decided it was best to pretend that nothing had happened the night before, and that she hadn’t seen him sleeping on the floor. “Did you sleep well?” she asked.

 

"Could have been better." Handling a knife this early in the morning probably wasn't wise, but he wanted his carrots boiled instead of raw. At least Sohvi seemed alot calmer this morning, he wasn't sure if he could have handled another episode like last night so soon. Not with the rotten achey feeling which seemed to permeate his limbs, though at least the cold was beginning to go away. Definitely not a good idea to speak about what had happened last night, better to let it go and hope it stayed away. At least for now, maybe later they could speak about it. "And you? I was going to check but I didn't want to disturb you."

 

Sohvi shrugged, which could have meant just about everything, from just fine to absolutely horrible and I don’t want to talk about it. As Sohvi really didn’t feel like talking about it, she kept her mouth shut. Anton was apparently working on breakfast, and though she hadn’t been eating all that much before she came her, the thought of eating didn’t really appeal to her. Knowing Anton he’d probably force her to eat though. Probably thought it was for her own good. If only he’d listen to her before decided something was for her own good. They could have avoided their… discussion the previous night. She pulled her legs up from the floor again, sitting on the bed with her legs folded under her. There was an odd scent in the air, strangely sharp and… well, if she didn’t know any better, she’d say that Anton was annoyed. She felt the urge to confirm this, so she asked him. “Are you annoyed?”

 

Looking at Sohvi, Anton frowned before turning back to the carrots. It seemed that sense was beginning to develop which meant that lying was out of the question. That was one thing he did miss, lying helped in all sorts of situations when it came to other people. There were things other people just didn't need to know if they were to remain blissfully ignorant. So much for that. "Yes." Finishing the dicing of the carrots, he tossed them into the boiling pot along with a couple of potatoes he retrieved from the cupboard. Setting the knife down, he turned to Sohvi as he wrapped his blanket around himself a little tighter. "I'm used to waking up over there, I was a bit confused this morning."

 

“Oh.” She said, staring down at her hands. Well, now she knew he was annoyed. That didn’t help the situation much. She wondered briefly if she’d smell this on other people as well, or if it was just on Anton because she’d spent the past few days with him. She looked up again, noticing that he was still looking at her. “I could sleep on the bedroll as well.” She said. It didn’t look particularly comfortable, but she’d slept on worse after she left the farm. “I mean, this is your house… I don’t want to intrude.”

 

Sighing, Anton shook his head. It was a nice gesture but a woman's comfort came before a man's, a guest over a host's so he had double the reason to be sleeping on the bedroll instead of Sohvi. "You're not intruding, its just different is all, I'll get used to it." He would have to, there was no chance he was going to let her sleep on the floor while he took the bed. Besides the fact it would be wrong, the last thing he needed was for Leila to swing by and find Anton asleep in bed with Sohvi on a bedroll. "Besides, we'll get another bed soon enough. Its no trouble."

 

“If you say so…” she said, looking up at him again. The sharp scent stayed with Anton, and while the Sohvi that had lived with her family in Amadicia would have tried to say or do something to make him feel better, the Sohvi that had just discovered that she could hear wolves in her head wasn’t particularly inclined to do so. If he wanted to be annoyed then he could be, for all she cared. “So what do you do around here?” She’d wondered about that for a while. Miryana was the healer, and she thought she’d seen a tavern somewhere, but other than that… was this like a regular village, and if it was, what did Anton do?

 

"As I said when we met, I'm a Tracker." Sitting down on the ground, he placed himself as close to the stove as he could. He still wasn't entirely warm yet, something that didn't help his mood but he tried to put it aside as best he could while talking to Sohvi. "My job first and foremost is to travel and pick up wanderers like yourself. When I'm not doing that, I tend to travel anyway and try and pick up news where I can of things as I go by. Since I'm already out in the world, I'm usually closer to new wanderers than if I waited here. But, while I am here, I just make myself useful where I'm needed and train. While the Rangers are responsible for the defence of the Stedding, they will teach anyone that wishes it. My mentor is one."

 

“You have a mentor too?” she asked, looking a little surprised. Anton seemed a little too old and experienced to have a mentor, but she supposed that she’d seen stranger things already. She’d met her own mentor briefly the day before, and the woman seemed nice. That didn’t actually mean all that much though, because Rita always seemed nice when she met new people too, and then… Sohvi decided that she wasn’t going to think about it. “but… surely there are other things that need to be done as well?” she asked, looking wide-eyed once more.

 

"Yes, but they're not my job." Smiling, Anton stretched his toes as he spoke. "Apart from all the things that need doing, there are four main roles. Rangers defend the stedding, Trackers find new folk. But Watchers, they go throughout the land and try and find news, like I do when I'm not picking up a new wanderer but that is their specific task. Then there are the Sages, they are our wisdoms and wise folk, they usually number some of our finest people in the dream. Your mentor will teach you all the skills you need, Burrich was a good teacher for me all things considered and I think you will do well with Leila. You've met Burrich before in fact." Grinning at the look Sohvi gave him, he continued. "You remember the really big man? The one who looks like a mountain? Thats him."

 

Sohvi shuddered involuntarily at the memory of the giant man she’d seen when she just arrived at the stedding. She was quite sure he was at least twice her size, if not more. She’d seen some big people in her life, but never quite as big as… what had Anton called him? Burrich? She realised that sooner or later, she’d have to meet him. That seemed to be the way of the stedding, everyone knew each other, and it seemed like everyone was comfortable around each other too. Sohvi didn’t see how she could ever come that far. “Yeah, he is rather… mountain-like. I’m glad Leila isn’t like that.” she shivered slightly again at the thought of having to spend time with a giant like Anton’s mentor. “So you just… wander?” Sohvi let that thought sink in for a moment. “But… who… and… don’t you have a mayor or something?”

 

Smiling, Anton shook his head. At least talking was putting him in a better mood, it helped take his mind off the aches and the cold. "For each role we have, be it Ranger or Sage, each has a leader. The four meet in council and decide what is best for the stedding. Its rare when they disagree, sometimes I think it would help if they did so more but then I am one person. As to wandering... Ever since I was old enough, just a few years younger than you are now. Its not even a year since I went through my howling, but some have been here much longer. You don't need to be young to be taken by the howling after all."

 

A year… Sohvi tried to remember what she’d been doing a year ago, but it didn’t come to her. It mustn’t have been important, or she would have remembered. “But don’t you ever miss your family or your friends?” she asked, thinking of how she’d felt when she was alone in the woods, when the howling had just started with her. So lonely. And yet also free. She supposed that the freedom was something worth considering, when the time came for her to choose a role.

 

Family... Anton shrugged as the smile slipped off his face a little. "I never knew who my father was and my mother died giving birth to me. She served at an inn and the innkeeper raised me. Never felt really at home there. While I have friends back in Cairhien, I suppose we've all gotten older and gone our own ways a bit. And I've made friends wherever I've travelled, so whenever I pass through somewhere I've spent some time I always get to catch up with those that I haven't seen during that time. Even now as I wander, I drop by and see them while I can. The eyes make things difficult though, but the ones who are true friends accept it rather than shun me like some have."

 

“I suppose that happens everywhere.” Sohvi said, staring at the floor again. Her father had been so angry when she found out her eyes had changed. As if it had been her fault. Nothing but chance had picked her for this. It might as well have been one of his own, but instead it was the one he’d taken into his house. How much easier did that make it for him to turn her out? Would he have hesitated longer if it had been one of his own flesh and blood? “What’s your favourite place in the world?” she asked him, thinking of the places she had always wanted to see. Who knew, perhaps she would get a chance to see them now that she was no longer tied to her Amadician family.

 

"None." Smiling as Sohvi looked up at him, Anton shrugged at her. "Each place is unique. The stedding where the Ogier live are awe inspiring, but so to is the Dragonmount if you reach the summit and look down on Tar Valon from its peak. Amadicia has its own beauty and by and large its peaceful. Tanchico in Tarabon used to be a wonderful place, you can still see hints of it if you look closely. Shienar is more austere, but there is beauty in the simplicity there. And Mayene I have always liked, if your looks were anything to go by I'd say you were maybe from there. Or maybe Godan in Tear."

 

So many places, most of which Sohvi has never seen. Or perhaps she had seen some with her real parents, before they lost her on the road to Amador. Either way, she didn’t remember any of those places, just like she didn’t remember what her actual parents looked like. Maybe they were from Mayene or Godan like Anton suggested, or maybe they weren’t. It mattered very little now. It wasn’t like she was going to be able to find them amongst the many thousands of people that lived in either Godan or Mayene. “I don’t suppose Tear and Mayene look any friendlier upon people with golden eyes.” She said, smiling wryly. “And I don’t suppose I’ll ever find my parents. It’s worse than looking for a needle in a haystack.” She shrugged. “Maybe I will, and maybe I won’t. It doesn’t change much though. I’d rather have met them when I was younger. Before… well, before a lot of things.”

 

Nodding, Anton could understand a bit of what she was feeling. While he himself hadn't been abandoned as such, he had known plenty who had, or worse. Whenever he had thought about how he had never known his parents, he need only remind himself of that fact and put it in perspective to stop himself from pondering it too much. "The wheel will weave what it wills. Maybe, stranger things have happened after all." Getting to his feet, Anton checked on breakfast. Close enough was good enough as far as he was concerned.

 

"Lets eat."

 

 

Anton Averdal

Farpaw

 

Sohvi Darwin

Shimmer