[AW] you cried wolf

[Sigrun]

Sigrun it's a long way down to the bottom of the river There was work to be done and so Sigrun had set out from her home in the heart of the swamp to see it done. Her stores had been growing thin and needed replenishing. They needed doubling, perhaps, if she wanted to be ready for the trials ahead, and not everything she needed could be found close to Tinea. The fields were the first step on her foraging foray and though she was careful in picking her way through the long grasses her mind was more than occupied. Terrastella--and beyond that the rest of Novus--waited for her and to the Witch Doctor it was difficult not to see it as a ring of wolves ready to begin the hunt the moment her people left the safety of their hidden halls. Her vision had showed her a people restored but the isolation that had once saved them was now the obstacle to their growth. It was time to meet the wolves. A flash of gold catches her eye, movement in the tall grasses, and painted woman is pulled from her thoughts to focus her attention a figure moving on a collision course to her own path. “Lone wolf… But is your pack nearby?” barely more than a murmur on her breath, the words carry all the weight of her dark thoughts. Do I start this now? Do I have a choice? She doesn’t. The impulse to fade back before she can be noticed is curbed. Go forth, Sigrun, the world is waiting. To hide is to die. Resolute in her purpose, Sigrun obeys. She picks up her step, moving to intercept the stranger at a trot and when he lifts his head she calls out. “Be still, child, and tell me your name.” Her voice is calm, matronly, though the cadence is strange. There are half-beat pauses between each phrase, and she turns her head to glance around looking back at her target only when she quiets. She slows as she approaches, peering at the figure before her who is as polished as she is dull. Rusty eyes squint appraisingly, giving her a slight nearsighted and takes in all that she can see. ”You don’t belong here.” It’s not a question, not even a judgement, just a flat statement. ”No you don’t belong here, shiny thing. Don’t look at the sky too much while you walk, not around here.”