The fields still bloomed, even in the heart of winter. A soft snow covered the ground and the now dried grasses. The white flowers, shaped almost like the common lily, still clung to the ground, another feature hinting at the magic still clinging to this holy place where a battle was fought and won. Everything seemed to be frozen in time, the only indication of change was the consistent pinkening of the eastern sky as night faded in dawn.

If one were to look very carefully, they would see something as motionless as the field - a small figure curled up in the dry grasses. The child did not move, and one might think her sleeping... or dead. But if you were to get closer, you would see that her bright gray eyes were opened wide, staring up at the sky and her breathing was released in a soft mist regularly. There was something very small held in her ivory colored hand.

She watched every change, as nimbus clouds edged across the dome that was the heavens, said farewell to every star that faded away at the sun's coming approach, and saw as the moons sunk beyond her sight. All of this the child watched, not bothered by the cold January air, even though she was obviously not dressed for the cold weather besides the ragged cloak she was curled with.

Under her breath she began to whisper something, a prayer or some sort of song. After falling silent once more, she blinked as though waking up from a deep rest. The child sat up carefully, raising her arms in a long stretch and yawn. The movement of her arm caused a silver chain to fall free from the palm that had held the hidden treasure. By now the sky was getting brighter by the second and the sun was only minutes away.

Tilting her head to the side with the curiosity only a child could express, she stared at one of the flowers by her side as the girl deftly placed the necklace back around her throat. The chain was long, so the charm hanging from it dangled to the bottom of her ribcage. The charm itself seemed to be made of silver as well and round, much like a coin. A strange sigil was etched on it's face.

Stagnant he remained in his position on the fields, his emerald hues grazing their way across his surroundings. It was a place he never visited, simply because in a way he felt somewhat bound to the souls lost on these fields. A foolish prospect it was, but the new angelic bond he had shared pushed him to feel this way. So many questions plagued his head; why, who, and how….Though, they would never be answered no matter how much he wanted them to be. The best he could now was to pay what respects he could and be on his way…

Lowering to a single knee, a delicate hand would move out to white flower before him only to gently caress it and admire the beauty it had before withdrawing it back to his side. Bowing his head for a moment, he would utter a prayer for those lost, but he would be interrupted before he could finish. Opening his eyes once again, they would shift over to the wolf gnawing playfully at his hand, causing him to smile softly and lightly ruffle the wolf’s fur, “I suppose it’s time…” With that, he would force himself up to an erect stance and begin again in a slow and steady walk, the wolf right at his side. It wouldn’t take but a couple of moments to bring himself to a stop again as something caught his eye not too far off. From the looks of it, it had been nothing other than a child, which caused his head to tilt curiously to the side. What would a child be doing out here of all places? Though, before he could think on it twice, the wolf at his side would jolt off towards the child, causing him to call out after it but to no avail.

An annoyed sigh escaped his parted lips, before giving chase after the foolish wolf, only to find him stopped a few feet shy of the girl. Once he slowed from his trot and came to a halt, a light smile would etch across his countenance, before bowing slightly, “I apologize if he or I scared you. Neither of us mean any harm…” Shifting his eyes from the girl and then to the wolf, he would lower into a crouched position just in front of the wolf so theirs would meet, “Now as for you, remember what we agreed upon? If you behaved and listened to me, you would have a place to stay and be fed. I think you’re breeching our contract.” The wolf tilted its head to the side, before flopping over onto its side and then to its back, where it would playfully swat its paw at its Master’s hand. Heaving an exasperated sigh, he would shake his head at the wolf, before lightly rubbing its belly, “Oi…You’re something else wolf, truly something else.”

Turning his attention back from the wolf, he would once again stand and turn his attention back to the child, “I’m not all too sure why a kid like you would be out in a place like this, but perhaps it’s wise that I don’t ask. So, let me ask you something else instead, are you cold? Because if you are, I’ll let you borrow my cloak, hmmm?” A playful smile danced across his visage, before removing his cloak and lowering to a crouch again, where he would offer it out to her.

(So sorry for the super-late reply! X3 )

She saw the wolf before the man following and her reaction was that of fear. Jumping to her feet, she grabbed the only thing in reach; a rather pathetic stick. Feebly brandishing the stick with one hand, and throwing the other up defensively before her face she braced herself for the wolf to attack... which never came.

The girl dared to peek past her arm, where the wolf was standing. He was a few feet away, watching her without any trace of aggression, just curiosity. She didn't dare move for another two breaths, but still the wolf did not attack. Then she saw the stranger, close on the animal's heels and quick to apologize. Strangely quiet, the girl listened as he chastised the runaway lupine and smiled as the man looked up in exasperation of his companion. A druid, the girl thought suddenly and gazed at him with a new sense of wonder.

Carefully ignoring the offered cloak, she leaned forward to look at his face, her gray eyes met by his incredibly green and gold flecked ones. "I thought druids were masters of wild animals. You're wolf doesn't seem to listen very well," she said shyly, with a small smile. Even though she did not know for sure of the man's profession, her statement was better than trying to explain to him why she wasn't cold. It was yet another reminder of the many strange qualities she had. It set her apart from the other street urchins and orphans. And when people started asking too many questions... well, that was when they started treating her differently.

Not waiting for his response, she took a furtive step towards the shaggy red wolf, her hand extended for him to sniff, the same way that she had learned was best to greet a strange dog on the street. She had never seen a living wolf up close before, just the skins and some stuffed ones in taxidermy shop windows and was thrown by how like dogs they were. The stories and fables told made wolves sound like monstrous, bloodthirsty beasts, but this one seemed far from that description.

When the child spoke of not having a great control over the wolf, he simply laughed nervously before offering a slight shrug. What could he say after all, it was quite apparent the creature didn’t listen to him, but then again he had only befriend it the other day, which could be one of the reasons why it wasn’t so inclined to listen to him. Whatever the reason, it really didn’t matter, he only hoped that the wolf would choose to behave or he would have an issue on his hands. The only reason he had brought the creature out to a place like this was to be alone, the last thing he had expected was to have a child out here as well. Also, it was sort of a bonding time between the two of them and a point in which he would bring the wolf to an understanding as to who was the one in charge here.

Offering a slight shrug in response to the child’s statement, “Wolves are the beasts of the wilderness, violent and vicious. They learn to kill to be fed and to never accept strangers within their packs or even around themselves. They’re a very anti-social animal and very unapproachable, if you were to find this gal in the wild, it would be wise to never approach such a creature. But I think I’ve done a good job in the four days we’ve been together, despite the earlier incident….” A light frown crossed his lips, as his eyes shifted over to the wolf who was now laying chest flat against the soft earth bellow, “Kiara, you’re going to be nice now, right? If you behave, I got a nice treat for you when we get back to Kellen.”

The wolfs head cocked itself to the side slightly as it tried to listen to what its Master was saying, before turning its attention to the child’s hand. Cautiously its head would extend out to greet the hand with a few sniffs, before lightly nudging it with her muzzle. The child seemed to wish no ill harm on her, but it didn’t entirely mean she wouldn’t be willing to defend herself should the need arise.

A faint smile curled the corner of his mouth as he watched the two of them, before speaking again, “I found Kiara out in the woods covered in her own blood. From what it looked like, she had a confrontation with another pack. I ended up nursing her back to her current health and since then we’ve been almost never been apart from each other. The only spot you have to worry about touching her is her legs, it looks like those were their main targets. She’s healed a lot, but I’d still imagine they’re quite sore and they were the worst off when I found her. She’s had a few scratches and gashes over the rest of her body and the one beneath her right eye, but that’s about it. She’s lucky to have survived as long as she had…” His voice trailed off, while his eyes shifted over to the wolf. It was truly a miracle that she had even survived long enough for him to even find her. She had a warrior’s spirit, that much was true….