Rhes watched the guest, a small smile back on her face. He seemed like he would fit in with the tribe well enough, as long as he was here.
”Was it a good hunt?” Jeim asked, all hostility toward Sirius evaporated.
Gwen nodded, humming enthusiastically. ”Very good. Your papa saw me take down a big buck.” she told with a smile, though she was still a little uneasy thinking about the final blow.
Sirus gave a soft appreciative nod to Rhes when he noticed her watching, the equivalent of a compliment to her cooking, before his attention was diverted by talk of the hunt once again. It was already clear that this was a big deal in the tribe, but he wondered what the small boy would have to say about it.
Jeim’s eyes widened though he stayed quiet as he listened eagerly to the story.
Rhes chuckled a little at the nod and turned her attention to the conversation as well. ”I’m looking forward to seeing the antlers you earned… brave hunter.”
Gwen blushed at the new nickname. ”I should get them soon. Maybe a couple of days.” she shrugged. ”Though I don't think it was a brave hunt. The scariest part was coming across Sirius.” she lied with a chuckle. Yes, meeting him, in both forms, for the first time had been unnerving but it hadn't been the part that truly stopped her heart.
(Hey, probs won't respond again tonite, just an FYI)
(Ok. Happy Halloween!)
Jeim’s eyes widened though he stayed quiet as he listened eagerly to the story.
Rhes chuckled a little at the nod and turned her attention to the conversation as well. ”I’m looking forward to seeing the antlers you earned… brave hunter.”
Gwen blushed at the new nickname. ”I should get them soon. Maybe a couple of days.” she shrugged. ”Though I don't think it was a brave hunt. The scariest part was coming across Sirius.” she lied with a chuckle. Yes, meeting him, in both forms, for the first time had been unnerving but it hadn't been the part that truly stopped her heart.
Sirus rolled his eyes a little when he was deemed the scariest part of the hunt, which was understandable with all things considered.
Corvin chuckled briefly, rolling his eyes as well. ”I highly doubt that. I saw everything and what you had to do was very brave.” he said, meaningfully. ”You didn't run. You didn't back away. You stuck by your training and… I’m very proud of you, Gwen.” he smiled.
The young woman looked up at her teacher and somehow managed to smile softly back, though her eyes were starting to water and not because of the compliment. ”Thank you, Corvin. You were a wonderful mentor.”
Sirus stayed silent, letting them have their bonding moment, though he too had to admit that she had been very brave, both in the hunt, and in encountering him.
”Well, you were an eager student.” Corvin pointed out.
Gwen chuckled a little, blushing softly at that and went back to her dinner.
”So, how long do you plan to stay with us?” Rhes asked, trying to get Sirius more involved in the conversation.
"However long I need to, possibly until I get bored or need to move on." he said with a shrug, when Rhes brought him back into the conversation. "It entirely depends on anything and everything with a lot of chance."
Gwen let out a small snort of a laugh. ”Good luck getting bored here. There's always something to do.” she pointed out from her experience. ”You’re a guest so you won't be required to do anything if you don't want to… But honestly, if you're looking for boredom, try court life.” she smirked.
Sirus nodded, "As I've had to sit in court sessions before, I agree with you." he said softly, "Court is boring, hell, even for wolfpacks it's boring."
”You really get around… don't you?” she smiled, impressed and a little jealous that she never had the opportunity to travel much.
Sirus shrugged, "I guess I do." he said, offering a friendly smile, at this point just glad no one was asking about how things were run in a wolfpack, because he would know too much, then get asked more uncomfortable questions….
Gwen smiled back at him. She may not have known much about how a wolf pack was run, other than by the Alpha wolf, but if he was relating it to a life in a royal court… Well, she knew what that was like and didn't want to think about it more than she had to.
”Is it really that bad?” Jeim asked a little sadly. The little boy honestly wanted to know more about what it was like to be wolf, they were one of his favorite animals, but if it was really like what Gwen had told him what her life was like before she joined their family…
Sirus nodded, "It is, maybe not quite as bad as human courts since there are less officials depending on the meeting…" he sighed, "But still tedious. Very very tedious."
Jeim nodded slowly at the explanation… Even though he didn't understand ”tedious”. Maybe it just meant boring, since that what they were talking about earlier.
Gwen tilted her head slightly. ”Is that why you're a rouge?” she inquired gently.
Sirus shook his head. "Not quite.." he said softly, "I left for several reasons, most much more personal than political." he sighed. "The whole thing is both tedious and simple… Maybe sometime I'll explain it to you."
“I understand.” the former princess nodded a little. ”There had been times when I thought about running away before but… Well, I could never work up enough courage on my own to go through with it.” she admitted honestly, hoping to make him feel a little more at ease.
Rhes chuckled softly while Corvin was trying to keep a small smirk off his face since they all knew in the end, Gwen didn't even need to run off… because she had been brought here. Then her courage made a volatile appearance.
Sirus nodded quietly in response to her admission of having wanted to run away rather than be kidnapped. Personally he wished he'd been kidnapped as a kid. He could've probably convinced his captors he wasn't worth a thing to his pack and run ages ago…
Jeim unwillingly let out a long yawn and Corvin looked up to gauge the time through the smoke hole in the roof. ”Sun must be setting.” he commented, noting how darker it was.
Gwen nodded, picked up Jeim and stood to carry him to his bed while Corvin helped his wife to her feet.
Sirus of course hadn't really noticed the time, being partial to the nighttime hours himself. But as people started moving, he too got to his feet, stretching a little bit, before waiting for Gwen.
Gwen helped tuck Jeim into his bedroll. ”Not tired.” he whined.
”You will be in the morning if you don't close your eyes soon.” Gwen chuckled. The advice was unneeded however as the four-year-old was slowly losing the will to keep them open. ”Good night, Jeim.” she whispered before turning to leave.
”Don’t forget, you may be a hunter now, but you still have training in the morning to be a warrior.” Corvin reminded her.
Sirus watched quietly from the doorway, fully intending on just shadowing her for a few days. At this point he'd pretty much seen enough. He didn't need to bring her back, and here she would thrive. So mainly, he would stay because this place was friendly, and maybe also to fend off nastier bounty hunters.
Gwen nodded and gave a wave of good night before walking out of the family's tent to head to her own.