Under The Full Moon

Travel's End

The group traveled for some time, the days stretching on ahead of them before the village finally started to come into view. The wolf had remained with Gale, the two seeming to have grown a little closer. Broin walked with the two, holding Gale's hand softly in his own as he lead her up onto a hill that overlooked the village. He looked to Gale, who was lost in the view. Her purple-blue eyes were semi-wide with awe at the way the village looked from there. The people had just started coming out for their daily routines, some of them could be seen from there in the field just outside the village, working the crops. "What do you think?" he asked Gale, waiting patiently for her response. The young woman turned from the view to him, a smile on her lips. 

"I don't even know what to say to tell you what I think, Broin. Your village..." Gale started but stopped. She truly didn't have the words to explain what she was feeling right at that moment. She looked from him to the village, watching it again for a moment or two before Broin's hand under her chin made her look away again. Her soft smile grew as Broin watched her, leaning to place a soft kiss on her forehead and nose before a softer kiss was placed to her lips. The snort of the wolf made him move away from Gale, looking to see she was standing nearby with her ears back a little in what looked like her form of a disapproving expression. 

Broin chuckled. "Oh get over it," he said to the wolf, her head lowering a little more as she let out a grumble at the man, her tail slowly moving behind her in a short wag. Smiling, he turned away from Gale and looked out over the village himself. He heard Gale move beside him, her voice as she spoke to the wolf making him laugh a little.

"Now look, you scared him into letting me go. Are you happy with yourself now?" Gale teased, rubbing the sides of the wolf's head with her hands. The she-wolf wagged her tail a little faster as she grunted, lifting a paw to rest it on Gale's leg as she knelt to sit on the ground with her. It felt good to sit, as they hadn't camped the previous night. They had been close enough to the village to keep going. Broin looked over as the group started down toward the village after a short rest. He watched them, Harland breaking from the group to approach them. Gale looked up from the wolf as he got down off his horse. She smiled at him as she came over to kneel beside her, reaching and rubbing the wolf on the head. 

"Gale, I have an important question to ask you. I need to know if you would like me to stay here with you or if you would be alright with me going ahead to our own village. Some people need to know you are safe again," Harland said, drawing his hand back away from the wolf. Gale watched her father as he brushed her hair back from her face. She was conflicted when it came to this. She wanted him to stay, but she understood his reasoning for needing to go back. 

Gale sighed a little, lifting her hands to rest them on her father's. "Before you go... I want to say thank you for coming out to make sure that I was alright. It was dangerous for you to do so, but..." Gale stopped herself, her voice beginning to shake as emotion started to catch up with her. She looked up at her father, her lower lip trembling a little. 

"Hey, hey, I'll be back," Harland said, drawing Gale into his arms. The young woman buried her face into her father's shoulder, sniffling a little as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as well. "Shhh," He whispered, resting his cheek against Gale's head. The wolf watched the two, one ear going back as she gave a groaning whine. Harland's gaze flicked over to the wolf, watching her for a moment before his attention returned to his daughter. "You are worrying your friend over there. I promise you, as soon as I let them know you are okay, I will be back," He placed a soft kiss on Gale's head before she drew back from his embrace, sniffling and wiping a few tears from her eyes. 

"Alright," Gale whimpered, the wolf moving over to her side and licking her cheek, her tail low but wagging as though trying to cheer her up. Gale gave one more sniff, resting her hand on top of the wolf's head. "You can take Valor with you, I don't want him to get hurt if he stays here. He likes to be bigger than other horses and I don't want him to try to do that with one of the working horses," She said, her father giving a soft chuckle.

"Alright. He's probably faster anyway," Harland said. He leaned forward to kiss the top of Gale's head again before he got up. Gale followed him with her gaze, watching as he went to Broin. She couldn't hear what the two of them were speaking about, their backs were to her and their voices were hushed. Broin looked over his shoulder to Gale, watching her gently for a moment before he looked back to her father. He gave a nod, her father patting Broin's back between his shoulders before he turned to go back to where he had left his horse. She watched as he got back in the saddle, riding out to trade horses with Wysteria, who had been riding Valor. Broin turned back to Gale.

"Come on, let's get down to the village so you can get some rest. Your father said he would be back in a couple of days," Broin spoke softly, offering his hand to Gale. She took it, standing up with his help. She wasn't really tired, hungry maybe, not really tired. Especially now. Gale would be worrying about her father until she saw him again. Butting her head against Gale's leg, the wolf seemed to urge her forward as Broin began to walk. 

"I'm going, I'm going," Gale said to the wolf. Despite the way she was feeling, a small smile crept upon her lips. The wolf seemed to know this, a grin of sorts forming on her muzzle as she wagged her tail a little faster, walking beside Gale as she made her way to the village with Gale. The smile that was on Gale's lips had faded, however, when she watched as her father and the soldiers started off away from the rest of the group. She knew he was safe with them, but it didn't stop her from worrying about him. When Gale sighed, Broin let go of her hand and rested his arm around her shoulders. 

"He will be alright," Broin said, rubbing Gale's shoulder. The young girl nodded once.

"I hope you're right..." She whispered. "There is no telling what's out there," Gale knew this for certain this time. She herself had been part of the unknown for a while, and one could even say that she still was. Looking away from her father as he distanced himself, Gale started walking again. Broin watched her, looking at the wolf after a minute or two. The animal whined at him before she started after Gale, Broin soon following.