#panha

They were both children of the Shroud. 

Their paths fleeting but seemed to continuously intertwine - it was merely happenstance more often than he’d like to admit. They shared a connection but the thread was fickle. 

Time and time again he’d see her though, she’d become ‘little sister’ at some point, he really had no clue when. A title of familiarity and one held of admission of family. Protected. Word spread fast through the trees, and even quicker through his brothers in arms. One in particular, a Keeper he was more than familiar with - a man whom he’d dare to call a best friend. A good man with a kind heart. 

Or so he had thought. 

Raeh ran his fingers over the muddy ground beneath him, tracing the small indent of a paw print with light fingertips. It hadn’t rained yet, so the tracks hadn’t yet faded. He stood back up, adjusting the hunting dagger at his hip before continuing onward. Fog was starting to roll into the forest, slowly churning and growing thicker the further he delved into it. 

A low pitched growl resounded through the quiet forest just then and he pivoted to it. 

“Skoll,” he called, his eyes scanning for the wolf. He found him in the clearing, head ducked low and tail curled around a small figure. At his voice, the wolf eased up its guard, ears perking as he approached. 

The silver hair was unmistakable, pale complexion ethereal against the dark shade of the forest. 

“Little sister." 

She did little to acknowledge him, not that he’d expect much anymore. It’d been… strenuous. They’d both lost someone precious, but her even more so. There were no words for his own bitterness, the frustration at grasping vainly at answers that just weren’t there. His best friend and her lover, gone. 

He’d grown since he’d last seen her, now towering over her figure, body acting as a buffer to the churning mist swirling around them. It wasn’t safe for her to be out now. His blood brethren were in the area and he wanted no contact between the bastards and her.

"You have to return Pan–" 

"I’m pregnant.”

Realization and shock mix with the unease and trepidation that lie in his chest but it transforms into anger, surging hotly in his chest. The missing Keeper had done this to her, left and eloped for all he knew - betrayed those that loved him. A traitor in his eyes. 

Her hand is light when he eases it up towards himself, curling his fingers around the smooth skin as he faces it palm up. Something is changing now in her gaze but he tries to ignore it. Many things will change now he knows. His lips meet the delicate skin of the underside of her wrist as he presses a soft kiss of apologetic affection.  

“I’m sorry." 

Raeh vows to find him, to bring this woman the justice she deserves, whether it be alive or dead. 

When Yujika met Ingrid.. 

NOBODY SQUATS WITH M’PANHA. 

Ft: A mostly Squatting @panha-polaali