Nimeway sighed as she plopped down on the front porch. The door was kept ajar in case Beriadan woke up from his sleep and started crying, which he had been doing more often since Rossethor was gone. Though right now she had a moment to sit silently, looking up to the night sky. A cold breeze blew over the damp ground, pushing away the clouds in the sky to show the stars. Nime took in a deep sigh, watching the stars twinkle as she sat in the light of the moon, her thoughts wandering from everything that is going on in her life. She was grateful that Hardoleth had granted her permission to look for Ross, though he gave her strict orders to not enter Angmar itself. Oh, she'll have to try her best to follow that order, but she did also need to think of Beriadan. She would leave once she was sure someone was able to keep a good eye on him, she didn't trust the young girl who already babysat him from time to time well enough.
Then Nime's mind shifted to the two girls she met earlier that night. One seemed to go by the name of 'Harly' and Nime didn't catch the other girl's name. They hate Gerwolf for whatever reason. Although he wasn't Nime's favorite of people, she suddenly realized she might have vented to much anger out when they asked about him. Though it did feel nice to complain about something, even if it was Gerwolf. Nime cared about Addiel dearly, so she cared about Gerwolf. Though Nime didn't want to get involved, not until she had found Ross and brought him home. That's all Nime wanted to do at that point.
She let out a soft sigh before quickly jumping as a wet fish falls onto her lap. Nime looked from the fish up to the large, young dog, who waged his tail. His ribs were visible under his long grey pelt and his tail wagged from side to side, shaking his bottom along with it. Suddenly, Nime's mind clicked and she realized it wasn't just any dog before her, but a wolf, yet something of the wolf seemed familiar about her. The wolf barked at her, rubbing his paw on the ground below him. That's when Nime noticed the scars along his paw, and she remembered the wolf pup she had helped a while back.
Now the wolf pup was larger, standing outside her door and offering her a fish to eat. Nime slowly reached out to the wolf, and he licked her hand with his tail still wagging. A smile spread across Nime's face, and she stood up. The wolf barked again, only this time to be answered by a snarl from Nime's large dog, Baloo, who barreled out of the door and tackled the young wolf.
The wolf retaliated and bit down on Baloo's leg, which caused the dog to yelp loudly, slashing at the wolf's face. Nime watched the two in surprise before shaking her head and yelling, 'Baloo, knock it off. Inside, now!'
Baloo stopped almost immediately, backing away from the wolf and back to the door, standing behind Nime until she pushed him all the way inside. She then reached her hand out to the wolf again to see the blood seeping from a slash on his face. Opening the door again, Nime led the wolf to the guest bedroom, shutting the door to stop Baloo from attacking again. When she cleaned up his wound, she let the wolf lay onto the bed, giving him the fish once more and leaving him to rest in the room, shutting the door behind her.
Life sometimes gives you certain creatures when you may need them the most, even if you don't know you needed them. Nime had been feeling slightly lonely and afraid from the absence of Ross. She was also afraid to travel to the North-Downs without Ross or Baloo, for she knew she had to leave Baloo to look after Beriadan. But now life offered her another friend to help her, even when she didn't realize how the wolf could help her.
“I realized it for the first time in my life: there is nothing but mystery in the world, how it hides behind the fabric of our poor, browbeat days, shining brightly, and we don't even know it.” -Sue Monk Kidd
