Broken Timber Pines blasphemy's permitted once again

For @Maeve only.
Backdated to June 5th. Clear weather, afternoon.

It had been a busy morning, taking him quite a bit away from the pack's territory. That was pretty much the point, of course. It was refreshing to just get the hell away. Away from Zane's glares and @Zeta's incessant bonding attempts, from responsibilities and stiff greetings and other wolves and things that he really did not care about. Given Erebos' history with, well, everything, it really wasn't a surprise that he would require these breaks more often than the next wolf. In fact, the surprise lay in how little he actually disappeared these days, as the man was unnaturally intent on keeping his word to @Iopah and @Eirian.

There had to be some purpose to his trip, and that was found easily enough. The gains of his venture were stacked neatly atop his tongue and held securely between his jaws, a bundle of cattails for the adopted little girl that still rebuffed pretty much everyone. Why he had a soft spot for her, he wasn't sure. Probably because he saw himself in the hellstorm of what she would become, maybe because he had the sense that she wouldn't be around for much longer. Whatever it was, she had been the only one he thought to bring a trinket back for this time.

Finally reaching the interior of the pack's domain, he set the gifts down, passing his tongue through his own fur a few times to rid it of the taste. Already the atmosphere felt heavy and he yearned to turn right back around and leave again. Gone were the days that he could just act on any whim, however. After a heavy sigh, he tilted back his head and sent out a yowl, calling for the young orphan. I've got a surprise fer ya, Maeve.

Again, I'm extremely sorry for the wait! DX

These days it was far from unusual to hear someone calling out for the orphan, however just because it somehow became an everyday occurrence didn't make it any less annoying. In all actuality, the only thing stopping Maeve from ignoring the call all together was the fact that it came from Erebos this time. The male hardly ever summoned her, thus personally concluding that the event might at the very least be something worth while. "Comin', comin'." The fae grunted, shaking away any grogginess that remained from her afternoon nap. "Have yer head on'a damn stick if it ain't importan', old man."

Trotting toward the sound of his voice, Maeve was finally able to spot Erebos standing patiently in the distance. "Ya' you jus' wait there! Ain't like I was nappin' or anythin'! Y' hear me, bucko?! Thi' better be importan'!" she hollered, a feigned annoyance clear in her tone. The orphan then proceeded to close the distance between the pair, curiosity once more piquing as she noticed the small bundle of cat tails placed neatly before him.

"Wait. A-are.. These.. Fer me..?" Maeve muttered, eyes lighting up like fireflies at the sight of her favorite flora. "Where'd... Where'd y' get 'em?" She'd been so certain this whole time that they only grew back near the plateau, though clearly she must have been mistaken. Unless..

He waited patiently for her to respond, and when a call did not come swiftly he hoped for her to show at all. Maybe she was out of the territory, disappeared in the time he had been gone on another hopeless search for @Celandine. He wondered, as he had never asked, if she ever searched for @Wren as well. It marveled him still that she held such admiration for an irritable child that had clearly abandoned her. They were all a sour bunch of grapes, however; maybe such stains couldn't be noticed when you were just one of many. It practically made her an Argyris, just without the actual blood.

When her grumpy face finally crested the horizon of his vision, and her annoyed words ran in front of her, the elder did nothing but smirk antagonistically back her. To make the point even more clear that her leisure time was trivial to him, he planted his rump firmly upon the ground. It was fun with Maeve, to see who could be the more rotten and stubborn one.

Then at last she saw her gift, and his features softened ever so subtly as he felt a flicker of happiness at her appreciation for his gift. He'd thought she'd like them, but with Maeve it was always difficult to be certain that she'd take to anything at all.

"The Fen," he answered her, "haven't seen'em anywhere nearer yet. I was in tha area, though, figured why not bring y'some. Y'keep frownin' so much n'yer is gunna freeze that way."