Drooping Willows the high priestess

It had always come down to her company.

She wondered if she had woven a magic too tight around him, or if the newness of such a thing to these wolves held a greater weight than she had ever seen. She might have pressed further if it would not invite him to do the same!

Instead she leaned further into him. It bordered on near mindless self indulgence as he preened at her crown.

Are you saying you would not keep me with you if I froze in a storm? Would you not wish to see me thaw in the spring? She would tuck anxieties and insecurities further down as she reached for him now. Small teeth desperate to nip at his chin before she'd respectfully swipe her tongue over the same spot.

adopt my brother!

note: mentions of fortune telling and magic are purely a belief system.

Another deep chuckle as she shared her playful words, painting a far more whimsical picture than reality would create. He didn't mind her nibbles and kisses, instead they caused his tail to happily slap against the ground as he wagged it. He had always been an affectionate wolf, and Niamh made it feel effortless to dote upon her and allow the same in return.

"I'd never allow you to be harmed in the first place," he clarified with a smile. A majority of life's events could not be controlled, but everything that was in his power to do would be done to keep her safe. The Ridge was a family, and even if new, he felt her to be a part of it.

"Have I earned a question?" another jest, though her answer would indeed guide his audacity.

(This post was last modified: Mar 22, 2023, 03:14 AM by Hagar.)

A charmer!

She beamed at him from her place below his head. Her own tail picked up a soft sway in rhythm before it would settle down once more. A thing that seemed to come and go with his words. If she had never heard him speak before, she would not have thought he harbored such a delightful nature within.

She would have thought that Bearkissed might very much have the personality of his namesake. Many men like him would.

Each question that I ask earns you one. That is how debt works in the way of knowledge. Now she settled! Reclined on stick-like legs as she awkward reached to preen at one of her own shoulders. Only briefly! She wished to quickly look back upon his face and hear the words he would speak in full.

adopt my brother!

note: mentions of fortune telling and magic are purely a belief system.

An agreeable enough arrangement, though he also felt that meant that which was on his mind would not be equivalent. Her latest query had been just as light and airy as her demeanor. It would be unfair for him to dig any deeper, especially when score was to be kept. Even if for him such a method was merely a curiosity rather than principle; Hagar would likely never view Niamh as indebted to him in any way.

"What about my fortune?"

Was he using the word correctly? He had an inkling about the workings of mysticism thanks to conversations with Ra, but it was certainly still all very novel to him. Wolves back home had not claimed such knowledge and power, but they had whispered about it living in others. Who was to say what forces truly moved the world? He trusted Niamh and her words.

His paws started to work the snow, doing as much as could be done to create a divot for them to shelter in without jarring his companion. It wasn't just that he didn't want to bother her, he didn't want the warmth of her touch to pull away even for a moment. Still, if they could lay between the drifts they would be even further protected and comfortable.

A fortune.

She hid her heightened curiosity behind a well trained smile. What on earth compelled him to ask? Perhaps it was the hardships that his family, his children, his home had faced. Surely continued loss or suffering would be enough for any to come and seek an answer.

Faith seemed to be born in the darkest of hours by those new to it.

Slowly she worked her paws alongside his own.

Typically one comes with a question in their heart first and this is what it seen by the soothsayer as they find an answer. She could only speak at a formal length now for the sake of her livelihood. Her faith. These things would never come light. Do you have your question in your heart, Bearkissed? Will I find it if I go looking?

adopt my brother!

note: mentions of fortune telling and magic are purely a belief system.

It wasn't so simple as he had hoped, then. Hagar reflected, green gaze drifting with his thoughts. In a way, it felt like trying to wish upon dying stars as a child. Did similar rules apply, in which these things were meant to be secret or else they would be spoiled before coming to fruition? Could answers be changed, then?

He looked to Niamh and nodded, confident she held all these answers and more. Was this new path he was attempting to undertake the right one? Was he asking for too much, would those he loved pay the price for it? Or should he keep pushing, should he try to mold this life of his into something novel and glistening? He tried to narrow all of this down, lowered his broad forehead to rest it against hers, and focused. As though he could will a connection between their hearts.

Do I go forward, or stay still?

a single tarot card was pulled for this reading to navigate her answer! the card pulled was...

She leaned into him, harder than she normally would.

For she too believed that the connection was stronger this way. Her voice thrummed in her throat with a deep humming sound. She continued on with this sound for a moment as she tried to muster strength within her heart, her mind. Without trinkets it did not feel so easy, but she knew it could be done.

You are at a new beginning, like the turn of the season things will begin to change around you in life. Her gaze glimmered with warmth as she whispered these things to him. A leap of faith might need to be made, but do not be scared of it, Bearkissed. Have faith in your future.

She could not make him believe these things if he did not want to. Yet she did look for something in his face. To see if he would now only think her a fraud or rebuke her words. She had not forgot the conversation of faith with Ra that she had held.

adopt my brother!

note: mentions of fortune telling and magic are purely a belief system.

Just like that, she appeared to have indeed read his heart. Perhaps his mind? Whatever the source, her answer resonated with him deeply. That she might be pulling wool over his eyes never once occurred to him. Hagar's world had never been tainted by malicious characters, allowing him to still be naïve about some things. No, he believed as she did; that these words held weight and great meaning.

He did not respond verbally, but Hagar met Niamh's gaze and held it, taking in every fleck of color that defined her irises and the thoughtful emotions they expressed. She made him feel secure, at home in a way that was almost foreign. It was comparative to the way he had once felt with Avella, and perhaps could one day feel again, but stronger, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was the feeling Camden had given her despite her claims of his just being a distraction.

He placed a kiss upon her crown, and rumbled his gratitude deep in his chest.

(This post was last modified: Mar 23, 2023, 05:22 AM by Hagar.)

He listened and seemed to take these things in full.

Her heart thrummed wildly against her chest. To be seen, to be accepted. She had always burned like a flame, extinguished just as quickly if not tended to. Twice now he had tended to her, to the things that mattered most. She would not squander this or him.

She moved now to wrap her forelegs around his bearish neck, an attempt to bring him down with her into the snow divot they had barely made. She needed no words to convey these things to him. That the heart she held in her breast beat for him now, even if only for a small while.

adopt my brother!

note: mentions of fortune telling and magic are purely a belief system.

She pulled him towards intimacy once more, and he found it difficult to show restraint. Hagar followed her lead, chocolate fur enveloping her thinner frame while he buried his face against the ruff of her neck and inhaled deeply. Reason fought hard to stay afloat within his consciousness, and would continue to guide him even against these mounting odds. He couldn't so easily shed those insecurities the misunderstanding with Avella had birthed, and found himself wishing that instead, Niamh had come to them sooner. That this season wasn't around to muddle their thoughts and influence their decisions.

Then he would know, if this was truly a bond worth pursuing or if he would be put to the side once she'd gotten what she wanted from him.

Still, there were many ways to show another with affection, and to even help eliminate some of the tension built up between them. Hagar would ensure this moment stretched long, and that Niamh was shown just how special he truly thought her.