Sanguine Cove said i'd catch you if you fall

Not Vuesains, just as Archer had shed the name of Valle. It didn't work that way. Whatever they were called, they would still be his brother's children. Family, to both the founders of the Backwater and the Cove. That wasn't to say he didn't understand Leo's claiming otherwise, however, especially in this moment. Anger needed space and time.

'What were you hoping to learn?'

His ears crumpled backward again with annoyance, a frown tugging at his lips. He could've continued turning away and ignored the question altogether, but instead he found himself considering an answer.

'What’s it to you wherever they went?'

Eros pinched his eyes shut a moment, looking as though a headache were plaguing him.

"I never said they're dead to me," he answered in a voice that wasn't as tempered as it had been, before lifting his gaze back up to meet Leo's.

"You're not going to look for Kat?"

(This post was last modified: Dec 01, 2023, 04:46 AM by Eros.)

The animosity between them seemed to have withered, for now, but Leo had no illusions. He knew what he’d done couldn’t be rectified, that he and Eros could never be what they used to. Still, he wanted to hold on to this moment, just a little longer, pretend it all had never happened. As long as Eros paused to listen, Leo wanted to keep talking, to extend what might be their last time ever seeing each other. ‘I never said they’re dead to me’ That one hurt! He’d never wanted Kateri dead, even when their father had died and she wasn’t there, he’d been so angry and hurt, but she was still his sister. Eyes drifting from Eros’, the Vuesain watched his paws, ears drooping. “I… I don’t know,” he answered, truthfully. He hadn’t had time to even consider it - up until now it had been easy to push her from his mind, knowing she was with the Backwater, safe with her chosen family; And now…? He would need to think about that. Looking back up at the other boy, Leo shrugged his shoulders, a helpless half-smile on his lips. There were too many emotions to sort through before he could give a better answer; Does he even care anyway…? Surely not enough to stick around long enough for Leo to figure it out; Guess this is goodbye… ”Speech" Thoughts

dawnthieves.de & Twimperology @DA

Eros had expected an affirmative answer, even if it was just in a subtle expression of being caught rather than verbally expressed. Instead, Leo seemed genuinely unsure. Maybe he didn't have the same kind of relationship with his own myriad of siblings Aleister had unwillingly left behind. Maybe there was a lot that Eros had just assumed they'd had in common, that he'd wanted to be there but just wasn't. Had he ever really known a Cove wolf?

It was difficult to, what with how isolated this cursed valley made them. His gaze wandered briefly over the cold mountainous walls which held them in, and when it returned to his peer's face, there was something of a smile on it. His ears leaned back again, and while he successfully fought back a scowl, there was a plain look of annoyance about his features. Not necessarily with the Vuesain heir, but with the way his heart had started to beat a little faster.

This was shit, all of it. Like they weren't allowed to win. There was no bringing Sephrina back, and so there was no happy ending to be found here, but that didn't make the feelings that had existed for so long before disappear all at once. The dichotomy threatened another swell of emotion.

"Guess it's a harder choice when you've got to literally climb a mountain for it."

Not a stab at Leo, though he realized after the words had left his mouth that it sounded as such. It was this damn land.

"How can you stay up here?" the words rushed out, nearly a demand in their tone.

"When all this fucking mountain does is take wolves and isolates you even when-, no matter who needs you?"

(This post was last modified: Dec 04, 2023, 06:50 AM by Eros.)

Maybe he’d grown jaded – this was far from the first disappearance Leo had experienced, in fact it seemed his life had started with one – and he’d learned, sorely, that if someone didn’t want to be found, they wouldn’t be. But then, maybe that was the difference; Kateri made her choice… Was this really just Eros’ own bad conscience? He’d run his brother out, however justified he might have been in doing it, and now he felt bad. The Valle obviously had other ideas, gazing around in frustration before looking back at Leo, voicing blame towards the mountain. Leo grimaced, feeling doubly hit by the words, though Eros couldn’t have known he would. Kateri had never felt any apprehension towards scaling the mountain, even when she was just a pup, neither had Stella; It’s just me… Forever bound to this valley, terrified of what might happen if he left. Eros’ appeal pierced his thoughts like claws, ripping into the Vuesain’s self-doubts and tearing them wide open. But as the other boy continued, it was clear that he wasn’t talking about the occasional trip into the woods, he meant permanently. Leo suddenly found himself feeling surprisingly calm, an almost tender look on his face as he regarded Eros, waiting until he was sure the outburst was over before replying – voice soft but steady; “It’s my home.” He didn’t want to dismiss Eros, or trample the meaning of his final, pained comment; but Leo needed him to understand, and he thought, hoped, he would; “My family needs me. As long as they’re here, I will be too.”

dawnthieves.de & Twimperology @DA

'It's my home.'

Like it was so simple. And maybe it should have been, but- if the Backwater had killed his father? Devoured his family one by one with no sign of stopping?

'My family needs me. As long as they’re here, I will be too.'

"Your family is damned if they stay here."

The words were out of his mouth before he could even think of stopping them, seething between clenched fangs.

"Get them to move, Leo. Before it's too late."

Maybe then, things would come to be different. Again he wanted to go, emotionally exhausted, even if- even if it was the last time... Eros' own features seemed to begin softening with the thought. Then he remember Archer. Throat dry, he couldn't stay, and would turn away if not stopped.

"I have to find my brother."