Willow Ridge a love that will last

A little something short for @Elettra. c:

September 13th; Evening, hours after sunset; Partly Cloudy; 57 ° F, 14 ° C.

After taking quite a walk just beyond the borders, Angier returned to Willow Ridge. His head and tail were held at a neutral position, his heart feeling a little heavier than usual. At first he merely walked the borders, going from landmark to landmark and pressing his paws in places where he felt it was necessary; by sundown, his path steered him inward into the heart of the territory, past the Infirmary and past many a familiar tree. His pale eyes scanned the spaces between the trees, his nose twitching every so often in case he happened upon a recent path where Elettra had recently been.

Every so often, he thought he caught a whiff of her distinct scent then attempted to follow it and ended up losing the trail. Whether tracks had been a day old or only hours old, he couldn't particularly tell anymore in this part of the Ridge. As far was he knew, she was everywhere around here. She saw and heard everything; perhaps, if he kept still long enough he would find himself being observed. After some time he stopped at a certain clearing and held his breath, holding still as he listened for her approach.

Impatience saw through him, though, and as if he couldn't help himself, his tail waved about twice in the air. "El?" he tried, his hopeful bark a simple blip of sound through the willows. His teeth clenched together as he waited, withholding all the words he was yearning to share with her about what was to come.

The sun was already falling down past the tops of the forest trees beyond her view by the time she had returned home. Elettra had spent the better part of her day alone, wondering the borders and by the time Ravenna had managed to catch up with her, the pair, mother and daughter, moved into the Rise where they searched for herbs to add to both the Storage area which Morganna supplied and the Infirmary where already the pups, Angier and Elettra were becoming cramped in. As the day became late Elettra had beckoned her daughter to return home with herbs in tow, which she did without hesitance. It seemed so long as Ravenna was able to wonder outside of the territory with permission, it kept her from getting out of trouble by wondering off on her own.

Now she was taking to Angier's trail, zipping into a different direction and rubbing herself along the brush of the land if she felt he had caught wind of her too. Hours past and the game began to slow to an end as she found himself an open placement to observe amongst the sparse willow trees. She watches him and even as he calls out to her she is quiet, ever watchful... Though her feet begin to move silently from behind him. She was not nearly the kind of scout her two sons, Skoll and @Greer, were and perhaps was not even as productive as Angier in the art, though she slunk low as though he were prey itself. Only until she felt close enough to him, did she bark sharply, jaws snapping at open air. She would scare that ol' man half to death if she could.

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

If Angier was going to be honest with himself, he would have accepted that his eyesight was getting much worse than it had ever been before. As it was, he was loath to let anyone get even the smallest hint of this concerning impairment. Even if it was natural, obviously wrought on by old age, the Lyall was not ready to admit that he was, well, old - with young cubs to raise, fatherhood made the thought easy to cast aside.

For a time, he stared out into the open, the gathering dark slowly beginning to cast a veil over his eyes. It was easy to miss the Queen standing there nearly out of view. He didn't even realize that she was close until a sudden shadow leapt out from behind him. A sudden bark and a snap of her jaws made him flinch but he did not fold or even jerk away. He had been given a scare quite a few times in his day, especially where and whenever Skoll was concerned. At this point, if the prince had it in for him, he was ready to take it.

The Leader stood stiffly in his place, his whole body shaking from being given such a start. His eyes had closed tight but upon opening them he squinted into the dark, only half certain that it had been Elettra. Releasing the breath from his lungs and heaving a sigh, he dipped his head downward before holding himself straight once more. His heart was much too old for this and it thumped about in his chest like a frog in the mud.

An uneven breath sought refuge within him and he slumped down in defeat. "Really?" he asked, his tone both sarcastic and tired. "Really? As if I weren't beat already..."

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He had managed to keep his placement, not darting off or even falling over like others Elettra may have known. Though he flinched, closed his eyes and shivered by the sudden start, he had kept his placement which was everything she could have expected from her mate. Had in been Elettra being startled, she would have snapped back angrily and asked questions after, which was probably why their children thought it best to torment Angier instead. It seemed over the years however, he had more or less 'gotten used to it'.

She finds a smirk easing over her gray lips, a small chuckle escaping as she came closer to him, brushing her muzzle along his cheek. "You dont look beaten to me..." Maybe a bit warn. Leadership, being a father of so many children (more specifically new ones to raise), spending the lot of your life as a roamer, and of course, age, would do that do you... Still, Elettra felt he was still the strong, level-headed and smart man he had always ever been. "Whats the matter?" She coos delicately, turning away and then sitting down in front of Angier, her rump to his front paws where she could lean back into him, her head tossing back to try and nip affectionately.

"You don't look beaten to me..." she crooned. It did little to appease him. "What's the matter?" His ears angled back and he chose to turn his head away from her as the shame threatened to eat him alive from within. His throat felt as if it were about to tighten, to keep his words forever unsaid. A majority of him was ashamed; old age had rendered him into something decrepit, something that was not the ideal image of Willow Ridge as a whole. Losing his sight made him feel like he was absolutely worthless.

"I can't-" he stumbled over his words, almost frightened to figuratively say them to her face. His brow furrowed and he slouched just enough so that he could press his graying temple and the side of his face into her ruff and shoulder. "I can't see, El'."

He sniffed, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes as though a dust storm had whipped up into his face. "Everything's fuzzy. I... I didn't see ya there in th' dark. If it 'ad been Skoll, if it 'ad been someone from that other pack-" he rambled on, not bothering to clarify which group of wolves he had actually meant, "I could've been..." Dead.His teeth grit together and suddenly he didn't even want to think of it. Not yet. He had to present the idea to his mate first so that the topic could be settled properly in his mind.

"I'm scared, love." His eyes closed and he shivered against her before pulling away, sitting up behind her to the best of his ability. "I don't know what to do... What use am I to you if I cannot keep my vows that I've promised ages ago? To protect you, to serve you, to make you proud?"

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