Jasper Rocks i'm a soldier wounded

“Don’t work yourself up, heart,” Veho attempted to hush his lover. Rook's molars ground together and, solely by natural instincts, he inwardly braced himself for the worst. The Leader of Grizzly Hollow had replaced him, Veho had imprinted on someone else, maybe there was another man in the picture now... Oh, God... As if it would make everything unsaid go away, he hid his face in his superior's fur, holding his breath as he imagined that this very moment would probably be the very last time in which he would ever have Veho. What was even more terrible was the memory of their very first meeting, which happened not very far from where they were now, began to echo in his head.

"I will ask one thing of you, Gaheris. Do not put a leash on me..."

To his own fears, Rook had worried now that he had done just that. By leaving with Quil, he had placed the heavy, tethering role as Grizzly Hollow's Leader right around the Macieo's neck.

Veho had not meant to worry him, and the bitterness within Rook cried out in protest even as he continued to tell the younger wolf that he had not realized that he might have wanted such a lofty position with the hierarchy. The silence did little to stifle the fears still eating away at Rook's psyche, but he remained quiet, waiting until the medicine man continued.

The idea of children - a pup of his own - only instilled within the Lyall a sense of insecurity until the question was suddenly posed directly to him. He had wanted Rook's own thoughts on the matter. Another distant memory called to him. This time it was his own words: "I'd like to have a family with you... with Quil or without... I just- I just want to and I'd like to think, maybe, fatherhood might suit you too." Did the sentiment still remain? When Rook really considered it, even after all that his and Quil's little search party and sabbatical, he found that, yes, it did...

It was with a slow and tentative manner that he lifted his head to meet Veho's pale eyes. In the way his brows were still centimeters of touching one another, it was still apparent that he was wary of it all. He wanted all the details first. "Would... Would it be ours to raise?"

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Breath in. Breath out. Repeat. Try not to panic.

It occurred to Veho, all at once, that what he’d said before still rang true. Things had changed. Not just for him, but for his partner, as well – time seemed to stop in that moment, and he could have sworn his heart was hammering against his sternum with enough force to crack the bone. How could Rook not hear that thundering? Ears rolled forward and back, unable to pick a position, and finally the other wolf spoke and he found he could actually breath again. That was not as violent as he might of thought.

“I-- Yes, of course. Who’s else would it be?” he asked, a small smile returning to his face. “There would have to be a mother, of course – the failings of a pair of men, I suppose, but I see no reason why it would not be ours all the same. We would just…need to be upfront, I think.”

A roll of his shoulders, and Veho found himself getting sheepish again, shoulders hunching and his tail twitching behind him slowly. All at once, it was the wait again – it was spilled words, and what response? To wait, to wait, and wait—

Please.

The small smile that emerged on the Leader's face helped lift the Lyall's heart some, especially after coming to realize that his partner, through his little explanation, still desired to be with him... to want to have a cub together and raise it as their own. Rook hadn't meant to keep Veho waiting, but he had a moment to think back to when he thought of sharing Quil. His mouth turned upward in a rather crooked smile; inside, he was actually giddy about the whole ordeal, particularly after he thought through the idea of having to share Veho with, say, a surrogate mother. His tail lifted slightly behind him in a small wag as he held the Macieo's gaze.

"Of course," he commented on the statement of needing a female counterpart. It only made sense and to be petty about such a thing would only make him out to be a green-eyed monster which was not flattering at all. "But, yes," the word, being just one syllable, rose from him on a note of hope. Maybe, just maybe, he could manage it. They could manage it. Their bond was strong enough... Right?

"We could have a pup or two of our own," for good measure he tacked on a little white lie as to not make himself seem so selfish. "Give the family something to look forward to?" He tenderly pressed his nose to Veho's once more before canting his head to one side, genuinely curious now without an inkling of envy or disquiet, "Do you... already have someone?"

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

The ginger wag of tail was almost reassuring than the words that fell from Rook’s mouth, and the alpha could not help as a smile broke across his worried mask. He could have leapt with joy at his partner’s quiet acceptance of his proposal; fortunately for all involved, the Macieo managed to keep most of his excitement under wraps as he thrust his muzzle forward into his lover’s ruff as he lavished the other man with tiny kisses and affectionate nibbles. He hadn’t even realized how worried he might have been until the weight had been lifted from his broad shoulders, and now that it was gone.

“Yes! Yes. Good for the family, good for the pack. It might be good for our yearlings, as well; we have enough that no one would be relegated to sitting the pup, either.”

Veho was beaming like a fool, he could not stop the happiness radiating from him as he drummed his paws gently against the ground. The next question gave him a slightly pause, but it was not long until he shook it off. “Oh – no. Not as such. I have someone in mind, I suppose, that I would ask…but I wished to speak with you before breathing the idea to anyone else.”

A pause. “Do you know Oula well? I consider her a friend – and a very noble wolf indeed.”

The enthusiasm that was returned had Rook's little simper touch his eyes at last. Even if Veho relayed that he had not chosen anyone yet, the Lyall was still swept up in the excitement of it all. At the very least, Veho had someone in mind. Rook didn't even had to ask who... and all too suddenly it clicked as soon as the memory had come to the forefront of his mind. There had been that one moment in time when he had been summoned from the Hollow to meet Merlin who had come home with someone else... Oula. That woman who had come scouting about in search of blue-eyed wolf with white fur.

The younger male felt a wave of jealousy wash over him but it was short-lived from the moment it had even welled up. "Considerate of you," he crooned. "I appreciate that." He met the Leader's eyes once more. "I don't; I was very... preoccupied when she had first come to us." There was a furrow in his forehead as he fought to recall anything more about the somber woman apart from her pale coat and her separation from her battalion. "Is... she the one you'll ask?" he wondered, visions of ash gray and timber-coated cubs dancing about behind his eyes. "If anything, I think she seemed nice."

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Maybe fade out with your next post? :3

“She is,” Veho confirmed with a hum. He had always respected the quiet woman; he had since they’d first met and she flung herself into the air to obtain the honey he’d prescribed for her. It was an amazing feat in and of itself, but that she so readily dove into danger with enough thought to get neither of them stung was just – breathtaking. There were other things he needed to ask her before he inquired about her thoughts on motherhood, however. He and Wacipi did not see eye-to-eye and, quite frankly, he thought Oula would make a better leader.

But he would not worry Rook about Grizzly Hollow matters. That was why his lover had stepped down in the first place, wasn’t it?

With another soft noise, he stretched forward to nuzzle into the younger wolf’s thick ruff. Satisfaction had settled in the space panic had since abandoned, and now that the heart racing conversation was finally over, he wanted little more than to cuddle up with @Rook in one of their many hidden spots. “I will speak with her. And if she finds the idea agreeable, I will reintroduce the two of you, that you might to get to know one another a bit better.”

And with that done, he bumped into Rook’s shoulder as he turned, trying to urge his partner to follow along. “Come,” he said. “Spare me some of your time, yes? It’s been too long.”

"Hmm," he hummed back, a singular note a possible sound of acceptance over the idea. As Veho reclined into him, Rook remained in place, exhaling finally in utter relief over it all. "Mmmhmm," he continued to sound out in reply, beginning to grow weary of words. Meeting Oula with Veho's more formal introduction would be a good idea; when Rook really came to think of it, he wasn't quite sure if he was able to conduct a meet-cute of sorts of his own. At the end of the day and after everything that had happened, he was still the shy cub that most individuals met for the very first time.

His eyes had closed when he had begun to imagine meeting the militant woman; he failed to see himself grow enamored with her, but instead saw what could be something... desirable... between the three of them. The Leader's gentle nose bump had prompted him from his reverie and Rook's eyes rose up again to meet Veho's with a tired smile. "Of course," he slowly rose up onto all fours and with a few twitches of his bearish ears and his wiry tail, turned about as to follow his partner wherever he suggested they go.

(Fade.)

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.