Cedarwood Forest i'll pick up the pieces until my hands bleed

For @Rook ~ Partly cloudly skies, 46F, after nightfall.
Territory discovery!  Name forthcoming.  In the low moonlight, Veho has stumbled upon a misty, rocky outcropping, where the air is cool and the condensation settles.  The most stubborn of cedar trees continue to poke up through the stony earth even here, only adding to the ethereal feel of the strange area.

   

Things could be worse.

That’s what he kept telling himself, anyways.  Things could be worse.  Both Rook and Oula had promised to come back, after all.  Despite everything, the children didn’t seem to be too distressed; everyone was still in good health.  Given the rather abrupt nature of her sudden rise to status as female alpha, Yvly was doing a decent job with the duties he’d warily assigned to her.  If he could run Grizzly Hollow all on his own, he would have.  Maybe six months ago, he’d have tried just that.

But six months ago, he had Rook, and six months ago, he wasn’t the single father of three.

Thankfully, those very three had finally fallen asleep back in the pack den, allowing the man to slip outside of pack territory for a bit of quiet thought.  He hadn’t spoken with the Ancestors in ages; quite frankly, he hadn’t the time to collect most of the mushrooms that assisted him in doing so.  It left him feeling lonely, lost – and hoping a walk into the woods would help him clear his mind.

Perhaps it was those busy thoughts.  Perhaps it was the low light of the partial moon, shrouded by the clouds.  Perhaps it was simply the mist dampening his sense of smell, but before long, Veho stumbled upon a part of the forest he’d yet to visit, nails crunching over the stone.

He drew to a halt, and sighed, pale eyes finding the sky.  “What is this?” he asked nobody in particular – the Ancestors wouldn’t answer him, not here.  Not like this. “What does this mean?”

VEHO MACIEO

& all I see is him and me forever and forever

ROOK LYALL

you bear the scars; you've done your time

Meeting with Ylvy had been quite a surprise and, if anything else, a true wake-up call. At some point - perhaps, somewhere in-between the three-quarter point and where Frog Chirp Creek had risen up in the ground before him - he wondered if he had ought to come "home" at all. Though, by now, it was clear that he couldn't have come back at a better time. Not only did it seem as though Oula's scent trails had grown stale, but it was apparent to Rook that Veho had been left to manage pack on his own. @Tomen, @Nineva, and @Pip (who still hadn't told him her name after all this time) were even still around here. Somewhere.

It hadn't been easy to pry himself away from the edges of Grizzly Hollow's territory; for his heart ached to even think of going without his partner's company for much longer. The butterflies still fluttered about in his chest, however, and he was desperate for them to go away. Hadn't that been why he had stolen away with Trisden in the first place? Didn't one always miss what they once had? Most important of all, hadn't Rook realized by now that he couldn't imagine his life without Veho Macieo at all? Once upon a time, he had thought he couldn't live without Quil either, but those days had come and gone; and, in the end, Veho was the one who remained.

With restlessness snaking up his legs once more, he urged himself to keep moving, to practice in his head all the words he had wanted to tell the (other) Grizzly Hollow Leader: how much Rook had missed him, how he had missed their cubs as soon as he had left Relic Lore behind, how Veho had never left his mind, how stupid he was to think that maybe Veho and Oula would get by without him in the picture, how much he wanted to make up for his shortcomings and set in stone the plans for the upcoming Spring...

It wasn't until he had walked for quite a while that the fur along his spine stood up on edge and his tail remained warily in the air. The feeling of being in presence of another crept up way sooner than he had anticipated, but it was with eager eyes that he sought out the figures in the dark. The mist from the comings and goings of the autumn rains had also robbed him of his sense of smell; but, there was just no mistaking whose voice had sounded out from nearby.

"What is this?" Veho had asked. Immediately Rook wondered if maybe Oula had only stepped out of territory boundaries for some time. Rook's heart had climbed up into his throat as he peered through the trees, searching for those two pointed ears and characteristic muzzle that made up his partner's silhouette. "What does this mean?"

To Rook's relief and bewilderment, no answer came. No Pip-like chirp, no youthful sentiment that might've come from Tomen, no assurance from one such as Oula, no curiosity that might have come from Ophelia, Joan, or Felix. Veho, the Lyall was certain now, was alone... but not for long--

The feeling of stone underfoot made him constantly second-guess his footing and the sudden realization that the trees caged them in on this part of the forest made him start considering that there would be no more chances to run after this. There was no more time to tip-toe around and play hide-and-seek like he had before. He knew better by now. The dim moonlight, filtering through the cedars at the right moment, helped with pinpointing his partner's location. Rook emerged somewhere off to Veho's left side, moonbeams dappling his already mottled coat into a different pattern of light and dark grays and browns.

"Maybe it means you've been lonely too long..." Rook's had tilted slightly as he found that russet-tinted muzzle and those pale eyes, a pained smile emerging on his face at last. His tail gave half a wag, hesitation stemming from the lurking assumptions that Veho might have been upset with him for leaving on such a short notice. "What's happened that's made you so sad, Merlin?"

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

Veho spoke to no one but the moon, with not even the understory to break up the mist and the strange refraction of the pale light.  But the moon was only a celestial body, and did not answer him at all.  The wolf’s shoulders sagged slightly as he continued to watch the sky, pale eyes mirroring the mist and moon.

And then, all at once—

Maybe it means you’ve been lonely too long.”

The alpha startled visibly, a ring of white appearing around irises as he huffed, glancing from side-to-side.  It was not the moon at all, for it was—

“Rook!”

His queries for the sky were forgotten in a heartbeat, the burly wolf whirling to greet his lover properly.  Lost in his own thoughts, he hadn’t heard the wolf approach – hadn’t even realized he’d returned to Grizzly Hollow at all!  Pink tongue flashed out, covering Rook’s muzzle in a thousand kisses.  And it would never be enough, not as he brushed his cheek against the younger male’s, not as he pushed their shoulders together.  He could wear Rook like a blanket, and it wouldn’t be close enough.  “Rook, my love, I did not see you there, I am--  I am very glad you have answered instead of the Ancestors.  I have missed you so much – your company.  Your voice.”

Your everything.

“I cannot believe you are here, Rook, I--”  Words got caught somewhere in Veho’s throat, wetness glimmering in his pale eyes as emotion threatened to overwhelm him.  “You’re here.”

VEHO MACIEO

& all I see is him and me forever and forever

ROOK LYALL

listen to me, you've been lonely too long

If Rook hadn't instinctively braced himself, he might have been swept off his feet, toppled over, and smothered with endearment renewed. Regardless, he had the air stolen from his lungs, Veho's affection overwhelming him to a point where he had to take a moment and collect himself. Meanwhile, the Leader was relaying how relieved he was to find his partner home safe and sound. The kisses would be returned in time - one by one, perhaps - but for now to feel that warmth at his shoulders and throat was more than enough. He had been missed, he was loved, and he was not subjecting to any sort of scolding.

"I'm here," he murmured, meeting those moonlit eyes and bumping his nose to Veho's. "I was hoping you would've dreamt me the world while I was away." He dipped his muzzle downward for a while, mostly to adjust his footing and not step on his partner's own toes, before inching forward and ducking his head to nuzzle the nook between that white throat and gray-furred shoulder. "Doesn't seem like you did," he mused, a small half-chuckle flitting from his chest. After all that time, Rook had been certain that he hadn't been missed; though, judging by the tears that dared to well up in the Macieo's eyes, that definitely wasn't the case.

"Tell me everything," he hummed. "Anything. What's on your mind, what's wrong, what's changed..." He hid his masked face in the Hollow Leader's side, nuzzling his forehead and temple into the coarse fur at his loved one's chest. The brief exchange with Yvly, sharing little tidbits about Trisden's cubs, and everything else could be shared later. What was important right now was reassessing where they stood in their relationship, how Veho had been holding up, and what Rook could do to make everything better. If he had looked properly before, they were certainly a little walk away from Grizzly Hollow's borders; and, given the mist and the way the trees had grown up in the rocky outcrop, they were not prone to be found out or overheard.

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

@Rook -- That table is so handsome I can hardly stand it.  jkslfhasdf.

For several moments, Veho contented himself to simply wrap up in the other wolf’s warmth, to bury his nose in the male’s thick ruff and inhale the scent that was so uniquely Rook.  On the worst of nights, he’d fear he’d never get such sensations again – not for worry that his lover might abandon him without a word (for he’d known the man to be fickle, but not to be cruel), but for some ill fortune to befall the Lyall whilst traveling along.  An illness, a bad step – and the alpha would never know what would become of him, and Rook, he would be alone when he-- 

Veho cast the wicked thought from his mind with a violent shake.  Rook had asked him something, hadn’t he?  Best to focus on the here, the now, then the might-have-been and painting the devil on the wall.

“It is all very different now, my heart.  Wolves have come and gone.  Oula is included in that second category, I fear – she had some personal needs to attend to.”  Not unlike the masked man before him, really.  Veho sighed heavily, resting his chin in his partner’s shoulders.  What a relief it was, his mind told him, over and over.  “The winter comes.  I worry if we will be ready.  And the pups--  It’s hard not to worry about their first winter, as well…”

VEHO MACIEO

& all I see is him and me forever and forever

ROOK LYALL

let me in the wall you've built around

So things had changed... Rook sniffled quietly, unsure of when he had become so certain that nothing (drastic) would have happened when he removed himself from the pack. Honestly, he had expected the bond between Oula to strengthen, but apparently, while they might have gotten close, she, too, had made the decision to leave. The Lyall frowned. Why he had thought that he could be close to Quil again (granted he had been able to find her first) if he allowed Veho and Oula their space? A more troubling thought struck him then as he felt the Leader's chin found a place across his shoulders: what might have happened if Rook had stayed away and Oula had been gone for just a while longer? He supposed Crystal could have helped, but he was so certain that she might have had trouble filling the places where he and Oula had both been. She was definitely not Oula, and she was surely not Rook either.

"We'll be ready," he whispered, shifting his weight to that he could lean towards his partner a bit more and offer what closeness he could manage as they stood with one another. "And, even if we aren't, we'll make it work." He heaved a sigh, closing his eyes as he focused in on the Macieo's heartbeat. At least that seemed intact.

"How are the cubs?" he asked. When he had met with Crystal sometime before this very moment, he had thought it too nosy to ask. Something of a sad smile formed on his face; he wondered if they would remember him at all, what they looked like now, and which of them looked more Macieo than Whitebark or vice versa. "They'd been so little when I left."

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

@Rook -- Please punch me next time I take this long.  Bad Ace, bad.

“We will be ready,” Veho echoed softly.  What other choice did they have?  It was prepare for the change of seasons, for face the harsh reality of the biting cold and the worst weather Mother Nature had on offer.

For a moment, the wolf simply was, resting his chin and allowed himself to bask in Rook’s assuredness.  They’d survived one winter already, after all.  He was right.  Even if they were not fully braced for the heavy snowfalls once they came, they would survive, would make do, and make sure the rest of their pack members saw the coming spring following the harshest of seasons.

“The cubs are doing fine.  No, I shouldn’t say that.  Better than fine.  They are growing well, even little Ophelia.” Poor thing had been stuck at birth, but it didn’t seem to hinder her any.  While she remained slight of stature, the litter’s runt still grew like her siblings, with no reason given to worry for her health.  “Ah, Felix’s eyes – they’re like yours, you know.  Mismatched.  One is green, the other silver.  They would be very happy to see you, I think.  They ask after you, when you are coming back.”

The children missed him too – if anything, Rook was not forgotten.

“You will stay, won’t you?  With Grizzly Hollow?  With me?  With us?”

VEHO MACIEO

& all I see is him and me forever and forever

s'okay and s'all good... had to take a quick break myself~

ROOK LYALL

and we can light a match and burn it down

While Crystal had not been able to bestow upon Rook the joys and plights of the youngest members of Grizzly Hollow, Veho had been able to answer to all the curiosities and burning questions. The three of them were all fine... better than fine. The corners of the Lyall's maw began to lift. If he had been given the choice to stay here forever - tucked away within this harbor of trees and rock, knowing nothing but the sound of his partner's voice and touch - he would have.

The Macieo didn't fumble or pause, just this little update was enough to pull him from mentally slinking back to the back of his mind. At the mention of Felix, Rook's eyes blinked open and he froze. He took a split second to check himself; the last time he checked, his rendezvous with @Oula had all been imagined, pined for, and almost - almost - jealously sought after. He was not the sort of man that might force an already "paired" lady into a tryst that could've put his and Veho's relationship on the rocks. His gaze focused on the base of one of the gnarled trees, his eyes daring to snake upward to where its boughs twisted strangely this way and that unlike any other cedar he had seen before. He shut his eyes before forcing them open again and leaning into Veho once more. No... No, he was sure the bi-colored irises could have come from the Macieo family... A fleeting wince made itself apparent on his muzzle before falling away. Of course, their aunt Namid was certain proof as to why Felix shared this trait. Not him.

Rook let out a heavy sigh, withdrawing from the Leader at last. "Of course I'll stay," he murmured without a second thought, his voice possibly just loud enough for only Veho to hear. "I'm sorry you've been alone." It was an apology, but with parents like Borden and Jaysyek and the way they communicated with one another, it was one of the few ways Rook knew how to express his love and concern. He stared at the end of Veho's nose, not daring to seek to his gaze. "That was selfish of me to leave; seeing Trisden's cubs made me realize though that all I had wanted was a family and I had that - you and Oula and the triplets - here. After that, I don't think I will be leaving again. Something or someone will have to take me first..."

Chances are I have a BEN WHISHAW gif for that.

@Rook -- Seems like it's naturally wrapping up?  You could fade out & I can add Rook back to GH...unless Rook has more to say, of course.  <3

“Oh.  Trisden had her cubs?  I’m glad she returned to her home safely.”

Wait – of course she’d have had them by now.  Their own were growing like little weeds – if the Lyall alpha hadn’t, well…  No reason to consider a potential trauma that never unfolded.

It was like watching himself through a strange mirror; the apology was heard.  Not quite acknowledged.  It wasn’t as if Veho could not accept an apology from his lover.  Quite the contrary.  Forgiveness was one of the main tenants of all the wolf believed, but, ah – that there was something to forgive mean Rook had done something wrong.  And he really hadn’t, had he? 

The Maecio gave himself a small shake, realizing he was doing that thing again, that thing where his thoughts galloped off leagues ahead of him.  “Ah, Rook.  Rook, my love – I am so glad to hear it.”  A smile finally returned to the alpha’s mouth as he slipped forward, brushing one muzzle to the other.  His heart fluttered somewhere in his chest. “But know I will never chain you to anything.  I love you – even when that means we must be apart.  We are a whole, but we are made of two halves.  Sometimes halves must change and grow.”

There was nothing to apologize for.  “Some wolves never changed at all.  I am so glad you were able to find what you needed – and that you still came back to me, all the same.  It is one of the best gifts I have ever been given…  Now, come back with me, for a little while, yes?  Just a bit.”

 

Fade.

VEHO MACIEO

& all I see is him and me forever and forever

(This post was last modified: Jan 08, 2017, 02:47 PM by Veho.)