Whisper Caverns what is this downside that you speak of

For @Tomen only. <3

I wanna show you something, was all she had told him to prelude their excursion, out of bounds and farther south than she had ever traveled with her best friend in tow before. Ventures past the treeline, at least since Kenelm had exited her life, had always been done alone. Revisiting what had once been was something personal to the girl, initiating reflections that solitude suited best. Things were changing inside of her, however, and for the better. With everything else that was changing, from Rook taking off once more to the children's growth and their own progression into adulthood, Nineva now wanted to share this place with Tomen.

Thanks to the efforts of her pack mates, the wounds she had foolishly earned a month ago were all but healed, and it was only the distance traveled that put a very mild limp in her step. Perhaps if she had taken advantage of the healthy and caring pack she was situated in and given her hind leg rest, she would have only a scar remaining. As it was, she had refused to rest for long and so prolonged the process as she had consistently reopened the wound with movement. Oh well.

When they made it to one of the main entrances, Nineva flashed Tomen a smile before slipping underground, wagging tail beckoning him to follow. Inside the master chamber, her steps slowed until they stopped completely, the girl becoming weighed down by memories as she always was when she visited her old home. The gaps in the cave system's roof allowed for what was left of the sunlight to come through in patches upon the dusty rock floor. The sun was low and its rays were deep shades of red and pink. Her head lifted to peer up at the sky, and while the orb was no longer putting off any warmth, she did not feel the cold. Even desolate, Nineva loved being here.

Her gaze swept downward and around, memories playing like old movies against the back of her skull as she liefly recalled leading @Korrin down the tunnel to the far left, watching the stars through the skylight with @Rose, and curling up in the shadows atop @Yuka's forelimbs, tucked safely against his chest. A hearty sigh left her lips before her gaze focused on Tomen. Despite this being the first memory she would have of him here, to her the teen did not look out of place. He fit in perfectly.

Taking herself back to his side, she nudged his muzzle with her own before gesturing to the whole of it and whispering, "Breathtaking, isn't it?"

There had been a furious and helpless knot in his belly ever since she had come back hurt. He'd heard about Duckweed, about what Nineva had done, but seeing her wounded and vulnerable had punched him in the gut harder than anything else, including his dad's departure. That was - whatever. Rook was more interested in his children with his new pair of lovers than his old one with the woman he'd not really been interested in. It was fine. Tomen had moved on, too. There were more important people in his life now.

Despite his pleas, Nineva had refused to just sit and rest and let herself heal, the wanderlust and independence he admired so much something that, for the first time, he was forced to try and quell. It had felt wrong; she wasn't a force to be dampened or subdued. Her constantly reopening wound was evidence enough of his lacklustre efforts.

But she seemed happier to be on the move, so who was he to protest it, really? And what else could he do - go find the monster who had attacked her and... then what? Run away very fast? That's all he was good for, after all - and they had been warned to keep their distance. Tomen knew that if Nineva had been mauled that badly, he would stand no chance at all. Still, he would always regret failing to go with her that day. Maybe then it would have been him, instead.

When she told him she had something to share, he followed without hesitation. It wasn't long before he guessed where they were going, but it wasn't until she took them inside the first tunnel was it confirmed, and a sense of awe and humility quickly set in. Nineva loved these caverns. Ever since hearing her tell Veho that she wanted to be a leader, Tomen had known without a doubt that one day she would rebuild Whisper Caverns, her heritage, and here she was, sharing it with him. It was so different to the Hollow; to Tomen, a pack's territory was the smell of cedar, well-worn dirt paths and an endless sea of trees. But wolves had lived here, once, among these dusty red walls, its winding tunnels and dry open spaces. When he glanced up to squint against the sunlight which poured in through the holes in the cave's ceiling, though, he found a familiarity there, as though the sun were merely peeking out from between the dense tree canopy he was so used to.

Although the caverns were quite magnificent and unique, the boy found himself far more drawn to watching Nineva's expression as she gazed around, drunk on the memories of her childhood. When her mismatched eyes fell onto him, he could not help but smile, pressing against her brief touch, his ears twisting around to catch her soft words.

There was no denying it. "Oh yeah," he whispered back, as though a loud voice would spoil its serenity, as though the ceiling might start to crumble - so important and fragile appeared this place, although he knew that was silly; this place was every bit as sturdy and everlasting as any of his cedarwoods. "I can't believe you grew up here. You're so lucky - it's amazing."

so you probably can't tell this from how horrible i am at replying in time but jysk, i absolutely adore tomen. he is perfect.

His appreciation for it all only egged on the swell of emotion within her heart. She grinned gratefully at him, and couldn't help but lean into his warmth again. She couldn't understand anymore why she hadn't brought him here sooner, and something at the very bottom of her heart whispered that this was how it should be. That Tomen belonged here with her.

She refused to hear it.

Still, it was a tempting idea to bring forth, to muse aloud and see what his reaction would be. There was a new monarchy at the Hollow, a new set of heirs and as much as she did not want to phrase her thoughts in such a way, it seemed rather clear that the Lyalls had been replaced. If Tomen was not responsible for the legacy there, would he maybe be willing to come help Nineva rebuild hers? She wanted that, just as badly as she wanted the entirety of her family to follow her back to the Caverns when the time came. He was just as important to her.

So why did it feel wrong to even mention it?

"I'm lucky for a lot of reasons," she replied with modesty, before pulling away once more from his side. She returned to the circle of waning sunlight, the vivid color running rampant through her pale coat, and laid down before rolling onto her back. A paw motioned at the ground beside her, indicating that she wanted Tomen to do the same.

"My sister, Rose, 'bout the only time we could get along was when we were watching the stars together. Right here. One time..." she giggled softly as the memory came to her, "one time we saw a star fall, and I was so certain that it landed in the woods and that we could find it. I dragged her with me, and we walked for what felt like forever until finally we hit a clearing that was filled with fireflies. We were so young, I was convinced those were fallen stars, and so that's what we thought they were for the longest time."

Thoughtful silence fell over the young woman then, her eyes upon the red-painted canopy above, though that's not what she really saw. It was difficult not to become lost in her own head every time she visited, and it took mindfulness to come back from it when she realized she had faded from Tomen's presence. Turning her head, she watched his face before asking a question.

"How are you feeling, Tomen? About... everything."

As open as it was, she very much meant that specific word. The boy could go on about anything and she'd be enraptured, because it had to do with him.

it's super easy when we're both in love with Nineva C:

The momentary feeling of regret as she pulled away was quickly replaced by the vision of her stood in the sun's last rays, the light already a magnificent colour and as it danced through her monochrome coat... breathtaking. Tomen just stood there and drank in the sight of her, willed back into movement only when she gestured for him to accompany her. Like hell would he ignore that. Skipping happily towards her, feeling a little pleasantly light-headed, he rolled onto his own back beside her and angled himself so that their heads were close, his right ear smooshed up against her left, touching and connected. The dying sunlight played on his own chest and he admired it for just a moment before the sound of her voice snapped his attention back to where it rightfully belonged.

Just as she loved to hear him talk, talk about anything, so it was for Tomen; he lay there and listened to her story about her sister and a falling star, utterly content. He smiled and laughed with her confessed childish misunderstanding, but recalled that night with his three youngest siblings and how the fireflies had danced through the clearing and illuminated her eyes. He could see how one might mistake them for fallen stars, magical and beautiful.

At the movement of her head, so he mirrored it, turning his to meet her gaze. About everything? He inhaled, but did not ponder it long, feeling comfortable and safe and knowing that her question was truly open and genuine.

"Oh, I'm good. I'm just thinking about how you'll look standing up there, looking down at your followers and saying whatever wise, grand stuff leaders are supposed to," he grinned, gesturing with a waved paw to an elevated platform which looked ideal for conducting meetings from. "Telling old Jenkins that he's gotta stop stuffing his face from the cache, or Killy that she's slacking on her patrol duties, or Luna for always sleeping in too late. Just basically telling us all off for not matching your outrageously high standards," he teased, nudging her shoulder with his own.

He was good. She believed that, and her heart felt lighter for it. Part of her had wondered if he was bothered by Rook as he had been that time before, bottling it in and only expressing himself through those fast legs of his. It seemed that instead, maybe he was past it. She supposed that he might have readjusted his expectations and found peace with that.

If Narime had returned, only to leave several more times, would Nineva learn to simply accept, or would she still feel that immense feeling of abdandonment? She had to wonder.

Her thoughts could not stray from Tomen for long however, especially when he claimed he was thinking of her. The girl smiled, then grinned as he went on, imagining the picture he was painting with added details. At 'outrageously high standards' she rolled onto her side to push against his shoulder with her paws, exclaiming "hey!" while laughter bubbled around the word.

"Okay my standards are not outrageous, they're-," she started out confidently, but then suddenly the sentence cut off as something dawned on her.

"Did you... just say 'us'?"

Her heart fluttered with the possibility, but her tongue was frozen for fear of making the wrong assumption. It was probably just a slip up, he was just used to talking that way. Right?

Had it been a slip of the tongue? He'd laughed once more at her expected outrage and prepared to defend himself more half-heartedly, only to be interrupted by the strange look on her face. Not having realised his own choice of words, he was struck by them almost as much as she was, but just as quickly knew that it hadn't been a mistake.

Her expression was impossible to decipher properly, especially when he suddenly found it hard to look right at her, but... had she sounded hopeful? He took a breath and stared at the ceiling to compose himself but decided - screw it. There was nothing to be coy about. "Well, yeah," he said, a little forcefully, then turned to meet her eyes again, unashamed and grinning. "Grizzly Hollow isn't... I mean, I think it's time for a change. It's not really a place for Lyalls anymore, you know? It belongs to someone else, and I'm not - I don't have to pretend it's part of my destiny or whatever anymore, right? That was just caribou crap anyway. I don't - I like Veho and Oula and the cedarwoods and all but... I'd rather be your scout."

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Her eyes were wide with anticipation, a single paw frozen still upon his shoulder. He seemed to have to think about it, and in that moment she wished with all her might that she was able to read minds, to know exactly what he was considering when it came to this. She wasn't left waiting for long however, that reassurance meeting her ears with nothing but confidence in the decision. When he turned to face her, those mismatched orbs had grown larger yet, in wonder this time, but she couldn't resist that grin for long. The corners of her own mouth began to creep up again as he went on, tail springing to life to sweep the dust at her haunches.

She almost couldn't believe it, but knew that this decision here and now would not waver. Her friend was not so mutable. On his own, he had genuinely decided upon coming with her, and the future could not look any more brighter with the addition of his company now guaranteed.

Joy filled her to brim with that final declaration, something special about the use of your, that he would be so happy to be hers. Her forelimbs stretched before her again, this time to curl around his neck and pull him close as she smothered him with a tight hug and grateful nuzzles.

"Oh my god, oh my god ohmygod!" she murmured into his fur, unable to contain herself.

"I wanted so bad to-- but I didn't dare think-- I could've never asked--... thank you Tomen! You are seriously the best."

It was a good thing that he found pleasing her so utterly satisfying, especially if she was going to be his leader one day. Then it would be his life's work to do her bidding, and do so happily - even more than it was right now. Watching the delight flood her expression as he spoke made his own body awash with the same, laughing helplessly as she wriggled and grabbed at him, pulling him closer, and Tomen hardly fought it, letting himself be snared and smothered and smooshed against her chest.

She thinks I'm the best. He thought it was silly that she could ever doubt his loyalty, that if she had asked him to come with her he might have said anything other than 'of course, when do we leave?' Perhaps six months ago that would have been different, but that was a whole two seasons ago. Everything had changed. "Guess I should start learning the layout of these caverns, huh," he mumbled into her fur, wriggling in her grasp just enough to lay his chin flat against her chest so he could stare up at her, still grinning ear to ear, not wanting her to doubt his sincerity for a second.

She would've been content to just lay there like that, appreciating him and the setting and the darkening sky above them. His laughter had echoed through the Caverns, but even after the last whisper of it vanished, she still heard it in her head. Now, it felt like she would never have to worry about missing that endearing sound. Just as she closed her eyes to further enjoy this moment however, his voice lifted into the air again, prompting them to open once more. Looking down her long muzzle at him, she couldn't help but share his infectious grin.

Adventure? Hell yeah.

"Oh! I know just which tunnel we should take," she exclaimed, gently pushing him away so that she could roll back onto her stomach and spring her to her paws. How long had it been since she'd really been able to roam these corridors? Way too long.

True to her words, she did not waver between the many options available to them. Off to the right lay a particularly dark tunnel, the one that ended in her favorite room of bioluminescent fungi. Had he ever seen anything like it? Nineva kind of hoped not, wanting to awe him. With a swing of her muzzle, she beckoned him to follow before disappearing into the shadows.