Grizzly Hollow I Wish the Nights Lasted Forever

For @Tomen only please || Sometime after the Pack Meeting if that works? || Evening around sunset, Heavy snow, 23 ° F, -5 ° C

i've heard about you, a whisper among screams

It was that time of year. When the chill sightly bothered him and the white fluff called snow fell from the skies above. Endless nights spent thinking about his father and him spending a moment in the winter. Looking out into the world beyond the willows. A world that Deacon had become familiar enough with. From willows, to caverns, to the hollows. He had a lick of everything besides mountains, drylands, and the ocean. But he was content. Mountains reminded him of Celandine and he never once heard anyone enjoy drylands or even coming from them. Perhaps the ocean would be on his list one day, once he figured out where and what one exactly was.

Something else was bothering him this evening, though. A fellow he'd heard so much about yet hadn't formally met yet. Tomen. The close friend to Nineva and a Lyall no less. Deacon felt he was entitled to meet him. Get to know the boy and what made him tick. Was he truly Lyall or did he simply snag the name from a parent in hopes of making ties? It made him wonder if he was really Archer or Lyall. Sure both of his parents had the names but where did he truly fit? Maybe he was just overthinking and he fell right into the sweet spot of the two families.

Sniffing around and looking for the boy's scent, Deacon realized this was a little ridiculous. He didn't need to track the other wolf down like prey. A snort was given and the Archer-Lyall raised his head. His howl rung out in a gentle request for Tomen.

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With the meeting over, Tomen had just assumed that the rest of the day would be a doss, and had head back to the dens to just chill out with @Felix, @Ophelia and @Joan until he was ready to sleep. Seeing @Yvly sitting in @Oula's position had felt a little uncomfortable, if only because it was a reminder of the transient nature of so many of the Hollow's wolves. At least Yvly had been with them for a while, but no longer than Oula had been, right? He couldn't quite remember. Did it matter? Veho was always here, the kids were always here, @Pip was always here (poor girl) and @Nineva was always here, and nobody else was quite as important.

Newcomers came and went... and he was polite and stuff but didn't think too hard about them unless they stuck around. Which was the case for most of them. But this one was different. Nineva seemed to care about him even though he'd come out of absolutely nowhere, and even though the two of them had gone all the way to the Ridge and back, he'd come too. And joined. Tomen had rather hoped he'd identify more with the 'Archer' part of his name rather than the 'Lyall' and stay there, but alas.

So when Tomen's presence - and specifically his - was requested by that voice of the newbie he was trying not to think about, at first he pulled a face. But in order not to alert the trio to the fact there was anything wrong, he quickly composed himself, excused himself, reminded Ophi not to bully her brother and trotted off to see what Deacon wanted. Maybe this would be a good thing, they could figure each other out and not be strangers. Thinking about it with Nineva out of the equation, he was glad to get to know their newest recruit. The Hollow needed reliable faces.

Once Deacon came into view, Tomen pushed down his jealousy and smiled, tail wagging in pleasant greeting. "It's Deacon, right? 'Sup?"

objects in space

Tomen was quick to the call and Deacon both admired and appreciated that. A rather informal greeting but he shrugged it off. Just two guys chatting, right? No need to be a stick in the mud. "Yeah, Deacon's the name but ya can call me Dea if you want." He offered a toothy grin and a similar wag of his tail. "Tomen, yeah? Heard a lot about ya. Must be a good guy." He offered a wolfish winked and chuckled softly. Deacon could only hope that he was providing a friendly atmosphere. "I figured since I'm new and all, it'd be good to meet another face. Especially a male. Only other guys I've met are Felix and Veho." He took a seat and wrapped his tail around his haunch. "Pretty good place here regardless of male or female, though." Deacon's head looked around at the tall trees surrounding them. He loved it here. The dark male wouldn't say he'd never leave but he didn't feel the need to for a good while. Small trips out to the marsh were enough to keep his paws from getting bored.

"Oh, I hope I didn't pull you away from anything important?" An apologetic expression plastered on his face and the gentle turn of his head was all Deacon gave. He didn't even bother to think that maybe Tomen was busy doing business or taking care of matters. Rather rude but if he had arrived so quickly, whatever he was doing couldn't have been that important. Right?

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It wasn't like he'd really been unsure, but Deacon's easygoing confirmation of his name was welcome nonetheless. A nice normal, friendly interaction of two wolves getting to know each other. Nothing to be uptight about. Tomen nodded as Deacon checked his own name, which made it clear that both of them were reasonably aware of the other. Tomen didn't realise to quite what extent, though, and grew a little warm under the fur on his face as Deacon said that he'd heard about Tomen. A lot, apparently. Enough to deduce that he was a 'good guy' - and who else had he been spending time with but Nineva? So... they'd talked about him? That made him feel quite a lot better, but he tried to show none of his bashfulness by choosing to smile and shrug, as if it were no big deal.

Tomen laughed when Deacon mentioned the only two other males in the pack, but in such a way that implied that he expected to meet more. "It's just us three - this place is a bit of a lady-fest. Or, well, it was just us. With you makes four." And in the juicy Second rank which Tomen had been able to occupy for a while now, bumped down due to his age alone. Nevermind that he'd not left the Hollow, not once. Wasn't he just as capable as the wolves a year older than him by now? But it wasn't fair to lump that element of resentment onto Deacon, it was hardly his fault, he just joined the pack and let the laws of nature shuffle things around.

His ears flicked forward at Deacon's last question, finding it to be a little self-conscious, but maybe he was reading it wrong and the guy was just trying to be polite. "Oh. Uh, no, it's good, I was just hanging with my siblings, nothing that can't wait. You met Ophie and Joan yet?"

memories of you

A lady fest indeed. All he had met were rather nice, though. Mainly Nineva and Yvly though. Any other females he had seen in a brief passing or at the pack meeting. "They're all nice and respectable, though. Very strong." He smiled and his tail thumped against the ground. Everyone here seemed the very "grab it by the horns" type of wolves. Deacon wanted to believe that maybe that's why he fit in so much here.

Mention of the siblings made him smile softly. "Sibling time is important. I never got much with mine, truthfully." The shadow known as Greer never seemed social and Cas was often too busy or gone. He guessed he couldn't complain too much. Deacon had always been getting into trouble or trailing after adults. Maybe his siblings found him too much of a commotion to be around. Octavius had spent some time with the dark boy, though. Deacon considered him a brother and even picked the nickname Golden Boy. "Nah, maybe seen them in passing but Felix is the only one I've had the actual pleasure of meeting. He's a good kid, lucky one too with such a nice dad and brother." His head nodded softly and his bright eyes seemed to advert to the floor. Family had been such a sensitive subject for him lately.

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Strong? In their own way, maybe. Oula was the only one he'd ever considered tough, apart from his grandmother perhaps, who'd had that old-lady hardness about her, as though she'd been through everything and nothing else could really faze her. And Nineva was simultaneously the strongest and most gentle soul he knew, so maybe Deacon wasn't wrong. They all worked hard to make sure the Hollow endured, so there was that. Until they left, of course.

The mention of Deacon's siblings flicked a small switch in Tomen's mind, reminded that they were related, so... whatever Deacon was to him, Tomen had more of that. Weird thought, to just have family appear out of nowhere. Tomen was more used to being left behind by them. Till, he stowed it away temporarily, enough for Deacon to remark about Tomen's younger siblings, and he laughed again at the shameless compliment. Well, if he was going to be hanging around, at least he was nice. Just so long as he wasn't too nice to Nineva. "You know, I guess I should be doing the big brother stuff and warning you not to mess with them," he grinned, "but really, I gotta warn you of them. Ophie is a demon, and she'll smile so sweetly you won't even realise 'til too late."

Fun as it might have been to talk about them, though, Tomen couldn't help but circle around on what Deacon had said earlier. "So, uh, your siblings. I mean, I hear we're related? Would guess so from the whole shared-name thing, anyway. So, who, uh...?"

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Listening to Tomen intently, Deacon laughed. "Hey, I was the oldest too. I get it." His words a kind gesture towards the other Lyall's words of "warning him". But at the mention of this Ophie, the older male's tail twitched. "Huh, never would have guessed she was such a little demon as you say. Felix seemed like a well-mannered boy and of course, Veho is a rather regal male, and well you too. A good man like I said." Maybe they learned it from the other father, Rook. He wasn't exactly sure how that worked but Felix had told him that there was Veho and Papa Rook.

The topic of relation was brought up, which allowed Deacon to smile gently. "Lyall lines, yeah?" He didn't even need to ask. Nineva had already told him. "My dad is Angier Lyall. Borden Lyall's brother." He gulped softly. Leaning in close to Tomen so a gentle whisper could be shared between the two boys. "Nineva told me he passed. I'm real sorry to hear about that." Pulling away from the whispered moment, Deacon attempted to pass onto lighter moments. "I have two brothers from my litter, Castiel and Greer. I honestly doubt you've met Greer. He was also a loner and didn't like socializing." He sighed softly, what a shame to barely know your own brother. "I'm not exactly sure where Cas is anymore." A gentle shrug of his shoulders was all the was given. "I have older siblings too but they're just Archer. Not exactly the friendliest bunch either." He laughed and looked to Tomen.

"If you ever wanna know more about who's on my side of the family, just let me know. My dad used to tell me lots of stories about Lyalls and I had plenty of my mom's relatives to tell me some Archer stories too." It was a friendly offer. Perhaps one that Deacon hoped would bring the two closer.

(This post was last modified: Dec 04, 2016, 11:30 PM by Deacon.)

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

welp, apparently this was a trigger for him, so, enjoy :P

This whole emphasis on Tomen being such a good guy was starting to get a little weird. Maybe Deacon was forcing it, or he really was this forward and flattering. But what did it mean to be called a good person by someone who barely knew you...? Did it mean anything? Did it just reflect what others had told him? Tomen could feel gratified by that thought, but he'd rather Deacon just come to that conclusion himself. Tomen thought he was a decent sort of wolf. Didn't hurt people, looked out for his family, kept his promises, that sort of thing. Maybe he was just obsessing over it because of who Deacon was and who he was friends with.

So rather than draw attention to it, he shrugged again and smiled, accepting the complimentary words of himself, Veho and Felix without complaint or comment. It was definitely true for the other two, anyway.

When it came to talking about how they were related, Deacon got straight to it, confirming their Lyall connection. At the mention of who his father was, Tomen's mouth formed a neat little 'o' of recognition, as it all fell into place. Angier Lyall lived at the Ridge, so that all made sense. At Deacon's commiseration for Borden's passing, Tomen's ears flicked back, and he glanced at the floor for a moment in awkwardness. "Yeah. That... uh, messed my dad up pretty bad." Tomen himself hadn't been all that close to his grandfather. His grandmother, sure, but Borden had always been this distant figure that Tomen felt too nervous to really get close to. Rook had clearly loved his dad, though, to the extent that Tomen was pretty sure that Borden's death had been what caused his son to... well. Turn out like he had. Change from being a reliable patriarch to this wandering, absent, weak creature that was Tomen's mental image of Rook Lyall.

As Deacon talked about his brothers, about how he didn't really keep in contact with them or know what they were doing, as he offered to share what he knew about both their shared family and his own, Tomen shifted his weight from one forepaw to the other, trying to be careful about his response. He'd just wanted to know their connection, really, and now he did, so... "Honestly, I'm good. I don't - uh, I don't feel all that close to the Lyalls. I mean... this place is meant to be a pillar of that family, but until you joined, I was the only one here, so. It's kinda pointless. My aunt offered the same thing, to tell me about Lyall history, but... eh. She lives out in the Reach, quite far from here, and that's where they all are now. That's where dad went, so. This pack is more the Macieo's, now."

Welp, he hadn't meant to quite come out with all that, but it had just happened, and it felt kinda good so he went along with it. It felt refreshing to be so blasé about his irreverence towards the Lyalls, because he didn't really care if Deacon judged him for it. What had being a Lyall ever done for him? And then he laughed, a soft, almost bitter bark of dry amusement. If he was gonna lay it out, might as well lay it all out. "And don't even get me started on the other half - I'm technically an Attaya-Lyall, after my mum and dad, same as you and being half-Archer. But I don't know anything about the Attayas and care about them even less. Mum left... like, a year ago. Dunno why." That was only half-true. "Don't really care any more." That was entirely true. Whatever resentment Tomen might have once felt towards @Veho for driving a wedge between his parents, Tomen had long come to the conclusion that both Quil Attaya and Rook Lyall were at fault for being so susceptible to it, their bond so easily broken. He doubted that they had ever really been that in love in the first place. In the last year, Tomen had come to know Veho better than he had known either of his blood parents, and had realised that the man had done nothing out of malice, but only from love.

These days, Tomen didn't judge Veho's love for Rook because they were both male, or because it had driven away his mother, but only because Rook didn't deserve it.

Was Tomen still a good man if he could tell himself, without flinching, that he wouldn't care one bit if he saw neither of them ever again, and he wasted no energy wondering where they were or what they were doing or if they were well? He almost hoped that they had forgotten about him, too, because then the circle of apathy would be nice and complete.

The Archer-Lyall was content to see that Tomen was taking his compliments. It seemed both of them knew how to be respectable. Nothing of Nineva more than her name had been brought up, though. Perhaps this Tomen guy wasn't half bad. Deacon knew he had kept calling Tomen a good guy but he still had his doubts about him. It was logical and fair, wasn't it?

"Yeah. That... uh, messed my dad up pretty bad."

It was almost shocked Dea how unfazed the other male seemed. Deacon's ears pulled back briefly in a surprise. He still couldn't help himself from lightly pressing the matter. Maybe he needed a filter. "Did you, ya know.. know him? Borden that is." A lump swallowed in his throat. "I mean I only heard about him in bedtime stories and lessons with my dad. I-I thought I'd at least get to see him I guess.." He was such a baby. Always making things about himself and taking everything so personally. Deacon wonder where he picked that up from. He didn't remember making things about him as a child, but maybe that was because he didn't need to. Always stirring trouble and seemingly being more social of his litter it was unusual for attention to not be on him. Was he repressing everything in his budding adulthood and trying to refigure things out? Where had he gone wrong and decided it was time to step back?

Deacon listened closely. Nodding his head in understanding at his company's words. It was obvious this wasn't the Lyall Homestead that had been told to him as a child. This hadn't appeared to be a sanctuary for that bloodline anymore. The Macieo's had taken it. "I don't get it. I mean, I don't mind the Macieo's and others wanting to lead and have something for their own. But Grizzly Hollow isn't theirs. Why not rename it, move even. Some things are better left in who last had them." He realized how much of an asshole he probably sounded right now. "I enjoy everyone here, please don't think I hate anyone here or something like that. I don't. I just think that maybe, it'd be better to get a fresh start. If the name Lyall haunts Grizzly Hollow, why keep it?" He shrugged and let his amber eyes fall upset upon Tomen. "Like you said the Macieo's have this place. Don't they want something for themselves?" His words fell softly. Not once had he been angry during speaking. It simply had been a plea of sorts. Hanging his head softly, Deacon sighed. "Sorry.."

Nothing that Tomen said about not caring anymore had gone unnoticed. Deacon simpled nodded his head almost in agreement. "I guess I kinda get that. If they left and it's been that long, does it really even matter?" He shrugged almost as if answering his own question. Left him to wonder how many still cared about him after leaving or how many he still unknowingly cared about.

"I think I hate being an Archer-Lyall." His words practically a whisper to Tomen. "I'm grateful for my parents and all but, I think having such a supposed regalness in both names has made me feel entitled." A soft snuffle was given to hide his emotions welling in his eyes. "I don't know why. Maybe my parents, maybe it's just me."

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