Secret Woodlands Hold On

For @Duckweed <3 - very stream of thought, sorry ^^;

Aideen Athesila Today was warmer than it had been for a while, but the Woodland queen was not fooled; It was still far too early for spring. She longed for it though, the season of change and new life. This winter had brought too much loss already, too much pain. And she worried about her mate. Miccah was strong, she knew no one stronger, and with her continued care the pneumonia was nowhere near killing him, but it was a nasty disease, clinging to its victims and wearing them down slowly. She'd seen it take lives before. She wanted it gone, yet her treatment only seemed to relieve, the sickness still hanging on. The warmth of spring would be a welcome aid in curing it for good. But as she walked the borders, it was clear to the alphess that it was not coming for a while yet, and until then all she could prescribe was rest and continued soothing herbs. Luckily Duckweed was doing well in handling leading responsibilities in the king's place. Despite his gentle nature and recent adversity he took to the duty with heart, and Aideen offered all the support she could. Seeing him continue to overcome his timidity filled her heart with bitter-sweet pride; Bella would have been so proud! It was so wrong that she wasn't here to see it. Gritting her teeth, the rust-pelted shewolf shook the thoughts of her friend from her mind. Pain and anger still flushed her whenever she thought of this most recent loss, how unfair it was, how much she wanted to punish the monster who'd caused so much hurt. But that kind of contemplation got her nowhere, and she needed to keep her focus on her family; They needed her most. So she devoted herself to the pack and to Duck, trying to be everything to them. She knew there was no way she could replace his mother, but in her very memory, she'd come as close as she could. Word count: 331 Thoughts ”Speech”

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Having become accustomed to a near-constant state of shivering, the milder weather was more than welcome. It only alleviated one of his very many troubles, of course, but any problem lifted was a blessing. Even though he had been sleeping badly ever since... it had happened, the lack of striking cold had let him rest a little easier the night before. Faintly, he wondered if it meant that less troublesome times were ahead, that spring might herald something happier. Something less miserable.

But who was he kidding?

By happenstance he was walking the borders in the opposite direction to his co-leader, head low so as to better assess how recently the markers had been topped-up, but also because walking with his head high felt wrong. It all felt wrong. Why hadn't @Rayne gently but firmly relieved him of his rank yet? Maybe for the same reason that the older man had never challenged the runt even when they had just been Third and Fourth, because that wasn't in his nature. Not for the first time, Duckweed resented Bane for fleeing at the mere sight of Nina's body, never to be seen again, because otherwise this burden would have fallen to him, instead, but every time he thought it, he knew it was false. While he believed that every wolf was more suitable to this role than himself, someone who fled in the face of tragedy was not the sort of wolf that the Woodlands needed... and perhaps it was that mantra which kept him in place.

He could have fled after seeing her body and never come back. He had been tempted to never come back from the mountain, to make it his burial place to try and make up for the fact that it should have been his mother's, but... but the memory of the kind girl brought him back to solid ground, and he wondered where she was, and whether or not she'd managed to find the Lacerta mountain range yet.

Panic fluttered through him like a cloud of butterflies when he realised there was someone up ahead, but it only took a heartbeat to calm and reprimand himself, for it was only Aideen. "M-morning," he said, offering a smile and wag of his tail, both gestures subdued and weak but utterly genuine.

Aideen Athesila She'd been so deep in thought, she hadn't noticed the approaching boy either. In fact she almost jumped at his greeting, blinking back to reality to see the pale wolf in front of her. A warm smile quickly replaced the surprise on her face, her own tail giving a slow wag in return. "And good morning to you too Duck," she returned kindly, touching her muzzle ever so lightly to the side of his. Of course he would be out here, she shouldn't have been surprised at all; Working hard..! Despite the lad's own misgivings, Aideen had nothing but confidence and pride in him, and she was ever so grateful for his help. She tried to make that clear to him as well, although saying it straight was likely to send him running for the hills. So instead she gave more subtle hints; "Looks like my work here is done then." She gestured towards the forest floor and the invisible line beneath their paws, beaming happily at her companion; The borders are covered. To Aideen, there had never been any doubt that Duckweed would do well in tackling leadership. She'd been worried that he might not be emotionally ready for the responsibility, so soon after Bella… But once he'd accepted, she'd had full faith in him. With Miccah out of commission, she truly believed the young Calor was the best for the job. He knew and loved the Woodlands, had been with them the longest, uninterrupted. His self-esteem wasn't great, but it had definitely improved since his mother first brought him to the thicket. And, maybe this was a gamble, but the alphess thought this might just be what he needed to grow even stronger. Looking at him now, she still saw that vulnerability, the shy demeanor that seemed to come natural to the boy, but she also saw strength and capability. It was her first instinct to shelter him, as with anyone, attempt to heal his scars, even if they weren't physical. But she suppressed it, just as she did the natural question; 'how are you doing?' Instead she opted for something more to support his work, yet another in a long array of small comments of gratitude; "And there's no need to go hunting either, all the cashes I've checked a stock full of fish." It might be a slight exaggeration, but it was true enough that they didn't lack in food, and that was largely thanks to the young man's hard work. Saying it did remind her of her earlier ponderings though, and without further thought, she spoke them out loud, running them by Duck as she would have Miccah in a similar situation; "I've been thinking we should arrange a bigger hunt. It wouldn't hurt to get everyone moving, take their minds off things, you know? The cubs could certainly use the practice." She looked at him expectantly then, waiting his opinion, as fellow leader. Word count: 489 Thoughts ”Speech”

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