Quaking Vale komorebi

@Niles. Komorebi means "sunlight that is filtered through the trees."

Castel wanted to play. It had been so long since she had woken up with enough energy to spend on something so frivolous as a play fight, and yet... the instant she woke beside Niles, she felt the urge to tackle him awake. It was such a foreign feeling to her that, for a second, she wondered if she'd lost her mind. But, no. She'd just had an excess of energy, likely from a good night's sleep and improving health. Not to mention she got to spend every night now, right beside the wolf she was in love with.

That certainly improved things.

But still, it was rather early in the morning, and the clearing around them was illuminated only by thin, weak whispers of sunlight. So the small wolf edged her way back from the dark-pelted boy beside her, taking a moment to appreciate the way the morning light reflected off of his deep, black fur in a way that could be described as coruscant. She didn't often take the time to consider how handsome he really was, as under normal circumstances it wouldn't matter to her. But it was moments like this that she could just look at him and have her breath taken away.

"I love you," she whispered, because yeah, she really did. She loved everything about him, in a way entirely different from the way her father had loved her mother. Love wasn't all about being mates and having puppies, but more about who you wanted to wake up next to every single morning for the rest of your life. Who you could never be bored of being with. Who you would stick with through thick and thin, and even their supposed flaws were perfect to you.

Maybe someday she'd tell him when he was awake. But for now...

The little wolf nudged Niles with her forepaws, letting out a plaintive whine. "Wake up," she urged, placing her forepaws on his flank and leaning over to drop kisses all over his face. "Niles, it's morning! Wake up~" The last two words were sung happily as she nuzzled his cheek, muzzle, and ears in eager excitement for the day ahead.

In the clutches of slumber, Niles was merely dead to the world, sound asleep and dreaming of nothing but blackness and visions of what his subconscious thought the future might be like. He had curled up with Castel the night before, feeling "all right" for once. The trees would grow on him yet, but at least he was certain that when he had her by his side, everything would be okay. When the dawn had broken, Niles' continued to sleep, intent on getting as much rest as possible. These days, he was never quite sure whether to expect the fever-stricken version of his companion or the one that was just about ready to wake him up now. Either way, both of them required him to operate mentally and physically at peak performance.

Her paws dug at him and he barely budged. He hadn't heard her little confession, whine, or the first request she made of him, but what he did respond to were her kisses, followed by the obvious statement of "Niles, it's morning!" His grey eyes fluttered open and his ears drew up from their slicked back positions atop his head. She nuzzled his the whole of his face and he let out a low groan, willing his muscles to work as he tried to lift his head. He rolled over and leaned towards the tree at his back, his belly exposed as he shut his eyes and set his head against the dappled bark. Everything about the way his body was propped up right now told Castel that he was working on getting up; his eyes still being closed, however, still told of the grasp his dreams still had on him.

"I'm... u-up..." he murmured. His tail lifted as if to wag but fell right back down to the forest floor. He took one deep breath and, just when one would think he was going to sit up, he had seemingly fallen right back asleep.

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

There is a rabbit's nest nearby. +1 Health

Silver-dusted tail rose over her back and waved like the banner that it was when he started to stir, and then it stilled when he rolled back over and apparently went back to sleep. Her eyes narrowed and she groaned dramatically, rolling onto her side so that her shoulder was on the ground and moving her muzzle to try and slide underneath him. While she hadn't been "fever-stricken" in a little while, she rarely had days that were this good, and she wanted him to enjoy it with her. She couldn't help but be a little bit disappointed when he just rolled onto his back and drifted off again.

"Ni-les," she drawled, making his name two long syllables as she pulled her face out from under him. Then the thought overcame her that maybe he was too tired to play. However, she chased that away quickly - if she wasn't too tired, then he probably wasn't, either. Perhaps he had just picked up on a bit of her melodrama.

Either way.

There was absolutely no possibility that the little wolf was going to let this one slide. So, she took a few steps backward, dropped into a play bow, and wriggled her rump before launching herself at his exposed, white belly. Her weight wasn't enough to hurt him, but if he truly was sleeping, it would certainly be enough to wake him up.

And, if he wasn't sleeping... well, he would most likely be prepared for his assailant.

His ears had fallen back into a lax position on either side of his skull, drooping downward as the seconds silently ticked on. His breath almost whistled as it escaped through his teeth and barely parted lips. Yep, he was gone. It was easily recognizable that the pronunciation of his name fell on deaf ears; he didn't even stir. Niles thought he was going to get his five minutes more, but then...

"Ooof!" his eyes snapped open as he felt her paws dig into his sides and the weight of her on his belly and ribs. His forelimbs and hind legs flinched to fold inward but his instincts to flee were stamped out when he realized that it was just Castel. He sighed at her, relieved for the most part. He slid back down to the ground, his elbow and shoulder flat against the cool grass at the base of the tree they had chosen. "Aww, Cassie, ya don't wanna cuddle fer a while more?"

His eyes remained open this time - though his blinks were still sluggish and heavy with sleep - and they gazed up at her in the way a puppy did when they begged. He yawned a yawn that made his tongue curl and his jaw pop from opening it too wide. His mouth sealed shut with an odd hummed note that turned upward in question, what're we doing today, anyway?

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

-screaming at Cassie-

He was so grumpy in the mornings, Castel mused with a grin when he grumbled and yawned and whined about 'cuddling' and 'Cassie.' She snorted at the nickname and rolled on him, pushing her head up underneath his chin. "We can cuddle later, Ni," she replied breezily, hopping off of him and falling into a play bow. She wanted to take full advantage of feeling on top of the world, and she wanted him right beside her. She'd never really played with Niles before, and she wondered what that would be like. He'd likely be awkward at first - that was for sure - but she had no doubt it would be fun.

"I want to play," she urged, crawling forward on her belly and nosing his muzzle imploringly. She whined and tried to nudge him into getting up on his feet, her tail wagging where it had fallen down near her hocks. She almost felt bad for waking him up now - if he didn't want to play, then she didn't want to force him. The playful mood she'd awoken with had fallen into something more uncertain and pleading as she backed up to lay on her stomach, watching him with wide blue eyes. Ultimately, it would be his choice if he wanted to get up and wrestle or not, but she would be highly disappointed if he were to just roll over and go back to sleep.

So, the little wolf just sat and waited on him to make the decision on whether to get up or not.

"We can cuddle later, Ni," she assured him, but all Niles could do was lay there. She nuzzled him and whined and huffed. She even did what she could to get him up and he just blinked at her. All she had wanted to do was play.

Castel laid on her stomach before him, giving him puppy eyes and all. He let loose another yawn. Then, ever so slowly, he raised his large right paw and pulled it over his eyes. Curious, pointed ears wondered and waited if the little sprite of a girl would protest, but he wouldn't let her wait for long. "One," he started. He lifted his paw from his face to see if she was still there, his tail beginning to wag as if it, too, were starting to stir from a long, deep sleep.

He gave her a partial smirk that tugged at his eyes and put a note of playfulness in his still sleepy tone, "Two..." He covered his eyes, resuming his slow count to see if she would remain there or dart off in attempt to hide. "Three... He paused for three seconds too long, waiting for the sound of shuffling paws.  "Four... Five. If I open my eyes 'gain, Cassie, an' yer still not hidin', I'm gon' get ya..."

(This post was last modified: May 18, 2017, 10:35 PM by Niles.)

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

Castel was about to give up on him when he started to count. She didn't understand at first, but then his tail started to wag, and he gave her a playful warning. Her eyes lit up excitedly and her tail started to whip through the air above her spine, and she immediately lunged forward to give him a thankful kiss on the cheek before bounding off to go find somewhere to hide. Cas was quick, when she wanted to be, and out of sight within seconds, zigzagging to give her direction a bit of variation so he wouldn't be able to track her so easily.

The silver-brushed girl ended up just going in a huge circle around the clearing and ended up behind the very tree Niles was leaning on, keeping her pawsteps quiet and stealthy by the time she returned. She crawled underneath a dense bush and lay close to the ground, tense and ready to run in a game of chase if the need arose. Blue eyes peeked out from under her green hiding place, attempting to see around the trunk of the tree her love was behind.

It was hard to keep her tail from wagging - her hiding spot was ridiculous and she knew it, leaving a scent around in a game of wild goose chase and ending up right behind him from the start. But perhaps she wanted to be found. Where was the fun in hiding forever? She'd much rather him find her and participate in a little wrestling match or game of chase, but if this was how he wanted to play it, she wasn't going to complain.

The little pitter patter of her feet sent a grin to his face as he continued his count, slowly but surely, all the way up to "Ten..." Her steps had gone too far for him to pinpoint and her scent drew his nose well away from her initial starting point. He sniffed, uncovering his eyes and glancing about to find that she had made herself truly scarce, "Ready er not, here I come!"

He scented the air for the direction she had taken, setting off on a path that headed far from his resting place and into the birch forest he now called home. For a second, he raised his head and nose skyward, closing his eyes to enjoy the morning before being teased again by her trail. It beckoned to him, wordlessly, without the breeze or the accompaniment of birdsong. To Niles, it had it's own call: it giggled in her laugh, it chimed in her song, it coaxed him with the promise of her warmth and her happiness.

Eyes still closed, he traced her path. He went about the large circle before slightly scowling to himself as he came to realize that he picked up on his own signature scent. He blinked to realize he had ended up where he had started. His tail lowered and his head tilted to one side. His colorless irises scanned the spots beyond the not-so-small depression in dirt where he had slept for the past few nights before settling on the dense brush on the other side of his birch.

He squinted a bit, unsure if that was the sparkle of her eye that he caught. Sliding forward in something of a play bow, he crept closer on his elbows, his rear in the air as his tail wagged. A playful growl emitted from him, a rare confident verve lighting up his eyes as he expected his companion to spring up from beneath the foliage and surprise him...

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

-ignores all other owed replies for Ciles-

Cas had expected him to find her, and she was not disappointed. He walked in a wide, arcing circle, right back to where he'd began, and she had to fight to keep from laughing. The dark wolf stopped where he started, and looked around for a while before his eyes landed on the bush she was hiding under. Mirth bubbled up in her throat in the form of laughter, but she held it back for a moment or two so that she could have him waiting in a bit of suspense. Her tail thumped on the ground behind her, and she tensed her muscles before she sprang out of the bushes.

The gesture was grand and dramatic, as with almost everything she did. Several of the newly-sprouted leaves flew off of the bush with her, and she immediately ran up to touch her nose to his own. "I win!" she cheered, her banner held high and her rump wiggling happily. "I found you!" Of course, she completely disregarded the fact that he was the one who was supposed to be seeking her. She rather enjoyed bending the rules in her favor.

It was the most wonderful thing to the young girl - to see him excited and playful and full of life. The polar opposite of the boy she'd met near the brambles so many months ago. Her heart swelled with an affection she had never believed herself capable of experiencing, and she touched her muzzle to his again. "Are you happy, Niles?" she asked, tipping her head to the side and stepping back a bit, tail still wagging. It wasn't a question asked to launch them into a serious conversation - it was a genuine inquiry. She wanted to hear it from his own lips that he was happy.

Maybe... she had a part to play in his joy. She hoped so.