Umbra Copse find what you're looking for

@Niles only <3 Musical inspiration: Don't Wait by Joey Graceffa.
Subterritory discovery - Ephemeral Apse.

It was creepier in this part of the forest than Castel had imagined it would be. She almost felt bad about dragging her companion along with her, but she doubted Niles would have let her go this far into the darkness on her own. The younger wolf had taken the lead, excited at the prospect of getting out of the territory for a little while after working her tail off for the past month or so as the stand-in alpha. It was not something she had been prepared for, but she had done her best. Regardless, she hoped Sahalie would be able to take the position back soon. Cas was much, much more comfortable as second-in-command, even if she had to share the position with one specific douchebag.

But this little outing wasn't for such negative thoughts. She wanted to spend as much time simply enjoying her Niles for a little while. Everything else - Quaking Vale, responsibilities, worries, regrets, anger... literally everything else in the world was just pushed into the back of the colorful girl's mind as she glanced over her shoulder. A smile crossed her face at the sight of those silvery gray eyes, and her tail wagged encouragingly.

"I'm not going to pretend I know where I'm going. I just have a good feeling about this," she told him, nearly tripping over a snaking thorn vine that had found its way around her forepaw. She staggered just a bit and growled in frustration. "Damn thorns! Why is it always thorns?!" the silver-brushed girl demanded to the darkness around them, genuinely irritated with the vegetation itself. But then her mind went back to February and blackberry bushes and an awkward, grieving boy with a chattering, fake-healthy girl. It seemed like forever ago, even though, logically, Cas knew that it had only been just under eight months.

How much their lives had changed since then - for the better.

Cas hummed low in her throat and, without looking back at him as they trudged along through the dense thorns, asked, "Are you going to say something, or are you just going to follow me and be a creepy stalker dude all day?" Her tone was light and teasing, hoping that he would recall their little exchange all those months ago.

(This post was last modified: Jul 24, 2017, 12:10 AM by Castel.)

By now, when Castel wanted to go on an adventure, Niles had to oblige. Most especially if he was the one who was invited on such an escapade. On most occasions he was glad to remain within the boundaries of Quaking Vale, out along the borders or relaxing in his dirt hole of a resting place, waiting for Castel to return to him for the night. He was more than happy to come along today, though; it had been quite a while since he and the little Leader had had some time just to themselves.

The Lyall's steady pace let her dart ahead of him, leading him further into the unfamiliar depths of the Copse. They kept within each other's eyesight for the most part, Niles stalking along her path beneath the closely-spaced trees and dark boughs.

"I'm not going to pretend I know where I'm going," she had said. Niles had to grimace a bit, even if he knew to trust her completely. "I just have a good feeling about this." As soon as the words had left her tongue, she nearly stumbled and he bounded forward to catch up to her, adjusting his stance accordingly as if he could have 'caught her' in mid-fall. His nose wriggled and his eyes raked over every bit of her petite frame. Well, everything seemed all right but then, just as she moved to continue on her way, she exclaimed, "Damn thorns!" Niles could have jumped out of his skin. "Why is it always thorns?!"

The brute grimaced as he eyed her feet while she called out into the darkness, demanding the nature around them declare why it just had to thorns that she stumbled into. He opened his mouth to tell her that he wanted to look at her paw, but she pushed onward into the forest. He had been so fixated on her limbs that when she next spoke, he had to stop and blink at her for a moment.

"Are you going to say something, or are you just going to follow me and be a creepy stalker dude all day?"

It took a second but, when the recognition of the memory dawned on his face, it crept over him in increments. His tail settled into a subtle wag, his ears had perked upward, and his eyes had lit up. His head even canted to one side as he prepared a comeback. "I'm not creepy," a smirk formed on his lips, his chest puffing up slightly as if in offense. "But, ya better b'lieve it when I say I'm gonna follow you. I can't have my Leader gone missing, y'know." For once, his voice was smooth; it did not crack or change tone in immaturity. In fact, the tone of his words reached out to her in hopes that she would understand what was getting at: he was not going to just let his Cassie romp all over the place into unfamiliar territory without her paladin to protect her.

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!

The smoothness of his voice did not go unnoticed by the smaller wolf, and her tail waved a couple of beats before she responded. "I don't know, Niles. You followed me all the way across the Lore and are continuing to follow me in search of adventure today. Doesn't that sound a little creepy?" No, it didn't. It sounded much more to Cas like love, but she wasn't going to say that in such a teasing way. She flounced around to where she could look at him as they picked their way through the underbrush, the girl walking backward. "Anyway, the leader thing isn't permanent, y'know. Soon as Sahalie feels like picking it back up, I'm totally out of there! It's not fun," Castel proclaimed, still walking backward.

But there was a little more that Cas wanted to say on this little adventure, and it really didn't have much to do with small talk and teasing. The thought of it made her heart pound in her chest, and her breathing to pick up slightly in preparation. It wasn't so much that she was scared to talk to Niles - about anything, come to think of it. There was just something about this one, painfully simple, thing that was rather... difficult. She wasn't sure how to articulate her thoughts enough for it to make sense, and she was terrified she'd say something wrong or he wouldn't take it well.

Screw it. Just speak. It was what she did best, after all.

"Hey, Ni, I have something to tell you," she began slowly, for once in her life picking her words carefully. She didn't stop walking, however, and glanced at her paws as she moved. Half to make sure she wasn't going to back right up into a prickle bush and half because she was experiencing a sickening amount of emotions, all at the same time. "I don't know how to say it, and I've been thinking about telling you a lot lately, but I don't know how you'd react and I don't want to make you angry or mess things up. I just-" She glanced up at him then, which would turn out to be the exact wrong move. Because there suddenly was no ground behind her, and her hind paws slid, and she rolled backward with a sharp, startled yelp.

The fall wasn't big, but it was surprising, and it was even more surprising once she reached the bottom. Because there was softness instead of thorns, and a sweet smell wafting through the air. Blue eyes popped open in amazement when she realized that she'd landed in a bed of tiny, beautiful pinkish-purple flowers rather than more brambles. "Cool!" she proclaimed, hopping to her feet and looking around her in awe. "I told you I had a good feeling about going this way!" she bragged, as though she hadn't just fallen spectacularly down a hill. "This place is awesome!"

(This post was last modified: Jul 24, 2017, 01:14 AM by Castel.)

"I don't know, Niles," she started. The darker male continued to simper, his smile growing more coy with every passing moment. To her question, he shook his head. In his own mind, there was nothing creepy about him doing what his brothers Greer and Skoll were good at. As much as he knew, Greer was simply silent, his steps undetectable in even the coarsest grasses or debris-littered forest grounds. He could be there one second and then gone the next without a sound. Skoll, on the other hand, crept about as if he were waiting for something - something to make him spring out from the underbrush and attack. Niles had witnessed both of his siblings amidst their craft at least once during his puppy days but when he did it, prowling through the willows, he was merely the sort of presence that was there. In pursuit of Castel, he was the watcher at her back, saying little but wholly alert and in control (mostly of himself).

He hummed to her when she mentioned the Leader stuff was temporary while Sahalie was busy with little Laurel. While he made sure to give her all the signs that he was listening to her, he kept his sight trained on the path behind her, hoping all the while that she wouldn't back up into a tree or a bunch of brambles or anything that might hinder her step.

"Hey, Ni," she started again. "I have something to tell you."

Niles' ears drew forward in genuine interest before relaxing, not wanting to be too eager or too intense. He wasn't about ready to just let her misjudge her step or hurt herself further. However, she looked at him and he looked at her, their eyes meeting at that perfect moment to orchestrate that very step that made her lose her balance and slip and slide backwards off some sort of ridge that sloped starkly downward. The Lyall's breath caught in his chest in panic as he attempted to grab at her ruff and plant his large paws on either side of her to catch her. His moves were a split second too late, he jaws snapped shut in the air and his own paws skid over the edge, leaving his elbows on the ledge and his rump and tail in the air as he looked down at her at the bottom.

She exclaimed that her little antic had been 'cool' and Niles sighed with a click of his tongue. There was no use in asking if she was all right. Clearly, if she had hopped to her feet (seemingly without much pain) and had gone on to explore the little flower-specked area, Castel was fine. He let out a breath in relief and slowly descended down the incline to nestle his nose into her shoulder and nape, something he'd begun doing as a way to wordlessly ensure that his little love was truly unharmed. "Mmhmm," he half-drawled, looking past her nose to the ground as he loomed over her, "ya sure did. But why d'ya think you'd make me angry?"

(This post was last modified: Jul 24, 2017, 01:10 AM 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!

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

The fall would've hurt her severely a few months ago, but thanks to the warmth and Draven's herbs, Castel was, in fact, unharmed. In the chaos and discovery of the little clearing, Cas had rather hoped that Niles would have had his attention snatched away from the little conversation beforehand, to save the smaller wolf the anxiety and insane amount of fear she was experiencing over this one. stupid. thing! For once in her whole entire life, it seemed that her mouth was the one that didn't want to form the words she needed to express what was on her mind. It was entirely frustrating, and now she had a guess about how Niles felt sometimes when he just didn't want to talk.

But, in all honesty, it was more that she just didn't know how to approach the subject. Serious, sometimes somber, conversations weren't totally the little Noor's forte, and so she tended to keep things as lighthearted as possible. However, it wasn't always possible to do so.

Or was it?

Her brain quickly formulated a little plan, and a smirk found its way across her maw. "Oh, it's not all that important. In fact, I think I might have forgotten what I was going to say in the first place," she replied slyly, her tone suggesting that she absolutely had not forgotten whatsover. She cut her sky blue eyes up to meet his stormy ones, which reflected the beautiful little flowers around them perfectly. Like a mirror. "Maybe I'll never remember enough to tell you. What a tragedy." She pranced out in front of him and fell into a play bow, her gaze issuing him a challenge. "Or maybe you'll have to catch me before I tell you."

@Castel - Ya wanted me to PP him catching her, so I did a little chase, let me know if I can edit anything!

In regards to what Castel had been talking about prior to her little slip, she had merely forgotten. Niles cast a glance at her from the corner of his eye, but he wasn't going to question it. He had had quite a few instances where he was doing something and something else had gotten in his way and made him forget what he was saying or doing in the first place. Then, it occurred to him that she was playing with him.

What a tragedy, indeed...

The little sprite dance along the flower-adorned ground, out of his reach and well away from him, taunting him to catch her. This shouldn't have been a challenge. All he had to do was coil his muscles in all the right places and bound after her as she gave chase. In a few sprints, his longer legs easily caught up to her and he playfully clamped his jowls over her wagging tail. It was almost much too, too easy than the usual games they played. "Tell me, Cassie," he half-whined through his nose while playfully growling, tugging gently backwards to keep her close. "Tell me 'fore ya ferget... Ah wanna know."

His own tail waved wildly about; his heart thumped loudly in his chest, all too eager for more information.

(This post was last modified: Jul 24, 2017, 02:19 AM 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!

The little chase was fine <3

She'd probably have been able to escape him if she'd wanted to, but this time she actually wanted him to catch her. Except she hadn't really been expecting him to bite her tail, which (surprisingly) tickled. Giggles escaped her as she tugged, feigning an escape attempt, and she felt him tug her back and ask that she tell him what she had been about to say before. And, for a moment - a brief heartbeat in time - she experienced that reluctance she'd felt before. Almost like there was something wrangling her tongue and forcing her back into silence.

But then her own words echoed in her mind. 'I'm the master of my own life; holder of my own fate!' Where the hell had that confident, wild, crazy girl gone? It felt almost as though she'd been warped in some way - pulled out of shape from what she used to be. She'd grown accustomed to the way that things had become, and she liked her life, but she was becoming complacent and mature and responsible, and there had to be some of that old fire within her. Or perhaps it had been squelched out by everything that had occurred in the past eight months. Perhaps it was for the best that she wasn't as bright and vibrant as she had been. That Castel had been annoying.

'No, no!' came another voice, drawn up from memory. A younger, not-yet-mature Niles held up a paw. 'Not annoying at all! You're nice. Lovely, really.' It hadn't really occurred to her before that moment - that she hadn't forced Niles into coming with her. He'd been the one to ask her to tag along. It had been entirely his choice what he did and where he went, when they'd met in those blackberry fields.

'I was actually wondering if I might join you.'

'Of course I'll stay.'

'You lead, and I'll follow.'

'Yeah, duh. Are you happy?'

'But, ya better b'lieve it when I say I'm gonna follow you.'

Her chest did that little butterfly thing that it had done the first time she and Niles had met, and she turned to him, tugging her tail from his mouth and looking him straight in the eyes. That confidence that had been so vibrant and fiery when they were younger reared its head again and she smiled, blue eyes earnest, positive, and soft.

"I'm in love with you."

(This post was last modified: Jul 24, 2017, 02:43 AM by Castel.)

Before he could even comprehend that their little bout of play had dropped off onto a more serious, heart-felt note, she gave him five words - simple on their own but, arranged and delivered from the right individual at the right time, they were life-changing. His jaw hung slack from his skull, unaware that she had taken her tail back until he realized that he closed his mouth with a click of his canine teeth.

"I'm in love with you."

The world spun and his heart felt like it had taken up residence in both of his ears. Love... was this love? He stared wide-eyed at her as if she had discovered so much more than this neat little hideaway in the forest. How could he have been so blind? It had always been there. That funny feeling that lingered. The emotion that welled up inside him and made him swing between hope and despair just to see her there. That funny feeling that made him feel her spirit course through him in a melody only he could hear.

This wouldn't be the first time Niles was at a loss for words but, perhaps, for the first time ever, he repeated them back but with his own spin. Instead of parroting or miming her in tone, he responded in a way the reciprocated the feeling, the timbre in his voice quiet and hushed. "I'm in love with you."

Yes, this must be love.

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!

-dies-

In all honesty, Cas had known from the beginning that, if Niles had remained a part of her life, it would have led to this moment. She could always feel that rhythm of his soul that beat in sync with hers, and for a while, she had felt guilty for it. Because, no matter how much she could pretend otherwise, the girl would never have a long life. It was a simple fact - plain and solid. But as the days, weeks, months had passed, she'd understood just how much Niles wanted to be with her, too. Why else would he have followed her, in the middle of winter, all the way across the Lore? She just didn't want to leave the subject untouched any longer.

Affectionately, she leaned forward to bop her nose gently against his, never breaking eye contact. "Good. Now that we've gotten that out of the way," she stated, and then cleared her throat self-importantly. "Ahem. Mister Niles Archer-Lyall, would you allow me the pleasure of becoming Mister Niles Archer-Lyall-Noor?" the colorful wolf asked, voice comically deep. She dropped a wink afterward. "Or does that usually go the other way around?"

"I don't really know how it all works," she admitted, in reference to the names and being mates and love and, well, just about everything else to do in that field. "All I know is that I want to be with you, for the rest of my life. I want to spend every night with you, and have pups, and play games, and grow old. Is that what you want, too?" She tipped her head up to meet his gaze, ears perked forward and tail slowly wagging back and forth behind her. Now that the initial butterflies and fear and anxiety had worn off, she just felt a sort of worry that, perhaps, he didn't want all the things that she wanted. And that would be fine. She just wanted to hear his thoughts.