Hush Meadow always wondering if it's ever gonna end

Celandine did nothing to hide the sway of her tail. Though it was a small, and seemingly insignificant action, it often gave away more than she was willing to part with. Normally she would have forced it still, but this whole thing had been much easier than she had originally expected, and she was in a good mood. Skoll was here in front of her, Morganna was on her way back, and somehow she had helped to make it happen. How strange.

Her eyes flickered over him as he stood on shakey legs. Pale brows furrowed across her delicate features. Was he going to make it all the way to the Lagoon, or was she going to have to drag him? She didnt speak her concerns aloud, however. If they needed to stop to rest then it would be on him to let her know. 

Turning to face the west, Celandine set off at a slow pace. "There are others there, so don't be alarmed. They came with Morganna and I." Better to let him know now than have him run off later.

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As Celandine reoriented herself and found her bearings, she began to lead him westward. He didn't even catch her concern or unease; he was much too busy trying to stay grounded. The dizziness seemed to take hold of him again, his eyes fluttering shut before snapping open again. He only staggered behind by a step or two before he fell back on track. She  told him that there were others, that he shouldn't be alarmed, and that the lot of them had tagged along.

"Where've you come from then?" he asked out of curiosity. By assumption alone, he could have considered it a stupid question, seeing as Morganna could have probably only come from the north. Given that it was his sister, however, she really could have come around from, well, anywhere. He had known about her desires to become a Scout or a Runner of sorts since they had been yearlings. For her to travel far and wide was not at all surprising in the slightest. "And how many are you?"

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Celandine pressed onward, keeping her vivid gaze to the horizon while her pale ears orbited so that she could keep an ear out for Skoll. His brief lapse in stride was noted, but his pawsteps were quick to resume. Still, it wouldn't do to have him fall behind, or collapse somewhere. The Argyris was, and would always be self serving, but she had found a small group of wolves in which she would put her own comfort on the line for so long as it suited her. One of those wolves being Morganna, and so it was without another thought that she slowed to move beside the man, close enough to allow him a shoulder should he need to lean against her for support. She wouldn't offer, because it didn't matter to her either way. If he needed it, then the pale woman was close enough. It was entirely up to him.

"Torbine. There are certainly a lot more of you Archers than I could have imagined." Many more than there were Argris'. "There are two more waiting around the lagoon, but Morganna's brood of five should be crashing through any day now." Her eyes flickered to his face then, curious as to how he would react. 

Now to sate her own curiosity... "And you? Where have you come from?" Celandine hadn't noticed before, but now that he was moving the man certainly seemed worse for wear. The scents still clinging to his coat were interesting too, so what had caused them?

(This post was last modified: Nov 26, 2017, 08:45 AM by Celandine.)

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

Torbine... Skoll had to take a moment to process the territory name alone. Morganna had ventured to the place that he had only ever dreamed of - where the land met a practically endless expanse of salted water and kinship ruled supreme. He didn't want to believe it, but he had to owe it to her. If Morganna wanted something, she got it; and if it was Elettra's birthright and legacy that she sought, she acquired it with all her queenly graces and "charm." It had worked on him, on Craw, and whoever else. He wasn't fazed at all in the end.

"Mmhmm," he hummed in reply to when Celandine had mused about how much family he had elsewhere. He nodded with some difficulty as he learned that there were only two others about. Though, as he considered that there were to be five of her children following her in her wake, he swallowed back the sour taste on his tongue. He, too, had left his own near-yearling brood of five. Samael and Judas were clever, his other two sons tricksters in their own right, and his witchy youngest daughter a powerhouse by mere heritage; but between the five of them, he wasn't sure they could compare. Skoll was great with visual cues and memorizing certain paths, but navigating towards certain places was not a particular strong suit of his. He inwardly hoped that his litter would fare just as well as his sister's. Thinking of it all just made him frown, his ears slicked back as he walked alongside her like an obedient cub with his tail in a lax curve at his heels. He kept his eyes trained on the ground as the world slowly began to darken around them.

"And you? Where have you come from?"

He made a sound; the puff of air through his teeth seeming to be something like half a sigh and half a scoff. "Hell," he threw out in tasteless humor. Frankly, with all that he had been through, he might as well have been trapped in perdition for the "sins" - or, more correctly, moral wrongdoings - he had committed. "Got chewed up by some sirens and they pretty much spat me back out." As condensed stories went, that was as short as he could make it. Pride would not allow him to be made fun of if he said something and the ivory-coated woman thought his 'bewitching' and submission to be something funny - and, surely, no Archer male liked to be thought of as whipped.

"I loved them," he divulged, "but they used me instead."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Celandine could feel the weight in his words, though she had no way of knowing the extent of what he had been through. In her mind, it was as if the Archers were a different species entirely. They were powerful, calculating creatures. Hell, they had built an empire that most could only dream of, so whatever he had been through, whatever had broken him, was beyond her comprehension. 

If there was one thing that Celandine hated more than anything else, it was pity. She would neither give or receive it, so long as she could help it, and Skoll was no exception. It was his fault for giving too much of himself, for giving love and expecting to be given such in return. It was the way their world worked, for better or worse, so her words were carefully chosen.

"Well then, I'd say it's about time to be the one doing the chewing." The wording she chose was a little childish for her taste, but it would have to do. The important thing was that it got the point across well enough. 

(This post was last modified: Nov 26, 2017, 10:26 AM by Celandine.)

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

What simple words had been considered as juvenile in Celandine's mind spoke volumes within Skoll's. In all truth, it had been his fault for giving all of himself to others and wholly expecting a one-for-one trade; the women he intimately dealt with were not ordinary women at all. They were eccentric, beguiling and abusive. What he had assumed was love was something else entirely and he paid for it in body and mind.

Yes, it was just about time for him to chew and bite and gnash his teeth. Like old times... but, this time around he was older and wiser. No one - not even Celandine or Morganna - would be given the chance to see him bent over or broken under their watch. For now he would borrow them as a shield and support system, to get better - healthier - so that he might be the force and shadow at their back that helped his sister and her companion bend others to their will.

"I couldn't agree more." If Skoll's haggardness hadn't extended to his tongue and words, his reply might have sounded empowered or heartened. Instead, it was weary and strained as if desperate for the change. A sharp pain shot up through his right wrist and arm and he stumbled about on three legs before stopping completely. His grey eyes searched his guide's face, a wince apparent on his silver-furred snout and graying guard hairs on his brow, "I think... I think I'll stay here if that's all right?" He flexed his forepaw before gingerly setting it back on the frosted ground. "Call for me if anything?"

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Celandine caught his stumble out of her peripheral vision, and came to a halt. His paw pulled in close to his chest, and pain worked it's way into his dark features. Shit. Wildly her eyes flickered across his body, searching for clear indicators of what had caused the pain, but there was nothing for her to see. Curse them for not convincing a medic to travel alongside them. 

She wanted to meet his question with a refusal. He would be safer by the lagoon where Maeve and Ren could watch over him too. He wasn't strong enough to be out here alone, and when she considered what Morganna might do if they let her brother be eaten by something... No. Absolutely not. She couldn't press onward just yet. "We'll sleep here tonight." Her tone was firm, suggesting that this was final. "And we will continue when you are strong enough."

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His breath hissed through his teeth asa he took one more glance at his right paw. The pain should have been a welcome symptom - a sign that his nervous system was still intact - but having been unaware of his poisoning until recent months, all he could do was grimace. He had to go along with to Celandine's suggestion; he was in no shape or mental state to argue that he was "fine" or "absolutely all right" if he stayed out in the open. His tall stature could have been built for intimidation but without the bulk and weight he was just a wisp on willowy, unsteady limbs. The slight shake of his whole body also gave away the state of his health, that he was, in fact, definitely not in his right of mind. Her firm tone made certain that he could not argue with her. If he could be grateful for one more thing tonight, it was her choice of words - specifically the part where she pointed out that he was not strong enough.

"Fine by me," he concurred, eyes sweeping over the flat expanse that made up Hush Meadow, one of many play spaces he was familiar with as a cub. Still concerned over his partially rolled wrist, he took a moment to look it over, as if he could see right through his dark fur to where the ache still radiated from it. It would be sore in the morning for sure.

As best as he could on three limbs, holding his shaky paw off the ground, he hobbled towards a rather random spot in the snow and walked in a circle before laying smack dab in the middle of it. He was far from Devilsbite Dell, where circles and rings around things held some sort of protective power, but he had to admit that doing something as silly as this made him feel more at ease. He cast a wary gaze at Celandine, a flash of teeth wordlessly telling her that she was not to cross over his set of tracks. Then, after some time, he dragged his tongue over his dry nose and the sides of his scarred muzzle. "If I forget to tell you, I want you to know how grateful I am to have found you." He curled his body into a crescent-shape, lengthy limbs stretching out before him as he laid on his side to try and sleep.

"I owe you one."

(Fade.)

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away