Empress Riffle soft hearts, electric souls

ok it's well and truely the 27th here now and I waited til our regular roll over time to get this started. @Draven

turn your face towards the sun, let the shadows fall behind you

Treyah Tainn

She had been rocked to her core. Her father was gone, his trail lost in an avalanche, her mother was supposedly alive, back with her birth pack, and her brother was somewhere, soothing his itching paws, but that did little to offer her peace now with the world falling down around her ears.

Maera leaving was one thing, but the trail of blood and Kerberos’s own blood stained coat had been another revelation. She knew he had been under a lot of pressure but she never thought that he could be so outwardly violent to someone he had loved, someone he had called his mate. If she went through on her feelings, would they end up the same? Was it something she was willing to risk?

So she had been avoiding him, keeping herself busy, pausing for casual interactions but moving on as soon as an opportunity presented itself. Thankfully with the snow slowly receding there was plenty of housekeeping to be done and more often than not she had found herself seeking out Draven’s company and asking him about different plants and their uses. Her mother had tried to teach her some but she wouldn’t trust the information given how addled her brain had been before she disappeared.

She was crouching down when she spotted the flash of yellow peeking out from under the edge of a fallen, rotting tree. Her voice felt brighter than it had for weeks despite the itching under her skin. ”Oh Draven, come look! It’s the first one I’ve seen all spring!” A singular flash of brightness against the snow, a small and unassuming little dandelion.

Draven and Treyah had been spending more and more time together the warmer that the weather got. She said that she wanted to learn more about plants and healing and the man had an inkling that might have been a lie and she was upset about what had happened but he never brought it up. He was more than happy for her company and truthfully it gave him an excuse to avoid the rest of the pack, Kerberos in particular. The Leigh had not been in the pack long enough to feel nearly close enough to speak his mind, but if he had he wasn’t sure what he would have even said.

He had done a lot of things in his life he wasn’t proud of but beating up his wife was certainly not one of them. Draven wasn’t sure where Maera had gone but he had done what he could to treat her wounds and make sure she would heal properly. And ever since then he had done everything in his possible power to avoid the male leader, going so far as to leave border patrols and go out of the territory if he crossed the alpha’s scent.

So when Treyah had asked to go out scavenging for herbs this morning Draven had been more than happy to agree. Now that they were out here alone his mind wasn’t focusing on the plants at all and he had to keep reminding himself what they had come here to do. The man came closer, shoulder pressing against hers as he peered at the yellow flower that had struggled its way through the snow. He glanced up to see the way that her eyes shone looking at the weed and he did his best to ignore how his heart sped up, ”Yeah, it’s beautiful.”

turn your face towards the sun, let the shadows fall behind you

Treyah Tainn

The contact of his shoulder was a welcome gesture, one she leaned into. Treyah had always been the touchy-feely type and with nobody telling her otherwise she hadn't stopped with the warming weather. Her teeth gently raked across his crown in response while her tail maintained its happy wave at her back. Out here, free from the confines of the burned trees she could almost forget that she was now the only adult female in the pack, and that that probably came with certain responsibilities on her part.

"I don't suppose it'd do anything to get rid of this any quicker?" She wriggled her shoulders, the movement clouding the air around them with more of the same stinking scent that dogged her every step. It was only once the action was done that she realised her error, "I'm sorry, I just..." Her face was burning under her fur but she wouldn't move to step away, "First season and all. I was sure that Kerb and Mae would... but then..." Well he knew as well as she did... But he also had a child of his own, and that child had a mother that he wasn't with anymore. Her voice was quieter, apologetic. She couldn't imagine Draven ever lashing out like that, but again, she had thought the same of Kerberos until it happened. "Does it always end like that?"

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

Draven sucked air in quickly between his teeth when Treyah wriggled her shoulder against his, inadvertently sending the smell of her everywhere. He knew she hadn’t meant to but part of him wondered if maybe she had. Last year Neha and him had not known what they were getting themselves into and as a result they had Sachiel. The boy was the best possible outcome that could have happened but this year the healer knew better. He knew how a couple of moments could change everything and he wouldn’t force that on Treyah.

The question caused his green eyes to widen in surprise before he realized that she had been referring to the dandelion and not to his own thoughts. Smiling sheepishly the dark man shook his head, ”I don’t know anything that can help.” Then he realized that wasn’t exactly true, ”At least, not any plants.” Pressing his nose into her scruff at her apology he snuffed deeply, a silent dismissal of her words. He wasn’t sure what the appropriate response was, he wasn’t sure of anything. Pulling away before he could stop the tension growing in his shoulders he couldn’t quite meet her in the eye, ”Do you mean does it end with pups or like what Kerberos did?” One he knew happened, the other he could have never seen coming.

turn your face towards the sun, let the shadows fall behind you

Treyah Tainn

For a moment Treyah thought he might have been teasing her, "I know where puppies come from!" she gave her companion a shove but stepped back again since he had pulled away in the first instance, and while she might have been silently mourning the loss of contact she wouldn't force it on him if it made him uncomfortable. "But yeah, I meant the rest of it..." Her mother's stories were still playing out in the back of her mind, how things had turned so sour with Aponi's father, but she hadn't mentioned anything like that. But his answer alone had been enough to confirm that it wasn't normal, "I mean, people say my mother was messed up but she never told me of anything like that happening, and if it was going to happen to anyone it would have been her, I guess I'm just still a little stunned."

She gave the flower one more glance before motioning with a tip of her head that they should keep moving, if they sat still for too long there was always the chance of someone dropping in on them and she was enjoying the break too much to be dragged back to the Draw just yet. "I just... don't know what to do anymore, a pack without pups is dead in the water but I'm it now, unless the other one shows up but even then, should I let her in?" She even managed a chuckle though she couldn't keep the bitterness out of it. "It's times like this I wish I never left the Bend. What am I meant to do?"

Draven grinned at the shove, smacking her playfully with his own tail before she had a chance to pull away. ”Well you’re already better off than I was last year,” It was a tease but it was also true. He had never been told what would happen if he mingled with females in heat, his mother had died when he was so young and he was sure Namid thought someone had already taught him. But the playfulness died down and he shook his head seriously, ”I’ve never heard of anything like this happening before. It doesn’t always work out for families clearly but I’ve never seen outright violence.” Namid had fallen apart after a stillborn, Neha and him had drifted away from one another and his own mother had raised pups alone after his father was murdered. But for a male to attack his own mate, ”What Kerberos did was disgusting.” It probably wasn’t his place to say, but he couldn’t hold it back anymore.

The man moved beside her at a slow walk, silent for a long time after she ended her question that had seemingly no answer. Then he stopped, pressing his nose against her flank to motion that she should stop as well. Waiting until she turned around he looked her in those golden eyes that had haunted his dreams after they first met. ”Maybe Treyah, maybe you should be asking what you want to do instead of what you’re meant to do. Anything you want, I’ll work to provide for you.” This time Draven knew he wasn’t in love with her, it wasn’t like last year when he was caught up in the moment. This time this was a conscious choice, Treyah needed him. Or, he hoped she did.

turn your face towards the sun, let the shadows fall behind you

Treyah Tainn

His admission that she was better off than he was reminded her that she was going to have to have the talk with Lana and Cannon at some point to make sure they also knew what to expect the following year. The thought alone left her stomach churning, it wasn't really her job, was it? It was something their parents should discuss with them but now she might be all they had.

Normally she would have jumped to Kerbs defense, but even she couldn't imagine what had been so bad that he would leave the mother of his child in that state, so she just kept her mouth clamped shut, her lips a worried dark line across her otherwise pale muzzle.

Draven's next statement did leave her to wonder though. Did they really want to hang around to watch their pack die a slow death? The last sign that her parents had ever even been here? Because that was what would happen if she didn't do something to keep them afloat, and doing something meant, well...

She was used to playing brave by now, but there was nothing disingenuine about the smile on her mouth as she stepped closer so her own flank was pressed against Draven's. as they continued to walk, "I mean, I practically raised my siblings, I can't imagine having some of my own would be so terrible." Warmth gathered where their flanks were touching, a shy sideways glance offered to the healer, wondering if she would have to be more direct than she already was.

Draven didn’t miss the way Treyah’s faces twisted with worry, the hard line her mouth became. She said nothing of the subject but even he knew that she was Kerb’s biggest supporter. It had made him incredibly jealous at first but with recent events and how much time he spent with the leader now the feeling had mostly subsided. That wasn’t saying he wouldn’t have felt it’s sick twinges in his stomach if she had spoken up to defend him now, but she didn’t.

Her flank pressed against his and it felt like so much more than a casual interaction between friends. His muscles tensed as she spoke, the implication not lost on him. Draven wanted to badly to give into the temptation as he draped his head across her shoulders, taking his teeth through her fur. With a slightly cautious growl his voice was low as he had only one thing left to say, ”Treyah are you sure? I wasn’t a great father to Sachiel but if this is what you want I’ll try my damndest to be better for you.” Maybe not the most romantic or sexy thing he could have said, but it was honest.

turn your face towards the sun, let the shadows fall behind you

Treyah Tainn

The weight of his head across her shoulders, the prickling of teeth combing through her fur, it was almost enough to make her lose track of their discussion entirely, but at the same time she wanted so much more than what she currently had.

A deep breath was taken, eyes squeezing shut against the welcoming wave of her tail. "I don't..." No that wasn't quite right, and she should probably be speaking with her eyes open anyway. "You don't have to. You're enough as you are. I've done okay with Lana and Cannon, I won't hold you to anything. I just..." She moved to step forward again, "I think I need this. It's not just what's best for the pack, it's what's best for me." And less emotionally volatile than doing it for some superficial crush that may or may not end in disaster, now that she had seen first hand just where that sort of thing could lead. Sure, she might have been putting the cart before the horse, but didn't they have the rest of their lives to figure out if they could ever be anything more?