Sanguine Cove and everything i touch is breaking

She was relieved to see him, grateful for his presence. She thought that perhaps seeing the next generation, his nieces and nephew… she thought it might help. It did anything but. When she drew back from the contact, there was a vacancy in his eyes, a look she recognized well. A frown instantly formed on her features as she took a few steps back, watching as her husband tried to reach his brother to no avail. She hummed softly, looking around quickly. Thankfully there was lavender nearby, and so she bolted to grab it.

A small bushel was in her mouth when she returned, moving over to hold it under the man’s nose so he would be forced to breathe it in, hoping the calming scent would draw him back to reality. Words would not reach him at this point, she knew that… she had seen this before… and it only happened when something touched deep into the soul and dug the worst memories out, causing them to flash before someone’s eyes… her Aunt used to experience it, Lilya… and she had seen Lachesis bring her down from it more than once… it had been associated with her PTSD, but she didn’t think that Chan had it.

That was, unless something awful had happened to cause such a dissociation from reality, of which she hoped was not the case.

Aquene Slayer

Oksana really was glad to see Chan once more. He'd promised to visit before he left but the drought had made things difficult to say the least. Aquene followed her shortly and with that the Eastfall children. She'd seen the look in the returned Eastfalls eyes and hoped that maybe the sight of the children would cheer him up. Though as she continued to watch the scene before her it didn't seem to be the case.

She watched as Aquene went to retrieve some Lavender. It was a herb that she knew well. Her mother had told her of it and insisted that they have some when they rested before returning to the lore. She hoped that the Lavender would bring her friend some comfort.

Oksana made a note that she woukd need to find Chan later. She didn't know if he'd open up to her but she did want to catch up with him in a more private setting. She cared very much for the wayward Eastfall man and wanted him to be okay. She remained quiet for the moment to allow Chan the time he needed.

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His name being called did not register, but the soft touch of Nash's nose against his pelt did. His shoulder twitched, and his eyes blinked. In the next moment, one of the little girls was speaking, loudly proclaiming what must have been her name. The spell was broken, and he was able to push a weary smile onto his dark lips, head canting ever so slightly to the right. Unbeknownst to him, his sister-in-law had also been working swiftly, all four adults present clearly concerned that he'd not had their expected reaction. The lavender she placed before his squared muzzled caused him to sneeze, and he became sheepish at the nature of the attention he'd drawn.

Outwardly, he expressed himself as he had before when fussed over. Inwardly, he felt more deeply uncomfortable than he ever had before. He'd thought he'd known how difficult this would be, but all at once and far too soon he found himself regretting coming at all. They were clearly fine, they didn't need the mess that he had become.

They could have kept telling themselves he was just fine if he'd stayed away.

"Sorry," he murmured to his peers, before focusing back on the children.

"Sorry, Mona. I'm your Uncle Chan. It's so wonderful to meet you."

He would have asked the other two for their names, but talking with such a dry tongue was taxing, and so he looked to Nash.

"I really need water, I haven't had an actual drink in days."

He'd been surviving off of what little dew collected in the mornings and condensation off stone.

(This post was last modified: Oct 02, 2022, 07:09 AM by Chan.)

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

Mercury orbs watched the scene unfold around her. So much going on at once that seemed to move in slow motion and fly by simultaneously. A combination of Nash's nudge and Aquene's gathered lavender brought Chan back from the edge. The worry and concern on the mothers face didnt dissipate as easily. Moon colored eyes continued to watch on as her eldest sheepishly apologized to them before responding to his boisterous niece. A small worried-laced smile tugged at the ebony womans salt and pepper maw. The pain was still very clear on his features and it broke her heart. Even more so when he looked to his brother and told him he hadnt drank in days. Another small whine came from her aging body. She moved to her eldest's side, giving him reassuring nudge to his cheek. "Let's get ya some water." The aging Eastfall moved towards her grandchildren to usher them in the direction of the lake. "Come on lovelies, lets get ya uncle a drink. Would y'all like to lead the way?" She asked hoping giving the triplets a task would minimize them overwhelming Chan. She looked back to her own sons with a small smile that was clearly laced with worry.

Word Count: 204

(This post was last modified: Oct 12, 2022, 06:05 PM by Moonshadow.)

The inky child was so excited about this whole encounter. First a trip to the borders, then a gathering of some of his favorite bigs, and to top it off an uncle! What ever that meant. Dual colored eyes watched the scene with wonder and excitement at first until he noticed some small nuances. All the adults seemed off, not quite in the same way that they did when they all gathered that early morning but similar.

A single dark audit flicked towards his equally dark sister as she practically yelled her name at the newcomer. Matos rolled his eyes, she always wanted the spotlight. His attention was taken from his littermate to his mother as she darted off. He took a step as to follow her but she was back before he could go any further. She had a purple colored plant between her jaws that seemed to help bring the tawny man back to them. It was curious to the young boy, he would have to remember to ask her what it was.

His attention was drawn away from his thoughts once more as his Gran moved to his uncle before addressing him and his sisters. His tail began to wag excitedly behind him as she asked if they wanted to lead the way to the lake. "Ya! Dis way!" He exclaimed bounding in the direction of the small body of water. He stopped to look back at the collection of his family, surely his help would make them feel better...right?

Words are dripped

like honey from lips

Mona barely glanced up as her mother darted away from them. Her gaze was instead still glued to this stranger who refused to give them the attention she deserved. Thankfully it didn't take long for him to look down and tell her how wonderful it was to meet her. "What's an uncle?" she asked loudly. Before she could get an answer, however, this 'uncle' was asking for water. Why hadn't he had anything to drink in a few days? That was silly.

Then gramma was asking her to lead the way. Matos started off, which was of course completely unacceptable. "It's this way!" she said as though correcting him even while heading the same way. She pounced on her brother with the intent of scrambling over him and taking the lead.

When Chan twitched and awareness came back to his eyes Nash took a small step back with a muted sigh of relief. He didn't step too far, though, still concerned for his brother's wellness. Aquene clearly shared the same concerns, dashing off and coming back with a bundle of lavender to wave under Chan's nose as he came back to himself.

Something was deeply, deeply, deeply wrong. But now was not the time.

The leader's ears flicked when Chan mentioned water - of course he was thirsty. It was a hellscape out there. "Of course," he said quickly, glancing gratefully to their mother as she volunteered the pups to lead the way to the lake. It would help keep them less underfoot-

Mostly. Nash gave a tired sigh as his daughter bowled over her brother. "Mona, what have we said about pushing?" She was going to get herself into trouble some day if she didn't learn manners.

Thankfully, the lavender seemed to pull Chan from his daze as he sneezed, finding his attention drawn to her and Nash’s children instead. Relief coursed through her in that moment as he apologized, instead turning to Mona as he introduced himself. “Apology not necessary.” She added warmly, though hints of concern still lingered on her features… she would want to speak with him about it later. “Thankfully we still have water in the lake.” She added as they entire group began to move, eager to get Chan his drink and help him settle back in for however long he would be with them.

It was Mona with the question that caused a soft smile even as her Love had to scold their child for pushing around others. “It means that Chan is your father’s brother, Mona… just as your father’s sister would be your Aunt… or my sister would be your Aunt, or my brother your Uncle.” She explained, hoping it made sense to the girl rather than drawing more questions. “It is good to see you, Chan… to have you back here regardless of the circumstances.” A hint of sorrow edged at her voice. She was not entirely sure if he had caught her comment when she first arrived because of how he had snapped into his trance.

Aquene Slayer

Something felt complete in the cove with Chan's return. Oksana hoped that he would stay for awhile and spend some time with the children. They needed to know their uncle. Though the pain left behind behind the loss of her husband she could be happy for the return of one of their own. She could see the family before her needed time to catch up with each other. There was a lot going on so she decided to take her leave. "I'm going to head back now," she informed the group. "I'm glad your back Chan I hope we can catch up later," she added. Then not wanting to take more time from the family Oksana turned and headed back into the cove and to her own children.


Oksana's exit

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