Firefly Grove love comes slow, and it goes so fast

@Jethro - set a couple days out, in the morning

She and Archer had been heading east in search of his daughter. It was nice, she figured, to have this sort of purpose, and she found herself genuinely hoping they found Ally. She hoped the girl was safe, and she hoped that it would help Archer feel better and give him peace of mind to locate his child.

He was a good travel companion, if a little quiet. Not that Nori minded much, of course - she’d become a lot more accustomed to long stretches of silence as she’d aged. She liked spending time with Archer, she found. It was good to have someone to be around again.

She hadn’t gone too far from him, but she’d needed a little time alone this morning, and decided to split off for a little while. She’d come back later in the day, of course, but she needed a little space from time to time.

So here she found herself, wandering through these massive trees, surrounded by fog that lit up like fire where the sunlight touched it. It was a beautiful area, she thought, if not a little sparse. Nori sighed softly and padded into one of the patches of sunlight, letting it warm her fur. Winter’s chill was melting from the air, and she was looking forward to enjoying the coming spring and summer months.

He hadn’t wandered so far from the falls since he had returned to it. Jet had taken and enjoyed every second he could with his family, but to say he was content with the situation there overall would be to lie. It no longer felt like home, certainly not in the way Jethro had intended it to be. Most of the founding members were dead or gone - and now he barely had a relationship with the wolves that were left.

The question was - what did he do about it? Jet had a decision to make in that regard. Did he try to take back the mantle of leadership and shape things back to his will, or just try to start anew - again? Were it not for his family, Jethro wouldn’t have thought twice about doing just that. But could he really pull Finley and Atara away from their home - and Finley from her son and future grandchild or children?

He needed to decide soon. Waiting like this was not something Jet liked.

The thoughts ate at him. And in so doing, he was not quite aware of how far he’d wandered from home. Nor of the familiar presence carried faintly by the wind.

(This post was last modified: Apr 22, 2024, 10:43 PM by Jethro.)

This forest was empty, Nori decided. Pretty and all, with the towering trees and firelight fog, but void of anything else of interest. It reminded her of herself, in a way, because that was what she had to offer, wasn’t it? A pretty face with nothing behind it.

At least she still had that, she lamented internally. If nothing else, at least she still looked decent. A soft, nearly bitter, laugh escaped her.

She turned to head back, less than satisfied with the nothing she’d found, and froze on the spot.

It seemed she wasn’t the only one who’d taken to wandering these woods this morning.

The figure was painfully familiar and caused a near swooping sensation in her chest when she saw him. He looked the same as he had before - just older, with a few new scars, maybe? But Nori could hardly trust her memory to be completely accurate these days.

She hadn’t expected to see anyone she knew up here - much less him. And she hadn’t thought it would be so painful, either. Her heart felt like it had stopped in her chest and she swallowed past a dry throat, forcing herself to speak.

“Um,” she managed eloquently, staring like a deer in headlights.

He stepped into a clearing, and out of the corner of an eye he spotted a figure. Internally Jethro cursed himself for letting himself sneak up so close on someone, except…

Um. The familiar timbre of the voice caught his ears, and in an instant the dark one whipped about to stare. She had a very familiar face, build.. and looked about the same as Jet remembered, except older - and maybe sporting a couple of knew scars? Someone he had last seen more than half his life ago now, yet who he could have never forgotten, for the profound effect she’d had on him.

He’d dreamt of this moment often, wondered what he’d say or do or ask - though he had long since given up on ever actually seeing her again. But now, here she was.

Emotions welled in his chest, but Jethro masked them well behind a stoic gaze. While the wolf she likely remembered would’ve probably reacted with unfettered emotion, he was not the same ornery youth Nori had once known.

He chanced one step forth, then another, taking in a breath to confirm her presence was real.

”Is that.. really you?” There was uncertainty, mild disbelief in his voice. She was the last wolf Jethro had ever expected to see again. After all this time... 

(This post was last modified: Apr 23, 2024, 04:31 AM by Jethro.)

Nori had figured, if Jet had stuck around, that she would see him again. She’d dreaded this moment as much as she’d been looking forward to it - she’d missed him, terribly, of course, but there was this fear that clutched at her, that he wouldn’t be as happy to see her as she was to see him.

She couldn’t read him, now. They weren’t kids anymore - they’d both changed so much, and she was aware of that, but it didn’t make it any less scary to face like this.

It was probably stupid to expect Jet to stay on the mountain. It had been years - it wasn’t surprising that he’d moved.

He took a few steps toward her, and Nori was gripped with two very conflicting urges - the first to bolt, to escape this situation and maybe pretend it never happened. The second, and more confusing urge, was to run toward him, to embrace him, like she’d done years ago when they’d reunited after his absence.

She would do neither, but the half-step she took forward betrayed her. It seemed the eagerness she felt upon seeing him again outweighed the fear of judgment and abandonment, of harsh words and scorn.

Her voice was caught in her throat as she struggled to speak. “Yeah, it’s… it’s me,” she managed, a hint of strain to her words. Her throat felt so tight all of a sudden. She wanted to say a lot more - I didn’t mean to leave, and please don’t hate me, and did you miss me as much as I missed you? but nothing felt right.

“I’m so sorry,” she managed eventually, tail drooping and head lowering, but her eyes remained on him. “I can go. I didn’t… I don’t expect you to…” forgive me. “But I am… I’m so sorry.” She didn’t want to make excuses for herself - to over-explain things and make it worse. He must’ve thought she abandoned him.

He took a step forth, and she moved back a tad. Jet stopped, at that, trying to read her too, but it was hard. She did answer him though, but.. it sounded like a struggle. The dark one heard, or thought he could hear anyways, something deeper inside of those words. As if she too were bottling up whatever emotions she must've felt.

Still, there were so many things he wanted to ask. Where were you? Why did you leave? How've you been? Are you alright...? But he held back. For now, at least.

Jet had regretted not trying harder to find her, all of those years ago. Especially lately, after what had happened to him. The thought of Nori having been injured or dying somewhere had always been there in the back of his mind, too. Along with a burning sense of guilt he'd learned to set aside and ignore to keep moving. Physically at least, Nori did not appear to be any worse for wear.

But mentally...?

Her posture deflated with an apology, followed by an offer to leave. Jet quickly gave a shake of his head, almost without realizing it, and started forth again. He'd move to align his body with hers if she'd let him, and gently drape his chin across her shoulder. "Don't be. I should have tried harder to find you. I thought for sure you were hurt, or dead. And that I..." failed you, but he stopped himself. The words would've just kept coming if he'd let them, but there wasn't really any use in going over the past. All of the should haves and could haves.

What mattered what here and now. "Just.. don't go. Please don't."

He approached her again, but this time it was more than just a couple of steps closer. Nori wasn’t sure what to expect - he didn’t look angry, but it was hard to tell, and she couldn’t bring herself to turn and leave. Instead, she squeezed her eyes shut, body tense and trembling almost imperceptibly, ready to accept whatever was about to happen. Teeth or shouting or something.

What she didn’t expect was to feel warm fur on her own, and a weight on her shoulder. The contact felt like the sun coming out after a long winter, melting the snow and ice like it stilled the hammering in Nori’s heart. It was soothing in a way she couldn’t put into words.

I should have tried harder to find you.

He’d looked for her? The thought brought a lump to Nori’s throat. Was he the only one? Did her family try to find her, too? She’d thought that all of them would have been upset, yes, but in an angry sort of way - not worried. Jet thought she was hurt or dead, not that she’d abandoned them.

Nori was struck silent for a few moments - a rarity for her, even now.

Just.. don't go. Please don't.

Without thinking too hard about it, Nori turned her head and buried her nose into his fur. He smelled different now, like a different pack, but there was still something that ignited familiar sparks as well. Her eyes burned and she shut them again, only halfway managing to stifle the whine that escaped her. She wished she’d been able to do this years ago, when they were younger and nothing seemed quite as bad as it did now, but she was grateful for the opportunity to have this now.

“You… looked for me?” she managed eventually, unwilling to separate herself from him just yet. “I didn’t mean to leave. I-I dont remember all of it, but I…” It was hard to explain, when the memory came to her only in flashes, but she could try. “I don’t know what I was doing, or where I was, but I… slipped, I guess, and I couldn’t remember where to go after. Couldn’t remember where anyone was, or who anyone was.” Couldn’t talk, stumbled around awkwardly, had to relearn everything, but that wasn’t relevant right now.

She didn’t think she’d be able to leave right now if she tried. Her tail, still lowered, was beginning to wag. “I missed you,” she admitted, nuzzling into whatever fur she could reach, and let herself relax a little. “Even when I couldn’t… remember you. I missed you.”

It seemed like, after a few quiet moments, Jet could feel some of the tension leave her. She turned, pressing into him too, eliciting a soft whine that was somehow expressive of both overwhelming joy and sorrow both. Joy at seeing her again, but sorrow for all of the years lost. The former leader had often wondered how differently things would've turned out if Nori had been the one to leave the cove with him, to come out here and start this pack.

Or how a family would've looked or been like - if she'd have been his partner. Those thoughts all came pouring back now. How would it have been if it was Nori and not Finley and Atara? There was no turning back the clock now, but he couldn't lose her again. At least, not without knowing where she would be - for sure, this time. Curiously, a part of him noticed she did not carry the scents of the cove, but perhaps of just one other. Had she not been back there?

"Yes, I tried searchin' when you didn't come back." But evidently not hard enough. "And, I waited for you, but.." but life had carried on, carried him in a different direction. Meanwhile, she had apparently been hurt, too. Slipped.. he could surmise that meant a fall, too. Didn't know where I was.. couldn't remember...

Each word was like a stab through the heart. She'd been out there, alone and in pain because he hadn't tried hard enough. Hadn't been there for her when she'd needed someone. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you," he admitted softly, though the words could never begin to make up for it.

"I missed you too," Jet breathed, lowering his head, returning the nudge with one of his own. A tiny portion of him thought he ought to step back, but he didn't want to part from her. In fear, perhaps, that she'd turn out to be just another apparition and vanish the moment he let go.

This had been something she’d dreamed about for so long now. Even when she couldn’t recall faces, or names, she imagined black fur and how it would feel to press into it. Dreams that left her feeling the strangest mixture of miserable and warm inside. There had been a time where she wanted everything with Jet, and from the way she felt now, she didn’t think those feelings had changed in the slightest.

He’d searched, and he’d waited, but it made sense that he hadn’t been able to stay on the mountain. It made sense that he’d want to travel. Nori wouldn’t have wanted him to stay up there forever for the possibility that she might come back one day.

“Don’t apologize, please,” she said, letting her eyes fall shut. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I was probably, I dunno, being too confident or something when I fell. There’s no one else to blame.”

There was no sense in both of them feeling guilty. At any rate, it probably had been all Nori’s fault. She’d gotten way too confident way too quickly up on the mountain, and had paid for it.

I missed you too.

This felt far too good to be true, like there was some other shoe about to drop, but Nori’s brain was looping continuously - is this allowed? Can I have this? Is this okay? and Jet wasn’t moving away, only pressing in closer, and it hit her that they might’ve been feeling the same way this entire time.

The realization made her want to cry. Surely it had been too long. Surely there was a catch. Maybe she should be asking more questions, but Nori was far too relieved and selfish to say anything that might mess this up.

Instead, she lowered her head and brushed her nose beneath his chin, tail wagging tentatively. Testing the waters more than anything else, to see if this was okay.

Don’t apologize.. her words went a long ways towards comforting him. Jethro knew deep down he couldn’t blame himself, that accidents and things just happened sometimes, and that what had happened was not the fault of either of them. Even so, he knew a small part of him would always carry that regret.

”I know, I just.. I thought about you so much. About us. What we could’ve been..” That was by far what had hurt the most. If Jethro had known that she would be back, he would’ve probably kept waiting. There was no denying what he felt for her now. The pull was still there, stronger perhaps than it had ever been before.

It was a shame he hadn’t been mature enough to realize it before. Or that it had taken Nori’s absence to make him realize just how much she’d meant to him.

He desperately wanted this, wanted her, now. And maybe forever.

When he thought of Finley and Atara, the former leader knew he couldn’t. As much as Jet had come to love Finley, he didn’t think it would ever be the same as what he had here. But he would not betray her like that.

Jet tipped his head to bury his nose into her neck fur, taking in a long breath. Relishing in the scent, her presence, and thoughts of what could’ve been for a few more seconds, before he pulled back.

Just a step or two, but enough that they could see eye to eye.

”I never got to thank you for the influence you had on me, either. It’s because of you that my life has gone the way it has. And it’s been good. But you.. you were the one that saved me.” To this day he credited her for that. Nori and her persistence had pulled him out of that dark forest, and his mind out of its dark, selfish thoughts.

”Thank you, for believin’ in me. When I didn’t.”  

(This post was last modified: Apr 24, 2024, 03:24 AM by Jethro.)