Round Stone Crest The Talk

Another yes; another step into territory Raela did not wish to tread. Her expression melted as the child stammered on into one of sadness. However, there were bits of her story that were just beginning to fill in the puzzle. Sylva had been alone, and in that time she had looked to the trees, and the rocks apparently, for comfort. What stung worse was the way she said abandoned. Raela's chest felt hollow and her stomach plummeted. The child was panicking; sinking back into whatever trauma had brought this on in the first place no doubt – and the Queen of the Crest deeply empathized. 

There was a moment of stunned, painful silence, and then the little one tried apologizing. Raela's fallen ears tipped ahead to catch the scattered, frightened words. She hadn't meant to draw an apology out of her... “I'll go ma'am...” Raela stiffened. No no no... She was crying. What kind of monster was she if she made this pup cry? Regret drew her brows inward and up, and Raela's lips parted helplessly. “I'm sorry...”  "No, no." she started gently, her sonorous voice cutting through the cold air. The woman's head leaned down below her shoulders, somehow hoping to make herself look less scary – as if that would help anymore. 

But what was she going to say now? Raela still felt dazed under the realization. The matriarch's voice rose in pitch as she spoke. "You don't have to leave," she clarified, her eyes scanning the yearling's shrunken form up and down as if that would reveal any wounds that might have befallen her. Those were internal though, and she knew it. "Sylva," she started again, wondering if she could possibly explain this to the youth without traumatizing her.  "...those things don't... talk." Maybe she ought to say this in a more relevant way.  "They don't speak, like we do." This could all have been falling on deaf ears, but it was worth a try. She could understand why a lonely, terrified child might start talking to the foliage, but it didn't mean she was alright with it continuing to happen. 

            

@Raela
((Please scroll over the text, there's more than it seems!))

Sylva blinked away the tears as Raela tried to make herself seem less imposing. Now the small wolf thought she had messed up even more until the Agouti female confirmed that her fears were ill founded. “ You don’t have to leave. ”We don’t…” slowly the words echoed within her mind as the nauseating fear made her tight stomach loosen and she blinked away the tears that had been dampening her cheeks.

Raela’s next few words did little to comfort Sylva though. “They don’t speak like you and me.” That's what she had said. the dark furred girl sniffled before shaking her head and glancing at her Alpha before speaking with a very strong conviction of belief “But they do...they do talk….” Brown tipped ears pricked for a moment as Raela rephrased her sentence “Sometimes they don’t but...other times..if you just listen…”

“What if..we’re different though? What if they do just speak to us?” The yearling’s tone had shifted to acquire a quiet whisper as she started to feel the stomach clenching fear yet again, though for different reasons. There's so many unknowns that were scaring her, what if she was crazy? what if she was different in a bad way? what if this was who she was and no one would accept it? Acting completely on an instinctive need, the small wolf discarded all boundaries of rank and pressed her small body into Raela’s side before whispering “I’m scared..”

Sylva could accept that she may be different, she could live with being branded unstable, but the one thing that she couldn’t live without was acceptance.

ThoughtSylva’s dialogue

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OOC: The feels <3 ;-;

It was relieving to see the tears ebb away for just a moment, but further disheartening to hear the child defend her strange behavior. Apparently it was only sometimes, but it wasn't like that really made the situation better. She still spoke to and heard voices coming from inanimate objects. Raela let the girl's voice fade away, ears pricking suddenly when the whispers started. She was using “we” again, and it made Raela more nervous. Something was very wrong, but she was too afraid to ask who Sylva was referring to. If it was some voice in her head, or split personality or whatever, she doubted she truly wanted to hear the answer. 

The Queen of the Crest simply stared, helpless as to what to do or say to get her to drop this insane idea, and feeling worse for having even tried. The quiet crept in around them again. Raela's tail sagged practically into the ground and she just stood there; useless. Her golden eyes fell toward the earth, but rose again to watch as Sylva stepped toward her. The woman's body went rigid, but she didn't resist. The child's frail form pressed into her fur, barely breathing out the tiniest, most helpless sentence. Large orange ears drooped flat out to the sides and it hit her right in the gut. 

“Scared.” Scared like she had been, and it was Raela's fault. Without having to think on it, the Alphess turned her head around, resting her muzzle across the girl's shoulders in reassurance. Maybe it wasn't so bad, her talking to things; maybe they could manage to deal with it somehow. Sadly though, she doubted that this was the only problem the child had. What if there were bigger, more serious issues buried somewhere? Did any of it really matter if Sylva herself was moral and kind? What evidence had she seen otherwise? Raela's lips tried to be useful somehow. "It's okay," she breathed, feeling her own eyes wanting to grow moist. The usually expert comforter found her throat devoid of things to say beyond just that. What experience did she have with this kind of thing anyway? 

It grew silent between them again for a few long moments. "Sylva," she began in a low tone, "...you are not a bad wolf, and as long as you are not a bad wolf you can stay here." Her eyes slid sideways, though she could only really see the child in periphery. "Even if you're different." Her golden pools were wet with emotion now. She had been different once; how crazy she must have seemed to them to not subscribe to their twisted ideas. Were they really so far apart? 

            

@Raela ya think? ;-;
((Please scroll over the text, there's more than it seems!))

Sylva’s tear rimmed brown eyes slowly closed as she felt Raela’s muzzle press against her shoulder blade. She just sat feeling safe while leaning against the large agouti. Her fears melting away for the time being as the Alpha spoke. It’ll be ok… Those three simple words coming from someone Sylva trusted brought more comfort than any speech or lecture ever could. The only response she could give was pressing even closer. A good pack, people who truly cared about her. It was so different then what Sylva had been used to, it would take time to adjust yes, but she could do it..that she was sure of.

Slowly soft hazel pools opened as her name was spoken. Sylva twisted her head, pointing her muzzle up toward Raela as she counted to speak. “We’re not bad…” She murmur, repeating the words with a little bit of confidence “We’re not Sylva...we’re now…” A small sigh escaped the chocolate wolf’s body as a question came to mind. She paused for a moment, making sure she could trust herself to speak “R-Raela...what...what can I do for the pack? I- we want to contribute..more than just hunting…”

ThoughtSylva’s dialogue

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(This post was last modified: Mar 04, 2016, 02:33 PM by Sylva.)

OOC: I can fade in my next post?

Her words made the girl cling even tighter, and Raela sighed. She felt awful, she really did, but at least being able to comfort the child brought some relief. When Sylva pulled away for a moment Raela was nervous that what she had said would be rejected in some way, but instead the yearling reaffirmed them. The Queen shook her head back and forth subtly in agreement. No, she was not bad. She might have been referring to herself as “we” again but... whoever that was couldn't have been bad either, could they? Raela only hoped. She wasn't sure what to do as the pup's voice trailed away; no further conversation was pressing at her tongue. 

Interestingly though Sylva appeared to have more to say. Her words brought Raela's large ears to attention, and even surprised her a little. That the girl would want to immediately repay the pack in more ways than was expected warmed her heart. Her golden eyes drifted away, as if to excuse the matriarch from the conversation for a few moments. Sylva was too small to be a guardian, to young and inexperienced for advising or teaching, but that still left a couple of options. She was a yearling now; it was right about the time she ought to start learning her trade after all. 

Raela doubted she could trust the girl with foreign policy and correspondence. Sylva lacked the social skills and self-discipline for that to really be viable. Perhaps, perhaps her talking to the plants could be utilized in some way. The girl was kind at heart, and a bit naive, but there was one task left on the list. The older woman's face brightened with curiosity. "You could... you could become a healer?" She suggested, tipping her head a little to the side as she spoke. "Gent could teach you about the plants, and maybe after that we could find you someone more experienced." She was too cautious to smile just yet, but the idea sounded good to her. If the odd little female could become skilled in her task, she would easily be as valuable as the other members of the pack, and Gent wouldn't have to be called on to deal with injuries as well as his leadership duties. 

            

((Please scroll over the text, there's more than it seems!))

Sylva’s eyes pricked as she listened to Raela’s suggestion. The small wolf’s head cocked slightly to the side as the larger female mentioned working with plants and she just couldn’t contain herself.She peeled herself away from Raela and bounced a little as she yipped in excitement “Did you hear that? A healer! We’d get to work with you all the time! All the time after all you did for us, we’d get to learn more and even use you to help our family and friends!”

The cocoa colored pup eventually calmed down after a few more rounds of yipping the same thing before bouncing to a halt in front of Raela and shooting off a rapidly spoken salvo of words. ‘I’ll do it! We’re do it!” She grinned, all of the emotional trauma from before seeming melted away from her mind as she found something new to focus on. A path, a plan and a spot in the pack. That's what Sylva had needed, to know that she’s not different and well..loved.

Unable to contain herself for long, the ball of fur charged toward Raela and pressed against her side again, though this time she hadn’t been seeking comfort but instead she quivered with happiness, the next few words that tumbled from her mouth had come without thought nor heed “Thank you mom…” Sylva hadn't even realized that she had said it, she had been soon so lost in sheer joy after the heartache from before, she was just content with closing her eyes and leaning on Raela as the words escaped..

ThoughtSylva’s dialogue

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Her success was so great that the child was practically leaping for joy at the idea. Raela's soft grin faded a little as once more Sylva called herself “we” and started talking to the plants right then and there. Oh well, it was harmless wasn't it? If all that was strange about her was her lack of social tact and the fact that she talked to plants, perhaps they could get past it. The rest of the pack might need some help understanding her, but Raela thought she could manage it – probably. What brought happiness to Raela however, was the passion the yearling displayed at the thought of helping her pack mates. It was something more than welcome in her ranks, and it brought the Queen's warm grin back.

She even laughed a little as the pup zealously agreed. She bowed her head, "Well we'll just have to get working on that won't we?" Just as the last syllable left her mouth the child collided yet again with Raela's side. Her golden eyes flashed wider for a second in surprise, a surprise only heightened by what her orange ears caught next. “Thank you mom...” No one had ever referred to her as such, and Raela wondered if the girl had even known what she was saying. The older woman froze, tensed even for that brief moment. What could she say? Her mouth settled for absolutely nothing, and she just rested her head on the child's shoulders once more. She would let it slide. Sylva could call her whatever she liked; she'd always had a fondness for pups anyway.

-Fade-