Willow Ridge Just Dumb Enough to Try

July 7, morning, for @Adeltra

---

Mostly, he slept. After months of being on the run, waking to the sound of yipping and howling of coyotes, sleep was something Laurel was more than happy to catch up on. He had originally hoped to help Adeltra restock whatever resources he took, but found that he just wanted to sleep above all else. It was day two of being within Willow Ridge's borders and after two good, full days of sleep, he was already starting to feel an itch to leave. Not that he had healed completely — @Ravenna could only do so much for the injured yearling — but the young Ritter still felt some things were left undone. Laurel wasn't sure what those things were exactly, but just knew that they were. There was something left unsaid, some things left undone.

The boy was still sore, but this wasn't new to him, and slowly crawled out of the den to stretch and yawn. His eyelids were still heavy and he tried to blink the sleep away. The second he was finished stretching and yawning, the warmth of the den was beckoning for him to return. The sun wasn't up just yet, but songbirds had begun their morning calls. One landed in one of the trees above him and happily sang its song. Laurel grumbled contentedly and slowly lowered himself to the ground, eyes closing. Just a little bit more sleep wouldn't be too big of a deal. Plus, he'd at least made it out of the den.

Within seconds, he was snoring again.

Adeltra had always been a morning girl. She liked waking up to the birds and to the sun rising in the sky, painting it in so many pretty colors. The air was colder in the morning and everything was covered in dew, making it seem to sparkle and giving the world an ethereal feeling. She’d woken up before the sun had risen, removing herself from the communal den to go relieve herself and catch some breakfast for their visitor. Laurel had mostly slept since being rescued by the Willow wolves, something she couldn’t blame him for. When she’d first come back all she’d done was sleep as well. It had been like she couldn’t get enough of it, after being sleep deprived for the months she’d been on her own. He just needed some rest, and she was happy to give it to him.

The Archer yearling padded over to the den they had moved her new friend to in order for him to not feel as awkward and to keep some space available in the communal den. In her jaws hung a rabbit, still warm from the recent kill. She poked her head in, honeyed-amber gaze squinting in the darkness to see his still sleeping form. She shouldn’t have expected anything else. Gingerly, she placed the prey just inside the mouth of the den for him to find when he awoke before beginning to back out in order to leave.

The scent of blood sent his nose a-wigglin'. The Ritter boy peeked an eye open, his stomach giving an uncomfortable groan. He could smell the girl, but couldn't quite see her. "Wait," he sounded so tired and far-off, struggling to pull himself out of the world of the sleeping. "Wait," he said, louder, but still sounding exhausted. He forced himself to get up, blinking his eyes, one eye at a time, to get the sleep out of them. "Hang out with me," he continued his awkward one-eye blinking, unaware of what a fool he looked like, and finished his waking-up routine with a big yawn. Confident that he got her attention, Laurel plopped himself down and began to lick at the rabbit.

"I'm-" yaawwnn "- leaving tonight," his stomach again loudly groaned, but he didn't indulge just yet. "Or tomorrow... but... probably tonight." He began to sound unsure of himself, which was very opposite of the confident coyote hunter he'd been just days prior. "And I never got to, uh, you — you know." Laurel avoided her gaze and continued to play with his food, this time chewing on a rabbit foot.

She was just about ready to turn around and head out when she heard a faint mumbling from within the den. Pausing, she heard it again but louder. He was asking her to wait. The girl poked her head back in, crawling forward until she was half in and half out. Really, that was all the room that the den would allow. Then, he asked her to hang out with him. She hadn’t expected that, but she wasn’t opposed to it either. She actually kinda liked the boy. He was...different. Different from what she was used to, perhaps because of the way he seemed so wild. So untamed. But, it also could have been the fixer in her. Anyone could tell he had problems that needed resolved, and being the bleeding heart she was she wanted to help with those problems. Yet, far be it for her to push her nose where it didn’t belong.

She watching him quietly as he spoke, revealing that he was going to be leaving that night or the next. A small frown marred her maw, but she bit her tongue. She still didn’t think he was in any place to be running off. With the way he concluded, she knew what he meant. “Don’t mention it,” she replied with a shrug. She was nursing some wounds of her own, the worst of which being a nasty bite to her neck, but it wasn’t like she hadn’t known what she was potentially getting into. Adeltra’s choices would always be hers. She was too stubborn for them to be anyone else’s.

The girl was quiet for a moment, pondering as she watched him chew idly at the foot. “You wanna take that meal for the road? I gotta place I wanna show you. I think you’ll like it,” she said with a grin, backing out of the den and heading toward their destination before he could say no.

Adeltra was running off before he had any chance to answer. Did Willow Ridge wolves always do that? Were they two steps ahead of him, knowing whether he'd say yes or no? And.. he was supposed to say yes, right? He was supposed to follow? Lauraceae watched her leave and before he had time to process the question, much less figure out an answer, he hopped up to all fours. The rabbit wildly swung from his jaws as he made a few quick bounds to catch up to her. He kept close to her (the whole staying in a pack thing still felt a little illegal to him), tattered ears swerving this way and that.

He had never been taken anywhere special before. Maybe he'd been to special places — some places weren't as beautiful as Quaking Vale had once been, but the misty forests north of it were special in their own way. He'd been to a strange spring that was hot instead of cold (and remembered that bitter woman who he'd met there). Usually Laurel was here, and then sometimes there, but not for any particular reason other than he just happened to end up at that place.

He got a good look at Adeltra on their walk, and couldn't help but to feel guilty about the mess. He cleared his throat to break the silence. "So, what's so special about wherever we're going?"

Just as she’d expected, or rather hoped, he followed her. She hadn’t been sure what she would do if he’d decided to stay in the den. Probably feel a little stupid. But, she really had wanted him to come. She got the sense from his appearance and from his demeanor that Laurel had seen a lot of bad in his life. The girl wanted him to see something good.

He stuck close to her side, likely uncomfortable in unfamiliar lands. No matter, she had enough confidence for the both of them. After all, she knew the Willows like the back of her paw. She led them in the direction of the portion of the Willows that met the Meadow, being sure to remain within their borders. Her auds swiveled to the side to catch his question and she looked over her shoulder with a smirk and a flick of her tail. “I’m not in the business of ruining surprises,” was the only reply he would get from her until he saw it for himself.

She led him toward a hill with two old willows perched on top, their tendrils waving in the gentle wind making them almost eerie in the darkness of the early morning. They seemed to wave toward them, beckoning them closer and Adeltra was happy to oblige. They brushed at their backs, welcoming an old friend and a new friend beneath their branches. The girl settled down at the peak of the hill, which overlooked part of the meadow. Below a few more willow trees dotted the landscape before tapering off, leaving hush meadow with its occasional rises and falls. She looked to Laurel, “Well, make yourself comfortable. It won’t be too long now.”

(This post was last modified: Jul 09, 2018, 01:01 AM by Adeltra.)

He could only dream to have her confidence. Laurel wished it were contagious, and instead only felt green with envy. How was it that she had all of these nice things — a pack, an alpha who seemed to respect her, confidence — and he had none of it? The yearling wanted to just be thankful more than he was envious, but found that the feelings were hard to push away. He tried to concentrate on the rabbit as they walked, huffing in annoyance as she refused to give him any details on where-abouts they were going. As they walked, he tried to flop the rabbit around like a toy, and taking his mind off of his ill feelings directed at Adeltra seemed to help. He didn't need to ruin this... surprise. It wasn't Adeltra's fault she had it all and he didn't.

But he certainly could have, had he simply decided to stay.

Ahead were two willows and as the duo passed under them, Laurel tried to avoid them as they brushed along his spine. He could not, and shivered uncomfortably at the feeling. Above them more songbirds were perched, loudly calling out their morning songs.

Adeltra instructed for him to make himself comfortable and he replied with a blank, confused stare. More uncertain of himself than before, he slowly lowered his back legs to sit. Laurel let his jaw go slack and his meal lightly thumped against his paws. He looked to the meadow and tried to see what the girl saw. It was dark, but he could see the willows, and the meadow, and the hills. He looked harder, trying to catch Adeltra's gaze from the corner of his eye.

What did she see here? What was he not seeing?

Laurel did as she asked, and a part of her felt bad. Like she was bossing him around. The girl had no problem with taking the lead in most scenarios, but most of those scenarios involved scouting or dire situations. When it was just her and a friend, she was far more inclined to sit back and relax. Perhaps it was because he seemed to meek compared to the boy who had been so willing to fight two to three against coyotes. She saw it inside of him, saw that confident boy, but she just had to figure out how to get it back out.

They sat together in the silence for several minutes. She could see him looking at her out of the corner of her gaze, probably thinking she was crazy. That she was seeing things. But, neither of them were seeing anything just set. She gave him a reassuring smile. All good things to those who waited. A few more minutes went by, and then it began. A gentle light illuminating the farthest reaches of the meadow. Its rays reached out into the sky as it inched further up, saturating the darkness it touched with bits of color. It melted, slowly, from gold at the center, to red, then pink, then purple, and finally black. The whole sky began to slowly soak in the color as it was touched by the light, the darkness being overcome. The light began to crawl across the meadow, heating the surface and quickly creating a fog that chilled the air even further until it nipped at their nose.

She turned to her friend, a giant grin on her face and a happy wave to her tail. “Well, worth the wait?” she asked with a raised brow. In her opinion, it was the best place to watch the sunrise in all of the Lore.

The sun, just as it had done every day before today and every day until his death, climbed into the sky. Laurel had never thought that the sunrise was beautiful and this view no more breathtaking than any other view. He had seen the sun rise over Riddle Heights, the sun filter through the trees of his home pack, spots of the sunrise peeked through the misty forests of Spectral Woods. He did not see what she saw; he did not see a home and a pack that welcomed him. Not to say that Willow Ridge hadn't, but he still felt incredibly out of place there. He wasn't himself, he was meek and mild and shy, trying to be on his best behavior.

Laurel watched the sunset with her. A marking of a new day, a silent moment shared with a friend, maybe these were things he could enjoy more than a dumb sunrise. But Adeltra was waiting for a response, and he was staring at the birds that flew across the painted sky. He tried to find the right words to say. Laurel's ears pinned against his skull and he looked at the girl who was smiling at him and the sun's rays being caught in her dark pelt. "Best sunrise I've ever seen," he returned her grin with one of his own. Laurel playfully snorted, "But I bet you just waited to show it to me so I wouldn't leave."

Adelra waited for a reply, taking his silent staring as awe and she felt pride swell in her chest. She was happy to be sharing this with him, her little patch of sunshine in a world that could be so cruel. Neither of the pair were any strangers to the harshness of it. He seemed to come out of his reverie, gifting her with the first grin she’d seen out of him. It was nice. He even went so far as to joke with her and her smile widened.

“Ah, ya got me. You’ve foiled my master plan to keep you here for all eternity!” She replied, mimicking a pout. “Nah, just kidding. I know you’ve probably got places to be and wolves to see,” the girl followed up. And she meant it, she’d promised him treatment with no strings attached and that was exactly what he was getting. Well, no pack strings attached. She’d certainly tried to latch one of her own strings to him.

The Archer rolled onto her back, paws tucked against her chest as she breathed in a big breath of air. Her bright gaze looked idly up at the sky before traveling over to her friend. “How’s your stomach? I remember the hunger pains being some of the worst of it when I was out on my own. Made ya wanna throw up what ya didn’t have in ya,” she asked with a little wriggle of her body in an effort to get rid of the feeling she’d known well for months.