Sanguine Cove There Goes My High Hopes

Valentines match up with @AqueneM for this post bc he's processing grief.

The world felt slower than normal, the male caring to take in the sunsets more than he had prior. Taking time to notice the small mundane details of life he normally ignored. At the same time, life was fast-paced. New faces. New expectations. A new reality that threatened to snuff out his light. The man had expected to join a pack and follow in his father and grandfather's paw steps, immediately jumping into work to hone the skills he would need. Instead...his mom was dead. He'd found the place she'd always wanted to return to. Sort of. This was Sagiune Cove. His heart sank with the last rays of sunlight as they trickled behind the trees. Life was but a fleeting moment.

A heavy sigh parted his lips. The dark wolf rose from his haunches and carried himself slowly along the borders. He'd been patrolling and familiarizing himself when he'd stopped to watch. There wasn't much to see with the thick layer of clouds, but he'd done so anyway. Now darkness was upon him, the air becoming colder. His ears fell back snuggly against his head. Had she been cold? She died alone...his mother hated to be alone. He'd failed her...he hadn't protected his mom. She needed him in her last moments and he'd been too far behind! She died alone.

Aquene had been anxious and worried… but that was nothing new. It felt like she always had reason to be one or another… to be anxious and worried or to be so consumed with work that there was nothing else for her to focus on. The Cove was all consuming in her life. When was the last time she had left the mountain? Even before it had only been for short trips… she would not say that she regrated it for she did not… but to some extent it did wear on her. Was she getting old? She wasn’t sure.

She caught sight of the man who was down… she was not familiar with him, and knew him to be newer to the ranks… but it would not stop her from heading over to him, a gentle smile on her features filled with sympathy. “It’s Creed, right?” She hoped she had matched the appearance to the name correctly from when her husband had told her. “You seem down… what’s wrong?” She would ask, gently prying in the hopes that once more she could stop others from feeling distress.

Aquene Slayer

He turned to the voice, forcing his tail to wag and willing a smile on his lips. It was more pathetic than genuine, "Yeah...are you Nash's wife?" Creed asked her with a monotone voice. Then came her question and he pulled the familar mask on his face. He fought the urge to sigh and deflate. What did she already know? He wasn't too sure how much Nash had told the others about him. He searched his mind for a response, not wanting to seem too vulnerable and having a disdain for receiving pitiful looks. "I'm just thinking." He kept it vague, hoping to keep her at an arm's distance emotionally.

Nash’s wife. That was certainly one way to identify her, a smile on her features as she nodded, more reminiscent though she could tell he was more monotone. “I am… I am also the pack’s Shaman, or healer… and occasionally I step in as leader.” That was preferably only when necessary, however. Apart from his name, she did not know much about him. Just that he was new to the pack, that his name was Creed… and that was all she really needed to know.

“I come here often to think… it’s peaceful.” And one of the few places on the mountain she could think and sort out some of her thoughts. “What is it that you’re thinking about?” She asked, a gentle pry, but one she did often… part of being a shaman in the pack was taking care of all parts of wolves, especially the mental side and the emotional side.

Aquene Slayer