Firefly Ravine while i pondered weak and weary

for @Allan when you can post <3 set after this.

 

As any creature of dark fur or dark plumage knew, the summer sun was an angry and oppressive celestial being of sweltering heat and smothering humidity, making nighttime a pleasant and welcome reprieve from the daylight suffering.

A sleek shadow of obsidian fur, dimly illuminated with silver moonlight upon its back, calmly strode along the lazy river of Firefly Ravine, head hung low and silver eyes gleaming in the dark. A pleasant chill hung in the air, as did the lingering smell of ozone from the light rainfall that had graced the earth hours ago, and all around, fireflies floated about, their warm, amber lights blinking in and out of existence to the steady beat of the she-wolf's heart. Ebony ears turned and flicked, taking in the sounds of her surroundings with measured suspicion, but so far, all was quiet this night; just the ambient sounds of the amphibians that called this ravine home.

Once she got to an area where the riverbank was a bit wider, she slowed to a stop, leaned all of her weight backwards so as to give her forelegs a mighty stretch, and parted her jaws in a great yawn, porcelain fangs gleaming in the light—her attempt at shaking off travel weariness. Then, looking left to right, effectively up and down the bank, she turned around so as to face the gently flowing river and lowered herself completely to the ground, deciding this sheltered ravine was a good place as any to rest. The woman's chest and forelegs remained firmly planted on the ground while her lower half twisted to the right, allowing her hind legs to kick out and tail to kick out in relaxation, a contended sigh swelling in her chest and exhaling past dark, canine lips.

She took a brief moment to simply lounge and enjoy the sounds of her surroundings, ears flicking to the rushing water before her and the croaking of frogs around her, then she tilted her head back and wistfully gazed at the sky, unable to see the stars clearly through the clouds... but that wasn't what she was looking for. Her thoughts wandered to her raven companion, having recently passed through a rocky, mountainous area where the dark feathered birds had been quite common. Not that she... missed the creature, per se, but... suppose it was nice to have at least one familiar face in this new, foreign land... Silver eyes calmly blinked in tandem with another quiet exhale of breath.

The last thing Caius imagined upon leaving the nest was partnering up with a wolf. He had never really seen mating up and nesting near his parents as much of a life plan, having always found the satisfaction of intelectual superiority to be much more rewarding than any social status or achievement. He was a curious creature, bold too, yet life had definitely taken an unexpected turn when he met Invictus. She was a mystery to him. Despite their relationship being generally positive Caius couldn't help feeling that there was simply too much she didn't bother showing to the world and he was determined to bring it out of her somehow. If you asked Caius he would probably say that his relationship to the night-furred lupine was limited to an agreement based on mutual benefit, but for him it was much more. Not that he could quite describe it yet.

He had spent two full days looking for her now. Despite being bound to land wolves could be tricky to track down, especially if they preferred moving at night. After veering away from the coast Caius flew along a stream that eventually became a deep ravine. He moved slowly between the rocky walls, scanning the land from above and cawing every now and then hoping that at some point Invictus would hear his voice and call him down.

Not long into the she-wolf's wistful sky gazing, the oh-so-familiar sound of raven cries soon pierced the quiet veil of night, echoing off the ravine walls and perking Invictus's ears as she, despite herself, hopefully turned her head in the sounds' direction and willed it to be who she thought it was. Silver eyes squinted into slits, and it took a few moments of careful scanning before she could make out the vague, moonlit shape of a bird soaring through the air in her general direction. Now, considering her proximity to a popular raven roost, one might think she had little to no reason to believe this was her raven as opposed to some other nocturnal black bird, but the lone female had spent enough time with her companion to recognize the faint inflections on his caws, and the familiar way he scanned the land during moon high in search of none other but her... So, could it be another raven? Yes. But it was probably-

"Caius."

Privately glad to see he hadn't abandoned her, such pessimistic suspicions being common products of her distrustful upbringing, the ebony pelted woman tilted her head back yet again and gave a low, tuneless howl- the same one she often used when calling him to her side. Even if he didn't know it to be her's, it would at least draw his attention to her, so he could still look down and see the black fur, argent eyes, and slim figure for himself.

A caw from below picked his attention. Caius twisted his head to scan the surface thoroughly with his blood-red eyes, but still he could not make out Invictus figure. Perhaps he'd heard wrong... No. The howl, one he was too familiar with, confirmed that his lupine friend was near. The raven flew lower, then, and eventually he spotted the dark wolf's bright eyes gleaming at him. He circled above her, cawing in a gleeful greeting, and landed not too far, with her between himself and the river. He didn't like water too much. Been hiding, haven't you? he cawed and took a few jumps closer to his friend.

It wasn't long after the ebony woman's call that her feathered companion soon changed his course, swooped down, and began encircling the area above her head, announcing his approach with a few happy caws and alighting down not too far from where she lay. She followed his movements with her muzzle, arching it across the sky and now gazing at him over her slick-furred shoulders, and couldn't help but feel the faintest touch of warmth pricking at her heart, he being the only creature in Teekon Wilds she might ever come to view in a positive light. Of course, the feeling was but a spark, and a quickly snuffed out spark at that, disappearing on the next cool, night time breeze and easily pushed from her mind as if it never happened... though it had happened.

She then instivictively raked his features with her argent gaze for any signs of damage or change, and was privately glad to see nothing of the sort... nothing immediately obvious, anyway. Occasionally, when she went a particularly long amount a time without seeing or hearing from the bird, she would morbidly entertain the thought of him having been snapped up by some wild cat or plummeting to his death during a heavy rainstorm, and was always relieved to find him in one piece whenever he did return. Afterall, it would truly be a shame to lose such a... helpful asset.

In regard to his playful question, the raven's tone as chipper as ever, she quirked a brow and peered at him with a soft gaze; the closest Invictus ever came to giving a sincere smile.

"Not intentionally. How have you been?"

He loved how cold she was. Never having seen anything even resemble a hint of a smile in her features, Caius recognized her expression to be one of love, and the fleshy commissures of his bill pulled up slightly in a bird version of a smile. He was genuinely happy to see her, but although he knew she cared for him their relationship wasn't really one of mutual demonstration of their feelings, so he didn't actually say it.

Good, yourself? he replied to her polite greeting, looking at her through one eye, and then twisting his head to look through the other. I don't really have much to report other than a couple packs along the coast, he said, knowing that sooner or later Invictus would be asking about that. What's the plan? he was curious. He knew she was headed north, but they had never really spoken about an actual destination.

Caius, ever unfazed by her stoicness, merely smiled and mirrored the question back to her, something Invictus truly did appreciate about his company. Whether it be because he understood and accepted her lack of affection, or because he simply wasn't bothered by it, the raven never made her feel like a burden for keeping her emotions to herself, nor did he try to coax emotions out of her when she didn't want to express them. Such behavior was refreshing, and not so easily found within her own species.

"Alive," she replied, the upward inflection of her voice suggesting that was good, yet the lack of conviction and the faint sarcasm in her tone suggesting otherwise. It was more of a "take that as you will" response.

Next came his report, the part of his visits that were most expected, considering that was basically his half of their deal; to scan the area around them and bring back any information that could be deemed useful or important.

Today, however, instead of telling her about any areas abundant in herbs or about any wolves that might need her assistance, all he could say was that he'd found some packs along the coast, earning just one arched brow from the ebony pelted woman before she huffed through her nose and turned her gaze elsewhere, thinking such a notion over.

Hm. A pack. The concept of joining one had always seemed on the back burner of her mind, yet it was more so out of species-related obligation: as if she felt like because she was a wolf, she was supposed to join one at some point. However, as the days went on and she remained perfectly capable of taking care of herself and living independently, the thought never became any more appealing... but winters were pretty brutal. Prey went scarce and herbs went even scarcer... so suppose the concept of joining a pack did still somewhat appeal to her, if only for those reasons.

She'd keep it in mind.

Then, he asked "what's the plan?", drawing her silver gaze back to the bird with an ear flick. "Just keep surviving and make our way across the land in search of those that need healing." Obsidian shoulder shrugged. "Apologies if that's not the answer you wanted."

Her eyes then turned skyward, observing the partially obscured stars above. Her "plan" wasn't simple on account of having no other desires or ambitions... more so the fact that she just didn't really know what else to do with her life but to... keep moving. She often did wonder if this was the best way to live, or if she could be doing something... more.

"Think I should have one?"

The words weren't sarcastic or mocking; she actually wanted to know what he thought about it, if anything.

Caius arcs a brow at the female's response, but laughs faintly knowing the kind of sarcasm Invictus is used to putting in her words. It was indeed a good thing that she was alive, for Caius would not know what to do should she cease to be. He was devoted to her, which made his response to the female's question rather easy. Sounds like you have one or at least he didn't have anything more exciting in mind. It was funny thinking that such a bold and cold soul like Invictus could only see herself helping those in need, but the young crow knew that her heart was not made of stone unlike what she seemed to want the world to think. Though I do believe we should secure ourselves some sustenance for the cold seasons? he suggested. Summer wouldn't last forever, and though Winter was a more plentiful season it was of no use to a wolf if they didn't have a pack to support them. Caius would be fine, he could simply steal from someone's cache or scavenge anytime he felt hunger, but he was worried that Invie didn't run with the same luck.