Bearclaw Valley interim

// @Merrick ^^

Evien was... restless. The wolves of Ursus might be a more instinctual, less emotional group, but the medic was not. He'd been thinking of the things Merrick had said at the border, of his message that he'd sent to the nearby pack. Of course, Evien knew of it - he'd never strayed too close to their border, but he'd smelled them from afar, and now the boy who'd come by to stick his nose into their business.

And the threats.

The brown wolf tipped his head back and howled, calling for his leader, requesting an explanation that he'd been obediently silent about on the border.

ursus pulsed with activity, thrummed with new breath and words and ideas. they would thrive, he decided, still infused with that restless energy that brought his youthful legs lashing in a run.
merrick had intended to let his mind churn as he sought guidance for the next phase of their world, but the polite voice of their healer cascaded around him like thrown flowers.
a smirk, and he was off, ducking through the old forest he remembered more and more with each passing day. merrick touched the water near the doctor's pharmacy, chuffing a hello as single eye fell curiously upon evien.

Affection welled in Evien's chest and the healer stepped forward to give Merrick a respectful lick to his chin, a quick show of submission and hopefully yet another apology to tack on to his growing list of them after their discussion in his den weeks ago. 

"Talk to me," he requested, stepping back and tilting his head to the side. "At the border, you were... confrontational. Is there a history, with that pack?" Green eyes sought out his leader's expression, not judgmental. Just interested and mildly concerned.

oh, that. merrick's ears sprawled in a sulk. he did not wish to answer, but his pride made itself known again with a casual little grin. "evien."
his ears soon sprang back. seduced by the appeal to his power as well as a pretty touch from a pretty individual, merrick settled himself. "that's a very long story," came his chuckle.
"once upon a time. just kidding," merrick feigned. "we have history, yes. but also, i just don't like them." his lopsided gaze flickered to the greenwater eyes of the healer.

Evien nodded his head and took a deep breath through his nose. He wasn't one to advocate for a fight, but he had come to accept that this might be something that he needed to prepare for regardless of if he wanted to or not. 

"What are we going to do?" he asked, putting emphasis on the we part of the sentence. His loyalties were with Merrick and with Ursus - if there was something that threatened them, or if Merrick did decide they needed to fight, he'd like to prepare his supply of herbs for the occasion. "I can't promise I'll agree with you, but I promise that I'll be here to take care of Ursus, whenever needed. No matter why that happens."

evien's loyalty limned merrick's jaw with emotion, and he swallowed hard. "that's ... thank you," he finished lamely, the eternal boyish smirk wiped from his lips now. a long consideration, and then merrick rolled his shoulders. "it depends on them. it wouldn't be right to go after a bunch of old wolves and kids. unsportsmanlike," the bearwolf joked quietly. 
ursus was full of young and fit wolves, but when it came down to the mettle, the boy was unsure if he could order them into outright war.
"my mom left me in a place not far from here when i was a kid. not super young, but not grown. uhum i thought she would come back, but uh," and he shrugged again to dispel the aching cobwebs. "she left with her sister. and now my aunt is at easthollow and it's like, you know, they never looked for me."
they never wanted me.
merrick attempted a roguish look but it fell flat. he stared at the water. "that's my history. they don't even know who i am and i've been living next door this whole time."

Evien nodded his head slowly in agreement. "I think so, too," he responded, looking off to the side in thought. "It would be wrong to attack someone outright when we're not provoked and they can't win. It's... cruel." 

Eyes flicked back up to Merrick's face at his explanation, brows drawing together in concern. He knew all too well how mothers could be, though it seemed he and their alpha had the opposite issue with theirs. He didn't apologize - he didn't think Merrick would appreciate that. "Fuck her then," he said bluntly, in regards to the flighty mother. "But the Easthollow wolves. Maybe that's something we can work on. Better an ally than an unnecessary enemy." A small smile crawled onto his maw. "Maybe they did look for you. Maybe they just couldn't find you. Did you ask?" the boy inquired, still watching Merrick's expression. 

"If you'd like," he continued, clearing his throat. "Maybe we could visit them together. Try and get to the bottom of everything."

he blinked. mouth twitched in a frown or a smile; it was all so muddled these days. merrick knew not what would feel from moment to moment. nor did he try to stop whatever impulse took him. so far, it had worked, hadn't it? they were back in his lands, the lands where he had been born. the exact valley. 
and they were thriving.
the bear roared to life in his chest, and a smirk curled up the corners of his eyes like smoke. "well it's past all that now, i think. i was content to leave them alone, at least for a while. then that boy came and," 
tongue lapped a still-oozing wound along his jaw,
"now i can't very well roll out the welcome mat, can i, evien? no." he sighed, tipped the beautiful young physician a hesitant smile. "they disrespected me. they disrespected ursus. came here and started a fight." he straightened, shook out his redcream nape. "you have been my conscience, sometimes."

Evien frowned at the mention of the pompous little boy and he scoffed, ears pressing back in annoyance. "No, they certainly need to keep their children under better watch," he muttered, trying to keep his fur from rising up. That kid had been a piece of work. "But," he continued, trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. "Maybe they didn't send him. It could've just been a stupid kid... being a stupid kid." A stupid kid who got what he deserved. 

"Let me look at that," he urged quietly, gesturing toward the wound on Merrick's jaw. "We wouldn't want it to get infected." As for the part about being his conscience, that was debatable. Evien was certainly not of upright moral standing either. Still, he stepped forward, extending a hand to turn Merrick's head with a gentle touch so he could look at the wound more carefully.

merrick grunted. he had no rebuttal for something that was already decided. 
perhaps until the next time it was considered. 
he was meek as evien touched him, turning his head and blinking idly at the ground. the doctor had always been firm but fair, and it was this objective quality that merrick prized, chiefly because he had no such inclinations. it was all coldness or fury, or lust, though that had escaped the young man's palate as of late.
he breathed out, grinned teasingly to tug the edges of the cut with a sting. "what's the diagnosis?"

Evien studied the wound and frowned when Merrick smiled, unamused at the further tugging of the edges. That would just take it longer to heal, and he was not a fan of more work, but... it did keep him quite busy. So that was a plus. 

"Nothing a little burdock root and rest won't fix," he assured, tapping Merrick's muzzle with his nose before heading off to get the appropriate herbs. "If you don't mind, please wash it off in the spring first." The running water would be best to wash it without it getting infected. Mouths were chock-full of germs, after all.

he chuckled, reaching down to swipe his torn jaw in the clear surface. it would be another scar, but merrick already bore the tattering of a warring wolf twice his age. it affected his vanity little, and so it was with pride he looked up. when evien made his return, it would be beneath the gentled eye of the dark serpent.
perhaps even affection stirred there, though he did not understand its place or its meaning. friendship? merrick knew not such things. only fear, and the rapturous attentions of his rook.

Evien would return with the burdock root and a leaf to set the poultice on when it was chewed. "This will numb the pain a little, and kill infection," he explained, taking one more quick look at the wound before he turned back to his herbs and began to chew them up. 

If he noticed the softening of Merrick's gaze, he said nothing. If his own gaze was gentle as he turned back to the leader, it might be because the healer also felt something akin to friendship for the dark coywolf. Loyalty, yes - he'd likely always be loyal to Merrick, even if they clashed from time to time. Affection? That was to be seen.

elated, he held still as evien worked. he was ever-mindful of the doctor's skill; merrick was not nearly as attuned to plants or their nature, and so saw the alchemy of magick in the profession. he was obedient as the patch came, enjoying the close nature of the minor dressing. had he been so close for less than love or violence? the madman did not know.
"never thought i'd know a doctor," the bearwolf remarked in a low grunt, suddenly feeling the ache of the toothmark that evien had addressed. his face, ripped to shreds — could vanity ever reign again? and yet, it must.

A small smile formed on Evien's face as Merrick spoke. The medic chewed the burdock root into a poultice and turned to lavv his tongue across the leader's muzzle, thoroughly coating the injury. It would sting at first, of course, but after a moment it should take the pain down, at least a little. 

"And I never thought I'd know anyone like you," he responded, taking one last look to ensure that the cut was completely covered in salve before he stepped back. Another smile, then. "I don't regret it, though."

the sentiment warmed merrick more than he thought it would. "someone like me," he mused, pulling away when evien had finished. a fighter. a murderer. someone who craved blood more than he needed the stability of a pack. well-aware any of his split decisions could lead to the end of ursus, the boy made them all the same.
surely to the chagrin of the patient young doctor who had never hid his exasperation.
"is there anything you do regret?" he asked upon a breathless edge, unsure if he wanted the answer.

"Yes, someone like you." Evien looked the cyclops over, blinking slowly and leaning on the side of the den. "You're one of the most... intelligent wolves I've ever met. People follow you. You make me want to... stay." It was hard to vocalize, but he thought he managed it well enough. Sure, they didn't always agree on everything, but they didn't have to. 

Is there anything you do regret?

Evien hummed then, blinking slowly and glancing over to the bubbling spring. "Kind of maybe regret not killing my mom when I left my family," he admitted with a sheepish smile.

tattered ears flicked. he had not expected that from evien. merrick drew a breath, blinked. unsure somehow in this moment, he did not know how to respond. it was not unsurety that plagued him, but a deep flare of hope that he had always been correct. the abandoment of indra had been rectified; her original sin in his body eradicated.
was he now to be whole?
the thought gripped his throat; the coywolf brought an indecipherable gaze toward evien and scrambled within his head for some smooth snakelike word that might compel them both. but there was nothing, only the hesitant reach of his scarred muzzle to the doctor, wavering somewhat as merrick carried always the seed of rejection within himself.

It wasn't often that Merrick had nothing to say, Evien mused with a small smile on his maw. And even though he'd confessed to wanting to kill his mother, Evien knew - and he had to assume Merrick knew as well - that he did not have the capability to do something like that. It was too much, too violent, too harmful for him. The healer just wasn't cut out for that type of thing.

But Merrick did not speak, and Evien didn't either. No explanations or excuses or questions. Just a hesitant outreach of Merrick's muzzle, and an extension of Evien's own.

A soft kiss was placed on the uninjured side of Merrick's muzzle, chaste and light. An encouraging gesture, welcoming Merrick without question.


"Would you like to sleep in my den with me, tonight?" the doctor offered, tipping his head with a small smile. He had yet to pull away, somehow magnetized to the coywolf before him.

out of all things evien could have said, this had not come to mind. 
the boy was therefore somewhat dumbfounded as he glanced nakedly in the doctor's direction. a trap? a tease? yet there was nothing in the knowing green eyes that suggested he was being misled.
and still merrick gazed steadily at evien with his remaining eye, until at last he softened and nodded, melding into something less fraught with fel energy and more mortal, tired. "i won't bother you?" he inquired, stepping toward the doctor with a hesitance rarely felt.

No traps, or teasing, was offered toward the leader. Only honesty and encouragement. Perhaps Merrick needed this, to be close and cared for. Evien wondered how many times in his life he'd allowed himself to be watched after. And he seemed so tired, it would only be right for Evien to watch over him and make sure he was getting enough rest. That they both were. 

"Of course not," he assured, gesturing with his head for the bruin-witch to follow him. The other portion of the den was easy to get to, if not a bit steep, and Evien paused when they reached the nest he'd made. It wasn't that big, but it'd fit them both. Settling down, the medic pointed his nose down to signal Merrick to climb in beside him. "It's been a while since I've had someone to sleep beside." Since Fields had disappeared, for whatever reason. Evien felt alone.

merrick paused only momentarily to marvel after the doctor until he fell into happy following, contentedly entering the medicine den. his single eye roved after evien, and he paced gingerly forward, scanning around the neatly appointed manner of the shelter.
the young doctor indicated a bed. hiding his trepidation and glee, merrick descended and folded his coltish legs next to evien, suddenly suffused with warmth from the healer's body. he smelled like green things, dry brown leaves, peeled twigs. things he did not understand, and perhaps never would.
"thank you," merrick muttered after a moment, lulled by the peace of the moment.

It was peaceful, Evien thought to himself. Which was surprising - neither he or Merrick were particularly peaceful wolves. Yet here in this moment, there was this calmness that washed over him. The healer pressed against the leaders side and closed his eyes, resting his chin atop his paws. A soft hum would be the only response - there was no need for thanks, after all.

In moments, Evien would drift off to sleep.

fading <3

merrick's own breathing slowed, but it was long after evien found his rest that the bearwolf followed suit. instead, he listened to the rush of water, the sound of the healer's gentle breath, smelled the dry, crisp scent of herbs, and found a sense of rightness in the relaxation he allowed himself to experience.
then, and only then, did he slumber.