Blacktail Deer Plateau sick love is my modern cliche
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All Welcome 
come get your yuck. slightly backdated

he knew he was in trouble when he woke up one morning and his throat felt tight, sore, and filled with fluid. hacking, he rose to his feet, his mouth expelling a horrendously-colored glob of phlegm onto the ground. wincing in distaste--and the headache he bore--aditya kicked some dirt and frost over the repulsive sight before padding slowly away, coughing as he went.

he felt terrible. but he knew that he should take his own advice. he had told grayday that going for a walk might make him feel better; perhaps a quick stroll to the borders would warm him, clear his throat? stiff-legged and aching, aditya meandered, going at a much slower clip than usual today.

he was filled with regret soon enough. the icy wind was enough to make him want to turn tail and run back to his den at the rendezvous. feeling overwhelmed, he sat on his haunches suddenly, chest heaving as he coughed. it hurt--the action ripped his throat and burned in his lungs. a thin trail of drool leaked from the corner of his mouth, settling chilly on his chin.

aditya briefly wondered whether he should call for pema. he lifted his muzzle to howl, then lowered it: he felt too exhausted to even care. with a small whine, he laid down, resting his head on his forepaws.
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Easy was feeling as sprightly as ever that day. She woke at the first signs of morning and did her usual amount of hopping around the rendezvous site, waiting for everyone else to get up. Her father had been sick, so she'd been instructed to stay away from him. It was too little, too late, but they wouldn't know that for a few more days.

For now, though, she heeded the words of her elders and headed off to see what sort of fun could be had that day. When she saw her brother-in-law up ahead, she crouched low and began to stalk him, hoping to catch him on unawares. It seemed like she was getting better, as she was able to get fairly close without being detected. Close enough that with a running leap, she was able to land on top of him. At once, Easy began to bite playful at Aditya's face and neck, wondering only idly why he seemed so sluggish and lame that day.
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easy would have been pleased to know that she did catch him unawares, his brain so foggy he didn't recognize the tell-tale vibrations of her footfalls, the soft sound of her breathing. it was only when her dark mottled form cannoned into him from above that he realized he was had, and let out a whine of surprise, a strangled sound that disintegrated into dreadful hacking.

"hhrgh-heugh--easy! hrghh," he coughed, heart hammering in his chest. he felt her playful bites on his face and neck and went to roll her off of him, but didn't have the energy. he lay helpless, coughing and sputtering, while a girl half his size pestered him.

was this hell? or was this parenting?

"hey, easy," aditya croaked, craning his neck to glare at her from the corner of his eye. "you shouldn't--hrggh-heugh--be so close. i'm s-s-s--" he turned his head in time to let out a tremendous sneeze that shook his entire body, snuffling back the excess snot. "sick."
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"Urgh!" Easy complained, rolling away from her brother-in-law when he began making gross sounds underneath her. He smelled funny, too, and didn't react the way she would have liked. "You're boring is what you are," she complained, circling back to prod at him uncertainly. She'd been kept away from the other sick wolves, and although she recognized the scent that hung off her brother's pelt, she was a little confused about what this sickness thing was all about.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked abruptly, crouching down and belly-crawling to touch noses with him, her expression now slightly more concerned than disgusted. "Should I get a grown-up?" she added.
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despite the heavy sense of yuck that surrounded him like a storm cloud, aditya laughed at her grumbling, a wretched, hoarse sound. he hacked for a second or two, shaking his head as easy asked him a couple of questions.

"i told you, i'm sick," he said, his voice stuffy with fatigue and phlegm. "you shouldn't stay too near me, or else you'll get sick, too." he wondered how much the girl really knew about illness; had she seen it roll through her family before? or was this a new phenomenon for easy, something to really fear rather than simply be wary of?

"thank you, bachchi," aditya sighed, returning her nose touch with a small smile before drawing away. "i don't need help, but if you'll walk with me back to the dens. . .?" his voice trailed off in question, the unvoiced part of it being that if he were to fall again--and not rouse, this time--she would be able to call for a healer. if not pema, then raid.
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Easy didn't see what was so bad about being sick. So you were leaky and sleepy - what did it matter? Easy always hated getting up early in the mornings, and lately, Daddy had been letting Lavender sleep in as much as she wanted. Sick sounded pretty good to her.

"I wanna try it," she said stoutly, sticking close to Aditya's side. (The other bonus to this stance was that she got to stay by Aditya, who might be boring, but was still cool.) "We can be sick together and cuddle in the den all day." This sounded like a wonderful plan. Usually, Dawn got to cuddle Aditya all to herself. Maybe if Dawn was busy during the day...
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she managed to rip another laugh from his throat, and he lashed his tail in mock frustration, eyes watering with mirth. "well, if you say so," aditya rumbled, giving her a friendly nudge with his shoulder. maybe at full strength, he could have bowled her over; as it was, his touch was featherlight.

they padded along in silence for a little while, before aditya spoke again. "i've got lots of stories to tell you while we're laid up," he promised in a sparkling tone, feeling better for speaking to the vibrant young girl.

perhaps it was his own childhood that he both reveled in and was leery of interactions with young wolves. he was the sole survivor of his litter, and thus hadn't had any brothers or sisters to grow up with. the wolves he had run with his whole life weren't parents, at least not when he knew them. his experience with pups was slim to none. . .but he was willing to try to improve, at least.
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Easy was delighted when he agreed to her suggestion. His playful nudge sent her heart soaring, and she skipped alongside him as though Christmas had come early. They were going to cuddle! Without Dawn! It would be like a fairy-tale... or at least a win over Dawn. Easy could really use a win in that department.

And then Aditya had to go and ruin it. Her gait lost its happy bounce when he went on about storiesWhy oh why do you have to do this to me, Adi? she thought, shooting the man a sullen look.

"You don't have to talk to me like that, you know," she said after a moment, trying for a hearty tone and ending up sounding a bit constipated. "Like I'm a baby. I'm just as capable of intelligent conversation as you are. And I don't want to listen to stories."
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she spoke with some pique in her tone, and he glanced over in surprise to her, letting out a ragged cough as he opened his mouth to speak. "not meant to baby you," he rumbled. "both my family and good friends treasured stories. we'd stay up all night and exchange them, especially when we weren't feeling good."

he felt a small pang at the memories his words brought to the surface. long days and longer evenings curled around each other, murmuring the tales of their pasts. stories of bravery and humor, of love and heartbreak. each word shaping who you were and who you would become. to tell a story was to share your heart; to hear a story was to know someone else's.

aditya did have to grudgingly admit to himself that he treated easy younger than her age suggested. grayday's younger litter had grown up before his eyes, and fast, at that. and after all, hadn't he had to grow up fast, too, being alone as he was? he supposed it would be a wound to his pride if someone had tried to baby him.

"sorry, i didn't mean to offend," he added hoarsely, looking back forward again. "we can talk about whatever you like. it doesn't have to be stories."
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Easy felt somewhat chastened by Aditya's response. He wasn't trying to hurt her feelings, or make her feel less than... maybe he was even trying to be better friends with her, the same way she was trying to be friends with him. Perhaps they'd have to meet in the middle somewhere. 

She was sure, looking back, that her riotous attitude was doing nothing to endear herself to him.

"How about I tell you a story," she suggested, not quite able to apologize but hoping her words and tone were concillatory enough. Her shoulder met his again, and she helped him to the den as much as she could, feeling much better about the situation. "What kind of story do you want to hear?"
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he leaned slightly against her, grateful for the support but not wanting to bowl the girl over; he was still quite larger than she was. aditya was glad that the air between them had cleared, if only for now, and smiled, ducking his head away just in time to let out another explosive cough.

"i want to hear about you," adi responded, after he'd expelled whatever mucus had built up in his throat in the past, oh, two minutes or so. "i hardly ever see you. i want to know what sort of adventures you've been on."

there was no way easy hadn't gotten herself into some trouble in the past few moons. hell, she had been out and about since before aditya had arrived on the plateau! he realized, with a small pang, that he didn't know his sister-in-law very well at all.
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Easy shrugged, and thought about what to say the whole rest of the way to the dens. Once Aditya was properly settled, she squished herself up beside him, enjoying the odd feeling that his nearness brought into her chest. It was a lot like cuddling with Daddy, but Aditya smelled different, and his body did not engulf her own the way she was used to. Whatever differences there were, she liked it.

"I went to Easthollow with Daddy and Dauntless and Engel," she shared, thinking back to the other times she had travelled. Not many. "And when I was very small, I came all the way here from the cuesta. That's when my mom got lost. I walked sometimes, but mostly, everyone carried us." She laid her head across his shoulders, experimenting with different positions. It was harder to get comfortable beside Aditya; she kept wanting to fidget as soon as she found something that felt nice. "I think I want to be a ranger like you and Dawn," she shared. "I like travelling places and seeing new things. Meeting new wolves, especially. But Daddy says I should wait until we move to start going out and making friends."

She squirmed until she was on her back, looking up at Aditya through eyes slightly crossed. "When did you start wandering around?"
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the den was warm and cozy, despite the fetid smell of sickness. god, he hoped the girl wouldn't catch it! there was no stopping her, he supposed. he hoped she had a good immune system. grayday had bounced back from his own dance with the disease rather quickly, so there was genetic hope, at least.

his ears cupped forward as he listened to her story, his mouth tightening at certain places. my mom got lost. quite different from what dawn had told him about grayday's last wife, but he wasn't surprised that easy didn't know the dirtier details. or perhaps she did, and was suppressing them. his lips moved into a smile as she described her passions, seeing so much of himself at that age in her.

except easy had structure, a family to love and look after. what had aditya had at seven moons? nothing save wanderlust, an urge to keep moving.

"you'll make a good ranger," he said hoarsely, nodding as she finished. "god knows it's a big world; we need good scouts to map it. especially if we move again, which your father has mentioned before." he pondered her question for a long moment, eyes growing blank as he thought back through the many years. so many experiences, yet they all seemed to muddle together like leaves in the fall, colors upon colors. vivid and drab all together.

"i was a few moons younger than you are now," aditya murmured, his voice quiet even in the silence of the den. "my mother. . .got lost, too, and my uncle looked after me for a while, but then he left. . .so i was alone." he shrugged, even that tiny movement causing him to wince with pain. his head felt like it was splitting apart. "aggh. i got bored with the den we were staying in, so one day i walked out and away, and didn't go back.

"i wandered up and down the sea for years, staying with bands of wolves for short periods of time, making a lot of friends and getting into trouble. i was a wanderer, then. . .i wasn't a ranger or a scout, really, until i came here."
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Easy shifted so that her cheek was against Aditya's shoulder, and finally, found a comfortable position. A happy sigh escaped the younger wolf, and she shot her brother-in-law the sort of adoring look that she normally tried to repress around him.

"I'm glad you came to us, Adi," she said to the older wolf, eyes fluttering shut as she revelled in the warmth of his body. He was, perhaps, a little too warm - but what was she supposed to do about that? "I mean, not that I'm glad your mom went away and everything. But it would be really lame if we never met, right?"
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he was drifting slowly into sleep, his own eyelids fluttering, but her words kept him at least somewhat anchored to reality, and he smiled, looking at her from the corner of his eye. "i'm very glad, too," aditya murmured. "my mother said that everything is fated to happen--even her leaving me. so i was meant to come here. . .and to stay."

stayed he had. spring was just around the corner, and aditya still resided within morningside's borders. even though he had come here with the idea of resting and recuperating from his adventure with the sea, thinking he'd leave in a couple of moons. he supposed he had dawn to thank. . .but he often wondered if he would have remained here, regardless of her love.

he liked to think he would have.

"have i told you about the great beach race?" aditya asked blearily. without waiting for a response, he forged on, yawning intermittently throughout. "well, every summer, the fastest wolves in all the land gather on the southern coast, on this huge white beach, for a race. whoever wins the race gets the prize--usually a big kill they could take home to their family--and, of course, bragging rights. well, one summer, my friend nando. . ."

and it was good, in that den, the two siblings by marriage, their voices gentle music in the dim light.