Kildeer Rest I just wanna dive in with you.

@Liri

There was no doubt his last encounter with Liri had been the main focus of his thoughts since that day. He felt so many different things that it was overwhelming at times. He felt guilty for letting his emotions drive his decision to push her. Along with the guilt, he felt a lot of anger at whatever, or whoever, in her past caused her to react so violently to the prospect of intimacy. The anger was made worse by the fact that he couldn't do anything about right now, or possibly ever. Most of all, though, he just wanted to make it all up to his little wolf by doing something fun.

He had that goal in mind today as he howled for her to meet him at the border. He wanted to show her a place nearby he had found on his way to Bracken Sanctuary a few weeks ago. It was quiet and peaceful, and he thought she would enjoy it. Plus, there were many rodents and other small prey that they could easily make a meal of. The day was warmer than the previous days had been, and the sun glinted off the dark strands of his fur as he waited with a familiar anticipation for Liri to answer his beckoning, drawing his green gaze along the horizon to search for her pale form.

It seemed that Liri's days were destined to be plagued with conflict. The main thing that was troubling the petite healer was Kavik. She would tell him the rest of her tale - or rather the first half of it - though she dreaded the notion. Liri was convinced that the gentle giant could not truly love her until he knew her.

But another, surprisingly, is the birth of Queenie's pups. Liri keeps her distance from the mother; as  there's little love lost between the women. The birth of the children brings her joy but for Liri it is also a bitter reminder of what she had lost. 

Kavik's call finds her in the Garden, a place Liri had only recently had the luck to stumble upon. It was an enchanting clearing, currently in bloom under the sun's gentle rays. The fae's small form is curled upon the apex of a large boulder - perfect for reclining on. At the summons, her ivory ears perk and Liri's spirits lift. 

She slips from the foliage, easily seen with her pearly coat and limping gait. The girl feels a rush of affection upon spotting his dark silhouette and practically tackles his ebony shape in a hug. She's far too small to knock over Kavik but the sylph does at least push him.

A low, deep laugh escaped Kavik's chest as he braced himself for impact he could see coming. Even with with the preparation, he swayed a little at the force of the embrace. At Liri's touch, his anger and guilt melted away into the back of his mind; a cure he didn't know existed until he had it. 

He eagerly returned her embrace, reveling in her scent and closeness for a minute before finally speaking. "I'm glad you came," he said softly into her ear. Her exuberant greeting quelled any fears he may have had that his previous behavior had caused any damage to their new relationship. 

He gave her cheek a soft kiss before moving back enough to fix his emerald gaze on her face. "I want to show you something," he said, giving her an adoring smile.

Liri revels for a moment - albeit a very long moment - in his hug. The touch of it drives away the dread that lingers about telling him; for the first time since their last meeting, Liri can breathe. "Of course I came."

The scent of him clings to her at all times now and Liri is no longer so shy about seeking him out or climbing into his den at night. But their conversations have been strange and strained. 

As Liri pulls back from his embrace, she notices where they are for the first time. It's a small clearing, filled with stones not unlike the Sanctuary, verdant green in the summer and dotted with wildflowers. A summer breeze causes the green grasses to ripple and whisper; birdsong fills the air. Liri can feel the strain between them, the confusion, lift. Wherever they are, so long as it's together then it's the right place to be. 

"Lead the way," the northron says eagerly as she gets to her feet. She'd follow him anywhere.

Of course she came. He didn't know where the doubt had come from. They spent most nights together. Yet, every night, he felt the relief wash over him as he caught her scent from inside his den and soon after heard her soft footsteps. He sometimes felt like she would disappear, or that he would wake up and find that it was all a dream. It was a feeling that could hopefully be cured by her steady presence in his life. 

He nodded at her acceptance and smiled as he turned to walk towards the place he wanted to show her. He wanted to make up for the way their last hunting adventure had ended, and he thought this would be the perfect way.

After a short walk through the grassy field, they came upon an area where the the grass was cleared out buy a small formation of rocks. Upon further inspection, one could tell that these rocks acted as a covering for many small ground burrows. The first time he had come this way, he had scented the weasels that called this area home, and when they were hunting the rabbits, he had been reminded of this place. 

He stopped far enough away from the weasel burrows that hopefully they weren't alerted to the presence of predators yet and looked to Liri with excitement on his face. "I thought we could catch some weasels for lunch," he said with a smile. "Your plan worked so well with the rabbits, I figured you could help me come up with an efficient way to catch a couple of these guys." Weasels were quite different from rabbits in that they could be somewhat aggressive. It was nothing he didn't think they could handle, though; it may just be that they needed a different plan of action.

Liri follows after Kavik, the sun glinting off his coat raven blue here and molten gold there reflecting in the light. It's a short but silent walk and Liri can feel anticipation curling in her stomach. 

They stop beyond the small clearing in the space of several mounds of rocks. The musky scent of weasels is strong here; Liri's stomach grumbles at the promise of one of the small beasts. 

The nymph had hunted weasels and creatures like them in the past; they were crafty, aggressive creatures that didn't know when to give up. Given that it was summer and there was a chance there might be infant weasels within the burrows, they were likely to be even more vicious. 

"If we knock some of the stones aside, some will come out to defend the burrows," Liri whispers, keen not to alert the weasels too early.

Kavik raised an eyebrow and grinned when she voiced her idea. His little wolf was clever as usual. He looked at the rocks and considered her idea for a minute. He needed to find a spot near the edge of the formation so that he had plenty of room to chase without worrying about tripping over any large rocks.

After a few minutes of searching, he finally fixed his hunter's gaze on the perfect spot. There was a small boulder just near the edge that he could easily move. He looked to his hunting partner then and quietly asked, "Do you want to work from the same place? I can move that rock over there towards the edge and together, we can catch any that come out." He waited to see what she would think of his plan.

For a moment, he's pleased. Liri cannot help but smile in return at his infectious grin; somewhere she's secretly relieved that Kavik likes her idea. 

He falls silent, as he so often does. Kavik's a man of words, it's true. Yet, there's not a person she understands better than him. There's no one else to her; she thinks Kavik might be everything.

Suddenly, he makes some connection. She can see that he's got it before he even speaks. The fae nodded, not wanting to alert the weasels. At Kavik's mark, she began to creep behind him to the weasel burrows.

At her nod of of agreement, Kavik began to move to the agreed upon target. He padded slowly and silently to the rock, his eyes occasionally scanning the entirety of the rock formation to ensure they had not been detected. 

Once he reached the rock, he briefly glanced at Liri to make sure she was ready. She appeared to be, so standing up on his hind legs, he placed both of his large front paws on the selected rock and easily pulled it away to reveal a small opening to the system of burrows.

Kavik quickly moved to Liri's side and waited, his eyes never leaving the opening. They didn't have to wait long because within a few minutes, two weasels came barreling out of the burrow, their target the pale wolf at his side. They must think going for one wolf as a united front was a better strategy than splitting up to each take on a wolf alone. With a predatory calm, he quickly assessed the situation and decided this was an opportunity. They were both focused on Liri, which meant he could easily intercept one of the beasts. 

As they furiously approached Liri, he quickly trapped the weasel closest to him under his massive paw before it even realized what happened, its compatriot continuing on its course towards Liri. The trapped weasel squealed and struggled under the weight and strength of Kavik's hold. As he was reaching down to end the animals valiant fight, the bastard sunk its teeth hard into his toe. Kavik registered the prick of teeth, but had too much adrenaline coursing through him currently to feel any pain. Placing his jaws around the weasel's head, he ended it's struggle with a satisfying crunch. 

He then turned to Liri to see how she fared against her own feisty beast.

Some things were determined by dice rolls

First roll: 1d10= 1 to 5- 2 weasels come out; 6 to 10- 3 weasels come out (I rolled 5)

Second roll: 1d10= Even- weasels run at Kavik; Odd- weasels run at Liri (I rolled 7)

Silently, she follows his lead. Somewhere in her secret heart the sylph is proud of the fact that her bad leg doesn't drag - not even once. When Kavik rears up against the rock to push it, Liri presses her shoulder against it as well to lend whatever strength she has. 

They don't have to wait for long. Two weasels scurry from the burrows, chittering angrily. They are brown, or mostly so, in their summer coats; as Liri suspected, one smells of mother's milk and young things - of new life. The pair of angry weasels seem to make her their target, perhaps because she makes for a smaller one.

Liri nearly loses her focus as Kavik practically smashes one of the weasels under a heavy dark paw. Liri thinks it must be something like the world going black; as if the weasel blinked and was just gone. Liri's again grateful that her partner is large and capable. Simultaneously, she thinks that they might be the worst way to die. 

The remaining weasel reaches Liri in time; as it launches itself at her chest with an angry squeal, the northron snatches it in her jaws and crushes it's skull with a clamp of her jaw. It looks rather as if she has taken it into a deadly hug until she lowers it to the ground. 

The healer licks blood from her jaws, watching Kavik with silent appreciation. She's rarely hunted with anyone; the fae's never had someone she could count on like she could with Kavik.

Kavik watched as Liri's weasel lunged at her, amazed at how fearless the small creatures were. She took it down easily, though, and he gave her a quick nod of approval. 

He was about to suggest they take their kills somewhere else in case more of the beasts decided to try their luck, but he was suddenly distracted by the scurrying of little weasel feet as one more emerged from the burrow opening and headed in their direction. Apparently the drive to protect their young overruled even their own self-preservation. He would remember that in the future. He understood the drive, though. He would easily give his life for his children if he ever had any. The thought caused him to briefly imagine a future where he and Liri had pups of their own, but he pushed it from his mind for now to focus on the task at hand; the angry animal racing towards them. 

Kavik watched the beast get closer, ready to grab it the second it was close enough. As the creature neared him, it seemed to lose its resolve and in a split second, changed its direction to run back into the safety of its burrow. Kavik sprang from his position and chased the weasel, catching it around its mid section with his massive teeth just before it leaped into the hole in the ground. He clamped his jaw shut, the small creature falling motionless in his mouth. The weasel dangled from his massive jowls as he trotted back to Liri. 

He picked up his other kill and holding both weasels in his mouth, he indicated with a lift of his head that they should take their lunch and enjoy it elsewhere.

It's a strange kinship she feels between them but there's little time to think on it. A third weasel, likely alerted by the commotion, has taken after Kavik - intent on getting the last strike in.

At the last second, the tiny creature seems to realize it's running directly at a ginormous beast with one of its dead brethren at his feet. It turned, scrambling for the burrows only to be caught around the middle anyways. Within seconds, it was dispatched. 

Liri nodded, taking up her own game and padded after her shadowy giant.

Kavik kept a leisurely pace as he searched for the perfect place to stop and enjoy their meal. He occasionally tossed a glance over his shoulder to make sure his little wolf was still following. The deeper his feelings for Liri became, the more intense his need to protect her became. He constantly tried to remind himself that she was perfectly capable of protecting herself, but he just couldn't bear the thought of something happening to her. So far, she hadn't voiced any complaints about his over-protectiveness, so he hoped that meant she wasn't feeling smothered. 

He was pulled from his thoughts as they came to an area where the soft grass was free from any rocks, and occasional groups of wildflowers intermingled with the green. He let the weasels fall from his mouth as he turned to Liri and asked, "This look good?" He paired his question with quick nuzzle to her cheek, never able to go long without touching her in some way.

It's a short stroll to the grassy, flower-dotted patch. Liri keeps a steady pace at his side and drops her weasel when he does. Had she an inkling of his thoughts, the girl might have reassured Kavik that she didn't mind his near constant companionship. As it was, she couldn't read minds. 

The sprite nuzzles him in return, nodding in response. She stretches out in the grass by his broad side, taking her weasel between her paws. Without further conversation, the hungry healer digs in.

Kavik lied down next Liri, making sure he was close enough that their sides were touching. Following her lead, he dug into his first weasel and quickly finished it. He immediately started in on the second one, grateful for it. He decided that one of the small creatures would definitely not have been enough for him. 

Once finished, he began to clean the blood from his front paws. As he moved his tongue across the toes of his right paw, he was surprised at the sudden stinging sensation he felt on one of his toes. He was instantly reminded of the bite the first weasel had managed to dole out before his fight was over. He continued to lick the area over and over attempting to clean it and soothe the stinging. He glanced at Liri and said, "I forgot the first one actually bit me." He shook his head a little and then returned to licking the affected area.

Liri manages to finish nearly the entire weasel; by the time Kavik speaks up she's nearly finished cleaning the blood from her fur. Her ears perked at his words and within a moment, she is on her feet before him. 

The healer bends close, sniffing at his paw and giving the wound a tentative lick to clean it. She brushes her ivory coat against him briefly, in departure, before leaving him behind in the clearing. 

The healer ventures into the low scub of trees in the distance, alert to any threat. But it's a quite place - seemingly vacant save for the many songbirds. Finally, the healer spots what she's looking for. She identifies the burdock plant by its large heart-shaped leaves and purple blooms. 

It takes her only a moment to dig up and snip off some of the roots with her teeth. She returns the way she came, roots held gently in her maw. With surpising speed, she really is getting better at using three legs, she returns to Kavik's side - assuming he's remained there. 

Liri rests the roots at his feet, nudging them towards him as if to say for you.

"They're good for rodent bites," Liri murmurs as she settles by his side once again.

Before he realized she had moved, Liri was standing before him. He felt her soft tongue on his paw and the brush of her silky fur as she sped off away from him. He sat up as she left, confusion filling his expression. He would have followed her had he not bee able to see her small form the whole time. His emerald gaze was fixed on her and her every movement, but he couldn't tell exactly what she was doing. When he was about to give in to his impatience and walk over to her, she started making her way back. 

Kavik lied back down as she approached him and dropped plant roots in front of him. He wondered why she had gone to retrieve the plant, but as she lied down next him she answered his unspoken question. Realization hit him; she was taking care of his wound. His heart tightened at the thought, and nuzzled her in thanks.

He turned his attention to the roots in front of him and became aware he wasn't quite sure what to do with them. He turned back to Liri and quietly asked, "Um...What exactly should I do with these?" There were many areas he was well-versed in, but healing wounds was not one of them.

Liri laughs, a soft and tinkling sound, and moves forward to help upon realizing his dilemma. She should have known he wouldn't know what to do with the root. 

The healer nudges the remains of some weasel meat - so as to make the medicine from tasting as plantlike as possible - over it before nudging it towards him again. 

"You're supposed to eat it. It will keep you from getting an infection," Liri informs him, a wry smile painted on her face.

Her laugh was quickly becoming one of his favorite sounds; So much, that he vowed to start doing things to hear it more often. 

She explained that he needed to eat the root and nosed some of her left over meat, indicating that he should eat them together. He balked internally for a second at the thought of taking food from her, but reasoned that since she had already stopped eating, she was probably done with it. So he did as advised by his favorite wolf, and scooped up the root and meat together in his mouth and began to chew. It did not taste good. At all. He knew a brief look of discomfort crossed his face as he forced himself to swallow the mixture. "Should I eat more?" he asked apprehensively, afraid she would say yes.

Liri knows she's an oddity - she's one of the few with a taste for berries and other edible plants. Still, she imagines that even burdock doesn't taste too pleasant. She grimaces with him; she doesn't savor the task of putting him through discomfort.

"No, I think you'll live yet," she jokes lightly, sniffing his small wound once more, her nose crinkled with humor.

He let out a low, deep chuckle at her words. "All thanks to you," he said smiling and giving her cheek a few licks. He found himself overcome with with happiness that Liri was in his life. She was kind and beautiful and brought him out of his shell a little. 

He looked at her meaningfully. "You're so beautiful," he said, his voice catching in his throat. Although he constantly told himself she was beautiful, he found it hard to voice his opinion since it was tied to such strong emotions. He was admittedly not very good at expressing his more intense feelings, but being with Liri made him want to to better at it. She deserved to hear those things from him.

"Well, it'd be a shame if I let such a wee beast be the end of you," she laughs, leaning into his touch. She curled against him where he lay, a tiny white star against a black night sky. The northron cannot help nuzzling into his neck comfortably - happy to be with him on such a beautiful day. 

His words catch her attention, her sepia eyes meet his green gaze and there's a sudden lump in her throat. "Thank you," she whispers, soft as summer rain as her ears flatten shyly. "It's been some time since I've felt beautiful. You make me feel it," the last is softer, almost missed.

He watched as his words made her feel shy. He hated to hear that she hadn't felt beautiful. He nuzzled her to soothe the anger that came with hearing her words. "I'm glad I make you feel that way. You deserve it," he said softy in her ear. 

He gently kissed her cheek a few times before resting his head on her paws. "I wish we could just stay here forever," he said longingly. He knew they couldn't, but he took comfort in the idea that even when he did have to return to the real world, she would be at his side.

Liri can feel him tense with anger though Kavik soon relaxes; nuzzling her for comfort. Liri kisses his cheek and begins to groom along his neck, gently picking knots out of his ebony fur with her teeth. The healer feels immensely lucky to have found him; she has no verbal way to say it and hopes he can read into this strange language of touch she leaves for him.

"I do too," she turns from him, dark eyes taking in the small but lovely meadow. "Sometimes, I wish I could keep going," Liri faces the horizon with longing.

She's seen much of what the Teekon Wilds has to offer.
She's traveled the Taiga with its conifers and glaciers, the Coast with its sandy beaches and unforgiving sheer cliffs where the seabirds came to nest. She's seen the great mountains - and even traveled over them twice - and she's seen the dangerous but beautiful Hinterlands. The Flatlands had little to offer for her, but the Valley had been the most enchanting with its decidous forests and wild flowers.

Liri had seen most of the land, if not all of it, but somehow; the corner of the world they called the Sanctuary didn't feel much like a home anymore.

Kavik closed his eyes and let out a contented hum as Liri groomed his fur. He loved the gentleness of her touch. When she spoke, his eyes opened again, and he looked at her profile as she stared into the distance. He hadn't been here very long, so he hadn't had time to consider the sanctuary his home. The only thing that felt like home to him was her. 

Her words made him sad. Did she stay because of him? He liked to say he could let her go, but even the thought caused panic to squeeze his heart. He nuzzled her again, seeking comfort in her scent and warmth. "You aren't happy here?" He asked quietly, his tone a little sad.