Kildeer Rest I just wanna dive in with you.

Liri returns to him, reminded again of his presence. At times, she seems to disappear, lost to herself, though Kavik is one of the few with the ability to bring her back. Liri plants kisses along his ears, soft as summer rain, to reassure him. If wanderlust should strike her, Kavik  would be the first to know. 

"I am...even before you," she says it with a tad of vulnerability, the closest she's come to admitting that she's growing very attached to Kavik. "But.." Liri trails off with a shake of her head. 

The highest ranking members of the Sanctuary are scarcely seen - Alarian, Delight, Eris - and the blackbird's scent has faded. It's a small forest; it takes only a short time for Liri to notice Lily's abscence. There is a sinking feeling in her gut that her might-have-been friend will not return.

Queenie's lack of appearance is understandable as is Delight's - they've just had children - not that Liri could say that they had stellar leadership skills to begin with, though this is perhaps her biased opinion of Queenie leaking into her thoughts. 

Whatever's going on between Alarian, Eris, and Lily - whatever's entangled them together - Liri doesn't pretend to understand. Something is amiss between them and the forest feels heavy with drama and melancholy heaped on all sides. 

"Things feel...odd. The Sanctuary feels tense and sad. Don't you feel it?" Liri turns to him, every amount of foreboding and anxiety that she's felt weighing heavy in her gaze.

Her reassuring kisses were greatly appreciated, and Kavik relaxed a little knowing she wasn't unhappy here. 

When she mentioned the recent state of the sanctuary, he nodded. He had felt it. Kavik agreed that things seemed a little weird, and he felt a little guilty that he had mostly either kept to him self or to Liri. He was not a fan of drama and usually tried to avoid it, which meant he had avoided the entirety of the leadership. 

As for Queenie, well he didn't know the she wolf and didn't think she would want an unfamiliar male around her newborn pups, so he had stayed away from her whelping den. Once the pups were older and he was sure he was allowed near them, he would be sure to make an appearance. 

Kavik had noticed the sudden disappearance of Lily. It was somewhat confusing that she had just left one day. He wondered what had happened to make her leave so abruptly, but that also spoke of drama he didn't really want to be a part of. It may have been a little selfish, but he had not developed a deep loyalty to any of the pack members, aside from Liri, other than the fleeting loyalty that came with belonging to the same pack; the loyalty only considered fleeting because he had not known any of them long enough to turn it into anything more concrete.

Kavik let out a sigh and seeing the anxiety in Liri's expression, briefly pressed his head to her cheek to comfort her. "I feel it," he answered, meeting her gaze again. "It's...unsettling." He didn't think there was much they could do about it, though. He especially held absolutely no power being one of the newest members here.

He's silent as he broods and Liri knows a moment of horrible doubt and paranoia - wondering if she's simply imagining it. Secretly, she's relieved when Kavik affirms that he's noticed it as well. The sylph was beginning to believe it was all in her fluffy white head. 

Liri feels the urge to run again. Not away from something as she'd always done - but towards it. Somehow the Sanctuary doesn't feel like the end of the road; surely Liri's life doesn't fall under the aloof and grieving Alarian's rule. Liri likes him well enough but he - and every other Alpha she's encountered - has failed to inspire her. None of them had ever made her want to follow - not since Aaron whom she'd loved as a brother. 

Liri smiles wryly, internally cursing him; Aaron had set her expectations far too high. She wonders briefly where he went and where he is now; if he has another Beta. 

With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, Liri returns to the present. She presses close against Kavik, thankful she has him now to inspire her, and gives a last longing look to the horizon. She wishes idly they could run together; that she and Kavik find their own forest, their own place.

Regardless of what happened at the sanctuary, Kavik knew that for them, this was only the beginning. At least, that's how it felt to him. She hadn't come out and said as much, but she put up with his overprotective nature and the fact that he was often quiet. She had also chose to spend most of her time with him, which hinted to her feelings more than anything she could ever say. 

Perhaps his most favorite thing about his little wolf was the way she seemed to just know what he was feeling without him saying anything. And as if she also knew of his almost constant need for her touch, she always offered him some sort of contact. Like before when they were doing something as simple as eating, she had lied close enough to him so that they were touching. She was a gift, and he would make sure he did everything in his power to make her feel cherished. 

She leaned into him then, and he smiled at the contact. He watched her look into the distance and think. He wished they could stay longer but the real world beckoned. With a soft kiss to her cheek, he said, "We should probably head back soon." 

She can feel Kavik's gaze on her, something's she's noticed more frequently as time passes, and knows soon they will have to go. There's no reason to linger; the sun has moved and storm clouds are brewing to the west. 

Liri longs, an odd and unanswered want, to stay where they are - just the two of them. She closes her eyes as he presses a kiss to her pale cheek - commiting the flower-freckled meadow and the sound of birdsong, Kavik, to memory. She doesn't want to forget this. 

"We should," Liri murmurs, getting to her feet. She nudges him with a soft smile and when he's ready, follows at his broad side back towards the Sanctuary with a parting glance at the storm moving closer.