Emberwood So if I stand in front of a speeding car

@Grezig backdated to the 15th

The evening found her at the stream's side for where else would the northron go but to the water in such heat? Her thick coat - designed for freezing cold and the vast, stark tundras - was not made for such temperate weather. Long after she'd seen their newest recruit, brought about by the ever present Grezig, to their general location, she'd taken to the shaded slope of the forest floor. Paws brushing softly against moist undergrowth and the dead leaves of deciduous trees, the healer had imagined the air was so humid and thick that she swimming through it. 

A break in the trees had shown her the stream, a place she'd much rather be swimming. With little hesitation the healer had stumbled in, not entirely balanced on the rocky bed of the shallow rivulet. For a moment she merely hunkered in the cool water, letting it flow around her ears and blot out the commotion of the world. Liri sat, poised as a statue, for so long that a small fish plucked up the courage to approach one pale, submerged paw. The sylph lunged for it but alas, the fish darted away from her jaws and she got only a snoutful of brackish water that burned her lungs.

The healer drug herself from the waters to a broad rock at its edge, coughing a bit as she settled in with a shake. She took up half the rock easily, her damp coat drying as she curled up to watch the fireflies descend as the sky darkened.

Soon, the fae would return to her wolves. She'd patrol closer to them, ensure to herself that Illidan  everyone would be safe. Soon she'd return to Kavik's side to build their dream. 

For now, the winter sprite rests her head on her paws to watch the fireflies flicker like so many tiny stars.

This was the second time Grezig had come across an alpha laying in a stream. Liri seemed to be enjoying herself and Grezig thought she had the right idea, just as Kavik had that one day. She chuffed when still at a distance so as not to startle to white wolf, and then said, “Can I join you?” Grezig had been meaning to speak with Liri for some time, to apologize about Thorleif. She hadn’t seen the idiot around much, which, for her, was good. Sometimes it took all she had not to track him down and chase him off. God, what was wrong with him? 

She made a noise in her throat as she tried to think of how to begin. “I’d like apologize to you,” she finally said. “I… I had my reservations about Thorleif back when I recruited him, but… I ignored my instincts. And what we got for it is an idiot who thinks deer are bears and seems to have less intelligence than even a pup.” She bowed her head in repentance, hoping Liri had not thought less of her since that incident…

whoops, forgot the thread with Corvus Vlad was backdated, ignore!

The healer turns and smiles, her tail thumping a greeting as Grezig approached on seemingly hesitant paws. Liri nodded, gesturing for the woman to take a spot on the unoccupied half of the rock. Before she can speak, she is surprised to hear Grezig apologizing. The fae doesn't think she's ever heard the stoic woman falter before and it brings a sudden normalizing quality to their first recruit. 

The sylph outstretched her pale neck, nudging the female with comfort. "It's alright, Grezig. I'm sure you didn't know quite how odd he was and we all make mistakes," the healer reassures sincerely. "For now, he'll help us reach home. Wherever that is. Once he's settled, maybe he'll...calm down or something." 

Liri frowns, considering it for the first time. They couldn't exactly turn Thorleif away once they reached ideal land. Whatever became of him, he'd at least find a place in their lower ranks should he decide to stay. The sylph's unsure she's comfortable offering him more than that. 

"You've done well for this group, don't beat yourself up so much," Liri smiles, hoping to have abated Grezig's worries.

Grezig blinked and gave a small smile when Liri nudged her. It was, perhaps, the first time the alpha had done something like that to her. She listened to Liri’s words and tried to take comfort in them, but she felt so responsible for Thorleif and his strange ways that she couldn’t find much there to calm her down. 

’Once he's settled, maybe he'll...calm down or something,’ Liri said.

“I doubt that,” Grezig muttered, shaking her head a bit. “I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see. I told Kavik this already, but if he does anything too stupid or gets us in trouble I will personally chase him off and makes sure he does not come back. I do not trust him at all. Stupid people are dangerous.”

Liri ended by saying that Grezig had done well for the group, and the earth-colored woman couldn’t help the swell of pride in her chest. “Thank you. I’m just trying to do right by this group. I want this pack to succeed.”

Liri takes in the words silently, a frown of worry finding its way onto her features. "No, I don't suppose I believe he'll truly be normal but we all hope for things. It wouldn't do to take him with us and then send him away. No, he'll just have to make his own place amongst our subordinates. We'll see what he makes of demon deer when he faces the wrath of unforgiving packmates," Liri thought aloud, forgetting for a moment that it was Grezig she spoke with of plans and not Kavik. It was typically her mate she spoke of with leadership but she found a trustworthy capability to Grezig's insights - it was easy to discuss the finer workings of pack life with her right hand.

"But if the day should come that he steps on the wrong tail, you won't be the only one chasing him out," she had not forgotten how he slighted her, truly the healer was waiting for him to fail. 

"You've done much for us. We won't forget, once things are settled we'll see what the future brings for this pack," Liri promises, dipping her head.

’We’ll see what he makes of demon deer when he faces the wrath of unforgiving packmates,’ Liri said.

Grezig could not help the small exhalation of breath through her nose, a tiny laugh, at that statement. She flashed a smile for all of two seconds, and then it was gone as if it had never been there in the first place. “I’ll… do what I can to teach him. I think there is something wrong with him, in his head, you know. I suppose I cannot fault him for that. Maybe he was born that way.” 

Liri told her then that if he fucked up—Grezig’s words—that Grezig wouldn’t be the only one chasing Thorleif out. “Kavik told me the same,” she replied. “You two think alike.” It was meant to be a kind of compliment, that they were fit for each other, but it came out sounding like a simple statement of fact.

It was Liri’s next words that really got Grezig thinking: ’You’ve done much for us. We won't forget, once things are settled we'll see what the future brings for this pack.’ 

What did she mean by ‘we won’t forget’? Did she mean a place in leadership—a beta rank, perhaps? Grezig did not ask, did not want to come across as greedy or impatient. She had always been one to believe that she should lead her own pack one day. She thought she would be good as an alpha. But she also knew that greed and impatience could be one’s downfall, and the downfall of the entire pack if it got too out of hand. So she simply nodded at Liri’s words and said nothing, not trusting herself with her own words at the moment. She was entirely loyal to Liri and to Kavik and did not want to plant the seeds of mistrust in either alpha. If a rank in leadership came, it would come on its own, without her suggesting it. In the end, she said only, “Thank you.”

Liri smiled in return, happy to see the woman coming out of her shell. "I'm not sure he can be taught but if it's possible, it's something that will likely take the efforts of all of us," Liri shakes her head with another chuckle. 

"Thank you," she replies, albeit somewhat bashfully. In truth, Kavik feels like the part of her that was left untouched by the trials faced in Teekon. There'd been many and losing her children had nearly destroyed her, but Kavik had basically saved her life. Without him, she wasn't even sure she'd be on this mountain or founding a pack for that matter.

She only smiled at Grezig, her tail thumping on the stone. She was certain this pack had a bright future ahead of it.