Sleepy Fox Hollow Time moves slow

lets have them talk <3

crowfeather asked after the eagle's childhood. germanicus did not immediately reply, as he was not sure how to best answer. "my father was a powerful man. he put all of his sons among his soldiers as soon as we were able to run, it seemed."

"i was the only one compelled to stay. it became natural." the man's voice had grown musing and distant. "i saw men die before i held a year." the memories of that did not move him now.

"and you?" germanicus inquired, wanting to know more of this land from where the shadow had flown.

The fish was momentarily forgotten between his paws. Crowfeather surveyed Germanicus with a scrutinizing stare. He could not imagine what it must have been like to be made a soldier when he was still only a pup.

The Starsea had its own trials, including the culture pieces that were necessary of a wolf in Crowfeather’s role. It was formal and frightening. The fate of many wolves had been reliant upon the ability of so few. In this, the dark wolf felt common ground. It was in this that he found himself clutching to similarities between his own childhood and Germanicus’.

In the Starsea, all young wolves become apprentices beneath a mentor. They train to either become medicine wolves, warriors, even leaders, Crowfeather offered by means of explanation.

My father was powerful too. He became the leader of the Starsea just before I left. This was something they shared, as well.

With lantern eyes, Crowfeather smiled sadly to Germanicus.

The stars spoke and said that I was not to be a warrior, or medicine wolf. I was to be a seer.

for whatever reason, germanicus could not put the idea of fatherhood from his mind.

crowfeather spoke in his eloquent way of a land that valued its physicians as much as it honored its fighters. the eagle could not conceive of such a world. but he did understand what it meant to have a father with great influence.

he still could not think of the starsea as anything other than pagan, but found himself interested all the same.

a seer. a star-teller. a fortune-teller. an astrologer.

"and are you a seer?" germanicus asked softly, wondering if fate had made its way to the shadow. for what he saw, crowfeather was suited for travelling and hunting. why had he been given this purpose?

One question was all that was offered by the silver eagle. Crowfeather did not know how to immediately respond. The older man’s voice lingered in his ears, in his head, in the weight that hung at his chest.

Are you a seer?

Timidity swept through him. Crowfeather fixed his eyes on his own paws, tracing the dirt and lines of the pads. That familiar lump in the back of his throat felt rougher but he did not try to swallow it down. The dark wolf thought only of what it meant to be a seer and whether or not he filled that description.

I- words were difficult to compose. I have dreams- visions. Sometimes the things I dream happen, but not always- not always the way I expect. Crowfeather felt he must have sounded like a loon.

germanicus watched crowfeather hesitate. somehow he had not expected the answer of yes, and so fell into his own silence. many things could be changed by the views a companion held. this starsea had shaped the shadow in ways germanicus did not understand.

"what did your latest dream say to you?"

his eyes bid an answer. germanicus meant to hold crowfeather's gaze through the explanation of it, for only in that could he come close to understanding such a belief.

Germanicus’ gaze found Crowfeather’s.

What had his most recent dream said to him?

The dark wolf gawked softly; his mouth parted into a small circular shape. Even as a young boy, he had struggled with interpreting his dreams. Crowfeather had once believed that he had seen a vision of Mothwing’s death before it had ever reached her, but he had mistaken the signs for something else.

I dream of a silver bird and a shadow.

Crowfeather breathed deeply, filling his narrow frame with air.

I dream of danger.

danger. a silver eagle. 

a shadow.

germanicus would not say that he was convinced.

"perhaps they were right to make you a seer, this starsea."

and yet he could not rid himself of the sensation that perhaps he and crowfeather had lived not so different lives. 

dawn was coming. the centurion looked to the sky, watchful.

I am sure they would like to hear you say that.

And he was certain that the leaders of his clan would have nodded sagely at Germanicus’ remark. They would have looked upon his handsome face and said that he carried a good deal of wisdom, that the stars had blessed him.

The sun would rise over the mountains and shower the hollow in sunlight before long. Crowfeather did not have much of an appetite left in him.

Who can say… Crowfeather mused quietly, not seeking an answer.

there came a comfortable silence. germanicus did not move to end it. 

but eventually, it must be done.

"it will soon be time to call for your satsu," the eagle said lightly, in teasing tones as he pressed lightly around crowfeather's senses, attempting to ascertain what sort of developments might come next.

At the mention of the girl Satsu, Crowfeather nodded his head. He was nervous but he did not understand why. There was a hanging of his breath at the prospect of Germanicus and the kind girl meeting each other, judging each other. 

We should clean up, yes?

The shadow's lantern eyes lingered on the fish remnants with a curious tilt of his head. Crowfeather was not certain if they would bury the remains or send them back to the river to be washed away. 

Maybe we should move away from this river too. Somewhere that isn't as secluded, the seer thought aloud.

a smile came to his features. "yes." crowfeather learned swiftly. he turned back to the bones of his own fish and tossed them into the water. standing to his paws, he looked back toward the smothering hollow.

but now it was their only known location, and they must return.

he looked back for the shadow and began to press back up the shale-littered trail.

Crowfeather did away with the fish parts and followed after Germanicus. The dark figure fell into a familiar place, shadow to the soldier's movements. 

The hollow was nice in a way. The seclusion of it felt extreme, but it seemed to boast a variety of hidden places and plenty of prey. For wolves who could withstand the smothering nature of it, it would likely make for a suitable home. 

Do you know what we seek in the east, Germanicus?

"a large stone, cloven in two. beneath it, a networking of caves."

germanicus thought of the elk woman.

"once i thought i would claim it."

he was quiet in their travel.

"but those days have passed."

The description was like nothing Crowfeather could have imagined. He felt, for the first time, a bubble of excitement for their final destination. It would be a thrilling adventure to search the caves. 

You could try again, if- if no one else has.

Crowfeather attempted to be casual. There was a curiosity in him that had latched its sights on what might be Germanicus' reason for going back if not to claim it.

the eagle listened with a flick of his ear. but the grin he gave next was rueful around the edges. "i am no captain. i do not want to be responsible for a flock."

yet somehow he was fired along, and it showed in the sudden focused rigidity of his gait. "i would want no women and no children. no settled land. we would remain auxilia. they have no designs upon conquering."

Germanicus' thoughts of a clan were difficult to grasp. In fact, Crowfeather grew so confused he looked to the rigid line of the man's back and followed it to his face. 

That is what you would want?

The question fell from his tongue before he had a chance to halt it. The thought of a band of men who roamed, soldiers marching, was not one that settled well with Crowfeather. He could not say why.

germanicus did not allow his face to shift. "i only know one way to lead. and it does not lend itself to anything fruitful or settled, crowfeather."

and that was the sum of why he should not be at the head of a group again. germanicus could not exist without the rigid structure that had been the entirety of his life.

"what you you want?"

You do not seem like you are bound by one set of rules, Crowfeather thought to say aloud but held his tongue. Germanicus had been bound to duty as well as staunch in his responses, but the dark wolf had seen him open too. There were glimpses of something that existed behind the noble soldier.

We all change in our lives, Crowfeather said instead. Circumstances shifted, oftentimes taking personalities and destinies with it.

All I want is a place of comfort. Someone to care for me.

The dark wolf’s words were soft. They were words Crowfeather had never expected to speak out loud. They carried a dream he had never believed would be fulfilled.

germanicus wondered what it was to have such soft dreams. 

he wanted to tell crowfeather that these things were attainable, but he did not know how they could be. not with him, and not if they kept to this road together.

"what brings you comfort?" he asked all the same, wanting to know despite himself.

At Germanicus’ question, Crowfeather paused in his path. The dark wolf searched the immediate area, as though something that had sprouted naturally there would offer him an answer. What brought him comfort?

I am finding out, the seer answered with a small nod. I think that- that having someone there by my side- someone trustworthy- I think that brings me comfort.

A shyness overcame him, but Crowfeather scurried to make sure that Germanicus did not move too far ahead of him. The shadow searched the older man’s handsome profile for a second before inquiring for himself, what brings you comfort, Germanicus?

germanicus felt his face heat beneath the silver fur. he wished to pretend that he did not know of what crowfeather spoke — that he did not know its meaning.

and yet he did, and yet it quickened his pulse as they walked along. the eagle found himself near longing for dawn.

germanicus paused. it would be easiest to tell the shadow that a regime and rites marked his enjoyable days.

"having someone in which to trust. even if it is only one person."

The shadow bowed his head upon hearing the silver guard’s answer. Crowfeather did not know if Germanicus had wished to respond in a different way, but the dark wolf was grateful that he had been spared any of the soldier’s standard dutiful remarks. Crowfeather was not bothered by Germanicus’ natural state. He merely wished to know that he was not alone in how he felt.

I should like to give that to you, Crowfeather confessed quietly, uncertain if the older man had even heard him. It was just as much a confession to himself as it was to Germanicus.


One day, perhaps.

but germanicus had heard.

"you have."

a true smile lit his face for a moment, illuminating its silver planes. "be assured of that, crowfeather."

and the eagle meant it genuinely. soon it would be dawn.

Those words came out as something warm and golden, as a thick gooey honey that coated the inside of the dark wolf’s belly and rendered him speechless.

Tears pricked at the back of his eyes. He hated that feeling, even when spurred by something as kind as what Germanicus had said. It was a loss of control over his emotion. It was something that he felt he could not stop. Crowfeather did not cry, though.

You are a good man.

The words were breathy and graceless. They had been snatched from his mouth before he’d had a chance to think whether to say them.

the eagle watched as the warming light gilded crowfeather's features.

"a man is only as good as his company. mine is good indeed."

a quick, curving smile. "lead on. we will wait for your friend in the hollow, perhaps."