It was late evening when Blue finally retired. Her days were busy and filled ith manageable chaos it was borders, hunting, Peregrine, hunting borders Peregrine again she wanted to keep a very close eye on his leg. She was exhausted and sleep overtook her quickly, but only to be filled with darkness and fear.
her mind stumbled quickly in its rem sleep towards a memory that filled her with fear everytime. She had been young and they had gone to the borders of a pack only to find violence and anger she had almost lost her father. Blue woke with a heaving gasp with her fathers words ringing in her ears run little tree just run
So she did lost between wakefulness and fast asleep she ran past her den mouth past the trees tearing up the ground as she gasped lungfuls of air finally she hit the ground and shuddered as she tried to chase the nightmares away.
Atticus did not sleep in a den. It was unnatural for a wolf, though it was understandably convenient for those with pups to care for, or those who treated and healed the sick or wounded, or for those who simply wanted a safe, cozy place to curl up at night. He himself didn't like the close quarters and stuffy air. It stifled him, made him feel claustrophobic and cramped. He enjoyed sleeping beneath the stars, with the cool night breezes whispering through the trees around him and gently tousling his fur with airy, invisible fingers.
Not only that, but sleeping in the open allowed him to be vigilant and aware of his surroundings. If something happened, he could hear it or see it and respond quickly, where it might otherwise pass unnoticed if he were below ground in a den. He took it upon himself to be a guardian of his pack, particularly with his brother injured and crippled for the moment. He never strayed very far from the rendezvous site where Peregrine and the kids hung out most of the time. Even at night, his senses were on keen alert for anything out of the ordinary.
And something most definitely was out of the ordinary. He heard footfalls moving through the trees. Someone was running. Running very fast. His head jerked up, and a blinking, bleary-eyed glimpse revealed Blue Willow tearing past the tree among whose lumpy roots he rested, running at full-tilt through the night as if something murderous was hot on her tail. That was all it took to wake him up; he went from sleepy and confused to instantaneously wide-eyed, breathing rapidly, adrenaline zinging like silver ice through his veins. Immediately he took off after her, but he didn't chase her -- rather, he loped behind her, looking for whatever was after her. He saw nothing, though, and after a moment, all was silent again. He emerged into a starlit clearing, the dew-kissed grass sparkling in the pale moonlight as if sprinkled with so many countless diamonds. Looking around, he called softly, "Blue…? Where are you?"
[mate] Hi there
As it were this was Blue's first time staying in a den, and she mostly did to keep her herbs safe and dry. It was also convenient when another was sick to keep them in a warm dry place, though she slept outside sometimes, having grown up knowing that way and nothing more.
Blue lay in the grass with her tail over her nose as shudders rocked her body. It was foolish to be this frightened of an old time memory returned to her on a devils wings to plague her dreams. She just couldn't help. She remembered well the howls in the dark as her father and she and her mother had made it to a border where they had been accepted before for their stories. Only to find a warring pack and a savage one had taken over it. She had been young and hadn't understood at the time that the males wanted her and her mother and her father refused. All she remembered was the harsh moon light slanting across her father's scarred face and the otherworldly light that had lit them as the wolf that had met them lunged. She remembered the screams and growls and the grunts as they fought and blood poured from her father and the other to rain like hell fire to the ground. At a howl more had come and she had run at her father's insistence her mother beside her with tears falling from her eyes as she ran keeping stride. It had been 3 days before she saw her father again, and he never spoke of it, just let them fix his wounds. It had been a full season before they had went to another border, her father flatly refusing. Late at night when all was quiet it came to her sometimes the fear as she ran. The fear for her father's life and the fear for the howls that she had heard for days afterwards as they looked for them, not realizing until much later her father had killed that wolf at the borders had fought him until he died.
Blue heard the soft deep voice calling to her and she closed her eyes tight. Of course it would be the wolf she was fast having feelings for that would find her laying prone to the ground shaking like a child. Nightmares should not do this to a full grown wolf they just shouldn't, and she was laying there with her tail over her nose and hiding. She sighed and stood quietly Right here. Then she kept her eyes downcast as she sat down, her skin warming quickly beneath her pelt in embarrassment. It was a child's fear, that still held fast to the fully grown wolf that sat before him.
You are such a vivid writer. Wow. :)
Atticus continued to be on high alert, his senses attuned to everything around him like radar at a military base. His ears strained to listen for a snapping twig, a crunching leaf, telltale signs of a lurking danger nearby. His eyes scanned the darkness, searching for movement among the shadows, eyes gleaming in the dark. His nose twitched attentively, in case the gentle breeze brought him the scent of an intruder. His recent fight with the trespasser from Silvertip Mountain had awakened something instinctive and savage in him, and if someone else had come to threaten them -- threaten
her -- he would scatter their bones from here to Greatwater Lake.
His senses brought him no evidence of a threat, though, and after a moment, Blue Willow sat up in the tall summer grass and he heard her quiet answer,
Right here. He approached her slowly, taking in the sight of her as he did. She looked so frail, so afraid, so withdrawn into herself. What had frightened her so? He'd never seen Blue Willow so upset, in the entire time she'd been with their pack. He stopped a few paces away from her, his pale eyes sincere with concern as he looked her over to see if she was injured, and asked her in a soft, serious voice,
"Did someone try to hurt you?"
thank you I try to draw pictures with words :)
Blue watched him through slanted eyes as he looked around. Distraught that she had clearly woken and upset him. She usually preferred to fight through her nightmares by herself, but well if one ran pell nell from their sleep spot as fast as she did and made as much noise as she did. She would not get the time to herself to do so and she should have realized thus. She sighed deeply unsure how she could explain this moment in time. Would he find her childish and silly? She hoped not, but it was his right if he did so.
She shook her head biting her lip tightly not sure what to say. How could she explain that she had been running for her life when she had been asleep and when she had woken she still thought she was. How could she tell him that she was afraid of loud howls and blood in the dark. She couldn't do that, he would think her wayward and weak and unwillful. Yet she owed him an explanation she woke the poor wolf up.
She lifted green eyes vulnerable and soft and said quietly "No not recently. I'm sorry Atticus. I....well...I had a nightmare....no it was not a night mare so much as a memory and when I woke up I was not where I thought I was..so i heeded my father's advice and ran. She fell quiet and looked back down at the ground, what a perfect ending to a terrible night. Her vulnerabilities and her weakness was on display for all to see. She knew she was only wolf (human) and she deserved to give herself a break, but she prided herself on poise and proper etiquette, it was ingrained her mother had made sure of it. it seems silly doesn't it to be frightened of a memory in the dark at my age.
She looked so distraught, the poor girl. And he thought he detected a hint of embarrassment to her expression, too, though it was dark and he didn't know her well enough to be sure. There was dew on her fur, and in the fey light of the stars it glistened and sparkled with subtle, ethereal beauty. She was so beautiful. He hated to see distress on her face.
When she told him she'd had a nightmare, he felt something soften within him. So that explained her flight of fury through the woods, and her embarrassment now over being seen. Atticus was no stranger to nightmares himself. He'd had them on an almost nightly basis after he'd been driven from his birth pack by his elder brother. On more than one night, he'd awakened himself screaming and thrashing as visions of his brother's scarlet teeth and hateful eyes flashed and tore at him in his dreams. She commented that it seemed silly to be so frightened of dreams at her age, and Atticus shook his head. "Oh, Blue," he said, compassion in his eyes. He knew her fear. "Not at all. Not at all." He moved closer and sat down beside her, leaning his shoulder into her for support. "It's okay to be afraid of those ugly memories in the dark. I have them too, you know."
Blue grew uncomfortable at his gaze and shifted. Unsure why he was studying her slightly. She hadn't realized she was covered in dew droplets until she looked down and she shook her fur gently to dispel some of them, which actually almost made matters worse.
The way her name rolled of his tongue was enough to give her chills, but the good kind. She saw the compassion in his gaze when she did finally lift her own eyes to meet his. It made her heart settle back in it's original place, rather than somewhere in the vicinity of her feet. She sighed as he leaned into her to offer his own support and it reaffirmed a vulnerable place in her heart for him. He was fast growing on her and it was scary in it's own right. She leaned slightly into him, but not enough to hurt mindful of the injuries that he bore, from a recent fight at the borders. No I did not know that, I thought i was the only one weak enough to have them. Well I thought i was weak in any case. I wasn't even hurt, my father was but it was a bad memory within itself.
She shifted in the dark it was a child's memory, but it was traumatizing just the same. Thank you Atticus by the way for being here with me. I usually work through nightmares by myself. I had not realized it would be nice to have another being with me to help me through them.
He was aware of the contact between their bodies, the warmth of her shoulder against him and the slight thrill it gave him to be so close to her. He was here first and foremost as a friend and as a source of support, but he couldn't help the feelings that stirred beneath all of that. She talked to him, telling him that she thought herself weak for being so afraid, and Atticus shook his head, grinning a little bit at her as he did. "If you think you're a wuss, how's this -- I once had a dream so bad that I pissed myself." His shoulders shook with suppressed laughter at himself, and he looked at her with mirthful eyes. "You better not tell anyone that, Blue. Especially not Perry." He laughed out loud then, imagining the ruthless ribbing he'd get from his brother if Perry ever found that out.
"But seriously," he said after a moment, looking at her again. "I'll be glad to leave you be if you need some time alone to sort this out. I just thought something was after you." He didn't want to push or pry, and he certainly wasn't going to ask her to describe what happened in the dream. If she wanted to tell him, she would tell him of her own accord. Chances were, however, that she just wanted to move past it and forget about it as soon as possible, and that was okay with him. He didn't want to impose on her if she wanted time alone to deal with her emotions, though, and he was perfectly willing to go back to his tree if that was what she wanted.
Blue laughed at the small admission her body shaking with mirth. She found it too funny to even realize the curse word that had rolled off his tongue like a second skin. I won't tell him, i won't tell anyone I promise. I do not think I have ever peed myself from a nightmare, from anything really. She chuckled again her green eyes dancing with mirth. He had managed to dispel all the upsetting feelings in a swift moment and with a small uttered embarrassment of his own.
Blue thought about it and shook her head I think i'm okay really, but I won't keep you if you'd like to return though i'd love company if you would want to stay too. She thought about it, and decided maybe if she shared her nightmare it may make her feel even better though not the whole thing. I'm sorry if I scared you. We had been at new borders and the males wanted my mother and i for god only knows what and my father fought them. They chased us for days because he had killed their leader. Every so often i remember it and it scares me and my father telling me to run makes me run. She had never heard her father so harried or worried in her life as she had that fateful night, and she supposed it was for good reason.
She moved and touched his muzzle with her own in silent thanks for the thoughtfulness of his gesture. He was a good man.
He closed his eyes and smiled in response to the gentle touch of her muzzle against his own, and he was grateful that he'd been able to comfort her in a time when she'd needed it. He wasn't the wittiest wolf and didn't always know the right things to say at the right times, but the beauty of moments like this was that silence could be more powerful than words sometimes, and silence was something he did well. Gently, he licked her cheek, a gentlemanly and reassuring gesture to let her know that it was all right.
After a few quiet moments, Atticus commented, "I'm glad your dad was there to protect you." He couldn't imagine how scary and confusing such a situation had to have been to a young girl. It made his stomach feel queasy. "He might not be around now, but Perry and I will keep you safe." His voice was almost a whisper, it was so soft. It was a promise he made to her as well as himself. He already bore the scars of his dedication to protect the ones he loved.
Blue Willow blinked at the lick. However, it did not surprise her or make her as uncomfortable as the one that Robur had planted on her cheek. It was also not a pushy lick, merely a kind one. She did not mind the silence that settled then, silence was golden after all.
She smiled softly I am too, but my daddy he will always protect me if he's near, he's a gentleman like that. She chuckled to herself calling him daddy may seem juvenile but it was that simple he was her daddy and she was his best girl, his little tree. She smiled thank you, look at that two more gentleman in the wild wayward place. She really did appreciate it and she would do her best take care of the two men that were fast becoming the most important men in her life.
She turned and studied the wounds that he bore. Are you okay by the way? Those look painful? She leaned forward to give his deepest wound a closer cursory glance, making sure it was healing.
He chuckled at her comment about he and Perry being two gentlemen in a wild, wayward place. "You must live in a pretty bad neighborhood if you consider Perry a gentleman," he said jokingly with a grin. He liked to give his brother a hard time, but he knew the Alpha's heart was in the right place. Peregrine might be a foul-mouthed jackass, but he was a profoundly loyal friend and he would lay down his life to protect those who were important to him. Atticus was proud to be his brother.
Blue asked him about his wounds, and he shrugged. "I'm okay," he replied. "Though the gash on my neck does hurt a lot. Does it look like it's getting better?" It was the worst one of all the injuries inflicted upon him by the mountain wolf that had trepassed. None of them were very severe -- they were all just minor flesh wounds that hurt more than anything else -- but the scabbed-over bite wound on his neck was pretty big and hurt badly whenever he moved his head a certain way.
Blue chuckled quietly well hope springs eternal you know Truthfully peregrine was almost always a gentleman in her prescence he even tried to curb his profanity a bit. She had heard him talk with others though and it was enough to scald her ears. Especially when he was with his brother though in those times it usually made her lips twitch in mirth.
Blue could not see his wound very well and she was trying to figure out how to move his head. Realizing she was acting the fool he wasn't going to bite her. she leaned forward and gently stuck her own muzzle under his and moved his head and muzzle so she could see. it looks ok bergamot will keep it from infection and aloe will calm the sting she moved her muzzle away then having seen what she needed to.
She glanced up and offered him a smile. she was truly glad not to be alone and stolen time was always the sweetest.
As she examined his neck, Atticus felt a mixture of embarrassment and exhilaration. Embarrassment that she saw him injured and weakened -- no male ever wanted a female in whom he was interested to see him so -- and exhilaration because she cared enough for him to offer her advice, and because she touched him. To her advice for treatment, he commented, "I don't know what aloe or bergamot look like." He looked at her, shrugging and grinning sheepishly, "I spend my time beating people up, not making them better. Could you describe what the plants look like, in case I come across some while I'm out near the borders? If I find some, I'll bring them to you."
Blue willow chuckled at herself and spoke quietly I'm sorry I don't always think when i start talking about herbs and what they can do. Of course I can tell you about them. Let's see Bergamot is a citrus plant, it has a fruit hanging from it. And Aloe is green and looks a bit like a snake, it is green with bumpy ridges and different branches going in different ways, when you snap a piece off of it a liquid oozes out of it, thats the good part that you want. The citrus plant Bergamot you also crush it to get the oil out of it. She chuckled again and nudged him gently mindful of his wounds.
She sighed for a moment and looked at him and spoke quietly You don't think that wolf will come back for you do you? It would upset me greatly if he were to hurt you more. He does not sound like he was very nice, and truth be told I wouldn't mind giving him the old what for, for hurting you like he did. Though I'm sure you did much more damage than he. She was very worried for Atticus's health she did not want the wolf to come back and go after him again. It would bother her to no end and she would just possibly go after the wolf herself if he tried. She hated others who fought just because they could and would.
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He grinned as she described bergamot and aloe, impressed that a wolf could know so much about plants. He wondered how she had learned so much about the medicinal properties of plants and herbs, and made a note to ask her about that later. He wasn't sure if he was cut out to be a healer, but he was an intelligent wolf and appreciated the value of learning new things -- especially things that made you look differently at the world around you. "Thanks," he said when she finished telling him about the two plants. "If I see any while I'm out and about, I'll be sure to grab it and bring it to you." Maybe she could show him how to prepare it for his wounds, and if he had some extra, she could keep it handy for someone else if they needed it. He knew Perry had some injuries healing. Maybe aloe and bergamot would help him too?
She went on to speak of the stranger he had fought, and how it bothered her that he had hurt Atticus. This touched him and he felt his heart soften even more toward her. Even though, realistically, she was probably more concerned about him as a packmate than as anything more than that, it still meant a lot to him that she was angry on his behalf. "He won't come back if he wants to live,", Atticus assured her, a gleam of anger simmering in his pale eyes. "I could've killed him if I'd wanted to, but I let him go. Next time, I won't be so nice. That wolf was a damn fool. He wanted to fight me. I don't understand why." He didn't tell her that the wolf had been an incredibly skilled fighter, and their match had been pretty damned even. He himself could've easily lost that fight rather than vice-versa.
She smiled lighting up her green eyes Thank you I appreciate that. I have some inside my den if you ever want me to make a poultice for you for that wound. Though it does look like it is healing nicely, mostly i would just make it so it helped the sting. She thought about her mother the femme she learned all her knowledge from, her father had known a good bit,but her father he had been more of the story teller than the healer, though he could heal just as well as he could kill and he had told her that on many occasions.
If she had been asked she would have assured Atticus that it was much more irritation at it being him than the simple fact that he was a pack mate. She would have been angry if it had been Peregrine or the pups as well. The DiSarinno family had wormed their ways into her vulnerable heart and they were there to stay. However, she found she was much more angry that it had been him than Peregrine that had been hurt, and that was a question within itself, when she was closer to the Alpha. She shook her head it was too much to think of at the moment really. She frowned for a moment and spoke softly My father told me once that there were some wolves that were just crazy and so heartbroken that they threw themselves at anything and everything just to try to feel something. So maybe that was why he was that way. Maybe there had been so much hurt in his life before that he just doesn't care if he lives or dies and he wants to take as many down with him as he can. She looked up at Atticus again and felt her heart sieze at the thought that he could have been taken to the gods above and she hadn't been there to bring him back. For a moment she almost couldn't breath but she gathered her composure quickly.
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He grinned and nodded at her invitation to let her tend to his wounds at her den. The pain wasn't too bad as long as he was careful not to stretch the scab or get anything in it. He didn't want to look like a wuss to the girl he was interested in, of course, so he didn't think he'd ask her for a poultice anytime soon. Still, it was nice to know she was there and willing to help him out, if there came a situation where he needed it. That had been his first real fight here in these lands, and he was sure it wouldn't be his last. Wolves with medical knowledge were a rare and precious treasure, and he felt lucky that Blacktail Deer Plateau had one in its ranks.
As Blue went on to tell him her father's words of wisdom regarding wolves like the one he had fought at their borders, Atticus found himself shaking his head and smiling. "You know," he commented when she had finished, after a moment of quiet thought. "Your dad is someone I really would've liked to meet." In a lot of ways, what she told him of her father reminded him a lot of his own dad. And in other ways, there was a different angle and depth to the wisdom she shared that Aether hadn't possessed. After all, every scarred, grizzled old wolf had his own unique perspective on the world. "All I can say is that this douchebag better not come back here. He looks a little bit like me, too, so keep an eye out. If you spot someone like that and he threatens you, howl for help. Or listen to your dad and run like hell." He didn't think Blue could handle that stranger from the mountain by herself. He himself was a pretty strong wolf, and yet he hadn't walked away unscathed. In a softer voice, with a troubled expression on his face, he added, "I would freak if he or anybody else hurt you."
Blue chuckled at his grin and nod. She wondered if he would really come to get a poultice or if he would tough it out like men were prone to do. Her father had always refused treatment unless he really really needed it, her brothers too.
Blue smiled but a bit sadly and nodded her head I would have liked you to meet him as well. There still maybe a chance maybe someday he'll listen to me and seek me out, but he is a stubborn man and he may walk to world until he dies. she loved her father, his stubbornness she could do without, but she was just as stubborn. She had offered him and his mother to come with her, but they had both declined thinking they were more use in the world outside of a pack. Blue knew she could handle herself and she was a large femme, but even Atticus was larger than she she imagined and if he got hurt against this newest enemy then she probably would to. So she heeded his words, nodded her head I'll run or howl I promise. As his small admission a gentle smile took it's place across her maw and she nuzzled his muzzle as always mindful of the injuries on his neck thank you for caring enough Atticus. It was a brief touch nothing more than a thanks, but it was enough to make her shiver slightly, she was not used to these new feelings or thoughts and she was fearing that she would do the wrong thing one of these days and drive him away.
Wrap this up here? Loved this thread. Writing with you is always such fun. :)
He smiled as she promised she'd howl and then thanked him for caring, though that was something he didn't need thanks for at all. His smile was promptly followed by a yawn, for which he turned his head away from her so as not to seem rude. Shaking his head, he looked at her a little sheepishly and said,
"I guess I'd better head back to bed." He'd had a busy day and tomorrow would likely be just as busy, so he needed to get some sleep.
"Let me walk you back to your den, maybe?" He at least wanted to be sure she got there safely, even if she chose not to go back to bed immediately.
Thank you and yes and it is fun with you too your characters always make my day :)
Blue Chuckled at his yawn, she had woken him poor guy. Yes please. was all she said on the subject of walking her back. She probably wouldn't sleep tonight, perhaps she'd just lay outside and watch the stars, but she would stay around the den. She didn't want to wake Amelie, if she hadn't already. She stood and shook her fur and motioned for him to start walking and she fell into step beside him.
He grinned as she agreed to let him walk her home and they fell into step together. They walked in comfortable silence as the stars glittered overhead, and when they arrived at her den, Atticus touched his nose beneath her chin in a sign of respect and deference. "Good night, Blue Willow. Only good dreams now, okay?" he said to her with a smile and a wave of his tail, before turning and heading back to the tree under which he'd slept earlier. Curling up and closing his eyes with a sigh, he fell back to sleep with a grin on his face and dreamed of black fur and green eyes beneath the starlight.