counselor/guardian thread
”... hey @Takara! where are you?” a hushed voice called through the trees. the sun had barely risen over the trees. issun had woken up early that morning to look for his long lost friend. they had so much to catch up on and he figured they could talk while on patrol. maybe it wasn’t the best idea, seeing it was very early, but he couldn’t wait. “takara?”
the girl had gotten up early, so she was not at the mouth of her long lost friend's den. she had taken to sleeping close to him every night but she removed herself early in the morning in hopes that she would get away with her antics. a yawn escaped her lips as she bent her front half down as if she was going to play bow the timber before her but she simply stretched, arching her back and even reaching further with her paws. like a feline who had just gotten up from a long nap. her name came and she simply gave a high pitched bark, letting him know where she was as he came closer. she continued, arcing her strangely bent tail over her hips before inverting her stretch to her back legs. oh, this felt good.
he trotted in the direction of her voice and spotted her stretching in what little sunlight pooled through the trees. “hey you,” he greeted her with a smile. “i’m going on a border patrol, wanna join me?” he spun around and looked over his shoulder, expecting her to follow.
"issun, darling" she teased. her stretch finished just as he asked her a question, before answering, she shook out her fur. With a smile she closed this distance between them, her nose move to press against his cheek before answering. "of course," she said gently as he began to walk away.
it took her a mere second to follow after him as she shot her a look over his shoulder, ready to walk side by side. Allowing him to take the lead. "penny for your thoughts?"
with a deep breath he began to lead them towards the edge of the plateau. he was preoccupied with his thoughts. a lot of things have been on his mind.
he blinked a few times when takara spoke up. “hm? oh it’s nothing.” no, he couldn’t do this again. bottling up his feelings had already gotten him into trouble. besides, it felt good to get some things off your chest. “well actually, i’ve been kinda stressed lately.”
his thoughts had him miles away from her, as she spoke her question she could not help but think where they had taken him. was he remember something, or perhaps it had something to do with the not so friendly minori? and when he said it was nothing she scoffed slightly before bumping her shoulder into his, something she use to do when he tired to bottle up when they were children.
ah, stress but what stress did he feel? "what is stressing you out, you know you can still tell me anything.. just like.." she gave a gentle smile as her ears flickered to scurrying in a bush near by, ah, a rabbit. "..just like when we were pups."
well, there was no turning back now. might as well let it all out while he could. “everything seems to be falling apart,” he started, “our numbers are declining and liri is sick. i trust kavik and ruenna will manage the pack just fine, but i dunno. i’m still a little worried i guess. he paused to mark a few trees as they walked. “and i’ve been having a little, uh, romantic troubles.” his voice began to trail off. he wasn’t sure if he wanted to share any details. minori and him had worked things out, but that didn’t change anything. he still loved her but she didn’t love him. that still stung.
"liri is kavik's mate, right?" she asked gently, she knew that the ivory woman was a touchy subject with a few others. she had ever met her, much less seen the woman but she was well loved. she could see how it was all falling apart, their numbers were dangerous and winter was here. kavik and rueanna were lovely wolves and could run this place quite well but she understood his concern, she was concerned but she did not let that show. "it is a bit quiet here, but if the pack can survive the winter i am sure more members will surface." she tried to reassure him as they continued to walk the borders.
the next surprised her, romantic issues? could it be with the woman that was not so friendly towards her, this caused her ears to fall to her skull before she regained her composure. "ah, i only love one person but i can understand issues. one of the nomads i traveled with.. " she trialed off for a moment before returning to him. "what issues are you having?" did she want to hear this?
he let out a long exhale. “well, i like this woman but...” issun stopped for a moment to scan the ground. “but she is in love with someone else.” he inhaled and began walking again. “she seemed happy and i’m glad she is. i just wish it wasn’t because of him.” issun turned back to takara with slight worry. “is that bad? am i bad for thinking that way?”