we have a lot rn, so no rush ofc
After burying Wraen, Bridget had given Teya space to grieve should she choose, but kept to the periphery in case. They'd spoken of a month, but then it had seemed she might wish to leave sooner. And maybe a break from all of this would do her some good. Eljay and Maia would be having a rough time, she thought, concern knitting her brow as she pictured the healer. He was a good guy and didn't deserve that, not so soon after becoming a dad. Neither of them did.
But her friend was her priority, and she'd leave in a heartbeat if that was what
@Teya needed.
She searched idly for her, but glanced up at the trees, and her eyes were pulled inexplicably towards the sun in the western afternoon sky. Maybe Wraen would meet them again someday, despite never knowing it. It had always comforted her quite a bit to think, if you wished, some part of you could carry on.
the raven, once more, at the gravesite. she lay small pink flowers upon the churned loam, but did not feel tears rising to choke her. the past days had been spent so, and now she had no more tears to cry. brecheliant would go on, with her, with eljay, with maia, ibis, bridget. with their children. wraen was gone but that did not mean they too must be.
thoughts of the sea were now distant.
teya descended the small hill and moved onward, pausing when she saw bridget's scarlet face upturned. silently she approached, and silently she too followed the line of the other's gaze, sunglow dazzling her.
She found Teya soon enough and joined her in a walk for a little distance quietly. It was comfortable, and she looked better than she had previously. The healer noted this almost without thinking. It had become a habit at this point, the first thing she did when she encountered anyone.
I was just thinking of the otherworld.
Bridget finally said, breaking the silence. It was a bit of a random segue, but ever since Teya had done her outburst at Wraen's grave, she'd wondered if the woman had any beliefs of her own. Probably not, she thought uncharitably, remembering what little she knew of Teya's family with distaste.
My parents used to say that, when we die, we'd wake up in Tech Duinn. The dark one's den. They said that he would find us there and offer us a choice, either returning to another life or going there. I'm betting, if Wraen chose Tír nAill, she and Tambourine are having a pretty good time there now.
It was a pretty damn good place, or so they said. And while it was possible they'd both made the different choice, Bridget had her own theory; if a wolf lived their life and passed peacefully, it'd be less likely they'd choose to run in the world again.
It's why we face them westward, so that they can find their way.
Telling her this had the dual purpose of ensuring that, when she died, the same was done to her. But Bridget wasn't bothered to worry about that happening anytime soon, and her own mortality wasn't something she dwelled on much. Did your family have stories like that?
teya had not expected bridget's explanation. tensely she listened, though small hard body soon slackened and she remembered that bridget was one of the seelie-wolves who had formed the court. those times seemed so very far away.
but the words of tech duinn and tir niall resonated with her, a glimpse into the culture that had shaped the red-masque. teya herself was unsure of her personal feelings upon the concept of an underworld, but she refused to think that wraen and tambourine had simply gone into a black place from which they would not return.
therefore, she softened toward these tellings, though the little raven shook her head. "no. our stories say that one dies, one goes to the earth. not — not afterlife."
a dire pronouncement. she looked with teary gratitude toward bridget now.
Bridget made a noise of acknowledgement and decided to keep her thoughts to herself. On a normal day she might have told her friend just what she thought about that, but she wasn't about to risk the insult right now. If her estimation of them was low before, it was subterranean now.
It isn't something we can know, but I've always liked the thought. It doesn't make sense that we come and go from nowhere.
She smiled, then swished her tail expansively. It felt nice to talk about it too. Weird to think that no one here has those stories.
She'd never been surrounded by wolves who didn't know the tales of the otherworld. She didn't entirely bring it up for Teya's sake... handling two burials in quick succession, and having no one to share the rites with, had made her realize just how far from home she was.
What would you choose, do you think? A life of paradise or another go at it?
When she was little, her father had asked her the same question and she'd immediately answered 'another go'. Would that answer change with age?
bridget was kind. teya suspected, perhaps, that the red-masque meant to distract her. or that had been her first thought, before she saw how passionate the faery was of these things unknown by the rest of brecheliant. "you teach them," the raven suggested. she was fascinated by the determined cast to bridget's features; it was for this aspect she had fallen so hard.
for a span of time she considered what the other asked. it was not something she had considered before. not before wraen. this tightened her mouth, but teya relented. "i come back. come back here. start again." why explore the world that came after when she was not yet done in their own? "you?"
I could. I never...
she paused, then smiled. She hadn't really thought about it. I never paid too much attention back home to all of that, but I miss the stories some now. If anyone was interested, it'd be pretty rad to share it.
Maybe rad wasn't the right word but, hell. It'd be something.
She considered it for a moment, then decided her answer hadn't changed. While she was pretty happy with whatever life she was living, she was pretty sure there was way more to see than she'd ever have time to experience this lifetime. Besides, if Teya was goin another round, no way she was lettin her hit that alone. World isn't gonna be rid of me that easy. It owes me at least four more good lifetimes, I think.
She laughed a little. It was a kind of downer of a subject, but she wasn't at all uncomfortable with it. They had a long time left and her own mortality wasn't something she dwelled on.
After that she did fall quiet, though, contemplating on Teya for a moment. Was now the right time to really bring up the trip? It was hard to see how the Raven felt about her role right now, and the timing of it all made Bridget uncharacteristically reticent. She mulled it over, rolling the words on her tongue as a small breeze came to play and tug at their fur.
four good lifetimes.
how old had wraen been?
teya did not like the implications that the thought placed within her mind, but gave a sharp nod. "and it owe me as many," she added, wanting to revel in the idea of growing old together here in brecheliant, shying from the rest of it. but mortality had burnt its stamp into her brain, and she would not be soon rid of that burr.
they lapsed into a silence. the girl sadly was not thinking of their trip, but of their relationship. emotional. physical. teya was closer to bridget than any other creature, but it was ibis her spirit wanted. what was the meaning of this, and how best to address it? was it worth words, for now?
"sometimes i wonder where sundance go," was what she mumbled instead.
She hadn't given Sundance a single thought in a while, Bridget realized. She didn't feel too guilty about that, though she did wonder if she should. He hadn't been the fixture to her that Teya was, something that was likely apparent in the fact that she hadn't gone looking for him.
You two were close, weren't you?
She asked finally. Anything she said to share the sentiment just felt like it'd come out empty. She hoped he'd ended up somewhere he liked, and that everything had worked out for him, but that was about as far as her own went.
teya smiled. "for a bit." not to the degree he had seemed to want; she remembered sundance regarding her with a good deal of affection. and she had been such a scared thing then, a stupid shivering little dove.
never again would she be that individual.
she nudged bridget's shoulder, no longer wanting to remain in the past for now.
"hunting?" the girl suggested. "herons in the deep grass." a grin; she enjoyed tormenting the birds even when she was not hunting them.
It had seemed like more than that. But Bridget always felt like Teya was harder to read than many others. She still didn't know much, but from what she did know, the two of them differed immensely. This was a perfect example - it was hard for Bridget to imagine ever being close to anyone for only 'a bit'. Unless they did something to piss her off pretty extremely, either they were close or they weren't.
I could go for some heron. Race you there?
Bridget grinned, only pausing long enough to confirm with a challenging look before taking off with a whoop in the direction of the tall grass.