since the roman showed him the forest, delight has rarely strayed from its depths. if someone questions him on it, the wisp has two answers to offer: he wants to find the mysterious elk king hinted at in the name, and also, he needs to figure out what's wrong with it, because something must be. he is not having luck with either, admittedly. the forest is not the most beautiful or fantastical site, but it is cozy and teeming with life and more and more the boy connects it to the idea of home.

weird thing, that. really he's exploring because he wants to keep watch, doesn't want to miss a moment of the little pack's development. he hasn't gotten the chance to speak to mato about the trade he's aiming for, but that's fine for now. he's a little embarrassed by it, but.. it makes sense, doesn't it, since he's here from the beginning, to see everything and make sure he doesn't miss a moment. (to make sure he doesn't lose anything else). and he's clever enough to notice and remember, and even if he isn't, he wants to be. the wisp frowns, circling a tree aimlessly as he lets his thoughts wander.

her voice catches him off guard -- he turns too sharply and gently bonks his head against the tree. a scowl twists his face, but maybe she didn't notice, or would be kind enough not to comment. the singing-sunlight raises his head and steps back with as much dignity as he can muster and turns to face her. the effect is only partly ruined by his sour expression. at this point it may as well be semi-permanent. "yeah." he says, his face smoothing out to neutrality as he talks. the joke goes right over his head. "it's a big forrest, i guess. have you seen a big elk around?" he doesn't say king elk, because king is a pretty subjective term - mato's a king of sorts, and he's.. well, okay, it radiates from him, but still. besides, it's a little embarrassing.

"don't mind that, actually," he says, pale eyes sliding away. seabreeze - he does remember her name this time - seems very nice. so does everyone, actually, except trajan, who is kind of a jerk but okay enough. it makes his chest hurt a little. "so this is really happening, huh," del says, a little subdued for him. being vulnerable - well, he always was, kind of, but being open about it is a different thing. but everything is happening so fast, it's a lot to process alone, the boy thinks. maybe she feels the same.

She worries for him as he bonks his head against a tree but he seems to shake it off well enough that she decides to just leave it be.  

There are quite a few elk around here, and yes, some of them are big.  But I have not witnessed the namesake of this forest, if that is what you are asking.  She had also not spoken with Mato very much about anything other than the ranks, and was rather confused about the structure of their blossoming pack.  She almost hoped he didn't ask her anything about it.

Yes, it is.  I am delighted, honestly, and then she remembers that his name is Delight and suddenly it is weird — right? I feel as if Mato is a very convincing leader, and I appreciate the individuals we have gathered for this pack so far.  I believe we can be successful.

She ponders for a moment and weighs the way he phrased things on her mind for a moment. Do you worry often?  I understand it not feeling real.

a blush creeps across him, caught out. "okay thanks anyway," he mutters under his breath, petulant in his embarrassment. though the wisp agrees with her sentiment, he wonders at the formality of her tone. maybe he is wrong about their relationship - surely his girlfriend wouldn't speak of him so .. boring-ly, but then again, maybe she's faking it to throw him off. or maybe she's just like that and who's he to judge. (he's delight. of course he's here to judge.)

 more importantly, and embarrassingly, the astute woman seems to have picked up on his tone. he sits, looking anywhere but at her face. a slicker wolf could lie or mask his feelings, but delight was still pretty childish, after all. "sort of, though it's not - worry exactly. i've just seen things go pretty bad before. it's hard to not expect the worst?" he's edging around it, minding the fresh wounds. "i'm just keeping an eye on everything s'all."

it's a little comforting to hear her say she's seen things too. he doesn't really know what she means by that, and he finally looks back at her, pale gaze curious. del wants to know but he isn't sure how to push for that knowledge quite yet, and he doesn't want to lose this chance at - what, comfort? something like reassurance, anyway. "everyone's pretty okay." he agrees, slightly less critical than normal, and even offers a tentative half-smile at the compliment. "well, it's just, i didn't do a good enough job of keeping track before, and now it's too late," he says, shy voice vague, and looks away again. "but, um, thanks, i guess." baby steps.

oh. "that's rough," he says awkwardly. he could not imagine the sweet girl being the cause of anyone's death intentionally, but he also understood survivor's guilt better than most. "my birth pack - family's all gone. i think." he pauses, frowning. "there was a, i don't know, earthquake or something. a landslide. i was the only out not there, so." the boy shrugs small and looks down, surprised his voice isn't shaking. he hasn't said it all out loud until now.

"anyway, yeah, that," the androgyne says quickly, eager to push past his vulnerability, "i wanna do that, so. thanks, seabreeze." delight's all sharp edges and confused vulnerability but he does appreciate her in that moment. the wolves of tindómë really do feel like family, he thinks, and he wants to preserve that feeling as best he can forever.

under her gaze he can't help but want to bristle just slightly, forever unsure what to do with affectionate attention. still, it is comforting, and he does appreciate her, even as he looks away, grumbling under his breath half-heartedly. "me too," he mutters, turned shy, and fidgets where he stands. 

actually, she raises a good point - they do, he knows, to - new children and members and alphas and the like, keep the history of the pack going, et-cetera, but in general? he imagines himself older and wiser, perhaps wrapped in a frond-turned-shawl, atop a large rock as he tells a crowd the story of tindómë. even in his head he feels embarrassed thinking about it. thankfully seabreeze has moved on, so delight doesn't answer. "no, i think it's good," he says, a little awkwardly. "you're, uh, very comforting. to be around. and i think - well, mato and me, anyway, already see you in that, uh. light." he can definitely see it in her. "and anyway, uh, i think it's good for someone like that to be around, so." 

she seems to accept his stilted attempts at comfort, which pleases him and makes him uneasy all the same. it occurs to him, not for the first time, how easily the beings of tindómë find shelter in each other (or at least how easily he seems to fit in amongst them, even with his sharp edges and unrefined angst). a twinge of guilt passes through the wisp: is this not better than the life he lost, even if that one was taken from him in tragedy? or maybe he'd been taught to not take things for granted. 

"i," he starts, entirely too sincere and soft, and pauses, embarrassment turning his voice back to its usual slightly-cut timbre. "--of course." the androgyne looks away, mumbles, "thanks though," and picks himself from his seated position. "i don't mind if you tell anyone what i told you," delight says after a minute - not that he thinks seabreeze is the gossiping type (unlike him and trajan, her and mato seem .. sort of ethereal, above that sort of petty thing), but now that he's said it out loud, he doesn't think it needs to be a grand secret or anything. "um, so i'm gonna go now, but thanks. again." it was a weight off his chest and - he was glad it had been seabreeze to offer reassurance, guidance, but boy it was a lot and he felt overwhelmed by his vulnerability. time to make a hasty retreat and have a good, resolved, sulk.