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+--- Thread: King Elk Forest you're offering more than you owe (/showthread.php?tid=25444)
you're offering more than you owe - Ariel - February 08, 2018
all welcome but maybe @Gracious? :D
burke's death sits in him hollowly. it is not the first, nor even the worst loss he has endured, and it is hardly tragic. yet his heart feels fragile.
he makes his way to the shallow graveyard they constructed, the best they could do with the ground still frozen over. there is a part of him that wishes he'd sought burke out for advice one last time, on leading tindómë, on how to handle mato. in his final weeks would the grumpy old man have been able to help anyway? he'll never know. and now... he'd thought, maybe, once burke passed, mato would snap back into his old self and rise to the fore once again, but the prince seems more withdrawn than ever. (a part of him admits he suspected it would be this way, a part he hadn't wanted to listen to.)
there's decisions delight needs to make, and he thinks he's made them. but for now he wants to partake in a moment of quiet mourning. rest in peace, you old badger, may your legacy live on.
RE: you're offering more than you owe - Gracious - February 09, 2018
<3
Whilst she did not know who the old wolf who died was, he had to be important. Death was something everyone could feel in the air, but only those who truly care for the dead feel the weight sit on their shoulders, their hearts, and their thoughts. The somber air that blew through the homeland brought a chill to Gracious' body. The gloomy feeling that surrounded her was something she wanted to escape from, but something told her that she had bigger fish to fry. She needed to check up on the others and see how they were handling everything, not just herself. She hoped everyone would be able to grieve what they could before moving on.
Snow coated the ground where she walked, her paws sunk in only a few inches. The familiar sound of crunching filled her ears, though the scent of Delight teased her nose. Lifting her gaze slightly, the misty woman could barely make out his figure. She paused, fearing that her coming close would only upset him more. Oftentimes wolves preferred to have their personal times to grieve before consulting with others. She hoped that wasn't the case now. Gracious continued on, her paw steps grew lighter in hope to not come off as loud when she approached.
She was unaware that the grounds she was approaching served as the graveyard, though she acted like she knew. Light steps, fearful that anything touched too roughly would crumble underneath her. "Delight?" she asked aloud gently, pausing at the edge, perhaps only a few yards away from the smaller man. "Are you... handling everything okay?"
RE: you're offering more than you owe - Ariel - February 11, 2018
as if summoned by the stillness of delight's thoughts, gracious appears. he offers her a tired smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes, torn between wanting to commit to honesty (and if we're being honest, an immature need to whine) and wanting to appear strong as morwinyon. the voice that leaves him is somewhere in the middle -- fragile at the edges but not about to break. "yeah, sorta. did you ever get to meet him?" a shame the old man hadn't been well enough to mingle with most of their current membership. a shame delight didn't think to get his blessing just in case. the androgyne sighs and pulls away from the rock, facing gracious fully. "it was definitely his time," he says, and shrugs, "i mean, i was expecting it before winter's end. but still. he was a good advisor." as he speaks he fidgets at the snow under his paws slightly, wondering if she'll think he's silly for what he's really upset about, if he tells her.
RE: you're offering more than you owe - Gracious - February 11, 2018
The middle ground response she gets encourages the lady to step a little closer. Her trademark smile was no longer on her visage, rather an expression of concerned covered it. "I'm afraid I never got to meet him," she started off, "but I'm sure he was a wonderful man, others who knew him think so" she finished her sentence. If the others didn't know who he was, why would the cry for him? Why would anyone cry for the death of someone they don't like? If anything, shouldn't it be viewed as a celebration to them? She hoped that the wolf was someone worth shedding all these tears for, but by the looks of it, he was more than just a good man.
Gracious isn't one for social cues, but something about his answer didn't sit with her very well. With his entire body facing her, the woman strode closer, perhaps only a few inches away from Delight. Nothing about her movement was malicious or vicious, it was careful and gentle. Very softly, she brushed her nose against the side of his neck in a comforting way. "Delight," she started off before backing off a bit, "if you need to get something off your chest, I believe you should do it now."
"Death is something we all feel and grieve. But it provides us a time to tie up loose ends and start anew." She didn't want to pressure him by any means, her voice was careful considering she tried to avoid being provocative. Gracious didn't want to demand answers, she wanted more or less for it to be Delight's own idea. It feels better when it's their own rather than someone commanding them or pressuring them to do something, especially when it's opening up during a hard time.
RE: you're offering more than you owe - Ariel - February 12, 2018
she confirms his suspicions. it's a shame that in his last few months burke hadn't been well enough to properly mingle. suddenly, selfishly, he wishes trajan and uka and brienne were still around, hadn't ever left or gotten into mangled relationships. who's left of the founding group? nova and malice, though they're barely present; mato and him, though he thinks maybe mato isn't gonna.. well. he looks at gracious as she brushes against him, surprised by the contact but secretly grateful for the comfort it offers.
"you're right," he agrees, ears drawing back as he looks down at the ground. "i guess i just thought burke's death would snap mato out of this funk of his, but he seems as distant as ever," delight admits. "i wasn't meant to be morwinyon indefinitely -- or i didn't think i would be, anyway." yet here we are, and so the question is: what does he do next? maybe gracious can provide some illumination -- or at least give him a shoulder to fret on. he's taken to authority slightly better than he expected but that doesn't mean he planned for this or has an idea of what to do with it.
RE: you're offering more than you owe - Gracious - February 13, 2018
She listened to him, neck outstretched a bit as she leaned forward. She knew little of the past morwinyon and his relationships with others, as well as personality. But the way Delight spoke of him made Gracious give more thought to the situation. She had met him once; he seemed dignified with his spot, soft-spoken, and 100% there, mentally speaking. "Were they close?" she asked him.
With Delight's stress about the current situation, Gracious could only provide him with a warm and supportive smile and aura. "You've been doing such a great job though, Delight. To be completely honest with you," she said, giving a small chuckle to lighten the mood, "I haven't even noticed Mato not being Morwinyon. I've always seen you as a leader."
"Besides, you should give yourself some credit. The number of wolves who have joined is quite large, everyone is happy and fed -- you're the most qualified to lead us, Delight. Prepared or not, you've done everything right." Nothing about what she was saying was a lie, she meant every word. Gracious had a lot of respect for Delight; he was doing basically everything for the pack while trying to deal with Mato and his own problems. He was a real trooper.
RE: you're offering more than you owe - Ariel - February 14, 2018
"yeah," delight answers, "or at least, i always thought so." burke and malice had left the terrible caldera to help their grandson found his pack, after all, and burke had been mato's original advisor.
gracious' words fill him with a peculiar warmth, and embarrassed, he ducks his head. he'd not been trying to fish for compliments, per se, but he's not about to reject them, especially with how anxious he's been about his performance. gracious has been with them long enough to watch leadership change hands, and he trusts that she's not blowing smoke up his ass. or if she is, she's doing it really well and he wants it to continue. "thanks," he mumbles at his feet, unable to stop himself from feeling a little pleased.
"truthfully, there was a little while where we thought tindómë would collapse," he admits. "it was before you joined -- almost all of our founding members disappeared or left, and then when brienne went missing too... but then a bunch of wolves showed up. winter, i guess." he hums. "i'm glad, don't get me wrong, but it still makes me nervous how isolated we are. it's been bothering me a lot lately, actually." the morwinyon knows he's got to send jomyo on her scouting trip soon, gather what information he can. if they're truly as isolated as he suspects, they'll need to deal with that. and who knows, maybe she can pick up some wanderers while she's out too (ha.) his attention turns to gracious, curious what her take on the situation will be -- since she wasn't around to witness their near end.
RE: you're offering more than you owe - Gracious - February 26, 2018
She gave off a light hum sort of noise to show her content with him accepting her compliments. Gracious was pretty good at sugar-coating and buttering wolves up, but what many forget to address is that she means every word she speaks. No lie has come out of her mouth quite yet, perhaps it is the idea of having a strict moral code or maybe the idea that lying is just wrong. Sometimes Gracious wondered if wolves thought she was lying when she said nice things softly, her voice might just be too grandmotherly to come off as real.
When Delight recalled the memory of Tindómë, Gracious was caught surprised and then a bit disappointed. A wonderful home such as this one going under? The very thought made her shake her head, she loved it here and couldn't imagine the pack not existing. When she heard his concerns, she decided to add in her opinion to maybe help smoothe out some ruffled fur. "Then perhaps we move?" she said quietly as a suggestion, "if we go somewhere where we can meet others, we can solidify our numbers, even with wolves who come and go." Truly, she loved being secluded away from others, it made her feel quite safe. Yet, the idea of losing the homeland because of collapsing numbers wasn't something Gracious wanted to deal with.
"Have you mentioned the idea to the others?" she asked him, looking over his visage with curiosity.
RE: you're offering more than you owe - Ariel - March 02, 2018
even though he'd been the one to bring it up, hearing gracious so casually suggest moving takes him by surprise. maybe because he feels like it's a lot of ask of his wolves -- thinking about it makes him anxious -- and yet she accepts the idea so easily. and she's right to boot: they would have the opportunity to solidify in a more well-traveled area. buoyed slightly, his expression brightens. "sort of -- i sent jomyo to scout around, see where our closest neighbors are," he explains, "but i didn't exactly tell her what i was thinking about." because of anxiety, or fear, or the constant current of worry that he's going to fuck this morwinyon thing right up. besides, what if jomyo gets back and tells him oh hey we're swimming with neighbors they just don't like us? moving wouldn't solve that.
it is unlikely though. "when jomyo gets back we can all talk about it," delight says, his tone uncertain. "do you think... it's asking a lot, isn't it? of all of you," he asks, echoing his earlier thoughts aloud. he trusts gracious to be honest with him about it (or to at least say the thing that will reassure him enough to put on his brave morwinyon face for the rest of 'em).
RE: you're offering more than you owe - Gracious - March 03, 2018
His concerns for the pack made the tall woman tilt her head a bit, slowly freefalling into thought. Leaving would be a tough path considering how secluded the wolves of Tindome truly were, traveling time would be uncertain and unknown. However, it was also important to remember that winter was coming to a close. If they chose to leave now, the time would be best while spring begins its time as the season.
When he brought of Jomyo, Gracious slightly smiled. She remembered conversing with her and sharing a beautiful star-lit night with her. Scouting-wise, she trusted the younger girl, knowing she was quite talented with traveling and navigating. Perhaps she could lead the expedition for them?
"It will be a tough journey, we are far from other wolves," she touched on lightly, "but I think it's doable. Now is the time to plan this out so we get a move on when spring is still here. If some don't wish to make the journey," her eyes dim, perhaps just a smidge at the idea of losing family members, "then let them make loyalties elsewhere, those who want to go may, those who don't don't have to." She didn't want it to seem like she wanted the family to fall apart, but Gracious had a feeling not everyone would want to make such a long trek. If not, it was a matter of preparing who goes and who doesn't.
RE: you're offering more than you owe - Ariel - March 04, 2018
a smile warms his features briefly as he's calmed down. it's impossible to predict if everyone will be willing to follow them across the wilds, but gracious is right: they can't force them. let them make their loyalties elsewhere indeed. it pains delight to think about, prone to anxiety over abandonment as he is, but worse would be to stubbornly try to keep everyone happy by staying here and run the risk of the pack failing due to their seclusion.
and besides, this is all hypothetical until he talks about it with the rest anyway. "yeah," he agrees, his tail wagging softly. "thanks for talking it out with me -- i appreciate it." gracious was definitely a lucky find, he thinks -- she's been like a rock for him during all of his transitions. delight hopes she knows how much he appreciates her and her company.
RE: you're offering more than you owe - Gracious - March 04, 2018
fade here? <3
"Anytime Delight" she replied to him softly with her signature smile. She wondered what the future held for them, what mysteries they'd uncover, what problems they'd run into, and what successes they would experience. Truly, all she could do was hope for the best and ride it out. "I'll leave you alone to add more thought to it," Gracious started off, "but don't overthink it. You're only 1 wolf, Delight. Remember that."
With that, she turned around to leave him to his thoughts. She didn't want to waste more of his time with her rambling.