Broken Boulder now i'm feeling things, so be sure

@Kavik for visibility, possibly forward dated a bit?

The morning found Liri straggling towards the very reaches of the territory. The sun was already hot on the back of her head, baking her within her thick winter coat. 

The air was alive with the crisp, warm scent of blooming plants and the chirping of songbirds. Grasshoppers flew up into the air with every struggling step she took, her bad leg catching on the long tendrils of grass. 

It was a beautiful day but Liri's mind was too cluttered to properly enjoy it.

With the swell in the ranks, the forest surrounding the Boulder was now more densely populated with new wolves. This put the skittish healer on edge and she sought after somewhere to be alone.

Not far from the open boundary of Bracken Sanctuary, the ghost came upon a stretch of creek. Here, it wrapped around a low bank and was deep enough before her to swim in. This was far enough that no one would find her unless actively searching for her. 

Liri scrabbled down the bank, paws slipping on the shale. With a bit of splashing and floundering, she found her balance on three good legs. The ruined one, she tucked against her body.

It burned and strained her muscles to walk circles in the still pool of water, but if she had attempted this on dry land she would have crashed. The sooner the healer learned to walk on three legs, the sooner she could hunt. The sooner she could run. 

Despite the pain, Liri's mind soon strayed to other things, more pressing things. 

She had avoided Horosk since speaking to him, mostly purposefully. But still she could not avoid catching a glimpse of him or a whiff of his scent in the territory. 

Even now, so soon, the lurch in her stomach, the one that usually struck her when this happened, was fading. His scent, his touch, the memory of his lavender eyes, they no longer haunted her dreams. 

But neither did she dream of Kavik. Instead she slept peacefully, for perhaps the first time in years. Her days were filled with thoughts of him, so many that her sleeping mind had no room for him. 

A flash of black in the distance would set her heart to pounding. Kavik's scent on the wind, a glimpse of him, was enough to make her again want more. 

Liri paused, panting from effort. Overwhelmed by what it all meant, the pallid girl dove under the water, coming up to glide gracefully along the pool. If only the water held the answers to all her ailments.

Kavik had given Liri some space, wanting to make sure his intensity didn't push her away. The task proved difficult for him, though, as he found his mind constantly drifting to thoughts of her; the way her face looked when she smiled; the way it had felt to sleep curled around her. And although he tried to stay busy, Nothing he did could distract him from her for very long. 

Today, he could no longer fight the urge to track her down. As he had done every day since their meeting, he found her most recent scent trail. Today, it was near the edge of the territory's borders, and worry flashed through him briefly before he realized it did not lead out of pack lands. 

He followed the intoxicating scent until he could hear the sounds of her in the water. Panic squeezed his heart. Had she fallen in? He had noticed at their first meeting that one of her legs was damaged, causing her to walk with a limp. Would she be able to swim if she fell in? He picked up his pace, almost breaking into a full sprint before he reached the creek and saw she was completely fine. The second his eyes found her, relief flowed through him. The relief soon turned into something more smoldering and intense as he padded to the edge of the water, his green gaze full of more emotions than he could process. 

He had all but forgotten the rabbit he had been carrying. The rabbit he had caught for her. It was not only an excuse to finally track her down, but also a way to show her he cared for her. He let rabbit fall to the ground, never taking his eyes off her. He nodded towards it as if to say for you and waited for her to speak.

Under the water, the sound of his approach was muffled so that she did not see him until she came up. 

Liri struggles from the pool, not completely stable to scramble out of the water but capable of doing it without assistance. 

As she approaches Kavik, Liri cuts her eyes low to observe him in sunlight. There was no imagining his size; he was larger without the darkness to hide him. 

It's only when she finds herself stopped before him does she realize he's just as attractive as she first thought him to be. 

This thought makes her feel shy as stands before him, worried he will find her different in the light of day. 

Slowly, over the rabbit he's dropped, with ample time for him to stop her, Liri leans on her tip toes and licks his cheek with gratitude.The winter fae leans back, head ducked demurely. 

"I didn't mean to startle you," she murmurs with a glance backwards at the water. "The water helps," she sends this gaze to her leg which looks angry and red. 

"Thank you," the healer nods at the rabbit. The thought of it is not lost on her. Rabbit's not an easy dish for her to catch. "Will you share it with me?"

Kavik watched as she made her way from the water, tempted to help but seeing that she was perfectly capable. He still watched protectively, just in case.

As she stood in front of him, she seemed shy and unsure, and he didn't know why. He wondered if she had changed her mind about him, but his question was soon answered when she slowly leaned over and offered him a kiss. He felt his body relax at the her gentle affection, and he nuzzled her cheek in return.

He nodded at her apology, thinking it unnecessary. He was clearly being overprotective.

She thanked him for the food and asked if he would share. He smiled at her and replied, "I brought this for you. No need to share." He nosed the rabbit towards her before looking back at her and smiling, glad to be here with this beautiful wolf.

She's surprised when he turns his head to nuzzle her, pleasantly so. Her tail picks up a slow wag and she takes the opportunity to rub her face against his chest. Secretly, she's pleased that she will smell like him. 

It had been ridiculously hard to stay away from Kavik. When the time had come to part after their initial meeting, Liri had been too tongue-tied to ask when she would see him again. And so, she spent several very long days debating whether she should approach him. At night, she would search out the den beneath the Boulder that belonged to him. Always, she stopped before entering, poised as if to crawl in and curl up beside his large form. Her heart would pound and her limbs would tremble and she just couldn't. 

As much as she liked him, the frightened healer couldn't climb into the den of a male in the dark in the middle of the night. 

"I'm sorry I haven't seen you," Liri blurts, remembering her cowardice. "I meant to. I just thought maybe you might, I don't know," she looks away from him, unable to meet his gaze. "Maybe you wouldn't like me."

She scuffles a paw in the dirt, shyly. There's so many secrets locked in her head, behind her lips. She's not ready to tell anyone. She's been on her own, for the most part, since Aaron left. The small, scarred girl can't tell Kavik yet. 

She hasn't approached him, afraid if he sees her in full light, if he somehow finds out about her, he might not want her. 

Liri accepts the rabbit finally, having gotten the apology of her chest. She's learned to hunt small creatures but it's rare for her to get rabbit. In early spring she had learned how to sniff out rabbit burrows and consequently, baby rabbits. She eats her fill of the rabbit, which is admittedly little over half of it. 

Liri licks the blood from her chops, cleaning the liquid from her pale coat. "Thank you," she repeats, taking the chance to rub affectionately against him again. 

"You know the way to a girl's heart huh?" She jokes lightly, bumping him with her shoulder gently.

His brows furrowed in confusion. She thought he wouldn't like her? Had he done something to make her feel that way? He had thought of nothing but her for days, but he had fought his need to seek her out, and maybe that had been a mistake. "I'm sorry if I gave you that impression." He nuzzled her cheek once more unable to keep from touching her. "I...Like you very much, so please don't ever think I don't." 

He moved closer to her, his gaze taking in her every detail and committing it to memory. "Beautiful," he said, his eyes full of raw emotion. He hadn't actually meant to say it out loud, but now that he had, he was glad she knew how he really felt. Maybe now she wouldn't doubt the way he felt about her.

He watched her eat the rabbit, happy to have been able to care for. She thanked him and offered her affection once more. "You're very welcome," He said as he leaned into her affection, drawing in her scent; it was mingled with his and he couldn't help but feel a possessive pride at the thought that others would scent him on her. 

He grinned at her lighthearted comment and offered a gentle shoulder bump in return, careful not to hurt her, and nuzzled her once more. it seemed he couldn't help but indulge his need to touch her.

Her ears flattened slightly, guilty that he thought it was his fault. It hadn't been; the night with him had been something from a dream. It had been magic. It had just seemed too good to be true to her. 

His omission shouldn't be such a surprise but Liri is still shocked to hear it. It seems impossible that he would choose her. 

Before she can respond, Kivak moves closer and her throat goes dry. 

Beautiful.

The word feels foreign, as if it is something that no longer applies to her. She's avoided seeing herself in still water for years. She knows how many wounds have been inflicted on her body; she knows what she looks like. The fae is so stunned that she can neither protest or thank him. 

As he nudges her back, she laughs. It's a small one, but it's the first time she's laughed in years. It's infectious and as she nuzzles him back, the ghostly girl nips him playfully on the shoulder.

She dances out of reach, clumsy but surpisingly fast. She yips at Kavik, trying to entice him to play. 

There's a mischievous glint in her sepia eyes, an underlining challenge to chase. 

Her laugh was something he wanted to hear always. It made him feel alive, and he couldn't stop the low, deep laugh the escaped his chest in response. 

Following her sweet affection, he felt a soft nip at his shoulder and when he turned his head to look at her, she was gone. She had quickly moved away from him. He thought he had hurt her in some way, but when he heard the playful tone of her yip, his worry melted away and was replaced with delight. She wanted to play with him.

Kavik bent his front half to the ground in a playful bow and gave her an impish smile. "I'll give you a head start pretty wolf," he said, a devilish tone to his voice. He hadn't played with anyone in quite some time and was looking forward chasing and catching her. Maybe he would get to hear her laugh again. The thought caused anticipation to flow through his veins as he waited to see what she would do next.

Kavik dips his large, inky frame in play and her timid smile grows into a toothy grin. Liri cannot help the powerful wagging her tail picks up, so vigorous that her whole body quivers with its excited pace. 

A peal of laughter, her laughter, rises into the air as she takes off. She's unsteady and definitely not fast or big enough to outrun him. Limping heavily, Liri heads for the surrounding woods. 

Here, she has more things to worry about: creeping roots, holes, fallen branches and of course, stones. The healer is clever enough to weave between the smaller trees; she's relying on his size to be his downfall. 

Even so, Liri will tire out soon. She knows she can't win; the thrill of it for her is the chase. 

Before long, the fae finds a pile of loose rock and clambers up it as far as she can - which is not very high on three legs. She curls there, tucked out of sight and waiting there with butterflies in her stomach to see if Kavik can sniff her out.

As his hind end joined his front half on the ground, Kavik couldn't help but emit a gentle laugh at her excited response. The pale wolf laughed and took off for the woods. Her limp poked at the protective flame that burned in his chest whenever he was around her. He wanted to ask her what happened (make sure he didn't need to hunt someone down), but he feared the question would make her self conscious. Not wanting to taint this moment, though, he pushed the thoughts from his mind for now. 

He had given her a few minutes. He knew he could catch her, but this wasn't a competition; it was meant to be fun. Plus, he was looking forward to tracking her down. 

Once he was sure he had given her a good head start, he rose to his feet in one fluid motion and began trotting in the direction he had seen her go. Once in the woods, he picked up her fresh trail fairly easily. He followed the pine and wildflower scent a little ways until he found his way blocked by a cluster of smaller trees. They were clearly too big to jump over but too small for him to go in between the trunks. He sniffed the ground in front of the trees, occasionally exhaling sharply through his nose to stir up the dirt. She had definitely gone this way. Suddenly, a grin crossed his dark black face. She was a clever little wolf. He now realized she had meant to cut through these trees, using her size to her advantage and knowing his size would leave him at a disadvantage. 

He looked around for a minute, taking in his surroundings and trying to find another way. Soon, he decided to walk the line of trees until he found a spot big enough to get through. He could probably find his way back to her scent once on the the other side of this cluster of trees. His plan proved successful when he found bigger opening not too far from the place she gone though. 

Once he found his way back to her scent trail, he followed it for a few minutes until he found himself approaching a mound of loose rock. The trail stopped at the base of the rock pile and as he placed his two front paws on the side to get a better look at the top, he saw her. 

He looked at her, satisfaction and mischief filling his emerald gaze, and raising an eyebrow, he said, "Gotcha," a playful grin painted on his face.

The tiny girl remains hidden, quivering and stifling giggles of excitement. 

Liri can't remember the last time she played with someone. There are some hazy early memories with Leto but as they grew older, play wasn't something they had time for. They'd had to grow up fast. Leaving home, being tricked by Remo, she'd had no cause to smile let alone laugh and play.

Samuel had never played with her, there had been too much strain for everyone to figure out who they would be wedding in a month. After, with the locust plague and consequent famine there was no time to play. Shortly after, Liri's life had fallen to ruin. 

This is the first time she can remember playing with anyone and she's exhilerated as she waits for her giant to find her. 

After several long moments, the healer can hear slow footsteps approaching. Her heart pounds as she huddles closer to rock, as if it can swallow her up. 

Despite hearing him, Liri still startles slightly. She can't help beaming up at him; she's so pleased with the game. ​"You solved it!" 

The snowy girl gets to her feet and then stops, realizing that she doesn't know how to climb down the rocks.  Climbing up on three legs was a jiff, but going down? She'd topple forward onto her face. 

"Ummm...a little help?" She's a little embarrassed that even the short distance to the ground has her trapped. Liri steps forward a tiny measure, incredibly shy asking him, but intending to lean on Kavik if he's willing to assist her.

He felt her joy as if it were his own. "You didn't make it easy," he replied chuckling and still grinning at her.

When she stood and tried to get down, she fell forward. He winced and when she asked for help, he was at her side instantly. "I'm here," he said reassuringly. He then waited for his little wolf to lean on him, knowing her weight would be nothing for him to support.

Liri leans on Kavik's broad inky side gratefully. Her legs tremble with effort and her mangled leg throbs where it's curled up against her body. Small rocks scatter beneath unsteady ivory paws and Liri struggles to do it with the least amount of help.

The girl gets to the ground safely, trembling with exertion. Her leg will pain her later but the healer has herbs; given the chance, Liri wouldn't have changed a thing. She'd already decided she loved playing with Kavik. 

"Thanks," she manages to get out, panting slightly. Her leg muscles will get stronger in time but climbing has worn them out. Liri sits for a moment, too tired to be shy about resting her head on Kavik.

He silently supported the pale wolf as they make their way down the loose pile of rocks; his eyes tracked her every move to make sure she didn't fall. 

Relief washed over him once they were back on the ground and she was no longer in danger of getting hurt. She thanked him, which he thought unnecessary, and rested her head on him. He reveled in the contact and took the opportunity to nuzzle the top of Liri's head affectionately. 

He wondered if her leg was bothering her, which brought back his earlier concerns. He felt like he could no longer hold back his question. "Why is your leg injured?" he asked with worry in his voice. He hoped his question didn't make her uncomfortable, and continued continued to nuzzle her in case it had.

Liri rested her head against his side, too short to reach his shoulder. She nuzzles him almost subconciously in response to his affection as her chocolate eyes fall shut. 

Between the swimming and playing, she's tired and sore and could definitely sleep against Kavik. 

But Kavik has other things on his mind, particularly a question about her leg. It makes her the tiniest bit self-conscious; Liri hates feeling like she's being stared at but has come to accept it. 

Kavik's muzzle brushes the crown of her freckled head and the feeling of insecurity is replaced by one of safety. Kavik wouldn't blame her; he wouldn't tell anyone her stories. And besides, she's already promised herself that she won't lie to him. 

With a nervous clear of her throat, Liri tells her story. Her voice is hushed, her eyes dart about, afraid somehow speaking of it will make her come back. 

"That's a long story. I guess it starts at my old pack, Broken Antler Fen. I didn't know them when I joined, I just... I was trying to escape something. I wasn't okay. I was pretending I was but..." She can't finish. The dreams, the nightmares, of the man who tore her open, of the tiny cave where she fed on rats. Her voice freezes in her throat.

"I started wandering. I'd leave the Fen and search, for what I don't know. But I came into heat one day while I was out there," she shifts shyly, unable to look at him when she says it. 

"It's no excuse...but I'd never been in heat before. I didn't have a mother or anyone really to prepare me for it. I just didn't think. When Horosk found me... I just couldn't think. I left after, afraid they'd kick me out or kill my pups if I stayed and was found out."

"But I didn't really have an easy time of it. I ran into a couple of lone wolves, mostly males, and got into a couple of fights. I was already injured when Kelina found me," her voice is strange now, she's somewhere in the past. 

''I'll never forget her. She knew Horosk, I think they were related," she thinks again of their purple eyes, "But she couldn't get to him. So she took me, to hurt him I think. She made sure I couldn't run," Liri murmurs, staring at the outstretched leg. 

It looks shredded. It lacks fur in some spots, a patchwork quilt of red and white and pink. Once hearing the story, it's impossible not to see what happened. It looks like something a pack would do to a deer to bring it down; grabbed in powerful jaws and crushed, twisted, until it was no longer functional. 

Liri raises a wary gaze to Kavik, searching his face for any sign that this has changed how he feels about her.

Kavik heard the nervous clearing of her throat and momentarily regretted his prying question. He hadn't wanted to cause her any negative emotions, but he knew he could no longer keep the questions to himself. 

She began by telling him of her old pack. She said she had been trying to escape something, and he tensed at her words. When she didn't elaborate, he was filled with even more questions but decided to wait to seek answers to them; she was already offering him glance into an obviously painful part of her past, and he didn't want to overwhelm her. When she stopped talking, he sensed her pain, and releasing all tenseness from his body, he nuzzled her again, attempting to soothe her with his touch.

She soon continued on with her story, looking away when she mentioned coming into heat. He barely had time to imagine her in heat because he was soon filled with intense jealously at the mention of her with another male. His jaw tightened with the intense emotion. He took a steadying breath before he spoke, not wanting her to hear anger in his voice and think it was directed at her. He couldn't be angry about something she did before she even knew him. "Those were the pups you lost?" he finally said quietly. Any residual anger left his body, then, at the memory of how sad she had looked when she told him about the children she lost. 

She then told him about fighting with other lone wolves, which pissed him off as well, but there was nothing he could do about it now except prevent any further harm to her. She brought up a wolf named Kelina, and stated that she was related to him. Kavik didn't want to hear his little wolf say the other male's name ever again, but he kept that ridiculous request to himself. He wasn't going to attempt to dictate her life in that way. Especially since he knew it came from the jealousy he felt and not any rational part of him. 

Liri went on to imply that this Kelina was responsible for her leg injury. When she looked to him warily it was like a kick to the gut. Unable to stand it, he touched his head to her cheek, hopefully reassuring her that there was no need to be wary of him. "Where is she, now?" he asked quietly, barely able to keep a snarl from his voice as he spoke. He may not seek her out right now, but if they ever crossed paths, she would be dead. He was certain of that.

She nods at his question, head down so that he may be spared by the crushing pain of remembering them that crosses her face.

Liri may someday have another mate, a better one than Remo and one who wouldn't leave her like Samuel. Maybe even Kavik. Maybe she , they, would have children in the future. But this doesn't dull the grief of losing her first two. 

"I lost my daughter first. I escaped when Kelina was gone. But I wasn't doing so good. I miscarried when I was travelling through the mountains." Her voice, soft as a kiss, is trembling.

She doesn't picture her daughter as she was, the tiny bloody thing left on the mountain side. She wonders if her daughter might have looked like her. For a moment, the northron can picture a small white pup with lavender eyes, the daughter she would have named Isira after her grandmother,  and her heart breaks all over again. 

"I lost Pip at Morningside, after he was born." Her tiny son, just born. She can remember the excruciating few hours with him, doing everything she could. She had watched the life leave him slowly, unable to help. It was one of her greatest shames as a healer that she could not save him. 

Liri leans into his touch though she's so drained that she hardly notices. It comforts her and reminds the pallid girl that life is still worth living. 

"I didn't see her again after I escaped. I hope she's far from here. I hope she's dead," the last is a whisper that falls from her lips. She feels as if this is wrong, as if she should not wish harm on anyone. 

But then, these are the words of a girl the world has always wished harm on.

Hearing the stories of how Liri lost both of her children, Kavik felt immense sadness for her. He wished he could have been there to protect her from all of the horrible things in her past, but that was an impossible task. He continued offering his soothing affection, hoping to ebb some of the sadness the telling of her past had brought her.

She informed him that she didn't know where Kelina was, but that she hoped she was dead. He didn't blame her. That wolf didn't deserve to live. "You don't need to worry about her," he replied softly. "If she is in fact alive and ever crosses my path, I'll kill her," he added with resolve in his voice. It may have made him look violent, but he didn't care. He wanted to make sure Liri never feared that woman again. 

Her weariness hadn't escaped his notice, and with tenderness in his voice he asked, "Would you like to rest for a little while?" He hoped she would let him curl around her again as she rested like they had done the other night. Anticipation filled his chest at thought.

Kavik is perhaps the only reason that Liri isn't curled in a ball on the ground, much as she was for hours after burying Pip. The last year had passed in a haze of mind-numbing disassociation and at times, collapsing with the sudden loss of it all again. 

But life goes on. As much as she misses them, she's young. Life is still waiting for her just as her children do amongst the stars. 

His words are reassuring in a dark way and a shiver tickles down her spine. It is violent; Liri's always been such a gentle soul it should unnerve the fae. It doesn't though, she wants Kelina dead, and that's what causes her to shudder. 

"Only if you stay with me," the words are soft, tentative. She doesn't want to be alone right now and Kavik's presence puts her at ease. 

The tiny girl stretches up, nuzzling and grooming what she can reach of his ebony neck in hopes of coaxing him to lay with her.

Liri shuddered at his violent promise, and he feared he had scared her. Her next words eased his fear, though, because she asked him to stay with her as she rested. If she were scared of him, she wouldn't trust him here while she slept. "I'll stay with you for as long as you'd like," he replied with a slow bow of his head. He felt his heart tighten at the realization that, for him, the promise extended past this moment and into the unknown future. 

His little wolf nuzzled his neck, and a contented sigh escaped his lips at the touch. He slowly lowered himself to the ground, lying so that she could easily sidle up next to him. He watched her and waited to feel the warmth of her body next to his.

The words make her heart pound and her nerves spark in ways she doesn't quite understand. Even Samuel had not invoked such feelings in her. The sprite realizes she wants Kavik always to be there. She feels the same vertigo that she felt when they first met; the familiarity of Kavik and the intuition that he has some great part in her future.

Liri nuzzles him, pulling away as he does to watch him stretch upon the ground. Liri curls against him, facing him this time, good and bad legs alike tucked under her. 

Her peppered muzzle brushes through Kavik's night-colored coat, worrying out any knots. She grooms him, hoping to soothe him as he does her. 

Finally, the ghost stretches out her neck and rests her head on Kavik's side. Her head rises and falls with his breaths and her sepia eyes fall shut contentedly. 

With a soft huff of happiness, Liri falls asleep against her gentle giant. The sun warms her fur, drying it, and with Kavik beside her, Liri can think of nowhere she'd rather be.

The feeling of her soft, small muzzle moving through his coat was exquisite and brought with it an intense, possessive heat he had never felt before. With each stroke, he felt himself relax even further until his eyes closed in peaceful delight. 

He opened his eyes as she rested her head on his side and watched as her beautiful eyes closed. The sight of her resting peacefully on him was almost too much to bear; it slayed him. Her complete trust in him was a gift he would always cherish. And even though whatever they had was still so knew, Kavik knew he would do anything for Liri. 

She let out a contented sound as she fell asleep on him, and placed his head protectively on her. For a while, he listened her rhythmic breathing as she slept, feeling like no one was as lucky as he currently was. Finally he drifted to to sleep around his little wolf, satisfied that she was here, safely wrapped up inside his huge form.