Hushed Willows just resting my head

In keeping close to Qilaq, rest has come to him easier than it has in months. His first while beneath the willows is scarcely more than a strange blur of long sleeps and restoring warmth, but today, as he managed to rouse properly, some slivers of energy begin to course through. His aching body protested at first, and it's awfully cold out.. but he makes do.

It's in one of his first solo trips away from one of Qilaq's nooks, and he doesn't want to go far. Beneath the willows, peace seems to reign, all is quiet.. snow-dusted and ethereal. He feels out of place, disheveled, raw-boned, and weakened, but he is still a hunter, so long as his heart can still beat and he can drag himself forward. In that mindset, he can maybe find some strength even now, he hopes.

But, at least he's out and his ankle isn't feeling too tender. For a distance, he picked along, until he slowed his breathing to listen to the stillness once again. At least the snow makes it easy to find potential prey tracks.. so he sets off again, eyes skimming for any signs.

The last cold snap of winter — or what Olive sincerely hoped was the last cold snap of winter — kept her mostly in her den and by her wife’s warm and lovely side. The den was more spacious than usual, despite her general unwillingness to be boxed in and covered up, and the reason why there was more space than usual made her a little sad. Though Séamus and Eleuthera had told her for many months that they wished to travel the world, just as she had when she was their age, the mother hen within her refused to think that such a thing might actually happen.

However, Olive decided, if they were going to go galavant across continents and come to rule many kingdoms — at least they were together, and together they would be safe, even in this type of brutal cold.

Sometimes, amongst the living, breathing pile of Seabreeze and Ibis and Okeanos, her awareness surrounding the lack of her natural born children became too keen and she found herself wandering the willows, crooning and wanting and wishing for more cubs to fill her hearth and home. Elysium, as a concept, was built around children and the midwife found herself wondering what she was doing with her time without growing them, raising them, or educating them. Lily was almost mid-term in her pregnancy, but even that seemed too far in the future to suit her.

Olive walked around the hushed willows in a very similar state, feeling vaguely surprised when she happened upon one of the seraphim with whom she was not so familiar. “Silas,” she greeted, almost sheepishly for having become the pack leader who did not know her co-members. “Are you busy?”

The hunter in him had yet to find a pull of certainty in any one direction and didn't rush.. so this almost-wander suited him for the time--he forced it to, mostly in willing his mind and body alike to simply take it easy. He had to keep reminding himself that there was no hurry, and there was nowhere else to be. His every second didn't bank on just scraping by right now and he knew right where Qilaq was, best of all. Point being, compared to how it had routinely been for him, he could practically afford to mosey even if he struggled to find this mindset.

After a heavy exhale on his behalf, an unfamiliar voice prompted his sights that way, towards Olive--although he did not know well enough to be exactly certain yet.  After he smoothed his little start, he gave a pivot, and wriggled his tail down low against his legs. Hi.. hello.. His ears splayed and he simply appeared respectable just in case, if not a little on the excessively submissive-wary side of things when he felt as scrawny and worn out as he did now. But, was he busy? First he shook his head. The kinds of familiarization he needed were going to take some time. Oh.. ah, no, not really. Just trying to settle in a bit, he gave a nervous lick to his lips, but pressed on with some more, gentler tail wags (mostly for his own convincing). And stretch my legs some. He tried for soft chuff then, just to keep his tone lighter.

But.. are you..? Did she need him? What could he help with? His wondering only began there.

He seemed fine, but his words did not entirely convince her. It might have been his submissive gestures, which were entirely unneeded and generally unwarranted where Olive was concerned, or his meek manner of speaking, but Olive’s concern became piqued. If Elysium’s guests did not feel at ease within the confines of their cliff-guarded dwelling, then Elysium was not achieving its ultimate goal. However, the wag of Silas’s tail did a little to soothe her nerves and desire to please.

The druid drifted closer and nodded in agreement.  “No, i’m not busy either,” she commented mindfully.  “Perhaps we could keep each other company for a while?”

If Silas had any doubts about her busy-ness, Olive deigned to dispel them by settling her hips upon the frosted earth and letting their weight of her body sit heavy there. She gave a deep sigh, a roll of her shoulders, then a lick of her lips. Clearly, leading a pack was tough work. Without much of a rush, the woman lifted her gaze to regard Silas and decided to mine for information that might answer a few of her questions from the moments prior.  “You’ve been with Elysium for a while now… How are you liking it?” Her voice was kept light and interested, standing at full attention for the man in front of her.  “Do you think you might like to stay, not as a guest, but a part of the Seraphim?”

Well, it was good she wasn't busy. Her coming closer distracted him from saying anything, but, yes, company. Oh, sure, the Ostrega replied. He did lift his head up into a nod although his ears stayed back with an air of apprehension about him. Company.. he was rusty at that, too, although she seemed like the good sort. Radiated it, almost.

But seeing him now, and knowing Qilaq from even before meeting him, he hoped she had an inkling as to why he.. just was. Even in his last pack situations, he was usually in the role of a quiet outlier--or not there long enough to begin to flourish proper. He was.. a slow and steady sort sometimes.

As for his time here, he had no complaints. It was what he needed, balm to a weary, busted soul. It's.. it's peaceful. It has been good to me.. to heal, he said, dipping down his snout again though the rest of him did not sink so low as before again. Bit by ever-little bit, he let up some as he tried to get comfortable himself. I do want to stay.. for now, like to help hunt come spring. For you and for Lily's sake.. I feel like I owe you all that much, at least. For Qilaq and himself. This opportunity had brought them together and maybe without it, they would still be lost, or worse. He didn't mean to go anywhere any time soon, but maybe one day, some time down the road, his and Qilaq's future may be elsewhere? He didn't know. They had always stayed vaguely on the move. For now, he had a lot to unpack and unwind about still, and he did want to do that here.

Olive took her time observing Silas, wishing to get to know him as an individual wolf and not one of many amongst the willows. He was foreign to her, which was a strange thing to be found within the sanctuary, and that must be remedied. Upon hearing that he found his stay restful and healing had happened, she was gladdened. “That is all that we have ever wished for,” the druid acknowledged with a nod of her head.

Though she was not overly familiar with him yet, Olive found herself not quite convinced by Silas’s words. Obligation was not one of the foundations upon which Elysium was built. “You owe us nothing — you have easily repaid your debts, and then some.” She kept her tone light, smile bright, because he was free to go, if he wished. That was how it worked: you either stayed for a little, or you stayed for a while. Both were perfectly acceptable, but…

“We want you to be a part of the Seraphim on your own accord, because you believe in our mission and wish to preserve it for others to experience.” She didn’t mean to bring down the heavy, especially so fast, but this was an opportunity for she and Silas to further understand each other in a way that she did not want to sacrifice.

Silas had spoken his truths outright, and sheepishly nodded to her replies, even if he felt her words far outweighed him. She was so kind, he marveled as he peered more openly her way with the initial spike of nervousness starting to go from him. What had he done to deserve this, he wondered. His head could spin, overcome and overjoyed, but he wished he could tell her that he could thrive on this obligation, even if she did not see it so cut and dry. The purpose, and the peaceful place to rest his head, was all he had ever wanted not so long ago and to have it? This was his truest way to mend himself, mind and body, and to say thank you too.

Yes, I.. I do, he got out alongside a small waver to his tail--instinctive. He wanted to protect it, provide.. all that, especially while he was here and when he was up to proper hunts, ones worth being proud of bringing home. Silas had no greater schemes than that, and if he could make this work here, for however long, then he could ask for nothing more. Qilaq was here, and doing well enough compared to what he could offer her--which was absolutely nothing but the open winding road. Maybe it didn't have to be as fleeting as all of their prior instances, and maybe it could be a home in these willows to last him unlike the Keep's abandonment.. but Silas was open to it, so long as it continued to be so verdant and.. honestly, hopeful.

Why not keep to what seemed safe and comfortable for him right now? There is nowhere else for me to be, so.. I want to stay. To be with Qilaq and everyone, and be.. Seraphim, he said, halting with the word he handled hesitantly for the first time.

The smile easily returned to Olive’s maw when Silas agreed — he believed in their mission, and he wished to be seraphim. The druid would never tire of hearing others say that; when they decided themselves to her mission. Whether it was for themselves or others didn’t matter, the end result was all the same. 

Olive nodded gratefully, letting her own wag in response. It was a thing to celebrate! “That is good to hear,” Now that she was getting to speak to him more, she was realizing that this male had a calming, sweet air to him. It was no coincidence that the males of Elysium, Silas and Khali and Sunny, were all like that. It helped bring balance to a situation that could easily be overwhelmingly female, and she truly appreciated her male member’s dedication. She canted her hear, wanting to be perfectly clear about how this worked. “Well, as a part of the Seraphim, how can I be of service to you? We aid everyone, including each other.” Her tail stilled, but continued to twitch at the silky tip in interest.

“Together, there are no limits to what we might achieve, be it big or small, many or few.”

His tail swayed too, though he drew a slow, thoughtful breath and held fast for a moment while he thought what to say--what to follow that with, even. Oh, well, really I have.. everything. I just.. I appreciate the understanding company, very much. he said, wholly sincere as he mustered himself well enough to say so. Thankfully, like so very much here, hers was an easy, healing presence and for that he was lucky when he wanted conservation despite his utter lack of elegance at it. So far, all of his encounters in the willows had come easily, even when he felt vulnerable and weak. It was going away, though, and in time, hopefully come spring, all of his hurts could be long gone from him.

He held no doubt. Once, his respite had seemed an impossible turn and now look at him on his first true upswing in so many moons. It is good.. to have this, and after loss for so long, I do.. sometimes still have to remind myself it's for real, he said, sighing softly with a tiny hint of an almost-laugh, admiring how swiftly it had changed once he was able to fall into the right places. He was content here for the first time in what, how long? He didn't know anymore, not when all of his days lost and searching blurred so terribly. Now, such peace took some getting used to. Do you.. want to walk with me? If you have a favorite trail..or, anything, I'd like to see it..? he asked, or suggested, but more like somewhere in between. His ankle was feeling up to it if he kept being careful about it of course, and he still felt like he had so much of the willows to see and acquaint with properly, and this could be a good way to, he believed.

Silas was almost too polite for his own good — but it stemmed from a place of authenticity, so it was a thing that Olive held in high regard. She, too, was a conscious creature.  “Then company you shall have,” she bade him.  "Just know, if there is anything I can ever do for you… Please don’t hesitate to ask.” Olive curled her tail around her, where it lay virile and twitching upon the earth.  “I would love the chance to one day repay your loyalty.”

He then spoke of sometimes not know if it was real, which was a problem that Olive was deeply familiar with. Was it possible for a place so intrinsically healing to exist — and did it truthfully seem to exist outside the realms and rules of other wolves? Was Elysium truly as safe as she imagined it to be? The druid could only operate off of the information she was provided by the universe and all of creation, so she took her affirmations wherever she could.  “Have you seen the star that Moonspear gifted to Elysium?” This was one of the things that, whenever she gazed upon it, reminded her that the magic of Elysium was real — it was as real as this star, and if this thing could exist, then so could paradise. 

She trotted forward a pace or two, pointing the way with an eager nose and a raised paw, very pointer-like indeed.

He had become a creature of simple, uncomplicated wants now that his most basic of needs were met on the regular. The months before now had just taught him to be painfully frugal, evidently. He was just all too happy to have it feel easy again, and to be able to do so in the good company he had come upon--this he knew undoubtedly so as he nodded deeper to her words, as he would keep them close to his heart in the days turned weeks to hopefully follow.

Nevertheless, he was eager to listen and his ears perked with new fascination when she brought up a star the sanctuary had been gifted. Soon enough after, he let his paws drifting forward into a trot to accompany after her lead and the pace she began to set before his wondering could get ahead any. Oh? No I have not.. not yet, he answered, but went on wanting to hear more; he had preferred a more behind-the-scenes approach to the festival's going-ons so he did not realize the full extent of treasures that others had brought to the willows. To have been given a star was certainly not a gift he would have thought about to give--mostly because he didn't know how to catch them anyway.

I’ll close this up here <3

Olive grinned a toothy grin, all-too-excited to show off Elysium’s newest wonder. It really was quite a charm; not only because it was a celestial being fallen from the heavens, but because it was given to them by Moonspear — a group of wolves that she was pretty sure had come to hate her. Charon not only had come to their fertility festival, but he donated such a stone and then fervently took part in the festivities, as if he really believed in them. Was there anything that Olive could have wanted more for her fête?

“Well then, follow me!” she encouraged the man with a flourish of her tail and a pounce forward, but then she deigned to wait for him and take a slow, steady pace so that they might get a chance to speak evermore.