Northstar Vale loving

Meadow sought @Tamar. The she-wolf had been stretched thin the past weeks—Arsenio had been seeking his children and now Maxim was missing… leaving a broken Towhee, who had needed to escape for the time being. 

Why don’t you take a walk or rest? I can watch the boys, she offered, her eyes drifting them from to study the Morphe. Before, she would have all but pushed Tamar from the den and insisted but now, where a rift had come between them all, she wasn’t as confident Tamar would wish her to watch over her pups.

she had become thin.

arsenio hunted daily for her, but the demands of the pack had whittled tamar's small frame until it was shadow-smudged eyes in a narrowing face.

still, she was grateful to meadow, and slipped from the den with a low sigh of relief to stretch her limbs. "i just need some air." in truth, it was good to speak aloud to someone else.

Tamar stretched—her once flawless pelt would have glinted in the sunlight—but now she thinned, her figure growing gaunt-like, and her fur less lustrous. Concern fluttered in the silver woman’s breast and she reached forward to preen at the mother, a frown marring her features. “A walk, and something to eat, please,” she murmured, only then taking a step back once more to appraise her. “Reyson would have something to share, if you see him—something perhaps fresher than the cache.”

When her eyes drifted over @Saleem and @Sylianos, she softened, though her concern did not waver. “You’re not alone in this, Tamar… I promise.”

cameo! sorry for the double-tag, chelsie, but i've been wanting to establish this quirk. >:)

Saleem was oblivious to his mother's deteriorating state. If anything, he was partly responsible for it. Never wary of strangers who smelled of the vale, his tail waved excitedly behind him when he realized there was another face here.

"New face!" he said to @Sylianos in cryptophasia, a language he shared only with his brother. But quickly his attention wavered, and he went back to chewing on his antler.

Single post cameo for me as well, can be powerplayed if needed. ^_^

Sylianos poked his head up from the hole he was slowly digging to try and get a look at the new face. He caught Meadow's gaze as she looked over them and looked quickly away, the picture of youthful shyness. "Sun Eyes," he commented in his and Saleem's secret language before going back to his hole.

she still had arsenio.

towhee had no one. that tamar's children had left their home did not mean she would not see them again.

she took a raw-laced breath.

"i cannot do this without arsenio, meadow. lead." and she gave her sister a soft look, one questioning, one — wondering.

The boys’ gaze grazed over her—they spoke something softly to one another and unperturbed by her presence, continued on with their play. So innocent in so many ways—unaffected by the heartache that seemed to plague the adults of the vale.

Meadow, too, could only hope that one day, they would all heal and move forward once more. It was hard not to miss the sun on the darker days in life—but without them, would anyone truly appreciate it’s magnificent warmth and rays?

Just as she made to settle in and keep eye on the duo, Tamar spoke, drawing the silver woman’s gaze to her. A plea, she felt, rather than a demand. Her features softened—her friend unable to realize she did not need another by her side. “I am here for whatever you need,” she agreed quietly. Whether it was that she intercepted others at the borders, or simply held a title to ensure her friend felt less weight on her shoulders—she could do so.

Her and Reyson remained unwilling to simply vanish in the middle of the night—hopeful that healing could begin. She continued to study the stunning she-wolf before her—though frail in the moment, she remained the definition of grace and beauty. “And as your friend, I will remind you that according to your daughter, who is wise beyond her years, that you and your husband are Kunosoura. The star within Epoch that all the other stars circle. They will gravitate home, when they are ready.”

oh, weeping.

oh, tears.

tamar had never been referred to as such, and therefore she had never considered herself a constant, a star.

kunosoura. she heard arsenio's tongue there and through the wetness of her eyes there was a shine of deepest love and fine gratitude.

"then i must stay here and be home when they return."

voice unwavering, resolute with the strength meadow had passed to her in that moment.

“Yes,” she agreed—relief flooding her as Tamar’s voice strengthened, as if the words had grasped the soul of her friend and worked to lift her from the fog in which she remained. Pulling her back to the light—as the Kunosoura, she should shine brightest of them all.

“You must be here, and you must be healthy and at your best.” A small smile—a glimpse of healing between the two.

They could overcome all of this. Epoch would thrive, despite the shadow that had temporarily befallen them.

they would thrive.

a breath, then another. "i wanted to keep the lore of my home. i think i will do it now," tamar made in a soft declaration.

epoch would go on.

Tamar seemed to hold a fresh breath of air—of possibility. Meadow encouraged this with a nod, rising to her paws and closing the distance between the two of them. Pressing her forehead to the other woman’s, she smiled. “Now go. Take a moment to yourself. Truly, for yourself. I will watch the boys until you are ready to come back.”

and so she would.

the future held.

their friendship also.

tamar took this moment to breathe, and when she returned, it would be with rejuvenation.