Whitefish River I'll lift you up again

@Winterbourne ❤
Back dated to directly after this thread

Lulled by the soft breathing of the silver boy tucked to his side, eventually, sleep comes for Evergreen, too. Peaceful, comfortable. Alas, the bear has a tendency to move in his sleep. The close proximity in which the two were curled up in gradually becomes a weird tangle of legs as Eve shifts to lay on his right, his plush belly glues to Winterbourne’s side. One hindleg kicks to rest overtop the other male’s hips. It is hours later, when they begin to stir. The sound of birds chirping comes first, and Evergreen’s sleep fog mind slowly kicks into gear. Yet he is too comfortable where he is to open his green eyes, and instead, attempts to will himself back to sleep.

He feels suffocated as he stirs to consciousness. Trapped and overheated, the boy squirms and whines softly in Evergreen's embrace. His effort to free himself is half-hearted, however, fading as he wakes fully and recalls the morning's events. He goes still after a few moments, focusing on keeping his breathing even. It'll be fine, he tells himself, he'll wake up soon. Or he'll roll over and suffocate me. He pushes the last thought away, a little ashamed. This moment would be enjoyable if he could breathe.

A whine breaks through to him, and at first, Evergreen thinks it’s himself, before the rough texture of the voice finally registers. Groggily, the bear blinks his eyes open. He stares, vision adjusting. Why is he awake again? Oh, yeah. His head weakly lifts, forearm closest to him tucking to his chest. “Hmm…?” Is all his mind gives him as he tries to make words. He stares without really registering what’s going on, just wanting to make sure Winterbourne is okay.

His fussing seems to rouse Evergreen, and it startles him a little. His ears perk at the wordless inquiry, but he can't come up with a response for several beats. There doesn't seem to be any polite way to point out his current predicament. Ummmm, He says, shifting to face Evergreen. For a moment, he almost thinks that he has it — that he knows what to say — Hi. Okay, maybe not. His cheeks flush a little, but he's too distracted by the brilliant green of his companion's undamaged eye to think about his embarrassment much more.

Scrunching his nose, the bear struggles to resist searching over Winterbourne for possible issues, like an injury that he missed earlier. That requires moving, however, and he isn’t quite ready to do that at the moment. His sleepy mind says he should just curl back up and snooze. Alas, worry wins out and he blinks blearily at the silver man, unaware of how strange their circumstances may seem. Ears twitch at the sound of his gravelly voice; harder for Eve to understand now that he isn’t able to focus a hundred percent on it. But he catches the greeting easy enough, and it seems that whatever worries the bear has fade with it. “Hi,” he greets with a sleepy smile, his cheeks round and his eyes closing just a tad—relaxed again. A yawn suddenly forces his jaws apart, and the bear stretches his forearms forward—the one he tucked close to his chest sticking straight above Winterbourne’s pack, toes flexing. “Sleep well?”

For a moment, he forgets his prior concerns, caught up in the tenderness of the moment (something he hasn't felt in months) — then Evergreen's smile suddenly makes him uncomfortable in a way he doesn't recognize. Fortunately, he doesn't have time to linger on it. His companion's yawn catches him off-guard, and he tenses, bolting from the embrace with silver fur fluffed when one massive brown leg stretches over him. He stumbles a little, ending up planted firmly on his butt several steps away from Evergreen.
Embarrassment heats his face, and words are tumbling from him before he can stop himself. Don't do that, It comes out louder than he'd meant, though he's not quite yelling, tone sharp with anxiety and a hint of anger. He sounds more desperate than firm, though, and it registers a beat after he says it, sending another flush of heat through him. He rises abruptly and turns away, ears flat to his skull as he tries to hide the various emotions flooding him.

It all happens quickly, and at once. Evergreen is stunned. Sleepy mind awakening anew, in his attempts to figure out what happened. One moment, Winterbourne seemed peacefully tucked next to him, the next, his fur bristled and steps away. Distant. A barrier placed between them in the form of the silver male’s back. Evergreen shifts so his belly lays along the ground. His head lowers, ears flattening. He feels guilty for ruining the moment.

“I’m sorry,” he apologies without missing a beat, genuine and honest mismatched eyes peering up at Winterbourne carefully. “I… I, uhm, won’t do it again.”

The apology soothes some of the heat stinging his face and ears, but it's not enough to calm him fully. Yeah, okay, He says quietly, sullen now as he glances back toward Evergreen. No amount of apologizing will undo the action, which is what he really wants, and part of him can't help thinking of his companion as thoughtless. Surely he ought to have known better; maybe he simply didn't care. Either way, it's done now, and Winterbourne is determined to sulk.

Truth be told, Evergreen is uncertain what he did to cause him to react in such a manner. He stays practically glued to the floor, feeling cold now that Winterbourne has slipped away from him… definitely no longer comfortable. He already misses it.

“Uhmm,” Eve starts—nervous. The tension thick enough that it’s almost suffocating. He’s bad at this though, and does not know how… make him feel better. “Wanna… walk? I can… show you around.”

He starts to feel bad when Evergreen begins to respond again, but he's still too shaken to apologize for his own behavior. Sure, He agrees a little stiffly, unable to meet his companion's gaze. After a moment, he turns away again, waiting for the other to lead the way.

Exploring might break the ice again, but Evergreen remains ever cautious. With Winterbourne’s stiff agreement, the bearish wolf slowly gets to his feet; his body still sluggish from the nap. Escaping the grasp of the tree den, the Count begins to lead the way through Kaistleoki’s territory, slipping further into the forested area behind the great tree. He tries to focus on the task at hand, instead of the hurt that begins to form—he has not been rejected fully by the silver male, so there is still… a chance, hopefully.

“I haven’t spent much time exploring back here yet,” he says, attempting to fill the stretching silence.

He follows in silence, secretly grateful for the distraction despite his sour expression. His ears remain pinned back, tail low and stiff behind him as he walks, but his silence is not entirely unfriendly. Still, he makes no effort to break it until Evergreen speaks — and even then, it takes him a moment to formulate a response. Maybe we'll find something cool, He offers, features softening slightly. There is still an awkward tension to his tone, but the prior resentment is mostly absent now. He's found that Evergreen makes it rather difficult to stay in a bad mood.

He wants so badly to make it right, but he knows he can only do so much. So for now, Evergreen does his best to keep his head up and mood bright. A grin—albeit shy—stays on his lips as he strides onward. Round ears alert and mismatched eyes seeking that "something cool" Winterbourne speaks of. He hopes so, it would be nice and maybe it'll help.

Hear that? He asks, looking over his shoulder towards the silver male with a smile that's more excited and sure. Cheeks lifting up towards his eyes. Ahead, he heard splashing, and while the rush of the river so close almost deafens it, Evergreen pinpoints it. Swerving a bit to the right, he marches onward with confident steps. Hidden away from the main areas of the pack is a stream, with a series of small waterfalls flowing over rocks.

A few more moments pass before Evergreen speaks again, but Winterbourne's ears are already perked toward the sound in the distance. Yeah, He murmurs, too distracted to focus on speaking clearly. His pace picks up a little as his companion leads them toward it, and after a few beats he passes him, coming to a halt when his toes just barely graze the water's edge. He's never seen a waterfall before, even a small one such as these. It's an enchanting sight.
He turns to Evergreen almost immediately, gaze bright and full of wonder, and for a moment, his youth truly shines through. Look! Isn't it pretty? He gestures toward the water with his muzzle, forgetting in his excitement that Evergreen had been the one to spot it first. Unexpectedly, he thinks of Kitten, and how much he would have loved to share this moment with her — and then of Eventide, and his mother, and Aditya. His expression falls slightly, gaze dropping and drifting away from his companion for a moment. He doesn't want to ruin the moment, though, so he forces his focus back to Evergreen with a slightly bitter attempt at a smile.

Seeing Winterbourne get so excited leaves the bear feeling rejuvenated. Any dark clouds that hung over him disappear, sun instead shining brightly down upon them. He bites his lips, cheeks heated underneath his thick coat as he moves after the silver male. He follows Winterbourne's lead, and dips his toes. The water's chill sending a shiver up his spine; pleasant.

His eyebrows shoot up as honey eyes turn to him. Youthful cheer consuming Winterbourne's face in a way Evergreen hadn't quite witnessed before. It makes his own expression soften, staring almost dazed at the silver male when he exhales out; Yeah... 'Pretty.'

And yet, Winterbourne deflates seconds later. Gaze casting away from the bear and into a realm outside of their own. Hey, Eve speaks up, clearing his throat a moment later. Uh, wanna name it for us?