Whitebark Stream We should go have a look

@Daylily! Backdated to take place the day of his joining thread.

After the leaders went off on their own, it was just him & the wolfess named Daylily. [& he thought Dawn was a pretty name!] Connor gave a courteous dip of his crown & a gentle wave of his tail. It's a pleasure to meet you, Daylily. I hope it's not too much trouble for you to show me around.

Daylily flushed when Connor spoke to her. “N-no!” she said quickly, “it-it’s no trouble! I-I’d be happy to show you around!” She hummed as she thought of where to take him first. “Maybe I should show you the safest place to go to get water from the stream first,” she mused. “The bank can be steep in places. I-I wouldn’t want to you to fall in, or slip on the ice and hurt yourself.” She began to wander further into the territory, and waved her tail for him to follow, looking at him over her shoulder. “So…” she began, feeling quite shy. “What brought you out here?”

She quickly assured him it was no trouble. He was perplexed as to what had Daylily so flustered but wasn't quite naive enough to ask & make it worse. Perhaps she was just shy. She pondered aloud on where to take him first, & her decision pertained to his safety. I wouldn't want that, either. That's very thoughtful of you, He agreed, appreciative that they thought similarly.

Connor followed when she walked off & easily fell into step with several strides of his long legs. She asked what brought him here, & he answered, It's a long story, but I recently escaped from this strange human place with my friend Hank, though we became separated. I didn't know where to go, but I knew I wouldn't make it on my own out here, especially in the middle of winter... His eyes had trailed to the ground as he somberly explained his predicament. The horrors he experienced in his time there flashed before his eyes, & Connor shook his head as if shaking them away. It wasn't very effective. So... I'm very grateful your pack has welcomed me in. He gave a little smile, though it was forced. He just wanted to think of something, anything else.

sorry this took so long. on a good note, this is my new favorite post lmao.

Daylily smiled when Connor said he appreciated that she was looking out for him. She tried to keep herself from acting a fool again, though, and turned quickly away from him. She listened as he spoke of his past, and was almost immediately confused. Human place? she wondered. What’s a human? But something in his tone told her not to ask. He didn’t seem exactly happy to be dredging up his past, and now she felt bad for even asking. When he said he was thankful that Whitebark Stream had taken him in, she nodded over-enthusiastically and tried to think of something else to talk about. 

Unfortunately, her mind was filled only with her religious teachings and she could think of nothing that someone secular would want to talk about. Goddess help me, she thought desperately. Goddess. The moon. “So, uh, the moon is very beautiful, isn’t it?” Daylily looked up at the sky, as though looking for it—though it was daytime. Had she hands she would have facepalmed, but instead she only cringed and looked wildly about.

He was grateful she eagerly switched topics, though the one she chose perplexed him. Furrowing his brow, he followed her gaze skywards but didn't see the moon. I don't think it's out right now, but yes, Connor said with an awkward smile. What has you thinking about the moon at this time of day?

Daylily could have died of embarrassment in this moment. She prayed she would suddenly turn invisible so she could slip away unnoticed, but no such thing happened. There she remained, still beside Connor, who was now wondering why she was thinking about the moon in the middle of the day. Now she had to make a decision. Was she going to tell this total stranger about her religion and risk him thinking her a fool? Through her association with others besides those in Oakstead, she had quickly learned that not everyone believed in the Lord and the Lady as she did. She hesitated, but in the end, her steadfastness in her faith pushed her to explain.

“I think of the moon and sun often, as well as many other things in nature. Trees, flowers, the water flowing in streams and rivers. Such things are part of my… religion.” Here, she glanced sideways at him out of the corner of her eye, trying to gauge his reaction to this revelation. If he seemed against the idea of it, she would not continue down this line of conversation.

Connor nodded when she explained her reasoning. He didn't think he could ever be religious, being one who only believed what could be observed & proven true. Perhaps he just took too many things at face value, but nonetheless, he respected that Daylily had her own beliefs. Actually, he was curious to learn more about them.

I've never heard of such a religion before. I'd be interested to hear about it if you'd like to enlighten me. He also figured it would be a comfortable talking point for her & hoped that being in her element would help Daylily relax a little.

Daylily breathed a sigh of relief when Connor seemed actually interested in what she was saying, as opposed to shocked or disgusted, or even simply bored. She smiled shyly at him and began to talk about her religion, and what her home life had been like back at Oakstead. After a while, it became easier to speak freely, and she became more and more comfortable around the boy. Little did she know just how short a time she’d have with him before he disappeared from Whitebark altogether…