Firefly Glen I've been burning my heart out

Tagging @Holland! Sorry for the short starter

As promised from the other day, the dark huntress awaited the night with anticipation and gave a quick, short howl for the medic that joined the glen not too long ago. Luna managed to find a bundle of moss on her way back, and while cobwebs were either frozen or nowhere to be seen -- there will always be a next time. As disappointed as she was. The raven sat idly in the middle of a clearing and winced at the sky with a smile on her face -- ah, what a sight! The glen's clearing provided a vast veiw of those tiny specks which illuminated the sky. Her hopes to find a constellation or two here weren't too slim afterall...

A howl, a call. For him specifically. Holland roamed outside of his den, looking around before identifying it as Lunaria. Since it was not panic, he assumed she was doing good on her vow to show him the stars. He could always ignore it - he had work to do - but if he did, she would find him. 

So he marched toward her direction, finding the ebony woman waiting for him. There was some moss at her paws. He grunts, giving a curt nod of appreciation. "You found some" he remarks as he closes the distance. From what he could see, the foliage was in good condition.

The sound of footsteps nearby made her head spin to the side, a soft smile flashed towards the approacher. "I have! Not too shabby, right?" The dame responded eagerly, using a paw to fondle her find and trace the strange, grassy texture it gave off. "Unfortunately, I could not find you a fresh batch of cobwebs, I hope you don't mind..." She glanced back up at him with an apologetic look in her eyes. There was an intent to find it, but it ultimately failed. Luna was looking forward to knowing he'd have the rare material during winter too. It was a challenge that distracted her from the hellstorm going on but now......

Oops, she was frowning.

Luna blinked and quickly looked away to clear her throat akwardly before turning to face him again. This wasn't a matter to really be upset about, but lately it seemed like any small inconvenience put a damper in the she-wolf's mood. Lunaria didn't wish to reflect that on other people -- she needed to be her usual self to let the others feel that everything was going to be okay -- ecspecially with all the stress inducing events happening.

And so her smile returned, albeit with a hint of nervous laughter.  "Now then, come sit in the grass with me Hol. I wish to show you something..."

"I found cobwebs" he would say to her. Holland didn't know why she seemed so upset over not finding them. He could cope, surely. Maybe she just wanted to be friends, and seeing herself lacking the material made her think she was lesser in his eye. He squinted lightly. "it's fine."

He tried to reassure her but he always failed to do so correctly. Holland didn't blame her if she walked away, but she didn't. Instead, Lunaria offers to show him something. He moves toward her, settling on the grass a few steps away. "What is it?" he says, fully expecting it to be about the stars she liked so much.

He seemed worried, like he upset her in some way, and Luna would give him a simple, reassuring smile. "Don't worry! I'm doing fine." lie. "--A little stressed due to the upcoming events with the saints and all, but nothing too serious. Hehe...." For someone who talks a whole bunch, the raven sure felt uncomfortable when it came to talking about her feelings. She was used to being the therapist rather than the patient -- it just felt much more natural when others came to her with their problems so she could comfort them. The other way around? Not so much...

"Now then--"; any change in atmosphere would cause her to quickly change the subject. "I picked a nice spot for us to begin our lesson! The sky looks so nice over here and there's plenty of eye-candy to look at." She said dreamily while her nose pointed to the sky, slowly but surely falling onto her back until there was a plop in the snow. It was time to get comfortable anyhow -- her favorite part was coming.

"Tell me Hol --" lifting a paw and squinting one eye, Luna 'Pointed' to a specific part of the sky she wanted Holland to pay attention to, turning her head to look at him from the lied position she was in. "That alignment of stars right there. What do you see when you look at it?"

Lunaria was quick to change the subject and lucky for her, Holland didn't pry into lives unless they were vitally wrong. He suspected everyone in the Glen was on edge after the discovery of the potential kidnapping. He merely went along with the woman beside him now, as she instructed him in the fine arts of stargazing. "A constellation" the man would say flatly as he followed her eyes.

But which one? He would roll his shoulders somewhat. "I suspect it has a story attached" all the star signs did. But what would Lunaria give him? A different version than he had heard, perhaps. "the land I came from before" he began "they believed the constellations were gods" how ridiculous, for he never felt their gaze on him in that realm "and had names for them. I do not know if they were special or unique to that particular land though."

Image for reference

Despite a small part of her wanting relay her emotions, the change of topic relieved her and she sighed through her lips, feeling that she could breath again.

"You are right about that, it is a constellation--" she answered with a chuckle, figuring that much was already obvious enough. "--though, just like all which appear in the sky, it is one that only appears during a certain time of year. This one in specific is called Hydrus -- the southern water snake..."

There were many stories attached to Hydrus in particular -- as were all of the sky's constellations. She could go on and on about how some looked to Hydrus and a sky Guardian for its creator and the mortals on earth, or how others thought of it as a sign that an avalanche was arriving the very next day and to stay clear of mountains -- but for the present, she chose to listen to Holland's view on the subject.

It never occurred to Luna that Holland's previous home held curiousities about astronomy as well, made her wonder what his past was like... "I see they practice polytheism as well? I'm aware that alot of packs, including my own, focus on it too--" she continued while turning back to him "--though this is the first time I've heard of one who sought out constellations as gods of some sorts. What else did your previous home think these gods do?"

Hydrus. Some serpent of the water. He nodded to let the woman know he was listening to her. "It was no home" Holland corrected her softly "it was merely a place I had wandered into" But she had asked about the gods in those lands, correct? The medic huffed slowly "they believed each wolf was born under a specific constellation. It showed that god's favor in you strongest."

As for what the gods asked, he was never sure on that. They had been silent when he arrived, and further silent when he departed. Yet he knew some of the wolves there viewed others as herectics. "Some could glance at you and know what sign - and if they did not like what they saw..." he trailed off, scoffing "it is akin to not liking a coat color. Yet they would take it too far."

And some even killed in the name of the signs they considered bad.

Hearing his words nearly made her visibly cringe, if not by a little bit, with a humming sound leaving her mouth. There was a reason Lunaria decided to stay agnostic as opposed to dedicating her life to the gods and goddesses of her home tribe -- it was because of things like this. When you become to dedicated to a religion, you are more likely to punish others in order to achieve the approval of the very deities you worship.

She looked down, brows furrowed. "Holl, did you...." 'Did you have a bad encounter with these people?' Is what she wished to ask, but Luna decided to save it. If the sire wanted to share anything more, he would've done so by now like the story he had willingly shared now. Perhaps another time. The huntress cleared her throat and turned back towards the sky. "You know, there isn't a problem with religion and folklore created by packs, it is the foundation of many intriguing tales to share, lots of rich culture to invest in, but --" she took a moment to pause and look back at him. "--It becomes a problem when it is used to harm and belittle others."

It vaguely allowed Luna to remember a land EaglePeak was once allied with from the past, one that participated in the sacrifices of others for their gods. One that punished others for mating outside of their assigned marriages -- and how they viewed anything outside of heterosexuality as an act of heresy. How foolish Luna was to seek the love of a woman from that very pack....

And now that woman was gone.

Lunaria chose not to think about it. Lunaria didn't want to think about anymore. She would destroy herself at the thought of thinking that her death was her fault...

Subject changed again,  focusing on Holland this time. "It appears you've done quite a bit of traveling in your life then. What other lands have you visited before the glen? What of...your home?"

"I never met the zealots" he said now, as if guessing what she wanted to ask "yet I heard of them in that land. I heard they sacrificed children if they were born under an 'evil' sign" the ghost of a snarl, his singular eye burning with quiet anger "they were natives of that land."

Lunaria wanted to continue, and he let her. He didn't care what a person believed in, or chose to live by, as long as it was not hurting others in the process. He did not even care what sexuality a being was; as long as it was not forced down his throat. Holland was not the type to be very... romantic. Toward anyone.

"Home" he croaked, flinching at the title "I have no home" he paused, glancing away "this Glen is a house. The place I was born... is no longer in my active thoughts."

Just like she'd been doing, Luna listened only to what Holland was okay with talking about at the time, and it seemed that he wasn't entirely uncomfortable sharing information about that place. Hearing about the sacrifice of others and children alike -- just for being born under the 'wrong sign' -- it made her queasy. It was funny, really, how quickly an original tale could be easily twisted into something that encouraged discrimination. All for the sake of being in the good graces of those you serve....

Except it wasn't funny at all -- it was the same bullshit that caused 's family to look her in the eyes one day and decide she was no longer deserving of a life like the rest....

Despite how her jaw tightened, the raven continued to lend an ear to Holland's words -- this time noticing the way he flinched at her question. She looked towards the healer worriedly for a moment,  and then shifted her gaze back to the darkened sky with a sigh and closed eyes. This was fine; as long as he wasn't pushing himself to tell parts of his tale, then she wouldn't force it -- the only exception being when she felt it was necessary, like the time where she encouraged Taikon to cry out the very emotions which seemed to harm him.

"A 'home'--" Luna began softly. "--it is a place that you are able to seek comfort in and feel vulnerable in a good way. For some, that definition isn't always their birthplace. I just hope you find the 'home' you seek one day." The woman did not know if her words carried the same weight to him as it did to her, but her own definition of home just felt fitting in this case. Not as a way to tell Hol how he should be looking at life, but just to offer her perspective on the matter.

Luna sat up from her lied position and stared down with the same goofy ass smile she always wore, something that would be considered uncharacteristic in their current conversation. "This 'house' as it is now, is it starting to feel like home yet? Or is your search for home still an ongoing one?"

"Not sure" he remarks honestly to Lunaria. It was all he could give her, for he didn't know what spring would be like in the Glen. Would it be insufferable like all the others? Would he feel the itch to roam far away from the happy couples and retreat into himself again? Not sure was a good start.

"The wolves are... acceptable. The Glen suits my needs for darkness" and there was plenty of patients when they needed help. "yet 'home' is a quest... I think... that deserves to not be taken quickly." He would see it on his own time, he suspected. See if the Glen was a good home for him or not.

"What's 'acceptable' supposed to mean?" She snorted humorously, though rhetorically at the same time, as an answer wasn't necessary. It probably meant he needed some time warming up to everyone,  though Hol could be his own judge in what he actually meant. "Well, even if you do get tired of the glen one day, I hope your journey in finding the meaning of 'home'  is an eventful one. Although..."  A turn to look at him, with a playfully smug expression on her face, trying not to laugh herself. "...I doubt you'd want to leave me behind -- I make you laugh with my sense of humor afterall..."

Luna didn't doubt he'd have plenty of work to immerse himself in at all -- with things like breeding season and tensions between the saints going on. Though the huntress couldn't particularly call it good timing for mating season to be coming around the corner when a potential war was around the corner, and a kidnapper on the lose. You might as well be throwing you pups into the midst of danger, and Luna hoped things did not have to escalate like that.

With a sigh, and a smile that looked more tired than anything,  the ebony woman's focus turned back towards the sky. They'd been so busy talking about something else, she nearly forgot why they came here in the first place. "I haven't started talking about the fundamentals of Hydrus yet, but perhaps you'd like to teach me a little something more about your work before we move on?" The two did promise to trade knowledge with each other afterall, and she still had much to learn about Holland's craft.

Holland does not answer, suddenly aware he may offend Lunaria with his honest opinion. He did not much care for bowing to a boy-alpha, at least not right away. The others seemed to leave him alone save for Keres and the woman beside him. He found that was acceptable - for now. But the breeding season was woefully near the Teekons now.

He was acutely aware of some women looking to him for things. The family in the Glen was close but they needed to branch out, else their blood mingled uncomfortably. Holland was just... there. Existing. Not using anything genetics gave him. "So if I leave, I have to take you with me?" he sighs dramatically "I suppose I could do with a worse companion..."

Lunaria still wanted to talk about Hydrus, but she also wanted to learn a bit about his trade. "Mm. Depends what you want to learn?"

"What other option do you have? It's either me or no food for the winter!" Luna quipped again with a mischievous grin. Though she wasn't exactly suggesting she'd come with, the thought sounded fun -- similar to how she traveled and hunted briefly with Macaria sometime ago as a loner. Though those days were gone, and she didn't really see herself leaving the Glen anytime soon. 

Still, Lunaria would gladly bid him farewell if that was his decision for the future, in hopes that he'd find a place to call his own.

To Holland's question,  she hummed and took a moment to think about what she'd be asking. Then, a small memory came to mind: "Tell me how you treat wounds. I know wolves of your trade depend on certain plants to heal wounds, but do you just slab in on, or what?" The moon nymph could briefly recall her sister, Terraka, and her mentorship as a medic back in EaglePeak. Herbs being used to treat wounds were on of the things being taught to her, but it wasn't something Luna very much understood.

Holland typically begrudged, but this time he accepted it. Lunaria was not so bad. He rather liked to spend time with her, and he assumed that she found his company enjoyable else she'd be somewhere else. He snorted again, half exhausted and half humor.

But he chose to focus on her curiosity. She had taught him about stars. He had taught her about religious differences. She now wanted to know about dressing wounds. "It depends on the wound" he utters truthfully "some do not need plants to heal them. Some need a good lick."

It helped calm down someone in distress faster than a foul smelling poultice. "Unpopular" he says gruffly "because they expect you to shove plants down their throats. If you don't, they question it. As long as they stop the flow of blood after it secretes enough to stave infection..."

He pauses, closing his eyes. "The wound will not open if they're careful." They only then needed to be further careful, else he would make a poultice.