Blacktail Deer Plateau frozen in timeless aura, a catalyst of colors

@Blue Willow <3 She's waited a long while for this!

Day after day, there was the same grey emptiness. Faces came and went, questing eyes searched the vacant caverns of his own while lips moved, speaking things that went unheard. Within him, winter had fallen upon the landscape of his consciousness and trapped him in frozen, suspended silence, a living death. Some distant part of him recognized those faces, heard those words, and tore at the walls of his inner prison as he howled and screamed to be heard. But of this, nothing showed on the exterior. For his companions, there was only a blank, thousand-yard stare and slack-jawed silence.

Yet today…something felt different today. The sun was too bright -- for someone had made him comfortable outside of a den somewhere, it seemed -- and it made his eyes water. His lip twitched in mild annoyance and discomfort, an ear flicked, and he blinked...

Yay!

Blue was busy as usual taking care of those around her and keeping an eye on Atticus. Still refusing to give up hope, as everyone else around her did. She blatantly refused to believe that there was no hope, that he wouldn't come back to her or maybe them. She didn't know it would take some time she supposed even after he came back, and there could be permanent damage. She sighed and then tilting her head she shifted and looked over at him, to watch him, trace the contours of him looking for a change.

She froze as she thought she saw his eye blink and his ear twitch, but she wasn't certain. She studied him a little longer and then looked back down at the herbs she was separating and putting back into skins, making sure to put the older ones in the front.

He blinked again, the discomfort of the sun in his eyes becoming ever more annoying, but he did not understand what it was that made him uncomfortable, nor could he figure out what to do about it. Sounds had begun to trickle into his awareness at some point in the last several hours, and he now became aware of loud, irksome buzzing. Slowly, his head dropped and his eyes fell to a tiny yellow flower near his foot, where a fuzzy bumblebee wallowed in its pollen. He watched the bee, a distant sort of confusion written in his face.

Blue lifted her gaze again and saw Atticus staring down at his feet. This within itself wasn't unusual. He was usually staring off into space or at random things, but this time it seemed different. He was holding his body differently as if....hmmm she wondered softly. Standing to her feet she stepped near him, effectively blocking the sun from view and she just studied him Atticus? Are you okay? She knew he could not answer her, wasn't even sure if he heard her, but she always spoke to him. Just because he was sick did not mean she need to treat him any differently. She studied him unsure what was bothering him so she began to turn her eye to the surrounding area. Hope springs eternal, she remembered her father's words. Most others probably thought she was being foolish, and it would probably turn out to be nothing, but she'd rather check and have it be nothing, than have it be something and ignore it.

He continued to watch the bee, transfixed by the frantic busy-ness of its movements. Methodically, the striped insect bathed itself in golden powder, rubbing its fuzzy sides against the vibrant petals of the flower. Abruptly, it rose and darted to another flower nearby, though Atticus's brain was still running much too slowly to process the sudden movement. He continued staring at the now-empty flower, bewildered. Where had the bug gone? What happened?

Just then, however, a shadow fell across him and there was a sudden relief from the blinding light of the sun. Words were said, though he could not quite put together what they meant just yet. But he looked at her. Just that in itself was a huge change, for in the past, there had been no response whatsoever, no movement to acknowledge that he heard what was being said to him. But this time, he looked at her. His head rose, slowly, and pale blue eyes beheld a face of beauty and compassion. He knew this face. Though he could not place its significance, he felt his heart stir. The confusion he felt at this showed on his face as he gazed up at her.

Blue watched as a bumble bee rose into the air and with striped fuzzy body it moved to the next flower. Atticus continued to stare down at the flower though. She sighed thinking it was just him staring again, but she continued on with her talking and studying him.

She gasped outloud when he looked at her and her tail wagged. He was actually looking at her, when she spoke he heard her. She wanted to jump up and down and scream and cry, but she also knew nothing of his head injury. There could be so much she didn't know and she would have to take these things so slow. He was confused, and for a brief bleak moment she felt her heart sink, what if he could not remember her. Fighting to keep herself calm and under control, she leaned forward and touched her nose once to his and then backed up. She wagged her tail, but tilted her head and was thinking. Oh Atticus I wish I could fix you right away. She frowned, she was actually at a loss, she didn't know what to do and how to figure out what type of healing he needed. She didn't know the extent of the injury, so she just sat down in front of him and waited to try and discern what he could understand and remember. She did not wish to overload his senses, if he was finally waking up, it would be a slow recovery of that she was certain, and she would not call for Peregrine until she was certain it just wasn't a brief moment in time that he was semi lucid.

Omg, you post makes me want to hug her so much. ♥

He continued to look at her, trying to make sense of the mixture of emotions that passed over her face. She seemed excited…why was she so excited? Was she excited about him? Was she excited about the bee? Uncertain, his eyes fell back to the vacant flower, as if the bee were still there. He looked at it, brows furrowed in troubled confusion for a long moment, before looking back up at her. She touched her nose to his for a brief instant, and after the cold, isolated emptiness he'd been trapped in for so long, the contact could be compared to a drink of water after weeks spent in the desert. It warmed something deep within him, and he needed more of it. Whining softly, he pulled himself closer to her, reaching toward her.

Aww thanks<3

Blue knew she wouldn’t be able to hide most of her emotion, because she was just so happy at the moment. She knew he would be okay, she had known it all along. She tilted her head back and wanted to sing, but she was so afraid it would startle him. He had been living in his own head for weeks, what could he understand? What couldn’t he? Would he have to relearn some things? Would he be okay? Would his mind be okay? A million and one questions flew through her mind as she tried hard to figure out what she could to do to help. While at the same time she fought to rein her thoughts in so she didn’t overload herself or him. She had never been this close to someone she was trying to heal, and her emotions at the moment were ruling her.

Blue was surprised, but pleasantly so when he whined and pushed forward. She licked his brow and face and slid her nose across the scruff of his neck gently preening, while humming. Extremely happy to see him awake, he was not well yet, but at least he was awake. She backed up for just a moment to life her nose in the air and howl for @Peregrine all her joy and fear and everything all rolled into one big loud howl. She ghosted back towards him and ran her muzzle along his shoulders and continued to preen his ruff, so happy to give a little bit more care, because he was awake now.

It was funny, the way life balanced itself. Just as he was becoming aware of Saēna's prolonged absence — he wondered if Junior had somehow stolen her away to that damn sisterhood — Blue Willow's voice rose into the air, tinged with excitement and hope. Peregrine blinked and heeded the call immediately, wondering if something had happened or if the Healer was still in good spirits from their recent run.

He enjoyed a healthy sprint, then slowed and approached the Beta's den site at a brisk trot. "You rang?" he said in a breathy voice, his eyes immediately fixing on Atticus. His heart leaped into his throat when, for the first time in weeks, he thought he saw his brother looking back at him.

He closed his eyes, basking in the sensation of her touch. There had been no shortage of contact while he'd been "gone", for he had been kept clean and groomed, but none of it had reached him in his deep, internal prison. He leaned into her motions, a wide smile breaking over his face as his spirit drank deep of an elixir it had needed for far too long.

After a moment, she stepped away and loosed a howl that tore the air asunder with all of the emotions that swirled in its tones. Birds shrieked and took flight from the treetops overhead, such was the force of her song. Atticus's eyes followed their harried escape until they were gone from view, and then his companion resumed her attentions on him and he was again lost in the simple pleasure of her touch. He gazed at her as she gently preened him, the familiarity of her face and her scent prickling him. There was something…a color…he furrowed his brows in troubled bewilderment, and after several seconds of struggling to find his voice, he whispered, "B…Bluuue…" The connection was only barely there and he wasn't really sure why he associated her with that color, but it was clear that, slowly but surely, parts of what had been broken were coming back together again.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind him. Confusion still colored his emotions and etched itself in the lines of his face as he turned his head to look, his eyes following the newcomer's approach.

She watched as he willing closed his eyes and she felt her throat tighten. The tears threatening to overtake her, she was so dratted happy. it had only been a few weeks, but it had felt like lifetimes, that he had been away from them.

She watched as Atticus watched the birds and then he studied her. There was confusion and thoughtful expressions on his face. And it both tore her heart up and sped it up at the same time. She was certain now that he would have to learn a lot over again, or at least take in the sensations of the world around him all over again. it would take some work, but she was confident they could work it out. A gasp fell from Blue's maw at his quiet whisper of her name and she had to fight her body and soul hard, to keep from simply tackling him. This time the tears came in a torrent, and she laughed while she sobbed. Yes Atticus it is Blue. She heard Peregrine's voice and she turned ot look at him with tears and snot and all sorts of unseemingly things in her fur. She brushed her muzzle quickly in the grass and spoke softly. he woke up today Perry. but he is still a little confused it seems. Then she grew quiet and moved gently to the side so Perry could see his brother's wide blue eyes. She however continued to preen and touch, his shoulders and ruff.

Not a second after Blue Willow spoke, Peregrine dropped to the ground in front of his brother, his gaze unfaltering as he stared into those familiar frosty blue eyes. "Atti," he whispered, certain that it was a sentient being that returned his gaze and not just an empty husk anymore.

Without another word, Peregrine dropped his head and pressed it into Atticus's chest, his entire body shaking. "Welcome back, shithead," he muttered, laughing and sobbing simultaneously.

Omg you guys, this thread.. <3

Blue. Yes. She was Blue. He watched her, his eyes clinging to her and following her every move like the watchful gaze of a puppy afraid to take his eyes off his mother. She began to sob, and he couldn't understand why. He whined softly, his expression concerned and perplexed. Was she hurt? But she was smiling and laughing too…was that a good thing?

Then the other wolf approached him, dropping to the ground in front of him and locking eyes with him. Atticus returned his stare, and though he saw the other wolf, recognition wasn't quite there. But again, familiarity tickled the back of his consciousness. He knew this wolf, but couldn't place how or who he was. Nevertheless, the newcomer burrowed his face into Atticus's chest and then he too began to laugh and sob. Truly bewildered, Atticus looked down at the back of his new companion's neck, and thoughts began to materialize in his mind that made no sense. "Pencil…" he muttered, his words slow and his voice hoarse. "…Dick?" He didn't understand why he'd said the words, nor what they meant, but for some reason there had been an itching desire to say them. Distant, vague mists of familiarity still hung, gauzy and opaque, over his memory, and it was from that foggy place that those unexpected words had sprung.

I know it's like a sucker punch to the feels <3

Blue worked hard to gain a semblance of control, especially after Atticus whined. She was doing a terrible job of welcoming him back into a conscious state. She licked the side of his face trying to convey she was alright, just emotional.

Blue laughed harder at his uttered words, of course he would remember the crude language the brothers shared. But she found that she couldn't even care about such crass language. She was just happy he was alright. She studied him and spoke softly, unsure if he would be able to tell her anything or not. Atticus? you alright? She was itching to ask him a plethora of questions, but knew to keep it as simple as she could for the moment.

Hearing his brother's voice for the first time in weeks made Peregrine sob all the harder, big fat tears of happiness rolling down his cheeks as he lifted his head now and looked into Atticus's eyes again. It was clear that he hadn't snapped back to his original state just like that, though this astounding improvement gave Peregrine hope that his brother might fully recover in time. And he let himself hope now. This was only retrograde amnesia or something and soon he would be back with them in his full capacity.

"You," Peregrine said at length, his voice choked with emotion. His eyes were fixed on the Healer's face now. "You brought him back. You never wavered." Peregrine pressed himself to his feet and buried his face in Blue Willow's ruff. "Thank-you. Thank-you for loving my brother and bringing him back to me, Willow."

Thank you for loving my brother, the other wolf said through his tears, and Atticus puzzled over that for a moment. Brother… He had brothers. Didn't he? He struggled to remember, the frustratingly sluggish processes of his mind moving slower than cold molasses. He remembered…anguish and rage, betrayal, a bitter parting…he recalled a white she-wolf…green eyes…things that seemed jumbled-together and made little sense. He remembered laughter and wrestling. He recalled his belly warmed by sunshine as he lazed in the grass alongside someone. A brother.

"Perry!" he blurted, his eyes suddenly bright. There was still a haze of confusion in their depths, but as he looked at his brother now, he truly saw him. The corners of his lips pulled up in a half-grin and the tip of his tail twitched.

Blue sobbed harder the harder Perry sobbed. Her emotions were all out of whack. She did however step a bit aside to let the brothers reunite. Not wanting to rain on their parade so to speak. She was important she knew to both of them, but they had know each other longer. They were brothers, litter mates, so she kept slightly to the side. She however held a happy, though tearful smile on her face.

Blue Willow was taken back by Peregrine burying himself into her fur, but she rubbed her muzzle across his head anyway. it was no hardship Perry to love him, always will, I was glad to do it, and he came back to you I just helped him a little bit. She grew quiet then her voice thickening with emotion, and she couldn’t speak anymore. She had not done much except take care of him, make sure he ate, groom him, lay beside him at night, the rest he did.

Blue laughed on a sob, when Atticus finally said Perry’s name. yes that’s right Perry. She just sat there then to overwhelmed to speak, with tears streaming down her face. She would have track marks for weeks.

Peregrine turned back to Atticus when he yelled, "Perry!" He sniffled and tried to stem the flow of tears. He and Blue Willow were both wrecks and they needed to get their shit together and help coax Atticus further out of his mental fog.

"Yeah, man, that's me. I'm Perry, your handsomer and bigger-dicked brother. How's your head feeling, bonehead?" The Alpha male spoke softly, aware that Atticus might not be able to digest all of that nor respond right away. But he figured that, if they kept talking to him, it would keep drawing him out of the darkness and into the light of true cognizance.

Bored to death in chemistry class and posting on my phone while trying not to be noticed by the professor...moments when you realize how addicted to Wolf you really are, lol.

Atticus watched the interaction between Blue and Perry with a dazed grin on his face, much of what passed between escaping his comprehension. He nevertheless managed to deduce that their jubilation and tears were in celebration of his return. From where, though, he did not know. He caught Blue's mention of loving him, and this would stir up considerably more emotion in him later when his thoughts weren't so sluggish and muddied. For now, Perry asked him how his head felt (and the fact that Atticus didn't parry his brother's dick comment with a scathing retort was testament to how slow his mental processes still were). Confusion glazed Atticus's eyes and he furrowed his brows in concentration for a long moment before he finally managed to answer, "Fuzzy..." He looked up at Blue and Perry, and his words were slow and a little slurred as he continued, "Gone...? Was I...where?"

Blue watched Atticus and she deduced that he was a little slower on the uptake than usual, which was to be expected. But he didn't seem to be unable to understand, just taking things slowly. Blue was not shy about telling whomever and whatever that she loved him, even if the feelings were not returned, she would love him until her dying day. it was the way of things, when she loved she loved hard.

Blue frowned as she tried to figure out how to answer him in layman's terms. There was an accident....hit your head....been sleeping in your head for a few weeks. That was all she knew how to say, she thought perhaps Perry would be able to phrase it more delicately, when it came to healing she was no nonsense if she could help it.

Blue Willow was first to answer Atticus's confused questions, though Peregrine jumped in to add, "You took a nasty spill, Atti, and hit your head. You've been... a zombie since then. It's been a few weeks, maybe a month?" He exchanged a glance with the Healer to confirm the timeline, not that it mattered much. "Welcome back, shit-for-brains." His grin threatened to crack his face. "Are you hungry? Thirsty? Do you need anything? You won't need me to wait on you hand and foot much longer, so here's your last chance, brah..."

As they explained what happened, he reflexively reached a paw up and felt the top of his head, anticipating a large lump or some sharp, shooting pain or something. Oddly, however, there was nothing. It dawned on him that it really must have been a long while for there to be no signs of injury left. A month…it unnerved him that he had lost so much time. It had truly felt like forever when he had been stuck inside himself. But yet sitting here right now, he felt no different than he would have if he had been waking up from an ordinary night's sleep. His face reflected the troubled, jumbled mess of his thoughts that clunked around in his head. "More…wanna know, but…" he said, his speech still slurred and slightly truncated, and he touched his head again, indicating that even though he had more questions, he couldn't ask them or really comprehend the answers just yet. He sighed, frustrated that he couldn't make better sense of things that otherwise should've come to him easily.

Perry asked him if he needed anything, and Atticus grinned at the casual insult. "Food…yes…please?" he said, feeling a small but pesky rumbling in his belly.

Blue noticing all the confusion and frustration laid her ears to her skull. She leaned forward and ran her muzzle across his brow in an attempt to soothe. She didn't know what else to do, this would be a slow healing process and he may never be the same. Its ok Atticus we will take our time go slow, help you understand again it will be a slow process.

Blue shifted and turned towards the outoutskirts of the den intent to get him food, but perhaps Perry would beat her to it, she wasn't entirely sure, but she did know only good things now waited them.

You two can go back and forth as long as you like, then when this thread's ready to conclude, I'll have Perry come back with some food? :D

*gently pushes Willow and Atticus together* Now kiss.

Noticing Blue Willow's movement, the Alpha male said, "No, I'll get it. Stay with him." He rose, though only after touching his nose to Atticus's brow. "I'll go get you some food. In the meantime, don't hurt yourself trying to think." His lips twitched and, in his giddy temper, he was tempted to crack a retard joke. The only reason he didn't was because he didn't want to offend poor Blue Willow.

He hated to leave his brother's side, though Peregrine decided right then and there to hunt down enough game to last several days. Then he would park at Atticus's flank and refuse to move until his fellow Redleaf-DiSarinno fully recovered (or at least made significant improvements). Grinning like an idiot, the swarthy Gamekeeper headed out across the plateau, ready to kill in the name of Atticus's good health.

Thanks Kat! I'll tag ya when we're ready to conclude this. :)

He grinned at Perry's touch, swiping his brother's chin with his tongue in silent thanks. There would come a time later when Atticus would grasp the enormity of just how much Peregrine and Blue Willow had done for him, and he would be rocked to his very core by the incredible and unconditional love it had taken for them to care for him as they had. For now, though, such grand realizations eluded him, and he watched his brother trot briskly away, leaving him alone with Blue.

Several long moments passed in silence as he gazed, distant and unfocused, in the direction his brother had disappeared. And then, just when it might have appeared he had lapsed back into his stupor, he said softly, "You were with me." His speech was still very slow, and he had to concentrate really hard to keep from slurring, but he continued onward. "Blue. Errything aroun' me was blue, 'cuz of you." He moved his forepaw, holding it over his heart. "It kep' me here." He turned his eyes up to her, something vast and powerful just beneath the surface of that pale blue gaze. There was no fog there; his brain may have been slow and confused, but his heart was not.