Redhawk Caldera when you walk, walk with pride

tags for ref, aw!

Bridget was near constant company for @Teya (as often as she wished it), though she stayed away whenever Reyes was present. She did not want to intrude on their time and didn't bring up the subject when she caught her friend alone, instead either joining her in silence or talking about... nothing really important.

She hoped to find @Eljay and catch up, but knew he was busy with new children as well, so she paused and hoped no one minded she was here. It was... sort of a given that they wouldn't. Still, she tried to be respectful, and attempted as best she could to hunt for herself. Given the circumstances, it wasn't an easy task, but she managed it at times.

She still woke up sometimes to the sensation of gnawing on her leg, but the nightmare came less often. She was getting used to the feel of it but was still a ways away from it coming naturally. Her balance was still off and it showed most starkly when she tried to hunt.

Times like right now. Bridget had been trying to sneak up on one of the ducks near the lake's edge, but the bird saw it coming. As she lunged for it, it took off, and she had fallen sideways into the water. It took her an ungainly moment to find her paws again and to stand up, completely soaked through. Fuck! She slapped the water with a paw and watched as the three or four birds disappeared into the clouds. C'mon. Are you serious?!

She needed to get better at this. And that meant practicing harder.

Eljay himself was out hunting too. Four children meant a lot more to care for, and it meant Maia needed a lot more food as well. He also tried to give Teya food when he could, but he was dependent on Reyes to take a lot of that care onto him. The caretaker was out hunting as well, when he suddenly saw ducks fly up and heard a splash. Eljay then heard the shouting, and he recognised Bridget's voice as he neared. He had been meaning to find her at some point; it seemed now was that moment.

You alright? asked Eljay as he approached the soaking wet Bridget.

Conveniently, Eljay found her. Bridget laughed when he asked, nodding before sending one last look after the fleeing birds. Yeah. I just messed up the landing again. Maybe I should just be grateful for the cooldown, huh? She shook her shoulders out, then started to make her way to shore.

Sorry, by the way. I kept meaning to track you down, but I had to go see Teya. After that she'd been a little preoccupied. It feels silly asking, but I'd like to stick around again. Obviously, and they'd sent Reyes to get her, but.... it was probably right to ask "officially". If that's alright by you. She smiled in a way that showed she was messing around, just a little, with that addition. Eljay was a good guy. She knew there was no way, in a million years, it wouldn't be alright with him.

Thankfully Bridget wasn't hurt, and she laughed it off easily enough. Eljay cast her one brief thoughtful glance as he tried to figure out if there was any real hurt underneath all of the laughter — there had to be — but he decided that he might not be the person to look into it. Bridget was his friend and he valued her as a pack mate, four legs or three legs, but they had never been particularly close; not like she was with Teya.

Her apology surprised him, but her question even more. Eljay thought that it was pretty much implied that she would stick around. Of course! he said hastily, not wanting to further make her feel like she wasn't welcome. I'm sorry, I just — I never thought it would be anything else when you came back. It's been a bit of a.. hectic time to return, I guess. He smiled sheepishly. A hectic time, indeed, with many children being born, among which Teya's own. He totally understood she had to go see Teya first.

No worries, I figured. Just a formality. It was adorable the way he rushed to make sure she wasn't offended. I figured you had a lot going on. Especially with the new kids! Congrats, dad! As Bridget made her way up onto the bank, she shook water out of her fur carefully, then sat down and tilted her head a bit to let any water out of her ears.

I haven't gotten by to see them yet, but I plan on it soon. How many? She guessed he'd want to talk about it since the news seemed relatively new - from what she had sleuthed out, Teya's pup was born first.

Eljay nodded when Bridget said that it was just a formality; it was, indeed. Bridget was a part of Brecheliant and Eljay would not have turned her down, of course. he was just happy that she was home, because he knew that she meant a great deal to wolves that meant a great deal to him. Eljay smiled when Bridget congratulated him on becoming a father once more. It was always a good subject to break with him.

Thanks! he said excitedly. Bridget then said she would come to see them soon and asked how many there were. Four! Eljay said, clearly proud and surprised both at the amount. So far, he'd had two each time, even though last year of course they ended up adopting Ibis' kids, so it was technically five. at least that gave him some practise in dealing with that many children at once.

Four! Four times the congratulations! I'm sure you'll have your paws full, but if you ever need an assist, let me know. Alright? She'd help them just as easily, though at least for now, Teya was her priority.

Which was something Eljay could probably help her out with, actually. Sometimes talking things through was all it took to come out with some answers on the other side.

I've been trying to help Teya too. I think it has been a little better for her, but with Reyes around, I'm afraid to do too much. It's strange. He was nice enough, and she realized how that sounded an instant after and laughed. It isn't Reyes specifically. Just that we used to be close, and now there's a lot that is different. I'm not sure where I fit there, anymore, and I can't really count on Teya to tell me. I wish she would. I can't even tell if she's upset I disappeared or glad to see me back. The latter bit was what she assumed because her friend was, well, her friend. But she got the feeling Eljay would get what she meant.

I know she's going through it, though. This is all small stuff, in comparison, but I guess... what would you do? Act like nothing is different, or do something new? They'd taken a bit of a tangent from the family talk, but Eljay seemed like an overly sensitive guy. Bridget knew she was a good friend but at times she had a hard time not making a joke of the things that were difficult. She could use a little of his thoughtfulness right now.

Thanks, Eljay said in response to Bridget's offer. It really helps that we have the grown-up kids to help this year. Hymnal and Sylvie've been a real help. Eljay smiled softly as he said it. Especially Hymnal, being a bit more grown-up than her sensitive sister, had been helping out lots and she seemed to be enjoying it, to boot.

Eljay frowned as the subject switched to Teya. He worried about her, too. He couldn't help but think about how she never wanted Sorana. Hopefully time would make her feel better. He couldn't imagine what it must be like for Bridget, considering they were so close. You probably have, but uhm, have you asked her what she needs..? Or... Told her all of this? Maybe now was not the perfect time, but then again, if it was keeping them from being close, maybe it should be now. As for what he would do, himself... I guess I'd stay close, y'know, see what she needs and just make sure that at least she knows that I'm there for her.

Of course he would. She probably should have guessed but hearing it definitely helped. She was sort of planning on going that route already, but she had been waffling on whether it was selfish or the right thing to do.

I haven't. Normally I'm all about telling anyone anything, and there really isn't much use hiding things. Especially not feelings. I just really don't want to give her more to worry about, especially when she's the one who needs the support right now. Bridget considered it, though. Maybe he was right and she should talk about it with her? Teya was always hard to read when it came to honest conversation, and Bridget never knew whether a certain subject would go poorly or not. She wasn't sure she wanted to risk it right now.

That's a good plan, though. The whole being there thing. Thanks, Eljay. You're a good guy. Bridget gave his shoulder a friendly nudge with her paw, smiling. She hadn't had many conversations with him before, had she? Or really... with anyone, at least, not in depth. It had been hard to with Wraen and Ibis and puppies galore. Maybe this year, with only one of those in play, she could focus on actually getting to know some of the others outside of Teya here. Her fellow healer felt like a good start.

Eljay was happy to hear that his advice was helpful to Bridget. He leaned into the nudge and nodded at her words. Glad I could help, said Eljay with a nod. Then he asked, If you ever want to talk about what happened -- how you got separated from us and lost... Y'know, he glanced at her missing leg briefly, I'd like to hear. But only if you want that, too. He wouldn't force her, of course. But talking helped and it might help him better understand her if there were some traumas involved, too.

He was the first one to ask her here. She didn't enjoy dwelling on the details and, because of that, didn't feel like there was much she needed to talk about. That didn't mean she was correct.

He deserved to know why she was gone, however. She should really have told the story right when she arrived. Bridget nodded and sighed with slight embarrassment. I don't remember many of the details, but I was hunting in the mountains and fell. Someone must have found me and taken me to a pack a ways off. I stayed with them long enough to get back on my feet, but a few of them didn't like me leaving after. They didn't stop me, but they slowed me down.

She glanced at her leg. One of the wounds got infected. I'd be dead if the Druids hadn't taken this, so really it isn't so bad. I should've known better than to let the infection get that bad in the first place. I was just impatient to get home. She shook her head, chuckling lightly at her own mistake. There wasn't much she could have done alone but she could have looked for help sooner. Pushing through instead had cost her a lot more than she bargained on.

Bridget explained that she had been out hunting and that she had gotten hurt by falling. As simple as that. It was a terrifying thought to Eljay that one could just go out and fall down the mountains, and not return. It was a miracle that they'd gotten Bridget back at all. He hid the anxiety this caused him poorly, but when Bridget finished talking Eljay managed, I'm glad you're alright and back here, now. The thought of Maia going out and getting hurt like that terrified him; or even one of his children. He thought of Elfie. How fragile life was... Who were they again? Who saved you? We should make sure to thank them. Maybe hunt for them, or... or something. Eljay didn't want to be ungrateful, after all; they owed them.

He didn't understand, which wasn't surprising since Bridget had glossed over it on purpose. She shook her head. They might have saved me, but better off avoiding them. They weren't too happy about me leaving. That was about as far as she'd go though. There was no way they were looking for her - she wasn't that important, it had been more convenience of her being there than anything else. But they definitely didn't need to be given thanks, especially when she could tie the blame to them for the way she'd ended up here.

The second group, though, the ones on the coast. They are an impressive group of healers. And if they ever needed anything, I think it would be worth helping. I'm pretty sure we worked out an alliance with them already. It had been part of Marina accompanying her back here.

Eljay frowned when Bridget said that they weren't happy about her leaving. It seemed that it was both a blessing and a curse, then; they had saved her, after all, but now they might harbour bad feelings about her if they'd see her again. It's good they live a while away, then, don't they? He was getting his facts muddled a bit, unsure which of the groups this was precisely, but since he had never met them he was fairly sure that they were probably fine.

As always, Eljay wasn't all that on top of outside-of-pack things, but it sounded like one of the other wolves of the pack had already worked out an alliance of sorts. He nodded and said, Ah, okay, well, that's uh.. Good. He smiled at Bridget, not sure what more to say about it; seemed things were already sorted.

He wasn't really following, but that didn't matter all that much. It honestly wasn't even worth the thought seeing as it was all over and done with anyway. Thanks, Eljay. You're an alright guy. Bridget responded, clearly teasing. He was a little more than 'alright' but there was a time and a place for getting too sincere.

I'm not worried, about this slowing me down. If you need anything let me know, alright? Bridget knew that he was a fine healer and caretaker and, clearly, things had gone well despite her being gone. Still... I did quite a bit of teaching, to pay Blackwater back. It was nice. If any of your kids are interested, I'd be happy to help. Sometimes all it took was seeing what healing was really about to gain a passion for it.

Eljay smiled at Bridget's words. He was glad that she didn't mind too much that he lost track of the story she was telling. Then she went on to say that she didn't worry about the leg holding her back. That was good to know, even though Eljay could not help but mentally count her as sort of half a wolf — just to be on the safe side. He felt kind of bad for it, but he just didn't want to put any strain on her.

Teaching children though was something that didn't require four full legs. What a great idea. Eljay visibly grew enthused from hearing the idea and he said, What a great idea, Bridget! I'd love for you to teach the kids.

I'll do that, then. Bridget didn't try to hide her pleasure at his exuberant response. It was flattering and she appreciated it, something that was plain from her smile.

In the meantime, if you need anything, let me know. She was making busywork for herself with every day anyway, forming excuses to push herself to try more and improve. Tossing something real into the mix might make a nice change.

Till then, she should probably get back to it. See you around, Eljay.

Eljay smiled as Bridget offered her help and then excused herself. See ya, he said and he turned away to leave, himself.