Noctisardor Bypass the last few drops from the holy grail

What was he going to do?

He couldn't answer yet, the upstart was up again and starting shit, as they were wont to do.

Glaukos rumbled at him and snapped at the air in warning. If I hurt anyone it will be you. Sit. It was not a suggestion.

The tension wasn't going to abate; beyond that, Glaukos was offended by the presumptions they both held. He had not badly harmed the healer, the boy just had a weak constitution. The anger Glaukos felt for the interloper and for this obvious miscarriage of justice (letting the interloper speak let alone draw breath) did not carry over to any animus towards Heda in the moment.

They both seemed to think he was a beast. They both held fear of him, and while that could be put to use, Glaukos only felt the infringing nature of their judgement and had to swallow it. With some of his stoicism returning he states, I would never harm you Heda. I would never harm them.

A look, to her roundness, and then a glare to Anselm, but he is finally cowed. The insinuation by the pair of them has turned his stomach. Glaukos begins to withdraw in his staggered way, thinking then of Druid and her unborn.

I do everything to protect Rivenwood. The one we have and the one to come. He pauses with his back turned to them and with his shoulders bristling the soldier adds definitively, The healer stays. If I see that other boy on our land again, I will gift his hide to Druid's children.

Then he is striding away, stalking bear-like in the direction of Druid and her den. If nothing else Glaukos is a man of his word.

her head near snapped around; she almost chased anselm off herself. "i know that," she said with a resolution she did not feel, fixing the wither of her golden eyes now on the greyscale tracker who had come for etienne. it was too bad he could not learn to shut his mouth!
glaukos withdrew from the scene, and heda felt a coldness where there had once been the potential of warmth. unsure of whether or not to return to dawnleaf, then deciding her blood-tie to druid came before anything else, she did not raise her voice to argue against his edict.
"if you can't move him, he has to stay. once he wakes up, i can figure things from there," heda said in a monotone to anselm, watching the great bulk of rivenwood's protector move gracefully, silently, in the direction of where her sister had called.
she had not yet turned toward the hollow man, who, in this moment, she blamed for it all with such a ferocious burst of anger that she could hardly breathe. "i'm not afraid of glaukos. i'm afraid for you and etienne. you can't stay, not unless you want your hide presented to my nieces and nephews."
glaukos had not mentioned her children, heda belatedly noted; it was another degree of separation from she and he, and her mouth worked with thoughtful rage as she bent over etienne again.

Once more Anselm’s eyes flashed in utter disbelief. This man! A bitter fruit withered in his mouth to think this was what Heda had left the hollow for. Anselm’s spine was unwilling to bend to Glaukos’ edict — he answered the man’s overt threat with an unflinching stare. 

No, he would not sit. Despite the fact he’d knowingly trespassed, Anselm did not think himself in the wrong here. What would have happened to Etienne if he had not come?

His heart twisted with sickness and rage. Heda’s gaze was so prohibitive and lacking in any warmth that he felt reduced to a child. He was still piecing together the nuances of this conversation, this situation. Who the fuck was this man and how was this better than the hollow?

Any tentative hope of reconciliation Anselm had hoped for him and Heda was beginning to wither away. He noticed the way Glaukos spoke of ‘them’; the way his gaze fell to her side. And he thought back to what Heda had said last — that she’d taken care of the children. Did this mean she’d slept with this man too? Anselm’s mouth worked in shocked thought; it was not as if he felt ownership of her, but somehow this realization burned a little too close to jealousy. 

He turned to Heda after a long pause of staring after Glaukos’ back. I am not leaving him. 

Despite his injured state, Anselm would not go. If he paid the blood price for it, he’d make sure he took Glaukos to hell with him.

"if you die because you stay, you won't be worth anything to anyone," heda said, at last turning her slim muzzle over one angular shoulder to glance at the metalman and his stoic jaw. her gaze did not soften, not in truth, but something besides hardness replaced the expression. observation, perhaps, mingled with a more specific wariness.
she was not so badly off as druid, and weeks of good, consistent food had restored a blush to her pallor, but the woman's thin frame still highlighted the blown curves of a secret's evidence. 
"for him, leave."
or —
"or stay. you could ask this time." a hunter was never unwelcome, but she doubted glaukos would let the man exist. he had promised the very opposite. 
and druid; why should she make any decisions?
"or you could trust me and go find someone to help my sister." a trade. anselm had options. heda knew from brief, bitter experience that the shadowed man would choose the hardest path.

stay the fuck away from my mother.
admittedly, dinah knew little of the complexities that interlaced the shouting and snarling that echoed in her eardrums. she knew not which one of them had started nor ended it; only that by the time she arrived, the stench of blood and iron was thick and mama had frantically thrown herself between the circle of men.
mama speaks to one now, the mottled gray one; glaukos, now leaving just as dinah arrives. she had never before feared him, but a shiver runs cold down her spine as he passes.
in place of fear was now anger. one of these men had ruined what little sanctity remained of dinah's family, and now there was blood upon her land — the land she tried so hard to love. could she have nothing? was peace ever an option?
and now, the little redhead came rolling forth with eyes ablaze and pelt bristled in a frenzied raise of hackles. you! she looks to the strangely accented one and bites back the instinctive urge to swing at him. had he been the one to do this? to slam his fist and send her family flying? did you do this? huh? you got a thing for defiling widows and spilling blood in their homes? you fucking disgust me!
she did not once think to consider why mama defended him.

can be skipped. Just putting in a quick wake up

A low humming in his head. A ringing in his ears. He groaned as golden eye opened a sliver, the other still swollen. Pain radiated up his chest, his ribs.

What had happened. Then a gasp.

Anselm!

And he moved to stand. A string of haitian creole falling from his lips.

Marching slowly but surely, Druid cut a path through Rivenwood. At some point, the pups settled and she managed to pick up the pace, though she couldn’t be sure of her speed. She was having an out of body experience, her awareness not entirely connected to her physical form anymore.

Glaukos! Heda! Please, answer me! she tried to shout, though who knew if her voice carried above a whisper?

Panting, she swore she saw water off to her left. Druid considered throwing herself into it for no reason she could fathom. She denied the impulse, thinking of her partner but mostly her sister, her similarly expectant sister…

Suddenly, she could see that unmistakable white pelt with the streak of red ahead. Dinah was there too! But it wasn’t Glaukos with them, she realized as she ranged closer. It was… Anselm!? And they were crouched over a figure she couldn’t quite see. The only thing she knew was it was too small to be Glaukos.

Druid slowed, suddenly uncertain whether what she was seeing was real or if she had slumped into an exhausted heap somewhere along the way. Perhaps she was dreaming. She ground to a halt, swaying on her feet.

Not for the first time was Anselm presented with hardship’s crossroads — too many difficult paths, no easy way out. 

But he knew one thing and that was Etienne was his bulwark. He would not leave without him. It was them against the world - two very different souls tied together with a simple red string of fate. 

Heda’s daughter arrived next, assessed the situation in the worst possible manner, and turned to him with a blazing tongue before he could make his decision. 

He wanted to say he trusted Heda, in a strange way — but it was not so easy. He was on the cusp of relenting guardianship to Heda when Dinah razed the scene, fracturing any moment of brief vulnerability that might have occurred. Anselm stepped back surprised by Dinah’s vitriol, a helpless glance given to her mother that was cut short by Etienne stirring. 

Etienne! Anselm steadied him as he cursed, trying to stay away from Dinah’s toothsome side as he did so. The rustling of branches nearby told him that Glaukos must be returning — but it was a swaying Druid that emerged. Anselm’s ears cupped back as he looked her over. Heda — vhat is wrong vith her?

dinah — dinah. an avenging angel of scarlet, she flew with sworded wings at anselm, who only managed a hapless glance in her direction. etienne had woken; heda pulled her eyes from the rage of her daughter and sent her gaze in his direction, rising;
druid. "druid!" she shouted out, voice cracking; she did not register anselm's heavy accent nor any look dinah might have given her; she was leaping across the short distance of snow-flattened grass to her sister's side, trying desperately to reach her as if nothing else mattered.
for in that second, it was the truth.
"dinah!" voice a lash of wind. "come here. help warm her." nothing more could be spared for men; not now.

names are thrown around frantically, and in the midst of the fray is dinah, who has seemingly bitten off much more than she can chew. she stares wide-eyed at the man she now knows to be anselm, swallowing the grizzled snarl that threatens to slip from her throat. she casts a glance to the young man hollering words in a caribbean tongue, blood permeating the air with its ugly stench.
and then there is druid.
dinah hates the way anselm says her mother's name. oh, don't you even think about it, she scolds in the same tone her mom once had, as if he were a foolish young boy who knew not what he did. you come one step further onto our land, i'll scream, and glaukos will come right back to kick your ass!
yeah, that'll show him.
pitiful outburst now over with, dinah grumbles in exasperation as she runs to her auntie's aid. lay down, she urges, as gentle as she can given the presence that still lingers nearby. keep her head up, mom. i have to-- um, fuck, what exactly was wrong? the warm feeling of panic begins to flood her from her stomach up to her chest, traveling up to her face in long, spiny tendrils. defeated, she whimpers; i-i don't know what medicine to grab.

not surecif its me, but last from me if it is or I can delete.

Etienne swayed. Everything was a mess, but for now. He could help druid even if he didn't want too. Even if he was forced too. He stared at the girl Dinah and lifted his golden eyes to her. She was irritating him. They all were irritating him. His body hurt. His mind was a mess.

He winced and swayed, but spoke.

Ou silans fi.

Then he moved towards Druid. Snarling and snapping at anyone tried to stop him, including the child. He limped the whole way.

'er need 'elped back to 'er sleep spot. Den warm furs on 'er. Make sure 'er eat fis' and liver. C'amomile to calm 'er. If 'er isn't eatin' squish blood into her mout'. Make sure 'er drink lot of water. 'Er needs rest and quiet. Dat Glaukos need carry 'er

Den he slumped a little as the pain in his ribs grew harsher. He gave a soft grunt, but nodded.

There wasn't much else they could do until the babes were born.

Everything turned into a colorful, noisy swirl around Druid. She heard her name said in several different tones of voice, yet couldn’t muster up a reply.

All of her focus went into a controlled collapse onto the ground. Then everything dimmed. She clung to consciousness as long as she could, then slumped at the mercy of her fellow wolves.

Quick mobile post, my last!

Anselm’s ears cupped forward as he caught the tone in Dinah’s voice — to be chastised by a child! The fur along his back rose, but he hardly had time to address her before Heda flew to Druid’s side, and Etienne followed. 

He hung back, helpless — becoming more aware of the blood that slicked his fur and the pulse that stirred it beneath his skin. 

Druid was down; Anselm’s lips twisted into grim worry as he stood behind Etienne, who quickly took as much control of the situation as he could in spite of his injuries. It would be inspiring, if they weren’t both so fucked up. 

Druid would have to be carried back to the den. Anselm’s stomach dropped to think of Glaukos returning. I can carry her. He offered, pausing to gauge each of their reactions. If only they would do something fast! His own strength would not carry on much longer.

last for me!

in normal times, heda might have shown some tight display of displeasure at dinah's swearing, but now her senses were focused entirely on druid. "she's sick, anselm," was all she managed to say before her efforts were put toward helping etienne and directing her daughter — or being directed.
anselm; she stepped back to allow him to assist them, and found herself weeping silently as they bore druid back to the den and to whatever ministrations the healer might need to perform for her.