Qeya River dance the ghost with me

Maybe @Wren? Or @Silvertongue.. @Ash Paw... AW

He could have returned home to the creek quickly—instead, he veered northern. Viinturuth was scouting the eastern and western aspects of the valley—and so he continued to the taiga—not unfamiliar territory, but nothing he visited often. Mae was more independent now—and he was eager to continue the hunt for the mountain of a wolf who had attacked them.

Through a forest, he found nothing.

After the forest, it was as if karma bitch slapped him across the face and his heart all but shuddered to a stop in his chest.

Silvertongue.

His stop was abrupt—his mouth instantly dry—

—and all he could do was suck back a laugh at the plot twist of his life.

YOINK

for the first time in days, wren had gone beyond the vicinity of the den. now that her children were old enough to walk, she felt less guilty doing so. her mission today was simple exploration.
the riverbed was vast, and well protected by seemingly endless woodland and the ever-intimidating backdrop of the glacier. the interior was well marked with scents, but the outskirts were not — and up until now, wren hadn't worried much about it. qeya river was secluded, and they had only one neighbor to the north, right?
right.
when her gaze caught the shade of a man frighteningly familiar, it was as if the world collapsed into slow motion. he would not find silvertongue, but instead her wife who now stared at him, wide-eyed.
akavir? what the fuck are you doing here?

'I love her Akavir,' she had cried.

It was all he could see as a bewildered Wren stood before him. A certain feeling of relief sweeping him--he had known she was okay, for the most part, when Silvertongue had admitted their marriage.

It was also met with a fiery surge of ire and bitterness. 'I want you to know I loved you too,' she had spoke to him.

Had promised to check back in with him.

Her question would originally have drawn his amusement. For now, it drew his bewilderment, in turn, as he stared at the ghost of someone he had thought to trust before.

Looking for a mountain of a man's, he returned, if not more coolly than what would have been expected. Huge. Dark fur. Dark eyes. Hates women and blinds daughters. See anyone sus?

Thanks for checking in like you promised, Wren.

he did not speak it, but wren could see it in his eyes. disappointment. hurt. resentment.
how long had it been?
can't say that i have, she scoffs, stiffly taking a few steps toward him. not much happens up here anyway.
she wasn't sure what to say to him next. i'm sorry? why didn't you chase after me? you're too late to the game? none of them seemed to come to her as she lowers her eyes away from his.
you know i couldn't have gone on without her, akavir, her voice is gravelly and monotonous in order to shield the dejection that freezes her veins. i thought-- i thought i was doing you and myself a favor by leaving.

‘Not much happens up here anyway,’ a scoff. Faux indifference. Silvertongue had divulged a bit to him—had Silvertongue divulged to her?

Not likely—the thought of him being a dirty secret would have amused him, had he not been raking his eyes over Wren, his emotions wrapped up in an untidy clusterfuck of emotion.

Wren gave excuses—instead, his gaze was searching—all he had ever wanted to know…

“I really just needed my goddamn friend, Wren,” he murmured, his ears sliding back. Finally, he cast his eyes upward. “I only just needed to know you were okay.”

Because I sure as fuck wasn’t.

i really just needed my goddamn friend, wren.
something inside of wren broke. she swallows the hard lump in her throat, pushing down the half of her that yearned to run to him. that was a different life, a different her; one that she now began to doubt had ever truly existed.
i wanted to protect you from me, she chokes on her own breath, trembling as she settles down into a sit; exposing the pink swell of her belly, her breasts. her children would not know him. i-- i wasn't okay. i was hurting, and you didn't deserve to put up with that on top of everything else.
but, selfishly, she hadn't been willing to spare silvertongue.
i found silver in the desert. i nursed her back to health, and then i-- we got married, she does not mention riverclan, nor the fact that it has become qeya river. i would've told you before we left the valley, but-- goddammit, it all sounds like excuses to you anyway and i know it. maybe they are.
she sniffles. the silence between them thickens. i needed my friend too.

cameo >D

moonweave spine pressed to a tree, silver listened. i would've told you before we left the valley, but-- goddammit, it all sounds like excuses to you anyway and i know it. maybe they are. she could hear the pain in her wife's voice, the bend in the back of the words because wren could not stand to let anyone hear she suffered. but that was her beloved there, crying, and not just to any man, but to akavir of — why was he here? desperately the sharpfang did not want to be heard or seen; she stilled her breathing and closed her eyes, needing to know what akavir would say now.

‘I wanted to protect you from me.’

He couldn’t help it—the snort of absolute disbelief surfaces from him, his eyes rapt upon her as she settles almost wearily down to sit. He couldn’t even tell if she was genuine or not—she didn’t want to burden him with her alleged bullshit, but she could with Silvertongue?

Who she had married. She had told him to leave Silver, and then went back to the desert after making him a promise that she would check in with him someday… and the two had run off into the sunset with one another.

It was a lot to unpack. He couldn’t even bring himself to try to grasp it now—and he felt a certain awakening with the realization that as excuses spun out, that Wren wasn’t the friend he had thought her.

And that hurt almost more than when he had first lost her.

“I heard. Congratulations to you both,” he offered, his features a mask of stoicism. What else was there to say, or do? He wasn’t here to try to ruin their happily ever after. He might have been a villain in so many other people’s stories—but he didn’t want to be one here.

What he wanted to do was demand she be real with him—spinning the excuses and lies did little for either of them. But emotionally—he just didn’t have it in him. Not right now. Probably not ever.

“You’ll both want to keep an eye out, then. Some wolf-bear hybrid attacked Mae. Seemed to have a vendetta against women… Told her they needed to learn to keep their mouths shut.” His mouth was set firmly—as sardonic as his words were at first, it was hard to keep the emotion from his voice. “He blinded her. He’s huge. Really dark eyes… scars. Dark fur… a lot of black. Not the kind of guy you'll want around your kids.”

akavir's face remained stone solid, disdainful, and now a flicker of long-buried anger began to tear at her. he had the gall to snort at her.
the forlorn expression of the songbird turned to dust, and in its place came a frigid stare. i know you, i know that look. you can wipe it off your face right the fuck now.
what do you want me to say? huh? do you want me to, to grovel at your feet and beg you for forgiveness? now her voice raised a decibel, but she maintained relative composure, reaching up to wipe the tears from her eyes with the back of a wrist. or are you just mad because i married the woman i love?
have i ever fuckin' lied to you? really, have i? i don't need to justify myself, or anything to you. kvarsheim wanted my head, and you know that just as well as i do. so i left! i saved you the trouble. plain and simple. and now, she pauses, chewing on the inside of her lip; things have changed. i'm a leader, a wife, and a mother. i am happy for the first time in my goddamn life. and if you really ever actually gave a shit about me instead of seein' me as a set a' fuckin' tits to bury your face into when you were lonely, you'd be actually happy for me. and you sure as fuck wouldn't'a come to my home just to laugh in my face when i try and reconnect with you.
he goes on to describe the man who harmed mae, who harmed swiftcurrent. for a moment, the riverwolf actually listens before leveling her gaze and shifting her footing. thanks for the heads up, then. i'll keep an eye out.
hackles flared, wren moves to stand, to usher him out. he had no use here if he came only with condescension and ire. but then, she remembers, she realizes;
wait a minute, her eyes widen before narrowing again with suspicion. some part of her already knew the answer to her following question, and yet she did not want to admit it. you already knew we were married? who told you?

you really ever actually gave a shit about me instead of seein' me as a set a' fuckin' tits to bury your face into when you were lonely — silvertongue stopped listening then, mouth dry and mind pulsating. she had no right to be jealous. a quick, near desperate exploration of the feeling told her it was not in fact jealousy, and so what was it? she cupped the newness of her empty belly, remembering that small cave and the warmth of his kiss. did wren feel the same for akavir? had she experienced similar with him? silvertongue swallowed and continued to listen.

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“Yeah, Wren. You did fucking lie to me. That’s what I just said—you said you would let me know how you were doing. You said you would check back. You lived in fucking Riverclan and sure as fuck tried to make sure we never found out about it.”

Akavir had played the role of villain in many of the lives of those he held dear. He had been the villain in Ibis’ story, in the end—the bad guy in the lives of his kids who had insisted he was never around, even when he had been trying to protect them from the darker aspects of life.

He had played the evil husband in Eshe’s life, for a time, it seemed—had broken Silvertongue, too, when he had stepped aside from her to do right by Eshe—and yes, by Wren, who had sorrowfully told him many times of her own love for the same girl.

The villain in Reverie and Lestan’s tale—countless times, the bad guy.

The fuck he would be taking credit for this goddamn spew of vitriol that came flying out of her—all from a sardonic sound. Maybe her explosive reaction was something she should consider.

Buried his head in her tits—used her to just feel better about himself. Didn’t actually give a shit about her—should be happy for her now that he just accidentally stumbled across her—when she’d been trying so hard to avoid him. Laughed in her face.

Or was he just mad that she had married Silvertongue.

This was her reconnecting.

“You know what, Wren?” His tone was seething—his voice quieting. “You love to play the self-proclaimed victim of every situation, don’t you? I’d love to know when I became the bad guy in your little story here. What the fuck did I ever do to you? You left. Spouting some shit that you ‘saved me the trouble’ of having to deal with you and Kvarsheim. That’s the biggest amount of bullshit I’ve ever heard and don’t fucking insult your intelligence by trying to pretend that's true.”

His eyes a flame—his chin jutting up—she wiped the back of her wrist to her eye—crying now. His claws gripped the earth. “Gunnar didn’t want your head, don’t be so fucking melodramatic. And what… you think after any of that situation, that by removing yourself from our lives we were going to go prancing in the valley meadows with one another again? Fuck Kvarsheim. You don’t think a day doesn’t go by when I still don't look for the two assholes that attacked you guys? You know what? I can at least understand where Gunnar was coming from. I would move fucking mountains for those I loved.” You? You just fucking run away and claim it’s for the best.

“Why don’t you try some fucking honesty, Wren. Make it make some fucking sense. You told me you loved me and you were afraid of losing me to Eshe—and days later you fucking bounce, never to be seen again and leaving behind empty promises. You didn’t leave because of Kvarsheim. You sure as fuck didn’t stay away because of Kvarsheim. You knew I loved Silvertongue more than—” He cut himself off—it would do no good. Was it not even good enough for Wren to realize that Silvertongue had chosen her in the end?

Her hackles bristle—she moves to stand and he sneers, catching her very clear intent—for him to leave. A flash in her eyes—and she demands one more thing from him. “Silver,” he snorted, beginning to skirt away. Message delivered—

—Message certainly fucking received. “Are we not allowed to talk because you two are married?”

go to hell.
his voice hit her eardrums like crackling thunder, wavering every which way and tearing slices into her raw, reddened skin. he swore. he swung at whatever he could reach.
but he wasn't wrong.
where he burned and flickered with tantalizing embers, wren was an immovable glacier; her face woven into an expression of silent, freezing anger. you wanna know why i really didn't come back? because i knew this would happen.
a breath sits heavy in her throat before she forces it out in a long exhale. i ran and avoided you because i felt guilty. i still do. every fuckin' day of my life while i was in riverclan i-- she shakes her head, moving away. but y'know what? it's no fuckin' use, because nothin' i say will ever be good enough for you. i'm a coward! there, is that what you wanna hear? that i'm weak? selfish? that i'm the bad guy here?
it was never you! it was always me! you think everything was rosy in riverclan? because it wasn't! ash star hates my guts for-- i don't even know what. i wanted one fuckin' place i could go where i wasn't looked at with so much disdain and resentment. where i wasn't the resident fuck-up. but apparently i can't have that!
choking, she clears her throat. i fucked up. i know i did. and i'm sorry, okay, akavir? i am. but what is saying sorry ever gonna do? no one listens to me. no one ever fucking believes me. i'm always the villain. no one ever tries to think for a goddamn moment where i might be coming from, that maybe i'm not out to fuckin' get them or hurt anyone on purpose!
and then;
silver. are we not allowed to talk because you two are married?
she could have swung at him right then and there.
and what did you tell her, huh? that i'm crazy? that she should've chosen you? because i know you. you can't keep your fuckin' hands off of her. you sure as fuck didn't just talk, trembling, fiercely; because i know i'll never be enough for her either. i'm safe. i'm easy. i-- i'm afraid that she just settled for me. and i'm terrified every day that i'll wake up one morning, and she'll have taken our kids to go run off with you. so forgive me if i, her fuckin' wife, see you as a threat and would like to not have that happen.
now, she stands now, inching closer with heavy steps. is that enough honesty for you, akavir?

QR was officially up for like... what, a day and Akavir managed to blow this up on them?
Nothing I say will ever be good enough for you. It wasn’t you. It was always me. The resident fuck-up… can’t even have a safe place to go. No one listens to me. No one believes me. I’m always the villain.

On and on it continued. It had been hard watching her in the creek like this, too—the self-deprecation and self-loathing.

It was infuriating—the insistence that she just wanted a place where she wasn’t met with contempt—as if he had done anything but try to provide that to her in the creek. That he hadn’t openly believed her about anything and everything—questions unasked.

She had been his friend—had she been more, at some point? Almost, surely—the memory of kissing the scars along her back came to the forefront of his mind—but Silvertongue’s grasp on him could never fade, and he knew Wren could see such now—

—because here was the honesty. That Wren didn’t want him near her wife.

Accusations slung out then at him talking with Silvertongue, and he shook his head slowly. “I said goodbye to her, you delusional clown.” He snorted again—apparently, the sound that had intially sparked the ember into a full blown inferno. “You literally have everything right now and look at you—you still can’t be happy. You can’t be grateful. And yeah—we did just talk. Maybe you should trust your wife more.”

She inched closer and he was tempted to meet her head on—a physical blows as the tension escalated would have been a welcome distraction now—but with a nursing mother? With Wren?

Pale eyes drifted over her as he began to turn away. Only now could he see how absolutely necessary it was for the wives to move away. Because this toxicity… No.

“Mae’s fine, by the way. Thanks for asking.”

Because out of all of that—Wren hadn’t once cared to ask about his blinded daughter. Turning, he began to trot away—teeth clenched, his pace quickening unless stopped. The more distance between them now, the better.

she didn't believe him in the same way he didn't believe her. her teeth clench tight in her mouth, jaw grinding;
why was she scolded for running away, when silvertongue hadn't been for the stint in the desert? all he was doing was proving her point.
the audacity! the hubris! i'm delusional? how would you have felt if i had fucked eshe front back and sideways before you came along, eh? if you found out i'd apparently met up with her in secret after you got married? if you knew that we both still had feelings for one another? you're tellin' me you wouldn't flip the fuck out?!
you're just like me, akavir, the words spill out of her like glowing red venom. way more than you'd ever care to admit. maybe that's the reason everyone you love leaves you, too.
mae's fine, by the way, he says; as if wren would care about the brat who spat in her face the same way her father did right now. but she does not voice this, only mirrors his patronizing scoff with one of her own.
he turns to leave, and she does not follow, only lingers to make sure he is truly gone before tears begin to paint dark rivers down her cheeks yet again. when only silence is left in the shade of akavir's space, she turns to storm after @Silvertongue.