Hushed Willows any way the wind blows

His cheeks warmed subtly beneath his furs, and he dipped his head in a grateful little nod to her thanks. His greatest strengths lie in what he could help provide, so to find them well-received, either by her, her mate, or any of the other pack mates, he gleaned his satisfaction in these simple moments of giving--even if they did not seem like all that much and often it could go without saying as he stocked and stored extras. He knew to value the small things, of course, but face to face, it was difficult to not. You are very welcome, feel free, he said, although his voice was small, his eyes were bright--happy, good, and the rest of his body was relearning to reflect this as well.

Oh, different in.. I was young enough to still be with my family, he said, trying to place the best way to summarize this neatly when he could only recall the major, key points to this day. He had not known Qilaq yet (although he probably only met her because they moved to the willows--he couldn't imagine her so far inland as the Hollow), and had been bookmarked by both his siblings still with both parents in his life, all unmarred by great tragedy in his lifetime at least. He had been too young and naive to fully grasp their struggles, and bad luck. Different in that way as well, he supposed. Famine came to my birthplace, then.. there was a cougar, so my parents took us elsewhere and my mother.. she met the leader, who offered us space and a home here--Marauder's Keep, then. So even years back and beneath another name and leader, it had been a sanctuary to them and the healing quality of these woods difficult to deny for someone who had experienced it twice over now. He found something almost poetic in this, though couldn't say exactly what it was beside a feeling.

By winter.. ah, they had all scattered though. Only me and another yearling were left and.. we had to go, he said lowly, almost shrinking his voice more as this was what had truly opened the floodgates on his real, adultlife struggles where they had only trickled in before. Had it not been for the season, or the abandonment he didn't feel deserving of, he might have stayed much longer--might have being key. It is amazing to me that Qilaq found this place, and you all here too. I'm lucky, he could finally say about something.