Sun Mote Copse bruises

After being cared for by Weejay for what seemed like a long time while his soul withered, it was strange to find the roles reversed once more; where he had felt better lately (perhaps because of training Fennec? Or finally settling into his role as medic in the pack?) while Weejay had been gloomy. He tried to step up by caring for her garden, by taking her to hunt, but it seemed like she was gloomy. And maybe that was okay. Maybe it'd just pass, just like his depressions had come and gone over the course of his life. It was a strange thing to realise, a settling into the thought that life was passing and that good things would come. It was soothing in a way, even though it felt like it was years too late.

Hey buttercup, he said as she greeted him. She looked sleepy, and he wondered if he should've let her sleep. How are you holding up? He glanced over the garden, which still looked just a little bit soppy.

I.. was wondering, after Maia... I wondered what you wanted. I mean, I... Do you like it here..? The question was fragile in every way -- Eljay had always made it clear that his children shouldn't leave the pack if they could help it, because it was dangerous out there. But now that he grew older he was beginning to see that maybe what he needed wasn't what they needed. It certainly wasn't what Elfie had needed. What about Weejay? In all his protecting in Wildfire's absence he realised with a start that he hadn't exactly given his children chances to figure out what they wanted.