Hushed Willows driftwood: a fairytale

Delight’s response to her many assurances did everything short of breaking her heart. Gender definitely was a tricky thing, and it made her a little melancholy to watch Delight struggle to define it. It was not something that Olive thought about often because it was not really her business — plus, whether he identified as a man or a woman or something in-between really didn’t change anything, not to her or Seabreeze. Delight was delight was delight, and the wolf was in a class all Delight’s own. Olive wondered how many times Delight had to have this conversation, and wondered why it elicited pain. Didn’t such honesty come from bravery and a desire for the truth? 

Olive pondered what the truth was for a second, before realizing that the truth was so relative, that it was futile. She tasted the words in her mouth before she spoke them; turned them over and over again to ensure they conveyed the meaning that she intended. It was a delicate topic at hand, and she did not want Delight to feel that he was anything but loved. She returned the intensity of his gaze, answering his request for understanding with ever fibre of her being. “I would be an awful father too. Not everyone is made for such a task.” It was true — in hunting and defending and other traditionally masculine endeavors, the druid was utterly useless. If those were the expectations that their society had imposed upon her, then she would have considered herself a failure, too. 

“Maybe you would find more satisfaction from being a mother,” she suggested simply, with a rise and fall of her shoulder that said it doesn’t have to be a big deal. After all, it had been decided that Olive would carry their children for she and Seabreeze for very similar reasons. “I don’t see why not. Seabreeze cannot carry a litter either, and it makes her no less a mother.” Olive explained, but quickly realized that Delight likely didn’t need to explanation — Delight already knew that it was not biology that decided how one should parent. It might dictate who was the biological sire and dam, but that was where it ended. After that, it was up to them to decide. 

Olive let her jade gaze fall to the ground, blinking her eyelashes as she wondered to how explain her next offer. “If you wanted…you could try it out by first being our wife.” To Olive and Seabreeze, this was a big part of it all. They didn’t want just his genes, but his entire being, his energy, at all times. They wanted Delight to see the children when they were born and to raise them up to be noble and peaceful. They wanted to dedicate themselves to Delight just as they had dedicated themselves to each other; because something that created more love in the world, pure love, was never a bad thing. Even still, Olive knew it was not so simple, so she lingered on the idea for a moment before rushing to recover. “We could even find a new word for it — Oh, I would like that very much." She took a breath. "I want us all to be happy; to be the way we meant to be, surrounded by love that is unconditional.”

The druid drifted closer, pressing her forehead against Delight’s and closing her eyes. There was almost an electric vibration that sparked between the two, and she pressed her third eye to his. “That is the magic of Elysium, Delight. We already love you, as terrible as you are, and we will love you still, for as long as you would have us.” Olive shifted the position of her maw so that her lips pressed against Delight’s cheek, then his mouth. Then, she left herself there, vulnerable and asking to be kissed.