Cerulean Cape Live, Love, Laugh

Amber didn't think she'd ever been in an area so tense - the journey so far was almost silent, and the ever-widening Ciel woman paddled on between the two guys. Part of it was to keep them separate, but another part of her told her it was safer this way, that they could protect her and the children better from either side. 

The woman demanded they walk just as much as they rested - she wanted to see the shore again before she went all the way down into a valley - @Grayday told her it was a longer path, but for this reason the obsidian furred woman kept them moving. Hunting was getting harder by the day - it was clear she carried more than just a few puppies - but still she would insist on doing so for herself as long as she could.

They had to skirt many packs on the way there, and Amber noted that there were many more borders than she remembered on her way here. 

She chose tonight's resting spot on the shore as the sun kissed the horizon - even then, however, she waddled closer to the water, chuffing in joy as her inky paws sunk into the salty water. The males were left to follow or stay where she'd previously patted down a temporary nest. 

Anyone else welcome to jump in! But hoping to get a star-story in, make this a Naturalist thread?

Day flopped down almost as soon as Amber chose a place to rest for the night. Privately, he thought the dark woman was a little bit bossy, but he was never going to tell her that. He was too happy to say much of anything to anyone, for fear it would upset the somber mood the two had wrapped about themselves. It was tiring, to say the least. He wanted to shout and dance and howl to the heavens, but he doubted his companions would appreciate that. Dagfinn had done nothing but mope since they'd left, and Amber was clearly feeling guilty about all that had transpired.

He was beginning to regret inviting the other male along. It'd seemed like a good idea, the perfect answer at the time, but it seemed like neither of his two companions had been made happy by this executive descision, and it was high time they faced that fact. Day only wondered if it would be better to address them separately or as a unit.

Hopping back to his aching paws and shaking off his dusty pelt, Day gazed after the dark-furred beauty. She seemed delighted to be near the ocean, and that made Day's day, too. The greyscale male spared Dagfinn a friendly glance before drawing up beside Amber.

"I'm not angry," he said softly. Dagfinn would probably still hear him, but Day hoped the other male would give him a chance to try and repair the situation. "At either of you. You know that, right?"

It felt good to be on the road again. Dagfinn had missed travelling since settling with the Isle wolves; and although he still detested the coast, it was not nearly so hot or insufferable during the fall as it was in the summer. The wet sand was just the right temperature against his paws, and with just the right amount of give. He could maybe even see why Lotte had chosen to reside so near to him.

He had plans to visit her while Amber rested, but he also disliked the idea of leaving the two alone together in through the night. Realistically, he knew that Grayday had already done the worst he could do, but Dag still didn't like to think of them canoodling if he could help it, and he was rather determined to keep such things from ever happening again.

Still, there were times he almost forgot he hated the man. Like when Amber was clearly enjoying soaking her paws, and they both looked on and then locked eyes at the worst possible time. It was almost a lighthearted moment - almost a look of camaraderie between them. But then Dagfinn remembered that he wanted to tear the man apart, and the moment was over.

He tore his eyes away and stared sullenly at the sand, retreating from the pair so that he was not tempted to join them. Still, Grayday's words reached his short, thickly-furred ears. Though he'd figured as much, considering the other man's friendly disposition toward both himself and Amber as well as the world around them, it was still something of a surprise to hear it stated so plainly. Dagfinn listened in, unsure he wanted to hear Amber's response.

It'd been becoming clearer and clearer that her companions weren't happy together - it did rest heavy on her shoulders, and she'd been pushing it back as much as she could - but one day she would have to really chose, would really have to tell Dagfinn that she wanted her family whole, that Grayday was who she was meant to be with. 

It was the paler, older man who rose to follow her - she could feel her smoky lovers movement behind her, feel the palpable disapproval, but she wouldn't heistate to ward him off with another show of her fangs. Each day that past brought her more and more hormones, and each day she grew more and more on edge - her kindness was not ruling anymore, but she fought to stay patient with the world around her. 

Amber wasn't sure what to expect when her mate opened his mouth, but she'd already pressed lovingly into his side with a hum of happiness - it was cut short in surprise, and another moment of silence passed before she answered. Her voice was quiet, wounded, but loud enough that both would hear - she had no intentions on hiding anything from Dag. 

                          "It's all my fault - you both have every reason to be angry."

Day was already shaking his head, refuting the words he had almost known would come. Silent for a moment, contemplating, he cleaned a bit of dust off Amber's inky cheek. When he spoke, it was earnestly, and with far more patience than Amber had, at the moment.

"You did what you thought was right," he said, temporarily removing some of the blame from her shoulders. She'd acted a little rashly, of course, but they'd all been a little rash. "Just like I have to do what I think is right, and Dagfinn has to do what he thinks is right," he went on, his voice even and kind. "And what's right for me is to make sure you're safe, and to do what I can to make you happy, and to provide for our children just like you were trying to do."

Day flicked a meaningful look toward Dagfinn, hoping his silent prompt would not be missed. He could talk all he wanted, but if the other male didn't put himself together, it would all be for naught.

"The rest is... up for debate," he continued, giving Dagfinn a bit of time to make his choice. "You've already given me a family - I will never ask for anything else."

How many ways will she break me? he wondered, eyes downcast but ears pricked as the pair spoke. It seemed unfair to him that she should be allowed to be so unhappy, even as he realized that it was ridiculous to feel that way. He'd been hurt, and every mile he travelled with her and her lover splintered him, fractured him into a million different wolves that were not Dagfinn Ansbjørn III.

His heart had begun to feel so twisted and ugly that he was sure it showed on the outside.

But somehow, Grayday could still stand there and talk about duty and righteousness. Dag was too tired to hate him for it. Too tired to hate anything, too tired to be angry. He just wanted it all to stop.

So he padded up on Amber's other side, doing his best not to ignore Grayday while also not interacting with him. The words he spoke made no sense for now, but Dag filed them away for later examination.

The water felt good on his paws. For now, that was enough.

Gray was shaking his head before she was een done speaking, and Amber fell into a sullen silence as he cleaned her face - his words were still kind, more loving than she herself had been in a month, yet she took them as a repremand rather than help: nothing could convince the stubborn woman that this was anything but her fault. Only after he was done speaking, and Dag had moved beside her without a word did she speak up again. 

                              "I did what was right by them, yes, but I fucked over everyone else - how is that FAIR? I've hurt every one of us and Silver Creek, uprooted two of us from our homes, and lied all to make my life easier. How are the children going to see me, knowing that their father is my mate, but my lover is also a father figure - how are they going to love a liar? There is no justifying what I've done, true as the reason is?"

Despite starting out semi-calm, each word became more high-pitched, more hysteric, until tears soaked her face and her deep blue eyes glared down at the water swamping her paws.

Amber was not in the mood to be soothed. It made Grayday's job that much harder, but he supposed he had no room to complain. Part of him wanted to mention his own brief flirtation with Lotte to even the playing field, but he wasn't sure that would help anything, at this point. Besides - Lotte wasn't following him around like a sad little kitten.

Still, it was an exercise of patience to simply continue his grooming and not immediately react to the harsh words.

"Life isn't fair," he said after a moment, jaws parted as he chewed over his next words. "What do you want me to do, Amber? We're both here; Nobody's forcing us. If you want one of us to leave, you can say it - but let's stop playing the blame game. It's getting us nowhere, and I'm tired of seeing the two of you so sullen."

By the end of his little speech, Day felt a little bad about the tone he was taking - not harsh or angry, but too cold to be using against the mother of his children.

"Look," he murmured, softening, "I know this isn't ideal, and I know you're feeling bad about all that went on - but dwelling on it makes it worse, not better. Tell us what you want, and we'll make it happen. Right, Dag?"

The last words were directed pointedly at their quiet companion.

Amber's grief stirred up only a small amount of sympathy in him; Dag was too busy feeling sorry for himself. Agreeing with her words. She'd ruined everything - her and Day both. The indignation was distant, though. Everything seemed distant, lately.

His dulled senses flared back to life as soon as Grayday mentioned one of them leaving. The dark male was young, but he wasn't stupid. He knew which one of them the other wolf meant. He knew which one of them Amber would stick with - it wasn't as though he'd made the choice very hard with the way he'd been acting.

Suddenly, Dag felt very foolish for his sullen attitude.

"Yes," he said at Grayday's prompting, though inwardly he quailed at the thought of being sent away. "I - I am tired of being angry," he murmured, trying to explain that he would do better, be better. She didn't need to send him away; she didn't need to do anything except be who she was. And if that meant she made the sort of decisions that'd led them to this place...

Well, there wasn't much he could change about that.

"Will you... will you teach us about the stars?" he asked hesitantly, hoping to distract her from Grayday's words while, at the same time, prompting her to release her regrets. He was done being ornery about it. If Grayday was there to stay, being upset wouldn't change the fact.

Grayday took her bitter words without flinching and gave her the honest truth right back in her sniffling face - that took a moment to mull over. She wanted them both there with her, was that a bad thing? Amber didn't pull away from her mate,wasn't upset in the slightest in the way he was speaking- in fact, when she'd again opened her mouth, the tone was back to almost normal. Her eyes were still unfocused, staring off at the crashing waves before them. Dag pulled closer, agreeing - she heard his request, nodded, but when spoke again it was in reguard to Day's question.

                   "I don't want either of you to leave: I want you both. I want to be a happy little family like I'd always seen in my head - but that means you two have to get along, be okay with sharing. I don't know if that's fair of me, but you wanted to hear it."

Now, she took a deep breath, steadying herself and thinking of a story - the first one that came to mind was Corona Borealis. With a quivering paw, the soon-to-be-mother pointed to the ring of stars her ocean orbs were focused on. 

                                                                "Corona Borealis - Ariadne's Crown. 
Minos, the second king of Crete, had a
great labyrinth built to confine the ferocious
Minotaur. The maze was so complex and
confusing that even the designer, Daedalis, was
almost unable to find his way back to the
entrance. Each year, King Minos exacted, as
part of his tribute from Athens, twelve of the
most handsome or beautiful young people to be
placed in the labyrinth as food for the monster.
In the third group to be selected was Theseus, King of Athens. Minos’ daughter
Ariadne, fell in love with Theseus and offered to help him if he would take her
away with him when he escaped. He agreed. She gave him a ball of magical
thread to unwind while he was in the labyrinth so that when he killed the
Minotaur he could follow the thread and find his way out again. Theseus
attacked and killed the terrible monster and then followed the magical thread
and was able to find his way out of the labyrinth. Theseus sailed away from
Crete taking Ariadne with him and went to the island of Naxos where he
deserted Ariadne and sailed to his home.
Ariadne had nowhere to go and was extremely sad when Bacchus, the god
of wine and parties, came to her aid. Bacchus had fallen in love with the
beautiful Ariadne and treated her with great tenderness. He had a crown made
for her with one each of the seven most beautiful jewels to be found mounted
in it. Some stories say that there were seven diamonds. When Ariadne died,
Zeus placed her crown in the sky and changed the jewels to seven stars, which
can still be seen today as the constellation Corona Borealis, Ariadne’s Crown."

Day let out a silent breath as Dagfinn seemed to reconcile himself with the situation. Not only that, but his words seemed to prompt a ceasefire from Amber as well. It was as though a great weight was lifting off him when Amber lifted a paw and began her tale.

Though Dagfinn seemed intent on the story, Grayday had trouble focusing on anything other than the mother of his children. He still wondered if he'd done the right thing by inviting Dagfinn along, but more than anything, he hoped that, between the two of them, they'd be able to provide the happy family that Amber wanted.

Because Day wanted that, too. He wanted to have a good family, a good relationship with Amber. He wanted them to be the best parents in the whole entire world. He just wanted things to work out.

"Thank you," Day said when the story was done. Perhaps he was speaking to Amber, but perhaps he was speaking to both of them, or to the Cat and Calf himself. His next words, though, were meant solely for present company. "I didn't know you knew about the stars - it seems like we all need to get to know each other."

Niether said a word on her wishes - neither seemed exactly happy, but moreso than they'd likely been in days - but instead focused on the story.... As far as Amber knew. She didn't notice Grayday's lack of full focus, and in truth even the thanks of her knight in shining armor brought a smile to her face; for the time being, her worries were again lost to the salty waves. The Ciel was surprised to hear he didn't know of her love of the stars, but reasoned with herself that she shouldn't be - not one of the three present here knew very much of the others. 

Nodding, she reached out to nuzzle first Grayday, and then Dagfinn - but it was her pale-furred mate whom her eyes fell on playfully, with a wink.

                            "I'm a starwatcher, yes - I'd also one day like to be a healer. A Caregiver, Medic. There'll be a lot of time to catch up when we get there."

Dagfinn listened attentively to the story; he was interested in learning about the stars, unlike his paler counterpart. When the story was over, Grayday talked about needing to get to know each other, and then, even Dag had to agree. Though the sight of Amber made his heart ache like nothing else, he knew that there was still much he had to learn about her. He swore to himself that, one day, she would look at him the way she looked at Day. For although she gave them both the same affectionate nuzzle, it was toward Grayday that she looked when her gaze grew warm.

It hurt, but the pain was more distant, now. Dagfinn had grown past it; was done sulking. If this was the game that he was destined to play, then he would play it as well as every other he'd known.

"Let's get some sleep," he said, voice tired but not unkind. Grayday nodded his assent, and together, the trio readied for bed. Dagfinn, though, stayed up long past the others, keeping watch over the woman he loved and the man that she loved.

Life, he thought, is very strange.