Northstar Vale touched by lightning; touched by death

Aiolos exit. If any decide to join him they are free to reply and follow.

This had all happened so horribly suddenly. Aiolos knew his time within the Courtfall was limited, though he did not at all expect it to go down like this. When he returned from his mission along the Coast, it was only to be told by Andraste that Kalika was no longer here, missing. Aiolos stayed, hoping for her return and that she had only gone recruiting. But she did not return and that meeting with his leadess ended up being the last one. A heavy air filled the lands now, woeful and lost.  

The Court planned to pack up their things and leave, to move on and forget. But Aiolos would not be joining them. He walked the trails of the Vale like he had done time and time before. He visited Sacnite's hidden collection in the knoll, where still the rock she have him lie. He visited the Broken Falls where he had made his den and Kalika and Tundra would visit him. 

He sighed, though knew that with the island scouting party having been found, he would find placement with them once more, as he had originally planned all alone. Howling out into the moonlight, Aiolos sang his farewells to the Vale and its Court, to Tundra, to Gracious, to Agana... He belonged to the sea and so left the mountains and began his journey.

She knew the leave would be hard on several of the members of the Court. Some decided to stray and make their own ways, to Gracious, that was okay, because she had seen it before. When Tindome was supposed to be on the move, several decided to part and find new lives elsehwere. Gracious always found herself stuck on the pelts of others like sap, not wanting to lose what family she had made there.

Now the time dawned again for another great migration elsewhere. She prayed her family would stay, though when she heard the call of one, saying a goodbye, she felt her heart almost stop. Aiolos was a gentle soul in her eyes and seemed to find a place in the Court, why would he want to leave it all behind? She thought back to her first conversation with him, he did bring up the fact that he wanted to reunite himself with his old pack, the Nereides was it? She couldn't stop him from that, it was his own path he was carving out after all.

At least, however, she wanted to say goodbye. Her short howl back to him asked him to wait for her. Long legs swept the greyscale woman through the land, she galloped through the coating of snow and over the roots of the trees until the flamed boy came into view. She broke gait to a trot, then finally came to meet him, face to face.

"You are... not coming with us, Aiolos?" She asked, breathless after her run with a few puffs inbetween. Her breath fogged in her face like dragon's smoke, it poured from her lips and nose, even from her body as heat escaped her fur.

To his surprise, another call sounded back - Gracious. He knew that he and the woman had found peace and happiness in one another's company,  much as he had with @Tundra, but he yet still had not expected to be missed in such a manner. He waited, patiently, taking a seat in the snowy woodland and lifting up again then after she came into view, rushing to meet him.

Breathless, she asks why he was not joining them on their relocation. A frown of the fiery wolf is given to that of smoke and he sighs out into the chilly air, adding to the mists. I'm not... He admits solemnly. With Andraste gone and... Dead. I just cant being myself to be commanded by a male again. Not after what he experienced and Gracious was well aware of his views of him following leadership of a female. The Sea wont let me stray for long. I have to go back. And now with what had happened, he needed to. After all, it was these lands which he so loved to - the Vale and with no pack even in it only made another reason for him not to stick around. 

You know... His footing shifts and his eyes cast downwards to them. Your always welcomed to join me. But he knew it was an offer she would have to turn down. If he were to join the Nereides, their way of thinking towards men was certainly something Gracious would never be able to choke down.

His words caused ripples of sadness in her heart, though she could not deny his destiny with the ocean. The large coast had hurt her before, for that, she wasn't sure if she would dare go back again. But, perhaps if she were to visit the fiery male, perhaps her confidence and trust would come back. She hoped for that, at the very least. When he offered her a place, a gentle shake of the head soldified her answer. "Andraste may have left us, but there are still the wolves I care about here as well. I hope you find your place at the ocean." He was right to assume Gracious wouldn't know how to take to the fact about the females being so highly placed over the males. It was a new construct she just wasn't sure if she could handle quite yet. Perhaps, she craved attention and even a little power, she would eventually.

"I will miss you with my whole heart, Aiolos" she said gently. With that, she strode forward and brushed her nose gently against his cheek, the same way a mother would cusp the face of her son before he leaves her. "But I know you will be happy, and that is the only thing I want you to be, happy." 

Sad Olo is sad.

 

She shook her head in a confirmed 'no'. It was the answer he had been dreading in those few lingering moments but the answer he fully expected none the less. Silently, he nodded, more to himself then anything as his eyes landed on the familiar forest floor. 

She speaks that she would miss him and his head lifts, just in time that he was met with her face to face, the length of her monochrome muzzle moving over his cheek. He sighs, pushing his cheek against her touch. I dont want to have to miss you.  He whines, shifting on his footing, almost like a child resisting by stomping their feet. 

He pulls forward closer, his own muzzle finding burrow into the fur of her nape and he breaths in deep the scent of the fresh morning dew scent of her coat. If you are ever unhappy, you find me, you here? She was a good woman, caring and warm in both body and soul. She deserved nothing less then the best.

the gap is closed and the two embrace each other softly. gracious wished the moment would never end, but knew they would part ways. the brightly colored male whined, and gracious could feel her heart nearly shatter. in a way, she felt like a mother to this flame boy, wishing nothing but the best and feeling like this parting is more painful than her last ones.

"i'll always be with you, aiolos. in the breeze that pushes you to new adventures, in the stars that guide you at night. you have my whole heart." gentle, whispery, almost a bit shaky. gracious felt sadness in her life but knew this dug deeper into her than before.

"of course i intend to come find you. you are not a wolf i want to forget about. i know you will find your place in the ocean, i hope it provides you the home you deserve." she pulled away from the embrace, knowing she would have a hard time doing so if she stayed any longer. before she pulled away completely, however, she planted a very soft kiss cheek, right below his eye. an invisible mark, one that only she and aiolos would know it ever existed.

Her words were a coo, delicate and soothing to him as his muzzle burrowed into the furs of her grayscale coating. He breaths in deep her scent yet again and exhales a long, slow sigh. He would think of her then, when he looked up to the stars, knowing she too looked to them. He would think of @Tundra too, whenever she was and their time settingly together under the starlight as she explained the name and meanings to him. 

She speaks that she had no intention of putting their relationship behind her. That she would not miss him, only to allow time to forget what bond they had built. She would find him by the seas and visit him. There was a good chance, too, come spring or summer, he would scour this mountain chain in search for her if she did not come to him first. I do hope so, too. Was all the words he could manage to mumble at the time under his lips, his tail waving delicately behind him at her kiss. His head lifts then, jutting his muzzle northward. If you follow the mountain chain along the flatlands you'll come out to the coast along a river. To the west I'll be, there is a plateau easily spotted. He explained, making it easier on her to find him should he somehow not be able to make it to her (like if he had children... or was a slave). 

I.... He hesitated, shifting uncomfortably once more. I shouldn't keep you. After all, if the pack was rallying for a move, he would hate for her to be trailing behind on her own.

a visual map she would force herself to remember, should she desire to visit him. she promised to him in silence that she would never forget his place, his ocean, his plateu. yet in the end, the two would pull apart from their embrace. a motherly love for him, a precious bird of fire in her nest about to leave to explore. he spoke of holding her back, she couldn't help but nod.

"it is time" she said gently. "may you travel safe, aiolos. and may your home bring you wonderful treasures" she pulled away, with a sad glint in her eyes but the best and warmest smile she could muster, she would soon be off to follow the others for the move.

You too... He speaks, the words a mumbled whisper. She always had the right words to say- pretty words, filled with rhythm and flow, proper and soft. I'll see you again. He promises, unwilling to allow himself to say goodbye. Waiting until she turns away he too would hesitantly turn from Gracious and trot off out and away from the protective confines of Northstar Vale. 

Courtfall had burned bright and died out quickly as a moth to flame.