Neverwinter Forest I hear they're calling my name

Mal wasn't sure if he was overstepping or not. Maybe if he knew what her family was actually like he could make a better decision of which was the better choice, but as it was, he wasn't the expert here. I'd kind of leave it up to you. I mean, you've had some training now, so you should be fine with traveling on your own.. But would you want someone there to back you up? I mean, if you don't want to go alone, you shouldn't have to. He just wondered how that would line up with other things if she wanted him to come along. What about Caerus? Miriam and Aibreann? Would she want someone to just go with her and stay at a distance? Maybe she wouldn't want him to go at all in that case. But if she hadn't told anyone what happened with her father, he wouldn't be surprised if he was on the short list otherwise.

She was quiet for a few moments, unsure really what she wanted. No one else knew about her family stuff, and taking someone other than Mal would mean going through the whole story again. That sounded pretty exhausting, not to mention she didn't really feel comfortable enough with anyone else to talk about it with them. She knew Mal would come with her if she asked, but he had his own family to think about and she wasn't sure it was really fair to pull him away from the whole pack so that she didn't have to clean up her mess alone. Besides, he was right, she was capable enough to do this on her own, and the more she thought about it, the more she really felt like she should face this alone. She expelled a soft sigh. I think I want to do it on my own, she finally told him. I'm not sure yet when I'll go, but I'll definitely tell you before I do. She knew it would be soon, though. If she put it off for too long, she might lose her nerve and decide that she was better off forgetting about it all.

It was another of those times where Mal felt Simmik definitely had her head screwed on way better than he had his. He doubted it was his influence -- after all, he'd definitely been on the burn every bridge campaign after he left Elysium for the last time. He nodded. Okay. I hope it ends up being a good trip for you -- getting you what you need to hear and all that. Really that was the most he had to say on it. If she changed her mind, he'd be here if she changed her mind and wanted someone to come with her, or just about anything else.

But it felt awkward to just end there, so though he hadn't been planning to, he blabbed a bit more, Whenever you feel up to it there's other stuff I want to talk to you about too. It's not anything bad or a rush or whatever, but a lot's gone on, so if you don't want something else to think about, it can wait. And you can just let me know when's good. Did that sound stupid? Probably.

I hope so too, she agreed. She really had no idea what to expect, but she hoped it was nothing too hard to deal with. I shouldn't be gone longer than ten days, I think. She was hoping it would be less than that, but it had been a while since she made that trip, and she couldn't quite remember how long it had taken her the first time. 

When he spoke again, it was her turn to look at him with concern on her face. I'm up for it now, she assured him. What's up? After everything he did for her, letting her sleep here so she wasn't alone and listening to her issues, she had no problem talking about whatever was on his mind. She was happy to listen.

Yeah, maybe there was no real good way to have said what he had just before without it sounding like some sort of lurking monster. Really, it wasn't bad! He just didn't want to like... overwhelm her or something. So he replied with a more lighthearted tilt of his head, I'm telling you, it really isn't anything bad. And add a smile to go along with it.

Still, he took a second or two to compose his thoughts before continuing, I was curious if you have any interest in being beta? I mean, you help out a ton already. And if you want to now or later or whenever, then you should definitely get that chance. Between having been around forever and just being a great packmate and friend, yeah. She deserved it. You can even just think about it if you want. Look, Mal didn't know if there was a protocol for this kind of thing. Zephyr was the only one who outright asked for a rank and look what happened for that.

That was not at all what she had expected him to say. She was stunned at first, offering only: Oh, um— That was a lot of responsibility, and, wow, she was honored that he had considered her. Beta hadn't really been on her radar; she did everything out of her loyalty to Mal and her desire to see their pack flourish. But beta? That was big. What if she failed miserably at it? But would he have asked her if he wasn't sure she would do the job well? She supposed she would be doing most of what she already did—patrolling, protecting the pack, helping Mal. So maybe she should push aside all of her stupid doubt and give him an answer, especially since she realized she had just been staring at him like an idiot for who knows how long. Yeah, of course, she finally answered. She didn't need to think about it. I would be honored to be beta, she added. She would take the job more seriously than any responsibility she'd ever had.

What response had he expected? Dunno. But he hadn't expected the shock -- mostly because it had been lurking around in his brain for a few weeks now and so he was pretty familiar with the idea. And he wasn't going to rush her to answer either, but seeing her response did kind of broaden his grin a bit -- a sort of impish grin, in fact. And I'll be honored to have you as beta. His smile had shifted to be genuine, even if he did have a playful undertone to it. This was all much better than the gloom earlier, and he was certainly not regretting bringing it up. It was a nice note. Wait until it's actually a reasonable hour and we can howl and let the pack know?

The faith he had in her was—well, she couldn't think of the words to describe how exactly it made her feel. She did know that she didn't want to do anything to let him down. He trusted her enough to ask her to be his second, and she would make sure not to give him a reason to regret it. 

She couldn't help but grin in return, feeding off of his energy and the swell of pride in her chest at having her new title. Okay, she said excitedly, wishing they could announce it now but knowing they shouldn't wake the pack for it. Despite her excitement and the lightening of the mood, a huge yawn split her jaws. She hadn't really slept at all before seeking Mal out, and now that she felt a little better about what was on her mind, she was starting to feel content and sleepy. Until then, I might sleep a little, Simmik told him. He didn't have to sleep or even stay here if he didn't want to. But she couldn't help but suggest: Maybe you should try to sleep a little too. She wasn't sure how much he had slept before she got here. She stretched a little against him and then rested her head on her paws once more. Her eyelids were heavy and her blinks became slower, but she was still awake for now if had anything else to say.

After all that had happened, it was good to see her smile again. A little bit of moving on, maybe? Even if just for a moment or two. He was sure that she'd make a great beta.

Guess I can try. Will see if I have any more luck this time. He kind of doubted it. After all, he'd just about given up when she'd come around here in the first place. He did stretch a little, reaching a bit farther out into space in front of him but really not moving too much. He looked over to Simmik once more with a smile, Rest well. He'd give it a few moments longer before also lowering his head to his paws. He still wasn't sure if he'd actually get back to sleep, but as mentioned, could try.

She was already well on her way to falling asleep when he spoke again, and so she just gave a sleepy smile and a small nod against her paws where her head lay. She felt him shift a little after he spoke, resting his head on his paws next to her. It wasn't long after that when her mind finally quieted, allowing her to sleep. She never slept for any long period of time, so she would still probably wake after a few hours, ready to start the day with her new rank and responsibility. 

we can probably fade here?