Sun Mote Copse Would you stay

Eljay still hadn't had a good heart to heart with @Weejay about his choice not to follow Maia. He wanted to explain the situation and the details she might have missed. Meanwhile, he'd been tending to the wounds of the boy brought into the pack by Niamh, a welcome distraction from his thoughts about Maia's departure. While it hurt to have her gone, at the same time Eljay knew it'd hurt too much to leave Weejay, or to rip her from her home if she would come with.

He dug up and rummaged around in an old herb cache to see if any of it was still in tact, only to find it had all been soaked.

vague!

 
Q hop, skipped, and jumped throughout the Copse. Things had taken a positive swing again and Q bellowed HEY!!! as she saw Eljay. They hadn't interacted much, but all friends started as strangers as far as Q was concerned. As he was digging, Q sprang in his direction. Can I help????? She asked, before unhelpfully digging simply to sling and swing dirt all around.

Quetzal certainly seemed in a good mood as she came bursting in. Eljay returned a soft-spoken hey along with a smile when he saw Quetzal come into view. He hadn't been as heavily involved in Niamh and Phox' litter, not as much as he had with the other litters in his time in.. well, any pack, any time, really. It was mostly because his parents had died and then he'd gotten over-coddling with Meerkat and Towhee, but then as Niamh hadn't even told him about her pregnancy, Eljay had just clicked shut and had stopped interacting altogether. He felt a little guilty about that, though it seemed like Phox and Niamh had managed just as well. It contributed to some degree to his feeling that the pack didn't really need him, anyway, as he thought of how close-knit the rest of the pack was to each other; and not so much to him.

Uh, well — Eljay was about to explain what he was even doing when Quetzal suddenly started digging all over the place. I was just checking on some old herb stores to see if they'd been completely drowned or not. They're not there -- though you're welcome to keep digging, if you want. Eljay grinned as he said the latter; he didn't want to spoil Quetzal's fun nor her good mood, so if she wanted to dig, she was welcome to keep doing that.

Eljay explained to her what he had been doing, and she paused in her efforts to look up at him, knee deep in dirt. Not there? Why aren't they there? She asked, and then she thought, they drownded? As she tried to connect the dots he put into place. It hardly spoiled her good mood, but she didn't really get the gravity of what losing the herb stores meant. At his offer to keep digging, Quetzals tail waved. Okay!!! she answered, and began to do just that. 

But when he didn't join her, she glanced back up to him with bright eyes. How come you stopped? she asked. Wasn't he having fun? Don'tcha like dirt??? She inquired, shifting her hindquarters some as she peered at him. But maybe he was like Alyx, and wasn't as big of a fan of it as her. While the thought was disappointing, Q missed Alyx enough for the thought to be more endearing to her than annoying.

Quetzal asked if they had drowned, and Eljay nodded at that. Yeah, they washed away. It was the easiest way to explain what had happened in terms she could understand. He wished that there'd been more left in tact, but he knew that his herbs weren't the only things that had taken a beating here. At his offer, Quetzal excitedly continued digging, and Eljay chuckled at her boundless enthusiasm and sat down as he watched her excitedly dig.

It didn't take long before she turned to ask him why he wasn't digging though. I was only digging for the herbs. I don't hate dirt, but I wouldn't say I.. like it. She seemed mildly disappointed at that, he thought. Eljay smiled as he looked at Quetzal, glad to see her grow into such a balanced and brave adult. It wasn't really a wonder, with such parents, but still it made him happy. He wasn't sure if he was happier for it because he hadn't been as involved in her upbringing as he had with other pups (to quench his guilt over that) or if he felt like he didn't make as much of an impact as he tried to for it.

He didn't hate it, at least. My sister, Alyx, she hates dirt. So much, she informed unhelpfully, given he had not asked. Me???? I love it. I don't know why she doesn't like it, she complained huffily, all the good stuff is found in there. Food, bones, worms, she explained. She paused though, looking at Eljay with open curiosity. Well, what do ya like then? Urvsss?? she mispronounced, tilting her head.

i'll wrap up this thread since Q is on npc <3

Quetzal went on to say how much Alyx hated dirt, and how unimaginable that was to Quetzal because there were so many treasures there. Eljay chuckled at that and added, I'm more indifferent to digging. He didn't love it, didn't hate it.

Then she went on to ask what he did like. Well... Herbs, yes. And uhm... Pretty stones. He thought back to the stone that Wiffle had given him when he was born, that he had gone to Redhawk Caldera to collect for her when they hooked up. And friends, and helping other wolves. A lot of Eljay's likes weren't so touchable. ... And stories. This was a newer like, really, but he couldn't help but think of Maia as he said it.

But... How about you help me look for herbs? I'll find the plants and you dig them up? Eljay smiled softly at Quetzal and they set off to find some newer herbs to start a new stockpile.