Broken Antler Fen wormwood

can be a read only! tags for reference or to join <3

wraen's death was the breaking point for teya. 
just a day ago @Ibis had said she meant to 'figure out' akavir, whom she also referred to as husband. the girl had sat with that for long hours, trying to force herself to understand that whatever had begun between she and the woman she desperately wanted to love her back — that it was now over, and she could not ask for more, nor could she force herself to be more.
for now, ibis had chosen akavir.
and teya would not wait.
she had been moving toward @Bridget's den, meaning to tell the red-masque she was ready to leave brecheliant for a time. it had been a long while since they had last traveled, and in the throes of her grief over ibis and her choice, she wanted to be well shut of the fen for a few days. perhaps the experience of sea and the simple physical companionship of the cardinal would do well for them both.
elated, then, her step. after that, she would seek out @Eljay, to tell him they would be departing for a short while. teya knew he would inform maia, but did not intend to be waylaid for anything. hurt vied with relief in her heart, and she hurried along the familiar fenways.
surprised to find wraen's scent here, fading, teya followed it along. the older woman had become rather reticent as of late, and the girl in her ignorance only assumed it was because arcturus too had grown scarce. that and the babies. maybe she did not wish to be around them, hardly a reason to blame the pleasant wolf.
there was a small hill ahead, a higher point in brecheliant. the girl trotted along the soft grasses, noticing that wraen lay affably among them, asleep. "wraen —" and then nothing, tongue gone mute as she stared down at the vacant body. in her mind's eye, she saw tambourine again, but this time it was wraen, it all was wraen — she stumbled backward, legs tangling together, and went down into a heap.
her mouth worked, but there was no sound, until distantly teya registered screaming and finally realized it was her own. 
"oh, wraen," a hiccup from a hoarse throat. she crept closer to cry brokenly against the left-behind husk of the woman; there was no aspect of who she had loved remaining there. 
and then the bleak rage descended. teya began to tear at the grass nearby, digging furiously down and down and down — she would not allow the storyteller to be taken elsewhere, she would bury the wolf in the last place she had chosen, clods thrown in all directions and tears streaming along her progressively more dirty face — two claws cracked and bled but still she did not stop.

Bridget knew that Wraen's health had been failing her. It did not take much beyond a cursory knowledge of medicine to know something was wrong, but she would not press where she wasn't invited. Wraen was old enough, and wise enough, to choose what care she would take. But Bridget still made a habit of checking in, and that habit was what brought here to find Teya here.

The instant she saw Wraen's body, she knew what had happened. They could deal with that in a moment, but right now, Bridget pressed forward and into Teya's space, trying to halt her self-destructive digging and snap her out of whatever had overtaken her. She knew she might catch a bite for it, but that didn't bother her. What bothered her was the way Teya looked.

Teya leaving had come as sad news to Eljay. He'd tried to convince her to stay, but it seemed she was unbendable. Why he did not fully understand, but then again, they hadn't met on many occasions. He didn't know her like others did. It didn't sit well with Eljay still and that day he set off to hunt Maia something to eat, but really, he discovered as he was well on his way, he was going to find Teya to figure out what was really the matter. If it was reasonable and her decision was well informed, it might be easier to let her go.

By the time he found her, Eljay caught her scent mingling with Wraen's. Except when he came closer, there was the overwhelming scent of dirt and blood and when he happened upon the scene, Teya had dug a large hole already and was still going. Wraen's body lay motionless and Eljay felt his throat tighten as he saw his friend there. One of his oldest friends now. Was she truly..?

Teya? he said, words carefully picked, and he stiffly walked over to Wraen's body, though did not need to go all the way there to see that she was gone. He felt tears in his eyes as the news hit him. How would he tell Maia? And how would his children grow up in a world without Fun Aunt Wraen? It just wasn't fair. He choked out a sob. He knew Wraen wouldn't want him to cry, would tell him to just get over it because death is a part of life if she were still here, but he just couldn't help himself.

she did not notice she had been approached until the scent of bridget came to her, followed by the gentle press of the red-masque's body. forced to stop, she skewered the other woman with a harsh look that softened to grief as the seconds passed.
with a sob she came to bridget, stumbling back out of the hole she had dug in her fury. her paws ached. eljay appeared, her name upon her lips. but she could make sense of none of it, and eventually dropped down weakly next to wraen again. 
she stared at the still face, wondering if this was only a nightmare; surely the apple-bloom eyes would open, and then, and then, and then.
but wraen did not wake.
teya swallowed. it was not what the storyteller would have wanted, being fussed over so, the level of chaos that the raven had introduced to her gravesite. she was guilty. humbled. "tired of losing others," the girl said faintly, and then no more. someone else must see to the rest of it. teya had nothing left for another funeral, and did not truly want to see dirt piled over wraen.

Bridget didn't waver as that look was leveled at her, but stayed where she was, refusing to step out of the way. She understood, and her expression was soft, but she also believed that Teya needed an anchor right now. She let out a small, grateful breath when finally the other woman stopped and leaned into her, allowing her to press closer and provide that support.

She rested her chin briefly on Teya's head, softly between the ears, then turned to Eljay. He looked shell-shocked as well, but he wasn't her priority, as much as she felt for him. Death was not an easy thing, but Bridget had the benefit of separation. She'd also had the benefit of foresight, and had accepted quietly that this was likely not far off.

She didn't reply, just stayed where she was, pressed close. Then she lifted her muzzle and howled, alerting any nearby that this had happened. Wraen was gone... and they should come and pay their respects, if they wished. It was not a loud call, and it held a mournful fade.

Eljay. Can you stay with her? If he would, perhaps he could take Teya away from here. She'd finish and lay Wraen to rest, alongside any others who might wish to help.

Eljay realised with a start that Bridget was there too, someone he didn't know very well but had met before. She wrapped herself around Teya and then she called for the pack, doing what was necessary. It made Eljay feel guilty but it also snapped him out of his state. He'd never handled death well, but every time it hit him, somehow it did get a little easier.

Bridget asked him a question and he nodded numbly. Yes, of course, he said and he moved to Teya's side. As he approached he frowned and he asked her gently, Teya. Can I... Can I hug you..? And only if she would say or suggest yes would he close in on her physically. It helped for his own feelings -- or at least them bursting out or not -- that he now had a task, a person to take care of.

hug her? teya wanted to snap at eljay, break the skin and punish him for something he had not done. the rage in her was great and choking, a confusion that showed; she snuffled and wiped tears from her cheeks but the flow of them did not stem.
ears splayed, and silently, finally she nodded.
he would find her stiff at first, unused to the touch of men. but once teya came to realize the very calm of eljay in that moment, she drew a shuddering breath and raggedly exhaled into more sobbing.
wraen would not have wanted her to cry!
bridget's call rose for the pack, and teya gathered the sound of it to her heart as she buried her face wherever the caretaker would allow and cried the last of her regrets into his fur.

Bridget watched as Eljay took charge of her, gratified that it had the effect she'd imagined. When grief hit, having a task tended to help, and she had hoped to help them both. She gave him a grateful nod before pulling away. Then, with a steadying breath, she began to finish the job of digging that Teya had started.

It wouldn't be easy, but she dug with calm focus, carving out a space where they could lay the woman to rest. Westward, just as she'd done for Tambourine; so that, if she did not choose to walk among them once more, she could find her way home.

Eljay noticed the immediate reaction that his words caused, and instinctively he recoiled, grateful that he had asked her rather than just doing it. It was confusing as well as easy to have to care for another person while he, too, grieved the loss of his friend. He'd known Wraen for half his lifetime. It wasn't supposed to end so soon. They were supposed to grow old together... Or, well, older, at least.

Finally Teya relented, unexpected for Eljay, who'd thought that she might just say no. Eljay moved in and awkwardly hugged her, placing a paw over her shoulder and putting his head on the side of her neck. She was stiff and tense at first, which he understood. When finally she started to sob, he said quietly to Teya, Yeah, that's right, it's okay to hurt right now. His voice trembled as he could not suppress the first signs of his own calm cracking.

As Bridget's howl went up to the pack Eljay felt the urge to join in, but he realised that Teya needed him more right now. He allowed her to bury her face in his fur and tears rolled down his own cheeks as he let out a few sobs of his own. Wraen'd lived a good life, longer than many, but still he couldn't help but feel like it was too early. Perhaps, he thought, it always was.

<3 last from me!

teya loathed this conception: that she must be tended. yet as eljay spoke above her head, voice reassuring; as she felt herself lean into him, heard his own sobs, the sound of paw upon earth; teya dissolved somewhat.
not only for wraen, but for tambourine.
she would not and could not turn around; she would not see the pleasant older raven buried, and so stood with head tucked against the kind crook of the caretaker's own until it was over, until her tears ran to nothing and her eyes hurt, until she heard bridget's voice again — and then she would take up her sentinel silent and lone beside the newly churned loam.

Bridget dug without complaint, taking the task on herself to lay the woman away. She heard the sobs from both Teya and Eljay and her heart went out to them, but her own face was dry. Despite her easy way with any she met, there were few that could elicit such a reaction from her. Her pain was a quiet sympathy and a slight ache of loss, but life moved on. Wraen would be happier where she was, whole and well and with others who passed before.

In time the deed was done and she reclined, aching and wordless, next to Teya. She wouldn't leave her friend alone here but sensed that she needed time to grieve. Bridget wouldn't intrude on that with talk, and would leave her her space if she felt, at any point, Teya wished it.

There wasn't much else to do right now.

He stayed with Teya while Bridget dug. It was clear that she did not want to look back to Wraen's grave, to see their friend lay there lifelessly, and so Eljay waited until after the body was buried to let go of Teya (or at least, to stop providing a warm hug).

Once it was done, Eljay nodded solemnly at Bridget in a silent gesture of gratitude. Only once it was all done did Eljay slip away, towards Maia. He dreaded having to tell her about it, even though she probably heard the howl already, but he knew that she needed him right now.