Broken Antler Fen best fake smile

There had been a lot to process since Wraen's death. @Maia was in shambles through it, of course, and he tried to support her best he could while he also had his own grief to work through. He'd known Wraen for so long, it was unimaginable that she was no longer there. Besides that, he was her age, and he could not help but worry a bit about that. He wondered how @Arcturus was doing, but he and the man had never been very close and so Eljay hadn't reached out, unsure how he even could. Besides, he had Maia to worry about and care for right now, as well as @Sylvie and @Hymnal. A lot of his days were overtaken by watching the babies to give Maia some relief from her duties, helping look after the girls alongside Maia, or being out to gather food for her. He was very much a tired new parent right now, even though Eljay was also enjoying it all the way.

Eljay hadn't sought out @Teya after they'd buried Wraen, even though he wanted to. He understood the deep grief and he wished that he could do more for her; could've done more for her. But he couldn't, and he didn't feel like their relations ran so deep that it was his place to find her. She had others, such as Bridget and Ibis, to look after her, right..? Yet she had been on his mind a lot. She was Weejay's age, which invited a fatherly sort of feeling for the girl.

Thoughts of @Ibis and her unfortunate choice of words came to mind, too, but he figured that she must be hurting, too, and had only meant well. The initial anger at seeing her hurt Maia in that way had subsided, and now he found himself wondering if he'd been too harsh in his response to her words.

After he'd brought back a piece of deer meat from an earlier hunt with one of his pack mates, Eljay arrived back at the den to find Maia and the children asleep. He put down the meat gently, as they needed their rest and he didn't want to wake them up right now. Then Eljay lay down in the clearing in front of the den and he let out a long, tired sigh.

tags are just for reference, this is all welcome :)

can be a cameo!

something had shifted inside teya since's wraen's death.
she spent many hours each day fishing, bringing the catches to ibis and to wherever she had last seen eljay. not yet had she come upon maia's den, or searched for it. she was not ready to be around children again, not when any of their small faces would remind her in a dire way of ibis.
and akavir.
today she carried half a trout and followed the caretaker's trail to where it seemed to thicken into a morass. she was too far away to see him against the den; coolwater eyes swept the foliage. a long, thrumming note: food for maia, and she set it down in the path he had left. 
teya meant to leave again. she was caught by a vision of a cardinal, shimmering among the trees.
what did bridget want from what they had, the raven wondered.

Eljay was grateful with everything that the rest of the pack provided them with. Every time someone else hunted for Maia, it meant that he got a few extra hours that he could spend snuggled up by her side rather than out finding food to provide for the family. The caretaker smiled as he heard Teya's call, and he got to his feet following it. Eljay stretched out his legs and yawned before he trotted over to where the call'd come from, where he saw Teya staring at something up in a tree.

Eljay followed her gaze to see a bright red bird up in the tree. Oh! he let out softly in wonder, but even his soft voice was enough to startle the bird and it flew up. Eljay looked apologetically at Teya. Sorry, he murmured a little awkwardly. Then he smiled and said, Thanks for the food, Teya. We appreciate it a lot. Especially through all of the grief it was really nice to have someone look out for them; especially someone who was also struggling with her own grief.

the bird flew away, but teya was not dissuaded. "it my pleasure," she told the man softly, thinking of what she and ibis and bridget had spoken of not long ago. "you are father. i am hunter. it is good."
unsure of how to best segue into the conversation, teya instead inclined her head in a friendly manner. "walk with me? we not go far," she hastened to assure eljay, thinking of his careful nature as well as her duty to brecheliant.

Eljay smiled as Teya said that it was her pleasure to bring the food. Still, his appreciation did not diminish; if anything, it further deepened the appreciation for it. He resisted the urge to thank her for it again, and just smiled. For a short moment they stood in silence and Eljay was just about to take the prey and head back to Maia when Teya asked him to walk with him; just a bit, not far.

Honestly, he could use a break. It had been stressful dealing with Maia's grief and raising two young babies at the same time. Even though he was happy he could be there for Maia and help her work through her pain, it was also quite a heavy burden on shoulders that had only recently been recovering from the Redhawk Caldera burnout.

I'd love to, he said with a soft smile. Eljay grabbed the food provided and brought it to Maia, giving her a quick kiss good-bye before he turned back and returned to Teya's side. He was glad to see she was feeling more sociable and a bit better, even though he didn't want to talk about Wraen's death; he didn't want to reopen wounds that she might've only recently closed up.

her tail waved softly as eljay retreated and returned. she enjoyed seeing how tender he was with maia, and how he had not suddenly become a hardened soul upon being mated to a leader. he had not asked for anything more than his own world and future; now he had both.
teya smiled sideways at the man. "baby good?" she inquired, giving him room to say as little or as much as he wanted. while children were not her forte, teya saw their value and even enjoyed visits to ibis' own. she suspected if allowed, it would be the same for her and maia's kids.

Teya asked about the children, and Eljay smiled at her at the attentiveness. Not only did she bring food, but she was willing to listen to a parent ramble about their children. She was a good person. Yeah, they seem to be healthy and well, Eljay shared with a smile. And very cute, of course. I can't wait to share them with the rest of the pack. He smiled at Teya, trying to figure out if that was something that she would be glad about or if she didn't care overly much about children, herself.

eljay spoke warmly of his children. "i looking forward to it," she said, and meant it. being auntie to the first brood had not dissuaded teya; quite the contrary. she enjoyed spending time with ibis' brood, and moreover, enjoyed leaving them with their mother when they all had finished.
"how maia?" she asked next. without pups of her own, teya would never know what went on within the den. she asked because she had not seen maia in some time, and while instinct told her this was natural, her own misgivings kept the girl worried.

The thought that his pack mate was looking forward to spend time with his children clearly warmed the caretaker's heart; he was happy to hear it. The pack was needed to raise all the pups. Eljay was glad to know that his children had other pups to play with as well as adults who were willing to teach them all the essentials.

Next the subject moved on to Maia, which was a tricky subject, really. Eljay frowned for a moment, betraying his worries, before he answered with a grimace. Wraen— He realised as he said it that it was a touchy subject for Teya, too, and startled a little, as though saying her name might bring up pain in Teya, too. He swallowed and continued on a different track. Maia's hurting a lot, and of course there's the babies, so it's... It's tough for her right now. Maia had been grieving a lot since Wraen's death, and Eljay tried his best to be there for her so she could process it all, but he could tell that she was feeling bad, and having the pups there didn't help, because it meant she felt she needed to be strong for them, too.

maia had not ever deserved the blow of so many things at once. teya knew in her heart she must go to the new mother, but did not understand why she was so reticent at the idea. once having convinced herself that brecheliant would be unprotected if she was not upon its far reaches each day, the notion was hard to shake away.
"difficult time, for all." a swallow, preparing to give up some deal of her free-wheeling ways for a short while. "maybe when older, i come to watch them? you take maia, ah, out of brecheliant. a date?" a flush was beneath her cheek, not one of infatuation, but the berry-stain of embarassment.

Eljay nodded at Teya's words. She was right, it was a difficult time for all of them. It would get better though, Eljay knew it would. He wasn't entirely sure where he got the positivity and strength from — and was a bit afraid it would crumble when things would get better and he was no longer needed to be strong for the rest of the pack and for Maia — but he wanted to foster it nonetheless.

At Teya's offer, Eljay smiled warmly. Thank you, Teya. I think that would be great and do Maia well. That means a lot to me. He wasn't sure where they would go yet, and the thought of going outside of the territory was daunting for him, but at the same time he knew Maia loved to explore and it might be good for her to be away from everything for a little bit.

figure we could fade this and have an updated one about recent events *eyeballs*

she smiled. maia she might not yet know closely, and eljay she was still figuring. but the two deserved a good beginning. "then it agreed," she said awkwardly, tail swishing behind her hips. there were patrols to be done and caches to be filled, but,
"i glad you here, eljay," the raven said, all in a tumble, and if the man allowed, she would reach out for a brief hug. he had comforted her once before, and she wished somehow to offer the same reassurance.
once parted, she sighed, clearing her throat. "i get back to patrol now," the girl said gently, though she was a bit lighter than before.

yessss, good idea! i been popcorn-eating watching it all so i'm up for a new one when Teya returns to Brech :D

Eljay smiled as Teya sealed the deal. It would be so good to get some time with Maia alone. It would be good for both of them. The children were lovely, but everything was tough and tiring. Some relaxation would do her well.

The statement that she was glad he was there came as a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. Eljay looked caught off-guard at the sentiment as well as the hug, but he allowed it nonetheless and after a moment of initial tension due to the surprise, he leaned into the hug. Thank you, Teya. That means a lot to me, too. He was glad that he had come here; these wolves were already like a family to him now, even though he'd initially come here only for Maia.

When Teya said she would patrol, Eljay nodded. Thanks, he said, a little awkwardly. Catch you later. And then he turned towards the den again to head back to Maia.