Rising Sun Valley Leave me in the afterglow, the dew of dying stars

Set outside the border of Swiftcurrent Creek <3 Also, for your reference

How long since she had seen @Lestan? Too long, but Reverie knew that was her own fault. She had promised to visit, and then... well, then life hit her like a landslide. The gilded girl came now bearing her gift, the irregular piece of amber she'd found by the riverside. She couldn't think of anyone she would rather give it to than Lestan — and what use was such a treasure to her, a girl who only wanted to wander?
She kept a careful distance from the Creek's border, wary of receiving any unwanted answers to her call. Then she set her gift gently into the snow, and let herself fuss and worry over it for a moment. What if he didn't like it? It certainly wasn't as thoughtful as his gift, something he'd made. She had only found this. But she hoped that wouldn't matter to him. So she took a deep breath and called for him, and nevermind that it was obvious she'd been crying for days, that she hadn't slept, that she looked — well, like crap. She knew, at least, that he wouldn't mind that, even if he worried.

would this work to bring up to present OR would that break timelines :O <3

the creek was changing. not for the worst but for the better. and yet lestan mayfair felt excluded, not through any fault of another but through his own, for not having been more involved.
and so his days were hunting and patrolling and feeding others, chasing bystanders away and immersing himself often in the icy waters of the creek.
lestan was no less contemplative, but he was quieter now, the star of him subdued as he turned inward. he followed — and then his head snapped upright with an outtake of breath.
reverie!
lestan felt a lurch in his gut. he moved quickly to meet her, brow furrowing to see her tragic state and tangled demeanour. without thinking his arms wended around the golden fairy, pulling her closer.
but this time he did not ask. the mayfair felt he did not need to ask. he knew.

I always keep things a little vague so our threads can fit anywhere <3 So, up to you!

Lestan! The sight of him struck her in a way it never had before, and for a heartbeat she could only think fiercely that she loved him. It startled her. She didn't know when it had happened, only that it had, the way it always did. But this was different. She wasn't sure if she liked it.
Yet that did nothing to deter her. She was light, ever following fire, the only thing that could truly touch her. So she wrapped herself in his arms, and let the flame of him, of all she felt for him, surround her, and she did not think of what would happen if the spark between them should ever dim.
She knew.
Instead she found herself checking him over, suddenly worried, remembering Tybault's words now. He didn't - hurt you, did he? Hushed words, a little shaky. Her gift was forgotten for now. Lestan didn't look hurt, but some time had passed. Reverie could not bear even to think of what else might have transpired, what words they might have shared. How much did he know? Would she have to hear that name from his lips, the name she swore she'd never bear again?

all right! <3

"who?" but lestan was not sure he wanted to know. his honeyblue eyes looked her over with growing unease.
"what's happened, reverie?" the accent of the glen swelled in his tones, and he could not help it!
his arms tightened around her. "has someone hurt — you?"
perish the thought! he raced with indignation and love and worry.

She blinked at him, suddenly uncertain and maybe a little charmed by the way his voice changed. Tybault had known Lestan, so how could Lestan not know —
It clicked, then, at least as best as it could with limited knowledge. Whatever Tybault had learned, Lestan hadn't made the connection. She bit her lip, stressed by the abrupt conflict set before her. She could keep it from him, she could keep all of it from him; the long shadows of her past didn't need to stain this too. But she knew she couldn't keep it from him forever. Her life would always be this, always haunted by all that had made her. There were only two options left to her, and to those who dared to love her: stand against it, or run.
If he was a runner, she would rather know now. And maybe she should have felt guilty for doubting him, but she didn't; her doubt was her safety net, in case of the worst, because she still couldn't quite learn how to stop preparing for it. My brother. Tybault. He - mentioned you, The fear of hearing that name grasped her again, and she added, I don't know what he said to you, but if he said - that name - you can't ever say it! Not around me. Please. He didn't hurt me, though. He just...
Reverie shivered a little. He was so cruel.

tybault?
tybault!
"oh, yes! he came right to the creek and made an arse of himself in front of arric and i, he kept demanding to know about an ophelia, then accused me of hiding her! then —"
and now lestan stared at reverie, whom had just referred to this wretch of a man as her brother.
"y-you — you're ophelia?"
his voice climbed high with shock!

Ophelia.
The moment the name passed his lips, she pulled abruptly from his embrace. Hurt etched itself into her features, hurt and betrayal; she'd asked him not to! Begged! Ophelia, again, like a blazing strike to her chest. The sound of it hurt her ears. She shook her head.
No, no no - don't call me that, please, I can't - Tears hot in her eyes, and she wanted to explain, but she couldn't. Reverie tried again to speak; she fought desperately for that opportunity, but even so... I - She struggled. Her focus slipped. Then her gaze fell away from him, turning glassy, and when she looked back she didn't see him at all. She didn't see anything.

first she was there, and lestan realized too late his mistake.
and then she was gone.
standing in front of him, transparent as if she were only a shade. for the first time lestan was frustrated, but not with reverie; never her.
with himself, for not having made her feel safe.
"reverie," he tried once, then again. "reverie. let us go, to kvarsheim."

No no no no
Ophelia —
stop stop stop STOP STOP STOP —
Over and over, echoing; she didn't hear anything else. Even if she had, she would not have listened. Not to him. Reduced to instinct, the gilded girl would only recognize his presence as a source of hurt. Perhaps it was best, then, that she didn't recognize his presence at all. At least not now.
She stepped back again and sank to the ground, sitting numbly because she could do nothing else. Were she human, she would have drawn her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as if to shield herself, but she's a wolf so just picture the vibe okay. Her gift sat forgotten in the snow between them, glinting under snatches of sunlight as the clouds shifted. She didn't notice.

"reverie. reverie, please."
at last lestan gave up. he only sat down with her, bracing himself against the shearing wind so that he could shield her.
he looked over the silent woman as they were still, seeing that she had traveled, as she meant. but why did she go? and this name, it held such pain.
lestan fell into hard thought.

She didn't hear him, but she felt his closeness, his warmth. After some time it finally registered, truly reached her, and she relaxed and leaned against him. Her eyes closed. A step back toward reality, but Reverie was still far away. Somewhere dark and quiet, not trapped in memories but not free either. She drifted in that place and thought of nothing.
Little by little it trickled back to her, cracks of sunlight through the dark. She was aware first that she existed, and second that she did not want to. Lestan was here for a third, and by the fourth she was overwhelmed but could not help remembering: Tybault. Ophelia. She'd been afraid, and then hurt, and then nothing at all. It all came back so quickly, but Reverie was no less a prisoner for the knowledge. She sighed. These little gestures would be all she gave for several hours.

fade? <3

as long as she remained, so would he, speaking softly or saying nothing at all. he kept himself close for it all, even as the long hours went on and hunger arrived, even as the cold of the winter deepened around them.
he folded her in his embrace.
that was all he could do for now.