Jade Fern Grove bonji

running alongside this! open to all <3

with amadeo's ascension to den father, heda suddenly did not feel so alone in her heading of the children. 
it was easier then to leave the patrolling to anselm and the strength to amadeo. heda gladly retreated behind the veneer of womanhood, spending her days among the children of rivenwood.
today, however, she sought a moment alone. she would gather bouquets in the grove, she decided, bringing flowers back for the rendezvous, her den, amadeo's, and even a sprig for anselm in a gesture of goodwill.
butterflies sprang from beneath her paws, and for a still, pure moment, heda was unguarded in peace.

Druid waited to die. Yet weeks passed and neither infection nor madness took her. Instead, she healed. It was a slow process—made even slower by the lack of proper nutrition—but ever the survivalist, she somehow prevailed.

Now she walked west out of the woods, scrawny and weak but not even limping. She’d stumbled across a carcass yesterday and felt energized from the meal. Her bright eyes flicked to the distant arches, her heart jumping into her throat.

Before she reunited with her family, Druid needed to make herself more presentable. She ambled a little south of the bypass, planning to bathe in the river before following it north through the western gateway. As she carefully scrubbed herself in the cold water, her gaze remained fixed on Rivenwood.

Her eyes only drifted downward to stare at the bite wound, now a pale pink scar. It didn’t hurt. It didn’t tingle. Surely it was nothing more than a bad memory. Druid had to believe the danger had passed.

She lifted her head again, lips pulling into a moue as she prepare call out to her sister and children—only to whip her head to the left at the sight of Heda frolicking with butterflies.

it was good to be alive.
heda realized this the moment she also realized that The Clock had not ticked in a long time.
head auraed in butterflies, she turned that moment to look in druid's direction.
for the longest second, her eyes didn't register what she was seeing. or whom.
and then instinct tugged at heda, followed by sisterly insistence, followed by shock. shock! and — relief?
"druid?" her own voice felt like it was coming from a thousand miles away as she trembled and then raced on her own unshaking legs right for the face she had never thought she would see again.
it is good to be alive.

She had never beheld anything more idyllic in her life than the sight of her sister dancing in the summer sunlight. It warmed her spirit indescribably. Druid didn’t dare break the spell, sunken eyes following Heda’s every balletic movement until they came to a sudden stop.

Heda, Druid tried to croak, only she hadn’t spoken in some seven weeks.

With her fur so wet, she probably looked like a half-drowned, mostly-starved rat. Heda wouldn’t care, she knew. Druid didn’t care, either. Too overjoyed at being reunited, she hastened toward the pale sylph, reaching for her with shaking paws.

she didn't care; she grabbed druid and held her, close as she was able. her sister looked awful and weak, bathed in brackish water, but she was here! alive!
"you're back! you're back," was all heda could think to say in a breathless chant. "everyone is going to be so happy to see you, druid."
butterfly wings once more gold in the grass, and heda sat back with a brilliant smile to seek her sister's gaze.

Heda, she rasped again as the distance closed and they folded into one another. I’m back, she agreed, snaking her forelimbs around the familiar planes of Heda’s figure and tucking her face into the pale woman’s neck.

She clutched at her for a minute or two before loosening her grasp and stepping back. Druid hadn’t been entirely sure what she’d find upon returning to Rivenwood, though to see Heda flourishing put her sore heart at ease.

How are the children? she asked, fear flickering in her mismatched gaze.

Surely they were well, if the Den Mother’s demesne was any indication. But what did they think of her? Would they really be happy to see her, like Heda said, or would her children be upset with her for leaving in the first place? Would they understand? Would they even remember?

Druid choked out a breath as this terrible possibility threw shadows across her gaunt face despite the warm August sunshine.

"oh, they miss you, druid. they're — they settled. they accepted. but they're quieter," heda murmured, the words pouring out of her in a rush. she did not let druid go; she could not believe that her sister was still here, with her.
"just — just come back, druid. we'll figure it out. it's a miracle, really. we — we looked. anselm looked."
she glanced at her paws. "things can feel — right again, with you back."

Her breath caught in her throat as Heda assured her about the children. They missed her. They’d grown withdrawn in her absence. Druid bit the inside of her cheek, blinking away the tears that welled in her eyes.

It seemed Heda needed some reassurances too, so Druid soothed, I’m back, I’m back. She paused, glancing at the nearby arches and then back to her sister’s face. I feel it in my bones: the danger has passed. I’m not going to get sick. I’m not going to go mad.

She didn’t say that there was no way to be entirely certain. Etienne himself had said the danger could lurk for years. Although the risk seemed small now, Druid hated to gamble with the lives of her loved ones. She looked now to Heda for absolution and guidance.

"druid. i trust you," the den mother assured, relieved to say those words aloud. "and i know if you feel sick, ever, you'll let me know."
she gathered them both up now, hugging her sister again. "anselm and i — we worked things out, i think. amadeo is a leader now. it's why i could be out here today, like god knew i needed a break," she said, sighing as she began a slow parade toward the bypass.

For a split second, Druid felt stricken with the naked truth of it: they were playing with fire. It was dangerously foolish to think the danger had passed. But Druid let Heda’s reassurances lure her into a sense of security, no matter how false. Her sister’s soft voice drowned out the warning bells in the back of her mind. Heda trusted Druid and she, in turn, believed what Heda was saying.

The pale Den Mother struck out for the nearer arches, Druid falling into step beside her. She listened as Heda updated her on the goings-on in Rivenwood. Anselm was still here. Was Etienne? Amadeo was a leader… Druid didn’t know what to think of this and set it aside for later contemplation.

What about Etienne? And Fiona? she asked, voice still hoarse as she gazed forward, desperate for any sign of her kids’ faces.

"fiona's scarce these days. and etienne left to help his sister." john still hadn't come back and dinah — her heart broke just thinking of her daughter.
it would take them a little time to get back, she thought, determined to entertain her sister all the way back to the pinewood territory and the deep streams which gave rivenwood such a rich look.