Sleeping Dragon as long as you drive i'm along for the ride

Freyja had decided to lay low in light of what happened to @Seff. After it had been decided that Seff was able to stay in Sleeping Dragon until he could travel once more, Freyja had found herself glued to the blonde-haired boy’s side. She did everything in her power to take care of him. She had not been back to the family den and, instead, had opted to stay with the Apprentice of Blackfeather Woods so that she could keep a good eye on him through the night.

The warm light of early dawn reached into the den as Freyja stirred for the first time that morning and the Fleima stirred as it woke her. Blinking slowly as she pulled herself from her sleep, Freyja turned to Seff and smiled, curious to see if the light had woken him, too.

The coyote. it had its jaws around his neck, and fear flooded him a moment as it had not in that moment a short while ago. quite suddenly it was not the jaws of a coyote that encircled his neck,  but of Xan, and then, the setting was not a field but a cave. the wraith that was the woman called Nemesis was a flickering shadow in the background,  pure malice and hatred.

he woke suddenly, a gasp leaving his maw as his eyes flew open, heart pounding still. for a moment, confusion filled him, it was but a second later that his gaze fell on Freyja and he realized where he was. the fear faded from his gaze, dream dissapating as light begun to flood the den. his brow furrowed, unable to recall exactly what had events had led up to this point. 

he glanced to Freyja again, attempting a smile and ignoring dim memories of his dream, focusing instead on her. "H-Hi"" he finally said rather awkwardly, gingerly shifting his neck in the slightest to test the pain that throbbed there, not yet of a mind to get up.

Freyja quickly caught on to the awkwardness that had a hold on him, her brows raising and concern grabbing her as she looked on. Though she wanted to reach forward and check out how he was doing, she hesitated and instead opted to speak for now.

“How are you feeling?” she asked with a tilt of her head, giving him a once-over with a faint frown.

"I'm okay" he said, gingerly rising onto his haunches, suppressing a hiss as his neck throbbed. he blinked as the sun blazed into his gaze a moment, averting his gaze quickly and finding it's way to Freyja quickly. his gut churned as he noted her own wounds,  asking quickly, "You? I mean...are you okay?" he asked worriedly, peering at her intently. she was, he realized, one of the two figures in his life he truly cared about; Vuk he loved dearly, this he knew, and the realization that he cared for Freyja in a simular way was a thought surprising.

He was okay and, given the circumstances, that was great news in the Fleima’s eyes. Her frown faded to this news and her tail wagged gingerly. She would see to it personally that his recover went smoothly and she would do everything in her power. Keeping herself pre-occupied had given her the chance to forget her own injuries-- scratches and aches that reminded her of the incident.

But, there was no denying this pain when Seff looked to her with concern and a question of his own. Quickly, in light of it, her frown returned. “I have been better,” she decided after a brief pause, looking up to him. “My forelegs and cheek really hurt.” She sighed at this, her eyes falling to the ground before them. She did not want to appear weak before Seff-- after all he had been the one who had saved her.

Her discomfort caused him his own, and not quite knowing what to say, he catiously nudged her shoulder lightly in affection, though as soon as the action was completed he drew back, cheeks colouring and warming alarmingly fast, eyes darting to the ground. 

deciding quickly to fill the silence with words, he said, "We showed that coyote, though." he said with a small smIle. though they had succeeded in fighting in off, it would surely have been much better had he done it without the coyote attempting to sever his head.

Heat flushed her entire being at Seff’s touch. Her eyes widened and hairs along the length of her spine pricked momentarily. Despite her pain and despite the fact that they had almost died, Freyja felt great in that moment.

Continuing this feeling, a small smile crossed her lips at his comment and despite how she felt about the attack she found herself laughing gently. “You did a great job of chasing off the coyote,” the words were the voice of her bruised ego. “I did a great job of getting beat up, though.”

At her words, he laughed softly, stopping sooner than he ought to have at the pain it caused in his torn neck. He winced at the sensation, but it did not stop a small smile from flitting to his muzzle. "You were great. Holding off a hungry coyote solo-that was pretty awesome." He said with a smile, expression light, but sobering somewhat when he thought back to his current dilemma. 

"I don't think I can go back to Blackfeather. To-to stay, that is." He admitted with a sigh, not knowing exactly what to do next. He needed to find a place before winter, and though it would be so simply to stick it out in Blackfeather until winter's end, he could not imagine living with those that he so obviously did not belong with.

His compliment brought a smile back to her face and her ears lowered in embarrassment as the warm flush under her fur continued. Not knowing how to respond, she mindlessly brought her head to his shoulder shyly to hide for a moment, not realizing what she was doing in the moment. Seff had this effect on her that she still couldn’t explain, but knew as a crush, and there were times she felt as though she could not truly control her actions around him.

She only pulled away at his comment and her features softened as concern filtered in. “What are you going to do?” she asked, regarding him with soft eyes.

His face heated again at her touch, and the bridge of his nose seemed to be aflame. His face was going to melt off if this continued, he felt. But the moment lasted only a short while before serious conversation filled the silence again, and Seff replied slightly trepidantly. 

"Honestly- I don't know. I need to go back, if only one last time, to make sure my mother is alright." He admitted, sorely hoping that such an encounter would not go wrong. He knew of the position the dark woman had claimed, and he knew that he would have to pay her the utmost respect. After a moment, he looked to her. "I think...I'd like to travel. To see what's out there, to learn and explore." He said softly, looking to her. Larksong had been rigid in their ranks and beliefs, and though Blackfeather had been much the same, it was their darkness that drive him away. He understood that Freyja's own pack was steeped deeply in tradition and culture from their conversations, and wondered if all places were. Or, if there was such a place more...accepting. Open.

She nodded to what he said first, fully understanding his concern. Though he had not fully disclosed just what was wrong with Blackfeather Woods, Freyja felt as though it had to have been bad given the boy’s concern over it. She frowned at this, knowing that it couldn’t be good. From there, he continued to to elaborate on his thoughts and what he hoped for the future.

She paused for a moment, reflecting on his thought, and realized how much they correlated with her own. She smiled at this and curled her tail about her forepaws as she attempted to find the right words. “I’ve been wanting to explore more, too,” she said quietly, knowing it would be hard to leave her family. But, despite this, her meeting with Tambourine was one that had opened her eyes and made her realize that there was truly more out there-- more that she needed to explore on her own and learn about. There had been a time where she had thought that Drageda was the only culutre out there. But, now that she knew that to be unture, she found herself too curious about what all was out there.

“Would you… need a traveling partner?” she asked suddenly, her face flushing in the moment as she anticipated his response, unsure of what would happen next.

His smile widened when she spoke, and admitted to feeling the same way he did. There was so much in the wilds, so much to explore and to learn. That she felt likewise was elating, and an idea came to mi d quick lady and suddenly, and after a pause in which he considered if it would be appropriate to ask, she spoke his thoughts.

a smile spread across his features and his tail wagged excitedly behind him, and his maw opened and closed, before finally blurting "Yes!" Happiness walks written across his face at this prospect, and he said hurriedly, "I would love that. I think...we'd make a great team." He said, cheeks heating. But, a moment later, he asked of her softly, "Are...are you sure? You'd leave, with me?" He asked eyes on her. He would love, more than anything, to travel with her, but he wanted her to be sure in her decision.

Elated was an understatement of how she felt at his reply and soon she found her heart racing to this. Was she taking action too quickly, probably. But, despite this, she found herself drawn to Seff, the adventures, and the lessons they would learn. She had always been keen on learning all that she could and now that she had the opportunity to do so, she beckoned to learn about everything that lingered beyond Sleeping Dragon.

“Yes,” she said, her voice a soft whisper. “We really would make a great team and I want nothing more than that.” Her voice steadied and her confidence grew. Though she was not considering everything fully in that moment, something within her told her that this was right.

She agreed softly, and Seff felt a pang; what it exactly it meant and where it stemmed from eluded him, but his expression was soft and sincere as he looked at her. It was simply amazing that she wanted to come with him, and as the reality of her words sunk in, a smile spread across his muzzle, silent a beat, for he simply did not know what to say.

finally, he stammered, "you're-you're the best traveling partner I could have asked for" he said as softly as she, suddenly realizing the awkwardness and oddness of this situation and quickly asking, perhaps a little too quickly, "where do you want to go first?"

“You’re-you’re the best traveling partner I could as for.”

At this, a hurricane of butterflies flared in her stomach and she paused, reaching her neck back to get a better look at him. Unsure of what to say in this moment she remained silent and waited for him to speak once more. When he did, her smile grew, despite her limited knowledge of the world around them and the uncertainty they would face in the coming weeks.Was this an absoluetley absurd idea, most liekly. But that didn't matter to the lovestruck teenager. The very two things that her heart desired, Seff and the adventures that awaited her beyond Sleepin Dragon's borders, were right before her and she couldn't deny them. Something had changed in the child and it was something that she could not ignore-- especially when such ambitions came with such a handsome traveling companion. 

“I don’t really know what’s out there,” she admitted quickly with a soft laugh, her eyes lowering in her embarrassment. She paused then, contemplating what to say next. “Where do you want to show me?” her eyes rose once more to meet his, knowing that regardless of what he said she would follow him wherever he went.

Well, neither did he. he knew some from.his travels, but there was simply so much more out there to be explored that he didn't know. but a single thing stuck out in the forefront of his mind, and without hesitation, he replied quickly, "the ocean"

he himself had never seen it, and he wondered if she had. "I've only heard stories, but I have always wanted to see it. that is, if-if you'd like to too." he said, a little flustered. there was so much he wanted to see, and the ocean merely one such item in his grand list.

Though Freyja had heard briefly of the ocean, there was still much that she didn’t know. “I’ve heard of it, but, I didn’t know there was one close to us.” She explained with a sweep of her tail, holding his gaze as the skin along the bridge of her nose flushed. It was in that moment that her train of thought derailed and she realized truly realized just how handsome he was. She took this moment to truly examine him. Quickly, she found herself liking how eyes struck out so boldly in contrast to sandy fur. She lost herself for a minute, grinning goofily as she simply looked at him, which, honestly, did probably appear quite creepy.

Soon enough, she found herself resurfacing and she shook herself out of it as she replied to his initial question and replied with one of her own. “Yes, I’d love nothing more to see it with you. Do you know how far off it is?”

Seff went on at length to explain everything that he knew of the ocean and to this, Freyja listened intently. Wishing nothing more than to see the ocean for herself, the pair devised a plan on how they could do that in their travels.