Heron Lake Plateau My unicorn got run over by a tractor

In many ways, they were more alike than either of them realized. Like Quixote, Raven had no real friends here either. She had numerous acquaintances, sure, and plenty of family whom she loved dearly. But when it came to close friends she felt she could trust unconditionally and really be herself around, she drew a blank. It was a big part of what had always made her feel like such a wallflower in her own pack, like she was always standing on the outside looking in. Everybody seemed to have such close bonds and there seemed to be such a tightly-knit sense of togetherness among them, but that had never really extended to her -- at least not in her mind, anyway. She was a healer and a caretaker, occasionally a counselor, sometimes a parental figure...but nobody ever really stopped by just to ask her how she was doing.

The closest thing she had to a friend around here was Screech, but...well. That was a smoking crater of destruction now.

She knew little of Quixote on a personal level, but he'd always appeared somewhat solitary and aloof, so she suspected it was much the same for him. Strange as it seemed, it was far too easy to live in a big, thriving pack and yet feel so alone.

She nodded in agreement with his comments about him and Towhee both giving some thought to the alpha's offer, but she hoped he would accept. She didn't want him to put himself in a position that might make him uncomfortable, but at the same time, it was a great opportunity for him. Plus, when Towhee made mistakes (and as young as she was, Raven was sure there would be more of those), it was helpful for her to have a team of strong leaders around her to help keep things under control. Had she been a little bolder, she might have asked Towhee for a leadership position herself, just so she could back her younger sister up in a more official capacity. But Raven knew without a doubt that she wasn't leadership material. Authority and aggression really weren't her thing. She was content to practice her craft in the shadows, among her flowers and plants.

On that subject, she replied to his comments about planting trees, "I'll see if I can round up some seeds later in the season when they start to drop. I spend a lot of time dealing with plants anyway." He had moved closer, and Raven was glad. She yearned to go to him, to touch him, to feel that electric warmth between them again. She scooted toward him, closing what little distance remained between them so that their shoulders brushed and the heat of their bodies mingled. "I'll talk to Towhee," she said after a moment, her voice soft. "I don't want to hide...this, whatever it is." She looked at him, calm yellow eyes searching his face. Part of her didn't want to tell anybody about this. Sharing it with others would draw attention to it, open it up to scrutiny, question, gossip. She wanted to keep it a secret, dear and close to her heart, as if to protect it from being broken somehow or taken from her. Yet she knew she couldn't do that, and keeping secrets made her so weary. And she didn't want Quixote stressed out or afraid on account of her unwillingness to spill the beans to the alpha. What they had was too good to be plagued by anxiety and lies.