Twisted Slough With a dare comes a promise.

@Kai <3 Almost home~ 

It had been a lucky break for the pair, their plight to fight through the troubles that harrassed them and accurately handle the flights when need be. Conserving their energy with common sense and togetherness, they had come a long way, and their reward was quite near.

"It's just past this mountain," he commented, voice low in case any others might have been near. The perfect relationship between these pair, depite their ancestory differences, was their appreciation of silence and trust. They relied off of each other's actions more than their words, and Cry, being someone who preserved himself in silence, respected that of the wolfdog. She didn't have to speak for him to know what she meant. She would simply show him.

And that was what made him all the more appreciative of the words she spoke. She put much more effort into them, as he did his own. They were wll thought out, and much more full of feeling than the occasions they came across who were destined to ramble, and never to listen. It helped them weed out who they would remember to who they would try to forget.

Passing though the thinning forrestry, they came to the base of the hill, and Cry took a moment to survey the area. It looked much as it did before, though the colors of the tall and lined brown mound were dulling as the cold suckled the color from the heap. It was a combonation of clay, rock, and hardened dirt, some sand, and a bunch of other geological elements Cry didn't care to learn about. It didn't have any significane to him other than it being a wind barrier to the forest his heart was set on shielding his Family in.

Family...
The word still haunted him,...But he had Kai and Gwen to alleviate those terrible memories that plagued his history. They were here for him, and he wasn't leaving them any time soon.

"Rest, or no?" he asked, turning to face the feline-like speckled fae he traveled with. It was a bit early, but he occasionally checked on her status as much as he thought she needed.

Kai had no inkling of what Cry had been searching for - though her mind often wandered to the thought of home - when they started their journey yet she remained an inaudible compatriot, following his guidance as readily as their first encounter. 

Unpigmented, save for a streak of ocean, optics moved to the towering lupine as he spoke, a single nod being her response. The raven was a quiet man, thoughtful, she had come to learn - a relief to the feral girl whose ears were no longer accustomed to language - though when he did speak, it boded well to listen. Speckled, stained paws drew to a halt at Cry's side, curiosity glimmering in her gaze. It drifted once between the protector and hillside - a pile of rubble consistent of various shale. 

Was this home?

Cry's next question drew her attention from the slough, ears twitching attentively. The naiad smiled, tail picking up an energetic wag - in the privacy of their travels, with only the titan's wintry gaze to bear witness, she was beginning to regain some of her spunk - before extending a matted neck to nip his shoulder playfully. 

"H..Home," she beamed, indicating she was too excited now that they seemed so close. Eagerly, the sea wolf padded ahead to the slope of mud, beginning to work out how she might climb over it - ignoring the healing wounds littering her body.

the fisher took little notice of the travels, vaguely noting now and again a forest they passed through or a mountain in the distance. this land belonged to the wolves and she had no interest in mapping its various territories. she remained close to kai, for it made tula anxious to be away from her witch when she was so injured, flitting away on occasion to find a meal of her own.

the new companion, another wolf though not quite like the one before, was soon accepted by the familiar - for he too seemed to care for tula's friend in his own way.

the fisher curled sharp claws into the dryad's ruff, flinty blue wings extended for balance as kai approached the slough with excitement. she could make little sense of their words but she could sense the occasion - they were almost there.

The excitement was contageous as she was beyond even the words to respond to his inquiry. It gleamed bright in her eyes, and the icebergs in his own petrifying gaze began to thaw at her body's smiles. She was slowly becoming one of his weaknesses, and he couldn' exactly stop himself from allowing it. The frosty blues grinned as they met those glass hued optics of the girl, and his tail responded as hers did, wagging his own excitement. "Almost, Kai. Almost."

Alert her watched the fae experiment her capability upon the mound, his own body tensing up as though he subconciously expected to catch her should she stumble or fall. The light whizz of blue attracted the assassin's attention as Tula popped her existence into view. Wings held out as the smaller mix gave herself some fun, and the little bird friend seemed to be keeping a careful eye on the fae as though she could help her if it ever came to it, as well.

Chuckling to himself, he pointed a snout to the further helm of nature, where the thick shield of forest was off to in the distance. "That's home."

Cry had been there before with Slade, and the place was magnificent. Mini hidden rivers and a waterfall were in the mysterious section of woods. It was thick and lush, a perfect hideaway from the rest of the world. Even now it had to be a bit warmer as the trees and the mounds of assoted cliffs and mountains broke up some of the windchill. There were fields and flora in there that he hadn't ever imagined himself seeing, and it was lovely.

Her legs ached as she climbed, small paws sinking into the gritty mix with each step, but Kai relished the dull pain. Pain meant she was alive; pain meant she could still feel. 

It was a fear of hers that the apathy, the emptiness, she'd suffered from after her escape meant she truly had passed through the veil into the realm of the dead. 

It was hard to believe herself to be dead, to be cursed at all, atop the ridge as Cry's dark muzzle pointed out their destination. Something light jumped in her chest, a possessive sort of joy - for she'd not had a place to call sanctuary since leaving the cove. There was not much she could make out from this distance, aside from the dark outline of trees, yet it didn't matter what the forest contained - not to the sea witch.

"Home," she murmured, the word soft with hope.

Home. Family. Things she had never truly experienced.

Not until Cry, the thought came unbidden and she glanced to him with gratitude. "Thank you," she mouthed, the words nearly forgotten. Shyly, she touched her muzzle to him again with companionship - uncertain if it would make him uncomfortable. 

"Home," she whispered again, nearly inaudible, perhaps to herself or perhaps to the avian creature that hopped to the top of her head to see what was so interesting, a smile gracing her features.

tula lowered her wings as they reached the apex of the incline - distracted from the wolves by a pesky gnat that would have made a good snack. unfortunately, the insect escaped her sharp beak and the bird was left to her own devices. after a time, she opted to climb atop kai's head to see what the wolfish creatures were examining so keenly. 

her gaze landed on the distant timberland, head cocking with intrigue. kai's whisper piqued her interest, for she associated the word with whatever area kai rested her head. with a trill, the fisher took to wing - leaving her companion in the capable hands of cry so that she might investigate this new home.

He started after her, his ebony claws digging into the hard and chilled soil, unclogging and shifting the packed in vessels of rock and debris.He staye behind her, ensuring he was only just an angle off that would give him enough time to catch her if she slid of lost her grip. The Slough wasn't a tall mound, but he didn't want to take any chances.

Off in the distance, the forest welcomed them once they got to the top, and she thanked him with a light touch to his maw, her own scraping with feathery scant against the side of his own. Dipping his own crown to lightly nose the base of her ear, he returned her gratitude as he relished the brine smell of the water-found wolfdog. She wouldn't even know it, but he appreciated her more than she could fathom. Both her and Gwen were the keys to his own shackles, and they held that wight in his life without treason. He couldn't thank them enough, so he wouldn't start now.

While they made it to the crest of the slough, the dark guardian adjusted his body to an angle that would allow him to scale the minor mountain a bit more easier. He had observed goats do this tactic, and he molded it into his own routine years ago, choosing today to unearth his wisdom and pass it to Kai for her own safekeeping and safety. With hinds lowering first, it heightened the chance of her being able to pull herself back up and not tilt over should she lose her balance. And from there, she could use whatever she feltmore comfortable using to find the ledge that would hold her forelimbs as she lowered herself.

Illustrating such, he brought the lower half of his body down to a slight ledge on the slough, and sought out the next piece with his eyes. Another part of the way down, he felt with his lower limbs and found a sectioned off niche in the wall, and kept himself with it, lowering and inching himself down as it called for it. Again, he periodically looked up to make sure she waas okay.

Her gaze lifted, watching Tula dissapear, before falling back to Cry. 

Kai's head cocked with fascination - for she was unfamiliar with mountains and the creatures that called them home. Her own berry-stained paws began to follow slowly, fitting neatly into the larger depressions left by Cry's feet. Her gait was uneven, hobbling almost, on account of the gouged injuries lining her frame.

Hopping along after the raven, her steps were irregular but the set of her spotted shoulders was determined.

Cry determined it would be a bit more less than a day for them to reach Shadewood's forest; the distance they had left was no more than a few miles, and they could easily take that. But with 'Kai being wounded', he thought turning against his shoulder to examine her gilded gait, 'I don't want to push it'.

There was a trek that lay much easier than the downward route the pair took, and weighting it against the sunlight they had left,  the dark guardian realized it would be a bit more fortunate to take it rather than the path they were currently on. Curving slightly to the left against the wall of rock and heave, he showed a much less steep ease of path, one potentially flattened by the multitude of other passengers years or even months ago. It was much more smooth and had less to worry about than tackling the steep decline. It would have taken an hour or two more to trace the down-winding trail, but he'd pick it over risking Kai being injured.

After said hour and a half, midday bled into dusk as they finally made it down the slough. Paws just hit grass and loam as the path turned into the meadow before them. And like an ominous swallow of shadow and unknown void, the Shadewood stood mysteriously at the end of it. With a proud huff, Cry looked over to Kai, and gestured to a small felled oak who's guts lay hollow and seemingly stuffed with some small debris and dired grasses. With a swivel of an ear and slight twist of his neck, he instructed Kai to wait there while he went to investigate. He didn't want to sneak up on some slumbering fool, thinking they had found a place of rest.

Her glassy gaze had remained transfixed on her paws, watching carefully lest she trip and tumble down the slope. Her optics lifted to Cry with surprise as he veered leftward, following behind him to a smooth, travel-worn path. 

Something akin to excitement shone in her pallid gaze as she tried to imagine how the road had come to be. How many people must have walked along it, all with stories and names and destinations in mind. Where had they ended up, she wondered idly to herself as she fell into step alongside the raven. 

Some time passed, the shadows lengthened and the sun's light turned golden as it lowered to the horizon. Kai's gaze lifted with surprise, a matted tail whipping to and fro in excitement, as the path gave way to soft grass - still green with summer's growth. 

The wood was as Cry had described it to her but so much better at the same time.

The trees were the tallest the island girl had ever seen, towering sentinels, ancient beings that owned the land more than any mammal that would ever claim it. Its aura was gloomy and green, its canopy shrouding much of the sunlight. Moss crawled along the broad trunks of trees and rocks alike; shrubbery bloomed between trunks and fallen trees, hand in hand with autumn fungi. 

It was quite obvious she was amazed as she nimbly trailed to the indicated spot. The wolfdog sat on her spotted haunches, tail curling around her paws obediently as she dipped her head to Cry. "I'll wait here for you," the movement seemed to promise.

Kai didn't realize quite why he was venturing into the forest alone but nervous thoughts led her to the conclusion that someone else must be in the timberland as well - perhaps another of Cry's recruits. 

The sun dipped even harder through the treeline, extending shadows to gigantuous proportions. His body became much more hypervigilant in the waning light, and after Kai silently promised she would remain safely behind him, he only then began to take those steps to investigate the felled trunk. Nares went to work, scouting what his eyes couldn't see, and ears tore apart any twitch or sound make near and about the designated spot. Closer her crept, rigid body in ease with the need to remain alert, paws disecting the steps to take by least amount of leaf litter, possible. It was the stance and movement of a wary predator, one of wolf and prey, alike. He neared the log by another foot, and another, until he was just upon it. And from his eyes, he saw the ends of the entrance within the oak was callous, scuffed, and dry. Someone had been here, but not recently. It held a stale scent, something almost like badger, or even mink. But minks preferred holes, and the assassin knew this oak was not enough for a nestle of minks to feel secured in. Taking an oppertunity to peer inside, he cautiously found-

nothing.

Adjusting himself to look around the exterior, he circled the potential temporary den, looking for any hidden intruders, but alas none seemed to be present. They were on luck's good side today, it seemed. But ultimately, he left the choice to Kai. He recalled how she was with cave dens, and this one being much smaller, only now properly seen to be large enough to fit her, he couldn't be in there with her if she chose to take it as her bed, tonight. It would be even more clausterphobic.

Bringing himself back to her, the guardian asked, concern bringing both his body to illustrate and his voice to narrate his proper feelings about the situation. He was worried for the youthful girl, not wanting to see her distressed be it physically, or emotionally.

"I found a tree trunk for you to sleep in," he compassed to her, nosing his snout in the direction he had just come from to the sitting girl. "Now you don't have to sleep there," he pointed put out, shifting on both sets of limbs. "We can sleep outside near the woods, but I need you to rest, Kai."He needed her to be strong for this journey, for this pack to come. Gwen more than likely had healer abilities, considering her tender nature, and once he got her here and settled with the others, Kai would be well looked after. But for now, he had to protect her while he could.

Kai waited in tense silence, wondering who this mystery person might be. She'd grown rather used to the titan's company and wasn't quite sure she wanted to meet anyone new. Cry was known, familiar, comfortable. Kai didn't feel quite so odd around him. 

She stood as he returned, confused and relieved to find him alone. She nodded at his words, gratitude and surprise shining in her sentient orbs. He'd been looking for a place for her to sleep? 

It was still so strange to have Cry - friend or kin or whatever he was - in her life. 

"What about you?" She mouthed as she approached, her ears flattening in concern. The raven needed his rest too. 

He could nearly smell the concern emanating from her as he released the news to her. But her concern wasn't for herself-
It was for him.

"I'll be fine," he promised with a smile. Truly the dark phantom hated sleeping. That same loathe came from the fact that he was haunted repeatedly in them, the same dream replaying the entirity of his life over and over in a matter of hours. And each time the dream happened, it got closer and closer to the present, just teetering on edge of touching the current events. And some abominable fear that if it did, something awful would happen in the present kept him resenting sleep. He took naps, and though those were eventless, they too bordered on trying to bring his nightmares into play.

"I worry more for you, than me, Kai." It was true. He was a creature of protection, making those who were under his wing comforted and safe. Be damned anything that tried to harm them. "I'll feel much more apt to sleep should you get better."

It was clear in her gaze that she understood his words but her lips moved soundlessly, unable to string together the words she wanted to offer Cry in return. 

"I...not...I" Her ears flattened with frustration as her gaze dropped. How could she tell him not to worry about her, that she had survived? That she was trying hard to be okay in spite of the fact that she wasn't even close. 

Cry gave her something to live for, which seemed the hardest part of all.

"I...w-worry," she rasped, struggling, "you." 

He watched her fight through whatever blockade held her tongue at gun point. He was proud of her for trying, but despite it, he couldn’t allow her to continue mistreating her body.

“Tell you what,” he began, watching her with warmth in his usually frigid gaze. Turning to the abyss of Shadewood, he began his trek there to the entrance of the leviathan woods, anticipating her to follow. Banner swishing slightly as his mood improved, he continued his idea as they passed the first set of trees.  “Atleast begin to try and heal yourself,  and I will sleep once you’re done.” A wink came from the dark prince as he lightly nosed her shoulder. “I promise that if you show promise, so will I.” 

It it was a beautiful thing having someone worry for you, while knowing it was properly placed in heart and not selfishness. The assassin couldn’t argue with it, nor reason against it; it was love. He somehow saw this little wolf dog to be so much more valuable to him than just a pack mate. And that was the entire purpose of Shadewood; Kai and her expression, Gwen and her peacefulness, and him and his guardianship.

He could not seem to understand the concept she was trying to convey - that she was more concerned for him than herself, that she cared about him and wanted him to rest, that she loved him. 

Frustration crumpled her speckled brow, but she followed after him - albeit with reluctance. Her glass eyes remained on the ground, confused by the intense connection to Cry and unable to communicate it to the titan. 

His words drew her attention, something hardening in her gaze as it bored into the soil - the orbs taking on an icy hue with the determination in them.

Not broken, she had told Dirge. 

"Not broken," she murmured under her breath, the words rolling off her tongue of their own accord, likely too low for the raven's ears to pick up. 

A small smile graced her features as he nosed her, rasping a soft, "I try. Cry." She knew he couldn't understand that she was trying for him but the promise was in her eyes if he could read them. 

Cry smiled inwardly as he did outwardly. She had managed to weasel herself unknowingly between a rock and a hard place, and that was the confines of his heart. He cared about her, and that was as scary as it got for someone of his profession. You weren’t supposed to care, and letting your hair down got you snatched up and killed. But if he could give himself a promise to Gwen to help others, then there was no avoiding this.

“Then so will I,” he responded to the stocky youth, glacials scouting through the trees ahead, already on the lookout for more dangers and potential threats. There hadn’t been a case of Wolf in these parts for months, so he hoped they were the only ones here now, and hopefully for as long as they lived. 

Making their way through the first bracken of woods, the silent entrance fit for silent people, they fell right in with ease.
This was home. 
Mans there wasn’t anything in the world that could change his mind. 

Last one from me! Gonna archive this for us since we have that other one up, hun~

Glass eyes lifted to him as he returned her vow, the studious gaze tinted with happiness. She didn't need to wonder if he meant it. Cry had never lied to her yet, if the witch tried to mend herself then the titan would hopefully get some sleep. 

The naiad followed after him to the indicated sleeping area, where she would likely fall into a deep sleep that would begin the healing process.