Hushed Willows woman is a word

@Seabreeze
this was a lil inspired by this scene

Olive did not often like areas where she could not see the sky. It felt limiting, in a way, to have something above her head, whether it be a layer of clouds or a canopy of trees or miles of earthen cavern roofs. It created a disconnect between Olive and her gods, nameless as they were; but it was a relationship which clearly relied on sight and when she did not have sight, it relied on her intuition. The silvered sylph had relied far too heavily upon her intuition as of recent, with the ephemeral nature of her and her family’s dwelling and constant moving-about, and now that she was somewhat settled in the willows, it was time for the woman to have a good natured heart-to-heart with her spirits.

But the willows’ angelic drapery was a barrier between her and the sky, even on the days when the autumnal winds blew strong and spun the silken threads into a dancing, ever-flowing masterpiece. It was truly beautiful, but it was not a place to stare at the sky and scry meaning from clouds. The woman must find another way. 

Luckily, Olive’s proclivities leaned more towards naturalist than spiritual authoritarian, so she was able to glean meaning and guidance from all natural life, not simply from the sky or the stars, though that was what called to her heart most strongly. Her garden spoke to her too, whenever stayed in one place long enough to cultivate one, for there were many lessons to be learned from the chaos of growth. She heard voices in the movement of water, and whispers upon the breeze, and even the earth shared its vibrations with her in a steady drumbeat of pulses and energy. Today, it was the trees which asked for her ear and called to her heart.

Olive allowed herself to be pulled to wherever she felt to be the heart of these woods. She followed herself to the velveteen base of a non-descript willow, no different than its brethren to its right and to its left, before it and behind it, other than how it called to her and spelled out her name in the etching of moss upon its bark. Without much hesitation, Olive placed both paws against the neck of the mother willow and bowed her head, almost immediately melting away and becoming receptive to the earth’s divine inspiration.

It was funny, in a way, how Olive preferred the openness of the Sunspire, and the boulder that had come after; Seabreeze was right at home here beneath the willows.  Truthfully, she was learning how to be happy anywhere — despite the numerous trials she and her family faced, despite all of the turmoil, as long as she had her family, she could be happy.

That realization had been a game-changer.  The weight of leadership and responsibility was still heavy, but a little less than before.

She drew herself up one morning as Olive's warmth left her side and set out after her — well, what were they, now?  It was beneath a willow that Seabreeze found her, and she lowered her head and joined the sylph in silence.

It never happened as quickly as she had imagined it would, as a child. When Olive was but a young pup, she would watch her father pray and commune with the gods and he, a man of utmost grace and sincerity, made it appear quite effortless. It was not so with Olive, though her father had seen the most spiritual promise in her of any of her siblings. It had been a process that she was required to develop within herself, of course with the help of her mother and her learned ways of midwifery — whether it was religion or the birthing of babes, similar tactics yielded similar results. Perhaps it was why her parents were so good together, and how their union yielded olive, a druid gifted with natural and innate physic abilities — and also gifted with the sheer force of willpower for when it was not so natural and innate. 

So, slowly she stilled her breath and timed her inhalations and exhalations with that of the earth. Her eyes closed, and attention turned inwards. Her sensitive nose became dead to the outer world, and the woman began to feel colorful ideas bloom and blossom in the silver, pensieve-pool of her consciousness. It was often nonsense until it wasn’t; and besides that, it was often only a matter of these ideas leaving an imprint on her heart and soul than remembering the real meaning of it all. After all, meaning was subjective, and any sense to understand it logically would prove to fail because she was not the gods, and she was not any other wolf or being or sentient creature upon the planet. She was only Olive, and she could only understand the world as such. 

There was little that could rouse Olive from this state — or ever register upon her sense high enough to warrant a reaction — but Seabreeze’s arrival was one of those things. A grin pulled tight against her pale, pink lips and one ear swiveled to the side to draw her lover into her awareness, and maybe deeper into prayer, for love was sacrosanct and Olive always found prayer easier when in love or near love. Olive lingered in silence, letting her unspoken conversation come to a natural, gentle close [and giving Seabreeze a chance to do the same]. When it was over, and Olive felt good about it, her eyes peeled open and she offered the greyscale woman, almost her perfect mirror, a sleepy smile. “What did you pray for?” she cooed to the endearing seasprite, her lips almost immediately tracing her feathered ear’s cupped edge. Her pawpads left the mother willow’s trunk and drew close to Seabreeze as she nuzzled, dancing lazily in place in time with her muzzle, which kneaded and traced patterns of love and light into the woman’s shoulder.

Olive always maked it look so graceful and effortless, as if her communion with the gods was as easy as seeking out a friendship in which time and hardship and distance could not touch.  Seabreeze could never understand religion before her wife and now she couldn't understand how she'd lived without it.  Or without her.  She toned down Seabreeze's anxieties and allowed her to make decisions confidently and with clarity — that was why they were here!

And so she prayed.  It did not come as naturally as it did to her druidic sister, who had been praying her whole life.  And when it ended, she sank into Olive's tracings and melted.  Isn't that kind of personal? she teases, kissing the crown of Olive's forehead.  I prayed for our children and Delight's children, so that they may work through their... various parental traumas, and maybe come together for it.  I prayed over this place, and asked for guidance in maintaining its safety and security.  I prayed for you, and for Lily and Khali, and Delight.  I don't know.  What did you pray for?

Olive giggled when Seabreeze came to, and siddled up next to her extra-snug. It was always lovely to have a partner when it came to speaking to the gods, and when Olive had a partner as devoted as Seabreeze, Olive could not help but feel exceptionally lucky. Olive admired the way that Seabreeze took to all of the things that did not come so easily — prayer and spirituality, for one. Olive could not be bothered to hunt, or to fight; but Seabreeze was open to the things that were once-foreign to her, and for that, Olive greatly admired her.

Her thin, licorice lips split into another lighthearted laugh.  “Personal?”  she questioned, turning a quizzical brow towards her lover. As if they needed to worry about being personal, anymore. Those lines were breached when Olive had found Seabreeze upon the summit of Sunspire, or when they had both birthed their litters in another’s presence, or when they uprooted their families with nothing more than whispered promises to go on. They were so far past personal now — but Olive was happy to play.

 “Oh baby, we can get personal,”  the sylph purred, not having yet removed her lips from the outer edge of her woman’s ear.   “This time I was saying thank you,”  Olive noted. She prayed in the way that some wolves sang, or told stories. Each experience was different, with different goals and functions. Sometimes Olive sought advice, at times she made requests, but mostly she expressed gratitude for her many blessings.  “Thank you for this place, for our healthy family, for you.”  Olive turned to look at Seabreeze square in the eyes, her attention brimming with sudden seriousness. “All of our dreams have come true.”  The Shakti Woman stated with certainty.   

“Thank you, Seabreeze. I love you more than words can say.”