Stavanger Bay if "i love you" was a promise

dalia laid outside her den, a generous patch of sunlight cascading down through the autumn trees and onto her pelt, dappling it. she was tucked together like a cat, her mother had done it her whole life and so dalia had picked up on it easily, her front legs beneath her chest and her tail wrapped tightly to her hind legs. her chin was pressed to her chest as well.

ah. so nice. so warm. so comfy. and yet, dalia felt completely uneasy.

this position, at least, provided some sort of sense of safety. her gaze focused on the ground before her, ears pressed to her skull. silently, she wondered where she would go from here. what she would do. what she could do. what would happen. 

@Saucy <3 set like two days after the incident

it seemed saucy had gone AWOL, her scent lifting from the cold sands. velen had tracked the last trail of it for some time, frowning as it tapered off into nothing. dalia too, had become scarce, staying closer to home. but at least she was still about, and perhaps she knew where the tiger-girl had gone. loping strides carried the former dredge along the shoreline; in his mouth, velen idly rolled a misshapen pearl plucked from the hapless tongue of a poor clam. 
it was small enough to choke him if he swallowed, the boy knew, and so he was careful, tucking it into one cheek as chestnut gaze caught sight of the despondency lacing dalia's slight frame. the trees rustled overhead; velen drew closer and came to a stop, chuffing lightly to grasp her attention, though his gaze filled with a particular sort of worry.

the chuff still caused a gentle flinch in dalia, who's muzzle shot up only to see the form of velen standing before her. she relaxed, her muscles unclenching and her gaze softening upon his russet features. silently, she wondered, did he know? 

but she tried to smooth herself over, a small smile replacing her shocked expression and the guard hairs along her back falling as quickly as they had raised. "hey, velen," she tried to chime out, but her voice did lack it's natural, bell-like tone. it seemed softer than usual. though, still, her tail uncurled from her haunches and wagged slowly against the ground, her ears pricked up and turned towards him. "how are you?" she asked, casually as she could manage.

if dalia was attempting to hide her reactions from him, she was not doing it well. velen frowned, the pearl dropping with a soft puff to the sand; he swept his tongue 'round his jaws and peered suspiciously at her. "what's up, dalia?" it was not a casual question; what's going on with you was the more apt undertone. her own question went unanswered; his focus was on her, solely, and the transparency of the something is wrong! signals every movement of her body was tossing his way.

his gaze settled upon her like storms upon the sea. there was concern and worry and perhaps frustration as she held something captive from him so desperately. it was not his fault, and perhaps not hers, but dalia did not want to share her turmoil so easily with every wolf who asked. 

but, of course, dalia was one to break so easily under such short and mild interrogation. 

her gaze flitted to the little thing that fell from his jaws, her ears pricking and eyes glinting with a bit of wonder. a pearl.  dalia had only ever been so lucky as to find one-- and she'd left it in drageda with the rest of her treasures. was this for her? she wanted to ask, but his question was more firm than hers would've been, so it went unasked. 

she did not want to tell him, still. but, again, she couldn't not give him what he wanted. she tried to sate his question with something vague, she wasn't sure if it'd work. "something bad has happened, i am okay," she said, trying to reassure him. and then with a small smile, her ears pressing to her skull, she added, "i promise." dalia was unsure, in this moment, if such a promise was empty.

dalia's eyes fell to the pearl that velen had dropped, but he was focused on her soft words. he did not believe her; the set of her body and somber expression upon her pretty face told him no such thing was possible. "something bad?" the former dredge rumbled, settling himself sphinx-like before her.
a nudge of his forepaw pushed the pearl closer to dalia; chestnut gaze wavered with consternation. "you can tell me," velen murmured softly. he attempted then to find the soft colour of her eyes, to reassure her that whatever had happened did not change his regard of her, nor would he think differently of dalia.

it was for her... a new question now hung upon her lips. why had he come here? what was the original intent of his visit? why would he bring her such a treasure? dalia wanted to ask-- but the words caught in her throat as he pressed her for more of an answer, and a gentle sob shook her from her previous composure. her gaze was firmly set to the pearl, even as his head bobbed to try to find the green-blue of her eyes, it remained locked on the object.

tears welled at the corners of her eyes. she didn't want to repeat it. she'd said it once-- how could she say it again? oh... but he would just ask ford... what good would it do to just stay quiet? 

she was silent for a while, even as emotion overcame her in a raging crash of stormy waters-- she had to muster up the courage, again, to say the words she had so desperately wanted to withhold from everyone. in her silence, her muscles still obviously tensed, she reached out a single dainty forepaw to pull the pearl towards her. 

"i'm so trapped," she finally set free, in a voice that was so quiet it almost fell away with the breeze, "between wanting to be silent and wanting to tell everyone." her ears pressed to her skull, but her gaze found his now, instead of the pearl. but it was brief, and her seaglass gaze fell away once more, back to the pearl. a little louder, but shakier now, dalia said, "a man... forced himself upon me." 

and she waited the response, gaze pressed to the little pearl cradled between her pale paws.

dalia's voice was tiny, so little that velen had to lean closer.
the words she gave stuck a great and resounding blow to his heart, and for a long moment, he only stared at her, features welling with a rage he soon broke off to turn toward the sea. 
a man had hurt dalia, hurt her in the way that sick men did to women. his mind raced grimly; it was a punishable offense, and his hackles rose in spite of himself. but he must be calm now; he must not raise his voice, frighten her. for, despite velen's glaring flaws, he was aware he was still a man, one of those who had brought his companion so low.
"i'm sorry, dalia," the boy murmured, though his voice had dropped into the smokier rumble of anger. "no one here will judge you for it, i know." he lapsed then, unsure of what to offer; he was not one for platitudes, and what could he even say in this instance?
not wanting to pepper her with questions about what had happened, who she had told, or touch her, velen lay his chin across his forepaws and watched the girl for a long moment. "is there anything i can do?"

his words were as reassuring as they could be-- all things given. dalia wished she could give him something to help her with, but she wasn't even sure what would help. his unspoken questions, at least, were appreciated. dalia didn't quite remember the details to give to him... and she especially didn't want to recall the moment. "ford knows," was all she tacked on, perhaps to let him know that she hadn't said anything... something was being done. at least, maybe? dalia was unsure what could be done.

she was caught between wanting to stay where she was and wanting to crawl closer to him. as much as it frightened her, she wanted the closeness. it offered some sort of safety. but she stayed put, her glassy gaze raising up to meet his as his muzzle moved to rest at his paws. she was silent, just for a moment, before she spoke again. "you brought me a pearl," she commented, not as a question, though a few questions bubbled below the surface. she asked only one, "did you know i have a collection?" as in, is that why you brought it to me?

he wanted very much to touch her, to reach across the sand and brush the edge of his large paw against dalia's much smaller one. but velen did not. he did not want to remind her of what had happened the last time a man had touched her; he was afraid his nearness would engender some sort of fear in her, and so he remained as he was.
a wry smile played across his lips, however — velen raised his head. "i knew you collected something," he teased lightly. truth be told, he had only been enjoying the texture of it in his mouth, but it would be better suited for whatever delicate purpose dalia might put to it.

whether it was for the best he did not come nearer to her was still uncertain to the delicate moreau-- dalia was, again, both thankful and disappointed he did not try. there would always be something in her that yearned for attention, but in the state she was in now... he was right not to try. of course, dalia could not see this now, but she would later. for now, she appreciated, if anything, his company. she felt safer knowing he was here.

the reply was teasing-- but genuine-- and brought a small smile to the girl's face. "i collect everything," she returned, shedding a little more light on her own life than he might've known. she hesitated, then, briefly, wanting to show him the whole darned collection now... but she didn't quite want to move... not now. "i'll have to show you some time... i hadn't been able to find a pearl on these shores," she said instead, nose tipping gently, "thank you, velen."

the small bow that curved her lips both warmed and relieved velen. she could smile; she would be all right. of course, it was a very binary way to view what had happened; as much as he might feel for her, the boy could never truly understand, and therefore would always be outside the events.
what mattered now, however, was that dalia had smiled.
"whenever. i'd love to see it. and i uh, i'm glad i was able to find a pearl." he dug his toes into the sand now, feeling a bit awkward, then proffered a wide grin and a seeking expression. "are you hungry, dalia?"
he liked the way she said his name. he liked saying hers.

she was glad too. she gazed down upon the pretty little thing quietly, head tilted with wonder and awe. it was so pretty-- so small-- so precious. and now it was hers. she would put it with the rest of her things but... later. not while velen was still here. 

he spoke again-- which was probably good, since dalia was beginning to fall under, her mind whirring as she stared at the shiny pearl, thinking and thinking and thinking. when she looked up, she forgot entirely what she was thinking about-- probably for the best-- and instead was forced to recall the last time she'd eaten. truthfully, she couldn't recall. though she didn't feel very hungry, she figured it was healthy to eat, so she nodded. "yeah, actually," she returned, ears pressing forwards as she looked upon velen with a pair of sea-glass iris'. she shifted, gently, as if to get to her feet... but only if he did first.

fade w ur next post? i made us an updated one :D

stand he did, a smile decorating his muzzle as dalia mirrored him. while stormrift had full caches, fresh meat stored there, he felt a hunt would be nice for the two of them. it would bring them to their feet, get them moving — it would provide something for the two of them to focus on while they made small talk that avoided what had happened. slowly he turned and began to move along the sand, glancing once to dalia to see that she followed.

dalia followed. though she still felt the same dread of anxiety and scarring upon her she felt a little better beside velen. he had something about him that helped. maybe it was just that he listened, and he didn't seem to judge her for it. comforting, maybe. either way, she was grateful for him, and she followed him to find something to eat, and to try to enjoy what was left of the day.