Sunbeam Lair sterb’ ich vor liebessehnen

when/if you have time :3

the attempt to put from his mind what had gone on at the festival was not an easy one, and mahler soon found himself frustrated. and so off from diaspora he took himself, determined to bury his worries with an herb-hunt. as the pack's only skilled healer, or so he thought, mahler found it prudent to keep his stores laid by in case of emergencies.
the packscent faded behind him as the musiker set a quick trot to the place beneath the earth not far away. a rocky overhang nearly caught the top of his head; he ducked with a low sound of annoyance and traversed low among the comforting, dusty scents of the plants that had not frozen or died with winter's touch.
muttering their names to himself, the gargoyle moved deeper into the cavern, noting the growth he needed, and becoming quite out of sorts when @Ruenna's face swam to distract his mind from the important task. who had the man been, in elysium? no matter; no matter! mahler scolded himself roundly and kept at his sorting, though it soon became apparent he could not shake the baleful thoughts.

@Mahler Ahhh it's been crazy, but I can't help but make time for these two. <3

Ruenna had set out from Arrow Lake with the intention of exploring the vale that stretched out beneath the Sunspire. She knew that the vale had been Liri's first choice for settlement when she was establishing Blacktail Deer Plateau, and it had struck Rue that her former alpha might again be attempting to settle in that area. Now that the Sunspire pack had dispersed, there would be no one to argue her claim-- no one save the Diapora wolves, of course. 

Rue rounded the protective wall that lay north of Arrow Lake and continued westward, setting her bearing for the enormous Sunspire peak. Once she was at the base of the Sunspire, she would begin searching for entry into the vale. Scouting the vale would be no small undertaking, but Ruenna believed it would be well worth the time. Even if Liri could not be found, the vale could very well turn out to be the perfect location for the Diaspora wolves to settle once Takiyok was ready to have her pups. 

As the explorer continued toward her destination, an unexpected formation in the mountainside attracted her attention. Curiosity had always been a weakness for Rue, and she found her feet carrying her toward the cavern entrance without even really consciously deciding to make a detour. She trusted her scout's insticts, after all. 

Shadows fell across the agouti's back as she entered the cavern. She was almost overwhelmed by the multitude of scents clinging to the damp air, but one in particular stood out from the others. "Mahler?" Rue questioned aloud, her tenative voice echoing around the cavern entrance.

!! i love them too <3

unbidden, mahler's thoughts turned to takiyok. it would not be long now, he suspected, before the winterwhite guardian gave birth. stigmata had been scouting more as of late, perhaps intending to find a suitable whelping den for his new brood. the gargoyle suspected that these would not be the first of his licentious brother's children, for the ironstar seemed unsated in his appetites for all things. a simple observation, for mahler was not judgemental of those who had first commanded his respect.
hoping that takiyok would welcome his presence as midwife in attendance, mahler allowed himself a small quirk of a smile to contemplate it. it had been quite some time since he had experienced the presence of newborns; the possibility of it warmed the shadowpriest even now. 
a plant snapped between his jaws, fluttering in two pieces to the ground as a very unexpected voice echoed in the cavern. mahler blinked, the only other evidence of his shock; ruenna was here? why? the thoughts he had mused in regard to her previously now came flooding back, and beneath their deluge, the gargoyle stood and padded into visibility.
she was framed against the entrance, the light beyond haloing her small body, and mahler was paralyzed for a moment before he found his tongue. "ah, ruenna!" he greeted, willing his tone to remain steady, for he had not recovered from her sudden appearance. "i vas hunting for herbs here. a curious place."

Silence hung in the air for a moment, and oddly the absence of sound seemed louder than the echo of Rue's voice as it disappeared into the depths of the chamber.  Finally Mahler's voice replied, cheerful enough despite the initial pause. Had she interrupted something? Hunting for herbs he confirmed for her, as if Rue had spoken her question aloud. 

Rue took a few more steps into the cave, placing her footfalls carefully as her vision adjusted to the darkness. Her honey eyes were drawn to a rustle of movement in the shadows. Mahler's statuesque silhoutte appeared, the contours of his body fading and reforming as he glided through the spots of sunlight dappling the cavern's inner santum. Rue's heart beat a little faster.

"Herbs?" Rue echoed, clinging to the topic like a drowning woman to a hunk of flotsam. Anthing to distract her mind from the disconcerting pounding in her breast. "I.. can't believe anything can grow in here," she continued. "Could I see what you've collected?"

There were conflicting parts of her that wanted to be simultaneously much nearer to Mahler and also about a hundred miles away. Surely if she moved closer, he would be able to hear her heart walloping against her ribs like a caged animal. And yet she started forward, drawn in by an irrepressible force not unlike that which had brought her to the cave's entrance in the first place.

almost, he did not wish to approach ruenna, or to approach her himself, for his own heartbeat had gathered an unseeming cadence. and mahler did not like to appear uncomposed before others. but the possible damage to his pride was swept beneath the soft inquiry of the woman's voice, and he drew to a more friendly distance, that the touch of the sun would also limn his own features.
"mostly mosses," the gargoyle admitted. "small plants. some mint." they were fed by the light that filered down to them, the rain that dripped from the underside of the rocks overhead. and though he was aware he could list from memory the green things that sprouted in the cavern, having been here once with alarian, mahler knew it was only a way to dissuade himself from answering the question.
"yes, of course," the shadow murmured in response to ruenna. turning, he moved back to the place where he had laid the small bundles in an organized fashion, glancing to the centurion to see what she made of his collection. and as he waited for the spark of her voice in the half-dark once more, mahler felt the odd sensation roil in his body once more.