Hushed Willows I keep an eye on the chamber door

He couldn't believe he got away. With his appeal to Vercingetorix presumably having fallen flat on its face, taking the rest of his trust and faith in his former comrades with it, Ephraim began to let the cogs of his mind really turn. Bobby was the one posted to him most days, with Tirgatao watching him overnight. The pack was spread too thin with Verx, Aure and others leaving and they didn't have other wolves to spare for the purpose; the others had their tasks and were needed to keep things going. Tirgatao was a no go from the start. Not only did she and Ephraim not know one another, but she was battle hardened and driven by purpose.

Bobby, on the other hand, had always been a more laidback wolf and knew a better side of Ephraim than this. One might even say he was a touch lazy at times, a fact Ephraim knew from their travels. So the young coywolf continued to bide his time, cooperating on all fronts, waiting for Bobby to begin taking his meekness for granted and growing tired from his constant vigil, waiting for a lapse in the dark wolf's judgment... and it came just before evening one day, when the man yawned and turned his head away for just a moment.

Ephraim slid into motion in an instant, streaking across the beach and aiming a viper-like snap at the surprised guard's muzzle. Ephraim knew that Bobby never would have expected a sudden attack after days of watching him laze weakly about in the cove, and this small slip in attention gave him just enough of an opening to squeeze by. His blow had been blunted and without any intent to harm, only to warn back the Hompleia's head enough for him to get through. He rocketed up through the tunnel to Hougeda with Bobby hot on his heels, but when it came to speed, the black kru was no match for him.

And so he managed to escape Drageda's territory, a natrona now in truth. If others saw him during his flight he was oblivious to them; it was fortunate that Verx's departure took so many, or else he surely would have been stopped by a border patrol. He broke out of the forest and flung himself into the tangle, which he navigated with difficulty. Desperation was perhaps the only thing that saw him through; he broke out on the other side, plunged madly through a sprawling wetland for what felt like hours, and finally collapsed under the reaching boughs of a weeping willow, believing he was much, much farther from the coast than he really was.

this slipped right by me!

Happy and growing fat with babies, Olive cheerfully patrolled the entrance and borders of Elysium. It was a small opening, for Elysium was a grove nestled against the foot of cliffs and fed by the mountain’s runoff, so the work was made easier for her. She did not patrol against wolves so much as she wished to know who was coming and who was leaving — maintaining open borders did not ensure their safety, in fact in many ways, it put it at risk. The Shakti women attempted to stymie this by… simply keeping tabs on everything. Yeah, that would do the trick.

She found a newcomer easily, exhausting beneath one of the sanctuary’s first willows. She did not become alarmed — in fact, her curiosity piqued and she strode forth with purposefully  heavy steps so that he might be alerted of her arrival. He was welcome here, anyone was, but she wished to know the nature of his arrival. Perhaps he was needing of help.

When she got much closer, the druid found that his scent was familiar. It was briny and strong, reminding her easily of Aure. “You come from the coast?” she inquired without a proper introduction, surprised by this fact. Now, what had she found here? Was Drageda okay? Didn't matter now, these things could wait, if this boy wanted it to. “Come, come in… Rest and know that you are safe.” the shrouded sylph cooed sweetly, placing a nose against his shoulder in quiet solidarity.

Exhaustion overwhelmed him along with the pain of exertion as he rested under the willows. Adrenaline kept it at bay during his long run from the cliffs to here, but now that he was down, Ephraim wasn't sure he could get up again. His legs felt like jelly, his head and heart pounded, and his vision swam drunkenly in front of him. This was the state Olive found him in, and it might all have been all right if only she hadn't nosed him.

The feeling of a touch to his shoulder make Ephraim's coat spike out as the agitated youth snarled and recoiled. His teeth snapped closed a whisker's breadth from the tip of Olive's nose as he complete a cat-like spin, but she might recognize the dilated pupils and the fear smell peeling off him in waves. He didn't lapse into a flashback completely, but Olive looked like someone else to him at first. Only when he forced himself to take several gulping breaths did his vision steady and he recognized that she was not Bobby or Tirgatao or Antumbra risen from the dead. She was not Caiaphas or the ivory boy Ephraim had gone after in the fray. She was not Eurycrates.

With a stammering breath, Ephraim breathed a frightened, where am I?

The way the boy responds was not the way that Olive had anticipated. She figured he would react as most did, with a smile and words of express gratitude, but she received the exact opposite. His hackles raised as if ready for an attack, or a defensive move, or something that meant her harm — the boy recoiled and snapped at her, and her heart leapt into her throat as if all her fears she shared with Lily just a few weeks prior had become true. Someone was here to hurt her, and hurt Elysium, and there was nothing she could do to stop him.

Olive jumped back with an audible gasp, turning a critical eye towards the creature that had found itself upon her border. The more she looked, the more the druid realized that this was just a boy, brutalized and scared beyond belief, and deserving of her understanding. Poor thing. “Child, calm yourself!” she cried out, hoping to snap him out of whatever was holding him in its grip. “I mean you no harm,” she explained softly, with more control. Perhaps he just needed more reassurance. “You are at Elysium, a sanctuary. You are safe in our fold.” but she sincerely hoped that whatever had frightened him so had not followed him here. Against true forces, not a shaking boy, they could not survive.

He flinched visibly when Olive shouted at him—at least, that's how he perceived it—and flattened himself further to the forest floor. Maybe she knew Drageda. Maybe this pack was an ally. He hadn't heard anything about any allies besides Redhawks, and they ceased to be that when Wildfire left their fold without warning, but that didn't mean it wasn't possible. His heart hammered in his chest and he trembled, hating himself for how weak and cowardly he was, but that was all he had ever been.

He'd been able to front once, but now he was laid bare, and there was no lie that could hide it. But Olive's tone was softer now and he allowed himself to unfold slowly from his fetal position. A sanctuary. That was exactly what he needed, provided they didn't tell the Rusalka or Drageda packs that he was here. Surely they were many miles away, though. They were no longer a concern. That was what he wanted to believe, so for now, he did.

Are you sure? he asked, voice quavering. That was stupid. She wouldn't have said it if she wasn't sure, but Ephraim still needed to hear it. He'd been through a lot. To him it felt like a lot more than it really was, and it was enough to shake his psyche this badly... but really it was just that he was a coward and couldn't handle it.

Olive still believed her harsh tone had been warranted, in order to snap the boy out of his days, but because she was an empath, she still keenly registered how it made him feel. She winced, noting how the young man did end up complying, just as she had asked. He had calmed himself, at least somewhat, and appeared to offer her the slightest sliver of his trust. She did not deign to touch him again, but she did can’t her head forwards and whisper, a voice meant only for the two of them.

“I promise. It is the thing I am most sure of,” the druid assured the boy. It was painful to Olive that she could not whisk him away into the sanctity of the willows, for on these borders she felt so naked and exposed — if any others were in pursuit of him, he could be spotted easily, and then she might not be able to keep her promise. He was a hairball of frenzied nerves and energy. Anyone who was able to perceive these things, even slightly, would pick up on him in a minute; but clearly, he was not in a mood to be jostled.

“You must be forthcoming,” she inquired in a most serious tone. “Are you being followed?”

You must be forthcoming. Ephraim had never been any such thing in his life. Once upon a time, he would have described himself as frank. When he and Tux had been pestering the pack's captive on the beach, he would have described himself as such. Now? He knew it had been a lie. When he just barely more than a toddler he became separated from his family and was taken in by strong warrior wolves who ought to have instilled in him some pride. For a while, he thought he had it. For a while, he thought he was one of them.

It was an expertly crafted lie on both his part and Drageda's. He wasn't one of them. Could never be one of them, because of his birth.

But he didn't attempt to lie to Olive, even though lying was what Ephraim seemed to do best. The lies were all to himself, of course. He rarely lied to others. Not yet anyway. I don't know, he quietly admitted, sweeping his long tail around his flank and pressing back his ears. Maybe? I hope not.

Last from me!

The boy took the time to think, and responded honestly. If he wasn’t sure if he was being followed or not, then they should not spend any more time on the outskirts of the sanctuary. She must get him deep within their holding, where he could be assured of his safety. Olive did not want any trouble for Elysium, either — she would get the truth one day, but at this moment, this frightened boy had her full attention.

“We must get you inside, quickly.” The Shakti Woman stated, with authority. He needed to be guided. “Come with me, and have no fear. I am Olive.” If he needed, she would be there to brace his side and help him within their confines — but judging by his reaction earlier, he would appreciate no such gesture. 

He nodded slow agreement, but as he was picked up and ushered into Elysium's sanctum, it was with a surreal lightness. He'd done it. He'd got away. He could finally rest... and that's exactly what he did once Olive got him settled in.