Hushed Willows like a rolling stone

this will be my only post -- tags are mainly for reference, but if you want to pop in to say goodbye, feel free to do so!

be good for your mamas, cortez told @Atwood, @Reif and @Sundance, beaming down at the three of them as they stood near @Olive and @Seabreeze. his eyes were sad as he met his sister's verdant gaze, at odds with the smile on his face. they're good women. . .and they're gonna make you into fine young men. i know i'm already proud of you three.

his primary concern was for his family—to say goodbye to them was paramount. even so, he summoned @Sunny with a brief howl; the satori could come if he liked, or not. on his way back through the willows, he'd passed @Ziggy, and given the boy an affectionate nudge to the crown of his rapidly growing pale head. he'd miss the pup, who had become somewhat of an honorary nephew since lily had died.

he inhaled deeply, looking troubled, casting a glance toward the burly brown wolf at his side. to have dylan back in his life was nothing short of extraordinary. how had his long-lost lover found him here? cortez was past asking questions; he now only wanted to fully melt into the moment, to enjoy all the seconds that had passed since they had last parted.

the shakti stepped forward toward olive, his gait halting. sister, he said, his voice choked, and then he half-stumbled into her embrace, breath catching hard in his throat. i'll miss you—so much. and i'll come to visit one day. i wish you. . .everything. all the love and joy and peace in the world.

naturally, leaving her behind was hardest of all.

but when all the goodbyes had come to pass, and the two wolves padded out of the willows, a kind of bliss settled over cortez once more. the kind of serenity, with an edge of sparkling excitement, that only accompanied the start of a new adventure. just like the other pieces of his heart scattered all around, he'd leave part of it here, with his family.

the rest of him was on the road again, where cortez would always truly belong.

one post! Lemme know if the minor interaction pp is not okay!

He wished he could go too.  Not with Cortez but just away, just him his kids and the wide open spaces but he couldn't do that. To do so was selfish and he feared uprooting his kids would be a terrible thing and he also felt that it was his turn to ensure Elysium's safety and well being from now on. The fact that he was trusted to do so....well that only added to his determination to stay. So he wasn't mad or upset at all, in fact he came to the borders and bid Cortez and his companion safe travels watching them leave and then offering small talk to whoever approached before retreating into the territory to think over where to go from here.

it was a strange day. cortez was leaving, which was strange because he couldn't understand why he was leaving if this was his home. could you just 'unhome' a place? his nose had remained wrinkled with confusion throughout the whole experience and when his uncle had come to address them he'd tilted his head to the side- regarding the taller man with a quizzical gaze. yet he'd refrained from voicing all the questions burning away at the tip of his tongue, unsure as to why he did so but feeling like now was..not the right time? he'd look to his siblings and his mamas then, searching their reactions for hidden answers to some of his questions but really, everyone just looked sad...but also happy? sad with smiles? what the hell did that mean? frowning, he simply looks up to the wolf and says; "bye" 

he then fades back into the background but the intensity with which he observes the situation never falters. really he doesn't see how this is much different to what happened with mama, when he'd died he'd gone away and now cortez was going away just without dying. did it make much of a difference? apparently so because mama dying made everyone cry, no one pretended to smile like they did now. it made no sense so he started tracing at the dirt beneath him.

he only looked up again when cortez was walking away and so suddenly it hit him; why cortez would want to unhome because for the first time reif experienced restlessness and...a flicker of envy. he was suddenly no longer content with what elysium had to offer him, the idea of unhoming had an oddly appealing sound to it. the thoughts made him tired though so he didn't protest when his family retired back into the willow's depths.

Cortez' departure was so unlike Ariel's. While there was some level of sorrow that hung over the family, Sundance felt an odd sense of... calm? Acceptance? Hope, perhaps. This loss would affect him in his own private way, of course, but he did not whimper or cry - he simply carried on, and offered a sad little smile when the adults turned their gaze on him.

He loved his uncle, and it occured to him as he blinked up at him with wide powder blue eyes that this could very well be the last time he would look upon him. Sundance took his time, appreciating the moment, before he stepped forward to deliver a fond nudge to Cortez' chin. "I'll miss you," he whispered for his ears alone, and stepped back to watch his relatives' final exchange.

Soon, the willowy Shakti took his leave and Sundance, eager to lift his mother's spirits, moved to fit himself snugly betwhen her slim forelimbs with an affectionate coo.

atwood had not gotten close to cortez, per se, but his presence has been a constant in his young life, much like ariel's. he finds, though, that this is very different from ariel's death. for starters, ariel had not chosen to leave -- atwood had been there, he'd seen what'd happened. this is.. something else. from between seabreeze's legs, atwood levels cortez with his sharpest, meanest stare, his babyish face pinching into a moue. nobody seems upset -- certainly not reif, who looks more confused than anything, and sundance - traitor! - looks sad.

well. atwood is smart enough to recognize when he is being abandoned. his mamas nudge him expectantly, but he scowls and turns his small face into their legs, done with the scene. his mamas, kindly, do not press him on this (perhaps misinterpreting his anger for sorrow?) as they usher the family back into elysium. 

once they reach the den, atwood skulks off to lay in the roses by his lonesome and be mad in peace.