Firefly Glen the fireflies, our only light in paradise

@Gawain

Fear was a very profound emotion, it could paralyze you or make you move on impulse. It could control you or simply slip from you like water from a storm. It liked to creep into the darkness, slither into your bones and drench you in a matter of seconds. That's where she was, stricken by fear and she could not remember why. Why, why, why? This circled in her mind as she tried to quell the soft whining that wanted to escape her parched and pained throat. Right, there's a wound there. She had to remind herself that the dreams were just that, went they?

Calm, her mind whispered. Her heart still hammered as she looked up at the glittering stars in the sky, but wait, did that one move? No way, stars did not move. Right? Oh! A few seemed to flash and dance, their golden light drawing closer. Her mind whispered the answer, almost laughing at her puzzlement.

Fireflies.

The evening had crept upon Gawain sneakily, like a silent assailant on his journey. Though the young wolf had tried to make the most productive use of daylight as he could've, he couldn't help feeling like an utter failure. It seemed as though each time the yearling thought he was gaining some ground, getting a sense of what direction they hould be headed in, he found himself questioning and undermining his own logic, just as lost as he had begun. It was his neurosis honestly, how could he trust himself to lead Mauri, to care for her if he couldn't even trust himself to make good decisions on his own behalf. Every minute slipped away from him as Gawain attempted to get a start on his path, and now night had come once again, forcing him to seek shelter, as he was unlikely to get anywhere in the dark when he was so unfamiliar with his surroundings. 

It was as he began to sweep the area for good resting places that a soft sound hit his ears, high and breathy and hurting. Hairs prickled along his neck, the dark crown upon his throat fluffing out a bit as he became alert, drawing himself out of his self-loathing to locate where exactly the sound had come from. The flicker of lightbugs pulsed around him as Gawain padded through the field, his large paws treading surprisingly softly along the grass underfoot. 

It was when the masked wolf stepped over a lightly sloping crest in the glen that he spotted the figure. Draped in a bright white, the stranger stood out starkly against the dark of the night. They were small, and ragged, a creature who looked as though they'd been swept up in a storm. Though he couldn't see any particular wounds on them from the distance he stood, their tattered coat was enough for him to place unwellness. His mind flicked back to Mauri, on the bad days. The days where he wished he could've hidden her from the world and overcome his own cowardice long ago, protected her from every unjust mark that had appeared upon her body over the years. A shiver racked his mammoth shoulders where he stood and a deep breath was exhaled from his maw, but the yearling otherwise made no move to approach the stranger, to lost in his own thought and subconsciously afraid of spooking them to take any real action.

Lights flickered and danced, no, not light. These were fireflies, enchanting little bugs that were trying to find their mates. Funny how she could recall that but not how she woke up in a dark forest filled with fog, the only feeling of fear and death lingered. Blush hide eyes watched as the valley filled with the blinking yellow of desperate bugs, the only thing making her feel calm.

The wind shifted, a scent came. Male, stranger. Her mind alerted her, hissed at her carelessness. Tall ears fell to her skull, just she felt the need to curl a tail that no longer existed. She moved her violent to encompass him, a look of question and fear plain on her features. Who was this man that watched her, waa he friend or foe? Had he come to finish the job? Wait.. finish what job?

Gawain's attention refocued back on the woman, he believed, as she caught sight of him, his eyes finding hers in the darkness. Though he stood a good distance away, he could feel the fear radiating off of her, and his chest clenched with a pain that bounced off of his ribcage. He knew that look. He had been the cause for that look far too many times, and seeing it once again made something in him crack just a bit. A soft whine slipped from his throat before he could mask it, and he quickly cleared his throat to cover it. 

The young wolf hesitated, unsure how to proceed, but certain that he had to help, somehow, he had to. Gawain decided that his words, right now, at least, were not something that could possibly be of help. He'd never been great with his tongue, never had the ability Mauri did to deliver quick-witted quips, he certainly wouldn't be able to talk the woman down now. Instead, he relied soley on his body language, making himself small- or as small as his huge frame could be- and lowered his tail, tentatively raising a paw, looking to the bedraggled stranger silently for permission to move forward. His eyes were soft, and his throat remained tight, emotion welling in him despite how much he tried to quell it. The yearling did his best to ignore it though, to ignore how familiar the woman seemed and instead to focus on helping her, if he could.