Neverwinter Forest my head kissed the ground

backdated to like the 12th bc i'm slow

the rain didn't let up as he traveled. if anything, it rained more. if cam was more superstitious, he'd think this was some sort of cosmic way to spite him for leaving ziggy, coming back, leaving his birthplace yet again. . . but he wasn't, so the precipitation was merely an annoyance. a hindrance to travel.

eventually he made it, though, and as the evergreen scent entered his nostrils, he felt a weight off his shoulders he hadn't even realized was there. the north was beautiful, and he'd seen a lot—but nowhere as lovely as this forest. there was something about this place; whether it was tinted by nostalgia or simply owed to the scenery, he had pined for these pines.

and he had missed @Mal, too. he sent up a howl, feeling a little sheepish. he had left very abruptly in midwinter, without giving much of a farewell to his friend. still, it seemed the dappled man had done well for himself and his territory. the borders were well-marked, the scent of many wolves along the perimeter. he even thought he picked up a faint whiff of children, or at least by association with nursing mothers.

yes, the forest was thriving. and as the rain continued to hammer down, cam stood, soaked to the bone, and wondered if he could thrive again here, too.

Good thing it's backdated or Mal wouldn't be around. :P

Mal was debating when he should go look for Cupid. Kind of needed to at this point, didn't he? He'd been gone way too long. Did he even smell like the pack any more? Probably not. Would be nice if the storm broke but it didn't seem like that was gonna happen either.

And so his pondering went until a howl went up. Huh. Wait. That seemed rather familiar? Not quite. But it hit some familiar chord from what felt like ages ago. Either way, it was for him, so duh, Mal had to go check it out. So he started trotting that way -- wasn't far or long before a dark shape formed itself at the borders. Blink. The wolf that stood before him was similarly vaguely familiar. It took moments longer as he crossed the last bit of distance. Details clicked together, Ah! Cam? His tail wagged. You're back? You're ok? It's been ages. A positive blip in the mixed bag of things that had been reality lately. Was he here to stay? Man, those months ago felt like ages -- Moonspear's bad behavior, things afterwards.. It felt like a different era.

lucky me :D

the happy-fear combination didn't abate as mal came into sight; if anything, it grew more pronounced. he swallowed, nodding in response to the questions, both rhetorical and not. it definitely felt like ages, and coming back to neverwinter forest felt like returning home from a long journey.

that was a good feeling, right? that was a good sign?

hallo, mal, he greeted the keeper of the woods, allowing himself to relax, to smile a bit. yes, i'm back. to stay. . .if you'll let me. it didn't seem like it, but he didn't know if the man harbored any deep-seated resentment for his sudden departure. or if he just wasn't a good fit for whatever mal had built here.

there was always the willows, he supposed. eleuthera, sundance, and mummy's bones. that was plan b. . .no, bloody hell, that was plan k. he really didn't want to return to a place with so many nightmares attached to it.

As if there was any chance Mal would turn him away! Nah Mal was glad Cam was safe and back and all that, grinning still, Of course you're welcome here! C'mon. He sort of waved Cam across the border with a nod of his head, Have you been traveling long? We can stop by the cache if you want. No need for some crazy interrogation here, just welcoming Cam home and maybe picking a direction to walk while having a chat.

How long had it been? So much had happened. He knew that it would be nice to give Cam an update of what all went on, but he had no idea what he'd want to hear. There's a few familiar faces still here from when you were here last -- and currently we've got an allied pack staying with us though this foul weather. Yuelong lived on an island offshore, so didn't seem good for them to stay there if this all keeps up. Hopefully the weather will break soon though, for everyone's sake. Seriously, Mal couldn't remember this happening before, but maybe he just hadn't been paying attention. Trying to think of what all you've missed... It was sort of a mixed bag of stuff, so Mal hoped for a suggestion of what might interest him out of everything. Not a clue. Mal's interests differed from most.

his shoulders sagged with relief as mal accepted him back into the fold. he hadn't really thought he'd be turned away. . .not really. there was always the chance, and cam didn't trust easily, and. . . well. no matter. he was back, and he followed the forest's leader into the trees, shaking his head at the first question. i'm fine, he murmured. just wet.

he tried to follow the rambling explanation, though much of it held little meaning for him. allies? yuelong? it all went over his head. he had even truly forgotten most of the wolves that had been here last winter. his adventures with ziggy had taken up his mind.

though he did recall one face— that other boy. . .phillip. he was born in elysium like me. is he here? they'd left things a little awkwardly last time, and cam wondered if the young man had ever remembered more about where he'd come from. if he'd ever shaken that nervous energy.

Mal shook his head, He disappeared some time ago. Tried to figure out where he'd gone, but the trail just faded away. Mal did hope he was okay. Mal had looked, and he didn't like the fact he failed. He did come back for a while after you left, though -- showed up here with some other friends your age. Think he had a rough time when he was traveling, I hope that his leaving is just him trying to get away from some bad memories. If he comes back, there's a spot for him here too. Okay, Mal knew some of the details. They weren't his to share.

He was curious if it was the shared history or the age that was more the thing he was reaching for, I know there's still a few others floating around that were from Elysium, but they're people I grew up with. Think they're all in the mountains or beyond. And not all on good terms with him -- he still didn't remember that one grey girl's name. She was still that annoying brat who thought he was somehow destroying the world or something, it was bizarre that she hadn't grown out of that.

cam murmured in quiet acceptance, disappointed. he hoped that wherever he was, phillip was okay. he had been so troubled. . . but there was no one really else to ask about, and so he fell silent until mal brought up folks from elysium. did he know about the willows? neverwinter's leader had never had many nice things to say about the place, but—

i met two of olive's children, he replied. eleuthera and sundance. they live in the willows, in a pack of. . . oh, what had they called themselves? cam scrunched his face for a moment, thinking, before he finished: erm, faeries. from what he knew of mal, he knew the man wouldn't think much of that.

hushing up again, he walked alongside his friend, taking stock of all the sights and smells once more. as they drew nearer to the heart of the territory, the scent of pups grew stronger. he glanced over at mal, one corner of his mouth lifting in a shy smile.

pups, he remarked softly, succinctly. then: are any yours?

He didn't think about who Sundance's father was, or who he was to start with. Then again it was unlikely Mal would consider that litter his siblings to start with.

Faeries? He snorted, not having heard that descriptor for the Court before, Must be something about that forest, makes people start acting all goofy. A momentary pause and he continued, I ran into Eleuthera not long ago. She's still quick to blame me for every bad thing that happened, even stuff I wasn't around for -- oh and tried to banish me from the willows too. Mal obviously thought she was being particularly silly with that last bit. In what world did that make sense? He had no desire to live there, his home was in this forest. Ibis is in the mountains somewhere too. Or was, been ages since I saw her. Was she even still there?

But then Cam changed the subject to something more pleasant. Mal also smiled, Yeah. Quite a few. All those in our pack and some from Yuelong too. Might be unconventional, but I love my kids. Cupid had been the main one to really think something was wrong with what Mal had done, but all in all, he didn't have too many regrets. Notable lack of mention of any mates or what have you, and he wasn't entirely sure if anyone really cared about the details.

she did? cam asked, a little astounded. she hadn't seemed the type to do something like that. whatever had gone down between mal and eleuthera had certainly been contentious, and he was aware he was only getting one side of the story. still, he was glad mal was here. the mottled wolf belonged here. he wished ibis had stayed, too—but then, cam himself had left for a while. maybe she'd be back.

quite a few, mal answered, and his shock from before turned pleasant again. that's amazing, he remarked, meaning it. you—erm, i'm glad you're there for all of them. his own father had been so distant; cam continued to doubt he would ever see him again. stay that way.

i'm tired, he admitted, blinking slowly at his friend. i think i'll lie down. but thank you, mal. . .thanks for having me in again. i promise i'll stay longer this time. there was a ghost of a chuckle in that last sentence, and he left it at that, padding away once mal had bid him adieu.

yes, it was good to be back. even better than he had dreamed it would be.

Yeah. I dunno. We obviously just aren't gonna see eye to eye. And frankly, they were far enough apart that he wasn't going to try to fix it. He hoped some day she'd realize just how foolish she was being. But if not, well, it was a good thing they weren't in the same pack. Mal was curious what she'd do when he showed up for some political reason -- it had to happen some day.

And with a smile, Wouldn't have it any other way. Sure, it would be nice if Hua and their children were closer, but Mal was going to make sure he could go visit them more frequently. And for now? They were all under one canopy, and that was nice. Things were working out. Kinda. Hope you'll meet them soon. 

Okay. Well, if you need me I'm just a howl away. Don't be a stranger. He leaned to sort of give Cam a friendly faux-headbutt to the shoulder. It was nice when people came back. He liked the familiar faces, and he doubted he'd ever regret inviting them back into the fold. He'd head off his own way.