Broken Antler Fen lovers dance when they're feeling in love

The bear incident had left Eljay sloppy and distracted with everything he did. He hadn't actually gotten into a fight, and the bear hadn't actually seen him, but to see a bear in the safety of Redhawk Caldera shook him to the core. The territory was supposed to be a safe place for all, and now it turned out that it wasn't. At least not a week ago. At least not all the time. It was a strange thing to think about, because the sanctity of pack borders had always been something that Eljay believed in. The bear hadn't attacked them, so maybe it should have been something for him to shrug off. In practise, though, that was harder to do than in theory.

When Eljay was feeling brave enough to leave the Caldera lands again he made his way down its western slope towards the lake. He remembered vividly how doctor Sebastian had had.. a wounded wolf? A dead wolf? No, he must've been wounded. It had frightened Eljay a lot at the time. Now the lake was desolate and Eljay quickly made his way around it, past the northern site as to avoid the forest where Maia'd gotten hurt.

When he arrived at the place where Wraen and her comrades' scents were thick on the lands, Eljay lifted his nose to call for @Maia, hoping she was nearby.

Maia had a lot on her mind as well, though bears definitely did not feature.  Unlike their northern neighbors, the fen had been so quiet; but they'd held meetings, and those meetings had been a lot in a different sort of fashion.

When Eljay called, though, a lot of that disappeared to excitement.  He was here!!  And he'd come on his own!?  That was actually... really super sweet, and kind of a big deal!?

Elated, she rushed to the border to meet up with him. Rushing was relative with so much snow on the ground, but before too too long she'd spotted him and let out a happy bark, tail waving as she went in to greet him with a properly enthusiastic hug.

She hunkered down in the cave with @Reyes for a while, glad for his companionship despite the trying times. Eventually, a call of nature forced them apart. Towhee left the cave and relieved herself nearby. But instead of promptly returning, she listened to that other voice, whispering to her from the wilderness. She began climbing toward the caldera's flattened summit, glad at least that the snowfall had lulled for the moment.

Towhee crested it and did not stop there, save for a brief respite to admire the views. Spotting figures in the distance, she felt a strange leaping sensation in her gut and surged forward to run downhill and then into the no man's land beyond the Redhawks' domain. She ran around the lake, toward the duo, only to slow and stop when she recognized them as Eljay and Maia. From a distance, she watched their reunion with a slight twitch of her lips, which fell a moment later as she felt an unnameable feeling surge suddenly through her veins.

Hoping they were too focused on one another to have noticed her, Towhee turned and galloped away. Rather than return to the caldera, she loped east, skirting through Haunted Wood as she gave herself over to the peculiar itching in her paws urging her out into the wilds. And she would've kept going for miles, perhaps, except the wind and snow picked up again with fresh fury some hours into her spontaneous journey, driving her back home.

This is just a cameo (and the weather change is meant to happen later on)!

Eljay didn't notice Towhee behind him at all, so focused was he on reuniting with Maia. His gaze was inwards towards the territory. It felt like a long time before Maia answered his call (it's always too long when you're waiting for someone you love), but when she finally came into view, his heart surged. Tail instantly started to whir back and forth excitedly, and he returned her happy bark with one of her own that spoke of the immense joy at seeing her again. He licked his lips in contained excitement as he waited at the borders, careful not to cross the lines laid out by Wraen and her wolves, his hind legs going back and forth in excitement.

Only when she was almost there did Eljay move as well. He crashed into Maia's embrace and nuzzled his face into her neck while he murmured, It's so good to see you again... Especially after his (perceived) near-death experience with the bear, Eljay was reminded once more of all that he had in the world, even if it was a few territories away. Something inside of him had been itching to see her ever since that encounter, and now it was clear that whatever something it was had been right.

His enthusiasm was always infectious, feeding even more into her already overwhelming excitement.  As soon as they met she pulled in close, tail goin a mile a minute.  She let out a soft, eager whine and just stayed there for a bit, sharing warmth.

It's really good to see you too, I'm so glad you could come!!  She answered finally, reluctant to pull away but doing it anyway.  She coulda sat here forever but she had to give him a tour, yeah?  He'd never been here!  How are you!?  She was interested in hearing about the Caldera too, but first she wanted to hear all about how he'd been managing the last few weeks.  There'd been so much snow!

Eljay enjoyed the moment they shared together, where they just sat together and enjoyed each other's company. It couldn't last long enough, but eventually Maia pulled away, breaking the lingering silence and tenderness. Eljay's smile didn't waver though, since she said she was happy he came. She asked how he was, which was a bit tricky to answer at this point. Eljay hadn't necessarily wanted to talk about the bear incident, but there they were now.

Unable to answer the question with a straight face with just a 'I'm doing fine' Eljay answered: Well, um — the other day, I saw a bear at the Caldera. Eljay was calm as he spoke about it now, but there was a lingering quiver of worry in his voice. It didn't do anything — I mean, no one was hurt or anything. He glanced at Maia, curious what she would make of it. He'd never seen a bear at the Caldera before. They didn't usually make their way up there, that he knew of anyway. Maybe it was just an incident. But what if it wasn't? He totally forgot to ask her how she was doing in the process.

Maia had expected to be the one with a hard time answering that question, so she'd been expecting to field a 'fine, how are you?'.  Instead she did a bit of a double take when Eljay opened with news about an entire bear in the Caldera.  Her initial alarm subsided some when he clarified quickly that no one was hurt, but she still let her ears tip back as her expression flooded with concern.

Ohmygosh.  Seriously?!  As if he were joking about that, c'mon Maia!  Do you think it, like, stayed or something?  Or did it leave?  If it came their way, she'd have to let everyone know to keep an eye out for it, but Eljay traveling here made her think that was unlikely.  They hadn't seen a single sign of any real trouble since moving here, thankfully.  If it was hanging around there, though, she was torn between making him stay here and understanding that he probably didn't want to stick around for too long.

As they spoke, she took a step inwards, pausing in clear invitation and to see if he would fall in alongside.  She liked the idea of walking and talking, though she was a little distracted by his news and wasn't quite in tour-guide mode yet.

Maia was shocked by his news, and Eljay frowned, not wanting to worry her too much. She asked him if he thought it stayed or if it went away, and he hesitated a moment. It went away, I think. I haven't seen it again after that one time. Eljay hadn't exactly followed it either, but if it had stuck around, then surely he would've seen it again, or at least caught its scent..?

A part of him was also glad that Maia was alarmed, too. At least it wasn't him making up ghost stories over something that wasn't as scary as he thought. I'd never seen a bear that close before. It was pretty scary. Eljay frowned and said, I don't know where it is now. Hopefully it went some other way. Hopefully not this way, or back to the Caldera, or any of that.

Maia stepped into the territory and paused, and Eljay hesitated for a moment at the lack of explicit invitation before he eventually stepped over the invisible threshold into the Fen. How have things been over here? he asked as he did so, hoping to turn the conversation to happier things.

Oh, good.  She'd only had a couple of encounters with bears up close, and none of them had ever gotten to a fight (thankfully).  She hated the thought of him being put in that situation, it must have been terrifying!  He didn't seem keen to dwell on it, though, and she was happy enough to let it go at that.  She'd definitely let everyone know to keep an eye out.

Maia smiled at his hesitation.  I can show you around a little.  The best secrets are still hidden, I think, but don't worry.  As long as you're with me the dragons won't bother you.  She gave him a playful nuzzle, then thought about his question.  Oh boy, about that....

We had a few newcomers join, they seem nice.  And we had a meeting, to kinda talk about, y'know... leader-y things.  She glanced over at him.  Wraen kinda asked me to be on the council?  She didn't mean for it to sound like a question, but it still felt weird to say.  It didn't matter how intrigued she was at the idea, or how much she actually wanted to try it; she'd never, in a million years, pictured herself a leader.  And she wanted to hear what he thought of it before she told him she'd said yes... because if he was upset, or hated the idea, she'd have to sort that out.

Eljay looked surprised at first, but then chuckled when he saw Maia's expression as she mentioned the 'dragons'. He was still midway through his thoughts when Maia quickly nuzzled him, which caught him a bit off-guard, but he quickly returned it nonetheless. I'm glad to be with such a good uh, dragon-whisperer, then, he said.

Maia mentioned newcomers joining and then she quickly went on about meetings and leader-y things. Eljay felt his gut churn when Maia said that Wraen'd asked her to be on the council, for even though he was so hapopy for Maia he also found himself wondering if that was the final stab of death to her ever moving to Redhawk Caldera. He wasn't sure he was ready to think about that, though, and if he'd learned anything over the past half year it was that you couldn't really plan life. It was constantly changing, he had learned.

Wow! he said instead of voicing any of his doubts, and he smiled at Maia. That's so great. So what does that mean? I mean... What would your job be like? He thought back to his own parents, who'd been Betas of the Redhawk packs for as long as he could remember. Times changed, he supposed, and in the end they had stepped down. He wondered sometimes if he could ever do something like that, but he wasn't sure he'd ever be asked, so there was little use in pondering about it anyway. He still felt proud of Maia, though, and glad that Wraen recognised her so well.

Dragon-whisperer.  She liked that, and made note to add it to her list of titles later!  It sounded way better than dragon caretaker or dragon sitter, like what she was doing was both special AND unique.  She probably should have let him know that she appreciated it, but she was wayyy too hung up on his reaction to the second part of her news.  Boy howdy, she was nervous.

And of course she gave him way too little credit, because from what it appeared, he took the news even better than she had!  Like he had no qualms at all about it, meanwhile even just his question set off a flurry of worried thoughts racing through her mind.  Oh jeeze, what did it entail?  She... didn't actually know.  And that was the terrifying part, actually, because if she didn't know what it meant then of course she didn't know if she could do it.  And not knowing if she could do it meant she probably couldn't, which was exactly what she'd worried about in the first place......

Hooooo boy.

I... uh.  I don't know?  She replied with a somewhat tight laugh.  She was definitely nervous about it.  I mean, I've never actually paid attention, or thought about it, or even... yeah.  Like, I want to!  But I really don't know if I will be able to, or if I, yknow, am... good enough?  Now that sounded like she was fishing for praise, which wasn't at all what she meant!  So she backed it up quickly.  Not 'good enough', but... it's dumb.  I feel like it'll be weird, if everyone takes me seriously.  

She didn't even know if that was a part of it though.  She'd flitted through packs without paying much attention, taking Wraen and Terance and anyone who led for granted while she was at it.  Her job had always been to bring fun and distraction, but if she was in charge, did that really matter anymore?  Maybe he had some kind of an idea... though he'd asked her, so maybe not.

Instead of happily telling him more about her supposed future new function, Maia seemed to panic at it. Eljay wasn't very used to others panicking at all and it struck him like a lightning bolt. Did he do this? Oh no! Even though Maia kept talking, he could feel in the thrum of her voice and the way her eyes shone that there was a lot of uncertainty and insecurity in her mind. Soon it spoke volumes in her words too.

Oh — no, no no no, I didn't mean to... he murmured, unsure how to stop her from spiraling down further. I.. I'm sure you're already doing it. He wasn't sure what else to say! Otherwise Wraen wouldn't have asked, or.. or she would've said specifically what you should do, right? Yes, Wraen was sensible. If there was anything Maia should be doing specifically in her role then Wraen would've totally told her about it! Hopefully this logic would apply to Maia's panicking mind, too. Eljay felt immensely guilty for making her feel this way.

He wanted to ask if Maia had accepted yet, but now just didn't seem the right moment; first he wanted to wait for her to calm down.

He was sweet, and believed in her way more than she did, of course.  His point about Wraen was a good one, but Maia wasn't entirely convinced.  She said she was tired of leading.  Not recently, but a long time ago.  What if she just doesn't want to, and it doesn't matter if I'm good at it?  She asked, then realized she'd probably said more than she should have and winced.  Ah, shoot.  She didn't worry about Eljay gossiping, but she did tend to sometimes let things slip that were better left between subject a and b.

It's probably dumb to be so nervous about it, she added with a shake of her head and a little laugh.  But I... said yes.  And I've kinda been freaked and excited ever since.  It felt good to talk about it, at least!  Like it was a weight off.  And it also felt really good that he wasn't upset about it, as she'd feared.  And that he didn't laugh at her, another irrational fear.

It didn't come as a surprise to Eljay that Wraen had been tired of leading for some time. There'd been times at the Copse where she had seemed stressed and tired, like she didn't want to anymore. He'd sensed that, then. But she'd never asked him to take the helm, and so he never had (also because he was in no place to do such a thing at the time).

Eljay chuckled at the thought that Wraen might make such choices, though. He honestly didn't really believe Wraen would give up on leading that easily. I don't think she would leave a wolf in charge that she finds incapable even if she was tired of doing the job herself, he said. The thought alone was comical in some way. However much Wraen might feel tired of leading, might feel like she was pushed into those kind of jobs, at the end of the day it was her own choice to pick them up time and time again. It wasn't that anyone was forcing her; it was just that, Eljay felt, Wraen thought that maybe she was the best one for the job, and didn't trust anyone else to pick it up.

Until she did trust someone else, of course, like she now trusted Maia. It was crystal clear to him, but he understood why Maia might see it differently. It was a scary prospect. He remembered so vividly how he panicked when Wiffle had asked him to be a member of her council.

I don't think it's dumb to be nervous, Eljay said after a moment's hesitation, because he understood the feeling too well and wasn't really sure how to make Maia feel better about it. But I'm glad you're not just nervous, but also excited. Eljay wasn't sure he would've been able to forgive himself if he had made Maia sad about this thing that was supposed to be good. Which also made him decide not to talk about the inevitable subject of 'hey so when are we taking the next step' because that was scary and he knew it'd make her feel sad if he would say he wasn't sure he was ready to leave Redhawk Caldera just yet, if that was what it came down to.

I really am.  She'd been surprised to want the job, because in previous packs, she never had.  It had a lot to do with him, she realized.

Before Eljay, all Maia had wanted was to travel and collect as many stories as she could.  That, and sticking with Wraen, were her only plans.  Now a billion other things felt super important that never had before, and honestly it was a little hard to wrap her head around.  Leading meant not only taking responsibility for something other than herself... it also meant making this place home in a way she'd never done before.

You're probably right.  And I really am excited, even if I'm terrified.  I seriously never in a million years thought I'd do this, and I definitely didn't think anyone would let me.  Maia shook her head, then laughed.  I mean, all three of my older siblings were leaders! So why would I ever need to be one?  Except now two of them were gone, and one was getting tired.  Maia didn't like to think about what that meant.

So she focused on him instead.  Thanks.  Are you doing okay, though?  He'd listened to her problems, and he'd talked about a bear, but she wanted to make sure there wasn't anything going on with him outside of that.  It was weird, having so little idea of what he did any given day.

want to wrap this up since we got the new one? We could do a fade of then exploring maybe?

Eljay smiled as Maia shared all of her worries. They were understandable, but eljay felt that she was selling herself short. She was wonderful and caring, so of course she would do well as a leader. It was just something that needed to grow.

You'll do great, I'm sure, he said with a soft, confidently encouraging smile.

As she shifted the subject back to him, he said with a chuckle, I'm fine. While he looked at her with rose-coloured glasses on, a dreamy look in his eyes. So, what's next on the tour?

perfect!

Oh, something amazing!  Maia responded cheerfully, bounding forward a few paces enthusiastically, then stopping to drop her front playfully.  She'd likely try to entice him into a little play between tour stops because just his presence here gave her energy to burn.

She'd show him the reflecting pools, though the snow made them more ice than water.  She'd take him by Warden's Watch, and the Bouncing Boulder, and tell him quickly why Wraen and she had named it after Sarah and Terance.  

Talk of her parents and siblings deaths was a little heavy for a day like today, so she wouldn't have come out the gate with it.  Instead she just told him about their serious protectiveness and the fun in the Boulder that maybe would have gotten them to lighten up.

There were a few other scattered places that were her favorites - the 
"dragon dens", the "troll forest", the thinking stone... and any packmates they met would get a rather exuberant introduction.  She loved every second of it, showing him around this place she'd helped to create.

Eljay excitedly followed Maia's lead. With every thing she showed him, he nodded excitedly. By the end of it he was pretty tired -- a much more introvert and anxious of new things person than she was -- but he kept listening and following until eventually the tour ended; hopefully with snuggling somewhere together before he eventually had to head back to the Caldera.