Ouroboros Spine how can i believe when this cloud hangs over me

tags r for ref or for joining <3

peregrine continued to improve. he was up and about most days, now, helping the moonwolves with their hunting and border-tending, mostly. he restocked the herb piles and sorted preyskins, fished in the lake and spoke nonchalantly with those he recognized.
he was starting to like it here! it was a weird feeling, to stay in one place for as long as this. he could not remember the last time he did so. every now and again, he thought of visiting his father, or perhaps his family out in the copse — but why should he?
and there was eye candy galore here, which pleased the boy greatly — he stole passing glances of @Aiolos, the tall bourbon-pelted man; he thought often of ajei, the cinnamon girl he'd met by the lake; and he quite liked to think of what it'd be like to be sandwiched between @Chickadee and @Kivaluk. and then there was the other new girl, @Galana; she, too, intrigued him! ah, so many choices to daydream about, which he did often when he was not working.
today, he is busying himself with carrying a freshly-caught beaver back to his camp. he thought perhaps he'd offer the pelt to moonwoman as a gift of thanks — all he has to do is figure out how to skin an animal.

!!!! been meaning to jump in one of your threads :D

galana had been meaning to know the ashen wolf more than passing glances. she'd given him space as he healed, finding that is what felt best for her. she settled further into her home once more with quiet, slow interactions, but peregrine only seemed to grow gratified by his place in moonglow with the time.

"quite the catch!" galana thought this must have been her day!

she called out to him crossing his way from a well made footpath. she hoped that he would not mind as she moved to walk beside him, as galana wanted to hear his voice and look upon him some more.

:D same to u!!! thank u for joining <333

speak — or think — of the devil, a flare of cinnamon passes through his periphery, paired with a honeyed voice.
ah, galana, the pretty redhead! he slows so that she may catch up, a half-smile gracing his slender face. but, as soon as he speaks, the suaveness is immediately obstructed by the fact that fur and meat block his tongue from forming proper words.
thanhh' hyouh', he mumbles, realizing his error a bit too late before he actually drops his kill to the forest floor. he gets a good look at her properly now, recollecting himself; already he was being embarrassing. because of course he was. galana, right?

silvered eyes watched him with amusement; she'd thought herself as one that was easily overlooked. apparently not.

"yeah," she fought the laugh that swarmed its way up her throat, opting for a sweet smile instead. "you're peregrine?"

galana made herself comfortable, sitting almost in front of him. awkward spot for a conversation, yes, but there were times all social awareness made its exit with her.

"moonglow treating you well?" she wanted to ask if she was interrupting anything, but she did not want this conversation to end so soon!

her selfishness was reflected with an exaggeratedly wagging tail. they'd arrived to the spine around the time, weak and recovering, mind and body. in the short pause she'd thought on it, how both of their healing was reflected in truthful smiles and a working build on their bones. he would be okay and so would she. what an odd way things had turned out.

the one and only, he follows up his rather corny statement with an equally as corny toothy little grin, watching as she takes a seat beside him and eagerly entertains his presence. there must be something in the air in moonglow; why was everybody so... nice?
not that he was going to complain.
he mirrors her by taking his own seat beside her, drawing his gaze upward to meet her own. he offers her the beaver with a gentle nudge. he could always hunt another one. so far so good, he shrugs. it's starting to feel more like home already. are you from here? or are you a stray, like me?
he'd probably punch himself if he knew he was casually chatting up the daughter of the literal, actual leaders.

her smile only grew at his confirmation. galana's brothers were not full of jokes, neither the other men she knew. at the nudge of the beaver, an empty stomach was suddenly felt. was that why she'd been out in the first place? she nodded to him in thanks, planning to eat meticulously in order to preserve a lovely pelt.

"stray?" she paused her chewing, her tongue drawing across her lip to clean it of the creatures blood before speaking further. "i guess both? sort of..."

her brow quirked as she looked upwards in thought.

"i was born to aiolos and sakhmet, but kukutux is a true mother to me." the red-furred girl did not know how else to hit on her sakhmet's absence. "i left."

telling him she was kidnapped- in a sense would be a mood killer!

"or was taken, kinda." she nervously smiled once more with a breathy, short laugh. "nevermind that though. how'd you end up here? i always got excited with new faces, still do."

it felt everywhere she looked she saw a cousin, aunt, uncle, sister, or brother and boredom only grew with that, regardless of the love she held for them. peregrine was a lovely change, a face she could admire.

both? peregrine listens with piqued curiosity, having planned previously only to sit and ogle the girl; but now she truly intrigued him with her tale. aiolos and sakhmet, one name he knew, the other a stranger; and then she had been — taken.
i was kinda taken, too, his face softens, twisting into something unreadable. i was raised by — well. they weren't my parents, not really. they were cool, though, and now they were both gone. his stomach tangles itself into a knot. life didn't exactly do right by any of us. and now i'm here.
i got kicked by a bison hoof, he begins to draw little shapes in the dirt as he speaks, gaze flickering between the pretty silversmoke eyes and the half-thawed earth. and then -- your mom took me in. so i've been chillin' here since then, i guess, the smile returns for a moment; he notices the doe-eyed look she gives him, and he feels a flutter in his veins. the stars fall where they may, huh?

he explained subtly was raised not raised by his blood. galana watched him thoughtfully, her face expressing this as his eyes nervously sought something to settle on. she wished it to be her own.

life didn't exactly do right by any of us. and now i'm here.

her brows remained furrowed, but she smiled at him once more. everything he said, shortened into a few sentences, reflected pain, abandonment, and all things to her. there was so much galana didn't know, but she liked to think she understood him.

the stars fall where they may, huh?

she fondly thought of the stars lighting her path home. peregrine was full of lovely things to say, beautiful and compelling words in such a simple tone. spoken easy and light with content; as the girl saw it.

"they do." she said, looking away towards the trees around them. and then quieter. "makes this all seem... good. makes you appreciate more."

galana could not pretend she had moved on. she liked not thinking of it, only wanting to see that her family was here and those men were not. that was what was good. 

"are you going to stay here?" she paused. "until something else comes along at least?"

someone new, at least, to distract her from the departure of arrluk and ajei.

you're right.
and she was. it did make peregrine appreciate moonglow's acceptance of him more, and it made him feel even more constricting, heavy guilt. and he thought she knew it too, based on the knit to her auburn brows. he breathes out a sigh of contentment, one forepaw inching closer to hers as if to silently commiserate.
yeah, i'm here to stay, he'd decided it long ago, but he was especially sure of it now. i mean, it's not like i have anywhere else to go. do, um, do you? plan on staying? the tangerine eyes twinkle with a glow that says please say yes.

"i'm glad, i've needed a friend" she pauses, looking towards him once more and away from where he slightly extended a paw.

she imagined he was reaching for her as they floated weightlessly in this hopefulness.

"i do, with visits to nearby family of course." she smiled, ideas feeling welcome as she stared into bright eyes. "you'd be welcome to come of course."

the clutch of past thoughts that lingered with mention eased its grip, the air feeling light again with the ambience of the spine. she loved this place dearly. galana returned to careful bites of the beaver, ears tilted towards him should he speak again. she'd be perfectly comfortable in silence if peregrine decided to eat with her. he had that presence, one she could sit beside without a pressing desire to fill silence with meaningless words. the girl was glad to have discovered it now, late or not.

a friend, huh? peregrine teases, a lift to his lip in a playful, sly sort of half-smile. i could really use one too.
somewhere inside of him he wondered if perhaps she was too good for him to think of her as anything more. but he could not help himself as he watches her eat, a soft, glowing warmth settling over his shoulders and upon his face.
i'd love to do that with you, his ears pin as he thinks of how desperate that must have sounded. i mean-- well, you know what i mean. it'd be fun. could make myself useful and act as your bodyguard.
his jaws split in a yawn as he settles down beside her, letting the silence stretch like a soft blanket atop them. it wasn't clumsy or awkward like he typically felt such a thing was — he, too, felt that ease, and perhaps it was mirrored in her own contentment. they shared space. he made sure she was finished before he took any food from her, perfectly satisfied with only bones if it meant her belly was full.
the birdcalls echo in the trees as he passes her a silent, appreciative grin.

could we wrap this one up and set another? :D

the word was so insignificant, it could be a breath. huh. galana sought an understanding that it had left    something. something was left open in the meaning of friend.

"then we'll do it. got a unatattik with me to keep me safe." it left her in a quiet laugh, but the name was spoken in fondness behind the curtain of a joke.

peregrine was full of things to say that only made her heart, one was frowned on everything near and yearn for things far away remain content in its space in her chest. galana rolled to her side away from him, full and happy; she looked up to him with a smile playing on her face and furrowed brows.

"eating makes me slow and lazy. ulax are far." she sighed, the noise coming out as something akin to a hum. "could just. die. right here."

her giggles slowed into silence again. she'd wait like that, just fine in the quietness. even in anticipation of words he might wish to speak.