#reply:wolf

@southern-belle-outcasts comforting a lover after a nightmare

Wolf had been awake already- he didn't usually sleep long, especially at night when the sky was so clear and the moon was so bright. He watched it from the window, basking in it like it was warm sunshine.

But Sage did not seem to be having as nice of a night as he was. They had fallen asleep soon after their last round and seemed cozy and comfortable enough. Until a few hours later, anyway.

A nightmare. Wolf knew it immediately. He had them frequently, too, even if he was particularly adept at hiding that fact. His nightmares usually consisted of him being frozen in place, anyway, so he wasn't generally the type to thrash or shout or make a scene. Not like Sage had just done.

He knelt down at the side of the bed, hand gently resting on their thigh, looking up at them where they sat. "Are you okay?"

"I need a minute."

That was understandable. Whatever the dream, it must have been awful.

He moved from his spot beside the bed to join Sage, instead. He didn't want to touch them too much if they were opposed to it- sometimes the last thing he wanted after a nightmare, personally, was to be touched or held. He needed space. But he wasn't certain how Sage was, what they needed. All he could do was be there for them in whatever way would help.

@normallyxstranger

Wolf stayed leaning back against the wall, arms crossed as he watched her. He was trying not to be in her way physically, but he had a feeling he had been distracting her some with conversation.

A conversation which had, at first, started casual (and a bit flirtatious on Wolf's part because he couldn't seem to help himself), then soon grew into something more serious. Not tense, just... sincere.

@southern-belle-outcasts

"This whole time? No, no..." He insisted, waving a hand dismissively. He then reached up, lightly scratched at his temple with the side of his index finger, his hand cupped, the mannerism far too akin to a dog to be fully human.

"But I have been awake most of the night." And yet he still seemed so absolutely full of energy, a smile on his face as he stay crouched down by the fire, finishing cooking the bacon (his own was nearly raw, but he was sure to cook Sage's a little better).

"You miss all the best things if you sleep past sunrise," Like the passing of doe and her fawn. Or the bunny that hopped by in he underbrush. And the birds- oh, how beautifully they sang at the first rays of dawn peeking through the branches. He'd watched them take flight from their homes high up in the trees, out to start their day. A few lazier birds still straggled, of course, but that was the nature of things.

@galaxiacolibri

"Seeing me like what?" As if he wasn't aware that he was an anxious, pacing, mess. But farmers, especially, didn't take so kindly to wolves and he was worried he'd just been outed. They'd just... leave for the night if they could, but with this weather? There was nowhere to go. Not without risking falling ill... or getting struck by a stray bolt of lightning. No no. He wouldn't put Sage through that. Least of all when he wasn't absolutely certain anything bad was actually going to happen here overnight. All he could do right now was just stay vigilant. Keep his ears and eyes open. And not sleep. Which should be an easy enough thing considering he didn't sleep much, anyway.

@normallyxstranger

"Yes. Yes. Um, sit. Please. Here-" There was an urgency to his tone as he gently coaxed her towards the chair- not because the matter was actually urgent, but because he felt a rush of anxiety in thinking about talking about it. He wasn't usually so apprehensive, but this had him a bit on edge.

"Are you comfortable? Do you need something to drink? Or a shoulder massage?" His voice stayed rushed, the words cascading from him.

They were followed with a soft, puppy dog, whine and a bit of anxious pacing. Oh, how to tell her? How to talk to her about this? Better to dive in headfirst, he supposed.

Instead, however, he dipped his toe into the matter. Kind of.

"Okay... okay... uhhhh... okay..." A breath, and then he shook it out, from head to limbs to tail. "You know I'm... not from here..." He began, that nervous energy still coursing through him. "And you know that I have not been able to go back home in... well, in a while." At first, he'd known where the mirror was. It was as simple as going back to New York City, the same place he'd entered here from. He knew how it worked. But the last time he'd gone to that spot... there was nothing. No way back. He was stuck. Which didn't feel so bad considering he had found Vivian. He was pretty content to stay right here with her.

Except now... now he had located the mirror back. Knew how to get home. And he was itching for it. Not to stay. No. No. He missed the Nine Kingdoms, but that place had never been kind to him. He would always be an outsider, even there. But he had to go back. Just for a bit. Just to see it. To smell it. To run through the darkened forest at the edge of the charred bones of his old childhood home. He was homesick. Even if the place had put him through the wringer time and again, he couldn't deny that he sometimes missed it.

"What if... what if I told you I could go back?" He finally began to explain. "I mean, not forever. For a day. A week. A month, maybe..." The air was sweeter there. The stars more vibrant. This... technology that they had here, in this world, was comfortable in ways, and helpful in ways... but it was eating away at the planet piece by sad, little, piece. He could almost feel the polluted air sticking to his skin, settling in his lungs, even away from the city. That wasn't to say things were perfect back home, but he missed how it felt to breathe in an untouched field of wildflowers. Or to float lazily along in a crystal blue lake. He missed sleeping in the soft grass under the plush plumes of leaves on a centuries old oak tree, fingers digging into dirt and moss. "Would you... Vivian... would you want to come with me?" This was a big ask. And it was why he had reiterated that it wasn't forever, because he knew she couldn't leave her pack behind, certainly not indefinitely. He would never ask that of her. But he wanted to go home for a minute. He needed to. While going alone was an option, he wanted, too, to show her where he had come from. He knew she would love it there. Or, at least, he thought she would. Maybe, though, that was wishful thinking.

(And maybe, too, it was wishful thinking to believe that things would go smoothly once they were there.)

@southern-belle-outcasts

Wolf raised his right index finger and opened his mouth as if to speak. Then, he thought about it for a second before dropping the pose and humming. "You're right. I can't think of a single time you've refused a cup of tea."

And so he took the kettle off the fire and poured Sage their tea first, his own second. It wasn't some made up blend he'd bought at the market, nor even stolen from one. It was his own, personal, recipe... which had been the same thing his father always made when Wolf and his siblings were too restless and needed something to settle down.

@southern-belle-outcasts

"How bad is it?"

"Do you want the honest answer or the comforting one?"

Wolf wasn't sure, really. The comforting one would have made for a nice, non-concerning, conversation... but it would have been a lie. And he would have spent the next several hours concerned and wishing he had known the truth from the start. But the truth? He wasn't certain what that would entail and that gave him a different kind of anxiety. And, in tandem, a sort of pre-emptive anger that was generally unlike his usually cheery self.

All that aside, though, he'd asked because he really did want the truth. It didn't matter how it made him feel- he was not the one who was currently injured.

@southern-belle-outcasts

"Why would you think that?" Maybe because he'd been laying beside them with his eyes closed looking, probably, asleep. He'd been nearly there, though, in Sage's defense. Dozing off a bit. Wolf didn't sleep for long and, honestly, when left to his own devices he was more prone to short naps during the daylight hours. At night like this, he was usually much more wide awake. Chances were he would have done his usual- slept for an hour or two and then been up, pacing about, watching the rest of the world in its slumber, listening to the soft chatter of bugs. Then at the earliest moments of sunrise, he'd watch the birds stir and begin to take flight.

So while he had been about to nod off for a short stint- no, he had not been asleep yet. And he had most definitely heard the quiet, but very clear, "I love you".