The Lovliest Lies Célestin had been quiet for the past few days although he hadn’t said why. He suspected it had something to do with his family, specifically his brother, although he couldn’t say with any certainty that was it. It had been his suggestion that they leave that morning to go exploring; specifically he had wanted to show Cél The Range and the dragon he had seen the last time he was there but a freak snowstorm had caught them and they had needed to make shelter in a nearby cave system instead. He gave a worried glance at his companion as he laid on the floor of the cave, his eyes filled with uncertainty and hurt on behalf of his friend. He shifted to tuck his hind legs under his body in an attempt to warm them as snow fell over the mouth of the cave. He looked around the bare walls of the cave trying to think of something to say to broach the topic of what was troubling his friend, but his thoughts had gone blank. He turned his head downward and laid his chin on top of his paws, closing his eyes as concern gnawed on his thoughts. He wondered if he should have just been direct and asked him earnestly what was wrong but he was afraid that whatever he offered for comfort would be unwelcome or unhelpful. He lifted his head slowly and turned his attention on his mottled friend “Have you heard any tales of Sly Olin?” He asked with a small smile hoping that if he could not address the topic directly he could at least get his mind off of whatever was troubling him. “He’s something of a hero where I’m from, my father used to tell me all kinds of stories about him when I was younger.” A small inviting smile grew on his lips as the memories of the piebald hero’s adventures began to flood his mind and he started to pick through which one would be most interesting to his friend. He had been completely unaware that his princely cadence had become uncharacteristically informal around the motley wolf, most likely from his time apart from his family and homeland and the unwanted title that awaited him back home. He settled in more comfortably waiting for his friend’s response his ears betraying the uneasiness he felt that Cél might tell him he was uninterested in hearing anything he might have to say. Word count:411 Talking Thinking You Of All

Things had been rough for the boy as of late, Célestin felt like he was being pulled in two different directions. One part of him, the part of him that was self-interested knew he would be happiest if he still went with Pegasus, he couldn't deny his attraction in the other boy... but then he was denying it wasn't he? And could he really just leave his family after all that had happened for a friend he couldn't even bring himself to be honest with, partially because he was afraid he'd be rejected and partially because he was sure he'd be rejected. So to say he'd been distant recently would probably be an understatement, he didn't exactly feel like he could face Pegasus right now, feeling like regardless of what he did he'd be betraying at least one wolf he loved... And that was the crux of the issue, he didn't want to hurt anyone that important to him; their happiness overriding his desires for himself; which were muddled enough as it was. Still when Pegasus asked him to go out on an adventure Célestin put on a happy face, not wanting to worry his friend too much... of course as it turned out that wasn't possible; he wasn't exactly the most subtle wolf and his normal happy chatter had been missing, the boy's mind too full of grief and pain and conflict to generate much in the way of conversation. Not even the promise of going to find a dragon could give him much more energy than he'd barely managed to muster to follow Pegasus. Not that they even got that far. No, it seemed as if the world was conspiring to make the poor boy miserable, instead the pair found themselves trapped in a cavern; a snowstorm forcing them to shelter. This too would have normally seemed its own kind of adventure for the boy but he couldn't help feeling like maybe it was instead a premonition of what his life would be like. Célestin watched the snow blowing outside the mouth of the cave with weary eyes, he looked like shit, he was unkempt; more so than usual anyways as he simply couldn't summon the energy to groom himself and his eyes were tired, a sign of his many sleepless nights since his sister's passing. He forced his focus back to Pegasus as his friend spoke, not wanting to lose a single word his friend said even as he struggled with his own focus. "I don't think you did." The boy said, grateful for the momentary distraction to wrack through his mind and try to pinpoint a time when Pegasus had told him any such story. "Go on." He said inviting his friend to share the story and silently praying he would be able to focus on it enough to experience even momentary respite... Some part of him, small and weak right now also perked up; his friend's former life had fascinated him to no end and the part of him that craved to know every single detail of Pegasus' past was quietly pushing its way forwards. Célestin never wanted to miss anything Pegasus said... even right now. Word count: 532 Walk, "Talk", Think

He did his best to hide his concern but a small whine just barely managed to escape him before he covered it with a cough. He shifted again to lean closer to Cél, his tail draping over the smaller male’s in what he hoped was somewhat comforting to him. “This is the tale of Sly Olin and Gobbleknoll.” He began, his voice calm and soothing just as his father’s had been when he put his children to sleep. “Once upon a time in the land of Olenlona there was a hill that ate wolves named Gobbleknoll. Olin’s grandmother warned him and his twenty siblings that they must never hunt on Gobbleknoll or look for herbs, one day however Olin’s sister Veleda got carried away chasing a deer, and Gobbleknoll, sensing their approach parted the ferns over her lips and opened her mouth wide. The deer thinking it had found shelter in a grassy cave ran into Gobbleknoll’s mouth and Veleda followed after it. As Veleda’s last paw slipped past her lips Gobbleknoll shut her mouth and swallowed them both.” He looked down on his companion and dismayed at how brittle and dull his coat looked compared to how sleek and vibrant it had been when they first met. He remembered how amazed Cél had been at the sight of him, and how avidly he had listened when he told him of his home land, his eyes trailed silently to look at his friend’s vacant eyes “Like uncut opals” He thought morosely, then looked away. “Sly Olin heard that Gobbleknoll had eaten his sister and had run straight to the evil hill crying ”Gobbleknoll! Eat me too!” He said, pitching his voice deeper to sound more like the fearless hero as he spoke, then continued. "But everyone, even Gobbleknoll knew of Sly Olin and his tricks and she kept her mouth shut. One day two hunters found themselves on Gobbleknoll looking for shelter from the rain and the hill opened up her mouth to eat them. As the two entered the warm and inviting cave however Olin ran in after them hoping she would not recognize him. Gobbleknoll however smelled him in her mouth and quickly spat him out before she swallowed the hunters whole. Olin needed a trick to fool the hill into eating him so he could rescue his sister, so he and his nineteen siblings gathered every single blackberry in Olenlona and Olin rolled in them until he was soaked through with the sweet juice. He went to Gobbleknoll and she found him far too delicious to pass up, so she opened her mouth but could not recognize his scent over all the blackberries and she swallowed him.” He paused then to look down at Cél to see if he was still listening, daring to hope that the other male had been lulled into much needed sleep. Regardless he continued. “Olin walked through the dark caves of Gobbleknoll, until he came to her stomach where all the bones of the eaten stood in a great pile, there he found his sister and the two hunters, still alive but weak from thirst and hunger. Olin continued to explore the caves until he found a great red heart. ”Why not eat this big juicy heart here?” he asked Gobbleknoll, and the hill said that she could not because it was her own. Olin then leapt up and tore her heart from its cradle, killing Gobbleknoll who screamed in pain and anger and let the souls of all the dead rise into the heavens. Olin, his sister and the two hunters escaped and all of Olenlona rejoiced and called Olin a hero. When the king of Olenlona asked Olin how he could repay him Olin simply asked to keep Gobbleknoll’s heart, which he brought to his grandmother and his twenty siblings who ate it all through winter and never hungered. “ He looked down at his friend again and was unable to help but smile, carried away by the whimsy of his own story “And they all lived happily ever after. The end.” Word Count: 682 speaking Thinking  you