He awoke remembering that it was a dream. This was the first hint of difference, where his waking mind was ot confused, and carried on the actions of his dream. He did not lash out, angry, afraid, and defensive. He still woke in sweat, panting softly, gaze focusing on the world before him as the dream started to fade behind his eyes. "Io?" He asked, voice hoarse and breaking. He shook out his coat, getting to his feet and passing his sister on the way to the well. Drinking the ground water from a container prompt nearby, before turning his attention back to his sister. She was never far from him these days, and never did he doubt her love.

It increased the fierce protectiveness inside of him. Here she was, a wall of such small stature, and so large of heart. She stood by him, no matter what. She gave up the Empress, for him? Maybe. Certainly she promised never to leave his side, and had proven it time and time again. He didnt speak again until he settled down near her, taking in a deep breath, before reaching forward and snagging his tongue the wrong way through her coat before she could retaliate. How else would she know he loved her if he didnt irritate her every once in a while?

Holding back a smile, and still a little short of breath, he looked to his sister. "Somethings changing, I can feel it. I wouldnt have thought... well, all I'm doing is talking about it, and sharing in your comfort. Yet, I did not feel so dangerous waking."

The woman lay outside. She didn't like to be in a den when the weather was clear. Besides, her 'den' hadn't been built yet. The little wolf was in the process of building a stone cottage in their permanent home. She and Ila transported rocks and stones daily. The foundation was laid, but the walls would take some help. She was rather short, after all. Iolaire knew that Sirius would help her when the time came. And speaking of Sirius...

Heavy breathing forced one green and gold eye to crack. It swiveled towards his den and she watched as he removed himself from it. She kept herself close just in case he needed her. With each session, she moved closer and closer into the heart of the common area. He called her name and she responded with, "Here." She then watched as he went to wet his throat before he deposited himself on the ground beside her. She sighed as he licked her fur in the wrong direction and was straightening it with one foreleg as he told her of his progress.

Obsidian ears flicked forward as she listened to each and every word. She had seen the progress for a while, but it was good that he was finally feeling it. "I'm glad to hear. Never a doubt in my mind, big brother." She leaned her small frame against him. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"It wasnt as real, it felt more like a memory then something happening in the present" he explained. He was pleased with the progress they had made together. He had told her the story forward backwards and all ways between, but he still struggled to explain the exact fight, or remember anything about who had saved him afterwards. Perhaps that memory would never return, he had been so addled by pain and fever. Maybe he had never even seen their face, and there was nothing to remember.

"You are as patient as a flower in the sunshine" he said, pausing, and licking some of the fur back the right way as she missed a spot in her own careful grooming. She had spent so much time with or near him of late. So much time in each others company, and never one did he fell like some subject she was studying. He almost suggested they den together for a night, but it wasnt a risk he was willing to take. No matter that the nightmares felt more distance, he could have nothing but iron control. He would risk his sister on nothing less.

He explained the sensations that he felt after his dream and Iolaire nodded in acceptance. It was turning into a memory rather than a reality. That was the goal: to accept that the events happened, and to get past them. They were not this reality. "I'm very glad. This is our goal." It was good to tell him that he was on the right track for he surely was. She was proud of him and was glad to see the hope in his face.

Sirius remarked on her patience and Iolaire released an abrupt laugh. She tilted her head slightly, one silver brow raised. "Only for those that I love, darling. I'm not sure that I would bother taking such care for anyone else." Though she was a fine healer and caregiver, the truth was that Io didn't really care for others. She could fake it like a saint though, and most often she did. "Will you try for more sleep?" She asked the saber toothed canine beside her. "You were doing very well before. Might be good to give it another shot." She would continue to sleep outside beneath the stars as she had before. Io gave a light shrug and extended an offer. "Or you could sleep out here with me. It's a very comfortable night."

“That’s good, there's very few in the world you need to take such care with” he told her teasingly. It was hardly a secret that Sirius was possessive. He didn’t mind Io loving Death and Zee, and the kids he hoped soon to have. Past that? The world could burn, it would just add flavour to their kills.

Did he desire more sleep? Perhaps. He wasn’t sure how many hours he had gotten, enough to run on, at least. It was the offer to lie beside her, to take comfort in time with his sister, and to give her the same peace she offered him. But to take that risk? He knew he wouldn’t sleep. Of course, he didn’t have to tell her that. “Scooch over” he said, as he spread out his bulk a little more. When he truly stretched out, Io was like a child beside him, fitting into the crook of his stomach and shoulder. He forgot, sometimes, how small she was. Her spirit was big enough to challenge him and give him pause. He thought of how she had cowed him into obeying her medical advice, and smirked. She was the mouse that could scare the lions.

Io was slightly surprised when he agreed to rest beside her. She moved over a bit to give him room to sprawl, then sprawled out beside him, her body resting against his own. She was like a child in size compared to him. Hell, she was like a child in size compared to a child. The tiny healer would never get any bigger and she was fine with it. No doubt Sirius' own children would dwarf her in no time. She didn't mind though. What she lacked in size she had to make up for with character and perseverance. There was a tenacity to the little woman that one could not deny.

"If there was anything that I knew that could make a volcano sleep and the skies clear, I would surely do it." She made idly conversation. The dark fae was ready to make a permanent move to the land that would be their home. She was chomping at the bit to get her garden started and her cottage built. She had already started on both of them, but it was useless to plant when the garden would get covered in ash and the plants smothered. Eventually she would be transplanting trees as well to help shade the bramble walled garden, but that was a long time ahead.

He blinked in surprise at her words, but a slow smile spread across his lips. He had said it once to Deathbelle, many times to Zee, but had he ever said it to Io? It seemed a strangely difficult word to say ‘love’ but his voice was sincere, if a little deep and sleepy as he said. “I love you too, my Iolaire”

The next few days bleed together, much of the same as they spent parts of the day alone, working on their own projects within the territory. Sometimes he assisted her, hauling heavy blocks for her cottage. Sometimes she assisted him, crawling into the small cell to clear a blockage his larger frame couldn’t reach. The evenings they spent together, working on his problems, talking through them, and growing ever closer. His trust in Io grew to absolutes, as he put his faith in her as he never had another wolf. In the evenings, he slept, and well at first the nightmares where there, after a time, they lessened, and his sleep became easy.

Iolaire grinned at her brother's words. "Of course you do. Never a doubt in my mind." Nudging him with her shoulder, Iolaire curled up in a ball beside the big man. A yawn pulled from her and she settled in for a nap. The real test would be if he trusted himself to sleep out beneath the soot covered stars with her. Whether he did or not, Iolaire's body was calling for sleep. Perhaps it was his presence. He made her feel safe enough to sleep comfortable. So... she did. Her sleep was sweet and dreamless. Just like she wished that his would forever be.

-Exit-