The trip back to the ship had been longer than he had anticipated. Going to the Red Wood Forest hadn't been that far when he wasn't injured, but the trip back had been considerably more difficult with his new wounds. It had been slow going for the most part and this was the first time that he was irritated with himself for deciding his living quarters should be in the ship at the far end of Winterfell's territory. They did get their eventually though and by the time he had gotten to the room he had claimed he was ready to collapse there and not move for the next foreseeable future. He had gone and gathered some dry grass to act as bedding the night before to serve as a place holder for the furs he hoped to collect so at the very least he wasn't directly laying on the cold, hard floor. He settled into the bedding with a heavy sigh, leaning back into the wall behind him and letting the cool metal act almost like an ice pack for his sore shoulder. His ruby and aquamarine gaze shifted to Yurei and a touch of a smile immediately pulled onto his lips. Something about her made him believe that things would be alright even though he wasn't entirely sure they would be. She gave him hope and obviously saw something in him that he didn't see in himself. She'd be his one day - properly his. There was no doubt in his mind about that. It was only a matter of time. "So what is this tea you said you would make me?" he asked, genuinely curious about what she had planned for him. "Talk" Think

They both returned from their trip, one she never expected would send her right to Casso's embrace,what was a mere herbal forage of always turned up to be different,but not quite bad at all.At least she wasnt alone as she always used to be. She always went on her own in her travels beside going with Aki,the cat sometimes came with her as in others she didn't. But never with another wolf and it feels great.But she decided to stay quiet while they returned to their ship if they could call it theirs. She watched as he lied down in the bed and sat down nearby looking at his eyes.She was glad this hasn't escalated to be worse,he was alive something she was highly grateful and she was glad she had found him on time,what could have happened if she didnt? She didnt want to think about that. His smile toward her managed to cease part of the stress she was in now,she was just scared of what other endings could have happened if she hasn't gone to the Redwoods specifically. She shook her head slightly trying to erase the bad thinking but as always she couldn't,she never could erase any negative thoughts from her mind. 'Calm down,dont be stupid as always' She told herself as she lied down,but there she remembered the tea. "So what is this tea you said you would make me?" She stood up. "Well... i got mint,camomille, lavender and other herbs for the tea. Which would you like more?..." She asked shyly. Then she gathered some sticks to make fire,this was her first time making Tea for another wolf. Then she with the help of Aki started a small fire, then grabbed one of the wood bowls with water. Lastly, she placed it in the fire and waited for it to get hotter. "Speech"

He listened to the options she gave and for the most part he couldn't decipher one herb from another, but there was one that stuck out to him. "I do like lavender," he admitted with a small, nostalgic smile. "My mother was a healer and used to give me lavender all the time... but you pick whatever you think is best or mix them, whichever you prefer. You're the tea expert as far as I'm concerned." He laid back and watched her go to work setting up the fire she needed to make the tea in question. Luckily they had the window that would let any smoke it created vent out into the outside world, but he did have to admit that he liked the smell of the fire and the warmth it provided was a nice chance of pace to the constantly cool climate of the north. Watching her was oddly fascinating to him and he let his two-toned gaze linger on her while she worked. It was calming to let his mind wander away from his own issues and instead focus entirely on this timid, gentle wolf who he had quickly become obsessed with. In some ways she was so drastically different from himself, but in some ways they seemed to be similar. Their appearances were literally night and and day with her pristine white fur and his dark, scarred coat. He was taller with a slightly slimmer build while she was smaller than him with a heavier, more winter-ready form. But... even though their issues were different - they both had them. They both had things they would need to do to work through these things, but it gave him a bit of hope to think that they could do it together. Casso waited for her to finish making the tea and bring it over to where he was laying. It smelled just like all of the calming herbs that he used to get from his mother and Daelos and the one time from Elizabeth. He wasn't sure why he always forgot to use the resources he had been taught to use or let himself get to the point where it was too late for him to rely in those herbs. Of course, there was times like today when he was caught with his own thoughts and wasn't anywhere were he would be able to use lavender or something along those lines. Perhaps now that he had Yurei in his life he'd have them more readily available when he needed them. He gave her a grateful smile once she sat down the bowl of tea and leaned up to place a lick on her cheek. "Thank you, Yurei." He dipped his head to lap up several mouth fulls the warm liquid. It filled his nose with the smell of herbs and it had a slightly bitter taste from them as well, but not in an unpleasant way. It was wonderfully calming and the smell of lavender almost immediately helped put him at ease. It always helped to quiet his mind till it was just the faintest hum in the back ground. He looked back up at Yurei with a smile once he was done. He lifted his paw and motioned for her to join him at his side, leaving a space that she could easily tuck herself into beside him on the bedding. "Come rest with me," he insisted. The herbs were all well and good, but nothing quite calmed him like she seemed to. "Talk" Think

The tea was done and she placed the bow with hot water and the requested lavender in front of his paws."My mother was a healer and used to give me lavender all the time... but you pick whatever you think is best or mix them, whichever you prefer. You're the tea expert as far as I'm concerned." "Well...i am not really an expert...this is my first time making tea for someone else,i hasn't made since Mis..Drifa taught me how to." She said slowly as she sat down near him after she has done what she promised him in the Red woods. As she placed the warm liquid before him he gave her a lick on her cheek which took some time for her to process as she wast still unused to be treated with such effective manners. Beinga target of kind gestures was something she never had , always facing the cold back of the world she was born in, sometimes she even considered death to be at least interested on her, something that wouldn't reject her upon having her with it. But now the affection felt real. Shyly like if she asked for permission she approached her face with flattened ears starting to lick his cheek back, but giving shy licks before stopping not wanting to be disrespectful. "It's not a problem...pleased to help..." She said and just before she went to lie on her own,Casso made a gesture for her to lie with him instead."Come rest with me," "She nodded but once again she approached shyly and placed herself where he made the space for her to lie in. Now there she looked up to him saying any words. "Speech"

Seeing how timid and shy she was with her actions made his chest ache. He was determined to make her confident in herself one of these days and make sure she knew that at least when he was around she was safe and able to act as she pleased. Even though she had seemed shy and a bit hesitant to do so he was still happy when she came to lay down beside him. He wrapped his foreleg around her and gently pulled her against his chest till he was able to wrap her in his embrace. The effects of the lavender and her calming presence were nearly indistinguishable for him. The voices were wonderfully quiet. His mind felt so clear and it was a feeling that he was so unfamiliar with that he wasn't sure how to react. In some ways he actually missed that hum and buzz in the back of his mind because without it his mind felt too open and empty, but that was such a small price to pay to know that he would be stable for her. Casso pressed his face into the fur on her scruff and just let himself rest like that with his head on her like a pillow. His mismatched eyes closed with a tired sigh and the physical exhaustion started to catch up with the mental exhaustion this day had brought. It was hard to believe that him fighting the bear, mentally breaking, and now being tangled together with this delicate, kind woman was all within the same day. Now the sun was beginning to near the horizon and he could begin to put it behind him. The fact that his mind continued to relapse again and again still lingered as a nagging worry on his mind and it was a worry that made him tighten the grip he had around his beloved Yurei. He kept thinking about how his father had eventually driven his mother away, how he had killed his sister, how he had delved so deeply into madness that his uncle had eventually been forced to take his life. There was a very real, very present fear in him that he could somehow follow in his father's footsteps and it was hard to let himself grow attached to others when he knew that was a possible path his fate could take him. He didn't want to subject anyone to that - especially not someone as delicate as the pale woman he currently had wrapped in his arms. After quite a long stretch of silence he finally let himself break it. His voice was soft, but still serious in his tone that was thick with emotion. "Don't let me hurt you," he told her without lifting his head or opening his eyes. "If I ever start to lose control - really lose control where I'm just too far gone to save - then... save yourself. Don't let me hurt you." He swallowed hard past a lump in his throat and gave her another gentle squeeze. "I don't want to hurt you." "Talk" Think

As she went to lie against his form,he wrapped a leg around her like trying to get her closer.Yurei didnt turn off the gesture and herself moved closer and shove her face into his fluffy neck. His scent was something she always appreciated and it made her feel safe,away from the outside world's dangers and cruelty. Cruelty she herself experienced in her own fresh,in her own soul which now bore the consequences. Consequences that sometimes made of her existence a complete nightmare,one she didnt have to be asleep to live. But here under Casso's embrace, some of the fears that always haunted her were gone. Sometimes she didnt want to leave his side,but she knew she will have to,she was a healer, someone who was needed all the time for the pack's better health.And she still had an apprentice under her wing. The male placed his chin on her scruff,this made her shiver but in an almost undetectable intensity.And it wasnt in the wrong way,she welcomed it with peace closing her eyes , wanting to stay in such rapprochement with someone she was starting to love,yes Yurei the sadness queen was starting to allow love to come to her beaten up heart.A heartbroken with emotional scars yet to heal. Therefrom nowhere a tiny tear escaped her eye, crawling down her cheek,she didnt notice it but there she started to feel heavy, feeling a knot forming on her throat. "If I ever start to lose control - really lose control where I'm just too far gone to save - then... save yourself. Don't let me hurt you." She shook her head to erase all the stupid sadness from her heart for now. She looked up to him,not knowing her eyes were wet. "Don't worry...ill try to save you...and even if you can hurt me...there is bigger chances of being myself who end up destroying myself...sometimes i can't trust in myself...i can't take control of my emotions..of my actions...there was one time when i felt so low that i stopped eating...just because someone who called herself my friend abandoned the pack...just for that thing i was on a self-destruction pat with my life...I can never stop blaming myself for all the bad things that happens around me...sometimes i think others leave because of me,that others are sad or hurt because of me..." No one knew what was wrong with her,no one ever knew what she was going through but she dared to tell Casso. "I want to stay by you..." There she felt how her eyes started to tear again, feeling her body shaking. "Ill stay by you...by you...i wont let you down...i won't let you have to face your demons alone..." 'I wont let you suffer alone.. as i did...' She hided her face onto his chest,she hated herself for being so weak, so stupid. "Speak"

Casso lifted his head from Yurei's scruff once she turned her head to look at him, her stunning eyes connecting with his. His ears flicked back with worry as soon as he saw the tears that had formed in those eyes that he loved so much. He didn't interrupt as she began to talk despite how badly he wanted to wipe away those tears. As she spoke he realized just how badly they needed each other. He needed her to prevent himself from destroying others around him while she needed him to prevent herself from destroying herself. Despite their differences, they balanced each other out. It made him wish that he had never left Winterfell after the first day that he found Acere. He knew he had to go visit his aunt to make sure she didn't worry over him, but if he hadn't done that there was the possibility that he could have met Yurei sooner. Perhaps if he had been with her then he wouldn't have ended up fighting that pair of coyotes on his way to Valhalla and if they had been closer in their relationship now he wouldn't have been as pressured to fight with the bear. Of course, he would never really know since he couldn't change the past, but he often wondered how things could have been. Before he could clear away her tears she pressed her face into his chest. He tucked his head down over hers and held her tight to his chest with a soft sigh. It was difficult because he wanted to protect her from him, but at the same time he was certain that without her he might self destruct. As long as she wanted to stay with him then he didn't think he would have the strength to tell her to leave. "I want to stay by you too..." he admitted after a moment. "Neither of us need to face anything alone any more. I'll never leave you." He let his paw gently trace her upper back, letting his claws trail through her thick, pale fur. She was his. Even if not by name or title or any sort of formal relationship, he still felt like she was his and he was hers. They were permanently entwined and he would find a way to make himself the wolf that she deserved. "Talk" Think