Blurry, tired eyes barely blinked open only to squint and close again with a soft groan at the light at hurt his eyes, quickly realizing how much his head hurt and how heavy everything felt. His mouth felt really dry and eventually, as he started to come to more, he realized how hungry he was. How long had he been asleep? Why did he have such a head ache? He forced himself to open his eyes enough to look around at his surroundings a bit, realizing that he was laying on one of the beds in the infirmary as he looked out at the divider that stood between his bed and the one beside him. His mind was still too foggy and lost in sleep to immediately realize why he was here in the first place.

Memories started to come back to him, remembering fighting the saber cat, remembering Syanna treating him, remembering her getting him back to his feet to come back to The Hallows. That was where his clear memories ended, becoming a haze and a fog between then and now. He lifted his head and tried to sit up, but the second he tried to move his side protested with a sharp, stabbing pain that made him grit his teeth and fall back to the bed with a grunt. He tried to breathe through it, but that felt like it made it worse. Whatever they had given him for pain had clearly worn off by now.

He blinked his eyes open again after letting the pain settle back into a low ache, just lifting his head without moving the rest of his body to try and look around the room to see if anyone else was there, but he had a pretty limited range of view with the dividers between each of the beds. "Sy-" he tried to call, but between his dry mouth and throat and the pain from trying to take a deep breath it didn't manage much more than a hoarse croak of the beginning of her name. He sighed softly and let his head fall again, resigning himself to just waiting till someone appeared.

Ezra Adravendi

He couldn't die. Those were the words that had repeated in Syanna's head over and over while she watched the highly skilled medics of the Hallows tend to Ezra's wounds. She had been so thankful he'd been asleep through the entire ordeal, silently thanking whatever gods were responsible for wolfsbane being a thing. She hadn't intended to stay in the pack after getting Ezra back home, but her injured leg kept her prisoner. The healers had also tended to her, and the fae now wore her leg in a sling, as she would for a few days until the sprain had healed and she could walk on it without yelping. Ulric, the pack's alpha and Ezra's father, had graciously offered her choice accommodations to stay in, a sort of thank you reward for saving his son's life. Of course, she had omitted the part of her story where she may have led the sabertooth tiger to Ezra in the first place, but she was feeling guilty enough without giving the Hallowed wolves cause to hate her.

Ezra had slept almost the entire remainder of the day, waking only sometime during the evening to drink and receive more pain meds, still in a delirious haze before he fell back asleep and slept through the night. Syanna had sat up beside Ezra's bedside well past midnight, long after the rest of the world had gone to sleep, stroking a paw across his big, dumb head and petting him to soothe him through his slumber. Guilty green eyes never left his face, making sure there was no trace of pain in his features. This clumsy, stupid, dopey boy who had risked his life to save hers. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, like there wasn't a thing wrong waiting for him when he woke up. She wished she could take the pain from him, wipe away the wounds from his body like a chalk drawing.

When Syanna did finally leave Ezra's side to get some sleep, she left him with a gentle kiss to his forehead, whispering a quiet threat that he'd better still be alive when she came back. Sleep had not been nearly as peaceful for the fox-like fae, tossing and turning in the big empty bed, the comforts feeling foreign to her. Ezra lived such a comfortable life here in the castle, it blew her mind that he'd ever do something to risk losing it—like death. But the comforts felt wrong to her. She had gotten him hurt, grievously so, and that was the only reason she was here in the first place. Syanna had to make things right; she would stay to make sure Ezra made a full recovery, then she would be out of his life forever. He didn't need someone like her in it anyway.

Syanna hadn't bothered to get breakfast, instead going straight to the infirmary once she had woken up. Ezra was still asleep, so Syanna wandered around the infirmary, waiting and listening for the moment he woke up. Some time later, the sound of a body shifting and grunts of pain caught her attention. Ezra's voice, weak and hoarse, called the beginnings of her name, but by then she was already hurrying to his bedside. "Shhh, save your strength. I'm right here." She gave him a relieved smile, wasting no time to gather a bowl and fill it with water from a skin sitting beside the bed. "Oh gods, Ezra, I'm..." She flinched against the crushing guilt to see him laid so low, but also so overwhelmingly grateful to see him alive. Without a word, she set the bowl of water on the edge of the bed, pushing it closer to his muzzle so he could drink and maybe recover his voice. "How are you feeling? Do you need more pain medicine? What can I get you?" she asked, fully involving herself as his personal medic.

"Syanna Alluráin"

As her mate, Ezra may enter her threads not marked as Private.
____________________

A moment later he heard paws against the stone floor and Syanna's distinctive form appeared around the divider, confirming she was there with her words. He spotted the sling wrapped around her leg, but she was here and most certainly in better shape than he was in so he was able to breathe a little sigh of relief. He gave her a similar, small smile, the pain suddenly feeling worth it again. A large chunk of the day before and through the night felt blurry and vague, but he very distinctly remembered how worried he had been over her, so afraid that he wasn't going to be able to protect her and that she'd end up hurt. He was so grateful that didn't happen and he was able to fend off that saber cat so all she had to deal with was a sprained ankle. He never would have forgiven himself if that hadn't been the case.

He waited as she got a bowl and some water, his ears swiveling toward her when she started to speak, but didn't finish her sentence. He could see the guilt on her face and his brows pulled together with a little bit of confusion. Why was she guilty? She didn't do any of this on purpose and had even tried to stop him. He had gotten himself into this, but he wouldn't change a thing and he wouldn't take it back. Well, besides maybe wishing he had been faster and able to dodge that last bite. His ribs fucking hurt. Other than that though, he was proud of himself and so very relieved and happy that she wasn't hurt. She pushed the bowl of water over to him and started giving him a list of questions about how he was feeling and what he needed, but he didn't want to think about himself just yet.

He lifted his oversized paw and caught her paw as it retreated from pushing the bowl closer, holding it under his against the bed as he gave her a little grin as his eyes caught hers. "I'm okay," he managed, he voice still rough and quiet, but there. He of course didn't really have a concept of just how bad he had been or how dangerous that bite had ended up so he didn't know her worry was justified, but he still wanted to help calm her down if he could. He gave her paw a squeeze and let it go, focusing his attention on the water he was offered. Lifting his head just enough to tip his muzzle over the edge of the bowl, he took a few long drinks, the relief of it on his dry mouth and throat far outweighing how difficult and how hard it was to move. He laid his head down again, giving her a tired, thankful smile.

"Pain meds would be great," he agreed now that his voice wasn't quite so rough, though it was still quiet since he didn't feel like he could take in a full breath without his whole side protesting. "Maybe some food too, if you don't mind... There's a room down the hall - a cellar where some food from the recent hunts are kept. Get some for yourself too."

Ezra Adravendi

Thank the gods, at least Ezra was coherent! One of Syanna's biggest fears was using the wolfsbane on him to help with his pain relief when she'd had to play trauma surgeon. She knew how potent the plant was, how effective it was as a poison, and was so afraid she'd either stop his heart or render him brain-dead by using too much. Turned out she had a little more skill than she thought! She hadn't killed him, not did he seem to be suffering any side effects, and her stitches had held up so far. Syanna was batting 3 for 3 right now and that felt like a massive win. She watched while Ezra drank the contents of the bowl greedily, clearly dehydrated from his long recovering sleep. But at some point during her nervous rambling, Syanna felt a strong force grip her paw before it could pull away from him. She looked back quickly in shock, seeing Ezra's gigantic paw holding hers firmly yet carefully, giving it a little squeeze while he smiled and reassured her that he was okay.

Syanna looked down from his baby blue eyes back to where he held her paw hostage, feeling her heart beat faster from the contact and a thrill of panic. She didn't pull away until he released her paw though. She didn't want him to see anything was wrong. As calmly and collectedly as she could, Syanna refilled the bowl of water so he could drink his fill. Making sure he stayed hydrated was vital at this stage in his recovery. He asked her for pain medicine, and the vulpine-esque lady was already nodding and rising to her paws. She knew where the healers kept their herb supply from watching them run to and from it as they tended to Ezra. He also asked for some food, then directed her to their larders.

"Food and medicine. You got it, big guy," she replied with a small smile, then teased, "Don't you die while I'm gone!" As soon as she'd slipped past the screens giving Ezra some privacy, Syanna's smile dropped from her face. Although she'd said it in jest, she seriously hoped he didn't die. He was out of the woods for the most part, but he still had a rough road ahead of him. Cream-colored paws trotted briskly across the cold stone floor and down the hall until she reached the storage room full of pharmaceuticals. She wandered the treasure trove of herbs, picking out some meadowsweet for his pain before heading down into the cool, dark larders to find a couple choice pieces of dried mammoth meat and carrying her supplies back into the infirmary.

"All right, Prince Ezra, breakfast is served!" Syanna laid the mammoth and the meadowsweet down near the bowl of water and then sat down beside the edge of the bed to eat her own food. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was until he pointed it out to her, her stomach growling in protest from how she'd ignored her own needs to tend to her patient. "How's the side feeling?" She motioned to his injured side and his healing rib while she chewed on pieces of mammoth meat.

"Syanna Alluráin"

As her mate, Ezra may enter her threads not marked as Private.
____________________

If he wasn't still a little lost in an exhausted haze and if he wasn't so focused on the stabbing pain radiating out from his side then he might have caught the way she tensed when he touched her paw or how she had frozen up until he let her go, but as it was it felt like an accomplishment just to get his drink of water without grimacing with pain. He laid his head back down on the bed with a smirk as she left, calling to him to not die in her absence. How close had be been to dying? He really didn't know. It was easy to feel invincible with how big he was. Or maybe that was just part of being young. Either way, being forced to lay still in an infirmary bed was not something he had been expecting or knew how to deal with. He felt trapped here already after just a few minutes of being awake and there was no way of him knowing how long it was going to take for him to get back on his feet again. He groaned softly at the thought, only to make himself wince as the frustrated noise made his side flex and irritated the easily irritated wound.

A few moments later Syanna reappeared with some kind of herb and some of the dried mammoth meat from the food stores, and he gave her a grateful grin - and a little glare for her teasing. He ate the plant first, eager to get the pain relief going and also figuring it would be better to get the bitter taste out of his mouth with the meat afterward. It was kind of awkward eating from his side, but he managed. His rumbling stomach made him find a way. He scoffed softly at her question about how his side was feeling and after swallowing the food he was chewing he muttered sarcastically, "Never better." He gave her a little grin, hoping maybe a little bit of humor would help assure her that he was going to be fine. Figuring she'd probably want some honesty though, he added, "It hurts. A lot. But I'm not bleeding any more and it's okay if I just lay very, very still so... Could be worse, right?"

He ate a bit more, and drank some more water, but he only managed to eat about half of what she brought him before he had to nudge it away. "I'll have some more later," he mentioned when he laid his head back down on the bed, giving her a little smile. Sitting up even a little bit to eat was difficult and painful while he waited for the pain reliever she gave him to take affect and it felt like any amount of movement or effort made his head swim. His eyelids felt so heavy while he rested there for a moment, but he didn't want to stop looking at her yet. He couldn't get over how grateful he was that she was okay. There wasn't a lot of things in his life that he felt proud about, but this was one moment that he really felt happy about.

"Thank you for saving me," he told her when he suddenly realized that he hadn't thanked her for treating him and for using her supplies on him. "There's plenty of supplies here. Just take what you need to replace what you used on me," he insisted, knowing how important they were to her. He didn't really know if he had the authority to declare that kind of thing, but he knew his father wouldn't let her leave empty handed either so he just wanted to make sure that she knew she could help herself to whatever she needed to replace what she had used on him. Of course... that would mean that she was leaving, which he didn't really want to think about either.

Ezra Adravendi

Seeing him eating was a good thing—a very good thing. A healthy appetite meant his body was recovering and needed all the fuel it could get. That did Syanna's guilty heart some good, as did seeing him joke about his pain. She gave him a wry smirk that screamed "I don't believe you" but didn't razz him about it any more, especially not when he admitted it hurt. She figured as much. "You broke your eighth rib on the right side, dummy. You're lucky it didn't shift and puncture anything important," she said between bites of mammoth. "So try not to move so much for the next week or so. It was just a partial fracture, but it doesn't need to get any worse." That had been her biggest fear when patching him up, that the fractured rib would break clean through and stab something vital. She couldn't bear the thought of being forced to watch Ezra bleed to death internally and not be able to do anything about it.

While Syanna finished her breakfast slowly—she had always been a leisurely eater—she watched Ezra while he watched her back. Sky blue eyes held emerald green between the two wolves, neither of them saying anything. They were each silently grateful the other was still alive. While Syanna didn't doubt her medical training or experience, she didn't want Ezra to be the first patient she lost. He had also been the worst case she'd ever tended to, so it had really been a trial by fire sort of situation. She didn't know if Ezra had any real comprehension of how rough his situation had been or if he was always this cool when facing down death, or maybe he was trying to act tough for her. If he was trying to look impressive, it wasn't working.

Ezra thanked her for saving him, perking Syanna's ears up and bringing a bashful smirk to her lips. "Well, you threw yourself at a giant cat to save me and got hurt, what was I supposed to do?" She wasn't exactly great at accepting gratitude; that wasn't something she had a lot of experience with. But she could recognize the sacrifice he'd been willing to make for her—even if it was a stupid decision. "Thank you for saving my life too. That cat would've eaten me alive if you hadn't shown up, so... even though it was a stupid stunt you pulled, I appreciate you saving my hide."

Ezra then offered her access to take what she needed from the castle storeroom as reward, but Syanna was already shaking her head. She wasn't going to pillage their medical supplies when she'd been the cause of this mess. She'd just have to make due with what she had now, maybe try to scrounge up some herbs from the nearby plains and forests. "Appreciated, but I'm not gonna rob you guys, not when you've saved me and helped me. Oh, and in case you haven't noticed..." Syanna gingerly lifted her leg in the sling to show it to him, wearing a sardonic expression. "I'm not exactly going anywhere anytime soon... Doctors say a week or two before I'm ambulatory again, so guess I'm bunking with you for a bit, Ez." Not that she minded. Having a consistent place to sleep, shelter, and easy access to food was always a good thing in her mind. "Oh, and your dad insisted I stay for a bit. Y'know, you never told me you were the son of the alpha, Prince Speckles." She shot him a roguish grin and a wink, giggling to herself.

"Syanna Alluráin"

As her mate, Ezra may enter her threads not marked as Private.
____________________

He blinked a couple of times with surprise when Syanna explained that he had a fractured rib and that he was lucky it didn't shift and do more damage. Well, he supposed that at least explained why it hurt so much. Maybe it really was more serious than he had thought at first. He huffed with displeasure at the thought of having to lay still for a whole week, but if that's what it took then he supposed there wasn't really a way around it. "Fiiiiine," he grumbled with a smirk, hoping that she knew he was just teasing her back. At least the pain helped distract him enough to keep him from acting like a complete dummy in front of her like he had the first time they met - although he still managed to somehow get caught up in her looks while he was laying here sharing glances with her, a little smile pulling across his lips.

He smirked a little when she mentioned how he had thrown himself in front of a saber cat for her so of course she had to save him. She didn't have to, but he was grateful she had. He gave a small shrug and a shy smile in return when she thanked him - while also making sure to point out how it had been dangerous and dumb. "I couldn't just let some cat eat you," he commented, not really wanting any praise or anything for saving her. He was sure his dad would make a big deal about it if he hadn't already and he didn't really want all the attention. Reckless or not, it had just been part of how he was raised. Protect anyone that couldn't protect themselves and look out for those he cared about. Those were the only real big lessons he had been taught growing up and that wasn't going to change now. Besides, a bite wound and a fractured rib was nothing in comparison to to how he would have felt if he could have prevented her getting killed and he hadn't.

He frowned a little when she refused his offer and was already silently planning to make sure he gifted the herbs to her or snuck them into her bag or something. He wasn't just going to let her use up so manyl of her supplies on him and be left with nothing, especially not when she had told him about how she used them for trading and to get other supplies. But, when she lifted her leg a bit to point out how she wasn't going to be going anywhere for a couple of weeks he at least knew he didn't have to worry about her leaving for a bit. Before he could comment on that though she brought up how his father was the alpha, making him groan and roll his eyes when she not only called him Speckles again, but made it even worse by calling him *Prince* Speckles. "I'm not a prince," he insisted with a huff, giving her a playful glare in return.

He lifted his head a bit to get another drink of water and just happened to shift a little too much in the process, making that pain flare up again and making him wince with a grunt, laying his head back down with a sigh and breathing through it for a moment till it calmed back down. "I'm not in line to take over the pack, I don't want any special treatment just cause my dad is the alpha. I'm not a prince," he insisted after a moment once he was able to speak again, giving her a more serious look. He didn't really like to think about his dad being an alpha. It was one of the things he had hated growing up, hearing his dad talk about how he wanted to start a pack and how he'd "get to" take it from him when he was older. Luckily, life had taken his father a different way and he had ended up with The Hallows instead of founding his own pack so Artorias ended up being the heir to it instead of himself so he had been able to let go of a lot of that resentment he had toward his father when he was a pup.

"What are you going to do when you're able to walk again?" he asked before she could make any follow up questions or comments about his prince-ness or lack there of, eager to move the topic off of himself. "You... you don't have to leave, you know," he added shyly with a flick of his ears. "I mean, if you wanted to stay here you could. You know... Permanently. Like... live here." Man, he was doing a great job of selling this. His face flushed and he finally just made himself stop talking, waiting to see what her response would be.

Ezra Adravendi

Ezra grumbled and gave her snark, begrudgingly accepting her order to not try to kill himself with undue strain or stress. She shot him a deadly glower with a smart of her own, a look that said "If you don't kill yourself being stupid, I'll kill you for being stupid." His blasé attitude toward his near-death experience and how he justified his actions by saying he couldn't let her get eaten just made her huff and roll her eyes at him. Of course he could have let her die! Just the same as he felt she could have let him die! This was a two way street between them: either they both needed to be saved or they both could be left to die. Neither wolf was going to be the one to give up on the other, either out of some misguided sense of righteousness or out of sheer stubborn will. She was literally a nobody though; a loner wandering aimlessly through the world. She had no family that would come looking for her or care if she perished, she had no friends or pack or band to look out for, she was just her. Ezra, on the other hand... he had family, he had reasons to live. He shouldn't be so careless with his life.

Oh, but the look of ire that came across Ezra's face when she called him Prince Speckles... now that was priceless! She had somehow found another way to annoy him further. Today was shaping up to be a good day after all! He pouted and insisted he wasn't a prince, and Syanna had been seconds away from teasing him about it further until Ezra tried to sit up and winced in pain before flopping to the bed again. Syanna sat up with a start, but began to relax as he settled. Ezra explained how he wasn't a prince, how he wasn't in line to assume claim to the pack, and how he didn't want any special treatment because his father was the alpha. Syanna stared at him with a bit of surprise. He was serious about all this, all traces of humor gone from his face. This really was something that bothered him. He didn't want to be treated any different due to relations or ranks. She nodded her head; she could understand that.

"Okay, no Prince Speckles then," she agreed, but shot him a wicked grin and added, "but Speckles stays." She tittered to herself, unable to resist teasing him at his expense any chance she got. Ezra asked what she was going to do once her leg healed and she responded with a sigh. For the past couple of days, that had been the only thing on her mind. What was her next move? Where was she going to go? After being down for weeks, she'd practically be starting fresh again. "I... don't know yet," she answered honestly with a shrug of petite shoulders. "I suppose I could travel north, see what I can find back up in Boreas." Despite her uncertain answer, Ezra began to offer a shy suggestion of his own: stay here with him.

Syanna fixed Ezra with a confused and bewildered look. Stay here in the pack with him? Nervousness overtook Syanna's usual calm demeanor. She hadn't been part of a pack since... She swallowed hard and tried to look away from Ezra, but she couldn't move. His big, pleading eyes held her gaze like a hypnotist. "I... Stay...?" She tried to regain control of her stammering so she didn't look like he'd completely shorted her brain out. "I mean, do you even have the authority to offer that, not-prince?" She was deflecting, using her sarcasm and humor to hide her anxiousness and uncertainty. Stay in the pack with him? Did she even belong here? Would she fit in? So many questions ran through her mind, foremost why he was even suggesting this in the first place. "Why are you offering me this...?"

"Syanna Alluráin"

As her mate, Ezra may enter her threads not marked as Private.
____________________

He was glad when she agreed that there wouldn't be any more calling him "Prince Speckles", but of course the little smile that had begun to pull across his lips was quickly replaced with a playful glare and a smirk when she clarified that "Speckles" alone wasn't going anywhere. As much as he hated the nickname he figured that was probably why she loved it so much so he wasn't surprised that she insisted on keeping it. "Fiiiiine," he groaned with a chuckle, grinning at her as he continued to watch her with amused, heavy lidded, tired eyes. His body was clearly not too keen on the idea of him staying awake now that the pain had dulled and his hunger was somewhat satiated, but kept trying to fight it off so he could keep talking with Syanna. He'd never met anyone that he actually wanted to have a conversation with, besides maybe his siblings and Artorias. Syanna was funny and playful and poked fun at him in a way that he'd never experienced before and he just kept wanting to know more about her.

As she went on to muse about what she might do once she was healed, it was hard not to show his disappointment at the idea that she might leave to go up to Boreas to see what she could find up north - very much away from The Hallows. He knew he wasn't necessarily tied to the pack or restricted to staying in its borders so it wasn't like they couldn't cross paths again, but it would be significantly harder. He suggested that she stay here, but he didn't really know what to expect for her reaction. He partially expected her to deny the idea right away, maybe have her tell him that she didn't like living in a pack like this or that she preferred the freedom to roam. He certainly didn't expect her to agree easily, but somehow he also didn't expect the stunned look she gave him either. She usually looked so confident that when he saw the nervousness on her face it made him take notice.

He scoffed a little when she asked if he had the authority to offer her a place to stay, but he didn't respond right away, instead letting her finish sorting through her thoughts that he could see clouding her emerald eyes. Technically no, he couldn't accept her into the pack or anything official of the sort, but his father had never turned away someone in need of a home so he didn't know why he would start now - especially not after Syanna had done so much to save and take care of him. It was his turn to look confused when she questioned him, asking why he was offering this to her. Even though it felt obvious in some ways, he didn't really know how to respond once he actually started trying to form an answer. Why was he offering her a place in the pack?

"Well... You don't have a home and there's plenty of room here for more wolves," he began, but that didn't really feel like the whole reason. It was one of the reasons and was probably a good enough excuse to tell someone like his father, but after going through so much with her in just the few times that they had been together it was hard to deny that he had started to feel a little attached to the pretty fox-like woman. "Plus, I... I just like being around you so... If you're here then I can see you more. And I can make sure that you don't get eaten by more saber cats," he told her, quickly trying to deflect with a little bit of humor of his own. If there was one thing he inherited from his father it was a desire to keep the wolves he liked close to him so he could better protect them. He knew that the moment she left he would worry so maybe this was his own way of trying to keep her safe.

Ezra Adravendi

Ezra scoffed, but didn't answer her question on if he had the authority to allow her to stay permanently, which was all the answer she needed. He didn't, which meant he was asking from his heart, willing to skirt rules to keep her around. Something about that felt terribly endearing, and Syanna couldn't help the heated flush from creeping across her cheeks while she kept her eyes diverted from his. This uncharacteristic shyness felt strange to her and she didn't know what to do about it. Ezra continued to explain his reasoning. She was homeless, wandering place to place aimlessly. And he liked her. Somehow, that felt like the more legitimate answer to her. She scoffed and rolled her eyes when he said he could protect her from being eaten by saber cats here. She thought about pointing out how the attack that had left him bedridden was only just beyond his pack's borders, but she held her tongue. He was being sweet and there was no reason to throw it back at him.

For a long while, Syanna didn't know what to say. Ezra had been the kindest wolf to her since she'd been driven from her home, looking at her not like something to use or exploit or a charity case. He saw her as she was—or at least what she let him see. Was that enough for her to willingly give up her freedom to stay in the safety of his pack? Would this even truly be considered giving up her freedom? She knew nothing of the Hallows or its practices, but it certainly didn't seem as restrictive or oppressive as the pack she had grown up in. "Ezra..." Syanna started, but her words faltered and faded off while she tried to collect her thoughts. Would she accept his offer and stay? Would she refuse and leave? Syanna breathed a heavy sigh, finally allowing herself to look back up into his big, pleading eyes that matched the color of a clear sky, looking like he offered her the whole world all at once.

"I... I don't know if I'm good for your pack," she finally admitted out loud, orange ears folded to her skull while she curled her tail nervously around her paws. "It's very sweet of you, but... you don't even know you want someone like me around. I don't know anything about your pack or your life..." She paused, still trying to gain her whirlwind of thoughts under control. "How about we do a trial run instead...? I'll stay for the season. Then we can see how I fit in and if you still want to put up with me by then." Syanna seriously doubted he would want her around after a few consistent weeks in her presence, but he had saved her life, and he was being so kind and generous, the least she could do was humor his desires at least a little bit. Would that be good enough for him though?

"Syanna Alluráin"

As her mate, Ezra may enter her threads not marked as Private.
____________________

He kept his gaze on Syanna while she seemed to consider his words, pondering them far more deeply than he had expected. He hadn't expected it to be such a difficult decision for her, but he also had no way of knowing what was going through her head or what it was like to go from being a loner to being in a pack. He had been born in The Hallows and had been in The Hallows for his entire life. It was all he had ever known. Maybe everyone had this hard of a time when considering whether they wanted to join a pack or not and he just didn't know it. Or maybe there was more to it that she just hadn't told him about. Either way, he waited patiently for her to respond and continued to fight against his own exhaustion while she considered it, silently hoping that she would stay. He couldn't make her of course, she was way, way too headstrong to be convinced if she really had a thing against being in a pack, but he'd feel a lot better if she was here.

She did finally answer him, but not with a yes or now. Instead she gave him a bit of a compromise, agreeing to stay for a season as a trial run. He didn't understand how she could possibly not be good for their pack, but he would take what he could get. In his mind it just meant that he had a season to convince her that she should stay and that she was a good fit for them. He didn't know how he'd do that, especially not right now while he was barely staying awake, but he'd figure it out. He gave her a little lopsided grin, replying, "Sure... I'll take a season." His heavy eyelids finally drifted closed as he continued to speak, his words eventually trailing off as he slipped into sleep before he even realized it. "You're too good for our pack, I promise... You're an amazing healer, you're really smart, you're brave... And you're... I..." His breathing grew heavier with quiet snores as he slipped back into a deep sleep, his body forcing him to rest some more and continue to recuperate. His sleep was mostly dreamless, but the dreams that he did have had memories of Syanna drifting through them.

Ezra Adravendi

Syanna noted the disappointment in Ezra's tired eyes when she gave him her compromise. The large boy really did like her a lot, didn't he? The poor dope, he had no idea he was crushing on someone so wrong for him. Despite how much he clearly had wanted her to just say yes and join the pack with him, he still managed a smile and agreed. She nodded her head once, though secretly she was conflicted. She had sort of been hoping he'd reject the offer, try to force her into an ultimatum so she'd finally have an excuse to say no and cut ties with him. But of course he hadn't done that; Ezra had never made saying no to him an easy task. Now she was bound to the Hallows for at least the season. Syanna was a wolf of her word, and even if it wasn't the most ideal situation for her, she would see her promise through.

She watched as Ezra tried in vain to fight back his fatigue, his eyelids already beginning to droop and cover those baby blues that stood out like gemstones from his auburn fur. He continued to mumble almost incoherently, talking nonsense about how she was too good for the pack, complimenting her smarts and skills. Syanna cocked her head to the side as if trying to peer under Ezra's eyelids to keep eye contact with him while he stumbled through his words, an amused grin on her face. She didn't say anything, having too much fun watching him lose the fight with slumber until he was quietly snoring and she was stifling laughs. He was such a dope with a heart of gold. Thank the gods she hadn't killed him.

Once Ezra had fallen asleep, Syanna got back to her paws and tiptoed as silent as she could to gather up the bowl and waterskin, setting both back down beside his bed so he wouldn't knock them over in his sleep. Afterwards, she crept out of the infirmary and back down the hall to the pharmacy, gathering up some lavender oil and more meadowsweet before returning to her slumbering giant of a patient. She set the meadowsweet with the waterskin for whenever he woke up again, then placed a couple sparse dabs of the lavender oil on either side of his pillow to help soothe him and give him more restful sleep. Her work completed, Syanna took a minute to just sit and watch Ezra sleep. She studied his youthful face, the way his chest rose and fell with each breath, the little twitches his paws made every so often. She hadn't realized a warm smile had crept over her face until her cheeks began to hurt.

Reaching a ginger paw up to brush over his forehead in gentle pets, Syanna leaned closer and placed a soft kiss to Ezra's brow. "Sleep well, Ezra. Thank you for saving me." She knew he couldn't hear her, but it still needed to be said. After making sure he stayed asleep for a minute longer, Syanna eventually limped out of the infirmary to explore her new temporary home a little more and give Ezra the peace he needed to heal.

"Syanna Alluráin"

As her mate, Ezra may enter her threads not marked as Private.
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