It had been strangely hard walking away from Elysium for the last time. He knew they hadn't intended to stay there for very long and considering they had stayed for a large majority of the spring he knew that they had been there longer than originally intended. Still, he had gotten used to the northeastern pack and it had been kind of nice having a consistent home to come back to. Now that they were on the road and traveling again, the nice thing was that it was going to be even easier to see Vanille and spend more time with her. He and Tira were just a couple of months away from hitting their second birthday so he'd be able to go wherever he and Vanille decided they wanted to go—though he had a feeling he'd still want to be somewhere that he could check in with his mother and sister from time to time. Even if he was allowed to go off on his own, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to yet.

For today, at least, he had a task at hand. He had come to the river to visit with Vanille at her den and while they were chatting on the grass by the bank they were approached by a pale, brown-flecked wolf from the nearby pack and was warned that the pack planned on taking the river and the land around it as part of their territory soon. The male was polite about it and not threatening in any way, but he had made it very clear that anyone living here needed to clear out before the borders were permanently set around the river. He'd thanked the wolf and watched as he left before he looked back to Vanille at his side, a frown tugging at his lips. He knew how attached to this den Vanille was and even if they had discussed moving away from it that was different than suddenly having to at someone else's insistence.

"Are you alright?" he asked, leaning down to gently bump his nose to her cheek. "We could build you a new den somewhere near by if you want or you could travel around with me and my family or... whatever you want to do."

"Arcturus Indarra"

Vanille wasn't seeing this whole picture of an entire life with Arcturus, not yet. Maybe a little naive to growing up, to growing out of old habits and lifestyles that were honestly really unhealthy for her. She had grown to care for Arcturus, more than she could really ever imagine. At least in her young life. But she was still stuck in this bubble of loss and some regret, an extent that she may not have shared too deeply with him yet. She'd never want him to leave the family he had, for her. But she also wasn't anticipating it. She felt that maybe she had already grown up from the situations life had given her, so moving away from family and living on her own, well it had already happened really.

Vanille was calm and happy with gentle smiles there beside Arcturus which may have shown just how far along she has come since the long night. But maybe they had just grown so used to each other's presence that looking back on days like those weren't even in sight. When another wolf came up to approach them, Vanille flipped like a switch tense and defensive, but with Arcturus here she stayed still and quiet and let him handle it, or that's how she felt at least. It was just that when the wolf had mentioned the pack taking over she was quickly overwhelmed with anxiety. She was still hard on the outside, and only Arcturus would know her well enough to see, if he did just how off she was.

The wolf would leave and Arcturus came to comfort her subtly, she'd respond by pushing her cheek slightly into where he touched her. Her eyes though stayed down searching the ground as too many thoughts raced across her mind. Too many to focus on one really. But it was all surrounded and clouded by the thought of her mother and that bottled loss that she felt. She dropped a quick sigh as Arcturus had given her options for their future, for her future, but it honestly wasn't what she wanted to hear. "I don't... I'm not ready..." But would she ever be? She loved being with Arcturus, she'd love travelling with him, love being with him every night. Many thoughts she didn't dwell on because of that fear of attachment. But she'd probably rather die here in this den. The better life would be thriving for her in many ways and overall what she would want, but she couldn't bring herself to pack up and leave.

"Vanille"
Base By WatermelonCreature

Arcturus did know her well enough to see the anxiety and the tension that had gripped her and the fact that she hadn't said a word while the male from the near by pack spoke to them hadn't gone unnoticed. Most of their time together and been just the two of them with the one exception of when he had taken her to meet his mother and sister so he hadn't seen much of how she reacted to strangers and while he was sure this was an extreme example of that given the fact that this pack was trying to evict her from her home, but all the same there was a tight worry in his chest for her. He tried his best to gently offer her other solutions and places to go from here, but the hard anxiety that was etched onto her features only deepened and her insistence that she wasn't ready broke his heart. He briefly considered chasing that brute down to beg for permission for her to remain on these lands for a while longer, willing to pull the fact that he was the grandson of the Armada's alpha since he knew the Armada and this Ashen pack had close ties just to see if that would get him any traction.

In the end though he knew that wasn't solving the problem. It was just delaying the inevitable. He thought about how long it had taken him to get over his father's death even with the unwavering support of his mother and sister and he knew that whether either of them liked it or not they were going to have to face this sooner rather than later. He sighed softly after a long moment of thought and consideration before he slipped a foreleg around her shoulders, gently pulling her into an embrace and letting her hide away against him and in his mane if she wanted. "I know how hard it is," he said softly, squeezing her lightly in his arms. "We're never ready. It's never convenient, it's never easy." He nuzzled her ear and focused on just being here with her for a while. "We don't have to go anywhere right this second. You have some time." Lifting his head enough to peek down at her face, he gave her a little smile and asked, "Do you want to tell me about her? Would that help? Or do you just want to snuggle and be here for a while?" He wasn't sure if she would even know what she needed right now and that was a feeling he knew all too well. He didn't push or rush her, just letting her work through her thoughts at her own pace.

"Arcturus Indarra"

She wouldn't back away or shudder as he reached forward to grab around her. It was a familiar feeling as he took her in an embrace, and yet so different than she had ever known. It was easy for her to hide her feelings. She wasn't a loud boisterous type after all. She did so now even while the worry and anxiety of leaving her den where she was born was still just there on the surface. Arc could see it. She didn't have to say anything.

It wasn't until he started speaking that she carefully indulged in the comfort of his mane, maybe the best way to hide her emotions. She was learning that it wouldn't be so easy with him anymore. She heard every word he said, she could feel it in his voice. He knew the loss similar to her. A daughter and her mother, a son and his father. She may have never seen them as fully equal. She'd probably always feel like Arc was higher than her. Not higher by greater, but she'd hurt more for him than herself even in the same situations. She wasn't ready to move. But maybe, it did seem like the right time. To be with him. She was still too oblivious to know where she was headed and with him, but she only knew one thing, "I just want you to stay here with me Arc." Her gaze turned up to look at his, just a couple gentle tears that had fallen from her cheeks. Her paws carefully hugged around his chest and after a couple moments of looking up at him her muzzle slowly pushed forward towards his. A deeper, more meaningful kiss than their first. She was no expert in the least but when she was with him like this everything felt right. Maybe he felt the same. When they left today there would be no coming back. She couldn't bare the thought of the use of her and her mother's den once she was gone. And so she wouldn't think of that. She'd just have to look forward to a future so soon with Arcturus. There was finally a bright side to her life.

"Arc & Vanille"