All he could feel was pain. Crux was struggling to keep himself focused when the only thing he wanted to do was cry out in pain. Vaguely he realized he'd gone too far south. He'd woken up screaming in the Red Forest, exactly two things running through his mind. The first being that he was sure he'd irreparably damaged his vocal chords, ignore the fact he'd been yelling in pain. The second had been that he had to get home, he needed help! He could just barely see the bottom of a nasty burn scar on his throat he had no idea how bad it was, but it sure felt like his whole damn neck had been set on fire. Riya hadn't been with him and so he was dealing with this alone. He needed help! But turned out it was much harder to navigate when the only thing your mind can think of is how much pain your body is in. Whole landmarks had passed him without so much as registering and now he stood unsteadily on familiar ground, familiar but wrong.  When he'd last been here he'd been fresh from dropping Cryptis off... He'd been trying to get answers from his brother. Another crisis and he was here again, but this time it was just him, no one else to worry about. No one to worry about.

Oh now his brain wanted to split its focus? Crux felt suddenly very aware of how close to Insomnia he was, and as he felt the pain in his own throat some ridiculous part of him wondered if they'd been able to help Triss get her voice back. Always worried about someone else. But survival was strong, it told him he needed to turn himself around and get himself home. But well the rest of him had other plans, the pain was blinding and he was so tired. Crux hadn't exactly recovered from the flood, too busy putting everything on his own shoulders and his body was now seizing its chance to force him to rest. Panic flashed through his quickly fading consciousness, he needed help! His voice lifted into a shrill howl, unconsciously defaulting to the last wolf he'd had a real proper thought of. He was too busy getting knocked out to consider the optics of publicly calling for a certain Insomnia wolf. He couldn't know that Medusa had forbid her wolves from interacting with Armada wolves, couldn't know that even in the sweet painless void of unconsciousness he was probably only making things worse. So talented at it he could even do it while passed the fuck out.

"Speech"

Triss didn’t make a habit of going too far from the pack, but ever since the incident in the Armada, she’d been a little anxious around water. Determined to desensitise herself, she started to take swims in the stream, going further and further each time. Forcing herself to adjust and overcome the worry that thrummed through her every time she stepped into the water.

This time, she followed the stream as far as the Veteran’s Plateau, and was tired and a bit chilly when she stepped out of the water. She was shaking herself out when a pained cry suddenly vibrated through the air. A familiar voice, and one calling out in pain. All thoughts fled her as her eyes widened in shock and surprise, and she was off!

Racing across the Plateau until she found the familiar, large form of her friend and general hero. She fell to her knees at his side, checking him over. He had painful looking blisters and burns around his throat. “Crux.” She croaked, her hoarse throat allowing a wheezed word out. It had started to show improvement, if slowly. He needed… he needed something to soothe his throat. Not to mention she needed to ensure he wouldn’t get an infection. What did she have on, and around her? Water, moss. She could start there. She pulled some moss from the stream, soaking it in the water before returning, and padding it around his throat. Once all the burn was covered in cool water, she tried to think of her next move. She wasn’t strong enough to drag him anywhere - and after Medusa’s order Which she was currently breaking She couldn’t call for anyone from her pack.


"Speech"

For a few blissful moments Crux was free from the pain, free from the exhaustion that had gripped his limbs for weeks now. Unfortunately someone had come to his aid and she was busy cooling the burns on his throat with water. Crux returned to wakefulness with a jolt, steel blues frantically searching his surroundings as he struggled to remember where he was, what had happened. The pain reminded him and finally his gaze came to a rest on a familiar form, focusing on her, he latched onto the sight of her like if he looked away he'd become lost.

And then, despite the way his body was heavy with the days of work he'd been making him self do since the flood, despite the way his throat still felt like it was on fire, despite the knowledge it would scar and he'd carry it with him for the rest of his life, despite all that Crux smiled. He was still struggling through the fog of a mind addled with pain so it took some time for him to remember how to form words correctly and even then they were strained: "We can't keep meeting like this." Joking, at a time like this. That was just how happy seeing her made him, something he wasn't gonna unpack right now, not because he didn't want to but because he didn't have the bandwidth to do so when so much of it was taken up by reminding him that his throat hurt, very useful. Crux groaned and closed his eyes again for a moment, he didn't have it in him to fight much right now but he slowly opened his eyes again, he'd at least do his best to stay awake for now. "The moss is helping." Might as well confirm that, he certainly wasn't focused enough to even remember what he would use in her place so he'd at least validate her choice. The cool water against his burning skin did help, at least with the pain.

"Speech"

She hadn’t realised the Crux was awake, not until he spoke. She glanced over at him, and a relieved grin crossed her muzzle. “Silly”  she croaked at him, though he was right. They did seem to cross paths, disaster after disaster. What that said about the two of them, she really wasn’t sure.

She bit the corner of her muzzle, frowning at him with worry. They both sounded croaky now, but Crux’s pain was fresh. She needed to do something more to help him, but she didn’t have much on her. She had gone out swimming, and not expected to need any supplies. She realised now how foolish that was. But as she looked at Crux, she realised that he did have things on him. She wasn’t surprised, he was always so much better prepared than she was. She looked into his supplies, and picked up a jar that looked like - yup! - a sniff confirmed that it was honey. She opened it, and started to spread some of that under the damp mos, before offering a spoonful for him to eat.  ”What happened?”  She asked, lowering her head close to his so he could hear her.


"Speech"

She'd gotten her voice back! Crux practically beamed at her for a moment. Back was proportional but even hoarse whispers was better than nothing at all. But of course the smile couldn't stay long and as the elation faded grimaces and winces replaced it. He tried to focus on his breathing, just keep himself grounded. Sounded like she'd found his stuff... His stuff! He'd forgotten he'd even had it, he'd gone into that hell with nothing on him he now realized and Crux mentally felt for the items he wore at all times:

Feather pendant: check
The leather cuffs: check.

Crux breathed a sigh of relief. Normally he'd have noticed right away if they were taken from him, he felt uncomfortable without them but then nothing had been normal had it? The relief the honey brought was almost enough to knock him out again. He gently accepted the offering and considered how he'd answer the question. "I'm not entirely sure "  Crux started uncertainty plain. "I was out getting what few supplies I could find. Luckily honey was one."  He gave a weak smile but it fell as his mind began piecing his memories back together. "Then out of nowhere three figures were just there. Didn't see, hear or smell them at all. They were waiting..."  Crux frowned, he'd felt like he'd had to go with one of them. His next words are spoken with a distance, like he is reliving the moment. "I approached one and he started walking away, I was supposed to follow him. And then... I'm really not sure exactly. One minute I'm in the forest, the next I can't see or smell anything except for smoke, and the minute after that I'm staring down at a massive river of lava. There's a bridge leading to an opening in the opposite cliff face and I'm supposed to go in..."  Crux trailed off. With the pain at his throat growing duller it meant two things: 1. He was thinking clearer now and 2. Every other ache and pain had a chance to announce themselves now that the big one had quieted down some. His left eye twinged to remind him he'd cut the skin around it just getting across that bridge, he gently and carefully lifted a paw to his face and it came away clean. So it was stinging but luckily seemed pretty minor, not bleeding meant it could be handled later.

Crux forced himself to focus back in on Cryptis. "I did, but not without some bumps and bruises. There was a series of lava caves inside... One had a jump, I didn't make it."  He was skipping steps but they were largely unimportant to the retelling. "Next thing I knew I woke up to searing pain in my throat back in the woods."  And well the rest was more or less history. "I could have stopped Cryptis, I knew it was dangerous and I could have stopped pushing on. There was even a point where I realized if I kept going I couldn't go back the way I came... But something was egging me on. It didn't stop me from leaving, just made me want to keep going. I think-"  Crux cut himself off, it sounded silly and childish even to him and yet conversely it felt the most plausible the idea had ever been. He wasn't a child this time, his memory was pretty damn clear. Crux swallowed his pride, he'd take whatever judgment saying this would bring. He spoke, gaze sliding towards the direction of his hind legs: "Whatever caused this? I think I'm connected to it somehow."

"Speech"

As she finished applying the honey, the small wolf settled down beside him, and kept a critical eye on him. There wasn’t a great deal more she could do for him. They didn’t have any supplies, and she was pretty sure she wasn’t supposed to bandage a burn but let it breathe. She would just have to hope the honey and the cold moss did something to help.

All she could do after that was listen, and he had quite a tale to tell. She almost wanted to dismiss it as some illusion, but this was Crux. he wasn’t one to tell a fanciful lie, and he had the burn that bore evidence of his story. So she held back her opinion, and listened. “I don’t understand what happened to you, but I believe you.” Talking hurt, but she felt it was important to get that message across. She breathed slowly and carefully, feeling for any indication that she was going to push her throat too far. The last thing she needed was another attack in front of an injured Crux.

She reached out a paw and placed it over his. “I’m glad you made it back. And now… we match” She gave him a small smile. Her pain was on the inside, and his was on the outside.


"Crux" & "Triss"

Crux laughed sardonically, okay ow, too much movement of his larynx for that! "Honestly I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe me. I wouldn't if I wasn't the one feeling it." He knew it sounded wild, but he also knew well enough just how odd things could get. He'd been a child when the magical autumn had hit and hadn't known enough to recognize he'd even been subject to a weird scenario at that time... And of course then his mother... But he was older now and could understand why his parents had seemed more on edge. He'd picked up little hints about things that he hadn't been alive for as well, something about a sickness? And it was only after that children like him and Triss had started being born. It wasn't hard to connect the dots... It was hard to convince himself he somehow wasn't tangled up in it through no choice of his own... Maybe all the children like him were. That didn't make him feel better, not when that included Kite, Vanta and Triss. Just as Cryptis had settled herself and was watching him he was watching her carefully. He noted her careful breathing and offered her a small smile. "You don't need to strain." He said softly, the last thing he'd want was for her to lose her voice for him again.

Her paw on his was like a small flame, impossibly warm but nothing like the heat from the lava he'd felt before he'd woken up, it was pleasant. He moved slowly, curling to rest his chin on her paw, tilting his head slightly so he could look up at her. As long as he kept pressure off his throat for now he'd be no worse off than he'd been before, which still wasn't exactly great but he wasn't in any immediate danger. "And here I thought we already did!" He lifted his cuffed hind leg slightly in demonstration as he joked lightly back. "But hey, won't hear me complaining." He gave her a lopsided smile. "Anything that gets me closer to such a beautiful girl is an improvement in my books." Maybe it was the run in he'd had with the horned girl, maybe it had been his brush with death, maybe it was both, but that was pretty damn bold of him. If only his family could see him now, making moves! His family! How was he gonna explain his new scar to them? Had any of them heard his howl? Had anyone in Triss' life for that matter? He had no doubt that if his father had heard it he'd be barrelling down on them very soon, he had been pretty panicked... Oh god!

"Crux" & "Triss"

Updated 04/30/23: Still on indefinite scarcity, please do not remind me of threads I am behind on right now.

Crux has a 6 inch long burn scar on his throat, most of his art does not reflect this.

Triss frowned disapprovingly at him as he laughed, and clearly upset his injured throat. "Of course I believe yo--" her face twisted and she coughed. She leaned her head to the side, burying it in his shoulder for a moment as she breathed slowly. Working through the sudden flare of pain in her throat. She hadn't spoken this much since her throat had started to heal, but it was hard not to talk with Crux. She missed him. She missed him so much! The feeling in her throat subsided and she pulled her head back again. She needed to take it easy. Short answers.

She put her paw to his chest, and then to her own. "Believe in you." She said, voice determined to get her point across. She offered him a small smile, one that grew as he rested his head on her paw. She was almost bigger than him this way. She kind of liked that.

She opened her mouth to say - she wasn't sure what - when the rest of his sentence rendered her speechless. She was suddenly much, much more aware of the heat of his chin on her paw. Head flooded her cheeks, and rose in her throat. She could feel a scratch starting there, and breathed shallow breaths. She couldn't speak for a moment, rendered mute by both him and her curse. In, out. In, out. "You think I'm--" her face twisted again, and she started to cough.

Was it weird that despite the pain in this throat and his face, despite the fear and panic that had taken hold of him not that long ago, he somehow felt comfortable like this? Hell relaxed even, something he hadn't really felt since the flood. Sure when Triss coughed it made him worry but he could have been happy just laying there looking at her, feeling the heat of her paw on his, marvelling at how much strength and tenacity could be held in such a small form. Of course he wouldn't get that luxury though. He could hear the way her breathing shifted and saw the change in her physicality. He was moving before he could stop himself lifting himself up slightly, though he remained laying down he lifted his head and chest. He winced but wasn't even thinking about his own pain right now. He gently extended his free paw to her chest and breathed with her, silently willing her to match his rhythm but she tried to speak and her voice broke into coughs.

Crux moved his paw from her chest to her back and gently began to trace small circles. "Yes Triss, I do." He said softly, unsure if he was just making it worse by doubling down but he was also riding some kind of high that was telling him to keep going. If things got worse of course he'd pivot, but he wanted to make sure she understood he'd meant what he'd said.

"Crux" & "Triss"

Updated 04/30/23: Still on indefinite scarcity, please do not remind me of threads I am behind on right now.

Crux has a 6 inch long burn scar on his throat, most of his art does not reflect this.

Crux was insanely intuitive about her asthma. He could see when a fit was approaching, and he leaned in. Encouraging her to match her breathing to his. She did so, even when the urge to hyperventilate - just to pull enough air in - was there. It eased the fit before it could really blow into anything more than the cough. It helped, too, that she trusted him. Believed in him. She felt safe when he was there.

When he began to trace circles across her back, she let out a soft sigh. Relaxing into it. Why couldn’t she stay like this forever? Near him. She hated that every time they met, she was already thinking about how soon they would part.

“I think you're handsome too, Crux. I wish…” she trailed off without finishing that thought. Not entirely sure what she wished. That their packs were allies? That seeing him wouldn’t be so complicated? That the thought of him had started to bring butterflies to her chest? She wasn’t even sure where to begin. Instead, she closed her eyes and leaned against him.

"Crux" & "Triss"

Seeing Cryptis relax into his gentle coaxing summoned a small smile to crux's face. How far away their first meeting felt now, had it really only been late autumn when they'd met? It was his turn to blush when she responded that she thought he was handsome too. Triss leaned into him and Crux had to resist the urge to press his muzzle into the top of her head, not because he thought it was out of line but because he knew he'd be irritating his own very fresh wound. So instead he shuffled slightly so that he was curled tighter around her, the best he could do for the time being.

"I wish I could just pause time." He said softly, as if to cover for her own trailing off. "I just don't want to have to think about anything else but right now." He was almost hyper aware of how he would have to explain things to his father, how he'd have to say goodbye to Triss much sooner than he wanted... How he's miss the warmth that came off of her body so close to his.

"Crux" & "Triss"

Updated 04/30/23: Still on indefinite scarcity, please do not remind me of threads I am behind on right now.

Crux has a 6 inch long burn scar on his throat, most of his art does not reflect this.

He was curled around her, and she couldn’t deny how warm and safe she felt with the larger wolf. She felt genuinely seen, and heard. She knew he was watching her, and would react in a moment if she started to have a fit. She’d never had so much of someone’s attention on her before. She rested her head on one of his paws, and looked up at him as best she could from this position. His own throat must be agony, but he didn’t seem to be letting it bother him.

“So do I.” she agreed. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about parting so soon every time she and him met up. She let a claw trail small circles over the top of his paw. “Right now is nice.” she agreed softly.


"Crux" & "Triss"

The shapes she was tracing in his paw were just so calming. Crux felt the exhaustion return then, but it wasn't the exhaustion of overworking himself, of the panic of the flood, not even the exhaustion of the pain in his throat after the surge of adrenaline. Sure that last one was definitely making him tired but it was something else that was really finally starting to tug insistently at him. He was comfortable. He felt safe. Was that weird? Cryptis was hardly what he'd call imposing but something about her warmth, about the light pressure of her touch, about the way she seemed to see him made Crux feel secure. Enough for his guard to have come down without him knowing, and man had keeping it up for so long been exhausting. There were few enough wolves he could say really understood him, which was ridiculous because they'd hardly had much time to get to know each other at all. But there was something more, something most others approached with pity. He felt she saw him. He was whole, crystals included, in her eyes.

Crux hmmm'd softly in response to her agreeing. Starting to feel the slow slipping of his mind. Her tracing his paw probably wasn't helping, it just felt so nice, almost hypnotic. "Really nice..." He mumbled in that tone that only seemed to happen when someone was losing the battle against sleep. In fact it was only a moment later that his head started to bob, his eyes already closed. His head falling suddenly and jolting him back to wakefulness. Ow! Hypnic jerks hurt his throat.

"Crux" & "Triss"

Updated 04/30/23: Still on indefinite scarcity, please do not remind me of threads I am behind on right now.

Crux has a 6 inch long burn scar on his throat, most of his art does not reflect this.

She let any remaining tension bleed away from her posture. Enjoying being in the moment, and not letting worries like what was to come enter her mind. All she cared about was the here and now. Crux, and being so close to him. She cou;dn’t even let the worry of his scent brushing into her coat worry her. Not now. That was a problem for future her.

She did have to stifle a giggle as she saw and felt his head drift down, and then jerk up again. She reached up to cup a paw to the side of his head. Using it to gently guide his head down. “Lie with me for a little bit. Crux. Your family will probably come soon, but until then…” until then, she would selfishly steal what time she could with him.


"Crux" & "Triss"

Triss giggled at Crux tossed her a playful "glare." But he couldn't even stay pretend mad at her for long. She gently guided his head down and Crux had to admit this was much more comfortable. Almost on instinct he wanted to fight her proposal. "I don't want to lose a single..." he was starting to fade again and... "Second..." He wanted to be conscious if his time with Cryptis was going to be so limited but well this wasn't a fight he was going to win. Physically and emotionally he needed the sleep and this comfort was nearly intoxicating, as if drawing him into sleep. "S'comfy..." That was the last word he managed before language became something his mind could no longer understand, and soon he was snoring lightly, adjusting slightly so his muzzle was turned towards her seemingly instinctively as he was conscious no longer. Nose mere inches from her fur and a soft smile barely pulling at his lips as he breathed in.

"Crux" & "Triss"

Updated 04/30/23: Still on indefinite scarcity, please do not remind me of threads I am behind on right now.

Crux has a 6 inch long burn scar on his throat, most of his art does not reflect this.

He let her guide her, but he didn't sound completely happy about it either. Despite that, Triss found a grin twitching the corners of her lips at hearing his sleepy protest. She wasn’t as tired as Crux, but then she hadn’t gone through the same harrowing journey that he had. She didn’t have injuries that needed time and rest to heal.

His last word stirred something inside the tiny, non confrontational wolf. She might be inexperienced, and hindered, and so much weaker than Crux. But she would fight for him. Whatever it took. He laid down more comfortably beside her, and drifted off so easily. The tiny wolf curled up against his chest, resting her head on his neck, as she closed her eyes and let out a soft, contented sigh.


"Crux" & "Triss"

-fade in on morning-

Crux wasn't sure when he'd last slept so well. He'd needed it evidently. Still hell of a morning to wake up to. He'd been dreaming, of what exactly he couldn't say, the details already fuzzy. It had involved Cryptis. That was one of only two details he'd retained. The second had been the pain, what had started as a dull background ache had slowly gotten stronger until he was awake. That part aside he still felt largely refreshed. He'd become aware of a stiffness in his limbs and had been about to start trying to stretch them out and ask Riya to fetch something for the strange pain in his throat when he'd realized he wasn't in his usual den. For a moment he'd hung in confusion. Then the events of the previous night had started to come back. The volcano, the lava bath and-

That explained the stiffness. He'd somehow managed to curl even tighter; limbs draping over the tiny form at his chest. Crux couldn't help the smile as he tucked his chin, watching the rise and fall of her sides. An ease of breath only sleep seemed to bring anyone. Shifting his head again, though he kept it on the ground lest he wake up the girl asleep on the base of his neck, he cast his gaze on the horizon. The sky was still changing its color, the sun just barely peeking over the mountains in the distance. Though his limbs protested being held so tightly for so long Crux decided he'd been through worse, literally last night, and did his best to avoid rousing Cryptis. Soon enough they'd both need to head home, no doubt neither's disappearance would be missed by their parents for long. But he wanted to wring every last second out that he could. Who knew when they'd get to be this close again. He really was in deep for her huh?

"Crux" & "Triss"

Updated 04/30/23: Still on indefinite scarcity, please do not remind me of threads I am behind on right now.

Crux has a 6 inch long burn scar on his throat, most of his art does not reflect this.