The distraction of collecting the goats could only last so long. As the two-toed devils were unleashed amongst the undergrowth on Daager Isle, the aftermath of the culling couldn't be avoided. Downy feathers tumbled in the breeze and the silence seemed almost eerie after the familiarity of (even distressed) clucking and coughing. Even Modesty's gut twisted as she looked towards the pool that should be buzzing with productivity. The pool right next to Jael's bungalow.

She was beginning to understand Gilgamesh's conflict over the girl. Lips drawn taught, fighting to not pull up over her teeth, Modesty grunted and then tipped her head towards the hotel. “Upstairs,” It wasn't an invitation, but she wouldn't leave the dog suffer alone after all that had happened today.

“Speech.”

Jael had tried, perhaps desperately, to keep herself distracted. To keep herself away from it. As they'd gotten worse and it had taken a deeper and deeper toll on her mood, she'd become... more reclusive. Trying to stay busy with the goats, with the doves. Trying to stay distracted from the distressed sounds that rose from the flock, and the fact that they weren't getting better. Sakana's judgement was more than sound, she trusted him, but it didn't make it sting less.

And in the end, what had they ended up with? Sid maimed, a new enemy on the map, and a pile of carcasses. It was all her fault. The experiment had failed, she'd come up emptyhanded. With Modesty's appearance on her balcony, Jael is equal parts relief and anxiety. The directive cuts through the eerie silence, and she doesn't need to be told twice. Slipping from her somber perch, the dog slips close to Modesty's side. Downy feathers on the breeze, and the girl hiccups. It's all she can do to choke back the sob that threatens.

Head hanging low, side near-brushing against Modesty's, she moves. "'m sorry I didn't have the stomach to help with..." the words are quiet. She feels... silly. Silly about it. After everything, she couldn't see it through to the very end.

As they made their way to the main building and up the stairs, Jael hiccupped and apologised. Modesty shushed the pet and waved her paw dismissively, ushering the girl into the room she shared with Gil where tea was already laid out. Modesty shook any tension from her body as she crossed the threshold, making sure her quills were lying flat with her fur before she flopped down on the furs that made her bed. A fire in the hearth (probably set by her present company if she stopped to think about it) fought off any of the autumnal chill from the air and she gestured for Jael to join her. There was space along her side, between her front paws, across the furs. She did her best to remain relaxed, the floor open for the other woman to sit wherever she was most comfortable.

“I wouldn't task you to help with that even if you had offered, any more than I would expect Flurry to take part in the sort mayhem I expect Deluge to unleash upon our enemies, or Sakana to rip apart combatants in a raid.” She wasn't in the business of making her pack members miserable. Everyone had their strengths and passions, and clearly Jael's tended more towards nurturing, whether it was livestock or teaching the youngsters of the pack skills. Modesty had taken notice, and though she was awkward and clearly unpracticed, she would offer whatever comfort she could to the other woman now, in her time of need. “I won't send you back down there, and you need rest.” She gestured again, pausing to pour herself some tea, and raising a brow in silent offering to Jael.

“Speech.”

Jael has been in this room, it shouldn't feel so strange. Tending the fires, making the beds, tidying up, making sure everything was as close to just so as she could-- trying to be responsible. Trying to stay busy. As long as she's useful, then her faults can be forgiven. That's how it works, right? That's how it works in Jael's mind. It was this morning that she'd swept and stoked the fire, refilled the wood bins, straightened the bed out. And still, entering the room, tucked close to Modesty, the air is different.

With the little invitation given, Jael is quick to slip up onto the bed. Circling once, twice, then curling up with her side pressed to Modesty's. The difference in size between the two marked, but she feels safe. Modesty is formidable, and she represents something that Jael doesn't know how to explain. Like she has it together, and the world rests in her hands. It's not envy in the eyes of the little dog, but it's reverence.

She nods, accepting the tea gratefully. "My silly idea caused so much trouble, and for what?" The words are shaky, her tone apologetic. Soft, with her cheek pressed against Modesty's shoulder. Sad and guilty and anxious, she clings to the raid queen all the same.

Modesty allows her body to soften and envelop the little wolfdog, shushing and tutting as soothingly as she could manage, offering what comfort she could. Her eyes barely caught the flash of feathered wings as Gil's owl took off from the windowsill, no doubt on her way to report on the latest development, and maybe even the addition of their new goats. She wondered how he would take it after the cow experiment.

When Jael began to spiral into self-doubt, Modesty gently grabbed at her muzzle with her teeth and stared into her eyes with a warning growl, she wouldn't hear of it. Giving the other woman a chance to gather herself, she let go and took another sip of her tea. “Don't be silly. If it wasn't chickens, it would have been wine from the Hollows or Bamboo from Tojo, or... pebbles from Armada. Other packs don't like us, never have. Can't think of why...” There was a mischievous glint in her eye, her voice lifting upward as she feigned ignorance. “Shit happens, I would prefer if it didn't happen to my children, but that's hardly on you or them.” She adjusted her position to encircle Jael more comfortably, expecting their short peace to be interrupted soon and she had no doubt it would send the girl into another spiral when it was.

“Speech.”

coded by NachoMumma

Gilgamesh was keeping himself busy as he could. He knew the emotional toll Jael had taken with the whole chicken situation and he knew Modesty too felt some sort of sadness about it. As much as he wanted to help Jael recover from the grief, he held back. Erish kept an eye on her as much as she could. Gil always finding a way to walk by her bungalow just to make sure she was at least somewhat okay. It was all he could do without fearing the wrath of Modesty. Surely she would begin to understand why he felt such a... pull to the girl.

It is with surprise when Erish comes to land in a tree near him that he turns to look back at the isle's main building. Modesty and Jael snuggled up together? His brows draw tightly for a moment as he feels confliction in his chest. How was he to react to that? Letting out a quiet, thoughtful noise, he sends Erish on her way before making his own way up toward his private room shared with Modesty.

Before he enters the room, he takes a deep breath, calming the fast pace of his heart. Calm, cool, collected, definitely don't show true feelings. He reminded himself of this as he makes his way through the living space toward the bedroom. Standing in the doorway, he looks from Modesty to Jael who is wrapped neatly up in Modesty. There is a beat of silence, his heart skipping a beat, before he speaks. "Room for one more?" Gil asks, his tone hesitant as his eyes move from Jael back to Modesty.

Speech

coded by NachoMumma

Noise in her head drowning out the flap of wings-- if Jael had her wits about her, maybe she would have expected it. Erish's habit of being just close enough, just far enough, was a comfort. The spiral of self-doubt and, all the mean shit Jael could say to herself in her head snagged on Modesty's teeth. Eye going wide, whites showing around the bottoms, going stiff. As quickly as she's been taken up, the pet is released. Jael tries to center herself. Desperately, she tries. Today, her wits are buried beneath other things.

Going from the hold on her muzzle to... comforting her. In moments, Jael is willing herself to relax again. Trying, as she tucks her chin close to Modesty's shoulder. She wasn't being cast out or pushed aside, she wasn't being blamed. But that's hardly on you. Hearing Modesty say it helps a little, and she's doing her best to sip her tea. Trying. “I just w--” the words die on her lips, interrupted by a familiar voice. Jael had hardly noticed Modesty's shifting, but with Gilgamesh now standing in the doorframe... fuck.

Jael is frozen. Wide eyed, wild, her gaze is the only thing that moves. A plea, silent. Heart pounding. Opal gaze darting from Gilgamesh to Modesty, trying her best to steady the quiver. Licking her lips, an attempt to hide that the lower one is trembling. The uncertainty needs an exit point, a place to escape. Pulse racing, she knows it's Modesty's decision.

“Speech.”

coded by NachoMumma

Jael seemed about to continue in her downward spiral when a familiar voice from the door had the smaller woman almost turning to stone in her embrace, Modesty looked to Gilgamesh with a deadpan expression on her face. “Darling, are you calling me fat?” She asked bluntly, blinking twice before the barest hint of a grin quirked at the corners of her lips, giving away her game. “After all, Jael takes up no space at all.” She tucked a little closer around the wolfdog to prove her point. Of course there was room, but was he brave enough to try and take it?

Even Modesty wasn't quite sure what game she was playing right now, but if it took Jael's mind off the chickens, and her spiral of self-doubt, then she supposed she could consider sharing. If only for so long as it served to amuse her too.

“Speech.”

coded by NachoMumma

The tension in the room snaps like lightning when Jael takes notice of his presence. Gil stands, his own muscles tensing as he meets her gaze. Well, fuck, he hadn't expected this... Any of this. Not his heart pounding in his chest, his stomach twisting into knots, his eyes staring confused at the picture of Modesty wrapped around Jael. When had this happened? When had they grown so close? He couldn't quite put it all into place. A rather confusing puzzle really.

He's pulled from his frozen stance when Modesty deadpans asks if she's calling her fat. Gil can't help his mouth going agape a moment, swallowing his saliva hard, it hurts. "No, dear, you're as ravaging as you've always looked," a hint of a smile, the flat toned joke soaring straight over his head. Men. It doesn't slip past him though that Modesty tucks closer around Jael, giving him room, but also a choice. Where would he join them? If he made the wrong move, it would be over for them all. If he made the right choice, he might actually enjoy a night with both of them.

His pulse quickens again as he further enters the room. He had to take the obvious choice, the safest. Moving toward Modesty, Gil lands himself against Modesty's back so he's cuddling her, even if she is taller than him, she's definitely not far enough for him to not be the big spoon. In a moment of bravery though, he twists his head so that it lays over Modesty's shoulders, enabling him to look both at Modesty and Jael. Once he's settled, he looks briefly at Jael before his gaze lands on Modesty. Would this be approved or would he be booted?

Speech

coded by NachoMumma

Modesty comes closer, more tightly encircling the girl. Jael is grateful for whatever had been added to the tea, whatever helped keep her nerves from truly taking over now. Head spinning, but that's to be expected. The little smile on the edge of Modesty's lips doesn't escape her notice though, and that... was a good sign? That had to be a good sign. The same Modesty who had been so supportive and gentle, who had taken such good care of her while she was sad-- this had to be a good thing. Though she's still nervous, Jael tucks close to Modesty in return.

She doesn't feel quite like she can pull her gaze from Modesty's, not yet. Muzzle pressed against the woman's for a moment. A heartbeat. Appeasement, hope-- fuck Jael can hope. Overwhelmed, but she shifted her forelegs closer to Modesty's. Anchoring herself against the woman. Anxious, yes, but she's been allowed to seek comfort in both of them.

The bed shifting beneath them as Gilgamesh joins them as well. Warmth, closeness... though she doesn't let herself relax yet. Gaze darting to Gil for only a moment, and then back to Modesty. A silent plea. Snuggling just a little closer to the woman's chest, Jael is trying not to hold her breath. Despite the tension, it's the closest the pet has come to quieted in a long time.

“Speech.”

coded by NachoMumma

The fear in the air was palpable and it was all her fault. She could have smirked, there was no guilt on her part. She revelled in the obvious tension between her guests, though it wouldn't show on her face. Yawning as Gilgamesh approached, leaning into the press of Jael's muzzle, everything about the woman was relaxed, in sharp contrast to the obvious anxiety of the other two wolves in the room.

When Gil leant his head across her shoulder she reached out to rake her teeth across his muzzle, a quick parting of her jaws and a low affectionate grumble before moving to his cheek to groom the fur just below his ear. Modesty stretched her limbs, toes curling before tucking back in close and pulling Jael closer with them. She ducked her head under Gilgamesh's chin to groom the fur between the smaller woman's ears before resting her head against her leg. Eyes shifted from one to the other, sleepy grin on her face, waiting to see what would happen next.

“Speech.”

coded by NachoMumma

As much of a fool as Gil could be, he knew this was a game for Modesty. How much could he press against the fine line before she snapped? When was too much? He knows Jael is just as anxious as he is, if not more so. All he wants is to calm her, quiet the storm in her heart, but Modesty is doing a fine job of it. Why step in when he could have the best of both worlds right here?

Staying still as possible, closing his eyes for a moment as Modesty's teeth drag down his muzzle before grooming the fur beneath his ear. His own affectionate sound resonates in his chest as her muzzle slips beneath his chin, noticing how she grooms Jael between the ears. One eye slightly opened, watching the interaction, watching both women, carefully. When Modesty brings her head down to rest upon her paws, eyes watching them, Gil shifts his gaze over to her for a moment, watching, waiting.

When no sudden snapping of teeth in his direction comes, he lets his muscles relax, chin draping over Modesty's side until his nose is resting close to Jael. Breathing in not only Modesty's scent, but Jael's too, he feels finally at peace. Whatever torment he had to go through before this was worth the wait, the whatever this way between the three of them. He wouldn't get his hopes up, but being given the good grace to just be near both of them at the same time was enough. For now.

Speech

coded by NachoMumma