Speech ─ Think

There wasn't much growth happening withing Hellborn, and Widow couldn't really blame anyone but herself. Terror and Gruesome were still sick and although she would occasionally tend to them, for the most part she had to keep her distance to avoid catching whatever they had. A pack could only be as strong as it's leader, and if she was weakened by an illness, anyone could come in and take it... even that little child she beat to have this pack in the first place. Honestly, she was surprised she hadn't come around yet, attempting a rematch, but Widow suspected it would come along eventually.

However, there was some growth happening. Between her daughter and her fiance for one, as their wedding would be coming up soon, but Crux's efforts in becoming a better healer had not gone unnoticed. He seemed to be one of the few that was actually working to get better, and if anyone deserved a promotion to a master rank, it was him.

This wasn't her decision alone to make, however. Was he even interested in such a thing? She imagined that he wanted to become a father sooner rather than later, and worried that the stress of a high rank might exhaust him on top of all the work of becoming a new father. He and Cryptis would have their work cut out for them too, given her daughters health and his crystal growths. She worried for them, but she would always be there for her daughter and her family. Frankly, she was excited to be a grandmother. So if Crux chose a family over a high rank, she would understand... but if he wanted both, she wouldn't stop him either.

She sat outside her den and called for him, expecting him to be around but making the call loud enough to reach out further into the territory in case he wasn't within the entanglement as she expected.

blended with beauty and blessed by the divine

─ by Skelle !

Days were blurring together a bit for Crux. Wedding planning, considering the possibility of starting a family with Triss and all the discussions that came with that... On top of his efforts to make sure he was staying on top of his work as a healer. Keeping an eye on the sickness currently in the pack and minimizing any spread he could without compromising Triss' health. It admittedly wasn't an easy balance to strike and he wasn't quite happy yet with what he'd managed. That was just the way he was though, there was always something to improve on even if he was starting to feel confident in his abilities again. One thing that came with the territory of what he did was being called on. He was still learning his way around the canyon but luckily he was within the forest when Widow called for him. Grimacing slightly as he pushed himself a bit to move quickly. It was all but confirmed at this point that the extra moisture in his new home was part of why his hips ached sooner than before but it was just something he'd have to deal with and it wasn't like pain had ever stopped him before. As he arrived before Widow's den he scanned quickly, as he often did when called upon directly, for any signs of injury or anything that needed his healing knowledge. Not seeing anything immediate he offered the woman a small smile and settled himself before her. "You called?" "Speech" "Riya"

Art by Cloudy!

Speech ─ Think

It didn't take long for the young man to respond to her call, quickly arriving and allowing her to smile as he approached. She hoped that she hadn't pulled him from anything important, but then perhaps he wouldn't have arrived so quickly or without a gathering of herbs in his possession.

"Crux, how have you been?" she asked, wanting to check in on him first. Would he give signs that he wasn't ready for a promotion, or that he was? Typically she liked to handle these things at meetings, but with Crux being the only one really putting in the effort, she felt a more private meeting would be better. The last one hadn't seemed to light any fires under anyones asses and she was quick to doubt another one would.

blended with beauty and blessed by the divine

─ by Skelle !

Crux's attention was drawn away from Widow for a moment as a familiar feline shape shifted in the mists, Riya, likely waiting to see if she would be needed either to run and get him supplies or as an extra set of paws. Crux blinked at her before moving his attention back to the woman and Riya disappeared back into the mists... Back to wherever it was she went nowadays. "I'm doing fine." Crux's response was maybe a little bog standard, more a pleasantry than anything else but he did follow it up with something a bit more personal: "Honestly I just wish I'd arrived before the start of the cold seasons, I'd love to know what I'll have to work with once everything starts budding again." His stores were sparse enough, though he wasn't at risk yet of running out he knew it only took one event to use it all up and though he was pretty familiar now with what plants he could identify in their winter state he was still unfamiliar with the whole area, the only places in Auster he'd ever done any searching for herbs in had been when he wasn't even a year old and were tinged with a veneer of grief that blurred them as it was. "Well, that and planning for a wedding on top of making sure I'm prepared in case my abilities are needed has kept me busy." There was a hesitance to his words. He assumed Widow knew at this point but he certainly didn't want to be the one to break the news of her daughter's impending nuptials if not. He was also underselling himself somewhat, "being prepared" meant more than just maintaining his stores but imagining various situations and how he could handle them, running through memorized signs of sicknesses, and on the occasions he could bully her into it, miming certain more technical treatments on Riya. In truth most of that was just normal for him, maybe it wasn't actually all that healthy but a fear of not being able to help someone haunted him. "Speech" "Riya"

Art by Cloudy!