Striking out on her own had been nerve wracking at best even with Eilwen, Blue, her new cloak, and dagger with her. She didn't know if any amount of items or companions or escorts could have bolstered her nerves enough to make the trip easy, but she knew she had to do it. As much as she wanted to send Eilwen to go see if Ysmir could come visit her, she knew that every time they had seen each other besides the one chance meeting after the Ashen tournament fight had been in Auster. He had always been the one to travel to see her and that wasn't fair. She couldn't keep hiding behind the castle walls... at least that's what she was telling herself.

She tried to be content on her own, find purpose in her own studies and work, and for the most part she did. However, when she was laying there at night in her room or in the infirmary trying to sleep she kept thinking back to the couple of times that Ysmir stayed with her and how it had felt to have someone there with her. She saw Artorias with Briar, Rudyard with Fern, Bowen with Haiku, her mother and Kane... It made her miss those nights and Ysmir's sweet smile. It was enough of a motivation for her to finally push past her fears and travel up through Boreas to see him.

Gwynevere found the Fireside border, but stopped short, backing away from it and lingering instead in the orchard near by. She didn't want to risk drawing more attention from his pack mates or worry about having someone else greet her before he could. She found a spot among a few of the fruit trees to wait and then sent Eilwen into the pack's territory to search for him. She nervously figited with her cloak and adjusted the maple leaf broach that pinned it together, fixing her circlet anxiously while she waited. Eventually she started knocking a fallen apple back and forth in front of her, hoping that he'd still want to see her after all this time and that he'd be able to come out to spend some time with her.

"Gwynevere Carpathius"

Ysmir made it to full adulthood and as he stood there by the barn he tried not to wallow in his own mediocrity. He had a lot of time to think recently, most of the pack was caught up in the gaggle of new puppies. Which was actually good for him because no one was out there pushing him. Ysmir kept comparing himself to his siblings and he constantly fell short. His abilities were lacking as much as his devotion and the boy felt shame for it. He was supposed to be a man, but he could hardly prove himself.

Most of his days were spent hunting or with the animals, feeling like he was doing something. The restless feeling within him had started the last time he saw Gwynevere. He gave her that tiara and the reaction she gave brought him higher than he ever had been. When he returned home Ysmir realized how unworthy he felt. His mother would tell him to take whatever he wanted, that was the way of his people. He should have marched down to the Hallows and fought to take the girl he had fallen in love with.

He was ashamed of himself for not believing he was capable, but he’d seen Artorias he had been welcomed is as a guest. Not to mention the political implications of taking another alpha’s sister. He couldn’t even ask Tyrian for permission. He felt stuck, so he hadn’t been to see Gwyn. He put his head into his training and tried to pretend he was getting better and stronger. But what did that gain him?

The young viking thought a lot about the girl who had treated him after the tournament, and who he found and rescued from the banks of the river and returned home. The one he’d held in her room after she suffered a nightmare. No one else had ever held him so close, to say he was smitten was an understatement. So when her raven found him Ysmir felt his heart drop right out from his chest. Of course, she had braved miles and miles to come see him he couldn’t ignore her. Even if it was hard to face her.

She had seen him after the tournament though, surely she wouldn’t hold it against him that he hadn’t done anything about.. Well, now that he was walking he wasn’t sure there was anything to be done about something you couldn’t even explain. He tried to rid his thoughts, but as dark paws carried him through the orchard he found his mind emptied on its own when Gwynevere came into sight.

His grin pulled his lips away from long saber teeth and his dark tail wagged at his hips in obvious delight at seeing her again. Silver flecked ears fell to his head as he only just barely refrained from grabbing her. Instead he offered a shy nod of his head and a hesitant kiss to her cheek.

Gwynevere anxiously waited for Ysmir and Eilwen to return, Blue finding a spot to nap up above in the branches of the tree she was waiting under. A dark voice in the back of her mind worried that Ysmir wouldn't want to see her and that he'd turn Eilwen away. She feared that she had come all this way to have her heart broken. The nervousness creeped up on her the whole time she waited and by the time she heard her companion land in the branches above her she had nearly convinced herself that all of this had been a mistake, that the whole reason she hadn't seen him recently was because he had decided she wasn't worth his time after all. She tried to shake those thoughts and ignore them, but it was difficult. Her doubts about herself seemed to have no end and this was just another of the moments when they tried to rear their ugly heads.

As soon as she heard Eilwen above her it pulled her mint and lavender gaze up from the ground and her eyes fell on Ysmir's handsome features. It felt like a huge weight was lifted from her chest as soon as she saw him, a rush of relief filling her over the fact that he had come after all. Her tail wagged excitedly against the ground behind her and a smile pulled across her face, beaming up at him as he came to greet her. Her own ears fell back shyly as well when he nodded to her and leaned in to kiss her cheek, her cheeks warming from the gentle affection. "Ysmir," she said in greeting, warm affection and relief noticeable in her tone as she continued to look up at him happily. For a moment it seemed like maybe they were both too uncertain and awkward to know what to do, but there were only a couple of things she had promised herself she would do if she made it here and she refused to let this trip be in vain.

There was a moment of hesitation before she finally reached up to gently press her lips to his. It was just a quick, soft peck, but it still made her heart skip a beat from something that was both innocent and daring at the same time. Another smile pulled across her lips and she couldn't keep her tail from wagging. "I missed you," she told him as if that wasn't obvious from the fact that she had come all the way here from The Hallows despite her fears and all the dangers she perceived from the world just to see him and give him a silly excuse for a kiss. Somehow just seeing him made it all feel worth it and she just quietly hoped that he felt the same. She was too nervous to ask and just hoped the happiness on his face was genuine.

"How have you been? Are you okay? Did the strange long night effect you or your family?" she questioned, her concerns immediately falling back on his physical well being since being a healer was what she was most comfortable with. It was her safe space and something that felt straight forward and understandable when everything else felt out of control. Her emotions were all over the place so letting her eyes move over him, examining him for any lingering injuries or issues, was calming in its own strange way. One of her paws lifted up, parting the cloak that hung around her shoulders, and she gently took his chin in her paw as she turned his head a bit from one side to the other to examine his eyes to make sure they were bright and clear—while trying to not get distracted by how lovely the sapphire and silver tones of them were.

"Gwynevere Carpathius"

Ysmir felt a little awkward, despite his age he didn’t really know what he was doing. His own parents weren’t very affectionate to one another. He wasn’t sure he had ever really seen Valkyrie be any kind of affectionate. For a long time Ysmir has emulated her demeanor, he’d seen himself having a similar life as her. An arranged marriage for strength. He saw the pain Chaos caused when he was unfaithful though, even if his mom wouldn’t admit it. Still, Ysmir thought his best greeting was the gentle kiss to her pretty cheek. He wished he could better see the blush that crossed her features.

He grinned, mirroring her smile and feeling the similar awkwardness that she did. Ysmir really didn’t know where to go next. He had been acting on instinct when he came and snuggled her the night he walked her home, but he still couldn’t forget about the way she felt against him. Her body pressed to his chest and belly as he held her and rocked away the terror.

Before he could do anything about his feelings surprise overtook him. Her lips pressed against his and pulled away just as fast leaving Ysmir stunned. He was frozen for a moment but then she told him she missed him and eased him out of the ice. His own tail wagged at his side, and he regretted not being able to tell her in return how much he had missed her. How ashamed he was that he hadn’t come for her.

He wished he could tell her how proud of her he was being able to come all the way here by herself. He had seen the fear in her eyes, he’d felt her reluctance to be near the border. He knew it was no small feat coming here. The grin on her face let him know she felt it too. He grinned at her, unable to stay too far away. He leaned into her shoulder, and kept his features so close to hers. She asked after him softly, worried about his well being and the rest of his family, but she knew as well as he did that he couldn’t really answer her question.

Ysmir smiled at her questions, he was alright and his family was well enough, he knew she would understand his answer. Besides even if he wanted to answer he was too distracted by the feeling of her paw against his jaw. He let her manipulate his jaw, and he fell into her mint and lavender gaze more easily than she let herself. Again he was reminded how terrible his disability was. Never able to tell her just how beautiful her eyes were. He shifted against her grip just enough that he could nudge her muzzle, a silent return of the question, but she looked just as beautiful as always.

Gwynevere couldn't see any hint of anything but content happiness in his expression as she questioned him about his well being and gave him a brief examination and that was a relief. She knew if anything was wrong with him or his family then she would have been able to see it in his gaze. When he shifted closer, leaning his shoulder into hers, it was comforting and relaxing as much as it also made her emotions spin out of control again. She leaned into him all the same, peering up at him happily while her paw shifted from his chin to brush against his cheek while she felt herself getting lost in his sapphire and silver gaze. His gentle nudge of her muzzle made her chuckle softly and she had to resist the temptation to kiss him again as she replied, "I'm fine. Artorias was very sick toward the end, but he's recovered." The stress of seeing her brother fall so ill without her being able to help him had worn on her severely, but seeing him well again and his encouragement for her to go out into the world again helped to recharge her in a way she hadn't allowed herself to be in a long time.

Her paw slipped away from his cheek and she smiled shyly as she shifted a little closer and leaned her head into the side of his neck, happily just enjoying being here with him again. The distance between their packs felt so insurmountable before, but now that she was here at his side again, enjoying his presence, it felt more worth it than she had even been expecting. She wished she could feel like this all the time. This happiness and peace she felt when she was with him and the butterflies that danced in her stomach were intoxicating and lovely. She could still feel how his lips had felt against hers like a lingering tingle even though it was just a sweet peck. She could never ask him to leave his family though just as she knew she couldn't leave hers. She tried not to think about it too much since right now she just wanted to enjoy being with him while she could, but it was a lingering worry in the back of her mind not knowing when they would get time like this again.

She tipped her head up while she was leaning into him, giving his cheek a kiss. "If you want we could do this more often," she said quietly, glancing up at him before looking down with a shy smile. "We could take turns... visiting back and forth, I mean." Her paw slipped around his foreleg, gently tracing up and down and feeling the shorter fur there against her paw pads like a worry stone. "Only if you want to of course." She would never fault him for his disability or think any less of him for it, but sometimes she did wish he could talk to her so she could ask about the long gap between seeing when she had seen him last and now or actually ask him how he was feeling about them and this relationship she was hopeful for. It was hard to ask everything in a way that was able to be answered with a "yes" or a "no". It made her think about how she had been studying the Carpathius language with Artorias, how she could speak two languages while Ysmir couldn't speak to her at all. She wished there was some other way to communicate with him even though she did manage alright just reading his expressions and body language most of the time.

"Gwynevere Carpathius"