Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that Ashen would dissolve. It felt like one of those things that had always been there and would always be, but it was just proof of how much things could change, he supposed. Since his parents had already gone on their own way to find a nice place to retire and his siblings were being the independent wolves they were it left him at a bit of a crossroads, unsure of what to do with himself. He considered living on his own for a while and taking the opportunity to explore the world with more freedom to go where he wanted, but even after a couple of days of that he kind of missed the structure and community of a pack. It was what he had grown up in and what he was used to.

That just left him the question of where and that had been an easy question to answer. He had spent a bit of time in The Hallows already after finding Dusk direly injured, keeping her company while she recovered. Because of that he was fairly familiar with the castle dwelling pack and if he couldn't live in Ashen then the knew he wanted to live here. Luckily Art had been willing to take him in and now he was getting settled in, having chosen a room on the third floor down the hall from his cousin Rebel. At least he wasn't the only Ashen wolf taken refuge here. He stood back from the bed he had been spreading furs across that had been kind enough to gift to him, tipping his head to the side a bit as he tried to decide if he liked how they were. He'd never had a bed up on a frame like this before so he wasn't sure how it was supposed to be. This had to be good enough, he supposed. As if to answer his question for him, Slate hopped up onto the bead, making him smirk as the snow leopard made himself at home.

"Sitri Klein-Destruction"

The fact that Sitri was now a member of The Hallows made Dusk's heart thud in her chest. She was so very unsure about everything girly and liking a guy was definitely, definitely girly. At first she'd thought about avoiding him, but the talk with her mom had helped quite a bit and, with confidence that she may not have had otherwise, the obsidian fae made her way towards Sitri's newly claimed room.

The door was open and Dusk watched the man, fiery eyes observing as he messed with the furs atop his new bed. Feeling like a creep for staring, Dusk cleared her throat lightly, waiting for him to turn. "I... thought you might like this. A homecoming gift," the fae offered the red man a smile before stretching out a paw to offer him a thick, soft bison hide that she herself had cured. She'd slept with it many times and it was a regular addition to her own bed, but she imagined that Sitri might appreciate the gesture.

"Do you need any help with anything?" The woman's head tilted lightly. He'd been here for quite a while during her recovery, so he knew were most things were. This was a bit different though. The Hallows was his home now. "Maybe I could show you around the grounds a bit when you have time." The fae's long, midnight tail twitched back and forth a bit, betraying her nervousness.

"Dusk"

Sitri's ears perked with surprise at the sound of someone clearing their throat, making him look back over his shoulder toward the door. As soon as he saw that it was Dusk standing there looking at him he immediately perked up a bit, standing a little taller as he quickly turned toward her with what he hoped was a charming grin. "Dusk! Sorry, I didn't see you there," he apologized with a chuckle. He had gotten to know her a little better during his time here with her and the more he was around her the more he felt these fluttering, excited flips in his gut whenever she was around. It felt so easy to be around her, but at the same time he had this need to try really hard to be his best around her too. Even if he didn't necessarily need to impress her he still wanted to.

He didn't notice the bison hide she was carrying right away–too caught up in her fiery eyes like a goof–but as soon as she mentioned the the homecoming gift she brought he looked to the hide with surprise and a thankful smile. "Thank you, that's so kind of you," he replied genuinely, taking it from her and adding it to his bed. Before he could even unroll it himself Slate was already up and doing it for him so he would have even more to curl up on and cuddle into. Sitri rolled his eyes at his companion and chuckled as he turned back toward Dusk. Cats.

He hummed a bit as he tried to think if there was anything he needed help with. "I don't think so..." he mused as he looked around the very simple and sparsely decorated space. He hadn't really had much to bring with him from Ashen, just his companions and traveling gear mostly, so it wasn't like he had stuff to unpack. What he had more interest in, however, was Dusk's offer to show him around the grounds whenever he had time. "How about now?" he immediately asked without really filtering himself and then he stammered a bit, grinning awkwardly as he added, "Uh, I mean, yeah, I would like that... We could go now, if you want. I'm not doing anything important."

"Sitri Klein-Destruction"

Sitri's surprise pulled a laugh from the woman, her naturally husky tones filling the air for a moment. Gods, he looked as out of sorts as she felt. That made her feel a little better, at least. Knowing that he wasn't all suave and sure of himself made her own awkwardness a little more acceptable. His apology accompanied by his dashing looks made the tension within her ease just a bit.

After giving the gift to him, Sitri thanked her and placed it upon the... well, his cat placed it upon the bed before burrowing into it. Her own cat, significantly smaller than Slate, also enjoyed fluffy piles of blankets, so she understood the joys of felines. Sitri chuckled and Dusk smiled brightly.

Having asked if he needed anything, Sitri stated that he didn't. Instead, he took her up on her offer for a walk. Rather eagerly too. The fae grinned as he tripped over his words. He probably had no idea, but he was putting her at ease just by being himself. "Now is a great time," again, she laughed softly.

Backing out of the room, Dusk waited for Sitri to fall into step beside her before making her way out of the castle. She led him around the back of the hulking stone structure and onto the winding path that led down to the beach. "I'm sorry that your family pack was dissolved," she spoke with the utmost sincerity. She was glad though that he had ended up in The Hallows with her, however.

"Dusk"

Somehow, despite his stumbling and tripping over himself, he still managed to get her to laugh and that felt like the biggest victory of all. He loved the way she laughed and it made his lopsided smile get even bigger. When she agreed that now was a good time he quickly nudged aside what he was trying to arrange and went to follow her out of the room, falling into step beside her easily. He had gotten pretty familiar with the lay of the land around the castle and the grounds around it, but he was sure there was still plenty he hadn't seen that Dusk would be able to show him. In reality though all he really cared about was the fact that he was getting to spend time with Dusk. The tour was just an added bonus.

She led the way till they made it around the back of the castle, bringing him to a path he had never noticed before that seemed to wind down the slope toward the beach. The sound of the ocean waves was louder and louder as they leisurely strolled down the path. His blue and lavender eyes shifted towards her as she mentioned her condolences for Ashen's disbanding and he gave her a little smile in response. "Thanks... It's been weird to think about, but I understand why it had to happen. I'm sure it's harder on my aunt's kids since she led the pack for so long, but I'm kind of happy with where I've ended up." He gave her a grin at that, holding her gaze for a moment before those fluttering butterflies in his stomach made him look off toward the ocean shyly, his face suddenly feeling as warm as the sun.

"Sitri Klein-Destruction"

Sitri wasn't the only one with butterflies. Dusk's stomach was in turmoil. Was she going to puke? Would she poop herself right here? Gods, she hoped not. Thinking about the possibility seemed to make her even more nervous and she stumbled a bit on the path. A muffled curse left her lips and she glared at the rock that had made her look stupid. One hind paw kicked it over the edge as the pair made it past. Served the bastard right.

As they walked, Sitri continued speaking of Ashen and ended by saying that he was happy where he ended up. Tall ears perked and fiery eyes cast to the side. Heat filled Dusk's cheeks and she was pretty sure that her fur was smoking.  "I'm glad that you're happy," she replied with a smile that she hoped didn't look manic. It was hard to tell.

Once they reached the bottom and made their way towards the lapping waves of the ocean, Dusk seated herself in the sand, looking out over the dark water. Gods, she could fight anyone that you put in her path, but feelings were hard! She tried to scrape together what courage she had. "Sitri, I..." Fire opal eyes fixed upon her dark paws, digits sunk down into the cool sand.  "I'm very happy to have you here with me in The Hallows," she admitted.  "You've been a very good friend to me and I..." She what? Thought about him all the time? Thought about kissing him? Thought about fighting things together?  "I really appreciate you," she decided upon.

"Dusk"

As they reached the shoreline, Sitri looked around at the stretch of beach with a little smile. He had missed the beach when Ashen moved away from the islands they had once called home to instead move to the lush ravine and the stretch of red rocks. It was nice living so close to the ocean again. Dusk took a seat on the sand so he followed suit, sitting back on his haunches beside her. He glanced toward her, but noticed how she was looking out over the ocean so he did the same. He probably would have been happy just sitting like this with her for a while, but soon enough Dusk spoke, drawing his attention away from the view to look down toward her instead.

There was a pause after just his name, making him raise a curious brow while she fixed her gaze down at the sand. He knew they were both hovering somewhere in this sort of awkwardness, but he still worried for a moment that she was suddenly going to break it to him that her kiss in the infirmary had been a mistake or that she was betrothed to someone else or something equally as dramatic. He had an active imagination and in the span of moments he had a knot of dread in the pit of his stomach as he waited for what she was going to tell him.

In the end, it was nothing as dramatic as he expected and every bit as adorable and awkward as he could have hoped. A little smirk tugged at his lips as she admitted how she was happy he was here, citing how good of a friend he had been and that she appreciated him. Maybe it was just his hopeful, fanciful thinking, but he really hoped that wasn't all there was. He hoped he wasn't being relegated to just being a "good friend". There was a heartbeat of debate before he finally decided that there was only one way to find out. If he guessed wrong he could be ruining his life here in The Hallows before it had ever really started, but that was a risk he was willing to take.

He brought a paw up to her cheek and turned her head to face him just as he tipped his head down so just as she was looking up at his lips were meeting hers. Just like that first surprise kiss in the infirmary, his stomach did summersaults and flips and all of those crazy feeling things. His lavender and blue eyes closed for a moment as he gave her a slow, lingering kiss for a few moments before he finally pulled away gently, blinking open his eyes to look down at her with a goofy grin. "I appreciate you too," he said with a chuckle, letting his paw fall away from her cheek.

"Sitri Klein-Destruction"

It was so hard. So very, very difficult for Dusk to break out of the thought process that she'd hammered into her brain since she was a small child. Dusk was a warrior first and everything else second. She hadn't even taken time to learn how to be a girl. That was why she had asked her mom and her sister for advice. Little good it did her. She'd listened to everything that they'd said and she still felt as though her heart would beat its way right through her rib cage when she was this close to Sitri.

After she worked up the courage to give the man the compliment that she'd been trying to hard to tell him, he was silent. Dusk began to get nervous. Had she said something wrong? Did he not appreciate her appreciation? A million negative things ran through her head, but suddenly his paw was on her cheek and, as her fiery gaze swung to meet lavender and blue... his lips touched hers. HIS LIPS TOUCHED HERS!

A small squeak eked its way up Dusks throat and her eyes widened for a moment. Oh my god oh my god oh my god this was happening. It was happening right now. His lips pressed into hers and they felt so soft, so nice. She liked it. She liked it quite a bit. Ah, but then the kiss was ending. It was ending too soon for Dusk's liking but she wasn't in any sort of mental shape to ask for another.

Sitri smiled down at her, reciprocating her feelings towards him and Dusk smiled in return. She breathed an internal sigh of relief and something within her, something that had been clinging to her back, drifted away with the ocean wind. The knowledge that he felt the same erased a great deal of the self doubt that the young woman held. The tension in her shoulders lessened and she lowered her head for a moment before sliding her muzzle beneath Sitri's. A little shift had her sitting close to him, leaning into his side as they looked out over the water together. "I'm glad," she spoke softly, her head on his shoulder. Just like that, that one little leap. She trusted him to help her figure all of this out. Together, they would figure it out.

"Dusk & Sitri"