It was curiousity that drew her from the emerald green fields and peaceful herds, and it was curiousity that had led her to yet another unpleasant place.

She had crossed the river in search of earthsmoke, which would be invaluable in the remaining summer months she reckoned. Sunburns could be a pain, she knew that from experience, and she anticipated the familiar irritating pain to grace her white muzzle soon after she left the harsh desert. It was surprising to think that just beyond the river lied such a harsh and unforgiving landscape, the dunes were leagues different from the sunny paradise of the farmlands. She was starting to miss the sheep already.

The young red marked man wasn’t sure what to do with himself. His father had found Lachlan’s mother and brother but to get them back he had to give up their pack. Lachlan had mixed feelings about it all, mostly about how unfair everything was. Life in general. He was a disgruntled wreck.

Some things never changed though, and the boy found his paws endlessly restless. He loped over the sand as though he were at home, though the western lands wouldn’t be his home for much longer. He wouldn’t have a home.

Those thoughts plagued him as he went, both eager to be reunited with his mother and sibling as much as he dreaded saying goodbye to Lirim. Thankfully they were interrupted by a familiar form. Slightly stunned Lachlan froze. He’d tried to suppress that night as much as possible, but she was making it hard.

With her eyes busy scanning the surroundings for the purple flower, it took her a while to realise she had company. She turned shifted her gaze from the shifting sands to look at the stranger, and was struck with the unshakeable feeling of deja vu. Where had she seen this man before?

And then it hit her. The party.

It was something she also tried to forget. She made many a decision, many of them bad, and even briefly recalling the events brung a hot flush of shame, embarassment, and something else that she wouldn't adress. And now those mistakes were rushing back to her as she beheld the masked stranger. What was more terrifying is that she couldn't remember what they'd done, the most she could remember was something about bears. Maybe it'd be best not recall.

"Hello again! How are you?" She said, optimistic but uncertain. Maybe this was her opportunity to right past wrongs. Ideally he wouldn't be able to remember them, but she had a feeling he would be able to remember a lot more about that night than she could.

She seemed much more sane not being completely liquored up at least. Deep red ears perked as her voice carried across the sandy dunes towards him, remembering him as well as he remembered her. Or not. The two of them had enjoyed a time in the ocean, and he remembered his arms around her shoulders and getting hot… His cheeks flushed, thankfully she wouldn’t notice with the color of his fur.

”Hey.” He called back timidly, not sure if he even wanted to engage with her again. He was getting very uncomfortable flashbacks to their time spent together. ”Not great, honestly.” Lachlan shrugged and looked away. ”Hope you’re doing… better.” And not having relations with outside species. Where had that thought come from?

Abby felt a sinking feeling as she realised no matter how she handled this, the conversation would be awkward as all hell. Actually, any conversation to do with the party would probably be awkward as all hell. She thought of the many other wolves who went, and wondered if they regretted the night the same way she did.

She pondered his words a bit. 'Hope you're doing better.' Truth was, she had no idea if she was. Had she peaked that night? Was that the best she'd ever feel, or the least annoying she'd ever be? The thought was depressing and terrifying.

Desperate to fill the awful silence, she spoke again. "What's troubling you?" She started walking closer as she spoke, it would probably do some good if they weren't yelling at eachother from across the desert.

Lachlan still didn’t know if he regretted the night or not, he couldn’t remember most of it still but there were mixed feelings he was worried about exploring. He didn’t really want to here and now anyway, not with everything looming over his head. Firstly was the disbandment of his pack, the place he’d grown up. Where his grandmother(?) had founded for her family. It was going to be gone.

He knew he could find a place in Valhalla, and he’d go and be with his family for a while, but whenever he was with that part of the family he felt stifled. He couldn’t live there. Mostly, his future was uncertain. Abby approached him, and Lachlan sighed as he helped to close the distance between them. If they were going to talk it was better off if they were closer together.

”Just everything.” He chuckled softly, it was a sad sound. ”I’m about to get my mom and brother back, but it’s in exchange for my home.” Lachlan didn’t know why he was telling her this, maybe it was because they had seen each other at their worst (best?) and that had opened him up to her.

Abby's brow furrowed, and her gaze softened in sympathy. Some things she had trouble relating too, small and petty issues that she tried her best to nod along and pretend to understand. The loss of shelter was something that tugged at her heart too much to block out. Maybe she would never be able to relate, being someone who had run away from home rather then have it forcibly taken away from her, but she'd try her best to make the boy feel better about it.
"That's horrible." She wished she could say more, but what on earth could she say? She let them stand in silence for a moment before she thought of a response. Maybe it'd help most to open up as well, wallow in vulnerability. But what had she experienced in the past that came even remotely close? The silence grew louder.

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help? I can offer you a place to stay if you need one." She'd only joined Fireside a few days ago and she knew it wouldnt be a good look to drag every homeless or soon to be homeless man into their ranks, but surely the higher ups would make an exception at least once.

He shook his head, grit his teeth, and looked up to the sky with desperation. His world was crumbling and he didn’t know what to do about it. His mom and brother were slaves and he didn’t want to stay with them. Was he selfish? Lachlan blinked back his emotions and returned his baby blue eyes to Abilene’s bright face. She looked sympathetic, but he didn’t feel like she really understood his strife. That was alright though, he’d still appreciate her listening to him and commiserating.

Lachlan took in a deep breath, he’d be alright and he’d make it through. ”Yeah, it sucks. I can’t do anything about it.. being helpless is the worst part.” He huffed lightly but looked back to her as she offered up a place for him to stay. ”Maybe I’ll come find you. I’ve still got a little time left.” He shrugged as he got a hold of himself. This wasn’t the end of the world, but losing Lirim was sad.

the tri-colour girl winced at his first words with a little more than sympathy. Helplessness was something she was painfully familiar with. The very concept, the theory that anyone else could feel as small as her, was enough to make her crumble. This was her burden to bear, not anyone else's, and certainly not this polite young man's. She made an effort to repress the response, but it was difficult.

She moved to sit with her belly on the sand, in anticipation of a longer conversation.
"It often is." She murmured in response to his first remark, looking to her right for a moment so he wouldn't see her barely fighting back tears, and she returned her eyes to find that he was doing the same, at least she assumed so. "You can cry if you need to. You're not failing anyone if you do." A sentiment that she refused to apply to herself.

Lachlan sighed heavily as he tried to relax in Abby’s presence, she might not have understood but she sympathized and empathized with the young man. He had support in this near stranger and he appreciated her for it. Maybe they hadn’t been able to get too close at the party, not part of it because he was a drunk. Meeting her again here and now gave him encouragement. Life would go on, and there were wolves out here that he could seek out for an outside opinion. Wolves like abby and Tyrian.

Thoughts of the slate man were sudden and brought him falling into emotion once again. He’d felt so special and safe that night, and thinking about him now brought feelings he wasn’t really ready to explore. That one night had been so intense, and he didn’t even think he’d ever see Tyr again. Better to put him from his mind and enjoy the support from Abilene.

”I shouldn’t.” He returned softly. He needed to corral his courage and show the world that he was stronger. Lahclan’s attention returned to her, and she didn’t hide her welling tears very well. ”You know you can cry if you need to.” Lach whispered softly as he scooted closer and lay sphynx like beside her.

Lachlan drew closer and Abby had a sudden flashback to... something. All that she really remembered was the buzzing within her brain and a blurry image of her forcifully hugging the poor boy. Along with the fact that he had given her permission to cry was enough to remind her that this conversation was quite strange. While she didn't fully breakdown like the sad, overheated, clump of fur she felt like, she let a few tears run freely.

She laughed at the absurdity of it all. "well, shit." She swore, something not entirely alien for her but certainly not common either. She took a moment, letting her complicated feelings flow from her tear ducts. "Look, if I'm gonna cry, you have to as well." She spoke with a joking tone, gently pushing the man with a white paw. An effort to cleanse the environment of the tension that came with vulnerability.

Maybe it'd ease further if she knew the boy she was talking to, or what she'd done to him in the foggy past. "I don't even remember your name." An invitation more than a statement. She then posed a more tentative, possibly bad question. "What do you remember from that night?"

Lachlan leaned against her but he didn’t stare at her face, he’d give her the privacy she deserved in that regard. He didn’t notice the tears that escaped her eyes but he could feel them in the way she shifted. She stiffened and relaxed in different intervals and Lachlan tried to read her like he read the land. Maybe he wasn’t as good as he thought he was, Lachlan returned his gaze to her as she chuckled, but he could see the faint trail of moisture down her cheek.

He shrugged lightly in response, ”I could but it wouldn’t help anything.” He tried to grin to reassure her as she brought up the not so distant past. ”Lachlan,” he told her softly. ”Abby right?” He scrunched his features slightly before she asked him about that night. It wasn’t her fault that Tyrian suddenly encompassed his mind. Lachlan shook his head lightly as he dislodged those memories. That wasn’t what she asked about, and Lach hadn’t told anyone about the close to his night.

”He… I mean. We.” What what? ”Cuddled on the beach, then I got really hot and we swam in the ocean.” He stared at her a little harder, wondering now even more what she’d been saying when they’d met had been ramblings. ”Did you really…” He scrunched up his face again. ”You said you ‘fucked a bear?”

[ooc: can’t tag you right now, will do when I get home]

Abby appreciated the support Lachlan gave, both emotionally and physically, the poor girl was growing quite tired. It felt nice to have a friend, a proper friend, not just another friendly acquaintance. She made note to remember his name this time. She nodded as he asked for hers, or asked confirmation that the name was hers. She felt a bit embarrassed that she hadn’t remembered the first time, but little did she know the feeling would get worse.

She looked at him, brows furrowed, and responded to his first statement. “And my tears are somehow more important? You have every right. Screw helping, do it for yourself.” Of course, maybe he just couldn’t cry right now, but Abby’d make sure he would if he could.

Her frown only deepened, though it shifted to confusion rather than doubt. “I remember the sea. Don’t remember seeing any bears, there were some bear-like men.” And then it clicked, and she remembered her encounters. She stiffened, swamped in memories she didn’t want to think about right now. Unfortunately, she had no red markings to hide the profuse blushing as she stared straight forward at nothing, as if trying to forget again.

Lachlan had been a whole lot less drunk than Abby when they’d first met that fateful night. He didn’t hold her forgetting his name against her in the least. Maybe he wouldn’t have remembered hers if she hadn’t made such an interesting impression. Or maybe he was better with names than he thought. It didn’t matter though, Abilene went on to tell him it was his right to cry and he should do it for himself.

”But maybe everything will turn alright in the end. One tunnel collapsing makes for a great new escape tunnel or something.” He couldn't remember the saying anyway. He wasn’t sure what to say as he seemed to bring back some ugly memories and he could guess what she’d been through. His own memories were more vibrant than he wanted maybe, but they were good. He didn’t regret meeting Tyrian, but he still wasn’t sure how to process the feelings he had about those memories.

He leaned against her a little more heavily, he offered a small smile but he didn’t put his eyes to her, he could feel the tension in her body. ”Yeah. There were.” He didn’t want to agree too heavily, but Tyrian was a tall man. Russet ears fell to his skull as his own blush tinged at white fur.

The memories weren't exactly crystal clear in Abby's head still, but they had cleared just enough for her to put 2 and 2 together and get really uncomfortable at the result. Were they truly unpleasant experiences to remember, or were they just happy memories recalled at the wrong time? It felt like she'd just given something important at the drop of a dime, stricken with sudden impatience that she worried had ruined something she couldn't see yet. Had it really been worth the rush?

These were difficult questions that she wasn't quite difficult to answer, so she returned to the conversation at hand. "It's not about the future right now. Just... cry now and feel better later. Unless you don't want to. I just feel weird being the only one." She reassured awkwardly, familiar uncertainty returning to her tone. She was very aware of his last comment and the blush it drew to his face, leaving a slight amused smile on her own. She wouldn't comment on it though, better to keep their "experiences" with bear-men secret.

Lachlan did not regret the night, in the morning he felt bad about leaving Aryn on her own but meeting Tyrian was a highlight that still warmed his belly if he dwelled on the memory for long. Was Tyrian out there thinking about him? Lach’s insecurities had quickly returned as the hangover obliterated any peace he’d gained the night before. The fanged wolf probably had much better memories of the night to dwell on. Lachlan tried to do the same, the more he dwelled the worse he’d feel.

Though he felt himself getting closer to those tears Abby had talked about. Suddenly life was so much more rocky and unstable. He had no idea what the future would hold and with everything going on her suddenly felt very lost. She didn’t want to cry alone, and Lachlan wouldn’t make her.

With a sigh he leaned his head against her and tears pricked at his eyes. There were so many emotions floating inside, and he hadn’t realized how good it would feel when he finally let them out. He wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to see him like this, but Abby felt safe. ”You’re not.” He spoke softly, glad to have someone so understanding beside him. He had been a little reluctant to talk, but he was glad they’d run into one another again.

At last, Abby got what she asked for as she glanced at him to see what she assumed to be welling tears. It was, admittedly, a little weird to be so relieved at making someone cry, but she was certain that he needed it. He leaned against her, and the mottled girl realised how often awkwardness and emotional intimacy tended to intertwine. She'd safely catergorise the past few minutes as agonising and confusing, but as Lachlan and her sat in the warm quiet she found herself enjoying the moment, though the word enjoyment felt shallow. The feeling was hard to describe, so she didn't. She settled with a simple 'This is nice.' And it was.

She wouldn't disturb the moment, interrupt the calm. It was fine as it was. She felt that all she needed to say had been said, so she decided not to waste anymore words.

-end?-