Recluse Ithuriel-Klein Recluse had laid the pups down to bed, Eraithus was still out doing whatever it was he got up to in his free time and now that her duties had been taken care of she was left alone with her thoughts. The sun would soon be peeking above the horizon but she wasn't quite ready for bed, instead, she settled herself down on a divot in the stone, feeling the warmth of the stone through her toes. The woman sighed, closing her eyes and just taking a moment to breathe. Slowly light crept above the horizon and the woman still did not rise, some part of her wanted to feel the warmth of the sun, at least a tiny bit before she got a sunburn. It was beautiful, some part of her did wish she could live under the light of the sun. "Speech"

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A PILLAR FOR ALL

He was a being who lived in the light and dark. Eraithus moved and swayed with the shadows and the light. Some days he slept through some nights he did too, it was forever changing and forever taking in the world around him. Habari was his home a place he didn't think ever would, somehow he was greatfull he pushed to lirim in his grief. It almost felt as if it was fate. The wolves here they were his family his friends. The packs soldiers the packs spies, he wanted them all too succeed. So on the days he was awake when the sun rose he patrolled the borders and hunted for the pack. With a rather fat rabbit in his jaws he'd been just been passing the den when he spotted her in the early morning light. He didn't know what it was like for the sun to harm him, but the night he considered was such a more beautiful place than the day. "Cant sleep?" he said softly as he dropped the rabbit at his paws.

Eraithus looked at the sunrise before turning back to her with a smile. "I found a cave not far from here you know, its wide enough for five wolves but its got a gaping hole in the mountainside. Plenty to watch the sun rise." he'd wanted to surprise her, but he was sure a packmate had discovered it before him. The volcano was ever changing with it so recently been erupted. When he arrived here it had still been blackened by soot. Now it was a home for their people. "Share breakfast with me and we can invite whoever we see on the way?" he was hoping she would agree. These were the moments he longed for.

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Recluse Ithuriel-Klein Eraithus' approach wasn't missed on her but the woman wasn't really concerned by his presence, she shuffled slightly to show she heard him but otherwise didn't react too strongly. He dropped a rabbit and asked her a question, Recluse hummed softly. "Sort of? I guess I wanted to see and feel the sun if only for a little bit." He continued to speak and Recluse turned her gaze towards him, watching him as words fell from his lips, Recluse was struck, not for the first time, just how much she loved this man. Love. It was not a term she was overly familiar with, she'd learned what it had really meant when she'd first held her children, and now she was learning there was still new meanings to it, the love she felt for the blue man was different but no less real. She slowly rose to her paws, stretching each of her limbs. She moved towards the man, pushing into him before turning around to stand parallel to him. "Or we could make it a date." She said softly, gently pushing her nose along his cheeks and breathing in his scent. They got such little time to share with each other alone and she'd be loath to give that up. "Speech"

Art by Sirinsong

A PILLAR FOR ALL

Everything about her had taken him off his feet. From the moment he met her to this moment now, Recluse was still a wolf he knew a lot but also little about. Her family, her views, he wanted them to be his own meshed. Eraithus heart hammered against his chest as the white wraith touched him. Sending sparks of warmth into his fur, it took everything in him not to hold his breath. A date? He grinned and pushed his nose into her cheek. Letting their warmth and scents mingle. "A date it is my miss." he chuckled. It was true between her duties, her children, and everything else the moments they spent together were weeks apart. Though now that they shared a den he hoped that would change.

"Just this way its not a long walk." Eraithus gestured with his head up the rigged path. He grabbed the rabbit and made sure Recluse could get comfortable. Watching the sunrise with his first love? A childish thrill moved though him. He let his paws carry him not long until they reached a small crack in the mountain. On closer inspection it was big enough for even a dire to get through. He squeezed in and popped out on the other side before putting the rabbit down. The coolness of the dark eased him and above him a glistening view of the horizon before them. "Here my love." He pushed the rabbit towards her.

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Recluse Ithuriel-Klein Recluse mmmm'd happily as he agreed to her date, the woman would let him lead the way, it was still easier to follow him, his shape a little blurry in the light but easy enough to pick out still. True to his word the walk was not that long and soon she was squeezing into the stone behind him, Recluse had a brief vision of lava opening up in front of her but trusted Eraithus, which certainly would have taught her not to trust again though. Luckily her trust had not been misplaced and the man's words were proven true. She settled herself upon the stone, gently sliding up beside the blue man and after he offered the rabbit taking a few bites. "This is lovely." She said softly, tilting her head to the side to rest it on her soon-to-be husband's shoulder. Two parts of the woman were at war, one part of her wanted to simply sit in silence, enjoy the feeling of her man at her side and another part of her wanted to bombard him with questions about himself, the way a curious child does. Damn he really did something weird to her. "Speech"

Art by Sirinsong

A PILLAR FOR ALL

The coolness of the cave was disrupted by the wraiths warmth. He watched her eat his paws planted in the stone. Eraithus just wanted to remain here. He and Recluse could cuddle underneath the small window to the sky for hours. He felt her fur against his, the wraiths warmth making what it felt like his heart swell. "Now you can use it for whatever you like. Secret getaways, a den, an altar." he suggested. The cavern in the mountain seemed a fitting place for spies and others to exchange info away from prying eyes. This... wasnt why he brought her though.

"What were your parents like?" He ventured then. Just as much as she was curious he was too, but he was open about his past. Eraithus knew many were guarded about their pasts. He didnt want to intrude on her mind unless she wanted him to.

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Recluse Ithuriel-Klein Recluse considered his words, her gaze roving over the cave. "If I moved our den here once the kids are old enough to get their own dens would you be amenable to that?" It would be a nice place to raise the next branch of the family, and if they ever added more lovers to their lives they would want more space anyways, not that Recluse was sure if that would happen. Eraithus' question reached her and Recluse sighed, shifting on her stomach slightly so that she was more comfortable. "They have better served me as an example of what not to do with my own children, than as my own parents." The woman turned her gaze towards the sky above them, leaning slightly towards him, wanting the comfort of his touch as she allowed herself to open up slightly. "In hindsight, I don't think they ever intended to be bad parents, but they were." She shrugged, the hatred she'd felt for her parents had dulled into a background simmer in the last few years, though she still had no desire to ever see them again. "There was a brief period when I was young when we had a nice, almost normal life. My parents, my siblings, hell we even had friends our age. But it all collapsed one day, I still don't really know what happened but my mother took my brother and left, abandoning me and my sister. And my dad? I don't know where he went, evidently off to fuck some other woman and have new kids to replace the ones he'd left behind to starve." That was not hyperbole, Recluse had nearly died of starvation at the time. If not for Tyranis she'd have died in that den, much as she disliked the man she could not deny he'd done her a service in saving her that day. "Eventually my father found me and took me back to our family's pack but he never stayed. He would come into my life only to disappear again." Her voice got softer. "It fucked me up for a long time, I vowed I would never let my children doubt if they were loved." Recluse fell silent then, her eyes closing but taking the time to just enjoy being close to another wolf, to finally letting it all exist in the open. "Speech"

Art by Sirinsong

A PILLAR FOR ALL

Make this their den? It was well hidden and it would allow Recluse to see the sun and sky safely. The caverns embrace was cool probably warmer in the winter not to mention with the heat of the volcano. It was also true, considering who he was and who she was. This would be a wonderful place to bring a family of any kind. Eraithus smiled nodding his head. "Where you want to go I will." he mused for a moment. He valued his independence but around her. Recluse made him feel whole where he thought he was in pieces. As she opened up about her family though he listened. Occasionally he would nod his head to let her know he was listening. So she was breaking the cycle. Eraithus knew she didn't need to hear it but he wanted to say it. "You're a great mother, any wolf who says otherwise might want to take a second look." it was true. She was dedicated and she allowed her children to grow with space and freedom. They knew what it was to be strong. Eraithus pulled her close, his blue head pressed against her fur.

"I cant say the same for my parents. I was born in a desert valley pack. My fathers and mothers were all present when me and my brother and sister were born. Births were rare because of the harsh conditions. I'm not even sure who my birth father was." he laughed. After all they could have lied to him and he still wouldn't have cared. "I have two fathers and two mothers, it was normal and with my fathers being the pack alphas me and my siblings were trained to be the next heirs." It hurt to speak of them. "My family wasn't aware that i cruelly enjoyed fighting though. They thought i was a good sport. I let a pack mate die on a hunt when i first became enthralled with wolfs blood." It really wasn't too much of a woe story. Eraithus considered his childhood... normal, for the most part. "Me and my siblings left home when we turned two. With the intention of carrying our genes to farther shores. Lots of suitors turned us down because of our lack of monogamy. A storm came and well... i saw traces of my siblings on Boreas when we washed up on obsidian beach but, I've never seen them since." He missed Neracus heavy set laugh, his sisters wisdom and ease. They were his best friends. He had done his mourning in Lirim before Recluse took over. Eraithus gave Recluse a lick on her head. Letting her fur ruffle under his tongue.

"I wouldn't change any of it. I met you, my first wife to be and love. I learned to accept myself and do better I know if they saw me now they would be proud." the man sank a little. His heart was thumping heat pulsing in him. Recluse own body and flesh, he knew he would never stop loving her. "I want to build a future with you, with any partners you seem to deem fit, any youth you want to raise. Habari is my home and so are you." He at least could give her that peace of mind. If he conveyed his feelings correctly.

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