#reply:wolf

[phantom-overdose]

“ i need a minute. “ Sage & Wolf

@southern-belle-outcasts comforting a lover after a nightmare

Wolf had been awake already- he didn't usually sleep long, especially at night when the sky was so clear and the moon was so bright. He watched it from the window, basking in it like it was warm sunshine.

But Sage did not seem to be having as nice of a night as he was. They had fallen asleep soon after their last round and seemed cozy and comfortable enough. Until a few hours later, anyway.

A nightmare. Wolf knew it immediately. He had them frequently, too, even if he was particularly adept at hiding that fact. His nightmares usually consisted of him being frozen in place, anyway, so he wasn't generally the type to thrash or shout or make a scene. Not like Sage had just done.

He knelt down at the side of the bed, hand gently resting on their thigh, looking up at them where they sat. "Are you okay?"

"I need a minute."

That was understandable. Whatever the dream, it must have been awful.

He moved from his spot beside the bed to join Sage, instead. He didn't want to touch them too much if they were opposed to it- sometimes the last thing he wanted after a nightmare, personally, was to be touched or held. He needed space. But he wasn't certain how Sage was, what they needed. All he could do was be there for them in whatever way would help.

"Do you want me to hold you?" He asked, more than happy to do so but not wanting to cross a line. "Tell me what I can do to help."

[phantom-overdose]

"I wasn’t supposed to feel this way about you." - Vivian / Wolf

@normallyxstranger

Wolf stayed leaning back against the wall, arms crossed as he watched her. He was trying not to be in her way physically, but he had a feeling he had been distracting her some with conversation.

A conversation which had, at first, started casual (and a bit flirtatious on Wolf's part because he couldn't seem to help himself), then soon grew into something more serious. Not tense, just... sincere.

"And what way would that be?" He asked, brow raised, playing a little dumb just to try to get her to say the words aloud. She'd been holding him at arms length for a very long time and he had played along with it to some degree. But he knew he wasn't the only one who felt something. Even so, he wouldn't force her to admit to it, just coax her towards the truth of it.

[phantom-overdose]

❝ have you been waiting for me to wake up, this whole time ? ❞ Sage & Wolf

@southern-belle-outcasts

"This whole time? No, no..." He insisted, waving a hand dismissively. He then reached up, lightly scratched at his temple with the side of his index finger, his hand cupped, the mannerism far too akin to a dog to be fully human.

"But I have been awake most of the night." And yet he still seemed so absolutely full of energy, a smile on his face as he stay crouched down by the fire, finishing cooking the bacon (his own was nearly raw, but he was sure to cook Sage's a little better).

"You miss all the best things if you sleep past sunrise," Like the passing of doe and her fawn. Or the bunny that hopped by in he underbrush. And the birds- oh, how beautifully they sang at the first rays of dawn peeking through the branches. He'd watched them take flight from their homes high up in the trees, out to start their day. A few lazier birds still straggled, of course, but that was the nature of things.

"But nevermind, that. How did you sleep?" He asked, pulling the frying pan off the fire and plating up the bacon on a nice, thick, roll he'd cut in half. A breakfast sandwich. He, personally, would have preferred the bacon without the bread... but they were running low on food and the bread was filling. So he made do. Wolf offered out the small tin plate to Sage. "There's a village nearby- half a day's walk. We'll stock up on supplies there, maybe stay the night, then head out in the morning?" He wasn't insisting on it, he was just offering an option. He thought it was a good plan, but perhaps Sage was too eager to reach her destination to want to extend their time that much longer...

[phantom-overdose]

"When have you ever known me to refuse a cup of tea?" Sage & Wolf

@southern-belle-outcasts

Wolf raised his right index finger and opened his mouth as if to speak. Then, he thought about it for a second before dropping the pose and humming. "You're right. I can't think of a single time you've refused a cup of tea."

And so he took the kettle off the fire and poured Sage their tea first, his own second. It wasn't some made up blend he'd bought at the market, nor even stolen from one. It was his own, personal, recipe... which had been the same thing his father always made when Wolf and his siblings were too restless and needed something to settle down.

"Drink up. Don't want it getting cold," Least of all when a chill was beginning to settle in as the moon rose higher into the early night sky.

[phantom-overdose]

“How bad is it?” “Do you want the honest answer or the comforting one?” Wolf & Sage (your pick who’s who)

@southern-belle-outcasts

"How bad is it?"

"Do you want the honest answer or the comforting one?"

Wolf wasn't sure, really. The comforting one would have made for a nice, non-concerning, conversation... but it would have been a lie. And he would have spent the next several hours concerned and wishing he had known the truth from the start. But the truth? He wasn't certain what that would entail and that gave him a different kind of anxiety. And, in tandem, a sort of pre-emptive anger that was generally unlike his usually cheery self.

All that aside, though, he'd asked because he really did want the truth. It didn't matter how it made him feel- he was not the one who was currently injured.

"Tell me," He said, voice heavy with concern, tinged slightly by that bit of aggression settling in his chest.

[phantom-overdose]

“I thought you were asleep.” Sage & Wolf

@southern-belle-outcasts

"Why would you think that?" Maybe because he'd been laying beside them with his eyes closed looking, probably, asleep. He'd been nearly there, though, in Sage's defense. Dozing off a bit. Wolf didn't sleep for long and, honestly, when left to his own devices he was more prone to short naps during the daylight hours. At night like this, he was usually much more wide awake. Chances were he would have done his usual- slept for an hour or two and then been up, pacing about, watching the rest of the world in its slumber, listening to the soft chatter of bugs. Then at the earliest moments of sunrise, he'd watch the birds stir and begin to take flight.

So while he had been about to nod off for a short stint- no, he had not been asleep yet. And he had most definitely heard the quiet, but very clear, "I love you".

"Say it again," He coaxed, voice soft, fingers trailing against Sage's cheek with a delicate touch. "I want to hear you say it again." This time while they were looking at him. Without hiding it. Without thinking it would go unheard. And then, when he knew with absolute certainty that he had heard them right, he'd be happy to finally say it back to Sage, too.

[phantom-overdose]

“You’re okay, just breathe for me.” Sage & Wolf

@southern-belle-outcasts

He did not like this. He very, very, much did not like this. This had not been an accident- it had been an attack.

The fire was only now dying down, having eaten away at the small cabin. The over grown flower bushes were ash now, and the two little apple trees, limbs heavy with fruit, were now barren and scorched black, likely dead despite the fact that their corpses remained standing.

And he and Sage were lucky to be alive and uninjured. But Wolf was not actually uninjured. No physical marks were left, perhaps, but he was very clearly not okay.

His breathing was rushed and labored, his jaw clenched so tight his teeth were sore. Each exhale was a low growl, trying to compose himself, trying to keep it together. But he'd almost been burned alive. Just like everyone he loved. It was the fate of a wolf.

Sage told him to breathe and he tried to. Tried to calm the trembling. Tried to catch his breath. They were alive. Sage was alive. That was what mattered most. Or was what mattered most finding who had done this?

"This is my fault," Voice still a growl, low and deep and angry. "Burn the wolf." Poked and prodded with pitchforks, then added to the pyre to be set alight. A living funeral. "This is my fault," Because he'd made enemies. Because humans were the enemy. And Sage had almost died right alongside him. They were not safe with him. Not really. Maybe they never would be.

[phantom-overdose]

"i think i'm in love with you... a little bit... or maybe... a lot" - Vivian / Wolf

@normallyxstranger

They'd been together for a while in every way but adopting the actual label. Maybe that was because boyfriend-girlfriend sounded too childish. And the term "lovers" had been bastardized into something more casual than it really was. So what, then, did that make them? And why was her admission such a surprise? Because Wolf was used to being the one who loved, never the one who was loved...

Wolf approached Vivian with slow steps, as if afraid to break the tension that was settled here between them. Like he might spook her, make her run away, if he wasn't at least slightly cautious.

"You love me?" He asked. Then rephrased it to be more precise. "You're in love with me?"

When he was close enough, he swallowed back his nerves, reached out with the intent of touching her but stopped short. "Are you sure?" What if she changed her mind in these last few seconds? Or what if she was joking? And what if she did love him? What then? Would he lose her, too, the way he'd lost his family? Was love something a bad wolf like him was not meant to have? Back home, back where he had come from, he had been certain he was one of the "villains" doomed to never get his happily ever after. He'd been so convinced of it. But could things be different here?

"I'm in love with you, too," He admitted, though still with that bit of hesitance, his mouth dry. But he was finding his footing again as he spoke. Maybe he had done enough good to atone for the bad. Maybe he would be rewarded with a happy ending. And maybe that meant getting a long, loving, life with Vivian. (A wolf could dream, right?) "Very, very, much so."