illae, any

[Ruan]

Ruan

She turned her face away and he could sense the broken part of her, the emptiness. His brows tightened further in concern, wishing he could right all the wrongs done to her. Much too young for this amount of anguish. When she turned back to them at his soft touch, her pretty face was damp with tears. Her whisper barely reached him, but it was enough.

A large wing sheltered her as his black cheek brushed her tears away, curled around her and pulled her safely in as he had with his daughters before her. Security, love, acceptance. Another heartbeat for their dear forest.

Come. I think you will like it. He smiled warmly, then turned it on to his precious golden girl. You will make sure she is happy and cared for, won't you, little sun? Heda had become the diplomat today, and would bring home a heart to tend to. This was her accomplishment, her success, and her responsibility. She only needed to be certain Illae was made comfortable, their forest and family would do the rest.

*****

Illae.
He greeted her with a rare smile, trying not to think on how much he'd changed since the day she came home. His wings were gone, ripped from his flesh with scars in their place. His eyes were bluer and brighter, magic once more pulsing through his blood. He had become more aloof, standoffish, cold. But Illae received his warmth, buried in a special place in his heart for his porcelain doll.

He strode up to her and the affection for her came easily, his face burying into her neck.

I've been gone, I'm sorry, he apologized, his voice strained with guilt. He'd been through so much in such a short time, but he still should have made time to check on her, look after her. How are you? Are you ok? Is there anything I can do for you?

His need to see her happy was genuine. Whether she considered herself a daughter or just another resident, he wasn't sure, but he knew he loved her and her happiness was gravely important to him.

@[Illae]
ooc: sooo he's been through a lot since our field thread xD I hope this little time jump is ok and not too confusing! <33  Also, he's apparently a little attached to her :| sorrynotsorry

[Illae]

Illae placed it down gently, nestling the semi wilted stem into earth and pine needles. The damp coldness of winter had made it soggy, but the dusky red petals were still bright and alive enough to stand out against the forest floor it lay upon. It was a small token really, but it marked the great redwood she had slept and dreamed beneath from the first night Ruan and Heda had brought her to Taiga. You are my spot amongst all this wildness, she thought as she nudged delicately at the petals, spreading them just so in what she hoped resembled its original form. “Hmm,” she mused aloud, she would need to find more of them, perhaps enough to make a ring if they would stay put.

“Illae.”

With a start, she whirled around to face him as if she had been caught handling something sacred. It was out of habit that her eyes rounded uncertainly with fear, and habit too that she used her pale body to shield the pretty red flower away from him. Her mother would have marked her body with aches that would’ve persisted for days for squandering her time on pretty things. Yet the warm ease of his smile was enough to reminded her that Ruan was not her mother. And in a heartbeat her defences fell and she drifted towards him, finding again that familiar sanctuary at his touch she had become accustomed to. From the day Ruan had pulled her into the protected harbour of his great wing, she had learnt what it meant to feel safe.

As she had done from afar on other days, she eyed his scars and the change in him. One day she would have the courage to ask what had become of him away from Taiga, but it would not be this day. Beneath the scars, behind his eyes of ice, he was still Ruan, his protective affection of them all had always spelled that clear. She bumped her muzzle against the flesh at his throat, and felt the gentle vibration of his words before they became real, noting the guilt in his voice, though unable to comprehend it.

“It’s ok.” She murmured softly into the cosy warmth of his skin, before lifting her brown eyes to find his. Once they had been puffy with tears, now they gleamed with an inkling of something more bright. Curiosity perhaps? Wonder? It was all unbeknown to her of course. Though there was an aliveness that radiated from her flesh that had been absent before.

“I’ve been busy. Look…” Her delight evident as she peeled away from him and drifted back to the large redwood she had marked with the tiny red flower, her home within a home. She leaned down to touch it, the gentle caress of her breath was strong enough to disorganise some of the petals she had so meticulously arranged before. Illae sighed, though her mood didn’t dampen. “I want to find more of them, but I fear it is still too cold.” And she glanced back at Ruan, regarding him with a childish look one gives when they have a problem that demands fixing.

it's perfect :-D i've just pretended she's been here for a little while and done some growing of her own.

[Ruan]

Ruan

She startled at his voice, and he immediately felt bad for surprising her. There was an instance of fear in her eyes he didn't like as she stepped to shield whatever was behind her. Foul memories from her past still haunted her. But her defense was swiftly swept away and her delicate figure approached him in easy familiarity. His smile for her remained, though his eyes darkened just a shade as her pretty eyes snagged on the scars at his sides.

"It's ok," she said into his skin, melting the tension in his body. "I've been busy. Look..." He grinned at her childlike wonder as she pulled away to show him what she'd been hiding before. They stood at the very tree he'd placed her at to rest the first night she came home, and there at it's base was a small, red flower. Her breath ruffled it's placement and she sighed. "I want to find more of them, but I fear it is still too cold."

He smiled warmly and stepped back in to place at her side, dark muzzle resting at her nape just behind her ear. Yes, you're probably right. But it will warm again soon, his voice rumbled smoothly. He took a moment to breathe her comforting fragrance, something sweet and floral like a calming lavender, and when he stepped back again there were a number of identical flowers circling the base; ice-blue instead of red. Not so many that the ground would become soggy when they eventually melted, but enough to come full circle with her red one proudly at the center.

Maybe that will do for now? he asked softly.
And in the spring, we can look for more if you like.