hold me closer

It was two nights before they left for Duskguard, the delegation probably all doing their own individual things. Tallulah found her sleep growing more restless as time stretched on. Foreboding entered her thoughts. The Trial loomed over her mind, like a dark cloud. She twisted, turned, and finally huffed. She could not sleep. The den occupied by her had a stash of various objects — two specifically. The bandana of blue and the leather hat. She stared at them briefly through tired, hooded eyes before rising.

Exiting her residence, she began to walk. Toward the lake, specifically. The sky drizzled a bit, no pouring rain, but it still refreshed her. She girlishly stuck her tongue out, catching raindrops. However, she stopped dead seeing @Nikolai sleeping almost soundly in the open by the lake. There was no way he had been sleeping out here all this time, surely? Nobody mentioned it. She didn't know, as they shared separate dens... Or so she thought. Had he really not claimed an available den?

"Nick" she said softly, drawing closer to her boyfriend. The woman bent her head, drawing her muzzle carefully across his brow to try and rouse him. He seemed deep in dreamland.

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It only made sense to him when he'd spent the entirety of his life all out in the open, always blanketed in moonlight, enshrouded in the darkness; he slumbered well by the lake, too, hearing the chatter of bugs and frogs and the infrequent passerby in the night. It allowed for him to hear any creatures who strayed close to the border, or hear the call of anyone who resided in one of the dens around. This would be why Nikolai didn't show any interest in denning as the wolves did around him.

With a routine of normalcy to him by now, when Nikolai heard another approach, expecting it to be simply a member passing through on some nightly endeavor...

His whiskers merely twitched, mind reacting in delay with the familiarity of the scent and presence before him it took a moment to truly grasp that this wasn't usual. Nikolai blinked, whuffing a little as he found the blur of her muzzle in his peripheral. "Hey, Darlin'," he drawled, voice low and rasped with grogginess. "Bit late for a stroll, ain't it?"

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Tallulah's short whiskers twitched in amusement. She stepped back after offering affection, raising a brow down at him. She eventually huffed, half exhaustion and half humor. "A little wet t' be sleepin' in the rain, eh?" she shot back. She didn't want him to feel bad about his choices, but to her knowledge, Harper had enough to deal with without Nick catching an awful chill and cold. He could get sick. "why ain't ya at..." your den, she wanted to say. But he spoke so naturally that she felt it was normal for him "ya haven't been sleepin' in the open all this time, have ya?"

She looked a bit shocked, resisting the urge to curl around him. To keep him warm. His fur was shorter than her own. She worried now, even if they came from similar backgrounds. Tallulah knew he could handle himself if a predator came along, but that wasn't why she was concerned. Sickness, even a sniffle, could put a damper on Nick's seriousness concerning his work. But she didn't want to mother him at all. So she made a tactical decision. "I cannae sleep" she ventured "I had a nightmare" She realized how childish that sounded, but it wasn't that far from the truth "thought a stroll would do me good."

Her nightmares had been waking anxiety. "Guess I feel... uneasy. Wit' everything about to happen. Can I stick here with ya?" she asked him. If the man was concerned about her catching a cold, she could easily maneuver and ask him something else. Drag him back by his ear if she must.

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He blinked a little more, ridding his lashes of the droplets clinging to them. For the instant it was offered, he leaned into her touch before adjusting himself. A little wet? Well, he didn't think so—he'd endured fiercer storms than a little persistent downpour, so he stretched out his forelimbs and yawned wide. "I've slept wetter," he said, his voice intertwined with a rough chuckle, ears twitching only a smidge. "Sure have, this is the best spot I've found 'round 'ere; right near the border, hear everythin' and everyone that passes."

It had yet to occur to him there was such a thing as downtime. Each second of each day was simply another he used to perform his tasks, even flitting amongst the pups or tearing at a meal, Nikolai rarely went without keeping a pricked ear on the surroundings.

Nikolai glanced up at her, narrowing his eyes to avoid the brief sting of drops hitting them. "They always do me good, keeps the body from feelin' the fright of it all for longer than it has to," he said to her, utterly oblivious to the contradiction in his following words, tail thumping the earth once. "Ya' know I'm always happy for yer company but the weather's a bit... well, not the easiest to rest in for most—why don't ya' let me walk ya' back to yer den? Ya' can tell me 'bout what's ailin' ya'... or not, I'll be 'round ya' all quiet if ya' prefer it." With that, Nikolai made the move to sit upright, fur soaked surely as he shook it out a little.

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Success.

He was more concerned about her than himself, readily offering to walk her back instead of sitting in the rain. She would have said nothing about his sleeping arrangements, though did tilt her head somewhat. Her own den was further toward the border, parked right outside a few spaces between the scent line. He didn't seem to know where it was or was too sleepy from his roused sleep. "Okay." She agreed, dipping her head.

She breaks away to lead him back, amazed her little 'trick' worked. She wasn't the type to manipulate others, and she didn't consider it manipulation at the core. She was just worried about his health, and if it took him worried about her health to get him moving... It'd do for now. Nick would learn how to adjust to downtime, just like Tallulah had. It took time. She understood this. The woman slowed her pace somewhat so they walked as equals, not her leading him.

Her wet slick fur brushed against his own. "I had a dream I was in t' dark. A big bolt of light flashed in my vision" Thankfully, she had been having this dream when she slept. It was not a lie "could feel eyes on me when it did, but I couldn't see anyone around. I called out, but no one answered. Even t' light wasn't there anymore. I was alone, in t' dark. Felt suffocated. Like it was swallowin' me up" She shuddered "that's when I wake up." Alone, in her den. Shaking and unnerved.

The trek back to her den wasn't a great distance. The location was huddled away near the end of the mountain's surface, a crack in the stone. It opened a fair amount and was spacious within. She turned to face Nick as they no doubt would stop. The trees above their heads sheltered them from most of the rain. "I ain't like Valeska... nor Amaranth" she admits "but I think it's an omen." She frowned, wondering what Nick thought of it.

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Nikolai followed after her, wordlessly where exhaustion still tried to tug on him a little but his usual bull-headedness kept him moving on, pressing close to her side when she met his, and listening to her as she spoke. Now, he hadn't been around the likes of Valeska for long but he found himself becoming rather devoted to the practices and beliefs she taught him; each little thing he took in stride, but it was his encounter with the Five that his leader had so graciously assisted him in that brought him to understanding the world around them a little better (in his eyes)—even more so the things most brush aside, while not everything had intense meaning, everything did have a little bit of truth laden into it, something to remember and hold on to, not in fear but with caution.

He'd bring them to a slow stop, finding shelter in the thick covering of tree leaves above. Nikolai would look to her, squinting a little bit as every now and then a few droplets would fall and plink into his eyes. More alert now, he'd note her den wasn't far from here but it felt inconsiderate to not allow this topic the moment it deserved.

"If what I've learned from Valeska has done shown me somethin'... it's this," he said to her, voice still riddled by grogginess though it was clear he had steadied himself a little more. "...the Five are in an'of everythin'... an' even if ya' don't think of them like Valeska, Amaranth... even myself I reckon—they can still touch ya' in ways; I ain't gon' pretend to be able to tell ya' what it means exactly but I do think it's somethin' worth takin' note of."

Nikolai knew what he saw when he'd partaken of the root was only understandable by him, perhaps this was the same, but even if he couldn't give her all the answers he wished to... he could give her his company and his reassurance. "Do you reckon it's somethin' 'bout the trial specifically?"

Thunder struck then, a roar that shook the world as lightning flashed, crackling and electrifying the air.

Nikolai would nudge her a little, toward the den. "C'mon, let's get outta the rain an' all."

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Despite the heavy situation she could not help but chuckle a bit. "Valeska convertin' ya already, I see?" It was a joke because she knew their leader would not forcefully convert anyone to the Five. Nick asked if it meant anything about the Trial. She sighed briefly, shaking her head. "Maybe. Could be a dream bout things to come, or could be me own anxiety." She did not 'channel' Vendrussel, nor even see her in her mind's eye. That would all change in the coming weeks and at the Trial itself. Her tune could change.

Before either of them could speak, electricity broke into the sky. It illuminated the world around them, causing Tallulah to stare openly in almost near shock and awe. Almost as if the Five were agreeing with Nick's words. His coaxing made her start. "Yeah, Yeah, of course" she agrees with a weak, awkward chuckle, heading into the den. It was spacious inside, thank goodness. Nick was larger than her but even he could fit comfortably inside. "did I ever show ya?" she asked, staring at the hat and bandana "I came here wit' these on." The leather cowboy hat and the blue scarf still intact.

"Ya can look at 'em if ya want" she invites "but ah welcome t' me den."

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He laughed a little. Nikolai knew they were both from similar backgrounds, that the life of logic and the simplicity of everyday life, the concept of religion a foreign concept so it made sense, he reckoned, that it would be more than a little odd that in his short time here that he was already beginning to take on the beliefs Valeska had; but it was hard to explain, really, to break it down into something so easily packaged and retold in any significant way. Maybe that was why Valeska hadn't truly converted him so much as she spoke of what mattered to her and it sparked him enough to bring forth such dedicated interest. It would also be why he shook his head, not thinking to expand immensely on it all; it was something to discover on one's own. "I'd say she's just mighty good at answerin' questions," he said, offering a smile as they finally neared her den and she entered.

It did not hit him, not even once, that he would be allowed inside, nor was it his instinct to enter inside; instead lowering his body to the damp earth just right outside the den, settling his bones with a flick of his tail. He cocked a brow at the presentation of her items, he remembered them from back on the farm, the bandana itself was none unlike the collar he wore now in his mind; where hers was fabric his was thick, tasseled leather, frayed and nicked over time from his spats and true to tooth fights. "Don't reckon I ever seen ya wearin' 'em," he would say, tail thumping idly in a way. "There some reason why? Dunno how I'd ever go 'bout not wearin' my things—ha, guess I wouldn't know how to get 'em off in the first place."

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That Valeska. Always having answers. Always asking questions. Personal, prodding questions. She chuckled. "She asked me t' list n' rank yer best features once" Tallulah was not joking; it was a thing that did happen "just asked like it was askin' bout the weather!" Her lips twitched into a controlled laugh "and I told her I cannae; I like all ya best" She nudged him, bouncing off his broad shoulders easily with a wicked little grin "But. I like yer cheeks best, by the by. That stays between us." Cause she could kiss them, obviously. Valeska did not need to know that.

Once inside the den, Nick focused on the items. Similar to Amaranth lusting after them and not. He was curious, but not in a hoarding way. "So little pup paws, t' weather n' wind and Amaranth cannae take them 'way from me" Tallulah added, circling them once and approaching Nick again "t' hat will blow off in the wind, especially" She explained with a tilt to it, being held down by a rock "I like yer things" She said without thinking, realizing it could be close to innuendo "I-I mean. Yer items." She balked, flushing as she fumbled a nod to his 'clothing'.

She tried to smooth her awkwardness over. It did not work as fluidly as she hoped. "If ya start to doze off, ya can stick 'round" she added to him "I don't mind... sharing. The space." The 'space' between them seemed vast and also not, close but not quite. She closed it again, sliding up to the man and facing the outside. Rain still poured deeply, but the lightning... Did not seem to make an - oh gods! It shook the sky and lit up the area so suddenly. She jumped, flinching.

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