Aure's hesitation opened a pit of dread in Widler's stomach. As he turned away her ears flattened back with misery. He was going to say no. He was going to reject her and push her away again and she would be left alone. What would she do, then? The only family she had left would be Squick and Miru. She couldn't exactly "go" to Squick, since it was still in her stomach and she had no idea where Miru was. She could go to Dragon and the Children...but she was scared she would not be welcome. Pride would surely have warned him about her. She had planned to ask Aure to come with her or something to apologize to him but now...

She waited in fearful silence as Aure collected his thoughts and was surprised at the glassy, miserable eyes that stared back. Her heart thudded in her chest and her stomach flipped as he spoke quietly. For a moment she was confused, though. If you can stand it. She wanted to reach out and touch his mind and learn what he was saying, but she had enough sense to know how rude that would be and a break of her promise. Further words, however, revealed that Aure didn't blame her, not at all. He blamed himself.

Relief poured through her for a moment, but then that was replaced by concern. Her ears swiveled up and she took a step forward. A moment later, she was closing the distance between the two, a loud purring starting in her chest as she tried to press up against Aure's chest. "What? Of course I can! You're my best friend, Aure! You're my brother!" It all made sense now, though. Through his words she realized exactly why she was here in Fornax and not in Canis. It was just to protect the Bonebound, wasn't it? She'd scared him and he'd sent her away to keep his family safe. "I was...I was scared you hated me, but..." She pulled back and blinked slowly, struggling to form her thoughts into words. She didn't want to say it, but she needed to say it and it was probably the most mature thing Wilder had ever said up to this point. "If you need me to stay away, at least while I work things out, I can...I'll move to a different part of Canis if you need me to." Perhaps she'd really grown up after all.

@Aure

Aure was grateful that there was no immediate intrusion into his mind, no sudden contact --- he wasn't sure how he'd react to it, right now --- but some feeble part of him just wanted to lie down and cry, realizing just how badly he had lost his wits and acted in a very... unbecoming manner. The little black cat's rumbling purr grew louder, and he unconsciously moved away. A mournful, dull-eyed glance said it all: not right now. No magicka, no contact. He needed a moment.

Just as he had before.

He could take it here. Aure sighed softly, putting on a smile for her sake. Fornax's air was tense and humid enough, and his feathers were puffing up no matter how he tried to smooth them down. "Then, I guess we're still friends, Wilder," he murmured, ears back slightly and wings adjusting rather awkwardly. If she said she could stand it--- if she said she could understand... "I didn't know how to react to--- what happened," Aure explained, at length, "and I sent you away because I didn't know what would happen if I---"

A beat. The wyvern sighed dejectedly, train of thought derailing in a brilliant show of sparks as it rounded a turn far too sharply, "---I don't know." He was surprised to hear that Wilder was willing to stay away, though, for the sake of the Bonebound (and, possibly, herself.) Bright eyes stared for a moment, before averting again. "It... could be for the best, until we --- or someone else --- figures this all out, why these episodes keep happening, how to control them..."

The whole reason for Wilder coming to Canis, in the first place, was to go as far away from the Core as possible, just within the influence of magicka. Just enough to stay alive and draw from, as needed. Speaking of--- "until then, you could limit your use of magic? Unless you absolutely have to use it, don't risk another catastrophic failure or something to... trigger it."

@Wilder

Her head didn't touch again'st Aure's feathers and she immediately stepped back a few paces, understanding the glance he sent her way. They were friends, but too soon. Far too soon. Wounds needed time to heal. So she stepped back, but she didn't look put down at all. "I know. I'm sorry. I wouldn't know how to react either. But was it...really bad this time?" She dared to reach with the question. She hadn't actually figured out exactly what had happened while she was unconscious, what had caused Aure to fear so much, but it had to be bad, worse then any other time. She had, at least, worked out that much, especially from the pain in her head. "I didn't...hurt you did I? Or threaten you, I don't know..." She trailed off for a moment, growing agitated with her lack of information. No fault on Aure's part, of course, but not knowing what happened with her own body was terrifying and really, really, really frustrating.

"Fuck!" she spat all of a sudden. "This is stupid! I hate it! Why can't I just know these things? I just want to have friends and be happy! Is that too much to ask!" Her voice was whining, complaining, not particularly towards Aure, but mainly just as a general objection to her situation. She looked back at Aure, her tail lashing behind her. "I'll figure it out, I promise. I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to hurt you or me or anyone else." But then there was that last bit and she found herself resistant to what Aure was suggesting.

"D-don't use magic? At all?" But then what would she be? Just a black cat that could do anything. She thought and considered this for a moment, running through all the spells that she knew before she noticed a pattern. More difficult spells, especially mind-linking ones or big showy ones, they were usually the ones that made her...weird. "Um, okay. How about I limit it to easy spells. Ones that don't make anything bad happen. Like my little wisps!" She didn't perform the spell just yet, she still remembered her promise, but her paw lifted instinctively, as if she were to cast the spell.

@Aure

Bright eyes searched Wilder's own, brows knitted. Does she... really not remember? Aure adjusted his wings awkwardly, shifting on the spot. He wasn't sure, for a moment, whether or not he should actually even explain what had happened; would acknowledging it cause it to worsen? But... that mental trap couldn't be like pain. It got worse when ignored. The wyvern had just begun to think that maybe, just maybe, Wilder had everything figured out.

Just as his beak cracked, the little black cat cut in with a jarring Fuck! and her curses to the world. Forget staying away, forget avoiding contact--- Aure trotted forth, offering a hesitating wing in reassurance. "You didn't hurt me, I promise. I'm fine, see?" He paused to indicate to his general self. "Your voice just... became unnaturally level and you started talking of gemstone names and... previous stone-holders. You mentioned my father and your... corporeal form? Not being able to fly." Hopefully that would explain his apprehensions well enough. The wyvern withdrew his wing, instead settling on the pebbles and pushing out another heavy sigh, "happiness isn't free in these caves, once you grow up."

It was harsh, but... all too true. Looking at the world through the rose-tinted shades of youth just made all of the red flags look like normal flags. Aure paused after dropping that hardcore wisdom, and lowered his ears to peer at Wilder: "if you need help with anything, just ask, alright?" Seeing the cat's paw come up instinctively to cast magic, he tensed slightly. Relief rushed through his body, though, at the mention of wisps. Even those were easy for him, requiring minimal effort. "I think small bits of magic like the wisps would be fine," he murmured, setting to conjure one, possibly to play with his friend's.

A long pause ensued, as he racked his brain for what he had meant to ask about what had started all of this--- oh. Bright eyes flickered back over to pink ones, vanishing briefly beneath a furrowed, yet sympathetic brow. "If you don't mind me asking--- I need to know but I won't force it out of you... why did you help Blackberry? I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to, but I just nee--- want to know. After all of the things she's done... what made you decide to help her while she wallowed in her own mess?"

@Wilder

Wilder was surprised when Aure offered her a wing for comfort. Her previous attempts at contact hadn't gone so well so she was hesitant to try again. But he seemed to be the one that was initiating it this time so she allowed herself to lean a bit into the wing. It was just a little bit but it was reassuring all the same and she felt wildly more at ease in just a few seconds. "That's good," she sighed with relief. Threatened then, or somehow made Aure scared for his well-being. That was still a bad thing, something she'd definitely need to work on.

Her brow furrowed as she tried to work through what Aure was saying. She didn't remember any of this. She couldn't remember gemstone names (although she could have sworn she knew them at one point), and she had no idea what the word "corporeal" even meant. "Uh huh....weird. I don't remember that. I'm sorry for scaring you, Aure." At the very least she had something to go off of, even if it made little to no sense to her.

She nodded. She already knew that she couldn't just get the happiness she wanted, but hearing Aure say it out loud, well, it hurt a little bit. If everyone wanted to have a good life, then what was stopping them? Why could things not just...be easy? Childish thinking, but if maturing meant being so miserable all the time and working hard for every speck of happiness, then she never wanted to grow up. She at least got a small bit of glee when Aure conjured a wisp for her. She still held her own magic in, determined to keep her promise, so instead she dabbed happily at the little fire.

But finally, the conversation pulled away from this serious and upsetting topic to something....well, something else to get upset about. But this was a little better, considering this was what had started it all in the first place. She'd have to talk instead of try to push the emotions she felt into Aure. Apparently that wasn't a good idea.

She wracked her brain, trying to remember where she'd left off. "I told you about....the Collector's job, right? I found Blackberry in the tunnel where the big meeting was, behind a rock. I'd heard bad things about her before, but looking at here there, all thin and screaming for me to put the boulder in front of it back, I couldn't really believe it. I don't like seeing people in pain. I like making people happy. That's what I'm good at! I guess I thought...that she still has a chance. Even after everything she's done, everything I heard...she was different and changed now. I thought I could do something to help."

This was where she broke in her promise. She couldn't make Aure understand with her own words, she wasn't very good at talking. The second option was to show Aure with her mind, but considering how well that went over the last time, she decided that it wasn't the best idea to try again. "Sorry," she whispered as she began to focus. She turned to an empty space on the ground beside her and tried to call up an image of what she had seen. For a second there was a shimmer in the air and then it shifted into Blackberry, curled up against a wall, looking completely devoid of life. She was speaking, angrily somehow, although it wasn't verbal here. "She told me she only deserves pain and death. She said the world would be better without her and I...couldn't just walk away from that. How could I?! I'd be a monster to just turn around and leave!"

@Aure

Initiating contact first was far more comfortable than having it unwarranted and -solicited. Aure hesitated as the little black cat pressed into his wing, but he figured as long as she doesn't cast any intensive magic, we'll be fine. He listened, but did not learn — he spoke rather quickly, "it's fine." It wasn't, yet, but maybe a self-fulfilling prophecy really did exist. Time would march on like a merciless arrow, steamrolling all in its way. The past would be lost, eventually. Forgive, but never forget. Seek happiness, and don't look back or down if you're afraid of heights, because the bridges were always burning.

His wisp pulsed at Wilder's contact — had it been fully sentient, it may have even giggled cutely.

But, of course, it was on to what had been the catalyst of all of this. It displayed in a brilliant show of color that unnerved Aure slightly. He nearly withdrew his wing upon realizing it was pure magic, tensing and preparing to escape before pinprick claws dug into the space around his stone and tore and tore and tore. But nothing came. Wilder was as at ease and she could be, explaining and pushing her emotions via words.

And to be honest? Aure kind of understood.

The little black cat was friendly and kind beyond all logical reasoning. She stood for her beliefs and wanted everyone — including herself — to be happy. Wilder would bend over backwards for him and anyone else who called her a friend. She wanted to love and be loved.

Don't we all?

Aure sighed softly, breath whistling through his beak, and planted a small, reassuring lick on the top of Wilder's head. "Okay," he said simply, wisp floating down and shrinking so it was scarcely the size of her paw. It shifted forth, hovering just above her heart before vanishing. "If anything comes up — again — between you and… either of the Seven's leaders… I'll defend you, no matter what." A quick nuzzle to his dear friend. "It's good to talk like this. Bottling it up is what killed my father, almost my brother."

Suddenly, he laughed bitterly, "I miss being young already."

@Wilder

Wilder waited breathless for Aure's response. She wanted to believe that he'd understand. She thought that he would - he was the type to understand. But she had thought Pride to be a friend. She had thought that he'd be cool, calm, that he wouldn't lie to her. He'd manipulated her. So when faced with Aure now, someone she'd known for a long time, she wasn't sure if her own perception of her friend was correct. What if he hates me too? What would she do then?

But then he softly licked the top of her head and started to speak. Wilder looked up, her eyes wide as relief poured through her. She didn't know what he thought of Blackberry but...it didn't matter anymore. Wilder had done what she could to help Blackberry and it had only gotten worse. It was time to leave well alone and not get involved further. She still wondered how the goose would fare once she reemerged - if the news of Blueberry's death had completely crushed her or if she would find new purpose. Wilder hoped with all her heart that it was the latter and that it would be a good purpose.

She leaned in against Aure and began to purr quite loudly. "Thank you, Aure. And I'll protect you and do whatever I can to help you and the Bonebound, even if its from myself. Or, at least, whatever is going on with me. I won't let anything bad happen!"

She nodded in agreement, her expression somber. Aure didn't often talk about his father, or even mention him, really. She knew that he had once been the Bonebound's leader, back a long long time ago, but that was pretty much it. "Yeah..." Her ears drooped a bit. "I miss it too. I miss when we used to play and when I didn't know a lot. I just want to have fun and I just want people to be happy but sometimes it seems like people don't want that too. I don't get it, Aure. Why do people not want others to be happy?"

@Aure

Aure didn't fully support Blackberry --- or at all, really --- but he did Wilder. The cat had good intentions, even if she could have gone about the situation in the wrong way, broaching the subject of the goose far too soon with anyone. Bright eyes grew hooded, briefly, though he continued to lick gently at the cat's head. She was purring up a storm. He hadn't heard that rumbling sound in a while. It was similar to an engine, or a swarm of bees directly in your ears. Aure rumbled, himself, but deep in his throat. He didn't need to say anything more about her promises.

His beak cracked open, feathers puffing up as he yawned deeply.

Bottling up and building an immense dam was only a recipe for disaster, and they had both seen the mere beginnings of it just a few days ago. There was no consideration for the foundation, or a healthy smattering of coping between each brick. Aure sighed deeply, blinking blearily. His head laid down among the pebbles. He was exhausted from (basically) flying straight to Fornax, but the conversation was still going. "Not knowing anything was pretty fun," he murmured, chest swelling with another sigh, "but I guess life's just not like that. We're just meant to keep ourselves busy with... unimportant nonsense."

And, eventually, we'll die.

"Maybe some of us forget what happiness is, and fear it." Case in point, Eythan, afraid to look down for fear of exploring it, afraid to look ahead for fear of the unexpected.

He yawned again, and draped a wing fully over Wilder. "Quick friend cuddles?"

; tentative exit via sleep
@Wilder

It seemed this last statement had Wilder confused. Her purring stopped momentarily as she tried to comprehend why anyone would fear happiness. Happiness was good and nice and it was so far beyond her current understanding that she shrugged and took Aure's word. She'd figure it out later. Maybe she'd help people get over their fear of happiness, whyever they had such a fear.

When Aure's wing draped over her, the purring returned, so strong that she was actually vibrating from head to toe. She curled up next to Aure, happy to have her friend back, relieved that she hadn't lost everything to her mistakes. She pushed the rest of her worries to the back of her mind and cuddled up next to her brother and closed her eyes, the purring soon dying away to slow, even breathing.

*exit