skill: ranger 1/5 [BWP]

It was strange, in all actuality, to be back in this world and to be back on four feet. He had been born like this, but it had been so easy for him to live as a human. Sure, he'd fumbled quite a bit but none of the Goldencourtes seemed to mind too much. Although he had very strong suspicions about why Shiloh had been so standoffish with him. Fox didn't need to be told to give him a wide berth and let the redhead have his space. How could he be expected not to be frustrated, at one for being parted from Tiberii and two for having to see Fox there in Talamh. Fox wasn't very good at keeping himself out of trouble, but he was no fool. He didn't plan on giving the Lion a chance to burn out some tension by taking it out on himself. No thank you. Foxglove had a life he wanted to live.

This life seemed so vastly different with his other perspective on what was possible. It was strangely all new but still the same. He spared a glance at Fable , his shoulder brushing hers for a moment. You doing okay? He asked. There had been so much going on, and it felt bizarre trying to catch up as it was to what the rest of Mythris had been experiencing. We missed a lot. Fox added a beat later, as a way to make it more clear what he was really asking. Since they had returned, there was still the acute absence of the girls and the rest of the family that had stayed behind. Fable had once mourned them without a means to ever have them again - and yet fate had sought ways to bring those that mattered most to her.

Fox of course, was oblivious, instead considering himself somewhere just in her orbit, just basking in her warmth when it shined upon him.

The fact that Epona hadn't taken either of them by the ear and pointed out what was so obvious to the rest of the universe. Maybe that had also made it easier for him to adapt to life on the farm. Y'know, I miss talking to Cailean....We were just getting a rhythm. The colt had been very patient with Fox, but the Kali had been somewhat of a natural with the animals. it was probably from being so in tune with their behavior. It made it so much easier to read them, after all. It probably didn't help that the colt was also very food motivated. I know they're capable of handlin' themselves. Doesn't mean I don't still worry. He knew that the Farm was something special specifically - although he had no idea how long the story had been for Epona and Alistair.

He had a feeling that Fable was still half here, and half there, longing to know how the girls were doing, how her father and siblings were, how their efforts to prepare for war went. But they were here, and all that they could do was try and piece it all back together. When they'd been told about the rainbow fires Fox had wanted to set off and find them for himself. He needed to see it. The man had been human only days before, what seemed so farfetched about a pretty fire?

He heard the Howling River before he saw it, and it was aptly named. Ears perked, he couldn't see anything yet.

skill: ranger 2/5 [BWP - howlentine's!]

She had that far off look and it was clear that she wasn't here. She was probably with her girls who stayed behind for now. But what he knew, and she had to know, was that those girls could handle anything. Fox didn't think there was much that they wouldn't manage to accomplish if they put their minds to it. Mhm.... He understood what she was saying - she would always consider her girls first in every decision. Fable had proven to him time and time again the type of mother that she could be. She would put the girls ahead of herself every time.

Fox hadn't thought too much about time. There was before he had been taken from his family, and then there was when he found his home. They could be two different things at the same time or the same things at many times. What the Kingdom had done for him had been to provide him a shelter as he had grown and found his footing in service to others. It brought him a considerable amount of joy to be seen as helpful to them. Before he had met Fable, he'd felt like he had no purpose and had been just aimlessly wandering. And since that time he found purpose in their daily life together, the natural sort of dance they had fallen into. Sometimes he helped her parents. Sometimes he helped her daughters. Sometimes he made sure that they were also taking care of her.

He took comfort in the proximity and the warmth of having her pressed against him. He realized, a bit sourly, that he wouldn't wrap an arm around her to keep her close when it was windy. He hadn't properly known the cold of Talamh, but fall had been in full force. It seemed perhaps Mythris was just a bit ahead of time, but he didn't know how much. It would probably have just made his head hurt like the way it had the first time Epona, Conor, and Fable had all tried explaining to him how this would work.

He listened and nodded, that little flash of concern in his gaze when Fable pointed out how much Aisling missed her sisters. I'm sure they miss her too. It's strange not looking over and seeing Nauus or Illi. Fox agreed. Not to mention, since when is Aisling so tall? Foxglove couldn't help but chuckle at that. He'd have to get them to stand up shoulder to shoulder and see who was taller, Aisling or Fable. Bichette can still learn from you and Epona, and then she can help make sure the girls catch up quick too. He'd always thought it was easier to have many places to gain knowledge. It meant if one place confused you, there were still other options.

He bumped his shoulder to hers when she teased him about perhaps overfeeding the colt. But hey - he'd managed, hadn't he? Wasn't it your mother who mentioned the way to win a man over is by appealing to his stomach? He quipped, but it was playful. He knew here he'd be doing the hunting and providing. That was enough to warm his cheeks a hint at the possessive tone it had and how he wanted to be in that role. Niamh helped me out too. He would always give credit where it was due, after all.

These trips, short as they were, he'd missed. Of course they'd managed plenty of time to themselves too, where Fable taught him how to function as a human. It was entirely different leaving the packlands to explore the strange details of the world they had come back to. Its going to be hard for us. He agreed, but suddenly the thought was a bit sluggish, and that confused him. It seemed the harder that he tried to chase the thought the further it got away from him but Fable managed to tether him again. Gotta be.... Fox looked over at her, the pink glow bouncing off the cream and blush hues Fable already held. He was looking at her too long.

He looked at the fire again as they drew closer, his nose scrunching up at the smell. He wasn't used to being able to smell the world properly again. Ever seen somethin' like it? Fox felt his thoughts lighter, the stress of the heavy weight of the many 'Unknowns' he knew about the world right then just.....faded away. His body felt lighter, and while he wasn't a depressed man and was often a tease, his smile had a more relaxed tone to it, like he'd just sank into a hotspring.

skill: flowerchild 1/5 [BWP - howlentine's!]

The little frown didn't go unnoticed, and Fox had the impulse to brush his thumb along the edge of it. He could not, however, and instead their shoulders were flush again, and he leaned in to give her a friendly nuzzle. That certainly didn't linger a moment longer than necessary. He didn't need to imagine how Fable felt now - he'd seen the girls all the same as she had. They were not his, and yet they were - and he would eviscerate anyone who dared say otherwise. He had seen them in the soft hours still nervous about thunderstorms; he had seen them as they soaked up all that Talamh had to offer. Seeing Aisling here and now, movie like he saw the jumps like a stuck fast-forward button, and they were completely blind sided by the depth of the message from this actor that you usually thought of as just the funny guy. She looked every bit grown and that thought caused a pang in his heart. Good thing kids never outgrow needing their mama's, right? He was a Mama's boy himself after all. Worlds away he still longed to have his mothers back and with him the same as he wished for his siblings to be back too.

She pointed out the attachment to Shiloh, and it wasn't wrong. All of the Goldencourtes seemed to be so interwoven. The roots were strong, and the branches flourished. It was a beautiful thing to see and from what he had heard of their old ancestral grounds of Awenasa, it might have been quite the same for the Kalis and Ansbjorns. Foxglove chuckled when Fable pointed out how there might actually be some merit to the saying. Fox had not expected the sudden sharp wrongness of seeing Epona and not Alistair together. Having one without the other truly felt like an anomaly. Fox nodded to the statement, although he did not know Amalthea he trusted her. It was enough that Fable and her family put their trust in her. Fox didn't want to think on the risks. They had enough here, after all.

Mythris was in shambles; strange fire illuminated their world. Foxglove let out a sigh and the inhale that followed filled his lungs with warmth. His aching toes did not scream at him anymore, and all that he was aware of was Fable and the fire. He was shocked when the little ember hit her nose, and he caught up to make sure she was okay. The wine! He laughed warmly now, open and at ease. Probably like that sunny young man she'd stumbled upon. I feel it all the way to my toes. He answered after a moment of hesitation while he tried to find the right way to describe it. It wasn't that his brain was incapable. But basic conversations about how he felt was't important at all. Instead, they were seemingly insignificant.

His gaze was lost in the fire for a moment, and he worried for a second at the corner of his lip. He felt relief, and hope, and full of warmth. I remember about half of that night.... He admitted and tore his eyes away from the fire to meet hers - seeing that she had been looking at him already. We got to go back. The memories of the night brought the haziest sort of bliss. Seeing everyone celebrating together had made him so happy. He remembered exhaustedly sitting down, and then Fable had somehow ended up next to him, head on his shoulder. The rest.....

Everything I get to share with you, I cherish. He didn't need to analyze anything; he just knew how grateful he was for her. She filled in all of the lonely parts in his soul, and she had managed to provide him what he had missed so much by means of a family. Parents, siblings (including a tense relationship with Shiloh for things outside anyone's control) and land to work and love. Bha thu radanta. (You were radiant.)

How selfish he was, to still want more of her.

Tha thu fhathast (You still are)...