for Elaine but others at the Howff welcome :3 It can be assumed these two made introductions/were invited to stay before the BWP finale

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Things had gone dangerously well, if Rivers was any judge of things! Sure, it hurt something monstrous to put pressure on his left foreleg, to the point he really wasn't walking on it at all. Whole thing had swole up like he stuck it in a beehive.

But hey! Small price to pay for saving the whole bloody world! He knew a good bargain when he saw one.

Not everyone in the Howff had been so fortunate. He knew that, too, though he would not let it steal his sadness. He would make space for both grief and joy entwined. There would be mending work to do, later. Lots of it.

Well... actually. According to Elaine, there was mending work to do now, and it required him to hold still, and it did not involve kisses.

He sighed a lamentation, flopping dramatically onto to furs of his bed. Ow.

Elaine tried to be composed. She always did. She reminded herself she was a healer first. A wolf with steady paws, a calm mind, and enough discipline to keep her emotions from tangling in her work. But the moment Rivers flopped onto the furs with a dramatic groan, ears splayed and tail limp like he'd been mortally wounded instead of merely swollen, her composure wavered. Heat crept beneath her pale fur, blooming across her freckled cheeks. She cleared her throat and stepped closer, pretending her pulse wasn't fluttering wildly. Rivers looked up at her with the soulful misery of someone who believed he was being terribly wronged by being told to hold still. Elaine huffed: partly in exasperation, partly to steady herself, and lowered onto her haunches beside him. The warmth of his leg beneath her paws made her blush deepen.

"You're not dying," she murmured, though her voice came out softer than she intended. He gave her a look that insisted he absolutely was dying. Elaine focused on the swelling instead of his eyes. It was bad, yes, but not catastrophic. Painful, but manageable. He was alive. He was here. He had thrown himself into the fire for their world, and she had followed him without hesitation. Somehow, impossibly, they had both survived. Her paws moved with practiced care, but her thoughts were anything but steady. A mortal should not fall for a fae. Every story warned against it. Every instinct told her to guard her heart. But how was she supposed to protect herself from someone who laughed in the face of doom, who fought like a storm, who looked at her as though she were something precious? She swallowed hard. "Hold still," she said again, more to herself than to him. For a long moment, the only sound was their breathing. Then, quietly, she spoke.

"Rivers… there's something we should talk about."

Elaine kept her gaze fixed on his leg, because looking at his face would unravel her entirely. "I know what you are," she said softly. "And I know what mortals are supposed to avoid. But after everything we've been through… after what you did…" Her breath caught. She forced the words out. "I care for you. More than I should. More than is wise." The confession hung in the air, fragile and trembling. Finally, she lifted her eyes to his. Warm. Bright. Alive in a way that made her chest ache. "You risked everything," she whispered. "And I… I would do it again. For you." Her tail curled close, shy but resolute. "So if we're going to pretend nothing's changed… I can't. Not anymore."

She exhaled slowly, bracing for whatever came next. Then, because she was a healer and because she needed something solid to cling to..she added, with a faint, wry smile:

"But first, you're going to let me fix this leg. Without flopping around like a dying elk."

Only then did she let herself breathe again.