for Conor, set in Ethereal Eclipse 500+



Cambria had gone to bed with her family, as she always did. Nothing about the night stuck out to her aside from she found herself very tired. More tired than usual. With a vast yawn she had curled up in the room and gone to sleep, expecting to stay that way well into the morning. Clouds had covered the sky for the majority of the day, but about half-way through the night the cover fell away and the moon shone down brightly through the window of the small family's room. Almost right as the moonlight touched her Cambria's eyes snapped open. Her head rose up and looked out of the window to the sphere in the sky. It looked different somehow, like she was seeing it with new eyes. It was enchanting in a way she had never noticed before. Suddenly the comfortable, warm room seemed stuffy to her and she needed to get out. She needed to be out in the open air.



Quietly the young wolf made her way out of the room and down the stairs and through the front door. As soon as the cool night air touched her she felt rejuvenated, fresh. Her tail wagged casually as she moved into the wet grass, the moisture clinging to the fur on her paws. Oceanic gaze turned to the north and she stared in that direction for a long moment. Something was pulling her and her feet had no choice but to obey. The Marino's legs moved swiftly and with purpose. She didn't even notice moving over the boundaries of her home. At any other time she never would have dared to go out on her own, especially so late at night, but right now there was something more important. Some primal urge that she couldn't fight against. It swept her along like the tides and into the forest beyond.



She couldn't say how long she had been going when inexplicably she stopped. She felt funny. It was like there was a strange new energy reverberating in her bones. Chocolate fur stood on end in nervous anticipation. What was happening to her? Then it started. She could feel her bones move inside of her, and shift. A slight panic rippled through her but then she realized that this was her first change. It was scary, but she knew she shouldn't fight it. Anu had said if she fought it it could hurt. The girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes, doing all she could to relax and let the shift run its course. She found it didn't hurt, even though the popping and cracking of her body certainly sounded like it would. She felt her legs change, growing longer and shaping themselves differently. Her torso as well.



After countless minutes it stopped. It was finished. Cambria opened her eyes and found herself laying on her side. She felt so strange. One paw moved in front of her face and she saw long elegant fingers where once had been toes. It looked like her mother's hand, only cocoa instead of sable. A branch cracked behind her and she sat up with a start, her newly formed arms crossing her chest. Suddenly she realized she was alone and far from home. She was in a body that was new and strange to her. Cambria didn't like this at all. A soft, scared whimper came from her throat. What was she going to do?

300+

It was not too common for Conor Soul to wander around in the middle of the night like this, but his mind felt quite troubled lately. He carried many heavy thoughts, and heaviest of them all was those about Alexey Koios, the caretaker of Dahlia de Mai. It was her duty to take care of the pack’s young; had been her duty to take care of him and his brother when no one else seemed to want to. Despite all this, he knew that it was not only her co-rank that was the reason why they still lived together. There was a bond between them, he just knew there was. Conor had always adored and worshipped her, always loved her dearly. Now when he was older and closer to adulthood he had started to realize that what he now had felt for a long time for his guardian was no ordinary love like that a child had for its mother or father. It was something more.

It did not disgust the young boy to think about this. His love for Alexey was right, pure and good. He just wanted to be with her; wanted to repay her kindness; wanted to love her and take care of her and protect her like the dark male that had lived with her had not. He barely remembered the Stormbringer male at all. He knew that he had been Alexey’s mate for a short period of time, but he had left her and hurt her. Conor would never do such a thing. Never ever. He would die before hurting Alexey in any way. This was right. If he just could figure out a way to show her how much he loved her, how perfect they were for eachother-

A whimpering sound was caught by his golden ears and the young male blinked in confusion, for a moment not realizing where he was and what was happening. He had been completely distant. He was not even in Dahlia de Mai anymore. The sound had come from somewhere close, and he only had to take a few steps more before he saw the dark brown form of a young female on the ground, her appearance almost black because of the lack of light. He did not recognize her at all until he registered her scent. It was his cousin, Cambria. The golden boy’s eyebrows rose in awe. He had never seen her in luperci form before. It had been quite a while since they had seen each other in general.

Had she fallen and hurt herself? Conor rushed over to her side, forgetting that she maybe was in need of a moment too in order to recognize him. ”Cambi, what happened!” Conor’s voice sounded, full of worry, still thinking that she was hurt in some way.

300+



Oceanic orbs darts around looking for any sign of another person out in the woods tonight. Though Cambria wasn't exactly sure if she wanted someone to be there or not. It could go two very different ways. It could be someone that would help her back home or it could be someone that was bad and wanted to hurt her. That was a terrifying thought and made her heart beat frantically in her breast. The girl wasn't strong even if her lupus form, but she had only just shifted and didn't even think she could run away if she needed to right now. The forest seemed even more dark and ominous than it had moments before. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. She thought about calling for help but quickly decided against that. Calling for help might only bring someone who wanted to do her harm faster. Tears started to gather in her eyes. She wanted her mother, her father, her brother, anyone.



There was the sound of movement and her heart faltered and she held her breath, hoping that whatever it was wouldn't notice her and just move on by. The girl sat as still as she could though she was beginning to shake with fear. Gaze continued to move all over the place, trying to at least see what was out there, but her vision was blurred by the impending tears. Then all of a sudden something rushed at her and she screamed, covering her head. Why had she gone out here? Why? Now she might never see home or her family again.



"Cambi, what happened!" Ears perked up at the voice. She knew that voice. Slowly she uncovered her head and turned to see her cousin beside her. It hadn't been something attacking her, it had been Conor! Overcome with relief and still badly shaken the tears poured over her cheeks and she threw her arms around the older wolf. "Conor!" She didn't know if she had ever been more happy to see someone. "I...I was at home but I woke up and something kind of pulled me out here. I don't know why, I never go out by myself, and I got here and I shifted, it was my first time. But then I realized I was all alone and I was so scared..."

Aww, poor Cambi D: 300+

heard him walking loudly towards her and been scared it was someone else. And like the fool he was Conor had just run to her and startled her even more. When she looked up at him he could see that tears were running down her face and he felt so so bad. This was his fault. He had scared her. Why did he always end up being cruel to this particular cousin. His face morphed into a deeply troubled expression of regret and worry. There was no time to do anything more before she threw herself at him, clinging to him as if he was some kind of saviour and not a monster. His arms instantly wrapped around her shaking body and he felt his own eyes water slightly as he realized more and more how horribly scared Cambria had been.


”I’m so, so sorry for startling you..” the boy started off, but the girl almost broke him off and he decided to be silent until her upset words had passed. He nodded understandingly and patted her back slowly in an attempt to soothe. Poor girl all alone. Of course she had been scared out of her mind. Instead of apologizing further he decided it would be better to try to comfort her the best he could. ”It’s okay now, Cambi, it’s okay.” he murmured gently down into her fur, rocking slightly back and forth in a further attempt to soothe the girl in his arms. He could barely imagine the horror she had just been through. All alone in the dark night and shifting for the first time. Conor remembered all too well how terrified he had been when he had gone through his first shift. It had been premature and horrible. Now, he did not know how much the change itself had scared her, but doing it the first time all alone in a dark, scary place was not the right place to do it.

She's so ascared ;.; 300+



Her slender form shivered in pent up distress and relief and she hugged her cousin close. Oh, she was so thankful that he had been out here. Conor would help her and she knew that he wouldn't leave her alone out here. He understood how scary it could be away from your home at night, she had seen it in his eyes when he had last visited her. Together they would get through it though. Even if he would rather go to Dahlia de Mai instead of Crimson Dreams she wouldn't care. Just as long as she wasn't on her own in this creepy forest anymore. As he apologized for scaring her she shook her head from left to right vigorously. "No, no it's okay. I'm just glad it was you, that you're here." She knew that he hadn't meant to scare her anyway, Conor wasn't mean like that. Maybe she would have thought that after the first time they met, but he had apologized later and she knew that he wasn't like that at all. He was a very sweet and kind boy.



Gradually as he patted her back and told her that it was okay her heartbeat slowed back to a normal pace. She nodded against his shoulder, but for the moment was still unwilling to break the embrace. The girl needed that closeness to help her calm down. She drew deep breaths into her lungs and finally the tears began to stop and she felt better. Slowly Cambria pulled away from Conor and wiped her eyes and face. A small, weak smile came to her face. "Thanks Conor..." She was so lucky he had come along and she was truly in his debt. Hopefully one day she could repay him for coming to her rescue on this night.



Her gaze turned back down to look at those strange hands and the rest of her new body. It all looked so strange and felt strange too. Suddenly a wave of embarrassment washed over her and her cheeks burned red underneath her fur. She had no idea what she really looked like and that made her incredibly self conscious. She wished she could wrap herself up in a blanket and hide her appearance, she probably looked as weird as she felt.

Yeesh D:

He was glad she was not angry at him. He thought she had every right to, but she was not. When she pulled away from him after a while, the boy slowly let his arms fall down and settle on his own knees. He ached to brush away her remaining tears with care, but the girl did it on her own. He let a comforting smile settle on his lips, not wishing to upset her again in any way. Everything was alright now. She was no longer alone and there was no danger now, only the looming darkness that wanted to trick their imagination by pretending there was.

It was too dark for Conor to notice the strong blush in his cousin’s cheeks, but he did however catch the tension and understood by the uncomfortable silence that she was thinking about something. Conor could not even start to guess what. ”Are you sure you’re okay, Cambria?” he asked with new concern added to his voice. Did she feel embarrassed because she had screamed and been scared? She had no reason to. Conor would have been afraid too had he been in her shoes.

300+



She couldn't ever remember being embarrassed about her appearance before, but right now she felt naked and exposed. She didn't know if it had to do with how scared she had been moments before or just because of the newness of this shape. Maybe it was even a combination of both. Either way she was very aware of how different she looked now and even though there had been no hint from her cousin that she looked bad or wrong in any way she couldn't help but feel that she somehow didn't look good. She felt like a child in an adult's body and it made her uncomfortable. Nothing really felt like her and so gave her a sort of odd detachment from herself.



Unsurprisingly Conor had noticed her sudden emotional change and with concern back in his voice he asked her again if she were okay. Her fingers fiddled nervously in her lap, wondering if he would understand how she felt. "Yeah, I'm okay...I just don't...know how I look and everything feels so weird. I guess I just don't feel right, not sick or anything, just...not the same." Cambria wasn't sure if she had really gotten her point across. Even her tongue felt clumsy in her mouth and finding the right words had seemed nearly impossible. She didn't know if everyone felt this weird when they first shifted or if there was something wrong with her. Anu had told her that it could happen later than half a year, but she couldn't stop worrying that she hadn't done it soon enough and now it hadn't happened quite right or something.



Shyly she looked back up to meet the lilac eyes of her cousin. "Did you feel weird when it happened to you?" He was older than her, and obviously had had his first shift, so she hoped that he would have some answers.

300+

His eyes took in her fiddling and he was starting to understand what the issue was before the confirming words sounded. Of course, the fact that this was the girl’s first shift popped into the young male’s head again. He had not really noted it in the hassle, but now he felt a new wave of understanding brush through him. He set up his comforting smile again, sincere as ever. Was she afraid that her new appearance was weird? Of course she would feel weird. She had a completely new and different body now. He looked at her face and knew that she had no reason to be afraid of her looks. Even in the scarce light it was easy to see that she would become a beautiful young woman within the next months. ”You are not the same so it is only natural to feel all weird. I think you look quite pretty like this, actually,” the boy said gently and continued to smile at her as he got up on his legs again.

Conor did not really like thinking about the scene he had caused when he had gone through his first shift. However, he believed it would make her feel better if she heard about his terrible first time. ”It happened to me when I was less than half a year old. I did not understand what was happening and I hid behind the bed when another member of my back came in to see what was going on.” Oh, it had been quite horrible, but Cwmfen had treated him with kindness and understanding. She had even pushed him into walking on his two new feet and it had worked. ”I was scared out of my mind. You are doing so much better,” he complimented her, now reaching for her fiddling hands. ”Let me help you up.”

300+



She hoped that he didn't think that she was being stupid. From what she knew boys didn't worry so much about their looks as girls did and so she didn't know if he would understand her embarrassment. Nervously she chewed the inside of her lip, wondering how he would react to her feeble explanation of the feelings that were rushing through her. Shyly she glanced back up at him and noted that his soft smile was back and she took that for a good sign. When Conor spoke her ears perked up, especially at his last few words. "R-really? You do?" Cambria was glad that understood how odd she felt, but she hadn't been expecting him to tell her she looked pretty. She didn't feel pretty right now, but she also could tell that he wasn't just saying it to say it. A smile crept back onto her lips and she was still blushing beneath her fur but now it wasn't because she was nervous.



The girl looked up to her cousin and her eyes grew wide as he explained how his first shift had gone. Poor Conor! It sounded so awful! "That sounds so awful Conor...I'm sorry it was so bad for you. I didn't know you could even have your first shift that early..." Maybe you weren't supposed to, maybe that's why it had been so scary for him. Since he was younger than he was supposed to be when it first happened maybe no one had told him about it and that's why he had been scared too. That made her think of Anu's words that if you fought it it could hurt and she inwardly winced, thinking that it must have hurt for Conor since he had been so distressed. Thinking about what he had gone through made her current ordeal seem much less daunting.



He reached down to help her up and she took his hand, smiling. Using his strength to help pull herself up she immediately noticed how wobbly her legs were. If she had felt weird sitting there on the ground, now she felt really weird. She was so far off the ground! It was all so disorienting and her long legs felt weak and as soon as she stood up she stumbled forward and fell into Conor. Oh dear, getting out of here might prove more difficult than she had thought.

300+

Conor could only nod when she fished for confirmation. As if he could say anything else after having told her when they both were small children that she was not pretty. ”Can’t say anything else now can I? I remember too well what happened last time I did,” the boy smiled with humour dancing in his eyes. A solitary ear flicked backwards in thought when she felt bad for his first time. He did not care so much either way. It was over now and he knew this form just as well as the one he was born into. Things had turned out alright, had they not? ”Yeah, I think so. I did not really understand what happened and I think I thought that I was going to die or something along those lines.” Conor’s smile just stayed as he was unable to replay that scene now when he was so comfortable with shifting.

A gentle laughter sounded from the young male when she was pulled up and now stood on two feet made out of shivering jelly. He remembered that feeling so well. All of a sudden the ground was too far away and there was no such thing as balance. His body tightened when she fell against him, but he had no troubles supporting her thin frame. It seemed he would eventually develop the same build as his sire. Although the young Filix mostly despised everything about his evil father, getting Haku’s build was a good one. Conor was young and lanky still, but daily exercise and use of his body had already started giving him layers of muscle under his rich, golden fur. ”Lets not hurry too much, eh?”

He slowly stepped away from the shifted girl, but his hands held on to hers and as he withdrew the muscles in his arms were fully tensed and working, making sure the girl had something safe and stable to hold on to while learning to shift her weight properly around to find her balance.

They're so cute :3 300+



Currently the incident that had happened with their first meeting was far from her mind. She had just been pleasantly surprised to hear him say that he thought she looked pretty right now. Though at his comment it all came rushing back and she gave a sheepish grin. "Oh yeah... Well, you should only give a compliment if you mean it. You did say that you didn't mean I wasn't that first time though," she teased him lightly. Not that she wanted him go back and say that no, in fact, he really didn't think she was pretty, but she had a feeling that wasn't the case at all. Conor wasn't someone to lie and toy with people like that. He was just trying to lighten the mood of the situation and Cambria was willing to go along in that venture. It appeared that what had happened with his first shift no longer bothered him, but hearing him say that he at the time had thought he might be dying was scary. The girl had felt that way once and the memory of it brought her eyes back to the ground. "Yeah...I've felt that way before too..." She didn't really want to go into it, she just wanted him to know she understood.



As Conor laughed she couldn't help but laugh herself. She must look silly, like a new foal taking her first unbalanced steps on long, thin legs. It was a good thing her cousin was strong and able to support her weight. Not like she weighed much, she had always been the smallest out of her siblings, but if another girl her age had found her she probably would've toppled the both of them over with her stumble. She nodded her head against his chest. "Yes, I think slow would be good." At this moment Cambria doubted that she could go fast even if she wanted to. The boy withdrew from her but still held onto her hands, which she was thankful for. Carefully and shakily she took one step after him and then another. On her third attempt she started to sway to the side and had to hold tight to Conor's hands and bounce on her foot to keep from toppling over. "This is so weird!" Her equilibrium was all out of sorts.

300+

Conor suppressed a light laugh as she understood what he had meant and gave him a reply back. ”It’s true though, you look quite good, but I’m your cousin and all so I can’t compliment you too much without sounding weird.” This reply, although somewhat witty still, tossed him into what could have become a deep ponder had Cambria not been here. His father and mother were cousins. What did that mean? Was that close enough for incest or would it be more acceptable? The closer the apples were to the same tree, the more rotten apples could you find. There were higher chances for something to be wrong with related couple’s offspring than if they weren’t related. Perhaps that was why Emwe was slightly slow. That last thought pushed back the serious line in his mind and made a smile twinkle.

Ears perked and slowly swivelled to lean towards his skull when her next words sounded; when she said that she knew how it was to feel like dying. He felt an odd urge to protect his younger cousin, and did not at all like the words she had spoken. Had anyone been horrible to her? Had anyone hurt her? Conor had been hurt. He would be forever broken inside because of how his father had treated him. If someone had done just a fragment to her of what Haku had done to him, then Conor was going to kill them. He could feel an endless fuel for the rage that wanted to build up inside his chest, but he kept it at bay, knowing not to take certain things for granted. It was not likely that she would share any horrors with him anyway. Very few knew exactly how horrible Haku had been to his runt son. Not even Alexey.

He tossed the nasty feelings away, though determined to keep an extra watchful eye out for her from now on. He smiled, sharing her joy and excitement as she walked on her two legs for the first time. ”Really weird, huh?” the boy grinned eagerly as his golden tail waved behind him. He slowly started to step backwards now, fully encouraging her to follow. ”Now lets try to walk a little.” She shouldn’t have to be scared; he was holding her hands firmly and would not let go.

300+



Her smile turned soft at the compliment on her appearance again. Cambria had always felt like the odd pup out in her litter and to know that she wasn't completely the ugly duckling made her feel good. "Yeah I guess you're right. Thanks anyway though Conor." She didn't understand exactly the limits on exactly the kinds of relationships you were supposed to have with your various family members. It was obvious that if say...she like liked her brother that would be not okay. The very thought of it made her want to stick out her tongue in disgust. She loved Gotham, but loving him in that way would just be wrong. Outside of immediate family though the lines became much harder to define, at least to her mind. It wasn't like she had those sorts of feelings for Conor at all, she just didn't know the reasons why those kind of relationships would be so wrong. Obviously being close in the family tree would go against that, but she had a feeling there was more to it than that. She didn't need to worry about it though, it wasn't like she had a crush on her cousin.



Cambria could sense some concern from him after she had said what she had, but she was glad that he didn't question it further. Perhaps one day she would tell him what had happened, but now was not the time. If she started to talk about it she'd just get upset and it might bring on a panic attack like it had when she had talked with her aunt about it. No, neither of them needed that right now. She just wanted to focus on getting familiar with this new body and having a nice time with her cousin, she didn't want to delve into the dark parts of her past.



"Yes really weird!" she said laughing. It was weird! Everything felt so different, or like she had been pushed back in time to when she was tiny and just learning to walk and stumbling over her parents and brother and sister. This was even more difficult though. It was much harder to balance on two legs than it was on four. He stepped back some more and she did her best to keep up and not fall over to the side or stumble forward again. "Okay." Still holding securely onto Conor's hands she stared down at her feet and focused on making each step as solid and fluid as she could. It was a hard process and took a lot of concentration, but she was beginning to feel more stable.

Hello I fail!

To Conor it felt as if he had known this two legged body from birth. It was actually a bit hard when he tried to think back and recreate that odd feeling that had filled his body when he had taken his first steps. It was not really that long ago, but it felt like years and years. His lavender eyes watched her move her feet and he envied the gracefulness she already seemed to possess. It was obvious that she was trying very hard, but it was definitely working. He doubted he had looked so secure and fluid in his motions when he had walked the first time. He smiled absently as he browsed the remaining memories of that day. Poor Cwmfen. Slowly one of the boy’s arms started to lose its strength. If holding both hands went fine then she could try with only one to hold on to. The boy’s warm gaze lifted to meet her sea foam ones, wanting to comfort. ”Aaand..” the boy mumbled lowly, continuing to walk slowly backwards and now withdrawing one hand.

nah



Cambria continued to concentrate on walking, able to devote her full attention to it thanks to Conor's assistance. If she had been on her own it might have been impossible for her to make any progress because she would have been more worried about falling and hurting herself than actually learning how to walk properly. With her cousin her and making sure that she wouldn't fall though those fears were not an issue and she was gaining more skill and confidence with each uneasy step. "Did anyone help you like this? When you first shifted?" She hoped that someone had been there for him. It was bad enough that the shift itself had been so traumatic and scary, it would have been even worse if there had been no one around to help him learn how to use his new body.



The older boy's words made her look up to him and then she felt him remove one of his hands from her's. Her chest tightened in momentary worry, but then she realized that she was still on her feet and didn't feel any less stable than she had moments before. He was still holding onto one of her hands too, so it would all be okay. Taking a calming breath she continued to slowly follow him. Maybe this wouldn't take as long as it had for her to become proficient in walking the first time. Despite its weirdness, this process was moving much faster.

--

        A lonely corner of his mouth curled upwards as she asked if he had received help when he had gone through his first shift. Yes, the best assistance he could have hoped for. ”A member I did not know came to my aid and helped me dealing with what had happened and even taught me to walk after that.” Cwmfen nic Graine was a beautiful female in both soul and body. He had been very lucky that she had been close and come to his aid. Of the Dahlian leaders Conor believed he respected the white eyes black woman the most. She was wise and gentle; a perfect leader in every way in the young male’s opinion. Cercelee was a kind soul as well, but the golden boy did not know his Rosea too well. Haku Soul was terrifying.

        
The boy’s remaining hand was slowly being pulled back and away from the girl now. It was quite odd how quickly a luperci seemed to be able to handle walking on two legs. The Dahlian male believed it was an instinct of some kind that allowed them to adapt to the new way of walking so quickly. It was all about getting the idea and then to spend a few minutes practising while holding on to something in order to get used to the feeling of walking on two instead of four.

        

300+



It was surprising to hear that someone that he hadn't known had come to help him. Whoever it was must be a very nice and kind person. Her wary and cautious feelings about all strangers made her feel that most wouldn't do anything to help someone they didn't know, so each time she heard of such a kind act she found it pretty neat. Part of her wondered where Alexey had been when Conor had shifted. If she had expected anyone to be there for him it would have been the Dahlian caretaker. She figured she better not ask about it though, it could be a sore subject. "Good, I'm glad someone helped you too. It was really nice of them to help you even though you didn't know each other." Cambria figured that if she had been back in Crimson Dreams someone would have helped her too, though she would have called for her mother or father. This thought made her curious about Conor's parents; he never talked about them. Were they gone? The girl was curious, but also didn't want to bring up anything that had the potential of making her cousin upset.



The Marino girl continued to walk, always gaining on the learning curve with each step. Still, when she felt Conor start to pull his last hand away she got nervous. She bit her lip but did her best to avoid trying to grip onto his hand to keep it from giving her support. Sooner or later she would need to try and walk without his help and if he thought she could do it she would trust him. If she started to fall surely he would still be close enough to help catch her before she could hurt herself. Cambria pushed the fear down, not wanting to panic and wanting to succeed.

--

        He nodded silently in agreement at her words. He had been very lucky with the individual that had passed by. Conor had been quite upset and Cwmfen nic Graine was the second best person that could have found him. If the black female with the moonlit eyes had not been there to soothe him then Alexey would have been the one to find him and his story would still have held a happy ending. There was no one more caring than the latte coated woman. She had saved his miserable life and given him a new one. She had taught him joy, granted him happiness. The boy’s cinnamon tail waved happily as her name sounded again and again inside his head.

        
He was not worried about Cambria’s ability to walk. ”Your body knows how, you just have to remind it how to do it,” the boy added with every intention to help. It did not really seem like she needed it anymore. He let his light cream painted hand fall down to his side. Despite his confidence in her, he actually felt a pang of relief when she did not instantly drop face first into the ground like a lifeless bag filled with rocks. He stepped further away from her and kept his encouraging smile. ”Hmfpth. You’re even better than me at this,” he suddenly declared, his hands settling on his own hips as he changed into a fake, offended pose.

        

Her head nodded at his words, taking them to heart and knowing them to be true. Already the motions in this form were being to feel more natural and less forced than they had. Still, she couldn't help but let her breath catch in her throat as his hand dropped away from her. She was nearly as relieved as Conor was that she hadn't instantly crumpled to the ground in a pathetic pile. Jumping that hurdle she felt confidence flood into her and she continued to carefully take small steps forward. She was doing it! She really was! Cambria didn't know if she'd ever been so proud of herself. His words made her laugh. "Psh, no I'm not! Silly." She glanced up at him, her eyes twinkling softly. "Thanks though." The girl was getting better as this teasing thing, she no longer took everything quite so literally.



Feeling she was able to, she started to increase her pace, though it was still a crawling one at best. Walking in a bit of a large circle her fingers brushed against the trees for reassurance, knowing that if Conor couldn't reach her in time she would be able to grab onto the quiet giants. Perhaps now more than ever she understood why her mother's friend Anu liked the large plants so much. Their sturdiness spoke to what the young wolf craved.

You can post a final time if you want to

        To be able to tease and fool about was something that was rather new to the Dahlian male as well. He had been a pathetically serious puppy and so had lost most of his childhood mending broken pieces of the life he had before. In the past it would have been impossible to imagine a moment like this. He felt the warmth fill his heart; felt love and appreciation for his darker cousin. They had turned alright despite the catastrophic start. They could look back and laugh at their first meeting now. Lilac orbs were warm as he watched her call him silly with a twinkle in her pure, ocean eyes. He was not as alone as he had believed. The boy’s white-tipped tail wagged in good spirits as he watched her gain more control over her body and increased the walking speed.

        
He was quite satisfied with how this all had turned. This was better than to spend a night tormenting his own mind about the latte coated Alexey Koios. He nodded to her and smiled turned somewhat, stating to walk. Of course she would be able to follow. His pace was only half of his usual speed, but it suited the newly changed Cambria and would grant them more time together before the Dreamers’ borders were reached. ”Come on, Cambi, lets get you home.”