Sweet Talk. (DragonSong)

[homeboy!]

Staluk gave a small chuckle when Camellia spoke, whether it was at her jest, or himself, could not be discerned.

He turned to face her as she walked into the tent, axe still in hand, letting it drop a bit in his grip before moving his gaze to his mate. "Things that were." He answered simply at first, before letting the pommel of the weapon hit the ground with a loud thud.

"Moving south brings back some memories. Fights, friends, family.." He trailed off, giving a sigh, his breath fogging the blade.

"I wonder sometimes how things would be if my sister were with the Herd, instead of me."

[DragonSong]

Camellia merely watched him for a moment, her eyes scanning his face with that same gleam they got when she was trying to work through a particularly stubborn problem with multiple possibilities but no real solutions.

What could she say? I'm sorry? She'd said it before for those losses; they both had, a thousand times by now. And it never made any difference. Their families were still gone, and after a while all I'm sorry really did was acknowledge the grief, becoming a platitude.

So instead she took another step toward him and reached up to cup his cheek in her hand. The touch was a little hesitant--she still wasn't exactly sure where they stood--but after a moment she sighed and drew him down to rest her brow against his.

"I miss them, too," she whispered, closing her eyes. Her fingers traced down his cheek, along the line of his throat, over his shoulder and down his arm to find his hand and grip it gently. "But I'm glad you're here, Staluk. I'm glad you're with me..."

[homeboy!]

"I love you," not words Staluk would say often, but the only ones that currently came to mind as he grasped Camellia's hand. Her hand was so much smaller than his, but he felt wholly embraced by it, warm, safe. Staluk took another breath.

"We should get back to the Herd." He said almost disappointingly, his grip still held on her hand. He spoke the words, but without his usual rumble behind them. He did not want to let go, but duty was getting the better of him. He never knew how to act in times like this. He was a single-minded creature, and was aware of this fact, but it only ever presented itself as a problem when there should be none to speak of.

He tried he best to keep these conflicting feelings contained, but struggled then, giving a sigh as he ran his thumb over Camellia's hand.

[DragonSong]

Her smile, when it came, was small and sad, but almost painfully genuine. She pressed her brow to his and closed her eyes for a moment with a soft sigh. "I love you, too," she whispered. "You are, and will always be, the strongest part of my heart."

She knew he was right, they should return to the Herd so they could start moving. But she made no move to leave, nor did she release his hand.

"Staluk--" She searched his face, opened her mouth, hesitated, sighed, then closed her eyes again and pressed forward into him for a moment, wrapping her arms around his waist. "...I wish you would talk to me," she whispered eventually. "I know it's hard for you. But I--I want to help. If I can."

She hesitated a moment longer, then tilted her head up to kiss him softly, just for a moment, before pulling back and finally letting go of his hand. "I'll make sure the others are ready. We can leave within the hour."

[homeboy!]

'I wish you would talk to me.' He said nothing at that, responding only by returning her kiss before they broke their embrace, giving a "Hm." in affirmation as Camellia left to finish their preparations.

Staluk would stay awhile, watching her leave before packing up the rest of their belongings, as well as their tent.

The beginning of the Herd's trek south was off to an uneventful start, Staluk often staying ahead of the main body, eyes on the watch for danger that would not come. Eventually, the Herd slowed to a halt, allowing its members to rest. Most of them, at the very least.

Staluk could be found a ways away from the campfires that had already begun to spring up, overlooking a map as the sun began to make a slow descent towards the plains' horizon. He made marks on the parchment, tracking movements of some sort, before giving a heavy sigh and dropping himself to the soft grass beneath him.

"What is to become of our people?" A question aimed to the sky above, but received no response, nor did he expect one, but he knew no one else to ask.

[DragonSong]

Camellia simply watched him for a moment, the growing shadows dappling her coat as she moved away from the fires.

Finally, she exhaled a soft breath and picked her way carefully over to stand beside him--not too loud, but not as quietly as she could have moved either, wanting him to be aware of her presence so she wouldn't startle him.

"Do you get an answer?" she asked softly, glancing down at him. A small part of her brain noted that it was strange to see him from this angle; she didn't often get the chance, he was quite a bit taller than her. Nodding upward, where a few first stars were beginning to appear, she elaborated, "When you ask them."

[homeboy!]

"Never." Staluk spoke, turning his head to look up at her as his shadow stretched across the grass.

"The stories say the stars hold secrets, I suppose I cannot help but ask sometimes." He let out a tired chuckle, whether at the situation, or himself, he could not tell. "Perhaps I should pose the question to the one that runs among us." He gave a small sigh at that, before a switch of sorts seemed to go off in his mind, and his shoulders tensed ever so slightly.

"Is something the matter?" He asked Camellia. "Do we need to continue moving?"

[DragonSong]

"No. No, nothing like that." With a sigh, she settled in beside him, curving her body to fit against his and letting her head rest on his shoulder--essentially forcing him to release the tension in his body in order to accommodate her. "We're safe here for the night. I just..."

She hesitated. A strange fluttering feeling, like a thousand tiny wings, had taken up residence in her chest. It wasn't something she was unfamiliar with, it had just been so long since she'd felt it. Felt it around him.

She didn't want to admit it, it felt like a weakness. But perhaps her inability to share those vulnerabilities had landed them where they were--she couldn't place all the blame for their communication on him, it wasn't fair.

"...I miss you," she murmured, tipping her head back to look at the stars. "I know you're right here. I know you always have been. But it...lately, it feels like you're...gone, somehow." She sighed and moved her hand slightly to brush her fingers over the back of his. "You're a good leader, Staluk, a good Herd Stallion. You make us all stronger, and I know how much that takes from you. I'm...worried it takes too much."

Another sigh and she straightened up a bit, lifting her head from his shoulder. "After the Glade...I can feel you slipping away from me, Staluk. And I don't know how to stop it." There was a slight shiver in her voice and she ducked her head, clearing her throat in an effort to hide it.