From: owner-willowholt-l@murkworks.net on behalf of Wolf031877@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 30, 1998 1:56 PM
To: willowholt-l@murkworks.net
Subject: [willowholt-l] Dusk Finds Her Soulname (2 of 2)


Continuing from the last...

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Dusk kneels behind Talek, picking at his hair carefully. ** It would've been
worse if I let you keep messing with it, let's put it that way. ** She works
out the tangles, her clawtipped fingers good for that sort of thing.

Talek waits patiently for her to finish, staring at the texture of the branch
while she works. ** I should have brought a comb, ** he send-mumbles.

Dusk mmmhmms. Gradually, Dusk works out the rest of the kinks in Talek's hair,
and when done, her hands slide down to his shoulders. She begins to massage
gently.

Her fingers when they begin meet almost immediately knots and tense muscles
bound by stress or worry, or maybe just sleeping on a branch. Talek's eyes,
partially closed while Dusk had tended to his hair, widen into silver-grey
disks and he sits up straight, muscles tensing all the more. ** ..?? **

Dusk gently pulls Talek back down to how he was, shushing him. ** Quiet..your
muscles are so tense. Let me loosen them up for you.. ** She starts rubbing
over them firmly, between the shoulderblades first. ** Sit still. **

Talek is still tense, but he gradually does relax enough for the massage to do
some good. Gripping the branch with both hands, he pretends to examine the
branch's texture again, his cheeks slowly turning pink, then rosy hues of red.

Dusk fails to notice the changing shades of Talek's cheeks, as she continues
to rub and massage his back, the palms of her hands moving over tense areas,
helping to loosen them further. ** You're so stiff...hasn't anyone ever given
you a massage before? **

** Aye! ** In a tribe that is so open about sensuality, it would have been
hard for Talek not to have received massages in the time he's spent there. Bit
by bit he relaxes, the color following, and he lifts his gaze from the branch
to instead look straight ahead of him. ** Just.. not in a long time.. **

Dusk smiles, nodding behind Talek as she massages some more. ** Maybe I can
massage you more often then.. ** she sends, and after a pause, she slips her
arms around his sides and holds her hands over his chest, pulling him against
her, leaning her head across his shoulder.

Talek's breath cuts short. There's no startled exhale or inhale, or any
blinking of eyes, tensing of form. He just.. freezes at the embrace. A few
heart-beats pass before he reacts and that is simply to release the air that
he held caught in his throat and lungs, relaxing again. He arches his neck,
looking up to the higher branches above the pair. ** Maybe.. ** he sends
carefully before looking down again, turning his head to regard her.

The rust-furred lass looks to be content as she is now, close to you. She
doesn't try to do anything else that might cause discomfort in Talek, because
she is still well aware of the awkwardness of how things have been between
them (and others). Head on his shoulder, she exhales, just holding him close.
What movement there is is really no more than her hands shifting back and
forth slightly, as she rubs gently over his clothing.

Gently, slowly, Talek relaxes completely, watching Dusk for a moment before
slowly turning his head back to look ahead of him. Eyes the silver-grey of
clear water or pale smoke close slowly, a faint sigh escaping with his next
breath as he leans slightly - just slightly - back into Dusk, his own hands
lifting from the branch to place over hers.

And it's like this that Dusk remains for some time, content and happy, with
Talek. In a sense, she might seem sleepy again, despite the night being young.
She's traveled with Talek for more than a whole season now, and time for rest
can be taken as needed. Now, she's happy to remain here with him, like this. A
soft sense of happiness surfaces from her.

Talek's eyes open again at the content that Dusk emits, a faint smile touching
the edges of his lips. Life is easy when its kept simple, he decides silently,
and.. well.. its nice to simply be seated here like this, to enjoy the
presence and touch of another without worry of hurt feelings or anything messy
like that. He watches the leaves quietly, fingers curling over Dusk's hands,
as the night breeze brushes through them lightly, adding soft rustles to the
background noise.

Dusk keeps quiet, no more words or sendings coming from her, though her
fingers move to intertwine with Talek's. Her head lifts, and she nuzzles
gently against Talek's cheek, with her own. After that, she winds up murmuring
after all. "Talek, I..I think I lo..like you..a lot.."

Perhaps to Dusk's good fortune, the silver-haired lad misses that momentary
slip of the tongue and a soft chuckle tickles its way up his throat and out
through his teeth. ** I know! ** he sends perhaps amusedly. Is it his fault,
with his thoughts full of the violet-eyed Jylien and the energetic healer
Ynderra, that he thinks of the affections between the two as little more than
a tribe-mate's crush? ** I like you too, Dusk. **

Dusk nuzzles around Talek's cheek a bit more, continuing to be close to him.
Only..she seems to sense that Talek doesn't quite feel the same about her as
she does about him. If it's a simple crush to him, it's turned into a bit more
to Dusk. Ach. Her hands remain over his chest, unmoving for the moment.

Talek relaxes fully now, eyes draw to a slow, partial close, the liquid-grey
of his eyes blurring with content. Its been a.. High Ones! Its been a long
while. Easing slightly into a more comfortable position, his knees drawing up
half-way to his chest some, the older of two seems momentarily oblivious to
Dusk's unease before her lack of movement catches. ** Dusk..? **

Dusk's thoughts return to her dream, of Timmorn, of her name, and it helps
calm her some, though she may have been giving out a slight sense of being
downcast while she had her doubts about what Talek felt towards her. She
exhales softly, and pauses with her cheek a finger's width from Talek's.
"Hmm?"

Talek turns his head and, with Dusk so close, ends up brushing the end of his
nose against her cheek. ** Are you..? ** His eyes blink once. Yow, /close/. **
... all right? **

Dusk's head shifts away slightly as Talek's nose touches her cheek. She wants
to do something else, but whatever it is doesn't happen. "I've found
myself..everything's great, Talek." she whispers, though her eyes stray away
from Talek's as she speaks.

Talek wants to believe that, he truly does. But he's spent enough time among
Wolfriders to know that while its rare for them to meet your gaze dead-on, its
equally rare for them to not meet it at all. A frown plays across his face,
pulling the edges of his lips down and his eyebrows together, the night's
shadows dancing a bit as a few errant hairs fall out of place. ** Are you
certain? ** he queries gently, reaching distractedly to smoothen a bit of her
head-fur back. ** You don't look like 'everything's great.' **

Not everything's great, truthfully, which is why Dusk spoke instead of
sending. She shuts her eyes as her head-fur is brushed back a little, and her
head rests back on Talek's shoulder. ** I don't know yet..I'll tell you when I
can, I guess. ** Her hands slide down and away from your chest, coming back to
help support her by pressing against the branch.

Talek's frown turns deep, slight lines appearing between his brows and about
his eyes. His hand hesitates where his fingertips still lightly touch her
hair, then draws back slowly, moving to grasp the branch as he adjusts his
position so he sits sideways, able to face her better. ** Are you certain? **
Concern, returning unease, and faint understanding add a slightly silver touch
to the rims of his irises.

Dusk draws back from Talek, choosing to rest against the trunk of the cypress
tree, and close her eyes. "I'm certain," she murmurs, beginning to wish she
never bothered to get close like this. Curse her curiosity.

Talek bites back another 'Are you sure?' and bites his lip in the process,
worrying it slightly as he watches Dusk. An awkward silence falls over the son
of Tash that he makes no move to break for long, heavy moments until his
throat clears with a note of his more characteristic shakiness. ** Dusk.. **

"Nevermind, Talek.." Dusk insists, voice cracking faintly as she shakes her
head back and forth. Sure, he said he liked her too, but the chuckle, the way
in which it was said..it just didn't sit right with her. It just wasn't the
same way she feels. She doesn't even know why she feels what she does towards
Talek, but it's the last thing she wants to talk about right now. ** I think
I'm going to go hunt. By myself. **

** But.. ** Talek starts weakly, letting it falter. He reaches out a hand
towards her, but it only makes it part-way, fingers curling in towards his
palms. It hovers there, as if it were nothing more than an extension of his
body, like the branch of a tree, not something he could move and use as he
willed.

Dusk's eyes open, her greenish-gold orbs flickering to the hand Talek offers.
She's not sure what to make of the gesture, so she pauses, finally beginning
to lift her own in reply. She cannot seem to figure this elf out.

Upon Dusk's looking back to him, Talek's fingers uncurl hopefully, some level
of worry fading from his eyes, though it does not all disappear. ** Dusk.. **
the silver-haired elf sends softly, but strongly. He has her attention.. High
Ones help him to keep it. ** I like you.. but I.. do not /know/ what it is..
you want from me. **

There lies the big problem, and Dusk is aware of it, though not able to act to
correct anything yet. It's tough, and frustrating. ** That's just it..I like
you too, and more than that, I think..but I don't know what I want from you
either.. ** Well, she admitted it. She looked at Talek as she said it, but
when done, she glances down towards the ground.

She might feel Talek's eyes, still watching her solemnly, on her even when she
looks away and he adjusts his position to straddle the branch, facing her. **
Joining? **

"Maybe.." Dusk admits. It might be part of it, but it's certainly not the only
problem, nor is it the main one. It seems different for the others in the
holt, but Dusk finds herself leaning more towards just one elf for her, at
least right now. It's most likely why she still hasn't joined with anyone.

Talek tilts his head, a few more errant strands falling over his now-darkened
eyes. ** Maybe? ** he prompts gently. His hand still offered, he hesitates,
then moves it still forward more to rest it on her shoulder. He knows nothing
of her preferences or who has - or has not! - shared her furs. ** If that it
is all it is.. **

The muscles in Dusk's shoulder are tense to Talek's touch, and she sighs as he
touches her and incorrectly assumes that joining is all she cares about. **
It's not just that. ** she sends, firmly. She lets Talek close if he wishes.

** Then what? ** Talek does not get close, maybe sensing the opposite is more
tactful or simply thinking that its easier and less complicated if he keeps
only his hand on her shoulder, fingers squeezing lightly. ** Dusk, I.. ** His
brows wrinkle. ** .... ** Try again, silver-hair. ** Why did you ask me to
come with you? **

"Because..I don't know why..I just did," Dusk murmurs, hiding something here -
that much is probably for certain. She'd hoped that with Talek along and alone
with her, the two might work out whatever feelings they had towards each
other. Of course, Dusk was hoping he'd feel the same towards her as she seems
to be with him, but right now, she's just not sure. As if Talek sees her as
just another tribemate friend. It's hard, because she's felt more, yet it just
won't come out of her mouth or from her mind. "I wanted someone to come with
me, and you were the first one I thought of.."

Talek's eyes resume their normal smoke-on-water shades, yet they regard her
still worriedly for long moments. Finally, he nods slowly, settling back
slightly, his hand drifting off until only his fingertips rest on her
shoulder. ** I see.. All right. **

** We should head back home soon. ** Dusk decides, after a pause. She backs
away from Talek's fingertips, slowly, and drops down to the branch below. ** I
don't really want to stay here any more. I'm going after something to eat. **
Great trip, if you only count the finding of her name.

Talek's head bobs in a slow nod and he draws his hand back to fold it with the
other, fingers interlacing and settling in his lap. ** Good hunting, ** he
sends quietly in reply.

Dusk sends wordless acknowledgment, glancing back up to Talek. She nods, then
grabs her hunting equipment and drops down through the cypress' branches, to
the ground below. She pauses, looking left and right, then disappears into the
night.

Talek gathers his cloak around him like a blanket, smoke-on-water eyes
lingering after Dusk until she vanishes from sight. Then he leans against an
upward rising branch, knees tucking to his chest. His eyes close, as if to
sleep, but consciousness does not slip from his grasp for a very, very long
time.