[ P ] Ameliorate

Finally, life was beginning to make sense again. Willow found herself inching ever closer to some semblance of normalcy, though what that looked like now, she had not yet concluded. Her existence was forever altered by those she had lost, but she was still here. She owed it to those departed to keep pushing forward, to find renewed purpose in a future of her own invention. The desolation of loss, like the ravages of wildfire, could sprout something new, something beautiful in its wake. From the ashes there was life.

The war was over, but still, there was suffering in the northern country. The scars of battle, both physical and emotional, lingered still. Her duty to others was still her guiding light, and though she would not return to Melrose, to Haven, Willow would continue her mother’s legacy. Already, she had ideas of a new place to heal others, newfound dreams of a sanctuary where others could come to heal. But before she could put any plans into motion, Willow would allow herself the grace to simply exist, to rediscover what joy, despite the tarnish of grief.

Despite the winter chill, Willow moved lightly on her paws, a gentle smile gracing her pale muzzle as she made her way through the town. As she weaved her way through the gathered wolves, her dark nose was her guide. The sounds of laughter, of lightheartedness that had been absent for too long, greeted her around each corner. And then, she found it. A smell so familiar and distinct that it felt like going home. Her tail began to sway behind her with unconscious delight as her direction shifted toward the tea shop she had been seeking.

Ostensibly, Willow was returning to collect some treats to bring back to her daughter. But there was a certain draw that had lured the healer back, though it was certainly unconscious on her part. As she entered the humble tea shop, her eyes moved from wolf to wolf in search of the proprietor's gentle, smiling features. What she found instead caused her to gasp aloud, eyes growing wide with alarm at the unexpected sight of a fresh wound on the femme's delicate visage. "Odette...?"


@Odette

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

There was a subtle dull to her sparkle in the days that followed the attack. Fortunately most customer's hardly noticed, so absorbed in their own lives that she did not have to force her smile too terribly hard for most of them. The other fortunate thing was that her Papa was on his guard, keeping an eye on her to make sure she wasn't getting too overwhelmed and taking breaks when she needed to.

If there was anyone who understood how difficult to return to the hustle and bustle of running a business after experiencing a traumatic event, it was her father. He'd even managed to pull her younger cousins, Eliza and Henry, from the Mill to help deliver the orders on the floor while Odette manned the front of house. She made a mental note to spoil the two of them later on whenever she was able to manage it all again herself.

This morning's rush had finally come to an end and she took inventory of what was left for display. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone approaching. Donning her best smile, she straightened up and turned around, opening her mouth to greet the customer, “Hope your mornin's treatin' ya well. What can I get f-" Odette was taken by surprise to come face to face with a familiar pair of gentle, light green orbs.

The sound of her name gracing the blonde beauty's lips left her frozen in place for a second. “W-Willow!" She finally responded, seeing the look of concern on her friend's face and realizing that she must have noticed the fresh wound along her jawline. Immediately becoming self-conscious, she turned to try to conceal the healing bite marks from the midwife's view. “It's so good to see you! Have you been doing alright?"




@Willow

It was too late now for Odette to hide her face. Willow had already noticed the damage done, and the healer wolfess had never been very good at concealing feelings from her own visage. Her expression was one of concern, bordering distraught, with furrowed brows and a deep frown tracing dark lips. The chatter and amusement within the shop seemed to fade from her periphery. Something terrible had happened - Willow knew before she could even ask a question.

Peridot orbs fixed upon Odette as the woman offered greetings in a cheerful voice... as if nothing had happened to her, for the sake of her customers and perhaps for Willow herself… but Willow couldn't go along with this act, as if everything was normal and alright when her own eyes could see otherwise. Maybe the wolves who she served had not noticed or worse, had not cared. For Willow, her mind was already conjuring up worst case scenarios that could have befallen her friend.

Willow had seen more than her fair share of battle wounds following the war's conclusion, but weeks had gone, and anyone with any semblance of training could see that Odette’s injury was more recent than that. Willow felt panic swelling within her as she moved closer to the wolfess, nearly running into a few surprised patrons in the process, as her eyes were still fixed upon the marred features of the other woman. When she was close enough to ask it, she spoke in an urgent whisper: ”Will you be closing up shop soon?”



@Odette

art + code: clae

She'd already seen it. It was too late. Despite the cheerful greeting she'd offered, she could read it plainly on the other woman's face that she could see right through her customer-pleasing facade. She cursed herself internally, her bright smile faltering beneath the weight of Willow's scrutinizing gaze. She cleared her throat, glancing at other patrons seated in the shop for fear that all eyes would be trained on her. Of course, they all had their own lives and things to worry about...nevermind the baker's daughter.

Odette nearly missed the words of inquiry coming from her friend. Had her gaze not refocused on the other young woman's dark, velvet lips, she might've missed what she'd said entirely. She blinked herself back to reality and turned to look at the store of their pastries from the morning, most of it beginning to wane after a busy start to the day, but there was still more to sell. “I...uhm..." She felt a presence behind her and nearly jumped at the sound of a deeper voice.

“Need a break, Odette?" She tilted her head back to peer up at the looming figure of her father upsidedown. Relief removed the tension from her muscles and she turned around to face him. “Is that alright?" Her father gestured for her to step aside and let him take over, turning to the woman across from then and giving her a nod and a grunt of acknowledgement.




@Willow

W

illow seemed oblivious to the curious eyes of shop patrons that had been drawn to her whilst she maneuvered through the crowd, attention fixed on Odette until an older wolf appeared behind her. She had not met Odette’s father previously, and Willow realized with embarrassment that the first impression she had just made was… probably not the best. She cast the resident baker an apologetic smile. Without further comment, Willow stole another glance from the corner of her eyes to the other’s face, which inspired an unconscious wince. The healer she-wolf could only guess how painful such a wound would be.


With more care than before, Willow would weave between tables and wolves to lead Odette outside. As she exited the building, the cold air swept her tri-color fur into a mess. The worry was etched across her face, anxious eyes and dark lips arched into a deep frown. “I came to see – well, nevermind that now.”


Before she could ask the obvious question – what happened? – Willow stopped herself, fearing that she already knew the answer. Her eyes were misty with tears that well there at the prospect of what the gentle wolfess had endured. But her concern and her sadness were lapsed by a different emotion. Brows knit close together in a glare as she looked from Odette’s new scar to the passersby on the cobblestone road. ”Odette, who did this to you?”



@Odette

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Odette gave her father a quick nuzzle before moving out from behind the counter to follow Willow outdoors. The wind buffeted both of their coats and she shivered, drawing closer to her friend seeking warmth. When she realized she'd tucked her frame into the other's petite curves, she withdrew slightly, not wishing to cross any boundaries she wasn't privy to.

Then Willow began to speak and Odette's eyes were glued to her, hanging off of every word rolling off of her tongue until she interrupted her own statement. “You came here to see..." The baker's daughter repeated more slowly in an attempt to encourage her to fill in the blank. It was clear, however, that the obviously fresh wounds on her face had distracted those the tri-colored woman's from whatever it was she was going to say.

The misty tears that were beginning to form around peridot gems caught Odette off-guard and her instinct to immediately try to provide comfort kicked in. She touched her nose to each of Willow's cheeks beneath her eyes, concern forming in her expression. It was when she realized that the entire reason for her friend's upset was her own appearance, Odette's cheeks grew hot.

She blinked, her mouth opening and closing like a codfish, stunned speechless. “O-oh, oh my goodness, Willow...you had me so worried for a moment...I thought something might've happened to you..." There was the slightest relief and then she became more serious, the matter of her injury reminding her that the man who had attacked her could have easily gone after the lovely woman in front of her as well.

A frown drew her lips downward, shame prickling the fur on the back of her neck as she lowered her gaze. “I...I don't know...and I've been struggling to come up with a true description, it all happened so fast..." She trailed off, appearing thoughtful before she lifted her head again. “I am alright, though. It...it could have been...a lot worse..." Odette swallowed, suddenly noticing the way her paws trembled as she recollected the recent events.




@Willow

Willow was surprised when Odette took to trying to comfort her instinctively, still so gentle despite what she had evidently endured, with the brush of soft fur against her own, the sweet smells of the bakery mingling with the femme's lupine scent. Though the closeness of the lady was a welcome respite from the cold, Willow’s mind was focused on the immediate concern – not her own emotions, but Odette’s well-being. ”I’m fine,” she offered hurriedly, though she felt a bit less fine imaging how painful such a wound must have been to receive from … from who?

Odette explained what had happened in veiled terms, vague and unsettling. Willow waited to see if the story would continue, but only silence followed for several long beats. Part of her didn’t want to know what calamity had befallen her friend, but an even bigger part of her had to know. From the corner of an eye, Willow caught sight of. the other’s pale paws shaking with emotion. Unconsciously, Willow drew nearer to her, now being the one to fill the small space between them.

Dark nostrils wrinkled in disdain for a villain still unnamed as her mind reeled with dark possibilities, but there was only one way to find out. ”Were you – did it happen here? Was there a robbery, or–?” A sharp inhale of frigid air was released in a sigh, gaze turned upward and out to the wolves who walked down the roads, carefree beneath the winter’s sky. ”Are you safe, Odette? I could take you - we could go somewhere else, somewhere...” Her words tapered off as she sought the other woman's golden sights, searching.



@Odette

art + code: clae

Willow drew in closer to her and Odette's breath caught in her throat, her brows furrowing at her own reaction to the proximity. The warmth that filled her wasn't simply from what was shared between them externally and Odette averted her gaze bashfully, though she remained where she was. Willow began to ask her the typical questions and she turned back towards her, nothing a fierce determination in her eyes.

“I was headed home after closing shop, so...well, it wasn't exactly within the city limits, but..." She shifted uncomfortably at the inquiry of it being a robbery. “I...I had nothing on me...he...he didn't seem to care about...taking an item from me...he was more interested in...uhm..." Odette squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, trying to keep her composure. She thought that she had already cried all that she could about the matter before now...clearly she was wrong. She breathed a hopeless sounding sigh as she tried to ground herself. “My father makes sure to stay and walk me home every night now...meanwhile, I've been asking around...trying to find out any information that I can on the man in the shadows..."

The escape that Willow offered was instantly enticing, though she knew she couldn't exactly abandon the tea shop and bakery. “Well, I...I would love to...I don't know if I..." She glanced over her shoulder at the building and then bit her lip as she peered into light green eyes again, the scent of rosemary and sage muddling her thoughts momentarily. “I just need to let them know back inside, but, uhm...where...exactly are we going?" She asked, her head tilting as she watched her friend curiously, expectantly.






@Willow

Odette began to describe what had transpired near the city limits. What saddened Willow was the fact that she had already guessed it would be the nightmare her friend was describing. Was this the world they existed in? Where a wolf thought he could take whatever he pleased? No – this was not a world Willow could tolerate, nor an existence she would abide by. Just thinking of this man – no, this monster in the shadows caused her skin to crawl and heart to race. ”I’m sorry you had to endure that. You didn’t deserve it.” The sadness in the girl's eyes moved her heart and brought tears to peridot sights as her vision shifted to a group of passersby who didn't spare them a glance.

The subject shifted to the future; Odette asked where they would escape to, and Willow’s attention returned to the present, focus finding the gentle eyes of her friend once more. “I know of just the place,” she offered with newfound optimism. She was still deeply concerned, not to mention deeply disturbed, by what she had just heard. But Willow had found a sanctuary not far from Odette’s village, off the beaten path where no one was likely to find her. There dwelled a giant, though whether she would be there, she couldn’t predict. Willow had felt safe there; she was confident that Odette would be protected there, too.

”Say you’ll come with me,” she pleaded with soft eyes that still glistened with concern for the other wolfess.



@Odette

art + code: clae

As they both muddled through a most unsettling topic, it was a relief to refocus on the here and now and what to do next. More specifically, where they would be going. A cheerful lilt was added to her tone as Willow claimed that she knew just the place. Odette was beyond curious to know what she had in mind and her lips parted to ask, but she decided that not knowing would make the best part of an adventure. She also realized that she truly did trust Willow, even if they weren't particularly close...she could tell the earnest kindness the woman presented to her was genuine.

Peridot orbs hardly had to plead with her as she immediately stepped forward and closer to the other as if drawn in. “I'd love to." Odette responded, pausing for a moment to simply admire Willow's natural beauty. The shape of her face and the way the blonde and cream highlights of her fur framed her darker muzzle. A small smile appeared on her lips and then she blinked herself back to reality, taking a step back and gesturing over her shoulder. “If you'll give me a moment, I need to let my family know." She spun on her heel, her steps seeming to carry a lighter bounce as she re-entered the bakery.

She instantly made her way to her father at the front who lifted his head, peering at her expectantly as she returned to him. “I'm going to spend some time with my friend Willow. Will you, Eliza, and Henry be able to handle the business yourselves?" Even before she finished her sentence, McGregor was already nodding and moving closer to her to pull her into an embrace. He pressed a kiss to her forehead as he always had when they parted and when she peered up at him she could see the worry in his eyes before he made it known. “Aye, we'll be fine. Just...be back before nightfall if you can help it...or at least have someone walk ya home." Odette leaned in for another hug, giving him a tight squeeze. “I'll be careful, Papa. I promise." With that, she turned and headed back out.

She soon emerged, not wanting to leave Willow waiting in the cold for her. She instantly tucked herself against the smaller frame of the woman and smiled, awaiting for her to lead the way. “Ready when you are." Odette hesitated for a moment before deciding to speak her thoughts. “And Willow? Thank you...for this, it'll be nice to think about something other than work and what happens in the shadows."






@Willow