[Eyelle+Toboe] I Need Help

[[Midnight]]

[And you're the only one who can help me.]

Toboe wandered through the Valley Forest.
The last time he had seen Eyelle, it was here. So he decided to look for here in this exact spot. After about and hour of wandering and finding no trace of Eyelle, he sat down and surprised himself.
He began to cry.

There really was nothing he could do for Sapphire, was there? His sister was doomed to walk this planet feeling alone. Her heart just didn't belong in Dancing Stars anymore, and Toboe was going to have to accept that. He had failed to pay attention to her and so now he was paying the consequences but feeling nothing but guilt.

His eyes swelled with tears. Why wasn't anything going right? Ever since he was born there hadn't been anything but pain. Wolves were dying and murdering, and so there was nothing but shedding tears and broken hearts. And so, Toboe had grown up feeling like he needed to protect any happiness that his pack had, and he'd always feel protective like that.
But now he was feeling hopeless. He couldn't fix people's lives anymore than he could defeat Falling Moon all by himself. He was just one wolf.

He wished he had somebody to tell him it'd be alright. But he was sitting here, alone, and besides... It wasn't going to be alright.

He whined, and then his whine turned into a howl. His howl turned into a song, he was soon pouring out his wolfish soul to the night sky.

[Paint]

Somehow, Eyelle had managed to avoid the world for a week or two. In such a tight-knit pack, it was often difficult to go unnoticed. But Eyelle managed it. She just had to get away from everything, from everyone. Loch and Toboe could wait.

All she could think about was her mother.

But when she heard Toboe howling, her ears pricked and she sat up from her hiding place. She exited into the open air again and decided that she couldn't hold off talking to Toboe any longer. Carefully, she made her way to the source of his howling, gently tracking him until he was in her sights.

"Hello, Toboe," she said softly, moving into sight and stepping towards him gently. She could see his cheeks were wet, he must've been crying. Feeling herself tear up at the idea, she held back from crying too.

[[Midnight]]

It must have been a miracle, because one of the only comforts in this world had actually found Toboe when he most needed it. When he looked up and over at Eyelle, his eyes started well up all over again and he lost it. The sobs came racking deep inside his belly and he huffed for air. Ohh, how he had needed to cry for so long...
It took him a few moments, but he managed to crawl over to Eyelle and nuzzle his face into her chest fur.

"I don't know what to do, Eyelle," he mumbled, sniffling back some of the mucus that had begun to form in his nostrils. It didn't occur to him that poor Eyelle probably had no idea what he was talking about, but it didn't matter. It was just a comfort to have her around, a good friend he knew he could count on. In Toboe's younger world, crying had always been a form of weakness, and so he would only ever let himself cry around very few wolves.

He took his face out of her fur and slid down on his belly, cradling his head against his paws. He trusted Eyelle wouldn't laugh at him, poke fun at his breakdown, or walk away. He just trusted her in general. But when he thought about looking up at her in the eye, he was afraid to do it.
Sapphire, why am I crying over you so much?

[Paint]

Eyelle slipped slowly down into a laying position too, realising how upset Toboe was. Her tears would have to wait... and that suited her just fine. When the rest of the world was falling apart, she knew she had to act together. That's what she needed right now.

She felt as if he couldn't really look at her, so she wouldn't force it. She really didn't have any idea what he was talking about, but he needed her for now. That's all she needed to know.

She nuzzled into the side of his face gently, beginning to lick the salty tears from his face. The little spikes of fur tickled her tongue and made her feel motherly. She tilted her head slightly.
"It's going to be alright, Toboe," she whispered. "I promise you. Nothing can stay bad forever. Sometimes the bad has to come just to remind us of the good."

She didn't think about what she was saying before she said it, but as she spoke she realised it was exactly what she needed someone to tell her. Forgetting herself again, she concentrated on Toboe again, watching his blue eyes glitter brightly.

[[Midnight]]

Eyelle's words echoed in his mind and he dwelled on them. He realized that, in some way, she was so right. But at the same time, he just found himself wishing that the good would, for once, outweigh the bad.
He finally shifted his gaze to look her in the eye.

"My sister... I should just leave her to her own choice. I can't let go of Dancing Stars like that."
He almost said that he couldn't let go of Eyelle, either. And then he remembered how distant Eyelle was being lately, and how Loch seemed to take a liking to her, too. He didn't say it.

He already felt comforted by her touch and her voice. Friends had already been hard for Toboe to find, and right then and there he was so happy to have found Eyelle. Even if she didn't like him like that anymore. His tail began to swish in the dirt. He felt proud of himself, too. He'd stay loyal to his pack until the end, because it meant a lot to him.

Although he felt a little happier, the tears still came, and he tried to wipe them on a forepaw, feeling more childish than ever.
"Do you think I'm stupid for crying like this?" he asked rather suddenly.

[Paint]

Eyelle smiled gently, sadly, at her poor friend. Although she knew not truly how she felt for him, she knew they'd always be friends no matter what. And right now, he needed a friend more than ever.

"Everything concerning your sister will be fine," she nodded, "And you are most definitely not stupid for crying."

She nuzzled into his shoulder, trying to make him feel better. She'd do anything to make him feel better.
"It just shows that you're wolf, you are allowed to have raw emotion when things get tough." She said, trying to make herself sound believable.

[[Midnight]]

His breathing started to get smoother and his gut was no longer wrenching. He was calming down, and it was all thanks to Eyelle. If only he could make it up to her, somehow, but as he pondered over that he lost confidence in himself. Eyelle was just so amazing in every way, and there was no way he could match that!
He smiled and squeezed his eyes shut, letting the last of his tears fall. He definately knew now that he couldn't follow Sapphire to the path of a loner; it was her choice, her calling, but not his. His place was right here, maybe at Eyelle's side, and if Eyelle didn't want that, he'd just work on being the best member of the pack he could ever be.

"How come you're so smart, Eyelle? I could never think of the things you say," he said with a smile and a small laugh, nuzzling his cheek against one of her paws. "You're a good friend. Thank you for listening to me."

[Paint]

She smiled, her own heart throbbing terribly against her chest as she thought about her mother. Truly, when people were upset, she just acted like her mother as much as possible. It usually worked.

God, she missed her.

"I'm not," she continued to smile gently. "And I'm glad you think so, I do try. Don't worry, I love to listen. I love to help people," she said honestly. Just take me away from my own problems any way possible, she thought.

[[Midnight]]

He took a moment to sit up. He felt like crying tears of happiness, now, but he did his best to hold them back. The painful lump came to his throat and he swallowed a couple of times.
Looking away slightly, he noticed that despite her comforting mode, Eyelle could probably use a good friend, too. Someone who would listen to her just as much as she did to others.

"So... How are you, Eyelle?" he asked quietly, studying her face like he did the first night they had hung out.

[Paint]

Eyelle smiled sadly, feeling the prick of tears at her eyes again. But she didn't cry. In a way, as much as she felt she needed to, she just couldn't when she was around others. Not since she'd cried over her mother.

"I'm..." she paused, contemplating how to phrase this. She didn't want to lie to Toboe, she appreciated his trust. She frowned slightly and sighed. "I'm not doing too well. Its just... since my mother died, I feel really detached from everyone," she admitted.

"It's not like I want to be, but at the same time maybe it's me telling myself I have to move on. Like my sister Kitty did, when we were old enough she just left the valley, you know?" she said sadly. "I barely speak to my father, or my sister Leia. Jasmyn and I have grown so apart."

She scrunched up her face in the pain emitting from her heart, her soul, her very being.
"I feel as if I have nobody." she whispered.

[[Midnight]]

Toboe looked down and let his ears prick backwards. She probably wouldn't believe him if she told her about his childhood, but for the longest time in his short life, he felt just the same as she did. Except, he was never close with his siblings to begin with, so there was less for him to lose. Because he knew the kind of pain she was feeling, his heart went out to her.
He tried to think of something to say. He was glad, at least, that she told him how she felt. He didn't like to see her sad so he leaned forward to lick the bottom of her chin comfortingly.

"Things might be changing for you, like it is for me, but we're not alone. We have each other. Don't we? You'll always have me. I promise."
He blinked his blue eyes lovingly, staring at Eyelle's green orbs. He wished he had the courage to ask Eyelle to be his mate. He had been meaning to ask for so long but somewhere down the line it faded into the background. He had noticed how distant Eyelle was being. At least now he knew she was repulsed by him; she was just hurting. She needed someone to comfort her, too.
"And if I'm not enough for you," he started up again, quietly, "and you feel like you need to move on, too, like your sister, then I'll support your decision. Heck, if you wanted me too, I would follow you."

It felt weird for him to say that when he had just denied his own sister. But Eyelle was different. He was in love with her. Sapphire left because she thought everyone hated her, which in reality, was not true. Eyelle was truly losing people close to her. Maybe Toboe could fix her depression even if he couldn't heal his own sister's.

[Paint]

Eyelle looked at Toboe with sad glittering green eyes, sniffing slightly against the tears she was sure should be there.

"Things always change," she said sadly, looking away from him as the breeze whipped through her fur. It made her shiver, and reminded her of the winter. She hadn't really enjoyed winter much... but she'd endure it all again if it meant spending more time with her mother.

"And I really really appreciate you being so lovely, Toboe," she turned back to him, speaking truthfully. "But right now... I don't know. I just feel a need to distance myself from everyone for a while. Work things out in my mind." She nodded vaguely, and then stood up.

"I hope you feel better," she said, on a lasting note, and then padded out of sight.

[[Midnight]]

He nodded to her in understanding, watched her as she walked away, and just stood there. He didn't move for a few minutes, just letting his mind process everything that had passed between he and Eyelle. He was sure now that he wouldn't be having pups this Spring, and it was very probably he'd be mateless. But that didn't matter. Who cares? He had a lot of life left in him, and so did Eyelle. He could be patient for as long as it took for Eyelle to heal.

He'd wait.

A fresh tear came back to one of his eyes, and he wiped it on his leg.
Healing took time. He supposed he needed time to heal, himself. He'd sit back for a while.
And so, with his thoughts cleared, Toboe turned around and walked in the opposite direction.