Once in Winter

[Sora]

The she-wolf lay at the mouth of a den, streaked in shadow and sunlight. The clouds expanded across the mid-afternoon sky, tranquil white and smoky grey. Summer in the mountains was warm and dry; pungent with the scent of pine and fir trees. In that area of the forest they were old and grew graciously. The leafy poplars and the red branched manzanita sprouted thickly at their bases, creating a dense foliage at the forest floor. Where the she-wolf lay a wizened conifer grew close and the pale green of the undergrowth fanned forward boldly. There the wolf slept at the edge of a stagnant pond of snowmelt and summer rain. She was draped in a blanket of light and dark that flickered across her soothingly in the still woods. A choir of birds sung her a lullaby as they fought for food.

The she-wolf was two years of age, fresh out of cubhood and as large as an average male. Her legs were long and thick, they could carry her as far as a lifetime. Her ribs were burly for that of a female and her chest as well. Lids sheltered wild eyes that slept in a blunt face. Her name was Sora, and she had been whelped in the very den beneath her to Gryffin, the tri-hued Drappa of List. She had been strong and well taken care of; she had survived. Not like a wolf, but like a snake. She had spent her first moons of life manipulating and fighting to get other’s to do what she had wanted. Finally, a yearling and disgusted with List’s weakness, she had wandered its farthest regions and grown, and grown, and grown. Now that she was back, she was no longer a cub. She could take her rightful place in the pack and live up to the generations before her. But how? Her cocksureness, her hatred of Drathlic, Renn, Aiyu, and Silent, her boldness, had destroyed her packs trust in her. Once it had meant nothing, but now it meant everything.

It had only been a sun since Sora’s return, greeted by Sudak and Gryffin and their foolish new follower. She did not want to stick around after the black femme had insulted her, so she had left to wander in the night. But she had returned to the bank of the Crimson Pool at mornings dawn and lapped its pungent water. Sora had always been in awe of the place, sacred to List. She had been born and suckled at its side, as those before her. And like them, she too would one day join in it’s mystery.

The murky surface of the pool supported eight crimson lilies, each one blooming for a fallen member of List. Sora did not know their true power, but while she slept she began to dream…

It was winter, the blizzard whipped her fur. Sora stood disorientated, head bowed against the gale. She was not alone; a group of wolves faced her, silent as a frosty twilight. Her hackles raised against them, but they were not challenging. They offered no greeting, but she almost thought they knew her. One stepped from their ranks, a tall and lanky she-wolf with only a single brown eye. She stepped in front of Sora, a faint grin on her maw. Sora opened her jaws in protest, but the she-wolf had already taken her ear by her fangs.

Sora twitched and woke with eyes fixed on a ruddy male with striking eyes. Her own narrowed as she rose to face him, completely forgetting the dream.

The wind was very gentle, but the lilies were stirring on the water.

ehh =/

(P)

[Drathlic]

Summer had come slowly but gradually to the land of Transylvania, and with it the heat had turned in most places rather stifling. Luckily, the terrain of List was of higher altitude to the rest of the forest below and the climate was altogether completely different. It felt a little more like a warm spring in the sparse pine forest, the weather rather more comfortable to handle - and that was one of the plus sides about the territory region. Winter on the other hand was a major downfall in the creator’s choice; causing most prey to leave the mountains and the weather to be so severe at times the pack couldn’t hunt in the conditions anyway.
This particular day however was just like the previous summer days; warm and pleasant. Birds flitting in and out of the undergrowth, their squabbling shrieks killing the silence that enveloped the Carpathian range. Very little stirred on warm days, even today the herla which visited the remote grazing grounds were lazing in the hazy heat and taking a chance to simply relax. It was unlikely they were to be prayed on, not with issues within the pack being so profound and all attention on each other rather than their stomachs.

News on the soothing summer breeze had been far from comforting indeed, and the ruddy Beta of List had grown unsettled and rather disturbed over the past several moons. Life within the borders had been far from peaceful for the still young varg, he had been in hiding and his nerves had gone increasingly tense. After the run in with the Balkar’s Second - Carcharoth - he had grown cold and his mind was on a constant whirl. He missed his mate Shayla desperately, but every howl he had sent out was replied with nothing but silence and the fear that she too had disappeared like Silent had nearly a year ago was a daunting prospect.
Drathlic had heard whispers of a sauntering ghost in the Kerl lands, and if the tell tale whispers were correct then he had a worrying twist in the pit of his stomach to compete with above all matters. Rumours in his mind were beginning to play over and over a little too frequently in his mind and he was going crazy with anxiety that they were true. And if they were…something was to be done…something drastic,,,

Suddenly, a scent that was stale in his mind but incredibly fresh on the soil before him caught his attention. His rounded ruddy auds perked and his cyan gaze was sharply brought down to the trail before him. Could it be true? Attentively he paced back and forth, nose snuffling spasmodically in a furious fashion as he picked up her scent and the direction in which it was headed. Indeed it was right, she gad returned.
All thoughts on his previous dilemma were thrown to the back of his mind now as he took flight in the direction of the Listern dens. Thinned out ruddy pelt barely shifted as he surged with great ease and accuracy through the uneven and tree littered territory, the wind which felt non-existent before was now streaking passed his pulled back ears and causing a sound that was almost deafening.

Within hardly any time at all it seemed, the expanse of water which was the Crimson Lake stretched out before him and to his left lay the well known den site in which so many cubs it seemed had been reared over the years. Skidding abruptly to a halt his cyan eyes fell hungrily on the sleeping form of Sora; his enemy and the initial cause for his frayed contentment,
A deep growl rumbled up from within Drathlic’s core as he turned to face her, padding slowly with his head lowered with tail and hackles firmly erect. Yet just as he was reaching her she stirred from her slumber with a jolt and caught sight of him. With a frown creasing her brow she got to her paws and stood up against him, her frame almost as large as his own. Lips twitching back into the beginnings of a snarl, the ruddy Beta licked his nose in an aggressive gesture. ”The snivelling runt with no heart or soul has returned. And what do we owe the pleasure Sora?”

(It's aweful, seriously out of practice. Sorry >.< )

[Sora]

Sora bared her fangs in a large smile as Drathlic swung toward her, bristling and spewing his dominance. She did not move to challenge him, but gently swayed her tail back and forth. He appeared different from their last meeting. He no longer seemed as large and for maybe the first time she appreciated his cyan eyes. They were as blue as the frail flowers that grew in the meadows. And what did his actions say of him? She was still unwelcome, she was still despised. “Fine,” she thought to herself. “But not for much longer.”

“Apparently,” she growled lightly; there was a flicker in her green eyes. “Gryffin and Sudak welcomed me home just the other sun.” So she had no heart and no soul? Than why did her chest beat so wildly with the thundering hooves of the deer? Why did her howl carry beyond the moon to the place of her past? Drathlic was bitter, and somewhere in her heart, Sora was as well.

She had not even been six moons when the ruddy male shed his omega skin and took her in his jaws. He had been the only one to discipline Sora in her short life. He transformed her from an aspiring wolf to what she really was; a cub. The fear and hate that had leapt through her body and suspended her in air had vanished to a memory, but left in its wake acknowledgement. He had proven he could become stronger.

Drathlic still dwelt on the days when she had tormented himself and his weak gang of friends. But she would change that; she had too.

Her eyes glinted steely as she glanced once more into his cyan orbs; they were not so delicate anymore.

“What will it take for you to trust me?” Moons of lies and manipulation, and all she wanted now was the truth.

The Crimson Pool seemed to mutter.

[Drathlic]

Their eyes met and something glimmered within the emerald pools which faced the young Beta, something he couldn’t quite decipher. Drathlic had never managed to understand the way faemme thought, despite most of his friends being bitches. Something haunted the ruddy brute the longer he glared into them, a strange shadowy figure that was all too familiar to him from the day he was accepted into the pack to the present. His Drappa’s magnificent and potent gaze was in fact mirrored in her daughter, and suddenly he hoped to the Gods that as a youth Gryffin had never been as cold as this, despite her mother and father’s reputation.
Sora’s calm response startled Drathlic for a moment and his brow furrowed into a deep frown; something had changed. Or had it? She was full of tricks and conniving schemes this one, and the fact that she had once betrayed List and joined the pirate pack Dreogan proved to him that she was not one to be trusted. The wicked way she had toyed with his friend’s mind and used his weakness against him. If it wasn’t for her then his initial break into this newly twisted mind would never have come about. What one earth was Gryffin and Sudak thinking when they welcomed her home? They must have been in some otherworldly state of mind, in Drathlic’s opinion.

Growling deeply he was just about to retort when she questioned him this time, her words once more calm and collective, her body language non threatening in the slightest. What would it take? What would it take?! Had Sora even realised what she had put him through? What desperate fury, heart ache and torment she had meddled with? Drathlic’s mind began to bubble and a furious growl began to grow up from within the pit of his stomach, rumbling in his throat as he lips pulled back further, gums starting to go white with the pressure.
Taking another step forward he raised his head so that it was only just higher than Sora’s - she was indeed a large varg, though thankfully for his ego in such a situation he was still that few inches taller - cyan hues glared down icily into her poisonous orbs. ”Are you even aware, Sora, of how much you managed to warp our world when you were only a few moons old? What on earth would make me think that you have changed enough for me to even consider trusting you now?” he snarled back in response, fully aware that his was spitting his words out in sharp punches.
Lowering his voice he leaned in that little bit closer, a maddened glint suddenly masking his pure, almost puppy-like eyes. “You’re bigger now, aren’t you? You can finally take that revenge out on me that you’ve so long desired for…”

(sorry it's a bit off...wasn't quite sure how to end it...but I think Drathlic's finally snapped >.< )

[Sora]

Sora was not even revolted; she had the strong urge to laugh at him, and herself as well. Drathlic’s eyes had once been as delicate as a morning sky, but now they were the stupid ones of a wild beast. She had thought on that sun in her cubhood that the ruddy male had realized his path of a warrior. Now that she had returned to a different season- a different world- she accessed that he had not traveled any farther than the brink of weakness.

At first sight she had assumed him stronger, but that was a mere façade. Drathlic took no responsibility for his own life; he blamed it’s course on Sora. The she-wolf sneered at his fangs and his bulk; she was not afraid of the Beta. Even if he took her throat in his jaws and crushed he neck she would not respect them. He acted as if this was the past and he was still young and Sora just a whelp.

Drathlic was correct about one thing: Sora had not changed, but her way of life had. Unlike him every act she performed would mean a lifetime to her, for she did not act if it meant a little less than everything.

She could not tell him all this. Drathlic would not listen to her. Sora was amused that he had turned out this way; she had expected a wolf that could provide. Instead it was a wolf to fearful to live his life.

Sora faced death everyday, but she still did not comprehend it. Her own life might as well be infinite, but she was learning. She discovered more as she traversed the way of a warrior: it was the only way for her.

Sora bared her teeth in a mocking way; challenging him had never been her intention and now he was not even worth it. She wanted a single thing from him.

“I haven’t changed,” she growled, laughing. “You haven’t changed. We’re the same. I’m not interested in revenge, I’m interested in your friendship. So hate me, if that’s the worst you can do, but I trust you with my life and my secrets.”

Drathlic could bite her if he wished, but his teeth could leave no mark. She knew who she was and she knew who he was.

“What happened to Silent,” she asked before he could say a word.

ehh =/

[Drathlic]

The moment of silence between them was long and full of tension - at least on Drathlic’s side. He had no idea what was going on inside her twisted little mind, the thought process for her next move was well hidden despite her most obvious sneer that she now wore on her lips. The ruddy Beta was not always the varg that he was now portraying before the golden faemme, he was in fact a rather tender and kind mann who cared dearly for his friends and held a very calm demeanour. Yet as of late, after the moons of hatred for Sora; the disappearance of Sudak; the invasion of Balkar into his loved homelands and the battle with Carcharoth he had slowly been broken and beaten both emotionally and physically into an emotional wreck.
Without any signs or hints, Drathlic could go from one extreme to the next - and more often than not it was whilst in the company of his fellow pack members or when facing an intruder along the border. If Sora had been a friend such as Renn, his reaction would have been altogether different, and one that was far more expected of the brute who had entered the lands a mere Sikla who cared for everyone and everything.

It was true, Drathlic blamed Sora for the state he was in now - yet the only thing he knew was that without her, he may have turned into a completely different varg given the situations he had been put through in his life. The ruddy brute had not had the best start in life, but with the help of Ilinga in his early days within the forest of Transylvania and List there after, he had managed to get through cubhood and grow large and strong.
If he’d looked at himself now through the eyes of a calm and observant onlooker, he wouldn’t even recognise himself. It was indeed shameful that the Beta of List had developed a severe case of split personality - both sides poles apart.

Just has Drathlic parted his jaws to snap back a response, a question hit him with the force of a full blown avalanche, causing him to stagger back slightly and his hackles to put their guard down. Replacing his manic expression, the Beta had suddenly been reduced to a state of shock and realisation. He had forced himself to forget about Silent, to move on with his life and make it work with Shayla, but now memories of her were flooding back and his heart rate began to accelerate
His cyan eyes averted to the earth in the space between Sora and himself, their icy glimmer now melting into a once more softness that was in fact his true soul. ”I…I don’t know…” he mumbled quietly more to himself than to Sora.

(sorry I wasn't sure where to go with this, so I figured I'd end it there rather than mumble on more rubbish)

[Sora]

The fight fled from the ruddy male; he bowed his head in defeat. The beast in his eyes had retreated and once again the sparkling blue returned. They were pained and lonely and beautiful. Sora’s ear twitched upon her head, taking in his loss. This wolf had been born with a gentle nature; that of a cubs. Yet he had tried to change himself. In the ways of a wolf he was cunning and powerful, but in the way of his spirit he was neither. Drathlic was as clear as a lake, as clear as his cyan eyes, but he attempted to muddy himself. Now he stood confused on a summer day, his past fallen away around him.

The she-wolf was no longer filled with contempt; she could not go on hating him. Her future depended on it. Sora would accept him as a gentle heart, and as her Beta. For was she any different than Drathlic? She had not been true to herself for many a moon.

As a cub she had always been a fighter and a dreamer. In those early days of her life Sora had played beneath the pine trees and through the meadows and in the waters. She challenged her littermates with unconditional glee, be it the sun or the moon on her back. Stories had enraptured her imagination and her heart, she listened to her elders of hunts and Drappa’s, stars and Gods, birth and death until she almost believed in them. She was a free spirit.

It was along the way, faced with pride and duty, that she took the fate of List upon her shoulders. Sora could not remember an exact time or season or even the decision itself; but it had been made. She took it upon herself to nurture List, whatever that meant to the other wolves of her pack.

Sora, driven towards one thing alone, still felt the throb of her free spirit unaltered. Drathlic, in the face of duty, must still feel his own true nature as well. Maybe the only difference was that Sora tread the trail of a warrior. Or so she believed. There was much more to learn.

The she-wolf abandoned her pride. She knew nothing of love, she had never experienced trust. What did it mean for Drathlic to lose Silent? The end of the mountains? An eternal season of winter? Nature was harsh like that, but the ruddy male would move on. It was the way of the wolf; it was not a choice.

Yet in the woods, on a sluggish afternoon, with the lilies for witnesses, they dwelled on the past. Life ebbed continuously forward, but the two wolves paused for a moment in the streams of their lives for the wolf Silent, and for themselves.

More than one wolf had thought the deep green of Sora’s eyes cruel or poisonous or cold, unbeknownst to her. Yet she shed that skin. The emerald pools looking upon the ruddy male were deep and unflinching, but not unkind. Neither did they show emotion; there was a light in them…a sparkle.

Sora had revealed herself before, but never to Drathlic. In this moment there was nothing to hide. She extended her head, and touched him lightly with her nose. His thick pelt tickled and smelled strong, she almost pulled away.

“Don’t change yourself Drathlic,” she growled close to his hide. “Live like a warrior. I trust you.”

Had Sora hated Silent? Yes. Had she accused her of weakness? Yes. Was her disappearance beneficial? Yes.

Sora would continue to live against her nature, despite her advice to Drathlic. She was not ready to turn back

For this moment, she could mourn and celebrate Silent. Lifting her powerful neck she howled hauntingly towards the swirling clouds. Her voice quivered in her throat. With those notes she sung to her freedom.

ehh =/

[Drathlic]

The ruddy male remained silent, his heart feeling suddenly heavy and his chest was aching. He had been so sure that he had moved on from his lost love, the one he had never managed to fully commit himself to. They were both young, both naive and clearly both seen as weak-links within the pack’s cold hearted centre. But that didn’t bother the pair, for they were in love. From the day they met and from the moment Drathlic began speaking to the slightly younger fae, she had caught his heart and helped warm it throughout the winter and allowed it to be free through the summer breeze.
Yet she had gone, disappeared, left without warning. For moons the lowly Beta had wandered the borders calling out to her, singing his song in desperate hope that he would hear even the faintest response on the breeze. Nothing. Not even when he’d taken several trips out of the pack lands to search the world beyond had he even come across a mere trace of her scent. It was official, Silent had disappeared forever.

That was when he’d found Shayla. Just at the right moment he had been on his way back to List when she had crashed into the river not far upstream where he’d stopped to quench his thirst. The Ge-Rad Beta, who had been Drathlic’s first friend other than his adopted sister Ilinga in the land of Transylvania, had returned home to her own pack to find out that her mother had been killed by the ever fearful Wolfbane. It seemed surreal and altogether dreamlike that their paths had crossed just at such inappropriate moments. Ever since the ruddy brute had befriended the silvery faemme he had found something special within her grey pools, something worth holding onto in her tainted heart. And so why let her go? He’d already lost one love, he didn’t want to lose another beloved part of his heart.
So after a moon or so of courting her, Drathlic finally let his love show to the faemme who’d helped rest itch his heart together and fill in the hole which had been left behind by Silent.

But now…now Silent had been brought back to him by merely the word of a varg who had never once shown any love to another. It wasn’t only the memories of Silent that hurt, it was the daunting fear that Shayla too had left in the same manner. He was left alone in this world once more by the two varg who had understood him most - and even his good friend Renn had abandoned the pack. Was it any wonder Drathlic’s soul had twisted and his mind was confused to the point where he had acquired a split personality?
Sora’s touch caused the Beta to flinch and his lids to lift, cyan eyes falling on the figure before him. As she pulled back her head to sing out a song to Silent Drathlic’s lips twitched and his brow furrowed into a frown. Her words that followed felt hollow and meaningless to him, and it caused his hackles to prickle in annoyance. Why was she so determined to amend old wars and to befriend the Beta? What would she gain out of it exactly?

A light growl tickled his throat but he refrained from snarling and snapping at her now. She was right about one thing; he wasn’t going to change himself. That in itself meant that he was still no where near to even beginning to trust this witch. She was corrupt, twisted and deadly. If Sudak and Gryffin couldn’t see it, then at least he could - and he’d stick to his guns for as long as possible.
Raising his head he rolled his shoulders and allowed his hackles to relax, though that didn’t stop his tail raising once more to its more dominant position. At least now he looked in control and level-headed, not the snarling and spitting beast he had been moments before. Drathlic was a Beta, and one that deserved respect for his duties. ”You trust me? Well, that’s good to know at least. But I’m sorry to say Sora, nothing you can say will ever gain my trust for you. First impressions mean a lot, and the one I received from you was altogether spitefully impressionable,” he growled deeply, his cyan hues holding no hint of warmth for the younger bitch. ”It’ll take more than a ‘sudden change of heart’ to win my respect,” he concluded, holding his ground against her whilst awaiting a response.

(sorry for the wait, hope it's ok. Don't know where this could take the thread, I'll let you decide)