My constant

(Note! This is technically a solo post just to address the emotion Voltage would feel over this. If you want to join you can <3)

It was late, very late. Perhaps the only ones that were awake were the two...well, no, three now, night owls. Selini, Astrea and Seerten. He could bet the world that if he climbed that cliff they would be there, basking in their various lights. It was in the quiet of the night, the solitary that being the only one awake brought, that he allowed it all to fall. The coastal winds were nothing but a whistle against the dens, pulling away whatever warmth the autumn sun had given them. The waves crashed in the distance, but he was deaf to it all. All he heard, all he felt, was the soft breathing of his big brother merely feet away. Voltage stood in the cave entrance, his shadow casting long over his brother's still form. For a long while he just stood there, staring, his stormy eyes tracing Glacier's ribs as they rose and fell in his constant sleep. The sight of his brother falling in his chase to protect his family, hearing the impact and then...nothing continuously replayed before his eyes. He couldn't shake it, wondering if he could have done something else. He should have been there, from the beginning, two of them would have chased the threat away much easier than just Glacier. If Voltage had been there, if he had only been there, Glacier would be fine.

With a pitched sigh he took a step forward before freezing, brows furrowed as he lowered his head, watching his brother. It was okay...it had to be okay.

He couldn't stop the way his eyes stung, the way his lungs tightened and air seemed like a memory. He couldn't help the sights that flashed before his eyes, memories...

Glacier had always been his constant. There had never been a moment in Voltage's life where his brother hadn't been there. Every step he took, there Glacier was with his ever steady gait. He had been there the first moment Voltage opened his eyes. He was there when Voltage was learning how to run, how to handle his energy, always helping calm him down when he got too riled up. The ever steady glacier, always there. Through their banishment, through their journey, through their decision to take on the responsibility of their family. He withstood Voltage's constant energy, his flitting mind.

He understood. He knew exactly what to say, and when to let Voltage go off on his many tangents. Glacier had been the first wolf Voltage had gone to about Gaia. There were no secrets between them, there was never any need. He knew of his brother's thing with Anais before even Glacier figured it out, and Glacier had known just what land Voltage would fall in love with and had taken the time to seek it out. There was nothing in the world that could stop Glacier.

No, that was a lie wasn't it.

There shouldn't have been anything...

Shaking his head he stepped forward, his tail lax behind him as he stepped to his brother's side. "Don't worry Big Brother....I have it all under control." He whispered, his usual deep boyish tones were pitched as he tried to make it through his tight lungs, his burning throat. "I hope you trust me..." A tear would slip then, moving along his cheek to land forgotten on the cave floor. He curled himself around the unmoving Glacier, laying his tail along his back and tucking his nose into his neck, just as Glacier had always done for him.

He had never dreamed that something like this would happen, that Glacier would be the one to fall. Voltage had always been the reckless one, and it was rather often in their childhood that he would do something stupid and Glacier would be the one wrapped around him, helping him heal. It didn't seem fitting to be in reverse.

How could anything cause the unmovable Glacier to fall?

With a whimper he tucked himself closer, remembering the quiet nights after they were banished from their home. Just the two of them, huddled close in the crest of their childhood, keeping each other warm from the coastal winds. They had often spoke of their siblings, tried to make sense of their sudden abandonment, and it had always been Glacier whispering to Voltage, calming his aching heart.

And now there was only silence.

With a gentle sigh he rested his chin on Glacier's shoulder, staring at the mouth of the den. He could just make out the moon beyond the entrance. At least they had a den now. "I hope you don't mind...I...allowed Astrea's special someone to join our pack. He suites us...in fact, he reminds me of you. And Serefina is doing amazing with training, she managed to get everyone to show....and Terrae, oh, you'd be so proud of how well he's looking after you.." He whispered, his voice pinched as he closed his eyes tightly.

"Don't worry brother...I'll take care of it all until you wake up. But..." He trailed off for a moment, lifting himself up just slightly to stare down at his brother's unmoving face. There was no familiar care among those features, just blank with sleep and the soft breathing that kept him alive. "I can't do it alone forever..." He'd whisper, laying a kiss along his brother's crown, tucking his nose into his thick fur once more. "You better wake up, or I'm telling Anais on you.." He whispered, hardly able to get the words out as the sadness leaked from him. All his strength just fled as he embraced his big brother, his constant force, his confident...and now, unmoving, fallen, hurt...

"Please...I need you..."