It was here, that she would return. The femme hadn't been here for ages, and the last time she was, she could not remember. Her fur was buffeted by the cold wind, fiery amber gaze seemingly empty yet hardened as she stared out over the sands. Her vision unmoving as she stood upon the shore looking out over the water, the evening sunset casting its fiery glare upon the surface. The scents were gone. Then again, she didn't expect them to linger anymore...her old life, vanished. Her heart ached for her lost family. She had left Alacritia on a journey to find her mother and father, but she couldn't find a single trace nor whisper of their whereabouts. Having left behind her remaining siblings, Avalon risked the journey alone. And along the way, she gained nothing but how to survive now. She hadn't been able to do it before, hardly. Having been abandoned at a young age, kidnapped, and then released into a world where everything seemed so cruel. She had been afraid, and although still felt like that at times, she was also stronger. A soft sigh escaped her lips. The large female beginning to move forward towards the cold water. Winter was upon the land it seemed, and it was around this time a couple years ago she had left on her search. This was the place she had come to first in hopes of finding her family. The place where they had grown up...the place, they called home. But home was nowhere, it seemed. Her home had been with her family, and although the memories would always remain, there would also be a piece of her missing. She missed her family so much...but maybe it was now time to let go. She stood at the edge of the water, the incoming tide lapping at her paws. The spray of every incoming wave began to soak her belly fur, and yet she did not mind. Was there anything left here for her? With no family, and nowhere to go, what was she to do? She remembered the old Alphess she had met before, Chrysanthe had been her name...but that was so long ago. Was she still around? Blinking away the droplets of moisture from her eyes, Avalon turned away from the water, and began walking along the beach to the South. It was cold here in the North, and although it didn't bother her, she didn't want the memories coming back to haunt her. This was the place she had lived...her life stripped away at such a young age. Her family gone. Her heart...broken. Although she could cope with it, she would always feel a piece of her missing. "Speech"

The north might of called to him, that was the reason why he was here. The history that this place held was a constant reminder of who he could have been, and who he was not at the moment. Yet, when he saw the female, he lowered himself to the sand a little bit to watch her. Who was she? For a moment he thought he knew who she was, but obviously her scent and appearance were foreign. Vereux raised himself once more, perhaps, he could do some recruiting for Yfir. Katja might have been happy about that, it wasn't like the pack was evil. They were strong, and they needed the members regardless. He himself was a pack wolf by nature, he could not handle being a loner. The male would approach, letting out a bark so that she wouldn't be startled by him. Coming up by her left side so that his right eye that was there could see her clearly. "Are you.... looking for something?" he asked a little curiously. His voice was fairly mundane, he tried to keep it that he was not threatening. Vereux himself had been a slave at one point, he knew how it felt to be treated like you were nothing. Like you weren't even an individual and you didn't deserve the life given to you. It did something to your head, some accepted it, and others started to believe it. He himself, was not sure where he stood. ?I speak?

Lost in her thoughts, she had not scented the other until her ears were pulled in the direction of his bark. Quickly, she'd whip her head to face the stranger, the male coming up beside her on her left, a question slipped from his tongue. Looking for something... Oh how she had a million answers for that. She was surprised she had not decided to distance herself from him, surprised she hadn't turned defensive like she used to. Were she younger, her hackles would have been raised and her teeth bared. An obvious sign of her wariness and fright. But no. Here she was, standing calmly and allowing the stranger to remain where he was. And she would move neither closer, nor farther from him. Perhaps it was the time she had spent alone, that her soul ached for the company of another. And he didn't seem like he would do her any harm. She took a long moment to answer. Having only cast him a glance for a brief moment before returning her gaze out to the water. She mentally apologized if she seemed rude for not answering, but her mind seemed to be full of so many things. Questions she wanted answers to. Answers, that wished she knew. "I...was. But it's been gone for a long time now...There's nothing left." Her family. Her life. Her heart. Gone. Her soul felt like it was incomplete. She was older now, she had gained knowledge that she had been taught by rogues on her journey or learned herself. Gone for two years. And in those two years, hope of finding what had been lost to her, faded. There was no hope now. They were gone, and she might never see them again. She faced the man, wondering what had brought him to ask that question. Was it that obvious that she had been looking for something? She shivered slightly from the ocean breeze, the sun slowly sinking beyond the horizon as it turned the water the shades of blood. "What about you?" She'd ask simply. Her voice was not unkind. More of a soft whisper then usual. She was tired, feeling a little empty. But the discovery that what she had been seeking was not here, had made that last little bit of hope fall away like a dying leaf. She was alone. And she did not truly understand that, until today. "Speech"

Why, why did he have this sinking feeling in his throat. His chest hurt, and his body just wanted to curl into a ball and let the snow freeze him over. When he looked at the girl, a rush of concern made itself clear on him. What was no longer here. It almost felt like something he would have said, except he had forced himself to find something more. His toes splayed out in the sand, digging his paws as he let the water hit the tips. The icy shore reminded him of his childhood, how he used to be, compared to how he was now. Vereux really wanted this girl to feel safe, she was a complete stranger and yet he wanted to know more about her. "There's always something left, whether it's in your heart, or yourself." he'd say a little quietly. "Never give up, because somewhere out there, there's someone who wants you to be here." why did he say this, he didn't know. Yet the man looked upon the water, watching the clear liquid rush up on them. It moved like a tail, like the grass he had seen in the spring. Even in the snow where it looked like there was nothing, small insects and animals would move among the layers. Of course, everything ended, but there would always be something. "I'm not sure honestly.... maybe it was the north calling my name. I was born in sparse pines, the north was always my home until it fell apart." he sighed a little bit looking over at her. "My name is Vereux Armada, what's yours?" a small smile grew on his face. Maybe it was the longing of company of another. He hoped that he was no bad company, his experiences in the past hadn't been very well odd. ?I speak?

Her ear flicked towards him, listening to the words he had to say. Her heart ached even more...could he be right? At this moment in time, she wasn't sure. She felt so empty...What was in her heart was eternal love for her family. And it was then, that memories began to flood her mind. She remembered the days spent playing with her siblings, rolling around and wrestling with her father, Gargoyle. She remembered riding on his back when she little. She remembered making daisy crowns with her sister Orica for their mother. She remembered wrestling with Galileo to see who was the strongest. She'd lose some, she'd win some. She remembered teaching her little sister, Odette how to hunt. She remembered sitting and talking to Galahad, and she remembered playing with Oracle. Tears prickled her vision. Her chest and throat tightening. Someone who wants me to be here... Who was that? The man she had met before her journey had disappeared from her life. The only person she had begun to trust, gone. Her family, gone. Her friends...well, she didn't have any friends really. And here she was, this stranger...telling her these things. Making it seem as if things would be alright. But they didn't feel alright. Quietly, she allowed the tears to fall down her face. Not a sound uttered, her body barely containing the shaking that threatened to quake her large size. As everything rushed into her head. The thoughts both good and bad. The best memories and the worst memories. All she could think, was why? Why had it happened? Why her? Why this way? "Why...?" She whispered more to herself then to him. She forced herself to quell her tears. Though no matter how hard she tried, they continued to slip down without her willing to. He would speak, telling her his birth place. Sparse pines...? Wasn't that where? No...it couldn't be, could it? It was just coincidence right? She glanced at him from the corner of her eye for a moment, noting his darker pelt and his eye color. He couldn't be related to...him. She met his eye for a brief moment before looking over at the water once more. And then he said it. Vereux Armada. Almost instantly, her body froze. Armada... That name spoke terror to most. And at one point had been nightmarish for her. She stared at him, amber gaze guarded. He seemed nice...but then again, she knew of the Albino beast to be 'nice' before showing true colors. Was he a descendant? She would withhold her name for the moment, her own question summoning from guarded teeth. "You're related to that white devil?!" Her voice carried a slight edge to it, her gaze hardened though laced with fear. Her hackles would rise ever so slowly, ready to run or fight. She was wary now, as if the white ghoul were hiding nearby and this boy merely bait for a rat trap. She would not be taken again. "Speech"

Vereux would be aware of the girls feelings, but he didn't press on them. Perhaps his words had struck something with her, because he himself had been to the point where he didn't know what to do. How his world had been totally thrown off of it's hinges. There were times he didn't even know if he had felt at all, and then there was the whispering question she asked herself. Why? Indeed, it was a mysterious question they all had to answer, and sometimes they didn't have the answer. "I ask myself that everyday." he whispered a little. Staring at the ground. Though then his body tensed up when she did, his last name. It angered him how much trouble it caused, but then it gave him a chance to prove himself. However strangers were full of devilish surprises and he would hate for a type of friendship to be deterred just because of the man who sired him, who practically ruined his life. Or, had he done that on his own? It made Vereux sigh, he relaxed his shoulders and looked up at the darkening sky. "Isardis....yes, regrettably he was my father. But, we cannot choose who our parents were, what we can choose is who we are. While I grew up I soon realized, how wrong he was, about all the things he did. How much pain he caused, and my own mother, she was unfaithful she didn't care about me and my siblings. I guess you could say, I grew up in a broken home." he would look at her, lowering his head a little. "Are you.... afraid of me?" the question posed no threat. He didn't wish to be feared by her, maybe a little bit he wished for her to trust him. He could give her a home and a place to stay. Somewhere to be safe, why he would wish that for her. He wasn't sure, but then again after having his entire life built upon others he wanted to save someone else. ?I speak?

She was ready for fight or flight. But, her Father had always taught her to not judge others without knowing their story. So she would keep herself rooted, giving him the chance to talk. And sure enough, he would explain to her. She knew the white creature to be something evil, just like the witch who had taken her. Stolen her life, and forced her to war. Practically sending her to her death. Avalon sat quietly, and the more Vereux explained, the more she would allow her fur to relax. She had begun to judge, without knowing the truth or the story. And here this male sat, explaining to a complete stranger his personal thoughts. Isardis...that name rang hatred in her. But she would not hold Vereux to carry his fathers mistakes. "I am sorry, that you couldn't experience true family the way I did when I was younger. I had my parents and my siblings until...they disappeared when I was very young. We don't understand things when we are younger, but we soon begin to realize as we age, what is right and what is wrong. You, it seems...have strayed from your fathers footsteps. And that is brave of you, for most wouldn't." "Are you...afraid of me?" She glanced at him. Staring him eye to eye for a long time before she answered. Yes, even she could tell he had been through a lot. She relaxed, allowing her guard to slide down only slightly. She wanted to trust someone so bad...but her heart didn't want to trust others so quickly, for the last few times she had done that, her life was torn away and her heart was broken. Taking a deep breath then, she spoke. "When I was barely over a year old when I was kidnapped...my life was stripped from me when I was enslaved. I was beaten and tortured everyday, forced to do things I didn't want, and starved to near death. Not only that, but I was forced to serve in your Fathers war of pride...forced against the pack that was like family to my own." She sighed as she remembered those days...and then continued. "I was rescued, but after that I became different...not the same as I was before, and my entire being seemed to change. But, during the time that I've been away, more has changed. What I became after that trial, is different now. I'm not afraid as I used to be...but, I apologize if I do seem that way." She sat down, the water lapping at her toes. The sky would begin to darken, the first stars barely visible upon the horizon. Her gaze shifted from Vereux to the sky, watching as he did. "My name is Avalon." She replied softly, her large head turned towards him once more. "And no, I am not afraid of you. I apologize, for judging you so quickly. As you just heard...I haven't had the most pleasant experiences during the early stages of my life." "Speech"

As he listened, he would come to know more of the injustice of his father. Days on end he constantly tried to see why his dad had done these things. As if there was a valid reason, and perhaps it was not his own fault. However, it was his egotistical mind that made him that way. Isardis had vanished from these lands and thankfully so with his mother. If they ever came back, he felt as if he would snap and should his death ensure from trying to harm him, that would be his very fate. She would go on to call him brave, it made Vereux chuckle. He was no brave man, he was simply, a man. "I see, a few seasons ago I was a slave. Some old mud pack who stole me and an adravendi away who I still consider a friend." Vereux said with a nod of his head. He wanted to comfort her in one way or another. If he could at least do that, maybe he'd be a better man. He would dip his head in respect towards her, he became a little more relaxed after she explained she was not afraid. Simply, the unpleasantnesses of life had taken many of her thoughts away. "I suppose I know how it feels, only a little at least. I had a good family once, before I was taken as a slave. A beautiful wife, and handsome sons. Yet, when I came back after escaping, my previous wife's new mate told me I didn't belong. I hadn't been there for most of my sons life, so they didn't feel as if I was their father. I felt as if something very important had been stolen from me. So... I fled to Ebony soon enough a young woman had the pack after it was handed over to her and now I'm in a pack named Yfir." Vereux would smile at Avalon. He would still keep his distance but at this point would ask of her something. "If you feel as if you are lost... why not come to Yfir. I will not press you, the pack is very warrior orientated. They are not soft but nor are they a kingdom like the ice devil once ruled. Life there is not easy, but if you'd come I'd protect you and perhaps there you could find your sense of purpose." His green eye sparkled a little bit. She was probably his senior, but something about him screamed to make sure that she kept on living. That she had a reason, let the pain set in and only it fuel the need to fight. To fight for a better tomorrow, and for their own hearts to beat more. ?I speak?

So he knew the struggle. Avalon's heart went out to him, sure that his went out to her seeing as how they had both endured a similar fate. She listened quietly, The mans life more then she had. She didn't have a family to call her own. She had never had a mate, nor truly fallen in love. It was obvious he loved his children, and she couldn't imagine a pain worse then you're own children hating you for something that wasn't your fault. Her family had always loved her, so it scared her that if she were to have children someday, that they would hate her too. She also didn't know the pain of loving someone you once loved and had a family with...why would someone run off with another unless they didn't love you enough to stay? She was family oriented, fighting the world to track down her family...but in the end, she had lost. Yet a love stronger then anything remained for her lost family. And although she might never find them again, that would always remain. "I'm sorry for your losses. I couldn't imagine what it must be like to feel alienated from your family like that..." she offered him a small smile, though that was all she could do. She didn't quite know how to comfort someone a yore, having not been comforted herself for a long time by another...but being in the presence of someone else who shared a similar fate as hers, brought a sort of connection she couldn't quite comprehend. Then, he'd ask her about joining his pack. She listened quietly, thinking that perhaps it was time for her to be among others of her own kind. She had been alone so long...would she be able to adapt to pack life? The thought scared her...that maybe it was too late. But she still held hope, she always did. Looking at Vereux, she responded. "Vereux...I've not been in a pack for a long time...I don't know what I'd be able to offer, but...the least I could do is try. I...I would like to learn how to fight." She looked at him, fear and curiosity gleaming from her gaze. She wanted to be great like her father, to be courageous and loving and be the great leader he had been. But...could she live up to it? In a small unsure voice, she'd ask "Can you teach me?" "Speech"

There was no other feeling like this, like an unspoken friendship already. He would watch her, and she would consider his offer. How long had it been since she was in a pack, it mattered not. He himself had taken a lot of time on his own before he could settle back into it. Yet he had always been in one, and felt as if he couldn't handle being a loner all of his life. Vereux was slightly afraid, scared of the future that was lied out in front of him. Afraid to love, to touch others, to be able to protect them and not worry about harming their feelings because his own didn't matter. He would stand up, stand in front of her with every breath in his body feeling heat build up. Was this what a promise meant? "You can learn, even if it takes time. I can teach you, all of Yfir can teach you." a small smile appeared on his face. Of all places to make a friend, it was up here, where all of his memories stayed still like they were frozen in time. His tail flicked behind him. "Will you, come with me Avalon?" he turned his body back towards the pack's territory. He only hoped and begged to whatever was watching them that Katja would be happy with him recruiting. Not only that, but to offer up the girl a proper and stable home. Where she could learn how to fight, and maybe, he would learn something new about himself. ?I speak?

She watched him rise, her heart pounding. She was about to make the decision that could possibly change her life forever. She shivered, but not from the cold. It was at the prospect of joining a pack. The promise that this male she had just met, was making to her. She wanted to trust him, wanted to believe that these promises were real...and so she'd place herself in his trust. On his word. She nodded, standing when he stood. His question burning in her ears and tugging at her heart. She didn't know if this was the right choice, but she wouldn't know until she tried at least. And she knew its what her father would have wanted... She glanced out at the water once more, the sun had disappeared and the waves came in stronger, the cold water lapping at her forepaws. She swallowed back the memories and feelings that threatened to choke her. This was a life she had to leave behind..and though the memories of her family would forever remain in her heart, she. Couldn't stay in this place any longer. Not alone. Looking at Vereux, a single unspoken question filtered through her eyes. Do you promise? She was afraid to voice out loud, but she had to place trust in someone...hope and trust was all she had going for her these days. It was all she had her whole life. And she was willing to take that leap of faith. "Yes, I'll go with you." She was scared, but excited at the same time. She had to find her place sooner or later...and maybe, just maybe...this would be it. "Speech"