Times like these - Foo Fighters

BIC:: It was an early morning sunrise over the summer field. Newol had allowed himself to return to the Plains after getting side tracked and fleeing to the East for a moment with the female who's dreams he'd haunted. Her scent still clung faintly to him, but he had nothing to hide. He just hoped she wouldn't get in too much trouble on his behalf. Avalon. That woman. How long had it had been sense they're first meeting. He would not hide the fact of their reconnecting. He had nothing to hide. No reason to hide anything. At least not at the moment. Should future events require his discretion, he'd practice it. For right now, he was simply making his way back home. Surreal would be here somewhere. It was what she knew. It was what he knew too. It was where his reforging had begun at the paws of their mother. That woman had done a great deal of rights in her life time. She'd managed to make the world brighter than when she'd found it. Newol believed that. If simply because she'd taken a stray with no meaning and given him something to believe in.

Himself.

And that was a priceless notion. From the stories he'd heard, he hadn't been the only stray with no meaning she'd given purpose to again either. His only regret was not being at her side the night she died. He wouldn't let this weigh him down though. She wouldn't want him to. Right now he had a more important goal to see to right now. Finding Surreal, and rebuilding the family how ever he could, one piece at a time. Being of what ever assistance he could. Doing what ever he could to move forward. With his strong legs he carried himself forward. He had no idea how he and Avalon where going to proceed what with her being Packed and him being a loner tied to his family, but that was a matter to be sorted out later. He wouldn't worry about crossing that bridge until he got to it. Despite the beauty of Alaritis, the glory of being in it again, he didn't know the status of it. Time had changed things, of this he was sure. Time was good at that. For all their power, for all their lust, greed, and jealousy, Tyrants couldn't defeat time. And as the sun rose up over the horizon, he knew that Surreal would be awake by now. At least he hoped.

Coming to a stop among the grass, dust, and shrubs, he lowered himself to his rump. He knew what he had to do, but he was scared to. He'd spoken a little when he was with Avalon, but Newol was still relearning how to use his voice. He'd been silent the whole time he'd been gone. And the last time he'd sang, it had been a painful, sorrowful note. Pawing at the ground uneasily, he looked at his feet nervously. He didn't know if he had it in him anymore. At least right now. He knew he'd want to sing again. He was a wolf after all. But he wasn't sure if it was in him right now. Looking around hoping that maybe just by luck she'd stumble across him, he saw no one. There was no avoiding it. He would raise to his feet and turn a circle, huffing in displeasure. Why was it so hard to do something that was supposed to come to him naturally, he thought to himself. It was simple to howl. Coming to a stop and sitting down again, he flicked his tail in annoyance with himself. It had been an entire year though. An entire year sense the last time he'd howled. With another huff, he thought he'd be doomed to wander this plain until he found her.

But before he could raise to his feet again and start off, a gust of breeze would roll through the plains. The breeze would ruffle through his fur softly. He paused, puzzled by it's appearance. Then, he caught a wiff of something faint on it. A familiar scent. The scent of a white pelted healer that he'd bowed to once. And as soon as he caught it he lost it again. Turning to look over his shoulder, ears on end, maw parted slightly, his green eyes scanned the empty field. Slowly, his lips would twitch, and words would take shape, falling musically from his maw at the faintest of whispers. "It's times like these you learn to live again. It's times like these you give and give again. It's times like these you learn to love again. It's times like these, time and time again." Suddenly well at peace, he turned his head forward again. His heart started to quicken in his chest. He was going to do this. Tilting his head back, his snout raised up into the sky. pulling air into his nose, he first expanded his stomach, then his lungs in the fresh morning air of the soft breeze. Then, he would let a long, proud musical note gracefully flow from his maw and up into the sky. The silence was finally broken. He called out for his sister. He wanted to be apart of his family again. He wanted to never let go again. To lose it all once more would destroy him for sure.

Once he finished the note, the breeze faded, carrying his song off on the wind. All he could do was lower his head, gradually ending the note. His maw still held partially open, his eyes narrowing some. All he could do was look off ahead of him, the direction the wind had been blowing to, in wonder. The long silence was now ended. He would probably still save his voice for only the specialist of occasions. But at least now he knew he could finally use it again.

Surreal Adravendi

It had been a long time since she’d seen her erstwhile adoptive brother. It wasn’t an unusual thing, to be honest. She was the only sibling that remained on the land of her entire litter. The rest had dispersed to who knew where, missing. She refused to think that they might be dead, however. So when the strident howl rolled across the plains, she turned easily in her path, tilting her head to catch the scents on the breeze. It was Newol, alright. She didn’t call back, instead picking up into a lope and taking the nearest path that led to him. She had thought she’d caught her scent on the land earlier in the day, and Avalon’s as well. She slowed as she drew closer to Newol’s location, circling around and employing the training her mother and uncle had given her, stepping carefully until her paws drew little to no sound from the ground beneath her paws. She sought to come up behind her brother, a small, playful smirk on her jowls. She waited until she was within five feet of the male before barking a sharp “Hey! Newol!” And lunging the last few feet of space to aim a bat of the paw towards his tail before bouncing back to see how he reacted. Her tail waved behind her. No matter how much the loss of her mother and missing daughter might hurt, she never ceased to be warmed by the sight of her family members after a long time apart. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Good Riddance - Green Day

BIC:: It was strange, the sudden calm that had washed over him the moment before he had howled out for his sister. She'd probably been at least alerted to him a few nights ago when he and Avalon had run off into the night. But after finally calling out, it was like a feeling washed over him. Peace. Bubbling and warm. It was for real now. He'd come back to finish what he'd started and protect his family. He'd come back to do his mother proud. He'd come back to weather Alacritis and not let it get the better of him again. Then a voice would fall suddenly across his ears. The male would snap to his feet, leaving only his left front paw on the ground as he kicked off with his hind legs. Using his grounded paw like a pivot, his spun quickly to the voice that had erupted from behind him and landing up on all fours. His paw held open, eyes suddenly wide with excitement and confusion. It took him a moment to process what he saw. Dual colored eyes, and a scared snout not too different from his own. Timber pelt with a big smile, tail wagging behind her playfully. Surreal. His sister. Their appearances where so far apart from one another. Her frame sleek and elegant, as her mother's was. Gorgeous to behold. And then there was Newol, built as Zaraidds had always been. Broad shouldered and rippling with lean, well toned muscle underneath shorter fur. Broad shouldered with his bear like paws and large ears.

It took him a moment to make sense of what he was looking at. His sister had appeared as called, and wanted to play. His tail struck a furious wag as he tongue fell from his maw in a massive smile. Bouncing his upper torso high into the air with a hope from his front paws, when he landed he dove forward at her, bumping his shoulder against hers and nuzzling her under her chin. Oh how long had he waited for that? How long had he craved for that? To just be natural with his family for a moment and not all doom and gloom. His voice would fall joyously from his maw. "Surreal!" He restrained his urge to just wrap his paws around her in an embrace, setting for a friendly lick on the ear before pulling back and dropping his upper torso to the ground, propped up on his knees, legs stretched forward before him, tail still happily swaying behind him.

What with the events of their common history, the brute dared say they had a right to be childish for the moment at least. He would bark once in excitement, before settling himself down into a pleasant smile. If she wanted to play that was her call, otherwise he would raise himself back up to his full height which they shared. He may have missed his mother terribly, but he was only an adoptive child. Erani had been Surreal's birth mother. So Erani's legacy more or less fell directly on her. Newol just a pleasant happenstance. So he was here to offer her his help however she need it. They had so much catching up to do.

This was one of those moments. The ones Chysanthe had told him about. Where you got to catch your breath and be at peace for a moment. They had matters to discuses, of this he was sure. She was head of the family now. But they could be grown ups later.

Surreal Adravendi

A bark of laughter left the silver timber marked female as her adoptive brother whirled about to face her, clearly startled. The confusion quickly scattered to all four winds as he recognized her, bounding forward. She met him halfway, accepting the affection he lavished, her left forepaw leaving the ground to drape over his back in a sort of half hug. His cry of her name was answered with a smile, her tail beating a bit harder. It never stopped feeling good to see a missing family member back again. She skipped back a few strides as he dropped into that most familiar of gestures known to canines; the bow of play. Surreal’s tail waved high in the air as she briefly answered the bow with one of her own, a mock growl rumbling between parted jaws before the energy took over and she kicked off, streaking past the male, a clear invitation for a short game of chase and tag. She coursed across the plains, an amused laugh floating over her shoulder, teasing him lightly. She’d recently done this very same thing with her younger son, and had no problem falling into the joys of playing with a family member. They did indeed have much to speak of. Did he know of their mother’s passing? Had he seen any of the others that were missing? But those questions could wait a little longer. For now, the celebration of reunion would reign. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Korn - Never Never

A chuckle of excitement would escape him as she dropped down too. It looked like this was happening. He was in no protest, seeing as she'd started it. But with out warning Surreal would dart past him with a sudden burst of speed. Jumping to his feet, he bolted after her in a surge of joyous energy. As it sat, she was the only family he had left as of the present moment. Arian was his cousin, but at present he had no real connection with her other than a name and a very vague memory of a face. So Surreal and Regulus where all he had right now. And that was enough. It only took a pebble to create a landslide. Hmmm. Perhaps that was he purpose. To be a pebble. A pointless thought to be pondered later. Right now there was the moment. Catching up to her, propelling himself on strong hind legs, he would press himself agains her flank, bitting at one of her ears gently before bating at the base of her skull with one of his paws before taking off in a half circle and spining around to face her in a mock guard, rumbling a playful growl as his tail continued to wag behind him happily as his ears stood on end. He held his stance a bit lower than Surreal's out of display of respect that he would show no one else, tongue hanging from the front of his parted maw. As the current head of the family, she was his soul superior. The only person in the world worth his respect. It was a touching notion from a wolf such as him, as Newol extented his trust and respect very seriously. It wasn't one the extended lightly. She was probably very much the same. And she had the exact same reasoning as he did. Here in Alacritis, family was one of the most important things, because they where the least likely to stab you in the back of a scarp of dirt. "Speech"

Surreal Adravendi

Surreal wasn’t blind to the mute displays of respect her adopted brother gave her, even in play. They were acknowledged and remembered, even as she danced ahead in their mock play battle, facing him back and slapping her paws upon the earth, rump high, tail waving. And so the dance of siblings would continue for a good hour or so, until more serious talk would take place. -Timeskip- Surreal straightened at last, jaws parted softly in a pant, her haunches lowering to the ground as she regarded the brown male. “So where have you been all this time, Newol?” His absence had certainly not been missed, and now she was going to give him a chance to explain himself. She’d gotten a pretty good whiff of him during their play, and she was certain now that she smelled Avalon on him. A crooked grin crossed her face as she leaned in, tone lightly teasing as she said, ”And is that a girlfriend I smell on you? Avalon, right?” She had recently overseen the woman’s induction into the Adravendi family as Arian’s sister. Adoption came naturally to the Adravendis. She chuckled, straightening once more. Her expression sobered slightly as she thought of everything that had transpired since she’d last seen him. Did he know about their mother? They hadn’t spoken during their play. Was now the time where he asked where Mother was? Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Times Like These - Foo Fighters

BIC:: The brute couldn't have been more happy with his life as he was in that moment. After all the crazy stuff that that the two of them had been through together, the smoke had finally cleared enough for them to stop a moment and just play. This would be a find end to a string of pleasant moments marking his return to the long forgotten home.

But when all was finally said and done, he would come to a trot then finally to a stop. Taking a seat beside his sister, the brute would settle into a laying position, his cut shoulders and forearms suiting him quite well. He wasn't the biggest of strongest of wolves, but Newol was an ox of a creature in terms of stamina. His breathing settled very quickly as he took a brief look around the surrounding. Returning his gaze to his sister, a chuckle would escape from a parted maw as she teased him about the woman's scent on him. He held no regret over what had happened in the Singing Caverns. They'd waited long enough to have each other. And now they did. As to her first question, he had to stop for a moment. He went to answer her, but his voice never made it out of his lungs. His mind went blank as he stumbled around for what to do. His ears would fold back as he looked deep into his sister's eyes with a serious expression for a moment, almost asking for help even. It was still proving difficult to readjust after that long year. Finally he found the words and forced them out. "Be patient with me, I haven't spoken in a year." And with that he would turn his gaze to his paws for a second before collecting himself.

His expression settled back into an easy one, he would look back up at her and tilt his head in the direction he had come. "I wondered the Wilderness. I knew who I was a long time ago. Then I got lost in all the chaos that she caused. I had to go find me again." It wasn't much in the way of details. But it was enough for her to grasp his meaning and reasoning. And that is finally when the questioning look settled into his eyes. Newol was no fool. He knew the price that the passage of time took. Erani had been tough as nails in life, even in her old age. But even she was not immortal. He'd only hopped for one thing. He had a sense of when she had paced. One night he'd been over come with a powerful feeling of emotion. It had been both joy and sorrow at the same time. It had been the only time in his venture that he'd raised his maw to the sky and sang long into the night. He imagined that was the night she passed. Of course that could have been wrong, and it could have just been a feeling. But some part of him just knew. Again his ears would fold back as he looked deep into her eyes. Again his words would be simple as they fell from his maw. "Did she go easy?" he prayed that Surreal would know what he meant. Because it would hurt him right now to say words like Erani and Mother aloud right now. Be was probably done saying them in that regard. They where something now to be held close to the chest Very near and dear.

Surreal Adravendi

To her teasing joke, it almost seemed as though Newol was about to answer, but then an odd look came onto his brown face, and silence reigned. The look on his face almost begged for help. So Surreal gave his shoulder a light touch with her nose; not pushing, but encouraging. And after a moment, he spoke, asking for patience. He hadn’t spoken for that long? She didn’t press further for details as he spoke, merely listening in easy silence. It didn’t take a genius to understand who ‘she’ was. Viridiana Sovari. The Red Bitch. She kept her face passive, until that question came. So she wouldn’t have to tell him. She was silent for several moments, before she nodded, answering softly “Yes. She went peacefully. Not where she truly wished to go, but we had no other choice at the time. Arcanum still squatted here.” The bitterness still held its flavor on her tongue at the word Arcanum. But Arcanum was no more. Crushed by Ebony in a siege, none knew where they had disappeared to. And she didn’t want to know. So she turned the conversation to lighter things. “You have a new niece and nephew. Baine and Tornach. They were born last autumn.” Warmth and pride for her brood filled her voice and eyes as she spoke of them. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

He Took A Deep Breath : Everlast - What It's Like
The Trembling would Stop : Becky G - Shower (Piano Cover)

A smile would grace his face, even as his eyes started water. The ball of emotions where finally about to come undone as he took the news of his new niece and nephew. "I'm glad. I'll get to know them well." was what he offered Surreal. He would take a deep breath after those words like they'd taken a great deal of effort to muster out in a shaken voice. She would confirm what he already knew. His mother was gone. She'd stayed alive just long enough to do this world a few more graces. And it dug into him now. It dug hard into his side. She'd saved him from a doomed existence of being a permanent wanderer with no purpose or cause, among other things. His time with her had been brief and fleeting. But it had been just enough. Newol had been a stray. He'd been a stray for what feels like an eternity. And now he wasn't one anymore. His eyes would squeeze shut in a painful attempt to hide the tears, a guilty reflex, as his lips pulled back into a painful snarl. His hackles would bristle as he forced his body into a setting position. He'd known that this was coming. He'd been prepared for it. He'd steeled his heart away. And still it had wormed it's way past his defenses so easily. Why? After all this time. He still wanted to know Why? Just why? Why was any of this necessary. And now that he had the emotions and hand, and company at his side, a chance to finally release it all. Why did he still fight it? Why did he not want to relinquish his control. His claws would dig into the earth underneath him. Why did it still hurt so much? Why couldn't he just stay? Why couldn't he have been at her side when she passed? Why couldn't she have just been left alone? Why where they standing on a barren Vericona Plains without a pack named Valhalla setting on it? Where was his sunrise trickling into his home in the gorge? Newol's original purpose was so far lost and long gone. He'd originally wanted to be a Pack Friend, mated to a female within the pack itself. Free to wander and be a Rouge, with everything he held dear safe and protected. Free to help and report and scout and hunt like it was voluntary and not an order or a job. Like he was living a life on his own terms. Now look where he was. The tears would finally start to fall from his scared maw as he tilted it down to the earth. The first heavy, chocked breath from a clenched throat. He'd been meant for a carefree life. A reprieve from a legacy of misery. And he'd not been given a moment of it. When he had been adopted, he'd been happy. Thought the cycle had been broken. Thought it was safe. That woman. She'd tried to do the same thing he'd wanted to do with his life. Leave the world a better place than she'd found it. And look. Look just how much the world wanted to smile. Everyone and everything was a sinner, a creature of opportunity. Every cared for only one mother fucking thing, and that was their own mother fucking whim and it made him sick because no one was ever gunna feel sorry for it. But this was to be expected. Someone who's never worn the handcuffs inside a holding cell could never understand what it was like to not want to fight anymore, to be tired. He'd been a prisoner to that desert that he'd grown up it. He'd been a prisoner to his birth name's legacy. And the worst part of all was that he was so used to it now he wouldn't know how to live without it. This was what he knew. This is what he understood. Hell was his home. Another chocked and painful breath marked by a whence. He didn't want to appear like this in front of anyone. Weak. But he was. He was so weak. For all his muscle. For all that he was, Newol had a soft soul. A gentle and kind soul. A beautiful and serene and peaceful soul. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that even though he wanted to rip Her apart, tear her limb from limb, and only after making her watch as he beat pups born to her empire to death with bones ripped from their mother's corpses, that if it truly came to that... If he could look Viridiana in the eyes right now, he'd pour his soul into her. And when she awoke from her dark self and realized what she'd become, and all the terror and fear that would result from that. In the height of her trembling and remorse, he'd embrace her and forgive her and pull her into the fold. He was no killer. He was real. And he was alive. And he could weather any storm you could throw at him. But right now the world only gave credit to those with the ability to take. He would fall back to the earth with a limp flop. His maw parting in a gasp for air. Heavy, rasping breaths falling from him. He would sob and morn. In the height of his trembling, he would stomp a paw to the earth and in a fit of rage force some more words from his maw. "Damnit! What the hell did we do!?" A whimpering noise would fall from him following those words, his whole form trembling underneath the effort to reclaim himself and put a seal back on this bottle of emotions to no result. And after several long painful moments, he would finally start to come to. The trembling would finally come to an end, and after a few more painful sobs, he would take the first easy breath into his lungs. His side expanding from where he'd broken down on the ground. This moment alone was all the proof that was needed about how scared he really was. The string of light, heartfelt events that had marked his return had been welcome. Mating to Avalon. Finding his Sister again. They'd caused him to get comfortable and let his guard down and so the emotions had jumped out and bitten into him. But now the thrashing was done. He would take one more deep breath and allow calm to settle across his body once again. Forcing himself back up to his rump with a groan, he would give himself a shack to settle his fur back down. Then finally he would bring his gaze back to meet his sister's. The fur under his eyes damp, his eyes still watery. A smile would slowly form on his maw as he looked at her. He refused. He refused to lose that dream. A sunrise for everyone who had toiled and worked so hard and survived the petty kings and queens playing their stupid games. It took him a minute to piece the words together from what little bit he knew and had picked up in his time at Erani's side, but he was able to put them together. His sentencing and structure, his accent, they made it all very clear that he was not born of this. It was not his by birth, but a gift from a very good woman. And that was all that mattered. "Sí bhí a maith Máthair." This was his response to her words. He was glad that she'd been able to go peacefully. With at least one of her many children at her side. He'd have liked to have been there, but that's not how the cards had fallen. One thing was certain though. He was a big boy now who didn't need a parent to hold his paw. And he was not going to let go of his family ever again. The old age was no longer needed. It was finally at a close. He'd made it at long last. It wasn't spiraling down hill at top speed anymore. It wasn't all put back together the way they wanted it. But at least they where once again on level ground. And to Newol, good God if it wasn't a welcome reprieve. "Speech"