Thaddeus felt the world close in on him, yes he was happy that he was with his family but he felt the walls of pack life closing in on him. He loved Gargie and Crusade but it felt like they where pressuring him to stay, try and make a life where they could see him everyday. Crusade kept hinting at the open Beta position, well hinting is a bit of a understatement, she was a bit overbearing about it. Thaddeus Rogue heaved a heavy sigh. He had only been there a few weeks and he already felt the pull of wondering, but he would hold off for as long as was possible. For he was only reconnecting with his long lost brother, someone that he thought dead. Gargoyle was also hiding something from him and Rogue felt it was his job to find out what, for what else where brothers good for, if not to bust his brothers chops now and again.

Thaddeus was out hunting again, like he always did when a pack took him in. He felt that he needed to provide for his host pack instead of taking from them. The habit started when he was in the Miner Blood Wolves pack, now he just does it to make his trespassing easier to the packs he stayed with, and most welcomed his expert hunting skills, skills that started from his strong nose and tracking ability. Thaddeus Rogue nosed some brush stirring up the scents, testing the smells. He smelled rabbits, foxes, and versus other woodland creatures. He circled the brush, picking out the strand that had been the hare. It would make a good snake to him and any other wolven he found on his way back into the heart of the pack lands. Glaciem was not starving, but they where not as well off as they could be, the lead hunter was one of the positions open, and other then beta, it seemed Crusade thought him perfect for it, and made a commit about it every time he brought a kill to the others in the pack.

On the third circle Thaddeus picked up the strand of the hares scent then in the batch, Now that he had a trail, the hunt should go quick. He trotted forward his nose to the ground, his mind in hunt mode. It did not take long for him to see the furry creature grazing on some grass. Thaddeus did not hesitate, as the wind was in his fever already and the animal had its back to him, he pounced on his lanky legs and made the kill swift. It was one of his easiest hunt in a long time, maybe today was his lucky day.

Mahniya had been here for a long while. Seasons came and seasons changed and Mahniya remained the same. The two toned dame remained the silent tragic beauty. Her coat was seemingly flawless, long strands, soft as silk fluttered in the breeze as her form glided across the ice. Her bodice was slender, thin, perhaps bordering anorexia but not quite there. She was a magnificent creature, thin musculature rippling with every step she took. She glided more than walked, silent, cunning, watchful.

She rarely spoke, even with Gargie's teaching of freedom, the concept was still foreign to her. She hunted without being told too, slept when she grew tired, drank without supervision, but did little else without consent. She supposed that was an improvement, she had her own den, but she rarely slept within it. The solitude made her antsy, nervous. Her master had kept her forever glued at his side in case he wanted anything. She was not good at being alone, never had been, never will be. She often braved the bitter chill, sleeping a few paces short of another members den.

Today she found herself on the outskirts of Glaciem, her pace a steady trot. Her blood colored eyes missed nothing, every flicker, every shift of the snow, every gentle caress of winter... she was at peace today. Her mind did not brood on days past, she was not reminicising of punishments or commands, today her mind was light and airy. She was healing, getting better, at least according to Gargoyle. Surprise flickered in her gaze as she came upon another. A figure she had not seen in years, one she had thought to never see again.

He seemed distracted, disoriented and despite the black stain that she made upon the snow, he did not seem to notice her. She paused a moment, ears flickering forward, attentive, watchful. He looked troubled, as her master had when he discovered his illness. She had not liked the face painted upon her master and she did not like the expression upon him now. She glided forward, slowly, so as to not startle him. "Thaddeus Rogue... it has been a long time, what troubles you so?" Her voice a soft soprano, gentle and barely a whisper vibrated through her larynx. She wondered where he had been and if he remembered her at all.



Speech!

Thaddeus Rogue was about to dig into the here when movement behind him had him spin around and stare in shock. He would say it was a ghost from his past, but describing her as a ghost would not be a accurate description.And besides he already had a ghost pop up outta no where for him, someone he long ago thought dead, and she was in no way shape or form thought her dead. He had last said goodby to her and left her in the most capable hands of Crusade, he knew that she would began the healing process, something he wished beyond hope that he could do but felt so hopeless about it. Who was he, someone that could not solve his own issues let alone hers. But he wanted to , he wanted to be there when she learned about free will, he wanted to protect her as she gained her legs in this new world, but he chickened out, he was not able to face his own heart break and so he left, he left and could not turn back. Ah, but it was good to see her well, it was good to see that some form of emotion filled her face, Gargie and Crusade had done a good job by her.

"Ayala..." A smile broke out on his muzzle. Now he knew her name was not Ayala, it was just a name he thought described her, she was like a deer the first time he meet her, she stayed in the background, even when they talked, she was skittish, and to him he seemed like she was always looking for the fastest way rout out. So he named her Ayala, deer. "It truly has been a while. I see you have stayed with my family. Have they been treating you well?" He stood up then, his lanky body making the move look graceful. It was only after he stood looking at her that she remembered the rabbit. "Oh." he looked down sheepish. "Are you hungry? I'm not hungry so you can have it."

As she asked him he question he gave her a puzzled look, he looked troubled? Well more so than normal... He did kinda feel troubled, with his brother returning from the grave he had brought with him Thaddeus Rogue's past regrets. It was not Gargoyle's fault, it was his own, Thaddeus had failed whenever it mattered most, and that put a wight on his soul. But those past regrets are what shaped him to who he was, just as Ayala's made her the was she was. "Ah, nothing more than normal, Ayala, I was just thinking about my past, and my failures. But that is no concern for ether of us. Its all in the past..." He looked at her sadly, knowing his life had been a cakewalk, she had suffered, she may not realize it, but she has. Her free will had been beaten and stripped from her, and left in her stead was a shell. He could see great improvement since years ago and the young wolven that she should have been is slowly coming to surface. He wanted to see her grow, he wanted to her beauty grow as her freedom does, but will he be able to put off one of his most basic urges long enough to see her flower bloom? God, he hopped so.

She stood strong, her paws sinking ever so delicately into the snow. She was all lean muscle, powerful, but built for endurance and stamina. A lean, silent creature who thrived only on the commands of others. She did things for herself now, but it was rare. She approached the wolf only out of familiarity. He was a countenance she had not seen in many moons. He had spoken his last goodbyes to her long ago, had abandoned Glaciem for what she knew not, it had not been her place to ask and it would not be now. Her blood colored eyes held no judgment as she gaze upon him, only recognition. She had not expected him to remember her, would not have been surprised if had turned hostile and threatened her. She was forgettable, replaceable, easily swept beneath the rug. She knew this, it was her method of survival and it had worked, at least thus far. Gargoyle continued to break that mold of obedience within her but she was doubtful it would ever leave. Submission, it seemed, was in her blood.

He turned to face her, seemingly startled by her sudden presence, uneasy she took a step back, not wanting him to think she was hostile. A plethora of emotions clouded his gaze and he remained silent for several long moments. She endured it, wondering what he would say in return. Perhaps he would think her mad. Did it matter? She lived to serve, nothing more and nothing less. Ayala... Such a bizarre thing to call her. It rolled off of his tongue in exotic tones, it made her seem more interesting than she actually was...she liked it. She smiled, barely a twitch of her lips in an upward direction, but she smiled all the same. She had never possessed a nickname before.

" I have not been in Glaciem long, after the eruption I wandered on my own for a bit, returning only once I heard Glaciem had reestablished itself." Her words did not hold much emotion. They were soft and gentle, a smooth honey soaked tone that was easy on the ears, but nothing more. "Gargoyle had made it his mission to teach me the ways of freedom, but he has rarely been to see me. Busy with the pack, I understand." They had had a few fleeting conversations, but little else. She would never heal. She was too far gone, or so she thought.

he offered her his kill, and the thought of anyone offering her there kill made her stomach churn and throw in fear. Punishable by death at the hands of torture was taking food from another individual. She could not, would not take his kill from him. her mind would not allow it, it made her physically ill just thinking about it. Her inner turmoil did not show. She shook her head gently. "No thank you, please, indulge."

She cocked her head to the side as his mood took a turn towards somber, almost sad. his words were soft, spoken quietly and she wondered what failures he was referring too, her mind blanked, panicking. She had no idea how to comfort anybody. She had never been shown such a grace and possessed no skills in such a thing. She hesitated, a heartbeat, two and then took a few tentative steps forward. "You returned to your family, to Glaciem. You serve your family loyalty and you have a kind heart... I cannot say I know what love or affection feels like, but if you have returned to your family and those that care for you, you cannot count such a thing as a failure... but as something honorable. Or at least, it tis my understanding" It was probably the longest she had ever spoken and the dame was quick to fall into utter silence. Her heart lurched, she had a feeling she had over stepped her boundaries.



Speech!

He smiled as she seemed to be a bit shocked by his name for her, but she did not deny him the pleasure of calling her such so he took that as a win. God the more time he spent in her prescience the more charmed he became. She was not perfect no, but she was one of a kind. She was a caterpillar just waiting for the chance to become a butterfly, she just did not know it yet. But Thaddeus knew she was starting to understand freedoms, she had this air about her now that she once did not have, and he was happy for her. He wanted to be here when she spreads her new wings and fly for the first time, he wanted to be standing by her side... But could he contain his wanderlust for the world long enough for him to see her fly?

"Well that is good that you found your way back." He had heard about the volcano eruption, he had been on the other side of the continent when the happened. He had felt the trimmers, had came running back to the old lands to only find it gone. It was only recently that he found where all those wolves had gone and now he was back in his home pack, with his family, they where not hard to find after all, for some unforeseen reason his family was drown to the cold... so all he had to do was go north and eventually he would find them and there he had. When she continued to speck he grew extremely jealous of his brother, so he was the one opening Ayala's shell, he was the one showing her the freedoms of the world, something he should have been here to do. "Well that good, someone should be here to show you what its like to be free, I just wish it could be me..." He tried to hold the bitterness from his voice but it did not fully work, he could still slightly here the small whine in his tones.

But he did not dwell long on his jealousy, for she refused his kill he so wanted her to have. Thaddeus Rogue tilted his head at her and then down at the bunny. "No really I want you to have it. If I had my way, non of you will have to hunt for as long as I am here. I am not a perfect hunter but my tracking skills make me good, I am more than able to catch my own food, later, when I am hungry." He was lying really, Rogue had no intention of eating himself until he saw food in front of most of the pack form his own skill, and that in itself could take days, but he feels obligated to, and he will. "Come Ayala, dig in, I insist." He sat to the side of the kill and watched her with his green blue eyes, and small smile on his face, just loving the sight of her face, which is odd because it was so much like his own but he could care less about himself.

Thaddeus was a bit taken aback by her long speech, it was the most words he had ever heard come out of her muzzle at once, and he was sure that anyone heard. He tilted his head the other way, studding her form. "Yes I may have returned to my family but for how long, I keep the name Rogue because I am one, I can feel the pull to journey everywhere I go, no matter the situation, no matter if I wanted to stay. I was once told the names have power, and I believe it, my names embodies me, as I think your name embodies you; that is why I call you Ayala, not what your slaver called you, for you are not a slave anymore... " He sighed sadly as he continued on. "I have failed in other ways then loyalty, I love my family that is true. But I was unable to save my brother from his shadowed past, I was unable to save my sisters capture in the northern packs, and most of all I was unable to save a pup just trying to live from death... Yes Ayala I am a failure." He tilted his head then, his eyes on her, he wanted to know how she would react, how she would look after she knew about his failures, he wondered if she would walk away, would never talk to him again... Maybe he just ruined his chance with her...

She had been called a great many things in her life, more oft than not, insult took precedence over a genuine nickname, but the odd acronym he had decided to call her... she liked it. It had a bizarre ring to it. Foreign, different. She supposed these things all described her. She mulled the name over in her head, thinking, processing, debating, what had he meant by such a title? What did he wish of her? Freedom was still a concept that seemed as different to her as the sun was to the moon. She did not like this taste of freedom, she was meant to obey, built to take and complete an order. Freedom... went against everything she had ever known to be true. It absolutely terrified her.

She studied the male before her carefully, she had heard his name between conversations, it was rare he stayed in Glaciem for longer than a few weeks before he vanished to God only knew where. He was ever the wanderer, never lingering in one place longer than he had too, or at least so they claimed... but what was he doing here then? Why not just leave for good? If there was nothing for him here, why did he keep returning? It seemed a pointless endeavor, at least to her, but she dare not speak as such. Such thoughts got one killed and she remained silent, watching intently with those blood colored eyes. "Freedom... I lack the ability to ever understand it, I think. Gargoyle tries, but the life of a lesser creature is so deeply interwoven with my mind... its dreadfully hard to let it go. Why do you wish that you could be the one to teach me?" It confused her truly, he seemed upset not to have been bestowed the burden of herself...but why? With a project like her, he would be forced to linger.

She sniffed the offered prey, never had she taken the kill of another, it was an act punishable by death. Everything in her screamed at her to politely decline and to continue to do so until he let her go. She stood like a deer in the proverbial headlights, awaiting her fatal judgment and for a long moment she did not move. Slowly, tentatively she lowered her head, tearing off a chunk of the creature, tearing it and swallowing it slowly. "Thank you." She muttered softly, her stomach churning as her mind reminded her again and again how utterly wrong this was. She ate half of the hare for politeness sake but her stomach churned so horribly she knew better than to dine on anymore.

Mahniya carefully listened as he spoke, pouring his heart to her. She was stunned by the sudden admissions but she took them in stride. She listened as he told her of all of his troubles, all of his worries, all of his cares. This was not the first time such had been laid out before her and she contemplated her response carefully. Words had never been her strong point and it took her a moment to figure out what exactly she wished to say. "No... a failure is a title that belongs to those that would see the earth shatter. That would tie their equals in chains, torture and desecrate their bodies. They are the true souls who deserve the title of failure. Monstrosities that cause unspeakable evils. You are none of these things Thaddeus Rogue, do not call yourself as such."




Speech!

Thaddeus smiled sadly as Ayala said what he knew she thought but what he knew in his heart was not true. She was already beginning to understand freedoms. When he had first met her she was a full blow deer in the headlight, she did not know how to talk, how to act, or even how to breath in front of him, who she had considered a master wolf. Now she was talking, acting and even, if only a sliver, feeling. He saw it in her eyes, he saw her face change from blandness to mild interest, which was a far cry from the robot that she once was. And even the fact that she bent her head to eat his offering also showed that her soul was becoming free of the bonds of slavery, for even though, and yes he saw it in her face, she grew sick with the thought of eating 'his' kill she still had done it, and not on a command. He nodded his head at her, after she lifted her head from his kill and then looked her in the eye. "You may not fully comprehend the idea of freedom, but sweet Ayala you are starting to grasp its value. You are here with me, are you not? Who told you to walk in these woods at this very moment? No one, you are your own device, even for the short moment of your understanding of the word, do not sell yourself short, for you are more powerful then you think you are, and as you blossom slowly you shale become more beautiful because of it." He then smiled at her, it had a bit of sadness laced in the thread but mostly it was genuinely happy. "Ayala I would want to be your teacher, for the one reason that I want to be the one that awakens your dormant heart, and free your caged soul. I think you are a most beautiful and unique creature, and trust me when I say it for I have seen much in my travels. I think you are strong from your struggles and that you outshine anyone that had not gone through what you have and survived, both in body and mind, for Ayala your heart and soul is not truly gone, just buried deep in yourself and your past, and the more you taste freedom the less earth cover those parts of you."

And as her words continued on, he grew more confident in his assumption that she was coming into herself, because not only did she say he was wrong in his declaration of failures she was describing the wrongs that where done to herself. She was telling him that just because he head not save those he loved, Rogue was not a failure, but it was the one that was taking that where so. Thaddeus had not thought of it like that. He words struck a cord within him, one that play out his every regret, which played as she said. The he, one with a kind heart had not failed, but instead those that caused pain instead had done so. It was such a simple way to think about it, but it was only known by those on the receiving end of failures, not those that try to stop them but could not...

Rogue smiled at Ayala then, his eyes softening, and his mouth lifting in an easy expression. "I had not thought of it like that, but it makes perfect since, and you Ayala had lifted a large wight off of my heart, and healed a few of the holes that had developed." But at what price was that wisdom given? Was his first thought as he looked into her red eyes, eyes still mostly blank, but slowly filling with those buried parts of herself.

She had never been a mindless organism, in fact she had often thought of great things, odd things, whatever her mind could drum up whenever she wasn't needed and utterly bored. Her audits would swivel, careening backwards and away. She had thoughts, she simply never spoke them. Speaking such things aloud was a sin, a wretched claw coiled around ones soul, she had seen so many slaves tortured, emasculated, killed because they had voiced an opinion. She had logic and thought but submission was engrained into the very fabric of her being. Obedience coiling about her like a vice. A jack of all trades, a worthy and well mannered slave, she was the picture child for those like her, and Glaciem was attempting to alter the fabric of who she was. She could not decide if she liked such a thing or not. It terrified and fascinated her all in the same instance.

She would listen intently, head tilted down and away, ears swiveling animatedly as she cause the different pitches in his tone. She would hesitate, a sense of unease washing over her at his words. No... no one had told her to meander about the territory, no one had told her to approach him and yet... here she stood. Perhaps she could find this happy middle ground, this tiny space of time and adoration between the two extremes, she could be free, so long as the ghosts of shackles remained locked about her ankles, perhaps that could be obtained, perhaps that could be achieved, before her mind could drum up a response he was speaking again, answering her second question.

Stunned shock settled over her maw, jaw falling open slightly, blood colored eyes widening like saucers and her entire bodice falling utterly still. For a prolonged moment, her heart forgot to beat, her lungs forgot they were needed to draw breath, everything around and about her simply stopped. How could he think so highly of her? How could he adore her? She was a slave, no one thought anything of her save for a maggot squirming in the dirt she was nothing, a nobody, why did he see so much in her? Why did he hold her in such high regard. It wasn't right, it wasn't fair and he deserved so much more than she could give him, she was used and trashed, bent and rebroken! However could he think so much of her.

"You should not say such things. I have been used in so many ways... I'm unclean, filthy, I am undeserving of the compliments you bestow upon me. I am not these things you speak of me." Slight panic edged its way into her deep tones, almost as though she was bleeding with him to agree with her, to say she was right, to damn her. "I am a slave, built for abuses, I have deserved no less." Her voice grew increasingly softer. She was frightened, scared by her words. Why did he see so much goodness in her when she could hardly bare to glance at her own reflection in the crystalline pools of water? "You deserve far better than I."

She would relax ever so slightly as his words brought her a bit of comfort. She had helped him. Such was familiar to her, she was used to helping others, she was used to such a formality. She would hesitate only a moment, blood colored eyes drifting languidly from his form to turn about the snow. "You are welcome, I think. I only wish there was more I could do for you. You have a kind heart Rogue." Her voice was a soft hum, melodic, gentle and an ever so small smile would drift across her maw.



Speech!

Thaddeus Rogue watched her react to his confession to her, his admiration for her. Which her reaction was basically what he thought it was going to be, shock with a bit of panic. But what he had not foresee was her reaction after the shock and panic started to fad. As her voice filled the space that separated them his easy smile was wiped from his face. What replaced it was anger, anger like he had never felt before, not for the wolves that took his sister and mother, not when he had not be able to find Gargie, not when his own life had been in danger; no this was a new type of anger, that that would burn hot.

She saw herself as dirty, unclean, not fit for him. It was not her that he was mad at, she had spent years being told that she was not fit, that she was something worse then dirt. That was why he was angry, that was why his eyes flashed in a dangerous light. Those wolvens that put it in her mind that she was never good enough, they may have ruined the only chance Rogue had at companionship, and purpose; his chance to show her that life was good, even after everything she been through... They may not have spent much time together but he knew what he wanted, and he wanted to spend time with this wolf, more then he wanted his next breath, and those unknown wolvens may have made that impossible...

He flashed Ayala a dangerous look, his eyes flashing more green than blue. "Is that how you think of yourself, Ayala?" He started to pace, his fur standing up on end, he was restless, he just could not rap his mind around the thought that someone could do that to anyone, break them do so far that they lose all worth in them self. He wanted to, more than anything at this moment track down the scum bag that had dared done that to a lovely creature like Ayala. "You are wrong if it is. I have seen many wolves in my life, I have traveled far; and let me tell you something, I have never met a woman that deserved happiness more then you do." His eyes softened as he looked at her, her panic making him edgy, he wanted her to have contentment in her life; but most of all he wanted to be the one that gave it to her. "If anything Ayala, I do not deserve you; but I do not care, I know what I want and there is nothing you can say to change my mind; and I will have it." He was done worrying about spooking her, he was tired of waiting for her to make the first move. Ever since that first day he met her, he had never stopped thinking about her; about the haunted look in her eyes; about how she moved with such grace.

His eyes soften as he moved close to her, his breath hitting her face as he closed in. "Ayala, I have thought about you since we met a year ago, no matter where I went, I saw you, your beautiful crimson eyes." He looked at her, his green blue eyes glowing. He wanted to be the one to give her happiness more than anything, he wanted what his siblings have, he wanted her and a family. But most of all he wanted her to be free of the bonds her past have placed on her, wanted her to be free of the invisible shackles that still binds her. God, he just wants to see this woman every day of his life, he wants to see her smile shyly at him as he makes a cocky remark to his brother, as he plays with the pups of the pack. "Ayala, if you let it, the greatest thing in my life can be you." He eyed her intently, waiting for her reaction, he just hoped his impatience had not scared her away.

It was not panic that had stilled the woman in her tracks... well perhaps that was a bit of a lie. Panic had played a great role in her uneasy countenance. Not the kind of panic that grappled hold when one was terrified of being physically assaulted or harmed, but rather the unease that everything you know and love is crashing down around you, that your entire world is being turned on its axis and your vision blurs and you don't know where you're going to stop. Mahniya's life had been simple. Black and white. No colors intermingled, no grays coincided... there was nothing, nothing that could be done to her, no words that could be spoken to wound or assault her to change this view. When she had been naught but a pup, she had accepted her lot in life. A slave. Black and white, colorless. Even with the abolishment of her once thriving kingdom, her mentality had stayed the same. She lived to serve and she served to live. Even with Gargoyle, on the rare chance he had to spend with her, it became predictable. He asked her a question, she gave him an answer, granted he wanted her opinions, wanted her thoughts, but she had always had as such, he may not realize it, but honestly she had merely been merely following another command. Mahniya had been able to slip back into Glaciem's routine, unnoticed, unseen. Black and white.

Until him. Until Rogue. He had noticed her first back on Alacritis, he approached her, spoke with her, continued to seek her out time after time. Her tail would flicker, her ears would pin back, she would speak and be polite but before she had really registered it, his presence had merely worked its way into her life. She smiled more freely, laughed a bit more carelessly, and offered him her voice... but then he had left, vanishing back into nothing, seemingly not to return and Mahniya had once again faded to invisibility...black and white. It was not to last, he was before her now, seemingly ready to leave when she had not known he had returned at all. Why had she approached him, why was she drawn to him? It made no sense to her this invisible tie, this bond.

She was snapped from her scattered thoughts as a dangerous glint entered his gaze, she shifted uneasily, not liking the fury she saw there, unsure if she had done something wrong. Had she offended him in some way? Her mind scoured over all of the things she had said, she could find no fault in her words, and yet he was angry, so very, very angry... but why? His question came abruptly and with such seriousness, that she wasn't sure how to respond, she hesitated, jaws opening to speak, his hackles rose, he paced restlessly, his massive frame making her uneasy as it trembled in its rage, she feared punishment out of habit. She forced her vocals to vibrate with speech, but never got the chance, because his angered fueled words spilled forth like a furious tsunami.

His words would stun her, shock her into stunted silence. The passion, the fury, the absolute determination, desperation behind each syllable. It would shake her, rock her. She had been spoken to a thousand times from a blind rage, but never like this. His thoughts of her, they revered her, border-lining on worship. He claimed so much of her, he saw so much uniqueness, so much light, so much goodness, it blinded her to think of herself in such a way. It made her dizzy to think anyone would think anything even close to the kindness and adoration that fell from his jaws. Her throat swelled shut and her heart hammered painfully in her rib cage. Why... why did he think of her so highly?

But he would not pause, he would continue with his praise, his words loosing their anger, their tenacity. His words with fill with something she could not readily identify, his hackles would fall and his body would loosen and then he was moving towards her, a soft sigh escaping his lips. She stood like some statue carved of stone and for the lead she felt in her legs and her heart that had suddenly refused to stop stuttering, she damn well could have been. The warmth of his breath wafted across her face and only then did she realize she had been crying. He would ask of her, impossible things, a desperate plea, a soft whisper, and suddenly her world was filled with revelations and colors.... so many colors, they flooded her like a kaleidoscope and everything seemed bright and crisp and beautiful. Emotions, feelings, she had never let reside in the confines of her flesh bombarded her now and God help her he was standing there, heart bleeding upon his sleeve waiting for her to say something, anything. With a desperate, keening whine, she was propelling herself forward, closing that last gap of space between them herself. He had always seen her, he had always found her, he had always come back. Her neck coiled around the base of his own, and when she was buried against him... his warmth... his radiance, she would whisper upon his skin, tears still pouring from her eyes and voice strained.

"I love you."


Speech!

He watched the emotion go through her face, her lovely red eyes showing her every thought. Thaddeus Rogue could feel his heart breaking at her stilled expression, at her hesitation. All his life he had spent alone, with noting and no one to show for. His life bleak, Rogue was like a shadow in his own life, just floating from one pack to the next. But like any ghost he wanted life, he wanted the things that his siblings have found. And as it felt that one chance slipping away, it was breaking him apart.

But things are never as they seem, as her eyes filled with tears, his heart seemed to mend itself like it had never been broken. He smiled sweetly at her show of emotion, something unheard of in this woman, hell it was rare to see a mild smile let alone enough to fill her eyes with so many tears. His eyes brightened as he chains seem to fall from her paws. His world came into focus as Ayala flung herself. He found himself in her embrace, as her soft fur rubbed against his own. He buried his muzzle in her ruff, taking deep breaths of her scent; a mixture of Glaciem and her own unique smell. God he felt like he was in paradise, his world finally falling into place. As he soaked up her scent and warmth her felt her tears soak into his fur. He smiled as he gazed at her lovely form, it felt like time was stopping, like this was the one moment that he was leading up to, she was his everything, his little deer, his Ayala.

But no matter how priceless and perfect this moment felt, her whispered words made them all the better. Thaddeus Rogue's world slowed further, he closed his eyes, a happy glow filling his heart and soul. His own eyes filled with tears, happy that whatever had to fall into place did, for if it was not for her, he would still be a shadow in the world of other beings. Rogue voice cracked as he answered her confession. "Ayala, my dear sweet Ayala. I have loved you since I had first met you." He pulled back from her then, his green blue eyes looking into her damp red ones, his face filled with all the joy in the world, for she was his world now. "I would not have believed in love at first sight if I have not felt it, you called to me, my love." He pressed his head against hers, looking into her eyes.

"I love you, Ayala, I need not say more." He started to chuckle at that point ah, what this meant was great, he would have everything he always wanted, and more. But boy would his brother flip, Gargoyle had seemed to be intent on him staying and it seemed like his brother would have him. "Ah, wait until my brothers sees us. He is going to flip." He pulled back from her, wanted to look into her eyes as he told her what came to his mind next. "Ayala I hope you are ready for my family, They are going to want to demand answers." He chuckled, rubbing his face against hers, not wanting to be away from her touch for long, it was like she was part of him now. And he would not have it any other way.

She had tried, tried to speak, tried to move, tried to force her vocals to work, to make her bodice move, but she had been unable to do much more than stare in utter shock at this beautiful soul before her. The only wolf who had ever bothered to glance at her twice, the only creature whom had ever seen fit to seek her out again and again despite her quiet, monosyllabic responses... but she could scarcely breathe let alone move! He spoke of her like she was worthy of something more than chains and shackles, that she was better than to be someone's slave. That she was somebody with a soul, a heart, a personality and yet...

The dame could bear no more and before he could say anything else, before he could depart or before he could plead she had flung her bodice forward, careening into his chest and coiling her neck around his in a tight embrace, the words of emotions she had never felt before, clawing their way from her larynx as she cried, broke into the confines of his chest of his fur. This longing, this sense of passion, of love, of desire, this was what she had been missing, this was everything she had ever needed. Seasons could change, tides could crash, but here, locked in his warmth, pressed against his chest...she was free. He a wanderer, never claiming a home, she a slave, titles stripped and tossed away and yet she had found solace, absolution in this male and then he returned her embrace, she melted, muscles relaxing, falling away to nothing and for the first time ever, she closed her eyes and allowed herself just to feel.

At her confession, she felt his own tears soak into her neck, his body matching her tremble overcome by... euphoria? Ecstasy? So many emotions that had been nothing but another word, another phrase to her. He wrapped his heavy bodice around her and she absorbed into his touch. Transfixed and taken by him. It took him awhile but finally his voice returned to her, heavy, and cracked with emotion, but it reached her all the same. He released her to meet her eyes, to press against her and she allowed her own orbs to slide shut at the proximity, a shiver chasing the length of her spine. "I love you Rogue, forgive me for not seeing it sooner." She would murmur back to him in response, body aching to be lost back in his embrace.

As he mentioned his family, she would smile softly, a gentle, tiny smile that would never grace her face for anyone but him. Rogue's smile. Tenderly, her tongue would escape her lips to scrape the side of his cheek. "Then shall we go? Your family could use a bit of good news after all that has transpired." She would nuzzle him affectionately, excited at the prospect of telling his family.



Speech!

Her confession was Thaddeus Rogue's everything, She was his world, and it over joyed him whenever he heard the words. It felt like, no matter how many times he heard the words, it was like he was hearing it for the first time. His world would swirl in happiness and then he would come fluttering down. Just the sight of her lovely eyes ad he was pudding at her paws. But that was before the smile that graced her muzzle, it was a shy tender thing, like it was new for her, and as far as he knew it was new, he had seen her smile, but it was always bland, almost lifeless, except when she smiled at him, over that time last year her smile has warmed, but only for him. She only ever graced him with any warmth and those are over shadowed by the glint that now filled her eyes as she looked at him. "No, ma lumi?re, it is not your fault. You where raised to not feel, to only know your place, nothing more." He licked her forehead, his eyes shinning tenderly at the only wolven that could tame his vagabonded heart. She would be the only wolven alive that could make his settle in one place for longer then a few months... And Rogue loved her all the more for it.

Thaddeus smiled as she nuzzled his cheek, a bright mischievous smile spreading his muzzle when he thought about his brothers reaction to his news, and then it faded as he remembered that his family pack was grieving for the lose of a very important member. That sobered his happy high, who was he to bask in happiness while his brother and sister was murderous, and yes he knew his family wanted blood, every time he passed Gargie the glint of evil and pain filled his eyes, and Rogue knew his past was ridding him heard... "Yes, Ayala, lets go find my brother and sisters." Well that is if he could find his ever elusive sister Arcane, he had heard talk of her, but have yet to see her. He was begging to think she was avoiding him or something, well not really, but you would think after the return of your long lost loveable brother she would come bounding up to him with a stupid smile on her face, like he remembered her to always have. With that last thought Rogue turned, his body brushing hers as he moved, she was the light of his life and the only one to see the ghost that he was, grounding him.

[Exit]

I thought I would end this =) so that we can make a new one for Rogue and his family.