Quiet When I'm Coming Home And I'm on My Own ___________________________________________________________ She had destroyed what she had with Allegro, and she messed up what she could have had with Ulric. Still, a strong part of her thought that if Ulric found her by chance just outside The Hallows, he would welcome her back into his arms, bearing his children. This peace of mind dwindled with each day he didn't find her. Didn't catch on to her scent, didn't come looking for her. Her altercation with Allegro had stoned some bruises on her heart. And all his words rained down on repeat to her, especially in her more vulnerable state at night. She couldn't take anymore of the ruin she brought on herself, she knew she brought it on herself. She came to her final conclusion. She had become weak, she had lost some weight. It could have been the enormous babies growing in her, but she also wasn't taking care of herself. This wouldn't be the first time. She ventured the edge of the haunted forest, a lake lingered in the thin walls of trees inside the surrounding plains. She carried a bowl with herbs and a couple other supplies. She settled close to the water, mashing the herbs and breaking up the properties inside, she mixed the herbs with fat, only enough to make it easy to go down. She rose, leaving the bowl of her concoction behind her as she ventured to the edge of the bank of the pond. She peeked over the edge at her reflection, entirely disgusted with what she saw. Aranea had a lot of insecurities, being undesirable was her strongest one. She needed something to replace her entire heart, dote on her, love her, make her feel like a queen. She felt like she was nothing without anyone to share her life with, whether that was Tyranis, Allegro, or Ulric. She had no one now. And everything Allegro had told her about their children would come true to these children. She turned away from the water's edge, immediately taking down what she had in the bowl, an overdose of Khat. She was ready to let go of her life, like she had failed so many times before. She laid down, looking out at the pond's surface. Until she couldn't remember anything else. She couldn't even remember any delusions from the drug, only just an eternal darkness around her. She felt free of everything that had been weighed on her. There were no nightmares, no fatal memories. Just nothing. Completely unconscious or maybe just a slight groan from her throat, she began to bleed from where she would birth Ulric's children, her intent may have been to kill them before herself. She thought it would be quicker for them that way. Walk "Talk" ___________________________________________________________ I Could Lie And Say I Like It Like That

After the dire wolves attacked the pack it came to light that Artorias and Briar had been attacked by one of the same giant dire wolves while they were in the Wraith's Woods not long before that so with his patrols done for the first half of the day he made his way out forward the tangled forest, determined to make sure that they were completely gone. He had been slowly working his way though the surrounding territories and working his way further into Auster to look for any more traces of the beasts, the same as he had done for the saber cats after they attacked the pack. He knew it was impossible to fend off all threats that might face his pack, but if he could be proactive in preventing any more deaths or injuries then he'd go to the ends of the earth to do that for his wolves.

He had been reluctant at first to fully embrace the title of Aegis after Resin passed it on to him, but the longer that he lived it the more protective and possessive he grew of each and every one of them. They trusted him to lead them and protect them and he took that seriously. He worked his way through the rough undergrowth and brambles as he wove his way through the forest, making his way deeper into the trees while on high alert, his ears swiveling and listening, silver eyes scanning the area around him. It seemed pretty quiet, but he wasn't going to relax until he was certain.

There was a quiet lapping of water and he moved toward it, spotting a lake though the trees. As he slipped out of the thick of the forest and onto the shore of the lake he looked across the water for a moment before a hint of the familiar scent of blood caught his attention. It was faint on the breeze, but still very much there and his hackles bristled, eyes scanning the shore. A fair distance away, far enough away that he couldn't clearly make out patterns or features, he saw a wolf-shaped figure laying beside the lapping edge of the lake and he squinted, trying to figure out if that's where the scent was coming from. Deciding to get a closer look, he started trotting along the edge of the lake, long strides carrying him quickly to see what was going on.

As he drew closer, the figure became more familiar, and dread started to creep up from his gut. "Aranea...?" he questioned as he picked up speed into a lope and then into a full run as he drew closer and realized that it was in fact her, skidding to a halt beside her on the sandy shore, nearly knocking himself off his feet in his rush. "Aranea? Aranea!" he said, his paw on her shoulder shaking her, trying to wake her up as he scanned the scene, putting together pieces that his mind didn't want to accept. She was unresponsive, a bowl of some kind beside her, and... and she was pregnant. Very, very noticeably pregnant. But how could she...? Unless... But how...?" His mind was reeling, panic squeezing at his chest, especially when he saw all the blood under her tail. "Aranea!"

Ulric Adravendi

Quiet When I'm Coming Home And I'm on My Own ___________________________________________________________ Still she swirled in complete darkness, nothing was on her mind. She saw nothing, nothing was pulling her out of this. When Ulric found her, her body was barely responsive, only quiet moans and grunts while she was in this alternate world. Her body was completely limp, but the sounds of her may have been some kind of hope that she wasn't gone yet. She would start to come out of the darkness, not hearing Ulric's cries at least in this empty space of her mind. Perhaps physically it was what brought her to, but she wouldn't know that for sure. Static covered her vision, her cheek gently moved towards him but she didn't have the strength to hold anything up. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she was still blind to what was happening around her. The static transitioned the blurs as she focused on the colors of his face, his motions frantic around her. She smiled gently, still not feeling what she had done and in no right mind. "Hung-ic" Her eyes rolled back into her head as she lost the strength to focus back on him again. Was she dying? Was this some kind of cruel end of the curse her nightmares brought her? She had never been strong enough to do this before, but it seemed she was at her whits end. She was meant to die, everyone was better off without her here anymore. Walk "Talk" ___________________________________________________________ I Could Lie And Say I Like It Like That

He watched her for any signs that she was still with him, just seeing the shallow rise and fall of her chest and hearing the small grunts and moans she made occasionally letting him know she was alive. As he shook her she seemed to come to at least slightly, enough for her to barely lift her head, her eyes seemingly unable to focus as she gave him a slight smile and mumbled out what he assumed was supposed to be his name before her eyes rolled back again. "Gods..." he muttered to himself, eyeing the bowl laying near her. What had she eaten? Was she dying? Did he try to take her back to The Hallows? Was there anyone there that could help her? Were the children gone at this point? Were these his children?

He didn't know how to carry her back to The Hallows without risking hurting the unborn pups more than they already were, but at this point he had to make his peace with the fact that he was probably too late to save them. His or not, it made him sick to his stomach and for a brief moment he actually considered leaving her here. It was pretty obvious that whatever had done this to her she had done on purpose and a low, creeping hatred toward her itched at the back of his mind. He grit his teeth as he mentally warred with himself for a moment that was probably too long for the urgency of this moment. There was little that topped how much he loved his children and pups in general and the fact that she would do this refused to sit well with him, no matter what her reasoning might have been.

But he was also too soft, too kind hearted to just leave her here suffering. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath before he finally laid down beside her, grabbing her forelegs gently between his teeth and pulling her across his back, draping her over him and immediately taking off back toward The Hallows, going as fast as he could manage without her slipping off. He had to try and get her back. He'd never forgive himself if there was something he could have done and he didn't do it. He had more regrets than he cared to live with as it was, he wouldn't let this one linger on his soul as well.

Ulric Adravendi