On a grassy hill in eastern Alacritia slumbered a black-furred beast, rolling around in a fitful dream filled with old memories, twisted by a feeling within him that he thought he had suppressed. His rolling about had flattened a whole two-yard radius circle in the tall blades and still he slept. The morning was there, but cloud cover stood in place of the sun's light and kept the lands in a state of constant near-night. The real environment looked just as dreadful under the dark blankets as the world in Frayer's dreams did. Even so, the red-marked wolf eventually managed to calm his imagination and slept still... ...just in time to be awoken by a drop of water assaulting the tip of his nose. The gray oppressors of the skies spat upon the deserving menace named Frayer, and continued to as the downpour took the land. He arose with an annoyed growl and went to fetch his prized gemstone, which he had left nearby, where he had uprooted a section of the overgrown grass to insure the precious thing wouldn't be lost. It was right where he had left it, fortunately, but of course it couldn't very much run off on it's own. Everything accounted for and ready to move on, Frayer scanned the surroundings for a shelter with his dark red eyes, becoming more difficult by the second as his soaked fur was drooping over his vision. The hill gave him a clear view of much of the surroundings but still nowhere he saw looked like it would give any relief from the wetness, and his memory further failed to notice anywhere on the way here that would be adequate. "If you would just find a home and a family, you wouldn't be wet and alone right now..." a part of his mind told him. The rest of his mind snarled and snapped at the first, forcing him back into his corner. Frayer was forced to run in any random direction and hope that his paws led him to dryness, and took off down the hill, struggling to keep grip on the wet grass down the incline, but managing to stay upright. All of his long dark fur was saturated by the torrential precipitation and clung to his body; anyone looking now would see just how skinny a wolf he actually is without the thick hairy buffer on his size. Reaching the foot of the hill he continued on, growling curses all along the way. He hated the rain, not just for the obvious reasons, but also because it was a reminder that his favorite season was gone, and the season of rebirth and love and warmth and all of that useless junk had taken over. Soon the flowers would be blooming, the birds would be singing, and the pups would be playing, all things that the scrooge wolf hated. He'd have to remind himself to cause extra chaos to make up for this. After some time running, Frayer's blurry vision was intruded upon by the shaped stones of the ruined home of ancient humans. As far as he could see rubble and barely standing walls lingered out of the natural place for rocks to be. The clever black wolf could immediately attribute the place to humans, though, so didn't wonder about it's eccentricity for a moment. But among the crumbled stone structures he might just find the dry haven he sought. Eager and agile paws bounced through the slippery soaked rocks in search of shelter in the ruins, and in the largest rocky pile around Frayer thought he saw a hole to lay in, and bounded quickly towards it. But it would seem he wasn't alone in the Stone Steppe...

The dreary weather had Sheylie on the move, seeking shelter in any place possible. But the only type of shelter was just within her range of vision, a crumbling structure of unknown origins. It was weird, but Sheylie would take it. The rain had soaked through her fur within moments, leaving her drenched and quite uncomfortable. The promise of Spring hung heavily in the wet air, but Sheylie couldn't bring herself to be excited. Not when she was this wet and this miserable. Things would look better when she was drying off, however, and the thought of getting out of this dreary rain had Sheylie picking up her pace, bounding along as she headed for the crumbled structure. Reaching it as quickly as she could, Sheylie began to scramble up the smaller rock piles, slipping and sliding as she headed for a little bit of shelter. She found it beneath a half-crumbled pile of rocks, with just enough of an overhang that it blocked the torrential downpour. It was far from perfect, but Sheylie had been the brilliant soul to go wandering off from her temporary den when the rain started. However, things were looking better already, now that she wasn't standing around in the rain. She shook herself vigorously, sending water flying every which way, and sniffed the air carefully. Sheylie certainly did not expect to scent another wolf on the breeze, but that was exactly what she was smelling. And the wolf had to be close by for her to be able to smell it in this rain. The smell was familiar, too, but in a vague way. Her mind struggled to figure out why she felt like she'd smelled this wolf around before, but she was drawing a total blank. Still, it would be impolite to just sit here like a statue. A cautious pink nose poked out from beneath her shelter, and Sheylie snorted violently as the first heavy drop hit her, recoiling back beneath the rock. "Hello?" She queried, lifting her voice a little so that it might be heard over the rain, "Is there anyone there?" She peered around as well as she could beneath the outcropping, unwilling to peek out from this welcomed, if a little cramped shelter. Unfortunately for her slightly dryer fur, Sheylie was a little curious about why this wolf, if he would chose to answer her question, smelled so familiar, so very slowly, she oozed out of her crevice again and glanced around curiously. The rain limited her vision as it poured out of the heavens, leaving the female squinting around unhappily. A violent shiver wracked her frame, and Sheylie thought longingly of the shelter that she had discovered only moments ago. "Talking!"

The black wolf closed in on the shelter, but was slowed by the massive gusts of the storm; arctic winds roared through the landscape and shoved him around. He could only barely stand, and with his soaked fur offering no protection, he was freezing through. This wasn't just a nuisance shower, he realized, but a deadly one if he couldn't fight through the invisible bullies thrashing into him. The winds moaned loud and terrible calls as they pushed through objects, deafening evil cries harrassing Frayer while he slunk closer to the destination rock pile. But all sounds stopped for only a moment to let one through: a phantom of dream crying out, "Hello? ... Is there anyone there?" The voice was Sheylie's. It had been years since Frayer had seen her last, but he never forgot - and how could he forget the voice that haunted him every few nights as he slept? He thought it must be a dream, though the water he was drenched with and the chill in his bones felt too real to be thought up, so this must be his waking imagination toying with him. But his doubts were abolished when from under the outcropping poked a pink nose upon a snow white snout... Not a dream, this was a nightmare. How could she possibly be here? She should be in her warm and cozy home, far away by the stream and the hill. She should be with that damned pack that had exiled him, probably mated to one of the young boys they grew up with, and have pups of her own. And she would have named one of them Frayer just so she could fulfill her idiotic desire to have been nice to the outcast pup. But that nose and soft voice didn't belong to anyone else - she was real. For the first time in... maybe ever, Frayer found himself confused - not by her presence, he was already over that - but the effect it had on him. His body told him to feel a dozen different emotions, none of them the one his front mind wanted to feel. He didn't know whether to just apologize to her, trick her, hug her, or just run away, though the last one could be fatal for him at this point... "Oh, but this rock! I can't let her catch me still holding onto this..." he thought referring to the gleaming, bright tigerseye he still held on to, the only gift he had ever received from this very ghost before him, and another reason why he never forgot her. He couldn't let her know that part of him still cared. The thing was tossed from his mouth to the side of the rubble pile. And now it was time to confront his nightmare. He sighed deeply, and seconds passed as he thought of how he would go about the encounter. For all of the dreams he had had of her, none of them involved ever meeting her again. His minds often argued most days, but now they were outright brawling. "Just speak to her! She'll forgive you!" - "No, cave in the pile!" - "I can't kill her... can I?" - "You're insane, just confess your feelings," - "Stop acting like an omega, just shoo her out of your shelter! You don't need her!" - "Maybe I can trick her by pretending I'm a... no, there's no way to set that up in this weather." - "I'll just... just see what happens." He had kept his head before while dealing with alphas, entire packs, and even giant bears, but this one girl was making him tremble. A girl with a noose closed around his emotions. But Frayer was a perfect actor, so in a moment the feelings would be buried and he would be ready for this play. He took one deep breath and let it out slowly, put on his old smile, and walked tall to the shelter's entrance. His eyes met the orbs in which the bright sky had taken refuge from the clouds, and he intentionally let a couple seconds pass to intensify the dramatic effect of his appearance. He would become her nightmare. He then said slowly, "Hello, Sheylie..."

She was ready to give up, to just retreat into her small shelter and curl up there and wait for the storm to pass. There was no response, no answer but a bitterly howling wind and pouring rain that drummed against her soaked skin, sliding down to splat against the ground when her fur was unable to absorb even a droplet more water. This storm was distinctly unpleasant, and probably not the safest to be caught out in. Oh why hadn't she just stayed back at the little place that she had claimed as her own? It was small, but it was better than this, better than standing out in the rain and waiting for a wolf that might or might not exist to appear. The female was about to turn back when a hulking shadow appeared out of the darkness. Black. Black as the darkest nights with crimson markings that reminded her of blood and sharp golden eyes. And that oh so familiar smile. In the seconds that passed between his appearance and his words, Sheylie had placed the wolf and reacted. Anger, a rare emotion for this female, surged in her body, making her vision flicker for a moment. How dare he? After all that he had done to her pack? After all that he had done to her! He'd been gone for so long that Sheylie had assumed that she would never see him again, and that was exactly how she wanted it! The only wolf who had scorned her friendship, who would rather watch her drown than accept an offering of friendship. He had left her pack, and she shouldn't be seeing him now! Not when hadn't even said goodbye. If he had been anyone else eliciting such a reaction from her, she would have snarled. But Sheylie was determined to not let him see how much he had affected her. Not when he looked so serene, so peaceful, entirely unbothered by the fact that he was a ghost from her past rearing his head in the one place that she didn't want to see him. "Frayer," Her voice was soft, fiercely controlled so that her anger wouldn't reach it. Why was she being so damned nice to him? He deserved every insult that she could fling at him! For leaving in the way that he had, for doing what he had to her pack, for everything. "It's been a while." She spoke slowly, examining him curiously as she spoke. He looked . . . good. Like his time away from her pack had treated him well. Well that wasn't fair. He should have been suffering without them, suffering as they had! She had lost everything after he'd been driven from her pack, and while Sheylie was not so superstitious as to link them, she was irrationally irritated that he seemed none the worse for the wear, and indeed even better off than he had before. A shiver wracked her build as the wind slammed into her body, a particularly strong gust nearly making the female stumble. It was enough to distract her from her thoughts and refocus her attention on Frayer. A growl longed to tear its way out of her chest, but it didn't. No. She would not be cruel to anyone. Not even a wolf who had done what he had done. It had taken her days to get rid of the skunk stench staining her pelt after his last trick. And when it had finally faded and wolves were willing to come near her again, she had felt like something was missing. And that was his fault too. How dare he? "Talking!"

It's been a while? Is that all she had to say? After all they had been through - after all of the fun they had together, all of the one-sided fun... She wore a straight face, as if she were talking to just any wolf. But there was no other soul on earth who had recieved more torture from wicked Frayer - pranks the likes of which a wolf never forgets, and now it seems all that work accomplished nothing! Whether she knew it or not, she was getting some revenge now, because seeing her not hating him after all was a worse torment to him. But he saw the twinkle in her eye, and the slightest curl in her nose... she was still mad, of course! Many have tried to hide their true emotions from the master deceiver, but never they prevail - or at least Frayer sees in them what he wants to see and makes his assumptions. Surely Sheylie couldn't think she could succeed with this plan; she knew the trickster too well. But years had passed, and maybe she had practiced and thought she could beat him in his game. She thought she was better than him! "Hah! Challenge accepted..." "You're an idiot! What if she really did forgive you, or wants to give you another chance? You know she's like that-" - "Shut it! Who in their right mind would forgive me for all I've done?" - "Speaking of 'who in their right mind', you're talking to yourself again." - "You shut it too!" It was getting hard to keep up the physical smile as his mental expression was a snarl, but he managed, and then calmed his thoughts down for a moment, "No, if she was going to forgive me, she would have done it on any one of the hundred other opportunities she's had to do so - not that I want it! Don't you say a thing! ...Well, let's get to work..." He would start off strong. Surely she would get this joke: "It's a little wet out here... Though water is one of my favorite aspects of nature, isn't it yours?" Frayer said, then added a chuckle. Maybe she was still aquaphobic from her dip in the wintery stream 3 years ago? He used to love reminding her about it with more water-based tricks, lest she forget. Maybe that was too obvious? He preferred more subtlety , but Sheylie did know him well, so it wouldn't much matter. How would he follow it, though? It was still so hard for him to think while the weakling in him said,"It's not too late, you can turn back!" and he had nothing; he just paced right for a second, racking his brain. "Oh, this might irritate her!" "But this rain is quite cold, so move aside... You wouldn't want me to freeze to death, would you?" His grin widened because he knew the answer she would be forced to give if any of the old polite girl remained in her. And nobody liked being commanded to do anything... He didn't wait for a response and began to step into the tiny shelter.

A slight bristle was her first reaction to Frayer's cruel words, a sharp narrowing of her eyes as she glared at the male. But after a moment, she forced herself to respond, voice now quieter still and fiercely controlled. "Ah yes, I do so love water." Was there any hint of her irritation in her voice? She hoped not. But it was there. Damn him. Damn him and that stupid smug smile and that unconcerned way that he was talking, like he didn't care about her at all. She was angry. But she was also hurt, unfortunately enough for her. That was something that she was fiercely denying at the moment. She couldn't be hurt if she was angry, right? And it seemed like Frayer was just trying to irritate her even more. If she knew him at all, he probably was. But Sheylie wasn't sure if she knew him. Still, he was acting like the Frayer that she remembered. The Frayer who had left her pack without a goodbye. The female made a slight bow as Frayer spoke, stepping aside even as she glowered at the male. "No, I wouldn't want you to freeze to death. But you're going to have to budge over. Unless you want me to freeze." Of course, he probably did. And she should leave; she shouldn't torture herself. But she'd be damned if she let him see that he was having any sort of affect on her. Stepping forward daintily, she wriggled into the small space, trying to ignore how close she was to Frayer. It was easier to ignore when she realized that a chunk of her haunches was hanging out in the freezing rain. Stupid, stupid wolf. Why was he here? Why had he chosen right then to reappear when he'd been gone for years? Why couldn't he just stay gone, huh? "Isn't this nice?" She was going to play the game as well as he did. She was going to look unconcerned even when she was almost shaking with anger. She just wanted to shred his ears, to yell at him until he understood how she felt. But she wouldn't deign to lower herself to his level. Instead, Sheylie turned a thoughtful gaze out into the pouring rain, shivering slightly as she tried to pull her body into a smaller space. She would not let him realize how angry she was. He had walked out of her life without a care in the world and he was just as unbothered as ever now that he was returning. So she would be just as cool, even when she was furious. Furious at Frayer, at herself, at her pack, at everyone right then. Why was this happening? "Talking!"

Frayer was eager to be out of the freezing weather, but something else was more important to him. He stopped for a good moment before crawling in the opening, looking into Sheylie's eyes after she spoke. "Hmm, no reaction... yet... But I will crack you open, old friend!" With a short chuckle, he continued in and under the tiny shelter. It was a cramped, soggy little hole, a horrible shelter even if he had it to himself, but it was a little better than being under the rain. He settled in as well as he could, his tall bones only just fitting under the low ceiling of the rubble, and now he could continue his plotting. But a sound came that he didn't foresee, from the female beside him who he expected to just sit there in indignant silence. No, instead she was making idle, though sarcastic, conversation! She's much better at the game than Frayer remembered. "What's nice, the deadly weather? Yes, it is lovely..." he said in a tone that emphasized the distaste for her joke that he pretended he had. "That was weak, hm... What shall I add next...? Maybe a dash of conceited will do the trick!" he thought, subsequently executing the tactic. "Or did you mean laying next to wonderful Frayer?" he said while giving her an intentional bump with his shoulder. Showing his teeth with a wide grin, he continued with: "Of course, anyone would adore that!" "You can do better than that! Think of something that will really hurt!" The voice that had before yelled at him to stop his attacks on the fair girl was just a whisper now, hardly audible over the sound of the gears turning. Why was Sheylie alone out here, then? Had something happened to separate her from the old family? "That would be perfect... if it were true." So he was going to rub salt into the wound of lost loved ones! Surely even Frayer would draw the line here; this was too cruel! "Too cruel? Hah! Just watch me..." "Speaking of those who loved me: how is that old batch of wolves doing without Frayer?" he said, smile growing wider, "Suffering, I'd bet... and even wider still... A short dramatic pause later: "Likely dying of boredom!" He watched her every slightest twitch closely. Her body would reveal their fate, even if she stubbornly refused to let on verbally. As it turns out, nothing is too cruel for this creature. OOC: I hope that last part didn't sound too much like he's psychic, that's just something he would notice. He's always been incredibly observant.

The occasional shiver wracked Sheylie's frame as she looked out into the rain as if it were the most interesting thing she had ever seen. It was certainly a good deal more interesting than Frayer. Not that she cared about at him. Nope, not at all. The female was fuming, to say the least. Everything about this was wrong. She had always been kind to Frayer, right? And now he was here to destroy her life, it felt. Had he always been so cruel? She didn't remember. She didn't think so. He had been kind to her in the beginning. But then... Well, things had gone downhill swiftly. So maybe he had always been this cruel. The skunks had served as a reminder of his cruelty for a good while. The stink had lurked for days and the shame even longer. And then he'd been gone. Twitching her ears, Sheylie shook her head, sending water spraying outwards as she glanced back at Frayer, ears twitching uncomfortably at the sudden bump of his shoulder against hers. "Wonderful?" She echoed, a hint of disbelief in her voice. Oh, she had thought he was wonderful once. Back when she was a pup and every story had a happy ending. But this was the real world, and Frayer was far from wonderful. Wasn't he? "Of course. I do so adore having my haunches sticking out in the rain." Her anger lent her voice a quiet, almost thoughtful note. She was doing her best to keep her anger under control. She would not growl at Frayer. He was happy and she was happy and everyone was happy, right? Of course. Twitching her tail in a pitiful attempt to look as comfortable as Frayer seemed, Sheylie glanced out at the dreary rain again. They would be stuck here for a while, it seemed. Perhaps she should make nice with Frayer. But if Sheylie were honest with herself, she didn't want to 'make nice.' She wanted him to be punished for everything that he had done to her and her pack. And it didn't even have to be everything. Just enough that he saw the misery they'd been through dealing with him. And being ignored by him had not been particularly pleasant. But that had been so long ago. She wass't upset about that any more. Nope. Not at all. She started when he spoke of her family, ears flattening against her skull as he spoke of family. Her pack had endured much after losing Frayer, after all. Many losses. Wolves dropping dead of exhaustion, being crushed to death by avalanches in the mountains. Sheylie shuddered at the memories of fleeing her territory, forgetting for a short moment that Frayer was there, playing a game in which she was easily outmatched. "They're . . . ah, fine." She hesitated slightly before bravely soldiering on, trying to convince Frayer and herself that things were okay "My brother would send his greetings, I'm sure." Well, actually, she wasn't. She hadn't seen Xavier since she left the remainders of her pack behind, heading off on her own. It had been rather lonely since then. Twitching her ears, Sheylie glanced at Frayer. "And how have you been, Frayer?" Did she care? No. And yes. She cared. But she certainly didn't want to admit it. Hopefully, he would assume that she was just making polite conversation. That she wasn't trying to distract herself from thinking about the wolves that she had all but abandoned. Ugh! Why was he having so much affect on her? "Talking!"

Devilish Frayer peered intently at his poor victim, awaiting the spoils of his efforts to show and shatter her false calm. This glorious moment would stay with him forever! Her hair stood on end, her muscles shivered, her eyes flickered... and her lips moved... He hung on each syllable as they slipped from those ebony lips, heart racing, but the high was dashed away. "They're... fine" she said! "Liar!" he hissed in his mind, "The tale is told in your eyes! Why are you... How can you..." She loved those forsaken wolves with a sickening intensity, and they were obviously not fine! How was it possible that she hadn't taken a snap at him? How could someone like the innocent Sheylie take that, then turn around and deliver that almost-perfect lie? Throughout their childhood and into today, she had taken blow-after-blow without breaking. Frayer didn't think even he could take so much abuse if he had to! Mighty brutes and wizened leaders had all fallen prey to the games, powerful wolves enraged or made fools by less, and yet here is a she-wolf who had absorbed such a heinous blow as an attack on unfortunate loved ones, and so gracefully too. There was no doubt about it, Sheylie was the strongest-willed wolf in existence. She even managed to make more smalltalk, though Frayer, wrapped in frustrated thoughts, nearly missed it. "How have I been?" Terrible, was the truth! Terrible now that he was losing this fight. Terrible since he's had no pack to torment for so long. "Terrible without her..." "No! Quiet! For the last time, quiet! I don't need her or anyone else!" - "You've gone so long hurting everyone you've met. You have no pack, no friends; the only company you have is an orange rock and the other voice in your head, and even I hate you. You've seen how all the others live happily by loving each other - by taking pride in the good they do for their companions! Can't you, for once in your life, just try being nice?" - "No. Now, silence!" Oh no - was that growl out loud? Quickly, Frayer, cover it up with another lie - how you do so well! "I've been... uh, wonderful!" he managed to choke out. He was losing this! If he couldn't pull this around, she would notice how affected he was, if she couldn't see it already. He certainly would have noticed it in her place. "I've eaten well, stayed healthy, made - heh - friends..." He tried on his smile again, but it no longer fit. "Yes, my life is perfect!" Utterly unconvincing. The look in his eyes, the twitching of his ears, the frown that tried to override his lips' other commands, all tells were there. That part of the black wolf deep within was grinning now, the part that someone might call his "conscience". Frayer couldn't believe it! It wasn't Sheylie who was winning this game against him, but he was beating himself! "All hope is lost, old friend. But you can still appologize." No, stubborn Frayer would not. Instead, he turned his head away, pretending to watch the rain through the mouth of the shelter. Maybe, if he was lucky, she hadn't seen his lapse of character a moment ago - luckier still if she didn't realize that he was hiding his face now. "You will thank me, when you and she are happy."

In the silence that followed her words, Sheylie found her thoughts returning to rest upon the pack that she had left behind. Xavier had been one of the few survivors, but so many others had lost their lives or had simply vanished as they fled their old home. What was happening to them now? Had their curse of bad luck continued, or had it ended when they had all gone their separate ways? How was her brother doing? She was thankful when Frayer spoke, forgetting for a moment her anger in the rush of gratitude. She needed a distraction, even if that distraction came in the form of this wolf. How she wanted to snap at him in that moment, but at the same time, she did appreciate his voice serving as a distraction from thoughts of her pack. Twitching her ears, she fixed blue eyes on him, only to jump a little when a growl echoed in the air. Was he growling at . . . her? No, it didn't seem like it, but who else would he be growling at? Hmph. She didn't care anyways. Nope. She was too angry at him to care. Angry at him for everything he'd done, for causing the pack to drive him out. That was all his fault, right? He deserved every drop of anger that she could muster, every glare that she could manage. But... It was far easier to be angry when she thought that he had come through this without suffering at all. And as he spoke, Sheylie could tell, even if she had not noticed before, that he was lying. Lying as she had, hiding something. Hmm. It didn't take much for Sheylie to put the pieces together. The anger was fading, though Sheylie tried desperately to cling to it. She was furious with him, damn it! He had abandoned her without a word in goodbye, had caused so much trouble within their pack! And yet. It was hard for her to stay angry when he spoke. He had not been as well off as he claimed, that much was obvious. And neither had Sheylie. Damn him. Damn him for making her feel bad for him now, when she was trying so desperately to be angry. "Frayer." Oh she was going to regret this in about two seconds, "You don't have to lie. No one's life is perfect when they're on their own." No need to call attention to how obvious the lie had been... Why was she being so nice to him? He deserved the punishment. He deserved everything that had happened to him while he was on his own. And she didn't care at all! Except, as much as she tried to insist that to herself, she knew it wasn't entirely true. She was not one to be needlessly cruel. And she had been angry when she'd thought that everything had been perfect for him, but if the world had punished him even a little, it was hard for her to stay angry. What was wrong with her? "I mean, life hasn't been perfect for me either." Hmph. She didn't know why she was being so damn nice to this wolf. Except. It was hard to stay angry at him. And she didn't know why. "Talking!"

"Damn it -" thought Frayer, "she caught it! Damn her! How can this be happening?" All of his life, he had been in control, others lost to him. Why did his cunning mind and infallable will choose now, of all times, to fail him? Because of her? The rain, this encounter, his slip of act... Some mighty being out there must be punishing him! He didn't deserve this, he thought! He had never hurt anyone... well, not permanently... eh, not permanently, physically anyway! Alright, that might not be true depending on how you look at it... but he's sure most of them had it coming. Sheylie tossed words of toxic sympathy at the black wolf, trying to make him feel better, just the way she had in the past. But she didn't mean it, Frayer knew, and she never did! She only ever wanted to be known as "miss sweet and perfect, poor victim of the evil Frayer"! She knew damn well that it agitated him, and she used all the niceness she could find to bait him! Even when there was no audience to witness, sinister Sheylie would toy with him so! She was even doing it now, and it was working! Frayer turned his head towards her sharply, staring upon her with ferocity in his red eyes, and said, "You think you're smart, hm? You think you know the truth in everything. You think you know what I've been through! Hah! You're wrong - dead wrong!" He no longer tried to hold back his anger; it was too late for that! He had lost, and now only cared to verbally punish his opponent. His voice grew louder and much harsher, "I'm glad your damn pack kicked me out! I was tired of being treated like some curse to avoid, like something more unfortunate than an omega! And I was tired of hearing your false, obligatory kindness! I know you didn't care for anyone but yourself - you just 'helped' people to keep up appearances! I'm done with it! I'm perfectly happy alone..." He huffed loudly, and thought of what to yell next, but that feeling inside was trading out the fury for resignation. His hastened pulse and breathing gradually slowed while he looked into her amazing eyes. "So just... stay quiet until the storm passes, then leave me." "No, kick her out of your shelter - let her freeze for doing this to you!" he thought, but his conscience was holding more sway over him than was normal, and he only stared at her a moment, biting his lip. He shortly surrendered, and turned his head away once more, letting it rest upon his paws. "Please, just let her listen for once, so this stupid mess can be over with and forgotten!"

She had expected a slight lowering of his walls, perhaps, a release of the anger that he was clinging to, not a vicious return of that anger. Sheylie was of half a mind to meet his anger with her own, to cover up the hurt that reared its ugly little head when he snapped at her. Did he really think that it was all obligatory? That she had been only nice to him because she had to? If Sheylie were honest with herself, she would have known that she had been enamored with him as a youngster, enjoying his company until she was shoved in the river and almost left to drown. Even then... Still, that wasn't something that the female allowed herself to dwell on. Ears twitching, she tried to find an anger to match his own. "It wasn't obligatory. I could've been just as cruel as the rest of them were." She tired to put venom behind her words, but it was significantly lacking. She couldn't bring herself to snap at this wolf. Her anger was fading, retreating from Sheylie's mind as much as she tried to cling to it. She wanted to be angry. Oh, she did. But when Frayer seemed as defeated as she, it was hard to stay upset. "You weren't ever a curse, either. Which you would know if you ever dug your head out of the sand!" There was the anger that she had been lacking, raising its head in a sharpening of her voice and a quieter tone. But with that, however, Sheylie was willing to respect his wishes. She twitched her ears and turned to look away from Frayer as well, fixing blue eyes out on the miserable rain. It took her a few moments to start wriggling, trying to get situated and get as much of her body as possible out from the cold rain. This weather was miserable, and Sheylie was glad that Frayer hadn't driven her off. He certainly could have managed it if he wished, seeing as he was a good deal larger than she. "Talking!"

The red-marked male dismissed the words of his long-lost enemy with a short growl, and although he was tempted to respond, he told himself that the night would be over much more painlessly if he kept quiet. He pretended that the words meant nothing to him, staying still and not even glancing back, but they were reeling in his mind, troubling him as the two lay there in silence. How could she know what he had been through as a pup? She belonged there - she was part of the family, not the strange outcast that that had been dropped off there by fate, that the pack had no real obligation to! Both of his parents died before he was grown, and not one of those cold-hearted degenerates showed the slightest sympathy - excluding Sheylie?s fake plug, of course. They just continued to put up with him as always, letting him reside nearby and live off of their scraps. Maybe Frayer was a bit shy in his younger year, but that?s no good excuse for them all to go on without at least trying to talk to him! He was a curse, even before he started to give them reason to believe it with his harassment. They had always avoided him, despite what Sheylie thinks, all of them except her. Her false kindness sickened him more than anything else in existence. It was a more deplorable kind of lie than the kind that Frayer told, by far! She preyed on the trust and love she built in others, and over the seasons would continue to construct the enormous illusion that she was perfect. Surely whatever had split her from the others had saved them from whatever grand despicable act she was planning to commit! Maybe there was even more purpose in her making herself the best target for the black wolf?s tricks, so that at the right time she could blame all of her ill deeds upon him! Frayer thought about himself, the malicious thing he had become, and blamed it entirely on the other beings in his past. Had they raised him right, he would be as content with life as any other normal wolf! Had they fed him as they fed their own children, he could have grown to be a healthy weight, and a strong warrior, not the skinny sight he is! Had she not baited him every single day since they had met, he wouldn?t be the depraved villain of every story he took part in, but maybe an honorable hero instead! They had made him this way, and brought upon themselves every bit of bad he had subjected them to. Even as he made those thoughts, somehow he wasn?t able to make himself believe them. It was the damn spirit that had possessed him earlier! It was toying with his mind now, the way he would do to gullible others that he met, but even knowing it was happening, he couldn?t stop it! He wanted to growl, to shout at the demon in him, but could not manage to summon up a small shard of anger, leaving him helpless and restless. And the voice repeated one suggestion repeatedly throughout these long, quiet moments: ?Talk to her!? The urge was fought off with some struggle that entire time, up until that moment, after what may have been an hour of the two wordlessly watching the neverending downpour. He was tired, his mind and will were broken, and his defenses fell, just when the compulsion struck again. In a low, solemn, heartfelt voice, the kind of which he didn?t think he could speak in, he said, ?Sheylie... I?m...? he shivered, ?I...? but he was cut off. Only barely catching it in time, his usual self stopped the admission that would have destroyed him. What was he going to say... "I?m sorry"? "I missed you"? Worse still, "I love you"? But the problem wasn?t solved yet. Surely she heard those few stuttered words and would pry at him until she knew what he couldn?t say. Surely, because she hated him and wanted to torture him as much as he did to her. OOC: Sheylie is about the same size as Frayer, only a couple inches shorter, but Fray is thin.

This growl she recognized as being directed at her, a lash out against the female that sat uncomfortably beside him. This was interesting night, to say the least. Actually, it was a good deal more than interesting. Sheylie wasn't entirely sure how she felt about this, in all honesty. She had missed Frayer, she had to admit. But this was not how she had anticipated their first meeting being. Actually, she hadn't expected to meet him ever again. It was . . . weird. Not necessarily in a bad way. Though she wasn't sure she appreciated this whole being quiet thing. It let her thoughts wander far too much. She couldn't keep them focused on one thing, and in the silence she found her thoughts chasing themselves in circles, always coming back to the one thing that she was trying to ignore; how she felt about the male next to him. How did she feel about him? Angry, obviously. But that anger was fading. Sheylie had never been able to stay angry for long, and she had been angry at him for longer than she had been angry with any other wolf. And so the anger was fading, leaving her with . . . something else. A mixture of happiness and sadness and something else altogether. All of the emotions that she had tried to ignore for so long after that whole drowning incident had come rushing back, hitting her like a tidal wave. And honestly, Sheylie wasn't too interested in sorting through her feelings right then. There was nothing better to do though, so in the silence that followed her comments, she worried at these thoughts like a dog at a bone. Why was she happy to see Frayer? He had made her life a living hell. Heck, he'd made her whole pack's life a living hell. Yet here she was, feeling strangely content in his presence. What was wrong with her? Maybe it was nothing at all. Or maybe she felt more strongly for the wolf next to her than she realized. Even in the silence, even knowing he was angry with her and wished nothing more than for her to leave, she was oddly content. Her anger was vanishing, as much as she tried vainly to cling on to it, to not let it escape her, and it left her sitting in an uncomfortable silence. The righteousness of it was gone and now it was merely a silence that had stretched out for too long. Half a dozen words sprang to mind, things that she could say to the wolf beside her, but the female bit her tongue on them, fixing her gaze on the rain and refusing to look at Frayer. That was until he spoke, at least. His sudden words had her turning to glance at him, head tilting slightly to the side. "Frayer..." The words came slowly at first, then tumbled out of her like a rushing river, "Look, I have something to say." Something that she had wanted to say for a long time. Something that she hadn't thought she'd ever be able to tell him. "When our pack decided to drive you out... I didn't speak out against it. And I'm sorry. I should have. I'm sorry..." There. And that was something she had wanted to say since the day he left. Even through the anger, that had been there. And now it was finally out in the open. Whatever he had to say was forgotten for the moment as Sheylie waited to hear what he would say. Surely he would drive her out now. "Talking!"

With dejection the red-marked wolf turned to the girl and listened to her speak, terrified at what would happen when inevitably she would execute her relentless inquisition into his behavior, but to his amazement she didn?t so much as try. What she did say may have been even worse - a bona fide heavyweight class one-two punch of an attack on the already beaten Frayer! First she would go so low as to ?admit? that she never tried to stand up for the unfortunate pup as he was exiled from his home, which of course was a lie - she couldn?t let her greatest reusable excuse and scapegoat be forced away! What?s worse, after saying that, she rubbed salt on the wound with another helping of the fraudulent altruism with an ?apology?! The heartless shrew - the scheming hellion! The - ?What if she is being genuine?? interrupted once more the trickster?s conscience, ?What if, ever since the beginning, she had honestly been nice, every word of sympathy and call to friendship a true one? Then the story of the poor pup named Frayer would have meant nothing... all of the evil and loneliness of our past and all of the wicked ways of our present would be your own fault! Your entire life changed in just a single moment the first time your mind said ?be skeptical?!? These thoughts couldn?t belong to him, surely! It wasn?t like old Frayer at all to believe anyone could be telling the truth, let alone his oldest rival. It had to be some demon possessing him who had first pushed his suggestions, then altered his actions, and now even poisoned his very thoughts directly! Of course Sheylie was lying - there was no other way it could be. ?The evidence stands against your position, spiteful one. Just use those masterfully honed senses you are so proud of and you could see how true she is!? He snarled and snapped at his other mind - not out loud, but where only he could hear, ?They cannot be trusted! Obviously they had let me astray so far, and left me unaware of the damage that the treacherous girl could do. She is a great actor, and has led the both of us into this trap that I cannot free us from!? His red eyes lit up in delight as his thoughts came to a realization, "But wait, if she is being genuine, and she really does care, that means I have her on a string! It would be so easy to just -" - "Don't you even think about it, you devil!" - "Oh, now you're making demands of me?! You can make me do nothing, and you will convince me of nothing, you alien manipulator. I wish you had a physical throat so I could rip it out and no longer hear you!" "I cannot be silenced any longer. You cannot remove me; I am a part of you - the good and honorable mind of the wolf you could have been - or still can be! Can't you just imagine it - oh of course you can, I can for you! You would be the much praised and more loved hero, protector of your pack. Never again would you spend a night wallowing in miserable solitude as your loyal companion lay beside you, keeping you always warm. And you wouldn't need that old tigerseye gemstone anymore; you'd have these two perfect, bright sapphires to admire every night..." In that moment the black beast realized he had been staring into the deep blue eyes of Sheylie for quite a time during his internal arguments. In embarrassment and anger, he turned away sharply, forcing a grunt of feigned displeasure as his cheeks burned red-hot. ?I don?t love her...? he thought, and thought responded, ?Your lies become more transparent with each one that you tell. Just let me save us, please...? Seconds continued to pass while the two sides of Frayer were at a stalemate for control over the body, so no words - good or bad - were said, and neither could he keep his gaze away as his eyes occasionally wandered back shyly to look upon the divine she-wolf that he could not confess himself to. What a mess the once so sly Frayer had become, stunned in a wordless, dumbfounded stasis that only she could break.

The silence was terrible. It ached, it weighed on her like a world had settled on her shoulders. She couldn't begin to imagine what was going through his head after she spoke, what kind of anger was building in that aching silence. She wanted to speak, to break it, but he was still holding her gaze so calmly, like nothing was wrong, even though Sheylie was absolutely sure that he was about to drive her away. She had admitted this though and it had been something that she had wanted to say. It was good to get it off of her chest, if only to sit in silence and endure the surely building and deserved anger that Frayer was stirring up. He had every right to be angry with her. Hell, she was angry with herself. What she had done was inexcusable. She had let her parents down. Every teaching that they had tried to instill upon her had been forgotten when it was convenient, and that was unacceptable. After that, she had never slipped up. But one 'slip up' like that, one time of letting a wolf get banished without saying a word was more than plenty. She should have never done that. It was almost to think that not so long ago Sheylie had been furious with the wolf before her, and now she felt more guilty than words could describe about actions long in the past. What had she done? What more could she do. It was in the past now. All of it was. Even her anger. There was no way that she could be angry at Frayer anymore. Not when he ought to be angry at her, not when she felt so bad about what she had (or hadn't, really) done. Her thoughts were interrupted by a grunt, a soft dismissal of everything that she had said. And he turned aside, obviously unwilling to even look at her any more. Well, she understood that. She didn't blame him for that. "I truly am sorry." They were miserable words, words that clearly didn't mean anything. Shouldn't mean anything. They couldn't change the past. "But. I know that's not enough." She could offer him something, of course. But what could little old Sheylie offer him? He had clearly done well enough on his own. Well. He had survived on his own. Ears twitching, a sigh escaped the female as she glanced at her paws. There was nothing that she could do to make up for what she had done. But maybe she could start? Except Frayer seemed angry, or at least too thoughtful for things to be working out in her favor. Any moment now he would be turning on her to drive her away, exactly as she deserved. "Talking!"

He clamped his eyes shut ... He grew angrier and angrier, even shaking, on the verge of bursting! And then... he broke. He simply ceased shaking and thinking altogether, his eyes left wide open staring beyond the world, and all remaining pressure just departed him through a long exhalation. It took a couple dozen seconds for this trance to release him, and when it did, he looked back at the beautiful wolf, his longtime nemesis, the woe of his existence, and said, "How badly did I hurt you, sweet Sheylie?" There was no Frayer left in the black wolf, no more bitter voice protesting what the lips were about to say; that spirit had been expelled with that breath. "... Each fall, each trick, each terribly mean word..." said he, then scowling, censured himself, "What evil had taken me, on that winter day? From the moment you said 'hello' to me until the day I left, you've been... nothing less than an angel, I a scourge upon all..." His head hung low and his eyes closed again, ears tipped back leaving that red-marked face looking more pitiful and guilty than it ever had before, even acting. From his throat escaped a deep sigh that carried just a bit of a whimper in it, before he continued talking so solemnly and slowly, "You shouldn't be apologizing to me, but I to the entire world, especially to you. So I say, with more sincerity than anything I have said in my life, I am boundlessly apologetic." The black beast's heart was fluttering, for despite the heavy tone he spoke his amends in, he felt immense joy in speaking them. Still no trace of the menacing mind could be found lurking within that skull; maybe the evil was entirely a thing of the past. Only the foreign happiness, honesty, and humility drove the body's actions and speech now. Was the real Frayer comatose, or had real betterment finally come to him? Or... was this all a trick, so latent that the rotten one could hide it even from his own conscience? Head drawn even lower, his eyes now looked up at she the wronged, and he asked of her, "Sheylie... graceful, compassionate Sheylie... I deserve nothing, but still I ask of you - no, beg of you... Will you forgive Frayer for all he has mistreated you?" Crimson eyes looked deep into the twin sky orbs looking back, and the male's black lips locked into a wistful frown. But a single drop of water leaked from the otherwise dry shelter's ceiling, like the one that had started this eventful day for the black wolf, hitting his nose in just the same spot, startling him. He jumped just a bit and shook it off, the shock forcing his true emotions to shine through his face, so an instant later he looked back at her with a shy smile, and was unable to stifle the short giggle following. What a horrible way for this so perfect apology to be interrupted! The expression faded slightly into worry, as Frayer thought his gleefulness would be taken as a sign of insincerity by his could-be-friend, and his gaze showed his anxiety, trembling a bit and moving away from directly at her face, his ears as well pushed further back. Such a range of emotions has shown on the semblance of the dark wolf that even the skilled actor of his deceiver side would have been dazzled were it still existing, but the virtuous, new Frayer wanted to fake nothing. He truly gave a somber pleading for absolution, he truly was happy to be repenting, and he truly felt horrified that she may never forgive him.

The anger was building, building and building like a volcano and ready to explode, to release and destroy her. And then it stopped. Frayer simply stopped. A long sigh escaped the male, and Sheylie watched him cautiously as he spoke. The words rolled over her ears like an ocean, bringing with them relief to something that she didn't understand. A different wolf may have doubted the sincerity of his words, but Sheylie believed them. Perhaps she shouldn't have, with Frayer's history of pranks, but she had always believed the best of him. And he looked so sincere. She could not have doubted that face if she tried, and Sheylie wanted to believe him. So she did. The female's tail began to wag a little, just a small twitch, but there was pure joy in her mind. She could never have stayed angry at him for long, no matter how desperately she tried. So the female interjected, her voice soft in the air, "I was far from an angel, and you were far from a scourge." An annoyance, possibility, but a scourge? No, never. Not to Sheylie at least. Would she forgive him? Hah. As if there had been any question of that. "Would I forgive you? Of course I would, Frayer. I could never stay mad at you," Here her tail began to wag slightly, and then a startled giggle escaped her when the black male jumped, laughter spilling from her maw and filling the air. "Is the water attacking the might Frayer?" She was teasing slightly, a smile on her face as she watched the black male, hoping that maybe this would convince him that she wasn't angry. It hurt her to see him look so worried. There was a pause, and then Sheylie voiced her final concern. "Could you ever forgive me? I failed to do what was right and I know that. I'm sorry too, Frayer." A hint of solemnity filled her voice, and then the gray and white female found her tail wagging a little more as she gazed at the male before her. "Talking!"

(OOC: I accidentally left out the first paragraph of my previous post... But it came out legible enough and I've already deleted what I had saved, so I guess it's alright how it is :P) Merciful Sheylie did gift absolution to the undeserving black beast, like only the kindest soul could, lifting a lead weight from his heart that had plagued him all these seasons. She then instantly diffused his worry with a smile that could no doubt move mountains, a tool of suggestion that he could never master. If he hadn't convinced himself already, he knew now that she wasn't evil, for she might have left him as he was, drowning in anxiety. But she didn't, because she wanted him to be happy, just as she always had, for no reason other than the happiness. All doubt was abolished. Then she asked for the same forgiveness from him, and only a true demon could deny, which Frayer may have been before this eve. "Yes, Sheylie! Absolutely! You are forgiven, and I am so glad to say it!" he said enthusiastically. She was right to allow his removal from their pack, he still thought, but there were many other things that the other side of him had held against her, stupid trifling things, so giving her pardon took the rest of the encumbrance off of him, and his soul had never felt so light. His tail flicked about rapidly while he looked upon her with an enormous smile on his face - not the toothy, wrinkle-nosed grin he often wore, but a real expression of innocent joy, for Frayer was finally free. He turned his head back towards the mouth of their tiny cave as something outside had caught his attention, something changed about the world. No more tempest winds roared across the earth, and no deluge from the heavens bombarded the stone-strewn environment. Over the course of their exchange of clemency the downpour had trickled down to nothing, leaving just the dripping from the clouds' leftovers to be heard. He poked his head out and looked above, seeing clouds still dominating the sky, dark not with unreleased precipitation, but the coming of night. It seemed the storm was finally breaking, after the eternally long evening that this one seemed to be... but now Frayer didn't want it to end. "The rain is about gone, Sheylie..." he said softly. By his own past words, she ought to be expelled now... but the black wolf had never kept his promises before, he could break just one more now, surely! "I wouldn't mind, though... if you stayed a little longer, to morning maybe... It's still quite cold out there, after all." He let out a yawn against his will. What an exhausting day this had been, and he had had his nap stolen by the retreating weather. "I'm much too tired to chase her off, anyway." he thought to himself, as if he needed any more excuse to let her remain by his side. No, if it were up to him, the two of them would never part again. He looked back at Sheylie, setting his eyes upon her soft and perfect face, and said gently, "Will you stay with me tonight?"

The relief that came with his words of forgiveness was impossible to describe or explain. It was just . . . relief. Like something had been weighing on her thoughts for years, and it had vanished with Frayer's words. It was a strange sensation, but a good one all the same. Whatever it was, she vastly preferred it to the anger that she had begun this conversation with. No, that anger was gone at last and she was glad, glad to see it go. And the feeling that had replaced it was one that curled up in her chest and made a home there. Okay, okay, time to put a stop to that. There was no need to be so . . . poetic about things. "Thank you, Frayer. It does mean a lot." More than she could hope to explain, really, but the female was content with that, her tail waving slightly as she resettled her weight, moving her bulk a little bit closer to Frayer's. She didn't mind getting a little closer to him, despite the fact that the storm seemed to finally be fading. But this was only noted distantly. There were bigger things to occupy her attention. Like the smile stretched across Frayer's features. She wasn't going to let herself get all poetic about this too but it was . . . different from the way he'd looked when she'd first run into him. Not that she was complaining! No, he seemed happier, and that was how she liked it. Tail flicking a little, she turned towards him when he spoke with a shy smile stretching across her features, "So it is," She agreed as she glanced at the sky, noting that the rain had indeed faded, "But it is a little late for me to be heading off. I think I'll have to take you up on that offer." Sheylie's tail flicked a little, beginning a slow wave in the air as she stretched slightly. It took her a few moments to respond seriously, however. Her voice was soft when she did speak, "I wouldn't dream of leaving." Not right then, and surely not ever. The way this moment seemed to feel was something that she wouldn't have traded for the world on a silver plate. This was all she had wanted, really, if she were truly honest with herself. Just happiness with the wolf who had always meant the world to her. And that gave her the boldness to speak the next words that slipped off her tongue, "I don't even have to leave in the morning. Unless you want me to." Here she fell silent, waiting silently to hear what he would have to say in response. "Talking!"