Her pads drummed against the earth in perfect succession. Mimicking the sound of heartbeats upon the earth. Beautiful, flawless, elegantly groomed white fur billowed behind her in streaks of the softest silk. She glided through the trees, her pads making nary a noise as she weaved between the vegetation. Silver hued ocular absorbed everything, anything. A phantom, a shadow, a ghost. The moonlight illuminated her coat, made her appear almost unearthly. She was stunning in the moonlight. Beautiful, flawless, perfect.

She was perfect on the outside, to disguise how absolutely horrid she was inside.

Her beauty was not by accident. She had developed a multiple personality disorder at a very young age and with that came a form of obsessive compulsive disorder. She groomed while she listened to the thousand voices bickering back and forth within the confines of head. her flawless appearance had its uses, it intimidated some made her seem untouchable. It was easier to fake normalcy when you didn't have to speak.

Her gait slowed to a halt, the moon reflecting off the surface of the cool waters of the ocean. Sand seeped between her toes, clinging to her fur like a vice. Already the urge to clean the fur crept upon her but she refrained, her gaze lingering on the crashing ocean she sat back, delicately perching upon her haunches, watching and waiting. For what, she knew not.

He approached her slowly, drawn towards the unearthly glow she carried in the pale moonlight. He had sworn himself to celibacy, but was easily tempted away from the righteous path. He smelled of the sea, and carried himself just as fluidly, rust colored strands swaying in the cool breeze of the night as he approached the damsel. No wolf had ever come so close to his den before, not that he knew of, not one that would give him any attention. "Greetings." he hymned, the R's rolling off his tongue from his foreign accent as he glided closer to him. She smelled of Seracia, she was no threat to him or anyone else in his family, but she had yet to prove herself his friend. "I am Sir Segar Flores." he introduced, his voice a silky sweet purr of a noise. He was undoubtedly attractive, more so than any other wolf. His body lacked any visible scars and his eyes glowed with the hue of summer grass, contrasting against the brown mask of his face and the ginger color of his fur. Unusual, that was the best word to describe his bodice. Soft, long well kept fur adorned the slim muscles of a runner, not a fighter, beguiling the swift nature of his combat style and finesse. He was as every bit beautiful as he was charming, a sword he handled with excellent precision. Speech,

Ghosts appearance was without flaw. Every languid stand of ivory fur billowed about her, seemingly defying gravity. She was gorgeous in every sense of the world, her body possessed all of the gentle curves of a female, her waist was trim and neat her chest barreled and yet still delicate. Not a strand of fur glided out of place, not a touch of dirt marred her flesh, beauty seemed to crash upon her. Her eyes did not stray from the ocean as the sound of paws approached her. She smelled of pines and perhaps a touch like Octavian, it had not been long ago when he had goaded her into playing in the river.

He stalked beside her and finally grey eyes left the gentle crashing of the sea to gaze upon her sudden companion. He was stunning, like she, his coat immaculate, fluent, flowing, she wondered vaguely if it was a much of a guise as her own. her tail languidly dipped from one side to the other, neither confirming nor denying her joy or lack thereof at the sudden company. Jaws slid apart and her voice melodic and soft vibrated her larynx.

"Hello Sir Flores. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am called Ghost." Almost whimsical in its delivery the dame befitted her name too perfection.

He smiled calmly and bowed in greeting. "Senora Ghost. Why do you stray so far from the rest of the pack?" He wondered, his voice as calm and soothing as a mother's caresses. He had his own reasons to live so far from the others, his quest for abstinence had necessitated it. The waves of the ocean calmed his hunger and quelled his lustful spirit. Even now as his eyes rolled over the female's body, the gentle lapping of water against his paws ceased the lustful quake with in him, and in its stead his charm and grace flourished. Truly she was just as beautiful as he was if not more, his desire to possess her overcoming his need to simply have her as he had done with so many females before. But there was always a challenge. The young buck could smell a male on her, no doubt a rival suitor. And not just any male, but his superior officer. No matter. He was not dissuaded, beauty could only contain beauty. And Octavian was only his superior in his time in Seracia, he had not yet battled Segar, although with two hearts clashing for the young female, battle between the two would be inevitable. He would not stray from this path, only she could force his hand. Speech,

The crashing of the ocean's tide, stopped just short of the tips of her claws, salt water had a horrible tendency to permanently stain her coat, taking her weeks to rid herself of such distaste. She enjoyed the rhythmic motions of the waves. They were soothing, calming, predictable. Her voices grew quite, whispers instead of shouts, speaking in and out of turn about the male perched beside her, about the waves, about the beach. They spoke of things relevant and irrelevant, ah the perks of having only pieces of ones psyche.

A small, barely there smile graced her maw, haunting silver eyes glittering with secrets. Her tail, ever the swinging pendulum, dusted the sands behind her. " A loner by nature, old habits die hard." She murmured softly, admiring him. Smooth, clean muscle adorned his torso, he was not built like a warrior but she surmised he could hold his own if push came to shove. "Nightmares and memories, phantoms from past lives, so many things draw me away." She purred, her speech a silken melody. She was known by few, remembered by even less. Ghost liked it that way.

"I can sympathize." He said quietly. Even now, in the back of his mind he knew that Lentajin would come for him, take him away from Seracia and the ocean, make him beg for mercy as they ripped out his throat and let the sands swallow his blood. Such a messy way to die, he wasn't for it. Instead he imagined cubs, white and cream, and red and brown, running with him along the shore, chasing the waves and learning to fish with him. A much more pleasing thought. Segar unfortunately could not boast the track record Ghost had. He was remembered by many and known by many as well, by know as both a whore and a deserter. A stain he had wished would be washed away by the sea but so far had yet to be swept away. Yet still, no one in Seracia knew of his trespasses, and if he had it his way they would never find out. No, to him beauty was a mask to hide the horrible writhing creature that he truly was inside. Or at least that he felt he was. He had abandoned his leader hen she needed him most, abandoned females with his brood, and abandoned Lentajin in the midst of a power struggle. And now he would turn on Octavian and steal his woman. Was there no end to his traitorous ways? He let the thoughts fade as he spoke again. "But surely Seracia must quell these nightmarish thoughts. Or perhaps someone in Seracia." Speech,

Beauty on a creature like Ghost was a combination of several things, her disorder rearing its foul head, a way to mask how utterly shattered her own psyche was. Very few tended to look past beauty, faking who and what she was seemed simple when they tripped over her appearance. She watched him carefully, his voice, completed by an accent rumbled nicely through his chest, caressing her ear drums with a soothing touch. He seemed almost as languid as she.

"Most everyone is plagued by phantoms, there are very few who can rid themselves of guilt and regret." She purred in silken tones, the words slipping from her maw with fluidity and grace. His next words, however innocent they may have been reached her audits with something far darker, far more meaningful, flirtations were not usually something she indulged in, but she bore no mark of another, she was not claimed. Doubted she would ever be as such. Once you scratched beneath the surface of beauty...Ghost was anything but.

"If such a someone exists, I have yet to make their acquaintance. I still cannot sleep, nor will thoughts of old leave me be." She teased him, provoked him, a glitter present within the depths of her oculars that had not been there a moment before.

"Tell me, what thoughts haunt you so?" He asked, tail swaying in the breeze behind him like a ribbon in the wind. He wanted to put her at ease, to heal old wounds, to pave over her past and plant the seeds of a new life together with her. She would share her scars and he would share his, and they would soothe each other together or so he hoped. He caught the playful twinkle in her eyes and grinned playfully "Although if you have trouble sleeping I can certainly help." His grin widened at that, letting his flirtatious nature rear its head in the hopes that it would reconcile for the ugliness he was finally ready to admit to.This is how adult wolves played. They didn't splash in rivers and chase fish, they flirted coyly and and admired each other. Speech,

She tilted her head to the side, haunted grey eyes seeking his own, no one had ever been bold enough to ask her for her story outright and she had never given it willingly. Her mind, her shattered psyche, it was wounded because of such things, because she had tried and failed to forget. It was her minds way of coping with the evils that had befallen her. he drew closer to her, invading her space and still the dame did not move, her slender body maintaining its natural grace, her eyes never leaving his own.

"My thoughts are not my own, they stem from many pieces, many fragments of my soul. Broken, shattered, my mind is nothing more than an incomplete thought, filled with one too many voices. As a young child my oldest brother was struck by a crippling fever, delusions, haunting figures, pain... it was my job to see him heal. I fell into my first heat and taken by his own illusions he smelled it upon me and took me with no care or remorse for my own screams." The soft whispers upon her brain protested such a confession, but once it was finished fell silent, awaiting his reaction with eager anticipation. For once the ivory dame did not remain silent, instead rising to her pads. She was a touch too thin, too perfect.

"Do you still wish to aid my sleep? I am naught but broken pieces." She had never told anyone so entirely much about her. No one knew of her illnesses, or her history, raped by her own brother, tarnished by her own flesh and blood, beauty was not present upon her soul.

His heart broke to pieces at her story, a tale far worse than his. The smile fell from his face, pain reflecting in his eyes as he heard her tale. How many females carried that burden from his doing? How many had been scarred as she had been from his actions? He no longer sought trivial pleasures of the flesh. No. This was an opportunity. A chance to repent for his sins. Slowly he stepped closer and rested his head on her shoulder. Comforting her in the softest way he knew possible. The boyish charm left his body, he was someone else now entirely. "You are my pack-mate." He said softly. "I will aid you when you need me." His tone was serious, he was done flirting. She needed him. She needed his attention and he would give it to her gladly. "One day your thoughts will be whole. And until that day, I will not abandon you." He said softly, his breath showing in the air. Now it was his turn. "I was once a lecher. I left many a femme to care for my bastard children." He admitted "When I decided to join a pack I left them soon afterwards and I fear one day they will come for my head." She was the first person he had trusted his secret to, the first person he had admitted his guilt to. The first person she had trusted his life in Seracia to. Speech,

Her words had not been biting or bitter. A calmness had overcome her and she spoke in a smooth expressionless tone, as smooth as glass. Her history wasn't pretty, her soul stained with black marks that would never fade, her psyche broken and shattered. She was a train wreck, something of a freak show. Not a single creature knew of her sufferings save for this stranger whom she scarcely knew.

His smile fell and that seemingly flirtatious air fell from his aura, she waited for the words of disgust, the snide remarks, she expected them, anticipated them, but they never came, never slipped from his maw, instead he stepped forward, his vibrant fur, brushing her own as he rested his crown upon her shoulder. Comfort was not something's she felt often, but it spread through her at his soft and caring speech. Whether he meant his words or not they were kind.

Her audits craned forward, attentive and alert as he spoke to her his own story. It was utterly ironic how she had managed to find solace in someone who oft indulged in the very thing that had broken her. Of course, she was carved from rape and the knowledge that it was her own flesh and blood who had tarnished her, he at least took the willing. With a breaths length of hesitation, she shifted, coiling her neck around the base of his own, resting her crown between his shoulder blades.

"You are my pack mate. I will aid you when you need me." She repeated his words back to him, eyes fluttering shut as the waves crashed against her paws, staining the fur. "If they come for you, I will fight beside you until you are free. I may not be the most powerful of warriors, but you will have a second set of fangs at your side." Flirtations were gone now, a serious aura had settled upon them. For how long? She did not know, but a bond now stretched between them. She was no longer alone and he no longer harbored his worries, what a wretched match they made.

He smirked as his affections were returned. What a pair they had turned out to be, a victim and a victimizer. Tattered in their own way and seeking to repair each other. "It will be an honor to fight beside you." He smiled, nuzzling her fur softly. Internally he was laughing. He was so sure she would be the one to break his abstinence, and here he was pledging to protect her and guard her. What a sense of humor the world had. "I am a warrior by trade, but I will heal your wounds." He said quietly. He broke the hug and bumped his forehead against hers. " I swear it." Speech,

Was she a victim? Perhaps she had been, but not anymore. Her mind had coped with her losses, but she could have easily stopped it. How broken she was now was a product of her own doing. She had been to weak to cope and it had led to her ultimate downfall. His rumbling words and the soft nuzzle given her fur, brought a barely there smile to the corners of her maw. She would fight for him, if such a thing came to pass. She would have no problem doing as such. He broke their embrace bumping his forehead against her own, still speaking to her. She eyes him with apparent curiosity, her tones mumbled just loud enough for him to hear. "And how do you intend to heal a wound you cannot see?"

"You can only heal a wound you cannot see with medicine you cannot see either. Time, attention, and patience." He said. "All things I have plenty of I assure you." He smiled. He could have been anyone. He realized that. He was simply lucky, lucky to be the first she gave her secrets to. Anyone else would have given her the same attention of dedication....Wouldn't they? What if they hadn't? What if they ridiculed her?What if they hurt her further? His heart clenched at the thought. It was all hypothetical. But what if it had happened? Speech,

Ghost had never given anyone the chance to ridicule her. No one had ever been told what had befallen her. Her own family not bothering to seek her out afterwards was proof enough that she was tainted, filthy. She needn't be told again. he spoke to her softly in hushed tones as though he told her the secrets of the universe. She hummed, a soft sound, rumbling in her chest. "Time, attention, and patience...perhaps. You are a noble soul for looking twice at a creature as tainted as I... I owe you my gratitude, I think. My den resides on the southern border of Seracia, it tis small but should you ever need me you are welcome anytime."

"I see no tainted soul. Only a femme that has been hurt by those she loves." He said, his voice soft as pup down. "I live just north of here, along the beach." He said "Consider me at your disposal." He grinned. THe fact that she would dare describe him as noble was almost a joke in itself. Him of all people noble? Impossible. Speech,

Ghost brushed the her maw against his own, thanking him for his kindness and turning to vanish back into the shadows of the trees. She wasn't sure what had just transpired, something new, something different, but she did not not dislike it.

-exit Ghost-

He watched her go. Gliding on air as he would put it as she disappeared from view. He smiled and paced back to his own den, a sandy thing hidden in dune grass and weeds. Home sweet home. -Exit Segar- Speech,