Walk | Talk | Think
 
Adjusting to her new accommodations had proven to be difficult. The den beside the lake was comfy, cozy even despite sharing the space with Maximous since it was his to begin with, but still everything felt off. It was noisy there beside the water, ripples heard regularly while the splashes were more random though no less distracting. Insects were starting to make their return with the warming of the seasons, and though their noises were still quiet the rational thinking Callisto knew it was only a matter of time before their buzz became a drone outside the den's doorway. And then though she had been unable to bring herself to suggest Max sleep somewhere else - though a part of her had wanted to since she was unused to sharing space - there was the soft sounds of him sleeping within the den with her. Needless to say, falling asleep had taken a while. 

But staying asleep, more in importantly keeping within a restful sleep, was worse. Her thoughts, as they often did when she was alone and in the quiet since leaving the metallic ship and her months there behind, wound back to the demon who haunted her and the spawn he had taken from her. She had never wanted any of it, not to be taken by Lel, not to carry his brats, not to care for them as long as she had. It had all been forced on her, demanded of her, and she had not been given a choice. And yet in her dreams she worried. She fretted over the children that she had left behind, and her paws carried her over snowy terrain as she searched for the ship they had been born in, desperate just for a peek, just to see that they were there. That was all she needed, and then she could go back and try to forget about them again. 

The snow in her dream felt thick and yet soft, making her long grey legs clumsy as they tried to hurriedly bring her to the ship before Lel would know she had returned. Her eyes stared forward, searching, but through the snowstorm she suddenly found herself in it was hard to see and keep her bearings. Resolution pushed her forward, determination driving her to find that place where she knew they would be, but she felt so turned around, wandering in circles inside a swirling mess of darkness and snow. And the presence that she could feel without seeing, the one that she recognized as her own personal demon, followed her progress like a shadow, just out of sight but close enough to feel and sense. She had to get there fast, before he caught up to her, before he could catch her and claim her again. 

With a start, Callisto scared herself into wakefulness, her blue eyes more silver in the pale light as she lifted her head up off the floor of the den, her body tensed as if ready to run as she had in her dream and her breathing quick as if she already had. 

He had known that Callisto would need time to adjust to the changes. The small one she was faceing for now was the switch from her practically silent Stone Seppe to his noisy in comparison Firefly lake. A few times he even wondered if she would be more comfortable alone but couldnt offer to leave the den and sleep outside for fear of making things worse than they already were for her. But once she lay down he was able to relax a bit.

Within moments Max had fallen asleep, having relaxed more than he realized. This was the first time his mind had let him go to sleep without hours of torment only to be followed with a restless sleep. Even more surprising to him was that his sleep was dreamless or rather nightmareless for the first time as well. Though it was not a deep sleep as one might have thought after lacking as much rest as he had. No his system was on high alert only allowing a light sleep.

The typical twitching of limbs as one dreamt hadn't bothered him. Her movements hadnt bothered him untill she stsrtle awake and her breathing was no longer deep and even but rather fast intakes of oxygen as if her lungs had been deprived of it. Almost like she had just been in a dead sprint.

Kind, worry filled blue eyes would seek her out in the dark of his den. In the moment he found her panicked he would find himself up and at her side, though he was careful not to touch her. "Callisto, im here." his voice would come softly to sooth her. He wanted to tell her that it was just a dream but he didn't know that for sure. He couldnt bring himself to say something that he didnt know was true or not. "Are you alright?" he would ask, yet the the moment he said it, he knew it was a dumb question. Desperately he wished he knew how to help her.

Walk | Talk | Think

She was disoriented at first, recognizing only that it was night due to the faint light that came in from the open den entryway and that she was no longer inside the ship that she had just a moment before been searching for in her sleep. Her nose picked up the old, familiar scents of the east, the soothing smells of the herbs that remained tucked away for later use, both of which were a balm to her frantic mind, though they did not stop her from jumping slightly in place when she heard a voice speak beside her, her name muttered softly with concern. That was right. She was back in the east again, back in Ebony, and she was with Maximous. She had only been dreaming after all. 

Trying to calm her racing heart, ease her shallow breaths, Callisto closed her eyes and made herself with some effort breathe in deeply and out slowly, repeating the technique a few more times just for good measure. It helped, but now in the wake of the scare her sleeping mind had given her she felt cold, chilled to the bone as if the snowstorm of her dreams had sunk its icy fangs into her body and poisoned her with its bitterness. Was it possible she had actually been there within her dreams, or was this just another manifestation of her fear taking physical form? She hoped never to have it happen again, but with her luck...

Her dark spine shivered as she shifted to her side and curled up tightly, Max's concern still echoing about in her ears. Her silvery blue eyes sought him out, his dark shape near indiscernible in the dark save for his eyes, bright points of deep blue that managed still to catch the light. "I will be," she answered through a voice forcibly flat, doing her best to hide the shakiness she felt it had. If she could just get warm, and forget the feel of Lel chasing her in her dream, then maybe she could sleep again and feel better in the light of day. "It was just a dream." A nightmare. 

She tried to relax again, shifted to curl herself up more tightly, but her thoughts were of no help. They recalled with perfect clarity what the storm had looked like around her, the sickening sense of dread and worry that had hung about her shoulders, and the feeling of eyes on her, trailing her every step. She was never going to get back to sleep at this rate, but nor did she want to exit the den and walk around until it went away. "Max?" her quiet voice called to him. "Talk to me. About anything." He could have given her a lesson right then, created a story on the spot, even talked about Ebony in her absence. She just needed something else to focus her mind on. 

Max would wince as she jumped at the sound of his voice. He hadnt been trying to startle her, but knowing that he had made him feel bad. She didnt answer him immediately but rather took her time as if she were trying to remember where she was. He could hear her trying to make her breathing even once more and he could no longer see her blue eyes shine silver in the dark. He could only assume that she had closed them.

A few moments later he saw her form sift into a ball on the floor of his den. He would respond by sitting down as before she had opened her eyes again he thought she might have fallen asleep again. I will be was the answer he would receive. Her voice had made him worry as she sounded as though she was forcing the sound. A few seconds later she would tell him it was just a dream, but with the way she was talking he knew it was much more than just a dream.

His mind would twist with worry and questions as all he wanted to do was help her. He knew not how but he had promised not to ask questions, not to push the matter. He would watch her as well as he could in the dark as the ball she had formed on the ground moved into a tighter ball. Soon she would call his name in a question "Yes?" he would respond only to receive a request to talk to her about anything.

He would think a moment and many things eould come to mind. "The day I found that you had disappeared I had gone to your den to invite you on a herb hunt. I would still like to invite you on one but, I also thought you should know that I tried to find you. I followed your scent to the cave or tunnel or what ever that hole in the ground was, the strange scent I found mingled with yours had worried me." he would pause giving an apologetic look before continuing. She knew the scent he referred to but he would not ask. "When I couldnt find you I panicked, and when I still couldn't find either of your scents again I started hoping that you hadnt been taken that you had just left with this strange male but my mind wouldnt let me believe it. Constantly it reminded me that I couldnt find you, I couldnt protect you, that I had failed you.

Several moment would pass as he tried to think of somthing else to say but when he couldnt come up with any other excuse as to why he panicked words spilled from him before he coulld stope himself. "Callisto, I love you and all I could think the entire time you were away is that I might never have the chance to tell you." Maximous would wince in the dark at his own words. He couldnt believe he had let himself do that so soon after she had arived.

Walk | Talk | Think

He offered her space and kept his distance as she assured him everything was going to be fine. She just needed a moment to collect herself, to come back to the reality that she lived in and not the nightmare that had, temporarily, claimed her as its victim. Though she wondered how much better her reality was. Somewhere in the north - she knew exactly where - Lel was raising her children alongside his dimwitted little pet's brats, with her help more than likely. And as much as she wished her dream had been only that, deep down she knew there was truth in it. She was worried. She had willingly left behind two children that had been her responsibility for months, dropped them without looking back, and now when she had a moment to think the guilt finally caught up to her. 

It was nothing she wanted to think about. Lel had made his side of the bargain regarding her release perfectly clear: she was to leave, no harm was to befall him, and the kids would stay his and not be a problem to her. Which had all be fine and dandy until... She sighed heavily, shifting a little where she lay curled up tightly into a ball as another shiver traveled the length of her spine. And, as a relief to her, Max began to speak, offering her the distraction that she had asked of him in a way that was wholly unexpected and altogether surprising for her to hear. 

Max had known she was gone. She had pieced that together herself when he had been there to greet her at her old den, after finding out he had been the one to empty out all of her plants and move them here to his. But what surprised her was hearing that he had looked for her. Her blue eyes opened and stared into the darkness, not looking at Max but away, merely listening and taking in his words as he described his search around the cave where she had been stolen from and where her scent, as well as Lel's, had still lingered. Again, she shuddered. It seemed a reasonable assumption from Max's standpoint that she might have run off with Lel from the evidence left behind, but he could not have been farther from the truth. Never, she thought darkly. She would never have run off with Lel of her own free will. 

He admitted that losing her had beaten him up inside, made him feel inadequate in that he could not protect her from the fate she had been dealt. She waited a moment, half expecting him to go on, and in the silence that he let stretch on she offered her own brand of reassurance, "It wasn't your job to protect me." He was her teacher, her mentor; his main concern should have been her education, and what she did beyond that should have been her business. Which meant, she realized, that she should have stayed home rather than let herself be caught outside of Ebony borders in heat, but that was another lesson learned. When Maximous finally broke the silence, however, it was with a new revelation, a secret coming clean, one that shocked Callisto to the core. 

He loves me...? She remained frozen in place, the words repeating themselves in her mind in the silence that followed the hasty and heartfelt admission. Her eyes stared away at nothing though the expression on her face changed, becoming confused, even anxious. Since when did Max harbor feelings for her that were more than those of a teacher for his student? And why? What did it mean now, now that he had offered her his den, now that he was taking so many pains to get her situated once more in Ebony? "What?" The single word was all she could manage as she felt her body tense and her heart begin to speed, felt the need to curl up more tightly or even flee the scene altogether. What? 

Though she had been silent and listening the entire time he had been talking, Max couldnt help but wonder what she was thinking. He had known for a fact that when she had returned looking as though she had just walked away from a litter of pups that another male had taken her. When she said she hadnt left that had made it all too clear that his fear had been true. She had been raped and there wasnt a damn thing he could do about it. The only thing he could do, with as little information as he had, was to take care of her now.

She would have no reaction to his words asside from staring into the dark. That is untill he had come to the long pause between his description of the search he'd done and his secret. She would state that it wasnt his job to protet her. He knew that but he had taken it upon himself to protect her. The man could blame the warriors and Valeriya for not keeping better track of their pack mates. Hell if he really wanted to blame someone he could take it out on Callisto herself for going outside of pack boarders alone. But he wouldnt do that.

To his secret he would receive a tenced up Calli. She looked as though she would bolt for the exit any second, as if she was afraid of him now. A single word would escape her, it hadnt been a shout but it had the same effect. He would move back to where he had been before he had moved to her side. Looking down at his paws as if he were a pup in trouble he would talk quietly. "I'll understand if you want me to leave."

He didnt know what else to say. If there was anything else to say. Maximous knew that as her mentor it was wrong to feel about her the way he did. With the way she had reacted, he knew thats she had expected nothing more than a teacher abd possibly a friend. Loving her had never been part of the deal. Hell Max had never even thought he could love someone the way he loved this girl as the only way he had ever looked at anyone was as a sibling, aunt or unckle. It was the way he had been raised and very rarely did an outsider come in to help the nomad blood line eventually making them a cousin. But Callisto was so much more to him than that and yet if making her happy meant that she wasnt with him then so be it.

Walk | Talk | Think

He said nothing to defend himself, nothing to slow the steadily increasing rate of her heart as anxiety took over. He loved her! Not only was it absurd - she was about as far from the lovable type as you could get - but the thought filled her with a sudden and unexpected dread. No wonder he had welcomed her back so quickly. No wonder he paid no mind to her condition or what she had left behind in the north. No wonder he had offered to share his den with her. He wanted to keep her. Here, with him. Here, in Ebony. And she had almost fallen into the trap.

Suddenly the warmth of the den felt like ice, the spacious interior too tight and confining. She needed to get out, to get free, to get away. She heard him, vaguely, in the back of her mind, offering to leave and give her space, but that would not have been enough. Her dark grey legs shook again as she slowly uncurled and began to get her feet beneath her, practically stumbling over and out of the opening to the den. Open night air hit her, but the scent of Maximous, the scent of Ebony where she had thought herself safe and guarded, now felt threatening. Her steps grew more steady as she picked up into a lope as she circled around the lake, quickened even further into a run as she passed it entirely, and all but raced her way toward the border. She needed to get away, and refused to be confined again.

-Exit Callisto-