iron hearts all turn to rust

ooc;; taur first please then anyone can jump in whenever :) if you want to skip through the ramble the actual actions start at the 4th paragraph <3

The sun was beginning to set when the red woman parted ways with her fair skinned sister, slowly slipping towards the hungry ocean horizon. Was it too late to visit? She pondered this for a moment as she stood on the beach where she had slithered her way out of the ocean not too long ago. It was peaceful here, more quiet then she had expected and yet she found herself enjoying it. Enjoying some solitude for the first time in her life. The demoness had always thrived in the company of others, enjoyed twisting them, manipulating them to do her bidding but over the past few years as she had grown older and she had remained within Tortuga lands she had slipped into the background more often then not. Preferring to watch from the shadows rather then input herself into the lives of others. It was odd how much she had changed? How a handful of wolves had made such a drastic change on her. Not for the first time she allowed her mind to drift to the one wolf she had ever really loved, to the ice queen who still had a grip on her heart. Even though she had abandoned her red knight and disappeared to the winds Vi couldn't help but to think of her every so often. Of the way her soft voice curled like smoke around you and drew you in. Of the way lithe body would sway as slender limbs carried her to their many meetings. But she was gone now, disappearing into the smoke of the mountain after the pack had fallen to ruins around her. And with her had gone a piece of Vi's already ruined heart.

But now there was another. Taurig. And though she didn't love him in the way she had loved her beloved Morphine it was still love none the less. A different kind of love, a better kind that was probably more healthy for the both of them. Especially since Taurig and Maija were now mated. The golden woman whom Vi had only spoken too a few times but had grown quite fond of during their time together. She was noble, bold, selfless? She was everything Vi wasn't and everything she wished she could be. And though Vi usually felt nothing but hatred towards those wolves she saw as competition or those that she wished she could be, something was different about the golden woman. Maybe she reminded Vi too much of her elder brother Cynrik, maybe it was because on their first meeting Vi had mistaken the woman for her brother? There were so many possibilities and yet what it boiled down to was now Vi had two wolves she would do anything for. And those two wolves had managed to procreate and have children of their own. Puppies?

Vi had always had a particular dislike towards children, finding that they nipped and gnawed and yipped and whined too much for her liking. As well a body never really came back from the disaster of child birth. She had mated with Creedence twice now when she was in season, once chewing the herbs that cleansed her body of possibility of children and the second she hadn't. Rage and anger had clouded her mind to the point where she had forgotten to chew those herbs. But she hadn't gotten pregnant thankfully. She couldn't be a mother? An aunt maybe but seeing as she had failed in that department already she had her doubts about going to visit her friends and their kids. Maybe this was what she needed though, a clean slate to start over with. A chance to be the aunt she had never really been with Rune, Vixe, Maija and Liberty. Liberty especially? She had never even met the poor girl and now she never would from what she had heard from Friction. But he had more pups on the way and she planned to be there for him and for them as much as she could. And if that meant getting used to children then she would do just that. Who better to practice on then with Taurig and Maija's children? Not that she was super worried about herself hurting them or anything like that but she did want to get herself to the point where she didn't cringe at the sound of their squeaky little voices. Maybe one day she might even like being around children? It was a long shot but hey, might as well give it a go.

So with that thought she would turn, rolling her shoulders back and casting one last look at the sinking sun. It was early spring so the sun was spending more time in the sky but it was still a long ways from the summer solstice so the sun was setting earlier in the day then it would in the summer months. She didn't feel as bad about turning and setting off at an easy trot down the beach, eventually lowering her nose to the ground as she got further down the beach and Taurig's scent began to disappear in the damp sand. It probably wasn't past the pup's bedtime and if it was then maybe she could just peek in on them sleeping and catch up more with Maija and Taurig. Would they be missing some adult time? How much of the pack had traveled here? How many had been stupid enough to swear their loyalty to the mountain again rather then any real leader? She had so many questions she wanted to ask them so the time didn't really bother her. Eventually Taurig's scent arched up into the vegetation of the inner island and she looped to follow it easily, head lowered so she could follow the scent easier. But it wasn't long before his scent began to fade into tracks of older scents crisscrossed with scents of other wolves and animals. Was she close? Slender crown would lift as lantern eyes scanned her immediate surroundings. "Taur? Maija? You around?" She called softly, long legs stretching out into a slow walk, eyes constantly shifting and moving in hopes of catching the sight of her friends. Large ears swivelled to catch what their could and nose twitched and danced to catch any scents the breeze happened to bring her way.

Table by Azil