Too Close To The Edge
It wasn't like she really fully left, after all, she had been lingering close to the borders since she had come back. She tried to not get too close, she didn't want to be found and dragged back to that dreaded beach anyways. What was interesting to her though, is that they had extended their territory to the prairies, a place where a pack had resided before. It was this territory that she stuck close to, not even wanting to see the damn beach. Today though, the fiery woman was perhaps a little too close to her family pack. Not crossing the border, Serefina tried to remain as hidden as possible while trying to snoop into the territory as well. Since finding out that Voltage had had another litter, she was trying to spot him without having to call for him. If she did howl for Volt, who knew who else would come to see her. She had no intentions of rejoining Dono, at least not for now. She felt better on her own... kinda. She still missed Voltage, and there was a tiny part of her that craved to be with her family again. Okay, maybe more than tiny. Was that why she was playing with fire today, dancing too close to the pack territory? Maybe there was a small part of her that wanted to be caught. Shaking her head, she hunkered down into a bush, wiggling her form under it so that she could watch from her hiding place. Hopefully the scent marker would drown out her own smell, allowing her to remain hidden here. It was a nice look out, she could pretty much see across the entire territory from here. Ember eyes kept scanning the horizon, her body tense and ready to flee if the need arose. |
His children where older now, and he felt like he could let them out of his sight for longer and longer periods and not expect them to be in a boat load of trouble when he found them again next. It made it easier to continue his pack activities, and with good timing! It was now Voltage's turn to be stuck in his den eyeing the sweet eyed little creatures his wife had recently given birth to.
His path would take him first along the beach, and then along the prairie. He would be oblivious to the red eyed fire hiding in the bushes along the edge of his border. Perhaps his attention was elsewhere, on their beloved beach, and Voltage's newest litter. If it was a competition Glacier was far behind now. Yet, he couldn't imagine having any children other then his little girls. At least Voltage had finally brought little males to their otherwise female dominated offspring. His smile was wistful then as he trotted past Sere's place of hiding. He couldn't help but wonder, would they ever see Current and Illume again? Or Arcus, Caeli and Sere. He shook his head, thoughts of those missing from their lives had dominated his mind for a very long time. He couldn't let it take away the joy he had found here. Of course, he couldn't help but pause his border run, or the wistful frown as he glanced out over their borders, right above Sere's bushes, and missed her along with the rest.
When Glacier started to make his rounds around the territory, Serefina froze within her hiding place. She hoped that he decided that this side of the border was fine. Yeah, it was all good over here, Glace! No need to come and check this part of the border. She narrowed her eyes at him and sent her thoughts in his direction, but it didn't seem to be working. Oh crap, crap crap. Sere tried to make herself as small as possible in her bush, as the massive wolf came and stopped right beside her. She drew in a deep breath, head tilting upwards to look towards his face. He was frowning and looking around, and Sere's ears pinned back. This movement caused the leaves to rustle a touch. Cursing her bad luck, she lowered herself even more, hoping that he wouldn't see her flame dusted form in the middle of the foliage. Why did she wander so close to the border? She should have known that getting too close would not do her any good, it was hard to get mad at Glacier. He was like an unmovable rock. She didn't do too well with things she couldn't move, she was just as stubborn as the next wolf. Refusing to show herself, she held her breath and hoped he would be on his way. |
He had let his thoughts wonder again, and he tightened his jaw as he tried to dismiss the wave of sadness. He had to learn that there where some things he simply could not change. He stilled, the movement was subtle, yet instant. He had seen movement in the bush, directly before him. He licked his lips and lowered himself slowly, achingly slowly, into a crouch. He hadn't eaten yet today and he was starving! Whatever foolish animal had allowed itself to remain in a bush so close to the Alpha deserved its fate.
He coiled his powerful back legs, searching the bush for the cause of the moment. Was that a flash of color? It was! The alpha sprang, his movements fluid and certain as he aimed for the largest part of the color he had seen. He would bring down whatever animal this was. If it was decent sized, he would bring it home for his wife and children to feast upon!
Serefina watched carefully as Glacier turned and looked at her bush, and she got ready to crawl out and be caught. That was, until her big brother slowly lowered himself into a crouch. Was he trying to see her better, or see if it was really her? And then his rump wiggled, and he... OHSHIT. Serefina squealed as Glacier jumped for her, leaping to her paws and trying to race out of the bush before he could catch her. Eyes wide, she raced right into the borders, fleeing as fast as she could. Was he really that mad at her that he would outright attack her? Springing across the prairies, she realized that he probably thought she was just food. If he was going to attack her, he would do it on fair grounds, not from her hiding in a bush. Skidding to a stop, she looked over her shoulder, panting. Sere was a fast wolf, who knows how close Glacier managed to get, or if he had been frozen in place by the fact that it was her. A sheepish smile spread across her face as she turned to face him -- where ever he may be. "You didn't have to eat me, you know!" |
And finally, at last, the giant collected himself. He drew himself up to his full height and surveyed her carefully, giving himself a moment before he opened his maw again. She had already seen his play of emotions, as clear as day in his eyes and voice., almost like he and voltage had swapped personalities for a moment. "Sister" he said, his voice so level and controlled it was obvious he was reigning I'm emotion. "It's been so long. Have you come home to us? And don't tempt me! You looked rather eatable hiding in the bushes" a true smile made its way across his maw and he sat down on his rump, not trying to approach her, and no longer drawn to his full height. It was almost... like he was afraid he might scare her away.
The range of emotions that followed her in his words made her feel lost. It was Glacier, and not Voltage, right? He pretty much wore down every single emotion possible. As she turned to look at him sitting there, voice a steely calm, her head shook slowly back and forth. "Who else would it be, you big doof. There aren't any other wolves out there like me," she replied quickly, her humor the first to return when she caught her breath. Slowly her hackle settled from being startled, paws aching from sprinting that fast, that suddenly. Taking a few tentative steps towards him, her ears pulled back at his words. "I've been lingering here since winter, really..." she admitted, drawing circles on the ground with her paw. She looked down as she did it, not wanting to look the gentle giant in the face. "I just felt like I needed to be alone for awhile, to really think about what I am doing with my life. I was jealous that everyone was finding their other half while I sat in the dirt. To be honest, I guess I felt a bit neglected, with Volt's attention being drawn away from me." Huffing, she flopped to her rump, looking up at Glacier from under her lashes. "It's selfish, I know... But you know how I m. And then I found out that Volt had more kids and didn't even tell me. It's not like I really haven't been around, I haven't really left the south at all. Plus I've been hiding near the borders for quite some time." Blinking, a small smirk crossed her lips. "You were the first to try and serve me for dinner, though." |
His lips twitched upwards at her words. She sounded the same, and so familiar, like she had never really been gone at all. “No there is not” he agreed, and his grin reached his eyes when his words didn't entirely sound like a compliment. He had missed bantering with his sister, she was a force of nature, and he had missed her so dearly, so much more then he had let himself know. He frowned when she spoke again, and there would be surprise and realization dawning in his eyes. He had caught her scent more then once, but when nothing had ever come of it he had put it down to his tortured imagination. Did she realize she had been teasing him and taunting him all this time?
He listened to her words and nodded his head slowly, considering them. Sere had always been a huge part of Voltage's life. Watching him move on couldn't have been easy for her. For Glacier, he had progressed in relatively the same time frame, finding his mate, and having children a little later then Voltage. He smiled again, unable to keep it from his face. He missed Sere, he had missed her so badly, and it was like... like a sign that all they had lost could come back to them, like nothing had ever really been lost at all. It wasn't just that of course, he was also proud of what he had to say. “Did you know I've had my first litter?” he wondered. His expression became more serious when he spoke again. “I understand, if you've needed to find yourself or get some space or whatever it was that you needed, I wouldn't ever judge you for that. If it came to accepting that and getting the chance to see you on occasion, believe me, I would take that in a heart beat.” he said softly. “Truly? I thought others might see you for the tasty morsel you are” he chuckled deeply at the double meaning. Yes, she would likely see that the stern and immovable giant had actually mellowed out a little after his lot in life.
Serefina fell silent as Glacier went on talking, which was a dangerous thing in and of itself. It was obvious that she was thinking, and by the tight set of her jaw she was holding back anger as well. No, she did not know that Glacier had another litter. She didn't know that Arcus had left, but did Glacier know that he had joined the pack next door? She had no idea that her youngest sister was missing as well, that there were members in this pack that were not just her family. There was a lot she didn't know, and frankly it pissed her off. In her mind, it wasn't her fault that she didn't know these things. Voltage knew that she had been here, kicking around. He could have easily come and found her, to share all this news with her. But no, he was too busy with his new children, wasn't he? Grinding her teeth, ember eyes flashing, she forced herself to take a deep breath. Her brother's last joke was lost upon her, she was really trying to keep herself reigned in. It was more than a struggle, and it took awhile before she could actually speak again. "I had no idea," she said in a tight voice, swallowing hard to try and shove back the anger. Closing her eyes, her muscles twitched. It was too hard to keep her anger at bay, and she just wanted to run away from Glacier at the moment. After awhile she was able to talk herself down. Glacier had no idea that she had been here, it was with Voltage that her quarrel laid. He said that he hadn't, or wouldn't have, judged her for her actions. Another deep breath was taken, and she was able to open her eyes once more. "I guess that I never thought about that. I was scared that my thoughts would be met with a lash of aggression, or that I would be called foolish for feeling that way. But... a part of me really feels like I have lost a bit of Volt." Sadly she looked at her shoulder where the lightening bolt lay, her anger quickly being eaten away by the flood of emotions she felt. |
She spoke again, and he was worried that her anger lay with Voltage. Why did so many of their siblings bare a grudge to his litter-mate? Arcus also seemed to believe the worst in their lightning brother. Didn't they see that everything he did, was for them? He had sacrificed his happiness for so long on their sake. He had lost his first litter, and he went on, for their sake. He had finally found his piece of happiness, and he did not want others to judge Voltage for it, he knew all to well that it was a fragile thing.
“I don't believe your foolish, but if you feel that way I think you should be a part of his life again – all our lives. I don't know how to make it better for you, but I do know that I want you to be a part of my children's lives. I'll fight for you Sere, for your sake and for theirs. If you don't want to stay, I will never make you... but I ask of you, that when your in the area you pop in and let us know, catch up on our lives and us on yours.” he said softly. Even to have that much of her back again would be a miracle, he did not believe he could ever be so lucky as for her to come back to them in a permanent fashion. She needed her time and her space, she needed to breath, and adjust to the changes that had happened.
Glacier offered to tell her about everything, and slowly she nodded her head. And then like a scared animal, she eyed the space between her and her brother. Edging a touch closer to him, she looked again between the space and his features. Swallowing hard, she took the final steps between them and curled herself against his chest. The air rushed out of her lungs in a heavy sigh, ember eyes closing as she just snuggled into his soft blue fur. She had missed this, her gentle giant to warm her up in the coldest winter. For awhile she just laid there, leaning heavily against his bigger frame. All her anger was washed away, and she turned and buried her face into his chest fur. "I'm sorry..." she mumbled, muffled by his hair around her face. As hard as it was for her to admit, she knew that she was a tiny bit at fault. Only a little bit though. She wasn't too much of a fun of the whole 'two-way street' idea anyways. Serefina listened to Glacier's words, booming in her ear that was so close to him. It was a murmur that almost shook her whole frame, but she heard them clearly. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. She understood where he was coming from, and she sighed again. "I don't know if I'm ready to rejoin the pack just yet, Glacier. I think I enjoy my freedom too much," came her soft reply, pulling back to rest her chin on his chest, looking all the way up there at him. "I'll make sure to come and visit for real though. Like actually make myself known to the rest of the family. But for now... I think I need to deal with some things first." There was a lot of emotions that she was dealing with, and if she overwhelmed herself with everything else she would snap. |
"I forgive you" he promised her, and truly he was putty in her hands, he had no choice but to do so.
He sighed at her words, but there was nothing he could do to change them. As much as he wished he could ground her or punish her or make her stay he knew it would start blood between them. It would break the bond between them,and she would never, ever, return to him, voltage, and their family. "Just promise they will know you before they are adults?" he asked of her softly.