"Eska"

Her body ached all over. The thick rain had washed away a lot of the blood, but walking all the way home had reopened the tears in her neck and shoulder more than once. Eska's back ached from the heavy weight of the giant man slamming down upon her. Her legs were sore and stiff from being thrust into the sand. There was a painful stiffness in her tail as well. Eska had been utterly and completely manhandled.

The journey back to The Hollows had been extremely long. No doubt Ulric and others of the pack were worried about her. Eska had gone off on a simple scouting mission, looking after a stolen alpaca. It should have taken her a day to get there and back. She had been gone for at least two. Unable to run, the silvered woman had been forced to limp all the way back to the castle and, by the time that she could see the spires in the distance, she was almost ready to give up. The ash and obsidian woman had to gingerly sit, collect herself, and then carry on to the castle gates.

Citrine pools shifted this way and that as she moved, trying her best to avoid the members of the pack, lest they question her. She didn't want to speak or tell the tale of her failure. Eska had been bested and her pride was sorely wounded. The fact that she had been raped wasn't even an issue. It was her pride that felt the most pain. Had she trained more, worked harder, been a better fighter... it never would have happened.

Pushing into the infirmary, Eska brought her wounds to the attention of the healer Gwynn. The girl quickly flitted about, tending to the tears in the left side of Eska's neck and shoulder. The brindled woman didn't tell the healer about the rape, though she imagined it might be evident to a practiced eye. Eska was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to collapse and sleep for days, but she was still too angry to let sleep claim her. Angry that she had failed. If she couldn't protect herself, how could she protect others? Eska rolled her neck to the side and a low growl pulled from her as the wound stretched. Fuck... and she still had to deal with what she assumed would be a panic stricken Ulric. Great.

He did truly try his best to not worry about Eska. She was her own woman, he trusted her skills and her ability to stand on her own. He never questioned when she said she was going to go out to hunt down something or check on something on her own. She'd done it time and time again and she had traveled all over on her own before he met her. Despite his inclination to worry about everyone and everything in his life he did try to give Eska her freedom. It was something that kept her happy and made him feel like he was giving her that equal partnership she had wanted.

However, when a storm struck while she was out he did begin to worry. He assured himself that she was smart and that she was sure to find cover, but as the hours drug on his worry deepened. She didn't return home that night, which was understandable given the weather that probably delayed her, but when she didn't return the next... Then it was harder to deny his concern. He paced the borders for a while on and off throughout the day, watching and waiting for her. Whenever he did manage to pull himself away from the border he asked Ezra to have his eagle circle and watch for her. He was out by the alpacas mending a section of fence to keep himself busy to try and keep the panic at bay when Aquila came to find him.

He immediately dropped what he was doing and went racing back into the castle with heavy, hurried steps, his paws slipping on the stone floor as he followed her scent to the infirmary, pushing past the door and skidding to a halt when his silver gaze finally landed on her. Gwynevere glanced up at him but didn't say anything as she continued her work, mending and stitching the obvious bites and tears across her neck and shoulder. Ulric's heart dropped into his stomach when he saw her, that panic and concern quickly getting swallowed up by rage as he immediately began to wonder who had done this to her.

He moved to her side, keeping out of the way of Gwynevere so she could finish tending to Eska's wounds, sighing heavily as he pressed his cheek into Eska's. He didn't need to tell her how worried he had been, she would already know. In the grand scheme of things he was simply happy that she was here and mostly in one piece, but that didn't help settle his anger at the fact that someone had hurt her. With his nose pressed into her fur the scent of a stranger was obvious. Past the sent of this brute and past the scent of blood was something else, something that made his blood boil even hotter than it already was. The placement of her wounds only cemented the thought in his mind.

Ulric held himself together, but only just barely for Eska's sake and because Gwynevere was still in the room. He didn't say anything yet, simply seething and nuzzling into her neck while he waited, tense and relieved all at once. While Gwyn finished stitching together her wounds and applying herbs to them he held his emotions back, coiled tight like a spring just waiting to be let loose. A few minutes later Gwynevere was done and he gave her a small grateful nod and the healer left the room, leaving him alone with his partner.

"What did he look like?" he asked the moment the door closed behind their Seneshal and they were left alone in the infirmary. His voice was low and hard, his jaw tense as he tried to keep from flying out of the castle to track down this bastard right this moment. "Was it someone you recognized? Where did this happen?" He couldn't just let whoever this was get away with this. Anyone that touched a hair on Eska's head deserved ten fold returned to them and this... this deserved nothing short of death.

Ulric Adravendi

"Eska"

Sitting still while Gwyn tended to the tears and bruises had made Eska stiff. When Ulric entered the room, she could tell that it was him by the sound of his pawsteps. She couldn't turn her head to see him though and was only able to lay her golden eyes upon him when he came before her. Rage and relief were the mixed emotions on his face and when he leaned his cheek into hers, she did her best to lean back. It would take a while for Eska's wounds to heal and even after that, she felt as though her neck would be stiff. It wasn't only from the bites, but from the harsh angle at which the man had jerked her head backwards.

The battered woman thanked the young healer for her aid and as Gwyn left the room, Eska brought her gaze back to Ulric. Rage had won out over relief and he questioned her immediately. There was no use in beating around the bush, so she answered him plainly. "Big. Black and blue, though he could have been dark grey. The rain could have altered his color." Ulric then questioned where it happened and she answered just the same. "The tidepools by the cove." There was no reason to hide anything, so she answered.

Gingerly, Eska stood, her limbs shaking from the effort. The bodily trauma and the long walk had really taken everything out of her. There was little energy left in the woman, but she refused to stay in the infirmary where anyone might come in to see her shame. At least the blood was cleaned off of her now and she didn't look like a horror show. Eska trembled as her muscles fought to do as their master bid. She made it to the door before collapsing against it, a hiss of pain squeezing out between gritted teeth. "Please," she growled through the exhaustion and the pain. She wanted to go somewhere private where she could sleep enough to regain her energy. The first thing that she would do when she woke was walk into the sea and let the salt wash away the scent of the bastard that had done this to her.

The description she gave burned a permanent place in his memory. He was sure there was more than one bastard out there that was big, black, and blue, but he wouldn't forget this scent any time soon. He breathed it in just so it could take up permanent residence in his mind. If he ever found this brute he would know it immediately and he would pay for what he did - that much Ulric promised himself. He was forced to keep that furry in the background of his mind for now, instead giving his attention to the only wolf that truly mattered in this mess. He let Eska slowly get to her paws, but the more he watched her struggle the more furious be became. He almost stopped her to insist that she lay down for a while longer and rest, but he could understand the desire to go somewhere more comfortable away from everyone else, especially after what she had been put through. He hovered close at her side as she moved toward the door, rushing forward to catch her when her exhausted limbs began to collapse under her.

He couldn't find any words. His teeth were grit together painfully tight as he fought against the urge to rush out of the castle and call for their Knights to go search for this brute, but his dedication to the woman he loved held him here. He crouched down, getting her situated so that she was laying along his back, and then lifted her up, carrying her out of the infirmary and up to their room. He couldn't bear to see her struggle to take another step and he simply didn't have it in him to convince her to let him carry her. He needed to care for her some how and do something besides just stand there and watch her be in pain. He carried them into their bedroom, kicking the door closed behind them to block out this goddamn world that kept tearing apart the things he loved, and he brought her over to their bed, laying her down as carefully as he could possibly manage.

He didn't know what do to. He wanted to lay with her and hold her, he wanted to run out and start a hunt for her attacker, he wanted to tear into the first thing he could find just to have an outlet for this rage that lit him on fire. In the end the irrational fear that if he took his eyes off of her something else would happen won out and he pulled himself up onto their bed, laying beside her and carefully wrapping his forelegs around her to pull her into him, laying stomach to stomach. He tried his best to avoid touching anything around her neck and shoulders, but he needed to hold her. He needed to convince himself that she would be okay if he was going to keep himself from running out in the heat of the moment and making some kind of foolish mistake. He held her possessively, kissing across the top of her head ears.

"I'll find him," he rumbled quietly in a dark promise, as his all encompassing anger started to simmer down to a low, seething emotion deep in his gut. He didn't know how he'd find this bastard, but he would. He'd find a way, even if he had to search every inch of Auster and Boreas. "I don't want you to go out on your own any more," he added after a moment, knowing she would probably have some kind of objection, but he didn't care. He would give her a lot of things, but this wasn't one he could bend on right now. "I'll go out tomorrow and purchase those dogs we looked at so you'll have something with you at all times." He had been planning on getting two for each of them so that there would always be dogs available to guard the alpacas as well, but now he just wanted all four of them to follow and guard her. He leaned his forehead into hers as he closed his eyes, breathing in a steadying breath as he continued to try and calm himself down.

Ulric Adravendi

"Eska"

Her shuddering and collapsing body was betraying her. At this rate, she would never make it back to their room on her own. It seemed that she wouldn't have to. Gentle as the big bear that he was, Ulric slid her onto his back. Eska's paws left the ground and she wrapped her forelegs around his neck with what strength she had left. She was no small wolf, but Ulric lifted her as though she weight next to nothing. As he walked, she buried her face into the thicker fur at the back of his neck, absorbing the scent of him, replacing the scent of the bastard that had bested her.

With careful steps, they made it to their bedroom. Ulric kicked the door shut and Eska winced into his neck. She could feel the rage seeping through his coat in a low heat and she couldn't blame him for it, but there was nothing that he could do about it right now. She didn't want him to do anything about it. This was a matter of pride. Eska wanted to be the one to hand the blue striped brutes balls to him. The woman was no delicate flower. She had been brought low, but she would come out stronger and would be better than she was before.

Gently, Ulric hefted his bulk upon the bed and lay with her. He was so soft and tender in his motions as he brought them belly to belly. His tenderness only extended a far as his motions, for his words were anything but. He would find the man. He didn't want her leaving the territory. He would buy dogs for them to protect her. Eska sighed, her tired eyes closing for a moment as she collected her thoughts, jumbled as they were.

Raising one silver paw, she placed it gently against her mates cheek, prompting his gaze to find her own. "I don't want you to find him." She searched his metallic eyes as she spoke. "Ulric, I am no delicate flower. I'll heal and I'll be fine." There would be physical scars, but she wasn't the type of woman to let the actions of another rule her life. She wouldn't be afraid to leave the territory or walk alone at night. Thunderstorms wouldn't be traumatic for her in remembrance of the event that had laid her low. "When I am healed, train with me. Help me get stronger." Hard determination shone in those sulfur eyes. The eyes of her mother. "I want to be the one to rip out his heart."

There was a couple moments of silence as she sighed and he began steeling himself to deny her arguments against his declarations, but as soon as her paw rested on his cheek and she forced his eyes to meet hers his resolve and his anger began to fizzle. His mouth drew into a hard line when she insisted that she didn't want him to find the man. He wanted to insist on it, but he held his tongue, letting her continue as she said she wasn't delicate, that she would be fine. He let out a slow sigh, his ears flicking back. He had no doubt that she would be fine and he knew she was strong, but... He wanted to protect her. He wanted to tear that brute apart for even thinking about harming his mate. He understood that she could do this herself, but he wanted to defend her. It stabbed at his heart that he hadn't been there to fight off her attacker with her. He should have been there at her side fighting with her. She shouldn't have had to face this brute alone and end up brutalized like this. He wasn't trying to fight her battles, but he wanted his own kind of revenge as well.

But when he saw the resolve in her golden eyes and heard her say how she wanted him to help her get stronger, how she wanted to be the one to rip out his heart, Ulric felt some of that tension falling away from his shoulders. This was his Eska. He was so glad that this hadn't broken her spirit. She was injured, yes, but the fire he loved was ever present. He leaned forward to catch her lips with his own, kissing her deeply for a moment, savoring the feeling of her lips. She was here. She was okay. He just kept having to remind himself of that. His muzzle pulled away from hers again and he gave her the same determined look. He admired her strength so much, but he wouldn't allow her to face these things alone again. "We'll find him," he promised in a compromise. She had told him that she wanted a partnership and that partnership didn't stop because she was the one that had been affected. "I'll help you train, I'll help you get stronger. And then we'll find him and I'll watch as you rip out his heart."

Ulric Adravendi

"Eska"

Sweet, emotional Ulric. The expressions on his face made his thought process so easy to read. His gaze shifted, silver depths casting downward and Eska touched his cheek again. "Don't feel guilty. None of this was your fault. We can't constantly be together and even if we could, I wouldn't." The sore, tired fae placed a kiss upon his forehead. "I need my freedom. I need to go out on my own to breathe. These things... sometimes happen. At least it was me and not someone weaker." She looked towards the bright lining and didn't mention specifics, but the thought of this happening to Jane or Lillith or Gwyn... it was revolting.

Eventually Ulric gave in and promised to help train her. She graced him with a smile and returned the kiss that he'd given her. She savored the taste of him rather than the iron of the rapists blood still clinging to her mouth. "Thank you." The back of her head was throbbing where she'd clocked the bastard and her body was waving a white flag. The woman pressed her muzzle beneath Ulric's chin, her eyes closing. "Stay with me while I sleep." The experience hadn't been as traumatic to her as it would be to most, but she would still feel more comfortable knowing that Ulric was there beside her.

Gently, Eska rearranged her sore limbs, hissing only once as the wounds in her neck were pulled. Her hind end was tender and again, she thought of how much she couldn't wait to walk out into the ocean after she slept. Sleep came quickly. Eska slept like the dead. No dreams haunted her sleep. No black and blue monsters waited under her bed. There was just the steady rise and fall of her own breathing and the warmth of the man that loved her.