Rivin knew she probably should have looked for a more experienced healer but she had been stubbornly monitoring herself. Her lungs still ached, especially if she ran long distances or fought something with all she had. Her heart, too, sometimes felt like it was beating differently. Rivin cursed her luck. It was wrong, it was all wrong… not only would she be seen as unreliable to the Raiders after her disappearance and her act at the pack, but now she had to worry about not dying after managing a fight? Not to mention there were still times Caedes came out, and returning after she was out always left her gasping for air and feeling like her body was struggling to exist. Something needed to change… But could she change her own nature? Ears pinned to her skull. She wished she knew.

She had come into a strange land, the eerie sky above her almost seeming beautiful. Rivin had liked red since she was little, but considering how much she had looked up to her sire that wasn’t surprising. Then things got complicated. Strained. Life tossed her around and spat her out. She sighed. And… maybe she was a coward for not going to the Raiders. She had to face them at some point. And Jack… what the fuck was she going to tell Jack? Furrowing her brow Rivin lifted her gaze to one of the towering spires. It almost reminded her of a spike… a bleached, weather worn spike…


"Speech," 'Thought.'

Life was strange since Rivin had disappeared and Calico Jack felt like he was barely existing. He yearned to search for the woman who is both his best friend and love but, with no trail to follow, it had been difficult to say the least. That didn’t keep him from wandering away from the Raiders, following his heart and paws in the endless, fruitless search for his other half. For indeed, Rivin was the other half to his soul and her absence had gutted him to the core.

The previous night had been strange, filled with quakes both minor and major and the sky had bled red upon the dawning of the sun. In the distance, tall, sinister spikes jut out of the ground, spearing the calm air and causing foreboding to sit heavily in Jack’s gut like a lead weight. Paws pull him toward the ominous sight, calling him toward the mournful moans of the wind or, perhaps, lost spirits that call from the afterlife.

Just as Calico Jack sets paw underneath the strange spires, a scent that is both familiar and warm tugs at his nose. He stops dead, thinking that perhaps it is a trick of his mind since he has been searching for her so long. Jolting forward, he careens toward the woman, racing around the spires until he spies that wonderful coat. Skidding to a stop near her, Jack searches her, looking for signs of injury as he whispers desperately, “Rivin?” Is this real or some fever dream?


"Calico Jack"

How long did she stand there, staring? Focused upon her breathing, a breath in and out. It still felt wrong, and Rivin knew that she did not have the skills to properly treat what had happened. If she did at all. Her lungs were damaged. There was no changing that, and she would have to live her life with the consequences of going into the ocean alone. If anything, Rivin had determined that water was a risk. A sad sigh passed her lips. She would need to tell Gil and Mod eventually… and… and Jack.

But as fate would have it, she heard him. Her head slowly turned, a saddened green gaze falling on him. His desperate tone betrays his worry, and she closes the distance between them. She reaches out to nuzzle his cheek, her voice a little raspy as she speaks. “I’m sorry, Patchwork…” His nickname fell from her lips as she pulled back, gaze falling to the earth at their paws. “I… The ocean tried to claim me again…” She explained quietly.

“Lark found me on Obsidian Beach… He wasn’t sure if I’d wake up.” Her ears fell. “Have Gil and Mod labeled me as a traitor yet?”

"Speech," 'Thought.'

The world grinds to a halt as he rounds the corner that brings Rivin into view and his heart leaping up into his throat as he skids to a halt just mere inches from the woman he loves. Blood red sun hangs around her shoulders, highlighting every curve of her face and every branch of her antlers. A tine that she had given him so long ago still hangs from his neck, his fur obscuring it from view but he knows it is there and he feels it warm against his skin. For so long it had been the only thing he had of her and for so long, he feared it was all he would ever have of her.

Chest hitches as she speaks, the reality of this moment slamming home and stealing his breath away as she apologizes and speaks of the ocean trying to claim her again. Rivin asks about Gil and Modesty and silence fills the space between him as he really takes her in, noticing the haggard appearance and how her ribs poke out from her slightly dulled coat. Not trusting his voice, he walks up to her and reaches out, seeking to envelope her in his strong arms that have been finely toned from all his swims in that same accursed ocean.

Vision swims as tears slip silently down his cheeks and he buries his face in her neck, inhaling her scent deeply and finally assuring himself that it is her and that she is real. Jack isn’t exactly sure how long he clings to her, not ready to let her free after having missed her for so long. When he finally speaks, he says, “I… I thought I lost you.” His voice cracks and breaks and he closes his eyes willing his fluttering heart to return to his chest as he offers her a gentle squeeze before loosening his grip.

Calico Jack had always tried to be strong, a true Raider and someone Gilgamesh would be happy to call his son but, as he holds her, all his resolve to be strong falls away and his tender heart is brought out into the heart. A breathy chuckle falls from his lips as he pulls back slightly, eyes shimmering with unshed tears as he says, “Oh, Little Flame. Please, never leave me again. I don’t think I could handle it….” A paw reaches up, gentle ruffling the fur on her cheek before cupping it and bringing her mouth in toward his.

A kiss, filled with all of his tumultuous feelings is placed on her lips and he forgets about the Raiders and life outside of this moment for sometime. When they finally separate, the world begins to slowly turn again and his brows furrow uncertainly as her question comes burning back into his mind. With a sigh he finally releases her and admits, “I’m… not sure, honestly. I haven’t really been socializing since you left. I was kind of angry for a long time but now I am happy. Happy that you are back.”

The smile that appears is bright and filled with a joy that Jack had not felt since Rivin had disappeared. Maybe the gods were kind and smiling on the couple.


"Calico Jack"

He is overwhelmed, and Rivin does not blame him. For all that she tries to be strong, her heart is heavy with sadness and guilt for what he must have felt. The fear that he had lost her, and the reality that she had almost been lost, swallowed by the sea. Rivin closes her eyes, her ears pinned to her head. It was real, all of it too real. She could have died, and he would have never known. Rivin wrapped her head around him in a gentle embrace, trying to bring the words “You could never lose me,” to her maw, but they did not come out. They stick like a lump in her throat, and all she can do is hold him. Scary as it all was, she was here now.

Calico Jack draws back and Rivin meets his gaze. Like her own, there are unshed tears within it. She whines softly for him, both of their hearts paining and worrying over the same thing. At his request, Rivin gives a little nod. “I don’t want to leave.” Her words are quiet, a whine at the end of them. She isn’t sure if it is a promise she can keep, much as she would like to. As a blessing Caedes had been silent since her awakening, but Rivin felt certain that she was still there, lurking beneath the surface.

Their lips meet, and Rivin’s tears fall. She missed him, fear and self doubt clouding her judgement on returning, but she knows she can’t just expect him to go home without her. Maybe she wasn’t ready to face Gilgamesh and Modesty, far more worried about disappointing the man she looked up to once more than any repercussions that might come of it. She curls back around him as he answers, needing to hold him. She drinks in his scent, taking it as comfort.

“I’ve missed you so much.” Her voice is shaky, filled with emotion. She clings to him, her support, her love. Rivin closed her eyes, taking in a breath before she continued. “I… I know I should go back, but… I need a little more time. I’ve been recovering in our old lands… I noticed the pack moved.” She set her head on his back.

“...and, well… The water fucked up my lungs this time, Patchwork.” She confessed. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to fight the same way I did before, or if I’ll be healer den bound forever…” She had enjoyed fighting, to support her beloved on the battlefield. That was her biggest fear about returning to the Raiders…. What good was a Raider who couldn’t hold their own on the battlefield?

"Speech," 'Thought.'