Winter rose
With nothing more to keep him to these lands, he had travelled long and far, searching for the sister he loved with all his heart. If he kept an eye out for a blind albino, well, perhaps that was just a coincidence.
Years passed, and the bandit grew lonelier, and it became clear to him that the two woman he loved in this world could not be found. He joined a band of gypsies and spent much of his life playing the joker in a merry band of wolves. He never settled down, and never found love again. The wandering life of his companions suiting him well. When an Owl entered his temporary den one night, he almost made a snack of the one creature that could turn his life around. Recognising the Snowy screech owl with some astonishment, it was a while before its name returned to him. “Notch, Notch? wheres Vail.” Perhaps saving the little mite so many years ago was going to pay off...
Vail.
The name sent shivers down his spine. Not only was she alive, but he had found his first real lead to her in many years. Proving that his ties to the wolves he travelled with where thin, he left without a parting glance, and made his way back to Boreas where he knew he might find her once more.
He was almost disappointed that it was not Winter, the season he had known her best in. he couldn’t imagine seeing the white wolf in the blinding light of summer. In fact, a part of him couldn’t imagine seeing her at all, the part that had gone limp and hollow in the long, waiting years. He rushed the longest part of his journey, and slowed as he reached the lands of Boreas. It wouldn’t do to have her think she ran to him, after all. She had left him waiting and wondering for too long, and besides, he had always had a little too much pride to show honest consideration. Most of it came in the form of teasing gentless. He made his way to Inu island, and found the cave he had once showed her, with fireflies and a little, heated creek inside. He sat outside, tail swishing in the air, begging the gods that this wasn’t one more dead end.
Many years passed since Vail had set foot in the lands of Ardent, she and her sister had traveled at the behest of her screech owl friend, Notch. She was going to lose what little sight she had when the tiny bird suggested they go see a hermit healer. Vail hadn’t been comfortable leaving her home where she was comfortable, but she hadn’t liked the idea of being completely with out vision. Shaye offered to accompany her, and though Vail was loathe to admit she probably wouldn’t have made it on her own. Solor remained on her mind as their journey began, she had been unable to find him before they left and as the years went by she wondered what might have happened to the infuriating wolf. Vail’s paws were not idle through the experience, the old hermit had indeed offered to maintain her sight. She would never have perfect vision, and the sunlight had to be intense for her to make out anything. She still felt herself better off than completely blind. The price had come in the form of labor. The hermit demand she and Shaye stay with him for a few years. She learned much about medicine in her time with him, and was an expert in foraging for specific plants. She grew comfortable in their new home, and loved learning all the hermit had to offer. Of course, as soon as she grew comfortable she would be forced away. The old healer passed away in his sleep, and instead of staying to take up his work she and Shaye had decided to return to the place of their birth. While she hadn’t been as lonely with her sister by her side she never forgot about Solor, Notch reminded her of him more frequently than she ever would have admitted. Unintentionally she found her way back to the island that her parents had brought them to live. Old memories lingered here, and though she wasn’t sure if she wanted to face them she returned anyway. Age had brought her more confidence, and slightly less clumsy accidents than she had experienced as a young she wolf. Her slim white frame found the old cave, and not really knowing why she entered. The sound of the brook brought a mist to her eyes as she thought of days long gone by. Right before Notch had come into her life had been the first time she’d come here. Now she wasn’t even sure if Notch was still alive. After they had crossed back into these lands he had flown off. As her pink paws found rest and her body lowered to the floor tears would appear from the mist and she would weep for what could have been and what she had lost. Silently her tears would fall down her nose and into the water below. Hopefully Shaye wouldn’t find her here in this condition. |
Hesitation wasn’t in the outspoken brutes nature, so it was with some surprise that he lingered on the outskirts of the cave. Inside lay memories he had at one point decided where better left undisturbed. He would see the little babbling brook that he had once tripped over, and the fireflies that had trembled against the cave wall, making a gentle symphony, a show that even a blind wolf could enjoy.
Hesitant and reluctant to find his hopes dashed, he lingered there. The owl, that had been his constant companion for the last few days jumped on to his back, pecking him in the ear, then jumping on to his head, and he shook the silly creature off. He slapped Solor in the face with a spare wing, and the black wolf swore, jumping back. “Cut it out you silly sack of feathers, before I remember I like the taste of bird.” stepping back as the Owl balanced itself on the side of the cave entrance, and the two had a momentary stare down. “Mm, tastes like chicken, right?’ his tail swished behind him and he creeped forward. Notch took a hop-step away from him, and another, drawing the wolf closer and closer. That was it, he was going to take a bite out of the silly nuisance.
Instead, as he opened his mouth, he drew in a breath, and gasped with surprise, choking at the sudden change, and hacking a moment for breath. Not at all subtle or regal, as he put his nose to the floor and caught that one scent he had come here to find. Even fleeting, disbelieving and scarcely hopeful, he had come, and there she was. He ducked his head into the cave, and his heart soared against his ribcage, almost painfully as he took her in. she was as delicate as he remembered, with a coat like spun wool, and eyes as pale as the early morning sky.
Those very eyes seemed to shimmer, watery and sparkling, and after a second of watching he understood why. She was crying. “Well now, the Winter Rose graces us with her presence once more. Don’t tell me you’ve been caught in a brambleberry bush for the last five years… his voice hitched a little on the words, his heart in his throat, and an emotion brimming in his eyes, through he let none of that in to the words themselves, and he didn’t step any closer.
She couldn't believe her ears, she literally could not believe her ears. Solor's voice drifted down almost inaudibly over the sounds from the cave. She couldn't quite make out Notch's little voice though. Vail froze, unable to move or think as she involuntarily froze. Her eyes grew wider, but didn't lose the sparkling stream of tears that dripped down her cheek. Then she heard his foot steps. His gait was exactly the same, though his steps were careful as he navigated the darkness. She almost stood up, feeling fluttering in her stomach as he approached. Her pale gaze looked in the direction he came from, not that she could catch sight of him even with the healers remedies. He sounded so much older, but she did too. Her younger self would have frowned and turned away from him at such a greeting, but as it was she couldn't help but smile and wag hertail. Which only increased in intensity as Notch found his familiar perch upon her shoulder blades. "Mr. Impossible," She couldn't help but to use the nickname the pup version of herself had used for him in response with her own. "I've just been waitingfor you to save me of course." She couldn't help herself now and found hr feet with uncharacteristic grace. With a quick shuffle she was at his side, at first unable to process that she was nuzzleing into his familiar coat and breathing in his inviting scent. What in the world had happened to her all these years. Her bristly exteriror seemed to melt away as she melted into him. Unaware that she had loved him all this time they'd spent apart. |
Mr impossible the words chased away any lingering doubts in the back of his mind. This was not just anyone’s Winter Rose, this was Vail, the girl with an attitude and a penitent for trouble. He had found her, not once, or twice, but thrice in some sort of trouble normally borne of her lack of eyesight, through she clearly tried so hard to work around the inability to see.
“I’ve just been waiting for you to save me of course”
His heart pinched Oh Vail he thought, with some measure of pain. He drifted another step forward, almost without his own volition. “Then i’m sorry I took so long to save you” he whispered. She was on her feet even as he spoke, her legs unfolding before her with a grace she had only hinted at as a pup.
Between one breath and the next, she was suddenly there, in her arms. They had been young, oh so young, when they had first met. Foolish and naive, thinking they had all the time in the world. He thought he had a life time to woe her, not knowing his time had an end. Their last interactions had been so caste, so innocent and young, peeking at the edges of each others attention, a growing romance.
He leaned down, resting his head over her coat, shielding her smaller body in the shadow of his own. “Don’t leave me again” his own saucy comments brushed away, the comedy gone. His voice was open and naked before her with his need to know, to know she was here to stay.
He appologized, something sh emight not have heard at the beginning of their friendship, he was drawn to her as much as she to him and with little effort the two would be wrapped up in each other's presence. All the time that had passed and it seemed they had only grown closer. She felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders, this moment was all she had waited for while apprenticing with the old hermit. Notch fluttered off as Solor rested his head over her own, and for the first time she felt complete. Mother Nature had done her best to fragment the she wolf. Leaving her almost sightless, with out the vibrant colors of her parents or sister, and a talent for trouble. But here and now none of that mattered, Solor and Vail: the only two wolves in the entire world. "Don't leave me again." His command ignited the rebelous spirit within her, but she ignored it. Wanting nothing else than to bask in his presence as long as she lived. (Which might not have been too long with her track record.) He sounded more genuine and real than she ever remembered him to be, and her own voice mirrored the sound. "I don't think I can." There was a weakness in her vocals too, the truth laid open before the both of them. They had needed each other to be complete. The feeling was almost overwhelming, and she loved the fall. She pushed into him further, unsure if she could even put words to the emotions. |
The wolf in his arms seemed more grown, older and more troubled, in different ways then the pup had been troubled. Before, her problem had been with the outside world, now there seemed to be something inside of her that troubled her. She didn’t reply with the same flippant tones, the same annoyance and need to do things for herself. She wasn’t the only one changed, and Solor, always quick with a comeback, quick to hide his feelings behind charm, instead seemed to hold his heart on his sleeve.
So different, yet still the same. His heart still wanted her, and now here she was, in his arms, not just here, but sharing in his feelings. You couldn’t blame him for feeling a little shell shocked, for wondering if this was truth. “Why now, Vail. what brought you back here, to this place, today?” why did you leave, leave and return like it was no big thing, when it was my entire world shattered in reality he wanted to demand, to know, to understand. He also didn’t want to break this moment. He let out a soft sigh, drawing her closer. She had taught him that time was not on his side, and he intended to make the most of every moment.
"Why?"
Though the moment seemed perfect she knew that she owed him an explanation, she didn't feel any guilt when she had left and to be honest the feeling was rather foreign. She was never regretful or apologetic.
"I.. I was going to lose my sight completely." Now that she said it the reason seemed silly, she could hardly see anyway. Was leaving him worth the sight she had barely regained? "Notch knew of a hermit, Shaye and I hurried to him before it was too late. He asked us a price of labor, and we stayed." The truth was simple, and quite anticlimactic. All this time apart for such a silly reason. "I didn't.." She stumbled over her words like she stumbled over tree roots in her younger days. "I didn't know how.. strongly I felt for you." Dare she say she loved him? Was that was this was?
The fireflies hung cautiously to the walls at the back of the cave, as through uncertain what to make of the two wolves who had invaded their space. Their reunion was semi-quiet, their steps whispered, their words soft murmurs in each others ears. The occasional firefly buzzed through the air, its light offering Solor sight in the darkness, and the white wolf he clung to shone a dazzling white in any light.
“You where already pretty blind” he managed to joke, finding a semblance of his former self in the words, through he still held her tightly. He didn’t want to her to lose anything, even the soft shapes and vague lights that consisted of her vision.
“I didn’t know either, not truly.” he admitted. “I just thought I liked to the dashing hero in your tale” he smirked, but there was no malice behind it, only a gentleness. “What now, Vail? Where do you plan to go, to stay, to live?” what was her future. No, what was there future?
He joked with her like they had in the old days, a remnant of his younger self Vail was glad he hadn’t lost. She wasn’t quite as innocent as she had once been, but the good natured joke brought out her bell like laugh. He wasn’t wrong and the truth in his words made her feel even more foolish for leaving.
She enjoyed the way he teased her with a gentle hand, and he admitted the same as she did. Would she have left if she had fully realized how much she needed him in her life? He truly was her knight in shining armor, and she mourned at the time she had wasted away from him. What would she do next? She had planned to find what might have happened to her parents with her sister, though both of them had their doubts they would ever see the old wolves again.
She shook her head, bumping into Solor’s chest lightly. ”I don’t know. Everything has been so uncertain since we ventured down the mountain. What about you though Solor? What have you been doing all these years?” She deflected the question with one of her own
She laughed at his joke, when in the past she had normally acted more offended than amused whenever his humor shone through. He found himself grinning back at her, and planted a kiss between her ears. It was easy to reach the shorter wolfs head, and he ruffled his nose through the fur there for good measure.
It was clear from her reaction to him, running to greet him, falling into his arms, from what she said about how she felt about him... She was his. A few days ago, if someone had foreseen this outcome, and told the brute, he would have socked them in the face. He had lost all hope of ever seeing her again, let alone what their reunion would look like if he did.
He knew she was deflecting, but she had told him where she had gone those many years ago, and now it was his turn. “I spent a little longer looking for my sister, and now it’s almost like she was a dream I thought up as a pup. She’d always been hard to find, with a penitent for wondering, but this was different. She was gone. You were gone, too, and i realised I didn’t want to stay here anymore”
It was harder than he thought it would be, to tell her about those painful months when he had realised he was alone. He had never told the gypsies his past, he had been a mystery to them, a stranger who had slipped into the role of joker, teasing and humorous, but never real. He never told them anything substantial, had never grown close to any of them, and now that he had left he would me mist on water, and it would seem like he had never been at all. “So I left. I joined a pack of wandering wolves, and stayed with them for years. Until your feather-brain over there called me away.”
She didn't blame him not wanting to linger in the lands that brought painful memories. Her own painful thoughts of her lost family lingered as well. He seemed to skim over his time with the wanderers, though of all the places Vail might have imagined he went that seemed the most plausible. "Notch found you?" The little bird had already left the two of them, off to hunt or scout. Apparently he has a habit of reuniting long lost relationships and she wondered if he might find her parents too. She tried to answer his question now, about what she wanted. "I.. I hope Shaye and I can find some family. I haven't seen my mother and father in so long. They weren't here where we left them..." she trailed off, knowing that she might not see either one of them again.
Solor only chuckled at her retaliation, ass he nipped at his chest, he pretended to swoon a little. “Oh, you wound me.” he teased her, finding it easier and easier to reach for his humor. He had been too shell-shocked when he had first seen her, to do anything more then gape in astonishment, and rush into her arms. Now she was here, and he knew she was real, and he was already considering their future together. Not that she needed to know.
“That he did. I knew I saved his life for a reason” The little hunter had left them, but the fireflies were still a little cautious, keeping their distance from the two excitable wolves, well occasionally cast an orangey-glow across them.
“That’s rough. I hope you find them again” he tried not to think of Faun, and let out another soft huff of air. “Tell you what, i’ll stick around for a while, yeah? Someone’s got to keep you out of thorn bushes.” he explained, fighting the urge to plant another kiss between her ears.
Vail shifted her form slightly, pushing her paws in front of her as she lowered herself to the floor of the cave. "Well if you're going to be here bothering me," she regained some of her joking sass, "At least make yourself useful and keep me warm while I sleep." such actions were hardly needed in the dead of the summer, but the cave was chilly and as she found sleep she knew she would chill. Notch wasn't a very good blanket.
He felt Vail shift at her side, her body slowly sinking into the earth of the cave floor. “Anything my Lady requires” Solor teased her back, and wrapped his larger frame around the small white wolf, resting his head against the back of her head, and providing her with a living blanket.