It was strange how this harsh, oppressive winter weather was beginning to feel normal. At some point he had just accepted the constant ice and snow and the frigid temperatures. Maybe it was because it was cold so often in the north as it was the transition to this new normal was a bit easier for him than it was someone that was more accustomed to the warmer weather of the south. It had just passed noon so the sun was still high in the sky, though it was hard to tell that with the thick layer of clouds that promised to bring even more snow down on to them at some point in the coming hours. He paused among the spaced out pine trees, turning his two toned gaze upward to peer through the pine needles that criss crossed on either side of his peripheral vision. He had been feeling very contemplative lately, analyzing himself and this life he was living here. If it wasn't for Yurei he wasn't sure that he would have any direction or purpose for his life. She truly altered his life, but only in positive ways. If they had never met or if their relationship hadn't developed in the way it had he wasn't sure what he'd be doing now. He felt tied to this pack because of the blood ties to his brother and few remaining family members, but even that bond felt more and more strained. Putting more worth into this false tie with that woman you refuse to blood bound to us than in the tie to your blood relatives... shameful. The voice started as a whisper in the back of his mind that he almost missed, but by the time it reached the point of shaming him for putting Yurei above his family in his priorities it sounded like it had filled his ears and left them ringing. He visibly flinched against the self inflicted noise, looking down at the snow with a flick of his ears as his jaw tightened and hackles bristled. He didn't hear their voices as often as he once had, but it felt like the few times he did they came back with vengeance. "Casso" | Think | "Boris"

Art by CloudyNight

"Yurei's Speech" | Yurei herself had been with a lot of fog and tempestuous thoughts in his mind. So many things had come to their lives in the blink of an spark had given her a feel of uncertainty as she didn't know what they could do to overcome the tyrant power than now took over their home. He couldn't help but feel specially worried about Casso. About their future. He wanted him to be okay, to be safe and to their life together to be left alone by the adversity. She loved him with all of her heart, not questioning about she easily giving her life for him. She was just arriving from foraging for herbs in a nearby land. It took her a while as under this apparently endless winter, finding them was harder and took more time than it should. And upon her walk, she found Casso. She rushed his walk before aiming to walk by his side. "Hello,"She brushed her head slightly against his shoulder.

Art by CloudyNight

Give her to us. You gave her our name, you tarnish our blood and forsake our ways. Make it right! Leave him alone! He doesn't want to hurt her, why is that so hard to understand? Stay out of this! You are a heathen and traitor in your own right - a grave mistake was made bringing you into our blood. I didn't ask for this and neither did he so- The voices clamored and screamed within his skull, picking up into a shouting match between the faceless voices of the demons and the softer voice of his mother, tearing at him in a way that they hadn't in quite some time. It made him tense as if they were actually standing on either side of him, yelling into one of his ears on either side of his head and making them ring with how loud their voices were. His claws raked at the ground under the snow and his lips twitched with the faintest hint of a snarl as he wrestled with them, trying desperately to force them back down into the depths of his mind. Casso had no awareness of Yurei's presence until her head brushed his shoulder, making him jump and turn his head to snap at her out of reflex. His teeth closed just shy of her nose and as soon has his two toned gaze found her familiar green eyes the voices fell away and the snarl on his lips soon followed. His heart was pounding with adrenaline and as that shock began to fade from his system it left a slight tremble to his limbs that he couldn't really control. His ears fell back against his head and a mix of guilt and dread filled his gut. "Y-Yuri, I... I'm sorry..." "Casso" | Think | "Boris"

Art by CloudyNight

She hopped she wasn't interrupting him or something, she hated to do that. Or to feel she was, even if it maybe wants the case. Casso was of course the love of her life , and the trust she had for him was almost perfect , just the pessimistic side of her kept her being a bit insecure about herself and how he saw her. How he felt about her being this loving. And she wouldn't be mad or anything if he ever showed her some kind of reject over some affection display.

As she allowed her body to touch his, the way how he reacted did indeed almost gave her a heart attack. She as his snapping jaws approached her, she was forced to step away out of a reflect. Her mind started to storm ideas, thousands of instant thoughts that soon clouded her brain.

Ears pinned as tail tucked between her shaking legs."'I... I am sorry...didn't mean to bother you... I...just wanted to know if you were okay..." She looked away in her usual submissive posture. Hoping she didn't mess up too bad right now.

Don't cry.... don't... she told herself within her thoughts. As she was certainly seeing that coming, feeling her throat being blocked by the knot that always formed when she was neat to cry.

"Talk"

Indescribable guilt filled him when he saw Yurei withdraw from him and immediately fall into the fearful, submissive stance that he had been working so hard to encourage her to abandon. Now he was the cause. "No, Yurei, no... It's not your fault..." he insisted as she apologized, fighting back his own tears of frustration - not at her, but at himself. "I didn't mean to, I..." He carefully moved toward her, attempting to gently reach his foreleg out around her shoulders to pull her in to him, so desperate to feel her close to him again and to know that he hadn't ruined the only good thing he had. He wouldn't blame her if she pulled away from him and didn't try to trap her against him, feeling like that would only make things worse. "I just... I didn't know it was you," he added softly. He had tried to share what his condition was like in the past, but he didn't know if he had ever really gotten the true extent of it across to her. It was so hard to explain or describe. One instant he was lost to the world and the next he felt like himself. "The demons and... my mother was fighting with them... I couldn't hear... I'm so sorry..." It sounded crazy even to himself and he was the one that lived with it. Every once in a while he would allow himself to believe that he was healing, that he was getting better, and then something like this would happen. He was just glad that he hadn't actually hurt her, but he knew a scare was bad enough. It made him worry about the possibility of it continuing to get worse and continuing to blind him from the world. He wanted to spend his life with Yurei, he wanted to have a family, he wanted to know that he could be around her and their children without risking their safety. He felt helpless and unable to stop his own thoughts from driving that blind anger no matter how much he tried to calm them. His ruby and sapphire gaze searched his mate's face, the deep guilt written on his expression as his ears remained pinned to his head. What could he do? He didn't want to give her up but he also didn't want to risk hurting her. "Casso" | Think | "Boris"

Art by CloudyNight

Yurei's legs shivered but not for her own wellbeing,she wasnt scared about herself but for lossing Casso. Not that from her side she would be willing to keep him away but him being the one to push her away. No , she didnt want to lose him, to lose the only wolf who loved her, who cared for her. In a genuine way, not like her family did.

Hearing to Casso's word broke her heart, but not in a bad way like being betrayed, it was from seeing him suffering from what he told her he had. She knew how hard it was to be dealing with that, with being prey to one's demons. And more than going away, she let the fear fade and once again brushed her head into his chest, shoving her face on his fur.

"I love you...It doesn't matter what you do..." Eyes of pale green looked up to his own. And then she attempted to kiss him closing her eyes. She promised him she wouldn't leave despite anything, that she was going to stay until or beyond the end of times.

"Talk"