The long stretched of shadows that reached fingers across the world was the first sign of the coming day. With the slight tinges of colour that touched the sky and began to chase away the darkness. The light tinge of the world against his eyelids would wake him, and obediently his eyes would blink open to the world. He was groggy, and confused and struggled to get his mind to focus. He felt heavy like him limbs where lead beneath him and he struggled to make sense of the world. Through the haze of his eyes the world was blurred and tinged with a coat of red. Shakily he tried to rub at his eyes to clear them, and his paws came away cold and sticky. He blinked at his paws, trying to force himself to focus, for his mind to process what he was seeing. There was blood on his paw, his blood, come away from his soft touch against his eyes. A soft flutter of panic would begin to form in his chest and he would bleary look about himself as he struggled, struggled to push his conciousness past the fog in his mind. He groaned, blinking furiously. What was happening to him, what did all this mean? He tried to struggle to his paws but they couldn't withstand his weight, they shook furiously as he forced and struggled, but ultimately he lost and sagged against the earth once more. As his weight connected with the ground a single fleeting thought drifted through his mind. He had failed them, he had failed everyone

Red? It was all she could see this morning. The sunrise was tinted with it, not the normal crisp yellow orange but a harsh blood red that slithered across the horizon. Something about it sat like a stone in her stomach, a feeling of wrongness settling around her even as she lay beside Desiree. What was this? Her mother had told her when she was young that a red sunrise meant that blood had been spilt that night, that the gods had been to busy to be able to collect all the souls. Or something like that. Maybe it was just blood? Four and a half years later her mind was still rather foggy about her lessons despite a desperate need to continually grasp onto them, trying to claw them from the depths of her skull and drag them back to a forefront. Every morning she did the same time, awake before the crack of dawn. before her children, mate or pack would normally awaken. She needed the time alone, lulled into relaxation by the steady sounds of her love's breathing. There were a few smaller bodies pushed back against the far wall of the cave but not all of them not that Vi minded much anymore, as long as they stayed on her land she didn't have a problem with them not staying in her den with her and Desiree.

Something was wrong?


Despite the slowly rising sun she couldn't shake the feeling of unease, a nervous feeling that was spreading through her limbs. It was the same feeling she had had before the floods, the volcanic eruption? Before the fire? A tremble slithered down her spine before reaching down to place a kiss atop her loves head, a farewell without waking her. She couldn't go far, she couldn't leave her family but not all of her family was here. A pare of her screamed to call a pack meeting but first she needed to find her children, to see Crucifix and Sibelle. They were as much her family as her blood and she needed to see them. Did they sense it too? Crucifix would be her first stop, taking a turn and drifting along the hill that boarded her lands before moving away from it and heading for his den. She would stop a short distance from the entrance of his den, nose quivering as she tested the air. Was that blood? She was moving without thinking now, panic and fear rising like a tidal wave within her despite oddly calm exterior. "Cru?" It was all she could say, all she could force past lips even as she lowered her head to look within the confines of his den.

Speech!

He didn't know how much time had passed, he was lost to the world, struggling to find himself and with each effort slipping ever further away. He could hear a rushing buzz by his ears that reminding him of waterfalls, felt the weightlessness that made him think of flying. The pack, and the world beyond fell away as he lost the fight to ground himself and the surging roar enveloped him. The next thing he knew was his name, echoing into his paces of his cave. He groaned softly, willing the noise to go away and leave him to his sleep. It was relentless in its calling, growing louder and persistent around him Cru, Cru, Cru and with a jolt he came to, the last reminiscence of her call clinging to him as he recognised the voice of the speaker. He gasped softly, as all the pain flooded back in, and his eyes clung shut with the sticky tang of blood. ?..Vi?? he croaked out, surprised to find that well his head still hurt it didn't drown out his thoughts and conciousness. So, in the space that remained he struggled to put together what he could. He was sick, very sick like nothing that had ever happened to him before. He had no doubt that it would be contagious, through he couldn't for the life of him think where he could have gained it from. ?wait? he croaked out, worried that she would come in and risk herself. ?Sick.. bad.. catch.. no? he was rasping, the flood was coming back in, drowning him as he struggled to keep his sanity, to keep himself together. He despised himself for his weakness, held onto that anger and with it forced out another breath of sanity. He had to hold on, he couldn't lose himself, he simply could not. He feared that if he did he might not ever surface again.

The smell of blood was thick and sickening, choking her down with the added weight of sickness. Fuck. What was happening? Her legs were locked in place, trembling as she tried to draw in a shaky breath. He replied, he was alive thankfully but his breath seemed tired and wheezy, choking out words as if choking on his own blood. But still she would no approach, would not enter and breach the darkness of his den. If he was sick... She had her children to worry about, her love... As much as she wished to dart in there and lay with him, tell him it was alright she forced herself to stand just outside his den. He choked out so more words, basically saying everything she had already suspected. Yellow eyes would close as she stood just outside his den trembling with indecision. "Come out then Cru... I need to see what we're dealing with." Once upon a lifetime ago she had been a medic, studied herbs beneath her mother. But it was just that. A lifetime ago. Could she do anything? Could she help? Currently the wind was blowing at her back, into his den. Theoretically if he came out and she kept a fair distance then he would be breathing her air not the other way around. "Cru I swear to god... Rub some dirt on it, find your balls and get. the. fuck. out. here." Last words were a hiss even though she still shook.

Red woman took a few cautious steps backwards as a precaution for if/when he came out. If he didn't there really wasn't anything that she could do for him. She smelt blood... But it was a sickness... Where was he bleeding from> Ears? Eyes? Mouth? Fuck she hoped it wasn't his eyes... She had only seen it once before when a sickness had rampaged through a bison herd and slowly wiped them all out. Well all the weak it seemed. Young, old... Incurable and the bodies had to be burned. Vi still couldn't shake the stench oh burning flesh. Her mother had called it Ebola or something like that. Could this be the same? Her mind was drawing a blank but still she focused on taking deep breaths and stilling her shaking muscles so that when he dragged his sorry ass out she wouldn't look so panicked.

Speech!

He shivered into the cool air that wafted lazily into his cave and swirled about his coat. He knew the shivering was from fever, he knew he was terribly, terribly ill and he despised every moment of weakness this sickness would give him. He groaned again, fighting against the swirling pain in his head that threatened to drown him, draw him into unconsciousness. It was Vi who helped to ground him, her voice against him despite the distance, her voice beating against his consciousness, ordering him to stay awake. She asked him to exit the den and still he hesitated ? if he spread this horrid thing to her he would never forgive himself. If this thing was deadly? he shivered again, hope quickly losing hold in his heart.



He drifted some more, the thought of sleep becoming more and more welcoming with each moment that the sickness held him. Then her voice was there again, a mental slap against him as his eyes fluttered and forced themselves open. He managed a weak laugh at her words, his chuckle swallowed by the rasp in his tone. With a groan he unfurled himself, could feel the weakness in his paws, the want to lie down and forget this. He forced himself up, his queen had commanded it and he would do this for her. ?I?ve got? my balls.. thank you very much? the banter revived him that little bit, he forced his way forward, and bleary eyed blinking into the day as he half waddled from his den ? which he had to admit was better than crawling.



The blood upon his cheeks that rolled from his eyes felt utterly cold against his skin now that he was out in the open. He knew he must look a terror, with his blood shot orbs and bleeding eyes, with his bedraggled form and his wheezing breath. She had moved away from him, thank god, he would do anything to keep this from her. ?Not good.? he said, seeing her expression and knew she was struggling to put together what this meant for the pack. Not good? not for any of them. He sighed once, softly and collapsed against the earth, huddling in on himself, but for his head that looked up at Vi with an oddly blank expression. He despised that she must see him this way, this strange sexy beast that turned his head every which way and aroused him with nothing more then a few sharp words of her quick witted tongue. He did not want to see her expression, did not want to see her look down on him with either a piteous or grossed out expression

"Speech"

The waiting was the hardest part, the not knowing what was happening and the constant battle she had with herself not to rush in and be with him. She felt like she had to physically hold herself back, playing a mental tug of war with herself as legs began see sawing back and forth as if trying to desire if she should rush forward or simply retreat. Should she leave? Could she leave him? She was the alpha, she had her whole pack to think of. What if she got sick? Was this contagious? No? She had to think of the pack, of her family? She heard a moan, a grunt of effort and Vi's ears would flitter forward, black lined eyes looking to the entrance of his den. Finally he spoke, choking out his normally easy banter. It made her throat clench, toes flexing as claws dug into the ground. She couldn't go to him and it was killing her. But finally he moved out, slitting along at a strange sort of shuffling step she could only describe as a waddle. It was odd. But the worst part. He was bleeding from his eyes. She forced a soft smile, forced herself to stand there and study him. "Go back inside Cru. I'll go catch you some food. Can you get to water on your own? Do I need to bring it to you?" She was straight down to business now. Her worst fears had been realized and now she had to deal with it all. She had to make this better, she had to make him better. She couldn't loose him.


Speech!