comfort through fear. paralyzed through time.

It had only been a little more than quite a few month from when that fate filled day, the day when she felt her blood exiting her body in an accelerated rate. The magenta colored morning that her pack mates turned on her and took to her fur as if she was just a ragdoll to be discarded. All she wanted was a bite, just a small bite of the kill they were almost finished with. Instead she was the new prey, a child surrounded by bullies. She could still remember the snarls; still feel the pain from every bite. The canine could still remember how her tail was maliciously torn off, thrown aside as if it was just a part of a carcass they were about to devour. Her eyes closed as the world began to blur into a techno light show, the scenery spinning gas she began to slip under.



Then he was there, just when she was about to let the guardian of death ease her pain. He was there. Whether it was from pity or even the care for a fellow canine, he told her that everything would be alright. She could still remember the metallic taste of her own blood on her tongue, how after he dragged her limp body to a safer location her eyes slipped from his own and closed. What she did not know was what would happen next, it seemed like years passed with every breath she took. Her mind remembered how he would bring her food and command her to eat what she could but his name was never something she could remember. For the life of her she could not remember his color, remember his smell.



Now the only thing that consumed her was the ever familiar emotion of fear. It was an emotion she was so familiar with that almost every other emotion seemed foreign, being afraid was her life. Exhaustion was another emotion that seemed to overtake her body, faltering her steps and the unbalancing sway of her body. And yet she pushed on, there was something about these trees that told her that she was safe.



Uniquely colored eyes closed for a few seconds as she tried to steady her mind and try to picture what it was her dream had told her just a few nights ago. A gentle roll of misty fingers caressed her fur, the gentle breeze outstretched to whisper in her flattened ears. As if on command her body dropped into the flowing yet dying greenery, a gentle thud accompanied her falling. It hurt but she did not open her eyes again, instead she let her exhaustion take her. Though she knew she could not just lay in the middle of this field for long but as the dawn began to break through the glittering meadow she let her body find serenity, maybe she could figure out where she was when her eyes opened again.

(ooc)(sorry for the rocky post, so she is in the middle of the field. I am gunna say an hour or more passed as she passed out unless you want him to find her before that.)

There was little to be said, or done rather, for Nibelheim?s present circumstances. As a wayfaring male there was no definable place for him and that left him bereft of a great many options that his status was not privy to. Safe harbor, to name one, was always a critical concern for any individual who chanced solitary travel as opposed to the heartening gaggle that packs supplied. However the established groups that he had scrutinized for the past few months were of minimal interest. So Nibelheim was in quite the conundrum. His primordial instincts demanded the structure of the larges groups but his higher intellect prevented him for settling for the mediocre. Thankfully, living by his lonesome was not expressly terrible or dangerous ? provided he did not antagonize the wrong parties. Days had passed in their usual monotony as winter began to inch across the province. Ghostly tendrils of cold wrapped around what vegetation resisted the chill, stealing the remnants of fall in preparation for snow. It had been the gradual decay of plants and equally steady decline of prey that had prompted the crownless king to shift his path to the south; vacating the eastern territories he had been occupying and choosing instead, warmer climates where the success rate for hunting was marginally higher. It had been an over all wise decision on his part. Nibelheim bore the fruits of his labors proudly, maw chicly splattered with crimson gore from a pheasant that had not been quick to fly out of the large male?s reach. The hen was little more than a mouthful, true, but anything in the leaner seasons was welcome and not to be disregarded. There was no telling when the next opportunity would come so everything was precious, nothing could be wasted and chances must be kept to a bare minimum if at all possible. The wolf?s ginger eyes sang with the sadistic pleasure that blood-sport introduced, gleaming from their dark sockets as he parted the tall grasses. His plans had been at a standstill as of late but he was content for the most part. He still desired a group but Nibelheim frankly did not host any real belief that such a prospect would be available any time in the near future. Not unless one of the packs was decimated and required new leadership. A cackle slipped past his mouth, muffled by his catch. He knew his thoughts of grandeur were unrealistic but they were whimsical and enough to keep his mind anchored to the present as opposed to hallucinating things. That was happening more and more often now. Shaking his head lightly the wolf very nearly didn?t notice the decidedly canine stench with the wild fowl so close to his nose. It brought a frown to his features, eyes narrowing with abject suspicion. Was someone lurking in the swaying stalks waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting in the hopes of relieving them of prey? Or perhaps it was just a band of marauders looking to hassle any that crossed their path? No, it was a singular scent, Nibelheim told himself, sniffing rapidly to discern as much information as he could and hunkering down to make less of a target for the assumed opposition. One scent, loner, but why? Deciding to investigate the wolf stalked the after the smell and would you imagine his surprise to find a half dead female who looked as if someone had tossed her down a sheer cliff? ?And took her tail as a souvenir...? He thought with a grim smile. The question remained however, what was she doing here? She did not have the build to be a successful rover like himself and others like him nor was she in the condition to support herself. It was illogical, it was ludicrous, and it was just the distraction he was looking for. Walking wide of the prone form, Nibelheim placed his hard-earned meal at the tip of her nose and shoved his muzzle in her scruff, inhaling deeply. No pack scent, at least none that she had been recent. Banished perhaps? ?Wake liebling, I need to know you are alive if I am to?help you.? Speech,

i am alive, are you to save me?

The winter kissed grass was not the color of green her mind told her it was, no instead it had taken a more silvery appearance but she could not register this. She simply was in a daze, a dream that reminded her of nothing more than the pain she felt when her fellow pack mates sunk their fangs into her flesh. A whimper escaped her lips as the dream continued, as she looked to her brethren and asked why she could not have a small morsel of the carcass they had all abandoned. That morning?s colors were soon mimicked on her fur, magentas and the color of crimson seemed to soak her to the soiled bone.



She did not understand their anger; she never understood how she became the rank that her mother once held. Fear. It was what tainted her soul, quickly tightening against her heart as she was paralyzed by the vivid nightmare that seemed to haunt her every time she closed her eyes. It was so vivid, the imagery but not just that. She felt it all again and again. The echoes of their voices and the pain that they inflicted on her body over and over again, they were the reliving of the scars that still covered her body.



There was a push, a tug that broke her dream. Images of that day splintered and fell aground her like shattered pieces of glass, crashing into the flowing grass that embraced her fallen form. Words finally eased their way into her ears, bouncing off the walls of her mind like an echo that wished to taunt her. Uniquely colored eyes snapped open, her pupils dilated by both fear and the haunting images of her nightmare. Paws finally found purchase to the chilled ground as she struggled to rise from her slumber, her nose had touched something that smelled almost appetizing if it was not for her panic attack. A touch against her neck felt wrong, was she in danger?



Finally the pale girl was up; her body shook from not just the cold that caressed her fur but from the new form that was looming over her. Everything in her body screamed submission to the new being that woke her from her fear soaked dream, her eyes only looking up at him in hopes that meeting his eyes would not have her flattened ears ripped off. Her breathing began to accelerate though she was desperately trying to calm its rate. It was all a failed attempt, everything refused to respond to her as she finally let his words register in her brain. He was asking if she was alive, spoke of helping her and yet all she could do was stare at him like she was a frightened child standing before an abusive father.

(ooc)(what she is recalling is a nightmare, her fur is no longer covered in blood.. just maybe the almost healed wound on her chest could have cracked open from her sudden movements.)

Terror, sharp and pungent, assaulted his senses in unfetter ed waves to the point where his olfactory sense almost felt abused by the stench it created. The suddenness of the female?s animation admittedly started him, Nibelheim would never admit to it but he did jump a little as she roused at his touch and fought a pitiable battle with gravity to erect herself before him. He might have laughed aloud at the scene had the circumstances been slightly different however his mind was already churning as to what uses the little girl might present for him and held back the bubbles of mirth that tickled his throat. He remained a motionless fixture in the meadow as the scarred woman gathered herself, making vain attempts to regain some semblance of composure. Her fear disallowed this motion however and it was with a sudden clarity that he came to deduce her behavior validated the healing injuries. She was very likely an ostracized female. Ousted from her pack to wander until death claimed her or she lucked out and was admitted into another group who could spare the resources to care for her. Very few were capable of admitting loners and expending much needed faculties on those too weak to actively contribute. Thankfully for her Nibelheim could not be counted among the majority and saw her plight as a window opportunity that he would happily jump through. A smirk touched his lips as she fretted and exuded submission. He would need to win her trust for anything beyond a tentative relationship to be formed which would take more time than he might?ve deemed worthwhile. But winter was long and universally boring as far as seasons went so he wouldn?t object to the task. ?Shh, shh, little liebling do not be upset.? He shushed her in his accented rumble, pasting a look of worry and cautious concern on his visage but remained at the distance she had placed between them. ?I not mean to scare. Your injuries are quite numerous; I feared you had already passed.? He said, expelling what he hoped was a sigh of relief. Quietly he nudged the pheasant he had dropped, letting it roll limply in her direction. ?You are too thin liebling. Eat and then talk.? Would she be more comfortable if he was not in such a powerful position? Thinking this might alleviate some of her concerns, if only a little bit, Nibelheim slowly slid down into a laying posture and relaxed. Speech,

can i touch it or is it just for show?

She tried and tried again but everything she seemed to do was just a failed attempt to calm her breathing, calm her ever beating heart that thudded rapidly in her ears. It just would not stop just as her fear soaked body would not stop to even move in the slightest direction of relaxation. No, this could be someone of danger to her; this could be someone that wished to cause her bodily harm just as her nightmares haunted her of her pack mates that wanted nothing more than to rid their pack of some dead wait. Dual colored eyes flicked from his head to his tail to see just how large this being was, though it was never likely that she could even comprehend every biting another wolf much less growling.



Instead a whimper escaped her lips before is words could even drift into her tightly pinned ears, and yet the twitched lightly against her skull to allow whatever he spoke to enter the vacancy in her mind. There was a word she did not understand, a word that was laced with a foreign tongue. He had already said the words twice, calling her it as if he was mistaking her name or even giving her a pet name. This was all confusing to her, as it was she was not use to a simple conversation that was not laced with a motive that was not going to end in pain. Well, the healer was another situation that she only vaguely remembered.



His voice hummed to her, almost trying to relax her already frayed nerves. His words told her to not be afraid, to not fear him even though he was much bigger than her. His voice was laced with concern and his facial features also seemed to mimic this emotion, but she was never a girl to call someone a liar. Curiosity seemed to almost flair in her mind though all of that was shattered when he spoke once more, again addressing her like he did before. Slowly she tilted her head slightly, looking away from his wide chest and focusing more on his nose than his brightly colored eyes. The words bounced off of the walls in her mind once more, though what should have made her body relax had no effect on her submissive posture. He was not going to harm her and yet he that pestering word once more, libeling. What did it mean, was it anything she could ever understand? Then he drew her attention to the appetizing creature that her nose bumped in her haste to reach her paws on a steady ground, though they still caused her t sway slightly from the over exertion.



"I-" Her voice cracked from misuse though seemed to be no more than a shy whisper, swallowing hard she continued to try and figured out the words she was trying to say. "Th-thank you-ou".She still whispered but at least she had said something, her head tilted slightly as he changed his posture. Her mind screamed at her as her training caused her to mimic his actions, an omega was to never be at a higher elevation than another. Her body slide to the cold ground once more, though when her chest was even graced by the simplest of touches it caused her to wince. She eyed the pheasant once more, gentle tugging at its skin to even just get a taste of the creature. Hunger. That was a familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach and yet she did not gorge herself in the feathered beast, she was never given food. This generosity confused her; again her eyes looked to the darkly colored man as if awaiting his approval to even touch the pheasant again.

The man could not recount an instance where it was physically painful to keep laughter at bay. Typically he was unconcerned with the nuances of conversation and the etiquette required in the hopes of remaining on amiable terms with whatever company he happened to encounter however the circumstances now were vastly different from conversing with those of able body and sound mind. The little slip of a girl was tormented, that much was obvious in how she quaked in his shadow and utter refusal to meet his gaze. If her battered form was any further indication to her prior treatment than the fact that she appeared incapable of relaxing was just another strike of evidence to the harshness she had endured. And Nibelheim found it positively hilarious that the broken female had managed to preserve to this day in spite of that. He watched her with quiet fascination. Really there was enough entertainment to be had in only observing the rapid twitching of her body as the internal debate raged inside of her. One could almost see the war being waged within the confines of her mind, daring to align trust to a stranger when all she knew was agony at the hands of another. But he was banking on her naivet?, on her overt submission, to coax her to his side. Or at the very least assume him to be a potential ally to confide in. It was the slightest of movements on her part, barely more than one of her recurrent twitches that regained his attention. Her lips, which had remained steadfastly sealed throughout, parted and the voice that alighted from them was harsh from disuse. How long had it been since she had uttered anything besides pleas for mercy? How long since she had sang tunes that were not saturated in pain, sorrow and apology? Would he ever get to hear that voice? The one where her screams would reverberate in her chest until there was no air left to feed the noise? A shiver traveled the length of his spine as desire roared hotly in his belly. He?d hear that voice one day. Perhaps not by his own doing personally but he would. ?You are welcome.? He spoke, ignoring the fact that as she lay down she too had lowered herself, remaining ever the smaller counterpart in his presence. It drew a smirk from him, one of appreciation and egocentric glee. Outside of that Nibelheim made no further movements, satisfied to be a quiet sentinel while she ate ? assuming she mustered the courage to do so. She was frustrating in that respect. While the young woman was obviously in great need of the nourishment she would only hesitantly pick at the offering. Nibelheim was not particularly one who enjoyed hand-holding her through the motions but set aside his distaste for a more productive sentiment. He gave her a nod of approval, facial contours remained in its patient creases. ?I will not snap at you. I feed you.? Speech,

what have i done for your kindness?

Her eyes flickered once more to the feathered being, the ever taunting scent of coppery blood almost made her slip up and devour even the bones that the creature had to offer but a flash back held her in place. It was her hunger that was the end of her, or at least that was what she had thought. Her demise and carried out death sentence was always planned since her birth, though she was not even suppose to live past her birth but that was not the image that held her body in place. It was the reminder of how much pain she had to endure to even try a lick at a carcass that was already stripped to the bone, the reminder of how cruel those she lived with could so easily inflict such a feeling on her body.



Tall ears lifted for what seemed to be a millisecond to catch the few syllables that he murmured to her own strained voice, before they quickly fell back against the safety of her skull. Even though she tried to stop such a sound form escaping her tightly pressed lips, a soft whine seemed to elude the silence that drifted between them. Unique colored eyes drifted shut as if to embrace for a repercussion from such a tiny ring of sound, but really she was trying to just steady her own breathing. In and out, it came quicker than she wanted. It was obvious that she was angry with herself, at war with her own physique that would never respond the way she wanted them to. Instead she shiver racked her spine, a quick flicker of a nearly extinct tail.



Again her eyes slowly opened at the low hum that was this stranger?s voice, as relaxing of a sound that it was she could not fight her body any longer. He gave her his permission to finally even touch the feathery creature that he has so graciously placed before her, and yet she had to move closer to even finally lick it. Hesitantly she used her already prone legs to crawl closer to the bird and in turn closer to the dark colored stranger, her own worn paws almost touching his. Again she tried to speak, though at first it was a failed attempt once more a struggle to even make a sound that was deemed a spoken word.



"Th-thank you." Her voice was only a whisper and yet it rang only softly but still held a very worrisome crack of disuse, her bowed her head before the stranger before letting her paws move the pheasant closer to her injured chest. Again her tongue racked over the soft yet pesky feathers that covered it?s deceased body, and yet just that taste was the most heavenly she had ever tasted in months. Her lips parted to allow her teeth to finally pick at the feathers before her hunger grew too great that feathers would not be the issue in her stomach. Bones crunched in her first bite, a sound that was almost too sweet for her ears to bear. Metallic blood savored in her mouth as she enjoyed every bite, this was perfectly divine.

That pitiful little nub where her tail had once been attached to her body was making a distracting jerking movement. Because of the lacking length Nibelheim couldn?t accurately tell what it was supposed to be conveying. Was she wagging? If so it looked awkward and she should stop because watching it was rather obscene in a way he couldn?t rightly explain. The ocher dog pushed the thought from his mind and settled in for what he assumed would be a few hours of watching over his ward. Whether or not she knew that he had staked his claim over her never even entered his mind nor was he worried about refusal. She had gone unharmed, she would eat his food. She was, for all intents and purposes, his now. Her consent was no longer required. Another whisper of gratitude tickled his ears, her voice still unaccustomed to the speech pattern as it tried to relay words it had likely not spoken in some time. He didn?t mind it much, she would be stronger in his care given the time to recuperate and then he would see to his other plans. ?You are welcome.? The wolf chirped once more, husky notes floating with oiled serenity now that she seemed to allow her tension to gradually seep from her worn muscles. She presented her crown to him as a means to acknowledge his gift, respectful but still so skittish of the perceived threat nearly a whiskers length away from her. What would this little creature do if he touched her? Mischievously, inquisitively, Nibelheim waited for her to be engrossed in the process of consumption before he acted. The large wolf leaned his head forward and a flash of pink slid over the back of the female?s ear before disappearing. It was a gesture he knew to mean comfort, nothing amorous or untoward but likely a motion she wasn?t used to receiving given her present state. ?I clean you, yes?? He explained, as if that justified the action. It was meant as a question though. He had been taking note that her scruffy frame was in need of proper grooming ? or at least a cleanliness fitting to his standards. He would not be ridden with fleas because she was unclean. Speech,

what have a done for your kindness?

Relaxation, that was a strange feeling that she could truly never get use to. Even now she was not in such a state to be called relaxed but it was the most comfortable she had been in long time. Even when she was in the cave like structure with a healer on her death bed she was not relaxed or even comfortable, instead she was always worried that ever breath she took would be her last. The funny thing about that situation was that she wished when she had closed her eyes that morning was she wished the man had not found her and healed her wounds just to be on her own again.



For a few seconds she stopped the satisfying crunching of the bird?s wing in her jaws, as if frozen in mid thought. She tried to shake the visions of her nightmares, the emotion of fear that her body was still soaked in. Again her poor excuse of a tail flickered, though not because it was trying to convey agitation but as if to sway like any other full lengthen appendage would do to convey gratitude. Though it quickly stopped its irritating movements when she realized just how the stranger seemed to focus on it?s twitching, filling her with an unfamiliar emotion of embarrassment. Her head lowered again, though this time to get most access of the leftover carcass that remained of the pheasant.



Once more she crunched on the bones, feeling just how fragile they were. More metallic liquid quenched her throat of a longing taste she had missed, bird was much more appetizing than the scaly fish she had a week or so ago. Though surely this creature was much harder to catch, again embarrassment clenched at her skin. She was eating something that the stranger had caught for himself, and now she was devouring it without a thought of the intention that could have came with such an acceptance. Her mind mocked her as she worried over the simplest of things, telling her to just accept whatever was needed after all she was being fed.




Her head jerked lightly at a new feeling of pressure, something she was not use to. The simplest of touches, something that to anyone that was raised normally would have thought of comfort but to her she simply froze. Her ears fell back against her skull once more as she dropped the remaining bones and feathers that she had been chewing on just because it was all that was left. Her eyes lifted only very slightly not to question him but just out of curiosity if this was something normal, her mother had been the only one to make such an action towards her but that was long ago before she was killed. His voice rang out, a question that seemed to justify his actions and she let her ears lift off of her skull if only slightly. Cleaning, a word only her mother used to justify that very action to her frightened child. "Y-yes." She whispered in almost disbelieve that he had even asked her permission, another custom she was never granted as a low ranked canine. It was then that she was struck about being a rather rude child, her mother had taught her better than to receive food before telling someone her name but the words would not form. She looked up very slightly apologetic to her rude actions, "I-" She choked once more, closing her eyes to muster the sound to come again no matter what pain it caused in her throat because of misuse. "M-my name's Ca-Cashmere." she finally spoke though still barely above the sound of a chiming whisper, she spoke the name her mother graced upon her.

She froze. It was not an entirely unreasonable response to uninvited physical contact ? particularly in victims of ill treatment. Still the logical aspect of her reaction did nothing to quiet the immediate burn of displeasure that coiled in his belly like a serpent. Having already declared his possession of the female the aversion to his touch that she showed irked him. She must never shy from him; her comforts could only be gifted by him and anything else would be deigned intolerable. Nibelheim seethed, viciously pushing the irritating sensation down to where it might rest and remain a dormant tenant in his skewed psyche. The girl was new to her owner, Nibelheim reasoned, he shouldn?t fault the skittish girl for her apprehension. She would require time to associate him with the pleasures she had been denied and he had months to endow her with that knowledge. Nibelheim remained tolerant, composure not once faltering to convey his internal struggle as his presentation was of the utmost importance. Any flare of negativity would hurtle her back to the sniveling shrew and lessen his chances of converting her. So he would bide his time. Introduce her slowly to the things he could offer, answer her desires one at a time until it was a different hunger that wracked her body, a different mindset of submission when he caressed her. There was time enough for it and he was intent on making it a reality. The female gave her assent which earned her a marvelous grin from the mocha-tinted wolf. He hadn?t expected her to be so receptive even if he had been furious with her moments ago for having shown apprehension. Her acquiesce meant that he was making the right moves, that she was beginning to give him liberties that she likely hadn?t had a choice in before. This was her trust and he would revel in it. ?Danke.? The humble projected passed his lips as he alighted from his lounging position to a stand, moving slowly to her side and settling back down. She was so much smaller than him that Nibelheim took a moment to marvel at the vast difference. Still it changed nothing, his plans didn?t factor size so he was untroubled by her diminutive stature. It simply meant she would not stray far from the protection he offered. It meant that she would be easier to control. These dastardly schemes aside, Nibelheim made good of his word and bent his head over her and began to grooming process. He was very careful with her; he didn?t want to break his new toy before he?d had a chance to play with it. His tongue rasped over her ears again, snatching dirt and disrupting tangles where it passed before going down to her scruff and nibbling soothingly to investigate for any unseemly parasites that might have hitched a ride on her back. The action was rhythmic and lulled him for a moment by the normalcy until her voice broke through. Cashmere, was her name. The wolf paused in his cleaning to give her his attention and acknowledge she had spoken. ?A pleasure, Cazmere.? His thick accent stealing the pronunciation but still decipherable by all counts, ?I am Nibelheim. Did you wander far from home little libeling?? The question was spoken and then his mouth returned to its chosen duty of cleansing her body. Speech,

i am no what you want. i am a broken toy.

It was hard to not freeze at every movement that the mocha colored stranger made but that was not his fault, nor should anyone ever blame him. It was her fault; she had never been shown kindness. Even her mother had been very brief with her touches or even in a daily bath it would take a week before the omega mother would even whisper a word to her only surviving child. Her pack was no different when it came to touch or even a friendly sentence, nothing but pain would ravage her fur and old harsh growls were aimed in her direction.



When the words left her lips in a shuttering haste he started to move, not just move he now towered over her like a monster that wished to devour her very soul but that was not what he was going to do. Instead he moved like her mother should have, leaning his body against her own and finding a comfortable position by her side. The unusual emotion of embarrassment resurfaced again when she thought of the last time she had seen such an act, images of her pack?s leader taking his position next to his mate was one that she recalled. Her eyes shifted away from him but not to show her disinterest in what he was doing but to hide such a pestering emotion, to hide a naive blush that warmed her face.



As if to distract her emotions she started to pick up the remaining feather that had now littered her legs, she placed them away from them and in turn away from him. In the mist she found stray bones and quickly made a meal out of them, crunching them quickly between her teeth in hopes to not disturb his grooming. A funny thing was starting to come over the girl, a feeling she was also unaccustomed to in her short existence. Relaxation, it almost caught her by surprise as she let her body start to lean on the man finally showed his acknowledgment that she had spoke. Though when he spoke her name it sounded wrong and yet the accent he had was probably the cause but she was never a girl to correct someone that had already showed her more kindness than she had received all her life. His own name was a mouth full, would she left circle in her mind over and over to make sure she would never pronounce it wrong.




. It was the new question that nearly choked her, a gentle cough racking her body as if she had let a bone go down the wrong pipe. Though as a recovery attempt she shook her head to signal that she was alright, though sadness seemed to creep into her eyes as she thought of what to say. "N-no." her voice whispered,pausing as she tried to tell him how her home had attacked her and left her to bleed out. "I-I do not ha-have a ho-home.." she continued, taking in another breath to force out more words no matter what pain it caused her throat. "I-I was di-dicarded." Her body shook softly after the last word escaped her lips, her head falling to her paws as if the realizing had finally took its toll. She was an unwanted omega, a broken toy.

Despite his former concession that converting Cashmere would necessitate a measure of patience he was not overly accustomed to exercising for any great need, Nibelheim still found himself batting away the incessant heat of indignation. Every time she would stiff the gnarled thought would expand until it was a cancerous mass in his mind, a pus-spewing boil waiting to erupt and make for an unattractive sight. He had the forcibly distract himself from the rigidity of his female?s countenance and fixate on what achievements he?d managed in this short span of time. It was much easier to revel in what he had accomplished versus the milestones yet to be crossed. Cashmere had not fled at the sight of him, a perfect beginning as far as he was concerned, and while it had taken time he had even encouraged her to eat the meager offering he had. Better was that she had spoken with increasing frequency, still so vulnerable and shy but willing to be cordial despite her experiences. These were good signs had there ever been one, symptoms of allegiance being fostered. He would cultivate those emotions in her until they bloomed in his name, until she thought of little else but her service to him. She would be beautiful in a way that trumped the conventional sensuality because she would be a different creature entirely when he was through. Nibelheim did not bother to smother his grin, masking it though with each pull at her fur as his teeth combed the knotted strands until they were slick and well kempt. The expression only grew as he felt her weight leaning into him, silently asking for warmth and dissolving from her weary state of stress and pain as she began to speak. His listened attentively and with his undivided attention as she relayed a small kernel of her life, letting him past the threshold of her isolated little world. The brute answered her sadness with what he knew she craved, a comforting touch, a pillar of strength against the tempest that roared around her, offering the stability she needed to keep from being ripped apart by the worlds many cruelties. ?I am sorry to hear zat, Cazmere.? Nibelheim breathed deeply as his tongue raced over her crown, persuading her back to that previous state of peace. ?Are these,? he gently let his nose run over one of her many healing wounds. ?from those who discard you?? Speech,

i am no what you want. i am a broken toy.

Feathers that she had missed started to tickle her nose with every breath she exhales and inhaled, as if to taunt her as she rested her head against her weary paws. A slight amount of pain caused her to flinch as her narrow chest expanded with every intake of oxygen, pressuring her healing injuries into the winter kissed ground. There was comfort in the way the mocha male touched and kneed her fur to work out the tangles she had given up on fixing, something she felt her mother should have done before her final breath was taken but she could never blame the woman. If such an omega showed any form of weakness to her own flesh and blood it was obvious that Cashmere would have her life ended sooner than they tried.



Sadness filled eyes closed to the world that now seemed to shine with a full glory of the fiery sun, she could not stand looking at the gentle blue in the sky that almost matched the color one of her eyes had. With every lick and pull of a tangle her fur was becoming the soft shine that she once had before her death sentence was carried out. The tickle was finally getting to her; the gentle touch of a soft feather was starting to wear on the exhausted girl?s mind. A quick huff escaped her lips as the pale stripped feather took off into the breeze, carrying it higher than she could have imagined.



The child let her eyes open once more when his reassuring touch came as a reaction to her words, allowing her body to move on its own and let her lift her heavy head from her red stained legs. She could not help but lean into such a touch, one she did not know she had longed for and yet she had to fight her body to also freeze at such a touch. It was an internal conflict, the part of her that found this touch to be something she needed and the part of her that screamed at her to run away.




Tall blond ears flicked back to catch any words he had to offer, his apologies for what her pack mates did to her as they tossed her around like a broken ragdoll. Why was it so hard for her to believe that anyone could be sorry for what they did to her, was is not her fault that it happened? The two side fought each other to try and answer such a question but all quieted down when he fan his cold nose along the sources of her pain, causing her to shiver form the feeling."Ye-yes." The words came out still with a very obvious crack of misuse and yet this was getting easier to do but an emotion that threatened her to cry was poured into the single word answer. Why was this all getting to her now had she not cried enough about being thrown aside, had she not felt enough pain over the only life she ever knew?

Honestly there was little reason for the young woman to verify his question but for the sake of both conversation and his progressively snowballing plot it was essential that Nibelheim sat and allow her to regale him with her woes. She needed to be fumigated of the burdens that her harrowing ordeal had saddled her with, their collective weight would cripple her and by association him. Any hope of recovery was firmly hinged on giving her the emotional releases so that her tattered heart might permit his entry without resorting to drastic measures. He had no cares for her tale other than to inspire camaraderie. Nibelheim halted in his little ministrations to register her duress. He needn?t be told that her memories were accumulating, the horrors rearing up to tear her asunder and violate the innocence she still slung to. In time he would do away with those troublesome thoughts, he mused. They were not conducive to the environment he wanted to bring and so they must be evicted. Naturally it would not be an endeavor to occur overnight but she was already proving to be remarkably receptive to him as time went on. Perhaps it would be sooner than he thought. But first he needed to assure her that the life she had led up until now was no more and he must do so gently and without rousing suspicion. The man ceased with his grooming efforts, deeming her acceptable for the time being and opted to relax with her. His options were laid before him now and it was simply a matter of choosing which avenue would be best for his newest acquisition. ?You not have to speak it.? Came his throaty hum, tone sympathetic but willing to give her mind the privacy to those gruesome thoughts until she was comfortable in disclosing them. ?Zat life is over, ja? Heal. Grow strong. Prevail in ze life zhey would take from you.? He urged with poisoned laced words, encouraging her to step into the steel trap of his control from which she would not be allowed to escape. ?You and I not so different.? The wolf took a moment to examine his own limbs, lacerated with the dulled wounds ? many of which were of his own make but that was not what he would confess to. ?Packs are funny things. Kind to some, cruel to others. But vhat makes one worthy of a comfort iz something zhey reserve.? He murmured. ?I was, like you say, discarded.? A blatant lie if he had ever spoken one. Nibelheim snickered, the sound coming out bitter but in truth was laughing at the falsehood. He had turned the members of his pack against one another until they descended into a beautiful self-annihilation. ?Pain vas our beginning, do not let it be your end.? Sage-like words had never once been spoken so wonderfully than from a serpents mouth. Speech,

i am not what you want. i am a broken toy.

It was strange how talking about something that she went through was helping her heal, it was like putting Band-Aids on her wounds with every reassurance that he gave her. Every hum or lick was something that she had never had her first couple of years that she lived; instead she was always given a bite for every whine or a growl for every word that was dared to break from her lips. It was a parent?s job to hush their child and reassure them that the word was not as bad as the canine?s that abused her daily and yet that part of her life was absent.



Maybe being discarded from her old life was her new rebirth, or maybe there was still some string to be pulled with every nice gesture but right now she did not care. Instead she let a gentle whine escape her lips not really wishing to harm her throat anymore, it was already scorched by fire with how much she had spoke. She still did not feel differently about herself, she was still just a broken toy that would be impossible to glue back together. Half of her still screamed that this was wrong that that there was nothing good to come from such an interaction with someone she barely knew.



The child ignored her instincts, something she had done her whole life. The voice in the back of her head that always told her to fight was finally silent because she had casted it aside and was trained to silence its words. His voice registered to her again and slowly she pulled herself from inside her troubled mind to listen to him once more. Though another pitiful whimper seemed to escape without her notice when his grooming had stopped, why did she care so much for a thing she never had before?




As he reassured her all Cashmere could do was nod, her exhaustion was finally becoming apparent so her words would no longer come on her command. It was truth that rang in his words, that life was over and she was now to start again but old habits would still cling to her like a child to their mother?s breast. Again she bobbed her head to simulate a nodding motion as she then moved her head to actually look at him. Though she still could not meet his gaze, another training lesson that was beat into as a small child. She realized just how small her physique was to his own, how pathetic she looked against his soft coffee colored coat. Embarrassment was an every persistent emotion that made her ears grow hot and her face flush with color but thankfully she was covered in fur. They were not so different, but she could name over a thousand differences between them but that was not the point. Though she just nodded at his last sentence, born of pain.

(ooc)(she doesn't really know what to say and her voice will not work as she gets more tired. haha)

Nibelheim delighted in every whine, every whimper, every keen that passed those scarred velvet lips. They were the sweetest of harmonies, borne of misery, contention and ambiguity. He would allay her fears as they presented themselves like plebeians to a King?s dais, each to leave with a decree to trust in him, seek only his comforts, to look nowhere else but his side to stand. And he was heartened by the knowledge that Cashmere may very well surpass his expectations. She may very well be the perfect little peon. He offered another comfort, an assuring rub of his chin across her back that was both meant to reassure her as much as it was to lay his scent on her, a subtle act of tenure. She was tiring and he didn?t want to stress her too badly. If he wanted her to recover speedily he would need to find her ? them, a place to stay for the winter. A proper shelter was in order. Food too was going to be another thing to ponder over as she was stretched too thin for his liking. ?All in good time.? He rumbled quietly, a serene smile curling his lips. ?Rest libeling, I guard you tonight. None but zhe wind will brush your fur.? He soothed. Speech,

hush little libeling don?t say a word.

It was a strange thing to accept, or even think of accepting. In her pack she would have had her ear ripped off if she was to even touch another member of the pack and yet here she was leaning her miniscule weight against someone more than twice her size. She allowed him to groom her mangled fur until it show like pale woven precious metals, though she felt as if her allowing was like she had no other choice but it was not like she did not enjoy physical company that her body seemed to crave. It was funny how you never know what you will like until it is something you would have to die to even receive.



His words were like a cue as her heavy lidded eyes almost drooped, her head began to fall to her awaiting paws. It was ridiculous just how tired she was, how exhausting her aimless wandering had taken on her. Her location was still a mystery but she knew that she was far from the place that she was casted out of, how far had the healer drug her when she was unconscious? These questions littered her mind as she did not even move as her new mocha color companion rubbed against her, she was already in the state of unconsciousness. Her eyes had slipped under before her head had even reached her winter kissed paws, maybe this time she would not have the nightmares that plagued her every second she closed her eyes. Maybe this was a way to start a new chapter of her life, but would it be for better or just the same routine?

-thread ends with sleeping cashmere and guarding nibelheim-