Post by irirangi on Oct 7, 2011 17:57:01 GMT -5
Leaves are falling all around, It's time I was on my way.
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged for such a pleasant stay.
---
Irirangi sat at the mouth of the volcano. She had taken to doing this a lot lately, long and lanky body perched on the narrow lip as cold silver eyes stared into the molten depths below. The moon shown brightly in the clear sky, nearly full but not quite. Every so often a shooting star would streak by, unnoticed in the still night. It was hot despite Autumn's approach though it was not all that unpleasant. Considering the desert when the sun was up, the weather felt quite nice.
But it was lonely...
This was the first time Irirangi had sat alone, completely, truly, and utterly alone, in a long time. Zahir, it seemed, was not destined to live on. Thrice it had risen and thrice now it was crumbling into nothing. Vee had not been seen in ages, nor had his son, Auden. Kaoru too had disappeared and thus she was the only one left. Well, she and the ghost of the stubborn Alya... But even that bond had been weakening, fading. Alya had finally accepted fate; Alya was moving on.
It had been only minutes ago that the tiny, wispy frame of the former Arabian was sat beside her, also staring into the volcano's mouth. Her frame had been significantly weaker though, more transparent and unstable, flickering as it struggled to remain tethered to the earth for a few precious moments more. It was time, though. Alya had prolonged it for so long, but now there was nothing left to hold her here. She had sworn to herself to stay until she knew Zahir's future. The time of peace, however, had solidified the pack's downward sloping path. It had been clear for a while now, no matter how hard she tried to remain in denial. The pack was not meant to live.
Much of the last month had been spent trying to come to terms with this fact. Slowly she had been fighting a losing battle, grieving for the loss of the pack that had lost her. And all Irirangi could do was watch in complacent silence, offering a word of condolence here and there as she tried to finally guide the ghost safely to the afterlife. To be rid of Alya permanently had been something she'd wanted for a long time. But... now that it had happened... The Maned wolf felt strangely empty.
And so she sat beneath the stars, staring into the volcano as if it held all the answers. Alya was finally gone for good; she had managed to move on. No longer would she have to share her body, her mind, her life with the prissy little former alphess. She was herself again, her own entity. And for the first time in two years she felt so utterly alone. Alya's companionship had been so constant ever since she'd wandered into the Occasus that Iri had begun to take it for granted. Now that she was gone, on top of the pack having disappeared, Irirangi realized how isolating the desert really was.
She rose to shaky legs, a bit unsettled by the fact that she would never see or hear or be possessed by the Iranian again. Her spine cracked as she stretched and turned to leave, head and tail hung low. Alya had moved on; maybe it was time for her to do the same. She had never meant to stay in the desert for so long, never meant to be tethered to one pack. Now, finally, she had been set free. As she made her way down the ashen path, however, the aging female could not help but wonder. Why did freedom feel so... empty? Why did the weight on her shoulders feel heavier now than it had when she had been in the company of that infuriating spirit? Why did being alone have to hurt?---
But now it's time for me to go. The autumn moon lights my way.
For now I smell the rain, and with it pain, and it's headed my way.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------lyrics: ramble on by led zeppelin