how deep it goes. [open]

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[atrb=background,http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/8884/meritb.png] Trapped. Lost. Alone... How long had she been stuck here, lost to the recesses of the mines? It felt like far too long. Weeks had passed, maybe months. Thankfully she had trapped herself in a cavern with a small whole that connected outside. Water ran down the side of the wall and kept her somewhat hydrated. The earth too gave her sustenance, the minerals in the soil and a small bit of plant life all she'd had to eat. The poor girl was terribly malnourished. Quite frankly, it was a miracle she was still alive. The leggy white wolf was scrawny, her fur matted and covered in filth. She was in need of a good bath and smelled rather terrible. Each rib protruded clearly against the sagging flesh of her empty stomach and her voice was hoarse and pitiful from howling and whining with no response. What happened had been terrible. She'd been playing in the mines as usual when she'd made a terrible mistake. Meridian had miscalculated the safety of a cavern. It collapsed, trapping her within the confined space. For days she struggled to dig herself free only to have her efforts fail in vain. Then there was a brief period where she'd passed out, comatose for longer than she could imagine. It was only within the last few days that her body dared to wake. She was weak, fatigued, and half starved to death. Heavy rainfall had softened the earth around the small opening, however, and with some struggle she had managed to widen it enough to shove her head through. After what seemed like hours she forced her neck and shoulders through too, paws clawing at anything she could touch. Eventually the girl got her rear out as well and lay, collapsed, in the surface world. A deep breath filled her lungs with fresh air. It tasted wondrous and magical. Meridian was so pleased to be free. She sent out a pitiful howl, calling for her pack, the family that she'd thought abandoned her. "Papa, where are you?" The alpha of Descai was not her father, not biologically, but she had dubbed him as such so long ago against his wishes. Now she wanted nothing more than to see his golden tinged face or maybe the whitened face of Angel. Who else was in the pack? Who had joined in her absence? Why had no one come to save her? The small, purple dragonfly that danced on the edge of her vision for once did not hold all the answers. It simply fluttered in and out of sight, vanishing and reappearing. She was too weak to maintain the delusion. Her best friend, the product of her own mind, was slipping away from her just like her life almost had. Meridian struggled to stay awake, crying out again as loudly as she could. And then her vision slipped completely, eyes closing. Exhausted, she had passed out. Hopefully this time, however, she would be saved.

[atrb=background,http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/8884/meritb.png] tagged: open | words: 494 notes: Meridian is back! >3

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[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=background,http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/6955/kbt2b.png,true] After his brief and albeit minute interaction with the wolves in the plains of I’queyer, Kodiak was somewhat wishing for companionship. He did not want to belong to a pack; he just wanted someone to stand by his side. He was not suited for pack life, the last pack he was in the Alpha had ran him out; or did he leave voluntarily? Now he was not so sure of whose decision it was first. But once Papa found out his dearest Mother’s dirty secret, he was not to happy with the pups he had cared for for so long because he thought they were the product of his doing. Kodiak found himself drawn towards his homeland of Acerbus, anxious to discover what had happened to his old pack after he took off following closely behind his true blood father. Atreyu had turned out to be an exceptional provider for the juvenile. Though sane in his own right, he was not the best mentor when it came to “doing the right thing”. Kodiak learned to kill game large enough to survive on his own. Atreyu had also taught him how to fight, testing his skills against wolves that had either washed up on shore or had made the mistake of abandoning their pack. Recalling his first canine victim, the memory was bittersweet. His father demanded that he dismember the slain wolf; engorge himself like he would as if he had just brought down a calf. At the time Kodiak thought the act repulsive and caught the acid boiling up from his stomach in the back of this throat. He did not expect his father to be a cannibal, but he should have known better. Kodi wanted to run away, thinking that leaving Exodus for Atreyu had been a mistake… But his paws stayed planted where they stood, knowing that he could never outrun his father. Now Kodiak’s heart would not skip a beat if he came across a chance to devour one of his own. The taste was much different from that of an herbivore, sweeter even. Leathery nose sniffed at the new scent on the territory border; Exodus certainly did not claim this land anymore. Kodi always thought his brother Rovanfaer would have taken over, but the scent did not smell of him either. Another male had come and claimed the land of the disbanded Salen pack. Was any part of his family still here? It was a long shot but Kodiak had to find out. ----- He scoured over all the old places, through the thick fog of the Lliengas forest, making a loop around the Drarynough, and every place in between. He did not see a soul. Maybe it was just the one male who claimed the lands; and Alpha without a pack was not much of an Alpha. His last resort was to look near the den site. Had the new male abandoned the mines? Maybe the Alpha did not know of their existence and found another place for shelter. There were probably a hundred other places where Exodus could have made a home for his pack, it was likely that the new Alpha found them to be unpredictable in their strength, and therefore moved away from the original den site. As Kodiak drew nearer though, he heard a shallow repeated call for help. The howl was weak, but definitive in its meaning. Kodiak rushed up the carved out hillside to where the call was coming from. Upon reaching the site he paused momentarily to judge the emaciated wolf; a female with out a doubt, her cream colored coat barely recognizable since she was covered in loose mud. At first he did not recognize her as someone he knew, so he approached with caution. She was calling for her pack – little did she know that they had seemingly abandoned this land, and her by the looks of it. Since she did not know him, would she think he was a threat? Was she a threat? “Ma’am?” he asked, trying not to surprise her with his approach. “Please don’t worry; I’m here to help…” For as much as he was a killer, he was also a protector, and he wanted to assist this poor creature for whatever reason. As he spoke he walked slowly towards the female, making a wide circle around her as to not intrude into her personal space; though once he caught a glimpse of her face his jaw dropped with surprise. "Meri?!” ***** words: seven forty-nine. muse level: high. notes: none.

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[atrb=background,http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/8884/meritb.png] Meridian floated on the edge of a dream world. Her conscious seemed to bob up and down in her mind like a buoy in the sea. Every time it rose she attempted to grasp at wakefulness, only to have it fall again and her thoughts return to darkness. She did not know how long this cycle went on for, how long she tried to escape the blackened state of exhaustion. It could have been only minutes. Or, maybe the elapsed time was closer to several hours. Either way, she was thankful when she heard a familiar voice. It was an odd voice, one she had not heard in a long time. Maybe it had been forgotten or else lost in the recesses of her memories. It was one she was not sure she would ever hear again. And, now that it was whispered plainly in her ears, she could not believe she was hearing it. It tickled her core and sent an excited heat through her body, that sort of burning passion you share for a loved one you thought gone forever or dead. With some effort she cracked an eye open, trying to stare into the handsome face of her brother. "Kodi..." It was soft, hoarse, and spoken with an air of disbelief. There stood her brother in all his glory, a rather fine looking specimen in comparison to herself. It was funny, really. He had taken off with their true father, Atreyu, and embarked on the journey of a loner. She, however, had chosen to stay behind and accept the embrace of a pack. Ironically, she was the malnourished, ill fed, poorly cared for sibling. With a great deal of difficulty she managed to pull herself to her feet. Then she launched herself at her brother with a soft whimper, half expecting him to vanish like her dragonfly the moment she touched him. After all, it was not out of the realm of possibility for her to suffer delusions of a family lost. "Kodi, Kodi, Kodi!" Meridian pushed herself close to her brother, licking at his chin and desperate for any comfort she could get. It had been far too long since she had seen anyone, but especially him of all wolves. Attention starved, weak, and of little sanity, she could not seem to get close enough as she pressed her body against her brother's. She craved for the protection and love that his embrace always offered, and as she rolled onto her back, belly up, submitting to him, she whined again. For the first time in her life she wanted to be taken care of. "Kodi... I'm hungry..."

[atrb=background,http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/8884/meritb.png] tagged: Kodi | words: 438 notes: Meri luvs her brother <3

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[atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=background,http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/6955/kbt2b.png,true] Kodiak had not realized he was not breathing and suddenly there was a sharp pain in his chest as his lungs screamed for oxygen, quickly followed by the intake of the very thing his body begged for. The crisp clean air of Acerbus filled his chest as his long lost sister mumbled his name. Her dark emerald eyes were all too familiar to their father’s, but set in her pale face, they were all Meridian. In his exhale he whispered her nickname one more time, “Meri…” though this time he did not say it as a question. She was here. Flesh, blood and bone, Meridian was here in front of him. In her efforts to greet him Kodiak took a half step forward before she made it to her feet. She looked as if she might have collapsed, and he would have been there to catch her and prop her up. Instead he stiffly reclined to his haunches, muscles tensed as he waited for her to reach him. She seemed so fragile, he did not dare move and share the same affection for fear that she might break. Her love was overwhelming though. As she pressed herself into him and lapped at his muzzle the tension began to slowly melt away like an ice sculpture. Kodiak started breathing again and as the oxygen filled blood cells coursed through his veins and pumping life back into his muscles he relaxed. Meridian’s husky voice filled his ears, almost pleading with him to return her affection. He had not shared this type of relation with another wolf for some time. Atreyu was not a father that coddled his children, rarely did he even express that he was proud of this offspring. But this was Meri, she was his sister and she needed him to thaw out completely. Salmon-hued tongue protruded past his lips and onto her dirty forehead. The kiss was tender and barely there, but as her tongue touched his cheek and she pressed herself into his chest even more he could not help but repeat the act over and over. With each lick he was becoming more intense. His tail finally wagging wildly behind him, he rose to his full height just as his sister lowered herself to the ground. He wanted to tell her so much, but he did not know where to start. She interrupted his thoughts repeating his name and he growled lowly, almost as if he was a cat purring. “I’m hungry.” Eyes wandered to her stomach where even under a full winter coat he could see her abdomen sunken in and her rib cage protruding. A slow anger was boiling from under all of the happiness; angry at himself for leaving her behind, angry that he had not been here all of this time to watch over her, to make sure she did not get in to this type of trouble. Angry with the pack that he assumed she belonged too and this so-called Alpha that had not been here to take care of a pack member, Kodiak’s beloved younger sister. For now the anger was a low simmer and well contained under the layer of extreme happiness; happiness for all the right reasons, not for no reason at all. He felt completely healthy in this very moment. He wanted to stay here with her, but Meridian needed food, and water. He nuzzled into her neck and whispered, “Meri I’m so sorry, I’ll never leave you like that again. I swear.” Pulling away to look her in the eyes he added with a smile on his face, “C’mon, lets go down to the lake and get some water. I’ll hunt for us while you rest once we’re there.” He did not care if he was breaking etiquette by hunting on claimed lands. This was rightfully his territory in his mind. And besides, if this Alpha did happen upon them, Kodiak Black had more than a few words he wanted to say to him. ***** words: six sixty-seven. muse level: high. notes: Kodi lubs his sistah.

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[atrb=background,http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/8884/meritb.png] Etiquette be damned. As a part of this pack Meridian needed food and she would get it however she deemed fit. If that meant turning her brother into her personal slave until she was feeling better, so be it. He was here under her protection and there was nothing she would let Vorilye do about it. He may have been the alpha but these were her lands, her property by birth. She was simply letting the new pack "rent space" so to speak, and watching over them to make sure they didn't muck her beloved home up too much. She was the one in true power here; she was convinced of it; the dragonfly told her much. And since these were really her lands, Kodiak was not at fault. They were his lands by birthright as well and nothing would ever change that. His deep voice was comforting and she licked at the underside of his muzzle one last time before he pulled away. Laying her head back in the dirt, she stared up at him with sparkling eyes, believing his promises with all her heart. He was her brother, after all. She had no reason to doubt her brother, especially when the insect delusion hovered so proudly behind his head as if Kodi was the chosen one. There was no doubt or fear or worry in her mind as she gazed up at him. Kodiak Black was her past, present, and future. She would follow him to the ends of the earth now that she had him back. For someone who in truth preferred to be alone, the last several days proved how awful of an existence she really had. She needed someone in her life, anyone, and the one she chose to put on that pedestal was her brother. Nodding her head weakly she rolled to her stomach and struggled to pull herself up. "Alright, Kodi..." Her voice was weak but melodic, and in an effort to keep herself standing she leaned her shoulder against his. He would be her rock, her crutch, her touchstone. As long as she had him, the world was right and beautiful and everything had its rightful place. It was when she was left to her own devices that the delusions had their strongest hold. They whispered and encouraged the worst behaviors, bringing out her true nature. But as long as she had her Kodiak, she would be okay. He was her reminder that she was cared for, loved even, and that little bit of suppressed emotion was enough to keep her from becoming bitter. Meridian took several steps on shaky legs, leaning against her brother for support. As long as he was willing to hold her up, she would be able to make it to the lake with little problems. The thoughts of the murky waters were tantalizing, teasing, and as the dragonfly bobbed on ahead, leading the way, she could not quench the bottomless longing. How long had it been since she'd tasted fresh water? How long had it been since she'd eaten bloodied, once living meat? How long had it been since she'd felt like herself? Too long was the simple answer, but now that she had her brother back it was as if the dark rainclouds were disappearing and she could finally see the light of the day.

[atrb=background,http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/8884/meritb.png] tagged: kodi | words: 556 notes: notesnotesnotes