Hell And Back (Open)

[Aaricia]

Aaricia had been on her own know for who knows how long. She had lost count of the days. She had woken up early that morning. The sun was just starting to peek it's head over the horizon. Drops of dew perched themselves on each blade of grass. The wet feeling wasn't pleasant on her paws but the chill was keeping her awake. She was used to sleeping in until the sun was higher in the sky and all the dew drops had dried up but last night, she was haunted by the memory of having her whole family murdered. Aaricia remembered that day like it was yesterday. Another pack had attacked them for no reason and in all the confusion and fighting, it gave Aaricia enough time to run for safety. She had not been old at the time, only a few months but she knew enough that if she had stayed, she would have died. There were parts of her that felt guilty for leaving her family knowing that their doom was upon them. Her brothers and her father were massive beasts of wolves and the other pack had been smaller but somehow they still won. Aaricia kicked herself mentally for weeks for not staying and dying with them as a family. Her need to live, her desire for survival was what had saved her and it was what had kept her alive thus far.

For the first while, all she could do was scavenge. It was disgusting. Eating the scraps of what others had left behind. Being alone had made her do things that she never thought she would be able to do. Hunger will change everything you think you know about yourself. The scraps were enough to keep her alive but she could never find enough to be truly satisfied. Her frame had been nothing but skin and bones. Her hip bones had protruded through her fur. Her ribs were not seen but easily felt. She had no idea how to survive on her own. The former princess had never needed to hunt.

Luckily for her, she had stumbled across a couple of friendly loners. She had told them of her situation and they could not deny the fact that she was starving. They took pity on her and fed her a meal. They then taught her how to hunt. It had taken her a while to get the hang of it but once she could take down prey for herself regularly, she thanked the loners for their kindness and left. It was true that part of her wanted to stay with them, to try and have another family. But it was obvious that the female had gotten pregnant and they were trying to have a family of their own. They wouldn't have had the time for her.

Now at a year and a half old, Aaricia had more experience with the real world than most pups her age had. Perhaps her family's demise had been a blessing in disguise. It had forced her to grow up quickly and make decisions for herself. She was now fully grown and since learning to hunt, she had gained a healthy amount of weight. It was true that she didn't have much but she didn't need much. Food, water and shelter were her only needs. She had come to accept that her family was gone and were never coming back. For a while she had thought that maybe a couple of them would have survived but Aaricia had been to most territories on this main island and never come across any familiar faces. She had been to Tiayr before and it was one of her favorite places. She hadn't been anywhere that rivaled it's beauty. The hills, the water, the grass, everything about this place was beautiful.

The former princess had been climbing up and down hills all morning to get to the frigid body of water. It was hidden amongst the hills and if one didn't know where it was, they'd probably never find it. She hoped to get there in time to watch the sunrise over the water. The pool came into view and Aaricia smiled. She trotted down the hill and sat by the water side. She dipped her muzzle into the cool water and took a drink. She had walked a long way today and needed it. She raised her head and watched the sky start to turn pink and orange and blue.

She had thought about living here permanently the last time that she had visited but Aaricia knew that wouldn't be possible. The young female followed the food. Wherever her prey went, she went. She had to follow her life source in order to survive. It scared her to think that she might starve, again. That fear kept her moving. It kept her from settling in one spot. Hunting would be good here for the summer and fall but as soon as winter came (possibly even before to make it to her destination on time) she would have to move down south to the desert.

[Deleted]

The sun was already setting – this was not good. Goliath had only parted with Datura for a mere day, and already, he could not find her; the guise of night would only serve to make his hunt for the small female even more arduous and inevitably result in an embittered mood. Anger was yet to cross his mind, so for now, it was merely impatience at himself for causing this entire nuisance, as the decision to leave her sleeping restlessly at the first light of dawn had been his own decision. He’d hoped the sudden freedom would instil his trust in her, but that progression in their relationship was likely to come undone if he now had to hunt her down with a fouled temper.

His day had been eventful, for the most part – he’d happened across an enormous wolf in the Nyjoro hills, a giant similar to his own breed, which reminded him that there were still many hidden mysteries contained within the lush landmass he called home. Things still managed to exist without his knowing, eluding him, and this both baffled and disconcerted the young brute, who wished to know all there was to know, and nothing less.

He followed the Nytyte River southward, assuming that his mouthy companion would not have ventured any farther to find clean water. The coming evening invited its nocturnal musk into the dewy surroundings, and the whirring of insects still enlivened by the heat of day served as a petulant ringing in his ears, distracting his ability to discern Datura’s trail in a blind bit to find her. Surely she could not have gone far in the span of a single day. She would not leave him now, after pledging with such honesty that she would stay. Not unless she was afflicted by the same ‘suicidal bravery’ that the brute he had met earlier that day had seen in him. A slow snort left his flared nostrils – honesty born from desperation held no merit. She very well may have fled from him, and he had given her a day’s grace to place as much distance between them as possible.

Before long, the vague appearance of a lake appeared ahead, his tumultuous thoughts preoccupying his mind so much so that he barely noticed the transition in his surroundings until the softness of grass met with the gravelly crunch of the shallow lake bed, the smoothed stones heaving from under his enormous presence. He halted absently, sharp eyes gazing down at his brawny forepaws and noting the deep trenches left in the places of his weight. He had been to this lake once before – a meaningless afterthought upon finding himself meandering here without intention.

His eyes travelled to the wide expanse of water, illumined by the scant sunlight that would soon be gone from the sky. A weighted sigh escaped him, and as he steadily circled his weight to return to the path from where he came, a small blur of white in his peripherals caught his mind’s eye. His deadpan expression veiled his curiosity, as he turned his gargantuan head to inspect the ashen ghost from across the lake, his mind not registering the creature’s scent as he was currently downwind.

The shape was distinctly lupine, the smell indistinct from the lake’s crisp aroma. His body mechanically fell into position – head lifting in a regal statement of his authority, and tail curved upwards with domineering intent. The impulse to tense himself in preparation could not be helped, the physical changes barely even perceived by the brute. Perhaps the creature would flee upon the dreadful sight of him, if it had its wits about it.

As he advanced upon the creature, neck arched and hackles not yet raised, he realised its size was unquestionably small – perhaps not even a wolf, but a misfortunately coloured fox? Such a pelt could not be easily hidden, and in the evening light, it stood out rather garishly upon the lake’s still edge. Closer still, he advanced towards it – the scent finally arrived upon his nose, and his lips twisted back to grant himself an enhanced taste, and he savoured the feminine musk, an undeniable sweetness that had his tongue lolling with hedonistic delight. The heady fragrance piqued his interest, and was neither familiar nor unfamiliar – as though remembered indistinctly from somewhere distant and withdrawn, perhaps a dream, or perhaps from nothing.

His paws stilled in their stride. He was close enough now to discern the small curves of her frame, the clear posture, the colour of her eyes…

Her eyes – blue, like his own. Like his brother’s, and father’s. It was an unsettling icy hue that could not easily be forgotten. His ears flattened uncertainly, a weakness rarely beheld by the vast male, and his body drew away from her so insistently that his large paws were barely able to accommodate the swiftness of his reversal.

“No…” his voice was soft, by it was soon curbed by a fierce growl, the sound descending so low into his throat that his even his rugged jaws shuddered from the amplitude of the sound. It took a few steady breaths to reclaim his voice, and his glare fell everywhere – the sky, the lake, to the ground – everywhere, except on her. Aaricia was dead. She was gone. Her body had rotted. It had taken him almost a year to come to terms with this, and his mind was not so pliant that it would yield for anything else, even when the evidence for it was standing in plain sight.

She was not real. None of this was – perhaps his entire day had been a dream. He had met a wolf so much larger than himself that he had to reconsider everything he knew of his own species, and in this very beast, he had seen his brother. It was not so much of a stretch for a mad wolf to be visited by two deceased siblings in the same day – this was the only viable rationality that explained the liar that stood before him now.

His wild glare narrowed upon her, teeth snapping in forewarning. “Get out of my head - get out, now,” his voice rasped viciously, his fur bristling in ire and confusion. The scorn in his voice was not directed at her, but at himself – this was his own disease, his mind that deceived him and convinced him that good and evil were imperceptible lies. This could not be Aaricia, the only thing he had ever loved – the last thing in his life that had been clean and untainted by madness, and he would not have the memory of Aaricia, too, consumed by his twisted mind. He would tear her apart where she stood now before he let his mind ruin her.
His sister was a being so pure, so undamaged by their family’s strain of sickness… she did not deserve this. To be mocked by an imagined impostor – a beautiful and fair demon that seemed so real, he could have reached out and touched her gently, but for fear of crumpling the final sliver of sanity that existed within him, he stayed far from her. The temptation grew, but he forced it back. For years, he had forced it back. The madness, the anger, the loss - he had gone from feeling all the love and compassion in the world for his sister, to attempting to feel nothing at all for her, for his own sake, and now that composure threatened to crush him. Every breath he took to calm himself only served to overwhelm him further.

His snarl began to shiver into something unrecognisable, and the sound that followed was so abjectly pitiable, he couldn’t even be sure it was his own throat emitting the pained whine. He was so furious, and in this instant, so alone – he wished beyond anything that she could have been real, but he refused to allow himself to believe that she was anything more than a cruel joke imparted from his own madness.

WORDS: 1341 | Muse: Pre' good | TAGGED: Aaricia

[Aaricia]

Just as the white fae had watched the sunrise many hours ago, she was now watching it set. She had spent her whole day sitting here by the water. Some would say that it was a waste of a day to do nothing but relax and lounge but Aaricia thought she deserved it. She deserved to have one happy day where she didn't have to worry about her next meal or being attacked by strangers. She was totally at peace. This had been a perfect day and she would have given anything to relive it one more time. The sun had been warm and comforting. While the great orb of light was still high in the sky, Aaricia had even taken a dip in the chilly water. It had been heavenly.

Her fur was now completely dry. All evidence of her swim had disappeared. She watched the fish in the water for a source of entertainment until the sun was low enough to make the sky change colors again.

The young female heard a low growl and the sound startled her. She jumped from her sitting position to face the other wolf. She saw his gargantuan size and her ears fell back on her head. Pure fear struck the small she-wolf. Her body crouched, her tail hung low and her eyes darted, looking for a way out. The large male snapped at her and told her to get out of his head. She looked at him with a confused expression. She had not done anything to him. If anything, he was the one assaulting her. His voice sounded familiar but different at the same time. Had she met this wolf before? Surely she would have remembered his great size and she sure as hell wouldn't have done anything to piss him off so badly. This male rivaled the size of her father, a feat she thought impossible after her family had been killed. She had never met a wolf that had even come close to the size of her brothers or her father. "I don't understand...." she trailed off, not knowing what to say. That was a rare thing for the friendly she-wolf. This situation was almost too bizarre for her to even understand. This massive wolf had come out of nowhere and she wasn't even sure if she'd met him before and here he was, yelling at her. He was far enough away to that if he should attack her, she may have a chance of running away but that was unlikely. She had to come up with something. She had not come this far to be murdered.

There was one distinct thing about this male though. His eyes. They were icy blue like her own. She couldn't see very well in the fading light but he did look a little like... Goliath. Aaricia had left the battle scene before anyone had actually died so it was possible that her brother could have made it out alive but she had been convincing herself for the better part of a year that he was dead. It was hard for her to accept the possibility but if he was her brother, she needed to know. She didn't care if he hated her, she only wanted to know he was alive and well. "... Goliath? Is that you?" Aaricia's body crept up from her crouched position to standing upright. Her ears were perked forward, trying to get a better look at the male next to her.

She couldn't believe her eyes. It had to be him, it just had to. Had fate brought them back together again? "It's me, Aaricia, do you remember me?" She asked with hope in her eyes and voice. She hadn't headed the wolf's warning, in fact she had all but forgotten it. There was a chance that her brother was alive and if that was the case, maybe more were alive?

It hadn't occurred to the young female that perhaps all she had done was add more flame to the fire that was building up inside of the wolf next to her. She had been so overtaken by joy and happiness that she hadn't taken consideration for her own health and safety. She wanted to run to him and burry her face in his pelt, to kiss his cheek, to know that he was really here. It may have been stupid of her to jump to such an unlikely conclusion but, she had to latch on to any sliver of hope she had.

[Deleted]

Goliath’s snarl receded as the white female spoke, her voice shaken by fear and genuine confusion. His eyes, previously shining wild with madness, dulled noticeably; his expression became guarded, suspicion quick to steal away his frustration. Perhaps this was not Aaricia – the hope that his insanity was not overcoming him was torturous, and the snarl flickering in his lips stilled to a hard scowl. Her voice was far too different for him to recognise, as was her scent. This may well have been another female that beared an inexplicable resemblance to his sister, and if that wsy the case, he would have been quick to temper his behaviour.

The stern misunderstanding written on his face was mirrored in her meek gaze, until a peculiar recognition settled into her chilling eyes. She recognised him, and as she tentatively stood, the words that came from her mouth enlivened his anger once more.

Goliath? Is that you?

Her calm eagerness seemed brave in the face of the monster that had only moments ago been spitting and raving with volatility. She seemed as placid and forgiving as she had ever been, and confronted again with the notion that she was a spectre assailing his mind, Goliath could not help but bare his teeth at his sibling who had been dead to him for so long. He refused to answer her.

It’s me, Aaricia, do you remember me?

A bitter, unsettling laughter interrupted his snarl. “Mock me all you like, devil, I would never forget my own sister.” His voice was guttural and punishing, and as his hackles rose from the purge of adrenaline in his veins, he approached her with a slow, stalking gait. “Aaricia is gone. You expect me to believe that you outlived our father and brothers when calamity struck us down? You were so much weaker than us all.”

His face was inches from hers, so close that the whites of his eyes blazed in the scant light. His nostrils flared with the forced release of air, the proximity to his sister’s pale spirit playing havoc with his mind and churning his rampant thoughts with bittersweet reminiscence. She had been so lovely in her youth, a frail vision of their mother. They had become so close, his side as much a part of her as she was to him, and now the scar that she had engraved upon him was torn open and bleeding. How cruel his mind was.

“She is dead, now let her rest – before I tear my own eyes out at the sight of you.”

WORDS: 427| Muse: Meh | TAGGED: Aaricia

[Aaricia]

The large wolf before her quieted his snarl. His eyes dulled to a more reasonable level. Perhaps he had recognized her from her voice? Of course it had changed dramatically since the time they were pups. Her voice once rang like the sound of a bell but now was smooth and soft like the sound of a bubbling stream. But there was still a chance that it had held enough resemblance for him to recognize her. He was still scowling at her and his face still looked as hard as stone but at least the threat of death seemed no longer on the table.

However, as soon as the words came out of her mouth, his anger seemed to rush back to him. No words came from his mouth when she had recognized him. He only stood and looked at her with an angry and stern expression. Was this not her brother? Had she misunderstood this situation? If that were the case, it wouldn't make sense for him to be so angry. Couldn't have this been solved by simply introducing himself?

His cold and bitter laughter was frightening but the term "Devil" was hurtful. "Devil?" she repeated softly. She had never been addressed as such a term. She knew her brother suffered from mental instability like her father had but she never thought him capable of calling her such a name. Couldn't he see her? Wasn't she right here? What could possibly cause any doubt in his mind that she was his sister. He obviously remembered a wolf named Aaricia but didn't recognize her as that sister. He said he'd let himself starve than forget her. Goliath still loved her just as she still loved him. The joy of knowing her brother loved her was crushed by the pain of the hostility of this situation.

"I'm not gone," she pleaded with him before continuing, " Yes, I should have died in the attack. I should have stayed and died with my family but I couldn't. I tried to find you so we could leave together but I couldn't find you in the madness. I had to leave to save my life and I've been praying that you and Saosin and Iinan would make it out alive. I almost starved to death out there on my own but I found a couple who helped me learn to hunt and care for myself. It was pure luck that I had made it out of the fight and I would be dead if it hadn't been for those kind wolves." Aaricia spilled her story to her brother in a desperate attempt to get him to believe her. She had to fight back the tears during the telling of her tale. It was a hard time in her life to remember. She never wanted to go back there again.

Goliath's voice was deadly serious. He told her to leave or he would harm himself. "Goliath, please don't hurt yourself." She could feel the tears coming back. He really didn't recognize her but she would give him one last chance to prove her wrong. "If after everything you've heard, you still don't believe me, I will leave." Aaricia's voice cracked and was weak with sadness. A tear fell from her bright blue eyes as she looked into the face of her brother. Crying was not something she liked to do but this rush of emotions in such a short amount of time caused it. She had gone from frightened, to elated to devastated all in just a few short minutes. Should her presence cause Goliath more pain and suffering than he already had to deal with, she would subject herself to losing him again. They had had such a strong bond as pups. It was a shame it had all come down to this.

---

Goliath

[Deleted]

As the female explained herself, her voice becoming hurried with her mounting anxiety, Goliath’s ears flattened in exasperation. Her sweet voice was a torture to the enormous brute, and though his eyes had clouded with cold detachment, his heart pounded in the deep chamber of his chest. His upper lip quivered as his snarl was withdrawn entirely from his face, the searing anger of his expression stonewashed by her tearful response.

His gaze hardened into something unrecognisable, and he turned to her with an expression that was altogether desolate. “Even if you'd found me in the madness, sister…” He echoed her words in absent contemplation. “There’s not a damned thing you could've done. I was not meant to escape that madness – it found a home in me. It became... me.”

His head lowered unsteadily as a guttural bark of laughter rumbled in his throat. His mind was a cruel jest – perhaps she spoke the truth, but he had no way of sifting through his own fractured perception to find the one fragment of reality that he wished was true. If she was alive, and this was not conjured from his mind’s festered wound, did it even matter? Did any of it? Her death had already driven him far beyond the cusp of sanity, from which there was no reckoning. There was no cure for things irreversible. Whether alive or dead, she played no part in saving him now.

Her soft voice brought him back to awareness, the grimness gone from his face, though confusion remained.

If after everything you've heard, you still don't believe me, I will leave.

His brilliantly cold eyes widened in unease, and he unknowingly, he stepped closer to her. “No.” It was not a plea, but a command, his voice dark and authoritative. “Whether real or not, I… I would descend into madness just to stay with you.”

Had he not already done so? Her disappearance had stirred much of the lunacy that had been dormant in him since birth, worsening and steepening his mind’s descent. Perhaps if their youth had taken a pleasant course, then it was beyond the odds that he wouldn’t be the twisted wolf he was today. There was a chance that, in his innocence, he could have staved off his lunacy, but not for long – perhaps he would have had a year or two of blessed normality before his father’s folly took hold of him, and shook the dear sense from his mind. It did not matter now.

He stepped closer again, his stride steadier, until his neck rested over her fragile body, holding her in place. His head was almost the size of her torso’s entirety, and as his broad cheek leaned over the small of her back, the sheer weight of his cranium was enough to pin her in position. Despite the chaos in his mind, there was one single, shining thread of absolute truth - she would never escape from him again.

His voice was dangerously soft, and spoken with such devoted intensity that the meaning behind it could have easily been skewed for something dark and sinister, but perhaps his sister would understand that this was not his intention. “You will rue the day that you abandoned me, sister – but, for you, I would forgive anything.”

WORDS: 551 | Muse: Getting better | TAGGED: Aaricia

[Aaricia]

As Aaricia explained herself, she could see the stone cold expression in her brother's face and his lips curled over his teeth to snarl at her. She had never seen this murderous side to her brother before. They had always been so close when they were young, had the past year changed him so much? It was possible as she herself had changed over the past year. Being a loner had made her smarter, more resiliant, resourceful and stronger. He had never done anything to hurt her in the past but he had also never thought she was dead either. She feared that this would be her last day. It was possible that her brother could choose to end her life and there wasn't much she could do about it. Perhaps she could run for a short while but she knew her brother's stamina would outlast hers. It would almost be a relief at this point to be dead. At least her brother would know that she was telling the truth. You can't kill something already dead.


His expression turned to something so harsh that she hardly recognized him as her brother. He was withdrawn and distant from her. He was shutting off any emotion she may have triggered in him. She was certain this would be her end.


"Even if you'd found me in the madness, sister... there's not a damned thing you could have done. I was not meant to escape that madness - it found a home in me. It became... me."


Her brother's words were confusing. Was he speaking of the maddness? Had it completely consumed him like it had their father. If it had, it would not bode well for Aaricia. Maddness can drive wolves to do things they wouldn't normally do. He had called her "sister" though. Did he finally realize that she was real? Did her story convince him? She had been disturbed by his comment about the maddness but the term "sister" meant more to her in that moment than it ever had. However, he also said there was nothing she could have done to help him. Would he have not come with her? "You... wouldn't have come with me?" When the words came from her soft lips, it felt as though a sharp knife were piercing her chest. Perhaps her brother didn't love her as much as she thought he did.


His head lowered and a frightening laugh came from his maw. She had been wrong. He had not believed her. The tone in his laughter spelled death for the young white fae, she was sure of it. His eyes widened when she offered to simply leave. She didn't want to cause her brother more pain than she already had even if it meant loosing him again. He demanded that she stay. She was first surprised that he wanted her to stay. Hadn't just moments before, he told her he couldn't stand looking at her? She would have thought that he wanted her to leave. She was also surprised that he had demanded that she stay. He had never demanded her to do anything before. He had always been soft and gentle with her but perhaps being a loner had hardened him. He still didn't believe her existence but he wanted to stay with her, even if it meant traveling farther into insanity. He had stepped closer to her, and again. His neck hovered over her back and she remained still. She could feel the weight of his massive cheek on the small of her back but she could also tell that he held most of it off, as to not crush her to the ground. For that, she was thankful. Having her back injured or possibly broken would have made for a very unpleasant death. It was still possible that in his own logic, killing her would be the best option. Until he was certain of her existence, that would always be a fear.


He spoke to her again, his voice was chillingly soft. He told her she'd rue the day when she abandoned him. The would "abandon" made her heart sink. She had never intented to cause so much pain and suffering in her brother. Instead of pulling away like any normal wolf would in this situation, Aaricia trusted her brother and came closer to him. She touched her face to his neck and took in his smell. He told her that he would forgive her which meant she probably wouldn't die today. She whispered back to him, "There's no need to threaten me, Brother. I never wanted to leave you and now that we've found each other, I'll never leave again. We can stay together forever, just you and me. " Her voice was laced with love and affection. She hoped that the touch of her fur and the feeling of her breath on his neck would have been enough proof for her large brother but even if it wasn't, she'd keep her promise and they'd stay together.

[Deleted]

As the weight of his head held her close, he relished in her movement towards him. She did not pull away as he had feared she would – he half expected her slender figure to dissipate in the wind and be swept from him forever, but as her warmth was returned when his touch against her forced her to stay, she seemed… very real.

Perhaps she was.

A shaking breath left his nostrils as a growl, at first, before softening into a contented rumble. He had been holding his breath until now without realising, and as the rigid tension in his body eased, he inhaled her fully, his mouth opening to coax her silken fur to his tongue, slowly tracing along her shoulder as a silent, unspoken apology for his behaviour. His sister had returned to him – he should have howled in elation, or wept in bliss, but instead, he had trampled their reunion with hostility and unsolicited threats, as was his patented manner. Of course, the word ‘sorry’ would have never left his lips; after all, she was the one who had left him. She had fled to save herself, but if she had stayed, she probably wouldn’t have survived. He would not hold that against her – were it anyone else, he would have torn them apart for betrayal, but his sister was a blessed creature so pure, the thought of bringing harm upon her was blasphemous.

They had lived in the womb together, closer than any friend or lover, and had been born beside each other; they had nursed off of the other’s warmth, and it was from her alone that he had learned what it was to love something. Of course his brothers had been dear to him in their own, antagonistic ways, but his sister was the single creature that would understand and forgive him for anything - or any madness. His muzzle nestled deeper into her fur, his strong neck curving over her and tightening his grip.

There's no need to threaten me, Brother. I never wanted to leave you and now that we've found each other, I'll never leave again. We can stay together forever, just you and me.

Her words were almost too perfect to hear, recited in her gentle, adoring way – it was barely enough to rile his suspicions again, but as she was openly placing her trust in him, he could not turn from her now. He inhaled her once more, subdued by the reprieve of her familiar smell, and his tail swept loosely as her mere presence soothed his aggressed mind.

“Ahri… Ahr… ricia…” he murmured absently, mindlessly, testing the names on his tongue to savour the emotions they might bring him. Was it ironic that their mother’s name was so subtly entwined with hers? Two creatures that had brought him so much love and devastation in a single name – it angered him, remembering their mother, but it was an anger from a lack of sadness, almost as though a wrought iron gate had closed his entry into grief and mourning. His breathing slowed with sombre contemplation, wondering whether his sister was still agonised by the loss. “You have our mother’s scent, Aaricia.”

Regardless of her response, he would know the truth. He knew Aaricia better than anyone, because he had convinced himself that he loved her more than anyone else could. It was surreal having her beside him again, and his mind was yet to properly adjust to her resurrection. “You will never leave me again,” he reiterated her words harshly, his attempts to soften his voice unsuccessful as the warning underlying his tone threatened to spill over and expose the uncertainty of her promise.

In a perfect world, their entire family would have survived. His brothers, his mother, even their great beast of a father – but he could happily settle for having only his sister with him.

“...Will you return home with me, sister?” the words slipped from his tongue before the thought had even manifested, and his eyes opened in a silent realisation. With their pack disbanded, their homeland was a graveyard never to be visited – their family were ghosts that never slept, alone and incapable of rest. Peace would not be found for them for as long as Ina’mos remained desolated; new life was needed to replace what had been slain, otherwise… he himself would never find peace as well. That, he was sure of – the first stride towards healing his inner scars meant returning to Ina’mos, with or without his sister, and finding whatever future that could be salvaged from that sacred ground.

WORDS: 766| Muse: Great | TAGGED: Aaricia

[Aaricia]

A growl left Goliath's lips as the two siblings held each other in an embrace but it quickly softened to a content rumble. His tensions eased as did hers. She had forgotten what it was like to be really loved by another wolf. Sure, wolves pitied her and felt sorry for the young wolfess that lost her family but none of them really loved her like Goliath did. His expressions of that love were hard to understand sometimes, sometimes they frightened her, but she knew that he loved her. She hoped that he knew that she felt the same way. There was nothing like the bond that held siblings together.

Goliath's tongue traced along her snow white coat as if he were apologizing for his behavior towards her earlier. She understood that she'd probably never get a spoken apology from her brother. It wasn't in his nature just as it wasn't in her father's nature. However, his gesture of kindness was enough of an apology for her. She rubbed her head against his neck as her own silent way of forgiving him. There wasn't much that Goliath could do that Aaricia wouldn't forgive him for. He was her brother, the only family she had left. For a year, she thought he was dead and now he had returned to her. Today was the happiest day of her life despite the hostile starting to their reunion.

Her bond with her brother was one that could never be broken. They had grown together inside their mother's womb, they played together through their pup-hood. He was one of five wolves that she had loved unconditionally. The others being her two other brothers and her parents. Now, Goliath was the only one left. He was one of the first wolves that she had formed a bond with and the only wolf who's bond with her was so strong that it brought him back from the dead. Nothing would keep them a part now.

Goliath inhaled her fur, she felt the white hairs on her back stand as they lifted from Goliath's mighty breath. His tail began to sway back and forth in contentment and hers did the same. He said their mother's name, or so she thought. He was noticing the similarities between her name and her mother's name. Aaricia had known there was a distinct similarity in the pronunciation of their names but never asked her parents why they had done that. Perhaps it was because she was the only female pup from the litter. Perhaps it was because she was nearly identical to her mother. Perhaps it was both. Perhaps it was neither. With her parents dead, she'd never know.

"You have our mother's scent, Aaricia."

That, was a similarity that Aaricia had never known. Ahri had smelled sweet. Her scent had been a comfort for Aaricia when she was just a small pup. The pain of remembering her mother was one that she was accustomed to. She wondered if it would ever get easier, if it would ever stop hurting. She exhaled and the tension released from her muscles. Every time she would think of her mother or father, her muscles would get tense without her consent and she would have to release that tension. It was symbolic to letting go of the pain for the time being. As the breath would leave her body, the pain would leave her soul. Until one of those dreaded thoughts would enter her brain again. "Thank you," she breathed. To her, being compared to her mother was a compliment. Her beauty was incomparable. Ahri had meant the world to Aaricia and knowing that they had one more thing in common was more than a compliment, it was a comfort. Perhaps she would follow in her mother's footsteps. She would join a pack, should she find one that suited her, and someday have children of her own.

She was brought back to the current situation from her train of thought by her brother's harsh words. He had threatened her again and her muscles re-tightened. Her brother was quiet unstable and didn't always think straight. He didn't follow the same rules as the rest of the world did. He didn't have any mental limitations. Everything was possible. Did he not understand how much he was scaring her? Perhaps being away from her for so long had made him forget how sensitive she was. She didn't need threats. She had already promised to stay with him and if he knew her at all, he knew that she never broke a promise. "Brother, I promise. I love you, you're my family. I won't leave you again." Though her body was rigid with fear and her tail had stopped swaying, her voice was smooth and quiet.

The fact that her brother kept threatening her was one that she was not taking lightly. She loved Goliath but wasn't stupid. She knew that someday he might make good on those threats. There was no way of knowing exactly what he might do.

His next words surprised her. "... Will you return home with me, sister?" Home. That wasn't a word that she had used a lot over the past year. She hadn't thought of ever going back. In fact, the idea of returning to place that she had almost died at frightened her. She feared returning would cause her more distress than she was already feeling. It still felt like their deaths happened yesterday. Could she allow herself to return there? She thought for a long while whilst she contemplated going back.

She nodded, "Yes." In the end, it was worth having to face her demons and go back to her place of birth if it meant staying with her brother.

[Deleted]

His breath rumbled heatedly against Aaricia’s spine, but through a great deal of effort, he managed to lift the weight of his enormous head from off her back; the loss of contact caused a fleeting contortion to cross his features, but the frown was quickly replaced by a cloak of impassivity. The physical tension in Aaricia upon his mentioning of their mother was so sharply perceived by the brute that he had almost recoiled from her instantly, but trusting that she would not run from him, he was content allowing her the space he believed she needed. They both missed their mother, he understood that grievance; but their devices for coping with that loss were almost polar opposites. Where his sister’s emotions were open and decipherable, his own were opaque and impenetrable. Even he could not understand them – so for fear of igniting her sadness any further through his own coldness, he withdrew from her, eyes cast elsewhere.

She thanked him for the comparison that he’d made, but his eyes barely flickered in recognition – he did not need thanking. His sister was undeniably the equal of Ahri, her frail beauty and innate fragility paralleling their cherubic mother by divine proportions. His head lifted a fraction at her quiet answer to his request – to help him rebuild their home on Ina’mos – but instead of satisfaction or happiness filling his heart, a sharp pierce of guilt vented from the pit of his chest. She had probably only agreed to his demand under duress, her compassion for her brother impinged by her fear of him, and this fact alone riled a pool of indecision in Goliath’s fragmented conscience.

“It pleases me to hear you say such a thing,” his voice was calm and level, though his azure gaze did not flash with warmth. “But your decision must be made without my shadow looming over you.”

As he looked at her with guarded eyes, his doubt completely veiled, he attempted to search her for any signs of her own uncertainty, which undoubtedly existed there - discernibly or not. Surely she feared returned to their home, to where their family had been massacred; he understood her fear, but he did not share the sentiment. He longed to return home, and if she were to accompany him for the foreseeable future, it would have to be entirely of her choosing to follow his colossal strides. Joining him was one thing, but obeying him was another feat entirely – yet it was one she was going to have to muster if she planned to live upon Ina’mos and continue where their pack had finished.

“We will part ways for now, sister, but know that the safest place for you will be at my side on the shores of our home. When your mind has cleared, come to me - not fearful, but free.”

With that final utterance, his strong words ending with a finality that allowed him no time to await her response, he walked away from her, each step a burning torture that tore her presence further from his side, and further away from his insulating protection. For the first time in his life, and probably the last, he was sincerely putting another creature’s freedom before his own; he could have easily bullied her, forcing her to join him whether it was what she wanted or not, but he refused to do so. It took insurmountable restraint to leave her now, after their reunion had been so short-lived, but he hoped that he would see her soon upon Ina’mos – ready to begin their new lives in the very place that their family had lost theirs.

WORDS: 607| Muse: Pretty good| TAGGED: Aaricia

--thread finished--