[html]  ........The sun had not yet risen. For only a few more moments would there be this peaceful darkness, and then once again all the creatures that had survived the fire would be able to see the fractured landscape that fell behind them. Beppe and Anderung had escaped the densest layer of smoke, but their fur still stunk of it. They had collapsed, exhausted, on the side of the mountain, and for many hours the sun still reflected, sanguine as the flames, through the blackened sky. The Italian boy had watched through hazy, sore eyes as the color seemed to fade, his heart beating too quickly to let him rest.
........After what seemed like hours, years, centuries, finally he stirred from his sprawled position, body more fatigued than he had ever experienced, and stood up. With a quick glance to the girl he had escaped with to make sure she was sleeping and safe, he wandered up the side of his mountain. He would not find peace until he found his mother, and knew that she had made it through the fire without a scath. His own paws felt burned and raw against the rough side of the mountain, but the yearning in his mind would not let him pay the pain any mind. There was a knot in his stomach, as well, and it was far greater than it was when Maria had disappeared earlier in the year. In this case the boy knew there was real danger; the evidence was all behind him, though he didn't dare to look.
........If she had been caught up in the fire he would never forgive himself. He had escaped with the other two, so bent on making sure they all got out that he had failed to make a thorough search for his mother. The boy had seen how gruesomely Icarus had died, and the image kept playing in his head. If one out of three of them had not survived, what were the chances for Maria? And oh, oh Icarus. His image was still preserved in Beppe's mind, as the youth that he had met months ago and hunted The Glutton with, one of the best experiences that the boy had had so far. Hopefully that would be the impression that would stick, rather than that of his final moments.
........The walking was hard and often times Beppe strayed from his straight path, catching himself. Soot and black smoke was caught in his throat and often times he wretched, unable to vomit. God, he was hungry as well. Soon the sun would be back up and he would turn around and look across the land, thinking of all the bones and tattered corpses of those that had not survived. Coughing and hacking, he continued on almost blindly, hell bent on finding his mother, finding one little thing that could give him comfort. He had survived the flames, but the only thing he could think was, 'I'm going to die, I'm going to die.' Unless he found his mother very quickly, the black wolf definitely didn't think it would be a bad idea right now.
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Maria spent the rest of the previous day searching for Beppe with Ari until she was forced to settle for a few hours to rest and regain herself, but it did nothing to help. She did nothing but constantly worry and think of places to check for her son and even considered going back into the fire to find her son. It wasn't until the early morning hours that she finally left her resting place, leaving Ari and his brother behind to find her son for herself. She was quick on the terrain of the mountain and was shocked when the scent of her son filtered into her nostrils. It took her by surprise and wondered if it was a memory scent or if it was her mind messing with her after all the smoke took control of her nose.
However, when her son came into sight, she struggled to keep her footing and quickly made her way over. Her balance was off and being able to stand on two feet made it difficult. Changing into wolf form had not crossed her mind once, having not been in that form since she was a child, and so a lot of her energy was drained. The sight of her son, though foreign to her, was a relief. Maria knew it could not be her imagination because he was in a form she did not know at his age and came up to him quickly. Hesitant at first, just in case, she instantly fell to her knees and wrapped her arms awkwardly around his body, much like a human with her pet dog.
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[html] ........It was a strange shadow that was making its way towards the boy, but he continued to lumber forward. By this point he felt as if he was driven by some strange force, outside of himself, that was pushing him along. If he could smell at this point the signals weren't reaching his brain anyway, and it took him more than a few seconds to realize that it was his mother wrapping its arms around him. For a moment he assumed it was some spirit, some saint that had come to release him. Santa Maria, mamma.
........A faint smile crossed his maw, eyelids still heavy and brown eyes red around the edges. "Mamma, ciao," he said quietly and slowly, pushing his head into the crook of his mother's arms. It was hard for him to distinguish whether this was real or just an illusion, but whatever it was it made the knot disappear, a warmth flow through his numb limbs. "Stai bene? Sono stanco da morire, ho fame..." he continued to grumble almost incoherently into her black fur. "Il mio amico è morto. Ho visto l'anima si è alzato al cielo..." No matter how hard he tried not to think of it, this would lie under his consciousness for a long time.
........ For a moment the boy was silent, breathing shallowly and hiding his eyes from the light that was beginning to permeate the air. "La mia amica dorma ancora, torneremmo o si preoccuparà." He pulled back just a tiny bit as he said this, not far enough to release his head from his mother's arms, but enough to get the point across. It didn't cross his mind that his mother, too, was wandering, and had someone missing her as well.
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Anything Beppe was saying, Maria was not catching or understanding. Her mind was too focused on holding her boy tight so he would never leave her sight. It happened once, when she broke her leg, and now again with the fire. Her fur buried into his shoulder as she settled on the ground and finally pulled away to say something. "Sono giusto. Lei è? Lei è doluto?" she asked in a frantic voice and her hands lifted to touch his face, focusing on that part of his body. The rest of him was foreign to her. He spoke of a girl, a friend, and if it were any other day she might have thought something about it but instead she shuffled back and tried to stand but did not have the strength to do it so suddenly. "Dobbiamo andare la scoperta lei," she said and then pressed her hands to the ground and forced herself up. The pain in her leg was rough but she ignored it and after finding his friend they would go back to find Ari.
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I Speak this, I
dream this, and I 'think'
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You "said this"
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’Trees, fire, all around her. The sound, black smoke, choking. She couldn’t breath, like someone was strangling her. Air shouldn’t be like that, shouldn’t feel think like mud. That was what it was like, trying to breath mud. Fiery trees, all around, she thought she had gotten out of the forest already. No, infront of her, fire. Not fire, fiery eyes, two, amongst the black smoke. A pelt as black as smoke.’
Anderung awoke with a start, gasping for breath. At first she didn’t know where she was, then she remembered the forest, the fire, Icarus. The she-wolf closed her eyes and felt sick to her stomach. How could they have left Icarus behind? ’You were the one who told Beppe to leave him.’ The word ‘Beppe’ echoed through her mind, as she opened her eyes and saw he wasn’t beside her anymore. He had been with her as they collapsed from fatigue. But they had made it.
Meer winced as she tried to stand up. All of her muscles were sore and her paws were raw. One side of her face was stinging, just above her left eye. She couldn’t see it, but most of her fur had been burnt off around her left ear and above her eye from when the sparks had hit her face. She sniffed the air, picking up Beppe’s scent underneath the stench of burnt fur. It was a miracle that she could still smell so well with her throat still raw from the smoke. Each breath still hurt a little.
Anderung plodded off after Beppe’s scent, her head hanging low to the ground. It was a good thing she couldn’t see how bad she looked, though she still felt three times worse than that. Ahead of her she could see two dim shapes. Blinking her violet eyes rapidly she recognized the scent of one as Beppe. A smile worked it’s way onto her face as she picked up the pace and moved quickly toward the two. ”Beppe,” She called out happily. ”It is I! Where did you go? I was worried.” She turned to the female beside him and looked her up and down. She looked about Anderung’s age, but stood a striking resemblance to Beppe. ”Beppe, who is this?” It was rather rude to not have just asked the black female directly, but Anderung was having a certain amount of separation issues. All of Storm had left her behind, so she had clung to the first thing she had encountered, Beppe.
"Random and long post. Good grief, Anderung is old enough to be Beppe's mom D8 lol"
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[html] ........hahaha.
........ The boy's breathing was slowing down as his mother held him, and eventually he was able to regain his thoughts. "No, non sono ferito," he said softly, lifting his head and beginning to walk as his mother stood up. It felt extremely strange to be in his quadropedal form while his mother wasn't; he felt almost like a pet. In a way, he supposed, he was a bit like his mother's pet.
........ "Si, dai," he said gently, even though it was almost a command. He still had no grip on measures of time or space, and though he remembered the direction he had come from he couldn't remember how far it had been. His only indication that time had passed at all was that the sun was beginning to lift into the sky, tangled in the heavy cloak of smoke that covered the lands he used to know.
........ It felt like they had been walking for quite a while before Anderung seemed to form out of the smoke, coming towards them. The boy hadn't really thought that she might wake up and be worried while he was gone, but at least she didn't seem to have progressed into a state of complete paranoia. "Hi, sorry, I have gone to find my mother. This is her, she is called Maria." He nodded at the two sleepily, in an introduction. "Mamma, lei è Anderung." He smiled faintly, feeling good that they were all together, but Icarus still fell heavy on his mind.
........ "Che facciamo ora? What do we do now?" It felt weird saying the same thing twice, in different languages, but the boy hadn't spoken to Maria and wasn't sure if she would understand just English. He was fairly sure that Anderung didn't understand any Italian. Right now, his native tongue offered just a little relief, and he would take what he could get.
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Just to hear her son's voice and to know that he was okay filled her heart with reassurance. To know he was safe wiped away all worry she had the previous day in trying to find him. She just nodded in response and began to walk, feeling weird and seemed to have the same thoughts Beppe was having with no way of knowing that for sure. It wasn't too much longer before someone else showed up, worry in her own voice, and assumed it was who they were looking for. When they met each other, Maria lowered herself back to the ground and sat, resting her tired body. The past two days have been nothing but tiring and she hoped they would find a place to sleep that was safe. "You nice to meet," she mumbled softly and put her hands into her lap.
Her eyes turned between the two and she tried to think of how to handle this. "We find safe place to stay. Are other survivors?" she asked, keeping to her horrible English so the other would understand her words. She needed to work on it, she knew, but now was not the time. "And Ari... we find him, too," she said and looked back the way they came and hoped Ari and his brother was safe and they would be able to find the two easily.
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indentHe had not made many friends. And, in retrospect, that might have been the final nail in the coffin. Luckily for him and his introverted self, however, he had made two that could saw open his coffin and let him out — Beppe and his mother Maria. Ari had hung all of his hopes on the fact that his brother could take him home, or at least somewhere safe, but seeing as though he was being pursued, that was no longer an option. They needed strength in numbers, but the question was, would their friends even risk themselves to protect two vagabonds? Ari was not savvy in the ways of friendship and such bonds, but all logic said no. Several lives were worth more than just two.
indentStill, that was no reason not to try. He steered his and his brother's paths after that of Maria, after they had split and the mother had went to find her son. The time between them was due to Ari's arguing with his brother, who arrived shortly after Maria had left. Nikolaos, despite his membership at Veneficus, was even more anti-social than Ari. The fact that Pelagios was getting closer to him by the minute didn't help either. Eventually, Ari forced him to follow as he pursued their new friends. It was the only lifeline they had.
indentUnfortunately, when the small gathering was in sight — Beppe (he had made it out safe!), Maria, and a female he couldn't identify — Nikolaos grabbed his narrow shoulder with a firm hand and pulled him off to the side. "You will go to them alone," the older sibling said, his dark features shadowed in a decision that looked like a death sentence. Ari was angry for a fleeting second — an emotion he did not normally possess. "I will not allow that. You need to come as well. Strength in numbers, remember! We must join them to help them." Nik shook his head. "You miss the point, little brother. This fire doesn't change anything. Unless Pelagios decides that we perished in the fire — and he is not that stupid — he will not disobey mother's orders, or his fate will be ours. I will divert him, take care of him, and... then I will come back. Just as planned. You stay here, and be safe with these people you know." Ari had a painful bout of deja vu from when Nik had abandoned him for the first time, and had to fiercely scrub his eyes with the heel of his hand to prevent himself from crying. "Stay for just a bit longer. Please! I need you for just a few days." Nikolaos bit his lip, but eventually nodded. "I will do that... but don't expect me to stay for this. I will return shortly." And then the darker Sohs disappeared, probably to look around while his slightly less anti-social brother went to interact. My, how the tables had turned.
indentWith a sigh and another check to make sure rogue tears weren't making it around his eyes, he closed the final distance between him and the group. He managed a smile — a small, hopeless one — and said hurriedly, "You are all safe!" Even if he didn't even know one, one life saved from flames was a life to be lauded.
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You "said this"
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Anderung nodded at Beppe’s words. It made sense that he had gone looking for his mother. It disturbed her slightly, though, that his mother was about Anderung’s age. Meer nodded her head respectfully at Maria. ”Pleased to meet you, Maria.” She took a hesitant step toward Maria, and looked like she was going to say something but didn’t. For a second she was about to inquire about Maria’s tongue, but decided against it. She had also been thinking about the fatigue that they all shared from escaping from the fire.
Anderung bit her lip at Maria’s question. ”There probably are, someplace. Everyone scattered when the fire came.” Meer hadn’t heard many foreign languages, and couldn’t identify the one that Beppe had used when speaking to Maria. Again, she was about to ask him when another wolf showed up, male. He seamed surprised that they ‘were all safe’, so Anderung took it that he must be known to Beppe or Maria. She felt that the question hadn’t been directed at her, and didn’t act like she was going to answer.
"8( Horrible post. Not short, just horrible."
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[html] ........Beppe stared off into the distance as Anderung spoke to his mother. The sun was up, tangled in threads of black smoke, its struggles illuminating the sky with a sanguine light. His eyes lingered on the blackened stretch of land off the side of the mountain, thinking about how all the Canada he had ever known had been strung apart by the cruel, skeletal hands of fate. Though the boy had formed an attachment with the beauty of the lands, he was sure his bond with them was far weaker than the others who may have lived their whole lives in the varied territories. He thought of this for a moment, deep eyes now falling to the stones and weathered mountain at his paws.
........When he heard a familiar voice, his head turned quickly, and when he saw Ari standing there, he turned completely and took a few steps forward, tighter into the circle his friends were forming. He had zoned out when Maria had mentioned the golden boy earlier – his mind must have been away wandering the charred plain – and this was such a pleasant surprise, not only that Ari had escaped, but also that he was here with them. "Ari, you made it." He smiled widely now, greatly relieved by the image of his friend.
........"I suppose we should find a place to eat something and maybe have a nap. I know that I am starving, I do not know about you..." he suggested, raising his eyebrows as he met the eyes of the three wolves that stood around him. Having his closest friends here, less one, gave him a little bit of motivation. "Oh, excuse me–" he said hurriedly when he had realized he had forgotten something quite important. "Ari, to you I present Anderung, Anderung, to you I present Ari." He smiled. The Italian mother seemed to have already met Ari, which made the smile on the boy's face a little warmer. Perhaps, for a while, they could act like they were family, find a little comfort in a time where there wasn't all that much around.
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Beppe's friend spoke again, responding with the same statement she had made and then Beppe had his own in return. Maria found it impossible to look away from her child, sliding forward so she was close to him. It was then, though, that Ari's voice rang in her ears and she spun around to see him. "Ari!" the mother explained and stepped forward and taking him into an embrace. She had not know him long but he had been there for her, helped her through the fire and in finding her son.
She took a deep breath as Beppe suggested a safe place to stay and dinner for the night and she just nodded and smiled. "Yes," she mumbled and looked toward Ari. "Where your fratello?" Maria asked, lacking the actual word for brother. "He come, too," she stated and moved away from the boy and back into her group, hoping they could all go together.
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Ari beamed unsteadily towards his companions as greetings passed around, though he was completely caught off guard when Maria stepped forward to sling her arms around him in an embrace. At first, he stood awkwardly, not used to the motion. He had never been held by his mother — she had found him repulsing and, as he knew now, cursed, and therefore could barely stand the sight of him, let alone the touch — so it was definitely odd. So, this would be how it would be to have a real mother, he thought wistfully, looking briefly to Beppe. He seemed to have it good — Maria was a good mom, and a good wolf. The complete opposite from the mother he had been cursed himself to have.
Beppe said a few instructions — all solid ideas; they would have to find food, shelter, and water as soon as possible in these mountains, or beyond them — and then introduced him to the pink-eyed female that he didn't know. Anderung was her name, and Ari made sure to memorize it. He had a feeling that they would know each other well past this day. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Anderung," he replied, dipping his head in respect for his elder. Ari then flicked his blue gaze toward Maria, the subject of his brother something that might be a bit of a monkey wrench in the operation. "My brother... he doesn't like crowds of strangers. He went ahead to look around, and will join up with me later." Ari knew full good and well it would take hours of prodding and arguing to have Nikolaos even consider staying with them. He had his own mission, and a bull-headed stubborn nature to back it up. "But he'll come."
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I Speak this, I
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”I agree.” Anderung nodded at Beppe’s statement. As Beppe introduced the new wolf she smiled gently and nodded to him. ”The pleasure is mine.” She put simply and stood there.
"Sry guys, totally brain dead at the moment."
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