He had no idea where to begin. In a sense that there was no beginning to the events that had occurred in the last few months, Saul Stormbringer was at a loss as to how he would explain his situation. He supposed, if he really thought hard about it, his life had gone wrong well before he’d even been born. The animosity, and often outright hatred of the Stormbringer and Dawnrunner packs had eventually resulted in the death of his mother and the abandonment of his father. The responsibility of the Stormbringer pups had fallen on Bris’s shoulders, but even that couldn’t last long. Unable to keep it together and hold all four pups in the same place at the same time, they were scattered across the lands like autumn leaves across a lake- soggy and floating, just managing to stay afloat until they drifted back together again. The male remembered, very succinctly, their coming of age party, where it had been the four of them together for the first time since they had arrived in Dahlia de Mai. The broken and throbbing hole in Saul’s chest stung horribly when he thought of those moments, the pure joy he’d felt from having all four of them together. It was all he ever wanted from the world, and it was also an impossible feat to replicate. No matter how hard he tried, his brothers and sister had other ideas. Eclipse had been born not long after that, but Conor and Bris were never designed to be parents together. Conor ended up dead and while Saul was mostly certain Bris was still alive, he had no clue as to where she was or what had become of her. History had repeated itself in an almost exact replica for Eclipse, although her mother was still alive and it had been her father who had been brutally murdered by a blood relative. The only difference really was that Eclipse was on her own- she didn’t have three other siblings to share her burden.


Perhaps Saul could blame his situation on Siku. If she hadn’t come along, he never would have known love, or that kind of pain, in fact. She had waltzed into his life, a fast friend and an easy relationship. But it was never enough for her, to follow him to their new home and be happy. She left him more times than he cared to count. She refused to stay where he was, in the exact same way as his wayward siblings. The foundations for disaster were already laid, it was just enough to throw a small hammer at the base and watch the house crumble down. Gideon and Nayru fell apart and it took his dark furred brother less than a week to disappear. Shiloh never really emerged from the room he had given her and he assumed she had taken her leave with Lewis when she got the chance. Ascher hadn’t made his way home after the snowstorm and Saul was trying hard to tell himself that his chocolate coloured brother was alive. And then Siku had left him again. Well, he wouldn’t be having this again. His family were gone, with the exception of Melee, Range and Wretch who were all adopted into the family. Eclipse had gone not long after Gideon and Saul could feel the aching hole in his heart beginning to tear and shake apart. They were his power, his glorious attitude to life came straight from his family. And with them gone, he was a shell. He had to go and find them, to make them see that they belonged here, with him.


In hindsight, he should have known that it wouldn’t go as easy as he’d imagined it. He’d taken Hermes, leaving the pregnant Maia and too young Arete behind. They would be well cared for until he returned. He fully intended to return to Ichika with his family in tack. He could not have been more wrong. Of course, he never would have guessed the events of the last few months, he never would have imagined the situation he now faced. Green eyes, so much more weary than he’d ever imagined, fixed upon the flower and stoned border that was so familiar to him. He wasn’t standing the right way though- he was on the outside looking into what had once been his whole life. The perspective was very different from the outside. A tender glance was passed down to the bundle of fur cradled in the crook of his left arm before he pulled a lung full of air down, releasing the howl that had been building deep in his gut as he’d contemplated what had happened to his life. He was home.

The drum and pull of Hermes’ white stained hooves was soothing to the agouti male’s desperate searching. Her trail was easy to follow- she had done little to keep herself from being found. Perhaps she didn’t want to be lost, perhaps this was all part of a plan to draw him away from Ichika. He knew she didn’t like it, no matter what she said. But he wanted a reason this time. If she still wanted to take off, to leave without him, then it was her choice. Waking up with a gaping space where her pristine white body should have been had perhaps broken his spirit. Everyone else was gone at this point- it had been he and Siku with Wretch, Melee and Range. Everyone else was gone. It had been the straw that broke the camels back, to wake up at realise that someone else had left him. He’d thrown himself out of Cerne Rise and down to the ranch. Hermes was more than happy to race after the trail, but that had been two days ago. He was close now, he could feel it. Her scent was only a few hours old and Saul knew she would need to stop for water soon.


He allowed himself a few moments of respite in his mind from the endless thoughts swirling around. He allowed himself just a few seconds, a few memories slipping from the cage in which he had placed them. It was hard to think about Ascher right now, so he turned away from that memory, bringing forth a quick image of the barn raising he had orchestrated not long ago. It had been a good day and the barn had been restored to relative glory. It had been a good moment for him, and it wasn’t tainted too badly by his family members. Eclipse and Melee had attended, but their presence had been diluted enough with others that he could think on it without wincing and rubbing his chest. He had established that this was a purely psychological response to his family leaving him again and he wasn’t actually in pain. But the remembrance of pain was enough to cause the illusion and he could feel the sadness so uncharacteristic for him welling up inside.


He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice Hermes’ snort and the answering gasp. Dark pupils dilated once before returning to normal as his head snapped up and he caught sight of the female who had caused a lot of his trouble. “Siku!” He called, launching himself from Hermes and hitting the ground at a near sprint. She was giving it her best shot to get out of here, but he was faster. He caught her around the waist, moving quickly to slam her up against a tree so she couldn’t move. Green eyes watched as her own golden eyes welled up with tears. He was perhaps a little too angry to soften at the sight of them. “Saul… I-I-I…” “You what?” He snapped in reply to her stammer. He wasn’t usually angry, but the throbbing hole in his chest was beginning to get too much for him.
“I can’t do it anymore Saul, I have to go” She stammered again, her voice shaking harder than her body was against him. “Go where?” He questioned, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to figure out what on earth had happened to them. “I d-don’t know… just away.” She offered and the pitiful look on her face made him back away. He allowed her a moment to calm herself, before he continued. “But, Siku… I thought we were going to work it out, to stay together and fix things?” He asked, ears pining back against his head. “I tried Saul… I really did. But I can’t be part of this anymore…” She whined, her ears flicking back against her skull before something resolved in her expression. “I thought you loved me…” He whispered, so low that it was almost impossible to hear. “Not anymore.” She spit back, angry now.


It was like a kick in the face. Or someone ripping his ear off. Or pulling his tail off, or his leg or his head or any other extremity of his body that would be extremely painful to have ripped from him. The air pushed out from his lungs in a wheeze as his body sagged. Siku apparently found this as good a time as any to make her departure. His paws automatically reached out to catch her again, before her cutting expression stopped him. “Its not your place to touch me anymore Saul” She snapped, before she shifted down into her lupus form and took off running. It was enough to send him to his knees though and he hit the floor with a thud. The autumn leaves had created a nice mulch for him to nestle in as his body convulsed. It wasn’t enough for his siblings to leave him and his cousin, the one link left to Conor. It wasn’t enough that he couldn’t quite function right without them. No, the Fates had decided that he was going to die all alone, with no family and his love no longer on the same wavelength in that department. And he didn’t even have the heart to be angry at them. He felt nothing.

The pain hadn’t gone away, but the need to survive had kicked in about halfway through the night a day ago. Saul had managed to pick himself up off the ground and he found Hermes backed up against a bramble hedge not too far away. The great beast had managed to back himself up when he’d heard the confrontation hours ago and he’d needed the comfort of something at his back. Of course, the brambles now attached the horses back end was not something Saul relished pulling out, but it had to be done. The tedious job had taken a good hour and the young male was decidedly calmer after the job was done. Of course, there was very little he could do about the hollow feeling filling his entire being. Perhaps it was more to do with the fact that Siku had turned on him. He hadn’t known she’d been so unhappy in Ichika. Of course, the young male hadn’t noticed his whole world crumbling around him until the rug had been yanked from underneath him and he’d hit the floor, hard.


It was a soft nicker from Hermes that held the young man together, stopped him from shaking out of his skin and crawling underneath a rock to nurse his wounds. The velvet smooth texture of his companions muzzle caused him to lean back into him before a deep breath was given. There was no way he could stay here, with the argument so fresh in his mind. A small part of his brain had begun shouting not long ago, obscenities that had penalised him for being such a doormat, for allowing others to walk all over him. There was just one question rolling around in his mind right now- How much more can I take?. There was a genuine hint of curiosity in his thoughts as he questioned himself. How much more of this would he be able to take? Sure, his life hadn’t been too traumatic, but Saul was a true wolf in the sense that he revelled in the presence of family- he was a pack animal. His families abandonment of him, as it was really just him left again, was enough to throw him towards the edge. Siku had been one saving grace, before she followed the puppeteers strings and allowed her pearly paws to take her away from him.

Feeling more sick than anything, Saul pulled himself up onto Hermes’ back, his limbs despondent and unwilling to do as he wished. While the dark horse knew there was something very wrong with his master, the draft managed to pull them away from the scene of the devastation. In truth, it was a beautiful place- a pretty little stream overshadowed by a hunched willow tree that had just finished blooming in mid-autumn heat. It had caused such devastation that it was hard to think of it, until the young male forced himself to admit that it had been she who had caused these feelings in him, she who had thrown a bomb in his face and expected him to survive. He had no idea where Hermes’ was walking, but he hoped it was towards home. He couldn’t deal with this anymore. He remembered very little of the past thirty six hours, and he would rather keep it that way.

The smell of another wolf bought the male up short. His face, now well streaked with tears that had begun to fall halfway through the night, turned skyward and the male felt his crusted fur crackle in protest. It was now late morning and Hermes had come to a stop, no longer willing to walk. It was also painfully obvious to Saul that they were no-where near Nova Scotia anymore- three days hard ride and another wandering aimlessly in the undergrowth had gotten the duo lost in the back of beyond. But the strong scent of a female had broken the male from his reverie long enough to realise that Hermes was no longer moving and appeared to be in pain. It was a struggle to pull himself from the depths he’d buried himself so deeply in during the night, but it was enough for him to tilt his weight and slide almost gracefully from Hermes’ back. A dark cream paw hit the ground and his knees almost buckled from the lack of use. He managed to right himself before the cool earthen floor rushed up to meet him and he steadied himself on the horse’s flanks.
“Hermes…” Saul croaked, shocked at how rough he sounded. The dark draft horse snorted and tossed his head to the side, before shifting his weight and offering the healer the hoof that had been the pain. A thick branch wrapped around his fetlock, cutting deep. The bush had apparently left its mark and Saul had missed the offending thorns the other night. Catching the leg offered, Saul made quick work of removing the thorns, but he knew there was more than needed to be done. “We’re going to need to find a stream Herm, so I can wash the wound…” He whispered, fingers curling around the horses nose. With a deep breath, searing with the scent of the female that had made him stop, Saul tried to listen for the sound of running water.

It took him a good three quarters of an hour to find a small stream deep in the undergrowth. Leading Hermes in, Saul managed to get the horse to lay on the floor with his injured leg outstretched to make his life easier. It had been relatively easy to train the horse to do Saul’s bidding and the large stallion seemed to relish the challenge of learning something new. Deft hands created a cradle in which he scooped the water, dumping it on the bleeding and inflamed leg before rubbing away some of the dried blood. The young male lost himself in the task as he meticulously removed the dirt and dried blood from his horses leg.


“Hey there stranger…” A sultry voice caused a shock to jolt through his body- he had no idea the female he’d scented earlier was this close. His body moved swiftly out of the way as he turned to confront her. A dark haired beauty confronted him. Splashes of white seemed completely random on her otherwise black body- completely bare despite the fact that she walked on two legs. Saul felt his heart hammer against his chest as he looked up at her, catching sight of the strangest pair of eyes he’d ever seen. Her pupils were huge and they didn’t appear to dilate any in the changing light. The only hint of colour was the thinnest strip of ice blue iris that was so thin it seemed impossible. Her arms curled inward until the stopped with her hands on her hips, a demanding pose if he ever saw one.

“H-hello…” Saul stammered, ears flattening against his skull. He was rarely a nervous character, but there was certainly something intimidating about the female in front of him. “I’m Saul Stormbringer” He offered as he stood, the dark draft horse standing with him. Saul placed a calming cream hand on the horses neck to soothe him.

“Imari Hart” She cooed, a hand reaching up to brush her long raven curls away from her face. They seemed to spring from her head with little to no order. “Your horse hurt?” She asked, jerking her head towards the injury on Hermes leg.

“We had a bit of trouble not long ago and Hermes managed to back himself into a thorn bush. I got all of the ones from his back legs, but I didn’t see the one here…” He offered, still puzzled as to this exotic beauty.

“You a healer?” She questioned, her voice blunt and demanding. It was in perfect conjunction with her appearance and presence- there was nothing shy or reserved about this creature. Imari. He thought, green eyes furrowing as he tried to figure her out. “Yeah, I am. I was just washing the wound and I was going to go find some antiseptic for it.” He answered, unsure of what he was supposed to say to her.

“Come with me, Saul Stormbringer.” She almost purred and Saul felt a stab at his heart. He thought of Siku and what she would think, before the more rational side of his brain kicked him hard in the teeth. Siku wouldn’t care, she didn’t give a shit about him. He didn’t even know where she was anymore, and he shouldn’t care. She had broken his heart and had walked away without a backwards glance. His warring brain tried to move his feet forward and pull them back at the same time, before her clearly dubious expression caused him to stumble forward.


The early afternoon sun hit him in the face as he moved behind the naked woman, her scent teasing and tantalising him. This wasn’t fair- he should be mourning for his lost love. Instead, his body felt tense and excited as he moved forwards, his tail threatening to flicker back and forth. Perhaps it was a more basic instinct that overruled the humanised emotions playing on his mind, because he felt at least a little calmer and safer following Imari. He walked with his hand on Hermes’ neck, urging him forward with soft clicks and soothing words. Every now and then, the female would glance back, a wink or a smile sent his way. He had no idea what it meant, but he knew there was no way he would have said no to her. They walked for nearly an hour, until Saul was sure they would have to stop for Hermes’ sake.
“Its just up ahead, Stormbringer” She called back, her voice curving around his name like a caress. He was puzzled, to say the very least. They broke through the line of trees and Saul paused. The place looked familiar, but he couldn’t place it. A rough meadow rose from the forest, rocky outcrops dusted in a misshapen circle that had to be a natural formation but looked suspiciously planned. The remains of a fire smoked gently the natural curve of one of these rocky formations and the clear indication of someone having stopped here.

“You live here?” He asked, walking further into the meadow and glancing back towards this strange woman. She nodded, a sharp jerk that was just as blunt as any words would have been. She didn’t live here, so this was just in passing. He wondered where she was going, where she’d come from, what she was doing here on her own. He stayed silent, waiting, watching, learning.

The fire burned brightly against the darkening skies. They’d spent the day together, talking about their lives before arriving at this time and place. The young male had been hesitant about actually talking about his life with this stranger, but it became easier as they got to know a little about each other. He learned that she had been born into a rather “New Age” pack that believed in the strength of their members being their greatest asset. In ways, the way she described her own pack reminded him of a few of the ideals he related with Anathema- or at least the Anathema that Scorpius related to him. It was easy to see that there were certainly differences in their thoughts, but Saul could see the patterns immerging. While the packs upon Nova Scotia were so different to each other, they all revolved around ideals and customs that dictated how they lived. While Saul wouldn’t exactly call them a ‘themed’ pack, there was most definitely a common consensus that drew all like minded wolves into the same pack. He thought of Ichika and their ideals to live in peace. Not only to live in peace, but to spread the peace southerward, to the other packs they shared their land with. Imari related to him that while she had come from an area where only one pack remained dominant and therefore in existence, the history of her land was ripe with the very same diversity in pack mentality.

In return, Saul told her about home. While he left out a lot of personal information at first- how he had arrived in Dahlia de Mai at 2 months of age, motherless and abandoned by their father, how his siblings had refused to remain where they belonged, including Gideon who had left suddenly not long ago, his relationships with Bris, Conor, Saluce and Nayru were left out. Anything that strayed into the far too emotional was left back- he had no desire to sound like a whiny, self-absorbed ass hole. Instead, he told her of Dahlia de Mai and the eventual merge with Phoenix Valley into Ichika no Ho-en. He told her a few stories about his family, about his horse, about his home. He mentioned Jace and Tawny, Temo and Pripyat, whom he’d met only a few times throughout the pack. He described his home, the effort he had put in to rebuilding it. And she seemed content to listen as they sat by the fire.

Saul wasn’t entirely aware of when the crudely made alcohol had been bought out, but the youth had sipped it appreciatively. This would not be his first taste of alcohol, not by a long shot. Nor would it be his first drunken experience, if he continued to drink the slightly clouded spirit. And it appeared that he would continue to drink, as each time he passed the bottle back to the dark female, she would drink quickly before pushing it back towards him and commanding him to drink. In this way, it took him only an hour or two to really start feeling the spirits surging through his body. The female in front of him had begun to blur softly as she leant forward, huge pupils surrounded by the slim iced blue ring that he had never seen before.

“Saul… why are you out here, away from your pack?”
“I-I… I’m looking for my b-brother…” He slurred, green eyes trying to focus on Imari.
“Why are you so sad then?” She asked, iced eyes cutting towards him as her blunt question hit home.
“I’m looking for Siku too… I found her though, so its just Gideon left to find.” He offered, misery cracking his voice. He’d found her alright and she’d broken his heart. Imari seemed to pick up on this immediately and leaned forward once more, her arm pressed firmly against his own. “Who is this Siku?” She asked, her voice coloured with disdain. He couldn’t quite figure out why it was there, but he didn’t question it.

“I loved her.” He choked out, rubbing a hand across his aching chest once as he body pressed more firmly against him. “I just want to forget…” He whispered softly before looking up.

Imari’s face was startlingly close to his own and his nose brushed her chin in the close contact. His eyes widened when she didn’t make a move to put some distance between the two of them. His brows furrowed softly and he allowed a frown to mar his lips. She didn’t wait as she moved forward, her lips brushing his own for the briefest second. The briefest touch of her lips on his was enough to send a zing of fire straight down to his groin. He didn’t think as he pushed himself forward, kissing her again. This felt so different than anything else he’d experienced.
“I’ll make you forget” She whispered against his lips, pulling her body closer towards him. His hands moved automatically to grip Imari’s waist, eliciting a soft moan from the woman. He’d never been this way with anyone- not even Siku despite the intimate moments they’d shared together. He could feel his hardening member pressing against the Imari’s dark fur and he felt no embarrassment. Perhaps it had been the alcohol that had allowed him to feel without guilt, but as he shifted both of their bodies so that he hovered protectively over her, Saul couldn’t find it in himself to be upset about this interaction. Hands gripping her hips, just a little too hard so that she gave a soft whimper of pain mingled with her pleasure before Saul allowed his fingers to drift downward, touching and feeling before bravely plunging up and into her. Her response was immediate- her back arching towards him in pleasure, iced blue eyes rolling swiftly back in her head.

In some ways, the young male could remember with perfect clarity the events that occurred afterwards. The sharp thrust and pull as he entered her against and again, the soft whimpers and moans she gave. The alcohol had thrown away Sauls inhibitions and while their pairing was in no way aggressive, there was a certain ferocity and confidence in the youth that would certainly not have been there had he been sober. He remembered coming to his climax and releasing in to her, their panting breaths mingling together as he collapsed on top of her. His mind must have blanked at that point, because the next thing he knew, she was on top of him and they were at it again. In a lot of ways, their mating blurred into one continuous image so that it made him hard to distinguish what occurred when. He knew they’d both collapsed, exhausted around four in the morning.

He woke now, his head foggy and certain ‘vital’ areas feeling a little sore and abused. He rolled over, his arm reaching out to pull Imari closer before he realised that she wasn’t there. Green eyes snapped open as he looked around in bewilderment. For a moment, he felt as though he were back at home, waking up to find Siku missing. And then he forced himself to stop thinking about her as he took in his surrondings. Hermes was picketed to a tree, head hanging low in a classical horse sleep position. His leg was bandaged it seemed. The remains of the fire were gone, as were the various items that had belonged to the dark haired female as well as the she-wolf in question. Saul sighed, settling back down into the ground to sleep off a little more of the hangover that was buzzing behind his eyes. A one night stand it seemed and he would never see her again.