Shattered coast, Witch's Cauldron. 300+



Black sands stretched out beneath his feet, reaching out to the sea where small waves splashed fruitlessly against the dark shore. From behind a jagged rock wall towered over him, its pointed spires arching into a sky where the dusky pink of the approaching evening could be seen between the patches of clouds overhead. This color reflected off the gently tossing ocean, adding to the surreal look of the cove. It was a peculiar place and Ehno wondered how he had managed to discover it. The Marino had skirted along the edge of the new pack as he made his way east, and somehow he found himself carefully navigating along a rocky path. Before he knew it, he discovered the unnaturally dark sands of this cove.



The chocolate hued male stepped away from the jagged stone wall and wandered toward the beach. He stopped a couple of meters away from the salty waters and sat down, placing his worn out bag beside him. He absentmindedly glided his hand over the artificial sand, its strange texture tickling him slightly. Amber gaze focused on the ocean, for a moment blocking everything else out. The ocean always had a way of calming him and allowing his mind to focus its thoughts more clearly. The male decided to stay here to remain in the company of the splashing waves rather than continue out to Halifax as he had originally intended.



He had been restless the past few days, though he seemed to be slowly coping with all the changes that had befallen his previously quiet life. So many things had happened in such a short time, he could hardly believe it. But now he was falling back into his old routines, moving on as if everything was normal. That was what worried him, made him restless. Was this now what normal was, with his family stressed and his friend by herself in the city? This temporary change in scenery was one of his ways to cope with the change. Maybe he could distract himself long enough that the part of him that so strongly resisted the change would fade away. Then maybe he would really be able to feel normal again.

Naniko had held it in her hands and watched it die, the last little bits of life leaving it with its final kicks and wheezes. She had almost forgotten what it was like to lose a patient, to see one that she'd worked so hard to save leave the earth behind. It hurt to watch it struggle in the fight that she had known it would lose from the start. She had found the bird in Halifax, barely breathing, on the ground outside one of the tall skyscrapers. She guessed that it had struck a window and had obtained some kind of spinal injury; its body was curved in on itself very slightly, in a way that she knew was unnatural for a bird. The creature that she held in her hands was a dark color, a black bird with bright yellow eyes.

She had given it water and a bit of the herb that she used to use to give to patients who were in shock, and who were in pain, but that was all that she'd been able to do. That and comfort it a little. She spoke the language of the lower beasts, and before she had become entangled with cocaine she had often held conversations with birds and other creatures. Over the months that she had become addicted, though, she had shut them out and hadn't been able to speak to them. Maybe it was that the drug clouded that part of her mind over, and made her unable to use it.

The sadness and pain that came with losing a patient was hard, and it pricked her inner-self like a needle. She was relearning things now, relearning sadness and anger in all new ways. When she had been on the drugs, nothing had really hurt. Even when she'd been kicked out of the pack she had still been happy, deep down, because of what she'd been on. It really had changed her. She'd once been a creature of compassion and conviction...and had turned into something almost exactly opposite of that.

Naniko had taken off into the woods with the blackbird in her arms, cradled up against her body, hoping that she might find some new herb that would be able to help it. But night was beginning to come and she knew now that there wasn't much that would be able to help it. She had given it a bit more of the pain-herb to make sure that it was comfortable and had continued to walk, holding it up against her chest. She stroked its glossy feathers with one white finger, speaking to it in low tones as its beak opened for one final breath.

Emerald eyes looked up from the still-warm bird to the surroundings, blinking quickly. How had she ended up here? It had been quite a walk, she knew, but she wasn't expecting the change in scenery. It seemed that she had come upon some kind of a hidden beach. Rays from the setting sun caught on the dark sands of the cove, making them sparkle and glitter like a million little diamonds as she stepped through them. The white luperci could have laughed in wonder, were it not for the somber situation. She'd never seen a place like this before, in all her time here.

300+



The Marino enjoyed the soothing song of the ocean as he sat upon the glimmering shore, content to simply be away from everything for once. Absent-mindedly he played with the artificial sands in front of him, drawing circles in the sand and spreading handfuls of it around like a child would. The sound of approaching footsteps crunching along the dark sands broke him from his quiet trance, ears perking and head snapping up toward the sound. A figure was entering the cove from the opposite end of the beach, looking around in wonder. He stared at the Luperci in quiet curiosity for a moment before recognition dawned on him. It was Naniko. The Chief Sergeant let the darkly shimmering sands slip from his hand as he quickly stood and took a single step in her direction. “Naniko,” he called after a pause, wanting to catch her attention. He remained silent after that, unsure of what to say. There were so many things he wanted to ask, but he couldn’t manage to turn the thoughts into words.



Ehno claimed that he wandered toward the city for a calming change in scenery, but he would have been lying if he said that going to see Naniko wasn’t one of the reasons he decided to venture to Halifax that day. His thoughts would often wander to the D’Angelo lady over the last couple weeks, wondering if she was doing okay in the city on her own. More often than not, those thoughts centered on whether she had chosen to give up those damned drugs. He didn’t realize it, but he now blamed that man-made substance more than he did Naniko for all that had happened. The Nani he knew and loved wouldn’t behave like that. It was all because of the drugs. It had to be.



His amber gaze shifted to the object she cradled to her chest. He could only catch a glimpse of it past the protective barrier her arms formed around it and at this distance he was unable to determine what it was. Whatever it was, it was a deep black that contrasted strongly against her fur and it rested unmoving in her arms. “What do you have there?” he finally asked after a moment. It felt like a safer subject to start with than the imposing questions of her solitude and drug use.

She was still holding it, for some reason. Maybe somewhere in the back of her mind she'd thought that she would bury it. Was it ok to bury an animal on a beach? Or did it have to be in dirt? She didn't have long to think about it before she saw him up the beach, a very familiar wolf indeed. She lifted one hand to to wave at him. When he got near enough she lowered her hand, keeping a hold on the bird in her arms.

"Hey there! How have you been? Oh, and this? It's a bird. I found it in the city...I thought I could help it, but it turned out that I couldn't do anything. Which kind of sucks. I haven't had one die on me in a while." She moved so that he could see it, if he wanted to. She didn't even know if he would want to; wasn't it an odd thing to do, to carry around a dead animal? "I've never been to this place before, to this territory. It's amazing. I might bury the bird here--do you think that's a good idea?"

Naniko figured that he would ask it at one point, about how she was doing and whether she was doing...what she'd been doing before. She wasn't, any more. But it was a day-to-day fight. Hour-to-hour, even. "I'm..uh..drug-free. I've started healing again. What have you been doing?"

300+



Those furiously fluttering thoughts that had been plaguing his mind the past few days were finally calmed. Naniko seemed at ease, tossing him a friendly greeting before explaining the bird in her arms. The tension that Ehno hadn’t notice settle into his shoulders melted away and he relaxed. A sense of relief flooded the Marino and for the moment, everything began to feel normal again. A smile crept to his muzzle, a sincere one that hadn’t graced his lips for weeks. “Hey. I’ve been alright… how about you?” The question of her drug use fluttered to mind again, but he ignored it, instead stepping a little closer to inspect the D’Angelo lady’s recently deceased patient. His heart sank a little as he examined the still creature. His amber gaze shifted to the sea after a moment, feeling odd to be staring at the dead little blackbird. Naniko’s comment about the scenery drew his eyes back to her, though he consciously avoided the bundle in her arms. “It is rather beautiful here. I think it would be nice for you to bury it here.”



The conversation took an abrupt turn as the white furred lady brought up the subject that had been weighing heavily in Ehno’s mind. “That… that’s great, Nani! I’m glad to hear it.” It was wonderful to hear that she had indeed chosen to give up using that horrible substance. The fact that she had started healing again was a good sign; it showed that the old Naniko was returning. “Me? Just some carpentry and keeping an eye on the pack.” He paused a moment, a hint of seriousness flashing in his gold eyes. “How are you holding up?” he asked softly. No matter how strong she appeared now, he knew that this had to be a tough situation for her. The man had heard that trying to give up certain drugs could be very hard. Putting that together with the fact that she had been forced out of her home, away from her family and friends, made her situation seem even tougher. He didn’t intend to add a somber note to their relatively light conversation, but he just needed to make sure she was ok.

She motioned toward one of the caves. She could bury the bird outside one of them and put a rock over the grave, or something, to mark it and remember it. There were rocks over many graves in many different territories, patients that she had found in various places that hadn't survived over the last year. She could hardly believe that more than a year had passed since they had come to these new lands. It felt like so much longer. And it hadn't been that long that she had known Savina or Ehno, either. They hadn't come from the same place she had.

"I've been doing really good. I didn't feel so good at first...but one of my friends from the city is helping me. I'm helping her too--we both have the same problem. The addiction. It's a never-ending battle, Ehno." She knelt down, using her paw to begin to dig. She dug deep and wide, big enough for the entire bird, then placed it gently down in the bottom of the hole. After that she picked up the sand that she'd dug out of the hole, pouring it over the animal. She lastly picked up a large, shiny black rock, placing it over top of the now filled-in hole. It was good that he was doing well, that he was keeping an eye on the pack. He was a good member...he'd always been a good member.

He asked how she'd been doing and she looked up for a moment. She was doing okay some days, and some days she was doing horrible. It just depended on the day. There were times when the need for the drugs felt like a fire within her, consuming her thoughts and actions. But so far she had managed to resist. She'd asked Sabeen to lock her in a room, one time, to keep her from it. Naniko patted down the sand around the hole while she thought about an answer. Her long braid hung down beside her head, the end of it running through the dark sand as she patted the area down. "I'll be better in a little while. The urges go away, after a time, I've read. I wasn't using them for too terribly long."

She stood back up, dusting her hands off and trying to get some of the dark specks out of her white braid. "I could start a fire, if you want to stay a while. It's getting dark." One of the things that she had really been wondering about was whether Cambria was okay. She didn't know if she had the right to ask that...especially if the little girl hadn't survived it.

500+



Ehno followed the healer to one of the caves and leaned against the rough stone wall when they came to a halt. He was surprised to find out that Naniko had a friend with her in the city going through the same situation, though he was glad to hear it. It was quite a relief to discover that the D’Angelo lady was not in the city alone while she fought the battle against her addiction. It was good to hear that she was doing better now, but he still worried. “I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you. At least you are not alone out there.” She claimed that it was a never ending battle. Ehno could only imagine how hard this really was on her. He had heard stories that fighting drug addiction could be a very difficult ordeal. As he looked at Naniko now, he believed that she could handle it. He had faith in her.



He watched her dig a small grave for her fallen patient in silence. The bird was placed in to the freshly disturbed earth and was soon covered with a blanket of dark sand. As she placed the smooth, dark stone over the freshly packed earth, Ehno closed his eyes for a brief moment and wished the bird a pleasant eternal rest. It was interesting how his views on other animals seemed to change when they were not his prey. He opened his amber eyes after a moment and focused them once more on Naniko, listening intently as she addressed his previous question. Briefly, some part of his mind wondered how long the D’Angelo lady had been using the drugs. If she had changed that much while only using them for a short while, he hated to think how different she would be had her addiction gone on longer. But he pushed the thought away quickly. What was important was that she would get better, that one day in the future she would no longer have to battle her addiction so fiercely. “I hope you get better soon.”



Ehno’s eyes darted to the setting sun at her suggestion, suddenly realizing how late the day had become. The Italian man had planned on staying around this peculiar cove for the night, intending to decide his travel plans in the morning. He was glad for the company, especially since he had not seen Naniko since she fled the pack lands. He turned his attention back to her and nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. I’ll go get some wood for the fire, then.” His feet took him across the dark sands quickly, steering him toward a small pile of driftwood a good distance from the shore. He picked through the pile in silence, snatching up a piece of wood here and there that appeared to be significantly dry. When he had a small bundle in his arms, he returned to the line of small caves and placed the wood on the ground in front of them.

"No...I'm not alone any more. Not while you're here. It's nice to have someone to worry about you sometimes..." She was usually the one who worried. Naniko hadn't had anyone in her life to worry about her lately, unless Mati and Brooklyn counted. Family was always supposed to worry about family, though; she was almost constantly thinking about where Salem was or if Haven was doing alright in his new pack. She wanted to go see him...but she didn't want him to see her as a disappointment. Maybe that was why he had left in the first place, without even telling his own mother where he was going. He was disappointed in her. She swept a few leaves and branches out of the cave so that nothing else would catch on fire except for the things that they needed. Even if she didn't have her backpack with her she always had her two fire-stones, holes drilled inside of them, tied tightly up to her wrist.

She reached down, biting through the pieces of twine to release the two rocks. Once they were free she looked out over the beach for Ehno, waiting for his return with the firewood. As she stood at the cave's mouth a nice breeze swept through, ruffling her white fur and sending the little bits of sand and debris that she had swept from the cave up into the air. The leaves were tossed up toward the heavens and began to spin on their way down, their dark shadows contrasting completely against the purples, pinks, and oranges of the sunset sky.

What was left of the sunset was beautiful, and she watched as it slowly faded into more regal purples and blues, then to darker blues and blacks. Clouds were beginning to gather overhead, telling her that rain would be falling shortly, and she broke from her daze to look back out over the beach. Ehno was coming back toward her with the wood and arrived at the cave's entrance just as the first raindrops began to fall. She held out her hand to catch a few of them then picked up a few pieces of wood and headed inside to start the fire. She got one going without much trouble then sat back as it grew, feeding it more wood as it got a bigger. There was something that she had wanted to ask him, but something that she didn't know if she wanted to know. "I...Is Cambria okay?" She questioned quietly.

500+ This reply feels funky for some reason, I dunno why. x:



Ehno pulled the rest of firewood into the cave after Naniko, watching silently as she coaxed a fire to life with little effort. Inwardly the Marino marveled at the task, observing how she used the stones to call forth the fires. He had built a fire a number of times himself, but it always amazed him how the flames seemed to leap out of no where and lick hungrily at the wood and the air around it. The D’Angelo lady fed the hungry flames with more of the collected driftwood and Ehno’s gaze shifted out of the cave. The last light of the sunset was just drifting down past the horizon and the rain picked up its pace a little, pattering a calming melody on the dark sands outside.



As he sat across from the fire, her earlier words still rang in his ears. Yes, she wasn’t alone now. The Italian man did not want her to be alone, but he knew it was an inevitable thing. He could give her his company tonight, and any other time he managed to get away and visit her, but it would only last so long. Ehno would have to return to the pack lands where Naniko could not follow, not until she was completely independent from those drugs. Of course he hoped that she would be able to completely recover from her addiction and return to Crimson Dreams, to the lake and the mansion and her family. But would she grow accustomed to the city and refuse to come back to Crimson Dreams? It wouldn’t surprise him if she was hesitant to return after all that had happened. More than anything he wanted her to come back home and have things return to normal. But he couldn't even define normal for himself anymore. Ehno wanted to know if she planned on ever returning to the pack, but the question felt awkward on his tongue and he instead remained silent, staring at the newborn flames.



Her next question was an inevitable one, and as the silence rang for a few seconds afterwards, Ehno realized that he had been hoping she would ask it. The fact that she was asking showed that she cared. It meant the old Naniko was back. The woman sitting beside him wasn’t the drug-crazed Naniko that cared not for the young girl who had accidently gotten into the drugs, shoving the blame on any but herself. Ehno gave a simple nod in response at first as he continued to watch the flickering flames. “Yeah,” he began, finally turning to face her. “Cambria’s recovered, physically at least. She’s been a bit depressed since the… incident, though.” The quiet girl seemed to become very reclusive after her contact with the drug, staying in her family’s room in the manor most days. Ehno hated seeing his niece so unhappy, but it seemed as if there was little to be done to cheer her up. He hoped that the youngster would eventually pull out of her depressive state.

ooc: <3 my post is horrible!


She couldn't understand how her drugs would have caused anyone to fall into a depression, with the way that they had affected her...but maybe they had some kind of a reverse effect on children. She didn't know. She didn't know anything about the drugs, actually, just where to find them. What were they made of? Who had made them originally? What would they do to a wolf over a long period of time? She didn't know the answers to any of those questions. Naniko had once considered herself to be a very knowledgeable wolf.

She let out a breath of air that she hadn't realized she had been holding when she was told that Cambria was doing well physically, though. She hadn't died from it or been injured. "Good. With my own as old as they are...I forget sometimes how inquisitive the little ones can be." She said.

Naniko didn't know what the future held for her, if she might return to Crimson Dreams. What if her return did more damage than good? If Cambria was already depressed, she didn't see how her return to the pack would improve the little girl's feelings. And Savina, Anu, and Mati...Naniko had been the one that had done this; it would take a very long time for anyone to trust her. So many things had branched off of that one thing that she'd done, leaving her bag out in the open. If she hadn't left it out, then she'd still be in Crimson Dreams with her friends and family instead of out here by herself night after night.

But it was all in the past. She just wanted to know how they were doing, if everyone there was okay. It was different, having to ask how they were doing instead of being there and experiencing it for herself. "Everyone's going to be so mad at me...they are mad at me. I don't know how long I should stay out here...but the city feels more like home every day, Ehno." She stopped looking at the fire and glanced outside of the cave mouth, seeing spots because of the light difference. "I don't have anything to worry about out here...most of the time." She had led two packs herself and raised her own children--was it sad that she was still afraid of the dark every once in a while? Perhaps it wasn't the dark itself, though...but what was hiding out in the dark. She looked back across the fire, rubbing her hands together a little. Even though the fire was warm, parts of her felt chilled to the bone.

James-posts are never horrible! <3 400+



Naniko’s comment was another relief to hear. While it wasn’t an apology nor a true admittance of guilt, her words indicated that she no longer placed the blame for what had happened upon little Cambria’s shoulders. It was progress. It was further proof that the words used and the actions taken by the snowy lady that day were the fault of the drugs. Their leader had been lost in a drug-induced haze and she was only now beginning to return to them. The Marino man felt more hope swell within his chest.



Ehno understood why she would feel that everyone back home would be angry with her, because it was the truth. The D’Angelo woman was someone they had all looked up to, but she lost all of their trust in her when she picked up that dangerous habit and refused to see her actions as wrong. It would take time for the members of Crimson Dreams to come to trust her again, especially from the friends and family directly impacted by this incident. Ehno’s own renewed faith had at first been the product of stubborn denial and naïve hope. But he saw the true Naniko behind the mask of drug use. While he could no longer deny the truth of what had happened, he knew that the Nani they all loved was still there, trying to recover out in the city on her own. Knowing that made it difficult for him to simply shun her from his life until she managed to get completely sober, so he instead chose to support her in any little way he could.



“Everyone back home might be mad at you now, but I’m sure they’ll come to forgive you eventually. Even if it takes them a while…” The Italian man could not imagine the two leaders being quick to forgive on this occasion, especially not his sister. He reached across the space between them, resting a hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. “You know when you’ll be ready to come back,” he said. She didn’t outright confirm or deny that she would possibly return to the pack, but his statement made it clear that he at least wanted her to come home. As much as he hated the idea of her remaining out in that concrete jungle for some time, he didn’t want her to try to return to Crimson Dreams if she wasn’t ready. If the thought of returning home made her nervous or uncomfortable, then it would only make things tenser if she attempted to return. “You shouldn’t have to worry,” he muttered, as if continuing his thoughts out loud. His amber gaze sought out her jeweled orbs in the flickering firelight.

ooc:


She had felt like there was a certain kind of haze over her when she had been using, a haze that prevented her from using all of her senses. It had blocked her from seeing the truth in situations, prevented her from being able to hear the truth when they had told it to her. She knew that what she had done, bringing the drugs into the house, was wrong, but was still upset about the fact that she'd had to leave. They had forced her out. Instead of having her family around to help her overcome her demons, they had abandoned her to the city because she had done wrong. The others didn't care about her one bit.

"I don't know if I'll ever be ready to come back. I was their leader--I made that pack myself, built it up from the ground. I can't go back there to nothing. I'm scared to go back." She brought her knees up to her chest then put her head down on them. The weight of everything was pressing down on her and she felt the tears on her fur before she realized that she was crying. She knew her options, but she was afraid of making the wrong choice. And right now she was definitely too afraid to go back to Crimson Dreams with Ehno.

Ehno would probably never truly understand Naniko’s thoughts and feelings when it came to these recent events, but it wouldn’t stop him from trying. He wanted to help and he felt that he needed to understand her more in order to do that properly. He had inadvertently involved himself with both parties of this situation, but he didn’t regret at all. The Marino man would not feel comfortable until everyone involved was happy and things returned to a somewhat normal state. Right now, Naniko was alone while his sibling had the whole pack behind her for support. Naniko needed his help and support right now, and Ehno was glad to give it to someone he cared for.



The former leader revealed a vulnerable part of herself with her words. It was a little insight to her thoughts on this situation she had stumbled into. He wanted to reassure her that, given time, she would still be welcome there, that even if she was not at the top it was still her pack. But the white lady then hugged herself tightly and hid her face behind her knees. Ehno knew there would be tears and his heart gave a panicky flutter. “Don’t be scared, Nani.” He scooted closer to the D’Angelo lady, closing the short distance that had resided between them. Before he even realized what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her and leaned his head against her shoulder. “I won’t let you be scared,” he whispered.

ooc: one more post from you?


The sense of hopelessness that was coming over her only intensified as the seconds ticked on. She couldn't go home again like this, didn't want to. She hadn't meant to put Ehno in the middle of anything...he was her friend, and she was confiding in him like friends did. She needed someone who could help to keep her going in general. Her girls had come to see her, but Mati had been very angry. Brooklyn had tried to help...she didn't know what was wrong with Mati, that she would act that way toward her mother. It had been an accident and Naniko hadn't asked the girl to come to the city and track her down.

She flinched when he touched her, still expecting him to be over on the other side of the fire, and looked up with watery eyes. "I don't want to be. Help me." She leaned against him, into the embrace, hiding her face in his fur.

This is short and horrible, I'm sorry. T_T



The cave walls seemed to close in around them for a moment. There was a strange sense of isolation, intensifying each beat of their hearts and every swell of emotion that pulsed through them. What a strange and cruel whim of fate it was that brought them here, forcing such chaos upon their once-quiet lives. But there was no turning back the clocks now. No, they had to pull through and fight off the terribly painful emotions together. Ehno shifted slightly as the woman moved beside him, golden gaze watching her silently. Those watery jade eyes of hers seemed to speak for her, conveying a silent message that the sudden flood of helpless emotions would not allow her to speak aloud. The look in her eyes stung him bitterly, sending a powerful mix of feelings through him. There was pain in those eyes and he couldn't bear to see it. He didn't want her to hurt anymore. He pulled her closer as she buried her face in his fur, holding her securely in his arms. "I'm right here."