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The silvery Russian trotted steadily onward, intent on exploring these lands for all they were worth. Rurik and his children been settled into the port in the city for almost a month and a half now. Familial duties had kept the Russian close to home for the most part, and he had hardly enough time to simply wander about and see the sights the world had to offer. Today, though, both Liliya and Silas had departed from their tiny home early, and Rurik was left to his own devices. Dinner was ready upon their return; the silvery Russian had managed to bring down an adolescent moose some days earlier, and they were still quite good on meat thanks to that kill. Though Rurik hadn't loved Verusha, he missed her presence; with her around, there was less work involved with the children, as they had shared the burden. For being slightly estranged and deeply resentful of each other, Rurik and Verusha had managed to make things work for their children.
An oddly-shaped silhouette against the horizon drew the silvery wolf's attention, and he increased his pace, heading directly for the beached cruise ship with an expression of delight plastered across his features. "Now that's a ship," he murmured to himself, his brilliantly blue eyes shining as he made his way toward the ship, peering about for an apparent entrance. Some feet away from him, there was a rickety-looking walkway heading up to the uppermost deck, so the Russian headed right for it, climbing up the walkway quickly .Though it swayed just slightly beneath his weight, it seemed stable enough, and before long, Rurik was standing on an expansive deck. Letting out a whistle, the silver-furred man gazed around in appreciation, marveling at the ship's beauty.
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For the first time in months Savina had left the pack lands. It was strange, and as soon as she had stepped over the border she had felt the tug to return. To go back to what was familiar and safe. The woman had pushed past it though, knowing that she needed to get away for a spell. The children would be fine without her, they were seven months old now, and even if they did need something she knew that Kansas was around and available for them. Seven months? It was hard to believe that that was how long her babes had been in the world. They would be a year old before she knew it. The wolf shook her head in disbelief. She had to admit that she was glad that they were healthy and strong and had already survived those first months of life, they would be better prepared to survive the winter that way. She wouldn't worry over them as much as she had Crimson Dreams' first litter. They had been so young when winter had started and she had always worried about them being over exposed to the harsh cold.
Long legs carried her northwest, towards the other side of the peninsula. That was one thing she loved about this place, that she was never too far from the ocean. It made the Italian feel much more at home. It also just felt good to be out on her own. So many things had weighed her down in the past weeks. Her sister's pregnancy and the rocky road that she and her brother had been forced upon. Ghita had given birth to two healthy pups though, and just the other day Ehno had returned. Things were finally turning around, though she knew she had a long road to travel still. Her appetite was returning as well, though she was still too skinny. She would really have to put some weight back on before the first snow hit.
As she came to the coast a huge shape loomed in the distance. Dear gods, what was that? Curious she came closer to it and started to come to the realization it was a ship, though a ship unlike any she had ever seen before. This monster made the ship she had inadvertently stowed away on look like a dingy. Emerald gaze found the stairway that lead to what seemed to be the top. Feeling somewhat adventurous Savina shifted and began to carefully climb up. She tired to make the trip as quickly as possible, for it did not seem as stable as she would have liked. When she reached the top she noted immediately that she was not the only one up here. "Hello," she called out softly so as not to startle the man.
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He didn't have long to explore by himself before distinctive noises somewhere behind him let him know that he was not alone; there was someone else ascending the rickety bridge leading up to the ship's main deck. Turning around, the Russian took a few steps back, quite eager to have company if they were friendly enough. He waited a moment, and just as he'd expected, a sable-furred woman slid over the deck, standing there, noticing him immediately. Rurik looked her over appreciatively, a grin sliding across his face. She was pretty. Her black hair was a wild, wavy hair flowed about her head, and her fur was almost jet-black, accented by patches of the darkest chocolatey color, apparent only when the mid-afternoon sun shone just right on her pelt. His eyebrows raised and that smile still across his face, Rurik dipped his head to her respectfully, speaking in his rumbly accented voice. "Hey there, printsyessa," he said.
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Whee! Love Sie and her reading of profiles and catching of obscure details!  Also love Rurik <3 300+
As soon as she appeared on the deck she could feel his eyes slide over her form and from the smile it was apparent that he liked what he saw. Savina wasn't a vain wolf, but she had to admit it was kind of nice to be complimented in such a manner. Though she couldn't help but wonder why it was that she only got attention from men after she had found the love of her life. She really could have used this kind of confidence boosting back when she was a young girl in Italy. Oh well. Even if she did have a mate it didn't mean that she couldn't accept such a compliment. Thoughts of infidelity never crossed her mind and so she didn't worry about being overly flattered. She smiled back at the stranger and walked closer to him.
There was something exotic about him. She noticed the piercings and tattoo and they brought up only one word in her mind: pirate. As a pup her mother had regaled her with stories of swashbucklers and she had lapped them up as eagerly as she had the stories of the Greek and Roman gods. She had never set eyes on anyone who had resembled one of these interesting figures though, and seeing him she couldn't help but be intrigued. When he spoke he had a thick accent that was foreign to her ears and said a word that she did not recognize and it only served to fuel her interest more. "Signore," she replied in her own accented tones. "Where does such a lilt come from, I wonder?" Certainly not from her homeland and not from this land either. The Italian fey would be quite excited to meet someone else from across the Atlantic. Europeans were few and far between in these parts.
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[html] http://sleepyglow.net/rp/rurik/rurik_tide.jpg);"> Sie has no life. ;D
The Russian wolf was quite openly appreciative of womankind, though he realized now he wasn't averse to contact with men, either—so long as he could be on top. He just didn't like to broadcast that, and he could only really act on that one when he was really, really drunk. He didn't like to look at men like that when he was sober; he'd been raised into a very masculine family, and none of his brothers had ever shown an inkling of bisexuality; they were all hard womanizers and it was unlikely they would ever settle down. Only Skromnyj had ever managed to find a mate, though they didn't have kids and Skrom still liked to mess around a bit. Rurik was frightened of relationships, and it would seem that most of the Russo children would remain bachelors for their lives, though who knew how many illegitemate children Strannik had fathered in his heyday. Smiling at the thoughts of family, he listened to the sable wolf speak, his ears catching the foreign word.
It sounded like how Emma and Cambria had spoken; the silver-furred wolf tilted his head to the side, trying to decide if that word had been Italian or not. He wasn't familiar enough with the language yet to decide, so he smiled broadly, looking at her with a sidelong glance of his brilliant blue eyes. "Quite a ways across the ocean," he answered, grinning. "Rurik Russo, good to meet you," he said, introducing himself with an extended hand, a leftover from the old world. Such a gesture was not as common here, but in Sobirat'sya it was quite common for males to grip hands and shake, especially when first meeting others, including women, and this one was so pretty, he wanted to be on his absolute best behavior.
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Neither does Erin! 300+
Where she had grown up, at least in the pack she had been raised in, it was the male's job to take interest in the female and definitely not the other way around. Admittedly there hadn't been that much of a selection back in Monti Sabini, but she had always been a quiet admirer of the other sex and had never actually been approached by anyone in her birth pack. Now she had a feeling it was because of the scandalous circumstances surrounding her conception and birth, but such thoughts hadn't occurred to her until much later. Everyone back there had been so stuck up except for the select few she had actually befriended. Her mother had entrusted to her when she was older that there was nothing wrong with a girl making the first move in a courtship, but she had warned her to do no such thing in their home. Amata hadn't wanted to see her daughters fall into the same sad trap that she had.
Savina's smile broadened as the man said that he was from across the sea. "What a coincidence. I am as well." She reached out to shake his extended hand as his name hit her ears. Russo? Her muscles stiffened and the smile faded. Unbidden thoughts of her sire flooded her and the hair on the back of her neck stood up. Rurik did not seem to be Italian as well, but she wouldn't be able to let the matter go unless she knew for sure. "Russo? A relation of Serge Russo?" The name rolled off her tongue in distaste. The woman held nothing but contempt for the man that was her "father". He had abandoned them and broken her mother's heart. She severely hoped that Rurik was of no relation to the man, and even if he was, was not fond of him. It really would be a shame to spoil what had seemed to be a nice encounter.
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It delighted him to hear that she was from the same area; his features lit up and his eyebrows raised just a bit, the corners of his mouth tugging up in a smile that spread to his icy eyes. It was rare to meet canines from across the ocean here; Rurik knew the Syemv was among the first ships to make the trek, though there had been rumors of a Carribbean port for some time now. He'd heard the whispers in the London bars, of real pirates—quite unlike himself, quite unforgiving and merciless. He would have liked to meet them. He was certain his sociable nature and desire to share liquor and other fun things with anyone he met would make quick friends of even the most bloodthirsty of the ocean's pirates.
He recognized the change in the sable woman, and tilted his head to the side at her question, coal-dipped ears flicking to catch her words. Serge? The name was entirely unfamiliar; for the most part, his parents and family preferred Russian names, either old ones like Rurik or complicated ones like Schastlivyj, who was often mocked as the most unfortunately named of any of them. At least Strannik could go by Nik or Niki, and Skromnyj generally abbreviated to Skrom or just 'Rom. Their youngest siblings had blessedly simple names, though their paternal grandmother, Zinoviya, was not so pleased with that. "Nein. Mine family is quite large, but we generally keep pretty good track of our own," the wolf said with a grin. Of course, it was a possibility one of his brothers had fathered this Serge somewhere along the line, and they were simply unaware; Strannik especially. "Is he from Russia?" the wolf queried, figuring that would solve their problem—most of his brothers had never been beyond Moscow.
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Savina wished she knew more about ships and travel and things of that sort. That was one thing that she wished had been different (well, there were a lot of things she wished had been different) while she lived in Italy. She wished that she had lived anywhere but Monti Sabini. Easily she recalled the awe and wonder that had taken over her when her mother had taken herself and her siblings on a secret trek to Rome. The young girl had become delightfully overwhelmed by all of the strange sights and sounds of the world that she was so forcefully sheltered from. At the time she hadn't minded the peacefulness of her pack, but now that she was older and looking back on her life there were so many things she didn't know about her own country. Monti Sabini had been a fiercely guarded pocket that had kept the rest of the luperci world away. Savina wished she had had more exposure to that world.
As Rurik looked at her curiously she felt a stab of guilt hit her. It was pretty silly of her to assume that he had a connection with Serge. The two looked nothing alike and her father's family would have never approved of such an appearance. If anything Rurik would be a black sheep, just like she was. Still, she couldn't help but feel relief that he had never heard of such wolf. Sighing and letting the smile come back to her features she shook her head. "No, he is from Italy, as am I." Emerald eyes met his apologetically. "I'm sorry, it's that he is my father and I am not exactly...fond of him. In any matter, I'm Savina Marino. It is very nice to meet you Rurik." It had startled her so for she had never heard anyone else carry that surname outside of her home. Hearing it had brought all the old ghosts to come rushing back.
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as she deceived me i watched and went out of my mind
In Russia, many of the women were quite outspoken. Sobirat'sya was hardly a maternal society; the men still "ran" the family, but there was no question who was the head of Rurik's family: his grandmother, Zinoviya. Her mate, Vasil, had spent his entire life in her shadow, and as they aged it hadn't gotten any better. Rurik had been quite close with the matron of the Russos, but she had never quite gotten over his break-up with Kiska and his inability to bring his children home to Sobirat'sya. True, it was not their home—but they had a huge family there, and most of the members of the family wanted very badly to meet Rurik's elder sons. The Russian was just glad he hadn't run into anybody from the Ozero clan while he'd been over that way; it would not have done to have to face one of them and their questions about Kiska. He had no idea, and he could hardly devote the energy to care anymore. It had been years, and if the green-tinged woman was going to return to him, she would have already.
The silvery wolf perked up at the mention of Italy, and a sly grin slid across his silvery features as he shrugged her apology off delicately. "No worries, printsyessa," he said. Rurik was a difficult creature to offend, and his slow temper was occasionally infuriating to hot-blooded canines. "Your pops got strong name, he ought to live up to it," the wolf added, mock-stern in a jesting manner. "Italy, eh? I pass through streets of Rome once, vos beautiful," the silvery wolf said, nostalgia passing over his face. He held no particular connection to the area, but the ancient buildings of the Coliseum stuck in his head. They were impossibly old, older than the Luperci, older than he could imagine. The statue of Lupa had stuck out in his mind especially; he had taken the time to learn her story from a local, and it was fascinating. He wondered if the wolves of old had actually cared for humans in that way.
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It relieved her that she hadn't upset her companion, Savina didn't like to step on anyone's toes. She did her best to be polite and pleasant to everyone she met, it was simply a part of her nature. Of course she wasn't perfect and did have her issues but for the most part she was a kind and caring soul. She sensed a bit of that in the Russian male as well and she guessed that that could be one of the reasons they were clicking so quickly. "Yes, he should, but the sad thing is he thinks he is," she sighed. Serge's views of right and wrong were completely wrapped up in what the elite of her birth pack thought was proper and improper. Though it hadn't been proper of one of the favorite sons of the pack to have an extramarital affair with someone. He had been lucky though, his privilege and the fact that he was a man had given him the chance to shirk the shame and responsibility. It was only Amata and the pups that had suffered.
The mention of Rome instantly brightened her up again though and her emerald optics lit with the memory. "You've been to Rome too? It is so beautiful. I only saw it once, when I was very young, but I fell in love with it. I wish I could have seen it once more before I came here." Not that she for a moment regretted ending up here. It was here that she had found her love and had been reunited with her siblings, where she had started her own family. There were things she missed about Italy though, and things she wished she could relive. "Are you a sailor then, signore Russo?" If he was from a place called Russia and had been to Italy and was now here she imagined he must be, or at least a traveler of sorts, and the best way to get to such distant lands was by sea.
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The silvery wolf was quick to joke about some things, but in truth he was all too familiar with fatherhood, and how one managed to screw it up royally. When his elder sons were born, Rurik certainly hadn't believed they were his. He had caught Kiska messing with that damn coyote earlier, and he'd been so sure that their herbs and medicines would not fail in preventing pregnancy. It was not until his sons were much older and Rurik saw himself reflected in their faces and features that he realized the terrible truth.
Failing at fatherhood the first time had cost him his eldest sons, his one and only love—damn near everything. In the end, he had Empathy of the original Syemv crew, and an idea for forming a pack in his head. Perhaps that had been ill-advised and poorly planned, too. Maybe he should have just turned around and headed back to Russia when that had happened. The sable wolf before him spoke quietly and offered a sigh, eliciting the Russian's curiosity. His icy gaze regarded the other woman boldly, one of his eyebrows cricking upwards. The expression gently prodded for information, yet it was hardly the demand a verbal question would have been. Savina could quite easily pass over the look Rurik had given her, should she not wish to discuss this fatherly figure who was not so fatherly.
They did have something in common, and the Russian wolf grinned, nodding and listening with an enthusiastic look on his face. His merry blue eyes glinted with excitement, and the beginnings of a grin sitting on his muzzle as she spoke. "Much the same—wish I could've visited more'n the time I saw it," he said, in complete agreement with Savina. "Aye. Mine family in Sobirat'sya, Russia are all fisherman. You could say it's in the blood," he added. "How did you come to live here?" he inquired, curious about the raven female's journey from the old world to this place.
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Whoa, this is a lot lengthier than I meant it to be XD 500+
The more time and distance the separated her from her place of birth, the more resentful she became of the way the pack had functioned. There would always be fond memories there, but Monti Sabini had been little more than a backdrop for them. The reasons the memories were fond were because they included her mother, brother, and sister. Them and the secretive lessons they had had with Lorenzo. Those events would have been just as pleasant if they had taken place anywhere else. When she had arrived here she had been hesitant to take on a more humanized way of life, but now she embraced it. The fey would never forget her wild roots, but there was nothing wrong with embracing the gift that humanity had given them either.
She caught Rurik's questioning glance and felt no need to hold back the truth. It didn't bother her to talk about it as much as it used to. There had been times when she had adamantly refused to discuss anything relating to Serge. Now that man was hundreds of miles away though, and she knew that he would never leave to come looking for her or any of his other "mistaken" offspring. "Where I was born things were very...strict. You weren't supposed to have relations outside of mateship. Serge did though, and got my mother pregnant. His status in the pack allowed him to get out of it though, and he disowned her and me and my siblings. He never acknowledged us as his own and he broke my mother's heart." Her lips were curled down into a sour frown as she relayed the story. As far as she was concerned it had all been inexcusable. She would never forgive him for everything he had and hadn't done.
Despite all the adversities and unpleasantness she had faced, Savina was proud of where she came from and it was always a subject she was happy to discuss. She had never met anyone else here who had seen the great city of her homeland and so was pleased that he had also been taken in by its splendor. So the Russian man was a sailor, how interesting. Perhaps sometime he could teach her a thing or two about boats and sailing. She nodded her head smiling, and then was asked how she came to be here. "Quite by accident, actually." The journey she had taken had been far from intentional. "I left my birth pack, for my brother and sister had left and my mother...she had recently passed. I traveled to one of the small port towns and snuck onto a ship, I was curious to see what they were like on the inside. Well, the ship was ready to cast off and I got stuck on-board. I don't know how long I was down there, but one night an awful storm came up and the ship was torn apart and I washed out to sea. The next thing I remember was washing up on the shore off to the south and east of here."
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The silvery wolf was raised in high civilization. His family owned a small block of houses, though they'd hollowed out the center and planted trees to create a sort of garden courtyard. Their homes surrounded this central garden, and by the time Rurik had returned last, the trees had begun to grow into saplings. It would be some years and some generations before thick trunks grew in their block of city, but it was inspiring nonetheless. Even with this, the Russo family had lived in the area of Arkhangel'sk, surrounded by wilderness and expansive forests. Rurik had taken the land trip to Moscow more times than he could remember, and getting there was anything but easy. The old human roads served them well, but without maintenance they were beginning to deteriorate, overgrown with weeds and plant life. This and the wilderness surrounding his home had kept him from becoming too civilized.
Though he'd never met one, he'd heard of canines who had completely lost their ability to survive in the wild, living pampered lives in city penthouses. That sort of lifestyle confused the hell out of him; though he liked living in houses he could not imagine never leaving them. He could not imagine feeling uncomfortable and unfamiliar in the woods and the forest. His coal-dipped ears flicked to catch the woman's words, listening with an expression that grew progressively sadder as the story continued. The Russian thought that sounded way too familiar—sure, his reasons for disowning his kids were different, but this Serge had acted much the same as Rurik had to Zaets, Zorish, and Vladimir when they were young.
"He does not sound like a good man, but maybe his heart will change," the Russian offered quietly, hesitant to admit his own shoddy parenting outright. Still, it was far too relevant to the conversation. "Sometimes... we make mistakes, and we only realize it when it's too late," he added, cryptic in his phrasing. Tilting his head back and angling his muzzle slightly skyward, his bright blue eyes regarded the expansive sky around him for a moment, leveling his gaze with the deck in front of him. "I loved a woman once, and I thought she had cheated and bore someone else's children... I found her with another man, but later it turns out she was faithful to me alone," the Russian said, not wishing to delve into the deepest, confusing details of what had happened. Yeah, she'd been hugging Segodi—but it was a purely platonic, friendly hug, and Kiska had never cheated on him, not once. He knew that the moment he'd seen his sons.
"This was first time I come over here, with six of mine friends—I left, wandered this continent, returned here, and left again for Russia. This was almost two years ago? I feel guilty about mine children the whole time I am there, my grandmother, Zinoviya—she never forgeef me for abandoning mine sons," the wolf said. He was a storyteller, and used to speaking so much, but here he paused, allowing some of this to sink into her head before he continued to the more important part. "Now, I come here to search for them and make things right. I know it will never be all good, but... I have to try," he said. Maybe his story would make her feel better, maybe it would give her hope that someday her father might put forth effort, no matter how unlikely it seemed. As despicable as it seemed that the man had abandoned his children, Rurik had done the very same thing, and he could not help but feel that effort was still important. Even if the sable woman could never truly accept her father, if he tried to be a part of her life, it would still be good to give him at least one chance.
Smiling and shaking his head at the woman's story, he let out an appreciative whistle. "Whew, you are lucky to have survived such a thing," the silvery wolf rumbled, marveling at the woman's tenacity. The open ocean was a terrible, difficult place. He knew this from traveling the Atlantic three times round-trip; one simply did not want to be caught in the middle of it without a ship.
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The telling of her past was obviously having some effect on the man, moreso than others, and Savina couldn't help but wonder if his own past held a similar theme. He hadn't mentioned having any issues with his own father, but that didn't necessarily mean that he did not. When he spoke she had to suppress a scoff, she had never been in the mindset of giving Serge another chance. As far as she was concerned he had had every opportunity to make things right with them but he never had. He had never offered any help or even a passing glance. They had been invisible to him, and may has well not have existed. She was certain that he did wish they didn't exist. Though at Rurik's next words she looked at him differently, not judgmentally, she was just seeing things in a different light.
She listened quietly and patiently as he revealed his story, about why he had returned here once again from his homeland. While there were similarities in what Rurik had done and what her father had done, there were also many differences. Right or wrong, this man had thought his lover had betrayed him and that the children she bore were not his. Such a thing would be difficult for anyone do deal with in a respectful and upstanding manner. Savina couldn't say what she would do if Kansas ever betrayed her in such a way (though she knew he never would) or worse, got another female pregnant. The mere thought of it made her sick to her stomach. In this way, while not condoning it, she understood why Rurik had reacted in the way that he had. Serge had no such excuse. He had seduced her mother and Amata had been the only one who had had to deal with the negative consequences. He had broken her heart for no reason other than he didn't want to look bad or pay the price. She doubted if he had even cared for Amata in the slightest.
"I am sorry that happened Rurik, and that you're having to live with that guilt. But, I cannot really blame you for reacting in the way that you did. Thinking that your loved one could have been unfaithful to you and having children that were not your own...it would make anyone react rashly." Though this did not make her see her father in a different light. "One thing I can say with certainty though, is that you are not Serge, and Serge is not you. Perhaps you two did similar things, but Serge was not in the emotionally strained situation you were. He chose his status over his responsibility. He took advantage of my mother. You are at least trying to make things right. Serge, I do not think, will ever care enough to do even that much." Honestly, she didn't think she wanted him too. There was nothing that he could do that would ever make up for everything. The woman didn't have it in her heart to forgive him.
The Marino knew that her chances of surviving what she had were incredibly slim. There were not many who would have lived through such an experience. "Lucky, yes. Or perhaps it was fate." Savina didn't think that everything happened for a reason, but with all that had happened here she found it hard to believe that she hadn't been meant to come here. Finding her mate, being reunited with both her brother and sister, it was hard to pass off so much as coincidence. "I trust in the ocean. I do not think it will take me before my time." She was "of the sea", after all.
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as she deceived me i watched and went out of my mind
Rurik regretted very little he'd done in his life; almost everything was worthwhile to him. Even after everything that had happened on this continent, the silver-furred man did not consider it a mistake to come here. He was glad he'd wanted to see the world, even if it had cost him a hell of a lot in the long run, it had still gained him three sons and a purpose which he now had to fulfill. There was a certain amount of guilt over Kiska still lingering in the man somewhere, but he had mostly recovered those issues; it was now his lost children who plagued him as he slept, fitful dreams of his adult sons in the passing glances. Rurik sorely wished he'd been able to see things the way he saw them now—maybe he'd still have Kiska, maybe he'd still have Syemv. He was not sure.
The silver wolf nodded in agreement with what the sable female spoke. He couldn't imagine choosing something like alphaship over his children—if he had known Zaets, Zorish, and Vladimir were his own, he would have taken care of them, simple as that. He smiled sadly, and shook his head. "You speak the truth. Can't say I would think of rank before family if I had his paws. But it is a damn shame, printsyessa, he cannot see the pretty daughter he gave up," the wolf offered, grinning at her. It was his usual cheeky sort of smile, but there was a genuineness shining in his ice-colored eyes. He meant the compliment wholeheartedly; he wished maybe someday Savina's father would come around to see what he'd blown off for something as simple as rank. He was a simple myrmidon of culture and society, chasing after unimportant things that did not matter in the long run.
"Aye? Back in Sobirat'sya, they tell stories of the Vodyanye. They are water spirits, and I have prayed to them through more than one nasty storm. Maybe one looked after you?" he suggested, drawing from his native religion. Rurik did not follow the polytheism favored by many of the elders in his homeland, and instead he placed special emphasis on one god in particular, with some smaller spirits to assist. It was not to say he disbelieved these other gods, he simply chose to emphasize one in particular, elevating Stribog above the rest of them.
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There was something about the Russian wolf that she really liked. She couldn't really nail down exactly what it was, it was probably a combination of things, but she found herself being very glad that she had made the journey up here this day. Even though they were from two very different places in Europe, there was an automatic sort of kinship she felt with the man for also being from across the Atlantic. It was almost like she was able to in some small way reconnect with her home. At his very kind comment she smiled broadly. "Thank you, signore, it is very nice of you. I do not worry over it though. I might not have had a father, but I had a mother and brother and sister who all loved me very much, and I them. I am happy with the family that I do have." A shot of sadness drove through her, wondering how much family she really would have close after a few things played out. Savina did her best to keep her composure though, not really wishing to get into all the things that weighed heavily on her now.
The Commander listened with interest as Rurik mentioned spirits that they believed of in his home. The Italian didn't really have a name for the deities she believed in and prayed to. They were a bunch of nameless entities but she knew they existed. "Perhaps so," she replied, her tail waving. "My surname, Marino, it means 'of the sea' in Italian. I've always felt a strong connection to the ocean. I go to it for solace." She didn't know if others felt such a connection with their own family names, but the sable fey certainly had. The ocean called to something deep in her soul. It was probably not so different from the connection that sailors felt, though Savina didn't know if she'd ever step foot on a ship again. This did bring a query to mind, however. "What is sailing like? I was stuck in the hull the whole time I was on a ship and I was really too distressed to appreciate the experience." If she ever got the opportunity now she thought she could enjoy it more.
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The silver-furred werewolf was glad to hear that Savina had family other than her despicable father; he was glad that the children had at least known Kiska for a little while, but he was quite sad to think that Zaets, Zorish, and Vladimir would never know the expansive family ready to take them in and adore them—all because of him. Rurik almost sighed outwardly; the search for his sons seemed desperate now at best. They had been a part of the northern territories, so far as he knew, and perhaps they had died in the goddamn fire, burned to a crisp. He couldn't imagine such a horrible death.
"Some family is surely better than none, aye," he agreed wholeheartedly, though his mind reflected heavily on his children who would not know the rest of their heritage in Sobirat'sya. "Family is very important," he stated, sort of as a corollary or further agreement to the sable-furred woman's words. He was glad to have met her here; the conversation was enlightening, and Rurik was quite glad to meet the woman. She spoke again of her surname, and he looked at her funny, realizing he knew that name from somewhere else. He snapped his fingers, and spoke when she was finished speaking. "Marino," he said with a grin. "You got a kid, right?" he asked, thinking of Cambria. "Cambria?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. They hadn't really talked about dear old Mom, but their conversation had been quite fun nonetheless. It should have tipped him off when she was talking about Italy, but the silver-furred werewolf was slow to make these connections sometimes, and only the repetition of the woman's surname had jogged his memory.
The werewolf listened to her speak once more and winced at her description. "Oy, I have been in the bowels of a ship before, it is not fun at all," he said, shaking his head. "Mine sympathy," he offered. "If you'd like, maybe sometime I can show you? I got a little boat, if you know a lake," he offered with a sly grin. He had no idea he was speaking to a mated woman, after all. The presence of children to Rurik had failed to indicate a man—he figured maybe she was even still single, despite that warning bell.
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Poor Rurik, chasing after taken women XD 300+
She sincerely hoped that Rurik's children would be more forgiving of their father than she ever would be of her own. Unlike Serge, she felt that the Russian male truly deserved a second chance. A betrayal of the heart could make anyone act in ways they normally would not and if any of his sons had ever been in love hopefully they would understand why their father had acted in the way that he had. To her it seemed a forgivable transgression, but it was impossible to say how estranged family members thought of one another. Savina nodded in agreement. "It is. One of the most important things in life, I believe." Family was what kept her going, though ironically it was also what was causing her so much anxiety as of late. No matter how much her brother's actions had harmed her though, she knew she could never stop loving him, even if he broke her heart into tiny pieces.
As she spoke of her surname his expression changed and her head tilted to the side in a questioning manner. She didn't need to wait to verbally ask why her name had caught his ear though. Savina nodded her head as some dots slowly connected themselves in her own mind. "Yes, you know my daughter?" That seemed odd to her, Cambria wasn't the one of her children she would have picked out to befriend the pirate, but soon something her girl had said came back to her mind. "Ah! Are you the nice man who taught her some new words in a different language?" She remembered clearly how excited her usually calm and quiet child had been that day, chattering endlessly about the stranger she had met and the new knowledge he had imparted to her. There were few times she had seen her more full of energy.
It was somewhat comforting to know that even a seafaring man such as Rurik was not fond of being in the hull of a ship. Perhaps it hadn't simply been her distress that had made the voyage so unpleasant after all. "Yes, can't say I'd like to try it again," she said with a bit of a laugh. His offer was pleasant and if not for his grin she would have taken it at face value, but now she could see that her new acquaintance was perhaps hoping for more than platonic friendship. "There is actually quite a lovely lake on my pack's lands," she said, pausing for a moment. "I should tell you though, signore, I am spoken for." She wasn't at all offended, but Savina figured that she needed to set that out the fact that she was not available out on the table. Perhaps if they had met at another time, but she loved Kansas and would never do anything to betray his trust.
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[html] Omg, he can't help it. XD Savina is prettyface, so he's all -swoon- PRI'LADY <3 as usual. What a slore he is. >__>
Rurik wondered what would happen if he ever ran into any of his elder children. Would they be angry that they had younger siblings, jealous of the doting father they'd been denied? Such a thing worried Rurik, but he found it was too important to seek them out and let them know he was sorry and he would put his best effort forth to fix what had gone wrong. He wanted them to know their grandparents, their siblings and cousins and all of the family they had back home in Sobirat'sya. Maybe they'd found Thorn, or maybe they knew what happened to him—maybe they weren't even in touch with each other anymore. Such a thought scared Rurik above all else; his children could be separated by many miles and many months of searching.
The sable-furred wolf agreed, and Rurik smiled, his thoughts reflecting still on his own fragmented family. He could have kicked himself for being so dumb in his youth. He nodded proudly when Savina inquired of Cambria, and was about to mention the languages when the Crimson Dreams wolf offered it up herself. He grinned broadly at that and nodded his head. "Yes'm. We traded—she taught me a few words in Italian, I taught her a couple in French," the werewolf said, rather eager to share the story to the girl's mother even if she already knew it. "You have got a right smart girl," he complimented. Another creature might have felt envy for the relationship between mother and daughter after lamenting their own poor parenting, but Rurik was a kind-hearted soul, and jealousy was an extremely rare emotion for him. It did not occur in this situation, anyway.
It was almost disappointing for Rurik to learn that the other was taken, but he ought to have figured that for himself anyway—she did have a pretty young daughter, after all. The silver-furred werewolf was easily bounced back, however, and he feigned exaggerated disappointment, snapping his fingers together and grinning afterward to show he joked. "Figures—the good ones are always taken," he said, brushing it off with a laugh. "Really, though, he is a lucky guy to have such a good woman at his side," he said, more seriously—this was not an attempt to cajole her into a date. He intended it as a compliment, and the smile he offered her was warm and genuine, lacking any of the hints he might have dropped a moment prior.
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Awwwww, Ruru *pats him* If Savi weren't taken she'd tap that ;D and LMAO, I had to look up slore on urban dictionary. What a great word XD 500+
It was hard to find a family that didn't have some problems, some fragmentation. She had grown up without a father, been separated from her siblings. The family that Naniko and Anu had built together had come apart. No one knew what had happened to Salem, Haven had left for another pack, and now Naniko was gone as well. Part of her wondered if things really would be any better if the woman had returned to Crimson Dreams. In some ways yes, and in others it would be much worse. Cambria now had a deep-rooted fear and hatred of the woman and having her back in the pack would undoubtedly cause her daughter incalculable stress. Savina herself would never be able to trust her again, there would always be tension between them. It seemed this was a lose-lose situation. Either way there would be problems and suffering.
The mother had wanted to meet the man who had had such an effect upon her child and now here she was, having a conversation with him. She could certainly see why. There was something innately pleasant and relaxing about the male. Savina could just picture the two of them, sitting and instructing one another in the different tongues. It warmed her heart that her daughter had taken to Italian as it appeared that she had. It had been important for her to pass that on as a part of their heritage, but it had been hard to tell if any of them had found any pride in it. Knowing that at least one of them did was wonderful. "Well, she enjoyed it quite a bit. She's even said that she hopes she'll see you again so she can learn and teach more." She could feel pride swell in her chest at the compliment. "Thank you. You seem to have quite a talent. There aren't many who can bring Cambria out of her shell as you did." Anyone who could make her daughter happy and make her feel worthwhile had the woman's eternal thanks.
She didn't like having to disappoint anyone, but it was better that Rurik find out now rather than later. A soft chuckle came from her at his gesture and words. "There's surely still some out there for one such as yourself. Plenty of fish in the sea, as they say, right?" From what she already knew and the feel that she got, any woman would be lucky to have someone such as the Russian male. The more serious remark he then made caught her off guard and she couldn't help but feel her cheeks warm beneath her fur. "Thank you," she said genuinely and softly. Few would be so gracious and kind after being turned down, even if it were for a valid and good reason. Once again it only spoke highly of his character and quality.
"You're welcome to come to Crimson Dreams whenever you wish. I know Cambria would love to see you again, and I would still like to learn about sailing if you're still willing to teach." It wasn't an offer she extended to many, but she felt that she could trust the Russian. If he and his family ever needed anything she would be happy to lend her assistance.
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