For Haven, backdated to 12/27, shortly after her thread with mommy dearest! 1022 words.

even in the darkness every color can be found

####There was a numb feeling spreading through her body, all the way through to the very tips of her fingers and her toes. The cold outside was not noticed by her, but the cold within her own body felt suffocating. Princess leaned against the tree, holding onto it as if her very life depended on it. After confronting her mother, Princess had left in a cool, collected manner, but now she felt as though her heart had stopped. She had not allowed her mother to see this pain, but in the privacy of her own thoughts, Princess felt helpless and useless. She had no idea what she was going to do now. Her brother was gone, and her mother was pregnant, and happy. That was the worst part, knowing that her mother was happy to be having these puppies. It had been like a stab to her heart to find out that Tokyo wanted to have these puppies, while she had been unwanted, just like the rest of her litter. At least she had not been killed like her infant siblings, but it was painful to know that these puppies were wanted, when she was not. Her mother had been lying to her all this time; she had hated her just as much as she had hated Buttface. It was clear now, and she wished she’d known this so long ago. It would have saved her so much trouble and so many arguments with her brother when they were younger.

####Wiping away the stray tears that had formed in her eyes, Princess then pushed her hair out of her face, inhaling sharply. Going back to Crimson Dreams was not something she wanted to do yet, as upset as she was, but she did not know what else there was to do. After a moment, though, she realized that she did have another option, and she quickly changed her direction, going off memory alone to find the pack of misfits and her lover’s house within. There, she could find the comfort she sought, the solace that she needed. Haven would never turn her away, she knew, and it would give her a chance to calm down. Maybe she would be less upset after seeing him, though she had no way of guaranteeing that this might be the case. Princess could only hope that it would happen that way, because she would not know what to do if it did not make her feel better to see her Knight. Maybe he could find a way to distract her, if she was not able to be comforted. Princess nodded firmly, knowing that he would try his best to make her feel better. There had been so much heartache in the past two days, and she simply needed to get away from it all. Maybe she could even tell him that she and Mati did not seem to hate each other anymore, because she was certain that he would be happy about that.

####The borders were clearly marked, but even on a good day, Princess likely would have ignored them as she did now. The pack was much more relaxed than others, as far as she could tell, and she knew that she would be welcomed because of her budding relationship with Haven. Still, she made an effort to avoid running into anyone, careful to fight away any more tears that threatened to spill. She did not want to have to explain to anyone else what was wrong and who she was. If she ran into anyone, it would surely just lead to an awkward conversation, and she was not so disillusioned that she thought she was impervious to any and all reprimand. If she ran into anyone, she would need to explain what she was doing there, and she did not know if anyone in Haven’s pack even knew about her. In Crimson Dreams, only she and Mati knew about Princess’ relationship with Haven. Her brother would have been included in that list, but he had selfishly left her alone without so much as a good bye. It still hurt, but not nearly as much as it hurt to know that Tokyo was pregnant and very happy about her condition. There were a few others that knew about her and Haven, such as Anselm, but it was generally kept a secret from most. Princess saw no need to broadcast it anymore, and wish she had kept it more of a secret when it had first happened. It would have prevented a few problems, but there was no way it could be changed now.

####Approaching Haven’s house, Princess realized that it had been quite a long time since she had last seen him. Briefly, she wondered why it was that she had not come here sooner, but she supposed it may be related to the distance between them. She really did hate the space between them; it would be easier if they lived closer together. Without considering the way she looked, tear-streaked and winded, Princess raised her hand to his door and knocked gently. There was no way to guarantee that the orange and white Knight was going to be home, but she could only hope. Coming all this way for nothing had not even crossed her mind until now, and if he was not home, she did not know what she was going to do. Probably she would simply wait outside and hope that he came back quickly, but if it got too cold or too dark, she supposed she could always wait inside, too. The door would not be locked, as far as she knew, and she doubted that he would mind terribly if she let herself into his house to wait for him. If the situation were reversed, Princess would want him to wait for her inside, although not in her room, but simply inside the mansion. There was really now way for her to know for sure if he would want the same thing, though, so she waited outside the door with bated breath, hoping he would come to the door soon.

SoSuWriMo 559



Today Haven hadn't left the house except to make a quick run to the stables to feed and check up on Drogon. There were many things that he had discovered in the past couple days, both concerning his mothers. Anu had found someone else to be with and while he was happy for her it was odd for him to think of her with anyone but Naniko. The two woman had been either together or on their own for the entirety of his life and to now have to think of his tawny mother being with another woman was unsettling. That would have been enough to throw him off, but a week ago while he was wandering near Phoenix Valley he had come across a pup that had turned out to be his half sister. If Haven had thought that Anu finding a new lover was a blow to his sense of his family then this had blown it out of the water. His biological mother, without his prior knowledge, had gone off and had a new litter of pups. He had felt distanced from her before, but now he really didn't think he could face her and if he did he wouldn't have the first clue as to what to say. Part of him wanted to get to know his new half siblings and be a good big brother, but another part wished that they didn't exist at all.



The Aatte male could feel the itch to go drown his problems and he simply could not allow himself to go out and do that. So he had locked himself in his house which had been rid of any type of booze from the moment he had moved into it. When his world was thrown so suddenly off kilter was when he was the most susceptible to his poison of choice and he didn't want to go down that road again. Sometimes it brought good things, like him meeting Princess, but always there were problems and complications and he knew that they would only make things worse instead of better in the end. So he had done his best to distract his mind in other ways, such as reading and practicing his guitar which had not been touched in a week or so.



The Knight had been laying on his couch and reading when he heard the knock at his door. Bi-colored ears perked up and his head turned to look at the front door to his home. That was odd, he didn't often get visitors and he wondered who it could be. Perhaps Heath or Ruri? Or even one of the newer members he had met, Ataxia. He didn't recall telling her where his house was, but it wouldn't have been too difficult for her to track down. "Coming!" he called out and he set the book down on the coffee table and got to his feet. Haven yawned and stretched as he walked over to the door, finally grabbing the handle and opening it up. The sight he was met with instantly turned his face into an expression of deep concern and his mouth hung open slightly. "Princess? What happened?" Her face was stained with tears and she looked much more ragged than was her habit, though thankfully he did not see any physical wounds on her.

<3 1,068 words.

even in the darkness every color can be found

####The time spent in front of Haven’s closed door was not spent for Princess to try to calm herself down or rationalize everything that she had endured in the past two days, but instead was used to unintentionally summon more tears for her current situation. She felt like she was being tugged in various directions, hit with one thing after another in such a short time frame, and she absolutely hated the way that she was feeling. It nearly made her sick to her stomach to think of how she had treated Mati upon finally reading her brother’s note, and though it seemed that they had ended on a better note, the Chance girl still felt terrible for forcing the blame on Mati first, rather than taking her brother’s advice not to, and also choosing to ignore her knowledge of the budding relationship between Ares and Mati. In her mind that morning, she had been justified in blaming Mati for her brother’s disappearance. Initially, her mind told her that Mati should have known how horrible Tokyo was, but it had been an unfounded assumption. At least now she could tell Haven that she now got along much better with his sister, and that was surely going to be a good thing. She had not wanted to possibly strain their relationship.

####When the door opened, she had to fight the urge to fall on him, to lean into him for the support she so desperately desired and needed. It was common for her to collapse from any form of serious emotional stress, as evidence by the way that she had fallen in Mati’s doorway the morning before, and the way that she had not moved from her kneeling position on the floor when telling Haven about Tokyo’s past horrors. It had not been a running thought in coming here, but at her first tear streaked look at his concerned face, she felt embarrassed about the way she looked; it would not have been hard to stop at some small body of water on the way and wash away her tears, but it had not even occurred to her that she looked so terrible until she saw him, someone she was so conscious to look nice in front of. Granted, she did not look nearly as terrible as her mother. Her hair was still in its nice wavy curls, her dress clean and pretty, and she herself was clean, but she had been crying at a rate that was practically nonstop for two days now. She could feel how puffy her eyes were, but there would be nothing she could do about that until she finally stopped crying, anyway, so it probably would do her a lot of good to stop worrying about the way she looked in front of him for a moment and focus on everything else that was going on. Physically, though, she felt absolutely terrible, so his concerns did not surprise her in the least.

####“Hi,” she said weakly, voice much more timid than it had ever been around him before. She had been relatively quiet when telling him about her family, but the single word now sounded drained, her voice meek. All of a sudden, she felt very tired, as if these two days had completely sapped away any and all of her energy. Truthfully, she did not know where to begin with telling Haven what had happened to her as of late and Princess did not know he would react. After everything that she had told him about her horrible mother, it was entirely possible that he would be angry with her for being so stupid as to actually go to see Tokyo intentionally. In hindsight, the girl knew how incredibly stupid of her it had been, but at the time, it had seemed like the only thing she could do. She had wanted to hurt her mother so bad, but it seemed more than obvious that it had backfired severely. It probably had not been a very good idea to tell Tokyo about Haven, either, even if she did not mention his name. What if she was so jealous about her daughter’s betrayal that she tried to find him and hurt him? Tokyo would not have had a problem trying to hurt Ares, so Princess did not think it all that impossible that Tokyo would feel such a great animosity towards Haven in regards to what her daughter had done with him. Certainly Haven would not have to do much but flick his wrist and she’d be gone, but Princess was very glad she had left his name out of their horrible conversation. It was simply for the better that way.

####Taking a deep breath, Princess finally allowed her eyes to seek Haven’s, hoping to find solace and care in his gaze. “I just. . . I just came from seeing. . . My mother,” she said finally, lips trembling over the words. She had so much pain within, so much hurt from her mother’s words and obvious love for the things growing inside her. It hurt more than she had expected it ever could, and she wished that she could have lashed out at her mother completely. It was what Tokyo would have deserved for everything that she had done, in the past, in current times, and most likely, in the future as well. She sighed, knowing she would have to further explain what had happened, as she doubted that Haven would not ask her more about it, or at least question why. That’s what she would have done if the roles had been reversed. “My brother’s gone, and I’ve talked with your sister,” she added quietly, “and Tokyo’s pregnant, and happy,” she spat, clenching her fists by her sides and closing her eyes tightly. She did not want to cry anymore, but it was already incredibly difficult to fight back the tears that threatened to spill forth again. Later, she would feel bad for dumping everything on him like this, but all she needed now was someone to lean on, figuratively and literally. She would tell him everything about the past two days soon, as soon as she knew she could do it without crying more. What she gave him was a basic skeleton of everything that had happened, and it would need to be fleshed out to be understood more.

Little PP, you know the drill XD SoSuWriMo 597



Haven didn't care for a single second that she looked so ragged, all he cared about was how she was and what he could do to make her feel better. He had never seen her like this before and so he knew whatever had happened must have been awful. That hot flare rose up in his chest, the same one that came to him whenever he thought his mother or sister had been harmed. He wanted to go out and fight whoever had upset her so. To teach them a lesson and make them leave Princess alone for good. In the back of his mind he was aware that this strong desire to right whatever wrong had been done to her meant that his feelings for her had grown very deep. If it weren't for everything else going on he might have been more shocked at the revelation, but for now it was pushed to the back burner. Right now taking care of her was what was most important.



Her small and weak greeting only increased his worry and his ears flicked back though he managed to keep a whine from escaping his throat. She needed him to be strong for her right now, she didn't need him to break down too. It was just so startling to see his confident, fiery girl brought down so low and timid. He was so startled in fact that he didn't even think that he should be taking her into the house and setting her down. His thoughts and emotions were flying all over the place and for now he was glued to the doorway, his jade eyes looking down at her, willing her to be okay. When her weak, trembling voice rose again his bi-colored ears cupped forward to catch her words and he found them shocking, his eyes growing wide. Why would she have gone to see her mother? He didn't understand and he wanted to ask why, but at the same time he couldn't bring himself to say anything that could upset her more. The surprising admissions didn't stop there though. Ares was gone? Why would he leave? He had been so protective of Princess, but now he had left her? It made no sense. Then came something that hit very close to home for him as well. Her mother was pregnant with a new litter. There were still a lot of blanks that needed to be filled in, but Haven could easily understand now why she was in the state that she was.



The Knight took a step forward and took one of her clenched hands in his own, his other arm wrapping about her slender shoulders. "Come in, let's get you sat down." Slowly he lead her into his house, closing the door behind them. He guided her over to the couch and set her down and then he moved to go get her a glass of water. He kept some jugs in the house filled with water in case he ever got thirsty and he figured that having some could do her good. After he had that poured he brought it over to her and handed it to her, taking a seat by her side. "I'm here for you Princess. Whatever you need, just let me know, and when you're ready you can tell me what all happened." He wasn't going to force her into telling it all straight away, that wouldn't help her. She needed to take things at her own pace. All he could do right now was be there for her.

<3 1,100 words.

even in the darkness every color can be found

####So wrapped up in her own pain, Princess did not realize how concerned he was about her until she was sitting on his couch, clutching the glass of water tightly in both of her hands. Her breathing was still shallow, but Princess felt a tiny bit calmer now that she was sitting down in the company of someone that she cared about so much. Being with him helped her feel better, something that she would realize later was so important in their budding relationship. Princess had never really had a good role model when it came to loving relationships, and these feelings were all foreign territory for the young woman. For now, all she knew was that she had someone she could seek comfort in and know that he would not judge her for what she did or said. Having that meant so much to her, but even with those feelings, she could not fight that hurt and anger and sadness away. Once upon a time, she had thought that she would always have her brother to comfort her, but now she knew that it was nothing but a false sense of security that she had had with him. She hoped that was not what she had with Haven; it would kill her.

####Golden eyes closed slowly, resting while she thought about the past two days. She felt so stupid about all of it; she should have realized that Ares was gone much earlier than she had, and she should not have gone to blame Mati, and she certainly should not have gone to see Tokyo. The only intelligent thing that she had done in the very short time span had been coming to see Haven, and even that she was unsure about. Pushing her problems onto him was not something that she really wanted to do, but she needed the comfort now. Her usual nature, so composed and headstrong to the eyes of anybody but herself, was dropped now, and it felt strangely comfortable to do it in his presence. Never before had she really had anybody to lean on, rather than be strong for. Even with her brother, Princess had always been the strong one, trying to protect him from their mother and going against her orders in sharing her food with him, and then later giving up everything she had more than once to be with him.

####It seemed so absurd now that she had gone to see her mother, but it had seemed so important at the time that it had crossed her mind. Everything had started when she had finally read her brother’s note of farewell, and briefly, Princess wondered whether or not everything would have been better if she had not ever bothered to read it. If she could have completely forgotten about it, then she would not have blamed Mati and she would not have gone to see Tokyo. She surely would have questioned her brother’s sudden absence, but she probably could have silently stewed in anger about it and then moved on. In the back of her mind, she knew this would not have been the case, but her anger was very frequently illogical. It rarely made much sense to her, let alone to anyone else, but it helped her to cope when she could rage behind her mask of being proper and pretty. Finally, Princess lifted her eyes to meet Haven’s worried gaze, her heart lurching at the concern she found in his eyes. She had not wanted to worry him, but only to find someone who could help her to feel better, less angry and hurt.

####Exhaling, the girl finally felt able to speak, terrified that she would have done or said something to worry him more if she spoke much more in her initial state of shock and pain. “Yesterday, I found a note my brother had written for me a while back, but I had forgotten about it. . . I guess I’ve just been so preoccupied with myself, because I wasn’t even aware that he had gone. But. . . Mati talked to Tokyo, and because she didn’t know everything about it, she told my mother that Ares and I were in Crimson Dreams. Ares didn’t want me to blame Mati, but I did. . . I went to her room and I yelled, and then I cried, and we talked. I guess we’re closer to being friends, now, though,” she added, wincing at the displeasure that was surely going to come from the Knight at hearing that Princess had yelled at Mati. “I feel really badly about blaming her, but it just seemed like the first person I should, and I was just really upset. . . It wasn’t her fault, though. Ares told me he liked her, and I know she liked him too,” she added, not even realizing that Haven might not know this, “so I just assumed he would have told her everything about Tokyo. I mean. . . How could he not?” Princess just didn’t understand that.

####“Then, I realized that I was misplacing my anger, so I apologized to Mati and told her to be careful around Tokyo, especially if my mother knows that your sister was friends with my brother. This morning, I went back to the old den I shared with my mother, and she was there. . .” She trailed off, her breath catching in her throat. “She’s pregnant, probably due soon. Haku’s puppies, and she says she wants them and loves them.” Tears formed in her eyes at the memory of how she had thought her mother had loved her. It had only been a lie, though, not even worth her tears. Tokyo was still horrible, and she had been lying to Princess for her entire life. She hated that she had apparently fallen for her mother’s lies, blind to the fact that her mother had never loved her. “How could Ares have left me? I’ve given up so much, so many times, just so that I could be with him,” she added, turning her tear-filled eyes back to Haven. “I’ve given up so much, and he could not even stay when the tiniest bit of a threat from our mother came around. . . Why?” she whispered, trying not to think of the inevitable. Just like her mother had never loved her, it seemed that her brother had not, either. Princess did not understand why her brother had been so fearful. The pack would have protected him if he had told someone before leaving so abruptly.

SoSuWriMo 818



Haven waited quietly as Princess sat and collected herself and her thoughts. Part of him couldn't stand the overbearing silence, but he knew that it was necessarily. She needed to know that she was safe here, that she could come here to find help whenever she needed it. A way to show that to her was to just be patient and let the silence soothe and calm her. She would break it when she was ready for it to be broken. Still, Haven couldn't take his eyes off of her and he couldn't remove a single spec of his concern from those jades. He didn't want her to feel bad for worrying him, he just wanted her to know that he cared and that he did worry about her. Their relationship was still nebulous and undefined and it would be easy for either of them to be unsure of how much the other truly cared. The Knight did care though, more than he had expected. Princess was becoming deeply rooted into his heart and he knew that if anything happened to her he would be overwrought with grief.



Finally she looked up, her beautiful golden eyes meeting his gaze and for a moment before she spoke he felt their connection as if it were a tangible presence in the room. His heart beat heavily within his chest and it almost felt like it wanted to join with her heart to heal what had hurt her so severely. The hybrid kept his eyes on her, his ears alert and ready to take in every word she spoke. Already he was telling himself not to say anything or to interrupt until she had said all she needed to say. It would be best for her to get it all out and then for him to speak in response. A stab of guilt hit him as he heard that Mati had told Princess and Ares' mother about their whereabouts. When Princess had told him about her past he had kept his promise to her to tell no one, and so he had not mentioned a word of it to Mati. Perhaps he should have, then all of this could have been avoided. He had only been upholding the Chance girl's trust in him, but now he felt like he could have done something to prevent all of this, even if it were a slightly irrational feeling.



Haven's jaw clenched slightly as it was admitted that for a short period of time she had blamed his sister for what had happened and she had gone and yelled at Mati. It was only out of his sense of wanting to protect Mati that he became tense, but he couldn't really blame Princess for that reaction. Even if it were wrong, everyone did things that they later regretted when they were emotionally distressed. Though it seemed that somehow, the two girls had ended up closer than they had before, and Haven was thankful for that. Having the girl he liked and his sister at odds was something he had worried about a lot. Even though he had guessed as much about Mati and Ares it was still a surprise to hear those suspicions confirmed. Perhaps it shouldn't have, but it only increased his anger towards Ares for leaving. Not only had he left his sister behind but he had left Mati as well. It had been a foolish and selfish thing for him to do. Didn't he know that he was safe within Crimson Dreams? It had also been foolish of him to not warn Mati about Tokyo. He had no one to blame but himself for not taking the proper precautions.



The news about her mother was also more distressing than expected and he couldn't help but let his hackles raise at the name Haku. The woman must truly be a she-devil to mate with such a monster. Still, the renewed tears in Princess eyes calmed the angry fire within him and there was no sign in his eyes that there was that dangerous heat bubbling below the surface. If Ares ever came back he would be certain to give him a piece of his mind. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close in a comforting manner. "I don't know Princess." He wished he had an answer for her, but he just didn't. "People do stupid things when they're scared, but still, he shouldn't have left you." Haven had hurt Mati when he had left Crimson Dreams, but at least he hadn't left altogether. He was still here and he was always there for her whenever she needed him. That was what a brother was supposed to do for his sister. Ares had seemed like he would be that type, but apparently he had been wrong about that. "I'm sorry this all happened to you," he told her softly.

1,025 words.

even in the darkness every color can be found

####Now that everything was out in the open, Princess felt vulnerable, opened up for him to see. If it were anyone else looking at her the way that he was, she would have felt angry, her pride too much to handle letting someone see her the way that she was letting Haven see her. As it was, though, she did not feel embarrassed to let the orange-furred Knight see her like this. Of everyone she knew, he was the only one she could be sure that would not judge her in the way that she feared being judged. Being with Haven allowed her to feel comfortable and accepted, like she could do nothing to deter him from caring for her. Knowing that he cared for her made her feel at ease, but she could not fight away the pain. She wished that he could take up his sword and fight away her hurt, but she knew it was a demon that could not be physically fought. She would need to emotionally progress farther than where she was to get past everything that was raging in her head, and she did not know if she could do that just yet. It was too much for her to handle right now, blow right after blow right after blow. It was simply too much.

####Leaning in to the Knight’s embrace, she sighed softly, trying to calm her breathing. Being close to him like this was a reminder of their times together intimately, but this was a very different embrace. She felt cared for, even loved, though she did not want to acknowledge such a word. Princess had thought that her brother had loved her, and she had thought her mother had loved her, too. Both things had been lies that she had fallen for without questioning the idea. She did not want it to, but she felt like that might affect her later, when it came to being able to love someone—maybe Haven—so completely. Princess had been abandoned far too many times to feel comfortable with the idea of love. Her father had abandoned her before she had even been born, and her mother’s secret lover, who could have prevented all of the bad things Tokyo had done to them as children if he had stuck around, had also abandoned her before she was born. Her brother had abandoned her once before, when she had wanted to find and confront Tokyo and he was too fearful to go with her—her brain did not associate that with her abandoning him, but the other way around. Now, he had abandoned her out of fear, and her mother had officially abandoned her.

####Haven was right, of course, in that her brother had done it out of fear, but Princess did not want this to be the case. She wanted to hate her brother for leaving her without even saying good bye to her in person, and she wanted to never speak to him again. That was what he would deserve for abandoning her like he had, or so she wanted to believe. If he came back, though, she knew she could never hate him for what he had done. No matter how angry she was that he had left her like that, she could understand his fear. Tokyo’s presence was a looming beast in both their lives, but she had simply been stronger than her brother in fighting against the monster that was Tokyo Chance’s very existence. Someday, maybe she would be able to fight back against her mother without getting hurt. There was too much now for her to process to actually formulate an attack on her mother (verbal, of course, she did not have the ability to physically attack anyone), but eventually, she might be able to. Now that Tokyo was completely aware of her daughter’s vehemence towards her, Princess was no longer afraid of her mother finding out about anything. She just wanted to find a way to hurt Tokyo, now. It was not the way she wanted to be, but she could not help it. There was too much anger simmering underneath her skin.

####“Thanks,” she murmured softly into the fur of his chest, his size so much more massive than hers. It was comforting to be held by someone so much larger than herself; she felt protected, completely safe in his arms. Despite her pain, anger, and frustration, she truthfully could not ask for much more than this. Having Haven to hold her was helping, and she hoped he did not mind her intrusion of his house unannounced. It did not seem like he minded, but she realized then that she had simply shown up and dumped her problems on him, rather than even asking how he was. It was terribly selfish of her, but she supposed he probably understood and would not begrudge her that. Still, she should have thought to ask what was going on in his life. She had not seen him since October, so something must have been happening in his life since then. She hated that she had waited so long to come and see him, and that it happened to be under such unexpected and painful circumstances. At least it allowed her to know that he was okay with her showing up as she had today, even if she did think it selfish of her to do it.

####Without pulling away from him, for she could hardly stand the idea of losing the comforting touch, Princess asked, “What’s been going on in your life? I should have asked, or come to see you sooner. . . Things just kept coming up.” It was a weak excuse, but she had really been confused about what was going on between her and Haven. “I’ve missed you, though,” she added in a whisper, almost afraid to admit it to him, another sign of her vulnerability. Their relationship confused her, and she was too young and inexperienced to understand where it was that things were going for them. She wanted to know, but she didn’t think she wanted to ask yet.

Weird post is weird :| 768



There were no words that he could offer, nothing he could say to make any of this better. He hated that feeling of helplessness almost more than anything else, but from experience he just knew there was nothing that could take away her pain. Only time and distance would dull the ache. The only thing he could do was to listen and to be here for her, which he would happily do. Their physical proximity did bring thoughts of their past time together, but they were muted and he felt no stirring to pursue anything of the sort. His only desire was to hold her and protect her. It made him feel good that she had decided to come to him. Not only because it meant that she trusted him, but because it would have been so easy to go down a reckless and self destructive path after such a shattering series of events. Haven knew, for that is exactly what he had done on more than one occasion. Alcohol had been his crutch when the pain of the world had become too much for him and he was glad to see that she hadn't made the same mistake he had. She had come to him and he would do all in his power to make things better, even if what he could do was little and insubstantial.



"You don't have to thank me." Haven would be there for her regardless. It didn't matter the size of her problem, he would want to be there for her. The male wanted to be someone that she could depend on, since it seemed there were so few that she actually could. The image he had had of her brother was shattered now and he felt resentment towards him for putting her through this. He could imagine how much it hurt to have your sibling run off on you when you never thought they would. The mere thought of Mati doing something like that tore at his heart. Ares had been so concerned about protecting Princess from him, and yet here had gone a left her behind all because he was too afraid to live anywhere near their mother. Haven understood fear, but it was a weakness he did his best to master and he could only see cowardice in the Chance male's retreat. If he really had wanted to protect Princess then he would have stayed to make sure she was taken care of. Haven would never have abandoned Mati in such a way.



The Knight hadn't for a moment thought her lack of questions concerning his own life and well being rude. She had had every reason to be so preoccupied with her own state of affairs. Even if she had asked before this point he would have diverted his answers until later, wanting to know what was going on with her first. "It's okay, don't worry about it. We've both been busy." He could have just as easily made the trip to Crimson Dreams and yet he hadn't except to see his mother. That was the problem with living even such a short distance apart, they didn't have the chance to see one another often. At first of course he hadn't noticed it so much, but with each meeting the distance became harder to bear. "Things have been a little...unsettling for me too. I found out Anu has a new partner. I'm happy for her, it's just strange to think of her with someone else." The Aatte was still struggling to come to terms with that change. "And, I found out my birth mother had another litter. I had no idea until I ran into one of the pups. I don't really know what to think about it." His feelings on that matter were even more convoluted than on the former topic. Still, they did not seem as large in the face of what Princess was dealing with.



His heart skipped a beat as she said she had missed him, warmth flooding his chest. "I've missed you too," he said, planting a soft kiss on the top of her head. Haven wasn't quite as confused as Princess was about the feelings passing between them, but he was unsure of where things would go. They lived in two separate packs, and that made things difficult. More and more he was feeling the want, no, the need to solve that problem but the only way they could was for one of them to leave their home. He didn't feel like he could ask that of her, it was too selfish.

1,005 words. WotD: Evince.

even in the darkness every color can be found

####There were things she could have done rather than come to him, but they would have been destructive and would not have solved her problems at all. Princess had only had one experience with drinking, and while the outcome had not been terrible (it was how she had met Haven, after all, and it was certainly worth all of the drama that had followed), it was not a way to make herself feel better. It was not that she had really seen how destructive alcohol could be, though her brother had made it known what his opinion was on the day that he had found the leftover alcohol underneath her bed. It was simply that it did not even occur to her to use it to drown her sorrows, which was likely the reason that she had not even thought to turn to the bottle beneath her bed. It was good that she would not think in such a way, as she did not want to find herself heading down a road of self-destruction over someone else’s cowardice. Her brother leaving wasn’t the end of the world, and her mother’s pregnancy was unfortunate, but it would not kill her. It could be bad for the puppies, if Tokyo repeated her past actions, but did would not hurt her in the long run, once she felt better about her problems in the immediate timeframe.

####Even if he did not think he deserved gratitude for listening to her problems and comforting her, Princess disagreed, even if she thought it would be difficult to evince him of such a thing. It was true that he deserved thanks, for she doubted that everyone would be receptive to someone showing up on their doorstep unannounced with tears in their eyes and the expectation that they could find comfort there. It was true that they were more than friends and that she would have been even more upset if he had turned her away, and she had absolutely not expected it, but he did deserve thanks and to know how important he was to her. Haven was one of the kindest people she had met, despite the unorthodox way their relationship had started. “No, really. . . Just thank you for everything,” she added softly, hoping he would understand that she wanted to thank him and that it was not because she felt that she needed to. He had done so much for her already, and he deserved to know that she really did appreciate everything he had done for her. It was more than anyone else had ever done for her, seemingly, and it made her feel important to know that he was willing to be a part of her life and hear her concerns.

####Her eyes widened at the revelation that Haven’s mother had a new partner, as she had not known of this. She hardly knew the woman, but she felt like she should have known something like this. The old Princess—how long ago had she been around?—would have known this right away. Pack gossip was something she used to be interested in, because it made her feel important to know something that not everyone knew. Now, it felt different. She tried to imagine what it would feel like to be in the same position, but she simply could not. Never had she had a family that cared for each other, so she had never seen Tokyo with her deadbeat father, and there had never been any real love in the small Chance family. To know that Tokyo had been with Haku intimately did not affect her in the same way that it would have if her parents had ever been happy together. “Is she happy now, though?” she asked, no judgment in her tone. She did not want Haven to think she was inconsiderate or anything like that, but she did want to know that his mother was going to be happy. From what she could garner of what had happened with his birth mother, Anu certainly deserved to be happy. Haven was not selfish, and she knew that he just needed time to adjust to this change, just as she would need time to heal from her emotional wounds.

####The second bit of news about his life was something she could obviously relate to, and she thought it seemed like he felt betrayed in the same way she did. Her own mother had murdered her children, both literally and figuratively, and while Haven’s birth mother had not (as far as she knew), it still seemed terrible that she might not even want to tell her children that they were going to have another litter of siblings. “Are you going to try to be close to them?” She only knew of Mati’s existence as his sister, and he knew that they were close, but if they had any other siblings, she was not aware of their relationship with them. As it was, she did not know if she was going to try to know her mother’s next litter at all. It was entirely possible that the choice would not be hers to make and that her mother would tell the puppies terrible stories about how terrible she was, but she did not know if she would even prefer that. Maybe it would be easier if she did not have the option, rather than if she needed to make the choice herself. There were too many problems with the idea of knowing them, but she almost wanted to. Maybe she could save them from their mother. “Does Mati know about them, and your mother?” she asked, continuing as thoughts rolled around in her head. She could only imagine that his mother would not be happy about the news, and she hoped that it would be broken to her gently if it had not been yet. Even if she had moved on and found another partner, she still had the chance to be upset by the news.

500+



At her insistence at thanking him for taking her in and listening to her he couldn't help but let a small smile crack his concerned facade. Haven never felt the desire for gratitude for things he would do with or without the person's thanks, for really he wasn't doing it for him, he was doing it for them. He couldn't claim to be a completely selfless creature, for no one was, but on this front he really did not think of his own wants and desires. Whenever she would need him all she would need to do was to say the word and he would be there. He wanted to be someone she could lean on. "Of course. I'm glad you came here, that you thought that I could help." The Aatte male had said as much to her, but you could never be sure if someone would take you up on such an offer until they actually did. Until now, there had been no telling if he would be someone that she would turn to in a time of need. She had had her brother, and Haven wouldn't have been upset if he had been her first choice for comfort for it made sense. Ares was gone now though, and it would have been awful if there had been no one else for her. It made him feel good that she felt she could come to him.



He didn't really expect Princess to be able to understand his predicament when it came to Anu and her new lover. He knew that she had never really had a family in the traditional sense and therefore couldn't really imagine what it was like to have one of your parents intimately involved with someone new that wasn't your other parent. Even if that wasn't the case for her, he wouldn't have necessarily thought that she would see where he was coming from because even he wasn't sure what the problem was. The boy didn't want to feel as conflicted as he did and he hoped with time all of the confused feelings would fall away and he would be left just feeling happy for Anu and Colibri. The happiness was there, it just wasn't the only thing that he felt. "I think she is, she seemed it anyway. I am glad, she shouldn't have to spend the rest of her life alone." His adopted mother had so much love for everyone and she deserved to have that love returned. He only hoped that this relationship wouldn't fall apart as the one between Anu and his birth mother had. She deserved lasting happiness and that was what he wanted for her. He always had.



The Knight shrugged his shoulders at her question. "I don't know. The one I met, Rio, she was a nice little girl. I mean, I'd like to be a good older brother, I just don't know if it'll really happen. I don't know if I could face my mom. I haven't seen her since I found out about my father and now things are even more messed up." Not only now was the fear of bringing back her horrible experience by the mere sight of him, but also he now felt betrayed by all of her recent actions. Her addiction to drugs that had harmed others, the way she had carelessly it seemed gotten pregnant and hadn't even bothered to tell her other children about it. He doubted that his and Naniko's relationship would ever really be fully repaired. He wouldn't let his feelings about her transfer over to the way he felt about his little half-siblings, but he didn't know if he would be able to see them without seeing her. "I don't know if they do or not." And if they didn't he wasn't so sure he wanted to be the one to tell them. It seemed whenever he saw Mati or Anu there was some sorry news to pass along and it wasn't fun to have that damper constantly hanging over their times together. Still, finding out by accident as he had wasn't that great either.

500+ words.

even in the darkness every color can be found

####If she had not had Haven to turn to, she did not really know what she would have done. It was more than likely that she would have gone down a path of self-destruction, though she did not know if it would have been alcohol, like it had been for Haven. Before her first encounter with the Knight, she would possibly never have been introduced to the substance at all. Ares had been incredibly unhappy with the bottle he had found, so maybe she would have never even tried a drink. Still, there were so many other ways one could slowly kill themselves or hurt others. If she really had to think of how it might have gone, Princess could only assume she would have travelled down a path of rage and pent-up anger. She could have even, eventually, turned into her mother. That would be enough to kill her, and she hated the idea.

####Sighing softly, Princess allowed some of the taught tension to flow out of her body, automatically slumping against him with more weight than before, no longer keeping herself worked up. Being with him was enough to draw the pain out of her. "You really are amazing, you know," she murmered, eyes closed against the world around them. The only things that she knew at that moment were the warmth flowing from Haven's body, the strength of his arms around her, and the steady beating of his heart. Princess did not want to lose this contact, this obvious connection. Coming to see Haven in her time of need was the best idea she'd had in weeks, it seemed. Nothing she did ever struck her as good and important, and very few things really were, but everything surrounding Haven was just that: important, amazing, and so very good. There was more she could ask for, but not now.

####The Dreamer could never ask Haven to explain his feelings thoroughly on this matter, simply because she knew that she would never be capable of truly understanding what he meant. When she was young, she had dreamed about having a proper family, a loving, good-natured family. Those dreams had faded out relatively quickly, though, and she had moved on to only wanting to move forward with herself. Maybe someday, she could have a family. . . A real, proper, happy, loving family. . . Maybe with Haven. No, she mentally chided, not wanting to think about that right now. She had feelings for him, and she knew they were mutual, even if she did not know what they meant, but she refused to think on such hope-producing levels. It was never a good place to be, because she could be let down so easily, even if she did not think Haven would be like that. He was so different from everyone she had ever known, so wonderful and caring.

####Just as she could never ask that, though, she could also never ask him to be the one to tell his mother and sister about Rio and her siblings. Princess believed that Mati and Anu both needed to know, but it should not be Haven's responsibility to tell them. His birth mother needed to step up to such a responsibility, but it seemed she was not mature enough to tell her children about their young siblings. Princess would not voice this, out of fear of offending Haven, but she thought it pathetic that Haven's birth mother had not told them. "You don't need to worry about it now. . . Things will just happen. I know you'll be a great brother, when you're ready," she said, a small smile forming. There was no doubt about that; he was too amazing to not be a great brother when he was ready.

300+



He was glad to feel her relax against him, the tension melting from her form. His arms held her closer to his chest, wanting to keep her safe and keep all the demons at bay. This would not be something she would recover from immediately and she at least deserved right now to be protected and at peace. Her sweet words made him blush, his tail patting lightly against the sofa. Haven wanted to find words to respond to her, but there were none he could think of. Humble as he was he couldn't find it in him to try and duck such a wonderful compliment from the girl he was falling in love with. Mind halted and his heart stopped for a moment at the realization that had come so easily he almost hadn't noticed it. He was falling in love with Princess. Real, true, strong love. Even stronger than that he had felt for Siobhan. His heart rate increased as the feelings flooded through him. Should he tell her? What if she didn't feel the same way? The last thing he wanted to do was to scare her off or ruin the tranquility she had found in his arms. Haven tried to quell the intensity of his emotions, waiting for the right time to give voice to them.



It was incredibly troubling to know that he had younger siblings that he had been unaware of until he had come face to face with one. There were even more that he hadn't seen. Why hadn't she told him? Even if she hadn't been able to tell him in person she should have at least sent word. It only made the feeling of replacement worse. It seemed she really didn't want him, just as he had feared after finding out about Conri Church and his crimes. He hoped that Rio wouldn't mention meeting him to Naniko for he really did not want to see her, at least not right now. Yet at the same time he hoped that he could be a part of his little brother and sister's lives. Rio had been such a sweet little girl and he had enjoyed his time with her, no matter how much of a shock it had been to him. It was yet another convoluted and messy situation for his family and quite honestly he was sick of such things. Why couldn't it all just be simple? "Yeah, I guess that'll be the best thing to do. Just let things happen. I worry too much sometimes, I think," he said with a hint of humor in his voice. He hadn't been much of a worrier as a child, but he had certainly grown up into one.

300+ words. WotD: Inexorable (unable to be persuaded; firm). This is a very sucky post and I apologize for that. o.o;

even in the darkness every color can be found

###The comfort that she found in his arms was great, a plentiful gathering of emotions. Regardless of how confused she was about what was going to happen between Haven and herself, those worries were not present. Just as he had fought away her pain and sorrow for the time being about her brother and her mother, her Knight had pushed away that confusion, saving it for a later date. Princess needed that right now just as much as she needed to know that everything would eventually be okay, even if it meant that she would need to worry and think about it at a later time. It made everything better to think that she was not completely alone in this world, no matter how horrible she was feeling. Her family might have left her in various ways at various points, and she was by no means close to anyone in Crimson Dreams, but at least she had Haven. She could not think of anything more that she could possibly want at that moment.

###He sounded unsure of his own words, and Princess knew that she had not helped very much. She did not really know what to say, though, considering her own family life. If anyone were to say that she should automatically understand what a normal family was like, she probably would have asked them how much they had been drinking. Reaching up, Princess brushed some of his hair away from his face, laughing softly. "Yeah, I think you do... But it'll all be okay. I don't know how, but it just will," she said with a note of certainty, her tone inexorable. She firmly believed that, for someone as good as Haven, things would all work out in the end. His family life was nothing spectacular to look at, either, but she knew that, even without her, he would never be alone. He was simply too wonderful to be alone in this world.

Mine's not much better >.>; 300+



He didn't understand why so many families seemed so messed up. Haven had yet to see a family that stuck together and didn't break apart. He had left Crimson Dreams just shortly after Savina and Kansas' litter had been born and so had not been around that happy little unit. Though he supposed if they had broken apart he would have heard of it and so it seemed safe to assume they were still together. Still, that was truly the only instance he could think of. It didn't make sense to him. If love were as powerful as he believed it to be, then how could it so easily disintegrate and fracture? It seemed to be strong and fragile at the same time which was a conundrum that the Aatte was having a hard time wrapping his head around. Love was a confusing thing which lead him to further bury his true feelings for Princess, at least for the moment. Of course he wanted to tell her and she should know, but he felt now would not be a good time to confess his love. It didn't feel right, and if it didn't feel right then it probably wasn't.



It wasn't that he didn't believe her, Haven was just a man of action and wanted to believe that he could fix things by doing something. He wasn't good at sitting around and waiting, but he did think that she was right on that being the best course to follow in this situation. Her hands softly brushing the hair from his face set butterflies fluttering in his stomach and he couldn't help but to laugh quietly along with her. "Okay, I'll trust you. Everything will turn out okay with you too, and I'm here for you, no matter what." Haven's face leaned down to plant a gentle kiss on the top of her muzzle as his arms squeezed her small form in a hug. His heart swelled with love for her in that moment, but he continued to keep it quiet. Not yet, he wanted to do something special for her.

300+ words. >_>;

even in the darkness every color can be found

###Eventually, Princess hoped to understand what drove people to the drastic measures they seemed to take. Her mother was a puppy murderer, and yet, she had gotten pregnant again. Haven's mother had gotten pregnant again and had a litter of puppies without even telling her adult children. Her brother had fled with only a note, not even a physical good-bye. Her father had gotten Tokyo pregnant and then left, and her mother's friend had left her without a physical explanation, as well. Haven's father had raped his mother. What was it that drove such extreme measures? Maybe she would never truly know what the cause was, and perhaps she did not really want to know. Nothing really made sense to her at the moment, so it was probably better that she not have an explanation for it, anyway, or she might dwell on it far too much.

###Not knowing what to say next, Princess allowed her eyes to drift closed for a moment as she realized just how tired she was. Adrenaline had kept her going since she had confronted Mati the day before, and now she seemed to have none left to keep her going any longer. "Do you mind if I... If I stay here for a while?" she asked in a timid mumble, afraid that he would turn her away now. The prospect of going back to Crimson Dreams now was daunting, something that she did not want to face. Princess was still too upset and confused to go back now, and she was hoping that Haven would let her stay until morning, just so that she could try to get some sleep and calm herself down. It was her plan to stay on the couch ikf he would let her, and though she kind of hoped that he would stay there and hold her, she would not argue if he left her there alone for the duration of the night.

done?



When he had first found out about what his father had done, one of his greatest fears had been becoming the man who had sired him. He had been afraid that he too was capable of such heinous and horrible acts. That was why he had hidden himself away in the city and medicated himself with the alcohol that was found there in abundance. Since he had climbed out of that hole, he had mostly left that fear behind him, but it still lurked there in the back of his mind. He wondered if Princess worried the same thing. Worried that she would become like her mother. Haven trusted that, if they both worked hard, that they wouldn't follow in their parents' footsteps. They could rise above those that had beget them.



The Aatte male could almost feel the energy rapidly leaving her small form and he hugged her close for a moment, hoping to hold some in so it didn't leave her completely. He didn't know how long she had been going, but it was clear that she had no more strength to continue on right now. "Of course I don't mind. You can stay as long as you need." I want you to stay forever, he thought, but did not give voice to the notion. His hand reassuring stroked her curled hair, readjusting himself so they could both be more comfortable on the couch. Even if she had wanted to leave, he would have insisted she stayed until she got some rest and was up to the travel. Princess had been through a lot and she just needed a place where she could relax and regain her strength. If that place was here, then Haven was more than happy to have her stay.