[html]  How many nights had he wandered? How many days had slipped by through a mess of pain and memories? Conri couldn't have been sure, he'd lost track of time months ago. There were stretches of time, hour and even weeks, that he couldn't recall. How long had he been gone? How long had it been since he'd curled up beside his mate and breathed her calming scent all through the night? His sense of time and months had been obliterated, though he knew he'd been free of his brother for more than a few weeks. He knew that it was sometime in winter, the cold snow had made his journey even longer than it should have been. Had the solstice already passed?
The worn male hadn't slept in days, not since he'd first caught that familiar scent in the wind. The scent of home. It drifted to him on the wind, bringing back fond memories and strong feelings that had never left in the first place. Three suns had passed since that first hint of home, three suns and moons that he'd just walked and walked, ignoring his body's plead for sleep. Even when he made it all the way to Clouded Tears, he didn't sleep. Instead, Conri stayed outside the borders, waiting until the very moment that the sun was just about to come up before traveling inside.
There was only a faint hint of light that peered out from the horizon, a sign that morning would come shortly and life would be awakened once more. It was then that the tired male pushed across the borders. He didn't go to the den that he once lived in though, no, instead he made his way for the den of the Alpha. "Laruku?" He called out quietly as he settled just outside, voice a bit deeper and more rugged than it had once been. Conri settled himself with his right side facing the entrance of the Alpha's den, keeping hidden his left side for the time, hiding away the spot where his left front leg had once been, which was now bare and riddled with a freshly completed scar.
|
[/html]
[html]
He doubted they would ever leave him completely. The nightmares did not seem to follow any particular pattern but found him shivering and shaking in his sleep that night. Though his daughter had moved back into his den, they still had separate bedrooms. He had never been accustomed to sleeping with other people and her presence made him weary and nervous; he could never trust himself. Even logically, the hybrid failed at reasoning out whether or not his monster was only playing with him or if he was gone for good. So he would stay only until she fell asleep and then move away to curl in another cavern by himself dreaming of all the worse days in his life.
But as wrapped up as he became in his own mind, it never seemed to take much to stir the tawny male. The voice did not register immediately as familiar, but his body woke itself mechanically. An alpha was a slave to duty and he crawled out slowly into the shy morning. Even finally seeing the source of the call, Laruku did not place Conri immediately. It was simplest to blame the fact that there were many holes in his memory, but it was also true that the youth had grown and changed. They both had more scars than when they had last seen or spoken to one another. You're back, he observed quietly, though his voice carried no distinguishable tone.
[/html]
[html] The male, though he'd spent many hours waiting for night to pass and morning to come, hadn't bothered to think at all of what he would say. There were to many questions that had been left unanswered, to many things that he'd missed in his time away from home and, even then, home wasn't home anymore. The note that he'd left for Naniko had been vague, little detail and little reason, and Conri wasn't even sure if she'd made anyone else aware of it. Had they gone looking for him? The Alpha soon showed himself and the red male broke away from his thoughts, bringing jade eyes up to stare at him. For a brief moment he could see that he wasn't recognized, though it was moment that was short lived.
"I am." He spoke quietly, his voice riddled with something like disbelief. He hadn't ever thought he'd see Clouded Tears again. Now, now that he was here in front of the Alpha, now that someone knew that he was alive, what was he to say? "I didn't want to just show up on the borders one day like all is well." He stated quietly, head tilting downward to stare at the ground a moment. "I couldn't just do that, not since I've been gone so long." I couldn't do that to her. Maybe she'd moved on by now. Perhaps she'd found someone else and was living a happy life. Showing up would only bring back painful memories, he was certain, and he didn't want to push that on her, though he knew he couldn't stay hidden forever. "Have things changed much?" There were to many specific questions to ask, it would've taken days. Really, all he wanted was a summary, something to keep in his mind now that he was home.
|
[/html]
[html]
People left and people came back. People were taken away and still came back. The lake was a black hole that pulled them all back in, though many seemed to have had enough fight in them to escape for good. Laruku had accepted a long time ago that this was just the way things were and no longer had the energy or motivation to be angry at those who disappeared for whatever reason. All the same, he hated being the only person that stayed because he hated being the one to tell the stories of what had happened in people's absenses. There was never any good news and if there was, he didn't know about it. Besides, how long had Conri been gone? When was the last time they had spoken? What had happened between now and then?
He didn't know how to keep track of time anymore, even if he tried. Maybe months had passed. How many? Things always change without actually changing, he breathed tiredly. People come, people go. He look again at the younger male, You've lost a leg. It was a stoic observation at best. Part of him wondered what had happened to the poor boy, but most of him was convinced that it didn't matter. Davinci's gone though, the alpha continued, Naniko's lonely.
[/html]
[html] Conri wasn't delusional enough to actually think he could keep the fact that he was missing a leg hidden away from everyone, just like he wasn't delusional enough to think that Naniko wouldn't ever know that he'd been back unless he wanted her to know. He wasn't hiding himself and his wound for the sake of shame or anything of that sort, but because he didn't want to make his sudden arrival all about himself. Right now he didn't matter, everyone else that he missed mattered. The younger male shifted uncomfortably when Laruku first spoke, frowning at the words. He didn't like change unless it was for the better and Conri knew that not everything could have been merry and happy while he was gone.
"Yeah. About a few months ago?" It was an unsure statement but the best that he could do at the time. Even so, he didn't suspect that he half awake Alpha would question him further about it. Perhaps at another time. "She's still here." Another statement, repeating it so that maybe he'd believe it. She was always dedicated though, there was no reason to be so surprised. There was a twinge of hope with the rest of it, followed by a sudden rush of pain. She was lonely, it meant she hadn't found anyone else, but she was also lonely because of him. "Should I go to her?" He asked finally, quietly. Was it right for him to just show up on her doorstep? Would it be wrong for him to stay away and leave her wondering what happened to him?
|
[/html]
[html]
At some point, he was sure he had been jealous of the young love, but he had always hoped that they would turn out okay because nothing else ever did. The world was a sad place and he had gotten used to seeing and hearing about sad things, but as cynical and nihilistic as he had grown over the years, nothing seemed able to crush the pathetic flame of the hopeless romantic that lived in him yet. Maybe it had just rubbed off on him, but his chest still hurt to think about that and he very briefly closed his eyes. Yeah, he told the boy, Go to her. She at least deserves to know you're not dead. Tell her what happened and give her time to accept it. She'll forgive you, he wanted to tell him. She'll forgive you because she isn't as stupid as me. Because even now, he wondered how things would have been if he had just been more willing to forgive him.
Do you know if you're here to stay?
[/html]
[html] Hearing Laruku say it was all that Conri needed to then decide that he would go to her. In whatever odd sort of way, whether Laruku realized it or not, Conri often thought of him as the only one that he had left to look up to. His father was dead, a murderer anyways, his mother was gone, and just about everyone else that he'd ever known had up and disappeared. Laruku was the only sensible choice. "If she's okay with it, I'd like to stay." Surely he would understand his hesitation about simply up and becoming a member once more. If she'd moved on, if it would be less painful for her without him around, then Conri wanted to do what needed to be done. He'd only ever wanted to make sure that she was happy.
"Would that be alright?" He asked then, after a short moment of silence. Maybe she would be fine with it, which would be a grand thing, but in the end it was Laruku's word that really mattered.
|
[/html]
[html]
In all the years Laruku had been with his pack, he had yet to turn anyone away that wanted to stay. When he had been younger and more arrogant, there had been a good number of newcomers he had disliked and disagreed with, but Ceres had always been steady in her acceptance. Gradually, the hybrid had found that it was almost impossible to judge character based on a few words and that even the best-sounding of people could go back on their promises, so didn't that just mean that everyone deserved a chance? And in his desires to be better than those that had hurt him, he had been more sympathetic to family, even if they were vague and distant ties, even if he didn't really care for them on a personal level. So, Yeah, he told Conri, That'd be fine.
[/html]
[html] "Thank you, Laruku." Conri managed to choke out after a moment, his voice filled with both gratitude and slight relief. He hadn't know Laruku very closely, mostly in passing and as a leader, so he had been uncertain whether or not the Alpha would turn him away. It was good to know that, if Naniko wanted him around, he'd be able to stay. "I think I'll go and see her now." He spoke as he pushed himself to stand, turning just a bit to face the Alpha more forward than before. "If she doesn't mind then I'll come find you and let you know." He doubted Laruku would care about him leaving so abruptly, he had waken him in the middle of his slumber. "So I'll see you around."
|
[/html]
|
