If we had the chance to do it all again

Colibri Haki · 09-05-2012, 04:03 PM

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;_;

Word Count → 589

The white wolf turned to face her, speaking her name. Coli caught her breath with a hiss, stunned. "Deuce... is that really you?" she whispered, gazing awestruck at the ghost from her past. That platinum blonde mane was greying with age, there were more scars than she remembered, but those wise bi-colored eyes were unmistakable. A soft whimper escaped her lips as it all came flooding back -- Dahlia de Mai, the one packmate who reached out to her and accepted her into their household without hesitation. Little Willow, her brave half-sister that she puppy-sat for. Taliesin, the quiet presence she was too shy to ever open up to. All too quickly, her surrogate family left; first the children, then Deuce herself couldn't bear to be without them and slipped away without a word. Coli had remained in the empty cabin, trying to go about her daily routine without letting the loneliness consume her entirely. It got too sad, and eventually she too deserted the pack, taking only one souvenir from the house -- a battered old tea kettle, the same one she and Deuce had shared morning tea with. She didn't have it any more, but just the thought of it made her throat choke with emotion, unable to speak.

Deuce approached her slowly, hesitantly, as though she didn't want to scare her away. Coli's lips twisted into a bitter half-smile, remembering how painfully shy she had been back then. She wasn't much better now, but so much had happened since those days, wasn't she at least a little tougher? Before she knew it, she was swept into a passionate hug, an unexpected embrace that she just could not resist. Her big belly was in the way, a barrier between them, but she leaned in anyway, for once desperate for the contact she so often avoided. Coli buried her face in Deuce's white fur, breathing in her scent. It still meant comfort to her, a place of safety, even if there were so many new scents she could not recognize. She whined softly, trying not to cry as she clutched at the taller woman's back, holding her tightly.

"I can't believe it's you," she mumbled, finally finding her voice. She must look so different now herself, with new scars, her pregnant belly, her tail -- oh gods, her tail was gone, Dahlia de Mai was a lifetime ago. She pulled her face back, gazing up at Deuce as she gripped the matriarch's arms. "You, you left so suddenly, I didn't... Why did... What was I supposed to do all by myself?" she whimpered, hurt shining in her blue eyes. She felt like she was young again, the years stripped away by her raw emotion. It was surreal, Colibri Haki and Deuce Rhiannon reunited here by the lake -- surely she was dreaming the whole thing, if Deuce was alive she would have tried to come back and look for Coli. Wouldn't she...?

"I... I waited as long as I could... but war was coming, it wasn't safe... wh-when I left, H... Haku... took my tail," she said stiffly, subconsciously tightening her grip as her gaze dropped. Did she blame Deuce for that? Surely that was unfair, even if the once-shaman had promised to protect her from her father. It was just unfortunate timing, a series of misfortune that seemed to follow Coli wherever she went. She had only been shielded from it for that short while, living in the cabin with a family... Why did they all leave?

Image courtesy of mackenzei-stock@deviantART! Table by Haley!

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