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It had once been such a happy place. Now, it was a pile of ruin, already being overrun by growing plants as the earth took back what was always hers to begin with. The wood that remained was charred and black in places, a crumbled memory of a life long ago. Closing his eyes, Dreyrugr could see so clearly the figure of his former mate asleep in the king-sized human bed, the sunlight streaming in through the open window like rays of heaven kissing his angel good morning. He'd messed things up with Alexey long before the fire claimed the house they'd shared, but he would never stop loving her, no matter where she was now.
Maybe it was for the better that the house they'd shared so much love in had crumbled. Bris had told him about the fire that Inferni had set, the one that she had helped to fight with the runt who was now alpha of the pack. He assumed it was that fire that had claimed the house he now stood before in quiet contemplation. It still amazed the male that Conor had managed to overthrow his criminally insane father, but what amazed him further was that he had assumed the responsibility of leading Dahlia when it needed it the most. Drey would have thought the pack would crumble without Haku's control, however sadistic it had been. Moreover, Bris seemed to have immense respect for the boy, and there was a distinct air of unity and calm about Dahlia de Mai that had certainly not existed before. The Stormbringer male was beginning to think he'd vastly underestimated the little runt who'd taken over Lexey's time and heart.
The moon cast an eerie glow about the cemetery and the remains of the house that had overlooked it. It was a warm evening, and mist rose heavily from the ground around Drey's russet feet. His green eyes stared unblinking at the pile of wood and growing weeds, unflinching as he swore the mist took shape about him. Ghosts of those he'd loved and lost danced among the tombstones, laughing and mocking his failure as they twirled. Drey knew they were only figments, projections of the terrible guilt he kept locked away in the deepest recesses of his heart, but still they came to haunt him. Kol, Alexey, Abigail, even Skripi: they all circled him relentlessly, taunting him with their disappointment and cruel words of betrayal. Tiny trickles of blood slipped down the Dahlian's palms as he clenched his fists tighter, his claws piercing his flesh without even a flicker of acknowledgement. He'd failed so many; how in all of creation was he supposed to be the father that Abigail's children, his children, needed?
Table by Requiem
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YAAAAY time to get mah boy rolling and pester Drey while doing so. XD *loves on you!*
How long had it been now since he'd been without a pack? How long since he'd had something he could call family? Would he even remember how to treat those things? And with all that happened and his trauma-ridden soul, how could he see anything the same again? Still, he'd been fortunate that the wolves of Dahlia de Mai had seen something in him...enough to grant him acceptance into their brood, and for that, he was grateful. And so, over he'd stepped the boundaries of an old life and into a new one. What would face him there, he couldn't fathom.
Tonight, it was apparently the ruins of not only a forest, but a soul as well. The night had always been a time favored among his pack and himself, so he tended to roam under its shroud of secrecy moreso than in the sun's revealing warmth. Tonight, the moon was large and illuminated the surroundings he found himself in with a blanket of silver. But it was not a comforting sight, instead it felt rather horrifying. He found his paws sinking into grounds once fertile, but now blackened and destroyed obviously by fire. A cemetary sprawled below, remains of a time long ago when their creators yet lived. A lonely house, another victim of the flames, sat forlornly with only the moon for comfort...or so he thought.
He'd have mistaken the dark form for a pile of debris had not the figure moved. The mist surrounding the area had practically cloaked the individual from view, and Cethin reprimanded himself for not paying more attention to his nose. His ears were at attention, perked forward with his nose now taking the time to explore whom he'd just run into. Why in creation would anyone seek out this place? Certainly Ceth would never have come here if it weren't for the fact that he wished to sate his curiosity and explore his newfound home to better know it. A slight furrow in his brow gave away his consternation and wonder at the sight before him. "Might I join you?" he queried in a soft baritone from a ways back, not wanting to tread on any toes if this pack-member simply wanted his own space.
[html] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v708/ ... _table.png); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> OOC: YAAAAAAY!!! *pounces*
It was strange how vividly the mind could remember. The taste of honey from summers past, the smell of lilies from a spring long forgotten, the warmth of a smile that dwarfed the rising sun on a warm autumn morning, Drey could remember them all as though they were moments ago rather than a year or more. The house in which he'd had his happiest times no longer stood, but the memories were unbreakable. They endured despite the male's frequent attempts to drown them in whiskey or block them forcefully from his mind. Rather than bringing comfort, those ghosts of time gone by taunted him, mocked him, reminded him of just how ugly a failure he'd turned out to be. He'd betrayed them all with his ineptitude, and they would never let him forget it.
The Stormbringer had no idea how much time had passed as he'd stood in quiet contemplation where the house he'd shared with Alexey had once stood. He didn't even move when the stranger approached, his eyes still looking sadly at the past, his mind filling in the blanks and painting a picture of the way things used to be. "This house used to be so beautiful. Even in all its crumbling imperfections, it was perfect." His gravelly words were as much an answer as the other Dahlian was going to get, and as far as Drey was concerned, he would either stay or he would leave. It didn't matter.
Table by Requiem
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As softly spoken memories reached his dark, tattered ears, the male had no trouble decrypting their hidden message. Apparently the hulking, muscular luperci had once lived here...perhaps had a mate here, too. The way he spoke reflected the feelings that Cethin himself preferred to bury deep within when he was able. The remorseful voice was all Cethin really needed to know that he wasn't going to find aggression in this one...at least, not at the moment.
So, taking a chance, he walked quietly up beside the other male, and lowered his haunches to take a seat next to him. As his first meeting of a fellow Dahlian aside from the border patrol, it amused Cethin that fate would lead him to this one. His gaze followed the stranger's to the house once more, and he looked upon it with a gentle wonder. "I'm sure it did. Though in my opinion, it's those inside the house that really make it perfect. Very like a soul. Everyone has their imperfections, but deep down inside, if others look past them, they see the beauty within." He mused, wondering what kind of life this one formerly had in this place, but hardly so rude or insensitive as to ask. As the silence crept back upon them, he found it oddly peaceful, if not mournful.
[html] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v708/ ... _table.png); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> OOC: *lovelovelovelove*
Drey didn't move as the stranger moved to take a place beside him. A sliver of cloud moved to block out the moonlight as he did so, the lack of light taking away some of the sharpness of the scene before them. The edges of the burned-out remains of the house grew softer, darker, wanting to fade away into the darkness of memory but too stubborn to do so. A bitter smile creased the red male's lips as he thought about the other male's words. "Very true, and it was 'Lexey who made the soul of this place so beautiful. And then I went and destroyed it all, as surely as the fire did after I was gone."
The male's emerald eyes were clouded with dark emotion as they turned to finally take in the stranger who'd chosen to share the night with him. His gaze lingered for a moment on the obvious signs of hardship he bore, from the scar across his muzzle to the tattered remains of his ears. The scent of Dahlia was still new on the black wolf's pelt, and Drey thought it was probably best that the first packmate he'd run into would be someone who had no idea of the history of where they now stood. A short hmph of amusement echoed in Drey's throat as he took in the other male's appearance with the amusing notion that he could have easily passed for one of Drey's own kin. "So I take it you're new around here. The name's Dreyrugr Stormbringer, mostly others just call me Drey. What brought you here?" Never one to beat around the bush or apologize for his abruptness, the russet male dove right in.
Table by Requiem
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OOC - *GLOMPCLING!*
Cethin found it interesting that even at first meeting, this Dreyrugr was so open to him. Apparently he’d surmised correctly, he had a mate…or once did. Cethin could relate to that, at least partially. He was curious as to what had happened, and why Drey regretted it. One always had choices, but what one chose made all the difference in life, sometimes. Cethin, in his usual polite manner, chose not to probe, and wouldn’t have gotten to anyway as the large male launched into a new question and averted the former subject.
“Well, Dreyrugr…” he tasted the foreign name on his tongue, “…I’m Cethin Dwyer, and you could say my own misfortunes brought me here, much like yours brought you to this place.” He said softly, his eyes turning from the other male’s emerald gaze to once again take in the ghoulish scenery. Cethin wasn’t one to generally open up about his past, preferring to keep things to himself and carry his own burdens. As a former Alpha, he had to act the part, doing his best to dispel any sign of weakness...and as such, he tended to stay silent about things that were bothering him unless they were of import. But that responsibility was gone now, and while it was difficult to break old habits, he’d found his mouth ran more freely than he’d expected. “I lost my pack, and my mate, all within the span of a few months. So I simply went in search of a new place to call home, and more importantly, a new family to share it with.” His tail curled about his hindquarters as the cloud that secreted the moon finally passed on and allowed the light to fully shine once more. As it did, Cethin pondered on how much the burnt forest and the house that was fading into the ashes represented the two souls who sat here, crumbling from within. Perhaps their lives, like this place, could be rebuilt brick by brick.
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