Everything's Strange

Skye Collins · 04-09-2011, 05:32 PM

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here we go, love! <3 takes place in thornbury at the morning ish wc: 361

The days seemed to have been growing darker for the cream-laced female. Even though the passing threat of Argul had come and gone, Orin still remained missing and a dark cloud hung over the co-leader of the pack as the one over Shawchert had. She hadn't seen the tall, dark male in days, and was wondering if his depression had gotten the best of him - it had before, and it had taken several days and a slap from his co-leader to snap him out of it and start being the leader he usually was. She was wondering if this was one of those times.

Skye simply sat at the stairs of her house, hands resting on her now swollen belly, and she thought. Thought about the day that the members of Cercatori d'Arte had gathered and Shawchert had told them about the looming threat and his plans to erase it from the pack - and Mars's and Ouija's loud outbursts against the leader. He had stormed away that day, after loudly and angrily denouncing his members, leaving Skye to face them. They hadn't paid mind to her cold and calculating words, however - they had left, just as he had left, and had argued with one another at that. Although the threat was gone, Skye didn't believe that the effects that it left were - far from it, far from it.

It seemed that the entire pack had become her responsibility - she knew that Shawchert was emerging from his shell little by little, but Skye still had plenty to do - reassuring and helping her packmates was her first priority - restoring the garden that had been lost so that her pack could survive in the harsh months was her second priority. Her pups were third, and she knew that they were due any day now - her fourth and final priority was herself. One could argue that the third and fourth were one of the same, but that wasn't true - although she was sure that her pups were healthy, she herself was exhausted. Sitting on the steps was one of the first real relaxing times she had had in a few days now.

Bangle Guffawri · 04-09-2011, 06:01 PM

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+3. This is like.. the first time he hasn't spoken! GASP. I've been posting with Viking too much, I guess >:|

It was the former gypsy's decision to stay at his own home the night before, and the one before that. The shack was still run down, even after the small repairs made to it after the large snowstorm hit. It didn't matter to Bangle, though - in fact, it added a touch of class to its already strange outer appearance. A small wind passed through as the coywolf exited his house, the strange things hanging from the neighboring oak tree chiming into the quiet town. Things had been far too quiet as of late, with all that had been going on. As determined as Bangle was to lighten the mood for everyone, and put a grin on his own face as well as on the faces of his pack mates, he was concerned about something more.

The craftsman never wanted to admit how afraid he was about his fatherhood-to-be. For various reasons other than being nervous about what kind of father he would be, or how his mate would pull through it, the terrified male took a deep breath as he stepped off and away from his front porch - in the direction of his new fate.

Steps felt heavier than usual as Bangle made his way towards Skye's house, almost not hearing the horse's nickering as he approached. Naturally vivid orange-yellow eyes kept his gaze on the red-haired female and her swollen belly until he was feet away from her doorstep, where she sat. For a moment, he stood there in silence, staring down at her sitting form, not even trying to comprehend what things went through the co-captain's mind at that moment.

Then he crouched down to her level at the base of the steps, trinkets in his hair jingling softly. Inches from her face, the coywolf lifted a hand to her chin, raising her lowered head. The fire that burned in her eyes was put out, and he looked on with concern into her face. At this moment, now, was the usually loud and boisterous male - able to ramble his way into and out of any situation - silent.

Skye Collins · 04-09-2011, 07:07 PM

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sorry for short post :<

The girl looked up as she saw her mate walk towards her, then let her head down once more to stare at the floor. Things were going to fast for her; she couldn't keep up, not with the pack and the troubles and her pups and her mate, now, too. Everything was going too fast, and she had to realize that, at one point, she was going to have to to take more responsibility - for the pack and for herself. But she didn't realize it now, and as she stared at the floor, she felt a gentle touch.

The girl looked up and saw Bangle, her love and her mate. She sighed quietly and looked at him for a while. "What am I going to do?" she asked in an almost inaudible whisper. When she asked that, it could have been taken at any value - simply what she was going to do now, or perhaps what about the pups. Maybe she was just asking what she was going to do at all, for anything; her pack, Shawchert, the garden, anything that was the millions of things that needed doing. Although her mate had recently moved up in rank, he didn't hold the responsibilities that she did - he didn't know what she knew at that moment, although it wouldn't please him to hear that of her. She simply sighed again and pulled back from his touch, casting her eyes downward once again.

Bangle Guffawri · 04-09-2011, 08:07 PM

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Oh boy xD

The merchant had always been sure of what to say to complete strangers, a passerby, or even friends; whenever it came to convincing them to trade something of his. Now, in the ghost town that seemed to become of Thornbury lately, the coywolf was unsure of what to tell the female before him. When her gaze met his, he offered a small smile, which he wasn't sure would be comforting to the pure white wolf. The male had come to realize that much had changed of himself, and he felt like a different wolf altogether when around his mate. Especially now, as his smile disappeared from his face altogether as she uttered a few words, even Bangle felt unsure of what he.. she.. they were going to do.

"Could always run 'way t'gether.." He mumbled quickly, only half joking. His hand dangled back down to his side as Skye turned away, though he kept on looking at the female inquiringly. Really, what he wanted was for her to be happy and healthy, especially with the little bundles of life stirring within her. Bangle had hoped she wouldn't take his comment seriously, and yet ... if she did, the former gypsy wouldn't have objected. A small chuckle followed the male's words, but it disappeared into the air as quickly as it had come forth from his bare chest. The coywolf watched her, carefully, large ears swiveling to listen for anything she wanted - even needed - to say.

Skye Collins · 04-09-2011, 08:18 PM

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Skye heard her mate's words, and heard that they followed with a small chuckle. He was laughing?! Making jokes?! At this! At a time like this, when the entire pack needed reinforcement and protection, needed her and Shawchert to make decisions, needed her to be there for every last one of them, every single last one of them all the time, and he was joking that they should run away together?! Run away! That was, that was --

"Absolutely the single worst idea I have ever heard in my entire life, Bangle Guffawri!" she yelled. Her voice came out loud and snappish, and her voice was raised to a much higher volume than she had meant it to - but who cared?! He was talking about running away! Again! She remembered how he was about to leave, how he was packing in the middle of Thornbury the night that they had kissed, and without even thinking, without even considering his emotions right now, she raised her hand and slapped him - not hard enough to hurt very much, no, but she did slap him.

She remembered how he had ignored the words that she had spit at him, ignored her and tried to run away anyway, just like the members of her pack had ignored her at the meeting, and exactly how everyone in her pack was ignoring her and yet needed her! The only ones that weren't ignoring her...was herself, herself and her pups.

Bangle Guffawri · 04-09-2011, 08:34 PM

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+3. Stupid male saying male things.

Ears were pressed forward whenever the female reacted to his half-joking words, and his eyes were visibly wide in his multicolored face whenever her forlorn voice turned into one of anger. His head even moved back, a bit, at the force in which she spat at him, slightly surprised to hear her this way. Bangle attempted to smile comfortingly at her, in attempts to calm her down. "'Ey, it was a silly suggestion.." The male said, shrugging his shoulders casually. However, as he finished those words, the coywolf wished he had eaten them when a solid force hit across the face came his way.

In his crouched position, the action threw Bangle for a loop, knocking him backwards flat on his own rump. "Ow!" He spat instantly, never taking his eyes off of her, as one hand flew up to the side of his face where the impact was made. It wasn't all too harsh - if anything it only took the coywolf by surprise. He hadn't seen her this angry since the cold day that Bangle had decided to leave, afraid that he was growing attached to what was supposed to be another stop on his journey. Instead, the traveler found his home, not just physically, but in the eyes of one fiery female.

And if that fire was extinguished before, he had sure lit it up once more.

"I'll tell ya what... ow.." Bangle said, moving to be back on his knees once more, in front of the female. The coywolf wasn't angry at her - he saw how hormones affected a female since he had been in the pack. Emotions ran high in the female creature, and all the craftsman was trying to do was stabilize them. "Why'd ya do that?" Unbeknown to him, Bangle was only making things worse.

Skye Collins · 04-09-2011, 10:18 PM

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Skye stared at Bangle as he fell onto his bottom on the hard, cold cement floors of Thornbury and she immediately felt horrible. But anger and self-righteousness masked the guilt and a masquerade of anger overcame anything else that Skye was feeling as Bangle asked why she had done that.

"Because!" she exclaimed, tears springing to her eyes as she spoke without knowing why. "Everything's going wrong, Bangle... We caught Argul too late, much later than we should have...and...Shaw's son..." When the mention came of Shawchert's son, Skye suddenly seemed to lose control of her body for a second as her entire form twitched at the mention of the mutilated pup on Shawchert's steps. She closed her eyes to try to eradicate the sight from her views, but it stayed with her even as she closed her eyes. The truth was that Skye had been having nightmares - horrible, graphic nightmares of what had happened to Shaw's son, and nightmares of it happening to her own children when they were born. The possibility loomed over her, and she cringed from it; even the mere mention of it would send her spiralling.

"I know I have to be stronger than this, Bangle, but I can't...they won't leave me alone!" she wailed - 'they' being the nightmares - and without warning, she burst into tears. She buried her head in her hands, berating herself mentally for being this weak; she was a leader, she had to be stronger than this, but she couldn't be; her emotions were lost.

Bangle Guffawri · 04-09-2011, 10:38 PM

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+3

Bangle looked on at Skye, still down at her level though his body almost anticipated another blow. Removing his hand from his face, he ignored the dull sting as a knot formed in his stomach at the mention of Argul. His body felt heavy, then, the name of the wolf itself leaving a bad taste on his tongue. As he noticed his mate begin to shake almost uncontrollably, the gypsy too remembered that gruesome scene he walked into with Shawchert and Skye. He was sure he had no idea what the father of Orin's pups felt like, then, and knew Skye would be forever changed because of it, too.

He couldn't help but raise his eyebrow, however, at her sudden change of emotions, as if they were natural to her. She was completely bonkers. And who were 'they'? Concern washed over the coywolf's face. He wanted nothing more than to shield the fiery woman from her problems, as he came forward and enveloped the sobbing, pregnant female into his arms. Whether she tried to push away his gesture or welcome it was up to her, but the craftsman knew he just couldn't leave her at this time.

"Le's go inside," he whispered into her hair. "They won' find yeh in there." Whatever questions he had would have to wait until they were away from any prying eyes - if there were any to be found in the town. Releasing her, the decorated male stood up and offered the woman his hand, nearly remembering the first time he met her - there on that porch - when he did the very same. No one needed to see the hardships that the female was going through.. though certainly the other pack members knew of them, and Shaw's, already. While the merchant wasn't all too sure how he'd be comforting to the mother of his pups, who at one moment was angry and the next sobbing, it was important that he be there at that very moment.

Skye Collins · 04-09-2011, 10:59 PM

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Skye accepted the coywolf male's embrace, hugging him and crying softly into his shoulder. She didn't know why she felt this way, but she did know that she felt lost - alone - confused. Most of all, she felt scared; terrified. She was afraid for her pups and she was afraid for her pack. Although she didn't tell anyone, she cared for her pups and her pack almost equally; her pups were hers and would always be hers, but her pack was the thing that led her to believe in the life she lived now, and she would do anything for them. She had to protect her pack from harm, and she couldn't do that while she was sobbing into Bangle's shoulder.

So when he suggested that they go inside and away from prying eyes, she silently nodded. She gently pulled away from her lover's grip and headed for the door, entering and closing it behind the two. She didn't look at the coywolf - most days she was cool and calm, most days she always had a sharp tongue and a ready mind, joking and happy. But now, she was losing it. It was like she was slowly going insane, and she couldn't face her mate for the shame of it. She couldn't stand it.

"It's the nightmares," she said quietly, barely audible. "They find me everywhere. Shaw's son...what happened to him...happening to our own pups, and I can't prevent it...having to choose between my children and the pack...and then the nightmares..." She shook her head, still not meeting Bangle's eyes. She was torn - should she continue to work herself to exhaustion, and potentially harm her children? But she couldn't waste time doing nothing. And if she rested, the nightmares came...

Bangle Guffawri · 04-09-2011, 11:51 PM

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+3. I see another smack-down coming.

The male's hand fell limply back at his side, bangles jingling on his arms. Skye took it upon herself to physically get up on her own, though inwardly she needed a helping hand to sort out her problems. No amount of laughter, or joke, or how wide his grin could be would help the situation, and so he followed her inside to her home. As the door closed with a soft 'click', Bangle instantly heard the bleating of the goat, who came trotting into the main room. Bangle eyed Skye for a moment, standing there in the house where the air was stale.

Bangle slapped his legs to get the goat to come to him, which she did though apprehensively. He leaned forward and greeted Cheddar with scratches behind her ears, noticing how well Skye took care of the silly ol' thing. It seemed she was more preoccupied with everyone else's problems except her very own. Before the craftsman made an attempt for Skye to laugh, she began to speak, and bat-like ears moved to attention. He nearly had to strain to hear her, at first, his eyebrows contorting in confusion. When Bangle caught the gist of what she was saying, he turned towards her and lightly put his hand on her belly.

For a moment, he thought he felt them squirming, and his eyes fluttered down to where his hand touched. "It won' happen' to 'em," he spoke up, reassuring her. The craftsman was surely no fighter, but as he stood there with his hand on her belly - the only connection between him and the load of responsibilities soon to fall on them both - the coywolf swore he'd never let anything happen to them. Nor their mother. "Ya don' gotta choose, Skye, no one does. We learn ta' deal-" His words were cut off as the female goat butted his leg, and Bangle looked down at her. He let a moment of silence pass, glaring at the creature. And then..

"Boo!" It locked up and fell over to its side with an audible 'thud'. Cheddar's bleating was overpowered by a sudden burst of laughter. "What d'ya say I try makin' us som'n to eat?" He said as soon as his laughter subsided. "I'm thinkin'... goat."

Skye Collins · 04-10-2011, 09:22 AM

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nah, skye's too much of a party pooper xD

Skye's head stayed down as she heard the soft clip-clopping of her goat. Ever since the snowstorm combined with the drama that ensued, she had kept Jack in the stables - he was strong enough to take care of himself - but had kept Cheddar inside, with her, for safety. She knew that even if no evil forces were around to take her precious goat, Cheddar loved to eat, and she would easily eat through the soft wood of the stables and escape. So she kept her in here for company; she loved that little goat, no matter how annoying she may be in the small hours of the night.

The female felt a hand rest on her belly, and she looked down; for the first time since the entire time she was pregnant, she thought she felt them move inside her. It hit her, then, that she really was pregnant - there really were pups in there, more than one, definitely, and it was this moment that she realized that they were there - they weren't just things making her stomach bigger or making her have crazy mood swings; they were her children, and she had to take care of them the best that she could.

She heard Bangle's comment - it was said with conviction, like he would never let anything happen to their children. When he said that, Skye smiled slightly; a weight was still heavy on her heart, but she smiled anyway at her mate, and at his determination not to let anything happen to their first litter. Skye swore to herself, too - nothing, nothing would happen to them.

Despite herself, she laughed slightly at Bangle's joke, but the laughter died quickly, being replaced by quick and rapid coughing in succession. She doubled over, but - pain! - in her abdomen, and she straightened immediately. All of a sudden, she felt slightly nauseous, and her brows furrowed together, her eyes lanced with worry and confusion.

Bangle Guffawri · 04-10-2011, 01:16 PM

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Hope you don't mind the slight pp?

His laughter quickly vanished when unexpected, violent coughing suddenly erupted from the woman, and again the coywolf's attention was only upon her. Despite the bleating protest from the creature who wanted attention, Bangle watched with worriedly as the coughing sent the female to double over... and then suddenly stand straight up. "Skye..?" He asked, lightly grabbing her arm, a stark contrast between her white fur and his red-gray coloration. Visibly, he could see something even more worried her, things she wasn't telling the craftsman, and he gave her arm a light squeeze, before firmly grasping it and leading her towards the couch.

The male sat beside her, large ears pressed back on his head as he released her arm. He wasn't sure what in the world to do, but he knew his presence was needed there. Did all females go through all this when they were pregnant? He didn't remember Sky this way, nor Valinta, but the gypsy never saw much of them at the time. More importantly, how did the father of unborn pups deal with the mother? Bangle felt himself thrown for a loop with his own emotions, and was almost afraid of saying anything to upset or anger the woman before him.

"What's wrong... now..?" The coywolf was sure the last word would land him in a heap of trouble, watching as Cheddar wandered off into a corner, nibbling on some scrap of paper that was strewn on the floor.

Skye Collins · 04-17-2011, 11:48 AM

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its fine! and uhhh ohhhh.

Skye was faintly aware of Bangle grabbing her arm when she stumbled a bit, and he let go; there was a very strange, very peculiar ringing in her ears, and it blocked out almost all noise - almost all but of Bangle's exclamation of what was wrong now.

The girl whipped around to face the coywolf, anger searing in her eyes and tears welling up. "You know," she said, the words being forced out of her; they were choking and halting words, her body was protesting, but she didn't care at the moment. "If you - if - you -" Deep breaths punctuated words in no order, as the girl felt herself out of breath. No matter how much she breathed in, she needed more and more, until her breathing was shallow and fast, and her voice high pitched and stressed. "If you're just here... to... make me feel guilty... about... not f-feeling well..." she said, her voice strangely constricted at this point; the breathing was still harsh and shallow and fast, and she didn't know what was going on - her mate wasn't helping her much, either. What was wrong now? Was she really that bad? She tried to help the pack the best she could during her pregnancy, she tried to fix the garden and feed the animals in the stables and visit her packmembers and try to make them feel better and cleaned around Thornbury and called a pack hunt and all her mate could say to her was what was wrong with her now?!

"The - then just... l-leave!" she shouted, the reaction a bit delayed from her last words, but full of anger nonetheless. The almost crazed, shallow breathing was still there, and the ringing in her ears hadn't stopped; and all of a sudden, the floor seemed slightly tilted, and her head felt light and dizzy.

Bangle Guffawri · 04-17-2011, 01:26 PM

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+3. We didn't start the fire o/`

There was no harshness in his voice when he spoke to her, nor any trace of a scurrilous joke thrown in. He knew there was something that just didn't click right in the fiery woman, and all the coywolf wanted to know was what bothered her. Orange eyes watched intently as she whipped around to face him, and the motions that suddenly made her body spasm and gulp for air made Bangle's eyes widen dramatically. It seems he had set her off... somehow.

Craftsman hands flew up in front of him, as if to defend herself from the words that flew faster outwards than she could breathe inwards. His multicolored face took on a look of extreme confusion and, most importantly, worry. His body reacted much in the same way, as he scooted backwards towards the very edge of the couch. "Calm down, woman! Jus' breathe.." Speaking in the middle of her pausing to take sharp breaths, the male wasn't sure if she heard him. One hand extended to take her hand, to comfort her, but he pulled back halfway through the action. The snake was poisonous, after all.

"I jus'-- I was jus'--" Bangle tried to defend his words that she took out of extreme context, but the craftsman knew very little of what she was going through. But she cut him off as the cobra spat out the last of her venomous words. The word 'leave' weighed heavy on his large ears, as they settled back on his head for a few moments. "I shoul'.. go get.. Sky." The offer was there, though the merchant wasn't sure if she would be at her home or not. Regardless, the coywolf was determined to do anything to squelch the fire that raged within the female. This was somehow his fault, and much like the art he made with his hands, Bangle now had to fix what was broken.

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