we're the smoke on a burnt horizon.
#1
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Foredated to the 17th. I'm interested in anyone who can update Barry on the war, but I'd *strongly* prefer someone he already knows. This thread should be 'relatively' quick (well, as quick as it can be given I suck at posting during the week |Smile, so no more than two others, please, and short posts are fine. c:
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What was once a familiar journey now felt strange and alien. The wolf couldn't wrap his head around the fact three months had come and gone since he last passed through Ethereal Eclipse en route to Crimson Dreams. Although the first half of that time was spent in blissful ignorance of the lakeside pack's predicament, he wasn't sure what he could say for himself now. The excuses were a dime a dozen, but none of them seemed to hold enough weight. Yeah — he would've been set back a good year had he not prioritised work around the garage, and maybe his kids wouldn't even recognise him had he been any less of a parent; maybe Jazper would've clobbered his ass if news of his frisky liaison with Ghita leaked–hell, maybe Savina would've, too — and true, he had sent back supplies with Silvano. He'd made some effort. But as with most of his efforts, it felt half-assed.


It wasn't an easy decision to come here, but with all of his other affairs in order he had no excuses left. And oh, how things that were out of sight and out of mind came back with a vengeance. Each advancing footfall caused concern to swell in his chest like a rising tide. He should have come sooner! Why hadn't he heard anything back from Silvano? You idiot, his mind hissed, like the drugs couldn't wait!! By the time he reached the borders, he'd worked himself into such a frenzy that he didn't even realise he'd been sprinting the last half mile dash. He skidded to a halt and stared blankly at the skeletal trees ahead, panting roughly. Usually the epitome of cool indifference, he found himself nearly as distraught by his own emotions as the situation at hand. Breathe. Inhale. The borders were still well marked. Savina's scent reassured him.


He shook his head as if to clear it, then wriggled out of his bag. It was left at the base of a tall pine while he tiptoed nearer the borders on all fours. He waited; nothing happened. He wasn't sure what he thought should happen — things actually seemed pretty normal. There was no scent of blood; no sound of battle. Why wouldn't the Dreamers be able to hold their own? Savina was an experienced leader and her numbers were strong. Maybe he'd gotten worked up over nothing. Only once he managed to convince himself of it and collect his thoughts did he howl for someone's attention. Anyone. Any news had to be better than uncertainty and his own imagination.

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#2
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Hope you don't mind an Ehno? ^^ wc:318


Another somewhat relaxed day for the male. The calm after the storm that had been the war still took a bit of getting used to. Ehno had been so used to the high-strung state that he’d constantly been worked into that it had started to feel like he was being lazy at first. Shrugging off his duties. But as the days began to put distance between the Dreamers and their great assault against AniWaya, he began to fall more comfortably into his old routines. His patrols along the borders were less of how they’d been during the struggles. It was just a calm stroll now, with senses somewhat attentive. There were no threats lurking in the skeletal forests now.


His physical state had had done it’s own healing and adjusting. His right arm had healed surprisingly quickly, a lengthy pink scar along the back of it the only indication that he’d been injured. While he was beginning to feel that his ribs were just about healed, they still ached at times, and he didn’t dare risk changing forms until he could be sure. The Marino had shifted once while injured—never again. That had probably been one of the dumbest decisions he’d ever made. So he strolled along the borders on two legs, a leisurely pace taking him through the autumn-touched woods.


It seemed that he wasn’t alone at the borders today. There was a howl, a voice that Ehno was almost certain was familiar. And it wasn’t far, either. The Marino picked up his pace, hoping to find the visitor quickly. When he finally spotted a figure up ahead, his eyes widened in recognition. Ehno hadn’t seen the dark-furred young man in some time. “Barry?” he called out as he approached. “What are you doing here?” His tone was curious, surprised. After the younger wolf had left, Ehno hadn’t been sure whether he’d run into him again.

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#3
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Nah, I was hoping you would join! 8D Poor Barry though, he's still sorta werided out over the Ghita thing. And he doesn't even know that Ehno has kids with Naniko too >___>; -Dies.-
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Despite his best efforts to subdue the clamorous thoughts abuzz inside his head, a queasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. The response came quick, as expected from a pack in the midst of (or fresh from) war — but the seconds ticked away millennia, and centuries passed between the instant his senses recognised the approach of another and his poor brain pieced together it was someone he knew.


By the time Ehno came into sight, he was on all four feet, alternately lifting his forepaws and whimpering in excitement and relief. When he could wait no more, he rushed forward to close the distance between them. His entire back end wriggled furiously, although his tail was kept low and his ears were back — instinct forbade him to forget he was now a guest here. He bumped his muzzle against the biped's muscled thigh, a friendly gesture that served the dual purpose of proving the older male was not some figment of the brunet's imagination.


Finally he seemed to sober up; he retreated a few steps to a comfortable speaking distance. The Marino's question elicited a dubious shake of his head. I should've come sooner, he mumbled. The implications were clear — he at least knew something of their conflict. How are you holding up? How are Savina and Silvano? Beneath his thick winter fur, his face went pale. Are Anu and Gotham out? Although he never met either wolf, he knew from Silvano they had been taken prisoner. A pause. What... what about Ghita? For a moment there, he'd almost forgotten that he'd fucked Ehno's sister. That nauseous feeling returned. Thankfully, any visible distress could probably be chalked up to concern over the Dreamers' situation with AniWaya.

And it least it got him to finally shut up.

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#4
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Big Grin Haha, yeah. It's gonna be awkward when Ehno finds out about the babies. He gets oddly jealous over Nani still. XD; wc:326


Ehno’s tail was set to wagging as the younger male closed the distance between them in greeting. He had been rather fond of Barrett when he had been around the pack, as he had seemed like the rather amiable and initiative-taking sort. Ehno had wondered where the earthen-hued wolf had disappeared to for all this time, but it seemed that he was doing well for himself. Hopefully he had been keeping out of trouble, wherever he had ended up. Perhaps Barrett had lucked out in leaving when he had—he hadn’t needed to face the fighting and the raids that Crimson Dreams had been subjected to for weeks.


But while Barry did not have to experience the fighting as they had, it seemed that he was not unaware of what had been going on. He was given a slew of questions about how everyone was holding up. The smile on Ehno’s features faltered slightly as his thoughts turned to the war. “They’re fine,” he said, “Everyone’s fine. Banged up a bit, but fine.” He rested a hand against his wounded side at that last part and shook his head. “Anu returned to us some time ago, freed by some AniWayans, actually. And we got Gotham and Cambria back… about a month ago, when we and Cour des Miracles marched over there to put an end to things.” Had it really been that long already? “Savina and the Court’s leader are actually still over in AniWaya, keeping an eye on things.” He hoped that his sister would be able to return to them soon.


As for his other sister… “Ghita… Ghita’s holding up as well as she can,” he began, shrugging. “She wasn’t involved in the fighting, thank the gods, but her mate and some of her kids have left to start up another pack.” His fiery sister refused to talk about Jazper leaving for very long, but he knew it was taking its toll on her.

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#5
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-Burble.- Sorry about the wait, this past week was crazy enough for how short it was. x_x
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Time was a tricky thing for Barry. Days dragged on into eternity, but the weeks and months vanished in the wink of an eye. Social business was his traditional yardstick; he would divide his mental timeline into chunks based on who he associated with at the time. Packs were obvious (be it Crimson Dreams, the Collective, Taijitu, or — way back in the day — Troika), but now that frame of reference was gone. Factor in the two entire months that were consumed by construction, and you were left with a really disconnected Barry. In the entire month of October, he'd gotten out twice: once to see his cousin, and then again to visit the kids. He wasn't even successful in the former instance; no offence to her (well — maybe a little), but Halo wasn't exactly the best company.


By the end of it — all the planning, the trial and error, the physical labour itself — he was simply too exhausted to do much or get very far. And once he'd recovered, the children were at the top of his list. Zeke came second. Make no mistake — he'd always hold the Dreamers in high esteem and cherish the kindness they extended to him during his stay. He'd fretted a good deal over the war, too. But it just wasn't at the very front of his mind, and after all that time, he was now struggling to recall the details. It didn't help he'd been more focused on what Silvano said about his former pack-mates than their opponents at the time, either.


Thus, while it came as a great relief that Gotham and their subleader were no longer held captive, he was perplexed by the rest of the information. There was a third hostage? And a third pack involved? He couldn't remember any of this. Of course, he considered that these events may have developed later — but it was alarming the whole thing had spiralled that far out of control. Finally, one more detail stuck out to him — the part about the AniWayans. Only now did he vaguely recall Silvano's mention of the tyrannical usurper. It wasn't their original Alpha who'd launched the attack... right.


Just as he was beginning to piece everything together, Ehno dropped another bombshell on him: Ghita's mate and children had left. Barry would've sworn he felt his heart turn to lead and fall to the pit of his stomach. He knew he hadn't gone out of his way to wrack up good karma points lately, but it couldn't be that bad, could it? Had — had word of their adulterous liaison gotten out? Was that why her mate had left? The wolf slowly shook his head, both to snap himself out of it and to provide some natural sort of response. Somehow, through force of sheer will alone, he managed to keep the look of mortification on his face to a minimum. Wow, that's a lot all at once, he remarked at last. He was somewhat surprised by the steadiness of his own voice.


The victory was mostly owed to his subconscious, which was beating his paranoia relentlessly and reminding him to take a chill pill. Their relationship must've already been goin' down the hole when we met, or else... he thought to himself, else it wouldn't 've happened. Ugh! he groaned, bemoaning both their respective woes simultaneously. At least everyone is alright. I'm glad things didn't drag on too long, even if two days woulda been more than enough. You think it's done for good? Yuh don't think it'll reignite sometime, right? Like Inferni's war with Dahlia de Mai. And I didn't hear about Cour des Miracles, he added with a pensive frown. What became of Ezra and his new family?

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#6
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I hear ya. Had a busy week of my own. wc:394


A lot all at once. Yes, that was what life had handed them, after all, and they didn’t have much of a choice but to take what they were given. Things might not always be pleasant, but it could not be said that life was ever boring for them. Frankly, Ehno was quite ready for some calm, quiet, nothingness to envelope them for a while. The months-long conflict and splits in the pack had been more than enough excitement for the Marino male for months to come. The quiet of the last few weeks felt promising to him, and he was beginning to think that the fickle goddess Fate was finally deeming it time for the Dreamers to catch a break. Goodness knows they needed it. And perhaps not just the Dreamers—the Court had faced the same troubles, and many of the AniWayans had not been in agreement with the usurper’s rule. They were all in need of a break.


The younger wolf’s exasperated groan summed up how he felt about the whole situation as well. He shrugged very slightly as Barry asked if he thought the fighting was over with. It certainly seemed like it might be, but sometimes Ehno was afraid that if he got too comfortable with that thought that it would all turn out to be a lie. “I certainly hope it’s over with,” he admitted. “It’s been quiet the last few weeks, since we removed that tyrant from power.” He shrugged again, glancing out west as if he could see the tribe’s lands from where he stood. “Whether things will stay this peaceful depends on what AniWaya does next. I’m hoping Savina’s presence there is helping them make the right choice.”


His gaze returned to Barrett and he nodded at the mention of the Court. “Mmm, apparently they had been hassled by AniWaya’s raiders as well, and faced their own casualties.” It was a grim thing to think about how many lives had been affected by all of this. “Without their help in our own raid, I have a feeling the fighting might still be going on even now.” The Dreamers were not fighters, that much was true. They would do what the needed to defend their lands and their family, but the help of Cour des Miracles had been instrumental in putting a stop to the conflict.

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#7
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-Fail.-
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He nodded numbly with a soft Mm, even though the entire affair made little sense to him. He wondered what kind of leader decided a multi-front conflict was a good idea in the throes of civil war. Was he driven by desperation or madness? And what of the wolves who blindly followed his rule? Couldn't they see that a string of brazen, unprovoked attacks would be met with crushing, organised retaliation? There was no Law in their Wilderness, but anyone that rocked the boat too much was bound to get thrown overboard eventually. It was a drama played out again and again throughout history — by Andrezej, by Salvaged Eternity, by Haku. The star changed but the outcome was inevitably the same: violent death or exile.


Barrett was too young and ignorant to know anything about these cases, but he was not naive. Traitors and madmen were punished. Subterfuge and infamy could only carry them so far — eventually the lies caught up with them or groups rallied together to eradicate the problem. When the risk of not acting exceeded the risk of confrontation, it was game over for the offending party. Maybe so, he said slowly, carefully. He wasn't trying to be contradictory. It sounds like it woulda caught up with him eventually. Can't keep pulling crap like that and expect nobody to take notice, he mulled, offering Ehno a rare glimpse into his true Self — one that was esoteric, calculating and somewhat cynical (if realistic). It stood in sharp contrast to the thoughtless, carefree projection he usually put forth.


Just as quickly, it was gone. His gaze unsharpened and his tail flopped. Anyway, so long as it's over with. I'm not sure what all I can do, but if you need any supplies or help repairing damage they caused, look me up. Or if you just wanna unwind sometime, eh? he offered. Statistics and logistics aside, he supposed Ehno might want to get away in the future... once he was confident the situation at home was wholly stabilised. I've been in southeastern Halifax, he added. Once upon a time, he wouldn't dreamed of divulging the garage's location; nowadays it seemed inconsequential. If the Marino had any use for him at present, he'd gladly honour his word and lend a paw (or an ear... or a smoke); if not, he supposed it might be best to just let him be. Not all of his questions were answered, but the most important were and he didn't want to keep dredging up what his elder was surely trying to put to rest.

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