Two Birds

Skye Collins · 12-18-2011, 01:39 PM

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The female was in her Secui form, patrolling the borders; for the past few days it had been all she could do. The incident with Liam had left her angry, horrified, and paranoid. Murderers could come from anywhere, at any time - even as a pup on the back of a scholar. Pausing for a moment before the front of Cercatori, she snarled to no one and nothing in particular - a snarl full of anger and betrayal. Two. Two murderers had committed crimes in her pack. Two monster had gone free. She wanted Liam to come back, if only to be able to rip his throat out with her long, sharpened claws, powered by rage.

They murdered innocent pups, innocent pups that had done nothing to them. She swiped a clawed paw before her, pretending the air was Liam and his stupid, useless, worthless, harmful notions of "shadow wolves" and "demons". She wished he would come back, so she could kill him - she wished she would see him again so she could kill him.

Pausing yet again, she bunched up her haunches and stood on her hind legs, resting her front paws on a tree. With great power, strength, and anger, she raked her claws down the tree, leaving long marks where her sharp talons had been. Murderers, murderers everywhere in her pack. When would it stop?

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Taliesin Dir Rhiannon · 12-19-2011, 01:46 PM

((you looked lonely. Lol))

He was walking the borders restlessly, as was his wont since that day. He and Sky had lost two children that day. Tameri who was ruthlessly murdered, and Liam who may as well have been dead. That was what he had told Liam as he marched the listless boy to the border. "from this moment on you are as dead to me as the innocent life you stole." He didn't know how he'd ever forgive the mud hued boy who had been his son. He didn't want to. Sky had wanted to leave, but the couple had been dissuaded from that idea.

So here Tal was, walking the border. He had sworn if the murderer was to show his face here, he would be the one to end his life. He meant it. If it came to it, Tal would indeed destroy the monster who inhabited Liam's body. A sound got his attention, and his heart leapt into his throat. Had Liam returned? The male's hackles raised and he moved swiftly to the sound. When he came to the source of the sound, he found the capitana rather than the murderer. A sense of relief filled him.

He bowed to the leader, who was in her secui form. He didn't know if she'd noticed him or not, but it didn't hurt to be polite. In fact, that was more and more how he was becoming since That Day. He was growing more distant, less open. Something in him had died as he'd seen both Tameri murdered and Liam exiled. He spoke softly, his voice formally distant. "Capitana."

Skye Collins · 12-26-2011, 12:54 AM

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Skye's ear twitched sporadically as she heard a noise of someone approaching; a quick sent almost sent her snarling into a rage again, for it was the scent - it took a moment, however, for her to process that it was not Liam who carried the scent into the pack lands but his father, his kin, the one who begged for his life. Shaking her head free of these thoughts, trying to stifle the stench of murder from her nose and attempting, in her mind, to separate father and son, scholar and murderer, she looked at Taliesin; her eyes were free of accusation, although they were haunted.

"Taliesin," she said, her voice slightly hoarse. "What brings you to the borders?" she asked, her voice hinting slightly towards irony; she knew why the scholar was here. He was just like she was, restless, wandering, uncertain. Just as she had lost a friend's daughter and trust in her pack, just as she had lost certainty and hope, he had lost two children that day. But while she still had the fierce protectiveness of her pack, the strong pull to stop more crime from happening before the pack was razed before her eyes, she saw that Taliesin had no more - both children lost and Sky needing no protectiveness, he was simply a lost soul now. Sympathy leaked into her gaze as she looked at him.

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Taliesin Dir Rhiannon · 12-27-2011, 02:37 AM

She greeted him, and he glanced at her. She didn't seem to hate him, though most others had been distant to him. Even Auntie Rosie avoided his gaze. All Esther had offered was a cryptic mutter as he'd passed her cat infested porch. He gave a bitter half smile and a semi-shrug, his hands finding their way into the pockets of the carpenter jeans he always wore. After a moment, he spoke, his voice soft.

"Just watching the borders. Incase..." He trailed off, his expression bitter. After a moment, he spoke again. "I never expected it. I mean, I knew he was troubled, but what teenager isn't? I thought he would grow out of it. I never thought his issues ran so deeply... I should have known. Kira had her issues. His mother, that is. And Lucifer, his grandfather.... It was inevitable, I guess. I wanted to believe otherwise, but..."

He shrugged again. "Sorry... it's been rough. But it hasn't been a cake walk for you, either." He glanced at her again, a strange expression crossing his face. "I had to ask... but I meant what I said. if he comes back, he'd better hope someone reaches him before I do."

Skye Collins · 12-27-2011, 10:59 AM

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She listened as he listed the heritage of the monster that had taken Tameri's life; if insanity ran in the family of the Rhiannons, it would make sense that Liam had picked it up as well. She studied Taliesin; he had never shown such violent and hateful tendencies, not once. She listened as he conceded that it hadn't been easy for her - she narrowed her eyes a bit, and at the last sentence as well.

"I understand. I am not angry with you," she said. She knew the bonds of a parent and child; she knew that if it had been her own child she would not be able to watch them killed before her eyes; not yet. But the murder had left a mark with her; to see innocent life snatched away so soon, to see it distinguished - to see that the last moments of a pup's life would be pain and hate from the eyes of a madman. And the pack, the pack, she could feel it. It was happening again, and if something else, no matter how minor, rocked the boat, the pack would be cut to ribbons.

"But to think that it would happen again, and so soon. I can feel the turmoil in the pack, I can feel the distrust. The last time this happened, no one thought to stick together and become stronger, no one thought to help each other - they all left, all abandoned the pack that gave them a home." She spoke with strong bitterness; the ones that had left soon began to speak of Cercatori as if it were a haunted place, and maybe it was. They began to seek others to share the stories of how terrible Cercatori was. She remembered Mars. She could still smell him on their lands from time to time, presumably visiting Orin. She remembered how Mars had spoken to Shawchert that day and ignored her, ignored her as if her leadership meant nothing to him.

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Taliesin Dir Rhiannon · 12-28-2011, 09:11 PM

He listened to the woman. She may not have been angry with him; he, however, was angry at himself. He had failed in his promise to Tameri and her mother. He had failed to realize the biggest danger to the child was Liam. He should have left Liam behind, and yet he couldn't have. He had loved the boy then, even as he hated him now. It was a bitter hatred, a desolate feeling. He didn't know how to handle the hurt, the anger, that he felt towards the boy. Her next words gave him a feeling of dread, of guilt. He had brought the boy with him.

She spoke of the pack needing to bond, and for a moment, he considered her words with a heavy solemnity. After a moment, he spoke softly. "Capitana, if there is anything I can do to help the pack, please let me know. I told myself when I returned to Souls I would devote myself fully to the pack I joined. My mother abandoned her pack because of a blind prejudice. I will not follow her example." He bowed his head for a moment.

Little did he know that soon he and his mate would have a bitter fight, and he would walk away for a little while to stay with his mother. He would come back, of course. He wouldn't abandon the pack no matter the cause.

Skye Collins · 12-30-2011, 10:54 AM

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Skye could see in her pack mate's eyes that he blamed himself, was angry with himself, for what had happened that day. He was the father of a murderer - and the murder had been his own child's. She held sympathy for him - and was glad when he paused before his next words; rather than immediately reassuring the woman, he chewed the words over, gave them thought. And then he spoke, he spoke of loyalty and staying with the pack, which brought Skye's spirits up and further made her trust apparent to the white man.

"Thank you, Taliesin," she said. "It truly means something that you would stay with us." And it did - too many had left the pack, shown their disloyalty by abandoning the pack that they had lived in for so long. The pack that had given them a home to be in - it was not perfect, but it was safer than other packs. Safer than Anathema, who valued dark wolves, or Salsola, who threatened slavery. Safer than Inferni, who piked wolves's heads on sticks to claim the territory as theirs.

She looked at Taliesin again, his oath of loyalty having left a mark - she wouldn't forget this, no, not after so many had abandoned the pack, had abandoned her. "How are things?" she asked genuinely. She knew the murder had left a mark, but she wanted to know if she needed to help anyone, reassure anyone. "How are you and Sky doing?"

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Taliesin Dir Rhiannon · 12-30-2011, 10:07 PM

He gave a gentle smile to the leader at her heart felt words of gratitude. And then she asked how things were, and the smile drifted away like the last breath of summer. He thought for a moment, then spoke to the leader, his voice somber. "Sky and I are well. She's more beautiful than ever being pregnant and our pups are active inside of her now. Tameri would have loved to feel them moving."

Tameri. The death of the child caused an irreparable hole in their lives, as did Liam's exile. He frowned for a moment, considering his words. "I worry too much, maybe. But I do feel that much of the pack feels I am at fault for Tameri's death. I think, perhaps, that Sky blames me too." He was looking at the ground now, hating himself for his doubts. He was a poet, yes, but to express his words so plainly seemed wrong to the snowy scholar.

He glanced at the leader briefly, then at the ground again. He wanted to talk about Shaw, to expel his frustration with the giant male, to explain their previous issues with each other as well, and to talk about the pure unadulterated hatred that was in the warrior's eyes whenever he looked towards the smaller scholar. Those were minor issues, though, best saved for another day, another conversation.

Skye Collins · 01-01-2012, 03:00 AM

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The topic went joyfully to pups for a moment before they both remembered Tameri's death - it was true. Although Skye had been busy, she had seen Tameri from afar, seen that she had been an inquisitive young child, curious and full of life. Now... now Liam had taken that, from Taliesin, from Sky, from the pack, from the world. Yes, the news of pups was a beautiful and wonderful thing - Skye vowed to herself then that she would allow nothing to happen to them, willing them to grow fruitful and happy lives independent of tragedy and misfortune.

He shifted the topic from life and death to blame. Skye knew that some, yes, did blame him. She noted that Shawchert did as well; he had let his temper get the best of him as he yelled at Taliesin, blaming him for Liam's possible future crimes, and stormed off that day, that horrible day. Skye did nothing of it - she knew that the guardian wouldn't have been able to contain his anger even if he had tried. She remembered briefly and fleetingly the day when she stood in his cabin, attempting to calm him; the memory flew away from her mind as quickly as it had come, however, and she allowed her attention to return to the task at hand.

But the blame Shawchert held wasn't for Liam's crime, but for Taliesin letting him go. "You aren't to blame for what someone else did," she said. "Sky is your mate - she knows that you could never have guessed what Liam would do. None of us did. Sky is closer to you than nearly anyone else in this pack - she is your mate, your best friend. Don't be afraid that she blames you - I know she doesn't," she said with conviction. No, she knew that the former Katruk woman did not blame her mate for what had happened. She had seen her - she was mourning, yes, but not blaming. Not blaming Taliesin, who had done nothing wrong.

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Taliesin Dir Rhiannon · 01-01-2012, 10:01 PM

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"You aren't to blame for what someone else did, Sky is your mate - she knows that you could never have guessed what Liam would do. None of us did. Sky is closer to you than nearly anyone else in this pack - she is your mate, your best friend. Don't be afraid that she blames you - I know she doesn't," His troubled gaze eased some as the leader spoke her words of wisdom. Perhaps she was right, perhaps he was just being over sensitive. He nodded, feeling calmer. "You are right, I'm being foolish." He managed a half smile for the leader.

After a moment, he spoke. "Is there anything I can do to help? I mean, I'm sure we aren't the only ones doing patrols. Perhaps some pack activities? Or... something." What could they do as a pack? If he tried to arrange anything, Shawchert would ignore him, thereby encouraging others to ignore him. Maybe a pack hunt or something would help the pack feel less vulnerable. Or some kind of pack art, a new mural or a group sing along. A pack howl, perhaps.

Okay, so he didn't have many ideas. Perhaps he could speak to his mother, find out how she built up her pack's morale when she was shaman of Phoenix Valley. She had been a good leader, until Iskata had removed herself from leadership and put Jefferson in her place. Deuce hadn't liked that, he remembered. But back then she'd had a deep prejudice against coyotes and their kin.

With an internal start, he realized her hatred of coyotes was the same as Liam's hatred of black wolves. Deuce had lost her son Shadow to a coyote, and had lost a home to coyotes. Liam had lost family and his home to Azza, a black wolf. Deuce had gotten over her prejudice. Perhaps there was hope Liam would grow up and forget his as well?

Tal let this fantasy play out in his mind for a moment, knowing in his heart that Liam's issues went far deeper than a simple prejudice, knowing that Liam would never outgrow his prejudice the same way Tal would forever cling to his belief in Rhiannon, the family's patron deity.

wc: 372

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