WARNING: This thread contains material exceeding the general board rating of PG-13. It may contain very strong language, drug usage, graphic violence, or graphic sexual content. Reader discretion is advised.
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Fore-Dated to the 13th.
Word Count → 500
Neela moved onwards as quickly as she could, her nose twitching as she followed the Kiara's scent trail. Neela's encounter with Kiara's attacker had been disappointing in one way, as any lost fight was, but satisfying in another; Neela remembered the few knife strikes she had gotten in on the blonde bitch fondly.
The aftermath of the fight had left Kiara in Neela's mind however, so after a day of resting she had set out from her home, looking for and then following a scent trail from Kiara; intending to check up on the white wolf and see how she was before Neela left the territory in a few days time.
Neela wasn;t a particularly pleasant sight to see. Her left arm and stomach were both heavily wrapped in bandages, the white fabric wrapped as tightly as Neela could manage herself; she had gone into something of a self imposed exile and Kiara would be the first living thing she had seen in days other than Grynn. Both bandages were leaking to some degree; the stomach bandaged were decorated by small flecks of red while those over the more serious wound on her arm were soaked crimson and dripping occasionally, the wound healing slowly through Neela's insistence on moving about so much.
Last was her face. Much of the swelling had gone down aside from the finishing blow, that to her eye, which had left the flesh around her eye swollen and impairing her vision, deeply bruised beneath her fur. The inside of Neela's muzzle was also covered in scabs and occasionally bleeding from where a blow had knocked the skin into her teeth; occasionally a small drop of blood dribbled down from this.
Still despite her wounds Neela moved swiftly through the streets of Trenton, where the scent trail had lead her, and showed visible signs of discomfort. Moving about and functioning through pain was a skill that Neela had acquired early in life; it had been necessary for survival with her mother. The though brought a flash of memory to mind; crawling on the ground for scraps of food at six months old, ignoring the pain of broken ribs, but Neela quickly shook her head to clear the memory away and focussed on the task at hand.
Neela was alone, Grynn had been acting oddly the past few weeks and had refused to leave Neela's house ever since her nest had been set up, and was only now finding out how much she actually relied on Grynn for tracking; supplementing scents by having the little bird scout out logical paths of progression from the air.
Still despite her lack of skill Neela had managed to follow the scent to what, from the mess of scent tracks going in every direction, was the house where Kiara made her home. Unsure of whether to enter or wait Neela simply lifted her head and howled quietly, calling out to Kiara wherever she was, her soft voice echoing melodiously in the air.
It was a lazy day, the urge to do anything had disappeared altogether. Kiara laid on floor, one her favorite places really, her snowy form sprawling across the cold surface. She wasn't actually sleeping, but she still kept her eyes closed, the sapphire orbs hidden beneath white lids. Her breath came is slowly and deeply, and with each inhale her chest rose slightly. For one the arctic wolf was still, not even her tail moved. She just laid there, dead to the world. It was truly peaceful in the quiet house: no arguing, no laughter, no Sarain, no Shiloh. Just Kiara on the floor.
By early afternoon though Kiara's peace was disturbed by a call for her. Kiara's ear flicked as she listened. It was Neela, and judging by sound she was just outside of the house. Kiara rose and shook herself a little before heading over to the door. All of the doors in Shiloh's house were left open, even the one leading to the outside, although just barely. As Kiara pushed her way through one of the inner doors she couldn't help but wonder why Neela had traveled all the way to Trenton just to see her. It wasn't that she was disappointed, on the contrary, Kiara was quite happy to hear Neela's voice. However, Neela did not sound like she was in a playful mood, indicating that this was a more serious house call than Kiara would have liked.
After a minute or so the arctic wolf nosed her way through the final door to the outside world. The door at the main entrance was a little trickier than most because it was almost completely closed and it swung inwards. Kiara had more than once locked her self out or in do to doors that swung the wrong way, which is why she hated doors so much. "Hey Neela, it's good...to...see..." her voice trailed off as she froze. The sight and smells that greeted Kiara as she walked through the door were not pleasant to say the least. Neela was wrapped heavily in bandages and some were soaked with blood. Her face was battered and torn, while drops of dried blood hung on the fur around her maw. A metallic smell wafted off of Neela's body as did a scent that Kiara would never forget...Neela smelled a little like Amy.
The arctic wolf's eyes widened in horror as she ran over to the collie. Kiara began to lick the dog-hybrid's muzzle while worried whines passed through her lips. "What happened? Are you okay? It was that stupid dog wasn't it?" Kiara's words quickly turned harsh as blood lust rose in her voice. It was bad enough that Amy had hurt Kiara so but the fact that Amy had injured her friend...that dog was going to pay. The furious wolf began to imagine ripping Amy's yellow form to shreds as the dog begged beneath her jaws. Before Kiara was scared of Amy, now she just wanted to kill the stupid mutt.
Just a reminder that Neela is in Optime, shifting is a bit beyond her at the moment. Bit of PP her, I can change if you want me to.
Word Count → 362
Neela twitched her nose happily at the sight of Kiara and gave the white wolf a small bow, intoning, "Namaste Kiara, it's good to see you." Neela missed Kiara's own greeting being cut off through the sound of her own but did notice the worry in Kiara's stride as the younger wolf approached her. Neela crouched down as Kiara approached her, touching her muzzle to the younger wolf's fondly and then remaining still as Kiara fussed over her, one hand reaching around to stroke the back of Kiara's neck in a soothing motion.
When Neela spoke her voice was soft as usual but her style of speaking had degraded somewhat, something that Neela unconsciously did around those that she was fond of, " Yeah it was tha' bitch, Amy she calls herself. Doan worry about me tho' ah'll be fine, ah've had worse, from me own family no less! Got a few good hits in myself though." Neela's entire manner was tired and careless; she wouldn’t normally have offered the information about her family, indeed she didn’t even realise that she had, and the toothy grin that accompanied her last statement was a bit more aggressive and sinister than Neela had meant for it to be, unconsciously exposing her bloodied teeth.
Neela didn’t mention the eventual outcome of the fight, namely her getting knocked unconscious, as Kiara seemed to be getting distressed just at its happening. Instead she raised her head, giving the white wolf a comforting lick to the ear before she moved forwards, resting her chin on top of Kiara's head and putting her arms around the wolf's neck in a loose hug, wincing slightly as the movement jostled her arm. The position was comfortable and Neela held it for a short while, but eventually she rose again, stepping backwards to look Kiara in the face easier.
"Ya mind if I come inside? Bit more comfortable for talking than out here." While Neela wasn't overly cold her lack of energy had her feeling the elements more than usual, though there was no sign of this in her polite tone of voice, not wanting to pressure Kiara into a decision.
Kiara's rage was suppressed by the delightful feeling of Neela's cat-like paws on the back of her neck. She gave a pleasant whine, enjoying the feel as Neela's hand gently ran down her spine. For one reason or another Kiara really liked the feeling, although she could never explain why. Shiloh had done it to Kiara a couple of times and it always amazed the snow wolf how pleasant the sensation was. She also found that having her neck and belly rubbed produced similar pleasant sensations that were equally as mysterious. Back home she would occasionally rub up against her brothers, but it was nothing compared to what the luperci did.
The snow wolf didn't really notice Neela's change in the way she talked. It wasn't something the snow wolf often picked up on or even paid attention too unless the accent was too thick for her to understand easily. What Kiara did pick up on was Neela's description of her family. Her family had hurt her? Kiara cocked her head to the side, unable to even imagine such a horrific thing. Yet the collie was not only confessing to the events but she was clearly upset by the memories. Although all of these thoughts disappeared when Neela flashed a set of bloody teeth. For a mix, the set was quite impressive and the red color of blood only added to that impression.
Kiara whined again as she nuzzled against Neela, she didn't like seeing her friends in such a state. Kiara did her best to comfort Neela as they sat locked in an embrace. Kiara licked Neela in any place she could reach, which was mostly her back, neck, and ears. Her worried whines were echoing freely for a minute before she quieted down and sat in silence. She didn't know what to do or how to help the hybrid. Thankfully, Neela told her exactly how she could help out. "Of course you can. Please, please come in." The snow wolf walked over to the frame and sat down waiting for Neela to go in first. She didn't want to be rude and she couldn't open the door wide enough for Neela to pass through.
Neela gave an indistinct but grateful woof and stepped carefully past Kiara, standing to the side to let the white wolf lead the way as she entered the structure. As the pair made their way through the house Neela stared at Kiara's back, before starting to talk, suddenly feeling awkward now that she was inside, "Ahhh, how're ya holdin' up Kiara? You didn’t… change did ya?" Neela's voice was saturated with guilt that she had taken so long to come and check up on her friend, which she voiced in short order, "Ah'm sorry I didn't come ta check up on ya sooner. Not been good for much recently, nightmares an vomiting up most o' what ah' eat don't go well together." Neela's excuses fell flat as the pair came to a room and Kiara entered, Neela close behind her.
Neela made her way to the closest wall and sat down heavily against it, resting her back against the cool surface while her head was lowered down, assisting her hands as they hunted through her belt for something. Every now and then Neela would glance upwards towards Kiara and half open her mouth but then close it, suddenly unable to vocalise what she had been wanting to say now that she was finally here.
Neela's ahnds finally found what they were looking for and she pulled a small hip flask from one of the large pouches on her belt. Neela shook the flask, which turned out to be empty, and returned it to her belt frowning before she pulled out a slightly bigger flask, an audible slosh indicating this one as half filled. Neela pulled the top off the flask and the sharp smell of whiskey spread through the room, the alcohols smell making the cause of Neela's muddled state obvious for any who recognised the smell. Neela didn’t often drink to excess but when she was injured was one of the times that she often had too much from the flask she tended to keep with her, alcohol numbing the pain of her injuries.
Neela took a small gulp from the flask, not reacting to the strong liquid as it trickled down her throat, and fixed Kiara with her full attention. Head tilted to one side Neela continued to try and verbalise her thoughts. After several more false starts Neela finally spoke, her voice slightly slurred to a trained ear, "Do ye have a family Kiara?"
The white wolf lead the way into her house and Neela followed only a hare's breath behind her. Kiara thought she could feel Neela's eyes on her as they walked into the living room. Kiara couldn't help but wonder what was going through the older canine's mind. Was she staring at Kiara's scars, did they look horrific? What did Neela want to talk about? Why had she walked all the way to trenton just to find Kiara? The snow wolf glanced back at the collie, her question understandable. Kiara's tail swung lightly and she happily said, "Oh no, I didn't. I wasn't ever able to make her bleed so I never got infected. Plus she attacked me with a knife so...I stayed normal. Or well... I guess I'm not really normal here."
The guilt that filled Neela's voice really confused Kiara and the collie's comment made her even more so. What Neela was saying worried her, she was having nightmares and was throwing up. Worried bubbled up agian in Kiara's stomach. "No it's alright. I don't mind, so long as you take care of yourself I'll be happy." Kiara watched as Neela leaned heavily against the wall and slowly slid to the floor. She plodded over to her injured friend and whined a little. Kiara was very worried about Neela's condition. She was weak, skinny, and bloody. It was times like these that Kiara wished she had Shiloh's medical knowledge and experience. But all the arctic wolf could do was watch as Neela attempted to say something over and over again, each time her words failing.
Something else that really worried Kiara was the fact that Neela pulled out a flask of alcohol, it's heavy stench bothering Kiara's sensitive nose. It wasn't until recently that she found out what alcohol could do to a canine, although Kiara could never understand why they would drink something that made them act in such bazar ways. The arctic wolf had only been drunk once, and most of it she didn't remember. Although her splitting headache the next day was something she never wanted to repeat. After that the snow wolf had sworn off the stuff. But the liquid that Neela drank smelled different from what Kiara had tasted and from what Aleo drank.
Neela's question about Kiara's family was sudden and left Kiara even more confused than before. Kiara cocked her head to the side, confusion written all over her face. "Yes I do. They live farther north and very far to the west. Why do you ask?"
Drunk Neela is rambly, oh so very rambly. Added an [M] tag because of Neela's language and drinking.
Word Count → 732
A smile slid onto Neela's face as Kiara answered in the affirmative and the collie spoke, her words a tiny bit clearer, "Ye should visit em sometime. Family is… family is special ya know? Ya never know when it'll be taken away." Neela paused and looked at her flask but decided against it, despite her current condition Neela was usually responsible about her drinking; today she had simply misjudged the effect her lack of sleep would have on her.
Neela's eyes suddenly fixed Kiara with an oddly clear gaze, amber eyes locked into sapphire as the collie spoke once more, "Yer the closest thing ah've got ta' family y'know? You an Jace an… well that’s it really," Neela whined and her voice took on a self deprecating tone, "Been 'ere nearly two months an ah've barely spoken ta' anybody more'n once. Pathetic." Neela suddenly took a large swig from the flash and then sat backwards, her eyes staring off at the ceiling.
When she had set out to find Kiara Neela had had a clear idea of what she wanted to say to the younger wolf but by this point tiredness and drink had taken their toll on her mind and she was quickly slanting off into the realm of rambling, albeit rambling loosely related to her original topic, even so it was a rather abrupt change in the conversation that spawned Neela's next sentence "Mah mother was an utter bitch y'know? She was a murderer, used ta lure men in with 'er body an slit their throats when they slept. Worked pretty well fer 'er up until one of em get 'er pregnant. Ah was unplanned an she never loved me, she made tha' perfectly clear. Ya see this 'ere?" Neela pointed to the scar below her ear, "Bitch threw a knife at me when she was in a temper, damn near killed me a couple'a times until soma tha townsfolk found out an drove 'er away."
Neela started to grope into thin air blindly with her left hand, seeking the comfort of Kiara's fur but missing as she was still staring at the roof, her face drifting into a wistful smile, "Did ye know ah have a son Kiara? Lovely boy, I think he's about yer age, maybe a little bit older." Neela's face suddenly contorted and her ears folded flat against her head, "Can’t even remember how old mah own son is, shows what kinda fuckin' mother ah'am doesn' it?"
Neela's eyes dropped from the roof straight into her lap and the collie hunched forward as she continued, unable to keep still, and then she began to whimper, the small pathetic sounds mixed in with her words as she continued talking after taking another swig from the rapidly draining flask, "Evvryhin good ah have ah fuck it up. Evvryone who loves me ah drive em away, make em hate me" Neela thought of the town where she grew up, where she had lived and where she had loved. A town that would now bay for her blood if she ever set foot in it again. For the first time since she had started talking Neela looked straight at Kiara, her eyes bleary and out of focus but still able to locate the younger canine, "Mah mate is dead through no fault of anyone other than mahself an mah own fuckin' stupidity. An mah son? When 'e found out…" Neela put down the flash and, with both hands, pulled apart the thick fur on her chest, revealing the long, winding scar that snaked down between her breasts, "…'e tried ta kill me"
Neela slumped back against the wall again, one hand blindly groping for the flask. For a few seconds Neela was quiet and then she spoke again, her voice tired and quiet, lacking the drunken energy that had filled her speech before, "Sometimes ah wish he'd succeeded. Or that ah'd had the balls ta do it properly mahself," Neela paused again to shift her arms wrist up, revealing the scars across each wrist. Neela stayed still for a while before she suddenly moved violently, lifting the flask to her lips and completely draining it before letting the empty vessel drop to the ground as her head followed her body and slumped against the wall, eyes drooping, as Neela spoke once more, in that same tired, quiet voice. "M'sorry Kiara."
In her drunken state Neela's emotions flew widely from elation to depression. She talked freely about her family and her gruesome past. She spoke of her son and her original home. All the while Neela drank the foul liquid until finally the flask was empty. The more the collie drank, the worse her ramblings became. Slowly her speech became slurred and her eyes glazed over. Even when she looked directly at Kiara, the amber orbs were still not focused and Kiara wondered if she truly saw anything. When Neela's searching hand reached out for the white woman, Kiara gladly obliged by placing her head under the flailing limb. She whined a little her voice full of worry and sympathy.
The more Neela talked the worse her mood seemed to get. Kiara tried to lick the older female, to comfort her and show her that Kiara still loved her and thought of her as a great friend. Kiara didn't respond to any of Neela's questions, especially not the ones about her family. There were so many things that kept Kiara from seeing her family. The first was distance. It had taken Kiara two months to arrive at Nova Scotia, and it would take her two months to return. The second was her obligations to Ichika, Kiara couldn't leave for almost half a year. What of the puppies, what of her friends? The final thing that kept Kiara away from her family was the fact that she had been away for so long. If Kiara returned now she would have been chased away or demoted to omega. Kiara's family was very traditional, and they would not take kindly to her return. After all, she would upset the delicate structure of the pack and would be seen as a rival female. Even thought they loved each other dearly, Kiara could never return without threatening the balance of power in their little valley.
Kiara was really worried about the multi-colored female. Why was Neela telling her all of this, and why did Neela so wish to be rid of herself? Kiara couldn't understand her feelings, nor did she understand what the scars on her wrist meant. They were obviously of some importance. Kiara went to lick the collie's wrist, she didn't like the way Neela was talking. "Don't be sorry Neela, there is nothing to be sorry about. I'm here for you my friend."
Neela's fingers ran lightly along Kiara's spine, but otherwise there was no sign of movement from the collie. When Kiara, who had remained silent through Neela's tale, finally spoke Neela moved once again, bleary eyes focusing on the white furred wolf.
There was no judgement in Kiara's tone, No questions, no scorn for the pathetic condition that Neela was in; just love, acceptance and reassurance. Unbidden a snatch of conversation from when she had only just come to the pack came to the forefront of Neela's mind, "… I hope that you enjoy it as much as I do, and begin to see the ones who live here - as family,"
Family… Neela mulled the word over in her head as she looked over Kiara and she spoke, her voice still unsteady and tired, but now there was a tinge of happiness present in the quiet words,"Kiara, yer family teh me. Tha's why ah went after tha bitch Amy." Neela's voice and eyes hardened and for a moment she sounded almost sober, her grip on Kiara's fur tightening unconsciously, "Nobody hurts my family, not again, not anymore. If a few scars is the price to keep those I care about safe, I take em gladly; that ah even have people ta care about 'n defend is more than ah deserve" Neela's grip relaxed and she resumed her stroking, long deep strokes down the other canines spine.
Neela kept this position for a few minutes until the repetitive motions combinted with the alcohol in her bloodstream to make her drowsy. With a tired slant to her eyes Neela leant down to Kiara and licked the younger canines' ear, muttering a simply "Thank yeh" as she did so. Neela made to move upwards and leave but she didn’t make it, a wave of tiredness slamming into her, and instead she lay down, her head resting on Kiara's stomach and legs slipping out into a laying position. Neela opened her mouth to say something but never made it, sleep descending over her mind like a black blanket over her eyes.
For the first time in several weeks, with the constant heartbeat of a friend nearby, Neela slept soundly.
As Neela talked through her drunken stupor, Kiara continued to sit close to the collie, to offer her support and comfort. Neela was Kiara's family, just as much as Kiara was Neela's family. They watched out for each other and took care of one another. Even though the times were bad, Kiara would not abandon her pack mate, her friend. Even when Neela grabbed onto Kiara's fur so tightly that she felt it through her double layered fur, the snow wolf did not budge. Instead she listened and softly licked the collie mix to show her love and affection.
Soon the injured canine had fallen asleep. Her large optime form resting on Kiara's belly and like a mother with her children, she wrapped her body around Neela's head watched over her as she slept. Kiara gently nuzzled the tri-colored woman and licked her ears at a soothing pace. As she did, she thought about why Neela was hurt, and what she had done. Ichika frowned on violence, yet Neela had sought revenge for the arctic wolf's sake. She had been injured trying to protect the snow wolf, and Kiara couldn't decide if she was her happy or sad. On one hand, Neela was trying to protect Kiara and that knowledge made her happy. On the other hand, Neela had been hurt because of Kiara and she upset that the incident had ever occurred. Kiara allowed the conflicting emotions to swirl within her as sleep overcame the young wolf. Soon both canine's were drowsing in the comfort of each other's presence.
