one is the lonliest number
#1
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OOC STUFFS HERE!

He had taken Myrddin to visit Auntie Rosie, so he could have some time to himself. Sky had left him. And not only had she left him, but she had left Myrddin to tell him that his mother had left. She had taken Cody and Lena, leaving him a single father of a male child again. He didn't know what he had done wrong, her message hadn't been that specific. He felt morose and inept. He hadn't gone into her study, afraid of what he would find. In the back of his mind, he found himself remembering their fight right after Tameri's death. Had she left him for Sanja? Had she left him for another male?

What had he done so wrong that she didn't want to be with him? He walked into the house they had shared. For a moment, he stood there, breathing in her scent, the scent of Fella and Cody and Lena. Anguish gripped his heart and he fell to his knees. Sheba, the calico who had adopted him on the day of his offspring's birth, nudged his knee, meowing softly. His breath hitched and he lifted the feline up, burying his face in her fur. How could Sky have left?

After what seemed like ages, he set the purring feline down. He made his way to the room they shared. Her things were gone, even her locked chest. His chest hitched and he turned around, making his way to the porch, away from the now cloying scent of his torn apart family. He took deep breaths, then seized the first of the red skulls, flinging it as far away from him as he could. Each skull shared the same fate. He had told her he would never mate with another woman and he meant it. Even after she tore his heart out, he meant it. He would not mate with another woman. She would be the only mate he ever had. He wasn't his parents, even if she wanted to walk away from him.

He stared at the bone shards, his bi-colored eyes awash in emotion. He had sung her Irish songs, sweet songs of love. Everyone of those songs had a sad ending. He had cursed himself to live a sad lonely life, and his son Myrddin to a life without a mother.

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#2
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Talk! Think! Walk!

Word Count:563


Winter had faded and spring had begun to flesh out it’s leaves. The scent of the world had changed almost over night. The cold dry scent of snow and ice was replaced with the scent of new leaves and something that Hotaru could really only describe as rainbows. As much as she hated the analogy, that was what came to mind when she inhaled the cool spring air. The air was gradually getting warmer and the nights weren’t as bitterly cold. Song birds had started to return and with their arrival it had become impossible to sleep in.


As usual, Hotaru was perched on her carving boulder that sat just outside her doors. She had long ago finished her restoration project for her set of drawers, leaving her mind and hands free to wander. She didn’t really know what she wanted to carver, so she sat with a small block of wood and her carving knife to simply pass the time. After a while a shaped had begun to form in the wood. As she worked the form of a creature appeared and soon its fearsome body had become evident. After several hours a ferocious cougar sat in her lap. Its long tail swooped around and too the side while its open mouth revealed a set of sharp fangs. Even if the image seemed complicated at first, Hotaru’s hands revealed otherwise. The body was smooth and almost without definition. She had created a mountain lion’s basic form, but the details were few and far between, which made the overall design simple.


Even though it wasn’t anything close to a masterpiece, Hotaru was rather proud of herself. She ran her fingers over her creation and studied it carefully. She was about to fix a problem when a sudden crashing sound reached her ears. Red appendages flicked to the side in alarm as she tried to make sense of the shattering sound. Again and again the sound of something breaking came and the grey female grew worried. The sounds were coming from Sky’s house, and she knew that Sky had several young children.


Frowning, she stood and grabbed her walking staff. Fawkes was still sleeping inside the house, so this adventure would be for Hotaru alone. Her lithe grey form moved easily through the familiar village and cautiously she approached the house of her fellow pack mate. ”Hello? Is everything alright alright?” Her staff that she waved before her, bumped into something on the ground. Whatever it was, it was new. The grey female bent down to retrieve a shard of something unknown.


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#3
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So engrossed was he in his self pity, he failed to notice the blind wolf's approach. He flinched, his hackles raising instinctively. As the form of the grey female came into view, he relaxed, feeling suddenly ashamed of his unconscious reactions. "Sorry, Hotaru, I didn't mean to disturb you." He walked down the steps of the porch and began gathering shards of bone into his hand. He swallowed hard against the lump rising in his throat as shard after shard of skull were gathered into his palms.

His hands began trembling as his eyes focused on the nearby rose bushes he had planted for her. Shawchert had brought her flowers that wilted and died soon after being gifted. The pale scholar had instead planted rose bushes so she could enjoy the beauty of the rose as it budded and bloomed. He had thought he'd been clever to notice that about her, the blue eyed beauty he'd fallen for. Heartache gripped him tightly, turning his every breath into a tortured gasp of emotional hurt. He let the shards fall as he clenched his fists tightly, trying to combat the waves of angst that rushed him.

"Sorry, I'm not myself, Hotaru. I've had some news that... has left me unsettled." His voice was anguished and ragged, though it didn't hold the deep grief it had after Tameri's murder. Instead it held betrayal and disbelief. He began to mechanically pick up the skull shards, his hands continuing to tremble, his throat working spasmodically as he swallowed down the whimpers that wanted to escape his maw.

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#4
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Talk! Think! Walk!

Word Count:412


Taliesin's voice greeted her ears in response to her worried question. The red-grey appendages twitched as he spoke. Taliesin sounded awfully downtrodden for a poet and a new father. Something had gone wrong. AS their neighbor, Hotaru often heard the loudest events in Skye's house, but that didn't mean she knew everything about the mated couple. Something big must have transpired recently to put the Protettore in such a strange mood. Hotaru couldn't help but feel just a little bit sorry for the male. He had lost a pup not long ago, her life taken by her older brother. It had put a strain on the couple, although Hotaru was under the impression that their lives had regained a semblance of normality. Form the sound of things, she was wrong.


"You needn't worry, I had just finished my carvings when I heard the commotion." Footsteps alerted Hotaru to Taliesin's approach, but he stopped before he reached her. When she realized that he was collecting the bone shards, Hotaru too bent down to help pick up the broken bits of bone. She let one dexterous paw trail slowly across the ground until it bumped against a piece of bone, which she deposited into the other paw. Hotaru worked slowly and kept her questions to herself. She knew that when one was injured mentally, it was best not to ask. However, curiosity and worry built up in the grey female's chest. Her pack mate was hurting, but the cause of his pain was not known to her. His breath came as quivering gasps and the sound of bone hitting the ground filled the air.


For one reason or another, Taliesin felt the need to continually apologize to her. He opened up to her a little, but it wasn't enough for her to grasp the situation. Without stopping her work she said, "Taliesin, if I may. I once heard a wise wolf say, 'The most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly the one you'll never have.' Whatever had happened, whatever news you received, try not to dwell on it. But if you feel overwhelmed, than I suggest finding someone to confide it. Believe me, it will make you feel better." Hotaru remember her own experience with Juliet. Although it wasn't the most positive memory, after she told her story to Juliet an invisible weight had lifted off her shoulders. It was a painful experience, but it helped her in the long run.


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#5
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As she shared the sage advice from the wise wolf, he choked back a bitter laugh. How could he not dwell on the future he wouldn't have? She had taken two of the three pups. Two of his pups he wouldn't be allowed to see grow up. He wouldn't be able to help Lena learn, he wouldn't be able to teach Cody anything. Any how would Myrddin feel, knowing his mother hadn't loved him enough to take him as well?

Hotaru offered to listen -or so he assumed-, and he felt a wave of gratitude to the blind woman. The blind woman who could have helped Lena learn how to cope with her lack of sight in a world made for the seeing. He closed his eyes, taking in an unsteady, pained breath. He let it out quickly, the words coming in a rush. "She left me, and she took Cody and Lena with her. I think she left me for another male, after she swore to me we would never end up like my parents who were always together and then split apart, it was hell on me and Noah, and now she's gone and done it to me. Not only that, but she only took two of the pups, not all three. I'm scared for Myrddin, for how his mother leaving just him will make him feel. I'm hurting from all this, and I just don;t know what to do, Hotaru."

The words came out and he didn't feel better. He closed his eyes, his head drooping, his breath coming in soft grieving whines. "I took Myrddin to Auntie Rosie for now, I didn't want him to see me like this. I'm a mess, a big hurt and confused mess."

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#6
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Talk! Think! Walk!

Word Count:361


Her advice to seek a confidant was not meant to include herself in the matter. Although Hotaru was worried and curious as to what had transpired, she did not believe he would be willing to confide in her. They had met on several occasions, but Hotaru didn't really feel all that close with the rest of her pack and she had believed that they felt the same way. So when Taliesin began to speak to her of his problems, she was genuinely shocked. The shock registered in her features for a second before she was able to return to her placid appearance.


Even if Hotaru was startled by his sudden speech, she listened attentively. Her ears were perked and always stayed trained on the male. Her hands moved slower as she worked until they eventually stopped. A small pile of bone shards rested in her paw, while the other was cupped around the pile to prevent it from spilling back onto the ground. The grey wolf's entire focus became the grieving and hurt male before her. His words came out in a quick rush, and were filled to the brim with pain and worry. Hotaru nodded a little as he talked and her mind reeled as the situation was laid bare before her.


His mate had left him for another and she had taken all but one of his pups. Hotaru could only imagine the betrayal he must have felt, although she considered his pain might be similar to her own. Then there was the question of his son: how would his son react and feel at his mother's abandonment? "I'm afraid there is little I can do to help you. Although I empathize with your feelings. I too know the pain of betrayal by a loved one..." Hotaru paused, not really sure what to say next. "Taliesin, you and I live close by. If you ever need company or help with you son, feel free to ask for it. It's the least I can do. But for now, if you really want to help your son, you have to stand up and move forward. For his sake and for yours."

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#7
He dipped his head, his ears swiveling to catch each of her words. He had known there wouldn't be anything she could do about his situation, but it did feel a little better for him, having told someone about it. He smiled warmly though he was still fragile and broken inside, reaching out and clasping Hotaru's hands genlty. His voice was soft as he spoke to the blind woodcarver. "Thank you, Hotaru, for you generous offer, and for the listening ear."

He gently took the bone shards from her then, adding them to the pile in his hand. He would grind them and add them to the compost heap as he did the washed eggshells. Little did he know that in a few days he would not be doing much of anything except recovering from the wounds his oldest -and disowned- son would give him.

He thought about what she had said, thought about moving on and facing the future. He had always thought his future was Sky and their pups. He had thought they would have many litters together, maybe even name a little female after the lost Tameri. He suppressed a sigh, knowing she was right, that he needed to move on.
#8
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Talk! Think! Walk!

Word Count:299


Hotaru often enjoyed speaking in complicated sentences and using her mind to express her feelings, much like a poet. But when her pack mate was hurting so much, she felt that her normal way of speaking was somehow wrong. For once, Hotaru didn't mince her words and spoke her mind directly. Although some of the things she said could have been considered a little cruel, she wanted to give Taliesin the respect she always desired. When his larger hand reached over to gently grasp hers she felt like her decision had been correct. His gratitude and soft voice brought a sympathetic smile to her face and she gave him a comforting squeeze of her hand.


"Your welcome Taliesin. It's least I could do for you, after all, listening is what I do best." Hotaru made no complaint when the bone shards were removed from her hands. When they were all gone, she slowly closed her paw as if trying to grasp the air. There were so many things she wished to hold onto, so many things she wished would be returned to her. The poet must be feeling the same way as her. He had lost so much. He had lost two puppies months before, and two more just recently along with his life partner. The immense amount of pain and betrayal he was likely feeling was something Hotaru wished no one would have to experience.


In truth, even though he was heartbroken and hurt, Hotaru couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Even if it was only for a little while, he had found a mate and received puppies of his own from the union. The blind wolf held no delusions about her life. She knew getting a mate was near impossible for someone who was sight impaired.


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