A single calling sound
#1
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Anu stood by the tree, her thoughts causing a great stress on her shoulders, seeping into her chest and overwhelming her heart. It beat quickly, and she found it hard to breath so suddenly. Her blue eyes closed, sealed shut tightly as she willed the feelings away.


Slowly, it receded. Going back to where it came from, back into a shadow that follow her. The wolfess knew what she needed to do in order to keep it at bay, but she had not yet been able to find the remedy that would dismiss it completely. She opened her eyes, looking into the foliage of the apple tree. She watched the small round bud that would someday be a red or green apple.


 Thoughts of Crimson Dreams, memories of her friend and the family that she had there only caused the shadow to encroach onto the lightened portion of herself. The visions of what had been diminished the pure freedoms of the present, they caused her to panic to feel unsafe in a world that had yet to prove to her that it was a threat.

 

Unable to tear herself away from the visual that rooted her, the gray muzzled woman stood still. She listened to the birds, finches calling for their mate, and clung to that hoping it would bring her further from the shadows. 

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#2
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[/html]Since returning from her trip to Halcyon Mountain, Tayui had taken to watching Anu. It was not difficult to observe the other woman, but it was difficult to glean any information from what she was observing. Anu was a private individual but she was also honest and this honesty was written in the patterns of her fur. However, this did not necessarily mean that Anu wore her heart outside her fur. Even though Tayui had guesses as to what the other was thinking, they were only that: guesses. She thought she might understand what Anu was going through, but the experience of losing one’s pack--one’s home--was different for everyone. Indeed, Tayui had lost her home four times now, and each time it had been different. Leaving Jaded Shadows had perhaps been the worst because she didn’t know what lay beyond the mountains. Losing Shadowed Sun had been painful because it had been so much a part of her: it had been her creation and it was too by her hand that it was destroyed. She’d left AniWaya of her own accord and although the physical act of leaving that home had not been as difficult, the reasons for which she had done it were worse. Leaving Anathema and Salsola had been simple, but bidding farewell to Casa di Cavalieri had been complex because she could have seen herself living there one day. So, she wanted to help, but didn’t know how. All she could do was be there for Anu.

After a few moments of mulling it over, Tayui decided to say something.

“Anu,” she called out. She walked slowly, approaching Anu from her right side. She began to raise her hands, her palms facing the sky, in an almost imploring gesture. She dropped them, but then reached out to touch Anu’s shoulder. “What are you thinking about?” [html]
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#3
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Her name was being called, an ear turned first and then her eyes broken from the vision of a grown apple upon the thin limb. Anu turned to see the face of the pale wolfess. Her duel hued eyes watched her, an evident searching tone hinted in their glint. She smiled, instinctively, at Tayui. Anu was glad that she had come to stay with them; the female brought her a comforting feeling of happiness. Though there was still a grand question of contentment for the other woman. Anu could not decide if any of them were happy here, and yet Tayui’s satisfaction was what she thought of most. A confusing truth that she was not willing to reveal; for she could not understand it.


I was listening to the birds. She said with a small smile, the feeling of the other woman’s hand on her should shaking her from the daze completely. It was the truth, though not complete honesty. It was not her place to put more weight on her fellow loner’s shoulders, and Anu did not want to make more hardships for Tayui. It was a battle for her own mind, and she would not share it.


I wish I knew what they were saying, I am sure this orchard has a history. She added, watching the face of the other female and searching for a response before she spoke it. Secretly she wondered what Tayui thought about this place, and what she thought about Anu and the time they spent together. How self-conscious she had become surprised the experienced wolfess, but the feeling was new and accepted. A distraction from the toils of the disbandment.

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#4
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[/html]Anu turned and then smiled as Tayui laid her hand on her shoulder, to which Tayui smiled in return. She blinked in surprise when Anu said she was listening to the birds. She wondered if Anu could speak low speech. Although it was a rather difficult task, it was certainly worth it if you had use for it. Though, Anu quickly revealed that she was just listening to the sounds the birds made in song and not the actual intent behind it. Tayui nodded slowly in understanding. Even though she could catch snippets of their words, blocking out the meaning and just listening to the music was very pleasant. She found this easier to do now that she hadn’t practiced her low speech in over two or three years.

With a frown, Tayui tried to focus in on one of the birds, but there were too many. Most of what they were saying was usually inane chatter anyhow and wasn’t worth listening to anyways.

“I can’t tell either; there are too many of them and they’re too loud. It’s probably nothing—they usually just chirp about the goings-on and what they see. It’s a constant stream of ‘branch, worm, no worm, worm, no worm,’ and so on,” she replied with a laugh. She shrugged and then dropped her hand from Anu’s shoulder. “This used to be Dahlia de Mai territory. Someone from that pack might know.” [html]
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#5
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Curiously she watched the wolfess, there was something hidden there as they thought about the birds. Tayui listened, unscathed ear working with her scarred one to take in the words that Anu did not know. Anu smiled and laughed with a surprise at her response. She had no idea that it was so simple, That’s all? She asked the white and crème hued woman with a smile along side a hefty dose a bit of disbelief. But their songs are so beautiful. Anu added with a bit of a lackluster huff, eyes moving to catch the winding swoop of a robin. She had always thought it was more then just those simple things. Perhaps calls to a mate, songs of courtship. Anu was a romantic at heart, however simple she attempted to portray.


That’s right, She spoke to agree with Tayui. She had forgotten about Dahlia de Mai, as she sometime forgot about the other packs that had come and gone in her years. But Dahlia had been a place friends had lived within, a place where she had discovered a piece of her heart. A piece that she had then stolen away for herself in Crimson Dreams. Though, such things did not last long. Dahlia had been here. She turned to look back to the woman, giving her a soft smile. The questions of Tayui’s satisfaction in the new orchard still bubbling in her mind. Anu thought little of the motion, and reached her hand to touch the other woman’s. It grazed along the outer line of Tayui’s paw, from the wrist down the smallest finger just as the gray woman turned to begin walking. It hardly grasped her, not meaning to tug her along nor even hold it, but simply to invite her for a walk down along the line of trees.


It’s a peaceful place, despite the bird’s chattering. Isnt it? She wondered aloud.

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#6
Omg Anu you sly fox you
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[/html]Anu sounded surprised at Tayui’s great reveal, so Tayui just shrugged impishly. Of course that was what they said; birds, like wolves, had to communicate in some manner. Their sing-song speech was just how they did it. She figured that they must sound pretty weird to the birds, what with their constant yipping, barking, and other various vocal intonations. Even though she agreed that their songs were quite beautiful – she indicated this with a smile and a nod of her head – she figured that some were just blessed with beautiful voices. It was a gift and they were lucky that they could sound so wonderful all the time.

Anu’s thoughts seemed to turn to history now, but Tayui didn’t have much else to say on the subject. She knew of Dahlia, their former leader Haku, and his son Conor. There was much she knew, but little she wished to speak of. Both were dead, but she only mourned the passing of one. Dahlia had been a nice place once—she would have even considered sending her son to live there to grow up, but he’d done fine in AniWaya.

She glanced down to see Anu’s hand reach for her own. She glanced from her hand up to Anu’s face as the other wolf turned to move away. Tayui felt her heart skip a beat and in a split decision, she turned her hand over to grasp at Anu’s hand more firmly. She fell into step with the other wolf, quietly, as she did now.

“It is,” she agreed. “Not despite of it—because of it. They’re saying all sorts of other things, too, I’m sure—not just worms: there’s probably one remarking on how pretty we are,” she noted, grinning.[html]
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#7
[html] lulz

There was no secret about her love for gardens and fruit trees. Anu had never denied that she felt at home among them. As she was a pup her father tended an orchard, and when she returned to his side a few years into her life it was in the orchard that she found him lifeless. She had been grateful for the few weeks they had before he passed, and beneath a tree he had been buried. Among the trees she felt safe, close to his memory and close to her own heart. Though Crimson Dreams was gone, Anu had still found a piece of that sanctuary in the northern fruit tree plot.


She felt the touch of Tayui’s hand, and her breath was caught in her throat for a single moment. Anu exhaled, allowing the fingers to entwine among her own and the palm touch the warmth of the white hand. Their steps fell together, and Anu let her mind happily wander to the female’s voice.


The soft smile brought on by the touch of her hand, grew. Anu turned to take a glance at her face, noting the smile and returning with a grin of her own. The feeling is mutual then? She replied, looking up to see if there were any fluttering beasts flying from one tree to the other. Her features softened, the grin easing back to the gentle smile that came from her heart's contentment.

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#8
omg
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[/html]Tayui was pleasantly surprised when Anu returned her smile with one of her own. It seemed as though they were both in a good mood and she was glad. Anu had gone through a lot and she knew she wanted to make her happy. She owed it to her and she felt like the other woman deserved it. So, when Anu responded with her own cheeky retort, Tayui couldn’t help but laugh.

Between her chuckles, she managed to reply: “naturally.” With this, she pulled Anu’s hand closer to herself so that she could hold it with both hands. With her second hand, she rested it gently on the back of Anu’s hand, letting her fingers rest between the knuckles. She felt a bit silly doing and saying things like this in such a roundabout way. Neither of them were young anymore and they didn’t need to pretend if they wanted to say something. Tayui knew that she was comfortable being completely honest with Anu and she could only help that the other woman felt the same for her. She tried to catch Anu’s eye as she looked into the trees, hoping to perhaps express some thoughts she’d been mulling over for many days.[html]
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#9
[html] -dances- lol

They had spent so long unhappy, this was something Anu was certain of. Each time she had met Tayui there had been a shadow lingering. At times it had only been one or the other that was shrouded but the dark cast, and at others they stood together in that twilight.


There was sunlight now, the Sun scaring away the unhappiness and all that came with it. It warmed their shoulders, chasing the chills away and seeping pleasantly inward. Anu felt it, a growing tickle that started in her stomach and ran along up and into her chest.


Her question lingered for only a second, the bright laughter of Tayui causing that inner swirl of Sun to become her own soft laugh. It was natural, wasn't it? To see something with grace, something with such innate beauty, something that was simply being itself... And to feel for it. She submitted to the pull of her hand, allowing it to be held by Tayui's two paws. Her smile was unchanging, and felt the duel hued eyes on her. Unable to keep away she let them find her own, allowing where in the past she might not.


Anu turned, facing the other female. The grey woman hid nothing, and did not feel a self-conscious draw that might pulled her chin downward in bashfulness. Even with our marks. She said the words with an unwavering smile, her free paw reaching up to touch her face and the lowest point of the other woman’s scar softly. The line that ran through the crimson orb, reaching her cheek. It was her just the tip of a finger that moved to graze the pink pigment, the rest catching the faintness of the short fur that lay against her face.

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#10
listening to this + this thread = so cute omg
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[/html]Even though Anu had tried to look away, it seems as though she couldn’t—not yet, at least. There was too much here, right now, right at this very moment that hadn’t existed only minutes ago. It was interesting how a simple action and a single word could change everything so quickly. Even though she had not said much (she was rapidly becoming a woman of few words), it hadn’t mattered because Anu was so sensitive and could hear everything that Tayui was thinking.

Anu returned her smile with one of her own and then looked down at their hands, now tangled up together. Even though Anu sounded sad when she mentioned their marks, Tayui liked to think that there was an undertone of pride there, because there certainly was for her. She’d accepted these things as a part of her and since then, they had healed and disappeared from view. Now, the only ones that remained—physically, of course—were the ones given to her by Eris. No, that sounded too passive. Tayui bore the marks wrought in hardship and battle. Even though Tayui thought it sounded more appropriate to refer to them with consideration of the hardships she’d experienced, it seemed as though Anu was far gentler than she. Even though she watched Anu the entire time as she raised her arm, it still gave her a bit of a surprise when she felt the other woman’s fingers trace her scar along her eye. She closed her eyes for a moment as she felt Anu’s fingers near her eye and then re-opened them to reply.

“It’s my pride,” she replied quietly. “I survived. I didn’t survive perfectly—because no one should—but I made it out alive. And so did you. We found one another.”[html]
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#11
[html]sorry for the wait! my pneumonia is slow to fade!

Her time as the sole-leader of Crimson Dreams had caused a painful stiffness to seep into her form, but it was released with warmth and tenderness of the Sun that stood over them. That tension had been the inevitable failure that Anu had foreseen, knowing that there would not be future in the Dreaming lands. No future, and her past cast to the beyond where heart retching memories resided… It was an unnaturally ridged legacy for the gentle creature to leave, but she had survived.


Surviving had always been a gift for the once-Dreamer. It had been something that she could claim while others could not. Listening to the other woman’s words caused her to think differently, it caused her to realize that perhaps surviving had not just been a solemn gift handed to her by fate but it was something that she had taken. Anu had, with an imperfect hand and with a flawed outcome, survived.


It was in that stumbling fashion that the two females had come to find one another, Tayui was correct again. Anu let her fingers run their course down Tayui’s pale fur, passed over her cheek and then back to the tangle that remained of their entwined hands. We did. Anu replied, with a natural softness.


Tauyi had not pulled away from her, nor had she even looked away. Anu had stood in the same position before, time and time again, and each time she had been left with more pain then she even cared to glance back on. Instinct and experience made her wonder where it would leave her now, and she had no pack to lean against when the inevitable occurred. And so the gray and silver tinged pulled, she stepped back to allow the other female the chance to rethink her position and make a choice that perhaps Anu had given the others in the past.


Simply and with a fluid motion Anu slipped her fingers from the grasp of the white woman.

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#12
Arg pneumonia is a good excuse so I can't even be angry and I can't stay made at you ;-; <3
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[/html]Tayui shivered as Anu drew her fingers down her cheek, neck, shoulder, arm, and back of her hand before settling comfortably between her fingers. Tayui kept her gaze relatively focused on Anu, even though she watched the movement with her peripheral vision. Anu responded, quietly, but softly—as she always seemed to do—and Tayui inclined her head slowly and then raised it once more. For a split second, they just stood there, saying nothing, but then a strange expression flitted across Anu’s face and she stepped back. Tayui drew her brows together and felt a small frown tug at the sides of her lips in response to the sudden loss of contact.

“Don’t,” she said, as she reached out with her hand to grab Anu’s wrist. “I won’t leave you,” she said. Anu looked so lost for a moment, but too full of strength and pride, that Tayui suspected she just wanted to hear something that would convince her that Tayui wanted this—whatever this was. She didn’t care if she couldn’t explain it. She just liked being with Anu and wanted the other woman to know that. She didn’t want to leave her and didn’t want Anu to think that she had to do anything for her sake.[html]
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#13
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The two stood among the apple trees. They were wild and untamed by the hands of a caregiver. Adapt to their true powers as growing creatures their limbs had swirled and twisted, their fruit plentiful yet small. It was still a place so sacred to Anu, a place that was a home when she had no right to give it such a name. The trees soothed her, they calmed her spirit and watched over her. Once she had been told that the trees would protect her, that she was one among them, that it was her place. The woman had graced her lineage with their names, seeking the strength and peace for them as well. It was there that she chose to regain her strength. There with Tayui.


The pale woman returned with a sharp reply, power held in the word and yet her tone fell into something much deeper. Blue eyes glanced upwards. They caught hold of the duel gaze, Tayui’s promise reaching her ears in the next instant. She felt the touch on her wrist, gentle and yet the meaning commanding enough to cause the silver woman to draw her hands forward yet again. A desire for the contact still alive.


In an instant the faces moved over her mind’s eye. They rolled along like the passing of an incensed clouded sky, never the same for more then a mere moment. But the momentum was faster then any gust of wind Anu had experienced. They came from the great past, when she had first joined Jaded Shadows before the fires. Years that Anu had committed to forget. All of them were gone. The black fur and green eyes of her closest friend passes more slowly, but she too moved to clear the sky.


Silence told of her question and insecurities sudden appearances. Could she blame Tayui if suddenly their lives were separate once more? Would she resent her for the pain that Anu would inevitably feel? So much had been lost, Anu was unsure of what she might have left to give. Moments lingered until she smiled lightly once again, watching the face of the pale female and replied. I trust you.


The feeling behind them more of a wish then the truth.

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#14
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[/html]Tayui didn’t think that she had surprised Anu per say, but it didn’t seem as though the other wolf had been expecting her to say that. Although, honestly, she couldn’t really tell. There were so many emotions in Anu’s eyes that she couldn’t distinguish one from another. She hoped that Anu was happy to hear her say it. She wondered what else Anu would like to hear her say.

Anu held her gaze for a few moments before she got a distant look in her eyes, as if she were thinking of other things. She seemed distracted for only a split second before she replied. Tayui smiled and squeezed the other woman’s hand in response.

“Good,” she replied. “I want to be here with you,” she added. She was still smiling. She glanced from Anu’s face down to her clasped hands. She took her other hand and put it under Anu’s hand so that she cradled Anu’s one hand with both of her own. “I want to be with you. Here or anywhere.” She glanced up, hoping to gauge the other woman’s reaction. Even though she said this with complete sincerity and such calm, she felt anxiety well up in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t think she was going too far and she didn’t think Anu would think so either; but what if she did? No, that was silly; Anu wouldn't laugh her off. They had come too far for that.[html]
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#15
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Anu wished that the emotions she felt were simple ones. She wished that they could come undone from the knotted tangles that sat balled up in her stomach. The matter was not a complicated one and yet the happenings of the past, distant and near, made her emotions far from straightforward. She envied Tayui, softly, when she spoke. To know what she wanted was something that Anu had been lying to herself about. Peace, happiness, a home. All those things had been what she believed she wanted. They were not extraordinary things; at the surface they were minor details to a life filled with complications and complexities. But Anu had found them so hard to achieve. What she perhaps wanted now was to be protected, to be loved and to not worry that there was a pit to fall into at the end of the road.


But the words made her smile, they were honest and heartfelt. With Tayui’s knowing she felt that she gained understanding herself, leaning on the confidence of the other woman. Her eyes followed Tayui’s, falling down to look at their entwined hands and back to her face when Anu felt her blue and red orbs eyes on her own features. Anu nodded, words lost to a moment of simply taking in the idea. Her smile did not wane and Anu pushed the uncertainties further away from what they held between them. White hands encasing her light grey paw, just as gently as Tayui tended to her fears.


The once-Dreamer brought her other hand forward, up along the other woman’s arm. She touched her lightly, fingers grasping softly at her bicep as she confirmed, I want to be with you too. Tayui brought her a certain kind of happiness and a great sense of comfort and Anu smiled at the thought of not having to live without that again.

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#16
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[/html]Anu looked so thoughtful that Tayui wanted to do something—anything—to show her how much she cared. She wanted to prove to Anu that they didn’t have to have heartache, sadness, or loneliness if they just stuck together. Things could be easy and simple and comfortable; and these were things she had longed for for longer than she’d known. She wanted to give these same comforts to Anu, but she didn’t know how.

Instead, she contented herself with talking and smiling, and holding and touching. She let her eyes wander to follow Anu’s hand as the other wolf reached out to gently hold onto her left bicep. Anu returned her words and Tayui’s eyes widened for a moment. They both wanted this. Tayui’s smile grew even wider as she felt her heart flutter. Nervously, she nodded her head, unable to wipe the big grin off of her face. Almost shyly, she lifted her head (as she had forgotten to do so after she finished nodding) and peered at Anu with hooded eyes.

“Come here then,” she said, as she lifted her right hand, which had been resting on top of Anu’s left, and held it out, inviting the other wolf closer. She just wanted to hold Anu and tell her that everything was going to be all right.[html]
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#17
[html]we can end here if you'd like! Sorry I was so slow through this thread. I would love an updated one soon tooooo :3

Eyes watched as a smile grew, blossoming upon the other female’s face as she spoke the words. It was until Tayui brought her eyes meet up to meet the blues of Anu that the gray woman realized that she too was smiling just as greatly. Her gaze, red and blue combined, were overlain by the pale lids and echoed the true feelings that lay beyond in their minds. Yet unsaid, and skirted only by the short and honest vows Anu could see that lay ahead.


Perhaps the motion of her hand had been a plea for the invitation that came next. She would not know if she had been pulling Tayui forward with her gentle grasp, but in the instant that the woman said the words she allowed her foot-paw to close the gap between them and lean into her. Her fur was soft beneath the coarse outer guard hairs they all owned, and Anu allowed her fingers to filter through it as the moved to secure their embrace.

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