[M] a heart divided

Skye Collins · 06-25-2012, 09:25 PM

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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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It was good to be away from her pack, if even only for a few hours. She trusted Jace and Aylu well enough to be able to protect the pack - they had strong, loyal hearts, and it wasn't fair to them for Skye's own emotions to get in the way of her trust to them of protecting Cercatori d'Arte. Trust for her wasn't easy anymore, not like it was when she had first ambled in to the peninsula, free of care or worry, eager to start up a pack with Shawchert.

She suddenly felt a strong pang of loneliness; recently she had been trying to distract herself from such emotions, been trying to tell herself that the pack mattered more than the loneliness in the heart of a single leader. And her wolfish instincts had won out - she had forged an alliance with one of the strongest packs in the entirety of 'Souls, something that she cherished - she wouldn't be so afraid of Cercatori d'Arte being unable to defend when she had such strong members in her ranks and had the friendship of the strong warrior pack.

And yet.. now that she had done her job for now, had struck up a strong alliance and almost ensured her pack's safety, she couldn't help but turn her mind inward and see nothing. Loneliness enveloped Skye then under the stars in the forest of the Ethereal Eclipse. Loneliness ate away at her now. She sat on the plush grass, staring up through the trees at the bright stars - there were so many of them, so bright and luminescent. Most were happy at looking at them, seeing their bright sparks - right now, however, Skye left behind her leader-like demeanor; her tail was low, her ears were flat, and despite the fact that she was constantly surrounded by canines, she felt very small, very alone.

Jazper Rhiannon-Knight · 07-10-2012, 02:58 PM

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The summer days were very hot for the hulking male, which led him to abandon the Fort before sunrise or after sun set most days. He did not mind doing a quick patrol around the boarders in the heat of the day but he was drawn to the night. In the dark cover of the night sky his coal colored coat blended into the forest and plains with ease, a shadow morphing into the green grass. Tonight he took to the unclaimed territory that separated Casa di Cavalieri from the Artisans they called friends. On nights like this where the stars shined bright and the sky was clear over head he preferred to take to the more open land between the allies to track the deer that traveled through and make sure there were no suspicious looking strangers by the others boarders sneaking around in the night.

Tonight is was a more familiar scent that caught his nose causing his body to automatically turn towards the more forested area near by. His halfling form traveled fairly quickly, he was comfortable in this form and it carried his massive body along with ease. His nose twitched as he scented the air every few steps to insure he was closing in on the owner of the scent. Within minutes he saw the Artisan Leader, laying in the grass and staring up at the stars in deep thought. The Knight blended into the forest but he was sure she would pick up on his scent quickly.

“Skye.” He broke the silence, his voice greeting her by name. His hulking form stepped into the dimly lit break in the trees, walking straight up to his petite crème friend. Even with Jazper in his seuci form Skye could probably travel on his back, though the thought never entered the Knight’s mind. Not wanting to interrupt what seemed to be her private thought time the allowed his large form to settle into the grass beside her. “What in the world could be bothering you so much that you don’t smile up at such a beautiful sky?” Although they were equal in rank and both ran their packs as individuals Jazper took pride in trying to be the type of wolf others could confined in, and this was no different than how he would treat any other. As he awaited an explanation his body began to morph, his form becoming less wolfish by the second. Shifting was second nature to the once non-luperci male as he had been shifting for almost four years now and the process was seamless, taking a shorter time than those younger than him.

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Skye Collins · 07-10-2012, 04:16 PM

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The female stared up at the sky, the thousands of glittering stars reflecting back into her eyes and giving off light. The forest had a blue, almost ethereal glow that night, a soft blue that reflected the stars and the moon. The blue color matched her mood at that night, almost uprising from her soul. There was no definite reason for it - it was just something that was there, something that she couldn't change. Everything piled on top of one another until the weight was too much to bear, crushing down on her and finally breaking at this night.

She suddenly heard something - a large branch snapping in the darkness. More alert, but no more snapped out of her daze, she concentrated on her senses. She scented it next - or rather, not it, but him. She recognized the scent as the large, dark canine leader of Casa di Cavalieri, their allied friends. She then saw the man, but barely - his dark form blended in well with the dim light of the forested night, and all that separated him from the shadows were his gleaming yellow eyes.

She dipped her head to him, but barely; her respect and demeanor was not lost tonight, but it was weaker than before. She then did not know what he would say next, but didn't expect what did come out of his mouth as he began to shift into his even larger form - asking what was wrong, so that she should look at the sky so solemnly on such a night. She shifted on the ground she was sitting on, her tail wrapping around her modestly.

"Nothing," she said smoothly, the lie slipping from her mouth as naturally as anything. She continued to look at the sky, not letting on any more - her demeanor was a natural facade. She could tell that Jazper was almost the opposite - she did admire some part of him that was unlike herself. Honest, noble. Patient. She could tell that he did truly care for the problems of others - not to say that she didn't, but she wasn't sure that she would be so readily willing. She wondered if he would be able to cheat his way out of a situation, or if he would take another route and remain honest.

Jazper Rhiannon-Knight · 07-10-2012, 05:07 PM

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The moonlight clung to Jazper’s dark fur, revealing his outline as it settled into his anthro form. He rarely ever was without clothing in front of others, though he didn’t think much about it. He had been raised for most of his puppyhood by unshifting wolves and it wasn’t until Deuce and Lucifer that he had been introduced to the world of clothing. Now that he was older he understood that others who were more civilized and took to a more human life might take an unclothed luperci as a sign of sexual desire. However many still traveled unclothed and it was not like Jazper to think of others in that manner. Though he was still a male and had his moments.

Golden eyes watched the creme tail wrap around her torso as she spoke. Being a male of experience around females the Knight rolled his eyes, unconvinced. He had always been a bit of a ladies man in his youth and had many older female friends that enjoyed his company along with daughters of his own. Although many a young male struggled to understand females, and the warrior was not without confusion on the other gender, Jazper knew well enough that when a lady said nothing was wrong there were many things wrong.

Looking up at the stars from his back the Sole gave her a moment of silence before pulling his upper body into a sitting position. “Really now?” He asked again, a large arm wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her in tightly. Squeezing her gently to a point that would be just slightly uncomfortable he pulled her against his side with a wild grin leaving no doubt he was up to no good. “Ya know Skye it aint no good to no one if you keep everything bottled up. I thought females loved to chatter on about their feelings. Come on now, why don’t you give ol’ Jaz a piece of your mind hm?” He chuckled as he made sure the little women wouldn’t be able to escape his hold forcing her to talk.

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Skye Collins · 07-12-2012, 11:42 PM

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She was vaguely aware of Jazper's loose reputation with various women - and men, too, it seemed, her mind drifting back to Sebastian's lewd portrait of the male leader in a provocative pose, causing her to smirk slightly despite herself. At that moment, she felt Jazper's large, muscled arms wrap easily around her slim frame, almost crushing her against his body. He continued about how females loved to speak about their feelings, and how it wasn't good to keep things bottled up. She flattened her ears against her skull, not amused.

"A leader has to have poise - should be a strong example to her pack," she said dryly, pointedly rebutting his point about females chattering on and on. It was true, in some cases; some females really did seem to never stop talking. Skye, however, did not think this way - sadness, depression, loneliness in an authority figure was not bottling things up. It was a weakness. Being weak in front of her pack - if she couldn't be the strong one, then who could? She was a leader, not a self-pitying fool. She had to be strong.

But then again - there was no one under the stars that night, no one but her and Jazper. Jazper was not in her pack, was not someone who needed guidance from her. He guided his own pack, set his own example and picture for them; he was his own leader. Had he not been her sworn ally, she would have continued her facade; but although she did not fully trust the man - she fully trusted very few - what harm could it do, to tell him a little, if only to stop him from squeezing her so that she couldn't breathe?

"Lonely," she almost choked out, not accustomed to truly speaking her thoughts. "I am lonely." She did not meet the other leader's eyes, instead staring out at the dark forest. It seemed silly, ridiculous, that she would be lonely when she was surrounded by her entire pack all the time - but so many had left the pack, had left her. Shawchert. Orin. Bangle, her own mate, leaving without a single word - one day there, the next day gone. She, her pack, had been betrayed, wronged - Liam. Sky. Argul. Who could she truly trust?

Jazper Rhiannon-Knight · 07-31-2012, 01:41 AM

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It was instantly clear that the cream alphess was not happy with his choice to care her into tell him what was on her mind but in truth the sour looks and the negative body language didn’t phase Jazper’s playful mood in the least, it only fueled him more. The logical answer came forth and Jazper rolled his eyes, holding firm still in his crushing side hug until finally the truth came forth. Her vice was forced, clearly unwilling to revile her feelings but the truth was out and the coal man released her from his crushing grasp, his once silly grin faded down to a soft smile as he relaxed his body.

“A leader can be made of rock but even rock a wears over time.” His tone quickly turned back to a tease and he nudged her gently, “Besides I wouldn’t want to follow someone who wasn’t my friend too.” Members came into a pack not knowing many of their pack mates and hardly knowing their leader but Jazper was of the strong opinion that his members respected him because he listened to them, helped them, and worked with them. No one would listen to your growls and warnings if they didn’t listen to you before in your calm moments.

Although he teased her he did understand exactly where she was coming from. Laying back in the grass he let his voice softly come forth in reassurance, “I get that.” He said simply, golden eyes looking up at the stars. Silence followed before he opened up. “My mate left me. I told her I wanted to start a pack and she called me selfish. Now she's moved back to Italy.” He knew Skye was not a very young wolf, clearly having lived long enough to gain the confidence to run a pack for some time, but he didn’t know much about her past besides that it involved d’Arte, he could only hope that by giving her information she would feel free to share with him.

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Skye Collins · 08-06-2012, 01:33 PM

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She took a small, involuntary gasp as Jazper's crushing grip loosened a bit, freeing her lungs to be able to breathe once more. She couldn't really say she appreciated the hug, but at least now it wasn't preventing her from being able to breathe or move. She snorted as Jazper began to say that he wouldn't want to follow someone who wasn't his friend.

"And I wouldn't want to follow someone who breaks down all the time," she said dryly and sardonically. She was slightly offended that Jazper insinuated that she didn't try to be friends with her members - of course she was friendly, but that wasn't what she was talking about. She was talking about sadness, defeat - things you should never show your pack, lest they begin to doubt and fear. Doubt and fear was not welcome in her pack anymore - she had seen what had happened when Shawchert allowed fear, doubt, and sadness take over his life. It almost destroyed him, and it planted the seeds of wariness in their pack - if they could not trust those who led them, who could they trust? How could it be called a pack, then?

She remained silent through Jazper's short story. So he had lost a mate as well. "I am sorry," she said quietly. "It must have been hard for you, to know that she did not share your dream." For your own mate to call you selfish, and then move to a place so far away so that they may never see each other again.. it may almost be worse than your mate leaving you with no trace.

"My mate left me as well," she said softly. "But he didn't tell me. He grew scarcer and scarcer, and one day he left and never returned. I don't know where he is now." She wasn't sure where he was, and she didn't know if he'll ever be back - she doubted it, for some reason. The gypsy spirit in Bangle couldn't have stayed silent and dormant forever.

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