M - Sometimes it Hurts

Zalen Damaichu · 08-28-2012, 02:04 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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Word Count :: 639 :: Nuki has officially stepped down from a leadership role in ND and the following is a summary of the IC circumstances for Titania's disappearance. Zalen will be depressed and moody for several days after this but then will recover.

Zalen was starting to feel better; Noah was healing nicely in Sky’s tree top clinic, Lucia was beginning to socialize with the rest of the pack which seemed to calm Kiara, Shadowfang seemed like he was returning to normal with the acceptance of Thana, and Zalen had decided to finally return Casa’s lines of friendship by sending them a gift. He was feeling so much better in fact, he decided it was finally time to visit Titania.

More than twenty days ago, his pregnant mate had taken to a birthing den in Glen Eyrie. She had first been open to his presence, but as her belly grew so did her temper and he decided to leave her alone the day she had charged him, all hormones and teeth. He would regularly bring her game and leave it near the den and he would find it gone the next day, but he had even stopped doing that, knowing that she probably would not take the food the closer she got to giving birth. But now had been long enough and he could no longer stand being a part from her, or from seeing their pups, which should have been born by now.

So, near dawn Zalen had set out from the communal den in his lupus form, moving swiftly and silently into the semi-darkness of the trees. It did not take him long to get to the general area the den was located in, but he had to pause to sniff it out. As soon as he began searching though, he knew something was not right; it was too quiet here, and it smelled… off. A knot of tension and worry bloomed in his chest and his search became more frantic. Finally, he caught scent of Titania, but it was faint line that was difficult to follow.

The Alphess’ scent meandered deeper into the forest, and then became intermingled with a strong, sickly sweet smell. Zalen crinkled his nose at it, his stomach almost turning at its intensity. Then, there was the den, and the strange scent was very strong there, and it was silent. Cautiously, Zalen crept up to the mouth of the den; the odor coming from within was overwhelming, but he forced himself to enter the crude cave dug by Titania’s claws. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness within, and that when he noticed the insects.

Maggots, flies, centipedes and other various carrion insects covered the floors and walls of the den, and there in the center, nearly incrusted by the vermin, the nearly hollowed out bodies of three wolf puppies. Zalen looked in horror for a moment but then scrambled out like a frightened puppy and ran a ways away from the den and urinated in shock and fear. It took him several moments of trembling to finally regain his mind; those were his children in there, they had died in birth, but where was his mate? He looked frantically around, Titania…? he got up slowly and moved away from the den, the pups already nearly forgotten; Titania must still be alive somewhere.

He searched in the immediate vicinity for an hour, and finally found some trace of her; scat and vomit a few days old that smelled of sickness and fear, but that was all, the scent trail had been washed away by the fog and the wind. Zalen became desperate, maddeningly worried, and he called out Titania! Titania! He lifted his head and howled loudly, calling her to him, then waiting several minutes for her to appear, and when she didn’t, howling again. He did this for hours until his voice became hoarse, and finally, resigning himself to the fact that his mate was gone, headed towards Deer Lake to wash the scent of death and sorrow from his pelt.

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