[html]
Cercelee, the borders near Halifax.
The bandages he had stored up in his medical kit were all but depleted, so once again he had left the apartment and locked the door behind him. He didn't like leaving her alone, especially after all that had happened. Unfortunately there was no help for it. Food needed to hunted, fresh water needed to be collected, and now they needed more medical supplies. She was doing better thankfully, her body slowly recovering and her strength returning. He refused to let her make the trek back to her pack until she was ready though. Until she had the strength to take care of herself once again. Onus didn't mind one bit though. If she needed to be taken care of for the rest of her life he would never complain.
But this outing was for more than just fresh bandages, though he hadn't told her that. No word had reached Dahlia de Mai of her current whereabouts and condition. She had asked no such favor of him, knowing that he was not allowed on the lands, but he felt the need to tell them anyway. He didn't want a panicked pack stumbling upon the apartment and getting the wrong idea of what was going on. There was another reason too though. One he didn't risk saying anything to her about for fear of getting her hopes up. Or even his own hopes up. The coyote had gathered that there was still another wolf that was higher than both Cwmfen and Haku in the ranks. He hoped that they were a more reasonable person than the brown brute.
Onus reached the edge of Halifax where the Dahlian borders just touched it. All he had worn today was his eye wrap and coat, leaving his other trappings behind. The male was coming here with more humility than he had ever shown another individual beside his lover. In a gesture that was almost foreign to him he threw back his head and let out a yipping coyote call to the head alpha of these lands. Then, with his hands placed inside of his pockets he stood and waited, hoping this meeting would go well.
[/html]
[html]
.... The waves calmed her, and that was the one thing she could count on. The area of whisper beach they had taken over was empty, as it normally was, as most the pack made their homes on the west side of the pack lands. Perhaps also they sensed that she needed space, for none of the de Sadira puppies had even attempted to follow her out that morning, and Slay only sent her off with an affectionate lick. Cercelee couldn’t even remember the trek to the beach, so mesmerized by the water as she was, she only knew that when she heard a strange call, a call meant for her, it felt as if she was waking from a dream. Why was she on a beach? Navy eyes blinked as she looked about, and slowly, with purpose, she rose and turned towards the sound of the call, ready to make her way to the most southern part of her pack.
.... The movement of her body, using all four legs in her lupus form she covered ground quickly, seemed to awake her mind and she could remember what was bothering her so before she had sat down on the sandy shoreline. Two of her pack members maimed, one killed, and two missing. Cwmfen and Catharsis were both absent and had been for days, though she knew where the de Sadira pup had gone she worried endlessly. Cwmfen, in a manner so unlike her, had disappeared into thin air. With the recent attacks on her own mate and Ril’o’s death Cercelee dared not to think of what had become of her Adonis.
.... The worries and thoughts had kept her so preoccupied that it seemed in no time at all she was before the stranger, a coyote making use of his two legged form. And he wore clothing as well. Yet he did not smell of Inferni, and Cercelee wouldn’t have worried if he did but sometimes she felt she was only waiting for the day when the clan came to her doorstep demanding deliverance of Haku. Curiously the white lady peered up at him, very coolly and confidently she spoke, but it was friendly and civil. "I hope I have not kept you waiting long? May I help you? My name is Cercelee." Cercelee, perhaps he knew that name already, but ever polite she offered it to him.
 |
[/html]
[html]
Many things passed through the man's mind as he stood there and waited. He wondered what type of wolf lead this pack. That would have such as Haku Soul as their left hand. Would there be any sympathy towards the situation at hand, or would they simply not give a damn. Tell him to stay away and leave it to the pack to take care of her. If that were the case there would be nothing he could do to fight it. If he tried to defy the decision of the leader then Cwmfen would be made to act against him and he couldn't do that. He couldn't do that to either of them. Never before had the man felt such uncertainty and stress as he did now. This meeting would help decide the fate of their relationship. Though even if he wouldn't be allowed he would pace their borders. He would stay as close as he could for he could never leave her behind.
A rustling came to his ears and a rather petite pale wolfess came to stand in front of him. Whatever he had been expecting, it had not been this. Her words were polite and did some to ease his troubled heart and mind. Out of respect Onus moved to kneel before her and his ears folded back against his head. Submission such as this was never given by him, but if he wanted to have any chance of seeing this happen then he must needs play by their rules. "Hello Cercelee, my name is Onus. I come with news of your member Cwmfen." First he would tell her what had transpired and answer any questions she had. Then he would ask her for what he wanted. Hopefully the story of her condition would make the woman more sympathetic to his wishes.
"I assume you are aware of who Corvus Vendetta is and what he has done." The coyote couldn't imagine that Cwmfen had not informed her alphess of the situation. It would have no doubt been her duty to do so. "He found her. And he brutalized her. He raped her, multiple times. I came to her rescue, but not before he had accomplished all of that." His voice was strained as he said those words, they were like salt in his wounds. "You need not worry about that demon anymore though. He is now dead. I took Cwmfen back to my place in the city and tended to her wounds. She was in very bad shape, though she is recovering. She is staying with me until she is strong enough to return." For a moment he debated whether or not to tell Cercelee of the fact that the Adonis was pregnant, but he supposed she would find out eventually. "She is also...pregnant. Carrying a product of her abuse." It was impossible for Onus to keep the hurt from his voice, even in front of this stranger.
[/html]
[html]
.... The male was kneeling before her, showing her due respect and then some. It had been a long time since Cercelee had been shown so sincerely such submission, and the petite female, who was surely no match for the male before her had they fought, received it very gracefully. Although the majority of travelers that swept through Dahlia de Mai were either enemies or idiots who did not, or friends who were not required, to show such submission, Cercelee had not forgotten her manners in responding to such a display. There was no out right comment or gesture to make the male feel uncomfortable, nor did she ignore the offering of himself. Very subtly, but with meaning, did she bow her head slightly to him, to acknowledge his own position in coming to her and to grant him permission to rise before him.
.... His name did not ring any bells immediately, although Haku must have mentioned the male in passing, but the name that followed his own peaked the white lady’s interest immediately. It was only as he spoke that the story Haku had given Cer and the male before her matched up, but too far absorbed into the information that Onus now gave her was the Rosea to say anything about it. More important that a Lilium’s hurt pride was the life and well-being of her Adonis. The news of Cwmfen’s attack churned her stomach and Cercelee did not bother to hide the sorrow, disgust and myriad of other emotions from her face. She could tell from the respectful way he spoke, and more so the tone in his voice, that he would not hold this display of feelings against her. He felt similar ones.
.... So quickly did the bad news come, (when it rains, it pours), Cercelee barely felt relief at hearing the death of Corvus. Of course she was glad that Ril’o’s killer and Slay’s assaulter was no longer a threat, but it had come at a dear price it seemed. Yet Cwmfen was alive and healing and in the care of this male. For a long moment she let silence enclose them, regarding him. When she spoke it was not demanding or accusing, merely curious, she hoped the male took no offense at the wording of her inquiry. "Who are you to take such an interest in my Adonis?" Her voice softened as she came up with a even more important questions. "How badly is she hurt?"
|
[/html]
[html]
Onus had no doubt that Haku had informed Cercelee of whom he was and that he was not welcome here. Though it seemed that the brown brute had somehow left out a physical description otherwise he assumed he would have received a much less polite greeting. Though technically he had done nothing against that banning. He was still on the right side of their borders and had called for the leader to come to him as was customary. Though he couldn't help but wonder what all had been said against him. The coyote wouldn't put it past Haku Soul to exaggerate things and circumstances. Hopefully if that was the case Cwmfen would have tried to amend things to how they had actually happened. He may have been her superior and due loyalty, but that did not mean he could openly lie.
But thankfully he sensed no hostility or change in the female's mood when his name was given. Of course, as any good leader would be, the news of her member was much more important than a personal spat. It took a great deal for him to get through all the information without stumbling or needing to pause to compose himself. Usually he was able to talk about gruesome details without it phasing him, but those details had never concerned a person he loved before. From her face, it was no easier for Cercelee to take in than it was for him to give. What had been done to Cwmfen was monstrous and there was no way to soften the blow that had been dealt.
The silence that hung between them for a few moments was welcome, it let the man regain himself and his breath. He calmed his pulse and kept his nerves under the surface where they belonged. Her question was only a natural one. Why would an outsider be so concerned for a pack wolf. Especially an outsider that was not welcome in the pack that said wolf belonged to. But the answer was easy and his voice was strong and true when he responded. "I love her." It was not something he did easily, admitting to a stranger his deepest feelings, but it came easier with this pale alphess than it did with others. "Only two of her wounds were serious. One on her neck and one on her right leg. The rest were superficial but there were quite a few and she lost a lot of blood over a sustained period of time," he said swallowing. "She almost died."
[/html]
[html]
.... "I see." Cercelee considered the male, the information he provided her. Cwmfen was alive, at least now, but they had almost lost her. They. Onus and herself. Surely there were others who would grieve the death of the Adonis, but right now it was only her and Onus who knew how close they came to missing someone so important. And Onus, how had he come into Cwmfen’s life? Cwmfen had not told her of the male, Cercelee had no idea that their Adonis held anyone in her heart the way Cercelee held Slay. Yet perhaps it was none of her business, before at least. Certainly it was now.
.... Cercelee had no doubts of Cwmfen’s loyalty to the pack. Unlike putting Haku on his throne, she had had no doubts or worries about placing Cwmfen into a leader position. The warrior was true to herself and devoted to the pack, Onus would not change that. Knowing that to be true, Cercelee knew that Onus would have to be worked into Cwmfen’s life, which included Dahlia, which included Cercelee. Although their paths might rarely cross, and this was the first of those crossings, Cercelee decided it was strange to have not heard of the male from Cwmfen before, only Haku. It couldn’t be helped now, and Onus himself was here to smooth out the rough edges.
.... Eyes, the color of icy artic waters, looked over the strange male again. Cercelee smiled at him for the first time. "I thank you for your service to Cwmfen, and tell her I await her return here. If there is anything I can do for you, for her, let me know. We have no healer at current, but a medical clinic in Wolfville, very well preserved, if you need anything from there." Cercelee had not let Hanna take anything from the clinic the women had not brought in herself, and Deuce hadn’t even tried, and so despite having no healer Dahlia de Mai was quite well equipped for disaster, if only someone knew how to use the tools and supplies.
|
[/html]
[html]
A slight nod of his head was all there was in response. It was a grave truth to come to terms with, how close Cwmfen had come to leaving this world. How close he had come to losing her and everything that he had so recently gained. More of a life than the male had ever hoped to have. It was clear the snowy female cared deeply about the members of her pack. It still surprised him that one such as her, a seemingly capable and caring leader, would give such a position of power to a monster such as Haku Soul. It was not his place to question such a decision and so he said nothing, but it did deeply interest him. She must feel she needed the brute in some way or another. Protection maybe? To strike fear into the heart of those that threatened her home? Was he just some chained beast used for Dahlia's protection? He wondered if Cwmfen would have any answers for him on that front. Yet at the same time he didn't want to talk about he brown male with her. It was a sore subject for the coyote.
It wouldn't have surprised Onus to know that Cwmfen had never spoken of him to her alpha. Like him, she kept her emotions close to the chest. For the lives they both lived it was better that way. Having the stomach to take a life if necessary came with a sort of emotional detachment. They did not experience emotions the same way that many did, emotions were not the rulers of their actions. They were more creatures of the mind, him even more so than her. There was a naturalness to her that he did no possess. He was cold and hard as the concrete he preferred to call home. A logical man, not one of the heart. Though with Cwmfen that had changed. With her and only her he let his heart show and was no afraid to let his emotions come out and flow freely.
Cercelee's smile was wholly unexpected. There were so few that had ever spared him that expression, it never ceased to surprise him. "I will tell her." And then there was his opening to ask for what he wanted. The words about the medical clinic almost went unheard. He wasn't a healer. He knew the basics yes, but his techniques were crude at best. "There is...something I would like to ask of you Cercelee. I know I am not welcome here, by the order of your subleader Haku." It took a lot to keep his emotions from tainting the name of that brute. "But I ask for your permission to come here to see Cwmfen when she returns. I will cause you nor your members any trouble, that is not my intent. I only promised that I would be there for her and I do not want to break that promise." That vieled gaze locked onto the arctic blue of the leader, hoping that she would understand.
[/html]
[html]
.... The request was not ungrounded but neither had Cercelee expected to hear it spoken. Cercelee had gathered that whatever relationship Onus and Cwmfen had together had been going for some time, and most of it outside of Dahlia and so it neither concerned herself nor the pack. Cercelee hadn’t imagined what it would be like to have the male free enterance into the pack, into their lives in a manner, but it was not unreasonable to believe that Onus would wish to be nearer to Cwmfen, especially when pregnant and later with young pups when her ability to travel freely outside of the pack lands would be restricted. No matter how closely they stayed to Cwmfen’s den, or how discreet Onus was about coming and going there was the risk of pack wolves coming across him, there was the risk of Haku coming across him.
.... To go against the wishes of Haku, the idea made her stomach churn. They had of course had many disagreements in the past, but they were normally of personal matters. When either of them made a decision pertaining to outsiders or the other packs the other never failed in upholding the wishes of the other. Haku had been loyal to her, the best he could, but Cwmfen had been loyal to them both. The raven warrior was dedicated to the pack and Cercelee didn’t wish to make her bitter towards it by keeping her lover and personal protector from her. Onus too deserved thanks from Dahlia, for saving their Adonis and ridding them of the male who had been tormenting their members. For a long time she was silent, looking over the strange male, thinking over her decisions.
.... Finally she nodded yes, she didn’t wish to speak out loud words that directly defied a prior order of Haku’s. "I pray you are careful of who you come across on these lands when not accompanied by Cwmfen." Her words were gentle, but she knew that it was not only Haku who might start trouble with the male. There were those who had great dislike for coyotes and those who were just weary of strangers, and to the majority of Dahlia de Mai, Onus was both. "Avoid Haku at all costs, but should you come across him you must show him the respect he deserves within Dahlia de Mai, because although whatever he may be outside of these lands" -- and Cercelee knew that he could be a terror, a monster, a thorn in the side of the other packs-- "he is our Lilium." Cercelee knew that like so many others, Onus probably did not understand this, but it was the way it was. She would speak to Haku and she knew, like many times before when he was not happy with his Rosea, he would eye her bitterly, spit some words towards her and accept her decision, taking his anger out later in whatever manner suited his mood best at the time.
|
[/html]
[html]
He knew what he was asking for was not something easily given. It might have been a somewhat odd request in and of itself, but the fact that one that helped this woman lead the pack had already forbidden him made things worse. Onus understood this, he understood he was putting her in a difficult situation, but there was no other way. Cwmfen would not stay with him until the pups were born and old enough to travel, he knew that without even having to ask her. He had promised to be there for her, to be by her side through this, but he couldn't do that if she dwelt in a place that he could not go. Usually such wishes from leaders could and would be ignored by the vigilante, but he had gotten himself in a sticky situation. If he disregarded those wishes, his very love was the one who would have to enforce them. That was something he couldn't do to either of them.
The coyote let the silence stretch on as long as it needed to, sitting there like a statue. He made no movement, no signs at how loudly his heart pounded in his chest at the anticipation of hearing what his fate would be. For the man honestly didn't know what he would do if he were not allowed to see Cwmfen here. She had become so very important to him, to be separated from her in such a time of need...it was not something he wanted to contemplate. Things were hard enough without a wall being forced between them.
Though at that silent affirmation he released a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. He bowed his head for a moment as he listened to her words, a wordless show of gratitude for what she had just given him. All that she prayed him do was understandable, even the things about Haku (as much as it galled the coyote). "Will do my best to be a shadow in your lands, nothing more." The man looked back up to the pale alphess. "And I will do as you say if I should come across Haku." Those words left a bitter taste on his tongue, but if that was what he had to do to be there for Cwmfen then he would do it. How amazing, that love could make him act so against his nature.
[/html]
[html]
Sorry this took so long and it's short ><, you can make one more post and we'll close it up?
.... The coyote's gratitude was easy to read on his face, and Cercelee nodded as a silent "your welcome." Despite the ill feeling it gave her to go against her co-leader's wishes, it gave her a certain satisfaction to be able to grant this to Cwmfen. The raven female had served Cercelee with complete loyalty and devotion, to both herself and the pack as a whole, and further more, as she had grown to know the woman on a more personal level, Cwmfen was counted among Cercelee's friends, of which there were not many. It was her pack and friends that commanded the most loyalty from the white lady. Especially because of the recent events that had befallen the Adonis, Cercelee was glad to be able to give something back to her friend.
.... Cercelee had no doubt that the male would uphold his end of the bargain, being almost invisible while within the limits of Dahlia de Mai. Whether this trust in the male was because of the respect and intelligence he had shown coming to her to ask for permission, or whether it was because Cercelee trusted the judgment of Cwmfen she was sure. Perhaps both, but it did not matter. Looking on him she knew that he wouldn't disappoint, she only hoped that truly Haku wouldn't come across him. It would be better for everyone if that never happened. Smiling once more, her sweet, sincere smile, she dipped her head to the male, sensing that their meeting was coming quickly to a close. "If there is anything else I can do for you, or Cwmfen, don't hesitate to seek me out."
....
|
[/html]
[html]
no worries Kris <3 and that sounds good!
Onus did not at all underestimate the preciousness of the gift that had just been granted by the pale alpha. The coyote would do everything within his power to make sure that she never had a need to regret the decision she had just made. He realized that, in a way, he was bound to Cercelee for this. He was now in her debt and he would do what he could to repay it. He would cause no problems, he would stay out of sight, he would pay Haku respect. Whatever she asked of him, he would do, for he knew that she would ask it only to keep the peace in her pack and home. Onus understood that and respected it, just as he respected this woman.
The vigilante nodded his head, knowing it was time for him to leave. Surely Cercelee had other matters to attend to and he needed to return to Cwmfen. "I will. And if you need me for something, you may find me as well." It was not an offer he made to many, but the Dahlian had earned it from him. With that said the male stood and with one more glance back at the female, turned to make his way back to the city.
[/html]
|
