My Enemy will save me
#1
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OOC: back-dated to the 18th. feel free to power-play Liam having nightmares.




Liam still ached all over but most of his injuries were superficial and didn't require too much attention. He was actually more concerned about his pack-mates and family than his own well-being. This time yesterday the Court members that had fought at AniWaya had been returning home and Liam had taken residence at Chien Hotel, spending countless hours helping heal the wounded and occasionally taking care of the pups when his mother was too busy. Ayita did not want the three young ones to leave her sight after everything that had happened and although Liam could tell it deeply annoyed Skoll, Hati and Lottie he could understand why his mother did it and fully supported her. He was worried about them too and often found himself mentally freaking out every time he peaked around for them only to find that one was hiding somewhere. That split second of fear before he realized Lottie was just playing around behind a couple wood planks or when Hati was under a pile of wool blankets was enough to give anyone a heart attack.


But now Liam was having a hard time focusing on anything at all for too long. He had been working twenty-four hours straight, if not longer, and the lack of sleep mixed in with the pain he felt every time he moved and the paranoia that plagued his mind wasn't good for his health or his ability to think straight – not one bit. So he decided to leave the hotel for a while to take a walk and clear his mind, maybe rest for a little while. He didn't want to go home though; the idea of being alone so far from most of the pack wasn't a comforting feeling – especially considering he would be sleeping: completely unaware of danger if it were to come searching for him. He walked from the hotel, his aching legs carrying him to no destination in particular. He wasn't really conscious of his surroundings. A part of him just wanted to find a nice, cozy place to sleep for a while. Eventually the Catori boy spotted a familiar structure that had never quite been an area of interest for him before.


Liam really wasn't fond of horses. They were scary and evil. Scarlett, Robin's horse, had probably told them all about him and how he had attempted to murder Robin... and now they probably all wanted his head on a stick. He hadn't even done anything wrong though! He had tackled Robin, yes, but it had all been for fun's sake! Harmless fun! Alas, he kept going towards the stables and began walking around the building lazily. He didn't really have a goal in mind. That was until he found a rather comfortable-looking hay stack set against the south wall of the stables, just calling at him, urging him. Liam shrugged as he closed the distance between himself and his would-be bed. He settled down, his bi-colored eyes glancing around him to make sure it was safe to sleep. Ironically enough, he was hoping that if something went wrong, the horses would alert him with their neighing. Minutes later the King's son had fallen into an uneasy slumber, his ears still twitching at every sound. Slight murmurs and the occasional whine escaped his mouth as nightmares began to fill his unconscious mind.


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WC: 560

Basic table code by Erin, edited by Kit.

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#2
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Anann yawned. Her body still felt exhausted after the long and grueling battle at AniWaya. Her own injuries had been minor and nothing she couldn't treat herself. So after she had first taken care of Rem and then herself, the golden woman had retired to her bed where she had slept soundly in Anatoliy's arms well into the late hours of morning or what could have arguably been afternoon. When she had awoke, her lover had already gone. Considering how long she had slept in it was hardly a surprise and she suspected he had gone to finish up whatever work was left on his boat before they would leave in a few days time. After wiping the sleep from her eyes Anann made her ways towards the stables to check on Rem.

The large stallion had still been blanketed from the night before and Anann was still feeling a little groggy as she undid the straps and folded up the elk hide blanket. Stowing it away in the tack room for now, Anann grabbed a brush and comb and headed back to Rem's stall. She was working on untangling the curly mass of hair that was his tail when she began to hear some rather odd sounds from outside. They were muffled and difficult to make out, but it sounded as if whoever was making them was distressed. Unable to ignore them, Anann set the comb aside, pressing the teeth into the bristles of the brush. She would have to come back to grooming later.

Once outside Anann began looking along the side of the stables. The noises had sounded like they had been coming from the outer side of Rem's stall, but Anann didn't see anyone. Surely she hadn't just been hearing things? That wasn't like here. But s she walked pasted the pile of hay Anann heard another muffled whine and spun, looking around. Now that she was on the same side of the stack of hay as young Liam he was easy to spot. He was sleeping, but it was obvious from his twitches and sounds of distress that nightmares gripped his mind. Liam? Liam. She spoke his name gently and calmly as she tried to wake him, before reaching to grab his arm. It's alright, Liam. You were only dreaming. She said in the same easy tone as his eyes jolted open.


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</style>[/html]table by fy'ra
#3
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OOC: Poor Liam. =(



All around him was blood. Scarlet, damp, warm... blood. All over. And amidst all that blood the people he loved were lying limp on what had recently been a battlefield. The first people he saw were his parents – his father was the more gruesome of the pair with his throat slashed, his ribs sticking out at awkward angles and patches of his fur ripped out to reveal deep purple bruising. He had a million other wounds but the scene suddenly changed so that he was watching his mother. Ayita was bloody but what really caught him off guard was the fact that she had no face. It was just a dark hole of nothingness. All of a sudden the young wolf found himself standing in a very cold cellar-like room. It resembled the King's Cellar with all of its meat but as Liam squinted he realized that all around him hung his family and friends. And one of them was still alive. “Robin!” Liam tried to shriek but his voice wasn't working. “Robin!” he said again but with no avail. “Liam?” It was an unfamiliar voice that was coming from Robin's mouth. A distant voice. “Liam.” the same voice was saying. “It's alright Liam. You were only dreaming.”


And then it went bright again as his eyes fluttered open. “Robin!” he hissed before hoisting himself up into a sitting position on the hay stack. It only took him a few moments to snap out of it though, at which point he slumped onto his back once more. He could very well feel the hay underneath him and he could smell the horses in the stables. He blinked a few times before truly realizing what was going on and who was standing before him. “I... uh.” he mumbled groggily. He felt a little stupid now. The nightmare was slowly fading away but some of the more horrid pictures were still very much present. “Sorry... Anann... I've been...” he paused, feeling the awkwardness even more as each second ticked by. “This war has me on edge. I didn't mean to disturb you.” he mumbled finally. Feeling vulnerable in his lying position, Liam got to his feet. He was an inch or two taller than the golden woman so he felt a little better about himself and less of a defenseless, squeamish pup.

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WC: 400

Basic table code by Erin, edited by Kit.

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#4
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sucky post, sorry


The sleeper's eyes snapped open with a startled look as he called out Robin's name. Anann kept a gentle hold on his arm as he started to realize where he was. Her grip was just enough to keep in grounded in the real world and light enough that he could have shrugged off it was undesired. "It's alright. Everythinng's okay. It was just a bad dream." She said softly in a comforting, understanding tone. She knew from her own experience that the nightmares that followed after war could be vivid and terrible thing.

Liam seemed to come around to reality pretty quickly and Anann took a step back as the young man stood up. He already was taller than her, which was more surprising than it should have been for the amber woman. It seemed Liam would gaining his father's height or at least close to it. "No need to apologize. It's to be expected, you've been through a lot." Her tone was the same soothing tone she had been using since waking him as she gave him a reassuring smile. War was never easy, after the raids on their lands and all Liam had done to help the wounded Anann would have been more concerned if the youth had seemed uneffected at all. After all it was the Catori family that had suffered the greatest loss of the Court.

She gave him a moment to collect himself and his thoughts as he stood there. Her own experiences had taught her that the dream world was not so easily shed. The images and the emotions felt could still haunt the mind long after the dreamer had awaken. "Do you want to talk about it?" The war, his dreams, she had left the question rather open ended. It didn't matter to her what he wanted to talk about, but if it would help him feel better and find a little peace Anann knew she could lend an ear.



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#5
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OOC: Mine isn't any better. =/



Liam felt the embarrassment wash over him like icy cold water. If the skin under his brown fur were visible, it would have glowed a vivid scarlet. He wondered if he had spoken at all – because those first nights following Noah's departure, Liam's parents had told him he spoke in his sleep. It happened when he was bothered by something. How long had she been watching him? Did she get a glimpse of his soul through his body language? As the seconds ticked by and he observed Anann with those bi-colored eyes of his, he felt the embarrassment fade a little – only to escalate again when she told him he'd been through a lot. He wanted to tell her that so had a lot of pack-members, yet they didn't go around having nightmares... but he didn't. He was positive she was thinking about how young he was and how it had been a bad idea for him to fight. He wasn't going to tell her that either. He just kept quiet, watching her as she tried to comfort him.


In a standing position he felt a little better about himself – less of a frightened little fool. He shifted his weight uneasily as a careful hand went and brushed a few specks of hay from his wild mane. “I uh... not really.” he admitted. That was a lie. Honestly? He wanted to talk about it – tell her how scared he was and how he wanted everything to go back to the way it had been a few months ago. He wanted to tell her that he wanted his brother back – or at least to know that he was safe, after so many months away. He wanted his uncle back... even if the two Catori males had never been close. He wanted... he wanted his innocence back. He had indeed lied and told her he didn't want to talk about it, but before he knew it the words had escaped his mouth. “It's the same dream over and over again. I see everyone... everyone I care about; they're all dead.” He decided to not say anything about Robin. Out of all the images, hers was the most vivid. He had no clue what that meant but he decided it must be because he had fought with her during that first raid.

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WC: 396

Basic table code by Erin, edited by Kit.

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#6
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Once the young man was up on his feet he seemed to gain back a little of his composure. He was likely still trying to shake off the ill feelings of his bad dream, as Anann knew they could often linger even after one had awaken. At least such was the case for her. There was nothing for the lad to be ashamed of though. Even trained warriors were susceptible to the harsh reality of war.

Once he said he did not want to talk about Anann didn’t push it any further. If he wanted to talk about it that was fine and she would be more than willing to listen without judgement, but it was equally as fine if he did not. Anann was not one to back another into a corner. Though after a moment the youth went on to explain, despite having said he’d rather not talk about it. Anann gave an understand nod as he described his dream. She had experienced such dreams herself, the worst had been after she had lost her brothers. She gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, her hand resting there as she spoke. ”War often brings the harshest of realities with it. Peace is something often taken for granted until it is threatened.” It was shame that this was a life lesson that Liam had learned so early. The truly fortunate would never war and what it to fight for your life. ”It a lot for the mind, and the soul to deal with and comprehend, but in time, you’re dreams will fade. So long as you do not keep all your fears bottled inside and do what you can to over come them.” She gave him an encouraging smile as her left his shoulder and returned to her side. ”Say for example, if you are scared that you can protect the ones you love then perhaps training will bring you peace of mind.” Of coarse, the woman was biased, abusing her body with rigorous training had always been her solution to emotional pain.


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#7
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OOC: Aaah, sorry for the wait. I hate school.



Liam blinked once as his mind's eye kept catching glimpses of the deceased – of Robin screaming and pleading for his help. He pushed the nasty images aside once more and concentrated fully on what Anann was doing – her posture, the way her chest went up and down when she breathed, and the way the sun's light made the shadows of her face dance around animatedly. He focused on the smell of horses and horse dung from the stables or the prickling he could still feel on his back, even if the hay was no longer tickling his skin. Finally she gave him a light pat on the shoulder and the physical contact seemed to fully bring Liam back to reality. He was grateful for it and didn't hesitate to give Anann a tiny, lopsided smile of gratitude. He was still a little bit too proud to say anything, especially after opening himself up and telling her about his dream, but at least that smile of his could speak for him.


When she spoke, Liam couldn't help but hope for a moment that she was wrong. Or that he was one of the wolves that could be at peace a lot faster. By the looks of it, by the terrible dreams and constant paranoia, he knew he was wishing for something near impossible. Sometimes he wondered if maybe he wouldn't have been better off not caring about people. A cold, stone shell. All skin, bones and muscles. A fighting machine that didn't have to think about the aftermath. But then he thought of his parents and siblings. He thought of his friend Robin and of all the people he had met these last couple months and all of the people he would meet throughout his life. Sure times were hard now, and there would undoubtedly be more hardships to come, but was it really that bad? What about all of the good times? Those countless hours of playing pretend with Robin? Or teaching his siblings all sorts of new things? Was he willing to lose all of that just so that he didn't have to feel pain? He decided that he wasn't willing to do that. Not by a long shot. “I just wish time wasn't an issue. That I could forget and move on right away.” he sighed.


When she brought up the idea of training, Liam mused over the subject for a short amount of time. His bi-colored eyes drifted from her face to an oddly-shaped cloud in the sky that resembled two wolves fighting. Or they could be hugging, but Liam wasn't really in the mood for optimistic. “Maybe.” he said. He had told himself following the war that he would never hurt anybody again – no matter what. Hurting the enemy had been a hard thing to do and an even harder thing to accept afterward. But what if the real problem here was his fear of losing those he cared about? Of not being able to protect them, like Anann had so wisely said. “When did you learn how to fight?” he asked, recalling that Anann herself was a very skillful warrior.


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WC: 531

Basic table code by Erin, edited by Kit.

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#8
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Anann gave a soft smile. She too, had wished plenty of times for memories to fade and become less painful. Not that it have ever done any good. Over the years age and experience had changed her perspective of the world. Even though she was still battling her own demons. "Indeed. That would be easier, but then wouldn't it lose meaning? You can not learn from what you have forgotten." It did not justify the war and the terrible acts it cause canine to commit against canine, but if they could learn from it, then perhaps such a thing could be prevented in the future. "We can never change our past, but we can learn from it and we can change." The future was not set. That was something she had to believe in. Otherwise the choices made in life were meaningless.

Anann could tell the young man was considering the advice she had given from the look on his face as he mulled it over. She knew from experience what it was like to lose a loved ones and to feel helplessness and regret that came with being unable to prevent it. The golden wolf had lost both her brothers to the battle field and because they had tried to protect her. Anann had gone through a lot of self blame of the guilt of her loss. They had been the only real family she'd had. Rem was all she had left. Liam's question pulled Anann out of her own thoughts and back to the present. "My training started when I was very young. Just a few months old." She said with a bit of a shrug. Even sooner in all truth, but it was hard for her to accurately recall. Since birth she had been groomed for the role she had been born into. "But things were much different where I was born."



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