In the cold light of day, we're a flame in the wind

 

Everything about being with a pack again made Nemean feel odd. Companionship had always gone sour for Nemean in the long run, and though he missed the feeling of comradery he'd once gotten from pulling his weight as part of a whole, now....

Well, he was a stranger among a family, and he felt a keen divide he knew he was cursing himself with. The blue brute didn't hide, but he didn't seek anyone out and wasn't very social. He hunted whatever he could find, and other than whatever meal or two he picked at through the day, he stashed it wherever the pack wolves could find it. Caches, of course, a den if he happened to find one that was fresh enough of scent to suggest someone actually sheltered there. 

It made his heart ache, such a simple little task -- and as he carried a hawk between his jaws, squinting through the pelting rain as he hauled himself easily atop the next ledge of the rocky cliff, all he could think about was the day he nearly ran over Keres in the snow. 

'Don't lose your good heart, Nemean. No matter what the world throws at you, retain it. You're good.'

It was hard to swallow past the bitterness that rose like bile in the back of his throat. It was the first day he'd tried to admit he cared for her more than he did himself, and she'd tried to warn him. He wondered if he ever meant anything at all, but he tried not to think about her too much.

Instead, he tried to mull over what she'd said. He'd always been attracted to the brutes of the world, to strength. He'd always served them or been one, and when he'd showed softness, found a woman who was nothing like the rest of his life.... he'd been punished for it. She'd been one of the things the world threw at him, but was this all he had to look forward to? Losing people he cared about? Getting hurt for them? 

'There will not come a day where I won't want you.'

Nemean sighed, her words bouncing around his head. 

He didn't expect a different result, here. He wondered if here was the good thing or if someone was going to come along and sweep his paws from beneath him again, but shit, he didn't know how much more he could take. 

The edge flattened out on the next jump, giving way to an actual beaten track up the mountain. A glance to the side offered a mostly rain-obscured view of the lake, and idly, Nemean wondered about what the day held instead. 
One step at a time, he told himself with another internal wince. Even his own words haunted him; he wished he'd have lost his memories coming here, instead of getting separated from his family. 

Maybe he'd come across Annika. She was a woman who could understand his pain and help him forget it, and though he didn't know her own sorrow, he could help her, too. Maybe another swim, if the storm settled, or perhaps she'd like part of the hawk?
Valeska was a sweet soul he wouldn't mind talking to, but his thoughts flittered to the other members. One of them might enjoy bird, and it was long past time for Nemean to start making friends. 

He just padded lazily up the path, undisturbed by the buckets of rain falling from the sky, the fork of lightning that split the sky ahead, nor the clap of thunder that rattled the earth beneath his wide paws. 

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The pack was growing and it felt… well, it felt the same, really. Though perhaps, maybe to Amareska, it would feel magical, like they were on top of the world. You know, whatever the hell THAT felt like.

They were a trio, now there were scents in the pack that Harper didn’t register. It hadn’t mattered. Harper was not, nor would she ever be (in her own belief) a member of the high council or whatever it was called to be of high rank. She was just someone who was related to the alpha, who smoked the root to speak proper english. No one of importance.

This was good; this allowed her very frequent (and long stays) at Ichorwood. Her true home. She had taken one look at those gorgeous red trees and never wanted to leave. And now that she was home, she wondered how long she needed to stay before she left again.

Though of course, Harper never saw herself as important. Not then. Not now. She didn’t seek others out unless she needed them, and being social was never her strong suit, unless some ass needed kickin’. And friends? Who needed them? Though that sap lovin’ boy at Ichorwood seemed like he’d make a nice friend. Or maybe a nice second husband. No! No. She did not need two husbands. Not unless she could find one here, within Elysium. Not possible. Or.. was it?

Her eyes drifted upon a dark coat, and silver features. Hackles rose, eyes trailing him as Harper took a brief moment to glance around, before she turned to follow him. Where would he lead her? It was a dangerous thing, to follow her enemy, under the veil of a thunderstorm. 

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Hesitance was something unbefitting of the Nightshade and he knew it; what would Piper think --say-- if she could see him now, moping about, a stranger in the place he'd chosen to call home? Carrying a bird around in the rain, wondering if he should do what he'd always done best and keep to himself, or help his packmates. The feast Valeska had been talking about was coming soon, maybe it would do well in the spread, unless the High Priestess wished for the freshest of foods. 

Nemean sighed. 

Common sense told him to keep his own heart safe and stay away from anyone that could call him friend or anything else, but loneliness was a keen ache whose sting didn't fade, but intensified. Nem was a creature of loving nature, the mighty lion of the Nightshade family, but longing for something.... more. 

The blue brute didn't notice he was being followed, at first. The rain and the prey clogged his sense of smell and even if he weren't pouting, the breeze singing through the peaks and each droplet smacking against the stone drowned out the patter of pawsteps. It was pure, dumb luck that upon cresting a rise and earning a good view of both the continuing peaks and the lake below on each side of his peripheries, Nemean halted and let the hawk drop to his paws. 

Glanced around. 

His dual gaze fell onto the tall woman with ease, her coat dark like his, but of a purer ebony and highlighted silvers that almost made him wonder if she wasn't of Piper's blood, if not for the browns streaking her pelt, too. 

And her eyes -- purple, still what might've been the most striking eye color Nemean had ever seen, and only the second time he'd ever seen it. Paler than Eldra's and frankly a bit prettier, but somehow, still laced with an anger Nemean didn't know what he'd done to deserve. The Nightshade stiffened, his own soaked hackles twitching but only a few stray hairs rising. Unease stiffened his muscles and his ears flicked back, but he just stared back at the woman. He knew she was of Elysium, had seen her around the territory working with plants, but not her name. 

The man swallowed a lump in his throat, tipped his head, and gave an unsure, attempted friendly bark that more or less had the tone of 'what the fuck?'. 

Her smell hit him late and his throat tightened, but other than shifting on his paws, he wasn't really sure how to act. Was she going to bite him? Was she looking for some company? His tail tried a single wag, and even as he watched her, his eyes roamed her frame. 

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Annika was drawn to the bark for no other reason then it being Nemean. She hadn't known he was sticking around and found it curious, but she trailed behind him anyway with intent to pounce and surprise him.

Oof, was she ever caught off guard.

The dark woman paused in her strides as she spotted him, tail wagging as he approached Harper. Her half-sister, a woman also in the midst of her heat cycle. That.. ah, well, that made sense in a way, she supposed. She glanced between them and bowed her head, backtracking. "Sorry, sorry," before turning to try and slink back into the shadows from whence she came.
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This was it. This was going to be the end of Rhelenso, and under the storm? No one would hear the screams or even smell the blood. It was bloody perfect until it wasn’t. Nevermind that Harper was in heat and .. wait.

He stopped. He put the birb down. He turned around. This was it. Harper snarled, muscles ready to launch at his ugly face annd… what the fuck was this? A trap? An ambush? This was not the face of Rhelenso Salvatore, but of someone new? Someone… younger. He had the black coat, the silver markings, but the eyes. They were not the color of ice. One was sapphire, the other was gold.

He was staring at her, she was staring at him as the rain continued to assault them, the thunder making it impossible to even speak. Their words would be carried away, in the storm, but Harper could see his confusion; she saw him bark, but the sounds hardly reached her ears.

Harper might have considered that this was actually an ambush, save for the weather and the look on his face. Harper had tried to recall if she knew him; if she was one of those new faces within the pack. She’d thought she had studied Rhelenso’s movements, but now, she wasn’t sure if she had been seeing Rhelenso or his younger twin.

She took a step forward with narrowed eyes and a snarl on her lips and then, out of no where, came her sister - the dark, secluded sister. For a moment Harper blinked, glancing from one to the other with the tilt of her head. No wonder Younger Rhelenso looked confused. Had he been expecting this one, instead?

That was fine. He looked too much like Rhelenso, anyway. Funny how both sisters, though unrelated to each other, chose a suitor that looked similar in appearance. “At least he’s not an old man, huh?” Harper smirked, shaking her head as she turned to leave into the direction she’d come.

Exit Harper, unless stopped

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