The Sentinels new worlds built from ashes

the scent of her sister was stale, and deirdre gazed heavenward.

all of her family had gone from here, from her. donnelaith, meant to be a place of mayfairs, harbored but one. the world grew colder by the day, and crueler! but deirdre herself would never leave those beneath her; she would lead, and do it as well as she could. for the rest of donnelaith she loved as she did any of her blood, and there were many who had not left her. pack was not about number, but the bond they shared... and deirdre loved them fiercely.

she was not alone, though sisters and brothers alike had seen it fit to leave. never would deirdre think less of them for it, and she loved them, too, always. as her eyes drifted through the forest she imagined their faces--but to think of them for too long caused her heart to hurt. and she knew she must be present; she was not permitted to fall into isolation as her elder sisters before her had, and she did not desire to do this.

deirdre instead sought company from any who would join her. the ghosts could come to her as they pleased, but deirdre no longer sought them.

located near the borders, so any can join :)

His paws stood upon the borders of the home he had once guarded – a guard who’s services had been determined unwelcomed by his youthful sister, though he did not believe she had meant it in such a harsh manner. He had hoped to feel an ache of nostalgia, or perhaps a flutter of regret for his decision to leave the pack within Deirdre and Emaleth’s eager paws, but it was hard to find such a feeling when he knew it was what Lasher would have wanted.
 
But had he pushed it upon them too soon? They were not even a year yet.
 
 Aria and he had traveled through the Taiga – but had been determined the lands had been too full.. and had wished to steer further away from Silver Creek with Casmir’s presence. They had flitted back to the mountains, much upon his hope, for he had desired to stay near his family – but winter was coming, and even with his determination and Eilidh joining them, his plans to bring Blacktail Deer Plateau to glory once more had been placed on hold. And while he would have suggested they settle back within the redwoods for the winter, he did not know if his sister could handle another season here, with the reminder of their father’s passing.
 
So they had went to Moonspear, and Constantine found himself even more disjointed than before.
 
Pushing the thought from his mind – the stocky wolf tipped his muzzle up, his smooth voice beckoning his sisters, asking for their presence. Now was the time to check in, before the weather became worse.

spoopy cameo!

 

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he had mended with her constant aid, though much of it had occurred during times of great ignorance; the cove to which she had brought him was far from this place, yet upon waking the beast had needed something from her. he found her scent, trailed it with his weak and erratic steps, only to collapse within the dark of the wood and be engulfed. he was returned to the shadows for some time, at least until next he woke, and the creature pulled itself free to continue the hunt for the woman in white. 

when he found her, she was alone. perhaps she waited for him? he did not question it, and moved as if to intercept her, only to be denied the chance. the wind alerted him first to the presence of something alive, and so he sank back and obscured himself, letting the embers of his gaze burn through the trees as he watched them both — silent, malignant, and wanting.

 

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the thoughts, however brief they had been, cast their spell--the song of her brother came through the trees, and deirdre was still for but a moment before she drifted in his direction, swift and eager both. when she came upon him, deirdre did not wait before she attempted to throw herself upon him in an onslaught of sisterly affection. though he had left, deirdre did not love him any less; at least he had told her! eilidh and casmir both had gone without warning, and although it was perhaps inevitable that eilidh would leave donnelaith in her wounded state deirdre would never have thought she would do so without a word! but the most crushing blow of them all had been emaleths silent departure. she knew it was emaleths way, but it did not hurt her any less!

it mattered not. no mayfair root had taken so deep as her own in this forest. deirdre, like her father, would die here before she left this place. 

she pulled away from him, smiling warmly despite the weathers chill. winter was indeed coming; she would weather through it with the pack she had been entrusted with, though she was not naive nor fearless. deirdre was young, she knew. but donnelaith had the aid of teaghlaigh and the depths, and so she knew they would not be alone. 

emaleth and eilidh have gone, deirdre breathed to him, her voice pained by the admission, i do not know where they went--they departed without saying goodbye to me,  he had called for them all, she thought; deirdre was the only sister left, here. she hoped that this would be the end of the sad notes to share, though wondered if constantine had any news that would hurt to hear. she could not imagine anything being so terrible as the words she had spoken, but no longer was she oblivious to the world and the way it could, rather unexpectedly, bring discomfort or pain. she was not changed by it; deirdre loved, openly, freely, devotedly, and trusted easily even so.

Oblivious to the wraith that lurked nearby, instead, the swarthy wolf's focus was upon the vision of pearly white that seemed to emerge from the tall sequoias with a purpose he had never felt here -- or one he had not felt since his father's presence had graced the land. He had aspired to be a guardian to his family and pack -- a vision his father had supported and one the very girl before him had insisted was tainting the memories of their fathers wishes.

It would have been a lie to say that he still did not reel from the blow of those words.

But Deirdre's embrace was comforting, and as she all but plowed in to him with a hug, the dark Mayfair inhaled her scent sharply, taking comfort in the fact that she seemed to be quite well. He took a few stolen moments reveling in this knowledge, only realizing just how much he had missed his little sister now.

The news she shared was a darker moment however-- he had not realized Emaleth was gone and he gave a gentle shake of his muzzle, pulling back from the youthful girl. "Eilidh is with me, Dei. I didn't realize she didn't tell you.." he trailed off, withholding a sigh. Eilidh was still not herself.. and he wondered if she ever would be again.

Emaleth was more perplexing -- he had felt a sense of relief that the ebony girl had returned home and could lead alongside her litter mate-- he felt that if Lasher would have desired anything, that would be it. Apparently, she felt otherwise. "Are you okay?"

Only then did he cast another glance around.. and somehow, Donnelaith felt different. The scent of the sea wolves was strong, and he held the sinking notion that the trees no longer belonged to the witches of the woods -- the ocean wolves had all but taken it as theirs.

truly, deirdre was exhausted. for a long time she had been alone--and the very moment her words were twisted and manipulated was the instant this started. emaleth had returned, though had been elusive and left once more. were she to know her brothers thoughts on her own past words meant that she did not wish donnelaith to have its own guardians she would have perhaps been able to fix the error; her only wish was that the wolves within donnelaith did not became warriors, fighters. there was no war at all to fight, they were pacisfists; the wolves of the bay had taken as much care of her as her own family had. deirdre would protect her own, as lasher once had and expected no other beneath him to. many had disagreed with him, but none had abandond him. and the bay, she believed, would not abandon her for her errors. she was young--she would make plenty more. or perhaps she would not make it through this winter--that was for no mayfair to be certain of, as each had gone their own way, leaving her to lead alone this winter this young. success was not at all a guarantee, and already she was fatigued. 

and so his question was met with a transparent, no, and she sighed lightly. for all of my instinct, i am not certain of how i--we--will survive this winter. i have never faced it before. the wolves of the bay will aid us, at least, and she could not leave this place, but could she fault any other for doing so? her own family had seen it fit to do so. deirdre's doubts were created by those she loved the most. deirdre licked her chops. i am glad eilidh is with you. i wish you had never left, she wished to say. but his alliance with aria was greater than his affinity toward her, and she would never blame him for that--she loved aria dearly, and could never pretend otherwise. donnelaith was wholly its own entity, a crown jewel within the alliance untouched and unsullied; she, and her loved ones, practiced their craft as they would.

he flinched inwardly at her admission to her well-being, and solidly he stood before her, his mind whirling. This was not how it was supposed to be -- she was not meant to shoulder the full responsibility and hope her home did not crumble before her.. their father's legacy.
 
Nor was their father's legacy meant to be handed over to the wolves of the seas, which is what he now wondered had happened -- did Deirdre rule, or did she simply accept their neighbors and their decisions? Their scent was thick in the air, and he worried that she had basically allowed them free reign within her home. "What do you mean, Dei? Are the pack's numbers in danger?" He peered at her worriedly -- and knowing without thought that he could not be in two places at once (by the side of Eilidh, and by the side of his youthful sister) it did not take rocket science to determine where he was needed more -- if she would have him. "I'll come home, Deirdre. One more member to aide in hunts. Eilidh and Aria are fine in Moonspear.. it's a large pack."