Wolf RPG

No more than perhaps 48 hours had gone by since she had thrown her kindgdom out the window and her commitment to Kaname down the drain, yet it felt like an eternity since the last time Cara had walked along the rugged terrain of the northern border of her -- or what used to be her own home. Yet as she walked the oh-so familiar pathways that led to the interior of the Spine, a corridor nestled from plain view and hidden yet to the new tenants of her castle, she felt the vicious battle between guilt and conviction for her decision pump through her veins.
She had to come back for them.
She had to.

It was not even the fear that her psychotic ex-mate could bring them harm what had lured her from the temporal shelter she had established with Keith, it was the need, the attachment she felt to them -- her obligation, as friend and former leader, what fueled her legs to keep moving almost mechanically through the lands she had once hoped to die on. And the lands she now hoped to kill from her memory.
The place, as beautiful and majestic as it could be, also reeked of misery, or failure.
Jinx's rotting skeleton at the bottom of the lake, and the scars issued by Ptarmigan that covered the base of her neck served as proof.

Cara could not remain in the Spine, under the unfortunate spell the universe had casted over it -- specially not now that she had caught a glimpse of what her ex-mate had been capable of. He had destroyed what was dear to her -- who would stop him from doing so again? Her children did not need to be raised in the unfertile lands of the Spine where the only thing that flourished was chaos and rage.
She needed renewal -- of all but of her most loyal and trusted ones.
Loyalty was a rare bird Cara was not willing to pursue in new wolves when she had a whole flock at hand -- or she hoped she still did.

With her head still held high and her tail waving in the air like a serpent the former Queen of the Spine sat at the gates of the hell/heaven she had ruled for so long. Then with her pale eyes scanning meticulously the horizon Cara interrupted her regal stance to tip her head back in a soft, coded, howl for those carefully selected wolves to come at her encounter. 
With the same stubborness she would not budge if found by one of the new lackeys of whoever the hell had weasled into her throne, she would not let her dear comrades rot in here when she already, and like a messiah, held the promise of a new heaven, of the promised land.

Alusia stared out at the open and free land. Just one step was all it took to leave, and Alusia was certian she was ready to take that step. The arctic wolfess took a deep breath, and stuck her paw out ready to take the small step that felt like a huge leap. Just as her paw hit the free territory a howl went up in the air. A howl the pale female could not ignore. There was no hesitation as Alusia ran towards her former alpha. It felt like forever as the pale girl made her way to Cara, emotions overwhelming her. 

Finally she reached her friend and stood there staring at Cara. Alusia looked to see if any harm had been done to her, but she seemed fine. Anger, happiness, and confusion were all things Alusia felt for Cara at the moment, but overall she was glad to see the once Spine leader. The white wolfess searched around and realized they were in one of the ridges of the mountain, a place the new wolves would have a difficult time discovering. Smart. 

"You left" Alusia finally spoke to Cara, wanting an explanation for her disappearance. However the arctic female herself too had abandoned the Spine for a time, and therefore did not know how Cara would react to her being here. Alusia did not speak again as she had nothing else to say, but instead wondered why Cara was here. Had she come back to claim the Spine? Alusia sat quietly and waited to see if the rest of the wolves who Cara had called would show up.   

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[size=small]Unaware that one of the very wolves she sought to reconnect with dangled between the abyss that was leaving or staying and tha it had been her call that had pulled her from the brink of jumping in, Cara waited as patiently as she could for the arrival of the summoned ones. Even surrounded by the imposing teeth-like ridges that made up the Spine's mountain range Cara felt a bit exposed as she waited there for the familiar faces of her comrades to show. She did not feel intimidates for what they could say, or what their accusing eyes could convey when they saw her return -- it was something she half expected and half prayed didn't happen -- but something she was well prepared for too.[/size]

Even as an irrational, reckless creature that had the infamous reputation of being destructive, Cara knew very well in her heart that her reasoning for taking the decision she had made was valid. She could not risk herself to raising children in an enviroment already condemmed for failure and misery, and surely, if the sense in their heads was as good as Cara thought it to be, they would see it too.

And speaking of seeing; it was in that instant, when her eyes continued to survey the area that the pale silhouette of her friend materialized in the near distance -- making the former Queen jolt to her feet and flare her ears forward in a friendly greeting. "Al!" she shrieked as her tail began to wag joyfully behind her and her neck began to stretch in a rushed attempt to greet her -- but before she could the cold knife of her accusations cut her midway.

Of course Cara deserved the fingers to be pointed at her, but then again, so did Alusia.
Yet, in an unbelivable display of self-control Cara held her tongue from uttering the same cold words at her friend; instead she curved her lips into an apologetic wince and spoke with measured calmness, "I could not stay where it is not safe -- for me, my children or the ones I care for" she began, her voice firm yet pleading.

She had to understand she made part of that last category, and because of this same reason it was that she had to see the justification to her absence and the urgency of her return. 

Alusia sighed and smiled when Cara shrieked to see her. The pale wolfess wanted to put up a tough act, but it was difficult when someone seemed so happy to see you. Alusia listened to the reason why Cara left and the white female had several questions to ask, but started out with the most important one she had. "Cara" she began, staring into the former alpha's eyes. "Why is it not safe here" Alusia asked worry on her face. The arctic girl had seen no danger other than these new wolves that took over the land.  

Alusia knew Cara deserved a reason why she left, and since the former Queen had given her reason, Alusia gave her's. "I'm sorry I abandoned you, I-I just needed to clear my mind." To the pale wolfess her explanation did not sound as good as Cara's, but at least it was something. Alusia looked around to see that no other wolves had showed up yet, and she wonder if any would show up at all. There was really only one other wolf Alusia wanted to show up and that was Wyvern, but the arctic female couldn't force her to come. If the Spine is where Wyvern was happy then Alusia would be gald for her friend. 

Lotan had decided to get out of here at just the right time. Suddenly, and now more than ever as these changes weren't coming to suit her all that much, she regretted not leaving alongside him.

She found herself wanting to keep away from everyone, especially the flood of new wolves who came with the now-reigning queen. Wyvern barely recognized the Spine and felt the disconnect more each day, so she lingered pointlessly near the fringes and weighed her options with a grimace. She knew she could still catch up to her brother if she tried.

Cara's summon broke her hazy focus, and brought her forward immediately. Anxious -- which seemed to be her perpetual attribute now, she made her way up beside Alusia with her tail switching in a small wag. Confusion was evident, and her ears tipped forward briefly to catch the apology given but otherwise, all she had to offer was a tired whine. She did not understand and while it was good to see Cara, she feared new leaders would also come to the sound of her voice.. teeth first.

Hell, she felt there was a chance that by her answering this summons, she might incur some serious wrath. Wyvern's grimace deepened. She took care to keep an ear out for the sound of any disaster coming their way.

"What happened?" she asked outright and looked Cara over for unspoken answers. "Lotan is probably well out of earshot by now.. he left a little bit ago," Wyvern added with a sad squint of her teal eyes since the summons had noted him as well -- and I just might be following him soon, she thought distantly. 

Finally, the words she pronounced which such bitterness began to lay their effect on the wall, that time and the secresy her rencounter with Keith demanded, had built between them.  It didn't even matter that Alusia had left -- because like her, she had come back. With a hurried shake of her head she ushered off the guilt her friend presented, there were no time for accusations -- nor there were reasons for them. 
And it were Alusia's accepting gestures which left an effervescent flush of emotion on the Moretti's heart - hope.
Hope that there could still be a chance of explaining herself and reconnecting with those she had brusquely left as the logistics of her escape brewed in her head.
Hope that they would understand -- and if the best case scenario; agree. 
It didn't matter that Alusia had left -- because like her, she had come back.

Oh! And how she wanted them to agree to run with her away from the suffocating memories and misery that tainted the Spine's every turn! Even if she, who had once worshipped the place and defended the land as if it were holy, now saw the real image that hid beneath the murky surface of their picture-perfect palace. Beneath the strong emprire she had managed to rebuild from the ashes not one but twice since the clumsy rise of past leaders, -- one with less grace than the other -- traces of the pain they had caused and the damage they had done still remained fresh. 
But she knew that this realization, or crude reality as she liked to call it now, was not as easily caught by the eye. Like a speck of dust caugh in your eye, it was hardly perceptible, but still very true, very real. 

But how could she, who had stubbornly stood against the very arguments she now defended, uncover their eyed from the murky lies without rousing doubt to rise towards her as well?
Trust was not a gift that was easily given, but it was a punishment to lose it.
"Wyvern!" she greeted before elaborating on what she had came to say, her gossamer tail flicking anxioulsy at the pretty Ostrega as she sadly mentioned the departure of her sibling, to whom Cara had also gotten attached to during the few hunting expeditions they had shared.

"An old member of the Spine came by for me, " she began whilst turning herself slightly so that she could adress both of the females comfortably, "He disappeared during a shaky time for the Spine, so I had thought he had been killed by one of our enemies at the time -- and turns out he almost was" she barked, making a brief emphasis whilst thinking back on the black ursurper, Ptarmigan, and their odious lackeys who while still being guilty of supporting the bitch's short reign, has turned out to be innocent of the crime that had driven Keith from her side. "But not by an enemy -- but by.." her throat felt tight at the words that were about to be pronounced, "By Kaname.."

And just like that her world had caught fire.
"He acted out of pure jealousy, risking the well being of the pack because of his selfish desires!" she barked with a pained voice, her ears twisting and turning as the memory of waking up next to him every day trusting that what she saw was what he was making the bile in her stomach climb up her throat.  "He is rot inside, imagine what he'd done to the children we were having? My right-hand man betrayed me" she barked with a tinge of rage spreading from the curves of her lips to her pale eyes. 

"Everything in here is rotten --chaotic" she then added, her intense stare moving along the rugged edges of the Spine's surface before returning to the females, "I want, I need, something new -- away from the misery" she went on, the harsh words towards her former home leaving a sour taste behind, 
"And if you let me, I'd wish to share it with you" she finally concluded, her voice laced with the finest sincerity she had probably ever used, but her heart guarded for the questioning that could arise.

Her heart ached, her brow furrowed in worry, and she gave Cara her attention. She wove an ugly, confusing tale that the Ostrega had not seen coming -- from Kaname, especially! Wyvern had never seen issue with him, and she felt uneasy with this information that he had hid like that just in plain sight. It felt like just another blow, or perhaps more salt in the wounds, and she couldn't tell if she was more sad or frustrated now; the overwhelming sense of no practically choked her as she knew there were no words she could say.

Rotten. Wyvern's skin prickled, and anxiousness welled anew. It was .. well, not wrong.

"I just don't think I can stay here anymore.." she sighed, ears drooping. As much as she hated to say it. She had grown to want to stay in the Spine, true, but there was hardly a place here for her any longer. "Where do you think you will go?" she asked, having moved to beside Cara to nose into her side. While hurt, from many places all at once, she sought some sort of solace in something vaguely familiar.