Moonspear And his four walls declared him insane.

@Harley Quinzel

Green orbs gleamed in the still night air, as a single pale femme trod into the small clearing. Bones stood out from the thining pelt that had lost it's shine, and an ugly would encircled her ankle. Wiry muscles moved beneath her pelt as she walked evenly into the meadow, having become used to the limp she carried. The moon above beconed her to use her voice, to belt forth a melidious sound of yearning and loss, but she ignored this and remained silent as she gazed up into the sky. Her muzzle twitched as she recite the names of as many stars as she could see, something she had taken upon herself to do nightly. She could scent rain on the horizon, and clouds painted the sky like ugly bruises. 

Her pale green gaze moved from cloud to cloud, seeing the dimmed stars hiding in thier veil. Her ears were perked, alert, and her stance was unusually still. Perhaps, in a better time, she would be considered beautiful, but the famine had ravaged her already thin body and the predicament that she found herself in did no wonders to her emicated body.

Going with our conversation, Harley's been taking care of her best he can the past week :x

 

The last week of Harley's life had been unexpected, but much welcomed as much as the situation allowed. He was upset at Charon for making a slave of this poor girl, only trying to keep herself alive. He knew that she'd tresspassed, that Dash had done his duty as a Moonspear member to defend their prey and their land. However, the wolfdog just couldn't see the reason why she was treated this way. Why not send her away with tooth and claw? The name, too, that the alpha male had bestowed on the pretty girl was too angering for Harley to even think about. Unknowing of her own plans to escape, the milky man was already thinking of his own ideas. They'd talked little each time he took care of her, and he knew nothing of her but her name.
He walked along his homelands in the dark, enough accustomed to them now that he didn't really need the light of day. He also didn't need the light to scent his charge close, and a smile crossed his muzzle. Perhaps she was starting to feel better? Harley padded towards her, seeing her silhouette in the distance, and let out a friendly chuff of greeting as to make sure he didn't sneak up on her. 
            "Althaia?"

Harley. One of the two here she trusted, the other being Dash. Harley had been kind- he was always tending to her, and such she had given him her name. But for a moment, unsure of his identity, the fae turned and looked at him with an expression made of glass. But his face caused said ice to shatter, and she offered him a smile. "Harley" she said simply, nothing else was required by way of greeting. 

The moon was ebbing, but the female could not wait for it to fill once more. Then, she would flee, should she be caught and killed was no matter anymore, she could not stand such a long time in this place. She had spent the last day and night molding herself into a creature of strengh, she would break this for Harley, however.

Her first glance was cold, but it seemed as if she had to realize who he was before giving a little smile and a breathed word: his name. A faint shiver went down the hybrids spine as he trotted foward to stand a couple feet from her, dipping his head respectfully as he closed in. Despite being the Gamma of Moonspear now, he had no wishes to scare her or make her think she was nothing, as Charon would have her believe. 
       "Are you feeling better?"

He approached, and Althaia watched him thoughtfully. Wishout his and Dash's attentions, she would be long dead. "Better, Harley. But merely that." She addressed him respectfully, but in a more familiar manner then she would someone else. He had proved that he was not as cold as they were. She admired, for a moment, his long, oddly coloured fur. He was, quite obviously, a wolfdog os some kind. She had, on rare occasion, come across some like him before. She understood that a dog was like a wolf, but weaker, small, stupider, and submissive. Harley seemed the most wolf-like of all the hybrids she had seen, and his blood lent him a unique and beautiful coat.

"What are you doing, Harley, on a dismal night like tonight? It'll rain soon, I think" she said, gesturing with a flick of her muzzle at the clouds above. The increased steadily in number, and the stars became reclusive and distant through their haze.

Her friendliness invited him to relax, and so he did. Straightening out, he placed himself beside her and lay down to sniff at her leg, giving it a small lick to taste any possible infection and clean any possible wounds. The female claimed to feel a little better, and she seemed okay, so he went on with the conversation she stirred up. It surprised him a little, but was glad she seemed at least okay with the hybrid. 
            "I enjoy night walks, and I like the rain too. Perhaps you'd like some company? Or perhaps you'd rather come take cover in my den? It isn't far."
The pile of rocks Harley had claimed as his own was within sight, not so much hidden among the rocks as his den was, literally, the rocks. They'd fallen in a good place, creating an opening in the middle big enough for two wolves to fit snugly.

Harley lay close to her, and for a brief moment she tensed before relaxing again. He attended to her leg gently, and Althaia felt a deep gratitude to him again. The healer had taken good care of her, probably better then he should have. For this she showed him her kindness, for he seemed like a good wolf. She contemplated for a moment laying beside him, but his speech interupted her. He offered to share his den, and she blinked, her surprise written on her face as if it were a book. About to refuse, a quick glance at the above clouds had her reconsider. She was in no mood to become soaked again, and her 'den' offered almost no protection from the elements. So, to her surprise, she nodded. "I would like that, Harley. You are kind" 

She rather enjoyed his company, and sharing a den for a little while while she waited for the clouds to pass wouldn't hurt. But what if Charon found them? She shoved away the thought, she doubted the pale alpha would come check on her on such a poor night.

Harley thought for a moment she would say no, but her surprise mirrored on his own when she accepted. A wide, goofy grin split his maw and he scrambled to his paws and looked to see if she needed help. 
           "I try to be. You didn't deserve any of this."
The alpha male coming across the two never came to mind, and if he did then the hybrid couldn't understand a problem. He'd been charged to take care of her, and who said she couldn't be in his den? It wouldn't be safe for her to cross the mountain on three legs.

Althaia merely smiled at his words. For a moment, a single thought came to mind. I do. She did deserve this, didn't she? She had tresspassed, crossed into claimed ground. She had hunted what, as soon as it had crossed the border, had been pack property. But her eyes glinted like daggers, and she angrilly banished the thought. The bastards had taken her, they could simply had given her a warning after breaking her leg. She turned away from him subtly until her emotions sorted themselves out, stupid things, then turned back at him. Lurching to her feet, she drew her hind leg underneath her. She would not be beaten down. She would not fall. She would be like rock, unmoving and unflinching. To Harley, she simply said softly "Lead the way."

He nodded in the direction of home and padded forward at her side. The hybrid pressed ever so slightly to her side in case she needed help, leading her towards the rockpile. He gave her a sorry glance, noticing her ire, but stayed quiet if only to think. How could she get out of here?
It was only then Harley realized he, too, would have to go: being involved in the escape of the alphas thrall was sure to get him killed should he not run. Althaia seemed to be keeping strong for herself, and it was inspiring to the Quinzel.
He led the greyscale woman to the entrance, stopping to let her duck in and get comfortable first, standing outside and surveying the area around them for anything else out in the rain.

She at first tensed a moment at his contact, but relaxed quickly. He was merely helping her, and though she hated to admit it she was quite a while away from walking stably on her own. She she accepted his help wordlessly, leaning on him once or twice on the way to her den. He allowed her entry first, and she slipped into the tumble of boulders, leg stretched out rather awkwardly by her side. Harley stood outside, seemingly looking at something, and Althaia squeezed into the side of the den, her pale eyes on him. The clouds would break soon, she thought, eyeing them. It was already misting slightly, a steady drizzle should start soon. She chuffed softly, letting Harley know she was settled.

Harley was okay with the mist cooling his face, but when Althaia signaled that she was all settled, the wolfdog turned and slipped into the den. There was just enough room for both, it seemed, and even as he lay to block the entrance and stretch out on the side she wasnt, they were brushing pelts. His well muscled body was slim already, but the famine had made him quite a bit more so, and now his bones prodded from his pelt. Regardless, he smiled at her and wagged his tail, deciding that if they were stuck in his den for the rain then might as well get to know each other. So far, she'd seemed friendly enough.
"So, Althaia, where are you from?"

His pelt brushed her's, but she chose to ignore that fact. Better to not get iffy over those kind of things, she realized. He was amiable, friendly, loyal, and she had no qualms about such contact. His question, however, as simple as it was, made her think. A simple question required a likewise simple answer, but thoughts plagued her for a few moments of her birth pack. The dark girl, the killer. Her mother, the shadowy figure of her father that she had seen but once. The shame, of being born both runt and bastard child, but the support that came in the form of...a sister? A friend? She wasn't sure. Memories, old as they were, were murky things, and like the bottom of a pool. Once stirred, it was hard to see the bottom. It was in moments of stillness that they could truly see the past. 
Wow. Deep.
"The north" she said simply, as she had no wish to confide her memories. "The sea" she added briefly. Though, it would be a long time, if at all, that she saw the crashing waves again. Anger festered inside of her, and for a moment she was disgusted that she was sharing a den with a member of Moonspear. She almost pulled away, and her expression became hard, but then she remebered that Harley was not quite like the others. He and Dash both. But the anger and deploration of her current situation meant that her features did not soften as she lapsed into silence, thinking.

There was a short but comfortable silence in which Harley set to licking his paws, picking dirt from between his toes and flattening unruly furs. When the woman spoke again, it was short, but the wolfdog barely so much as glanced at her from autumn eyes to show he was listening. Deciding that giving his own answer was fair, the milky male spoke between licks. 
       "I grew up on an abandoned human farm, with my dog father and aunt. No mom. Never been around humans though. I left everyone behind to live my mothers life."
It'd taken a while for the hybrid to find a home, and Moonspear had called to him strongly since approaching any borders. It was a shame he would have to be leaving it, and it hurt his heart to have to do this, but the kindhearted man couldn't live with a man that would enslave a girl and break her down the way he did.... He would miss his packmates, his den, his home, but the urge to leave outweighed the sadness it would be to leave. 
And besides, maybe Althaia would stay with him? Could they live together, find another pack together? Surely they could survive together, especially now that prey was, however slightly, returning?

Hmm. And that had worked out for him fairly well, hadn't it? She knew of packs that were quick to chase away half-breeds, others that were quicker to kill them. Althaia herself did not mind them at all, and at times they inheritaded traits that gave them an advantage over their pure-blood cousins. It was rare, but still. She was surprised that Harley revealed his past so readily, even if it was a little vague. She would have too, once. Before this mess. 

Little did she know, that dozens of miles away, some time in the future, a dark furred female would catch a scent. She did not know that this small wiff would have any event on her future. So, at ease in the den as the rain begun to poor outside, the pale female tumbled into sleep. Her breaths evened out and slowed, her tensed body relaxed as she slept.

There were no more words between them, for the next glance he gave her showed that Althaia was fast asleep. It was good she was resting, gaining strength, for she would need it come their escape. The more time they had the better, but surely things would not go over so easy as he hoped? 
With a wide yawn, Harley put his own head on his paws, eyelids fluttering sleepily and drawing him, too, into the calmness of sleep.