Neverwinter Forest So long sentiment

@West ♥

[table width=80%][tr][td]Her time had been over before it truly began. Ondine felt betrayed and bitter - emotions she was not familiar with. Most had left, and the siren didn't blame herself for it. She had kept them fed and protected - had done her best and it had not paid off. The usual smile upon her pretty face had faded, her head too busy with murderous thoughts. Appreciation for all she had done had not been given, and though she knew the world to be unfair this could've easily been avoided. She had not even gotten a quick goodbye from any of the former members and she felt foolish for even caring about their stupid pack anymore. Her son she had left just to serve the members of the forest and all had left her in the dust. When she noticed that not even Kjalarr was there anymore, there was little holding her back. A broken family - broken promises and a mind full of regret and hate was all she had gotten for attaching herself to someone. Now, she pitied any who fell in love with a jerk like Kjalarr - leaving her with both a small pack and a child to care for. She bit her lip, tasting blood not long after.

Long, careful and graceful steps were set in a random direction, her face a collection of worried and sad wrinkles. Were it not for Arrille, she would've left then and there... No - a child born from pure love could also go to waist for all she cared. She was done with it all and had no desires anymore. It was a shame for the members that were now a part of their small gathering, but the siren truly couldn't go on like this anymore. The mother and leader she had strived to be was gone - lost in the echo of false hopes and whispered, unanswered promises.[/tr][/td][/table]

When she joined the pack, she knew most of her time would be spent with Kitsch and her brother, but not all of her time. She’d met one other wolf in her time in the forest but the rest seems quiet and empty. Their borders are hardly marked like any other pack in the area but the concern lingers in the back of her mind. Kitsch has been healing okay enough that if they have to move on, they can, but she’d much prefer the comfort of something solid. She just isn’t sure this place can offer them that security.
 
As she wanders away from her little band, West stumbles upon a rather sullen Ondine. Her head tilts a little and she chuffs lowly, trying to draw attention to herself. She hasn’t seen much of the alpha since the day on the borders and she can’t blame her attention to her companions any more than the other can claim busyness with the rest of the pack. The woman falls silent as she slows to a stop, waiting to see the intention of the other before she moves on.

[table width=80%][tr][td]She wished she had stayed at the coast - wished Maude had ripped her belly open with Arrille still in there all those moons ago. Kjalarr... Ondine would not rest until the jerk had gotten what he deserved. She had not failed him; he had failed her as a loyal and trusting mate. His family had failed her - his pack had failed her and there was no other way of looking at it. She had done EVERYTHING in her power to let this already sinking ship stay afloat, but there was only so much she could do. Perhaps Neverwinter Forest had been doomed from the start; perhaps she had been doomed from the start, like they had all said...

Her eyes flashed to the side where she saw West, the woman she had crowned Gamma just because Rian had betrayed her. She blinked a few times, painting a fake smile upon her face before turning to face the other. Yes? She asked in her usual, sweet singer's voice.[/tr][/td][/table]

She’d caught the woman off guard and it nearly startles her when she looks in her direction quickly. Her voice is still soft, reminding her of the day she’d first met her, and she offers a hint of a smile in her wake. There isn’t anything she needs but now she feels a little compelled to continue the conversation since she’d beckoned for her attention. If anything, she can give her a little insight on the situation and if there’s been a problem this whole time.

“Hey,” she says with a swivel of her ears and drop of her head. While questions plagued her mind, she hesitates to open the floodgates and let them come pouring out. It would be easy, after all, for the façade the pale woman fronts seems to have weakened since the last time she’d seen her. “How are you?” she decides first, wondering how much she can get out of her without asking too many invasive questions.

[table width=80%][tr][td]Foolish was all she had been, now that she thought about it. As if a siren could ever truly win the heart of an alpha... She had blindly rushed into things and this was life's way of saying that she had utterly fucked up. She looked at West, eyeing her moves and questioning where she had come from in the first place. Or, rather, she wondered why the woman and her friends had not left the dying forest already to save themselves some hardships.

I'm... I'm fine. She smiled - a façade not long held by her internal screaming. It faded, as the footsteps of a bird on the beach wandering too close to the sea. She wanted to go back home. I mean, what could be wrong? She chipped. It's just that... everyone left me, including my mate - no big deal at all. She followed bitterly. She was a theatrical being and couldn't let this opportunity to rant about her inner struggles go now, could she?[/tr][/td][/table]

Whatever answer West is expecting, this certainly isn’t it. Her emerald eyes widen a little in surprise and her ears press down against her head, her tail sweeping behind her as she presents a level of sympathy she has been reserving for Kitsch. The willingness the woman gives over the information is almost too easy and so she takes a step forward with a frown weighing down her muzzle. It all explains what happened to the rest of the wolves and as Ondine goes quiet, she can taste the bitterness between them. There’s faithfulness to the forest that makes the woman wonder about and why she hadn’t gone after them. Then again, did she? Her lips twist and her jaws tighten.

“No big deal is the last thing I’d probably label that as,” she says, her voice surprisingly light and easy, borderline jovial. The voice someone might have for trying to cheer up their best friend forever. “I did not get to meet them but they don’t seem to be worth the time to mourn,” she suggests with a light shrug.

[table width=80%][tr][td]Under the crushing weight of reality she had stayed put for too long, and it was easy to see she wasn't well anymore. Physically she was capable of numerous things, but her mind had crumbled up like a used piece of paper and had then been thrown in the trash - a failed poem of loyalty and friendship. The usual twinkle in her bi-coloured eyes had dimmed to an almost slave-like dull and the sympathetic nature of West wasn't helping much. Now that she had someone that cared, it was simply too late. She didn't dare get attached to the woman before her, fearing that she as well would leave without a word.

It doesn't matter now. They will carry this shame upon their souls unknowingly. She spoke confidently; a small smudge of hate on the sweet pink canvas that was her voice. I simply fear what my son will become without a father. She admitted.[/tr][/td][/table]

Her brows knit together as Ondine responds, seemingly over her little outburst. She speaks negatively of those that have left her behind, wolves she and her crew have not met (and likely won’t) but a second time she brings up her son. West has not seen a child around, far too wrapped up in that of her own little band but it doesn’t concern her too much. All she knows now is Ondine’s instability and weak hold of the forest. Is anyone left, other than the four of them? What about the wolf she met the other day?

She realizes her words do little to help and she puts the effort away. “If you are strong for him, he will grow up fine,” she explains. She thinks about Libeccio and a potential role for him to take but she shelves the idea, certain there’s more to address than Ondine and her family—West has never been fond of children—so she offers what she can. “My brother and I can recruit for you, if you’d like,” she offers with curiosity.

[table width=80%][tr][td]Her mouth now the shape of an unsymmetrical frown, she averted her gaze. She had been strong for so long, and how had that worked out for her? All it did was waste effort, even though it took effort to build some walls up yet again, too. She knew not what to do without Kjalarr and hated all the things she thought about when memories of his promises slipped into her mind. For a being like Ondine, abandonment was the worst punishment of all since she had such a phobia of being completely and utterly alone. Perhaps that was why West had earned much trust with all of she was doing, blind to what and would happen if she kept showing weaknesses like this.

I have been strong for too long... She admitted softly. I cannot carry a broken family and a broken pack upon my back for much longer. It was hard to admit all this, but she could not keep her façade up for even a second. Not even West offer would help much, but she nodded appreciatively with the hint of a smile. That'd be wonderful...[/tr][/td][/table]

Ondine continues to spill her weaknesses. She hadn't been this verbal when they met on the borders but there had been something lacking and she knew her brother felt it too. Having heard so much already, while still knew, left her to wonder what they are going to do in this forest. There's only one other wolf beside their own little band and West isn't sure how worth it this really is. Either way, she has some trust embedded in the alpha and it only helps that there aren't many left for her to put that feeling in.

"If you need anything else," she tells her with a swish of her tail before she backs up a step or two to go about her business.

[table width=80%][tr][td]Ondine was quite an oblivious creature when it came to these things - usually not worrying about spilling secrets and showing things a true alpha probably shouldn't. She would've never thought of West as someone to overthrow her someday and probably would only think that of her whenever she truly did so. How broken she'd be was not what was important; it was how she was going to handle all that bottled up sadness and rage that would show just how stable she really was.

No... Please; enjoy your day. She said with a nod and the hint of an appreciative smile. ready to resume her trip to the borders.[/tr][/td][/table]