Sheepeater Cliff i'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife

take me to church -hozier

maybe @Dante can come by?

[size=medium]"Change your ways while you're young"[/size]

[size=small]The cold winds of winter had wrapped themselves around the male's neck, making it hard for his aged lungs to take in the air and making it nearly impossible for the painful regret he had to be expelled from him. It had not been until a few days ago that the aspiring Counselor had realized that while various members of the pack recurred to him in times of toruble he had no one to confide in. He, like many of the wolves he had spoken to, had demons inside of him, and like all of them he too needed to be exorcised.

He did not know if life was playing a distasteful joke on him or if the resemblance between Shadow and Paarthurnax's case had been a mere coincidence. Either way, it had woken dark feelings of regret and sadness in the male's chest. Feelings hje could not deal with while staying in the Creek. So with his head swiveling and his paws cold he trekked far from it all, finding himself in a land full of peaks and sharp rocks that he did not recognize.

Galileo was not himself now. He now awoke drenched in sweat, with his eyes empty and his mind plagued of the thoughts of his son. And even if some had tried to approach him and break him from his thoughts he had embraced them, not realizing that as they held on to him too they wrapped a noose around his neck.
Maybe it were not only the wind's fingers which tightened around his trachea.
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Yep yep! Quick post to get it in my threadlog :D

Dante was out again, possibly a bad move but one that he felt he needed to make. He couldn't shake the feeling that, even with Lasher and Blue's steadfast loyalty and the support of most of his packmates, he was allowing the Plateau to fall to pieces around him. Winter was coming and the caches were far from full. They were losing members left and right and many of those who did remain were seemingly not happy with the way things stood.

Things were a right mess.

At least one of these things he knew how to fix. So he was stepping up his hunting game and letting counselor take the backburner for the moment. When he came across an issue he did not have any clue how to fix, sometimes letting it sit a while offered some ideas in the future. But sometimes there were no solutions to be found, and he feared this would be one of those times.

At least this trip had been a success. He had managed to catch two smaller creatures, a skinny hare and a rather nice goose that had seemingly split from the main body of the flock. The hare he had eaten himself. He would not take from the pack unless he had something to give but in this instance he had been fortunate enough to succeed.

He was traveling back to take care of his catch when Galileo caught his eye. At first he did not recognize him, but as he came closer he noticed it to be the same one he had spoken to those few months ago. It took him a moment to put a face to a name, so he hesitated before greeting him. Finally he was able to recall. "Galileo?" he asked, not quite approaching and instead awaiting a response. They had parted on good terms but that did not mean his intrusion would be welcome now.

<3

[size=medium]"Change your ways while you're young"[/size]

[size=small]Another cold breeze wrapped itself over his neck, making the male cough and wheeze brusquely. He then rose his head to look at the imposing structure of the cliffs and peaks that surrounded him. For some reason he felt drawn to the sharp edges of the cliff, which kept lurring him on provoking the accidental intrusion to the other man's land.

He kept walking aimlessly around the cliff, trying hard not to stray to close to the edges since he knew his reflexes weren't what they used to be. Nothing in him really remained how it used to be. He had been worn out by the weight of regret lying on his shoulders and the inminent reality of growing old.

It was then when the male's calling reached him, making the peppered male come to a halt and turn his head over his shoulder to look at the male "Hello, Dante" he barked back, while feeling a small a feeble smile curve his lips before fading again into emptyness.

Dante's reaction to remain glued to the spot instead of approaching was what made the peppered male realize that once more he had been too caught in thought to pay attention to his surroundings. "Have I crossed this time? I'm sorry" he barked, diping his head in an apologetic manner but still readying himself to leave if he was asked to.
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Dante was quick to set the record straight, shaking his head emphatically. "No, nothing of the sort! I'm sorry, I was actually worried that I was the one intruding." He hadn't thought Galileo looked quite in the mood for company.

Looking astutely at him, Dante cocked his head slightly, fighting between the urge to give the man his privacy and concern. Their last encounter had left him believing them friends, so concern won out in the end. "It's probably not my place to pry, but are you alright?" He looked... Haggard. He hadn't seemed content either the last time they had met but this was another level. He wondered how much of it had to do with what they had previously discussed.

With his ears still tucked against his skull the peppered male swung his head towards the ground, simply awaiting for whatever answer that might come from his friend's mouth. He would not have been surprised if he had in fact missed the male's markings and had stumbled into his turf -- with the tangled thoughts that filled his mind and his broken compass ( one of the results from having turned into a hermit) he would not have expected less.

However, Dante was quick to clear the air and take the role of intruder in the process. While Galileo had many times rejoiced in his solitude, today was not the case. In fact, despite his tired looks and gruff voice it was exactly company what he had been after. "Not at all, friend" he barked, curving his lips into a small smile before raising his head again.

Then, like a tape record the dreaded question that seemed to be hovering over him came to play. He understood that the recurring question he had gotten to loathe so much was made with the purest of intentions, by Bazi and Dante both, but he could not get to pin point why it was that they asked it despite being able to read the answer across his tired eyes.

Perhaps they, as well as himself, hoped that the betraying darkness in his eyes was fake, and that maybe by asking directly they'd be able to find that he indeed was fine.

But there was only so much words could hide.

"As much as I can be -- I am not well, but I cannot get myself to be better" he admitted hoarsely, casting his eyes to the snow below his feet.

Honestly, the question he had asked was rarely a good one. While propriety said it was the proper way to check in on a friend, reality was far less straightforward. When the question was asked and the recipient was in fact fine, it was an unnecessary query. But when the question was actually needed, and the answer was no, then it was usually the last thing the other wolf wanted to hear right then. But what else could be said?

"That sounds like quite the predicament. It is your son, then?" There was no use beating around the bush at this point, Dante hardly thought such avoidance would help. Obviously if Galileo did not with to speak with him he could leave, but if he did, Dante wished to make it clear upfront that he would help if able. They did not know one another well but he was a decent fellow who the Alpha counted a friend. If something could be done, he would do it.

[size=medium]"Change your ways while you're young"[/size]

[size=small]Well that sounded less tragic in my head, he thought as he awaited for the man's response. Though it described exactly the way he felt, it made the man feel a little bit too overdramatic. But then again, hadn't Dante asked for the truth? In the same way he had decided to get rid of his facade during his conversation with Bazi at the meadow, he was doing so now.
He was an open book and Dante was the one flipping the pages, there was no way or reason for him to apologize about what might lie in them.

Thankfully, or not, Dante was a really good reader who aside form sharing Galileo's own title as Counselor was able to adress the issue with a strange, yet perfect mixture of frankness and tact."Exactly that" he answered with a quick nod of his head.

"I cannot get my mind off it, even if time has gone by, I simply cannot" he barked, his brow furrowing in denial and anguish. "There's a couple in the Creek going through a similar situation" he explained, referring to Shadow and Paarthurnax's messy divorce,"And I can't help but think of him. And his mother" he admitted feeling his ex's face materialize inside his mind.
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hehe if you say a name Dante will likely put two and two together. So up to you what you say!

Dante listened as Galileo explained why he was once more feeling the sting of his lost child. The similar situation did have to be hard to watch, for it was never easy when history repeated itself, even when it happened to another.

"Perhaps you could tell me about him?" He wasn't sure if talking so openly about it was helpful but he knew when he had something stuck in his mind, oftentimes what he needed to do was let it out. "If you would rather speak on another subject, that is fine, but I would like to hear what you feel like telling." No matter how much or how little that may be.

eep this thread has my heart racing <3
And yes that quote is an actual quote from Galileo Galilei ^_^

[size=medium]"Change your ways while you're young"[/size]

[size=small]The opportunity to openly vent was not one Galileo could instantly agree to.
Having grown used to the secrecy of living life as a loner and an outcast/runaway of a dangerously vicious mafia, the Counselor --as conflicted as it might sound-- often found it hard to speak of his own feelings.

Still, something about the man's calm demeanor tempted him to speak. Hadn't it been this what he had searched for? Liberation of all guilt?
Even if he knew that Dante, not being a saint or anything of the sort, would not be able to give him salvation from his words alone, he thought that the sole fact of offering his ears to him was a promise of redemption.
At least with himself.

A wise man had once said that "all truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them"

Now it was Galileo's turn to discover the truth -- though whether it'd be hard or not for him to understand was still questionable.
With his lips parting slowly and his eyes sinking sadly into Dante's own he spoke.

"She never allowed me to say goodbye" he began, "i tried to tell her that I could not be blamed for the blood that fills my veins, but she did not care. She did not care that he was my only child, my son." he continued, his voice at the brink of breaking, "And I don't even know if he remembers me, if he even knew that I loved him" he barked, his voice coming off like a pained whine that was soon engulfed by the howling winds. "That I never forgot his face, and his name"[size=xx-small] (assuming Adele had not dared to change it).[/size] he finished hoarsely as he felt the frigid fingers of winter wrap around his throat once more, barely permitting him to pronounce his last word.
The most revealing one.

"Finn"
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-dies-

Murr I wanna do this justice but writing is so hard right now I don't even know ;.;

Listening to Galileo's tale put much of Dante's life in perspective. He too knew the sting of family departures and blood that he did not want to claim. But every loved (or less loved) one he had left behind had been no one's choice but his own. He couldn't relate to being forced away like that and hoped never to be able to. It looked like it was killing this man.

"That she could not see you are not responsible for your blood... that is a terrible thing." And one of Dante's worst nightmares, though the fear had faded as time went on. It wasn't his father's name that cursed him now... it was his actions as a young one, before he'd known better.

Upon hearing the name, though, Dante's eyes widened and he stood stock still. Finn? As in, Finn Finn? It had to be a coincidence, but looking at Galileo, it wasn't impossible. Dante wasn't great at seeing such things, but there definitely could be resemblance there. For a moment he hesitated to tell, not wanting to grant Galileo false hope, but if there was a chance, he'd hate to deny that.

"I know a Finn." He said quietly, raising his eyes to meet the distraught father's. "I do not know if he is yours, but he belongs to my pack on the Plateau." He cut off there, allowing that to sink in. Perhaps they could meet... and then at least that answer would be known for sure.

meep it's all good ;p

[size=medium]"Change your ways while you're young"[/size]

[size=small]The second his lips pronounced his name his voice shattered helplessly.
Months -- no years, had gone by since the peppered male had last pronounced his son's name. The short and simple syllable was hard to emit, leaving not only a dusty but also bitter taste in the man's lips once it all ended. Still the affection with which he pronounced it never faltered.

Like a star that shone in the canvas of black night after night, Galileo had forever, (and would continue to) keep the hopes of seeing again the son he had so cruely been separated from, alive in his heart. This was perhaps the only thing that kept him from caving in to the idea of death.
He wanted -- he needed -- to make peace.
With himself and with those he had hurt.

With his tail hanging limply between his legs and his face contorted into a gimace that sought to fight back the upcoming tears, he turned an ear towards Dante. The comment of his mate was unconciously ignored by the hurting male, who despite it all, did not blame Adele but his own father. While he too knew that blood was not a matter of choice, he understood his ex-mate's fears as she discovered the reality of what hid beneath his freckled face and kind amber eyes.

Suddenly, as his fellow Counselor's voice mimicked the name of his child, ears and head lifted brusquely. With his eyes now burning with something far away from grief he stared at the Alpha. He was right to think that he did not want false illusions. He did not need to have more pain applied onto his fragile heart.

"Don't lie to me friend, I have no heart for dire lies" he barked hoarsely, not being sure if the seriousness and crudity of his calamity had been lost on his ears. After having searched for an seemingly inexistent piece of his past for so long it was only natural for the male to doubt Dante's words, regardless of how well intentioned they were.

"What is the chance that the boy that you speak of is the same I once lost?" he barked, a rhetorical question that was meant to squash the small hope that was left in his heart. Despite the fact that his son would be far from being a boy still, the father's broken heart could not help but to refer to him in the only way he had known him as: a child.

"What is his lastname?" he interjected before he could help himself. Again, a morbid curiosity to know -- or comfirm that he was once again letting his hopes up -- shoved the bitter words up his throat.
Hopefully, they would be easier to swallow.
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While Galileo's mind fought with the idea that the child might very well be his own, Dante's contained a surprising calm. He had revealed to the father what he knew, and that decision having been made, all he could do now was respond and try to help however he could. His own hand in the fate of this matter was dealt.

"I do not lie," he responded seriously. "This is all I know. I do not even know how old he would be or what he would look like. How can I? I know a Finn. I can confirm no more." He wasn't sure what Galileo wanted of him, but he spoke with an even tone, knowing that he could not understand what was going on in the father's thoughts right now. He had no right to judge or get impatient, nor did he have any desire to.

"I do not know his last name. He has not given it to me and I have not asked." Dante didn't make a habit of delving into his packmate's pasts. "He could very well be different from the one you search for. But you are welcome should you wish to find out."

sorry for the delay!!

[size=medium]"Change your ways while you're young"[/size]

[size=small]The cold winds that whirled around the pair of wolves grew stronger by the second, hitting the peppered male’s flank with an increasing force each time. It was truly a shame that his friend could not provide the answer he wanted to hear but it was also a relief that he didn’t get offended by Galileo’s unintentional accusation of speaking lies. It was then that he felt a lighting run across his vertebrae as the very beginnings of a light snow drizzle touched his back.

Instinctively the male recoiled from the cold, unwittingly doing so as Dante reaffirmed the validity of his words while he offered the skeptical male some kind of proof. Galileo, despite being an aspiring Naturalist was not a man that had to see to believe. The fact that he could not feel or touch the sun didn’t make it any less real, just like the fact that Dante assured him the truth didn’t make the male he spoke of any less believable. Perhaps there was a boy who shared his son’s name, or perhaps this was some kind of cruel comedy that life had brought onto him as a way to remind him that not even the years or the distance could clean his sin.

With an expression that neighbored dangerously between the line of pessimism and pure desolation he searched Dante’s colorless eyes with his own. “To find out if my hope is vain?” he asked dipping his head further into the small pool of sorrow he had submerged himself in. Maybe he would now drown.

Suddenly, as if his last wish had been heard by whatever laid in heaven the aged wolf began to feel a growing rumble in the depths of his throat. Quickly he parted his lips to clear out his throat but as his jaws parted he could not emit a sound. His airways had mysteriously clogged with liquid making the man shake and wheeze violently, giving another wild wind the cue to enter the scene.

The force with which the male rumbled made it seem like he was about to collapse. Today age was not a factor. The mixture of cold and exhaustion topped with the great emptiness the lack of proof or answers the conversation had attacked him like a virus. One that perhaps there was no cure for.
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im sorry love :/ so slow! *stomps on every timeline imaginable*
Sorry if it is iffy quality! Needed to get something posted here ^^

Dante wasn't the type to raise false hopes, but nor did he often wallow in complete pessimism. "Perhaps, or perhaps to find what you have been looking for has been here all along." It was a shot in the dark, but at least it was a shot. Even if this man was Finn's father, there was no guarentee Finn would react favorably to a reunion. Still, at least Galileo would know and could put that chapter to rest. Work on repairing a relationship rather than wishing one could be found and regretting the past.

Dante's concern turned swiftly to alarm when Galileo seemed to have an attack of sort, wheezing and shaking. "Hey, you alright?" He asked, forgetting in his fear that he would likely not be able to respond. He was useless, without any idea of how to help. "Hey, if you can make it to the Plateau, we have a healer." It was all he could offer, for his first aid knowledge extended to flesh wounds, and even then it wasn't great.

sorry my muse for galileo died epicly.. i am gonna go ahead an wrap this baby up -- also im pping dante-poo slightly, please tell me if it's not ok

[size=medium]"Change your ways while you're young"[/size]

[size=small]Every word pronounced after his own last words clashed against the bitter cold were lost in space, never to reach his ears. In the midst of his asphyxiating convulsion he fell deaf and blind to the world around him. His brusque shaking and rumbling croaking of his throat did not allow the man to keep his composture, or even his balance. With his eyes screaming a silent plead to the greyscale male the peppered Creek wolf collapsed onto the floor; his sickly wriggling never ceasing as his body collided with the snow below their feet.

His thoughts, despite their true lack of significance, had been like a loaded gun. And the cold fingers of desolation that had flooded his head had been the ones to pull the trigger on him. Now, with his lungs deflating like popped ballons and his airways unable to rid themselves of the clotting liquid that filled him up, he could not do anything but squirm with powerless terror.
A special kind of terror that did not give Galileo room to do anything but to convulse as his insides attempted to fight against the deathly serenade his cough and wheezing had become.

"T-T-Take" he rasped, momentarily gaining enough force to lift himself onto wobbly paws only to fall back again,this time against Dante, using his broad shoulders as support. "Me" he exhaled sharply, another wave of dryness climbing up the man's throat as the two began to hop and struggle down the steep path that led the way out from the cliff and towards the Plateu.
Now, whether he wanted it or not, he'd go to the Plateu and more likely than not he'd meet this so-called Finn, Dante spoke of -- though right now the legitimacy of his words was not Galileo's concern.
The real question that resounded in the man's mind was a simple one, yet an impossibly hard one to answer; would he survive?
Would he survive the journey? And if he did, would he survive facing whatever hidden truth that lied in the Plateu?
His lungs were weak, but his heart was perhaps, even more fragile.
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