Larksong Grotto A cheap sunset on a television set can upset her, but he never could

He ran well into the night, leaving a trail of blood behind him. The words Luke had shouted still echoed over and over in Reek's head. Everything you've turned your back on is now mine. Each time Reek played it back in memory, it stung the same as it had when he had initally heard it. When the adreneline finally faded, Reek was then only driven forward by anger and hatred, which boiled in his gut like an unchecked pot sitting on a stove.

Passing the scent marked borders of the grotto, Reek soon collapsed. The pain from his injuries was finally evident. His left flank had taken a heavy blow: a laceration stretched from his shoulder and downward. His fur, mottled thickly with his own coagulated blood. Reek looked down to see his front leg had been horribly mangled. The bones and overall structure remained fine, but a nasty scar would soon set in once his torn flesh healed. His leg would forever be patchy with scar tissue: Luke had left his permanent mark.

His face still seethed from where Luke's teeth had connected: another long cut trailed across Reek's muzzle. His left ear sat torn and tattered -- the top half, now gone forever. Realizing the extent of his injuries, he exhaled a shallow breath and shut his eyes tightly.

Reek wept.

Screw it, he can't do anything right now, so why the hell not?

 

Eslani paced through the forest, teeth bared in frustration. She had nothing, absolutely nothing to do while she was in heat. It was like there were two chains around her neck. One was tugging at the thought of finding a mate, whilst the other said obey. She grimaced, unhappy with both choices. Couldn't there be like..some middle choice?
She decided on hunting, that was before the metallic smell of blood assaulted her nose. Then...Reek? Her eyes widened with surprise. What the hell? She tore through the forest, cracking branches underpaw. What the was going on?

Eslani was horrified to find her alpha, laying in a heap of torn fur, bloody. He...he was crying. Her jaw was ajar. How..? Who..? Tears of anger stung her eyes, who had done this?Eslani began to clean the blood from his face, which was pouring out from his torn ear. She then set to work on his main pelt, being as tender as a goddess of war could. Not once did the thought of her heat cross her mind now, as this could be life or death as far as she knew. She gingerly brushed her nose along his spine in a comforting way. "Reek...Who the fuck did this to you?" Her eyes were true fires, anger greater than she had ever felt painted her mind. She was scarier now, a stone cold being full of anger that could burst at any moment.It was more terrifying still that her voice was emotionless and her body completely calmed

You get post #900!

It first started with dry sobs. Reek's chest and sides heaved as he whimpered alone, under the cover of darkness, on the border of his claim. The salty sting of tears soon found him, and Reek finally broke down completely. He had done his best to shove everything down: his loss, his guilt -- all of it, he had pushed it under the rug, but it all still lingered in the back of his mind. His grief waited for a moment like this, and like the blunt head of a hammer, it hit Reek hard.

Lukes voice still echoed in Reek's head. It took a copious amount fo self control for Reek not to claw and scrape at his already mangled face in the hopes that, somehow, it would make the memory of the blue-nosed bastard abate. 

It was not pain, however, that brought Reek back, but a tongue running against his face that brought silence to the voice in his head. "Tavi" he whipsered, thinking it her that had found him. But, as Reek opened his eyes, he was greeted by the face of Eslani. She was supposed to remain under gaurd, but in Reek's current condition, he was just happy to be in the safe presence of another packmate. He looked up, tears stil streaming down his face. "I went back to the maplewood— to try and see my kids. I was attacked by Saena's new boy-toy."

WOO HOO, CONGRATS! I ALSO GET TO FIGHT LUKE! YAHHHHHH!

"What is his name?" She asked, a cool yet seething rage in her voice. Her heart was pounding right now, and she was ready to give whatever fucker did this to Reek a visit. She had slaughtered many wolves, and wasn't afraid to do just that again. Her pelt remained smooth, and her eyes still on Reek, who she felt terribly bad for. She would definitely call for @Tavi or @Ditty or someone to watch Reek while she was away. Oh hell yah, she was going to make the criminal her toy. She could just imagine the little doll, being torn apart stitch by stitch. She would fight for the sake of Reek, not to kill, but to mangle. No way would she give the sick creature a chance to die. It was to sacred of a thing. The poor man had wanted to visit his pups, and now he was being attacked after trying to be a good dad? WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?

She had a difficult time sleeping once she had cast Reek away from her, and after that her waking time was spent trying to get comfortable. It was difficult - cold, hard, the cavern not at all as comforting without him - and after a restless nap she was up and about finding a place to relieve her bladder. Tavi wasn't quite fat enough to start waddling, but she did feel more rotund than before; the chubby line of her undercarriage sliding softly against rock as she exited the cavern.

Tavi was crouching and mid-pee when the call rose in to the air — and at first she didn't know what to make of it. It was a female voice, and it sounded desperate -- with Reek out somewhere (she didn't know where), Tavi was the only Alpha left to deal with whatever was going on. So she sighed, finished her business, and gingerly made her way down the ridge.

It took her a while to get within view of the two wolves: both of them black marks upon the stone. She squinted, trying to figure out who they were as she came closer and closer, until finally she was near enough to recognize Reek — his fresh wounds marring the air with the scent of blood, and then the mingled scent of a woman in heat.

Despite all of her terrors about the future, her crying and her quaking in the cave, the signals in the air was clear: Reek was wounded; and more importantly, Tavi wasn't the one trying to fix him. There was another woman, confirming (temporarily) all of Tavi's imminent fears. As soon as she spotted Eslani her fur was spiking, and she was charging — ignoring the discomfort in her body as she tore across the grotto, straight for her.

Get away from him — she called out in her haste, throwing herself shoulder-first in to Eslani in an attempt to separate her from Reek; Get away - get away! She didn't know what had happened to him, but it didn't matter - not yet. Not until Eslani and her filthy parts were far, far away. Tavi let loose a snarl and grimaced, teeth shining, ready to grab at the woman and throw her aside if she absolutely must.

"It doesn't matter," replied Reek, voice full of strain. The name of the blue-nosed wolf was one he wanted to soon forget. Though Reek's body was broken, his mind was still sound and he knew there was a lurking implectaion behind Eslani's inquiriry. If she were to go to the Maplewood with aggressive intent, it would only spell more trouble for Reek's pups. He was not above revenge, but he would have it his own way and on his own terms -- not Eslani's.

However, before he could shut her unspoken plan down. Tavi arrived. Relief washed over Reek in waves. Truthfully, she had been the one Reek wished had discovered him instead. Her anger toward Eslani because of her heat spoke volumes: she felt threatened. In Reek's sorry state, he could have cared less about Eslani's hormones or pheromones. He wanted Tavi beside him for comfort, and he wanter her now.

She bid Eslani to leave and Reek couldn't help but agree. "She's right you know," he muttered. "Go back to Jhala's den and remain under gaurd for the duration of your heat. This will be your only warning." Of course, he did not want to punish her (as she had tried to help when Reek needed it) however, she had still broken his command. Reek may have been broken in body from his injuries, but his word (and Tavi's), he felt, still reigned supreme.

Eslani let out a snarl as a strange body knocked into her, causing her to skid a few feet away. Once she noticed it was Tavi, she respectfully bowed, but was cursing inside. She had been trying to help the man in his time of need, and Tavi couldn't think of anything but her heat for five seconds? Really? Her ears laid back. With a dip of her head, she poke once more to Reek, giving a reassuring glance to Tavi that she wasn't going to try anything. "Goodbye, please don't hurt yourself anymore, I really will fuck your attacker up Reek. Goodbye Tavi." She loped away, absolutely blistering mad. Scruff spiked and tail lashing, she thought of who had the balls to mess with Reek. Who was this boy-toy, and how was she going to make him pay..?

o_O

With Eslani dealt with — despite her comments prior to leaving, to which Tavi loosed a low warning growl — she could then focus on Reek. Except, as soon as they were alone together, she couldn't stand to even look at him. Her agitation at finding Eslani here was no so easy to shrug off, even if her partner was in shambles because of some half-baked idea. She did not leave his side, and she looked over his wounds, but did not touch them. They bled freely.

Tell me what you did. Tavi commanded, shaking her scruff mid-sentence. He had a torn ear, tearing wounds to the face, all covered in a mess of blood that shined beneath the moonlight; oddly enough Tavi's mind wandered to how beautiful a night it was, but that was neither here nor there. She didn't ask if he was alright because it was obvious he wasn't — neither of them had been alright for a while — although her phrasing made it sound like Reek was the one to blame for whatever happened by default. She clenched her teeth as she let out a slow exhalation, and turned her attention back to Reek rather than the landscape.

This thread is set pretty late into the night, but I can always go back and edit that if you want Java :p

Mustering all the strength Reek had, he attempted to rise to his shaky paws, but ended up falling back to stoney ground in a bloody heap after an awkward sway. However, despite his weakness, he did manage to gather his voice and shout "You will not," sternly at the fleeing Eslani. If she wanted to follow a path of revenge on her own, she would buy herself a one way ticket out of the grotto. A pack thrived as one... wolves died alone.

Tavi's command was firm, but Reek felt himself deserving. He felt himself a fool. "Desna... she came by the other day and told me my pups were born." Even with wolves still sympathetic to the disgraced leader Reek living within the maplewood, he should have known the danger involved with traveling to his formal claim. "I just wanted to see them, but I was attacked on the border."

Desna? Tavi's ears flicked at the name, and she felt her heart swell with the memory of her friend. It had been a while since she had seen the girl. She had gone off to see her family and then likely returned to a much smaller pack, she realized. Tavi swallowed her thoughts as she listened, her eyes roaming across Reek's face at the mention of his pups, and she thought she felt something in her own belly twitch and kick — but it was just her imagination. Whatever was inside of her couldn't have been big enough for that yet. Tavi felt her spirit withering as Reek spoke, and gradually began to shake her head.

Of course you were, Tavi muttered, her tone filled with pity for the swarthy man. She lifted her nose towards his blood-slick ear and began to clean it, but after a few tastes of the blood, she found she couldn't stomach it. Tavi drew back from Reek then, settling in to the dirt nearby, but no longer tending to him. Blood smeared her lips. You need to make a choice Reek. I.. I don't think you can have everything. Her tongue flicked out and she tasted that blood, drawing it in to her mouth and letting it settle across her tongue; she swallowed, and her stomach gurgled. Saena isn't yours anymore. And neither were those kids. She wanted to say it aloud, but couldn't muster the courage.

As Tavi began to clean at his mangled ear, Reek felt a strange mixture of both comfort and pain. Mere contact sent a sharp, stabbing sensation through the entire left side of Reek's face as her tongue traced what felt to Reek to be an exposed nerve. He struggled not to flinch away, but his eyes shut tightly and a whine escaped his lips. Of course, he knew cleaning was a necissary thing: he had done the same for Tavi after she had been chased from the maplewood, but now the shoe was on the other foot. Her tongue did not continue it's motion for long, and when she was done, the bulk of the pain abated. 

She eventually settled down nearby and Reek scooted in to lean against her side. He exhaled -- a tear fell down his cheek, yet he stifled the sob that begged to follow. Deep down, he knew she was right. The wolves of the maplewood (apart from maybe Desna) were no longer Reek's family. It was time to make a choice: the wolves he led, or the wolves he had left behind. The answer was, of course, obvious.

"You're right Tavi..." he whipsered. Having tried too hard to have the best of both worlds, reality had come to bite Reek in the ass. "They're not my family anymore. They can't be." The admittance was painful, perhaps even worse than the physical wounds inflicted upon him by Luke. The wolf before him, however, his co-alpha, she was his family wether Reek admitted it or not. In fact, he felt it about time he did, "but, you are." After all, what was the saying? Love the one you're with?

—but you are. He responded, and then there was silence. Tavi sat there with him and didn't know what to say. He was right, but she didn't want him to be right. She didn't want to be tied to him any more than she already was, and his words led her into a sense of anticipation that, for now, felt wrong to her.

It didn't matter in the long run what they called one another. They were bonded and that was it; she couldn't undo what had happened between them, what was happening. All Tavi could think about right now was her desire to run away. She stayed right where she was, supporting Reek while he cried on her shoulder, and remained silent — then, gradually, found her voice.

You need help. Ditty, you need Ditty, or someone else who can help you. I can't— But she could sit here with him, at least until someone with the appropriate knowledge came by; at the very least to keep him warm until morning, because surely they wouldn't be sleeping tonight. Tavi breathed in the scent of his pelt, and felt her stomach twist when all she could really discern was the smell of his blood. I want to leave, Reek. It popped out before she could stop it, but oddly enough, Tavi didn't regret the words.

There was silence. Reek didn't much like silence. It wasn't necessarily becoming of his usual personality. However, he endured it for Tavi's sake.

He knew what he had said would have its repercussions, but Reek couldn't bring himself to even imagine what Tavi planned to say. She wanted to leave: To leave him beind to wither alone. Reek's heart felt as if it stopped beating in his chest and for a moment, he wished Luke would have killed him on the borders of the Maplewood. With his family in the maplewood now unaccessible, Tavi was all he had left. If she left, he had nothing.

In short, Reek wanted nothing more than to die.

"No... no, no, no, no," he mumbled to himself. He began to rock back and forth in place, unable to control the emotions that threatened to overwhelm his system. "No. Please Tavi— you're all I have left." His tone became pleading and his sobs much more pronounced.

How could they possibly be parents at this rate? She didn't want the child — the woman had said as much — and Reek, he was a mess. He was a broken and bloody physical manifestation of depression. As he began to plead with her, rocking back and forth, Tavi felt her own sadness. It had rooted inside of her as soon as they had coupled, she just hadn't been aware of it at the time. The children inside of her would be manifestations of it. It would be fitting, then. Like father like son, daughter, whatever.

With a sigh she pressed in to him, carefully squishing her healthy and rotund self against his quaking, spindly, withered self. Softly she tried to shush him, whispering a shhh, which transitioned in to a soft humming of a random tune —  she didn't recognize it, but didn't really think about it. Once Reek had quieted down (if he quieted down), she planted a few quick kisses to his face, and then burrowed her nose against him.

I know, I know — she sighed in to him, and after a brief pause, I'll stay as long as I have to, and then, maybe once the kids were born, or weaned, or maybe beyond that if something changed — though at this point she didn't think anything could get better, so thoroughly had she been convinced — and then we can talk about it. 

For now they both needed to rest.

Reek had tried his hand at being strong for the both of them, but he found himself no longer able to stand the pressure. No longer the emotional anchor that he intended to be for Tavi, Reek was inconsolable: broken, with a soul rubbed raw. He fell silent, unable to speak in the wake of his increasingly unintelligible sobs. This, was what rock-bottom felt like. As the once chipper and lively alpha male rocked in place, he felt as if he would never be happy again -- it was as if all the joy in Reek's life had died in the span a single, terrible day.  

Tavi was quick to pick up on Reek's despair. His sadness had always been a subtle thing, hiding behind the tired lines on Reek's face, however, in this quivering and bloody mass, Reek was unlike anything he had ever been. Worthless. Small. Fearful.

She pressed in close and with it came a small comfort, however Reek's sobs did abate. He continued to rock in place, despondent. However, on the breath of a comforting tune, like a lullaby from Tavi's lips, Reek fell still. His sobs began to deescalate and Reek opened the eyes that he had tightly sealed. He watched, expression still silently pleading with Tavi as she moved in to drape his tattered muzzle with kisses.

Much to Reek's relief, she said she'd stay. However, it was bittersweet, as it still carried a teporary connotation. It was in that moment that Reek realized the true extent of his attachement to Tavi: he was falling in love with her and the feelings were unrequited. It was a soul crushing thing. "Okay," he responded, voice weaker than it had ever been.

Okay. She responded in kind, her voice weak like his, tired like his. With nothing more to say, Tavi nuzzled in to his fur and held him as best she could, resuming the soft humming until she knew he had fallen asleep. There she would wait with him, comfort him in his sleep - kiss him softly when his wounds bled - and wait out the rest of the night by his side.