Swiftcurrent Creek we fell through the ice when we tried not to slip
Swiftcurrent Creek
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Ooc — Rachel
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#1
All Welcome 
He only had a small amount of time—Shardik was watching the trio of pups and within an hour he intended for them to be on the way to Riverclan… But he could not go without seeing @Lestan, not after what Kelsier had spoken to him.

Their old den abandoned—the shadow runner came to their new home, uttering a gentle call to his cousin, wondering if they were even home—and hoping not to disturb @Reverie or Blossom, should they be sleeping.

Something about the quiet of it felt misplaced—and as the spring sun warmed the frosted tips along his shoulders, there was a certain chill within the air, despite the promising weather.
Loner
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Ooc — xynien
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#2
I couldn't resist, Ebony let me know if the pp isn't okay
She was ready to flee; whatever Kel had given her had worn off, at least enough for her to trust herself again. All she had to do was wait for Lestan to turn away, just for a moment — but he would not. He was worried. Hovering. Part of her appreciated it, because it meant that he still cared...
But it was just a little too late. He was always too late. There was a certain betrayal in the fact that he had not even noticed anything was amiss, not until Kel himself had said something. At least, that was what she inferred. She'd known he had come back, and Lestan had sent him away and come to her angry and fretful. It seemed like the obvious conclusion — and she was hurt by it.
And she was so, so tired of being hurt by Lestan.
If her patience was running thin for her lover, it had delved into the negatives where Akavir was concerned. She almost ignored the soft call, almost left it for Lestan, but something in her resisted the idea. Some part of her wanted the confrontation. So she went to meet him, still quite subdued and devoid of any outward emotion. Akavir, Reverie greeted quietly, as deferent as ever but perhaps a touch colder than was typical of her. She didn't dare give him more attitude than that. He was still her leader for now, even if he had abused the title, even if she planned to discard it the moment there were no eyes on her.
Watching me is like

watching a fire take your eyes from you

Swiftcurrent Creek
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Ooc — ebony
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#3
lestan was hurt. it did not hide so much of his worry, but it flickered here and there. he had kept his silence in their new home, focusing his attention on blossom or whatever outside the den needed mending.
the mayfair had been clearing a square of land nearby for a small garden. he arrived to akavir's call with a smear of soil across his face. this time he said nothing, waiting for the moment to mention kel.
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Swiftcurrent Creek
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Ooc — Rachel
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#4
He was greeted by Reverie, and his pale eyes swept over her, noting the faintest difference in her voice. He didn’t think much of it—Kelsier had admitted to providing her with medications—mushrooms, to be exact, and so he wondered if the effects. 

Reverie, he began, but from the corner of his eye came a shadow—Lestan—and Akavir could feel the tension practically rolling in the space they inhabited. Lestan, he greeted, recalling their previous conversation and the near manic episode the man had been in. 

I wanted to check on you both… See if you need anything before I go. I have to take the kids to Riverclan for a time. He paused. But Arric will be here.
Loner
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#5
So he was leaving. Reverie watched him carefully for a moment before she spoke.
I - know that you meant well, Akavir, and I know that Kel was only trying to help. But I - I told you I've had bad experiences - and it's because it never helps. It never has, not with me. And you - you sent Kel to us, when you knew that I knew you were angry with me, and that - that I would do anything to stay with Lestan and Blossom. How could I say no? Reverie was oddly calm even as she unleashed every ounce of bitterness in her upon Akavir. And maybe it was undeserved; ungrateful, even, to snap at the man who had tried to help her even after she'd angered him so. Honestly? She didn't care. I know you've never liked me, and I know I upset you when - when Lestan came home, but I - I thought you were a good person. I thought you would never do anything like that to me - or to anyone. But then you did it. Her eyes filled with tears at that. And it hurt. It hurt - so much. I can't ever forget that.
Do you even want me here, really? A challenge in her eyes, then; a challenge for him to speak the truth, to tell her that she was unwanted and be done with it. Then maybe Lestan would finally see. Maybe he would finally choose her.
Watching me is like

watching a fire take your eyes from you

Swiftcurrent Creek
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Ooc — ebony
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#6
lestan was surprised when reverie spoke, his entire being attuned toward her with a tremble of his soft ears. 
her pain became his own, and in it, the mayfair grew resolute. his cornflower eyes fixed to akavir, then to reverie, and then to his cousin once more.
he glanced behind them at the home they had been building, then swallowed and lifted his head. "if you want us to leave, akavir, say it. w-we'll be gone tonight." he was not ignorant of how they had strained the pack and one another, and lestan was not truly sure of his abilities to keep them safe beyond swiftcurrent.
but he offered all the same, gaze filled with many things.
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Swiftcurrent Creek
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#7

Mature Content Warning


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The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: Swearing

There was a gaping silence that stretched after Reverie spoke. Lestan was quick to raise his own head—challenging in that if Akavir wanted them gone, they would simply go—as if it was the most simple answer to an entirely tumultuous situation.

Reverie had unleashed it all—and the words of what Kelsier had spoken to him—what had sparked his suspicion and need to check on the two prior to leaving—was verified in the fact that whatever the man had dubbed as ‘willing’ for treatment, he had been fooled by her.

Blinking—the man stared at the couple. The snowball effect of the past few days catching up to him—and while within he quaked in anger at the deliverance of their disgust with him, he maintained an odd quiet.

If they wanted honesty, he would give it to them—as he had spoke to both Kelsier and Arric—they were adults with their own autonomy, free to do as they wished. They might as well have the facts.

“Well, fuck me, I guess,” he finally broke the silence, the amusement that laced his tone withholding the bitter note within. “I guess it was obvious in how much I didn’t want you here, Reverie, when I went out and hunted a woman that had you in terror in your own home… Bearing the marks of her. Or how I spread our pack so thin in our resources to try to protect you and ours… You’re right. It was entirely obvious that I knew you even recognized how upset I was with you when you refused to listen at our borders for the safety of you and your daughter. That must have really highlighted how much I hate you.”

He gave a quiet nod, a chuckle then as he drew himself up. “When I spoke to Kelsier afterward, he told me he had a concern. That Lestan was showing signs of trauma and mental stress. He was worried that Lestan would hurt you, Reverie, and asked if he should stay and see if he could talk to either of you, gage a reaction. I agreed.” Another nod. “You’re right. That probably really showed you how much I don’t want either of you here.”

His gaze bore between them both, another nod given. “Do with any of that what you will. But Jakoul is gone—she disappeared sometime when I was trying to assist you both, in my absolute loathing of you—so I really need to go look after my children. Like I said, Arric is in charge. And it seems I’ve done more than enough here.”

He nodded again, as if more to himself, and then simply turned—making his way back to the den, whatever his emotions or feelings on this entire matter being compartmentalized and placed into a back burner as he determined to deal with the fire in his own home, first and foremost.
Loner
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#8
In truth she had hardly registered Lestan's presence until he spoke. Sunlit eyes flicked to him and did not leave, not until Akavir spoke. For a moment she didn't understand, couldn't comprehend the implications. Then she did.
Us. Such a simple word, yet it changed everything for Reverie; to hear that Lestan would leave with her, for her, because of her — that was all she'd really wanted from him. It didn't matter what Akavir said after that. Reverie hardly heard it. He chose me, she thought, a little dizzy. He chose me, even after I hurt him so terribly.
She did hear some of what Akavir said. Enough to know that he was not sorry he had hurt her — and that Lestan had been the true target of this betrayal. And Jakoul was gone. Reverie wasn't sure what to do with that last bit; it hurt, to know the woman she'd befriended had disappeared, but the feeling was lost somewhere in all that she had to deal with in the moment.
Lestan would never hurt me, Reverie said quietly, her last words to Akavir's retreating form. She turned, briefly pressing her nose to Lestan's shoulder in a gesture meant for comfort and solidarity — and then she moved back toward their den, feeling strangely numb in spite of her anger. It was worse, somehow, to know that it was Lestan he had distrusted enough to send Kel. Lestan was his family, his packmate, likely the reason he tolerated Reverie at all. Shouldn't Akavir have known that Lestan would never do anything so horrible?
She might have been able to forgive Akavir for hurting her, but she could never forgive him for trying to do the same to Lestan.
Watching me is like

watching a fire take your eyes from you

Swiftcurrent Creek
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Ooc — ebony
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#9
there was not a mask that could have hidden the utter shock and hurt which lanced across lestan's features. akavir was harsh, unrelenting, and righteous in his fury. the iota saw some great degree of the mayfair ferocity in his cousin then, and despite the lurch in his belly and the guilt in his heart, he could have borne it! truly and certainly! 
but then akavir cut him, as surely as if he had bled, and lestan did not know what to do with the rapidly growing sense of anguish and distance that spiraled in that moment. 
he said nothing, nothing when his cousin turned away, nothing when reverie touched him; he became a quickly cooling husk, stunned at the depths of the one-sided trust he had placed wholesale in a man he called family.
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