Ocean's Breath Plateau Somewhere in Kingston
Moontide
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171 Posts
Ooc — Jess
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#1
All Welcome 
The cliffs beyond the pack's borders were tall. There, the ocean stole her breath away, pushed her frail frame, whipped the curling fur until her skin was exposed with every gust. She stood as close to the edge of the cliffs as she dared, looking down into the lashing waves below; they shattered against the rocks. The sound of it made her shudder- and turn inland, where temptations voice was tempered. 

She knew she should spend time with her children, reassure them that their father would come back...But she found it difficult to bring herself to do so. In their faces, she saw sadness. In their faces, she saw traces of the man she had loved, and lost. Try as she might to give them a smile and mean it, it was becoming impossible to do so. 

She wandered, lonely and listless; the pounding of waves echoing in her ears.
Moontide
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161 Posts
Ooc — xynien
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#2
For a few days following her return, Marina rested and tended to her children. Yet her thoughts never truly left Dutch, nor the family that remained in his wake. She wondered after his children; the wife she'd never had the heart to meet.

It was her heart that drew her along Simbelmyne's path now, carrying the plucked carcass of a seabird.

Marina found her near the cliffs, pale and forlorn and — beautiful, yes, in spite of the frailty that clung to her like an old tattered gown. Her own soft silvered steps faded to a halt some distance away. She set her gift on the ground to offer a chuff of greeting. You're not alone, Marina wanted to tell her, but silence gripped her throat painfully. Instead she watched with soft eyes, and waited.
Moontide
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171 Posts
Ooc — Jess
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She felt a wave of guilt when she caught sight of Marina. Long ago, she had told herself she would be friendly with Chakliux’s wives, believing that she would find them as fast friends…And instead, she had remained distant, as she had, it seemed, from all but Dutch. 

Perhaps now, his absence was her punishment for being so introverted. Perhaps it was time for her to amend her ways, and finally forge bonds with those who should have been her companions.

She was oblivious to the pain Dutch’s absence had caused the woman, having either forgotten or blocked out the knowledge that the two had been close. When he had pledged himself to be her husband, she had refused to even consider that others might hold him dear to their heart in any way that was not brotherly. 

She was greeted with a look that made her feel exposed; the softness in her features was empathetic and warm, and while Simbelmyne wished to accept the woman’s support gracefully, she could not. 

Her eyes welled with tears, and her lips trembled. Fractured and fragile, she couldn’t withstand the kind gesture without remembering keenly the loss she felt.
Moontide
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161 Posts
Ooc — xynien
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#4
Quiet tears met her greeting. Marina regarded the woman in soft silence for a moment. A wordless step brought her forward, then another, and still without speaking Marina offered the warmth of an embrace. If Simbelmyne did not wish to speak, they would not. Truthfully, there was little to say.

Reality already hung heavy between them. Marina only hoped that, in time, she might lighten its burden upon the woman who now joined their family through tragedy.