Redtail Rise I don’t have friends, I’ve just got one

Preferably @Reek :)

"What? He thinks he can just cut me off drugs like that?" Arion scowled. He didn't overdose too much, in fact, he was actually taking the normal amount, he was just overdosing on what he usually took which was technically half of the normal amount. Reek was just overreacting a lot, he wasn't going to fall flat on his face and die for god's sake. Besides, if he did, who cared? Who gave a damn shit if he died and went to Tartarus? Seriously, it wasn't like anyone needed a goddamn sociopath in their pack. Nobody liked him or cared.

"If I want to take drugs, I'll take drugs, no one can stop me!" the stallion's speech slurred as he trotted out of his den to the top of the ridge where he gazed at the distant horizon. Happiness and anxiety rushed through him, making him nearly double over for a second, but a moment later it vanished. "See? I'm totally fine," he said to no one in particular, a smirk crossing his features as he shook his head irritably.

That was when his vision blurred and suddenly he found it extremely difficult to breath. He began shaking and felt a wave of lightheadedness and dizziness wash over him as well as a huge pounding headache. Slowly, as if in a movie, the Greek collapsed.

Reek had thoughtfully intended to keep a close eye on Arion and help with his detox regimen, however with all the hullabaloo, it was near impossible to keep a close eye on the greek to make sure he was staying clean. Due to the difficulty of the situation Reek had put Arion's sobriety on the buddy system; hopefully somebody else, like Saena, would watch him when Reek couldn't. But unfortunately, their alpha had her paws just as full, if not more, than Reek did, leaving Arion to his own devices. Alone. Withdrawls could be a finicky thing, and no matter how much Reek trusted Arion, when it came to his sobriety the bedraggled beta had little faith in Arion's individual efforts.

In the rare bit of free-time Reek had, he spent it tracking Arion's scent through the Rise in order to check up on his friend. By now, the worst of the withdrawals would have hit and Arion would be a mess. There was no use facing that alone. But when Reek finally found Arion he was met with a far more grizzly sight... however, he wasn't surprised in least. He had OD'd and passed out. Reek snorted in disgust, but quickly realized the fault lied with him. He should have kept better watch.

"Dumbass," he chided toward Arion's still body before checking his vitals. Reek laid his head on his chest to listen to his breathing. The breaths where shallow and few. His heartbeat had slowed to a near stop. Once again, he had taken it too far.

There was little one could do to an unresponsive junky but just wait things out and make sure he doesn't choke on his own vomit. What a classy way to die. Reek pushed with his muzzle to roll Arion over to his side and laid down beside him to wait for a response.

Reek had been right not to trust Arion with keeping himself clean of the drugs, the Greek tried as best as he could (which wasn't much) but in the end he gave in. There was still some of the drugs left, kept in secret parts of the territory where no one would find it, or in his den,. Whenever he felt the withdrawal symptoms and whenever he knew no one was watching him, the Gamma sneaked off and helped himself. Reek was trying to help him, Arion knew that, he had tried many times to cut off drugs too but in the end, he always gave in. He might be a brilliant warrior, he might be brazen and fearless but when it came to drugs, he always, always gave in.

In a way, Arion was a terrible, terrible coward.

So, he passed out. His breathing was shallow, unsteady and few, his heartbeat was slowly down, almost to a stop. He had been lying to himself, he supposed, saying that he wasn't overdosing when in fact, he was, and now he was paying for it. Paying for the lies he said for his own benefit, and he would suffer badly for what he had done. No doubt, Arion deserved it, every painful moment he would have because of his drug habit and his overdosing but that didn't mean he would accept it that easily. He was a warrior, and even for such health damaging things, he would fight and fight until he realised defeat was dancing naked in front of his face.

Slowly, the Greek regained conscious and groaned, acutely aware that Reek was lying beside him despite the wave of nausea that swept over him. "Come to gloat?" Arion spat, refusing to face his friend. But while others might think his anger was directed towards the bedraggled Beta, it was mostly because he was furious at himself for being found like this, for giving in to the drugs once more. "Have you come to mock, to taunt me?" he said in an icy, cold manner. Then, he began retching, vomiting onto the grassy ground of the ridge.

When Arion was done, he was breathing heavily and his heart pounded rapidly beneath his breast. He turned to look at Reek before slumping down to the ground once more, too tired to be angry anymore.  "I was hoping to have died this time," the Greek said carelessly. He knew that overdosing would eventually, if not immediately, lead to death if not stopped.

Oliver was resting in the shade of his favorite tree, his head laid across his crossed forelegs. His yellow eyes followed the path of a rather large beetle as it crawled through the grass, stumbled over a twig, scurried over his paw, and eventually disappeared beneath the leaf litter. He was procrastinating again. He'd been trying to motivate himself to begin pursing his trades, but he found himself paralyzed by doubt and fear. It did not help that Arion had promised him a free ticket out if Oliver didn't meet his expectations.

His ears twisted back to catch what sounded like something dying very close by. Alarmed, Oliver rose and trotted over to investigate. He came upon Reek and Arion laying side by side in the grass. "Hey guys," he greeted them as he approached. His nose wrinkled in disgust as the foul stench of bile filled his nostrils, then he noticed the puddle of vomit next to Arion.

"Is he okay?" Oliver asked Reek, concerned.

Reek stayed at Arion's side until he regained a shred of consciousness.  He stirred, spewed from the mouth, and spat vitriolic slurs in his first cognitive moments.  Arion remained true to form; asshole through and through.  Their dickish nature toward each other had become some sort of long running joke, and Reek would have laughed Arion's comments off and continued to monitor his condition, however, his concluding phrase filled Reek with dread and confusion.

He wanted to die.

...Selfish prick.

Whatever had Arion in such a tizzy had eluded Reek.  However, that was to be expected since Reek worried little about the problems of others, but only himself.  But nevertheless, Reek's perception of Arion's problems paled in shadow of his own, and even though Reek's state of mind was on the track to recovery, Arion seemed to off the wagon.  Was it all because of Smash?  While Smash's departure had shown Reek the house of cards he had built in the Rise wasn't as stable as he initially hoped, the real problem lied with his missing wife.  He departure had only make him realize what he had lost.  However... Arion had no missing wife.  Da fuck?

"Shut the fuck up," Reek spat right back as he rose to his feet, imposing himself over Arion. "Don't ever talk that way again."  The greek, in more ways than one, was Reek's brother... and noone would take that away from him, especially Arion himself.  Suicide was selfish.  Addict or not, that's what it was.  A sad cry for help.

At the sound of Oliver's meek voice, Reek turned his head and glared, unable to direct his anger solely at Arion.  While Oliver showed promise as a healer in training, Reek scoffed at his question.  Of couse Arion wasn't alright.  "What do you think kid?" he snapped irritably.  "Does he fucking look ok to you?"  Even to the untrained eye, Arion looked rough.  

Arion wasn't afraid of death, in fact to him, it was simply another beginning not an end. He did not understand the grieving of a dead friend, after all, if they were good and just in this life, Hades would be sure to reward them in the underworld. There was nothing to be sad about, he didn't understand why others would mourn the dead. So when he said to Reek that he had hoped to die this time, he did not comprehend why he was so angry at him. Why did the bedraggled Beta grow so furious at himself when all he said was he hoped to die, Arion did not understand but he concealed his confusion.

Was there a way to feel what Reek was feeling? To understand how he thought, to know what made his friend so mad at himself for that simple statement. They had been dickish to each other for a while now, to the stallion, his statement had simply been another dickish statement, another attempt at annoying the ragged wolf, not make him mad.

For the first time in his life, Arion attempted to imagine what it was like if he was in Reek's shoes, what would he feel if the bedraggled Beta told him that he was hoping to die? And just like that, he understood. The emotions rushed through him, blinding him with their intensity. The stallion quickly forced them all away, locking them behind the wall he had built in his mind to keep these feelings from interfering with his work.

Honey golden gaze jerked sharply upwards as Reek rose and spat at him, told him to shut up and never speak that way ever again. He understood why the bedraggled Beta was raging, but that didn't mean he had to sympathise (as if he knew how to) or appease him by saying he didn't mean what he said. Because that wouldn't be true to his nature, Arion was an unfeeling arsehole, he might as well play the part. "Oh so you do care," an annoying, crooked smirk played at his lips, internally goading Reek to hit him or tackle him in anger.

Chocolate brown ears twitched as Oliver's voice rang through the air, Arion watched as Reek scoffed and snapped irritably at the newbie. While the Greek might have defended the kid just to get on the ragged wolf's nerves, he decided it would take too much effort. Rising onto chocolate paws, albeit unsteadily, the warrior cocked his head and regarded the newbie with a crazed gleam in his honey eyes. A malicious smile crept up his features. "Use your nose, kid, what can you smell?" he said softly, to Oliver. Arion's fur was untidy and his eyes were crazed, he smelled of dirt, grime, vomit and underneath all that, drugs. He looked feral and dangerous in this state, but both Reek and himself knew that he could lose conscious any second now.

very sorry for holding this up, I've been very ill

 Oliver splayed his ears and glanced down at his paws, stung by the Beta's sharp words. Yeah he didn't actually need to ask, it was pretty obvious that Arion wasn't okay, but he'd only been trying to express his concern for his pack mate, why did Reek have to jump down his fucking throat over his poor phrasing? "I'm sorry," he mumbled, fidgeting uncomfortably, "I just wanted to see if I could help." Later, after things settled down, it would occur to him that Reek had been lashing out because he was pissed at Arion, but right now it was hard not to take it personally. Oliver was used to Arion being a jerk, but it hurt coming from Reek.

 The aspiring healer had never dealt with a druggie before, so he did not recognize the symptoms of an overdose. Nor could he identify the strange smell that hung around the warrior like a thick haze. As far as he could tell, Arion was just sick and stinky. Maybe it was something he'd eaten? "Whoa, hey, you should stay lying down," Oliver said as Arion shakily got to his feet.

Arion spoke and Reek fought the urge to lash out a second time.  Damn prick; it was as if he was just trying to push Reek's irritation button.  Nevertheless, the Greek succeeded. "Of course I care," he chided coldly, pinning his ears forward coupled with a guttural growl "if I didn't, I would have left you to choke on your own vomit."  A healer with a god-complex was a dangerous thing.  The lives of his friends ultimately fell delicately in Reek's narcissistic paws.  It was a sick pleasure, knowing that he was the decider, but a pleasure all the same.

The junky rose on shaky legs and spoke to Oliver.  The healer in training was the first to speak.  He shouldn't be standing. "Astute observation Oliver," mused Reek with a sarcastic edge, gaze still locked on Arion.  "Look, I don't mean to lash out at you kid, I've just got way too much on my plate right now. But, can you like, do something?  I need chervil for his nausea... get that."  It would be a trial by fire, but one learns by doing...  and Oliver would certainly be doing a lot of doing.

The bedraggled beta's attention once again returned overdosing Arion.  Reek's first priority was getting him back on the ground and in recovery position until the whole thing passed.  He placed his head on Arion's back and forcefully (but not too hard) attempted to push him back down to the ground.  "Down boy," he said emphatically, hoping Arion would just swallow his pride and do the do.

Reek spoke, stating coldly that he did care and if he didn't, he would have left Arion to choke on his own vomit. "I would never do that," he said indignantly, though inside he was wondering if it had been good to get attached with those of Redtail Rise. No, he was wondering if it had been a good idea to let the wolves of Redtail Rise get attached to him, he wasn't used to caring, he wasn't used to others caring for him. Of course he was touched that they loved him in a brotherly/sisterly way, but can't they understand that nothing good would come out of caring a sociopath like him?

"Good luck Oliver," Arion flashed a smile at the kid before turning his sharp golden gaze back on Reek as the ragged male placed his head on the stallion's back and attempted to push him back onto the ground. Even in this state, Arion was strong and was rather amused by Reek's attempts but he gave in in the end and slowly sank down onto the ground. "When did I become boy?" he asked, too weary to fight with the bedraggled Beta.

"Nothing good comes to those who care about me Reek," the stallion sucked in a breath and exhaled softly, "perhaps it would be better if you just let go. I'm a hopeless case, my friend, it was a bad idea for me to have ever let anyone cared. I'm sorry brother, but I'm destined to live a life alone and die alone, can't you see that?" This wasn't about suicide to the chocolate stallion, it was about Reek and Saena and the rest of those who he considered family, this was for them. Nothing good came to those who stayed with him.

go ahead and skip me for a few rounds

Chervil? Uh-oh, that was a plant he'd never even heard of before. Oliver started to panic. How was he supposed to track down a plant if he didn't even know what it looked like? "Uh, chervil, got it," he said uneasily. He tried his best not to let Reek and Arion see just how daunted he was by the task. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he said mostly to Arion as he turned and departed.

Wanna just fade this out and have a new one @Arion? One more post from you should do it!

As soon as Reek gave Oliver his task, he quickly realized the newbies inexperience in the way his voice quavered.  Luckily, what he was willed to get wasn't necessary to Arion on a life or death basis... and while it would improve Arion's condition, comfort wise, chervil was of little importance.  Just as the nettles had been before, it was all just a test to gauge the kid's skills— and possibly teach him a thing or two in the process.  Having a second healer in the Rise would be good to have, especially with the threat of the south looming in the distance.  Oliver would have to learn fast.

Reek resigned himself into thinking Oliver wasn't coming back... at least anytime soon, so his focus was diverted back to Arion, who was back to spouting drug-addled looney speak.  "You became a boy when you needed me to take care of you," he chided.  Reek was far too irate to lend a compassionate hand... tough love was the only thing on the prescription pad.  But if that didn't get Arion off the smack, what would?

"I don't care what you think about you," he spat harshly, "but you're my friend, and you need to know that."  Reek pinned his ears forward and snapped at Arion's laying form.  "So shut the fuck up, go to fucking sleep, and talk to me when you're sober." 

Sounds good to me! Last post.

Arion was somewhat glad that Oliver had left, because he would never be able to say all he had said in front of the newbie. One, because it would just be hella embarrassing and would ruin his stoic and arrogant image. Two, because for god's sake, he was the new guy, and new guys didn't deserve to listen to these heart to heart conversations between the veterans of the pack. Watching him go, Arion hoped that he would be able to get the herb Reek wanted, not for his sake because the Greek was sure he would be able to recover without the plant's help, but because he wanted Oliver to succeed and earn himself some compliments. He deserved it.

Arion folded his ears back as Reek chided him, not really listening to what his Beta and friend was saying, too lost in his own thoughts at the moment to listen to him chastising the Greek like a child. He had enough of that already and while usually he might throw back some insulting comments to the bedraggled male, he was too tired and exhausted right now to do so.

But the stallion did listen to what his friend told him next, saying that he didn't care what he, Arion thought of himself but that he was his friend and apparently, the stallion needed to know that. He knew that, that was why he even took the time to inform him that it was better for Reek to leave him alone. Sometimes, he really did not understand the way he and other 'normal wolves' thought, it was so...complicated. So full of sentiment and emotion.

Arion did not speak at all, instead splayed his ears to either side of his skull, curled up like a child and closed his eyes, willing Hypnos to drag him away from reality and into the realm of sleep and dreams.