Shadowwyn Moor Where Oh Where, Art Thou

Korei woke up to find neither of the males she traveled with were there with her. Instantly, she grew in fear as she stood up and began looking around. "Lennon...Alarian?" she called out quietly. Maybe they were close by. But she found no answer. "Lennon?! Alarian?!" 

She couldn't find them, and instead of looking their scent, she got scared and went off in search of them. She ended up going the wrong way. "Lennon! Alarian! Where are you?!" She felt her heart tighten as she was both afraid and sad, having gotten lost now. 

@Xan

After taking his leave from the hollow, Alexander trekked directly south. He planned on going in a large arch around Easthollow so that he could lower his risk of running into anyone from there—he had nothing against them, he just wasn’t yet ready to meet with any of them again. It would work, he figured, he’d just travel south through the moor and then take a sharp turn west—he’d be back home at the valley in no time at all. Although, maneuvering through the terrain wasn’t exactly preferred, the many corpses of trees strewn all around hidden beneath mounds of snow, creating plenty of opportunities for one to trip over them. A few times already he’d stumbled, having caught himself from falling flat by mere strokes of luck; he’d since grown considerably irritated, ready to be back in the valley where the land did not try to send him flying.

He’d lost track of how long he’d been walking for when a voice caught his attention, laced with fear and sorrow that acted as the perfect bait for the albino. He was curious—morbidly so—to discover what troubled her, and so he watched once she was within his line of sight for a good, long while before saying anything. And when he finally did speak, it was from afar, voice raised and words carried forth by the wind.

“Why are you yelling?” he asked. “If no one has responded to you by now, then they’re probably long gone.” In his experience, that was how things worked. One day you’d wake up and they’d just be gone, too far for any voices to reach them—it sucked but it was life.

Korei Julia was beginning to feel more and more lost without them. She didn't want to lose them...she couldn't lost anyone, not again. She felt so tight around her chest she collapsed there. 

But before she could even start crying, someone spoke. Her eyes lit up, hopeful, only to find a stranger. She turned to face them, tail tucking underneath. They were far enough for her to run, but what he said had stunned her. 

"N-No!" No, they aren't gone! I'm just..." She was lost. She broke down crying upon thinking how she could have lost them, forever.

The girl sung the familiar song of denial, claiming his words to be false. If only she knew that he’d ventured down the same path countless times before, repeatedly cast aside and left behind as if he wasn’t good enough—could she not tell that she was experiencing the same thing? Of course not, no one ever did. They assumed the best in others, convincing themselves that they could never be tossed away like garbage but it happened; it was a painful reality of life. All these things he wanted to say, he wanted to convince her that he knew the truth, but every word he could think to utter became trapped in his throat the second she started to wail.

Standing there, he immediately felt awkward, uncertain what to do around those that cried. He wanted to tell her to shut up and stop making pointless noises but, really, where would that get him? Yelling never made anyone stop crying, it just fueled his anger—and being aware of this, one might think that, that would stop him.

It didn’t.

“Hey!” he barked, approaching her with his ears pulled back. “Stop crying. Now. Do you think that will help you? It won’t.” The only thing that would help her would be if she faced facts and got over it—the ones she was looking for were gone and they weren’t coming back, at least not for her.

Korei shut up, now she had fear as the wolf approached. She began to move back as they approached after barking at her to stop. After being shouted at and stopped crying, after he finished talking...she started crying again. And more than before. "Nooo!"

Okay, so something was definitely wrong with her.

For a moment, she stopped crying and he caught a glimpse of fear in her eyes—which he didn’t really care to question, he was just glad she’d stop whining and whimpering like some pup. Except, she hadn’t. Not entirely, anyways. Silence was offered just long enough for him to finish speaking, and then she was at it again. “If you don’t stop crying, I swear—” he cut himself off with a groan and a shake of his head. “You know what? Go ahead—keep crying and see how much good that does for you.” Would it make her feel better? No. Would it bring her friends back? Definitely not. Would it annoy the fuck out of him?

Without a doubt.

“Maybe all your whining will attract another predator,” he said casually, shrugging his shoulders. Again, he continued his advancement towards her, though she was not his target. Rather, he walked right past her, steps slow. “Or you could stop crying and come with me—I won’t leave you behind like the others.” He stopped again and glanced over his shoulder at her, curious to see what her next move would be. Perhaps she wouldn’t believe him—denial was strong, after all, a worthy opponent. Truthfully, he wasn’t even so sure that he wanted her around him, let alone a part of his home. He did peg her as the submissive type, though, which made her an easy candidate—someone that wouldn’t bug him, or would leave if he told her to? Perfect.

Korei did as he said, and continued to cry her little heart out. Most of his words went over her head, even the part about a predator coming their way, to the sound of her crying. She knew they would not ever abandon her. 

His offer her stopped her still. She looked up at him, and for a moment, she thought on it...then she shook her head. "N-No...no they'll be back..." She should have stayed where she was, but she had gotten scared. "I-I should have stayed" she sniffled.

Though remnants of her cries remained, the worst of it seemed to have ended—for now, that is. How long it would last this time, he had no way of telling, he just appreciated the quiet whilst he had it. Appreciate and hope that it wasn’t torn away again, or perhaps just not so suddenly this time—maybe it was the suddenness of it all that bothered him most of all; he hadn’t had even a moment’s notice to prepare himself for the previous assault that was her wails, leaving his poor ears defenseless.

How awful.

What was equally as awful was her obvious case of denial—she still thought that they would come back for her. Yeah, right. “They won’t come back,” he repeated back to her. “Your best bet is to just move on with your life, forget you ever knew them. You’ll heal quicker that way.” Had he ever healed, though? Not quite, his rage was still there, but he’d certainly gotten better over time. “Even if you would have stayed, they still would have left you eventually.”—whilst he was now in an environment that kept him from feeling the threat of abandonment, that didn’t take away from the past—“It was only a matter of time.” He knew nothing about her or her companions but this he was certain of.

Korei Julia shook her head hard, refusing to listen to this male wolf that spoke to her. They would never leave her, they promised. They promised they would take care of her, and she would take care of them. She promised. "No! No, they will come back! You're wrong!" she shouted at his face after turning at him. She was starting to feel angry and upset.

Earlier fear turned to anger, the shift made obvious by her shouts. There was a brief flash of teeth in turn, though he was quick to settle himself back down with the reminder that she wasn’t worth it. “I’m not wrong,” he retorted, a growl lingering on the edge of his words. “You’re wrong to think that you haven’t been left behind.” Because he knew better than she did, he’d been down the same road countless times before.

She attempted to hold a glare which was just a narrow of teary eyes as she still sniffled time to time. To be called wrong was hurting her feelings, making me very angry at this wolf. And she rarely got angry, it was a very odd feeling. "No...I'm...not!" she shouted again, this time her voice very shaky. Alarian or Lennon would come back to her. They always did.

The boy hadn't been searching on his own for very long when he began to hear the argument-- first, Korei shouting indistinctly, and he started to quickly move towards the sound. Panic filled his chest; was she hurt? He would never forgive himself if his running off had brought her harm.
He was close enough when he heard the second, not-so-shouty voice that he could make out the words. An indescribable rage overtook him-- who did this other wolf think they were to tell her such things?
A deep growl escaped him as he bounded up to the pair, hackles raised and eyes glittering with anger. Leave her alone! He snapped, jumping between Korei and the other wolf protectively.
He turned only briefly to push his nose into Korei's neck fur, then went back to glaring at the stranger. Did he hurt you?

Even as she shouted he couldn’t take her seriously. She was just some lost little girl that couldn’t see reality for what it was: she had been abandoned, no one was coming back for her—she was alone. It was a kindness, in his eyes, telling her these things. In a way, he was trying to help her by pushing her forward, encouraging her to give up the search for her runaway companions before it dragged her down and broke her. They did not share the same views, however, as she continued to argue with him over the facts of the situation—

—only for him to be proved wrong moments later.

From his southbound position he’d seen the male approaching even before he’d stationed himself between them. The way he acted—spoke—prompted Alexander into action, expression twisting into a snarl. His own hackles bristled whilst he arched his tail up over his back, staring the other male down. “Leave her alone? I didn’t do anything to her,” he growled. He was angered by the challenge but the realisation that he was wrong contributed to it, too, whether he’d admit it or not. Alexander didn’t like to be wrong—he hated it, actually.

Korei's head was brought up, teary eyed and wishful as she heard someone shout. She turned her head just in time for her gaze to follow Alarian's form, and she thought her heart skipped a beat. "Alar!" she shouted, getting close to him.

But then she quickly shook her head. "N-No, no he didn't Alarian!" She didn't want a fight to come up, she had had enough of fighting for a lifetime.

Seeing Korei nervous was enough to convince Alarian to calm down for the moment, though not without one more nasty glare at the other wolf.
Just because you want to be bitter and miserable doesn't mean you have to force it on others. He couldn't help the slightly venomous comment, then added: I would never leave Korei forever.

Though the snarl was gone and his fur had settled, Alarian was ready for that to change again if the stranger showed more aggression. He was not normally inclined to fight unknown wolves, especially those larger than him (and especially when wounded), but the threat to Korei had riled him up more than he anticipated. Even if it was only a threat to her admittedly delicate psyche.

Forgetting the girl’s presence was easier than acknowledging her after the male’s arrival, as he was the one to receive the entirety of Xan’s attention thereafter. Even with him settling down—probably because of the girl—the albino did not, instead remaining just as on edge and ready for a fight as before. Rather than slowly fading away, his anger only grew, fueled by the words—lies—of their latest guest.

“Never?” he questioned, taking a threatening step towards them. “If you were to die, then you’d be leaving her forever—and everyone eventually dies.” There was so much working against him, keeping him from relaxing and, better yet, leaving. From the girl’s earlier sobbing to her little friend’s attempts at standing up to him, his annoyance had increased tenfold, flooding over and converting into anger alone. And whilst every part of him screamed attack because of this, he remained where he was, silently glaring and waiting—waiting for a reason to either spring forth or leave them to go on their ways.

Korei shook her head, as she tried to get between them. "No, please Alarian. Let's just go, please." They could go back to Lennon. Then she wondered. Where was Lennon? Maybe he was near to help them out? She began looking about as she went to move before Alarian.

The mention of death had Alarian on high alert again, and he started to growl before the other even finished speaking. He barely heard Korei's voice through what was beginning to become an adrenaline-filled haze as his body prepared itself for a fight. It flashed through the boy's mind briefly that he wasn't a fighter, he wasn't meant for this, and this wolf was so much bigger.
But in his mind's eye he saw himself bloodied, limping, carrying his father's severed head through his ancestral home. He saw himself tearing into the cougar's innards relentlessly, soaking himself in its blood. If he had won before, why should he not now?
The other half of his mind scoffed at him, a long pfffpppfffppfffftttttt, and reminded him this was a fight he would likely lose horribly. He would live, he didn't doubt that-- he had survived worse. But he would lose.
Alarian decided to bite the bullet and accept it as his best option.

Not today, though. The boy lashed out with snapping jaws, aiming to sink his teeth into the other's shoulder; regardless of contact, he darted away from the other male (hopefully with flesh between his still-clenched teeth). Ali waved his tail mockingly, daring the other wolf to come after him. He would not run, but he would try to evade for as long as he could. It was his only hope of winning, with the cougar's claw marks still etched painfully into his side.

Spar thread.

Alexander was ready for a fight, he almost always was. It came as no surprise when the male lunged towards him, the albino prepared and able to evade his jaws with relative ease. If the girl’s presence wasn’t lost on him before, it most definitely was now, every fiber of his being honed in on his opponent. He wasted no time before retaliating, lunging towards the smaller male with teeth bared and jaws snapping, aiming for any part of his face that he could reach; whether it be an ear, his snout, or anything else didn’t matter just as long as he made contact. And with whichever piece of flesh in his mouth, he’d pull back, yanking in the same manner a dog might a rope during tug-of-war.

Korei Julia looked between them, and then she moved back to avoid being hit. "Alarian!" she screamed as her close friend went to attack the other wolf. "Alarian, no!" She stayed back for now, watching the fight transpire with fearful eyes. She had to save him...but how? She couldn't find the will to move.

Alarian was ready, but apparently not ready enough-- he moved to evade the attack and was met by such a sharp pain in his side that he was forced to stop. He felt the male grasp his cheek and pull, ripping another piece of flesh free on the same side his jaw was wounded. The boy yelped and recoiled in shock, then lunged for the other wolf's neck.
It crossed his mind briefly that he should not have gotten himself into this, but what could he have done? Let the other wolf torment Korei, disrespect them both, threaten him? He may have attacked anyway, for all Ali knew.

This was not Alexander’s first fight, nor would it be his last. His teeth had found his way to the male’s flesh just as they had countless times in the past against others, bringing with them some of his opponent when he pulled away. Whatever bits he had torn from the other were dropped immediately thereafter, left to paint the snow a brilliant crimson. And again, as he was lunged at, the albino moved just beyond his reach, hearing the satisfying clatter of teeth against teeth. Darting back towards Alarian, the northerner aimed to grab hold of his scruff so that he might then force him down, growling all the while.

Her eyes widened in horror as she watched flesh torn from Alarian as he could not score any hits against the larger wolf. "STOP!" But her words...they fell on deaf ears. There was nothing she could do. She was not brave enough to charge in and help her friend, who was fighting for her. Yet she could not even realize this.

The boy was frustrated when he missed again, and when the other wolf grabbed his scruff he began to twist wildly to get away. After a moment he broke free of the grasp, though not without feeling the sting of teeth sinking into his skin first.
Alarian decided to again aim for the other's neck, latching on to whatever part of it he could reach and holding on tightly. He clamped down as hard as he could and shook his head violently. The boy's paws came up against the other male's chest, and he pushed off of him while simultaneously yanking on the flesh he had in his mouth.

Lennon was beginning to panic, with no sign of Korei, and no report from Alarian he began to fear he’d lost both of them. He realized how irrationally it was, he hadn’t been searching for very long, and Alarian definitely wasn’t getting lost with his proven sense of direction. It was only until the loud growls remenating from the distance did fear finally sink into his chest. With no thought, the tall wolf trotted as quickly as possible, for if what he believed what was behind those snarls were true he’d be needing his fourth leg. 

It wasn’t much longer until his eyes fixated upon a glowing white coat, and at first he mistook the pelt to be Korei’s. He would soon realize his fault when recognizing the build of the silhouette. Then, the petite figure of Alarian became clear under the hulking male, ripping at the strangers neck. 

Not this bullshit, again. It was plain to see the three will never be leaving the others out of sight, their consequences far too high.His heart beat out of his chest, pupils contracting as he prepared for another brawl. Shining white teeth bared, instinct had completely taken control over the male’s mind, he only wished to remove the pale attacker from his friend before getting the hell out. No longer dwelling on his disabled leg and dashing forward with unmatched speed. 

A mahogany blur, before pummeling forward onto his, apparently now, adversary. Violently clamping his teeth towards the foe, attempting to grip at any flesh available and remove it from its owner.