Silvertip Mountain A change of pace

Recent events had left the male in a rather good mood, causing him to have re-entered the territory with a soft smile on his face. He’d met another who was like him, a Greek wolf who’d somehow found their way into Teekon. It had been a refreshing encounter, as well as saddening, though he could not help but appreciate having crossed paths with her. Hecate. Though he was no longer in her presence, the mere thought of her had him grinning like a fool. One might mistake his behavior for him being head over heels for someone, but that simply wasn’t the case. He would not deny that, at first, his excitement had gotten the better of him and caused him to think of a nonexistent future with her, but that’s all it was—an improper display of his joy. With the distance now between them, he could think rationally, and looked back upon his thoughts as being completely unwarranted. He felt as if he should apologize for his behaviour, but refrained from doing so in order to keep himself from having to explain why he wanted to apologize. Besides, he wasn’t entirely sure if he would even see her again in order to be able to deliver a proper apology, so he left it at that.

As Alastor trekked through the pack’s land, he couldn’t keep his mind from wandering back to his meeting with the fellow foreigner. They’d spoken in Greek rather than the common tongue of the Wilds, and he found himself missing the ability to do that whenever he pleased. Back in Pelion, he’d been able to speak to nearly everyone by using the tongue of the land, but that wasn’t the case anymore. With a new land came a new language, and though he’d been taught it as a child, the words weren’t ones that appealed to him. The one who’d showed an interest in the language, and had seemed set on learning it, had vanished. Where he’d gone, Alastor might never know, though at times he wished so desperately that he could have followed him. Such thoughts of what could have been darkened his mood slightly, but once he’d caught on to what was happening, he shook the notions away. Communicating with Hecate had left him in a good mood, and he wished to not ruin it for himself. Thus, with a newly cleared mind, he continued forward and slowly made his way up the mountain, a faint bounce in his step.

Sitting on a overhanging slab of rock, the burly female let out a soft breath into the air, watching it fog up in her face. It had been a peaceful morning, she had woken up from her short sleep and had watched some of the sun peak out to wake up the earth with its' light. However, even watching the glorious morning earlier, her mind wasn't at rest as her body expressed itself.

Her mind was racing, along with her heart. The nightmares were worse than ever last night, it replayed itself over and over again until she woke herself up after hearing her own whimpers during the night. All she could hear were the screams of Cloud, and all she saw was his dead body, his neck ripped out and blood spilled everywhere.

She shook her head furiously at the thought, pawing at her head, trying to erase the image. Her eyes looked glazed over, more than usual. After gaining a moment of peace, the female decided to take a walk to clear her head. Taking one of the trails that led through the woods, she started to make her way down faster than her normal walk. Her head was low, along with her tail as she moved.

She needed to find a way of comfort, she couldn't stand the nightmares much longer, they would drive her insane. As she walked, she wasn't very aware of where her paws landed. With loud paws crunching the snow beneath them, she continued to hurry her way down.

All she could see was Silver laughing maniacally, her once grey coat covered in blood as a wicked smile covered her face. Krypton furiously shook her head more, she couldn't let herself succumb to the bad memories, not while she was in front of her pack.

There was an air of peace that surrounded the argent male, something he’d been seriously lacking for a long while. For as long as he could remember, he’d been a happy soul. Nothing had been capable of bringing him down, for he’d always found a way to see the light through all of the darkness. To some, that had made him a fool—a naïve little boy who’d end up dead sooner rather than later. His being a pacifist, more or less, had only ever added onto such claims, yet none had ever followed through. It was neither ignorance nor sheer stupidity that had driven him to act the way he did, it had simply been his nature. The way he’d been born, and the way he’d grown up acting. To sadden him had often been a difficult task, but as of late it’d become far easier than making him smile. The foreigner couldn’t place exactly when the warmth in his heart had faded away, but that didn’t prevent him from acknowledging that it had happened. He could tell when it wasn’t there, and he could also tell when it was. The feeling had returned after a reminder of his homeland was given, warming his insides and pulling the corners of his lips into a sincere smile. At last, it seemed as if Alastor was returning to his normal self, much to his own surprise and pleasure.

He pressed forward, carefully placing each paw in front of him so he could avoid the chances of falling down. Snow was not a new thing to him, but living atop a mountain while it littered the ground was. He’d quickly discovered that it could be dangerous at times, thus encouraging him to be extra mindful of his surroundings. His attention was focused and his senses alive, making it no surprise that he’d been quick to catch the sound of approaching footfalls. With the wind blowing down from the mountain, he had been able to catch a whiff of the unknown creature, too. It was the scent of a wolf, as well as the scent of the mountain itself. A pack member, but not one he was really familiar with. Alastor stopped in his tracks then, icy eyes locked on the area ahead of him as he waited for the girl to become visible. Luckily for the both of them, he was in a decent mood, and was actually up for chatting.

Troubled with her memories, the large female kept her pace fast as she moved down the trail. Her mind was too consumed with bad memories of her past. He glassy eyes were clouded, a wave of pain washed over face as tears were going to slide down her cheeks.

She shook her head frantically, not willing to let them fall just yet. A small whimper escaped her lips as she walked, her head lowered towards the snow on the ground. With little awareness of how loud she was or where he paws landed, she continued to walk.

However, her nose was filled with a new scent. There was another wolf, one just like her. The scent was alike the mountain around her, she thought it was a pack wolf.

Although she wasn't feeling very talkative, she was at least open to meeting the other pack wolf whom she did not know about. She was still adjusting. However, she couldn't speak if she was crying, no she was not going to look like a weak female.

With a fierce shake of the head and swat on her muzzle from her paw, Krypton kept her pace the same as the felt herself approach the other, her eyes wandered over to the wolf that was stopped and looking over to where she was. She said nothing, but backed up a few steps, her ears flattened and head lowered to the ground. Then, with a cowardly whine escaping her lips, she turned her head away and exposed her neck to the most likely, powerful wolf. Any wolf was higher than her (mostly the ones whom she had met) and it was a mindset.

What do I do. Say something? What do I do? Oh god I'm such a coward, he'll think I'm a coward who can't even stand her own ground. 

Short post, w a h. x-x;;

The female came into view, but no words left her mouth. He was confused by her lack of a greeting, and that confusion only grew as she lowered herself to the ground. His eyes widened as he watched her twist herself into the dirt, exposing one of the most vital spots for any living thing—her neck. The whine that slipped passed her lips had been the only sound she’d made, and therefore the only sound he could place as being her voice. He understood the display as being a clear act of submission, but he did not understand why she was performing such a humiliating routine. Even when he’d been promoted to the beta position in the bypass, no one had ever done what she had. It wasn’t like anything he’d ever seen with his own two eyes before, but his instincts allowed for him to comprehend the deep meaning behind it. There was a part of him that felt himself to be deserving of being viewed as superior, but a larger portion of his mind was unsettled by it all.

Without stopping to consider how she might perceive his actions, Alastor closed the distance between them and lowered his head down to bump her shoulder with his muzzle. It was a gentle tap, nothing more, and then he returned to his previous position while watching her with curious eyes. “You don’t have to degrade yourself like that,” the Greek stated, a frown settling on his face as he spoke. “Who made you think you had to lower yourself so far?” His brow furrowed, uncertainty and worry evident on every inch of his body. Even the way he held himself, leaning his weight to one side more than the other, showed how troubled he was by the place she’d put herself into. Despite not knowing the woman, he could not help but pity her.

Holding the position of exposing her neck, she saw how the male had walked forward towards her, but not in a threatening way. He closed the gap between them, and gently with his muzzle, tapped her shoulder. Krypton swore her heart stopped beating. He then went back to where he was from the beginning, Krypton giving him a confused look. She thought it would only give her a nod of the head or something like that. But never had a wolf been so gentle with her when she saluted them. Hearing his words question about her salute, the tawny female didn't dare raise her eyes towards him. She was afraid it would come off as a threat for a fight for the higher rank.

"I have been raised to always salute those who are in the higher rank with the greatest respect. Anything below was not acceptable." She said calmly in a quiet voice, her slightly curled ears swiveling forward and back. She felt ashamed to be so cowardly in front of this male, but it was something she could not chase off at the moment. If it weren't for her troubles at the moment, she would have greeted him like any other wolf in the pack, a bow of the head and a loud verbal greeting.

It was true for her mindset. As a pup, she always tagged along with her parents when they went for meetings with the other packs around her homeland. As a greeting, she would always expose her neck into submission towards the alphas of other packs. Most said nothing, only a nod of the head at her salute. If anything, where she came from, respect was the main virtue every wolf needed to have. "I apologize if that was the wrong way to greet a wolf like yourself." She said, bowing her head and her shoulders. Many could call her a kiss up, but to Krypton, it was a routine in her life.

When she answered, her voice remained quiet, making his ears push forward in order to catch her words. They then fell back, having found her reasoning to be somewhat sad. To be raised in an environment that expected such degrading behavior must have been a horrible experience—or so was what he believed. “I am not ranked much higher than you,” Alastor pointed out, his own voice soft with caution. It bothered him that she had not raised her head to meet his gaze, but with what he’d just been told, he assumed that to avoid eye contact was another thing that had been engraved into her mind. With that realization, he could not prevent the look of pity that slipped across his face. Again, without thinking, he took a step towards her. This time, however, he did not close the distance entirely in order to touch his muzzle to her body. No, he allowed some distance to remain between them, then lowered his own body down in front of her own. He kept his gaze on her face, worry showing through his eyes.

“You do not have to apologize, it was the way you were raised,” the male murmured, careful to keep his voice lowered since they were in a closer proximity to one another. “But please, try not to do it again. I do not want to be the cause of someone feeling they must act in such a manner.” It still troubled him, the way he’d been greeted. The Greek was raised to respect those above himself, yes, but never had he been forced to fully submit to them. The acknowledgement alone had always been enough, but then again, his birth pack had been a very peaceful place—almost abnormally so. They’d focused more on working together as a family, as equals, rather than forcing others to bow before them. Such rituals had seemed barbaric to those within his first pack, as they did to Alastor in present day. If one was truly in power, they did not need constant reassurance by having their wolves perform such a humiliating display. A true leader needed only the faintest of acknowledgements of their class, and even that was too much for some.

The male’s head tilted a bit, his icy gaze once again attempting to make a connection with hers. “You may look at me,” he said, wondering if voicing something along the lines of ‘giving permission’ might work. “Consider us equals. You do not need to avoid my gaze, I will not harm you if you look at me.” Even if he weren’t some variation of a pacifist, he still wouldn’t even consider harming her just for looking at him. Such an action was considered truly vile in his eyes. With his intentions, or lack thereof, spoken aloud, he waited to see how she would react. He remained laying down, stomach pressed against the earth as his pale gaze lingered on her face. All he could do then was wait, and thus he did exactly that in silence.

Please forgive my crummy post, aha. It's currently four something in the morning, so my writing isn't quite up to par

S'okay, it's a good post! Kryp is about to drop a major bomb of feels \( -_-)/

Krypton was still too scared to look at the male, but when he spoke about the ranks, her body relaxed in the tiniest bit. She was afraid this wolf was a beta and the last thing she wanted to do was get on his bad side. After her apology to him for greeting him wrongly, he didn't show any signs of anger or resentment. He only showed her forgiveness and acceptance. Still however, her eyes averted his in any way possible. The other wolf then asked her to not greet him like that, for he did not want to make her act in a submissive form. She felt a little better when the words fell from his mouth, she wouldn't have to do that humiliating ritual to him again. She saw how he again, started to walk closer but he did not touch her. He lowered his own body onto the ground in a laying position and his gaze was still on the burly female's face.

When he said how she was allowed to look at him, that's what threw Krypton through a loop. Mostly, she only stared at pack mates who were lower, and only her parents allowed her to look at them. Any neighboring packs (even ranked as a beta for her own), she still averted their gazes. Hearing him give her permission, it was foreign to her ears. To consider them equals? That was strange, never had she thought about being an equal. She had her own ground, own rank. Her parents were above, siblings and grandparents below (although she respected them nevertheless).

Finally, swallowing her past fears, the tawny female lifted her gaze towards the male to reveal teary green and yellow eyes. However, the tears weren't willing to fall, but it felt as if they were welling up in her eyes. This male's kindness was somewhat foreign, especially during hard times from insomnia. No one had ever seen the burly female on the verge of tears like she was now, no one would ever think a wolf her size would cry. "Thank you" she said, giving him a gentle smile filled with thanks and relief.

Time ticked by, the world continued to revolve around the sun and the air was ever flowing, but the male remained still. The only visible movement able to be seen was the steady rise and fall of his back as he took each breath. To remain that way for so long was not a new state for him, nor would it be his last time showcasing such a calm demeanor. Alastor was, in his natural state, a very calm and well-mannered wolf. Keeping still and speaking with a soft voice came easy to him, for those were key methods to avoiding conflict and keeping the other party amiable. It was something of a specialty of his, but one that he had been born with, rather than something he'd worked to achieve—an ascribed trait, if you will. It was also a time in which he found himself to be the most relaxed, for he was left without a single worry. Thus, to keep himself like that for as long as it took was no big deal, and was actually something he was more than happy to do.

Eventually, it seemed his words had been given the chance to sink in and be accepted, granting the male the opportunity to be looked upon by his pack mate. His initial reaction to seeing her head lift was to give an appreciative smile, but it was quick to fall away. In its place there was a look of worry, the gleam of unshed tears having been noticed. "Are you alright?" he questioned, his own eyes giving her a quick once-over to ensure she was not injured. He even drew in a deep breath, but there was nothing to find. Physically, she was unharmed, leading him to assume that whatever caused her tears was emotional—or, perhaps, mental. There then came words of thanks, accompanied by a soft smile. Though he wished to return the gesture, he found himself unable to do so. The concerned expression would not vacate his facial features, even after attempting to rid himself of it several times. Alastor could not help but feel worried over the emotions of the woman, despite his lack of familiarity with her.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" the male asked, unable to think of what he might be able to accomplish in his mission to ease her of whatever burden she possessed. He did not possess any magical properties, nor was he a god of any sort, thereby preventing him from washing away any negative memories present in her mind. He could not rid her of any past experiences that may have left her scarred or wounded, and he couldn't very well heal that which was not present on the outside. There was little he could do, aside from provide moral support, but even that was not so easily done when the one in need of it was somewhat of a loner, metaphorically speaking.

Sorry for the hold up, I'm trying to finish off my threads so Kryp can stay in one place :P

The woman's eyes stayed on the male wolf, her ears back a little. His gaze showed one of concern, one she hadn't been given for a while. She quickly wiped her eyes with her forearm of her left leg, not wishing to let the water fall. How dare she look so weak in front of this male, she felt it was a disgrace to her. Hearing how he asked if she was okay, she felt as if she couldn't tell him.

It was a lump in her throat, one that caused no words to fall. She wanted help, she wanted someone to speak to. But... she did not wish to seem weak. With her large size, she should never act like this. Yet even with her sheer large mass, she couldn't be confident. She stayed quiet, not knowing what to say to the male. Her eyes went to the ground, a little in embarrassment in her state.

He then asked if he could do something to help. That was what made Krypton look towards him. She was always the one to help others, never really the other way around. She was relieved though, this male was willing to help her out. Her gaze returned to him, "I just need to talk to someone really..." She said calmly, her expression calm but her eyes starting to water again. She hated the idea of pushing her bad memories on another, she wished she wouldn't have said that. The male probably had better things to do, he probably wanted to rest after returning from his journey. 

It's fine, aha. I'm not in a rush when it comes to most threads~

He held his tongue as he observed her actions, keeping himself from commenting as she wiped her face across her leg. Everyone had a reason for why they did the things they did, and who was he to try and change her? If she wished to not let even a single tear slip from her ducts, then he would not make a big deal out of it. Personally, however, he saw nothing wrong with it. While he preferred smiles and laughter over frowns and sobs, he did not believe that showing such strong emotions could be considered weak. To hold stuff like that in was unhealthy, and he'd gladly be there as a shoulder to cry on for anyone who might need it. Yet, it seemed the way she'd been raised led her to believe differently, which was something he still felt uncomfortable with. He was unable to wrap his head around how a parent could raise their child in such a manner, for it seemed highly insensitive and without the proper amount of love in his eyes.

Finally, it seemed as if he'd succeeded in breaking through to her, and all by asking a single question. With her reply came a new sheen to her eyes, to which he responded by crawling a bit closer and pressing his nose to her cheek in a comforting manner. It was often the small, simple physical interactions that could help the most, and that was what he wanted to do—he wanted to help. "I will listen to anything you have to say," he assured her, pulling his head back once more so his nose left her cheek. Alastor hoped to have gotten his point across, to make the woman understand that he would listen to all that troubled her. The foreigner did not mind in even the slightest, and hoped she would not hold back.

When the burly woman felt the tears well up again, she tried to wipe them again but she didn't need to. Her eyes were able to hold the water in a little longer. Her eyes connected with the male's, his icy ones filled with a concern she hadn't felt for a while. 

Her father never showed her concern like this male had done. Her father showed no emotions on his face, nor did he speak with emotion. Whenever he spoke to Krypton, it was in a flat monotone. It had been like that her entire life, something Krypton never understood when she was young. It wasn't like her father didn't care for her or love her, it was that he was raising her to be a true warrior (in his eyes). He wanted her to be unbreakable, to be rock solid and let nothing bring her down. To him, showing emotion was showing weakness. Krypton never showed emotions in her training, not once. But now, it looks like she has failed him...

When he crawled a little closer, his nose met her cheek. At first the tawny girl would have jumped out of her fur, but in her state as it was, she couldn't move. It wasn't like she wanted to though, it felt as if he was trying to support her. In the woman's eyes, he was doing everything right. Hearing how the male was willing to listen, the tawny wolf decided to sit down. Her shoulders relaxed and slouched a bit, her ears constantly moving from the cold wind blowing into them. She let out a quiet breath and finally turned her gaze to him, trusting him.

"It's silly of me to say this, but I have nightmares." She said, casting him an embarrassed look. However, she wished to continue. "It happens every night. It tends to become so extreme that I can't sleep anymore, for long periods at least." Her voice was softer, however still held a monotone. Her head dipped forward a bit towards the ground and quickly, she shut her eyes. The tears were able to break through her guard and finally ran their coarse down her cheeks.

"My brother-" She started out, trying to fight back more tears and a whimper that tried to muster its way out of her mouth. Her mouth became clamped until she finally was able to release shaky words. "He was murdered by my sister-" She was able to get out before more tears cascaded down freely. A large frown carved onto her lips, she looked away in shame.

"I could've saved him-" She choked out. Ever since Cloud's death, Krypton had only blamed herself. Although Silver carved her paw prints into his blood, the woman knew she could have been there. She could have saved Cloud, she could've killed Silver off when she deserved it. Cloud would still be alive in the woman's eyes. Cloud was the only wolf who supported her and understood her fully. No one else did, Cloud was practically a therapist.

Apologies for the delay. Alastor hasn't been top priority, aha. ^^;;
And over here we see a perfect example of my cruelty towards my characters.

Again, he saw the sheen of unshed tears in her eyes. It was hard for him to watch, for he knew there was little he could do to help. If it was physical pain she was feeling, he could have sought out a healer of some sort, but she wasn't. Whatever she was feeling was purely emotional—possibly mental, too—and there were no herbs out there capable of dulling such a pain. It had no form, no way of truly showing itself. It was like a serpent hidden within one's mind, coiled and ready to strike at the slightest of stirrings. He, too, had felt such pain before. He knew how it felt, how much it drained someone. He knew the basics of it from experience, but never could he delve deeper. His own mind had always prevented him from doing so, leading him around in circles until he was right back to his previous place, staring the merciless serpent in the eye. There were differences to each mind, however, and so far he could not place if the variation of the feeling he'd felt was the same she was going through or not. Time would tell, perhaps, but for the time being he remained motionless, serving her as a pillar of support.

When she sat up, he followed suit, though his movements were slower. When he met her gaze again, he saw something in them—trust. She trusted him, he learned, and something told him he was about to be introduced to a whole new side of the woman. That did not strike fear into his heart, though, so he remained seated and listened, taking in her words with an open mind. The first sentence alone had him questioning her state of mind, as well as her view of the world. "It is not 'silly'," he assured her, voice soft but tone serious. "We all have our demons, and they are creatures that thrive during the night. They haunt our dreams and steal our sleep, and we can do nothing about it..." His voice trailed off towards the end, recalling the section of his life in which his own nights had been stolen away from him. Alastor had been left unable to sleep, lest he'd wished to face the monsters of the night alone. "If you are ever awoken by a nightmare again, you may come find me. It does not matter what time of day it is, or whether I'm sleeping. Just wake me up, and I will sit with you until you are able to sleep again." When he was a mere whelp, his mother had done the same thing for him. Each and every time he was scared awake, his mother would be right there to comfort and talk to him until he was able to drift back to bed. It had worked, too, on some nights, and so he would assist his pack mate if she needed it.

Night terrors were not the only thing weighing heavily on her mind, it'd seemed, for he caught the glint of tears trailing down from her face and towards the ground. There was more to the story, he could tell before she'd even opened her mouth to tell him of it. There was something else that haunted her, something that could not be so easily evaded. Her words came in short intervals, and judging by the sounds leaving her throat, he could tell she was fighting back tears. When she finally reached the end, he gave a soft shake of his head. "I was born alongside a brother and a sister," he began, his gaze never leaving her direction. "We were able to spend only a short time together before something happened. We were only small children at the time, still so new and unfamiliar with the world we lived in. We were curious, too, always looking to learn new things and begging our mother to teach us.

"One night, after we'd all gone to sleep, a fox had managed to slip past those on guard, as well as into my family's den. We were so small still, so vulnerable. The fox... it must have known this, for why else would it have invaded a pack's land? A wolf's home?" The male paused, his eyes fluttering shut for a second as he collected his bearings. Even after so long, it still pained him to talk about it. "The fox was a silent predator, and it'd managed to get it's mouth around my sister. She couldn't have known what was going on at first, but eventually, the creature's reason for being there was revealed. I can still hear her screams. I can hear her calling out for us, for me..." Alastor swallowed and gave a rough shake of his head, attempting to rid his mind of the memory. Of all that he remembered of his sister, that particular memory was always most prominent. No matter how much time passed, how much he tried to force it away, it remained fresh in his mind. "For a long time, I blamed those around me, but mostly myself. I kept thinking that I could have saved her, that I could have stopped that fox from stealing her life—but really, I couldn't have." The Greek lowered his head so he could look directly into her eyes, his expression serious. Still, the pain he'd felt, and continued to feel each day, was visible in his eyes. "For your brother and my sister, their times had come. Fate had written for them short lives, and even if we could travel back to try and save them, we would fail. You cannot blame yourself for his death, it wasn't your fault. There was nothing you could have done, and I swear on that." Even if they could have stopped it that time, death would have found the two soon after. No matter how much one desired a change, going against fate would always be a futile endeavor.

 No worries! Alastor's being such a gentleman towards Kryp :D

The male's words were gentle, yet serious towards her. Every word, every sentence he spoke, he understood what she was feeling, what she was going through. He knew what pain felt like, he knew what it felt like to be restless or to be attacked mentally. When the man spoke about coming to find him if she needed help, the tawny woman couldn't be more thankful than now. Him talking to her was enough, but with him offering help for times of mental battles, she couldn't express how grateful she was.

The man started once more to speak, this time, he spoke of his own nightmares. The woman was silent, her eyes scanned over him and his own, searching for an emotion. She could see flicker of his pain, mostly from the sharp shakes of his head. He too was trying to rid himself of the past memories. Her heart went out towards him, he suffered the same as she did. That must be why he understood her so well. His history started to draw to a close, his last parts of his talk meant the most to her though.

Their fates were short. That was true of what she guessed, however she always prayed to live long with her siblings. Somedays her god just doesn't choose to cooperate with her. That tragic day must've been one of them. It's not your fault. That was new, although she remembers when she fell apart that night. She remembered trying to save him, she remembered beating her sister over and over again in pure anger. She remembered when she would visit the shrine every night just to wish him the best on the other side. Of coarse the girl blamed herself for his death, she could've saved him (or so she thought). But with the man's words, it made sense that she just couldn't. It was out of her reach.

His icy eyes had connected with hers, she could see the seriousness in them, but the pain that still lingered around. She felt the tears fall more, but she gave him a shaky, small smile. It was rare she would be so vulnerable to others at times of her own weakness, but sometimes demons win and spill the emotions.

"T-Thank you." She was able to get those two words out in a shaky breath, her heartbeat starting to slow down, and her troubled mind began to somewhat ease itself. As much as she wished for Cloud's death to be avoided, it was something she couldn't change. It was something that was meant to happen, his time was short so others could truly value him.

Aha, he's almost always a gentleman~
Wanna fade with your post?

Emotional pain was something he understood. It was something he could assist others in dealing with, even if he himself had yet to truly solve his own dilemmas. Long ago, he'd given in and accepted that he couldn't have saved his sister. No matter what actions he could have taken, her life would have still been stolen away from her. Death was inevitable, and it was those that had been cut short that often had the greatest of impacts. They could not be avoided, for death itself could not be avoided. It would come and claim whatever and whomever it wished for as long as life continued to exist. One could not thrive without the other, nor could one exist without it's counterpart. Such were things he'd had to accept long ago, but thinking things over through a philosophical standpoint did nothing to ease his internal suffering. Some of the burden had been relieved, but a trace of it would always remain. For as long as he remembered his sister, and Krypton her brother, they would be destined to serve a life of constant agony.

Tears continued to escape through her ducts, and he'd leaned forward to lick them away for her. If she allowed him to do so, he would continue with the gesture, wishing to ease her troubled mind. "Thanks is not needed, I'm glad to have been able to help," Alastor murmured, wishing not to disturb the moment. He moved closer to her then and settled himself down at her side. There he would remain, coat brushing against hers as he offered silent comfort, until she had further settled down. He, too, found himself needing the touch, however, for his words had dragged up memories he'd previously kept hidden and locked away. Though he had offered her the support, the chance to find him whenever she sought a friend after a nightmare, he, too, needed the contact. Such remained unknown to him just yet, though, so he would continue to believe himself to be helping only her. Laying by her side, he would remain quiet, allowing them both the time needed to come back down to earth. It'd been a long day of emotional battles, and he believed them both to be in need of rest.

Sure! I'll go ahead and archive. Thanks for the thread :D

The earthy woman's shaky response was taken into notice, and the male had eased her troubled mind. For that, she was truly grateful, none have ever heard of this woman's inner demons. Her eyes still let water slide down her fur and soak them with salty tears, but the grey wolf had come and licked them off of her cheeks softly, an action she was familiar to. Her mother did this to her when she came running to her crying about training, about how she became hurt. The action, so simple to any onlooker meant the entire world to her. She hadn't moved, she didn't want to move. The simple action was soothing to her, she wasn't shaking as violently as before.

He had settled down next to her, letting a quiet atmosphere settle upon both of the two. His fur was bristled against her, the contact made her feel safe. Safe. A feeling she hadn't experienced many times at hand. Truly this was not a learning experience, but instead it was a trust exercise almost. This male had tested her will to trust others, although it wasn't blindly, it seemed that way to her. Krypton hadn't wanted to trust anyone, she was too skittish and meek.

Hopefully, with the grey male resting against her, she would open herself more to the pack, to her new family.