Broken Antler Fen Nightmares

It was cold, too cold.  She wanted to stop, but something told her to keep going until suddenly she found herself on the once special place where she had once stargazed with Steady.  Suddenly before her she saw herself and Steady.  "You have his big heart."  Odie caught Steady say then listened as she heard herself reply innocently if having a big heart was good or bad.

Steady explained.

The scene shifted and now she saw a different memory replaying before her.  One of her and Stoic.  Pain shot through her and a whine escaped her.  Her Brother was quickly at her side licking the wound.  "Okay?"  he asked her.

The scene shifted again.

Her Mothers body lay before her.  Stoic sobbed, tear soaking into his fur.  Then he was running away from her as she stared down horrified at the meat of her Mother that Steady had placed before her... never had she felt so alone in her life.

She ran.

Odette woke with a startled gasp, although soon after sent a worried glance around her, hoping she hadn't woken anyone up.  She wasn't entirely sure, but didn't think so.  She tried to close her eyes again, but more images of the past plagued her mind so instead she carefully and quietly stood before padding away from the others.

The moon shone brightly in the sky and Odie found herself silent, when suddenly an urge shot through ehr and she was running.  Speeding like a bullet.  She ran so fast that she didn't notice the root that stood curled and cruel before her.  She yelped as she tripped, falling forward into a heap.

She began to sob.

Her whole body racked with her sobs, as she trembled in her heap.

She missed her family.

*tackles this thread and hugs it*

With all that new pregnancy had in store, lack of sleep was definitely of the many, many perks that she didn't know she signed up for. So when she heard Odie moving away from the Cove's sleeping pile, her ear twitched and she was alerted to the absense. She tiredly rose her head up and blinked, scanning the area with glowing green eyes.

Pearl heard sudden running, and started wondering who it might be that was leaving. She did a quick head count and figured it was Odie, so she swiftly pulled herself from beside her mate and the others and followed the scent of her adopted daughter. A brisk trot later she arrived at a rather heartbreaking scene, one that she had seen before and probably will again. Either way, it was a somber and sad situation that she wasn't completely sure how to approach. 

The moon reflected brightly off of her pale coat, so she couldn't have remained hidden for long. Deciding to show herself, she moved ghost-like close to Odette. "Hey, are you alright?" she spoke softly, not wanting to startle the little one.

She continued to sob.

Ad she did she thought of her brothers and sister.  What would they think of her to see her now?  Would they have laughed at her?  Comforted her?  She didn't know, because she was without them now.  Sure, she did have Sebastian, Pearl, the pups on the way and Broken Antler Fen.  Yet sometimes she wished that she could have what had once had.

She wanted her family back.

So when Pearl came to the scene Odette did not notice her at first as she cited there, feeling broken.  When she heard Pearl's soft spoken words though she turned her head, trying to blink back the tears and swallow the limp within her throat.

"I miss my family."

Sebastian lifted his head when he noticed Pearl's warm form move away from him. It sometimes happened at night that she turned away from him, but now along with the footsteps of her trotting off made the alpha male wake up fully. He blinked, followed by a sleepy yawn. He was more worried that something was wrong so he followed after Pearl, not realizing she was following Odette.

He tracked them down soon enough to see Pearl and Odette together. The large male continued further with some worry on his face. Odette mentioned something with family. Sebastian walked up next to Odette and looked at her sad face. His eyes traveled to Pearl who seemed alright. His nose nudged Odette's cheek to let her know he was there for her. Sebastian figured that she was sad about missing her family. He wished there was a way to make her feel better about it.

Tag-Team parenting! :D

Pearl shifted closer once Seb appeared, which was a good thing, because she really had no idea how to manage this situation other than allowing Odette to get it all out. Sebastian took a seat next to Odie as well, so the pup was in a fluffly-comfort-sandwich of loving adoptive parents. 

For now all Pearl could do was offer support and warmth. Words weren't her forte with kids. Adults she could talk some common sense and occasional hard truth in, but she wasn't sure Odie would be able to handle it. For now, all she needed was parents to soothe the nightmares of a child.

You get my 200th post! :)

Her Father was quick to arrive, next to her Mother.  Sebastian nudged her cheek which comforted her a little, but still a tremble slide shakily through Odie's body, a whine escaping her.  Slowly though she was able to control her trembling to a small shake, watching her parents with a sad gaze.

"I dreamt about some memories last night... from Silvertip."  She didn't go into it much further, hoping her gaze would be able to tell the most of it.  For the memories were painful reminders of what could have been and what had taken it all away.

Sebastian held his head lower so he could look at her better. Odette seemed really sad about something, it was only when she spoke about having dreams about Silvertip that he understood it more. Though there was still some confusion with the male if she was sad because she missed her family or if she was sad because the memories were rather traumatic. Sebastian gave a lick over her head.

"You are allowed to dream about your previous pack, Odette," he spoke to her in a kind tone. "I think it is only normal especially what you have been through." Sebastian hoped that she wouldn't feel bad by dreaming about them. "Unless you had nightmares from what happened there. The bad things that happened." In Sebastian's eyes her dreams meant that she still had some unresolved issues with what happened.

"It sounds to me that you are still processing all that happened," he spoke to her what he thought was going on. However, it was only up to her and herself only how quick she would process all and find forgiveness in her heart. The last past was the hardest in his eyes, to forgive did not mean to forget after all.

Pearl listened to Seb talk to their adopted daughter, simply nodding along. Sebastian was a natural at this, and it did help that he had the closer relationship with Odie as well. She wondered also what she had dreamed about specifically, as it might help them understand better what was going on underneath the surface.

The glowing white woman laid down beside Odie, hoping to soothe her by being closer. "You did go through a lot, so it's alright to still have it affect you." she said quietly, attempting to use her counseling trade. Pearl still didn't know some of the details behind what went on at Silvertip, or how bad it was.

Her parents were kind about it, but still Odie found questions running through her head.

What would have happened had she stayed at Silvertip?  What if Solemn, her Mother and Father had lived?  Were Stoic and Adeline safe?  Were they safe or were they all alone?  She took a deep shaky breath trying to clear the pestering thoughts in her head, but of course that didn't help all that much as her thought process about all this just kept on coming.

For a long moment Odette was silent and for a moment she was about to speak, but then stopped herself unsure of what she would even say.  As a matter of fact she didn't really feel like speaking right now, she just wanted to be around her family.

So quiet she was.

I was thinking! Perhaps Sebastian and Odette could visit Silvertip after they moved? So then she can roam around the territory, visit her mother's den and her parent's grave. So Perhaps then she has some closure? :D

Sebastian snuggled against Odette, so she was truly in the parental sandwich. Odette was quiet now and probably thinking about all that happened. Sebastian nosed through her fur and licked behind her ear. "I think that there might be two ways this can stop so you have peace with this. One, we go to STM and see you biological family and you can ask them questions. Or, Second, which might be the hardest. You disregard all contact and you forget about. You can't be staying in this grey zone of pushing them away but still deep down wanting those questions to be answered."

Sebastian wanted her to know that. Maybe that would poke her out her little bubble a bit. "I don't need an answer now. Or you don't have to answer me at all, as long as you have some clarity towards yourself," he explained, trying to counsel her a bit.

I'm so sorry guys

Pearl nodded along with Sebastian and tag-teamed him with the advice after he'd finished talking. "I agree. You don't have to completely forget about your family, because that is nearly impossible to do, and they are a part of who you are. But the pain will keep coming back if you hold on to this." she said, letting Sebastian finish. Maybe a visit to Silvertip would do her some good, even though there were bad memories, she still needed closure. 

"It's up to you, pumpkin," Pearl whispered quietly, nuzzling her side.

Sounds fine to me

While Dad had a point she was unsure whether or not she could even handle going back to that place, all the memories it could flash back at her.  Still maybe it would be good for her to go back just for a visit to go see her Father's grave along with June's and Solemn's.  The only thing was she wasn't sure whether they had even buried her Mother or not and if so where?  She could ask someone when she got there.

No matter what discion was made though, Odie would need time to think about it.

She brightened up a little bit to here Pearl call her pumpkin, while she wasn't sure why, being called names like that just made her feel home.  Like she still had a Mother and in a way she did, Pearl.  For a moment Odie was silent, but finally words began to slip from her mouth.  "Alright... but I'll need time to think."  She told them quietly.

Sebastian nosed along her cheek and smiled. "Take all the time you need. We will be here," he offered, liking that Pearl and him could tag team on this parenting thing. What a good thing to experience. He really felt like they could do this together. They would be both carrying the weight of being a parent. Sebastian sat besides Odie and just let her calm down for a moment while being warmly sandwiched by there adoptive parents. Sebastian wasn't going to think about what might have happened to her if he hadn't found her that day. "You can always come to me," he promised softly.

Pearl hummed in agreement, giving her adoptive daughter a nuzzle on the side of her face. She yawned, turning away from Odie to try and hide the fact it was the middle of the night and they were all pretty tired. 

"And me," she happily spoke, her voice still in a low undertone. Pearl wanted Odette to feel welcome in the family, even with the new puppies coming along.

Their words comforted her and she felt safer and safer as time pasted by.  A small yawn escaped her and she decided that it would probably be a good idea to head back and fall back asleep.  Hopefully not wake up anyone else in the process.

"It's late... I'm sorry I woke you guys up but I think I needed this so... thank you.  It'd probably be a good idea to head back though... go get some sleep."  She told them both a little sheepishly, with yet another yawn.

Sebastian looked at Odette and licked her under her chin to make her feel a bit more prideful about herself. "Nonsense. We are your parents and you can wake us up any time," he spoke to her. "Though I do believe that you are right and we should all go to sleep," he smiled at her. He was just glad that she shared these things with them.

Sebastian got up to his feet and shook out his fur lightly. The male smiled at both girls, so happy to have them in his life. He started walking back to the cove where the others were and silently laid down again where he had been sleeping before.

"It's perfectly alright, it's what we're here for." Pearl echoed, snuggling against Odie. She raised her head up to look at Sebastian, nodding sleepily that it was time to go back to bed. "Agreed. C'mon, let's go." she said, getting to her feet and taking a few seconds to stretch out her back. 

She smiled gently at her two favorite wolves, walking close to them back to the Cove. Pearl curled up next to Seb, burying her face in her face into his side, making sure to keep a paw on Odette before she was taken quickly by sleep.