Vale padded along the waterfall alone. Since his arrival at The Sunspire, he had done his best to serve it, even with his wounds. The Roman hated being in debt to anyone and would work his ass off if needed to repay them as soon as possible. It had been one week since Ame had found him and had taken him in. His wounds have slightly healed but most of them were still open, though it had stopped bleeding. Spotting a small ledge jutting out from the waterfall, he trotted over and sat down. Staring calmly at the churning water below him, he knew he was only one step away from death. One step away from descending into Pluto's realm.
He was tempted to take that step, end the pain and misery of his life, but his quest for Hadrian was still there. Flashbacks of Hadrian and his good old memories came resurfacing in his mind. Instantly, a bolt of longing shot through him. Besides, suicide would probably just grant him direct access to Tartarus instead of Elysium.
Hadrian....
What would happen when he finally found his brother? Would he go with his brother to whatever pack he was in? Or would he stay with the pack that had took him in? Leo hadn't had the chance to meet anybody of his pack mates, or temporary pack mates... for he had spent the last week recovering from the wounds the cougar had gave him, within another few days, he would be healed enough to go track for the damn beast who had terrorized the pack. Whatever choice he made at the end, he would be loyal to the Sunspire for now. But the ache in his heart, longing to be reunited with his silver furred kin was strong.
For a handful of days now, she had been rooted to the mountain. There were no trips out into the wilds in search of Ferdie, or even his cougar, or anything else that did not immediately pertain to her here and now. She had thrown herself headlong into duty here on the slopes of the Sunspire, from guarding to hunting and all else in between.
The dark alpha was feeling particularly aware of the shifting seasons lately too. Daylight hours shrunk, yet the days still were oftentimes humid and fairly warm still. Then, some nights would almost frost. This was much of what spurred her to hunt nearly constantly.
And now, she was resurfacing from establishing a new cache higher in elevation than some of her others after a morning of rabbit chasing and an afternoon of fishing. Deciding she was satisfied enough with her progress, her path headed for the nearest waterway -- the one that came to a waterfall.
She traveled a ways in the water, and a time then after just along the bank, although her dark coat remained slicked with a bit of water -- especially at her chest and underbelly. Eventually, she saw the white against the scenery and narrowed an owlish look into a squint; it was Vale. Or Leo. She still had not decided which she preferred. He was at a ledge, and she approached quietly, maneuvering to her own vantage point after a low chuff of greeting.
Amekaze had smelled him around here and there but had not sought him out specifically since he had joined. He didn't need her lording over him that seriously and she had been busy anyway. She at least he knew he wasn't festering somewhere, and from the looks of him from here, he seemed to be healing -- if only by a marginal amount. It all had to start somewhere, though.
![[Image: 5ifpFkc.png?1]](http://i.imgur.com/5ifpFkc.png?1)
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
Leo did not make a move instead waited to see if she would approach, and she did, chuffing a greeting as she did so. Masking his reluctance with his usual impassive mask, he turned to gaze at her briefly, ocean blue eyes out her green ones before quickly dipping his head in submission. His body hurt by moving but he did not make a sound of agony or pain, there was no need to show weakness in front of the Alpha. Leo was not weak he was a Roman, born a Roman, endure like a Roman and die a Roman. Although the dying part could wait.
"Hello Ame," he breathed out softly, voice lightly accented, "Been well, I hope?". Now that was formal but then, he had grown up being respectful to everybody or risk getting beaten and severely injured. Manners impaled upon him and drilled until every single part of his brain remembered what to do. Sure, Aku wasn't one to be polite and gentlemanly but he loved making a first impression and he wanted his sons to do so too. And his mother insisted him to learn some manners too. Besides, being polite and gentlemanly never hurt, did it?
She watched him with interest -- not quite the same scrutiny she had regarded him with last time she had seen him at the borderlands, but a look still tinged with curiosity. After all, he was still very much an enigma to her and her pack, but he was still here and around a bit (to her knowledge), so it was something.
Mhm. Well enough. Busy..
she explained with her eyes on the waterfall then. Ame had made herself stay busy here. There was plenty to do so it wasn't like it was difficult to find tasks, but it was largely to keep her from feeling compelled to rove abroad as she had been doing weeks prior. She stayed rooted and pressed forward for the future.
That and she had been busy with settling into her role. It took her time, despite what she showed for all to see. She was still learning exactly what sort of alpha she was meant to be, as well as what this mountain needed her to become for their best strengths to be brought to light. It had been Ferdie's creation so she supposed it had been easy for him to fill the spot at the top and do what he needed, while she (and the role and pack combined) adapted and shifted.
Nevertheless, she turned her eyes back onto him. Have you been settling in? And your wounds?
she asked, assuming that she was not interrupting anything. He did not seem outwardly adverse to her company yet, so she stayed.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
He lifted his head and turned to gaze at the waterfall, the calm churning movements of the water reminding him painfully of his other brother, his younger brother Scipio. The one born with the blood of Neptune dominant in his veins. The one who loved the water, loved swimming in it, was almost like one of the Greek packs nearby. But then, Scip was half Greek himself wasn't he? He was more of a child of Rome than Greece though, acted more like a Roman than a Greek despite his unusual behavior with water. His heart ached at the thought of his agouti sibling, though none of his internal turmoil showed through his stony exterior. His two closest brothers, Hadrian and Scipio, both gone, vanished. Hopefully Scip wasn't still in Noctem Vagus, that would be a disaster.
Mhm. Well enough. Busy.. said Ame, her eyes also on the waterfall. "Thats good," was all he offered to the dark female. Silence wreathed around the two of them as none of them spoke. Leo was really tempted to speak, smirk, play around but his wounds prevented him from doing so. Besides he didn't even know her, and that playing, mischievousness of a child of Mercury (because his patron is Mercury) was reserved for his friends, family, loved ones and although she had took him into her pack, he still didn't know her and it was dangerous. You never know who would backstab you, who would throw you to the lions and laugh while doing so. Take Julius Ceasar for example, the last words he supposedly spoke were "Et tu, Brute?" to his supposedly best friend, Brutus.
Vale soon felt familiar green eyes on him and turned to gaze at her again, ocean blue eyes, calm and steady, the mischievous look and the Angelus Mortis glint in his eyes. "Have you been settling in? And your wounds?" she asked, at that, a faint smile crept across his face. "Its been alright here, I suppose. Though I haven't seen anyone in this pack except for you, which is good. It would be best if nobody sees me in this state." he smirked, lighting up his features. "As for my wounds, they're fine. Healing quickly. In a day or two, I'll be able to patrol and hunt better than before. I haven't been slacking around you know," he smiled genuinely. Something he hadn't done in months. It lit up his face and brightened his blue eyes.
Indeed, there were the benefits to keeping busy. The borderlands were tended well, the pack's caches were not depleting, and on the whole, she could not find too much amiss here. The pack seemed to function well, even without her having to harass everyone into activity. They did what needed done, even if they were not always the most close-knit of groups -- their bonds were just as strong as they ought to be (in her opinion), even without hourly reinforcement. Wintertime may change this, when the pack became forced to hunt together more and should matters worsen enough, rest together for warmth. But it would take time to tell for sure how exactly winter would pan out here.
She then listened, understanding; certainly, she would much prefer to remain hidden away when healing so she knew where he was coming from in saying that he was alright with not seeing many in this current statue. Not that she was overly sociable anyway, but the presence of injuries or weakness only drove her further away from the eyes of others for her own well-being.
Good,
she replied evenly, regarding his wounds once more with less concern and more.. curiosity. Rarely did she see the work of a cougar up close. She had avoided their claws in her own meeting with one weeks back and briefly imagined Ferdie's pristine coat marred by such workmanship. I was pleased to not smell you festering anywhere. We once had a small handful of aspiring medics, but only their stockpiles are left now with me picking up the slack using what I learned from them and from my homeland combined.
And there, healing was limited to basically just keeping wounds clean. In the midst of the warring clans, the luxury of expansive medicine stocks were not always available. However, those days were behind and even without her presence among them, she hoped the mountain and its old forest doorstep were reveling in their hard-won peacetime. Which, I am glad you have not needed,
she too smirked. She would make for a crude and questionably effective medic.
All the same, more hunters and capable wolves on patrol are welcome. I am usually at the borders myself, nowadays,
where once she would tend more towards the central reaches of the mountain or even the uppermost elevations. Duty had demanded otherwise in light of all that had changed here in the recent weeks.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
If he wasn't injured, he wouldn't still be at the Sunspire. He would've gone exploring by now, gone to find his brother, gone to apologize to his role model. Hadrian would tell him not to apologize, he knew, that it wasn't his fault he lost faith in his brother. The brother who saved his hide so many times, took his punishment in their trainings with father, everytime he ran unscathed after a training, Hadrian bled his life away but always, always said that Vale would do the same thing for him if he ever needed it. The only thing was, he had proved he couldn't. That he let his fatal flaw rule him instead of ruling his flaw, the very thing that Hadrian taught him. It hurt his heart, pierced his soul and it seemed that even his patron had given up on him. Nobody he cared and loved was with him, and it truly did hurt.
The silvery white wolf was shook out of his thoughts when Ame spoke, though none of his internal turmoil showed through. The mischievous smile and look in his eyes were as bright as ever. "I was pleased to not smell you festering anywhere. We once had a small handful of aspiring medics, but only their stockpiles are left now with me picking up the slack using what I learned from them and from my homeland combined." A soft laugh slipped from the yearling's lips at those words, blue eyes vibrant as he gazed at her. ”My healing skills and knowledge might not be as good as both my closest brothers and sister," he paused at that and the faintest flicker of pain and longing crossed his features before vanishing as if it never happened. ”But I can manage fairly well by myself, healing myself I mean."
”What about warriors? I feel like I'll excel at that." he grinned, the usual mischievous look lighting up his eyes. It almost took the pain away, almost but never fully did. Only if he could apologize to his brother....perhaps it would. But the shame and guilt would forever shadow the youth, the punishment of the fates and the gods and he knew, he deserved it fully.
When he mentioned brothers and even a sister that he was presumably closest to she kept her curiosity keenly masked and knew not to be too surprised. As if he had not given her enough to wonder about, what with a name given so proudly and something about him that suggested a history spanning even before his time, she did not know exactly where to begin in coming to understand him best.
Mm, same for me. Before settling here, it was tend your own injuries or suffer and rot. So much of what I know stems from that,
she quipped. Although my brothers were not healers, nor were my sisters..
Her mention of them was not quite twinged with the longing of his; she was picturing her littermates, for which she felt nothing but contempt. She only shifted her weight subtly as she then considered her younger, pale-silvered, brother with a touch more fondness -- Kaminari had aspired to learn the nuances of herblore, she remembered, but his time had ended before these dreams had even begun to be nurtured properly. But if that had been littermate Kyuuden and had he been savvy enough in that field, things may have ended differently for him.
Warriors.. I could never know too many. Myself and Jace uphold the title formally, with a small handful of others interested in the role, although not officially titled as such just yet -- they could use more experience still.. and for me to see their skills firsthand,
she explained. While not a place steeped in warfare, it could never hurt to have many warriors in their midst, and recently, she was keen to let them focus on outriding and gamekeeping, what with a misplaced Ferdie to look for and winter to prepare for. It does seem like something you may be suited to,
she looked at him sidelong, trying to peer best she could into the history he had come from and wondering what sort of experience he could have in that area. She may not know him well, but this was just the feeling she got.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
Vale had never realized it when he was in Noctem Vagus, only when he left, did he realized how much he actually loved his brothers. Love was not a concept taught by Aku, deemed worthless and a waste of time. He never truly knew the meaning of this word, never being loved by anyone in his life, or at least that was what he thought. Now the silver white wolf knew his brothers loved him, loved him enough to receive his punishments for him, loved him enough to nearly bleed to death for him, loved him enough to leave him behind until he was older, to learn more even though their teacher was brutal.
It probably hurt for Hadrian to leave his brothers behind, but he still did it, because he trusted them to come after him later, to take care of themselves while he was gone, for he needed to care for his own siblings, especially his sister, the weakest of the lot. Now, Leo honored his brother, it must have been so hard to do it and only a brave wolf would have been able to make this sacrifice. And Hadrian hadn't even been an adult yet, merely a boy, a yearling with too much scars and burdens on his shoulders, too much sadness in his life, too much bloodshed and battles.
"Warriors.. I could never know too many. Myself and Jace uphold the title formally, with a small handful of others interested in the role, although not officially titled as such just yet -- they could use more experience still.. and for me to see their skills firsthand" he was shook out of his thoughts by her voice, his expression never betraying anything. He smirked but listened until she finished speaking. "It does seem like something you may be suited to" she added. Now he laughed, a humorless, empty laugh that chilled the air with its notes of pain. "Oh, you'll be surprised, Ame." he said before shaking his head. "I'm sorry," he said simply and raised his head to gaze at her again. "What about outriding?"
She flicked an ear and canted her head ever-so-subtly as he told her she would be surprised. Oh really?
she quipped with a plainly-worn smirk while she wondered what it could mean. Her suggestion had been simple. Do not be,
she added then to his apology without any hesitation. Despite the note of ache in the words he had offered, she still wondered. Frankly she did not see a reason for him to be sorry and was instead more focused on what this implied, however unspoken it may have seemed.
I will say, you do have me curious with that,
she mentioned outright although knew it could prove to be a more delicate subject; histories sometimes were. She herself was not particularly quick to speak about hers, especially without prompting. Not out of misery, or otherwise, but it rarely seemed to be necessary. Hers was what she considered an interesting tale, and in her own way, she was proud of it. However she recognized that not all could appreciate it in the same way.
Nevertheless, when he asked of outriders, Vienna came to mind first. Amekaze knew she had been out and about now and then, and it was easy to consider her one. Rain, too, seemed to be a prospect for it but she did not know her as well as Vienna. Not yet, anyway. There is one, practically fully-fledged, who has been putting in a share of work towards the title. Another who has expressed a touch of interest, too. Is it among yours?
she asked. Outriding was certainly not one of Ame's own interests. While keen to explore, recruiting and gathering news about neighbors and so on was not really her forte; she could only dabble in such on occasion. Certainly not enough to make a hobby out of it, even.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」
Valerius wondered if he would be able to ever fit in with The Sunspire, he was different from most common wolves. Trained to be the ultimate warrior, the best wolves of this age, trained to be a merciless brutal assassin and killer. There was so much difference he had with the other wolves of this pack, if only he could find his brother. Hadrian always made him feel at home, defended him when he was in need, gods, who could have a better brother.
"There is one, practically fully-fledged, who has been putting in a share of work towards the title. Another who has expressed a touch of interest, too. Is it among yours?" he cocked his head sideways, a wild gleam in his ocean blue gaze. "I prefer fighting and guarding over exploring but then, it has always been my interest. I don't think it would hurt to give it a try, though being a warrior will be my first priority."
He expressed his preferences towards fighting and guarding, and that she could understand -- while she did not fancy guarding one bit, it had become something she had adjusted to over the recent months. But, he was also willing to try out the others, and that sort of thinking she could appreciate.
Nodding, she did have to agree. Being a warrior was always my first priority, too,
she mentioned. It carried over from my homeland. So, it made the most sense.
It had been the first, and most direct skill for her to pursue amongst this pack. She had been one in her home before so it only seemed natural for it to remain her strongest interest here, although there was a markedly lower demand for such warring nature. Namely, no longer did she have littermates to compete against and with, nor her father's causes to help contribute to.
When they had their strife with Swiftcurrent months back, it had almost reminded her of those days, but decidedly less dire. It had never really become a long-lasting issue or blew up into a real war. Just a few scuffles here and there. As of late, it is my naturalist-type skills that see more use though. However I know well that times change, and a balance is necessary in all things.
And she would not be caught off guard. More strong warriors would always be a good thing, in her opinion, because if war did become a reality, she would not have them suffer because of it.
With a few more things exchanged between them, this was soon a conversation that had run its course. She had learned a few more things about him, although it had worked well to inspire new curiosities as well, so it was time well spent. When it was all said and done, she bid him a quick farewell and was on her way.
i want to bleed in the 「r a i n」