Thicket of Secrets wait for me to come home

Just breathe.

In and then out.

Out

Breathe, just breathe...

With eyelids squeezed shut, the phantom coaxed herself away from having a mental breakdown as they drew closer to the borders. Each step seemed to make the ability to breathing harder and harder. Stopping in her tracks, Athena took a moment to collect herself, conscious of the fact her husband was right at her side. She could feel his concern, but he too was fighting his own battles within his head. Perhaps the same battle actually. The fear tightening its ugly and deathly grip around their throats, coaxing them to turn back and become the cowards they thought they had to be. The coward she knew she was.

But. This was not just her story. This was Ash's story too. Her story could end in cowardliness as she always figured it would, but his couldn't. Ash was not a coward, Athena was certain of that. So, she took a breath and then a step forward, closing the distance between them and their first stop through their haunting past.

As her ghostly paws reached the border lines, her fiery and platinum gaze turned to her husband. This was it. They were finally here. A meek, nervous smile crossed her ebony lips, though she tried to disguise it as an encouraging one to Ash. Standing together as one, she reached to plant a delicate kiss upon his cheek as he stood guard (as always) on her blind side. Breathing in deeply before she would announce to the Secret Woodlands of their arrival, the phantom noticed something was off with the borders. Athena couldn't smell Nina upon them.

Glancing quickly at Ash to see if he noticed, Athena reached for the sky with her muzzle and announced their presence and request for Nina. Oh how she prayed everything was alright.

Despite their extended return to the lore, it had taken them some time to return to the borders of Secret Woodlands. A certain anxiety and fear consumed him - just as he was sure it overwhelmed his wife - and sometimes he wondered if they made the right decision in returning to their former home. The Guardian moved silently along with his wife, keeping extra attention to scan the areas they passed on her blind side in case of an ambush. The dynamic couple could never be too careful when they were traveling, especially in these lands. Yet, as they continued on to his sister's legacy, the damaged man found himself slipping back into one of his unhealthy habits when he felt out of control. The fear that he was feeling quickly turned into a fueled anger that would only keep on giving until it was released.

As they grew near to his sister's domain, the burly man inhaled deeply, a deep frown pulling on his face as his mate pressed to his side. While Athena's presence calmed him, the lack of Nina's scent did not. Mossy green eyes glanced over at the white woman beside him, unsure of what to make of what they were greeted with. The Hervok joined in Athena's call for his sister. What exactly were they returning to?

Images flashed swiftly before her eyes. Faces in the darkness, floating bodilessly around her. She saw her parents and her siblings, staring her down with dark eyes, disappointment on their faces. She parted her lips, trying to call out to them, but no sound came. Slowly they morphed into her new family, her older brother's judging look turning into Miccah’s tired gaze, her missing children taking over the forms of their namesakes. She saw pain and fear in their eyes, Bero crying for her help, but no matter how hard she ran, she couldn’t reach them. Tears blurred her vision, running down her cheeks, as their voices melted together into a meaningless howl, ringing in her ears.

Eyes blinking open, her legs kicked out instinctively as she jolted awake, knocking into the flank of @Miccah sleeping by her side. The petite shewolf flinched at the collision, though it was only a light tap, her paws barely making a sound against the thick fur, she was still afraid of disturbing her mate. His illness worried her. Last time, it had been a bad infection, but it had just been that, an illness reacting to treatment; But this time… So far, nothing she had done seemed to be working.

There was little time for the queen/medic to speculate though, as she realized that the howl in her ears had not ended with the nightmare. Her ears perked, head lifting and turning towards the sound; Someone’s calling… For Nina?! Icy fingers wrapped all around her body, her breath catching. After so long, how could there still be wolves who didn’t know? How can the whole world not know? She knew it was a self-centered thought, just because her life was so different without the matriarch. But she would never get used to hearing the name ringing out through the thicket, like an echo of the ghost that would never leave Secret Woodlands. And her heart would never stop aching at the sound.

Most of all, she wanted to ignore it. To curl back around her husband and go back to sleep, trying once more to get the rest she so desperately needed. If this stranger was looking for Nina, they would find nothing here but heartache anyway. Then a second voice joined the call. Once more, Aideen stiffened, though this time it was not the nature of the howl that made her recoil, but the voice. This one she couldn’t ignore and with a troubled sigh, she stood up on stiff legs. Leaning over her sleeping partner’s shoulder, she gave his cheek a quick peck before rushing off to the border.

She had no concept of how to prepare for this. After so long, she would have thought that at least anyone coming in search of the Woodland founder were old acquaintances, not family. Yet it was Ash Hervok standing there at the border up ahead, beside a white female Aideen didn’t recognize. When she came to a hold in front of them, there was no semblance of leadership about her. Her shoulders slumped, tail hanging limp behind her and her ears were folded back flatly. She managed to meet the deep green eyes across from hers, throat closing up at the similarity. But she swallowed hard and forced the words out: “I’m sorry Ash… She won’t be coming.”

Word count: 556

"Speech" Thoughts

The lone couple didn't have to wait long alone at the borders after their call for Nina. The silence that followed their call, filled with tension and uncertainty as they both hoped for a chance they were just missing something and Nina would soon join them. However, the phantom dreaded the fact that something truly had gone wrong and they were not going to be greeted by the one-eyed Hervok. That dread kept digging deeper and deeper into her as each second passed by them while they waited.

She could hear the soft rustle up ahead, her fiery eye straining to catch a glimpse. Was is Nina? Praying to the heavens (something she only did when she was desperate), her gaze shifted to Ash once last time before they finally could see who joined them at the borders. The woman could almost be mistaken for Nina, but after careful examination, this woman was too small, too red and those eyes were nothing like the Hervok's. Her heart sank. Where was Nina? She had to be here, this place was her legacy, her home. Athena could never imagine Nina leaving the thickets, but as her mind whirled around trying to figure out where the Woodlands monarch was, her gaze observed the saddened posture of the woman approaching them. No....

Her gaze immediately swept to her husband, concern flooding her eyes as she combed cover his face with her fiery gaze. The stranger's words reaching her ears, but the phantom didn't need to hear them to know they were not going to see Nina today, not ever again. Words felt thick on her tongue, unable to comfort Ash in that way. Instead, she reached gently to touch his muzzle, knowing how delicate this situation was, but this was the only way she could comfort him in this moment.

They waited and they certainly did not have to wait long. Soft, light paw steps were making their way towards them, but they were certainly not the ones of his sister. No. They were much too delicate. Nina walked with a purpose and there was always a bit more weight to her step, and then she would slow when she arrived at the borders. This familiar face did no such thing. Ash’s mask did not move, nor did he give any sign of respect to the woman that slumped in front of him. Mossy green eyes glared down at her as he waited for what was to come, though he already had a feeling as to what that would be.

When she finally spoke, his jaw tightened and nostrils flared. She won’t be coming, she won’t be coming, she won’t be coming. What did she mean? A soft touch from his mate broke him out of the words that kept repeating in his mind. His gaze, however, was unmoving from the creature in front of him. Teeth grinded together and he finally spoke, his words coming out in a breathy growl, “What do you mean she’s not coming? Where is my sister?” He was angry. This shouldn’t have happened. His sister certainly should not have gone before him.