Riddle Heights what if i never love again

@Wraith ❤

Staying within the borders of Erebo's kingdom that he ruled over was hard on her to do, but he had asked her to stay here with Zeta and Zane. They both knew it would only be temporary as Delia refused to be around the grayscale man when she had a choice. She was only staying here for her children. The twins wanted to search for their astray father and experience the world, the mother was proud that they had accomplished what they set out to do, however, she was still upset that they had left unannounced. Perhaps if they had come to her first, she would have gone with them to help them on their journey. It would have soothed her peace of mind and the devoted mother could have taught them a few skills along the way. Though, all she could be thankful for was the fact that they were indeed safe and unharmed.  

Knowing exactly where her two children stayed, the grayscale vixen took a short leave from Erebos' guarded kingdom and traveled along the rocky cliffs and slopes towards the great mountain north of her. She remembered traveling down the mountain and passing by a massive lake. Her destination would be there for today to spend some much needed time away from Silent Moon Plateau. Delia's soft pads weren't accustomed to the rough terrain of the Pass, neither was her coordination. With a quick misstep, the gray woman slipped while squeezing alongside a thin rock ledge. The fall wasn't far, but it was enough to knock the vixen unconscious. A loud thud echoing off the rocks nearby.

Wraith For his own interest, Wraith had decided on sticking around the Willow Ridge Pack should they decide they have need of him. In time, he knew he would prove he was not just another mouth to feed in the harsh winter and he was content with that wise decision. Of course, sticking around didn't necessarily mean within the stand of willows the pack preferred. After all, he was still a loner and could do as he pleased. Of course the higher altitudes would draw him east. The air was clearer up here. Its sharpness against his lungs was a welcome familiarity that reminded him he was alive. At times, his mind would sneak in the nasty thought that others weren't so alive, but he was getting better at keeping such things at bay. It wasn't because he didn't care. Far from that, in fact. But self-preservation demanded he not get so tangled up in ghosts and haunting memories and actually start paying attention to things around him. Wraith continued up the terrain with the intention of reaching some peak to overlook the surrounding territories. It always helped to get an eagle's eye view to best plan his next move. Settling on a narrow ridge, golden eyes saw the edges of the Willow Ridge Pack's territory with their snow-covered, sheltering trees. And behind him, across the Riddle Heights, was another dense forest. He'd never seen so many trees before, far more used to slippery slopes and unforgiving stone. The time he'd spent in the forests of Relic Lore had been welcome, though. This was good land. A nice place to try and start again. Dark ears swiveled to catch the sound of someone struggling below. Wraith tensed, half expecting to see a cougar - Craw had mentioned them in passing and they sounded similar to the leopards up in the Highlands with their sneaky ambush attacks. Of course, he specialized in those himself and could hardly blame a predator for using the tactic. Instead of a cat, however, he spied a silver-furred female struggling along the ridge below. Before he could even shout a warning, she lost her footing and fell down to another shelf of stone. Wraith cursed under his breath and practically flew down the mountainside to reach her. Despite his size, his paws were light and footing sure in each placement of his descent. He landed nimbly beside her and automatically lowered his muzzle to nudge at her neck to rouse her. "Hey, hey, are you alright? Come on, now. Wake up for me." "Speech." all my nightmares escape my head,bar the door, please don't let them in

Flashes of brilliant lightning struck across the raven colored sky as thunder rumbled angrily within the swollen clouds far above. Delia lied peacefully within her den, warmly snuggled against the thick coats of her yearling offspring. The trio slept undisturbed through the violent storm until the ear splitting howl shouted over the roaring thunder. Silver eyes wide and alert, the attentive single mother took a tentative step outside of the family den into the drenching rain to find who could possibly be wandering about in a storm like this. Instructing the twins to stay within the den until she figured out what was out there, Delia crept along the forest floor. The splattering raindrops blinded her keen eyesight, drenching her down to the core in it's chilling grasp. All she could see was ghostly darkness around her, no sign of anything. Deciding to abandon her quest, the black cloaked vixen turned back towards the warm and comfort of her children. Though, when she returned, the twin yearlings were no where to be seen within the family den she had left them in.

 

Panic, despair, horror ran through her veins as her heart rate sky rocketed and threatened to beat straight through her rib-cage. Frantically running after any trail that she could find, yet there was none to follow, but her ivory legs ran anyway. The twins couldn't have traveled far from her. She had simply been away for a few moments. How could they be gone already? Seconds seemed to go by for hours as howls rang out from her muzzle, calling for her children to come back to her. Silver eyes caught something darting through the trees ahead of her, assuming it had to be one of the twins, she pushed her exhausted body further. Closer she came to whatever she saw, Delia could now make out the color of its coat which matched that of Zane's. Barking out to her son, the two of them ran closer to a cliff side that seemed similar, but Delia couldn't place where she saw it before. The frantic woman was almost to her child, barking at him to stop before he got any closer to edge. He seemed to hear her then against the thunder that violently shattered through the sky. Fiery gaze looked back her, but as he tried to stop the slippery rock face made his footing unsure and the Argyris boy came close to falling off the cliff side. The devoted mother slid in between him and the edge of the deadly cliff and pushed her son towards the forest, away from the cliff edge. However, she would fall victim to the empty abyss below as her body slipped off the rock surface and her body began free falling into the darkness.

 

As he body hit the ground in her dream, her silver eyes snapped open to see the yellow eyes of the black coated stranger standing above her. Instantly, a throbbing began pounding against her cranium, her eyes wincing at every punch. Groggily, Delia tried to sit up, "Wha--" she moaned and winced as another powerful rounds of poundings began thrashing in her head.

 

(This post was last modified: Dec 17, 2015, 12:27 AM by Delia.)

Wraith Wraith frowned down at the female with concern. It had been a nasty fall to have knocked her unconscious, but he breathed a sigh of relief when she began to come to. Should she not have woken, the male wasn't sure there was much he could have done for her. Perhaps call for Craw and any of his packmates, but he knew very well that had no reason to come to the aid of a pair of lone wolves. By her diluted scent, Wraith could tell she had no pack to speak of, though it did seem as if she spent time around one for some span of time. "You fell and hit your head pretty hard," Wraith informed her. "Do you think you can stand? Just take it easy." A stiff, frozen wind buffeted against the pair, parting Wraith's thick coat almost to the skin in some areas. He didn't quite feel the chill yet, but as night was beginning to fall, he imagined he would soon. The shelf they stood on provided no shelter to speak of and Wraith had no intention of spending the night so exposed to the elements. However, it also didn't sit right to leave her there so out of sorts. Stuck, he waited for the gray female to get her bearings. "Speech." all my nightmares escape my head,bar the door, please don't let them in

Dizziness made her disoriented as she tried to focus on the stranger's black paws in order to find her bearings once more. Delia had no recollection of how she fell, only that she had been traveling through the rocky ledges and now she's here with a splitting headache and an urge to vomit. Ears ringing, the vixen tried to rub them with her paws, but as she touched the side of her face, a wetness stuck to her paw. Bringing the paw back into her blurry vision, crimson blood coated her leg. Groaning quietly to herself, "Oh mon , bien sûr," she muttered to herself in her native tongue.

Her dark stranger informed her she had fallen and her head hit the solid ground. Delia knew she was lucky to have survived the fall and still have all her wits with her. Trying to do as he asked, the grayscale lady attempted to regain herself on all four legs. Slowly, she tried to stand though wobbling plenty of times, threatening to fall over once again. However, catching herself against her dark cloaked helper's side, she was able to stand completely. Silver eyes looking up to his yellow ones, "Sorry," she apologized for using him as a crutch. Clearing her throat, she looked away from him for a moment as embarrassment flooded her as well as thankfulness for him being there when he was. "Uhm, thank you fo- for helping me. I appreciate it." A meek smile was given then as her eyes met his again. "But, I'm sure I should probably be on my way and leave you be." Surely he had better things to do then help a damsel in distress.  

Wraith Her uncertain footing had Wraith watching carefully to make sure she didn't stumble right over the edge. While she'd been lucky to land on this outcropping initially, a quick look confirmed that she wouldn't be as lucky again. Below, there was a sheer drop with jagged, thin ledges an inexperienced wolf would never be able to handle. "It always looks worse than it is," the large male assured. After all, he'd fallen himself more than once in the mountains up north to know the disorientation would pass given time. She was too shaky for comfort, but she braced against him rather than tumble over the edge, much to his relief. Her apology only brought a kind, patient smile to the black male's lips. "You've nothing to apologize for. It's no problem at all." Though she wanted to be on her way quickly, Wraith suspected it had more to do with embarrassment than any actual hurry to leave him to his own devices. "Just take your time," he murmured gently. "Cliffs should always be respected and not be taken too lightly." There was a flash of teeth as he smiled. "They bite back harder than you and I can." Carefully, he maneuvered himself so that he was between the smaller female and the cliff's edge. "Can you make it up to that little ridge, do you think?" He angled his head up a bit, clearly seeing a path she could take if she had any kind of comfort around mountainous terrain."Speech." all my nightmares escape my head,bar the door, please don't let them in

As she steadied herself against his dark cloaked side, a kind smile crossed his lips at her apology. Delia had always trusted her instincts no matter what situation and here she felt there was no maliciousness within him, though she still kept her guard up for safety. Erebos had seemed like a wonderful man when she had first met the brute, however she recently had been on a goose chase to find her children that had held hope that their father was more than he cracked up to be. Anyone could be put on a good act and destroy someone so easily once they get what they wanted. And it was just as easy for them to desert them like they never mattered at all.

The flash of a his toothy smile brought her out of the depths of her thoughts, causing a soft chuckle to escape her ebony lips. "Well, I sure do have a rather impressive bite. You might not want to test it out though," she joked back, a toothy grin reaching her maw for the first time in a while. Delia kept herself suppressed to having her shit always together, rarely letting herself go to enjoy life. She was always thinking about her children or whether her pack duties were fulfilled. There were times she would laugh with her children, telling them stories when the rain kept them inside the den. However, now they were getting too old to want to hear her stories. Zeta would tell her she had heard all the stories and would rather hear something about her father. While Zane would quietly comfort her when Zeta grew upset when Delia refused to talk about Erebos. This mother and daughter struggle had been going on for a couple of weeks before the twins took off during the night. Delia was worried most that her daughter was mad at her for not telling her anything about him. At this moment, the devoted mother wished she had. Perhaps they wouldn't have left her then. Perhaps they would be safe with her back home in Brittle Stone. Now they were within a unknown and possibly unsafe territory.

Black tinged ears cupped forward at the male's question, her head nodding as she responded,"Yes, I believe I should be able to." Careful not to bump into the man while he stood between her and what could have been a fall to her death, she maneuvered her way towards the ridge he had spoke about. Her silver eyes peered up at the quickly darkened clouds above them, giving hint to a storm not too far from them. Winds were starting to pick up, making it even more dangerous for the wobbly woman. "Do you know of someplace where we can take cover from this storm?"

(This post was last modified: Feb 29, 2016, 02:11 AM by Delia.)

"I wouldn't dream of it," Wraith assured with a laugh, pleased she was able to utilize humor to keep from worrying over their current predicament. As far as troubles went, he'd been in worse situations. When she agreed she could likely make it up, he nodded. "Careful now, just take it slow and easy." The last thing he needed was for the wolf to lose her balance and send them both over the edge.

The brute kept close to her side, ready to use his weight to help shove her up should she start struggling again. His amber gaze followed her uplifted muzzle to take in the gathering dark clouds. It was going to be a cold night for sure. The loner wasn't too worried yet, but he knew better than to underestimate weather and the mountains. Together, they were as treacherous as they came. "I'm afraid not. I've only just arrived here. I hail from mountains far in the North. I traveled this way to join one of the packs, but right now their ranks are too filled and I've been asked to hang around and wait to see if a spot opens up."

When he said it out loud like that, the Willow Ridge Alpha's offer seemed like an empty promise. But Wraith had faith regardless. Craw wouldn't have led him all the way down this way if he thought his pack would tease him in such a way. It was a long way to travel for just a joke.

"You don't have a pack of your own to turn to for shelter?" he wandered as the pair finally made it to flatter, steadier ground. Shrugging, the large male glanced around. "I'm sure we can find something useful. There's plenty of outcroppings around here. One ought to be large enough for two if you've nowhere else to go."

The dark clouds loomed above them dangerously as her sterling eyes looked around them for some sort of shelter while the wind kicked up its angry pace even more. Listening to his explanation of where he came from and that he was quite new to the territory. Granted, Delia was within the Plateau pack, however the territory was still very much unknown to her. The mother would rather stick close to her children to make sure neither of them strayed far from her again. She would be damned if either of them took off again without speaking to her. Fool her once, but you'd be lucky to fool her twice.

The dark stranger directed a question towards her as they continued along to flatter, safer ground. "It's complicated," she answered simply, her eyes giving away her brooding mind. "I don't really belong there, really..." She trailed off quietly, her thoughts traveling back to her children. With this storm coming, perhaps she should get back to them and make sure they were safe. Delia was sure Erebos probably wasn't paying them much attention, only when Zeta came to him for it. 

"Look, over there," she said as she spotted a larger outcrop ahead of them, as large rain drops started to pour down upon them with the wind whipping the droplets into her sterling colored eyes. Quickening her pace, she was careful to not slip upon the wet rock surface, Delia took shelter under the outcrop she had spotted. Her silver eyes turning to catch his warm amber gaze to see if he made it under before getting too wet. 

Sorry for the wait! <3

Complicated. Wraith understood complicated quite well. His own reasoning for coming this far south was far from simple, though if he had to break it down into such terms, it could be defined with one word; guilt. So the black male didn't push for an explanation. He had no need to know in depth what she wished to keep hidden and the wolf saw no need in forcing her to dredge up unhappy thoughts.

A fat raindrop smacked Wraith on the end of his nose just as @Delia pointed out an outcropping ahead that would serve as suitable shelter. While the northerner didn't so much mind the wet, he would certainly feel better knowing the female's paws wouldn't be subject to slippery rock along the cliffsides. He followed at a comfortable distance, watching her paw placement carefully for any sign that he'd need to intervene while his own took to the rocky surface with the ease and comfort of a mountain goat.

Wraith ducked under the rocky eave alongside Delia as the downpour began in earnest. He shook out his coat lightly. It was more than thick enough to allow the few droplets to sluice right off. "Lucky us," he murmured, his tail wagging low as he smiled at her.

"Is there anyone who will be missing you for the night?" The last thing the wolf wanted was for another inexperienced wolf to travel up the mountain in search of her during the storm.