Sex: MaleEros could feel her on his heels, but refused to let her catch him, putting everything that was left of him into making it to the Cove, to Nash. If she wouldn't tell him anything more, their leader would. He had to. They couldn't just leave it at that, he couldn't bear limbo like this again, and, what if he could help this time? It wasn't until he started to smell the markers that he slowed, lungs heaving and burning. As soon as he had the breath for it, he threw back his head and howled, as loud and strong as he could for their patriarch. Even though he'd stopped moving, his heart refused to slow its frantic cadence. He felt sick, lightheaded. On the verge of a panic attack. "Please, please, please," he whispered to himself without even realizing, paws lightly bouncing in place. Please hurry, please tell me he's home, please tell me he's going to be okay. |
She was trembling when she caught up, out of breath with wobbling legs. She came to a stop beside him, cutting her gaze over to him, and -
He didn't look angry.
He looked... anxious, anticipatory, scared, but not angry. Afraid of losing someone else, most likely.
Sympathy tightened her chest again, and she briefly wished there was something she could do to help, but there was nothing. The only thing she could do was stand in solidarity and hope things went well.
He was exhausted. He'd pushed himself so hard the past week, even more so the last few days, and he hadn't slept in almost 36 hours. He hadn't even given himself a moment to rest when he'd returned, calling a pack meeting and then talking to his daughter and now he didn't know where Eclypse or Leo were... how could he leave, knowing two of his children were missing? What if they came back only after the pack had gone? He didn't want to consider it. They still had time; Aven and Neva where nowhere near old enough to travel and he wouldn't uproot whelping pups.
Nori hadn't returned from her trip to the Backwater yet, either, and that itself was concerning. He should have waited for her before going to Paradise Falls... he should have waited, full stop. It wasn't as though it had been a productive trip, other than for him to get his thoughts in order. It was nothing that couldn't have waited. Chan had nothing more to offer him.
The thought hurt.
Before he could fall asleep, however, a demanding howl split the air and Nash raised his head. Eros? What was the co-lead of the Backwater doing up here? Anxiety churned in Nash's stomach. Had something happened to Nori? The leader murmured softly to Aquene, promising to be back soon, and dragged himself to his feet. He was so tired. He hoped Eros wouldn't be as cold towards them this time, or was looking for a fight... Nash didn't have the energy to deal with it tonight.
When he arrived on the borders, he was certainly surprised by what he found. An anxious Eros hopping in place and an absolutely bedraggled Nori with a slowly oozing shoulder wound. Nash would have snarled at the Backwater man and demanded to know why he'd attacked his niece if he hadn't realized how old the wound had to be. He looked between the pair. "What a surprise," he said, trying to find the energy to hold his head and tail high. "Welcome home, Nori. And Eros; how can I assist you this evening?"
So I can go to bed...
The stranger opened his mouth to say something, and Nori barged in.
"Leo is hurt at the base of the mountain - he got attacked by the same wolf that hurt Magg and it wasn't this guy's fault," she blurted out, though it came out as more one word and incredibly jumbled. There was no doubt in her mind that the Backwater wolf had nothing to do with it, and with this weird tension between the packs, Nori was desperately hoping to avoid any escalation. She couldn't take any more aggression. Couldn't take any fighting.
Nori took a deeper breath and continued, "He's alive but he needs help." It was all she could think to say. It wasn't a good situation at all, but at least she wasn't bringing news of death again.
It was difficult for Eros to keep holding his tongue when Nash appeared, to not immediately begin hollering his questions through the distance between. He was hardly able to make it through the leader's greeting, but even as quick as he was to speak, Nori managed to be louder. "Where-" 'Leo is hurt at the base of the mountain.' No no no no nonono- 'He's alive but he needs help.' "Then let's go," he cut in immediately, urgent and certain both. Eros wasn't believing what he was hearing, had she only just been on her way back up? Why had she been out there to run into him at all if the Cove hadn't known Leo needed them yet? Nash would understand, wouldn't he? Eros' burning gaze focused fully on him. "Now. Right? You know Clover, she's trained me since I was kid, I can help. We can get him home." But they had to go, what if something happened to him in the in-between? If Leo wasn't with his pack he was vulnerable, and if he hadn't finished off his attacker, he could still be out there trying to find him too. |
The pair started talking almost at the same time, Nori blurting out a storm of words, throwing in 'it's not his fault'. His ears swept back at the barrage, his exhausted brain taking longer than it should have to process the words. "Slow down," he said, brow furrowing. It was clear both wolves before him were panicking - a state he'd never seen Eros in. No matter how upset the Backwater was with the Cove, Nash would never think they would attack them, let alone Eros.
"Leo is hurt," he said, the stirring of anger back in his chest, "by the one who hurt Magg," his head swung to face Eros, "and you want to help us bring him home." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His limbs trembled with exhaustion. "Take a breath, both of you. Nori, how far is he?" And how long had he been gone? This explained why he wasn't at the meeting. "...Is Eclypse with him?" he added. Twice now Leo had disappeared with one of his daughters and turned up hurt. This time, however, there was a clear cause.
Nash looked at Eros. "I... can't," he said, voice anguished. He wanted to charge off down the mountain and bring his adoptive son home... while it still was their home. "I need to sleep. I..." he let out a shaky breath. "I will have to go in the morning. Eros if... if you can, if you want to, go look after him until I can get there, I will be eternally grateful." He couldn't even send Matos; the boy was more tired than he was. Galen could probably go, but that would leave them completely exposed in the territory and he had the pups to worry about...
He sank to his haunches with a frustrated growl. Damn him and his own journey, his ties to his brother... his priorities should have been here. "This is why we're fucking leaving," he muttered, mostly under his breath.
"Eros...?" she said dumbly, the name heavy on her tongue. Her muddled brain finally catching up with a name that had been used in front of her multiple times. So this... this was Archer's brother, then? She looked at him for a moment, and it suddenly made so much more sense. There was another stab of pain in her chest - sympathy and regret and hurt all at once.
It wasn't the time to think about Archer. Later, she could process all of that. For now, there was something else to take care of, so she filed that all away mentally.
Later.
"He's, uh, about a day west. I can show you," she offered, glancing over at Eros this time, now that the offer of him taking care of Leo had been made. "I actually just got back from where he's at." It would be a simple process to retrace her steps, and much easier than Eros sniffing around til he found the other man. And it would let Nori feel like she'd actually accomplished something good for once in a long, long time. It would be nice to be able to see something through, and to make sure that he hadn't died while she was gone.
Please still be alive.
Could she stand to dig another grave so soon? She didn't even know Leo, but the thought of putting dirt over another wolf's body, of arranging them in their final resting spot, of the wolves around them grieving, of having to tell their loved ones...
Nori wanted to throw up.
Even more so when he brought up another name. She didn't recognize it, but she could put two and two together.
"Eclypse is, uh... I don't know," she admitted, ears pressing back to her skull. "I was looking for her when I found Leo. She and I met, and I messed up, and she ran off and I've been looking for her since." She cleared her throat. "She wasn't hurt when I saw her last."
This is why we're fucking leaving.
Leaving... the mountain? Nori's brows rose in surprise. It wasn't like she really cared where they went, but...
"Where are we going?" she asked tentatively, tipping her head.
Eros practically squirmed, that pressure and urgency refusing to let up inside of him. He couldn't lose another wolf he cared about, and fuck pretending he didn't now. Nothing mattered more. A day... and then Nash said he couldn't and Eros' stomach turned violently. His jaws parted to speak up, but to his great relief, the Cove leader and he were actually of the same thought. There was an immense sense of gratitude conveyed through the way his brow dipped and his eyes softened briefly. "Yes. Of course." For Leo, it was not a favor. This was both as natural and as critical as breathing. Eros would have left to do what he could to track him down himself if it had been his only option for immediate action. Leaving... ? He would've wanted to listen, were he not terrified for what was to become of their shared connection. For all he knew, every second mattered. "I can meet with Aquene, gather supplies? While you talk? I can meet you both here or at her infirmary?" he was moving, but painfully slow, perfectly aware of his position not just as an outsider, but of one who may not be fully trusted. He needed Nash's permission for this. |
Nash nodded in thanks as Nori offered to take Eros back to Leo. It was good to know she'd only just left him, and that he wasn't terribly far. It would make things more manageable. Especially with the day's conclusions... Nash sighed. And then she started talking about Eclypse and the leader could only listen in growing dismay. Eclypse... gone. His jaw sagged open while he looked for something to say. Anything to say. What did Nori mean, she messed up? What happened while he was gone?
He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his hide, trying to push out the memory of Magg coming home with a mangled leg, and his ever-helpful imagination inserting Eclypse in her place.
"We will have to worry about her later. For now, we know where Leo is and that he needs help. As far as going..." He sighed again. "We had the meeting today. As soon as Magg's girls are old enough, we will be abandoning the mountain." The words came thick. It wasn't easy for him, even now, but he didn't see any other choice. It was long since time.
Now he looked to Eros. "Come with me," he said. "Aquene is... she's..." Lost, broken, not herself.
Empty.
"...grieving," he landed on. "I'll take you to the medicine den, you can take what you need." He turned, beckoning for Eros to join him. "Nori, we will be right back, and I'll get you caught up."
She would explain what had happened with Eclypse later. Like he said, Leo was more of a priority, and he couldn't be kept waiting. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for another journey down. If she was lucky, maybe Leo would be nice enough to let her take another nap in the den.
Aquene. That was the name Leo had said.
Grieving.
Yeah... that seemed to be the boat everyone was in right now. Nori's heart wrenched in sympathy, and she tended a little bit. The Cove was probably a cesspool of grief and sorrow right now, and she was selfishly grateful to have one more day to prepare mentally before stepping in.
"Okay," she said to all of it, settling down to wait for their return.