Yesterday

There is a freak storm; all welcome!

Though it wasn't a blinding whirlwind of snow, Mercy wasn't entirely sure he appreciated the fact that spring storms- wild winds, rain that fell sideways and the occasional branch and stick to dodge- more than he appreciated winter blizzards. It was more the wind that got him than anything, making him squint to keep the water from getting in his eyes. It was mid afternoon and much darker than it should have been, giving the world a look of late evening. Twigs and branches became embedded in his coat but he trudged on at a slow walk along the borders, gritting his teeth and wondering why he even bothered. But then a deep voice came to mind and he remembered.

"Mercy some day I will not be here, so when that day comes, I ask that you be the biggest baddest guardian any pack has ever seen."

So he set his jaw and forced himself to continue, having pledged himself to become a guardian should Crowe be gone. And aside from that, guarding the borders meant that @Aponi was safer. He knew his mother would not allow him to escort her all the time- which was what he would rather have been doing- and that eventually the other pack members would likely intervene as well to keep the two from becoming totally dependant on one another. But he could guard the borders and, in doing so, guard Aponi without smothering her. A strong gale of wind caused him to stagger slightly, but he moved forward, head down, ears flattened as he continued his route around the borders.

Hope you don't mind me tossing her in here <3

At first she had just waited for Mercy to come back to the den when the storm hit, surely he would. The seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into an hour and Aponi gave up on waiting, she would go find him herself. The storm wasn't as bad as the one that had originally separated them but anxiety coursed through the princess' veins as she trudged through the onslaught. Rain began soaking its way into her pelt as the wind flung it against her side, landing not only on her fur but also in her ears and gathering in her eyes until they stung. Pressing her ears against her head to block out the moisture she squinted as she moved across the territory, doing her best to follow her guardian's scent through her soaked nose. His path became clear and she should have guessed, instead of taking cover he was doing a border patrol. It took a few minutes for Aponi to catch up with the near yearling but when she did she fell in step beside him wordlessly. It didn't take words, or contact or even to make eye contact, just his presence for the anxiety to subside. Her heart slowed from its quickened pace and the edge she had felt melted away. So much had changed since they were pups on the mountain, that stupid dare with @Nova that had sparked their rivalry. Though she would never be able to force the words out to tell him, for the first time in her life Aponi felt....sorry for her actions and for hurting him. Maybe not for hurting her sister, she had given Nova chance after chance to prove herself and each time the dark princess fell short. Mercy however, she had never given him a chance and for that she was sorry. Unable to get the words from her maw instead she gently licked the boy's snout as they walked before looking forward, it was the best she could do.

-loves on-

He was unaware of the tension that rested in his hunched shoulders as he walked, nor was he aware that his jaws had clenched and unclenched repeatedly. He was vaguely aware of s dull pain through his forelegs and in his temples, but he wasn't aware enough of the cause to be able to stop- until both habits ceased when Aponi appeared from the shadows and stepped into line beside him without a word. As soon as her gentle kiss touched his muzzle his jaw relaxed and shoulders settled, releasing the tension he'd been carrying while he'd been walking, and he transitioned from the stiff lumber of a bear to the smoothe stride of a wolf again. His head lifted slightly as she joined him, ears perking forward as he took on the form of a proud guardian. With Aponi at his side and safe from harm at his shoulder, he felt his self-confidence return and pride covered him like a warm cloak.

Still, he gazed over her shoulder to the world beyond the packlands. He knew the scent of the borders now- even in the downpour- well enough that he knew there was no chance they would stray again. He knew how to find North, and would be more capable of finding his way back home whenever he left- but he wasn't so sure he wanted to leave the pack just yet. A bit of tension returned when he thought about Aponi- he wasn't quite ready to venture past the borders yet, but what if she was? What if she was ready to leave the Ghastly Woods and explore the lands beyond? He would have to put his own reluctance behind him if he was to be her guardian.

Nevertheless, he shook his head lightly to get a bit of water away from his eyes. He still didn't like the idea of Aponi being anywhere near the borders, and decided to use the atrocious weather as an excuse to get her away from them. "Let's find somewhere warm," He said, nodding toward the heart of the woodlands where they would be able to find somewhere for shelter. The thought of finding a nook or cranny to hole up in with her made him feel somewhat possessive of her; if he could convince her to go with him, he would be able to keep her safe, with him, deep within the packlands.

note to self, before this

They walked side by side now, the princess and her guardian and from a distance they would be almost interchangeable. The girl was a mere centimeter taller than the boy and they both bore a silver-grey coat, their eyes shone the same hue of blue in the dark and even their muzzles matched, darker than the rest of their pelts. They looked as if they could be siblings, and in Aponi's mind that is what they had grown to be, Sagacity was like a second mother to her and Mercy had proven himself more than worthy to be a prince. Her eyes remained forwards so the change in the near yearlings posture was lost on her, she didn't realize that he too felt the strange anxiety and tension when they became separated. She had buried the shame of the neediness inside her for now, she had no idea that it would be this that caused her world to explode. Silver ears flicked upwards at his suggestion and Aponi nodded without a word she changed her course and followed after Mercy as they headed deeper within the territory. Soon they were both settled into a cranny beneath some gnarled roots, the wood creating a canopy above them to block the majority of the wind and the water. The girl's body was still much thinner than before they had been lost and a shiver racked through her as she pressed closer to her friend, not unlike before in the cave. Her blue eyes stared out into the storm as her mind wandered trying to sort through all of the blurry memories, so much had happened and yet she found it hard to keep any of it straight.

The boy felt flooded with relief when Aponi agreed to stay within the pack borders and follow him to a safer place. This was a sure sign of the change which had occurred within the princes, who, before they'd been lost, might have taunted Mercy for leaving the patrol for fear of getting lost. The old Aponi might have even pushed him outside the borders and then laughed at him, taunted him. And while those memories used to sting him, now they were nothing but memories, things which, in retrospect, were almost funny. It was hard to believe that the Aponi he'd known as a child was the Aponi he knew now, walking quietly by his side, their steps matching. Now he felt less like a pauper and more like a proper guardian of princesses, which was what he'd considered himself to be his whole life.

They snuck into a little hollow which was dry and the air was close, and it reminded him of the cave they'd stayed in- so when Aponi shuddered and pressed closer to him he welcomed her into his embrace. He couldn't help but notice how different it felt to hold her now- they were no longer desperate, lost and hopeless. They were back home where they were perfectly safe and sound, and yet he still found little to no solace unless she was with him. It was the only thing that felt natural now, and life without her reminded him too much of being lost and starving. He drew in a breath through gritted teeth when he looked down to see her shoulders, angular and sharp, her cheekbones still high and prominent, but too much so to have been healthy. He was aware that he too looked like he was a canvas of thin, coarse fur stretched over too large a canvas, but considering how much better he felt now than he had before they'd returned, he wasn't concerned about himself. He was only concerned about her.

The wind blew and howled, but rather than grimacing, he smiled softly. "What was it called," He asked softly, squinting out into the storm. He paused for a moment, trying to recall the name of the creature from one of @Mapplethorpe's stories. "That hound. Maybe we've found its den." He said, trying to recall what he could of the ghost story.

Warmth spread through the side that was pressed against Mercy and soon the shivers subsided, but the girl didn't budge from his side. Instead with a content sigh she settled her head upon her paws as she watched the storm outside. Never before had she noticed how sturdy her companion was, how strong and reliable, all desirable traits. In fact now that she reflected on it, all of his traits were desirable, not only was he responsible but he listened to her and never treated her as if she were fragile. He had proven time and time again that he could withstand her anger without qualms and hold his own in their arguments, he truly was her equal. When he spoke her muzzle lifted to look at him her brows furrowed as she thought about his question. It had been a long time since she had thought about the stories that Pa had told her as a little girl as he tried to coax her to sleep. Suddenly her face lit up and she laughed at the memory, telling Pa she would protect him from the sounds she had heard. It of course had just been the wind, it often sounded weird in these woods but he had concocted some tale. "The Yeth Hound. He lived in these woods and tricked cubs into thinking he was lonely so he could keep them or eat them or something. I think Pa just made it up to keep me from wandering, he was always telling me stories like that." Now though he would have new princes or princesses to tell these stories to and the girl sobered at the thought that once more played through her mind; she was being replaced. Her blue eyes looked as if they were seeing something faraway and the humor instantly rinsed from her expression, she was being replaced.

He tilted his head back and nodded when Aponi came up with the correct name for the creature Mapplethorpe had told them about. The image of it in his mind was still quite vivid- he'd pictures it as some larger than life canine with teeth that protruded down below its lips and dripped saliva, with eyes that were ghostly and covered with a sort of mystic film. He supposed, then, that if it looked like that it would have no hope in convincing young pups to go play with it, given that such a face surely would have frightened the pups away; but still it was the image that persisted in his mind. He remembered once or twice hearing something in the night when he'd been younger and thinking it might have been the call of the Yeth Hound, but now he could simply look back on those thoughts and smile. Aponi too seemed to find the story funny now that they were older and a lot harder to scare with simple ghost stories.

But there was something about the way she settled into silence and the way her features became grim and stoic so soon after she'd spoken that told Mercy a new thought had entered her mind. He could tell she wasn't thinking about the Yeth Hound- she'd smiled when she'd spoken of it, so he wouldn't have believed for a moment that she was still frightened of it- or that she had ever been. Perhaps, he thought, she was reflecting on the fact that Mapplethorpe had told her those stories to keep her from roaming- and given their recent brush with death while lost, he wondered if she wasn't feeling guilt or regret. He nuzzled her cheek and whispered softly. "It's alright. We're back, we're home, and we're safe."

Sometime since childhood the princess had developed a coping mechanism, whenever she felt anything but pleasure she put up a wall. Her features would remain expressionless, cold, those who didn't know her would assume that this mask was all she was but Mercy did know her. As her thoughts wandered to her mother's swollen belly and what that would mean for her she felt the affectionate nuzzle that landed against her cheek. Aponi froze for a moment, unsure of what to do with the gesture before melting into it, nuzzling back with her cheek against the teens muzzle. His whispers distracted her but still her mask remained as she shook her head, "We're back and we're safe, but I'm not sure this has ever been home." Her blue eyes wandered to look out into the storm, straining to catch sight of the mountains, but they were hidden by the downpour. That mountain had been what had kept the pair going while they were lost, day in and day out they had been searching for the mountain, it had been her home for the first half of her life. It was where her heart had stayed, at first the woods had been new and exciting but it wasn't long until the silver princess had longed for the stone fortress again. Now the threat of being replaced in her Pa's eyes had pushed that longing to an all time high, she needed back on that mountain. A steely determination entered the blue eyes as she turned to Mercy now, "One day I'm going to return to that mountain and lead my own pack there and nothing will take me away from it.” No winter storm would send her running again, both times she had gave into winter it had almost killed her, she wouldn't do it again.

One more from you and we can archive, given that they're out of HK again XD

Mercy squinted slightly when Aponi spoke of the Keep never being their home. In truth, it certainly hadn't been hospitable- a place with eerie wind sounds that they'd been driven to relocate to given that the mountain was impossible to live on- but they hadn't found prey when they'd moved, either. They'd also found that more wolves had been able to find them, when they'd become so accustomed to living in secrecy on the mountain. If anything, the place where they'd sought safety and security had done everything but that for them- it was an inhospitable place surrounded by other packs that could, and would, venture too close to them. He frowned and nodded slightly; Aponi was right. The Keep was not their home.

He gazed down upon Aponi when she turned to face him, and was unafraid to meet the silverish blue of her gaze. She spoke of returning to the mountain, and he lifted his head slightly in thought; and found himself nodding. "It is yours by birthright," He said, pride filling his voice. She was the princess and heir to their former packlands on Mount Dire, and now that she sought to reclaim it, he found that he didn't even need to consider it- that land was hers and the idea of reclaiming it simply made sense. It was meant to be; she was destined to be the Queen of the Mountain. "I will follow you," He said, quietly, and set his head atop her shoulders, ever her obedient and loyal guardian.

Mercy had remained silent at her comment about this not being home and Aponi resisted the urge to look up and see his expression. Instead she stared straight into the rain, still squinting in an attempt to see her mountain, because it had been and would be hers again. When the blue eyes locked it was if a jolt went straight down the princesses spine, something she had never felt before and tension filled the cave. This tension was different than the ones they had felt in childhood when Aponi would taunt the boy and he would resist giving her any sign of displeasure; this almost felt, good. His pride only fed her own and the girl's ears stood at full attention, the tiny scar on her right ear clearly visible. It took a silent moment before Aponi answered his next words, "By my side is where you belong." The seconds ticked by as they remained in their spots, Aponi with her head upon her paws looking out at the rain, Mercy with his head gently resting on her shoulders. She didn't know how long they laid there for before they drifted off to sleep, neither of them moving a muscle as they did. The princess fell into a deep sleep, for once not dreaming about snow storms and starving, but of standing on the mountain top with Mercy by her side. He was healing her, slowly but surely, he was picking up her pieces and putting her back together. FADE OUT