Hidden Tree Maybe Tomorrow

<blockquote> It wasn’t often that the golden wolf strayed far from the gently swaying willows, but something had drawn him out. The confines of the border were like a solid wall that he dared not to penetrate but they fading scent of one of the female members of the pack had compelled him to follow.

She left the territory often. Possibly to hunt, maybe not. The last time he had detected her return it had been laced with the scent of another. Another she had not returned with, so he couldn’t have been a recruit. It seemed the male was intent on teasing him too. Scent dancing so closely to their borders only to shoot away again. He was going to figure this out, and maybe do a spot of hunting while he was out.

He had lost their trail, yet again, but picked up on the enticing scent of a <i>free</i> meal. He hadn’t been a pack wolf for long enough yet that he was willing to turn up a quick, <i>free</i> lunch and so he had set his nose to tracking it down, and quickly found himself amongst the charred remains of the wildwood.

The rabbit, if that was in fact what it had been, had been torn to shreds. Not killed for eating but merely for the pleasure of it from the looks. It was strewn across the clearing from one end to the other. The scent of rage and madness still tainted where the beast had been a few hours before, and it tugged at a distant memory in the golden wolf’s mind but he pushed it down. He was well due past returning. Quickly sniffing out the scraps he could, he focused on eating. He was not as thin as he had been, but he still had a lot of weight to regain, to return to his former, healthy weight.</blockquote>

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/NinaTable.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 312px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;"> Scars laced the golden female in an embrace of memories. Reminding her every day, that the encounter of her brother had, indeed, happened and that she was permanently marked. Her body covered with scars, now covered up with her thick overcoat, but still noticeable to anyone who bothered looking. Her face still had scars covering it, the most noticeable one was the one that covered up her right her. Her attempts to reopen it had failed for a small smile period due to her being so busy and she was unsure if the muscles in her eye remained there. Her leg, previously healed by Elettra, had made an outstanding recovery for being broken quite a few times. Nina had finally gotten it to the point to where she could walk without any pain or a limp, and that, she was satisfied with.

Today, she did not know what made her travel so far away from where she had made her home for so long. It was as though she were still trying to process the way everything had ended. Ruiko and Aeylen leaving them. . .at least they had said something and not just up and left. They did held some sort of respect within Nina. . .even if they had left. They would always be the ones she had given her first word to. Her loyalty. It was as if she didn’t know where her boundaries were anymore, and she was suddenly in the burnt remains of the Wildwood. It was almost as if the Secluded Springs had been like this, for so long when they had left, but now she just wasn’t sure.

She had seen Naira and Shade and received shocking news from both of them concerning Kanosak. The poor girl had given her quite a shock when she had heard the news of what her brother had done to her. Nina’s good eye drooped slightly, a long yawn escaping her jaws as her tongue rolled out of her mouth. A familiar, yet unfamiliar scent twisted over her nose. It smelt lowly of Willow Ridge, but enough to mark the male as their own. Her paws were drawn forward, a magnetic pull bringing her towards the stranger. Only who she saw. . .was no stranger, at least with his back turned he wasn’t.

This was the male who had brought her to Copper Rock Creek in the first place. Her strong Second she had relied on for so long. The man she had believed would never lead and protect the pack with his life. And here he was, right in front of her. Her jaws opened and a choked question escaped her mouth, "K-Kan-Kanosak?" At first it was hard for her to get his name out of her muzzle, but when she did, she stared, waiting for the male in front of her to turn.

<blockquote> He didn’t need to lift his head to know that voice.

<b>“Nina...”</b> he responded. His voice barely higher than a whisper. When he had been by the creek, her scent was faint, and Ruiko and Aeylen’s gone. The sense of failure he had felt... He was on his way back to the heights when he had stumbled across Elettra’s pack. But she was here...

He didn’t... want her to see him like this. He avoided still water because he could barely stand to look at himself but he couldn’t have a conversation with his back to her. Slowly, he turned, head held low, tattered ears pinned to his head. His muzzle was tucked close to his chin so she would not see the tattered wreck that had once been his face. The scar ran clearly over his left eye, the once bright gold now holding a cloudy tint. He could still see, but it wasn’t as clear as his good eye.

He could see her goldy paws in the edge of his vision, but he needed to see her face. It felt like his scarred body was weighed down with boulders. Slowly his head inched upwards until she could see him fully. The gaping hole where his lip had once been exposing his teeth to the world, the scars that littered his body showing clearly in his golden pelt.

He still couldn’t bring himself to look upon her face. He didn’t deserve to see her kind eyes full of pity. But the news she bore from the way she was walking, he didn’t need her to tell him. He had scented it himself. <b>“They are gone... I thought you were too...”</b></blockquote>

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/NinaTable.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 312px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;"> Her chest built up with emotion when she heard his confirmation of voice. The news she had heard from everyone about him, the terrible news, had left her brain. She could feel no hate for this man, she had loved him, he had been her pack mate. Her lip trembled slightly trembled at the sound of his strong voice. He was here, right in front of her. The fear she had once felt of his death slowly disappeared, and her good eye took in his back. Would he turn towards her? When he did, she barely saw his face, the golden eyes she had once taken in so well were covered by shadows. His frame was no longer as big as it had once been and she wandered briefly if he had starved just like she once had when she was a loner, and many times after she had gotten injured.

When he looked up, her jaw did not drop, but her one eyed stare did remain on him. It was as if she were staring in a creek at herself, only his eye was opened, and save his lip. Her heart pounded fiercely. She absolutely loved Naira, but what had happened to Kanosak? His golden eyes seemed beat, as if he were cold and lifeless and if she wouldn’t have known better, she would have thought that she had more muscle then he did for the time being. It seemed as though he would not look up at her though, but at her own paws and she tilted her head at him. His words struck another chord of sadness within her, remembering the pain that was brought with their leaving.

She had to swallow several times before she could answer the scarred male, "No," her voice was shaky, "I couldn‘t leave the rest of them alone like that. At least not until everything was sorted out." Her paws padded forward, no limp too obvious within her gait and as she got closer to Kanosak, she leaned down and attempted to nudge his face up to look at her. She did it with affection and comfort. To her. . .he was still her pack mate, someone she could rely on, even if he had done wrong. She knew she could never stay made at the male.

<blockquote> So it had all been bad timing. For some reason, the realisation didn’t make him feel any better. He had scented Kashikoi but had steered away anyway. Surely he still owed the boy an explanation. Guilt gnawed at him, along with the consistent tug, pulling him back towards the Willows. Although she may not realise it, Elettra had saved his life the day she granted him a position in her pack. He had been on his way to the heights to confess to the remaining members of his sisters pack what evil deeds he had committed, how he had stolen the dark boy in the night and how they should finish the job his sister had started.

A suicide mission.

He felt the nudge and finally bought his eyes upwards. What he saw was the last thing he expected and anger boiled in the pit of his stomach. A solid scar had formed over one of the girls eyes. Her own body was littered with scars, just as his was. She was still family to him. Not blood, but the family he had chosen. Confusion was clear, as was pain. Who would do this to her? She was so kind, to everyone.

Who would have a reason to hurt her like this?

His head pressed into the thick fur of her neck. He could never make up for the pain he had caused them, by just leaving like that. She didn’t need to tell him. He knew. How many times had he felt the sting of betrayal as each scent faded from the borders?

<b>“I’m so sorry...”</b> he whispered.</blockquote>

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/NinaTable.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 312px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;"> When his head lifted up to meet hers, she was not shocked to see the playing emotions in his eyes. They went from anger, to confusion, to pain. And Nina watched silently as the warring emotions danced in his golden orbs. It was the first time she had gotten a better look at him. One of his eyes was highly clouded, as if he had become blind but they still held the same life that had possessed them so long ago. Now that she was closer to him, she had found that he was much smaller than she remembered. He used to be so much bigger than her. . .and now, he wasn’t. When the questions in his eyes finished she was shocked to find his muzzle in the depths of her thick fur and she curled her muzzle protectively around his neck, much like a mother would a child.

When his voice reached her ears, they flicked once her muzzle gently stroking his neck, a calming gesture. "You need not to be sorry. Just be happy to live your life, Kano." She did her best to make her voice soothing, the way she usually would, not as harsh as she had been to the traitors who had left them for unknown reasons. But his marked pelt smelt of wolves that she knew well, and her eyes welled up with emotion. How was Kanosak faring with Willow Ridge? She knew not to ask and the thought was soon forgotten when the image of a small, young Kashikoi came into her mind.

She swallowed, not wanting to bring up the subject but knew that seeing Kanosak might bring the young male back to life, but it could also break him. Her voice was soft but it held certainty in them, "You must speak to Kashikoi. I can be there if you wish upon it, but you must talk to the dear." After Kanosak had left, Nina had taken Kashi under her own protective wings, knowing that she would never leave him, she wouldn’t let anything happen to the young male. The golden angel had thought of Kashikoi as her own son and had taken it on herself to look after him, but she knew that he had missed their former Second dearly when he had gone, but perhaps now a change could occur.