Sex: MaleMostly Cloudy — Current Temperature: 34° F/1° C. Dusk.Physically Indru was in fine condition—any previous wounds from before were healed and had long become memories, the pack had a healthy stock in their cache and Indru had been fretting to make sure it stayed so with Corinna's pregnancy and until recently he had slept soundly and without worry. Yet, internally, it was a much different story for the oldest Tainn.
While the shock of Ruiko's news about Kinis had faded, the agony and grief it left behind had not and Indru knew that it would be something that hung over him for a long while. His brother had been out from Indru's charge and into Ruiko's for a while now, unlike Triell, yet it did not release Indru from the inevitable feeling of guilt he knew only his littermate would understand. It had been natural for Indru to adopt responsibility for his family's welfare with their parents passing and Indru still felt each disappearance and each departure like a fresh sting of guilt.
Yet, it was perhaps Borlla that he felt the strongest throb of guilt over at the moment, for it went against Indru's very nature to push his family away when they had come to him. He had felt torn in two directions but inevitably, the decision he had to make was clear—no wolf could be pack without the acceptance of both leaders, and nor could he willingly leave the pack weakened by such tension between he and Cori were he to force it. These were all things Indru could have coped with for the guilt at what was necessary would have been directed internally, however it was the hurt he felt at Corinna's swift departure, her inability to see through the decision he had in many ways been forced to make, that would take much longer for him to get over. His heavy heart had left him restless and wounded and even though it had been a couple of days it had yet to passed.
Evening would be on them soon but Indru was not in the mood for gathering with his pack, he could find little desire in it unlike normally and his usual source of comfort was instead the source of his frustration. With a gentle sigh he turned and instead headed towards the borders, for it was these menial, familiar tasks that the leader felt most relaxed.
Gone Tomorrow
The evening was falling swiftly, and Corinna began to search in earnest for Indru. Things had been tense between the pair for the better part of the past couple of days, ever since Borlla had come searching for a home amongst them once more. Truth was, she had barely seen him since she had left that day; a glimpse here and there was all. She had watched him with careful eyes, always questioning. It had been to her great surprise to discover that Borlla had not been wandering about the territory. Her scent had only been found where she had initiated the contact. The green-eyed she-wolf had been incredibly confused by what had happened, and it left her wondering who made the decision for Borlla to leave.
So as dusk began to fall, Corinna had hoisted herself up and began to wander away from the den site. Her nesting instincts had kicked in, and she had spent a good deal of her day making small changes to the area. They were miniscule in size, no doubt she would be the only one to notice that this particular patch of dirt had been transferred over there, or that broken branch was now missing. Leaving her handiwork alone in the dark, she set off into the woods, black nose lowered to the ground, trying to find Indru's freshest scent. He had traveled all over the forest, and where his scent had once been scarce, was now present in great abundance. It took a while, but eventually, she was able to pick up his most recent track and began to trek after it.
Following the scent trail, the she-wolf breathed in deeply, her mind racing. She wasn't entirely sure what it was she would do, or say, when she saw him. She didn't feel guilty over her decision; Cori genuinely did not want Borlla in Swift River again. But she hardly liked the divide that the creme wolf's presence had created between the pack's leaders. Choosing to be distant from one another was by far worse in her mind than actually being distant. That, at least, she knew how to handle.
His scent veered in the direction of the borders, and she adjusted her path accordingly. But he remained out of sight, at least for the time being. But his scent continued to grow stronger, and eventually she caught sight of him, an outline in the fading light. "Indru?" She called out to him, coming to a stop, her voice hesitant.
His black nose was held to the ground as he sniffed gently at the scents that littered the ground on his way to the borders, his musky scent hung over Swift River like any dominant male's should, yet underneath his were the submissive scents of the rest of the River wolves. While it was his and Corinna's which acted as the main offensive scent, it was the subordinates that showed the pack's true strength—Swift River had grown and he was eager for others to know it.
As he had wanted it too, Indru's work had allowed him to get lost in it and it was with ease that he missed Corinna's approach into his solitude. At the call of his name in her familiar voice he tensed, his hackles rising in his surprise, before it registered, but unlike normal when it would have made his tail wag with joy this time he hesitated over whether to answer. It was fruitless though, he knew, she would know he was nearby by the smell of him. After a slight sigh under his breath he turned, his fiery gaze drifting towards where her voice had come from,
yes?The leader's voice was barely a whisper and though it felt foreign and unusual, he couldn't help the fact that it was not as infused with the same warmth and affection as it normally was.The Tainn was sure that his distance would not be lost on her, after all while his absence from her side when they slept could in part be explained away by his restlessness, it could not be used to explain why that when he did sleep he found somewhere else lie. Silently he moved towards her voice until she fell into his sight and his eyes met hers quickly and briefly before he pulled them away and looked faintly to his right, into the depths of the forest, as he waited to see what she wanted.
Gone Tomorrow
Corinna counted the seconds after she said his name, waiting for him to answer. One, two, three.... she was relieved when her short count was interrupted, but the creme and gray lady was acutely aware of his greeting and how it sounded. Where there was usually warmth, there was an absence of...anything. He wasn't happy to see her, that much was obviously clear. She was aware of the distance too. Normally, Indru was close, often pressing himself to close to her side that they felt conjoined. But now was not the case, and unless they could resolve things, then perhaps never again.
The outline grew more clear and his features became visible as Indru walked towards her. But he did not come close enough, and Corinna took a hesitant step forward. But she couldn't read him, odd, considering that she felt that she always could. Her mind leaped backwards, the only time she could ever think of him being angry with her was years ago. He had bitten her then, and driven her from Swift River. Perhaps that particular episode was about to be repeated. While not one quick to anger, she knew he was brooding over Borlla, and nothing affected Indru more than his family. "I'll go, if you would like..." The hesitance had returned to her voice, but she made no effort to turn around and leave him in peace. And after a moment of silence, "We need to talk about Borlla." Corinna had no idea what had happened after she had left, but it was from that point that she and Indru had felt this division between them. She knew only that Borlla had not been residing in Swift River, and that Marsh had returned to tell her she was gone. Indru would be able to tell her why, and no doubt, be able to take some of his anger out.
With curiosity Indru watched her hesitant step towards him, confused by it. Was it welcome? He wasn't sure and that surprised him, for there wasn't a time he could remember since she had joined Swift River he had ever found her closeness unwelcome. The feeling felt alien but none the less he couldn't shake it and slowly his eyes roved from her paws back to green eyes and quickly words tumbled from her. Her voice shared the same hesitance as her movements had and Indru's ears twitched in response to the question that wasn't really a question and then the silence that fell after. Did he want her to leave? Again, he wasn't sure, but for the first time in a long, long time he wasn't sure he wanted her to stay.
Soon he was solved from his dilemma as she broke the uncomfortable silence, yet as she spoke his sister's name he visibly flinched and his once curious gaze hardened instinctively before he turned his fiery eyes from hers again.
If you'd have stayed you would have known,the words rumbled from him quickly and it was with a little restraint that he hid the growl that wished to escape with them. For it was obvious what she wanted to know—had Borlla left under her own emission or had he done as she had bid and rejected his own sister when she had wanted him? Though the bitterness in his voice was clear, along with the hurt, his voice was still calm and he didn't wish to change that for it was not in him to speak rudely to those he cherished.
Gone Tomorrow
He didn't answer her question, and that alone was almost enough to cause the leader to turn around and leave, perhaps to have this conversation another time. But Corinna knew better than to let this sort of tension fester. The longer they went without talking about it, the more likely it was that they never would. And that sort of division wouldn't be healthy for either one of them, and certainly not for their pack. But it seemed her insistence was not welcome either. She watched him flinch at the mention of Borlla's name, and it was all she could do to not curl her lip in response. Her attachment to her siblings and parents had faded over time; her family was now the fiery-eyed Indru and their three cubs, with more on the way. It seemed Indru had not developed that mentality as well.
Given that he had yet to truly respond to her, Corinna wasn't entirely sure what he would do. But his response was quick to come, and she knew there was anger behind them. But the fur along her neck and shoulders rose, and the curl of her black lip was no longer held in check. She had had no reason to stay, didn't he know that? What good was her opinion when he chose to disregard it? "My staying would have accomplished nothing. I made it clear I wanted her gone, Indru," she spoke up, trying to keep her voice calm, though anger was clearly slipping through. "I told her to leave, and you challenge that by keeping her around so you could intimidate her. For what purpose, I don't know. Her submitting to you has never meant anything; it certainly doesn't transfer to me." Finished with her piece, she took a deep breath, trying to clear her brain. She felt sick to her stomach, whether from the acidic anger swirling around in there or from her unborn cubs, she wasn't entirely sure. She and Indru were at a fork now; she wasn't going to sour the outcome by vomiting on it. So holding herself in, Cori continued to breathe, closing her eyes so as to not look at Indru. Right now, they were not looking at one another kindly, and that was only making it worse. Better to not look at all for the moment.
While Cori started to show her aggression towards him Indru felt no incline to return the favour, where would that get them? He had no wish to fight or challenge like she was seemingly gunning for and neither did he feel threatened by his mate—as especially while she was pregnant there would be little contest between them on the extremely unlikely chance it came to one. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at her display Indru continued to drift his gaze else where and it only returned to hers as she began to speak and the anger in her voice was not as restrained as his had been.
You told her to leave and thereby cemented the decision of the pack,he stated calmly when she had finished, being sure to keep his breathing steady and his tone still mellow.You knew what the choice had to be as soon as you refused her, there was no other option,at least he hoped she did as it was fairly common knowledge no wolf could become pack without the acceptance, and thus mark, of both it's leaders—and neither would Indru risk such a tear in the hierarchy by trying to force it for it would undoubtedly wouldn't have left them both as leaders. Indru's act of dominance had been unnecessary and out of character for him to express on both new joiners and his family—his process of doing so had been part of the act of the refusal. He had given Cori the chance to dominate Borlla, chasing her from his borders, and by doing it himself first had expressed his willingness for her to do without him harbouring bad will and yet, instead, she had fled from them herself and instead festered this mess that they could have avoided.It was your duty to see that through as much as mine—you had the opportunity to refuse her, to chase her from the borders and yet you turned and left it for me to do alone.Her decision had been brash and not thought out and more than anything it had stung that she was so quick to flee from his side when things got difficult and was so unwilling to face them as a leading pair like he thought they would have.
You ran from me without a second thought and left me to do it alone—the thing which you had insisted on in the first place,it had been a bitter pill to swallow and one he struggled with even now as the hurt look in gaze showed. Rejecting Borlla from his land was hard enough and at least he could have sought some comfort from Cori, but she had taken that from him too.
Gone Tomorrow
Corinna wasn't trying to intimidate Indru, but she saw no reason to hide that she was angry and upset. The fact that he wouldn't even do her the courtesy of looking at her, though, she increased her anger. This was what Borlla had done to them, unable to look one another in the eye - and he had wanted to let that back into the pack. His words hit her then, his mellow tone sounding to her as if he was mocking her angry one. The fact that he ignored his own challenge to her, insisting that it had been her decision, only made it seem more like a mockery. Turning her head away, she looked at the ground, trying to gather her thoughts. He hadn't physically harmed her in any way, but his words, his insistence that she had acted as she had without thought, hurt more than physical wound would.
Shaking her head, she lifted her gaze from the ground, looking at him. "You argued with me, Indru. Don't tell me it was my decision when you saw it fit to try and have me reconsider," she snapped at him, her tone cold. It was ridiculous, listening to him tell her that she had abandoned her duties when he had been willing to cause a rift in the pack by letting Borlla back. "I told her to leave. And I didn't exactly greet her with a smile." She had been aggressive throughout the entire encounter, right up until she had left. "Without her big brother there to protect her, Borlla would have left as soon as I told her she wasn't welcome here. The fact that you argued with me kept her around longer. So don't tell me you had to chase her off alone, that I left you to do my dirty work. I left because you didn't seem to care what I thought about it." And it was true. Whether that had been his intention or not, Corinna had perceived it that way.
Gaze falling back to her paws, she stared at them for a moment, trying to decide where to go from there. "As for leaving without a second thought..." the energy in her voice had died, barely a whisper. "I've thought of nothing else since." He was mistaken if he truly believed that she hadn't cared about the outcome. She had sent Marsh back to discover what exactly had happened, less than an hour after the fact.
Her angry voice didn't rile him, whether it was meant to or not, and still as he went to respond he refused to talk to her with anything but his calm voice—he respected her as his mate and he wouldn't talk to his Corinna rudely if he could help it.
Of course I argued,he responded, confusion mixed in with his soft voice as he met her gaze for gaze,what did you expect? She's my sister Corinna, no, she's more than that. I was responsible for her since she was a child, she's like a daughter.It felt unfair, extremely unfair, if she had expected him to jump at her say so and go along with anything she said without have any protest or opinion of his own. If the situation was reversed Indru knew he would not be angered by her defence of her family, and part of him doubted whether he would have pushed for the same decision as she had his.Do you really think me so callous and unfeeling that I'd chase my sister off and send her away without a second thought? Especially after Kinis, especially after that.Emotion crept into his voice now, but it wasn't anger, his voice weakened at the end as he spoke of Kinis and Indru felt a throb in the back of his throat at the thoughts of his lost brother and his now lost sister. Distraught and overcome with a gripping sadness his head dropped to hang towards his paws and it was with a deep breath he had to steady himself.
You must have known when you made your decision—especially when only you knew how unmoving you were on it—that I had no other choice but to reject her.Of course Indru would have been tormented at the decision, Corinna might not care for his sister but she was not taking into consideration that he did, that for him shoo'ing her away was not something easy.Yet, you still went, you still left,his voice was quiet and he watched her with uncertainty. He wasn't even angry at her decision, at her giving him not other choice but to push his sister from him when she wanted him, but it hurt that she had left him to it. She had made her argument and left no consideration for his opinion, not compromise, even knowing how much he cared for her and then hadn't even waited to see it through when he had no choice.You say I didn't care what you thought, but how have you cared about what I thought, Corinna? If I didn't care wouldn't my sister be standing here beside me now?No, the fact of the matter was Indru had given her his way, he had done as she had wanted and as she had asked and even after all that she still felt she had done nothing wrong.His ears twitched as she spoke again and he nodded his head and rolled his shoulders in agreement, as if he had thought of anything else either. But this time his eyes were on his paws once more as he tried to steady the emotion that had overcome him. Again, not anger, but an overwhelming sadness and hurt. He loved her more than anything, yet at the moment it didn't feel returned. Indru would never force her to do something she felt so strongly about like she had him (as evident by him chasing Borlla from Swift River), yet even though he gave her what she wanted, he was still accused of apparently ignored her opinions. Where did she to consider his want in this matter? Even after Kinis, even after losing another sibling so recently and with the pain so fresh she had still not given him ground.
Gone Tomorrow
It was a back and forth, and looking at him, listening to his voice weaken at the mention of losing Borlla. She knew that he had a special attachment to that particular set of siblings, if only because he had taken them in as his own after the fire had ravaged their home. She had known that. And yet...didn't their family take the place of that? She wasn't as attached to her family as he was to her's, so Corinna couldn't sympathize. She really couldn't. He proclaimed Borlla do be like a daughter to him, but what did he know of being a father? He had left them in their infancy, and his need for exploration had taken him away from them again. Sighing, she shook her head. Tilting her head back, she looked at the sky overhead, but the clouds covered the night sky, and there were no stars in sight. It was unfortunate that as she lowered her head that her nausea returned, and she visibly clenched her jaws tighter, refusing to let her body get the better of her.
"I am sorry that you cannot keep your family together, as it once was," it was whispered, the best she could do while trying to keep the bile out of her throat. She was not sorry for her decision to send Borlla away, and he had to know that. "Borlla and I have never gotten along, you know that. We both would not be happy here." Surely he had to know that was true? Cynical it might be, Corinna was not a believer in the idea that souls changed all that much. They were how they were, and it was up to the creatures around them how to react. And as a mother, her primary loyalty was to her young, not Indru's rebellious sister. "She's like you, Indru. She loves adventure, she's dominant, and she's as headstrong as they come. She wouldn't stay for long, not without questioning our leadership. And I just cannot deal with unreliable pack members anymore." Hopefully he couldn't fault her for that, but she honestly didn't even know anymore. He was blaming her for turning away his sister, and once more she was struck with the feeling that when it came to family, she would be forever separated from the Tainn siblings. But she wouldn't throw a parting shot at him, as much as her anger wanted to. It wouldn't solve anything, though as bleak as things were now, she wasn't honestly sure if anything would. "You know that she probably went to Copper Rock Creek, to find Ruiko. She isn't gone." She just isn't here.