Drooping Willows Through thick and thin...

(Why, thank you! I'm pretty pleased with it! <3)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/KodaTable.png);background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 200px;padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;">She didn't respond with words now, her actions spoke of her endless love and boundless joy at their decision. A deep feeling of pride welled up in him. She was now his mate in all senses, save one. That circumstance was likely to never happen with them in separate packs and miles apart. Only the alpha pair mated and there were only so many rules that you could thumb your nose at. Of course. the reasoning behind that particular rule was sound and logical. It took a pack to raise a litter of pups and two litters would endanger the lives of both. As much as he loved the idea of having little ones with Nina someday, he would forever be happy just to have her in any way that he could.

And so it was, that he savored every second of her joyous love and returned it to her tenfold with tender licks and whines of joy. When she gave in to exhaustion once more and sat with her muzzle pressed against his strong chest, he could feel her breathing in his scent. He gently pressed her closer to his heart with his own muzzle, sure that she could feel it beating beneath his muscles and breathed in the scent that was Nina. It was obvious that neither of them wanted to go any farther at that moment, so they would stay a while longer, feeding off of one another's love. For now, it would be enough. The next leg could wait a little while.

Arla and Emma are the ish and made my pretties!
Koda will most likely always be accompanied by Chiron unless otherwise stated, or requested.

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;">If it wasn’t for the fact that she knew he was whining with joy Nina would have been worried. But deep down in her soul she knew it was for only her, that she was one of the only ones who could make that sound come out of his precious mouth. Her heart beat heavily for him and it slowly started to soar when she could feel is own heartbeat. He had lead her to it, and to take in the moment she had to close her eyes and listen closely. Her ears didn’t need to strain to hear her mate’s heartbeat, but at the moment it was all she wanted to hear. While blocking out all of the other scents and noises, she focused solely on his scent and heartbeat.

It was as though his heart were pressed up again her ear. She could hear the thump, thump, thump of his heart pumping, and it was all for her. She loved him so much, and nothing could tear them apparent. Not even two separate packs. She knew they had to keep going and she wanted to be in the protection of her borders once again, but didn’t want her time with Koda to end. Nothing would stop her from feeling him from far away, because they would always have that connection. The one that would tell the other when one was in danger, much like her incident with her brother.

She soon was curled up beneath Koda’s paws, her head laying down briefly on the ground before she looked back up to look into beautiful golden eyes. She was trying her best to memorize his every feature at the moment. . .for they would be parted away for awhile. Though both of them knew it would be impossible to stay away from the other for too long of a time period. Her throat made a low whining sound, one of complete submission of love. She was his and she would do anything that he wanted. . .as long as it didn’t go back on her promises.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/KodaTable.png);background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 200px;padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;">The depth of emotion that the two were feeling right at that moment was nearly overwhelming. Was there a such thing as too much love? Surely not, for if there was he and Nina would have both perished long ago. As she lay curled up by his feet, looking up at him as if she would never look away, he too memorized every nuance of her features, even down to her loving expression. They still had far to go, but when they were apart they would still feel each other as if they were one. How he knew this, he had no clue, but he did not doubt it. Fate, Destiny, a Higher power... something tied them together that would never be broken. Two halves of the same soul.

She whimpered at him in utter devotion and he returned the sentiment a hundredfold. It was a cruel twist of fate that would bring them together only to keep them apart. He had a momentary flash of anger at the injustice of it, before he gave a sigh of acceptance. He would always want more, but he would take what he could get of his sweet Nina's love and it would be enough.

Settling himself back down by her side, he lay his head over her shoulders in protective affection. Just being here with her like this, in silence or conversation, brought him peace. A peace that he hoped came to her as well. She always seemed comforted by his nearness and presence, but he would always worry that he didn't give her enough of what she needed. How could he, when he couldn't be by her side always? The thought of their coming separation must tear at her as much as it did him, perhaps even more given her recent traumatic experience with her brother and current state of weakness.

His body tensed slightly as a haunting thought that he had been holding at bay for days finally forced itself to the front of his tortured mind. If only he had arrived sooner, she would never have been hurt...

Arla and Emma are the ish and made my pretties!
Koda will most likely always be accompanied by Chiron unless otherwise stated, or requested.

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;">She soon felt her own mates head on her shoulders. . .he was her protection. Her strength and her worst nightmare in one. He could easily make her and break her as much as he could support her. If he ever left her, she would be torn. . .she would probably no longer be able to live with herself. She would grow into a deeper depression than she was already in, leaving her in a state of silence and longing for something she couldn’t have. She would never want that to be the case between Koda and herself. She was scared that she was going to lose him. . .just as she had lost herself.

And then she felt his muscles tense and her head snapped towards him. Worry was shown deeply in her emerald eye. What was wrong? Tension was never a good thing for the joints. . .it brought aches and pains. A whine now escaped deep within her throat once more. . .this time, worry evident within it. Her head pushed under his to the point of where her head lie underneath his own. She was worried for him. Had she done something to disturb him? She didn’t want to break the peaceful silence. . .but she had to ask.

"What‘s wrong? Are you alright?"

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/KodaTable.png);background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 200px;padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;">Not surprisingly, Nina picked up on his sudden change of mood, especially given their current state of close contact. Her concern for him shone like a beacon and he felt even worse. Here she was, barely on this side of death and she was worried about him. It was his fault that she was hurt. He should have been faster, should have come sooner. His instinct had told him that Ash was trouble for Nina. He should have followed him when they had first met... All of this flashed through his head. What would she think of him if she knew that he could have prevented her getting hurt if only he had listened to his instinct sooner? How could he admit that to his love? She deserved and answer though. She deserved to know the truth.

With a ragged sigh, he lifted his head from her beautiful shoulders and looked into her eye with tortured golden ones. They were dark with the emotion raging within him and he found that it was harder than he thought to tell her of his failure. After two tries, he finally said in a near whisper, "It's my fault that you were hurt, sweet Nina. I met Ash before and I knew that he meant you harm. I waited. I was too slow to save you!" He had saved her life, but only barely and she would forever be scarred from the vicious attack. He heartily wished that he could roll back time and change the outcome of her fate. The outcome of this moment... for surely she would hate him now for his failure to protect her...

Arla and Emma are the ish and made my pretties!
Koda will most likely always be accompanied by Chiron unless otherwise stated, or requested.

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;">Silence reigned over both of them for several heartbreaking moments. She wondered what could have bothered him so deeply as for him to feel tension. If it was her, she surely would feel terrible about it. Soon enough, her own mate’s head lifted off of her and he looked straight into her line of sight. The pain she saw deep within his eyes worried her highly, but she knew she would have to kind out what was bothering him. He wouldn’t lie to her. . .and their connection probably wouldn’t let them lie to one another, because the other would surely know.

When his words reached her ears her heartbeat stopped for two beats before resuming at a higher pace. Why must they have problems like these? Had she not told him that she had been the one seeking Ash out? It must have been that. . .for it wasn’t Ash that had looked for her, it had been the other way around. Her ears flatted on her head considerably and her smile faded. It wasn’t his fault she was like this, it was her own. She hadn’t been able to defend herself enough, and that had cost her, her own beauty. She hadn’t wanted to hurt her brother. . .they were still blood.

With a sharp shake of her head, Nina muttered softly to her love, "No, it is not your fault. I went out seeking Ash, and I found him. But he attacked me. It is not your fault, my love. It is jus the hand of Fate throwing obstacles in our paths."

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/KodaTable.png);background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 200px;padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;">His heart quaked in his chest as he waited for her to respond to his revelation. When she finally answered, he smiled sadly to himself. She was trying to absolve him of his guilt. It would not work though, for no matter who sought who, he had still been too slow. Yet, he had gotten there in time to save her life. There bond had led him to her in time to save her. Barely. He supposed that in a way, all three of them were to blame. He was too slow. She searched for Ash, Ash endeavored to end her life. It could have happened in a million different ways, but at least in this combination, she lived. He supposed he would just have to be glad that she was alive and leave it to someone else to sort the blame. For now and forever, he would simply love her and she him and the past would be in the past. ...As long as he didn't run into Ash...

Saying nothing in response to her words, he merely gave her a bittersweet smile and nuzzled her cheek. Then he gently began to bathe her wounds in silence. He concentrated on his task and found that the action soothed his frazzled nerves and pushed his own guilt back to a bearable level in the back of his mind. She was alive, they were together and she loved him still. What more could matter right now? Nothing. Then he looked into her eyes again and only love shown out at her and said, "I love you, sweet Nina." With that he lay his head over her shoulder again protectively. Nothing could harm her with him there.

They would rest here longer then before moving on. It seemed as if both of them were emotionally spent at the moment anyways.

Arla and Emma are the ish and made my pretties!
Koda will most likely always be accompanied by Chiron unless otherwise stated, or requested.

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 one good eye studied him closely as he stared at her. She had not gotten any response to her reply. But she figured, it was the best she could do right now. She soon received a soft nuzzle and a grooming of her pelt. She didn’t want to imagine how bad her injuries were, she didn’t even want to look at them. Another old friend of hers had always told her that her own health was as important as the one of her patients. Nina had tried to heed the advice given to the best of her abilities, but always seemed to be failing to do so in the process.

Soon, Koda’s grooming of her was done, and throughout the process she had concluded that she always had a queasy feeling within her when she was with her mate. It made her feel wonderful and she couldn’t help but smile when she felt his head curl protectively around her. He was hers and he would protect her through thick and thin. . .and that was what truly mattered. His words that he had muttered to her moments prior finally echoed in her ears, but the only thing she got out of her mouth were a few mumbled words, for she soon drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

I am SO sorry for the long delay in posting!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/KodaTable.png);background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 200px;padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; text-align:justify;">Koda felt better having admitted his feelings of guilt. Of course, Nina had denied his responsibility in the matter, but he would always feel a bit guilty about her injuries. But now that he had gotten it off of his chest, so to speak, he felt lighter than he had in days. As Nina drifted off into a deep healing sleep, he relaxed himself. Before long, he was in light slumber himself. A warm an content feeling lulled him into a deeper sleep and the hours passed with neither of them waking.

The sounds of birdsong woke him and he lifted his head from his love's side and was amazed to realize that they had slept through the rest of the afternoon and evening. It was now early morning and a new day greeted them. He felt refreshed, completely revitalized with the long rest and emotional baggage that had been lifted the day before. He could only hope that it would be the same for Nina. Perhaps the travel today would not be so hard on her after their extended break.

They had gotten much needed rest, but had eaten little yesterday, so he would need to find them some more filling game today before they started to give them energy for the trek ahead. He stood and stretched his muscles, trying to get the kinks out of them, before lowering his head to gently nuzzle Nina. He hated to wake her, but he would not let her awaken to his absence.

He licked her cheek a few times affectionately, to get her attention before saying, "We have slept through the night, my love! I am off to get us a decent breakfast. Take your time waking. I will be back as quickly as possible!" He waited a moment to be sure that she had heard him through the haze of waking. With a smile and another loving nuzzle he was off to find them some much needed sustenance.

Arla and Emma are the ish and made my pretties!
Koda will most likely always be accompanied by Chiron unless otherwise stated, or requested.

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;">Nightmares refused to plaque Nina that night, exhaustion and weakness had gotten the best of her and she had slept in a dreamless land where nothing could bother her. Her relaxing sleep was soon interrupted by her own mate’s gentle words to her. Bird song flitted throughout the area making her feel like sleeping for a little while longer. It didn’t seem as though she would be getting anymore, for Koda’s small nuzzled and licks on her cheek kept interrupting her attempts. His words brought a small whimper of protest out of her. She wanted to help him, but her whimper and words were inaudible, for he was soon off into the wilderness.

Nina’s emerald eye opened and took in the sunlight. She winced slightly before reopening her eye once again. It was so beautiful out in the wilderness and it made her urn for her home once more. Her jaws soon opened in a large yawn and her head tucked closer to her body. She loved Koda so much for taking her home. . .even if she wasn’t prepared for it yet, she had to go. She missed her family so much and wanted to see them again. But it obviously had to wait.