Swift River Moving Back To You

The words of Swift River reverberated in his ears, his eyes skimming around; he stood there by the river that would be icy this time of year. It made him happy that he was accepted into the pack, he looked forward to spending time with Jessie, and he had heard that Jessie had found her sister Cali as well. He would be with them both, not just Jessie. The mid-afternoon sun was blocked by gray clouds that threatened to snow on him. He sighed; the frigid and cold temperatures were bad enough. But he had to make his place in Swift River apparent. He had to prove that he belonged. It had been only a short while since he was accepted by Marsh. He had seen no one sense. This concerned him.

He raised his muzzle in a call out for Jessie; he hoped she would answer with her soothing and calm voice. His best friend, who he knew as his sister, was found once more. He loved being around her again. His tail was drooped as he looked around, he was happy here. It wasn’t as cold as some other of the winter days. For winter, it was a bit warmer than usual, but warmer than usual in winter is still cold. He saw as the clouds parted slightly and allowed the sun a peek through. He rarely saw the sun in winter. He was apprehensive to talk to her about what had happened that say. She had hid herself from him and he couldn’t help but wonder . . . he just wondered what he had done. He was sorry for anything he might have done to hurt her. But he had just been so enthusiastic to see her that he couldn’t think straight.

One last thought reached his head, Ice; he felt he needed to prove himself to Ice more than the rest. Ice did not like him, he could tell that from the start and he wanted to prove the male wrong. This was one chance. He thought that maybe he and Jessie could hunt a bit and he could bring back a lot of prey. Maybe some big prey he could bring back. He had his reasons; he needed to verify that he belonged here. He hadn’t known that he was lying. It slipped out before he could actually think about it. He waited with an enthusiastic smile for Jessie. They had a lot of catching up to do. He would make Ice recant his words of Brenton not being worth it.

To find a friend...

Much had happened in her time in the pack. She had developed much since she had first joined, some for the better, some for the worse, but none the less she loved the wolves within the pack, even if she did not know her leading lady well. She had grown close with the others and that was all she needed to make her happy. She had been doing her duty to the best of her abilities, only having one little mouth to feed instead of the two tiny ones she had once always seen daily. The picture of her body still remained fresh in her mind, the glistening white of her skull. It gave the female shivers and not the pleasantry ones, more of the creepy kind of chill when you feel like you are being watched. She had always wandered if that had been what Rissa…had been feeling like before she had been kidnapped, as though she were always being watched. Though perhaps not considering how hard it had always been to keep an eye on the adventurous pup.

She had been hunting, or well attempting to, when a call from her friend, Brenton reached her ears. Ever since he had joined, she had not seen much of him and it had not been because Jess wanted to ignore him. She had just been caught up in pack activities and tracking. She hadn’t really been spending time with any of her pack mates lately, and she silently made a silent note in her head to see some of them again and maybe bond with the ones that she didn’t know well. With a soft snort, her pepper-colored body moved through the grove, not really having to think of where she was going, having walked the path many times before. The good side about seeing her friend and hearing from him would be the satisfying happiness that he had not left the River pack, as some had done already, including Hotei. She definitely missed the moody wolf, though she had been spending more time with Ice, hoping to get her mind off of the burnt male. It seemed as much as she tried, she couldn’t though.

It did not take her to reach the place where her friend was, and as soon as she approached him, her tail immediately swayed above her back, out of instinct and somewhat repetition. She was now use to being dominant over most of the males, but now that Ice was way above her, it caused the strong urge to rise within her. She knew she couldn’t be his equal, she would never disrespect Corinna like that, but Cali, her own sister, was directly above her and she did not wish to do so to her sibling either. It was an odd situation to be put in and she knew that much thought would have to be put into it. A small smile lit her beautiful features at her friend’s appearance, and she gently licked his cheek in greeting before backing up, sitting down, and curling her tail around her front paws. For now, she would push away her deep thoughts so that she could spend time with her friend, and now pack mate.

Brenton smiled as his friend arrived at the scene. Her gray and white fur was not the cleanest or the most groomed, but not terrible either. He smiled as his tail curled under him, they may be friends but she was still of higher rank then him. Perhaps once he proved himself more, than he could challenge a wolf above him for a spot. He had had problems hunting lately as he could tell off the scents and no prey, that Jessie had had the same issues as himself. “Jessie, I’ve missed you, I never should have let you go alone. I never stopped looking.” He said and his eyes full of happiness that he had found her again. Though she didn’t quite seem the same then when he had last talked her before arriving in the lore.

“I’m so sorry about what happened back there at the borders. The detail, I hadn’t quite thought it through all the way and I spoke out without thinking. Probably the one of the most, if not the most, irrational thing I’ve done in my lifetime.” He said, he hoped that the Swiftpaw girl would forgive her. After all, what would he have here if he had not his best friend, his sister for all intents and purposes? He only hoped that the rest of the pack would too approve of him. His black eyes never left her, though not looking her in the eyes. He had no emotions towards him, the snow fell around them, starting slowly now around them. He looked up at the site, he always loved the snow despite the hardships that it came with.

To find a friend...

Emerald eyes stared at the dark form of her friend, the one who had always been there for her, even when her sister had left. He had even come back to look for her, going against the words that she had said to him, exactly like Jess had done with Cali. Now that the pepper-colored woman thought about it enough she realized that she was no better than her own sister. She had left Brenton, hadn’t she? With a small snort the gray lady listened to what the black man had to say, her mind trying to process what he was saying. She did not exactly want to feel any emotion at the moment, particularly the raw emotion that came with the constant reminder that Hotei and Burn were no longer by her side to tell her stories and that she would no longer be able to keep an eye on the burnt man. He was gone now, deserting Jessie and the Swift River pack, all due to Ice’s rise in power.

It was surprising how that one thing could have a whole effect on one wolf. It disappointed her but more than anything, it had hurt her, and Jessie found it compellingly easy to box what she was feeling into a tiny space into the back of her mind and be completely emotionless, her tone sometimes turning to that of a monotonous kind of voice. When it seemed that the male would finally conclude with what he was saying, the young woman spoke, her voice dull and her pitch unwavering, “Yeah…well we all learn from our mistakes, right?” Just like if Hotei and Burn ever showed up back on their borders Ice would tear him to shreds, along with the rest of the pack, while Jess followed suit, regretfully harming the man she had fallen for. She knew that loving one would come at a cost and she also knew she had devoted herself to Corinna and Ice, and she would never take away her oath from them.

Brenton frowned as Jessie spoke in her dull and flat tone. It put him in an apprehensive and upset mood. This was not the Jessie he had known. She was normally bold and outspoken, always saying what she thought. He was worried about her now because his is not how he remembered her behaving. He gave a few small whimpers, he was about to ask her what was wrong. He wondered then if it was something he had done. Was saying something going to make it worse? He decided to take the risk. ”Jessie, what’s wrong? Is something upsetting you? D-Did I do something, i-if you want I’ll leave.” He said, his voice had a weak sound to it. He hated seeing her like this. She was so much more then she looked.

Brenton let out small sighs, this was not the first time, and first it was when Cali left. It was then that Cali had ruined Jessie, Brenton had gotten her back to her former self then yet again something happened, something always happened to her. It wasn’t fair that all the bad things happened to Jessie. He wished that he could take some of the burdens that might weigh her down; he wished to take them away because they hurt her. He would take the burdens that she had from her parent’s death away, she would take the pain that he knew Jessie had felt when Cali had gone. He would take it so she did not have to bear with them. But he couldn’t, he could just try her best to comfort her.

To find a friend...

Her emerald eyes stared at Brenton’s dark face, watching his facial expressions. In the group, he had always been the sensitive one, always freaking out about every little thing she did. The woman appreciated his concern, but it also annoyed her sometimes. When his voice penetrated through her thoughts, she let out a soft sigh. He was offering her an opportunity to let her emotions flow, something she had decided not to do, for fears that bad things would happen once again. Hotei/Burn quickly passed through her mind, and instantly her chest started to burn, and it wasn’t the nice feeling kind. It felt as though the fire was going to swallow her heart and soul, then make her work for her life to get them back, and in the end die trying. She would not speak of him…for he to had deserted her and made her feel unworthy and empty.

Blinking her eyes, she replied to him in a stoic voice, "No." She replied firmly, in answer to his last question and perhaps his other questions as well. He knew that she was not one to talk anything out and the only time she was bluntly honest about something was when it involved the wolves around her. The passing thought of Ice caused her to stop for a moment, speaking her thoughts once more, "Oh, and by the way. Never suck up to Ice ever again. That is not going to gain trust, I know that for a fact." She nodded to him briefly letting him say anything if he chose to do so.

"Oh, and by the way. Never suck up to Ice ever again. That is not going to gain trust; I know that for a fact." Brenton did not need to be told twice when she said that. He realized his wrongs and he learned from them. His tail was still lower then hers, she deserved the respect from all she had gone through. He knew the hardships and she didn't want him to leave. ”What’s wrong Jessie? Don’t tell me nothing, I’ve known you forever and there is something wrong.” He asked, giving no room for argument that nothing was wrong. He thought to what she said; how did she know that for a fact?

He had a concerned look on his face, and though his voice was faint and weak, he was curious and meant what he said. Those made him wonder about what someone could have done to send her into something like this? Did someone leave her, or hurt her. He did not scent blood and so he figured no one had physically hurt her. Had someone mentally hurt her? He hoped that she could trust him; he felt that she could trust him to speak of what was bothering her. His stature said it all, that he was curious or concerned over what had happened to her, he would hurt whoever had done this or whatever had done this to her and he normally did not hurt other wolves. That was his will and now all she had to do was tell him what was wrong.

To find a friend...

Her tail flickered behind her as she sat in the silence that formed between them. Jessie had remember how Ice had been when she had first entered the pack. Tense, unwilling, not willing to trust her. And now they were close, the two of them had encountered much with their time together and as far as Jessie concerned herself she thought she had proved to be a faithful family member within the ranks, never traveling too far away from home. The only time she had gone far was on her conquest with Ice and Fenru, which had lasted for days and their result had been one that the trio had dreaded. Swallowing any memory of what had happened on the other side of the mountains, she focused her jade eyes on Brenton as he spoke to her. With every word that passed his lips she could feel the angry wrapping up underneath her salt-and-peppered pelt. The rage boiled there until the last word dropped off of her black friends lips. Like a lightning bolt, Jessie went from her calm position, seated on the ground, to standing her ground, her fur bristling along her spine as she stared into the dark depths of her friend’s eyes.

Slowly, her voice started to rise, quieting the whole forest around them, "Listen closely and listen good! If something was wrong with me and I wanted to tell you, I would have!! Otherwise, I would suggest just keeping your mouth shut and not mentioning to me about any problems that I am having. I am perfectly FINE with handling with my shit on my own and I don‘t expect any help from you." She inhaled deeply before continuing, "Actually!!! Now that I think about it, I would rather talk to Ice and be around him more than anyone else within this pack! You know why? Because Ice doesn‘t drive me insane every moment that I speak with him and he is not constantly asking me what is wrong." By the end of her rant, she was panting, her small sides heaving as she regained the breath she had lost with her ranting. Staring at her friend, she watched him icily, waiting for his reaction.

Brenton was a bit startled when she yelled; it just proved that she thought she couldn’t trust him. He knew it was probably not in his best interest, yet he wanted to just yell and howl out his angers back in her face, like she had in his. But he couldn’t find it in himself to do it. “Then why don’t you go running back to Ice? I think you made your point clear.” He stated bitterly and started to walk away, trying to hold in the pain he felt. He wanted to look out for her. He didn’t care anymore; he would always be there for her even when she thought she didn’t need him, like at that the current moment.

His decamp was necessary, Jessie needed space and he would give it to her. He was no longer able to see where he once stood and talked to her. He glanced over his shoulder occasionally to make sure he wasn’t being followed. It was a hard thing for him, they use to be so close that they could trust each other with anything, and now she wouldn’t even tell him what was wrong. He wanted to howl, but he knew she would hear it so he decided against it. The high emotions running through the air were sickening him. He most importantly, felt alone and left to rot with no one to be a friend. He needed a friend, and soon. Friends held each other together and he needed to be put back to where he once was.

To find a friend...

She was changing…she could feel it within her. She did not even feel bad that she had yelled at her best friend…she felt, almost satisfied. When he yelled at her, she did not care and had no regrets as he stomped off. At his recommendation, she smirked…that was a fantastic idea. Lifting her nose to the air and not paying any attention to what had just happened between the two wolves, she inhaled, searching for any fresh scent of Ice indicating that he had been nearby recently. Thanks to her, according to her, expert nose, she quickly found his scent. Though it was faded, she had some faith within herself that she could track her pack mate and have a chat with him, maybe even take her anger out on him through a friendly spar.

Today a few things had been proven. One of them being that overtime, friends changed…that you would change, even though you probably would not want to. It proved that what she had feared had really, truly been able to affect her. She had fallen in love and now she was starting to pay for the consequences. Ice would understand…Ice always understood. Oh…how much easier it would have been for her if she would have just fallen in love with Ice. In a way, she quickly realized, she had. Ice was her best friend, her advisor, her protector, and most of all, her alpha. She knew she would have to address this alone now. And quickly changing her mind, she changed her direction and steered off the path of Ice’s scent.