Drooping Willows Kicking the Bucket

Her self confidence had gone down the drain with the way her children spoke with her, stayed away from her. This plus the fact that there was a new alpha male taking Sloane's place had depressed the female greatly. She was half tempted to take back her leadership if Minka would allow it but another softer side of her said simply to follow along as well as everything was going well.

That was the problem. To her everything was not going well. As far as she knew nobody had sent out a search patrol for Sloane. He had to be injured from something, lost, or unable to get to them somehow. Narime knew well enough that Sloane would not leave without giving the pack fair warning like she had just before her mission to ally with another pack over the mountains.

Her thoughts about the packs over the mountains made her claws grip hungrily at the snow.

Something akin to anger simmered under the she wolfs fur where her heart should be. Why would Elettra go so far as to kill Shade? The one other wolf in this world she had thought of as family. This question seared through her mind like hot lava.

Originally Nari had planned to head straight to Willow Ridge after her return. However she made the right choice in returning to the cavern pack first. A few days rest even with the commotion at her den made Nari ready to set out to Willow Ridge for a talk with Madame Elettra of the willows.

Once she reached the border Narime let her head tilt upwards allowing a depressed but angry tune to flow from her muzzle. She called specifically for @Elettra and no one else. Once her call was done Nari began pacing back and forth beside the border. If her pacing was kept going she would make a nice rut in the snow by the time the Lady of the Willows arrived.

"speech"

Both filled with sadness and anger was the call which beckoned for Elettra Archer and she only. It had not been too long since Narime's last visit to her lands and Elettra could only be left to wonder over the many various things which the call could be for. Had she found out of Tempest's horrible injuries upon her return? Had Nina given her word of Ruiko and his kin? Perhaps, she too, had lost a child as Nina had and wished to tell her of the news. Elettra was uncertain, though the manner in which her ally howled only insured the fact that this was not going to be a very light-hearten meeting as the last meeting from another one of her ally's had been. Soon enough she made it to the edges of her territory, seeing the woman through silvery eyes the woman colored in the same hues of silvers and grey. She was tall, much taller then Elettra even and a frame heavy enough to support such a high stance. She had grown much from the youth Elettra had first met her eyes, thin and mostly of limbs. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#ffffff;">"What is the matter, Narime?" There was no use sugar coating it. Something was obvious wrong, if not by the sound of the call but by the way which the woman had paced so much, she left a path to the dried, dead grasses beneath in her wake. Elettra clears her throat, coming close enough to the other Lead (or so she still assumed) before settling down on her haunches in the snow. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#ffffff;">

Elettra appeared timely as usual. Though the silver wolf had still managed a good wide track through the snow where she had paced. Turning to watch the noble dark furred woman Nari averted her gaze still in denial. How could Elettra kill Shade?

The wind blew picking up mono-toned gray and white glittering pieces of snow and thrashing it against the pair of she wolves. The windy skies blew the large gray mat of clouds across the sky at speeds far faster than a wolf could run.

Narime was silent for a long time. Even after Elettra asked what was wrong the gray girl couldn't bring herself to immediately tell the older woman what she was feeling. A whole but load of things are wrong... She snarled silently within the confines of her mind. She wanted to talk to El about Sloane but first she had to find out the truth of why her best friend was dead.

"Elettra... Why is Shade dead?" Narime growled low continuously staring at the ground. "Did you really kill him?" Her shoulders were stiff; her silver tail sticking out tensely behind her, but everything about her body still held at a neutral position for the moment. Just waiting for that answer.

Nari couldn't help the memories that poured from her heart. The memories of hunting with the Willow wolves and resting near the den with her old pack mates. Memories of Elettra and of Shade. They were sweet memories that would have filled her heart with warmth had it not been for the recent problems that edged their way into her life.

Look Out!

There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

Silence touched them, too much silence which caused the woman to grow tense, her body tightening as eyes focused hard on the woman before her. In time, she spoke, and initially Elettra wished to spit out: Because he would not submit. It was very much true, though of course the story behind it was more then that. For a moment Elettra was silent, having not know for sure what the fate of Shade Slayer had become. Elettra lifted, took a step back. It was a response from Narime's growl as she stared to the ground and the stiffness of her tail. Elettra's own stance remained neutral savor for the rising of the hairs along her spine. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#ffffff;">"Is that what you were told?" She thinks on it a moment, as her silver attention remains focused on Narime. The wounds which she had gained were far different then the ones which Shade had received. She had gained injury to her shoulder and in various places of her forelimb. It had caused much damage which had prevented her from running, hunting, and walking without pain. She had limped for quite a time... Though Shade had injuries to his neck. Where Elettra had done the best she could to grab him by the neck and force him to submit, she had focused on this area, tearing deeply into the neck of the male - a vital area. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#ffffff;">"Then I guess I did." She did not know if the man had lived or died. She had left him and his little bitch high and dry far from their home. Now, finally, she knew her enemy had been vanquished. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#ffffff;">

Narime shivered keeping herself still as the breeze and the tension mounted. Elettra's voice came to her; though the silver wolf could not tell whether their was any emotion in that voice.

"Let me rephrase the question then. What did he do to you to make you kill him..." Nari held her breath unsure of herself. She wasn't sure yet if she wanted to hurt the elder woman before her (which was probably a really bad idea) or simply leave without another word.

Please give me a good reason as to why you did it... Please I want to understand why of all wolves Elettra had to take him from this world. If her reason is good enough I promise I won't be angry. the younger she wolf's thoughts begged to whatever power there was in the universe hoping that A reply she could tolerate would come. Or else everything she went through trying to find Shade's pack over the mountains would be for naught a thing. Bitterly in her head she realized maybe that was why his pack was so far away. To stay away from Elettra... Had Shade known what she was going to do to him? That he had angered lady Elettra? She could only guess at this point.

Quietly her gaze brought itself up just a tad bit to measure the mask upon El's face. To see what emotion lie there. Of course Nari did this cautiously not wanting at that moment to incur the wrath of somebody who had already killed another. However she had to see the look on Elettra's face when she answered.

As of yet the silvery hued woman before her kept her placement, Elettra's own stance remaining the same. She was tense, she was ready, should the need arise if Narime struck out in anger towards Elettra. A mistake that surely she would learn to regret... The matriarch paused a moment, weighing the words that she may say, deciding whether she should curb her own detest for Shade by softening her words for Narime's benefit. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#ffffff;">"He killed himself, really..."Elettra was actually surprised that Shade had not thought to visit Narime's pack land for aid. There he could have been cared for. Unfortunately he had decided to travel back home. A travel which took days on it's own, likely double the time with his injuries. Shade had been a fool. He was arrogant in his fight and unprepared for his wounds. A single ear turned back then, her mouth tightening in a frown as she watched Narime critically for reaction as she spoke. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#ffffff;">"After Koda lost his memory and decided to be with Nina in Secret Woodlands, Shade had been next in rank and rose to the title. There was some who did not approve, didn't seem to trust his judgement or authority.... He didn't stay in his position long. He betrayed me - betrayed all of us. He went against his word and bred with Rose and they left with no word, no warning. He ran out on his pack members and left them without a male Leader. They were enemies of the pack." She pauses for the moment as she is finished with this story of why she had sought out his hide. When Rose had joined the pack they had both promised Elettra they had no reason or need to break pack law by breeding and yet had not only went against their promise but abandoned everyone in the process. Perhaps Narime would take his side, they he 'did it for love', though this was a fool's tale, Narime should know. Narime loved Sloane, had wished to start a family and pack with him. She had been open with Elettra, told her and worked extra hard without need to before she left. She had done the right thing. Shade was a prick who had only thought with his prick. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#ffffff;">"When I found him in the Lagoon I sought immediate vengeance for his crimes. I attacked and he attacked back. He fought, I fought harder. Despite the fact that he was obviously outwitted, he refused to submit to me, snapping and thrashing wildly, tearing his wounds further as I had him pinned by the neck. He was bleeding quite horridly when he passed out and that is where I left him with one of his pack mates to their own fate." Dead or not, it was Shade's decision to break law, to abandon his pack, and to not submit to obvious defeat when he was down. He had been the end to himself.

She listened quietly waiting for that answer. Then it finally came.

"After Koda lost his memory and decided to be with Nina in Secret Woodlands, Shade had been next in rank and rose to the title. There was some who did not approve, didn't seem to trust his judgement or authority.... He didn't stay in his position long. He betrayed me - betrayed all of us. He went against his word and bred with Rose and they left with no word, no warning. He ran out on his pack members and left them without a male Leader. They were enemies of the pack."

Her heart sank. If that was what really had happened then Elettra very much had the right to kill him. Narime knew the rules that 90% of all packs followed. No one but the alpha breeds, and not only had Shade defied that rule with breeding Rose instead of Elettra but he left the pack high and dry.

Instantly her aggression towards Elettra was gone. She knew deep in her heart that the noble woman would not do something so horrible without there being a good cause for it.

"He never told me. All Shade said was that he left the pack to start his family with Rose across the mountains. I had assumed he left on good terms... I suppose I shouldn't assume things. Am I still naive enough to think good wolves won't do bad things?" Narime answered her old alpha but more spoke the last question to herself than to Elettra.

Then the thought struck her as El spoke on how injured she'd left the shadowy male.

A snarl plastered onto her face again. However this time the anger was at a wolf she couldn't even chew out anymore. Not since Shade was already dead. She moved herself sideways and averted her gaze towards the mountains to show the alpha that the silver wolf was not growling at her.

"My pack and I went through all that shit for somebody who would so easily break one of our most strictly upheld rules?" Her growl cut through the silence. She had lost her status, her mate, and almost lost a son from her pack while she had been traveling over the mountains to meet Shade. If I hadn't left on that journey none of this shit would have happened! An anger she had never felt before filled Narime however as she turned to look at El, the silver she wolf flattened her hackles and smoothed out her muzzle. She didn't do anything wrong. My anger is for Shade and Rose to see not her. She told herself to calm down though a hard glint stayed hidden in her light blue gaze.

"I'm sorry for that interrogation... I just needed to know, and I'm also sorry for thinking you had killed him without a reason. When yours was just. " She then looked at the ground unsure of what to do with herself. Nari also wasn't sure if El might ask her something after hearing her earlier outburst.

Narime spoke, words softer this time, speaking about having not known, which was obvious by the way she had come this day filled with aggression and waiting for answers. Elettra's eyes shifted from Narime's question, lips forming once more into a tight line from the nativity she spoke about. Elettra did not answer, but simply kept her placement where she was while Narime worked out these events in her mind, her anger twisting and turning to the one that should truly be to blame - Shade. Of course, Elettra kept her placement back, her body still tensed. After all, the threatening display Narime had come with at Elettra's own doorstep would not be so easily overlooked. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#ffffff;">"I assure you, I had no intention to kill him, but to simply teach him not cross me or my own." She kept her head and body high as Narime turned her gaze to the ground in her sorrow for having jumped to conclusions and certainly, for sorrow for Shade and his mistakes, as well. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#ffffff;">"Shade's stubbornness made him pay the hard way." Her words are not soft. They are hard, true, as the woman had always been and thus, had insured her own survival over the years as she did pray it would insure her children's safety and those more to come. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:11px; color:#ffffff;">"What....shit?" The woman would inquire then, for Narime's words did not slip the mind of Elettra Archer. Perhaps, after all, there was more to Narime's hostility then just the death of Shade Slayer.

The darker woman's words came to Nari's ears. The question laced upon them almost made another snarl appear on her face. However the silver wolf forced herself to stay calm, to look okay even if she wasn't feeling that way on the inside.

"It's a bit of a story. Though your pack has a right to the information within it if you wish to listen." Narime glanced to El noting the interest in her gaze. She would certainly listen.

"More than two months ago Shade had sent his scout to me asking for a meeting time so that we might talk of an alliance." Narimé started settling down to a stiff sitting position and trying to hide the pain from her eyes. "We set a date and in time I had went to the meeting place to see Shade, but he never came. I suspect you got to him before I did." She spoke without anger towards Elettra. It hadn't been her fault if the male continued fighting without realizing the depth of his injuries.

"It was a little more than a month ago that I finally became worried with his lateness and lack of message to me about why he'd missed the meeting. So I warned my pack that I had to take a trip over the mountains leaving Minka and Sloane to lead while I was gone." She turned her gaze to look towards her own territory to the west. "I had no clue that immense rain and thunder storms would dog my way over. I got lost a number of times before reaching Shade's territory. Along the way I had met with two other packs over the mountains. Phineas pack Magnolia Glen and another led by Corinna Donata called Oak Tree Bend." She growled remembering less than inviting attitude of the one alpha female. Though Nari had brought it upon herself without knowing just how much Corinna had already gone through.

"Phineas is well by the way. He leads beside a female named Borlla Tainn." Nari still wasn't sure how this Borlla had been related to Hotei. She never got the chance to ask him of their relation either.

"Anyways... I got to his pack finding that it was in shambles, and the few subordinates left told me that you had killed him. Though It was hard for me to believe until I came here to talk to you. Even now that I realize it's true I also know that it was mostly Shade's fault. " She closed her eyes trying to remember the good Shade and not the rule breaking one.

"On my way back I had to travel through deep snow over those damn awful mountains. If I had left any later I don't think I would have made it down them. Still it took me too long to get back." She growled wondering how Elettra was reacting to this story. No not a story. To the truth that echoed from her words.

"When I got back I find out that Sloane had up and left without a word to anyone around the same time I had left on my mission. One of my boys was lost for a time before the pack found him again. Though that unfortunately would most likely have happened whether I was there or not. He had always been adventurous. Then some new male that had been accepted by Minka has taken Sloane's lead position. That's what hurts me the most. I'm sure Sloane would not have left without saying anything. I believe he was injured or lost in a snow storm or something... He couldn't have just left." She let a snarl show on her muzzle again as she spoke about the new lead male. Nari had full faith in Minka's leading abilities. It was the new mysterious dominant male that she was worried about. Maybe Elettra may know more of him? She wondered quietly suppressing that snarl once more.

"Do you know anything of Ash Hervok? As far as I can tell he's about as steely as you and is Nina and Eva's brother." She spoke up that question wondering if El knew more of him. "I want to trust Minka as she still leads but I just have no clue about him." She wondered if the woman would react badly or not to all of this new information.