Secret Woodlands Cupcakes

@Nina

Hollow stood on the edge of Woodlands in silence, every now and then a whimper would echo into the trees, so soft it was nearly inaudible. A name floated through the breeze softly and wreathed around everything in it's path. It was as if her name teased the very branches it passed through and made them sway in the breeze. "Azariah." Hollow would speak the name every few moments. The air surrounding him seemed to reach into his body and wrap itself around his heart. Such pain was unknown to the young male, and honestly, he didn't know if he could let her come back if she chose to try. As far as Hollow knew, she had been the biggest betrayer of all.

His lip curled to try and drive the hurt away, but it just built anger in place. Anger at the betrayal he felt, anger at himself for not trying harder, but mostly anger at life for bringing them together only to tear them apart. The thought only made him think of Tacoma, and how Hollow had no right to feel angry when Nina had been separated of her own son. But now Hollow became angry again, but this time it was at Koda. He had left his own children, his pack, his whole life. Now the more Hollow thought about it, the more he began to wonder if he should even let Koda come back to the back after such a betrayal.

A question best saved for later, right now the other male was gone, and left Hollow to carry on. Hollow would do it without hesitation, for regardless of another wolf's shortcomings Hollow would be a father to the pups and a leader to the pack. So he made a not to himself to speak to Nina soon about such matters, training the pups to fight and hunt. She could help, of course now that Ashanti was to be the healer of the pack. Hollow sighed and wondered if he could possibly take any more of this.

Nina had been worried about Hollow for some time now. Whenever she would walk by him he would seem distant and out of sorts and as the days passed by her concern for him grew tenfold. She too had noticed Azariah’s scent missing from the borders and was positive that everything was going to go downhill with Hollow. Nina new firstpaw how it was when the one wolf you cared most about went missing. And to have this happen to him more than once was certainly taking its toll. Nina knew that next time Azariah returned, she would not be so lucky in gaining entry into her home once again. It was obvious that it was hurting her dear friend and that was something that the Reinier would not allow happen to her partner again. It was pure luck that she happened to stumble upon him today. It didn’t seem as though he realize that she was there and instantly her sympathy went out to him. Ever since they both finalized that Azariah was not coming back, Hollow had become a hard shell of his former self. It almost reminded her of her brother, before he had become good, but such behaviors were repairable, and one thing that the woman knew the man needed was a friend. Striding forward in a comfort manner, Nina sat down next to the larger man, her golden head craned in his direction, as she had talked up to him on her blind side at force of habit. Sighing softly into the chilly air, she spoke in soft tones to her friend, <b style="color:#008080">”Things that trouble your mind aren’t always the most fun things to be keeping around.” She spoke these words, trying to get him to come out of his shell and get his emotions out.

It seems when you're around, my life is complete.

Hollow was silent, and turned his head slowly as Nina spoke, for a moment he didn't even recognize her or hear her words for he was so very lost in his own world. But soon recognition shown in his eyes, what Nina said was true, but it wasn't keeping him from his duties, and he had thought that that was probably good enough for her. At least until this very moment, Hollow had thought his friend almost unconcerned about his love life, while she had her very own to worry about. "It will not keep me from leading this pack, and I do not think anyone else has noticed my troubles." In truth he had kept a solid mask or a pleasant one around the others specifically so they wouldn't notice he was troubled and hurt.

He turned his head away from his friend and stared down at the snow. All of the pain welling up within him tempting him to cry his pain out, but no, he kept it all locked away. There was no room for it anymore. He would suffer in silence, let life goon for others and bear his pain alone. It had been done before surely this would be no different. "She is gone, there is nothing I can do. If she returns she will have no quarter here, I do not tolerate betrayers. To my pack, or to my heart." Hollow spoke with a voice laden with hurt and as badly as he wanted to cry to her, to tell her of the plans he had for their future, there was nothing now. He felt his heart dying and freezing with the cold snows of the winter. The alpha could not bring himself to confess to Nina how bad it truly hurt just yet. Or that's what he kept telling himself.

She did not take much pride in knowing that her friend was going through such a hard time and that had not been able to find the time to find out how he was doing. To the point where he was telling her something that she definitely did not wish to hear. She was about to speak, but he cut in again and her heart ached for him. She knew exactly where he was at in this moment of time and the heartbreak that he was surely going through. Sighing softly, she reached out to her friend, her muzzle touching his shoulder in a comforting manner, <b style="color:#008080">”I will respect your decision, my friend.” She then let there be silence to see if he wanted to add anything. She was sure that with the recent showing of Miccah that Hollow was not feeling very confident about his love life. She was sure that he was taking it hard on himself with Tacoma’s death to, considering how it had happened. Her son’s death had surely been a tragedy but Secret Woodlands would get through it together, just as they would get through every obstacle thrown their way. She cleared her throat, suddenly remembering something that he had said to her, <b style="color:#008080">”The way you lead does not matter to me…your well being is more important, you should know that.” She moved her head so that she could see his face, her single eye slightly widened. None the less, she gave him a pointed look, slightly surprised that he would ever suggest that she was only concerned about how he would lead them.

(This post was last modified: Dec 29, 2013, 02:00 AM by Nina.)

It seems when you're around, my life is complete.

Look Out!

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the snow. Hunt Opportunity

Can't tell if this is a could post or a choppy one XD

Hollow listened to Nina's word's and he saw her face. He had not intended it to sound as if he thought she didn't care about his emotional well being. But it had, in truth he knew she would, which was why he was the happiest to know Nina had been the one to arrive. Had it been some other wolf, they probably would have been sent away by a show of teeth. But Nina was his truest friend, she was always there, she never tried to leave or abandon the pack, though her children were old enough to take care of themselves should she leave her pack. The dark male was grateful that she wasn't a deserter, it made him think, she was probably the only wolf he would trust with the information he had held within him so deeply.

"We were going to leave in the spring... I was going to ask her to make a family with me... or at least try to." He did not know how much Nina knew of Azariah's condition and even still in his pain he would not betray her secret unless Nina knew. "I was thinking of a space maybe in between here and Whisper Caverns, so that I could be close to my families. But it's gone now, even if I still love her I cannot let her back in, I cannot bear the pain of knowing she left me." Hollow hesitated for a moment, knowing she could be dead and he could be acting harsh and soulless.

But that thought would be banished, there was another thing on his mind now he knew he had to ask Nina, for even though he had his pain there was pack business to attend to always. This was pertinent. "What will the pups think if Koda returns? Do you think they will ever see him the same? If I couldn't see the she wolf who was to be my mate the same could Koda be seen the same by Ashton and Danica?" What was worse...no worse than worse, was that there should have been a third pup mentioned. Just the thought caused a shadow to cross Hollow's face.

She had never wanted Hollow to have to go through the heartbreak that so many wolves in Nina’s lifetime has had to go through. When he spoke, she listened and when he hurt, so did she. So now that he was talking to her about how he was really feeling, without all the prying eyes around them; wondering what they were saying and hoping to use it against them; it was just the two. His news about Azariah and him leaving in the spring to start a family gave her quite a shock. Had Azariah not told him about her condition? The question made her shift uneasily. As much as she wanted her friend to know the truth, she also did not want to hurt his heart more by telling him the lies that his love had told him. None the less, she gave him a knowing look, one that would tell him that she knew if he just didn’t want to tell her, but would have been confusing if he didn’t, which was alright, considering that Nina was quite confusing half of the time. The fact that he had wanted to start a family darkened her heart though, because she knew that now that Azariah was gone, that might not happen for him. Silence fell between them for several long moments, Nina’s face turning back towards the Guardian when he fired off questions at her. The golden brown woman’s brow furrowed and she looked away slightly afraid of what that question would bring up. She saw the darkened look on her friend’s face and knew immediately what – or rather who – he was thinking of. Tacoma, her first born…had died and there definitely should have been a third name there, and it was true enough when her mind silently added his name into the fraction. Swallowing, she turned to Hollow, hoping that her answer would be enough to placate him for a little while. <b style="color:#008080">”One step at a time, my friend….one step at a time,” she whispered softly to him as she looked off into the shadows of her thickets.

It seems when you're around, my life is complete.

Silence fell at Nina's words, Hollow's face was angled at the ground. It felt like the pressure of the world was bearing down upon his shoulders, he could feel the pressure and knew it was only a matter of time until he broke underneath the crushing weight of his burden. "Seems to me that we only ever move one paw at a time. We can't run or we fall, sometimes we fall anyways." Hollow sighed deeply, if only he could get some level ground, it just always seemed like it fell away when he rose. There was never anything solid to stand on no matter where his paws searched for hold, though he loved his life, and loved being a leader, and loved the pack. Times like this made him want to give up and sleep till death.

"I love the pack, I love doing what I do, I love being a pillar for our pack mates Nina. But right now, I feel that I could die and it would be nothing to the world, I try so hard, but it always seems another betrayal waits for me around every turn.." It killed him inside to admit how badly he was hurting, Hollow, the strong willed dark leader of the Woodlands, respected, loved and he had been feared if not but for an instant. Because of his strength it hurt to stop being strong, even for these short moments with his dear friend. "I will be fine Nina, you know this. We have some of the best wolves to help carry the pack." He smiled at his friend, it was weal, but he knew it was only because he hadn't the strength at the moment to smile properly.

It did not make her happy to see her friend in pain of any kind and wished that she could take it away from him. It was the healer in her, the part that had to ensure the well being of everyone else around her. It had what had once led to her demise, as she had ended up falling extremely ill with an injury and had needed to seek other medical help other than her own. She had been away from Copper Rock Creek for quite awhile due to this and had stayed away from her home for quite some time, but dear Ruiko had understood why she had needed to stay away…she had needed to heal. And now Hollow needed to heal from this deceptive wolf that had backstabbed him without word, just as her own had left. She could not find it in her heart to hate though for it would be against the morals that she had grown up with. Unfortunately, many things that defaulted her morals in general we apart of her life, but hating another was one thing that Nina couldn’t bring from within herself. The mother always ad to find the good in others and knew she could take no one for granted.

The golden brown lady listened to her friend speak. He had wise words to say and Nina had no doubt that they came from his very soul. Sighing once he was finished, she turned to him, her lips in a grim line, ”The world we live in is twisted in every way, my dear friend. There is nothing that will happen that brings you happiness but isn’t the barer of pain at the same time.” Wherever there was love, there was sure to be pain, same could be said for any other pleasant emotion or feeling someone could get. Nina wanted to wish sometimes that some things hadn’t happened because it was easier to assume such things because in the end it always hurt more to accept the truth of matters. Moving her muzzle towards Hollow’s shoulder, she butted him lightly, her single eye glancing up at him, ”We do have a trustworthy pack…for the most part.”

The she wolf had wisdom for him as always, always Nina seemed to know what to do and what to say. As if he could not come up with a single experience that she hadn't dealt with at least once. Even when he spoke from his heart, the she wolf before him now never took that for granted, though she could easily bend him to her will, with nothing more than a recollection if his past. Nina held all of the dark males weaknesses in her head, and he knew very few of hers. It was strange to think of, that one could know another so well, yet at the same time know nothing about her. Nina was truly a mystery to the midnight pelted male. He sighed as he felt the bump on his shoulder and saw her eyes flicker up to him. In that split moment he felt a very uncomfortable prickle rol up his spine.

A short choking sound came from his muzzle, but Hollow quickly attempted to cover it up by speaking again. "Yes, that is true... there... there cannot exist one without the other."The dark male grew flustered with his momentary unhinging. "T-to have pain means that we are granted love, and to have love means we endure pain." The words began to soothe him but not before his eyes started tracing Nina for quick short intervals. What the hell was that? Frankly Hollow was confused as to what that spike really was, after all he had never noticed Nina... Like that and never before had she made him uncomfortable, even with only one eye. Hollow shook his head and dipped it down. "Well Nina, you and I both know that if they aren't loyal to us." He locked eyes ignoring the heat in his face, "We'll just have to show them the strength of secret Woodlands."