Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

RE; @Hollow

Ashanti Aranna
Maybe my heart isn't that whole

RE: The night was dark and full of terrors

The night was dark and full of terrors. Ashanti had woken up from a nightmare and gone out for a small walk. As her paws carried her through the comforting and familiar territory she had noticed it was dark... too dark for her taste. She looked up with a gasp of horror, the stars in the sky were missing. The wolves of Aranna, the spirits, they had all disappeared from the sky. Disappeared into thin air. Had she done something to make the wolves of her past turn away from her. Had her parents disrespected her in such ways because she did something wrong? Why were the stars gone? "No. No no no, no, not Aranna. Mom? Dad?" She whimpered out with sadness and pain.

Where were they all?

Where was Miccah? She had started to become frantic, her mind twisting the very fog around her to show a black abyss that she had 'fallen into.' Delirium? Perhaps it t'was and perhaps she was just still mental. Still mental. She closed her eyes, counting silently to herself. One. It was all a dream, it had to be, Aranna was still in the sky somewhere. She had to find the end to the darkness. Two. Miccah, Nina, Hollow, they had all been in the pack den when she left, therefore they all had to be fine. Three. Darkness is just the light sending signs that you can move on. It was like she was missing a million universes in the sky. Without the stars, she felt alone.

(This post was last modified: Dec 30, 2013, 04:50 AM by Ashanti.)

Hollow woke in the night as usual, and prepared to make an evening run, but there was a wolf missing from the den. Ashanti was nowhere to be found, and usually she could be seen curled up somewhere close to Bane, though not entirely near him. Hollow set out and followed her scent trail,but not before he realized that was just the thing, her scent trail was all he had to go by. The night was black, something Hollow knew a surprising amount about, for when he was young, there had been many nights that were this dark. The sky seemed to just be an empty void, devoid of light, and almost menacing. He had learned not to fear it, as it was just a strange occurrence, he was not an educated wolf on celestial bodies so he eventually assumed even the sky needed rest.

It took quite some time before he finally came upon the she wolf whom from her scent was very worried about something, or scared. "Ashanti? Is something wrong?" His voice slammed into the air like a boulder falling from a cliff. Hollow's velvet black ears flicked back and away from the sound, the night was deathly silent as well. It was ominous and quite frankly, very unnerving. The dark male was not too pleased with the way it felt, he never was, nor did he have any inkling as to what it may mean for Ashanti with her beliefs. Hollow fell upon his haunches and awaited an answer, hoping just to let her know everything was okay.

(This post was last modified: Dec 30, 2013, 05:35 AM by Hollow.)

Look Out!

A bear has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

Ashanti Aranna Ashanti gave another tremor of fear when she heard a voice, the creatures of the night were out to get her. She turned to see Hollow, and although she knew Hollow was a good guy, his presence could not calm her. "My ancestors.... they've all disappeared. All of the wolves who have died... gone. Aranna has vanished from the sky. The night... it is no longer safe." She told him, the fear of what had happened coated her voice. The caught the scent, a bear scent and a deer. Death. Death this foul night and nothing to welcome the animal to Aranna. She told herself as she racked her mind for the ritual. There had been one other time this had happened. Her mother had calmed her down, but her aunt had overthrown the pack the next day. It had been a warning. Ashanti was panicking and her fur bristled. Who had done this? What did the signs mean and how could someone steal the stars from her? What if Miccah weren't there and the stars were all she had left to live for? Someone had stolen them and it spoke ill will to her. "T-the stars d-d-disappeared before. T-the night before m-my a-au-aunt slaughtered m-my family." She stuttered out at Hollow as she found the remains of the deer. It had been torn apart and she started to examine it. She was going insane. The signs, there has to be signs in the carnage? There surely had been last time right? No one would be able to calm her. Her quaint beliefs dug in too deep. What I've done, to face myself.

Hollow grew thoughtful, he had never been a wolf of religion. He assumed that in the afterlife he would meet all those he knew that passed before them. Or something to that effect, truthfully the dark male had no Idea what would really happen when you died. He didn't believe that anything controlled their fate's either simply because he he had never been told something did. Sadly he knew in his own mind that he was at a disadvantage to a wolf with beliefs and faith, of powerful beings. They would never believer his reassurances, and Ashanti probably would be much the same, But as Hollow believed was his duty, as leader, and as Guardian to Secret Woodlands, the dark male would try and protect her from this inner threat, just as he would an outer one.

"I've seen nights this black before, It was always my belief that sometimes the sky needed a rest too." Hollow paused, and gazed upwards, before continuing. "So many wolves look to the stars for guidance and strength, some with a belief that there are ancestors and gods in the heavens, some like me, just for strength that those stars seem to radiate. I think Ashanti, that the sky just needs a rest" He spoke gently hoping that she wouldn't feel he was trying to condescend her belief, he wasn't of course, he was only trying to soothe the she wolf's worries. "Sometimes my dear friend, things just happen, I believe that sometimes, the sky is just the sky. Everything needs rest."

Ashanti Aranna Asha listened to the alpha male try to comfort her and she appreciated the effort. The truth was that she did not believe what he said and she would continue to deny it all. ""Hollow, I can't trust a sky with no stars.... everything bad in my life occurred on a night with no stars." She explained in a terrified voice. The fae was nervous, anxious and perhaps a bit exhausted. "It is like the sky disappears and the darkness makes me vulnerable, weak, powerless." She told the man with another voice of fear. Ashanti was nervous beyond all compare. Though she knew the answer already she would ask it anyways. "Do you not fear a sky with no stars?" She asked curiously. Her mother had tried similar words to Hollow's when the sky went dark. The next day her mother was slaughtered by her aunt and her pack disappeared. Ashanti looked at Hollow and she realized that there wasn't much the man did believe in. He believed in the important things though. Love, sacrifice, honor, duty. The realization hit her like a brick wall. He has experienced great loss, love, sacrifice, honor, duty. That is what he is. He lost Azariah, he sacrificed his love for her in order to stay and lead the pack. Ashanti felt like she whining to Hollow who had already gone through enough. "I'm sorry to have troubled you with these belief this night; surely you have enough on your mind." She told him guiltily. I will try to find my place, in the Diary of Jane

Hollow thought for a moment of Ahsanti's fears and everything she felt was wrong and tried to imagine how it must feel. It had to hurt, to feel powerless just because there was not light in the sky. But then she said something that made Hollow smile in the darkness. "Ashanti there are a few things you should know about me, First I am a guardian, and leader, and to me that means that I am here to protect you, and everyone else from all threats, inside and out. No matter whether they are tangible or not." He stopped for a moment before pressing on hoping she was listening, for he had never truly told anyone how he felt about his position. "So I never have too much on my mind to help a pack mate, and friend." Hollow smiled in the direction of Ashanti's scent, hoping she could feel his encouragement.

If the she wolf could see she would have seen the uncharacteristic glossy brightness in his eyes while he spoke. "As for the night with no stars I do not fear it. Mother told me never to fear the dark." He took a moment to draw a shuddering breath while he remembered some of the wisdom his parents had passed to him before their death, the sound of his mothers voice rang in his ears making his voice thick. "She always said, that when the stars were gone and made the night black, or if you ever lost, inside the darkest of caves or even inside yourself where no light can reach you."

He paused again, "Light and strength comes from within us all." Hollow thought for a moment and a wolf with beliefs might feel that it teaches contrary to what they know, so he added his own piece of wisdom. "You can still keep your Aranna, just know that all the stars shine in us all. So in a way, your beliefs never have to fade or change, they are just carried with you."

Ashanti gave a small and fake smile to Hollow. Her mind had been mentally unscrewed for a little while, well, almost a year. But at the same time she felt safe and secure. It was her emotions that were confusing everything and she gave a small sigh. "Hollow, sometimes I feel like I don't belong here. Like ever since Bane was born that I've just become a bother, an annoyance, a waste of food." She said as she gazed at the alpha whom had been there for her since she had met him. "Am I a bother?" She asked him, her tone almost desperate for an honest answer. She felt like she had let Nina down; she felt like she had let the pack down.

She was terrible with so many things. She was no mother; she barely ever saw Bane, let alone talking to him and interacting with the pup. She hadn't taught the pups a single thing and above all she had become what some referred to as a 'rude bitch' recently. She just wanted the truth; was she even a Woodland's wolf anymore or was she holding the others captive by staying there further. She had honestly thought about leaving the Woodlands but then Miccah showed up. She refused to leave him again; not after he had searched so long to find the girl he might have loved once. The girl was dead though; it was replaced with a stone cold heart and a lack of sympathy for those who ended up in her path.

Ashanti finally spilled something Hollow knew she must feel. The dark leader payed attention to everything that went on in his pack and knew very well that she had not done a thing ever since her incident, other than be hurting. But Hollow also knew that the she wolf needed time to heal, and that that was a very deep scar to be trying to heal. The woodlands leader also knew very well that he would never rush her healing process, mostly because he believed that when she was ready she would be healed. Her mind would mend in time, her scars would fade and Ashanti could return to normal. But until then as far as Hollow was concerned the mother could have as long as she wanted to take to be normal again.

Hollow sighed as the she wolf spoke, she always seemed so troubled, it pained the leader to hear that she was always hurting so badly. "You are no bother Ashanti, I never put a time on how long recovery would take from your ordeal. You are no waste of food, and it's never too late to become a mother Ashanti" Hollow fell silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts, what he was going to say he knew would hurt him, but hopefully it would open her eyes a little. "Bane already has no father, please Ashanti, give him more than I had, at least give him a mother." Hollow shuddered a little fighting sadness down in his chest and eventually fell silent once more for the worried female happy that she couldn't see how his eyes were glossed in sadness.

Ashanti gave a small whimper when he mentioned being a mother to Bane. She already knew that Bane saw her as no mother. She knew that he looked to Nina more than her and she didn't blame him. The guilt had been gnawing at her mind for months now. Probably since she told Bane about who his father was. She just wasn't sure how to get it across that he was no mistake. She wanted to tell him that he was a blessing; a way to help her recover. But with him always blocking her out there was no real was to put it into words. She thought about how she would tell it all to Hollow, she looked at him and she was scared beyond all belief.

A small sigh before she curled up in a ball. "He looks to Nina for everything. I try, I really do but he shuts me out. He shut me out after I told him the truth about his father. With Miccah being here I'm afraid I've made it even worse. He thinks he's a mistake and I don't know how to get through to him that he shouldn't think of himself that way. I don't want to shut out Miccah; I love him. But at the same time I feel like it is the only way to let Bane in; the only way for Bane to see I love him. Nina suggested I do just that.... but I just don't feel I can." She tried to explain through a broken voice. It was official that she was getting worse, not better. She resembled how she had looked when Hollow first found her near the former Copper Rock Creek borders. Curled up in a ball and trying to block out the outside world.

(This post was last modified: Jan 28, 2014, 03:58 AM by Ashanti.)