Spectral Woods {M} sinews of a bear

I definitely vote for making a separate thread for the chase. Unless anyone has any objections, I will start one as soon as this one's over/we know where it'll end ^^

The black and white male was oblivious to the drama that unfurled behind his back. He noticed absently that Spieden arrived, feeling nothing particular about her presence and never noticing her personal, emotional struggle. All he saw was Silver, images of her flashing before his eyes, alive, strong, And beautiful... All intermingled with the bloody spectacle at his feet. When Jessie moved, he glanced in her direction, blindly registering that she turned to the golden stranger, but then turning back, incapable of focusing on anything else. It was true that he was emotionally compromised, his min shifting back and forth between crushing sorrow and flaming hatred. He had no idea what transpired between the grey scout and this blonde soldier, but only noticed that his mentor was back by his side, speaking with a gentleness so atypical that it almost broke him out of his stupor. His eyes widened slightly, and he stared at her for a while before finally nodding, eyes gliding over the mangled body and the surrounding terrain; "Not here." He whispered; Not in the place those monsters had chosen. His ears flicked back as the pale woman started speaking again behind them; Why won't she SHUT UP?! He couldn't make sense of her words, didn't bother to concentrate enough, all it was was noise; Too much noise, I want quiet, I NEED quiet! He looked around again, and realize; We're not that far away... Ignoring the golden woman's frustrated words, Speaking over her, he finally said: "I know a place." Silver would be buried next to Galley, another victim of his hubris. Not waiting for answer, the ebony man turned and started walking through the trees, slowly, not turning to see if anyone followed. It was only a short walk to the small, treeless hill where Oliver had lain his memorial to Galley, but Drestig traversed it slowly, leaving Jessie time to do... Well, whatever she was gonna do to the unfortunate blonde. Meanwhile he though, he thought of Silver and their time together, of rediscovering their friendship that snowy night, and it evolving into something more, even after she learned the truth about his past, she accepted him, helped him find himself once more; And now she's gone! Stolen away from him. Rage was seething deep in his stomach, but he refused to let it take over, not tonight. Tonight would be for her, for mourning. But tomorrow; Tomorrow they BURN! Thoughts ”Speech”  Word count: 406

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Spieden Coho

As the ringing in her ears faded, she became aware of the sounds of her bickering packmates. She couldn't peel her gaze away from the gore, staring into the empty, faded eyes of Silver. Jessie's voice held its usual pride, and she was no stranger to Anneliese's verbose militancy. This was no good, one of them lay dead at their feet and here her members were getting into arguments. She knew she needed to do something, something to get the females in line. With great effort she shook her head, staggering back a few steps as if breaking free. She pointedly avoided looking back towards the carnage, even the scent was overwhelming but there was no avoiding that. She'd missed nearly half the words, but the intent was clear from tone. Spieden watched Drestig pick his way slowly through the trees, recognizing the anguish in his gait. She missed what exactly it was he was doing, but it was clear he needed a moment of some sort and Spieden would be the last to take that from someone.

Spieden's grizzled head swung first towards Jessie, then Anneliese. She clacked her teeth together, a soft warning rumble in her throat as her tail swayed high. "You two can work this out later, now is not the time." She grumbled to the other females. Spieden turned to face Anneliese's departing form, shoulders squared. "Anneliese. I will go tell the others. You will keep Jessie and Drestig safe. And you will listen to Jessie." She commanded. Sure, she couldn't say Jessie and her were friends of any sort, but she'd lived and worked with the female long enough that she had a cautious respect for the Second, certainly more than could be said of a new member. Spieden needed to do what needed to be done and also be able to trust that her subordinates weren't getting into fights and hurting each other... One body to bury was already one too many.

While Spieden recognized it might be safer for her to stay with the group and keep watch as well... The thought of the rest of the pack sitting ignorant with murderers on the loose sent chills up her spine. Someone needed to tell them.

Still, she hesitated, waiting to see whether any more ruffled feathers would require her intervention or they would finally all play nice.

(This post was last modified: Jun 14, 2015, 03:58 AM by Spieden.)

Here we are. @Hotei I hope it's okay I'm acting like Hotei stayed with Nayeli for the time being? If not pm me.

Shred it all to pieces, my sanity and reason

There were no changes. Nothing that spoke of their enemies. They did not stop their patrols. They did not end their fears. It was the quiet before the storm. They surely must be holding back, hoping for the opportune moment.

First he did not understand what woke him. He was a little surprised he was asleep to begin with. Usually, he tried to be up patrolling before the sun. When the sound filled his heart, it brought a a familiar coldness. This song was so terribly awful, and miserable it easily could have been something of a nightmare. Something that had once came from his own mouth.The sound did not stop, and Triell hurled himself to the dawning light, afraid. Orange-yellow eyes nervously raked the woods for a foe. His dark nostrils testing the air. The familiarity of his paranoia brought to him some of his senses. There was no mistaking it was Drestig's voice, and such pain. Not knowing what was out there, his heart seemed to pump more furiously, and his paws scrambled. Should he go forward, or stay?  Frozen, he watched and waited for what felt like ages. Soon he could not hear Drestig any more. Suddenly he was met swiftly by the sight of his brother, and Hotei did not need to say a word. He would stay. A nod in turn, the dark wolf found himself running, trying to decipher where Drestig was. It was not so easy when he felt panic rushing at him like dark waves.

Closer to the borders a more feminine howl helped guide him in the right direction. The further to the edge of the realm there were so many scents. It was hard for him to hone on one. But it did not take long for the reek of blood and death to take everything over. No! He wished to yell, but not a sound left him. It took everything he had to trudge forward. To look upon  the scene of a shredded, mutilated body. Gut clenched, ears dropped, and he felt his breath stop short as his mind sorted out the tragedy while his thoughts seemed to scream what a terrible failure he was. Could he protect anyone? Silver to be the one who fell...

Once he had registered Spieden had been saying something before he came, and more importantly Drestig seemed to be moving away, his muzzle quivered between anger and sadness. "I will help too Drestig, and than we shall find these monsters." They deserved more than death, but Triell would sleep better if it was the least they got. Before he went to stand with Jessie a steady look was drawn to his fellow leader, for he was entrusting her to keep the rest of the pack safe. They were not going to wait any more.

are you with me through it all?

Hope this is okay.

Had it not been for Drestig’s voice interrupting what the creamy woman had said, Jessie was sure she would have been on her in a matter of seconds. However, right then it was not her turn to be the irrational one. Drestig’s lover had just been brutally murdered and whether he would admit it or not, he needed her. The Tainn knew she had told herself and him that she would never help if Silver were to break him but this situation hit close to home for her. Never would she allow him to go through the torment that he would have to go through if he did this alone. Spieden, finally contributing to the situation, actually had something worthy to say. Certainly, this new member and she would definitely sort this out later. She made this clear with the obvious curl of her lip. The newest member of their pack did not deserve her attention now and she watched as Drestig made his way to wherever the hell he was going. However, before she could do anything with the body, Triell arrived, making it clear what he wanted to happen. Nodding her head to him in respect, she moved towards the body, her stomaching twisting in knots as she truly took in what was in front of her.

Scrunching her nose up, she turned back towards her leader, her voice soft, <b”Triell…could you…could you carry her body…? I’ll get her…her…”</b> She could not bring herself to say it as she looked back towards Silver’s head, her eyes still open, terrified at whatever it was she was looking at. Swallowing down the bile in her throat, she shook herself mentally, knowing that she had to do this. It didn’t seem right for any of them to hold her, it should have been Drestig to touch her for the final time but the woman did not want to push the older man. She knew first-hand what it was like to loss someone and how hard it was to finish the burial. Nodding towards Triell, Jessie moved towards the decapitated head and firming grasped Silver’s skin within her jaws. How anyone would have the instability to remove one’s head was beyond Jessie. It only depressed her more to know that Drestig had found her body, if it could even be called that anymore, alone.

She was quick to follow her friend’s trail, even if it was blocked by the repugnant stench of Silver’s blood. The thought that Jessie’s canines were sinking into rotting flesh only brought a new wave of nausea to the Tainn’s stomach. As Drestig’s dark form came into view, Jessie hesitated, her paw steps faltering. The last thing she wanted to do was expose her pupil to the monstrosity that had been dealt to them. Unfortunately, in order to bury Silver, he would need to be witness to her remains one last time. Taking one last glance at Triell, Jessie began her short trip towards the broken man. The motherly part of her that had long been quenched reached out for him, but before she acted on such thoughts, she repressed them once again. A pestering woman was the last thing that the Avalon man would want. And so she remained silent, waiting for Drestig to say his last goodbye before they all said goodbye to Silver for the last time. 

Slight pp here to keep things moving, let me know if it's not ok and I'll fix it ^^

The leaders where the one to deliver the last, irrefutable commands, though Drestig did not notice at first. His thoughts were on the task that lay before him, the lat rides of his beloved. The sound of Triell's voice near to him did make the staggering man stop, ear twitching; Triell..? He couldn't speak a word, but dull eyes slowly moved to fall on his friend, lives quivering ever so slightly. Stiffly, almost mechanically, he nodded, recognizing the burlier male's word;, there was a part of him that registered them, that understood, and he appreciated every part of them. Then he turned to continue his walk, reaching the mark quickly, even with his slow gait. He looked at what was left of Galley's memorial, some small, distant part of his brain noting that it could use some maintenance; Now that Ollie's gone I guess it'll be my duty... He would take it on, now there would be two graves to visit after all. The ebony man sighed heavily, fighting back tears as he let his eyes drift over the snow to find a suitable spot. The ground would be hard to break, still latched in winter's last grip, but the hard work would do him good. So he got too it, scraping, first at the snow, then at the dirt, ignoring the frosts bite at his paws and the pain caused by forcefully tearing up the rock hard earth. He felt his muscles warm from the work, and the worst of his daze cleared; I will punish them for this! ...I'll never forget. Turning from the grave, paws and chest stained, now by both blood and dirt, ember eyes gazed into the darkness. By now, some of their usual fire had returned, smoldering through the blackness as they met the approaching wolves. He tried to look at their faces, and not the burdens that they carried, but it was impossible to ignore the very reason for all this, the tattered, bloody pieces, now locked in his pack mate's jaws like remains of a kill. Yet he felt suddenly desensitized, like all this stink and sight of gore had made him numb. only when Jessie stepped forth, and his eyes fell on the particular burden she brought, did the stained man feel his throat close up, the urge to gag returning in full force. But he repressed it, pushed it aside angrily, and moved to continue the rites; To finish. He looked back over at Triell, nodding in respect and gratitude, and stepped aside to allow the alpha access to the grave. Then he stepped over to Jessie, meeting her emerald gaze, and for a moment, all his emotions were bared, all his pain and disbelief and hatred and despair, then he blinked, feeling moisture on his furry cheeks. He turned his eyes down, let them take in to full view of Silver's head held in the grey scouts maw. Swallowing hard, Drestig clenched his jaws for a moment, then he forced his tongue to function; "Thank you." He whispered hoarsely, knowing that no amount of words could ever convey all that he wanted to say to his mentor and friend. He moved to take the load out of her grasp, fearing the sensation of his love's cold, dead flesh in his mouth, but knowing that he had to do this himself, for Silver's sake, if not his own. He would place the head in the grave, and cast one last look at it, then cover up the remains of the woman he loved. There should have been words said, thousands of them, about her strength and honor and integrity, about her fierce love and never ending trust and the way she could forgive everything with a single look of her golden eyes. But he couldn't voice them, there was no more speech left in him for the night. But they ran through his mind as he covered up the grave, along with every moment his eyes had ever been on her, every image of her face and movements he could remember, every word spoken in her deep, coarse, yet beautiful voice. The rest of the night, he would watch over her, mind and eyes blank, only drifting off at the very wee hours, for a short, restless sleep. She would be in his dreams for the next many nights, but this one was full of vengeance and blood, he had a score to settle before he could mourn. Thoughts ”Speech”  Word count: 748

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Fade here, unless anyone has anything to add?