Larkcall Lowlands Bend and break

Thread takes place directly after this one. @Adelayde Again, watch for Askan's potty mouth.

Askan ran till his sides heaved, till his vision blurred and his paws ached. That fucker. He shouldn't have let him go- not after he had the nerve to spout such bull-shittery. He walked right up to him as though the 'neural lands' were his own, he'd held himself all high and mighty, like Askan was supposed to pay him dues- like he was supposed to revere and respect him. Fuck that. He'd let him live.... Like he had any authority over him. But what hurt the most was the fact that he'd taken Craw up on that offer. He'd ran away with his tail between his legs. Craw was worse than any imagined demon, he was the devil himself. Askan wanted him dead. He'd kill him as soon as he got the chance. And oh how he'd enjoy it. Nothing could be sweeter. He could imagine it clear as day, he could almost taste the salty twang of blood on his tongue. Only to realise a second later that it was his own.

He could have- no should have- gone back to the den, but couldn't take it, he couldn't just lay back down and pretend as though nothing had happened. He felt as though he was choking, drowning in a ocean of his own incompetency and cowardice. Why did he even bother? He couldn't do anything right he couldn't even-

Askan collided with a tree at full force and collapsed to the icy ground, with a pained 'ooof'.

For several long moments he just laid there, holding his breath and staring up at the night sky. And then with a sigh, his eyes flickered closed with uncharacteristic calm. He basked in the sharp pain that addled his head. It hurt. His ears were ringing and dots danced about on the back of his eyelids. But this kind of hurt, it felt nice. It felt good even. Or at the very least it felt better than the sensation that was tearing through his chest. For a moment he didn't know what it was- no he didn't care what it was. He just wanted it to stop, he wanted to breathe. His chest was shaking, shuddering, but he wasn't out of breath anymore. It hurt. It really hurt.

Askan scrambled to his feet and with all the force he could muster he slammed his head into the trunk of the offending tree. This hurt was better than that hurt. But still, it wasn't enough to stop the hiccups from escaping his lips- nor the pathetic sobs that soon followed.

Fuck, he was a mess wasn't he?

Like usual, the sizable tawny Snow was wandering around under the night sky with the stars illuminating her way around her new home lands. Since she was accepted, Adelayde had spent most of her time exploring her surroundings, immersing herself into the details of the lands. Within the first few days, she was able to pin down a few brown lemmings and also score a couple rabbits for the caches. Feeling like she was finally contributing, she took a night stroll to of course star gaze and relax under the moonlight. Settled underneath a large tree, Ade planted her mismatched eyes upon the glistening night sky with a light hum reverberating within her throat as she laid down to relax in a few moments of silence.

Not even mere moments after Adelayde settled beneath the aged tree, did a booming thud echo towards her. Immediatly following the noisy thud was a pained yowl which sounded like it came from a mouth of a wolf. She was quick to her feet as she hurried off towards the origin of the anguished sound. The tawny girl wasn't sure if she close or not until the moonlight shined through the tree just right for her mismatched gaze to find the body of Askan laying limp against the frozen ground. A sharp intake of breath left her speechless as her body was frozen, though her mind was wheeling with hurried thoughts. What happened? Was he dead or injured? Why wasn't he breathing?

Finally she took in a ragged breath as soon as his dark chest moved and quickly afterwards the once deadly still man, sprung to his feet before slamming his head into the tree in front of him. "HEY! WHA-" His crying sobs cut her off leaving her speechless and utterly hurt to hear him like this. Quickly she rushed over to him, ignoring possibly intruding his personal space. "Hey hey..." She whispered, bumping his cheek softly before backing away a step. "Now I'm sure that tree didn't deserve that. Right?" Ade wasn't expecting an answer to her question. Her heart tightened at seeing someone this upset, but Adelayde was here if he needed someone to vent to or just to be here next to him. Or knowing him, he may try to send her away.

(This post was last modified: Nov 22, 2016, 12:51 AM by Adelayde. Edit Reason: dont know how to read )

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Much to his shame, Askan didn't notice her at first. Her loud, alarmed words didn't even register. He couldn't hear anything but the ringing in his ears and those pathetic wracking sobs that rattled his chest and made his throat sore. Gods, he hadn't cried like this since he was a pup, that one time Everly pulled on his tail a little too hard. That was a humiliating memory in of itself, so the fact that he was more or less recreating it here and now- well it was outright mortifying. He felt that way before he even realised he had company.

So when it finally- and it took a solid few seconds- dawned on him that he was no longer alone. Well those shitty- you're pathetic, scum scum scum- feelings increased tenfold. He shivered at her touch. He didn't want her to see him like this- yes he recognised her easily, her voice and scent were unmistakable- but it wasn't anything personal. He didn't want anyone to see him like this. Which was exactly why he had fled with his tail tucked between his legs and his ears pinned to his forehead. Adelayde at least had the mind to take a step back, to give him a bit of space to catch his breath. There was no denying that he was fragile and temperamental at that moment, but he had no intentions of lashing out. He wasn't going to take his problems out on her, as tempting as it was, but he appreciated her retreat nonetheless. 

It was though it took an eternity for him to gather his wits, breath and bearings. With every ounce of strength he had- at this point he didn't have much- he scrambled together a pretence and narrowed his eyes in a squint and turned his lips down into a frown. He pretended not to notice the ragged nature of his breathing, or the occasional dancing light that probably wasn't real, and instead finally turned his attention to Adelayde. He didn't even realise she had asked him a question, so instead offered one of his own.

"What are you doing up?"His voice wobbled a little and he swallowed, frustrated. "It's late."

(This post was last modified: Nov 22, 2016, 01:54 AM by Askan.)

Though she still didn't know much about Askan, she knew enough from their encounters and the few words exchanged, Ade knew how poor his social skills were. Askan could be defined as arrogant and easily irritated at times, however she didn't want to believe those were his defining characteristics. Adelayde knew how loyal he was to Drestig and this settled family. She wanted to see the good in him, but had to acknowledge he was a guarded and troubled soul. Every ounce of her wanted to help him, but she wasn't sure where to begin to peel away at his onion like layers.

Silence followed her quiet words. The dark muddy man seemed to finally begin to collect himself and calm his bearings now that he wasn't alone. Who knows how long he would have been like this, smashing his head against the tree trunk and upset with who knows what. 

With a frown upon his lips, he turned to her, his breath still ragged but slower than they were a few mere moments ago. A question of his own followed hers, Ade almost expected this response from him. A soft smile grazed her lips to contradicted his frown, a smirk that went all the way to her mismatched eyes. "I was star gazing of course." Though she knew he wasn't much for small talk, Ade figured he wanted to get his mind off of what was bothering him so much. She wasn't going to push him to lay on the couch and vent his feelings about everything while she wrote notes down on a pad of paper while asking him, "How did that make you feel?" No, that wasn't Askan. Though it could make him feel better to talk about it, but probably not with her. Maybe with the Old Man, but not her. 

"Walk with me?" Her gaze caught his daffodil eyes as a soft smile grazed her lips. She was truly trying to help and Ade hoped he could see that and accept it and not reject her.

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There is a family of deer nearby. Hunt Opportunity

"Of course." Askan huffed, a little miffed that he hadn't guessed. 

It was obvious really, now that he thought about it. Now that he could think about it. By no means was his mind awash with positive and pleasant thoughts but he was distracted, the pain in his chest had lessened some. He didn't feel as though he was choking, that his airways were sealing themselves closed, he didn't have to gag for air but.... It still hurt. He blinked rapidly, trying to shoo away those stubborn tears, then cleared his throat. What a mess. He was a walking disaster. Maybe it would have been better if he'd just stayed down.In fact, maybe it would have been better if he refused Craw's offer in the first place and just let himself starve to death. Then he wouldn't be in this mess.

But now that Ade was around, he couldn't.... Do what he had been doing. It seemed silly now, like he'd been caught throwing a tantrum, but he saw no judgement in her mismatched eyes. Just concern, like he mattered- even though she didn't even know him, or what he'd done. 

Askan suddenly felt very weary, as though he'd been on the run for several days straight. The weight of the nights events came crashing down onto his wide shoulders, and his head throbbed with an angry vengeance. The marks on his forehead had scabbed over but he had a feeling that his head smacking had done little to aid their healing. He might have even opened the little wounds. Not to mention, he was certain had killed a fair few brain cells. Either way, he knew he'd have a headache tomorrow morning. Which, he no doubt deserved and would have to suffer through in silence. 

But as clingy as it might seem- and he did not want her to get the wrong impression here- he didn't want to be alone. It was apparent he did silly, perhaps even dangerous things when he was left alone in such a state. It would not become a habit, he would not allow it to, but for now he was going to play it safe. He was going to accept her proposal. Just this once.

"Sure thing." Askan took one step towards her and then faltered, his eyes darting in the direction of which he had come from. "But not that way. Lets go this way." He pointed with his snout, before falling into step by her side.

(This post was last modified: Nov 22, 2016, 03:59 AM by Askan.)

The dark cloaked man huffed out an expected response which seemed to widen her sly grin. Of course he was still Askan, the ever so grumpy man. What a shame, he wasn't able to smash that side of him out. Adelayde hoped eventually she would be able to teach him the act of conversation, but she doubted it would be easy.
 
Glancing away for moment to give him the privacy he probably wanted as he struggled to mask his tears. Ade has never seen quite this much genuine emotion from Askan. It comforted her to know he was capable of any feelings other than irritation and anger. Ade knew there was more to him than he was willing to show. The Snow woman was a pretty open book, or so she thought. She was a free and wild spirit that didn't want to be contained by standards and behavior expectations. And Askan could use a few moments to be free and wild.

Smiling encouragingly as he agreed to take a walk with her, he pointed them in the direction he wanted to go and the two of them fell in step together. For a while, Ade let the silence bask around them until she glanced at him with a sly grin before she took off ahead of him into the frozen rye fields with her songful laughter filling the air. With the moon high above them and the stars twinkling against the frost covered rye stalks, it made for a perfect fall night. Not sure if he'd take the bait of the chase, either way she going to enjoy the night before them.

Her smoky breaths were easily seen as they lifted towards the stars. Adelayde's legs slowed to a brisk jog as she gazed up at the stars for a long moment. A songful hum escaped her maw as she curled her neck around to see if Askan was near.

 

(This post was last modified: Nov 26, 2016, 06:57 PM by Adelayde.)

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Askan would have been content to walk in silence. Instead of dwelling on his thoughts, he focused on the crunch of frost beneath his feet, the puffs of warm air that clouded from his lips and the sharp throbbing of his forehead. He didn't need nor want a conversation and it seemed as though Adelayde had the mind to pick up on that. She didn't ask him whether he was okay, because it was clear that he wasn't. At most it'd be a pointless question and at worst, it'd tick him off because she'd be pointing out the obvious. The obvious thing that he was doing his damnedest to deny.

He wasn't sure what she had in mind, but from that sly grin she shot his way he knew it was something. Something good, bad? He had no idea. He just tilted his head as confusion narrowed his eyes. If she was going to try something funny- which he doubted, as she was a Rye wolf now- well, she'd have another thing coming. He was in no mood to take some shit, be it well-meaning teases or a little bit of rough play. Not that he was ever in the mood for that kinda shit, not since he was a pup- maybe even especially since what had happened to him as a pup....

It turned out that his concerns were unfounded, as quite out of the blue she bounded off ahead, springing along as though she didn't have a single care in the world. Well that was...  His ears perked at the chirpy nature of her laughter and it took him a solid few seconds to realise what had her so chipper. She was happy, more than that she was enjoying herself prancing around in the moonlight with only Askan and the stars for company.

Askan rolled his eyes. How stupid. Such a waste of time and energy. It was late, she should be sleeping otherwise she'd get up late tomorrow and then she'd be unproductive and it would reflect negatively on her and.... Askan wrinkled his nose. It was.... Sort of endearing? That despite his heavy and unavoidable aura of grumpiness and nastiness, she was still going out of her way to try and make him smile. Or at the very least make him stop frowning like he was trying to melt the frost through sheer will power alone. 

And it worked somewhat, though perhaps not in the way she wanted. He wasn't going to chase her, he was feeling a little to sore for that and neither did he want to give her the impression that he spent his time bouncing around like a spring hare but... He snorted in amusement and plonked himself down on the ground at the edge of the field,with a slight- almost what you could call a- smile on his black lips. 

She reminded him of Percy- it was almost impossible to resist their infectious warmth- but she was different too in a way he couldn't place. Either way, she had earned herself the honour of being considered tolerable- an okay gal.

Her mismatched blue green eyes peered curiously behind her to see if she got any reaction out of the grumpy lump as her tawny rump settled down upon the frosty field with her back to the darker Rye male. His grumpy, stoic persona seemed to have wavered for just a moment and she dared to believe she made the dark man relax his permanent frown for a long moment. Nonetheless, she didn't have any expectations on him bounding after her and participating in the fun she was having, so Adelayde would just have to have all the fun by herself. For now. 

Adelayde could have an uncontrollable motor mouth with an never ending stream of questions with situations like this. However, Askan could hardly hold a conversation with her when he wasn't this oddly emotional. But, Ade could only wonder what happened. Who could make this man feel such emotion? Or what for that matter? Though she was concerned for his well-being since it seemed when he was upset, he liked to go on a tirade of smashing his head into immovable trees. She had to admit she held a slight feeling of admiration to whoever could get such a reaction from Askan. Obviously, she'd never share such things to him at such a delicate moment or ever actually. But she had to wonder again how they did. They could teach her a thing or two, maybe. 

"Why does it seem we always meet on such beautiful nights?" Ade playfully inquired with a light sound of laughter within her singsong voice. The first night they had met, it was a night just like this. Perhaps not as bitterly cold, but beautiful nonetheless. Her mismatched seafoam eyes lifted straight up above her for a moment as she gazed up upon the twinkling night sky. Adelayde couldn't fathom getting tired of gazing up at these stars. She knew others, such as Askan, didn't care much for star gazing and probably never minded to. But Ade could stare at these stars all night and day if she could. The night sky was also a prominent reason why she would never want to settle within a large forest. The open fields and tundra gave the best view. Those terrains always attracted her, which led her to finding Askan and joining Wild Rye Fields. It seemed to be match made in heaven for Adelayde. 

"Askan, I don't think I've seen a sky this beautiful though. All my time at home, the skies were obviously beautiful like they always are. But... Here it just seems more..." Adelayde paused for moment trying to find the right weird. "Magnificent, she breathed softly, her eyes scanning the sky from left to right slowly before pandering her next thoughts. "Have you seen anything magnificent?"
 

 

(This post was last modified: Dec 02, 2016, 03:05 AM by Adelayde.)

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Askan was not in a conversation mood- not that he ever really was- but it seemed as though the same could not be said for Adelayde. Maybe she was trying to lighten the mood, to change the conversation and so his train of thought. It was a valiant effort, but not a very effective one. How was he supposed to just ignore what had happened? Turning his nose up at it wasn't going to make it go away. Perhaps if he'd been on his own he would have been able to cover the evidence, to bury this secret deep.

But she had seen, she'd seen him flipping out and she hadn't mocked him, in fact she wanted to help. What she was doing now, this was her way of helping. It wasn't working, but the fact that she was making an effort was baffling for him. It was so bizarre he didn't know what to make of it. Of her.

Adelayde's words felt empty, but Askan glanced up at the sky nonetheless. He could admit the sky was pretty, with its hundreds upon thousands of glinting lights, but he was certain that there wasn't a correlation between the sky and their meetings. They were both Rye wolves now, they were bound to run into one another every now and then. This couldn't be called an unusual encounter. But then again that didn't seem to matter to Adelayde, she was so enamoured with the sky above she didn't even notice his eye roll or the grimace that twisted his lips. She was happy, good for her.

"Looks about the same to me, like the other night." Askan responded, his voice dry with very little enthusiasm. Then again he'd made his disinterest clear the other night, so she shouldn't be surprised. At this point she should have gotten used to his demeanour, after all the others hadn't taken that long to adjust.  If she couldn't do the same then it was her fault.

There was something on his mind though, something he couldn't shake. The longer he sat there, stomach pressed to the snow,the closer it clawed to the surface. He had to sort it out and he was going to address it here and now. Askan rose to his feet, shook off the snow that clung to his coat and with purposeful strides, he made his way over to the Mackenzie. Ignoring her confused expression,he came to a stop right in front of her, standing close with little- if any- regard for her personal space. His nose was mere inches from hers. His expression was rigid and firm, all of the previous softness was shed to reveal a hardened under layer. 

"Adelayde." He uttered her name, as though it was heavy on his tongue. He spoke slowly, with an air of calm but there was no mistaking the threatening tint to his voice. "I want you to promise me something. You have to swear it. Because if you tell a soul about what happened tonight, I will kill you. You get it?"

Its not that he wanted to, he had no desire to follow through with his thread but if he was pushed into a corner, if he felt like he had no choice... He would. This was his attempt to make sure that never happened, to make sure he was never compromised. 

(This post was last modified: Dec 02, 2016, 07:45 PM by Askan.)