Quaking Vale love is not a victory march

Things are going downhill fast... AW but @Niles

Cas had known for a very long time that this was coming. Winter was fast approaching, and with it brought snow, and with the snow came cold, and with the presence of cold was the presence of pain. The young alphaess had actually been in a pleasant mood that morning - the pain was there, but it wasn't overwhelming. Instead of taking the lessened pain as a blessing, Castel had completely disregarded it and decided to make the most of her day. She made a game for herself out of chasing the falling snowflakes, bounding over a few of the snow drifts that had formed between the tall, orange-leaved trees above her.

It had slipped her mind that Draven was gone. That there were no more herbs. Which, of course, was fine by her, because finding Sachiel was definitely a priority. She didn't even want to admit how worried she was for the child. It was simply imperitive that he be brought home, and she understood wholeheartedly why Draven and Neha had gone after him. She would have been angry at them if they hadn't gone after him.

Regardless, today was one of those few and far-between days where she actually felt like playing. It seemed as though these were getting harder and harder to come by these days. And she was having fun. Until, of course, she wasn't.

All at once, after jumping over a small drift, her legs locked on the landing and she fell gracelessly into the snow before her. At first, she thought it was funny. It wasn't until she realized that the snow was dotting with blood from an apparent scratch she had received on her face and she couldn't move her legs that she began to realize the severity of the situation.

"Your mother bled a lot... her limbs stopped working..."

Oh.

Oh.

Suddenly, it all made sense. Suddenly, everything came crashing down as her body tensed up in the snow. Suddenly, she was fully and totally aware of her own impending mortality. Much more so than she had been in the earlier autumn, and much more calmly, as well. Because there was nothing she or anyone else could do about it, and she didn't want to cause any sort of panic among the remaining pack members... of a pack that was destined to fall apart. She did hope that, once Draven and Neha found Sachiel again, they would bring him back and somehow meet Alastor and Sahalie and reform the pack, perhaps with Tikhon and Niles in tow. That everyone could be together and be happy once again... just without Cas this time.

It was a nice thought.

"Niles!" she called from where she lay awkwardly in the snow, knowing that she would freeze to death and hurry herself along if she just stayed there by herself. Maybe her gigantic mate could help her get somewhere a bit warmer. "Niles, I need you!"

(This post was last modified: Nov 17, 2017, 03:33 AM by Castel.)

Worry had been the Artemieva's natural state as the pack members continued to disappear and he had to wonder how much longer he would have a home. Sachiel was gone which saddened Tikhon more than he had thought possible but it wasn't as if the agouti man wasn't used to being left. So he'd gone about his business taking care if the pack each day, doing what he could and trying to keep his mind off things. Then Neha and Draven had left to go in search of their son as any good parent should but that left the packs number so low. With winter coming he hoped that they would get some wolves to save their home.

It was a normal day for Tik as he did his patrols and caught a couple rabbits to add to the cache. He thought some time for a little rest was in order before he made the rounds again. With less wolves there were less bodies patrolling so extra watch had to to he made on the borders.

The orange trees had lost their leaves by then as fall was coming to an end and slipping into winter. He didn't want to face another winter without a pack. His ear flicked at the sound of Castel’s voice. It had been some time since he’d had the chance to talk with her he'd been so busy. The way she called for Niles however was troubling so he changed direction and headed to where her voice had come from.

What he found when he got there was alarming at best. “Cas are you alright?” He said going to her before berating himself. She didn't look alright in the slightest. “I'm sure Niles will be here soon,” he tried again coming up beside her, “is there anything I can do until he gets here?”

(This post was last modified: Nov 25, 2017, 08:08 AM by Tikhon.)

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"Niles!" The call had come up from within the heart of Quaking Vale - or, at least, it seemed like it from where he stood on the border of the Vale. With his heart in his throat, Niles raced to Larkspur's old log, immediately scanning the area and not finding his mate. "Niles, I need you!" He cursed under his breath, "CASSIE!!" He was much farther than he had wanted to be from her; and, all he had wanted to do was find something for her and Tikhon to eat.

As quickly as he could physically manage, he charged through the snow, only comprehending the spaces through the trees and making snap-decisions on where his next leaping bound should be. The faster he got to Castel, the better.

Relief flooded him when he saw Tikhon's tawny form tending to her splayed body in the snow. Niles knew now that he could depend on the man; the fact that the subordinate had remained when everyone else had left had been proof enough, but now that Niles saw him there, ensuring that Castel was all right, he found himself certain that between them both everything would be all right. He had to believe. He had to believe it or this wouldn't work.

With his head bowed and steps careful as he walked around her, he let out a soft whimper. "It's okay... it's okay," he said this mostly to himself but he hoped Castel and Tikhon would also pull some comfort from it. "What happened?"

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!