Underground Sea there is a city this darkness can't hide

For @Elias only. Forward dated for 1/9.

Why had she stepped paw in here?

She should've known better, but her damned curiosity had gotten the better of her. She'd never known that this system existed beneath the mountain, would have never thought tunnels could rival the depth and complexity which had existed in Whisper Caverns. There was an evident different, the walls were cold and grey rather than the warm clays of her birth home. The light diminished quickly, whereas so many skylights had illuminated those places where her family would rest, curled up together with no idea that things would soon go so wrong.

At least, as children, they hadn't known. As Nineva walked the stone halls, she had to wonder what her parents had been thinking. Surely they'd seen the signs. Had they been holding onto hope? Or just squeezing as much time as they could out of a normal life before it all fell apart?

The disparity and similarities both just served to fully immerse the woman in her past. Nights spent stargazing with her siblings, chasing fallen stars with her sister, thinking she was so sneaky when she'd tail @Yuka, idolizing her mother and father, convinced they could do no wrong. Her eyes felt wet for the first time in a long, long time as she let the glaciers surrounding her heart part, just for this moment. Stepping into the light once more, she entered the cavern which held the underground sea and its beauty sealed her fate.

Nineva began to cry.

He had told himself he wouldn't stray, that he'd remain in the Heights like a good little subordinate but it was difficult when the world around him was so exciting. He'd been in Aurora Heights for weeks now and yet it all felt new, like freshly fallen snow. He wanted to look at this, sniff at that- and ohh what was down there?  He hadn't wandered far, just a little, under the pretence of looking for food but... that hole in the ground was too tempting to ignore. He had to see where it led and more importantly what was down there. 

Glancing over his shoulder, a sneaky little smile worked its way onto his lips as Elias clambered down into the hole. For a moment all was dark as though he'd accidentally closed his eyes. But as he worked his way into the cavern his vision was cleared up by the rays of light leaking in from the ceiling. And what a sight it was, a pool as blue as his eyes laid before him like some sort of mirage. But it was real, his ears twitched at the sound of trickling water and-crying? He froze, panic rushing into his system as he glanced about, looking for whoever was upset.

It was then Elias saw her; Nineva.

Without even stopping to think of how his actions might be interpreted, Elias rushed over to her. His eyes started to sting at the corners too, only because it hurt to see someone so sad, so miserable in such a cool place.

"No no no! Please don't cry! What can I do to make it better? Anything! Please tell me what to do."He begged, a shrill line passing from his lip as he pranced back and forth in front of her, unable to keep still.

The tears flowed freely and in the quiet solitude, she for once gave in, rather than fight them. Apparently, this was needed, and as upset as she was getting, the moment felt cleansing all the same. A final, genuine moment of mourning for the life that she was leaving behind and the dead dreams she had buried there.

Then it was all disrupted, by a flurry of movement and sound. Something bright and vivid was rushing at her, its voice bouncing from off the cavern walls. Those that did not escape through the sun-light ceiling assaulted her ear drums with force. Reactively, she crouched and bared her fangs, tail raising aggressively. What came out from betwixt her jaws, however, was a strangled cross between a sob and a snarl.

Then she recognized him, the one with the too-few toes whod' been looking for his friend. She maintained her posture, warning that he maintain distance, but her nose set to work and her wet eyes were bright and open. He smelled of mountain and pack. The Cove?

"You... where the hell did you come from?" she tried to snap, but her voice was thick from her crying. A bent forelimb raised to meet her cheek, attempting to smear away the miniature river of sorrow.

"n' why are you so sure you can fix everything? Where's Thuban?"

It was a shot in the dark, and meant to sting if she was correct to assume that he hadn't managed to find his missing companion. Cheap, but Nineva had never been so vulnerable and caught off guard before, leaving her utterly in the middle of defensive and offensive.

Caught up in his sudden rush of empathy, Elias didn't see her snappy response coming. He blinked, stunned by her bared teeth and raised hackles. He knew Nineva was frosty but...this was not what he had been expecting at all. They hadn't parted as friends but he thought...he just wanted to... Why wouldn't she let him in? It baffled him, he just wanted to help.

Taking a careful step or two back, Elias nervously licked at his lips."That hole right there. Didn't see any other way in."

Her next words weren't nearly as easy to manage. The first question was fair enough, he supposed, he didn't really have a clue what he was doing here but he wanted to try. But her next question well....if it was her intention to hurt him then she had succeeded. Well and truly. He stiffened once more as his expression dropped and his tail moved to curl between his legs. He knew a jab when he heard one, he'd received plenty of those back at the Mountain, before, but it didn't make it any easier to swallow.

"Well I...." He swallowed thickly, trying and failing to dislodge the lump forming in his throat."I don't know yet but...I'm just trying to help. You don't...have to be like this."

He was a softie, yes, but Terell hadn't raised him to be weak. He wouldn't take a beating unless it was absolutely necessary.

"I'm not going to hurt you, or even tell anyone about this, I swear it. You don't have to be mad at me...please."

He was properly cowed by her abrasiveness, and for a fleeting moment she felt victorious. Then he managed to set her on fire again, wet cheeks burning with something akin to shame.

"Like 'this'? I am this," she bit back in a hiss, tail flagging further upward toward the pinhole of sky above. What did he know about how she did and did not have to act, about anything at all that was going on inside of her, all the anger and resentment and disappointment that had brought her to this moment of weakness?

"If this is so offensive to you then you can fuck off. I'm not asking for your help, I didn't invite you into this I... I thought I was alone..."

She had thought she was safe, but of course such a thing didn't exist. He had to drop down out of the few sparse clouds to invade her privacy. She was being surly, pitiful, and she hated it. Attempted to regain herself by baring her fangs again and clicking them in his face.

"I don't need help. I just needed a moment."

Am this? What, mean and surly? The sort who gained satisfaction by hurting others? Elias didn't believe that for a second. Everyone had goodness inside of them, in some form of another, her's was merely hidden by the hurt. Pain he wished with all his heart he could take away.

He let her snap and snarl, and he took it, the whole brunt of it without even flinching. If this was what she needed then he would let her vent, she could scream at him until she was blue in the face if that's what she wanted to do. Elias wasn't going anywhere, he didn't have it in him to leave. Not when she deserved to be happy, to have everything she wanted in life and more.If only he could give it to her...

"I know..."He murmured, his voice so quiet it didn't echo."But it's okay to need help sometimes. That's...that's why I joined Aurora Heights....I wasn't-I couldn't..."He huffed and shook his head, frustrated that the words wouldn't come out when he needed them most."Maybe I can...face another direction, the wall if you'd like? I won't even say anything if you don't want me to. Company is nice...being alone when you're sad just makes it worse I think."

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

The guy really couldn't take a hint, could he? This wasn't the first time she'd been unkind to him, and still he would not walk away, wouldn't just give her the solitude she craved. It was infuriating, but she also couldn't quite call it a weakness. There was tenacity there, even if misguided.

She settled onto her haunches as he spoke again, shoulders hunched and tail tucking close against her hip. Her ears picked up a tad when he spoke of the pack he'd joined; Aurora Heights. A name she'd never heard before. Of course not the Cove, they were probably gone too, and Cernan with them.

She forced air through her nostrils in a long sigh. He continued to think he knew what was best for her, as though she were simply in denial. As if she truly was just choosing this.

"Some wolves like their privacy, you know," she responded icily. "Alone is fine if you've got the strength to stand on your own four paws."

Alone was her life right now, and she didn't much care for that to be criticized.

(This post was last modified: Jan 10, 2018, 12:07 AM by Nineva.)

Elias had hoped his words had helped, even if only a little, but apparently not. The more he tried to help the more she resented him for it. What else was he supposed to do? He couldn't just walk away knowing she was miserable, what sort of man would do that? She might have wanted to be alone, she was making that very clear, but from the bottom of his heart Elias believed that would only make it worse. That it would only fuel the sadness brimming inside of her.

"I know that too. But you don't have be to strong all the time. That sounds like a lot of work, don't you think?"

He laughed, light and airy only for it to die in his throat when she didn't join in. Awkward. Coughing, Elias rolled his shoulders and ducked his head down as he stared down at his bird-foot. A habit he'd developed as of late; when in doubt look down!

"I think...my point is-what I'm trying to say is... If you don't have the strength now, that's okay.  It'll come back soon enough and you can do whatever you want, whatever is making you sad you can kick it's butt and show it who's boss!"

A lot of work, he said. Her gaze shifted to him briefly, just to show how unamused she was by the statement. Life was work, anything worthwhile was work and too many wolves didn't want to put in the effort. They'd rather follow their whims and build their dens with tinder rather than solid earth and stone.

No, she didn't feel as though she didn't have strength. So this hadn't been a moment of weakness, really. The moment she had given in and begun to let it out, she realized how needed it had been. There was a reason grief took a whole process, one that was healthy to complete. She'd been close to that until he'd interrupted, though she supposed it was all the same. Had her tears, done her mourning. What would be the use of repeating the scenario?

Nineva swallowed.

"Have you never grieved?" she asked him, looking up at his features once more. The words were said in the same tone as before, cold and sharp, but the question was genuine this time. Naive as he was, perhaps he hadn't experienced loss other than his friend that he was now searching for. Or maybe, it affected him differently. Nineva did want to know; how did he manage to be this insufferably bright ball of sunshine?