Drowned Wood You say I've done a lot of things I can't undo

March 8th; Nightfall; Light Snowfall after the storm; 25 F°, -4° C.

He shrugged off the idea of ever seeing his ex-lovers again. He had mourned, he had pieced himself back together to the best of his abilities, and now he was trying hard to remain in the present. He was with Morganna and Niles, was reunited with his daughter Macha, and was very well aware that Willow Ridge still held their ground somewhere just eastward beyond here. The turning of the season did nothing to aid him in his quest to heal, however. It made his limbs restless and made his senses too sharp. He didn't like it; and, he didn't exactly want to entertain the idea that he could be a father again. Perhaps 'coupled' was a more suiting term but, like Niles, he was not in the right state to allow anyone too close. Long ago, Hecate had gained his trust and broken it. The three women who had seduced and abused him had broken him until there was nearly nothing left, mentally or physically. Since then, he had shut down. He had no choice. It was for his survival.

Muddied paws from where the wetlands met the long grasses aimlessly moved. One foot in front of the other... As long as he could move, he was breathing. As long as he was breathing, he could think.

Skoll's steps came to a halt as he stared down at the frosted surface of the Marsh where the area's resident trees had their roots drowned by the water and frozen in the winter season. He might have done this some time ago - he stared across the ice to where he had sat down on his own near the reeds - but this time, it seemed... different. A flash of heat rose up from the back of his neck and shoulders to his throat and cheeks. He shivered, ears swiveling slowly from one position to another just in case he was not alone.

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Judas ARCHER

by the light of the moon, we run

Spring was approaching. He could feel it with the changing of the atmosphere around him. He could tell by the scents in the air, the way others acted upon his approach. Judas was a youth and while he did not know the complete details about spring, knew instinctively that something most certainly was up. The boy had made an attempt to keep out of the way of any strangers, keeping close tabs on his brother @Ramiel and knowing full well he could visit his sister any time in the Lagoon as well. Perhaps Ramiel was not far?

Judas took in a deep sniff of the bog before him, taking in the scent of dead trees, mucky waters and... Dad. He knew that his father lived in the pack with Morganna though had not expected to catch him out this way. Moving along the frozen over shallow waters of the Drowned Wood carefully, he finds his father settled along the shrubbery. "Dad?" He called out, his head lowering and his large ears perked high on his head. Deep grey eyes regarded him curiously as he paused before getting too close. After all, though Judas loved the strength and power of his mother, the women of the Dell had used and abused Skoll, leaving him in dour spirit. Judas couldn't understand the full details of the breeding they used him for, though knew Skoll had snuck out from the pack for an obvious good reason.

☾

(This post was last modified: Mar 09, 2018, 12:27 AM by Judas.)

For being so anxious and hyper-aware, the heartbeat in his ears had nearly drowned out the voice that called to him in the night, "Dad?" Skoll's breath caught in his chest and he whirled about to find a shadow staring back at him with wide grey eyes. Of all his children, only one sported a pitch black coat.

"Judas," he breathed into the wintry air. The monthling's build easily gave him away; Ramiel and Macha's coats were marbled, and Nuriel had red fur while Samael had face markings. Relief seized every fiber of his body. Now he could account for two of his five recent offspring being intact. "You're here."

An eager nose twitched, searching for the telltale scent of blood or the familiar, sickening scent of the Dell and its women. "Are you all right?" He wanted to be sure that his lovers had not laid a tooth or nail on his son, "Where are the others?"

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Judas ARCHER

by the light of the moon, we run

Judas tail waved lightly between his back legs as his father spoke his name, giving the youngest the confirmation he needed to move in closer. "Perfectly fine. A bit hungry, but I'm alright." He spoke, moving even closer still until he was next to his father, allowing him to be able to look him over should his father feel the need to. Judas was already a very leggy wolf though given his travel as a loner and the winter season, he was a bit more thin still. Other then that, relatively healthy.

When his father asked him where the others were, surely he only meant his three Dell brothers, as Macha was already settled within the Scowle ranks. "Ramiel and I have been traveling together... He shouldn't be far." The two brothers strayed from one another though when the weather was bad, food was spotted or it was time to turn in for the night, they found themselves grouping up together for protection. A pair of your average wandering bachelors. "I have not seen Samael or Nuriel...The four of us left together but we all ended up branching off. I've not seen them in Relic Lore yet at all." His mouth pulled to the side then with uncertainty. Either they were still making their way here, had decided to remain in the Dell after all, or had decided to go elsewhere on their own all together. Either way Judas was still happy with all those that were still around. The youngest would never go as far into thinking of any possibility of never seeing his other two brothers again.

☾

"Perfectly fine. A bit hungry, but I'm alright."

The air that had sought refuge in his chest fully left him in a breath of relief. Their shoulders touched as Skoll grazed his nose from the back of the boy's skull and down between his shoulder blades. Judas was fine and, even better yet, he had been traveling with Ramiel. The problem was: the four of them, Skoll's boys, had left the Dell together and the other two had gone missing.

Skoll's paternal side reared its dark face. He was going to see his youngest litter in its entirety again. If he had to march back down into the South and take back his sons from the Devilsbite crones, he would. For now, all he could do was wait...

"Well," he started, withdrawing from Judas now as he mustered up a smile. "That's good, very good. Should be here soon enough then." He tried his hand at being optimistic for once, if not for Judas' sake, then it was for his own. There was no telling just how cruel Anaheram, Vesna, or even Eremiel could be.

He changed the subject to keep his mind from trailing off into terrible, darker things. His smile twitched a bit before falling into a more neutral expression on his scarred face, "Now that you're here, where are you planning to go?"

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Judas ARCHER

by the light of the moon, we run

His father would embrace him then once he was sure everything was alright with his pup, causing Judas to press his large, leathery nose somewhere along the side of his father's shoulder. He was satisfied with Judas' words, saying that the other two brothers should be along soon then and where Judas himself now planned on settled down. Judas paused for a moment until he found himself shrugging with an obvious uncertainty. Up until he had decided to follow his father to the Lore his mother and 'step mothers' had decided for him the majority of what he could and could not do. What was he supposed to do now anyway that he had found his father? Why had his father wanted to leave so much?

Relationships were surely unconventional within the Devilsbite Dell. Three women were in leadership there, worshipers of the moon mother and had taken in a single male in order to use for breeding. They had not been your average mated pair and though in Judas youth he would not come to realize the oddity in this for quite some time. Still, he had been curious of why his father had decided to have his children plan a means of escape from the Dell. Judas loved his mother very much and yet for some reason his father had not been happy there, had felt trapped... Judas didn't bother trying to understand the details but hoped his father was better off now that he was back to his home and Judas was happy to get out where he could do as he pleased outside of the watch of the leading women.

"I don't know, really. I met up with Aunt Morganna not long ago and she said I could stop by the Scowle whenever. There seems like there is a lot going on there already though. May just wonder around with Ramiel a bit, do some exploring between here and the Ridge..." Which, now that he mentioned it. "You know you talked about Willow Ridge a lot dad, how come your not there?"

☾

(This post was last modified: Mar 17, 2018, 09:15 PM by Judas.)