Shallows Edge The Ties That Bind

For @Askan | Sunset | Takes place after Leave A Whisper

How she'd even managed to make her way home was nothing short of miraculous. Through the night and the next day she'd pushed herself, knowing that if she stopped for longer than just to catch her breath, she wasn't going to make it. Lyanna's heart pounded from the loss of so much blood. Weaker with every step, it felt like every mile that passed made it more difficult to breathe, and by the time she'd crossed the borders of Shallow's Edge, her sides heaved laboriously. Dried blood was crusted on her face and matted in large chunks in her tawny fur - missing in places that were replaced with wounds of all shapes and sizes. Defeated and, in all honesty, lucky to be alive, she limped almost lifelessly through the brush before her den eventually appeared off in the distance, leaving a trail of blood behind her that surely stretched all the way to Kingsfall.

The sun was beginning to set. Perhaps it would have been for the best to seek out one of her pack mates for help, but by the time her paws met the verdant grass just outside the den's mouth, she simply collapsed. Her entire body throbbed as she struggled to find air to breathe. What would Askan think of her now, showing back up from a simple scouting trip half dead? Not only that, but she was sure her encounter with the boy from their rival pack was going to stir up more trouble than she wanted to be responsible for. She hadn't intended for things to get as violent as they had, but she hadn't had a choice in the matter. She could only defend herself as best she could, and at the time, her best meant escaping as fast as she could. Again, she was lucky to have found an opportunity by the time the vicious fight was said and done.

And so she laid, her head nestled between her forearms that were no longer creamy but blood-stained. Laboring to breathe, managing only to suck in shallow breaths and wheeze them back out, a long, slow whine escaped her. If no one found her tonight, she didn't know if she'd live to see the sun rise.

I don't care if heaven wont take me back

Askan didn't know what to expect. The heavy scent of blood slammed into his nose and it was unmistakable. Not that of prey, like someone had just returned from a hunt, but of kin. Immediately, his mind began whirl then snapped to Reyes.  He hadn't seen his mate since the morning, they usually split up as they had duties to attend to, different routes they liked to stick with. But shit, if something happened to him the Selwyn wouldn't know what to do with himself. And what if it was one of the kids? Fuck, that'd rot him from the inside out too. They were his to protect, he'd given them his damn name, they mattered that much to him.

Askan didn't stop to think, he rushed along as fast as he could, meandering through the trees till he saw a bloodied, tawny blob stretched out on the grass. Sachiel? Fuck fuck fuck. He slowed to a trot, then a frenzied walk- only to slow even further when he realised just who it was. Lyanna.

Fucking hell. This was not what he'd expected, at all.

"The hell happened to you?" He asked none to kindly, rather reminiscent of how he'd treated Cancer and Ris all those weeks ago.

He stood beside her as he took in the sight of her battered form. She clearly wasn't dying but...even Askan could see that she'd taken a beating, that the journey home hadn't helped either. Askan leaned in and scented the air and-he paused, he'd assumed that coyotes had whooped her arse but the smell that clung to her coat was that of a wolf. A male...and a Vigils Keep wolf? Maybe? He hadn't shoved his nose into Elias' fur but the smell was sort of similar, it carried the same notes and was too close to be a mere coincidence.

So this is what it had come to, huh? Regardless of who had been hurt, whoever did this would pay. Askan would make it so.

(This post was last modified: Aug 06, 2018, 01:34 AM by Askan.)

A time went by and she felt only slightly relieved in the grand scheme of things when she was able to finally catch her breath. The incident itself hadn't been traumatizing, really, but the anxiety she felt in not knowing if she'd make it home or not had thrown her for a loop. It all had just begun to settle in and she realized she'd survived. Most likely, she'd regain some of her strength if she could rest enough and when she was able, she'd attempt to seek someone out. But she was hardly ready, not yet.

Lyanna hadn't moved an inch by the time she caught the sound of someone moving through the forest. She could only imagine what a mess she looked like, battered as she was and covered in her aggressor's disgusting scent. The pad falls came nearer and finally upon her and she didn't even move to see who it was until his voice broke over the quiet of the approaching night.

Askan. Damn him. The one person she longed for the most at the moment and the one person she didn't want to see her like this. His tone was not the least bit kind, and she reckoned that was just fine. She'd certainly earned whatever was coming to her now.

She remained still as he sniffed over her. When he was done she shakily lifted her head, saying nothing as a low whine expressed her need for his comfort - which she most likely would not get - and begged for a sliver of kindness. Whether he liked it or not, he was essentially all she had. And even if she didn't want him to look upon her now, she was incredibly happy to see him - as always.

Pushing herself up to sit, her golden eyes found his, bright and weary against the backdrop of her bloody, muddy face. "I'm fine, Askan," she replied in a quiet, withdrawn sort of voice with a tone that was a far cry from her usually upbeat one when it came to conversing with him. "I was attacked by a wolf belonging to our new neighbors up north." She attempted a feeble smile, attempted to make a joke about the irony of it, but as she craned her neck to get a good look at him, the pain shot through her like a bolt of lightning. She winced, her brows furrowing together. Explaining her failure to him couldn't have felt any more against the grain.

"I'd been tracking a herd through Kingsfall, had been for several days," she began, sure that - at minimum - he'd want to know what happened. "When our paths crossed he mentioned being one of them, that the area was their hunting ground. I told him nothing of Shallows Edge, only that we were allied with the Surge and that Kingsfall was plenty big enough, that it was neutral ground. He didn't like it, said that if we went up there then they'd come down here. I let him know they wouldn't be welcome if they came traipsing around, and the rest is history, I guess."

She was in for it, now.

And she wasn't ready for his backlash, not after what she'd been through, but she was willing to take it. What choice did she have.

(This post was last modified: Aug 06, 2018, 03:04 AM by Lyanna.)

I don't care if heaven wont take me back

Lyanna's words were telling. She hadn't just gotten into scuffle or even a fight, she had been attacked. Viciously and without mercy from the looks of it. But why? Were the wolves of Vigils Keep really that arrogant to think they could get away with this? Did they think that this was acceptable, their way of staking claim to the east? The thought made his hackles raise as he gritted his teeth, the urge to snarl and spit was hard to resist. He wanted nothing more than to stomp up to the Lake and seek retribution. He knew for a fact that he'd be capable of giving the Keep wolf a taste of his own medicine, that sometimes the only way wolves learned was through the hard way.

In all honesty though, he could see why Lachesis hated them so much. Before he had disliked them on principle, but now it very much felt personal. Needless to say, Vigils Keep wouldn't be around for much longer if they kept pissing off all of their immediate neighbours. Not that Askan-or anyone else, for that matter- would be terribly sad to see them go...

Askan's expression softened just a little as he watched her wince. He was stern, perhaps overly so, but he wasn't a cruel man. Lyanna was kind of annoying, but he found no satisfaction in seeing her suffer. She deserved better. Without even needing to prompt her, Lyanna pushed through the pain and continued. As he had expected, she'd been off scouting when she met that bastard Keep wolf. Had she been any other wolf Askan might have questioned the validity of her words, but what would she gain from that? She'd already been whomped, playing the victim wouldn't earn her a lot around here. And honestly, it seemed as though this whole affair had wounded her ego a little. Who would willingly sink this low?

In Askan's eyes she had acted appropriately. She had spoken the truth, if that fucking Keep wolf couldn't stomach it than it was his own damn problem. Not hers. He exhaled slowly through gritted teeth. What a fucking mess, but nothing he couldn't deal with. She'd done her part, fulfilled her end of the bargain- wounded or not she deserved to be a scout. Or whatever she wanted to be called. But he could deal with that later, first things first he had to get her sorted.

"I see." Was all he said. Moving a little closer he gently nudged her side with his nose, it just wouldn't do to leave her laying around, bleeding, out here. The sooner @Pietro tended to her the better. "Come, get up. Lean on me."

Kindness wasn't Askan's thing but he was trying.

Askan didn't have much to say but it was easy to see that the incident and its implications had put him on edge as he gritted his teeth.

To state that the attack had wounded her ego was correct. She'd only been doing her job, and she'd been at it - tracking that herd - for a number of days before her efforts had been so gruesomely ended. It hadn't been for lack of trying, though. She'd given it everything she had. She'd made good time. She'd been diligent. She'd been as careful as she could have been, and at least it wasn't the coyotes that had gotten to her. She'd done her best to represent her pack with the respect they deserved. The whole ordeal had made her angry; the Keep's wolf was hardly justified in what he'd chosen to do to her, in a place that didn't belong to anyone. All in all, she wasn't going to lose any sleep over it but the feeling of defeat was nothing underwhelming. She would see to it that he got what he deserved. That was, unless Askan saw to it first, and she had zero doubt in her mind that he would succeed in a way that would more than sate her desire for justice.

This pack to the north had crossed the Driftwood Surge and Shallows Edge in no time at all. If they were looking for war, perhaps it would descend upon them all sooner than they could hope for, even if the matter was not up to her.

The dark man instructed her to get up. Without hesitation she gave it her best shot, her legs quivering beneath her, her body shaking as she searched for whatever strength she had left. A sharp breath left her chest as she faltered for a moment before leaning into her friend and Leader. She pressed her cheek into hard muscle of his neck, fighting the welling tears that caused her defeated amber eyes to glisten. Lyanna didn't know where they were going, but she had nothing but trust invested in Askan. She'd follow wherever he led her.

(This post was last modified: Aug 06, 2018, 06:17 PM by Lyanna.)

I don't care if heaven wont take me back

For once Lyanna had nothing to say. If that didn't show how dire things were then nothing could. Askan stood there strong as steady as she struggled to her feet, it didn't seem as though she'd hurt her legs so he could only assume it was exhaustion that had reduced her to such a feeble state. Askan had been there before, knew what it was like to barely be able to stand. He remembered how foggy his vision had been, how he'd leaned against Reyes every step of the way. Yeah, he'd nearly died but...that was neither here nor there. The point was, he knew what to do. Sort of.

And then Lyanna did something awful, something so terrible Askan was left stunned: she started sniffing. Fuck fuck fuck. Askan tensed as he dug his nails into the dirt, he was really really bad at this sort of touchy-feely stuff. With Reyes it came a little easier, but with everyone else it seemed near impossible. Had he been a coward he would have left her as she was, stomped off and found something else to do, but that hardly seemed right. Even Askan had to serve the pack in his own way, he wasn't here for a free ride.

"It'll be fine. Pete can take a look at you, he's our...sort of medic." Where was his den again? Fortunately Lyanna had collapsed not too far from the den, they'd be able to shuffle there easily enough.  "As for the rest...@Reyes and I will deal with it. Mark my words Lyanna, it won't happen again."

 His eyes that were bright even with his calmer moods, now blazed with unfettered rage. Askan Selwyn was officially pissed off. "I'll pry each and every one of his fucking teeth from his mouth for this."

His words were crass and snappish, said in the heat of the moment, but shit he'd never seen such blatant show disrespect before. No wait, Whitestone Monadnock had done the same. Craw's spawn had attacked @Adelayde, not because she had been rude, simply because they could, cause they were intoxicated by their own power. History sure had a way of repeating itself, didn't it?

With a huff, he began to move forward, leading Lyanna towards Pete's den. The little shit ought to be home...

(This post was last modified: Aug 06, 2018, 06:23 PM by Askan.)

With her inability to keep the tears at bay, even as quietly as she'd fought them, she easily felt Askan's tension. It was a known fact to her that he wasn't into that, and surely had no tolerance for weakness in anyone, but it wasn't sadness or regret or disappointment that had brought the wave of emotion crashing over her; it was the feeling of finally being safe. The feeling of his warm, strong body next to hers. The feeling of relief that just the sound of his voice brought her. Lyanna was a strong girl - getting her ass handed to her wasn't unbearable and it certainly wasn't going to break her. Just the opposite, this little bump in the road was going only going to make her fierce.

But she wouldn't convey that to him. Right now, all the could think about was literally putting one unsteady foot in front of the other until they made it to the sort-of healer's den, less her legs gave out from under her.

Askan made the grandest effort then, and instead of kicking her to the curb the second she'd made him uncomfortable with her teariness, he comforted her with three little words. Wow, they were really making progress by leaps and bounds here, weren't they? He also reassured her that the transgression would not slip by unaddressed, and made her a promise of sorts - that he and Reyes would deal with it, would deal with him. Somehow she knew his words to be true. His comment about pulling the boy's teeth out was the icing on the cake.

Perhaps she should have had more to say, but the energy to put any effort into talking or anything beside moving forward just wasn't there. But, before anything unforeseen could possibly happen, she wanted to be sure that Askan's had at least some notion of who'd perpetrated the act. With a marked effort she inhaled the best deep breath she could muster, the words slipping from her mouth sounding much more apathetic that she'd intended. "...His fur was black, and his eyes were grey." As if getting it out had equated to running a marathon, the girl was beginning to feel a little lightheaded. Just a little further, she told herself.

"It's really good to see you, Askan." she mustered, nearly a whisper as her vision began to get a little hazy. The light that lived in her golden eyes was fading, and she stumbled once before leaning the brunt of her weight into him, her consciousness beginning to wane.

I don't care if heaven wont take me back

With each passing moment Lyanna was leaning more and more against his side. It wasn't an issue, he was more than capable of bearing her weight, but it was concerning to note that she could barely keep herself upright. Askan figured she'd pass out, which wasn't something he wanted to deal with today. His ears perked as she began to speak and offered a brief description of the culprit. Black with silver eyes...right, that wasn't very helpful. He could only hope that Vigils Keep only had one or two wolves that fit that description, not that he was totally against the idea of working his way down a list.

"Got it." He grunted, not wanting to waste time with idle chatter.

Soon the duo arrived at the mouth of Pete's den, or his clinic as he liked to call it.. The Archer's scent lingered heavily in the air, but it didn't appear as though he was around. It felt safe to assume that he'd wandered off to gather herbs and the like, which was all well and good but what the hell was Askan supposed to do?

"Don't talk like you're dying."Askan chided, his brows drawing together. She might feel like it, but he was pretty sure she was okay, well she would be after some rest. Probably. "We're here."

With a huff, Askan guided Lyanna inside of the clinic and nudged her onto the soft furs. The inside of the den was littered with piles of dried plants, things that might help Lyanna...or give her the shits. Askan had no idea what was what and he wasn't willing to risk it.

"Rest." He ordered, as if she was in a state to do anything else.

(This post was last modified: Aug 07, 2018, 01:06 AM by Askan.)

It was all quite the blur as the pair finally managed their way to the sort-of healer's den. On the inside, the plethora of aromas gave her a hint of stimulation. A handful of them smelled familiar, though when she tried to put a name to any of them she found she couldn't, and couldn't really see much of anything, either. How ridiculous this was all turning out to be. The feel of fur beneath her feet meant that this would be a good place to stop, or drop, and as Askan nudged her she did just that.

"Rest," he'd ordered. Unfortunately Lyanna had already passed clear out before her body had even hit the floor, so she hadn't caught that last bit. For a second it might have appeared as if she'd went ahead and died on him, but within a few seconds when her brain caught a little blood flow, she inhaled a long breath and sighed it out with a meek groan. When she came back to, she could think a little more clearly. The fur on the floor felt nice against her face, but it was colder than she'd hoped for in her hypovolemic state. There was quietness within the confines of the little infirmary, enough that she could hear the sound of Askan breathing.

It could have been anyone's guess as to when someone who actually knew how to apply anything of use would be around. For the time being it was just the two of them, and the thought crossed her mind that if Askan left out, she'd be alone. She squinted with one eye to peek at the side of his face, as if to be sure he was really there, before letting it flutter closed.

"...Stay with me."

I'm so sorry

I don't care if heaven wont take me back

Askan wasn't sure what he was supposed to do next. Sitting idly by didn't seem like an option, he needed to speak with Reyes, let him know what had happened. He didn't really have time to twiddle his toes, nor was he really in the mood to do so. Even if he wanted to it was a fact that he had a terrible bedside manner, his mere presence alone would likely do more harm than good, probably. Or so he thought anyway.

So when she sleepily asked for him to stay he was quick to huff. His knee jerk reaction was to say no, quite sharply too. It reminded him a little to much of what Reyes had said at Pissy El Celio, after he'd tried and failed to challenge that pale dickhead- aka Icicle- for his rank. Reyes had been wounded, not to this extent but...it was hitting a little too close to home for the Selwyn. It was weird, he'd been spitting furious mere moments ago, only to dive headfirst into a uncomfortable sense of...whatever this was. Awkward, he didn't like it.

"Not now." Which roughly alternated into:thanks but no thanks. It wasn't as though he was reading too deeply into this, Askan often took things at face value but, again, he had shit to do, and he didn't think he'd be of much use in the den. "I'll send someone to tend to you. Rest up till then." He poked at the bedding with a paw before he turned to leave.

Surely she'd be okay on her own for a few moments or so. He'd check in on her later, once he found someone who knew what they were doing. @Sachiel perhaps?

(This post was last modified: Aug 07, 2018, 02:52 AM by Askan.)