Sanguine Cove all i ever wanted was the world

for @Galen only.

Magg sat upon the lakes shore, staring out across the thawed waters to the spot she was pretty certain had been where Sephrina'd fallen through. She still thought about that day often, of all the panic and the grief and anxieties, of what she had looked like deceased and the haunted looks in every adult's eyes... Why had it happened to her? Why couldn't it have been dumb @Isla? Seph wouldn't have run, wouldn't have bailed on everyone and left a whole pack with trouble. Right?

A dramatic sigh left Magg's throat, and she flopped down onto her stomach, muzzle resting upon a beige forelimb. Where were things going, anyways? All this upset and yet some things kept marching on like nothing was wrong at all, she was expected to move on eventually, right? A year old. In the next blink she'd be two, an adult which clearly meant she would need to follow in her parents' pawprints. Life had to be more than this dull cycle right? Garnished with more than just blooms of tragedy here and there?

Per habitual nature that had seemingly failed to ebb and fade like some others from his childhood, the swarthy boy found himself casually cruising along the shoreline of the lake. In all actuality it had been quite some time since Galen had mustered up the courage to travel along its pebbly edges again since the untimely demise of the Backwater girl, the traumatic event impressionable enough to cause the typically happy go lucky boy to view the lake as tainted and give it a wide berth. So long as the surface had remained icy and deadly, he wanted nothing to do with it.

Now, though, spring had performed its magic not only on the lake by thawing the surface back to the glistening caps of tiny waves he remembered and adored, but also on himself. No longer was the swarthy boy privileged to the title of pup and all its perks, instead now he was expected to pull his own weight, follow closer in the paw steps of his parents since turning a year old. At first the boy was hell bent on doing so, but did he really want to follow in his parents shadow anymore? His mother had all but shrunk away into the shadows since the loss of his dad whom was long since buried six feet under. Yet there seemed to be nothing but a slough of chaos waiting around the corner for the pack.

Galen huffed while continuing onward along the shoreline, golden gaze scouring ahead for an opportunity to score a quick meal to perhaps clear his mind even if for the time being. Instead of the grey coat of a ground squirrel he may have stood the chance at securing, his gaze settled upon the familiar silhouette of his friend seated near the lake. What was she up to? With a chuff to announce himself he slowly padded his way over, tail wagging contently at his rump.

The still around her dreary waterfall of thought was broken by a sound so familiar she didn't even bother lifting her head to check. Galen was given a soft, almost mournful 'aroo' in return, her tawny tail giving a few thumps upon the shoreland in welcome. Usually Magg took her lead from others, but this emotion remained so palpable and with her best friend she felt comfortable in letting it show. Lackadaisically she rolled onto her side, unmarred cheek resting in the wet, sandy dirt.

"Why's it just suck around here all the time anymore?"

She asked when the sound of his steps had drawn near enough, at last peering over her shoulder to find his own molten gaze. Maybe he had ideas to at least make today better?

Dark tinged ears momentarily splayed themselves back before standing erect atop his head once more as the sound of the tawny girls rather mournful aroo in greeting reached them, allowing an equally dark hued brow to quirk. If there was anyone that had inkling as to how emotions worked for Magg it was Galen who was one of the few that had the chance to experience the mask the tawny girl typically wore cast aside to allow genuine emotion a chance to breathe. Not that he particularly enjoyed seeing her current emotion of choice.

Once the distance closed between them and the swarthy boy stood above her, his gaze watched as his friend rolled to lay on her side along the cool surface of the shore, waiting until she finished speaking her mind in that moment to lower his muzzle and offer only a small nudge against the scruff of her neck while a low growl of understanding echoed in the back of his throat before unceremoniously collapsing his own weight onto the ground opposite her so their backs pressed together.

Galen rolled himself partially with his head tossed back to lay it against where her shoulders would be, the awkward positioning causing the points of his fangs to protrude from beneath leathery lips as he sighed heavily. "I miss the fun we use to have." He confessed, recalling the rare, more pleasant memories of his childhood that hadn't been tainted by some form of horrific event. "I don't think I like getting older.." Now it seemed like all they did was work and for what?

Magg relaxed into his presence when he joined her, their lazing familiar in the same way their walks were. Every now and then her tail would raise and then slap down against the beach, something of a wag with ambiguous, shifting connotation just like the melting pot of emotion inside of her chest.

"For real, what's it all for? Like..." she hesitated briefly, about to confide something she probably wouldn't to anyone else because she felt bad for it, "when I look at mom and dad they just... aren't happy at all and I don't get what they have to look forward to."

Everyone was either getting sick or injured until they just died and made everyone else sad. Was it like that everywhere, was this really just life? Grow up, squeeze out kids, suffer and kick the bucket. Wowzers.

Despite his position of choice preventing himself from being able to read whatever cues her facial expressions revealed more clearly, an ever moving ear made sure not a single word of her confession went amiss. At the mention of her parents lacking any sense of happiness his thoughts couldn't help but momentarily wander toward that of his own family. What probably hurt the most was his inability to recall the last time he had seen his own mother wear even the slightest sliver of happiness. In truth, it had even been sometime since he last saw her in general.

The realization had swarthy ears sweeping to pin themselves against his skull, a heavy sigh voicing his similar opinion on the argument before his words could agree. "Yeah.." He sighed out, wiggling his frame to some degree in order to let his forepaws bend and fall against his chest, rear ones outstretched behind him with the tip of his tail thumping with minimal effort. "I..I can't even remember the last time my ma was happy to see me.." Galen tagged on to the topic at hand, brows furrowing as the most recent melancholic thought to pop into his head was given breath.

Had the soil of the Cove become so tainted in chaos and turmoil that those that lived here were cursed to never again be happy? Was this what life was? Galen wasn't sure if he wanted to keep growing older if that was all he had to look forward to.

That was even sadder. Magg couldn't help but frown, eyes holding a rare sympathy in them as she twisted her neck further to try and see Galen's face from the corners of her eyes. As much as things seemed to suck for her and Matos, they were definitely worse for their age-mates. At least her parents had one another in their misery, at least they weren't just... ghosts.

She shifted to rest on her back, mirroring the Vuesain teen's position as their shoulders touched. Her head turned toward his and her nose rested in the ruff of his neck.

"I'm always happy to see you," Magg told him, the best she could think of to try and help. Because unfortunately, their seemed to be nothing they could do to truly help their parents. They certainly couldn't bring the dead and missing back.

(This post was last modified: Jul 30, 2023, 02:21 AM by Magg.)

In truth, Galen hadn't truly taken the time to process the level of hardship that surrounded his own family specifically with the seemingly never ending turmoil that could be found just around any corner one looked. Both his parents had become just that, ghost, and even his own siblings seemed to become more akin to their parents with each passing day with the exception of Leo. If it wasn't for Leo and Magg would he too become nothing more than a ghost?

The thought wasn't allowed to be present for long as his zoned off mind was reeled back in by the shuffling of his tawny friend beside him, the touch of her nose against his ruff bringing him back to the present. Perhaps unbeknownst to the tawny teen, but her words to the swarthy boy actually held more merit than she could imagine. "I like knowing I make you happy." Galen's words were spoken softly, genuine to the bone, the fluff of his tail sweeping in back and forth motions against the debris beneath him.

Now it was his turn to mirror her former actions, the cold tip of his nose pressing against her own ruff while he spoke next. "I'm happy anytime I get to see you, too." Yes, despite the unfortunate truth that there wasn't anything they could truly do to help their parents they could at least help each other and like hell would Galen sit idly by while his friend was anything but happy.

'I like knowing I make you happy.' There was something about those words, and the subtle change in his voice accompanying them, that were... perfect. They gave her butterflies, and she pressed in closer while shutting her eyes as though she could contain them. Her tail betrayed her glee, sweeping back and forth along the ground. Magg had only ever had this feeling around Sephrina before, and finding it again with Galen was both tantalizing and scary.

So she shuffled it away, into a lockbox within her chest.

She pushed her legs out then, paws pressed against her friend to force distance between them. Her scarred face held a bright, mischievous grin. The toothy kind of expression she wore when she wanted to play.

"You better be," she teased, batting at his cheek with one pale paw before gathering her long legs under her and swiftly standing.

"Wanna race? Bet I can make it to the densite before you."

(This post was last modified: Jul 30, 2023, 06:42 PM by Eros.)