Swift River you seem so dark to cry

His promise had not strayed his mind, but the tawny wolf had not followed through with it as gallantly as he would have liked. Ranger’s disappearance had left him almost winded, his mind and body ached without her warmth and while he held on to his anger at her for doing this to him, he yearned for her all the same. Recklessness had been ingrained in him from his youth, but now even more so as he had become desperate to give Kinis the home he deserved and in turn, claimed a white she-wolf by the name of Vlarindara to be his ‘mate.’ Of course, after his insistence on the matter, he had not seen his so called counterpart for days. It did not irk him that she had run so quickly to the safety of her pack (so he assumed) rather than rising to the challenge and co-founding a pack, what annoyed him was that he cared far too little to what she did.

His life provided little normalcy now, and so Ruiko sought it. Standing at the edge of Swift River territory, almost daringly close, the regal wolf remained silent as the sun shifted in the sky, signifying the oncoming evening. Grey clouds rolled overhead, stealing the sun’s light every so often, and the wind carried a slightly cooler breeze than what was normal for the summer. The male had come to visit his family.. to meet the offspring his brother and mate had produced. To, for once, feel like he belonged somewhere once more.

Gone Tomorrow

She had been run ragged.

Once clean and groomed, the creme and silver wolf's fur now hung in clumps. Her ribs were beginning to push out against her ugly coat, and her green eyes, once so vibrant with life, were now dull and lifeless. Her three puppies were growing rapidly, now three months old. They had been weaned some time ago, but now their mother was on her own. The pack that she had once loved so had dwindled down to nothing. Her sister-in-law, had left very soon after the birth of the puppies. While Cori had once believed that they had connected at the site of the Tainn family den in Hidden Tree, it appeared to not have been enough. As for her litter mate, he had stuck around the longest, but even his scent too had faded from the den area. Ozera, the faithful second, had long since departed, without so much as a goodbye. Which stung, but they had never been close and Cori had merely taken it in stride. As for Marsh, he had taken Prosper back to his proper place of residence and seemingly had never returned. And then Indru. That one hurt the most, and just thinking about it brought tears to the worn out mother's eyes. For whatever reason, he had left his newborn family, before they had even left the den. Not a word was said to his mate, only the cold space beside her as she awoke that morning.

The result was that Corinna Donata was now the single mother of three growing wolf pups. And the result was she was being run ragged by it. She was constantly on the hunt for food, and taking for herself only what she needed to survive. Gone were the days that she could spend leisurely watching her offspring, nurturing and the teaching them about the world around them. She now spent her time trying to keep them alive. And it was on such journey when a familiar scent reached her nose.

Numb paws carried her through the woods, her green eyes barely registering the scenery. She had long since come to know the Swift River territory, and would be able to find her way around blind if she had to. It was the familiar scent that caught her attention, it was the one of one wolf she was eager to see, and one she knew would not be there to steal what caches of food she had laying around. But as the dark furred male came into view, Cori felt a smile break over her face. Perhaps help had arrived. Well aware of the ragged state of her appearance, she drew to an abrupt stop, though she continued to smile, and her tail wagged easily over her back. "Ruiko."

His eyes turned to the sky as a distant, quiet twilight approached. This unknown landscape harbored few signs of what could be a hope. It seemed destitute, he thought to himself, as his wild gaze scoped the horizon. He shook the remnants of dead vegetation from his ashy fur, took just another moment to take in the haunting, glorious scenery, and continued on his path. This could be progress, although he was unaware of the nature of such a progression. Time seemed to stand still, he realized as he made his way closer toward the distant sound of dripping, dropping, flowing water. His lips quivered briefly as his sandpaper-rough tongue grazed across them - the thought of cool water quickened his pace.

The dark male approached the unfamiliar river, winding lazily at the closest bend. With no hesitation, he dipped his muzzle into the water, lapping carelessly. Although the climate was favorable, his insides felt like ice: cold, slippery, brittle. There was a bitterness living inside of his thick body, festering like a thorn embedded in his paw. All things familiar in the past had faded away, and even his memories were beginning to wither away. He had been fleeing for so long...Would his past catch up?

His body stiffened, pupils dilating, and his heart skipped a beat before beginning to race as he took in the scent of warmth, of flowing blood, of another beating heart. The adrenaline was intoxicating. Fight or flight? Or neither? In a split second he was phsiologically prepared to die trying anything. Statue-still, his left ear flickered as he scanned his surroundings for the source. This could be thrilling, or epic. Then, a second scent...He was not alone anymore. The adrenaline high faded quickly as he remembered his place - an outsider in a land whose borders seemed to span infinitely, a possible threat. Statue-still, at this moment he was as frozen on the outside as he was on the inside.

when i look at the stars i feel like myself

TrieHis hackles prickle further, and instinctively he draws beside her.He had no mind to be away from Swift River as long as he had. When Borlla, and Ozera had dissapeared he took it upon himself to find them. But they was not the only ones. He started to see less, and less of his brother Indru and soon the yearling male became distraught, and desperate to find anyone. He took much time, searching the different lands keeping high hope for even a whisper of their lost trails. Once it became clear he most likely would not find any of them he craved the familiar, and he needed to return home to Swift River. He only hoped he could find Cori and her children. It would be to much if they too had disappeared. Swift River may notseem like much a home any more. It was a broken, and it's pieces were scattered. It was something, something he could cling to.

The brush of air pushed in his ears, and teased at his wild, black mane. The steady beat of worn paws falling rapidly against the hot earth was his only company. They ached for another rest,but he had grown rather numb, cold to his body's demands. He followed his heart to the rushing water, a flicker of hope in his chest, pushing him. The child in him believed to see a welcome of familiar faces, but doubt hung like at thick cloud. His head telling his heart not to get his hopes that high.

This new found mission had him going faster than he once had. Soon it was not long the familiar borders welcomed him in the distance. The tip of his lips twitched in a shadow of what once might have been a grin. He was not home yet. Tongue sticking out the side of his mouth, he lets his gate slip to a trot, and a deep breath he struggles to make it to the borders knowing they will tell him if his brother had returned or not. Deciding to get it over with, he sucks in a tightness of air and presses further. He is not welcome with any freshness of Indru, instead his nose picks up Cori's lingering scent, and he breaths it in for it's the sweetest thing to the lost wolf. Quickly he doesn't think he follows it.

The closer he gets to her, the black lad learns she is not alone. There are two males wolves along the borders, and he can not get to Cori fast enough. The familiar green becomes a blur in his orange eyes, and he is running, the hair along his back raised in every which direction. Once he sees her cream, gray body he instictively draws beside her in a protective stance.

are you with me through it all?

After considering all options and outcomes, he took a deep breath and remembered to relax. This was no time for a battle, and dinner sounded so much more appealing.

After scanning nearby surroundings in search of the sources of the unfamiliar scents with no luck, his attention returned to the river. The trickling sounds were comforting. As he watched his reflection - nearly a silhouette in the dark water - he thought of the feeling of warmth and fur on the tip of his nose, as it would feel nuzzled into the coat of another... of <i>his</i> other. He entertained the notion briefly before sneering at himself. His own weaknesses were the hardest to overlook. It was with this thought that he stepped forth across the shallow bend, wading to the other side with little resistence from the current. The coming night would be long on an empty stomach, so he did not look back as he pressed forth, away from the river and the warmth of the fading sunlight.

It had been during the middle of his sister-in-law's pregnancy since he had last seen her, and the Corinna Donata he had known at that time and glowed; her belly had been beautifully rounded with life and she had found love and a home with his brother. Such a sight had dissolved any of his distaste at being challenged for his lead role in Swift River and instead enticed him only further to seek his own land and dreams. Of course, such 'whimsies' had died at the sudden disappearance to the she-wolf he had courted. That had pained him, but not more so than the sight the greeted him now.

Corinna's fur lacked the health and shine it had months before, and even worse, her delicate figure was becoming dangerously thin. The clumps of her fur hung loosely around her, and Ruiko could not withhold the blink of surprise that escaped his usual reserved facade. "Corinna?" His words were deep with disbelief, and despite the border etiquette that had been instilled within him since a pup, Ruiko took a hesitant step toward his sister. "What happened?" Something was wrong; the Tainn's he knew would never have settled to have the mother of the pack pups to look in such a way, nor would Indru keep a pack in lands where their food resources dwindled.

But no sooner that he took such a hesitant step, his eyes swept from Corinna's wagging tail to a blur of ebony. Triell pulled up beside the bedraggled mother with protective ease, and the regal male realized his brother had yet to recognize him. With the scent of a stranger not lost on his senses, a quick glance around the area reassured Ruiko that they were undisturbed for now. Tilting his muzzle down in respect to the pack wolves, Ruiko cleared his throat, waiting for his younger brother to realize he was of no threat.

Gone Tomorrow

It hit her like a freight train, the look and concern of his voice. He was not an idiot, he knew that there was something wrong with her. She had been a healthy mother-to-be the last time that she had seen him, stumbling across him and enjoying the brief encounter. He had not arrived at the pups' entrance into the world, not that Cori would have let him even if he had come to visit his brethren in Swift River. But she had hoped he would make an appearance soon after, once she had become more willing to share the burden's of being a mother with others. But she had not expected to see him again, not when she was like this.

The lead female of the Swift River wolves could have taken care of herself better, she knew that. She did not have to appear as she was. But when it came down to it, there was simply not enough energy left over to spend grooming herself. She woke up, she snuggled her young ones, she left them, amply marking the den to ward off any curious carnivores, she attempted a hunt, and sometimes she returned with food and other times without. That was her daily life, for better or for worse. This visit of Ruiko's, for whatever reason it was, was a nice break in the chain. Though already, her thoughts were beginning to drift back to her young ones and their security. With her away, they were easy prey, and while she would do anything to protect them, distance could trump even her most valiant effort.

Nodding her head, she smiled at her brother. "Yes, it's me." Hard to believe wasn't it? But then they were not alone, and the leader's head turned rapidly, focusing on the ebony black build that approached. He had long since grown bigger than she was, and for a moment, she hoped that the large body belonged to that of her mate. But her green eyes were met instead with the details of Triell, her youngest brother-in-law. The smile widened. Of all those who had left, besides Indru, Triell was the least likely she had expected to go. His approaching her side now eased her worries that whatever reason it was that called him away, it had been a temporary one, and that he had continued to think of this place as home. As for the truly foreign scent that lingered on the breeze, it was gone before too long and her attention was rerouted back to the two brothers she had come to love as her own flesh and blood. "Indru is gone." He had never been there. He had seen his three children, days after they were brought into the world, and then he had left. For what reason, she doubted that she would ever know. Triell knew that his brother had been gone, but she doubted that he had ever given up hope that the tawny leader would return. "Marsh and Ozera are also both gone." The puppies were doing fine, but that should have been evident from her mere presence, she would not have greeted either one of them if one of her flesh and blood had died. "How are you, Ruiko?" He was here for a reason, she knew, but that did not mean that Cori could excuse herself form asking after his health and wellbeing.

when i look at the stars i feel like myself

He stands tall for a moment longer, taking a quick look at his sister. She doesn't appear in the best shape. He doesn't dwell on it, he quickly takes another breath of air. One stranger doesn't appear as close, but the other Triell finally takes a second to look. His own eyes widen, and his jaw opens and seals in two seconds. He had not seen Ruiko for a time, and is surprised, yet relieved to see his elder brother. His lips twitch trying to smile, and a large paw stretches forward, a chuckle of disbelief mixed with joy vibrating for a half second in his hollow throat. What a day. Ears swiveled back, a silent passing of air slides from his nostrils in relief, and his hair slowly drifts down into place. "Hey," he mutters, trying to put forth warmth in the greeting, though he isn't sure how much he can count on Ruiko sticking around. Or anything. These thoughts alone have his mouth in a tight line, and he does not say much as Cori states the fact Indru is gone. This alone is like a physical hit to his chest. Like by saying it aloud it confirms it, and makes it seem like he won't come back. Triell continues breathing steady, trying to hide his own hurt. He can not imagine what this has done to Cori, and his topaz eyes settle to Ruiko's facade watching for change. Of coarse she names the rest of what was Swift River, and Triell's tail is so dead behind his haunches, he blinks feeling a little dazed. It was like he had to realize this news all over again, though he had known all along.

She asks how he is, and black skull cocks to the side also wishing to know. He was never as close to Ruiko, but he still cared for him, not to mention he wondered how Kinis was. He had not seen him for a time either. But what if all Ruiko had was worse news. Brows lightly wrinkled. What could be worse? He silently prayed his other brothers were fairing better, they had to be. Something had to be going right for somebody. The world could not be one miserable pit of despair, and hurt. Could it? He stays silent, nothing to say. His eyes wander to Cori, and he feels hurt seeing her look so unkept, and an cared for. His heart hurts more from anger, and guilt. He assumes the little ones have to be okay, but hesitates to ask just yet.

are you with me through it all?

Corinna had always been beautiful; or so had been the inkling of a thought in the male’s mind since he had met her in the field one starry night. Standing before him, bedraggled and exhausted, the tawny wolf could not help but think her even more so, for it showed how fiercely protective she was of her home and family. A wave of resentment stung him then, for the silver she-wolf need not have said the words for Ruiko to realize his brother was gone again.. and this time he had left behind a mate and a litter of pups that it would seem he did not deserve. Was this like his brother? No, but the sight of his sister-in-law in such a state ruled out logic and instead boiled in a whole new level of disappointment that he held for his littermate. All those months back at Corinna’s request to join the pack and Indru’s challenge.. if Ruiko had not given in to his brother’s desire to rule the pack once more and take Corinna as his breeding female, and had he won the challenge.. would she have been his? Had she been, the regal wolf knew he could never have left her side. She could have been his, and at this very moment, Ruiko truly believed Swift River and herself would have been far better off.

Triell seemed less content to see his older brother at the pack borders; his dark figure hunkered protectively near the mother. Ruiko regarded the younger male briefly, wondering what was on his mind just then. Was he upset that Ruiko had left them those months ago? Or was he simply upset that Ruiko had not only left, but remained scarce from his family? Either way, as his bright amber eyes reverted back to the leader of his old home, the rift that had come between him and his younger brother was not important at that very moment. He would have to attempt to bridge that gap later.

Indru was gone. Ozera was gone. When had Ozera even been a member of Swift River? Marsh.. he did not know a Marsh. What had happened to Borlla? A frown furrowed at his brows now, and Ruiko made a hesitant step to Corinna, as if to console her. Her question to his well-being was ignored, and instead he dipped his muzzle slightly. “I made a promise to visit you and the pups,” he rumbled, his tail giving a flick of agitation at Indru’s absence. “But now I would like to stay with you and the pups. I will hunt for the pack.” And at that moment, Ruiko had given up his dream of claiming land of his own.. of raising family of his own. All these wants were irrelevant just from the sight of Corinna Tainn.

Gone Tomorrow

Corinna's question of Ruiko's well-being had been a formality, anything to avoid discussing the present state of affairs in Swift River. She was handling things the best she could, and her pride would not permit her to ask for help. In her first month or two as a lone wolf in Relic Lore, Corinna had watched the Tainn family flourish under her oldest son's namesake and his mate, and then once again under Indru as he brought them together after the fiery disaster. All of that observation had shown her that above all else, a Tainn wolf valued his family. The shattering of that value was something that had shaken her belief in the family. Triell stood beside her now, ever protective, but like the others, he had disappeared, if even for a short period, at a rather critical time. How could she trust them now, now that they had left her and their newest generation to fend for themselves? Ruiko...she could not blame him, per say. He had not been an official member of the pack for as long as she had been a part of it, a fact that she tried very hard to forget every time she saw the dark furred beast. In the darkest days, she had thought of him and hoped that he would come through on his promise. While the timing might not have been to her liking, the fact that he was here now brought her some consolation, and she dipped her head towards him as he approached her.

With despair, she heard his words, pledging himself to help her in return for rejoining the pack that had been his at some points in time. Ruiko had left because he and Indru, both born leaders, could not live under one another. His returning now...it meant that his quest to start his own pack had failed. What of the ebony furred female who had been his loyal companion? What had happened to her? "What about Kinis?" She had never met the littermate of Borlla and Triell, but she had learned from Indru that his young brother had decided to travel with Ruiko rather than stay in Swift River. Not that she would mind if the brother joined, but as leader of the pack, she needed to know who was here and who was not.

Stepping closer to Ruiko, she closed the gap between them. Many months ago, she had stepped towards him and licked him chin as a sign of respect. Now as she stepped forward, it was to bite down gently on his muzzle, accepting him as part of the pack. Continuing this, Cori side-stepped the large male and walked around him in a tight circle, their fur mingling. More importantly was the scent. Previously, Swift River's scent had been predominantly Indru's, but now it was her's. Coming shoulder to shoulder with him, she exhaled slowly. "Thank you, Ruiko," she whispered quietly, green eyes looking to the side up at him. "Thankfully, the pups are all fine." A brief smile fluttered onto her face as she thought of her young ones. "Rihael, he's so...active. Fenru and Kisla are much quieter, but between the three of them, their curiosity will be the death of me." He had never met the three new Tainns, but he would, and with any luck, he would be one figure that would not be disappearing from their lives any time soon.