Secret Falls what kind of love

@Naberius, @Nova, and @Iopah. @Zia and @Koda are welcomed if they want to show up :)

oh he thought i was so pure

"We're almost there." His words would reassure his brother with ease. The long hike had been filled with talks of past mistakes, future dreams, and current events. The two Zamora brothers filling in the spaces that time had left so broad and wide open. Sometimes silence found them though. Blessing them with it, and sometimes cursing them with it. Camio felt his mind rattling at everything. The closer they got the heavier his breathing became. His mind would shut down to process everything. Taking in the smallest bits of things he remembered. Surely everyone would accept him again wouldn't they? Or had he been gone too long and was now marked as a traitor? Perhaps he should have stayed there. Left his life alone and picked up as being the ragged bandit he had loved being. His body would jerk every now and then. Telling him that the Timbers were no longer his home to be. Yet he knew he had to at least go there for his eyes to lay onto the tall beauty that was his mate. Certainly @Nalda was big now. Growing into the fine form she would likely get from the crossing of Aquila and Zamora blood.

When the smell of the Timbers drifted into his nose the younger Zamora brother whined. "Naberius, we're here." He waited glancing at his brother. For once Camio felt like he was nothing. Felt as if everything around him was ten feet tall and him only two feet. His body seemed to shrink with event of coming home upon them. His tail tucked against his stomach, head hanging low, and eyes sweeping the ground. Would anyone still love him? Would he disappoint his brother?

Realizing he still had to call for someone to come get them the copper hued male lifted his head. Body weak and voice only weaker. A howl bellowing out. "I am home, and I have brought someone with." Lowering his head Camio swallowed the lump in his throat. Shoulder weak he leaned into his brother lightly. "Here's for the best, brother."

yet old habits die hard, brother

and all the love lost was the love that i kept
in coffins and boxes, a museum of the dead

She was a ghost, slinking through the shadows under the toppled pines. Her ears and tail were lowered, eyes narrowed into small slits. This was how she spend most of her days, alone, silently moving through the forest surrounding Secret Falls, investigating, studying. Finding a good hiding spot downwind, she could sit for hours, watching a herd of deer or just waiting at a waterhole to see what animals came to drink. She liked that solitude, no noise, no interruptions. Some days though, she would seek canine contact, mostly following her mother as she walked the borders or went hunting for smaller prey; The daughter would stay mostly silent, but listen intently to whatever lesson Nova chose to supply. Other company the young girl would sometimes entertain included her aunty Io, and sometimes Arion, who had proved to be nice enough, and not as obnoxious as the girls. Them, she kept her distance from as much as possible, as well as the remaining adults, not because she disliked them exactly, but she also didn't particularly like them.

Alone remained her favorite state though, free to be with her own thoughts and feelings, and do as she liked. Today she headed south, slipping quickly along the familiar paths towards the borders. Just as she reached them though, she heard a voice call out, making her freeze in place; How did they know?! But as she stood, bat-like ears waving in the air, listening carefully, she quickly realized that the howl wasn't directed at her. But more importantly, it wasn't one of the pack members voice, and yet she knew it. Reddish brows furrowed head tilting as she wondered, trying to place the odd familiarity. She could feel her heart speed up, breathing growing troubled as if she had been running; Wha... Inexplicably, tears pressed behind golden eyes, hackles standing on end as distant memories fought to surface in her mind. But she refused to believe it, grinding her teeth angrily and forcefully shaking her head as if to rid herself f the haunting voice; No!

With a small woof, halfway between a growl and a whine, the dark child turned on her heels, trotting pack through the timbers towards the origin of the howl, once again keeping her stature low, hiding in the shadows. She had stopped hoping long ago, after everyone had searched for weeks, herself included, with no result. Defeatist, the young Zamora had accepted that she had been abandoned and had stopped looking. This was why the sudden call disturbed her so much: at the start she had heard his voice all the time, sure that any moment would be the one where she would turn to see him coming home, home to her! She had awoken from scary dreams, certain that he was there, stroking her head, only to turn and see emptiness. Eventually there had been longer and longer between these visions of imagination, and by now it had been long since the last one. Still, she was certain that this was only her weak mind playing a trick, that no one was actually there. And yet here she was, ducking down into the underbrush as she approached the origin of the call.

Inching forwards on her stomach, the girl peeked out through the bushes, eyes wide as the fell on the two waiting wolves. To male's stood at the borders, one - a little smaller - leaned against the other. They were strikingly similar, though the larger was a little more reddish in his coloring, and the dull one looked sick; Why, why would he look like THAT? She'd never seen him like that before, in all her previous dreams and delusions, he had looked as she remembered him, strong, big... This was not him and yet he seemed more real than any previous apparition. Taking a deep breath, the girl steeled herself, then she stood, staring straight into those deep brown eyes; The only part that looked like she remembered. Ears pressed flat against her skull, she forced all fear from her voice as she yelled, coldly; "Leave!" Why had he come here? What was the reason for his constant reappearance? Just leave me be!

word count: 701

"Speech" Thoughts

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

Nova's blood chilled in her veins and her hair stood on end when a low voice, one she thought she would never hear again, echoed through the timbers. She stood motionless as the last note ended and the echoes faded, her breath stilled as if she were waiting for something else. Could it truly be him? She had thought for sure he was dead, rotted in the last of the summer heat with nothing left behind but bones and memories. Had he been alive, she would have expected her mate to return in days, maybe even weeks. But months? It was too strange to be true. The world seemed to stop and shift, a sickening vertigo all too reminiscent of a desperate moment on the crest of a wave. But she had not drowned then, and she would not drown now. She set into motion, moving at a determined pace towards the source of the call to get to the root of it.

Nalda's angered shout spurred Nova faster. Seldom did the girl lose her temper, so Nova took it seriously that something had her so worked up. Nova barreled through the last stretch of forest, no attempt at subtlety as she launched between her daughter and the two men. Nalda was getting big, no longer could Nova easily shepherd her child protectively beneath her belly, but she still angled her large, lanky form in front of the cinnamon girl.

As her head lowered defensively she looked at Camio, her dandelion eyes flat and cold as she stared into familiar yet foreign mahogany irises. Some part of her wanted the warm embrace, the soft words, the quiet moments of understanding where nothing even needed to be said. But that part of her had bled and scabbed and scarred. It ached. Questions flooded her mind, but none made it past her lips.

She continued to stare for a few silent beats, letting them wait as she had waited, her sight shifting towards the male that stood at Camio's side, a complete stranger. Her lips lifted slightly, a rare show of teeth from the typically placid woman. Nova wanted it evident that if there was a game to be had, she was not playing. She exhaled sharply through her nose, releasing a cloud of moisture in the cool autumn air like an irritable bull as her attention shifted back towards Camio. "You'd better have an explanation," She ground out, her raw voice betraying her icy posturing.

(This post was last modified: Oct 31, 2015, 05:12 AM by Nova.)

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

note to self/everyone this is set AFTER the Narime and Yuka thread

Despite how long they'd looked for him, Iopah did not immediately recognize Camio's voice. It was impossible and she was a pragmatic creature, and so it was just an interruption -another disruption to their quiet life- nothing more.

Pale ears pressed flat to her skull with a low growl and her head snaked around in the direction that the howl had come from. Bad timing for whoever this was, Narime and Yuka had just come barely days earlier and she was still hyper-sensitive to visitors. Koda had been right to worry about their past (Secret Woodlands, et al.) following them and she was warier about visitors now. Iopah climbed to her feet, nonchalant and determined to make whoever this was wait for her. The weather was growing cold with the coming season; snow lingered under the fallen cedars where the sun and the breeze could not reach it, but there was something else to freeze the air in her chest. The anger in Nalda's voice was obvious, even from here. Something was happening and she was starting to get an inkling of what, hackles lifted as her pace increased.

Both faithful Zamora's had beaten her to the borders. Iopah let Nova speak, stalking forward as the question was growled out for Camio to answer. She had no intention of convincing either from their anger and Nalda only received a single, inquiring glance. If the girl was old enough to have dealt with Camio's abandonment, then she was old enough to deal with this. The queen stepped beside her subordinates, tail curling over her spine. "You broke your promise." She stepped forward with a snarl, giving only a vague glance to @Naberius - he was not her concern. "It was a stupid decision, @Camio." Only time would tell if that decision could be rectified.

In the quiet moments of their walk Naberius found himself floating; feeling how surreal this whole situation was. Here he stood; practically carrying his long lost brother back to his pack, to his family and his daughter, when Naberius had scarcely a hope of finding him in the first place. And it had been all Isde's doing; he was sure of it. His god had reunited him with the brother he had grown to miss after that fateful day at the river. His last piece of true family that expected no leadership of him; that would not burden the man with duties and orders he was never meant to fulfill. Camio was already the brother Naberius had always wanted him to be; or so it seemed thus far. Camio's words were caught swiftly in the flick of an ear, and the elder brother grunted softly in acknowledgment. His eyes then passed over the trees; suddenly beginning to notice how many of the giants had broken, or been uprooted and toppled over.

Camio affirmed that they were now standing at the pack's doorstep, and he halted as quickly as he could without robbing his companion of his only support. Wordlessly he glanced between the trees and his sibling; unsure. Camio seemed to lack confidence in this endeavor; which only made the loner more nervous. If the pack denied them; his brother would be left entirely in his care; not that Naberius couldn't manage such a feat, of course. But it had been trying enough to keep himself in good shape this whole time. What if they attacked? Surely the man's mate and daughter wouldn't allow such a thing... would they? His tail flicked to and fro at his hocks; perhaps seeking to flee from the scene before his questions could be answered. Perhaps they would accept Camio and turn him away? He could live with such a thing; loneliness was nothing new; but being so suddenly stripped from his wounded brother's side... He hoped it would not come to pass. They had only just found one another. No, Isde. Do not allow it... I have asked so much of you lately but please...

The younger man was shrinking; ebbing away into a submissive stance Naberius had rarely seen even as a child. He found himself doing the same; all the while his heartbeat quickened. He watched with attentive crystal eyes as the call went up; muscles tensing as their position was just given away. In the quiet that followed he scanned the area; looking only to his compatriot whence he spoke. In response a strained sigh pushed past the man's nose and he returned to his vigil. Words often escaped the man when things were so tense. Rustling broke the torturous silence at last; and Naberius lowered his eyes in deference. That was, until they caught the movement; low to the ground – much lower than an adult should have been. Curiosity won and he glanced up only to see a child standing there; looking utterly distraught and shaken. ”Leave,” she cried, and Naberius flinched slightly from the impact. Was this another pack pup? One of the many in this unorthodox cluster of families? Likely not; why would the others be so angry and hurt looking now that Camio was back? How long has he been gone...? This was not the tearful reunion and loving family he had pictured.

Nalda... his memory mumbled, and the rejection was a little more real. This was her. His mouth hung open uselessly until another arrived on the scene in the blink of an eye. He recoiled from the dark woman's lunge; still at Camio's side but hunched down and away. She didn't seem to care for his presence at all; but instead glared intensely at his wounded sibling. Naberius was silent; breathing shallowly as his widened eyes took in her feet. He dared not lift them higher. Peripherals caught the white of her teeth and he sunk further; unable to reach the ground completely and still provide a shoulder for Camio to lean on. His tail buried itself in his underside in surrender. He was not here to fight; to intrude. He was helping. Could they see that? At the moment it appeared as though no one cared. He was silent as a rock while she fired her question at what was presumably her mate. He was then aware of the third presence; an even more commanding and authoritarian one. An Alpha, perhaps. He didn't move. This had nothing to do with him and he doubted his eloquent words or magnanimous demeanor would do anything until Camio had explained himself. They wanted answers; of course, and he prayed to himself that they would understand the man's wounds and his absence as the doing of a godless feline. As it was there was nothing for him to say; so he didn't.

Naberius is Religious! Learn about Isdan here.