Riddle Heights Save my life tonight.

@Celandine

Given the circumstances, Darrah knew he absolutely could not waste even a single second. If the situation were as dire as Mahle had described, then Celandine needed help, fast. Visions of his cousins starving figure haunted his mind, causing an uneasy feeling in the former prince's stomach. Guardian training would simply have to wait, family would always be of higher importance.

'She gave me no reason not to trust her,' Darrah whined through quickening footfall. 'All obscurity aside, she was definitely speaking of the right Celandine..'  he was closing in on the boarders now, hopefully the alpha's residing in the plateau would understand the circumstances. "Celandine?!" the once-heir cried, gasping for breath. "Cella, It's Darrah.." he glanced around the surrounding scenery, wary of any movement, any wolf that might not be his distant kin. Had he even a real plan? "Look, we need to talk.." voice much resembling a whisper now, the yearling wondered if she'd even heard his call.

The honeyed female had spoke of Darrah's cousin as if she'd been in the most extreme of ill conditions. If that were truly the case, his future majesty would surely be leaving with a new member of the Bend this evening. "Celandine?" calling upon royalty once more, the Tainn made himself comfortable just barely outside of foreign pack territory.

I curse the blue skies.

Darrah Tainn

She heard the voice, soft and familiar, but her head was always a blurry mess. Celandine couldn't even place the tone to a particular face or scent, but she turned towards it anyway. What was the worst that could happen? He'd kill her? A delicate smile danced upon dark lips, as she closed in on his location.

Her eyes caught a dark form, and for just a moment, the pale fae felt her heart drop. There had been a boy once, one who called upon her, and said all the right things. He was nothing more than a distant memory now, and she found that it was better that way. She had been young, and dumb then. Naive to the world in a way that made her too susceptible to hope and all of it's dirty lies. This man was not that gentle boy, however. He was.. Darrah? Yes, Darrah. The last time they met Celandine offered him some sort of advice. How nice she had been then. Tilting her pale crown to the side, and raising a brow, she considered him. What on Earth was he doing so far from the woods? "It's been a long time." Without knowing his intentions the former princess had nothing more to say.

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

It was far worse than he'd ever expected, the sight before him bypassed the one in which Mahle had described. Visible bones through tight skin, filthy fur, who was this woman? Surely not the well-groomed snoot he'd preserved in distant memory. Darrah knew that a change would be in order if his cousin wished to live much longer, though how to convince her? "That it has.." the former prince sighed, unsure of how to run an intervention. "H-how're things?" keeping his voice soft, the raven yearling took a seat. If all went well, he'd be staying a bit.

'There's no way she'll answer my question with honesty.. What should I do?' The last thing Darrah wanted was to say something that would offend the princess, thus sending her off in a rage. Though confrontation surely wasn't the Tainn's strong suit, and he wasn't exactly close with his subject these days. 'I should of brought Drestig..' the yearling tried subtly to examine his cousin, perhaps he should have come up with some sort of plan before traveling out to the plateau in such a haste. "Have you been eating alright? Do you need me to go catch us something?" There was sincerity in the male's voice, a kind in which he'd never expressed before. "It wouldn't bother me or anything.."

I curse the blue skies.

Darrah Tainn

At some point,

I started looking at the ground more than the sky

It’s hard even to breathe.

The snowy princess watched Darrah look her over, his orange eyes burning with something she could not place. It almost made her self-conscious. "Fine, and you?" Celandine knew little of the man who stood in front of her, but running up the mountain to ask her how things were going seemed a little too far fetched. He was after something else, but what? The youth had nothing to offer. No crown, no family, no title, no power. It was possible he was a training scout charged with strengthening pack relations, but if that were true, then her cousin was barking up the wrong tree. The pale girl would probably just make things worse.

He was a little too persistent, a little too obvious, forcing her to scramble for words she no longer had. Suddenly she hated him, and whatever god forsaken reason he trampled up the mountain as she felt her face flush hot, and angry. Her back legs gave out, allowing her stomach to feign a little bit of pudge. Celandine could have cursed him for making her feel so.. so vulnerable. "Really, I'm fine."

 "Now what is it you seek?"The words fell in a whisper from her tongue. Conversation no longer came easily to the yearling, but now she wished that it did. Celandine wanted him to leave, so that she could get on with her miserable life, and forget her sunk-in sides, and horrendous appearance. There was a time when the pale fae would have known the right words; the right way to make him feel whatever she wanted him to. He would have stayed, or left; fetched her dinner, or worshiped the ground she walked upon. That talent was lost, however, and now she was stuck.

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

Darrah had already managed to annoy his company, that much was clear. His already-shot confidence began crumbling beneath him at a raid pace, and he found himself wondering how he could turn the atmosphere around. "Alright..." he murmured. "I believe you.." a lie, though what else was he to say? Gazing at the ground below, the Tainn wished he would have inherited more of his fathers excellent communication skills. The dark yearling winced at his cousins words, unprepared for what exactly he wished to share at this point.

"I suppose I should just be blunt," he whispered back, though the words were more for himself. "I've met a friend of yours," pausing to meet her reaction, Darrah had a feeling she'd know just who he was referring to. "And seeing you now, I believe she and I have reached some sort of agreement.. Please Cella, can you just hear me out?" He'd promised Mahle he wouldn't leave without Celandine accompanying him, though with his cousins constant state of stubbornness, the Tainn could only hope he'd be able to see it through. 'Easy Darrah, You gotta go about this calmly. Don't piss her off more.. If that's even possible. Am I even the right guy to be doing this?'

I curse the blue skies.

Darrah Tainn

At some point,

I started looking at the ground more than the sky

It’s hard even to breathe.

Suspicion clouded the yearling's vision, as she watched the lies fall from his disgusting teeth. His eyes lacked any conviction, and Celandine found herself hating him all the more. She wasn't some pathetic cub in need of coddling, and she certainly planned on telling him where he could stuff his sentiment, but  Darrah continued before she got the chance. 

 "I've met a friend of yours," That lit a fuse. Her body reacted, taking on an aggressive stance. Dark lips curled over still-white teeth to reveal a pale tongue, as the hair on her haunches stood. "Who?" It was rhetorical, for she knew the name of her betrayer. Mahle, the healer whose life had been in Celandine's very own paws. She had trusted the tawny woman with her secrets. A mistake. Not only did Darrah reside within a neighboring pack, but one that had quite a sour history with the princess' own. Cella's condition could have been misconstrued as a sign of weakness. One which the former Plateau wolf must have thought fun to share with everyone. What a mess the medicine wolf could have caused had she ran into anyone else. The yearling never should have let that woman go alive. She would have to be more careful next time.

"If we're being blunt, dear cousin, then you should leave, and keep your findings to yourself. You know very little about me, and what I'm capable of." It took everything she had to feign confidence, and even more to hold her posture. She knew how weak she was, but it still came as a surprise to the yearling when her back legs buckled under the weight of her body, and anger. Then, as quickly as it began, it was over. Her rage, her snarl, everything. She was lost again.

"I will call for my father if you don't go." It was a halfhearted threat, one that even Darrah might be able to see through.

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

Perhaps the pair hadn't been as close as Mahle had described. Confidence shattered as Celandine rose in anger. "Woah listen," he found himself backing up, not much out of fear, if anything likely respect for personal boundaries. The Tainn had made a princess uncomfortable, that was never intended. "I never said I knew anything about you, truth be told I know nothing..." confusion flooded his being further as he allowed his posture to ease into something a little more.. Submissive.

"N-no, there's no need for that.." the former prince murmured. "Evidently confrontation isn't my strong suit.." sitting himself a bit further away from the obviously flustered woman, the Tainn could't help but feel as if she was acting a wee bit over-dramatic. "Would it be possible to just start over? Pretend I wasn't acting like a complete asshole?" he really did hold only the best intentions, if only she could come to realize that. 'You're unhappy, Cella.. Let me help you...' it was really the least he could do, having failed as a family member to everyone else. Plus, the yearling could use a friend, could it be possible that his cousin did too? 'What had to of happened to make a wolf so... bitter?'

I curse the blue skies.

Darrah Tainn

At some point,

I started looking at the ground more than the sky

It’s hard even to breathe.

He backed off, submitted, but the whole thing left a bitter taste in the pale girl's mouth. Darrah did not cower at her advances, did not beg for forgiveness. He hadn't even had the decency to feign fear. It was just another sickening realization that she no longer had the power to force someone into submission. Before, a flash of her teeth was all that was necessary, but now? Not even the field mice seemed to find her threatening. She could have laughed at the irony; wanted to even, but the usual giggle that bubbled up after another dull reminder of what she had lost did not come. 

"Would it be possible to just start over? Pretend I wasn't acting like a complete asshole?" That was the thing though. He wasn't acting like an asshole. She just wanted him to go away so she could find her tree, fall asleep beneath it, and pretend as though everything were the same as it had been before. The Gods did not favor her, however, and he persisted. "Do what you'd like." The fire in her eyes faded, as she forced herself to look at anything but him. She was in no position to resist, especially after that little stunt her weary body decided to pull. It wasn't even worth it.

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

Darrah exhaled at his kin's remark. "Alright.." Taking another moment to think his words through, carefully this time, the yearling observed Celandine closely. "Cella, I would really like it if you came back with me.. To Oak Tree Bend." The offer wasn't convincing, he knew that. Why on earth would a princess leave her throne without reason? It'd be a hard bargain to portray, but he'd already come so far. "Not because of Mahle.." He added quietly, knowing now that the name deeply offended her. "It's something I'd want even if I hadn't encountered the priestess.." That's what the woman had titled herself as, right? The whole scenario was a blur to him now.

"I've heard whispers, you know.. That the plateau isn't what it used to be." He hadn't, of course. Though the obscure honeyed fae had said something of the like amongst their talk, hopefully all that fell from her muzzle wasn't false. "You'll find that the Bend is much safer, and besides.. I could use a friend right now.." The last bit was purposely muffled, perhaps even better off left unsaid. "When the time comes, we could even rule together! How cool would that be?" Darrah was desperate, though the declaration didn't have to be false if that's what she wished. 'Plus, by the looks of it, she really could use some time away from this shit. Who knew it was this bad.'

I curse the blue skies.

Darrah Tainn

At some point,

I started looking at the ground more than the sky

It’s hard even to breathe.