Sex: FemaleCastel was spending a But after her trip down south and meeting Deacon, she'd just headed back up north again, craving the openness of the fields and hills. The forests made her nervous, making her feel more confined than any idea of joining a pack did. Yet that was exactly the reason she was terrified of making that type of commitment. It would be giving up her freedom, which was something that she valued so highly in her life. Still, she understood that, in her condition, she could never have the type of freedom that she craved so desperately. It pained her to think about it, her silver-dusted fur rising along her spine in anger directed inward - at herself, at her bones, at her freaking blood that chose to not work right. Why did it have to be her? Why did she have to be the one to die? It wasn't even that she had to die, necessarily. Cas wasn't afraid of dying. The idea of being attacked by a cougar? At least she had a fighting chance. Passing away of old age? She'd have lived her life by then. Having your own body self-destruct? She couldn't do anything about it. She was helpless. Weak. Terrified. "Damn it all!" she shouted, stomping her left leg, which had taken to aching after her trip back up north again. She felt hot tears burn in her eyes, and a sob burst forth from her mouth. She was just so frustrated at herself "Why won't you just work right?!" she demanded of herself. The little wolf snuffled back her emotions, a lump still in her throat as she stared up at the darkening sky. Her posture was meek and quiet for once, her tail and head low; her ears pinned. She was entirely wrapped up in her self-loathing and despair at the idea of having to go to a group of wolves and ask for help. She'd have to tell them that she was sick, she'd have to admit that she couldn't survive on her own. Everyone would know how useless she was, and it was almost too much for her to bear. She sat down on the bank of the pond she'd reached, fighting back her emotions and staring up at the moon. |
The colorless albino stepped out of the trees with a quiet sigh, the sun was setting, the burning that the wolf’s sensitive eyes had to deal with was gone, he could see now, the cool air, the last few streaks of golden rays sinking behind the mountains. It was a good night for a simple stroll. Stepping lightly through the landscape, the gaunt looking wraith trudged off toward the nearby pond, a quiet place where he could relax and belone before his night hunting started. There was still a few things the wolf needed to work out, socializing with his pack more was one of them, a soft sigh escaping as the antisocial behaviour that had once saved the constantly ridiculed and bullied wolf was now detrimental to his relations with what he considered to be family.
The quiet trek though proved to be more than a lonesome expedition, the scent of an unknown wolf carried across the wind, followed by a voice seeped in frustration. Icicle paused as he caught the last few words, words that he had said himself, long ago, when he had been little more than a year old, curled up among the roots of a tree and crying himself to sleep, drowning in confusion and frustration wo why life had dealt him such a cruel fate.
I can’t let another suffer it… he thought quietly, he had faced years of abuse, loneliness, ridicule, judgement and cruelty after cruelty, the first thing someone felt was utter helplessness, he refused to allow another to suffer alone. Changing course, now following the scent, eventually, the massive albino sat his light pink gaze upon the young wolf. More memories and pain welling up, a wolf so young, she didn’t deserve it. His maw opened, not to give a warm greeting, but acknowledgment, let her see the gaunt and sickly looking wolf behind her, let her see the colorless fur and odd colored eyes, let her see that someone else whom life has tried to strike down, a fellow being who had faced rejection and cruelty because of something they couldn’t control “You made it this far.”
The little silver-and-red wolf jumped at the sound of the words behind her, and she leapt to her feet to face the stranger, her blue eyes wide and tears tracking down her muzzle. For a moment, she just took in the sight of the stranger; his pelt somehow whiter than the snow behind him, and his eyes pinkish, matching his nose and skin. She'd never seen a wolf that looked like him before, but she wasn't aversed to his odd appearance. He was big, too - towering over herself; dwarfing her in both height and weight. He looked... interesting. Cas herself wasn't big on appearances, but she had a feeling that not all wolves would be as accepting as herself. She couldn't see many wolves being very kind about this stranger's appearance; could think of the nicknames they might call him, and the things they might have said. This ivory-furred man had been through a lot - she could see it in the way he held himself, and in his pinkish eyes. Sympathy swelled in her chest, and it took her a dazed moment to even register that he had said anything. "I-I wasn't..." crying, she began to defend herself, bringing up a paw to swipe at the tears trailing down her face in frustration. Obviously that was a lie, so she cleared her throat and forcefully shoved her negative feelings down deep, where they usually were. Pushed past all the I've come this far, but what if this is as far as I can go? and said instead: "I've gotten this far because I'm a badass." She was absolutely not, but she put every ounce of conviction and confidence she possessed in her sixty-six-pounds-and-dropping body into the statement. "I hate to tell you this, sir, but since you've seen me show emotions, I can't let you leave this place alive. Gotta keep my badass reputation up," she jibbed, tacking on a laugh and a wag of her tail to show him that she was, indeed, joking with that claim. Clearing her throat to try and get rid of the irritating lump that still resided in it to thicken her words, Cas took a few steps toward the ghostly-white stranger, peering up to get a good look at his face. "I like your eyes," she told him genuinely. They were about as opposite to hers as you could get - reddish and bluish. "Um, sorry. I'm Cas - er, Castel Noor." She cursed herself inwardly, still far too flustered at being caught showing such strong negative emotions. "Who are you?" She wanted to know the name of the kind stranger who had decided to take the time out of his night to help a soul in need. This was a rare being, indeed. |
“Thank you.” He said quietly, his voice was a soft, but higher pitch than one might expect from one of his bulk and size. “I want to say I admire your eyes too, but it’s deeper than that, there’s a fire burning inside of them Castel, the world will do everything it can to extinguish that, don’t let them, let yourself burn brighter with every hurt that you face.” Icicle wanted her to know, no matter what she faced, she’d be stronger in the end {b} “I’m Icicle.”
The little wolf was surprised that this stranger had the capacity to be so kind to... well, to another stranger. It was heartwarming; refreshing. The silver-dusted girl stepped forward and tapped her nose to his, then moved back with a smile and a little hitch in her step where her left leg wasn't cooperating just right. "Thank you. It isn't often that someone would take the time to be so kind to someone they don't even know," she told him, seating herself down on the bank of the pond and looking back at him. "Icicle, hunh? That fits. You're about the color of the snow," she said with a wag of her tail and a smile on her lips. It was then that she caught his smell; similar to what Askan's had been. "Are you a part of the Rye pack? Because, I..." she trailed off, shuffling her paws in the snow before her. "That's part of the reason I was getting upset earlier. I met Askan the other day, and I think I'm going to talk to the alphas and ask permission to join." |
“Sorry if he came across as grouchy, it’s just how he is.” Icicle said quietly, the hint of another smile on the corners of his lips. Askan was a good wolf at heart, just prickly around the edges, like a porcupine. His ears perked when Castel revealed the true reasons for her coming this way, she wanted to join their pack, “I’m sure Drestig and Jessie will let you in, they let me in after all and I wa sin a much worse condition than you appear to be.” Drestig was a big softy at heart, and if she could win him over, she Icicle knew that Jessie would give in too, something he hoped for anyways.
She tipped her head in confusion and a bit of concern when he growled, but didn't take a step back. She felt like she could trust this man, but she wouldn't have been scared even if she couldn't. She just wasn't the type to get scared of a little growl that wasn't even directed at her, even though she knew that there were definitely wolves who would.
Instead of responding to his simple statement, and instead laughed when he mentioned Askan being grouchy. "Hey, it's fine. I liked him, actually," she assured, her silver-flecked tail waving in remembrance of the dark man. She'd have to catch up with him after joining Wild Rye Fields. Speaking of... "I don't know if they'll let me in or not," she said carefully, her blue eyes meeting his reddish ones. "It's fine if they don't - I wouldn't blame them."
She didn't know how he'd react to the truth about her condition, so she decided not to say anything. Only the alphas would need to know about that. "If you think they'd be okay with it, I might try," she told him, casting her gaze to the side. "What's the worst that could happen, right?"