Willow Ridge Ghosts That We Knew

Set day before Niles thread to avoid timeline issues

After allowing herself some time to properly flesh out plans she had in mind, the time to finally act upon the first of them had arrived. Up ahead the pale silhouette of @Sven came into view between floating layers of freezing fog and a chuff was issued from the magpie woman before swarthy limbs picked up their pace to slide up along one of his exposed sides and deter him momentarily from whatever task he had in mind in that moment. An ivory clad shoulder brushed gently against his in silent conveyance they needed to talk before the piebald female silently veered off course toward the nearest boarder and away from ears not meant to hear the private conversation the duo were long overdue in having.

Once the invisible line marking the outer perimeter of the pack was breached, smoldering amber irises shifted their gaze from the bleak wintry scenery surrounding them to meet the colorless pair of his own after glancing back over a dappled shoulder. Her pace slowing a fraction to an easy lope while paws fell habitually now into a routine boarder patrol, following the divot in the snow pack where others had followed the circumference of the territory to do just as she had prior.

Where to begin? A few different variations of how to start this conversation swam across her mind earlier in the morning, but now that it was finally happening all sense of an outline seemed unreachable. "I'm sorry.." The words fell softly from her lips before her tongue could press to the roof of her mouth to stop them from tumbling forth. Ebony ears pinning back against her dark skull in genuine guilt that had been eating away at her.

(This post was last modified: Jan 24, 2017, 03:25 AM by Enoki.)

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

so do i divide and fall apart?

Sven's paws had been pushing back the last of the dirt that had been disturbed to bury his latest kill. Winter was not being particularly harsh on the Ridge this year, but it still was not often that a meal brought in by the pale teen was able to be saved for later. If he'd had his fill, it often went directly to his family or pack mates. This was a good sign that he could take a break from the chore for a few days, and focus on other things. That was where his mind was, on what would be the next task of the day, when Enoki's wordless beckoning met his ears.

His silver eyes watched her warily as she drew near, and his skin all but crawled at her touch. Silent, he did not show the confusion that was present within his mind. While he regarded the woman differently than he had as a child, they still were not any kind of close and certainly did not interact so casually as to brush against one another. Curiosity fulled piqued, he followed after her.

In all actuality, he had been meaning to speak with the woman, but any moment during which they'd both had the time, his whims had taken him elsewhere. Enoki was a mystery that was more comfortable to leave unsolved. Now that she was leader in his Nonna's stead, however, things were not so easy to let rest. He still considered Elettra above her, regarding the Archer matriarch's desires and opinions as the highest priority while Enoki shouldered the responsibilities, but he knew that it was highly unlikely, and impractical, for the Torbine heiress to assume the throne ever again.

And what with his exhaustion of the ever changing male lead position, and the thoughts that had been collecting within his head, he would need to work more closely with the piebald woman that he'd ever wanted to.

The trail she set them upon was familiar, and without thinking much about it all, Sven fell into the habit of asserting himself upon the land. At each tree they passed he would either hike up a leg or brush his flank upon it, strengthening the scent markers. His pale eyes, rather than watching his company, searched the land for any signs of disturbance. In time, the possibility of conversation even faded from his mind. Perhaps she had just wanted backup during her patrol, or to see him work. He had expressed his desire to titled officially as a pack guardian, after all.

But then her voice slipped into the air, and the words she spoke caused him to stiffen and slow to a stop. His eyes searched for hers, almost skeptically at first. His breathing was shallow, as if he was afraid of making noise and waking himself up from whatever was happening.

No on had ever apologized to him before.

His mother had tried to, or so he wanted to believe. But all that had really been said was that she knew she shouldn't have left so long ago. Sahalie too was a wolf that would say sorry, but it was a dismissive, habitual kind of thing. The sort that didn't mean much more than any other word it was spoken with.

This, this was... he didn't know how to react. How to feel. But she'd meant it, he could see that, and it cut through all the iron and hit what was soft inside of him.

"... you're what?"

'cause my bright is too slight to hold back all my dark

Enoki Ashrelle

It was the suddenly decreased echo of paws crunching against snow that first alerted the magpie to Sven's sudden halt in their loop about the territory, her own paws soon coming to do the same and angle her body partially to glance back at the pale Archer without offering too much strain on the muscles holding her head up. Silence reigned supreme between the duo for what felt like an eon and honestly Enoki wasn't surprised by the reaction he showed. The skeptical look of disbelief burning deep in his colorless eyes as they bore into the smoldering amber hue of her own, the pause in his words before asking to clarify a second time what it was she had said as if he just couldn't believe he had heard them the first time at all.

The words did not come again as freely as they had the first, the dappled woman chewing briefly at the skin that lined the inside of her cheek before a heavy sigh pushed past the small break in her lips and lofted into the air in the form of a thick vapor cloud. "I said I'm sorry. I know.." For a moment her attention flickered away from the boy's intent gaze to settle her line of sight on a section of willows in the distance, her gut churning with each swallow she took in order to force her pride further down. This wasn't as easy as she thought. To finally voice aloud the wrong she had done when he was just a pup despite the order given by his Nona herself. After a few minutes more of silence her attention returned to Sven's face, letting him see the sincerity that washed over her facial features.

"I know I shouldn't have pushed you away when you were younger, @Sven. The mistake ultimately was made by your parents and you had no power in their decision. It wasn't fair that you were punished too for what they did and after giving it thought I've come to realize it's time for change around here.." A brief pause to give the man a chance to comprehend where she was going with this, her body turning fully now to face him before lowering her haunches to settle against the snow dusted ground.

Word Count: 382

Ashbash 2016 - Sebastian Unrau 

so do i divide and fall apart?

She hesitated to repeat her words, but that only helped Sven to see how much it took of her to say them at all. Enoki was a prideful creature, he certainly knew that. It was part of that pride which drove her to be such a dedicated and lawful member of the pack. Swallowing it was a big step, but why was he worth it? She continued, explaining herself but still he wasn't sure. Was this empathy, did she want to be a 'better' wolf? Did she realize, now as leader, that the Ridge needed stronger bonds or else it would continue to float away into the nothing? Or was she accepting that he would grow into something important, maybe even vital to the Ridge? Perhaps it was a combination, though he doubted she anticipated the latter. His father had held the crown briefly, but had forfeited as quickly as though it were made of poisoned thorns.

And everyone expected of him what Skoll had committed. ... didn't they?

Sven looked away, paws shuffling slowly beneath his hulking frame. The distance had certainly done his harm as a child, made him feel unworthy, despised, mistrusted. The other half of it, however, was the venom that had been spat at him about his mother. How they hadn't cared to even notice she was missing, much less to seek out where she went or even comfort a crying, heartbroken child. Sven had not forgiven them for it all, not explicitly, but he had more or less moved past it. Knew that regardless of their trespasses, they were his packmates and those that remained clearly all wanted the same thing: to see the Ridge thrive once more.

"Lawbreakers or not, they were allowed to stay. She was part of the pack. As much as anyone else."

He spoke as if musing aloud to himself, but there was intent behind the words. Still, it took a moment more to mull over the decision of whether or not he truly wanted to walk this scorched earth with Enoki. At last, he came to a decision, and his pale gaze stuck upon her once more.

"I need to know why. Why did no one else look for her?"

'cause my bright is too slight to hold back all my dark

Crappy but basically Enoki's admitting she done goofed

Enoki Ashrelle

Once more a veil of silence settled over the duo while @Sven no doubt absorbed the apology the magpie had tried to give, whether it was good enough or a waste of time yet to be determined. Although, soon enough the pale teen spoke up causing ebony ears to intently prick forward, speaking in regards to how despite their crimes against the pack they were still members that should have been treated as such. Something that shoved the dagger hovering above Enoki's heart into the vulnerable flesh. Then a question was posed and an answer the boy had been needing to know. 

Guilt festered further within the magpie's gut, not knowing just how to answer that question for she could not speak for anyone else. Their thoughts and emotions at the time were all their own and only those that she felt herself could she try to explain to the boy now. "I can't speak for them as to why, but we were all wrong." Enoki started slowly, letting the smoldering hue of her gaze hold the icy hue of his own while she spoke. "I can only speak for myself and back then I was angry. That anger of hearing the law they had broken and knowing I was ranked below a creature that got away too easily blinded me from doing what was right." A pause and heavy sigh. "I should have looked for her instead of wanting to make her pay for her sins. I thought it better to let a wolf that broke loyalty stay gone and I was wrong for that."

Word Count: 266

Ashbash 2017 - Sebastian Unrau 

(This post was last modified: Mar 23, 2017, 07:27 PM by Enoki.)

so do i divide and fall apart?

He had wanted to stay steadfast, to face her with determined righteousness. Instead, as she admitted that not only herself, but all of them had been wrong, he couldn't help but falter under a tide of emotion. Pale eyes pinching shut, he gritted his teeth and angled his head, away from her and the words she continued to say. His heart beat with agony that refused to be deciphered, for shouldn't this have been a relief, a good thing to bear? Instead he suffered as it all resurfaced, every poisoned word and bitter glance.

Fragments of what was said stood out, in particular the phrasing that his mother was a creature that had gotten away too easily. Enoki was admitting fault, there was no need for Sven to continue to defend the woman that had briefly raised him, yet he couldn't help himself throwing up a few more words as though they were shields against the turmoil this sudden moment had inspired within.

"She did pay," he assured her. They all had, himself included. Probably, in fact, the most. After all, he had remained the suffer the consequences of his parents' indiscretion. He could now admit, and handle, the fact that in separate ways, they had both chosen to run from it and, in turn, him.

A deep and heavy sigh fled his jaws, bloated with the emotions that were running rampant within him. Would ever not feel this way? Could there one day be a time where something unpleasant was brought up and it did not thrust him into chaos? Or was that all he was made of?

"Thanks."

The word was staccato, almost uncalled for in its brevity, but Sven was not a wolf of flowery assurances when it was not Attica or @Sahalie before him. His paws shifted again, buying time until he had more for her.

"I knew you were different, when you didn't leave. With Morganna. I actually, wanted to ask you about it for a long time."

There was a lot that he had been wanting to do, that was continuously put off. He needed to cease his hesitations.

"Bout why you didn't just leave with them. But I think I get it now."

'cause my bright is too slight to hold back all my dark

Sorry on the wait!

Enoki Ashrelle

Enoki was never a woman that needed nor cared for pieces of flowery assurances. Simple thanks held just as much value to her as those dressed up to deliver the same end point and it was the simple thanks Sven gave her now that brought the faintest of smiles upon her lips, but it could only last a moment before being whisked away when the pale wolf went on to provide the piebald woman with a rare piece of insight toward how he viewed the older woman. Apparently, he had known that unlike those that had deserted the pack to lend aid to Morganna's cause she was different. Deciding to stay when she could have easily left with them. 

Recalling that time caused Enoki to shake her head while he continued on slightly to tag on that he was starting to believe he knew why. At this her head then angled at a curious tilt, smoldering amber irises holding onto the pale liquid silver of his own while a brow rose to further express the interest he certainly piqued. "And what do you believe is my reason for staying? I'm curious so please, entertain an old lady." Of course, Enoki knew why she had stayed. Her loyalty sworn from the start to Elettra Archer until the day both women drew their final breath but it would be interesting to hear how another interpreted her actions.

Word Count: 235

Ashbash 2017 - Sebastian Unrau