Hearthwood River cross your heart and say you've never given up

After being dismissed by Lachesis, Inna had slunk away quickly into the night without a word. Lorcan had been cautious in following after her, not wanting to appear too keen to get away from their leader after he had served them their punishments. The healer had instead walked off in the opposite direction to the raven, traipsing between the tall red woods and sequoia trees towards and old food cache he had buried before their trip to the rye fields.

The male took his time unearthing the meal, keen to allow Inna a bit of time to herself and Oksana before searching after her. He was sure that the female had been very upset when Lachesis had reprimanded them, she’d barely spoken a word towards the end. Lorcan had never known her to be that quiet before and it concerned him. However, he also did not want to smother or overwhelm her. She had been through an awful lot recently and the healer didn’t wish to add to her stress.

Finally clasping the half-eaten hare gently between his jaws, the male shook it gently to remove the majority of the dirt which clung to the carcass before he began to slowly slip his way back through the trees in the direction of the raven’s den. Unsure if Inna would already be asleep, considering the time, he approached the hollowed entrance to her den quietly and placed the hare gently on the ground. Lowering his head to peer into the gloom, he whispered for her, hoping to see a pair of warm orange eyes flash up at him through the dark.

“Inna…I brought you something to eat.” He paused, backing away from the entrance awkwardly. “I can leave it here if you want…”

(This post was last modified: Aug 22, 2017, 04:30 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

After their meeting, if it could be called that, with Lachesis Inna had slipped off into the night. She had so many emotions swirling inside her that she didn't know what to do with. The strength she'd been trying have had broken down, leaving her feeling more lost than she ever had before. All she could think about then was curling up with Oksana and holding her daughter after being gone for so long. She didn't want to think about anything else that night after what had happened with Lachesis. He was the last thing she wanted to think about after how he had been she couldn't. Even begin to understand what had happened to him while she and Lorcan had been away to cause him to not want to hear them out

It didn't matter as she weaved her way through the trees, her dark coat blending into the night. It was moments like these she was glad she had such dark fur. The Raven wasn't exactly ready to talk to anyone, on the verge of tears she finally reached her den and entered. Oksana was asleep right where she'd been left, Inna didn't waste any time in curling herself as tightly as she could around Oksana.

She kissed her daughter's crown before laying her head in. The fur that still covered the den floor even.after all these months. Sleep did not come leaving Inna laying there awake staring at the wall in front of her. Lorcans whisper traveled into the den a little while later as he spoke of bringing her something to eat. Her stomach lurched at the thought, “I'm sorry, I'm not very hungry right now but you can leave it for Sana.” She woke her daughter before sending her out to eat since she was certain the child hadn't eaten. “You should come in,” she called to Lorcan once her daughter was outside.

They needed to talk about what had happened, she had to do this and she couldn't put it or him off. When it was done then she could go back to trying and failing to sleep.

~Table by Jacqueline

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you.

 

Russet ears perked up at the sound of Inna’s quiet voice echoing out from the den. Pale brows immediately furrowed in concern at her answer. After the three day journey they had just made together he was convinced that she had to be hungry, yet she refused the food he had brought with him and instead offered it to their daughter. The healer couldn’t help but feel that the woman’s behaviour was a little off.

Lorcan lingered awkwardly outside the den as he watched Oksana sleepily crawl her way outside towards him. Complying with the mother’s wishes, the male lowered his nose to nudge the half-eaten hare towards their daughter. “Here you go, sleepyhead.” He teased affectionately, giving the pup a warm lick to her forehead before he glanced back towards the den entrance as Inna summoned him inside to join her.

Crouching down onto his stomach, the agouti male carefully shuffled his way inside, moving to curl up beside the dark female inside the cramped gloomy chamber. “I just wanted to see how you were.” He admitted concernedly, golden eyes watching her through the dark. “You seemed quiet before…are–are you okay?” He said quietly, not wanting his voice to reach Oksana outside.   

(This post was last modified: Aug 22, 2017, 04:53 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

She'd lost her appetite after the events that had occurred only a short time ago. The mere thought of eating had made her nauseous so it was better she send Oksana out to enjoy the rabbit her father had brought. At least then it wouldn't go to waste and he wouldn't have brought it for nothing. The Raven watched her daughter toddle sleepily over to the den entrance before disappearing she then laid her head on her paws after telling Lorcan he could come in.

They had to talk now that Lachesis knew about Lorcan being Oksana's father, they would have to tell their daughter the truth. This was another of those things that she did not want the ebony child finding out from somewhere else. Inna could hear Lorcan's voice as he spoke to Oksana and then she heard him shuffling his way into the den. She didn't move, not even to turn her ears toward him. She didn't feel like she even had the strength for the conversation they were about to have but it had to be done with no time to waste.

She finally did move as he curled up next to her, Inna pressed her body against his seeking comfort in his presence. He'd come to check on her and she shouldn't have expected anything less. “Thank you,” she whispered but he had noticed that she had not said much while they were receiving their punishment. “No,” she said quietly, “I'm so far from okay. I don't understand why it went that way and now I'm just…” she trailed off for a moment she remained silent before she turned her head to look at him, “I fear I've lost Lachesis too.”

~Table by Jacqueline

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you.

 

Lorcan was relieved when Inna shifted over to press up against him, glad that she was still willing to let him try and comfort her in some way. The agouti male leant over then to press his wet nose against her cheek, to try and get her to look at him. His frown deepened as Inna admitted that she did not feel okay. The healer gave a couple of small nods in understanding as she then went on to explain that she didn’t understand why the conversation with Lachesis had gone the way it had – it was understandable.

Inna had been so sure that the leader would be sympathetic towards them and when it became clear that he wasn’t, it must have come as quite a shock for the younger woman.

Golden eyes glanced over to the raven through the dark as she fell silent and then his ears flattened when she expressed her concerns about Lachesis. “You haven’t lost him. He was just angry, Inna.” He promised her, his voice quiet. “You two are way too close to let one mistake ruin what you have together.” The male added, before pausing to release a heavy sigh.

“I think he will trust us again, we just have to give it some time?” He posed it as a question, because truthfully he was a little uncertain himself. He just hoped that he was right.     

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

Even if she didn't feel like talking to anyone else she was glad Lorcan had come. He knew her and he was the one she could tell anything to for he knew her secrets. Well until that might he had been the only one, she dreaded talking to him about it for fear it would scare him. Still it had to be done. As he pressed his nose against her cheek she closed her eyes for a brief moment before telling him she wasn't okay. She feared she would never be okay again. It was all just so much, too much for her to handle anymore.

Laying with Oksana the mother had thought about the time her own mother had been grieving for Maksim.she wondered if it was best for Oksana to stay with her, if maybe she wouldn't be better off with Lorcan until she was feeling better. Surely it couldn't be good for the child to be around her when she wasn't herself.

Inna shared her fear with Lorcan and being the understanding in that he was he tried to convince her that she had not lost Lachesis. “I expected him to be angry. I know what I did was wrong,” she said quietly. She looked into Lorcans golden gaze, “Wouldn't it depend on how bad the mistake was?” It may have seemed a stupid question and even one she should know the answer to but she wasn't sure about anything anymore.

“But can I trust him?” She asked as Lorcan tried to reassure her that Lachesis would trust them again. Someday she knew he would because the one thing she hadn't told him was now out. “He knows the only thing I haven't told him.” She wasn't counting the things she'd decided not to say about the meeting with the rye wolves. It was Lachesis own doing that he didn't know that.

~Table by Jacqueline

(This post was last modified: Aug 22, 2017, 05:52 PM by Inna.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you.

 

Lorcan’s head tilted to the side at Inna’s question as he considered his answer for a moment. “Yes, but…” He began hesitantly, holding the dark woman’s warm orange gaze through the gloom of the den. “I have a feeling he will forgive you, eventually.” Lorcan said before falling silent again for a few heartbeats. “He must understand that you’ve been through a lot lately? You were upset, weren’t thinking straight.” Which was why he hadn’t been too harsh on her himself after the meeting with the rye wolves. She knew that she had done wrong and that was enough for him.

The healer tried to convince her that Lachesis would come to trust them again and would forgive Inna for her mistakes at the meeting, but the raven turned his words and their head and asked if they could trust their leader. Pale brows pulled into a deeper frown as she looked across to her, his golden eyes swimming with confusion. “What do you mean?” Lorcan was struggling to keep up with the dark female’s thoughts as she spoke them out loud.

Nervously his eyes glanced over to the entrance of the den as the healer grew anxious about what Inna could possibly reveal to him in front of their daughter.   

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

The question was the mistake she'd made, was it bad enough that Lachesis could never forgive her. In his eyes she'd nearly dissolved an alliance that apparently meant a lot to him. She was still trying to understand how that could be when he'd been so hesitant to trust them before. Inna rested her head in her paws as Lorcan spoke of how much she'd been through. “It's too much Lorcan, I don't know if I can take anymore. I tried to he strong and move on. I wanted to help keep the pack together but I can't do it anymore,” He of course was the only one she could admit that too and she felt from his words that he would understand. He wouldn't be angry and he would support her.

But hadn't she been wrong about Lachesis, he had his conclusion and he hadn't given them the chance to explain. She hoped she wasn't wrong about the man she lived too.

She did care if Lachesis trusted them, it didn't feel right not having his trust and she was lost certain they didn't no matter what the pale healer had said. Had he trusted then he would have listened to them, “He chose to take the word of the rye informant instead of hearing our side,” she stated meeting us gaze once more. “He didn't care to hear us. How can we trust someone who chooses to believe an outsider over us?” She felt it was a valid question. Whether she was right or wrong this was how it seemed when Lachesis hadn't even bothered to ask about their side of the story before casting his judgement.

After a few moments where Inna had grown silent her gaze had gone to the den entrance, their daughter was out there. “We have to tell her,” she said almost absently her gaze not leaving the opening that led out into the night.

~Table by Jacqueline

(This post was last modified: Aug 22, 2017, 06:27 PM by Inna.)

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you.

 

The healer had hoped that his words of reassurance would be able to convince Inna that everything wasn’t as bad as she thought it was. So Lachesis had been angry about their behaviour and disciplined them, but as far as Lorcan saw it, their punishment was not particularly – nothing like what he had been anticipating when they had first met up with the pale leader earlier that evening. They were lucky that Lachesis had not physically reprimanded them, demoted them or even chased them out the territory all together.

Lorcan’s frown deepened as Inna told him how she was struggling to deal with everything that had happened recently. That fact that she said how she didn’t feel like she could cope any longer filled his heart with worry. “You don’t have to strong all the time Inna. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed.” He sighed, feeling that they had a conversation similar to this before. Shuffling in closer, the healer attempting to comfort her. “–and, it’s not your job to keep the pack together. That’s for Lachesis and Lilya to worry about, not you.” He reassured her, golden gaze searching for her eyes of warm orange through the gloom of the den. “All you should be worrying about is taking care of yourself and Sana…and the other pups.” He added, remembering their new pup-sitting task.

The agouti male fell silent again as the dark female than expressed how upset she was about Lachesis not hearing them out and instead believed the words of the rye informant. Lorcan had to admit that it did bother him also. His pale brows rose upwards awkwardly as she met his gaze. The male bit his lip then as his russet ears pressed back against his head and his gaze drifted away from her face. He did not want to even attempt to answer her question. Lorcan shrugged, charcoal lips pressing into a thin line as he focused his attention across to the moonlit den entrance.

“We have to tell her.”

His heart froze. Lorcan’s face snapped back to stare at Inna anxiously. It had not passed him that Lachesis knew the full extent of his relationship with the dark pup. “Lachesis doesn’t have any solid proof, apart from the suspicions your brother and the rye wolves. If we tell her, we will just be proving them right. Everyone would soon hear about it…” He said quietly, his tone hushed in an attempt to keep their daughter in the dark for the time being.     

(This post was last modified: Aug 24, 2017, 05:23 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

Since her mother's had passed away she had spent so much time worrying about the pack. She'd only allowed herself a certain amount of time to let herself completely fall apart. So much pressure for her to do what she felt was good for the pack because it was her family's pack. It wasn't anymore though, it was now Lachesis and Lilya's pack and there was nothing she could do about it. Falling in line the previous night like Lachesis seemed to want from them had been the only thing she could do. She thought the trip to Wild Rye would good for her but it had only ended up making things much worse.

Lorcan was full of words of encouragement after she had explained how she was feeling. She to everything he said and knew he was right and that this time she needed to do what he said. Focus on herself and her daughter. She needed to grieve for her mother and take the time she needed. This punishment would make it easier since they weren't allowed to do patrols or leave the territory. “You're right Lorcan I think it would best if I just worried about me and Sana for awhile.”

The mention of her daughter brought her back to a more pressing Issue, Lachesis knew Lorcan was Oksana's father. They needed to tell her before she found out from somewhere else. It needed to be done as soon as possible because she didn't know how fast the news would spread. However, it quickly became clear that Lorcan had not realized that Inna hadn't told Lachesis otherwise when he had said something about it. “Lorcan, it's not a secret anymore. I didn't deny that you were her father and soon enough the whole pack is going to know. She can't find out from someone else. She has to hear it from us and soon.” Inna spoke plainly hoping that it wouldn't send him over the edge, she knew how badly he wanted to continue to keep this to themselves but that was no longer an option.

~Table by Jacqueline

Please see Kajika's OOC profile for OOC preferences, thank you.