Cedarwood Forest we are life

@Anastasia SCREAMING

While the Arctic male was bred for winter, he had grown sick of the overwhelming amount that had engulfed the lands of Relic Lore. Prior to last winter the long-legged healer had been particularly fond of the white substance, but after losing Anastasia to a snow storm Lachesis had begun to loathe it. It was cold and irritating, and chased away prey. He could feel hunger gnawing at his insides as the deer became scarce, and he worried frequently about the pups and whether they were getting enough food. He would do whatever necessary to ensure that they, and the wolves of Cut Rock, survived the winter. XIX would not allow any of his packmates fall to the deadly ice-grip of winter.

Even though the snow irritated him, the alabaster male moved effortlessly through it as he weaved through the trees. Since Mali he had not scented many strangers near the border and couldn’t help but wonder if the loners had found homes for the winter. It would be foolish for a lone wolf to remain isolated as the snow piled up – with food being so scarce, they would surely not survive the winter without a pack. Cut Rock was not desperate for members, but they could certainly increase their numbers. Although there would be more mouths to feed, it would mean they would have a better chance of finding food and bringing down larger prey.

It had taken many months – almost an entire year – but Lachesis was finally happy once more. After the loss of Anastasia the healer had almost given up. He had heavily self-medicated himself and isolated himself from the pack, refusing to interact with even Maksim and Capella. If it had not been for the persistence of Bastet he wasn’t sure that he would have recovered. He had slowly been losing his mind, and if it was not for the tough-love that the raven-coloured female had given him, he would have completely lost himself. Lachesis had come so far in the year since Ana’s disappearance. He had gained a respectable role within the pack, and had climbed his way up the ranks without having to challenge another wolf. And now, while Maksim was out of commission, he was temporarily leading Cut Rock – something that he could not have pictured himself doing a year ago. His stutter, which had been a permanent accessory, was no longer haunting him. Although still lanky and somewhat awkward looking, XIX had filled out into quite a handsome adult and was now taking care of himself properly. He no longer stood submissively, with his shoulders hunched and his eyes darting around, but stood tall and proud. He only wished that his china doll could see him now.

As he weaved through the trees XIX searched for both the scents of loners and potential prey. He was glad that he had over-stocked his inventory prior to the snowfall, as it was almost impossible to find herbs under a blanket of snow. Hopefully he would not have to go through much of his herbs this winter…

stick with those who stick with you

Without a doubt moving around in Relic Lore felt like a ghostly vision and all of the territories she passed were only mere stepping stones on the way back home. All she wanted to do was rest back in the arms of her friend, her best friend, and cherish every moment she had with him. Never again did she want to venture out and search for things in the snow—it was an awful discomfort now and it wasn’t a substance that she was willing to bathe herself in for any longer than she had to. With Karpos’ guidance she had come all this way just to find Lachesis and to bury herself in his embrace but never had she expected that it would be today that she would spy his slender, yet grown form.

From across the way she could see him and her heart gave a hard leap in her chest and she felt her legs wobbly, taking a few steps just to make sure that they hadn’t gone numb entirely. Tail waved behind her in silent grace and a few breaths heaved in her throat, not sure if she even knew what to tell him aside from that she was never going to leave again. Anastasia was never going to disappear again. With that confidence boosting her spirits she soared rather ungracefully towards him, hindered by her diminished health, and raised her voice to the air to call for the man that she had lost for far too long and now was finally getting the finish and the beginning all in one.

by Sarah

He was mentally cursing himself for venturing out into the snow as he moved, his long legs angrily pushing his slender body forward. It was a stupid idea – he could be curled up next to Bastet into his large, warm den but no, something had told Lachesis that he had to go outside. Rolling his eyes at himself Lachesis carried on, his nose lifted to the air as he searched for something to grab his attention.

And that’s when it hit him.

His body felt as though he had hit a brick wall, his limbs immediately locking as the scent of a ghost reached him. No. It was not possible. XIX shook his head frantically, trying to rid himself of the scent he knew far too well. The scent that had comforted him so many times, and had been through so much with him… but it would not disappear. It weighed heavy in the air, consuming him as his pear eyes searched for the blue-eyes that accompanied it. His heart stopped as they fell on the slender figure that he had curled up next to so many nights… the body that had seen him at his very worst and helped him through all of his troubles.

His breath hitched as he took a trembling step forward, his eyes instantly watering as his chest heaved, gulping for air. Although his mouth moved, mouthing her name, no sound came out. It couldn’t be… it must be the cold playing tricks on him… it was not possible. The mountain had claimed her, stolen her away from him… had she really returned?

He took another trembling step forward, her scent become clearer as he drew closer. It was… It really was her… A muffled cry escaped his maw as he stepped closer, his legs quivering uncontrollably until they buckled beneath him, his slender body crumbling against the ground. Pear eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at her, completely dumbfounded. Questions swirled through his mind but they did not break the silence between them. He was too startled to speak; too happy to move. She was back. She had survived the mountain and returned to him. “Ana,” he whispered into the cold air, her name feeling foreign on his tongue. It had been many months since he had been able to say her name – it didn’t feel real. None of this felt real.

stick with those who stick with you

Finally she could see his face and feel how close she was getting to him; she no longer had to picture what it would be like to be with him now. Nor try and picture what he might be doing at the time because now she was going to be here and she wasn’t going to let go. Never, ever was she going to let him go because she had unknowingly done so before, Ana would rather die than be separated from him again. All that space had led her to believe that things were not as they were supposed to be. It had left her heart breaking every single day and now it was on the mend.

The man stumbled bin front of her and she panicked a little as she continued to take breaths on the run to him. Eventually she managed to close the distance between them and she leaned down onto her forelegs and crumpled right next to him—“Lach.” She was here, reaching out her muzzle to gently touch to his and take in the fine almost entirely unfamiliar scent of the pride that she had briefly been in before being sucked away. Snow was an evil thing but now she had found her way back a little over a year later and she could not have been much happier than she was now. Tears had even begin to form within her cerulean eyes, though she tried to keep them contained due to the freezing temperatures that raged around them. The snowy wind that seemed to roll around them like the snowstorm before. This time she was not letting herself slip away from him and she was going to stay by his side with the hope that he would do her the same favor.

“I’m back.” It was simple but it was a promise nonetheless. “I finally found you.” She could feel herself murmuring her words and they likely would have gotten lost in the anger of the weather if not for their close proximity. “I’m so sorry I took so long,” she apologized with ferocity as if it had been her fault that it had taken her a year to find her way back. Anastasia was good at tracking but getting lost in the snowstorms and continuing to move for hours had somehow rendered her as lost as a child. “Please take me to our home.”

by Sarah

He was certain that he was dreaming. If she had survived the snowstorm that had driven them apart why had it taken her so long to return to him? Would she mad that he didn’t look harder for her? He tried, he tried so hard. But he knew that if he had remained on the mountain any longer the snow would claim his life. How had she survived? Where had she gone? Was he actually awake, or was this just a horrible dream?

His pale, pear-coloured eyes widened as tears threatened to spill down his cheek, his gaze never once wavering from her slender frame. While his legs longed to run toward her to see whether or not he was in fact dreaming, XIX couldn’t move. His legs were crumpled beneath him, unable to life his trembling body as he stared at her in disbelief. As the snow engulfed them it reminded the healer of the day they had lost each other – memories of him shouting her name through the storm resurfaced, consuming him as she stumbled toward him. It was not until she collapsed next to him that realization finally clicked in, his bright eyes struggling to focus on her familiar face as the tears finally fell. He hesitated to touch her, worried that she would disappear once again.

It was his name rolling off her tongue that broke XIX’s daze, his gaze refocusing as he leaned into her. As soon as her scent consumed him a sigh of relief escaped him as he buried his muzzle into her shoulder. “A-Ana,” he mumbled once more into her fur, his voice unsteady from both the cold and the unbearable excitement that devoured him. “I was so worried… so worried I would never see you again…” He paused, lifting his maw from her shoulder to meet her cerulean gaze. “This is real, right? You’re really here? You’re coming home?”

stick with those who stick with you

This moment was about as real as it was ever going to get.

A whole year she had been gone—lost because of the snowstorm that had devoured her chances of happiness. A whole year gone that she could have spent cherishing every moment she could have with Lachesis, Karpos, Adsila, Maksim… everyone she loved so dear. It only pleased her to see that Lachesis wasn’t angry or even decimated. He was here in the Wildwood and that was just about all that mattered. Just forget the idea that Lachesis could have wrote Anastasia off as a figment of his imagination or could have even trailed off to find her. Truth was, she was thankful that he had not looked harder and left the Woods to find her otherwise this reunion might not have ever happened (or it could have happened sooner) but the odds had been against her favor up to this point.

“I’m h-here now,” she trembled and tried to press even further against him as if he, not her, would disappear with the blink of an eye or a whip of the wind. “I wanna come home, more than anything. I just need to be here—this is my only home. You are my life.” This, so far, had been the only place that had set her free and had been anywhere close to comforting. The loner life that had lived up to now was nothing compared to her life here. Not a single soul she had briefly met lingered in her mind as significant. None of them had reached through her system and tugged at her heart like those that she had been taken from. Not one soul in this world could ever replace the man that had unknowingly fell to the ground because she had come.

“Karpos says you are s-still in Cut Rock River?” she had only briefly been there before getting stuck in the storms but now that she was back she desperately needed to immerse herself once more. “Gosh, I’m so lucky to have returned to you. I woke myself crying so many nights after we got separated, hoping that someone would find me. You are what fueled my journey to return to you no matter the obstacles or time.” She sighed, feeling her breath itch in her throat as she held back a sputtering cry, “but I’m here now and I want to stay.”

by Sarah

He could not even fathom being angry or upset with Anastasia’s disappearance. Although he was curious as to why it had taken her so long to get back to the Lore, he couldn’t be angry. She was back and that’s all that mattered. She had defeated the snowstorm and the mountains, and had found her way back to him. His heart was beating so fast he feared it would leap out of his chest. The reunion he had been dreaming of for a year was actually happening; there was no more wondering, doubting… Anastasia was home. This time, he would ensure that they did not get separated again. He could not stand to lose her… not again. This time, he knew that it would destroy him.

“I missed you so much,” he breathed against her fur as he clung to her, not daring to let her go. He could not wait to get her back to Cut Rock River; back to their home. Without Anastasia he would not have joined Maksim’s pack and flourished as much as he had. All of the success he had experienced in his life he owed to her; she had helped him more than he could ever thank her for.

As she spoke XIX listened to her with patient ears, his yellow-green eyes fixated on her, worried that if his gaze wandered she would disappear. ‘… but I’m here now and I want to stay.’ His heart soared at her words as he pressed an ecstatic lick to her cheek, his eyes brimming with tears as a smile fell onto his dark lips. “Y-yes, I’m still in Cut Rock River. Let me take you home, Ana.” He could not help but wonder how Maksim would react to her return – XIX knew that the two had been particularly fond of each other prior to her absence. Capella would have been excited to see the blue-eyed china doll, but she had also disappeared from the lands of Relic Lore…

“I tried to find you…” he mumbled, his voice quivering in the cold air. “What happened to you? Where did you go?” The questions that consumed his mind finally spilled out, tumbling off his tongue before he could stop them. He wanted to know everything; where she had gone, what she had seen, what had taken her so long… Most importantly, he was just glad that she had survived and had found her way home.

stick with those who stick with you

[size=small][font='Times New Roman', serif]With an entire year passing over them it had felt like eternity—they had never spent this much time apart since the moment that they had met. Only then had she come to see him as the closest friend she could ever have. Though now, she felt that strong ache in her heart to tell Lachesis that their friendship wasn’t the limit. That it had the probability to reach and extend outwards. “Oh,” she extends a great sigh of relief as she reaches once more to nuzzle at his jaw. All those missed days of comfort from the friends she had left behind were going to start catching up now and she was happy that Lachesis was the start of it. Most of all, she was glad that there would no more sleepless nights and that Lachesis would be there to cushion her should they continue. It was good to be back in familiar territory. To be moments away from being welcomed back into Cut Rock River by her best friend and hopefully the others would be just as pleased to see her. “What of Maksim?” she asked, and while she had felt a brimming emotional connection to the man who had welcomed her so long ago she didn’t feel quite as emotionally tied to him as she did to Lachesis. That wasn’t to say it was gone but since Lachesis was the first she had found, he was the one that had been rekindled first. “Home sounds good,” and so her new life as a Cut Rock River woman would begin again and she would be much more careful about where she traveled once the paths got harder to follow. “Honestly, I don’t even know.” She responds and feels bad for not having all the answers to lay out for him but it had all been a messy blur when she had realized that their separation could be permanent. “It all happened so fast—one moment I was right at your side then the next all I could see was the snow fall. I called your name so often I was sure I was losing my voice. I continued walking for hours trying to find you or anything to bring me home but I went to the wrong way.” Obviously she had chosen the wrong direction but now she had magically returned home and everything in between mattered so little. Now, Anastasia Starklen would be her old self once again. “Lachesis, I love you.”

by Sarah

(This post was last modified: Jan 20, 2015, 10:07 PM by Anastasia.)

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He was frightened each time he blinked that Anastasia would disappear before him, claimed by the snow once more. After losing her once he could not stand to lose her again… he wouldn’t survive the grief. With a relaxed wag of his tail, Lachesis cast away the negative thoughts that possessed his mind. She had returned, and that was all that mattered – and she was here to stay. Excitement soon overtook the worry that had consumed him; he could not wait to take her home, where she belonged.

Her question about Maksim did not come as a surprise. The two had been close before her absence, and if it had not been for the snowstorm XIX was certain that something would have blossomed between the two. “He had fallen ill and I have temporarily stepped up in his place. I expect him to reclaim his position soon, as his health has almost completely returned.” He explained with a soft nod, his pear eyes focused on her pale figure as he spoke. He could not hide the pride in his voice as he spoke of his temporary promotion. When Maksim had asked XIX to fulfill the position of leader while he was out of commission, the long-legged healer had been completely taken by surprise. Lachesis had no leader qualities – while he adequately fulfilled his duties as the pack’s second (and healer), he did not possess enough knowledge to lead a pack. But, for whatever reason, Maksim trusted the long-legged ghost and he would be forever thankful for the opportunity that the agouti leader had given him.

As her voice rang out once more, XIX dumped all of his attention on her once more, his gaze patient as he listened to her. Her story was vague, and he was curious as to what happened in the year that they had been apart, but there would be time for questions later. Had she been alone the entire time, or had she bunkered down with a pack briefly before attempting to find her way back to the Lore? A frown creased his dark lips as he rested his chin on her shoulder; silence fell over them once more, but he did not mind. Silence with Anastasia was just as comfortable as continuous conversation. However, her soft voice broke the still air, and caused him to recoil backward. The frown had been replaced by a soft, almost shy, smile, his pear-coloured gaze meeting her cerulean pools hesitantly. “I-I love you, too, Ana,” he responded immediately, his heart swelling as a familiar warmth spread through his chest. Of course he loved her – he had always loved her, and would always love her. But, there was also Bastet – who he shared similar feelings for. He could not hurt the fiery raven-coloured female once more; he loved her too much to hurt her. Oh Lachesis, you’ve gotten yourself into quite the predicament…

 

(This post was last modified: Jan 25, 2015, 03:30 AM by Lachesis.)

stick with those who stick with you

 Maksim had fallen ill? “Oh dear,” it sounded absolutely awful that he was so ill that he had to step down from his leader position. However, she couldn’t help but feel a little proud of her best friend for being the one the green-eyed man had gone to in his time of need. Lachesis was indeed a good friend to have and definitely worth keeping around for a long time to come. More than that, she was glad that he was still taking her back into his life even though it had taken her this long to find her way home. “I’m glad to hear that he’s almost to full health,” as it meant that she wouldn’t feel all too guilty explaining her situation to him when and if she found him. There was so much to see and find out about, probably a lot of changes outside of the pack too that would need to be looked into.

 

“I don’t ever want to be apart from you Lachesis,” she says this somewhat weakly in voice but heavy in spirit and love. His proclamation of love back to her was enough to send shivers running down her spine. Anastasia was determined to never make foolish mistakes as she had in the past but this was something that she needed to do—to get it all out. “We can be happy again—” she stopped herself short, laughing a little, “I mean I can be happy again now that I’m here.” It wasn’t fair to assume that Lachesis was unhappy with her gone… in fact, she hoped that he had been happy from the time she left to now because a sad XIX was something she couldn’t bear to think about right now.

by Sarah

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