A Tale of Two Lives (BurningWillows & Rskde)

[Risky]

He falls asleep with ease, knowing that his love is safe in his arms. He sighs quietly as he loses his cognitive functions and slips into the abyss of his mind to sleep. No nightmares come when he is with her, only peaceful dreams.

 

[BurningWillows]

The days start to blur together, as the small pack cleans and fixes up their tiny makeshift home, knowing its only temporary. The council of wolves is torn over fighting to the death with the bigger pack for territory, or staying hidden. On the third day they finally come to a conclusion: they must fight.

Those unable to fight would remain in the den, while those able-bodied would fight. Katerina didn't weave any fairy tales. She told them there would be death, and blood...lots of bloodshed.

"But its the only way to restore order to our clan, or we are no clan at all," she spoke to the pack, having gather them in the mess hall, "They Grey's may have had a reason when they first started their fight, but now they have devolved into maddened wolves intent on chaos...rape...and other horrors. Those that have stood with them are no better. The western pack has broke alliance, so we must be ready for the quickest wolves in our clans. And the southern pack...many fought bravely to protect themselves and their familys, while others turned on their brothers and sisters."

She looked over to Hayley, "We have all been dealt hardships, some more than most. But we can't let this continue."

There were many howls of agreeance and some whispering, but she put it to rest as she continued to speak, wanting them all to know she would no force any one wolf into battle if they did not wish it.

"We need all we can get," she explained at one point, "But I will not force the wolves under my care to fight for me. It must be your own choice."

When all was said and done, most of the crowd was in, only a small handful sneaking out. Amongst those ready to fight was Kayden and Dominik, and Hayley and Flynn, although Flynn didn't look pleased.

"I'm fighting," she wrinkled her nose at him, "And you can't stop me Flynn. I'm not some pregnant wolf or mama who has to sit behind with her cubs. I'm not a child anymore either. And I am not leaving your side."

"Flynn, Hayley," Nina walked up to them, Lukai at her side, "We leave in an hour, as the sun sets. We can arrive at the Oak by night and swarm the northern parts of the territory when they least expect it. Flynn I'll need you taking a group to the far west side, while I'm sending Christian and Lukai to the East."

"I'm going with Flynn," Hayley stated, clearly not asking.

"That will be fine. I will have Kayden and Dominik with me. Petonia is remaining behind with a small group in case there is an attack. As is Ven."

 

[Risky]

Flynn furrows his eyebrows at her. "You could get killed out there, I'm not letting you go out into combat, I couldn't live with myself if you got killed." He says to her after pulling her aside.

"I hate it when you are not safe, I want to be able to fight knowing you're perfectly safe." He says to her while putting a hand on her shoulder. "Please." He says.

 

[BurningWillows]

She shook her head at him, "And I'm not letting you out of my sight. Christian did, and now we need to find Ivory. I'm not going through that too Flynn. Take me with you, or I'll just follow you up. Please."

She knew he wasn't going to buy it, but she had to try. Flynn had every right to want her to stay behind...and he had every right to not want to leave his side.

"You're going to have to lock me up before I let you leave without me," she warned, hoping he wouldn't take it as an invitation.

 

[Risky]

"Hayley, I might just have to lock you up if you're serious about this." He says to her while looking her straight in the eye. "I'm not trying to be unfair, I'm not trying to be mean, I'm trying to keep you safe." He explains.

"Ivory and Christian were separated because they got lost in the middle of a battle." He says. "If you don't want the same to happen, then why run straight into a conflict?" He asks with the raise of his eyebrows. "You're not going, I don't care what you say, I'm not endangering you again."

 

[BurningWillows]

She growled at him, low and annoyed, "No Flynn, I'm coming."

Dragging him out of the mess hall and down the hall so she could speak more privately she pulled him into their room, looking for clothing. She just wanted a spare for the trip, unsure if this was about to come into a full fledged fight or not.

"I'm coming Flynn, and you aren't stopped me," she sighed, walking into the bathroom to use it, kicking the door closed as she did for a little privacy, "Please don't start a fight on this."

She forgot the bathroom door could lock...mostly because they hadn't put the door on right when they had gotten there so the lock was on the outside in the bedroom, making it useless to lock the bathroom unless someone wanted to lock her in. And she had made that threat...but she wasn't thinking about it now.

 

[Risky]

Flynn follows her into the bathroom, hugging her from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Please Hayley, I want you to be safe, you know that I'll be safe out there but I don't want to have to worry about you." He says while kissing her neck lightly.

"I'm begging you love, they need you here more than out there, I'll be safe, you don't have to worry." He says. He is not willing to lock her in, as that would be cruel and not something he wants to do as he feels like it would affect their relationship.

 

[BurningWillows]

Hayley leaned into him, but her stubborn side was showing, "no one needs me here. The mothers have thier pups and each other. Petonia has a small rally wit her to keep the caves safe. Who do you have watchin your back?"

She loved her man to death but she wasn't bending on this and nothing would sway her thoughts. If Flynn died out there and she wasn't even there to say goodbye...it would break her already shattered heart. She just could t bear to be apart from him.

"You can't stop me my love. Please just accept I'm coming."

She moved away from him to brush out her hair in the mirror, pulling her wild curls in a messy bun as he stood a foot behind her.

 

[Risky]

Flynn chuckles. "I have Dominik watching my back, you've seen him fight." He says to her. "No offense love but you're overpowered by the enemy, I don't want to have to worry about you while fighting." He says to her.

"I need you to bend on this, you can go next time but for right now we have no idea what we're up against." He says to her while kissing her on her neck again. "I'm going without you, I'm letting you stay in your own will." He says.

 

[BurningWillows]

She could see he wasn't about to bend on this, and in a burst of anger through her brush down, shoving past him.

"Fine Flynn. You can have your damn way. Leave me here to worry while you run into the thick of battle."

Huffing past him she grabbed a pair of boots and tugged them on before stomping to the door, looking like a woman who shouldn't be tempered with.

"Don't you dare think I'll just sit in here and wish you goodbye like a doting wife. You want to go without me? Go. I'll stay in this damn cave, but to hell with being stuck in this room. My father did that most of his life."

She slammed the door behind her, storming away to god knows where to calm down.

 

[Risky]

Flynn watches her leave, not allowing her to see a reaction on his face. He walks out after a few minutes, having been readying himself. He meets up with his group at the entrance of the cave, leaning against the wall as the briefing begins.

They would be moving into their old territory, scouting, and then slaughtering every gray wolf in the way, the plan is pretty clear to Flynn.

~

Dominik says goodbye to Kayden, giving her a kiss on her perfect lips before walking to the cave entrance, they begin to move out, the attack groups readying themselves for anything.

 

[BurningWillows]

They all travelled to the Oak Tree, and by nightfall they were slipping around the lake, each group branching off. Flynn was in charge of one, Lukai and Christian with another. Kayden, Dominik, and Katerina were with the main group, heading straight into the heat of things, while the other two groups could sneak around and attack from the sides. As the wolves all slipped into the trees to Change and regroup, Nina kissed Kayden's forehead.

"Watch your back, and don't trust anyone but Dominik and me. We can't be sure once the fight breaks out whose on our side and whose against us. If they lunge, attack."

She too slipped away and Kayden kissed Dominik hard, "I'm going to Change, but I'll stay near your side. Alright?"

 

[Risky]

Dominik kisses her back, sighing against her lips as she pulls away from their embrace. He nods to her. "Go change love, I'll wait." He says while drawing tge sword from his side, waiting for Kayden to change so that they could get moving,

The group's all lie in wait, allowing some time for the wolves of the group to change so that they would be better suited for battle, tge night is quiet, it seems as if the Gray wolves are unsuspecting of an attack, which works to the pack's advantage.

 

[BurningWillows]

When all the wolves had regrouped they created a long horizontal line as they slunk into the trees, stretched out to keep hidden and add more ground as they snuck up. All too soon they started smelling fires and spotting camps, the Grey's obviously moving southward to hold their territory.

Katerina let out a low growl, her thought reaching every wolf around her as Alpha, On my command, we attack.

Kayden sent the word to Dominik, slinking past his legs to stand with her sister.

For us. For our home! Katerina's voice roared in her head as she let out a long howl and the whole forest erupted in sound. Wolves of all shapes and sizes jumped forward, rushing and attacking the camp, the surprise working to their advantage. Kayden was amongst them, tearing into wolves as they tried to find weapons, most in human form. She knew she had Dominik at her back, watching her every move.

 

[Risky]

Dominik watches Kayden slink past, nodding at the words entering his mind. When the word comes, he charges with the rest of the wolves, drawing his sword and running towards the unsuspecting camp. The ones by the campfire are first to die, immediately getting cut down by Dominik's sword.

Christian and Flynn flank the camps, using their groups to move in and completely take them by surprise, destroying any evidence that the camps even existed.

By the end of the fight, gray wolves along with many other shades of fur litter the ground, blood is everywhere but the battle is won.

 

[BurningWillows]

As the wolves howl and chirp at their victory, Katerina pads over to Kayden, shaking her head as her eyes look worried, That was too easy. Their numbers easily outweighed ours, and even with the element of surprise, we shouldn't have been able to hit them that hard. It's like all their strongest fighters were gone.

Kayden growls, not liking her tone of thought, C'mon Nina we won. You have your territory back. Even if some of the Grey's are still in the woods, they are too small of a group now to fight us.

Christian's and Flynn's respective groups had appeared, pooling them all once more together as the wolves howled to the moon in excitment, those still alive bursting with bloodlust from a battle won.

I don't like this Kay, something isn't right, Nina warned, looking around, Something else is going o...n...

Her thoughts died as her gaze was staring right over Kayden's white shoulder, her eyes full of fear and confusion. Kayden's gaze swung around to see as a limping red wolf stumbled from the trees, small and coated in blood, her body shaking with exhaustion.

That's Hayley, Katerina's thoughts explained, able to tell her wolves apart with her Alpha stance, Oh my god. The caves got attacked!

Hayley stumbled into the crowd as it backed away, creating a circle around the frail red wolf looking ready to collapse. She got to Katerina's feet then collasped, blood dripping from her fur.

We...were ambushed... her thoughts were weak, but with Katerina's Alpha status all the wolves around them could hear what Hayley was saying, They brought their own...magics...they...killed...everyone...

Kayden whimpered, backing into Dominik another step as her heart fell. There had been children in that cave, and mothers. And expecting mothers. And they were all dead. The monsters.

I...got out...Ven saved me...and Brea. He's...wounded, as is she. And...I...I...

Her eyes closed, her face looking to be in utter pain. Kayden looked up then, knowing Flynn would be charging through the crowd any second to his fallen mate. Nina lied down, licking the girl's head to try and relax her, cleaning the blood from dripping into her eyes.

I fought, her words were weaker now, unconciousness gripping her as she struggled, [/i] I fought and killed...but they got me. In...the side. Ven...he's worse. Needs help. Brea too....they...are by the Oak Tree. Grey's...West's...on their way back...will slaughter them...and us...[/i]

 

[Risky]

Flynn feels the presence of his mate, feels her pain.. He finds her easily, licking the blood from her wounds in an attempt to help stop the bleeding, his thoughts reaching out to her and apologizing over and over, feeling guilty for not bringing her with him.

Ven holds Brea against him tightly, his hand secured around her arm, which is bleeding profusely, the only thing keeping the blood in her body is his hand. "We're going to make it." He says to her quietly, trying to calm her down.

 

[BurningWillows]

Katerina orders an immediate move, wanting the group to head south and get to Brea and Ven in time. If the fight was surging north, they'd meet it halfway. With Kayden's help they pull Hayley's limp sleeping body onto Flynn's back, letting him carry his mate and hang back.

We can fight Flynn. You'll need to protect her, and Ven and Brea.

~

Still just a meager pack, with numbers having grown much smaller, Katerina leads her wolves back to the Oak Tree, racing like never before. They make it in time, and Nina rushes to Ven, licking his face to make sure he's alive. Then her focus turned to their wounds, barking at Dominik to come help, as he is the only one in humanoid form.

 

[Risky]

Ven's eyes flutter open when he feels Nina's tongue against his cheek, he looks very pale, most likely from blood loss. He has a large gash on his forehead and several claw marks through his pants, blood soaked through the fabric.

~

Dominik jogs over, his index finger lights ablaze, he traces Ven's wounds with the flame, eliciting cries of pain from the young wizard. He does the same to Brea, cauterizing both of their wounds, they would need food and rest now in order to fully recover. "We have to get them somewhere safe, they've lost a lot of blood." He says to Nina.

 

[BurningWillows]

Nina understands, nodding to Kayden to relay her words, We can't move them until it is safe either. Any second the second battle will start, and these are against warriors who just slaughtered mothers and their children. They are ruthless, evil monsters, but they are strong. Flynn will protect the three while we fight. When there is a chance, we will pull them out of here, alright?

 

[Risky]

Flynn nods, staying back with the three wounded, taking Ven's sword and keeping it drawn, ready for anything that comes his way. Ven and Brea, much like Hayley, had gone unconcious. Howls in the distance lets the group know that the enemy is approaching.

 

[BurningWillows]

Katerina doesn't need to say charge this time, the pack just fans out and gets ready for the attack, many of them distraught or furious or in pain over their lost ones. Everyone wanted blood. suddenly the trees erupt with sounds as the Mountain and Western's wolves mixed together bound out of the trees, clashing with the wolves waiting, the fight breaking out in seconds. Nina and Kay jump into the fray, their paws hitting wet mud, their teeth finding throats to snap as they fight their way out of this clan war, out of losing more loved ones.

 

[Risky]

Flynn finds himself slashing through wolf after wolf, tearing through them with teeth and claws. He does not let any of them reach the wounded, but soon enough he is being pushed back. Dominik and Christian, as a fighting pair, move to assist Flynn, destroying a couple of wolves before forming a defensive circle around the wounded.

Soon enough the battle is over, while it is a victory, this one is Pyrrhic. Wolves from both sides litter the ground, it appears only the wounded and the few that remain standing are confused, and bewildered by the sight of so much blood.

 

[BurningWillows]

Most of the pack is demolished, and those who remain huddle together, scared, in pain, and unable to accept everything that has happened. Katerina and Kayden Change back to speak as humans, neither of them thinking about clothing with the amount of mud and blood on their perfect naked bodies as they step out and walk the small bridge to the Oak tree once more.

"Katerina made a decision," Kayden looks upset and confused, pulling herself into Dominik's arms.

"I have," Nina nodded, "Most of the clan is dead. Those that remain are...for the better part too broken right now to do anything. There is not way we can hold on to this territory, not with these numbers. So I'm giving it up. We one the battle, and lost the war."

"But she isn't leaving here either," Kayden added.

Nina shook her head, "No I'm not. My wolves still need me, even if we are only a pack now. Maybe we can rebuild here, maybe we can't. But you all need to leave. Dominik, Kayden doesn't belong in a pack. She's been repressed so long, and you can take her from here, show her the world. And Flynn, Hayley will never get over her grief here. She will heal and you two will be stronger outside this pack. Christian...you need to find Ivory. You now can search up north and you will find her and reunite and it will be beautiful. But I don't want you to come back. I want you to settle down and be happy with her. No more fighting, or pain."

"What about Ven and Brea?" Kay asked.

"Ven needs to return home, to people he knows. And Brea will likely want to join him, they've become close friends. If any one you could take them to a city, they'll be able to start over."

"I'm not going till we find ivory," Kayden inputted, "Christian, me and Dominik will stay and help and once you find her then we will leave. Flynn, do you think you can take all three? Or we can stick together until we find Ivory, as I'm sure Hayley will want help. once Ven and Brea wake they can leave us."

 

[Risky]

Dominik wraps his arms around his mate, keeping her pressed against him as if trying to block the view of her naked body from all around him, while also trying to comfort her. He watches Katerina as she speaks. "You know that there isn't much of a world to explore any more, right?" He asks, his eyebrows raising. "The only safe place for us is a human city, Ven and Brea won't want to leave us." He says.

Flynn nods in agreement, though he had never been outside of the territories he had heard stories of a divided world, one that is divvied up among supernatural species, vampires, nymphs, any creature holding tight clutches on their territory.

"We can go to the nearest human city, allow the wounded to heal and decide what to do from there, we will be safe from the Gray wolves." Flynn suggests.