Eyes Wide Open [Apprentice Aleu]

- Set after Juno tells Aleu of the pup battle.

After a long day of work, he would wish his smallest goodbye and thanks to the healer whom mentored him and escape the work station as expected before venturing to the nearest creek to wash up. He had done this as a routine since recovery, wake up, eat something quickly, go to training, wash up, eat something else, and go to bed or take a stroll to relax his thoughts. However, he had requested leave a tad earlier so he could freshen up, giving the excuse he was tired and needed a goodnight's rest so he'd be full rejuvenated for the next day. The ashen male cleansed his fur thoroughly, making sure not a speck of dust or grime was left somewhere embedded further against his skin and among the many hairs that made up his arrayed pelt. He would drink from the waters the pack has to offer as he bathed quietly among himself as the sun would set upon the other side of the threes. The apprentice made sure of how long it would last until night would hit, he had expected this, and was quite sure of his plans that evening after getting out of training early. Once satisfied, the young brute wandered over to the foodpile and fetched two hares, knowing full well it made no noticeable dents in the amount of food captured for it was quite filled. He hate one of the two, saving the second for later as a gift.

As the wolf considered his options, he agreed they were much needed now that he was strong again, he could protect himself this time, and perhaps pick up a few things to bring back once everything was at peace again. Traveling as far as he could possibly take himself from the pack, he no longer tread among the soft grasses of summer and now rested his paws in soft, cooled sand along the teal waters that swayed in from the sea. The sun was perfectly still in the west as it reflected against the ocean blue, the sky of a marvelous pink as it was accompanied by purple clouds and even the faintest touch of the moon far in the east. The waves were calm as they moved beneath the skies that filled with faded stars among the orange and pink shades. He sighed softly and stood still on the sand, slowly setting down the hare on a clean rock found on the shore. Hoisting himself on a much taller boulder, the apprentice tilt back his head and howled loudly into the sunseted horizon. It was heartfelt and promising, a song that meant he was sorry and he was here, that he needed his friend to see once more. But he wasn't sure how clear it would be heard over the silent roar of the incoming waters. He would only try, and try he did. And he'd wait patiently for her to arrive, and shower her with a plump hair and a relieved smile. She'd be okay, he told himself.

Guest

Several long days had passed since her adopted mother had told Aleu the horrible news from her birth pack, and the fate of her brother and best friend. Aleu had lashed out at those she loved, attempted to escape the pack land to kill the bastard Teren herself. But with the fit of rage now gone Aleu simply felt nothing anymore. It seemed like everything she had was stolen from her by a single wolf, and there was nothing she could do about it. Honestly the Apprentice would rather be dead than living in the torment Teren had put her through without even lifting a paw against him. How could she claim to be anything more than his toy if she allowed him to torture her in such a way without any retaliation. But she knew she would die if she attempted anything, so what was the point of even trying anymore? She had been working so hard, trained so hard for so long, and still everything she loved was slaughtered around her. With Striker and Samael dead, Aleu only assumed her mother had met the same fate as well. With the overwhelming sense of dread and defeat that filled every inch of her the Apprentice had searched for a place she could be utterly alone, and know no one would bother her. So for days the Apprentice had simply laid in the corner of an abandoned den, not leaving for food and only daring to venture out for water one time under the cover of night. She felt nothing anymore. No desire to train, or to improve herself. No desire to eat, or speak to anyone. She was dead, her body just didn't know it yet.

As the fae laid on the hard stone floor of the abandoned den she would just stare into the distance out of the door, not sure if the other's still didn't know where she was, or if they had simply allowed her to have her distance for some time. As the pup wallowed in her misery her thoughts would suddenly be interrupted by the sound of a distant howl, her ears would perk. "It can't be..." she muttered to herself, rolling over onto her other side to face away from the entrance. But maybe, maybe it was him. Or her mother. They were awfully close to the border, and if nothing else she could see how a border acceptance worked. Reluctantly she would pull herself from the empty den and walk towards the source of the howl slowly, her muscles feeling numb from the lack of use and broken heart that afflicted her. After what felt like an eternity of pushing through the pack forests she would come to the border. Spotting no one the fae would continue, occasionally tipping her nose to the air to ensure she wasn't caught off guard. As she drew closer and closer to the source of the howl the sounds of water would start to echo through the terrain.

As she stepped from the trees and onto the sandy beach her eyes would scan over the area, spotting the small familiar figure sitting on a rock. Aleu didn't know how to feel, a sudden wave of relief rushed over her. Before a sinking thought came to her mind. Was he even real? Or had she completely gone crazy? Slowly walking toward the figure a shakey voice would replace her usual playful bold voice. "Why did you call me here?" she asked, honestly not sure yet if she was going mad or not. Everything still felt numb to her, so perhaps this was all just a dream, her mind trying to put at ease the pain she had been feeling for so many days, the helpless emotional wreck she had been, clearly showing on her messy fur and stressed appearance. She was a wreck, and she knew it. But honestly she didn't seem to care.

Calm; collected were the eyes of only a wolf couldn't help wandering out to the ocean blue shores that cooed happily against the white, considerably soft, already dampened sand. He form stayed perfectly still, facing forwards, while his snout chose to turn in the direction of the horizon setting close to the end of his view, where it would then sink behind another world so that his beautiful moon may shine upon his earth. The rise and fall of his chest was steady, and quiet as he listened silently among the sandy shores and gentle waves that rolled in, carefree and harmonious. The rock he had chosen to stand on was damp, but rigid, hard to stand on for long moments beneath the gentle pads of his feet without distributing his weight to sit down. His tail managed to drape over the side of the rock, carefully grazing the rough surface every so often until he felt it was better tucked at his side. The scent of salt-water made his eyes glisten and his nose sniff out of irritation - it annoyed him greatly, but the silence the land filled made up for it. It was therapeutic in its own light, perhaps romantic in another, and joyous in the company of friends. He could not bring himself to steer his attention away from the ocean, for he wondered how it could seem so calm and welcoming, when it was really a dangerous world for those that lived on land. No land animal would ever understand the life of an aquatic one, but he could only imagine the depths and secrets the dearest ocean withheld in her glory. And how beautiful she was, he thought, his gaze softening enough to look up as the smell of a sweet pine and lavender reached his nose, indicating that his one and perhaps only friend had heard him.

Striker looked around him casually, as if inspecting the area, but soon his eyes found their way to see her form approaching closer, hesitantly, like she were fantasizing him - or perhaps he had been a ghost, or she had seen one on the way there. Narrowing his brows slowly, he peered to her with slight concern until her figure had grown in size the closer she came up to him. The male had decided to meet her half way, taking the hare into his mouth slowly before reaching down to the mound of sand as he maneuvered his way over to her quietly. The grainy floor seemed to of mute both their movements, which made the air between them a lot harder to ignore, for the silence was incredibly loud among them both until she finally stopped, and he as well. With a single paw, he edged away a pile of sand from where he stood, forming a flatter surface to rest the lifeless rabbit down so that he may speak. But before he could manage even that of a small hello, she spoke first in question. His lips parted slowly, as if he were to answer, but it had seemed his voice didn't know how to form words just yet. "I..-," There had been several moments where the young brute could slip away from trouble with even a lie, or a strong excuse which also turned out to be only lies as well, but he couldn't bring his mouth to do it. And honestly, he could not think of an excuse - for there shouldn't have been one in the first place. Closing his lips, he swallowed and let out a small sigh as he dropped his gaze out of respect, ears narrowed back as his shoulders tensed up, "-It's a long story..," As he looked to the ground, he noticed the hare and leaned down to nudge it towards her with the end of his snout. He wasn't sure if she was starved, or even a tad hungry, but he tried to make an effort, to say the least.

"Do forgive me...," said the wolf quietly.

Guest

As the brute jumped from his rock to make his way to Aleu the young fae would simply stop, dropping onto her haunches to await his arrival. If he really was alive, and she wasn't just seeing things, he had a lot of explaining and apologizing to do. Not that see believed he would actually do either of those things, not for her anyways. As the brute neared Aleu's eyes would narrow into a smoldering gaze, almost making one wonder if she was trying to set him ablaze by ill desires alone. For days she had been left wondering how she would move on, how she would ever have normal feelings again with her closes and best friend gone. And all this time he had just been avoiding her! Or at the very least ignored her for months, skipping their dates and leaving her to panic about his well being. As he neared she felt that familiar rage building up, although this time she was able to keep it controlled, for the moment. As the brute opened his mouth to speak, Aleu would hear the first word, before he went silent, her anger snapping out of her "You what? Don't like me anymore? Decided you had better things to do than keep your promises to meet me? Are a total jerk!?" she snapped, going quiet for a moment as he spoke again.

This response appeared totally unacceptable to the fae, the young apprentice letting out a low growl "A...long...story..." she growled, snarling at him "I thought you were dead! I was going to attack Teren if Juno hadn't pinned me down....I did attack my adopted mother! Because of you I may not even have a home to go back to! Not that I would know, because I've been laying alone in an empty den for almost a week mourning you! And it's a 'long story'?" she snarled, her lips starting to peel back to show her fangs, although for the moment she had no intention of hurting him. Yet. However, at the sight of his apologetic look Aleu would take a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment to quell her anger before he spoke again. "Forgive you?....I should forgive you....?" she asked through deep breaths, making it clear she was trying to hold back her anger "That would be much easier if you had actually bothered to apologize!" she snapped again, opening her eyes to stand. Turning quickly she would use her back leg to kick the rabbit back at him, starting to walk away "You've wasted enough of my time Striker! If you didn't want to be my friend you should have just said so!...You were different...you were special..." she muttered, pinning her ears back and lowering her head as she started to walk.

As Striker was accused of so many questions that were quite false from a rather angered friend, he could only bite back a growl from fighting it; he knew so many possibilities of what she may of felt, and honestly dreaded the idea of her being so furious with him. Guilt washed over him in an instant, though his exterior remained strong and unmoving, all for except the movement of his eyes and direction of his eyebrows before he couldn't resist shaking his head. Once after snapping at him, he glared hard into her direction, his sapphire eyes growing cold with both despair and loneliness, though equally stone-like, for he too was upset with her outrageous behavior towards him. He kept quiet all up until the time she was almost finished, the heaviness in his chest only seeming to grow in size as she continued until turning around and heading as far as she could from him. The apprentice growled to see a delicious hare had gone to waste, but was more concerned with his friend's well being as he tread quickly behind her. He heard every word, practically bathed his mind in it as he heard it over and over again on reply, nearing her closer and closer until he couldn't keep his snarling to a minimum. "Maybe it'd be a lot easier if you'd shut up and listen to me so I can explain myself!" He backfired, the tone in his voice loud and despicably betrayed before leaping onto her back to pull her down into the sand. Trying to pin her down on her back while facing upright at him, Striker leaned down close to her face and lightly nuzzled her cheek as a friendly reminder he still wanted to be her friend, in which he also used to try and calm himself down. He sighed, "Please.. don't leave. I've had enough of that bullshit for one season. I can't loose you too, Aleu. I'm not even in Erenyx anymore, nor is Samael.. A lot of shit has happened since we last spoke.." He went slowly quiet, allowing the rolling of waves silence him as he inhaled her scent gently before backing off to grant her some space to breathe as well.

The brute began venting to himself in quiet, jibberish sounding whispers to clear his thoughts before officially finding a place to start, pacing through the sand - to what formed a trail - and letting his tail drag against the beach's floor without a care if the grainy particles stuff to his coat. Stopping short, he breathed quietly and stared at her dead in the eye, his own a bit tender from his lack of element in Agavos, which unfortunately softened him a tad after leaving Erenyx. He now understood exactly what she may of felt when coming to Helidos, and looked to her as if it were clear from his face that it was true, "Why the Hell would I tell you I don't want to be your friend? Do you have any idea how much I've missed you since winter? Do you?" Striker's hues grew to be a bewildering dark color, the blue pigment to them in no comparison to the teal waters behind him as he frantically tried to find the words to properly speak. He drew a rather insane, single laugh, his fur a bit messy as everything flowed to him - he had almost lost his mind, it seemed, "Do you hear me? I missed you!" He lifted his head back and yelled it at the top of his lungs, making himself out to be a madman just to make his point across her, "I, Striker, missed my best friend, Aleu!" He'd shout, looking down as his expression phased back to its normal seriousness as he walked up to her, wondering if this time she'd stick around before he'd have to fight her off to listen to him, and listen well.

He decided then he'd sit and let the words run out of his mouth as an explanation. With pinned ears, he looked to the waters as a shelter for his mind as he thought back to when he fell off the cliff and the day he fought for his life against his own kind, "At the start of spring.. Teren forced us to fight - forced me to fight, along with my brothers and the other litter to the death. If we didn't fight back, we'd die, or he'd kill us probably. Our parents were not allowed to defend us, and were forced to watch. First it was my eldest brother to die - then I killed one, and next it was Aspen's death," Striker said softly, peering to the rocks that jutted out from the bottom of the waters that now lie in the tides quietly, "-I killed him." Despite how much he wanted to see Aleu's reaction to such a thing, he chose not to look in her direction until he was finished. But he could not deny the fact he was proud to be able to do such a thing, especially to pay his revenge for Aspen having almost hurt Aleu before, from what he heard. "-He backed me into a cliff, but I took him down with me. For a while, much of it was a great blur. A ledge had broke my greater fall and Aspen perished far below where I was caught. I suffered many injuries and could not keep to the neutrals for very long, if I stayed any longer out in the open, I may of as well signed myself to death. So I forced myself to join Agavos and have been staying there to recover." The young brute then peered to her through blue hues, a rather uncomfortable expression as he turned in his position to now face her. He sighed softly, letting it exhale through his nose instead of his mouth this time while rolling his shoulders back carefully, "I told myself I would not go to you until I've been fully healed. That is why I had not seen you at all in Spring. It wasn't my intention to ignore you; I had to do it. Now do you understand?" Getting up from his seat, he shook off the sand and neared to her side. "I could not return to you in such a weaken state, for I'd be unable to protect what is special to me too.." He whispered, leaning forwards as he hung his neck over hers gently as an apologetic embrace. Backing up, he looked at her now with a trained attention.

"I'm sorry for disappointing you."

Guest

Aleu kept a firm glare the entire time she accosted him, a fury she had never known of herself before boiling over from the last step of betrayal and pain the poor creature could handle. She had never known her father, and had lived her first months on earth with only her mother's fury and disappointment, and then she even lost her. Juno and Rose were much kinder than Katyusha had ever been, though she knew deep down Katyusha loved her, she had to as a mother, right? But with the news of Striker dying Aleu had gotten into a very serious fight with Juno, the very fae she called her mother, and the pup was certain she had lost her family in Helidos now as well, all because Striker couldn't bother to talk to her, to tell her she hadn't lost everything she loved in this world. Although honestly she had no one but herself to blame for Juno, it was her own rage that had chased her off. But wasn't she doing the very same thing with Striker? As she turned to walk away, the young fae would barely hear him walking up behind her, until he snarled loudly. Turning to face him in defense Aleu would hear his retort, her own snarl replying "You've had a whole season to explain yourself! What, did you forget where I live?!" she snarled, turning to leave again. As the brute jumped onto her back Aleu's eyes would go wide, a loud snarl leaving her muzzle as she kicked her back legs at him, until she was pinned on her back, a menacing growl leaving her muzzle "Get off me!" she snarled before he leaned in to nuzzle against her, an action that nearly dumbfounded the poor pup below him. As he began to speak Aleu would turn her hide, trying to hide the burning in her cheeks as as cleared her throat. At the mention of Sam her ears would perk quickly, her gaze turning to meet his "Hey Striker....I'm really happy you aren't dead..." was all she could say. She knew how Erenyx was, and she assumed Juno wasn't wrong about her information, even if Striker had survived somehow, a gift Aleu couldn't believe she was so lucky to have recieved. As he backed off Aleu would slowly lift herself to a seated position, looking away in silent embarrassment "But...you are real. Right?" she asked, smiling to him slightly, hoping he would accept her 'appology'.

As the brute began to vent Aleu couldn't help but feel guilty, after all she was the one that had driven him insane, or at least severely frustrated. Sittin in the same spot in the sand in silence Aleu could only hang her head and watch as he paced back and forth, before stopping and looking her dead in the eyes. Aleu wondered how he was taking the transition to a new pack, and how he was handling being all alone now. She truly hoped he had someone in this new pack to take him in like she had. Or maybe she could convince him to come to Helidos with her. As the brute approached to look into her gaze he could easily see the sweet, gentle look she reserved for him in her eyes, letting him know she had calmed quite a bit since the first words of the encounter. As he responded to her harsh words she could only sigh "I don't know Striker....You know everyone I've ever cared about has left me.... And I care about you....I guess I was just afraid you would leave me too..." she sighed, noticing his more radical actions started to worry her. As he continued to speak Aleu would take a step back nervously, watching as he seemed to return to himself as he approached her again. Shifting to rest on her haunches Aleu would wait for his next words, feeling she owed it to him to at least be able to explain himself.

Aleu watched as the brute moved to sit before her, the young Helidos wolf's eyes staying locked onto him, listening intently to every word he had to tell her. As he spoke of the fights, and how he had lost sibling's Aleu's ears would pin flat against her head, a feeling of deep guilt filling her for getting mad at him for such a horrible thing he had to endoure. Aleu had never had a sibling other than Sam, who she had only spoken to for a short time, but she couldn't imagine the horror of seeing her siblings killed in such a pointless way. As he went on to speak of how he wouldn't be able to defend her Aleu would simply feel her heart melt, soft appologetic eyes turned to meet his as he moved in and placed his neck over hers. Aleu would feel her heart pound in her chest and she pushed back against him gently, resting her head on his broad chest weakly. He felt so much stronger than before, and she felt so safe pressed against him, like she did with Marrok, but different in a way. As he pulled back Aleu had to stop herself from letting out a whine, her gaze turning to meet his for a brief moment before she turned her head quickly away, feeling rather ashamed of how she had acted. Pausing for what felt like an eternity of a few seconds the pup would clear her throat, looking up to his gaze "Don't be sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that...I should have let you explain." she said, stepping forward to press her head into his chest again, just wanting to feel him for a few seconds longer "I can't imagine how hard that was...how hard you had to fight... Just...thank you for survivng. I can't think of what I would do if I had lost you..." she said, opening her muzzle as if to say something else "Striker I.... I..." she paused, looking down at the sand "Thanks." was all she could manage, staying pressed against him for now.

- This is gonna be shitty, I'm so sorry. :c

When she calmed down, he sighed in fine relief, staying clear and polite of her personal space as he left his head slightly bowed in shame for his lack of presence. Peering to her with soft, dark blue eyes, he nodded slowly before prying a tilted smile, only to then look down at him and shift his weight from each individual paw to get a feel of the warm sand beneath his pads. "Real, yes, though after what happened, I feel immortal. Dodging death I suppose is one of my greater qualities," He told Aleu, his head short of a curious tilt as he analyzed her a bit closer, noticing she had grown some, just as well as himself during their absence. She appeared more mature, fuller even and toned down, her signs of training and meals every night showing very clearly in her form; he couldn't help but allow his eyes to wander just a bit in curiosity. The ashen wolf neared her close enough for him to breathe nearest to the same amount of air she breathed, standing there still as time seemed to slow. These moments felt so intimate and tender, yet so miserably painful and lonely - a feeling he never had come to understand as he felt her guilt radiate off her form and mix with his own. Their auras were dark and solemn, but soft from hope, to what he guessed had been the spark left in her to know he couldn't be dead. Striker understood that his reactions weren't in the fairest way, though he was glad he got his point across her stubborn mind - he was content now with her presence, and that was all that truly mattered to the young brute. "I'd never leave you, Aleu.. you're my only friend. My only best friend; loosing you would be the death of me." The wolf whispered, his tone quiet, though fearing of those that could be near to overhear. He felt internally guilty by how he was scared to admit his feelings aloud to her instead of a hushed voice, but hopefully over time, he'd be able to be more open about it and learn to be accepting of his bond with her.

As he had retraced his steps from embracing her, he detected the longing feeling of her near him, though he didn't show much of a reply, but only a small glance in her direction. He asked her through his eyes if she wished for him to keep there, though her gaze shifted elsewhere, to which he continued to look at her, adoringly almost. When she was ready to speak, she faltered at first, but finally met his eyes once more, smiling softly down at her to ease her in the only way he knew how. "You have every right to yell at me. I abandoned you in the worst of times and knew I could've returned to you when I was beneath Agavos.. though I'm glad you understand now that trouble its been for me to get here-," he hesitated, breathing slowly through his mouth in an inward sigh, "-for you." When Aleu had made comfort in the fur upon his chest and the warmth of his ironically cold heart, Striker did not move, and accepted her need to keep close. As their bond would only grow, the apprentice would learn to be more affectionate and accepting of such actions; to what he could begin to see himself eventually returning, though not now. Perhaps later he would, he thought. "It was devastating.. agonizing even to of felt such pain - though that pain was nothing compared to the loneliness I felt without you." Striker said softly, pointing his snout so he peered out towards the waves, the sun phasing slowly to make the skies a soft, lavender shade from robin blue to a light pink. He smelt the salty air, irritated by its stench, but tolerated it for the sake of being where he was, and whom he was with.

The brute looked down at her when she went to speak, as if she had something important to tell him, though it seemed she had either forgotten or fixed her wording to tell him her gratitude. He leaned his maw down to nuzzle against her ear, shutting his eyes as he allowed his chin to rest upon her head, "No, Aleu.. thank you, for understanding.. I'm not a nice wolf, and what I do, isn't really nice either, but I'm glad I have you to call my friend." He growled a soft purr, curling his tail against his side as the sand caught the tangles towards the tip of it.

Guest

As the fae calmed herself she would notice the brute keeping his distance, actually seeming slightly disappointed. Aleu didn't really know what to expect, she hadn't seen him in months, not since their run in with the avalanche, but she had hoped all these months apart he would have grown up a little, or at least opened up to her when they saw each other again. And then he never showed back up. Weeks turned into months, and a month turned into a season. Aleu honestly started to believe he had found someone else to confide in, or had placed loyalty to his pack over her. And then she heard the horrible news, and her world virtually ended. She got into a horrible fight with the wolf she had called her mother, and honestly didn't know if she would ever be welcomed back into Helidos, let alone their den. The thought of what was going to happen upon her return nearly sent the poor thing into a panic attack as they stood in awkward silence. Would Marrok be waiting for her, ready to tell her she wasn't welcome back? Or would she even get far enough into the pack without being exiled to see Marrok. As the fae began to calm herself she would turn her gaze up just in time to notice his moving up her form. With a little smirk the girl would look up and down his figure quickly, feeling her heart flutter slightly as her eyes finished their sweep from his broad chest down. "See something you like?" she asked playfully, before allowing that grin to slip from her lips once more.

As Striker spoke again, Aleu would turn her gaze up to him, getting an almost wicked grin as he mentioned feeling immortal, "I know what you mean...After my run in with Teren and.." she paused, almost as if the next name pained her to say "And Aspen, I felt like I was skilled enough, and had trained hard enough to handle anything. And then after the Avalanche. I felt like I was invincible. Like I could take on anything and come out on top." she said with a little smile, giggling weakly again "You know... When I found out you were dead, I attacked Juno, because she wouldn't let me go to kill Teren." she said in an almost ashamed voice, turning to look into his eyes "I was going to fight Teren for you...." she said softly, clearing her throat before turning up to him again "I guess when you have to dodge death as much as we do, you get pretty good at it." she smiled, giggling again as she looked away from his gaze finally "We have really messed up lives Striker." she smirked, almost seeming playful with her words. As he spoke again about never leaving her the Apprentice would nod slowly, turning her gaze away quickly

Aleu let her gaze slip from him for only a moment, allowing herself a quick moment to scan the horizon to make sure they were still alone, as well as giving her a pause to recollect herself. It had been days since she had slept for more than a few hours, and days since she had eaten last. The pure misery of losing her best friend had numbed her to the basic survival needs of her body. Turning her gaze back to the brute the small fae thought nothing of it as she moved forward to take comfort in his chest, feeling his soft fur as the sudden weakness of the depravation to her body's needs began to catch up to her. He was safe, Striker was alive and here and she was laying against him and he didn't even growl at her. As the brute spoke again Aleu would sigh "I should have given you time to explain...I should have known if you could have seen me you would have." she said softly, turning her gaze away from him in obvious shame as she spoke softly "I just... I'm so used to wolves abandoning me. I guess I just assume the worst." she admit, keeping herself pressed against him, not only reluctant to leave, but now with the sudden wave of weakness catching up to her, it made her feel so much more comfortable here on the sandy beach. "I haven't seen my mother since she left me at Helidos...and I haven't seen Sam for even longer. I'm honestly not sure if they're alive or not." she admit. As she heard his next words, the young apprentice would lift her head to him, ears pinned back against her head as she sighed "I'm sorry...I can't imagine how hard that must have been. And I can't begin to tell you how happy I am you made it out alive." she said, unable to help but get a small grin at the closing of his statement "The loneliness however is a feeling I am more than familiar with." she said, reluctantly pulling herself from his chest for a short moment to turn and watch as the sun began to fade from the sky "Striker, may I ask a favor of you?" she asked, her voice actually sounding rather hesitant to ask this of him "It will be dark soon. And I'm too tired to make it back home before dark...if I even have a home anymore. Will you please stay the night with me?" she asked, turning her gaze up to him nervously, almost afraid to hear his answer as she returned herself to his chest, finding something so comforting about the gentle thud of his heart in his chest.

As the fae spoke again she would feel his muzzle move down to nuzzle against her ear affectionately, feeling his head rest protectively ontop of hers, making her feel so safe against him. As he began to speak again Aleu could only smile, speaking in a soft, sweet voice "You have always been nice to me Striker...You're one of the only wolves I really trust, one of the only ones that hasn't left me...And maybe the only wolf the cares about me now." she admit, pinning her ears back against her head "I'm not so sure I have a home to return to in Helidos....." she admit, starting to sound nervous about her future. But for tonight that didn't matter, nothing did. She had Striker back, and all she wanted to do was enjoy him.

[sorry for the wait. Had to find some muse]

At that, he could only provide a small nod, "You could say that again.." Life seemed so short in those moments. As the waved roared quietly on and the wayward apprentice remained still against his adoring companion, he couldn't help but roll her words over and over again in his head. Several memories that were once pleasant were all a mystery to him, a dull reminder that things could be bright, but not for long. There lay a strange guilt somewhere in the heap of emotions he bottled towards the lack of appreciating those times. Life was so meaningless to him then, and a part of him told him it still was, though the other side shared a golden kindness to that, for Aleu was an important factor to the small joy in his life. Thus far, he couldn't regret a time spent with the other. Despite himself being so sour as his first impression, all was well with the world when it came to the divine duo. His cold heart swelled and ached at the realization of how far of means Aleu was willing to take just to avenge him, which made him slightly grin to himself. He remained silent as she spoke, and found no use to interfere as she seemed to be sorting her mind out by venting to him. He wished no part in intruding in on that, and gently nuzzled her ear as she spoke and nestled closer into his chest. The apprentice was still distant from the amount of affection, but he took it politely and tried his best to reciprocate it too, or at least to the best he could.

His eyes moved up from the hair atop her head and now onto the waves ahead, where the sun sank lower behind and somewhere behind him would be the rising of the moon. As she mentioned of it getting dark, he agreed with a small huff, stubborn to realize the day was ending, which meant they may part. It was until she asked him if he'd stay with her would he speak, "Of course. I have no guardian in Agavos to worry over me; I'll stay as long as you wish or until you feel the need to return to your pack." At her next set of words, Striker's dark blue eyes seemed to of soften a bit from their typical cold gaze. She spoke hopelessly about having a place to return to. The apprentice could only image what circumstances Helidos relied on back home that she had left behind - knowing that the Beta and her seemingly were quite heated. Hopefully with her time gone, things in her pack would cool down, he thought, not sure of what its like in the den she shares with the Beta pairing. "Don't lose hope. I'm sure they just need some space," he said, shrugging slightly before noticing the cove on the other side of the shore. "-I think we all need some space.. Come'on, we can take shelter over there for the night. The tide won't be able to reach us while we rest." He nipped at her ear to receive her focus, lightly nudging her up as he too lifted himself from the sandy floors to stand. Stretching slowly, he regained ease and made sure she was in front so that he may follow and look out for any signs of others. All seemed quiet on the shores, though nothing was impossible. As they walked, he tried his best to rid the sand from his pelt, taking gradual stops to shake out his fur before continuing forwards until they reached the cove structure. "Are you hungry? I can fetch us a meal before nightfall." He stated, not starving, though never too full to eat in any way. Striker kept his head low and sniffed the ground, taking note that it was dry and would be sufficient for them to rest here.

» Skyfall [Apprentice Aleu]
» Words of Worry [Apprentice Aleu]
» Sapphire eyes (Open)
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» Brand New Eyes (Open)

Eyes Wide Open [Apprentice Aleu]

Eyes Wide Open [Apprentice Aleu]

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