02-25-2017, 03:06 AM
Ruan
Build it. Break it.
The ice formed. The ice shattered. He formed another, only to obliterate it, too. And another.
And another.
Sometimes they took familiar shapes. Sometimes they looked like creatures; birds, foxes, rabbits, bears. Bears. Sometimes they looked like things only the darkest parts of his mind could fathom. Sometimes they were faces.
Reagan's call rang through his mind and broke his concentration. He snarled, an instant layer of solid, hard-packed ice forming an armor along his spine and over his sides. He destroyed that too. Let it melt down him to puddle at his hooves as though this pain could slip away with it. Bitterness settled heavy in his gut and he turned his back to the direction she beckoned them. The one in his mind growled that she dared to call his pack, and he gave it a mental kick in the jaw. They were hers too, he reminded it -himself. She cared for them too. Every last one.
It growled. Bear.
He growled too. The bear. The demon's spy. She let him in, she kept him safe. Protected him. His scars burned, his eyes burned, his heart burned. Then froze, hardened. After a long while, he finally turned back around. He finally began walking, obeying. He smothered the burn beneath the cold, slid into his usual aloof nature. Looked no different than he always did.
Sunlight riddled across his pale and purple back as he entered the gathering from the outer edge. Bright, glacial eyes took them in with a glance; Reagan, Jinju, Circinae, Tyrna. Where were his children? Terra would be exploring, he figured. Her heart could be as wild as his when there was adventures to be had. Iasan, Heda, Fur. Perhaps they would come soon. And dear Illae, his porcelain girl, she would not need to show. He would check on her after.
Circinae was the closest from where he joined them, and he paused before her. She'd asked Reagan a question of ranks, but he wasn't here to answer them. This was Reagan's meet, and she would respond without his interruption. He wouldn't have ranks, himself, always seemed to shy from old traditions, so that was her thing anyway. Instead, his nose hovered near Circinae's, inhaled her scent of forest and wolf; a woodland brown, he knew. Strong and fierce. Any remaining tension in his limbs left him then, seeming to find a sense of support at her presence. A strength.
He moved on to Tyrna, his heart warming at the brief closeness they'd shared. Her life's story of tragedy and pain and love was still so loud in his thoughts. Replayed in her storyteller voice a number of times. Perhaps one day he could return the gift with his own story, when it wasn't still so fresh and raw and complicated. And painful. To reach for her was so natural, but he held back, looking over her face instead and sensing an unease, a reluctance. His eyes flashed with amusement before it was gone again, steady again. Not used to being summoned, was she? He hoped that stiffness wouldn't be directed at him one day.
He pulled himself away from her, keeping to the outskirts before settling evenly between them: the ruler and the people. He was completely at ease there, the heart, the connection. His eyes flickered to Reagan, then Jinju, and away again. She would conduct her meeting and he would be present in support of her. Then his eyes slid Circinae, seeing the mare, seeing the wolf. His heart smirked. And then heavy blue met blue as he met Tyrna's gaze, and held it.
Silent. Always silent.
The ice formed. The ice shattered. He formed another, only to obliterate it, too. And another.
And another.
Sometimes they took familiar shapes. Sometimes they looked like creatures; birds, foxes, rabbits, bears. Bears. Sometimes they looked like things only the darkest parts of his mind could fathom. Sometimes they were faces.
Reagan's call rang through his mind and broke his concentration. He snarled, an instant layer of solid, hard-packed ice forming an armor along his spine and over his sides. He destroyed that too. Let it melt down him to puddle at his hooves as though this pain could slip away with it. Bitterness settled heavy in his gut and he turned his back to the direction she beckoned them. The one in his mind growled that she dared to call his pack, and he gave it a mental kick in the jaw. They were hers too, he reminded it -himself. She cared for them too. Every last one.
It growled. Bear.
He growled too. The bear. The demon's spy. She let him in, she kept him safe. Protected him. His scars burned, his eyes burned, his heart burned. Then froze, hardened. After a long while, he finally turned back around. He finally began walking, obeying. He smothered the burn beneath the cold, slid into his usual aloof nature. Looked no different than he always did.
Sunlight riddled across his pale and purple back as he entered the gathering from the outer edge. Bright, glacial eyes took them in with a glance; Reagan, Jinju, Circinae, Tyrna. Where were his children? Terra would be exploring, he figured. Her heart could be as wild as his when there was adventures to be had. Iasan, Heda, Fur. Perhaps they would come soon. And dear Illae, his porcelain girl, she would not need to show. He would check on her after.
Circinae was the closest from where he joined them, and he paused before her. She'd asked Reagan a question of ranks, but he wasn't here to answer them. This was Reagan's meet, and she would respond without his interruption. He wouldn't have ranks, himself, always seemed to shy from old traditions, so that was her thing anyway. Instead, his nose hovered near Circinae's, inhaled her scent of forest and wolf; a woodland brown, he knew. Strong and fierce. Any remaining tension in his limbs left him then, seeming to find a sense of support at her presence. A strength.
He moved on to Tyrna, his heart warming at the brief closeness they'd shared. Her life's story of tragedy and pain and love was still so loud in his thoughts. Replayed in her storyteller voice a number of times. Perhaps one day he could return the gift with his own story, when it wasn't still so fresh and raw and complicated. And painful. To reach for her was so natural, but he held back, looking over her face instead and sensing an unease, a reluctance. His eyes flashed with amusement before it was gone again, steady again. Not used to being summoned, was she? He hoped that stiffness wouldn't be directed at him one day.
He pulled himself away from her, keeping to the outskirts before settling evenly between them: the ruler and the people. He was completely at ease there, the heart, the connection. His eyes flickered to Reagan, then Jinju, and away again. She would conduct her meeting and he would be present in support of her. Then his eyes slid Circinae, seeing the mare, seeing the wolf. His heart smirked. And then heavy blue met blue as he met Tyrna's gaze, and held it.
Silent. Always silent.
in short, he walks in and chills a little apart from everyone. the end :P
