One cursed night he’d lasted. The pain distorting his soul had him writhing in agony through the dark hours. It seemed as if his very being were attempting separate from his body, pulling his heart out of his chest with it. His usually ways of coping couldn’t calm him and his left leg was ravaged because he’d spent hours gnawing at different parts of it. With wide wild eyes he’d circled round and round the den, trying to stay put, but he always seemed to drift towards the outside towards the boarder of Iromar, towards her. She needed him, even if she didn’t want him. He was convinced of it, and it was tearing him apart to attempt to disappear like she wanted him to… like he wanted to.
Finally, at the graying of dawn, Chael’s will power gave and he thought, What if she truly is in need of me? The Demons often needed a wolf to pound on or one to talk to or even one to watch after them if they got themselves hurt. What if she was hurt?! His mind’s eye recalled the last vision he had of her before he ran away. The gruesome gashes of her shoulders and face…. they had been fresh wounds. What if they had been reopened or what if another had taken advantage of the injuries? Chael’s ears laid flat to the side in horror. That would be the cruelest fate for her! He couldn’t let that happen! He launched himself from his den and flew in the direction he knew she was in. His soul was his compass because every step he took towards her, the less the pain was on the arteries around his heart.
The iced over wetland of the swamp turned to powdered snow and the unpredictable pools of freezing water gradually gave way to the unified current of the Aplos River. The winter was young, so the river was still in the process of freezing over, and the sound of the rushing water seemed to call Chael further upstream. He slowed to a brisk pace as he trotted along the river’s edge. His inhales were short and heavy and his strong exhales produced puffs of steam around his muzzle. He’d run the entire way here and with his lack of sleep, he felt nearly as if he were in a dream. The tender energy of his soul settling back into his body had him exhausted, but relieved. He was close.
Chael paused and raised his nose to detect the tantalizing aroma of his femme fatale in order to pinpoint her location. With silent, well placed paws, he turned from the bank of the river and trotted up it, towards the area he knew he’d find his imprint. He paused with his head raised and ears perked tentatively forwards when he saw her black coat against the freshly fallen snow. A unique softness grew in his features when he saw her. She was even more wonderful then the first time he had seen her. Chael raised his head and sang a short, whispering note for her in greeting. He hoped she would answer, but he didn’t expect her to.
When he approached, Chael kept himself passive. Not submissive this time, for she wasn’t his alpha, but quite certainly, he wasn’t claiming her as his. He sighed in relief to have found her and chanted softly to her the beginning of a poem from his pup hood,
”In you, I find solace.
The way your eyes gleam,
And your coat shines flawless,
Remind me of moonbeam.”
Chael stopped close to her and gazed a moment in her gemstone eyes before he turned away and laid next to her. He had no desire other than to be with her. In a while, he might remember his duty to Iromar… but for now, his relief at finding her again as relaxed him completely. He could very nearly fall asleep next to her if he didn’t fear she’d leave him if he closed his eyes. So, instead, he rested contently beside her, truly finding in her the comfort he needed from his agonizing night away from her. Chael shifted himself so that he was leaning towards her, so that if she chose to join him, their backs would support each other as they watched the morning wake in the valley of the Aplos River.
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