No Way Out [Shallot/Open]

[Chance]

Wind whistled all around him as he plummeted. His violet eyes were lidded and he let the darkness over take him as he free fell. What if he just didn't oven his wings? What if he let this be the end. Could he see his mother? Brother? Daughter and son? The Clan was gone. His life was gone. So why was he still alive?

A panic rose in Chance's chest and his eyes snapped open to see the rapidly approaching ground. He had jumped off the side of the canyon for no particular reason in general. Sometimes the brown and white Kieyou thought he could end it all. All the pain, all the suffering. If only his damn sense of self preservation wouldn't get in the way every time.

Powerful wings snapped open, catching the air. He shot back up wards, skimming the rock wall with his wing tips. No, he wouldn't die today. With a deep sigh he began doing summer salts in the air, careful to never loose to much height. Finally, mind blank with exhaustion he landed on a rock ledge.

Chance knew it wasn't the best idea to be here. A pack lived here, an aggressive one. But he had been here once before. In fact this had been where he meet Sunchaser. He curled up, lion's tail flicking back and forth as he let the memories sweep over him. They were good memories, even if in the end they were bad. Chance wouldn't think about that.No tonight, as the sun set causing the red rock to glow warmly, he would only think good thoughts. Maybe tomorrow he would have the strength to move on.

[Shallot]

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[atrb=background,http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/Somatra1/sback-4.jpg] [scrolly:h(440), w(340),sy] It was approaching nightfall by the time Shallot reached the canyon, not in the mood to sleep in the falach, she looked for a place to rest. After a quick circle of the canyon her ice blue eyes landed on a mid-sized ledge on the side of the cliff face. Wings half spread in case she had to stop abruptly, Shallot began her descent. About a third of the way into her decline, she snapped her wings out. There was another Keiyou on the ledge. She didn’t notice them at first since they were so small and their pelt didn’t stick out like a sore thumb like hers did. For a moment she envied this wolf, They have it so easy, being able to blend in with little trouble, I’m sure they didn’t have to survive weeks with almost nothing to eat. Shallot! Shallot little voice of reason she acquired from her parents kicked in What are you thinking! You have no idea what this wolf has been through, for all you know he life could have been more of a nightmare then yours, it just as well could have been trouble-free but that gives you no right to judge a wolf you’ve never met. She sighed, hating when her conscience was right. Shallot looked down at the brown and white Keiyou again; she had never seen this wolf before. As if on her command, a slight gust of wind ruffled her shadowy grey fur and brought the scent of the wolf to her nose. No wonder I haven’t seen them before. she thought as she registered that this wolf wasn’t a member of the pack. She panicked for a second realizing she had never encountered a wolf who wasn’t a member of the pack inside the boundaries of their land. Wondering whether she should I be polite or aggressive, she decided on a happy-medium, she took a deep breath and tried to make her-self look as intimidating as possible. She swooped down and landed gracefully on the edge farthest away from the wolf, so he would have a chance to flee if he felt the need. “You must not be aware of where you are.” Damn it that didn’t come out nearly as threatening as it was supposed to. She held her head high as she waited for a response. [/scrolly]

[Chance]

“You must not be aware of where you are.”

Chance's violet eyes snapped open and the small Kieyou lurched to his feet. His instinctive flight senses were choking his rationality and chasing away any calm dignified front he could possibly put up to seem less pathetic than he already did.

Quelling his nervousness he fought to concentrate on the shadowy Kieyou before him. She held her head high in a way that said she was above him and she knew it. He also noticed that he could escape if he so wished. But he was tired from his day of flying and suicide attempts and if the she-wolf decided to give chase he would be no match for her. Of course he was also in the Styrrstdar Cadre, which was a pack of powerful and violent wolves from what he had heard of it.

He kept his head low, searching for the right words. Chance looked up at the female, bathed in the fading light of the sun making her dark fur glow a dark reddish gray. It was an intimidating sight, she smelled of the canyon and Cadre's scent. His ears pinned back to his head submissively, maybe this would be the way he died? Maybe this would be the end of the line for him. His life taken by this dark warrior beauty.

"I know where I am," he said carefully in a quiet voice that was almost carried way by the wind. He cleared his voice and tried to raise the volume. "I'm sorry for intruding on your lands but I recently lost my home and my m-m-m, " he shook his head sadly unable to say that he'd lost his mate, the love of his life.
"I lost my p-pack," he said instead," I only wish to rest for the night, I promise not to hunt on your lands."

[Shallot]

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[atrb=background,http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/Somatra1/sback-4.jpg] [scrolly:h(440), w(340),sy] Shallot looked down at the small Keiyou and felt a pang of sympathy creep into her heart. She assumed from the pain in his voice that he loved his pack, she knew the feeling of losing one’s you love. She stared into his violet eyes, recognizing the grief behind them that she herself still hides behind the livid hostility she shows to others. The thought of the strange Keiyou’s lost pack reminded Shallot of the one’s she had lost. Her loving parents Lancelot and Guinevere, her soft-spoken little brother Tennyson, and of course her beloved sister Anna. Thinking of her father Shallot suddenly became furious with her father, It’s his fault that they’re all dead, he couldn’t have just run away from the bear, no, he had to stay and fight it so it would “track them down later”. His fault that after he died we had no-one to teach us how to fly, because of that Tennyson was flying during a storm since he didn’t know any better. Both of their faults that mother lost the will to live because she was too consumed with grief to care for herself. All of their fault’s that Anna and I had to live on our own, until He attacked her.My fault I let her go off by herself. Shallot’s icy-blue eyes that for long were cold and unbreakable, began to water ever so slightly. Shallot! How can you even think that! You know that no-one in your family died as a result of your father, or anyone else for that matter, they were all accident’s except Anna, but you couldn’t do anything to stop that. Shallot looked down and saw the brown and white Keiyou staring up at her. Shit, I forgot about him. How long was I lost in my thoughts? She snapped her neck back into the rigid warrior position she had before, hoping he didn't notice her blank-out. “I will allow you to rest here for the night. However I will stay here with you and escort you to the edge of Styrrstdar Cadre territory tomorrow at sun-rise." She hoped Rhiannon wouldn’t mind that Shi let a non-pack member to stay in their territory, especially one who had lost so much. [/scrolly]

[Chance]

Chance watched with bated breath as the other Keiyou seemed to consider him. The dark female was quiet a long time. For a long moment he thought that she might have been ill. But then she seemed to snap out of it.

He let out a quiet sigh of relief. She would let him stay for the night. He understood that the only reason she was staying with him for the night was for her pack's safety but Chance was glad that he wouldn't have to spend another night alone. The cold that had begun to set in scared him. The winged wolf had faced winters alone before, but now it seemed so much colder after knowing the warmth of a pack.

"Thank you. Really, I appreciate this," he bowed his head. The Cadre were known for their hostile and violent ways. Chance was more of a diplomat than a fighter. And now that he had lost everything once again, he had nearly lost the will to live.

The small Kieyou shivered and laid back down. His head resting on his white paws, wings folded in tight and tail curled so it flicked back and forth next to his nose. Chance left his violet eyes open, watching the dark wolf in front of him. She was slowly blending in as the night began to settle. It was both creepy and awe inspiring. A thought struck the male that made him even colder than the night winds.
"Don't you have someone waiting for you? Back at your dens. Isn't there anyone expecting you to return?"

[Shallot]

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[atrb=background,http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/Somatra1/sback-4.jpg] [scrolly:h(440), w(340),sy] Shallot watched the small Keiyou bow his head, enjoying the gesture of respect. He seemed so harmless to her but she remained in her rigid stance so as not to let her guard down. She watched as he lay down and curled is tail. Her ice cold blue eyes darted back and forth for a moment she was hypnotized by the soft flicking motion the tip of his tail moved in. Shallot started to turn around so she could lay down on the other end of the mid-sized ledge. But before she completed her turn she saw through the corner of her eye that the small Keiyou opened his eyes and was looking up at her again. “Don't you have someone waiting for you? Back at your dens. Isn't there anyone expecting you to return?" The words cut through Shallot’s heart like a freshly sharpened razor-edged dagger because, for the first time, she realized that although her pack cared for her no one in it really loved her. In fact no one still walking the earth really loved her. The thought of all the happily mated wolves she knew brought a great deal of jealousy and self pity to Shallot’s already overwhelmed mind. A sad smile crept across her dark features as her eyes softened for the second time that night. “No one should ever have to love me.” And the truth is spoken, ah and true it is. No wolf should ever have to suffer loving me, they’ll leave me in the end anyway, either they just become fed up with my constant mood swings and abandon me or they’ll die. Just like everyone else I’ve ever loved. Leaving just enough time for the male Keiyou to hear and understand what she said but not enough for him to formulate a response, Shallot slowly turned and pad to the other end of the rock. She laid down, facing Chance and closed her eyes. She hoped that he would think that it was a signal to go to sleep and not see the tiny trickle of salty tears sliding down her charcoal fur. [/scrolly]

[Chance]

A cold shiver, starting somewhere near the Kieyou's heart, spread throughout Chances body as he saw that sad smile. It reminded him of himself. It was filled with loss and loneliness. Something Chance knew very well. Her words cut him. How could anyone ever think like that?

He was torn. Torn between ignoring what she had said or getting up and comforting the obviously hurting she-wolf. On one paw, Chance really just wanted to move on, besides she had already walked away. A signal that the conversation was done. On the other paw, it wasn't really in the male's nature to leaves someone alone when they were obviously suffering. He knew how badly ones thoughts could eat them alive. Chance went through it every day.

Sighing, Chance rose and padded over to the crying female. He laid down next to her and carefully draped a wing over her, offering warmth. The small Kieyou gulped, knowing how dangerous a move he was making. If she felt offended she could probably rip him to shreds.

"Love is a choice you know. It's a risk, one that can often hurt you really bad in the end. But when you have it, it's the most beautiful thing in the world," he swallowed, trying to hold back tears of his own."A-and you can't stop others from loving you or yourself from loving others. And you can't stop yourself from wanting to be loved. Whatever is going on right now, it's going to get better."

His violet eyes stung. Was it really going to get better? Without Sun could he even truly live? Was love really such a great thing when it tore him up inside like this? Of course it was. Because all he had to do was remember all the good times he had with her, her beautiful face and he felt better. Sadness and pain were still there, but he would never ever regret the memory of Sunchaser.

[Shallot]

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[atrb=background,http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/Somatra1/sback-4.jpg] [scrolly:h(440), w(340),sy] Shallot tensed at the touch of the Keiyou but relaxed a bit when she realized he wasn’t trying to attack her. The feel of another’s wing resting on her back seemed so familiar to her. It was comforting to Shallot and she felt an odd spark of nostalgia, slightly confused by what brought such a strange mixture of joy and pain she began to rummage around through her fragmentized memories for when something like this happened. Then it came, She was sitting in a warm den, sunlight streaming through the entrance shining on her mother’s smiling face, Tennyson was curled up next to her and on the other side of her lay Anna, her sister’s small grey wing was resting on Shallot’s back as they drifted off to sleep. Tiny smiles resting on both sisters lips. The tears started to flow a bit faster as the memories of a once happy time flooded Shallot’s thoughts. She felt uncomfortable being this close to a strange wolf yet she was glad he was close; she didn’t want to spend another night crying her-self to sleep alone."Love is a choice you know. It's a risk, one that can often hurt you really bad in the end. But when you have it, it's the most beautiful thing in the world. A-and you can't stop others from loving you or yourself from loving others. And you can't stop yourself from wanting to be loved. Whatever is going on right now, it's going to get better." The words seemed so heartfelt, so promising. He doesn’t know what it’s like! So why is he pretending to, why doesn’t he just tell “Oh, I’m so sorry you feel that way” and walk away like the rest of them?But by the way he stuttered just the tiniest bit Shallot knew she didn’t want to admit the truth. He had gone through the same thing as her, or at least very similar, he knew what it was like and that sometimes you just need someone to sit next to without fear of them dying as well. She brought her large paw up to her watery eye and wiped away her tears. “Y-you really think things will get better?” She looked straight into the little Keiyou’s violet eyes. Hoping with all her heart that he was right, she gently rested her head against his side. Wishing that the sun would never rise and she could stay in this moment forever. [/scrolly]

[Chance]

Chance didn't comment on her tears. The great spirit knew how many times he had cried over his losses. Even now it was hard for the small Kieyou to hold back his own tears as the waves of Shallot's pain resurfaced his own. He didn't know what had happened to the dark she-wolf but he could empathize.

How did he know it would get better? Good question. How could he be absolutely sure things would get better. It was easy for him to say, he had nothing left. What did he know about this wolf? He knew she was in pain. Her heart was aching and he felt a strong need to try and make that pain go away. He wanted to make it better for her, at least a little bit.
"Where else is there to go when your as low as you can get? When you've hit rock bottom there is nowhere to go but up," he murmured. He closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, resting it on his paws. The sun had disappeared completely and the moon had begun it's journey across the sky. His chest swelled and deflated with each steady breath.
"It has to get better. Never give up hope," he said, eyes still closed, his words just a breath of air. He wasn't even sure if she heard him, but he was losing his consciousness to the land of dreams. In the morning he would have to leave. And hopefully everything would be alright.