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Her breathing was heavy and ragged. A liquid fell down past her eyes – at this point, it nearly covered her entire face. It dripped down uncomfortably over her neck and somehow managed to just get all over the place in a relatively short amount of time. At least it felt that way – she had lost track of time the moment the first hit connected.

She wiped her face. That liquid wasn’t from her eyes – it was sweat. And she wasn’t upset, she was angry.

No. Angry wasn’t the right term. Furious.

Another blow connected, sending pain shooting up her right arm. Those scars burned red and ugly, protesting the abuse – heh – but refusing to yield to it. She clenched her teeth as a hiss escaped, and she hit again. This time with the other arm. Every time she hit the makeshift punching bag the face within it, within her mind’s eye, changed. She wasn’t using all her fury on certain faces, though, just one. It came up about ¾ of the time. And she growled every time.
A memory flashed in front of her as another thread of pain shot up her arm. The face prompted it.

He loomed over her brimming with the presence of a predator, his eyes feral and demeaning. She always hated his eyes. They gleamed with a lack of intelligence so blatant and obvious that she nearly spat in them every time, but that would do no good – only make things more difficult. The funny thing was, he wasn’t a predator. Just a sad, stupid sheep in wolf’s clothing. He tried so very hard, but she was never truly afraid of him…just angry. But he was so stupid he couldn’t even read the anger correctly. She said that, once – this time, in fact. A searing pain made her cried out, and blood suddenly covered her arm. The first of many. But then a different memory took over – a similar situation, but a blow to her head brought a forgiving haven of unconsciousness. And now, back to reality.

Back, forth. Back, forth. One, two. She continued hitting even as the memories played back before her, clouding her vision. The girl didn’t need to see to hit, though – it barely mattered, cause she wasn’t doing any damage as it was. Therein, oddly enough, lied her anger. Kael had never been one to buy into the pseudo psychology bullocks that people tried to feed her regarding the situation – she didn’t want to reconcile with her father in some deep recess of her conscience, nor was she somehow turning her sorrow into anger to save herself the pain of it all. She didn’t need to just sit down and ‘deal’ with anything. There was no deep underlying reason for everything that she did that fueled her anger, something she didn’t know about. No, everything was actually quite straightforward – what happened to her happened to her, and she could care less what happened to her father or what anyone had to say about her anger. For the love of all that was holy, she knew exactly why she was angry and how to take care of it. She wasn’t angry because he hurt her, stole everything she thought was private and personal. She was angry because she would never be able to reach her full potential due to the damage to her arm. She hated not having the choice to be as strong as she knew she could be – everything, everything else he did to her could be fixed and forgotten, and she could take pride in moving on and overcoming it. In fact, everything else had been handled. At least that’s what she told herself. Some days, it was debatable.

But her arm was one thing she would have absolutely no choice in, and that lack of choice fueled a rage that nearly turned her blue and purple eyes red.

That rage fueled her now. It allowed her to re-handle it all time and time again. How did she handle it? A punching bag, a quiet field, an actual glove to match her right arm’s covering, and a lot of time and sweat.

Gravity pulled her down, and she wilted into a crumpled sitting position, staring at the ground with wide eyes and an open, panting mouth. Her arm burned and ached, and she looked at it with those beautiful, prismatic eyes. She looked at it with hatred – not for what it was, but for what it did. Honestly, if she could just repair the gnarled tendons and restore the muscle that was simply no longer in the lower part of her arm, she would stop being so angry. But she couldn’t – it would always be there, a reminder of the things she would never be able to do.

There would always be a difference between her and someone else, something that held her back.

She snarled down at the ground. Her white hair fell in small wet clumps in front of her vision. Thoughts rolled and trembled within her mind, the makings of a great storm. They accused her of everything she already knew to be true – incomplete, unable, imperfect. Incomplete, unable, imperfect. Rapture was the one thing she would never attain. Incomplete.

It was a venom, pulsing and coursing through every vein and every accusation. It was invasive and just as accusatory as the storm. She wasn’t mad at him. She didn’t need to deal with anything else.

Her eyes glanced up at the bag, and there was the face. It argued with every point she made. It laughed.

“Shut UP, you WEAK, SPINELESS b*****d-“ she roared, standing and spinning and kicking the bag in one fluid movement.

Finally, damage. The force of the impact sent the insides of that face spilling to the ground through a rip in the fabric. Satisfied, she let herself fall back. For the first time in...however long she had been at this, she took a deep breath, and felt the storm begin to waver. For now, it was done.

Ember watched, solemn and still and patient, from a spot about 100 yards away. His white-tipped tail flicked back and forth, serving as the only indicator for how agitated he really was. The young male hated when she did this...but he understood the necessity. And he also knew that he could say nothing, think nothing - not now, anyway, because her Seer sense was heightened in that time of rage and any bias on his part one way or another would be sensed, heard, and it would cause damage. Besides, as he said, this truly was a necessity. They understood each other well enough to know what needed to be done and what was superfluous - this allowed her to function in the outside world. He respected that line. It pained them both, but he respected it nonetheless.

Sensing the conclusion of her self-administered therapy session, he lifted himself from his reddish-brown haunches and slowly, quietly, moved forward. Nothing was said through their mental link - nothing needed to be. He simply laid next to her once he got close enough, watching her through understanding eyes.

She let her head fall to the side and opened her eyes after a moment. Still nothing was said. Eventually, Kael half lifted herself from the ground and looked to the West, in the direction of the wall - and beyond that, of the graveyard. Her mind had already left all the former thoughts behind, sealing them back away for another day, another storm, a new venom. Briefly her mind entertained the thought of visiting the site, but...quickly let that fall as well. She had absolutely no interest in reliving the past, hers or anyone else's, including the past of the Fort. Kael had never visited a gravestone in her life. She never cared to. All that was in a grave was a dead body, nothing more....

Do you wish to return to the quarters?

Perhaps. Let's just head back in the direction of civilization.

Ember nodded, standing to his feet and allowing Kael upon his back. He began walking at a slow, easy pace, not yet settled back into his normal fun and antics.

A misty breath littered the frigid air before sliding across his pale skin. The days were growing colder and a heavy cloud grew and lurked over the land as an ominous threat of the coming snow. The man could feel the cold biting viciously at his stiff fingers through the rough texture of the leather gloves. With one hand, he pulled the collar higher while the other gripped firmly onto Feral's dark fur. Soon, he heard the rumbling voice of his companion wolf answering the unspoken question that passed between them. His cold blue eyes lifted towards the sight of White Shadow's fort.

Feral's muscles rippled beneath his thick fur as he proceeded at an easy lope towards their destination. He longed to rush across the open lands at a full gallop to spend the build-up tensions that had been gathering within the thick of his pelt for the last few weeks. However, his rider's mind and body were too far weakened by stress and work the last month. A great mixture of agony and fury washed over his body at the memory. If Damien felt the sudden tension within his wolf's mind, he remained unmoved.

After the devastating battle against their new foe, the days following were unkind to the pair. It was common knowledge that the Venoms' attack was so far beyond the expectations the packs held towards the beasts that no one could blame the outcome on Damien alone. After all, never before had society witnessed such gruesome manner of attack or killing ever from those wretched centipedians. Then again, the growing unbalance in the society had to press their blames against something or someone or else order would surely fall into chaos. What better, Damien had decided, then to let them lean against someone who was destined to live and die for them.

The heavy footfalls of the massive canine slowed to a walk as they approached the open gates. Damien suddenly leaned back and FeralBlood stopped. There was a quiet thought that passed between them before Feral rumbled in agreement. Who am I to stop you from catching Pneumonia and joining their ranks, the great alpha growled half-heartedly. Although the death of the many rider and wolfs sunk a heavy sadness in his bloody heart, he saw no reason to visit the remains of the dead as human did. There was nothing lingering on those rioting corpse; to remember them was all that needed to be done. However, Feral, as they say it, 'read the mood' and agreed to visit the damned cemetery.

Together, they neared the center of the sight. He looked over the memorial quietly before swinging down from the back of his wolf. He kneeled and touched the disturbed ground and felt a chill whisper through his body, remembering the unfortunate battle. A heavy sigh left his lungs before the man stood again and stuffed his cold hands into the pocket of his jacket. His blue eyes were lowered to the ground, contemplating silently.

Feral growled causing Damien to look up. It was a wonder how the alpha rider managed to miss the sight of two large and familiar wolves the one rider that made his frown turn into a steady glare. He had been wondering what his darn sergeant had been up to. He had sent her on tasks to keep her mind preoccupied as much as he felt he could and, at the same time, was eager to hear news of White Shadow. Duty and disorder chained him to New Eve. However, as the days rolled by, his anxiety became increasingly apparent. With his mother's losses and Riya's new rise in the ranks, the man was driven to near insanity with worry for his family.

Damien, with a strong and meaningful stride, moved towards the trio with his expression finely fitted with the usual coldness. Feral easily kept with the man's strides as a deep rumble lurked from his throat as an automatic reaction towards Damien's emotions. "Sergeant Sky," He called in a low voice that barely lifted across the small distance but still demanded an immediate response regardless.

((I edited it to add in the fact that Starr's characters appeared)

Skye heard Damien and for a moment did not react. She was so enveloped in her sadness that it was like nothing else exsisted. But her sense of duty to her Captain tugged her back, fairly quickly. She let go of Bigpaw and wiped her eyes before standing and turning to her captain. She knew her red eyes and wet cheeks would give her away but she decided to act as if he had caught her anywhere else. She didnt like to seem weak, she knew everyone had their weaknesses but she still disliked showing hers. She did not expect pity or a comforting hand, she was in the presence of her captain! She had to be profesional and strong, she had to show that she was worthy of her title.

She knew this had been an unplanned detour and she mentaly cursed herself for not finishing her duties to her Captain first. She was better than this! To forget to do something so easy, to be distracted at the drop of a hat! She felt ashamed and wondered if she would be reprimanded for her laziness. She saluted to the best of her abilities in her hurry and responded in a calm voice.

"Yes captain, I'm sorry I didnt come earlier. White Shadow is fine, and reports no new news." She replied in a voice that was only shaky for the first few words. It was after that she noticed Riya herself come into the Cemetary and greet Damien. Skye felt just a tad bit more responsible now, even the younger Alpha seemed to make it here before she could giver her report, or was it just after? She really didnt know and felt too guilty and ashamed to care.

Bigpaw Growled when he felt Skye letting go, he was not in the mood for an interruption to his mourning. He had come to grieve and had the attention of prabably the only other person whom he could relate to. He had half a mind to snap at the transgressor and give them a nice scar. But when he turned and saw it was his alpha he stopped growling and lowered his head in apology. He then tilted it to show his throat in submission. He still had strong loyalty ties to his Alpha and greatly respected the wolf, Feralblood was one of the few to whom Bigpaw treated almost exactly the same as before keiths death. He respected Damien as well, for a human the man always seemed like an alpha to Bigpaw. He didnt treat them the same because of any complicated reason, he just considered them to be Alphas without a dbout, thus he would always follow them and be loyal.

He noticed the other alpha enter the cemetary and leveled a gaze at Stardust. He didnt want to seem rude to them in front of his own Alphas and so he waited for his submission to be aknoledged and then maybe he would be submissive to the young one as well. He personally thought the human was much too young for such a task. She was still a puppy, what could she know about leading!? He didnt care much for the wolf either, he wasnt being mean but he really had not had too much contact with her, and without a rider he was even less likely to have contact with the young femme, thus he would prabably never like her. It wasnt her fault, just the way he worked, if he didnt know you he didnt like you, simple.

Starsinger, scrambled to his feet, and hurried to show his submission. He was always nervous around the Alphas, it was a habit of his since he was a puppy. He had always been a trouble maker and their presence always meant he was in deeper trouble than usual. This might not nesesarily be the case but it always felt that way. He looked to Skye half pained and half sorry. He should have never given in and agreed to acompany Bigpaw to the cemetary, he should have insisted that they report to Damien first. Oh geeze if they were in trouble it was all his fault! He couldnt help the guilty emotions that he knew Skye must be feeling but he couldnt help it.

He was mostly nervous because he was secretly afraid of them, they were so business like and scary to him. He never knew what to say around the Alphas and that in itself was scary. Starsinger ALWAYS had something to say...but the Alphas aperence always tied his tounge. It was almost embarassing at how useless he was around them. It was as if he reverted to a puppy in their presence. He wished he was closer to Skye he always felt protected around her, she never seemed scared of the alphas. But she was a little too far to nudge for comfort and so he had to sit there alone for the time being.

He was a little reasured when the young Alpha came in. At least he knew how to talk to them, he prabably wouldnt since they might have Alpha business to discuss, but just their being here made him feel less useless. He tried to stop the guilty vibes that were still radiating from his body and used the fact that there were nice alphas here too to eventually not be that guilty. After all if the young Alpha was here then he wasnt in trouble RIGHT!!! He had just seen them and he hadnt done anything all that bad so he couldnt be in trouble......right?!?!

A furious snarl ripped across his maw as his ivory fangs were barred at the offending sound Bigpaw dared to make in his presence. Feral's muscles tensed in preparation to tear the other wolf apart. However, the smaller wolf suddenly seems to realize who exactly his offending tones were placed against and instantly sunk into submission. The alpha's lips were slowly pulled back into a passively thin expression while his blood red eyes glowered darkly. Ever slowly, the black wolf eased himself up to offer a condescending huff and easily dismissed the bondless male's slip now that the order of things was restored. He turned away to cast a short glance towards Starsinger before returning his attention back to Bigpaw. Your presence in the pack has been scarce, Feral stated as a bluntly and quite randomly; however, that was about how deep he allowed his worry to show.

Damien remained stoic as Skye's heart-broken appearance stirred a surge of emotion through him. Had he been a weaker man, he would have let his appearance break into a wave of sympathy. However, weakness was long ago beaten out of him by the unyielding expectations laid out before him. Even though, he offered a softer [removed](by merely letting up his frown) towards his Sergeant.

His hands fisted as her voice trembled, overwhelmed by the natural instinct to comfort the woman; his weight shifted. Suddenly, his cold eyes shared a quiet look with his wolf before he rocked back onto his heels and placed a stable hand onto Feral's mane. "As you were, Sergeant," He answered with a sharp nod. A hand ran though his hair as a nervous habit. "You have my permission to do as you wish." Damien had hoped the travel would ease provide a fair distraction for the mourning woman which seemed to have turned out just perfect minus the tears and bloody shaking.

Feral's ears swirled and he offered a half-interested glance. Your Goddess (and her steed) graces us with their presence, Feral offered sarcastically to Damien as his head and body shifted to greet the approaching female and her rider.

Riya? Damien snapped his attention towards the direction his wolf had half-turned and caught the familiar sight of his dearest little sister and her wolf. After a quick glance over Riya, he accepted his sister is physically in the same condition as he left her in: alive and fairly healthy. She, with that love-filled expression, had greeted him with such deep affections filled with sisterly love! His hands shook in extreme effort to keep himself calm. An ignorant man would have though her informal greeting had set a fuse in Damien that led to that tightly compacted fury deep in his body. However, those who knew the strange pair would, no doubt, suggest that fuse led to a whole different set of explosives.

With long, meaningful strides, he ended up to Stardust's left side. Suddenly, he flung open his arms. "Riya! My cute, little sister! Give your brother a great big, affectionate hug! I have missed you so!"

Stardust, Feral greeting less enthusiastically while giving Damien an exasperated expression.

Bigpaw nodded to Feral as he was spoken too,

I havent had much taste for silent company, or puppies.

Bigpaw once upon a time had liked to hang around people, he was always amazed by the way they looked at thing, and used to debate with some senior officers, through Keith of course, but since his Bondeds death he was no longer able to dabble in that particular passtime. Then there were wolves, he never shunned the company bit he wasnt really the most social (since he used to spend most of his time with people) The older wolves always seemed to be busy, plus most of the young ones steered clear of him since he looked all big and muscular. Keith used to tell him that the puppies prabably thought he was a bully, and that might still be the case. So he just avoided the pack and was usually found just sniffing about aimlessly, or shadowing Skye wherever she and Starsinger were. He had even yet to really talk to his brother Starsinger since the whole thing.

Skye relaxed and nodded her head as she was given a relax command.

"Thank you sir" She replied and began to move closer to Starsinger. She knew he always got nervous around Feralblood, he was too serious for Starsingers taste. Skye felt herself bottling up her emotions slowly, she had done a good cry before Damien had come and so it was easier to get beck to normal emotionaly. Her red, puffy, eyes might linger because of the cold but she was soon good enough to be around others. She Walked over to her wolf and placed a reasuring hand on his shoulder.

No worries Starsinger, I'm here for you, he wont bite you

You sure.....

Yeah buddy, look see he's busy with Stardust and Riya

Starsinger turned so that both alphas were in his sight. Skye was telling the truth, the alphas were talking to each other and Damien was....hugging?! Starsinger had such a scary mental image of Feral and Damien that it was almost sureal to see them acting in this way. He didnt quite believe himself, and blinked hard to make sure. He lowered his head and nuzzled his way under Skyes arm. He was so confused, why were the scary alphas being nice? Was it a test?! Did he fail already?! He whined as softly as possible and nuzzled Skye so hard he almost knocked her over.

Skye fought the urge to laugh asStarsinger began to nuzzle her arm. It was a reflex he had since he was a puppy, sure it was cute then, but she always mentaly beat herself for not nipping it in the bid. He was after all ALOT bigger now. Starsinger half lifted her off the ground and she was forced to turn and hug his face to calm him down. She always wondered why he was so scared of the Alphas...well actually mostly of Feralblood. Damien too but she assumed that was because of his asociation with feral. They had never really had a bad experience with the two, sure Feral was big and tough but so was Bigpaw...so why be so scared of him. She could never understand it, but she did her best to comfort him and calm him down.

Feral eyed Stardust with a wary expression. He was never one to have affection towards enthusiastic wolves mostly if they offer the same creepy smile the young female was throwing at him. Then again, not many (if any) regarded his presence with anything other than terror. Unfortunately, he was also not permitted to attack or beat her down her considering her newly acquired rank and relation to Riya (mostly with Damien's sister-complex). Luckily, the Gods favored him today and the pitiful excuse for a conversation flowed towards something he felt comfortable discussing: his pack.

Feral bared is fangs at the mere thought of those idiots back at New Eve and snarled as he replied. All that my dearest pack needs to recover from are my beatings. They haven't even received the worst but are still acting like newborn pups. The dark wolf cast a glance towards Star. And yours?

Damien barely flinched at Riya's vulgar comment. It seemed such words bounced right off the fortified wall enveloping his ears commonly called selective hearing. Unfortunately, the 'move' command was also unwisely filtered and, before Damien could react fast enough, Riya's heel slammed right into the side of his head. "s**t!" the man cursed. Feral would have insisted that he heard a strange hollow 'thunk' when the blow connected. The poor captain flew to the side at the force of Riya's dismount (which was, I must announce since Damien wouldn't dare to suggest, much faster and stronger than needed—by a significantly painful amount). Luckily (or we would assume), he fell right into Feral's thick fur.

Feral eyed Damien quietly with no hint of worry. Instead, his red eyes gleamed strangely in the light. A hint of a grin flashed over his maw as, without warning, he shifted away with a too-innocent expression causing his dazed rider to land onto the cold dirt.

Damien instantly glared at Feral and reached out to grab a handful of fur and pull himself up in hopes of tearing the fur from the traitor's back. Seconds later, his attention was quickly returned to Riya. "Sweet sister, that was quiet a un-lady-like dismount." He grinned realizing his foster-sister was now firmly planted on the ground. Without a second warning, he took a single large stride before snatching her up into a bone-crushing hug—out of love, of course.

As the insanity proceeded, Feral's ears perked and landed on the approaching but keeping at a distance yet wanting to join though didn't dare to pair off at an willingly unclose close distance. The alpha's eyes bore into the stranger's before lifted his tail and chin a fraction as a silent display of dominance. Will you not come forth, wolf? Feral called a clear command for Ember and His to approach.

Bigpaw couldnt help letting his own rumbling laughter out when he saw Ferals rider get kicked in the head. Humans were always so interesting, they battled each other in such strange and mysterious ways sometimes. He quickly regained his calm and dont-talk-to-me-unless-I=want-you-to-or-I'll-bite-you posture. He still watched the humans with mild interest, waiting to see what they were going to do next, you could just never tell with the two legs... He half smiled as he heard Feral speak of beatings and the like, he personally had always found the threats to be motivational, even if there were very few who had ever shared his sentiments.

Bigpaw saw Ember coming towards them and made a sound that was half cough half snort. Had he still been a happy wolf he might not have minded the pressence of such a happy puppy, afterall he still loved Starsinger (even though admiting/showing/mentioning/hinting towards it was out of the question) But in his current state any who had not previously won his respect/affection were very unlikely candidates to do so now. He had watched as they had all romped and played earlier and he saw the happy face the puppy made now. Bigpaw was annoyed at how he could still look happy in such a sacred place, this was the one last refuge for so many dead, it was not meant to be a happy place, it was meant to be revered and held in the highest regaurd. He shifted his weight so that he was laying stomach down on the cold ground, he didnt mind the feeling too much, and his darkish fur didnt tend to dirty to easily. He kep his posture erect and proud, the puppy had never officially met him and he wondered what it would do. True he was now a stray and had no real ranking in the pack, but he still had his pride. He was much more experienced than this puppy, and didnt really know what he would do if the puppy decided to pull its rank...he wondered if Feral would allow him to defend his honor, or if Feral would stick to the rules...sometimes the Alpha was hard to read...

Skye stiffled a laugh as she watched the adopted siblings fight their battles. She would never get involved, that was dangerous, taking sides when captains were fighting...nope, not something she wanted to get in the middle of. But it was fun to watch none the less.

Awh come on Starsinger see look the Cpatains are playing around, its fun to watch, I'm sure you'll like it.

Starsinger peeked through Skyes arm and eventually slid his head out from under Skyes grasp. From the sounds it was kinds interesting...maybe if he just averted his gaze and didnt look at Feralblood it would be okay...He noticed Ember in the distance and his tail gave a slight wag, more wolves meant that he had other things to focus on instead of Feral. That was good.

Well okay maybe I can watch a little bit...hey look Ember is coming!

Skye looked in the direction that Starsinger was indicating and did indeed see Ember and Kael. She had just met them earlier, she hoped that they hadnt been there long, she didnt want her fragile emotional status to be known to anyone besides herself and the captains, it would be embarassing if people started acting nicely around her and checking if she needed help. She was a high ranking officer for gods sake! She could take care of herself. She half wanted to ask Starsinger how long ago he noticed Ember, but then she remembered that he had been hiding his head from Feral, so he prabably just saw them by accident a few moments ago. She cursed her luck, she couldnt very well ask Kael if she had seen it!! Of course if she had then Skye felt like she would be bringing up an akward subject, and if she hadnt she might ask about it...gah there was no winning in this situation!