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 Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 1:27 pm
 Venda never slept well, not since the day she'd had her eyes ripped from their sockets. She lay asleep now and her body twitched and jerked in the usual fashion. At least now she did not whimper and yowl or wake herself in terror and cry out. She had traveled with Adam a long time waiting quietly in the shadows as he socialized. Venda felt no desire to socialize, no desire to further complicate her life. Why she still traveled with Adam was a mystery to her, perhaps because she needed companionship no matter how she loathed to admit it. His ability to see as she did was a comfort as well and when she couldn't control herself and glimpsed into his mind or brought him into hers he didn't respond in anger.
Kalama was another reason, ever since Venda had heard the words that the female had spoken, the way she shattered Adam's hopes by turning her back on him Venda had decided to stay. She appreciated Adam's optimism even if she didn't have an ounce of it herself, and she held back her pessimistic views when she could because somehow fostering Adam's sense of hope was the only thing that felt right anymore. He didn't ask her to stay and she didn't ever talk about leaving and that seemed to suit them both just fine. She was also careful to try as much as possible to keep out of his head unless he wanted her to look at something through his eyes specifically.
Tonight she did not know if they shared dreams, or even if her dream was figment or vision. She saw fire it billowed and raged across the land, but then she saw faces by the dozens in rapid succession. She jerked awake and lifted her head only to gasp as her dream became vision. She lay awake her blindfolded face turned towards a stone wall as she shuddered at the visions in her mind. It hurt but she had learned to at least stop projecting her pain out to others. She trembled and rocked her claws scrabbling at the earth as she saw families being torn apart as the land rolled and bucked. Faces unknown and familiar flashed by packs torn apart, a wild growing bramble, blood, fire, and through it all a sense of pain and loss.
It seemed to last forever but it was only a scarce few moments of the terrible vision and then she was plunged back into darkness. She gave a tiny whimper and flopped down resting her head on her paws. Her tongue flicked out a moment as she panted and then she forced herself to her feet and shook off. Something bad was coming...not just bad for her....bad for everyone.
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 6:19 pm
 To his credit, Adam wasn't acting bruised by the rejection anymore. With time and with Venda's help, he had come to understand that the old alpha really did need her solitude after watching him for that long. It still stung if he stopped and thought about it, though, which was why he liked focusing on just about everything else: wolves they ran across, random but interesting finds, aiding Venda through her visions, being overall a little life vest for them both as they traveled wherever.
Adam never brought up separation less because he couldn't bear the thought and more because it couldn't possibly occur to him now. They had journeyed far enough together that it was just part of his life now, as much as the rise and fall of the moon and sun.
He had gone to sleep earlier than usual, having tuckered himself out trying to show her this little collection of odd flowers he had never seen before--literally. They were that colorful. And all the insects there, like vibrant living lights and color! After chasing them around like an overgrown pup and wearing himself out from all the tripping, Adam had been happy to curl up next to her and fall asleep after a light meal.
It only felt like he had just set his head down when the visions began: fire. His nightmares were fixated on the fire even as his ears were deafened by the collective howl of all creatures, wolves, humans, predators and prey. Even the trees seemed to be screaming as the earth broke apart and was consumed by flames and smoke, everything burning and turning to ash. He couldn't breathe, staggering and reaching out with his mind frantically as faces blurred before him in violent colors, everything swirling together and threatening to crush him as the fire began crawling up his legs--
With a gasp Adam jerked awake, his limbs trashing uselessly as he scooted a few inches in the ground. In a blind panic (it felt real, it felt too real), the young seer stumbled onto his paws only to lurch to the side and nearly lose his balance. He was panting as heavily as he had truly been running, coughing and nearly breathing his own saliva, eyes stinging as if there had really been smoke.
'Venda--!'
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 7:38 pm
She heard the cry in her head and moved back beside the younger male gently nosing until she brushed his neck.
"You saw it too then..."
There was no need for her to ask, the vision had been painfully powerful and if Adam awoke in this fashion it was likely he had seen something similar. She might have shown him the things he had seen asking him to compare between their visions, but she had no desire to inflict the sense of loss on him. Instead she nuzzled his neck soothingly and waited until both their hearts slowed from frantic racing to a steadier beat.
She considered what she had seen and tried not to cry out at the memory of it, tried not to bring on another. So many families, so many lives senselessly lost and not only her kind but the two legged as well. The landscape had been rapid changing, she did not think there was anywhere she could run to escape the things she had seen.
Finally she stopped the gentle nuzzling and pushed her nose against Adam.
Show me what you saw?
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 8:17 pm
Even the touch was too much too soon; he jerked away with a silent cry, fur bristling. Maybe--but wasn't there--God--
With a few more deep breaths Adam calmed down long enough to look embarassed, mildly pressing his snout to her neck in turn. Venda's request made him dock his ears nervously. 'Please don't make me,' he whimpered softly. 'It was just a nightmare. Maybe that just happens when two seers stick together, just, you know, sharing that without trying . . .'
It was just a nightmare, it was just a horrible no good nightmare, and Adam was ashamed because they had been getting better about those . . . It struck him that maybe she had suffered an episode in her sleep and that maybe it was his fault. He hadn't worried about the fire in so long . . . So why now?
Just a nightmare, he told himself.
'You don't have a migraine, do you?' he asked worriedly.
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 8:30 pm
She was startled by the way Adam jerked and slowly she sat down and waited. Her inability to see made sudden movements a curse, but it was obvious how badly the vision had affected him. She relaxed when his nose touched against her fur and took a deep breath. His voice in her head was pleading and the whimper almost made her relent. Yet his denial of what he had seen made her frown, he knew better yet his optimism was trying to overcome.
"The pain will fade as it always does in time, show me what you saw. You know that was no nightmare...perhaps if I see what you did we can understand it better?"
She tried not to tell him that no matter what she saw in his vision or her own understanding wouldn't keep it from happening. Families would be torn apart, blood would be shed, fire would rage. The certainty of what was to come was a poor consolation. She tried to give Adam another gentle comforting nuzzle he was full grown and she admired his quick mind, yet he retained the sweetness of a pup and she had no desire to be needlessly cruel or harsh.
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 8:48 pm
Sometimes he wished Venda would indulge him instead of making him face reality all the time. It wouldn't change the outcome, but at least he'd have a moment to breathe rather than make it a whimper.
Adam made several mental reluctant sounds (both because of the vision and because it still might set her off), his ears still tilted back, but eventually he relented with a tiny nod against her fur. Sighing through his nose, he opened his mind up slowly to her, trying to keep the images in control; it was better than when he was younger at least.
The majority of it was fire, blazing, malevolent fire that ate the earth and scorched those in its way. Faceless masses ran as fleeting shadows, sometimes showing glimmers of the familiar--Kalama, Arina, Elaine, among others. Some shrank before them as starvation made them nothing but bones before the flames consumed them, mothers crying for their pups, orphans fleeing into a river they could not swim through. But it was the fire that had concerned him most, as if it had taken on a life of its own and was seeking him out, grasping and biting with harsh tongues--
He stopped it there abruptly, quivering.
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 8:57 pm
Venda worked a moment to keep her mind open the pain swam at the surface and she quickly drew it in to keep it from brushing Adams mind. Her body went tense every muscle turning rigid as the sight of fire and distress consumed everything. Adam had been right to be cautious, as soon as he stopped his vision Venda was thrown into another. As if the powers that be had noticed the link between her and Adam she suddenly saw him laying alone...dead?
NO
"NO!"
Her cry was resounding loud both mentally and verbally and she jerked herself off her feet stumbling to the ground. The vision did not dissipate however but rather zoomed in on Adams prone body enough for her to realize he breathed still. He was alive, but he was alone the vision swooped back away and then plunged her back into inky darkness. She lay panting and closed her mind to Adam for a moment before realizing he would be trying to ask her if she was alright. Slowly she opened enough to let him speak to her hoping he hadn't seen what she had.
If Adam was alone, was it because she perished in the catastrophes she had seen or had she been ripped from him the way families were ripped apart?
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 9:22 pm
Hopefully that hadn't been too much . . . Adam watched her carefully as well as one like him could, about to try and make a bad joke about the whole thing--but Venda seized suddenly and screamed twice-over, startling him into backing away. Their connection was broken and his heartrate went up as he tapped the ground with his paws anxiously.
Should he try to reconnect? Let her be? Venda had been doing a good job of smoothing over her episodes while he was around, he suspected, as this hadn't happened in a while either. Venda . . .
Adam began a cautious approach to try and soothe her when a limited connection was re-established. All he could feel was a vague sense of darkness, but otherwise it was left to his imagination what could have possibly gone through her mind. 'Hey,' he said gently. 'Hey, s'okay . . .' He wanted to ask what Venda had seen, but at the same time he also didn't; he was still on edge about his own vision. 'You're right here, okay? Whatever you saw, you're here.'
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 10:28 pm
Here, yes...his words helped to calm her back down, she was here and now. What she had seen had disturbed her more than she cared to admit and she slowly moved to sit up. Her head was still bent down and she took a few deep breaths before turning her head towards Adam able to locate him by his tapping paws.
"I'm alright...it's going to be alright...we'll be fine..."
She tried to keep her voice from trembling and then licked her lips and frowned.
"It was just the pain, it's fading now."
It wasn't fading at all, her skull was throbbing and her ears pressed back against her head. She felt as though some creature were making a valiant attempt at burrowing through her brain to crack through her skull and slither out her ear. She was used to the pain though and kept it pressed tight so she wouldn't project it as she had long ago.
"You know what it means, I saw the same thing fire and families torn apart. Something is coming and it will change everything for everyone...."
She realized a moment too late how terrible it sounded and then she gently stretched her neck trying to touch Adam.
"Except us, don't be afraid I will be with you no matter what comes."
It was a lie, but it was all she could offer in the face of what awaited them. She wondered if Adam would spend the rest of the night praying to his God. What did one pray about? What they saw would come to pass no matter what words Adam murmured to the skies. For a moment she wondered if perhaps she ought not be more honest like Kalama, but the females honesty was painful. Venda felt no need to inflict any pain on anyone in the world there was enough as it was without her adding anymore.
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 11:05 pm
He frowned worriedly, suspicious she was lying about the pain even without trying to take a peek because it would be just like her to try and make him not worry--and in doing so only worry him more. 'Venda,' Adam began, but faltered as she spoke.
It will change everything.
His expression fell drastically, and it was better that neither of them could properly see it. An undercurrent of nonono began to sweep through his thoughts, his hackles rising as if the nightmare were a physical enemy in their midst. Nononononononono. Adam had moved past the point of trying to deny that something was going to happen, but he refused to believe it meant suffering and separation was inevitable. And it relieved him more than he knew possible to hear Venda agree.
Stepping forward, he bridged the gap and pressed his body against hers gently, ducking his head beneath Venda's chin. He sounded uncharacteristically serious as he said, 'I promise I'll be here, too, Venda. No matter what the future holds, we'll stick it out together.'
Maybe, for once, that would be enough.
'Besides,' he added with a weak smile, 'it could mean anything. Maybe we're just getting a forecast for the whole rest of the year instead of one big thing?' It certainly didn't diminish the horrors they had witnessed, but isolated events were much easier to handle than one big apocalypse. 'Note to self: don't stay in the forest if you smell smoke. Maybe we should just avoid those, huh?'
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 11:22 pm
Venda took a deep breath and hoped Adam wouldn't try to slip in to alleviate her pain. Luckily it seemed he was as concerned as she was by what was to come. She could not see the way his expression fell or the rising of his hackles, yet she knew how distressed he was when his body pressed close and his head lifted hers. She nuzzled him because the tender touch was all she could offer in this moment of strange knowing and unknowing.
What a curse this sight was, how much happier might they have been to sleep and dream of normal things hunts and friends and family. Instead they dreamed of the future and woke to nightmares of that future hurtling towards them and only the power to see it coming but never stop it. She trembled slightly and then licked Adams ear.
"Yes perhaps...but I think it was more than a mere forest fire."
She left it at that and let him entertain the hope that the terrible things they had seen might be spread over time. A part of her hoped for it too deep down even though she knew that hoping for things was often hopeless. Her tail moved until it curled close to Adam and she nuzzled the top of his head.
"We should plan...a place where we can meet just incase."
She tried not to make it sound too bad, she already knew she would need a way to find him...if she was still alive when it was all said and done. It was fortunate that Adam hadn't been the one to see how they too would be ripped apart just as all the rest. How strange that two leggers had also featured prominent in her vision, were they the cause of the turmoil to come? No, this was more powerful than one species alone.
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 11:44 pm
'Well, yeah. Fire means less plants, which means less prey, which means hungry wolves.' He still tried to playfully flick his ear at her once she licked it, rubbing that side of his head against her fur. 'But only for a while. Things always grow back; Nature's cool like that,' Adam assured her confidently, as if she needed reminding of the obvious.
Now if only they could just cuddle for the rest of the night and not have horrible nightmares, that'd be just great.
As Venda nuzzled him (which he welcomed wholeheartedly, as the she-wolf wasn't often so affectionate and he really, really needed some comfort after all of that), he glanced up at her curiously. 'Meeting place?' Adam echoed. 'Why? We can literally find each other anywhere.' and meeting places entertained the idea of being separated, which they had both made quite clear wasn't going to be happening.
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Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 11:42 am
She almost smiled at his casual words, nature was cool like that indeed, but her expression remained serious as the thought wriggled around in her head. There were some things that took too long for the natural world to recover from, things that would mean she and Adam and everyone they had seen would perish before the earth was calm and life giving once more. She had seen a fire that raged as if it would never stop and what had ripped families apart hadn't been hunger.
His next confused statement made her sigh softly and she realized there was no way to gently explain what she had seen. She knew he would be alone, and if he was injured or couldn't wake then he could hardly use his abilities to find her...if she survived.
"It's simply a precaution..."
She couldn't push it though, she didn't want him to feel any more distressed than he already was. The visions would no doubt continue to plague them, or plague her at least since she seemed to have less control over what she saw or didn't see. Would the horrors they had forseen come soon for them or did they have time to try and warn others? Venda doubted that warnings would do any good even if they tried and she suspected that there wouldn't be time for that. She shuddered faintly and her nose twitched in a subtle attempt to catch a scent on the breeze of two legger, or fire, or hope.
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Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 12:22 pm
His mouth twisted, but Adam figured there was no harm. If anything did temporarily (temporarily) separate them, he supposed it would be good to know there was one place they'd always go . . . 'Alright,' he said, ducking out from under Venda's head. 'You pick, then! Where'd you like to meet if stuff goes south?'
Naturally he had plenty of ideas in his head, but it was Venda's suggestion so she ought to decide.
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Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 3:12 pm
She thought for a long moment trying to consider a place that would be recognizable no matter what happened. Yet fire changed a landscape drastically and the things she had seen ripping families apart was more than flame. What if there was nowhere for her to find him when all was said and done? She thought of the coast, the vastness of the sea that no fire could destroy. Yet the ocean held a wealth of painful memories for her, just the scent of salt on the air made her head ache and her stomach roil.
"Hmm...perhaps near the sea, but not near any pack lands..."
She almost cringed remembering the cave by the sea, the feeling of claws raking her eyes. She took a deep breath and tried to push the memories back away where she usually kept them.
"Did you have a place you might prefer?"
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