Welcome to Gaia! ::

Elphaba lay on the frozen ground in one of her favorite forest clearings, her thickly furred belly cool against the chill of the earth, her green eyes distant and thoughtful. She had made her way back from Sol-Lun's teachings with great alacrity, but when she had reached the midst of her packlands again she had realized the hitch. Who could she tell? Who would belive her? She was alone with her secret and that made the brown wolf hesitate. It had been real. It hadn't been a dream. And yet the image of Sol-Lun had already blurred slightly in her mind, as if whooshed away by the wind he traveled with.

She hadn't tried to commune with the trees again yet... should she? Could she by herself?

Elphaba's green eyes quickly snapped to the navy-blue form as it sidled into the clearing. For the past month, the beta had resisted the urge to curl her lip slightly when the male named 'Isaac' was in her presence due to his being Soul's mate. She made no move of aggression now but her eyes traced his slightest move intensely in an impolite, almost belligerent 'I'm watching you...' manner.

If he'd looked closely he might have seen her muscles tense, her body feeling the need to steel itself to anything that may or may not happen. She didn't trust Isaac and she had no idea to act around him and his incessant silver-tongue that left half the pack tongue-tied and the other half incensed. It didn't help that the male had that oozing, practically seductive manner about him. There was no doubt that he would use all of his faculties to another's advantage.

Still, Elphie was confused. There was a strange almost inaudible tingle about the dark-colored wolf. A feeling that the female had only felt before around... Sol-Lun?

When he spoke to her, she repositioned her front paws, tilting her ears forward. "--Absolutely nothing." She replied brusquely, half in hopes of driving him away, half in hopes of goading him on...

The first time they had met she had spilled to this wolf, and he had guessed more than she would have considered possible. She had a right mind to be wary.

Elphie surveyed him quietly. She was hesitant to open her mouth in reply, but she figured she might just be able to handle this situation. All the had to do was be careful of how she interpreted his thoughts. He just seemed.. uncannily skilled in coincidences. "What are you babbling about now?" She let slide, readjusting her weight again. The tone was curt, but not blatantly agressive.

When he said the last however, the brown wolf's body nearly jolted with shock. Her eyes widened, her tail curling slightly with apprehension behind her. Her claws dug into the soft ground as if she could sooth herself by holding tightly to the earth. her ears flickered back, then forward, then back again. Despite herself, she was unable to read the smile on the other's lips.

"How did you-- how can you know that?" The shewolf asked, voice caught off-guard and hardly above a whisper. Her brain had clouded with another thought. Surely Isaac... Isaac couldn't be a shaman too? Not him... But what else could explain that strange feeling she seemed to have? How else could his crippled leg have healed so quickly? She had put it to excersize before.. but now?

He would be able to tell from her thought process that she had never even heard of a seer.

(( I am -loving- this <33 xD ))

All semblance of Elphie's feeling to repel this wolf slipped away at his words. She was still hesitant to open up to him, but now, she fervently wanted him to stay. Another shaman? In her pack? Could it really be true? The chocolate-coated wolf could hardly imagine Isaac speaking with the wind, or even the trees. Were there other brotherhoods or sisterhoods? Or even non-elemental shamans? In her urge to discover this certain calling, the shewolf was blinded to any impossibilities. Her mind provided reassurance for any doubts she seemed to voice for herself.

"You." Her voice held shock, yet absolute belief. "Great sky. You're a shaman."

It was hard to imagine the dark wolf as a healer but then again.. she supposed she had never given him a chance. Soul, her closest friend seemed to be in love with him. What had this male been doing? Had he been attending to the pack from the shadows? Did he ease Soul's birthing process? He didn't seem the most likely benefactor... but if she'd underestimated him... No! How could that be possible? Her eyes narrowed slightly, in a sort of annoyance.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner if--? Couldn't you tell? ...Have you already met Him? Sol-Lun?" Elphie pulled herself to her feet and questions tumbled out, stumbling over each other.

(( xDD Oh god. That Sol-Lun. He's positively blood thirsty, eh? ))

Elphaba stared at the navy-pelted wolf, unwavering eyes of solid, vibrant green boring into Isaac's, those orbs she could usually hardly stand to glance at. One could see the shewolf's tail arc slightly, an absentminded response to an insinuated threat she felt.

"Sol-Lun is no killer." She said firmly, almost in a growl, her eyes clouding with anger. The crimson backed wolf Sol-Lun had exuded kindness and a kind of unbiased caring that Elphaba had not been so lucky to see twice in her life. He would not kill. Ever. He was a wolf put on the earth to mend, entwined with the destiny of the planets. He was the force of balance. He was not to be distrusted.

Doubt was beginning to simmer in the brown-wolf's mind, and if Isaac looked closely into her thoughts he might see whisps of the slight trust she had been building up in the past few exchanges begin to fleet away as a wave of uncertainty crashed over the she.

"If you are a wolf of healing, why are you spreading these insiduous lies about your better?" She challenged. Inside of her, though she refused to show it on the surface, a small part of her was hurt, was distressed. Although she had never befriended Isaac she had rejoiced when she'd deduced he was a shaman. Another! And in her own pack! She had thought she had underestimated him. Her consiousness had in an instant played out a hundred different scenarios. Would she ever need to come to Isaac for help? Would they learn to tolerate eachother? Become enemies? Or even... dare she think it, companions? Allies?

But no! What could this next trick be? Elphie flared a frustrated breath out her nostrils. In another circumstance she may have desired to leave the conversation immediately, but she was stuck here. A tiny thread of hope kept her hanging on.

(( No trouble Reiface! <33 I totally empathize with you there. *wishes luck* ))

As the navy pelted male changed his tone into a most solemn one, the brown shaman softened visibly. She didn't quite fold her ears back, but her voice changed tempo in a way that let on that this trick had worked. "Isaac..." She said softly, in an apology of her own. She shouldn't have been so harsh on him.

Elphie wasn't exactly a skilled comforter but she had to make an effort. She was the pack's beta, afterall. She was supposed to keep the harmony. She was supposed to protect the pack, take care of the wolves in the pack. This included him.

"It's alright." The corners of her mouth pulled into a bland smile. "I've never trusted half the things that come out of your mouth. I just..." She trailed off, not knowing how to end. A strange flutter was running through the chocolate pelted wolf's body, and she felt her throat go taut with a strange emotion. Isaac was misguided. He needed her. She could help this wolf. The flutter increased to a flurry of electric confidence as it made its way through her body with a strange warmth.

Isaac had found her hidden hero-complex and she'd played right into his hands. Her tragic flaw, her pride, her need for flair, triumph, the desire to protect, had betrayed her again.

The brown beta turned her bottle-green eyes on his form as he spoke again and slid down into a most dejected position in the grass. She narrowed her eyes, reading his words just as he wanted her to. Sol-Lun communed with the Wind, she with the Trees. Had Isaac been born slave to some more malevolent force of nature?

"So you are an elemental shaman." She said slowly, in the middle of a realization. "The shadows... Of course... You were... born to serve them as Sol-Lun serves the wind." The brown wolf shuddered internally. How could one have such a horrible fate? For the second time in the past few moments, Elphie looked at Isaac in a new light. He was a good wolf. He was trying to be a good wolf. She had to help him!

Her verdant eyes traced the shards of darkness that had fallen about the edges of the clearing. Were they really possible of communicating with a wolf? The thought filled her with apprehension. She glanced into Isaac's eyes and said in a bare whisper: "What are they saying?"

(( Elphie: >/ I'll chocolate coat YOU, you wanton Casanova! ...... <3
Eeee! *showers Rei with love* Welcome back!

XD Seriously! Elphie has head problems. She gets all "Omg you give me purpose *latches*" on guys. So not smart. But oh so fun for melodrama! >3 ))

Elphie couldn't help but raise her brow in a dubiously wry expression as Isaac pulled a face, though if he looked closely he would see the playful light in her eyes.

Gradually, the shewolf became aware of a tingling sensation in the back of her mind, and she momentarily slipped inside herself, branching out along her connection to the trees.

Little Sister, this one is different from you. Came a chorus hushed with urgency.

He is of the shadows. Elphie sent mentally, though was slightly unnerved at the trees not being able to sense Isaac's shamanism.

Magic courses through him, but it is not the same. Came the impatient reply. It is--not the same. The trees seemed quite frustrated. We do not think he means you well.

Elphie felt her own seeds of irritation begin to grow. I'm certain his voices are telling him the same of me. But he needs my help and I intend to give it.

Little Sister-- But Elphie was already withdrawing from them, her spirit swimming towards the surface of her consciousness. Elphaba. The trees spoke her given name with something like resent. Do not be a fool.

But Elphie already was. As she focused back on the situation at hand her eyes, which had grown slightly cloudy during the quick mental conversation, cleared, and she found herself staring into Isaac's face just as he spoke of his alleged voices. The female gave a soft, inaudible grunt. So it was as she'd figured afterall, she thought, as she pulled her form into a seating position. She hoped the trees had listened to that. Perhaps it would quell their worries.

The leaves above her rustled with a slightly ominous breeze, but Elphie heard nothing. Her body was telling her to concentrate completely on the one before her. There was something in the air between them. Something that magnified Elphie's senses and made her face grow slightly hot if those eerie yellow eyes stayed on her too long. Without thinking she scooted her form a couple inches closer to his, and the sudden proximity let loose a strange emotion into her blood.

"It's alright Isaac. I don't despise you." More might have followed, but the female was suddenly all too aware of how close she was to the other. If she'd wanted to she would have been able to reach out and n** him. She generally didn't like to get this close to anyone other than friends and Neka.

The liquid warmth in her blood made its way to her heart, sending the organ into a quick gallop. All of a sudden she realized what it was. A fierce attraction had spun itself, slyly as a spider's web, across her form, branching across to Isaac. Her mind emptied, thoughts she had previously repressed bubbling up into her consciousness for the first time. It was a veritable geyser--all she could think about was how alluring he was...

What was going on!

Her tongue felt dry. Her eyes widened slightly and she blinked. She felt her muscles wanting to go rigid, and fought the urge.

Don't show it don't show it don't show it don't show it--

The trees above quivered their mighty branches in apprehension, cursing to themselves in their own way.

(( AHHMYGOD TOO MUCH FUN XDD ))

(( Ohmygod, Rei I'm SO sorry I took forever to respond X__X School's been hell for me lately, a couple of my colleges messed up my application and made me send it again, and I've been pretty sick these past two weeks.

BUT! Here's a drama-rama post for you! Hopefully you're still out there. xD I figure after you respond to this one we can have Soul and Neka mosey on over? We can even have them do lead-up posts if they feel like it. So lemme know your thoughts!

Much love! heart heart heart *assaults with pixelated hearts* ))

Elphie knew better than to speak, for to do so would betray her, her throat was dry as a bone and her tongue felt heavy and cumbersome. Isaac's sly voice caressed her the same way his subtle psyche stroked the appropriate parts of her mind. A wave of desperation passed over her form as she clung to the strands which could hold her back for only a few more mere moments. She had known this would happen. She had known this would happen from the very moment Soul had brought Isaac back to the pack.

The flashback coursed through the corners of her mind. Earliest spring. The fragile rose of love had just begun to bloom between Neka and herself, she was about to ask the handsome russet male to be her mate, and still Isaac's seductive golden gaze had been able to stir up an impure thought. Elphie had been able to leave long enough to get her bearings straight, and when Neka had followed, she had been able to confess and the two had retreated to climb to the summit of the mountain to watch the magnificent sunset side by side. In her clearest, most pure happiness, all thoughts of Isaac disappeared. She would only remember them later, when, in her shame, she would bury the impulse in the deep abysses of her mind. But now that the moment had arrived she had no defense on which to fall back on.

For the record, Elphie tried. She tried. If Isaac hadn't been a seer, it's unclear whether the beta would have caved, but the navy pelted male had left nothing up to chance. She was dizzy. She was drowning in those liquid golden pools of his eyes. The mutual attraction fueled by magic proved too powerful. He was magnetic, and his mere presence stirred her in a way that was painful to resist.

A moment too late, the forest realized what was going on. The tallest sentries recognized the figures of the two's prospective mates nearby, and sent a nerve impulse flying down their roots, across the fibrous nervous system to the trees that circled the pair overhead.

No! The trees called out desperately. It is a trap!

But it was too late. Elphie had arched forward, her body pressing up against his. His scent washed over her, and she buried her muzzle in his shoulder, a deep, scared breath gusting out from between her teeth. She was terrified, but she was helpless, unable to resist.

Suddenly, in one last moment of clarity, she pulled back, but all she had to do was look at him and she was snared again. Her moist muzzle brushed up against his, and she closed the distance between their bodies yet again.

Elphaba! The trees chorused in horror. No! No!