homecoming

post this thread! mirren & kite return @Mirren ; Mirren first please!  

Much had happened within the last couple of weeks. Things had been done that could not be undone. Kite could not think of that; could only think of the promise they had made to their leader, Nina, that only included their return. Certainly not her condition, which truth be told Kite—at this point in time—thought nothing of. The tawny Tainn arrived at the Woodland borders side by side with her mate, nudging him gently.

She would wait for him to make the call, of course. This had been his home long before it had become her own also. Kite respected Nina greatly for letting her in her lands, and thought of the one-eyed woman as a mother to the wood itself. She understood that Mirren also saw the woman as something of a mother, and respecting that Kite knew how important it was to keep the promise they had made. Kite had never intended to leave the thicket, but given the circumstances of life and the unfortunate ones of death, she had departed for a while (giving notice to her leader) with her mate by her side. It was now they returned amain, certainly tired and weary.

His summons echoed through the air, a harmonious and haunting song that announced his return and his lawful request for permission.

Even if his heart bled for and forever belonged to the spring and the creek with the copper stones, Mirren truly loved this place. Standing at the treeline with Kite at his side, he spend a time in silence, admiring it and breathing the smell of it in and allowing his eyes to rove over every shadow and tangle and trunk. Storm Plains were amazing in their own way, but Mirren belonged to the forest ─ to Relic Lore, and to this forest. As excited as he was to have finally returned, he had underestimated the elation that he felt now, as their wintry journey came to a close. He couldn't wait to feel the soft, damp dirt between his toes; to have the tangled branches of the undergrowth rake through his fur as he traversed his favorite haunts; to sleep in his own hole, his body curled around his mate's body...and his child's. He had taken Kite without a second thought, took from her what he wanted and not without giving her all she'd dreamed of, sharing with her an intimacy he'd never had with another. Would never have with another again. He'd not considered the implications of that in the heat of the moment, only that it was what he and Kite so desired: an heir to the dynasty he would build on the weathered foundation that Ruiko Tainn had once laid.

As his patient, golden eyes roved through the trees and over the deepest, darkest ends of the thicket within them, he weighed what consequences might come, once Nina knew that Kite was with child. Mirren would surely despair if they were turned away now, unable to make good on their promise to the queen and to the wolves of the woods. It would mean that he would lose @Nina , in a way. It would mean that he'd most likely never see the familiar and endeared depths of the thicket again. It would mean change, but it would not be more than he could and would  handle. If they were turned away, Mirren would do whatever it took to provide safety and a life to Kite and their unborn cub. 

Turning to nudge Kite reassuringly, he tenderly licked the crown between her ears, leaning into the comfort of her warmth as a gust ruffled up his spine.

Umm, I'm gonna set this after Iopah and Koda get kicked out, if it's alright with you guys. Makes it easier. @Miccah might want to enter

She could feel the panic rising within her as she was reminded of the betrayal. The exact one that she had not warranted and had desperately put a stop to as soon as it was suggested. It was the laws of the pack not to do exactly as Nina had instructed. Completely forbidden. Koda should have known that, should have known that Nina was above him and that she controlled the way the pack worked. He hadn't been there as long as she had and he certainly didn't know the pack as well as she did. This pack was her family and Koda had done everything in his power to show what he thought about that. Now with Aideen and one of her children still missing, the only ones that remained were Miccah and her children. While the other man had learned that Nina was in charge and that he should never question her, she still didn't trust him. She needed a male partner, one who she trusted unconditionally and wouldn't do what Koda had done to her. The law that had been put in place was just, both Iopah and Koda had broken it. A shred of hope made its way into her heart when she heard someone summoning her. Not just anyone though, but her, in a way, adopted son, Mirren. Her heart sped up slightly and in that moment Mirren truly would be her knight in shining amour. The distraught mother was quick to her paws and did not hesitate to make her way in the direction that his call had sounded. Her nose had not caught up with her as she entered the area, a sharp sob of relieve escaping her throat as she rushed forward to briefly embrace Mirren. It was over as quick as it begun because she pulled away and rested her eyes on the figure of Kite. Her singular eye settled on Kite, the briefest of smiles crossing her lips when she came to the quick realization that Mirren was to be a father. An accomplishment but one of Nina's fears all the same. The mother didn't even want to think what she would be like when her own children had their own. It was not the time for her to think about such matters though, as they would, hopefully, be some time away. The Hervok was slightly surprised that both of them had made it through the winter to get there, but at that moment, the only thing that mattered to her, was that they were there. It was obvious that Nina was not stably well. Her single emerald eye had lost its everlasting flame and her face was drawn in, stress lines heavily evident over her facial features. When she spoke, it wasn't the familiar strong voice that came out, but one that was comparable to the soft tones she used when talking to Ruiko. "I'm so glad you're both here....so much has happened." Even though she knew that so much had occurred, her tone was hesitant, as if she were asking them if she were correct. Her brows furrowed at this, a million thoughts entering her mind at once, trying to decipher what she was going to ask them. In the end, she settled with, "How are you, my darlings?" Her voice was soft but there was no affection within her tone at all. It remained in the same pitch through every note that she released. Nina's song had died.

Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

It seems when you're around, my life is complete.

:o 


Kite was unaware of all that had transpired in their absence. That anyone had betrayed anyone had not occurred to Kite; and she also did not know whether or not her act the night prior could be conceived that way. It had seemed so natural, so right... And Kite knew she would do anything for the life that might be growing within her. Was it a sure thing? Admittedly, she did not know how it worked. But she would still need to tell Nina, if the wise woman could not guess from scent alone what she was going through. 

Nina appeared before them looking incredibly different. Kite scrutinized her, nervous for how she looked. Nina looked exhausted, and this worried Kite. She wanted to ask what the Hell happened here, but she refrained; instead she pursed her lips, knowing her worry easily presented itself. 

Nina embraced Mirren and Kite stood there, waving her tail, pleased that she was happy for their return. Kite would allow her mate to speak first, her warm eyes regarding Ninas frame even still. 

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

Eventually there was a stirring in the foliage ahead and from the shadows emerged the matriarch who he'd hoped would be the one to intercept him. The sight of Nina made his heart jump in his chest, and as she made her way to him he moved to meet here in the middle, his ink-tipped plume swaying fervently behind him. But...the wide smile and fiery gleam in his bright eyes simpered as she drew nearer and embraced him, fading into a tempered frown and a flicker when she couldn't see. Her face was gaunt, her overall appearance seemingly weathered by time or the winter cold. Her single emerald eye didn't shine like it once had, like it did even as she had seen them off before the snow first fell. And as he wrapped his neck around her own to rest his wide head upon the blades of her shoulders, they were sharp and bony.

Something wasn't right. He knew it even before her words had confirmed his suspicion. Had he been wrong to entrust her care to those who he'd deemed to be responsible? What was more ─ if this was the condition he'd returned to find her in, what did the children look like? For a second he felt the dark cold of regret settle upon his heart.

"We are well, and couldn't be happier to be back," he murmured softly as he searched her face, his tone one of reassurance though the slightest display of concern settled on his brows. He looked to Kite, seeing on her own face what he knew to be concern of her own.

An urge to give her any inkling of relief coursing through his veins. Mirren reached to lick the crown of the queen like a mother would lick the crowns of her children before stepping back to look her over. Mirren was no king here, but he would know the meaning of this. His words were stiff with the disbelief he couldn't mask anymore, his tone holding the respectful authority he took for himself the very second Nina's voice had softened as she spoke. "...Tell me. Tell me what has happened here." 

She couldn't get enough of just being around him. Even though her mind was in constant, clashing symphonies, his scent calmed her slightly, driving away the endless panic that was attacking her heart. She waited his response eagerly, wanting to know what had become of her former successors. The mother was pleased with what she heard, but then Mirren asked a question that she was still trying to find an answer to. She knew that it was there, somewhere inside her mind, but she couldn't grasp it. It wasn't a tangible thing and Nina was having a hard time making sense of what she was thinking. Nina hadn't slept it days and it was making it quite obvious with the jerky movements of some of her joints, her muscles doing as they pleased. She swallowed quickly, and spoke in the same dejected, soft voice, "Laws are laws are laws and just ones. I promise, they are just. But they all have to be broken. Even if asked they are broken," Nina let out an airy laugh that wasn't audible, the only form of panic evident in her single green orb before she continued, "No one listens to the Queen anymore. She doesn't know what she's talking about. No one listens...no one ever listens. I thought mother always knew best, but apparently she's wrong." She fidgeted slightly, her single eye moving around the territory wearily, as if she were looking for something. Suddenly, as if something had dawned on her, she audibly moaned, as if in pain. "I should have knoooown he would leave again, just as he left the first time. I should have known...but she was stupid and wouldn't listen to her mind." Desperate for some kind of comfort, Nina again dove into Mirren's embrace, desperate for something. She didn't know what it was. For so long, ever since Ruiko and Aeylen had departed, the Hervok woman had been completely independent, while allowing others to sit heavily upon her shoulders. She had a duty to them and now one of the trustworthy had left her...for him. Softly, she whined to him, her voice a broken whisper, "They are all gone..."

Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

It seems when you're around, my life is complete.

Kite watched Nina lean into her mate, watched her mate as his eyes looked to her. Kite stepped towards the duo, her head low but seeking to comfort the woman. Kite was still unsure of where she would stand if she told Nina of what was to come should the seed of her mate quicken within her, but she would tell the woman in time. First, though, to comfort her. Kite moved to lick the woman's chin subserviently, letting out a subordinate whine for the moment as the woman groaned about something. She spoke of no one listening to the queen any longer, and a slew of other things Kite did not know about...

But words that she listened to all the same. Someone was leaving, or had left. Kite had no idea what she was speaking of, but she looked to Mirren with concern, then back to Nina again. She wanted so badly to tell Nina that they were here, but would they be accepted if she knew what Kite only speculated? She allowed Mirren again to take the lead, here; he would know the right thing to say.

I figure we could claim points for this after 10 posts and continue with a new one?

It was quickly becoming clear that this was not the homecoming he'd envisioned or expected.

Nina clung to him in a way that she never had before, burying her face against him, her body unsteady and frail. She spoke in riddles he could hardly understand. For the first time in his life, he was seeing her in a light he hadn't even realized he never wanted to. She had always ever been his caretaker, a guiding light for not only himself but for them all, strong and regal and enduring. But she was becoming less and less recognizable by the second, and before he knew it his heart was breaking apart. Embracing her as Kite approached to offer what comfort she could, Mirren searched the depths of the forest before him and all of its shadows for anything familiar, but suddenly it seemed as foreign as the dark side of the moon. Secret Woodlands was once Nina's kingdom, and she the queen, but now...now, before his eyes, it was a wasteland, Nina's prison, her poison, and she was but a ghost of the woman she was just months before.

And then came a moment of clarity, made as precise as the edge of a knife as the words left the matriarch's mouth:

"I should have known he would leave again, just as he left the first time..."

Mirren's eyes grew wide as he realized. Koda. Koda had abandoned her, again. He had left her here, in the cold, dead of winter. He had left her to suffer like this. Mirren had trusted  the old man, who had fought so hard against him for his place at the top of the totem pole, and had unknowingly left Nina to be subjected to what was a blatantly cruel demise. "They're all gone."

The Tainn's heartbreak dissipated into anger and he willed it to resolution. He wouldn't stand for this. He wouldn't let this be.

Mirren was no longer a boy and he was no longer subordinate. To anyone. Craning his neck to nudge Nina affectionately, he looked to his mate and the message in his eyes was clear: he was going to burn the world down if that was what it took. "Shhhh...It's okay now, I'm home." he cooed into Nina's ear, his smoldering eyes locked to those of the woman who was his anchor and the one to remind him just who he was ─ King.

"No one will ever hurt you again, I promise. Come, Nina." As far as he was concerned, there was nothing else left to say, and he didn't want Nina to relive whatever she had been put through by way of his questioning. It was time to go home.

Turning his back to the borders, he made to lead the queen and his mate into the forest.

Of these things he was certain. Koda was a traitor and a coward, and he was going to make sure the old man suffered a fate worse than the one Nina almost had. He would see to it that Nina's strength was restored and that she never had to live like this ever again. Secret Woodlands would rally behind their queen or he would ensure that it would fall...

...and his reign began now.

[Mirren out.]

(This post was last modified: Mar 22, 2015, 04:09 AM by Mirren.)

<strong style="color:#009d9d;">"Speech"</strong>

The mother's brain was so muddled, it wouldn't pick up what was going on around her. So many things were whispering in her ears, dark thoughts, things she had never even considered consulting. Her ears did however, pick up a word. Home. What even was that anymore? An empty word that meant nothing. Home was where family was...and the family that she had...they had left because she hadn't been enough. You will never be enough, the familiar condescending voice of her father resurfaced. Right then, in that moment, she didn't have a home. Ash might have been a few days walk away, but she knew that if the two of them lived together, they would truly go insane... Ironic, considering Nina's current state. Her mind barely registered Mirren's calming words, words of acceptance back into the pack. Of course, she would accept them, she had practically raised Mirren as a child and looked after his health hour after hour. He was as much of a son to her as her own. The Hervok trusted the man with her life, which was very much fated into his paws now. So when he meant to lead her back into the forest, she made no hesitation to do as he wished, her body moving stiffly next to his own as the trio walked back into Nina's personal hell.

Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

{Nina done}

It seems when you're around, my life is complete.