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Post by Rykett on Mar 18, 2018 3:09:44 GMT -5
“Remember,” the single word echoed through her head and managed to reach Blaise’s consciousness. ‘I remember. I remember far too much,’ Blaise thought a response. They were all laid out before her. Her memories. She looked over them, reviewing her life with no small amount of regret. A single memory pushed itself to the forefront. It was simple and happy but seemed to have little significance on the grand scale of things. It was just a day by the river with her two pups and Foxtrot. It was tinged with darkness, as many of the memories were, when Blaise consider how two of the three wolves that’d been there with her were now lost to her. There was only one left, Amora. Blaise had no idea why this particular memory had surfaced. It could be considered trivial next to other events in Blaise’s life. Maybe that’s why it was important. Maybe it wasn’t the few significant events that made the difference, but the many trivial ones. Sensation tingled in Blaise’s chest as something tried to push the blackness out of her. She gladly ejected it. Water rushed out of her lungs accompanied by retching sounds. Blaise breathed in a ragged gasp. Air, blessed air, filled her lungs. Blaise could hear muffled sounds through her water-filled ears. Was that sobbing? Blaise squinted opened her eyes. Her vision was extremely blurry at first but slowly sharped to show four concerned faces peering at her. She focused on Amora’s first, noticing her daughter’s shimmering tearful eyes. In a soft, nearly inaudible voice, she managed, ‘Don’t cry, Amora. It’s okay. I’m here.’ Blaise thought of moving towards Amora, but her body felt alien and numb. Blaise transferred her gaze to Epsilon. He was just as sopping wet as Blaise was. He’d dove into the frozen lake after her. He’d risked his life to save hers. “Epsilon? You… Thank you.” Still she couldn’t push away the bad reminders that popped into her head when she met his sapphire gaze. Blaise shifted her weight, experimentally. She glanced towards Kanga and Manaaki. They’d witnessed the whole thing. Blaise suddenly felt foolish. She’d risked their whole party in one hasty decision. Now she sat before them, soaking and humiliated. What kind of Alphess was she? Blaise averted her gaze from her subordinates as she propped herself up into a sitting position. Blaise looked towards the lake. The icy, smooth surface was now marred and shattered because of Blaise. Staring out over what would’ve been her watery grave, Blaise could only think of one stupid thought. She voiced it with a shaky laugh, “I dropped the fish.”
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Post by Meds on Mar 18, 2018 13:15:58 GMT -5
Kanga, Manaaki;
Amora all but didn't see Manaaki's glance, but thankfully it didn't matter, and she was soon off the ice and out of danger. As swiftly as wind then, he too got off the water. Kanga met his eyes and gave one nod, then turned his attention back to the Alphess, which despite his best efforts of squinting, was looking more and more dead by the minute. Manaaki closed the distance quickly, but knew better than to crowd. Finally, however, they heard retching. It was easily as relieving as hearing the first mewling of a newborn pup. There was air. There was life.
Kanga moved back swiftly, coming to stand closer to his brother. They both knew that they were, frankly, too big to be allowed so close to a tentative situation. But that didn't mean their hearts weren't there. When Blaise finally did stop coughing long enough to speak, Kanga let out a loud, echoing woop of excitement and victory. Manaaki's relief was more quiet, but a rare and wide grin stretched his silver-lined mouth. The Alphess' voice was quiet so they missed most of what she said, but when she met their eyes, instead of a smile, she looked ashamed. Kanga's ears flattened and Manaaki frowned. That wasn't how it was supposed to be.
Both twins knew that there were other wolves far closer to Blaise that were better to comfort her, but that didn't mean that they didn't feel bad. Large and in the way, they tried their best to look encouraging from the distance. Blaise then mentioned something about fish, and despite himself, Kanga laughed. A deep belly laugh, that echoed across the frozen shores. "Not the fish," He gasped, swinging his head to look at Manaaki. "The worst thing that could have possibly happened has occurred!" Perhaps the joking was too soon, or too familiar for the Alphess, but Kanga didn't care in that moment. She was alive. Curse the fish.
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Post by Fierfly on Mar 19, 2018 15:50:25 GMT -5
Epsilon:
Amora ran forward on her toes, crouching down and gently lifting her mother's head and let it rest on her forepaw. She began to talk to her. "Remember the river?" she asked, fighting the tears welling in her eyes as he rvoice began to crack and strain with emotion. He threw his weight into his forepaws and squeezed her ribs until he thought they would break - c'mon, c'mon, breathe!
Finally, her maw jumped open and water rushed out. She sucked in a sharp, short breath and began to cough and wretch the water out of her lungs. He sat back on his haunches limp with relief. Thank the Power, she wasn't dead - maybe had a few bruised ribs, but far from dead. She took in a deeper, slower breath and the velvet lids fluttered open, black lashes flicking out the finer water droplets as they came apart and her eyes opened. She coughed once or twice more and whispered, first to her daughter: "Don't cry, Amora. It's okay. I'm here..." Her voice was muted and broken from lack of oxygen, but she was alive and it was coming back. Thank goodness. Kanga barooed in triumph - she wasn't dead and she was up and speaking - take that stupid frozen over lake!
Dark, amethyst eyes turned to his sapphire ones and scanned over him, taking in his sopping fur and shaggy pelt. "Epsilon?" she asked, slowly, hesitantly, not sure if she believed her eyes.
He crouched down, bringing his chin nearly to the ice and more level with hers so she could see him more clearly. "Yes Alphess Blaise?"
She hesitated for a moment, maw open but not voicing her thoughts. "You-"
He arched a brow, gently prompting her to go on.
She changed her mind. "Thank you,"
He nodded slightly, "You're welcome," his warm, quiet baritone growled quietly back. Not an aggressive growl, but the relieved, gratified growl of a wolf who'd done their part and felt at ease now that the disaster was over.
She shifted her weight and slowly pushed herself up, fur drenched and hanging limp down her back and around her midsection and haunches, making her look even smaller than he'd thought she seemed dragging her across the lake. He too straightened and stepped back - Amora was her only family on this trip, and her beta, and she needed room, air. She sat back and looked over at the smooth, glassy surface of the lake ice - a dark, treacherous hole marred it now and she looked at the hunters in her party, and then looked away. Swallowed and forced a laugh, "I dropped the fish."
Kanga's first reaction was a deep, rich, belly laugh in his loud, warm baritone. "Not the fish," he protested, bright hazel eyes nearly popping out of their sockets in friendly disbelief and mock dismay. Oh no, losing the fish was the worst possible thing that could have happened. Epsilon felt an amused turn tug at his mouth. Good on Kanga - what they would have done without the russet giant, he had no idea. The fish were the least of his concerns - they all knew the sport now, they could always get more.
Amora:
Her mother woke up. A desperate gasp as water rushed out and life-giving air slowly seeped back into her mother's lungs. Oh thank the Power she was alive!
A tear spilled - then a second. Okay, that was enough, get a grip Betess Amora - no, they kept coming. Tears of relief, tears of joy, tears of regret. Mother - she'd called her mother for so long - and what was that she'd said a few minutes ago? Mom? When was the last time she'd used such an intimate term? Mom - Mommy, my mommy - not since...she wasn't even sure. It had been Mother, Alphess - she'd even called her mother by her first name, never to her face, but she'd distanced herself so severely from really all the family she could claim. She'd almost lost her mother today - time was so limited - so fragile and dispensable - so out of her control. No more - please, no more regrets - no time for regrets, no regrets for time. Her mother was alive - she was going to seize this new opportunity, seize and not let go.
The first words her mother spoke were to her - all those lonely, bitter nights, feeling that she'd favored Ruko - feeling neglected - her first words after being brought back into the realm of the living were to her. Now this was something worth bawling over, instead she buried her face in her mother's sopping neckfur, hiding her tears there and breathing in the comforting, maternal scent that had guarded and watched over her. Her tears faded and she regained her composure. "Good to have you back Mom," she chuckled shakily, pulling back and arching her neck over her mother's. Greetings and congratulations could come later - Blaise was freezing, she needed to warm up and fast.
"Epsilon?" Blaise croaked,
Amora eyed the giant out of the corner of her eye as he stooped down and rested his chin on his massive forepaws, deep blue eyes now level with Blaise's, patiently waiting for her to finish.
"Thank you,"
Amora nodded and mouthed the words to the white male along with her mother's. This was worth so much more than a thank you, but words were all she really had at this point.
He grumbled kindly and stepped back and Amora too moved away as Blaise shifted her weight and tried to rise. She eased herself up onto her haunches, shoulders still shaking, but staying up. She eyed the deep wound in the icy surface of the lake and lamented her dropping the fish. Kanga barooed, Epsilon laughed heartily and Manaaki chuckled. Who cared about the fish? "Don't worry, we can always get more," she assured her mother with a gentle, reassuring daughterly kiss on the cheek. "We've only got one of you,"
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