A Star To Guide Him Home

[Rickter]

A Star To Guide Him Home

Glade 65th, 123rd Year, A.o.S.

It thrilled him to no end just to run across the desert, the way his heart hammered heavily within the core of his chest. Make no mistake when he heard the woman on his back laugh, the wolf felt the endorphins pumping through him like no other. For this was what it felt like to just be free, to run with nothing left to fetter them save for the grievances they still carried. When he had let up once more it was both to catch his breath, and slow the beating of his heart after such credible exertion. Lykos was a wolf with stamina make no mistake, but even so, he needed to be more than just perceptively aware of his physical body.

The hand indicated where he needed to head next, eastward bound it would seem, even if he wanted to carry on further up north. There was still so much of the Atraxian that he wanted to see, that he wanted to cross before he might reach the ends of the earth itself. Where land would merge into sea, and perhaps sea even into the horizon at best. Lykos hadn't any idea just how large the expanse truly was though, and granted he'd already covered incredible mileage by himself... Well, it was arguable to say he could push it further.

But he wouldn't. Lana made it clear that they shouldn't go further in such a direction, and while the tips of his ears tilted down just a bit, he understood the levity of her explanation deep down. Luxium. Umbrium. Both were places that he wanted to see now, places that he wanted to experience with his own eyes, and understand for himself whenever the time finally came. But not right now it seemed. As he was he would only remain a liability, if not a danger to the ones he'd started to care about.

From the sound of it both aspects of the city proper had been torn, divided by different agendas even, though Lykos wasn't given any real reasoning as to why. The political affairs would be another interesting thing for him to consider, given his disposition as a Demigod, but none of that mattered to him as of right now. Right now, he only cared about carrying the woman on his back somewhere safely, so that they could let loose and release all their energy deep inside.

Even if he seemed rather silent at the moment his eyes remained alert of their surroundings, that is, until the wrap of her arms around his neck brought the wolf to tuck his head aside. I understand, Lana. He reasoned with a few soft licks to brush along the length of her elbow, before his gaze turned eastward to resume their trip to an oasis. Anywhere is better at this point. At least, out here, we've no worry as to who might find us.

The heat of the desert might've brushed against them briskly, but, that soon changed when Lana would feel a gentle breeze coming off Lykos himself. As he continued his trot toward the oasis ahead, he felt the residual feelings in his heart ache once again. Soon though, he'd be able to vocalize that pain, and hopefully relay it in a way others out there might hear and respond. The greenery among the sea of orange and yellow was a welcome sight, reminding him that life could still thrive even in the most barren of places.

Lykos then began to wonder more about that concept, and what it meant for the desert when Frost itself came in tow. To some, it might've been nothing more than a mere season, but for Him, it was to be the very domain he hoped to one day embody. "Rrrroo." He gently growled with his ears perked upward, as he drew close to the waterhole of the oasis itself. When he finally lulled to a stop he shifted his paws to allow a bend with his legs, enabling Lana to slide off on her feet with relative ease.

Well, we're here. He figured with a thoughtful gaze cast to the young woman, albeit with a need to lick his chops for a moment as he breathed regularly through his nostrils. It was odd how he felt cool now, compared to the usual fact the desert heat threatened to burn him alive. Even with his fur coat though there was a much cooler breeze in the air, which gave Lykos the impression that he was venerating the chill itself. Whether it stemmed from his emotions alone or was just a byproduct of his Domain, he did not know for sure, but the wolf took a seat near the water before he shifted his gaze from Lana to the sky.

"Every side attacks you when you don't pick sides."

[Hilana Chenzira]

When he licked her arm, she knew that he understood. Hilana knew very much what it felt like to want to go somewhere and to be denied; she had spent years longing for the sands and the freedom beyond Tertium. To be able to look at it, and know it was there and where to go, but there were tethers that kept them from going where they knew they wanted to go. Where, perhaps, they needed to be. But since they couldn't, they would have to make due. She knew it well, and she was sorry that she could not take Lykos where he wanted to be... but it was going to have to do for now.

When he started up again, she returned to her position low on his back, tucking herself down once more, guiding him with gentle touches of her toes and knees. This was much like she was when she was riding her camels - they had been trained well, to the point where they could respond to verbal commands or to her feet - they had reins, but they weren't needed to guide them anymore. And for Hilana, she felt she should be able to ride just about anything that was large enough to carry her and manage. That was what was expected of her, by her friends and by herself. The girl might have needed to get creative with Elementalism to fashion seats on something that was more difficult than the large Rathari under her, but for now, she was perfectly content as she was.

Once they arrived at the oasis, it was was surely something of a relief to the peregrine deity. There was life, there was water, there was something beyond endless amounts of sand. And here, Hilana could see prickly pears not too far off. When they were done howling and getting out what they needed to do, she could collect a sack of those. Considering Lykos' penchant for sweets, she was going to need to whip up some treats for him and for the Sentinels. Maybe she might even tempt Sentinel Phocion with some sort of cocktail with the prickly pear syrup. That was definitely a long shot, and the desert might well freeze over first, but it was worth a try.

She eased herself from his back, mindful of her weight on his form, and landed easily on the sands, stretching her legs out with a dancer's grace. She was not unsteady; Hilana was used to far longer rides than this, and she gathered her skirts under her to sit beside him and look up at the stars, her knees bent slightly, feet flat. She did notice the chill in the air, and it was entirely possible that it was coming from him, too. He was, after all, the Demigod of Winter. But she was not unduly bothered by it, and she looked on before she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I know you miss your old Pack. And they're doubtless looking at the sky and thinking about what they're missing, too." She was gentle, keeping her head there and inhaling his scent for another moment as her arms rested on her knees before she lifted her head from his side. She looked up at the sky, took a breath, and howled.

She howled the way she had been taught as a child so that her pack could find her, the way they had all been taught. Howls could carry, after all. So could whistles, but howls had been part of building a pack that was not blood. For all their differences, they had come together to form a pack, a family of their own, and how did packs communicate? With howls. With that howl, she poured herself out into it. All of that which she had been holding on so tightly to over the last couple of days... Emotions she couldn't fully express considering how much her friends had lost, when she had gained a sister. It hadn't been proper or appropriate, but this didn't need words as the Vastiana took a breath, and began again. It wasn't all bad - she had gained another friend here, and he was with her now. He was family, he was pack.

And for that, she was thankful.

[Rickter]

A Star To Guide Him Home

Glade 65th, 123rd Year, A.o.S.

Lykos straightened his upper back out once he saw that Lana had safely landed. She walked the sands of the oasis with grace not unlost to him, as the wolf observed her with a calmness in his eyes when he sat on his haunches. Lana drew close before perching next to him on her feet, her head resting on his shoulder as he looked down at her with intent curiosity. His heart might've actually fluttered a little, even with all the leaden heaviness he felt weighing it down.

Her words were sympathetic and sweet like honey, an anodyne she tried to share with him as he looked back toward the stars. Deep down the wolf could only hope that those words were indeed true. Despite knowing that there was a possibility that he had nobody, or that if he did they too may have forgotten them, he really hoped that somewhere out there people were looking for him. He wanted to believe it with all his aching heart, praying even, that maybe one day they might actually find him once again.

I just feel... so lost, Lana. He wanted to admit but deep down, he knew feeling would only stir empathy from the woman. Since the day he awoke, she had done nothing but stay by his side. Even on the days she had to leave for work or other related purposes, Lana always returned to him at some point to remain close at hand. Whenever he needed her she was always there, comforting him whether through food or emotional support, and constantly encouraging him as though she were showing him the way.

Only forward. Never had he the time nor the chance to look back, then again, why should he when he, in turn, had nothing to look for? That was when he heard her breathe in deeply, and then release her cry into the night like he'd yearned to do. Hilana let out a howl that carried across the oasis, and well into the desert itself as the warm night was filled with sound. Lykos could hear the emotion in that howl, and with it, he gave off a couple of soft whines before his head lifted higher toward the sky.

Not that his voice would drown her own when he did, but the howl of the wolf carried out much farther into the night as he released all his pain, all that anguish, found cooped up inside the heaviness of his heart. He carried that howl long and hard as he looked intently at the Northern Star, hopeful that wherever his other Packmates might be, his cries would be heard even from this small part of the world. When the first howl he emitted had finally faded out, Lykos licked his maw for a moment, feeling the coolness in the air rise as a gentle breeze started to blow in from the North.

He let out another long-winded howl into the night sky once more, squinting his eyes as he carried it for as long as his lungs would allow him to. Lykos wanted nothing more than to be heard, to have this prayer sent back to his real home somewhere in the North, and to let the ones he left behind know that he was still somewhere out here. Howls from all throughout the desert soon started to accompany his next, what would've been cackles of hyenas turned into calls further out within the expanse, as every other type of hound found in the desert would repeat this call with their own in turn.

As Lykos finally felt the air left his lungs, he huffed a couple of times before regaining his breath. The atmosphere above the oasis had started to cloud up rather quickly now, and there was a sudden buildup of moisture he could smell as the overcast increased in its spread. But just one more. One more howl to get every bit of his emotions out, even if the desert itself would respond to the sound of his cries, Lykos wanted to release every bit of heartache he possessed; before the rain clouds finally smothered out the sight of the stars above. The northern breeze was refreshingly cool against his fur, and yet out of nowhere, all that release generated another deluge waiting to soak the oasis itself.

While he still sat there panting softly through his muzzle, Lykos reflected on the lessons necessary to shift back into his other form. As the coat of his fur began to recede, and the realigning of his form clicked back into place, the rain soon fell gently across the part of the expanse that his howl had reached. Lykos sat there with arms folded around his legs, eyes still up toward the clouds as he welcomed the rain that fell onto his head.

The rain that hid away the tears waiting to stream down his face.

"Every side attacks you when you don't pick sides."

[Hilana Chenzira]

They couldn’t look back. They weren’t going that way. All they could do was keep moving forward. Had he had more to work off of, they could have tried to go through the past to find more clues. But such as it was, they didn’t have those. All they could do was move forward and keep going. It may not have seemed like it... but they had the strength to carry on.

She remained tucked in beside him, looking up at the stars as the water lapped gently on the shores of the oasis. She felt the echoes of his howl down to her very core, and she remembered how the wolves had gathered at the Crystal Tree and howled. And even now, she could have sworn she was hearing the haunting echoes of howls that answered back across the sands. She was used to them, but there was still an ethereal beauty to them, and they stirred up emotions that she had been pushing through regardless.

When Lykos howled a second time, Hilana joined in, her voice melding with his to harmonize and join in on the packsong. When she closed her eyes, she could imagine the emotions he was releasing in it - the grief, sorrow, loneliness... She knew that she and Lia, and even Æros, were not the same as the family that he was missing. He had to have one somewhere, and Hilana knew that sooner or later, she would find it. It was just going to take time. Time, they had... but all the same, they were a bandage on an open wound.

With her face upturned, even with the warmth of his fur, she could feel the chill in the air around them, and when she opened her eyes, she could see the clouds overhead. Those were new, but it reminded her of Tertium and what had happened a few days ago when it had rained out of seemingly nowhere at her father’s estate. Sure, inclement weather came up from the proximity of the Crystal Sea, but the rain that had fallen had felt so good then when she had needed it. And now... well, it was clear that it had come from him. When he transformed back, Hilana leaned against him anyway. He still had a head over her, and he certainly outsized her. She did, however, open her rucksack to offer him his robe if he wanted to put it on. But she would close her pack again and let it settle, her snakes safely tucked away as she raised her head to the sky, her eyes closing as the rain fell. While he had wrapped his arms around his legs, Hilana’s hand found his and she squeezed it. “Let it fall,” she encouraged him, feeling the welcomed droplets as they landed on bare skin.

[Rickter]

A Star To Guide Him Home

Glade 65th, 123rd Year, A.o.S.

The unison of their howls carried by the resounding echoes of other animals reached far across the desert expanse itself. Hyenas, coyotes, and even wolves of the Atraxian all shared in their sorrow, their cried release as the heavens even started to weep for the two in the oasis. Feeling the rain hit his skin now, part of Lykos almost felt ready to shiver, and not because of how cold it felt either.

Somewhere deep down a part of him mourned, and he didn't realize it until now, just how much that part yearned to be recognized. That lump of lead in his chest wasn't just a burden he carried, it was a literal scar across his very heart somehow. Whatever the actions he took prior to his amnesia, whatever the cost was for being under that tree, it had struck a greater blow to him than the wolf initially let on. Yet he knew he wasn't alone, and he knew that whatever old family he might've had was still out there.

Lykos could only wonder if he ever did feel cold, as the rain continued to saturate his hair and skin, relieving him of the desert heat he'd grown to mitigate with Deference. It was strange how his body could naturally do that for him, even more so, that he still felt the warmth of others such as Lana when she lingered close to him. He peered down at her from his pondering to the heavens, noticing the robes she'd pulled out for him when he did. The wolf graciously accepted them even if they were bound to get soaked, but he didn't care, not when he felt a sense of comfort knowing he had someone there with him.

"I..." He briefly started as he remembered his time in Tertium, how errant his tears felt when he started to gorge himself on the food Hilana made for him. He had felt like such an emotional wreck at that time, unable to assess himself or the emotions he felt that day. Now though it became clearer to him what they all meant, and why it was he felt the need to run from them earlier. "Thank you... Lana." He could only graciously say once more, feeling the warmth of water run down his cheeks, as the rain itself flushed those tears from his eyes.

As much as it hurt him to just bask in the pain, to let it flow through him like the river through the desert, the wolf knew he needed to release all the emotions buried deep inside. He knew that in order to heal, to grow, he needed to feel whatever it was his heart felt. For if Lykos were to ignore that, then surely, he would only ignore himself and his duties as a Demigod. Thus the pair remained together, the wolf faintly smiling in the comfort of Lana's presence, as he embraced the finality of what felt like reality to him.

This was going to be his life for now. Until one day, his old life would come calling back yet.

"Every side attacks you when you don't pick sides."

[Talisman]

Review

Name: Lykos

XP: 10 Points, can be used for Kinetics
Injuries/Ailments: None
Loot: None

Name: Hilana

XP: 10 Points, no magic
Injuries/Ailments: None
Loot: None

Notes: Poor Lykos! As much as the Northern Star whispers, some things we just cannot get to. Not right then. But in time... Great use of blending magics.