my FAIRYTALE never had a h a p p y /ending./

[Emuhlee]

&&We were playmates and lovers,
sharing our secret world...//

The lone wolfess strode along the side of the lake, watching the colors change from orange, to pink, to red. It was sunset, and the sun was just sinking down over the horizon off in the west. It was warm out, just starting to cool down, maybe about seventy-five degrees or somewhere around there. Decent, it was. She could hear the white noise of birds chirping, calling for one another, and crickets making their songs of the evening. Occasionally there was the splash of a fish, or a rustle or a twig snapping nearby. None of these events bothered the wolfess, she really didn't care too terribly much. If anything, it helped calm her down, let her think straight. Which she needed to do, because this particular wolfess had been having some interesting occurrences in her life recently.

Coming back to the Nozomi, er, Nehorai, Azhar, Jyotsana, Rasui, Azrael, and Uriel Pack lands was a mistake. All that they had brought her were troubles and confusion. The she-wolf had recently discovered that a young wolf, - Harjo, was it? - had fallen for her on first site. Surely he didn't love her; Harjo knew nothing about her, and Minuit really wasn't that interested in him. However, what really made her mind confused beyond any return, was the fact that Rath, a wolf that, over one-hundred years ago, had raped her, was out to find her. Apparently, he was in love with her. Why this would be, Minuit had no idea, where he was, she could care less, because she hated him. Minuit never wanted to see his disgusting face again in her life. However, this whole time confused her, because never in her life had more than one wolf fallen for her. That was Abaddon, who was dead. Well, so she believed.

Minuit had changed a bit from her and Abaddon's last encounter, where she had watched him die, and told her pups that it was nothing, really, just Abaddon going to sleep. Now her pelt was fully black, that tinted crimson in the sunlight. Her eyes matched that tint, being a dark, blood-red, almost, but her figure features had not changed, for the most part. Perhaps she was a tad taller, a tad longer, but not anymore than she had weighed before. Her nose and jaw might have turned a bit sharper over the years, and legs grown a little longer, but, for the most part, Minuit Etolie had stayed mostly the same. Well, enough at least for a wolf she had known for quite a long time in quite a friendly way to know who she was. Wasn't that what was important anyways? So Nycteris or Abaddon would know who she was.

Ah, Nyc. The wolf who now hated her. Add him to the list, shall we? Nycteris Etolie was Minuit's own brother, whom she had found had been the Alpha of some other pack. After a while, Minuit got angry at him for lying to her and not telling her things she should have heard first, and went to Aoife, his ex-mate, telling her things that she should know, getting Nyc kicked out of the pack, and just another wolf to hate her. It was nothing new. Minuit wasn't surprised. Recently, however, more wolves were starting to like her rather than hate her. Again, this was all new to Minuit, and she wasn't sure what was becoming of her, she wasn't acting any different, after all, she had only joined a new pack. Friendly enough pack, eh?

Drawing herself from her thoughts only enough and for enough time to gather her surroundings, the small fae took a look around, and a deep breath, sitting down and then laying her head down on her forepaws, gazing out at the water that was glinting beautiful colors. Minuit's breaths came slowly and evenly as she watched the water, and her thoughts drifted again. Why were some wolves stuck in time forever? Why were some not allowed to die? It didn't seem fair, to her, that some wolves got the privilege of death while others stopped growing after a time and had to live with themselves for the rest of their lives? No, to Minuit this seemed unfair, and didn't make much sense, but really, what did anymore? Damn. Never knew what to expect in the Nozo-- er, Nehorai, Azhar, Jyotsana, Rasui, Azrael, and Uriel Lands.

[nicole]

+ If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear pain or loss. . .

[/left]

Being in the Nozomi land once more had brought back memories. There weren't very many, for this wolf had not lived in the territory for an extreme amount of time, back when things were normal. Saying things were normal then didn't seem to fit, though. There had been a curse across the land back then, a curse that would change everything. Perhaps now things were normal. There were quite a few packs now. This - he had learned - by eavesdropping on other conversations. He wasn't sure about his feelings being back here and the changes that had taken place. Maybe it was for the better, maybe it was for the worse. He, himself, had changed; not only in looks, but personality, too. His past experience had changed him greatly. No longer was he the wolf he once used to be, but now merely just a hardened shell. Well, for the most part.

He would not think about the things that had taken apart during his stay here. Dwelling on the past never brought good to anyone. Aside from that, what was the point in it? It was in the past, forever to remain that way. Unfortunately, he sometimes slipped and let himself drift away in those thoughts with a feeling of emptiness. What would it have been like if he hadn't of 'died'? What would it have been like if there was never a curse? So many questions, so few answers. At some points in time it was enough to drive him mad. But now... now it was time to change, to think of other things.

"Maybe I don't want to." His voice was different; deeper and seemingly wiser, but there was a bitterness hidden in his tone. His thick, rough fur was matted down and soaked with water, having taken a quick dip in the waters of the lake in an attempt to escape the heat. His appearance was different just like his voice. The steel-silver like fur that once covered his sturdy body was now a mixture of silver and gray. His eyes no longer held the pale silver color they once had, but were now replaced with a hazy blue that could prove to be deadly. He was larger, both in height and weight, but it wasn't a drastic change; not in his opinion.

He had been unaware of another presence in the area, one that he used to know so well. It wasn't until the wind shifted and brought the familiar scent to his blackened nose. 'There is no possible way,' he thought silently, eyes narrowing in slight confusion. He didn't want to get his hopes up; perhaps he was just imagining things. There was no way she could be here, right now, right around the lake. His head turned, almost reluctantly and hesitantly as his eyes raked over the surrounding area. "Minuit?" he said aloud before his eyes finally managed to spot out her figure. He blinked, bewildered, and lost every feeling in his body.

Was it really her?

. . . then our lives will be empty, our loss greater. +

[/color][/size]

[Emuhlee]

&&I will help you understand,
Come with me now take my hand,
We just might live through this...//

The wolfess payed little attention to what the voice had said, and instead she listened to the voice itself. The sound rung in her mind, and she lost all thought and emotion for a minute, still staring out at the water. 'That was Abaddon... wasn't it?' She questioned her sanity for a minute, and then came to her senses. 'No, it couldn't be... beacuse... he died. You were there, you imbecile.' She reminded herself, and then felt obscenely stupid. But it sounded a lot like him...' She told herself, not getting anymore hopeful, but only more and more curious. 'Maybe I should look up... or answer... or something? Sitting here not responding is probably making you seem a bit crazy, dear.'

The wolfess raised her head and stood up, and she could tell, though he had changed, that it was indeed Abaddon.... right? "Yes," she finally answered, her expression slightly confused, ears tilted forward a bit more than usual in curiosity. "I'm Minuit.... are you... Abaddon?" She asked him, feeling slightly stupid, and knowing she'd feel obscenely stupid if he told her that it wasn't him. 'He's dead,' she continuously told herself. 'And he's not coming back... he's dead!' Suddenly, Minuit lost her hope and instead looked at the ground, feeling like an idiot for even asking such a silly question. Besides, even if he was alive, what were the odds of him coming here again?

'None,' she answered herself.

[nicole]

+ If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear pain or loss. . .

'She remembers me? That has to be a good thing, right?' he wondered silently in the shadows of his mind, his hazy blue gaze locked on the female before him. 'Or a bad thing.. but who cares.' He took steps that seemed hesitant, but made sure their was a wide space in-between them. "Yes, that's who I am," he replied, forcing back a chuckle that threatened to burst through. There was no doubt she was as shocked as he was. One, he had 'died' in front of her and two, what were the chances of actually running into one another again?

"Surprise.. eh heh..." A frown tugged at the corner of his maw and he dropped his gaze to the ground as he was at a loss for words. What were you supposed to say to someone who presumed you were dead? He could think of a few things, but they didn't seem very appropriate for the time being. Joking around probably wouldn't make things any better; or maybe they would. Who knew?

. . . then our lives will be empty, our loss greater. +

[/size][/right]

[Emuhlee]

&&This reality just seems to real.//


The female's head jerked back up when she heard what he had said. "But... you're dead?" It was more of a question than a comment, and Minuit was completely and utterly confused. Suddenly, she started doubting her sanity again. "You're actually here, right...? I'm not going insane?" She asked stupidly, but she had to know, because that would really suck, being insane and and seeing and talking to things that weren't actually there for the rest of your life. Minuit suddenly began to feel a bit scared, that maybe she was going insane. Or, if he really was there, was it a good thing? Maybe he was coming back to yell at her for leaving him if he was really actually alive or something? But... he had looked so dead... there was no way...

"Sorry," she stated after a minute, grinning sheepishly. "That was a stupid question, of course I'm sane." She said firmly, nodding as if to reassure herself that she really was sane. Maybe he was the -- wait, that doesn't make sense. How could he be insane if she was standing right before him? As she thought about this, her head began to hurt a bit while she tried to figure it out, and instead gave up so she wouldn't be there all night while her previous lover was standing right before her, oh, nuts. Her previous lover was standing right before her! Suddenly, everything started to hit her, and it hit her fast. Like a blow to the stomach, but not in a bad way. Everything just seemed so... unreal.

'I could be dreaming.'

[nicole]

+ If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear pain or loss. . .

"No, I'm not dead," he spoke saying each word slowly. He knew it would take a lot of explaining to do, but he would put it as simply as he could, which really was quite simple. "You're not going insane; at least, I don't think you are," he added, not being able to hide the very faint smile that came to his face. "I'm really here, yes. The Almighty Abaddon - well, not almighty, but... - anyway, I'm right here, right in front of you." He nodded once, the smile widening though it was hesitant.

"Don't worry about it," he said, lifting his shoulder in a shrug. "It's not as if the dead really come back, right? I'd freak out, too... but I wasn't dead. I was just.. taking a nap, I guess you could say. I'm made of magic remember?" he asked, now grinning easily. "Well, I have magic in me. That sickness just put me in a coma for a little while." He paused shortly, snorting quietly. "And then when I woke up, everything was.. different. Even me." He shrugged again. "But that's all done and over with now. So..."

. . . then our lives will be empty, our loss greater. +

[/size][/right]

[Emuhlee]

"Oh, right. Geez, why didn't I remember that earlier? Things would've been so much... different." Minuit said, not sure how she was supposed to respond to that. Wow, Abaddon was alive. He was never even dead! Her poor children... they all had to go through the trauma of 'death' so early in life, when everything could've been different if she had just trusted herself. Which, of course, she never let herself do. Really, Minuit needed to learn to trust her instincts, because unlike she thought, they could, in fact, sometimes be correct.

"Wow, Abaddon... I never would've thought..." She said and trailed off, shaking her head and grinning at the ground. It was as if the gods were pulling some prank on her at first, but now she believed him, because he was really there. In some twisted, oddly demented way, it made a little bit of sense. Only in a way that a twisted, and oddly demented wolf would believe, too. That's why Minuit believed that he was still alive. She was twisted, and demented. As was Abaddon. So all was well. The question that ran through her mind now, was, 'Now what?'

[nicole]

+ If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear pain or loss. . .

"I probably would have assumed the same thing you did and forgotten about everything else," he replied with a laugh that felt foreign to him. It had been years since he had laughed; it just never seemed right. Nothing really seemed right after that whole incident. "What are the odds of running into each other again after one hundred years?" he spoke, shaking himself away from past memories and thoughts. "Pretty crazy, huh?" he asked, grinning the crooked smile that he had shown more than once in the past.

"We're the same wolves we were, but yet we're so very different now," he mused, turning his gaze off into the distance. "Same land, but different in more ways than one." He paused in thought momentairily as a frown tugged at the corner of his maw, causing his brows to pull together. "Hell, for all we know, we could be in the same place we were at that.." He stopped his words and just let the rest of his sentence die. He was going to say 'That time I told you I loved you,' but he figured it would be best not to bring something like that up. He wasn't even sure of what her feelings were and they had only just run into each other after so many years. "Anyway...," he said, feeling slightly awkward. "How about this weather we're having?"

. . . then our lives will be empty, our loss greater. +

[/size][/right]

[Emuhlee]

"This is just so plain crazy. I mean, after one hundred years, you'd think the both of us would be dead, normal wolves don't live one hundred years and more." She then stopped to think about it. "Then again, you and I were never normal beings... but I guess we kind of knew that since when we met, and me having to explain and..." She trailed off, not a fond point in time, really. "... yeah." She finished, grinning sheepishly. "The night whenever you decided to help me out." She decided to say, what was she supposed to say? 'The night I told you I'd been raped and was expecting my pups at any second?' Oh yes, that would go over well.

"Wow, I can't believe this. It's like, the - er, my - pups could've been born and raised right here, or in the valley over. You and I could've stood right here..." She looked off into the distance, thinking about what could've happened, what could've gone down, what could've been said... "So many memories here, it's crazy." She said, and then grinned at him again. Minuit, in truth, wasn't sure how she felt about anything. Did she love anyone? Did she even love her own brother? Maybe. That was the answer. She wasn't even sure anymore.

[nicole]

+ If we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear pain or loss. . .

"Yeah, it is pretty crazy," Abaddon replied quietly, frowning at the ground that he sat upon. "I would have lived for more than one hundred years anyway, since I'm a wizard. I've got at least another five hundred years, maybe a little more." He shrugged, knowing that it wasn't that big of a deal. What was so great about living for so many more centuries, especially since he would undoubtedly be alone during those years. He decided not to linger on that subject anymore when he heard Minuit speak again.

"Strange things happen," he said, shifting his weight slightly as he positioned himself to sit. His frown deepend and his expression turned thoughtful as he pondered over something briefly. "Maybe it's fate that brought us back here," he said a moment later, staring off into space. "Who knows? Maybe we're just lucky.. or.. whatever." He fell silent, knowing he sounded like a fool, but he couldn't help it.

. . . then our lives will be empty, our loss greater. +

[/size][/right]

[Emuhlee]

Minuit nodded, she was sure she had at least about one thousand years of life, because her mother was the goddess of the moon, while her father was nothing, but that still counted for something, didn't it? Of course. She wasn't going to discuss how long they got to live, because frankly, it was kind of a depressing subject to talk about!

Things were so different, now. It was a bit awkward, just meeting up with a lover that she thought was dead after one hundred years. "Luck or whatever? What, do you think seeing me is unlucky?" She asked, just teasing him a bit. She had really missed the company of wolves that liked her, and wolves that she liked. It was hard to remain cold and mean for years on end, hating all the time was harder than it seemed.

[nicole]

"Yes, it is unlucky. I don't know what I'm going to do now that I know you're alive," Abaddon replied with a solemn tone. His hazy blue eyes held something unrecognizable, something different. "I was probably better off roaming the lands, wondering if I'd ever see you again. I think not seeing you would have been better for me." His tone remained the same as did the look in his eyes. There was no sign of sarcasm, no sign of amusement, no sign of joking. He actually looked rather serious for once in his life.

Of course, it was all just an act. Well.. for the most part. Some of what he said was true and it was how he felt. What was he supposed to do now that he had gotten what he had wanted for so long? He told himself he would be happy with just seeing Minuit again, knowing that she was fine but something seemed out of place. He couldn't put his paw on it but he wasn't going to linger on the subject. "Just kidding," he said, offering a weak smile.

[Emuhlee]

"Abaddon..." Minuit stated, knowing that wasn't Abaddon's 'just kidding' smile. Maybe it had been one hundred years, but she had been in love with him, - maybe still was? Who knew. - and wasn't that enough to know a real smile from a small, not as truthful smile? "Seriously," she finally stated. "I feel dumb saying this... but I haven't come in contact much with anyone over the last one hundred years... and I'd really like to know what's bugging you." She said quietly, looking down at the ground. She really had no idea why he was acting so... different... but she wanted to know. Surely he didn't still love her. There was no possible way.... right?

"I mean," she stated, looking back up, looking pretty embarrassed. "If you didn't want to tell me, I would totally understand, don't worry. I just... I..." She stopped again, not sure where she was going with this. "I care about how you feel, and you don't seem to happy right now." She finally decided, nodding a little bit. Wow, that ws harder than it had seemed.

[nicole]

"I don't really know," he answered, partially lying and partially telling the truth. He shifted his position, feeling slightly uncomfortable, and frowned at the ground. "I guess...," he started, trying to figure out how he wanted to word what he had to say, "I guess I just don't really know what I'm supposed to do now, now that I've run into you," he said, glancing up briefly with a look mixed with frustration and confusion. "After I woke up and everything was different, I set out to look for you." He paused to laugh quietly though he wasn't sure why he was laughing. "Call me crazy if you want, but I was going to look every I could just to find you."

He half shrugged and shook his head slowly. "My goal was to find you and make sure that you were alright," he said, frowning at the ground. "Call me hopeless, but I cared about you and loved you... I still do." It was easy to see that he was being quite serious this time around. When he spoke that last part, he was intent on looking at Minuit. There was no sign of him lying in his eyes or in his expression. "And now that I've found you and I know you're fine, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do now," he said a moment later. "Honestly, I never thought I'd run into you again."

[Emuhlee]

Minuit drew her gaze from the ground to Kaige when he spoke. Her crimson eyes were wide, then confused, and then shocked at different points while he spoke. It was taking her a while to process all of this. So... all the time that Minuit and Abaddon were seperated... he was looking for her? But... he didn't even know that she was still alive... Minuit was supposed to have died quite a long time ago. So why was he still looking for her? Why did he still love her? In her mind, she was convinced that no one loved her, and that was why the wall to her heart had built up over the years, because not even Nycteris, her own brother, gave a shiit about what she did anymore.

"Oh." She finally said, not able to get her voice to speak anything else. "... You spent... all this time just looking for... me?" Minuit asked stupidly, hadn't he just said that? Wow, Minuit, get ahold of yourself! "I mean I mean... I guess I just didn't expect to hear that." She corrected, but still no sign of irony or anything of the sort in her eyes. Minuit didn't want to admit her feelings... because bad stuff always happened when she admitted her feelings. So instead she looked down at the ground again, not sure what she was trying to get out.