My *One* and my {Only} (Sothis/Carolina)

[Sivoncé™]

Carolina padded into the reting den with heavy, tired paws. The chase for Everest had been a vigorous one, and she was privately glad she hadn't fought. Destiny hadn't honed in on her battle skills yet, and she wouldn't of been much of a help. Her mind switched to happier thoughts....to Sothis....
Yes. She'd finally admitted to herself she liked him as a little more than a friend. He was quite handsome....

[Destiny]

The brute's dark blueish ebony pelt glimmered with health. Long, thick and well groomed. For now, the brute was medium sized. Perhaps he would grow to the size of his father. Deep entrancing,knowing,understanding midnight blue poools sparkled with many a thing. Emotion new and old. Sothis had been given the position of wolven warrior neophyte by Destiny. He was more then greatful for even being neophyted. The brute was.. very strange to say the least. Sothis knew herbs and plants well and could easily take care of an injured wolf. The brute had hunted with his sister once as a pup. It had not been allowed, but Aliya had only scolded them and told them what would happen if they ever did such a thing again. Of course, they never had done it again. Now his paws carried him across the camp. Instinct taking him to the resting dens. Though he was not tired. Something else drew the young brute to them. Carolina lay inside. Resting perhaps. The femme seemed tired. She had carried Everest all the way back too camp. Sothis entered the den quietly. Bowing his head slightly in respect to the slightly, ever slightly, older female.

[Sivoncé™]

Carolina raised her head slighty and flicked her grey auds as Sothis approached. "Hello," she woofed softly, suddenly feeling a tad shy. Shuffling her paws nervously, she got resettled in her comfortable, mossy nest. "Everest is a big fat lump!" She laughed. "Don't let his age fool you! He's worn me down and out!"

[Destiny]

Sothis found his pools locked on her form. "Greetings Carolina." He managed to keep his tone steady. Tounge tied he tried to think of something to say. A slight laugh escaping his maw at what she said about Everest. "The brute is rather large for his age."Thoughts of Everest rolling around in the nursery came to his mind. The brute was, well, pretty big compared to his sister. Of course males usually were bigger then females.Sothis moved across the den. Closer to Carolina. "Mind if I lie down?" He wasn't sure if she wanted privacy while she rested or not. They were the only two wolves in the den this time of day. He most certainly would back away if she wanted him too.

[Sivoncé™]

Carolina's eyes glistened slightly as he laughed. She shook her grey head at his question. "No, not at all. Go right ahead," she said, secretly trying not to sound too happy about it. She swiped her tongue over her ears and head. She usually did her washing at night, but now seemed as good of time as any. Her light stormy grey eyes flickered over to Sothis now and then. She wracked her brain for something to say to him that was not moose-brained. "Do you miss the old forest?" She woofed finally. Her eyes were cast away in fields of sudden nostalgia. She remembered running through the tall grasses and meadows of the Grey Mist terras, something she and Blue Moon had done often. They'd been quite sneaky about it, too. No wolf had ever caught them at their play. She remembered when Blue Moon tried to convince Sirius he was to be leader in Destiny's absence. Sothis had been there, too...

[Destiny]

Paws guided him towards her. Closer now, but there was some distance between them, a comfortable distance. Settling himself down he settled his crown on his bluish ebony paws as he folded them. Tail flicking back and forth in thought. Midnight pools danced over her. Memorizing every hair on her pelt.The brute gazed contenedly at her face as she asked this question. "Sometimes. But everything happens for a reason. I'm sure that we'll all love this place like our old home when we get to know it better. When we have memorized the terra down to every last blade of grass and know what lies behind every oak tree and field of wild flowers." The brute drifted into the land of thought for a moment. Sothis knew all too well he really should not like Carolina as more then a friend. The femme had been head over heels in love not that long ago. She probably was not ready to move on. For a moment thoughts shifted to something completely different. Then back to Carolina.

[Sivoncé™]

"Yes," she agreed. "I think I was a different wolf back there. A different wolf than I am now," she added softly. She wasn't sure why, but as her thoughts flickred briefly to Blue Moon, it seemed she would finally be able to put him to rest in her mind. Perhaps it was time to move on. Time to change. Time to live, and time to grow. She would live her life here as a Destinian, and the events of the past would not change that.

[Destiny]

Sothis perked his auds slightly to catch her words as he returned to reality. A different wolf now then she was then.. Sothis blinked and smiled slightly at her words. Midnight pools catching her own enchanting eyes.Holding her perfect gaze. Still, thoughts of her and Blue Moon clouded his mind. For some reason the question would not leave him be. He had to ask her. "Do you..." Sothis paused closing his pools for a moment. Gathering his words so that they came out right. "Do you ever miss him, Carolina?" His tone was soft and his words quiet.

[Sivoncé™]

Carolina was a little suprised at the question, but sensed he meant no harm. She laid back and studied him for a moment, wondering what was running through his mind at the time. After a period of silence, she spoke softly, "yes. I miss him every day. But it is difficult to explain...it's complicated. We were both so young and foolish. If he were alive right now,....we wouldn't have stayed together, Sothis. We held much affection, but despite our beliefs, it was not love, nor would it ever evolve that far. Pups simply don't know the difference between love and affection. I know for a fact I've never been in love. If I ever will, it would be much different than my relations with Blue Moon were. I still miss him, though. He was one of my best and closest friends."

[Destiny]

The brute rasped his pink tounge over his blueish left paw. For some reason he groomed his left paw the most. It had no ebony at all in it. Mostly blue with tints of greyish silver underneath. Finally satisfied that his paw was groomed well the brute shifted his weight in the little nest like thing he was lying in. Midnight pools glimmered as he stared past Carolina for a moment. Thinking about something he had scented earlier. When Carolina had picked up Everest to carry the brute home and his parents had been greeting each other. The scent still lingered in his nostrils. It had been so... familier. Voices rang in his auds as he heard something that had happened in the past. At their old home by the Mirror Lake. The brute shivered in-volunterily.

[Sivoncé™]

Carolina's attention snapped from memories long ago to a shuddering Sothis. Curious, she inclined her head up at him, eyes wide with worry and concern for her packmate. "Sothis...is everything all right?" she inquired gently. She leaned forward and gave his shoulder a reassuring lick, letting him know she was there for him. She hoped he knew that, and understood that if anything was bothing him, he could turn to her. She would be there for him and advise him as best she knew how. Hopefully that would be enough. Hopefully that means something, she thought privately. She wasn't sure if Sothis would ever think of her as more than a friend, but she couldn't help but hope so. Her light, lovely grey eyes rested on his, trying to coax midnight into dawn, into the light.

[Destiny]

Sothis shivered for a moment more. Re-living the event in his mind. Midnight pools held Carolina's soft gaze as she asked him this question. For a moment or two no reply came. Yet, somehow, he knew he could trust her to understand. Somehow, he knew he could tell her. "I was just remembering. Way back on the night of the final Moonless Meeting at the Mirror lake.Before either of the packs had left on the great journey. Destiny returned with that psychotic rouge, Mephisto. He was helping her to carry her pups.Out of no where Arroyo and some other wolves, at least, I think that's who it was." Sothis pondered this for a moment. Finally continuing. "Anyway, they started accusing Mephisto of being a murderer and such. I could see it in his eyes. He was exactly what they thought he was. But Destiny stood up for him. Claiming that he had saved the lives of both her and her pups. This, I knew, was also true. I saw the truth of what might have happened in both her physical appearence and her attitude. But a fight broke out none the less. Both Destiny and Siveria, I do beleive, lost lives that night. Destiny finally saw Mephisto for what he really was and attacked him.But she was much too late in this realization."Sothis paused for a second time. Catching his breath and re-counting what happened next. "Mephisto grabbed Destiny's son. The brute took of with him. Stole him from her. Destiny chased him for a while. But she slipped and fell. Striking her skull and causing enough damage that she lost another life. By the time she had come back Sirius, I think, was with her. She wanted to go after Mephisto, she wanted her son back.But both were long gone. She had too leave without one of the most precious things to her. Her son." Sothis halted again. His body shivered again. As if icy winds that were not there were gripping his form. The brute closed his eyes , looking down. Un-certain that Carolina would beleive what he was about to say. "Today, when everyone else left after Sirius had chased off that brute, I stayed. I went farther. I did turn back eventually. But first I waited. Scenting the air every few moments the whole time I was there. each and every time the same scent came to me. The same familier yet very strange scent made it's way too me. Finally I realized what was familier about it. It was similar to Destiny's scent. It was his scent Carolina." Sothis opened his eyes. As he raised his crown midnight pools looked into her. "Loni is alive, and he's here." Everything told Sothis he should tell Destiny. The brute could not. Something was wrong with Loni. Very, very wrong.

[Sivoncé™]

Carolina's eyes widened, shock and suprise, along with a small amount of anger in her grey pools. "Then we have to do something, don't we?" she spoke. Her voice was hard as ice, and venomous as a snake. She stood, limbs shaking with fury. "Mephisto's crimes date back to that of Bloodsbane's rule. At the first fall, he became a rouge. He raped, he killed, he stole, he wrecked wolves, Sothis. He didn't just torture them. He ruined them..." she didn't know how else to explain the harsh fates that befell the tyrant's victims. "There was a plot...I learned about it from overhearing Nightshade when we traveled through the mountains...." she gulped, waves of nausea creeping over her. "He had a plan to kidnap and rape Siveria. She was supposed to be his mate. Only she was unaware of anything wrong. Arroyo wasn't, though. He knew there was something stirring...so he went out in the woods. He was by the old river when Mephisto attacked him. Arroyo would've died that day had it not been for Thorn, the goddess of Autun. She healed him slightly, but she could only do so much. That day is also thought of as the Day of the Vanishings. Seven wolves vanished and were taken hostage in the Blood Mist camp. You know what happens next, Sothis. Mephisto still stalked Arroyo after that, determined to claim what he'd first set out to. At the gatheirng, Siveria faced him herself. It cost her much, and despite the effort, he escaped. He took Loni, I think, in an effort to agitate Destiny. Siv was obviously not an option at the time. He'd turned to Destiny, and she thought he was good. He almost tricked her, too. But then he got impatient. I believe that he does still have Loni, and I also believe he left slightly ahead of us. So he's in the mountains, then?"

[Destiny]

Sothis pools did not show anger or shock at her words. Only knowing. The brute listened intently. Auds perked to the list of Mephisto's crimes. There were many more then he had thought possible. Sothis had known the brute was dangerous. Though he had not known just how dangerous. Sothis shook his crown. "Loni..." Sothis paussed , choosing his words correctly. "There is something wrong with Loni Carolina. I could see the bloodlust in him that night. I saw the way he was. Though a pup he showed anger and rage that I had seen only in Destiny at times when she was ready to kill. It radiated off of him in agonizing waves. If Mephisto has warped his mind. Their's no telling what kind of moster he's turned into." Sothis paused again. "Mephisto does need to be taken care of. Yes that is certain. The brute is almost definately in the mountains not far from here. If his goal was to agitate Destiny, he most certainly succeded. She'd rip his throat out if she ever got a hold of him. I know very well she would lose her last life if it meant killing Mephisto." Sothis halted again. "But Carolina, if we tell her about Mephisto, we must not tell her about Loni. She can not know her son is here. Destiny does not always think before she acts. Yes, she is brave and honourable, but she can be compulsive too. It won't be moments before she's out there looking for her son. The odds of her actually finsing him are slim and the odds of her ever coming back to her pack without him are close to none. Which means if I do tell her about Mephisto I cannot tell her about Loni. Her pack needs her to be there." Midnight pools danced across Carolina's face. Searching for some sign that she understood what he was trying to say. If Mephisto had twisted Loni's mind. Destiny would be be knocking on death's door to go looking for him.

[Sivoncé™]

Carolina shuffled her paws with discomfort. "But isn't that lying? Isn't that going against the wolven code? She's older and wiser than we are, Sothis. And she's our leader. She deserves to know where her son is, Sothis. I trust you on this, and part of me knows your right, I guess, but I can't bring myself to lie to Destiny. She's given me so much. I can't just...can't just ignore that. If it weren't for Destiny, I wouldn't be here right now." Carolina sighed, uncertainty and unhappiness clouding her gaze as she looked at Sothis. She hoped he understood