Lidochka
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Look me in the barrel and tell me that you love me, this is a kiss that I swear will blow your mind.
Posts: 28
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Post by Lidochka on Mar 17, 2011 17:21:59 GMT
Continued from; The Four Seasons; Alleyways
With the situation so dire Lidochka's concerns about humans seeing her with a rifle were suppressed by the more immediate concern of regrouping with the pack: at the moment she was heading away from the hotel so that she could loop round; she didn't want to cross paths with any of the attackers while she was on her own, she wasn't arrogant enough to think that she would be able to hold her own even if she was confident in her abilities and intelligence; part of that was knowing when to back off from the fight, when to retreat and play to her strengths.
Now though she was removed from the immediate vicinity of the hotel and faced with a new problem; the scent of decay was strong out here, vampires were prowling close by, most likely hoping to pick off any stray wolves who were doing exactly what she was doing and Lidochka raised her rifle into a position that had her ready to fire at a moment's notice. It was a comfortably familiar sensation, the butt of the rifle snuggly fitted into her body, just below the clavicle on her right side; her fingers wrapped around the barrel and her other hand by the trigger, ready and waiting.
Movement at the far end of the street caught her attention and she stood in the deep shadows of a fire exit with a fault light, aiming her weapon towards the sound of clothing, a light breeze that was thick with the dying scent of the Four Seasons blowing forwards through her curly hair, taking her scent towards the shrouded figure. That would blow her cover a lot quicker than anything else and the Russian she-wolf prepared to fire.
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Nikolai
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Come with me into the trees; we'll lay on the grass, and let the hours pass.
Posts: 26
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Post by Nikolai on Mar 18, 2011 16:21:33 GMT
CONTINUED FROM: Streets.
Nikolai's pace had quickened the closer he got to the scent of smoke and the increasing sounds of violence and confusion. The closer he got the more curious he became and also the more concerned; he had yet to figure out where exactly -- if anywhere -- Lidochka might be in the big bad city of Los Angeles and something in the pit of his stomach tightened almost instinctively as he went from a walk to a jog and then from a jog to a run, moving with practised ease and a keen kind of focus that was only enhanced by his lycanthropy. Scents and sounds came to him in sweeps with the shifting breeze in the air as he picked his way from one place to the next, taking corners in what might have seemed a blind fashion but was in fact conscious and aware. Nikolai knew where he was going even if he was only following his gut.
An unmistakeable bite in the air, something foul and heavy, alerted him to the presence of vampires in the area. They were on the move, on the hunt, and something deep inside him shifted, predatory and provoked. The urge to transform was growing with each long stride that ate up the ground beneath him and carried him along swiftly and decisively. When their tell tale stink washed over him in full, almost nauseating waves, Nikolai caved to the urge, taking hold of the opportunity when he skidded around the final bend that brought the vampires into sight, his body dipping towards the ground with one hand lowering to graze against the concrete underfoot. The momentary crouch was enough for him and his wolf form came riding up and out eagerly, feral spikes of hair raised in aggression as a jolt of adrenaline fired through his veins and drove him forward in great barrelling strides towards the mouth of the alley that led into the adjoining side street.
Maw open wide and wickedly sharp and strong teeth exposed in full he burst out of the dark and shadowy opening with a snarl that was almost a roar, his muscular bulk colliding full force with one of the vampires and ploughing them sideways and down into the ground with bone shattering force. The vampire clutched at the heavy creature looming over him but Nikolai was faster and had the upper hand, open jaws surging downward to clamp around and crush the skull, wrenching and twisting to completely break the neck and trigger a volatile eruption of ash that coated his underbelly and throat and left a distinctly rotten taste over his tongue.
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Lidochka
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Look me in the barrel and tell me that you love me, this is a kiss that I swear will blow your mind.
Posts: 28
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Post by Lidochka on Mar 18, 2011 16:44:36 GMT
Before she could get a shot off a massive wolf slammed into the street, shattering the moment of stillness into a thousand shards. Lidochka had pulled in a breath, ready to take out the vampire with a headshot but she had to release it in a rush when the animal tore right across her vision. All hell seemed to break after that; the vampires that had been silently stalking through the shadows decided that there was no point in waiting any longer and as the wolf ripped into its target, Lidochka adjusted her aim. Two shots cracked off in rapid succession taking out a vampire to the right, exploding through its eye and reducing it to ash, and catching the second in the throat, severing its spinal cord.
It was so hectic that she didn't register the familiarity of the wolf form, it was too dark and blurry to see much of anything anyway, and as the vampires descended on the scene, either aiming for the male for what they thought would be a bit of fun, or making their way towards her thinking she would be an easy target with the real threat occupied further along.
Lidochka took down another vampire before it could get to her, and then a fourth that was coming upon the dark hulking mass; despite not knowing who this wolf was she wasn't about to jump to the conclusion that it was hostile when she knew that without the distraction being provided she might very well not get out of the alley alive.
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Nikolai
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Come with me into the trees; we'll lay on the grass, and let the hours pass.
Posts: 26
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Post by Nikolai on Mar 20, 2011 23:52:58 GMT
The air crackled with violent promise and it spoke to a side of Nikolai, called loudly in a way he couldn't deny, driving him to twist and swipe at his enemies, his powerful claws slicing through cloth and flesh alike. Blood was already flowing, rich in the air and weighing heavy with a copper tang that flooded his senses, fuelling his aggression and only spurring him to fight with increasing ferocity. Those who did not fall to the thunderous crack of gunfire were batted aside by his large and powerful paws and ripped open by tooth and claw alike. They tumbled, in combusting clouds ash or bleeding profusely to be quickly finished off by a clamp, tear and twist of his vicious jaws. His heart pounded and his sides heaved with the exertion of breathing as he moved with more speed and agility than a creature of his size and weight should have been able to utilise.
Beneath him as he twisted and turned the ground was littered with remains, it tumbled lazily as he moved swiftly and with purpose. The air shifted at his back and with a predatory snarl he turned and clubbed the vampire approaching from behind with one paw, clawing their pale face and catching one eye, destroying the vision. The creature howled and wailed and Nikolai quickly silenced it with another blow to the head before he took hold with his jaws and crushed what little life was left out of his enemy.
Hackles raised like spikes and teeth bared in full, his powerful neck arched threateningly, he turned to survey his immediate surroundings, looking for any remaining vampires, keen eyes searching every shadow almost hungrily.
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Lidochka
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Look me in the barrel and tell me that you love me, this is a kiss that I swear will blow your mind.
Posts: 28
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Post by Lidochka on Mar 21, 2011 15:19:40 GMT
Lidochka had been splitting her focus on the wolf and the vampires and when one dropped into the space behind her she had to whirl in order to fend it off. It grabbed her jacket in one hand and she growled deeply, flipping the rifle in one hand and catching it by the barrell to turn it into a bludgeon that she slammed into the side of the vampire's head. It staggered and tore her jacket at the shoulder seam but didn't let go. The Russian she-wolf shrugged an arm out of it, her kitten wailing mourfully in the pocket as Lidochka smashed the butt of the gun into the vampire's mouth, shattering its teeth and spraying blood. Then it let go fully and she got out of the jacket properly, letting it drop to the dirty floor. Desya was better protected on the ground than he was on her person with a vampire at such close range. It was hissing and spitting and swearing, she swung the gun again as it started to charge her and fired a shot into its chest, blowing a hole in its ribcage.
It laughed at her as it prowled towards her again, "You missed, sweetheart."
She sneered and shot the leech in the mouth, exploding its head in a brilliant mist of cold, heavy blood that turned to ash on the breeze and floated around her like fog, settling in a fine dust on her unruly hair. She spat on the floor where the creature had been and swore in husky Russian. Then she turned to retrieve her jacket, raising the rifle in one arm and pointing it down into the shadows of the street. The wolf was still down there, she just could see him now, and she knew that she was clothed in shadows from the building behind her.
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Nikolai
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Come with me into the trees; we'll lay on the grass, and let the hours pass.
Posts: 26
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Post by Nikolai on Mar 21, 2011 16:04:24 GMT
Quiet descended with an eerie kind of quickness on the alley, the only sounds those of his own loud and rattled breathing, almost a growl; there was no more cursing and no more gunfire, no scuffing of soles against concrete and no screams of pain or rage. The fight was over. Recognising the danger had passed and the promise of violence had well and truly passed Nikolai reclaimed control from his wolf side and spared a minute to focus on the change from one form to the other. Once the final stages of the transformation had passed and he was once again his human self crouched in the narrow street shrouded in shadow he felt the last of the rush provided by the adrenaline slipping away, returning him to his default rock steadiness.
A rustle from the side of the street, something small moving against old newspaper, caught his attention and his gaze turned towards the source. The little animal looked back at him and he saw its tiny tail swish uncertainly before it moved closer. Curiosity perhaps or even a kind of recognition; he was no threat to the creature and animals were smarter than many people gave them credit for. Nikolai understood that now better than ever. When it was close enough he reached his hand out towards it, letting it smell his fingers before it was within reach and he was able to scoop it into one hand. Rising to his feet he spoke to the kitten quietly in his native tongue before his gaze moved down the street.
There had been gunfire. Where was the gunman?
Stepping towards the middle of the street and closer to the minimal pool of light that cut through the shadow and gloom Nikolai took in a breath and it was on the edge of the patch of illumination that he paused almost warily. His blue eyes narrowed and his breathing had come to a halt as he picked through the scents that had been blown his way on the breeze. What he recognised was unmistakeable even after so many years and even though there was disbelief bubbling up towards the surface his certainty was hot on its heels; he was almost reluctant to believe what he knew to be real. "Lidya?" His voice was a low grumble that could have been easily mistaken for a growl but if he was right then the figure down the street would know there was no aggression, no threat, no hostility.
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Lidochka
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Look me in the barrel and tell me that you love me, this is a kiss that I swear will blow your mind.
Posts: 28
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Post by Lidochka on Mar 23, 2011 14:44:39 GMT
For a few moments Lidochka was on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. There was nothing though, only the now distant rumble of the Four Seasons collapsing in on itself. That didn't mean there wouldn't be more vampires on their way, just that there was a lull. Still it was a chance to gather her senses, to check herself for wounds (she didn't feel any, but knew her head was still bleeding slightly) and to try and re-orientate herself so that she could regroup with the rest of the pack. Lidochka had always kept herself separate from them, but that didn't mean she didn't care about the inhabitants of the hotel; they had taken her in when she had been lost, alone and decimated by the lost of her lifelong friend and sire.
As her thoughts turned to Nikolai, as they often did, she heard that voice from the shadowy cloister ahead of her. Lidochka couldn't breathe; her chest felt tight, her lungs small and ill equipped to provide the oxygen that she needed to stop herself from passing out or else confirming by scent when she was hearing. Dizziness overcame her, but she moved forwards, her feet numb, until she could see clearly down the alleyway. Pale grey eyes lighted on the familiar figure and owner of the voice she had recognised. "Koyla," his name came soft and fresh to her lips, a name she hadn't said aloud in so long she'd forgotten how the shape of it fitted her lips and tongue. In that moment she didn't care about the hotel or the fire, or even the pack; the one person in the world she trusted above all others, the one man she had ever allowed to get close and to know the real her was standing a handful of steps away from her and Lidochka's feet ate up the distance quickly and easily. She tossed the gun to the ground. It clattered away. She sped towards him like she was running to grab the edge of a cliff before she fell to her doom, and when she reached him she threw her arms around his shoulders, her feet leaving the floor as she grabbed him and held on. She pressed her face into his neck, breathing in his scent, letting it flood her senses, relief flushing through her veins like warm water.
"Koyla," she said again, her accent thicker than ever and muffled against his skin. "Bozhe moĭ."
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Nikolai
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Come with me into the trees; we'll lay on the grass, and let the hours pass.
Posts: 26
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Post by Nikolai on Mar 23, 2011 16:19:13 GMT
It was like one of the dreams that had drifted like lazy fog through Nikolai's dreams in the times he had been alone and wandering, searching for something he knew very well he might never be able to find. Night after night he had been visited by a dream just like the waking one in which he now found himself but as she met his gaze and moved towards him in a desperate rush he knew it wasn't a figment of his imagination at all but reality finally granting him the one thing he had been wishing for over the years. Even as her arms wrapped around his neck and he felt her weight hanging from him he couldn't believe it but his free arm wrapped around her tightly almost instinctively, an automatic reaction that he didn't even need to think about. His eyes closed and his nose buried in her hair to breathe in her scent; smoke was run through the familiar threads, it clung to her like desperate fingers but he pushed past that alien element and focused on what he knew, what he would have been able to recognise anywhere.
"I thought I would never find you." Relief and a kind of joy he hadn't felt in more than a decade were starting to fire through his veins, a fine and heady replacement for the fading adrenaline and despite himself he laughed softly close to her ear, holding her weight up easily and reluctant to let her go now that he had her in his arms again. Nikolai never wanted to let Lidochka out of his sight again now that they were together again and he made a promise to himself right there and then that he stay with her forever; never again would they be separated and anyone who wanted to come between them would have to get through him and his formidable feral side first. "Thank God you're safe."
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Lidochka
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Look me in the barrel and tell me that you love me, this is a kiss that I swear will blow your mind.
Posts: 28
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Post by Lidochka on Mar 23, 2011 16:39:40 GMT
A lot of the time growing up she had been encouraged not to betray her emotions. If the enemy saw weakness in you they would exploit it and so Lidochka had grown up her father's daughter, with only the frightening air of someone who would stop at nothing to get her way defining her to the outside world. Inwardly she was just like anyone else, she felt joy and sorrow and fear and at that moment, Nikolai's arm wrapping around her to hold her close she felt such an incredible and overwhelming rush of emotions that tears stung her eyes. Crying had been taboo in her family, she only seen her mother weep openly once, when there had been a death in her family, but she had never seen her father shed a tear and taking that for an example she too had abstained from tears. Now, though, she couldn't help herself. Maybe it was the wolf, maybe it was having all those emotions so close to the surface, she didn't know or care. Tears welled in her dusty-coloured eyes and ran down Nikolai's neck, down her cheeks. A hot sob made her ribs shiver and she held him tighter.
"You found me. I knew you were looking for me," she told him. "I knew it." Finally she pulled her face away from where it had been hidden against his neck, absorbing the scent of him, the heat of his skin and the eight of him, how real he felt. Real and not imagined. Impulsively she swept a kiss to his cheek, overwrought with the joy of seeing him, the fear of losing him again and the sheer relief that they were together again. Without Nikolai there had been nothing but a hole in her life, at her side; the space that Nikolai had occupied for as long as she could remember. Now it was full again and she was bursting at the seams with everything, every thought and feeling that came as a reaction to his presence and everything that she had wanted to tell him over the years, things she had seen and wanted to remark on to him only to find him gone, things she had wanted to share, jokes only he would get.
Smiling, eyes glistening, she finally looked at him; taking him in and freeing a hand from around his shoulders to touch the beard that he had let grow. "I missed you so much, Kolya."
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Nikolai
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Come with me into the trees; we'll lay on the grass, and let the hours pass.
Posts: 26
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Post by Nikolai on Mar 23, 2011 16:52:26 GMT
It had been years since Nikolai had smiled and meant it but now it came easily to his normally stony features as his eyes met Lidochka's, glistening with tears as hers were. He knew there was nothing but relief and happiness there and that kept the aggression of his wolf down at minimum levels where they belonged when they were alone together. He had missed her more than he could put into words but he had to try because it was important that Lidochka know. "I missed you too." It was a simple statement, it didn't really seem to do his feelings justice but Lidochka knew him better than anyone, perhaps even better than he knew himself. She would understand. "I'm so sorry for leaving you, I tried to find you but you were already gone. I didn't mean to leave you." All the regrets and the guilt from the many years they had been apart bubbled to the surface in a rush and he shook his head, apologetic and self-reproachful. It had been his fault that they had been separated, he should have tried harder to get back to her before too much time had passed and if he hadn't been careless to begin with they never would have been cut off from one another.
He still couldn't believe she was really there, not just in front of his eyes but in his arms. For so long now he had only been able to imagine her; years earlier he had committed her face to his memory but as time spent in solitude had stretched on he had quickly come to realise it wasn't the same, it wasn't good enough. Not nearly good enough. Now she was so close that he could smell her, hear her voice, he could still feel the echo of her kiss against his cheek and she felt so real and reassuring against him. It was better than he could have imagined, so powerful and even overwhelming an experience that his emotions were a confusing and almost suffocating jumble inside of him. She was real and she was safe. He had finally found her. The circumstances didn't matter in the least. All that mattered was that she was alive and that they were together again.
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Lidochka
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Look me in the barrel and tell me that you love me, this is a kiss that I swear will blow your mind.
Posts: 28
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Post by Lidochka on Mar 25, 2011 22:24:10 GMT
It felt like the day she'd been released from months of captivity in Russia, after being held drugged and half-naked in a concrete bunker for weeks on end and then months until finally the moment came on the ice where they stripped her blindfold off and she'd seen him. Nikolai. It was like that only better because she wasn't half dead from exhaustion and malnutrition and she wasn't plunging into an icy lake and he didn't have to dive in after her to save her life. Nikolai had saved her life dozens of times in the past, pushing her down from the sound of bullet fire, spotting a threat out of the corner of his eye before she even realised there was danger in the area. She had missed that. She had missed everything about him. In the end Nikolai had become so much more than a bodyguard to her and she liked to think he knew that even if they never spoke openly about it, either as humans or wolves. Not that they had been given the chance as what they were now. That smile, she'd missed that smile even if it was hidden under a beard now. It crinkled his eyes, she remembered those creases so well. The shape of him, his scent. It all threw her memories into fresh light; they had been so weak compared to the real thing.
Lidochka found herself shaking her head though. It might have been clichéd but she didn't care about the years spent apart just then, only that they were together again now. "I know you didn't. I know you would never leave me through choice." There were no two ways about that and she had known that through the last decade without second guessing it. This was just proof of the fact, that he had sent all this time looking for her, racing to correct that momentary mistake that had separated them, something neither of them could have controlled. "It was not your fault, Koyla," she added, brushing back the long hair from his forehead. "I asked to be like you, and this is what happened because of it. But you are here now."
Tears burned her eyes again and she bit her lips together, shaking her head before she buried her face against his neck again. This time a huge, shaking sigh racked her body as she squeezed herself to him, never wanting to let go again. Though she had never doubted that he would be looking for her there was always the voice of doubt in the back of her mind what said what if? What if he had died? She would never have known. What if he had been captured? The pack had told her about vampires who kept wolves as pets. What if? A sickening number of what ifs, all erased by his presence.
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Nikolai
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Come with me into the trees; we'll lay on the grass, and let the hours pass.
Posts: 26
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Post by Nikolai on Mar 25, 2011 23:58:38 GMT
She was right. The past was the past and they couldn't let it consume them. Their separation had already played too big a part in their lives, taken up such a huge portion of the last decade and more and Nikolai was quick to decide that it was over, it had come to an end. They had to live for the now, look to the future instead of the past though there was no harm in learning from it and Nikolai had done that. Never again would he make the same mistake and let himself be cut off from Lidochka. Never again. That was that, the matter was final and when Nikolai made up his mind on something there was no moving him, not unless Lidochka was the one to turn to him and tell him no, there needed to be a change of some kind. He had been trained to be firm and unwavering and the animal inside of him fed into those traits, enhanced them, just as it had his loyalty to the female he held to him in that moment.
As he embraced her again he was better able to pick out the inconsistencies that were not familiar in her scent but altogether alien, things that didn't belong. She smelled of smoke and there was a tension about her that he had not felt or sensed for some time. Something had happened. There was the faint scent of other wolves on her clothes and in her hair and that told him his suspicions had been right, Lidochka had joined a pack. But where were the rest of the pack? "Has something happened?" he asked her in a deep rumble, turning his face briefly against her hair and speaking close to her ear even as the kitten in his large hand mewled and pawed at the cuff of his jacket, reminding him of its presence.
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Lidochka
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Look me in the barrel and tell me that you love me, this is a kiss that I swear will blow your mind.
Posts: 28
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Post by Lidochka on Aug 27, 2012 21:42:49 GMT
It was so much better in reality, hearing him rumble their native tongue in her ear liek that. She had thought about it often over their years apart but the tangible present was so much better that she wondered how she had managed with the fragile wisps of her own imagination. There was no substitute for having her oldest, dearest and most trusted friend back in her arms. Honestly she didn't want ot let go, she didn't want to take even the remotest chance that he was going to up and disappear and leave her alone again and when he spoke din her ear she didn't move away just spoke ina low voice so that he could hear her, giving him a slight squeeze.
"Something is happening, yes," she told him, unable to stop the slight smile that came to her features . "I took up with a pack. I thought I would be safer and easier to find if stationary. But-- they are under attack. We should join them. They should know there are vampires in the alleys." She paused. "The hotel is in flames. It is collapsing."
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Nikolai
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Come with me into the trees; we'll lay on the grass, and let the hours pass.
Posts: 26
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Post by Nikolai on Oct 1, 2012 17:25:45 GMT
It had been a long time since Nikolai had spoken in their native tongue with anyone who understood. It was reassuring and comforting in a way he never could have expected, it reminded him of home and the times they had spent together when they were younger, when their lives were so much simpler. Strange really, to think of this existence as more complicated than the one they had had back in Russia. To others that would seem so wrong, so unstable even, that Nikolai genuinely missed the times when he had shadowed Lidochka's movements, fully prepared to break fingers and end lives with a twist of their neck or a well-placed knife under their ribs. To him, though, that had been a good life, fulfilling his life's purpose had made him feel content in a way few others things ever had.
"A pack?" That was what surprised Nikolai the most, and it was rare for him to show or sound emotions like that, even in front of Lidochka. She could read his expressions and the minute changes within it much better than anyone else but he had learned many years ago, when he was young, that it was important to school his expression at all times. Even in those times when it might seem safe there was no telling who might be watching in one way or another. "You care about them." It was not a question. They were not the sorts of people to easily get involved in the lives of others but they were not cold and uncaring either, not in the way others thought them to be. "Lead the way. Perhaps we can help them." Somehow. Nikolai would give that part more thought on the way.
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Lidochka
Pack Werewolf
Bella's Pack
Look me in the barrel and tell me that you love me, this is a kiss that I swear will blow your mind.
Posts: 28
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Post by Lidochka on Jan 25, 2013 0:18:56 GMT
There were some Russian speakers in the pack, it had been nice on occasion to exchange words with them, and she had seen how they had tried to, how was it said? Bring her out of her shell by attempting her mother tongue but in reality there was nothing quite like speaking it with Nikolai. Anyone else could have spoken the most perfect grammatical Russian and she still would not have found it comparable to Nikolai. Then again, what was?
"They have been kind to me," Lidochka affirmed; his assessment was correct, she cared for the pack, they had taken her to shelter, they had provided her with food and clothing and had left her to her own devices without too many questions. Lidochka did not want to see them fall now. "Yes," she said to him. "This way." It seemed only natural to slip her hand into his as she lead the way back towards the hotel. In the old days she might not have done such a thing, it wouldn't have been appropriate but he had been missing from her life for fourteen years and part of her was frightened that if she didn't keep a hold on him he would disappear again.
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