Heidi
Rogue Werewolf
Departed
One step at a time; one hope, then another.
Posts: 300
|
Post by Heidi on Feb 25, 2007 21:30:51 GMT
Heidi smiled at the gesture, trying to put him at ease. Yeah, it was awkward, but there was no way it could have been otherwise, so the best thing they could do was just move through the awkwardness as smoothly as possible.
Besides, maybe this will become routine...stop that!
"I slept....extremely well, actually." She chuckled. "Unfortunately, comfortable as this is, I'll bet members of the pack are a little confused because I'm not cooking breakfast, and we probably do need to put in an appearance at some point." She paused. "I'm not...I don't...I mean, you didn't do anything wrong, Will. I'm...not sorry this happened. Maybe I should be, but I'm not."
|
|
Will
Pack Werewolf
Departed
Almost human, but I'll never be the same.
Posts: 85
|
Post by Will on Feb 26, 2007 7:29:58 GMT
Relief was clear in his eyes, he knew that much; he'd never been able to hide emotion very well. It was always right there on his proverbial sleeve, no matter what. But, maybe in this case, that was a good thing.
"Me neither, Heidi," he told her in a soft voice. His hand lifted again, this time to cup her cheek in a tender fashion. "I'm almost glad of it. I don't know how long it might've taken me to admit my...my feelings for you, otherwise."
|
|
Heidi
Rogue Werewolf
Departed
One step at a time; one hope, then another.
Posts: 300
|
Post by Heidi on Feb 26, 2007 17:41:19 GMT
"Well, then, I won't apologize for mauling you," she teased, smiling. "Much as I hate to leave this spot, I think I do need to get back to my room...get dressed and everything."
She hesitated. "It's getting a little late for breakfast, but...we can have lunch together in a while. If you want."
|
|
Will
Pack Werewolf
Departed
Almost human, but I'll never be the same.
Posts: 85
|
Post by Will on Feb 27, 2007 1:18:04 GMT
"I'd like that."
He smiled, stroking at her hair again before he bowed his head to her. The kiss was careful and tender, and Will couldn't help but smile against his Beta female's mouth. Somewhere inside of him, his wolf flopped over happily, feeling sated and delightfully exhausted.
"I think I might catch a few more winks, though," he told her when they'd seperated. "Wake me if I don't come down?"
|
|
Heidi
Rogue Werewolf
Departed
One step at a time; one hope, then another.
Posts: 300
|
Post by Heidi on Feb 27, 2007 14:29:38 GMT
"O-okay," Heidi replied, slightly breathless. "I'll do that." Her own wolf yawned contentedly in the back of her mind. Putting a last quick kiss on his forehead, and pulling the cover up around his shoulders, she slid out of the bed and pulled on the clothes which she'd dropped on the floor.
There was something strangely liberating about that fact. Heidi never threw her clothes on the floor.
Once dressed, she slipped out of the room and closed the door softly behind her, then headed for her own suite.
Continued at Heidi's Room
|
|
Will
Pack Werewolf
Departed
Almost human, but I'll never be the same.
Posts: 85
|
Post by Will on Jun 16, 2007 23:24:31 GMT
Whatever woke William up certainly wasn't Heidi -- unfortunately -- but he came to with a bit of a start. The Scottish wolf was content to laze about for a bit until he happened to glance at his alarm clock and noted that he had slept far later than he'd intended to.
"Bollocks," he grumped once he scrambled up. "Brilliant exampe for a fighter to set."
His shower was quick and cold, and he did little more than run a comb through his hair before he was dressed and out the door.
Continued in: Hallways
|
|
Will
Pack Werewolf
Departed
Almost human, but I'll never be the same.
Posts: 85
|
Post by Will on Sept 15, 2009 18:30:37 GMT
The rhythmic rasp of metal on stone was oddly soothing. Many could find the sound grating, off-putting, but the Scottish fighter was more than used to it. Besides, it wasn't as if he could get away with not sharpening the blade of his rapier. He would be a piss-poor fighter if he neglected his weapon.
Granted, his attentiveness of late seemed to border on obsession. If he wasn't sparring, he was taking care of his weapons. If he wasn't taking care of his weapons, he was sparring. Anything to keep his mind off of Heidi. If he let his mind dwell on her -- on her bright hair and brighter eyes -- he felt as though he would break. Better to keep himself distracted; let everything pile up around him to make sure he wasn't exposed in any way, shape, or form.
|
|
Will
Pack Werewolf
Departed
Almost human, but I'll never be the same.
Posts: 85
|
Post by Will on Jun 5, 2010 21:04:42 GMT
POST TIMESKIP
William Murphy almost didn't recognize the face of the male that stared back at him in the mirror. This other male was so haggard looking. His eyes were bloodshot and carried the kind of dark circles that only came with serious sleep deprivation. His face looked thin, haggard, and there was at least a week and a half of stubble smudging along the lines of his jaw and up his cheeks.
Then, Will tried to remember the last time he had shaved. Oh. Yes, the wolf in the mirror was definitely him.
The Scottish wolf scoops the cold water from the tap into his hands and splashed it over his face. It shocked across his skin for a moment, but it didn't clear the fog from his brain so he simply wiped as his face with a sleep and dragged himself back into the main portion of his bedroom. There was a horrible kind of emptiness that lingered in every carpet fiber, over ever portion of the bed. Sorrow and hurt saturated the air with a bitter scent that made Will's head pound mercilessly. Since the departure of his mate, the big fighter had barely left the room. He remembered taking the odd visit from Jess and Jeremy, but other than that, there was nothing he cared to think on. Just as he had last night, Will took his place at the end of his bed and glanced around with unseeing eyes.
Nothing. He couldn't feel a goddamned thing.
Those bloodshot eyes finally closed when his head dropped forward into his hands.
|
|
Kennedy
Pack Werewolf
Cole's Pack: Senior Fighter
Get up, get out, get away from these liars.
Posts: 85
|
Post by Kennedy on Jun 6, 2010 15:55:42 GMT
Each and every fighter within the pack was under Kennedy's care, as far as she was concerned; they were all her brothers and sisters, and in her own way, she was a parental figure to them, at least in her own mind. She cared for them all deeply, felt their pain as though it was her own, shared their joy with smiles and laughter, feeling lighter and happier when they themselves were happy, and didn't feel right until she knew they were all at least on the mend after some kind of blow. It was almost as if she could sense when something was out of alignment with one of her people, one of the fighters. Sometimes, though, she didn't need to trust that sense, that instinct, because she just knew that one of her own was hurting.
Will hadn't left his room in days, not since Heidi had left the pack. Kennedy hadn't seen him in the kitchen once since he'd been left alone, and she had tried so hard not to feel any kind of resentment or disappointment on his behalf and for the most part she was succeeding, and yet, beneath the general blanket of understanding there was an unstoppable, quiet growl from her wolf. Will was one of hers, someone she loved deeply, saw as family, and now he was hurting. It was only natural that she feel riled by that. Still, it wouldn't do to let that side of her take over, it wouldn't do anyone any favours, and Kennedy was old enough to be in control of her emotions, not vice versa.
Tray held easily in one hand, she moved through the hallways with purpose, smiling at those she passed and exchanging the occasional greeting, her dark hair hanging loose around her shoulders, brushing over her upper arms and the very top of her chest until she came to a stop in front of Will's door, brushing her knuckles over the wood in a brief knock before she gripped the handle and let herself into the room. She was slow about it, respectful, but she had learned from her first visit of this sort that Will might not even hear the knock, which would leave her standing out in the hallway pointlessly if she didn't just let herself in.
The wolf's protective rumble rose within her again at the sight of her friend so haggard and scattered, and she closed the door behind her, taking that moment to squash anything negative down, feeling much more collected when she offered Will a smile and moved closer. "Guess what I found in the freezer," she said to him by way of hello, hoping that the prize she'd snagged from the kitchen would at least make a dent in his grief. She couldn't stand to see him like this.
|
|
Will
Pack Werewolf
Departed
Almost human, but I'll never be the same.
Posts: 85
|
Post by Will on Jun 6, 2010 18:49:27 GMT
It didn't matter that Heidi had simply moved on. She hadn't been killed or taken from him. The fact of the matter was she wasn't here anymore. They were supposed to be together, comfortable and happy within the pack; he had been preparing to finalize the move over into her bedroom when he was hit with the shock of her departure. It just didn't make sense. Wolves mated for life, they were meant to be together and Heidi's decision to leave was like a shot to the chest. The whole that she'd left behind gaped and bled, even though William was the only one who could see or feel it.
But, besides that open, empty ache, there was nothing else. He wasn't hungry, wasn't tired -- though he slept more than he ever had before -- and didn't have the motivation for the simplest tasks. Will knew there was that dark little part of his soul that just wanted him to sit in his room 'til he finally wasted away, and he was inclined to listen to it.
Kennedy's presence didn't even register in his forlorn mind until the bright-eyed female was actually standing in his doorway. Will gazed at her blankly and, for a moment, he couldn't remember how this was supposed to go. "M'not hungry," he finally deadpanned.
|
|
Kennedy
Pack Werewolf
Cole's Pack: Senior Fighter
Get up, get out, get away from these liars.
Posts: 85
|
Post by Kennedy on Jun 8, 2010 14:08:12 GMT
As a wolf who had never had a mate, Kennedy couldn't understand Will's loss on the same level, but she had lost her family, her parents and her baby sister. Kennedy understood loss in her own way, and of course she had seen wolves come and go over the years. She was one of the few still with the pack who had known Cole's parents, even. The pack had seen so much loss over the years, but it never got any easier to deal with; it never seemed right or fair.
No matter which way she tried to twist it or turn it, no matter which angle she considered it from, this was not fair. Will was in so much pain; it might not have been physical, but emotional and mental pain could be just as traumatising to a body, it had clearly already taken its toll on the Scottish male who sat listlessly on the edge of his bed as though he'd been set adrift in an ocean with no land in sight in any direction. He looked like a man who'd given up, and truth be told, that upset Kennedy. She didn't like what she was seeing.
She didn't respond to Will's disinterest at first, continuing to balance the tray in one hand as she got herself situated. From out of the closet -- where she had stashed it during an earlier visit -- she fished a folding table which she managed to get in place, unfolded and steady, with only one hand. Then she got herself the chair from the desk nearby, lifting it to set it down on the oppsite side of the table that she had set down in front of Will. Only then did she set the tray down. "Not hungry for a sandwich or steak, maybe," she said to him, sweeping her hair around off her right shoulder, around the back of her neck, and completely down over the front of her right, seating herself opposite him with a soft smile on her face. "But ice cream?" She lifted one of the spoons she'd brought with her. "Come on, Will. Not even you can say no to that." At least she hoped he couldn't. Ice cream might not have been the best thing for a grieving werewolf to eat, but it was something, and all the sugar and calories would go a little way towards restocking his depleted stores.
|
|
Will
Pack Werewolf
Departed
Almost human, but I'll never be the same.
Posts: 85
|
Post by Will on Jun 10, 2010 2:46:11 GMT
"Kennedy, please."
He didn't want ice cream. He didn't want steak or a sandwich, didn't want cereal; Will didn't even want alcohol to deaden the pain he felt. None of it would bring his mate back, and none of it would ever make him whole again. It was like missing a limb. Will knew what needed to be there, he could still feel it and sense it, but it just wasn't there.
The large male finally slumped over, catching his head in his hands before the weight of it could curl him into a ball. He sat there on the edge of his bed, elbow propped on his knees and simply tried to will it all away. Kennedy was trying to look out for him, Will knew that, but he just couldn't take it right now. Everything hurt, every muscle in his body seemed to ache with the loss and the grief; Will choked on a sob, finger tangling roughly through his unwashed hair.
Why wouldn't it stop? Why couldn't he just make it stop?
|
|
Kennedy
Pack Werewolf
Cole's Pack: Senior Fighter
Get up, get out, get away from these liars.
Posts: 85
|
Post by Kennedy on Jun 13, 2010 1:25:08 GMT
Kennedy wouldn't have brought Will alcohol even if he'd wanted it, because it wouldn't have done him the least bit of good. They all knew that liquor of any kind had no power with werewolves, that its bite was fleeting and in the end when the bottle was empty and the last burn was easing as it slid down, you were none the better for drinking the contents. It wouldn't help Will, it wouldn't ease his grief and it wouldn't even distract him; all it would do was frustrate him and remind him that it just wasn't that easy. Maybe, ultimately, there was nothing Kennedy could do for him, it might be down to those like Nerys, Blake and Asher to help him through his suffering, but she wasn't going to give up on one of her people. That just wasn't how she worked.
She intended to remind William of that fact.
The spoon remained in her hand, though she let it roll from pointing up to swinging down, her hazel eyes fixed on him as he dropped his head. She let him, didn't reach forward to stop him, because at the end of the day she wasn't there to force him one way or the other, wedge herself into the situation in any aggressive fashion. She was Will's friend, a mentor at times and a teacher, and she wanted to help him if he would let her.
"Will," she said, softly, but still sounding firm at the same time so her voice didn't get lost in whatever he might be hearing in the privacy of his own mind. "I've walked out of here with a full tray more than once over the last week." There was no accusation or frustration in her voice, only concern. "I'm not doing it again." He needed to eat, and even if she had to sit with him all through the night until the whole tub had turned to mush and everything else on the tray had either cooled or warmed beyond what was preferable, then that was exactly what she would do.
|
|
Will
Pack Werewolf
Departed
Almost human, but I'll never be the same.
Posts: 85
|
Post by Will on Jun 19, 2010 0:30:18 GMT
Something not unlike guilt niggled at the back of Will's mind. Kennedy was trying, he knew all she wanted to do was help him, but he still felt like he was pushing through muck. He needed to eat. He needed to shower and shave and keep functioning, and yet his mind couldn't force his body to get moving. The sorrow and the hurt kept pulling at him; it was like drowning on dry land, slow and horrifying. He could never have imagined feeling this kind of pain, this kind of weight and pressure that pulled him from his usual smiling self.
The bedraggled Scottish wolf simply clenched his fingers tighter in his dirty hair, eyes clamping shut against a fresh flood of hot tears. Christ, but he was pathetic. He was supposed to be a fighter for fuck's sake, and he couldn't even find the will to bathe himself?
"I don't think I can do this," he said hoarsely. "Kennedy, I can't..."
|
|
Kennedy
Pack Werewolf
Cole's Pack: Senior Fighter
Get up, get out, get away from these liars.
Posts: 85
|
Post by Kennedy on Jun 22, 2010 16:08:28 GMT
Maybe, at the end of the day, it wasn't a wolf like Kennedy who could help Will, no matter how long she had known him, helped him with his training, overseen and involved herself in that process, no matter how close she was to him as a friend and a pack mate. Maybe what he needed was the counsel of those who had lost and gone on to live without that other half of themselves in their lives. Nerys, Blake, Asher. Kennedy had considered that before but rejected the idea not long after it had formed; Nerys had just become Beta and the two males wouldn't appreciate painful reminders of their own pain, even if they all had the best intentions.
Seeing Will in his current state almost made Kennedy want to write off the idea of taking a mate herself at any point in her life, but she knew she couldn't think that way. What had happened to Will was horrible, yes, and she wished it had never happened, but she couldn't allow herself to be so negative.
"Yes you can," she said to him, with little in the way of a pause. "You want to know why?" The spoon was finally set back on the tray. "Because you're William Allan Murphy II." It could have so easily sounded like a joke, though it was anything but. Maybe if she reminded Will just who he was, who he'd set himself up to be, he could start picking himself up.
|
|