Cole
Alpha Werewolf
Cole's Pack
Fear of the unknown clouds our hearts today. Come into my world, see through my eyes.
Posts: 500
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Post by Cole on Feb 14, 2006 5:39:31 GMT
Immediately, but without showing any kind of reaction beyond the bare minimum, Cole bowed gracefully and put the glass on the floor, already striding closer to Mara. His pace was brisk, but far from predatory; she couldn’t help herself, he knew that, and he didn’t view her as a threat. Hopefully she would feel the same. “I live with it because I always have. Your becoming what you are now was… something that could, and should have been avoided. I was born into this, and I couldn’t imagine ever being without it.” He tried to meet her eyes, all the while knowing that close proximity could result in her lashing out. He would be ready for her. “It’s not easy… and I won’t lie to you. It will take years… ask any one of my pack, and they’ll tell you the same; those who were bitten.”
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Mara
Rogue Werewolf
Departed
Posts: 260
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Post by Mara on Feb 14, 2006 5:42:31 GMT
"Years." She scowled, keeping him in view, backing away. "You talk of years. I'm not even 30. In years I'll be 40. Probably dead before then. You look my age. How can you talk of years." She was shaking with the effort of staying in control, sweat beading on her upper lip. "Don't come any closer!" She had fallen into a back stance out of habit - ready to fight -trying to maintain control with her art.
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Cole
Alpha Werewolf
Cole's Pack
Fear of the unknown clouds our hearts today. Come into my world, see through my eyes.
Posts: 500
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Post by Cole on Feb 14, 2006 5:47:44 GMT
Cole raised his hands, showing his palms; the light glinted gently off his ring on his left hand, and holding her to her warning, he didn’t approach. He knew he would be able to handle himself against her if she ended up trying to fight him, but he wasn’t about to get cocky. “I may look your age… younger even, but I’m… almost nine-hundred years old.” He figured it best to tell her this while he had the chance, so she could take it in. Hopefully it would help her to see that she could live with the lycanthropy…
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Mara
Rogue Werewolf
Departed
Posts: 260
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Post by Mara on Feb 14, 2006 5:49:21 GMT
Surprise caught her off guard, and she used the chance to regain control. After a moment, she stood silently. "Being...this. Makes you live. Like that?" She stood straighter. "My family. They don't. Won't." She put her hands on her temples and closed her eyes, tears forming behind her lashes. "Can you really help me?"
He had never had a human family, and as such, couldn’t understand how she must feel to realise she would outlive her entire family. “I really can,” he assured her in a soft tone, still not having moved any closer. “If you let me, that is.”
She didn't want to admit it, but she did need help. Her shoulders slumped. She felt the wolf in her responding to him, and she didn't understand that. "I don't understand any of this. If you can make it make sense... then... " She rubbed her eyes roughly. "I can't do it alone, I know that. Not anymore." Being in jail had been horrifying enough, she hadn't even begun to think of the rest of her life..
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Cole
Alpha Werewolf
Cole's Pack
Fear of the unknown clouds our hearts today. Come into my world, see through my eyes.
Posts: 500
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Post by Cole on Feb 14, 2006 5:53:52 GMT
Cole nodded slowly. Even if he didn’t know exactly what she had been thinking in that moment, he had a fair idea. “I’ll do everything I can… so will the others. You won’t be alone.”
She looked down at her forearms, where the cuts were already pale - like a kitten had brushed them. "This... is normal?"
“Yeah,” Cole acknowledged. He sighed and smiled. “You’ll get used to it. I know it’s a lot to take in, but… you’ll get it.”
She felt relief from him and wondered at it briefly. "It makes my empathy feel like a freight train hit me sometimes."
Cole had lowered his hands to his sides, deciding he didn’t need to reassure her any longer. “You’ll have something I’ve never seen in one of our kind before, if it helps at all,” he offered gently, not sure how she would really feel about being that little bit more unique than the others. “But it’s not a bad thing.”
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Mara
Rogue Werewolf
Departed
Posts: 260
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Post by Mara on Feb 14, 2006 5:56:37 GMT
"Our kind." She repeated the phrase, turning it over in her head. It would be nice not to be alone. "Can I trust you?" She hated that the words came out so fast, but she needed to know. "The man that bit me - he - he was my - " she swallowed. "He was my lover. My fiance. He hid it from me. I cannot be betrayed like that again." She couldn't look him in the eyes - it felt better just to look at a point above him.
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Cole
Alpha Werewolf
Cole's Pack
Fear of the unknown clouds our hearts today. Come into my world, see through my eyes.
Posts: 500
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Post by Cole on Feb 14, 2006 6:04:54 GMT
He didn’t blame her for being wary. Not only was it instinct, but with what had happened to her, it was to be expected… he would have been confused if she hadn’t displayed some degree of mistrust. “A pack is built around trust between its members. Loyalty, devotion, protection and dedication…” He met her eyes again, as much as she would let him. “You won’t be betrayed.”
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Mara
Rogue Werewolf
Departed
Posts: 260
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Post by Mara on Feb 14, 2006 6:07:05 GMT
"You, I will believe." She met his eyes, the effort obvious. She extended her hand. "I will trust you. And I hope, in some way repay you... for everything."
Cole took her extended hand, carefully so as not to spook her. “Just the trust will do,” he said to her with a smile. “You don’t need to repay me for anything.”
The touch was almost comforting. Her wolf turned inward, and suddenly she had full control again. She gave a short laugh. "There's a lot to learn, isn't there." She walked over and collected the cord she'd thrown. She somehow knew an apology wasn't necessary. Swiftly, she packed everything up, and hefted the boxes. "The strength is a plus, I'll say that." She smiled wryly.
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Cole
Alpha Werewolf
Cole's Pack
Fear of the unknown clouds our hearts today. Come into my world, see through my eyes.
Posts: 500
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Post by Cole on Feb 14, 2006 6:08:45 GMT
Cole smiled and laughed for himself, albeit in a subdued and therefore quiet manner. “There’s more than you know. But like I said, you’ll get it. There’s more than enough people who can help explain this to you. And if you want to know anything, you can ask… we won’t mind.”
"Well." She packed everything smoothly in a stack and went back briefly to collect her recording equipment. She handed him a tape. "This is the last 20 minutes of the gallery." She pulled the tape out of it and tore it into several pieces. "Told you I'd erase you." When everything was by the door, she stood uncertainly. "So. What now?"
He had to admit, he liked her attitude. She was stronger than she probably realised, and if nothing else, that would help her get through the next couple of weeks at least, wherein she would start to learn about her strengths and weaknesses, and the control she would need to survive. “Now? Now we show the others you haven’t killed me before they get uneasy.” He shrugged. “They’re kinda protective… not that I’m not the same.”
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Mara
Rogue Werewolf
Departed
Posts: 260
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Post by Mara on Feb 14, 2006 6:14:08 GMT
"I am. Well, I used to be." She paused. "It would be nice to have something to be protective of again." She opened the door and was unsurprised to see the group gathered calmly, but barely 2 feet from the door. "He's not dead. May I have my cameras?"
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Cole
Alpha Werewolf
Cole's Pack
Fear of the unknown clouds our hearts today. Come into my world, see through my eyes.
Posts: 500
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Post by Cole on Feb 14, 2006 6:40:26 GMT
The individual who had been addressed as Kyle earlier offered the bag forward as if it weighed next to nothing. He said nothing, but he looked a good degree more at ease now that Cole was once again in his line of sight, and everything was apparently right with the situation.
She shouldered the bag and looked back at Cole. "I was going to go back to my hotel, secure a few things, then make for a cabin I have in the state park. I was cutting it fine time wise." She shrugged lightly. "Do you have a different suggestion?"
“How about you come back with us and see what all the fuss is about?” Cole offered quite simply, turning his head to her as his hands casually found his pockets and slipped inside. “You wouldn’t have to stay, but you never know… you might like it.”
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Mara
Rogue Werewolf
Departed
Posts: 260
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Post by Mara on Feb 14, 2006 6:44:28 GMT
Mara looked at him and at the other members of ..the pack. She didn't know what she was getting into - but for the first time in a long time, something made sense. "I..I have my car here - I'd like to go back to my hotel room for a few items...I'd like to have them with me if ...I decide to stay." She looked at the rest of the people with him - it seemed so unreal.
"You're not worried that I won't be...welcome?" Deep down, she was afraid still... this man was like nothing she had encountered.
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Cole
Alpha Werewolf
Cole's Pack
Fear of the unknown clouds our hearts today. Come into my world, see through my eyes.
Posts: 500
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Post by Cole on Feb 14, 2006 6:50:39 GMT
Cole shook his head in the negative. "No, I'm not worried." It wasn't just because he was in charge that he wouldn't have to worry about Mara not being welcome... he knew how his pack ticked. Any time he sat with a number of them, one part of his brain was silently dedicated to taking notes on their behaviour and reactions and moods; he knew them all pretty well. As well as any Alpha should.
"It's natural to be wary," he reassured her. "The pack's quite large, but they won't make you feel unwelcome, or inferior in any way."
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Mara
Rogue Werewolf
Departed
Posts: 260
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Post by Mara on Feb 14, 2006 22:52:57 GMT
Nodding, she stood quietly for a moment. "I'll get my car then - it's right out front there - everything will be packed up by my agent's team tomorrow. If you want to follow me to my hotel, then we can go ...whereever it is you mean to go."
A thought occured to her.
She tugged her sleeve up a little farther, baring the seeping wound that wouldn't heal. "Why won't this one heal? Or should I keep the harder questions til we get whereever we're going..."
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Cole
Alpha Werewolf
Cole's Pack
Fear of the unknown clouds our hearts today. Come into my world, see through my eyes.
Posts: 500
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Post by Cole on Feb 14, 2006 23:20:48 GMT
Cole had nodded to her suggestion; this had taken less time than he'd thought. It was either that, or they'd been gone longer than he'd realised. When she showed the wound, however, Cole's brow furrowed, as he looked at the injury, quiet as he studied.
He recognised the slight burns, even if she didn't.
"Silver," he said to her simply at first. "Whatever hurt you had silver in it. I can explain more about that when we get to The Hyperion... but I'm sure you've heard the legends."
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