|| finding my purpose , [Marzell/open]

[`| κιrs♥]

× adelina
"I'll be the only star that lights the sky ,
no endless night can keep me in the dark ,"

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She was making progress. Step by step, the forest began to dissipate and the sun began to shine through the widening gaps between the leaves. It eased her mind; she had been travelling through the dark, dense forest for some time now. Adelina didn't know where she was going, but she kept on marching each day, motivated by her yearning for company; specifically Marzell's. Her thoughts were dark, hopeless. The forest attacked her mind with painful memories of the fire, of seeing her sibling's faces disappear into the flames. She couldn't escape the pain and remorse that the images brought; it provoked her deepest sorrow, something not usually seen in Adelina. She was not quite the wolf she used to be. It was embedded deep in her mind, a growing shadow she was rushing to escape. The shadow of the past. But she was here to find a new beginning, as all hope to find her family had been lost.

The trees were spotty now and the grass much longer, brushing her onyx belly as she moved. She could hear signs of life, something she hadn't heard in a long time. It seemed that Adelina was finally putting the fire behind her, as this place looked untouched by the chaos, a beacon shining through the gates of hell. Everything about it reminded her of her family and her puphood; happiness. What was this place? Why had the gods blessed her with the luck of finding such a haven?

From the new blend of scents, Adelina could tell that she was entering the center of the lands. She couldn't recognize much of anything, mostly because her cranium was still stuffed with ash and smoke, but she knew somebody was here. She entered what seemed to be a clearing and she halted in order to survey her surroundings, ivory ears twitching. The air was still and warm, quiet. Adelina couldn't see any movement besides the periodical fluttering of the birds and leaves, the passing of a cloud overhead. She squinted her azure eyes, searching, hoping for signs of other wolves. None. Disappointment constricted her chest as she stood, clouding her mind with the darkness that had just occupied it moments ago.

Adelina slightly lowered her ebony figure to the grass, moving toward a large tree placed in the middle of the clearing. As she moved, determination began to battle with the disappointment, filling each sure step she took. She knew she came here for a purpose. She posed under the tree, gathered her sleek body, and emitted an echoing howl from her jaws. It was a howl with a sound of hope, of yearning, laced with her determination to find life. She was announcing her arrival to these lands.

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» M A R Z E L L

Snap. Marzell loped along the wearing path with ease, his mind looser than it had been before he'd left to the falls. He was freer than before seeing her--or at least, he seemed that way--with a higher step and his head raised like the Alpha he was becoming. The meeting with Dresna felt days upon days behind him, and Marzell ignored the sharp pain that barbed his heart at the thought of her white face and pretty blue eyes. He'd been so mean to her. He'd been brutal. Nothing had changed in that regard.

She had been rude too. She'd just expected him to throw up his paws and visit home. What did she think would come from that meeting? Mother dearest would meet him at the border with a freshly caught rabbit and a welcome home party? Hmph. Marzell snorted at the thought, watching the horizon as he neared Norden. As if! Kasimira and Tortuga would be equally enraged at their son's misbehavior. What reason did he have to return? He knew what he needed to now; his parents were alive while Adelina was still no where to be found. Vaguely, Marzell recalled how he had promised his sister that he would visit.

"I never said when I would visit though."

The words were soft and spoken exclusively to himself, under his breath as he faded through the forest. He pulled his head down to sprint along a straight portion of the trail, his paw steps thrumming rhythmically in his head and in his chest as he breathed. The young male forced Dresna out of his mind, bolting across the land and throwing in a buck of play for good measure when he reached the edge of the trees. He was finally home. Home. Was that what Norden was to him now? Marzell blinked his blue eyes over the small patch of meadow grass as he neared the rise of land, gazing at the territory he had claimed. It was a good piece. It was freedom and wildness, it was small enough and large enough for his vivacious heart to manage at this stage. It was his, and he was it's Alpha.

And then it hit him. There was someone here. The scent was strong and didn't imply that care had been taken to hide it, which sparked a small flame of fear in Marzell's heart. He stopped abruptly and surveyed the land carefully. It was just a matter of where... As soon as he began to search from where he was standing, a soft lingering howl crept over the meadow. There was no doubting it now. Someone was here and they wanted to see him. Moving to see what the other side of the land might be hiding, Marzell's blood froze at the sight of her.

From below the moor's rise, Marzell saw the white fur and the distinctive black portions he'd learned like the back of his paw. It wasn't true. It couldn't be. He saw her perish in those fires, in those flames that ripped her from him. The black male stood stock still for a solitary moment, childishly afraid that if he moved she would be gone and he would be lost to searching for her. It was all he could do just to breathe. She was alive. She was breathing. She was in Norden.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Marzell padded to where he believed his sister to be laying. He only got halfway to the white before he resolutely stopped, his tail swishing and his blackened ears pricked in a mixture of intense anxiety and guarded excitement.

"How in Iudex's name..."

His voice was soft and much deeper than it had been back when they were just pups. The months of searching stretched between them as Marzell stood before the she-wolf, silencing the male before any real questions could be made. This must be a dream.

[`| κιrs♥]

× adelina
"I'll be the only star that lights the sky ,
no endless night can keep me in the dark ,"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The birds and small animals fled as she emitted her howl, but as soon as the fluttering died down, silence filled the clearing. Moments passed without a sound, without even a breath. Adelina stood waiting, watching, hoping for someone to hear her and greet her. Could she have been wrong? Was this place really abandoned? She swung her head from side to side, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of movement. Still nothing.

If only I could've found Irrsin, she thought. If only I could've found my home. Home was really what she longed for. She dreamt of the bright, emerald grass and the warm sun on her belly; the long meadows that never seemed to end, the cascading waterfalls that were all fair game for play with her brother Marzell. That was home. That was what she missed. Now, she had been on her own for quite some time. It was hard for her to remember how it felt to care for someone so much, to spend every second of every day with them. Ever since the fire, she spent her nights alone. She never stayed in one place too long, but was rather always on the move. She didn't encounter much of anything, just blackened rubble and ashy remains. Just black. She felt like each night became darker, more perilous, surrounding her already shadowed being. She needed an escape. She needed something to free her soul from these chains.

As her hope seemed to be at its lowest, she heard twigs snapping in the woods behind her. Startled, Adelina spun around, crouched with half anxiety, half optimism. Sure, it could just be a deer, a fox. But what if it was the owner of these lands? Or any other wolf? Just as she finished this thought, suddenly, out of the thick brush, an ebony figure emerged.

It couldn't be.

Adelina's body froze. She could feel her heart drop, her legs shake. It was all she could do to remain standing. Was this another one of her hallucinations? This isn't real, this isn't real.

But no. She could feel the familiar scent engulf her senses, screaming his name. Marzell. Marzell!

Adelina shook her head, refocusing her blue eyes on the figure in front of her. She knew, deep down inside, that this was her brother. This was the wolf that she had been blindly searching for. Finally, she was home.

"Marzell?"

[`| κιrs♥]

I finally finished this. c:

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» M A R Z E L L

"Marzell?"

Still caught by utter surprise, the black wolf's ears pricked forward at the sound of Adelina's voice. She was actually here.