OPEN;; somewhere we went wrong

[Paint]

did you forget
that i was even alive
did you forget
everything we ever had
did you forget
did you forget
about me?

Rose felt as if everyone in her life simply forgot her. They happened upon her, and sometimes got attached. Then everything would fall apart. Even her son, her own son had forgotten her... he was alive, but inside it was killing her that he didn't think of her as 'Mother' anymore. He didn't really know her, and it hurt her.

did you regret
ever standing by my side
did you forget
what we were feeling inside
now i'm left
to forget
about us.

It felt as if Raiden had forgotten her. She didn't even know if he'd still been thinking about her when he'd been caught in the earthquake. What if he was alive, but he'd travelled in the opposite direction? If he'd forgotten her like Bion had? It made her heart ache like nothing else when she thought about that. And her father. Duke had forgotten the unspoken truce they had, he'd broken them apart. No doubt in a year or two, Justyn would forget her too.

but somewhere we went wrong
we were once so strong
our love is like a song
you can't forget it.

Rose padded out across the Outlands in the cold autumn moonlight, heart beating painfully against her chest as she thought about all the things in her life that had caused her emotional harm. Falling in love, starting a family, trusting her father had done nothing for her. In the end, she'd just ended up with nightmares. That's all my life is, Rose thought bitterly. One long nightmare. She stopped when her ears flickered and she was alerted to the sound of another wolf across the way.

so now i guess
this is where we have to stand
did you regret
ever holding my hand
never again
please don't forget
don't forget.

Bandit lifted her head for a moment, sensing immediately from the set of the tortured and careful expression of the other female that she was a Falling Moon. They all wore that expression eventually. What she didn't realise, was her expression matched almost instantly. Because she was always careful, and she too felt forgotten. It was her fault, when she looked back she knew that, but it still hurt.

we had it all
we were just about to fall
even more in love
than we were before
i won't forget
i won't forget
about us.

For a moment the two broken princesses stared at each other in mutual emotional agony. Rose's eyes were black in the darkness, and held no expression besides the ridiculous amount of pain she'd endured, and no doubt was going to continue to endure. Because there was no doubt she would fall in love again, she would have a family again, she would trust again. That only led to bad in her life. Bandit's fiery eyes were alive with the pain, like she was willing to suffer if she could live to see glory, in some form, again.

but somewhere we went wrong
we were once so strong
our love is like a song
you can't forget it
somewhere we went wrong
we were once so strong
our love is like a song
you can't forget it at all.

Then Bandit moved forwards, and Rose did as well, and she frowned. She'd never known Xaka, not really, but she'd known Caerwyn. And watching the way Bandit moved forwards with such an authoritive presence was enough to make her see a resemblance. It was very odd, but she wasn't scared. She felt numb with the pain by now.

and at last
all the pictures have been burned
and all the past
is just a lesson that we've learned
i won't forget
please don't forget us.

"Do you think..." Rose began, feeling like a pup again. Her voice was barely a whisper, but Bandit heard, and she was nodding.
"It will get better," she agreed, voice low but not whispering. Rose swallowed painfully, and sat down, and Bandit sat as well. She watched Bandit.
"Are you related to Caerwyn?" she asked, and the question caught Bandit off guard. She flinched and frowned, and then her expression became blank again. She nodded. Rose nodded, mumbling about how she thought so, and then she curled up at Bandit's feet in the moonlight. Bandit could've killed her sworn enemy, but she didn't. Bandit did not kill the vulnerable, and Rose had never been so vulnerable in her life. Rose closed her eyes, deciding she was finally going to forget everyone who had forgotten her.

somewhere we went wrong
our love is like a song
but you won't sing along
you've forgotten about us.

[risaisis]

Thoughts were alive in his mind, dancing round and round as if attempting to dizzy him. The wolf loped from the high-topped mountains, feeling the cool air settle around him, a swift and tempting change. It almost worked in distracting him, but the thoughts were fresh, juicy and eager to overwhelm him, and the air wasn't that cool.

When Diego had first arrived here, at the pack of the Falling Moon, he had been numb with his loses. Even now, the thoughts of his best friend made him visibly wince; he pushed her face away, not even thinking her name for the pain it brought felt as if it would kill him.

He hadn't known what most wolves already knew - that the Falling Moons were all hurting, injured, in pain. Most of them, at least. They all dealt with their memories in different ways; he had seen much proof of that. But now, it was dawning on him that they had all lost something.

The dark shape flitted towards the border of the territory, breaking out in a clean run. Diego hoped it would distract him, but it wasn't like the hunt - the run just claimed his body, leaving his mind free to think. Wanting a distraction . . . but he didn't want to kill for pleasure. Not now.

Just as he was wondering if he'd ever find an escape, Diego noticed something peculiar. He slowed his run, until he was just padding along quietly, his tail held out low behind him. Dark eyes peirced the air, unsure of what he was seeing.

Rose. With a she-wolf he had never noticed before - she couldn't be in his pack. What was even stranger - the enemy wolves were together, Rose lying at the Dancing Stars wolf's paws. For a moment, Diego wondered if it was in surrender, but he hardly thought Rose would do something like that.

No, it must have been something else that brought the two wolves together.

Diego wondered if it was what had sent him out on the pointless run.

[arbie]

He had been around lately, and all he could find was boredom, distraught, happiness and everything else. It was like a really bad movie, but, of course, Luka didn’t know what a movie was, so all he could relate it to was Caden Valley, which it was, so he really couldn’t relate it to itself. He scrunched up his nose in disgust as he thought of what exactly he could relate this place to and nothing came to mind. Sometimes he hated this place, yet sometimes he thought it was his favourite area ever. It had the lovely fresh area, it had the nightmare-ish area and it had the two cliché packs. Wasn’t it just perfect? Well it was, apart from the fact that the two packs fought. That was just sh*t, seeing as Luka wasn’t good at fighting at all. A very big disadvantage.

Luka quickly made his way through no man’s land, ears twitching cautiously. He was hoping he’d find Tallulah, but the male forced that hope to lower to a very small twinkle in his heart. He didn’t need to think about the beautiful female, especially when he caught the scent of other females. Perking up, ears swivelling forward, he slowed his pace, their scents mixing together and making him incredibly confused. Tilting his head to the right, he frowned and slowed his pace to a very, very slow lumber, dragging his paws along the ground.

And then another scent came to his nostrils. Luka hesitated, standing a few feet away from them. He looked down at Rose, then at Bandit, then Diego. He had no idea who any of those wolves were, even if Rose was the sibling he had talked about to Tallulah to tease her. He stayed silent, narrowing his eyes a bit. He didn’t like staying quiet, and would have made a lesbian remark if they weren’t wolves.
“What's... Happening here, exactly?"

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[Paint]

Rose stayed curled up. She hadn't broken down, she'd sort of imploded. Her mind was still very sharp, she was well aware of the effects this would have. She knew Bandit, Diego and this loner would all see this situation badly. It was effect the opinion of Duke's pack.

But she couldn't make herself care.

Bandit glanced over, catching sight of Diego, who looked quite confused. Perhaps he knew Rose. Seeing her like this would be confusion enough, and she wasn't moving much either. Bandit hid the pain in her eyes and turned her fiery glare on Luka.

For some reason, she imagine neither male was about to try and help the situation. But she wasn't about to let them bully Rose. No matter what kind of a wolf Rose's father was, and Bandit had guessed from her face and her dark eyes that Duke was just that wolf, Bandit was not about to let Rose become a victim. However, Bandit didn't lie. It was avoid the subject, or tell the truth with Bandit- always.

"I'm not sure that's any of your business," she replied coldly. She glanced over at Diego again. He certainly looked like a Falling Moon, so she took the chance. "It might be your business, though. Do you know her?" She asked, tone business-like.

[risaisis]

Diego glanced back towards the new arrival, his nose twitching slightly. A loner, male. Perhaps it would be best to run, now, before anyone noticed him, before Diego could let the competitive side of him appear. He was good at running; he had done so for quite some time. Before he could seriously consider the option, the other she-wolf called to him.

He nodded slowly, his ears swivelling to catch the sound before they returned to their regular position. "Oh, uh, yes. I do know her," he barked a reply, his tail flickering. "I'm not sure . . ."

He trailed off, slowly stepping forward until he stood about a wolf-length away from Bandit and Rose. His dark gaze flashed to Luka quickly, before he looked down at Rose. Sitting down, he gazed at her softly, unsure of what to do, how to help. Did she want it? Would she snap at him?

Diego stayed quiet, wondering what had happened to the strong wolf he had seen hours earlier. It's a mask, he told himself silently, not exactly knowing how that would have worked. He didn't think he would have been able to hold it up for so long. Instead of playing pretend, he had run, let himself slip away, become something else.

[arbie]

It wasn’t the first time someone didn’t want him in their business, so he wasn’t that bothered. Keeping a calm face, Luka looked down at Rose for a moment, red eye sparkling with a little bit of mischief. He sat down on his haunches, showing he was going no where, whether he knew the story or not. Tail wagging slightly at the idea of some fun banter between three wolves, even if one looked dead, he let it rest suddenly so he could show less emotion than needed. His eye was bad enough.

“She looks ill.” he commented, sounding as if he didn’t really care. He glanced at Bandit and Diego, then looked down at Rose again, “Or just extremely tired.”
He shrugged, saying that as if it was the obvious conclusion and it was the last one. He looked round at Diego, who seemed to know a lot more than Luka did. Well, he was a bit sad, but it’s not like it was the end of the world.

“What’s her name?” Luka asked, looking round at them, leaning his head closer to feign curiosity.

[Paint]

Bandit frowned down at Rose, who still had her eyes closed, blocking out the world. She sighed slightly.

"I think she's Duke's daughter," she said softly, frowning. She was frowning because really, in her father's honour, she should snap this wolf's spine and enjoy it. But Rose looked as if she'd prefer to be dead right now, and no wolf should feel that way. Although Bandit sometimes had.

Rose sat up, finally. Her expression could not be labelled as glum, for that was hardly serious enough. She looked... numb. And she was, that was the only way to describe it. She looked at Diego, faintly recognising him. Joy, a wolf who hasn't ruined my life yet. she thought vaguely, sarcastic tone echoing in her mind.

"My name is Rose," she said, murmuring. The usual cool, clear glass of her tone was now lost. She wasn't sure she'd ever get it back, and that made her sad. She felt so childish and silly to think that way, but she was emotionally exhausted.

"Right," Bandit nodded. She glanced at Diego and Luka again. "She's not ill, or tired. She's..." she glanced at Rose, who was quite a bit shorter than Bandit. Rose wasn't focusing her dark eyes on anything.

"Broken. Numb. Uncaring." she offered tonelessly.

[risaisis]

Diego nodded slowly in response to the she-wolf's words, his eyes flickering to Bandit's face quickly before returning to Rose. He hadn't missed the twinkle of sarcasm in her eyes as she saw him - he didn't think she was too happy to see him at the moment - but he didn't feel as if he could snarl sardonic words at her. Not now, anyways.

His tail twitched, the shadowed fur bristling slightly. He licked his lips as he waited for Rose to do something, before he realized she was still, gazing past him, not seeing him.

The wolf sat still, undecided - unsure, really. He didn't know what to do, how to help Rose. He wasn't obliged to help her, despite them belonging to the same pack, but he couldn't leave her like this. They were in the same boat; at least, it seemed like it.

Almost before he could stop himself, he glanced up towards Bandit, seeking help; would she offer advice? She might just leave him with Rose - they were enemies, after all. His gaze even slid towards Luka, but he didn't think the male would help. The pale wolf looked curious enough, though not willing to lend a paw. Diego wanted to snap at the air as a quick bought of fury flashed in his eyes, but it quickly died down.

The Falling Moons wolf looked away before the loner could see anything; a fight would not be good right now.

[[Midnight]]

Broken. Numb. Uncaring.

Ooohhh, it sent thrills and chills up and down his spine as he listened in on the conversation. It looked as if these two females were having technical difficulties - although the one seemed to care even less than the other. How delightful, a wolf without a soul. Maybe he could make some friends after all.

"What a dreadful feeling, ain't it, love?" Ryoker sang, padding up to the little gathering with his smirk. Always there, it never disappeared.

The intensity of the moment made his whiskers quiver with excitement. He might just need to taste some blood by the end of the night in order to calm his nerves and sleep tonight.

"Loneliness is pain, but in this world, pain is love. Wouldn't you agree?"

His question was pointed more towards Rose than Bandit, since Rose seemed to excite him the most.

Broken. Numb. Uncaring.
Her words continued to ring in his ear, his eyes twinkling with a strange sort of lust.

He completely ignored the two males.

[arbie]

Duke’s daughter? Seriously? He knew it wasn’t Tallulah, so this must be Rose. He looked at her, tilting his head to the right. She was pretty, true, but he would actually never dream of her, or whatever he said to Tallulah to make her jealous. Luka wasn’t that surprised when Rose finally sat up and he looked at her oddly. She seriously did seem dead, did that mean she wanted to be? Not dwelling on it for long, Luka found what she said almost amusing. A wolf couldn’t be that boring, surely.

Before he could do anything more, he heard a wolf drawling, or rather singing, as he entered the scene. He looked round at Ryoker. Good lord, was there anyone he could meet that didn’t remind him of another wolf? Everyone was too similar here, and Luka liked to think he was the only original one there. He smirked on the inside, but kept his expression calm. The wolf wasn’t amused by it all, really, it got old fast.

He backed up slightly, snorting at them. They were boring, maybe he’d find some amusement in a rabbit or something. He slowly disappeared, seeing as most of them weren’t even paying attention to them. Smirking to himself, he sauntered off.

[Paint]

Rose's eyes flickered to Diego, and she watched him for a minute. She wondered why he was still here. Perhaps she was only just realising that not all of the Moons wolves were typical Moons wolves- not at heart. Perhaps, like Justyn, Diego had just encountered a lot of pain in his life and had decided the Moons was the best way to go when he arrived.

She blinked slowly, savouring the moment when her eyes were closed and the world went black. When she opened her eyes again, she continued to stare at Diego in wonder. What did he care? He looked quite concerned, and she couldn't place why. Who cared about Rose anymore?

She completely ignored Ryoker, although her lips twitched infintisimally at his words. Pain was love? Wrong way around. But she couldn't bring herself to speak again.

Bandit's lips raised up at Ryoker's words and his smirk. His pleasure in Rose's pain was both irritating and surreal, and Bandit liked realism. A lot. She narrowed her vibrant eyes at him.

"Pain is not love," she spoke harshly, demanding Ryoker's attention while Rose simply ignored it. "Pain is pain, and love is love. It's a thin line, most of the time, and one can lead to another- but they are most definitely not the same."

[[Midnight]]

Ryoker hadn't had this kind of encounter in long time. He needed to be sure to put it to good use. This dark-pelted female seemed like a quick-witted one, but that didn't mean he'd be beaten down. For Ryoker, words came out almost without his own consent. He never rehearsed them, perhaps just experienced them somewhere in his crazy head. So he showed no signs of fear or discouragement at Bandit's simple yet extensive revalation of life, he simply flickered his gaze in her direction and began to study her just as fiercely as he had with Rose.

She looked like a wolf of power. Was she an Alpha?

No, she wasn't. Her scent was all wrong. An Alpha would have a particular, excreting gland that only they were obliged to use. They'd have an even bigger air around them. She was just a hotheaded, power-hungry female - or proud, which could be easily distinguished as the conversation continued.

He let out a sort of giddy laugh, his entire muzzle quivering.
"Pain is pain and love is love, fair is fair. But what happens when that line dissolves, lovely stranger?"
He paused for the suspense of it, creeping a little step forward. It was almost like a Cheshire Cat moment, when Ryoker advanced further on the subject.
"You should be a teensy-tiny bit more open-minded, lovely. Ain't you ever heard of oxy-morons? Irony? Just consider - I love pain. I love it so much that it makes me shiver. But I hate love. I hate love so much that it drove me to insanity. Although, that would make me a hypocrite, wouldn't it? I can't hate something I love. I can't love something I hate."

He turned his head back towards the depressed one, his smile so wide that his canines were exposed.
"You are obviously a wolf who loves to love. Otherwise, you wouldn't be mourning for the love that you have lost, would you? Whether it'd be a love for a male, or a love for the river's waters which have dried up. If love leads only to one thing, who had the power to say they aren't the same?"

He quickly let out a sharp laugh and spun around in a tight circle, incapable of controlling his nerves. He wanted to have the last laugh, and he knew that no matter where this conversation went, he'd have it. Because Ryoker always managed to laugh in the end. He stopped the rediculous behavior and turned his gaze towards Diego, his unreadable smile now a closed one.

[risaisis]

Diego hardly noticed Luka leave, having paid so little attention to the wolf. Instead, the gray wolf kept his gaze on Rose, watching her carefully, wondering what was going through her mind as she gazed back at him. Her eyes had drifted shut, but soon they had reopened, to find him still over her side.

His gaze was cautious, too, as if expecting Rose to growl at him defensively. She never did. She never said a word.

As the other male appeared, his snide remarks almost giddy at the scene, Diego glanced away from his pack-mate, looking briefly towards the new-comer. Anger seemed to boil under his fur at the wolf's words, his hackles bristling, standing on end.

A deep breath, and he managed to force his fur down though his claws pierced the ground.

Diego kept quiet, but he listened as Bandit shot her words at him, almost defensively. As the conversation went on, Diego managed to block out the fury blazing within him, ears slanting. He caught the male's raging words directed at the she-wolves, and wondered if the lupe was a lunatic.

Stark-raving mad.

When Ryoker turned his gaze on Diego, the gray wolf's lips twitched. What would the crazy loner make of him? Diego had to keep his emotions in check as he met the male's gaze evenly, though his tail flicked every now and then.

[Paint]

Bandit raised her lips over her long white teeth.

"I'm not mourning anything. Back off," she warned him, and her tone implied nothing but threat. She was not afraid to start a fight right here, right now. She'd spent her whole life protecting herself, so she had a hell of a lot of experience. She was not some pampered little princess who had everything handed to her- she'd fought her way to where she was, and she didn't tolerate crazy talk from loners.

Rose, meanwhile, simply gazed into nothingness. She glanced sideways at Bandit for a moment, wondering if she'd ever remember the kindness the other female was paying to her by not killing her when she was so vulnernable.

Then she remembered she didn't care.

She looked at Ryoker, simply stared at him, for a long time. He seemed to be excited at the prospect of such a hollow shell of a wolf- herself. Despite his lunacy, she felt strangely drawn to him. Maybe that's what she needed, some lunatic to aid her in her new world of not caring.

If only her brain would truly give up. Sputter out, crack apart, spill from her skull and leave her in peace. But she knew that no matter how emotionally or physically she was broken, her mind would continue to be as sharp as a hunter's knife til the day she dropped down dead.

So she stared at him with blank, dark eyes.

[[Midnight]]

Aww, no battle of the wits. That was disappointing, since Ryoker had a feeling that this Bandit character would have been a worthy opponent. But that was no problem, because when Ryoker turned away from Diego and looked back at Rose, his eyes lit up at her blank expression.

"Don't look so dull. I'm your friend, open up to me," he said, the look on his face still as unreadable as ever. "I understand. The world has turned its back on you. But the only way to survive is to have the last laugh. If you have nothing to lose, you win!"

His claws dug into the dirt and he suddenly scrunched up his face and closed his eyes. It almost looked like he was in some sort of pain, but it was impossible to tell with Ryoker.

When he opened his eyes, he began padding towards Rose with a relaxed step, speaking at the same time, "My name is Ryoker."
He kept about two feet of space between he and the female, and he bent his head down to be at her eye level. "I will see you seen, Love!"

Then he chuckled and turned on his heels, disappearing into the brush as suddenly as he had arrived on the scene.