blood stain battles{tag Halo}

[Ophelia Loup Garou]

I was intending to leave after breaking down at Cole, having him see that side of me, so vulnerable and scared, really and truly sickened me. I was tough, I was strong, I kicked ass first and took names later. So after running towards camp to gear up for food(the clan hated when I left without gearing up for the trek back home, they still cared for me even when I wasn't here, like one big happy family). Syren was busy tending to, Arya I think it was. Stryker's daughter. Cole was behind, hidden halfway in shadows watching over the clan while I started loading up on roast meats, vegetables, bread, eating what I could and saving the rest for the trek home which I shoved into a carry bag. Trust me, refuse the clan and they won't leave you alone. I learned that the hard way. "I'm not staying." I muttered, feeling a shadow behind me, knowing it was Synge. "I know. I just want to wish you well on your journey home."

Sweet kid, and he was family too. Grunting a thanks, I shoved everything into the bag and stuck my arms through the straps and hoisted it upon my shoulders. Heading towards the perimeter, I paused, and stood, staring around before heading back through the forest, running as if I was being chased, breaking through a clearing before stopping for the night. My sleep was torn, the day full of running, I didn't go back home but ran through the mountains. Finishing off the food in a week, hunting animals along the mountain trail and drinking from the streams, I refused to go back to humanity, where my child was taken and killed. I couldn't, it hurt enough just to think, so when I shifted, the bag tore open, my clothes were shredded, and I stayed like that, never once shifting back to human. I lost myself in the world of the wolf, Cole's warning lingering in my head about not neglecting one side or the other. Well fuck him and his stupid warnings. At least the wolf I didn't have to feel so much pain.

After a while, I wasn't sure how many days, but I managed to make a wide circle and ended up back near the clan. It was the munin's work, something was going to happen otherwise they left me alone. That or they wanted me to be around the clan in my time of need yada yada. But peering through the trees of the perimeter, wanting to snarl and bite something, all that running and living as the wolf just to end back here? Pointless. "Something happens on the horizon. Be ready Ophelia." That voice! Turning upon my paws, I saw Angel, the clan protector standing in the trees, her form an ethereal beauty. She was my great, great etc grandmother. "Yea, well, I don't know how I came back here." Her smile was all knowing as she jumped down, running her hand through my fur. Biting back a retort, the sounds of battle was alarmed, Cole's voice sounding through the clan. "Zane!" Terror flooded me as I took off, bolting through the trees away from the clan where I could be safe, Angel tearing after me.

"You know who fights? Cole, Syren, Devin, Xander. Mick is heading the salves unit with Nyta, and Halo fights. You may not know it, but he fights too. The rest? At the clan, ready to defend should Zane get through." "What is this huh? Some sort of redemption crap? I didn't want to come back here! I wanted to go home!" I snarled, as her voice broke into my skull. "The munin altered your path to come back here. A reason for that. And this is your home." That stopped me, even knowing they were in a battle just meters away, I scanned my mind wondering why. Was it to save me? To stop me from doing something I would regret. "Sometimes, the munin has its way of doing things. We may not know that, but trust them." Angel held out her hand as we ran back through the foliage, heading back to the clan I swore I'd never go back. What awaited me was blood shed.

Devin was hurt, badly, and Halo was gone to see his sister. Shifting back was hard, my limbs hurt as Angel wrapped a cloak around my naked form as we headed to the hut. "Am I here because I would have lost myself if I stayed as the wolf?" I asked, Angel looked to the sky and didn't answer me. What a way to come back to though. Devin had been a friend of mine when I lived in the clan along with Halo. While I cared for Devin, it wasn't he who stole my heart. "If you stayed as the wolf, yes, you would have lost yourself. It would have been much harder to reach you." Sitting outside the hut where Devin was healing inside, I was given food, drink and clothing if I wanted it. I just wanted to see Halo. The next week was a mass of mundane tasks. Cleaning and helping others, the clan started getting back to normalcy after the attack, Zane had been driven off for now. For some reason I felt compelled to help, and a strong burning need to destroy Zane.

[Halo Lazarus Loup Garou]

Whatever Vita's trip was, whatever was keeping her just out of my reach, whatever she was hiding, she knew we had to go back to the Luna. I'd stayed the night with her, and left early the next morning. Sneaking out of a motel in wolf form was not easy, no matter how fast you were. And all of us, even little Arya, were much bigger than your average wolf when we shifted. But I managed, using a maid's cart as camoflauge when I darted through the lobby. I had no idea if they'd gotten to Ophelia, if the clan had let her know what happened. Cole and Syren can broadcast long range, something to do with their powers and stations as Alpha and Lupa. If nothing else, one of them should have contacted her.

I followed my trail back, running the whole way, pausing now and again to sniff at a strange scent. Zane's stench was all over the clearing where we'd fought just a couple nights ago. Devin's blood still stained the ground. Closer to the camp's perimeter I could smell Ophelia, and my nose took me straight to her. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't seem to convince her that this was home. Us, the Luna, all of it. There was another scent wrapped around Ophelia's, something ethereal, soft, and everlasting. Only one Loup Garou smelled like that. Angel. I found her with Arya, the pair harvesting berries from some of Nyta's plants. I padded up to Arya, the littlest Loup Garou, and nuzzled her hand before licking her cheek. Her laughter made me grin with a wolfish smile.

"Angel, where is Ophelia? How is she?" Angel replied, telling me Ophelia was well enough. Cryptic, but that's Angel for you. She'd been set to various tasks about the Luna, and I found her near the streambed, rinsing out pots from this morning's breakfast. I sat back on my haunches, a little way off. She was down wind, so she'd catch my scent soon enough. When she turned from her task and looked at me, I barked a greeting, then tilted my head to one side. The slight lifting of the corners of her mouth, the barest of smiles was about as good a smile as she ever gave these days. I stood, shaking myself and padded over, plopping down with my front paws dangling in the water. I batted at a small fish that swam past, then stretched out, my wet paw pressing against Ophelia's leg as I grinned up at her. "Thought you were long gone. I can still smell your wolf, like you never changed." She must have spent a week or more in wolf form, for her scent to be that strong. What was she running from now? Why couldn't she see that you can't outrun yourself, no matter how long, how hard you try.

[Ophelia Loup Garou]

Scrubbing the pots with my hands, dunking it into the running water of the streambed I allowed myself to reflect on the morning. I had argued with Cole, not a surprise there, mainly due to the fact everyone kept being so nice when it was breaking me into pieces. Staring at one of the pots, it gleamed in the sunlight as I sat back, seeing my face stare back at me with haunting eyes, it scared me, it truly did, so I set the pot to dry, working on another one. It kept me busy but I still wanted revenge, on those fucks and Zane, it made my head hurt. Cole told me not to give into my hatred like that, but how couldn't I? I didn't know how to let go. "I'm sorry." Dipping my hands into the cool water, it lapped against my skin with a soft, gentle touch, ripples from my movements were sent along the waters surface, distorting my image in like a shattered mirror. I didn't know why everyone was still treating me the same when I was barely even around in the first place. It bugged me, not knowing.

With a sigh, I sniffed the air, a sharp scent catching in my nose and sending waves to my brain. Twisting my head, I saw the wolf, a bark of greeting that made my lips tug upwards in a ghost of a smile before it faded along with any sense of joy and happiness. Getting back to my taste, half watching as Halo's paws dipped into the water, similar to my hands in the water, feeling a sudden shock of cold upon my leg before I pushed Halo's shoulder playfully though no smile lingered upon my face, I carried on with my work. "Good thing these dry quickly." A pair of soft black pants were around my lower body, my feet bare as I disliked wearing shoes unless it was needed along with a tee-shirt on my upper torso, the bottom was shredded in half and tied, almost like a vest looking thing. Around my neck was my amulet, never letting it go, and around one wrist was a silver bracelet with my daughters name etched in the metal. Rosa was my life, my light, and now, she was gone. Like a washed out flame.

"I was long gone. Until the munin brought me back." I growled, unintentional as I stared at Halo, my chore lying forgotten for the moment as I stared deep within his wolf eyes. "I spent weeks as the wolf, unchanging, always as the wolf to lose myself." Finishing up a little more forceful than I wanted, splashing my front with water that slopped everywhere, I stood up, cradling the pots with my arms and making sure they wouldn't fall, I stalked back to the 'kitchen' area and gave them to the group that lingered about. A few females and a few males each took the load from me, relieving me from my task while I took the moment to stretch, arching my back and my muscles. "I didn't want to be human anymore, to feel. I just wanted my mind to be gone." I knew without a doubt that Halo had followed me, my eyes scanned the sky. I didn't belong here anymore, least in my eyes, and all I wanted was to leave and be free. But leaving, that didn't make me free did it? And here we go with the cryptic stuff, I had been spending too much time around Angel.