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Post by SukarettoYanagi(Willow) on Jul 22, 2015 15:02:05 GMT -7
Jacques was still in shock. How could Ronin be dead? He was the most skilled warrior the pride had- head warrior even! He sank to his haunches, green eyes blank with grief. He uttered not a word, but if one were to listen closely they could hear the lion breaking- shattering into millions of pieces. Ronin had been a source of strength for all of the pride, and had been Aeon's closest ally. Now the two highest ranked lions were dead- gone. Hope vanished from the brown male as he was now assured that the rebels would win the war. Jacques never shed a tear, never showed any outward signs of anguish. Nothing. It was very clear he had changed in that moment. He was no longer the lion he was, but to what extent had he changed? Clenching his jaw tight, he rose to his paws and whipped around, stalking away. Eventually his steps grew into a run with no destination.
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Post by starry-knight on Jul 22, 2015 15:13:45 GMT -7
Aurora was gathered with the remaining ranks of the warrior, tracker and scout legions. All were quiet as the next highest ranking officer spoke, Arcturus. His voice was firm, but filled with the pain the pride felt after such crippling blows. A piece of Aurora mourned for Aeon, the lion who welcomed her into the pride and her leader Ronin. And yet, her mourning was short and detached. To be honest, Aurora did not care much. She was a fighter, a killer. Born and bred to deal with death, loss and deceit. As much as she wanted to sympathize with the others...she just couldn't.
"Keep your ranks firm on the borders. I want groups of 10 posted at every half a mile around the perimeter. These bastards will not get away with killing our Alpha without a fight. Ronin, Aeon and our fellow men shall be avenged." Arcturus said to the crowd. A few spoke up with roars of hope, the rest remained silent. "Civil war is upon us, lets show the rebels who they are messing with." He finished, stepping down from the perch he spoke from to converse with a few warriors. The rest of the group, including Aurora headed off to their posts or to rest for the day.
As she made her way towards her post near the boarder she spotted Jacques who had been missing from the announcement. He was running, to where she knew not, but could tell he was distressed by the way his strides came and fell. She quietly murmured to herself to go to post, but her legs drew her slender body into a gallop after her friend.
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Post by SukarettoYanagi(Willow) on Jul 22, 2015 15:34:49 GMT -7
Jacques was not even listening to the world around him, perhaps he would have heard the pawsteps nearing behind him. He just wanted to find a place of asylum and fortitude- away from all this death and chaos. He had lost the figure he looked up to the most and found himself truly close to. He was afraid of loosing more- and even more afraid of letting others in now.
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Post by starry-knight on Jul 22, 2015 15:46:57 GMT -7
Aurora saw he was not slowing down, and with her armor on it took her everything she had to catch up. "Jacques?" The female said calmly, matching his pace until she managed to pull ahead and block his path, thus forcing him to stop. "Hey, you weren't at the meeting today. All the warriors, everyone really was there. Where have you been?!" She inquired forcefully.
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Post by SukarettoYanagi(Willow) on Jul 22, 2015 15:59:58 GMT -7
It took all the male had to keep from ramming into her. Seeing her was quite a shock. He stared at her, his eyes still full of pain, unable to reply to her. He had to look away, unable to look at her any longer. He was terribly afraid of loosing her- afraid of loosing her the most. She was the last lion he was close to, and he couldn't bare even the thought of loosing her to this senseless war.
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Post by starry-knight on Jul 22, 2015 16:03:12 GMT -7
"Jacques? Did you hear me? What's going on with you?" Aurora persisted, moving around where his head looked so he was face to face with her again. "Come on, you gotta talk to me. How do you expect me to help if you won't tell me what's wrong." She said, genuinely concerned now. He was not one typically to speak, but his silence now was deafening and she couldn't take it.
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Post by SukarettoYanagi(Willow) on Jul 22, 2015 16:11:18 GMT -7
Honestly? Jacques didn't even know what to say. He didn't want to cry- he couldn't. He simply remained in a broken silence, refusing to look up at her. His silence seemed to stretch on forever before he finally found words, before he finally found what to say to her. Lifting his jade-colored gaze to look at her, he mumbled out, "I can't loose you."
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Post by starry-knight on Jul 22, 2015 16:20:12 GMT -7
Aurora tilted her head in bewilderment, wondering where on earth this was coming from. Then it hit her. He was close with Ronin and lost him. She also knew he did not keep much company...so she was really all he had. She sighed "oh". Aurora didn't know quite what to say, she wasn't an expert with making people feel better. She was blunt and rude most days. "Jacques, I know you are taking Ronin's death hard...the whole pride is. His death was not in vain, and neither shall mine or yours when the time comes. Death is hard, and cruel and dark. It hurts and steals and breaks us, but you cannot live with the constant thought of those around you dying. That is not living. It is not what Ronin would want you to do. And if I died tomorrow, I would not want you to mourn me but to live."
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Post by SukarettoYanagi(Willow) on Jul 22, 2015 16:28:41 GMT -7
"But I can't loose you..! I-.. I've got no one left. Aeon and Ronin are gone..." His voice fell to a whisper and his gaze fell once more. He knew Ronin wouldn't want him to be afraid, nor would he want him to be grieving as he was. Jacques didn't know any other way to feel about it, though. __________________________________________________ Sorry they're getting so short..! ;w;""
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Post by starry-knight on Jul 22, 2015 18:51:47 GMT -7
"You are not going to loose me. We have been fighting this war for nearly 50 years and here you and I stand. I am going to be fine, okay?" Aurora pleaded him to listen, though her words seemed very ineffective.
______________________________
Totally fine Willow c:
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Post by SukarettoYanagi(Willow) on Jul 23, 2015 9:05:41 GMT -7
It had been nearly a month since Ronin's death, and Jacques had only grown more and more distant. He simply went through the motions of living- getting up and doing as he was told- but there was no heart in it. His eyes were blank and strangely cold, which was eerie compared to their former warmth.
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Post by starry-knight on Jul 23, 2015 10:22:16 GMT -7
Aurora had left Jacques alone for the past weeks, knowing there was nothing she could do for him and not wanting to make it worse. He was just a shell of the man she once new...and that frightened her. He was dead inside, perhaps that was worse than him really being dead. But, the female pushed on her daily living by attending the weekly meetings and updates and then going to her post.
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Post by SukarettoYanagi(Willow) on Aug 21, 2015 17:07:10 GMT -7
Months passed and soon a year. Jacques was distant from his family before, but now he seemed to have detached from them completely. He chose to spend all his time with Aurora. He cleaned her wounds if she came home wounded and slept with her at night. Almost as though acting a body guard. While Ronin's death struck him hard, it opened his eyes. It made him live to protect the ones he loved and his way of life. That meant he would do all he could to keep Aurora safe. She was all he had now.
The male dropped a hunk of prey at her paws, bending over and nosing it forward. "We could share. It's a large piece, after all." he murmured.
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Post by starry-knight on Aug 21, 2015 19:00:41 GMT -7
Aurora had been lightly snoozing, her body moving slightly over the cold stone ground, until finally she was on her back with her belly up. Each paw followed by stretching in every direction with a large yawn escaping her mouth. She finally opened her eyes to peer up at Jacques who had apparently gone hunting without her.
"Why didn't you wake me-" her sentence stifled by another yawn that was to follow. "You know I love to go hunting out beyond the boarder...." She paused slightly. "Technically we don't need the food...because of the dust and all....but I guess it wouldn't hurt to have just a bite!" Enthusiastically the female flipped back onto her stomach and proceeded to tackle the remaining chunk of meat like it was living prey once again. Her mouth circled around a large piece of it, but did not tear. Instead, picked it up, gave the male a wink and then took off out of the den...grinning wildly as she did so, the best she could anyways with a mountain of meat in her jaws.
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Post by SukarettoYanagi(Willow) on Sept 2, 2015 15:26:49 GMT -7
"You looked too peaceful to disturb." he murmured simply. He was about to sit back on his haunches when the white female took the prey and ran. He looked baffled for a moment before spinning on his heels and taking off after her. "Stingy.. Much?" he called out behind her, his tone mocking and not at all serious. Though he was a recluse most of the time, rathering not to mingle with the pride, it was clear he could open up and be himself with Aurora. There was a twinkle of his former self when he was with her. Tensing his muscle, the tannish brown lion leaped forward. He landed squarely on the lioness's hand quarters, pulling her down with him.
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