Snow on Snow

[Rogue]

Cold. That's what the lycaness felt, both inside and out. She had lost her touch at everything. She used to hold the ability to comfort any lycan with but a brush of the bushy snow-white tail to their side, though now, ever since her breakdown she received nothing more than awkward glances. The other lycans seemed to avoid her as much as possible, and the death of her pups, the attack from the Vampires, everything seemed so surreal and in the past.

Padding through the slushing snow on steady pale paws, Rogue held her muzzle to the ground, taking in the gross scents that seeped up into her nostrils from the trodden earth underneath. Her ears were back against her head as she fought the winter wind that chilled her front, pushing her back, away from the lake she was determind to reach.

Finally she placed her freezing paws at the edge of the water and pushed her muzzle under the surface of the lake, jamming her lavender eyes closed at the rush of refreshing liquid that flooded down her throat as she drank. Once she had taken her fill, she moved backward along the bank, settling under a mishapen rock that left the earth uncovered by snow beneath it.

Curling up there she buried her cold nose in her bushy white tail, gazing out at the setting sun as it reflect bright pinks and purples in the clouds, along with the deep blue that began to take over the heavens, gradually throwing the world underneath into darkness. Eventually stars began opening their eyes in the sky, much like the tiny flecks of silver in Rogue's own deep amthyst eyes.

The lycaness had lost track of how long she had been by the lake, but it did not bother her anymore. She had no specific home to go back to, for she ran wherever she pleased and slept the same. Her eyes distantly began to glass-over with a teary look though, as her thoughts began making patterns in the stars of her lost mate. Logan.

The lycan she had viciously murdered.

[Phoenix]

The night seemed to go rather slowly tonight. Day break seemed hours away now as he padded around the school grounds. This was the first night he wandered the school grounds in his natural form, that of a pure white wolf. His crimson red eyes clashing ruthlessly with his snow white pelt. It was the first thing most people noticed about him then anything else, was his eyes. They startled people in the middle of the night if they where to approach him.

Tonight he headed for the lake, his muzzle caked with semi frozen blood from his latest meal a nice plump rabbit. As he neared the lake he caught the scent of the female from before. His ear perked up to find her and his breath became hard and slow to draw in her scent as much as possible.

Once he was comfortable that she was not fair off and not moving to much he slide his muzzle into the water of the lake swishing it side to side to wash away the blood. His muzzle pink at first till slowly it faded back it it's natural white. He lifted his head and looked around once again looking for the female from before. He had wondered about this girl ever sense he entered the tunnels.

He moved slowly around the lake heading for the women. He was curious and it was his nature that if he was curious he should go check it out. She was laying with her nose in her tail when he approached her. Something felt wrong, like she was upset or thinking about something troublesome to her.

He was careful not to get to close, he had always thought it was rude to get so close to another lycan when you hardly knew them, especially when they where sleeping or deep in thought. He slide his muzzle back into the cold water taking a deep drink filling his belly with the fresh cool water. He toke a step back and looked at her for a moment 'Hello' he said softly to her. 'Is something troubling you?' he ask her in thought.

[Rogue]

Rogue's mind wandered constantly over the same thoughts; Logan's chocolate eyes, his jet-black pelt, his warmth, comfort, support, and the way he spoke to her with such respect, only to leave her, then return when she unstable, meeting his end by her deadly jaws. You're beautiful Rogue. The she-wolf whimpered slightly, burying her muzzle deeper under her tail, before suddenly..

'Hello'

Rogue's hindquarters shot out to support her as she jumped up on all fours, spinning to face the male she had seen earlier in the Tunnels. Her eyes were wet with tears, and she hastily turned away, blinking them back before narrowing her gaze at the invisible horizon. Her jaws would normally have snapped in his direction here, but his next words proved that he was only concerned, and his stance read no harm.

The lycaness turned to face him once more, her violet eyes no longer full of tears but instead holding a steady, calculated gaze. She had learnt to control her emotions well over the years. It is something you would not want to know. She voiced back to him telepathically, her thick tail moving as she turned to push her whole muzzle under the ice-cold water of the lake.

Resurfacing and opening her eyes she shook herself; droplets of water flying from her muzzle. She turned to look at the white lycan, her eyes holding a hint of curiosity now. She could smell the scent of rabbit on him, as distant and as washed away as it was, but that was not what had her attention. She could not help but smile inwardly at something so simple they had neglected to ask one another.

What is your name? She cooed into his mind.

[Phoenix]

Her initial reaction was no surprise to him, most would have done the very same with someone they didn't know. What startled him where the tears in her eyes when she first looked at him. It was clear something she had been thinking about had upset her and it nearly made him smile at how strong she got all of a sudden. He nodded his head lightly to her 'If it has upset you like that then maybe it would be better to talk with someone' he suggested to the female.

No matter what she said or did now he knew she was hurting, the slight whimper that she made before he said hello was not something that could be taken back and defiantly not the tears. Her question caused him a little confusion as he was sure she had gotten it in the tunnels. 'My name is Phoenix' he said with a soft kind voice in her head.

He had gotten into trouble in the past by wanting to be helpful but he still wanted to try. He stayed where he was but tried to give off a comfortable and relaxing vibe with his presence. She toke a cold drink as he had then looked at him. He nearly laughed at himself finally realizing his meal had left its scent on him. He would have blushed at the silliness of it all if he had been in his human form.

He moved to wash his muzzle again now closer then he had been. He toke a drink while he washed his muzzle off trying to get the scent off his nose. After several tries he gave up on it and turned back to her 'If you need someone to talk to you can talk to me' He said with gentle tone. He knew it sounded outrageous to confide in someone you just met but at least he had tried which is all he could do.

[Rogue]

Her jaws came apart and a quiet growl sifted through her jagged canines as he suggested she talk with someone, that someone clearly being him. She was never one to trust, and this lycan had many years to go before she would even consider such a thing. Too many times she had been cheated in life, and it gave her a callous barrier to hold up every time she met someone new. It was habit, and the habits of an animal were hard to break.

There it was again. Phoenix. Now she did smile inwardly, and her entire expression seemed to relax, as though some new light of an idea had come over her. Had she been in her human form she would have chuckled, but instead she cocked her ears forward and tucked her tail around her side as she sat back on her haunches. Surprised in the least as to why he had not taken the bait and asked for her name.

He moved closer, but the lycaness did not tense, she merely let her thick tail curve around her forepaws as they sat gracefully positioned in front of her. She was often mistaken for a ghost in her natural form and when the moon was up, for the silver scattered in her eyes caused a reflective glint at whomever she glanced at, and her speed often resulted in her becoming a blur to any mortal eye.

Her existence was often forgotten as soon as it had been discovered, and she now took this as an advantage. She was a rogue lycaness after all, and this was chiefly the reason that she had snuck in a hint for him to ask her name. If he had a knowledge of lone lycans her impression on him may have been more fitting. He mentioned talking to him again, and instead of giving him her name, she decided to do just that.

She told him - a stranger - what she had not even told the lycans she had been living with for the past years of her immortal life. I killed my mate. Her telepathic voice seemed to silence everything around the two lycans, cloaking their surroundings in serenity as she revealed this horrible truth.

[Phoenix]

She looked very beautiful in the moonlight. Something about her sitting with her tail wrapped around her made her seem like a figment from a forgotten dream that you just remembered before sleep. Her name was a mystery but that was hers to give, she had ask him for his and he had willingly given it to her. He would not ask her for her name yet, not till he had helped her threw her troublesome pain.

'I killed by mate' she spoke into his mind simply. It did startle him a little as she spoke. It was not often a Lycan killed their mate, not without a very good reason. Most often then not betrayal of some sort was the reason for such an act. His eyes met hers and something clicked in his mind to ask 'What did he do to you?' he ask softly something in him told him that she had been hurt by this mate of hers.

He had no right to pry into her life like he was. If she didn't want to tell him he knew she would not and simply ignored his question in total. He watched her still her beautiful astounding to his young mind.

She was a puzzle to him, the first time he had seen her she looked both at home and out of place at the same time. Like she belonged in the tunnels, but at the same time that she did not. Her scent was a mixture of the tunnel scents and the wilderness making him believe he was right, she was not bound by the clan he had seen her with.

OOC: Sorry I went to hit preview and accidentally hit Post instead.

[Rogue]

Ooc: No worries.

Ic: Rogue had expected a 'shock horror' reaction from Phoenix, but he simply turned his eyes to hers and asked her a very plain question, which she held the answer to in an instant. Her mind pondered whether to let it slip or not, or whether she should sugar-coat it with something kinder, more sincere, a real reason. But she could not. Whether it was heartless or not, she had done it for only one reason.

He loved me. She whispered telepathically, sharply turning her gaze from his to stare down the lake's long body to the horizon where it met the sky. Although this was impossible to see now with how dark it had become. It was sad really, she had split peronalities. One moment she could be how she was when her sister was alive, loving, caring, and the shoulder for everyone to cry on.

Since Sealla's death, Rogue had changed a great deal. She was a lot wiser, stronger, more willing to let instinct loose on the matters she did not accept. She had learnt to master that instinct and inflict it upon others at the most frightful of times, but for now, she was slipping back into that sincere she-wolf she had once been. A long time back when her familiar was still alive.

[Phoenix]

He loved her? He thought to himself what a odd reason indeed. When she broke eye contact he neither smiled nor frowned he just watched her. She was a interesting creature, she reminded him of a few others he had met none of which matched her in presence though not even the one who turned him had not gave him such a aura to feel.

He simply watched her for a few moments 'You loved him to didn't you' he said reading her reactions and voicing what he thought. He could have been wrong but something told him she had in her heart loved this man. He could not yet figure out why she had killed him, had something occurred between the two, murder in the heat of passion was not unheard of in fact most murders where done in the heat of the moment.

She watched the nearly invisible horizon line as he watched her. He had no idea what to say to her now but that would not stop him from trying to help her. 'I don't mean to offend you with all my questions and such' he said kindly to her. His eyes showing his sincerity for him. He had hardly need for lips when his eyes spoke volumes by themselves.

[Rogue]

Rogue closed her eyes as he implied she loved him too. Almost all of her wanted to say no, it would have been so much easier to let go that way, run free every night without having to howl a sorrowful song to the moon, not have to see his face in the stars, not have to mistake his scent or form for other lycans in the tunnels and forest. It tormented her, and not a soul except Phoenix knew. Not even Xavier, who Rogue had become considerably close friends with over the time since Sealla's death.

A wisp of cold white air escaped her nose as she sighed in her wolven form, dropping her muzzle and opening her lilac eyes to see her reflection in the still edge of the black lake. It was how she viewed herself, the only way she had ever viewed herself. As she had said so many times to herself, and her paw passed through the water to mangle the reflection, she was distorted.

Yes, I suppose I did.. She breathed telepathically, turning away from the lake to curl up under the rock again. Her bushy tail caressed her paws and came to rest by her muzzle where she could bury it once more out of the chilled air. Rogue's eyes chanced a sideways glance at the other white lycan, before she set her pupils on the glass-like lake again. That was all she could manage to say.

[Phoenix]

Yes I suppose I did.. He heard her reply and watched as she splashed her image in the water as if to show herself how confused she was. He walked toward the water and watched her reflection settle down. As it did she moved away and lay beneath the rock wrapping her tail over her paws ans nuzzling her muzzle into her tail.

Her eyes met his again for a second before she looked into the black glass like lake. He looked at the lake for a moment trying to think of what to say to comfort her. ' I am sorry for your loss.' he whispered to her. He moved around the rock so that they where only a dozen or so feet apart.

He looked at her for a moment then back to the lake. Several minutes passed and nothing was said. what could you say to any of this, she had killed someone she loved, but for what reason he didn't know. The way she felt was clear, she had shown it when she caused her reflection to ripple. 'I do not know what to say, other then I am here if you need someone to confide in and talk with' he said softly watching the lake.

[Rogue]

Rogue kept her muzzle in her tail for a long while, the wisps of her bushy fur moving each time she exhaled. The night always had an unnerving chill to it once the sun went down, almost like a blanket had been placed over the land to keep everything still, motionless. Only the nocturnal animals made any sound, and still everything seemed so surreal and undisturbed.

The she-wolf squinted toward the horizon, just catching the light of the moon at it's edge enough to make it out. Stars sparkled brightly above, like the dappled silver that had faded in to mix with the violet in her irises, swirling like one of the colours petrol could produce when it was spilt on the ground and highlighted with rain and sunlight.

Phoenix offered her comforting words, but they came at a price. He did not know her at all, and it would take him much time to, for she was no longer willing to let it be an easy task. Truth be told, Rogue was almost considering the act of disappearing once more, finding a new home, possibly a new pack, live the life of a rogue for another few years and see where fate brought her. It was an idea that had been heavy on her mind for a long time now.

I would never, for you are but a stranger to me. She told him, keeping her gaze steady on the horizon as she answered his soft words with an emotionless tone to her telepathic voice. The serene ease of the night seemed unbreakable, and Rogue could not help but wonder how long it would last. Perhaps it was instinct that made her feel as though something was coming, however long it might take.