Getting away from moon cliff

Sephera nodded, once again going silent. Vita snuggled into me, let out a large yawn that reminded her of a puppy, and shut his eyes. It looked like he was asleep, but she knew he was not. His breathing was still not calm enough to be asleep. She smirked slightly and bumped her shoulder against his.

"You're not fooling anyone," she whispered softly in his ear, rubbing her cheek against his. Her body was warm and... fuzzy? She felt loved for once in her life, like he loved her. When she was with her adoptive parents, she felt loved. But she felt as though they loved her for... not her. Like, they loved her for something else. And her father, the alpha, was always obsessed with her marking on her shoulder. As if it was some big thing. Sure, she wondered what it was too. But she accepted it by now and didn't ever question it. And whenever she howled, she felt... at home. That was the one place or time she felt completely and utterly loved. Like the moon itself was her family, her life, her home.

"Just trying to keep you safe,"Vita murmured quietly. He still wasn't going to sleep, whether she wanted him to or not. He cared too much to have her see the nightmare again. He started to compare Sephera's childhood to his own. He had actually had the easier life, he had to catch food on his own. That was practice. He knew how to hunt now, knew how to live in the wild. Sephera didn't have the chances he did to learn these things. He realized that she didn't know as much he did about survival- why she didn't take the free meal until she passed out when they had first met. In his mind, he knew that he needed to teach her these things. He wasn't focusing on staying awake, and passed out.

Sephera noticed when his breathing finally went calm and knew he was out. She thought it to be sweet that he was trying to stay awake to protect her, but he probably needed sleep just as much as she. She softly licked his cheek, careful not to wake him. She rested her head right next to his and regulated her breathing to match his. Soon enough, her eyes drooped. At first, she fought her hardest to keep them open. But then she decided to try and sleep. Her eyes closed, and she was out. Sleep well? Yes, she did. No nightmares haunted her rest, but one strange dream did.

*DREAM*
Sephera trotted to Rabbit Lake's edge, looking at her reflection in the water. The moon was an exact replica of the marking on her shoulder and she tilted her head up to look at it. Then, she howled her mesmerizing song to the night. And the night responded. The trees bristled and the lake lightly crashed its waves onto the shore. Her marking burned with a fire but she soaked it in and shut her eyes. A large flash erupted from her mark and the scene went white.

She walked cautiously through the never-ending white. A large white wolf stepped in front of her.
"Daughter of the Moon. I have come to bring you a message. You and the male slumbering next to you, you are linked. You must ignore the burning of your mark and howl together if you would like to have that connection forever. Only then will you know the effects of the link. I can not tell you them now, for I have limited time. I must go. Goodbye Daughter of the Moon."

The whole dream dissolved, leaving Sephera very confused.

*END DREAM*

She had no other dreams that night, just sleeping in a pitch darkness she came to love.

(happy birthday btw)

As his eyes slowly peeled open, Vita began to sat up. As usual, his eyes were blurry, still trying to wake up. He turned his head to the side to see Sephera asleep, calmly. This made him relax, knowing that she was sleeping well. Her soft body was nearly wrapped around his, so getting to his feet without awakening her was difficult, but he did it. He decided to surprise her with a breakfast-in-bed. He emerged from the cave, blinded by the sun. He gazed around the area, thinking about where he would hunt this morning. He decided he would hunt in the mountains. There was a trick he had seen with snow that he wanted to try. After the trek up the mountains, he tracked down a herd of caribou. He was hidden in the snow, his body camouflaged, and his dark feet buried deep into the snow. He slowly leaned down and buried his muzzle in the snow. He ripped out a short howl, and the caribou herd gazed out down the mountain. It had worked! The caribou heard the howl as far away as they could see, while he was only twenty paces away!

After all the caribou had lowered their heads, Vita crept toward them- he came dangerously close- less that a pace away. He was downwind, so they couldn't smell him, and it was too loud for them to hear him at all. He was right there- He could not miss. He did not miss. Now, he had to drag the meal back to Sephera. He set it right beside her as she slept, and started to clear out the area in between the beds to merge them.

(Thanks! :D)

Sephera woke slowly, blinking the slight crust out of her eyes and trying to defog her vision. She let out a large yawn and stood, stretching as she did so. Her back cracked a few times and then she noticed the food right in front of her. She looked over to Vita who was doing... well, she didn't know what he was doing really. She put a paw on the caribou's neck and dug into its shoulder. The meat was still slightly warm and the blood dripped down her muzzle. The pleasuring feeling of eating the meat and drinking down the blood was absolutely amazing. She tore and tore at the meat of the animal until she finally had her filling.

When she was done, she walked over to the small water in their den and took a drink. It still tasted as pure as ever. After drinking, she walked over to Vita and rubbed her side against his. Then, a thought occurred to her. She had told him of her past. She'd never done that before. And it spooked her. She didn't want him to treat her differently because of one story. She was still the same Sephera he met on the cliff.

As he merged the two beds, Vita was training his ears to be more precise. He was listening closely to the outside world, taking the echo of the den and the breath of Sephera's and his own into account. He heard tiny claws digging into a tree, then a small thump in the grass. A small animal was climbing and had fallen. He heard the crack of some sort of nut, possibly an acorn. He heard the shell drop into the grass. It was a squirrel eating a buckeye. He heard another small animal crunching its teeth together, towards the field- it seemed to be eating grass. It was probably a rabbit.

Soon, he heard a much louder sound. It was the disturbance of the bedding beside him, The tearing of flesh from the caribou, along with the dripping blood. Paw steps left in the direction of the underground creek, then the lapping of water overcame the near-silence. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was until then. He felt the soft fur brush up beside him. It was Sephera, watching his movements. She looked at him like she didn't understand what he was doing. "I'm merging the beds... I didn't think you would mind. I need to go get some more grass from the sleeping field." He felt strangely nervous when he said that, thinking that she might disapprove.

Sephera nodded in encouragement, motioning for him to go back to his work. She walked outside, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the bright sun. She walked to the lake's edge and sat down, staring at her reflection as she had in the dream. A chill ran up her spine thinking of her dream. She just had so many questions.

Why had the wolf called her daughter of the moon?
Can the moon have a daughter?
Would this explain the marking on her shoulder?
Why did her shoulder burn?
Why did she accept it?
Why does she have the marking?
Why would the moon choose her of all wolves as a daughter?
Why would Sephera and Vita have a link?
Why?!

Does Vita know of the link?
Does she want to keep the connection forever?
What are the effects?

She growled, slashing her paw across her reflection. One more question. Would she ever get all these questions answered?!

Vita left the den and began towards the field to get some bedding. He noticed Sephera sitting by the lake, staring into the water, deep in thought. He decided it would be best if he didn't pester her.

After he had ripped a decent amount of tall, yellow grass out of the ground, he headed back to the den to finish the bed. Once again, he noticed Sephera still laying by the water, but then she hit the water with her paw, as if angry at her reflection. He nodded his head and continued finishing the shelter. After he was done, he head out of the shelter and sat and began to think about what to do next. First rule of survival: Find food. They still had the caribou. Second rule: Get water. They had several sources of water to drink from. Third rule: accommodate shelter. He had already built the den. He couldn't think of anything productive to do, and quite frankly, he was bored. He wanted to talk to Sephera, but she was still by the shore, and he didn't want to disturb her. He thought about expanding the den, but he wasn't even sure if they were going to stay there long. After some thought, he just decided to swim.

Vita trotted up next to the shore about thirty paces away from Sephera, careful not to bother her. He lapped up a gulp of water, then stepped a paw in. It was cold today. He slowly inched his way in, enjoying the feeling of the underwater currents in his fur. While he swam around pointlessly, he thought about the pack he was born to. The first thing that came to his mind was the pups. They were so playful, innocent, and you just couldn't stay mad at their face. He had loved the pups, missed them, and wished he could see them again. Would he ever have cubs of his own? Whether they were Sephera's, or another female he hadn't met yet? He didn't want to think about any females other than Sephera, he didn't like the thought of them separating.

Sephera startled at the sound of Vita trudging into the water a distance away from her. She would've smiled if she wasn't so stressed out about that dream. She sighed, rubbing her paw across her eyes. Stress never went well with Sephera, it was always heavy on her shoulders. She had noticed over the years of her life that all the stress went to her shoulders and made it painful to walk. That's why she howled so often at night. When she howled, all that stress disappeared and she was able to relax and be herself again. Well, she can't say that. She didn't even know who she was anymore. She was always the alpha's daughter, soon to be the first mateless female alpha. But now... she wasn't that anymore. She had no clue who she was and she HATED it.

(Sorry it's short, I'm so dead right now X.x)

(yeah, I haven't had much sleep the whole week either)

After a nice, refreshing swim, Vita looked towards Sephera and noticed she had stopped thinking about whatever was bothering her, so he pulled himself out of the lake and shook dry. She was still laying down by the shore, staring out across the lake, but she was more aware of her surroundings, paying almost full attention, and less agitated. A short sunbath dried Vita's coat quickly, and left it fluffy and soft. He quietly made his way toward Sephera, and laid flat next to her and said," What's bothering you? You look kind of... Angry today."

(Exactly. But you're on Spring Break now. :c )

In her mind, Sephera battled against herself on whether to tell him the truth or blow it off like she usually would. She sighed, deciding to keep it brief but true. "I had a dream last night that's troubling me is all," she whispered. She looked down at her paws as she said this and tried not to think about the questions that had flooded her mind just a short time ago. She looked over to Vita, noticing how fluffy his fur looked. She smiled, shaking her head.

(Yes. I am on Spring break now. c:)

When she told him she had had a dream- she didn't say whether it was good or bad- he knew that it wasn't the nightmare she saw earlier that day. She had slept so peacefully last night. She gazed down toward the Earth, looking as if she was about to enter the state of deep thought she was in before. She looked up at him then smiled and nodded, and he knew why. He wasn't really sure what to say, but didn't want to rudely question her, so he changed the topic. "When I was hunting,I tested out a trick I had seen before, and it was amazingly. If you dig your muzzle into the snow and howl, your prey will think you are much farther away than you really are."

(Btw, I changed my avatar, but I'm not sure how long I'll keep it like that.)

Sephera was surprised when he didn't question her, but at the same time she was thankful he didn't. She wasn't quite ready to discuss it yet. How would she possibly bring up that 'link' of theirs? Would he shun her away? Would he leave? would he still look at her the same way? She didn't know the answer to any of these questions, which was still new to her, and she still didn't like it. She was nervous, maybe even scared, to tell him. It just racked her nerves in a very unpleasant manner. She listened to his explanation carefully, nodding. She didn't completely understand since she was one to be shown rather than told and one to try rather than just know. Once he was done, she stood and stretched. Without looking at her reflection again, she walked into the water. She completely ignored the cold and dived under. She was half-tempted to hold herself under, but knew it would be foolish of her to do so.

Sephera had stood up and dove into the lake, and Vita would have joined her, but he was tired of swimming for now. He stood up headed toward the den. Once inside, he lay down on the bed for a power nap.

Dream:
"Hey! Come on! wake up!" Simon was yipping in his face. All of the other pups were gathered around; Vita sat up and looked around as they all watched him. "What?" He asked, but didn't expect a rational response. All of their tails stopped wagging, their eyes turned glowing red, and they began to growl at him. Vita blinked, and the demon-pups were gone; they had disappeared into thin air. Sephera appeared from the entrance to the den-room he was in, and she walked over in front of him. Behind her followed a large whit wolf that he had never seen before. "Sephera? Where are we? Who is this? What's going on?" Sephera began to growl at him too. She was the last wolf he expected aggression from. Had something happened that he couldn't remember? The white wolf walked in front of her, then lunged at him with a loud bark.

End of dream
But then, he opened his eyes, and he was back in his den, the one with the underground creek in the corner, the one with breakfast still on the ground.

(I think I'm going to go, I'm pretty tired.)

Sephera didn't go far into the water and she didn't stay in long. She just stayed until the cold numbed her body and stopped her from thinking. Then she exited the water, shivering harshly. The sun felt good on her chilled skin and very slowly, it warmed her body. She laid down in the short grass, letting the sun dry her. Once that side was dry, she flipped over. She was left with not thoughts, not questions for once. Noticing that Vita was gone, she glanced around. She couldn't see him, so she bet he was just in the den. When she was done drying, she stood up and shook her body one last time. Her fur, once dull and lifeless, gleamed with its bluish tint in the sun. The sun reflected off her marking and her eyes were a grass green.

After she shook, Sephera walked back to the den, entering it. She saw Vita, thank god, laying down like he had just woken up. She walked over to the creek and took a drink, then laid next to Vita. He was radiating warmth while she still had the smallest chill to her body. She leaned into him.

(By the way, Whit wolf was a typo, it should have been white wolf)

Vita, still half asleep, felt a softness brush against his side. It was Sephera, whom in his dream, was with the wolf that attacked him. He turned his head towards her, and muttered out "What did I do?" After a second of realizing that that was a dream and this is reality, he threw his head to the side as an apology. She was cold, so she probably didn't sunbathe as long as she should have. He knew she wanted body heat. He didn't really know what to say, so he sat still and swished his tail around against hers.

Sephera looked at him in slight confusion. "You didn't do anything," she whispered in reply. She didn't get what he meant by his question at all. What brought this random question on? Did she do something to make him think he did something wrong? When he swished against hers, she tensed. But she soon relaxed, leaning against him and wrapping her tail around his in response.

Sephera watched as Vita exited the den suddenly. Where was he headed? She stood carefully, stretching out her tired back. Yawning, she emerged from the underground den into the dimming sunlight. She looked around for any trace of where he went, but there was none. Raising her muzzle, she scented the air but their scents were all around on this land now. So there was no way she could figure out where he went. So she did the last thing she wanted to do....

She waited.

Sephera startled when Vita emerged from the brush, talking to her. She had been lost in thought the whole time after getting bored in the beginning. She wasn't one to be patient, so she just started thinking random things. Once again, her mind had drawn her to her dream. She still had no clue what to do about it. Should she tell Vita about the dream? After much thought, she decided she would tell him. But when? She just didn't want him to be upset, but she wasn't sure she had the bravery to tell him now.

Her head snapped to look at him and she nearly sighed in relief when she realized it wasn't something or someone coming after her. At his words, she shrugged indifferently. "It's fine. What else would I have done anyway?" she asked, not expecting an answer. She faked calmness about being left with nothing to do. She just didn't want to wander off, have him come back, and not know where she is. That would have gone badly.

(Sorry it's been so long. Life's a little hectic)

Sephera was shocked to hear of this dream. She sat silently, stunned, and tried the mull it over in her mind. A white wolf? She didn't know any wolves that were white. So how could it be a sign? Did he not trust her and that's why he's telling her? Or is she overanalyzing like usual? And why is she asking so many questions?

She growled softly at herself, standing up and shaking her coat. Her tail waved in irritation. "It was nothing," she told him, her voice flat. She didn't want to come off as though she was mad at him, but her tone did seem harsh. She let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry, I'm just... not in the best mood today," she whispered. Her word count was already used up for the next week, and she was chomping at the bit to be able to shut up or get some anger out. But her body still wasn't quite ready for that, and she knew it. That didn't mean she was happy about it though.

Sephera stood up and told him that it was a pointless dream. He took a step back when she stood. When she spoke it seemed angry, he just wanted to tell his closest friend about something that was bothering him. She would do the same, right? "Okay... well... sorry." he couldn't think of anything to say, as usual. In hindsight, he wouldn't have told her about it, but there was nothing he could do about that now. He lowered his head in shame, and slowly made his way over to the den.

Sephera growled at herself when Vita walked away, looking shameful. Why did she drive him away? She shook her fur out, then started pacing along the water's edge. She was infuriated. At her 'parents', at herself, at everything. She lunged at a nearby tree, barking and running her claws down it. Ignoring the searing burn in her shoulder, she ran from tree to tree, attacking them to get her pent up anger out. It felt good, felt natural, and she felt herself again. She didn't know how much time past until she was collapsing into the cool water, sweaty and exhausted. The water chilled her body and she sighed in relief.