Mild Disinterest

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Rohindal did quite the opposite of what Marvk asked her to do actually. Instead
of taking a long drought of greatly needed water the wolfess exhaled, unleashing a hail of
small bubbles. She seemed quite oblivious to the two creatures padding cautiously
toward her.

Marvk did his best not to laugh and remain stern with his companion and insisted once more
that she take a drink. "You need water. Drink Ro!" He hopped forward to where chilly water met
sickly fur and as if to lead by example he took a sip. The little bird chirped in surprise, "Ro! It's freezing!"
He shook his wings and ruffed up his feathers to dispel the cold that his sip had brought. "Get up!"
he commanded at once, "You'll catch your death laying in this water!"

Rohindal twitched and lifted her head, twisting it around to look at the little anima on her back.
"Where do those with fins flee when the weather grows cold? Do they grow legs and walk away,
do they grow wings and fly? Or do they freeze in the ice, waiting all winter for the thaw and freedom?"
Marvk shook his little head and hopped to and fro on her shoulder to urge her along.

"You're not a fish, and I don't think they grow wings or legs, I guess they just--"

"We grew wings," Rohindal said softly, her mournful expression sent a chill unrelated to cold water up
and down Marvks spine. The bird was trying to think of a way to respond when he saw Rohin's
attention flutter away from him for just a moment. He turned his downy head toward the shore
where a curious pup and her anima were watching them carefully.

"Ro get up," he said softly. The little Goldfinch was actually surprised when his counterpart obeyed. Rohindal
hauled her dripping self to her paws, forcing her anima to hop to her head. The remains of Rohindals
wings fluttered for a moment, a thing borne of habit to help her balance. Though now with so little wight
on them it made almost no difference. So Rohindal swayed for a moment before Marvk felt her become
steady under his tiny talons.

Rohindal turned to stare at the new arrival, her head was tilted to the side slightly and her good
ear poised and listening.

"Innocence..." Rohindal whispered softly.

"Just walk away Ro... we don't want anyone to think that we're--"

"Dangerous?"

"I was going to say trespassing but we probably are doing just that." The bird paused and blinked,
he seemed to just realize that his friend was actually speaking with clarity. "Ro did-- what?"

"You're all confused," Rohindal chuckled, amused with something.

"You are on Goldenleaf territory. You must either leave or join."

Not much leniency eh? All the same, it was better to have a choice rather than just simply
being run out of the territory. Marvk was about to say, happily, that they would leave
without a moments hesitation. But his little bird eyes fell upon the pup that had so
cautiously and then so boldly approached his Rohindal. Rohin tilted her head to the side and
rolled her eyes backwards to look innocently at her tiny anima. Marvk's words, whatever
they might have been, were halted in their tracks. Her moment of sanity, the words that almost
made sense. It was like music to his ears... perhaps she could find a home here? Maybe with
some young around she could heal? Recover from whatever it was that had scarred her so.

Rohindal was either too insane to remember exactly what had cost her her wings or she didn't
remember at all. Marvk, when he really put his mind to it, gleaned a few horrid glimpses. Sometimes
a face or a flaming paw would flash through a dark star littered sky. But the images never remained
and left the goldfinch even more confused than before. It was this dark spot in the memories that he
and Rohindal shared where Marvk found his only true moments of desperation and impatience.
It was their life wasn't it? So what creature, what being had the right to snatch away memories like that?!
And furthermore what unholy beast would be wretched enough to...! Marvks thoughts trailed off as his sad
optics rested on the remains of what had once been glamorous wings. Oh yes... he could remember what
they had looked like. He remembered many dreams, too real to be dreams, of his counterpart flying alongside
him in a great open sky. She needed a home, other wolves who would pity her, take care of her... be her friends.
Who better than an open-minded pup? Marvk looked at Rohindal and tilted his head in a similar fashion.

'We could try and stay you know...' he thought quietly. 'You could make a home here. You could try?
Maybe there's somebody here who can help you more than I can.'

Rohindal looked slightly perplexed, 'You are my sunshine. What will I do if your rays fade away?'
Rohindal sat herself down once more, now totally oblivious to the crowd gathering around her.
'The green will not flourish. They will wither. Yes they will twist and writhe without you. They will
grow less and less. They will wrinkle, lose color. No, I must have the sun... I must have the sun Marvk.'

'I won't be leaving you of course!' Marvk assured comfortingly. 'I'll be right there always,
by your side. I won't ever leave you.'

'Golden leaves are on the ground... they are stuck under the trees. Stuck in the darkness.
They cannot see or understand the white leaf that flutters into their lands. It is hard for the sun to
shine through trees Marvk. Hard for the sun to reach me when I'm covered with ignorance.'

Marvk almost hated to leave the presence of the two, whatever they did or the way they spoke or sat...
It made Rohindal different. He speech was almost poetic, it had structure, they were complete if not
just a tad cryptic. But she didn't want to stay... not with them anyways. And then she looked at the
wolfess that opposed them and Marvk felt a wave of something he hadn't quite expected. A single
concentrated emotion that he hadn't felt from Rohindal in a long time. It was distrust. She didn't trust this wolfess.

Rightly so probably, the white wolf before them was anticipating their retreat. Not their joining of her pack.
No. If they were to join another pack then it would need to be in a better way. They shouldn't meet
the residents by trespassing, but by a howl at the borders. No doubt their silence was making the other wolfess
a tad nervous by now. She had assumed a more... weak-looking position. Backed out of the water slightly with
what appeared to be and injured paw raised out of the chilly liquid.

"We'll leave." Marvk said, "C'mon Ro. I should have learned by now, lingering for too long in one
place is never a good idea." He lowered his voice, "Especially for a strange wolf like you." The anima let
his goldfinch form melt in to the chocolate shape of an otter and he slid off of his companion, as if to urge her away from the pair.

Untimely as ever though, another pup joined the group... rolling directly in to the water. Rohindal seemed
slightly alarmed by this new development and without a thought or word she jumped forward. The insane
wolfess snatched up the little pup by the scruff, looking terrified as if the small wolf might have drowned if she
hadn't done otherwise.

Marvk had leapt toward his counterpart again and barked, "RO! Put her down! Now!"

The last thing they needed was for Rohindal to seem as if she were taking aggressive action against a
pack pup. They might have evaded further trouble in Rohin had simply placed the pup back in the water.
Instead she simply stared at Marvk, looking utterly confused and lost. What had she done wrong?
Why was her friend so upset and scared all of the sudden?! Rohindal's fur prickled and stood on end,
and her lowered her head just a tad, tail level with her back. What was happening?


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Marvk waited, forced his moment of surprise and panic to subside, and watched.
Bolting forward could be seen as an offensive action, he needn't anger these Goldenleaf wolves
any more than he already had. His chocolate otter fur prickled as the first pup drew closer
to his counterpart. She sniffed cautiously at the small bundle of fur that Rohindal had so
quickly snatched up. Marvk stepped forward now, 'Put her down Ro... it's alright. Just set her down.'

Rohin looked desperately at her Anima, pleading with him with her eyes.
Was he insane?! Why would he ever consider asking her to do such a horrific thing?
The water! The water! The voices! They would get her! They had pulled the pup into their
chilly arms with naught but evil intent! And now Marvk wanted to return the victim to
its original snatchers? 'It's just water Ro. Just water. You're standing in it. I'm standing in it. It won't hurt anyone.'

Curious... Rohindal had never been afraid of water before, what was it now that troubled her so?
This sudden phobia of the liquid she had so recently been gleefully rolling in had impeccable timing.
Marvk was about to further assuage his counterpart when the Goldenleaf Wolfess spoke up.
Slowly, as she spoke, the little brown Anima slunk to Rohindal's leg and leaned up against it. Her eyes had
followed him for a few moments, but then were drawn towards the source of the words in the air.

Rohindal watched the speaker, pup still in her jaws, with a rather blank expression.
Though she seemed to be inattentive, her mind soaked up the information without fail...
no doubt to be regurgitated later in one of her frequent rambles. Marvk was a more careful listener though.
A mood change touched the air from static to mournful. The otters black beady eyes watched the pallid
sightless ones. Though devoid of color they showed no lacking of emotion. A tale of woe... they
seemed all too common these days. It seemed everyone had a secret, everyone had something to hide.

Marvk was about to offer his sympathies for the tragic story, but then indignation rose high in his chest and roared.
"Rohindal is not blind," he muttered with some resentment, "And she is never alone."
Denial? Perhaps. Maybe a better way to put it would be 'determined compassion for his loved one'.
'NEVER alone Ro. You'll never be alone! REMEMBER!' He urged, 'Remember that I will never leave your side!' But his
spoken words faltered when the wolfess continued.

'Souls must limp when the can no longer run free... they must drag themselves, through all
obstacles when their paws fail them. And when they find that their flesh and blood bodies can
no longer support their will to survive... then they find somebody to carry them.'

Marvk looked up at Ro, who had turned to stare at him quizzically. 'It is the rule of the world,' she murmured,
'It is what happens when the best becomes undermined.'

'And what are you doing dear one? What are we doing now?' Marvk asked, raising a single brow ever
so slightly. But Ro just stared at him, a slight frown touched her maw as if she didn't understand
what he was saying.

'A scorched sand, a grain of sanity, gives the everlasting his end. Dare we try to stop it?'

The nonsense had returned.

Marvk felt as if he might cry, for all the patience in the world could not cushion a repeated blow like this.
She had fallen back into her insanity. Fallen back in to her fragments. But to his relief she seemed unafraid
of the water now, and somewhat uncertainly, set down the pup. She seemed unsure of how the little bundle
had ended up in her mouth.

A long silence prevailed between them, and then an echo rang through the air.

"Handicapped?"

It was Rohindal that had spoken, realization dawning on her as her pale red eyes fell upon the white wolfess.
A touch of remembrance had been granted by the world and the fragmented wolf tilted her head once more.
"Dared to fly too close to the sun. Too close to see the sky but I'm drowning in it. Wings of wax
and gathered feathers." The remains of her wings twitched, aching to be whole and to once again
touch the heavens. "Put together carefully, worn with pride and omnipotence. I was warned,
warned by the gods that she burned and burned hot. Listened... I should have, drowning in the
sky, I couldn't see it. I wouldn't see it. The wax melted, the feathers burned. And I plummeted to
my demise. To this demise. An angel condemned to the earth," Rohindal took a step forward and
leaned close to the blind wolfess. "Rebuild thy wings and stretch them, the courage within thee shall aid thee.
Look for thy feathers and melted wax, and I shall continue my search as well. Don't fly too close to thy sun,
she burns... she burns hot."

Rohindal's ears suddenly perked up, and her attention was drawn by a hawk overhead.
Without uttering another word she gave a joyous yip and jumped after it. She turned,
away from the two pups and the mourning Goldenleaf wolfess and ran. She continued through
the lake for a few splashing moments and then let her wet pads hit solid ground.

Marvk had placed his forehead in one tiny hand and closed his eyes. He was torn between
laughing out loud, crying, and apologizing for their intrusion... so he did a little of all three. A strangled
chuckle wrestled its way out of his throat, and somewhat hoarsely he repeated, "We'll leave."

Without fail Rohindal found new ways to amaze her little counterpart. A stranger had suddenly
spilled what might have very well been her deepest and most guarded secret. She had just
narrowly escaped several unfriendly matters with a foreign pack and had probably given a small
pup some strange nonsense prophecy to build her belief off of... and yet she pranced away as
if she had never stopped. No doubt tomorrow would be the same.

Marvk waded to the shore, shucked his fur for the feathers of a duck. A few quick flaps sent
any remaining water flying from his well oiled plumage. Then, in a single fluid motion he
traded these wings for the smaller ones of his beloved Goldfinch form. And before a word
could be spoken, he was off again... chasing his counterpart to the end of the world.

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Marvk cast a tentative glance over his yellowed wing, small beady eyes honing in
on the trio he had just departed. He wondered, wondered whether or not he had made
the right choices then. Wondered if maybe he should have pushed Rohindal into joining
the Goldenleaf pack? For so long he had followed her, pursued her over mountain, over water,
over plains vast and wide. Maybe just this once he should have made her follow him?
A home would be good for her, friends, maybe even a family. He knew he wouldn't mind
a certain roof over his head when it started to rain, or maybe some kill brought down
by a pack hunt. Most of all though he wanted conversation, wanted to talk with somebody
who could form a coherent sentence.

Marvk shook his head abruptly, and felt anger for himself rise high in his chest. He was being
selfish! Rohindal didn't want to be part of a pack! He did! He was thinking of himself
and not his love, his counterpart who needed his help! He had to be selfless, and his
reward would be the recovery of Rohindal. Something up there either liked them or
took pity on them and eventually his friend would be whole.

The little goldfinch found himself backtracking, so confused with his own thoughts. A shrill cry
alerted him to the closeness of the hawk Rohindal had been chasing. It made a dive at him
and Marvk let out a sharp curse and shifted into his own hawk form. The Anima buffeted his
opponent with broad golden eagle wings. After he was satisfied that the confused-looking
creature would not re-engage his attack Marvk descended. He traded in the bulky eagle form
for his nimble goldfinch form. The Anima wove skillfully between the trees Rohindal had disappeared into.

'One of a pair still runs. I fear the other might soon collapse. Come run Marvk. Run in case she needs you
to carry her.'

'Ro? Do you remember what just happened? Do you remember that conversation?' Marvk was
slightly shocked to hear words related to the events that had just happened. Normally Ro
did what he called 'wipe'. For a while she might remember things, maybe not well
but she remembered them. And then without any pattern or apparent trigger she just
forgot them all. Like a broken reset button. Normally you could tell when a wipe occurred
because Ro would seem confused or blank. Never before, though, had he seen her recall something
so soon after a wipe.

However is inquiry got no satisfiable answer.

'Run Marvk,' she whispered.

He could see her now, her colorless pelt a blur in the undergrowth. She stumbled
every now and then, nearly falling flat on her muzzle every time. But every time as Marvk
felt his heart skip a beat with hers, she would recover and keep running.

Marvk caught up to her, he hesitated a moment longer, watching the terrain ahead. When
he found a small opening he shifted in the air. Carrying his momentum from flight
a silver tabby cat fell to the forest floor. His pads hit the ground at a run. By now he
knew not to ask where they were going, just to be glad that they were going somewhere.

'And then the pawsteps of the few became the pawsteps of the many.'

'They coursed and they writhed in unison. So greatly so that now power,'

'No whisper no force, no order and no pain could stop them.'

'Give mine wings strength, give mine heart courage.'

'Give thine tears courage.'

'And give their steps meaning.'

'Feel a sense of virtue and creed.'

'Ah yes, the fiery grain that once swallowed can never be removed.'

Marvk remained silent throughout the entire little... poem, I guess you could
call it. He had learned not to interrupt her, and usually didn't want to.
While it might take a skilled eye and a whole mind connected to the chaos
to really understand any of the ramble there was something always
beautiful and poetic about it. At times Rohindal babbled with eloquence and
a vocabulary that astounded little Marvk out of his wits. It seemed that
even with the loss of her complete mind she had been given a tremendous gift.
Her words, at these times, were not uncertain and slow. It was like she
was speaking another language, the language of insanity. Like she didn't
care who or what heard her, for she was just an artist who would not be stopped
creating.

The silver tabby waited in silence, mulling over her words at a quick run. It
was almost like a game. Every time she fed him some nonsense he would try to
make sense of it. And oh his joy when he did! During those brief moments when
he would inquire and she would give him a smile or a nod, or another form of 'yes'!
Yes! Yes! Yes! He knew that at some level he could understand her! And know that
even while broken she was not truly lost! That their connection still went deeper
than vague feelings and words. But meaning! And true emotion behind a word,
the heart behind a noise was its true definition!

'And oh! Oh but a shame! A shame! A shame!'

'Twas a sham this idea!'

'For what he hath done he shall pay!'

'And what a shame they shall say! What a shame!'

'A shame that he hath fallen prey to thy sham!'

'Thy assassination, thy reputation and thy fortification!'

'Thy ideals were naught but aberration!'

'And all thy admiration were naught but apparitions!'

'And thy dedication to thy education of the art of assassination,'

'All shall fade with desperation,'

'And end with the decapitation of thy head.'

Marvk laughed out loud then, shaking his own head and thanking the world
that it was still attached. Not driven away and off his shoulders by the nonsense.
It heartened him to hear her speak so vehemently, so passionately about
what seemed to be absolutely nothing at all! She might not have had an aim
but she shot for the stars anyways.

His joy was abruptly cut short though as his delicate tabby nose caught a scent.
She was after them. Possibilities raced through his mind, a hunt, chasing Rohindal down.
Making sure she truly left... no there was only two. And both bore a similar scent, the wind to
his back brought the smell of an Anima and its wolf. Just as quickly as it had brought this
small touch of information it snatched it away. The breeze shifted to brush gently against his face.

Gone or not, it was too late to react or warn Rohindal. The pair had overborne them already.
They doubled back, the white wolfess of Goldenleaf and what was, apparently, her Anima.
Rohindal skidded to a halt, ending up with her side facing both wolfess and Anima instead of
her forepaws. Marvk might have laughed at the bold pose she then assumed.

Her head was held high and her fur ruffed out in a proud demeanor. Her paws
were set firmly in the ground, planted as though they might never move.
Her ragged pallid banner rose high behind her and her eyes gazed evenly at the
pair in front of them.

He might have laughed, but this was not the time for laughing. Not until they found
the reason for this sudden reappearance.

"Rohindal, wait."

'It seems we are doing so already,' Marvk remarked quietly to his counterpart, a silvered
brow was raised ever so slightly.

"I wanted to say thank you. You have set me free. From myself."

'You do seem to have that effect on people Ro. You spew words and phrases at them
and then they somehow find meaning in it. I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps
you're quite sane and are just playing with us all. Have you found a language
for each of us? What you spoke to this wolfess I could scarcely glean its meaning!
But she! You have set her free from herself she says! She seems to have
deciphered the message completely! Or is it just that they are searching so
desperately for an answer that they see only what they want to see in your words?
That they see something that really isn't there at all?'

Rohindal stared intensely at her argent Anima who, in turn, stared right back.
His heart skipped a beat when he saw, or thought he saw, a small grin touch her
maw.

Doing this left Marvk shocked into silence. A silence that left the wolfess and her
Anima in suspense for an answer for as long as he remained dumbfounded.

Marvk stared for a few heartbeats more at his companion, and then blinked rapidly.
As if to clear his mind he shook his head slightly and turned to the two in their path.
"You're welcome?" he said somewhat uncertainly. What else was it that
they hoped to accomplish here?

"Marvk. I truly have Rohindal to thank. She should have died, but she went on, changed.
When I went blind, or dislocated my leg, it wouldn't have killed me. Yet I treated my misfortunes
as such. I would like to follow Rohindal, because she gave me hope, courage, and myself back.
Rohindal, this is YOUR choice, not Marvk's. Choose as you see fit."

Marvk hesitated, looking back up at his counterpart. Died? It tore at his heart when
he even considered the fact that he had gotten that close to losing her. Yes she changed,
although whether or not it was for better or for worse was still in conflict.

Rohindal had remained passive, seemingly unaware of the decision that had been laid out
before her. Still though, her paled red eyes rested lightly on the blind wolfess before her
and her ears were perked, not elsewhere, but forward.

`It makes me weary, how quickly this wolfess would give up a home, family and friends Ro.'
Marvk murmured to his counterpart, his brow furrowing slightly at the difficult situation.
He could not deny this she-wolf without undermining Rohindal's right to make a choice.
And yet he wasn't sure if Ro was well enough to make the choice that would be best for everyone.
She tilted her head to the side just a touch, as if she were contemplating something.
Marvk looked up at her curiously. 'You didn't trust her before, remember? I felt it from you.'
He reminded her gently.

'I speak not to sway your opinion, love. Only to caution you...' He spoke to his companion
carefully, putting as much force behind his words as possible. She needed to understand him now.
This was no trivial decision, so it should not be treated like one. Her next words could very
well alter the course of her life.

"Before you strove with passion. Put loyalty afore desire..."

"You never questioned an order,"

"Nor put a thought to what a command might require."

"A paw, a leg, your blood be spilled. You followed without fail."

"Have ye changed so much that your friends now plea to no avail?"

"For those you now protect will fear,"

"Unsure of your path, your journey, your trail..."

"To leave without goodbye, tis a grievance upon the heart."

Marvk traded his tabby stripes for a gold-brown pelt, and then for dark bengal spots.
Often he would unconsciously shift his appearance while puzzling out Rohindals words.

"She means to ask you, would you not miss your friends and family?
And wonders if you feel ashamed that you leave your duties behind so freely?
She wants to know if you want to be more like the wolf you were before, or
if you intend to make a new life for yourself." The small cat paused and then
added, "She's right though, don't you have friends and family at your home?
Wolves who would miss you if you suddenly disappeared?"

It puzzled Marvk... her answer. She had said true friends were your equal?
Equal with what? Skill? Fighting technique, wit or charm? He couldn't say
he exactly agreed with those words; however, he found it out of his place
to say anything about it. He needn't go arguing over the definition of
friendship with this wolf, but her ideals and thoughts differed so from his!
He knew they would have trouble getting along... but if Rohindal chose her
to become their traveling companion he would not disagree. It was likely
that the little Anima would do anything for his love.

Speaking of her, Rohindal had taken to a keen observation of what the wolfess
looked like. As if for the first time Ro took account of how tall she was, the state
of her fur, how well her muscles were toned, and of course those blank
unseeing eyes. Right now the wolfess was looking rather shabby, not that
Rohindal looked terribly better but it seemed Ro did a bit more running
than this wolf. She shifted, head tilted to the side like a curious owl. Her gaze
shifted to the Anima. It was something of a mystery to see one that wasn't
your own. Simply an animal nestled by the sightless wolfess. It was strange
to see one and not have it be privy to your thoughts and emotions.

Marvk saw Rohindal thinking some more and took advantage of the pause.

"She doesn't eat much," he warned. "Sometimes I think she forgets that
she has to in order to survive. Moving won't be a problem, she does that
plenty. Eating is the only thing that might be trouble. She goes on long fasts...
some of them have ended terrifyingly with me rushing to hunt many small animals
to bring her..." there was a short silence, Marvk had been about to dissuade the
sightless wolfess from coming along further. But his next topic had been her
leg, one of his real concerns. Rohindal moved fast, and only slowed when she wished
or after another hour of hard running with his coaxing for a slower pace.
She didn't recognize or realize tiredness or pain. Long stretches of Rohindals all
out runs wouldn't be good for the injured leg he had seen on this wolfess.

'They will still wish to come with you dear one, I don't think their minds will
change with you just waiting about. I don't think they're good to have along.
Wolves normally don't just leave a pack like that, she said that her friends
were her equals. You are both distinctly different, other than the color of
your fur I'm having difficulty finding any similarities!' The little tabby cat
by Rohindals paws sighed and ruffed up his fur against the chill.

Rohindal gave a sharp exhale, a noise between a scoff and a sneeze.
She spoke then, her decision nearly made.

"Look to her neck Anima," she commanded, "Know, see and share
that her neck is and will remain bare. No collar to bind her,
no leash to keep her, only you and herself to mind."

Marvk's fur prickled.

"Look to me and see no tether between us. The grains of time
already whirl in the air, blazing hot auspicious, suspicious.
It is difficult and dangerous to walk in a sandstorm, and we,"
she paused awkwardly to motion at Marvk, "Are always covered in sand."

"Should your will prove inefficient enough to weather through
the weather you be blown back here with the rest of your leaves...
whatever color they be. Avein azar, luktath-ien Iceheart condemned."

Marvk grimaced.

"Fly to what was once your pack if you wish. Tell them you are leaving.
But if I were you I would fear for my safety, I hope your
pack leader is gracious and without need of you... Come
with us if you so desire. But if you cannot abide by the way we live
then there is nothing to keep you from coming back here.
It might be better to disappear suddenly if you ever wish to return.
Wolves are more forgiving of the unknown than the known."

"The cavern growls," Rohindal muttered, and she glanced about the forest
floor as if looking for something.