goin' in the wind is an eddy of a truth

@Abaddon <3

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Teeth were snapping, tearing through flesh like butter. Blood stained the sand underfoot and lightning crackled in the darkening sky overhead, drowning out the snarls of the two battling wolves on the beach. Hawkes was the betrayer - he knew he deserved it, but there was no way he was going to go out without a fight. He didn't stop, didn't even slow until the other wolf collapsed to the ground. But there was no victory - not tonight. 

Crimson stained the cream on his chest, pouring incessantly from the wound high up on his throat. His breathing didn't sound right and his vision was blurred, unable to focus on the fallen form of his assailant. Their rattling inhales had ceased, leaving his own whistling breath as the only noise, save for the ominous thunder rumbling in the distance and the waves washing up ashore. 

Hawkes stumbled toward the sound of the waves. The ocean was the only thing that ever brought him peace, and with his waning life force, he sought it out. 

He made it to the ocean's edge before his legs gave out. Saltwater brushed up against his muzzle, coating his nose and tongue, but ironically it was the blood in his lungs that would drown him instead.

The boy's eyes slowly closed. 

_______

Hawkes opened his eyes with a ragged gasp. Air flooded his lungs, blessed and cool, and he sprang to his paws. There was a phantom ache in his throat and chest, but it was more attributed to panic than actual injury. He was on the shore of a standing body of water, but it was far from the ocean he'd just laid himself to rest in. A light drizzle fell from the sky - so unlike the brewing storm from before. 

He turned, confused, to take in his surroundings. And he'd never seen anything quite like this place. Standing rocks, intentionally placed, where no wolf could have hoped to place them. It was beautiful, but eerie at the same time, and he couldn't help the shiver that crawled up his spine as he padded toward the keep. 

The path upward was easy, and he passed beneath a rocky arch into a small clearing. It was nothing short of bizarre, and coupled with the fact that he was pretty sure he'd just died, he wondered if this was what heaven looked like. 

Not that Hawkes deserved heaven. He was pretty sure that, if he did die, he'd probably be burning somewhere by now. So perhaps this was just a dream, before he passed on? It was a rather nice one, if that were the case, but he would probably have dreamed of the ocean if that were the case.

Unless the fight by the ocean was a dream. Hawkes chanced a glance down at his chest - blessedly free of the sheet of blood that had covered it before. So... not dead. 

He shook his head to clear it. It did not work.

"Fuckin' hell," he muttered, flicking his gaze over to scan the strange fortress. "Some dream I've come up with, huh? Who woulda thought I'd be so... creative?"
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It was a cool structure, he thought as he looked up at it. Probably not something his mind could've come up with on its own, but cool nonetheless. Hawkes wasn't a particularly optimistic person, but what else could he do right now? As far as he knew, he wasn't bleeding out on a beach, so that was a win. If he was already dead, this wasn't so bad. If he was in some sort of limbo between life and death, then he'd do his best to enjoy it while it lasted. 

Except, he was alone. Not that that was a big deal, really, but it wasn't very comforting either. Everything was so eerie and weird, and it'd be real nice to see another face right about now - familiar or otherwise.

A chill crept up his spine, his body suddenly on edge with the feeling of being watched. Hawkes turned around, bright eyes scanning the area for the source of the feeling. Not that the staring man was easy to miss - massive and white, he stuck out against the encroaching darkness in a way that was much more familiar than not. Recognition crept into his mind, fuzzy and then abruptly clear.

Huh. Maybe this was hell, if he was here. 

"Ay, d'you know where we are?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and taking a few steps toward the man. The familiarity and the bizarreness of the situation made him a bit more bold. "I just... woke up here, a little bit ago. Never seen anythin' like it." Hawkes paused then - the other man seemed different, somehow. Younger, perhaps? "Are we dead? 'Cause if we are, it isn't as bad as I expected."
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The way the other man regarded him had Hawkes wondering if he'd perhaps misjudged - that maybe this wasn't someone he knew. But the eyes were unmistakable, fire and ice combined in each iris. If it wasn't the same wolf, it was at least someone related. Somehow, the name escaped his mind.

His answer was about as helpful as Hawkes expected. I think it translates to mega something rather.

Hawkes shifted his weight easily as he looked the other man up and down. The scent of blood wafted from him just as much as seawater clung to his own fur. It made for a familiar combination, painstakingly so. The battle on the beach was still fresh in his mind. 

Others had asked the same thing, hm? 

"So you've been here a while," Hawkes deduced, flicking one ear and tilting his head to the side, yellow eyes never leaving the frostfire eyes of his companion. He was unhelpful, but... well, Hawkes supposed maybe this place was just as confusing for the both of them. Maybe there was no point in trying to figure it out now. "Guess it doesn't matter much anyway. Don't suppose y'know your way around the place? 'Cause if not, then we're both lost." Which wasn't the worst thing that could ever happen. The worst was bleeding out on your own on a beach somewhere. But here he was, next to a strange structure, standing in front of a familiar face - no ocean in sight.
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That was something the two of them had in common - a me first mindset. Which, of course they would. Hawkes had never been able to rely on anyone in his life, and therefore he was unreliable himself. And he was never one to trust, though he supposed as far as other wolves went, this one in particular wasn't that bad. At least, with Abaddon, you kind of knew you were dealing with the devil. 

Abaddon. That was his name, wasn't it?

And he'd been there since before springtime, so of course he knew the place better than Hawkes would. It took him a moment to realize that the other man had said his name - he recognized him as well. 

"Guess I can deal with not knowing anything," he reasoned, shrugging his shoulders and tilting his head to the side. It was better than what he'd dealt with before, at the very least. 

He mentioned a fog somewhere in his flirtation. Perhaps they all found this place in different ways. 

"I found you at the end of the sea," he corrected, feeling the phantom touch of saltwater on his muzzle. A wry smirk crossed his expression. "And I'd wager I missed you about as much as you missed me." He couldn't actually recall if he'd missed the blood-tinged man or not, but there was at least some warmth in his familiarity. Warmth and danger alike, which was a confusing concept.

He scanned the other man over again, chancing another couple steps forward. "Ya out here on your own?" he asked, glancing over the white wolf's shoulder. He couldn't smell anyone else, but that didn't mean they weren't there.
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Hawkes didn't want pity, and he wouldn't pity others either. Abaddon's dismissal of his plight actually helped Hawkes to relax a bit - to more fully accept the situation at hand. He'd live just as well as anybody else around here, especially if just randomly waking up in this place was commonplace. He accepted the response with a simple nod. Hawkes was just as capable as the rest of these people.

He couldn't help the snort of barely-concealed laughter that escaped him at the other man's curtsey. A genuine smile - good god, when was the last time he'd had one of those? - formed on his maw. "Oh, I could tell. You were practically jumping for joy when y'saw me," he teased, his tail swishing once. 

"You, in a pack? Those poor things," he faux-lamented, shaking his head solemnly. "Sounds boring as fuck. An' I really hope there's nobody else I know around here. Pieces of shit." Abaddon was a bit dubious, as well, but not unwelcome. At the very least, he'd be more fun to be around.

Hawkes stepped forward with another grin, offering the man a quick wink. "Think maybe I could keep y' entertained for a while?" he offered. The idea of being alone in brand new lands was... unappealing, at best.
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