Empty Heartache

His body stirred as cold hit him. The empty cold of somebody else's body heat leaving, the feeling of abandonment it leaves on your skin. But when he, seconds later, opened his eyes there was nobody in sight. There was nothing insight, at least nothing he recognized. Nothing left of the being who he strongly missed, not even memories of who it was he was missing. Just an undissolvable emptiness.

He stood up to take in his surroundings. The ground beneath him was soft, covered in green. The air was heavy with humidity, and it made his fur run wild, but he played no attention to that as he moved forward. The sound of water hit his ears, and he quickened his pace. He worked his way through the trees, praying he wouldn't get lost.

Eventually he found the source of the notice. A beautiful stream, and took a grateful drink from it. He laid down near the edge, desperately wanting to go back to sleep and forget about the madness this situation was. But he forced himself to stay awake, concentrating on the sound of the rushing water so his head stayed empty.

[ @FlowerBoy ]
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 Having split off from Bourbon and Gala, Nexus had made her way inland after waking up at the cove. Trekking through grass and shrub and bushland, the storm-blue woman slowly stepped over a fallen log, the sound of trickling water catching her off guard;
 It was a more peaceful melody compared to the pulling and pushing of the salty seas.

 Making her way towards the sound, the woman quickly slowed as she noticed a stranger up ahead, seemingly drinking from the stream that had been producing the relaxing sound. Travelling up stream, further from the unknown wolf, Nexus lowered her head to the water, lapping it up and quenching her thirst gratefully.
 She hadn't drank anything since she awoke in Canis, and her dry throat was happy to finally be satisfied.

 As she drank, her sky-blue gaze flicked towards the stranger, and once she finished, Nexus took a step back, letting out a small wuff of greeting with a friendly smile plastered on her face. May as well meet new wolves, right?
 As she took a few more steps down stream, the woman sat, wagging her tail in a social manner as she waited for the stranger to speak first.

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His golden eyes were focused on a river rock laying at the bottom of the stream, completely void of any sign of consciousness. But his ears stood alert, and he was aware of the sound of another wolf approaching the water. They followed the woman's footsteps, informing the white wolf of where she stood as she drank. It was only when she wordlessly greeted him that he moved his eyes from where they were trained.

And they then moved unto a wolf roughly the same colour as the object he'd been looking at before. Except now the blueish grey stood out, unlike the pebble surrounded by others of the same tone. The contrast between the two was a pleasant one.

The man lifted himself to his feet,he kept his body language open, and gave his tail a polite wag in return.

“What's your name?” He asked, voice surprisingly hoarse from unuse.
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 Watching as the snow-furred man stood and wagged his tail in return, Nexus dipped her head politely. Her name? Well, yes, socialising, right.

“I’m Nexus, Nexus Vulpus. You?”

 She answered, moving downstream so that she sat in front of the stranger, the stream wining around the two.
 Nexus smiled softly, gazing back around the forest-like area. It was similar to a jungle, now that she thought about it. Slightly humid, very green.. It was nice, refreshing, even with the hot air.

 Turning her head back towards the white wolf, Nexus studied his figure. Short, with a more trained figure. Eyes of shining gold, he was quite remarkable.
 Nexus hadn’t seen many white wolves before.

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Nexus’ eyes resting in him made him highly receptive to how haggard his appearance most likely was. His suspicions were confirmed by a quick downward glance at the stream before him. The way his dense fur currently sat was utterly repulsive. Humidity was truly a curse.

“Caligo Fortier” He answered simply. A few moments passed before a question rose on his tongue. He decided to not delay its appearance with simple conversation. “So, where are we exactly?”

He gave a performative glance at their surroundings. As much as he enjoyed the landscape he found himself in, the confusion that he had about everything outweighed the positive aspects. With a sigh he sat down while awaiting an answer. His silver tinted tail resting in the warm water. He hoped this stranger knew more than he did.
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 Oblivious to the mans rugged pelt, Nexus clicked her tongue as the stranger recited his name. Caligo Fortier, nice. Watching as he gazed around the jungle-like area, the woman gave a small chuckle, humoured by the undeniable confusion in his eyes.
 She'd been in the same state before, having washed ashore and found by Bourbon and Gala, and they'd helped her, so now it was Nexus's turn to help another wolf, someone that she barely knew.

"Nice meeting you, Caligo. We're in the Temperate. I'm not exactly sure where, it seems it's just a general part, unlike the more significant, named areas, but nonetheless, it's quite nice, no? I've scented a few packs around here, I think two or three?"

 Noticing how Caligo seemed relax his tail in the stream, Nexus tried the same, astonished with how warm the water was. Releasing a small gasp of shock, the woman waded her paws through the warmth, a soft smile creeping upon her face as she was pleasantly surprised with how soothing the stream was.
 The sound of trickling water.. the calming heat of the water.. her favourite things.

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“Interesting” He mumbled, eyes forlornly looking back at the area where he awoke. He turned his mind back to the present, now wasn't the time to dwell on things he couldn't change. Instead he decided to focus on the woman before him, he watched her paws as they played in the water. Then suddenly he got up as a burst of energy, along with an ideahit him.

“If you'd like to, I welcome you to follow me.” The man glanced back at Nexus, before moving farther along downstream. With this being a stream, there had to be somewhere where the water collected. And he found it rather quickly, a pond, rather large in size. Throwing caution to the wind he dove in. His head was completely submerged for a moment, before resurfacing, snowy fur dripping water.
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 As Caligo requested the woman to follow after him, Nexus nodded and quickly trekked behind him. As he trotted down stream, the woman quirked a brow in curiosity, watching the man as he seemed to have his mind set on a destination.

 Nexus thought he didn't know this place..? Her though quickly came to a stop as she saw a pond on the horizon, hurrying after Caligo and watching him tumble into the water with a chuckle.

 As he submerged, Nexus furrowed her brows with a goofy smile taking a seat a few ways away from the water and flicking her tail.

"What are you doing?'
She giggled with a shake of her head,
"You could get sick!"

 Rolling her eyes, Nexus felt her tail sweep across a fern which.. triggered something in her head. Had she felt this before? No, it wasn't a normal fern.. Crested Wood Fern, she could remember now.

 Though her memory of her old life was slowly fading since being washed ashore, that was something she remembered. Healing, she had been taught.. by who, though?

 She.. couldn't remember.

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“That’s all part of the fun” He joked, diving back under the water with a splash, completely missing the rolled eyes he received. Cold rushed over him as his head fell under. He forced open his golden eyes, ignoring the burning sensation, and pushed downwards. The water was mostly clear and he was thankful for that. But the water quickly turned cold with no sun to warm it, and he let himself drift back to the top.

When he resurfaced a small distance away, he noticed his companion looked rather off. He shook out the water from his fur, before calling.

“Nexus, are you alright?” The man looked at her with a small frown and a cocked head.
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 Eyes cloudy as Caligo went back under, Nexus had trouble placing a paw on who had taught her herbs, but.. as the man called out to her, the woman blinked a few times, turning her sky-blue gazed back to the dusty-white wolf.

"I'm fine, just.. thinking. My memories are weird, but I feel like I remember something. Anyways, wanna hunt? I'm absolutely starving, and I'd definitely be up to eat,"

 Nexus stood, ruffling her fur and bowing down in a feline-like stretch, flexing her paws and throwing her head back in a yawn. Well, she was ready to go and hunt. Big game, small game, she didn't care; Any sort of meal would be nice, though she was specifically itching for a hare, or a fish.
 Nexus needed to practice her fishing.

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He pulled himself back onto dry land. His snowy fur heavy with water, which he attempted to shake off, minding where he was in comparison to the slate blue wolf. The relief of the water was immediate, but his fur was still held plenty. He smoothed it over quickly to prevent it from becoming weirdly spiked, then finally walked back towards Nexus.
 “Yeah sure.” He glanced back at the water uneasily. Fishing would probably be the easiest thing to do, if only he knew how. But it couldn't be that hard right?
“Do you want to go upstream to catch some fish?” The loner asked this more so to make sure it wasn’t a terrible idea, rather than being considerate. Going up stream should make it easier to fish with shallower water and all, at least he hoped so.

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omg so srry for how late this iss u know how it is :’//

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 Watching as the man groomed his fur for a few quick seconds, Nexus stood and got ready to leave, until he glanced back towards the water.
  Hah, it’d be funny if he could “read minds” or something..

 But as he offered to go upstream to catch some fish, the woman felt her heart stop for a few moments. Surely it was just coincidence, no need to be paranoid.
 Blinking the slight twinge of anxiety away, Nexus nodded.

“Sure, I’d love that, actually. I’m a bit rusty, and definitely need to practice.”

 Turning away from the man she barely knew, Nexus began her way upstream, trotting at a quicker pace to get some distance between her and Caligo, though trying to make it seem as not-suspicious as possible. She just..
 felt off at his offer when she had been thing the same thing moments before, but, whatever, they were right near water and were both hungry. It was just coincidence.

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He offered a slight smile at her acceptance of his offer, glad he hadn't made a fool of himself, at least not yet. As he followed the woman he noticed her mood had changed, it was weird, but he just chalked it up to the memory she had.

His golden eyes kept focus of the water, excitement drumming through his veins at the sight of the scaly beasts. What a bad day to be a fish He thought grimly, admiring the beauty of their prismatic scales.

“Uh- I'm going to try my luck further upstream ” He said awkwardly. It'd be alot easier to fake his knowledge if she couldn't really see him. He sat back for a moment, glancing at Nexus to see how she would do it.
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 Slightly comforted by his small smile, Nexus held in a sigh, nodding as he decided to go upstream to find better fish. Ah, Caligo must’ve already been taught, hm?

 Taking a few steps upstream, the storm-blue woman allowed the sand-white man to create some space between the two, before hunching over and getting her claws ready to strike.
 There. After a few moments, a blubbering black silhouette lounging along the riverbed. Nexus’s mouth watered at the thought of a nice meal, but she’d wait for the right moment… Until.. Now.

 Claws piercing the wet, scaled creature, Nexus brought the fish upwards, throwing it onto the ground and delivering one last killing bite. The flavour filled her mouth, and the woman felt a triumphant satisfaction course through her very veins.

 Now, she’d wait for Caligo to finish with his catch.

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He couldn’t help but let out an impressed gasp at the blue wolf’s flawless movements. A rather graceful display. It seemed fishing would be much harder than he originally thought. He sat forward on his haunches, watching the fish for a moment. He knew immediately which one he wanted as soon as he saw it.

It was larger than the rest, moving at a slower pace, an easy catch hopefully. He replayed Nexus’ movements in his mind, hoping he’d be able to somewhat recreate them.

Suddenly he plunged his paw into the water. He tried digging his claws into the prey as he scooped it out of the stream, but failed. The fish got flung into the air, with nothing hooked in it. Realizing his mistake he pushed off the ground, following the fish. With some amount of luck he grabbed it in his jaws, barely keeping hold of the flailing creature.

That’s when gravity took its course. He couldn’t do anything but sink his teeth deeper into the body of the fish as his legs crumbled as they hit the river rocks at the bottom. His somewhat mauled meal now limp in his mouth.

Caligo pulled himself back on to dry land, and shook out his white pelt. He walked back over to Nexus, dropping his catch on the mossy roots of a tree
“Well that was fun” He chuckled.
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 Sky-blue pools gazing over at the man as he roughly stumbled through before catching the fish, Nexus felt a small chuckle escape her maw,
 quickly silencing herself with one tail twitch as Caligo trotted towards her with his meal.

 Dipping her crown, the storm-blue woman gave a small sentence in reply; "It was," She smiled, "Is there anything you'd like to do now? Go for a run.. explore.. anything of the sorts?"

 Nexus hated being alone, but if Caligo decided to leave, she'd just seek out someone else, though the white-coated man was quite fascinating.

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Sorru for the shorter post, on a road trip

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He laid down on the mossy bed the tree provided beneath it. His fresh meal was held between his snowy paws. Not looking particularly appetizing with the gashes in its sides, but as hunger pains prodded at his belly he devoured it, grateful.

“ I'd love to explore a bit, learn more about the terrain ” He answered, pausing his feast. He quite enjoyed the woman's company, and wasn't really ready to be Left alone yet.
“ I'll let you lead the way this time, I had my fun already”

Once he finished his lunch he would bury the remnants under the roots of the tree. Then sit and wait patiently for the blue wolf to finish her own food.
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No worries! It's pretty impressive u got a post out during a road trip oml

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 Watching as Caligo went straight in for the meal, Nexus hummed with amusement, before reaching her claws out to slice open the fish and remove her least favourite parts; The insides. Yuck.

 Once that was finished, the storm-grey woman dove into her own prey as well, hunger melting into satisfaction as the flavour of distant salt and metallic liquids pooled in her jaw.
 But, the fish she'd caught wasn't a massive meal, luckily, and she was left comfortably full.

 He wanted to stay? She doubted he wanted to stay with her, since he particularly said 'Explore the Terrain', but Nexus couldn't help but feel her heart flutter. Someone who barely knew her wanted her company..?

“Of course,” She answered casually. Nexus wouldn't be able to bare leaving, either. Perhaps it was mutual... “If you'd like me to, but really, you can lead on if you want.” The woman offered with a kind tilt of her head, grinning at Caligo.

 Following after his own actions, the lady dug up a small hole in the earth, pushing the ivory-bones and other organs of the fish into it.
 Maybe she'd return one day, and see that beautiful plant had sprouted...

 Awaiting Caligo's final words, Nexus stood, ready to get going.

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I think my fingers got a little excited soz

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“As long as you're sure, thank you” Caligo smiled. He loved adventuring, especially the freedom it gave him, how his paws could take him everywhere, it wasn't something he got to do often. He waited a moment for her to dispose of her food.

“Alright let's go” As they started he'd stay right beside Nexus, enjoying the comfort of having the company of another wolf. But eventually something would steal his attention, and his paw-steps would quicken, leaving the woman behind.

At this moment he was bounding towards a pond much like the one he'd swam in not long ago. But it wasn't the water that brought him, instead the long arching branches of a weeping willow captured his golden gaze. He stumbled slightly as he got near the tree, over the elegant root that reached above the ground.

“Be careful” He whispered to his companion, as if the tree was a beast he couldn't wake. The man laid beneath the tree, eyes dancing between the weeping leaves and the water, then finally to the stunning blue wolf. He invited her to join him, still with an awestruck look about him
“Gorgeous, isn't it?” He asked, whispering once again
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 Caligo led the way, and Nexus followed in suite, confused as he sped up, until...
 There it stood. A magnificent, towering tree that held thick branches with grey-green leaves draped over them. No scents beside their own filled the area. Had no one ever been here before?
 It seemed unlikely, but perhaps this was a place just for the two of them. How sweet.

 Be careful, Caligo cautioned, and Nexus nodded in response. She stepped over thick roots and ducked under low-hanging branches before taking place next to the man and aiming to lay her tail over his back paws.
 Perhaps she was getting close, or maybe she was just lonely and wanted to cuddle, either way, she felt like being close to someone.

 “It is,” She whispered, a smile inching across her maw. “Do you think anyone's ever been here before?” It seemed not, as it was such a secluded space. There was no noise to disrupt them besides the trickling water and rustling leaves.

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Omg thank you! This one's definitely not as good, last one stole my muse lol

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He smiled as the midnight furred woman laid next to him, her soft tail resting on his paws. His chest fluttered slightly at the sudden contact, but his attention remained on the landscape. There were no footprints engraved in the earth, no game trails throughout the bush, not even a stale scent in the air. Just theirs.

“I don't think so, it seems it's all our own” He said, soft voice still not returned to its usual volume. He took in a deep breath of air, enjoying the scents it held. The warm smell of summer, the sickly sweet scent of flowers in full bloom, but the most prominent one was the wolf beside him, overpowering the rest.

“What's your favorite flower?” Caligo asked curiously, the question brought to him by the breeze. He stretched out so he was more comfortable, turning to look up at Nexus, awaiting her answer.
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 She hummed as Caligo spoke; I don't think so, it seems it's all our own, his tone was soft, calming, and Nexus smiled. It did seem so, and she liked it. She'd have to return here someday, perhaps with Caligo in-tow. That'd be nice, no? “It does,” She flicked her ears. “But it's nice.”

 Her favourite flower? “Delphinium,” the woman answered. “It's blue, like my fur.” Nexus gazed down at her own pelt, holding her paw towards Caligo as an example; Blue as storm clouds, really. She quickly pulled her paw back, grooming herself as if she was a feline and awaiting the mans next words.
 “Yours?”

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“They are a rather beautiful flower” He said, thinking of the tall plant. When Nexus lifted her paw to him, he could definitely see the resemblance in her deep sapphire fur. His answer was one that came very easily to him, one that's been forever ingrained in his memory.

“Lavender” Caligo answered,
“ I've loved it since I was young, I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the scent, it's soothing” As he recalled the delicate smell, something flickered in the back of his mind, only there for a second. Fleeing before it could be captured. He shook his head as if to clear it. “And it blooms multiple times a year, so you see it often, unlike some other flowers.” He completed, without acknowledging the pause.
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 They are a rather beautiful flower, Nexus smiled as if she was the one that’d been complimented; She was glad that the man approved of her flower choice, and a giggle emitted from her maw for but a moment.

 “Lavender is quite beautiful, too. A good choice of flower,” She hummed for a moment, before adding; “Blue and purple… A good mix, no?” Caligo began to explain, and the woman nodded and smiled.

 Nexus tilted her head. “Lavender would probably be my second favourite, with all your reasoning.”

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His face lightened at the sight of her smile, some part of him happy what he said could bring it there. He dropped his gaze for a moment in an awkward dismissal of that feeling, but it returned as he spoke.

“Yeah.. A great combination” He smiled, giving a light laugh at her next sentence. “Well, I'm glad lavender is getting the love it deserves” He paused as a songbird made noise from somewhere across the pond. Hidden from sight in some foliage.

“And I shall have some new found appreciation for delphinium, as I'll think of you every time I see it” He purred, giving a small chuckle afterwards to make it seem more light-hearted.
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