[ P ] conquer from within

stark coax

The sounds of the crashing waterfall was a pleasant change from the constant chatter of his avian roommates. His ears twitched as he approached the waters' edge; dunking a paw and scooping some water over his face. Roughly rubbing his forearm, he worked a little bit of the sweat and grim from his face and blinked blearily, looking around. Not noticing anyone in the immediate vicinity, Stark allowed a grin to offset his lips as he slowly slid to the ground.

His thoughts drifted away, entangling dangerously with faces of his past. He thought of his parents, and his siblings. Or at least, what he could recall. The memories were from so long ago now, Stark realized that he had forgotten many of their faces... A hand clutched his heart, and he nearly choked. What would his father think of him now?

A deep sigh swelled within his chest, and then he found himself dozing off.

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Sinclair

There was no reason for him to travel this far south other than sheer boredom. It had been... oh, weeks, was it? He shook his head, still feeling so confused to see the world cloaked in snow when he had last seen it covered in shades of brown and orange. His sense of time was so distorted thanks to his most recent blackout. This was precisely why he had left... them. Guilt still churned in his gut as he thought of his wife and children, but wherever they were had to be better than with him. At least that was what he told himself so that he didn’t go crawling back. He was a danger, a menace... and he would not risk Lye’s life again.

It was these somber thoughts distracted him from noticing another wolf nearby as he approached the waterfall. He was a few feet away from the falls by the time he noticed the large black wolf laying on the ground. His brows furrowed and for a moment he could have sworn... “Stark?” he said before the thought could even finish. There was no fucking way his brother was just here.

Shit, had he blacked out again already?

He blinked a few more times, convinced that he was simply seeing things... but Stark did not disappear. Was he really here?

@Stark

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stark coax

"Stark?"

His eyes shot open, darting in the direction of the voice. He hardly had to move his head to see the wolf - another with a coat of black, however even in this dim light, he could see the shimmer of russet off of the man's chest. Starks' brows furrowed. His name was known to the other, yet... why could he not align a name to this face?!

His brain misfired, but it was only for a second.

Panicked eyes warmed with familiarity as the older brother stood. "Sinclair," the name burned his tongue, sucking the air from his lungs. It had been years since he had last uttered it - and now the ghost had materialized before him. How? Stark studied his brothers face, looking for signs, for clues, for something that would explain... explain what?! What answers did he even want right now?

A thousand questions bubbled from his chest - where have you been? why did you leave? what have you done? - yet none of this rose to the surface. Instead, he watched, waiting... he remembered Sinclair to be unpredictable, so what would he do now?

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Sinclair

The two brothers stared at one another, clearly in shock. It had been years since he’d seen Stark and hearing his name in his older brother’s voice send a chill down his spine. It made him think of Laurel and the others. Their parents… his stomach clenched and his ears tilted back atop his head. “Why are you here? How long have you been here?” he asked as the confusion lifted enough for him to question his brother. There didn’t seem to be any desire for violence, at least not yet, from Stark and so he had to believe that his brother had just been… living here.

He had to wonder if their sister was out there, and if Evander was as well. Serana had died when they were children and Renner had died elsewhere; his children now roamed Rionnach. He bet Stark didn’t know anything about this and he’d only just learned it himself. Or, maybe he did. Maybe he’d come from wherever Renner had been, or Evander perhaps. “Are you with the others?” he asked first. Unlike Stark, he was not shy to ask all the questions that burned upon the tip of his tongue.

@Stark

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stark coax

"Stark?"

"Why are you here? How long have you been here?"

A flash of irritation cracked his stoic façade, but he was swift to erase it.

"Are you with the others?"

Stark remained silent for a few more moments, his eyes watching his brother with acute curiosity. The aura of anger and hate that he remembered from their youth seemed nonexistent - at least right in this moment. Starks' brows knit together in thought before he decided to close the distance between the two without hesitation.

After all, he did not fear Sinclair.

"It is nice to see you too, brother." Stark replied dryly, now close enough to see the familiar purple eyes of his kin. He met them with his own; a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, "Where have you been?" ​He had spent nearly his entire life alone, and finally, after years... Sinclair showed up. What did this mean? And if he was asking if he was with the rest of their family, and neither of them were - where were they now? The questions swirled within his cool irises, but for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to voice them yet.

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Sinclair

It was like he was back in the den, looking up to Stark and Laurel with his litter mates and listening to them all talk about what what they were going to do today.

He saw Serana and Evander in those blue eyes, now close enough for him to stare into.

“It is nice to see you too...” in truth he missed his family. Both of them— the families he’d left behind to keep them safe before he destroyed them. Again. He swallowed the lump in his throat and shook his head. “After mom... I fled to Mirahl and then left again with Lye and our son. When we got here I had to leave her and our other children behind to keep them safe.” he said, his voice becoming shaken.

Stark would surely remember how he’d attacked mom in his rage; it was a wonder his older brother hadn’t attacked him for that alone right here and now. It had been so long ago and still he felt it like it was yesterday— that and what happened after that only he knew of and tried to bury every day. ”Just like I have to do now. I have to go, Stark... I’m sorry. For everything.” and then before he could say or do anything else, Sinclair turned and fled.

exit

@Stark

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