Welcome to the second legend of "Legends of Animaria"! *claps* I'm very excited as I begin this new legend as I also enter into a new phase of life, like many of the characters now do. Of course, I imagine my new life is a bit more happier and lively than those of our beloved Animarians. 
At the end of the first legend, we left off with Opaline dead, Vanault blaming Merrick, and Merrick believing that he killed his own mother as well as father... *sniff* So sad!
***
"You sleep far too much."
"Mmm?" Animus muttered through his thick sleep. He opened his eyes leisurely, turning his head to look at the person who had spoken. Brown eyes, light skin, pink lips, locks of curly hair... "Opaline?" But Opaline was-
"What?" She grinned giddily at him, her head propped up by one of her arms while her free hand roamed through his hair; he could feel the feather soft tickles of her fingers at his nape.
Animus mimicked her giddy grin; it was too infectious. "I love you," he murmured quietly, tugging her closer to him in their large bed. He buried his face into the hollow of her shoulder, simply inhaling her. His hands slid down her body, every curve and contour of her welcoming him back as he recalled the feel of each one.
She giggled softly. "And I love you."
It all must've been a dream, a terrible dream, he thought to himself while beginning a trail of kisses up his lover's neck. Losing her to Vanault and then to... He didn't want to think about it anymore. All he wanted to do was make love to her until he couldn't remember where he stopped and she began. He wanted her to be a part of him, forever.
He felt the warm, comforting heat of the morning sun as he rolled on top of Opaline and claimed her lips with his own, greedily needing a taste of her. She moaned, pleased, and replied his hungry kisses with her own.
"PAPA! MOMMA!"
The two pulled apart just as the door to the room burst open and in ran a little girl no older than three years. Her dark blonde ringlets bounced madly as she skipped up to their bed, her face lit up with absolute glee. Her soft features were all Opaline, but her bright hazel eyes and rambunctious attitude were all his.
"Momma!" she cried once more, standing next to Opaline's side of the bed and lifting her arms above her head.
Animus watched in wonder as Opaline laughed and sat up, lifting the child into her lap. Eagerly, the girl reached over and kissed her mother on the cheek. Opaline hugged her. "Good morning," she greeted, a smile brightening her already beautiful face.
"Good morning!" the girl parroted back, before wiggling out of her mother's embrace and crawling over to Animus' side. She quickly kissed his cheek and giggled out, "Good morning, Papa!"
As his dream world swiftly faded out from existence in his mind and he was forced to wake up to the cold reality, Animus moaned lowly. The flames of the fire, which he had fallen asleep before, flickered into his vision and he blinked slowly to allow his eyes to adjust to the night darkness.
He hoped that all that had happened was a dream, but it could not be if he was there in the Wolf Forest. Merrick was missing and Opaline was... She was... Opaline was gone.
He remembered returning to the camp earlier that night, a cold and tired Ryden riding on the back of Fauna. He and his five men were met by the lone burning fire, and nothing else. No one else. For a moment, he had wondered if Opaline and Vanault had gone off alone to search; the thought of them disobeying his order had irritated him.
It was then that he heard the sobbing.
Following the sound, he guided Fauna up to the cliff's edge. He looked down. Oh, how he wished now that he had not looked down! The night was darker than normal - only a sliver of the moon could be seen in the sky as it neared its rebirth - but he was able to make out two figures in the snow below: one lying down and the other crouched over. The sounds of the sobs were obviously male. "Vanault!" Fear had flooded him at the ominous appearance of the situation. Looking back, Animus realized that within him he knew already what had happened; something dark had settled in him while he had been on the search for the boys, but he hadn't known what it had indicated. "What happened?" Somehow, the question had sounded utterly stupid to him as it left his lips.
"She's DEAD!" He had screamed through his hysterical sobbing. "Opaline! She's dead!"
The mere memory of the haunting words hanging in the air after escaping from the High Priest brought a strong reaction out of the once sleeping Animus. He bowed his head, gritting his teeth tightly. His fists balled themselves at his sides as he tried to resist the urge to grab the first thing he saw and throw it.
At first, he hadn't believed Vanault's words. The man hated him; who knew what he might say to unnerve him? So, after having left Ryden with one of his men, he rode down to the clearing to see for himself.
The young man vainly wished that he had simply trusted in what he had heard.
She had been laying in the snow, one arm stretched out and the other on her stomach. Her skin had already begun to turn pale and her lips had turned bluish, no longer retaining their once pink color. Her hood had fallen off, and so her long dark curls framed her face, giving her once last touch of beauty in death. Animus couldn't bring himself to look into her lifeless brown eyes, but when he tried to shut them, he found that he could not as her body already had started to stiffen.
She was still down there, lying in her last position surrounded by the preserving snow. Once Thane and Mave's groups had returned - Thane's successfully finding Van - he had ordered them all to return to Tribute, report the news of the High Priestess' death, and then come back as soon as possible with a wagon to transport her back to the city. Mave had tried to convince him to allow a few men to stay, but Animus resisted him stubbornly, just as Opaline would have. He needed to be alone; he would look for Merrick on his own.
Merrick. Vanault had accused him of killing Opaline, but by the way the older man had described the entire disaster, all it really was an accident. An accident that had stolen Animus' entire future from him. An accident that had taken his family from him.
Kicking his helmet aside, Animus jumped up and began yelling at the stars. "THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! You weren't supposed to take her from me! We did everything that You wanted! She loved You! She was Your messenger and I was Your protector, but You still forgot us!
"She was my love! SHE WAS MY LIFE! My child...GONE! My lover...GONE! And now, and I have nothing left!" He tore off his cloak and began tugging off his armor - his breastplate first, then his sword - hurling them into the darkness. "WHAT AM I TO LIVE FOR?!"
He collapsed to his knees before the burning fire, tears filling his eyes and trickling down his cheeks. "Tell me, what am I to do now?" he gasped, no longer a proud Animarian general, but simply a lost and broken-hearted man.
***
At the end of the first legend, we left off with Opaline dead, Vanault blaming Merrick, and Merrick believing that he killed his own mother as well as father... *sniff* So sad!
***
"You sleep far too much."
"Mmm?" Animus muttered through his thick sleep. He opened his eyes leisurely, turning his head to look at the person who had spoken. Brown eyes, light skin, pink lips, locks of curly hair... "Opaline?" But Opaline was-
"What?" She grinned giddily at him, her head propped up by one of her arms while her free hand roamed through his hair; he could feel the feather soft tickles of her fingers at his nape.
Animus mimicked her giddy grin; it was too infectious. "I love you," he murmured quietly, tugging her closer to him in their large bed. He buried his face into the hollow of her shoulder, simply inhaling her. His hands slid down her body, every curve and contour of her welcoming him back as he recalled the feel of each one.
She giggled softly. "And I love you."
It all must've been a dream, a terrible dream, he thought to himself while beginning a trail of kisses up his lover's neck. Losing her to Vanault and then to... He didn't want to think about it anymore. All he wanted to do was make love to her until he couldn't remember where he stopped and she began. He wanted her to be a part of him, forever.
He felt the warm, comforting heat of the morning sun as he rolled on top of Opaline and claimed her lips with his own, greedily needing a taste of her. She moaned, pleased, and replied his hungry kisses with her own.
"PAPA! MOMMA!"
The two pulled apart just as the door to the room burst open and in ran a little girl no older than three years. Her dark blonde ringlets bounced madly as she skipped up to their bed, her face lit up with absolute glee. Her soft features were all Opaline, but her bright hazel eyes and rambunctious attitude were all his.
"Momma!" she cried once more, standing next to Opaline's side of the bed and lifting her arms above her head.
Animus watched in wonder as Opaline laughed and sat up, lifting the child into her lap. Eagerly, the girl reached over and kissed her mother on the cheek. Opaline hugged her. "Good morning," she greeted, a smile brightening her already beautiful face.
"Good morning!" the girl parroted back, before wiggling out of her mother's embrace and crawling over to Animus' side. She quickly kissed his cheek and giggled out, "Good morning, Papa!"
As his dream world swiftly faded out from existence in his mind and he was forced to wake up to the cold reality, Animus moaned lowly. The flames of the fire, which he had fallen asleep before, flickered into his vision and he blinked slowly to allow his eyes to adjust to the night darkness.
He hoped that all that had happened was a dream, but it could not be if he was there in the Wolf Forest. Merrick was missing and Opaline was... She was... Opaline was gone.
He remembered returning to the camp earlier that night, a cold and tired Ryden riding on the back of Fauna. He and his five men were met by the lone burning fire, and nothing else. No one else. For a moment, he had wondered if Opaline and Vanault had gone off alone to search; the thought of them disobeying his order had irritated him.
It was then that he heard the sobbing.
Following the sound, he guided Fauna up to the cliff's edge. He looked down. Oh, how he wished now that he had not looked down! The night was darker than normal - only a sliver of the moon could be seen in the sky as it neared its rebirth - but he was able to make out two figures in the snow below: one lying down and the other crouched over. The sounds of the sobs were obviously male. "Vanault!" Fear had flooded him at the ominous appearance of the situation. Looking back, Animus realized that within him he knew already what had happened; something dark had settled in him while he had been on the search for the boys, but he hadn't known what it had indicated. "What happened?" Somehow, the question had sounded utterly stupid to him as it left his lips.
"She's DEAD!" He had screamed through his hysterical sobbing. "Opaline! She's dead!"
The mere memory of the haunting words hanging in the air after escaping from the High Priest brought a strong reaction out of the once sleeping Animus. He bowed his head, gritting his teeth tightly. His fists balled themselves at his sides as he tried to resist the urge to grab the first thing he saw and throw it.
At first, he hadn't believed Vanault's words. The man hated him; who knew what he might say to unnerve him? So, after having left Ryden with one of his men, he rode down to the clearing to see for himself.
The young man vainly wished that he had simply trusted in what he had heard.
She had been laying in the snow, one arm stretched out and the other on her stomach. Her skin had already begun to turn pale and her lips had turned bluish, no longer retaining their once pink color. Her hood had fallen off, and so her long dark curls framed her face, giving her once last touch of beauty in death. Animus couldn't bring himself to look into her lifeless brown eyes, but when he tried to shut them, he found that he could not as her body already had started to stiffen.
She was still down there, lying in her last position surrounded by the preserving snow. Once Thane and Mave's groups had returned - Thane's successfully finding Van - he had ordered them all to return to Tribute, report the news of the High Priestess' death, and then come back as soon as possible with a wagon to transport her back to the city. Mave had tried to convince him to allow a few men to stay, but Animus resisted him stubbornly, just as Opaline would have. He needed to be alone; he would look for Merrick on his own.
Merrick. Vanault had accused him of killing Opaline, but by the way the older man had described the entire disaster, all it really was an accident. An accident that had stolen Animus' entire future from him. An accident that had taken his family from him.
Kicking his helmet aside, Animus jumped up and began yelling at the stars. "THIS WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! You weren't supposed to take her from me! We did everything that You wanted! She loved You! She was Your messenger and I was Your protector, but You still forgot us!
"She was my love! SHE WAS MY LIFE! My child...GONE! My lover...GONE! And now, and I have nothing left!" He tore off his cloak and began tugging off his armor - his breastplate first, then his sword - hurling them into the darkness. "WHAT AM I TO LIVE FOR?!"
He collapsed to his knees before the burning fire, tears filling his eyes and trickling down his cheeks. "Tell me, what am I to do now?" he gasped, no longer a proud Animarian general, but simply a lost and broken-hearted man.
***
WhiteZeo
An Oliverette To The End
---
"Blue, please. Please, wait here for us to return. If I think that you are waiting for me, I will be able to return. I'll definitely come back to meet you without giving up, 'cause I'll never leave you all alone." - Hige to Blue in "Faulty Memories" from Wolf's Rain
An Oliverette To The End
---
"Blue, please. Please, wait here for us to return. If I think that you are waiting for me, I will be able to return. I'll definitely come back to meet you without giving up, 'cause I'll never leave you all alone." - Hige to Blue in "Faulty Memories" from Wolf's Rain
