Choleric

Chapter XXIII

[Unedited]

(Also apologising in advance - I am actually incapable of writing drunk scenes)

AMAZING new cover is up and was created by the beautiful @Deadrot so thank you so very much for making this for me. xxx

Guy on the cover is Felix Bujo, who I imagine to resemble Cassius the best (in looks).

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it."

― Rumi

It was getting dark again.

The sun, swallowed by the earth had left no trace of its previous presence as Celia slumped against the tree, revelling in the silence that enveloped her surroundings like a thick smoke. People had long since vacated the small clearing, each pack heading home until only four Alpha's sat in a small circle on their own, trying to start a fire. They had stayed with their deceased companions, waiting for their pack to return home and come back with working cars.

Peaking through the twisted trunks and thick shrubbery Celia watched with glazed eyes as the four sat around a pile of sticks, striking matches and watching them die before the kindling caught. Everything was in a haze; like her brain had been smothered with a fogginess, separating her from reality. She didn't mind the feeling. It stopped her thoughts from making too much sense and triggering unwanted feelings like sadness, isolation and desperation.

Instead of dwelling in her feelings, she focused on kicking particles of dirt into the air with a stick. The mind numbing task was calming and Celia found refuge in twisting the strong stick into the ground only to flick it up, causing the hole to grow in size.

"Celia," A deep voice called. She looked up, the guttural sound catching her attention. "It's getting dark, you should come into the clearing."

The words processed slowly through her brain. Why should she have to listen to him? After a moment's thought, Celia turned around and continued to dig her hole.

The bush whispered the warning of an intruder as Cassius carelessly pushed through the shrubbery. Unfortunately for Celia it went unnoticed and she practically jumped out of her skin when his voice was suddenly right next to her ears. "Come on," he whispered, lightly tugging on her arm.

"Hey!" Celia screamed once she got over her initial fright, tearing her arm from his soft grasp. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that, you could kill them with heart attacks!" She explained, using the trunk behind her for support as she made an attempt to stand.

Cassius sighed, as if it took immense pain to actually try and communicate with her. "It's dangerous to be outside of the clearing at the moment. There's not enough dead Bad Souls to convince me it's safe yet, now let's go," he replied, jerking his head in the direction of the pathetic camp fire.

Celia swayed despite her efforts to hold herself up. Her dainty fingers gripped tight to the harsh trunk. It's rough exterior promised splinters to puncture through her dark skin. Instead of removing her hand, she kept it there, not feeling a thing as she watched the small flames sputter in the distance. There was something wrong with Cassius' statement about Bad Souls. His words seemed to be whispering answers to questions she had been asking for weeks. Instead of making a breakthrough, her foggy brain grew heavy and began to pound until she forgot the statement completely. Shrugging it off she turned to him, a frown pulling down on her lips.