I’ve seen suns that were freezing

Noah Olson We all want something to hold in the night We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight They had planned for staying in the lodge, so when Noah and his family came from the Hollowed Grounds this is where the possessions they brought with them went. But now, with the threat looming so close and with Safrin being back, in a weakened state, Noah didn’t feel comfortable with his family being this far from the protection of the Citadel. Cordelia was spending the day with her mother getting their house in Snowcloak ready to reside in again, and Noah was moving their belongings from the lodge back to Snowcloak. Outside, Vi’dore stood strapped to a cart, ready to pull back home. Eira was circling patrols in the sky, her keen yellow eyes wide and ready to alert Noah to any dangers she picked up. Noah was inside, re-packing everything Cordelia had carefully arranged in their private wing of the lodge. He had talked with a few hunters who were getting ready to head out onto the tundra at large, warning them of the dangerous flora that Deimos had told him about specifically in Halo. Some of them already knew, but others didn’t. When he brought his second and third armloads out to the wagon, Eira alerted. At first, it was a pulse from her about someone familiar approaching. At least, they were on the path most direct to the lodge which meant the frequented it enough. Then, the second pulse, was of the once-wolf’s face. Noah lifted his head, glacier eyes ahead, searching for his friend, and preparing for the storm to come.

sah The Wild Thunder lived up to his name as the sky began to rumple the closer he got to the lodge. It was only his mastery of the element and his awareness of his surroundings that stopped lightning from striking the ground with each step. The element raged beneath his skin, as volatile and destructive as the temper flaring in the Abandoned. Beside him, Lilly and Pad walked. The black wolf's hackles were already raised, and Lilly had an uncharacteristically stern expression on her face. In a matter of minutes, he spotted Noah. Lips peeled back into a snarl, Sah sped up his pace. Coming to a stop a few feet from the man he growled out, "Noah Olsen. Explain yourself." Pad growled, and it was only a mental nudge from Sah that had him standing down.

Not all that is fractured is broken

Noah Olson We all want something to hold in the night We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight Eira bristled at the storms in the sky, and demanded across the bond for Noah to tell their friend to cut it out. The Forsaken blinked, head tilting slightly at Sah’s aggressive approach. Vi’dore pinned his ears and stomped his hooves, glaring down at the wolf that snarled at the Wild Thunder’s side. Had he not been attached to the cart, Noah wasn’t confident he wouldn’t have charged the canine. Noah blinked again. ”We were going to stay in the lodge, but we decided to go back to Snowcloak.” He gestured towards the cart attached to the offended unicorn. Noah, again, blinked. ”Eira says she would appreciate it if you stopped the storm.” The hunter looked in the sky towards the griffin that screeched out her displeasure, but continued on in her patrols.

sah Sah forced himself to take a deep breath and nodded at Eira, "Apologies. You're not the one I'm angry at." It takes a moment but the Abandoned managed to pull back his anger enough that the sky quieted. Rounding on Noah he continued with a hissed voice, "You, however." The Wild Thunder shook his head, "What were you thinking, Noah? If you were at all. Why hide that the twins were Abandoned? What if Cordelia had brought them to Stormbreak before the ban was lifted and they'd been harmed!" Reckless, irresponsible, short-sighted. Sah could go on and on about how foolish of a choice the man had made. Sah threw his hands in the air, "And by the gods, why tell me and not Cordelia?! I didn't even know you hadn't told her until I mentioned it off-hand. She was furious! She could barely stop herself from shifting!" The Wild Thunder had held the twins until their mother was able to keep her feathers and talons away. Seeing his cousin in such distress had been painful. Her hurt at Noah's betrayal was clear as day. Sah had had to suppress his anger and keep a cool head so that he could help. Yet now, it was his turn to rage.

Not all that is fractured is broken

Noah Olson We all want something to hold in the night We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight Eira’s cry is not one of forgiveness as she felt the tension rise around them, despite the dissipation of the storm. Noah’s eyes flicked from the wolves at his heels to the Wild Thunder, then the hunter crossed his arms around his chest. He let Sah get out all of his words, standing silently and patiently as the trickles of his passive magic begin to glow around him. Then, it begins. Noah can’t help the way he steps to Sah, the way his body lifts up to its full height and burning celestial energy wraps around him in bright, pulsing waves of light. Hopefully it reminded the once-wolf who exactly he was challenging. ”You have no right, Sah Lovi, to lecture me about my marriage. My relationship with Cordelia is between her and I, and what we do or do not do is not your business.” Noah’s voice was eerily cold, despite the white-hot celestial energy pulsing between them and the way his eyes went yellow-white. ”Though I do not have to defend myself in front of you, you will know we have made amends for the transgressions between us—which were on both ends. And if you come to me this way, I cannot imagine the way you may choose to approach my wife.” Then, Noah’s voice was a snarl, as it lowered and deepened. ”So tell me, do I need to stand in defense of my wife for what she has chosen to do?”

sah Sah forced himself to relax some and let out a heavy sigh, but he made no sign of being intimidated by Noah, "I'm not lecturing you about your marriage, Noah. I would never and I'm glad that you talked things out with her." The Demi-god's display didn't' shake him. He trusted Noah not to harm him over an argument at this level. If it escalated, he'd be wary then. Eyes narrowed Sah shook his head, "I'm lecturing you on thinking things through. You put me in a position where I unintentionally hurt my cousin by sharing information with her that I thought she was privy to. You made no indication that it was something that you had yet to tell her. If you had told me that you intended to tell her on your own time, I would have kept my silence out of respect for your relationship." Cordelia wasn't the only one who had felt betrayed by Noah's actions. Lilly's soft whine was the only indication of the hurt that the Wild Thunder was feeling. The Wild Thunder grimaced, "But I didn't know. You didn't tell me. And Cordelia suffered for it." He gritted his teeth, genuinely offended, "I would never be angry with her for not knowing information she hadn't been told. You do not need to defend your wife because she did nothing wrong."

Not all that is fractured is broken

Noah Olson We all want something to hold in the night We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight The audacity with which the Wild Thunder stood before the Forsaken only made Noah's muscles turn to stone along his shoulders and in his neck. The Forsaken did not move, but merely bristled against all of Sah's words. His lips curled into a snarl before he laid into him. The one, with the rest of the world, had abandoned and forgotten his wife until it was convenient for them. "You don't even know the extend of how in bad of a spot she was. I had to carry the husk of my wife for seasons, and no one else cared or helped. Everyone turned away from her, and all she had was me. Of course I was going to do anything to protect her." Noah didn't move from his spot, and his pulsing celestial energy only glowed brighter and broader. "So until you've been put in the same position, I will hear no more of this." He said, the tightening of his jaw setting against his teeth solidifying the point. This conversation was done.

sah Noah wasn't hearing him and there were more words on Sah's tongue. How Cordelia had pushed him away and even apologized about it later. How they had reconnected, and she'd made him promise not to let her do something like that again. How he would have been there to help if he thought his presence would have helped more than the isolation of just being with her immediate family. It was clear that the Demi-god wasn't in the mood to consider any view other than his own but Sah at least defended Cordelia's choice in a soft voice, "I would have. She didn't want anyone but you and the twins with her." The Wild Thunder noted Noah's growing ire and backed down, genuinely wondering if he was about to be hit. Pad stepped forward to try and get between the two men, but Sah blocked him. He couldn't let this come to blows. It would cause further trouble for Cordelia. Jaw tight he nodded, "Understood." He inclined his head with a blank expression, "My I be dismissed, Demi-god?" Using titles for someone he loved burned his mouth, but Sah was at a loss of what to do to de-escalate the situation.

Not all that is fractured is broken

Noah Olson We all want something to hold in the night We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight Noah's flowing celestial lights did not dissipate, still feeling the height of all of the rage within him. "You came to me, Sah." He said, voice still a near snarl. "You don't get to show up like that and tell me how to be a husband." Noah said simply, glacier eyes still hard on the once-wolf. Then, he pointed to his companion, "And if you don't want me to be angry, and defensive, and mean, then control him and control that." He pointed to the sky with the other hand. If Sah was going to come in all big and bad and mighty, then he would meet the wall that would remind him he didn't have the upper hand in these situations every time. The demigod would not be bullied. Relationships--marriages--were hard, even without the trauma wrapped up between them that Noah and Cordelia's held. "Am I not allowed mistakes? Am I so perfect that the second I do one thing that someone disapproves of they come to me with ready to attack wolves and all the strength of their magic?" "Am I such a faultless being, since I'm a fucking demigod?" Noah spat the word back towards Sah.

sah Sah nodded sharply, "I wasn't trying to tell you how to be a husband and I'm sorry if it came across that way. That wasn't my intention." He took a deep breath, forcing the sky to clear, despite his rising tension. Pad refused to listen, so Lilly reached up on her hind legs grabbed her furious brother by the scruff, and pulled him back behind their bonded. Noah seemed to be only growing further enraged so Sah urged Lilly to take Pad and leave. He didn't want them to get caught up in the Demi-god's anger. Especially having referred to them as 'attack wolves'. Lilly sent Noah an offended look over her shoulder as the duo left. Fuck. It was dawning on the Abandoned that he'd hit more nerves than he'd intended. Was Noah under that much pressure with his position? Some of the tension in him softened, "Of course, you're allowed to make mistakes, Noah. I never said that you weren't or that you were above them." Sah took another deep breath, "I had no intentions of attacking you, and I still don't. My magic and companions react to my emotions, the same as yours. I'm sorry that I lost control of my temper." He'd caused this mess, so it seemed like he'd have to be the one to fix it. "I've said my piece, clearly poorly. I'm sorry." The apology was sincere. Just as Noah had gone about the twin's status incorrectly, Sah had obviously taken the wrong approach in dealing with Noah. The thought actually made him huff out a self-deprecating chuckle, "Here I am trying to lecture you on something I'm quite literally doing at the moment." He shook his head, "Fucking hypocritical." His anger with the man was justified and far from eased. Yet Sah could admit his faults.

Not all that is fractured is broken

Noah Olson We all want something to hold in the night We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight Lilly pulling Pad was one of the things that helped calm Noah. The hunter’s glacier eyes started to reappear through the glow of yellow-white, and the flowing celestial energy around him faded but did not totally dissipate. Noah let out a breath. He did not step back, but he seemed to ease. Noah wanted to tell the once-wolf how he needed to temper himself when approaching someone in such a way. Eira, however, kept his tongue silent with her encouragement. She flashed images of Noah and Sah together, working together and having fun together and growing together and being friends. ”I know you care about us, Sah.” He finally said, extending a hand towards Vi’dore to calm the unicorn who still watched the wolves even as they exited. ”But you don’t know everything between us.” Between him and Cordelia, in their marriage, in the intricacies of their relationship.

sah Sah nearly bit the inside of his mouth, aggravation surging upwards for a brief moment. This wasn't about Noah and Cordelia's relationship. This was about how Noah's actions affected those outside of it. No, the Wild Thunder didn't know the details of their marriage, nor did he wish to. He had no intention of butting in or giving unwarranted advice. The facts were simple in his eyes. Noah's actions led to Sah hurting Cordelia. And that hurt could have been avoided if Noah had just been honest with Sah. Letting out a sharp exhale, he ran a hand through his hair before nodding sharply. Lilly's mental nudging kept his anger from simmering further. Nothing he said today would make any progress. That much was clear and with the she-wolf's advice, Sah chose his battles. "Alright. I'll hold my tongue next time." Warily, he held out a hand towards Noah, "I'm sorry. Are we ok?"

Not all that is fractured is broken

Noah Olson We all want something to hold in the night We don't care if it hurts or we're holding too tight Noah's breath hung in the crisp winter air as he watched Sah, their strained friendship thawing in the frosty atmosphere. With a nod, Noah acknowledged the Wild thunder’s transgressions, choosing forgiveness over resentment. He shook the man’s hand, and then reached to pat his unicorn on the neck. The large stallion still hadn’t settled down since Sah’s black wolf worked him up, even though Noah tried to soothe his mind. ”Let’s hunt. Before the day has left us.” Noah said, then. Then they did. They were able to catch enough prey to fill both of their homes for a while, as well as rework back to the relationship that was threatening to break. FIN