"Come, lovemate." Raineyes rested a hand on Lakefrost's own and smiled at him. "The day is coming. We should get back to the holt."
Lakefrost nodded and stood, helping his lovemate to her feet. He still felt slightly shocked from the gift she had given him, but a trusted peace rested in him as well; he had worried his recent recognition of Blossombeach would destroy what he had with his lovemate, but knew now it would be stronger. A joy was inside of him that he had not felt in a while.
Suddenly, however, a cold feeling came over Lakefrost. He put a hand on Raineyes' shoulder, shivering slightly. Raineyes felt it too; something unnatural was extremely close to the holt, the elves' territory - to her and Lakefrost.
"Raineyes," Lakefrost said softly, squeezing her shoulder. "Take Sunfire and get back to the holt. I will follow right behind you, I promise."
Raineyes opened her mouth to argue, but catching a glance in her lovemate's eyes, instead began to back up towards her wolf friend. She watched Lakefrost take a step towards him as well when suddenly a strong stench entered Raineyes' nose. She sniffled, her eyes glaring. She recognized that smell a moment too late…
"Lakefrost! Watch out!" Raineyes cried loudly as two humans suddenly tore through the trees, approaching the elves and the wolves. Land Lopers, that would make the elves their sacrifice.. Raineyes reached for her dagger, preparing to attack the five-fingered ones with all her strength when Lakefrost stepped in front of her.
**Go back to the holt, beloved! Go now!** he sent to her, his mind piercing hers. Raineyes stared at Lakefrost in shock. He was usually happy, kind.. this anger was a side of him she'd never seen before. The want and need to protect in him was deep, but was it always done in blind rage?
**I will not let you fight alone!** Raineyes returned his send in desperation. The humans approached the pairs of elves and wolves, talking in their strange language to one another in low, horrid voices. Raineyes glared at them with disgust, her own snarls beginning to surface with Lakefrost's, when suddenly Sunfire dove out from behind them, attacking the humans head-on.
"Sunfire!" Raineyes cried, taking a leap for the wolf. They would kill her beautiful bond-animal! Her dagger raised, Raineyes howled as she leaped to join her wolf in a fight.
Lakefrost reached to grab Raineyes, but she flew through his fist like air. Raineyes was a good fighter, but Lakefrost knew his lovemate could not hold off two humans alone.. not even with the aid of the wolves. His own wolf-bond had dove for the second human, teeth bared and ready to kill. Lakefrost only watched for a second longer before racing into the fight.
**I said go back to the holt!** he sent to Raineyes, grabbing her away from the human. She let out a cry of protest as Lakefrost pushed her out of harm's way, but away from the fight as well. Falling over with his strong shove, Raineyes shook her flame-hair out of her face and fumbled on the ground for her dagger, wondering how and where she had dropped it.
No, she would not turn tail, not even for Lakefrost. This was a fight that he, too, could not win on his own, and she knew that. And she refused to watch him try. But without a weapon, she was useless.
Suddenly, Lakefrost let loose a sharp cry of pain, causing Raineyes to look up instantly. The humans were fleeing, yelling at the elves in their garbled tongue behind them, Whitecross bearing his teeth in rage at the fleeing five-fingers. Raineyes stumbled to her feet, running towards her lovemate, letting out a soft howl of triumph. They had won! They had chased the humans away from their holt, protected their kin and friends..
"Lovemate?" Raineyes dropped beside Lakefrost, putting a hand on his face. He was bleeding.. the humans had injured him badly. Next to his body, she could see her wolfbond, lying on the ground. The blood was hard to see in the wolf's brown-red fur, but Raineyes' keen sight caught sight of it - and the lack of breath her wolf friend took. Surly, Sunfire could not be dead..
**Aur…**
The use of her soulname from another shocked her. She had given Lakefrost her name willingly, but hadn't expected to hear him use it so swiftly.. She could feel a pain in her soul, and knew that not only was her wolf-friend dead, but her lovemate might soon be as well.
**I need to get you back to the holt, beloved.** Raineyes rested her arm under Lakefrost's head and attempted to help him sit up. **Can you stand?**
**-You- need to get yourself back, Raineyes.** Raineyes could feel her lovemate's sends grow weaker, and her own vision blurred from unexpected tears. **Do not waste your strength on me.. Go back to the holt before the humans return.**
**Beloved..** Raineyes held her breath to hold herself from sobbing just yet. She felt Lakefrost's hand gently drape one of her own, and squeezed it softly.
**I am Teva, my little sunset. Hold that part of me forever..**
Raineyes felt Lakefrost's hand go limp, and watched his last breath of life fade from his body. She held it now - Lakefrost's soul name, the deepest part of himself was part of her as well. But it was the only part of him she could ever hold again.
The tears fell unwillingly now, and Raineyes threw back her head, letting out a loud howl, mixed in with a struggled sob. Forgetting that humans might be near-by, she let her howl echo through the night sky until she felt she could no more.
Standing on shaking legs, Raineyes picked up the dagger that had fallen from Lakefrost's hand and gently touched his face. In such a short amount of time, like a flash of skyfire, she had lost two things she held incredibly dear to her..
Raineyes took a flying leap onto Whitecross's back, aware of the wolf's inner pain as well. Although Whitecross had not been her bond, she had a feeling he would take her where she wished to go. Sure enough, the wolf took off running into the night, carrying the pain-stricken elf with him beyond the holt's borders.
**
Woodsmoke had walked to his den, ready to sleep through the day when a howl, almost out of hearing range, filled his ears. He shivered slightly, recognizing something about the sound of the howl - something that made his thoughts turn to his daughter, Raineyes. But surly it could not be hers.. she had no reason to let out such a cry.
"Woodsmoke!"
Woodsmoke's younger sister, Brightmoss, ran towards her brother with fierce footsteps. Her face wore a look of panic, and he hopped down to meet her halfway.
"What is it, Brightmoss?" Woodsmoke asked, now in alarm as he looked at his panicked sister.
"I've just gotten back from Blossombeach's den," Brightmoss said, her voice filled with urgency. "She says she can feel it.. Lakefrost is horribly injured. She believes dead.. the pain she felt was .. strong enough to be so.."
Woodsmoke's eyes went wide. Although Blossombeach and Lakefrost had chosen not to lifemate, they shared souls, and therefor, shared each other's pain as well. Blossombeach's feel of his death, then had to be accurate.. then the cry he had heard may have been Raineyes's after all.
"We need to find Raineyes!" Woodsmoke said. "Where she is, Lakefrost is. She left earlier to go hunt for him.."
The sibling pair hopped on their wolves, accompanied by a few other elves that had heard the quickly spread news as well. They took off at a fast pace, Woodsmoke's wolf sniffing out Raineyes's trail easily, leading them to the spot where Lakefrost and Sunfire lay dead, but nothing more.
"Raineyes.." Woodsmoke said softly, hopping off his wolf to examine Lakefrost's body. "She's gone off on her own. I should go after her.."
"No, brother."
Woodsmoke looked at Brightmoss slowly, their eyes meeting. Brightmoss shook her head and continued. "Raineyes has a purpose out there alone in the woods. Let her discover it. Let her discover it and who she is, beyond her soul name. There will be time for questions later."