Magically entwined

"Oh would you just stop it Cella! You know that I would love to meet your new friends, but now just isn't the time!" said Rainy, exasperated. It was 6:00am, and Rainy Dennison had a whole lot of things on her job list. She didn't have any particular standing in the village, she'd just taken it upon herself to oversee absolutely everything and nobody else particularly wanted the job. Most of her rogue encamptment consisted of the elderly, sick or extremely young, and so Rainy (at eighteen years of age and in relatively good health) felt in the best position to take charge and make decisions. Many of the elderly and sickly had been evicted from their previous pack - the Cresent Thorns - for being deemed by the Alpha as not contributing enough towards the pack. The Alpha was pretty darn ruthless and only wanted the fittest, healthiest pack members as a means to intimidate his opposition. This meant that anyone with an occupation or role other than warrior was neglected, given poor living conditions and the most basic of rations, rarely spoken to and outcast. Seeing the poor standards by which many were treated, one day many parents decided to send their own children away in the hopes they would be safely brought into a happier and more caring pack - staying behind themselves to lessen the wrath of the alpha and hoping by having staff and warriors he would be discouraged from seeking out the children - he viewed those who hadn't yet shifted as strains on his resources anyway. So far however, no pack or Alpha had wandered by to rescue them, so they'd built up a pretty impressive sanctuary in the meantime. Rainy missed her parents dearly, but she was one of the few young adults in camp who made the decision to leave on her own, taking her 8 year old half-sister Rylie with her. Her father was the Alpha's designated Beta, and she knew him and her step-mother would never get away undetected - due to the bond between a Beta and an Alpha, her father would be easily located and the whole village would be in jeopardy, putting many lives at the mercy of the Alpha. For the past year 2 years, the village had not heard any news about the Cresent Thorn pack, nor encountered anyone else from it, although they had welcomed in a few friendly rogues that had wandered by from neighbouring areas and asked for refuge from the less well-mannered rogues that had been exiled for misdemeanours. This made Rainy responsible for looking after about 140 people, designating tasks such as growing and hunting for food, taking on patrol shifts, delivering training sessions and providing medical care. Rainy was adored by every one in the village, but she rarely made time for herself - keeping everyone else happy and healthy was her priority. "Come on Rainy! All you do it work! I'm sure someone else can take over things for just a few hours this afternoon! You're 18 for goodness sake! Live a little!" shouted Cella from outside Rainy's tent. "Cella, why do think things run so smoothly? Because I make sure they do! If i went galivanting off to some little party in the woods, and got eaten by bears, what would you do then hmm?". "Rainy you're a wolf, no bear is going to eat you!! I however, am very tempted to embed some deep scratches in your skull!" huffed Cella. "I'll meet your friends some other time Cella, I'm sure they're adjusting well enough having you around to look after them" said Rainy. "You are impossible! But okay, I didn't really expect anything different from little miss works-her-butt-off. I just wish you'd make some time to look after yourself too every once in while". Rainy heard Cella's footsteps as they retreated from her tent. "You should really listen to her ya know. You don't ever really hang out with her anymore" said a quiet voice in the bed next to her. "Rylie! You should be sleeping! And she understands! Besides, she's made some new friends - she'll get over me" said Rainy.. "It's hard when you and Cella talk so loudly! I'm surprised the Alpha hasn't found us just from the volume of you talking alone! And no one could ever replace you, there's no other you" replied Rylie. "And there's no other you either little sister. Is it still worrying you though Rylie? Are you having your nightmares again?" asked Rainy. "Not really ... it's just we have a super good thing going here - and he spoils everything! The Alpha was big and mean and scary, I don't want him to ruin this home like he ruined the last one". "It's okay Rylie, you're allowed to worry. But it's been two years, and he hasn't found us yet has he? We're not that far away, if he was really trying to find us he would have done so ages ago. And your sister can be just as big and bad! I'm not gonna let anything happen to you". And with that Rainy tackled Rylie into the biggest bear hug ever. Midway through their wrestle, Rainy heard a panicked voice shouting through their tent flap. "Rainy! I'm sorry to disturb you, but our scouts have spotted three people walking through the woods - we've never seen them before and they are armed, how should we proceed?". Rainy detached herself from her sister and rubbed her temple. "Okay, tell the scouts to keep an eye on them for now and to not engage, I'll be there as soon as I can". And with that, Rainy and Rylie were left alone again. "Do you really have to go sis?" pouts Rylie, already tucking herself back under the covers. "You know I do little cub. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about- you get some more shut-eye yeah?" says Rainy, ruffling Rylie's hair before proceeding to get dressed. Rainy slips on her basic combat gear, A black cotton shirt with denim jeans and a series of leather straps and holsters crisscrossing her body, tying up her black leather boots and pulling her hair into a high ponytail. And she has no idea this is the outfit she'll meet her mate in in about ... 5 minutes.