Alone

[Pablo]

Szandor was dead, and Alena was with the vampires, yes that summed it up pretty well. Pablo wished he wasn't the one who had to make this reality for her.
What did she not understand from he didn't know? If he had an explanation he would have given her one. Pablo bit his tongue, he was on the verge of snapping at Adele again. This wasn't her fault. He was stressed, Adele's appearance had thrown him into a loop. Everything seemed much clearer before she arrived, but the prospect that he could hurt her at any moment was hanging over his head. It was a foreboding presence. One he could do without. Honestly he wanted her to leave. She would be safe then, and he wouldn't have to worry about hurting her. The young lycan looked at his friend incredulously. Her suggestion of a chip in his brain sounded absurd, but worse of all it it was just as feasible as any he could think of. Hell he wished it was as simple as that. He would tear the damned thing out of his spine with his bare hands if he knew it was there. "I can't go back to the den, not without Alena." He stated as if it was matter of fact. It surly felt that way. There were witnesses he let live, surly by now he was named a traitor. The whole pack was probably calling for his head as they spoke. Her plan was close to what he'd hope to do, but hearing it from her made it seem unlikely. He let the thought quietly mull in his head.

Pablo's eyes never strayed from Adele as she spoke of what happened. There was more to it than she let on, she couldn't even look him in the eye . He felt a spike of anger. Adele had been through her own hell, and like Alena he'd been too consumed with vengeance to look beyond himself. There was nothing more important to him than his friends. The fact she'd been hurt, and he'd done nothing about it was unacceptable."I'm sorry, Alena said you'd gone missing. I thought you were just laying low for a bit." If it was really over, maybe it was better if he let the whole thing go. Some things were better left unspoken. If Adele thought she needed to tell him more she would have. He sat there quietly for a few minutes, unsure of what to say or do. Finally he broke the silence. "I'm going back to Oslo, to make sure Alena's still there..." And check to see if she was even still alive. "You were right, the wolves need to rally, and they need to know there's still something worth fighting for, but I can't be the one to do it. They won't trust me, I wouldn't trust me." He paused, "But they should trust you." Though his words were hopeful he still spoke somberly. Alena have given Szandor's life to save him, he owed her no less than his own. If there was any chance of saving her, with or without the pack he'd take it, no matter the cost. "Adele, you need to back and tell them Alena's still alive."

[Adele Holst]

"You...?" Adele stopped herself. He'd known she was missing? Heat rose in her cheeks, although from Pablo's vantage it probably just looked like she was sitting too close to the fire pit. -Don't you think I would have told you first if I were going to lay low for a while? Don't you think I care about you? Don't you know I was worried about you?- Those thoughts flew through the young woman's mind and to her tongue. They were on the verge of escaping her lips but she pursed them instead, not wanting the words to take form. She knew they would carry more of a bite to them than she would ever want to aim at her friend. Tears seemed to well up in her eyes. She wanted to explain everything that had happened. She'd made comments in the past to Pablo about her dad being an asshole, but she'd never elaborated; he'd never heard the full extent of his abuse. Guilt rose in her. Now was not the time for this conversation though, nor for her to become angry with her friend. She couldn't even imagine the horrors he'd been through, and the struggle the Pack now faced.
Blinking, two hot tears fell hastily from her eyes. She met Pablo's gaze when he spoke again. He was going to go back? Alone? Running her fingers over her scalp, Adele shook her head slowly. She didn't like the sound of this. Yet she couldn't deny his logic; if he'd gotten Alena into this situation, the other Werewolves would rally. Against him. "Scheiße." Licking her lips, she tried to come up with some other way; any other way. She'd been running from a leadership position since arriving at the Den in Sweden all those years ago. Yet it seemed to be slowly catching up to her. "I... I will go and tell them. But I don't like that you'll be on your own for this." Sighing, Adele looked upon the young man, worry written on her face.

[Pablo]

Pablo watched Adele curiously as she spoke only to stop herself. What was she about to say? The thought would eat at him all night if he didn't ask, but he knew not to try prying information from her. That would accomplish nothing more than annoying her. She would tell him, when she was ready. For a moment he spotted a glisten in Adele's eyes. Tears, what was she thinking that could illicit such a response. Was it something he said? Who was he kidding. He was the bearer of bad news, Szandor was dead, Alena a prisoner, and he didn't dare stand within ten feet of his friend. Tears more than anything seemed appropriate. "Adele, if there's something you want to tell me don't hesitate. I'll always be here for you."

The concern on Adele's face did not go unnoticed. In fact it lifted his mood for a moment, he smiled genuinely albeit a little weak. Pablo always enjoyed knowing people cared for him, and it was never more obvious that Adele did. "Don't worry about me." He said still smiling. "I'm not going to go off and die now. Think about how pissed Szandor would be at me for failing our Queen? I can deal with an eternal hellscape, I don't think I can deal with his lectures for the rest of eternity." He turned his gaze away from Adele. Realizing that she might find his words hurtful. It was only a jest, and a light one at that. The words were already out of his mouth, it was too late to take them back. "Besides I don't think they want me dead. At least I don't think Lucia does. " He murmured the hybrid's name under his breath. "They could have killed me, but let me go. I bet the last thing they expect is me to go back." The lycan rested his head back against the hard cave wall, stretching his arms out and yawning. He suddenly realized how tired he was. "I'll rest until tomorrow night and then go. Once I know she's fine I'll come straight back here. Trust me." Pablo said sleepily.

[Adele Holst]

Wiping away the tears, Adele steeled herself. She needed to be strong, not only for the Pack and Alena, but for Pablo, and Szandor. And Damien. Once the boy heard his Queen had been captured, Adele was certain he'd fly into a rage. She'd need to corrale him and help turn his passion to more productive means of rescuing their leader. The thought did not excite her, but neither did any of the events that had happened recently. "Everything's gone to hell." The young woman smiled weakly when Pablo told her he'd always be there for her.
His smile did little to encourage her, but she did laugh at his words. He was on to something; Szandor would be very angry with the lot of them if Alena were to fall. Adele wished that he were still around; she'd give anything to hear his lectures about how she'd fucked up this time. Not that he'd ever come out and said those words to her exactly, but his disappointment with her had been written on his face on a few occasions. "I'd be pissed too. You go and get yourself killed and I'll tell everyone that you keep a pair of panties on you as a good luck charm and curse your name for the ages." The blonde grinned now, however briefly.
Cocking her head to the side, Adele listened as Pablo hypothesized that Dane and Lucia didn't want him dead. Why wouldn't they want him dead? He'd served his purpose, hadn't he? She started chewing on the inside of her cheek; why did the name Lucia sound familiar? She thought she'd heard it somewhere, but couldn't even place where she might of heard the name, much less who had spoken it. She assumed Lucia was a Vampire if she was hanging out with Dane and the rest of the lot.
As Pablo leaned back sleepily, Adele stood slowly, gathering up the articles of clothing she peeled off earlier. "I do trust you." Looking reluctantly at her friend, she paused, wanting to embrace him one last time before leaving for Odin knows how long. She didn't want to leave, but he'd made it pretty clear she was not wanted near lest he attack her too. "We'll get Alena back. And find a way to fix you. I promise." Turning, Adele slipped the coat back on, adorning the rest of her gloves, scarf and hat as she left the cave, walking back out into the nighttime mountains.

[Pablo]

Pablo snickered, he wasn't very worried for his well being. His mental reach was long enough for him to stay well away from their new base. "Adele you know better than to speak ill of the dead. I'll come back as a ghost and haunt you. How hard do you think it'll be to sleep with me singing show tunes in your ear every night." Seeing Adele grin made him smile. For a moment he felt happy. A brief reprieve from the pain and guilt that'd plagued him recently. Suddenly feeling weary as well, he tried to rest his head comfortably against the cave wall. When Adele stood, he stirred. She was leaving already? That was what he wanted he supposed, and it was probably safest for both of them. "I like the sound of that." He said, sending her off with a smile. It faded as he watched her leave. This is for the best. He reminded himself, but despite what his mind said, his body thought other wise. There was a gap in his chest, one he hadn't felt when Adele was around. He was alone again, he realized, and though that never bothered him, tonight it was not by choice. For a moment he longed to run towards the cave's entrance and shout out for her. She was still within ear shot. He could hear her walking through the snow. As that faded Pablo fought off the urge to reach her mentally. There was little doubt that she would return if he asked her too. But this is what he wanted. Sighing he pulled off his coat and plopped it down beside him. Moving to rest on his side he used it as a pillow. Water began to swell around his eyes. He buried his face into his coat wiping them away. Sleep followed shortly after.

The young lycan woke up to the smell of Lucan's rotting corpse. He nearly gagged, memories of his den slaughtered flooding his mind. Scrambling to his feet Pablo paused. That didn't hurt, well not nearly as much as it had the day before. Most of his pain was gone, save for the constant stinging by his throat. Breathing felt easy as did moving. His ribs must have healed. He quickly unwrapped the bandage and tossed it the side. There was some light beaming outside, but not much, it was nearly sun down. He'd slept not only through most of the night, but also through the entire day. With that thought his stomach began to grumble. Food did not sound appetizing at the moment, not with the way the cave reeked.Why had he kept Lucan's corpse? No, he knew why, the lycan needed a proper burial, but at this point it seemed like he was punishing himself more than anything. It was time to put and end to this. He picked up his coat and threw it on before grabbing his shovel from the floor. Taking Lucan by the hand he dragged him out into the sun, and began to dig. "Who even names a lycan, Lucan?" He said speaking to the corpse. "I mean, I guess you were probably named Lucan, before becoming a lycan, but still. And I doubt the word for lycan in your native tongue is lycan, but you could've changed your name or something." Pablo said smiling to himself. It was almost troubling that he felt comforted speaking to a corpse.

He spent the better half of two hours digging, the sun had falled behind the trees, but it was still up technically. His enhanced lycan strength made the task easier than it should have been, even with the bite he felt every time he shoveled snow over his shoulder. Pablo dragged his packmate's body into the hole. It wasn't even six feet deep, but it would have to suffice. Alena needed him. He quickly refilled the hole with dirt and snow. Staring at where he'd buried Lucan, Pablo stood silent, trying to think of something to say. There was something difficult about giving a eulogy to the man you'd killed. Despite being under some sort of mind control. He pulled a knife from his sleeve and held his hand open above the grave. Slicing open his palm he let his blood drip onto the grave, staring solemnly, wishing this could be done under the moonlight. There was truly nothing he could say. His death had been in vain, unnecessary in every way. He could tell him to keep Szandor company, but that felt too lighthearted. "I'll make them pay. I'll kill every single one of them." Pablo said almost regretfully. That was a promise he couldn't keep, but he'd try. Sighing the lycan disappeared back into the cave. He needed to fill his stomach, and then he'd go find Alena.