Shooting off Steam

[Chenoa]

Silence. Serenity. Tranquility. Such things used to be found at the abandoned bowling alley outside of town. The sounds of pins being knocked senseless and balls thundering down the lanes had been replaced by gunshots of multiple calibers.

Inside, stood a lone figure. Her ears were covered in the protective ear ware guise, and her eyes were shielded with the clear plastic shades of normal marksmen. Her hair was long, blond in color with a touch of crimson along the tips, congregating mostly amongst her bangs. Eyes were blue, a fierce color of azure steadiness. In her hands she held her revolver, a weapon, one of two precious guns given to her by her late alpha Lilias. Today she was firing "Truth", it's counterpart "Lies" held gently in a holster awaiting it's turn. The names had come about on their own after Lilias's dramatic departure from the living world. The torn Beta had found herself in a sea of both truths, and of sinister lies. As such, when the gifts had been bestowed upon her, those were the only names she could come up with for them. Every thing had to have a name, no matter how minuscule it may be. Without a name, Nova had decided that the two guns would be lost in a sea of confusion, unknowing if any one would be calling upon them in the future or not. It had made sense at the time, though not many things did, and later on when Nova had collected her thoughts, the names just stuck.

BANG!

The last of the round flew out of the mouth of Truth, it's shell bouncing to the ground making a small tinkling sound just barely audible. Sighing, Nova walked out to fetch her target, normal clad jeans and slip on mary jane shoes walking easily on the long roughened bowling lane. As she neared, she ought to be proud. Her target's center had been nearly blasted through, the six rounds penetrating it beautifully in a tight formation. She had grown to be quite the marksmen herself since Lilias's departure, though her face did not do well to mask her feelings. She merely tore the paper off, replacing it with a new, fresh target and walked back to her station. On the ground littered papers, duplicates of the previous target, nearly all very well aimed with the rounds penetrating a single area only. It looked to be the precision of a master, yet Nova didn't care.

All she could think about as she pulled her protective ear ware on once more and pulled Lies from it's holster was the unknown that was upon her. All she could do was continue to practice, doing the best she could as if her life depended on it. The Margrave was to be coming soon she had heard, and she knew the damned thing would not welcoming a weak member of the sept with open arms. That, and perhaps the constant babying of Moira had set her off a tad. Thoughts of irritation and frustration ran through her head as the rounds were clocked off one by one. Moira and her were both Alphas correct? Then why was it that twice now, Nova had to be babysat by one of her warder packmates. First Thorfin, and then the Scottish Pub master more recently. Did she think less of Nova? Did she think Nova couldn't handle herself?

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The chamber stood empty once more, the target a duplicate of the others on the ground. At least Nova was able to shoot off some steam....

[Chenoa]

Slowly, the minutes turned into hours, and the sun began it's tedious decent over the horizon, making way for the moon to rise in it's stead. The lone figure continued her onslaught of the targets, reusing a few as she ran out of fresh ones. Scraps of paper and cardstock lay littered on the floor, softly fluttering in a nightly wind. The back wall now was littered with holes, more recent then the previous ones. She had been alternating between one gun and the other, first Truths, and then Lies, and then back again. Her mind raced as each bullet fired and hit it's mark. Questions seethed through her head, as if they were clogged in a sink, twirling, awaiting to be released down the drain of thought.

BANG! BANG! click...click...

It took her longer then the last few hundred times to realize that her gun Lies, had run empty and stood clicking at an empty chamber. Sighing, her nerves shaking from their lack of rest her left hand rose to fill the revolver again. A soft glimmer, as sparkling as the sun stung at her eyes before she realized what it had been. As if instinct took hold, her soft hues glanced towards the sparkling distraction, a gleaming wire of metal and stone glistening gently, peacefully upon her left ring finger. Lies fell to the table, where the empty box of rounds lay, finally barren after a day filled of non stop firing. Truths lay just beside it's twin, empty all the same. Her mind had fallen blank; nothingness ran through her eyes, a glistening bit of moisture coming to the surface of her lids.

Whoever said it was better to have loved, then not to at all? A vengeful thought, angry at the emotions running through her head. A picture of a strong tall gentleman played across her memories, hair of auburn oak brown, eyes as crisp as spring water, skin gentle wrapped around her yet tough as nails...A smile that could break her heart all over again. The salty tear fell upon Truth's barrel, a light patter sound falling to the silence that was now around her.

What good is it to love and care about others? What good does it do but give you heartbreak? Look what happened to Christian, gone and died, and all you could do was sit and watch the inferno... Another tear fell, her eyes unwavering at the small ring that would have signified the bonding of Nova and her mate. Now it was just a pitiful reminder of the heartache that killed her every day when she woke. And now Lilias is gone too...Because you cared...Because you tried to let others in, and tried to forget about your cursed past...You don't deserve to be happy...

Anger filled her, her breathing grew heavy and forceful. Her eyes became filled with loathing. She hated that disgusting piece of jewelry. She despised everything about it. From the crystalline diamond in the center to the sparkling sunshine gold looped about her finger. All at once, her right hand flew to her left, and with little struggle it ripped the damned ring off holding tight to it in a vengeful fist. She wanted it destroyed. She wanted it gone. She wanted to see it torn to shreds along with all the memories it held...

Nova...I Love You...You are my jewel, my light, my everything...You bring me happiness, and I never want to be away from your side...I don't care what you think about your past or how you think we can't be together... I'd rather die a thousand times over...then go one day without having known you...

It was as if Christian's angelic spirit could have read her mind. Her tears suddenly stopped and she stared blankly out at the empty range, almost terrified as if she had just seen a ghost. Her mind slowly cleared, as if someone had pulled the drain and her thoughts were able to twirl away down into the dark recesses of her mind where they belonged. If someone could care so much for her, then why couldn't she return the favor? Why couldn't she give that second chance that perhaps others deserved? Something tugged at her heart's strings, dancing it like a puppet, and her hand softly fell, opening up to reveal that sparkling engagement ring never used. Slowly, tenderly, it was placed back upon it's rightful finger, her eyes blinking back her tears further, her mind continuing to clear.

Her hands gently put away Truths and Lies, keeping them safely tucked away in their respective holsters. She didn't even bother cleaning up after herself. A revelation had swept across her like the current of a lazy river's bed. She would start over, the best that she could, and hope for the best. Christian would have wanted that, wouldn't he? And Lilias? Well, she hadn't known her long enough to justify thinking like she did, but for the moment she decided that she too would have wished for this. Her agile form, unlike a normal black fury's slipped silkily out into the twilight's good graces, her nose sniffing the cooling air as night reached them. His scent wafted softly on the breeze, along with many others of the sept. It didn't take her long to pinpoint where he was and move herself in the right direction. He would be first, he deserved that much right? In a shadow's glance, her form shifted to the ebony black lupus look she was more comfortable with. Her back ruff and along her spine still held the gentle gold and crimson of her hair, her eyes of blue sparkling like the slowly awakening stars above. Her plodding pads moved swiftly, tail a medium height and curled in a relaxed position. She moved lightly, stealthily through the shadows using her gifts of Blur of the Milky eye to hide her form, and Scent of Running Water to mask her scent. She didn't care for an audience, and thus did not wish to be tracked...She needed closure..She required peace...And the only one to give her that....was Jack.