A new life

Leaving Romania was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. If saying bye to the only life you knew was hard, it was nothing compared to realising he had no idea how the rest of the world lived.

For hours he'd sat in silence watching the scenery pass by from first, the plane windows and then through the tinted windows of the limo. As the car slowly pulled to a stop, Fane couldn't help but glance down at his left hand where his packs mark was hidden beneath a fingerless glove. He hated having to hide, the mark was a sign of power and his was well on its way to becoming that of an alphas.

His thoughts were broken when his door opened to reveal his personal guard, Craven. "We've arrived, are you ready?" He asked as he pulled the door open for Fane.

"As i'll ever be." He frowned and slipped out of the limo to take a better glance at the boat. It was much bigger than he anticipated and that only served to add to the nerves. "What if they don't like me Craven? Im from an entirely different world." He asked turning to look at his guardian. Craven had been told to serve him from the very moment he was born and he often saw him as more than just a guardian. He was like an older brother to him.

"What's not to like Fane? You will do your father proud, there's not many that have dared to venture away from their pack. Prove you are strong and possibly return with your mate by your side and the pack will never question you. I will remain close by should you ever need me." He reassured pulling the prince in for a hug, immediately making him become relaxed. "Come on, it's time to get you boarded. Farewell my prince." He bowed as he took a step back in a sign of respect and loyalty to his future alpha.

As Craven turned to bring his trunk, Fane headed onto the boat to look for a free cabin. Every fiber in his being just wanted to turn around and head back to Romania but he had to do this for the sake of his pack. He couldn't let them down now. Or that's what he told himself as he dropped into the seat beside the window. His wolf needed to see the earth to feel more comfortable and being locked up on a boat didn't help him feel relaxed at all.

(OOC: Speaking Romanian)

Such a child, Kieran was. This was a fact he either chose to ignore or took no notice of. And considering his self-assessing skills, chances are it was the latter. He thought that life was too short to bother with self-discovery and all of that shit people talked about in those so-called 'noble' movies; you needed to live it the way you want it before time ran out and you're sent back to heaven.

He knew that Dommi's death changed everything about him, nearly two years later. Even though he was still a cocky bastard that some of his housemates frowned upon because of the reputation that came along with being Dominique Cartwright's sister, he became a hell of a lot more understanding. He could sit down and listen to him rant, and he decided after a lot of forethought that real men can cry about important things without shame.

He was lucky to say he was one of those men.

The Slushatel set foot on board the ship, and like most other children he was searching for his friends. He hasn't seen Timo for absolute years, and now he has lost all hope of ever seeing him again. They weren't exactly the best of friends, nor could he be counted as anything more in Kieran's book, but he missed his joyful escapade with him in Munich terribly. Perhaps if they had more time together, Timo would have really meant something to him. Maybe they would even...

No. There was Rosie to think about. Truth be told, even though he spent the most time with her so far he really cared about her and he saved her and she reciprocated the favour, but the boy was extremely uncertain on whether that could be the only bond they will have with one another.

Haze was out of the picture, of course.

Running across to a cabin with one person inside, he went inside and immediately stashed his trunk on the top shelf before lying back down on the seat.

Fane turned from the window to watch as someone walked in. It was strange how he'd almost forgotten where he was. He was almost expecting his father to begin talking to him but it was good to finally meet someone he could judge how this world worked. Note to self, people don't knock here regardless of status, he thought to himself as he sat up straighter.

"Hello." He said making his presence known. He wasn't used to not being known but he might as well start by introducing himself. "I'm Fane Dalakis." Prince of the Cojocaru pack, he added for his own benefit. Humans were known for shaking hands on first meetings so thats what he did, he offered the boy his hand. It felt slightly foreign to be offering a part of himself to a stranger but it was something he would have to, no doubt get used to.

Kieran couldn't help but blink at the other boy's formality. He had never heard anyone introduce themselves in such a formalistic way, but then again half the people he met can't be called classy, exactly. He cleared his throat, which practically told the boy that yes, he knew he was there. He wasn't thick or being rude or anything like that; just... nervous, perhaps.

"H-Hey," he replied, sounding awkward next to the boy, "I-I'm Kieran. Kieran Urquhart."

The name tasted too odd on his tongue. Due to some legal trouble involving the real Urquharts (which are now legally the Cartwrights), the family had to swap surnames until all of the hype was over, and from experience Kiki knew it would never be over, not until both the Cartwrights and Urquharts are dead. Urquhart, thought the boy, what does Urquhart mean? Irk. Queue. Heart. Three commonplace words unfairly linked to make a name that sounded good with nothing.

It was not his fault.

"Nice to meet you Kieran. I can call you Kieran right? Im not familiar with the protocol around these parts..." He admitted, he hated being in unfamiliar territory. At least in Romania he knew where he stood.

"Does this boat trip take long?" They'd barely even left the shore and already his wolf was wanting to rip apart the walls to get to land.

"Yeah, sure," Kieran replied, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. He blinked curiously at the boy's choice of words. "Dude, what's a protocol?" he asked, "no one uses that word around here. We usually just ask people what they want to be called." He cocked his head, "Well, what do you want me to call you?"

The boy observed the wolf and raised an eyebrow at it. "Um... sometimes it takes ages, but sometimes it doesn't. It depends how you spend it, I guess."

"Oh sorry, i've had the pleasure of growing up in a military based family." He lied. It was the only way he could explain why he would act the way he did. The military was the closest thing the humans had to a pack he'd learnt so that would be his explanation from now on. He just hoped he didn't meet anyone in the military because he wouldn't know the first thing they were talking about. "This is a whole new world for me."

"Fane's fine but i guess this trip is going to take a while. I hate feeling trapped and this cabin is feeling more and more like a cage by the second." He frowned turning back to look out the round window. It was all he could do to keep his wolf at ease and even that did do much seeing as all he could see was sea.

"Your parents were in the military?" Kieran asked, his eyes widening. Sure, that was just amazing... but no one was as cool as Timo, he knew enough. Still, the military? That was just... wow. He knew that his father tried to be in the military, but had failed miserable because he wasn't tough enough or something. "That's hardcore!" he exclaimed. The boy then grinned. "Dude!" he articulated, "why don't I help you out, man? I know lots about Durmstrang! I've been here two years! This is my third!"

Kieran raised an eyebrow. "Dude," he uttered, "this is a cabin. Cages have like, bars around them. If you want you can always take a walk, but that's not recommended when a storm is going on."

Fane nodded not wanting to say anymore incase it expanded the conversation. He really didn't know anything about the military and the more he thought about it the more stupid it seemed telling him his parents were in it. "They certainly like to think so." He laughed, maybe it wouldn't be so bad here after all. He wasn't doing so bad so far. This was normal right?

"Really? I would be sooo grateful. You have no idea." He smiled slightly relieved. It would be so great to have someone's help who already knew the insides of the castle. He hated being blind in new places, usually he had the pack to scout out the area first. "What's the grounds like? Is there a forest? Can you hunt?" He asked, he hoped so, his wolf wouldn't be too happy if you couldn't and it would be a veeeery long year if he stayed angry.

"Dude, this might as well be a cage for the amount of good it's doing for me." He frowned which then turned slightly panicked. "What? There's a storm! Oh Goddess." He said taking a deep breath as his hands tightened on his seat. "You aren't helping with the whole boat thing you know." He said giving him a weak smile.

Haze was completely ecstatic when she heard that Adele was completely upset over Kaycee's death. She absolutely loved it when Adele was sad, because when she was happy, she was annoying. When she was sad she couldn't talk without trying to cry herself and whenever Adele cried Haze would smirk. Adele didn't like it when Haze was smirking so she didn't cry at all. Wow. Haze loved being the one in control. At this rate, she was going to be the only child left when she was of age.

The blonde couldn't wait to go back to Durmstrang. She could not wait to embark on another year of adventures. She's glad Lena was back this year, but she was not glad that she had Rhys at her fingertips again. Well, Rhys wasn't that good of a catch, she had decided. She had to aim for someone way hotter this year, and since Minos wasn't a student anymore he wasn't much of a target.

She walked into a cabin, and smirked when she saw how much Kieran had grown. "Hot stuff!" she called, and she sat next to him. Really, really close to him. "How are you?" She then turned towards the boy, her eyes beginning to scan him. "Who's this? A new friend of yours?"

Kieran raised an eyebrow. "Of course there's a forest, and I'm sure that if you get permission or you're of age, you can," he replied, though mentally he was unsure of that. He had expressed no cravings to go into the forest for the past two years, but that could change at any given time. "Or y'know, you can be completely badass, screw the permission slips and go there in the middle of the night," the boy added, though the notion he had just put forward was merely a suggestion.

The boy laughed. "There's not a storm now!" he exclaimed, "I mean, that you shouldn't go out during a storm. The weather is perfectly fine now... right?" The Slushatel shrugged his shoulders, "I do have to agree though - the cabins do feel a little claustrophobic sometimes!"

Eyes widening, Kieran's breath halted once Haze had walked in through the door. Was she out of the picture? Clearly not. He had to put his confidence on when she was around, so he cleared his throat and looked at her in a calm manner. "I'm doing well," he demurely muttered, "and this..." He gestured towards the elder boy. "This is Fane."

Fane began to relax ever so slightly when he heard that there was a forest. That was comforting at least, in there he could try to pretend he was home even if it was free of the usual packs scents. "I'm not too bothered about permissions." He shrugged, Rusnak knew of his condition anyway so if he did happen to be caught in the forest at least he'd know the reasoning. Most of the time though they'd see nothing but a giant black wolf so it didn't even matter.

"Then why'd you mention it?" He asked looking at him. "Are you trying to give me heart attack?" Could he even have heart attack? He had no idea, he'd never met a wolf to have had one so who know. Now he knew the weather was fine he leant his head back, shut his eyes and laughed a little. This whole country creeps me out, no offense to it's people. You guys are only slightly weird." He smirked allowing a crack in the corner of his eye to open as the cabin door opened to accept someone in. Instantly he had the urge to open his eyes but he fought it. He was tired and after hours of traveling he deserved some rest.

Not wanting to be rude he opened his eyes long enough to introduce himself. The moment he locked eyes with the girl his whole world shifted. It was like someone had finally shone the light in his previously dark life. His mind was enveloped with thoughts that didn't belong to him and he finally felt whole.

"Mea Luna." He thought, sending it through to her mind. Not even thinking about the consequences of her finding all this out so suddenly. How would she even react? His mother and father would be so pleased.

(OOC translation: my moon)