[/html]It was cold, blustery in fact for the wind came and went to it’s very own tune. Alder looked out across the pastures that they kept beyond the stables. It was not too cold for the herd to go rummaging through the white crystals and dead grass in the hopes that they may find something edible.
But they all seemed far more content beneath the roof, and beside their filled troughs of hay. Alder couldn’t blame them. He walked down the line of familiar faces, looking at them as they all stood contently. Alder smiled, though felt a loss of energy. He hadn’t been watching over his stead, rather gone through the open lands in the search of faces and food. The Marshal was easy to guilt, and his own mind gave him a heavy dose of it. It had taken him a long time to clean the stalls, manage the feed-stocks as well as groom all the residents. As well as bring the place from looking neglected back to its prim and tidy (as tidy as a stable could be) condition.
He made a promise to them all, as well as himself to hunt the pack lands rather then free territory and to seek friends within the ranks rather then outside them. Though, he couldn’t help but wonder what a particular lone coywolf had come to. Trent had been on his mind since they had parted ways. It had even clouded the visit to Inferni and the meeting of his half brother. What did that matter, when he had filled the gap of that relationship with a new friend? His curiosity drifted between a friendly wondering and a worry. The male had been so tentative when they had met… Alder hoped they would meet again.
A mew came to his ears, causing him to look down. The cat called out again, louder now as he thought that Alder had ignored his first request. The kitten was much larger then when Alder had first brought him to his new home. But it was obvious that he wasn’t full grown yet. Alder scooped him up, and the white and orange hued feline reach up to rub his head against the wolf’s. He had come to understand this ritual, and lifted his higher so that he could rub again his black and tan cheek. Hickory then pawed at his face, and the Marshal scolded him lightly in low-speech before settling him onto his arm and carried him as he looked for the next chore to tackle.
Sometimes I find myself wondering
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01-19-2012, 11:29 AM
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01-21-2012, 02:00 AM
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Skoll Haskel
436Thanks for starting! ...Skoll is a spaz. January had arrived. Though gusts of wind skirted the snow-blanketed land, sending up cold flurries, the winter solstice was past. Slowly, the sun was reclaiming its power in the heavens. The days would only grow longer and longer, and as the frigid days passed, golden light shone brightly on the snow. And as the days grew long, the sun prince grew too. Skoll galloped through the snow now, his too-large paws leaving clumsy tracks behind him. His tongue lolled from his jaws, his eyes squinting slightly against the wind as he ran. With the blustery wind breezing through his thickening blonde pelt, he felt exhilarated—though the gusts could batter his puppy body. He lowered his head against an especially fierce wind and growled, shaking his tail out behind him, pretending to fight the breeze. Suddenly, however, the young Haskel shut his mouth and stuck his nose forward, sniffing intently. The strong smell of horses was blowing toward him, and immediately excitement welled up within him. Letting out an eager bark, the four-month-old began to lope forward again. Though he did not move fast—and couldn’t really without tripping over his kid-clumsy feet—his endurance carried him all the way to the stables. The disproportioned puppy stopped a safe distance from the barn, pricked ears swiveling toward the sound of horses breathing and fidgeting. Despite having ventured closer and closer to the stables these past few weeks, he still hadn’t quite gotten to know any of the steeds of Cour des Miracles. He was big enough that it wouldn’t be too much of a problem of getting trampled, but since he was too young for a two-legged form he was still awkward. Wagging his tail furiously, he walked along the front of the stalls, glancing inside every few yards before the smell of a wolf underneath the stronger horsey odor grabbed his attention. Quickly, the prince blundered through the snow after the scent, the tall back of the timber Marshal coming into view. Without regard for his pack mate’s oblivious state, Skoll yapped and quickly ran past him, whirling around in an attempt to stand brazenly before him. However, he happened to trip over his own feet as usual and floundered in the snow.
Recovering as quickly as he could, the golden wolfdog flipped back over onto all fours and grinned broadly at the Lieutenant. “Hi Alder!” he barked, wagging his tail high over his back and shaking some of the frost from his light-colored coat. He paused then, his green eyes flicking to the orange and white shape perched upon the young man’s shoulder. “Cat!” <style> .sunskoll b {letter-spacing:.05em; text-shadow:#FFFFFF 0px 0px 1px;} .sunskoll t {font-style:italic; letter-spacing:.05em; text-shadow:#FFFFFF 0px 0px 1px;} .sunskoll p {padding:0px 20px; text-indent:25px;} .sunskoll .ooc { margin:auto; text-align:center; background-image:url(http://i44.tinypic.com/91c4s2.jpg); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat;} .sunskoll {width:500px; margin:auto; text-align:justify; font-family:georgia;} .sunskoll .background {background-image:url(http://i42.tinypic.com/28lw1up.jpg); background-position:center; background-repeat:no-repeat;} .sunskoll .name {font-size:45px; font-family: 'Sancreek', cursive; text-align:center; padding:50px 0px 20px 0px;} </style> [/html]
01-24-2012, 12:52 PM
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01-30-2012, 08:56 PM
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Skoll Haskel
240***** The white and ginger cat flew up onto the tan wolf’s shoulder, startled by the young wolfdog’s appearance, and likewise Skoll was startled by the noise. He leaped back, ears lowering as the cat hissed at him like a snake, and fell down onto his rump in his attempt to backpedal away from the towering wolf and agitated feline. He’d only wanted to say hi! Maybe he’d been a little surprised by the sight of the critter, and maybe he wouldn’t say no to chasing the cat around the barn a few times for fun, but there wasn’t a mean bone in the boy’s body. He huffed then glanced up into blue eyes set in a dark mask.
Alder’s explanation and raised paw made the child frown, and he rose to all fours once more with another sharp glance at the orange-spotted kitten. “Didn’t mean to scare ’im,” Skoll mumbled, the tail once curled over his back now falling against his hocks. “I didn’t wanna eat him!” he added with horror, green eyes wide as he glanced at the creature. Perhaps if he had grown up around less humanized luperci, he might have seen the cat as prey rather than a companion. It still wasn’t the same as a proper wolf to him, but he could tell that it wasn’t food, only something to pester at worst. But with the Marshall protecting it, even that thought didn’t cross his mind. <style> .sunskoll b {letter-spacing:.05em; text-shadow:#FFFFFF 0px 0px 1px;} .sunskoll t {font-style:italic; letter-spacing:.05em; text-shadow:#FFFFFF 0px 0px 1px;} .sunskoll p {padding:0px 20px; text-indent:25px;} .sunskoll .ooc { margin:auto; text-align:center; background-image:url(http://i44.tinypic.com/91c4s2.jpg); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat;} .sunskoll {width:500px; margin:auto; text-align:justify; font-family:georgia;} .sunskoll .background {background-image:url(http://i42.tinypic.com/28lw1up.jpg); background-position:center; background-repeat:no-repeat;} .sunskoll .name {font-size:45px; font-family: 'Sancreek', cursive; text-align:center; padding:50px 0px 20px 0px;} </style> [/html]
02-01-2012, 02:20 PM
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02-04-2012, 10:22 PM
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Skoll Haskel
322~~~ Shifting the kitten against his chest and settling down closer to the pup’s level, Alder introduced the cat and its origins. Green eyes blinked at the creature, and with a few uncertain strides, the puppy came closer to give the feline a little sniff. His tail wagged lightly to show that he wasn’t going to chase the young animal, the gentleness evident in the line of his body and the softening of his face. Part of what made a King was the tender treatment of his subjects, and Skoll had learned gentleness from roughhousing with his siblings and the tiny shy girl he met on the borders. It was a surprising transformation from the rambunctious vessel of energy showing before, but the often cocky kid was nothing but full of surprises. “Why’d his mom leave him?” the young Haskel asked with concern, looking up into the dark mask of his comrade’s face. A moment later, another question caused him to scowl and tilt his head, his tail twitching behind him with curiosity. “Is Crimson Dreams another pack?” It sounded familiar, now that he thought about it; perhaps he’d heard of it during the war, though not in the bad way as the grownups had spoken of AniWaya. He grew slightly more confident in this guess and nodded to himself before venturing one last question; at least he had learned to take breaths between them now to allow the speaker time to reply.
“Whatcha doin’ today, Alder?” Skoll yipped, his eyes returning to the cat though gingery-cream ears remained pricked for the answer. He hoped that the Marshall wasn’t too busy with something, as he’d come here to see if he could visit the horses or maybe even help if he could. It was no real secret that the boy aspired to work with them and ride them one day, though until he could shift he was limited in what he could do. <style> .sunskoll b {letter-spacing:.05em; text-shadow:#FFFFFF 0px 0px 1px;} .sunskoll t {font-style:italic; letter-spacing:.05em; text-shadow:#FFFFFF 0px 0px 1px;} .sunskoll p {padding:0px 20px; text-indent:25px;} .sunskoll .ooc { margin:auto; text-align:center; background-image:url(http://i44.tinypic.com/91c4s2.jpg); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat;} .sunskoll {width:500px; margin:auto; text-align:justify; font-family:georgia;} .sunskoll .background {background-image:url(http://i42.tinypic.com/28lw1up.jpg); background-position:center; background-repeat:no-repeat;} .sunskoll .name {font-size:45px; font-family: 'Sancreek', cursive; text-align:center; padding:50px 0px 20px 0px;} </style> [/html]
02-08-2012, 11:07 AM
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02-11-2012, 12:39 AM
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Skoll Haskel
300~~~ The puppy mirrored the young man’s frown as he spoke of the kitten, and he stared forlornly down at the tabby-splashed feline. He couldn’t imagine being forgotten by his own mother, even if he wandered away a lot. He wondered if Hickory had been on an adventure before he got lost, and if his parent was still worriedly searching for him. These thoughts depressed him, and he lowered his ears sadly until Alder went on to speak about the Crimson Dreams pack. As always, learning something new held the cub’s interest, and he nodded lightly. He still wasn’t really sure about where all the packs lay outside of Cour des Miracles, having ventured only as far as the forest less than a mile outside the pack grounds, but he would try to remember for when he got bigger. A King had to know the lay of the land even outside his kingdom, after all. “They do?” Skoll yipped, tail wagging as the brown wolf spoke of his family. “What they like? Are they nice?” He supposed they would be nice. “What’re their names? And why’re they over there and you’re over here?” The last question caused him to cock his head thoughtfully. He guessed that sometimes people went to other packs; after all, not everyone in the Court had been born there, but he couldn’t imagine leaving the pack while his family was here.
After this explosion of questions, he managed to sit still long enough for answers before turning in a quick circle when the male’s blue eyes fell on him. “I—” He paused, drew his tongue over his lips almost sheepishly as he tried to remember why he’d come to the stables. “Oh, that’s good. I was um—maybe help. Or—visit ’em horses. Or something fun.” <style> .sunskoll b {letter-spacing:.05em; text-shadow:#FFFFFF 0px 0px 1px;} .sunskoll t {font-style:italic; letter-spacing:.05em; text-shadow:#FFFFFF 0px 0px 1px;} .sunskoll p {padding:0px 20px; text-indent:25px;} .sunskoll .ooc { margin:auto; text-align:center; background-image:url(http://i44.tinypic.com/91c4s2.jpg); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat;} .sunskoll {width:500px; margin:auto; text-align:justify; font-family:georgia;} .sunskoll .background {background-image:url(http://i42.tinypic.com/28lw1up.jpg); background-position:center; background-repeat:no-repeat;} .sunskoll .name {font-size:45px; font-family: 'Sancreek', cursive; text-align:center; padding:50px 0px 20px 0px;} </style> [/html]
02-16-2012, 11:44 AM
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02-17-2012, 02:00 PM
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Skoll Haskel
305~~~ As talkative and energetic as he was while asking questions, no one could say that Skoll didn’t sit still and listen carefully to answers. He was curious about the world, and he usually got ahead of himself when it came to learning all he could. He’d yet to realize that not everyone had the answers he was looking for. Alder had answers, though, and the golden puppy nodded slightly as the older male explained his reasons for living Crimson Dreams. It was weird to think of the Marshall ever being outside of the Court, not tending to the horses; he didn’t think the stables could even exist without him! He decided that it was a good thing Alder was here, even if… “D’ya miss Anu an’ Cypress an’ Oak?” he asked, his voice a bit quieter. “If I went away, I’d miss my mom and daddy, and even Hati and Lottie I guess.” Even if they were stupidfaces sometimes, he did truly care about his siblings. It was then the dark-masked wolf’s turn to ask questions, and the puppy wagged his tail as he looked toward the stalls. Despite coming here with his father before, he was still too young to really “visit” them as he’d wanted to. It was another reason he desired to shift, to be able to stand taller and actually interact with the horses like luperci did. They were so massive and hard to look at otherwise.
“I named a horse!” Skoll exclaimed, but he went on to answer Alder’s inquiries. “I named Jolie; she’s creamy like me! We can go see her?” He stepped toward the stables but paused, knowing it was safer for the adult to accompany him after he gathered up the kitten. “I want my own horse when I get big like Daddy. Where’d you get ’awthorn?” <style> .sunskoll b {letter-spacing:.05em; text-shadow:#FFFFFF 0px 0px 1px;} .sunskoll t {font-style:italic; letter-spacing:.05em; text-shadow:#FFFFFF 0px 0px 1px;} .sunskoll p {padding:0px 20px;} .sunskoll .ooc { margin:auto; text-align:center; background-image:url(http://i44.tinypic.com/91c4s2.jpg); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat;} .sunskoll {width:500px; margin:auto; text-align:justify; font-family:georgia;} .sunskoll .background {background-image:url(http://i42.tinypic.com/28lw1up.jpg); background-position:center; background-repeat:no-repeat; font-size:11px;} .sunskoll .name {font-size:45px; font-family: 'Sancreek', cursive; text-align:center; padding:50px 0px 20px 0px;} </style> [/html]
02-20-2012, 12:08 PM
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02-21-2012, 10:14 AM
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Skoll Haskel
313~~~ Alder scooped the orange and white kitten up in his dark arms, following the puppy close behind while Skoll suppressed the urge to race ahead. He trusted his pack mate, though, and knew that the Court was safe in ways the outside world wasn’t. This was instinct, even if the boy was cocky enough to believe he’d never get in serious trouble inside or outside the pack. After all, he’d found himself in two very bad situations and was lucky enough to have met a stranger each time who’d put their lives at risk saving him. Soon, he’d learn that it wasn’t always the case, but right now he simply stayed close to the Marshall with a sense of security. Ears flicked when the young man mentioned AniWaya, and the boy frowned momentarily before nodding. The image of the Tribe as bad guys had faded since the conclusion of the war, but he still found it strange to talk about them—even if he had met a few good AniWayans in his short life. “That’s good,” he said to fill the silence, thinking about the great dark stallion and wondering if the Tribe had other horses like that. Once he got older and more serious about obtaining his own, he’d be sure to seek Alder out again and pester him on where to trade.
The creamy legs of the mare came into view, and Skoll wagged his tail although he couldn’t quite get a look at the horse under the stall door. He couldn’t wait to shift so that being picked up wouldn’t be necessary. He cocked an ear at Alder’s question and swung around to face him, beaming. “Jolie means pretty! And that’s her other name, Prettyface. It’s a good name for a nice pretty horse right?” He lowered his ears sheepishly as he wondered if another name would’ve been more suiting. <style> .sunskoll b {letter-spacing:.05em; text-shadow:#FFFFFF 0px 0px 1px;} .sunskoll t {font-style:italic; letter-spacing:.05em; text-shadow:#FFFFFF 0px 0px 1px;} .sunskoll p {padding:0px 20px;} .sunskoll .ooc { margin:auto; text-align:center; background-image:url(http://i44.tinypic.com/91c4s2.jpg); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat;} .sunskoll {width:500px; margin:auto; text-align:justify; font-family:georgia;} .sunskoll .background {background-image:url(http://i42.tinypic.com/28lw1up.jpg); background-position:center; background-repeat:no-repeat; font-size:11px;} .sunskoll .name {font-size:45px; font-family: 'Sancreek', cursive; text-align:center; padding:50px 0px 20px 0px;} </style> [/html]
02-23-2012, 11:44 AM
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02-25-2012, 10:10 PM
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SKOLL HASKEL
Word Count → 281 · Testing new table. xD Bear with me if it screws something up. Alder’s acceptance of the name made the sun chaser smile. Green eyes watched carefully as the tall male extended a dark paw to touch the creamy mare, and he ached once more for hands to do the same. He almost sighed before he heard horse noises, normal enough around the stables, but some of the nickering came from the wolf! His ears stood to attention at once as he listened to the conversation, amazed. Perhaps he knew that it was possible to talk to other animals before, but he’d never witnessed it personally. His expression transformed into one of awed respect as he looked at the Marshall, understanding now why the young adult was so good with all of the horses. “How’d you learn to do that?” Skoll asked, referring to the low speech. He stifled the other question: what had they been discussing? Somehow it felt wrong to ask, like it was a secret conversation or like Alder would be frustrated trying to translate and tell it all again. There was such easiness between the equine words, as if Alder were part horse himself—another theory of unlikely hybrids that almost rivaled his still-firm belief that Caspa had some ghostliness flowing through her veins.
He wagged his tail when the man mentioned Jolie wanted to stretch her legs. Maybe he wasn’t big enough to ride yet, but it could be fun to run alongside a galloping horse as long as he kept away from her hooves. He was about to bark the suggestion when he saw that Alder already had his hand on the stall door; quickly, he shuffled backwards to allow a safe distance between himself and the mare. table by raze; template from the mentors <style> p.template-credit {text-indent:0px; text-align:left; font-size:10px; font-style:italic; width:425px; text-align:center; margin:0px auto;} .knightskol-box {float:right; padding:5px;} .knightskol {font-family:georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; margin:0px 25px; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/KtNrN.png); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position:top left; padding:90px 0px 0px 0px;} .knightskol .name {font-size:50px; font-family: 'Glass Antiqua'; text-align:left; text-shadow:#000000 1px 1px 1px; padding:0px 80px;} .knightskol .words {font-size:30px; font-family: 'Glass Antiqua'; text-align:left; text-shadow:#000000 1px 1px 1px; padding:10px 150px;} .knightskol p.ooc {font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-indent:50px; padding:20px 5px 0px;} .knightskol p.ooc + p {padding:0px 5px;} .knightskol .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold;} .knightskol p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:5px 50px;} .knightskol b {letter-spacing:1px; font-family:georgia, serif; letter-spacing:-.05em;} </style> [/html]
02-28-2012, 12:51 PM
[html]love the table! and please feel free to pp them arriving at the pasture etc...
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03-03-2012, 07:41 PM
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SKOLL HASKEL
Word Count → 319 Pale ears stood to attention as Alder mentioned that a cat had taught him, but Skoll decided that it made sense. If a lower animal knew high speech, they’d be able to teach wolves how to talk in the low tongue. He knew that he’d try to teach his father some words of French once, but being only a cub, he hadn’t been a very good tutor. He’d lost the practice of babbling foreign words, filtering out the ones that the majority of his pack mates could not understand, but he understood the concept of different languages now at least. “D’ya think I could learn?” the golden boy asked, head tilted. He wasn’t sure if just anyone could learn something like that; Alder, after all, had such mastery around the beasts that he had to be a chosen one or something. Everyone had their special talents, and some limitations; the boy would never be as fast as some other canines, for example, but he was somewhat strong. He grinned at the thought of letting the horse run, and it took all of his willpower not to break into a gallop now. They’d have to wait until they were in a safer area where the mare wouldn’t knock into something or trample someone with their hooves. Trying to remember where the passage was, he waited for the tall tan male to take the lead and trotted alongside them, his pace wolfish and his muscles contracting like steel as he kept a very steady pace.
Once they reached the pasture, however, Skoll could not contain himself. The sight of the open area flooded him with energy, and with an excited bark, he dashed forward through the grass—keeping a safe distance from the horse as not to spook her when he went careening past. He mimicked a horse’s gait as he run, clumsily, but it looked like he would never tire. table by raze; template from the mentors <style> p.template-credit {text-indent:0px; text-align:left; font-size:10px; font-style:italic; width:425px; text-align:center; margin:0px auto;} .knightskol-box {float:right; padding:5px;} .knightskol {font-family:georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; margin:0px 25px; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/KtNrN.png); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position:top left; padding:90px 0px 0px 0px;} .knightskol .name {font-size:50px; font-family: 'Glass Antiqua'; text-align:left; text-shadow:#000000 1px 1px 1px; padding:0px 80px;} .knightskol .words {font-size:30px; font-family: 'Glass Antiqua'; text-align:left; text-shadow:#000000 1px 1px 1px; padding:10px 150px;} .knightskol p.ooc {font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-indent:50px; padding:20px 5px 0px;} .knightskol p.ooc + p {padding:0px 5px;} .knightskol .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold;} .knightskol p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:5px 50px;} .knightskol b {letter-spacing:1px; font-family:georgia, serif; letter-spacing:-.05em;} </style> [/html]
03-05-2012, 01:10 PM
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03-10-2012, 09:16 PM
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SKOLL HASKEL
Word Count → 199 · Hmm, think we should start wrapping up? :3 Didn't know if you had any other ideas. Paws tread on cold grass, crushing the frosted blades as energy tingled through his veins. For a moment, Skoll seemed to capture the weak winter sunlight in his body. He made a good effort of holding it there, the golden beams falling across his honeyed coat, but the next moment he was just a gawky cub running through the pasture again. One day, he would indeed grow, but the path to that day had not yet revealed itself. He was only a kid who liked horses and pretended to be a horse now, tossing his head like a vainglorious stallion and even letting out an inelegant whinny as the horse was let loose. He paused and turned to watch the creamy mare as she moved through the field, rendering his movements those of a clumsy child’s. The fine musculature of the newly-named horse captivated him for a moment, and he heeded Alder’s words with no more than an ear-twitch in his direction. Her hooves beat the earth, their vibrations traveling up through his paws into his strong young body, and he grinned broadly. He began to scamper around again before howling at the young adult.
“Run with us, Alder!” table by raze; template from the mentors <style> p.template-credit {text-indent:0px; text-align:left; font-size:10px; font-style:italic; width:425px; text-align:center; margin:0px auto;} .knightskol-box {float:right; padding:5px;} .knightskol {font-family:georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; margin:0px 25px; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/KtNrN.png); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position:top left; padding:90px 0px 0px 0px;} .knightskol .name {font-size:50px; font-family: 'Glass Antiqua'; text-align:left; text-shadow:#000000 1px 1px 1px; padding:0px 80px;} .knightskol .words {font-size:30px; font-family: 'Glass Antiqua'; text-align:left; text-shadow:#000000 1px 1px 1px; padding:10px 150px;} .knightskol p.ooc {font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-indent:50px; padding:20px 5px 0px;} .knightskol p.ooc + p {padding:0px 5px;} .knightskol .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold;} .knightskol p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:5px 50px;} .knightskol b {letter-spacing:1px; font-family:georgia, serif; letter-spacing:-.05em;} </style> [/html]
03-16-2012, 11:47 AM
[html] we can end here if you'd like
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