standing outside the fire

Ithiel de le Poer · 03-07-2012, 06:05 AM

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Hope you're still okay with replies. If not, we can make this a super!short thread? :3 Also, essentially, everything but the last paragraph can be skipped. Sorry! >_>

Ithiel is by Kitty!

It was not exceptionally rare for Ithiel to travel outside of the confines of Inferni. His cousin did not, and few other scouts seemed to take this duty seriously, so far as he could tell. The dusky coyote therefore took it upon himself to learn what he could of all these lands. He was a natural explorer, taking great pleasure in learning the ins and outs of the land he roamed. Inferni was no mystery to him; the granite-furred coyote had inspected every inch of the packlands that was open to him, including the unoccupied caves and some rooms of the D'Neville.

Human structures fascinated him, but also frightened him in a deep, far-away sort of way the dark coyote did not fully understand. It was not a fear of collapse or claustrophobia, but something deeper than that. This was why Ithiel had settled into the Grimwell caverns, vastly preferring his dank little cave to living with that constant sensation of discomfort. Today, however, he had taken to the north, passing as quietly as Lystra's heavy hooves would allow between the two pack borders and heading further north quickly, goading his liver chestnut to a canter.

It amazed him two packs could be so daft as to plant their borders quite so close to one another. Ithiel had no doubt these were wolf packs, for he had learned of Ichika no Ho-en through his half-brother, and he knew bits and pieces about Anathema. Both were mountain packs and both were wolf packs -- Ithiel simply awaited the day they would come down on Inferni. In truth, he'd traveled north to see just how far the Ichika claim extended. What he found dismayed him -- their claim was large, far larger than Inferni's own. Such a vast expanse of land certainly meant a large number of canines to defend it.

The land here was dead and dull -- even the sun seemed to have lost its rutilant glow. The cover, however, fit Ithiel and his horse rather well -- both were the colors of dirt and dust, and both blended with this long-dead land rather well, even with the snowfall. It was no ligher here than at home, and the sound of Lystra's hooves were deadened with it. She snorted, suddenly, and Ithiel straightened in his saddle. Zedekiah came swooping in to land on Ithiel's outstretched arm. The coyote shuddered with the impact and grimaced, looking at his vulture companion.

Dog, he muttered. Dog. Dog. Rockssss. Rocksss, he repeated. Ithiel slipped a piece of dried meat and offered it to the vulture, who gulped greedily. Show me, Ithiel commanded, and lifted his arm into the air, putting his heels into the big chestnut mare's sides. She started up faster and the bird took off with the added momentum, flapping his big wings lazily. The landscape changed faintly as they carried on toward the apparent dog, and the dark man saw him after a few moments riding.

Ithiel slowed his horse as they approached the rocky terrain, allowing the big mare to pick her own way through the boulders and pebbly areas. Hey, the man called. He did not see the stranger's apparent wolf heritage -- to Ithiel, this most certainly a dog. Live around here? he added, nonchalant as he could manage. Zedekiah swooped in and landed on a rock near Ithiel, bobbling his bare head at the stranger and grunting a few times, his usual greeting to anyone unfamiliar.

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