07-13-2009, 03:01 AM
[html]
| http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/rp/kae/kae_columbus.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;"> The Caves. The late afternoon sun was hot as the coyote stirred, having fallen to sleep at some point close to dawn. She didn't know if it was before or after the sun had risen; she had gone underground and laid to rest in Gabriel's cave when it was still mostly dark out, but it had taken her some time to fall asleep, naturally. Molochai had returned in the dead of night—Kaena had been awake, though she'd been attempting sleep at some point before that. It hadn't worked out so well, so she'd gone to the coast to think—often times it was just ideas lurking about in her head which needed to be turned over a few times. The soothing noise of the ocean helped her think, and it was there that her lost son found her—they'd spoken at length with each other, and it was not until the early morning that they'd decided to rest. There was always time. The coyote meandered out of Gabriel's cave, finding the hub of Inferni activity empty. The others were either already inside or off elsewhere. Something in her craved company, and she found herself disappointed that there was no one here. She wondered where Gabriel was, having grown accustomed to his presence since spending a few nights sleeping in his cave. She had taken to sleeping on the coast, not wanting to be too imposing—but she really had yet to pick a home for herself, and she frowned, peering around at the caves. A few coyotes had decided to decorate the exterior of their homes, but others left no outer indication that a cave was claimed. As Kaena meandered around from cave opening to cave opening, she had to stick her head in some of them—only to find the smell was slightly damp, meaning the amount of water in the cave made it uninhabitable, or smelling strongly of one or two coyotes, meaning it was claimed. She recognized most of those she smelled, though there were a few absent smells. Naturally, some coyotes would be averse to living in such a crowded place. They were not social creatures by nature, and it was impressive such a clan had survived this long. Kaena knew this was partially her doing—her liasons with wolves had produced many hybrid children, and they suffered the same dilemma as she did. Kaena felt the need to be a part of a group, yet she often felt intimidated and crowded by the others in the clan, through no fault of their own. Kaena was mostly coyote; she wondered how the whole-blooded coyotes fared? Surely, there were widely varied personalities among them—just as there were wolves who preferred lives as loners, there were coyotes who preferred group life. The coyote halted in front of a cave, sticking her head inside and peering around with that single, searing eye. It was dark, naturally—but like most predators, Kaena had very good night vision, and as it adjusted to deal with the dimness, the grayscale canine saw the caves interior. There was one larger room, with what appeared to be a room off to the side. It was pretty small, and Kaena suspected no more than one canine would be comfortable in it at a time. She mulled over this for a moment, thinking sorely of Fatin, and passed the cave by—there would be something slightly more suitable, she figured. If not, there were always other options. As the sun sank below the horizon, casting Inferni's lands into shadow, the Lykoi woman made her way back to the beginning of the caves, back towards Gabriel's. She'd found a few more uninhabited caves, though one or two had old coyote smell—the hybrid would have to check with Gabriel before she attempted to take any of them as her own. |