07-16-2009, 01:44 AM
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| http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/rp/kae/kae_columbus.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;"> Millstone Village. Kaena was roaming again; it felt good to stretch her legs. Since she'd come to Inferni, she had seen her strength slowly increase. The process was slower than before; anytime she had returned to a lifestyle of relative stability within bordered territory with a variety of clanmates to help support her and support in return, Kaena flourished. It was the social side of her, locked away in that wolfish part of her brain she hardly spoke of. The wolf brain truly enjoyed being in a clan environment, and to shut it up, Kaena was happy to oblige. Living in Inferni was worth far more than simply achieving peace as a hybrid, however—Inferni and Lykoi were practically synonymous, and the clan had felt more powerful, more complete—since the living founder's return. The grizzled hybrid was not so far from home; she was about three quarters down the beach of Drifter Bay, picking her way through the rocks. She felt relatively safe here—there were no packs up this way, and a wolf who wore the badge of another group or even a loner canine would have to cut through the Mountain territory to get to this particular part of the territories. Inferni claimed the Waste and the plainsland separating this northern portion of the territory from the rest of the world, and Kaena was glad for it. They were not really Inferni's claim, but she felt relative safety here. Still, her senses had not dulled any, and she was on high alert for any sounds of approach as she meandered down the coastline, intent on exploring further than she had before. She knew only about a quarter of Drifter Bay and most of the waste, and little of the mountain. It would do her well to take a jog around the northlands, and scope them out better. Thick gray clouds permeated the sky above her, and the occasional distant rumble of thunder warned the Veritas that a storm was well on its way. Rain had never bothered her any, but she did not wish to be trapped out in a storm of great magnitude so far from home. Kaena climbed up a rocky face, and took a rather high perch, scanning the skies for a moment. She lifted her tapered muzzle to the heavens, that charcoal nose quivering. She could smell the rain, but until she saw lightning and heard thunder, she would not know how far away the storm was. She waited a few moments, the waves pounding against the beach, whipped into a fury by the storm heading over the bay. Her single golden eye could just barely see the black swirling on the horizon, though after a moment she saw a clear flash of lightning. Several long minutes passed before the thunder rumbled into her ears, so she figured she had quite some time before the storm actually hit. Besides, she was too far to turn back now—a better hope would be to happen across some kind of makeshift shelter and wait it out, though if the storms were anything like they had been as of late, she might end up waiting quite a few days before the most brutal part of the rains passed. The coyote continued on, avoiding roaming too close to the waves. The bay water was angry today, and she did not wish to be swept off her feet and have to swim for her life, naturally. The coyote came to a patchy, scruffy looking forest, and without hesitation, she plunged in. The trees would provide better cover from the coming rains. After a moment of struggling through the underbrush, the coyote came to a dirt path, overgrown but obviously once very-well used. It was wide enough to have once accommodated a car, though there was severe overgrowth stretching at least three feet into each side of the road. There were ruts on each side, as well, though they were far narrower than anything that could have been created by a car. Kaena was rather intrigued; even though years had passed since a human vehicle might have used them, they were still quite deep. Muddy water stagnated in each rut at the bottom. The grizzled hybrid continued on, following this path until she came to an odd sort of village. Even for post-apocalyptic remnants, they seemed rustic. She wandered closer to the low stone wall surrounding the village, interested as to what kind of a world she'd stumbled on—there was a small, wooden sign with letters hand-carved into it on the side of the entrance to the wall, reading "Millstone Village." She studied it for only a second before she continued, heading for the closest building. It was small—really more of a shed than anything else. There was a single window of thick-handmade glass, facing out toward the entrance, and a small table with just two chairs. The door no longer closed properly, and there was some evidence of the elements on the inside of the building. Old leaves piled into the corners, though the fresh air had made the building smell far better than most of the musty ruins Kaena had come across. The hybrid settled down into the chair, studying the relics before her. There was a candle, and two small stones laid out next to it. She picked them up, interested, and tried to figure out why a human would put keep two seemingly useless stones. She put them back down, and as she did, a spark flew up from between them. Their use realized by the hybrid, she picked them up and struck them together next to the candle, which eagerly flew up in flame. Grinning to herself, she watched the tiny flame flare up and dance in front of her. The storm was just overhead now, rumbling and growling. The skies had grown dark, even for mid-afternoon, and Kaena was glad she had her tiny flame as she gazed out the tiny cottage's window into the stormy skies, wondering if this was what it was like fifty years ago, standing here and keeping guard rain or shine. |