07-31-2009, 01:09 AM
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| http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/rp/kae/kae_jaws.jpg); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position:fixed; padding-top:221px; padding-left:25px; padding-right:25px; padding-bottom:10px;"> The other canine was quiet after his affirmative answer, but Kaena felt no uneasiness in the silence that stretched between them afterward. She was still curious about him, but she did not wish to appear childish, rapid-firing questions at him like she was a newcomer to the earth itself. It was rare that a creature greatly interested her. More often than not, Kaena was simply neutral toward her clanmates which were not related by blood. Hybrid had been a part of Inferni for longer than Kaena could remember, and yet she hardly knew the man. She appreciated his lust for blood and his malicious personality, certainly, but the coyote woman could not recall a time when she'd ever specifically sought for him, nor he for her. They were sort of indifferent toward each other, surely willing to throw in their weight when help was required, but beyond clan-induced duty together, they were relative strangers. This was an odd thing, especially for creatures which had known each other for many years. The coyote woman looked at him for another moment, and then her head turned back to the lake, looking over it for a minute as she formed a question in her head. "You aren't related to any of my coyotes," she said, stating an inference she'd made to be corrected or accepted by him. It was less direct than openly asking about his past, and it would give reason to his clothing and that sharp, fresh scent emanating from his body. She had no reason to hide that she was from Inferni. Kaena would always proudly proclaim herself a part of that clan; it was just as much a part of her as she was a part of it. That familiar night on that old beach flashed into her head, the sand and the furious ocean. She had not thought of Inferni's first leader, Zarah, in too long. Now, she recalled the woman and her whole coyote blood, pure and righteous just as certainly as she was mixed and stained with wolf's blood. The woman regarded Onus again, wondering how he would react. So far, he hadn't shown much either way. There was cool disinterest about him, as if nothing in the world could phase him. There was something in that—though Kaena had given him nothing to fear, he had treated her as if she was just another canine. That was rare. The reaction was generally either fear or disgust at her and her scars, with a rare bit of admiration from a select few who understood their underlying meaning and what they symbolized. The wounds of war were nothing to be ashamed of to the gray canid, but Onus merely passed them by, a completely new reaction the hybrid had not encountered prior to this meeting. |