09-19-2009, 06:08 AM
[html]Table by James [/html]
Saaaammmmmieeeee. 
The silvery hybrid was brooding again. Her thoughts were on her family, as usual—where had they all roamed? Her lovely and lost children, the ones who'd gone so far. There were those who'd stayed, the unexpected Gabriel and the devoted Samael. Neither had seemed likely to remain so close to their mother, and yet here they were—the only two presences in all of the land Kaena could associate herself with. There were more distant relatives, beloved the same—but this was her core, and her heart ached to find it had dwindled again. Molochai had returned for only a brief few weeks, staying and catching up with Mother and the family before drifting away again. He'd spoken of family and wanting his own, and though it broke the sliver left of the woman's hardened heart, she wished he would find his happiness and a woman to plant his seed within. He would return, someday. They would all come crawling back to her, but what if they only came after she was dead?
That thought in particular hurt; she could not imagine never seeing her precious childrens' faces again. There was an ache that had risen in her chest, and she stealthily crept from her cave in the night, keeping quiet so she did not rouse Fatin. Her single searing eye blinked several times in the clear, crisp night, and she paused for a moment in the center of Inferni's territory, her sable ears twisting back and forth to listen to the breeze and the ocean. She could hear the crashing of the waves in the distance; it was a comfort that the hybrid woman would have missed terribly. The absence of the ocean in the wide open plains at the heart of the southern part of the continent, that had been the worst. Kaena had never considered herself a sea-faring creature, she did not appreciate boats or floating above the water, but to be beside the ocean was familiar and comforting to the silvery hybrid.
Her thoughts turned back to her children as the coyote woman walked forward. She was in her Optime form, as she had taken to sleeping in that form since acquiring a cave and a flat, ratty old pillow and her scratchy green blanket. The hybrid woman was still lanky in this form, her body still lengthy of limb and carved of sharp angles. Kaena generally did not prefer to wander or walk anywhere in this form, as her four-legged bodies were generally quicker and the Lupus possessed the most stamina of them all. Still, it was late, and she simply could not sleep yet, and she would only be an hour's trek around her border. This was her usual pattern when insomnia gripped her; the grizzled Centurion had ringed the coyote's perimeter countless times in the dead of night.
Tonight had begun no differently, with the coyote woman sleepless in her den and headed to the outskirts of the coyote realm, but on her way, a strange and unexpected thing occurred. A familiar smell drifted over the breeze to the ashen hybrid, and her features seemed to light with the approach of Samael. She immediately diverted her course to intercept him, listening with her dulled hearing for his approach. The right ear had not worked so well for many years now, and she hardly even remembered who had caused the wound—had it been Salvaged, or someone else? She did not recall. Still, the unmistakable sound of frantic paws pounding the earth came to the silver coyote, and immediately her demeanor changed with this sound.
Rushing forward, her remaining eye widened, remembering other times when her children had run to her. Had it been so long ago that her trio of demonic puppies had come crawling back, the brothers supporting the sister who clung faintly to life? The hybrid woman was grim even as her lovely son approached, fear in her eyes. She did not smell blood—that was a good thing. Before long he appeared in her sight, and she whined loudly to him, beckoning him closer while still stepping toward him herself. "What's wrong, Samael?" she said quickly, her usual rasp elevated with a tinge of fear. There was distress on his features, and he was breathing hard—had he run all the way here to her?
The silvery hybrid was brooding again. Her thoughts were on her family, as usual—where had they all roamed? Her lovely and lost children, the ones who'd gone so far. There were those who'd stayed, the unexpected Gabriel and the devoted Samael. Neither had seemed likely to remain so close to their mother, and yet here they were—the only two presences in all of the land Kaena could associate herself with. There were more distant relatives, beloved the same—but this was her core, and her heart ached to find it had dwindled again. Molochai had returned for only a brief few weeks, staying and catching up with Mother and the family before drifting away again. He'd spoken of family and wanting his own, and though it broke the sliver left of the woman's hardened heart, she wished he would find his happiness and a woman to plant his seed within. He would return, someday. They would all come crawling back to her, but what if they only came after she was dead?
That thought in particular hurt; she could not imagine never seeing her precious childrens' faces again. There was an ache that had risen in her chest, and she stealthily crept from her cave in the night, keeping quiet so she did not rouse Fatin. Her single searing eye blinked several times in the clear, crisp night, and she paused for a moment in the center of Inferni's territory, her sable ears twisting back and forth to listen to the breeze and the ocean. She could hear the crashing of the waves in the distance; it was a comfort that the hybrid woman would have missed terribly. The absence of the ocean in the wide open plains at the heart of the southern part of the continent, that had been the worst. Kaena had never considered herself a sea-faring creature, she did not appreciate boats or floating above the water, but to be beside the ocean was familiar and comforting to the silvery hybrid.
Her thoughts turned back to her children as the coyote woman walked forward. She was in her Optime form, as she had taken to sleeping in that form since acquiring a cave and a flat, ratty old pillow and her scratchy green blanket. The hybrid woman was still lanky in this form, her body still lengthy of limb and carved of sharp angles. Kaena generally did not prefer to wander or walk anywhere in this form, as her four-legged bodies were generally quicker and the Lupus possessed the most stamina of them all. Still, it was late, and she simply could not sleep yet, and she would only be an hour's trek around her border. This was her usual pattern when insomnia gripped her; the grizzled Centurion had ringed the coyote's perimeter countless times in the dead of night.
Tonight had begun no differently, with the coyote woman sleepless in her den and headed to the outskirts of the coyote realm, but on her way, a strange and unexpected thing occurred. A familiar smell drifted over the breeze to the ashen hybrid, and her features seemed to light with the approach of Samael. She immediately diverted her course to intercept him, listening with her dulled hearing for his approach. The right ear had not worked so well for many years now, and she hardly even remembered who had caused the wound—had it been Salvaged, or someone else? She did not recall. Still, the unmistakable sound of frantic paws pounding the earth came to the silver coyote, and immediately her demeanor changed with this sound.
Rushing forward, her remaining eye widened, remembering other times when her children had run to her. Had it been so long ago that her trio of demonic puppies had come crawling back, the brothers supporting the sister who clung faintly to life? The hybrid woman was grim even as her lovely son approached, fear in her eyes. She did not smell blood—that was a good thing. Before long he appeared in her sight, and she whined loudly to him, beckoning him closer while still stepping toward him herself. "What's wrong, Samael?" she said quickly, her usual rasp elevated with a tinge of fear. There was distress on his features, and he was breathing hard—had he run all the way here to her?