12-15-2009, 06:33 AM
[html]
[/html]
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v56/n ... ottoms.png); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat: no-repeat; width:350px; border:1px #bdee23 solid; font-size:11px; font-family:tahoma; font-size: 12px; line-height: 14px;">
~435 words.
---
Even in the middle of playing one of her favorite waltzes, Eliza heard the call clearly. The voice was strong, stronger than the sound of her piano, and she knew it was the same chocolate wolf who had first allowed her across the Dahlian borders. He was one of Dahlea de Mai's leaders, she knew; if memory served, he was called Haku.
She was filled with a vague sense of unease at the sound -- though she had thought Haku was quite admirable when she first met him, she had not seen him since, nor most of her pack members. Only briefly had she met any, and most she had weren't even with the pack any longer, so far as she could tell. This would be her first traditional pack meeting, and she was nervous. Having spent so much time alone when she was unused to it had caused her to be anxious about making a bad impression on her packmates, worried they would think her irresponsible and antisocial (though the latter hadn't been far from the truth, recently, at least as far as things looked to an outsider's eye). She set off from her humble abode at a brisk pace, shifting out of Optime to get to the meeting spot more quickly on four legs.
She couldn't put names to the faces she saw scattered around when she arrived, save that of Haku, though she was surprised how few had come so far. To be fair, perhaps their ranks had truly thinned this much, and she hadn't been too terribly far away when the call rang out. She had very little conception of how large they were as a pack; at the largest Dahlia had ever seemed to Eliza, it was microscopic compared to her last pack. She took a hesitant seat near to a rather frighteningly large black and white wolf on the outskirts of the gathering, though she left some space between them. She was too nervous to get any closer than the very edges of the meeting, despite not knowing the big and vaguely unnerving wolf, and she felt horribly, horribly out of place. She had clearly been away for too long.
Briefly, she wondered where Dahlia's other two leaders were. She was uncertain of their ranks relative to Haku, but they didn't seem to be in attendance at all, which was sort of odd. She figured Haku would clear up any confusion once the meeting was fully gathered, though. He just seemed like he would be reliable and trustworthy like that, based on what little interaction she had had with him.
Even in the middle of playing one of her favorite waltzes, Eliza heard the call clearly. The voice was strong, stronger than the sound of her piano, and she knew it was the same chocolate wolf who had first allowed her across the Dahlian borders. He was one of Dahlea de Mai's leaders, she knew; if memory served, he was called Haku.
She was filled with a vague sense of unease at the sound -- though she had thought Haku was quite admirable when she first met him, she had not seen him since, nor most of her pack members. Only briefly had she met any, and most she had weren't even with the pack any longer, so far as she could tell. This would be her first traditional pack meeting, and she was nervous. Having spent so much time alone when she was unused to it had caused her to be anxious about making a bad impression on her packmates, worried they would think her irresponsible and antisocial (though the latter hadn't been far from the truth, recently, at least as far as things looked to an outsider's eye). She set off from her humble abode at a brisk pace, shifting out of Optime to get to the meeting spot more quickly on four legs.
She couldn't put names to the faces she saw scattered around when she arrived, save that of Haku, though she was surprised how few had come so far. To be fair, perhaps their ranks had truly thinned this much, and she hadn't been too terribly far away when the call rang out. She had very little conception of how large they were as a pack; at the largest Dahlia had ever seemed to Eliza, it was microscopic compared to her last pack. She took a hesitant seat near to a rather frighteningly large black and white wolf on the outskirts of the gathering, though she left some space between them. She was too nervous to get any closer than the very edges of the meeting, despite not knowing the big and vaguely unnerving wolf, and she felt horribly, horribly out of place. She had clearly been away for too long.
Briefly, she wondered where Dahlia's other two leaders were. She was uncertain of their ranks relative to Haku, but they didn't seem to be in attendance at all, which was sort of odd. She figured Haku would clear up any confusion once the meeting was fully gathered, though. He just seemed like he would be reliable and trustworthy like that, based on what little interaction she had had with him.
[/html]