 Omg I am going to be so burnt out after this SoSu thing. XD Word Count: 1187 Inferni was growing. The clan had nearly doubled in membership over the past month and a half. This was strange to Kaena, for she recalled just before this influx of new coyotes that the clan's numbered had hovered around just ten. Her pride had been no less in the clan then, for of course, of that ten there were four invariably dependable, hardcore Infernians—that meant Gabriel, herself, Anselm, and Hybrid. This quartet of coyotes were the clan's breathing and beating heart, it would seem. That center was always growing and expanding to include new coyotes, and others were quite close to it—Snake and Cotl were wriggling their way closer. There was also Halo, the Centurion's granddaughter, who had worked her way all the way to the Hydra rank of the clan, charged with protecting the Legatus ranks alone. It was not merely for her killing stroke that had taken the life of Bastardo, the loner wolf who had desecrated their borders and pranced across their perimeter, Kaena knew. Halo had the same kind of strength that her grandmother possessed, the very same hard streak that had likely enabled Kaena to survive these long years. The cinnamon-furred girl was destined for great things; it was written into her very blood. Her father might have betrayed them all, but that did not mean that Halo would act in the same way Vitium once had. The hybrid often wondered what had gone through her dark-eyed son's head. He had saved the life of the trespassing Aremys wolf, denouncing his mother and brothers, his very existence in Inferni, in a speech meant to save the wolf, but it had earned him exile. Were it not for his blood connection to the Aquila at the time, he would have earned his death that day. Kaena understood that part well enough, but it was when she came to his children that the timeline ceased to be sensible. The silver-furred hybrid had not been present for these events, but from what she had gleaned off of others, Vitium had raped one Colibri—the very same Colibri Kaena had met years prior—and she had three children. Enigma, Jael, and Halo. Enigma was a strange soul, to say the least, but Kaena had only met him very briefly before he'd taken off. She lamented this fact, wishing she could have known her kin longer before he struck out into the great big world. Jael was tormented, aware that he was coyote but with all outward appearances of a wolf, meaning he was unlikely to ever be accepted by either side. In her heart, Kaena knew his best chances for happiness likely lay in forgetting Inferni ever existed, but she would never have spoken those words to him. She valued Jael too much, and perhaps with the right attitude he could find purpose in Inferni yet, if he returned someday. Halo was the only one of this trio still remaining in Inferni, the shining light of that litter. Vitium had stolen these children when they were some months old, perhaps old enough to remember their mother but not clearly, and he'd given them what seemed to Kaena to be a proper Inferni education. He had told them much about the coyote clan, though he rather neglected to mention that he'd been thrown out on his ass for being a traitor. That had been a rather big bombshell to the three young Lykoi children, Kaena was sure. She could not figure out a possible motive for Vitium neglecting to mention his own banishment while preaching what seemed to have been the truth about the coyote clan. These thoughts plagued her in the late afternoon up and into the night, and finally, when she could not stand to be alone with her own head anymore, the hybrid left the cave, hurrying quickly onward. Her coyote trot carried her rather swiftly toward the border, intending to perhaps loop around once before she attempted sleep again. Usually border duty helped with that sort of thing; it was one more monotonous task from which Kaena could expect nothing new. Still, the hybrid woman knew it was a responsibility, and she had done so poorly at her duties over the past months, she was now determined to make up for it. Since telling Gabriel about what had happened to her, there was a strange weight lifted from her chest, a sort of calm that had filled in. There was still something wrong inside, of course, but the silver-furred Centurion's strength had begun to return. Wounds such as the ones she had incurred might take years to heal, but Kaena Lykoi was a strong coyote, and she would return full force eventually. It was all a question of time. Kaena had suffered through plenty in her time; this was no better or worse than anything else she had experienced in life. There would always be attempts to knock her from her pedestal and drag her through the mud, but she would not let them. No one could ruin her, not Haku, nor anyone else. There was strength yet in her old bones, and this small return of confidence had lifted the hybrid's spirits slightly. Her step came quite a bit quicker, and before long she found herself wandering through the forested area of Inferni, veering off toward the mansion. It was rare for her to start a jaunt around the border from this central point, but she had time to kill and she didn't mind doubling back for part of the journey. As luck would have it, there was something—rather, someone—to distract her from duty, after all. As much as Kaena had neglected a Centurion's responsibilities, the sight of a strange coyote smelling vaguely of Cotl sitting in the woods watching a hide dry was far too interesting to pass up. Besides, she was already unknowingly within sight and sound of the other canine, and it would be downright rude to simply keep walking. Anselm had passed her by some days ago, mentioning some crazy joiner who claimed to be Cotl's brother, and when Cotl beckoned for her attention, the hybrid woman had merely answered his howl with one of her own, figuring if it was the Imaginifer's very sibling desiring entrance to the clan, she couldn't very well turn him down anyway. Still, when Anselm had said he was crazy, she was expecting someone a bit more like Cotl himself—the placid, gray and white furred wolf she was presently approaching was not shouting, twitching, or even constantly in motion as the other canine seemed to be. Indeed, he seemed pretty damn normal to her. A faint smile appeared on the hybrid woman's face, and she nodded a greeting to him. "You must be Cotl's brother," the silver-furred woman stated as she entered the clearing, her yellowed eye peering curiously at the hide that he was stretching. She couldn't smell a particular animal scent from it, and she wondered what he'd treated it with to keep it from smelling just like the animal it once had kept warm. |
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