heaven sends and heaven takes

Xeris · 12-26-2010, 01:37 AM

[html]

table © Alaine
ooc: xer is in lupus form. long post is long and emo xeris is emo.

The sky was a dark and hazy gray, from both the oncoming night and the clouds above, as Xeris set out into the territory at dusk. Her paws softly padded through the dry grass which changed to cold dirt as the white wolfess approached the ice-coated southern Mirror Lake that was not far from her home. She recalled the night that she had returned to Phoenix Valley and glimpsed her reflection in the lake. She had been so upset by it. Now, with slightly more confidence, she approached the frozen waters and peered over the edge. However, the image reflected this time was hazy and blurred by the ice. Perhaps that was for the better.

It was an odd sort of evening, the kind that seemed as if the air was filled with spirits and a ghost might emerge from the haze at any moment. Xeris certainly had plenty of ghosts to face, and hoped that none of them appeared now. She feared the idea of her father's scornful gaze, never having expressed any forgiveness that he might have held for his daughter; or her mother's saddened expression at her disappointment in Xeris' poor judgment. In her own golden eyes, Xeris held herself to be a failure. The others here in the Valley had made her feel better, yes, and the return of her son was a relief, but she had still lost so much. Xion had yet to show herself again and that was the scarred wolfess' main concern as of late. What a terrible mother she must be, ordering her daughter to leave at the first sign of suspicion and never making sure the girl knew how to get back. Xeris scowled at the frozen lake and considered reaching out to slash at it, to give the ice the same new scars that she held on her body and her heart. But what good would that do? It wouldn't bring them back--not Xion, not her parents, not anyone.

Ty Trenton Nasphrite · 12-26-2010, 02:53 AM

[html]

out of character text

The golden blue pools in Ty's eyes twinkled in the glow of the setting sun. His paws gave no sound as he slinked through the trees. His ears twitching back and forth like a dish to hear any sudden movements, his eyes scanning the coming darkness for any sign of trouble. This way of walking was no longer intentional for Ty, he had gathered this silent, paranoid stalk from his months of travel, along with the adventures he had in his travels. However, there was an indication that he was at ease here, and that was his rhythmic breathing pattern. He inhaled the familiar Phoenix Valley air, allowing it to fill his lungs, it had been too long since he smelled the freshness of the air here. The clean, pristine scent filled his nostrils with every inhale, bringing a warm smile to his lips as he crept along.

However, his breathing came to a quick pause when out of the corner of his eye he noticed movement, and he cocked his head for a better look. He could see a white wolf in the distance, but he did not know who it was yet, she was a bit too far away to recognize. Changing his path, he could see the wolf hadn't noticed him yet, to his advantage. However, with every couple of feet he traveled he noticed something familiar about her. First her coat, then with a few more footsteps, he could remember her scent, then his eyes brightened and his smile grew as he recognized the person; Xeris. However, Xeris did not look exactly the same as when Ty had left her, or at least, her attitude didn't seem to be the same, he could see that by the way she stared at her reflection. He couldn't put his finger on it, but she didn't seem as joyful as she once was. With a few more silent steps, he had brought himself out in the open, but he paused before he actually said anything to Xeris. After all, he had left without saying a word, he abandoned his role in the pack in the middle of the night without saying a word to anyone, would Xeris be one to judge him on that? With a silent sigh, he shrugged that bit of doubt off, he would own up to that mistake when the time came. With a mischevious smirk, he called out to Xeris. "You know, you aren't going to look any prettier no matter how long you stare into that lake."

Xeris · 12-27-2010, 01:07 AM

[html]

table © Alaine

Xeris was startled by the sudden emergence of a voice. She had been sure that no one else was around. Her mind immediately flew to Pendzez; he was probably the most likely one to say something like that. But this voice was different. Still familiar, but different. Turning in the direction of the sound, her ears perked forward with surprise as she spotted a figure nearby. She had been thinking about ghosts earlier; perhaps this was one. But wait...could it be? There was only one wolf she knew with such a distinctive orange coat, still visible in the dimming light.

"Ty?" she asked, eyes widening. She took a few steps toward her old friend, a smile lighting up her face as she did so. It had been enough of a miracle that Rendall was back; now Ty as well? "Ty, it's so good to see you! It's been so long..." Her voice trailed off as she got closer to him, noticing that he was clearly not the same wolf as he had been when she last saw him. He seemed to have gained some battle scars in his absence--then again, so had she, and in turning to face him she had made the four long slashes down her throat visible to him. "Where have you been?" she asked, her voice not containing scorn but worry. She had experienced such horrors while she was away, and could only hope that he hadn't seen similar things.

Ty Trenton Nasphrite · 12-30-2010, 04:51 AM

[html]

Ty grinned lightly as he walked closer to Xeris, brandishing a new swagger and attitude about him, along with new scars as well. "Well, it's good to see you too." He said as the remainder of his tail swayed back and forth. "You look good Xeris...except for that scar on your neck there." His eyes momentarily locked onto her aforementioned scars before scanning back to her face. "Then again, that might be a good thing. After all, you aren't an experienced wolf until you have the scars to prove it." A chuckle left Ty's throat as he helped himself to a drink of the lake water. Before he finished his drink he looked into the lake to see his reflection while he drank, noticing how he had changed since he last stared into this lake months before it.

However, his face drooped as it rose back to face Xeris when she uttered the annoying yet inevitable question of where he had gone. He didn't answer her right away, instead uttering a annoyed sigh as he tried to dodge the question with a quick answer. "Meh, I've been around, had a few adventures." He said, adding a shrug to go along with it. "How has the Valley held up without me? It's still standing, so there hasn't been a big war while I was away." He sent a glance out to the lake briefly before meeting Xeris' eyes again with his familiar smirk. "And how have you been? Besides some extra nicks you don't look like you've changed much."

Xeris · 01-01-2011, 05:34 AM

[html]

table © Alaine
ooc: it is 4 something in the morning so I apologize for suckiness of this post

Xeris noted that Ty seemed very mellow, almost nervous. She had never known him to dodge questions like that. Something must have happened, she thought. Her own personality had changed drastically since the events while she was away, and she imagined that Ty was experiencing something similar. The damage to his body indicated to her that he had been fighting. She'd known him to be a fighter, but didn't remember him being so nervous and shy about it.

And then he asked her how the Valley had been holding up. Xeris paused for a moment, looking down at the grass below her in silence, before speaking up. "I have only been back for about a month," she replied solemnly. "In mid-autumn I encountered a wolf claiming to be from my birth pack who wanted to bring me home at my father's request." She hesitated again. "He was a liar. That wolf came from a pack of rogues who intended to take the land my father's pack owned by force. And they did so. They wanted to eliminate every last wolf with ties to the area...but I escaped...somehow..." Another pause. "My daughter Xion...she insisted on coming with me to see my homeland. I grew suspicious as we got closer, and told her to return home....but no one has seen her." Xeris didn't really want to drop all of this on Ty at once, but he had asked and she figured he should know; he was one of the closest friends of her family in the Valley. And perhaps by telling of the horrors she had seen, she might get Ty to open up about what had happened to him, as her ever-present curiosity hungered to know the details.

Ty Trenton Nasphrite · 01-05-2011, 11:48 PM

[html]

ooc: Sorry this is late.

Ty frowned as he listened to Xeris' story, the words making his head droop in understanding. Her story sounded just as depressing and heart-wrenching as his own, though hers was more personal than he had expected. It was hard for Ty to come up with a response, and he sat in silence for a second once Xeris had explained her story, before finally coming up with a response. "Wow...that's...quite a tale Xeris." He said as he eventually walked closer to Xeris, then brushed his body against hers in an attempt to comfort her as a friend. "But you're alive, and if your daughter has the survival instinct you do, no,even half of what you do, I'm sure she will be just fine.

He then pushed away to stare back into the lake, lost in the new scars in his reflection. Perhaps Xeris' story had hit a spot with him, perhaps her words had hit him in the right place, because he told her this. "My own story isn't that different than yours I guess, my adventure in Mexico was very similar..." He sighed. "Except...I was not the victim in the massacre...not at all." His gaze suddenly became fixed on Xeris as he uttered his ultimatum. "If I am to tell you what happened in Mexico, you are not allowed to share it with the rest of the pack, do I make myself clear?"

Xeris · 01-06-2011, 12:19 AM

[html]

table © Alaine

Ty said many of the same things as the others had; that it was good that she was safe and that Xion would surely return unharmed. No matter how many times she heard these things, though, she still wouldn't be fully convinced of her daughter's safety until the girl returned. The thought of asking Ty to help find Xion briefly crossed Xeris' mind, but she imagined that with whatever had recently happened to him, he would much rather stay within the borders and relax.

It was then, however, that he changed the subject. Xeris looked at Ty with curious eyes as he mentioned a massacre--and implied that he did part of the killing. This only came as somewhat of a surprise to her; she knew that Ty was a warrior and she had seen him kill the cougar that attacked Rendall, but a massacre seemed rather much. There had to be a valid reason, Xeris thought. She was also surprised when the orange-furred male said he would tell her the details if she didn't say anything. She was slightly intimidated by his sudden harshness, which clearly showed how serious the matter was. This seemed like something rather big to entrust to her, but she wouldn't let her friend down. Perhaps is he got to talk about it, it would help him feel better--and the white wolfess' natural curiosity was beginning to bloom once more. "Of course. You can trust me."

Ty Trenton Nasphrite · 01-06-2011, 02:58 AM

[html]

looooooong post, sorry about this >.>

The minute Xeris consented to not saying a word about what Ty was about to say, he let out a breath of relief. "Alight...then I'll tell you." He stopped momentarily, taking deep breaths before he began, "When I arrived in Mexico, I took a few wrong turns at the start, and I ran into some rather threatening coyotes in the desert. Now these weren't reasonable coyotes, they saw me as intruding on their territory and they attacked me on sight." He gestured to a scratch on his chest and a claw mark on his shoulder. "I killed quite a few coyotes that day, but they eventually got the better of me."

He paused for a second, his eyes glazing over as he remembered that moment. "However, just before they tore my throat out, I was saved by the most unlikely person...an old pack mate of mine from Europe named Hoyt." His gave a small smile as he mentioned Hoyt, but his expression turned stoic as he continued. "Hoyt and his new pack nursed me back to health, almost better than before." He began to pace, his half-tail swaying in the breeze. "When I finally came too, Hoyt explained why he was in Mexico. He told me he had followed my initiative and went exploring in the states, and eventually had created a pack in Mexico, hence the males he had with him." He stopped pacing and sat down. "However, then came his dilemma, apparently his pack had been invaded by marauders, who had attacked the human ghost town his pack had settled in, attempting to steal the resources they had there." Ty pointed to himself with his next sentence. "He asked me for his help, the marauding pack had driven Hoyt's pack out of the town, and had killed a good portion of his pack as well. And for old times sake, I agreed to help him."

Again, Ty had to pause, taking a deep breath as he continued. "Hoyt's pack and I planned an assault on the town, his pack knew how to make a human weapon called 'molotov cocktails' a bottle that when thrown would send fire everywhere. Using this tool, we intended to smoke the marauder wolves out with the cocktails and kill enough of them as they scattered to make sure they wouldn't come back. Simple plan, we had done it once in Europe to stop a barbarian pack from slaughtering one of our allies."

Ty once more stopped, this time his breathing was shaky, wavering in it's stoic tone as he came to his dreaded moment. "Once the mission was set, and the molotov's were ready, we set out to drive them away..." He said, his half-tail drooping as he spoke. "Hoyt led one team and I spearheaded another one, in a sort of pincer motion to push the wolves out in one direction." His eyes then drifted to the sky. "I remember the fire raining from the sky as we threw those molotovs onto the roofs of the houses, I remember the marauding pack darting out to defend their new home, they didn't stand a chance. We took them by surprise, wiped out their initial defenses, I can still taste the blood that day." His eyes suddenly locked onto Xeris as he took a more somber tone. "But right after we killed the initial wolves, I could tell something was wrong. There were women, young wolves suddenly coming out of the houses to defend whatever was in there, we still killed them all the same, but something suddenly didn't feel right."

That's when Ty broke down, he wasn't able to keep it together anymore and dropped to a sitting position, tears welled up in his eyes as he began to weep. "It was when I saw a small burning body drag itself out of a house that I realized my mistake. It was a pup, no older than a few months, it's hair was burning, those yelps and shrieks I can still remember as it dragged itself along the ground for a few feet until it's body came to a morbid stop. That's when I realized what this really was." He let out a soft sob again as he continued. "It all clicked, there were no females or children in Hoyt's pack because his pack was the marauders, and he manipulated me to help him in slaughtering the pack that had resided there, had children there, probably lived there for years, and I helped to massacre the entire pack."

Ty wiped the tears from his eyes, trying to regain his composure. "After the massacre, I immediately confronted Hoyt about it. I screamed at him as much as I could, until my throat went sore, I asked why, why did he become such a murdering bastard," His sniffled a little. "And he explained that our old pack hadn't let him go, they threw him out for being unnecessarily ruthless and violent, and he had come to the states to make his own pack, where he could do whatever he wanted." He shook his head, finally getting the tears out. "He then decided I had prolonged my use to him, now that I knew what kind of wolf he had become. He sicced his pack on me, and they pushed me off a nearby canyon into a ravine...where I lost part of my tail in the fall."

His tone then turned menacing, he began to circle Xeris with a growl deep in his throat. "But I didn't die, I survived, nursed myself back to health and kept myself in the dark for a few weeks, and that's when I planned my revenge." His lip curled up in a snarl as he remembered his actions. "I became a terror of Hoyt's pack, I burned many of their supplies, and I picked off Hoyt's pack one by one in the coming weeks whenever they went out for more food or water." He suddenly let out a dirty smile as he continued his talk. "I sent every one of those bastards to hell until only Hoyt and his most loyal members were left, and I caught them in the courthouse. He gave a dark laugh. "I killed them all when Hoyt called them for an emergency meeting by burning the courthouse down."

A mixture of primal growling and snarling between every words changed Ty's persona drastically. "Except for Hoyt that is...Hoyt miraculously escaped that trap, and he tracked me down, attempting to kill me for what I had done...we fought for what seemed like hours." His scars began to act up as he talked, he even held one with the memory of Hoyt burned into his mind. "But before I took that bastard's life, the life of my former friend and pack mate...Hoyt had one last dirty trick." His anger suddenly returned to sadness, tears welling up in his eyes once more. "He congratulated me on killing yet another pack, and that I was worse than he ever was, because my violent actions had killed a pack for no other purpose other than revenge...and I knew he was right."

Ty suddenly flew into a rage after he finished his story, his claws came out and he leaped past Xeris at a tree, scratching and clawing at it with a fury he rarely showed. But his snarling came to silence as he slumped his body against the tree, panting heavily as the tension filled the air. "I'm a monster Xeris." He admitted. "I haven't just killed wolves who deserved it, I murdered women, children, innocent people" His eyes fixed on the ground. "For the rest of my life I'm going to remember that burning pup, those bodies littering the streets of that ghost town in mexico...""I'm sorry I pushed that all on you Xeris...but you wanted to know...now you do."

Xeris · 01-06-2011, 03:48 AM

[html]

Xeris sat and listened patiently as Ty began his story. He spoke first of coyotes, and Xeris' mind flew to Inferni. As far as she knew, there were no "reasonable" coyotes anyway. His story continued and he told of meeting an old friend. Xeris hadn't known much about Ty's life other than when he was in Phoenix Valley, but supposed this probably wasn't the time to ask. Her expression turned sad at the talk of marauders, and she thought of the ones who had slaughtered her own birth pack for similar reasons--to take the territory in peaceful Heritage Retreat. Maybe Ty really had gone through something a lot like what she had experienced.

His story began to darken, however, and Xeris' mouth fell open slightly at the idea of bottles spewing fire, and images of burning houses came to her mind, though they were probably inaccurate. As she listened, her friend told of how it turned out that he had killed innocents, and he began to cry. Xeris moved closer to Ty and brushed her head against him in a friendly and comforting movement, but said nothing, listening on. The image of the pup that was so seared into Ty's mind rattled the white wolfess as she thought of her own missing daughter.

Xeris had remained close to her friend but as his demeanor suddenly changed, she couldn't help but back away slightly. She had never seen him like this, laughing and seemingly reveling in the idea of killing Hoyt's pack. And then just like that, the orange male leaped at a nearby tree, and Xeris bit her lip as she watched him take out his fury on its bark. And then he spoke of being a monster. Something in Xeris' mind said that she'd had this conversation with someone before, and then she remembered her son. The scarred white female moved to Ty's side once again and spoke quietly and solemnly. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Ty." She paused. "But everyone makes mistakes sometimes. It's not always easy to keep in control of your emotions." She turned her golden eyes away, staring off into the distance at nothing in particular. "The leader of the pack that killed my family...I attacked him in a fury. I was so scared and my first priority was to get out, but then I saw what he had done. I tore his back leg off. Or, mostly off. Enough that he will be disabled for life at the least." Once again the white wolfess was silent, before remembering what she had originally thought of. "And my son, Delwyn...the first thing he told me when he returned to Phoenix Valley after his absence was that he'd killed someone in cold blood." She looked back at her friend now. "I don't know why the world we live in is like this," she said, her voice now just above a whisper. "I wish we could all just go back and fix everything."

Ty Trenton Nasphrite · 01-09-2011, 02:18 AM

[html]

out of character text

Ty's eyes remained fixed on the floor as he listened to Xeris' comforting words, and his lips curled into a gentle smile as she explained everyone makes mistakes. "I know that Xeris, I know that better than anyone now."He turned his body to face hers. "But I know those mistakes changed me for the better, they made me accept parts of who I am." He looked at the moon while he continued his explanation. "The fact I killed an entire pack of wolves in vengeance make me realize I have violent tendencies, but I know how to direct it now, for good purposes." He spoke highly of his actions, as if he had a revelation. "I might be a killer and a monster, but the fact i have a good head on my shoulders means I can kill for the right reasons. That's the reason I didn't kill myself after I killed Hoyt." He waved his paw. "Not all wolves can kill another wolf, some will hesitate on those accounts, I now know if I have to kill, I will without hesitation, and while that doesn't sound like a good thing, trust me, it's a handy thing to know about myself."

Ty continued to listen to Xeris's story, how she had wounded a wolf for life, and how her son had become a killer as well. She even questioned why they live in a world where one wolf has to kill another, and Ty replied to that without hesitation. "Isn't it obvious?" He asked her with a small laugh. "Violence is part of the world, whether we like it or not. Every animal was created with some skill to kill another, many had claws and teeth, some got talons and beaks, some just have poison on their side." He sat down beside Xeris with a small smile on his face. "If something made us, or we just evolved ourselves, fighting other species and each other is just in our nature." His eyes locked on the moon. "It's how we control populations, keep species from spreading too far, wolf or otherwise."

Ty's speech had returned to his confident swagger, almost like he hadn't been sobbing a few seconds ago. "And what we did in the past is how we approach situations differently in the future." He dug a hind claw into the snow. "There is no way to change the past, but you can use what you learned in the past to affect what you are going into the future." He chuckled as he closed his eyes as he felt the chill of the wind against his fur. "At least, that's what I have learned from what happened to me." He turned to face Xeris. "Does any of that make sense to you?"

Xeris · 01-15-2011, 02:05 AM

[html]

It seemed that Xeris' words had comforted Ty somewhat, or at least helped him to reassure himself that he did have a good head on his shoulders. And he was right; Xeris knew that her friend wasn't usually so rash as to kill an entire pack or the like. He did bring up a good point, she supposed. "It is always good to know yourself thoroughly," she replied. "I guess good things can come out of stuff like that...somehow."

The orange-furred wolf's words about harnessing lessons learned in the past and using them in the future was comforting to Xeris, too. And though she didn't really want to accept the fact that there was no way to get around the violence in the world around her, she did feel more confident thinking about it from the perspective Ty presented. Nodding, she turned to look at her friend. "You're right. There is something to learn from everything, even the bad things in life. We just have to use that knowledge in the right way."

Ty Trenton Nasphrite · 01-20-2011, 12:54 AM

[html]

don't worry, college started up and I've had some trouble replying as well.

"I figured that would make sense to you." Ty replied with a smile. "Which is good, because now I feel my reasoning is at least validated by someone." He gave a soft sigh as he looked back towards the moon. "It certainly keeps my mind at ease and allows me to keep going through the day." He gave a nod to the moon before glancing at Xeris. His eyes suddenly traveled up and down her body. Though she bore some new scars, she still looked the same.

"I'm...I'm glad you're still around." Ty admitted sheepishly, his half-tail wagging lightly as he offered her a casual smile. As a friend of the family Xeris had made, he began to wonder who else of her family was around. A few minutes passed of silence as Ty eventually got to his feet and began to wander back into the darkness. It was getting late and Ty was still feeling anxious. After all, who knows who was out in the woods at this time of night? With a small smile and whip of his half-tail, he said. "Well...I'd best be going on my way, it's getting late and I'd like to get some rest, want to see how much the Valley has changed...be seein' ya Xeris."

Login




Remember me Lost Password?