Nature conquered all in the end. One day in the centuries to come, this vestige of human civilization would be gone. All the papers in the books in the libary would be but fragile dust. Green things would crumble and break the concrete that paved the ground and held the houses together.
That day was not today, and the blind wolfess had found herself a house. It was old by human standards, which consequently meant it was well built. Etal had commented that many of the newer buildings were not faring as well, and the large eagle had inspected the dwelling Wind had picked out. It was a two story structure with a wrap around wooden porch which was aging in spots, but was in overall good condition. The sunlight flitted playfully around the clouds and through the huge old trees that had taken over the lawns, and sparkled off of the old sword that was propped against the wooden balustrade that ran along the porch. Light glinted on the array of knives she had set out to sharpen. Using a diamond sharpening stone because of its durability, she worked. The task was mandatory and it was always good to have sharp weapons, and it was soothing, the repeatative motion. Still, her sharp ears remained alert, flicking for any change in the background noise of the breezy afternoon. "Shiny they are," bobbling her head in affirmation, Etal fluffed her gray feathers, watching the sunlight dance off the metal. Wind paused, for it was better to waste a few minutes than to accidentally cut off one's finger (she was in Optime form) "Sharp too, so don't go getting fixated." Etal was a bird and had an odd obssession with shiny things. "Fixated? Fixated Etal does not get. Shiny and sharp they are pretty to see. Cannot appreciate such things Wind cannot," Wind bared her teeth in a mild yet not entirely friendly smile, "Wind can appreciate such things. Concentrate on more important things, like sharpening the shiny blades I must." She responded in Low Speech. Etalpalli could understand High Speech, but often when they were alone, WindSeeker slipped into the usage of it without realizing it. She and Etal often bickered, though it was rarely heated because they relied on eachother, she for Etal's eyes, and Etal for her care of the bird in a climate that was very much not her own.
Iskata had been on her way through the town to check on Mew, trying to find Haku had been useless and she was going to chance it and hope to find him near Mew's place, though she wasn't sure if Mew would even want him around after the silver and gold wolfess had told Mew the horrible crimes that her baby brother had committed. Iskata paused along one of the streets, gazing up at the name, trying to remember exactly where Mew's place had been. She knew she was heading in the right dirrection but she wished that last time she'd been here she'd actually looked at the street name for more than a brief second.
Plopping down on the overgrown sidewalk she growled to herself for being so stupid, though she knew she should even bother, she'd had more important things on her mind that day. Flicking her ears back she caught the sound of a bird's calls, though they didn't sound like anything she'd heard coming from above, within moments she caught the sound of another voice, this one wolfen. Shaking her head to clear out the thoughts that were tumbling around she raised her eyes up from gazing at the weeds that had forced their way up through the cracks in the cement and caught sight of something shimmering in the distance. The sighting was soon followed by the bird's voice again and she realized the sound was coming from the same direction. Sighing to herself she got up and began to wonder down the way to investigate.
It didn't take her long to come upon the house, the figures sitting out on the porch were a sight for sore eyes, even if it wasn't who she was looking for. Calling out as she approached them Iskata hadn't caught the eyes of the wolf yet, not knowing she was blind. "Hello.." She obviously had to be a packmember to be living here Iskata thought as she stood on the pathway that lead up to the house. Perhaps she knew where Mew's home was.
Sparks flew as she scraped the sharpener along the long blades. The smell of the newcomer didn't alert her at first because this area of the territory was so laden with the scents of others. The keen eyed eagle did not fail in her duty though, shuffling around so she was facing the strange luperci. "Singer at 10'o clock, there is," she chirped, swiveling her flexible nck around to get a look at the female.
WindSeeker glanced up from her work, squinting a bit at the unfamiliar She. She was too far away yet for the blind wolf to read her more than her general body posture. Perking her sharp ears forward and flicking her fluffy tail, the ice firred female nodded hesitantly, "Hello, can I help you with something?" Etal palli decided to investigate more closely and so, taking off with a swift beating of large wings, circled around the newcomer, resisting the urge to tap her with a talon. "Etalpalli," WindSeeker warned, "Stop that,"
Circling again, the bird deliberately mock dived the newcomer, while Wind sighed and rolled her eyes. Clearly, Etal was getting bored. "No fun Etal is allowed to haveses," the bird complained, flying in a disgruntled fashion back to the porch, swippong out her talon at one of the freshly sharpened knives with the ire of a petulant pup.
She had barely caught sight of the eagle before it was taking off and moving up into the air about her. Flicking her ears back and forth as she eyed the bird she didn't know what she should do, take a snap at it or ignore it. The chatter from the bird seemed more than the normal screams she'd heard in the past from the predatorial birds, but she didn't realize it until the wolfess before her spoke up to the bird. She sat back on her haunches a moment surprised, until she remembered her manners and gave the woman a nod of greeting. "Hello mis' I'm Iskata Sadira.. I was looking for my brother's children, but I've sortof turned myself around in this town.. I can't seem to find Mew's denhouse now.." She'd only been there once before, but the lady before her couldn't know that. Taking a step forward she eyed the eagle, noticing it seemed to be sulking in the corner near the weapons the wolf had been working with.
Moving to the edge of the steps Iskata tilted her head to the side as she questioned the ivory silver lady she'd just met. "What's with the artifacts..." she knew few wolves who carried human weapons. She'd met a wolf or two with a knife, she herself had one, and she'd been taught to shoot a bow by an old packmember, though the bow and arrows were long gone in the fire. She'd learned to fish with a pole as well, with the help of an old friend. She smiled at the idea of using the human tools, but then again her and Faolin had spent a long summer trying out all the funny human things and seeing if they were even worth it. She wished bitterly that that summer was still here.
"WindSeeker Icefur, and the sulking bird is Etalpalli," WindSeeker said, indicating herself and the as yet huffy Etal who was muttering to herself, likely inventive suggestions as to what Wind could go do to herself. Absently running the sharpener down the bowie knife blade she held, the blind She studied this one who called herself Iskata... Sadira, wasn't that the name Cercelee had mentioned in an uncomplementary way? Wind smiled, "We just arrived here last week, and so we really don't know who anyone is yet, so I can't help you find anyone, sorry, but if you can remember any landmarks, I might be able to help with that,"
Wind had been raised in a pack entirely of Americans, but they'd followed very European traditions, meaning that they'd had great knowledge of human ways and artifacts. WindSeeker forgot often that others had not grown up with and did not use the same tools her family did. "Most are knives, hunting implements. I... can't hunt in the conventional way, you see, so I improvise with human tools. These I use to fashion various traps and snares, or to make arrows and other projectiles. Etal helps with the aim, and other useful tasks. I am, for the most part, blind, but have enough vision to aim and make out general body postures," She explained with a smile.
OOC- awesome new avatar there!
Iskata moved a few steps closer at the woman spoke, her tail flicking back and forth as she watched the eagle seemingly sulk as Windseeker explained to her who they were. She smiled as she settled herself down again, sheepishly admitting her problem to the new pack member. "Nice to meet you, both of you that is." nodding to the eagle as well as the silvery hued woman she smiled and chuckled. "I'm not sure I could even point out anyplace I know.. I've only been to Mew's home once.." she felt stupid now that she admitted that, but soon enough it was forgotten as the blind lady explained everything to her.
Picking her feet up she moved closer to examine the blades she was being shown, raising her eyes to gaze at the lady she spoke up softly. "I know what they are, it's just not too many use them around here. I use to have a bow.. back before the fires..." her words drifted off as she thought about what everyone lost in the flames. Shaking her head to rid the thoughts from her mind she added, "I guess I'd have to find me a new bow now though.." tilting her head to the side as she gazed at some of the ones she wasn't use to she smiled a lopsided grin as she chuckled. "My friend and I use to go fishing and set traps for lobsters.. but that was just because we wanted to see how humans managed.." Smiling at the thought she continued, "That was a long time ago though..."
Looking back up at the lady she pipped up quickly, switching the subject in the blink of an eye. "Where are you from then?.. and how did you meet Etalpalli?" she doubted that the wolf had know the bird forever, but she was curious how they'd become a pair, a strange but seemingly efficient pair.
OC: Sorry for the wait, my writing muse was resting and I've got a sick doggy
IC:
"Singer must have poor place memory, she must," Etal quipped sourly as Iskata spoke, taking her foul mood out in the statement, "Odd name, Mew is. Sounds like a catses, it does," the bird commented, with what passed for a chuckle. Interested in Iskata's words, Wind had heard the fires mentioned before, and frowned. She had lived and grown up in what had once been the northern Midwestern United States. Her ancestors had been of both European and Canadian descent, and had come from a few zoos that had disintegrated when the humans had fallen. That was also where the first Aquilan Wolf had met the first Aquillan Avian, and in those days, the alinen bird species had no knowledge of the area, and had relied on the wolf for help. "I've heard these fires mentioned. I had cousins that lived in distant mountains to the southwest, and they spoke of fires as well."
"I made the lath, or bow of my crossbow, which is more powerful than a traditional bow. It is called a composite because the lath is made up of layers, rather than a single piece of wood, as many bows are. This makes it much stronger," Wind explained, then, holding up a finger, she ducked inside and returned with the recurved composite crossbow, "The metal parts of this were modeled after some human instructions in an old library. My uncle gave me the manual, though I've never attempted to forge metal. My pack has many human traditions, which I know is a bit uncommon in the Americas, unlike in Europe," She explained with a faint smile. "Lobster is okay, but I'm not big on seafood. Back home, we mainly had these fish called Mud Cats, which were really ugly,"
She paused to think at Iskata's next question, "My family were nomads, so we had a lot of different homes. We lived mostly in a place I think was called Missouri, thats what a lot of the signs said anyway," She smiled, as Etalpalli, hearing her name, turned and puffed up her feathers in pride. "Etal's family and my ancestors, according to both sides, were apparently once held in human zoos. The wolves in those zoos were candidates for reintroduction, according to family legend, and were thus able to survive outside the captivity the humans had kept them in. Etal's family were in the same position, bt her kind come from a place many months travel to the south, and thus did not know how to survive in this climate. The birds agreed to help in hunts by spotting prey. Thus the Aquilla Pack was created, with both wolf and eagle members, Aquilla means eagle, I think. There was a tradition of pairing an eagle with a wolf when they reached a year of age. Etal was supposed to go to the son of the Alphas, as they always recieved the Crowned Solitaries, her species, but she was so good at providing me with the guiding service, an exception was made." Etal flicked her crest up and seemed to do a little dance of pride, "Son of Alphas was too stuffy, he was. No fun, indeed, no fun. Could not take a jokeses, he could not," Etalpalli whistled
Iskata's ears flicked back and forth as she caught the whistles and screams of the eagle, thinking just for a second that she was missing out on some hidden conversation that she probably didn't want to be on in in the first place, since the subject seemed to be herself. Eyeing the eagle for a moment as he seemed to sulk still she shook her head and turned back to the lady on hand, a better companion than the first, a little more lively and cheerful too.
The bow that was brought before her was amazing in Iskata's eyes, that the blind wolf had actually created it as well really impressed her. Though she herself still perfered the old fashioned bow, only because it was what she was use to and she didn't need the extra force and power behind the other, unlike her company Iskata's eyesight was fine.. though she wouldn't boast about it. Flicking away the thoughts on the different bows she reached out to feel the work that the lady had made and smiled. "You're quite talented you know that.." Iskata complimented the girl as she took her hand off the bow. "Perhaps one day we can go look for more weaponry in the city.. if you'd like." she offered, knowing that she'd enjoy the outing just as much as the newcomer to the lands would. She wasn't so sure about her feathered friend though.
A smile spread across her maw as the wolfess spoke of the ugly mudfish that they use to catch back home. Laughing softly at the idea of the fish described she shook her head. "I guess living near the sea and around lakes and rivers you get use to the foods the aquatic surroundings offer." She shrugged and left it at that, there were many different types of prey out there, she perfered the aquatic ones, easier to catch in her eyes and not so messy afterwards.. though a bath was normally required to rid the scent....
Shaking her head she turned back to smile at the pair before her. Sitting down on the porch slowly beside the silvery blind wolfess she flicked her tail along her thigh as her gaze rested on the eagle. "I bet it worked out for the best anyways.. you two.. seem suited." the choice of words seemed thought out as she watched the sky preditor before her, a small smile playing on her lips as she met those sharp ever glaring eyes.
The mention of exploring a city had the blind she's spirits lifting. She enjoyed cities, enjoyed the gradual takeover nature had been waging against them since the failure of humanity. "Thank you, though I am by far not the best crafter in my family, and an excursion such as that sounds like it would be quite an adventure." WindSeeker shifted, leaning against one of the pillars thaht supported the porch roof. "We've always lived inland, up until we came here, so we could acquire a taste for seafood," she said with a smile. "Crabses are good, crabses are. Difficult to eastses, they are," Etal quipped. Wind took a moment to wonder when Etal had eaten crabs, then switched her attention back to Iskata, "We are," she said in answer to the female's comment, "She says what she thinks, which can be good... sometimes. Can you tell me of the area here, and those that live in it? I really don't know much about this place."
A smile split across her maw as the blid wolf thanked her for the suggestion of an outing. She really would enjoy getting some time to actually explore this new home now that she actually could. "Well, whatever you can do is a million times more than what I could.. " she looked out over the small part of the city they rested in and chuckled. "Yes, it's been a while since I've explored an empty city.. last one I'd seen was a busy port town that the wolves had reformed.. She titled her head back and gazed at the sky as she thought about it. She could just barely taste the salty sea air from here and just the thought of the beach was something to make her smile.
As the lady began to think about living on the shore now Iskata nodded to herself and teased the lady about the possible new changes in her diet. "Well, the sight of a sunrise over the sea and the sounds of the ocean waves is enough to make you want to stay by the sea if the eatin' isn't." The call of the eagle made her flick her ears forward as she seemed to add his own comment. She gazed at her a moment before adding. "You'd let me know if what she has to say is something I should know.. right?" the twinkle in her eyes danced as she watched the bird of prey. "Or.. if it's something I probably don't want to know.. about myself.." she had a feeling that sometimes she wouldn't want to know what was on the bird's mind.
A small flitter of laughter fell from her maw when the silvery lady spoke of her friend next. Turning her eyes back to the lady she smirked. "Yes, I have a daughter and a son like that.. I know exactly what you mean.." She paused a moment when the lady asked her to describe this world she'd fallen into. Iskata stared off in the distance as she tried to find the words for it all. "Well.. there's really not anything I can say about this place.. We'd never been here until the fire.. it's all new to us too.." she sat there staring off in the distance as she tried to make something worth the lady's wild. "But.. for the most part everyone here is great, there are a couple different packs and a clan of coyotes.. of course not everyone gets along but I don't know anyone who gets along with the whole world perfectly.." she chuckled at the idea, "Anything specific?" she really didn't know what to say about the whole place or the wolves in it..
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