maybe where the roads part
#1
[html]
and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming

and the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor

Rain fell softly from an overcast sky, near-invisible vertical lines veiling the world in a wet curtain as she looked out from her den. Her narrow head pushed the deerskin flap aside, her tail tucked neatly around her haunches. A soggy bird croaked discomfort inside the cavern, but she ignored him in favor of staring at the blades of grass trembling under the weight of raindrops.

Her golden friend’s news had disturbed her, but realistically the fall of the mountain pack was none of her concern. Her heart ached for X’yrin and the loss of her borders and her mate, and she pictured hungry puppies huddled inside of Kiara’s earthen home, but the mountains were too far away. Trouble at home necessitated her full attention, and the evidence of it was everywhere—in the crook of a raven’s wings, in the furtive glances stolen by scouts toward the vegetation, in the fresh scars that shined wetly in the light.

Vesper sighed, and withdrew from the entrance to her den. The pelt hung back into place, and she stepped down the long tunnel to the pile of bedding tucked in the warmest corner of the cavern. One paw set on the stuffed hide before she glanced over at Stark, who continued to look displeased. She had no doubt that he wanted to fly back out in the open air, but the rain would only fall heavier, and she had no problem sharing her den with him in the meantime.

Offering the raven a weary smile, the one-eared coyote stepped onto her bedding and turned three circles before settling down with her nose buried in her tail.


private for sparrow
let me know straight away if this table is hard to read <3

table by raze; pattern by dinpattern



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#2
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I like your table, its pretty, and easy for me to read. <3 Speaking of tables... [/hugs the one she's using]

Word Count → 304


Though the rain fell in her ears, making her flick their bothersome drops away every couple of seconds, she did not allow them to drive her back into her cave. The walk was short, anyway, and it would have been pointless to have walked out in the first place if she was to turn back now because of some rain. Despite the wetness, the fawn felt rejuvenated, and all together just content—especially now she rode on with four legs, which she would have imagined never seeing again. Though it did not show plainly on her face, she was overjoyed by the fact she was able to finally feel normal again, well, as normal as she could be; things would never be the same as before, but she could try.

Again, she shook her head, and focused further on her sibling’s scent trail. She knew that the Optio took her living within the caverns like some of the others did, and though the rain tried it best to wash it away, her smell still floated around the area, making it easy to find her exact location. Soon, she came across another opening of a mouth, this time detecting a strong source of Vesper’s essence, and knew this must have been her home. Sparrow peaked within their depths, and found that her sight was blocked by what looked like some sort of animal covering.

She let out a quiet, soft yap to announce her presence, and added, “Hey Vesper… Can I come in?” Though she would be hurt if she refused her, she could not blame her. There was much neither knew about the other, though the hybrid thought could sense some sort of faint kinship within them. She hoped she felt right, or else her stroll in the rain would have been for nothing.

Code by the Mentors!

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#3
[html]
and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming

and the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor

Pale lids fell over cornflower blue eyes, but even if she had wanted to, Vesper knew she would not be able to sleep. There was too much on her mind, and she supposed now would be as good a time as ever to mull it over, with the rain outside thrumming gently on the rocks overhanging many of the limestone caverns. She went over patrols in her head, imagined schedules and lists, reached out to grasp an idea before casting it away again. When that was finished, she stretched her small forepaws out and imagined hands gripping an arrow, pulling back the string to her jaw, loosing with a twang that would eventually stop hitting her arm.

She thought, and thought, and thought, and then a call came at the entrance to her home.

Truthfully, she was not surprised that Sparrow would come. She hadn’t expected that her timid sister would approach her den directly, but a private conversation had been a long time coming. Other than their reunion and a brisk tour of Inferni territory, they had not had the time to meet each other one-on-one. Vesper found herself curious as to how her sibling was settling in, and she knew the other would have questions of her own. Now was as good a time as ever to get all the talking out of the way so they might have a chance at being normal.

The dappled tawny coyote opened one eye but did not budge. “Yeah, come in,” she said clearly, her coal-tipped tail twitching away behind her. She lifted her head from her skinny scarred forelimbs and prepared herself to adjust to the light, as dim as it was outside from the hidden sun.



I love what you did with it!

table by raze; pattern by dinpattern



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#4
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This is Sparwkward.

Word Count → 384


She heard her confirmation, and after one, final, shake of her pelt, nosed her way past the deerskin curtain and into the den. Though Sparrow knew Vesper was different than what she had once been, she still felt uncomfortable by her changed appearance, and it poked again in her mind as she looked at her. The sight of her scars prickled at her own fur, imagining them on her own body, and mentally sighed for her sister, though pushed away those thoughts, and kept on with calm, if not friendly, expression.

As soon as she entered, she noticed the bird, remembering the one she met a couple of weeks ago. She wondered what it was doing in Vesper’s home, but she did not question it, nor did she outwardly show that she questioned his presence other than the simple glance towards the creature. Sparrow looked back towards the tawny hybrid, and gave a small smile. She was not sure what to say at first, but after a short moment of silence, she decided that it was her place to break it. After all, she did not come to her den to quietly admire it.

“Inferni has been great so far… It’s different, but in a… good way,” she started off, knowing that the sibling may have been thinking about her standings on the clan since she joined. It has been, in fact, like she said, better than what she thought it would have been. It was different than what her former “pack” had been; for starters, she was actually allowed to get to know others, though she found the process hard for her to bear. But, she found some acquaintances somehow, and knew that being allowed in the clan was probably the greatest thing to happen to her. “I have nothing to thank for that but you,” she added gratefully, though a tad shy, not knowing if Vesper was one to take kindly to compliments.

Again, Sparrow found herself out of words, and was reminded how difficult it was for her to procure a conversation, but was not overly worried about her inability at that moment. She guessed that the Optio had more ponderings about her that she might not leave without an answer, and so far, the fawn was ready to answer them.

Code by the Mentors!

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#5
[html]
and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming

and the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor

There was a small pause before her sister pushed through the pelt flap and padded down the den, and Vesper noted that she was in her lupus form. For some reason, she had stuck to optime since joining—as far as Ves could see—but she looked a lot more comfortable in her natural shape. She was very pretty, with mottled fawn fur and a petite body, her pale-tipped plume of a tail held behind her. The Optio wasn’t sure if she had expected her to look younger.

Stark croaked softly as the woman glanced at him, but today he was quiet, remaining off to the side to let the sisters talk. He tilted his head and faced away, and Ves knew that he’d pretend not to understand what they were saying. A smile nearly graced her lips before she looked back at her sibling.

“Yeah,” the scarred coyote agreed lightly, looking down at some of the scars on her skinny forelegs. She couldn’t remember where half of them had come from, although most were likely careless snaps during battle. Only a few would be permanently etched into her memory, such as the bites Oliver gave her before his death, or the wounds left by Marcel.

Thoughts of their father made her uncomfortable, so she went on. “I’ve always been a loner at heart, but—Inferni is the only pack that I really respect and believe in. It’s been really different for me, too, but…good.” She smirked as she borrowed her sister’s adjective. Truly, though, she loved the pack despite the conflicts in her heart before her promotion.

The thanks were unexpected, though, and Vesper flattened her ear. “I—you found your way here.” She shrugged and averted her eyes uncomfortably. “I just forced your ass into the clan so the wolves wouldn’t eat you.” She ran her paw lightly around the edge of the stuffed hide, frowning. Normally confident to the point of easy arrogance, she found herself stammering around this girl she should know. Sighing, she gave up on the eloquence and meaningful questions and asked:

“Are you making any friends?”


353

table by raze; pattern by dinpattern



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#6
[html]

occ here

Word Count → 388


While they poke of Inferni, Sparrow thought of her former life—the one that Marcel ruined. As a loner, things were easier; they had only themselves (though Vesper, clear at that age, depended more on herself than anyone else), and no one bothered them, finding no merit with troubling an injured coyote and her two daughters. While Vesper became the independent soul she was made to be, Sparrow clung to Winter, the woman providing a more soothing company than what her sibling could provide when they were young. She had enjoyed the simple life they had, even when at moments it was somewhat difficult; Vesper always provided food, her mother provided company and support, no matter what had happened.

When the memories dwindled to their doomed end, she closed them off. She had Inferni now, and could not focus on the past, but instead help put forth for a better future for the clan. Sparrow returned the Optio’s smirk with a somewhat sly smile, knowing her words were true. Sometimes it still baffled her how she could have settled down, but it made no difference to the fawn—it was obvious this was her place, and did not question it beyond how it came to be.

“Well… I had some help. Someone told me of a cocky coywolf that bested them that headed east. From what he described, it sounded like someone I knew,” she said, half-shy and half-playful in tone. But, she became a bit more solemn at Vesper’s next words. “Again… I have to thank you for that,” she said plainly, resolute on the fact that her sister should accept her gratitude. Though, she wouldn’t force it upon her, but would take on the opportunity to remind her of it if it were to come up again.

When she mentioned friends, she became a little meek. “Well… I guess I am. There are a few people were who are friendly.” Though she considered Myrika a good acquaintance, she was not sure if she had the right to label her as a friend for all the trouble she put the hybrid through. “For a clan whom put skulls on the border… their people are nicer than what I thought, honestly.”

She paused for a moment, and asked herself, a bit curious for the answer, “What about you?”

Code by the Mentors!

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#7
[html]
and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming

and the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor

When the furtive smile leapt onto her mottled sister’s lips, Vesper frowned and twitched an ear. Upon hearing the description that had led her to Nova Scotia, her blue eyes sparkled devilishly, and a smirk crawled across her narrow muzzle. She was somewhat pleased to have had a reputation, although she could have just as easily run into a loner that spoke of a cocky coywolf who’d failed miserably in combat. Many of the wolves she challenged batted her away when she was younger.

“There are so many questions I want to ask about that encounter,” the coywolf said playfully, wondering if she’d remember who she’d beaten; probably not, considering how selfish she used to be. She dropped her amused look and nodded lightly as her sister thanked her again. “You’re welcome,” she managed, more to make her sister drop the subject than anything; she was uncomfortable because she didn’t feel like she deserved such gratitude. After all, Sparrow had little else to thank her for in life, unless one counted deigning to help feed her when they were young.

The mottled female spoke shyly about the clan members she met, and Vesper understood the feeling of not wanting to quite call them friends yet. It was overwhelming for a loner to adjust to pack life, and even then friendship wasn’t always easy.

She laughed at her sister’s remark. “Yeah, much nicer.” She smiled faintly. “I wouldn’t want to be our enemies, though.” Her lips drooped slightly as she admitted, “But Inferni had a lot of war in its past. Even before these strangers. It all happened way before my time, though.” She didn’t want to scare her sister, but the fact of the matter was that the coyote clan would always find trouble. At least she had faith in the warriors that defended it.

When the question was turned back onto her, she was caught off guard and had to grope for an answer. “Me… I have friends. Helotes is one of the Hydras, a scary warrior who makes a great drinking and sparring buddy.” She smirked faintly. “Then… Well, then there are my scouts. I do my best to look after them, and they’re great, the younger ones are. And…” Her mind flickered to Myrika, and her embarrassment was obvious in the downward tilt of her burning ear.



390
vessie blusssshhh

table by raze; pattern by dinpattern



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#8
[html]

Spar will one day grow old and become a gossiping grandma. |: I can vision it now.

Word Count → 357


She sighed in amusement at Vesper’s teasing, and became more comfortable to the point where she allowed herself to relax a bit, shifting her body so that she laid upon the floor to free herself from her upright sit. She felt accomplished as she finally agreed, to an extent, and only the twitch of her tail showed that she was pleased that the sister conformed a little.

“…It doesn’t surprise me that they had, actually,” she replied, staring off into the walls of the den for a moment. “Everyone did not seem as tense as I thought they would be, with all of this going on. It shows that they are used to such things, the hostility at least. The skulls prove as much as well.” While she did not detest their choice of décor, it spoke of what hardships they went through, and that they had prevailed. They will perhaps win again against these wolves, but what worried Sparrow was at what cost they would have to pay; despite not knowing their stories, she knew some of Vesper’s scars must have had their part in this epic. Her feelings towards the Boreas turned a shade darker as that thought went through her mind.

The fawn was glad to hear that the Optio had friends, and listened to her basic descriptions of them. Helotes did not quite strike her fancy for someone whom she wanted to talk to, but Vesper thought otherwise, she guessed, and might’ve not have been as bad as she was imaging him to be. It also seemed that she also had a small group under her own wing, and smiled how fondly she spoke of them. From what she was hearing, all was good with her relations within the clan.

But, what perked her interest the most was when she paused. Quickly, Sparrow knew that they had come to someone, a person that made the brash Vesper silent. “And…?” she repeated, her tone slightly impish. It did not occur to her that Vesper could have met someone, but, now it definitely came to mind, and was eager for her to tell her whom.

Code by the Mentors!

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#9
[html]
and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming

and the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor

Sparrow settled down on the cave floor, and Vesper found herself glad that she’d loosened up a bit. She hated to see her sister timid, both because of her guilt that she’d had a hand in it, and disgust that she was still weak. It didn’t show, but the negative emotion was still there, still lingering in the back of her mind—making her all the guiltier. She wished she could change, since she’d had no problem changing in all the other ways when she joined the fire clan.

Maybe in time, they would truly be able to forgive each other. She knew that time was coming closer and closer with every moment that they talked, and her dark-tipped tail swished across the stuffed hide as she watched her sibling oddly, blue eyes tracing the contours of her wolfish face and petite body. It still amazed her that this was her sister.

She nodded at Sparrow’s observations of the clan’s natural preparation. Really, the senior Inferni members made her feel like a child in comparison. They had taught her that she wasn’t deserving of her cocky attitude quite yet, mostly through the bruises they gave her while sparring.

Her thoughts all trickled away when her sibling prodded her for a name, and Ves cursed herself as she realized she was making a bigger deal of this than she should. If it wasn’t obvious from her pause, her response was making it so. It wasn’t as if she’d suddenly gained a mate or something while Sparrow was away; her friendship with the Tears woman was true, but her so-called courtship clumsy at best. Then again, other than a few flings with womanly strangers, she hadn’t actually been in a serious relationship since Juniper, and that was when she was nothing more than a swaggering teen. She flattened her ears again.

“Myrika,” came a croak from the corner of the den.

“Traitor,” Vesper declared, but she stretched lazily and glanced over at the raven as he bobbed his head.

“Boy liking staring at Myrika,” Stark went on shamelessly. “Too stupid doing anything else.” He quorked and flapped away in case his companion decided to tear out his feathers, landing near the entrance of the den and poking his dark head out of the flap to check on the progress of the territory’s soaking.

“Myrika is really nice,” the one-eared coywolf stated, and glanced at her sibling almost desperately. “You’ve met her, right? She’s nice, isn’t she?”

414
mehh three-fourths of this post is introspection

table by raze; pattern by dinpattern



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#10
[html]

sorry for the poopy post. ; ;

Word Count → 424


Sparrow herself was glad that her “big” sister fancied someone. Though the idea was an unfamiliar thought to be pieced together with the fiery woman, it was one that brought a smile to her face. She guessed she was a romantic at heart, though she never hoped the same for herself; she was just as pleased seeing two lovebirds than to join the flock. Good friends were enough for her to worry over than to have someone close to her heart with the danger that she might one day lose them.

She was so focused on Vesper that she had forgotten about the bird. When it spoke, she had first thought the words came from the tawny hybrid; for a moment she was deeply confused as to how she could have sounded like that. But, she realized that when she addressed Stark that the bird could speak—which did not leave her with any more clarity. Nonetheless, she listened to him, even though it was strange to listen to him talk. When the raven seemed to be finished with sharing his information and fluttered to the entrance, Sparrow took a moment to evaluate it.

For some reason, she was not too surprised that Vesper did not seem to have eyes for a man, nor did she find it odd. Instead, she thought over both Myrika and her sister, how they act, how would they get along. It clicked in her head, for whatever reason, and immediately felt herself liking the idea. “I see…” she mused in a half-reply to Stark, her voice soft in thought.

The mottled woman was surprised that Vesper turned to her, and seemed to know her own opinion of Myri, blinking in confusion at her question. “Y-yeah, she’s nice… She taught me a little how to read.” The historian also helped her more than just that, but she did not imply that there was more; she did not want her sister to find out that she had to visit the woman for support during a moment of weakness. She did not want to ruin any respect that managed to scrap itself that Vesper had for her.

Though she wanted to press Vesper for further answers about her budding feelings, she decided to leave that topic alone; though highly curious about them, it seem to be a developing matter, and if her sister wanted to talk about it, she was there to listen. Sparrow became quite once more, her mind left blank, and stared at a cave wall in her silence.

Code by the Mentors!

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#11
[html]
and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming

and the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor

Sparrow seemed more surprised by the talking bird than her sister’s daydreaming over a woman, but her lack of surprise did not surprise Vesper. Her lips tugged sideways for a moment, and she allowed herself to stare at the raven’s dark back for a while before glancing quickly at her sibling again. Her ear fell back momentarily as the other tried to find an answer for the question, and she took the agreement as approval.

She was reminiscing about how warm and sweet Myri’s breath had been for that one moment when she perked curiously at the word “read.” She latched onto the potential for a topic change immediately, her tail swishing behind her as she asked, “And how is that going?” Her tone did not betray her dislike of human things—she was learning how to shoot a bow same as Sparr, after all—but she managed to look somewhat skeptical.

She cleared her throat after an acceptable pause and looked back to the bird, who’d turned from the deer flap and was watching her with intelligent dark eyes. “I forgot to introduce Stark properly,” she muttered, although she knew he had assisted briefly with the archery stands. “He’s kind of adopted me.” She mentioned this playfully, although the truth ran deeper than that. It was strange to consider a bird her father, but she knew that she played the part of his dead son well enough, and she cared about Stark more than she had her own parents. At least, she felt like she could turn to him when she could turn to no others.

Her brows met momentarily as she looked at her sister, at the suggestion of scars underneath her plush mottled fur. There were questions she wanted to ask, but she did not dare, and instead rested her muzzle on her skinny forelegs again. Thoughts of Marcel never led to a pleasant conclusion.

318
mehh three-fourths of this post is introspection

table by raze; pattern by dinpattern



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[/html]
#12
[html]

Durdur Sparr needs to stop being such a sadface. xc

Word Count → 386


Sparrow as well grabbed onto the change of topic with a bit of eagerness; she was not good at describing things that she told the half-truth about, and did not want to risk further words that may hint at the event she wanted to leave at a close. “It’s actually going well. It’s easy to remember all the letters—the things that are supposed to represent words—and stuff, but it’s the sounds that the hardest part, really. I learned how to spell my name: S-P-A-R-R-O-W.” She took a pause, though it was not a pressed one, for her to go over something in her mind real quick. “And, for example, your name is spelled as V-E-S-P-E-R. Reading has lots of uses beyond that though, you should learn it. Myrika can even help you.” At her last comment, she sort of smirked, but did not directly spoke about the tawny woman, reminding herself that it was still a soft spot for her sister.

The fawn looked towards the bird, looking upon him with new eyes, regarding him as an equal now; it did not take much for Sparrow to respect an individual because of her docile personality, and someone from a different species was no exception. “Greetings,” she said, thinking it was due despite her how long she had been in the den, knowing that the time for salutations had died long ago. She blinked at Vesper’s next statement, and smiled a bit crookedly, though it remained good-natured all the same, and asked, “Does this mean I’m his step-pup, too, now?” Of course, she did not think the answer would be yes; she did not formally know the bird well yet, and she doubted that anyone wanted her to be their child, anyway, except for Winter perhaps, but now she was long gone. But, her expression remained playful.

She felt a little conscious as the Optio looked over her, knowing that she was inspecting more than just her mixed pelt, but made no motion that she felt uncomfortable. Sparrow very well knew what—better yet, whom—she was thinking about, and tore her gaze away from the wall and back at her, and said with a little forced cheer, “Anyway, what have you been up to before Inferni? Well, aside knocking into fights now and then.”

Code by the Mentors!

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#13
[html]
and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming

and the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor

Vesper recognized the word “letter,” and she understood the concept of the symbols being strung together to make something greater by equating it to words in sentences. However, once a string of said letters began to pour from her sibling’s mouth, she was lost. Her expression clearly said so; brows pulled together slightly as her ear fell back against her head, and she looked almost like an overwhelmed child. Her confusion became almost painful at the sound of her own name.

It was the name of the auburn-haired woman that drew her from her mental shutdown, but she only shook her head in answer. Sparrow had picked up on reading and spelling very quickly, it seemed, but Ves knew that she would look stupid going over the same concepts. The last thing she wanted to do was look stupid in front of the object of her affections. Such an imbalance of skill frightened her—and it was not the same as Myrika’s lack of proficiency in fighting compared to her. Even botched sparring turned into playing and touching, and Ves figured she’d look weird doing the same during a reading lesson.

Shaking those images from her head, she watched silently as the petite coywolf addressed Stark. The raven acknowledged her with a pleasant quork but little else; he seemed in his own little world, or perhaps he was just being polite and not eavesdropping on the siblings’ long-due conversation.

Vesper frowned at the other’s question, until she realized that it was just a playful remark, at which point she smiled awkwardly. She still wasn’t sure where she fit in relation to the raven, only that he saw her as his own; her own feelings were still mixed. Unless Stark wanted to adopt Sparrow too, there would be no such bond, and she had her suspicions about the answer to that.

“Is there anything besides knocking into fights?” the scarred coyote asked sinisterly, feigning a hungry glare in her little sister’s direction. Her mirth died down as she thought seriously about the question, and she blinked. “Actually, I hadn’t been up to anything else.” That she had tried to learn about the region while meeting new people was to be expected, and she doubted that Sparr wanted a list of all the canines she’d run into. Besides the actions necessary for survival, she had done nothing but fight, and if she wasn’t physically fighting, she was swapping verbal blows.

“Nothing else,” Vesper repeated, and the epiphany dawned on her. With wide eyes void of anything but this realization, she looked at her sibling. “Was that my life?”

436
and vesper brings the convo back into the realm of depressing

table by raze; pattern by dinpattern



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[/html]
#14
[html]

to be honest, i thought you didn't reply to this thread yet. ; ; sorry for the wait. And, wow, Sparrow being a little... bitter. >>''

Word Count → 423


“No, I guess not,” Sparrow replied, mocking a rather depressed sigh following her words. In reality, these days seemed to be nothing but that from what she heard. But, the thought was far off for the woman, simply enjoying the more or less fun conversation she was sharing with her sister, returning her glare with a desperate one of her own, glancing up at the ceiling with pitiful eyes. The came back down and reverted back to normal as Ves went quiet, thinking about the she question she asked. She frowned at her answer, and said, mostly to herself in a rhetorical term, “There’s got to have been more than that.”

While she herself never got into a fight, she had mildly interesting things happen to her, from meeting foreign canines and concepts and self-discoveries about her. But, she then assumed that must have been nothing for Vesper, meeting many different people from her fights that she did not bother to remember. Her ears pinned against her head as she turned towards her for an answer, unsure what to say. “Well… From the sounds of it, so far,” she murmured frankly, glancing towards the floor and back up again. She added quickly, “Though, things can change. There’s got to be more to life than fighting… I wouldn’t know, though.”

She guessed she had been fighting too, though not the same enemies that her sister had dealt with. Her own nemesis was inside of her, her own mind. Sparrow fought with herself over most things, and lost, and sometimes things were too confusing for her to even continue. She had no one to blame but Marcel, but she saw more than that—his hold on her could have only gotten so far. She just allowed him to hurt her, to morph herself to be her biggest stranger, or at least that were the thoughts that convinced her to be her problem, that it was her fault in the first place.

She fell silent, though it was much deeper than the others that had occurred. There was such an abyss between the two, and Sparrow began to doubt if she would ever become more than just blood to Vesper, not even blaming her if she didn’t. Her heart felt the pain, but her mind numbed it, thinking it childish. She became cold, but the chill was too distant for Vesper to feel the direct wrath of it. “...Sometimes I wonder why Marcel didn’t kill me when he found me. It would’ve made things easier.”

Code by the Mentors!

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#15
[html]
and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming

and the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor

Her sister murmured about fighting, mostly to herself, and although it seemed like she’d missed the scarred woman’s point, Vesper smiled sadly at her and stretched back out on the deer hide bed with her muzzle on her paws. “I know there’s more to life now,” she assured her sibling, her tail sweeping weakly behind her. It was strange to see how far she’d come—from the young scrapper who’d entered the region strutting like a peacock, boasting of her purity and her strengths, to the Optio of a distinguished pack. But it amazed her just as much that she’d been able to exist doing no more than fighting.

The coyote sighed, blue eyes finding her sister’s broom yellow ones. “Both of us changed, and we’ll continue to—for the better.” It was empty comfort, not backed up by proof, but she hoped that it might help her quieter sibling. Her soft musing seemed to have disturbed the mottled brown hybrid, who was in her own little world right now.

And then Sparrow spoke.

Horror contorted the paler female’s face, and she quickly pushed into a sitting position. “Sparrow,” she growled, blinking in disbelief at the fawn before her. Her lip curled, but she wasn’t sure what emotions she was feeling—distress, rage at her father, at her sister, at herself—and she didn’t know what she should be feeling. She had never known what to say to comfort another creature, other than some empty whispers that made her feel like a pathetic liar.

Now, she said nothing, only strode over to her sister’s pathetic form and nudged her head harshly against her shoulder. “Don’t fucking say that,” she hissed, but when she shoved her sibling with her muzzle again to prove her point, her touch became softer—running gently over an ear then resting on top of Sparrow’s head.

“Don’t say that,” Vesper repeated. “I’ll never forgive you if you do.”

322
Sixth hundred post with Vesper! x3

table by raze; pattern by dinpattern



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[/html]
#16
[html]

[/throws confetti] 8D and Sparr is such a sad pants. </3 good thing she has a good sister like Ves.

Word Count → 417


Sparrow did not feel any more sound from her sister’s words, and could not take them to heart. They were simple nothings to the mottled woman, the same thing she would tell herself whenever she felt like giving up. She wanted to believe Vesper—she desperately wished that she could change to become something else than an empty, useless shell of a coywolf. But, the journey that made the change, the things that would end up making or breaking a canine, felt like it wanted to beat her until she just wanted to stop. Again, it was more inner fights, her reasoning going against her instinct to live, and to be reminded of them also reminded her how little she had changed since leaving Marcel.

It seemed that her dark question sparked some emotion in her sister, and part of her wavered as she heard her growl, but remained cold and ignored Vesper at first. She had become quiet, and half of Sparrow was glad that she was able to wallow in her self-pity in a moment of silence. But, the other half of her felt ashamed for even bringing Marcel up and her own wonderings that were more or less disturbing; it was obvious that her words had upset her sister in some way, and did not want her to be concerned in any way possible, but the slip of her tongue did not allow that.

The hybrid kept still, ears remaining pinned against her head, as the Optio began to butt her with her head. She winced, but not at her rough nudge, but at her words; she may have become distant, but Vesper’s words still cut across her mind. She was confirmed that she had made her angry, and wondered if she would start shoving her out into the rain, not wanting to speak to her again. But, her touch became less aggressive, and even became somewhat loving. Sparrow could not remember the last time she received physical comfort that she did not shy away from, and did not move away an inch from her sister.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, which was all she could do to stop herself from choking out her words; her own anger at herself faded at Vesper’s comfort, and it left her with sadness and regret that she had provoked the tawny woman. “It’s just… hard. Everything is hard.” Her words were barely explanatory for her actions, but she hoped that she could at least understand just a little.

Code by the Mentors!

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#17
[html]
and his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming

and the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor

Vesper had never had a problem with self-esteem. Since she was a puppy, she carried herself with an arrogant swagger and believed herself to be the best she could possibly be. However, even when her world was knocked down and reduced to a world of blood and pain, she never wanted to die. She had a survival drive that was almost feral, and now she knew she’d kill anyone who would threaten the safety of herself and those she cared about.

That included Sparrow, who still did not have the same strength. It had been blasphemy for her to speak of her death, however, and Ves did not regret the harshness with which she’d spoken. A wild thought flashed across her mind for an instant—that she might attack the woman, fight her until she fought back and drew blood from her scarred body. But she marked it as savage folly, and gentleness came instead.

“Life is hard,” Vesper murmured in cool agreement. “But you are here now. You’re with the coyotes of Inferni. Nothing’s harder than us.” She nipped lightly at her sibling’s scruff, but when she withdrew, it was with the hint of a smile; only a slight hesitation in her blue eyes showed that she wasn’t completely confident with her words this time. “You made it here. You survived that long; you’re surviving through war.” She blinked slowly. “I’d go as far to guess that you’ve survived through worse circumstances than I have.”

And even if she hadn’t, if the blood shed by the stronger sister was greater than her sister’s, the mental and emotional turmoil would balance that. Sparrow was a weak pup, and yet she was here; it must have been a tougher journey than the independent coywolf, even if the latter had been carried unconscious and bleeding into the realm of blood and fire.

She flicked an ear. “I’ve said all I can,” she admitted, at last sounding sure of her statement. “If you need… If you need somebody, I’m here. And you can stay until the rain lets up.” She had a feeling that wouldn’t be until late, but whether or not the hours were spent in conversation or silent sleep, she didn’t know or care. She gave her little sister a tentative lick on the ear then stepped back over to the deer hide bed, circling thrice then settling down.

398
Vessie is tryyyyingg. ;__;

table by raze; pattern by dinpattern



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[/html]
#18
[html]

sorry for the crappyness. ; ;

Word Count → 388


She felt some comfort as Vesper continued to do calming things; gentle touches, spoke soft words of encouragement. Sparrow’s vivid emotions dwindled until they lacked their harshness, though their stinging lingered. But, she did not allow them to bother her as she returned her sister’s small smile after her nip, her lips barely curving to show the ghost of a grin. “I guess there isn’t,” she agreed, “Inferni seems to have hearts of stone.” She was kidding, but there was some half-truth in her words; the clan as a majority was strong-willed and tough, but it was coupled with a form of unmerciful coldness when it came to the things they hated that did not allow sympathy or other emotions that would make one weak. She guessed that one day she would become like them, having the history to give just reason, but at that moment her heart was made of sand, easily crumpled and molded.

The hybrid did not respond to her second statement, knowing that her silence was answer enough. Perhaps one day they would be able to speak more about Sparrow’s past without regret, anger, and pain, but it was not that rainy day. All Vesper could do was assume and guess until the right time came.

Sparrow never thought of her strong, the opposite seeming to make the most sense. But, when the other spoke of her survival, she began to think that she had been underestimating herself; she had went to the hell that was their father and back, and she had somehow managed to live long enough to arrive to Inferni and fond her sister. Maybe, in some sort of weird sense, she was just as strong as Vesper, but she found it hard to believe. Still, she wondered about it.

She turned her head a bit as her sibling spoke again, and murmured, “You’ve said all that needed to be said.” She had made her realized that she needed to stop thinking about the “what if”s, among many other things. Sparrow’s smile became slightly fuller at Vesper’s last words, watching her lay back down in her skins, and settled her own head back on her paws. “Thank you,” the mottled coywolf replied, and added, “For everything.” While she appreciated the shelter from the rain, she was grateful for more than that.

Code by the Mentors!

<style>
.sparrowaly-2 { background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/NAezl.png); background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position: top center; background-color:#201b0c; width:500px; margin:0px auto; text-align: left; padding:415px 0px 10px 0px; color:#635321; font-family:georgia, serif; font-size:12px; line-height:18px; border:1px solid #FFFFFF; outline:1px solid #000000;}
.sparrowaly-2 b {color:#df982b; }
.sparrowaly-2 p { text-indent:40px; padding:5px 15px; margin:0px; }
.sparrowaly-2 p.ooc { font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:11px; }
.sparrowaly-2 .name { font-size:45px; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-transform:uppercase; text-align:right; margin:0px 45px 15px 0px; color:#FFFFFF; text-shadow:#000000 2px 2px 1px; }
p.template-credit {text-indent:0px; text-align:center; font-size:10px; font-style:italic; width:425px; text-align:center; margin:0px auto;}
.sparrowaly-2 .wordcount {color:#635321; letter-spacing:0px; font-size:11px; font-weight:bold; text-align:right; padding:0px 5px; text-transform:uppercase; margin:0px 15px 15px 15px;}
</style>[/html]


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