[M] [P] Pain is a God.

Kaena Lykoi · 08-11-2010, 06:34 AM

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WARNING This thread contains: strong language, drug usage, strong violence, or strong sexual content starting with the 1st post. Reader discretion is advised.

Hrnnngh. 325

Every inch of the silver-shaded coyote ached, and yet she had dragged herself out of the cave in the night for necessity. She had to move, and though her step was slow, the old woman was regaining her strength. It was happening slower than it would have in her younger years; she might have already been up and moving days ago, but the week after the attack had been rather touch and go. She had slept through most of it, and the silver-shaded coyote remembered little of it. There was a stranger, a wolf from Phoenix Valley—she remembered this clearly, though she could not yet recall his name. Kaena owed her life to him, she had begrudgingly realized.

It was not the first time the Centurion had owed her ability to breathe to a wolf; she should have been used to such a thing by now, but alas, she was not. It simply did not sit well with her, though she figured wolves were unlikely to consider their debts good to a coyote. Had the silver-shaded woman less value for her life at this point, she would not have cared, and she would not have been good for such a promise—now she had something for which to live, and part of that was peace. He was gone, for now—he had not been buried, rather dismembered, and he was gone.

The coyote woman did not profess to know what awaited her beyond this life, and so she could not certainly say whether he was gone for good. He might await her on the other side, a demon lurking and awaiting his turn. He would not be the only one, then—there were others with debts on her that were nearly a decade old, she realized with a slow smile, moving slowly to nowhere in particular. Though it pained her, she needed the reassurance that her muscles still operated as they were supposed to.

Lucia Cabriel · 08-16-2010, 03:19 PM

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WC: 711.

It was still dark, though it would not be long until the sun reared its ugly head. The sky, in all its blackened glory, was already beginning to surrender to the many shades of gold, pink and red. Daybreak would soon sweep over the landscape like a plague, and reveal all the ugliness of the world for another day. A humid sweat swallowed everything, the trees almost appearing to melt in the heat of it all, shade a kind beast when it could be found. As the shadows began to shrink, shade a lesser pleasure to that of the morning sun, there was a strange trail over the dirt and sand of the Inferni borders. Blood… A small trail of droplets had begun to dry, lumps forming as it had seemed to fuse itself to the ground. Though, as they had seemed to get closer and closer to the borders, the droplets had increased in size, and the sparsely placed trees bore the marks of injury – nails had been drawn down their barks, as though someone seeking their strength, and smears of crimson painted their skins in smudges – there had been pain around here today, a lot of it, yet for those not looking, the receiver of such, would not be seen.

Sharp, short breaths came from an obsidian maw, each breath drowning in the rattle of pain and discomfort. Malachite eyes half-closed, blurred from tears stared blankly over the horizon, their once wild fire now a mere spark, dimmed from the agony in which stole the female’s face. Her jaw, swollen and bruised; blood dribbling like saliva over her lips and tangling in her pelt. One arm grasping across her middle, as though a failed attempt to make breathing easier, Lucia’s body lay slumped against one of the border poles. There was irony in the situation, it seemed – for the pole in which Lucia had collapsed against gave home to a wolf skull, which seemed to almost sparkle in the morning light.

Her scent, once strongly of Inferni, had become drenched in the odour of blood, alcohol, and a strange male – wolf, for sure. It had occurred to Lucia that maybe it was her time to pass, that this was the way things were supposed to go – however, such a thought had just increased the Inferni Outsider’s ambitions. She had stumbled, and fallen, her way all the way to the borders of her clan, and though her face was swollen on one side, and her lip split in several places, she had not faired too bad after all.

Laying there, her shoulder torn open by her own blade, a gift from Daisuke, Lucia had not bothered to use that arm. Though now, as she felt herself beginning to lose consciousness, it seemed a perfect time to induce a little more pain into her system. Shifting her glassy, fragile gaze to her rucksack, which at the time, she had almost forgotten to retrieve, a small grimace stole her distended façade. It seemed so far away from her, as it had slipped from her aching fingers when she collapsed. Inhaling deeply, a snarl escaping from her frail maw as pain rattled her to the core, Lucia lifted her once almost-numb and bleeding arm.

A half-scream, half-growl shrieked into the empty silence of the borders. Lucia pushed herself forward, stretching out the dagger-violated arm toward the straps of her bag. Finally, after what seemed like minutes, she grabbed them and felt herself tumble back against the pole. “Fuck…” she wheezed to herself, her grip tightening around her chest, and the bag now resting in her lap. Glancing around, it was clear that soon enough she would slip into the world of unconscious nightmares – all she could see was his face, all she could hear was his rants. He was her nightmare, and as she went to retrieve a cigarette from the bag, her body just gave up. There was no warning, just a sharp rattle of pain, and those once fiery malachite coals rolled back into her skull. The obsidian female went limp, unconscious and in pain. Now she was a prisoner to Daisuke again, as the events that had just given her these wounds played over and over again in her mind.

Kaena Lykoi · 08-23-2010, 08:17 AM

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Word Count :: 385

The borders needed attending to, the hybrid thought in her half-dazed madness. The coyote woman was still hurting to hell, and she could have taken the evening off—even so, she was beginning to heal, and this was an excuse for her to push her body. She believed movement would heal her quicker, the backwards and old beliefs of a canine raised far before basic medical advice had made itself common. Now, most canines knew rest was better that exertion, and most canines knew that salt water soaks were next to useless. Even so, the silver-shaded woman had lived this long by her principles, and she was not one that was easy to change.

A sound shattered the relative quiet, and the hybrid's ears, one perfect and still intact, the other tattered and torn, rolled toward the source, her single golden-yellow eye narrowing in suspicion. It was a sound of pain, the coyote recognized that much—heading forward at as quick a pace as her injuries would allow, she soon caught the distinctive scent of blood on the air. This hurried her more, and she dragged her injured leg a bit, stumbling over a branch as she went, catching herself before falling. A grumble emanated from the woman's throat, but she hardly paused to consider herself; the scent of blood was rather thick now, and she had identified the one beneath it. Why was Lucia hurt? The hybrid woman did not think anyone in Inferni would be stupid enough to attack her—she could always be proven wrong, however, and the leadership's retribution would be swift—she would be sure of that.

Wolf or not, Lucia was a member of the clan, and she would be treated as such—the silver-shaded coyote would punish anyone who acted with any other intentions, no doubt. Gabriel was an honorable man, and the hybrid woman knew him damn well enough to know he felt the same—if he had accepted the sable-shaded wolf to Inferni, he thought her deserving of their protection and companionship. Heading forward, the hybrid finally saw the woman, sprawled across the ground. She was unshifted from the fight, still in her hulking Secui form—shifting would be impossible until she was more healed. “Lucia,” the coyote called, her voice gruff and thick with worry.

Lucia Cabriel · 08-23-2010, 08:52 AM

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WC: 573.

Minutes felt like hours. Each whistling bird song blended in with the next, and there was little recognition of the world around her. Lucia, still only half conscious, could not even tell whose scent had wafted into her nostrils. All she knew was that she prayed it wasn’t Daisuke coming to finish the job, although some remote wrinkle in her brain whispered quietly, reminding her that she had made it to the borders, and if he were to attack now, it would be a death sentence. Even Snake would not be able to save him from that.

Opening her ebony eyelids as much as she could, a constant blinking from the tears building in her eyes, she snarled again. Her voice was quiet, and broken – distorted from the aching in her ribcage. That had been where he had sat on her, pushed her into the sand, somehow hoping to suffocate her in the wastes. Still with an arm around her waist, she attempted to push herself up, wanting to see who, or what, had come nearby. It failed, miserably. Collapsing almost instantly, the ebony female hissed painfully, her face wrinkled with disgust. Not so much at her injuries, but at herself; deep down, some part of her brain laughed at her, told her to be stronger. It called her weak, it called her pathetic, but most of all, it called her nothing.

Lying in the dust, Lucia could feel the tug of darkness pulling at her skull again. She could taste blood in her mouth, the bittersweet taste of defeat in her heart – she wanted to curl up and die, she didn’t want to face it. Her lover’s stalker had won this round, and he had tortured her good and proper. The bruises on her face throbbed, the cuts on her lips still bleed – droplets clotting into balls in the dirt beneath her. Coughing harshly, a mixture of blood and tar in her saliva, she finally caught glimpse of a blurry outline. Somebody was here.

Lifting an obsidian arm, she reached out feebly, trying to signal her position. “Help,” she croaked, giving up her pride. If she didn’t catch this coyote’s attention, no doubt she would lose consciousness again. She couldn’t go back there, she wouldn’t go back there – his face, his words; screaming in her head, flashing images that just wouldn’t stop. He had gotten into her brain, into her veins; he had fractured her soul good and proper. It wasn’t clear whether that was his intention, but Lucia knew that the only reason she still breathed now was Snake. Daisuke’s love for him had kept her alive. For the most part, she was thankful for that at least.

As the blurry shillohette limped closer, the scent became clearer through the stench of blood. It was Kaena, the coyote she had met on her first time passing the Inferni borders. “Kaena…” she wheezed, trying to lift her head to look at the Centurion, “Thank god you’re…” she paused, mid-sentence, as her vision straightened out. It was clear that Kaena had been in a battle not long ago, she appeared to limp, and was in her secui form. “What!?” she remarked, shock in her voice, “You’re injured! What…” Her body shook violently, a snarl erupting from the pits of her stomach. The pain was almost unbearable; her shoulder burning from the symbol Daisuke had carved into it with her own dagger. “What happened…?”

Kaena Lykoi · 08-25-2010, 08:17 PM

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The form of the sable outsider was sprawled, bleeding, torn in places. If Kaena had missed the slight rise and fall of the woman's chest, she might have thought Lucia was dead. The coppery smell of blood was too thick in the air for the scarred Centurion to scent a culprit; but such things were not quite so important now. She had to help Lucia first—later she could punish the wrongdoers responsible for this. Stepping forward, the coyote leaned in, whispering the other woman's name with increasing volume. “Lucia. Lucia? Lucia!”

At long last, there was a stirring from the sable woman, her eyelids fluttering back to expose eyes an unearthly shade of toxic green. She was disoriented and beat to shit, but already the wolf inquired about the Centurion. “Don't worry about me,” she said, sounding far more gruff than she had intended. The scarred coyote smiled faintly in apology for her momentary sharpness. “We'll take care of you first before we worry about me,” she added, trying to comfort the woman with kind words and gestures. The last thing either of them needed was for Lucia to struggle or fight; this looked quite bad as it was, and the scarred woman did not want the situation to escalate any further.

“Can you move? Walk?” the hybrid asked. “Don't try yet, just answer,” the coyote added quickly, not wanting for Lucia to try to move too quickly. Her single eye roved over the outsider's injuries once again, wondering who might have done such a thing.

Lucia Cabriel · 09-01-2010, 06:46 AM

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WC: 643.
Apologies for the wait -.- <3

She had heard the words, though they were distorted – cracked and thin in her auds, as her skull throbbed. She could feel the bruising around her jaw line; she could taste the sweet copper of her own blood. Daisuke had shown pure rage in his attack, though for some reason or another, had chosen to spare her. Whether it was purely to keep Snake in his life, or to just enjoy finishing her off at a later date, Lucia wasn’t sure. Either way, she was thankful for the small mercy, but was certain she would not show as much when they met again, as she was sure they would.

Groaning slightly at the sound of Kaena’s voice, shivering as another shock of pain shook her muscles, the ebony female lifted her head to face the Centurion. She wanted to interrupt, adamant to discover what had happened to the sable female, but from the sharpness in her voice, Lucia held back. There was too much trouble in the air already, without Lucia’s pride getting in the way. In all honesty, she was just thankful someone had found her, and even more so that is was Kaena. “I’m okay…” the ebony female rasped quietly, avoiding the higher ranking female’s gaze. It was no secret, Lucia was a casual liar, often fabricating things in benefit for herself, or others that she cared about, but today she couldn’t keep up the act. Her masquerade failed miserably, and it was clear, she was far from okay. Sighing, a soft shake of her head, she caught the Centurion’s eyes once more, and frowned. She was battered, and bruised, but what hurt the most was her pride. She had let Daisuke get one over on her, she hadn’t fought back – not that she had much of a chance to really, but still, it stung to have someone see her like this, and what burnt the most was the idea that Snake would have to see it – sooner or later, for no doubt, Kaena would inform him of the matter as soon as physically possible.

“Alright… I’m not okay,” she finally admitted, her throat raw from dehydration, and the constant swallowing of blood from the cuts across her maw. “But I can move, I think.” She lifted an arm to try, but her attempt was cut short by the words of the scarred hybrid. Pausing in motion, Lucia glanced back up at the woman standing over her. For some reason, the ebony wolf felt angry. There was rage building in her stomach, boiling over like an old fashion kettle left on the stove too long. Eventually the whistle would blow, but for now, it remained silent, steaming over, and ready to blow. “I’m going to kill him,” she snarled under her breath, momentarily zoning out from the situation. Lucia had fallen back into a state of disorientation, picturing Daisuke’s face in her mind. There was a small snarl forming on her tongue, but it fell out in the form of hateful words; words which had a promise to them, and a deeper meaning. “I am going to get Daisuke for this. That jealous bastard…” She paused, as though realizing she had company again. Her frown still remained on her lips, and those toxic green eyes beginning to well up with tears. It had been a long time since she had cried, a long time since emotion had gotten the better of her. But in all honesty, Lucia was worried. She feared she would lose Snake to this violent stalker who had scarred her shoulder with his mark, who had contemplated killing her. She feared that he would win, and that was something she could never allow. Keeping her eyes low, hiding the falling tears from her coals, Lucia sighed painfully. “What am I going to tell Snake…? What should I do?”

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Kaena Lykoi · 09-07-2010, 04:39 AM

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360

The coyote woman did not know what to do. She was no healer; she possessed no magical skill which would heal Lucia's wounds and mend her bloodied flesh. As the woman tried to tell Kaena she was alright, the hybrid made a stern face, circling around her once more in an attempt to assess the full extent of the damage. Her golden-yellow eye was wide with fright and fear; whoever had done this might still be lurking nearby, and what use was this pair of lame women, both battered beyond recognition? “No you're not,” the hybrid woman said, this time stern and intending to sound it—it was easy enough for the sable woman to agree after a moment.

The silver-shaded coyote did not wish for Lucia to die here. She was still a member of Inferni, wolf or not, and the hybrid woman was not only bound by duty, she owed it to Snake. He had saved Vieira from certain doom, though maybe by now the girl was nothing more than a pile of bones in the woods herself. Kaena did not know how the pale canine would survive in the open wilderness, but she hoped Vieira would anyway. “Who?” the hybrid asked, recieving no immediate response; Lucia seemed distant, her eyes filling with a brilliant yellow-green flame. Kaena did not fear for herself; she did not think Lucia would attack, but it was still disconcerting, to say the least, to see such a thing in the woman's face.

Her ears pricked upwards at the woman's words, not recognizing the name; her single eye searched the other canine's face and gestures for clues, even inhaling once more to try and catch a scent—still, the only thing left in the air was blood. “We should call Snake now,” the hybrid said gently as Lucia returned, refraining from comment, trying not to push and pry. When Lucia was ready to speak the name of the culprit, she would. “I don't know what else to do but that,” the Centurion admitted. She did not know how to stop the bleeding, and Snake would be able to provide proper care for Lucia.

table by kahilli

Lucia Cabriel · 09-13-2010, 06:05 PM

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WC: 1,296. <3

It would appear that her attempt to pretend everything was okay had failed. Kaena had seen right through it, the words escaping the coyote’s mouth causing Lucia to wince, tail flicking uncomfortably beneath her. Her ears curled back against her head momentarily, as though resembling a daughter being scolded, and those emerald coals stared shamefully at the blood-spotted earth. Though a strange reaction, it was not unexpected. Lucia had little link with the memory of her family, and even less respect for it – she had watched her mother die at the paws of her father, and she had slain her father in cold blood. She supposed, for whatever reason, Kaena resembled a glimmer of what a mother should be like – the first friendly face Lucia had stumbled upon when she had sought to join Inferni, and the only one to understand fully why she had done such things. She understood Lucia, unlike the majority, and so, the ebony wolf found comfort in the Centurion’s presence, a small spark of admiration forming in that very moment, as Lucia lay there, bleeding and bruised, watched over by the very woman who had helped her join the pack in the first place.

“Shit…” breathed the ebony female, unable to form a better response to the stern words of the motherly coyote. She couldn’t hold her gaze, nor could she work her brain properly. She wanted to speak, say something insightful, but all that could be found was pain… a lot of pain – and even more hatred for herself. She couldn’t recall the night’s events fully, nor could she figure out how she had let herself get into this situation. Why hadn’t she fought back, and why hadn’t she stayed to get him back… Wait, she knew why. An image of Snake blurred over her tear-lined optics, and the ebony female growled quietly. Love seemed pointless; it seemed like a stupid reason to be like this. She hated feeling it, she hated its existence. She wanted it to go, she wanted it to disappear, and she wanted the meeting of her and Snake to have never happened. Then this pain would go away, this situation wouldn’t have happened, and Lucia could have done her usual thing – drink, be alone and fade into the night. Oh, wait. She did that any way. Nothing had changed.

“Okay… I’m not alright.” Her words trailed off, blending in with Kaena’s own words. She had inquired about the name that Lucia spoke – though she couldn’t remember what she had said. “Huh?” A confused look filtered over the obsidian maw of the Inferni Outsider – she couldn’t remember speaking, or the name she had said. “I… err,” she stuttered, looking around frantically as though having walked into a brick wall. There was frustration in her eyes, anger in her heart – why couldn’t she remember? What had happened tonight? Damn them all to hell, and damn Daisuke too. Even if his name wasn’t in her memory anymore, she would find him – she knew he loved Snake, so she was sure that if Snake found her, he wouldn’t be too far behind. It was only a matter of time, revenge would be hers. She would kill him if it was the last thing she lived for. He deserved to die, he deserved to suffer – and she would make him suffer like never before. Oh, how the images of tearing his throat out brought warmth to her heart, and made her smile – inside, of course. The agony in her nerve-endings prevented such displays of emotion. Her face became a twisted canvass of pain and distaste, and Lucia turned back to Kaena. She felt so useless, so pathetic – did Kaena see her in the same light? Paranoia was a bitch.

“I… I can’t remember. Fuck!” There was depression in her eyes, the fiery passion had faded and blown away in the wind. All she could think about was how Snake would respond to seeing her like this – would he turn his back and scoff at her? Would he see her as a weak link because she hadn’t stood her ground? It scared her, terrified her more than she could even comprehend. She couldn’t allow Daisuke to win, even if he had escaped her memory – she remembered his face, his scent… that was all that mattered. If he loved Snake as much as he claimed, surely her lover would know the male. If he did, maybe he would allow Lucia the gift of tearing out his beating heart. Or, maybe, just maybe – Snake loved him back. What if they were in it together? What if… Lucia’s brain felt like it would explode. She wanted to punch something, kill something – she wanted to drink herself into a coma. This was all too much to handle, this paranoia – this pain. Oh, how her ribs ached.

“I’m sorry… I can’t remember what I said!” Lucia finally admitted, her pride evaporating into the air like a plume of frozen carbon dioxide. “Snake knows him though…” She added quietly, a flare of hate on her tongue. The jealousy was rising, could Kaena tell? Could she relate? “…The creepy son-of-a-bitch is obsessed with Snake, claims to love him, and all that shit! Has Snake mentioned him to you?” There was a pleading light in her toxic coals. Begging the Centurion for a scrap of information, a particle of comfort that someone knew what she was talking about. She waited, as patiently as she could – staring emptily at the female. She couldn’t breathe properly, she couldn’t think. Her lungs throbbed, her heart slammed against her ribcage; every muscle burned, and she could feel a tickle in her throat. This was irritating – this was love.

Raising her arm, the ebony female coughed – blood dribbled down her chin. Her eyes had begun to squint, the swelling pushing them back; vision blurred, and her blood across her face. There was hatred in the beating she had received – that was clearer than any blue sky. This was an unspoken war, and Lucia would have to pull out the big guns. But, that would come later – much later. The element of surprise was her friend in that method, though such methods could be considered madness… after all, crazy she was, and that would show more and more now that Daisuke had released the beast within her. If only she knew the damage, the permanent scars. It was deeper than the bruises, deeper than the veins in which were exposed and leaking – it was the trigger of the .44, the button to the nuclear bomb; Lucia’s inner-demon had been revealed, and had tasted life. It was the start of her own personal hell, and she didn’t even know it. Oh, how the pain would grow. How she would suffer in the name of love.

“Okay… If we have to…” Her voice mumbled, almost inaudible, as she looked to the ground shamefully. Lucia didn’t want him to see her like this – but it had to be done. It was protocol; it was the joy of being in a pack. He would see her – he would hate it. Would he leave her? She would soon find out. “Will he hate me?” Lucia blurted out, finally. The paranoia had become too much. Lucia’s crying eyes met Kaena’s – the ebony wolf seemed so innocent, so scared; this wasn’t the same female who had strolled over the borders, nor was it the same wolf who had seduced her soldier on the shorelines that day. Where had that woman gone? Why had Daisuke done this? It was a screwed up situation, and it was clear as the sky itself, Lucia was well and truly fucked up. “Do you think he will leave me for being such a weak, pathetic fuck up?”

Kaena Lykoi · 10-15-2010, 06:35 AM

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Hrmm. Snake is on NPC status for now; we could freeze the thread for now or go back and forth with these two a little bit? :< Not sure, whatever you'd like to do. :> Maybe Alex would be alright with us PPing Snake? Iunno, I'll ask her if you want~

For what motherly love the silver-shaded hybrid had been shown in her lifetime, she should not have been anything near a good mother. The woman who had given birth to her had done nothing but abuse her and her siblings—Kaena was the lucky one, the only one to survive that. After Delphine's death, however, there was only more torment awaiting her under the hand of her father's new woman, Sabryne. Kaena's mutt blood was a sin, an abomination, something ugly and black and terrible—whatever words Sabryne could use to hurt, she did. For her failures as a mother, the silver-shaded hybrid had never been anything close to abusive. She had nearly killed Kerberos and Maeryn with neglect, but she had seen her failure in that, and she had deposited them somewhere she thought would keep them safe. Maeryn had disobeyed this, and the daughter's choice to follow her very mother had ended her.

There was sudden panic in the sable woman, and the silvery hybrid nearly drew back, recoiling in fear of being struck or bitten in the furious moments of confusion accompanying such grievous trauma. She did not, however, and remained firmly planted beside Lucia, working her hand over the woman's own hand after assuring it was free of injury, clasping onto it. “It's okay, calm down. Daisuke: Snake will know him, or you'll remember, or we'll track him down,” the hybrid said, trying to reassure the sable-shaded woman from her anxiousness. Tracking him down was not as important as getting the Outsider care, however—the ash-hued coyote was smart enough to know that. “I don't think so,” the coyote said, her own features twisting with confusion. She would have remembered such a story, she thought, but in the panic of the moment the hybrid was not certain. Her own thoughts were panicky and strained.

Though the silver-furred woman might have grown impatient, she reigned in her impulses and forced a strained smile, shaking her head. “No. You didn't do anything to deserve this,” the coyote said, certain of that. Lucia was nothing but polite and generous; their initial meeting on the western edge of Inferni stuck prominently in the silver-furred coyote's mind. “This isn't your fault. He wouldn't,” the hybrid said, stiffly moving to tuck her arm around Lucia. She was hurting herself, but they had to move from here, at the very least—staying so close to the border with two hurt women was asking for trouble, whether the devil Haku was extinguished or not. With this new attacker out there, they could not afford to be lax in vigilance. Gritting her teeth, the hybrid moved to prop Lucia up, when she ceased moving. Something she herself said had struck her.

Not her fault. None of this was Lucia's fault. It had not been any failure on the sable-shaded woman's part to fail in vigilance; it had not been any poor judgment on her part for leaving the coyote clan's territory. She was, after all, a wolf—she could easily return to wolf society at any time; Inferni-smelling or not, some of the packs would have taken her as she was. The madness of her attacker had struck seemingly at random, but here he was, motivated by some desire to be with or have Snake for himself. Could the same be said for her and Haku?

Word Count: 561

Lucia Cabriel · 10-19-2010, 04:30 PM

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WC: 535. Sorry for the wait, have replied to your inbox msg also Smile

Lucia stared blankly at the femme in front of her. She seemed to tower above the puissant form of the ebony outsider, who had taken refuge in the foetal position on the ground. The pounding of her heart felt like bullets through her chest with each beat, the pressure marks which had once resided on her stomach now bruising beneath her fur. Lucia’s eyes began to fade again, their spark no longer dancing happily as it had done the last time these two women had met. Now, all that remained was the cold glassy glimmer of hate and loathing, for both the male who had hurt her, and for herself – for she had clearly not been strong enough to prevent such a situation from occurring.

The silence had flowed between them gracefully, a strange contrast but it allowed Lucia time to gather her thoughts. She had begun to panic at the concept of losing her lover, but with this new found space in the moment, she could feel her nerves settling and her sanity beginning to return. Watching the hybrid, Lucia tilted her head slightly, a grimace of pain on her face – movement hurt for the time being, and though at the time it had seemed not so bad, the beating clearly was more severe than she first thought.

It had occurred to the ebony female that in her moment of madness, the panic shortly before, that the woman had retreated slightly. Dropping her auds to her skull, Lucia stared guiltily at the female who wished to help her. The sensation of her hand entwined with the grey woman’s felt reassuring, relaxing – almost a cure to the pain she felt inside. “I’m sorry,” whispered the dark she-wolf quietly, her voice no louder than the faint buzz of a bee as it danced from flower to flower, making the world go round. “I didn’t mean to scare you – I just,” she paused, dropping her gaze, her head following. She looked so pitiful. “—I just don’t know how to think, what to feel… I’m lost in this agony, and all I can seem to think about is revenge. Why would someone do this?” She frowned to herself, trying to fit the pieces together. “If he loves Snake as much as he claimed, why let me live? The shame? The bitterness? I don’t understand his tactics – do you?”

Their conversation was cut short however – Lucia’s words jammed by the sudden burst of pain that shot through the spine of the ebony prowler. Crying out, a snarl in her scream of pain, the outsider felt Kaena’s arm slide around her. “Damn,” she hissed, not intentionally sounding harsh, but the distortion clear as her body began to throb throughout. “That was not something I want to experience again,” Her voice had a lightheartedness to it – she didn’t want to be ungrateful to the mother of the Aquila. It wasn’t just that though, Lucia knew that. Lucia knew that she considered this female a friend, and whether the feelings were returned or not, it mattered not. She was just grateful to have someone. After all, Snake had been absent in her life for some time now.

“Where are we going?”

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