OOC Sorry for making you guys wait! wc 874

Neither of them were as childish? Apparently the Capitano didn't know the Takekuro woman as well as he thought.

Orin wasn't her usual perky self when Shawchert came to her door. In times past she would playfully chastise him for knocking and drill it into him that he was welcome to walk inside whenever he so desired. But after the fight with Sky, Orin had locked herself in her bookstore, barricading the doors and sealing herself up from the outside world. She knew some of the pack had witnessed the fight and now her business was the talk of the town... or so she suspected. Although she loved a good story and a bit of drama, she much preferred it when it was fantasy, or at least not about her. What did the pack think? What did they have to say about it? She didn't want to know, but she couldn't keep herself from imagining. Maybe they would forget about it soon enough, but not until after Orin threw a warranted fit over the ordeal.

The small wolfess had had an astounding revelation while warring with the Katruk girl. Although she fought that day for herself and for Shawchert, she realized in that key moment that she did not love Shawchert. Well, did not love him the way Sky clearly did. And for that she despised Sky all the more, because she knew she would let her first lover go, and should he so choose she would be freeing him into the arms of this... crazy bitch. Yet still, if anyone understood that love made you do crazy things, it should be Orin. What with her obsession with books and most certainly plays, especially certain Shakespeare classics like Romeo and Juliet.

Hmm... Juliet is a pretty name...

Still, Orin was stubborn by nature. Despite her difficult youth she had grown up being handed just about anything she could ask for. Her brother would have torn out his eyes for his sister and though she knew this deep down, she did not always realize the gravity of his devotion. He bore the weight and burden while she was allowed to protect her mind from the harsh reality of their childhood in books and fantasy. She did not mean to be ungrateful, and every day she knew she had Niro to thank for her survival, but she had also grown accustomed to this catering to her own needs. She was giving to others... but if her desires were crossed, she was apt to throw a hissy over it. Every fiber of her being planned to now.

She knew Shawchert had felt the same way she did when he failed to show up at her bookstore the night of the fight... the night after their evening together. She had felt a pang of sadness and loss but it was not the devastating heartache that a denied love would have delivered. That night she had accepted reality – that she and Shawchert were not in love, were not meant to be. Her logical mind could accept that... but lets face it, her logical mind was not her dominant side.

Orin had removed the blockade from her doors by the time Shawchert had decided to summon her and Sky for their mutual punishment for the fight, and so he met with no resistance when he arrived at her bookstore. She greeted him with indifference, and merely nodded at his summons. She waited in her bookstore for a minute, steeling herself. She did not know what was worse – facing Shawchert and receiving her punishment before they could talk, or having to be anywhere within sixty feet of Sky.

I shouldn't hate her. If I had read about her I would have rooted for her. But all her rationalizing wouldn't change a thing. After all, she didn't hate Sky, she just didn't want to let anyone off the hook too soon.

After ample time passed, she slipped out of her store and headed over to the building Shawchert indicated. Sky was already there, and she could not help the electricity that jolted her heart at the sight of the woman who attacked her. It was not quite fear and it was not quite hate... but it certainly was not a burst of joy at the sight of the woman, either.

She approached the two in silence, her golden eyes scanning the building and materials before them. She glanced at Shawchert, considered ignoring Sky completely, then finally gave a simple, curt, diplomatic nod to the woman. She was about to make a comment about not turning your back if Sky had a hammer, but managed to bite that one back at least. That would probably be hazardous to her health. She stared blankly at the materials for a minute before looking at Shawchert again. The next thing she said came out brisk, deadpan, and as though there was no business more important than the question, “Did you happen to bring my shawl with you?”

Yes. The question was a reminder to the both of them of the night she and Shawchert spent together, yet it was also a question that neither of them could blame or accuse her over either.

OOC OMFG! Shaw, that is like the best idea ever! I just went on in chat about how rad that punishment is. hahahaaa! wc 1021

What?! Wait! No! Hold the phone! Stop the presses! This was absolutely, positively, one-hundred percent not going to happen! Orin would pack her bags and head out of Cercatori tonight and she'd be damned if anyone was going to stop her... oh crap, Shawchert was too fast.

She really didn't listen when Shawchert answered her question about the shawl. Yes, she did want it back but it was honestly the least of her worries right now. Like Sky and Shawchert both, Orin's thoughts were racing and though she looked, listened, and spoke, only about half of anything that was happening was registering. By the time she realized what was about to happen it was already too late.

Shawchert delved into a speech much along the lines of what Orin expected. She wanted to listen intently and nod at every important point, showing her understanding and rushing herself back to Shawchert's good side, but she could force herself to do no such thing. It was so fake, and unlike Sky she could not force anything like that from herself right now. She knew if she opened her mouth it would be for the worst, so she kept it shut. That stubborn rage percolated inside of her and for part of the speech she cast her eyes aside, not even looking Shawchert in the face. She was beginning to project her anger onto him and if she looked at him now she was likely to say something she would regret even more than she would if she said the wrong thing to Sky right now.

He told them to stand together. Fine, whatever. Just keep an eye on that lunatic, Shawchert, because she's likely to tackle people out of nowhere. Okay, arms out, hands up. Got it. Whatever. Symbolism. Read it a thousand times in every play and novel ever written. Okay, rope. Yeah okay, the ties that bind packs together and all that jazz... Then Orin felt the rope drape around her arm.

Her eyes widened and she jerked her gaze from the board she was so intently studying to the roped that now lashed the two together. Reflexively, she jerked back but it was too late to get her arm out of the bindings. She did not struggle any more than that, but turned a deadly glare toward Shawchert. If looks could kill... Well, if looks could kill they wouldn't be in this situation, because Sky and Orin would have killed each other the day of the fight. But... figuratively... Shawchert would have been killed, resurrected, and killed again by both women if that were the case.

Laser like golden eyes flashed at Sky and then back to Shawchert. This was crap! She didn't even do anything. Was Shawchert really trying to teach her about pack unity? She was the one who was there to comfort the mourning alpha when he was alone and in a time of need! No one else was there for him. No one had tuned in to his feelings and tried to ease the pain his loss had dealt. She had spent one innocent night with him trying to help him. Hell, she didn't even seduce him. They were both as willing and wanting as the other, and it just happened. Orin had no way of knowing before that that Sky was in love with Shawchert. She barely even knew Sky! The only other time she had even seen the woman was at the bonfire celebration she started. It's not like she did something to intentionally hurt the woman. And then Sky just went berserk mode on her without warning! Orin never would have antagonized the woman if she had not begun slinging wild accusations and venomous threats at her.

And then Sky tackled her. Even though she had just heard the words '...if you to so much as squabble, I will make another tie...' she could not bite her tongue on this. “What the hell was I supposed to do? Lay there like a chew toy until Lassie here wore herself out?” She snorted in disgust and anger. Her outrage wasn't even at Sky anymore. In fact, she barely noticed her animosity toward the pecan colored wolfess buried beneath her ire towards Shawchert right now.

“Don't get me wrong, I'm all for this unity thing and yeah, I had some words of my own to say too. But shouldn't the punishment fit the crime?” She didn't even care about having to help with the stable. In fact, it might even be a little fun getting to bang and bash things, and the repair work she had done on the bookstore as well as the lighthouse in Cour des Miracles had been a little thrilling. The pack needed a stable, and it would certainly benefit her friend Mars; at least his black sheep would not have to roam around anymore. It was the humiliation of being roped to Sky as though her actions had been just as opprobrious as Sky's that horrified her the most.

Her ears twitched and she shot a spiteful glare at Sky as she spoke the sickening words. What was she thinking? She wasn't fooling anybody. “That sounded like a thread to me,” she said, jerking her gaze back to Shawchert. She did not sound afraid, more like a child telling on a disobedient sibling. Sky was trying to antagonize her, she knew it. Especially with her comment, 'Afterall, she's such a valued pack member.'

“At least I contribute,” she muttered back and turned away from Sky. What did Sky do for the pack anyway other than start trouble? At least Orin had been sharing her knowledge, training the other pack members including Shawchert, and had begun to keep record of the pack's history. She had even begun the greatest celebration the pack had known in its young life. “What has she ever done for Cercatori but caused problems?”

“Shawchert, the next tutoring session we have I'm going to make you read a little story called The Lottery.”

After all... It wasn't fair.

It wasn't right.

wc 391

Aparantly Sky had not noticed her little joke so Orin let it fall flat and unreceived. It did not matter. Sky was soon again trying to show Shawchert the error of his ways, and Orin stood silently beside her as she did so. Sky had a point, Orin would agree. However, it is not as though the entire building was dilapidated and they ran the risk of giant overhead beams falling on them or anything. As much as she, too, wanted out of the humiliation of being lashed to this infidel, she hoped Sky's appeal would fall on deaf ears. If Shawchert gave in now it would be like admitting a weakness in his leadership, and further highlight the rift in his pack that. It would demonstrate that he could not uphold his punishments and diminish his word through the entire pack... but mostly, what Orin was worried about, was that it would show that Sky had some bit of power over their leader.

“The more we stand here whining about it the less we get done.” Rather than being snippy or angry she just sounded frustrated. It was a 'let's just get this over with' tone. After their arms went slack again Orin glanced down at their hands and back up to the doorway.

“I'm just getting this over with,” she said flatly and stepped toward the door, towing Sky along with her unless the woman dug her heels in protest.

Her golden eyes scanned the interior of the building Shawchert selected to be the future stable. She could see how this place would convert nicely, and suddenly the minute amount of carpentry skill the woman had came into play. Her tone seemed to cheer up... but only a little bit. “As fun as it would be to just start smashing stuff, if we're careful with that wall over there then I think we can reuse those same boards for constructing a stall or two. Same with this one, see the boards under that exposed plaster?” As she talked she gestured casually with the same hand that was tied to Sky's, jerking the woman's arm with each wave. It seemed casually innocent though. If there was one thing Orin was good at, it was letting learning something new act as a balm to soothe the soul's aches.