dusk and daylight

Galilee Aika · 01-20-2011, 01:08 AM

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private for sieface. <3 set in drifter bay

By now, Galilee was aware that she had reached her destination. Apparently, the Pictou River was remote area of the landscape, and her days had continued in relative isolation. She had spent a day at the river delta in celebration, resting and fishing at the junction of fresh and saline water. Then she began the slow trek eastward, down into the heart of populated territories. Galilee kept close to the shoreline, not quite trusting her navigation skills to get her exactly where she wanted to go. The breeze off of the ocean was damp and chilly, but its consistency gave her some comfort.

The day was beginning to grow late. The sun had shifted slowly lower in the sky so that now it was nearly full behind her. Galilee kept moving, her shadow loping ahead as company. A little bit farther and she would start seeking a good place to spend the night. She loved nighttime runs, but unfamiliar countryside was not a prudent place to go on one.

Just as dusk was setting, Galilee drew up in a rapid halt. A scented wave of strong territorial markers hit her full in the face. Four-footed, she danced to a delicate stop a fair distance from what she judged to be the actual border. And indeed, as her eyes adjusted to the fading half-light, she could make out line of skulls on the horizon: a clear KEEP OUT if she ever saw one. Having no desire for a confrontation, the young Aika woman beat a hasty retreat.

She sheltered for the night a few hills away under the scant protection of a overhanging earthen bank. Galilee shifted into her optime form, built a small fire, and curled next to its scant warmth. The night was long and lonely, and the ebony female woke early the next morning, rising shortly after the sun. Galilee broke camp by carefully disposed of the remnants of her fire and stretching her chilled muscles. Today would be long and she might as well start early, especially if there was a pack territory to go around.

Kaena Lykoi · 02-21-2011, 10:01 AM

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Word Count → 489 :: Omnom, should have replied sooner. I mees Keem RPs and your post reminded me exactly why. <3

The scarred hybrid was not usually an early riser -- her sleeping patterns, however erratic, were generally predictable enough to leave her awake in the late afternoon and at night, and asleep throughout the morning, sometimes into the late afternoon. As she had aged, however, her sleeping patterns seemed to fluctuate more and more -- she found herself requiring less sleep in general, and awoke at seemingly odd hours after only sleeping for an hour or two, oddly refreshed and less stiff than she usually was after sleeping long hours.

The old coyote had started contemplating moving to the mansion and seeking a softer bed for her old bones, but she did not know if she wished to make such a move. It would afford her closeness with Halo, certainly, but the hybrid could not see it as being viewed in any other way than a defeat, a disappointment -- she knew, or rather greatly feared, that all would interpret her move into the mansion for exactly what it was -- a desire for calmer and more comfortable sleeping quarters. The coldness of this winter had nearly driven her there, and Kaena thought she might actually move her residence from the caves to the mansion. With some contemplation, she might be able to make such a move appear strategic. After all, with leaders placed in both areas where most coyotes lived, it would offer added protection as well as a faster response to issues and problems.

Her mind worked aimlessly at these thoughts as she meandered the northern end of the border. It was her less-watched border, of course, as the hybrid felt the greatest threat originated in the south -- wolves were to be kept out, after all -- but this did not mean she ignored it. This morning, as a smoky scent entered her nose, the hybrid was glad she had decided to pay attention to this border -- smoke meant something different, and though it seemed distant and coming from a considerable (and comfortable) distance from their borders, she wished to investigate it nonetheless, and trotted outside of their borders toward the source of the smoke. The sky grew ever-lighter as the Centurion trotted forward, though the light did not bring warmth with it yet -- it was still too deep in winter for that, and the crunch of a light, days-old snow under her paws at some points in her trek certainly reminded her of this.

The hybrid saw a lone wolf, shaded coal and seeming to be alone. Kaena slowed her pace, curiosity painted on her scarred features as she walked forward at a slower pace. “Wouldn't some say it's dangerous camping out near coyote borders?” the hybrid said, testing the other canine -- her approach was not made silently or stealthily, perhaps a folly of too-confident elderliness, but Kaena did not perceive a threat in this situation, and was merely investigating of curiosity.

Galilee Aika · 02-25-2011, 11:08 PM

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your post was totally worth waiting for <3

Breaking camp wasn't much trouble. Galilee was traveling light, with only a satchel packed with a few keepsakes and essentials. Even the flint and steel she'd used to light last night's fire were tucked back into the proper pouch. The fire itself had taken the longest to disassemble: her parents had taught her it was both prudent and polite to leave no trace while traveling, and the young woman was not so rebellious as to ignore good advice out of hand. Once satisfied that there were no hot embers remaining in the fire, she buried the ashes and scattered her remaining firewood. Other than her lingering scent, the only evidence she'd camped there at all was the slight indentation in the grasses where she'd curled up for the night.

Galilee cinched the straps down on her bag until it hugged her body closely. The black female then slowly shifted back to her lupus form, adjusting the fit of the satchel as long as she had hands capable of doing so. She took her time in the change, stretching and settling as each joint shrank down into its place. A long day of travel lay ahead of her and there was no sense wasting energy on a speedy shift.

Just as the last of Galilee's optime hair receded into her lupus mane, a scent on the wind and a stirring in the undergrowth alerted her to company. Mere moments later, an older coyote woman appeared, one-eyed and scarred, and talking about the borders she'd seen last night. "It's always dangerous camping alone," Galilee retorted with a small touch of sass in her voice; the response of a dominant youth to ranked maturity. Immediately, the young Aika remembered she was speaking to a stranger and not her overbearing aunt, and she corrected her tone as she continued, "Are those your borders, then? I didn't mean to be camping on your doorstep, but it was late last night and this seemed far enough away."

Galilee reverted to her normal polite self, remembering that she was now far away from the problems and protections of her home. Besides, a second glance revealed the other canine to be more of an age with her grandmother than her aunt, and Galilee respected the former as much as she disliked the latter. Still, someone didn't get that many scars by living a dull and peaceful life, and the loner was made wary by the memory of the skulls at the borders.

Kaena Lykoi · 03-02-2011, 08:01 AM

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Word Count :: 307 LOOK HOW (RELATIVELY) FAST I AM WITH MY SHORT POOP POSTS

The neatness of the campsite was not lost on the scarred woman, who peered around appreciatively. Without the lingering scent of smoke, it would have been impossible to tell anyone had even remained here. The four-legged woman responded with a truthful statement, and the hybrid nodded her head, a slow grin spilling across her scarred face as well as the stiff-tissue criss-crossing it would allow. She had spent more time alone than she would have liked, and it was a daily regret that she had even departed Inferni in the first place -- she had left so much behind. It had nearly been lost to flame and smoke itself, had Gabriel not taken them across the mountain. It was still an endless source of amusement for the silvery coyote that the rag-tag coyote clan had survived the fire, while the wolf packs had crumbled to pieces.

“Yes. That's Inferni, and I am Kaena Lykoi,” the coyote said. “You're more than far enough away. I was just curious.” There was no defensiveness to her statement, merely truth -- the sable wolf's purpose had required investigation. The hybrid did not see a need to interrogate her, however -- it was clear from the absence of a permanent camp that this was a wolf in transit, and no threat to their borders. “Where are you headed?” the hybrid said, wondering whether the woman was headed in or out of their midst -- the path around Inferni was not an uncommon one for those wishing to enter the peninsula. Sometimes she regretted this choice of territory, as it seemed counter-intuitive to place their borders in the path of wolves if they wished for wolves to avoid their borders. Still, it had been a good move during the Dahlian war, and the scarred Centurion did not wish to relinquish their mountainous terrain.

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