OOC:

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Jaden breathed in deeply as he walked along the Moon lit snow of the Eternal Eclipse forest. It was quiet again, like it had been not too long ago during his journey to ‘Soul. But the silence was different now. No longer was he hunted or running for his life. He was now only hurried along by his need to meet with a wolf by the name of Vigilante. He had promised to kill the wolf and was set on keeping his word now that he was safe from assassins and free to heal.

The still fresh bandages on Jaden’s chest where tight and continuously reminded the Optime of his last battle. He reached up and pressed the wound gently, as if to reassure himself it had not somehow suddenly healed. A small stinging pain rang clear in the area of the foot and a half long slice as proof it still existed. Conor, a wolf he had met, had patched him up. His medical skills were not great enough to promote instant healing, but Jaden was happy that the wound was not bothering him.

Besides the cut, he didn’t have a whole lot to complain about. The bite wound he had sustained was healing well, and his body was no longer sore from constant running. All he needed to do now was hunt for a nice deer. Once he had eaten all he could, Jaden would be as content as he possibly could be, considering he still had a wolf to kill. So the black and red wolf drew his bow from his satchel and one of the three arrows he had left. There had to be some deer around here somewhere. He was after all in an unclaimed forest and he had not seen any wolfs around to take up all the meat.

Jaden hunted for about an hour, trying to find tracks or any sign that dear had been in the area but was having no luck. His steps were light and silent as he stalked through the forest aggravated that he could find nothing to kill. Even a small rodent would have been something.

Then a sharp sound made Jaden freeze. The call of a raven rang over the snow. It was near by. Jaden began to move in the general direction of the bird. It might offer some good target practice. He came around a tree with his eyes glued to the trees as he searched for the dark silhouette of a bird in the branches. When he saw the raven, it began to make a threatening series of caws he thought were directed at him.
Stupid bird, Jaden thought, it’s cawing will not deter my arrow. He leveled the bow and pulled back the arrow.

“Very funny.”

A voice growled in the darkness. For the second time Jaden froze. Directly underneath the perched crow was a coyote Jaden had completely over looked. He cursed himself when he realized how blind he had to be to over look the tan colored canine. Jaden lowered his weapon and looked at the coyote when his realized the words he had heard were not directed at him. The coyote was speaking to the raven. Jaden shook his head and rolled his eyes. It seemed like something one of the annoying little dogs would do. But he had to be friendly. There was no reason for him to start things off on the wrong foot with the general coyote population here at souls. The coyotes here were no different than the luperci ones he had slain in Alaska, but he was no longer part of Uva Atka. “Do the two of you know each other?” Jaden inquired flatly. He was a little bit annoyed that he could not kill the bird.

OOC: Dont worry, I was busy anyway... and sorry about the raven

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When this coyote, Slade Auctor, gave Jaden permission to kill the raven, he glanced darkly up at it. The black bird quickly took flight as if realizing that its life was suddenly forfeit before the Optime had even decided to waste the arrow. Jaden was again annoyed that the bird had flown off unharmed, but more annoyed that he had been given permission by the coyote to kill it.

Slade had also asked a question, inquiring about his name. “My name is Jaden,” the Alaskan said as he slipped the arrow back in to its quiver and shouldered his bow. He didn’t feel it was necessary to give his last name, for the coyote had no use to him thus far. The movement of slipping the bow over his shoulder made Jaden’s injured bicep tighten so he stretched it out in front of him before crossing his arms and stepping toward the smaller canine. “Incidente di Parola,” He repeated, “that is a mouth full. What exactly do you do for the pack of Cercatori d’Arte, Slade?” He asked trying to keep negativity out of his voice and offer neutrality instead. The coyote was not displaying submissive body language toward the dark colored Optime, and even know Jaden was trying not to give him a reason to, his feelings of superiority made the neutral body language bother him. “And why are you wandering about outside of your pack lands? Some lone wolves might be dangerous or aggressive to a coyote like you.” He added.

It wasn’t often wolves, or in his case coyotes, left their pack lands unless they had a good reason. So, Jaden figured this tan hued coyote had one. The only good reasons Jaden could surmise though were; the coyote was a diplomat of peace, a small worrier (the thought made him grin), a hunter, or a border scout. From the looks of him, he was a scout. But, should he happen to be a diplomat, Slade would be a most useful patsy in helping Jaden with his plans. He began to scheme about how easy it would be to have a trusted diplomatic coyote lure out his target wolf. It would affectively help the assassin dodge pack aggression and inspire dislike for coyotes. What a brilliant thought. But, patsy or not, this slightly annoying little coyote might have some useful information to offer Jaden. All he had to do is feign curiosity and innocents.

OOC: It wont take much for Jaden to be more of an ass…

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A writer? Jaden was disappointed to find out that Slade was only a writer. Although writers were valued in a pack, it did not call for direct contact with other packs. If Vigilante was not part of Cercatori d’Arte, this coyote would be absolutely useless. But, that did mean Jaden wouldn’t have to deal nicely with the canine.

Slade’s body language was not in any way more submissive, but seemed slightly more dominant. What a brave little coyote, Jaden thought to himself. Bravery was not a common occurrence with any of the coyotes Jaden had slain before, though that could have been because the coyotes near Uva Atka knew speaking disrespect toward a wolf would cause them a quick death. Along with the body language, Slade had clamed that they were near to the boarders of Cercatori d’Arte as if they would come to his rescue, as well as implying that he could escape a wolf and would not stand and fight. Brave and honest. Slade was being more entertaining by the minute.

Slade was naive to think he could escape Jaden with speed though. It took the assassin only a few seconds to un-shoulder his bow and fire and an arrow. If Slade could get out of the weapon’s range in that time, then the coyote deserved more respect than he was getting.“Secui’s are much quicker than Lupus’, but if you were a luperci, you would already know that.” Jaden said simply. “I have not met any dangerous animals in this part of the territory, so don’t worry yourself. You shouldn’t have big, bad wolves to run from anyway Slade.” The Optime leaned on a tree not to far from Slade. He wanted some information before he upset this coyote too much to give it and changed the subject. “I am looking for a wolf named Vigilante. Do you know of him?”

> Does Slade need a scar…?

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Jaden looked down on the coyote as the canine formulated an answer. Vergilante? The Alaskan had not spoke deliberately, but began contemplating it. Slade had heard him clearly, and yet he was mispronouncing the name. How long ago had coyotes and wolves begun pestering each other, competing for hunting ground, or even killing each other? Jaden was not sure, but he felt compelled to return the aggravating answer with some aggression. He was not afraid of Slade in anyway so felt no need to pick his words carefully. He simply said the first thing his mind spawned. Jaden felt his hackles rise in response to his aggression and the fur on his body seemed to make him look slightly bigger. He slowly and deliberately crunched through the snow till he was right above the coyote, stood there for a second and looked down on Slade, then crouched and glared into dull amber eyes. He got close to the coyote’s muzzle, “You’re sure you do not recognize the name VIGILANTE? I will pronounce it slowly for you: vig-il-lan-ty. The name may have slipped your small mind, so feel free to take your time. Think very carefully.”

Jaden flashed a less than friendly sharp white grin and waited patiently, his tail lightly swinging from side to side in anticipation of Slade’s answer. The dark colored Assassin was mostly sure of his company’s honesty in saying he did not know Vigilante, which was too bad, but the method he had chosen to express such honesty was enough to let Jaden know he was not being friendly or submissive. Being unsubmissive or unfriendly meant he might have decided to hide something. Whether he was lying or not, Jaden wanted to fix this canine’s body language problem.

No problem OOC: I konw the feeling.

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Jaden stayed crouched in front of Slade while he listened to the coyote speak. There was still no fear in his voice or submission in his stance. The Optime began to wonder how far he could take this. If Slade continued to be so brave and unwilling to submit, how much could he safely punish this canine? The root of the question lay in whether Cercatori D’Arte would come after him if he ruffed Slade up a little. He knew nothing of them and what they were capable of. So, he decided to play it safe and not do anything deadly or horribly crippling, which he hadn’t planned on anyway. Slade didn’t know that though, and that is what Jaden counted on.

With a steel look to hold Slade’s eyes, he smoothly reached down to the sheath on his shoulder strap and drew the dagger he had with the soft sound of metal on leather. With another quick movement, the dagger’s silver blade rested against the coyote’s throat. Jaden pressed down lightly to help arm his calm words. “You are a very brave coyote. As a matter of fact, you’re the first one I’ve ever met who is not a COMPLETE sniveling coward.” Jaden chuckled as if there was not a weapon in his hand and grinned sharply, “Now,” He sighed, “there is a point where bravery crosses into stupidity. You would not be stupid enough to lie to me, would you Slade?” He pressed the blade into the light colored fur again. “Because I really don’t like liars.”

Once Jaden stopped speaking; he realized how quiet it had gotten in the cold woods around him. Not another creature stirred besides the two of them. It was such a beautiful night. Jaden was really enjoying this too. Although he had left the life of killing behind him, it felt good to act like an ass. There was nothing for him to fear out here. Besides, he would probably never see this coyote again after they were done here.

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Slade’s words were brave. They had lost their demeaning tone now, but they continued to be strong and brave. This coyote either does not fear death, Jaden thought to himself, Or he knows I am bluffing. All creatures fear death. Who would believe a dark stranger in the woods to be a liar when he held your life in his hands? No, Slade’s feelings about death were not influencing his judgment now. He was smarter than Jaden had anticipated. Slade knew his life was safe simply because he was part of a ruling pack, and Jaden was a loner. What his intellect did not count on is the safety of his body.

Jaden looked into Slade’s eyes for a few seconds after he spoke before lowering the dagger. He could no longer pretend Slade was a liar, so he got down to his real problem. He stood and turned his back to the coyote, toying with his dagger between his claws. “Why do you not fear me Slade?” He asked with a sigh, “You act like you have protection from me, like you are stronger. If I decided to plunge this dagger into your ugly fur, you would give in no resistance in the way of strength while your life fleeted under my grasp. You might manage to dodge it, but I have arrows that will travel further than you can run before they are armed.” Jaden crossed his arms, but continued to keep his back to Slade. “So, you must think I fear your pack. It is the only reason for your bravery, unless you think I am a genuinely good person who would not kill a coyote?” Jaden laughed and sighed again, “Who will come to save you? I smell no one in these woods besides you,” he said with a little disgust, “You must know something I don’t.”Jaden paused, then rubbed the fur on his chin “Tell you what, if you beg and wine like a pup, I might decide you are too pitiful to do any harm and let you leave her unscathed, Coyote.” He offered in a voice that suggested it was a smart choice.

OoC: I hope this is alright. If not, PM me and it will be edited.

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Jaden waited intently for an answer. The silence he had noticed before engulfing all. Seconds ticked by until finally a full minute separated the present from when the Dark Optime had asked his question. “No witty remark?” Jaden asked, turning slowly toward Slade, “No brave words?” The Coyote sat still and just watched the Alaskan speak, again offering nothing. No cowering, no submissive body language, just silence. Jaden had felt it might come to this. The coyote was proud and smart, to an extent anyway. Now the only thing left to do was give up on his pursuit of dominance, or make Slade cower and fear him. He held in a grin and still seemed to be calmly waiting for an answer while he contemplated ways to do it. “Well, it seems you have not decided to start whimpering like a puppy. What a shame,” Jaden sighed and shifted his weight just slightly forward in preparation, “you have let your pride get you into trouble Slade. But, it’s alright. I will make you cower.” He did not wait more than a half second after the words finished to attack. He wanted to catch Slade off guard.

With all the agility and strength in his Optime legs, Jaden leapt forward at the smaller sitting canine. An instinctive snarl ripped past the attacker’s maw as his shoulder connected first, knocking his target back from its sitting position. Retracting the claws on his empty hand, Jaden firmly grasped Slade’s throat, discouraging any struggling and pinned him by putting his body weight on the coyote’s front legs. He pressed hard on the joints, not to break them, and squeezed his throat to cause a good amount of discomfort for the coyote. Then, he got close to the Slade's muzzle once again, the dark grin gone from his face and replaced by front-facing ears and bared teeth in a fearsome grimace. “Wolves are bigger than you coyote. We are stronger. When you meet one, I advise begging that he or she not harm your disrespectful hide. They might not be as delicate as me.” Jaden laid his dagger’s edge on the coyote’s shoulder and quickly pulled it away, slicing lightly through warm fur and flesh with a metallic sound. “As a reminder.” Jaden growled. The smell of warm, bitter crimson lightly floated toward Jaden’s muzzle as he pushed roughly off Slade and stood once more, watching for his desired effect.

OoC: Good idea. Feel free to leave it at this or end it yourself good thread.

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Slade stayed down and that made Jaden’s dark grin appear once more. The coyote didn’t make another sound, past the yelp of pain from the Alaskan’s blade. He just lay still, breathing heavily and not meeting the Optime's eyes. From the display of tightly clenched, sharp teeth, it was clear the coyote was furious, but he stayed down. The forest was silent once more, so quiet that the noise of the attack had seemed to almost shatter the night. Jaden stood above Slade for a second, savoring the queit and proud of his work. I have shown this weak little dog just how inferior he is. he thought smugly. For the past few months, Jaden had been the hunted one. Now the feeling of power was SO satisfying.

He may have stayed to torment Slade longer. To make sure Slade understood who was dominant, but his original plans for the night were still unfulfilled. He wanted to hunt and eat his fill. There had to be deer in the area if he looked hard enough. “The next time we meet,” Jaden said sternly, “it would be wise for you to remember what happened tonight.” He turned and began to stalk into the woods, thinking warm thoughts of dominance. He stopped a little ways away from Slade as the question of what he had actually done tonight crossed his mind. He had made an unnecessary enemy. Looking over his shoulder, a small spark of regret glittered across his sea blue eyes. The night could have been so much more… peaceful. The spark was extinguished by a wave of superiority though, as he scolded his sensible, kind persona. It didn’t fit him tonight. Tonight he was the bigger canine. Tonight was HIS night. “See you around, Slade.” said Jaden and walked willingly into the dark shadows of the night.