shadows dancing in the hall

Jackson Acidic · 06-08-2011, 09:35 PM

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HIDE YOUR INNOCENCE BEFORE THEY SEE RIGHT THROUGH

wc: 386 Buh. Here we are. Jackson likes to mess with the horses, I guess.

Jackson trailed through the familiar tunnels in the wake of his pale-furred sibling. The boy had awoken with an itch for more of the adventure he had been enjoying lately. What better way to increase the excitement of his adventures than to drag Agony along with him? The dual-toned youth had unceremoniously woken her up, immediately spinning tales of what fun they could have. The girl was having none of that, however, and she made her way out of their family den and into the surrounding tunnels. He followed only steps behind her. “I could show you this really cool spot by the ocean! It’ll be fun, you know it!” Eyes like glowing embers glanced at him from over her shoulder, an eyebrow raised in skepticism. Further attempts to convince her were met with similar reactions and terse, negative remarks.

As they made it out to the afternoon light beyond the caves, Jackson knew that his attempts to recruit his sibling would end in failure. “C’mon, what could you possibly want to do that’s better than this?” The girl stared at him impassively. “A secret,” she stated, and with that she took of at a run down the hillside. He stuck his tongue out at the retreating form of his sister, a childish gesture that did little to make him feel better. Fine. If Agony didn’t want to spend time with him today, then he would find something else to do. Something that would be ten times more fun than whatever little secret she was off to. He turned on his heel in a huff, retreating back through the gaping hole in the mountainside leading back into the Anathemans’ winding tunnels.

Making his way back into the cave system brought him once again through the pack’s stables. The horses were behaving in much the same way as the last time he’d passed through here. As he passed along by them, he caught the gaze of a mare that was watching him storm through. He stopped short, a number of yards shy of the creature. “What are you looking at?” he challenged, ocean-colored orbs narrowing to glare at the passive creature. The beginnings of a growl manifested in his throat, much more impressive than the bubbling puppy-growls he had finally outgrown. The horse snorted, eyeing him warily.

YOU MUSTN'T DISAPPOINT THEM

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Matteo Trovato · 06-09-2011, 02:14 AM

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Super long wall post because it doubles as Camilla's first thread. Teo's had a rough week. :/

Word Count → 000

Matteo had been given... quite the surprise that day. After his meet-and-greet with the new Zepar, he'd returned to his home to find a puppy! The girl was maybe five months old, though she was smart, educated and could speak relatively good English, despite her obvious Italian accent and heritage. It came as an even greater surprise to the lad to find that she was in fact his sister, dropped off by one of their father's crew for their private boat. But that was just the little bits. His parents... were dead.

Camilla, as he'd learned, was born after he and Giuseppe had left home, conceived shortly beforehand but not discovered until a month after they'd set sail. The girl was a bouncy sort with bright brown eyes and an excited disposition, always looking on the brighter side of things as most pups her age did, so he'd been shocked to hear that just a few weeks ago, his parents had parished in a house fire, lit ablaze by none-other than their servants during a family meeting. The Trovato Clan was down to a mere twenty members, most of them elderly, female or too young to carry on the traditions and bloodline. He and his brother were the last two true Trovato males left and they were half-bloods.

He doubted they owned any of Italy anymore, with the way Camilla went on about how tragic it was. The letter she'd had with her only confirmed it. With Giuseppe disowned, Matteo was signed off as the next-of-kin to Camilla, thus making him her legal guardian. He'd considered having kids... but this?

So of course, when it came time to head off to the stables to work, he'd spent almost five minutes debating wether or not to leave her at the den. Camilla had begged and pleaded to go with him, to see the horses and the tunnels first hand. He eventually caved. Besides, Alaki wouldn't have been happy to find Camilla sitting in their room all alone with no explanation as to why she was there. So off they went, the young tawny girl bouncing by her brother's feet the entire way.

They made it to the stables in good time, with Matteo getting straight to work. Camilla sat by on a stool, watching quietly, her excitement worn off finally. He moved about, brushing the horses and getting them ready for the night, making sure each had fresh water and a clean bed of hay to nap in. It wasn't until the siblings heard the pittering of angry paws that either looked up. Teo stepped outside the stall, Camilla shying into the back corner underneath her stool, nervous as to who it could've been.

Of course, she couldn't tell that it was just another puppy. Teo knew right off that the footfalls belonged to someone small and wasn't very surprised to find a little pup, this one was male, barking his complaints to one of the older mares. Teo couldn't help the unimpressed sneer that crossed his face. She's looking at someone who's about to have his ears tanned if he doesn't stop pestering the horses. Italian accent rang out, a warning to the pup.

Camilla snuck out from her hiding spot inside the stall, eyes bright and alert at the sound of a pup's voice. She remained quiet though, not leaving the gape at the bottom of the stall's gate. Her brother could handle this. Even if he did look like a girl with his ponytail and tank top on, his pants the only thing masculine other than his boots. What are you doing here, kid? Apparently, Teo himself wasn't in the mood for misbehaving little pups all over the place. Who could blame him though? He'd just discovered that he now had a dependant little sister and his parents were dead. He'd had a rough day and the poor guy was still limping and hurting from the damn spear wound in his thigh!

Image courtesy of Dirk-Jan Kraan@Flickr; coding by the Mentors

Jackson Acidic · 06-09-2011, 06:41 PM

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HIDE YOUR INNOCENCE BEFORE THEY SEE RIGHT THROUGH

wc: 335 lol, poor Teo.

His growl was immediately cut short as the sound of another’s voice rang out from nearby. Floppy ears perked up and the youth turned his head to discover that he had not been alone with the horses after all. The accented warning caused a frown to crawl to the Acidic boy’s lips. It was a different inflection than the one Tlantli had spoken with, but the words were clear enough for him to fully understand. That didn’t mean he was going to fully respect the warning. “Yeah, well. She started it!” he shot back lamely, turning to fully face the older male. Blue eyes took in the white fur, pale eyes, and scarred up features, as if he had been in tons of fights or something. Nevertheless, the adolescent boy wasn’t going to let himself be intimidated by the older coydog, no matter how tough he may or may not be.

Some slight movement off to the side distracted the boy, cerulean gaze turning to find that the man with the ponytail wasn’t the only one already here in the stables. A young girl slipped around one of the stalls, watching silently. Jackson’s eyes widened at the sight of her, surprised to find that there was a pup he didn’t know about in the pack. As far as he knew, aside from Agony and his half-brother, there was only one other pup in the pack. And though he didn’t know that other pup that well, he knew that it certainly wasn’t this tawny girl. She looked to be around his age, maybe a little younger. Maybe they could play together! The hybrid boy couldn’t keep his tail from beginning to wag at the thought.

The older male spoke again and Jackson’s gaze returned to him, features shifting from interested back to something sour. “I was bored,” he answered, as if that was obvious. He scoffed and turned his head to the side with a frown, but his gaze lifted towards the other pup once again.

YOU MUSTN'T DISAPPOINT THEM

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Matteo Trovato · 06-09-2011, 10:41 PM

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Italian, Italian, Italian... blah.

Word Count → 000

The kid's disrespect wasn't something Teo liked. He crossed his arms and leaned on one leg, his good leg, his tail flicking up slightly. That's no excuse. These horses are not toys, nor are they here for your amusement. He scolded, deadly serious. One wrong move and she could easily crush you with just a hoof. He nodded towards the mare he'd been growling at. Behind him, Camilla crouched down a bit, looking back at the stallion in the stall they'd been in. He looked back down at her lazily, not really caring. Still, it was enough to scare her out of the stall and up to her brother's legs.

He glanced down, as if just remembering she'd been there at all. Camilla, la mamma ti ha insegnato circa la sicurezza fienile, giusto? His tone was softer now, more casual as he addressed his little sister in Italian. She looked up with bright brown eyes and nodded, standing taller.

Sì. Lei mi ha portato anche a cavallo una volta. The pup replied proudly, tail swinging in the air.

Bene. Perché non si prende un attimo e insegnare ai nostri maker piccolo guaio, qui? Si potrebbe utilizzare la lezione, credo. He replied fluidly, smoothly, his native tongue feeling comfortable to him. To that, Camilla nodded quickly, happy to have something to do other than watch her brother work all day. She looked over at the other pup with a grin.

Ciao. My name is Camilla. Want to play? She asked with a thick Italian accent, tail wagging behind her as she approached a few steps. Teo widened his eyes a bit at her sudden change in mind, from teaching the other pup about the horses to suddenly wanting to play.

Don't go far, Camilla. Stay in earshot. Teo told her before turning back to his work, muttering something in Italian about annoying pups and their one-track minds revolving around playing and eating. The stallion was glad to have the company again, whickering softly as Teo mumured to him, going back to brushing the horse's coat and leaving Camilla to her 'new friend'. Good parenting skills there, Teo.

Image courtesy of Dirk-Jan Kraan@Flickr; coding by the Mentors

Jackson Acidic · 06-19-2011, 12:13 AM

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HIDE YOUR INNOCENCE BEFORE THEY SEE RIGHT THROUGH

wc:399

The serious tone of the white-furred male left the boy fighting the urge to roll his eyes. Of course they weren't toys, and it's not like Jackson had any interest in playing with them anyway. But as the older male continued to speak, his words were enough to keep him from firing off another snippy comment. He brought up the very thing Jackson had once feared from the horses as a boy. The big creatures had always seemed so easily able to stomp all over him when he had been smaller, and so the boy had mostly done his best to avoid them. He'd learned to grow out of that fear now that he was a little older, but those words had still struck home. He wasn't about to let that fear show through, however, and he frowned and averted his gaze to save face.

His attention returned to the scolding adult when he spoke again, but he found that he wasn't the one being addressed. The other pup had come out of hiding to stand by the older male, and he was speaking to her in a language he had never heard. Jackson watched the pair speak to each other in confusion, unsure of what was going on. The boy simply stood there awkwardly, not certain of what he should do. He didn't like being kept out of the loop like this, and he was almost certain they were talking about him. Trash-talking him, probably. His frown deepened, and he was almost ready to turn away and leave when the girl turned her attention to him, grinning.

It caught him off guard, along with her greeting. She said something akin to chow from what Jackson could determine, before introducing herself as Camilla and asking him to play. The hybrid blinked in surprise, not expecting that from the tawny girl. But surprise quickly turned into excitement once Jackson realized that he now had the playmate he had wanted earlier. "Yeah! I'm Jackson," he introduced in turn, his own tail beginning to wag. He grinned as the adult turned back to his work with the horses, feeling somehow triumphant. He didn't have to listen to anymore lectures about the horses and he now had a playmate. Today was finally getting good! Cerulean eyes turned back to the slightly younger girl and he took a few steps closer. "So, whatcha wanna do, Camilla?"

YOU MUSTN'T DISAPPOINT THEM

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Matteo Trovato · 06-22-2011, 01:05 PM

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Italian kids are apparently better behaved than American kids. xD

Word Count → 000

Want to go play in the hay stacks? The girl looked past him with a smile, nodding towards two rather well stocked piles of dried grass, tail swinging. I used to play in hay back at my mama's farm. She explained happily, glad to be both of use and for the possible new friend she now had. This place was scary, foreign in every sense of the word. Having a friend or two, though, meant she'd be safer and more welcome. Matteo would still be her favorite companion in the pack, but at least now she'd have someone to spend time with should he want to be alone.

Matteo, meanwhile, smiled to himself inside the stall. His hands worked down from the horse's back with the brush, helping it to shed some of the winter coat it had grown earlier. The albino brother was glad to have found something for Camilla to do, other than watching him silently. It unnerved him. He wasn't used to someone paying so much attention to him for such a long time. Ever since she'd arrived, he hadn't been left alone except to dress. Even though she'd refused to eat anything during breakfast, she'd sat there watching him eat so attentively he thought she'd have been glued to him or something.

Still, He thought fondly, that smile turning into a soft expression. I can't help but wonder where I'll go from here. She's so young to be without Mum. I wonder if she's coping alright? Soft eyes turned dark with concern, brows knitting together thoughtfully. He set the brush down and patted his arms and hands free of any foreign hair and dust, finished with this horse's coat for the time being. It'll be good for her to have a friend. Maybe she'll manage to rub off on him. She seems like a good kid, but that Jackson pup is a touch ruder than I'd expect from his age group. Already sounding like a parent. Teo felt comfortable thinking about this sort of thing. He felt needed, depended on... wanted. Then again, He reconsidered, walking a few steps over to gather up the grooming supplies, this isn't Italy. Maybe pups take longer to find their manners here. Ah yes, Sarcasm. A common friend for any Trovato to have.

Image courtesy of Dirk-Jan Kraan@Flickr; coding by the Mentors

Jackson Acidic · 06-22-2011, 09:14 PM

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HIDE YOUR INNOCENCE BEFORE THEY SEE RIGHT THROUGH

XD oh lols. wc:363

Jackson had once gone through a sudden change in location like Camilla had when he was much younger. New Brunswick was beginning to become one solid memory to him, the Tribunal's wrath and the death of his mother mixing almost seamlessly with the time Esmeralda and he spent with father's coywolf friends shortly afterwards. Anathema had seemed like such a strange place when he first had arrived, but the distance and the change in culture was nothing to him compared to what the girl must be experiencing. Her accent was Jackson's only clue to her recent relocation, and she seemed so chipper that he could not have guessed how out of place she had felt.

The boy was just as eager to have a new playmate as Camilla was. He seemed to be developing quite the dislike of adults, especially those who he interpreted as bossing him around. That often left the boy with his siblings as his only companions while in the pack lands, and as they grew they each seemed to prefer to go about and do their own thing. He was ecstatic to find another youngster around his age that was willing to play with him. Having someone to spend time with made Anathema's winding caverns feel far less isolated and lonely. He never thought he would say this, but he was for once glad that Agony had run off without him; if she'd stuck around, he might not have had the chance to meet this new friend.

When she suggested playing in the hay stacks, Jackson's blue eyes followed her gaze to the piles of dried grass on the other side of the cavernous stable room. He turned back to her, a smile on his lips to match hers, nodding eagerly. "Yeah, let's do it!" The boy had made his way through the stables numerous times, but he'd never taken the time to notice the piles of hay and the potential of rummaging around in them. His own tail picked up into a happy wag when another idea hit him. "I'll race ya over there!" he challenged with a grin, a moment later taking off toward the hay stacks.

YOU MUSTN'T DISAPPOINT THEM

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Matteo Trovato · 06-28-2011, 08:52 PM

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More Teo thougths. Feel free to decide who wins the race and stuff. xD

Word Count → 000

Camilla was overjoyed to have a new playmate, especially one willing to play in the hay with her! When he challanged her to race, she grinned wickedly and shook her haunches in response. Good luck winning. She teased before bolting off beside him, her long legs sending her foward in a quick burst.

Matteo took a moment to glance over and make sure neither pup was bothering the barn's occupants. He'd let them play, glad to be rid of those watchful hazel eyes, as long as they didn't cause trouble. He didn't know Camilla much more than a few hours, so he wasn't sure if she'd be more like himself or his brother in the trouble department. He dreaded the chances of her being like he'd been at that age anyway, full of mischief and tricks, never getting caught. ...I'd deserve that little piece of karma, wouldn't I?

He took a moment to smile fondly at an old memory; a six month old version of himself, digging up a flower garden that had belonged to his neighbors and then making it look as if Giuseppe had been the one to do it. He'd gotten his ear bitten for it, but at the time he'd believed the fun had been worth the punishment.

...back then, Giuseppe had been more of a parent to Teo than a horrible abusive thing, punishing him when he did bad with nips and scoldings and praising him when he did good. He didn't start hurting me until we shifted. Four legs were far better than two, back home. The young man took a moment to sigh and lean against the side of the stall, the supplies in his arms being readjusted as not to drop them. I hope she doesn't end up changing when she gets her Optime form. I'd hate to see that smile turn dark like ours did.

Image courtesy of Dirk-Jan Kraan@Flickr; coding by the Mentors

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