Spirited Away
#1
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Big Grin

The creamy white female had decided to take her pups out of the pack for the first time. The three rambunctious young coywolves darted around her paws, now being able to walk and have limited speech capabilities. She looked at them fondly as they walked through the Ethereal Eclipse together, the forest full of musky, foresty smells and the air full of birds' calls as they sang out to each other in the darkness.

This was all her pups had known - deep forests and trees, as the Cercatori d'Arte territory wasn't much different from the Ethereal Eclipse's atmosphere. They didn't seem to mind, however, as they chased each other around and giggled high pitched laughter. At seven weeks, they were a handful, and Skye watched them with overwhelming pride. She was so happy for her little ones, so glad that they came into the world safely and were the first pups to grow in Cercatori d'Arte... her pack.

The pups' mother sat on the earth and leaned against a tree trunk, looking at her pups. She closed her eyes for a moment - she was quite tired, and she could detect where her pups were by listening with her ears and scenting with her nose. Leading the pack was hard work; members came, but they didn't last long. Only a few were truly loyal to the pack, it seemed, and those that were - Slade, Bangle, Sky, Tal - those that were were like family to her. As she thought, she felt her pups wander towards her and snuggle up to her. She wrapped them in her arms securely and lovingly, and slowly drifted to sleep.

But while the female and her pups slept, she hadn't realized before that only two of her pups slept with her - Nathaniel, the one that looked like Bangle, the one that was the most mischievous of all, had seen his siblings and mother sleeping and wandered off deeper into Ethereal Eclipse, exploring.

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#2
Whee! I left it kind of vague as to how far Nathaniel wandered, so that's up to you to decide. :}

Hybrid was far from home. He had wandered for so long through Arachnea's Revenge that he had made it to the Shattered Coast without even meaning to. He had sought out his favourite spider-filled paradise, seeking out the ghost of Kol or Bris, but found it empty and forlorn. Saddened, but not discouraged, Hybrid continued west through the Coast, traipsing through battered sand and rocks until it gave way to thick trees. He moved through the forest with a sense of unease, unused to these parts. He preferred the mixed forest of Arachnea's Revenge, where he had carried out so many delicious crimes. It seemed like a shame to abandon those woods, which had been ever so loyal to him.

As he continued travelling west, he picked up the sound of movement, shouts, giggles, and laughter. The sound was completely foreign to Hybrid, so he snuck closer and hunkered down to observe. Among the thick trees and in the shadows played a wolf and her three children. He sat, waiting, as they eventually tired out and took to a nap. Two puppies curled up to their mother's side while one, a puppy which looked less like its siblings and more like one of Hybrid's cousins, quietly padded away.

Hybrid followed the puppy deep in to the forest, watching as it moved farther and farther from the protection of its mother.

When the time seemed ripe, Hybrid approached the puppy. He slunk out of the shadows and regarded the little thing with a cruel smile.

"Are you lost, little one?" he asked. His voice was laced with poison and coated with honey.
#3
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okay! ^^

Skye was now in a deep slumber, but if she was aware that her pup was being stalked and now confronted by an Inferni member, she would have awoken with a start. She didn't, however, and she slumbered on, unaware.

Little Nathaniel, however, had wandered quite a bit a ways from his mother - far enough so that she wouldn't scent or hear where he was. He giggled at his intelligence, and the laughter soon grew to a loud and large guffaw, like his father's.

When the pup stopped laughing, he looked in front of him and saw that a coyote had appeared. The coyote wasn't very large for an adult, but he sure was scruffy and muscley. "Hiya!" he squeaked, his puppyish tail wagging and his teeth showing in a large grin, reminiscent of his father. His mother was now forgotten in the excitement of meeting this new stranger.

The stranger then asked him something, and Nathaniel smiled at him. "Fun!" he said in a high pitched voice, trying to convey that exploring was fun and he liked doing fun things; he wasn't lost! His mother never let him do any fun things. She was always trying to 'protect' him.. but this really was fun! And he made a new friend already!

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#4
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Hybrid peered down at the little puppy, wondering why it had been laughing so. It was strange, and since he rarely ever understood puppies anyways, he supposed it didn't matter. The puppy barked out a yippish greeting and then replied with a single word. That wasn’t a real response. Was this kid stupid? Hybrid frowned and flicked his ears forward, back, and forward again in annoyance. He tried to plaster a big, happy grin on his face, but he wasn’t sure how well it would work. He didn’t practice his puppy-luring smile too often, after all.

“What are you doing that’s so fun? Exploring?” He assumed that if this was a normal puppy, then it would enjoy doing things that other normal puppies liked to do, such as wandering off when its parents weren’t around. And if he had gauged the situation correctly, then this little puppy was just in time for another adventure.

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#5
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The small puppy looked at the man innocently as his ears flicked forward, then backward, then forward again, then frowned. Nathaniel didn't like it when people frowned - usually it meant he did something bad, or something bad happened. He was about to flatten his own ears when the man seemed to change his mind about being mad and grinned at the puppy, whose ears flicked forward and mouth grinned a large grin in response.

He grinned even wider when the man guessed right. "Yeah!" he squeaked, running in a circle momentarily. He stopped, slightly dizzy, and looked at where he thought the man was - his head was spinning now! "I's Nathaniel Guffawlins! Who's you?" he asked the man innocently, his head having stopped spinning at this point - but phew! What was that smell? He sniffed more, and wrinkled his nose. The man was kind of stinky. He didn't say anything, though, because his mother had taught him that saying things about people was rude.

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#6
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The puppy was full of emotions. Every time Hybrid moved one bit, the puppy seemed to jump, wiggle, frown, smile, and then stare at him wide-eyed. He couldn't imagine doing so much in such a short period of time; it looked to be emotionally draining. He much preferred his very few functions and they suited him just fine. The puppy wiggled and then ran in a circle in response. Hybrid felt tired just watching him.




“I'm Hybrid,” he replied. “Have you explored to the east? After these forests, there are all sorts of new places. There are beaches, water, springs, and caves to explore,” he explained with a malicious smile. “I even know of a mansion. Do you know what a mansion is, Nathaniel?” His voice dripped with honey, but like any treat of its sort, it was sickly sweet (emphasis on the sick). He wondered which of the few locations he named in Inferni would appeal to the boy the most. He wasn't sure if mansions were exciting enough for young puppies, but he figured that the existing adult members of Inferni liked it well enough, so perhaps the boy would be interested in the old human relic.

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#7
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Nathaniel grinned as the man introduced himself as Hybrid. What a weird name! He'd never heard a name like that before! He thought that a hybrid was like a twisty thing. His mother had told him that - that a hybrid was like a cross between two different breeds. And if you crossed, like crossing your legs, you also had to twist! His puppyish mind made these connections without fault, and felt that they were perfectly and absolutely logical.

His eyes widened with each thing Hybrid mentioned - caves! Lakes! Springs! Beaches! He didn't know what half of those things were, but they sounded exciting! The puppy jumped up and squeaked with delight before Hybrid mentioned something else - a mansion - and asked if Nathaniel knew what it was.

"No, bu' they sound excitin'!" he squeaked with delight, a bit of his father's accent showing through. "Has you been t'ones?" he asked excitedly.

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#8
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[/html]It seemed as though Hybrid had captured the young child's attention. The more things he mentioned and the longer the list became, the wider the puppies' eyes grew and the more enamoured with the idea he seemed. Oh yes, Hybrid was not the best of liars, but it seemed as though when it came to young children who didn't know better, he could trick them well enough. Now he would have to find out if he could lure this young boy back to Inferni. If he could, then the puppy was probably young enough to forget about his previous life and grow up in Inferni as if it were his home. Hybrid didn't really think he'd need to raise the boy in the strictest sense: he could try to pass it off as some relative's child or perhaps the child of a long-lost cousin. Whatever the reason, he doubted there would be too many questions asked. The boy looked to Hybrid to be mostly coyote, but at this age, he couldn't really tell.

When the puppy asked if Hybrid had been to any of the places he mentioned, he nodded quickly, trying to make it look like he was incredibly eager to show the boy. "Oh yes," he rasped, "I've been to each place I named. Would you like to go see them? There are all sorts of fun things for a young boy like you," he explained. "There are so many people to play with, too," he added with a wide grin. He took a step away and then two more and beckoned with a flick of his head.
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#9
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Wow! It seemed that the man, even if he was stinky, knew all the places he had listed - and had been to them, too! That seemed like so much fun! And his eyes, though it seemed impossible, grew even wider at the thought of lots of people to play with - at his Cercatori home, there weren't any other pups to play with beside his siblings, and everyone else was a grown up that was boring and just doing work. But to be in a pack where there were lots of people to play with! That sounded great to the young puppy.

He saw the man beckon his head - he could come too? Bouncing up and down, Nathaniel said, with a grin on his face, "Let's go! C'mon!" and began to bound away in the direction that Hybrid had notioned, away from his home and towards a new beginning.

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#10
I think we're done? Smile Thanks for the thread! Big Grin
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[/html] Hybrid nodded encouragingly as the boy grew more and more excited at the sounds of all the fun things he could do. Hybrid wasn’t sure why, but the boy kept wrinkling his nose as if he smelled something. He didn’t really understand that, but either way, it seemed as though the boy was perfectly willing to follow Hybrid to Inferni. He was bouncing on his toes in excitement, and so as not to lose his interest, Hybrid spoke quickly to bring the boy farther east toward his new home.

“Of course,” he replied. “Follow me and stay close. There are lots of bad people out there. Inferni is safe and you are safe with me,” he explained. Hopefully if the boy believed this enough, he would stay close enough in Inferni so that he wouldn’t question why he never left and wouldn’t leave. Hybrid didn’t really have any long-term plans for this puppy, but he supposed it could be fun to teach this boy everything he had tried to teach Toxic when he was still here. Garnet and Midnight had been lost causes, but maybe, unlike Toxic, this Nathaniel boy would have the good sense to learn from Hybrid.

He would just need a new name: something more befitting of a ‘Massacre’ or a ‘Holocaust’, even if Hybrid’s family had more or less abandoned him. So why not abandon them, too? Hybrid would find a new name for the boy something soon. He would think on it as they walked to Inferni. Perhaps by the time they arrived, he’d have something new.[html]
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