Joining. P for Mel. :O Also, I am so rusty it is disgusting.

Tedros was old. God, he was so old. He could feel the ache in his bones, his tired body. The

scents all around him were consuming him with his childhood, and it was almost too much. He sat

outside Inferni territory, and let everything wash back over him. It was so weird, for this place to

smell so familiar, and yet at the same time, be so different. It was Inferni, through and through,

but yet he couldn’t smell his friends, or more importantly, his family.

Not that he really felt entitled to call them that anymore. He hadn’t seen any of them since

he was two years old. Not his beloved sister Nyika, not his father, and certainly not his mother.

Coming back here, he had thought, or maybe hoped, that things hadn’t changed. That he would

come home to Nyika’s laughter, or his father’s smile. But he shouldn’t have been so naive. He

hadn’t stuck around; why would they?

It had been four long years since he left. At the beginning, it was hard not to think about

Atlas. Ted had just left him, just like that, so that he could start a new life, spend time on his own.

Eventually, Tedros found Cain, and the two fell in love instantly, erasing most thoughts of his

former love. He spent three years with Cain and his pack, until last month.

Tedros’ red-hued eyes shut for a moment as he fell back into his (more recent) nostalgia. Cain

had a terminal illness. The apothecary in the tribe tried everything, but it never helped. Ted had

held him through his last few days, until he was gone. And after that, Tedros couldn’t stay there

anymore. It was too hard. And so he left.

But he really didn’t know how he ended up here. What stroke of fate would have led him back

to Inferni again - especially in different lands.

!

The red-hued coyote's eyes opened slightly as a gust of winter wind ran through him. A grin formed on his old maw, taking in the simple pleasures of nature around him. It was certainly a unique new land that Inferni had claimed, and he had to chuckle at the decorations of wolf skulls peering down at him. Last Tedros remembered, Kaena Lykoi was in charge, and he couldn't help but wonder who had taken over since then. Certainly Kaena couldn't still be a leader – she was at least three years older than six-year-old Ted.

A noise from behind the border attracted his eyes, his gaze falling upon a definitively-hybrid canine coming towards him. Although most of the time, Tedros found himself in optime form, he preferred to be unshifted when he traveled. In his natural state, this other younger half-coyote was much bigger than he was.

There was no sense of entitlement here, Tedros could not expect this Inferni member to recognize someone who had left over four years ago. His ears went down slightly, and he fell into a slightly submissive position. The naturally-small six-year-old coyote wasn't too worried that the approaching male would find him much of a threat.

Tedros' nostrils were filled with the Inferni member's scent as a gust of wind pushed towards him, and it smelled so damn familiar. He couldn't help but ask. “Did Inferni fall to the hands of the de le Poers?” Flashes of his first sweetheart Rikka de le Poer flashed before him.

He's just a little redder than the normal red-coated coyote. Nothing weirdddd. His eyes are a dull red almost maroon. And he's not shifted at the moment.

Tedros hadn't meant anything too negative in his phrasing of his question. Rikka had been one of his closest friends before their falling out, and he never even had too much against the more violent-prone Kaena Lykoi. It was purely the fact that he couldn't fathom another family taking his father's place as leader. Most of his memories were from that era, and it just seemed strange without him.

A few years ago he would have been more concerned with his submissive state – especially after his previous question – but he simply looked to the ground. Ezekiel de le Poer was his name, but Tedros was pretty sure he was next generation. Rikka he remembered. Gabriel, too, but no “Ezekiel.” The kid sure had some impressive bloodline, but the name Massacre was unfamiliar to him. The young de le Poer asked the question Tedros had been fishing for, and so he took the bait.

“I am,” he answered softly, letting his eyes rise again before continuing. “I'm Tedros Talik of the Mogotsi line.” He thought about explaining when he left, but figured it wasn't that important anyway. He was back now. There were so many questions running through his head and he wanted to ask them all, but he waited patiently instead. It wasn't his place, not yet.

Thank you, it's great! I need to get around to drawing up my own avatar at some point.

His new companion seemed taken by surprise by his father's last name, and for a split second he wondered if something great had become of Segodi. Of course, this idea was ultimately squashed by the next few words that came out of Ezekiel's mouth. His mother was a Mogotsi. Faolin Mogotsi, his adopted sister. Tedros couldn't remember the last time he had heard her name, but so many memories flooded back at once.

"I would like to stay, yes," he said, still mulling over the previous sentence. What did that make Ezekiel? His adopted nephew? A chill ran down his spine as he realized just how much family he left behind when he left. "I knew your mother. I remember teaching her how to shift." His voice trailed off, stopping himself from seeming to be too stuck in the past. Plus, Tedros ultimately knew nothing about her anymore, or her relationship with her child before him.

"Who's in charge around here nowadays? Gabriel?"

Yay! How would I go about claiming a room in the mansion? :O Also, I don't have permission to view the "this thread" to add Teddy to the member list.

WORD COUNT → 338

Tedros was a bit taken aback when Ezekiel announced that he was, in fact, the leader. Sure, at his previous pack, the leader was a little younger than Ted, but it was just weird to think that the next generation was already taking over. He smiled a little apologetically, sorry that he hadn’t been a little more submissive. Ezekiel’s parents were Gabriel and Faolin – what an odd, yet somewhat appropriate, pairing. Tedros couldn’t help but remember good memories with them both, realizing that his new leader was their byproduct.

The muscles under his skin relaxed slightly once the de le Poer said he could be a part of Inferni. He remarked of Ted’s capability, and that was true, for the most part. Gabriel de le Poer had helped him learn how to use a bow for the first time before Tedros departed, and it was one of the few things that he had taken with him. Unfortunately, he was arriving back at Inferni empty-handed, and he felt naked without his bow. He needed to make one soon.

The mansion sounded nice. A human place. God, this territory was so different than the last Inferni home. For a moment he wanted to ask why they had left, but when Ezekiel continued on, he figured that would be a question for later.

It wasn’t really a surprise that Kaena was still here. She was a reluctant old soul. The red coyote wasn’t sure if she’d welcome him with open arms or shun him for leaving. He couldn’t really know either way until he saw her again. “Yes, Kaena was around. She took my father’s place as leader after he left. Is anyone else still here from your parents’ generation?” Tedros paused for a moment, trying to remember other coyotes he had known in his time. “Your father’s sister, Rikka?” he asked, her name rolling of his tongue harshly. “… Or your mother’s brother, Hybrid? Esi Mogotsi?” He stopped, then looked Ezekiel in the eyes before uttering her name. “Nyika Mogotsi?”

If teddy could claim first floor BW05, that'd be sweet. And I figure this could be the last or second to last post?

WORD COUNT → 210

The red-hued coyote had spent the last few years in a pack with a majority of wolves, so submission had been key. He had been relatively high in the ranks when he left, so at the end there wasn’t too much submissive behavior, but it was still enough to be recognized. He had forgotten about the coyote way, yet he was definitely glad to be back.

He was interested to hear about Hybrid. Mad, Ezekiel said he was. This was no surprise to Tedros. A flash of memories came back at him when he thought of Hybrid. How his father had just come back with this stupid new pup. The Talik boy remembered the drama that it had caused in his young life. To hear that there were no more Mogotsis around saddened the coyote, but again, he wasn’t too surprised. Everyone moves on. He certainly had.

As much as Ezekiel seemed to want Tedros to see Kaena, he was less interested in that and much more interested in the mansion. If he ran into her there, so be it. “Thank you, Ezekiel de le Poer,” he said, honestly thanking him for both his (mostly) welcoming attitude and his directions towards the mansion.

“See you around.” And Tedros was off.