Helotes was forcing himself to keep active, and this activity made him feel stronger and stronger. He felt almost a hundred percent again, expect for his tail which he still continued to keep under wraps. Today, he felt like scouting, something he hadn’t done for weeks now, and last time he had done it he had ended up in a fight. He wondered what had ended up happening to that coywolf he had fought those weeks ago. It was amazing all that had happened to him here in Inferni in less than a moon’s turn.

As he skirted the borders, a familiar scent came to nose and he perked up. Zana! How was it that he kept running into that little creature? Eagerly, he sniffed the air, trying to catch her location, but instead of her scent he caught the flash ruddy orange in the distance. Quickly, he trotted towards her, then hesitated, and fell to his stomach into the long grass. He grinned to himself, slowly creeping on his belly towards her like a cat stalking his prey. He would give her a good scare, she seemed to be pretty intent on messing with the border decoration to notice him.

He hesitated once more when he was several yards away from her, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. He hadn’t played this game for a long time, and he had to restrain himself from giggling like a little puppy. He was reminded of the games he played with his brothers and sisters when they were pups, and now that he lived in Inferni Zana had become like an adoptive sister to him. He wondered if he should let her know this, let her know how much he appreciated her, but he had a lot of pride. For now, he would show his affection by scaring the living crap out of her.

He watched with keen eyes as Zana stood erect and looked about. He knew she could sense him, but he was downwind and completely hidden by the tall grasses. His grin only widened as she went back to her task. "Oh ho, bad move little cousin!" Now was the time! Like an explosion Helotes jumped out, bounding towards her quickly on all fours despite his form, and jumped about five feet into the air above her head, seemingly floating above her for a moment with the craziest look on his face. HELLLOOOOOOO! he yipped out, and then then came down upon her, scooping her tiny form into his arms so she would not come to harm and the two of them rolled for several feet before stopping in a furry Lykoi heap.

Helotes started laughing, a laugh filled with joy rather than malice, it was a strange sound coming from the usually dark toned male, it hinted at his lighter side, one that many would never see. He had ended up on his back with Zana’s little form on his stomach and chest and he looked down at her with a smile for a moment. Had they not been related, had she not been so much smaller than him, he thought he might have kissed her right then and there.

I know, I'm glad we decided to buddy them up, Helotes needs her I think / +300

The look on her face was priceless as she cried out his name and before he could even think to stop her, her tiny fingers found just the right spot on his rib cage that sent him reeling into a fit of giggles. He was glad it was only her now, only Zana seeing him in this state, had it been anyone else the reputation he had been trying to build here at Inferni would have been completely destroyed. But with her, he didn’t care about such things, with her he could be care free and know she would not tell a soul. The two of them were kindred spirits, both putting on masks of stoic warriors to hide their soft underbellies from the world.

Helotes managed to grab her by the wrists to stop her from continuing to tickle him so and he rolled gently over, setting her next to him the ground. His breathing started to calm from his bout of laughter, Sorry, I could not resist. He looked over at the large pike on the ground that she had been struggling with and grabbed it in his claws but did nothing with it yet, just felt the smooth wood texture in his grasp. His eyes found the skull on the ground and his smile faded, realizing now what she had been doing before he had trounced on her.

He looked back at Zana, Did something happen here? He now regained his usual demeanor, umber eyes quickly searching the forest line around them, wondering if perhaps she had come across any outsiders upon their lands. If this was the case, he was glad to see she was alright; he knew she could take care of herself, but still… suddenly the idea of Zana being hurt caused him great discomfort.

She seemed relaxed, even in the face of his anxiety, so even before she spoke he knew all was well, that there were no trespassers to maul today. How unfortunate. She touched the pike he held gently, and he looked down at her smoky colored hand as she spoke of how she had been trying to fix it. He looked at her, but without pity. She was strong, spunky, and crafty; all these things made up for her size tenfold. Besides, he wasn’t the tallest man himself, pretty average he had to admit, but not that caused him to be able to understand completely what it was like to live in her body.

Brushing off her slight self-loathing, he took the pike and drove it deep into the ground where she had begun to dig a hole. This was an easy task for him, for the majority of Helotes’ strength resided in his muscular forearms. He then retrieved the skull that she had managed to kick, and places it upon the pike. For a moment his hand lingered there, caressing the smooth, bleached surface of the bone. He then turned to Zana again, his grin returning, You being the maid of Inferni lands today? Cleaning up other people’s messes? He laughed before calming, I’ll help you out. I’m fucking bored anyway.

The dark Lykoi then stepped over to another pike and skull, lying in the dust and retrieved them in his strong arms, palming the half broken wolf skull and holding it up to his face, Heh, I wonder if all these wolves died by Inferni hands, or if some screwed up yote just went bone hunting one day. Somehow, he doubted these were all battle caused remains, but perhaps one day he would be able to add the cranium of someone he killed to the borders.

He nodded as she spoke of the foolishness of wolves and how it was good for the clan that they be out here maintaining their borders. He watched as her small form joined his and she looked contemplatively down at the bones littering the ground. Helotes really enjoyed the company of his little cousin, even more so than he had with his siblings. A part of him wished he could do something to add some height to the little female, but knew it was of no use. Besides, her stature would surely come in handy in battle; a tiny mercenary swinging through the trees, raining darts down upon the unsuspecting. Badass.

Helotes cocked an ear when she mused about her possible relation to the owners of the bones and the dark Lykoi squatted down to his cousin's height. He looked at her quizzically, suddenly becoming very curious about her heritage. He remembered her mentioning her birth right the other day, about the horses, and he now recalled that he meant to ask her about that, Tell me Zana, what is your heritage? How are you related to me and the other Lykois? What is your birth right that you spoke of before?

Helotes wondered if these questions were delving too deep into matters she’d rather not discuss, but he felt he had earned her trust and her friendship and felt a great need to know more about her. Besides, if the two of them were not as closely related as he had been assuming, perhaps their relationship might turn in a different direction. His ear flicked nervously at this thought as he desperately tried to fight off any images this idea might conjure up.

Zana only hesitated slightly before answering, hinting at her fearless nature. Not even the pain of the past would slow her down and Helotes respected her even more so for that. She spoke of her birthplace, Phoenix Valley, a pack which Helotes understood was disbanded. She also spoke of her search for her true father, her difficult relationship with her mother, and her eventual acceptance into Inferni. Helotes felt empathy for her, though his parents might not have been the greatest, he had known the and they had always been there.

When she revealed what was underneath her ribbon to him, it was as if she was unravel her soul. He never thought she would be comfortable enough to show him this, and as her puckered, scarred flesh was revealed he look at it with unwavering eyes. His tail, though still injured, was nothing in comparison to that. In time, his fur would grow back, only leaving a slight indentation where the Salsola female’s teeth had sunk. But Zana’s injury was far greater, and it was a shame, for her tail would have been beautiful had it been left intact.

Helotes now realized that they were not as related as he had once believed; there was a chance that Kaena was grandmother to both of them, or perhaps not, for it was a possibility that she was a Lykoi by name only and that the blood heritage had been lost. He wondered if there was anyone around who would know who her father was.

Softly, gently, Helotes grabbed the silk ribbon from her little paw and began to re-wrap her tail; no need for her to show it to him still, he had seen it and would always know it. Helotes held great affection for Zana and wished to ease her pain to some degree. What you said is true. Lykoi or not, you are a part of Inferni, and a part of me. He smiled at her, unaware that his demeanor had shifted once more.