fury of flurries
#1
She had spent the night padding along the borders as the winter fields began to turn into a wonderland. Her ruddy copper pelt was coated with a dusting of snow as she stopped at the edge of a meadow and watched the swift rain of flurries swirling around in the night air. She took a deep breath and gazed out towards the lands north of them, where the pack resided that their subleader had taken refuge and where it seemed that her own superior had friends as well.

Zana shifted her weight uneasy as the thoughts churned in her head. She had earned the name traitor once more by defending X'yrin from the young member of their clan. Two now in their numbers viewed her as such and even though she only was performing her duties she had let those of the clan down.. but in her mind she had done the right thing. She growled softly to herself in annoyance. It shouldn't prick her so that ones so foolish as the youth of the clan claimed her as a traitor but she knew what she was and where her loyalty belonged. It wasn't to the warrior tier of the clan but to the man who lead them.
#2
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SSWM Word Count → 357


The tawny coywolf trotted briskly through the snow-covered fields, once untouched and unmarked by paw prints like in a child’s dreams. Now, however, she could see the ruts caused by others meandering through the Waste as well as the herds that moved through Inferni. While her large ears remained pricked for the sound of mice or other small prey moving underneath the snow, she kept most of her attention focused on the borders. It was hard to let old habits slide, and though her job wasn’t necessarily to patrol like this, it eased her mind to walk the familiar trails and let her focus on vigilance rather than internal worries.

She sighed a pale cloud in the cold air then paused to sniff as she picked up the scent of another clan member. A small and pleased smirk crossed her face, and she broke out into a run north until she could spy the tiny russet shape of the Caelum—the rank right beneath hers.

It still didn’t cease to astonish her that she had been chosen for the Triumvirate tier, sharing the space with two veterans by comparison. She’d heard plenty of stories about Halo Lykoi—perhaps not all of them pleasant, but the woman was apparently a mighty warrior—and had met Myrika Tears and found her to be competent and still better company than most Inferni coyotes.

At least the job was one she knew she could do, though the pressure had come at an otherwise inopportune time. Vesper had maintained a more or less content expression until she reached Zana’s side, greeting her with a word and a tail wag, and followed her gaze north toward Ichika no Ho-en. She shifted her weight, feeling uneasy and not the superior of this more experienced and spirited woman. She’d hated the thought of following canines in a pack, and leading them didn’t come to her any easier.

With some difficulty, she turned her cool-hued eyes to Zana once again. “How goes the patrol?” Vesper managed to ask, her voice sounding detached and uncertain to her ears. She felt like an unsociable vagabond all over again.


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#3
The smallest member of the clan felt no ill will towards her clan mate for her own advancement above and beyond Zana's own rank. She was busy enough where she stood and doubted that she had any great wisdom that their leader wished to consult her about anyways. Her ebony banded ears flicked back slightly though at the sound of advancing paws on the snowy ground. She let her vision scope slightly to include the approaching female as she quietly turned to let the woman share the trail with her.

Zana's mind recently had been filled with some worries though, for she had learned that the woman she'd met and sparred with over a moon ago seemed to be a close friend of Vesper. She had ventured often to the edge of the clan's lands, for her scent was almost always fresh when Zana came upon it. Her eyes shifted to watch Vesper as she wondered if her friend just knew how dangerous it was, with friends on the outside sometimes. She was quiet a moment, as she realized just where Vesper's gaze was trailing off to as she settled in beside the small woman.

She let the silence linger a moment as she wondered just where Helotes was, and her horrid excuse for a sister who she knew was out there somewhere causing mayhem and mischief beyond imagination. She was glad that the woman was beyond their borders though for it meant that she didn't have to deal with the outcome of her transgressions anytime soon.. though knowing the bitch she was sure to bring trouble to the steps of the clan's lands as well. That was the ways of the world, there would always be trouble waiting to brew just on the outer limits of ones vision.

She hardly heard the question the other woman had asked, and instead of answering her she sighed and spoke softly. "Your friend is fearless you know.. but as wise as she seems she treads a thin line continuing to come to the borders.." Zana understood what it was like having friends in other packs, it was their duty to know the outsiders but she had never let one of those friendships come between her duties and loyalties. She wondered now if the woman beside her would be able to decipher where she belonged if that time ever came.
#4
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SSWM Word Count → 619 :: Wrote this up during class, so excuse the quality and rambling.


Standing beside her small clanmate, well aware of the difference in experience and years, Vesper wondered once more why she had been chosen to advance in her rank. Sparring with Ezekiel and his wolfish pupil might have shown the Aquila that she was determined and a good fighter, but that alone couldn’t have been a reason to choose her over others with blood ties to Inferni.

Or perhaps that was the reason she’d been picked; she didn’t have a history with the clan, and that was a blessing as much as it was a curse. Her lack of experience meant that she wasn’t well versed in the rituals and values of the place, and that she would need teaching where others acted out of instinct. However, being a fresh face also meant, for Ezekiel, that she could overlook the darker secrets of Inferni and look at the group with an outsider’s eye. She had chosen this place out of sheer interest and an odd feeling of belonging, not because she was seeking out family. Her family was dead—or so she hoped, as that was far easier than risking seeing them again—and while in time she would become a fang sister to her comrades, she didn’t have that tricky history with them. The judgment passed onto others because of their past transgressions had no weight on her.

Her musings were cut short as a brisk wind combed through her dark-dappled mane, sending a flurry of snow about her. She had the grace not to shiver, but she was woken from her reverie to the world around her. For a moment, she feared that she had missed Zana’s answer to her question, but the russet woman had not spoken—only sighed.

The topic that the Caelum brought up made Ves start guiltily. A wave of defiance threatened to pulse through her, but there was no judgment in the other female’s words: only a soft admonishment. Pale blue eyes cut away from the greyed lilac ones and settled once more in the direction of the peaceful mountain pack. She pushed thoughts of Sage out of her mind, of the branding of traitor, and answered in an equally quiet tone.

“My concern for her doesn’t have as much weight as her concern for me, I guess,” the small coywolf muttered as she reflected on their last meeting. She had spilled far too many secrets under her Shepard’s wise amber gaze, including her own doubts about fitting in with the clan. Would X’yrin think any differently if she knew about the purpose her student had found in her promising new rank? If she knew that the line between comrade and friend was finally beginning to fade with some of the other Infernians?

“Someday the wrong coyote will come across her, I know.” She rolled her shoulders and tried not to let that train of thought follow its inevitable course. Not only would X’yrin be taking on more than she could handle—Exultare or not, she had not fought against the trained warriors of the often violent clan—but if it led to conflict, they could trace the cause back to Vesper’s carelessness in choosing friends. “I’ll speak to her again and hope she can see sense. We usually meet halfway.” That admission had her ears lowering a degree, sheepishly; she hadn’t really confessed her relationship with her mentor to anyone, too fearful of being seen as a traitor. It was best to confide in her Caelum and hope for the best. “It helps a scout to have connections—and we spar.” She forced a smirk. “I no longer fall flat on my face every time I try to walk on two legs.”


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