counting the hours you're awake
#1
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Word Count → 342 :: Ves being a creeper. 8D


The coyote hybrid moved quietly alongside the borders, poking her nose down into the earth and snow to take heed of the individual scent markers there. She lifted her head up again often, tail waving uncertainly behind her, ready to bolt if someone caught her at her skulking—though it was true that her intentions were not bad. It was also true that, if she did want to gather some information on the pack, she could simply call for someone or otherwise seek out her Shepard. She cursed herself for not asking the russet and gold woman about Kiara’s health when they’d met up in the mountains a few days past; all she could do now was guess and linger until either someone found her or her physical needs called her away.

The tawny woman frowned and took a seat on the earth a healthy amount of paces, tail twitching again along the snow behind her. Her coat was frosted with the stuff, and a slight shiver passed through her body before she fluffed her fur and curled her tail over her small paws. At least the reek of Inferni had died down in her northern journeys, as to not cause any of the Ichikans alarm—doubtless it was still there, a hazy odor like smoke, but it alone wouldn’t call anyone to her presence this day. Instead, she smelt of cranberry bushes and a hint of guano from her scavenging; a couple of small, hibernating bats had died, either from not being deep enough in the cave or from other circumstances, and she’d not let them go to waste.

Closing her eyes, Vesper huddled tighter, blue eyes only half open as she surveyed the mountain border. She didn’t know if she simply expected the arctic girl to waltz out of the territory to greet her, and yet she was too—too something, anxious or sheepish—to call out. So she continued to sit miserably, blinking snow from her lashes, watching the withered remains of the rare unpicked flowers and perfectly-shaped stones.


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#2
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Neela is in Lupus form.

Word Count → 306


Neela's tail wagged idly behind her as she wandered along the border, eyes half closed and ignoring the environment surrounding her beyond scanning for threats or objects that Neela might trip over. The collie had a lot to think about, Dalgina's insistence on being sailed to the festival and Grynn's unexpected chicks being two of the most obvious that sprung to mind, and she had decided to take a walk, something which always helped her think.


It had been by accident that Neela had begun following the border. She had simply been wandering randomly through the territory, not really paying attention to where she was going, and her nose had led her naturally down the well scented path. Despite Neela's inattentiveness she was still shaken out of her thoughts when an unfamiliar scent met her nostrils; heavily scented with natural smells but still foreign enough to register in Neela's mind.


Neela slowed her walk to a stealthy prowl and slipped off the scent line, approaching the source of the scent quietly through some bushes that should serve to conceal her as she approached. The source of the smell showed itself to be a coywolf, sitting quietly. A flash of recognition shot through Neela, this was the coywolf that had helped Kiara when she was attacked! Neela hunted through her thoughts for a name but came up blank, either she had never been told the coywolf's name or she had forgotten it in the aggression that had taken her upon seeing Kiara injured.


This revelation about the almost-intruder's identity softened Neela's outlook somewhat, though she was still slightly suspicious of a stranger hanging around the Ichikan borders, and as such her voice was neutral rather than confrontational as she called out, exiting the cover of the bushes as she did so. "I assume you're looking for someone?"


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#3
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Word Count → 322


A woman’s voice called Vesper from her sulking vigil, and the coywolf jerked her head up to meet the amber eyes of a collie cross. The brown ridge of her spine bristling, she pushed herself onto all fours immediately before realizing that this wasn’t the most intelligent thing to do so close to a foreign pack’s grounds. Despite a good relationship with one of Ichika no Ho-en’s higher-ups, she did not think that she would be freed from trouble if she acted so rashly. She might have snorted at the peaceful pack of the north and thought of them as hippies, but knowing the demeanor of some of its unique members, she knew not all would be pushovers.

As such, Vesper almost reluctantly corrected her posture to defer to the Ichikan; her coal-tipped tail hung low while her large-set ears tilted back against her angular coyote skull. She dipped her muzzle for a moment, searching for an explanation, even as recognition glittered in her pale blue eyes. The russet and white woman had reacted tensely to the Infernian who’d saved Kiara, but she didn’t think that any too suspicious feelings lingered. Or she hoped.

“Kiara,” the Optio said quietly before lifting her gaze. “Uh—I was looking for Kiara, or at least someone who could tell me how she was doing.” Her tail flickered behind her uncertainly, and she settled her rump back onto the cold ground. Once again, she beat herself over the head with her foolishness, sitting out here in the frigid weather waiting helplessly for news. “I just wanted to know if—if she—” Eyes fell to one of the deep scars on her own streamlined tawny body, knive-carved scars. “If she changed.”

Throat cleared and ears twitched as she composed herself. She glanced back at the older woman with a hint of curiosity and sheepishness. “I—I forgot your name, if I ever got it. I’m Vesper.”


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#4
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OOC here.

Word Count → 409


Neela kept a neutral position as the coywolf reacted rather violently to her presence, noting the bristling of fur along the others spine. When the coywolf almost instantly self guessed herself and reversed her behaviour Neela let out an audibly amused snort, padding out of the bushes lightly as she did so.


Neela remained silent as the coywolf spoke, simply tilting her head as she often did when listening to others. When the younger female's precense has been explained Neela relaxed, tail wagging slowly as she let a small smile creep onto her face, "Kiara is… well fine isn’t the word I’d use but she's recovered. She wasn't infected thankfully." Neela's tail sped up for a brief moment as she spoke those last words.


Neela moved closer to the coywolf, circling her while sniffing to stick the scent in her mind. When done Neela, not one for the submission game unless it was being used against her improperly, plopped herself down into a comfortably position in front of the other female, head resting on her paws but ears as raised as they could get to show that this was by no means submissive behaviour. "You've picked a bad part of the border if you wanted to see Kiara though," Neela said, raising her muzzle and gazing upwards as she scanned along the mountains, using the peaks to judge the distance from where she sat to Kiara's home, "Her den is a fair distance away and no offense but I don’t feel comfortable bringing a stranger inside the pack."


Neela nodded in greeting when Vesper offered her name, not mentioning that she had also forgotten the others name as well. "Neela." she offered, returning her head to her paws and staring as Vesper. "Hey, you fought the dog that attacked Kiara right?" The question was rhetorical and Neela continued speaking before Vesper would have had time to answer, "You seen any more of her? She was hanging around the borders again a little while back." Neela grinned toothily, displaying a set of small but razor sharp teeth lining her slender muzzle, "Won’t be doing that again anytime soon I think." While Neela didn’t say it her body language made clear her part in that happening. While Neela had technically lost that fight she regarded it as a half victory, showing the blonde dog that Ichikan's wouldn’t sit by while their members were attacked without retaliation. Or at least Neela wouldn’t.


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#5
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Word Count → 395


Large ears swiveled forward to heed news of her spirited arctic friend, and Vesper let out an audible sigh of relief when she heard that Kiara hadn’t been infected. Other wounds would heal in time, and while the young she-wolf would never be quite the same carefree and innocent soul as before, she at least wouldn’t be turned into something she could never recover from. The hybrid kept a cold exterior, free of emotional scars if not physical, but the hidden truth was that she still hated what she had become. She struggled with it every night before she fell asleep, every time her joints popped and sinews lengthened with the shift. She would not wish such a fate on anyone unwilling.

The collie came closer then as the younger female was wrapped in her thoughts, and Vesper took the opportunity to sniff back and look her over carefully. She was built very well, longish legs and a lean build balanced by definite strength under that thick fur. Her coat was decidedly doggish, patterned with white and brown and feathered in places unlike a wolf or coyote’s fur would be. Her pale-splashed face, however, looked gentle in contrast to her formidable frame.

The Ichikan female settled down on the ground, relaxed, and after some hesitation the wiry hybrid followed suit. Slender, scarred forelegs crossed over each other, her tail tucking up against her haunch and covering her deformed paw. Pale blue eyes followed where the other’s nose was pointing, and she nodded. “No offense taken. I’m a higher-up in Inferni and I don’t even think I’d want to bring a stranger inside the pack.” Her lip quirked faintly, but the smirk was gone as soon as it flashed across her narrow muzzle. “I’ll have to come along some other time and actually call for her if I want to see her,” she added, admitting her senselessness in sitting idly by the border.

Neela gave her name then mentioned the dog, and Vesper scowled—an expression which soon transformed to mirror the sly grin that the Ichikan wore. She shook her head then rested it on her own paws, which pressed into the dirt. “So not all you Ichikans are useless at fighting, eh?” she purred. “I don’t have to play white night anymore?” All gentle taunts aside, however, she bristled again. “I hate that bitch.”


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#6
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What was the original path we were going along with this, I think it was a sparring thread wasn't it?

Word Count → 236


Neela didn’t particularly understand the "white knight" saying but still she nodded, getting the gist of the sentence. "There are… differing views. All of us want peace but well, somea us are more realistic about the chances of absolute peace than the others, " Neela shrugged, which wasn't as easy as it sounded when sitting down in Lupus form, " La paz es un ideal, quiero luchar por ello. My mate's father said that, "Peace is an Ideal, I fight for it." Sums up my thoughts up on the matter pretty well. Not fighting is nice an all but not everybody thinks that way, if we don’t remind people like that dog that we will defend ourselves, they'll just walk all over us." Neela fell quiet, giving a snort when Vesper expressed her dislike of the dog, "Yeah, me to."

Neela fell silent for a moment, giving the coywolf time to talk while she in return examined the canine sitting before her. "So, if you don’t mind me asking how did ya meet Kiara? No offense to ya but I find it hard to believe that a member of Inferni went outta their way to help a wolf they didn’t know. A coyote maybe, but not a wolf, yer packs views on them is pretty well known." Neela cocked her head curiously, waiting for Vesper to answer.

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#7
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Word Count → 478 :: Yes, 'twas. However, we can just wrap this up if you'd like, since this is kinda old. xD Up to you!


The coyote hybrid nodded pleasantly as the older collie went on. She was completely in agreement, of course. She wanted peace as well—peace between wolves and coyotes, peace between Inferni and the world, peace between herself and her own heart. However, she did not have silly ideals about plugging her ears and singing loudly to pretend that all the badness in the world had disappeared. She knew that she would have to dig her teeth into a few luperci to promote safety for lesser creatures—such as the slaves in Salsola, and her single-formed friend under the yellow bitch’s knife. She would not shy away from killing, either, even though she dreadfully resented killing. What right did one have over another’s life?

“I respect that,” Vesper stated, and though her tone was far from friendly, the solemnity in her blue eyes betrayed how important the words were in her mind. She offered such praise only to those who deserved it.

Her calm expression furrowed into a frown as the other went on, and she was unable to help the stiffening of the smoky hairs on her scruff and spine. Large ears snapped against her angular-shaped head as she snorted loudly and averted her gaze. It was silly to think that common ground would remove the thought of prejudice, although that wasn’t exactly fair; Neela was not being unkind as far as she could see.

“I know it’s hard to believe,” she began in a scathing tone, “but not all Infernians think the same way.” Her tawny tail thrashed once on the ground as she uncrossed her forelegs, her paws pressing into the snow. “Yes, some of my clan mates are genocidal freaks, and I suppose I have the right to be if I focus on simple-minded vengeance. My father was a wolf, and all he gave me was this.” One leg lifted awkwardly as she pawed at the left side of her face, clearly marking her torn ear and the scar across her brow.

“But there are sensible coyotes among the prejudiced ones. Some of ’em even border on soft-hearted. And—fuck, I didn’t answer your question.” She scowled, realizing how defensive she’d been acting, and shrugged once to show that she didn’t care. Her clan had a nasty reputation, she knew, and it was silly that it would sting her so—but this was part of her fight for peace.

“Kiara and I met when—hell, I hardly remember.” Vesper grinned. “I think I was all scratched up from a fight, and she randomly walked up to me, and we ended up swimming out to an island and talking. But she was adorable, and non-luperci, and so it isn’t too far-fetched that we ended up friends.” Her grin softened ever so slightly, though the brash young woman who’d defended her pack had not faded away completely.


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