He ain't seen me crazy yet

Tola Dara · 02-24-2012, 06:17 PM

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Date: 24 February

Setting: Northern Tides, Amherst

Time: Early morning, just after dawn.

Character Form: Optime

Requested Participants: I'd like only one or two to join, please! I'm not very good at group threads.

Participant Preferences: Anyone's welcome, although someone from Salsola would be great!

Ideal Participant Speed: No need to rush to reply to this thread, whatever speed you're comfortable with is fine.

Word Count → 691 :: Sorry for the length. >>; You can pretty much ignore the first couple of paragraphs. ^^

The sun was only just beginning to rise, but Tola had been up far longer, smoking a cigarette and watching the shadows dart between the large buildings. The new moon had been only a few days prior, and though the power was slowly returning to the land, she still felt drained. She hadn't even gone hunting in the last week, preferring to let Aleksei dig up their meals, as good as he was at it. He didn't mind, despite all the grumbling and snapping he did whenever he went out; he understood she was in no condition to chase after rabbits.

There had been no meal last night, and she doubted there would be this morning; the city they were in was too large for Aleksei's slingshot, and he disliked chasing after things with his club in such a winding maze. Tola didn't rightly care; she could always dig up his weasels and eat them if she got hungry. And then she'd most likely be eaten herself, as the male disliked anyone even looking at his trade fodder.

The sun pulled itself a bit more over the horizon, and Tola's ears perked a bit as she listened intently for any remaining night sounds. She'd been watching people raid the town before them all night, but there was no scent or sound to go with them; as the light touched the city, she suspected it had all been in her head. The far-off hooting of an owl was the only thing she'd listened to all night, and even that had gone now. She stood in front of the open second-story window in the mansion-like house they'd chosen to stay in, her eyes dropping to look at Chant where they'd left her at the door. Such a good horse, her Moonlight; she'd barely moved all night. That reassured her that there was no one down there; Chantrea would have run off or fought if there were.

Her contemplation was interrupted as the groan of bedsprings came from behind her, and she turned her head to look as Aleksei got off it, rubbing a hand through his mane before coming up behind her. He peered out the window, looking, perhaps, for whatever she'd been watching, and then snorted and stole her cigarette, inhaling nearly half of it before he gave it back. "You shouldn't be up this early. Can't you sleep?" He sounded annoyed, but really too tired to put any more emotion in his voice. Tola shrugged delicately, and pulled the flannel tighter over her shoulders, finishing off her smoke and flicking it out of the window.

Aleksei didn't even grumble at her silence; he was used to it by now. Instead he set about gathering their things, and Tola picked up what little she'd brought up with her, glancing about the room for Aljan. He was still curled up on the bed, breathing deeply. Aleksei, already headed out the door, didn't bother to wait as she went over and prodded him awake, lifting him to wrap around her shoulders. He took a moment to orient himself, and then began purring, slowly falling back to sleep. Tola shook her head, petting him gently, and then walked down the stairs after Aleksei's thumping steps, moving far more quietly as they headed out to Chantrea.

By the time they'd gotten outside, the sun had risen fully, and Tola shot a glare up at the burning star before she moved over to her dear and began checking her things. Everything was there, as it should be, and after reassuring herself, she held out a hand for Aleksei's things. Chant snorted softly, but allowed Tola to sling his things over her back, giving the young woman a glare that was probably meant to tell her Chant didn't appreciate being a pack animal.

Aleksei fished out a cigarette of his own, and stood smoking it as Tola made her last adjustments, glancing over at Aleksei with a question in her eyes. The male didn't seem ready to leave yet, however, so Tola continued making the horse more comfortable, brushing her hands gently down its neck.

Cassandra Asylum · 02-29-2012, 12:17 AM

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Cities were not too different from forests, though there were many more corners and dead ends, walls and traps and jagged edges. She had liked them better when she had been able to ride through them, she supposed, and less now that she was again limited to her own two feet. But the tall facades and half-collapsed roofs still provided more consistent shelter than the winter's naked branches, so she tolerated it. The sun was up, and the light did not reflect as much when all the windows were broken, as they seemed to be.

Cassandra made her way through the dirty streets, the hood of her cloak let down as she walked in the shadows. A quiet place to sleep for the day was all she needed, and then she would find something to eat in the evening before spending another night traveling and thinking too much. She did not much want to arrive at her destination, in any case, assuming she wasn't more lost than she had allowed for her approximations. It didn't matter, anyway. This was just something to do until she thought of something better, but it already seemed that she would be spending her life looking for things. Some she had lost along the way, but most were still, after all these years, only stories.

The woman lifted her head at the sound of a horse, very nearby. Another thing about cities -- the walls and the lack of a breeze made it harder to tell when others were near. She curled her lip a moment, but proceeded around the corner. Twenty feet away stood a draft mare and two of the largest canines she'd ever seen -- the male had at least two feet over her. Dogs were as unpredictable as they came; her ears pulled back instinctively, and she could not keep the surprise from registering on her face.

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Tola Dara · 03-07-2012, 03:19 PM

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Word Count → 457 :: I'm really sorry about the wait on this! ^^;

Tola had an itch between her shoulder blades, a sort of awareness that came and went whenever she thought she smelled something nearby. Her nose was as tired as she was, though, and so it took lifting her nose and turning her head slowly to check the area. She smelled little, only a bit of city scum, and...wolf? Except the scent was not as strong as it used to be, and seemed mixed with something else. She turned around fully, her eyes scanning restlessly until they happened upon a white...thing. Not white, she realized a moment later, but albino, as she saw by the pink nose and reddish eyes. Tola tilted her head to the side, trying to decide what it was--if it was an enemy, a wolf, or some unknown creature that might possibly be on their side.

Aleksei took no notice of her until the other woman came a bit closer. He turned his head, his nose twitching at the end of his large nose, and his eyebrows furrowed as he studied the white female across from them, just as confused about what, exactly, she was made up of as Tola was. Neither of them had ever heard of, or seen, a coyote; Aleksei's interactions had been strictly limited to his family and the animals he hunted for the better part of his life. He didn't much care for wolves, now, considering his companion went berserk whenever they came across one, but the one who approached them now didn't smell like a wolf. And she was rather small for one, though perhaps that was just Alek and his...largeness.

Flicking the cigarette away once it'd reached the butt, he turned to look at Tola, who hadn't moved from her head-cocked, curious position. Well, he supposed it was up to him to do something about the stranger; what, though, he wasn't sure. He lifted his nose again to take in the scent, and then had to lift a hand and scratch the back of his head. It was too early, and he was too tired to even contemplate being angry. "What exactly are you, then? Y'don't smell like a wolf. Not completely." She didn't even smell like a halfling, and that bothered him. There was something he was missing here. He didn't like when he was missing things; it made him feel stupid.

Tola took a hesitant step forward at his voice, and then twitched a little, as though she would run up and check out the strange creature for herself. Aleksei's hand coming to hold the back of her neck stopped her from doing such a thing, but her eyes were bright and curious, and she seemed more interested than disgusted.

Cassandra Asylum · 03-07-2012, 07:54 PM

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No worries~.

As children, she and her sister had been the brunt of much teasing by the children of Thornloe. Myrika, for her wolfish size, and Cassandra for her abnormal coloration. Their father taught them it was foolish to judge by appearances alone, but nonetheless assured them that gabs were harmless, and that they needed to be more confident in themselves. The pallid child appeared to brush things off easily enough, becoming a quiet and aloof adolescent, indifferent about her appearance. But venturing out into the world affirmed that people did very much live by judgments of appearance, foolish or not.

And yet, it was the first time she would be gawked at, not for her white coat or red eyes, but for what had to be the point of her muzzle and the largeness of her ears. Of course she wasn't a wolf. She'd never been mistaken for a wolf in her life. Who were these strange dogs that could not recognize a coyote?

The woman walked forward several paces more, and the surprise slid from her face, replaced with caution and suspicion. "A mutt," she said matter-of-factly, though there was a challenge in her tone. So what? "Coyote, wolf, and dog are all in my blood." And what else was there, really? Jackals? She'd read about them, but had never seen nor met one. They were from oceans away, after all. "And you. Pure dogs," she identified aloud, "What breeds?"

She had only encountered a few dogs before, but each of them seemed so match exactly the pictures she'd seen in books, bred to a human's idea of perfection. Clearly they've mostly chosen to continue with the obsession of purity and "breed standards" after their masters' demise, and Cassandra could not help but feel a bit of contempt. Her father had told her not to judge, but she was judging their apparent preoccupiation with appearances, rather than appearances themselves. Or so said the justification in her head. Perhaps she was no better, but she could accept that too, well enough.

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Tola Dara · 03-07-2012, 08:22 PM

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Word Count → 521 :: Out of Character text

The woman didn't appear to be put off by their gawking; and perhaps that was a good thing. Tola didn't much like to be gawked at, herself, and her previously shy nature had been the focus of enough gaping for a lifetime. Now she was different, so she saw no reason for people to look, though the stranger appeared, perhaps not startled, but surprised by her appearance, as well. She claimed herself to be a mutt, and Tola tilted her head, not quite understanding the concept of being more than a halfling. She had no predisposition against mutts; wolves were the scum of the earth, and halflings were evil. It was that simple. But something else to breed with? More than a halfling, more than a pure-blooded anything? It was odd. She couldn't decide if that sort of thing would be worse or better, and so she held her judgement suspended, deciding whatever interactions were made here would lay the foundations for any future meetings with...mutts.

Aleksei wasn't as concerned with the stranger when it appeared Tola wouldn't go crazy on her; he settled down from his surprised, half-cautious stance, and dug another cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it with a match. At the question about their breeds, he shrugged a bit indifferently, holding his smoke between two fingers. "I'm a mutt of sorts, too. Mostly mastiff. Some cattle-dog, from my dam." He took after his mother in looks, his father in size, but he was by no means one breed or the other; his father had been a mix-breed, too, and his mother was such an odd thing where he'd come from, there was no telling what breeds she was, other than the one she'd claimed. He took a drag, and then began to speak again, jerking his thumb toward Tola as he opened his mouth.

She beat him to it. "I'm a Saluki," She identified herself, still eyeing the other female curiously. She was pure dog, in fact, though she didn't know whether or not she was pure Saluki; most likely she was, since at least two generations before her had been. She didn't much care for breed status, though, other than having pups that would be effective in the community. She didn't really have to worry about even that, though, anymore, and settled more comfortably in her stance.

Aleksei spent a moment looking at his companion curiously, a sort of flat look that spoke his shock and skepticism. "I'm Tola," She continued, completely ignoring Aleksei's climbing brows. "And if I can beg your pardon, I've never heard of a coyote before." She meant it as an excuse for staring, though her eyes were still fixed on the other woman. She couldn't quite bring herself to look away; it was the watching nature that had been hammered into her as a child, when a friendly word could quickly become a shower of rocks from the others.

"Aleksei," The larger male introduced, and settled comfortably with his legs crossed over each other, completely defying the laws of balance as he didn't trip over himself.

Cassandra Asylum · 03-07-2012, 10:52 PM

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Cassandra had never dwelled much on her mixed heritage. Even Inferni, fairy tale villains with their blood mania and coyote supremacy, consisted primarily of hybrids, according to her father. Her mother's family reigned supreme, and so all were mixbreeds. Coyote blood was still dominant, but she knew she had cousins or half-cousins, or relatives of one type or another that were more wolf than coyote, and after a few generations, she doubted anyone cared to keep track anymore. Kharma had taken pains to highlight the hypocrisy in these prejudices to his children, and as long ago as that had been, his daughter remembered.

She did not have an encyclopedic knowledge of dog breeds, so she neither recognized "mastiff" nor "saluki," but that didn't really matter. She took in what she saw and catalogued it from there. Mastiffs were gigantic in every way, size, height, bulk. Salukis were tall, but slender, wispy, leggy, and delicate-looking, with silky fur that looked inconvenient, somehow. But she mustn't judge the appearance, only the individual, and they were being civil enough, sincere enough. "Cassandra," she said, nodding.

"Coyotes are similar to wolves, I suppose. Smaller, more pointed... I don't know. The differences are rather superficial, but wolves don't seem to like us much." She shrugged, though she was surprised that there were places that coyotes had yet reached. The pallid woman looked at the quiet mare and took several more steps, closing the distance between them. "And her name?" She reached out a hand to touch the horse's nose.

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Tola Dara · 03-08-2012, 12:17 PM

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Word Count → 268 :: Out of Character text

The other woman introduced herself, and proceeded to explain what, exactly, coyotes were. Tola tried to think back on seeing smaller, pointed wolves around. She couldn't remember it happening; but perhaps she'd simply been more sheltered than she thought. At the speculation that wolves didn't seem to like them much, Tola smirked, thinking to herself that if wolves didn't like coyotes, she could possibly count them among her compatriots. She reached up to brush her long hair back from her neck, and had to pause and scratch Aljan's head from where the cat lay sleeping on her shoulder. She took a moment to share a glance with Aleksei, somewhat questioning, but the larger male shrugged his indifference, and she gave him a tight-lipped sneer before turning back to Cassandra.

By the time she had, the woman was much closer, and reaching to stroke Chantrea's nose. The mare snorted softly, and then bumped her nose into the woman's hand, her eyes placid and calm. "That is Chantrea. I call her Chant, or Moonlight." The latter nickname was most likely not obvious in its meaning, considering she was a dark horse, but Tola couldn't help but smile and move to gently pat her neck. Chantrea whickered softly, and Aleksei huffed from somewhere off to the side. He didn't truly appreciate animals unless they could be harvested in some way; horses, to him, were useless, most especially because even one as large and strong as Chantrea could hardly carry his bulk.

Tola thought he was mostly jealous; all he had were his weasels, and they were more food than companions.

Cassandra Asylum · 03-09-2012, 05:21 PM

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The Luperci world was developing rapidly by most standards, but theirs were a borrowed society. The humans had left behind whole cultures and vast swaths of knowledge that they were still picking their way through, assimilating what they could understand, and rejecting what did not suit their needs. She wondered if it was a good idea though, taking so much from a species that had evidently destroyed itself. Cassandra had grown up in a house, and she had grown up raising and caring horses as subservient creatures -- they were companions certainly, and she was fond of them -- but they were still lesser things, beasts of burden. Perhaps this was not so unnatural though. If canines weren't going to work them, they were going to eat them, and maybe the horses knew this too.

It had been a few months since she'd been around any horse, and at least a year since she'd lost Lady, her own black mare. There was a sort of familiarity in the draft mare's nudge, and the albino woman spared a tired smile.

"You must be new to the area, then," Cassandra said, glancing back at the two tall dogs. "There are many coyotes here, or at least, coyote mixes. Plenty of wolves too, from what I hear. Not sure about dogs." She would have liked to drill some locals for information about her fairy tale family, but there it was not an urgent need. "Where are you from?"

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Tola Dara · 03-09-2012, 09:30 PM

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Word Count → 471 :: Out of Character text

Chant didn't seem particularly worried about the stranger, even being rather friendly and inviting, and Tola wondered what, if anything, the sable horse sensed in Cassandra. Her own hand left the shire's neck, and she settled back, folding her arms over her stomach and watching the two curiously. Aleksei glanced at them once, and then turned away, finishing off his cigarette with a swift inhalation. The butt was flicked away into the receding shadows, leaving Tola thankfully free of ashes, as she would not usually be.

Cassandra deduced they must not be from the area, explaining there were wolves and coyotes abound in these parts. A grimace crossed Tola's face at the thought, and Aleksei snorted a bit, shaking his head. "She's got a bad prejudice against wolves," He said, a sort of curling distaste coating his voice. He crossed his hands behind his head, glancing disdainfully at his companion. "More an irritation than anything," He continued, and blissfully ignored Tola's harsh glare. It was irritating, being around Tola when she came across one wolf or another; he disliked meeting people enough as it was, but with Tola around, it only got worse.

The Saluki didn't appreciate just what he was implying, and had to lift her head in a haughty manner. "I'm not horrible about it." She muttered. She only called them vermin, most often to their faces, and cursed their names into the ground. It was out of habit, mostly; her father had hated them for taking his livestock, attacking his herds, and generally making his life hell. It was only natural that Tola followed in his footsteps. She had no herds to look after, though, so she was a bit better than he was.

The albino woman questioned where they were from, and Tola quieted, her thoughts fleeing for a moment from the too-personal question. Aleksei managed to snap her out of it with his own answer, though her eyes remained down-turned and her mouth twisted into a bitter line. " 'M from the forest," He said, examining the sky as he spoke. "Not many out there, 'cept the families around our den. Lotsa wolves out there, couple'a dogs." He rolled his shoulders in a shrug, his stance disinterested. He didn't really find talking about his home enjoyable, but when asked he usually had a bit to say.

Tola brushed a hand over her muzzle, and turned her own gaze to the sky, shifting restlessly. "My home was called Oak. We weren't around many, mainly dogs within the community and a pack of wolves outside it." She said, and gave her own little shrug. There wasn't much to say about that without getting into things she'd rather leave alone. So, to move the conversation along, she asked curiously, "Where are you from? And what brings you here?"

Cassandra Asylum · 03-12-2012, 02:48 PM

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She knew her father would be disappointed with the way she'd turned out, if she ever saw him again. She remembered all the good things he had taught her and all the philosophical traps and fallacies of their world, but they were thinks she recalled after the fact, after she had already acted to the contrary and fallen into pits of despair and spite and maliciousness and it was too late to change her mind. She judged. She judged prejudice while acknowledging that that was probably a prejudice in itself. People all had their reasons, their perspectives, their explanations and justifications. She had hers.

It was easy to guess that every subsequent member of a group or class was like the few unpleasant and vile creatures you'd met before and remembered so well. A wolf killed your brother while you watched, once. Hate all the wolves. A coyote terrorized you as a child, once. Hate all the coyotes. You lost your leg in a fight with a dog, once. Hate all the dogs. It was easy. People liked easy. And it was safer that way, too, wasn't it?

But Cassandra only stroked the horse's nose, giving no outward sign of her judgment, and her own prejudices. "I've not known wolves to be more or less intolerable than anyone else," she said with a shrug, "But there do seem to be a good number of them in the area, so if you don't like them, it may not be the best place for you."

"I grew up near a town called Thornloe. A mixed pack lived there, mostly coyotes and hybrids." Ordinarily she would not divulge this information, instead giving some talented lie, but Thornloe was no more, and she doubted many would have heard of it anyway. Especially not a dog from "the forest" and another who had never heard of coyotes at all. You mustn't judge, Cassandra. But she was judging with information she'd been given, not appearances, at least. Self-justification spurred everything on. "I have family here somewhere," she continued. "I've never met them, but I think it's about time." If they were as horrible as she'd been told, then maybe she could turn her back on everything in the past, stop chasing phantoms, and finally do something else with her life.

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