Because days come and go
#1
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ITOU ALAKI

Word Count → 424 :: He just woke up xD

Although he had been the one to announce it in the meet, the storm coloured Angelo had had his doubts regarding how the two proposed projects would go; considering that, from his understanding of each pack member, none of them knew a heck out a lot about gardening and within the pack there was currently only a select few craftsmen and women. Sighing he looked down at the pale Abigor, one of the two ranked craftsmen within the pack whom was soundly asleep, sprawled half across the grey Angelo, head resting upon the samurai's chest. Thinking of craftsman a certain dark female and his encounter with her came to his mind, the memory both infuriating and funny now that some time had passed to allow his initial irritation to fade.

Gently he pushed Alexander off of him and wriggled off the bed as carefully as he could, trying his best not to wake the ghostly male. Upon reaching the end of the bed he rose, stretching his arms out over his head and yawning loudly, eyes darting back down to the bed of furs and blankets to see if the idiot had woken up, but to his relief it seemed the pale male was still dead to the world. Reaching up he tugged at the strip of leather that tied his hair back as he padded over to the crow pen, allowing the now knot littered mess to fall down against his back, whilst opening the pen door with his free hand. “You coming out or staying?” he asked the pest, Beyaz stirred within in response but made no attempt to leave the pen and so the samurai left the pest in there.

By the end of his bed an array of jeans; both his and Alex's, were scattered in various stages of being folded and organised. Eyeing them the Angelo concluded there was no point in getting dressed yet, considering he himself never truly understood the point in clothing aside from the added warmth and pockets; neither thing he particularly needed at the time, thus he had no issue going out or being seen as he was. Moving to the bloody door, he pushed it open, closing it silently behind himself and emerged into his work worktop desk, plucking up a flask that contained water before sitting on the desk, he took a long drink from the metal container and dumped it down beside him, reaching out and snatching up a brush he then began to untangle the mess that was his hair.


table by raze; image from wikipedia commons; template from the mentors


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#2
It was a botched job. Caprica wasn't ashamed to admit that. She had gotten nowhere reading metalworking books - the kinds of weapons they spoke about just weren't put together in the same way as her inadequate katana. And even within these simpler tomes lot of the materials were specific to humans, and she had never heard of most of the words. It was too much for her brain to learn in this manner, and even when she forced herself through the paragraphs, dragging her eyes unwillingly along the lines, she still felt no more near enlightenment as to the steps she could take to repair the shoddy weapon. She was beginning to see that she was going to have to become a truly expert metal-worker first, and she had only just decided to make wood her study. Was she going to change her entire aspirations around for the single reason of proving Alaki wrong?

Then there was the time it would take. Months - or years. She didn't know, but it wasn't going to be simple. Simply, she could not be bothered with the idea of having the tension hanging in the air between them for all that time. It seemed much more efficient to eat her words. And it would give her an excuse to go and ask the Angelo to honour his offer of getting her her own, fully functional katana.

Or, she could hang onto her stubborn pride regarding the repairs, just wing it and hope for the best.

Not entirely sure deep down she was doing the right thing, but squashing the niggling notion, Caprica had set to: she'd split the sword hilt with a chisel, removed the blunt blade and sharpened it with her rather too-small stones: and then remade the hilt from two pieces of wood. This bit she was proud of: they were carved to match perfectly, using skills Ayasha had shown her. To strengthen them, she'd bound leather around them after enclosing the tang of the blade between the pair. Into the cracks she'd poured melted pine resin, the kind she used for varnish. It was unlikely to be strong, but she didn't yet know how to make glue, nor could she think of a better way to fix together the hilt, and so she could only pray it worked.

When dry, the sword looked okay, except for the dull metal of the blade where she'd scraped it - and the dribbles of amber liquid at the top, staining the wood which would not come off. Well, never mind. As long as she could swing it, it would be fine. She could paint over those mistakes.

Her den was so full of trinkets and clutter these days that there was barely room to stand up, let alone swing a sword. She headed for Thackary village, knowing the expanse of grass was often deserted. When she arrived, Caprica set up a straw-filled sack tied to a post and began to practice lunges and passes. The sword seemed perfectly serviceable. It cut through the air with a satisfying whistling sound. Emboldened, the craftswoman swung it around her head several times, before letting out a yell and bringing the weapon down on the top of the sack. The blow carried such weight that she sliced through the fabric and straw, and the sword struck the post sending a violent jolt up her arms: it glanced aside and then to her horror, she felt the tang graze through her fingers where it broke the pine resin seal and the hilt disintegrated in her hands. The momentum of the sword sent it flying, spinning as it went across the field, mowing a long swathe out of the longer grass before it finally came to ground, spinning neatly to a halt underneath the verandah of one of the village buildings, where nobody could retrieve it. Caprica stared after it, feeling pale. What if a child had been playing there, or another Anatheman wandering past? She had been such a fool.

Almost without hesitating for one moment, she marched straight down to the caverns again: directly to where she knew the Angelo kept his quarters. Although she had nothing but grovelling to look forward to, surely, there was a spring in her step and a lift to her jaw which spoke of unfounded expectations. She had been disappointed once this week in getting to spend some time with the brusque leader, mistaking a newcomer for him. She was rather looking forward to experiencing the real thing, now. Despite all evidence that their relationship was at best indifferent. Caprica could not explain this whim of her heart if she'd tried, and she wasn't even thinking about such things. She stopped outside his den entrance, noting wryly the still-heavier presence of Alexander: it was kind of sweet how the longer those two were together the more inseparable they seemed to become. Lucky them.

"Okay, wise guy," she called, taking a step towards the entrance to listen for a presence inside. "You there? I wanna talk." Frustration and a little resentment coloured her words: they weren't the most ingratiating start, it had to be said.
#3
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ITOU ALAKI

Word Count → 463 :: He's got one of those happy grins on his face which make people wanna hit him :')

Bleary-eyed he went about the task of brushing the black mess that was his hair in a slow, lazy manner; even if he didn't get all the knots out, he simply had to get the majority of them out, that way he could shove it back up into a ponytail and no one would know the better. Repeatedly he ran the wooden comb through his hair, starting at the bottom and working his way up, the only sound within the monster of a cave he claimed was Alex's snoring. Sitting there he stared at the girl's room and wondered if they were still asleep at this hour of the day or if they'd gotten up and gone off to do something. Brush in hand he hopped of the desk and covered the short distance between himself and the children's bedroom door, stopping outside his listened for a moment before pushing the door open a fraction and dipping his head inside to see Miwa sprawled across the girl's shared bed, Aoi apparently having gone somewhere or Miwa was lying on top of her sister. Muffling a laugh he stepped back and closed the door with care.

Just as he was about to set himself back on the desk, a familiar voice called out into his chambers, frustration apparent in her words. Grinning like a fool he threw the brush across the room and untied the leather strip from his wrist where he'd tied it earlier and began gathering his hair up, tying it roughly with the strap before making his way into the guest area and opening the door to see the darker woman. “Well if it isn't Caprica. Whatever could I do to help you?” he asked, his voice and expression full of glee and expectation, his dark tail swayed steadily behind him in anticipation, having predicated that eventually the newly ranked Botis would have to seek him out if she truly desired a sword. Stepping back he waved a hand for her to come in and turned, walking back into his chambers, through the guest area and into the workshop. “If you are coming in, close the door behind you and keep it down. Alex and the kids are still asleep” he called back, speaking loud enough so that he would be heard but not so that it would wake the others.

Upon reaching the workshop he picked up a log from the stack and threw it onto the fire, not that the extra warmth was needed but it would have bugged him if he had left it. Turning from the fire he placed his hands behind himself and leant against the chunky, wooden work desk, blue eyes cast down at the fire, watching the flames begin to consume their new fuel.


table by raze; image from wikipedia commons; template from the mentors


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#4
When Alaki's face appeared, and her heart began to hammer once more, Caprica suddenly realised why. Her pulse went crazy every time she thought about the leader because… because she detested him. That must be it. He was insufferable; the way he'd proven her wrong without having to lift a finger. She squashed the niggling thought that actually, she'd given up: given up even trying to fix the sword, without giving herself even nearly enough time to find a solution. She'd done this because… well, because she wanted a better sword, right? Not because she wanted to come here and listen to him smirk. Not at all: why would she?

With a pout and eyes like green thunder, Caprica tossed her hair and strode inside, attempting to walk with a stride that said 'business. Nothing but business'. She shut the door as per instructions, letting the catch slide silently and gradually. Then she turned to follow him to the workshop, unable to walk with her usual commanding stride because of keeping her footsteps as quiet as possible. The tiptoeing caught her off balance and she staggered as she came into the workshop, then attempted to turn the stumble into a motion to lean against the wall in a sulky manner, one arm bent to steady herself and the fingers entangling themselves casually in her sleek hair. By the firelight, she could see his eyes glinting: blue with a chance of amber sparks. "So," she murmured after a moment, unwilling to break the peace, but feeling rather stupid just standing in his room without explaining why she'd come. "I guess I have a favour to ask. Maybe you better start by telling me more about those conditions of yours." She couldn't quite bring herself to detail her failure, just yet. But she hoped he'd figure out what he meant: her use of the same word as from the day they'd encountered the bogus traders should have been a clue that not all was well in the world of Caprica's sword repair project.
#5
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ITOU ALAKI

Word Count → 377 :: Sorry about the wait. Works been hell.

Flames flickered as they ate greedily upon the new sticks, devouring them in a frightening speed. Slowly he drew his eyes away from the dancing fire, staring silently into the green eyes of the midnight woman, his smug, self-satisfaction showed in the glittering of his eyes and the half smile that sat upon his lips; he knew he was right, knew he'd win and now that she had returned to him, without him having to do anything, just proved the storm coat male to be right. Despite how his attitude towards the night coloured she-wolf may have appeared on the surface, it was a fact that he respected the female's attitude and the way the dark woman refused to submit to his will. Stubbornness was always an appealing trait in canines, alongside humility and the ability to admit when one was wrong; stubbornness he held in trumps, the others he lacked greatly, whilst it seemed the Botis was both strong willed by capable of acknowledging another superior knowledge.

After he words were spoken he said nothing, allowing the silence to stretch on for a moment, blue eyes simply staring at her as he slowly worked things through in his mind. “Yes, well. As I said, I can acquire you a working blade via a trader I am acquainted with; it will take awhile for the blade to arrive, but at least it will be of decent quality unlike some junk idiots try to flog to ignorant fools” he spoke the words, not looking away from her for a second, to make sure the female fully understood that she was an idiot for questioning him before, “And my conditions are simple. That you allow me to instruct you how to use it properly and that you do what your rank states; you craft me something.” pushing off from the table he padded over to her, stopping just shy of the night woman; respecting the others personal space, for once. “Although what, I'll be honest I haven't thought that far ahead yet” he smiled sheepishly at her, unashamed that he hadn't figured out the details of his conditions, considering how things went the last time he had mentioned them. “So how does that sound to you, oh dearest Caprica?”


table by raze; image from wikipedia commons; template from the mentors


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#6
OOC: Is the crow cage in here?… I can change this if not XD And sorry for the wait :/

Although the thought of the katana brought an extra gleam to her eyes, she retained a sulky pout. She wasn't going to be won over that easily. And she wasn't going to stop pretending he was trying to win her over, either. Though of course, really she knew the truth, deep down. Caprica needed her self-aggrandisement: she would falter without it, because of the truth of her reality and situation.

Lips curled at his thrown reflection of her past mistakes, but she wasn't childish enough to begin arguing again. She'd already admitted her naivete, what more could she do? How had she been supposed to know that those traders were not genuine? In respect for his superior knowledge, she curtailed her snappish retorts to await with long-suffering sighs his explanation of the conditions involved. When they came they were nowhere near as harsh as she had expected the exacting samurai to be, although of course they were logical and fitting. As for the instruction, the very thought made her heart beat faster: purely from the excitement of learning to use a sword, of course. Or was it?

And crafting? Well, that was something she could do. And, perhaps, he could not. She considered: it would be best to do something she was fully confident in completing well, in order to gain back some ground in their unspoken competition for superiority, which she was decidedly losing so far. She kept her expression almost bored, though, even during all this mental activity, and the rush of tingles that followed the sarcastically spoken Dearest Caprica. "Okay," she drawled. "That sounds fair." A door opened in the far wall of the cave, and a white face appeared in the gloom on the other side: Alex, checking out who had come barging into the space he shared with the Angelo. She threw him a nod, and just then her eyes lit upon a strange sight in the distant room: a tangle of wires and canes, so misshapen it wasn't entirely clear what it was meant to be, except that it didn't look like it was going to stay upright for much longer. "Alaki… what the hell furniture have you got in there?" she questioned, seeing crows moving behind the tangled wire. "Maybe making you a new one could be my project. Although, I'm not sure what it's even supposed to be, so…" Her embarrassed grin took in both of the men.
#7
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ITOU ALAKI

Word Count → 582 :: <33

While some of his actions may mislead others to believe that he was whimsical and selfish, he wouldn’t ask from his members something they couldn't do, nor would he ask something outright unfair of them, but apparently that didn’t stop others from suspecting him of proposing what could be seen as unequal or unfair, judging from Caprica's words. “What were you expecting? Cause it's fair, wouldn't offer you anything else” there was an underlying 'idiot' to his words and tone of voice, the creak of the door had his eyes flicking away from the darker woman to that of the mess of a canine who had clearly just woken up. With one hand Alex ruffled his hair in an attempt to make it less of a birds nest; which was rather pointless, considering the majority of it was beyond help and matted.

“I only have a table and bed...” he responded, voice clearly showing his confusion as to what furniture the shadowed woman spoke of, dark ears flicking back at her words and moving to stand behind her to see what she was talking about. “Ahh, that was Alex” the words rolled off his tongue, instantly shitting the blame of the poor crow pen onto the pale male despite the fact that Alex hadn't even been around when it had been made. Hearing his name, Alex seemed to wake up a fraction more, pushing the storm coloured male out of the way with a not so subtle bump of his hip, so that he too could stand behind Caprica and see the object of the conversation. “Oi. That, that... thing, was you not me” Alex struggled to find the words to describe the pen, for despite knowing it's purpose the cage didn't look like any known structure. “Lousy son of a! I can't believe you just tried to pin your sorry construction skills on me” he stepped back, shooting the Angelo an overly dramatic hurt look.

One look at Alex's face an the storm coloured male cracked, laughter overflowing and escaping him before he could contain it, all the while Alex persisted in maintaining his incredibly hurt look, his lips twitching a fraction was the only indication of the pale males hidden laughter. “Try the theatrics when you don't look like shit mate. You are even less of a morning wolf then I am” his voice was a little breathless from laughter, a stupid grin sat upon his face. “Oh, how much I can feel your love, oh mighty one” sarcasm filled the ghostly males words, “Atleast I can actually make something. Carpica dear, that” he pointed towards the bird cage, “Was his” he pointed to Alaki, “Attempt at making a crow cage.”

Yawning, Alex waved a hand and made his way out of the chambers without saying another word, his steps were sluggish and the path he walked zig zagged, a clear indication the male was still half asleep and only awake because he either need to pee, need food or needed something equally basic that required him to get off his lazy backside.

Rolling his eyes as the pale male exited, making a point to check the guy out from behind the whole while as he left the room, the Angelo almost reluctantly turned his attention back to the Botis, “Definitely him who made it” he grumbled, unwilling to admit the sorry excuse of a cage was his. “But yes, if you wanna fix the cage up that would work”


table by raze; image from wikipedia commons; template from the mentors


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