aw. Feel free to react however you want, nicely or not-so-nicely. ^^



sharksHe really wasn't sure how to approach the situation. Shroud with the scent of heavy scent of mint, he certainly did not smell like Inferni. But even with his cloak and mask, his ears and general build give him away as a coyote, or at least, someone of mostly coyote heritage, and he would predict that wolves at war would not take kindly to a stranger trying to hide his own identity. There were other places to fish for information -- there seemed to be quite a number of other packs already, but second-hand information degraded with each passing, and it would be difficult to pick out what was relevant. Then again, seeking out the source might only be a source of further confusion, especially he appeared to be a suspicious person.



sharksFor a moment, Arkham considered the possible ramifications of losing his mask. Having not ventured out much as a child, he imagined that very few people actually knew who he was. Even without the mint, he did not smell of Inferni, and it would be easier to convince them that he really was a neutral third party. But the pack's scent wafting towards him reminded him of Melisande, some would-be sister of his father's, and one of the few wolves that might remember him. The white femme's scent was not explicitly in the area, but surely relatives of hers were. Did that really mean anything? He couldn't decide.



sharksThe cloaked coyote paced restlessly a good distance from the marked borders. He had confidence that he would be able to escape should they decide to attack him, but he didn't fancy making a negative name of himself so soon, especially when he had so much more to learn. He waited in the area. It was likely that someone would find him before he decided whether or not getting closer was a good idea.

Yup. ^^ I'm just as clueless as Arkham about what's going on though, lol. XD



sharksAs soon as he noticed her in the distance, he took a step back and lowered his stance. It wasn't something he was used to, having grown up a veritable prince, but he understood his position very well. After all, the borders of his own once-home had been very strictly patrolled, even when they had been at relative peace. He could only imagine the paranoia and subsequent security he should face here and now. The young man winced interally at the sharpness of her voice and bowed his head graciously before looking up at her. I'm sorry, he told her sincerely, But this mask has nothing to do with Inferni or your war. Well, the last part was true. The fact was that he was hiding from Inferni more than anyone else, but that wasn't entirely relevant here.



sharksI just want to know what's going on. I haven't been here very long and don't know what's happening. It was funny almost, just how nervous he was right then. Perhaps he really had just been too sheltered -- even now, after several months on his own, he seemed to approach situations with a child's mind. He didn't want her to think badly of him because he knew he wasn't what she thought. He didn't want to be rude, but desperately wanted the information she could potentially give him. Inferni kidnapping someone -- was this really what war was all about? Eventually, Arkham knew he would need to seek out his eldest brother. Undoubtedly, that was where all the real answers were, but he had listened to Gabriel all his life, and that trust had been betrayed. It would be a while yet before he would be ready for such a confrontation. So for the while, he would face this angry woman instead.

sharksHe relaxed marginally when she seemed to accept his reply. To some degree, it was disturbing to see her injuries knowing that he likely knew the person that'd put them there. Had it been Gabriel? Hybrid? Samael? He had never seen any of them fight before, unless Gabriel versus Andre counted, but he had always known the power they had packed and respected them appropriately for it. They were all a dangerous breed; they were infamous. And what had made them so infamous? They've become a dirty word, almost. Inferni. Those unruly and lawless coyotes. Was it all really true?



sharksWell, the coyote started, If I'm going to stay in the area, I'd like not to be ignorant about whatever's going on. Logical reasoning. Inferni wasn't kind enough to tell me anything. Half-true. His niece hadn't known enough and he didn't want to stick around to probe too deeply. It felt like manipulation though, telling this woman that his former clan had turned him away, trying to get her to trust him. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he'd have to get used to it.

sharksIt was perhaps the only real advantage to having been largely apathetic towards everything when he was younger. Even without the mask, his expressions were usually stoic and blank, staring off at things that didn't matter and not reacting when he should. As such, the only reaction he gave to his brother's name was a forward flick of an ear and nothing more. Internally, he had stiffened. He had spoken to Talitha only days ago; his niece had recently returned from whatever place Gabriel had sent her, her brother, and her mother off to. Of course something like this would happen, exactly as the Aquila would have feared.



sharksIt was hard standing there, though it didn't really show. Regardless of the lies he'd been told and the trust he'd had broken, Inferni was still his family; they were only people that had ever been there for him. Hm, he considered, A prisoner for a prisoner, huh? He wondered who Inferni had captured. Ironically, Firefly was a relative of his as well, though they had never met, and neither of them knew it. It was a more distant relationship as well; his father was her mother's cousin, but it was a connection all the same. Family against family. Sadira against Inferni. There was a history there far beyond what the two of them knew.



sharksHow did all of this start? Arkham asked, continuing on simply. It got easier to pretend the longer he kept at it. Two deaths on Inferni borders. He wondered if they were people he knew, people he had grown up with. He wondered if the woman before him had been a killer. He wondered how he could still be standing there without a twitch in his muscles. It was a curious thing.

It's all good. ^^



sharksKharma, he supplied, shifting a little on his feet. It troubled him that she didn't know how things had started. That meant that there would be no resolution, no easy thing that could be resolved or rectified. An indefinite conflict would only continue to consume both sides. He wondered, if Inferni had two dead already, how many had this pack lost? Did they intend to keep losing more? For a reason they couldn't remember? The idea was just so... depressing? Arkham couldn't imagine being involved in something like that, even if he were fighting for Inferni. He'd need to know that there was an end somewhere and that they could reach it.



sharksThat's unfortunate though, the coyote said, How do you think this will end? And when? For a brief second, Arkham considered asking to join this pack, but then decided that it would probably do more harm than good. He cared about his niece, yes, but he also had faith that Gabriel wouldn't do anything stupid to jeopordize her safety further. If nothing else, he liked to believe that his brother did indeed care about his clan and family. Part of him felt like that was a foolish assumption though.

sharksHe was not inclined to believe it, that the animosity was just in their genes. After all, if that were the case, why was Inferni populated more by hybrids than anything else? Arkham didn't think any of them were pure-blooded coyotes. Hell, Gabriel looked like a dog and was more wolf than anything else. How could they think that their conflict was rooted in race then? And if wolves were so untrusting of both coyotes and hybrids, why had his father been able to lead a wolf pack for years without opposition? Even if it had been his family's pack, wouldn't someone have spoken up against him? The purity of all the bloodlines had become more and more diluted with each generation, though the young male hardly knew the extent of it. Regardless, he didn't buy the other's explanation at all.



sharksArkham shook his head, almost sadly. This feels more personal to me than anything else. Then again, he knew his eldest brother had a vehement hatred of wolves, despite his father being one. Perhaps Inferni had been the one to start things after all, though in that case it made even less sense that the woman before him was blaming their species more than their specific clan and family. Why shouldn't it just end? If you don't even know what you're fighting about. His tone was more curious than accusatory, but he understood that his words were probably provocative. If there's nothing to be gained or resolved, why not just trade the prisoners and stop?

sharksIt was idealism more than anything else. The solution was too simple, he knew, and both the situation and the people involved were more complicated than that, as unfortunate as it was. Or rather, they were more stubborn. Violence was undesirable, but there was also pride on the line, reputation; it seemed to him that those were the things that people were more willing to die for, not a friend, not a daughter. The world was too selfish for that. It was a blinding sort of mess.



sharksMaybe you should make your own decisions then, he said quietly. Arkham understood the need for loyalty. Packs fell apart without it, but the matter of fighting for something you didn't believe in seemed worse to him somehow. It was, after all, one of the main reasons he had not yet joined his family. He didn't know if he could believe in them anymore. Did this woman know why her leader was waging war? If not, shouldn't she? And if she did, did she agree with those reasons?



sharksHe sighed and bowed his head slightly. Sorry, he said, Thanks for telling me everything that you did. With one last glance to the forest behind her, where he now knew his niece was being kept, the coyote turned and left.