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The dry grass cracked under black paws as Garnet moved through Inferni territory. A few gnats buzzed around her fae, but she didn’t mind much, her fur protected her from most of the bites anyway. Red eyes gazed around the open plain as Garnet stopped for a moment. Garnet had yet to see any mass of pack-members; she was starting to wonder where they were all hiding. True, she had spent a night in the Dens, but there hadn’t been anyone there, and half-way through the night she had left to sleep someplace more open anyways. After having been wandering for months with only Midnight, the cramped space of the den had made her slightly uncomfortable.
Garnet huffed and continued walking. It wasn’t completely true that she hadn’t seen anyone; there had been that nameless ass she met on the border. True, maybe she had been at fault and had shot her mouth off with him, but that didn’t prevent the Massacre spawn from hating him. It especially had pissed her off that he had seemed to know exactly who she was and what she had been doing, within limitations, and she had no idea who he was. Looking back, he had seemed somewhat familiar, possibly kin. ’Even if he’s family, I don’t have to fucking like him!’ Again, Garnet huffed. Suddenly tired of walking, the young female sat down and yawned.
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Um, okay. Feel free to powerplay them getting near the Mansion (I guess we decided Firefly could be kept in a storage shed there?? not sure where else she could be without a constant guard on alert). I guess give me and Garnet a few more posts so Anselm can explain things before jumping in, then, Shannon. :o
 Half shifted, he prowled around. His teeth sank into the severed haunch of an unfortunate young buck, and every so often he'd run his tongue against it to taste the blood. He wasn't hungry, though, and this food was not for him. Bearing gifts to the enemy wasn't something he made a habit of, but he knew that hostages were useless if they were dead. Then they were simply casualties, and all bargaining power was lost. That annoying girl would have to eat.
He still hadn't decided how much he was willing to share, however. He'd already had his fill, so he wasn't concerned about that (in fact, some of the deer was still left for others to scavenge), but he didn't want to enable her with too much strength, either. Perhaps a half portion would be best--enough to survive, but not necessarily enough to get excited over. Hm.
Another coyote distracted him from his thoughts. Garnet. He flicked an ear casually as he stared at her; she was sitting with her back turned toward him. Quickening his step somewhat, he made his way over to her. He paused when he reached her side and spit out the remains of his catch, but he still stood over it (this behaviour was instinctive). He'd gotten an idea--maybe Garnet could help out with keeping track of Firefly. He honestly didn't want to be bothered checking in on the captive wolf too often (since he literally had more important things to do), but Garnet was about the same age as Firefly and could at least raise an alarm call if trouble arose.
"Not doing anything?" he asked, although he didn't wait for an answer. "Come with me." With that, he picked up the deer leg again and began to walk in the direction of the hut where Firefly was kept. He'd explain more once they got there. |
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Garnet heard someone approaching her from behind and quickly glanced over her shoulder; because the wind was blowing the wrong direction, she could not tell by scent who it was. Therefore, she wasn’t going to be caught with her back to any strange coyote, even if they were supposedly pack-mates. Her semi-bad encounter with her half brother and her all-bad encounter with the rogue wolf had taught her caution. However, Garnet quickly saw that she, most likely, had nothing to worry about; it was Aselm, the male she had met her first day.
He came up beside her and dropped the deer meat, though he stood over it protectively. Her nose twitched furiously and she felt her mouth watering at the scent of the deer flesh. Garnet couldn’t remember the last time she had deer, since her and her sister had been separated from their father, they had survived mostly by scavenging and eating small prey. In other words, Garnet had gotten pretty good at hunting rabbits. The beta didn’t act like he was offering her any as he spoke quickly, picked up the meat, and walked away before she could respond.
She rose on her black paws and rushed after him. ”Wait, where are we going?” Garnet panted as she caught up with the high ranked coyote. Remembering the bad experience with Hybrid, she lowered her head slightly as she walked next to him. However, he made no sigh that he had heard her or noticed her posture, and they walked in silence. Over time, Garnet realized they were heading towards Dampwoods. She perked her ears slightly, but did nothing more. Garnet couldn’t image what he would want to go into Dampwoods for; as far as she had seen, there was nothing there but trees.
The Asphyxia look alike suddenly showed great interest as they came into a slight clearing. In that clearing was a huge mansion, which probably had look ‘better’ in its day, but was still fantastic. The forest had taken it back a little, the front yard was overgrown with prickly rose bushes while the house was covered in ivy. Aselm and Garnet stopped not far from the mansion where a gate used to be.
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He lowered his head to the ground so that deer's hoof lightly grazed the earth. Placing one large paw on top of it, he kept his weight planted firmly on the leg and lifted his head back so that he might tear it into two pieces. The top portion with the femur contained a bit more edible meat than the lower part that ripped off, since the lowest part of the leg was practically just fur. Overall, though, he had decided that the entire serving might have just been a bit too much. Half shifted, Anselm could take down pretty sizeable kills.
He backed up and away from the two chunks, then turned his attention back to Asphxyia's daughter. It was a reward of sorts, for playing along thus far. "Take whichever piece you'd like, if you'd like any at all. I'm going to explain some things to you while you eat, or you can save it for later," he said. Wasting no time, he continued. "Gabriel's daughter has been taken hostage by Dahlia de Mai, the pack we're at war with to the west. A few days before you were accepted here, the Dahlian's launched an attack on us on our own soil." Maybe she'd heard these things already--if she had, she could deal with the repetition.
"During the battle, I managed to grab us a hostage of our own--obviously, this gives us some bargaining power." He looked her in the eye, now--this was where she would come in. "She's about your age, and a shifter. She's currently housed in one of the storage sheds here behind this mansion. There are several locks on the door, but someone" you, his eyes seemed to say "has to make sure she's got enough food and water to survive--and also to make sure she hasn't escaped." A pause. "Any questions?" |
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Garnet eyed the venison and couldn’t help lick her chops; the scent wafted up to her and made her mouth water. When Anselm offered her a bite, she couldn’t resist taking the meatier piece. Sinking her teeth into the tasty flesh, the black female listened carefully to what her superior was saying. Her ears pricked when she heard the name ‘Dahlia de Mai’ but she didn’t say anything as he continued. So this mysterious pack had attacked them directly, not just tried to pick off innocent wandering coyotes. ’Wonder if I’ll have to fight them…’
Garnet raised her bloody muzzle from the deer meat as Anselm mentioned a hostage. Licking off some of the scraps, she stood up; most of the meat on the piece she had taken was gone, leaving only a coupe of scraps; if something hadn’t taken it when she came back, she would pick it up and gnaw on it some more. Garnet flicked back an ear as he met her eye, but said nothing until he finished his speech. ”Yes, how am I supposed to open the locks? I am not yet a shifter myself.” Again, the female flicked back an ear, remembering how she had questioned the usefulness of the Optime form. ”Besides that, are there any do’s or don’ts I should be aware of?”
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Powerplay with them going closer, let me know if you want it changed. And uh, guess Firefly can reply this round!
So she couldn't shift yet? He eyed her curiously; she looked like she ought to be old enough, by now. Talitha had been shifted when he saw her, and the two girls were about the same age. Then again, everyone was different--and this didn't throw too much of a wrench into anything. "That should be fine; I'll show you why. As for what you should or shouldn't do, just use common sense. Don't let anyone open the door for any reason. If she starts saying things to get you riled up so you open the door to fight her... well, just don't. Walk away for a bit; you can even check out the house and keep an eye on the shed through the windows, especially if the weather isn't too nice." He motioned for her to follow and picked up the other piece of meat. They moved around to the back yard of the mansion where the shed was. It was a decently sturdy structure, although its integrity had been advanced by a number of support beams he'd nailed on himself. Weak spots were singled out and new boards were placed over them, making it harder for the captive to break out.
There was one part where a sizeable chunk of a plank had broken off. The square opening was maybe six by six inches; large enough to push things through, but nowhere near large enough to squirm out, even while completely down-shifted. Around the hole, he'd added extra reinforcements so the surrounding wood could not be torn off or broken further. He trotted over to it and pointed it out to Garnet with his nose, and then he shoved the deer leg through the hole, hoof first. He preferred if everyone used this hole--opening the locks was too risky. Before placing her inside, he'd made sure to remove any impromptu tools she might find laying around, as well. The shed was essentially empty, other than Firefly and now the deer meat. For water, he'd have to find a small pail, he guessed. Maybe he'd find one laying around in the yard. |
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Garnet nodded and followed Anselm as he led her to the shed. She hadn’t expected there to be a hole through which he stuffed the meat, and the young female was impressed. This way there could be communication and feeding without risk that the prisoner could escape. Garnet saw the male look around the yard and did so herself, though she didn’t know what she was looking for. She shrugged it off and walked forward to peek inside the hole. Her red eyes just barely picked out what might be the wolf, though she wasn’t sure. Garnet turned back to Anselm. ”All right, now that she has food I should probably find her some water. Maybe I should soak some moss?” The young female looked at Anselm, just in case he had a better idea for getting water. Still, if not, the coyote was sure that there would be moss around the mansion that could be brought back. Of course, it might take a rather long time to get enough for Firefly.
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Firefly opened her eyes at the sudden sounds of the two along the edge of her confinements. She stared a moment before closing her eyes back up and curling up in her corner. The bruises and bumps upon the ones she'd already had she ignored, just like those that had captured her. She wouldn't give them the sport they wanted from their prisoner, she wouldn't give them anything at all. She wasn't sure why she was still alive, but she had a feeling it had something to do with the truth. She'd let them know after she'd been captured just what kindof treatment lay waiting for their leader's daughter if she died by their teeth.
It had been a gamble, but she'd known enough of the youth to give valid information on who she was and where she was. She wasn't for certain if the girl was even alive now, Firefly had been the one who'd kept watch over Gabriel's daughter and had kept an eye on Haku as well, but now Firefly was on the receiving end of what the youth of Inferni had been dealt, only she wasn't for certain if there was a soul in these lands that really cared to see her live, or if it would be more entertaining to see her die. She'd killed one of their own on their lands, but she was still alive, for now.
Her bright emerald eyes glittered as she cracked one open again and stared at the second in command of the lands through the cracks. She'd known his scent by now but the other was strange. Fangs flashing for a second she watched him with cold hatred as she realized the bastard had brought another to gawk at her. She didn't speak a word as she eyed the two of them, wondering if today she'd be the prey, just another plaything, or if this was the means to her end. She was ready for whatever it was, hidden behind the wall she'd built for herself, the child weeping inside wanting her mother, her siblings or even just to see Haku. To think she'd raced into this all still angry with the leader for caring for her.
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He nodded to Garnet; her sentiments echoed his thoughts, and he was pleased. Using moss was also a creative idea, although he wasn't sure if it would be efficient enough to be practical. "Off to the side there's a pond that's fed by an underground spring. That water should be clean and fresh." He had been bringing the girl water in a ceramic bowl, but that wouldn't do if Garnet couldn't shift. Something caught his eye, and he trotted over to the porch. It was brick and lined with moss in between the cracks, with a wooden network of supports for flowering vines. It was actually quite lovely, but he didn't stop to admire the landscaping. Instead, he found a small plastic bucket, which probably belonged to a child. The top part of it was cracked, so it could probably only be filled about halfway before it started leaking, but it would definitely suffice. Picking the handle up in his mouth, he moved quickly back to the shed and put it down. "This oughta do."
Frowning, he glanced down and noticed that the deer leg was still at the mouth of the whole. He snorted softly, then scratched at the walls of the shed and barked. "You got too much pride to eat?" he asked the girl trapped within. She'd been in there for over half a week already, and he knew that she had to be rather hungry by now. A wolf could go for quite some time without food (they all did in the winter), but there was no sense in acting ridiculous. |
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Garnet nodded as he mentioned a spring; that would definitely help. She was worried that even if she did have something to get water with, she wouldn’t have anything to get water from. The first part of her worry was also handled when Anselm brought back a plastic bucket. She sniffed the object as he talked to the prisoner. Looking briefly between Anselm and then shed, Garnet picked up the bucket with her mouth and walked over to the spring that was ‘off to the side’. After dipping the bucket into the water, she found the crack that her superior had previously noticed. In other words, as she walked back to the shed, a little more than half of the water leaked out of the bucket.
Garnet walked over to the hole in the said shed and stopped, placing the bucket on the ground infront of her. Using one foot she gently pushed it through the opening, shoving the piece of deer meat out of the way in the process. She nodded and turned to the larger male. ”There. Anything else besides just keeping guard, sir?”
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Listening to the words of the male outside the shed she stared at the haunch that was pressed through the small space in the crack of the door. Her fangs bared softly as she growled and moved closer towards the door. The loud bang that thundered around her as the beast pounded his paw against the door caused her to shake her head and spat. "I'm not a savage.. I don't come busting down the doors when dinner's called." Her voice was tempered and cold as she snatched the meat with her nails and flung it towards the back of the shed. Stalking after it as she ignored the water bucket that was still at the door she narrowed her eyes as she circled her small nest of blankets and scraps before settling down.
Placing one paw on the haunch she glared at the voices that rose outside before hissing at the female. "We captives aren't like little petties you know... though our claws are just as sharp and our teeth just a deadly." She snickered to herself, knowing that she'd enjoy taunting and torturing the poor child from inside the cage she'd been granted.
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"Nah, that oughta be about it," he said. He paused for a moment, reconsidering. His voice lowered and he glanced to Garnet for a moment, ignoring Firefly's snappy remarks from within the shed. "And you know, for what it's worth, try to think about how she's feeling. Remember that Talitha's going through the same thing somewhere else." He didn't elaborate further; she could take that however she wanted. Some part of him was honestly hoping that if they treated the hostage decently, when the trade was done, everything would be finished for good. Obviously, maltreatment would just be more fuel for the fire--even if they managed to beat down most of the flames, any little thing could be what subtly kept it going. It might be too dim for them to notice, but even the tiniest thing later might trigger an explosion. Even without further "encouragement," as it were, that tiny flame might grow and swell on its own. Anselm wanted none of it.
Once more Firefly called to them from within the shed, and he whipped his head around to stare at the planks of wood blankly. Threats like these he couldn't take seriously; she was in enemy territory and rather well contained. Still, if it made her feel better, he supposed he couldn't blame her. Looking back to Garnet, he shrugged a little. "Good luck, I guess. Feel free to call for me any time."
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Garnet turned one ear towards the shed to listen to what the female was saying, though she said nothing as the other threw something inside her prison. However, the black coyote was more concerned about what her superior was saying at the time. She didn’t say anything when he recommended thinking about Firefly’s feelings and instead merely nodded. Anselm looked at the shed before wishing her luck and walking off; Garnet once again nodding respectfully. Red eyes turned back to the hole in the shed after he had disappeared into the distance. Garnet recalled the other’s comment and strange snickering from inside, and since she hadn’t said anything at the time, she said something now. ”We? There more than one of you in there or something?”
Her voice didn’t have any mockery in it, maybe a touch of humor though. The young female stepped back a bit from the hole and settled down on the ground where she could look into the hole when she had her head resting on her front paws, which she did. Garnet’s red eyes gazed into the darkness as she attempted to pick out the shape of the other female in there. Just to be safe, Garnet had made sure she was far enough away from the hole so that Firefly couldn’t reach through it and grab her, though what she would do after that if she could do anything didn’t really matter. ” Want to talk? I mean, must get boring sitting around in a shed all day.”
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The emerald eyed beast glared at the opening as she listened to the conversation that took place beyond her reach. Finally the elder seemed to drift off into the distance and she was alone again, well, as alone as she could be with a teenage guard at the door. The peace and quiet didn't last long as the taunt of the bitch came filtering through the shed. She bared her fangs and rolled her eyes at the stupidity of it all before she spat back. "Why don't you come find out baby.." her voice silky and sweet as her eyes twinkled in the light that fell inside the shack through broken slates.
When the face of the girl finally came into view to stare back at her Firefly wasn't amused. She'd have hope that the child hadn't taken her duties so seriously but it was obvious she wished to please the leader who'd left the scene. Firefly's voice followed suit as the girl asked if she wished to talk. "What's there to talk about.." she growled softly as she shifted in the darkness and settled on gnawing on the bit of meat the male had left for her.
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Garnet flicked her ears toward the other female when she spoke. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, seeing as this other female was determined to make things a bit more difficult. ” ’Cause I don’t roll that way.” She stated plainly, red eyes gazing back at the bright emerald ones from the shed. The wolf inside seemed to move back and start eating the meat provided though, which was good. Apparently she didn’t have too much pride after all. This made Garnet’s job somewhat easier; she at least didn’t have to force the prisoner to eat. But then, she’d heard once that starvation was a horrible way to die, that one was driven to base instinct and savagery near the end. In her thinking, Garnet had almost forgotten about the growl from Firefly.
”Well, we could talk about… or…” The female stopped and attempted to think of something to talk about. Shrugging, she looked back at Firefly and smiled. ”Hmmm, why don’t you tell me about yourself?” Garnet tilted her head slightly at the other.
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Firefly let a little hiss of air out between her teeth at the words from the other side of the entrance to her prison. Settling her head on one of her long limbs she muttered. "Well you're no fun then.. Maybe you should be more open.. there's a world outside your savage little bloodhappy clan." She failed to mention that the world was just a brutal and the wolves would turn on you in a heartbeat... but then again when you chose to follow the clan you were inviting that outside world if trouble into your life it seemed, so perhaps someone would introduce the little brat to the wide world of possiblities if she wasn't willing to help herself.
Nudging the half eated haunch away from her face she snorted at the girl as she asked about her. Narrowing her eyes she asked. "Why would you care who I really am.. it's probably better if I didn't tell you.. I don't think your leader would appreciate knowing.. and I'm not about to give you any tidbits to throw at his paws either." she spat at the girl. She knew her mother's history with the leader of Inferni, she knew what the stupid bitch had done and what the monster who ruled these lands had had a hand in as well. Firefly didn't care for their histories but she wasn't for certain what the man incharge of Inferni would do with such information.
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Garnet wondered why she was trying to be nice to this wolf. The other female obviously hated her guts and would probably attack her if given half the chance. But then, Garnet knew that Firefly couldn’t get out of the shed, and that made her more comfortable than cocky. ”Hmmm, maybe. And it seems to me that half of the savagery occurs within our borders. Would you believe Inferni attacking Inferni?” Garnet snorted before chuckling a bit. ”Wait, you probably would, ignore that question.” The black coyote smiled a bit at Firefly.
She raised an eyebrow a bit as the other narrowed her green eyes. Garnet shrugged. ”Well, you’re the one that said I should broaden my horizons. That and I was just curious. Maybe you could elaborate on the ‘world outside my savage bloodthirsty clan’?” Again, Garnet raised an eyebrow at Firefly. However, she could not ignore the wolf’s last comment, which made the coyote snort. ”You say that like I tell everyone everything all the time. Not like I’ve even really met Gab anyways.” She shrugged and used a front paw to scratch her ear. Garnet wasn’t exactly trying to make enemies here, in fact she was attempting to do just the opposite. The coyote knew that Firefly would eventually be released, seeing as Gabriel probably would exchange her for his own daughter, and when that happened Garnet didn’t want Firefly feeling like she had to come and kick her ass.
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Firefly's eyes light with amusement at the words the youth had foolishly presented her with. Obviously the clan wasn't so loving of eachother either. She wondered how in the world they were still able to hold on to their lands as a whole if they were at eachother's throats all the time. She chuckled darkly and ignored the bit of the comment she was told to ignore. "I'm surprised that you all can continue to multiply if the savages can't even maintain peace on the inside.." she said with simple delight at getting to taunt the members of the clan.
Like the other her age she snorted back at the comment she'd been granted and rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't ben interested in the world outside your happy little family.. " She narrowed her eyes again and rested her cheek upon her paws as she spat. "Where I lived the world thought were were barbarians for being different.." Then again the world she'd grown up in had been a bit barbaric in war, yet their lives had been peaceful and mysterious for the most part. If cattle raids and weaving were barbaric she would begin to wonder where these civilized folk thought they got started. The wolves and coyotes here in the lands she was born from were far more backwoods than her adopted clan in Eire.
She bared her fangs at the comment about the leader, soft words hissed out as she spoke. "On friendly terms or does everyone call him by a nickname.." She didn't really care what the girl knew about her, but she wasn't about to get her family all caught up in the chaos as well. They all had their own issues and problems.. Firefly didn't want blamed for anymore that came theirway.
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The black coyote watched Firefly carefully, listening to what she said. They were having a nice little conversation, oh yes. The wolf prisoner was absolutely determined to hate the coyote, or to make Garnet hate her at least. Garnet lifted an eye brow at the mention of multiplying. ”Well, a lot of us have half or more wolf blood. Isn’t that interesting? All this hype about wolves and coyotes hating each-other and yet…” The coyote trailed off, before addressing the actual issue. ”Besides, it was just me and one other coyote, and it was kinda my fault in the first place, so maybe I deserved it, I’m still going to kick his ass someday.” As she went farther into the sentence, Garnet turned her head away from Firefly until she wasn’t really even talking to the she-wolf.
There was a snort from within the shed and the coyote wondered if they were going to get into a snorting contest, or some other stupid activity. The black female’s ears pricked up as Firefly tempted her with tiny tidbits of information. ”Why’d they think you were barbarians?” Garnet attempted to coax the other into telling her more, though her purpose for doing so wasn’t malicious. The young female honestly wanted to know.
Garnet swiveled one ear towards the wolf and the other away as she hissed. The black coyote looked around behind her, just to make sure there wasn’t someone standing randomly somewhere. ”Not really and no. I’d never call him that to his face, see.” She turned back to Firefly, yawning slightly. ”What about Dahlia de Mai? What’s it like over there?”
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She gave up on the most part on being rude and cruel to the kid outfront of the shack though she did it grudgedly. She didn't want to like the girl but she really didn't hate her, just the fabric of what her clan taught her of the world. Her eyes were closed as Garnet spoke the mixed bloodlines in the clan as Firefly chuckled softly. "Do they teach you to hate what you are then.. or just to forget that half of you?" the words were spiteful but not because the girl spoke them, only because she was thinking of a sibling who walked the line between a wolf and coyote and yet could never belong to either species.
She openned one eye and smirked at the comment Garnet made, she shifted to her side and curled up slightly as she asked. "Who did you insult then? Or.. why?" There was slight humor in her voice as she taunted the girl mildly, the truth that she was indeed a prisoner weighing on her slightly as she continued the pointless conversation, admitting to herself silently that there was probably a million more to come between the warped boards.
Openning the other eye she sat there quietly as she tried to figure out exactly why they'd been thought as barbaric and in the end she just answered honestly. "We were different.. We lived carefree and happy lives.. even our battles and wars between the clans were mere games.." she spoke softly, dreamy words of a small slice of her past, yet the happiest season she'd known. She shook her head and dropped the story. "It doesn't matter.. it's the same everywhere.. the world wants to judge you because you're not what the world wants you to be."
She smirked when Garnet had admitted that she'd never call her leader by the nickname she'd granted him to his face. Firefly would though, she was just like that.. one who had to shine, never blend. She sighed softly and grumbled. "You live here.. why so interested in our horrible packs?" She wasn't even for certain what in the world the packs would think of a hybrid in their mists but she'd known that it did happen from time to time.. though most did tend to turn towards Inferni's lands.
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