sharksThe more time he spent in the area, the more his plans seemed to erode away. At some point along the way, before he had made it all the way over the mountain, he had had a clear idea of what he had planned to do, who he had planned to speak to, how everything was supposed to unravel. But the reality of things did not fit anything he had expected and subsequently, everything fell apart. He had been naive to have not thought about war. From the information he'd gathered so far, it almost seemed like they were trying to test his resolve. How long would he put off going back to Inferni? His niece had been kidnapped. He had a fresh litter of nieces and nephews that might also be in danger. His family was all out for blood, and their blood was on the want list as well. Could he really stand by idly even if he didn't really believe in the origins of the conflict? At the end of the day, beyond all the disillusionment and disappointments, they were still his family.



sharksThe cloaked, young coyote was wandering rather aimlessly today, trying to clear his mind. He was tired of thinking about Inferni and Dahlia de Mai, of thinking about two had been the two coyotes that had been killed in the most recent scuffle, of thinking about the idea that Talitha was probably being tortured. Ignoring it didn't make it go away, but this was more stress than he was used to. The real world was much crueler than he could have thought. Instead, he tried to think about his sister, wherever she was, and his father, if he was even still alive. No one had said a word about them, so he could only assume that Clouded Tears had dissolved with the rest of the packs. Oh, even the other half of his family was depressing to think about.



sharksHe migrated towards the lake, worn from a day's worth of doing nothing. The area he approached seemed to already be occupied, but though the usually lonely boy wasn't sure he wanted company, he was too tired to change course. Oh, hello, he greeted simply, sitting down a short distance from the much older male. Arkham stiffened a little when he saw the long knife and eyed the stranger wearily through the opening of his cloth mask. He really didn't want to deal with trouble today.

sharksHe had gotten used to the mint some weeks ago and did not much notice it anymore. Indeed, it had become a background scent, replacing his natural scent as something that he didn't really pick up anymore unless it was gone. Everyone else's apparent aversion towards him was amusing to some extent, though he recognized it only further segregate him from people. Of course, that was what he wanted for the moment, but it still went against the loneliness that had plagued him since he was young. Or maybe it was just something he would live by now: isolation in a sometimes crowded world.



sharksThe other was clearly a warrior of one sort or another, heavily armed and rather brutish looking, but his actions thus far did not make him appear particularly hostile, so Arkham relaxed marginally. It would be something his brother might taunt him for, but the young coyote knew he could run fast if it came to it. His own physical strength was not anything to brag about yet. Well, he smiled tiredly, It could just be that I'm hiding some hideous deformity and that I like the scent of mint, maybe he had fur and skin dripping in a melted mess on the back of his head and the mind was to help the rotting smell, But in any case, you can call me Kharma.

sharksIf the man had asked for a story, the young coyote would have certainly obliged to give him one. It would have, of course, been full of nothing but lies, but it would be a grand tale all the same, of perils and tragedy and heroic efforts of one sort or another. Those were the sorts of things he had thought about sometimes while staring at the ocean. At the mention of scars, he thought of his father. Curiosity at where and how each injury had been obtained was natural, but he somehow doubted that he'd ever hear the details of any of them, if the man was still alive at all. Arkham wasn't sure whether or not he could miss someone he'd never really known, even with all the information he'd gleaned from his brother. Red eyes studied the stranger sitting by him now -- more scars or less? About the same, he supposed, with just as many stories he'd never know because he wouldn't ask.



sharksHe twitched an ear at the given name though and cocked his head slightly. Skoll? he repeated curiously. He was glad no other emotion really leaked through his voice. In truth, the things he'd been told about Skoll had been long ago enough that he didn't remember much of it anymore. He'd only been a few months old. The affairs of the outside world hadn't mattered much then. I'd heard you'd been at odds with Inferni, the coyote said, hoping that it wouldn't have the other question his origins or alliances too much. But I'm sure there's another side to that story. Just as there always was. It was just that he hadn't really been interested in it until now.

sharksIf he looked for them, Arkham could possibly connect himself in one way or another to a vast majority of the population in the area. His mother had had at least four litters; the fathers of those litters likely had other litters. His siblings had relationships; his father did, undoubtedly, but even with the general knowledge, it would be difficult for him to comprehend just how extensive his family was, especially if those that weren't direct blood relatives and those that were adopted in were considered. Given all those connections though, it was cruelly ironic that there always seemed to be conflict, even now.



sharksMolochai was Gabriel's littermate, he knew, but he didn't remember ever having met the man; this only confirmed that the event Skoll described had taken place a long time ago already, at least as far as he was concerned. He imagined this Naniko girl -- or really, she had to be a woman by now -- had strayed too close to the borders, though "too close" might have been defined differently by Molochai. The pups that had attacked had to have been Samael and Ahemait. It was almost unfortunate that Arkham found that he could understand both sides of the fight too clearly. His family was high strung and eager to defend to the point that it didn't really seem like defense anymore. Gabriel had told him once that wolves had killed his brother while he watched. If true, the coyote could understand why those sorts of sentiments never really went away.



sharksAt the very least, he could understand now why his eldest brother had warned him away from Storm that day. It had been a confusing time as he had made a friend out of Phasma, however briefly, but he had never seen her again, so it hadn't mattered in the end. Well, that's not hard to believe, he gave a small laugh. I suppose they're convinced the world is against them, so they have to take down the world before the opposite can happen. He doubted Gabriel would ever believe in peace. No one died though, he mused, Could you say it turned out okay, then?

Nothin' wrong with short.



sharksArkham would be curious to know just how connected their world was. Did the words of a few affect the opinions of many? How quickly did information spread? Were rumors as lethal as they sounded? Or did such things waft around slowly and take weeks before spreading around completely? His impression was that people did not maintain many connections with others outside of their packs, but that was based largely on his own experience. After all, he didn't realize the extent of families stretching across several packs and clans, especially after the fire when all of the wolf packs were forced to regroup completely, often banding with some family and friends while other relatives went elsewhere. The "new world" as it were, was potentially much more connected than the old one, so it was probably lucky for Skoll that this scuffle had taken place some time ago.



sharksHere? I just got to this side of the mountain a week or two ago, he explained, I went a different direction initially during the fire. For the while, the coyote decided against admitting that he'd been born in the old lands, But yes, I'd lived there. Arkham had not traveled far to the north after the fire as he had always known that he would go back. At some point, crossing the ocean had occurred to him, but he had decided against it in the end. The simplest explanation was just that the idea of spending any length of time surrounded completely by water did not appeal to him. You must have traveled a lot though, if you only arrived there when you were four. Are coyote-wolf relations as horrible elsewhere as they are here?

Bolding is just three single quotes on either side of a word. xD



sharksIt was likely that Arkham's disguise was largely unneeded; he had not been a particularly adventurous child and had not met many people outside of Inferni. Thus, that anyone would recognize his face was a slim chance at best, but he did not know how frequently other members of the clan ventured outside their territories and had thought it better to keep his scent trails hidden, at the very least. In the end, it would probably be a good thing, considering how often Anselm de le Poer seemed to scout the lands.



sharksThe coyote flicked an ear and considered Skoll's words. Thanks to his childhood apathy, he wasn't very easily offended, and even if he hadn't fallen away from his brother, it was unlikely that he would have really reacted to the accusation of poor leadership. As it were, the boy didn't really think Gabriel was a poor leader so much as he was overprotective and paranoid. And crazy, maybe, but he refused to come to any conclusions there until he knew more. Well, he said, I don't think it's so much an issue of 'putting people in charge' as it is family inheritance at this point. Most of them are related. Gabriel had been the eldest son; it had only been proper. Though he was very much against the idea, he imagined that if Gabriel died or otherwise disappeared now, then Samael, as the next eldest Lykoi male, would take the reins.



sharksPast grievances seem to be a pretty valid reason anyway, I think, even if it seems a little foolish from the sidelines. He shrugged, People don't forgive easily, and they don't expect others to.

If you look at the history section, you can see who edited it. ;3 Couldn't really think of anything else. End this soon?



sharksHe imagined that the lack of punishment, as it were, was also due largely to the fact that most of Inferni was related. Regardless of anything else, Arkham was sure, sure, that Gabriel cared about his family, even if he didn't always show it. Whatever else his brother was and whatever else his brother had done, the young coyote would not forget who had taken care of his sister and him when his mother disappeared. Nevertheless, he did not really feel as if Gabriel cared so much as to not discipline those within Inferni. After all, he had watched as Andrezej was banished, though now that he thought about it, Arkham didn't really think such a banishment would help when and if his full-blooded brother caused trouble elsewhere. It was perhaps a curse that Inferni was so inter-related. If Andre killed someone, even if wasn't a member of Inferni, Arkham imagined that others would still blame the family. The cult of Lykoi remained infamous.



sharksThe cloaked canine said nothing though, half-thinking that such an argument would reveal too much about his alliances and half-thinking that it wouldn't really change much. He imagined that older folk were more immutable in their ways and their logic. Or maybe he was more biased than he'd like to admit, even as he tried to see both sides of things. Who knows, he conceded, Maybe things will change eventually.



sharksIt might have been good that Arkham didn't know that Inferni had had a period of relative peace under the leadership of Kidorah and for a time, Segodi. That peace had only been achieved when power had shifted from his family was too simple and seemed to force the conclusion that the Lykois were the source of all the conflict. But then again, those were the things he was already looking into.