I will make sure to keep my distance

Max Klein · 08-13-2012, 11:06 AM

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(318)I left his actual location ambiguous, but assume it anywhere between the Caves and the Grotto. :3 For William!

For some of the clan, horseback was a preferred means of travel. Max himself certainly enjoyed riding, but he had pushed both of his grown beasts hard, dragging wood and logs into a massive pile that now grew outside of the Mansion. He had been pleased to start the porch off right, and now it was time to cut down the various lengths of wood into suitable pieces for its roof. This would undoubtedly be more difficult, as he had found when judging their lengths against that of a piece ripped up from aforementioned roof. Most were too small, and so he had only a few gathered. The rest, of course, could be used for other projects—he had gotten the obvious hints from Rémy about the kitchen and reluctantly agreed to give him the headway in that department.

This had, ultimately, what been what led him out on patrol. He needed to clear his head and think, and the familiar paths and routes helped. His gait was an ambling one, a peculiar mix of a coyote’s lope and a dog’s trot, and he stuck out like a sore thumb. Max was waiting for winter, when his fur would be a much more suitable thing, and was at least glad his coat was dulled by the dirt and dust. That too, however, meant he had a goal in mind.

While his patrol had begun at the caves, he had looped north and begun heading towards the Grotto. It would take a bit, of course, but he was eager to soak in the hot water for a time. Ezekiel had taught him about how heat could ease muscles, and while Max was no medic, he understood this as a fact. Still, the hot water was a long ways away, and he could feel the aches and tension in his body even as he moved forth in his lupus form.

Willam la Chemin · 08-14-2012, 01:50 AM

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Word Count → 507 :: Ambiguous location works as they would be on the move and traveling between places anyways.

While Willam had an equine companion, one that continuously followed her about with now being no different , she had no idea how to ride. Châtiment had only ever been used for labor, something that she would have to do again in order to give him a reason for following her about as he always did. The large female would hitch a travois to him and have Châtiment drag back the carcasses of large prey in order to feed all of the members. It was the one thing that Willam actually felt successful about so she would eventually end up contributing to Inferni in such away. Of course she was used to hunting in a group and well, she didn't know if Inferni already had an assigned hunting party or not. Just as she didn't know how they went about hunting either. Willam was used to, because of her size, being the one to wait in order to ambush the prey and take it down after it had been chased her way.

Willam walked the borders, having recently spoken to leadership about assignments and the such, but also used the time to keep an eye out for where herds gathered and what their routine was like. If she intended upon building a travois soon so that she could get back to hunting large game then she had to know exactly where to locate that game. So far she had noticed the Moors were frequented by prey and such seemed to be her best bet for catching something.

With her thoughts being distracted by that of prey she hadn't noticed another was nearby until she had nearly closed in on him. "Good day." She called out the greeting with a bow of her head. "Willam la Chemin, formerly of la Chemin." Even though she had pledged herself to Inferni now she still couldn't give up the greeting for la Chemin was still important to her as it was the only other place that she had known. "Do you mind if I join you?" The request was made as it seemed that the other was already out on patrols. Willam figured that two sets of eyes couldn't hurt, especially since she had learned of an attack on another pack not too far from this one. Of course if he didn't want the help or the company then she could continue on in the opposite direction of where he was heading and go back over what he had already down in case there had been someone or something waiting for his passing before doing whatever. Of course there was no way that she could know this for certain since she didn't know if he did his patrols on a strict schedule or not. If he did then it would make sense for someone that was waiting to ambush to wait until he had passed at the time that he usually would. And if not, well... there were those that did things without provocation or things that made no sense at all.

Max Klein · 08-16-2012, 10:19 AM

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:3

art by crypsis

The coydog was so lost in thought that he hadn’t even noticed the woman’s approach until she had called out to him. Max’s ears went up high, and his tail flagged—though this settled back into a relaxed position not long after, when her scent washed over him. Though still fresh on her pelt, the scent of Inferni confirmed she was a part of his world. This alone allowed him to accept her, for Max was without the sharp memory of betrayal. That position belonged to Ezekiel solely now, and the recollection of another, darker man had all but faded.

He took her in at a glance, finding her pelt unique and admiring it, and further noting that she was close to his own age. This pleased him greatly, for Max had been without many of equal comparison and was eager to make friends. Most of the clan was either too old, too busy, or too boring to keep him interested. A friendly smile, therefore, split his face into something boyish. At least, it might have been if not for the half-mad gleam in his eyes (inherited from his father’s bloodline) or the scar on his head. He certainly looked like someone who went looking for trouble and enjoyed taking it by the tail.

“Max,” he introduced himself. “And sure, yeah. I’m on my way to the hot springs.” He had stopped to examine her both with his eyes and his nose, and having gotten through this feral greeting, picked his trail up almost without pause. “You’re new here,” he said bluntly, and was fairly certain that was an obvious way to go.

Willam la Chemin · 08-17-2012, 12:22 PM

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Word Count → 327 :: Out of Character text

"Max..." She repeated his name thoughtfully. "You are a guard?" At least that is what she believed that is what she had been told. She wasn't certain of course. It had been some amount of time before she had only been told the male's name and rank but nothing else about him. Still it was good to have at least heard of him before, right? At least she was hoping that it would play out in her favor since she didn't really know too many in Inferni. Well, she didn't really know any. All she had were names and faces and where they had met but she didn't get into ranks or skills or anything substantial.

She gave a nod of her head as his destination was stated and stayed still for his feral inspection. It had her nervous though, especially when she noticed that she was being sniffed. Did she smell awful? The thought ran through her mind as a hand reached up for the crucifix to stroke fingers over it. She wouldn't say that she had never been sniffed before but just not so openly. It made her uncertain of what was proper for her to do in this instance. So she just ended up forcing some words out of her mouth. "I've been there before. The night the sky was on fire."

That probably sounded really stupid but what else was there to say? "I am." She agreed with his assessment as she followed along behind and to the side of him. Her awkwardness kept her from walking at his side. The thought still bothered her though. "Do I need to bathe again?" She finally asked the question outright. Willam couldn't stand not knowing if her smell was offensive or not. She had washed when she had rose early in the morning but it was possible she could have gathered too much musk from her activities throughout the hours that she had been awake.

Max Klein · 08-23-2012, 10:31 AM

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:3

art by crypsis

Though the actual complexities of his rank (specifically that he was meant to protect the Legatus) were more than just being a guard, he supposed that the simplistic term worked as well. Both Myrika and Vesper seemed capable of defending themselves, and Ithiel hardly left Myrika’s side unless he was out on patrol or doing whatever weird religious things he did with Angel. Max, as an outsider to both name and faith, did not understand and frankly had no desire to. He was, however, pleased she knew of him.

He cocked his head doggishly at her mention of the sky, tried to recall it, and found he could not. Still, he liked the idea and tried to picture a sky on fire—what he envisioned was something like the vast stretch of blue being ripped apart and actual flames pouring down. Even the clouds burnt, turning black in a sky the color of red-orange coals. So caught up in his thoughts was Max that he missed her question and blinked stupidly, shaking his head to clear it.

“What?” He asked, then realized what she said and let out a bark of laughter. His tail wagged merrily. “No, no, I just like to know who’s who. I’m pretty bad with names,” he admitted. “But I know every scent within this clan.”

Willam la Chemin · 08-25-2012, 08:47 PM

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Word Count → 332 :: Feel free to make it whatever you want if you want. Just thought they should run across something since they were sposed to be scouting the borders.

Willam had only been given a brief overview of others within the clan, just a name and a rank of a few. It wasn't much but it seemed to work well enough in this instance. She wasn't able to name off much else about the other but she could say that she had heard of him at least. And now she had a face to add to the name. Since he didn't oppose the description she figured that her memory had served her well. And well, she was glad that she hadn't ended up mixing him up with someone else.

Willam had no idea how else to describe the meteor shower other than the sky being on fire. She didn't know this science that Angel had spoken of. All she could do was to describe it as it had appeared to her. It was the clearest that she could convey it even though that wasn't clear enough at all.

Willam offered up a small smile as she learned that her scent wasn't offensive. "I am glad that I didn't offend you." She spoke up softly and had thought to say more until she had gotten distracted. She stopped moving suddenly when there was a flicker of movement off to the right somewhere in the distance. She turned her head to stare off in the direction that she could have sworn she had caught something in her peripheral. It had to be someone or something that belonged in Inferni, right? They were too deep in the territory for it to be an outsider. But still, if it belonged then why would it be creeping about? Or maybe she was just seeing things and there wasn't actually something there. She would feel so stupid if that were the case. Even so she tried to motion to Max to get his attention and pointed off to a spot in the distance, not taking he eyes away from where she swore she had saw something moving.

Max Klein · 08-26-2012, 11:05 AM

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Leaving it up to you! :3

art by crypsis

Having little clue as to exactly how new this stranger was (though the scent was not yet a part of her as it was those who had lived within for much longer) Max was easily impressed by her knowledge of him specifically. It was an egotistical thought, but he was a teenage boy very much seeking to define himself. Already a warrior, he wanted more; more praise, more fame, more challenges, and (recently) more liaisons. Draugr’s body and face haunted him, but he had not ventured to Salsola for fear of finding her changed.

He smiled a broad, toothy thing towards William that faded only at her pause. As her hand rose and her body became tense with alertness, he followed suit. Yellow eyes narrowed and his whole body quickly transitioned into something more savage. His tail stuck out stiffly behind him and his head dropped to be even with bristling shoulders. Without waiting for her he advanced quickly, moving at the swift, velvet-footed lope of a coyote. One might think she had sic’ed him on whatever it was ahead, given her form to his own.

Ahead of him the tall brush-grass rustled but concealed whatever it was in there. Max didn’t smell a wolf and was secretly disappointed. He frowned and slunk into the grass, visible despite his slow motions, sniffing here and there and trying to flush out whatever it was hidden in the green-tan field.

Willam la Chemin · 08-29-2012, 08:23 PM

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Word Count → 340 :: Sorry, it was the only thing I could think of that would be big enough to make it noticeable. If you want it changed then let me know.

Willam had only been around for nearly a month though had yet to fully settle in. She had only recently acquired herself a den. Of course it had taken talking to leadership for her to finally choose a residence. That talk had been within the past few days. So yes, she was still fairly new to the way that things worked and were run in Inferni. But at least she had the assurance that she could speak with the female in charge should she had more questions. It also seemed that Myrika had understood just what a big change all of this freedom of choice was for Willam and how nervous it made her.

Willam hadn't meant to send the male running after whatever it had been that she had barely glimpsed moving about. She had only been trying to warn him that she had seen something. Still, she couldn't let him take on whatever it was by himself. While she didn't really know anything about fighting and most likely wouldn't be a great deal of help she still felt responsible for his safety as he had headed off to investigate because of her.

Prowling about in the grasses was a cougar yearling on the hunt for one of the ungulates that had made its home within Inferni's borders. The feline's coat helping it to blend into the tall grass. Willam ended up running across the other predator as she had come chasing after Max. "Uh Max..." The other's name was called out softly as the large female backed slowly away from her face to face encounter with the cougar. The cougar really wasn't please to be disturbed and Willam wasn't looking to upset it any further. While the large female was used to hunting it had always been herbivores and not really any other carnivores so she wasn't at all prepared for what she had found. She especially wasn't used to tackling any sort of hunting head on for she was more used to the ambush method of hunting.

Max Klein · 09-02-2012, 09:32 PM

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This works. :3 I think between the two of them they could drive it off and maybe follow it until it collapses?

art by crypsis

When he had been a puppy, a lynx had tried to eat Max and his siblings. Their mother was lucky and, being close, managed to chase off and kill the animal. Such savagery was therefore natural to him—as was the healthy respect and understanding of his place on the food chain. Only the strong survived; and now here he was confronted with not only a challenge but an instinctive age-old enemy. Thus the instinct and the true-memory of such a predator spurred his body into motion long before the woman’s voice called his name.

Max froze and went stiff-legged, ears pricked and teeth bared. His vision came into focus and with it the swish-flick of grass that signaled the predator. It was behind him and so the young warrior turned and charged at the tawny cat.

It heard him coming and wheeled, screeching, and in a burst of braying barks and gnashing teeth. He fought with the spitz-dog slash and retreat and fought with a recklessness that showed. The cat’s claws cut across his shoulder, deep enough to draw blood, and he yelped in sheer indignation. It wasn’t long before the cat’s answering wail of pain echoed in a scream as Max tore at the cat’s shoulder deep enough to see bone.

Willam la Chemin · 09-04-2012, 04:46 PM

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Word Count → 582 :: Yay! Heh, cougar dinner then?

Willam hadn't any real experience with feline predators. She had always kept her distance. but then again she wasn't used to fighting at all. All of her killing her always been for food and had been done as swiftly as possible. As well the only life or death situation she had faced was when la Chemin had been set ablaze but she had ran from that. There had simply never been a time that she actually had to defend herself. Even now Max was doing the fighting for her. But this time she couldn't run off. She couldn't leave a fellow pack member to fight for her. If something happened to him she didn't think that she would be able to live with the guilt that she would feel.

She didn't know what to do and so she hesitated. She had her weapons in the pack on the equine's back but she didn't trust her aim. She didn't want to hit Max by mistake. Not to mention that she didn't want Châtiment to follow after her either. She didn't want the horse to be harmed either. She should get someone else who would actually be an asset in this situation but there was no time for that either. Willam felt torn but there was only one thing that she knew she would have to do.

Drawing in a deep breath she made the shift into her secui form, removing the cilice beforehand. It was rarely used and she hoped that after this she wouldn't have to use it again. She closed her eyes to steady the anxiety that she felt before plunging ahead to hopefully provide some sort of aid to Max. Since she was on four legs the stallion hung back as she charged forwards. But when she got there she didn't know what to do. She ended up watching Max for a moment before trying to imitate him.

She growled and took to the other side of the feline, not wanting to get into Max's way. She leapt fowards and tried to take a bite out of the cougar's side, trying to tear into the flesh over its ribs before backing off again only to repeat the process over again. She had no doubt that her inexperience shown through but she didn't care about that now. All she wanted was to keep the feline distracted so that Max wouldn't be injured any further. She was prepared to sacrifice her own life if it meant that Max would be safe at the end of this ordeal.

The cougar hissed, fighting wildly. Willam wasn't safe from the flying claws and would no doubt end up with her own set of scars, not that she didn't already have some from her own practices. The feline's survival instincts kicked in and when it got the opening it fled, running for its life. Willam spared only a single glance to Max before taking off after it. While Willam wasn't a fighter she did at least know that threats had to be eliminated and well, the cougar was clearly a threat. She had never exactly been good at the chase part but still she was treating it as a hunt now. She was confident in her hunting skills. All she had to do was to overtake it and fix her jaws around its throat and not let go until either the fight left the cougar's body or else Willam had succeeded in ripping its throat out.

Max Klein · 09-07-2012, 12:55 PM

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Yessss.

art by crypsis

Fighting with a cat was an entirely different experience than fighting with a canine. While Max had a set of powerful and ferocious teeth, the cougar had both these and its claws, which were (as Ezekiel had warned him countless times) carriers of disease. Every time he did manage to land a blow he was met with another, and his pelt was turning red quickly. His world shrunk to a view that was lined with red, frosted like light bouncing off ice. Battle was his drug and the addiction within him great.

He hardly noticed the woman join the fray, and did so only when they cat whipped around to face her. Max used each opening as best he could and cut into flesh again and again. Then, suddenly, the cat was shooting off into the tall grass. Hot blooded off adrenaline the two canines tore after it, Max’s lupus form only slightly smaller than that of his Secui companion. He left a trail of blood behind them, but in his battle-fury did not even recognize the wounds or the pain that would come soon.

The cat was faster than they were, but endurance belonged to their breed. For nearly half a mile the chase went on. Max began to limp. Ahead of them the cougar was wearing down, and it was hardly a challenge to follow it now—the blood trail, much like his own, was a red beacon. Tongue lolling, Max finally gave in to his aching leg and slowed.

Willam la Chemin · 09-15-2012, 02:05 AM

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Word Count → 336 :: It will be the first time Willam has kitty meat

Willam was an avid hunter but this was the first time that prey had ever fought back, not the cougar was actually a prey animal. It hadn't started out that way at least. But with it on the attack it quickly turned into a kill or be killed situation and Willam was still in the favor of life right now. If blood hadn't been shed then she owuld have been fine with letting the feline run off. Actually Willam wouldn't have cared if it was only she that had been attacked but since it had gone after Max first then it had to be destroyed rather than risking it attacking another Inferni member.

Willam cared little for the claw marks that now littered her body. It wasn't as if she hadn't already had scars. Granted this time it came from attack rather than penance. Or perhaps it was a form of penance from her God for some wrong doing of hers that she had forgotten to punish herself for. Either way this would not be her first set of scars. And it most likely wouldn't be her last set of scar either.

Willam wasn't used to running full out for great lengths but she refused to let the cougar get out of eyesight. Her tongue lolled out and she panted as she ran. When the cougar started to give into its fatigue and injuries Willam pushed herself harder. She dipped into her reserves and launched herself at the feline. Jaws managed to secure themselves around the large cat's throat and clenched on tightly. The momentum from the attack dragged both canine and feline to the ground but Willam refused to release her hold. She ignored the claws that scraped across her chest, shoulder, and back as the cat fought for the release that Willam would not give to it. Instead she just squeezed her eyes shut so that they wouldn't get injured as she just held on and waited for the cat to finally fall still.

Max Klein · 10-06-2012, 12:06 PM

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art by crypsis

A wounded animal was more dangerous. Ezekiel had pressed that lesson into his head, reinforced it with stories of beasts of northern wilds that grew larger and more dangerous. Max had never seen a bear or any of the strange foreign animals that Ezekiel had spoken of (who were rare offspring of those escaped from zoos and sanctuaries and made to survive) but he understood the warning none the less. He had been mad with pain during the Boreas War and lost himself into the battle. A cougar was deadly and they had many young members to think of.

William reached the cougar first. She managed to get to the throat and, even as the beast clawed at her in desperation, Max darted forward and sunk his teeth into the animal’s hind leg. His jaws bit down, hard, and there was a satisfying crunch as tendon and bone gave into the pressure. Then the animal’s fighting slowed and stopped. The hot smell of death came almost instantly and Max drew back, avoiding the cat’s soil. His chest was heaving from exertion, pale coat displaying the full wrath of blood in brilliant shades of red and brown.

Yellow eyes turned up to William and Max grinned toothily. “You have the first claim, since you made the kill,” he offered. Meat, hide, teeth or claws—he was unsure what she might desire from the animal. Max certainly could think of several uses for the carcass.

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