days to remember
#1
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There wasn't much to see or smell there on the rocky beaches, where the waves washed away any scents come every evening. Nathaniel, in his Lupus form, walked along the beach's shoreline, making careful not to step on the large amounts of sharp rocks that lined the bank. He occasionally came across a seagull, which he chased after until they flew off, leaving him alone on the beach.

He sat on the shore then, staring off into the ocean as it tossed and turned in on itself, resembling a blanket that was shaken out and left in the wind to dry. It was strange to simply be sitting there, reflecting; he had been hunting, sparring, or scouting for most of his short life, and hadn't had much time to sit and reflect. Since Hybrid's death, he had felt somewhat empty - something that he felt action, something filling his life since his puppyhood ended, could fill. He found, in recent times, it didn't.

There was something bothering him - something that he could not quite pinpoint. Something was there, but he didn't know what it was - it was like an itch that he could not scratch. He had never doubted Inferni before, but he could not help but notice that while his appearance was coyote, his size slightly surpassed that of other coyotes', and his build was thicker - there was no denying the dominant wolf genes in him. It almost made him feel like an outsider, although all of Inferni accepted him as well as one could, and he would always swear to protect them.

Image courtesy of Staura@Flickr.

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#2
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Small white paws fell upon the gravel coating the beach; the stones clicked softly as they rolled against each other, but Vesper didn’t mind their cadence. She was too weary to put effort into keeping quiet (which was more or less pointless in her own territory); muscles she’d forgotten she had were aching severely after a long hour of training with her collie friend. She’d beaten Asher severely in their lupus combat sessions, and his puppy dog eyes after his most recent defeat convinced her to let him have a chance at playing teacher. A clumsy thin creature when dancing out of range of snaps and tackles, Asher was absolutely in his element positioning himself and drawing back a bowstring. He’d taught her more carefully than any of her former archery mentors, and the attention to detail meant a longer session and more abuse.

The scarred coywolf had wanted to step straight into the long tunnel of her den and fall asleep on the stuffed hide, but a scent along the edge of the limestone caverns led her out to Hades Beach. She’d been so busy with everything lately, such as mending and advancing things with Myrika and heading to the southland for information, that she’d neglected her young scouts. She by no means thought of it this way, but she’d wanted to gather the former Hydra’s brood under her wings; Wraith and Nathaniel had been two of her best students. She knew that Wraith was somewhat finding her footing as a scout (having greeted another young canine at the borders not long ago), but she didn’t know how well the boy was doing.

Seeing the russet form sitting alone on the beach, Vesper did not hesitate to walk closer, her paws even more careless about making noise to announce her approach. She wore a smile should he turn around, though, her blue eyes good-natured as she came to a stop.

Thanks for starting! +321

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#3
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So immersed in his thoughts as he was, he did not notice the scent of his leader as well as mentor until she was close enough so that the scent was

obvious. He quickly stood as she approached, bowing his head in respect to Vesper, waiting for her to sit before he did so himself.

"Vesper," he said, the words laced with deep respect and affectionate love for the woman. Ever since Hybrid had died, he had wished to pursue the

martial arts more than ever, and Vesper had taken him under her wing as a student, teaching him invaluable skills. When she had been promoted to leader, his

respect for her only grew, and now he considered her almost like a mother.

"How are you today?" he asked, a smile on his face reflecting the one found on Vesper's own. His thoughts were deep, slightly private to him, but

the leader before him was not someone he had met simply a few days ago. She was one of the ones he felt completely comfortable around, and if she asked what

he was thinking, he would answer with no hesitation at all.

Image courtesy of Staura@Flickr.

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#4
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Courteous as always, the reddish-brown coywolf dipped his head to her then waited for her to take a seat; she did so with a smirk that was as affectionate and gracious as it was teasing. Even though she tried to present herself as a lax leader, and therefore displays of deference got on her nerves, it was different with the boy. His warm greeting had her smiling more softly than she really dared to smile with most clan-mates save for Myrika and Sparrow, and she knew that there was no point in pretending she didn’t have a soft spot for Nathaniel.

“Exhausted,” Vesper answered honestly, rolling her shoulders and wincing slightly as she unknowingly flexed the muscles that had been killing her while she was shifted. “Bow practice,” she said by way of explanation, and shook her head before reaching out to nudge him playfully with a small, pale paw. She didn’t really mind small talk, and it was nice to just catch up with one of her informal students.

“What about you, kiddo?” she asked, eyeing him. “Sitting out on the beach all by your lonesome?”

<3

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#5
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When Vesper sat, and only when Vesper sat, did Nathaniel too sit upon the ground, feeling the grains of sand being displaced underneath him. It was clear that Vesper was tired - he moved to lick her shoulder, attempting to give her comfort that she could rest now, and all was well. He grinned sloppily as she batted him with a paw, and he pawed at her back before looking out over the ocean once more.

"I just been thinkin'," he said truthfully, still staring out at the sea. "S' like an itch I can't really scratch - why am I so much like a wolf?" After all, Hybrid hadn't been much wolf. Valkyrie certainly hadn't, and neither was Wraith, or any of the others that he considered his true family. No one in Inferni seemed to have as many wolf genes as he did, and precious few were taller or bulkier than the coywolf. Even his undying loyalty to the Clan was like a wolf's desire to fit in with the pack - he was more social, and perhaps more aggressive, than his coyote brethren. But he didn't know why.

Image courtesy of Staura@Flickr.

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#6
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Vesper couldn’t help but smile stupidly at the boy’s affectionate lick; she also had to admit that she was more than a little flustered by it, too, just because her maternal feelings were so at odds with how she’d perceived herself when she was younger. It seemed that she was growing out of that “tough guy” phase bit by bit, even if it didn’t diminish her strength. Her own mother, for instance, had to have been strong to even want to raise the children forced upon her, and to die in their protection rather than flee as she’d had every right to.

His question surprised her, and she glanced at him as he faced the ocean. She guessed he was a bit more wolfish than his siblings, but she’d never really thought of him as one. He was just a coywolf, much like many others of the clan where there were precious few pure coyotes, maybe tilting a bit on the perceived “wrong” end of the spectrum.

“I am half wolf,” Vesper pointed out evenly. “My father didn’t have a drop of coyote blood in him, and yet I seem more coyote than I should. I could have easily looked more like a wolf, with dark fur and smaller ears, but I didn’t. Blood has a strange way of showing itself.” She shrugged her shoulders then smiled at him encouragingly. “But I don’t think it matters, anyway. I heard that Ezekiel’s father, Gabriel, was much more wolf than he was coyote—and he was an Aquila.”

She sighed and let her forequarters dip down, her legs stretching over the gravel and sand of the beach before one crossed over the other. “This is cheesy as shit,” she warned, some of her sharper personality coming through, “but I think what’s in your heart that matters more, and where your loyalties lie. Your loyalties lie with Inferni, and so that makes you coyote enough.”

Mama Vesper loves her Nate. Big Grin +3

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