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For Tammi and her Tay-face! <3
<3 It had been months since Pilot had last seen the wolf from Jaded Shadows whom he had begun to teach low speech. Quite frankly, seeing her again and continuing the lessons hadn't crossed the boy's mind in quite a while. He had been too caught up in his blossoming romance with Dierdre, as well as his responsibilities within Storm, and lately he worried about keeping an eye on the kids for Phoenix and Iskata. Now that he had gotten a second on his own, Pilot suddenly remembered the friendly face of the Jaded Shadows alpha and figured he would pay her a visit.
<3 He couldn't ever remember having come to Jaded Shadows, but he knew exactly where he would come across their borders. He headed northeast past the all familiar Yahraw River territory, until he came to what he knew were the borders. Though it had been over five months since he had last seen her, he could recognize her smell here. He wondered if that little fowl friend of hers still followed her around, too.
<3 He let out a call, summoning her to him. He hoped that she would be at least partially happy to see him again, and they could perhaps continue with their lessons. It had been a while now, and Pilot wondered if she still remembered the alphabet song he had tried to teach her, along with the few words he had thrown in. She had been doing such a good job, but the long break from learning could have put a damper in her second hand education.
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You can see her whenever it rains
___ This got a little long, sorry.
From Rome to New Orleans dancing on the graves
___ Writing things, Tayui had found, was extremely difficult work. Since she had begun her History of Bleeding Souls, she had begun to write more and more frequently. She was also remaining fully shifted in her Optime form quite a bit now, for she almost always seemed to be writing something at some point. She had found that keeping track of things on paper made them much easier to remember. It also gave her a horrible cramp in her hand, giving her reason to stop every minute or so and shake it out. It was a bit of a bother, since wolves were obviously unsuited to human tasks, but she was still trying. She had begun making records of everything she could remember, from the numbers of wolves in the pack, to drawing out crude maps of the lands. She knew the pack lands quite well now, after having lived there for nearly three winters, but she needed something to write.
___ Tayui sighed contentedly to herself, smiling as she finished her sentence. Her writing had not improved since she had begun, but she was finding that she could make the letters with less difficulty. It would take a lot of time before she got really good at it, though. She shook her out her hands, and began to collect her pencils, papers, and other items, putting them back into the leather bag. As she stood up, she paused, perking her ears in concentration. From the borders, she could hear the sound of a howl, someone definitely familiar. She paused, breaking out into a wide smile. It was Pilot! He had returned!
___ Tayui inhaled sharply, howling in return to the male. She promised that she would meet him at the borders as soon as she could. She just had to go back to her den and gather her notes on lowspeech. When she had returned to the pack, she had jotted down what she could remember, if a little shoddy. She made sure her bag was securely fastened, walking towards the pack den. It was such a beautiful day that she had opted to write outside, and had brought her notes with her just outside the den.
___ Once she entered her own den, she replaced the History she was writing with the notes on lowspeech, adding some blank paper and pencils. This time, she would write down everything as she learned it so she could remember it better for the next lesson, and so she could show Pilot how to write. She shortened the bag's length by tying off the strap, and placed it over her shoulder. She stretched, yawning, and began to shift into her Secui form. The transformation took no longer than two minutes, and she set off at a quick trot, picking up the pace once she exited the den. She reached the borders in no time, letting out a friendly woof to warn Pilot of her arrival. She shrugged the bag off with some difficulty, letting it fall to the ground. She shifted back into her Optime form, bending down to pick up the bag. She untied the knot and carried it with her as she looked for Pilot.
___ As soon as the male came into view, she grinned widely, laughing as she spread out her arms in greeting. "Pilot! How're you?" She did not bother to conceal her joy at seeing the wolf, grinning like a fool, and laughing like a lunatic.
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_____Excitement engulfed Pilot when only moment later, a reply came from Tayui. It was good that she wasn't too busy not to see him and that his trip had paid off. He hoped that perhaps after this lesson, maybe Tayui would actually be able to say short basic phrases. Maybe Bandit would even come along, and they could test things out on him. If he was feeling moderately cooperative, that was. If not, Pilot wondered if perhaps he could find a local squirrel or some other creature to chip in and help them. After all, he did have a way with the critters.
_____He was surprised with the speed that she arrived - he swore it couldn't have taken any longer than a few minutes. When he saw her, she was in her Optime form, as was he after shifting right before his arrival. It had been the first time she would see him as a werewolf, and it was the first time he had seen her in that form as well. It would be interesting now, for they would be able to actually scribe things in their lesson. Well, at least Tayui would. Pilot, on the other hand, had no idea how to write. Low speech had always just been spoken to him - never written down.
_____"It's good to see you again, Tayui! I've been doing pretty good myself. How have you been? Everything gettin' along well in Jaded Shadows?" She spread her arms as she approached him, grinning all the while. Pilot returned the same emotions, embracing her for a moment while he spoke. It was nice to see a familiar face again.
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You can see her whenever it rains
From Rome to New Orleans dancing on the graves
___ Enthusiastically, Tayui embraced the male, giving him a good pat and a wide smile. She stepped back, nodding, and chuckling to herself quietly. She shook her head, stepping back to give Pilot room. It was indeed wonderful to see him again after so much time had elapsed. She just hoped that she had not forgotten anything he had taught her. Because of this, she had written everything down as she could remember, and studied it as often as possible. In between writing her History of Bleeding Souls, always keeping an eye out for Fatin's puppies when the other female was not, and conferring with Fatin every other minute, she had found that free time was nothing more than a fleeting memory. There was always something to do, but she would not have it any other way.
___ "I've been doing well; Jaded Shadows is thriving, and it's wonderful to see all the puppies now. I've been quite busy, but... it's wonderful." She shook her head, smiling quietly to herself as she recalled the way her days went about: in a sort of chaotic organization of events, wolves, thoughts, and words. So much went on every day, from being harassed by Bandit (who had become more scarce since she had seen Pilot last), other times when time was spent greeting old acquaintances, and making new ones. It was hectic, but wonderful. It was stressful at times, and the most relaxing thing in the world, and it was everything to Tayui. Her heart swelled up with pride every time she thought of how the Shadows' lands were doing, how the members were thriving, and how she was so much happier now.
___ "And Storm? I hear you've some puppies now, too," she said with a chuckle. She knew exactly what that was like.
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_____ Talking with Tayui, Pilot almost saw Dierdre there instead of the Jaded Shadows alpha. He found that more often his mind would wander to thoughts of her, and that so far was perfectly fine with him. Though he was really excited for their continuation of the low speech lessons, Pilot couldn’t help but wonder how Dierdre was doing back in the safety and comfort provided within Storm’s boundaries. He hoped that she wouldn't be too upset with him that he had gone, but it had been such a long time since he had seen Tayui. It was only fitting that he visited his friend again.
_____ "Well that’s good. I’m glad Jaded Shadows is getting along well. Yeah, Storm’s been just about as hectic. Phoenix and Iskata had their pups, and they’re a handful. Adorable," he laughed, "but pretty rambunctious." Now that Phoenix had the new duties of looking after the pack as well as his own pups, Pilot found that there was less time for them to spend time together. Though, of course, they collaborated on things related to the pack’s welfare (as did all members of Storm), they didn’t have much time just to be friends. Pilot missed that at times, especially now that he had come to realize that aside from Dierdre, Phoenix was probably the closest friend he had.
_____ "How’s the low speech been coming? I know I didn’t leave you with much and it’s been a long time, but do you still remember any of it?" Pilot asked then, turning his thoughts towards their past encounter. He had had a lot of fun trying to explore the language with Tayui. Though it came naturally to him, Pilot had realized just how complex languages were, compared to one another. He was grateful he had been exposed to it at such a young age and that it had stuck.
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You can see her whenever it rains
From Rome to New Orleans dancing on the graves
___ Tayui nodded, smiling, as Pilot spoke of the goings-on of his own pack. She had heard of the puppies only in passing, something that had been mentioned to her by another the Storm wolf she had met when she was talking a walk through the Yawrah River Territory a short time ago. She could easily relate to the male's current situation, with Fatin's brood running amuck, Calypso's daughter, Sophia, and Deuce's own, Shadow. It was an interesting, but busy time indeed.
___ "I wrote down much of what you told me, and tried to practise it regularly. Bandit has been by a few times, and has been, ah... helpful in the learning process." She laughed as she spoke, shaking her head in wonder. It was strange how Bandit had disappeared more and more frequently, but he always seemed to return. She had since picked up on a few things, and had come to be able to say a wide array of curse words, and foul phrases. She just hoped she would be able to forget those, or unlearn them if that was even possible.
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_____ With the pups running around, he wondered if perhaps he would be able to get one to sit down with him so that he might try and teach them low speech as well. It was something that he really cherished, now that _Tayui had become so interested in learning, and it was a part of his heritage that he did not want to forget. In fact, he wanted to share it with anyone that was willing to listen and learn; along with any of his other eccentric squirrelly habits.
_____ "Oh, how is the little guy? Still as foul as last time?" _Pilot asked, grinning to himself with thoughts of the bird’s disheartening comments. He hadn’t been particularly friendly the first time _Pilot had come to lay eyes on the little ghost. "And did you say writing?" When she had said that, his ears perked up and his interest was intrigued. Now that he could hold a writing utensil, he often wished and wondered if one day he would write.
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lezbn Sorry! ><
lezbn Of all things she loved, learning was one of them. Whether it be learning of the land's history, other wolves lives, or simply how sunlight interacted with plant life, it was all fascinating to her. Learning how to speak the words of the smaller animals would be especially beneficial in learning more later on. All she did not was to become more knowledgeable in the future, for if she could befriend the carrion-pickers and vultures of the sky, a deal could perhaps be wrought. From such an alliance, Tayui could see the benefits to the pack as well as the dangers, though, she would never attempt anything so radical until she was completely proficient in low speech. At the moment, these were mere fantasies of the future, something to strive to achieve.
lezbn Tayui chuckled as Pilot spoke, nodding as she tried to form a reply. Both his questions received a smile, for each was amusing in a different way. Indeed, Bandit had not been too helpful in her journey of learning (if she were to call it that), and had been downright bothersome most of the time. It was unfortunate that he was a ghost, and had since realized there was very little Tayui could do about his annoying qualities. "Bandit's still a bother, but there's the occasional time when he's fairly cheerful. Usually when he's disturbing my work when I'm writing. He loved to disrupt me when I was practicing my low speech, which I wrote down. I didn't want to forget it, and I have the sheets with me." She gestured to the bag slung over her shoulder, shrugging a bit with a small smile.
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_____ As she motioned towards the bag slung over her shoulder, Pilot turned his gaze towards it – peering as if somehow the miracle of writing would suddenly be revealed to him. He was definitely excited to continue their lessons, and hoped that maybe he would even be able to learn something of writing. "So, would you like to continue on then? I don’t want to keep you for too long, since I’m sure both our packs will be missing us sooner or later," he told her with a small grin.
_____ He took a seat on the soft grass, crossing his legs in an Indian style posture as one hand absentmindedly found the necklace that hung from twine around his neck. Aside from the Monroe piercing in his lip, it was the only piece of jewelry that he wore. Both held great meaning to him and served as a reminder of the person whom gave it to him. As he waited for Tayui to situate herself, Pilot found himself continually glancing towards her eyes. Bi-colored, like Dierdre’s, they intrigued him and he wondered if perhaps his children may inherit the same thing. That was, if he and Dierdre ever decided to have children. Maybe it was a little too early to think of that just yet.
_____ "Dierdre and I were supposed to visit my family this fall, but now with her being sick and all, I’m not sure it’s going to happen anymore. After all, fall is coming to a close pretty soon. And traveling in the snow wouldn’t be too smart." He spoke as friends, just keeping the conversation light and happy as they prepared to continue teaching each other things. Little did he know that Tayui was also writing a history of the individual packs. It would be something that would also spark his interest.
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Tayui was unsure how one might acquire dual-coloured eyes, but hers, though intriguing, had been wrought not through birth, but through violence. The opposite to the painful, but joyous event of conception, her eyes had once in fact both been a brilliant shade of sky blue. Since that time, the one had faded to a pale blue, for little could last forever, and the other remained a murky red. The last time she had seen her half-brother, Daedalus, he had attacked her leaving her with not only a nasty scar that had since begun to fade, but also an eye the colour of dried blood. She was unsure how it had happened, for in the fight she had been certain she would lose her eye, it had instead taken upon a new colour. She had heard of such things happening in the past, where others were wounded in such a way that some certain part of their eye was affected, causing it to turn red. It was curious how one event, no matter how far back in the past, could still be seen, reflected on an individual possibly for their entire life.
Tayui moved as Pilot sat down, shifting over so she could sit a good arms reach away from him. She did not want to impose or seem too friendly, since they had only conversed a few times, and decided to give them some room. She shifted once more, moving so she could grab the bag that was slung over her shoulder. She pulled it so the pouch was sitting on her lap, and began digging through it for her papers. She pushed a few blank pieces to one side, finding the ones she was looking for after a few more moments of searching. "Here we go," she said quickly, slightly distracted. "These are the sheets with the letters. You won't be able to understand them, but I wrote them down how they sound. I'd like to continue so I can make sure I got these all done correctly, since I might have gotten a few letters mixed up." She paused, and handed Pilot the papers. She pulled the bag over her head and set it down beside her, making sure to close it so nothing flew out. She didn't want to lose anything if the wind unexpectedly picked up.
She made a grimace at the news, nodding solemnly when Pilot mentioned Dierdre being sick. She was no healer like Fatin, and thus knew little about illness, and had nothing to offer on the subject but her condolences.
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I figured since this is starting to get out of date, we could just do short posts and try to finish it up. Does that sound okay? I was thinking we could not get to the pack history part just yet and we could have a new one after this (when you get the chance) where they meet up again and Pilot tells her what he knows about Storm?
_____ Pilot took the papers in his hands and looked at the foreign symbols that Tayui had written down. Some of them were very similar to the letters Pilot had seen in the books he had started to read. Though, he wasn’t exactly sure how to write them. Though the two were directly related, something just seemed harder about actually writing the language. He was sure he’d get the hang of it, though. Sooner or later.
_____ "So, some of these look familiar. Like the ones in the books. Are they the same?" A few he didn’t know for sure, but that didn’t mean they weren’t similar. Of course, Dierdre had been the one to initiate Pilot’s reading, so things would be different with Tayui now. At least, that’s what he figured. "It’s all really similar – low speech and the stuff Dierdre has me reading from the library. You know more about that stuff though... reading, I mean. Do you think it is?"
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"I use the same letters the books do. There are other books, too, but they use different drawings for sounds. Most of the ones in the human city use the same letters I do." She paused, watching as Pilot continued to examine the words she had written down. Some were merely letters, whereas others were a few letters to make one full sound. By using human symbols and the sound the letters made, she hoped to make a catalogue of low speech letters and the sounds they made. It was difficult so far, though, mostly because they were not quite the right sounds. She might have to invent new letters to make some work, or add accents like French words had.
She would have to read them out to Pilot to be sure they were all correct. She did not want to get any wrong, especially if she were to make a catalogue -- or dictionary, even, of sounds. "I think everything's similar in some way. They're all connected. We just have to figure out how." She nodded decisively, recalling how some low speech words had been very similar to their own, and how some letters had been quite close, but more difficult to form.
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Pilot traced each of the symbols with a slender finger, saying the sounds that went with them under a hushed breath. He knew the sounds quite well, and made up little mnemonics to help him remember what the different symbols meant. After trailing through the list of letters, Pilot looked up to Tayui with a slit grin. "All of the sounds are represented, even the ones that have different sounds than the English ones.
It’s sort of confusing – how it’s the same letters, but different languages… even though low speech comes so easily to me." He envied Tayui for her reading and writing abilities, but knew she must have felt that same about his ability to speak the low language fluently.
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Tayui remained silent as Pilot sounded out the words, running his hand across the paper as he read out the symbols she had derived as letters. She had combined a few letters to create other sounds, adding her own notes so she would not forget just how each letter was intended to be pronounced. She smiled as Pilot spoke, her smile widening into a grin as he approved her work. She had been unsure if it would make sense or if any of the symbols were correct, but she supposed now that all her worry had simply been her overactive imagination at work.
"There are parallels everywhere. I know Fatin speaks a bit of French - I recognize some words from when I spoke it as a puppy. Some words are similar, and others simply are not. It's... interesting, something I'd like to pursue further. Although, I suppose I should finish my low-speech project and compiling my history of Bleeding Souls," she said with a laugh. "There's so much to learn! I don't know how the humans ever did it," she finished, almost wistfully. It was strange how she envied them, but wished she could be nothing like them. Such paradoxical creatures, they had been, contrite and vengeful. She smiled, thinking how many wolves she had such traits.
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"History of Bleeding Souls?" Pilot asked, mirroring what she had just told him only a moment ago. Though he didn’t know more about it yet, it intrigued him and it made him wonder of the past that this place held deep within its vast expanse. And in a split moment, Pilot traveled back to his family and his past, searching for those days when he still lived with his biological parents, before he had gotten lost in the cold world, before the family of squirrels had taken him in. He had fallen so deep into his thoughts, it felt as if he was spiraling into them. When he finally snapped back to reality, he leaned forward, as if the momentum of trying to revisit his past was still pushing him.
"Are you writing it?" He asked, relating back to how she had taken these notes over low speech. He figured in a few months – December.. January, perhaps – that Tayui would have this all figured out. Pilot didn’t think it was that bad, once you identified what the similarities were.
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Tayui nodded emphatically as Pilot posed his question, smiling as he paused, seemingly lost in thought. Silently, she watched the other as his eyes changed, widening slowly before he leaned closer to her. Tayui cocked her head slightly in question, eyeing the boy as he inhaled, slightly amused. How many times had she done that in her past? Spent days daydreaming, spent her time trying to pretend she was someone else, somewhere else. She had not been strong enough to live in reality, the current time, and instead created a new world where she could doze in the warm valleys in the summer and gaze at the sky for hours. Slowly, she had grown out of that habit with the help of those around her and her own strength. It had taken time, but now she only lived in the present. The sense of accomplishment when she looked back at how weak she had been was overwhelming.
Once again, Tayui nodded in reply to Pilot's question, smile still present. "Yes, I am working on recording much of Bleeding Souls' vast history. I've only got fragments right now, some drawings. It will take time and patience to finish this." She made a strange face at the thought, recalling meeting Lucifer, who had known of the old pack of Chimera, and Phasma Kiles who had been Alpha of Syemv, and now Gamma of Storm. She had only met her once, but the female had been kind enough to humour Tayui with a question or two before having to depart.
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This is so old, I figured we could close it up now and have a new thread sometime soon. Sound okay?[html]
"That’s really interesting. I don’t know much about Storm, but I would be happy to tell you what I know if you ever need any help. Though, Phasma or Phoenix might know a little more than me, as they’ve been around Bleeding Souls longer." Pilot wiped his palms across his thighs, as if brushing away any dirt that had happened to fall there. He had enjoyed his visit with Tayui, and was glad she had taken the time to come and speak with him.
"Well Tayui, I suppose I should be heading off. We should try to get together very soon so that we can go over some more low speech again. Not to mention, if you need any help with the history – you know where to find me." He got up and let his gaze travel back the way he had come. It would be nice getting back home to see the familiar faces. "Take care for now," he told her with a warm grin.
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Definitely! I threw in the bit about the History so we had something to work off in our next thread. :3 So next time, pack history, woohoo!
Tayui broke out into a wide grin at Pilot's offer, nodding her head profusely in reply while she formulating a verbal thank you. She would indeed have to ask one of the other leaders in the pack, for from what she knew, Pilot was fairly new to the pack. It was unfortunate that Zero was no longer anywhere in the lands, for she recalled that he had been kind enough, and would have most likely supported her endeavours. Indeed, he had also been Alpha for a long enough time, before Hearse and Gibraltar lead the pack, and now, Phoenix. She believed that Adreon, too, led the pack after Zero, but she could not be certain. She had heard rumours of a brother - or cousin, perhaps - of theirs. Someone named after a temperature of sorts that resembled one of them. She could not remember the relations of the packs or anything more in depth than the Alpha's names, and all she knew about Storm's founding history was that it was started by a female named Stormy. Her knowledge of the other pack was quite marginal.
"That would be wonderful, Pilot. I will definitely try to find you to discuss this." She wanted to say much, much more, but she simply did not know how to say it. She could not phrase it properly or even grasp the concept of uttering her thoughts. They were a jumbled mess after having run through low speech again, and now with the thought of furthering her knowledge of the lands, she could not find it within herself to concentrate. "Yes, you too, Pilot! I'll see you sometime soon."
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