new pair of shoes, new way to dance
#1
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Yes, it's about high time we had one of these! We're gonna try this a new way though. Instead of the usual post-order crap that slows everything down... we're not gonna have a post order at all. That's right. Everyone can post whenever they feel like and respond to whatever posts are above them. Posts can be whatever length you want also. It'll keep the interaction going hopefully and keep this from dragging down too much. And just to note, this first post covers before everyone gets there and after everyone has gathered just so we don't have to go through the whole "lol i'm here!" post from everyone. Big Grin



The sun was rising over the naked trees and hazy grey mountains in the distance. In the mornings, the fog hung low to the ground and though there was still a light veil over the world that muted the colors, it was a spectacular show all the same. The flat grey rock was covered in snow, but he didn't bother clearing it away before he lay down. The tattered hybrid was in his quadruped form, but mostly because the scars across his chest and stomach were less obvious that way; there were still plenty left showing certainly, but he deluded himself into feeling better about it anyway. His howl echoed through the trees for the first time in many months, scattering morning birds and sending small mammals through the rustling underbrush. Like always, it sounded more like a coyote's cry more than anything else, sharper and and perhaps less elegant than a wolf's. He didn't think he cared anymore though; it was his heritage and it was about high time he got over being ashamed of it. There were plenty of other things he could be ashamed of.



The humans would call it a new year and even though Laruku would prefer to follow a lunar calendar, it was as good an occasion as any. It had been too long since the previous pack gathering and besides, didn't people gather for things other than declarations of war and announcements of bad news? Their kind did not have too many holidays to celebrate and hanging in the back of his mind was the second anniversary of his predecessor's death, but... but something. They didn't need anything specific and a death didn't need bringing up (she wasn't going to be forgotten soon anyway). A pack was supposed to be a family, but he had never felt that way and he doubted even the returning Sadiras felt too much kinship among their ranks. It was because they spent too much time apart.



They came to him, one by one, out of the forest and into the beautiful morning light. Faces he knew well, faces he knew in passing, faces he should have known better. It didn't matter. It's a new year, he told them with a half-smile (maybe it was forced, maybe not; he didn't know, so how could they?), The humans had a lot of holidays to celebrate around this time, but we don't have as many. All the same, I thought it was a good enough excuse to get everyone together and share some stories. As a whole, I don't think we know each other well enough. So go on -- anyone, share something interesting that happened to you during the last twelve moons or so. His voice was neutral, as warm as he could make it, but it was better than it had been in a long time.



It was something he had known he needed to do for a long time -- be a better goddamn leader; maybe it could be a new year's resolution, but only the following sunrises and sunsets could tell him how he did.



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#2
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out of character
----- Weeeeeee! Hi guys.
in character
----- Maria had been sitting an abandoned den she had found after returning to Clouded Tears so she would have somewhere safe to put her hunting tool she had found and repaired not long ago. After entering into her den, she made a note that she would have to show Beppe where she had found a place to stay if only temporary, hoping that she would be able to have her own den. Though the den was big enough for the two of them--if Beppe wanted to stay with her--she liked it. It was cozy but she imagined that she would eventually need something bigger to hold herself. With a rabbit and an arrow hanging in one hand, the bow tightly in the other, she moved to the back of the area and set the bow against the wall, dropping the arrow in a pile of other arrows she had brought back.

----- The howl took her by surprised, listening to it and finding it a bit odd that it sounded different than it might have, but she realized that she hadn't met the Alpha anyway. Looking down at the rabbit in her hand, she didn't want to leave it for scavengers who might trespass into her den and steal it, so instead she carried it with her until she found the one who must have called them all together. Her eyes looked around, mainly for her son, but until she saw him, she stood in the back and listened to the English that really didn't understand. Maria was able to pick a few words out of his speech, maybe grab some of the concept, but either way, she was still confused and so she waited to see if she would be able to understand as other wolves spoke up.
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#3
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"I was born and then I came here to live." Said the youngster as she approached her father, noting the fact that no one else had thought to speak up yet. Honestly, Rachias hadn't ever understood why there were so many that found it so hard to say something. The tan and cream five month old stopped at her fathers side, lifting clear blue eyes up toward him, and smiled that Lykoi smile. This was one of two fathers that she knew, this one being the pushover. With little more than another glance to him, she seated herself and faced the rest of them, most of which she hadn't even seen in her time in the lands. How long had she been here now? Months? All she really knew were her father, Jasper, and his dad.


"And before, when I lived in Inferni, I almost drowned and my brother saved me." Perhaps they weren't really the things that her father was looking for people to tell but it was about the only thing she had. Andre had attacked her, drove her away from Inferni, and that was about the only other notable thing in her life. Of course, the prospect of discovering her father was two different people was something much bigger than all of that.

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#4
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indent Ahren stood quietly at a distance, cigarette burning, eyes dark. He could not remember what happened with Laruku—only that they had talked, they had touched, and then…black. It perturbed his senses and his moral principles. Still, he did what he always did in such situations; deny, reject, and remain as uncompromising as ever. Ahren de le Poer, who had in the past year seen a lifetime go by, could have told them a thousand stories. He could have spoken of Africa, Europe, the great wide sea and its dark secrets.
indent But instead, conscious of the still present ache in his arm, the still present addiction that held him, he spoke shortly. “I came back.” It wouldn’t be enough. He knew that, looking ahead and no one in particular and smoking by a gnarled tree. That wouldn’t be enough for anyone.





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#5
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The feeling never went away, the wonderment and quiet awe that asked why all of these people came when he called and why they responded when he spoke, why they thought he was anything resembling leader material and why they couldn't see what seemed like obvious flaws to him. In a way, it was arrogant though, to think that they would invest that much attention and thought to him when they undoubtedly had troubles of their own that he would likely never know or discover. He spent so little time with each of them, so why should they do anything different in regards to him? His daughter found her way to his side and he tensed, suddenly remembering that not very many people knew of her, even now. But though Rachias mentioned having come from Inferni, their exact relationship remain omitted and he relaxed again.



It was silly, he knew, because the truth would come out eventually, but with all the drama that had happened between his pack and the coyotes in the pack, he still didn't very much like the idea of facing questions about the details of what and why. You almost drowned? he echoed gently, Then I hope you've been more careful here. The lake isn't as big as the ocean and your brother isn't here. He could have very easily continued to recommend her go home again, but that was a personal discussion that need not be introduced at a pack gathering, as quiet as the rest of them remained.



So instead, he turned to a silent black femme he wasn't sure he'd met before (but considering his memory, he didn't want to say one way or another) You're new here, aren't you? he asked simply, What was it like where you lived before? Laruku was aware that such questions could bring out less-than-pleasant answers, but he also knew that even in the darkest of places, there were moments, however short and far between, that were worth keeping and maybe worth sharing. And he hoped that if the woman decided to share anything at all, it would be something like that.



Ahren he wouldn't press too hard though. The hybrid remembered little from the last few times they had seen each other and most of what he did remember didn't make much sense anyway. And if he didn't think too hard about it, then it didn't bother him as much -- it was what he had learned to do with more or less everything else in the world. He denied the denial and wanted to accept truths, but old habits died hard, and denial had kept him alive. The answer the blonde gave meant little, but then again, if Laruku had asked himself to tell a story, he wouldn't have much to say either. He was a hypocrite, if nothing else. Where did you come back from?



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#6
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She sat quietly amongst the others, watching Laruku. Was she going to have to speak, too? It wasn't that she had a fear of speaking in public, or anything...she just wasn't sure what to say. Naniko had learned that if you didn't know what to say, it was better to just say nothing at all. What could she tell them happened to her? So much had gone on. She generally kept to herself unless she stumbled upon somebody on accident...and that was rare.


The others spoke and she listened carefully to what they said. There was a few little ones here, pups that she hadn't seen before...it was interesting. The herbalist looked to the first one to talk, the young one that sat next to Laruku. Next was Ahren. Laruku replied to them, and then silence fell again. She was interested in knowing where Ahren had come back from...it might have been the same place that her mother was right now. Naniko looked around the circle again, but no one else looked like they were going to talk just yet. She didn't know if this was the right time to speak...but it was now or never.


"I was made Apothecary. My adopted mother dissapeared...and reappeared in Storm. She has a new family there, and her pups often venture into Clouded Tears. My younger brother left the pack to look for our sister, Magdalena. My mate dissapeared. I...was attacked outside of Inferni, in Neutral territory. By coyotes." Was that the right way to put it? She didn't want to be offensive to any that sat within their pack circle, so she didn't say anything more. Her mangled leg was evidence enough, slightly twisted, riddled with scars. "My aunt Misery returned, but I haven't seen her since that day."

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#7
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Blue eyes wandered from one person to the next, snapping back to Ahren the moment that he spoke. She'd been expecting a big and extravagant story from him but what she really got was simply silence after those few initial words. Frowning, her attention was pulled away at the fact that her father suddenly spoke. "Daaaaaad." She whined suddenly, wrinkling her nose up and eying him where she sat. She hated it when people told her to be careful, it wasn't like she was going to be stupid enough to let herself get pulled into the water again.


Rachias didn't have enough time to further chastise her father before someone else spoke up, whose words quickly caught her attention. Inferni was mentioned, the fact that she was attacked, and the young one narrowed her eyes on the white pelted female. For the time Rachias bit her tongue, so tempted to speak up about how she must have done something stupid to have been attacked. Rachias knew from experience the hate that some of them held though, which was what kept her tongue still. Her own brother had tried to kill her.

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#8
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indent The blonde narrowed his eyes as Laruku turned the question back to him. He should have been more concerned with helping Maria feel comfortable, he should have cared what the younger girls were saying, but in that moment there was only the wolf and the hybrid, and within his friend was a second darkness as real as his own. So he bided his time, smoking. Conscious of what Laruku was doing, intentionally or not, Ahren grappled with his demons daily—and he could turn this question and answer around just as quickly.
indent But this was a game. And games were interesting.
“I went to France. Then I sailed around the Mediterranean. Then I found Misery and we came back here.” Shifting his weight on his feet, he kept his eyes locked on the scarred man, eyes cold and vicious.
“What about you?” Where did you come from? What happened with you?




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#9
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out of character
-----
in character
----- The one whom had made the call started to speak to the others who had also spoken. Her eyes looked around for her son who had not shown up yet but she wasn't too worried, though she hadn't seen him in a few days. After a moment, the hybrid leader turned and spoke to her and she quickly turned her head back around to face him. Her golden teal eyes widened in surprise and she had to register the words first before she could respond, which took her a moment. "New, sì," she responded after a moment, forcing a smile to her muzzle. The next question, though, slightly threw her off and it took her a bit longer to respond.

----- "Before... d'is, uh, Italia I come from," she said with her thick accent, her smile fading having been unable to correctly answer him. She tried to smile again but it was weak and she looked away. Maria took a step or two away when she noticed Ahren, trying to get out of the leader's view, and moved toward him. "Coniglio?" she asked, holding the dead rabbit up in her hands so he could see.
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#10
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He should have known better, really. No one really had stories they wanted to tell; even those pieces of life that they clung to most were tainted with the bad memories left on either side and it was impossible to reach in the middle without brushing against one side or another. At best, the meeting would turn into a sharing of collective sorrows and woes where they could all laugh at the quiet and persistent misery in the world, but that was incredibly unlikely. There was usual and familiar laughing in the back of his head, but he twitched an ear and ignored it the best he could. But the hybrid found himself agitated and restless at Naniko's comment about Inferni. He knew what she was talking about now thanks to Phoenix, but more than anything, he was wary of Inferni coming up in the conversation. It might have been easier if they were alone, but that just wasn't so.



And what could he say? Is there anything you look forward to this year? Anything you want to get done? Oh, that's right. Avoid responding to anything at all and avoiding further elaboration. What Laruku really wanted was for the lot of them to become more interested in each other's responses and to ask each other things, rather than just having them all speak to him in turn. The hybrid isolated himself and wanted the pack to be a cohesive unit much more than he wanted to be a part of that unit, if he wanted it at all. He just had to make sure they were all alright, regardless of whether he was included in that equation.



His tail twitched when Rachias whined at him, but any further reaction was supressed. The newcomers probably wouldn't care or know to care; Ahren already knew and Naniko...? Well, she would make her own conclusions, but he knew she wouldn't bring them up here. Maybe she would be shocked and surprised or angry even, but he wouldn't have to deal with it until later on and so right now, it didn't matter. Right now. And he was too wrapped up in everything to be concerned with whatever Ahren thought of him at the moment; he only nodded at the extended response and shrugged, knowing he should have expected the counter. I don't remember much from this year, he said with a forced smile (there seemed to be so many of those sitting all around him), but oh, wasn't that the truth? And what he did remember was too obscene for the setting. So I guess that means nothing too notable happened.



They were mistake words and he knew it. He had recent scars healed over his slashed throat and he was saying nothing important had happened? His fucking daughter was sitting next to him for chrissake and he was saying that nothing important had happened? She would get onto him, he knew, declare once and for all for all to hear that he had had a misbegotten litter with a woman he hardly knew or remembered from a clan he had long had conflicts with. Too much had happened that year, just too much. Ah, Italy, he echoed the foreign woman, as kindly as he could manage with his worn out voice, I've always wanted to visit Europe, he told her. It was half a lie. He hadn't thought about travel and faraway places and discovery and knowledge since he had been a yearling. He had given up on hoping to ever escape this place a long time ago.



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#11
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Good time to get Rachias out and Jasper in. :]

"You had us!" She shrieked, almost just as soon as her father finished speaking. In the time that her words came the young hybrid had thrust herself to her feet and spun about to face him, glaring. More than anger, there was hurt in her eyes. Sure, she should have already expected it and, as much as she didn't want it to, it still hurt. He'd never shown her affection, nothing that might be taken as a sign of love and, really, the only time he paid any attention to her was when he tried again and again to get her to return to Inferni. Rachias was dealing with all of that in stride, not letting it bother her, but to deny that they were anything special or important, that was something she couldn't handle. Turning away suddenly, they couldn't see her cry, she darted off into the trees.


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#12
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She had thought that things would get better between the coyotes and the other packs, but now she wasn't so sure. Maybe it would have been better for her to have just kept her mouth closed about what had happened...but how was ignoring the problem going to fix it? Could it even be fixed? It didn't seem like this was the time or place to be discussing the coyotes, so when Laruku asked her a question in return she eagerly answered it.


"I'm hoping to get in touch with some other members of my family...maybe some of Iskata and Phoenix's little ones, or some of the other Sadiras. It would be nice to find out more about Iskata. I have a younger sister that lives in Storm, too, Serene; I think I'll go visit her again soon. If anyone here is interested, I'd love to try and teach a few people about the benifits of herbs and medicines."


Naniko hadn't known about Laruku's children, that he had any at all, but it wasn't too much of a surprise. There were family links all over Bleeding Souls, even through Inferni. If she was right, anyway; the little girl next to him did have coyote characteristics. Naniko wasn't against the coyotes as a group, she just didn't understand the ones that went after wolves. Even if they had been at the coyote border, it was their choice whether to attack or not. It was only at Inferni that she'd ever been attacked; all of the packs that harbored wolves were very friendly and accomidating.


Laruku looked a little worse for the wear this pack meeting. The meetings were strange, and stretched far apart...each time he showed up with a little more wear and tear. She wondered vaguely if he'd ever thought to come to her for help, whether he thought she was dependable. Maybe she needed to prove herself more, in different ways? She and Laruku didn't run into each other every day...maybe he hadn't been able to find her when he had needed help.


The white wolf was quiet for a little while, considering the things that the others had said. She glanced over to the dark wolf with the dead rabbit. Maria seemed like a fine new pack member, even if she was having a little trouble with English. She looked a little shy, as most pack members were when they were new. Naniko wondered if anyone had shown Maria around, or tried to help her out. She only knew English and French, no Itallian--that wouldn't do. She wasn't sure how she could help her. But she'd find some way.


She got up from her position outside the circle, going over to sit by the newer female, offering the foreign wolf a smile. Nani had been new here once before, and there had been wolves there to help her. And one could never have too many friends. Naniko only knew a few Itallian words...maybe it would be enough to communicate with. "Ciao, siete...um.... nuovi a qui? Pot...rei contribuire ad imparare l'inglese" "Hello, are you new here? I could help you to learn English, if you wish"

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#13
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Jasper, who had been keeping to himself in the far back of the group, watching with stunned attention as daughter screamed at father and went stomping off. Wide eyed and most confused, he let two toned eyes move across the crowd, from his father to Laruku and back again. This was likely not how Laruku had planned things to go and for that, perhaps, Jasper felt a bit bad. What was he to do though? Everyone else seemed reluctant to speak more than just a few words and even when they did it all seemed toward the bad side of life.


Naniko, the one who had helped him with painting, spoke and for a moment he thought there might be hope. Soon enough, though, her attention was torn away from the meeting and to Maria, who she seemed to be trying to speak to. "I uh.." He blurted out rather suddenly, biting at his lip in reluctance. "I was livin' in Europe before I came here. Convinced a buncha German speaking wolves to let me go on their ship with 'em, long as I worked." How odd did that sound, especially from Jasper? "They were traders. We went from place to place bartering goods for 'em to take back to Europe and sell." It was so much more complicated than that, really, but that was the gist of it. "Dropped me off here an' I been in Clouded Tears ever since."

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#14
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indent It was like watching a train wreck. Ahren saw Laruku offer the truth, and then he made his mistake. There was a moment of recognition, in which the tattooed man saw himself there, knew what was about to happen, and could do nothing. Time sped on and he saw the pale girl’s face go wild, saw her face her father, and then she was off. Jasper looked to him, and Ahren said nothing, instead cutting wide and making his way after the girl.





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#15
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Laruku closed his eyes, but kept the sigh trapped at the bottom of his lungs, drowning. He heard Rachias's voice echo through his ears and the sound of her scampering footsteps as she ran off. And vaguely, he wondered, if he could make her hate him, then would she return to the relative safety of Inferni? Would she forget about him and write him out of her young little life forever? The voice in the back of his head surfaced a little and laughed, as it always did, and accused him of trying to drive everyone else away because he couldn't run away himself. It was obviously true, but he didn't need to hear it from someone else, least of all the thing whose existence was the entire reason why.



He opened his eyes again when the next person spoke and didn't even turn his head to watch Ahren disappear back into the forest. Naniko was not a Sadira by blood, but unlike him, she seemed to take her adoptive ties to heart and considered herself part of the family. You picked a big family to try and hunt down, he commented with the same forced smile, Lisichka, one of Iskata's brothers, came back recently with his mate and kids, but I haven't seen them around much. Iskata was probably the one of the family that he knew the best, but since he had ejected her crazy self from the pack, they hadn't really spoken. But the hybrid did figure that she was happier in Storm and that Phoenix would do a helluva better job protecting her than he ever had, so maybe it was just better that way.



Sounds like quite a journey, he told Jasper. He might have asked why he had left Europe in the first place, as he had always felt like it was the place that everyone escaped to, not ran back from, as seemed to be the case here with so many apparent immigrants. Any reason you picked Clouded Tears?



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#16
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Ahren left and she watched him go with worried eyes. His son was still here, though. Naniko didn't care for Ahren much, (they didn't really get along), but she got along well with Jasper. She was distantly related to the younger De le Poer boy, through her aunt Misery. She wondered if they would have still become friends if she had come with the other wolves when they'd left over a year before.

When Laruku spoke about how large the family was, she grinned and nodded. She had been looking for them, the new ones that had just returned to the lands, but hadn't seen them either. Maybe they were still getting settled in?

"I hope to see them soon. I heard from someone in Storm that Iskata hasn't been around there much. I'll look around for her, and tell you if I find her anywhere." Laruku probably didn't even care where Iskata was...but she'd report back anyway.

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#17
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indent Melisande had been quiet for a while, simply listening to the stories of others. So many had come from so far, she supposed she'd never realized how special it was for her to have been born here, and spent the majority of her life here. Suddenly she was glad she hadn't stayed here the whole time. Everyone had to discover the world... it made her a little less innocent, but also wiser. She could understand a bit of what the Italian speaking wolves said to each other, from the French she had learned from Fatin, but she supposed she wouldn't be much help. Then Iskata was mentioned, and she realized she had something to add.

indent She turned to the other wolf, and spoke. "The last I heard of Iskata was from her mate, Phoenix. She was in Storm then, with her kids, and they sounded very happy, but that was a while ago." She shrugged, not sure if that helped at all. At the very least, Phoenix would be the first to know where she was now. Melisande waited another moment, letting the silence sink in, and then told her own story to the collective crowd. "I was born here, and grew up here. I watched my grandma buried as a pup, and I haven't seen my mom for... hmm, a year. My dad was here. My siblings are long gone. But this place is my family nonetheless." In her heart, she knew that her father would not stay here for long. He was not a content being, and if he wasn't gone already, he soon would be. The last part she said almost solely to the Alpha male. He was her family, whether he liked it or not.




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#18
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Hate it when these things drag on. Will try for more interesting stuff next time?



It was a tired conversation and everyone's responses seemed filled with forced enthusiasm, if they responded at all. And all of a sudden, he wondered why he had even tried at all. This was how they had always been -- a collection of awkward wolves unable to relate properly to one another, even when they were connected by blood, by friends, by some series of unfortunate circumstances. They were more content to live on their own, but it was convenient to claim a pack alliance and there was safety in numbers, even if it was more symbolic than anything else. If they tied themselves at all, it was to the idea of a pack, the intangible thing that was called Clouded Tears; they had no loyalty to each other and no invested interest. What did it matter to them the little lives of those around them?



Maybe some of them were sincere. Maybe Naniko and Melisande, the girls he had known since they were children (god, he was old), but who were the rest of them? The shy foreigner and the uncertain son of the other red-eyed male? And why were they really there? And why, why didn't he really give a damn all of a sudden? Well, this was fun, he said wryly, not really sure if he was being sarcastic or not -- he hoped he didn't sound like he was, regardless. We should probably do it more often. Should didn't mean will. They were all obligated to care and try, him more than the rest, but it all seemed so pointless sometimes. He stood and made his way off his cursed rock, shrugging to no one before walking away. Maybe they would talk on without him, but probably not.


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