Summer was definitely and undoubtedly here. The weather had been nothing but bright sunny days accompanied by the soprano sound of robins singing. The summer was always hard on the warrior, simply because black was not the most refreshing color to wear in the sun. Lucky for him his winter coat was already gone leaving him transformed from a massive black bear like creature with long puffy hair into a slightly less bear like creature with short spiked fur. He for one preferred the summer coat look much more. Long hair was not easy to take care of.


A few weeks ago the warrior had decided it was long since time to explore around the lake. A boat would be much more convenient for fishing after all. With this thought he had come up with the brilliant idea of dragging an old row boat from Halifax to the mansion and today from the mansion to the lake. By brilliant idea, it was more a crazy idea that by now Jazper regretted. Grumbling he dropped the rope he had tied to the old thing and looked around. He couldn’t have been more than a few minutes from the lake. Sitting down on a nearby rock he looked up into the sky, not a cloud in sight. Why did afternoons have to be so uneventful?

hiya. ; 324 words


Ares was settling in quite well to life in Crimson Dreams. The members he had met so far (although granted, that consisted primarily only of Savina and Mati) had been pleasant towards him, and aside from the awkward first impression he had made on the Lieutenant General, he finally felt like he was no longer forced to live in his mother's shadow. Although, come to think of it, he honestly felt a bit guilty about that. Not that he wasn't glad his life wasn't being hurt by her anymore, no, that was all fine and dandy. It was just.. he had come to these lands with such high hopes of grand and glorious revenge. Wild dreams of heroic actions, of fighting for righteousness, of saving his sister... And he hadn't even seen her, yet! What was the point of coming here, if he was just going to settle into a home, a pack? There were packs everywhere where he could have just as easily have been happy. He had to man up and head back to those terrifying territories north-east of here. But, soon. Not now.

No, now he was wandering happily throughout the lands. He had passed by the lake a little while back, and contemplated going for a swim. But the weather wasn't quite right, and it wasn't worth getting wet for all the annoying time it took to get dry. So Ares had wandered on, until a skidding sound nearby caught his attention. It sounded like something was being dragged, or maybe something was dragging itself along. Curious, he pressed towards it through the brush, and came upon a dark male and a weird brown thing that his incredible amount of book knowledge tentatively identified as a boat. "Aren't boats more fun if you put 'em in water?" Ares said, then immediately realized that was sort of a dumb thing thing to say and wished he hadn't even opened his mouth.

WC: 300+

OOC: hey!

The sun was hot, summer just sucked sometimes. Silently he cursed his father for his dark color, and then his mother for not having a more dominant gene. Would his children end up with dark coats too? At least in the early spring and late fall his dark color kept his nice a warm. However, winter was horrible for hunting and often left him jealous of the white furred wolves of the pack that could all just wander out into the open without a care in the world and pluck up a good rabbit or two while he had to wait till night. The more he thought about the subject the luckier he decided he was. Even though the white colored wolves could hunt all winter without a problem he still had the upper hand, after all night time came more often than snow.


A male’s voice jerked him away from his thoughts. Of course a boat would be more fun in water what did h
e think he was doing dragging it towards the lake? He thought for a second to just leave the boy alone, but the boredom won over. Standing up Jazper’s size shone with his Knight heritage. The one good thing about having his father’s alpha traits. He had trained to be a warrior and the giant size; well it was just a massive bonus. Walking up to the mixed coated male he chuckled slightly. “Aren’t you a tad small to be making cracks like that around here?” His lips grew into a smile, allowing his teeth to shine in the sun. “I found this boat over in Halifax, and it’s taken me the past couple hours to get it to this point.” He grumbled and turned his back, grabbing the rope and starting towards the lake once more. “Now, even you wouldn’t be able to carry this thing for a good part of the day without a quick break. Even with your jokes to keep you in a good mood." Allowing his nicer side to pop threw he stopped and sighed, “Name’s Jazper Rhiannon-Knight. I just figured I’d try and get a boat or two fixed up and into the lake for the summer.” His softer tones explained as he motioned to the old boat filled with tools and planks of wood. "Makes fishin' easier."

326 words. hope you don't mind me assuming jazper was a lil off-course, that's sort of the impression i got from your first post. ^^;

Holy crap, this guy was huge. Ares hadn't ever met someone as big as this wolf, and gaped openly for a second. Tokyo was petite; her two children both took after her in that respect, which meant his father was probably pretty small too. Star was a coyote, and scrawny at that. Savina had been big enough to impress Ares, but wow... This black wolf. The bigger guy could just crush him, if he wanted. He hadn't just been sitting here with a boat; that was a dumb thing for Ares to think. Of course he was still moving it, that was the scraping sound. Of course he was taking it to the lake. Except.. he was off-course, a little. Mumbled, simply: "I'm sorry."



He introduced himself. Jazper Rhiannon-Knight? What a mouthful. The name was familiar but Ares could not for the life of him remember why. How would he have heard it before? He shook his head, trying to dislodge whatever memory it was from whatever crack it was hiding in, but nothing fell out. "It's nice to meet you though, I'm Ares Chance." He was almost starting to believe that he really was Ares. Sure, in his thoughts he still often slipped back to addressing himself as his birth name of Buttface, but the more people who met and knew him as Ares the more steadily he was shifting into a more positive self-perception.


He hesitated, glancing at the boat and idly scratching his head with one head. "I think the lake is a little more that way though." He pointed. "I can help you get it there, if you want." Ares walked over towards it, picking up the rope that had been set down and examining it, avoiding the glance of the other wolf. He was sorta intimidating in his size. "How does it help you fish, though?" He asked, genuinely curious, having never really tried hunting of any sort in this shifted form.

WC: 400+

OOC: No problem at all

His smile grew. Obviously, he had shaken the new comer with his direct, aggressive approach. It was too bad he was already feeling sorry about being so straight forward, this guy looked pretty young, and his attitude was plainly that of lack of knowledge. Watching Ares pull himself together and apologies the Knight nodded, wondering where this new male had come from. “ Meh, it's alright, I was just bored." He chuckled allowing his normal grin to shine. “I'm afraid we don't get that many trouble makers around these parts and I figure theres no use being my size if you can't have a laugh putting a new member of the pack in line every now and then.” giving a wink to the poor guy he turned serious, “Honestly though, I strongly advise you against telling people that are bigger then you what to do. At least not until you learn a thing or two about them.”


After his introduction he could see that his new packmate was having a hard time with the long name. It was true that Jazper Rhiannon-Knight wasn't the most simple name to remember, not nearly as easy as Ares Chance. Giving a small laugh he decided to go easy on the new guy, “ If it's easier for you to remember, most of my friends call me Jazz. You're more than welcome to do the same.” As Ares pointed in a different direction the Knight turned in confusion and scratched his head thoughtfully. Looking around him he sniffed the air, waiting for the scent of the lake water. Sure enough the scent came from the direction he pointed from. With the offer for help his smile grew with a nod of appreciation as Ares picked up the rope.


As Ares questioned him the Knight motioned for him to follow with the boat. “Well, I study human objects. I don't pretend to have a huge amount of knowledge but, when it comes to fishing the humans knew what they were talking about. They made long sticks with strings and a hook to catch fish. Or you can place large nets in the water attached to these plastic balls that float. The boat just lets us fish all over the lake instead of just the shore.” figuring that that was a good enough explanation he changed the subject, “So, tell me a bit about yourself Ares. I'm sure there has to be an interesting reason why your now living in Crimson Dreams, though I dare you to find a pack run by sweeter wolves.”

513 words


This guy talked a lot. It didn't seem like a bad thing, although it was hard to tell just because it was so strange to be around someone who rambled. Ares had been taught as a child that nothing he said was worth hearing, and even if he had decided to throw off Tokyo's control of him, it was hard to alter fundamental truths unknowingly instilled. He was friendly, though, and every word served a double purpose, tone emphasizing his good cheer beyond the mere semantics. Not that many trouble makers was good, although the comment's reference to fighting and his suggestion of a nickname, Jazz, finally triggered the memory he was blinding clawing at earlier. "Oh, I know why your name sounded familiar! Mati mentioned you."


He didn't say it out loud, but honestly Ares wasn't too sure that Jazper would be able to help him much with training. Mati had said Jaz knew how to fight, or something like that, but the adolescent just figured that their sizes were too disparate for him to be able to teach him anything useful. Like, if Ares was that big, sure, he'd know how to fight too, but he'd be taking a different tactic than at his current diminutive size. Hell, Jaz could probably sit on people and win fights. Or fall on them. Geeze, he was huge. Ares knew already from the stories that the smaller person had to rely on speed and technique, and fighter or not, Jaz probably hadn't ever had the need to refine those too much. Of course, these were all just assumptions made based on a few spare minutes of acquaintance.


Jaz started walking, and Ares followed, tugging the boat behind him. God, this thing was a lot heavier than it looked. Not more than a few minutes passed before he was struggling quite a bit, although pride kept his demeanor as calm and neutral as he could, and he made a conscious effort to keep his short, panting breaths on the quiet side. Humans sure made some weird things. Sticks with strings and hooks? How on earth did you get the hook into the fish? It seemed like much more hassle and bother than just a quick dip in the and a few lucky snaps at the water. Ares was a pretty damn good hunter, though. Maybe getting fish was tough enough for some people that the weird human stuff really was just easier. "Do you have any of those human things? The sticks or the nets?" Useful-sounding or not, he was curious to see how they actually functioned.


The subject of conversation now appeared to be Ares himself, and he unwittingly stiffened at it, not a big fan of dipping into his not-so-pleasant pool of memories. There certainly was an interesting reason why he came here.. Maybe? It was too hard to try and step outside his situation, to view it like a curious outsider might. "I've got.. family in the area. But yeah, Crimson Dreams certainly seems great so far, though I haven't met too many members yet."

WC: 500+

At the mention of Mati his ears twitched and his attention shifted completely to the stranger. So, he knew Mati. Sizing Ares up and down his smile became more forced. How long had it been since he last saw Naniko's kids? Mati and Brooklyn where always off doing their own thing now and the boys had pretty much gotten up and left someday without much notice. Jazper could remember one day saving a puppy Mati from the literal version of the big bad wolf. He had been scared of losing her, scared he wouldn't be able to protect her as he yelled for her to run. Absent mindedly he rubbed the permanent scar on his right forearm. He had been lucky not to have lost the limb. Flinching slightly he remembered how hard the monster had bitten his arm and how he had to pull with all his weight to get him to let go, his teeth tearing the skin. Now all he was left with was a band of scaring half way between his hand and elbow where fur had luckily grown back, this time shorter and thinner.




As they walked Jazper watched the grey male struggle and silently thanked his parent's for his size. He supposed that his size had something to do with the family business. He remembered vividly the day his father had taken him up to the top o the mountains to look out on the world. At the time he had been a young pup himself, full of energy and impatience. He was a miniature version of his father at the time with his black coat. Looking up at his giant father his own yellow eyes meeting his light blues. That day his father sat down and looked at him revealing the family history. For generations the Knight family had been dedicated to protecting those that couldn't protect themselves. That was the first day Jazper had known that he wanted to be just like his father. A protector, a giant and a Knight.




The male's voice brought him back form the silence of his thoughts. "I have some, yes, but I need to find some string for them. You see you can throw the string with the rod and that helps you catch fish that are further away from you." He walked on, each foot step pressing the grass firmly under his feet. "I also collect Instruments and weapons made by humans. I consider them my specialty. You see, I play violin and piano myself so I consider myself to have a love of music. I can also generally get a half decent song or at least a sound out of any other music device I've found. As for weapons, well they just interest me because of my work you know. I dont know how most of the metal contraptions work, seem to need something inside of them because every time I pull the trigger it clicks. But knives, swords, whips, those are always good to have around. I'm partial to knives and swords myself. Generally carry one of the two on me at all times when i'm patrolling." As the lake came into view he stopped abruptly. "My dad's name was Ares Knight. Good man. Course I came from a non-luperci family. When my folks died I taken in by a women of the Rhiannon family who perished in the fire. After that her mum, Deuce, and mate, Lucifer took me in and Lucifer gave me the blood to change." Jazper had the tendency to blab. He felt that there was no reasons not to just tell the other person what you where thinking, or in this case who he was. Lucifer always hated when he talked to much. Changing the subject he added lightly, "So, do you have any talents?"

604 words

So you used the rod to throw the string.. and then fish got caught on the string? Ares had a clearer image of what one did with the stick, but he still wasn't too convinced that it would actually be helpful and make fishing easier. Music devices and weapons of humans, too? Were there a lot of these things, just lying around to be picked up by whoever wanted them? The idea made Ares sort of want to wander into some neutral territory, to see if he could find some abandoned human city and find anything cool there. He knew his mother possessed some human items - she had shown him one, a beautiful wind-chime, in order to explain to him how that had been a gift from her Uncle Thanos, and how if he ever met his Uncle Ireland or any of his many Aunties, they would most definitely not love him enough to give him presents, so he'd better get used to that idea now.

The weapons, though. Now those sounded interesting. If he could acquire some kind of weapon, he wouldn't necessarily need to train really hard. He'd be able to get back at Tokyo so much faster, and so much more efficiently. "Those metal clicking things are probably guns. I've read a lot of stories with them, you need to put little metal balls in them that the humans call 'bullets.'" Ares was really glad he was actually able to understand enough of what Jaz was saying to be able to participate in a meaningful way in the conversation. The few months he had spent with Star, reading and reading and reading had given him so much knowledge that could be so useful in situations like this. Even if they were less so in a practical, day-to-day sense.

"Where did you get your knives and swords, and all these weapons? I'd sort of like to get my hands on a knife, myself." He kept his purpose for it intentionally vague, preferring not to delve exactly into how much he'd love to cut his mother. Because as much as it made clear and perfect sense to him, anyone who didn't understand exactly the dynamic between Tokyo and Ares would likely be rather horrified at such a suggestion.

Ares had managed to drag the boat all the way to the lake, he realized with a bubbling sense of pride. Letting go of the rope a few feet from the shore, he walked over and crouched down, placing his hands in the water. For a second he just let them sit there, enjoying the cool feel of the water against his rope-burned hands. After a couple moments, though, he cupped them together, sipping from the enclosed pool of his hands. Lowered again, drank again, the action repeated until his parched lips and throat were feeling better.

Jaz's dad's name was Ares too? That was cool! "Was your dad a good fighter?" Ares was curious if the god of war namesake had worked well for him. He didn't recognize any of the names spoken, and it made sense to his adolescent point of view that adults had dead parents, so his mind merely brushed over the rest of what he had said about family. He did answer the question, though: "Meh, not really. I can hunt and track well, but that's nothing too special from any other wolf." His mother had sucked at hunting, and a quiet feeling of superiority warmed his heart every time he was able to catch a rabbit, thinking about how Tokyo would probably have just messed up and let it get away.

WC: 500+

OOc:Wrap up time?

Guns. So that was what those things where called. His ears where fully standing at attention now. Ares seemed to share a interest in human weapons and fighting with him. It was always good to have something in common, after all there weren't many males in the pack as it was so they had to stick together. He had often questioned why they had never had a male leader for the others to look up to. Of course it was nice to have such strong and sweet women leading the way but he had only ever looked up to two males in his life and both weren't there for him anymore. Where do you turn to with guy problems when there's no older guys around? Purhaps he could as Ehno, he was the oldest male in the pack to his knowledge. Still, he hoped that someday Lucifer might come back so they could talk adult to adult. But then again, his adoptive father probably wouldn't recognize him.




At the boys question about where to get his hands on a knife he became a little curious but kept his friendly manor all the same, "If you need a knife you need not look further then the mansion." He said simply. "I'd be willing to give you one of the knives I've collected. Or even a sword if you'd prefer. I've begun to think that a sword might be more useful then a knife." He brought a large hand to his belt and pulled out the red handled hunting knife. "I have only used this in a fight once." He said with a sigh, thinking back to the first fight he had with someone his own size. "It was months ago, when Mati was only a pup. I had heard her scream while I was out hunting and found her in the jaws of a monstrous werewolf the same size as me." Looking the younger male in the eyes he continued, " I fought as hard as I could to get that beast away from Mati and I have the scar to prove it." He patted his right forearm where there was lines os scaring from teeth. Shaking his head slightly he put the knife back in the foot long leather sheath and continued on his conversation.





"If you'd rather take the hike to the city there's a few shops there with weapons. It's a full days trip though." He warned. Leaving his pack for a day was difficult for him sometimes. Not knowing what could happen. After all, he had lost his parents in a mere minute. Watching the bay drink from the lake he wandered towards the water himself for a drink. He lowered his body down and lapped up the water with his tongue. It was faster this way. Feeling slightly better he sat down on the sandy ground. "My father." He thought aloud. What was the best way to answer the question? sighing he just spoke, "Depends on how you look at it. As Luperci we have a huge advantage. Course in this world there are so many of us living together that there really is no advantage at all. But dad, he had Knight blood. He was a big guy, black with blue eyes."



Pausing he looked to Ares once more, "But Ares, everyone will meet their match. Dad couldn't protect mum and I when we were attacked. I was the only one that survived because I ran. Sometimes, I guess, the guy just didn't realize running was an option." Laying back on the sand he looked up to the sky, "To answer your question, yes he was a good fighter." Listening to Ares modesty he simply chuckled, purhaps not the nicest response. "Hunting and tracking are very important. Without those we can't hope to feed everyone in the pack."









, So, do you have any talents

WC: 500+

OOc:Wrap up time?

Guns. So that was what those things where called. His ears where fully standing at attention now. Ares seemed to share a interest in human weapons and fighting with him. It was always good to have something in common, after all there weren't many males in the pack as it was so they had to stick together. He had often questioned why they had never had a male leader for the others to look up to. Of course it was nice to have such strong and sweet women leading the way but he had only ever looked up to two males in his life and both weren't there for him anymore. Where do you turn to with guy problems when there's no older guys around? Purhaps he could as Ehno, he was the oldest male in the pack to his knowledge. Still, he hoped that someday Lucifer might come back so they could talk adult to adult. But then again, his adoptive father probably wouldn't recognize him.




At the boys question about where to get his hands on a knife he became a little curious but kept his friendly manor all the same, "If you need a knife you need not look further then the mansion." He said simply. "I'd be willing to give you one of the knives I've collected. Or even a sword if you'd prefer. I've begun to think that a sword might be more useful then a knife." He brought a large hand to his belt and pulled out the red handled hunting knife. "I have only used this in a fight once." He said with a sigh, thinking back to the first fight he had with someone his own size. "It was months ago, when Mati was only a pup. I had heard her scream while I was out hunting and found her in the jaws of a monstrous werewolf the same size as me." Looking the younger male in the eyes he continued, " I fought as hard as I could to get that beast away from Mati and I have the scar to prove it." He patted his right forearm where there was lines os scaring from teeth. Shaking his head slightly he put the knife back in the foot long leather sheath and continued on his conversation.





"If you'd rather take the hike to the city there's a few shops there with weapons. It's a full days trip though." He warned. Leaving his pack for a day was difficult for him sometimes. Not knowing what could happen. After all, he had lost his parents in a mere minute. Watching the bay drink from the lake he wandered towards the water himself for a drink. He lowered his body down and lapped up the water with his tongue. It was faster this way. Feeling slightly better he sat down on the sandy ground. "My father." He thought aloud. What was the best way to answer the question? sighing he just spoke, "Depends on how you look at it. As Luperci we have a huge advantage. Course in this world there are so many of us living together that there really is no advantage at all. But dad, he had Knight blood. He was a big guy, black with blue eyes."



Pausing he looked to Ares once more, "But Ares, everyone will meet their match. Dad couldn't protect mum and I when we were attacked. I was the only one that survived because I ran. Sometimes, I guess, the guy just didn't realize running was an option." Laying back on the sand he looked up to the sky, "To answer your question, yes he was a good fighter." Listening to Ares modesty he simply chuckled, purhaps not the nicest response. "Hunting and tracking are very important. Without those we can't hope to feed everyone in the pack."

sure thing! you can pm after you read this and i'll have it archived, or archive it yourself, either way works for me~ 360 words

Jaz offered Ares one of the knives he had at the Manor, which was really nice of him. He offered a sword, too, but Ares was less interested in a longer blade. It seemed to awkward, too hard to carry around everywhere at his current level of strength. Too much like something he'd have to work with for a long time to become proficient with its use. "That would be awesome, thanks." The older male pulled out his own knife, then, which Ares considered as the other continued speaking. As Jaz finished his story, the adolescent had a new respect for him. He had saved Mati's life! He was a real hero, not some dumb kid in way over his head and just pretending to be great. "Wow, it's amazing that you saved her life..." He breathed, seriously impressed.

A hike to the city did not sound all that appealing. Ares did not really have any interest in leaving Crimson Dreams, and if he did he wouldn't be able to justify doing anything besides going straight to Dahlia de Mai to find his sister. The thought made him sort of uncomfortable, and sort of guilty. Jaz had spread out on his back on the sand, and Ares had fulfilled the duty he had taken upon himself of dragging this boat to the the lake. His muscles were sore, and he felt sort of like a dip in the lake to cool off, but he was a bit tired of being social, a bit annoyed at the comment about how running was important, sometimes. Ares didn't want to do that. Everyone was telling him that he should, but he wasn't a coward! Not that he thought Jaz was, it was just this was a different situation, it wasn't the same.

"I'm going to head out now though, I think. Good luck with your boat and your human fishing stuff, I'll see you around later." He stood up from the shore of the lake and gave a goodbye wave, turning and walking along the shore, intending to create a bit of distance before taking the swim that was looking more and more appealing.