[html] Character Name: Snake
Character Birthdate: December 6th, 2008
Luperci: Ortus
Species: Coyote (canis latrans)
Gender: Male
Contact: novaphase1 (AIM)
The lithe, sandy form of the coyote slipped through the morning shadows. The autumnal season was beginning to show itself—the air was cool and crisp, and somewhat damp from a shower in the previous night. The boy hadn’t really slept. He had been traveling almost nonstop for a few weeks, and he was beginning to feel it. He felt as though he was seeing through a film, and his limbs felt as though someone had fashioned them out of lead. But he knew that once he reached his destination, he would be able to rest. It was that thought that kept him going.
The sun was just beginning to make the velvet sky blush with pink, and Snake could feel his night-vision fading with every moment. That was fine—he wasn’t focusing on anything in front of him anyway. He just continued to run, four legs moving in dogged tandem, until a scent faced him that made him screech to a halt.
The exhausted youth looked around, seeing nothing special except general flat terrain—plains and rocky foothills. But still, it was a scent that he would recognize anywhere; it was virtually burned into his brain, straight from the very first few days of his life. It was a scent so distinctly different from Patriot’s City; the still-lingering scent of the land that his mother had come from.
He took a moment to shift, the usual ritual of transforming his physical body from his canine Lupus form to his humanoid Optime form second-nature to him. After pulling on his usual pair of pants, he wandered along into the lands that his mother had spoken about so many times until something caught his glance. He approached them, wild ideas of what they were forming in his head constantly until he was standing right before them. He felt a dead weight drop into his stomach, and his mind went blank—he had no idea how to react whatsoever.
The objects were looking back at him—a line of wolf skulls mounted on stakes. [/html]
GLEE.
[html] Save but one time, Hezekiah had not left the cover of Inferni in over a month. He had taken Anselm’s words to heart about staying out of the way of the other packs and devoted his time to exploring Inferni for what it was worth. Which all things considered, their board, crude-but-circular territory was very diverse from the rolling high hills of the north to the rocky, gritty, and sandy beaches of the west and the forests and ravines of the south — where he was for the time being. Even though he did not contribute much to the maintenance of the borders, Hezekiah did at times stop to adjust what skulls he could reach at the end of the pikes when they seemed to just dare to fall from their perch. If one pike leaned too far in any direction, he put it back in the ground as best as he could, straight as an arrow.
But for most of it, he stuck to what he knew: he stayed out of the way.
Even though he had only been there about a month, Hezekiah resembled less of the disoriented boy and more of a young man. Long gone where the bandages that had been fixed around his ribs and the traces of his cherub-esque youth were fading quickly for the sharpness of his pure-blooded coyote heritage. He was a seeming anomaly in Inferni, one of the few true coyotes it laid claim to, and he knew it. So to spy another coyote who stood out against the autumnal foliage—eyes focused on the same pikes that had set off instinctual fear in Hezekiah weeks before—was something surprising. Things had been rather quiet in Inferni.
So he left his cover from the pike-lined border, approaching his similar-specied brethren with a mixture of both caution and curiosity. The inclusion of clothing was nothing new to Hezekiah, who was not unfamiliar with it, but it had been a missing sight from Inferni. Compared to the woodsy coyotl, his sandy counterpart was much more of a traveller, more broad-shouldered than slight. They were opposites and yet, very much the same. And by now, it was too late for him to have second thoughts of fear of being rebuked. “At least you understand what they mean,” Hezekiah said, gesturing back at the row of pikes. [/html]
[html] JOY!
After the original shock had passed, Snake’s mind became oddly macabre—like how it was kind of classy to have the skulls on the pikes rather than a severed head, which would probably stink after a while. An errant thought, product of a young and chaotic mind, that disappeared as soon as it appeared. As the young coyote looked across the line of stakes, which went on as long as he could see, he knew that they were wolf skulls. They were too large, too broad for coyotes. And the wind brought to him the scent of his own species. A coyote pack, obviously aggressive to wolves? Something that he’d never really thought of before.
When it came to coyotes and wolves, Snake didn’t really know what to think. He was a coyote. His parents were coyotes. His past-father figure, Patriot, however, had been a full-blooded wolf. A massive creature of frigid, arctic blood, whenever Snake bothered to think of the Devil, he thought of him. The boy didn’t trust wolves very much, nor did he like them, but he was not to the point of open aggression or hatred. That might change, though.
He tore his olive gaze away from the warning posts when he noticed a figure approaching. With a great deal of surprise, he noticed that it was another coyote—practically his same age, if he had to guess. While the stranger was a little shorter and thinner than he was, he looked healthy enough, so it seemed there was food about. At the other kid’s words, a small shiver went down Snake’s spine. He flicked his gaze between one of the staring skulls and the coyote, and nodded slightly.
“I have no love for wolves, but…” he trailed off, his gaze flickering back and forth. He found himself unable to continue, so he just gave a noncommittal shrug of his broad shoulders. “Would you mind if I asked you what’s the name of this place?” With a moment of thought, he gestured with his hands—more around him, a more broad motion. “And not just this place, but the whole place.”
Snake was not eloquent, and neither had he been really drilled on an expansive vocabulary. The concepts of ‘territory’ or ‘region’ were not really in his grasp. [/html]
HAPPY!
[html] It seemed as though this boy too, understood what it was that Inferni tried so hard to keep out. Even though Hezekiah was just as unfamiliar with wolves as he was the rest of the region around Inferni, he was beginning to share that view without much influence. The wolves were unkind, thoughtless creatures. Perhaps unnervingly so as the green-eyed coyote shifted his gaze about, Hezekiah’s translucent blue did not leave him, studying every scant movement of his face as though he would find something astray. It had been the way Gabriel had studied him with such a resolute gaze (further back, the way his father looked on him when he actually did look at him). Imitation was the sincerest form of flattery, in this case.
“No, but this place is Inferni, and I don’t know what they call the rest of this place,” he explained with a shrug of his shoulders, finally breaking his trained gaze to look at the area around them. It was nothing more than expanse of trees that would be bare in the weeks to come. The coldness in the air was beginning to roll back from whence it had come as well. “Are you from one of the packs around here?” he ventured to ask, though he did doubt the chances. Anselm had distinctly called them wolf packs, he thought and if they were ever bit as easily provoked as they were supposed to be, then chances were they’d not be standing there talking. [/html]
[html] Ecstasy! ...The not-drug kind!
The fact that the other young coyote didn’t know the name of the entire area was a bit strange, but Snake imagined it might be because he was probably just as new as he was. He gave a hesitant nod, though he did roll the name Inferni around in his head. Snake’s memory was bad, but he definitely knew that the name sounded familiar. In a flash, he remembered a snippet of a conversation he had once had with his mother about that place—“There also lived a clan of coyotes on the coast, named Inferni…” He knew that she had gone into some specifics about what she knew of them, but he couldn’t remember any more. He frowned, wishing he’d have a little more information to go on.
If he had to guess by the skulls, they weren’t overtly friendly.
But this stranger hadn’t called the rest of the pack on him to chase him away and / or tear him apart, so perhaps there was still a good chance. Since he had finally stopped and thought about what he was doing, he realized that he didn’t know. He had thought to go to this place of legend on a mere whim, but what he would do now that he was here was a giant blank. He knew that he’d be cared for best if he worked his way into a group, and trying to fit in as a coyote amongst wolves wasn’t going to be the right way to go—especially with what he remembered of Patriot and his gang.
At the next question, Snake shook his head, the tails of his bandanna fluttering behind him. “No, no, I just arrived here,” he said, crossing his arms. He wondered how to proceed, and thought that there was probably no better technique than to be blunt and to-the-point. “I… do wonder, though, if I could maybe talk with you ‘er someone else about trying to join up here?” He glanced around. “I don’t really know the conduct for it, so, uh…” Worth a shot, right? [/html]
ADJECTIVES!! (And this is short and sweet [okay, maybe not so much as it is retarded] since I need to run to class, and there wasn't much to do anyway. XD Mel/Sie, if either one of you could jump in ASAP, that would be great! <3)
[html] Well, that was something of a relief that he wasn't standing toe-to-toe with some traitorous coyote that had some how earned himself a place in one of the wolf packs. And even more interesting was the fact that he wanted to join—a procedure that Hezekiah didn't really know that much about—and so a little shrug followed the initial question and following statement; he didn't know what the conduct was either. But he did know that he would probably be better suited talking to the likes of the same people that had been there when Hezekiah had “joined”.
“I don't see why not, so I'll call the leader,” he said, convincing himself that he also knew how to do such a thing in a manner that at least conveyed the right tone. He didn't need everyone running to the borders, nor was he simply doing it to provoke response and find where the others were. So the call he made was short, hinting at some notion of urgency that started off traditionally as the coyote howl, but ebbed away in volume. And once that was finished, he felt it was no better of a time to exchange names, turning back towards his brethren with a faint smile.
“I'm Hezekiah,” he offered, even holding his hand out in the same way Anselm had done for him. [/html]
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In Character
The silver coyote was not particularly preoccupied when the call went up. She was busily exploring the forest, inspecting the creeks contained therein for signs of rain and flood. The hybrid woman was bothered by the recent rainfall, her memory reminding her of the severe flooding that had driven much of their prey toward the forested land. It hadn't affected them too terribly, but Kaena was worried of such a thing becoming a regular occurrence. The hybrid woman snorted, knowing the night would come to a close soon enough. Already, the streaky signs of dawn were showing on the horizon, and by the time she made her way over to the pair on the borders the sun was beginning to peek up over it, blazing brilliantly and promising a hot day, a throwback to the recently deceased summer.
She recognized Hezekiah and offered him a nod, appreciating at once the border patrol and the initial greet of the other stranger. Despite his injury and his lack of a memory at what had happened to cause such an injury, the darkly colored coyote was pulling his weight within the clan's harness, and such things did not go unnoticed by the hybrid woman. She offered him a smile, but immediately turned to the new coyote. He seemed rather young, and his fur was the color of the beach. She did not offer him a smile, but looked him over earnestly. He was not exceptionally underweight as some wanderers tend to be, and all-in-all he didn't appear to be particularly damaged or worn by his travels.
Once finished with her inspection, the silver hybrid spoke. "Kaena Lykoi, the clan's second," she said, introducing herself with a nod. No sense filling his head with terms like Aquila and Centurion just yet; there would be time to learn these things still. "What can you do?" she asked rather simply. There was no point dawdling; no doubt Hezekiah had already introduced the clan and this newcomer head already expressed interest in running with the coyotes, else the Discens would not have summoned her to this spot.
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[html] Snake’s general aura became a good deal softer—through gratitude, truly—when the other coyote said that he’d call the leader to see about his request. The sandy-colored boy was really just winging this; he didn’t really know what he wanted, and was hoping that maybe he’d find it if he happened to get into this clan of coyotes. He believed it was the best chance he had. He didn’t want to go back to the road. Cold, uncaring, and lonely—that was the life of the road. He missed community.
As the stranger—newly Christened Hezekiah, actually—extended a hand to him, a ghost of a smile appeared on Snake’s otherwise-stoic face. He returned in kind, grasping the other coyote’s hand in a strong and yet kind grip. He could almost feel a friendship beginning to burgeon right there. “Nice t’meet you, Hezekiah,” he replied. “Name’s Snake.”
Within almost no time at all, the called-upon leader appeared. Snake—who was knowledgeable of etiquette enough—immediately shrank when her presence drew nearer. He lowered himself by bending his knees slightly, rounded his shoulders, and dipped his head while averting his olive eyes. He felt the single-eyed gaze of the woman on him, but he fought the urge to look back. The few seconds that he did see of her was quite impressive—scar-riddled and tattooed, the woman was more unique than any other person he’d met along his short journey. This will surely be interesting, it seems.
She introduced herself as Kaena Lykoi, the lieutenant of the pack. The younger coyote acknowledged this with a small nod, but didn’t really have any more time to introduce himself. Kaena was efficient, going for the throat and immediately asking him the questions that were important. A knot grew in Snake’s gut as he realized that… well, he wasn’t very distinguishable. He was honest, though. “I’m not really specialized in anything, but I’m willing to learn and I’m willing to work. I’m willing to prove myself.” And that was all that he could offer from the get-go. [/html]
[html]  | I's sorry for skipping you, Akumu, but I wanted to hurry this along a bit. <3 I left this open in case either of you wanted to reply anymore! 
mall-caps;">In Character
The hybrid woman herself was quite accustomed to life on the outside. She had spent years within Inferni's borders, but the year and a half she'd been alone had proved to Kaena she was still as much of a survivor as always. There was not so much fight in the outside world, rather the daily grind of fetching and felling dinner, finding a warm and dry place to sleep, and simple living. It was almost mechanical, and there had been some comfort in that. But despite her coyote blood and her tendencies to be an anti-social canine, the hybrid woman had naturally come to miss her home in Inferni, and upon her return she was too glad to swing back into her familiar routine.
The coyote remained where she was, her sharp eye still regarding the newcomer canine with interest. He had a strange adornment on his head, and the most striking green eyes the coyote woman had seen in some time. He seemed to shrink, retracting into himself at the sight of her, though Kaena could not discern whether it was submissiveness or fright at her appearance. He spoke, responding to her question with an answer that in and of itself, was not incredibly pleasing. But he was honest, and he was still young—an overconfident or deceptive type might have tried to play up what strengths he had while skimming over his general inexperience, but not this tawny male. The honestly counted majorly in his favor, as did his age.
The coyote turned to Hezekiah for a brief moment, an almost indiscernable look on her face. It was urging for him to speak any reservations he might have about the youth now, but the coyote woman knew he wouldn't have called her here if he did not think it was worth her time to inspect the new presence. Though the final decision, at least in this instance, rested with her. Gabriel could always veto anyone she chose to allow into their borders, though with their numbers dipping so low, it was difficult to imagine anyone but the most useless of fools being denied entrance to the coyote clan.
He was not the bumping energetic youth that Mason Hesiod had been, but the coyote could certainly see his adolesence in his face. There was a slight smile tugging at the charcoal corners of her lips, and she nodded. For a moment, it seemed that was all the reaction the hybrid woman would give, but the gears in her head were turning, and it was not more than a quarter of a minute before she came to her decision. "You are welcome to stay with us," she said, and though the words themselves seemed ambivalent, the coyote had used a warm and inviting tone towards the youth. "Welcome. Our leader is Gabriel, my son."
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[html] Last post for me here, then!
He was well aware that he was not exactly someone who “jumped off the page” when it came to trying to get into a pack. He wasn’t particularly strong, he didn’t think of himself as exactly intellectual, and he wasn’t skilled in anything except his own survival. But he was pretty sure that if he had told her that he had been the strongest in his old pack, the smartest, and had several skills that he’d never even thought of training into, he would be caught and thrown out for being a liar. Snake was honest, and he was young. Perhaps if he were several years older, he would have been stronger and smarter and skilled in a few things. For now, however, his only redeeming features were his earnestness and his age.
The young coyote felt the pressure that one feels when their direct future is in the hands of someone else—more specifically, someone that they had just met. He did not want to return to life on the road but, as the older woman managed to smile after a few moments, he realized he wouldn’t have to. When she said that he could say, he visibly calmed down—the rigidity in his shoulders vanished, and his face grew more serene. He looked at her (though not directly making eye contact) and bowed slightly at the waist. “Thank you, Kaena,” he said, hoping directly after he said it that calling leaders by their first names was permissible here. At least he could pledge ignorance if it weren’t. He looked at Hezekiah as well, giving him a very small smile. “Thank you as well, Hezekiah.”
He foresaw a long road ahead to prove himself amongst these coyotes, but he didn’t have any problem with that. [/html]
That's okay, my life took a major shit on me and I've been in over my head as of late. o_@ My last post here, yay.
[html] Out from the forest just beyond the tall standing pikes did Kaena emerge in all her scarred glory. It was hard for Hezekiah not to bright visibly as he saw her, the gentlest of waves in his tail was among the most outward signs of expression he gave. Even though his own attributions to Inferni were minute, he did as he was told and had not strayed from their territory, wanting neither to encounter those who disfavoured them or stumble across where he had come from, if it were indeed closer than he thought. Remembering what happened to him didn’t matter so much at all any more; he remembered that for the longest time, he had wanted to get away. Now, he was away.
So as the sable-and-grey hybrid addressed Snake, Hezekiah took on an observational role, noting how concisely Kaena made the process. His gaze wavered between the two, watching them exchange—and much to his relief, Snake was no more skilled than he was so at least they had something else in common—information with relative ease. When Kaena’s attention turned towards him, he smiled with faint encouragement; this moment was purely the tipping point between reinforcement and punishment for him, but in his own interests he wanted the other boy to be allowed to stay. His staying was praise enough for a greeter who had absolutely no idea what they were doing.
Silence drug on for a few more seconds until she deemed he was fit to stay and the wag in Hezekiah’s tail came back for a brief moment as their gathering concluded. “C’mon,” he said to Snake, “I’ll show you where the caves are.” Given that most of the coyotes in Inferni made their homes where the caves were, Hezekiah included for the time being, he figured getting the other boy somewhere to come back to so he could rest would be beneficial. And with that and a momentarily smile to Kaena, he started back in the direction of Inferni. [/html]
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