The silvery hybrid had not been to the city in some time, and she was rather eager to explore it once more. There was always something different and new in the human ruins, some unexplored alley or long-dead shop, some antiquity with which to exercise her mind. Kaena was not a greatly civil canine; most of her knowledge of the human world had come in her later years, and she could clearly remember the days when feral canines were the clear majority. Now it seemed there were qualities of humanity everywhere she looked, though Kaena Lykoi hardly minded it. It could only serve to extend her lifetime. Technology was a good thing, even if it was recovered from the ruins of another civilization.



    The canines of the world would have to learn as much as they could about the human culture, including what had brought them down. They had been the dominant species on earth, knocked to nothing by a virulent plague of their own creation. The canids must not repeat their mistakes, and they would have to take care to keep history from moving in a circular fashion. Take too much humanity, and the canis genus would soon find themselves extinct, bequeathing the world to some even lesser creature. The hybrid woman meandered the streets, her Secui nails clicking along the cracked asphalt. She had shifted to make the quicker journey, though she remained in her halfling form, knowing she would need to return to her two-legged form to manipulate the objects she found among the city's ruins.



    After some minutes of wandering, a familiar scent entered her nose—spicy, sharp, and minty. Onus. The scent he used to disguise himself masked his natural odor, but upon smelling it once Kaena found she could recognize that same smell and assume it was the same canine that had worn it last time. The hybrid woman had been rather intrigued by their last meeting, and she was eager to see him again—he was a strange, quite, fascinating fellow, and Kaena felt that he had something to teach her, though she had no idea what. She was years older than him, but there was some strange maturity about the cloaked coyote, as if he possessed a far older soul than the scarred woman. There was a shop ahead where the scent was quite strong, and when the hybrid woman got to the door she hesitated, thinking she might knock first.



    The thought was silly and it jarred her to stifle what can only be described as a giddy giggle bubbling up from her throat. She shifted to her two-legged form, one silver paw extending to the door as the fingers elongated from it, gripping the creaking metal thing with her hand once it had formed. There was such a riot of noise from the door as the hybrid entered knocking was unnecessary, though to be polite the coyote woman called to him. "Onus?" she said into the dimly lit shop, her single eye peering around the ancient human ruins in wonder. She was a fan of books, though she could not handle difficult ones and she was an extremely slow reader herself.

You listed like, ALL of my favorite childhood stories. <33333333 CANNOT WAIT FOR MOVIE LOL.



    Perhaps it was canine instinct that would save them from the same fate as the humans, perhaps not. Most of them seemed to have retained their feral nature and with it their respect for Nature herself, the godess found outside in the open world. Kaena had never been religious, but if she believed anything it was that the world and nature were godliness, and their lives were loosely directed by fate, given a final and definite purpose but room to grow and explore in the interim. The hybrid was hardly a philosopher, though, and she did not discuss these secretly-held beliefs with others, and often professed to disbelieve fate. Neither of her parents had been particularly keen on giving her a religious education, especially not her mother. Most of what Andre had taught her had been presented clearly as mythology, old things other people used to believe, but never as true religion.



    She had startled him, and her sable ears fell back in a moment, wordless apology for having done so. Beyond that, neither acknowledged the startling, and he greeted her with a name, seeming rather awkward for a moment. Kae was not a particularly perceptive canine, and it took her a moment of peering around the room to realize where she was. It was some kind of kid's store, with brightly colored (albeit dusty and time-worn) items scattered about. Why was he here, then? The hybrid woman was certainly no sleuth, but the mystery presented to her was not particularly difficult to crack.



    After a moment of considering, the hybrid recalled their prior conversation and tilted her head to the side, considering and giving him a wry smile. "Scampering feet in the future?" the coyote said, assuming he was "shopping" for children on their way rather than already in the world, and naturally taking for granted that they were his children—forgetting the minor detail (to her, anyway) that he had specifically asked about children not his own. The hybrid beamed at him, already approving of his decision to procreate—what else could a mother do?

Erf. Epic siefail. POSITIVELY EPIC. I have to admit, I really don't like going to see movies in theaters. D: I hate sitting in a room full of strangers to watch movies, much rather do it in the privacy of home where I can scream at people if they talk through it. XDDD



    Surprise crossed the scarred woman's features; she hadn't expected that. Onus was a difficult person to read, naturally—the coyote couldn't tell if he was happy or upset or anything about his children. It simply didn't show in him; that hardly surprised Kaena. Still, the fact that he had trekked to the city from wherever he was from, the fact that he was actively seeking objects with which to better their lives—that simple fact told Kaena all she needed to know. Effort was the key; the line between good parents and bad parents was fuzzy and murky in the best of light, and the hybrid knew she herself could be called bad, given certain situations. Arkham and Rachias certainly had reason enough to call her a poor mother. After all, Kae had walked away from them. Vitium might, too—but there was reason for Kae to throw him out of Inferni. Grinning, Kaena shrugged a shoulder. "At least you're here trying to learn some stories to spin for them," she suggested.



    The coyote listened to his words, tilting her scarred head to the side, surmising that their birth hadn't been intentional—no matter. All but one litter of her own children were unplanned, and she had only endeavoured to have Astaroth's children at his request. Or Satan's request. Whichever—it didn't much matter what Astaroth was anymore, devil incarnate or not. He'd served his purpose and delivered Samael, Ahemait, and Razekiel to Kaena, and now he was dead and buried. That was all that mattered. "Congratulations," the hybrid said genuinely, her coal lips still twisted into that matronly smile. "Though I'm thinking maybe you should get them and Ma the hell out of dodge," she warned ominously, shaking her head. The mention of Dahlia de Mai had brought her suspicion, and she now feared for the half-coyote children of one Onus. "Don't mean to offend your woman's choice of home, but Dahlia's no safe space," Kae added, leveling her gaze at Onus. If he was unaware of the pack's subleader, she would damn well make sure he knew, and maybe knowledge alone would help keep the children safe.

Rararar. I have jury duty at 8AM tomorrow and I DON'T WANNA GO. |: Fudge.



    The hybrid had no doubt the coyote before her was going to make a good father; the effort was key, in her book. So long as parents could honestly claim, "I tried," it made all the difference in the world—no, she hadn't always done right by her children, but she had tried, for most of them, anyway. She had tried to give Kerberos and Maeryn the chance for life by leaving them by the pack borders, hoping their wolf's blood would keep them from being recognized for what they were—Inferni coyotes. Perhaps she was lucky she'd been spending so much time on Thunder Island; the clan's scent had faded from her coat, though certainly it was her smell that had betrayed the children to Salvaged.



    Kaena did not know Cwmfen; indeed, she was unfamiliar with Dahlia on the whole, beyond the fact that Haku Soul and Lolita lived there. She did not know of the pack's leader, though she questioned why she would allow such a monster to reign as her second. She did not know the pack's third—though now she learned it was Onus's mate. Perhaps the thing that kept Haku where he was was blood—blood held Inferni together, it would work in other places just as well. "I don't like that, but if your woman is attached to her pack, I can understand that, though I do wonder why the Dahlian leader allows such a vile second," the hybrid said, sighing and squaring her shoulders.



    "I thought I had killed him... but I guess not, huh?" the hybrid said, raising her brows in a question. He had fallen, she had choked the life from him—it was over. Yet here Onus was, speaking of Haku as if he was still alive. "Wish I did," she spat, thinking maybe Onus's problem would be solved that way—even if she didn't know who his woman was, even if she didn't know his children, she felt frightened for his family. They lived with the devil himself.