set to the morning after Rikka arrived :3 Anselm! 300+



Sunshine spilled into the cave that Rikka de le Poer now called home and her head rose up, opening in a wide yawn. Golden eyes blinked blearily and it took her a few moments to remember exactly where she was. Oh yeah, she had come back to Inferni, hadn't she? Even though it had happened just yesterday it was still strange to think about. She had been expecting her return to be a lot more rocky and less pleasant than it actually had been. Her mother had welcomed her with open arms despite her disagreements with some key ideals and it had warmed her to her core. To be accepted so readily hadn't been something she had expected and she knew it might not be the case with everyone in the clan, but it had started things off on a good note and she couldn't complain.



The hybrid rose to her legs and shook out her metallic hued pelt and slowly walked to look out of the entrance to the cave. These caves certainly did have quite the view, it was nice to be so close to some water. It was time to really make this place feel like home, so quickly Rikka shifted into her bipedal form and went over to where she had left her canvas bag. She took out her incense burner and some incense, set it on the cave floor, and then grabbed a match. She struck it deftly and held the small flame against the incense until it began to burn and smoke. She breathed in the scent greedily, instantly comforted by the smell.



Next thing she pulled out with a small case that was filled with a few joints that the commune had given her upon her departure. Grinning she removed one and placed the rest back in her bag. With another match she lit the end of it and inhaled deeply, holding it in her lungs for a few seconds before calmly exhaling the smoke. As content as she could be the woman leaned back against the cave wall and looked out at the inlet. It was going to be a good day.

hells yeah it did! 300+



Drugs had always been a recreational thing for Rikka instead of a lifestyle, but now seemed like the perfect opportunity to use some of her parting gifts. The joints hadn't been the only things the commune had given her, but the stronger stuff was always more fun to use when others were involved. Right now she just wanted to kick back and relax and there was nothing better for that than some good ole' mary jane. Raising the joint back to her lips she took another puff but instead of letting the smoke slide lazily out of her mouth this time she blew a small series of smoke rings. It had taken a while to get the hang of that particular trick, but she was glad she had mastered it. The marijuana was doing its job as her hazy, half-lidded eyes attested to. The hippie chick couldn't think of a better way to spend a morning in a new home except for exactly this but with company.



Just then a head appeared in her cave as if she had imagined some company into being. Wait...had she? That would have been pretty groovy, but when he spoke it seemed that the male was not a figment of her imagination. Apparently he'd been looking for someone else and had stumbled across her, though his words were lost for a moment as she looked at him and found his appearance very familiar to her own. There were very few differences in their coloring, the most prominent being their different colored eyes. "Heeeey," she greeted with a big grin. "Nah, I'm not Razekiel, he's my half-brother though." Some might have found his sudden appearance annoying, but back in the commune such random encounters had happened all the time. There was no concept of personal space or privacy there and so Rikka was not at all perturbed by his entrance.



"I'm Sun-er...Rikka de le Poer. Just arrived back in the clan yesterday." In her hazy state of mind she had nearly slipped back into using her commune name. "Come on in, I don't bite," she said grinning and gesturing for him to come inside. "Yah want some? It's good stuff." She had no idea if this guy smoked or not, but it would have been horribly rude of her not to offer.

I think The Joker by Steve Miller Band is going to be the song I listen to for this thread XD 300+



The man hesitated for a moment but then came on in and her smile widened. Rikka scooted over, giving him room to come sit near her. When he started to shift she looked away out of respect. She didn't much care about shifting in front of others, but she knew that a lot considered it private and she didn't want him to get uncomfortable. Instead, her golden gaze focused on the twisting and swirling smoke coming from the stick on incense. That dance was mesmerizing even sober, but it was downright magical with some good weed. The cracking of bones ceased and she looked back over to him, the same big grin still on her face. She was just ecstatic to not only have company but someone who would share a smoke with her.



"That's right man! Mum told me he ran this place now, I ain't seen him yet though." Meeting with Gabriel had her nervous, but at the moment she couldn't be bothered to worry about anything. Life was far too good. With his introduction she remembered that he was the one Kaena had told of, the one that knew the city in these parts. "Anselm! Good ta meet ya man, mum told me about you too. Spoke awfully well of ya. She said I should ask ya to show me the city," she said nodding, adding emphasis to her words. She wasn't really asking him to do it, just repeating what had passed between herself and Kaena on. "She didn' seem to want me to go alone. Four years old and she's still worrying, ha!" Guess that's just how mother's were, though she hadn't particularly expected it of Kaena. It was all chill though, better that she cared than not.



Making good on her offer two fingers held the joint out to him. Smoking alone was all well and good, but it was always a hell of a lot better when there were others to share the experience with. Drugs had always been a social thing for Rikka and she was glad she'd get to keep up that tradition here. "That so? That's groovy cuz, I don't have much of my own, just what the commune gave me as a farewell gift. Can't say I expected to run into any tokers here, glad to know I was wrong," she said with a wink. "Oh, the tides took me all over the place. Here, there, everywhere. Spent a lot of time in a commune off to the south. It was a far out scene. Nah, I didn't really hear about that, sounds like a real drag though." She had seen the charred remains and it had been quite depressing.

@&#&$"That right?" he remarked with an amused grin, somehow touched that Kaena had bothered to mention him at all. They really were family here and it was something he knew not to take for granted. Inferni's survival, quite possibly, hinged upon the strength of their loyalty and familial bonds. That was what had held them together during the fire while the wolves scattered, all too eager to abandon their friends and leaders when the skies turned black. "But yea, I know a few good spots," he quipped, scratching the underside of his chin with one black nail thoughtfully. His garage was probably his favourite of all, but he knew of several warehouses chock full of all sorts of interesting and useful supplies. Linens, cookware, storage containers... all of these things were available in mint condition if one only knew where to look.
@&#&$"Guess I can't blame 'er much.. never hurts to roam in numbers." Not that he really heeded his own advice there, but he understood the sentiment. "Hell, last time I went through I got into a full fledged gang fight," he said with a blink, as if it were some minor thing that had previously slipped his mind, "'n the nearest neighbour, whose turf kisses the edge of the city, don't take too kindly to us either." His thoughts on the matter dissolved as he offered a short, appreciative laugh at her concerns. "Naw. Between us and Razekiel, we'll have the whole territory up in smoke. Kae might join us, too." A toothy grin. "Sounds chill, though." He took a pull on the joint and found some way to sink into the cave wall as if it were a soft mattress instead of solid rock.

@&#&$His red eyes followed the smoke as he exhaled in a line, one ear flicking as he recounted Inferni's post-fire history, abridged: "Well it was over a year ago now. Don't know what started it--I'd been kicking around in these very caves at the time. Met up with Gabriel, who'd managed to keep the clan together... the wolves were a disorganised mess. Scattered, gave up what they had completely and decided to start from the ground up. Gave us time to get settled in nice and stake out some good land, which was good 'cause no sooner than that those fucks in Dahlia decided to attack us," he said with a soft snort, his eyes rolling lazily and staying fixated on a peculiar pattern of cracks on the ceiling before he blinked and glanced back at her face. "Wound up exchanging hostages and begrudgingly agreeing to stay out of each other's hair, but things are still tense. 's far as I'm concerned, it's their Beta more than the rest of 'em. He killed a mother and her child, strew the guts about.. who knows the extent of his crimes." A pause. "Things 've been quiet for awhile now, though. Here's hoping they stay that way, eh?" With that, another quick puff before handing it back to her.

300+



She nodded her head again. "Yup, that's right man." For the most part Rikka was a child of Mother Nature and preferred to be in her bosom than in some old human concrete city, but she couldn't deny that such places were often chock full of goodies. There were definitely some goodies that she wouldn't be able to do without this winter. It would be nice to get some stuff to brighten up her cave too, it was too drab as it was. "Might hafta have you show me these good spots, if ya have the chance." She was a big girl and could look for herself, but she wouldn't turn down help if it were available. Though hearing he had gotten into a large fight on his last trip sobered the woman a little. "Jeez, really? Is it usually dangerous? Violence ain't my scene, man." She didn't want to think about it or hear about it or see it. She knew it went on and that was more than enough for her.



Things perked back up quickly though. "Yeah, mum mentioned that Razekiel was of a similar persuasion to myself. Gotta say, never expected that of anyone else in the family. I'm a bit of a black sheep, ya see," she said with a wink, showing that it was more amusing to her than anything else. In most families the majority of the Lykoi clan would have been the odd ones out of the bunch and she would have fit in just fine. The roles were completely switched in the case of Inferni, however. "Mum too? No shit? Ha! Now that's a gas!" It was certainly hard to imagine Kaena all blissed out. Though with the Kaena that had welcomed her back, it was a little easier to see.



Rikka listened somewhat lazily to Anselm's tale of the fire and how Inferni had fared directly after. She knew all too well that blood often came with the clan's history and blood was something she could do without. Though the tale didn't seem bad at all until he mentioned the pack that her mother had already warned her about. The hybrid listened with growing foreboding and when he relayed what atrocities had happened she nearly wretched and turned her face away. Shaking her head she made a "no more" motion with her hands. "Jeez man, don't talk about that shit, it makes me sick. I don't believe in violence, nothing ever good comes of it man." Eagerly she took the joint back and inhaled a long draw. The smoke filtered out of her mouth as she spoke again. "I'm a pacifist cuz, I believe in peace and love. I don't want no war, so yeah, I hope it stays quiet." The last thing Rikka wanted was to be around a war.

        Anselm had taken to Razekiel rather quickly and it seemed as if this case would prove much the same. They were family first and foremost--such a thing only carried as much weight as one allowed it, but beyond that they were also members of the same clan. By all rights the Caelum could claim no stronger ties to Razekiel than Samael, yet he found the former agreeable and amusing but the latter demented and volatile--consequentially, he would much more readily refer to the hippie coyote as his cousin while mentally distancing himself from the blood-eyed demon, though he technically had blood relations with neither. The pittance of blood shared between the two de le Poers was truthfully negligible, too, but he felt relaxed and comfortable in Rikka's presence, making him more inclined to latch onto that vague bond of kinship in turn. Needless to say, he wouldn't mind her company on one of his jaunts to the city, even though it usually made things a little less efficient. "I usually make at least a couple runs down every week, it wouldn't be any hassle.


        "I reckon this place doesn't seem so bad to me, relative to where I grew up," he said, not bothering to elaborate further as the subject clearly made her uncomfortable. "I don't think things are usually so bad; most of the time you can talk your way out of anything sticky, but those tontos didn't seem like the talkin' type," he said, waving one hand around in slight exasperation. Again he wasn't sure much detail was necessary, but he figured anyone who understood the simple geometry of the situation would be forced to accept why he had reacted the way he did--he'd been boxed in an alley with no real way out except through the other wolves. He had read their intentions at once--even a moment's hesitation would have cost him dearly.


        He grimaced slightly as she turned away, offering a sympathetic look and a soft sigh before looking back out into the rest of the world through the entrance of the den. "Don't get me wrong; not really a fan myself," he said, although he wouldn't have been offended if she didn't believe it. Anselm preferred the route of least resistance, and as he'd grown older he'd grown considerably more diplomatic--but that didn't mean he didn't have a blood-stained record on file, or that he'd hesitate to spill blood again (if necessary). "There's plenty of land, food, and water to go around here--it really shouldn't be so damn hard for everyone to just stay out of each others' hair. But at the same time, we can't be doormats. If we're provoked, we have to retaliate--we have to stand our ground or we'll just be made one with it, y'know?" he pressed, hoping she would at least see that sometimes, life gave them no choice but to react with violence. Ideals were all well and good, but he lamented that they were rarely realistic.

300+



It seemed that Kaena had been right to be wary of her going to the city alone. It was so strange for her to think that even simply going somewhere could prove dangerous after the way she had been living recently. The Haight had probably been one of the safest places you could possibly be. They had all been pacifists and even if there was violence there were serious consequences for the perpetrators, ranging from probation to expulsion depending on how bad the offense had been. "Alright, groovy. Wanna let me know the next time you head down in that direction?" It wasn't like she had much of a schedule. She had just returned and schedules weren't really her thing anyhow. Whenever he wanted to go she'd most likely be able to. The only thing she needed to make sure happened was she got supplies before winter really set in. "Well that's good. Talkin's always better, ya know?" If you could talk it out why would you ever resort to violence?



Rikka did believe Anselm when he said it wasn't something he was particularly fond of. People who smoked grass were usually of a more docile persuasion. They preferred to chill out rather than to go start shit. "Yeah, I don't get it man. Mother Earth made us all to live in harmony, not to go around killing each other. Any mother would cry having her children at one another's throats. I don't get why we can't all live in peace. That's the way it worked in the commune." If it could work one place then it could work another. Rikka had to believe that. It might not ever work here, but she wouldn't give up on peace as a lost cause. "Yeah, I guess. Sometimes it can't be helped, like when you gotta defend yourself. Or someone else. I just think that more often than not things can be worked out without bloodshed. I know I'm one of the only ones around here that really thinks that though..." she said with a sigh. War wasn't good for any one or any thing.

@&#&$Ignorance may have been bliss, but rarely was it the safest route of existence. Nobody liked to be the bearer of bad news, but ultimately it was best that she have a heads up on the crime that ran rampant throughout Nova Scotia--the alternative was to find out first hand the hard way. He simply nodded in response to her inquiry, though in his mind there was a condition applied: he'd come get her the next time he was going down for a quick day trip, not when he thought he might get caught up traipsing around elsewhere (as he was wont to do). He wouldn't be much of an escort if he offered his services as part of a one-way fare only. He couldn't help but feel that his next trip would be a longer one... maybe he'd finally take Savina up on her offer to come visit.
@&#&$"Talking's fine as long as you've got the right words to say," he mused in agreement. In their modern society, words were oft as important as blows. How many times had he built someone up or brought them crashing to the ground through dialogue alone? How many wolves' trust had he earned for simply having a smooth tongue? How many times had he saved his own hide with a well timed gesture or apology? Egos would swell and tongues would loosen with a quick compliment; fists would fly over a snide remark. Only through language could he effectively manipulate--it was in silence they were most perceptive, most likely to see through the ruse.
@&#&$The world as she liked to envision it seemed very ideal, but perhaps there was a reason they were called "pipe dreams." "All it takes is one bad apple to spoil the bunch; one misunderstanding for a grudge to form. People get paranoid, jump to conclusions," he shrugged a little, closing his eyes. "I don't think much of anything is black and white. Some people must die if the rest of the world is to live free." Like Haku, he thought, though these words never made it past his lips. His red eyes opened again and he cast her a defeated smile. "For what it's worth, I think you're right in general. There are just always exceptions."

SoSuWriMo 527



While Rikka didn’t want to know the gory details she wasn’t a dimwit. Knowing that things were dangerous and being prepared and cautious was always better than running into a bad situation accidentally and being a deer in the headlights. The woman had made an art out of avoiding physical conflict (even verbal conflict, at least when tempers got hot). Words were what she believed in, not teeth and claws. Of course there were some situations where it simply couldn’t be helped, like if someone attacked you out of the blue with no warning. She had never seen such a thing happen and found it hard to believe that anyone would be so unstable as to actually behave that way, but the point was was that she knew that sometimes violence was necessary. She only believed that it should be avoided at all costs so it didn’t get to the point that it had to be used.



“True, though I think I can be pretty persuasive,” she said with a wink. She was no great debater by any means, but she felt that she could make people think twice about certain things. The hippie was always up for a civil discussion of differing ideals. She imagined there would be no lack of such conversations now that she had returned to Inferni. From what she gathered, everyone around here (with the exceptions of Razekiel and possibly Anselm) was of the mindset that might equals right. That was a bit of an oversimplification, she knew there was more to it than that, but she knew that the clan had always favored brawn and hostility over diplomacy. Maybe it was just the way things had always been handled and no one felt the need to change it. Change was hard, but maybe they would have a better chance at having their enemies leave them alone if they weren’t so prickly. She couldn’t say for sure if that would work, but she thought it could be worth a try.



She sighed before taking another draw and holding it in her lungs until they screamed to be released and her eventual exhale was accented by a few coughs. “I know it can’t be sunshine and daisies all the time. I may be an idealist but I’m not an idiot. Still, if everyone just tried a little harder I think it could happen. Wishful thinking maybe, but I’m not prepared to give in to defeat.” The ideals of harmony and peace were something she would carry with her to her grave. They had planted themselves firmly inside her heart and mind and they couldn’t be severed now. “Well thanks cuz, I mean it. Not many around here would be willing to admit it, even if they did think it.” Rikka offered him another warm smile and handed the joint back over to him.



“So, you got any more direct family around here? Like kids or anything?” It was a subject that was often on the hybrid’s mind and she worried her biological clock was ticking away inside. She would like to have at least one litter before she passed out of this world.

@&#&$Anselm could be fairly hot tempered and impatient when it came to certain things, but he usually made conscious effort to give others the benefit of the doubt. When he found some schmuck wondering around inside of their clearly marked borders, though, he couldn't help but jump to conclusions. In the past, infiltrating claimed territory meant one of two things: you were there to pillage resources or you were there to gather information. More often than not, the wolves here were just oblivious or ignorant. The significance was lost on them--he remembered Tokyo, who clearly thought herself entitled to a piece of their property. Admittedly he'd been more patient with the trespasser because she was a pretty woman, but even Warren had been given a chance to flee without bloodshed. Inferni could be hyper-sensitive about foreigners on their border, but once most of the wolves understood that they left peacefully.
@&#&$"I'm glad to hear it. It really wouldn't hurt us to have a few more diplomacy-minded individuals," he said with a nod. Although Anselm was calm under pressure and quite capable of appearing exactly as threatening as he wanted to be (in some cases, not at all), it was still sort of sad for the clan that he was the most civil of the political "activists" in their ranks. Gabriel could be worked into an outright fury; Kaena didn't always restrain herself from pushing buttons. Razekiel, although pretty pacifistic (as far as he could tell), was maybe a little too spaced out to communicate with other leaders effectively--Anselm wasn't sure the coyote would even care, as he seemed more the sort to wonder off into the forest and stare at clouds than deal with "serious business." Rikka seemed like she still had a lot more of her wits about her than Inferni's other resident stoner, however; more importantly, she cared.

@&#&$It would always be impossible for him to see it her way, but he understood why the idea was a nice one. Everything in his life had centred around conflict and he doubted it would change any time soon without dedicated effort--something he didn't have loads of time for amongst everything else. "If you want to put the time into it, I don't think anyone will hold you back. Gabriel tries to maintain some semblance of sanity here, and he does a pretty damn good job--but all it takes is one slip-up from one of our less level headed members to set the bees swarming around the hive." A sigh. It wasn't even realistic to expect peace from the neighbours until they were sure that everyone inside was in line. Sadly, he just couldn't see that happening; some of them were downright psychotic. He doubted he needed to tell her this, though.

@&#&$Such serious matters hardly seemed like an appropriate discussion for their present state of mind. It was easy to switch gears into the next topic she suggested. "Talk about free love, eh, I guess I was too free with mine," he said with a grin. "I've got kids all over the place, apparently, but I barely know any of them. Two of my daughters came through this area; one very briefly, the other in Inferni long enough to take over my old job as subleader. She even had a kid herself, my granddaughter Valkyrie... but the two of 'em took off not long after I came back home. I suppose it's my fault for not just staying where I was supposed to in the first place, but I'm sure they're fine." He peered at her curiously, a silent question in his eyes: how about you?

SoSuWriMo 559



It wasn’t at all surprising for her to hear that the amount of canines that would be diplomatic was lacking in the clan. Still, the fact that at least Anselm was open to more of the members being civil with the outsiders was a good sign. The other members of the clan might view her as a pansy, but honestly if she could gain them a more stable and understanding relationship with their neighbors then she wouldn’t care (well, she probably wouldn’t care in any case). She had no idea what the current political situation was between the clan the various wolf packs aside from Dahlia de Mai not being friendly and apparently things being iffy with the pack near the city as well. “So how many packs are there? I know about Dahlia and that one you mentioned to the south, but what else?” Her cousin seemed a knowledgeable canine and she figured he was as good a person to ask on the subject as any. He might offer her a less biased view than some of the others as well.



There was a complication though that Anselm brought up that had slipped her mind. While some of the members knew better than to shoot first and ask questions later, some did not. It was true, all it would take was one of the more unstable Infernians attacking someone for no reason to break any semblance of peace she would strive for with the packs. “Gyah! I’d like to try and I’d be willing to, but you’re right. I don’t know what I’ve gotten myself into, man. Hope I can stick it out this time.” She hadn’t been able to in the past and it didn’t seem as if much had changed in her absence. It sounded like her brother held things together well, but the values of the clan were still the same and the same kinds of crazies were still running around. Rikka wanted to make it work this time around, she really did, but she was nervous about it. If things got too nuts around here she might have little choice but to split again, for her own sanity’s sake.



Lighthearted conversation was much what she preferred while sitting around and passing a smoke. Her company didn’t seem to mind the change in subject much either. Rikka couldn’t help but laugh heartily at Anselm’s admission. It was rather hilarious to her, especially at the moment. “Eh, as long as you’re havin’ fun, right cuz?” Unlike many of her sex, she was more than happy to sleep with whoever she wanted to and was not worried about the consequences or getting her heart broken. She was a free spirit and didn’t have any interest in getting tied down to one person. It was a little sad to hear that his daughter and granddaughter had split the scene though. “Bummer man, I would’ve liked ta meet them. Hopefully they’re blow through here again, yeah?” She didn’t know it, but she and Anselm’s daughter would have gotten along quite well. At his questioning glance she shook her head. “Been plenty free with my love too, but no one’s made me a mama yet. Kinda a shame.” Rikka tried to look at the bright side of everything, but even she was getting worried about the fertility of her womb.

@&#&$"There's three more, all south 'n west of the old city. The first one you'd hit is on the coast: Cour des Miracles," he explained, his eyes closing as he took a mental trip across the lands. Thinking of the distance one had to cover to get there in this state approximated an out of body experience, causing him to open his eyes quickly lest his head begin to spin too much. "I've never had complaints with that group--they're more dog than wolf, actually. Their leader is a three-legged man who enjoys a good drink and a gamble. I met one of their carpenters, too, 'n he helped me build a giant slingshot once," he said, grinning. These things were like toys to him.
@&#&$"Keep heading south from there and you'll hit Crimson Dreams. I'm good friends with Savina, the leader there; she's got a lot of family in the pack, 'n I got on just fine with sister, too. Savina had a run-in with one of our members before, but the guy's a whack job. We're lucky she sees it as an isolated incident and nothing further came of it." He couldn't currently recall if he'd met any more of the Dreamers--the Marinos were the ones who stood out most. "Last but not least there's AniWaya. Their subleader had all this weird voodoo invisible whale shit going on, but otherwise she seemed coherent and reasonable." A flustered shrug; Anselm was the exact opposite of spiritual.

@&#&$He offered a few wags of his tail as she spoke again; he hoped she stuck around, too. Failing all else, Anselm was always on the lookout for new smoking buddies. More importantly, he welcomed the prospect of another intimate family member. He'd probably always be closer to Gabriel than anyone else, but that didn't mean his door was shut to the rest of them. "Yeah, I don't know. This place ain't paradise, but it sure is home," he concluded with a stretch, shifting around slightly to readjust where the rock applied pressure on his back.
@&#&$"But yeah, I suppose so. I don't think I've got enough steam to charge on down that track forever, though," he admitted with a soft smile, his heart skipping a beat as his thoughts turned to Alacrity. A man might have missed it, but perhaps to Rikka it would be obvious--he'd fallen for someone pretty hard. "Mhm, I like to think they'll come back some day, even if just to visit," he said. They knew where to find him; it was the best he could do. He was done with running all over the earth as much as he was done with running from woman to woman. Obviously nothing was set in stone, but for now that seemed to be where the path of life was taking him.
@&#&$Her confession sort of surprised him; if her activity was as great as she suggested (and he had no reason to doubt her), it seemed pretty strange that she hadn't managed to conceive so far. He supposed she mightn't have been hitting it at the right time, but unlike with Princess, he saw no purpose in telling her how her own body was supposed to work. "I'd have donated you some of my kids if I knew," he concluded awkwardly, hoping she'd appreciate the bizarre humour.

I figured you'd enjoy that SoSuWriMo 561



It was a relief to hear that there was not strife between the clan and all the other packs out there. Honestly it did a good deal to comfort her. Even if she was settling down here she wasn’t one to stick strictly to one territory. Rikka loved to wander about and meet new folks of all types and if she were in a place where everyone had problems with the place she called home then that would put quite a bit of a damper on such wanderings. It seemed that Dahlia de Mai was really the only pack that would take unkindly to her straight off, and even Anselm said that it was mostly that one guy who was the problem and not all of them. All the packs he mentioned seemed to have some interesting elements to them. “That Miracles pack sounds like a pretty groovy place, might have to go check it out. Never seen a three armed leader before.” He sounded like the type that she could get along with quite well. “Voodoo invisible whale shit? That sounds like a trip, might have to check that out too. I like ta experience all there is that life has to offer.” The diversity that apparently inhabited these lands intrigued her and honestly she couldn’t wait to go out and see all this stuff for herself.



“I hope it’ll start feelin’ like home to me too cuz. Just depends on how things go I guess. So far things seem fine. Got on better with mum than I thought I would. Little nervous about seeing Gabriel, we didn’t always get along that great, but I’m hoping now that we’ve grown up things will be different.” Inferni might be the same old clan but maybe the relationships she could build with the people inside it could be different. One of the biggest issues had been that she had never been able to grow close to anyone and so there had been nothing to keep her grounded there and feeling like she should stay. Rikka was hoping that that would change this time around.



Being very tuned in to emotions she was able to pick up on those slight cues that hinted at something larger going on with Anselm than simply him “losing steam”. Golden eyes sparkled as she looked at him. “That so, hmmm?” she said in a lightly teasing manner. “So, what’s she like?” It must be some girl to get a man like Anselm that had been so free in the past to want to settle down. She knew it would have to be some guy who would want to make her do the same. In the past she had wanted that, but recently she had abandoned those ideas and simply wanted to have fun and not be tied down to any one person. Maybe if she found the right guy that would change, but she was content with the way things were.



Rikka laughed heartily at her cousin’s joke and slapped her knee. “Ha! Thanks man! I’m still hoping for it to happen though. Gotta go find me some eligible men. Somehow doubting I’ll be findin’ any to my liking around here.” Even if she did, they would most likely be related in some manner. The woman believed in free love for sure, but not quite that free.

@&#&$Indiscriminate wandering could prove to be a lethal mistake when all the neighbours were out for blood; in his birth pack only a fool would dare to stray beyond their marked borders (and the wise kept deep within the interior). Neutral territory was a foreign concept at the time, as all of the packs were right up in each other's business. Boundary lines overlapped and shifted daily like lines in the sand.
@&#&$By the time he'd gotten out of that hellish nightmare, he'd been all too eager to explore. He'd travelled throughout New England and up into Canada, straying north before deciding to turn back around and head east. Although he'd largely settled down since, he could sympathise with her urge to explore--if he stuck around in Inferni too long it felt stuffy and stagnant. It was hard to find new things to do or poke at here, whereas Halifax had a wealth of goodies and literature just waiting to be discovered and dissected.
@&#&$"Guess I never thought of it much, but yea--there is a lot of different stuff out there," he said. Where he'd grown up, the packs all operated much the same; they were all feral, they all used a similar rank structure, and they all concerned themselves with basic resources alone. There was no time or room for specialisation and fancy custom jobs. Here on the peninsula there were a lot of varying cultures--only now did he stop to consider that of all the local packs, Inferni paralleled that he grew up in the most. Some cycles seemed impossible to break.
@&#&$Then again, time had a funny way of changing things. He was sort of surprised to hear her concerns about Gabriel and Kaena especially. The grizzled woman seemed endlessly tolerant where her children were concerned, though it was quite likely he didn't know everything. The wolfish hybrid knew nothing of Eris, for instance, and he'd never really asked Kaena for her thoughts on Andre's death. There was always the bad seed, he guessed, and although Rikka had identified herself as the black sheep earlier, he couldn't swallow the notion that she was the worst of their concerns. "I'm sure it'll be fine; Gabe's a pretty down to earth guy," he reflected.
@&#&$As her voice lifted impishly and he caught her gaze, he felt his cheeks burn hot beneath his rusty gold fur. Was it that obvious? "She's beautiful, in body and spirit," he replied simply. "I don't really know how else to describe her," he admitted, truly at a loss for words. "I think you'd get along all right with her; she's a very charming woman. Alacrity," he said, eyes closing briefly and the corners of his lips lifting into a smile as he pictured his African princess. The name suited the painted female well.
@&#&$"Eh; here's hoping something works out for us both," he said, the smile metamorphosing into his rowdy, characteristic grin. "And yea, wouldn't look too close to home or they'll pop out demented with half a dozen toes on each foot foot," he said with a soft snort, his thoughts echoing her own. Juxtaposed with talk of his deep inner emotions, the matter of inbreeding had become a far less awkward topic of discussion. It wasn't really like him to speak of his feelings so openly (if at all); he was sure if Gabriel overheard, he would have had a good laugh at the lovestruck Caelum's expense.

One more from you or you can close it :3 SoSuWriMo 625



Rikka wasn't always such a wanderer, but it depended greatly on how comfortable she was in the place that she called "home". When she had lived in The Haight she had barely gone anywhere else because honestly, she knew there was no where more interesting or better to be; she had been completely comfortable and at ease there. With Inferni, on the other hand, she was not so comfortable, or at least she didn't expect to be. Maybe she was being too quick to judge since she had just arrived yesterday, but from what she had observed already things hadn't changed much around these parts and she would need to take some little vacations if her sanity were to stay intact. She smiled her lazy smile at him as he spoke. "Heck yeah man. I love seeing all that different stuff. It's what keeps life interesting." In her opinion anyway. If everyone were the same and acted the same the world would be a really damn boring place.



It wasn't that Kaena hadn't been tolerant, it was just that Rikka had never felt fully accepted in the clan. She knew it was as much her fault as anyone's, at least in the past. She had been too conflicted with herself to be happy and content anywhere. If you couldn't find peace within your own heart and head then you weren't going to find it anywhere outside of yourself. It had taken a lot of soul searching and a lot of traveling for her to come to terms with who she was and be happy about it, but she finally had and she was hoping it would help things here go more smoothly than they had in the past. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. I certainly want to do my best to make sure it's all good, don't wanna be at odds with my brother." There may have never been much closeness with her family, but that didn't keep the woman from hoping it could change.



Rikka listened with interest as Anselm described his lady, able to hear his adoration for her with every syllable. It was really quite endearing. Just because she didn't necessarily believe in true and lasting romantic love for herself didn't mean she thought it impossible for people to find. Some did, and maybe Anselm and this Alacrity would. "I think I like her already, that's a great name. Sounds like one I would've heard around the commune." There was a charm about such simple and direct names. "She sounds awesome cuz, for real. I hope I get to meet her soon." The more friends she had in Inferni the better, after all.



Her head nodded in agreement with his hopes. "Here's to hoping," she consented, smiling all the while. Though she burst out into a fit of high laughter at Anselm's next words. "Haha, oh man! For real, cuz, for real. I got enough working against me on the demented part without increasing the dose of Lykoi blood. I'll definitely be doing my browsing outside of this gene pool." The thought of sleeping with any of her family, even a distant cousin, was a little disgusting and was something that she would avoid. The only way it would happen would be if she were unaware of the family ties.



The de le Poer femme was so glad that she had gotten the opportunity to meet Anselm and share a good smoke with him. It also felt good to get some more information about the area and get some of her fears and concerns off her chest. She didn't like bottling things up and now she knew she had at least one person in the clan she could be open with.

@&#&$In some ways, stagnation was more frightening than anything else. It seemed as if Rikka felt much the same--and yet, the way in which she sought to resolve the matter was completely different from his. In all likelihood the girl was simply far more extroverted and social than he... where she derived pleasure and excitement from new groups and their unique lifestyles, he looked to the physical world and his own self. He supposed if his method ever grew tiresome he'd have to keep hers in mind--he couldn't find anything inherently wrong with it, but it would never quite fit or satisfy him in the long run. Anselm found such things intriguing but only from a distance.
@&#&$And why should he look much further than their own border? He already had everything he needed here. He had his family, a comfortably furnished den, good hunting grounds; he had good company--he had Alacrity. He had his projects and a good degree of personal freedom, too. Even though many of the packs he'd cited had been non-judgemental in the past, he'd mostly encountered them on neutral ground. He always found approaching others on claimed territory to be trickier business; submitting was all part of the game, but he preferred to avoid situations where such a thing was even necessary.

@&#&$All too often, Infernians loitering near defined borders were automatically pegged as troublemakers; they had to take a few extra steps to make themselves appear non-threatening... though he supposed Rikka had enough sense to respectfully mind their boundaries and stay out of trouble. She did not strike him as childish or naive. She was just... optimistic, and for everything, such a viewpoint was refreshing. It was a nice change of pace from Samael or Hybrid's sadistic, psychotic nonsense at the very least. He offered a light, merry smile as they continued to joke lightly into the evening--Anselm was sure he'd found another good friend.