OOC: Sure, it's fine to have it forward-dated ::Word Count:: 700+


     
The night sky was probably one of the ivory female's favourite things to watch, especially when walking aimlessly. She knew she had left pack lands behind, but any fear she might have had at the thought was erased by the serenity of a calm winter she was so accustomed to. The wind, though soft, brought traces of foreignness, as it held different scents than the one in Greenland, but again, this did nothing to unsettle the Crimson Dreamer. Her lean wolf legs carried her effortlessly through the tranquil night, leaving room for old thoughts to gather. Although the cold season had stirred her thoughts away from Pilot, she felt her memories returning to the white male, greeting him with a warm familiarity. The alabaster femme stopped a while to allow those recollections to gather, remembering the time when she had first met him, close to Shadowed Sun's borders. That had been the beginning of her life here, and no amount of disappointment in Pilot could take away the charm of that meeting, the simplicity of its having taken place. More than anything, it was this longing for times past that guided her steps towards the Dampwoods, a trek she had not made in a long time, in an attempt to convince herself that there was nothing here for her worth returning to. The words of her friends came back to her with ease, reassuring her that she should not dwell any longer on the matter of his disappearance. This proved an almost impossible task at times, yet now she found she could place him well within herself and simply carry on from that, pushing away all worries concerning his welfare. The winter night was a good listener, and her dearest storyteller, so she paused once more from her journey to listen to the voices carried by the wind, the stories of ancestors she had so loved in her childhood.

     
Once she raised her gaze to stare at the darkening forest ahead, where the incomplete moon's light barely shone through the dense, but bare leaves of the trees, she felt a chill run down her spine. The Unknown that so troubled her at times stared her in the face, seductive in its unfamiliarity, beckoning her to journey through it and discover its strangeness. The thought of the woods where she had met the pristine-coated male urged her from behind, while in the same time her fear in the face of everything she did not know kept her rooted to the spot. In the end, her burning desire to visit places she had not seen in a very long while won, so that Urma fell back into her previous pace, determined to prove to the part of her that was doubting this that the Unknown was life itself, its choices, and so far the blanched Crimson Dreamer had not fled from it or hesitated to take them. The moonlight was dimming out, leaving her in semi-darkness, but after allowing her eyes to adjust to the filtered light, she found she could continue her way more or less as steadily as she had so far. Different scents mingled with each other the more she advanced through the thick forest, and a faraway dread crept on her, forcing her to stop once more. Although she knew of the neighbouring packs, the Dampwoods had never before seemed an unsafe place. Unless, she reminded herself, she had ventured too far through the unrecognizable landscape of white, even dangerously close to another pack's borders. She decided to wait there and see, and it was at that precise moment that she caught a glimpse of white fur, almost invisible against equally pale surroundings, followed by the distinct steps of another canine. The prey and the hunter. Unable to move, Urma tried to scour the area around her with great care, determined not to allow herself to be frightened. It was then that she glimpsed another silhouette, in the dim light almost as dark as the night itself. A foreign scent lay hung upon the chilly air, one that, in all its unfamiliarity, held a distinct tinge of a place she had also visited once. Inferni. The thought sent a chill down her spine, paralyzing her limbs, reminding her of the luck she had once had, to stumble upon the leader, and making her wonder whether she would have that luck again.

OOC: That's perfectly okay ::Word Count:: 500+


     
The dark figure seemed a creature of the looming night, forever trapped between the late hours of dusk and the early hours of the following dawn. The light in its eyes was the only thing that gave it life, made its presence towering and real to the ivory-furred wolf. Had it not been for the spoken words that soon followed their exchange of alert glances, the Crimson Dreamer could not have said that the silhouette was female. She assumed the stranger's coat was grey, if not black, considering how well it concealed the wearer's presence, yet these thoughts weighed little in the face of an Inferni member. Her panic would have reached new heights had it not been for the clear statement before, the reassurance, almost, that trouble was not to be found here, in this moment. The blanched female shifted positions a bit, so that she had now comfortably, if a bit still on edge, reclined to her haunches, and looked the figure up and down. Considering the fact that Inferni scent was strong upon the dark female, Urma could guess that she was facing a coyote, and the stories of what had been pointless battles, in her mind, between wolves and coyotes sent a chill down her spine. She had never clearly understood whether wolves were first to jump to conclusions, or if the coyotes were more prone to being haste in their decisions, but she tried to calm herself down, bearing in mind the fact that the stranger had made her intentions clear. This was the only thing that gave Urma the confidence to assume that initiating conversation with this particular representative of Inferni would not be as cumbersome or outright unlikely as she would normally have thought.

     
"I am not seeking trouble either," the alabaster femme informed the dark figure.; she supposed it was only advisable that she make that clear as well, lest her lengthy silence might cause an unfortunate misunderstanding. Continuing her thoughts seemed to help her nerves, so she hesitated considerably less in picking up her line of thought where she had left off. "I have had reason to approach Inferni's boarders once, and I have found my plea to have been respectfully dealt with, so I have not yet, personally, at least, found reason to nurture hostility towards its members. We may be of different blood, but our minds have been altered by the same changes." The pale-coated female decided to keep the rest of her thoughts to herself, fearing that the coyote might find her forthcomingness too much of a hassle to bother with, giving the stranger reason to grow impatient with her. Urma allowed a small pause on her behalf, before going on, her tone as soft and candid as before, "May I enquire your name, then? In exchange, I shall introduce myself. I am Urma, from Crimson Dreams, if you have ever come across this pack in your journeys or by word of mouth. I am as pleased to make your acquaintance as I have been to make that of your pack's leader, Gabriel de le Poer, that time I mentioned earlier when I disturbed coyote lands." There was no note of cynicism in her tone, no subtle hint at irony or some sly remarked slipped between the lines. The pristine-furred female had little use of such methods, less so when she felt no kind of hostility towards her interlocutor.

OOC: Bah, you're not slow, it's perfectly okay, school will be starting for me tomorrow so I might not be as quick anymore either x.x ::Word Count:: 800+


     
The pale Crimson Dreamer inclined her head in a curt nod at the coyote's quick acknowledgment of their mutual intentions concerning this chance meeting. She was glad that no hostility was to come of this encounter, since fights were not something Urma went around picking, especially since she knew her limits and was clearly aware of the fact that she did poorly in battle. It wasn't something that had to do with agility or her capacity to foresee what her opponent's next move would be-- she had honed those skills alongside her former mate, as well as on her own. It was more a question of brute strength-- her lean body could not withstand the force of another wolf, so her defenses were already broken; she also lacked the power of initiating an attack, never judging well the time when it was best to lunge forward or strategically retreat a few steps. To be completely honest, the blanched female was more one to flee the scene of an upcoming battle before it proved too late-- her mishap with Haku had simply been related to her emotional state, which had proven at the time to be a great impediment in allowing her to accurately assess the danger she was facing. As the hybrid continued to talk, the white femme paid close attention the the inflections in her interlocutor's voice, so that when the coyote woman emphasized the word 'clan', Urma was quick to pick up on her misuse of the word 'pack' just before. She made a mental note to avoid this mistake at any later time, knowing that maybe at another point she would not be as lucky as to get a simple correction made. It was the same quick apprehension of a mistake that she had made in regards to Gabriel, when her clear insult at the end of calling him a 'wolf' had brought their conversation to an abrupt end. Sadly, he had then immediately advised her to leave and had turned to do so himself, leaving her unable to apologize, or, more accurately, at a loss for the right words with which to do that.

     
It came as a surprise to the pearl-furred she-wolf that the stranger before her was in fact Gabriel's mother. Maybe the darkness prevented her from making a clear image of the dark-coated coyote, but although she had seemed older, she did by not even the longest stretch seem that aged. Indeed, the ivory Crimson Dreamer did not know for certain how old Inferni's male leader was, either, and she was well aware that not all canines showed their age as much as expected. In terms of raw appearance, Urma did not betray her age either, although maybe certain facts related to her life experience may have done so for her. As it stood, though, not even her friends knew much of her past-- it was simply not in the alabaster female's nature to talk of her past, although it sometimes came as a surprise that not even old friends had ever had the curiousity to question her about it. Not even Pilot, who was probably the perfect example to the closest she had ever come to another wolf since her arrival after the shipwreck, knew anything of her life prior to her coming here. As a result, she did not allow herself to dwell much longer on the issue of appearance in relation to actual age-- if the coyote before her had introduced herself as being Gabriel's mother, Urma had little need to doubt this statement. Considering she knew little of the ranking system of a coyote clan, she was clearly not in the position to question whether family ties had had any influence in Kaena's being, as she had claimed herself, the Aquila's "right hand". While there were multiple ways in which the white female could take this statement, she took it pretty much literally-- that she was his second-in-command. With that, she allowed no further thoughts to trouble her on this matter and decided to fill the silence that was threatening to settle with a new enquiry. "I am glad to meet you, then, and I hope that we shall leave each other in good spirits, bearing one another no grudges. I was simply wondering... my home has raised no questions from you. Does this mean that you have met others from my pack?" She tried to emphasize this last word in a way that would suggest she was now making a difference between a wolf pack and a coyote clan, much as the hybrid's earlier accent on the word prompted her to do. "Maybe we might feel more comfortable in the other's company if we feel we have the same people's acquaintances in common." The thought of Naniko surfaced to mind, but it was only because of Naniko's friendship being the oldest she had here, excepting Pilot's, and her logical assumption that she would be a well-known wolf. Of course, her pristine-furred friend no longer shared Urma's home, so chances that her name would come to Kaena's mind, if they knew each other, were slim.

OOC: Haha, I'm sure we can claim temporary insanity and get away with it. Either that or a goldfish memory xD ::Word Count:: 1000+


     
The night made for a splendid time for the pale-furred Crimson Dreamer to recount old memories, the soft breeze of the late hours bringing back beloved stories from her long-gone ancestors. The whispers upon the gentle zephyr brought her closer to her past, a thing she normally tried to avoid simply to make sure that she did not dwell on them too much, but that sometimes she felt she needed to be close to in order to prioritize her objectives for the future. It proved hard, most of the times, however, to not get lost in the intricate web of her thoughts related to former years, especially her childhood. It was sad at time, watching pups from her pack, such as Gotham and his siblings, growing up differently than she had. Although she held in high esteem some aspects of her education in Greenland, such as the customary tales of her elders, she also envied the pups of Crimson Dreams for the security their pack offered them, a sense of safety she had only known in the company of her then mate and her brothers. Of course, company rarely made rejoicing in old, discarded memories a polite pastime. It was probably the main reason why Urma found it so difficult to return to her own problems whenever she found herself in the proximity of a person she knew and who gave signs of wanting to initiate conversation with her. As a result, her own problems had rarely surfaced amongst those she knew, except maybe for some occasions when they had been too overwhelming to bottle up as usual. Her closest friends, such as Savina and Naniko, now that her beloved Pilot was gone, had been faithful listeners on many such times, although her troubles then consisted of her inability to adapt to Pilot's absence. She was no better at it now, and had simply learned to place that feeling of abandonment deep within herself and allow herself to live through its loneliness without company. Whatever other problems she might have had, she had never brought them up with her friends, either for fear of being ruled out as weak, or for fear of pity she felt she was hardly entitled to.

     
Urma registered the slight change of tone that took place in the coyote's voice, as also her manner seemed to describe a safe-guardedness that the ivory femme failed to attribute to anything she might have said. Indeed, the only thing that came to mind and sounded plausible enough was her forthcomingness, which she had failed to see might be somehow unexpected from a wolf in relation to an Inferni member. This was something the blanched she-wolf had yet to get accustomed to, since it was not something she viewed as logical, in the sense that, for all the trouble Inferni was rumored to make, except for her deep hatred of Hybrid, she had little else to pick on the clan for. Indeed, Hybrid would always remain, to her at least, another story. It felt wrong, however, to judge the entire clan based on a single member-- for all that, Dahlia de Mai would have to be considered a psychopathic pack in view of the reputation Haku had made for himself. Urma supposed that, as Gabriel had hinted, it was a necessity for a clan such as Inferni to preserve some of its notoriety if it was to keep itself out of unnecessary harm's way, without having to cause trouble in the process. Characters such as Hybrid functioned, in the Crimson Dreamer's mind, simply as puppets meant to serve this unceremonious purpose, which was probably another reason why she failed to nurture any feeling of respect for the male, this going without mention of Pilot's ordeal at his hands.

     
These thoughts were soon pushed away, however, as Kaena started explaining her ties to Crimson Dreams, and Urma's attention again turned to the here and now. She nodded in acknowledgement of Anu's name, but it was the next one that completely drew her in towards the coyote's words. So she knew of Naniko? Was even her friend? Urma could do little to suppress her delight at this unexpected piece of news, and promptly decided to speak her mind. "Naniko is also my friend, one of the oldest friendships I have tied with another wolf in these lands. Sadly, I could not be close to her when she might have needed it most, for another problem called me away. I have come back just in time to see her move out of Halifax and into Phoenix Valley, and although we have done much catching up, I cannot say I am happy with myself for letting her down. I am merely content that she is doing better there than she would have back in Crimson Dreams. Maybe I should not have left then, should have stayed instead. There are many things I do not yet know about these lands, as you can see." Her thoughts again turned to Pilot, whom she could have maybe seen once more after his return from Inferni. Her heart sank at the memory of Savina's words, but she did not allow this to dispirit her, and continued, "No, he is in fact not. Or rather, he is the only one I know personally. It just happens that I have also heard of one Hybrid. He was the reason I sought out the lands of your clan in the first place. In a way, his actions have forced me to leave my friend in a time when she might have needed me, having me chasing the ghost of a very dear wolf." She pulled her ears back tightly against her head, a note of sadness running through her words. She never felt comfortable remembering the incident concerning Hybrid and Pilot, but neither was she comfortable bringing it up with a fellow clan mate of his, lest she should feel as if she were somehow insulting Inferni. In truth, she was hardly insulting Hybrid. The hurt she felt at the thought of how he in turn had tortured Pilot was something that tore her apart beyond what she could put into words.

OOC: I got way too carried away with this o.O I'm sorry for the huge length of this post! x.x ::Word Count:: 1230


     
The past had always been a faithful friend of the pale Crimson Dreamer’s, in view of the fact that, for the better part of her life, it had been the closest she had ever come to feeling something towards another choice for a prolonged amount of time. While her brothers had always been close to her, she had failed to associate company with the feeling of belonging she so craved until her relationship with her half-brother turned into something more. Although she had been small in age, she had treasured all the petty things her then mate had given her, knowing that the nomadic influence predominant in her birth pack prevented her from getting attached to the places that became, within the three month period of settling before proceeding with their journeys once more, familiar and safe to her. Her long, tiring walks, her determination to keep up with her mate’s faster pace, her curious nature, had all contributed their fair share into turning her into the agile, lean she-wolf she was now, but they also held the response for her usual timidity and self-awareness. His unexpected loss had, even at that young age, visibly shaken her already fragile foundations in the confidence she put in herself. Having gotten so used to his presence, his absence was much more than just a physical one, and it had taken the ivory femme a long time to be able to rebuild a semblance of self-confidence, at least enough to enable her to relate to those around her and share some of her empathy, instead of allowing it to waste away. It came as a shock, therefore, to Urma, that the hybrid female before her would view the Crimson Dreamer’s straightforwardness with such weary eyes, considering that, if she indeed was the Inferni Aquila’s mother, she certainly had nothing to fear a mere wolf for, less so one that posed no threat whatsoever, judging by stature alone, and as such going without mention of any other drawbacks Urma might have to face in a fight.

     
It seemed, however, that Naniko was a common link, and the white femme silently thanked the darkness that would prevent the female coyote from seeing relief wash over her blanched features. It wasn’t that this meeting lacked anything in particular-- it would have been unfair of the pearl she-wolf to consider Kaena as unkind simply because she did not respond to her forthcomingness in as light a manner as would have been expected. Indeed, had Urma known of the underlying aspects of the conflict between wolves and coyotes, she would most certainly not have questioned the clan’s second-in-command’s attitude. As it stood, however, the ivory-furred femme had little knowledge of the exact causes of this mutual hatred-- partly because she was generally kind-hearted, and partly because she came from a different land, in which conflict was most of the times outright, the enmity between the two sides involved failed to permeate the female’s otherwise keen senses as to why this reserved attitude had to be kept with everyone.

     
Disregarding the general disquiet that the hybrid seemed to breathe, Urma wagged her tail in consent to the coyote’s remark concerning Naniko’s newest litter. Although she had not seen the pups with her own eyes, she was certain that they lacked none of their parent’s goodwill and friendly nature, and that they would turn out to be a reason of pride instead of dispute, as Urma had initially feared, considering Ehno’s unexpected plunge into fatherhood at a time when his sister did not view the mother of her brother’s children with anything but silent contempt. “I haven’t had time to venture in the direction of Phoenix Valley as of yet, but I will make sure it becomes one of my priorities during the next few days. I can imagine that they are indeed lovely,” the alabaster Crimson Dreamer responded, feeling a deep pang of loss at not having yet given birth herself to any offsprings. “I feel confident that Naniko will be a splendid mother to them-- as she has been to all her children thus far, whether they admit it or not,” she continued, her conversation with Naniko back in Halifax prompting her to add the last part. She could still remember how her equally white-furred friend had talked about her children, who were at the time drifting apart from her, but whom Naniko, as any caring mother, regarded with as much affection and pride as always.

     
The conversation now moved in the direction of Hybrid, and the pale Crimson Dreamer pulled her ears back in discomfort. The male coyote was not a topic Urma found that she could breach easily, if only because it brought a new wave of guilt and sadness and anger all rolled up into one single feeling. From Gabriel’s words she had gathered that Hybrid was merely a tool, much alike a puppet or a stubborn, spoiled child, left to his own devices and amusements, knowing that these would keep outsiders well away from the coyote clan’s borders. Urma neither agreed, nor disagreed with the de le Poer male in this respect, considering it to be his responsibility. She also remembered his disquieting words related to his having seen Pilot in the condition to which Hybrid’s treatment had reduced him. Urma had been certain then, as she was now, that the Aquila had not been lying when he had said that Pilot enjoyed being Hybrid’s toy. She had not seen her beloved friend for so long now that it felt almost impossible to the blanched femme not to believe certain things that were being brought to her attention, simply because the male she had known and loved, the male she still loved, despite all odds, was merely a blurred shape in her mind, a semblance of the wolf she remembered. Although she treasured Pilot dearly, she was also aware of the fact that it could easily be that she was just as well treasuring a ghost of his former self, a self she had no means of finding out still coincided with the flesh-and-bone one. Kaena’s question reached her mind, now focused on her own emotions, like a soft breeze, and it took a while for it to settle. Once it did, however, Urma raised her head so that her golden gaze was level with the clan sub-leader's and said simply, “He took away someone who was very dear to me.” A moment of silence passed before she felt capable to continue, her voice betraying the strain this was putting her under. “Although my beloved is not dead, nor is he far from it. I have searched for him almost for an entire year, without success, without even knowing that as I pushed onwards aimlessly into unknown territory, he was being held by Hybrid. To be honest, from what your son has told me, I no longer know if it was against his will or not. But I have not seen him for more than a full cycle of the Earth now, and I am not certain I will ever find him, because I am at a loss as to who I am looking for, precisely.” Her tone was almost as quiet as a whisper, leaden with loss and unfulfilled expectancy.