all that noise, and all that sound (kaena)
#1
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WC: 405


He had finally carved out his own little place to be. He stood proudly at the mouth of his cave and there was a bit of a smile on his face. He had been taking refuge here now, since he had stopped sleeping in Kaena’s cave. When he had first arrived at Inferni, soaked to the bone, he had been Kaena Lykoi’s shadow. But he had also tried to stay out of her way. He would sleep in her cave, because she had welcomed him. But not wanting to make himself a pest, he would wait until she rose for the day and then he would cat nap where her scent was the strongest. Now that he was older, he did not need to be around her to feel secure. But he was attached to her nonetheless.


Consequently, he had chosen to make his own home very close to Kaena’s cave. Her scent was still pretty discernable from where he was standing. Although he was not dependent on her, he still wanted to be nearby. Kaena was the closest thing that Mason had to a mother in his mind. He had very cloudy members of his mother, but he knew that he had gotten his eye color from her. He liked to think that if Kaena had been his biological mother, she would have passed on her vibrant eye color to him.


Speaking of Kaena, he now felt the urge to share his work with her. Earlier in the week, the boy had ventured into the city to procure supplies for the clan. In between trips he had dragged interesting odds and ends to his cave. And now it felt very homey to him. And in the spirit of Inferni, he had lined the skulls of his recent “kills” outside of the mouth of his cave in a horseshoe shape, making a somewhat ridiculous fence. The skulls of small rodents were bountiful and echoed the macabre quality of Inferni’s border-skulls.


Because he was older, he was able to contain himself much more. Still, he suddenly felt the need to go to Kaena and show him his domicile. His tail wagging enthusiastically, Mason trotted over to Kaena’s cave and poked his head inside. Normally he would have been much more cautious moving about someone’s home, but he never really worried about that with the scarred female. ”Kae, are you busy? I want to show you something!”



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#2
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Wurd count: 659.


In Character

The silver-furred woman was aware that Mason had settled next to her. This was a good thing, truly—now she had two children to either side of her, one of her own that was not so much a child, and one that was not her own but cared for like one of her own. All these long months, Mason had been the sole child in the clan—the coyote woman worried about him sometimes. He had been quite young when he'd showed up on their border, and without other children to play with, she sometimes feared he had grown up too fast. Still, there was that occasional hint of playfulness in the young coyote. His childhood still shown through in some parts, though they were now in its final hour. The days were ticking down until Mason would enter the regular ranks, and Kaena contemplated where they might put him. Certainly he was deserving of more than the typical Tirones rank. She recalled her own children had generally been selected as either Discens or Praeses, depending on their own skills. Some were better at wandering; others were better at bearing the clan's image.


Even now, the ranks were filled with her children and progeny—Gabriel was at the helm, guiding Inferni toward a better future. He was a rock, steady and constant in a sea of others who had been little more than passing fancies to the Aquila position. Kaena included herself in that list, though she thought she was far better than some of her successors and predecessors. Gabriel, however, could not be complained about. He had saved Inferni from the wildfire and delivered them to a new land where they now flourished, seventeen strong and counting. Halo was the Hydra of the clan, the delicate girl having proved herself by slaying that bastard lone wolf who dared to desecrate their border. She was beautiful, a reflection of her grandmother and her grandfather alone, carrying almost nothing of her traitorous father's features. Rikka was the clan's newest Veritas, charged with keeping the clan's history intact. The silvery Centurion knew that she would have to track the woman down soon and share with her all of it in its violence and gore. She hoped the new Veritas would not twist the history to her whim. There was Samael, precious Samael—charged with ringing the borders endlessly, swinging around and around them with intent to kill anything that so much as set foot over their border. Samael would not let anything harm Kaena. There was Razekiel, the miracle, the gift back from the soil of Mother Nature and the skies themselves, spat back from the carefree lifestyle into their turmoil once again. Kaena worried about him sometimes, and she wondered if Inferni was too intense, too violent for his tastes.



The last thing in the world she desired was to lose any of her children, and this war might just cost her that. A familiar voice drew her from the darker contemplations of war and she looked to the entrance of her cave, a familiar face there in the entrance. She smiled at Mason, a genuine and happy grin falling over her scarred faces. Full grown as he appeared, the silver-furred hybrid thought of him as a puppy still, a distinction Mason might not lose until he was nearly two years old. That was a good thing where Kaena was concerned, however, and to be considered in such a way by the grizzled Centurion meant that Mason would be showered with affection still. She padded out toward him, bumping him affectionately with the side of her muzzle. "What's going on, Mason?" she asked, keeping calm and as cheery as she could though paranoia wracked her brain. He seemed calm and quiet enough, but children had a way of understating things occasionally. With the war drums beating, one never knew what lurked around the next corner.



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#3
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WC 408

It had not really dawned on Mason that Kaena would already be aware of his plans to move in. He had thought that he had been truly sneaky; it was not exactly that he was being deceptive, but he really wanted to surprise Kaena. Mason, although he was still young, was proud to show Kaena especially that he was doing some growing up. He thought that establishing his own place in the world was a great display of his growing independence. But he also wanted Kaena to know that he would be nearby if she should ever have a need for him.

Kaena's answering smile was all the push that Mason needed to make him suddenly ten times more animated. The Tirones Minor was now almost vibrating with energy. He returned the silvery woman's show of affection in the same manner, but with much more enthusiasm. He pushed into her with his muzzle with perhaps more force than necessary, but it was not an issue of trying to be powerful. The gesture just spoke volumes about how much he cared about Kaena and how excited he was about what would happen next.

The Tirones Minor could tell that Kaena was on edge, although he had not divined the reason why. It was in the way she tried to carefully contain her expression. He knew her well enough at this point to see that, but he did not think very much of it. Mason could be observant, but he was not mature enough to look for all the pieces of the puzzle. Mason trusted that Kaena would be able to work through her problems. It was simple to him; if she wanted to talk about it, she would. And if there was a way that he could help her, he would find a way. But for now he would try to distract her with the here and now.

"I want to show you...my new place!" he said with excitement, nudging her in the side as he practically pranced his way out of the mouth of Kaena's cave. Without much reverence he came into his own cave and immediately went to the left. "Kaena, Kaena, this is for you!" he exclaimed proudly. There was a bundle of colorful cloth and bits of twine and other soft things. "This is for if you need to stay here...if there is a flood, or an explosion...or if you miss me."



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#4
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Omfg, I am 'tarded. I didn't realize his whole moving in was a surprise. ;___; I thought it was just his purdy decor. XD Deeeeerp, I say, derp. Owell, I will play it off in this post. |: IT NEVER HAPPENED LOL. Word Count: 815


A sense of anxiety had settled down over the coyote woman, and it permeated all facets of her life. She was worried and paranoid over very minor things now, and in her head wild scenarios, impossibly complicated, of the many "what ifs" of life played through her head. What if Haku was crossing their border right now, his targets set like a heat-seeking missile on her very home? As safe as she felt in her own cave, with Inferni's miniature warrior guarding her to one side and her daughter to the other, she could not chase such thoughts from her head. They seemed a constant plague to the silver-furred Centurion, nightmarish scenes chasing after her in both sleeping and waking moments.


Kaena looked at Mason with her single yellow eye, noticing he certainly wasn't their miniature anything anymore. At almost eight months old, he was almost done growing. He still had some filling out to do in some places, still possessing the long-legged ungainliness of adolescence, though he'd lost the unsteady legs of youth. It wouldn't be too long before Mason wasn't even a Tirones Minor anymore—the silver-furred hybrid contemplated his rank, thinking it was most likely he would begin at Discens or even Praeses. It wasn't as if the tawny youth was a brand new coyote they'd just dragged across the border; he'd lived in Inferni for many months now, practically growing up in the clan. True, the first two months plus of his life elsewhere, but his core formation had been within the clan, and that was something that boded quite well for the Tirones Minor. He'd passed the trials of youth with flying colors, it would seem, and now he would prepare for his ascension into the regular ranks.


Even if he appeared to be practically an adult now, Mason had not lost all of his childlike qualities, things Kaena certainly still valued, even if most youths his age wanted to run away from puppyhood as fast as their legs would carry them. He seemed to brighten up just by looking over at Kaena, and her own happiness grew, her paranoia laid to rest by the sparkle in the youth's golden-yellow eyes. His greeting was affectionate and quite enthusiastic, lending more power to the scarred coyote's smile. He was getting stronger by the day, it seemed. His words were even more energetic, and the hybrid looked over at him in surprise, beaming. Striking out on his own was just one more sign that Mason was growing up. It was bittersweet, really—Kae had often worried about him growing up here in Inferni all by his lonesome these long months. He'd had no playmates his own age the whole time, which did bother Kaena a little bit. Perhaps she should have taken Dawali up on his offer to let him come to AniWaya and play with other children. It would've been a nice treat, anyway. Now, however, the Tirones Minor seemed a bit too old for playdates.


"Striking out on your own, huh?" the hybrid said sadly, trotting out of the cave after the younger canine. She expected to be led further away, but their walk was quite short, indeed—as it turned out, Mason was her new neighbor. The hybrid woman beamed wider at this and the decor of little skulls around the entrance, the tiny trophies of a young killer. From the number of them, young Mason had enjoyed a fair amount of success in his hunting expeditions. "Nice collection," the silvery-hued Centurion commented with a grin, following the Tirones Minor into his dwelling. She peered around in the dimmer light, finding his decoration and listening to his proclamation that it was for her. It looked rather comfortable, and at least a far sight warmer than her own bed. Delighted, the coyote padded over and curled up into it, tucking her legs beneath her and snuggling into the warmth.


"I love it," she said, keeping her head lifted up from the rest of her body, still beaming at the youngest member of Inferni. Her tail wriggled a quick thanks before settling next to her thigh, curling up next to her. She was most comfortable in her own den, but the long weeks she'd spent with Mason in the cave had made her quite comfortable with his presence. Now, she had a little private escape even from Vieira, if she so desired. It wasn't that the Quintus actively annoyed Kaena, it was just that occasionally the silver-furred hybrid simply got so uncomfortable without her own completely private space in her own dwelling. "I'll always have my own little protector, hm? Though you're not quite so little anymore," the Centurion said, punctuating the statement with a grin that was more proud than anything. Mason was another to add to the tally of coyotes that had grown strong and big within Inferni's borders.




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