Wool over my eyes

Optime | CdM Borders | Backdated: October 9th | NPC: Cedar (+307)

Related to this thread.

Kamari’s scent is disguised.

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In the time it had taken the Salsolan pair to reach the Court’s borders, Kamari had tried her best to think of how she should go about the situation. She had met one of their number before, a woman who called herself Kalypso, and, that limited the Shadow’s options some. Having her face known meant that infiltrating the Court was not a suitable option, not with how little information O’Riley had been willing to part with about this target of theirs. It was too risky for something that could have been hardly more than a rumor.

No, this mission was to see what they could glean—if there was to be anything at all—and Kamari felt that a mere inquiry might do. With the right story, right guise, and right individual, she and O’Riley might be able to actually get something out of the meeting.

Kamari dismounted from her horse once she’d been able to smell the border markers. She led him forward without holding his lead, knowing the mustang would follow dutifully at her shoulder. The Shadow wore her tattered, green cloak about her shoulders to shield her a bit from the cold. As she had at the bar, she had her usual weaponry on her. Her knife remained hidden, but, she made no attempt with her bow or hip quiver. After all, if the Kalypso person responded to her call, Kamari would not be able to pretend to be someone new.

Pulling her hood back, the Emissary let out a yapping, coyote-like call. Jackals were far and few within the reason, and her identity was easily mistaken for those that knew not what one was. She waited then, holding Cedar’s reins and patting his cheek as if he were to be some form of comfort to her.

200+

Leaves drifted down onto Skoll's head, where he flicked them away with an ear. They carpeted the forest around him: the brilliant gold of maples, the pumpkin hue of oaks, the half-turned green that reminded him of eyes. He huffed, lowering his head to nose through the debris, hoping to sniff out a rodent or other morsel to sate him on his patrol. When all he found was a scuttling black beetle, he licked that up. Just because he could afford to be picky didn't mean that he had to be; he was a dog, after all.

The high howl from the borders was as unpleasant as a shriek to his ears, and Skoll was immediately on the defensive. The Secui-formed male rolled his broad shoulders forward and trotted through the trees, whipping away cobwebs with his muzzle and tail. He followed the trail of dominant scent markers -- many his own, and he added one or two more on his way, hobbling on three legs when he couldn't be bothered to stop properly.

Hey nabot, Skoll woofed when he found the stranger -- a small Luperci, and not a coyote like he initially thought. Few in this region could tell the difference, but Skoll frequently searched for signals that others might miss, so deeply-rooted was his prejudice. He lifted his head, the volute of his tail curled over his back dominantly. What do you want?

NPC: Cedar (+612)

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It didn’t take long for someone to arrive, likely having been close to the borders at the time of her call. It was a large canine, perhaps even rivaling—if not exceeding—O’Riley in size. A blast of wind carried their scent to her, confirming the muscled beast to be male and of the Court. His fur was a bright, golden hue, his mane curling tendrils that cascaded down from his broad neck and bounced with each powerful stride he took in her direction. On his shoulder, a large tattoo of green marked him like some sort of house sigil. All in all, it would have been an intimidating sight to behold had Kamari not seen and dealt with her fair share of giants within the Kingdom.

Still, she did well to appear meek and submissive, nervous even as he drew closer. Her ears pulled back and she shrunk closer to her horse, causing Cedar to toss his head and rumble at his rider’s apparent anxiousness with the approaching individual. Intelligent eyes watched the large Secui warily.

When he finally came within speaking distance, he let out a greeting, using a word that Kamari did not understand. It sounded similar to something Khael might say, though, how this male knew such a tongue or what it meant alluded Kamari. Whatever the reason, it had become clear that he might have noticed that she wasn’t the coyote that her yapping howl had made her out to be. For, why else would he have used such a word? Perhaps she was overthinking the situation though… Either way, Kamari did well to keep it in mind.

“H-hello, Sir,” she greeted, forcing a scared sort of smile as if to show him that she wasn’t a threat. “I’m sorry if I bothered you, but, I-I was looking for a relative of mine. She’s the daughter of my aunt’s son, and my mother and my aunt were close, but, they’re…not in good shape anymore because of the accident,” she rambled purposely, gripping at the collar of her cloak to complete the look of someone thoroughly intimidated and nervous to be in this male’s presence. The excess of information was meant to confuse, to disarm, to fluster, to distract.

“M-my aunt said that she had made her way out here somewhere. I’ve checked with a few packs n-north of here, but, they said they haven’t seen her. I heard that there were packs further south t-though and I thought maybe she might have come here. This is the first one I’ve checked though, so, she m-might not be here either.” She finally took a breath. “Have you seen her?” Her cornflower blue eyes looked at him timidly, but, with hope.

The name of who she sought was purposely left out, meant to ensure that she played true to someone flustered by his intimidating aura.

This Courtier looked like he had seen a fight or two, as noted by the scar that ran across his large snout and the fact that he was entirely missing one eye. Whether he was a good fighter or merely an unlucky one, Kamari didn’t want to test out. If push came to shove, him missing an eye might give her a chance to escape, and might give O’Riley the advantage should there be a need for the Erilaz to back her up. If they could avoid a fight altogether though, such would be preferred. Kamari was not keen on getting roughed up for a coyote she knew nothing about, after all.

The diminutive stranger shrank back meekly at his approach, which led some of the smaller muscles around Skoll's eyes to relax. His posture remained very dominant and a little suspicious, but he was pleased that they recognized his power, authority, whatever. It was not enough to drop his guard entirely, as this wouldn't be the first time a meek stranger turned out to be someone far more dangerous, but it was something. He licked his chops and cocked his head as they spoke.

Stuttered, uncertain words flowed without revision. The voice sounded like a female's, and while other features of the jackal seemed more androgynous, Skoll settled with his assumption of a frightened girl. His eye thinned as she continued to ramble, until she stared at him with hopeful eyes and no further details that would be useful to him. Unimpressed, he grunted and looked her over again – a little disappointed she hadn't given him any real excuse to be nasty. He was unequivocally an asshole, but there was enough good at his core that he wouldn't immediately dismiss a young stranger in need of help.

I don't know if I've seen her. What's her name? What does she look like?

Just because he would entertain her request didn't mean he wouldn't sound sarcastic about it.

"Nabot" is French, so it wouldn't be something shared with Khael. :> Also wasn't sure if her sex was disguised along with the rest of her scent, so I was a little vague; I can edit!

(+683)

Whoops! I had no idea what language it was supposed to be, and, when I threw it into Google Translate, it “detected” it as Afrikaans. So, I just rolled with it and figured it might be something Khael/a native African Jackal might say as to why you had Skoll chose to say that xD I’ll edit that section in a bit then since Kamari knows French.

As for the scent, yes, it’s disguised to be more neutral gender, but, your deduction from Skoll works perfectly fine!

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The intensity of the golden male’s one-eyed stare seemed to lessen by a fraction with her submissive reaction to his presence. It was an encouraging sign for her. The less aggressive and on edge this male was, the less likely things might spiral out of control and the mission being shot. Whoever this individual was that O’Riley sought, they were of high importance if he was unwilling to speak much about her, and Kamari didn’t want to fail him.

Even with the Courtier’s subtle shift though, his stance remained powerful, in control, and the Emissary did well to make sure he knew she recognized it. She shrank further into herself when her ramble finished and his initial reaction was to grunt at her. What a feral brute! Her expression shifted from hopeful to wary as he looked her over, looking as if she were afraid that he might attack her for wasting his time. Moving closer to Cedar, the mustang rumbled and tossed his head, pawing at the ground as he stared at this beast of a male that stood before them.

When he spoke, Kamari inwardly cursed O’Riley and whoever had sent them on this laugh of a mission. This was what she had been afraid of with what little information they had given her to work with.

Outwardly, she swallowed and tried to regain a bit of courage. She moved away from Cedar, enough that she was no longer pressed into him, but, not so far that she could not retreat back against the taller animal. “D-D-Dove. H-her name is Dove, Sir.” Her eyes turned downcast and her tall ears fell against her hair. “Auntie…hasn’t exactly been coherent since the accident, and, I-I’ve never seen her son or his wife. F-from what I could make out though—” She tapped the bridge her nose. “—Dove probably has the blaze that’s p-prominent on A-Auntie’s husband’s side of the f-family.” The blaze was a common feature in most coyotes, from what she’d seen, so, it was worth a shot. “A-Auntie said she was p-pretty too, a-and I’d recognize her f-face when I saw her ‘c-cause it’d l-look like my-my-my—”

Kamari squatted down suddenly, wrapping her arms around her knees. Her eyes screwed shut, and she concentrated on making the muscles in her shoulders quake and spasm. Sad. Think of something sad. Vati! Vati’s dead, and Umi’s dying of heartbreak from losing him and Kamil. She’s only got a few weeks left to— Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes.

Perfect.

She curled tighter into a ball. “I-I’m sorry,” she apologized, whispered, sniffing and pressing her eyelids closer together as if it might keep back the tears. “I-I don’t know how—” Her voice came out strained, like a frustrated child. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to bring Dove back when I’ve never…I’ve n-never even met her! Auntie…Auntie and Mom m-may not make it through the winter, a-and I told Auntie that I’d f-find her Dove, but…but—” She sniffed once more and tried to rub some of the tears from her burning eyes.

Damn. Maybe she shouldn’t have imagined such a dark scenario like losing her own parents…

“—I’ve come all this way, and I…I’ve found n-nothing! And…and I don’t…I don’t even know for sure what Dove looks like. I…I should have never…I should have never promised Auntie. I’m…I’m sorry…I’m sorry, Sir.”

The Shadow was going for the look of someone that was stressed, frustrated, and broken by the realization of a fool’s errand. With any luck, the Courtier would be more distracted by her waterworks and voiced feelings of uselessness rather than the fact that Kamari, truly, had no idea what Dove looked like.