drifting and melting - Printable Version +- 'Souls IPB Archive (November 2007–October 2012) (https://soulsrpg.com/ipb) +-- Forum: Dead IC (https://soulsrpg.com/ipb/forumdisplay.php?fid=110) +--- Forum: Dead Topics (https://soulsrpg.com/ipb/forumdisplay.php?fid=21) +--- Thread: drifting and melting (/showthread.php?tid=24495) |
- Deuce Rhiannon - 01-19-2012 She was tired. The snow drifted down outside the communal den in large fluffy clumps. The events of the last month caught up with her suddenly, like a large cat nabbing it's prey. Being asked to make a final decision regarding joining the pack, Tal's issues with his mate, actually moving, telling her story, fighting with Noah, visiting with Thoirni. All of it caught up to her, leaving her feeling every bit the eight years she was. Nine, come march. Deuce yawned, her position in the pack's den perfect to watch the snow drifting down in the gloom of the night. She knew she wanted to move up in the pack, become her mate's equal again. She knew she just needed to prove herself, needed to prove her loyalty. And yet, she felt she needed to go and see Taliesin and Sky, see how her son and daughter-in-law were doing. She had this feeling she needed to, needed to see them, needed to be near them. A noise in the opening of the den. She focused on the cardinal who had flown down to peck at something, a seed perhaps, or a rock. She watched the blood red bird impassively, her natural instinct to scare it away from the den. It was a pretty little thing, though, and the way it cocked its head as she lifted her head to look at it was adorable. Wolf and bird stared at each other, neither one moving. Finally, the cardinal chirruped, and took to wing. Deuce yawned again, laying her head on her paws. Her eyes drifted shut. A small room, a cabin. A fireplace, a small fire going untended and ignored. Whimpers from a corner of the room. A white wolf laid on a bed, her sides heaving with labor. Outside, the snow drifted down, ignored. Inside, a black male in optime stroked the soon to be mother's head. One pup slid out. It was too dark to see the color of it. Another pup followed shortly after. A voice in the dark. "Two boys, Deuce. One black like me, one white like you." The scene shifted. She was on the porch of her house now, watching the boys tussle. Her mate was off somewhere, hunting maybe. An acrid smell. She looked around. In the distance, spreading rapidly, was a wall of smoke. Her heart stopped. Explosions sounded off, each one moving rapidly closer and closer. Fear, terror. She grabbed each boy by the scruff. They were so little, but they seemed huge when she tried to carry both of them. And then there was her mate, grabbing little Noah while she adjusted her grip on Taliesin. Days later, laying exhausted and burned. The boys were safe. Naniko brought Sirius and Apollo, asking her to nurse them. They were so tiny, and she didn't know if Deirdre had made it safely. What of the pack, of Fatin and Tayui, of anyone and everyone else? They formed a new pack. Twilight Vale. Again, a small cabin. The light faded to darkness, shadows took on ominous shapes. Willow pressed against her mother. Noah and Tal were there, too, but the same size as Willow. And then, the giant black wolf barged in, blue eyes burning with hatred. Deuce screamed, her body trying to shield the little ones. The shadow passed through her. Blood pooled on the floor as the pups screamed their last screams, as the shadow began laughing- She jerked awake, mismatched eyes blinking blearily in the predawn light. She stood, glancing around. The cardinal was back, cocking its head and chirruping at her again. She drew a shaky breath and walked slowly outside, watching as the blood red bird took off again. She stared off into the sky. She hated having nightmares. She hated how they left her feeling. She hated that she wanted to cry. Mostly, she hated nightmares because they always, without fail, awakened the longing for just one more drink to take the edge off. ((WC:667)) - Augustus - 01-19-2012 [html] +686 Augustus
The nights were no longer so restless or marred by nightmares as they had been in the past for the black and white male. But that was not to say that he slept soundly. There were so many things to do, places to see, deer to track, food to eat, mountains to climb, borders to mark and monitor. It danced before him even as he slept, causing his paws to twitch every now and again as a particularly exciting vision floated before his minds eye. At times he would even growl, hoarsely and half muffled by his bushy tail. Nothing more than a slight gurgling in his throat as his paws swept the moss ridden floor. If his pack mates were to see him, perhaps it would afford a little chuckle. Such energy he seemed to possess even in the black of night. In these fits he would often wake up to the sounds of his own dreaming, and pass his clouded gaze over the others of his family, hoping that they had not been disturbed as well. There was no time to be embarrassed, as his head soon fell to the ground shortly afterwards and sleep took him in its muddling grasp. The nights came and went just as this, and morning always found him up and about earlier than most. Those were the times when he would crawl half sleep blind and drowsy to the yawning cavern mouth out a short distance to the stream. There he would splash the cold waters about them and drink in their life, starting another eventful day.
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The black and white male’s brows furrowed slightly on her, he was not so sure. He knew what it was like to have nightmares, although hers must have been much much worse. Her tale was horrible from what he’d heard at their meeting with Titania. She had a large family, and it had been made larger still, it was hard for him to keep track of all the comings and goings in her life. So he didn’t trouble himself. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, he just did not wish to get mixed up and ask the wrong questions. He didn’t wish to pain her more to relive the awful events over and over, but he was determined to be a shoulder, the best he could have, although there could have been better beings for her to confide in. “No offense, sister…but I could smell you…” He was referring to the scent of her fear. “But if you’d rather not talk about it, I won’t trouble you about it.” He didn’t press the matter. “I’m…here for you.” The words were awkward, even as he said them, but he was sincere. He nuzzled his muzzle into the thick fur of her neck momentarily, a gesture of reassurance no matter how jerkily it felt. He felt strange touching her, unsure whether she would welcome it or not. He’d try to listen as best he could if she was willing to open up after all, but it didn’t look as if that were going to happen as she quickly changed the subject.
Table Template by the Mentors! <style>.shadesofgray p {padding:5px 10px; margin:0px; text-indent:30px;} .shadesofgrayooc p{font-family:tahoma, serifSansSerifMonospace; font-size:10px; letter-spacing:.4px; font-style:italic; padding:10px;} .shadesofgray b {color:#FFFFFF;} .shadesofgraycharname {font-family:Century Gothic, sans-serif; color:#FFFFFF; text-shadow:#000000 6px 4px 2px; float: right; margin:15px; text-transform:uppercase; font-size:25px; font-weight:bold; letter-spacing:1px;} .shadesofgrayseparator {text-align:center; margin:2px 0px 15px 0px; background-image:url( http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/Alp...600-1-2-1.jpg); height:303px; border-width:1px; border-size:1px; border-style: solid none; border-color:#FFFFFF; width:531px;} .shadesofgray {background-color:#999999; border:1px solid #FFFFFF; font-family: tahoma, serifSansSerifMonospace; font-size:10px; color:#333333; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:0px; line-height:18px; width:531px; text-align:left; margin:0px auto; padding:0px 0px 15px 0px; } p.shadesofgraytemplate-credit {text-indent:0px; text-align:center; font-size:10px; font-style:italic; width:425px; text-align:center; margin:0px auto;} </style>[/html] - Deuce Rhiannon - 01-26-2012 As he touched his muzzle to her fur, she nuzzled him in return, thankful for such a good friend. He was a wordy one, but she didn't mind so much. She watched him, and listened. "Keeping an eye on one's neighbors is a good idea, really. Especially with the coyotes just twenty miles south of us. I often walk that way myself while I'm watching for winter herbs. Just along our border, mind you. I don't think it hurts to know who is around us, who's been near our borders." She smiled at him. At his words, she laughed. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I read that somewhere once, and have yet to find it to prove falsely." She nodded as he spoke about New Dawn feeling like family. And then he had a question for her. She would have been taken aback, but Budha had once asked her the same question, along with others. "Shifting doesn't hurt, per say. It's really just a strange feeling. And it looks so much worse than it feels. It took a while to get used to it, but I had Soran helping me adjust to shifting. The part that always weirds me out is when my bones start lengthening to adjust to a taller form. They make strange noises then, but it doesn't hurt." She wondered if he was considering becoming a luperci himself, or if he was asking just to ask. "If you have more questions, Augustus, feel free to ask. I have no problem sharing my wisdom or personal experiences with anyone who asks me. I never have." Her tone was warm, gentle, and inviting. She genuinely meant her offer, too. Just as she had spoken at length about the luperci and debunked many of his untrue beliefs about them, she was more than willing to do the same for Augustus, her brother of the pack. ((WC:320)) - Augustus - 01-31-2012 [html] OOC:: lol he's a dum dum xD +416 Augustus
He was relieved to feel her return his nuzzle, and felt a little more at ease. When she pulled away he reclined to his haunches to sit beside her for a time. Something she said snagged his interest. “You mean you pick flowers...?” He raised a brow. What an odd thing to do. He was oblivious to just how ridiculously ignorant he sounded. He didn’t know exactly what a healer was and how they practiced their craft. Neither did he understand just exactly how flower picking fit into it all. He felt odd having had 17 months of life already and still knowing so little of the world. In his home pack he would have been a wolf in his prime, experienced and gifted with the promise of youth. Nova Scotia varied so greatly from the Yukon, and he struggled with near everything. This was probably the reason he’d been hunting and patrolling so enthusiastically, because he’d had little else to contribute. His four-legged form constrained him in so many ways here, but he wouldn’t exchange it for anything in the world. Not hands or feet, nor even a woman’s love. Strategizing during a hunt was as far as his intelligence seemed to want to take him, and the complexities of learning a craft confounded him.
Table Template by the Mentors! <style>.shadesofgray p {padding:5px 10px; margin:0px; text-indent:30px;} .shadesofgrayooc p{font-family:tahoma, serifSansSerifMonospace; font-size:11px; letter-spacing:.4px; font-style:italic; padding:10px;} .shadesofgray b {color:#FFFFFF;} .shadesofgraycharname {font-family:Century Gothic, sans-serif; color:#FFFFFF; text-shadow:#000000 6px 4px 2px; float: right; margin:15px; text-transform:uppercase; font-size:25px; font-weight:bold; letter-spacing:1px;} .shadesofgrayseparator {text-align:center; margin:2px 0px 15px 0px; background-image:url( http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/Alp...600-1-2-1.jpg); height:303px; border-width:1px; border-size:1px; border-style: solid none; border-color:#FFFFFF; width:531px;} .shadesofgray {background-color:#999999; border:1px solid #FFFFFF; font-family: tahoma, serifSansSerifMonospace; font-size:10px; color:#333333; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:0px; line-height:18px; width:531px; text-align:left; margin:0px auto; padding:0px 0px 15px 0px; } p.shadesofgraytemplate-credit {text-indent:0px; text-align:center; font-size:11px; font-style:italic; width:425px; text-align:center; margin:0px auto;} </style>[/html] - Deuce Rhiannon - 01-31-2012 He asked a question of her, and she laughed. It wasn't a cruel laugh, it wasn't a laugh mocking his lack of knowledge, it was a laugh that recognized that not everyone understood the vagaries of herbalists. "Sort of. I mean I do, but for specific reasons. Many things in nature have a use. For example, the lavender I used to dry is a lovely scent, but it helps to relieve tension when you smell it as well. Willow bark can be chewed as a pain reliever. Ginger root relieves an upset stomach. Yarrow root is an astringent, a substance that help draw infection from a wound. Garlic keeps ticks and fleas away from us. Lemon grass is a sweet flavoring, but it also helps with coughing." She smiled, shrugging. "My adopted father, Taliesin, taught me some of that, and I learned the rest as I got older and read more." As he asked if someone like him could become like her, her brow furrowed. The frown eased into a smile as she realized what he meant. "Can a non-shifter become a luperci, you mean? Yes. I used to not be luperci, until after Thanos and I were together. He made love to me, and it changed me to a luperci. And massive exchange of blood or bodily fluid would change a regular wolf into a luperci. And just because you become luperci doesn't mean you change who you are inside. You would still be the sweet and kind Augustus the pack knows." She paused, feeling flushed for a moment. "I mean, I assume that's why your asking, right? Forgive me if I'm presuming too much." She watched him for a moment, hoping she hadn't upset him by assuming as she had. The last thing the older woman wanted was to offend a younger pack mate. She began talking again, almost rambling, but not quite. "The best thing I have found about having been turned to luperci is the extension of the natural life span. We luperci live longer lives that the normal wolf. I know eight seems old, but I'm only half done with my life, even though it seems like I should be at the end of my years." She paused for a moment, then spoke again. "And thumbs-" she held up a paw to demonstrate the lack thereof in the lupus form, "Are a wonderful and versatile thing for a healer like myself." Her tail wagged behind her as she lapsed into silence again. ((WC:417)) - Augustus - 02-01-2012 [html] ooc Sorry it's so long! :/ KInd kept rambling +709 Augustus
His ears twitched to the sound of her laugh and he grinned sheepishly. How ridiculous he must have sounded, thinking of old Deuce skipping about a field collecting daisies and the like for no apparent reason. It was a silly thought, and he shook his head to clear it, his ego far too intact to permit him to laugh at himself. He listened to her curiously, the mirth seeping from his expression slowly as he listened with interest to her explanations. The one thing that especially intrigued him was the thing she called garlic. Fleas were pesky little bastards that could torment a wolf endlessly if they were allowed to roam free. Luckily it was winter, and far too cold for their plague to endure, but come spring he knew who to talk to if he found himself biting and scratching himself raw. He didn’t point it out to her though, what wolf would want to discuss fleas. As painful and annoying as they were it didn’t make for good subject matter. “Oh…that sounds useful.” He said instead. “It’s good we have you.”
Table Template by the Mentors! <style>.shadesofgray p {padding:5px 10px; margin:0px; text-indent:30px;} .shadesofgrayooc p{font-family:tahoma, serifSansSerifMonospace; font-size:10px; letter-spacing:.4px; font-style:italic; padding:10px;} .shadesofgray b {color:#FFFFFF;} .shadesofgraycharname {font-family:Century Gothic, sans-serif; color:#FFFFFF; text-shadow:#000000 6px 4px 2px; float: right; margin:15px; text-transform:uppercase; font-size:25px; font-weight:bold; letter-spacing:1px;} .shadesofgrayseparator {text-align:center; margin:2px 0px 15px 0px; background-image:url( http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v434/Alp...600-1-2-1.jpg); height:303px; border-width:1px; border-size:1px; border-style: solid none; border-color:#FFFFFF; width:531px;} .shadesofgray {background-color:#999999; border:1px solid #FFFFFF; font-family: tahoma, serifSansSerifMonospace; font-size:10px; color:#333333; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:0px; line-height:18px; width:531px; text-align:left; margin:0px auto; padding:0px 0px 15px 0px; } p.shadesofgraytemplate-credit {text-indent:0px; text-align:center; font-size:10px; font-style:italic; width:425px; text-align:center; margin:0px auto;} </style>[/html] - Deuce Rhiannon - 02-27-2012 As he asked what reading was, she thought for a moment before explaining it. "Reading is kind of hard to explain. There are symbols, and each symbol has a certain meaning. And then the symbols are put together, they... Okay. Here." She paused, using a paw to scratch out a few letters. "These letters form a word. A. U. G. U. S. T. U. S. Augustus." She gestured to each letter with a paw as she spoke. "I was taught from a young age to read, and my adopted father started my learning with my name. D.E.U.C.E." Again, she scratched out each letter to demonstrate. "When you learn to read, whole worlds can open up to you. You can learn about the humans, or about how they perceived wolves. You can learn a new way to do something, like building better shelters. When I was the shaman of Phoenix Valley, we used our knowledge to repair our houses, our human dens, and to build boats incase the coyotes attacked us. Or you can use reading for pleasure. There are volumes upon volumes of poetry, old human fables, romance stories, war stories, anything you can imagine they wrote something about." She grinned at the male, her tail wagging. "It is my pleasure to teach. I am glad to find someone willing to listen to an old woman like me.' She winked at him, her tail wagging gently. ((WC:236)) - Augustus - 02-29-2012 [html] ooc WC::536 Augustus
For a moment he felt ashamed of his question, it was a much more abstract concept and thus harder to explain. She, however, did not turn him down or seem to grow weary of him. He perked his ears in interest and watched as she scratched in the dirt. Where her claws lingered strange shapes began to take place. He’d seen these things before on his journey to Nova Scotia. They often marked areas that humans once dwelt in. So they served a purpose after all. He sat and watched intently, brows knitting. He rose and crouched over them, trying to get a better a look. She spoke the symbols aloud, giving them names saying them together as a word far too familiar to him. His own name. His eyes widened and he felt positively giddy. He never thought he could physically see his name, but now he did. The symbols were tall and slashed, proud and dignified. Still, it felt so strange to see it there in the dirt. It was long compared to Deuce, and looking at the two he noticed the similar U in hers. Their names shared a symbol. It meant nothing in truth to the true concept of reading, but he knew nothing of it before and marveled at it.
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