she moves in mysterious ways - 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: she moves in mysterious ways (/showthread.php?tid=8708) |
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- Snake - 11-27-2009 [html] He hadn’t been very productive today. He had spent the morning and the early part of the afternoon passing between sleep and a transient state of dozing in his den—which happened to be the hollowed-out carcass of an ancient automobile in the Landfill. He had woken up, checked over his house to make sure it was still holding up (he had done a pretty good job making it worthy of sleeping in) and then started to just walk around Inferni. He had wandered the borders, not really noticing anything. He hadn’t even really noticed the sun start to go down until it was gone. It was dark in the lands of Inferni now. The moon was bright, and the stars were as well. Their harsh light spilled out over the chilling lands, making everything seem absurdly crisp and cool. Snake knew that winter was coming, and that made him nervous. He would either have to barricade the inside of his den with some sort of bedding—perhaps he would scavenge some cloth from the landfill, or from the human ruins—or he’d have to dig a den out beneath it. Neither adventure seemed really good for him, but he’d have to do something. Otherwise he’d be freezing his ass off when the snows came. He was passing the Caves, heading home, when he had noticed the flickering light of a fire coming from the catacombs. It wasn’t surprising—most of the Inferni coyotes lived in these caverns, and, since it had not rained, it was smart to make a fire to keep warm around. But he started to walk towards it nonetheless. Perhaps because he was curious, or cold, or just for no reason at all. But eventually he came to a fire that was burning in a dug pit. He found that there was a female coyote sitting alongside it, as well. The warm firelight danced patterns in her tan fur, and glinted off an odd ring that she had in her nose. Snake’s first thought was that it looked painful. He stood, awkward, for a moment. He was not good at greetings—or conversation for that matter. He shifted his weight between his legs and then said in a flat tone, “Hey.” table credit goes to jacoby [/html]
- Vieira Lykoi - 11-27-2009 [html]
- Snake - 11-27-2009 [html] http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x242 ... ython1.png); background-color:#000000; background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; text-align:justify;"> She looked nervous as he greeted her—he watched the flames reflect in her golden eyes as she looked around the fire, as if expecting marauders to appear at any moment, and then back towards the cave that was nearby. As a few moment’s passed and he began to notice other scents besides the smoke of the fire, he recognized Kaena’s scent predominantly amongst the rest. This may be her den, which might mean that this coyote was an acquaintance or family-member of hers. He did not like it that he made her nervous, or frightened. He had half a mind to simply say he needed to go back to his den, and he probably would have if not for the fire’s warmth. It tempted him far too much, and he gave her a somewhat apologetic look and took another step towards it, and then sat down. He was far enough from her that he hoped he didn’t make her any more freaked out, but close enough to the fire that he could feel its life seeping into his bones. Yes, if he went back to his den with the warmth of the fire lingering on him, sleeping would be much more comfortable. Without really thinking, he asked, “You know Kaena?” He assumed, seeing as though it seemed they were close to her den, and he was sure that she wouldn’t let just anyone use it. That thought alarmed Snake a little—he surely wouldn’t want to make the second-in-command angry—so he decided to keep his voice down. If she was home, he would not want to attract her attention. table credit goes to jacoby
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- Vieira Lykoi - 11-28-2009 [html]
- Snake - 11-28-2009 [html] http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x242 ... ython1.png); background-color:#000000; background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; text-align:justify;"> Snake’s light-tipped tail twitched at being addressed as ‘sir’. It had happened before, but he had assumed that it was just manners in the greeting. Now it seemed recurring, which meant that this girl either understood the hierarchy too well, or had an inferiority complex. Or both. Snake had known weeks ago that he had been elevated from the subordinate ranks, but he doubted that someone who—her scent betraying—was new knew that. So perhaps it was just that she referred to everyone with honorifics to keep herself out of trouble, or out of habit. Both were good for self-preservation in such lands, however, so Snake eventually put aside his reactions to it. Her next statement didn’t evoke much of a reaction out of him, though he did notice that it wasn’t something that he heard every day. The woman said that she belonged to Kaena. The first thing that came to Snake’s mind was his knife, and how he knew that it belonged to him. It was strange to think of a living being belonging to someone like a possession, but it did not affront him. Prisoners belonged to their captors, and Snake had been a prisoner for the first half of his life. Slaves might as well be more privileged than captives. Usually owners cared if a slave died; it was not the same with low prisoners. She introduced herself as Vieira Lykoi. It was curious that her last name was attributed to Kaena, but Snake decided not to ask how it came about. “Snake,” he introduced. A moment passed before he realized that she might not understand what that meant, out of context. “My name, Snake.” He looked into the fire hurriedly, his ears flicking back. “How did you come to belong to Kaena, Vieira?” table credit goes to jacoby
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- Vieira Lykoi - 11-28-2009 [html]
- Snake - 11-28-2009 [html] http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x242 ... ython1.png); background-color:#000000; background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; text-align:justify;"> She seemed good-natured. It was strange—Snake had seen despairing wolves and coyotes before, and they had been the ones with the most power. He hadn’t seen anyone as crazed as Patriot before, and he had been the man with all of the power. The fact that Vieira could accept her position and seem at least normal with it was something that intrigued him. There was a great amount of mystery in free will, and how many thought they wanted it, but began to panic when they realized they didn’t know what to do. As he thought about it, being a slave wasn’t much different from being a subordinate regardless. You only had more rules to adhere to. But, looking at her, she seemed well-kept at least. Except for the ring in her nose, but he was sure that was something different. Perhaps it was those who had the least amount of decisions to make that were the happiest. Snake had never really been much for authority. He dipped his head and used his manners and submission before superiors, but he only understood it as the institution it was. Snake himself was much more of a maverick—he used authority as a tool to survive better than he would alone, but that was it. It only helped that he respected Gabriel and Kaena. But if he was ever treated too poorly by them, well. He didn’t value his life much, and he had a knife with him at all times. He wouldn’t stick for it. She described that she was from the south—a land called Mexico—and had come as a gift for Kaena. A living creature as a gift was odd, but then again, Snake often gave others dead animals as food as gifts. It was kind of the same thing… kind of. He had seen maps of North America in New Haven (which was actually Montreal, Quebec), and he remembered that Mexico was very far south. “That’s very far away,” he commented, as a statement more than anything. He glanced at her strangely. “Did you travel here alone? Or can you not tell me that.” table credit goes to jacoby
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- Vieira Lykoi - 11-28-2009 [html]
- Snake - 11-29-2009 [html] http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x242 ... ython1.png); background-color:#000000; background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; text-align:justify;"> Snake’s oversized ears flicked back at her comment, and he shifted, as if to stand. “I apologize—if you wish to rest, I will leave immediately.” When he had first come to Inferni, he had been traveling nonstop as well. It wasn’t from somewhere as far-off as Mexico, but he had been tired nonetheless, and he couldn’t imagine how she felt at the moment. At one more word from her, he would be gone—off to his own den for a night of rest. He paused for a moment when she said that she had traveled alone, however. He looked into the fire for a small stretch of time before glancing back over to the woman. “If you were alone, then,” he asked, his voice cautious but not apologetic, “What kept you from going wherever you wanted? You could be anywhere right now, living on your own.” What was especially fascinating about her situation was that she had apparently chosen slavery. Either she didn’t know any other way to live, or she was particularly fond of servitude. Snake had always thought that destinies and fates were malleable to whatever choices and actions you made and took. He wouldn’t for a moment believe that the stars had aligned and decreed Vieira Lykoi to be a slave all her life. She had chosen to be so. table credit goes to jacoby
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- Vieira Lykoi - 11-29-2009 300+ (319) [html]
- Snake - 11-29-2009 [html] http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x242 ... rsnake.png); background-color:#000000; background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; text-align:justify;"> Anyone trying to discern Snake’s inner workings from his face were on a fool’s errand. There was probably not a more stoic creature around, and his face usually stayed in the same, bland expression throughout whatever meeting and conversation he had. It hadn’t changed when she had revealed she was a slave, and it still didn’t change when she said that she didn’t know where to go, so she went where she was told. Snake couldn’t judge her harshly on that, because he only came here because his parents had told him stories about this place. Going out and finding a place at random was a pretty crazy idea, he had to give her that much. He wasn’t sure that he’d stick so close to servitude as she did, though. But hey, if you didn’t know any better, what were you to think? She shook her head to indicate that he didn’t have to leave, so he settled back down again. He appreciated the warmth of the fire on his fur, and shrugged his shoulders in response to her justifications. “I was a prisoner for the first part of my life, and I got away from that,” he said, though he wasn’t explaining that his half-brother had died in order for his mother and he to get out of New Haven. If Grey hadn’t made that sacrifice, they might still be there. Or dead. “I guess I can understand, though. Not being a slave must be kind of scary, right?” He was just trying to understand as well as he could. New Haven had not been a good place, but slavery wasn’t used there… or at least not in name. And when he was traveling with his parents, he hadn’t seen anything like that either. So he was curious about how it had suddenly cropped up here in Inferni. table credit goes to jacoby
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- Vieira Lykoi - 11-29-2009 [html]
- Snake - 11-30-2009 [html] http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x242 ... rsnake.png); background-color:#000000; background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; text-align:justify;"> Surely if one had known nothing but slavery all one’s life, stepping outside of that boundary would seem nothing short of crazy. Snake had been thinking vaguely on Kaena and her character, and if she would actually keep a slave or eventually let her have some of her own freedoms. Snake didn’t know her well enough to guess, but he now saw that if she did do the latter option, she might be harming Vieira more than helping her. Far gone—that was a way that Snake could put it. Change would be something that would be mending several years of life, and that didn’t happen in days. Not even in weeks, or sometimes even months. Such trends were not as malleable as you could fix it quickly. She seemed afraid to ask her next question, but it was certainly to take some of the luster from Snake. He wasn’t nearly as heroic as he wanted to be in that particular place. “I didn’t do much, actually. I was only a few months old. My half-brother, Grey, didn’t like how me and my mom were being treated, so he helped us escape.” Snake’s eyes grew somewhat forlorn. Grey had been the only Son that had been nice to him. Perhaps his only friend he had had, ever. “I don’t know what happened to him. He probably died.” Like always, there was no emotion in his voice, but there was definitely a change in his demeanor. Though he was ultimately emotionless, the few that did graze past him were very subtle. He was in thought for a moment before continuing, his gruff voice quiet, “No, I only grew strong because my mother kept training me even after we escaped. She said she wanted me to be prepared for whatever came at me.” And he was. Patriot, even before their escape, said that he was one of the finest he’d trained. Foxhound was another, though, and that unwanted rivalry had been one of the grievances of Snake’s. table credit goes to jacoby
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- Vieira Lykoi - 11-30-2009 [html]
- Snake - 11-30-2009 Short, terrible, egh. [html] http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x242 ... rsnake.png); background-color:#000000; background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; text-align:justify;"> It was quiet for a while, and Snake knew that he would be getting along soon regardless. His fur was past the point of feeling warm and was getting to where it was burning and uncomfortable. And when Kaena’s form appeared in the den—Snake saw this out of the corner of his eye—and shouted to his companion, he knew that this was over. Vieira bid him farewell, and he stood once Kaena had left. If she hadn’t noticed him, he didn’t want to change that. “Good night, Vieira,” he said, his rough voice as quiet as he could manage with it still audible over the crackle of the fire. With a dip of his head, he then started across the lands of Inferni towards the Landfill. When he arrived there, he climbed inside of the rusted-out and yet quite nice shell of his automobile-den and went to sleep. table credit goes to jacoby
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- Vieira Lykoi - 11-30-2009 [html]
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