06-30-2009, 07:55 AM
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| http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/rp/kae/kae_disorder.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;"> Hooray. X3 Noo problem! Halo is cute. <3 And omg massive speech post, but I didn't want this thread to drag on forever. There was something amiss living life in another's shadow. Kaena had realized it too late, after serving beneath Zarah as the subleader and quickly abandoning her leadership post. She had given away control of Inferni willingly to Arlo, but she had regretted that brief venture into leadership, and upon her return, sought to carve her legacy in another way: family. In the end, she got a second chance at leadership, and while it was also brief, it had not failed to leave its mark. The borders of the old territories were forever altered thanks to the Lykoi matron, and perhaps this incarnation of Inferni would not exist were it not for her second reign. Satisfied with both now, she was content to cultivate what she'd created and helped to create. The youth started and stopped, though Kae didn't know why she had hesitated. Her head cocked to the side and she smiled encouragement at the youth. She was a golden child—readily accepting and nearly reverent of Kaena. Even if she hadn't been so friendly and open, it had always been difficult for her to be angry at her children—few instances stuck out in her mind, and generally, the anger was fast-fading unless the offense was huge. Her grandchildren were much the same, but precious in a far more delicate way. They were the newest generation of Inferni, all of them roughly at or under a year of age, a brood lacking a figure to look up to. Kaena was not their mother, but she could act in her stead, guiding them until they didn't need her anymore. Gabriel didn't need her anymore. Kaena knew that, and that hurt her—but he hadn't needed her for a long time, and she had just been slow to realize it. But her departure was good for him, anyway—it had jettisoned him into the Aquila position, of which he filled with every ounce of his being. The golden hybrid radiated regality, and he was every bit the Aquila Inferni needed. Kaena drifted for a moment after Halo spoke, gathering her thoughts. She was not usually one to babble on, and she liked to plan what she said if she knew she had a lot to convey. The thoughts rushed into her head all at once, and it took her a moment to sort through them and decide what she would say. "Inferni started with just me and Yasu Zarah. We had both been members of a coyote clan together before, so when we met on the beach, I thought we should relive those days, and she called together a few of her friends. She lead us, and I was her right hand," Kaena said, remembering that scrappy bunch well—Eclipse, Mune, Riot, and Kesho. They were just seven at first—and their numbers only slipped, adding Arlo while subtracting Mune immediately and Eclipse shortly thereafter, wavering around six before plunging following Zarah, Riot, and Kaena's departure. The history of the Lykoi family was certainly interwoven with that of Inferni, and Kaena told the first part of their history with a heavy heart, the hurt in her voice especially apparent as she mentioned Zulifer by name. "I fell in love with a coyote in a wolf's body, and I was to bear his children. A former lover of mine, another wolf, killed Zulifer just days before I had Kerberos and Maeryn," she said. The next part of the story was harsh, and of failure. "Zarah left Inferni, and I lead it for only a short time before my broken heart drove me to leave the clan to her adopted son, Arlo Xyl. In the end, he raped Kiriska, alpha of Clouded Tears, and Ceres Sadira killed him after she died giving birth to Laruku Tears. Inferni was just one coyote when Kidorah happened upon its sands," she continued. "She took leadership of the clan, and though our numbers improved, she allowed something of an alliance with a wolf pack that settled to the south, conceding a piece of territory to them in the end. During her leadership, I returned to the area with vengeance on my mind—I wanted the blood of the wolf who killed Kerberos' father," she said, refusing to name Zulifer again. She recalled her time spent slinking on the outskirts of Jaded Shadows, finally plunging into their territory. It was once of the few instances after her near-loss of life on Clouded Tears territory that she had penetrated wolf borders. She had found Salvaged Eternity that night, and both of them had shed blood—but neither had lost ground, and Kaena returned to Inferni, defeated, and joined its ranks once again. "I met the son of Chimera's alpha in the city, and he came to Inferni to help raise our eight children. Gabriel and Vitium were part of that litter. Two of our children were killed by wolves before they reached their first year," the ashen hybrid said darkly, thinking of the aunt and uncle Halo would never know—Ikatha and Baneesh. The coyote hurt as she thought of them, wishing perhaps they had been able to keep a closer eye on their children—but with eight highly mobile, quick children, it was difficult to keep an eye on all of them at all times. They managed to slip away often, but usually returned unscathed shortly thereafter. The hybrid sighed, wondering how many of her grandchildren might have perished a similar way had they been so unlucky. "Kidorah gave us a hierarchy, but Kidorah's mate, Segodi, took over not long after their children were born and changed it again. He lead us for a while, and the next summer I had Samael, Razekiel, and Ahemait. They're the children of a lying, bastard coyote, Astaroth. He wasn't much of a bastard then—just a liar. I left Inferni to raise them in the city with Molochai, Gabriel's brother," she said, thinking of the time she'd spent away from the clan. It stretched from late summer to late fall, almost three months. "By the time I returned to Inferni, a stranger was leading it—Roane. I told him I had helped found Inferni, and he handed leadership over to me," she said, a grin crossing her face as she thought of that moment. It was a second chance to prove herself and make her mark on Inferni, which was to make Lykoi its synonym. "Many of my wandering children returned during this time. Gabriel, Ahemait, Samael, Molochai, Kerberos, and Vitium," she said, the lie about Eris' origin slipping from her mouth as easily as anything. Some secrets were too dark to reveal so openly. So far as Kaena knew, no one else knew that Eris was Salvaged's child, though others might have certainly guessed it by now. Kerberos hadn't returned to Inferni, no—he'd gone to live with Ahren for some inexplicable reason. Perhaps he'd always felt more wolf than coyote, thanks to Salvaged raising him. At least after she'd thoroughly beaten Kerberos he wasn't vicious toward her anymore. He knew enough to respect his mother's raw power, if he didn't love her enough not to kill her. The coyote stopped here, taking a deep breath as she considered the next part of the story. She looked at Halo for a moment, speaking to her instead of relaying information. Her single golden eye gazed at the coppery face of the youth, searching for a reaction as to whether to continue or not. "I don't know if you want to hear about your father's exile," she said, shaking her head, her blazing gold eye leaving the younger coyote's face and gazing at the broken cobblestones of the garden path leading away from the porch for a long moment. The tingle in her brain finally evaporated, and Kaena lamented the death of her last cigarette for a brief second. |