07-21-2009, 07:53 AM
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mall-caps;">In Character The canine's answer was hardly cryptic, and he must have seen her true question anyway, because he responded with the answer she had wanted to hear anyway. Her canine teeth showed in a grin, liking that Talon was perceptive enough to have picked up on it. Many wouldn't have. There was no denying that she was full of hate, but Kaena generally didn't have without reason—sure, she had her bad days when she picked fights without reason, but the days of the reckless Kaena Lykoi were long over. With direction and purpose in her life, the Lykoi woman was far less keen on the "nothing matters" philosophy of life. "I don't believe I've ever hated anyone who didn't damn well deserve it," she said, ice coating her tone. There was a difference between hate and the simple derision she showed most wolves. Hate was goading, hate drove its possessor to do something about it. Hate had driven her to return here after her first departure; if it weren't for that bastard Salvaged Eternity she probably never would have returned here, save perhaps years later to see if Kerberos had become anything. His reaction to her story was expected; there hadn't been too much of a point in sharing it, other than to share it. She hadn't intended to dishearten him, but it was the only thing she could say in relation to what he'd shared. The marred hybrid had never been given to wild flights of fantasy such as Talon's crow obsession, nor thoughts of flying. Her imagination had died in her childhood, taken from her by her flesh and blood, the half-brother who had stolen her youth in one swift motion. She only offered him a half-hearted shrug, lifting one coal-dusted shoulder to him as her attention diverted to a small fox, creeping silently a just a few feet below them. He was trying as hard as he could not to be seen by either of the two larger predators, and Kaena allowed him to pass, though she was often given to slaughtering their small, distant cousins, a hypocrisy she failed to realize. It was the very same persecutions of coyotes by wolves which drove her to rage and hatred in many cases, though Kaena did not kill them for their smaller stature. She had long been inclined to stranger appetites, both for sustenance and satisfaction, and foxes were a delicacy she thoroughly enjoyed. His next words surprised her; they were seemingly unrelated to their prior tangents. There was a long pause as the Lykoi thought about it. She had certainly held many lives in the palm of her hand, but it was not her tendency to save them, especially if she put them in such a fragile state. Ahemait floated to mind, and she recalled that bastard Storm wolf who had nearly stolen her and she almost growled out loud, though she stifled it into a sharp, short sigh. Whoever said hate was unnecessary, whoever said her hate for wolves was unwarranted? "No. I have only held one life in my hand that was worth saving, and I could not save her alone," the coyote said. She thought of Fatin, and ached dully, missing the cinnamon she-wolf whenever the two were apart. She had been hurting a long time now. |