01-26-2010, 03:48 PM
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Hehe, don't worry about that. I think I'm damaged for life, I've become this word-spewing machine oO Word Count: 807 - SoSuWriMo The girl almost did not realize her luck. And neither did Dawali, in a sense. He knew of the horrors in this world because he had seen the effects, he had heard the stories. But he had never experienced it or seen it directly, and in this sense he was lucky. Like Cambria, Dawali had grown up well taken care of. Those who caused conflict or broke laws had been cast out, and so the environment around the male had been stable and loving throughout his early year and all the way into adulthood. Even after he was on his own had his parents always been someone he could depend on, much like the way he was always offering to assist his own daughters. The Chief — no, the personality beneath the title, the one he had always been, at least as long as he could remember — had throughout his life realized these truths: that he was lucky, seemingly favored by what ran the world they lived in; that he was forever in debt of those who had created him, had brought kindness into his own world and taught him what he knew, and lastly; that he would forever have a need to help anyone who came and asked for his aid, and anyone who did not, no matter what species or what pack they belonged to. This was a view that many in the old AniWaya had not shared with him, keeping old grudges against neighboring tribes, but Dawali knew that he must do that. It was the only way he could repay the world for all the good things it had given him. The Kalona chuckled, and the feathers and beads that embellished his mane moved as if the little laugh moved like a wave through them, rippling them as if they were small waves on the surface of a pond. True, he thought, and Cambria was clever. A light of amusement shone in the corner of his eye as he replied. "You're very right, Cambria," he said, pausing a moment to reach out and poke her shoulder very lightly. "If only every girl in the world was as clever as you, I wouldn't go around saying such silly things." She made a lot of sense, and though Dawali would forever feel old when around these youngsters, he could comfort himself with that thought: his back was yet to bend like an old and crooked bow, and his teeth were still in his jaw. Hell, even his pelt was still its fiery red and white and gray, and until neither of these things remained as they were now, he should not feel old. Because he wasn't. He smiled at her as she concluded that she would follow, and his one arm moved in a gesture, as if telling her to come along. He had only taken a few steps closer to the building before she gave him a question, and he answered as he kept walking. That bird was probably hungry, poor thing, especially after being dead scared of wolves for some time. It would probably take it some time to learn not to panic just because their scent was around. "We keep them here so they can have a roof over their heads at night. Horses would otherwise just lay down out there to sleep, or even stand up the whole night! It's better for them to have some shelter, and also we keep their food here. It's much too cold outside, and they can't find much grass underneath the snow." It was part making sure the animal was healthy and had what it needed, and half making sure they knew where the horses were. Much closer to the stable now, Dawali extended an arm and removed the safety lock on the door, openied it, and revealed a hallway that parted in two directions. One led to the males (and the bull he had captured) and one led to the female animals. The small hallway continued forward into the storage part of the building, but Dawali took only a few steps inside and stopped where the "roads" crossed so the girl could see the animals. Light shone in through openings and some cracks in the walls and roof, and one of the older female horses, the one whose booth was closest to him, whinnied at him lightly. He put his hand on her neck and patted her, all the while looking at Cambria to see what she thought about it. "A beauty, isn't she?" His gaze moved to the horse as he spoke of her, and she looked back at him, though he could never tell if they understood a word he said. It seemed to him that they understood emotion, though, and she was very calm and seemed pleased, so perhaps it was true. |