Good Book Hunting

Kesho Maisha · 01-16-2011, 11:57 PM

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So sorry for the wait. Sad SSWM: 574

Yes, Kesho had been to Halifax before, but only once. His experience had been fairly mild, and the amount of exploration he had done had been very limited. Truthfully, he'd arrived and encountered the grumpy wolf who was the leader of the Phoenix Valley pack; Jefferson was his name. Kesho had been amidst one of his first intentional transformations into Optime, and the scarred Patriarch had been his first encounter.

Previously, much of his time spent in Optime had been under the control of Bael. Those were memories that were difficult for him to access; his ability to remember the times that Bael had taken over was very slight, as most of that time Kesho spent trying to regain control. It was a battle between the two that was near constant until quite recently. The old Hastati had, in the past year, learned to close his mind to Bael. Unfortunately, on occasion his rage was inescapable, and Kesho would lose any battle against that personality.

Today, however, he was not concerned about any shift in personality; he felt thoroughly in control, and in a pleasant, content state as he traveled with his fellow Hastati. Thankfully, she had chosen her lupus form for travel, and as he had already decided that this was his shape of the day, he was glad to not have to change. The feral form was his favorite, considering it had been all he'd known for most of his life. He was most comfortable in it, but it also made his joints ache the worst. The older man tried to ignore the ache on this lovely day as he and Alyssum trod over the snowy grounds, dilapidated concrete skeletons appearing in the distance.

The distance was not a problem for Kesho; his endurance had been conditioned in his absence from here, and since his return his strength had been increasing as well. It was merely the ache that got to him. The cold was not helpful for this, either, and as Alyssum turned and spoke to him, he smiled against a cool breeze.

"You doing okay?" she asked politely.

With a slight grumble, feeling the pressures of his age reflected in the youth around him, Kesho sighed and glanced up at her, his red eyes filled with a sort of friendly hopelessness.

"Yes, I'm fine." he said as gently as he could manage, smiling slightly at the young woman. "Thank you." he said, allowing his appreciation of her innocent friendship to show.

He knew he would never escape that slight pity that came with his failing body, and this was one other thing he would have to learn to accept. He knew that Alyssum's intention was purely friendly and curious; she probably didn't even intend to comment on his age, but it was often a subconscious act.

Either way, this day was not about his worn-down body; it was about finding some quality literature. Though Kesho didn't know how to read, he hoped to learn; and if he could not learn, he would at least try. The old man was sure that there was infinite knowledge in their pages, so as they traipsed through the destruction and rubble that was now Halifax, his eyes were alert searching for possible hot-spots. He knew about the University-- that it held reserves for the humans' knowledge, and certainly plenty of books. Maybe that would make an adequate first stop.

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