the stars are all afire

Ithiel de le Poer · 01-21-2012, 04:42 AM

[html]

(414) Archive when you've read (or not, as it's not an important post at all XD)

Ithiel is by me!

The tawny coyote wagged her tail, thanked him, and Ithiel nodded. The smile did not return, and he did not return her thanks, but instead set to contemplating her words, no longer partaking of the deer. Zedekiah grunted his irritation with the coyote currently devouring his meal, but Ithiel paid him no mind -- there were other meals to be had in the world, and Zedekiah was grumpy at the loss of food no matter how full he was. Ithiel supposed this was due to being capable of digesting it near-rotten, but he preferred to feed his bird fresher meat, if such could be helped.

Terra's words resonated in him, and he considered. Coyotes were a shorter species, and smaller: he had been tall and strong within Scintilla, easily capable of besting many by virtue of these advantages alone. Of course, there were occasionally the small and quick opponents who had beaten him in their play-scuffles and real brawls, at times. This had vexed him previously, but now he saw why, understanding Terra's predicament and thus, the predicament of those small coyotes in Scintilla. They had to fight by virtue of being a trickster; they perished otherwise. It was not dishonorable to survive: all ceremony and morality aside, Ithiel could not disagree with a creature simply wishing to survive.

The dusky coyote's thoughts had occupied him for some time, though his hands had mechanically picked up the knife and his sharpening stone from his bag. He scraped it quietly, though the motion stopped as Terra got back to her feet and moved away, and his cherry-colored eyes watched her go. She spoke to him, and Ithiel was about to protest -- he rarely traveled in Lupus form, after all -- when the woman's earlier words drowned this thought, and instead, he nodded, a deeper one of thanks. Thanks. Farewell, he said, wishing the last word earnestly. He had learned something here, unexpected as the lesson was. Terra had removed a remora to Ithiel's advancement, perhaps unknowingly, and the dusky man was grateful for that, little as he showed it.

A few moments later, the dark man cut a decent chunk of flesh from the carcass, one of the few remaining since the coyotes shared their meal, and called to Zedekiah to show him. The dark man was saddled and ready a few moments after this, moving off himself with his ill-tempered horse quibbling with him the whole way.

Login




Remember me Lost Password?