Playing with the big boys now

Eris Eternity · 01-13-2012, 08:55 AM

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Eris is by Nat!

The dark woman had much to contend with these days. Basilaris was growing larger and stronger with each passing day, and the sable she-wolf found additional time occupied by the lynx kitten she'd rescued in Halifax as well as the child apparently left by Wretch. The dark-hued woman did not regret having taken the kitten or puppy, for both would make fine adults, but this kitten and her daughters and her youngest son and her apparent adopted child left much to contend with, let alone her duties to the pack. The Auxiliary was grateful, in a begrudging sort of way, for Molcaxitl. She had given the slave charge of Basilaris for the afternoon and sent her daughters to learn with their father the practical skills which would later benefit them in life.

Given her freed afternoon, the dark woman decided it was best to leave her tawny slave with her pale child. Eris trusted Molcaxitl with Basilaris, for the slave had never once shown so much of an inkling of even the slightest disrespect toward Eris, let alone a desire to harm her mistress. Molca had helped to raise each batch of Eris's children, though she'd arrived late for the part of Salvia, Pandemic, and Wretch. Perhaps if the slave had been around for Wretch, the pale girl would not have disappeared. Certainly, with more eyes to watch the children... the dark woman would not think of her pale daughter, however, and instead put thought to Basilaris's milk-brother Salvador.

Eris could not guess at Wretch's reasons for abandoning the child. Only a faint scent of her daughter clung to the puppy's fur when Eris found him, and only the faintest tingle of her spine told Eris she was watched by more eyes than just the bright blue of the young puppy. He was not as pretty as her dear Basilaris, but Eris accepted this strange gift, wondering how her Wretch had procured the youth. It was no matter to Eris, who gleefully hoarded anything she could. That she was having difficulty balancing her duties and her now sprawling family was little matter. She could always employ the slaves for more of her purposes, though she wondered how Darijus would interact with children. The thought made the coyote smirk, and she shook her shaggy-furred head.

Eris had cut her hair for the last time until spring, and by the time the trees began to grow green again, she would be unruly and long-haired as she ever got. For now, her hair had been cut rather expertly by Molcaxitl, trimmed to a short and prim cut, albeit completely unstyled, as was the sable-hued woman's usual inclination. She did not waste her time with such things, and rather preferred the feral look her natural mane gave to her Optime form. The hybrid was dressed in her usual white leather, having hardly removed the thing since Siv made a gift of it to her. The sable woman thought she rather liked it for the winter months, when the snow made it less likely to become dirty and dusty.

The Auxiliary padded toward the borders, intending to make her usual rounds. The hybrid was not unusually diligent in marking her territory; on the contrary, in comparison to some, she was entirely lax. She trotted the perimeter of Salsola every few days, having no regularity whatsoever to her schedule. She began on the western edge of Salsola this time, trotting through the pines to reach their perimeter. At one point, she paused, interested by an oozing on one of the trees. She strode purposefully toward the trunk of this tree, sticking her finger boldly into the viscid substance. The sap came away with her finger, and she sniffed it eagerly, thinking it was much the same as that they used to construct the torches now stored on both the Mayate isle and their storage den. It was, and the hybrid smiled faintly, continuing northward. As she did, she rubbed her hands together continually, and the leathery skin of her paw pads slowly absorbed the tarry sap.

Eris was unlikely the first to have discovered this, but as none had revealed the resource to her, the hybrid thought herself discoverer. She would later tell someone in eagerness, and likely embarrass herself. Or, she would have, if the howl hadn't roused her from thinking of more torches and preserved wood for Salsola's uses. The raven-hued woman immediately halted, freezing where she was and listening with a cocked ear to the strange call. It was unlike any she'd ever heard -- even her faintly coyote voice, awkward as it was, did not rival this cry. She breathed deeply of the air, but the stranger was still too far off for her to discern his scent. The cry had been faint, in any case.

Surely there were none foolish enough to lurk about their borders. The thistle kingdom did not adorn their borders with skulls, but surely none would venture this close to a place so clearly marked by death. The dark-hued woman started off at a fast trot, certain other Salsolians were rousing themselves to do the same. She would have her cavalry, as always. The white leather billowed behind her as she made her way beneath the overcast sky, nose quivering to scent the intruder. The coyote moved slower as she did detect the man's scent. Her Salsolians' scents also covered this area rather extensively, as it was a well-trafficked area of the pack. Odessa's scent was particularly fresh and strong, and it was her dark niece's howl she heard then, declaring this newcomer as her own.

Interest prickled all throughout the sable-hued woman as she strode forward then, the pair of canines coming into view shortly after she passed her pack's outermost extremity. One was a brilliant yellowish coloration, with short fur and a strange stature that seemed entirely foreign to the sable hybrid. The other of the pair was Odessa, whom received the Auxiliary's immediate attention after she had sized up the honey-colored canine. Having no fear of him, the coyote had no reason to pay attention to this newcomer until Odessa introduced him. She instead remained a few steps away, awaiting Odessa's greeting and introductions, eager to find whether this male was to be Salsolian. It was clear, at least for Eris, Odessa entertained some familarity with the man. Hello, Odessa, she said, sparing an occasional glance toward the newcomer.

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