06-09-2009, 05:11 AM
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mall-caps;">Out of Character Name: Kaena Lykoi Birthdate: October 24, 2001 Species: Luperci hybrid of 50% coyote, 25% dog, 25% wolf. Gender: Female Contact: the sleepy glow (AIM) mall-caps;">In Character Even at a distance, the canine hybrid appeared determined. Her gait was quick, and she pressed forward hurriedly. Her fur was haggard and unkempt, though she now had two frayed and obviously ill-tended braids woven into the left side of her mane. She was far leaner than she was before, drained by her time on the road, but fire and determination shone in her remaining eye. Kaena had come back home after nearly two years only to find it a charred wasteland with no indication of the life it had once held. She'd almost given up then, stopping to rest for a few days on the coast she'd once called home, subsisting on fish trapped in tidal pools once the ocean receeded. She'd almost given up then, but the faintest scent had caught on her nose, and she picked up the trail immediately, heading over the ruined side of the mountain. She was somewhat surprised to find green on the far side, lands untouched by the fire that had wrought the life from the former lands. Her footsteps were surer now than they had been before she'd rested; the injury which had plagued her over last year and a half always seemed to settle with a few days of rest, and then flare up again once she got going. The hybrid knew what she needed for the devil wound to heal up. There was only one thing that would make it go away—that was coming home again. Or so said Astaroth with his dying breath, bleeding from a jagged hole in his throat. Kaena believed he'd cursed her, and anymore it wasn't easy to tell whether it was actually a curse or something the hybrid's mind had simply decided was true. She was almost ten years old, and the year on the road in quiet silence with herself had done more damage to her mind than anything else. It was nonsensical that "home" hadn't healed her—or was it? The sands of Inferni weren't anymore; now they were just sands. Inferni was home, and home would heal her and make her strong again, though naturally that wasn't the primary drive to return. That was family. In pursuit of Eris, she'd left a hell of a lot behind, and she darkly wondered what remained. The border scent was growing steadily stronger as she descended the mountain, cutting through green territory that reeked of wolves. She was not afraid. Injured and exhausted as she was, she was pretty confident she could snarl and show her way out of a real confrontation, so long as she kept her hurt leg planted on the ground. It didn't matter in the end, though she trekked over heavily used trails, she encountered no one. She kept alert, constantly turning her head to allow her one good eye to scan the area for threats. Her ears were perked, the scarred one a few inches shorter and mangled. Altogether, not much had physically changed about Kaena; she had a few more minor scars to brag about and she carried a tattered pack over her shoulder. As the hybrid delicately stepped around a fallen log, her gaze fell upon an unmistakable sight, and she hurried herself despite the ache in her leg. It was throbbing sharply now, a stabbing pain that increased with each step closer to what was certainly Inferni's new home. The closer she came to the cure, the harder the demon's jaws clamped onto her leg, sinking his teeth in a bid to remain where he was. She could see gleaming white skulls splashed with red, tied to sticks and dangling from trees—just the same as before. She wondered if they'd imported the old decor, and inhaled the scents of Inferni. There were only two she recognized, and just one scent she could pick out of a thousand others. There was a rare emotion thumping through her heart: glee. She could smell Gabriel and his authority clearly on the wind, just as she had figured. She halted just before she came to the marked border. It killed her to stop. All of her excitement evaporated immediately and she felt a stab of guilt and self- resentment as she paced back and forth, unable to keep still despite the searing pain in her leg. After a few moments the fire in it stopped her, and she sat abruptly, her hand flying to her ankle, clutching at it. It burned beneath her fingers, and it felt like eternity before it started to fade. She was so close, but she was a stranger now and she would be treated as one if she happened to encounter anyone who didn't recognize her, and rightly so. |