06-10-2009, 07:29 PM
[html]
 |
mall-caps;">In Character Gabriel's words and tone surprised her, and for a long moment she hardly twitched. She fought hard against instinct, and finally lifted her head, though she did not stand yet. The odd, empty feeling remained in her heart, and it felt heavy looking at Gabriel. He had changed—his fur did not have all of that brightness it had held, and it seemed it had grown shades darker with the years. His eyes seemed worlds older. Before he could speak again, there was another. She was young and she moved in a puppyish manner, her fur a bright orange-gold shade. As Kaena studied her, there was something oddly familiar about the youth, though she was certainly a stranger, born while Kaena was on the run. The hybrid noticed that the youth was armed, though Kae was unfamiliar with the weapon and how it might harm her. She was curious, but she didn't speak, nor answer the youth—the question was obviously for Gabriel. Kaena's eyes never left the youth once she appeared, and her brain wildly tried to place her. She was too familiar, but Kaena did not know her and it was irritating that the gray coyote could not place her. He had his teeth bared and he seemed the model of dominance and power. It took all of her resistance to avoid dipping her head low again, though the display was certainly directed toward the young one. Gabriel spoke to the young one, and though he had turned his head back to Kae, his words were still directed for the youth. She listened, and the words jolted her. Grandmother? Her eye, which had not left Zana since her arrival, widened—she certainly had missed a lot in her absence. She wanted to run a circle around the younger coyote and look her over; she wanted to pester Gabriel with fifty-odd questions about how many grandchildren she had. She could see parts of her self in the youth, and she questioned her first assumption that this was Gabriel's child. She seemed far too much of a coyote, petite with larger ears and a slender muzzle, and Gabriel did not seem to regard her in too much of a warm manner. Curious. "I do want to come home," she said, punctuating her statement with a nod. She couldn't help but let her excitement creep into her voice. "I've been gone too long, missed too much," she added, her voice growing sour. She turned her head to Zana, regarding the girl with her reptilian eye once again, though it held a warmth and fire it hadn't for a long time. "Zana... good to meet you," she said somewhat awkwardly, feeling the phrase was nowhere near adequate. There was an ache in her heart—she should have been here for any and all of her grandchildren during their birth and their youth, and her shoulders drooped slightly. At once, she was elated to be here and disappointed to find she had missed out. |
 |