08-28-2009, 11:33 PM
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| http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/rp/kae/kae_fall.jpg); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position:fixed; padding-top:240px; padding-left:15px; padding-right:15px; padding-bottom:10px;"> The red wolf before her did not seem threatening. He was an older man, closer to her age than most of the younger canines running around on these lands, but still not quite as ancient as the silver hybrid was. Still, what could he possibly want with a bunch of coyotes, if his clan was so far away? She contemplated this for a moment before he began to speak, her attention immediately reverting to the russet canine. He used her first name and her surname, which was somewhat strange to Kaena—most creatures immediately truncated it to Kaena without her prompting. But that was just an added politeness on Dawali's account, she figured, and it pleased the coyote woman. "You can call me Kaena," the hybrid told him, though she did not intend to correct him. It was simply an easier, truncated form of her name—and she almost universally introduced herself with her surname present outside of Inferni lands. His next words caught her attention, but she kept her face carefully neutral, wondering what had prompted him to seek out the coyotes. He had not demanded anything from her, instead offering information about the pack that he was a part of in return. This intrigued Kaena, showing on her face in curiosity. The wind rustled his fur, a cool breeze that spoke of the fast-approaching fall. Summer had been brief and rainy this year, and Kaena was ready for the cold season to come. "Well," she started, pausing to consider her words. She took a step closer to him, peering at him with her curious single eye and inhaling his unfamiliar scent. His pack's banner was unknown; she had passed by their territory previously. This was her first encounter with one of their kind, however. "I like that idea," she finally ventured, drawing a breath as she spoke. "I'm not usually keen on easy trust, but if you're speaking the truth..." she trailed off, her golden eye regarding the cinnamon-colored canine's face for a moment. "Our Aquila is my son. I could pass along your wishes of peace to him," the coyote said. She was speaking truthful herself—she did not wear Inferni's crown, there was no guaranteeing anything from Inferni based on the word of its historian alone. If Gabriel sought to make war with them for some reason—which she couldn't see happening anyway, considering their territories were so far apart and with simple care they could easily avoid one anothers' borders. The hybrid woman squared her shoulders, her gaze breaking from the wolf's for a moment, peering around the woods for a minute. "Should we get comfortable?" the coyote asked, peering at him. "No sense standing around." The coyote woman wondered what he wanted to know, and she was curious now about what she could learn about his clan. Perhaps they were just particularly inclined to keep to their own? That was a possible explanation for why she had yet to run into a member of Dawali's pack yet. It was much more likely, though, that their distance simply made it less likely for them to encounter one another. |