| http://sleepyglow.net/rp/kae/endoftheworld.jpg); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position:fixed; padding-top:243px;"> Sometimes I do such dumb things on rereading. :O Where red wolves were concerned, Kaena was not absolutely certain as to how to regard them. Rumors told her that most of them were at least half-coyote in ancestry anyway, and their blood had been interbred with many coyotes over the years. That was just rumor, though, and Kaena had never heard any concrete information on that. Fatin had been partly coyote, but she could trace her coyote heritage to recent ancestry, and even identify the relative that had imparted that blood to her. Still, they were wolves—but her love of Fatin and this encounter with Dawali was leading her to believe they were not so bad, different from regular wolves in some way. The hybrid had no idea what she was referring to with such a distinction; the idea of subspecies was unknown to her, and she made no distinction between different kinds of wolves. Perhaps faced with something like a Mexican wolf or an Indian wolf, she'd be able to overlook the "wolf" part of their names. Still, the her surname's literal definition in one of the old languages was wolf. Kaena herself was a hybrid, and the wolfish instincts she condemned often sang strongly in her head, influencing her behavior to a degree even she did not realize. It was instinct, embedded so deeply into the ashen-furred canine's programming she did not even perceive she was acting on wolfish thoughts at times. Dominant behavior and aggressive behavior was where it showed most openly, for these were the times where Kaena possessed the least control over her emotions and her body. Dawali seemed genuinely concerned for young Mason, and the hybrid's single eye regarded the wolf for a moment, shining brightly. Even a virtual stranger seemed to recognize the motherly qualities within Kaena; her scarred muzzle split into a grin and she shrugged her shoulders. "'He's got a whole clan looking after him, little prince he is," the hybrid said, laughing quietly after she spoke, looking at Dawali after stilling the laughter in herself. "Nobody else to share his rank as long as he's been in Inferni, though," the hybrid said with a frown. It was sad Mason did not have any playmates his own age, but then again, Kaena had never witnessed a particularly playful side of the young man; he was an austere and stoic presence generally, looking to impress his elders and Kaena more than anything. The silver-furred woman did not worry for his development because of this, but she thought perhaps he might be bored or lonely at times, having no one around to share the trials and tribulations of youth and adolecense. The hybrid woman herself had been raised in such a way, without playmates and denied of her sisters. His story was not so strange to Kaena; indeed, it was painfully familiar to her. The hybrid woman thought of Mason and wondered how he was at that very moment. It wouldn't be long until he was an adult, of adult rank and expected to serve in Inferni, and that was when the real test of his life began. Kaena thought he was well-prepared for full clan membership, but only time would reveal the truth of that. The russet-furred wolf again spoke of tradition, and the hybrid once more found herself agreeing with his words. Tradition was extremely important, as it was linked intrinsically to history. Tradition strengthened history and supported it, a literal symbol of the power of history. The silver-furred hybrid was quite big on that subject—no one new better the story of Inferni from its birth to the present than Kaena, as she'd been witness to almost all of that history, and even made some herself. The hybrid woman had carved her history into the flesh of others and written it with their blood, certainly, but that was evident anywhere in the lengthy story of the coyote clan. Kaena had been the gasoline to the fire in some instances, a willing and able participant in others, but she was present everywhere, and thus no one had ingrained the story better into his or her head. She reveled in every moment of it, and desired someday to trade a writer to commit the story to memory. "Agreed. Tradition gives strength to history, which should be remembered and revered," the hybrid mused, finding it strange to pull such philosophical wonderings from herself. She did not often converse on matters like these, though it was quite comfortable to be speaking with Dawali, who in a strange way reflected her own values and views. She had not expected that, but it was pleasing to find out that he mirrored her and vice versa in such a strange way. The coyote listened once more as the other canine spoke, and she tilted her head to the side, surprised by the problem. Inferni had never been so large, but in more recent days it had grown immensely, finding itself with many new members, not all of which Kaena had immediately been able to place. These sorts of waves occurred sometimes, where several newcomers might stumble on their clan at once, but it seemed as the joiners petered out so did the loyalty of the newcomers, who seemed to use Inferni as a recuperative space for their health and strength, and simply move on. The clan had never been so large as to require badges of rank, but she could see their usefulness, and she nodded at this slowly, as the idea was just dawning on her. "That is clever—though it's sad to say we've never had quite that problem over in Inferni," she said with a grin, shrugginer her shoulders. It didn't matter anyway; their core was solid and strong—Gabriel, Anselm, Kaena, Halo, Hybrid. There were others moving closer, establishing themselves—Samael, Rikka, Razekiel, Snake, Hezekiah, Cotl, and Mason. There were the unknowns, newcomers yet to prove themselves of worth in Inferni. "I think it'd be a pretty nice one to have, honestly," the hybrid said with a sly grin. |
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