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Here you go =)
It had been quite some time since he had walked this familiar hill at twilight as he did now. He looked out at the land he had once protected, now covered in snow, and apparently would protect once again. A lot had happened here, but mostly in his mind. He had done a great deal of thinking here, a great deal of growing, though he wasn't sure who he would comfortable telling that to. When he had first come to Bleeding Souls, he had been a hardened and sometimes merciless warrior. He had wanted to kill Hearse for stealing a meal, had killed Imlan for much the same charge. The wounds left by the Four Pack War and the Raven Feud had been fresh back then, he had even held an irrational belief that the presence of human weapons would bring war, which had since been proven false.
Part of his prediction had come true, what had started as open flaunting of the tools by people like Ahren and Rurik had turned into some groups hording the things, Inferni had brought many to bear the day he went to talk to their leader, many which they had possessed before they'd known anything about him. Still, Inferni hadn't utilized them in its attack against Syemv, possibly just because it desired the speed of a four-legged strike-force, but perhaps also for some less fathomable reason...perhaps it just felt unnatural. He knew that he had felt more comfortable with his own fangs before he'd learned to fight with claws and hands in wereform, and he knew that he had then been more comfortable fighting unarmed than with human tools. Maybe morale just wouldn't stand for an attack using such alien instruments. Who knew?
He had grown in other ways, too. Since being cast out by his family, he had not constructed another family-related bond, not until meeting Layla, one of Storm's coyote pups. In her charming youth and innocent curiosity, he had found something to love again. She had been as a niece in his heart, though her presence had been taken away too soon. Even suffering her departure, though, this place had continued to do him good. Being surrounded by Storm and its mild ways and policies, being insulated from the harsh and bitter cold of his old life as a disowned warrior who belonged nowhere, had allowed his spirit to grow and flourish as it had not before. After his time in Storm, he had gone on to help save the children of Imlan, children whose father he'd killed, leading dozens of wolves into the War of Shadows. If he had never found Storm, he doubted he could his soul could have survived that battle. He owed his spiritual well-being to this land, the same as his great great grandfather, HawkWind, had. Despite the hardships he had known defending it and his friction with some of its neighbors, he was glad to be back.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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I Speak this, I
dream this, and I 'think'
this.
You "said this"
ic
Anderung walked along, not thinking about much of anything. Snow was gently drifting down from the light grey sky, a peaceful setting. Meer had always liked snow. Whenever it was falling or was on the ground, it was strangely quiet and peaceful. It was as if the whole world had gone to sleep in its white blanket, the gentle breeze would occasionally tug at her amber pelt. Tiny ice crystals shown on her fur, and her violet eyes stood out against the white. She looked around, noting that she had come to a clearing. It was as if the whole world was in grayscale, without color, without sound, without life. Anderung suddenly felt very lonely and shivered. She shook off some snow and then plodded onward.
Dark red ears pricked as her black nose twitched. There was another wolf up ahead of her, a bit to the left. She snorted to clear her sinuses and breathed deeply. The cold air held secrets of the other, a male wolf. Meer began to trot briskly toward that wolf, whom she could now see as a dark outline against the snow. She felt reasonably safe, as the scent did have the distinct Storm smell. Her violet eyes flickered as she moved closer to the side of the other wolf. She wagged her tail briefly as she stopped a couple of paces away. ”Hello, sir.”
"Thanks for starting this, and that was a very long post you did O_O;; Lots of history stuffs."
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I can try to make them shorter from here on in, I just got into a writing mood today, don't know why. It definitely helps to have a character whose been around a long time, though.
Skoll sensed the approach of the other wolf, but not as early as he'd prefer. In his pensivity he had let his guard down...he was doing that more often, lately, a result of his lack of sleep. It was advantageous that he had chosen to return, until he could get his edge back and maintain that constant wariness that he had carried with him and put to good use for so long, he wasn't fit to watch his own back anymore. Turning his scarred and one-eared head toward this new female, he nodded in greeting.
"Well met, miss. I'm Skoll, surbordinate. Technically a new member." He had spent more time in this pack than probably any other member currently a part of it, though Phoenix might be giving him a run at this point, since he'd been there for Storm all the time that Skoll had been banished. Nevertheless, it felt strange to consider that he was a new member here again. It had been three years since he'd joined Storm the first time, and almost a year since Gibraltar--threatened by his standing and concerned about his strong stance against Inferni--had cast him out. Skoll did not regret helping Naniko escape with her life, regardless of his alpha's reaction to it, nor did he regret telling the alpha off for his misplacement of loyalty, taking the words of a common enemy to attack the integrity of his own subordinates. He had never thought of Gibraltar as a good leader, his concept of loyalty had always been skewed, always very alpha-based, the emphasis had always seemed to be the pack was there for him rather than he was there for the pack.
Skoll had told him flat out when he'd first arrived that he'd physically evict him from Storm if he abused his authority, but the pack fell into line behind him quickly enough thereafter, despite his lack of popularity, and Skoll had decided that if the pack was content with its leader, then the transition was done. His ascension had meant the departure of Layla, of Cross, of Tsunami, and ultimately, of Skoll. Skoll had remained for the long haul, but when he wouldn't back down on the subject of pack security--his job--Gibraltar had attacked his honor, attacked his integrity on the word of a group of known pup-murderers. All respect for the alpha had left Skoll then, and he'd never wasted another breath trying to cover for Gibraltar again. It wasn't but for the request of Phoenix that he had even rejoined Storm, and that was to extend his protection over it again, as well as to receive protection in return.
"Not completely new to this territory, though," he gave a very slightly mischievous smile. "I don't recognize your smell, so you must have joined within the last year?" Not much of a guess, most people didn't spend their entire lives here, but he enjoyed having the certainty. He had seen the faces there the day of his expulsion, Pilot who he had just recently met then, Phoenix, as well as a few others who were no longer around. Times changed, and so had he. He had returned with the promise to leave Inferni alone. He'd cut them down readily enough if they came here, but in the meantime, let them slay who they would. If the other packs wanted to do anything, or ignore it, that was their business.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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I Speak this, I
dream this, and I 'think'
this.
You "said this"
ic
Anderung nodded and smiled back. Now that she could see who she was speaking with, she noticed that the other was a rather grizzled wolf. He was missing part of an ear and had many wounds. ”I am also a subordinate, Skoll. My name is Anderung Meer, you may call me Anderung, sir.” She bite her tongue after she said ‘sir’ again, she really needed to break that habit. It was always ‘Sir’ this and ‘Ma’am’ that, too much formality with the wolves that Phoenix had said were basically her family. She sighed at her own thoughts, sending a small cloud of vapor into the grey sky.
Her dark red ears perked as he spoke again. She nodded. ”That is correct, sir, I joined only a week or so ago. Unlike yourself I am new to this territory, still trying to get it down.” She looked out across the white blanketed world and puffed up her fur as another gust swept by. Meer couldn’t help but look at the other wolf, though, with his scarred appearance. He was far older than she, that much was obvious, yet she knew that there was an amazing amount of power in those muscles that lay beneath that scarred pelt. She also couldn’t help but notice how much larger the other was.
Suddenly, Anderung felt uncomfortable and shifted her paws in the snow. As she went over how strong and powerful this wolf was, she suddenly realized that the other could most definitely out-run her and over-power her. It made her feel powerless and at his mercy, something she didn’t like ever since her father, but she knew she couldn’t stop the way she felt. Anderung averted her gaze as she spoke. ”So, what are you doing out here, Skoll?”
"No, it's okay, but just don't expect my own to be quiet so long. hehe.."
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Anderung seemed pleasant enough. She was well-mannered, the same as he, with "sir" and "miss" flying at one another, they both might have seemed rather stiff. Never the less, the conversation kept moving. He was a rather large individual, but his construction was tall, rather than thick and stout. Still, despite her pleasant disposition and manners, it was clear that she was bothered by his appearance. It was common enough, having the look of a lean and mean fighting machine certainly helped him in his job, but could be a serious impediment in casual social interaction.
"Just trying to remember the old routine," he said, looking around the familiar landscape. He had missed the beautiful Storm landscape, though he had since heard of the avalanche that had claimed a portion of it. He had found his old den, and placed his things there, both the bag holding his weapons and his bow. It was strange to think of himself as a practiced hand with human weapons...he was an expert at unarmed combat, but had since become proficient with the human axe and knife, as well. He was still a novice with the bow, he hadn't hit anything that hadn't come pitifully close to him yet, but it helped to have his ambush strike occur so quickly that it could not be dodged. He was better fed now, and soon he would even be healthy again. Since Gabriel's strike to his belly, his efficacy on four legs had been reduced. It was this very reason why Skoll actually had little chance of outrunning the female, or nearly any other wolf, for that matter. He could sprint after prey well enough to feed himself with great effort and pain--it was probably his need to hunt that had prevented the wound from healing completely--but he could not sustain the sprint for long.
"I was the guardian of this place for two years or so before I had a falling out with the last leader. I watched from the hill over there; it's high enough to see for a few miles along the Storm border in each direction, and to see trouble coming from a long way off; the perfect place for a defense outpost, though Storm never did have many enemies. I was probably useless most of the time, but there were a few times when I earned my meat." He smiled, tilting his head toward the hill where he had lived. The den he'd dug out wasn't big enough for a wolf to live their comfortably, mostly it was just a cache for the various objects he had accumulated in his seven years of life. He had discarded the least vital of those objects when he'd left, and now was happy to reclaim some of them. A few books that he still couldn't properly read, as well as a few carvings that he didn't really have room for in his travels. He wasn't good at carving yet, but he had made marked improvement since Gale had first instructed him on the basics. "What made you decide to join Storm? If you don't mind me asking, that is." He knew he was fierce in appearance, so he would continue speaking as cordially as he might in hopes that she would feel less ill-at-ease around him.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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I Speak this, I
dream this, and I 'think'
this.
You "said this"
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Anderung nodded thoughtfully. The other male was certainly large enough and powerful enough to be a good guardian. ”That seems like a very noble position to me, sir. I’m sure Storm was very fortunate to have you as a sentinel.” Meer looked down at her feet, ears turned back against her own head. She twitched her tail tip nervously as she thought and tried to avoid staring at Skoll. If the other wolf had known that it wasn’t so much his appearance but his gender that made her uneasy, he might not have cared about her nervousness.
She looked up again at his question. Anderung tilted her head slightly. ”I don’t mind at all, sir. I joined Storm because I wasn’t cut out to be a lone wolf. Storm just happened to be the first pack I came across after I realized this. That’s about all there is to it, sir.” Anderung looked around her. She didn’t know that it was impossible for Skoll to outrun her because of some wound. How could she know that, seeing as she just met him?
"Arg! ARG ARGGG!! I ran out of stuff to say ;-; not feelling too good right now anyway. -sigh-."
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Just for the record, I didn't expect her to know that he couldn't outrun her, I apologize if I came off that way =P
Skoll smiled at her words; they were kind, they were polite, and he appreciated them. She hadn't known him long enough to know his personality, to know if he was a noble individual or not, but he still appreciated her comment. He regretted that she seemed so anxious around him. He had no idea of her history, that the very fact that he was male was causing the intimidation factor, but was familiar with the awkwardness of his exterior to others. There wasn't anything he could do in his mind, though, he couldn't change how he looked. Still, he wasn't offended. He had seen similar reactions many times before.
"Well, I guess we should be grateful for this lucky accident, then. Welcome to my home of two years, miss Anderung." So many had come and gone, he wondered if this young lady would choose to stay with them, or blow on out as quickly as she'd come. He liked her well enough, and it was always a shame to lose a pack member. He remembered losing Cross, and more tragically losing Fly who had been consumed battling his own demons. Adreon had died in Storm also, his concern for the pack making him forget about himself during the drought.
Now that he thought about it, Storm had known a lot of death. Fly and his daughter Ember, Rain, Adreon, Ariadne, Stormy and Rashmi(who he had heard about from VoidFane but never met himself), and others besides, he imagined. Skoll himself had killed numerous enemies on the border, enough so that he'd been forced to dig graves in Ames de le Morte to house them all. There were probably more humane ways of dealing with some of them, he had thought many times before, Had I only learned Gronnor's wisdom in addition to his techniques.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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I Speak this, I
dream this, and I 'think'
this.
You "said this"
ic
”Thank-you, sir.” Anderung smiled at Skoll and dipped her head slightly. After a long pause she frowned slightly, and motioned slightly towards Skoll’s ear, or, its absence. ”Sir, if I may inquire how you lost your ear? There doesn’t seem to be much to talk about.”
"x-x So... painful I'm sorry. I've been a bit side-tracked latetly, posted this really fast just to keep up, SORRY! D8"
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It's cool, man. We were doing this to sort of see about chemistry. They've been introduced, so we can skip that much for any future thread we choose to have. They don't seem like they'd make good mates for one another, but they can still be friends.
"Oh, that," he said, looking upward and left as if he was going to see the ear with his own two eyes. "It was a wolf or a coyote, I didn't take the time to really affirm what kind of canine he was. Quick with a knife, but his aim was a little high." He paused there, as if that might be enough, before deciding that more context might be called for.
"I was involved in a war a while back, two wolves from Storm allied with dozens of canines from all kinds of other places, all of whom wanted to see an end to a cult that followed the beliefs of some bastards we called the Shadow Priests. Pretty nasty stuff, I came back with a scratched 'cornea' the medics called it--that's the most outside part of your eye-- and a missing ear, I got off pretty easy. The eye healed, but there wasn't much they could do for the ear." There really wasn't much to say, as Anderung had pointed out. He could tell that she was a little uncomfortable around him, and even more comfortable at the prospect of being rude and saying nothing, so maybe he'd let her off the hook.
"I can share a dozen scar stories, but they'd get boring pretty quick. Hearing old wolves brag about what they've survived can't hold a person's attention for too long," he laughed. "I've got an early morning. I am glad to have met you Anderung, but I think I'll turn in for the night. The sun is gone, and I wish to get up bright and early before dawn tomorrow."
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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I Speak this, I
dream this, and I 'think'
this.
You "said this"
ic
"What is up with her speech!? D8 It is like, all old medivel or something x-x. 'No, I bid thee, hath thou not slain thy dragon!?!' D8 I think this is over, so I will get it archieve. You are right, though, they wouldn't exactly make good mates ^^ Was fun though. "
Anderung widened her eyes, though she was a bit confused. Wouldn’t something as traumatic as losing your ear result in you remembering who had done it? She then heard about the war and realized that this wolf had suffered many injuries, so just one wouldn’t hold any sort of special place in his memory. ”It is good that you didn’t lose your eye, sir. While you could get around with only one it might make hunting a might harder for you.” Meer shuffled her feet in the snow. Relief came over her as he seemed to make an excuse to let her leave. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be around him, it was just that he was a tad bit intimidating.
”I am glad to have met you as well, Skoll. I do not wish to keep you from your sleep, then, and I bid you farewell.”
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