[html]  They could stay there in the house he'd said, her and her siblings, that's what Gabriel had told them. How could she though? How could she stay in a place that reminded her nothing more than of the fact that her mother had left them without even a goodbye? What else did that mean? It meant that their father would no longer visit the lands, that she would likely never see him again. Unless..unless she took matters in to her own hands. She'd grown a bit since she'd tried to find him the first time, when the older hybrid had carried her home when she'd gotten tired of walking. Rachias knew she could do it this time though, which was why she set out early that morning, the day after her mother had left. The way she'd gone before had been the wrong way, she remembered that, and thus she started off in a different direction.
Night and day have come and gone quickly, quicker than it should have, and the young hybrid child found herself wandering at the latest signs of darkness. Tired and cold, she managed to find a small hole, dug right beneath the roots of a tree, to take shelter in that night. It was an uneasy sleep, waking often, but she managed to make it through and begin her journey once again, which had ultimately ended up with the child running right into the borders of Clouded Tears. She knew it was the right place, she could recall the scent filling their den each time her father visited. "Daaaaaad?!" She started out, yelling as loud as she could despite the shrill puppy voice that she had. She started into the lands, calling out for him now and again, hell bent on finding him. |
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There were many things about him that made little sense, but his entire existence was rather questionable so everything else slid by rather unnoticed. After all, noticing him brought to attention too many other things. Ryoujoku had all the patience in the world; if he had an end goal in mind, then no amount of time could make him forget. But he was also very easily bored; something had to be constantly entertaining. So then if he had an end goal in mind, but waiting for it to happen was wonderfully dull, would he have the patience to go through with it? The rabbit was splayed in the most awful way, really, but it had died now and he was no longer interested.
So for him, it was a good thing that his silly daughter had come calling because without her he would have had the arduous task of coming up with something else to do. Grinning automatically, the tattered hybrid all but bounced off to meet her. Nearing her, he slowed to a more casual stroll and picked his ways through the yellowing underbrush, Why, hello there, darlin'. He laughed for no reason in particular, Did you come all the way here by yourself?
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[html] She knew that he was here, just knew it, and not only because his scent was so strong in the lands. What was odd to her, if she recalled correctly, was that he smelled oddly like the hybrid who'd followed her around and ended up carrying her home. Perhaps it had been her uncle, or someone of that nature, who felt the need to not tell her. Shuffling through the brush, Rachias continued on her way through the lands, calling out every few feet that she covered. He'd hear her eventually, or someone else that could lead her to him would. As she wandered about the wolf lands she wondered just how furious Gabriel would be when he found out that she had gone, there was no question that he might already be wondering where she'd gotten off to, she'd left right after he told everyone that their mother was gone.
Something in the tall, dying brush caught her attention, causing her to stop and stand up just as tall as she could, to try and see what, or who, exactly it was. He arrived then, rather suddenly, and the tail of the sandy colored girl picked up in a rather violent wag, dancing slightly on her paws as he approached. This was most certainly the father that she remembered. "Ah suuuure did." She stated excitedly. If only the other one, who looked much like this one, almost to the point that it was sort of odd to her, could see her now. "Momma left, so ah come here to find'ye." Did he know that she'd run off? She doubted it, as their mother hadn't even told her own children, why would she tell him?
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It was curious that Rachias perceived the two minds as different entirely people, apparently not realizing that they were indeed in the same body with the same eyes and the same scars. The same scent. It was curious and actually very, very impressive for a child so young to be able to tell, especially when she didn't know either of them very well at all. What did she have to go off of but tone of voice and the way he carried himself? The demon, of course, had no idea what had transpired between father and daughter on the dog beaches, but it amused him that she clearly knew who he was when he was sure no one had told her such.
Oh? he wandered closer, still smiling, Where's your dear mum run off to? The tattered hybrid stopped in front of her. Well, what d'ye want to do now that you're here, hm? He had taught Andre to kill and though he severely doubted that Rachias had done the same just yet, the same lesson probably wouldn't have as much impact. She seemed like a much sweeter kid than his eldest son, so what could he do to corrupt her?
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[html] "Ah dunno." She answered him, looking up at him almost as if she expected him to have the answer to that question. Adults were supposed to know all sorts of things and, thus far, she hadn't found anyone that could tell her where her mother had gone and why. "Gabby jus said she gone." Could it really have been that simple though? Eris seemed to be gone as well or, at the very least, Rachias hadn't seen nor heard from her in quite some time, even before the disappearance of their mother. "Gabby gon' take care of 'Ferni now ahn Andre and Archam." But not me.
She watched him for a moment, head tilted backwards, eying him before she spoke up again. "Ah gotsa fin'a den. Rachi dun lik'a sleep ou'side." And that was it, her intentions to stay were crystal clear. "Or do ah get ta stay wit you Dad?" She lived with mother, after all, so why shouldn't she now live with her father, in his den, since her mother had up and left. Bright blue eyes stared up at him, waiting for some sort of response and almost daring him to deny her living in the lands. Dad was different though, she didn't see him nearly as much, so this was more of test just to see how far she could push him in to giving her what she wanted.
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She's probably found someone else t'fuck s'all, he concluded, still incredibly amused. Hell, if Kaena had so many damn litters here, then who was to say she didn't have a half dozen other litters else where and she just ran around all over the place running rogue clans and whoring herself off to make more kids? Or dead, I guess, but I doubt Gabby would keep that sort of thing from you. Because Gabriel was a self-righteous bastard, wasn't he?
Red eyes continued to peer curiously at the youth before him. It had been clear to him even before her announcement that she intended to stay. He didn't really give a shit, but though he couldn't freely dive into his other half's mind anymore, he had a distinct idea that he would be pissed as hell. Sure, baby; it's a big enough hole in the ground 'n if y'get sick of me, you can always sleep under the bridge like a little troll. He laughed, not really caring if anyone had bothered to tell his little daughter that particular story. So yer t'only one who's bothered to come, eh? Does Gabby know you're here? Unlikely, wasn't it? He sat, smiled some more, and waited.
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[html] Small tail was quick to pick up in a frantic sort of wag at the acceptance of her terms, that she would be staying and there was likely nothing that could be done about it either way. Suspicion, it had been there before, but it was suddenly fading more and more the longer than she spent with him. How could he possibly be the same one that had carried her back 127.0.0.1 that day if he was willing to let her stay now? "T'one dat look like you did'na wan' me t'come here." She stated proudly, almost randomly, despite the fact that the one she really wanted to gloat to wasn't actually around or, rather not really. Of course little Rachias had every intention of returning to the Land of Wuffluvers to gloat also, to prove wrong those who had wanted her to believe that her father was evil and wanted nothing to do with them.
"Rachi t'only one." She gave a nod to accompany her words, though the expression on her face that had stemmed from that fact was almost pained. "But ah miss Archam." She wasn't sure if her brother would understand why she had decided to come here, whether or not he would approve of it, and that was why she'd slipped away without telling him. She didn't want Arkham to be disappointed in her. "Dun nobodies know, ah jus' lef'." Certainly Gabriel would be angry when he figured it out, Andre would be overjoyed, and perhaps Arkham a bit hurt, but she couldn't simply just sit there in the Land of Wuffluvers and waste away. "Gabby dun like ya an' ah dun wanna him ta take me back." Surely he knew that. |
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He had to supress the hyena laugh at swelled from his chest at the mention of "dat look like you," but it was extremely difficult. So Hamlet didn't want y't'come, eh? The hybrid did laugh, though not as wildly as he might have originally, Poor bastard doesn't have much of a sense of adventure. Go on, feed the illusion that they were actually seperate people. Some days he really believed it himself; theories of the mind were only just theories after all. What if he really was just a ghost who had gone and possessed the red-eyed male? He had yet to come across an excorist to tell him otherwise.
Gabriel doesn't like anyone, I don't think, he sneered, then smiled again, But I'm glad you came. It's much nicer here than it is on the beach anyway. The tattered canine started to walk away, Come on, baby, I'll show you the lake. The fog was rolling in all around them already, as sudden and mysterious as always. The little girl was sure to be awed and wouldn't it be so much fun to have her around instead of having to always find something to keep himself entertained?
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[html] There was an odd sort of feeling there when he spoke the name of the male who'd carried her back to the Land of Wuffluvers that day. It was a name she heard before, uttered off of the lips of someone. Had mother and Gabriel argued about them long ago? She couldn't quite remember, she'd been so young then, and the only thing that she could conclude was that she'd heard the name before. "Nah, he did'na want me t'come 'ere but ah dun really cared wut he said." And why should she? It wasn't like he'd been in any real position to tell her what to do and it hadn't seemed he'd been to intent on enforcing whatever he'd thought about her going. He had just gotten lucky that she'd gone in the wrong direction.
What he said about Gabriel, after she thought about it for a moment or two, seemed true also. He never looked happy, never acted happy and just all around seemed..just not happy. Did he even like her or any of her siblings? Rachias couldn't be sure, she hadn't really ever noticed before. Faolin's great fondness of them seemed to mask whatever Gabe felt. "Ah like it 'ere a'ready too!" She exclaimed rather loudly, bounding off after him as he began to walk away from her. For one thing, there wasn't any sand covering the ground to get in between her paw pads and hurt her feet, for another, the father she'd always tried to imagine in her head was here also and, much to her excitement, quite accepting of the fact that she was staying. |
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The truth was that he had no real desire to see all of his children turn into vicious, cannibalistic monsters; it was only coincidence really, that those were the things that railed the general public the most, and so it had become his job to shock and repulse. The most solidified reasoning behind all of his actions was entertainment. R.youjoku liked to be entertained and things that garnered significant response entertained him. If people took more notice to those that played nicely, perhaps he would favor less atrocious deeds, but as it were, they didn't, and so he was what he was. They had made him so, right?
He's an idiot, he said of his counterpart, Should really just keel over and die, that one. Wouldn't it be so much more convenient that way? Then again, the red-eyed monster also sort of figured that if the other didn't exist, then those who knew already would notice and then there would be no sad little persona to protect him from the wrath of those he had wronged. The walk to the lake was relatively short. Rachias had actually wandered a good distance into the packlands and it was somewhat surprising that no one else had come to her first, what with her screaming bloody murder as loud as a banshee.
The mist crept quietly over the surface, hiding most of it from view, but as they neared, the waters became clearer and it really was a beautiful sight. Now isn't that so much better than that damned salty ocean of yours?
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[html] It was a silly thing, in her mind, that so many had proclaimed her father dangerous or bad, but none had taken a moment to try and explain to the child why such things were said. She was young, sure, but that didn't at all mean that she wouldn't understand at least portions of what they meant. "He hurts people." would have been a very simple way to explain things but, since no one had taken the time to do so, she could only come to the conclusion that their words were untrue, they didn't have proof or reason. Even in her short time with him she'd yet to take note of anything that might make him as bad as others said he was.
In the time that they walked, Rachias was silent, taking special note of her surroundings and the words that her father spoke as they moved. She'd have to keep that all in mind if she ever met up with her father's lookalike again. When they neared the lake her eyes widened at just how foggy everything was, though she really didn't understand what exactly fog was, she'd hadn't seen anything like it ever before. Not just that but she also found it extremely amazing that such a thick looking thing concealed their lake. Was it hiding their water from other people? Craning her neck, stretched out just as far as she could get it, blue eyes searched frantically to take in as much of the sight as she could. Awe filled, she spoke. "Isa lots better." And she paused, suddenly curious. "W'll it suck ya ins like 'Ferni waters?" She didn't want that, not at all. |
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What made Ryoujoku dangerous was the fact that he would do anything if only it entertained him. Morals were completely irrelevant, as was virtually everything else. He would injure, maim, rape, kill, corrupt -- anything, if the end result was that he should be amused. Because after all, the ends justified the means, right? And it always seemed like such a worthwhile goal to him. Perhaps it was lucky then, that the tawny hybrid decided that for now, convincing his daughter that the pack of fog and tears was a preferable place to Inferni was an amusing enough thing. No further action required.
He stopped a half dozen feet from the edge of the water. There, the white haze was thick, but the water could still be seen -- perfectly calm, the surface was as flat as glass. Of course, he knew nothing about his children's unfortunate encounters with the harsh sea, but even the cruelest of beasts could learn to be perceptive. Besides, hadn't it been the sea that had supposedly swallowed his dear ex-lover and his darling child? He laughed out loud at his mental thought, though it was doubtful that Rachias would be able to tell the difference. Suck y'in? Doubt it. T'lake isn't as big. No real waves. Worst that can happen is you swim out further than you can swim back. Which actually probably wasn't an uncommon occurance for silly children, but hey.
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[html] Big waves or not, Rachias didn't think she'd be chancing going into the water any time soon, no matter the pretty colors showed up to taste. Inching her way across the ground just a bit more, nodding in understanding at her father's words, she stopped once she reached the very edges of the water, leaning forward just a bit to look in. Her reflection was there, hazy and somewhat dark, but it had been the first time that she'd really taken a look at herself. She looked like him, maybe a bit darker, and more white around her ears and the back of her neck than he had. She blinked a moment, comparing her features to those of her father and smiled.
"Is Gabby skeerd of yah?" She asked rather suddenly, turning her head to the side and tilting it upward to look at him for a moment. It might have seemed like an odd question but to the caramel colored child, it all made sense. If her older brother kept saying that her father was dangerous but didn't give a reason, didn't that mean he was scared of him? Turning away, and waiting patiently for an answer, she scooted one paw toward the water, dipping in slowly. There was an immediate icy chill that ran through her, starting at her toes and working it's way up, and Rachias jerked her paw away, frowning a bit. |
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He barked out a laugh, unable to control himself this time (but since when had he been good at controlling himself, anyway?). Scared? he repeated, I've never really thought about that. Hell, maybe, but I d'no what the fuck he'd be afraid of. The tattered hybrid pointed to the thick gash slashed down his right check and grinned his too-wide grin. Your brother gave me that, he said. I forget where I got 'im back, but I'd say we're pretty much even. The fights were blurry in his mind, but only because he didn't care enough to remember them. They were insignificant in the long run. Really, Ryoujoku had nothing against the dog-like male. It was just that the other didn't take kindly to being the subject to entertain him. But even that was entertaining.
The fog was receeding slowly, almost as if to show the lake off to the youth it was being presented to. The waters were much clearer than the sea, of course -- cleaner, free of salt, harsh waves, and foam. The snow turned into soggy (but strangely firm) dirt near the water's edge which seemed to get darker as it became submerged. There were grass and weeds drifting about as well, mostly dead now with the winter settling in. The white of the mists rolled further away so they could see almost to the center of the lake. A dim shadow hung beyond that, the island no one knew about, but those were mysterious that could be explored later.
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