Holding the unshifted Phoenix over his shoulders, Skoll turned back to see the blaze high above the Moaning Woods and Storm...the home that had done so much for him. His amber eyes followed the blazing leviathan along its length, as if it were some mythical beast and all he needed was to find its weak point to vanquish it. He knew that stopping such a thing was impossible, still...was everyone out? He was moving slowly, Phoenix weighed heavily on his shoulders. He'd said something about his kids, and the two of them had done a cursory search of Storm between the old alpha's den and their exit route, but there hadn't been any luck in finding the big brown wolf's progeny. Knowing that they had probably escaped with Pilot, Skoll had gotten out of there in time to avoid being swallowed by the smoke, and then the inevitable flames.
A long howl escaped the bronze wolf's jaws as he faced the inferno, not sure if he wanted people to respond or not. He hoped that he was the last to leave, anyone who had stayed longer was in danger, but if they were out there, he needed them here to make sure they got out. He emitted another howl. He would keep it up for a few minutes, and then depart...the fire was traveling along the fields now too, as the forests were reduced to kindling.
[html] apologies for the unsteady post. new character, wat?
Giuseppe could taste bile at the back of his throat, the acrid taste as sharp as his fear. Panic nearly blinded him, much worse than the smoke and haze and fumes. The fire deprived him of his senses, but the raw terror that coursed through him robbed something far more precious: his wits. All around him the flames raged, but they were not the direct source of his madness. Somewhere out there in this hellish landscape were his lady love and their child, and he was not with them. They would die because he was not there, because he had waited too long to come after them, because the sailors hadn't been sure where they'd heard the rumor of traveling mother and child.
Now, the dark gray male ran blindly through the burning woods, screaming their names. "Maria! Beppe! Dove lei è?" The roar of the fire drowned his words and sent smoke down into his lungs where it felt like a thousand needles in his chest. "Beppe! Dove lei è? Dove lei è!? Maria! DOVE LEI È?" He choked on the Italian cry, coughed, stumbled, and went down on one knee, breathing hard. This was useless, he knew, and that realization was a fresh knife through his heart.
He heard the howl then, a long drawn out cry that carried over the insanity of nature's fury. He rose and went toward it blindly, coughing and tripping as he went. Finally, the unsteady figure of another loomed ahead of him. "Ciao?" Giuseppe's hesitant greeting was lost among this madness. [/html]
I believe I recognize you by a different username =P
Skoll's eyes were hard...but somehow imploring as he saw the other werewolf stumble through the haze of smoke and flame. He wouldn't go out to meet the endangered were, that would be pointless, but if the smaller wolf could make it as far as Skoll, he could probably make it further, which would mean they could both leave this burning ruin before it swallowed them in its conflagration. When he finally reached the bronze warrior and his unmoving comrade, the wolf said something in a language that Skoll didn't understand, but which he did recognize. It was the same tongue that Maria had spoken in, the woman who taught him to string and fire a bow and arrow. He waited for the other male to catch up to him, before beckoning with his head that they move forward.
"Come," he said, not wasting time for introductions. Those could wait until later, once they were safely ahead of the flames. The glowing on the field grew brighter as they lingered, and there wasn't time for anything unnecessary in this meeting. Phoenix squirmed slightly and muttered something behind him, but whatever he had murmured, it couldn't be heard over the belligerent wailing of the fires as they approached. Skoll couldn't walk as quickly with Phoenix thrown over his shoulders, so he hoped the other male...as unsteady as he was...would be able to keep up with him. If not, he would dally as long as he could afford, and maybe try to carry him if the need was great enough...but he wasn't sure if he had the strength to carry two people fast enough to outrun the flames...
[html] -grin- you probably do ^^
Between the roar of the fire and the language barrier between them, the tan male's words were completely lost on Giuseppe. Body language conquered where speech failed, however, and the two of them were soon making their way through the burning undergrowth. For a while, it was all the grayscale were could do to keep in the shadow of the other male and his unconscious companion. He coughed violently, and with each bout of coughing he stumbled. Fortunately, he never fell -- here, that could be deadly -- but the going was slow enough.
After a while, either the smoke lessened or his lungs hardened because he soon coughed less frequently and stumbled hardly at all. At this point, he felt obligated to ask "Lei deve aiutare il trasporto lui?" He gestured to the unconscious wolf sprawled across the taller male's back, in case the words were lost again. Giuseppe was shorter indeed, but his shoulders were broad and his body hard from the physically active lifestyle most luperci were obliged to lead. He figured that the other would not lightly give up his burden, but he also knew that both of their strengths would last longer if they shared the weight between them. The ground was beginning to rise steeply beneath their feet, and the incline was beginning to alarm him. From here on out, the terrain was likely to only get rougher. [/html]
Skoll gave the gray an uncertain glance as he said something he didn't understand, his amber eyes searching the other's face and then seeing his arms as he made gestures with his arms. A moment later, Skoll nodded, shifting Phoenix off of his shoulders. The knot of scar tissue on his gut had been complaining angrily at him to stop, or at least drop the added weight, for several minutes now, and as the terrain got steeper, it was only getting worse. Consenting to the gray's proposal, he helped situate the heavy brown wolf onto the other wolf, and then started up the mountain.
They had gained distance on the fire, and now--though it snarled at their backs and its malevolent glow was harsh on the eyes--they were safe to slow down for a time, though the fire had not stopped, and would not until it had consumed everything within the valley, including the trees which surrounded them now. Sparks swirled in gleeful storms above the main body of the fire, and it was with this last obscene vision that Skoll had turned his back on his old home.
"Skoll," he said, jerking his thumb at his chest, indicating himself. As they marched forward, letting the gray wolf set the pace, he made a slight indication toward the brown wolf on the stranger's shoulders. "Phoenix." Hopefully the gist of all that was obvious. Introductions were good for the future. They were also good for taking their minds off of everything they had just left behind.
[html] thousand apologies for the delay. life is crazy at the moment.
To his great surprise, the other wolf consented to share the burden of his friend's weight. Giuseppe wondered if the unconscious fellow had been ill, because he seemed to have a hallow look - although Giu supposed they all looked about the same, drained by the fire's violence. Although the fire was still near, he took time settling his passenger on his shoulders so the weight would be easier to bear. Once satisfied by their handiwork the three wolves set off again in order to maintain distance ahead of the angry flames. The bearer set a brisk but careful pace, enough to outrun the fire but still avoid stumbles and twisted ankles.
In the hazy state of his traumatized mind, the other's introductions were hardly heard and scarcely understood. Comprehension dawned late, but followed with a reply. "Giuseppe Agapito." The Italian name rolled richly off the tongue, two parts past and one part future. 'Twas as good of a distraction as any. [/html]
It's all good, just forgive me for the shortness of this post, yeah?
"Agapito?" Skoll said, cocking an eyebrow even as he breathed heavily, moving up the hill, sure to move at a realistic pace for the smaller wolf now carrying Phoenix. "Like Maria? Maria Agapito?" The she-wolf he'd met in the human structure sprang suddenly to mind at the name. He spoke like her, it was highly unlikely that they weren't in some way connected.
His pronunciation lost any of the exotic flare of the language, but the word was still easily recognizable. Strange, who you met in your travels. Strange that he would have some previous connection to this stranger he met fleeing the burning ship on which so many lives had set sail. He would talk to this male more eventually, he expected, but he'd probably be actively seeking Maria once they crossed over the mountains, and they weren't really in much of a position to have long discussions now. Not that the language barrier would make that easy, anyway.
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Giuseppe's heart skipped a beat, a distraction that checked his forward progress. Were it not for the burden he bore, the Italian male might have taken a tumble; but fortunately, the added weight kept his mind in the present. A bit of the old panic returned to his voice, "Lei sa Maria!? Quando lei l'ha vista? Dove?" He turned to face his concious traveling companion, desperation in his face and eyes. At this point he had little hope of being understood or understanding the reply, but plunging blindly forward seemed as best an option as any. The same logic kept his feet moving, less the hot wind at their backs come any closer than it already was. He coughed again in another futile attempt to clear clogged airways, and continued "Il Maria è mia moglie."
Panic and relief washed over Giuseppe in equal measure. Relief because he now, finally, had proof beyond the sailor's word that his lady-love and their child had come this way. There was some odd comfort as the eighty percent certainty slid into the hundred range. Panic followed hot on relief's heels, for if she were here, then they were all caught in this hellfire together. What if they didn't get out? Giu would lose them all over again, something he wasn't sure he could survive.
The compact luperci paused long enough to turn and look behind. For a moment, he hesitated putting down - Phoenix, was it? - and plunging back down the trail into the flames. If he had known for sure Maria and Beppe had perished, little could have stopped his suicide quest. But hope is an odd, stubborn, and fickle thing, and it had not abandoned Giuseppe quite yet. They might have made it out, and he might be able to find them. Perhaps Skoll might know where to start looking, if they could manage a way to communicate. With a sigh that turned into a smouldering cough, he returned attentions to the trail they were following. One weary foot in front of the other, forward into the grand -- and unburnt -- unknown. [/html]
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Wrap up soon?
Skoll regretted saying what he did, for the profound impact it had on the other male. Putting Phoenix down, he turned back toward the roaring face of the all-consuming fire, something in his eyes telling Skoll that he meant to return to it, to leap down its craw and reclaim Maria. The bronze wolf shouldered his friend's weight, and waited a moment to see what Guiseppe would decide to do.
When he turned back to face his two traveling companions, Skoll smiled inwardly, but spared none for the other male. He knew that the emotions raging within him must not warrant a smile. Beckoning with a jerk of his head, he began making his way up the mountain once more, hearing Guiseppe's footsteps falling behind him. He didn't know if this was her mate, her brother, or what, but he did know that whoever he was, he wasn't alone in worrying for Maria. He, too, would be aggrieved at her passing. Fire wasn't a good way to go, though it often had the mercy to provide its victims with the deadening smoke before it closed in for the kill.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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[html] Ja! We ought to thread again, once Giuseppe learns some English XD
The language barrier proved too much, and Giuseppe learned nothing about the location or well-being of his lady-love. A frustrated sigh escaped from his lips. Clearly, if he stayed on this continent much longer, he'd have to learn the language. Italian was not commonly spoken, and although he could understand some Spanish and a smattering of French, it was never nearly enough. Time for such trivial concerns later; there was the present situation to survive.
After the last exchange, the traveling wolves had little to say to one another. Had the situation been any less dire, Giuseppe might have struck up a bawdy song of some sort, but his thoughts were a thousand miles, a thousand faces, and a thousand concerns away. Eventually, the trio wandered over the burning mountain, across into lands protected by wind and water. There, they would part ways. Giu had his desperate search for Maria and Beppe to continue; Skoll had the injured Phoenix to tend. Perhaps they might meet again under more favorable circumstances, should the fates be kind. [/html]
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