Trust and Vices

Pixie Frost · 01-29-2011, 03:11 AM

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Word Count: 549

Denali had said something about a city. He had said that his mother had gotten his coat from there. Pixie knew little about such a place place; she had only briefly passed by the outskirts of Halifax when she had first headed south to Crimson Dreams. The most she could make from it was ruined buildings, not unlike the many other towns and cities she had passed through traveling up the coast for most of her life. When she had first seen Halifax, she thought it wasn’t much different from the others: another depressing collection of ruins built by humans long ago, now perhaps populated by a few Luperci but nothing spectacular.

But human ruins meant human artifacts. And human artifacts often meant human clothing. The snowfall had stopped for the time being, and the weather had warmed up enough to convince the wolf who hated frost (and who, as a result, had one of the most ironic names—no, THE most ironic name—that a wolf who hated frost could have) to venture away from her pack’s territory for the first time that winter to travel northeast to the city. It wasn’t just to get warmer clothing, though she was reminded of that reason as the cold wind blew on her and her horse, with her existing cloak doing nothing to protect her. No, Pixie was a traveler at heart and always would be; whether snow or sunshine outside, she always felt the gripping need to explore places she had never been before. And that urge was impossible to resist when she heard word of a place that she had not only not been to before, but also had some other value to it if she visited it, such as, say, the possibility of finding winter garments. Plus there was a good possibility of meeting other Luperci in Halifax, which was never a bad thing.

The chestnut stallion carried his rider for a good portion of the day, with a short stop about midway through the journey, near the border of Cour Des Miracles. Pixie didn’t know much about the pack, other than Mars Russo had been a part of it. He didn’t seem particularly pleased with it when she had met him, but she only had his opinion to rely on. For all she knew, they could be a group of benevolent canines. Perhaps on another good day she would go to the hills where she had met Mars and maybe find more wolves from this pack.

When they reached the outskirts of the city by the afternoon, Pixie stayed on Magic’s back and guided him through the streets of the abandoned town. As he usually was around human civilizations, the horse seemed more skittish than usual, but he continued slowly down the streets of Halifax. Pixie could smell traces of other Luperci, more than in most ruins she had seen in the past, and so she was more cautious than usual; Magic was on edge as it was, and if someone popped unexpectedly out of nowhere, he would be easily spooked. She also kept a watch out for any sort of old shops that could possibly contain coats and other warm clothing items, or scraps of cloth on the street that could be made into outfits.

Talitha de le Poer · 01-29-2011, 09:06 AM

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3+. Sorry, it's a bit rambly. The next one will be better.

She had woken far too early for her liking, still basking in the shock that was the appearance of Ezekiel de le Poer. Sunlight filtering in through the half-covered window, lacking glass to insulate the room itself, was her source of warmth as she lay sprawled across her half-destroyed mattress. There had to be a better way to fight the chill.

That was what prompted the departure from Inferni, the coymutt's feet taking her down a familiar path to the borders of Halifax, where she was sure to find something worthwhile. A blanket was first on her mind. A second one, to match the time-worn addition on the top of her bed. Alcohol came in at second place. She was always on the lookout for more liquor, a vice she desired to keep until it really wasn't neccessary anymore. When that day was, she didn't know.

It seemed fate had her list backwards; as she scavenged through an old convenience store, it was liquor she found first. A grin crossed her charcoal lips, delicate coymutt fingers reaching through the rusted metal frame of what had once been a refridgeration unit to grasp the neck of a bottle. Whiskey, rum, either one sufficed. She gently set the bottle into a fabric sling that hung on her back, used as a makeshift backpack, as she had none.

That was all that the store held, much to her displeasure. The Lykoi swored, heavy words coming out under her breath as she exited, looking about the streets. The smells were all similar, scents of Luperci past, but a strong and new smell dragged her to attention. There was someone else there, with an animal, from a place other than Inferni. She couldn't place scents of other packs like she could her own. And Dahlia de Mai, of course.

Her tawny feet carried her toward the stranger, crimson eyes darting in every which direction as she sought a figure. There, atop a horse no less. The girl was young, younger than Talitha at least, and the horse seemed uncomfortable as she lead him along the ruined streets. Talitha's approach was quiet, her attempt at being stealthy leaving her without her own guard. She simply wanted information, of course, on who the stranger was.

Her stop came several feet short of the Luperci on the horse, clearing her throat unintentionally. No words came from her, but she did continue her stare, curled chestnut locks falling into her eyes.

Pixie Frost · 02-10-2011, 03:25 AM

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Word Count: 412

Her violet eyes darted to the red-furred woman who exited a building just down the street. The stranger clearly stood out against the surroundings of gray and brown. Pixie reached up and pushed a stray strand of her own crimson hair out of her eyes so she could see the approaching woman more clearly; her heritage seemed similar to that of Bangle’s, a mix of coyote, wolf, and perhaps something else. As she came closer, Pixie dismounted her horse and looked the stranger over again, tilting her head slightly in curiosity. She couldn’t tell if the other female belonged to a pack or lived on her own; she did not recognize any particular pack scent on her, though she had only really gotten to know two—or three, if you could count her brief meeting with Mars Russo while he was in Cour des Miracles.

As with all strangers, Magic was suspicious, but oddly he seemed to be more focused on what the woman was carrying as opposed to the woman herself. Pixie faintly recognized the scent coming from the sling; she had once tried alcohol after she had come across an old wine cellar. She had been younger then and had found the taste of it bitter and unpleasant, but it did have a strange, intoxicating feeling to it. She had found herself wanting more of the wine, and one sip had turned into at least half of a bottle before she realized she was getting dizzy and left the cellar. Ever since she had wondered what it would be like to try it again, now that she was older and prepared for what the experience was like.

In the meantime, it was only polite if she greeted the unfamiliar woman. “Hi,” she greeted the coymutt, waving her hand and snickering to herself at the awkwardness of it. “Are you from around here, or are you visiting?” If this woman lived in the city, or visited it frequently, she could give her useful directions as to where to find some clothing or other supplies that would be valuable to her. “You can probably tell that this is my first time here. But I heard there was clothing around here, and I figured it would help with the whole winter thing.” She was trying to brush off ‘the whole winter thing’ and trying to make it seem like nothing. Only her close friends like Skye knew how she really felt about it.

Talitha de le Poer · 02-11-2011, 07:28 AM

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3+

Her fingers tapped at her hip, pressing against the red-inked flesh in a way to comfort herself against the stranger. Crimson eyes bored a hole into the face of the horse, wondering who stood before her. Talitha had seen horses, as Cotl had Maschine, but strangers with the same pets brought about a sense of discomfort. But the younger woman seemed amiable enough, greeting her with a "hi" and a wave. "Are you from here, or are you visiting?"

The Inferni princess glanced around briefly before letting her gaze settle on the woman once more. "I'm from the north. There's no life here." Her voice was a murmur on the wind, ears twitching to listen to the words of the woman. She had been looking for clothes, to battle the winter winds. Talitha chuckled softly.

"Yes, there are clothes if you can find him, but I see nothing wrong with the Winter, myself," she said, pushing her curls away from her face. It was possible that others weren't so comfortable with it, but she couldn't help it if that was the case. They were certainly in the wrong place.

Her eyes scanned the outlying area silently, wondering what she could do with the new person. Should she introduce herself? She had never given her name to anyone at first glance, except members of Inferni who deserved to know their packmate. Finally, she settled on a title and a name and her voice rose as she spoke it: "I'm Faolin." That day, she masqueraded as her mother. An easy name, one she could hide behind for some time before anyone realized otherwise. Faolin was gone, after all, and Talitha was all that remained of the Massacre turned Mogotsi. She waited expectantly for the name of her newfound companion, pulling a bottle from her sling and twisting the cap off, allowing her access to drink from it.

table by silver; image by marilynjane@flickr

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Pixie Frost · 02-23-2011, 03:48 AM

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The stranger seemed suspicious of the horse, though that came as no surprise. “Just so you know, he won’t hurt you except out of defense. Just keep your distance until he begins to see you aren’t a threat.” She was beginning to wonder exactly how many Luperci rode horses anyways. There was herself, Mars, Kansas, Skye…and that was about all she knew. Maybe her parents were right; maybe riding really was an unnatural occurrence that no one was meant to do. Not that that discouraged her from the sport at all. She just hated to think that her parents were right about anything.

“The north?” she echoed the red-furred female. “How far up north?” She hadn’t traveled much farther north than the most northern point of Souls, but she hadn’t stayed long enough there to see who lived there. At the moment, she couldn’t imagine anyone in their right mind who would want to live any more north than Crimson Dreams. She smirked lightly at the woman’s next words. “I’ve stayed for short times in places like this. Very short times, but living in abandoned human towns isn’t impossible.” They were haunting places, full of only shadows of the great buildings and machines that humans built, but if there was nowhere else to go, they made for relatively stable, let alone uncomfortable, homes.

In response to the coyote mix’s seemingly careless feelings about the cold season, Pixie merely issued a snort. However, she was glad to hear that clothing could be found in Halifax. She still wasn’t sure if Savina had gotten Denali’s coat from Halifax or one of the towns to the west of Crimson Dreams, but with the news that winter clothing could be found here, Pixie had no desire to go hunting farther for it. Even though it was already the middle of winter, late was better than never when it came to finding protection from the season’s cold sting.

She nodded as the stranger introduced herself. “I’m Pixie. Pixie Frost. I live south of here.” Then as Faolin revealed the bottle from inside her sling, the intoxicating smell filled Pixie’s nostrils again, even more so when the bottle was opened. “What’s that you got there?” she asked, unable to hide the hint of greed in her voice. She already had a pretty good idea of what the contents of the bottle were, but perhaps a curious question—a seemingly innocent one—could lead to her having a taste of it. Pixie wasn’t one to plan things ahead extensively, but while it didn’t quite come across as natural, she was trying her best to be sly.

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