Escaping you

[Conor Soul]

[html]

Set January 16

Lungs burned, but it did not hinder the deep inhale of oxygen and tobacco spiced with something extra. Muscles relaxed and a light cream hued hand moved to put light pressure against a worn shoulder. There was a slight ache there, and he knew it was due to stress. So much had happened lately; both new and old demons attempted to chase him around, and he feared that it was starting to show. Dark rings under eyes silently spoke of lack of sleep, and perhaps that was why today was the day when the young leader of Dahlia had left the pack lands temporarily in pursuit of solitude.

Halifax too had suffered some in the snow storm, but overall things looked as they had last time the male had wandered through the empty streets. Wandering into what probably had been a store where one could purchase different types of furniture, the cinnamon and cream hued man found exactly what he was looking for. A thought rose, and he realized this was not far from the place where he had stumbled upon the group of canines celebrating some special day that he could not remember. Lips curled upwards as memories drifted past, and a dying joint was abandoned on the cold floor as he settled on top of a couch.

He flexed worn muscles gratefully, immediately closing his eyes the moment he laid down.

[Talitha de le Poer]

[html]

3+

Her travel from the coyote lands into the unclaimed world of Halifax took time, and was made easier on four legs. While she would have taken the time to dash across the Dampwoods, her pace was slowed. Her mind was slowed. Everything was warped into a sad representation of life itself. Nothing seemed bright. Since her encounter with Samael Lykoi, the uncle who had forsaken her father's lands while keeping honor in the name 'Lykoi', her world lacked color. She had left and returned so frequently, and though she had been forgiven, Halo was right. She didn't deserve to be there. Gabriel shouldn't have allowed her to return.

As she entered the city, slim quadruped transforming into the underweight bipedal body she wore while walking through Inferni, she felt the dull ache in her ribs. The wound from landing under a tree was still straining on her body, though days had passed without fault. She had rested. She had become restless. She had wandered. Without realizing, she had irritated the splintered bone with her transformations and mad sprints over land. And it was time to rest again.

The russet princess made her way to a store, some store that had once sold furniture of a nice quality. It was left with a few salvageable items, but little that truly represented what had once been. It held something else that wasn't at all furniture, as well; lying atop a comfortable but worn-looking couch was a younger male, a handsome mix of cinnamon and cream. He appeared to be sleeping, giving her the courage to move closer and examine him in easier light. One slender hand reached down to retrieve the cast away remnants of the joint he'd been smoking at some point before she entered.

As the air cleared of the smell, a new scent reached her nose. An all too familiar scent that clung to the stranger like clothes might. It was different, subtly, but it was there. Her thoughts twisted back to years before, when Haku Soul had brought her behind enemy lines. Dahlia de Mai. Startled, the Lykoi woman jerked herself away, taking several steps back from him and knocking over items in the process. Anxious, she turned in an attempt to catch them. "Dammit!"

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[Conor Soul]

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Kikimon ;_; <3

But it was soon revealed that he was not as alone as he had thought he was. Lavender darted open in pursuit of the sudden sound of another. The male considered himself a heavy sleeper once he fell unconscious, but his mind had not been granted time to drift away into the surreal world of dreams before it was roughly brought back with a shot of adrenaline at the sound. So close—how had he not heard the other canine enter the store? The male’s eyes instantly found what they were searching for, an unknown optime female. For a moment he could only wonder what was the problem, but with a line of coherent thought that would appear for him soon, he would understand.

”I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he spoke out loud as he sat up and lifted his hand in her direction, palm facing her with the intention to calm the situation. The male was bright enough to make a guess about who this woman was based on her basic appearance and the scent of clan that was caught by his nostrils moments later. Dahlia and Inferni were at peace now, and he had experienced multiple encounters with the coyotes after the war had ended, and he could say without lies that he had more than one friendly acquaintance there despite the bad blood that would always exist between them.

[Talitha de le Poer]

[html]

3+ Librimon~ ;~; Ilu. <3

Too busy trying to catch falling items, she didn't notice as the stranger's lavender eyes shot open, but she turned when he spoke. Her muscles tensed, crimson gaze watching his movements; they weren't aggressive, despite what she had expected. In fact, he seemed to be sorry, at least for startling her. She was unwilling to let herself appear afraid, and her stance changed at his words; she shifted her weight to stand taller, and crossed her arms against the painfully visible ribcage she sported. "You didn't." A soft voice countered his own. She simply stared, unable to turn her ruby eyes away from the wolf for various reasons.

Without thinking, she took one short step toward the couch and its occupant. He posed no immediate danger, but everything in her body told her to be careful. Be careful, for he is the enemy. It wasn't true, of course; Dahlia de Mai hadn't truly been an enemy since the wars, with the death of Haku Soul ending their feud, but Talitha still felt the invisible scars dealt by the monster Soul on her skin. He was at fault for many a thing, and even in death he haunted the lives of those she cared for. Yet, it was not the fault of the Luperci before her. He was younger than she. Perhaps he hadn't even known of the vile beast.

"You're one of them, aren't you." It sounded more hostile than she had planned. Them. Even after all those months away, she couldn't make herself say the words. Dahlian. She couldn't bring herself to comfortably express a true name for the once-enemies to her home. She silenced, eyes narrowing at the ground as she berated herself for the inability. Foolish little princess, unable to give proper recognition. With some determination to prove otherwise, she cleared her throat.

"You're from Dahlia de Mai."

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[Conor Soul]

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<3

She said he hadn’t, so why did she react in such a manner? History was a powerful thing when soaked with dark red. It was sad, for Conor only wished peace to exist between the two groups. Tense and cracked peace, but peace nevertheless. But her voice was soft, but she looked at him with eyes that reminded him of someone, though he could not fathom who that could be. But she did not escape and disappear into the ruins of the city. Instead she took a step closer, though she did not trust him. Of course she wouldn’t and he understood why.

But her words made auburn ears flatten fully. One of them. He was not the one that had brought chaos to Inferni, but as a member of the responsible pack, some would always find him responsible as well. It seemed unlikely to ever change. He watched her, lavender gaze expressing disappointment at the tone of her voice. She spoke the name of his home, and he did not intend to lie. ”I am,” he reassured her, wondering where this was going. The wolf remembered the Lykoi woman that had been amongst the group he had stumbled into in the city recently after the war. This Inferni member reacted similarly.

He wanted to say something more, but knew better. She was free to turn her back at him and never return, but perhaps she was curious, just as he.

[Talitha de le Poer]

[html]

WC→423

The confirmation was all she needed to boost the desire to run, but her feet remained firmly planted. Before her sat the face of her past, a creature from the pack once home to a monster now locked away in her nightmares, and she was frozen in place. It wasn't fear that held her, however; instead, it was curiosity. She was incapable of reconciling Dahlia de Mai to a place outside of enemies, though they had not been at war or violent with each other for some time, but she wondered about those who lived inside. Did they know that they had harbored a monster? Surely they must have. She'd seen Inferni destroy its own members, family cutting down family for appalling crimes to the clan. Did the wolves function in such a similar way as her home?

She leaned forward, crimson gaze staying still and absent as it focused entirely on the face of the cinnamon-cream male before her. Did he know what had happened? Or had he been too young to understand? She was his senior, but she was unsure of how much older; it was possible he had been alive when the monster Haku had roamed the world. Perhaps his life had been touched by the creature, as so many others had. Black-rimmed ears curled back against her skull, nose sniffing gently at the air about him, trying to determine a view of his world through olfactory perception rather than verbal questions. It didn't tell her anything she hadn't already known.

"Who are you."

It was a question, but the upward inflection at the end of her sentence hadn't come through in her voice. She wasn't one to introduce first and expect a response; she demanded knowledge of who she spoke to at all times. The courtesy she gave the younger male was rare. A delicate hand tucked auburn curls from her face, giving clear line of sight to watch him think. She didn't expect a real name; she certainly wouldn't give one.

True to form, she uttered a simple name, a simple alias that went unnoticed by most; she drew from those she was comfortable with, using the names of family or friends. "I'm Gabriel." She wasn't, and it was such an obvious fact to most of the world that the fae-like russet creature used a false moniker. "Gabriel de le Poer." It held worth in her life, the name of her father and her most valuable person. Whether her lie would be called out was to be seen.

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[Conor Soul]

[html]

--

He wanted to offer her calm, but his lack of hostility did not ease the present woman. It was a shame that grudges had to dig so deep that the scent of his alliance was enough to bring discomfort on to others. He had not been a part of the terror, but Dahlia had. But never had he seen this female, so has she participated at all? It did not strike him that she could have been involved with the first war, and that was why he failed to understand her anxiety. She asked for his name, but he was prepared to grant her this until she offered him one. But it was a lie, and lavender gaze darkened slightly, though confusion was first to lunge.

What was a name? Regardless, he felt a light heat of a false blush. Was this some kind of game she wished him to play? Dahlia and Inferni were no longer arch enemies, but if she could lie, so could he. But he did not want to be a part of this. There was no reason to make this into an unpleasant scene if it was avoidable. But exhausting pulled at him, and with lack of sleep there was a temper eager to flare up. ”I suppose I am Haku Soul then,” he said, voice sharp and disapproving as the name of his father was spoken. Months had passed since he had spoken the name of the demon that had wished to murder them all.

But Conor did not feel better. He just wanted to be a creature of peace.

[Talitha de le Poer]

[html]

His confusion led to giving a false name of his own, and has the moniker of the devil passed through his lips, she couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't condescending. Instead, she was amused. "I can't imagine you're as evil as Haku Soul was, little boy," she crooned, tossing auburn curls from her features. No one could be so evil as Haku Soul, except perhaps her uncle. Crimson eyes studied him curiously, listening to the disapproval in his voice. It seemed he did not think highly of the beast either.

"Lying to you with such a common name was clearly inappropriate. Sometimes I forget that my father is easily known in the world." With slow steps, she approached the couch, sitting to the side of the cinnamon-creme 'Haku', dragging one leg up under her body comfortably. It was a strange act for the maturing woman, but her fears had subsided in the moments of their false-name exchange. Without words, the stranger had eased her discomfort.

She focused ruby eyes on his own lavender set. "I'm Talitha. Lykoi. I knew Haku Soul, when I was very young. Not well, mind you. Like that awful Sadira woman, I was stolen away to the wrong side of the war." Her explanation delved into history unspoken of to most others, hoping to learn more about the man himself before they went their separate ways. He wasn't Haku Soul, but perhaps he had experienced the horrible creature on his own terms, young as he was.

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