Can be whatever time you desire 
WC: 313 3 points
Makhesthai was feeling better finally, it had been a few days since the psychotic dream had forced his first shift several months early. He was leaning against the mouth of Kaena's cave in his optime form which was the form he had settled in and had not dared to try and shift back, still exploring the new way his paws, legs and body had grown and begin amazed by it all, even his tail was longer and the fur shaggier. His mane had grown out so that it framed his face now with short bangs.
He had been thrilled to learn that he would end up like Kaena and Halo, he shivered slightly at the thought of the ruby eyed girl. Halo had both scared and demanded respect from him, something he was used to giving but not exactly in the way she sought. but there was something else there now as well, a slight warming to the older woman even if his presence and Lykoi name annoyed her. He sighed to himself, there wasn't much he could do about his small size, only time would fix his shortness.
His thoughts turned to the pretty woman that had helped him in her own way through the first painful shift, he was grateful to her and concerned as she seemed to be sick with something, maybe it was all in his head and his dream had freaked him out more than he realised and he was suddenly finding a need to save those who seemed to be in danger.
He drew in the dirt with his fingers, not really focusing on it until he realized he had traced the star he had seen upon both Halo and Kaena into the soil and his heart turned hopeful, maybe one day he could prove himself worthy enough to have the privilege of carrying the tattoo upon his person.
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It had not surprised the Aquila to find his mother had taken in another boy to fill the gap Itachi had left. He recognized the process of grieving, and he accepted it well enough. Kaena’s weakness for lost children was something he attributed to her own losses—never mind she had slaughtered one daughter—and perhaps a fear that those who remained might too abandon her. Gabriel had been capable of identifying this but not empathizing with it. After all, his children were no longer his own. Despite Talitha’s deep affection for her father, he recognized that she now flocked to her brother and was pleased with this. Ezekiel after all had been the one to chase after her; not Gabriel, who could not abandon his duties.
Though snow still littered the ground, it had been warm enough recently for it to melt around the well-worn area surrounding the caves. He had slept late following a rather long patrol, though his sleep was not as long as one might expect. Wolf-sleep, as it is in the wild, occurs with the animal being awake for around five hours and then sleeping for one or two before cycling. Gabriel was no exception to this, and rose from his most recent nap with a toothy yawn.
He made his way from his den and towards the others, something he did daily. Usually the caves were empty during the day, given how frigid the nights remained, but today he was not alone. A mud-colored boy was lingering near his mother’s cave. Gabriel approached him quietly, and tilted his head to see what it was he had drawn. “You must be Makhesthai,” he said, recognizing the boy from his appearance (and mother’s scent). “I’m Gabriel.” If his own wolfish build did not give him away, the name would. That and the same star tattooed over his right shoulder.
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WC: 310 3 points
Makhesthai did not notice the doggish male approaching him until the large Aquila was almost upon him. His tattered right ear swiveled at a noise and his head turned to finally spot the leader . For a few seconds he simply gaped that the leader would take time out of his day to speak to a lowly member such as Makhesthai before he realized be was being offensively rude and dipped his head low to the male in a display that both of their dog/wolf blood would find acceptable and pleasing, the torn right ear flattening itself.
He had not much experience in his short life of how to deal with male adults of his kind and wavered uncertainly about what to do with his body before settling on the attitude he had adopted with Halo, he managed to somehow project the same respectful lowered stance even in his optime form. His orangey fur was still covered in dirt from his drawing and playing around, darkening the fur to a browny color and he nervously brushed some of it away with a hand.
"Yes sir, I am Makhesthai. Kaena says I can stay here for safe?" His eyes flicked up and he caught the red of the star that both Halo and Kaena held and also the golden of the male's eyes which reflected Kaena's eyes almost perfectly. He shifted backwards a little as the leader turned his head to see what Maki had been drawing in the dirt, the same Lykoi star that rested on the leader's shoulder had been etched into the loose soil and Maki smiled uncerteinly at the leader.
"I am not a horrible burden to the clan am I?" Despite how much Kaena had said otherwise, the words of his mother still rang in his mind strong enough that Maki believed he might be an annoyance to the clan.
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Scarred as he was, the boy’s appearance did not perturb Gabriel. He had lived with such disfigurements his entire life, and seen far worse after the first fire. Half-burnt, screaming bodies in ash and soot. The sick and the dying had been his companions during war, when he had worked alongside Eli and Jezebel. War had dulled his ability to be shocked by such terrible things, though one might believe that a boy this young would stir something in him. Unlike his mother, there was no such parental instinct within him.
The boy’s odd way of speaking made the Aquila wonder just how old the puppy was. He was most certainly young, but lanky—suggesting he was growing quickly. His coordination was not too bad, despite a few uneven lines in the star. At the first question he nodded, having allowed his mother her distraction if only to keep her happy. It was his second question, in particular the adult way it was phrased, that made the sable-brushed Aquila frown. “Who told you that?” He asked gruffly. There was no reason for anyone to blame a child for being just that—a child—and Gabriel hated to think his coyotes would say such a thing to one of their own.
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sorry for wait >< fail muse on this
His hope grew as the Aquila nodded and he smiled uncertainly, though the leaders expression did not give much away, Maki could see something within it that meant he accepted him, he would be welcomed and allowed to stay here. The happiness that came from this realization caused the young Tirones' tail to begin wagging, if only slightly. His second question though caused trouble and Makhesthai retreated slightly from Gabriel's doggish form, his ear falling back against his head in a nervous gesture.
"My Moma told me that I'm always a burden to everyone, that I would always be unwanted. The hybrid looked away for a few seconds, remembering his mother made him both angry and sad and he did not want to look at the Aquila with these feelings on show. When he had gained control of his emotions he looked back,
I just wanted to make sure that i'm not. I want to help, not hinder. His words were very well spoken and his sentences well constructed but this was not a good judge on his mothers teaching abilities, this was a tribute to his ability to understand what the words she had shouted at him meant. He sighed and looked at the ground, at the star he had drawn in the dirt, and scuffed his paw through it, destroying the image. He would never been good enough to wear that star, he would never be perfect enough to keep the name Lykoi.
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Gabriel remained still despite the boy’s nervous movements. He observed him through sharp eyes, waiting for the answer. It surprised him to hear it was the child’s mother. Experience had shown him otherwise. Women so often put themselves after their children, something he had always found a weakness. Yet to imagine that someone might so brutally attack their own child was beyond him—emotional scars went far deeper than even the damage that had been done to the child.
With a bullish snort, the Aquila flicked an ear. “Your mother was a fool,” he said bluntly. “You’re barely old enough to learn how to hunt.” No one should expect that from a child. Gabriel had even provided for that waste of life Andre when Kaena had disappeared. The sable male cocked his head as the boy erased his crude drawing. “If you really want to help, you can start learning some skills and figure out where you fit in this clan.” Kaena had made that decision for him by appointing him a Lykoi. Inferni would be his home until he chose to make it otherwise.
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WC: 300+ 3 points
The sharp answer made Makhesthai look up from destroying the Lykoi star he had drawn and he nodded. His mother had been a fool and she still was for she still breathed, something he would rectify in time when he was able to. He appreciated the Aquila's blunt way of speaking, Maki was not a child in the conventional sense, people did not need to tiptoe around him with matters, his mother had called him every name under the sun, he probably knew more curse words than some of the canines here but that was neither here nor there.
You’re barely old enough to learn how to hunt The leader's words for all their lack of compassion or warmth were comforting to the youngster. That he was not expected to be able to perform yet at this moment in time was.. in a way a relief to the pup, he was not useless because he could not contribute although he felt a small stab at his pride, he was not yet bothered enough about it to react beyond a quiet,
"I can hunt mice and rats...." His voice tailed off into nothingness as he listened to the leaders next words. He lapsed into thought as he considered to the statement and then replied,
"There was no one to protect me and my brothers and sisters. I want to make sure that Inferni never ends up like that." His conviction shone in his eyes. He hadn't been here that long but already Inferni was his home and his family. Family stuck together through everything like he had stuck by his siblings as best he could and so he would stand by Inferni and its members. His life he owed to the clan for no doubt he would be dead now had they decided to reject him.
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There was a very good reason that Gabriel spoke so bluntly around children; he did not understand them. Having been forced to raise his half-siblings from a young age, he had faced the problems of someone who had never been shown the conventional or proper way to deal with young people. The coyote that had kept him alive had been an old woman long gone mad, and she had treated him like a prophet. Even in Scintilla, there were few children. Most had been killed, and those that remained were stark and bitter youths. He had not raised his son and daughter, and had no hand in the other children he had given life to. They belonged to their mother, as he had ultimately considered this better.
So despite his age, Gabriel would treat the boy as he did anyone else. This was simply how he had always behaved around children. The boy was able to hunt small things, which proved he was capable. Eventually he might show potential as a hunter, but there was still much time for this to pan out. Quietly the hybrid listened as the boy spoke of family and, without realizing it, the abuse they had suffered. His golden eyes turned vicious. “Sometimes to protect people you have to hurt others,” he said gruffly. “, even your own family.”
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OOC: are you wanting to wrap this up soon? apologies for the fail post ><
300+ 3 points
“Sometimes to protect people you have to hurt others, even your own family.” The Aquila's voice was rough and his eyes spoke the truth of his words. The man before him had hurt his own family before in the protection of the others and he would do it again, would do it countless times over until the end of his life if he had to, to protect those that his leadership promised safety to. Makhesthai agreed with him, agreed with that mind of thinking for if one of his brothers or sister had turned on its siblings like their mother had done to them then he would have protected the others from both his Moma and his sibling and bore the scars for his family.
A strange calm came over Makhesthai, and his blue eyes glazed over as he looked at the doggish Aquila, he spoke and his voice was strange and echoey, not like the normal voice at all. His mind floated away to a far away place and a phrase half remembered from dreams came to him, something that Gabriel needed to know to keep the pack safe, his voice was monotonic as he spoke,
....In a year's time she would come for me, in a year's time she would threaten those most dearest to me, in a year's time I would rip her shriveled black heart from her devil's chest and I would feast upon it while her body lay unrespected in the dirt... His eyes closed for a second and his head fell forwards and suddenly he jerked as though struck and raised his head. His eyes were no longer glazed over and he looked about himself confused, what had just happened? He looked at the leader with his confusion, he shook his head trying to clear his thoughts
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We can with another post or two if you want.  If it had been anyone but Gabriel, the boy’s trance-like speech would have been laughed at. Most of the coyotes within the clan were realists. Madness, while accepted, was also chided. The boy would have been told to stop pretending, to quit trying to make himself look important. He might have been snapped at. Most of Inferni had no patience for magic or the supernatural.
Gabriel was not most of Inferni.
He was a man who believed in the Word. He was a man who heard The Voice, who had been chosen by the Lord Almighty to be his scourge and his sword. The Aquila had been saved by God time and time again, as had his family. Haku could have killed Kaena the night he raped her. Andre might have delivered his daughter’s broken body onto Inferni. Ezekiel might have perished out in the wilderness, or the night that the demon had scarred his face and broken his ribs. His house had been made to suffer, but this only further solidified his faith. Gabriel knew that the world was far greater than the simple little lives they led.
So he listened and remembered. Yet as the boy came out of his trance, Gabriel said nothing of the sort. He flicked one ear and looked to the boy as if nothing had changed. “Try finding people to start training you. Our ranks are based on skills, so once you find something you’re good at we’ll focus on it,” he explained, rising to his feet.
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The Aquila showed no sign that anything out of the ordinary and Makhesthai rubbed at his head tiredly, he felt drained and weakened now although he did not show this to the leader, the sudden lack of energy scared him a little and he wondered if later he should go hunting to find some food to fill his stomach, he could bring some back for Kaena as well if she was around. He nodded at Gabriel's words, it was nothing less than what he had expected really and a small smile came to his lips that he could prove to be of some use by kind of arranging some teaching already,
"Yes sir, I will do the best I can. And the woman with the red star on her chest and the beautiful swords, she said that when I was bigger if i showed promise then she would show me how to train with them and use them in combat." He looked down for a second, the coyote woman who he didn't know was Halo was placed almost into his heart now, like Kaena, she would look out for him and help him. His tail wagged a little. Now the Aquila stood up and Makhesthai rose to his knees, keeping his head lower than the doggish hybrid's, this meeting was obviously drawing to a close and he did not wish to take up more of the leader's valuable time,
"Thank you Sir, for letting me stay here, it is an honor to be part of Inferni." He bowed his head to the man who shared Kaena's eyes.
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It surprised Gabriel to hear that Halo would offer herself as a mentor to a child. She had refused with Sepheriah, and been outright aggressive to Eris when she had been in the clan. His niece did not strike him as a friendly type. Given what had happened with Itachi, however, he could see cause for it. Making a child right would cancel out the wrongs done by her biological, turncoat son.
The Aquila nodded shortly, but said nothing. He headed off along his typical route, following the paths cut by constant patrol, and left the boy to his devices.
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