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------After awhile, their little powwow died down. The silence that followed was in sharp contrast with the ruckus of their warning calls, but Anselm was pleased either way. Tomorrow would be a busy day of marking boundaries, chasing off intruders, and probably sneaking a peak at the other activity in the region. If anybody was going to be settling nearby, he would find out and alert Gabriel at once. Once the situation along the perimeter was confirmed, it would be time to branch out further. Within the week, he intended to do a thorough inspection of nearly every place that the misplaced wolves chose to settle. This included checking old places twice as time passed, just to make sure that no sneaky bastards had managed to pass by under the radar. Unless they were truly moronic, they probably would have mostly settled down within the week. Once locations were established, it would be time to assess activity and numbers.
------For now, though, he decided to make his way back to his den and get some rest. Tomorrow would come all too soon. Red eyes peered out over the lingering congregation, and he then rose and began to stalk off. The biggish male moved silently and quickly, although his ears were kept back--mostly to listen in case anybody chose to follow him. Speak now or forever hold your peace. That was, of course, taking "forever" to mean "tonight." Within an hour he would be sound asleep in his den, for he intended to raise well before dawn for his "studies." That didn't leave him too much time to rest, but it would be sufficient. Oddly, it was nice to have something on the agenda for once. Perhaps lazing about denying the rest of the world's existence had finally grown old. [/html]
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After speaking to Gabriel she had picked up her two sleeping puppies and carried them to bed individually in her mouth. After having them settled and curled up together Faolin stretched out her front legs and gave her coat a shake before heading back out of the mouth of the den. It was oddly quiet, smoke still filled the land far off and the wolves seemed to have settled for the night at least. Red eyes drifted downwards towards one male she had yet to meet. Being a leader now she figured she would need to know him, it also seemed that Gabriel knew him. How? She did not know, but something was strikingly familiar about him. Distant relative she had yet to know about maybe?
He was heading towards another cave, probably where he was planning to take for a den. Her tail raised, wagging lightly in a friendly manner and covered the small area between them, letting her creamy paws carry her forth quickly. Crimson eyes picked him out in the gloominess of the cave and she cleared her throat before speaking, "Hey there," she said, hoping not to disturb the male from anything. Yeah, there was something about him that reminded her of her mate, his posture or something, she could not put a finger on it. She waited for an answer before barging into the cave, an aura about her that glowed red in the faint moonlight, reflecting off her fur.
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------It did not take long for the patter of feet to sound behind him--he was being trailed. His head turned just slightly, barely enough for him to get a quick look out of the corner of his eye. It was one of the first canines to be inadvertantly introduced by Gabriel--his mate, Faolin. She was extremely petite to the hybrid, though as she neared further he paused in his steps and turned about before dipping his head. As the famed Gabriel's mate and his leader, she was obviously deserving of some respect (although it was hard to say which of those qualities carried more weight for him--probably the former).
------"Faolin," he greeted her, his voice deep yet calm. Yes, he had been paying attention to every name mentioned. Certainly not an expert at personal relations, he opted to stick to business. "In the morning I will go scouting to assess the other packs' activity. I will report to you or Gabriel once I have more information." Originally he intended to speak solely to his cousin, but he resolved now that his mate and co-leader was also an acceptable choice. Besides, non-personal information was less important or private to him--he'd probably tell it to anybody who asked. Not really sure what more she might want out of him, he simply awaited further instruction or information.
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Strictly to the point seemed to be his way. Nothing personal about it, just business. He would fit into the clan quite well she supposed. It was all about business it seemed, children were bred, brought up in the way of the clan, and some would lead and other's stay in the ranks while the last fraction of them were either kicked out or they just left. Gabriel's family seemed to take up most of the ranks, following her own. Actually, now that she thought about it. There was not one hybrid or coyote in Inferni at the moment that was not related to her in some way. It was strange, but it made her feel good. They were all out for the same thing. They knew each other. There were no secrets. Well, hardly any secrets. No suspicions, it was a good pack. And that fact alone would be the sole reason Inferni would grow and conquer the wolves around them.
"Well, I'm glad you are getting settled in nicely to the ranks. I would like to accompany you sometime to the other packs that seem to be settling in here. There numbers don't seem to be too big, around five per pack," she commented, already taking a quick total of how many wolves had already survived. It was easy to depict scents of different wolves, different packs. "They hold no loyalties, they are all new, what a small fire and they all go and create new packs?" she laughed, and shook her head. Inferni was stronger than ever now, with new wolves coming to be leaders, they hardly knew what they were doing. Young males and females grasping this moment to lead a pack. Stupid really, most of them too young to even know what real loyalty was, obviously. The packs dispersed so fast after the initial call from their alphas had taken place. It was like they had planned it somehow. They'd learn.
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------Her suggestion caught him off-guard, but he wasn't about to let her throw a wrench into his plans. This minor disobedience was with good reason, however, and all of Inferni would benefit. Consequentially, he had no intention of deviating from his original plan. Tomorrow he would go out alone, and maybe even the day after that. Surely as a co-leader of Inferni, coyote, and Gabriel's mate, she would be recognised and quickly distrusted. He was still a stranger to these wolves and looked like one of them, to boot. He fully intended to play that card until the edges frayed and it totally fell apart. No hesitation was given, however, as he slickly offered a few words deliberately intended to satiate her: "Certainly, we will need to keep continual tabs for some time, regardless. I'm sure that over the next fortnight, things will change the most." Once his initial scouting missions were over, there would be no harm in her accompanying him for a follow-up study or second peak--especially if they kept to themselves. At first, though, he wished to speak with the wolves face to face, since direct information was almost always superior to guessing and inferring based on scents and indirect contact.
------Either way, her sentiments inspired a calloused laugh of agreement. He hadn't thought of this himself, but now that she pointed his attention to it, he couldn't help but agree. He had only seen Inferni's loyalty and Gabriel's strict lead. For some reason, he had never extended the converse to the wolves--their leaders had done a piss-poor job in maintaining their packs (and therefore order), their members had not bothered to find each other once the catastrophe had passed, and in the end they would need to grapple with new friendships and hierarchies, on top of a new landscape. Stability was a powerful tool, psychologically speaking, and he had to give it to Gabriel for using it so effectively. "I suppose I hadn't thought of it," he drawled, "but you make a good point. Other than pathetic, I find it a bit odd, even... it seems like such a bad move, and I don't know why anybody would willingly make it." Strange, strange indeed--to surrender so completely to chaos, to embrace upheaval, to sever trusted lines and forage new ones in a strange place. It made him question whether things had ever been fine, even before the fires... and it made him wonder if they would come back weaker, just the same, or maybe even better for it. "It'd be foolish to judge too quickly, though. All new packs will have been formed very deliberately, rather than by happen-stance. A collection of loners that pool up wherever the tide carries them is different than a group of allies hand-picked from the start."
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Faolin could feel him change thoughts as she mentioned it and figured he probably had a good plan. With her children being so young she had no thoughts of drifting out off Inferni lands any time soon, so perhaps it was better that he go out on his own and return the information. She felt a bit helpless, but her puppies came first to her, before anything. They needed her there, and if she went and got in trouble, it would not be good for either of them. Faolin nodded to the male a smile forming across her lips. The girl liked the way he thought and her tail wagged behind her slightly and she listened to his next words.
"Yeah, a lot of the packs are really close, back in the old place so many wolves changed packs and drifted back and forth and everything. Changing leaders and so on. I found it kind of disturbing. There are a lot of new wolves here too," she paused for a moment thinking. They had lost a lot in the fire, and family was so intermingled throughout the different packs. Iskata and her brood along with Phoenix had all been in Storm, but Iskata had most of her relatives within Clouded Tears. Jaded Shadows and all of Fatin's litters were spread out too it seemed and everyone seemed to be related one way or another. "Blood runs strong within all the packs, it's spread out. I'm not sure how much you knew about the old 'Souls, but almost everyone was related some way or another it seemed, except the stray wolf that somehow landed their butts in a pack somehow," she laughed, but the wolves did not hold loyalties. You would think in a time when they would need each other most they would use that excuse to come together and create new packs. She sighed and shook her head.
"We are lucky, we have a lot. Blood. Loyalty. Numbers. It will help us in the beginning, but who knows what will happen once their numbers start to grow too, or the packs start to merge," she shrugged, that was about all she knew. Well, the history of Bleeding Souls was much more elaborate then that. Her mother had been in the lands before she was even born. She had been pregnant with her and Hybrid when she came to Inferni and someone named Kidorah had been leader at one point before Segodi. It was all so confusing and scary at the same time. "Inferni's history runs deep in those lands. Kidorah, Segodi and Kaena, can't forget her. De le Poers, Mogotsi's, Talik, Lykois, seems all the blood has been merged in one child or another, mixed with the wolves too. Anyway! I'm just rambling now!" she laughed. She had a habit of doing that quite often, rambling, she was known for it.
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------Usually, everyone seemed to babble about nonsense. They asked him how he was, what he thought of the weather... or worse yet, they remarked on how they were, or talked about what they thought of the weather. All of this, of course, was utterly useless to him. He disliked when his mind became cluttered with retarded information that reflected opinion rather than fact. Unfortunately, deep philosophical discussions, educational sessions, and general training were not on most wolves' agendas. Right now, though, he was pleasantly surprised to find that Faolin had a wealth of information she was willing to share. Gabriel had picked a good one. And so, in a rare act that for him embodied genuine interest, he took a seat. Usually, he preferred to stand--subconsciously it sent a message to hurry things up, suggesting that he had more important places to go and people to see. Finally, he had found one of these elusive important people.
------The things she said were delicious to him, and he savoured every word as a starving tramp might every bite of a juicy steak. Other than Inferni's reputation and the general understanding it was lead by one of his relatives through Nosferatu, he knew next to nothing about the Bleeding Souls wolves. Apparently they were all related somehow, which was an intriguing concept to consider. Where he grew up, such ties had meant little and cousins, siblings, and even mates betrayed each other at will. Little food and water could do that to a wolf, he supposed. Either way, he at least understood in theory that blood ties could be powerful. His alliance with Gabriel had been something of a stab in the dark, considering his rough past, but already there was evidence that what she said was true. The rules of the game had changed, and he was sure to take note.
------He had to agree that they were off to a good start, but he also approved of her wariness. Inherently paranoid and sceptical of other's motives, he found it foolish to trust that things would work out on their own. Surveillance was necessary, as was deliberation and action, depending on what was observed. Growing too comfortable in any situation was bound to lead to problems, and he nodded in response to her words. The names she spoke next were hit or miss--Kaena he knew, those before her he did not. Obviously he knew his own surname, but he knew little of his relatives' experiences from that branch of the family. His expression went blank for a moment as she accused herself of rambling, and instantly he shook his head as some brief spell of something like panic overtook him (there were little outward signs, however). Someone had just reached to take that bum's steak away, and he wasn't ready to give it up yet. "No, no," he said quickly. "I would like to hear more about it." He specified no topic in particular--anything she had, he would take. Hell, he would take it all.
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Lots of speech, but I figured it would be helpful to give him all this information! xD
She was glad he seemed so interested in what she had to say. Maybe she was not rambling, but he seemed to be wanting more, savoring every bit of information she had fed to him. She smiled and sat down, curling her tail about her in a cat-like manner that she tended to do often. She started to dig up bits of information in her head, things he would like to know, random facts, and so on. There was a lot of history and Faolin knew about most of it. Whether it was from Segodi, Gabriel, her mother, everyone seemed to have a story to tell. Phoenix seemed to know quite a bit too. She had slowly collected information over the years and she thought maybe she should write it all in a book one day.
"Well, let's start with the current members of Inferni. I have a lot of information, whether it seems relevant or not, I'll just tell you anyway," she said pausing for a moment before thinking of who other to start w ith then Gabriel himself! "Gabriel, well, I'm not sure how much you know about him. He was born to a large litter, his parents are Kaena Lykoi and Ahren de le Poer. I never met Ahren, but apparently he still resides in the lands. Kaena has left and come back many times, and when she finally left, Gabriel took over. His siblings have come and gone too, a lot of other's come and leave as they please, you'll get used to it. Well, he has lead for quite a while now, I've been the newest sub-leader since," she stated, wondering who to go onto next. Well, she guessed she would keep with the current members, the next one that came to mind was Hybrid.
"Then, next in the ranks would be Hybrid, he's my littermate, he's a rough guy, but he's been one of the only other constants in my life, so many others come and go as I told you," she laughed and shook her head. "He HATES, absolutely HATES wolves, in fact he once killed this one wolf that had pissed us both off and he took his remains and spread them all over this territory and then used his intestines as a skipping rope," she nodded and couldn't help but laugh at the thought, that was Hybrid in a nutshell. "He's kind of crazy, but aren't we all, he joined Inferni after I so gracefully killed our father. He was a rapist and I thought he killed my mother, but that is a completely other story that I will tell later. He wanted to kill me for the longest time until we came to some kind of understanding with each other I guess. He trains the youth in our pack, he does a lot. He's an asshole sometimes though... well, most of the time. She watch yourself around him, but I can't see you having a problem, you'd probably get along great," she said, thinking of other faces coming to mind.
"Samael Lykoi, that guy is as fucking nuts as they come. He's related to Gabriel through Kaena, that was one of Kaena's litters, although his siblings have dropped off the face of the planet it seems. They have all been really twisted since they were puppies," she shuddered at the recent development in the news of Samael. Having sex with his younger sister, but she did not feel that was news that quite needed to be shared. "Let's just say incest and rape along with murder, crazy, et cetera and so on are words you would think of when you think of him," she shook her head and then realized she did not know the male that well and so her information was kind of short.
"Then there is Molochai, he has come and gone with Kaena, he's always stuck by her side. Somewhat of a momma's boy I guess, but in different ways then you'd think of. He always helped raise her litters and stuff, I didn't really get to know him, but I grew up with him along with his siblings. He is from Gabriel's litter. He has only recently returned, but surprisingly without Kaena. I think something happened, although I am not sure. Him and Gabriel have this kind of understanding with each other, I think," she paused, feeling her mouth go dry. She was not used to talking so much and she could only stifle a laugh at the thought. Her red eyes turned back to Anselm while she thought of who else to talk about.
"Next would be Rachias. She was Kaena's last litter along with Andrezej and Arkham. Although, Arkham is missing, he went missing in the fire," her throat went dry and she could not help but feel sick to her stomach. He was probably dead... all because Faolin wouldn't go back and look for him or let Rachias back. Gabriel and her had to keep Rachias from running back into the fire. She missed the sweet boy so much. "When Kaena left, I basically just picked up as their guardian... sort of, Rachias went to live with her father who was the leader of Clouded Tears. A hybrid named Laruku Tears who also has a very fucked up past. I haven't really seen him around, we met on a few occasions. In fact, he got in a fight with my mother when she was pregnant with Hybrid and I and resulted in a stillborn, but that could have been from anything," she shrugged. "Poor Rachias, she is one of the only other ones that has not really left 'Souls at all now that I think about it, the poor girl is heart broken though. She's quite feisty, but overall a sweet girl," she nodded, biting her lip and swallowing.
"Ugh, before I continue, there is one coyote I have to warn you about. He's not afraid to even mutilate others of his blood. He's a disgrace, all his time he could be put into hating wolves but instead turns on his own clan. His name is Andrezej, he's Rachias' brother. He threatened to kick me off a mountain once, and then tried to attack my children. Gabriel exiled him out of Inferni. But, knowing him, he's still kicking somewhere around here. If you ever meet him, don't be afraid to kill him, he's better off dead I think anyway," she sighed, thinking of the boy. He was a monster. Who would kill their own kind? It was pathetic, the only ones that could offer him something. Hybrid had tried with that one, but he was a failure, even from the beginning.
"Then there is my mother Asphyxia and her son Toxic, Toxic's father Naloxone has disappeared along with his two sisters Garnet and Midnight. Asphyxia had hooked up with Segodi a long time ago while she was pregnant with me, but left a little later on and left Hybrid in the care of Segodi while I left with her and went back to my father. We lived with him for a long time, he was abusive and tried to molest me while beat her up every other day, then finally she tried to escape for the nth time and I thought he killed her, but I ran, ran all the way back to Inferni where Segodi took me in. I found out she was still alive, then went and tracked down my father and killed him, Hybrid followed me back and well, that was basically it in a nutshell, she returned again, this time with kids. Toxic is young, but he's learning and probably in need of a bit of guidance, but he's no where like Andrezej," she laughed taking in a breath. She paused for a few moments. She was not sure of the newest members but that was about all she had on the current members. It was not much but she hoped it help. "What else would you like to know? I'm sure I got a bank of information," she laughed, rolling her shoulders back. "I could go on to all the packs that have been here and about a few particular wolves that used to reside in the old lands. Not sure if they are here now," she smiled again, could she possibly talk someone's ear off. Well, this would definitely be proof if she could.
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