bring me peace

Krystalle Horzana · 04-12-2011, 11:21 AM

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Afternoon-early evening. Ethereal Eclipse.

Ugh. Avoidance of the conversation was causing Krystalle more trouble than she needed. Waking up early, the doggish woman found her way outside and sought her equine friend to make a quick escape. Maybe it wasn't healthy to ride a horse while carrying children, but she couldn't just walk out of the pack. In a fluid movement, she mounted the mare and squeezed her legs against her sides to make her move. Senorita knew what her friend wanted. Four muscled legs started a trot across Thornbury; Krystalle hefted a sigh through her lungs, leaning forward to rest against the neck of her mount. "Ain' sure I like it here no more, Senorita," she mumbled into the stiff mane. All this confusion had left a usually chipper female in a pit of something unidentifiable.

Ethereal Eclipse had always caused a shiver to wander the fur of the Horzana. Something about the forest there, thick and nearly lightless, made her so uneasy. It didn't affect her horse well either; Senorita balked more than once, but her keeper kept pushing her on. Reaching the center, Krystalle slipped from the back of the paint-patterned creature. She was dizzy.

Her body plopped down on the rather muddy ground, rubbing at pale pink eyes uncomfortably. It was all Mars fault. She wouldn't have been in that situation if he hadn't met her back in California. A grimace crossed her features. "This is stupid." There were ways to get rid of the problem. They'd done it in Nakzhi before, when the mother was deemed unfit. But could she really do something like that? No. She wasn't capable. Instead, her body flopped to the side, eyes staring toward the sky as she lay slumped over onto the ground.

Caspa Al-Fateh · 04-13-2011, 09:31 PM

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It hadn't carried on over to the outward appearance of the bony wolf-dog yet but the increase in her diet since arriving at the new pack had definitely led to a gain in energy levels. And considering how she'd spent her past few carefully-rationed months in constant walking, now she was downright restless. Early dew had been damp on her feathery ankles and so she'd gone towards the forest, hoping to find dryer land there to explore. Caspa padded through the thick trees, wrapping her bulky coat around her in the nippy early-spring air.

The forest was not so much dry as dank and dark and her paws squelched into the hollows where the first of the melting-snow water had collected, stirring the earth into a glutinous mud. As if she had made a promise to continue, Caspa didn't let herself consider stopping or turning back. Stubbornly she pressed on, hoping to at least reach a clearing or some other landmark by the end of the day. Time seemed to drag as she wound her way around the trunks and saplings, following a well-defined deer track that she knew she'd be able to trace back to her starting point, and so not get lost. Then, as the afternoon started to wane and she realised she really should be turning back soon - it was just too much of a habit now, to walk until utter exhaustion set in, she'd have to get over that - a newly familiar scent reached her. A horse was nearby, and why would a creature of the open plains be in the forest without some sort of encouragement? Caspa followed her nose and spotted the head and back of the animal sticking up from the other side of a slanted half-fallen tree. The horse was standing seemingly alone. Maybe it had escaped from Cour des Miracles; as yet she still didn't know anything about the other packs nearby. Maybe she should catch it and return it. Caspa grimaced at the thought of having to try and handle a horse. She had no idea how to begin. "Horse?" she called. If it was tame, maybe it would answer to that. If not, well, at least she'd tried.

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Krystalle Horzana · 04-14-2011, 11:27 PM

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Sulking in the mud, she was surprised to hear the sound of another as they called for a horse. The Latin mutt assumed whoever it was spoke to Senorita; last she had checked, there hadn't been a horse other than her paint-patterned friend. The old mare sniggered and shook her head, turning to face the opposite direction. Krystalle waited a moment, wondering just who had wandered into her little safe haven of the moment, before sitting up to glance around. At first, she didn't see her company. Pale pink eyes searched the trees until they settled upon the slender frame of a white creature. Was it a ghost? Possibly preposterous. Still, it left her uneasy. "Hola?" she called, tilting her head to the side.

As graceless as she'd fallen to the ground, the pregnant Luperci dragged herself to her feet. There wasn't sense in meeting anyone, corporeal being or not, on the ground. Crossing her arms above the slightly distended stomach she now possessed, she squinted at the stranger. "Horse has got a name, ch'know? Don' horses you've seen got names?" It wasn't meant to be rude, merely inquisitive. Her flopped ears twitched on top of her head. The sight before her was something truly spectacular; she'd never seen a creature with the same silhouette as the one who stood before her.

Caspa Al-Fateh · 04-15-2011, 06:32 AM

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Frozen with indecision, the sinewy mutt startled violently as a Luperci of some kind sat up beside the horse, and she realised she was mistaken. It was not Caspa's way to grovel for forgiveness so she remained silent as the dog - wolf? - scrambled to her feet, arms crossing over a pregnant stomach as she gave Caspa a rebuke she pretty much deserved for crashing in so rudely. Horses were popular round here, she noted. One eye was kept on the beast at all times, to make sure it wasn't about to start running or kicking or anything dangerous that she would have no idea how to deal with.

"They probably have got names I guess," she answered the possibly rhetorical question, thinking of those glossy animals in the expansive Cour des Miracles stables that she'd found the other day. "How was I to know this one's, though?" Now she might be coming off as rude again. She'd always been told to watch her mouth, and she'd watched it for so long that she'd never got any practice at speaking nicely. Caspa chewed on her lip, wanting to make amends and stop being so uncivil. Getting on the bad side of the pregnant luperci with the tall ruff of hair on her head and fierce collar around her neck seemed like a bad idea. She was here to make friends, somehow or other, and so she tried her awkward best to make amends. "I thought it had run away from home, they - we - seem to... we seem to have a lot of horses..." Now she was betraying her newcomer status to the pack, she obviously hadn't totally adjusted to life in her new surroundings quite yet. Oh, well. "I'm very sorry to disturb your... lying in the mud," she finished, wondering what on earth all that had been about.

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Krystalle Horzana · 04-19-2011, 02:23 AM

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Sorry for the wait!

Krystalle watched in silence as the strange white creature explained themselves, revealing that they were both sentient and female. The Latin woman gave Senorita a pat to the flank as she listened, and the horse huffed air out before turning her head to the brown-and-cream friend. White-tipped fingers rubbed against the mare's spongy nose. The stranger supposed most of the horses did have names where she was from, but asked how she knew the name of Krystalle's friend. A valid point. She chose not to reply, however, and waited for more information about the strange woman. She wasn't in the mood for any arguments, the irritation at the father of her unborn children causing everything to seem so frustrating, even the simplest misunderstandings.

Her hand rubbed against the side of her muzzle, ears still open to the explanations and apologies. Pale pink eyes shifted in the direction of her company. "'s fine, I guess. Just got kinda tired." The mud discolored her tan fur, and she silently wondered why she'd been so eager to sit in it. Perhaps just to sink away into the earth, where she'd never be bothered again. A silly thought. She loved living in the world far too much to flee from it, even if she hated Nova Scotia itself. She sighed and crossed her arms. "We ain' got a place for our horses, but Senorita stays close." Another friendly pat to her companion's rump and Krystalle focused entirely on the white canid. "'m Krystalle; where're you from, huh?"

Caspa Al-Fateh · 04-19-2011, 05:46 PM

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She had very little experience with pregnancy, but Caspa knew how exhausting it could be. She wondered if this woman had ridden far, and although she seemed animated enough, Caspa knew that sometimes energy could display itself when one was near one's final reserves. She should be careful, and continue the rest that Caspa had interrupted. The dog stepped forward, shrugging off her expansive leather coat. "Maybe you should rest some more. You can sit on this. It doesn't matter," she added flicking her eyes at the mud. "My name is Caspa, I am presently of Cour des Miracles. Which is a fair walk from here, so I'll rest with you, if you don't mind." She held out the edge of the coat, inviting Krystalle to take the other edge and help spread it over the ground. She was glad the coldest of the weather was past, her fur didn't have quite the fullness of a real wolf coat. It was a relief to feel the air on her actual fur without shrinking from the icy atmosphere. "Do you know of my pack? What is yours called?" She deduced from the general lack of enmity from the pregnant wolf that wherever it was, it probably wasn't on bad terms with hers. She was glad of this, but still a little wary; there was so much she didn't know about her new surroundings, and she was making quite a few assumptions in spending time with this stranger. What could be the harm though, really?

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Krystalle Horzana · 04-21-2011, 11:44 AM

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The stranger, who identified herself as Caspa, pushed the pregnant female to rest; it was a suggestion that Krystalle took eagerly, helping the woman spread her leather coat across the ground before plopping down near it. Pink eyes watched as her flopped ears listened. Caspa of Cour des Miracles, a pack Krystalle was unfamiliar with. The tan female allowed herself to lay back, closing her eyes. It was interesting to have company from someone outside of Cercatori d'Arte — she'd only really met Ehno Marino — and she didn't imagine they would have any animosity when they finally parted ways.

Caspa asked about the Latin mutt's own pack, and Krystalle had to pause and think. "'m livin' in Cercatori d'Arte, with my friend." Friend, lover, father of her unborn children — all of those monikers didn't seem right any longer. Mars was Mars, her housemate. In the end, that was all they were. "I ain' never heard of Curr dez Miracles." She tried to smile, though she knew she'd butchered the French-influenced name.

Her white-tipped hands rubbed against her face as she tried to focus on something. Her face turned toward the treetops. "Kinda far away from here, over that way." She pointed toward the west; it seemed their packs were on opposing sides of the forest they found themselves in. It was interesting to know about more than just AniWaya and Crimson Dreams. In silence, she hoped the woman would explain more.

Caspa Al-Fateh · 04-21-2011, 04:47 PM

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When the moment came to actually sit down, Caspa found herself hesitant, eyeing the horse warily. Down on the ground, surely the risk of trampling was exacerbated horrendously. But Krystalle didn't show a sign of caring, resuming her former prone position but this time with the leather coat sopping up the worst of the mud. Caspa eventually took a seat, on the very furthest hem from the horse with Krystalle placed between them. Cercatori D'Arte. It was a flowing, unusual name that like the Miracles pack - with Cour equivalent to Court - included hints to guess a little about the nature of this neighbouring pack. Arte surely meant Art, and Art meant crafts, talents and so forth. The meaning of Cercatori, she couldn't begin to guess at. Krystalle repeated the name of Caspa's new pack with an accent that wasn't the way it had been spoken to her, but it wasn't entirely an English accent either. "Your accent is from another language?" Caspa asked inquisitively. It was either that, or just a regional dialect she'd never heard.

She followed the pointing finger with her gaze, remembering how difficult it was to stick to a direction when walking through trees, but perhaps one day if an occasion arose she would make the journey to this other pack. "Mine is the other way, towards the sea. Lots of coastline, and there are old human settlements. I live in the top of one of them, a very large one," which was pretty much the extent of Caspa's knowledge so far. Apart from "We have young ones too, as in your pack, or at least, as there soon will be," she added. "You should preserve your energy more carefully, until they are born." She didn't mean to preach to one who had at least a year or two on her, but there wasn't much point in holding back either. It then struck her, just why had this woman ridden all the way out here, to collapse on the ground? Was she escaping something, or meaning to punish herself? It didn't at first make sense to the skeletal silk-furred mongrel.

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Krystalle Horzana · 04-24-2011, 03:43 AM

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Sitting had been a good idea. As soon as her weight was off from her feet, the Latin mutt felt relief. Pregnancy in itself was not something she was familiar with. She'd never been exposed to pregnant women in Nakzhi, only the children as they grew up. It never occurred to her that she might need those experiences later in life, as motherhood had never been on the itinerary. Of course, nothing ever was. Meeting Mars certainly hadn't been, and having to chase him across whatever obnoxious land she'd crossed was far too tedious an outcome that occurred because of it. Now that she was in Nova Scotia, she only wanted to go home. Some days, it didn't matter if Mars followed. She was sick and tired of dealing with the cold air and loneliness. It was hard to make friends.

Meeting this stranger seemed to be a way around that. She asked about Krystalle's accent, and the woman smiled faintly as she thought how best to explain. "Kinda grew up speakin' Spanish. 'm not from around here, ch'know?" No, she was from somewhere much warmer. How she missed the desert as she was forced to live through snow and mud. The dry air was so much more preferred than what she lived through lately. As the topic changed to packs, she was more subdued. Cercatori d'Arte had not proved to be the home she'd thought it might have been — so far, all they'd done was fight — and she didn't truly think talking about them was in her best interest. Caspa, however, seemed to enjoy where she was living. Near the sea, with lots of coastline and human settlements. It sounded pleasant. She even smiled, until 'young ones' were mentioned.

Pale pink eyes turned to the ground in clear displeasure. "Don' really care if they get born or not." It sounded much more cruel than it was meant to be, but it was truth she couldn't hide. She didn't love the unborn pups she carried. She might have loved their father, but it had not connected to her mind that she should love the children. They didn't truly have a place in her world, with the problems of the man she lived with and her own inability to understand.

Caspa Al-Fateh · 04-25-2011, 07:40 AM

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Two wolf-dogs, both inexperienced at motherhood, both using words sounding a little out of the ordinary. Despite the horse, Caspa was slowly getting comfortable, though her bearing was as stiff and upright as ever her hands shifted loosely in her lap. "Spanish," she repeated. "Where do you come from - Span?" She was unaware of her ignorance showing; if she had been she would never have spoken, as it was she considered Span to be a pretty good guess for the home of a speaker of Span-ish.

Gruffness was brought on at the mention of puppies and the woman's eyes fixed on the ground. Caspa felt her heart sink; so this was an unwilling mother, and such a thing didn't bode well for anybody concerned. To not feel a sense of duty for the small ones you carried, to care so little for them, that was a serious thing in Caspa's eyes, but she didn't blame Krystalle, she was as much a victim as the pups. Krystalle had said she lived with her friend. Where, then was her mate? Maybe she had lost him, and this was part of the reason for her apathy towards her children. Caspa knew she must tread lightly here, thrown by the stranger's words. "You must care; at least until they are born and can care for themselves. You must ensure you have help in the meantime, too." There was an oddly commanding note in her voice. Caspa did not consider herself an expert in this matter, but she knew what she believed. She wasn't going to bring up the subject of the father, not yet. It could easily be a very raw topic indeed.

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Krystalle Horzana · 04-30-2011, 10:50 PM

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Soooo sorry for the wait.

She laughed as Caspa asked about her origin. Span? What was Span? Krystalle shook her head, covering her muzzle with one white-and-tan colored hand to try and hide her amusement. "No, 'm from Nakzhi. 'r, uh, whassit called? America?" She knew her geography quite well due to maps, but could never remember the names of specific places. America, Canada, Europe. All those were concepts she knew, but couldn't place unless they were displayed before her. She did know, with certainty, that she was not from Span, however. As the smile continued to plaster her face, she watched the sky from between minute openings in the canopy.

Talk of the unborn puppies left her uneasy and quite irate, and though she tried not to take it out on the woman beside her, she found her tone snappish and off-putting. As Caspa spoke, the mutt was surprised to hear the commanding tone that added to her voice. She had to care. She had to. And she needed to make sure she had help. Krystalle scoffed and rolled her eyes. "'ve got help. Kinda. Their dad helps, or he wants to. 's just weird." Both to allow him to help and because they were in the situation to begin with. She loved Mars, oh yes she did, but she had never envisioned herself with a family that included him. Now that it was definite, she wasn't certain she would ever have wanted it to begin with. "Just weird. Makes it hard to wanna do anything."

Caspa Al-Fateh · 05-02-2011, 05:39 PM

OOC: So sorry. All my posts seriously suck at the moment, and I have no idea why XD

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Caspa felt small relief in the fact that at least she had got the other dog to momentarily smile. She wasn't sure she could offer any more help or advice than that. Krystalle said 'their dad' - not 'my mate', Caspa noted - was around and wanted to continue to be. Perhaps the omission of any kind of bond between the two of them - though of course it must exist, there must simply be some reason Krystalle wasn't alluding to it - was the reason she felt things were weird. But Caspa reminded herself, this was a family she knew nothing about, from a pack she'd never visited. She couldn't possibly know what things were like for Krystalle. She wanted to settle her mind though; stress and the general feeling of unease that she seemed to be suffering from was not going to help anybody. She cast her mind about for a distraction, then noticed the little bulge in the hem of her floor-spread coat. The twist of leather, with seeds inside. "Do you like flowers?"

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Krystalle Horzana · 05-12-2011, 05:55 PM

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Sorry for the wait on this. My muse has been way dead.

Her own silence was hard to ignore by the dark female as she gazed at the thick canopy. Thoughts about Mars were not something she was eager to experience. Thoughts of Mars were not something she wanted to dwell on. Thoughts of Mars were simply not something that could stay in the mind of the mutt. She shook her head quickly to clear it, lowering her eyes to the woman beside her. She was different, unique, interesting. She caught the attention of Krystalle for more than a few reasons, the first being that she seemed to be a hybrid with some sort of odd dog. Her flopped ears wiggled as her eyes studied the white woman. And then Caspa asked a question that made Krystalle tilt her head. Did she like flowers? The Horzana frowned, ever so slightly, and gave a small nod. "Don't everyone like flowers?" Anchjo didn't like flowers, but Anchjo hadn't enjoyed much in life. His daughter was different. She loved everything, and took joy in the world as much as she could. There had never been any reason not to. In fact, there had never been any reason for her father to find such things distasteful.

A white-tipped hand rose to rub at one pale pink eye as her gaze dropped back to her lap. Flowers weren't really the most interesting thing to talk about, but she had no other ideas. She sighed. "Never really been around lots of flowers. They didn't grow in the desert, ch'know? Too hot or no water or something stupid." Both or neither, she had been taught that it was their Goddess who allowed the flowers to grow. What bullshit.

Caspa Al-Fateh · 05-18-2011, 01:37 PM

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Most did indeed like flowers. Caspa had a favourite kind: her poppies, the beautiful lilac-petalled tall, dancing beauties. As Krystalle reminded her of her desert life, a life Caspa knew only from stories, she rummaged in a pocket of the coat, and drew out a twist of leather. She unfastened the thin thongs that held it shut and peered inside. The tiny black grains that were seeds smelled intact; they would grow. She used her teeth to tear off a section of the coat's lining and poured some into it. Then she tied the corners together and tossed it to Krystalle. "Plant these somewhere you'll see them often, cover them over with some good loose soil and water them, they'll grow into flowers that should lift your spirits when they next need it." She hoped that explanation would suffice for someone who had perhaps never grown something before. By all accounts, not much grew in a desert.

Thinking of the desert reminded Caspa of her childhood stories and she thought of the hot sandy dunes, mirages, date palms, things she'd never seen, only imagined. She stared up at the leafy canopy, fresh and green from the rain that had moistened the ground. Faraway places, so unlike these, seemed to hide behind the clouds which soared above the branches. "What kind of people live in the desert now?" she asked. All her stories were old, so old, from the time when humans had ruled the earth, or thought they did.

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