why do you build me u[p], buttercup?

Barrett · 05-23-2011, 11:45 PM

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It was nearly dusk by the time Barrett wrapped up business with Savina, although what had transpired could not rightly be classified as such. Despite being tasked with the delivery of two parcels and a note from his mother, the occasion had mimicked a warm reunion far more than a casual drop-off from the post. It was, nevertheless, another item out of maybe a dozen he could cross off of his mental list of things to do. Barrett often took a laissez-faire approach to life; having such a titanic agenda hanging overhead did not suit him well at all.

The overwhelming majority of these duties centred around the greenhouse and garage his family had kept in Halifax, both of which had fallen into disrepair after nearly a year of neglect. He'd already spent the better part of a week there, however, recuperating from his travels and addressing some of the more pressing issues while taking note of everything else that needed mending, weeding, de-clogging, or replanting for later. He would address the second errand his family had assigned him first, meaning a trek to Inferni was in order.

Though getting a head start seemed like a grand idea at the time, Nature apparently disagreed. At high noon the sun's rays scarcely reached the forest floor in Ethereal Eclipse; unsurprisingly, by the time night fell, he found himself immersed in near total darkness. This wouldn't usually present so great a problem, but the grounds were clogged with thick vegetation and he didn't know where to find the major thruways. Between his lithe build and training he was sure-footed enough, but his backpack had snagged on some errant branches in just such a way that he could neither reach behind him to untangle them nor wriggle out. Each attempt was met with a sharp jab in the back.

While he could cut the straps to free himself, he'd grown rather attached to the damn thing since he received it after his first shift. "Brilliant," he huffed, before less-than-gracefully thrashing about. As expected, this accomplished a lot of noisy rustling, the snapping of some minor twigs, and little else.

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Yi TaeKyung · 05-24-2011, 11:31 PM

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Thanks for starting~! I would have replied earlier, but I started my summer courses >uWC:584

Day had permitted but a few rays of liquid gold to leak from the tenebrous limbs of the treetops. These shadowed lands had proved more hospitable than that of the Dampwoods; even in the daylight the black fae was able to travel without harming her photo-sensitive eyes. To the Korean Jindo-wolf, even those few rays of liquid gold burned like shining pillars. It was a mysterious world in which the woman lived, of welcoming darkness and blinding light. The shadows seemed alive, a dense mist where all things were somehow clear. And the light was beautiful, and yet she could not look for long before being blinded by it. Overcast days were to her as the cloudless midday sky to others. And yet, she could never know that world. And so, at dusk and twilight she could marvel at the sparkling ends of day before beginning her tasks in the cover of bittersweet darkness.

The black furred fae had spent the day curled up beneath a knot of vines and roots, sleeping in the cool dark as she regenerated the strength used during the day. Sleeping in the natural, lupine shape was most comfortable for the she-wolf, and it also allowed her to fit in smaller areas. Being slightly smaller than the pure-blooded wolf, the Jindo-wolf hybrid had an advantage in this environment. With her pulled muscle, the marital artist took the time to learn the paths of these tenebrous woods, to weave in and out and become as mobile as possible—an important skill to have should she be required to fight in this environment. Her speed, agility, and balance were tested, especially as she tried to not stress her right leg. And so each day was spent laboring despite her minor injury, and she slept to awaken replenished. Even as the sun began to sink beneath the horizon, the white orbs opened, clear and bright despite their recent awakening. Stretching and yawning, she emerged from her earthy abode like some shadowed creature of mythology, a true creature of the night.

Having shifted to the humanesque shape and eaten a few scraps of a previous night’s hunt, the dark woman began to warm up, stretching and loosening her muscles with care and diligence. And then she was off again into the thick of Ethereal Eclipse, ready for another day of impassioned training. It was the only thing that seemed to burn in those eerie, glowing orbs.

The sound of struggle caught her attention sometime during the night. The black-furred fae paused, black aurals raised above her head like pointed horns. Swiveling, the found the direction, and a voice as well—faint, but not too far. Faint curiosity tickled her, and the foreign hybrid changed her course, moving with but a faint whisper of her passing. What she found was somewhat amusing, but at once she was wary. Male strangers always seemed to be more troublesome than female strangers. Her head cocked slightly, the lunar orbs peering at the male, flickering momentarily at his trapped bag. “Hehl-loh” the alto voice, thick with a Korean accent, announced simply. She wondered how he would react, if he would be hostile or friendly. It didn’t really matter to her—what mattered was that he was a pack wolf, one with which she was not yet familiar. In the silence the dark wolf noticed his frustration, although she had heard in the voice. “Hehl-peu....” A dark hand lifted as she indicated to the pack, poking the air repeatedly.

Barrett · 05-25-2011, 01:40 AM

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Pssh, no worries! Anything fun/interesting for the courses? :o

Barrett considered his options. He could down-shift, maybe, and slip out of the straps as he shrunk... but then he'd be awkwardly dangling there, if only briefly, and he was worried he might dislocate a limb in the process. As fond as he was of the backpack, he'd sooner sacrifice it than one of his own appendages. He could just suck it up deal with whatever wrath the sticks chose to inflict upon his poor back, but that didn't sound particularly fun either. He raised one hand and grasped at one of the thicker overhanging boughs. He tested his weight on it and it seemed to hold. Maybe he could hoist himself up or flip upside down or...

Hello!! He started just slightly, eyes wide and hackles raised, as a shadow addressed him unexpectedly from the darkness. It was a knee-jerk reaction for a creature left vulnerable and exposed, but once his brain had half a second to process what was going on he calmed significantly. His ears fell back and his cheeks flushed hot with embarrassment. "Erm, hey," he offered awkwardly, but then he couldn't help but laugh. The situation was entirely too ridiculous. "That would be great, thank you," he replied graciously with a few friendly tail wags and a sheepish smile. Smooth. So much for first impressions.

His pale yellow eyes sought out her form in the darkness; he couldn't make out anything beyond a ghastly (yet feminine) silhouette. Her accent had been very thick, although it was one he did not recognise. Fortunately, Barrett was used to "listening through" accents. His mother's was as Irish as they came, as were the Alphas' in his birth pack. Another member of their ranks hailed from Australia, while his father and present Consul retained light Italian accents. "So where are you from?" he tried conversationally.

While Barrett was adventurous enough, he always found the extensive journeys others undertook mind boggling. Then again, this female had a cool, confident air about her. He couldn't put his finger on it, but she seemed in her element somehow, despite being so far away from wherever it was she'd been born. "Name's Barrett, by the way," he added at last.

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Yi TaeKyung · 05-29-2011, 08:09 PM

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Sorry about the wait! I’m taking Physics… and it’s taking a lot more of my time than I thought. I hope I won’t make you wait again! >n<
Also, let me know if this makes sense to how Berrett is stuck. ^w^;;
WC: 613

The sudden start that she gave the opposing male caused her to instinctively fall into a fighting stance. Knees bent and fists raised, she was prepared to attack and defend, bouncing slightly to the silent rhythms of battle. Her black plum was raised and slightly bristled, as was the dark hackles of her nape, the white orbs glowing with a calm ferocity. For that brief split-second, excitement leapt in her heart, for she wished often to spar. But even as she had felt that excitement, the black hybrid understood that there was no fight here. The black male had not attacked her but had been startled by her appearance. The foreigner relaxed, her posture relaxing and becoming straight and erect once more. A sort of half amused flicker alighting her mirthless smile. The eyes briefly found the dark earth as she regained her composure. Then those lunar orbs sought the dark male once more.

The black auricles swiveled to catch this soft chuckle, and her foreign features softened imperceptibly. When the male accepted her offer of help (to which she was glad he had understood), the Korean hybrid gave a cut nod. “Oh-keh-I,” the alto voice announced as the hybrid used her index and thumb to form a circle. Gathering herself, she leapt up, grasping one of the branches and pulling herself up with ease and a certain amount of grace. Using the close proximity of each tree to her advantage, the black female placed one foot on the trunk to the male’s left, then the other to the male’s right. As she was suspended in the air, the male spoke to her again. Black ears strained to catch each word, and the hybrid understood that he asked of her origin. As the white orbs assessed the bag’s situation, she replied. “Peu-ruhm Goh-ryeo.” There was a slight pause. “Koh-ree-ah.” Hardly anyone outside her homeland knew that the name ‘Korea’ had come for foreigners’ mispronunciation of ‘Goryeo’ one of the dynasties in the ages where humans reigned over the earth.

The black fae’s strong hands grasped the pack, lifting carefully. The male was heavier than she was by far, as her Jindo blood had created a smaller stature. It would have been a lie to say that she did not struggle. While strong, her speed was the greater attribute in battle, for the combined speed with her strength made for powerful attacks. As she struggled to lift him and the pack, as well as to shake the pack free of the trees’ grasp, she heard his name. “Beh-rleht,” the foreign tongue tested. Almost—the pack was almost freed. She struggled to twist, lift, and turn both the male Berrett and the pack. It was difficult, and as she finally managed to free them both, a curt sound of struggle escaped her graceful throat. Satisfied, she dropped to the earth in near silence, panting slightly from the effort. “TaeKyung,” the Korean hybrid replied, bowing slightly in greeting, as was custom.

TaeKyung felt the strain in her right leg from the time she had pulled the muscle. It was not intense, but she knew that even the slight effort she had used to help this male had cost her a few more days, at least, of healing. The black female shifted her weight to alleviate some of the dull pain. She was still young, she figured, and would still be able to heal quickly. “Behg gooht?” she asked, pointing to Berrett’s pack. “Wah-i no ddoh-roh ah-weh-i?” What was so important about it? A mild, lupine curiosity flickered in the lunar orbs as she quietly sniffed his scent, noting once more the marker of an unknown pack.

Barrett · 05-30-2011, 02:19 PM

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No worries. ^^ If you need any help with the physics stuff feel free to holla and I'll see what I can do. And yeah, I'd been pretty vague about it, but this works. xD

Barrett had proven quite a handful in his childhood and it was fortunate that Maserati was always up for a challenge. She'd done her best to educate the distracted youth--and he had picked up a good number of things as if by osmosis--but he just didn't share her insatiable appetite for knowledge of distant lands or highly theoretical concepts. He'd always been more concerned with the here and now. And at this particular moment, he found himself struggling to recall his geography studies.

"Korea, hmm," he mused, incorrectly assuming "Goryeo" was some sort of town or province in the country. "That's between Australia and Russia, right?" Because that narrowed it down. As he'd known someone from Russia (Rurik) and someone else from Australia (Boomer), he'd expended slightly more effort familiarising himself with these reaches of the globe at one point or another. (It helped those countries were particularly vast and dominated a lot of space on the map, too.) But even if he couldn't pick Korea out specifically, he understood that she had come a long way. "Wow, you must've been travelling most of your life then, huh?" It was a dizzying thought.

Meanwhile, her fluid manoeuvre was equally impressive. He recognised something familiar in that grace, that disciplined determination; it reminded him a lot of both Matrix and Twilight. Their combat training was yet another area in which he'd done emphatically "okay." Barrett was a very different wolf when it came to sparring and other disputes: he became focused and austere, reactive and engaged. To say that these qualities did not translate into daily life was an understatement, where he assumed a more passive, lackadaisical manner. The Thirteens hadn't cut him any slack and it seemed likely his 180 in combat had more to do with not wanting to get his arse handed to him than aspirations of becoming a world class fighter.

Nonetheless, as she struggled to free his ensnared bag he found himself straining to make her job easier. He stood on his tiptoes and briefly considered hoisting himself up using the overhanging bough, but he worried the sudden transition from tension to slack might cause her to lose balance and fall backwards. As he spun slightly, dangling mid-air, he found his mind utterly blank--then all of a sudden, a jolt rustled the leaves above and he fell to the ground, free at last. He stood and regarded the offending vegetation with mock contempt, then turned as TaeKyung introduced herself. Though he wasn't accustomed to bowing as a means of greeting, he found himself mimicking the motion automatically. "TaeKuhng," he tried, but his tongue was fat and sloppy, unable to reproduce the more intricate aspects of the delicate sound.

When she inquired about the bag he disengaged his arms from the straps, opting to hold it by the top now instead. He'd be damned if this happened again. "Yeah, it seems alright," he remarked, still rather embarrassed by the entire situation. At her question he chuckled lightly, supposing it might seem a rather silly thing to keep around (especially when shit like this happened). "My mom gave it to me a long time ago." He undid the zipper and held up the two bundles inside, along with a handful of his personal belongings--a few dice, a pack of playing cards, some other odds and ends. "Makes carrying a bunch of things around a lot easier." A pause. "Usually." Another laugh. "I really appreciate your help, anyway," he added with a few sincere wags of his tail. "Is there some way I can repay you for the trouble?"

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Yi TaeKyung · 06-02-2011, 05:04 PM

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Thank you~! ^w^ And I guess I’ll just be slow in replying.... OnO! My class assigns a lot of homework, which is sad because it’s online and so I’m always tempted to write before I get my homework dones, haha! >~<;;
WC:644

The dark male’s response to the name of her hometown caused the female to paused. The first place he named was not familiar to the Korean hybrid. Ah-soo.... Ah-seu.... The word was long and he had spoken fast—fast for her to be able to catch all the sounds—and the fae could not even repeat it in her mind. Australia was a place that she was familiar with, but it was known by the name 호주, or “Hoh-joo.” But the hybrid did recognize the second location. “Rluss...Rluh-ssi-ah! Ohk-keh-i, ohk-keh-i,” the alto voice replied, nodding her confirmation. “Koh-ree-ah Rluh-ssi-ah nehk-seu to.” With her hands, the foreigner indicated that the countries were nearby. A strange, mirthless smile was tried upon her lips as she attempted to convey her agreement. His next comment caused her to pause again, her ears straining to catch every word and translate them in her mind. “Eung,” she voiced, a mere sound of agreement. “Beh-rlee, beh-rlee lohng tah-eem.” Her homeland seemed quite far away, and while she often longed to go back, the regret of leaving had not yet taken effect within the martial artist. The black-furred fae at this point was pretty proud of her interaction with the male. Despite her inability to speak well, she felt that she had done well in getting her point across. Perhaps living here wouldn’t be so hard despite the struggle with communication that she would have to deal with. Of course, this sense of accomplishment would be short-lived, as her interaction thus far was quite simple.

Having released the trapped male, Berrett, and his pack, the Korean hybrid shook herself, causing the dirt and debris from the trees to fall from her fur. A soft sound of amusement escaped TaeKyung’s throat, although whether mirth was present was not made clear in that strange and hollow laughter. “Cohll T.K.,” the alto voice suggested as her hand patted her chest, indicating to herself. “T.K.” For those who did not speak Korean (and she assumed that all within ‘Souls did not speak Korean), pronouncing the words were difficult. Sometimes she did not know why—a lot of the sounds were similar. But then again, she must sound equally silly when pronouncing English words.

“아, 엄마가?” She spoke mostly to herself. The bag was special, she decided—a token from his mother. She herself had not brought any possessions, although she often wished that she had. It was fun to practice taekwondo with her uniform and belt, or even to dress up on holidays in the hanbok—traditional wear. Even some jewelry or keepsakes from her childhood. But nothing had been taken for the journey. TaeKyung decided that she must have left in a rush.... But, at the same time, none of the things she had left behind had been that precious. She could live without them—she was doing so now. Her heart didn’t need them (she claimed). Ascending from the deep of her thoughts, she curiously peered inside the bag, glad that he had decided to reveal the contents. They were things that were both familiar and foreign, and she quietly sniffed at them, as if to gather some extra information.

At Berrett’s thanks, the martial artist straightened to attention, before bowing curtly again. “Noh teu-reh-beul,” the alto voice insisted. Although she thought, the lunar orbs turning to the dark ceiling of the dark woods. “TaeKyung huhng-geu-ree,” the alto voice announced suddenly, a graceful paw rubbing her stomach. She had been hunting (and training) before she had been distracted by this friendly brute. “Poo-deu?” the black fae asked, pointing to his pack, the dark crania tilting slightly as the ears pricked foreward. Perhaps there was a small snack he could share with her. If not, there was always another request she could make—one that was perhaps what she really wanted from this wolf, Berrett.

Barrett · 06-04-2011, 04:03 AM

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Haha, a few days is hardly slow, and all of my threads have been keeping me busy anyway ^_^ Also, I hope I'm explaining his inability to articulate Korean sounds properly... some of the Vietnamese girls at work tried to teach me a few words, and even when I thought I was close they kept laughing at me so I can only assume there's some subtle nuance I'm completely missing XD Also, TK is friggin' adorable!! -Just wants to squeeze her, even if she'd probably get her face ripped off in the process- <_<

It seemed at least a few things were bound to sink into that thick skull of his eventually, no matter how negligent he'd been in his studies. He nodded as she explained Korea's proximity to Russia in gestures and broken English. If he was proud for having been right, it didn't show on the surface, but he did seem rather pleased and content in general. Barrett was enjoying this conversation, choppy and irregular as it was. Perhaps he was simply biased because she had freed him from the clutches of those nasty sticks, maybe it was because every idea they effectively conveyed to one another felt like a small victory, or possibly he just had an affinity for those who exuded cool, confident energy--quite conceivably, it was a mixture of all three and more.

He quite graciously accepted the simplified, abbreviated version of her name--T.K. he could handle. He felt sort of stupid for slaughtering it so severely, but he supposed these things could not be helped. Something about the oriental languages seemed to utilise a part of his tongue or throat that English did not, though it could have been that his ears and brain simply weren't sensitive enough to the subtle changes in inflection, too. Maybe he was putting the emPHAsis on the wrong syLLAble? No matter now: "T.K. it is! And you can call me Barry," he offered in turn, although he didn't know if it this would necessarily be easier for her or not.

The ebony Korean seemed to accept his explanation for keeping the bag handy. Really, he didn't know anybody who would argue against a keepsake from his mother, even if all the items he kept inside were impersonal and inconsequential. But hey--on the off chance he found another gambler someday, he would be glad to have a complete deck and the dice available. The mocha adolescent usually kept his stash in one of the inner pockets of the pack, too; even now the sticky-sweet odour lingered, even though these goods had been left behind at the garage. After he wrapped up business with the two pack leaders--Savina being down and "Gabriel" yet to go--he'd shoot back down to Halifax to resupply.

At her prompting his ears slicked back apologetically and he shook his head. If he had even one bite he would have given it to her in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, of all the things nestled away inside, food was not one of them. "I don't have any, sorry," he admittedly quietly. "We could hunt, though, if you'd like?" He would have to find somewhere to secure his belongings--he doubted he could hunt effectively two-legged in the thick undergrowth, and the bag had proven to be a great imposition just walking--but it wouldn't be any inconvenience and his tone seemed to convey as much. As a young male, food was always a good idea; as a wolf, working as a team was much better than trying to catch something substantial alone.

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Yi TaeKyung · 06-14-2011, 04:45 PM

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Yes, your explaining that fine! Korean is a lot more restrictive in the sounds that are available than Chinese, so I’m trying to write her English phonetically... haha~ And thank you~! OuO~
WC: 515

The black female almost commented that the male’s nickname, “Barry,” was not shorter at all. But then, when she thought about it, her nickname, T.K., was not any shorter than TaeKyung. It was an interesting thought, but one upon which the woman did not linger. “Beh-rlee,” the alto song repeated, a bit slowly. She nodded, content. While there were the same number of syllables, the pronunciation was easier for Korean because of the absence of 받침, or a final consonant. Yet, due to the limited sounds of the Korean language, the hybrid’s pronunciation of “Barry” was the same as her pronunciation of “very”. This did not occur the Korean, however, since the associations of the words were completely different. T.K. only knew that the supposed nickname of the male was much simpler to pronounce, and that she would continue to utilize the nickname from now on, which she finalized aloud with a simple, “Ohk-keh-i!”

It would be a lie if the black fae had said that she was not disappointed. The quiet growl of her stomach and the slightly lowering of her pricked-forward ears was displayed—and yet the cold fire that seemed to keep those lunar eyes alight did not fade. Her jaws parted slightly in the brief silence that followed his apology; since there was no food for her, perhaps he would be willing to repay her in a different manner. Her soul longed to spar. Her legs desired the satisfaction of the impact upon another body, to feel the thrill and adrenalin rush of battle. But the male’s voice cut her thoughts short with the offer of a hunt. Grudgingly, she set her thoughts aside—perhaps for the best. She was, after all, still recovering from a pulled muscle. (And, although she did not think of it then, perhaps it was better to make a friend in a strange land.) “Huhn-teu,” the alto voice repeated again, the Korean accent as thick as ever. “Ohk-keh-i, ohk-keh-i.” The agreement came readily, spurred on by the hunger that bit at her gut. It was not impatience that seemed to move her, but urgency. Unprotected by a pack, the Korean fae was still faced with the urgency of survival.

Promptly, she shifted down, taking time to do so, forcing the tall, humanesque shape to become the natural wolf, a transformation that was still quite amazing to the Korean. Although she had been born with that ability, the fact that no other animal had the ability struck her with every shift.

“Yoo knoh-oo goot whehr?” The black wolf’s crania tilted slightly, the strikingly white orbs peering with a quiet contemplation to the male, Barry. Hunting with another would definitely be easier. It would also be an experience that she had only experienced once before she had left her homelands. Not many in those superstitious lands would hunt with a shadow-creature that was raised without a father. It was not something that made her bitter, for she was quite familiar with her own culture. But it was something that had caused her to become untied to her lands.

Barrett · 06-18-2011, 08:16 PM

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Where to go. Now there was a conundrum. His eyes glazed over and for a moment, he stared at her blankly. “Uh..” he started uncertainly, before glancing to the trees as if they might voice an answer. Unfortunately, the only sounds to be heard were those of the night-time creatures stirring—and they wouldn't do the dark duo much good. Possums and raccoons were only marginally substantial for one wolf, much less two; it would be a waste of resources to pursue anything so small. Furthermore—although he wasn't very picky—the former was hardly his favourite and, thanks to Gale and Maserati's keeping the latter as pets, he wasn't too keen on raccoon meat, either.

“We'll just have to wing it, I guess,” he relented, sounding somewhat perplexed. For how much she'd helped him out of his jam earlier, he was starting to feel as useful as a bump on a log when it came to returning the favour. Still, there was nothing he could do: his first pass through Nova Scotia had been nearly a year ago, it had been very brief, and he'd only returned to this neck of the woods this past day. He was oblivious to the prime hunting spots (especially outside of Crimson Dreams). Hell, he wasn't even aware of any major footpaths through this region—that unfamiliarity was what had inevitably doomed him to his little predicament before.

He shrugged, however, and made some dismissive, optimistic sound. He wasn't too concerned; they still had their noses and instincts to guide them. Barrett turned away to disrobe as the she-wolf began to down-shift, haphazardly bunching his pants and hat into a wad and stuffing them inside his pack. He peered around, shouldered his way through the undergrowth into something of a clearing, and secured the bag several feet off the ground amongst the branches of a lone pine. Surrounded by a patch of deciduous trees, he supposed it would be easy enough to relocate later—just to be sure, he scent marked the base of the tree once he was done shifting.

Once everything was squared away, he moved back to rejoin TaeKyung. He nodded and offered an amicable swing of his tail as if to say 'ready when you are,' but he said nothing. Something subtle had changed in Barrett—he gaze was sharper, more predatory; he was more attentive, alert. His silent footfalls were a far cry from his gross flailing only minutes before; the youth had completely changed gears. A breeze picked up and he sniffed quietly at the air, then looked knowingly to his companion. She would have smelt them, too. The herd couldn't be more than a mile away.

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Yi TaeKyung · 06-24-2011, 08:44 AM

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I’m sorry about the wait! I love that he marked the tree by the way! OuO
WC: 502

The onyx female watched with a mild curiosity stirring in her eyes, although she mostly tried to keep her eyes averted. Although she had changed often since her first shift, she had seen very few others in the act of shifting itself. Having left her homeland once she had received a fair amount of daily training, she had focused more upon that physical study than socializing. She supposed that not much had changed since then. Once his form became ambiguous, the white orbs returned to the darkness of the woods, contemplating the cool, hollow shadows that sighed to her. She sighed in return. When she had left her homeland, TaeKyung had stolen a compilation of all poomsae and techniques. She had read that book as she traveled from boat to boat, but once, in a great storm, the ocean had swallowed that most valuable resource. In a sense, her training would always be incomplete until she returned to her homeland. Then again, there was much room for personal evolving.

A strong scent brought her back to the woods about her. Black auricles pricked forward as the eyes followed the visually indiscernible scent trail. The male, Barry, had marked his belongings. The scent, however, was most curious to her, as such things told wolves a great deal of information about one another. Even when Barry approached, telling her that he was ready now to depart for the hunt, she strode beyond him, lowering her maw to get a good, strong whiff. She sniffed for several long moments, storing the information in the back of her mind, before she was satisfied. Turning the lunar orbs briefly to the dark male, the dark plume waved once in response. Silent paws carried her into the hollow shadows, her pace slow at first, a beckoning to her hunting partner. Neither wolves were ranked against one another, and thus she did not feel the need to enforce any dominance or submissions. She did not lead and simply searched, and the Korean hybrid trusted the male to do the same. TaeKyung’s pace quickened and she seemed to glide in the darkness with silence. Although she traveled quickly, she was slow enough to catch the many scents carried upon the cool, night air.

She came to slow crawl, her strong maw pointed to the winds. Her tail flickered quietly as she took a side-long glance at Barry. There was a faint smell of deer—perhaps a heard was nearby. For a moment, paused her movement, turning slowly as she analyzed each direction. TaeKyung thought that she found where the trail grew stronger, but she was not sure. Perhaps this scent was even an older one. The smell of the woods was still unfamiliar to her, and their affect upon the scents was unknown to the wolf. The lunar orbs turned toward the male. Initially, her strangely empty features revealed nothing of her emotion. Then her head tilted slightly, asking his opinion. Should that follow this trail, or search for another?

Barrett · 06-29-2011, 01:12 AM

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xD -Loves that she was all up in it- Makes you wonder why none of our characters ever sniff each other's butts when they first meet, rofl. Sorry this post is made of fail X: Also, feel free to poke me if you want any of the PP changed... and feel free to PP Barrett in your next post, too ^^

Barrett kept pace with the raven Korean as she wound through the yawning woods. Most often he moved alongside her, though the actual distance between them fluctuated as they zigzagged back and forth to cover more ground. Wherever the vegetation grew too thick to pass two abreast, he fell in line behind her. It didn't matter that their hunt was on neutral territory or that she was younger; the wolf was passive by nature and rarely felt the need to assert himself. The dark hybrid seemed to have everything under control, and he always responded well to that severe, competent energy. (She wasn't the one who had gotten stuck in a tree, either—perhaps it was best she lead.)

The youth halted in his tracks as she did before him. His ears twisted like satellite dishes in search of some alien signal; his nose wriggled furiously. They were definitely onto something. The boy lowered his snout to the earth and tiptoed quietly about the surrounding area, searching for any tell-tale signs that TaeKyung's trail might be misleading them—but he found none. He nodded in silent confirmation and the dusky duo set off once more, their steps hastening (yet ever soundless) as the trail grew hotter still.

Crack. The soft snap of a twig caused him to pause, crouch low to the earth, and hold his breath all at once. The boy exhaled slowly, then inhaled just as deep. He listened. The herd—or at least several of its members—were on the other side of a thicket. His pale yellow eyes sought out his companion; though no words were spoken, their understanding was mutual and instantaneous. The pair veered off then, with him heading left and her to the right.

He slithered quietly along the perimeter and stopped once the underbrush cleared enough to get a visual. Artemis the huntress smiled upon them tonight. Three stragglers—two does and a fawn. He didn't know where the rest of the herd was, but it didn't matter. Barrett looked for the glimmer of those strange, all-white eyes in the pale moonlight and breathlessly awaited his partner's cue. He would charge when she was ready, or—if she chose to drive the animals towards him, he would lay in wait. As with the rest of their quest, he would defer to her judgement on which particular animal to target, when, and how.

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Yi TaeKyung · 07-05-2011, 10:48 AM

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Fade to black here? (I hope the PP is okay!) I’ll PM you when I start our new thread ^w^
WC: 572

Just as the dark male had heard the soft snap of wood in the nighttime silence, so had the obsidian fae. Her movements ceased as she became a part of the thick darkness of the woods. Black auricles pressed forward as her nose twitched, the air drawn in to analyze the scents. White orbs briefly turned toward her hunting partner, their lunar glow fierce and yet quiet. The scent of deer had flooded her senses, igniting both instinct and hunger. A pink tongue flickered out to wet her black lips in anticipation. Graceful paws carried the dark-furred foreigner further down the path, each step placed carefully in silence. Her movements were slow now, each step deliberate. The sinew beneath her shorter, dense coat gathered for precision, quivering with an eagerness that only a hunter could know. Those strange eyes caught sight of the stragglers, and she paused. Two does and a fawn. The fawn would no doubt be easiest to catch. But, although she was hungry, she was not starving, and she wanted bigger game. Of the does, one was older, but age had not yet progressed enough to allow for weakness. Instead, the older doe would have more experience. Thus, the black Jindo-wolf chose to pursue the younger of the does. Another brief glance was spared to the male, her strong maw thrusting once to indicate her choice. With a flick of her plume, the female was stationary no more.

Like the shadows of the imagination, the tenebrous fae darted forth, her lithe, sinewy form covered by the shade of the night. She was quick, and she hoped that her partner was quick as well. Unused to the act of partner hunting, and perhaps too accustom to hunting alone, the black fae neglected to give any sort of signals to the male with whom she shared the hunt. TaeKyung moved as she fought, alone and swiftly, giving no hint of her next attack. The Jindo-wolf closed the distance between the startled deer and herself, allowing only the two unchosen to scatter to unknown destinations. The white, lunar orbs were focused only upon her prey. She sprung when the moment was right, snapping at the doe’s hind heels. The doe turned in panic, falling unintentionally but perfectly into Barret. But TaeKyung was a proud wolf, and the hunter and hunger within her did not allow her male partner to take the kill. The smaller hybrid turned sharply on her paws, using the ground as her support and for power. She leapt forth as the doe was turning, and the hybrid was able to catch the deer on the side of her throat. It wasn’t quite the killing stroke, but the obsidian female’s slight miscalculation had allowed room for Barret’s jaws to seek purchase in the proper place.

Thick, sanguine life blood filled her hungering jaws, flooding her senses and her hunger. A snarl of lupine delight clawed from her throat as the deadly jaws released their prey. Impatient, the Korean female did not wait for death to take hold. Deftly, she ripped open the flank, hide and muscle peeling apart easily in her strong jaws. The doe did not feel the pain, as prey animal had merciful mechanisms, and continued to die within the male wolf’s jaws. As movement finally ceased and life blood ceased to pulse, the black female was able to finally eat, to replenish the energies of her body.

Barrett · 07-05-2011, 10:31 PM

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<3! I like these two~~ Thanks again for starting the next thread, I'll try to get to it within the next few days ^^ Short post is short, but hey, the end XD Feel free to have this archived once you've read it :3

Under the cover of darkness with surprise as their ally, they managed an efficient kill. He understood her choice in victim, and his responses came quick. More than his father's bulk, he'd inherited his mother's speed and agility. Perhaps he could not rival the petite, carefully practised wolfdog, but he was swift in his own right. Like a perfectly choreographed dance, they acted as one and claimed their prize in the end. Signals didn't matter; instinct did.

Only when the doe's struggles stopped did he surrender his hold. TaeKyung was already enthusiastically digging into its flank, and he found his place alongside her, then tore into its stomach. The organs spilled out and he fervently sought out the liver, taking his half but leaving the rest to her. They had done this together, and together they would share the spoils. Only later in the night would they part ways, he to return to his belongings and press on to Inferni, her to what he could only imagine.

Though he had so many other things to think about, he hoped to see her again.

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