the smell of wine and cheap perfume
#1
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Thread Information
Date: 10 July

Setting: Hades Beach

Time: Late afternoon/Early evening

Character Form:Optime
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+3

mall-caps;text-variantConfusedmall-caps;">IT'S ONLY cript;">FOREVER, NOT LONG AT ALL

She could feel the end coming to a tentative and worrying situation — the days grew longer as summer came full force and with those longer hours came the reality that she could again suffer as she had in the past. Dead offspring was harrowing. More dead offspring would be devastating. What was she if she couldn't offer longevity to her father's line? It was already common knowledge to the coyotes of Inferni that the Aquila's overbearing sister, the de le Poer princess, had no useful skills. She was an artist, a dreamer — and these facts left the woman cold as the time of judgement came ever more near. What would happen if she proved unable to preform even the simple task of producing living children?

Her hands clenched around the bones of some small animal, picked clean of tissue as many had been over the weeks while the coyote Siren fed a hunger that was not unfamiliar. Unable to hunt more sustaining game for herself, she'd been reduced to simple creatures or those already dead, and the small bones of the small creatures littered the floor of her den — she'd taken to staying away from it during the day, to avoid the unpleasant sight of her feasting. Art had become her entire focus. She spent hours in the meadow, picking the colorful flowers and crafting crowns of petals and leaves that were tossed away into the waters of the Inlet when she returned to her den at night.

That was the task she underwent at the moment, crimson eyes staring into the brackish water while the crowns of brightly coloured blossoms floated at the surface. Something about the task was freeing, offering her comfort. They were free enough, able to leave the lands her father had built — she was jealous of their ability to just go, and a frown formed on her features as she watched the current take them away.


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#2
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:O WC: 445


She'd found it on the beach the day before as she'd wandered the deserted, unattractive shoreline; something so pretty, intricate, and delicate in this land of ash had certainly caught her eye. She hadn't known whose hand had made the crown of flowers, but she wore it proudly nonetheless.Thin mocha fingers reached up to gently touch the decoration atop her head; it's petals were wilted and browning now, but no less treasured. Her two-legged gait fairy-like as she cautiously stepped over the rocks, aimed for the slightly softer sands of the beach.


As the wind died down, finally letting her dark tangles fall from about her face, her nose twitched with a familiar scent. The only person she knew to count on being at the beach with any frequency: Talitha. Suddenly, she stopped, unsure. Still out of sight, Sage wondered if perhaps she should just turn and go. And yet, she still loved her cousin and truly wanted her friendship restored. Large ears fell against her skull in worry, but she pressed forward.


Formerly her companion as Optio, Talitha had stepped down; now, she the lower rank of Imaginifer. Sage wondered weakly if her pretty cousin had abandoned the throne because of her. Unsure, she shook off the thought as those familiar red curls came into her line of sight. She stood there simply, gently tossing those beautiful crowns into the water. The dark water was littered with them, some already having floated meters and meters away.


The petite girl approached softly, quietly, hesitant. Even still she nearly wanted to turn and leave, but she couldn't. She just hoped that her cousin's mood was not so sour on this day. After all, they'd been friends once; how hard could it be to find that again?

Clearing her throat, she sidled up beside he cousin, still staying a few feet away. Large golden eyes focused on the petals on the water's surface, transfixed by them as they danced on the liquid so easily. Hey, she muttered softly, removing the wilted crown from her head and holding it delicately in her hands. I found one, yesterday. She extended her arms to show it; less impressive now than it was, Sage still recognized the passion woven into the fragile creation. They're just beautiful, Talitha, she complimented honestly as she examined each, her voice still soft and tentative. Talitha's works of art had always been some of Sage's favorite; the simple woven circlet had been so attractive, it had immediately caught the earthen Lykoi's attention. Sadly, it was already less than it had been just hours prior, and she regarded it with a sad, small frown.


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#3
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+3

mall-caps;text-variantConfusedmall-caps;">IT'S ONLY cript;">FOREVER, NOT LONG AT ALL

Her solitude was disrupted by the presence of the sandy, strange Lykoi Optio who cleared her throat as she came near. Talitha didn't turn to look — the smell was enough to identify Sage, and there was no reason to look at her so quickly. She stayed silent, even as her cousin spoke. A greeting, a mention of the Imaginifer's new hobby, how beautiful they were. The russet woman scoffed and hurled a final crown into the water gracelessly. "Their beauty is ephemeral, Sage." It faded so quickly, a mask to cover the true ugly of a dying flower. She didn't appreciate nature in the same way that others seemed to, not as her uncle had even in the dead Moaning Woods, not as Sage did.

A sigh twisted out from between black-lined jaws, expressive eyes closing to the world. "Lots of things are ephemeral." So many things had come to be seen as short-lived to the princess, primarily the emotional world that she was so attuned to. Anger, outrage, hatred — those things were short, brief, unnecessary but still present in the heart of the de le Poer. Of course, they lasted longer than the childish notion of affection. It was with this set in her mind that she turned to Sage, arms resting atop her hips as she gazed at the younger woman with burning, criticizing eyes. It wasn't that Sage had been under her scrutiny, but simply that she wondered why Sage remained. Did she really believe that Inferni could be saved, that it needed to be saved? She tried to remember Ezekiel's words, that he had a plan for Sage, but it didn't come to mind as easily as it should have.

She shook her head and turned her gaze back to the water. "Thank you." After all her talk of ephemeral beauty, of ephemeral life, she offered thanks to the compliment that had been given to her. Though she might not have agreed with what she considered an asinine idea that something dying could be beautiful, she appreciated hearing that someone appreciated her lack of skill.


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#4
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If I need to change this lemme know. Not quite sure how pregnant she is here. Tongue Wow, a beefy post for you! <3 WC: 512


Talitha tossed more of the flower-crowns into the water with a derisive sneer, and remarked about their frail, short lives. Sage inhaled, keeping her composure as sad eyes watched her cousin's anger seep out into the world, leaving an obvious trail. It was clear that her red-headed kin was troubled; of course, this was a frequent discovery of the more sensitive Lykoi woman. Retrieving a joint from her lips, she turned her sights from Talitha back tot he water; at least it was not so agitated.


Sage had chosen not to speak, having realized that perhaps that was not always the best way to get across to the touchy Imaginifer. Golden pupils peered out of the corners of their sockets through lazy lids, drifting quickly back to the sea before Talitha's gaze caught them. The earth-hued coyote brought the joint to her lips swiftly, one laced under her small breasts as the other perched on top of it (strange postures were often most comfortable for her).


Lazy honey eyes swept over the filled out frame of her cousin; Sage had known about the pregnancy, but now it was really showing. The girl had tried hard to ignore the signs, unsure of Talitha's own feelings on it, and afraid to exacerbate the distance between them with such talk. The Optio was truthfully ecstatic at the prospect of puppies in her home, but tried to keep her emotions close, for fear that her hopes may be crushed when the time came. Sage knew her cousin's habits were not the best, but held her tongue; it was not her place, really, after all.


Suddenly, her cousin had finished her task and now turned her attention to the Optio with a judgmental, dangerous gaze, her arms crossed and posture dominant as ever. The intensity managed to intimidate the flaxen Lykoi, and although she did not break eye contact, her posture straightened, and her head rose. What was she doing?


After a long moment of silence, the auburn-haired de le Poer offered a simple word of thanks. The tension in Sage's body released as Talitha turned away from her, both of the girls now facing towards the sea once more. Exhaling a large cloud of smoke, the Optio then took her turn to speak.


"Everything dies, Talitha," she began gently, taking another hit from the joint. "You certainly know that. But," she muttered, her voice soft with concern, breathing another plume into the seabreeze with an unclear gesture of her hand, "life goes on, love. They are never really completely gone,of course; they still exist in our memories, in our monuments and our stories. Even, too--" a nod to Talitha's belly "--in the faces of children." Sage took a deep breath, assessing her cousin's reaction before finishing. "I don't think we need to repeat past mistakes to honor the memories of the deceased. Do you?"


The Optio's gaze flickered to and from Talitha, unsure of how she would take her attempt at gentle redirection. From past experience, Sage knew to brace herself.


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#5
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+3

mall-caps;text-variantConfusedmall-caps;">IT'S ONLY cript;">FOREVER, NOT LONG AT ALL

Everything dies. It was a lesson well known by the Imaginifer, but one she often forgot as the days bled together and left her alone. Death surrounded her. Death overcame her. And one day, she would succumb to death just as others had, just as Caillen had and just as her family would. Sage's words stuck to her and were absorbed like any piece of information was, with care and vague wonder and then disgust. She spoke of the dead and how they were not truly gone — this was something Talitha firmly believed, for most at least — and existed in many places: memories, monuments, stories, children. Children. The russet coyote grimaced, pressing one slender finger to her temple out of both frustration and concern.

"I have no past mistakes, Sage." That certainly wasn't true, but she saw no reason to think upon the past, either negatively or positively. The mistakes she'd made had been absolved, forgiven by...most. Her vagabond lover had yet to be forgiven by her brother, but she was certain it would come with time, as everything did between the Aquila and his sister. Of course, it was still possible that it would be delayed. "My children can't have the face of the dead — they won't have a place here if they do, and I'll simply have failed him again, having to send them away." She wouldn't force the face of the wolfdog onto her brother's clan. It was an easy thing to think, an easy thing to say — what she expected mothers felt in the way of their children was absent in the heart of the de le Poer. She was not excited. She had no love for what could be. They were simply an extension of her father's line, of Ahren's line, of the line of wolves that she knew so little about. She was merely a vessel to destroy the wolf from the tainted line.

These were things she didn't express to her cousin, and things she didn't expect Sage to understand with her strange mind that came from an equally strange father. A sigh released from her jaws, red eyes closing to the world. "I don't understand why you don't leave, Sage; even you must realize you're not the same as we are. I am like my father and you are like yours, and yours didn't belong here either." Razekiel, however, had the sense to leave — a luxury Talitha felt she didn't have, bound to Inferni by more than just her blood.


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#6
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Ugh, this post sucks. I am bad at dialogue, wah. :< Next one will be better. >< 300+


Sage listened to Talitha's words in silence, amber eyes fixed on the waves in somber thought. Would she really send away her own children for their looks? The Optio narrowed black-lined eyes at this idea, frowning as she blew out a puff of smoke. She shook her head softly; a good mother wouldn't exile her own child because of their eyes, or their fur, or their shape. The tan girl chose not to respond to these words, letting her quiet gesture be an vague statement of it's own. She wanted Talitha to know that she would not be a failure if her children were not "perfect", but the concern was locked at the back of her throat with her cousin's next words.


Slowly, her ears fell back against her head, and she looked down, away. She had known that Talitha was convinced that Sage had no true place in Inferni; Halo and a few others held the same opinion. It hadn't bothered her, at first, but eventually, the blatant avoidance, angry stares, and general poor attitude had worn away at her. Maybe she really should leave; life with Daddy did sound so much more nice. But didn't she still have a job to do here? "Part of my heart is here;" she admitted, her voice soft and nearly sad, "it's not that easy." The idea of just packing up and leaving left her feeling heartbroken. Sage was tied to Inferni, no doubt, but it was a hard place for her to flourish. "Anyways, I belong here just as much as you do; you just think I don't because we believe different things," she said firmly, almost child-like, bringing the smoldering stick to her mouth again and sucking. "But that isn't fair, Talitha..." she finished, trailing off as cloudy wisps of smoke accompanied her words.



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#7
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mall-caps;text-variantConfusedmall-caps;">IT'S ONLY cript;">FOREVER, NOT LONG AT ALL

She couldn't force the face of the Winters' man onto her brother, who had killed him so readily. It would be easy to give the child away, to give him to his family, to send him back to the dogs when he wouldn't belong in her world. It was dangerous for him to stay. It was dangerous. It was dangerous for so many. But she couldn't explain that to Sage — they were different morally, and what was seen as mercy by Talitha might have been seen as cruel by the odd, hippy child.

That was what the problem was. She gazed out over the waters that lapped the rocky, sandy shore and accepted all the words her cousin said without complaint. There was no reason to complain, there was no justification. Simple differences did not make the world bad. Sage's presence did not make the world bad. Talitha wondered, however, how fair it was for Sage to stay when things were obviously different than her less closed mind. She claimed belonging, that Talitha felt she did not belong simply because they were different, that it wasn't fair. "We believe different things because you don't belong, Sage. Have you looked around yourself? Do you see how those with power act? Halo, Ezekiel, Gabriel...Hybrid. Cotl. Me. Our beliefs follow the same paths. Even my brother, who grew up differently than I did, follows a similar path. And you are so, so different from the rest of us." Sage was kind, empathetic, considerate. Friendly. So strange on the face of Inferni, though she understood Ezekiel's reasoning for keeping her there, for keeping her in a place of power. It made Inferni look good.

But was it fair to Sage?

"It's easy to go. I've done it before, many times. But the more you stay, Sage, and the more you let this place kill you inside, the harder it will get until you are just like me or just like Halo and the rest of the world will have no desire to see you. You speak change, but change won't happen. I hate to think you'll finally break." Talitha loved Inferni, but Hell had many faces and none were so obvious as the skull-lined world of the coyotes that she clung to in desperation.


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