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----There was another flashback, but this one... well, this one didn't seem
too pleasant. He had found his way near a territory and the flashback had
been strong, more than the others. He could make out facial features this
time but none of them made sense to him. He was in a den on a shore, much
like the one he was standing on, but it seemed absurd that there was any
relevance to this, even if the flashbacks were more frequent and detailed.
Perhaps things were piecing together. Maybe Abel was finally able to figure
out who he was and were he came from. Waking up some weeks ago without a
soul around and no name to memory wasn't all that pleasing. He grunted as he
stood on two legs, just staring. The memory was gone now and he just thought
about it now, trying to replay it in his mind to find some meaning of what
had been erased. |
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[html] The scent drew him as he made his route, four feet pulsing against the sand. It was vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t recall the name without a face. Soon though, he found this—a man standing at the borders, staring ahead. His face gave him a name; this was the fellow who had been in charge the day he had turned and walked away from the clan. Segodi Mogotsi. He didn’t even know if he was Faolin’s true father or not. He was Vienna’s though; ironic, she should leave and one of the people she was looking for return. “Can I help you?” He asked, coming to a halt. [/html]
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----Abel thought that maybe he would just make a life of wandering, but when the flashbacks had grown... stronger, he had to follow them. Today, though, they seemed to be crawling up his back and pulsing through his mind. Though, there was something else. Since waking up from his... "birth" he tended to call it, he had met few others. He felt the presence behind him and was quickly followed by with words. "Can I help you?" was all it took for the older coyote to turn around. He blinked and then just stared. Nothing. Again. He was unable to make an evaluation about this canine much like everyone else. "No," he said, looking back at the ocean. "Nothing I can think of," he added, realizing that his thoughts were limited to observations these days.
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[html] Gabriel frowned. This was not Segodi as he knew him—something had changed, this he could tell without a doubt. “Why did you come back here?” Not for his children, who were long gone. Not for Kidorah, who was long gone. Inferni was no longer his to control; the Lykoi’s had taken it and would hold it from here on out. Distantly, he heard his own warning to Hybrid, and wondered if perhaps that was the true motive for this visit. [/html]
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----"Come... back?" he repeated, tilting his head at the canine. Abel didn't know where he was, other than on some coast that was honestly making no difference to him. He leaned a little, rolling back on the balls of his heels as he tried to piece it together. His hazel eyes shifted, looking to his right to see nothing but sand. Nope. Nothing. Shaking his head, he lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck. "I haven't been anywhere to come back to," he said, his voice smooth as he dropped his hand.
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[html] A faint twitch threatened to break across his muzzle and bare his fangs. He did not know if the male was being uncouth with his pretense, or if perhaps he himself had just gone mad. He doubted the second option. Whatever else he was, Gabriel was not mad. Not anymore. “I don’t appreciate whatever game you’re playing,” he said coldly, “So unless you can give me a reason for being here I’d suggest you leave.” [/html]
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----The coyote could do nothing but stare. What did this one think he was doing? It wasn't enough that Abel didn't know anything but someone was going to mess with him. "I'm not playing any game!" he said with emphasis. There was something in him that he was now feeling for the first time in this state of mind. It wasn't anger or annoyance, but it was something of reaching the possibility. Sure, he had been frustrated but it was never anything to really bother him. He ultimately went with the flow but Abel was beginning to think this canine was insane. "I just followed them," he said, temporarily unable to explain.
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[html] A low growl rumbled in Gabriel’s throat, a quiet warning. He was not reassured by the signs of hysteria he saw. He did not show any other outside signs of discomfort—indeed, he looked calm, detached. In reality, he found himself waiting for a signal to strike. The paranoia was just starting to sink in. “Followed who? No one has been here in weeks,” he said firmly, yellow-gold eyes locked on the male’s face. [/html]
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----"Them. Them!" he said, confused. He had lost the word. He had lost everything. "Memories," he said, finally. "At least... what I think is memories. Or stories. Something. Maybe I made them up," he started to explain. He tried to make sense of it in his own mind but wasn't coming along well with that one. The other was intent on getting this information out like he knew him. but he imagined that a lot of coyotes looked the same. "I see other coyotes in my head. Coyotes I don't remember or have ever met since I... I don't know," he said. Abel was beginning to feel vulnerable. Most of the time he didn't let others know that he was confused, except for the wolf that had found him and given him a new name. No, this was different. This was being pulled out of him by some other force.
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[html] He watched the trail of thought begin to unravel, and begin to fray and break. Through this he regarded the stranger with curious intensity, as if he was viewing an alien. In many ways, he was. “Are you insane?” Gabriel demanded suddenly, loudly, ears up and eyes bright. Something was wrong. A sudden feeling of dread sunk into his stomach, the same way it had the first time he had looked at Laruku and been told of his madness. This felt like that, except different. Still, it put him on edge. “What the hell happened to you?” [/html]
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----"No," Abel said flatly. "No..." he whispered and looked down at his fur covered hands. "Am I?" he asked, now questioning himself. He never really considered the idea of insanity to be his problem. He never lashed out or did anything crazy, he just... didn't know. He kept looked at his hands while given the next question and he was unable to answer. He didn't know what to do. He hadn't had this much conflict since he awoke and wasn't prepared for it. His emotions were not practiced and he didn't know what to feel. "One day I just... woke up," he said, telling this other what had happened. One day, the coyote woke up and: "there was nothing."
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[html] It was the doubt that set Gabriel on edge. Along his spine a row of fur began to stand on edge, driven by the mechanical reaction to the response. He’s mad. Instant parallels were drawn in that moment to the man he had sworn to kill. It was a terrible thing to do, but he had been doing it for years. White wolves. Half-mad coyotes. The circle on his left hand. “That doesn’t make sense, Segodi.” His eyes never left the strange man’s face. [/html]
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----In some sick form, maybe it did make sense. He had woken up and there was nothing. No thoughts to bare, no regrets, no previous problems to deal with. It was like he was a newborn child who was completely functional to make a thought if asked to. Though, his thoughts were simple: the tree is tall. Unless he went on to wonder about what had happened before he fell asleep in the first place. The wounds he found on himself had healed by now but... well, now what? "Segodi?" he questioned. The name was foreign on his tongue. Abel had imagined that maybe if he found someone he knew or heard something that it would all come back, but still, there was nothing. "Call me Abel, that's my name," he said a little hesitantly. Abel hoped that he didn't have something else to worry about with this... Segodi.
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[html] Nothing was ever blank. Even in his moments of absolute darkness, there was a thought, an idea. Not empty space. Not nothing. Now he watched, studied the confusion, studied the reaction. Segodi was not his name. Another lie. Another half-truth. Gabriel shifted his weight, and felt the earth pulse under his feet. “That’s not your name,” he said firmly, refusing to budge from his position. “I knew you and I know that’s not your name.” [/html]
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----"I don't know you," he said, letting his words fall from his mouth. He didn't know this canine. He didn't see him in his flashbacks he had been having, these... fake memories that he couldn't even remember. He finally lifted his eyes to look at him, maybe for that... one last time feeling he might get, but no, he didn't. Abel knew nothing of this coyote. Not his name, his appearance, his background. "Maybe you're insane," he said, going for a long shot. Of course Abel was the insane one, here, he had no past and no future. He was hovering the fence of life and there has never been a good side.
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[html] Lies. All lies. Segodi had granted him title of spy, overseen his work, known him by name and face. He had looked more like a coyote then and less like a dog then, but it had only been a few months ago. Time passed so strangely on this plane. “I’m not,” he responded without pause, without doubt. “I know who I am and I know who you are. Call yourself what you want but you are Segodi.” Pulling his lips back slightly, the dark-faced male continued. “So don’t come to my land and accuse me of anything.” [/html]
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----Abel was quiet now. He just looked at the other and ignoring his words. They were not connecting and he was unable to respond. Instead, he just stood there and watched, waiting on something when he was really waiting on nothing. He was not Segodi. There was no connection. He didn't know this canine and he didn't know what land he was standing on. The first encounter he has with someone of these lands was quite unpleasant and he decided he wasn't going to make a route back this way, but instead continue on. Maybe the memories would get stronger, that this wasn't the end point. For now, he moved away and continued on. Perhaps he would have another flashback.
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