touch of chaos
#1
Zana had set out across the clan's lands, her trekking finding her at the mansion that the clan had claimed. She smiled slightly at the building, she had learned to read in one of the rooms there, and in Ryan's den as well. She knew by the scent that Halo still lurked in the clan, her scent very clear and potent here in the space of the mansion. She sighed slightly and let her fingers slide along the iron of the old fence as she wandered around the property, refusing to enter the mansion, instead roaming the landscape.

Her eyes caught sight of the last of the fall roses blooming as she strolled along. She plucked a lone rose from the vine and placed it behind an ear, not even thinking what a silly act she had done. She was a woman but there was little about her that appealed to others. She could gain respect and awe but she was always a doll or a woman-child, never a woman proper in the eyes of another. It had never bothered her before, but now as time had moved on she began to realize the lonely life she lived.
#2
Alma had planned to inspect the mansion, since she had passed by it many times and seen other coyotes enter and leave - but she had always made excuses not to look at it: she was too busy, she had to hunt, she had to finish the bows. Now, she was without an excuse and conveniently near the thing.

The coywolf regarded the structure with a mix of caution and disdain. It looked stable on the outside, sure, but so had the last building she had decided to sleep in. That had been nearly a year now, and she had been too afraid to approach any structure like it since. Alma sniffed the air cautiously - not that she could smell the scent of rot or decaying wood from here. She would have to get closer.

Hesitantly, she approached. She hadn't been creeping along the path for long when noticed a scent of another coyote. Fresh - they were somewhere nearby, and someone she hadn't met before. Alma padded closer in curiosity, forgetting all about her fears about collapsing buildings.

She turned around a bend and spotted a short girl placing a rose behind her ear. Alma was somewhat disappointed, and then confused. The scent was of an adult coyote. Not a child. She considered whether it could be a mother and child, but she smelled no child - or at least, not a fresh scent of one.

"Hello?" she called out, "What are you?" She instantly regretted that. The bluntness of the question and the precise, slow manner in which she had said made her sound like she was extremely dull-witted.
#3
[html]

<3

Zana wasn't surprised that she had been found out in such a short amount of time but the words from the other creature were not encouraging for a first encounter. She tried to hold her tongue as she turned her lilac eyes towards the woman who had spoken. It was a very hard thing to do, the child came from blood that was known for short tempers and in time she too had come to realize that her's was probably one of the shorted. Her eyes narrowed a moment as she spoke softly. "I believe you mean who." Her words falling between them as she plucked another late blooming rose.


She had barely glanced at the woman but it was enough. She realized the lady probably wasn't poking fun at her yet, the tone of voice had been all wrong, but Zana was a strange creature just the same. "Who, are you?" She asked, without even answering the question that had been issued to her in the first place. In time she would get around to that.


<style>
.freebietable-a05 {margin:0 auto; width:500px; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/Q2c4x.png); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding: 0px 0px 105px 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; line-height:14px; text-align:justify;}
.freebietable-a05 p.ooc {font-style:italic; text-align:justify; text-indent:0px; padding:0px 5px;}
.freebietable-a05 .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold;}
.freebietable-a05 p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:5px 5px;}
</style>
[/html]
#4
Alma guessed by the other woman's narrowed eyes that it hadn't been the best question to ask, yet she did not react as badly as she feared. Perhaps she was used to strange questions.

"I believe you mean who."

She thought she misspoke? It occured to Alma that she could be implying that she was stupid. She made small noises of irritation, fur bristling. Then it subsided with the realization that there was nothing she could do - and she would surely look even more stupid were she to suddenly go off on her without a good reason. She couldn't assume the worst yet.

"I am Alma. I make bows." The coywolf answered in the same deadpan tone she had asked her first question. A few seconds passed before she realized that, if the woman thought she was slow, those words by themselves might not do anything to change her mind. Nor did it make a very good conversation.

The orange-haired woman stared at the other coyote, trying to think of something she could say. While doing this, she noticed the odd tail wrapped in what appeared to be some kind of cloth. Curiosity teemed at the edges of her mind, but Alma stopped herself before a question could form on her lips*. The short female probably wouldn't like a comment about that, either.

Instead, she turned her head toward the mansion and pointed. "Have you been inside?"
[html]

---

((*or canine lip equivalent?))

[/html]
#5
[html]

Smile yay!

Zana smiled slightly to herself as the noises from the clan members throat rose from behind her. She turned slightly as she gazed at the creature. She almost wanted to know if the woman had fallen on her head as a child as she spoke again. She raised a brow as the woman and just shook her head. "I am Zana. I don't do much of anything." She was honest, but not fully. Zana did a lot, but it was mostly in secret or she didn't feel the need to speak of it to those she'd just met, clan mate or not. She raised the flower to brush across her maw in thought as she gazed softly upon the other clan member.


She followed the lady's gaze towards the mansion as she shrugged at the question. Her eyes traveling over each of the windows of the building as she shifted her weight, letting the flower drop as she spoke again, "Aye, it's been years though.." a slight sigh following her words. Zana had not explored the mansion in a great while, knowing that Halo lived there, but it was not from fear, merely because she had enough brains and wit about her to stay away from her ill tempered clan mate who hated her for things she did not understand.


"I suppose it hasn't changed much though..." There was a spark of curiosity in her eyes as she wandered just what the mansion was like. She knew a lot could change in a two years but she didn't know how much.. or if it was worth a fight right now if Halo appeared.


<style>
.freebietable-a05 {margin:0 auto; width:500px; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/Q2c4x.png); background-position:bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding: 0px 0px 105px 0px; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size:12px; line-height:14px; text-align:justify;}
.freebietable-a05 p.ooc {font-style:italic; text-align:justify; text-indent:0px; padding:0px 5px;}
.freebietable-a05 .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold;}
.freebietable-a05 p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:5px 5px;}
</style>
[/html]
#6
[html]
I hope this makes sense. I have a headache and when I reread it I can't tell if it does or not.

---

[/html]
Alma huffed at the other's raised brow. She was not certain what she was thinking, but she could guess from the expression on her face. She still did not act on her impulses; perhaps later she would get the chance. She made no comment on the other's lack of profession - while she had guessed that the tiny woman wasn't a child as she first seemed to be, she still thought of her as young. Perhaps too young to have found where her own skills lie.

"You miss it?" The coywolf said in response to the other's wistful sigh. "How can you miss it?" It hadn't occurred to Alma that the woman had been inside before and had returned after leaving, since she didn't know all of the clan members yet and didn't pay attention to the comings and goings of others. She also took 'years' to be an exaggeration, since she looked so young. The only thing she could guess was that it was apparently once stable enough that she could go inside, but could no longer. "Is it unsafe? Is it going to fall?"

The coywolf eyed the mansion nervously and stepped away from it, fur brushing up against the rose vines and causing leaves and brown-tinged petals to fall on her side. Thorns prickling her skin made her realize her own unconscious action. Another small noise of annoyance issued from her, and she attempted to brush them away and act like nothing had happened before the other coyote could notice.
#7
[html]Zana was quiet a moment, the words of the other woman falling on her ears but not certain how to answer. She didn't hate Halo, but she wasn't going to be foolish enough to make her home in the same location of one who viewed her as a traitor. She flicked one long oversized ear to the side a moment before sighing once more. Her voice had lost it's annoyance and sharpness as she finally did answer. "No, I just miss the way things were before I had left the clan." she said as she slowly pulled the rose from behind her ear and let it fall to the ground to join it's companion.



The tiny woman moved towards the mansion as she explained. "I wasn't born into the clan, but I came here quite young. Before the seasons had come round once I had disappeared to find myself and help another." She had learned more about herself than she had ever expected to in the time she had been gone, but when she had thought that she was ready to return to Inferni it seemed not all of the clan wanted her back. "Some.. members of the clan didn't trust me when I returned, some were outright hateful and cruel.." She glanced back to the other woman as she finished. "I wasn't needed or wanted so I thought, so I left once more.. " A shrug was all that was aided to the last of her explanation. " I am wanted now though.." She didn't say who, or why, that didn't matter, but she would not leave this time around.




She gestured to the other woman as she continued on towards the mansion. "No, no, it's stood well enough for moons.. I don't think it's going to wither just because we watch it now." She turned lilac eyes back to the other. "Do you want to see?" she asked.[/html]
#8
Alma was quietly pleased that the woman apparently hadn't noticed her minor entanglement with the vine. She brushed the last remaining leaf from her fur as she listened to the other's words.

The change in the way she spoke, and her behavior seemed to indicate that she was not lying, or trying to play a trick on her. This led her to conclude that the short female must be older than even Alma's second guess, and not young at all - though she could detect no gray fur.

Alma wasn't sure what to think when she heard that others of Inferni had been cruel to her. That had not been her experience thus far. Still, the clan's reputation had to come from somewhere. Perhaps there were older members she hadn't met, or only briefly met that had done it.

Her second thought was that it sounded an awful lot like her birth pack, and that was unsettling. Perhaps she was lying and had instead done something to deserve their scorn? That was a more appealing idea, because it meant that Alma hadn't run off to a coyote clan to find that they were as argumentative as her own family. She opened her mouth to ask why they found her untrustworthy, then closed it as she realized that if the woman had done something worthy of their cruelty, she was unlikely to be honest about it.

The only way to know was to watch her.

"Do you want to see?"

Alma was briefly confused for a moment, then realized she was talking about the mansion. She turned her head to stare at it with narrowed eyes. Then she sighed. "I suppose... but if I die, my spirit will haunt you." Her voice was not truly threatening, only resigned to whatever came as a result of stepping inside the mansion. Even if it was a trap, she had to look inside sometime.
#9
[html]The small woman was patient, too patient as she waited for the other clan member to decide if she was going to follow her to the mansion. When finally she made her decision to join her Zana rolled her eyes at the words she was threatened with as she shot back. "You never know, I might just want some haunting company.." Her voice carrying across the yard as she pranced up onto the porch on her tiny little paws. Her lilac eyes glittering with amusement as she taunted the other female, wondering if she really thought the mansion was that dangerous.


The little Lykoi reached up on her heels to push open the door to the mansion, the great door giving a groan as the small woman threw her slight weight into it, finally getting the door to open, revealing the main floor beyond. Zana peered into the mansion quietly for a moment before waiting for her other exploring companion to reach the door and in turn the mystery beyond the gates.[/html]
#10
Alma twisted her snout into a scowl when she saw the tiny woman's eye-rolling, and huffed audibly. The comment, however, she was not sure what to make of. The tone was obviously teasing, but she could see no insult in the words themselves. She blinked and dithered with uncertainty for a moment, then settled with silence as a reply. The coywolf crossed her arms and stared down at the short female, imitating the stare her mother gave her when she was disappointed in something she'd done. Unfortunately, Zana pranced away before the stare could have the desired effect. Or any effect at all. She probably hadn't noticed.

The taller female sighed, then began to follow. She stopped a few feet from the door, eying it as if it were as unlucky as a ladder and a sign of ill things to come. She had to admit, though, the sight of a tiny little thing trying push open the door was quite funny. She giggled. It almost made her forgot what dangers might lie inside the mansion. Almost.

The groan coming from the door as it was being opened made her twitch. It reminded her of the sound she had woken up to late in the night, while resting in that old house. Alma could imagine the door coming off its hinges and falling on the tiny woman. She was tempted to warn her, but it would do no good.

When the other woman had moved her head out of the doorway, she bolted inside to avoid having the door fall on her. Once inside Alma found herself standing very still and gazing about the room in search of weak points in the house that might collapse on her.
#11
[html]
Little phased the small woman and she had seen the glare of disapproval many times. Her brother had infact almost perfected his, she almost didn't laugh anymore when she caught him throwing it her way. Instead she just beamed a smile at the woman before she had darted off to tend to getting them in the mansion.


When she turned back from opening the door she was quite surprised to find that the woman had already darted quickly inside. She blinked a moment before asking. "Anything wrong?" Zana followed the other female as she glanced around the entry room. The scent of others caught her nose. She wondered if anyone was actually in the mansion right now but she wasn't going to go looking, instead she spoke up. "What do you think you are going to find, or not find.." she asked as she studied an old painting on the wall.[/html]
#12
Smug little thing. Alma thought at Zana's smile. She had half a mind to find a reason to make her not-so-smug, but not yet.

Once inside, however, she had completely forgotten about her plans. "Nothing is wrong yet," Alma replied. To her second question, she answered, "Broken things. Signs of decay. Insects. Cracks in the wall." There was a moment of silence as she gave the mansion another glance. "It appears to be in remarkably good shape," she admitted, "but that doesn't mean it is not dangerous. It could be hiding something." She spoke as if the mansion were a person, capable of malevolence all on its own. Maybe it was. She definitely thought it was creepy.

The scent of other coyotes reminded her that someone else had been here before her. Why would they want to go inside an old, unstable building? Was there something important here? "What is here?" she asked the short female.
#13
Zana just sat and stared at the woman as she began to name everything that was wrong with the building. She couldn't help but laugh as she tried to decide if the woman was snobby or just fickle. She shook her head and rolled her eyes as she padded further down the hall, calling back as she moved. "Yes. Very dangerous things here. The worst. Your new clan mates."

She had been in the mansion quite a few times, though it was when she was a child she had never really thought about the place being dangerous or unsafe as she had explored it then. Now she stopped once more as she caught the question from Alma. "What is here? Home if you like I guess.." She peered in one of the empty rooms as she explained. "Some of the clan choose rooms here out of the weather. It's like a strange den of sorts I guess.." She disappeared into the empty room, not waiting for Alma to reply. If she wanted to see more she would move on.
#14
[html]
Alma crossed her arms and scowled as the tiny woman laughed. How could she not see that the house could easily be her death? She was either very ignorant or very reckless. Probably both.

The answer to the second question horrified her. Someone actually lived here? Was the whole clan going to die one night when the house inevitably came crashing down upon them? She stared, mouth agap. Then she realized the look on her face would probably be amusing, and immediately changed her expression to a more neutral one. "Wh-" she started to say as Zana slipped into another room. "Hey! Come back here!" Alma shouted weakly. She wasn't used to having to raise her voice.

"Oh, sure." She huffed, insulted at being ignored, "Go on ahead, get yourself killed! Have a plank fall upon your tiny head and squish it! See if I care!" She stood there for a minute or two with her arms still crossed, wondering if she wanted to follow. She didn't really like the woman, and she didn't really like the house, but despite her words, she didn't want her to die. And, of course, Alma was still curious as to what the rest of the house looked like. She wanted to know what drew others to take up residence in such a questionable place. There must be something inside, somewhere, that made them want to stay.

The coywolf followed her into the empty room, treading lightly. Her eyes scanned the room for danger and, as she looked, it occurred to her that there might be a way she could push something on the tiny woman and have it look like an accident. It just had to be something that wouldn't kill either of them, and wasn't obviously her fault. That would prove her point handily, and perhaps make her more cautious.
[/html]

#15
Zana had a relaxed strange way of dealing with her clan mates and it was as everything was a bit of a joke in her eyes. When the other woman seemed to start having a shit fit about her exploring the mansion she had already explored a few times before she merely just rolled her eyes and mocked her new mate. "Yes, Yes. And the bigger beam that was holding that plank in place will hopefully squash your fat head!" She knew she should play nicely but she didn't actually hate this new woman, she was just unclear how in the world to deal with her strange fears.

She was rather surprised though that Alma had indeed followed her into the room and while Zana had been busy running a hand over a very dusty table she turned back to the woman to explain. "When the winter winds come maybe you will understand. Either you find home that has ways of keeping itself warm, you find cave and lots of blankets and pelts.. or you live in my den.. " Zana believed she had the best den location, it was right in the middle of the hot springs and kept warm all the time. She eyed the woman a moment before adding. "You too fat though, not fit in my den. Much too fat." She smiled sweetly as she added the horrid words. She probably deserved some terrible fate, but Zana had already suffered enough and she doubted that the fates would be that cruel to make her suffer twice over.
#16
[html]
"No amount of cold air will make me sleep in this... thing." She hissed. She had traveled in cold weather before - in fact, that was the occasion in which she had chosen to reside in an old, rotting building like this one. "I do not make the same mistake twice."

A frown crossed her face as she spoke. The room was devoid of furniture and had several doors to other rooms. If she knew anything about houses, she would have been able to guess that it was a hallway. The only thing that she could use against her was the crown molding lining the ceiling, and she wasn't sure what it would take to get that to fall - or how. Perhaps if something bumped up against the wall...?

Her thoughts were interrupt by comments about her appearance. She stared at Zana with a frown, that soon turned into a scowl. Alma crossed her arms and looked down at her haughtily, "Didn't your parents teach you manners, child?" She placed special emphasis on the last word, knowing that it might well irritate the short woman. Alma had almost mistaken her for a child when she saw, and surely others had. Though she knew it was a bit cruel to tease her about something she couldn't control, and something she had likely been teased about before... well, she started it! The child in her spoke.
[/html]

#17
She couldn't help but laugh at the crazy lady's words when she spoke of the mansion. She shook her head and chuckled. "Fine, freeze your tail off come winter..if you didn't want to explore this place why bring it up in the first place..." she asked as she sighed. This woman was so paranoided about everything around her that Zana was starting to wonder if she believed in ghosts too, as it seemed to be that she had an I rational fear of being destroyed by this building that was quite solid and firm. Zanas temper was beginning to make he short as she glared at the senseless woman.

Then it struck as the other called her a child. Zana gave a bark of bitter laughter as she moved away from the crazy lady and said plain as day. "My parents left me for dead..why would they have taught me manners.." she grinned evilly as she raised a brow. "besides.. Ezekiel never said I needed manners to stay here..." she knew she was being horrible but she needed a bit of fun every now and then.
#18
[html]

Edited again because I still don't like it. Edited again because dsalkdfjalsdjf


"A little thing like you may not grow enough fur to be warm in the winter, but I do." She replied to her mention of the cold, and ignored her question of why she was in the mansion. She wasn't sure why herself, except to find why other people were drawn to such a place. The only answer so far seemed lie in ignorance, as this woman had. She could not imagine all the clan feared the cold, or that this structure could withstand the cold better than any cave. She was starting to think it was pointless. Perhaps she should leave soon and come back later.

Upon hearing about the woman's parents, she tilted her head and stared at the small woman. "Your previous pack let runts die?" Her voice was not laced with cruelty, despite her poor choice of wording. Surprisingly, she felt some compassion for the short woman - though it probably helped that she felt inclined to feel compassion for pups (or at least, small pups that hadn't learned to shift), and she could easily imagine this woman as a tiny, adorable pup. Still, she doubted Zana would have the same compassion for her; she certainly hadn't understood why she was afraid of the mansion.

A wicked idea came to her head. She grinned. Hands clasped together in front of her, her voice rose to a high-pitched squeal, "D'awww! Zana puppy!" Although Alma disliked touching others, she crept forward with the intention of patting the tiny woman on the head. "A-aren't you just the cutest little puppy..." she descended into further baby-talk, "I can't imagine anyone hurting a poor little pupp-eh like you!"


<style type="text/css">
hr { height:0px; width:100%; margin: 0px 150px 0px 150px auto; }
.runningdeertablerun {width:500px; border:none; margin:0px auto;}
.runningdeertableooc {font-family: times; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:.3px;}
.runningdeertable {font-family: Arial; font-size:13px; text-indent:30px; letter-spacing:.2px; word-spacing:2px; line-height:14px; width:510px; text-align:left;}
</style>
[/html]
#19
Zana frowned at the moment at the slight insult. Her grey lilac orbs turned toward the other as she shrugged. "ok then, why did you want to explore the mansion in the first place then?" she asked as she flicked a piece of dust from her shoulder. She wondered if this woman just had to have something to complain about at all times or if she really just didn't like the mansion for some strange strange reason Zana could not comprehend.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she huffed. Her pack had not been cruel, only her mother-monster. She shook her head in disgust that the woman didn't understand, though she didn't want to explain either. Instead she explained in simple without any further explanation and no want to push the subject. "Mother would have..." though that was not the whole truth. Zana would never know the truth behind it all for her mother was dead and the truth had died with her.

Her whole annoyance at the other woman changed to outright disgust as the taller woman changed her method of dealing with Zana. The tiny woman's ears folded back as she growled. She spat as she shook her head and threw her hands up in the air. "Phhhah. If you want the whole place to come crashing down upon you then you can stay. I've showed you inside, find your own room if you wish it.." She shook her head again and grumbled under her breath as she padded away from Alma's outstretched hand and off towards the door of the mansion.


Forum Jump: