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Sorry it took me so long to get it up.
The lands weren’t at all how she remembered them. Or, to be more exact, the lands were the same, it was the inhabitants that had changed so drastically. Adelaida was still on the fence about how she felt about the “intruders” that had come from across the mountain. They brought many strange customs with them, and although logically there had probably been luperci in these lands before they had arrived, the population was so small compared to what it is now that she had never run across them before. And still hadn’t. Or at least not one that had been shifted in front of her. Adelaida was in no rush to meet one, not even having known what they were until Umbra had explained them to her. And after her run in with the strange coyote who seemed to obsess over sea monsters, the masked female wasn’t really in the mood to run into anyone at all.
Stepping softly the female attempted to make no noise as she moved about on the forest floor. Which was not hard, as the dirt, fallen leaves and pine needles, provided a nice padding for her feet. In the fall, when they were dry and dead, then the earth would crunch whenever she took a step, but for now her foot falls were near silent. The sun was still low in the sky, for the day had not yet reached noon, and the shadows lent well to hiding Adelaida’s presence as well. The darker fur that grew up along her legs like boots, and the dark fur that created the mask on her face, helped to naturally blend in with the rest of the forest. Her dark fur actions like shadows that the lighter creamy brown acting like splotches of sunlight. The two year old felt safe here, in the forest, having her sounds muffled and the sight of her somewhat blurred, though she could do nothing to hide her scent and if one came looking, they would surely find her anyway. But who would come looking?
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Hey hey, no worries ^_^
Hel had left Styx alone for a few hours. They had arrived the previous day and already she was looking around the area. If she strained her ears she could hear the distant sea roaring and the clouds above her head promised something wet and windy. She had left her knapsack behind, it would be far too noisy. Her knifes she held in a belt across her waist and her long dark green cloak and hood were worn, blending in with the forest. Her movements were quiet and quick. This land seemed welcoming and the forest offered good cover. Hel hoped to bring down a small deer or a handful of rabbits, enough to ensure a good dinner for her and her mate.
The scent of wolf was fresh and strong, obviously a forest inhabited or travelled by many. It meant her search will be made quicker and easier. And soon, the faintest noise came to her and she froze. One paw gripped the knife and she slowly moved towards the source of the noise. A wolf. Not a shifter. A plain wolf. Well now this certainly was interesting. She'd seen normal wolves before, but she had hoped there would be shifters here. In Europe, the ones who didn't shift saw her sometimes as a curiosa, something to paw at, or an intruder, a monster. Hel decided to be careful, so she stepped towards the female's side and gripped the knife tighter.
Don't move. Turn around slowly and I won't harm you. She was half-hidden by the tree, her cloak only billowing slightly in the wind. She didn't want to hurt anyone. Not unless they were a threat to her or her mate.
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Adelaida froze at the sound of the voice. She realized that the voice was quite close, which meant that as quite as she had been she came upon someone without them realizing pretty quickly, worse however was that she hadn’t realized it either, as the strangers had been quieter than she. Adelaida did not move for a good long time, as she pondered how she was both suppose not move but turn around slowly at the same time. Deciding on that she was to not move for a while, and then turn about slowly, that is what she was, and when she did turn around, she was very unpleasantly surprised. At first she did not seem much of anything, just the same tress she had passed seconds before, and then she saw the flutter of fabric. And then she saw who wore that fabric. The creature did indeed stand on two legs, like Umbra had described. Although she had no reason to doubt the male’s tales, it did not really hit home until just that moment.
Adelaida was at once frozen in fear, as she saw what else the stranger had with her. Although the female had said that she wouldn’t hurt the female, Adelaida had a hard time believing that, as why else would this creature carry a knife? They were ancient tools of the human, and everyone knew that anything that came from the humans only caused pain and sorrow. Adelaida really could not understand what was happening, not in the least. She had been told of these creatures, but seeing one was a whole different matter. Like imagining the worse case scenario and then having a dream where it comes to fruition. Only this wasn’t a dream, at least the two toned female did not think it was. Barely able to find her voice, her words came out in just more than a whisper. "Wh-what do you want?"
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Sorry for the wait >_<
Fear. The female exuded it. Hel felt slightly sorry for her. Standing this tall, with a knife and cloak she was impressive and scary and she knew it. But this female was scared of her and she might withhold information or, even worse, react in such a way that Hel would have to hurt her. Although an assassin by trade, Hel was not naturally sadistic. She would not harm something just to make them suffer for her own pleasure. She wanted to get the answers to her questions slowly, yes, to have time to see every possible combination, but without making it uncomfortable for both of them. So she carefully stepped out from behind the tree and stepped towards the female. Hel let go of the knife and put both hands up, palms open, the universal sign of harmlessness. I will not hurt you if you listen and comply. I am looking for information. I am called Natt.
It was not uncommon for Hel to lie about her name. Generally she would be Hel when she traded and she worked under the name Natt, the Norse word for night. She was black and silent like the night. And she hoped she had not scared this female too much. Tell me your name. And what lives here. Are they all wolves like you, or do you have shifters like me? She tried to make her voice gentle, but it still held an edge of steel. Because no matter what, Hel was on the prowl. And this female could attack her.
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The gentle voice and gesture of harmlessness did nothing to quell Adelaida’s fear. For one, as she did not have the ability to use hands herself and had never met anyone who did, she did not understand the open handed gesture. And the tone of the stranger’s voice went unnoticed as Adelaida’s only thought was to flee. Fight or flight, and it was clear with this female, who could wield a knife, who would win in a fight. So flight was of course the better option. However the female was far too close. This female could and would hurt her. Of course she would, her words made it clear it was not beneath her. I will not hurt you if you listen and comply. And running did not seem to comply with the female’s wishes. More and more Adelaida silently agreed with the male she had met, Umbra. Shifters were horrendous creatures. No doubt about it.
The female asked for her name and for information, but the words stuck in her throat. It was almost as if she couldn’t remember her own name. "A-adelai-laida." The masked face stared up at the female who towered above her, trying steady her voice. Trying to think of answers that would satisfy the female who called herself Natt. "Both." Was finally her answer. Wolves and shape shifters. A few days ago her answer would have been different, not a purposeful lie, but she had not known about the shape shifters herself, despite these lands being her own birth lands, so sheltered had her life been. "M-most of them came over the mountain. A fire or something... so they came here. I-I haven’t m-met but only a few." Only one really, and she never knew if that female had been a wolf or a were, but the female, Iskata, and Umbra, had filled her in on the missing parts of the story. Had explained the fire and the shape shifters and why her lands were suddenly populated. Neither of them, however, had warned her that she would have to fear for her life when confronted with one of the shape shifters.
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Terrible wait, I'm sorry >_
Hel disliked this show of weakness. So this females, this Adelaida could not shift. It did not mean that she had to be so cowardly, so trembling and weak. She nearly spat that out. She wanted to scream at this female, to shout until her throat was dry and hoarse, that she should die for being so weak. The black female could understand and accept fear, but she had simply said that she wanted information. She'd even expressed peaceful intentions. Slowly, she walked towards the other, the knife still in her hand. Does my size scare you? Do you fear me because I have a weapon? Adelaida, I said I would not harm you. Where had she lived? Sure, some Europeans wolves shunned the shifters, much the same way shifters scorned the wolves, but to act this way?
Fire? Hm... It seemed intriguing enough, but what could this wolf tell her? She was nearly wetting herself just by being around Hel. Annoyed with the situation, the black warrior decided to cut straight to the chase. I am looking for a shifter. Named Connor McTravis. Have you heard of him? If not, Hel would have to leave her alone. But not before she found out exactly why this wolf feared shifters so much. Had they caused the fire? Or had there been a great war? Could a conflict of such epic proportions have evaded Europe and those who regularly came to the new lands? Hel's curiosity was certainly piqued, but she could not hold her temper in check for much longer if Adelaida remained so stubbornly scared.
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The female was growing upset with Adelaida, she could hear the annoyance in her voice. And although the shape shifter persisted that no harm would come to Adelaida, it was hard for the wolf to believe. What is strange and unknown is always threatening, and how to know if this were is telling the truth? If she had no intention of harm why did she have to hold the knife? Why did she advance on Adelaida? Brilliant blue eyes grew wider and for every step forward the ebony luperci took, the masked wolf took a step backwards though the movements were instinctual rather than a conscious effort. The shape shifter asked about fear, but how could Adelaida explain it? The creature before her was a complete mystery, straight out of a tale, something that was not suppose to be real. It was her size, it was the weapon, but it was more than that. "Please... drop your kn-knife."
She had kept her voice as steady as she could, sensing that the female was feeding off her fear. Still, although she had tried, the terror penetrated and shook her words. Maybe though, if the knife was on the ground, it would make Adelaida feel better. Not that Natt would need a weapon to rip her to shreds if she wanted, why she could possibly do so by sheer strength with the aid of her dexterous hand and sharp claws. Still, if the other complied it meant that she was willing to level the playing field. Although it seemed the other wouldn’t quit with the questioning. Conner Mc-what? "No. I haven’t heard anything..." Adelaida wanted to scream. Scream that she didn’t know anything about any shifters, that they were freaks and that she had nothing to do with them. That she just wanted to be left alone, but the best way to be left alone would be to get this female to leave.
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I suck so so badly! I'm sorry =( Do you want to end it here or should we keep it going a while longer?
This was getting ridiculous now. A sempiternal conversation because this female would not stop fearing Hel. The warrior knew she was larger than most Luperci women and to this four-legged wolf she must have seemed enormous. But she had dealt with non-shifters before and never had it been so...stupid. Yes, that was the word. Stupid. Hel sighed inwardly. Was this the amazing new world? One of complete retards? And then came the ludicrous suggestion. Drop her knife? Hel started laughing, an almost hollow sound that was more annoyed than anything else. Drop her weapon, huh? I will drop nothing, Adelaida. I will, however, put it away. She placed it in the sheath on her belt. But please understand that if you make any sudden movements, I will be forced to hurt you.
She knew nothing. Hel closed her eyes and sighed. This had been a waste of time. The wolf knew next to nothing and would simply not give up this stupid idea that Hel would simply jump her and kill her. She was an assassin, yes, but not a madman. She didn't kill for sadistic pleasure, she did not destroy out of morbid fascination with chaos. She did her job, in much the same way others did theirs. Healers did not get a thrill out of the sight of disease, did they? Sailors did not welcome raging storms so they could pit themselves against them. And warriors did not fight for the jolt of connecting blows, for the sight of bruises or the promise of broken bones. But this was not Europe and it seemed that the wolves here were more backward. One more thing, Adelaida. Why are you afraid of me? I carry a weapon for my own protection. If I wanted to hurt you, do you think I would have given you my name? Do you think I would have spoken to you? Is it because I shift? If I assume your form, will you be more welcoming. Tell me why you fear me and you can go, Adelaida. Hel would be true to her word. If Adelaida told her, she could go. She didn't know Connor. She had spoken the truth. And the black shifter was no monster.
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I’m going to have Ade run off? I feel that Ade will just annoy poor Hel a lot more in her stubborn terror if we keep it going.
The laughter at Adelaida’s request would have enraged the female if she had not been so terrified. Having the knife out of sight did nothing to alleviate Adelaida’s panic. The cream and chocolate wolf knew that it was still easily accessible to the beast with opposable thumbs, if she wished she could pull it back out at any moment. What’s more, although the beast, Natt, had puit the knife away it was put away with what Adelaida could only view as a threat. She would get injured just for a sudden movement? Unable to help herself Adelaida took a step backwards at the words, but it was slowly. Her movements so slow it was as if they weren’t happening. And the shifted female seemed to be growing more and more frustrated with Adelaida. As the female shut her eyes and sighed Adelaida silently took another step backwards. Anything to buy another inch or two between her and the were wolf.
Question came from the mouth of the female, and Adelaida was surprised at them. Couldn’t she see the size difference? Didn’t she know that weapons, of any sort, held in the hands against one who had no weapons was threatening? Demanding answers and telling the other not to move, didn’t she know that too was hostile? Sneaking up on her while she was innocently wandering the woods... Natt’s list of infractions was growing longer. Yet Adelaida attempted to compose herself even further, which was largely unsuccessful. "Y-yes, because you are a shifter. I have never seen o-one before now." Adelaida spoke truthfully, and thought she attempted to speak calmly it came out just as shaken as before. Yet as she spoke she moved further back at a snail’s pace, and the fact that Natt either didn’t notice or didn’t care comforted her. Another inch or two and she’d be free. "You w-ouldn’t need to carry a w-w-weapon if it weren’t for o-thers like..." But she had the space now and with a quickness she had no idea she possessed she turned and fled. One thing she knew, was that two legs were not as quick as four, and so Natt would never hear the end of the sentence Adelaida spoke, which was that Adelaida firmly believed that knives were only good against others like Natt, the two legged beasts who insisted on terrorizing her.
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Yeah. Sorry I held the thread up for so long >_<
She hadn't seen the female move. She'd been too preoccupied with the answer. Hel couldn't understand it. This wolf was afraid of her because she was a shifter? That was it? The thought in itself was perplexing to Hel. Sure, she was tall and her weapons sometimes put off shifters, but she had never imagined that one with four legs would find her so intimidating, so scary. She had certainly thought about the difference in stature, but not to this extent. Never in Europe had she found someone so scared, so prejudiced. And then, before she knew it, the female was running away as fast as she could. Hel's first instinct was to run after her, and indeed she drew her knife and made a few steps, determined to get Adelaida back. Then she stopped. Why? She had promised to let her go and if anything, she was a woman of her word. Slowly, Hel put the knife back in its sheath. She gazed thoughtfully after the non-shifter and hoped that not all wolves here carried the prejudice. If they did, she would have to teach them a lesson. Slowly drawing the hood over her head, she walked back towards the camp.
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