[html]
Somewhere around a week had passed since Oxford's arrival. He couldn't know for certain, as he was not one to keep track of time day by day. But he had a general idea of time and he knew that it had been close to a week. Since his arrival, it had been rather uneventful around Inferni. Oxford had attempted to make contact with a few other coyotes living amongst him, but so far had been as much alone as he had when he'd not belonged to the clan. Perhaps Inferni was slower around this time, or perhaps he'd had the wrong idea of what it meant to be in a pack or clan.
The rain sprinkled his fur, running over his body and cooling him down. Oxford was looking for Gabriel, the leader. He had quite a few questions to ask about Inferni and the war in general, and he hoped that Gabriel would have the answers he was looking for. Certainly he must, as leader. Sharp claws overturned the wet soil as he moved along, trying to catch the scent of his leader, though it was practically all over the lands. He thought to call for him but was unsure if that was the proper way to go about locating him. So instead, he continued to wander around with his nose to the ground, hoping that he'd come across the male by sheer luck.
[html]
indent It had been a day since Gabriel had seen his father. Ahren had come, a ghost in the night, and spoken to him at length. In the end, he wasn’t sure what to feel. The wolf reminded him of Kaena now more then ever, if less mad. Except Gabriel recognized that madness and knew it was not the full extend. Something had changed. Ahren had smelled like blood and been remarkably un-phased by the threat of his own death. It was as if, in some way, he had been expecting something like this all along.
indent Now, though, Gabriel was on four legs and finishing up a round of territory marking. He was heading inward when he spotted the curious looking male (though really, he was in no position to think such) and approached him easily. Oxford had been pleasant when he had spoken with him, however briefly. “You looking for someone?”
[/html]
[html]
So caught up in searching for Gabriel, Oxford did not even notice when the male came up behind him and was slightly taken by surprise, though he did his best to conceal it. Glancing over his shoulder, Ox turned around to face his leader and responded quickly to his words. "Yes, actually I was looking for you," he answered, his eyes running over the doggish male briefly before dipping his head in greeting.
A silence began to take hold but Oxford quickly eliminated it, letting his voice ring out once more. "I've come to ask you a few more questions about this war as well as this clan, if it is not too much trouble?" he asked cautiously, knowing that with the complications of running Inferni, his leader might not have time to sit around answering any question that came to a new member's mind. But still, Oxford wanted to be a productive member of Inferni and assist his new home in any way that he could, and to do so, he needed to clarify a few things.
[html]
indent It did not surprise Gabriel, ultimately, that his members would look for him. Oxford was new and thus had not yet made time to make an impression fully on the Aquila. This would assist him in deciding if his initial decision was correct. Nodding slightly, he kept his eyes on his companion and settled onto his haunches then and there. “What would you like to know?” Those who kept themselves informed and aware were the types that Gabriel saw potential in. It was the same with Anselm, who had proven himself upon their first meeting.
[/html]
[html]
Oxford had a great many questions to ask of his leader, though he would not ask them all today. Some of his questions, he knew, would answer themselves in time others were more urgent. He'd have to pick and choose what he wanted to know carefully. Gabriel spoke to him and Ox remained silent, mulling over his thoughts, trying to decide how to begin. Where could he start? "You have wolf blood in you," he began, letting his eyes fall upon his leader's body. "So why do you have such prejudice against them?" he knew the reason for this war, it had been explained upon their first encounter. But that kind of offense seemed like it could be solved by going for the wolf who had committed the crime. There had to be more to the story that made one act by a wolf trigger an immense hatred of all. It just didn't seem right and Ox had a feeling that this was not the first time Inferni had had trouble with wolves. [/html]
[html]
indent There was a subtle, vicious change in Gabriel’s eyes. “I lost two of my siblings to rogue males like the one who came here,” he explained flatly. “The wolves have always held a grudge against our clan. My mother, one of the founders, was raped by a beta of a neighboring pack. I nearly lost a younger sister and brother to a wolf last year. We lost more members then I can remember.” Many, of course, had brought that on themselves. Many more, he was sure, had not. “I don’t hate all wolves, Oxford. They’ve just proven to me that they can’t be trusted.”
[/html]
[html]
Oxford listened, his mind completely open to whatever Gabriel had to say. As the words spilled, his ears were filled with the horrors that Gabriel presented. When he had finished, Oxford nodded and said simply, "Fair enough." And it was. "Since this has happened before, has there been another war previous to this one?" he asked, choosing his next question as best he could to continue along smoothly. He had much interest in the history of Inferni and it might help to understand this war if he could learn about the last, should a last have existed. [/html]
[html]
indent Gabriel’s expression did not change—the wars, and war in general, had become very different things to him then they once had been. “Two that I can remember,” he stated. “The first was with Clouded Tears, a pack that was further north then us at the time. Their alpha, who is a hybrid himself, killed one of our members. It went on from there, though I left before seeing the end due to unavoidable circumstances.” Unavoidable because of what had been done. The man with the red eyes and the woman he would come to know as his father’s enemy. “The second,” he continued. “Was against a pack intruding on our land. My mother grew tired of their presence and saw them as a threat, which given what happened with her children is understandable, and we drove them out one night. The wolves claim this was an act of brutality, but that’s the only language they seem to know.”
[/html]
|
