[html] 
The sun had taken over the skies by the time that the hybrid girl had made it off the mountain, casting a warm glow over the lands despite the thick clouds that warned of rain. The lands were new to her, foreign, and nothing like what Bleeding Souls had been, nor like the home that she had made with her brother and his mate. The scent of coyote, on the other hand, was something that the Nothing child could easily pick out. Her travels of the new lands had started down at the very base of the mountain, which she had followed all the way along to the point where she stood at that moment. Her plan had simply been to see just how far across the abundant area stretched, but what she found instead was exactly what she had been looking for.
Coyotes. Red ears fanned forward across the top of her skull, listened past the quiet songs of birds and the fading sounds of insects of the night, reaching far past that to try and pick up sounds of life within the lands. Don't fear them. He had told her, to which Dhalia had only scoffed. For being her brother, Stygian didn't seem to know her very well at all. She feared nothing. Arrogance and ego was far from stupidity though, which was why the young female ceased her steps at the scent borders that surrounded their lands. Standing tall and proud, tail waving idly behind her, the young girl waited.
|
[/html]
[html]
Though Oxford was a new member himself, he'd gotten into the habit of patrolling the borders. He didn't feel as though he was in any place to be analyzing potential members, and that wasn't really what he was looking for, anyways. He'd been exploring Inferni's territory since he'd arrived and though he was not close yet with any of the members, Oxford had grown very attached to the lands and if no one else, his leader. He wanted to provide as much as he could to the clan and that included making sure no one mysterious, or specifically no one wolf-like came traipsing into the lands.
As he walked, a light sprinkle falling upon his dirty coat, Oxford's emerald eyes found a figure standing tall and proud. He quickly analyzed the body, figuring it to be a female by the thin and feminine appearance. A tail wagged behind her and as Oxford approached, he found that she looked to have some coyote in her, though he could be mistaken. Aside from that, the fact that she waited at the borders told him that she was no member of Inferni. Growing closer, Ox nodded his head in greeting. "Hello," he said cautiously, "Can I help you?"
[html]
Large and doggish, that was how Ahemait had described Gabriel to her. The only one that you're likely to see that looks like that. The description of him sat freshly on her mind, even as the rain started to drop from the sky in a light dusting. The clouds had been just behind her as she journeyed over the mountain, so she was expecting it. Blue eyes left the lands in front of her only for a brief moment, cast to the sky in a curious manner, wondering just how long the rain might last. By the time that her gaze settled back to where it had been before, she was being approached. The young female straightened up, her position strong but not tense.
Examining him in silence, Dhalia eased herself forward just a bit, to get a better look at him, though not daring to pass the borders. "I've come here to find Gabriel de le Poer." For, Dhalia was sure, this creature was certainly not him. "I bring word from his sister Ahemait." Her tone was firm yet calm, gaze dancing across the figure of the other creature for a short moment. "I'm assuming he's the leader here?" She questioned, head cocked slightly to the side. He wasn't a threat, at least in her eyes. Then again, no one really was.
|
[/html]
[html]
Oxford noticed that the girl did not pass the border line, which was a smart move on her part. Inferni was at war and even the slightest of gestures could be taken as a threat. Oxford stood his ground in silence, absorbing her words as they left her mouth. Oxford knew little of Gabriel's personal life and the name Ahemait meant nothing to him. At her question, Oxford nodded and deciding she had nothing left to add for the moment, he responded.
"He is," he said calmly keeping his watch on the girl with narrow eyes, squinted against the rain. "May I ask who you are?" The girl did not appear to be a threat of any kind, but should anything arise, it would be useful to know her name. For the moment, he would not release his unless she asked.
[html]
If Gabriel was, in fact, the Leader of the lands, it would mean that his mother had not returned. Ahemait seemed to think that she would not anyways, but Dhalia could see the hope in her eyes when they had spoken of her. Dark ears fanned forward after a moment, scooping up the words that were offered to her. She paused a moment, pondering quietly. Delusions of grandeur made the girl somewhat hesitant to speak her name. Who in the world wouldn't tremble in fear at just the mention of her surname? Frankly, what she did not need was to have those that approached go running off in fear, which would ultimately lead to her having to pass the borders to find Gabriel herself.
"Dhalia.." She offered only her first name in a sickly sweet tone, lips curled up very slightly at the edges. "You're being awful careful.." The girl commented, watching him a moment before continuing on. "Even though it's just a little girl at your borders.." And little she was, built like a coyote despite it being less than half of her blood. Her words could have easily been considered taunting, but the way that she spoke them was smooth and calm. They would lead to information, she was almost sure, because why be so careful if there wasn't a threat out there somewhere?
|
[/html]
[html]
The name she uttered was one unfamiliar to the hybrid. Dhalia was a name he'd never heard up until this point and it didn't really pique his interest at all. Just another to be tucked away in his brain, and years later maybe an experience would trigger the memory of it. Otherwise, it meant nothing. It was the words that followed which interested him. She spoke as if she was trying to pry something from him. She spoke in a sweet voice, though there was something not sweet at all about it.
Oxford was silent for a moment as he pondered how to answer the words that had just been spoken. The first thing that came to mind was the truth. But at this point, if she didn't already know then it might not be the best idea to inform her. Instead, he left it up in the air. "One can never be certain of another's intentions," he said firmly. "Little girl or not," he added as an afterthought. Even then, as he analyzed her further, she did not appear to be a little girl. Perhaps not yet a year old, but well beyond her childhood. Oxford himself was only just past a year. She was already beautiful, her bright blue eyes hypnotizing among a sea of red.
[html]
He was smart, smarter than most of the other creatures that she had met during her travels, and it didn't seem like he would so easily give her the information that she had pushed for. Perhaps they were as strong as Ahemait and Stygian had insisted. "Oooh.." She let the sound roll from her tongue at his words, grinning faintly. "But you know what they say.. Sugar and spice and everything nice.." Those words alone were evidence enough that Dhalia was indeed not just some sweet little girl come to find a friend. There was business on her mind and, like the rest of her family, business was not over until she did or got exactly what she wanted. Of course, that didn't mean she couldn't have a little bit of fun along the way.
"My father and my brother were members of Inferni a long time ago, back before they migrated over here, before Gabriel took over.." She commented then, giving a very faint nod of her head. She had knowledge about the place, but only as much as her brother and his mate had given her. "My brother's mate is Gabriel's little sister and, now that I'm old enough, they sent me back here to give him a message.." And to stay, though Dhalia neglected to state that bit of information. They had intended to send her there to join Inferni but Dhalia didn't have that in mind for herself, at least, not until she knew that they were good enough for her.
|
[/html]
[html]
Whether intentionally or not, Dhalia had given her intentions away. She clearly wanted something out of Oxford and he had not yet decided whether or not he planned to give it to her. At her words, he laughed slightly, droplets of water spilling from his muzzle as he did. "I believe it was the humans who created that saying," he said, grinning. "And look where it got them." Dead, the whole lot of them. Well, perhaps not every single one, but a good amount, that was for sure.
Now came the hard part in the conversation. She was talking about a time that Oxford knew nothing about. In fact, he probably couldn't be of much assistance to her even if he wanted to, he himself had only recently become a member of the clan. But he wasn't ready to tell her that yet. "Oh?" he said in response to her final words. "And this message is something you yourself must deliver? It is not something that could be passed along?" he asked, not yet sure whether he trusted the girl or not.
[html]
His words brought a faint laugh from the younger female, nodding her head slightly at their truth. "Touché." She would most certainly give that one to him, only if because it held some truth. Finding, at least in her opinion, that they were past the point that things could go badly, Dhalia shifted her weight and settled her rear to the ground, curling her tail against her side. Play time, which she often called anything that wasn't entirely dire or important, was always fun, but it certainly always led to business at some point or another.
"Unfortunately, this is a message that I must get to Gabriel myself." She nodded again, lips growing in to a thin line as she pulled them back. "He will know who I am, or at least have an idea, when he sees me, and that will bring proof that the words I speak are true." Or, at the very least, that was why she had been told. "Family has strong genes, y'know, pretty much all look the same.." And if anything was true, if there was a striking red creature with cold blue eyes, they were most assuredly a part of the Nothing family. "But, if he isn't available at the moment, I am content with waiting." Even if it meant that he felt the need to stick around and keep an eye on her.
|
[/html]
[html]
Oxford nodded with a soft smile upon his lips. She was pleasant enough, if not a bit tricky to understand. But he liked that, she kept his interest for the most part and so long as she did nothing too suspicious, he was content to give her the benefit of the doubt. As she spoke once more, he nodded again. She spoke truthfully enough and he had to agree with the words coming out of her mouth. "Very well," was all he said for the moment.
Looking around absently, Ox thought for a moment before deciding to speak up. "I am not sure whether Gabriel is available or not," he admitted, never knowing for sure where his hybrid leader was lurking. "Would you like me to call him for you now, or would you prefer to wait for his arrival on his own accord?" he asked, gazing at her through his empty eyes.
[html]
Pondering silently to herself while she waited, Dhalia wondered just where all the ferocity that she was expecting was. Ahemait and Stygian had made Inferni sound like a Super Power, something not to be tangled with, and that was the reason that they so badly wanted her to join them. They both knew full and well what Dhalia was capable of, what she had in her, and they had both raised her to simply be the best, no questions. With that, though, often came the quiet thought that she was better than most and, clearly, she had yet to see anything in Inferni like what they had described to her. Benifit of the doubt, she supposed, as she had only just arrived, after all.
"I would prefer not to disturb him, actually.." The last thing she needed was to make a bad impression. "So I suppose I'll be waiting until he arrives on his own accord." Patience was a wondrous thing, of which Dhalia had heaps of, despite how impatient the world around her seemed. Certainly the Leader had to eventually make his way to the borders, especially one so highly talked of as Gabriel. "I do appreciate the offer, though. Actually, would you mind humoring me with some chatter?" She did have a few questions that could be asked up front, she supposed, that were more for her own personal knowledge than anything else.
|
[/html]
[html]
As the two stood in silence, Oxford couldn't help but find it amusing that one of the first beings he'd had contact with while in his clan, apart from his initial acceptance, was not even a member of the clan. Ox couldn't know whether he was treating her the way he was supposed to be treating an outsider. She was not fully wolf, that was certain, so did that mean that it was acceptable not to treat her as completely hostile? He had little experience in being a member of a group and even less experience in the matter of war. Hopefully he had not done wrong, else Gabriel would not be pleased with him, of that much he was certain.
Dhalia spoke again, allowing a flurry of words to escape her lips. So she'd wait. Fair enough, he hadn't been too keen on disturbing Gabriel himself. But then she asked for a chat and Oxford figured there would be no harm in that. He had remained standing while she'd taken a seat, thinking that it would be wise not to even let her assume he had let his guard down. Nor would it seem as though he was protecting his lands should Gabriel come along and find him seated at the border having a friendly chat with an outsider. "Certainly," he responded to her question, letting the word slip slowly from his mouth in an almost unfriendly way. "Is there something on your mind?" he asked, meeting her blue eyes directly with his emerald ones.
[html]
Dhalia made mental notes as she sat, both about him and the lands that surrounded him. While it wasn't yet her intention to join up with Inferni, she had decided, at the very least, that she would be sticking around the area. She would have to get to know the place whenever she could, and the residents of the area, which would come shortly after speaking to Gabriel and finding her own place to call home. The stories certainly had to be true, she decided as she watched him. Never relaxed, he seemed, and she doubted that it would change any time soon. It must have been true that the wolves were against the coyotes. Dhalia found it slightly amusing, in any case. Hunted or not, she would never let it take away her comfort, but that didn't mean she didn't know they were coming.
"Actually.." She started, turning slightly so that she faced the very same mountain that she had crossed. "I was wondering if you knew what exactly happened to the lands over the mountain.." It was quite obvious that they had all burned away, but why? Did all the packs go separate ways? "I was born in those lands and lived there for a very few months before my younger brother and I wandered away, looking for our mother." She explained, giving little care to whether she was giving a stranger information or not. "Got separated eventually and then my older brother found me. Anyways, they sent me back home with the message and all I found was ruins." And that was why she was now here.
|
[/html]
[html]
It seemed that Dhalia had plenty on her mind. Oxford listened quietly, his head tilted so that his eyes followed the direction she gazed into squinted against the continuous downpour of rain. It was beginning to grow heavier and it made the mountain she spoke of only a blur in the distance. He didn't know, couldn't know the answer to her question and he decided it was about time that he let the truth come out. "Actually, I can't help you when it comes to the history of the lands or what happened over there. I only came recently, never have I touched soil on that side of the mountain," he revealed with little shame. Her question was one that he would like to hear the answer to as well.
"I'm sorry your home was destroyed," he said softly, unsure of why he felt so sorry for someone he hardly knew. He didn't know what it was like for a home to be destroyed. He'd never had one of his own. The rain continued to pelt him harder and suddenly an odd thought occurred to Oxford. He wanted to get out of the rain, but he couldn't let her just wander around Inferni waiting for Gabriel. Would it be acceptable to take her to his den? He could defend himself if need be, and if Gabriel asked, he had just been keeping watch over her while they waited so she could deliver a message. "Would you like to get out of the rain?" he asked glancing back at the red female.
[html]
In all honesty, Dhalia couldn't quite say that she was deeply upset by what had happened to her birth home. There was very little that she could remember about it in the first place. "I had other family over there.." She commented quietly, as if to bring to light why she really wanted to know. Her mother, who had come in and out of her life multiple times, was likely not to have been there in the first place, probably off wandering somewhere. Even if she had been in the lands when they burned, burned up with them, the girl didn't know whether or not to really care. She'd never known her mother, not really, and could only recall that Naniko and Conri had been the ones to care for she and her little brother.
"That would be good." She finally answered, bright eyes falling in to a squint as she pushed herself up to rise. Dhalia was curious, for a moment, wondering where exactly he intended to take her, but the thought fled her mind as soon as she moved forward, barely over the borders, to signal her intentions of following him. "I saw the clouds as I was passing over the mountain." The hybrid commented then, turning her eyes to the sky once more. "They stretched back for miles, it seemed. Probably last a few days.." Which indicated that she'd need to find herself a place to stay sooner rather than later.
|
[/html]
[html]
Oxford listened as she spoke, mentioning other family, but did not respond to it. He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to say and so he said nothing at all. He took one step towards his den, hesitant on whether or not to go. But she was young, she said she had connections here, and Oxford considered himself a good judge of character and if he was judging correctly, she meant no harm. He listened as she agreed to follow him and nodded in response to her thoughts on the weather, looking up at the rainy sky himself. "The days have been filled with rain since I arrived here," he said. "I wonder what the sun is hiding from," he thought aloud, wondering if she would find the words foolish, not caring if she did.
"There are caves at the top of that hill," he said, gesturing to it. "It is where my den is located and is pretty much the only source of shelter up here, if you don't mind making the walk," he explained already moving forward as she followed. "Maybe we will meet Gabriel on the way," he added and moved at a faster pace. He had never liked the rain and the sooner he was out, the better.The two walked alongside each other for awhile, thunder rumbling in the distance as the tears from above continued to fall before finally they had reached the top of the hill and were nearing Oxford's den. "This way," he led her to the mouth of his tiny cave, the pelt of a deer laid out as a rug in the center, his tools for making jewelry and weapons strewn about along with some of his other few belongings.
"Excuse the mess. We can just wait out the worst of the storm, and once it is over I'll take you back to the border to wait for Gabriel," he told her, shaking some water from his coat. His den was very plain apart from some interesting things he'd collected through trades such as wines, human shoes, and even a trumpet that he'd gotten for a necklace once. His walls were bare apart from a painting he'd received that hung alone. He sat down on the edge of his bed and pat the spot next to him, permitting her to join. "I am Oxford, by the way," he said, remember he had yet to reveal his name.
[html]
Me.. The thought crossed her mind the very moment his muse hit her ears, though her mouth would not form the words to speak it. Cold eyes moved across the sky once more, traveling across cloud after cloud, just watching. It would be Dhalia to think that. To think that the sun had taken shelter behind the clouds because she had come. Perhaps the skies were aware of what her arrival meant and that was why it spilled sad tears across the lands. It was showing early grief, perhaps a vague warning to those that lived in the lands, and likely a warning that would go ignored.
"I don't mind the walk.." She commented softly, picking up her pace to match his so that she wouldn't fall behind. The view as they climbed the hill was something that Dhalia paid close attention to, casting her gaze out to get a better look at the lands until they finally reached the top. The girl stopped short of the entrance, moving to the side to allow him to enter first, before stepping just out of the rain. She shook once, tossing the liquid away from her body a short distance, before continuing on inside. Eyes immediately took in the sights of his den, rushing over the tools that lay about. "You make things.." She commented as she crossed the inside of the den, recognizing a few of the tools.
"Oxford." She tested the name, grinning faintly as she found her way to the bed to seat herself near him. "I was wondering if I was going to have just call you guy." The words came with faint amusement while her eyes continued to travel his home, finally falling to rest on him. "What sorts of things do you make?" She inquired in a questioning tone.
|
[/html]
[html]
Oxford wondered briefly if it was going to be an awkward stay while the two who had only recently met waited out the rains. Ox listened to her as she commented on his making things and did not say anything. He figured it had been mostly to show that she acknowledged it, for it was clearly something he already knew. He looked around his rather empty home as they sat, and turned slightly towards her as she said his name. Ox smiled softly at the comment that followed, though he said nothing still.
When she addressed him with a question about himself for a change, Oxford turned completely around so that they were face to face. "Different things," he commented idly, standing up and walking towards a box on the floor. From it he pulled out a silver necklace with a tiny, vibrant blue crystal in a heart-shaped setting. "Jewelry like this necklace," he said, opening her hand delicately with calloused fingers and placing it in her palm. "And some weapons, mostly knives and spears and such," he finished.
[html]
Curious eyes danced behind him, following his movements as he rose from the bed to go toward the box. Leaning slightly to the side, attempting to get a better view, the glint of silver immediately caught her gaze. "Ahh.." She mused beneath her breath even before he placed it in her palm. One small finger ran over carefully over the gem, giving her hand a bit of a shake to gather the chain in one spot. It was clean and well made, which was easy for her to see right off. "My brother wears jewelry.." She commented, lifting her eyes to him for a brief moment before they moved back to the necklace. "But not like this.."
Grasping part of the chain with two delicate fingers, she lifted it from her palm, dangling it there in front of her. Fingers from her other hand found their way to the chain also, extending to out farther to get a better look at it as a whole. "He has jewelry in his ears and his tongue. Eyebrow too." She never quite understood it, but he seemed to like it. "I've seen stuff like this though, but not anything that anyone I know has made. Just stuff left behind by the humans." Quite frankly, she was impressed.
|
[/html]
[html]
Oxford stood in silence as she admired his work. Sometimes, he hated what he did. It took so long, so much work to make something so small. Only sometimes did it pay off, times like now when someone was so appreciative of what he did. When she spoke of her brother's jewelry, Ox's hand raised instinctively to his left ear where a golden earring was placed. Another thing he'd made on his own. "It is hard to make things like that," he said, gesturing to the necklace in her hands. "It can take months to finish, I don't have all the resources humans had. I've been making jewelry all my life though, so I guess practice makes perfect" he explained, going into detail only because it appeared she had some interest.
He sat at the foot of the bed beside her, hands entwined in his lap. Facing her he made an offer, "You can have it free," he said "I mean, if you want it." He waited for her answer quietly, the only sound the patter of rain just outside his den.
|
