Leave out all the Rest

Augustus · 12-19-2011, 06:35 PM

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Augustus

OOC Backdated Dec. 12th Cough syrup + posting = this :/ It'll get better once I overcome this miserable cold -- Word Count → 395

Augustus had crossed the invisible barrier that was the Cour des Miracles territorial boundary. It was odd, he’d almost forgotten what it was like. The land was strange and new, quiet at the moment. He was sure that would change soon, and after his meeting with the dauphin he wasn’t quite sure he was ready for another. The scents were a whirlwind around him, all unfamiliar -save two. The grass was brown and withered below his large paws, but the Shiloh hills were less dismal than the trenches had been, and far more forgiving. They rolled gently like an ocean of green, the grass rippling in the winter winds. He rose his muzzle to the sky above him, taking it all in. This was his home now, his pack. The thought of it was comforting and unsettling simultaneously.

He had only brushed the surface of his new home and trotted back to the border. There he relieved himself, intermingling his scent with the others. Augustus was here. It was primitive, but effective, and made him feel more at home. When he had finished he lowered his leg and hunched himself in a half crouch. His muzzle lifted sharply as he half-yipped/half howled before leaping into a long loping stride, racing along the hilly terrain, nothing more than a black and white blur. This was home now…Home. The two of them had better get acquainted. His body caught in the flow of his lengthy strides, elongating and contracting in a rhythm. He felt the earth below him, memorizing his every step. His tension seeped out of him and all thought slipped away. It wasn’t until he saw a shape in the distance that he slowed his pace.

A structure lay ahead, a remnant of the former human civilization. Augustus was far more accustomed to seeing these as the old world decayed into the new. It’s location was strange, however, and it stood secluded. He slowed to a walk and lowered his muzzle to the ground, scenting. The winds were picking up, nipping at the bare, scarred skin. The cold made them feel strangely tender. Tentatively he stepped a paw into the hut. The aged wooden planks creaked beneath his weight, but otherwise stood firm. He couldn’t help but feel slightly wary. It was a strange feeling. He wondered what else the Court had within their boundaries.
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Take the light and darken

everything around me. Call the clouds, and listen closely I'm lost without you...

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Caspa Al-Fateh · 12-19-2011, 07:00 PM

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Word Count :: 5+ It's good already, so hush! <3

She'd decided to have a more restful day, having spent quite a few of her days now gallivanting around with the newest batch of Court puppies. She was not a natural puppysitter, but she was very fond of the innocent little beings. They were very different to the sinister child Elvira, who had been outwardly cherubic and a very unlikely-looking source of potent venom. Caspa had taken a small sample of this to Aniwaya, but never had the chance to use it, being always too much in danger of hitting one of her own due to the confusion and chaos. She'd also dismembered quite a large portion of quite a large tree, and stacked the wood up in the smokehouse. Caspa felt very accomplished, and like she was finally making use of herself - she would have a record to match up to Liam's work ethic, next time they met, rather than her previously airy-fairy months spent wasting away in a meditative zen daydream. But now, her arms ached and her back ached and she knew she had to ease up a little. It was a good pain, though, the kind that led to stronger muscles. She'd gone from strength to strength since the war, which she supposed was the entitlement of a victor. She had even started by feeding her soul before her body, giving away food to Augustus, which admittedly she hadn't particularly needed, being used to surviving on so little. Then she'd travelled North and encountered various Salsolans - some more fearsome than others, but still she had journeyed far and escaped unscathed. She had come very close to lying, when she'd avoided telling Augustus where she had been going. She didn't think she'd strayed too badly from the righteous path, but it was a close thing.

Old habits died hard, and she was walking the borders idly throwing and catching a knife in one hand when she found something that made her freeze. The scent of her acquaintance, Augustus - here at last. Caspa had assumed he had got lost, or decided not to come. She smiled inwardly to think of the fun it would be to tease him about his slowness in arriving. She'd been halfway around the world and back since they last spoke. Well, almost.

She followed his trail, amazed at how far it reached while still being fresh; he had been moving quickly. She put down her knife and shifted, supposing there wasn't much hope of catching him on her two heron-stalk legs. Knife back between her teeth, she bounded along his trail until she reached the little house and slowed down to look at it. There were quite a few of these small human structures out here, spread out and mostly wooden, as if lots of poor and solitude-preferring humans had once inhabited the area. Since then a quite sinister type seemed to be drawn to the outlying hovels, such as the abusive little terrier she'd unwittingly drunk wine with once. And now today, Augustus. She jumped up the wooden steps. "Are you trying to hide in here, Augustus?" she wondered aloud, looking all about for the scar-marked wolf.

Image courtesy of h.koppdelaney @ flickr; Table by the Mentors!

Augustus · 12-19-2011, 08:10 PM

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Augustus

OOC Heehee okay okay! Ooh and very pretty table and avvie xD -- Word Count → 501

He led himself deeper into the cabin, careful not to disturb it too much in case it was inhabited. He’d rather not be chewed out for trespassing, although the scents were faint. He was surprised that it had been so long, but still remained in tact. The walls were showing some sign of decay and the floors were soiled with dust and dirt, but otherwise it held against the wind. If you listened close enough it almost sounded like a howl. Augustus couldn’t help himself and joined his voice to the winds. He called shortly letting his voice fade as they had. He smiled faintly and swished his tail. His voice bounced back to him from the walls and he was startled by its volume. His ears flattened briefly. Well, he wouldn’t be doing that again. He dismissed it and slowly continued his journey through its expanse. He came to pause at a room in the back of the hut. It was hidden behind a door held slightly ajar. He pushed his muzzle in the gap and nudged it open slowly. It creaked on its hinges, a long mournful sound that made his ears twitch. Within was a bed and some other furnishings, shrouded in dust and other filth. He sniffed cautiously and then sneezed, dust particles flying and playing in the light of a broken window. He growled in the slightest and lashed his bushy tail once, continuing towards the bed. His head cocked slightly to the side.

It was a strange structure, four-legged with a wire frame and a strange square shape on top. When he reared up and placed his paws on it, it gave slightly. It was soft and cushioned. He bore his weight upon it and shook it. It stirred, but did not give wholly. He furrowed his brows a bit, was this where they slept? He leapt down off it and scooted backwards, then dug his front feet in and launched himself on top of it. It bounced a bit but held. He circled thrice then lay upon it. It was not at all unpleasant. He gave a contented sigh, perhaps the humans were right about some things. This sure beat sleeping on the ground any day. Still, he was not yet tired and had the day ahead of him, and soon had the floor beneath his paws again. He ducked his head beneath the bed, searching for any other remnants of the humans leavings, it was empty and as he begun to retreat a voice made him jump.

His head slammed against the wooden frame, he gave a yelp of pain, "Ow!" With a small whine he retreated and rubbed his head with a paw as pain pulsed through his skull. "Caspa?" He gasped and trotted out the open doorway. His eyes were scrunched up, and he had to squint at them. The two white figures danced before him a moment before becoming one. "I wasn’t hiding." He said once the world stopped spinning.
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Take the light and darken everything around me. Call the clouds, and listen closely I'm lost without you...

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Caspa Al-Fateh · 12-19-2011, 08:31 PM

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Thanks, both gifts! <3 I love your red fiery table

The thud and yelp of pain echoed dustily through the room to where Caspa stood atop the steps, and she gave a slow wag of her tail. Yes, that was Augustus. He emerged, his eyes dazed and she moved languidly to sniff him over for open wounds. He appeared undamaged, at least recently - those scars were never going to fade, most likely. "Then what are you doing lurking in here?" she wondered: an honest question, as she didn't really think he'd been hiding. "What took you so long finding us?" She was glad he had made it, but the sentiment seemed too horribly saccharine to voice out loud. "I hope it wasn't my directions at fault." Was he glad he'd come? He couldn't have been here all that long, as the Cour's scent was not yet imbued deeply into his fur. Soon they would share the common taint, but for now he was still just plain Augustus. She thought she picked up some familiar traces on him, and knew he'd encountered other Miracles wolves already. She wasn't jealous, of course, not even slightly. "Do you like the Cour des Miracles so far, then?"

Image courtesy of h.koppdelaney @ flickr; Table by the Mentors!

Augustus · 12-19-2011, 11:19 PM

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Augustus

OOC Thank you thank you xD -- Word Count → 323

His tail wagged once in the wake of his pain. He’d no doubt have a splitting headache later. He shook his head to steady his vision, whipping it around as she inspected him. Did she really think him that prone to injury? “I’m whole…Does that surprise you?” He raised a brow and narrowed his eyes slightly on her. He’d suffered from discord in the past, but the present had no causes for concern. Being a loner had its own challenges, but none he could not deal with. Pack life was so appealingly mundane, the offer had proven all too valuable to refuse in the end. I wouldn’t call it lurking. His ear twitched. His pride didn’t allow him to admit that he hadn’t any reason to be there at all. It was just the first stop in his exploration of the pack’s lands.

“No…It wasn’t your directions. For a while I wasn’t sure if I was going to come at all.” His gaze shifted to the ground and his voice was quiet. He didn’t want her to take it in the wrong way, but he had come, after all, perhaps if she did take offense the fact of the matter would make up for it. “I can’t really say, I’ve only been here a few hours.” He shrugged, although his first encounter resulted in him being slightly put off. Strel was a far cry from what he had expected.

He took a moment to observe her fully. This was his first time being this close to her, the fence prevented him from seeing her clearly before. Her fur was long and silky, her eyes dark- soulful. His eyes traced along her long and gently sloping figure. He paused when he caught a glimpse of the knife. He stiffened a bit. ”What is that?” He asked pointedly, slightly alarmed by its presence, and unnerved at the fact that she would need such a weapon.

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Take the light and darken

everything around me. Call the clouds, and listen closely I'm lost without you...

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Caspa Al-Fateh · 12-20-2011, 06:13 PM

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Word Count :: 000 Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.

Augustus pulled an expression on her she was more used to inflicting on others, and it made her smile, a rather goofy grin copied from somebody, perhaps himself. "It would if it were true. You're not whole, you're full of holes," she quipped and poked one of his long-healed scars with her muzzle. He went on to contradict her twice more, and she remembered then how contrary this dishevelled wolf had been. Hopefully he knew when to turn that particular charm off. He didn't need to show her any kind of respect, and she much preferred him his normal argumentative self anyway, but there would probably be some here who wouldn't appreciate it. He seemed to have survived joining, at least. And only very recently indeed, it seemed. Caspa didn't ask where his indecision had lain. She could guess perfectly well. His last experience of pack life had been a heartbreaking tale to hear. She just hoped he was able to put the past behind him and give her home a good try, because she'd never had him down as the loner sort. He didn't seem sensible enough to look after himself properly, for a start. She'd dropped the knife on the top step, and realised his eyes had turned to the metal-glinting blade. "It's a toy," she told him unconvincingly. "Well... today, it is a toy. Sometimes it is a tool. You have never seen a knife before?"

Image courtesy of h.koppdelaney @ flickr; Table by the Mentors!

Augustus · 12-22-2011, 04:24 PM

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Augustus

OOC Haha, he's so simple sometimes -- Word Count → 296

Seeing her expression his brows furrowed. He felt her snout jab his own muzzle and his face grew heated. His eyes shifted almost immediately to the ground. He cleared his throat to regain his composure and returned his gaze. “That’s not true…” He objected with a grumble. He completely ignored the humor she’d intended by her statement. Having her think him so incapable hurt his pride, and he objected whole-heartedly. On another note he was relieved to see that she did not try to question his indecision, and was quite contented to let the subject fade away.

His eyes he fixed on the knife, then back to her as she explained. He had seen one before, only one. It sent a chill down his spine, and he did not speak for several moments, gazing at the cruel steel almost mournfully. His ears twitched to her words. How casually she spoke of it, you would not believe the thing could have been capable of taking a life, but Augustus was not fooled, he knew all too well. A knife had been found next to his brothers corpse stained with his blood. It was different than this one, far more crude, but there was no denying. He ceased to look at it as he felt the sting of loss again. His eyes on the ground he gave reply. “I have…" He started. The white male’s eyes darted back to it briefly. “Some toy.” The words were bitter.

He swallowed his pain and revealed his yellow and green orbs. “Why do you need it?” An honest question on his part. What reason could a canine possibly have that would call for such a thing. Fang and claw had served him well all his life, he simply could not comprehend.
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Take the light and darken everything around me. Call the clouds, and listen closely I'm lost without you...

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Caspa Al-Fateh · 12-29-2011, 01:01 PM

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Oh no, not a WEIRD POST! Sorry bout that.

They had ribbed each other ceaselessly up til now, and without a mote of bitterness, but Augustus seemed personally offended by the presence of the knife in a way he had not been even when she had sent truly critical jabs of sarcasm his way. He could not even meet her eyes as he grumbled about her so-called toy. "I don't need it," she returned, frowning. "I just like it. It handles easily and can be thrown." Was she rubbing salt in the wound of his dislike by defending her choice of accessory? She hadn't even meant to bring it to their first reunion, but she hadn't known that today would be the day of all days Augustus chose to appear. Now it was there, and she was speaking of war, but he sought peace. Quickly she added "I don't mean at somebody, but just up in the air, to be caught again." Now she really did sound ridiculous, and she hoped he recaptured his spirit and managed to lampoon her deservedly for it. She was speaking on four legs, to a wolf who perhaps did not even know of were-shifting practices, and he was bound to not understand her. She flopped down heavily onto the porch, her regretful eyes on him, waiting for the awkward reply that was bound to complete this awkward turn of conversation, and not enjoying the anticipation at all.

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Augustus · 12-30-2011, 02:22 PM

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Augustus

OOC No worries it's great xD -- Word Count → 231

His eyes narrowed upon her for a moment but turned swiftly away as his head did as well. He let the words pass through him possessing no desire to hear her explanations. There was no reason to keep such a weapon, or toy as she named it. He snorted and lashed his tail glowering at the distance. He leaped lightly off the porch and trotted past her, not even bothering to look. He kept his back to her, his ears swiveling to various ambient elements about them. They perked suddenly when he heard her mention her uses for it. He turned his head back to peer at her darkly. “Let’s see you throw it then…” He challenged angrily, bushy tail thrashing once. He paused, as if waiting for a reply. “Go on…Throw it.” He now growled more demanding than before. “Except this time…don’t catch it.” He turned completely around to face her straight on. If she was content on defending it, let her do so…and regret it. And indeed he saw the regret in her dark eyes, but he wasn’t about to check himself. He could not comprehend why a canines with fangs and claws of her own had need of a weapon, better yet a need to use such a thing in daily life. It’s very presence filled him with a curious loathing. Was there no end to this folly?
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Take the light and darken everything around me. Call the clouds, and listen closely I'm lost without you...

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Caspa Al-Fateh · 01-01-2012, 03:53 PM

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He brushed past her angrily, and Caspa felt his disapproval like a solid manifestation of the skin-deep affectation that she often bore herself. She stayed staring straight ahead as if she had not noticed, until he snapped his challenge and she whipped her own head round to face him, back to back and eye-to-eye with prominent hackles and spines underlining both their similarly surly expressions. It seemed strangely fitting a stand-off. He wanted her to show him her throwing. She could not do so without shifting into her two-legged form, and she never shifted in front of somebody if she could help it. She was slow and ponderous in her transformation. He turned around fully, as if to underline his final brutal-toned expectoration, the words jabbing at her in a manner she could only lift her brows at, eyes almost amused at his vitriolic outburst. She turned to face him as well, standing still and poised in the face of his pained expression before turning to walk a few slow and deliberate circles around the bristle-tailed figure. Why he wanted a demonstration, she had no idea, but she could not oblige just then. "You are giving orders already?" she scowled as she passed in front of him, eyeing him fiercely. "You aren't even an alpha-in-waiting here. You should rein that in, my friend."There was a light emphasis on the word 'friend' which both insinuated the tenuous nature of this relationship and the freshness of the newly acquired label. She couldn't imagine why he might be feeling so deeply affected by the blade. In the hotel and the humanised pack they inhabited, knives were commonplace, and the fact didn't strike Caspa that he might associate one with something that had occurred another time, another place and with another weapon altogether. She felt almost hurt that he was suddenly trying to antagonise her for some reason, but she wasn't going to be intimidated.

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Augustus · 01-04-2012, 03:39 PM

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Augustus

OOC Sorry for the wait!! -- Word Count → 454

He wanted her to get rid of it. He thought that was plain. It had been the sole reason he’d asked for such a demonstration, yet she did not seem to understand. He watched her warily as she took several circles around him. Was she sizing him up? He puffed up more in reply and stood tall, turning both eyes and head with every step, not letting her out of his sight. He met her eyes when she paused before him, and felt the urge to bare teeth, and his were not dulled by generations of domestication. He gave in to the urge in the end, but only partially. A single pearl dagger made its appearance against his lip a clear warning to ‘back off.’ But she would not yield, in fact she remained firm before him. She was not intimidated. The realization shot through him and he nearly gaped in surprise, but instead tossed his head in agitation. He felt his paws tense and his limbs become stone. His claws broke the earth beneath them as he gripped it fiercely. Two could play this game. She will give in…She has to. He assured himself. Although, the outcome looked bleak.

He was further enraged when she commented upon his rank, bringing his past along with it. “Do not presume to know what you do not understand, Dog.” If she was going to go there, he had better sink even lower. The word ‘dog’ was uttered in the most derogatory sense, and he’d almost spat it at her. His fury evident in his every syllable. If only she’d dropped the knife they would not have even reached this point. Not only that, she’d called him ‘friend.’ He ran her sentence through his head again, and paused when the word echoed inside his skull. Was it true…Did she consider him a friend? It was then he turned his back on her, stalking away some distance before falling to his haunches. Perhaps there was a lesson to be learned here, and who was to teach it but her…Only she could have dealt with him so skillfully. If it had been any other canine and he, the disagreement would have surely come to blows by now.

He found himself regretting his words, it was wrong to insult her breed, but he felt he had no other choice. There was nothing he could hold above her in the land she’d been dwelling within for months. He snorted his remaining anger and kept his gaze upon the ground, not yet willing to relinquish his grip on his most recent tantrum. He kept his words inside him, not wanting to renew the spark of his fury, or hers for that matter.
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Take the light and darken everything around me. Call the clouds, and listen closely I'm lost without you...

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Caspa Al-Fateh · 01-06-2012, 05:49 PM

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fun, fun, fun thread.

And yet again the two mature and dignified canines had descended the slippery slope into petty name-calling, it seemed. Except that this insult was not an insult: it was an extremely nonsensical comment on her species, although he spoke as if he thought of it as lower than his. This could only be ignorance, though, so Caspa did not take offence. If he really had nothing better than that to throw back at her, then he must not find too much fault with her personally, which was an encouraging thought despite the uncouth behaviour it was wrapped up in. As he turned his back on her she gave a soft moan of despair under her breath. "Do you want to try and think of something else to say to me before I chase you right back out of these lands?" It was an empty thread, mostly. If he'd actually attacked her, she might have tried it. Shifted and with his despised knife in hand, she could probably manage. But he'd just been a grouch, and she could forgive him that. She wasn't the sweetest company herself: she didn't know how to be. Plus, she would have felt rather guilty for leading him on all this way and then proving the journey to have been wasted. No: Caspa was determined to build bridges between them somehow, although she would probably have quite a lot more rough edges to sand off the conversation before they could find any kind of normality, now they'd both got their hackles up. "Why does a silly human tool make you lose your temper anyway?" she asked, a rather pleading tone in her voice. She prayed there was a sensible answer ahead: even Caspa's infinitesimal patience could only stretch so far.

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Augustus · 01-10-2012, 01:55 PM

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Augustus

OOC xD Poor Caspa he's such a grumpy gus, but he's too wound up to realize that she has no idea why he's so angry. -- Word Count → 447

Two brows, once clenched in anger now cut a less severe shape in the wolf’s forehead. He was puzzled to say the least. He’d been expecting a harsher reply as he was not the only one here with a rather developed sense of pride. Flustered, he dropped his guard and gaped at her in bewilderment. His lower jaw twitched feebly for a couple moments, but no sound came out. He didn’t know what to say and sat there looking quite the fool. It wasn’t until she threatened him that he snapped his jaw shut. He quickly bristled and stood again, desperately trying to compensate for his former lapse of composure.

“Who’s stopping you? It couldn’t be me. I wouldn’t lay a claw on you. I wouldn’t want to mess up that pretty long fur of yours.” His words were both sincere and sincerely sharp- meant to sting if only a little. He would never actually harm her, he hoped she knew that. For not one reason, but many in fact. Firstly she was female, secondly he could not deny that she was indeed ranked above him, and thirdly she was a friend- whatever that entailed. Perhaps, one day he’d learn to value that friendship a little more. For now he was content to squabble with her, still desperately clinging to the belief that his distrust in her self-proclaimed ‘toy’ was well founded. If she had the need to participate in such combat he would happily teach her the proper way, but the chance of her asking at this point seemed little to none and Augustus chose not to speak his offer, not now.

He held his gaze on the ground below him, neither wishing to challenge her again, or let her see the gleam of anger that still lingered. The whining edge of her voice perked his interest and he lifted his head slightly to gaze at her out of the corners of his eyes. She was nearly exhausted with him he could see. When word of her query reached him he snorted. Was it not obvious. "Ugh." He sighed heavily, exasperated. Was there no way to get through to her? Was he seriously that hard to understand? “You are aware that my brother is dead?” He said slowly, attempting to keep his tone even, and overthrow the sound of the underlying growl that laced his chords. "The Luperci clan close to our borders were blamed for it…do you want to know why?” He gave no sign of pausing, the question blatantly rhetorical. “What do you think they found next to his dead body?” His eyes strayed toward the steel beside her making the answer quite plain.
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Take the light and darken everything around me. Call the clouds, and listen closely I'm lost without you...

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Caspa Al-Fateh · 01-10-2012, 06:47 PM

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She is mean. And doesn't take him seriously. :|

No matter how hard he tried to be intimidating, even facing a shrimp like Caspa the poor wolf just couldn't manage it. Okay, perhaps she was a pretty formidable subject considering she very rarely found herself flustered by anything at all. But he really was an amusing sight to her, falling helplessly from a sham of threatening ire into clearly genuine confusion and pain. However, even his words from the former of the two personalities were feeble. Who was stopping her? Only herself and her strangely compelling pity for him. Which he would be reversing utterly if he wasn't careful. She was compassionate still, though: she would not speak this thought aloud, in order to save his undeserved pride. He said her long fur was pretty, but she remained unmoved. Had he not snarled the word 'dog' mere minutes before? His sarcasm was blunt and, in Caspa's opinion, just as insulting as his tones. Another woman might have been mollified by the word 'pretty', but not Caspa, not in the least.

He was impatient, as if she was supposed to read his mind and understand his feelings automatically. He was truly annoyed, though, and she did hope he would explain soon, rather than make her force him to spell it out. He spoke of the death of his brother, and she honestly could not remember him mentioning such an event. He'd talked about his exile, but had he mentioned a brother? "Can I really be expected to keep tabs on all the ins and outs of your family who I have never met?" she answered tartly, still in the debating mindset, before the truth of his words hit her and she dipped her head in gruff apology. "I am sorry, though for your loss." The part the knife played had become obvious now: his brother was killed in a fight with a similar weapon, hence the luperci-blaming. "Did these friendly neighbours of yours use knives, then?" she asked rhetorically, knowing the answer was in the affirmative so continuing "Still, I do not see your anger. There are thousands of knives in the world. Just as there are thousands of luperci. Hating every knife is as senseless as hating every wolf, dog and hybrid that shifts." It was of course never an ideal plan to attempt to reason somebody out of a huff, but Caspa was tenacious enough to try it anyway.

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Augustus · 01-11-2012, 02:26 PM

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Augustus

OOC It's good in a way -- Word Count → 530

He was relieved to see that his former blunder had not been realized, or she’d simply said nothing of it, and he was able to continue to grasp what shred of pride he had left. She was indeed a formidable debating partner, and had not dropped out yet, but neither had he, although he was beginning to feel that his argument was becoming more and more pathetic. Each visit with the long furred dog seemed to open more wounds. Although, he didn’t doubt it was unintentional, to be reminded of his past pained him greatly still, as there were only months to separate him from his memories. Not only that, but he’d plenty of time to himself. Perhaps, if he was in the presence of others more often his memories would fade until one day when he would forget them all together. No…Not forget them. He could never forget them. They were what made him what he was, who he was. He would never lose sight of how far he had come. But this land, this new world was strange to him. These canines walked on two feet and presumed to fill in the void that the humans had left behind. It was odd to him that wolves as well as dogs had adjusted to such a lifestyle. Had they truly forgotten their ancestors to such a degree that they would shun the lives that they had lived for so long? There was nothing wrong with a life lived on four paws in the wolf’s mind.

When she spoke the truth of her words hit him sharply. He recalled telling her of his past, but perhaps he’d left something out. “Oh.” He muttered, when the realization struck him. He had made no mention of his brother or his death out of wariness. “I guess I left that out.” He didn’t linger on that tangent and recovered soon after. He was making careless mistakes, where Caspa had not faltered. He was beginning to feel that he had judged her unjustly. But he was a stubborn wolf and would never admit a fault...Almost never. He turned his head to look at her straight on, pelt bristling momentarily with her tone, but when her head dipped and word of her apology reached him he relaxed as best he could. “He was my only friend,” he whispered, his voice nearly inaudible and hard to discern. He hadn‘t been this way always, not when he was young. It was his brother’s death that had made him grow into such an introvert and quick-tempered creature. As there had been no one to fill the void that he had left in his heart.

His own muzzle fell and his eyes glistened, but he did not let her see. The knife had stirred feelings within him that he had held so long inside. His anger dulled. He found he didn’t want to argue anymore. “You’re right.” He admitted in defeat, having heard something similar from the lips of a large Luperci male. He turned his back on her again and laid down in the grass, tucking his face into his bushy white tail, shielding his eyes from sight.
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Take the light and darken everything around me. Call the clouds, and listen closely I'm lost without you...

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Caspa Al-Fateh · 01-15-2012, 07:32 PM

Words: 403
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I know what you mean :| This is really getting old now, sorry about the wait...I'm happy to wrap up if you want to, or carry on, up to you Big Grin

It was just a misunderstanding, then. Although she knew she was particularly meticulous in her memory and attention to detail, and she couldn't expect the same from everybody, the wolf did seem a particularly absent-minded sort. At least now his entire story had spilled out, or, more of it anyway - more than necessary, perhaps, but Caspa was grateful for the insight. All the fight had gone out of the gash-faced male as he folded into the grass, a subdued sight. She had much preferred him standing up to her. The piteous Augustus was back, and Caspa was as confused as ever as to how to react. She wasn't the type to pour sympathy or motherly comfort or even give a mote of affection or empathy. She could not admit to having emotions whether they existed or not, and so she could only blink blankly down at him from her black-rimmed eyes. Even wry humour, often her fall-back resort, did not seem appropriate here. While she considered things, her mind whirring, she analysed the reasoning behind his sudden collapse. He was a stranger in a pack that seemed off-putting - even more so since she'd turned up carrying her unfortunate knife. He had been exiled from his family, homeland and apparently lost his only friend. He was lonely and he didn't know who he was any more, she supposed. It was quite a big problem to tackle. Only he could fight off the black mood that seemed to be threatening to settle, but perhaps she could help him to want to fight it, because that was the hardest part. Caspa nosed the knife under a tussock of grass, out of view for the present. Then she slunk towards the curled form, eyes attentive for signs of flinching away. She flopped onto her stomach, letting her chin fall onto her paws so that her nose was inches from his tail. She let out a huge sigh. All she could really do was be here - and show that she was capable of putting up with his nonsense, because she was reliable, and a loyal friend, even to the undeserving. She spoke almost without thinking, something of a rare occasion, although the sentences were as carefully formed as usual. "I regret you have not found the most pleasant of welcomes here. I would have preferred it otherwise."

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