Birds of a Feather

Skye Collins · 01-28-2012, 04:42 PM

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woohoo! sorry for the long post, you can pretty much just read the last paragraph xD takes place after the main thread, skye's just being a silly loner : P

Skye had found the idea of the festival and the feast intriguing - having come from the d'Artisan pack of artists and merchants themselves, she had studied the inner workings of the festival and the band of merchants with an almost business-like interest, attempting to find out how they worked, how they functioned, how the festival was run and why they had come to settle in Souls for this short period of time. It was fascinating indeed to her; she had talked intensively with one of the merchants of Mahavite's crew, talked about how they were travelers of the land and had settled here because of the dense amount of packs in the area. It was true; she had even heard that Titania, Shawchert and Orin's daughter, had created a new pack with her assumed mate, Zalen, not too long ago. Coupled with the sheer amount of new packs that had appeared since Cercatori d'Arte's own birth, it was no wonder that Mahavite's gang of merchants had decided to set up their merchant's festival here in the land of Nova Scotia.

Her mind brought her momentarily to the creation of her pack, and again came slight sadness that Shawchert had decided to leave the pack. She had thought that he was loyal, that he was stronger than the depression that seemed consume him in the last weeks with the pack of merchants and artisans. It seemed not, however, and the only reminder of him left in the pack was Juliet; she did not know anything else of his other daughter other than the fact that she had created her own pack, or some wandering loners had told her of the new group of canines, New Dawn. She still hoped that her former leader - and now a loner - found happiness where he was looking for it, wondering where he could be now.

However, now was not the time for sorrow and melancholy, she thought, and her mind returned to the festival and the feat that the group of merchants had done. Yes, it was no wonder that they chose this crowded peninsula to host their event - and what a success that event had been! Wondering why her own pack had never received the sheer amount of attention this festival had, she now chalked it up to advertisement. Mahavites and his friends seem to have gone through a lot of work to achieve their goal; the decorations, the tents, the area - all were perfect. Wolves from all the lands, the southern areas and the northern, cooler ones, had clustered together. It was a beautiful thing, Skye thought; a wonderful thing that wolves from all different packs could meet together, trade, and be merry without a care in the world. There were few spats and fights here, and the idea seemed peaceful, and even if Mahavites's main goal seemed to be obtaining a good name and more stock, the own merchant within Skye saw nothing wrong with that whatsoever.

The man had even been so kind to arrange a banquet for the leaders of the different packs. Yes, it may be for publicity and to make himself look good with the other leaders, but Skye was nonetheless impressed by his initiative, and made a note to speak with Mahavites later; if he was available, that was. The room was gorgeous, adorned with tables and different decorations, some reminding Skye of her mate with bones and feathers, and others being more delicate - clay pots and other such trinkets. There were tables filled with food, and Skye was no exception - she had brought with her a large hunk of meat, seasoned with herbs and spices from Cercatori d'Arte's own garden. She lay the meat down at one of the more vacant tables, and turned to the leader of the merchants as he made his short speech.

Afterwards, more food appeared in the arms of Mahavites's crew, and the leader himself seemed to disappear to mingle within the crowd of leaders. After a while of eating and mingling, she decided to take a step back. She looked out; she could see some leaders that she was familiar with, and some that she wasn't; the scents of many different packs mingled and mixed with each other and mixed with the scent of the food as well. Skye herself looked out at them; it was an interesting view, to see so many wolves of a dominant position and a high power within their pack - dozens and sometimes even more wolves at their command - mingling with each other and speaking as if they were simply pack mates within a pack's feast. She stood apart from the crowd for a moment, bemused by the mechanics of the feast, and amazed that Mahavites managed to pull it off. She was also impressed; having so many leaders in one area representing their packs and at the same time being satisfied with the festival and banquet was a commendable feat indeed.

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Titania Moonsong · 01-29-2012, 10:21 PM

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burning the ground, I break from the crowd
I'm on the hunt I'm after you

strut on a line, it's discord and rhyme

AND I'M HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF

Word Count :: 749 LOL no worries. I'm trying to finish SoSu (11,000 to go!) so I might be full of them, too.

Zalen and Titania's presence at the feast had been a careful decision, and contingent upon the fact that they would spend as little time at the festival as they had to. Initially they were not in favor of attending the affair at all, but after some thought they agreed that they must go to represent New Dawn. Their absence would send many messages, most of which might not be good. Their kind was strong, capable. If they stayed secreted away in New Dawn others might assume that they hid behind their borders out of weakness. The couple attended the feast together, arriving early and bringing several rabbits they had hunted as their contribution to the banquet; those and the rabbit pelts made fine gifts. Some brought deer meat, something that Titania couldn't understand justifying. Catching a deer was a big deal and she couldn't imagine just giving away that kind of bounty; no, the best meat stayed behind with her family. Then again, some of these people used other means to trap their food, and slaughtering farm beasts wasn't as tricky as hunting a wild buck.

She remained on her mate's arm for a large part of the banquet, not knowing anyone from the other packs excepting Skye and a couple Ichikans, and even then she wasn't sure where she stood with her former Capitana. Well, that wasn't entirely true... She did know of the man from Salsola, the Black man, and that encounter had not exactly gone over in her favor. Titania stayed close to her mate out of love and devotion, though both clearly conducted themselves with pride and the girl-Alphess would not have been afraid to move from him if she must. Still, it was strange how quickly she had become accustomed to the ways of New Dawn. Although she had been raised within a humanistic pack, all of this felt so odd and foreign to her now.

Finally after hungry bellies became full with delicate meats from around the continent and the tentative opening ceremonies had passed, tongues began to flap. The Luperci leaders began to speak more freely with one another, even if it was only to satisfy common courtesy, and small groups were formed here and there. Titania's amber eyes watched the crowd carefully. Did anyone else realize that they were giving their allegiances away? Most seemed to mingle fairly well, but they were always drawn back to their friends. These clues might be important to remember later on in life.

And with that thought, Titania turned to look at her own mate and the Ichikans who they had chosen to sit next to, and spoke with for the majority of the hour. Well, they certainly weren't being quiet about their union either. The night was still young, though, and maybe no one else noticed. Not that New Dawn had any reason to hide it's friendship with their neighbor pack... it still could be a strategic error.

Leaning into Zalen, she gave him a nuzzle on the cheek and whispered something into his ear. After a returned affection, she slid away from him, rising from the bench and moving over to the red headed leader of d'Arte.

Titania had grown much since her time in d'Arte. For the longest time it seemed that she would end up smaller than her own tiny mother, but she was still very young and finally her father's genes kicked in. She had filled out, grown taller, and it was likely that she wasn't even done growing yet, only having reached 5'9 so far. Still, it was a bit of a shock to her when she walked up and had to angle her gaze down to look at Skye.

“Greetings, d'Arte Capitana,” she said formally, careful about her approach. She hadn't seen Skye since before she had abandoned the pack to form her own home with Zalen, and she knew leaving without word wasn't exactly the most responsible thing she could have done. Still, there were special circumstances at the time, and she didn't see herself ever doing it any differently. The same closed mouth smile that she used with her pack in delicate situations appeared on her muzzle now – careful not to bare her teeth, for physical signs meant everything to her people. “How have you been, Skye? And my former home? I have been meaning to come for a visit for weeks, but my people have need of me; we are still young.”

image from dawnthieves; code template by kitty; table by raze

Skye Collins · 01-30-2012, 08:33 PM

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Skye stood in the corner for a while, simply watching the leaders with a slight fascination; the interactions she had had while sitting at the table had been cordial enough, and she was still marveling at how so many wolves with such authority and leadership in their minds and dominance in their stances could mingle about peacefully - she supposed it was the same way that she could; with enough self-control, and social expectations, she supposed that anything was possible. It was, too, partly because of Mahavites and his crew's calming effects and food; she had experienced firsthand that a full belly was more likely to have a calm demeanor come with it - and an empty one was more likely to be harboring a crabby and irritable mood.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a familiar voice sounded, and she turned to it; it was Titania, Shawchert and Orin's child, who had gone to create a new pack with her presumed mate. Although she had been short in Cercatori d'Arte, seemingly taking after Orin, it was prominent that Shawchert's genes were also very present; she stood taller than the Capitana, although not as much as Shawchert had. And, although Titania held herself very tall and proud, Skye could not help but feel a twinge of amusement, and although she tried, she could not see the girl as anything more than a pup. It was more akin to a pup playing leader to her than anything, although she did not allow her emotions to betray her too much; even then, the memories of Titania being born and romping around the packlands as a pup, and even disobeying her elders and throwing a temper tantrum, were prominent in her mind.

"Hello, Titania," she said cordially, her own stance and facial expression forming a more casual and relaxed demeanor than Titania's more rigid, polite one. "I am doing well, as is Cercatori d'Arte." Her pack was doing well enough now - although after Titania left, much had happened. She did not withdraw the tidbits of news that she thought were important, however, and with New Dawn being so far from Cercatori, she did not take them as a threat, nor did she think Titania or Zalen to be one to attack them. And Cercatori was small, but not weak.

She felt no need to remind Titania of the incident with Liam, which she still had been in Cercatori to witness; rather, she gave information that she thought she should know - and information that gave Cercatori d'Arte the appearance of a strong pack, which they were, and were climbing to become. "We have built a boat, and it has proven to sail; we are hoping to be able to trade with oversea packs and lands quite soon; we already have picked up some trinkets from lands over the bay," she said happily. It had been true; the boat was a success, and Skye could not be happier about it. She then deemed it well to tell Titania of her family - she deserved to know if she did not already. Pain racked Skye as she thought of what had happened to Titania's family, to her own sister... and sympathy went out for Orin from her. "Orin is doing well," she said, stretching the truth slightly; Orin's obsession over Taliesin's guilt as a killer was growing each day, but she did not think it was necessary to divulge that information with Titania. "Shawchert has left Cercatori d'Arte - perhaps you have seen him?" she asked. It was no use delaying the real information that Juliet's sister deserved to know, however. "And Juliet... Orin has sent Juliet to the neighboring pack, Casa di Cavalieri," she said delicately. "Juliet had a run-in with a... horrible man, when she was outside the packlands," she said, cursing the man and herself for not being more vigilant for one of the youngest members of the pack. She felt that everything in her pack was wrong.. but she was determined to make it right. She was determined to make it a safe place for pups, not the horror that everyone saw it as. Poor Juliet seemed to feel safe in Casa for now, which was all that Skye wanted for her at the moment, for her to be happy and safe.

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