Contemplation

Neela Garcia · 01-29-2012, 07:01 PM

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Dated on the day it was posted, for once. Midnight..

Word Count → 418

Neela leant back against the tree and let the soft gurgling of the brook calm her thoughts and drown out the sounds of the festival drifting over from behind her. As much as the collie was enjoying the festival she found the constant noise a little overwhelming at times, especially compared to the peace and serenity of Ichika no Ho-en where she now dwelt. She had moved away from the main party for a bit and had absconded to a clearing along a small brook some 50 feet out from the festival.

Neela's guitar lay on the ground at her side but for once the collie didn’t feel like playing, instead she was content to just sit back and look at the stars, peeking lazily out from behind the tree canopy above her. Unfortunately, as was inevitable when Neela was left unoccupied with little to keep her busy, Neela's mind began to wander and, as was typical for recent times, it began to wander down to her arm.

While the collie didn’t like to admit it, internally she recognised the fact that she was a fairly vain dog. Neela was blessed by the fact that the thick fur on her body typically hid what scars she had received, with the only scar she had to date which fell entirely out of her thicker fur being small and easily missed.

Until now. While her stomach had healed cleanly the wound sustained to her arm during her fight with the blonde dog was still clearly visible. The wound had closed but, even in the decreased light offered by the moon, a strip of livid red flesh was still visible, a raw strip tracing its way up her left arm. Even when the wound died down the pink of a scar would be easily visible against her brown arm fur.

Neela raised her right arm, running the fingertips of that hand down the scar, wincing lightly as the still-sore skin twinged slightly at the touch. It wasn't so much the effect on her appearance, Neela mused as she mulled the mark over, but what it represented. Neela had been fighting to avenge Kiara, to drive the attacker away from her home and defend her friend. She had failed, and now bore this mark, a permanent reminder of her failure.

Neela sighed and leant her head back, trying to lose herself once more in the stars, but even as her eyes wandered her fingers traced the path up and down her arm.

Saul Stormbringer · 02-04-2012, 08:57 AM

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omnomnom

The noise of the festival was certainly something that the young male could find himself getting lost in. There was such a pull towards the festivities, the sheer joy that exuded from most everyone in attendance that the male was drawn closer like a drug. It would be so easy for him to lose himself in this mess, to forget who he was and where he'd come from, what his purpose in life was. There were a few things that allowed him to securely cling to his being- his son and his home, Nayru and X'yrin, Saluce and Eclipse. They held him together when he could easily have gone just a little wild and he never would have returned the same. There was something primal about the nights in the festival that completely contradicted the formal civilisation that the days trading and learning presented. It would be a marvel to most and Saul knew that he would need to head home soon enough to check on everything and make sure Ichika was okay.

For now, a little distance was going to have to do. Extracting himself from the snake-like arms of a female who'd decided that he would be dancing with her tonight, Saul took a deep breath as the sparse trees covered him. They weren't the same as the mighty forests that Ichika was home to, but there was a certain affinty with his home that he associated with the trees. A scent struck him then and Saul was surprised to find that he recognised it. With a soft smile, he moved forward, allowing his brain to shut off as his bodily instincts took over and he ghosted through the trees. Tracking was easy once you knew how to do it. Of course, he hadn't gone 50 yards in when the rust and white coloured collie made her appearance. Saul came to a stop, opening his eyes and allowing a brilliant smile to radiate forward.

"Neela- good evening." He offered softly before coming to sit at a tree opposite her. It was then that he noticed the wistful look she gave her arm and he allowed bright green eyes to flicker to the offending appendage. A thick scar ran down its length and Saul winced internally at the thought of the damage that could have caused her. There was nothing he could do now, but there was a certain part of him that wished there was something more he could have done for her. "Are you okay?" He asked, concerned. It wasn't the first time he'd seen Neela, out on her own, in some state of disarray. He leaned forward, a hand offered to examine the scar on her arm, to see if there was anything he could do.

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Neela Garcia · 02-05-2012, 07:46 PM

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OOC here.

Word Count → 332

Neela's ear twitched as she heard somebody approaching and she turned her head in place, catching sight of the approaching male. Neela recognised the male fairly quickly and gave him a toothy smile in greeting, her eyes glowing orange in the faint firelight carrying over from the festival, "Namaste Saul, it's good to see you."

Neela relaxed back against her tree as Saul took his own seat, suddenly letting out a snort as something occurred to her, "Heh, me, you, late at night and by a river. We seem to be making a habit of this." Neela let out an amused snort and resumed her stargazing for a few seconds before Saul spoke, bringing her back down to earth. "Huh? Oh, yeah I'm fine. Had a… disagreement shall we say with the dog that attacked Kiara." Neela let out an angry snort, "Stupid thing was still hanging around our borders."

The wound was old and already healed, as much as it would, but still Neela humoured the younger male and offered her arm out when Saul reached forwards, letting him take hold of it. "Doesn’t hurt much anymore now the bleedings stopped and my stomach stopped hurting at all a few days ago." Neela pursed her lips, not mentioning the small, ropey scars that resided just beneath her stomach fur. The bitch had been trying to mark her and Neela didn’t want to acknowledge that she had succeeded somewhat; while the marks weren't visible they were still there.

Deciding to make some small talk to pass the time while Saul examined her till he was happy Neela spoke again, "So, how's things back in Ichika? Been in Halifax for a week or two an haven’t had much news." As much as Neela had enjoyed getting out of the pack lands a bit to explore she was starting to get a little homesick; likely the festival would keep her entertained for a week or so more before she started to head home.

Saul Stormbringer · 02-08-2012, 12:36 PM

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lalalalala

As he'd approached, the red and white collie had greeted him in a manner he associated with Ichika. He allowed a soft smile to curl his lips as he settled his back against the tree opposite the female, his tail out at an awkward angle for a moment before he shuffled his bum forward, setting his tail to the side so that it would be more comfortable. Namaste Neela. He murmured softly, a creamy hand coming up to brush his hair away from his eyes. It would need cutting soon, but he had no idea who would be willing to do so for him. It was only a few short moments before a snort escaped the female, her voice coming again. Saul allowed himself a hearty chuckle before he nodded softly. It'll soon turn into a tradition, don't you worry. He answered softly, a sigh escaping him. Despite the coincidence, Saul enjoyed Neela's company and he was pleased he'd stumbled upon the female tonight.

As his question was asked, Neela seemed to come back down from wherever she was hanging above them. A quick glance appeared to be given to the pink scar on her arm before her scornful tones came. He hadn't heard about this incident and he was immediately intruiged. Of course, it was doubtful Neela knew the name of the blonde dog- it wasn't something you stopped to consider when another was attacking at your borders. It must have been some fight. He mused as she lay her arm in his outstretched paw. She was warm and comforting, even as she reassured him that it no longer hurt. Critical green eyes looked at the scar for a little while before he released her. He nodded softly, his tongue running out to wetten his lips before he sighed.

There isn't much I could have done about the scarring even if you had come to me when it happened... although I would have been able to help with the pain and the bleeding.

He said, a small smile on his lips. He would have been able to give her some herbs or something to help the pain and stop the bleeding. But there was nothing he could do now about it, so he allowed himself to concentrate on what she was asking him now. In fairness, since the festival started he hadn't returned to their home just yet, so there wasn't much to tell. "I haven't been back to Ichika since the festival started, but I'll be going back up at the beginning of February. Everything is alright I think- X'yrin and Saluce are going back up a few days before me to make sure everything is okay. I think Kiara stayed behind..." He said, and really that was the only information he could give her. He would know more when he returned in a few days, but for now that was enough. "How was your trip?" He asked, green eyes shining slightly in the minimal light.

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Neela Garcia · 02-14-2012, 09:23 AM

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Sorry for the wait

Word Count → 446

Saul's paws were soft and cool but even so as they brushed over the agitated skin on her arm it sent a twitch of pain through the recently healed wound, though Neela fought to control her expressions and not show any of this pain to Saul. When he commented on the fight she let out a noncommittal grunt, "That's one way to put it." The fight had been stranger; on one hand it had been gratifying, seeing the person who had hurt Kiara in pain and driven off but on the other hand it had been horrifying; painful, against everything Ichika stood for and it had brought up some emotions that Neela thought she had succeeded in burying deep within her mind. "Eh. Not glad it happened but I don’t regret it." She offered vaguely.

Neela's ears flicked a minute fraction as Saul mentioned he would have been able to help her with the pain and bleeding. Neela wasn't exactly sure where she had picked up her distaste for receiving medical attention from anyone, possibly from being forced to look after herself during her earlier years, but herself but nonetheless it stood; her method of throwing some alcohol on the wound and bandaging it was painful and inefficient but as long as it worked and kept her healthy she wouldn’t be seeking help from anybody else with her wounds any time soon.

Neela relaxed a tension she hadn’t even noticed building when Saul moved on from the subject and started relaying what he knew of the happenings at Ichika, though it seemed that he was nearly as out of the loop as she was. Still Neela sat politely, soaking up all the news of her home that was offered until Saul stopped and enquired about her trip, "Not bad, not bad. Weather was nice on the trip down, found myself some useful stuff in Halifax an met some interesting people." Neela's thoughts skipped unbidden to a tall brown wolf, sword over his back. She was glad of her fur hiding the inexplicable blush spreading over her face, pity nothing could be done about the uncontrollable twitch her ears made or the other little physical signs, though she couldn't but her finger on why they emerged.

Denial, Denial, Denial, a quiet part of her mind whispered, and she ignored it, instead focusing on Saul. "Festival's good isn’t it? Never seen so many people in one place before. Done a bit of trading as well," Neela's thoughts shot to the scent-marked barrel hidden in a bush by the nearby lake and filled with tools, whiskey and furs, but mostly whiskey, "What about you? Done any trading yet?"

Saul Stormbringer · 02-17-2012, 11:34 AM

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spreeeee mode activated! <33

Her arm lay in his and it wasn't hard for him to detect the slight jump that ran through the female had he'd touched the sensitive skin. An apologetic smile traced across his lips as he released her, hoping that he hadn't caused any more damage and not too much pain whilst examining the clearly healing wound. There was honestly not a lot he could have done about the situation and there was no point swelling on it. Still, her soft grunt made him smile before her words caused a soft chuckle in the man. He could see that Neela was not a fighter, but she'd stuck up for a pack-mate and had received the scars as penance for her troubles. I don't think anyone is ever glad to get in a fight, but you helped Kiara so it wasn't for nothing He offered in return, both of them sounding as if they needed to justify themselves.

It was easy to slip into conversation with Neela- she was a relatively happy and friendly person and the only other interaction he'd had with her had been pleasant enough after their initial confusion upon meeting. Saul had enjoyed himself, up on the deck of the Meria with the red lady next to him. There was nothing romantic about it- she was a companionable person and Saul felt himself falling into an easy friendship with the female. She answered his question, commenting on the weather and her trip to Halifax. He nodded softly, a smile on his lips. I'm glad you had a good time... He said, almost too low for her to hear. She seemed preoccupied enough though, her ears twitching back and forth and an uncomfortable look on her face.

A few beats of silence followed before Neela jumped on another port of conversation. Saul would have happily let the conversation die down- she didn't seem the type to want or need to fill the silences and Saul would have been grateful for the reprieve. But she commented on the festival and Saul chuckled softly. I met a relative... other than Eclipse, my siblings and my aunt, I've never met another Stormbringer. She was a Soulstorm, so is closer related to Eclipse... But it was nice to know my family isn't a dying line. He said, thinking back to his amusing meeting with Lilin. She was a nice person and Saul thought that he might visit her down near Halifax when he could. Neela asked if he'd done any trading and he nodded softly. Yeah, I found a trader who had a couple of horses and things. I got another horse and three pouches of medical herbs that I couldn't find up near Ichika. I wanted to see if I could find a bird trader, I'm interested in acquiring an avian companion. Saul chuckled, reaching both his arms behind his head as he leaned back. It was a nice night and he was glad of the good company.

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Neela Garcia · 02-17-2012, 03:19 PM

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X_X

Word Count → 429

Neela was suddenly more interested in the dirt at her side than Saul as the conversation moved to him meeting his family, one of her hands drawing intricate patterns in the dirt and her eyes fixed on these patterns as she tried to force her mind away from the bad memories that always came to the surface when family came up in a conversation.

Still it would be rude to just ignore Saul so she forced herself to look back up at him. The smile on her face wasn't quite forced as she was glad that at least Saul had family near him that he was on good terms with, but it was certainly strained. "That’s good, suppose it's nice to know that you have family nearby." Neela leaned back with a wistful sigh, "Wish I had some family around here I could see. Or some family at all that I was on anything approaching good terms with. Most'a what I've got left, somebody would be reaching for a knife if we met." Neela regretted the words the instant they left her mouth. The collie seemed to have developed a annoying habit recently of speaking carelessly and then depressing herself with her own words and once again she had struck true in this regard.

Mood struck and ears lowered Neela quieted up and listened as Saul spoke. Neela wasn't particularly fond of horses so that part of the conversation went over her head mostly but the last part was interesting. "Yeah, birds are pretty cool." Neela spoke, her mood and ears rising slightly, "Don’t think you've met Grynn have ya? She's a peregrine falcon, older'n you an been with me most her life an half'a mine." Neela smiled as she thought of her feathered companion, who had remained in ichika no Ho-en on this trip for reasons unknown to Neela. "I’d recommend ya look for some type of hawk or falcon, or maybe an owl. They tend to be pretty intelligent; Grynn can’t speak too well but she's easily as smart as a wolf in her own way, just thinks a little differently." Neela let a mischievous grin cross her face before, unable to resist the urge, she let out a series of short and rapid clicks and whistles, her approximation of bird speech, which roughly translated to her explaining the merits of falcons, "Maybe I can teach ya the low speech if ya get somethin' similar to Grynn?" Neela said, both offering her services and explaining what the hell she had just been doing in the same sentence.

Saul Stormbringer · 02-17-2012, 04:20 PM

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spreeeee mode activated! <33

He could almost see that the subject was something awkward for Neela. As soon as the words had left his mouth, he could see her arms flit down to her sides, her fingers digging in to the mud and swirling to create patterns. Her change in demeanour left him no doubt that she found the subject difficult and he instantly felt bad about bringing it up. Of course, there was no way he could have known that his good news would be something that upset the red and white female, he wasn't clairvouyent. She spoke however, apparently trying to glaze over the avoident behaviour. "Yeah, its nice to know I have someone to go to." He agreed, green eyes critical as he looked at her. She seemed to want to share and Saul was perfectly happy to listen. It wasn't a very happy story however and he frowned softly.

"I'm sorry to hear that Neela... I might not be blood family, but I'll always be here for you if you need me."

He tried to reassure her, although he had no idea if she would take heed of his words. He meant it though- he would be there for her if she ever needed him. Green eyes were quick to see the regretful look on her face and he hoped that she wasn't beating herself up too badly for revealing something deeply personal. He wasn't there to judge her and he certainly wasn't going to say anything to anyone else about what Neela told him. Of course, she seemed to perk up a little as she heard about him wanting a bird. He allowed his face to lift up in surprise as she told him about having a bird of her own- Grynn.

"You're very knowledgeable on this subject!" He commented as she launched into a description about the birds themselves. He lapped it up eagerly, wishing that there might be some way for Neela to be there when he bought his bird. She seemed to know so much and he was glad that she'd be around for him to learn from. He laughed softly as she spoke to him in soft chirps and clicks, a strange language that meant very little to him. Perhaps he would be able to learn some of what she'd said. "Low speech would be amazing to learn. And very useful as well." He said, his head nodding softly, his chin brushing his chest. He allowed his train of thought to drift for the moment, before green eyes came back up. "How did you acquire the Meria?" He asked, curious about the boat she owned.

OOC ENDING
Saul and Neela continue to talk, Neela reveals how she acquired the Meria and Saul tells her he doesnt know how to sail or anything. They don't do a lot more than that!

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