Family Ties that Bind

Helotes Lykoi · 02-08-2012, 10:38 PM

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WC :: Nat = 1764, J =1831

OOC :: This is an AIM thread between J and I, dated sometime in mid-January.

Valkyrie had been sleeping late today, she felt the need sleep this afternoon because she had been up most of the night with her owls, and also setting up some bird traps so she could catch another bird for herself. She didn't feel like getting up from her comfy spot in her father's den, but her ears had caught the sounds of someone lingering around, and she couldn't help but wake up. She yawned lightly, and she stretched and she walked out of the den, still naked, and looking like she had just woken up. She couldn't tell who was out there because of the bright sun that was in her eyes. "Hello?"

It had been a while since Helotes had made his way to the caverns along the beach. Last time he had been near here his cousin and secret lover had nearly drowned in the frothing waves. But Zana was gone now, off doing her job somewhere at the outskirts of the clan or beyond it, he didn't know. Either way, he was here now, and it was the first time he had been inside the caverns. He recognized many of the scents here, including Ezekiel's, but he steered clear of where he had smelled it coming from. Ever since the Aquila had chided him for his sexual exploits he had been avoiding him, not so much out of embarrassment but out of respect.

Walking down a moist corridor another familiar scent came to him, but it took him a moment to recognize it. Soon it came to him though, and his mind was swept back to salty, sandy love-making on the beach. Valkyrie. He had not spoken to her since that day, it seemed as if she had been avoiding him. He wondered why.

The scent was what hit her nose first since her eyes were not adjusting to the sunlight. She recognized the smell of the male right away, it being Helotes. She moved her hands from her eyes and she looked in the direction of the male. She got shy again, and she tried to cover herself, regardless of if the male had already been with her again. Oh....Hi Helotes...Uhm...How are you? she asked, her crossing one leg over the other. Have you uh... gotten less lonely? she asked him, cocking her head at him.

The female emerged before him, as slight and lovely as ever, but at the sight of him she seemed to wilt like a flower in the hot sun. Helotes cocked his head slightly at her reaction, it was almost as if he frightened her. How strange, he couldn't think of any reason why she would be acting this way. Was it the wolf pelt he now wore over his shoulders? Was it that he smelt of Halo? That could not be the reason, her scent had long faded. What then? Helotes took a step towards her, Hello Valkyrie. I have been less lonely yes. He hesitated, a hand going up into his long mane to scratch there somewhat nervously, Kept myself busy... and err... you? Haven't talk to you since... well...

She looked at him with nervous yellow eyes and she crossed her hands over her chest to cover her naked chest. She smiled sheepishly at him though and nodded her head at his words. I'm glad you are not lonely. Seems like I can't get unlonely though. she spoke, giving him a weird look. I've been okay...My father passed on since we last talked...It was kinda.... sad... she spoke, hesitating with her words, and getting slightly choked up. I uhm....I've been trying to get over him. He was the only thing that I had, even though he never loved me...

Helotes stood very still as she spoke in her quiet way. It seemed that she had not fared as well as he in the loneliness department and that was a shame; a woman as warm as she should not be alone. It was too bad that she was so timid, otherwise Helotes would have found her much more interesting and perhaps consider her a possible mate. But lately his romantic life had been complicated, explosively so, that he didn't even want to think about taking on another female.

When she spoke of her father though, his heart went out to her, My mother has also passed since the time of our first meeting. I sympathize. And despite himself he reached out to cup her chocolate paw in his own black one. The loss of a parent was something that hurt more than he had thought possible, and even though it had been a couple moon's turns since he had heard of his mother's death, his heart still ached at the thought. What hurt the most was that he hadn't had a chance to say goodbye.

Then, remembering the clan meeting, Helotes' ears perked at her, What of those pups scampering after you at the meeting; are they not your own? He had wondered this when he had seen it, but because of her shyness had not gone to ask her about it.

She had no prospective males in mind for a mate, but she did want a mate. She wanted one really badly too. She just....couldn't find one that interested her in Inferni, you know, besides the male that was right in front of her, but he had merely been a one night thing, and something that was very sudden and almost outrageous. It always was that either they didn't interest her, or she was not interesting to them. She did like him though, and she thought him to be dashingly handsome, but she doubted that he would ever go for a girl like she was. She was too shy, too inexperienced, too virgin for him. It's not like she tried to be these things, it just happened. She looked at him again, this time, a slight glint of some hope left in her.

He had spoken of his own mother passing, and him sympathizing with her. She didn't know if he knew how she really felt though, because she was quick to assume that the male had not been there when his mother died. Valkyrie had come, if only seconds too late to help her father, and he had died in a ditch of his own blood, vomit and piss. She shouldn't have had to witness that, nor should she have had to dig him out of the muddy mess and hoist the dead body from the ditch and take him and his disgusting dead, mangled body to his den and to bury him close to the outside of it. She didn't have to do this for her father, but she did, because she loved him. She did not deny him access to her paw though, instead she let him take it. She looked at him in his handsome red eyes. She wanted to hug him, to feel his warmth, but she resisted the urge.

He spoke to her of the meeting, and of her siblings. My father... he wasn't the best, and he needed help, those children are not mine, no, for they are my youngest siblings of my father's side. Lucille, Wraith, and Nathaniel; two little sisters and a little brother, if only they were my children though. Then maybe I would have a mate, a husband, and I would be less lonely, and more happy. spoke the woman, sighing lightly and pinning her large ears back against her head, and dropping her eyes from the handsome male.

She looked so wonderfully innocent standing there before him, covering herself, that he could feel a twinge of attraction grow inside him; it wasn’t a lustful one as it had been before, but a protective one, something that he often felt for Zana. It seemed like this girl needed help, the loss of her father having seemingly drained her. She now cared for not her own children, but her young siblings, how sad a life that was.

She mentioned her desire to have a mate, and Helotes could understand this desire. Raising pups was a difficult thing, especially for someone so young. As much as the fatherly part inside him wished he could solve all her problems and take her as his mate and help raise the pups, he could not bring himself to do it. His heart was too entangled in the net he had created for himself with Zana and Halo, and now more than ever he regretted it.

With a sigh, he tugged lightly on her hand, Would you like to go for a walk Valkyrie? It’s cold, but clear outside. Perhaps by giving her some company he could brighten her mood, it was a shame seeing such a beautiful face so sad. So young to be so full of burdens, it made Helotes heart ache. But he gave her a sweet smile to show that he had no ulterior motive to his request.

He sighed at her sad story. She quickly shook her head. I'm sorry Helotes, I didn't mean to bring ya down with my sob story! the woman spoke to him, trying to cheer herself up and forget about everything that seemed to be going wrong with her life at the moment. I have better news, or stuff that I think is cool though... she spoke, trying to think of all of the positives. Before she continued though, he had asked her to join him on a walk. She nodded her head, and then she opened her maw to speak. I will join you, yes, just let me grab my cloak. she spoke before she moved away from him, and into the den again. She quickly scrambled around in her father's den and she grabbed her Kimono and she put it over her shoulders and walked back out to him.

Like, Zana let me take two of her kittens off her hands. They was pretty cute and funny, and really easy to care for. Also, even though Kesho was a fellow clan-mate, his owl came to me, and spoke to me of his death, so I own her now as well. So sooner or later if Muerte and Hextor breed, I'll have little owl chicks. She spoke, trying to brighten up at the thought of her getting more owls for the clan. That's what she wanted. She wanted to help Inferni grow.

Helotes waited patiently as she went to her den to retrieve a cloak. It was pretty chilly outside he could understand, and he subconsciously drew the wolf pelt cloak closer around his shoulders. A walk would be nice too, Helotes had been needing some innocent and pleasant company ever since his run in with Ezekiel. The ache of that encounter was still present on his pride, and this simple girl might be able to heal that.

Once she reappeared she was bubbly, spewing at him a cacophony of gossipy conversation. Helotes smiled at her, offering his arm and the two of them exited the caverns. She had mentioned Zana’s kittens, which seemed to hate him, and some owls. This girl really seemed to have an affinity for the lesser creatures of the world. This thought sparked an idea in him, perhaps she could be the one to teach him low speech, if she knew it.

You wouldn’t happen to know equine low-speech would you? I believe I’ve begun understand my mare… well… kind of. She laughs at me a lot when I try to communicate… at least I think she’s laughing. He scratched his neck again, embarrassed, Anyway, I’d really like to know what she’s saying.

The woman draped an arm in his arm, and she walked alongside him, her cheek finding his shoulder that was warm to her touch. She didn't know if the action would make him flinch, but she did like the warmth, so she tried to stay there.

The male seemed to listen to her, and come to the conclusion that she knew low speech. It was true, she had been learning the language for some time now and she was pretty good at communicating and understanding a lot of the things that the horses, birds, and felines had spoken of, though she was weak in her equine and feline, since she spent too much time around the birds. He had asked her if she could speak the low speech and she nodded her head lightly and then giggled lightly at the male's words.

It ain't too hard, but I'll tell ya first hand that I've been laughed at when I try to communicate with them when I first started talking to them. But yeah, I do speak some equine low speech. Birds are easier for me to understand, but Equine are pretty easy too. It just takes a good ear to understand them. Either way, I could teach ya sometime. she spoke, smiling lightly to him, and nodding her head and looking up at the taller, handsome face of the male.

Helotes cheerily returned her smile, glad to be in the presence of such a lovely and now perky woman. The two of them made their way to the beach, but Helotes made sure to steer them in the opposite direction of the area they had made love before. He could tell that Valkyrie liked him, and he was sure that if he wished to bed her again she would not put up most of a fight, but all the sexual energy had seemingly drained from him. Perhaps in the future sometime. Still, it was nice having a beautiful woman on one’s arm, and Helotes was loving every minute of it.

In response to her offering to teach him low speech he nodded, Yes, perhaps I’ll bring Yegua over soon so you can help me. He hesitated to tell her exactly why he wanted to learn equine low-speech, that being that Yegua was being trained to be a war horse, and having the ability to speak the same language would come in handy on the battlefield. Somehow Helotes thought this fact might shock the beautiful coyote female, so he remained quiet on it.

She noticed that when they were going to the beach, the male had lead her in the opposite direction of her normal spot. She did not mind the action, but it had made her birds confused, and they had to circle around. The odd owls were coherent and used to the sunlight, but they preferred the night overall. She leaned her head on his arm again and she sighed lightly, breathing in the cold breeze that came off the ocean, the salty air that she could practically taste in her mouth. She loved it. She wished it was not too cold to swim in the ocean, for she would have loved to jump into the water and swim. She stared longingly at the waves as she rested her head against the taller man's shoulder. The male had accepted her offer to teach him what she knew, and she nodded her head. You can also meet Freya, and you can talk to her too. She's really nice when you can communicate with her, ya'know? she spoke to the male, slowly peeling her eyes away from the waves to look into his crimson eyes that were so much of the Lykoi blood that pulsed through his veins. She looked into his bright, fiery eyes that seemed to be the colors of the Infernians.

I would love to meet your steed though. Hopefully her and Freya would get along too. It'd be nice to see Freya make another friend. spoke Valkyrie, a smile blossoming on her face as she looked at him. She did care about Freya making friends with the other horses of Inferni because it was important that the herd of horses were able to get along just in case there was something that was happening and needed the horses to regroup. Or seek out other Infernians or whatever, depending on the situation.

Soon the two of them slowly in one lovely sandy area of the beach and Helotes turned to look at the ocean. It was calm right now, the tide receding, and the gulls were far overheard singing their mournful cries. He was silent for a moment before turning to her, Valkyrie, about our time together; did I do something to offend you? I don’t understand why you have avoided me until now. He looked at her quizzically, and somewhat hurt, though the emotion didn’t go as deep as it might have seemed.

They soon stopped walking, and they stood in one spot, just above the waves that were receding with the tide. It was silent between the two, and Valkyrie had just thought of something obnoxious to talk about so that the silence would dissipate, but Helotes beat her to the punch and brought up something that she did not really want to talk about, but now was the time to do so. She huffed, because she had the other words literally on the tip of her tongue and about to blurt out, but he had squeezed his question in there, and then he gave her this look. That look made her sigh lightly and shake her head.

No, you didn't. I was being foolish though, and I just… shouldn't have done it to begin with... You were splendid, don't get me wrong. I just... shouldn't have. It was... I t-think… it was wrong... in some way... she spoke, her words confused, and sad, like she didn't want to say them. Not that you are wrong... Nothing is wrong with you... It was just... I think... I think we might be related... And that makes things weird... But, I'm not sure how we are related... I just know, Gabriel ties in the de le poer, to the Lykoi family... My grandfather is Gabriel's cousin or something like that... Then it gets confusing... She explained to him, sighing again.I'm not absolutely sure though, about us being related. The families probably are big enough to where it's so distant that it doesn't matter... she continued to speak, the woman's cheeks getting hot from embarrassment. If the skin was showing on her masked face, then she would be cherry red because of what she had assumed at the time when she had seen the shoulder or the male that held the Lykoi star. I'm sorry if I offended you. I didn't mean to, really. she apologized to him, truly feeling sorry for doing what she did to him.

The entire time she spoke Helotes had been looking at her with rapt attention, his facial expression not letting on his feelings on what she had said. Valkyrie was obviously ashamed of their encounter, but for a reason that Helotes had not been anticipating. When she spoke that they might be related Helotes nearly laughed, but he kept his mouth shut. It was so strange that some of the people here were so adamant about not having relations with those that held any drop of their own blood. Helotes himself did not believe in incest, but incest for him pretty much extended only to immediate family, immediate grandparents, and immediate cousins; everything past that was fair game.

Besides, even siblings, or parents and children, as absurd and vile that might be, still could have viable offspring, and in Helotes’ entire lifetime he had yet to meet a child come from such unions with any physical or serious mental flaw. This is why he did not quite understand the strict aversion to such relationships. Valkyrie was right, that they most like were related somehow, but the distance in their bloodlines was to the point where, as she said herself, it would not matter at all.

Helotes sighed and gave her a soft smile, I understand. I do not agree with you, but I respect your opinion. But we can put that behind us now, if you wish, and I will not seek you out again for such pleasures. He turned his eyes back to the ocean then and then to her, We shall be friends then, and you can teach me the words of the horses. I would love to meet your mare, maybe it would be easier to learn with a horse that I don’t see every day. He could already imagine Yegua getting on his case day in and day out while he was learning. She was a fiery one, and he guessed she would have no problem making fun of him.

Helotes’ eyes were then drawn up to the sky, where Valkyrie’s owls were circling, They are lovely creatures, but aren’t they nocturnal? Helotes could not remember a time he had seen an active owl during the day light. He supposed Valkyrie must have trained them to be sentries for her, just as Ezekiel’s crow was for him.

Valkyrie giggled and explained that her avian friends had become accustomed to daylight, and watched over her and her siblings. Helotes was impressed and intrigued, wondering if maybe someday he might be able to acquire a hawk or eagle for himself. Valkyrie said it was possible, but that there must be a bond of friendship and equality to ask a lower creature to do one’s bidding. Helotes continued to ask more about her ability to communicate with them, and soon they found themselves heading to find Freya, so that Valkyrie could give Helotes his first introductory lesson in equine low-speech.

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