good fortune

Max Klein · 02-29-2012, 09:08 AM

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Afternoon, somewhere in Drifter Bay. Backdated February 27

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The young hybrid moved through the forest with the loping pace of a dog, his head and tail even with his spine. While the winter was fast fading, but snow still clung to the ground and gave him an advantage those without pale pelts lacked. The forest was not as heavily covered due to the thick vegetation, so Max favored the northern lands and the open marshes. Most of the hay they used to feed the horses was gathered from this area, for it was rich in nutrients as well as abundance. While he was not as educated in the way of equines as Myrika, Max was fast learning the subtleties of the breed.

He was, therefore, well aware that Oblak was pregnant. This was exciting to him, for in spring they would have foals and babies were strange and new to him. Max was a boy who did not lack wonder—he saw it in the whole world, and he imagined what he could not see. Why else would he be half monster? There was something in his blood that made him that way, and anyone could see it from his sun-colored eyes and snaggle-toothed fangs.

His goal was undetermined, but he did not lack speed. Perhaps he would hunt; perhaps he would find something interesting out in the world. Without training today, the boy could spend his afternoon doing whatever he decided.

Sage River Lykoi · 02-29-2012, 08:02 PM

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hope you don't mind me joining :o he can be hostile to her if you want, idc

Sage hadn't really meant to go so far south, but once she'd started down the mountain, it was hard to turn back. Everything was wrong again, and it felt better to distance herself for an hour, for two, or maybe even the whole day. She hadn't been sure as she'd set out on Lennon's broad, steady back, but her steed had dutifully picked his way down the mountain. Thankfully, the pathway was easier to find in the daylight and it didn't take long to make her way down the familiar face of sloping rock, sparse grass and brush.

Now that she was on flat land again, though, Sage wasn't sure where to go. Numbly, she continued south, though she made a wide berth away from Inferni, still stung after Ezekiel's proclaimed exile. She found that wound particularly sore now that Father was gone again. Inferni housed the rest of her relatives, besides China and Clover. Her eyes shifted east, towards the thistle-covered lands of her sister, of Sirius. Thoughts of her sisters, and that muddled, shady man lingered briefly on her mind, but she knew she was in no state to see them. She would break, and sob before her sister. Her sister, who probably hadn't even known father was back. She had to choke back a sob at the thought, hand going to her mouth as she hunched over Lennon's back, moping visibly.

The jolt of Lennon's head forced her senses into palpation; only after the stallion stopped in his tracks, staring ahead, did she notice the white blur bolting through the dying grasses, spotted with patchy snow. Urging her steed out of the last of the tree shade here, she put her heels into his flanks and moved into a trot. Her wits were not about her as normal, and something told her to follow that blur. Her nose caught something familiar in the scent, but there too was the strong smell of the ocean, and she couldn't be sure.

Ahead, he had slowed, and as Lennon's pace closed the distance, Sage called out. "Max?" she guessed aloud, calling out over the wind and ebbing tide. "Max, is that you?" The Ma-Tzu didn't even know if he'd remember her, it had been so many months ago. He looked different, fuller, more of a man. And more of a wolf, she noticed, but his lanky frame was still apparent beneath his winter coat. She wondered if he still trained under Ezekiel, but knew that he must. Should I even be talking to him? she thought. A thick lump formed in her throat; it was too late.

Max Klein · 02-29-2012, 08:44 PM

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Mind if we backdate this to yesterday? :O

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It was the horse he scented first, a massive stallion in its prime. Max slowed even further to located it, and saw a golden and white beast approaching with a thin, red-haired woman on his back. The voice jolted his memories and too suddenly he recalled just who she was. His body stiffened subconsciously, recalling the last and final time he had seen her.

The reasoning behind Sage’s exile was simple to Max; she had betrayed the trust of the clan by fleeing to the land of her father. While he remembered her fondly, he could not forget that she had done what he had promised never to do—turn against his land. Yet she had been one of the first people to be friendly with him, and in the dog-instinct of his breed, he could not forget that. Yellow eyes, distrustful, worried, trailed over the shape on the horse. If she wished, she could run him down. He didn’t think she would though; she was nice.

“Hello Sage,” he replied, and took a cautious step forward. Behind him his half-curled tail rose and wagged behind him, showing his lack of hostility. She wasn’t on Inferni’s lands, nor near them, and he had no reason to find quarrel with her…yet.

Sage River Lykoi · 02-29-2012, 09:12 PM

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herpderp

The moment he spoke her name, her heart melted. He remembers, she thought fondly, smiling down at the boy. He was a welcome distraction from the displacement she was feeling in Ichika, and perhaps he was even a friend to help ease her loneliness. She would not assume that yet, though. His memories of her may have been pleasant, but there was no telling what sorts of things Ezekiel had told the clan regarding her exile.

Lennon snorted a heavy breath as the hybrid took a step closer, but Sage steadied him with a hand. Her steed knew the dangers of the Inferni scent as well as she did now, and he took precautions just the same. They weren't needed now, though; the pair was far enough from claimed land, and she hoped that there would be no quarrel between them. Sliding down from her cream-painted stallion, she dismissed him with a firm pat on one flank. Habitually, Lennon moved off to graze, but his wide brown eyes kept watch on his master and her company. "My, you've grown," she commented as she moved forward to meet him, her voice unintentionally motherly. "Ezekiel has done well by you," she noted, forcing herself not to choke on the name. Max had grown strong under his tutelage, and he looked strong and athletic. Like a warrior, she observed. "How have you been?" Sage didn't know where to start. She wanted to ask questions, but wasn't sure if she should. If Ezekiel knew of Max's meeting with her... The Ichikan hoped that he would respond with civility, but in the past those hopes had failed. She swallowed hard, but her own tail swayed behind her, content to be in familiar company, while it was still pleasant.

Max Klein · 02-29-2012, 10:09 PM

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lawl two days. I will edit that into the top.

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His age was something that he had all but forgotten, used to the rules and regulations of adulthood. As a puppy he had suffered isolation and hurt and found comfort in this new land. Sage was among those who had been kind to him—Ezekiel and Talitha among the others, though he had only spent an expansive amount of time with the former. Still, his nature was one that allowed for the fondness to replace doubt, though it lingered in his hesitation.

The coydog remained still until the older woman dismounted and approached him. Satisfied she was unarmed and without ill intent, he closed the distance and extended his nose to sniff at her. Marijuana was a familiar scent in her pelt, along with others he did not know; animals, mostly, some which were like sheep but not quite. Peculiar as it was, he likened this to her new home. Max looked up to the woman and wondered why she was so worried.

Exile, his mind answered. They were allowed to meet outside of the clan; their laws did not give quarter within Inferni however. “Good,” he answered, yellow eyes bright. “I’m still training; Enkiel’s even taught me a bit about medicine, though I’m not really good at it. I spend a lot of time with the horses.” Smiling toothily, he wagged his tail behind him. “How are you? Is Ichika what you wanted?” There was no malice; the betrayal was not against him.

Sage River Lykoi · 03-01-2012, 07:47 PM

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As Max was sniffing her, Sage held out her arms and looked down at herself, becoming aware of her own scent as it differed from his. It was easier to tell, when she was outside of the pack. These days, she mostly smelled like other animals, but the thick, sweet smoke that surrounded her so often was clear, too. Sighing, she took in his scent, and was instantly reminded of Inferni. It was soot, sulphur, smoke, and salt. It was dark, it seemed to her, and the reminder was almost overwhelming.

Sage made herself smile down again, amber gaze finding his brighter one. "Medicine? Oh, wonderful," she commented brightly, "I'm sure you'll learn quickly. Healing is part lesson and part gift, though, I think. Enkiel's skills are great. I don't think Ichika has a healer as capable." Reflecting on that, she didn't think that Ichika had a trained medic. Her brow furrowed with that thought, considering. Surely the combined knowledge of the pack would suffice for any serious wound. Still, Sage almost missed the chilly jackal. "I like horses, too," she said, smiling off in Lennon's direction. He was still near, grazing happily through dead grasses.

Max's next question seemed to sadden her, and she took a breath to steady her nerves. Here was another she had to think about for a moment. "Yes," she said first, then, "and no." Sighing, she looked to the ground, almost ashamed. But Inferni wasn't what she wanted, either. "My father's gone," she said, and perhaps even that was too much. "It's... not the same..." She trailed off, brought down again by the reality of her situation. If he had left her, who else did she have? The pack, she thought, but the thought was still discomfiting. She was still a new member, and though they acted as though they loved her, they truly hardly knew her. Maybe that was her fault, too.

Max Klein · 03-11-2012, 02:22 PM

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() I don't think she ever mentioned her sisters, so I didn't have him bring them up. <<

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The main and only difference from her scent was that it was now more kin to the mountain, lacking the salty, earthy scent of the Waste. Unfamiliar animals, ones that did not fit his defined smells of horse or sheep were equally peculiar. Inferni was not a place made for shepherds or those weak of heart. He supposed this was part of what had chased the hippy-girl away. Sage was made too soft. She lacked the spirit to make her a monster when others could rise to such a thing. Max alone could claim true monster blood, but he saw glimpses of it in others and often wondered.

While he was still smiling at the talk of healing, this smile faded as her voice dropped. For several long minutes he stared at her, yellow eyes darkening with his own thoughts. It took him a long time to process her feelings—while Max was a clever boy and quick to learn physical skills, he lacked an emotional process that was otherwise inherit from birth. Having a family turn on him had stripped any true affection from his behavior, turning him against such feelings despite an inherit desire in his dog blood for the antipode.

So finally, when he spoke, his words were peculiar. “I never knew my dad,” he told her. “So I don’t think you really need one.” He paused again, fluffy tail shifting behind him.

Sage River Lykoi · 03-13-2012, 07:04 PM

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dat's cool brah, sorry this post is boring. D:

She probably should have been grateful that she wasn't worse off. Max had been even more unlucky than she. Maybe that's what made him so strong, so resilient. He called himself a monster, but she knew that he wasn't, really. Max was just a boy who'd gotten lost. I'm getting lost now, too, she thought bitterly, looking down at him. Sage took a shaky breath, and despite it all a thin smile crept up her mouth. "Maybe I don't, love," she admitted softly, turning to look at the line of water as a breeze blew past.

After a deep breath of the salty ocean air, the coyote looked back to Max. "How is Inferni? How is grandmother Kaena?" she asked, hopeful for some news. Maybe she shouldn't be asking that, either, though, lest she be labeled a traitor again, but Sage was curious, and worried. Her grandmother was old, after all, and word didn't often travel from Inferni elsewhere, without request. Her sisters and her family in Inferni were the only left now; more distant family, there, but it was family nonetheless. Troubled, her brows knotted as she frowned at the ground in thought.

Max Klein · 03-16-2012, 11:24 AM

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A kind heart could look past his obvious flaws. Max was friendly, as was his dog’s nature, but he was aggressive and short tempered as well. The monster blood within him had caused such a thing; he overlooked the obvious argument of his upbringing, lacking understanding of the concept of nature versus nurture. Inferni had saved him from becoming a wolf; it had given him reason and purpose in his life as a pack was supposed to do. The discipline instilled within the clan allowed him to prosper despite these things, and Ezekiel’s instillation of control kept his head clear.

Yet there was something in him that did not forget kindness, and Sage had been one of the first who had shown him such. She smiled sadly and his ears fell back, unsure of what to make of her. There was something going on with the flower-child he did not understand, stripped of everything but his base instincts and emotions. He did not know love, or regret.

“Old,” he said with a toothy grin. “She’s living with Myrika and Halo now.” He carefully avoided the news of Inferni, unwilling to discuss the damage done to the Triarii. Instead, he nudged at her hand with his nose. “You shouldn’t be sad,” the doggish male added, and looked up at her with bright eyes. Then, suddenly, he dropped to a playful puppy bow and wagged his bush tail behind him. Perhaps a game would make her happy.

Sage River Lykoi · 04-09-2012, 12:16 PM

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*worst ever*

Max brought little true news to her ears, but for now it was enough to know that her grandmother still lived. Sage wanted to visit her; she needed advice, and Kaena had been kind to her. She had treated her like family. The thought only made her heart weaker, and she frowned at the grass under her feet.

A cold, wet nudge to her hand brought her out of her brooding, and she turned to look back at the white hybrid. He was smiling at her, happy. The coyote gave a quivering smile in return. "I know," she said with a nod, nearly whispering. She still had friends that cared for her, and her sisters. I need to see them again. It had been too long since Clover had left Inferni for Sirius' mysterious pack. He liked her sister, she remembered, but was that enough to keep her safe? And China... it had been months since she'd seen her. Her sister had gone into hiding, but where could she be? Sage had no idea where to start, and the thought threatened to overwhelm her again.

But there was Max, forearms bent and tail high. Is he trying to play with me? Instinctively, she found her own posture lowering. On two legs, it was awkward, so she shed her skirt and shifted there, excusing herself for the process.

On four legs, Max was much larger than her, but she was used to that. The ground felt colder, too. Sage shook out her mud-colored fur and pranced over to him, bowing in turn and wagging her own creamy tail. She had missed this feeling; sometimes she took it for granted. But now, it seemed to be just what she'd needed.

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