Another way of caring

Savina Marino · 03-23-2012, 05:12 PM

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Dated February 27. Set at Apple Blossom Orchard You can check the CD portal to find where it is on the map if you want!

Word Count → 271

Ever since her trip to the festival grounds, Savina had been working to improve her communication with Vespasian. There was still a long way to go, but undoubtedly the two had made progress. Why the osprey had chosen to start following her around in the first place was still a mystery and one she was unlikely to ever solve. Regardless, she was now quite glad of the raptor's companionship. It was nice to have a creature around that wasn't really expecting anything from her. The Marino woman loved her Dreamers and would not give up her Consulship, but the weight of expectation any leader felt was unavoidably heavy. Vespasian's presence was a quiet comfort. A most unexpected salve for her burdened mind.

Wandering sable paws had taken her to the apple orchard. The day was crisp, but the scent of the impending spring was in the air. For now the trees stood barren, but in a couple moons they would blossom and bear fruit. Anu had plans for the trees and the bounty they would produce, but Savina had not inquired overmuch about it. The Praetor was the one with the green thumb and the Italian preferred to leave her focus to other endeavors.

The mottled bird of prey had taken a perch in one of the skeletal trees and was preening as Savina stood and relished in the soft sounds of nature that surrounded her. It was true there were times she longed to return to Italy and to lose herself in the bustle and history of Rome, but few things could compare to the quiescence of the unencroached earth.

Table by Aly, code by the Mentors!

Caprica D'Angelo · 03-23-2012, 06:18 PM

Caprica could hardly believe the soul-searching excursion her little trip to visit her Daddy in the Dreaming lands had become. The cold trees with their bare branches were no salve for her conscience or her regrets. Sometimes she wondered if she were born to waste every opportunity that came her way. Fated to experience a life only ever half-lived. She knew from experience this mood would soon lift, and she would pick herself back up: but it wasn't as if reality would rearrange itself before her eyes. Everything would stay the same, no matter how much she resolved to rise above it. It wasn't even as if she had enormous troubles - she was the only trouble, now, for every opportunity had been thrown her way for her to lift herself out of this soul-destroying rut.

She wore clothes a little more ragged than yesterday, although they'd been so to begin with - deliberately, artfully so. An uneven-hemmed skirt made from strips of black leather and velvet, hung together with metal buckles and chains which jingled faintly: a tool belt, and her purple shawl: a gothic and hand-made ensemble. The woman within felt as dark as her style, and her eyes were downcast. She had dropped her cloak out here while speaking with Cypress, and had forgotten to pick it up: now she returned to find the garment. Before long, she found a new trail leading the way ahead of her - the elegantly-shaped paws of what smelled like a woman of high regard in these parts, for her traces had reached Caprica before. They were even reminiscent of long-ago memories, which made her eyes widen, losing the despondency of the torn and twisted adult, and remembering the spirited and curious infant she had been upon her first visit to these lands. Caprica followed, forgetting her cloak once again, compelled to find the mysterious wanderer. A bird of prey in the trees ahead drew her attention: a rare looking creature, it stood sentinel over a dark figure, which soon showed itself to be that of a slim and gracefully built wolf with coat as dark as Caprica's own. Caprica announced herself formally, unsure of her identity but sensing her formidable stature. "Hello - beautiful day. You must be a leader here, your scent on the borders…uh, did dad - Ehno - tell you I'm here, or…?" She tailed off, hoping she wasn't getting her father in any kind of trouble.

Savina Marino · 03-23-2012, 10:23 PM

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Word Count → 406

Hopefully the oncoming spring would bring new life into Crimson Dreams as well as the world as a whole. It was greatly disheartening for the Marino to see the pack shrink as it had. It had started with Jazper's departure. That betrayal still stung—and betrayal it was in her mind. It was doubtful that she would ever view the giant male as a friend again. Savina was not a creature to forgive and forget easily. Not only had he thinned the Dreaming ranks in his search for a raised status, but he had split the family. Most of the children had followed their father and left their mother behind, the resulting heartache of which had driven Ghita from the lands. Jazper had been selfish and put himself above familial loyalty. It was not an offense Savina could stand for.

Ever since then it seemed one by one (and sometimes by twos and threes) members had trickled out of the packlands. Some, like Jazper, to seek their own raised statuses and others for reasons the Consul could not say. The last to leave had been Mars and his family, but that loss was more a blessing than anything. Members were no use if they were simply dead weight and the tri-colored male's bad attitude and disrespect could have been demoralizing to others. Disloyalty on the level Mars had shown could not be tolerated. Any good alpha would have done the same.

Lost in her reveries, one slim-fingered hand touched the rough bark of the nearest tree. Silently she prayed that the gods would bring prosperity to her pack just as they would to these motionless monoliths. Overhead Vespasian stirred right before an unfamiliar voice the still air. Savina turned to face the younger woman, and while she did not recognize her, there was something about her scent that struck home. Then her brother was referred to as "dad" and a warm smile spread over the Consul's face. "You're one of Ehno's girls." It seemed he had mentioned someone coming to visit, but she had quite forgotten. "I am the leader here, yes, and also your aunt. It's nice to have you here." The girl's name had escaped her mind. She had only seen her once, maybe twice, and even that had been when she was very young. The Marino matron knew so little of her nieces—that was never how it was supposed to have been.

Table by Aly, code by the Mentors!

Caprica D'Angelo · 03-26-2012, 05:47 AM

She could only count her blessings that the cares of a pack did not weigh on her mind. Caprica had no call to power, preferring loyalty to a home that provided everything she could ever wish for - and a little spice and danger into the bargain. This woman before her - in other ways so eminently privileged: beautiful, elegant and svelte - had the unenviable position of juggling leadership and her own personal life, and perhaps that went some way to explaining the fact that Caprica barely recognised her own aunt.

The little girl she had once been had grown to epic proportions, leaving behind many memories of puppyhood events as more came to fill the gaps. She had been brought by Ehno to visit Crimson Dreams, but even his face, from those times, was vague. She had been barely able to talk. Children, however, are much better at listening than speaking anyway.

"Savina…" she breathed, as the name came back to her in a rush. "Savina Marino. I … I think I remember you now." Not the face, as such. But perhaps the scent, perhaps the voice. "How have you been?" She felt awkward, talking to her older relative as an equal, remembering her only as a towering and elusive grown-up presence.

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