[html] setting; summertime in a large and leafy forest, not pine trees, but actual leafy trees. alessandra, her large black stallion and her 7'4 235 pound slave are sleeping under a large tree in a small grassy clearing filled with wild flowers. aless is about 150 pounds and 5'12.
The morning crept up silently, little dapples of sunlight filtering through the trees and landing on this and that, slowly warming the forms of the three creatures sleeping soundly under a fleshed out and leafy tree. Green grass blades tickled the bare nose of one of the three, the rich color a direct contrast to her black and white form. The lithe womans eyes opened slowly, reaching a multi-colored handing to rub the sleep out of them. Her icy blue eyes opened more fully, and she did a quick inventory count of her companions. The hulking monster of a beast stayed loyal to her, as always, and was curled around the young female, protecting her from all that was evil in the world. Even if she was one of them.
Raising a hand, she ran her slender fingers through his shaggy, shorter length black hair lovingly and just as soon as she had begun the action she stopped, chastising herself. The inky mistress sometimes forget that he was her slave, and not anything closer. Seeing as they grew up together, it sure felt like it sometimes. Raising herself to her feet delicately, she brushed off the black leather cloak that was fastened around her neck with a silver and sapphire clasp, the inside thick with white rabbit fur. Grass and stray leaves fell to the ground after she brushed it off, and she stepped over the huge mound of white fur at her feet, content to let him sleep for a few minutes longer. Grabbing for their packs, she fished her skull out of hers and smoothed her long, white hair from her face as she put it on. Grabbing a comb, she brushed her waist-length hair gently as she looked around.
Her horse, Valhalla, snorted and nickered at the young woman as he rose to his feet and shook out his coat and mane, an inky color to match his masters. Trotting over to his quickly, he lowered his head and she fixed his skull on his head as well, running her fingers over the smooth, bleached moose skull with a filled out rack of elk entlers protruding from the top of it. " My, my, Valhalla. You do look handsome today. " She said quietly, looking the horse directly in his soulful eyes as she petted him fondly. Glancing back over at her slave, she cleared her throat and made her way back over to him. " Maximilian Von Sin, I do believe you've over slept. " She said, prodding his shoulder as she smiled through the wolf skull at him, placing his skull next to him as he stirred before awakening.
The white wolf stretched out his arms and legs, sighing loudly before getting to his feet and placing his skull overtop his own, smiling at his mistress. " I do believe you are right, Mistress. What would you like for breakfast today? " He questioned, picking up a long, sharp sword from the ground next to him and surveying the bags scattered around the small sleeping place they had chosen for the night. His ears flicked backwards as he heard a distant crashing in the woods and his eyes soon followed, one hand placed on his mistress's arm to catch her attention at the coming intruder. [/html]
[html] Hoofsteps sounded against the soft earth. A donkey emerged from view, led by its owner: a 6'2 wolfdog with black fur on his face, and white with black spots almost everywhere else; though it was difficult to see beneath the clothes he wore. The donkey had sensed others long before its master did. It stopped, head rising upwards and ears standing upright. A loud bray sounded out, as if it intended to announce its findings.
"What is now, Cinnamon?" The dog said with an exasperated sigh; such was not unusual for their travel. It was a wonder they hadn't been found yet. Doc had left the last pack he'd joined not long ago. Paranoia meant he could not stay in one place, afraid that the crime he had committed in his hometown so long ago would catch up with him.
The donkey trotted forward, catching the scent of a horse on the wind. Perhaps the equine made it feel more comfortable; a luperci that kept a horse surely wouldn't want to eat him. Doc smelled it, too, along with a two others; a coyote and a wolf.
When the three came into view - the two luperci, and the horse - it was Doc who hesitated then. The tall male was quite intimidating, especially for someone who had issues with his own gender. Although he'd grown since he was a puppy, he still felt like a tiny little runt. He had nothing with which to defend himself, and so had to rely on the kindness of others and his own diplomatic abilities. The skull each of them wore didn't help the matter, though it was the tall one that intimated him most.
With some amusement, he noted that the horse also wore a skull. That made him raise an eyebrow, though it disappeared as soon as it came - he did not want to offend the strange folk he'd just stumbled upon. "Heyo," the wolfdog called. They had probably noticed his presence already, with Cinnamon's loud braying. He figured it was best to establish friendly contact, as loathe as he was to greet these strange luperci. "Friend or foe?"[/html]
[html] Alessandra too heard the sound of others coming her way, and her brow furrowed beneath the bone meant to protect it. Her attention was diverted for but a moment as her war horse, Valhalla picked up on the strangers scent as well, though his reaction was much different then that of his counterparts. Snorting he pranced away from his owners, letting out a sharp neigh as a loud bray pierced the ears of the trio. Another equine on his turf? He did not think so. Snorting once again, he shook his mighty head defiantly and pranced forward a few steps, his inky tail flicking out behind him. The strangers soon showed themselves, and to the two luperci were relieved to find that it was just a wolfdog and his donkey, and judging by the body language of the stranger he was no threat.
Alessandra gazed out of the holes in her skull sternly, icy blue eyes cold and calculating. Maximilian picked up on her distress and strode forward to meet the stranger, nodding at his greeting. " We are friend, until you prove yourself otherwise. " The snowy male said, his voice deep - matching his size perfectly. Though he may look intimidating, until strangers proved themselves to be a threat he was nothing more then Alessandra's powerful teddy bear. If this wolfdog posed any danger to his mistress, Max promised himself that the other would be disposed of quickly and quietly, and this held true in most instances. His long and bushy tail flicked behind him as he gave this wolfdog a once over, judging his size and speed, and most importantly - his flaws.
" What are you doing out in this part of the woods, if you don't mind me asking? " Maximilian asked, not offering the name of him or his mistress, he would wait until the other offered his. Valhalla had enough of all this chit chat and pranced forward, the antlers on his skull clicking as he approached the offender of what he perceived to be mealtime. The large, inky, warhorse whinnied at the intruder and nosed towards his hips, looking for any treats or food that the male could offer to make up for his rude barging in. Alessandra watched all of this silently, stepping forward only to retrieve the black leather reins of her horse as she did her best to reel him away from the stranger. [/html]
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Though the tension was not completely gone from his body, there was visible relief on the dog's features. "I have no intention of becoming so," He spoke carefully, trying to conceal his southern accent. "I am Doc Sullivan." The dog eyed the male once more, noticing that he was sizing him up. A frown was briefly visible, and disappeared when the horse approached and sniffed his pockets.
He eyed the warhorse with the same wariness he had the male luperci. However, when it started to nose around his hips, he chucked. "You're as bad as Cinnamon." He could recognize that it was searching for food, and had no intention of trampling him. The dog pulled a slice of dried apple from his pocket, and placed his outstretched hand near the horse so it may eat from that instead of searching in his pockets.
The donkey, meanwhile, eyed the food jealously, and began his own search for food in Doc's other pocket. The wolfdog sighed at this, as if such happened quite often. "I am a simple healer, at your service should you need me. I would bow, but..." He gestured to the two equines with his snout. "As to your question, I am a wanderer, out to see the world and offer my services anywhere they may be needed."
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Alessandra Von Sin,
Still my heart slowly beats. Sometimes life gets complicated, Still the world around me sleeps.
Valhalla swished his tail back and forth, snorting with appreciation as his search was rewarded with dried apple, one of his favorite treats. Crunching the food noisily in his mouth he raised his head so that he was eye level with the dog and paused, before nudgeding his cheek gently and whickering softly beside his head. Although he was a warhorse, trained for the blood and noise of battle, other then that he was a well-behaved and rightly tempermented horse. From first glance though, he definetly did not look it. Some might find it amusing, but in the heat of battle a horse charging toward you with a skull-toting warrior on his back wearing his own antlered skull would be very, very intimidating.
Both Alessandra and Max nodded their heads at Doc's name offering, and soon quickly offering theirs as well. " My name is Alessandra Von Sin, and this is Maximilian, my slave. He also carries the birth right Von Sin. We are currently wandering as well, but our skills differ from yours.. ever so slightly. " She said, her bleached lips twisting ever so slightly into a cruel grin. Her blue eyes were cold and hard, those which had clearly seen and been a part of taking lives. Alessandra was a beautiful creature, much like a butterfly. But just like certain butterflies, she could be sharp and deadly like the hidden toxins within them.
Briskly, she continued, gesturing towards Maximilian. " He, is a swordsmaster and leatherworker, able to craft certain, deadly weapons. I myself am a poison and a weapons expert. I am most proficient with poision-tipped throwing knives and arrows, though I am just as skilled in unarmed combat as I am with arms. " The deadly woman did not enjoy taking lives, she did not gain sick pleasure from it like some, however she would brutally murder someone if the situation threataned her, her slave, or her horse. Her survival was much more important then anybody elses. Two lives depended on her own, and she held those two lives high above other citizens, however innocent they may be.
Beckoning Valhalla back towards her, the inky woman took his reins in her hands and trod away silently towards a tree. Once there, she attached him loosly. There was no need for him to interfere where he was just going to be a nuisance. Max watched her through his skull, carefully assesing her movements. Her safety was of upmost importance to him, and he constantly watched her every move to make sure nothing could or would happen to his mistress. His attention was jarred from hers for but a moment, and he stepped forward, past the wolfdog to the ending of the clearing. Both ears were trained forward as he intently watched for movement in the shadowy depths of the forest. .
" Do you hear that? " He questioned in a raspy voice, motioning towards the seemingly empty forest. If they listened carefully, they too would be able to hear the approaching hoofbeats. Maxmilian was getting strange vibes from the forest, ones that he did not like...
word count - 000. ooc - out of character text here.
template by revo, image by ems. <3
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The wolfdog winced a bit at the horse's snort, and the crunching noises. Even though it meant no harm, having the great beast so close to him made him uncomfortable. He stared back at it when it met his eyes; such would likely be considered rudeness to an equine, but he couldn't help it. He blinked when it nudged him and whickered. A small smile spread across his face. "You're welcome." The dog reached paw upward to rub the horse on the nose, if it would allow it.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, both of you." Doc said politely, when they had introduced themselves. Slavery wasn't a foreign concept to the wolfdog, so the idea that the tall male was the woman's slave didn't cause any raised eyebrows; in fact the idea that a woman traveling alone would need a bigger male for protection didn't conflict at all with his view of the world. He only wondered how she had instilled such loyalty into him.
The cruel grin the female showed gave him pause, as if he suspected she might change her tune and attack. The thick fur on the nape of his neck stood upright, then relaxed as she began talking once more. He wasn't surprised that the pair's skills lied in the art of combat. Briefly he wondered if it was out of necessity, or if they just enjoyed their chosen profession. The skulls would seem to hint at the latter, for he could see no reason to wear them except for intimidation, and those that derived pleasure from scaring others would surely get the same pleasure from causing pain. Yet, they were not killing him now.
He wondered if it was a clever bluff of their part, though the male looked like he'd be dangerous even if he didn't have any training. He was doubtful that a female could be truly be proficient in close combat, but the other areas she'd mentioned sounded reasonable enough. Even someone as unskilled as Doc knew poison could easily trump height and strength in enough quantities. "Are you mercenaries for hire?" He asked, cautiously.
The dog removed his paw from the horse when it was pulled away, and turned his head when the tall male spoke of hearing something. "I don't..." he began, and trailed off. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the donkey had stopped munching on the dried fruit in his pockets. It had lifted his head and perked its large ears in the same direction the wolf was standing. A loud bray issued forth, in a particular tone that Doc recognized as a greeting between other equines. "Horses?" His own pointed ears tipped forward to listen to the approaching hoofbeats. Briefly, the hound considered the idea that there was a wild herd somewhere out in the forest. Another bray came from the donkey, in a tone that could mean either dog, wolf or coyote. "Someone else is here," Doc frowned. "Although why you find it necessary to announce our presence, Cinnamon, I do not know. Couldn't you-"
A gust of wind sounded through the forest, and an arrow appeared, embedding itself into a tree. Whether it was meant as a warning, or merely poor aim, it wasn't clear.
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Alessandra Von Sin,
Still my heart slowly beats. Sometimes life gets complicated, Still the world around me sleeps.
The inky woman sneered under her skull at his question, but then thoughtfully considered it. Maybe they could be mercenaries. Both had skills in that field, it might come in handy for finding and trading for things that they did not have on them. " No, we are not.. Yet. " She said quickly, her head swiveling to meet her slaves question. Her brow furrowed as she stepped forward, one ear aimed in the direction of the hoofbeats, the other to their companion. His donkey brayed loudly and she grimaced, he just gave away their position if their visitors were indeed not friendly. And it seemed that they were not. An arrow whistled through the air, passing the females face too close for comfort and embedding itself into a tree next to her. Letting out a furious hiss, she lept into action. Motioning to her slave, she looked above her quickly and debated about her position.
Maximilian too her cue and gathered their remaining bags and tossed them onto the back of Valhalla, smacking the horses rump to get him to take off as soon as the bags were secure.Valhalla whinnied loudly and took off, his large hooves pounding the ground as he ran into the black depths of the forest, opposite of the direction of the intruders. They would find him later by scent, he knew not to stray far. The whole process took less then a minute, and as soon as he finished he unsheathed his sword, dropping down into battle position. His mistress was already gone. As he had readied the horse she had taken off her skull and tossed it to the ground under the tree, revealing her skull facial markings and beautiful, long white hair. Her cloak soon followed the skull and she scaled into the tree behind her, taking little time to raise herself up in the branches out of sight.
When the intruders came, she would be coming down from the branches with her throwing knives and the bone daggers strapped to her thighs. Though lean, she was powerful and could take and hold her own in a fight. The inky woman waited with baited breath in the branches high above the other two, keeping a close eye on the situation. It seemed that the first arrow had been a warning, now several followed suit to match it and Max had to dive and twist out of the way. The intruders burst into the clearing, three coyote-jackal mixes. The archer was on top of the horse, and the other two on the ground, one holding a spiked club and the other holding a pair of twin katanas. This would not be an easy fight.
The hybrid with the katanas swiped at Max, and he let out a fearful snarl as the blades just barely missed his hulking form, instead shaving hair off of his stomach. Not a moment passed before the snowy giant lept into action, swinging his sword at the beasts chest while throwing out his leg to knock the others from underneath him. A yelp sounded through the clearing as the steel blade cut flesh on the other, instead of it's intended mark it found the face, as the intruder had gone to duck instead. Hot liquid lept free of fur and skin from a deep gash across the eye of the other, him momentarily downed as he clutched his face in agony. Just then Alessandra dropped down from the branches, letting loose her throwing knives at the archer on horse back as she descended, looking like a hell-fire demon sent from above.
A few of her knives found there intended destination, and buried themselves deep into the chest of the archer. He yelled out in pain as he ripped them out of his chest as an almost instant counter action and threw them to the ground, now intent on the she-devil before him. As soon as her feet touched the soft grass below them she sprang up, throwing herself at the archer. He barely had time to react, and as her body collided with his he was take out of the saddle, his bow and arrows flying aross the clearing. She landed ontop of him with a heavy thud, both having the wind knocked out of them momentarily. His horse whinnied loudly and ran away from the battle, eyes white with fear. Having lost both his horse and his weapon the hybrid snarled in fury, taking the opportunity to swing his fists at the woman ontop of him. Her head was knocked back as his fist connected with her jaw, and as she fell off of him she tasted blood in her mouth. Alessandra hissed at the man before her as he rose to his feet, she soon scrambling to hers and backing away from him, her fists by her jaw as she settled into the fighting stance, not paying any attention to the plights of her other two companions in the clearing.
word count - 000. ooc - LOL sorry about the length!  i got carried away template by revo, image by ems. <3
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Had he not been more concerned with his impending doom, he would have found it curious that neither of them were mercenaries. Perhaps he would guessed that like him, they were both escaping from their past.
His first inclination was to take his donkey and run, but he thought better of that when he saw the two were going to stand and fight. It would be seen as cowardly to run away now, and not only that - it might actually be safer to be near two warriors. The wolfdog saw their horse escape and wondered if it might be best for him to do the same with his donkey. First, though, he needed a weapon in case one of the attackers spotted him. Doc spent a moment rummaging around in the pack that Cinnamon carried. It contained a variety of poisons and herbs with him, but there was not enough time to smear them on a weapon and use them - not that he was sure that would work since he had always used his poisons in food and drink.
The only sharp item he found was a lowly scalpel. Doc took that out and retied the string. There was also a saw hanging on the outside of the pack, but it looked unwieldy and he hadn't a clue how he would use it. The sounds of fighting behind him increased. Cinnamon was noticeably tense, shuffling and snorting. His ears were pinned to the back of his head, and his tail swished dangerously. The wolfdog was too preoccupied with finding a weapon to notice his signal, and when Doc turned away from him, he was surprised to find that a coyote-jackal with a spiked club was coming toward him. The tiny scalpel he had wasn't any match for that, and he knew it. Doc took one step backward, then unhooked the saw from the pack, and threw it at the club-wielding stranger.
The coyote ducked from the oncoming projectile, giving Doc just enough time to turn and run. His attacker snorted derisively when he saw his retreating form, and gave chase. Old instincts kicked in, ones not used since he was a pup. The wolfdog weaved through the trees, turning this way and that so that his attacker might get confused. He was able to evade his attacker for a minute or two, until he stumbled and fell over after getting his foot stuck beneath a tree root.
The jackal was almost salivating in joy; the chase had only increased his blood lust and predatory instincts. From his position on the ground, Doc could see the shadow of his opponent raise the club high above his head. He pinned his ears back and braced himself for impact, fur standing straight up like a frightened cat.
The sound of approaching hoofbeats came behind them, followed by a piercing equine scream. The jackal glanced behind him to see what was going on, and found himself face-to-face with an enraged donkey. It bite the closest thing to its mouth. Howling and snarling erupted from the jackal, and he twisted so he might focus his club on him instead.
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