Carry Me Home Tonight

Wretch D'Angelo · 04-02-2012, 07:01 PM

[html]

Wretch is always in optime form unless otherwise stated :]

Opaque clouds drifted overhead as the girl relaxed, letting the water carry her this way and that. She'd been relaxing in this calmer stretch of water for around an hour, letting the noon sun warm her body as she watched different shapes roll by in the cloudy skies overhead. She had been working on her fear of water for a very long time and was proud that she'd been able to make it this far, to allow herself to lay in the water and not fear it. The girl had been involved in a horrific accident near the ocean as a pup that had left her forever scarred, both mentally and physically. She'd wandered into a sea cave that had filled with water as the tide had come in, and had eventually been taken out to sea with the waves. Those rocky shorelines had beaten her unconscious and broken her leg before spitting her up onto the beach.

She lay on her back, her silver form moving back and forth as the current began to take hold of her a little more. This portion of the river was quite calm and she wasn't too worried about a little bit of current. She relaxed further, trying to calm herself even more as the water tugged on her body. Nothing was going to happen to her here. Wretch leaned back, moving her body to promote more buoyancy. Her sparrow companion had settled into a tree nearby, keeping guard for her as she floated on. His voice was what snapped her out of her reverie: the sparrow was screeching loudly, something she'd only heard him do a handful of times.

Wretch made to sit up a bit in the water, her hind feet scrambling for placement amongst the mud and muck that lay on the bottom of the river. She was in deeper than she'd thought. Suddenly, the threat that Tatuk had warned her about appeared - a luperci had spotted her bags by the side of the river and was making a beeline for them. She began to swim closer, growling beneath her breath. She was no good at fighting, but would do whatever she could to protect her belongings. Wretch reached for her knife, which she kept strapped to her thigh, and made her way toward the shore.

Get! Get away, you brute! She called angrily, trotting up the beach toward her pack. She had many valuable items in there, including her precious flint and steel. The black luperci looked up at her, then back down at the pack. He reached out to grab the bag as Wretch came nearer, beginning to run away in the opposite direction. The hybrid began to give chase, calling up to her companion. Follow me!! She hoped he would listen - the bird could not often understand what she meant when she spoke to him plainly. Just as she was beginning to catch up to the other loner, a dark, mixed-breed canine appeared from a nearby pocket of brush. Goin' somewhere, girl? The dark loner had led her straight toward another canine, likely an accomplice of his. Back off. My fight's not with you, Mutt She said, trying to find a way around him as he rushed toward her to attack.

Rivers Skyeward · 04-02-2012, 08:23 PM

[html]

Word Count :: 495 A lot longer than I thought. And Rivers is in Optime as well. ^^

Rivers never intended to return to the oh-so-familiar lands at first, but after a bit of wandering, it eventually led to coming "home." He had lived a solitary life here for a few months, learned to love and savor the taste of rabbit, ready himself for even greater dangers than just those the environment provided.

Oh, and he almost died there, too, but hey, it did come with a benefit: he now saw the world with a new set of eyes. Two different colored eyes, but nonetheless, eyes seeking the attention of survival, and perhaps the companionship of others as well.

At the moment, Rivers was relaxing by the shore, but rather near the rougher stretch than the calmer one, as he settled for more intense waters. He had taken a dip just a few seconds before, made obvious by the water dripping from his fur and nose, and sighed. He felt a content smile pull at his lips. It seemed as though all was good: he had a pack, he had a chance if survival, and, most importantly, he had a nice beach to visit anytime the urge to return to the water struck him. Sure, there were streams and such back at Anathema, but this beach held more value to him, as he used to come by every day and swim when he used to reside there. With another deep breath, Rivers let his eyes wander up to the clouds above.

However, his seemingly perfect day was soon cut short by that horrid screeching sound. Instantaneously his head jerked toward the noise, and curiosity took over him. Rising to his feet, Rivers started toward the source, and blinked as he saw a figure dart across his path: though it was a bit too far away to tell, the Luperci male came to the conclusion it was a she-wolf. And by the looks of it, she was chasing someone.

Cautiously following from afar, Rivers let his curious musings lead him after the two. He heard a few words being spoken, and soon stopped as he saw her: a silver coated wolfess, standing her ground in front of another canine of mixed origins. He was apparently unnoticed by them, and after assuming the mixed canine had wronged the she-wolf in some way, decided to take action. "Da-yum, kids today..." he muttered under his breath.

The darker canine started rushing toward the wolfess. Taking this as his cue, Rivers also ran over to her, but with a different purpose in mind: rather than attacking her, he was going to save her hide.

Rivers swiftly let his right foot plant firmly into the ground as an anchor, and lashed out his hand to the she-wolf's arm in an attempt to pull her out of the way. If he failed in doing so, though, it would probably cost the girl some bones or a few scars to be embedded on her body.

Image courtesy of miez!

Wretch D'Angelo · 04-03-2012, 02:34 PM

[html]

Just as she prepared for the pounce of the hybrid, she felt a force yanking her back and away. The other canine had moved forward, his weapon slashing through the empty air where her head had previously been. Instead of blocking his blow, Wretch found herself falling backward, landing flat on her behind a few feet back. What in the hell had happened? She quickly located the reason behind her sudden flying lesson, a third luperci that had joined into the mix. She'd nearly expected it to be Ezra, the male that she had been traveling with as of late, but was surprised to see another canine standing there instead.

He seemed to be occupying the hybrid, so she rolled quickly to her feet and began to race after the male that had snatched her bag up. He was sitting beneath a tree not too far up the path, digging through the contents of the pack. Her eyes flashed with anger and she came up behind him with her knife, using the tree that he was leaning against as cover. Quiet as a mouse, she leaned around it to hold her blade to the unsuspecting luperci's throat. Release my things. She said coldly. The dark luperci had no interest in doing this, however, his hand beginning to creep toward his own weapon. She had given him one chance to give up, but he believed that he could best her. Or perhaps he thought that she wouldn't actually do what needed to be done.

As soon as she realized what he was doing, she wrenched her own blade backward. The sharpened edge cut through the flesh of his throat quickly but not very easily - she sawed the knife back and forth, releasing the body as soon as her job was finished. Wretch stood up, swallowing hard. She felt the urge to vomit, but tried to quell it as she reached down to examine her belongings. This was the law of the neutral territories, that one would protect their belongings and property from anyone who sought to take it away from them. Still, she did not enjoy what she'd done and kept her eyes from looking up at the now-still body that leaned up against the tree. She started to pad back toward where the mystery luperci had been previously, hoping that he'd been able to take care of himself and wouldn't need much assistance from her.

Rivers Skyeward · 04-03-2012, 03:48 PM

[html]

Word Count :: 549 I hope it's alright if I just played the mixed one by myself for now >>

Rivers saw the she-wolf run off in hot pursuit of the Luperci she was chasing earlier, and turned his attention to the other canine that almost stabbed through her chest. "Whatever happened to bein' civil 'round here?" he mused aloud as the beast before him growled in anger, and a hint of disgust. Weapon still drawn, he started to rush at Rivers, his knife pulled back to slash him through his chest. Rivers, who was not as experienced with fighting as he had hoped, narrowed his eyes and took a few steps to meet him, but managed to side-step out of his way before the blade connected with his skin. He even succeeded in slapping his hand at the knife, making it fall to the ground. The mixed mutt, however, jerked his head around to face him, and chomped his lethal fangs at Rivers' arm, slashing his own arm at the man's chest in an attempt to finish this fight sooner than he now bargained for.

Rivers, however, had other plans. Pulling his arm out of the way and backing up at the last possible moment, sharp teeth and claws slashed at the thin air in front of him, missing the target. Narrowing his eyes for a split second, Rivers swung his foot at the other canine's legs, felling him, and remembered the knife on the dirt. With a swift motion, he grabbed the knife as the other Luperci scrambled to his feet, and without a second guess, stabbed the knife through the canine's chest. The canine howled in pain, stumbling to the ground again, and clenched his teeth with a paw over his heart.

Panting slightly, Rivers stood over his limp body for a brief moment, then leaned down by him, the knife at hand. "... I guess that's what karma gets ya," he murmured gravely, pushing the knife onto the mutt's throat. Slashing it along the skin and fur, he quietly slit his throat, silencing the canine for good.

Rising back to his feet, Rivers rubbed the back of his neck, feeling slightly guilty he actually killed his victim rather then just leaving him near-death with his shame. A frown past over his face as his eyes closed solemnly, and he sighed. At the sound of walking nearby, though, Rivers blinked over at the source. And there she was, the silver-coated wolfess, coming back. Perhaps checking if he could actually hold his own against the mixed Luperci, perhaps to thank him for saving her. Either way, he pushed the death of the other canine out of his mind, nonchalantly stepped over his body and walked to meet the she-wolf.
"Guessin' this 'un here wasn't a friend of yours, given the circumstances," he said, letting a warm smile settle onto his face. "And I can assume you've got yourself a name? It'd be nice to know it, since we're meetin' by fate of some sorts. I'm Rivers, by the way."

In his mind, the male hoped this girl would be thankful in some way for his presence, seeing as he was a reason she didn't get stabbed through the head, but he dismissed the thought, mentally scolding himself for expecting honor for just helping out. It was only because he was there, after all.

Image courtesy of miez!

Wretch D'Angelo · 04-03-2012, 04:44 PM

[html]

Of course! Sorry, I should have specified that ^^;

The foliage overhead obscured her vision as she looked upward. Clouds had rolled over the sun, darkening the woods around them before lighting it back up a few moments later. Rays of light slanted downward through breaks in the branches and leaves, lighting her path and illuminating bugs as they flitted and jumped through the beams on their way back down to the forest floor. Her heart was still beating steadily as she padded back to the area that the other luperci had saved her at. She was shaky from her encounter with the hybrid, something that showed visibly as she walked - each footstep was an effort. She wasn't new to fighting, but it wasn't very often that she had to take the life of another and it made her sick to her stomach.

Blood had sprayed in all directions from the hybrid's throat, and she'd been unable to avoid some of the blast. Still a bit shell-shocked, she realized that she was coming upon a scene similar to the one she had just experienced. The two figures came into sight just as Rivers was slitting the throat of the black luperci, ending his suffering for good. It was better that way, in her eyes...she didn't like for anyone to suffer, even if they had tried to commit an act against her. Had this new male killed off the other one so he could have a go at her? She didn't understand why a bag would be worth so much to these bandits, but perhaps he had the same mission. To steal and find valuable items for trade, or to locate food without having to hunt for it.

She took a defensive posture with her knife, though her hands shook, waving the tip of the blade back and forth. He came closer and she took a few steps back, trying to keep some distance. He'd yanked her aside, but what did that mean? Had he known these luperci, or had he just been another passerby? There are d-dangers in the forest. Sometimes...sometimes having a scout isn't enough Her companion came down from the trees to light on a lower branch, chattering at her. She looked to the sparrow, then back to the unknown male. No, Tatuk. I think this one's a friend, not a foe. She shook her head at the bird, who seemed to get the message that things were alright.

I've not heard a name like yours before. I am Wretch. I..took care of the other one. He must have thought that he was in the clear, because he wasn't expecting me at all. She moved to slide her knife back into its sheath on her thigh, wincing. She'd managed to cut her calf on one of the sharper rocks in the river, but hadn't noticed it with the high levels of adrenaline that had been coursing through her body. Why'd you stop, anyway? I don't think I could have fought 'em both myself..stupid of me to try. She didn't have her bow or slingshot with her on this day, both weapons hidden in a cache further up-river, or the luperci would have really been in for a surprise.

Rivers Skyeward · 04-03-2012, 06:09 PM

[html]

Word Count :: 367

With his vision slightly impaired by the dense clouds above, Rivers squinted his eyes a bit to get a better view of the girl in front of him. He noticed how she backed away when he drew near, wavering a knife of her own. Rivers felt his eyes widen a bit at this, and he held his hands up. "Woah, now, I'm not here to hurt you," he assured her quickly, taking a step back. He wondered if this girl was just naturally wary of strangers, or perhaps she noticed the blade he was welding? Rivers himself forgot he was holding it until this point, and with an indifferent shrug to himself, slid the knife into his back pants pocket. Might as well have a weapon on hand, as he didn't currently possess one.

Rivers nodded in agreement as she told him about the potential threats of the woods. "Yeah, I know first-hand..." His attention transferred over to the sparrow that had flown from the trees and by the wolfess. He gave it a smile as well, not wanting to seem rude or standoffish, and turned back to the girl, who introduced herself as Wretch... after calling his name different indirectly, no less, but he one-sidedly had to agree with her on that. It wasn't the most common name, but Rivers supposed that's what made everyone different. He hadn't heard a name like "Wretch" before, but there was a first time for everything.

He looked over at her knife as she told him that she took care of the other bandit, and after looking back into her eyes, nodded, but didn't speak. Then came the question he actually had been anticipating: why did Rivers help in the first place, anyway? "I guess I couldn't just let a woman like yourself get roughed up—no, make that killed, by some son of a bitches like them," he chuckled, letting a smile come across his mouth again. "The least I could do was help you out. I couldn't just watch you get hurt." He shifted his weight to his right leg, letting his arms cross over his chest as his head tilted a bit to the left.

Image courtesy of miez!

Wretch D'Angelo · 04-04-2012, 07:49 PM

[html]

She had lived free in the forests for months now, defending herself from all sorts of foes...both canine and creature. Wretch was learning fighting techniques slowly but surely from various scuffles like this one. She realized that each time she chose to fight it could be her last, so she normally chose to run away from the fights if she was able to. She needed more hands on experience...more training. But pack life wasn't for her. She liked having the freedom to roam wherever she wanted to, without ties to anyone or anything. Wretch did make friends of her own and met up with them on occasion, and she did have a few canines that she enjoyed traveling alongside...but they weren't anything she'd consider a group, or a pack. The many ceremonies that they'd done in Ichika, the ordered planning and the pack rank structure...it was all entirely unappealing.

The male said that he wasn't there to hurt her, and her mind worked laboriously to discern the reasoning behind his words. She didn't know that she would be the one to jump into a fight like this that involved a stranger, someone that she didn't even know. Perhaps if it was one of her friends that had gotten caught in the fray. But otherwise, how was one to know who was the bad guy in the situation and who was the victim? Maybe her victim role was more obvious, given her size and stature. Her stomach gave a complaint once more and she fought the urge to throw up, leaning against the tree nearest to her. She got sick around blood for some reason...something about it just made her stomach roll. The fact that she was bleeding from the cut on her leg didn't help things.

"I've been in scraps like this before" She said, a defensive edge to her voice. She pointed to a few scars, lifting her hair up to show deep gauges in the skin at the nape of her neck. "I got stupid, just like today." It was shameful, what had happened. She should have known better than to go after them at all. Her belongings weren't worth as much as her life. "But in any case..thank you. I...I am used to relying on myself, so I am unused to the idea that others would want to try and help." Suddenly remembering that she had her bag with her, she reached inside. She'd found a small blanket a few days back. Wretch ripped a small strip off of the cloth, leaning down to wrap it around her cut with a grimace. "What were you doing in this neck of the woods, River?" She didn't smell any particular pack on him, but she hadn't been to every pack before.

Rivers Skyeward · 04-04-2012, 09:19 PM

[html]

Word Count :: 487

Rivers remained motionless as Wretch supported herself on the tree nearest to her, a vague look of worry in his eyes for a moment. Had she been injured by one of the bandits? He followed her finger as she pointed to various scars and marks from previous fights, saying she had been in scraps before. With one glance at the freshest injury on her thigh, he immediately assumed it was the other Lupercis' doing, and frowned slightly, not aware of the true origin of the wound. He noted the defensive pitch in her voice, and decided to respect it. She seemed like the type to remain solitary, even in the midst of someone she could "trust," and Rivers wasn't about to play medic if she had it under control. He cleared his throat softly as she took a scrap of fabric from a blanket and wound it around her cut.

Rivers heard her say a thank you, and his charming grin returned to his lips. "Anytime," he answered, letting his left arm fall back by his side while his right planted itself on his hip. He was going to say more, specifically about her apparent independence, but reasoned against it. Instead, he gave an understanding nod, his beam softening a bit.

As she finished with her wound, Rivers had busied himself by straightening his jeans, and ran a hand through his mane in an attempt to hopelessly rid it of tangles. As Wretch asked another question, he glanced up, his muzzle dipping towards the ground a bit. "'Round these parts?" he parroted in his own wording, then lifted his nose a bit. "Oh, just... visitin', I guess. Returnin' to the 'hood. I used to live here way back when, back before I got myself a pack of my own. It holds some sort of value to me, if I were to bet. Nice beach here, too." He paused for a moment, then remembered her original question. "But this specific neck, well... Thank your little birdie for that. Heard him from the rougher stretch of the beach. I guess we both owe it to your friend, huh?"

After this, a question of his own started to form in his mind. Resting his hand on the back of his neck, Rivers cleared his throat again. That seemed to be becoming a subconscious tic for him, as he didn't realize he was doing so, and the rough noise of air reverberating in his throat didn't seem to surface to him yet. "You got a pack of your own, Wretch? Don't seem to reek of any pack I've crossed paths with. Or are you... on your own?" It was an innocent question in Rivers' mind, and he hoped she wasn't defensive about her family ties. If she was, though, that was fine, too; he would apologize for being curious later. But for now, he just blinked at her, awaiting an answer.

Image courtesy of miez!

Login




Remember me Lost Password?