do you believe
in the day that you were born?
tell me, do you believe?
Word Count → 407 :: Sorry for the wait on this! :c The song she's singing is here; lyrics are not included in word count.
Pia had finally traveled south, mounted on her filly as they wove down the mountain trails and broke into a gallop through the flat wilderness. The pockets of her cargo pants were full of pinecones and feathers and flowers plucked from trees, and she decorated Poppy’s strawberry mane with what she could. The cones had long been crushed due to the ride, but she crinkled the pieces in her hands and inhaled their distinct scent happily.
They passed mountain and forest and beach now, and Poppy’s hooves were startlingly loud as they hit the pavement. Her footfalls echoed around the empty buildings, nothing like the muffled thud on a carpet of pine needles and rotten leaves. A restless owl hooted and flew above the gap between two buildings, black and silhouetted by the sun for a heartbeat. The smells around her were unfamiliar now, no foliage in sight other than weeds poking through asphalt and vines strangling buildings with the intent to drag them down.
She acted as if she’d been born in a city, however, smiling idly at the buildings they passed and inhaling deeply when the brine of the sea hit her nostrils. She urged Poppy into a canter, steering her around the forever-parked cars. It was at least less desolate-looking than the highway in Ichikan territory, with once well-groomed trees growing in yards and birds twittering from windows. She didn’t let the roan slow down until they reached the ocean, however.
The girl slid down from the saddle, breathless as she pushed her braid back over her shoulder. Thrusting her hands into her pockets, fingers fidgeting with the petals lining them, she sauntered toward the edge of the grassy beach. The harbor was more urban to the south, with ghostly ships floating wearily or half-sunk under the moaning waves. Docks and buildings sprawled in that area, too, with a backdrop of more skyscrapers.
Pia sighed, folding her hands behind her back now, and bit her lip as she wondered where to go. Poppy looked restless, bending her head as if to nibble the salty grass before shying away and glancing toward the buildings. Running her fingers through her mane, the woman smiled and sang softly.
She, like an angel weeping,
On the rocks sighed every day,
Awaiting for her own true love
Returning home from sea.
She fell silent only halfway through the song, however, leaning her head against the filly’s snowy-red shoulder. Her voice sounded too strange here, ringing hollow in the face of the ocean’s murmurs and the empty echoes of dead Halifax.
Unlike the quiet of the beach a few miles away Pia was currently visiting Toby was in a full sprint. Butt-naked, aside from his ebony fur, and cheering for himself as he sprinted down one of the docks that hadn't been occupied by too many boats. As he jumped, high as he could manage, a howl of excitement came from his mouth and he let himself fall into the deep salty waves of the coast. The ocean! A wonder in this world like no other! Turning down, he swam through the middle of the water just under the waves of the surface. He liked water, he had decided. It was something Fang would probably never attempt and something to get his mind away from others.
Especially if the others were apart of him he never understood. With Fang's recent problem hovering in his mind as leftovers for Toby to rustle with the german-shepherd had been stressing. He'd walked a whole three miles and into the city until he had reached the shore trying to figure a reason behind Fang's issue with the one girl. Who was the girl anyways? What business did Fang have feeling guilty for raping her? Wasn't she just like the others?
Deciding to put it out of his mind, he'd stripped and sent himself into the blanket of salt water. Now he was here, resurfacing for some air as he powerfully stroked through the sea. The salt stung his eyes but he didn't seem to mind as he moved back into the shallows and crawled into the warm sand. It was here that he would lay until the voice caught his attention. A song. A sweet mutter cut short. Who had produced it? Turning his head toward the noise and sitting up in the sand he was able to see the woman and her horse not very far away at all. She hadn't seem him yet though, and so he would have to introduce himself.
After a short trip he was able to call over the breeze. Evening, ma'am. Would you like some company?" Toby was friendly, that was for sure, and the beach was doing far to good of a job to make him worry about relationships and Fang. This time he'd just be happy and friendly and hopefully Fang wouldn't bother her if he ever got the chance.
I will not fall, I will not fade.I will take your breath away!
do you believe
in the day that you were born?
tell me, do you believe?
Word Count → 310 :: Hoorah! I remember making that table for youuuu. x3
There was something melancholy, perhaps, about the mottled grey she-wolf. It was a secret shadowed by her smiles, a lovely but lonely melody sang high and sweet into the salt wind. She would never speak of it if asked, but truly it didn’t bother her. Her problems were nothing compared to the suffering out and in the world, the injustices and pain and sorrow. The only time she was truly sad was when she was crying for and with another, or when she realized—like now—how big and empty the world could be.
Will I ever find my father? Pia wondered, continuing to stroke the filly’s reddish shoulder, her cheek pressed against the back of her hand. It was the whole reason she’d crossed the isthmus into the region. She supposed she had a reason to stay even if she never found Cain Hayes, however—Ichika no Ho-en waited for her in the mountains, a high lovely place.
She was thinking about returning home when the call of another made her turn around swiftly, the plaited end of her dark hair swinging. She grinned at the sight of the dark dog jogging toward her, brushing her fringe out of her tobacco brown eyes. Ears lowered passively, she ventured a few steps toward the muscular, black-furred male to close the sandy distance between them.
“I’d love some company,” Pia answered eagerly, her tail wagging behind her over the hem of her cargo pants. “So alone in this place, big it is,” she explained in her usual stumbling words. “I’m Pia; who’re you?” Her tail increased its tempo as she stepped even closer, her gaze falling to the tattoos and scars covering his body. One such scar marred his left eye. But he looked so friendly, it didn’t matter. Perhaps she was gullible, but no one could say she was judgmental.
xD INDEED FLUFFY PANTS. (I'm so frikkin hyper atm.)
The female was alone. Perhaps the thought crossed his mind by the way she seemed so eager, or maybe it was just that he'd been so lonely for so long he could recognize it. Whatever the matter, the girl seemed nice enough and though he was slightly aware of being butt naked his modesty was beaten in the ground by his past. He was use to having to 'let it all hang out' and so he stood with confidence, smiling kindly at the female before him.
That's a pretty name, he commented, I'm Toby. He let his eyes look to the horse she'd been standing by and gave a small nod with his head. Nice horse. Never rode one, always looked uncomfortable to me. He slowly rest a hand on the horse's neck and gave it a small stroke before he pulled away. Plus pets weren't allowed in the pack I had to live in. His black eyes went back to Pia's, giving a small smile again and letting an awkward silence fall between them so she could get a few words in.
I will not fall, I will not fade.I will take your breath away!
do you believe
in the day that you were born?
tell me, do you believe?
Word Count → 312 :: I'm not used to playing a character who's so NICE. :|
“Thank you,” Pia returned courteously when he complimented her name. “I like Toby, too!” And it was nice luperci like that this gave her faith in the world. Many times this kind of trust had been abused, and many a rogue had played at her Good Samaritan card to take something from her, but each time she smiled away the wounds and moved on. After all, being pessimistic and sour about the world wasn’t going to make it better. She was absolutely dogged on this point.
She followed his charcoal gaze to the filly and nodded. “That’s Poppy,” she said, and the horse twitched her ears at the sound of her name before wandering off to graze more. Usually the young mare greeted new wolves as eagerly as her handler did, but it seemed that her stomach was forefront in her mind today. “But ’s only uncomfortable if you ride a long long time,” she said with a grin. “Helps if you gotta blanket or pants.” She teased him lightly, though she didn’t really believe in modesty. She liked how her clothes looked on her, of course, and adored the many pockets in her pants, but luperci had been born with fur to cover them, and that was all that was really needed.
She nodded lightly at his remark about pets. “Well, they’re hard work, and maybe them didn’t have enough food or room for extra animals?” She did her best to see every situation both ways, although she wasn’t trying to change Toby’s opinion. Understanding simply made for level ground to move forward, after all. She shrugged and beamed at him. “Is that why you don’t smell like a pack now?” she asked boldly, her smile and warm tone softening the obviously blatant question. Oh, she knew how to be tactful if someone was hurting, but tact didn’t answer unasked questions.
Seems like it'd provide a good challenge for your writing then!
She liked his name. That was charming. He could easily assume that his mother was the only other woman to tell him so, though his memory wasn't quite exact. He gave her a charming smile, one Fang might of used to seduce someone, but added his own good-hearted touch to come off kind. Toby was kind, though sometimes he had his doubts. Her suggestion on pets, however, made no since. To him, pets had been something in his puppy hood where he brough this mother a mouse and begged her to keep it. She'd always shooed it away though and the pack had done the same to anyone's possessions; living or not.
"Is that why you don't smell like a pack now?" The question was taken slowly, his smile faltering and pulling back into his body where he hid most of the days. The beach had done its job to keep Toby happy but now the glitchy thoughts were forming in his brain. His normal routine coming back in play as a wall drew over his mind. A freak... A monster... He managed a small smile. "Actually... you could say it was more of a relocation. Nothing to do with pets at all..."
I will not fall, I will not fade.I will take your breath away!
do you believe
in the day that you were born?
tell me, do you believe?
Word Count → 249 :: Lemme know if you need more to reply to.
Toby had a very nice smile that marked him as a nice dog, and Pia responded with a coy little grin of her own. She loved interacting with other luperci, even if her signals were often all kinds of messed up. There were so many kinds of souls in the world, whether broken or shining, and it was almost a goal of hers to meet as many as she could and make that many friends as well. As cliché and naïve as it was, seeing others smile was what she lived for.
And so, when his smile faded away from his dark lips, the mottled girl knew that she’d struck a dissonant chord in his memory. Her brown eyes shot out to the ocean for a moment, hands finding their place in her pockets, fumbling around with the crushed pinecones there. The sharp edge of one poked her pad, drawing blood, and she analyzed that finger.
The man spoke, however, his wording cryptic. She nodded as if it made perfect sense, however, and used the same follow-up question as always when she’d lost someone’s smile: “Do you want to talk about it?” Her sunny demeanor had faded away to be replaced with something just as compassionate, but many shades more serious as well. She acted like a child most of the time, but in the moment one could tell that she was a woman, and a woman who had seen and heard things. She met his dark gaze evenly.
OOC - its fine (: by the way, if it matters your post is BEFORE Fang meets Amy.
IC -
She was compassionate. This was why his preference fell with women. He gave a small hint of a smile. She wanted to help him. He could see it in her gaze. A helpful woman was better than a bad one. "Well... See I was kidnapped as a pup. It was a bad pack and I was forced into... Disgusting ways." It was he first time he'd really voice his past to someone. It felt good. So he carried on. "I was beat daily. Raped. All men. No women. It never stopped. And finally I got away and well... I had to handle it somehow..."
Now he couldn't stop the stuff from spilling from his mouth. "So this stupid personality thing happened and now I'm me... And... And Fangs the bad me. And I cant get close to people without them possibly getting hurt." He faded off and gave a breath. Shoulders not so heavy he gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry... I'm just... Stressed out."
do you believe
in the day that you were born?
tell me, do you believe?
Word Count → 309 :: Ahh, methinks Pia needs to meet Fang in another thread once this is done. x3 I am so evil.
She sucked lightly on her bleeding finger, brown eyes calm and serious as she watched him. Off to the side, Poppy grazed on the salty sea grass and swished her snowy-red tail. And the ocean was ever in the background, lapping quietly at the shore as if keeping quiet to hear Toby speak.
And when the black shepherd did, it was to describe a kidnapping and a dark new family. Torture, physical and sexual, until he found a way to escape. Her expression did not betray her emotions, but her eyebrows came together in a melancholy and thoughtful way as she listened to him. She’d met others who had been hurt in such ways, often from their own families, but hearing about the darkness of the world did not take away from the pain of it. Had she not known she had to stand strong and listen, she might have wept—but she saved the weeping for rainy days.
“So you have Toby and Fang?” Pia questioned softly, hoping to understand him and what he was going through. It sounded like a second personality had come out to cope with the trauma of his beatings and rapes, something she’d only heard stories about. But she couldn’t believe in this creature as being bad, at least not to the point of no return. Everyone could heal and have a second chance at a good life.
“Why sorry?” she asked sharply when he smiled at her again, frowning back at him although not darkly. With no regard for personal boundaries as per usual, the young grey woman stepped closer and threw her arms around his broad shoulders, knitting her fingers in the fur at the nape of his neck. “Of course you’ll be stressed. I’m sittin’ here and all good, so you shouldn’t apologize to me. Never, ever apologize, Toby, never ever.”
The question she replied with left him antsy. Did he really want to go through with releaving his life onto her shoulders? Giving someone else his burdens and issues? He was, after all, a monster with two heads and now the angelic head was starting to have a permanent scowl. If he had any luck with friendships at all it might soon rattle and shake, his inability to separate himself from Fang increasing and his sanity declining. He clung to the hope that telling the kind woman his life might help him out, a fact that most certainly couldn't be promised but could be tested.
"Yes," he said slowly, "Infact sometimes I don't exactly know which is which anymore..." He gave a low sigh and hung his head, black eyes tilted to the sand below them. His attitude had slowly melted away from earlier; the happiness of a young pup deminished from his personality. That's when she inquired of the apology. Why had he apologized? It was simple, yet complicated at the same time. He didn't want to be close to anyone, yet he did. He didn't want anyone he knew to get hurt, yet strangers got hurt by Fang daily. He didn't want to burder others with his problems, yet he needed to in order to feel the humanity he still some what possessed.
The gap between them closed, she willingly threw her hands around his neck and pulled herself into him. It was a hug. Something he'd never had since a pup and even then he still couldn't remember things his mother or sister had done for him. It made things complicated in a headache kind of way. But slowly he felt himself relaxing under her, the words she said calming him down. It was a hug. His arms wrapped around her back and he hugged her back. Never, ever apologize, Toby, never ever. For a moment, he sighed into her shoulder and had a hope that it could be so easy. "Sometimes we have to apologize, even when nothing is bad, because if we don't we might miss the opportunity later," he whispered quietly into her ear.
do you believe
in the day that you were born?
tell me, do you believe?
Word Count → 261 :: Blah, didn't know what to write.
Toby confirmed her guess, and his admission made her frown sadly. She knew that she could deal with that, at least—convincing him that he was the good, and that Fang was the bad. But when both came from the same person, well… Maybe she would have to work on teasing out the reasons why the dog coped with a second personality thrust against the world. She wouldn’t know unless she met Fang, and she had a feeling that the male wouldn’t want to risk that. She wanted to tell him that she wasn’t afraid, though, that she could care less about what happened to her so long as she could help him. She’d accepted all the bad things that would come to her a long time ago.
His arms were strong when they wrapped around her, and she rested her chin on his shoulder as his face buried into hers. She would have held him like that for hours, days as long as it helped. Too few luperci understood the simplest healing could come through touch.
His soft words near her ear made her frown again, although she was smiling by the time she drew away just enough to look into his dark eyes. It wouldn’t do him any good to see her frowning. “Maybe you can apologize for Fang, but you’ve done nothing wrong. You’re good; I can tell that.” She twitched her ears back against her dark hair as she looked his strong features over. “Do you know if there’s anything I can do to make it better?”
He was sure the woman had misunderstood him. Fang was the bad one; not Toby. She went on, asking if she could help. The truth behind that answer was a complicated one. She couldn't do anything, right? Because Toby was someone who could never be loved and that's what he needed. His arms fell slack around the woman before he fully dropped them back to his sides and stepped back. Fang was the one to invade privacies anyway, not him. Fang was this. Toby was that. Fang was black. Toby was white. Fang was evil. Toby was...
What was Toby? He was a friend... to the limited amount of people he'd allowed himself to get close enough to in order to exchange names and words. What else? He was... was... A small annoyance started in him. Not knowing he'd be forever haunted by this annoyance while the line between the personalities was fading he tried to push it out of his mind forever. He was Toby. That was all he had to know for now.
"Don't be burdened by my problems, dear friend... I, uh," briefly he gazed at her eyes. Brown eyes. Nice eyes. Something better than his darkened ones. "I like your eyes," he said quickly feeling awkward and rather in need to cheer her up. Anything to change the conversation off his own problems and back over to something more cheerful... Cheerful like Pia, who'd decided to be his friend.
do you believe
in the day that you were born?
tell me, do you believe?
Word Count → 243 :: Mine is suckier!
The black shepherd broke the embrace, stepping back. She’d liked the closeness of another warm body, but she didn’t complain. She pressed physical affection on a lot of wolves regardless of if they’d like it, but she was satisfied for now with one gentle hug. Her tail wagged loosely behind her as she watched him, wondering what was going on behind those dark eyes of his, wishing that she could understand him and how best to heal him. She’d scolded other young dogs into rethinking their mean actions, cheered up an elderly coyote that was waiting to die, and even snatched a wolf back from the brink of suicide. Handling two personalities would be a new challenge.
Toby dismissed her offer for help, which she was used to. Few people ever wanted help, or if they did, they were too afraid to ask for it—afraid they’d burden her, as he seemed. They saw her as a gentle girl, caring but not someone to actually reveal problems to. They didn’t see the side of her that could lift mountains of pain on her shoulders.
“I like your eyes, too.” Pia answered his out-of-the-blue compliment without missing a beat. And she continued to stare at his face, waiting for him to make the next move, to reveal a weakness she could pounce on. She was a giddy predator waiting to snatch a rabbit, a rabbit she fully intended to help if she possibly could.
Wrap up this post soon since it continues to decline? -_-'
She was kind enough to not bother him with why he'd pulled away. She didn't press help onto him. She didn't do anything. She was simply there to make him smile. And she did, in a surprising way. As she replied she liked his eyes they lit up with a bit of happiness and a smile grazed his mouth. Something about her made him so happy. Something about her made him happy.
"Mine aren't that great," he said after he'd realized how cocky he might be looking. He didn't want the female to think he was arrogant, like Fang was in many ways, and he most certainly didn't want to come off as rude in any way. Besides, did this girl even like him or did she simply have a tollerance for beasts needing help? He tried to think on this and as he did a faint whisper of Fang's thought spread through his mind. It's a trick! Better run while you can, silly mutt! Those words. The ones he'd thought himself. Because Fang was him after all... right?
New confusion burst into his mind and the smile faltered, slowly dropping as he zoned out in thought. Whatever the female might say could easily be forgotten in the midst of all his confusion. Was Fang apart of him? Were they the same person? No! Surely not! He gave a shrug, shaking his head as if to say no but meaning it to clear his head. "I, uh..." He what? "I should leave you to your day at the beach, Ms. Pia. Wouldn't want to ruin this fine day for you by being a parasite." But he didn't want to leave... Or did he?
do you believe
in the day that you were born?
tell me, do you believe?
Word Count → 231 :: We don't haaave to. They could do something completely unrelated for a while, like what Pia suggests. xD But it's up to you/Toby! (Also, I'm not ignoring your PM about the drawing, but I haven't been able to decide on how I wanna do it yet.)
Her compliment worked as intended, lighting up those soft, dark depths of his eyes and turning his lips up slightly at the corners. Others might have been more cynical about her words, but his reply sounded more like a modest dismissal than a protest. She grinned knowingly, her dark ears falling coyly against her hair as her fingers came up to toy with her braid. It wasn’t just her being nice, really; he did look good, and sweet. His was the type of face improved by smiles, though, and if he were to scowl at her, she could see how he might look scary—with his black fur, reddish mane, tattoos and scars galore.
Her shy little smile vanished when he explained that he didn’t want to ruin her day, and she snorted at him. “Well, I won’t keep you…” she murmured, and glanced across at the city. “I thought we could just, y’know, run around and look in the buildings for treasures. Or maybe play in the waves! Or something. I like Poppy, but she’s not a luperci, and…” She was still a little lonely, but she didn’t want to say this out loud. Guilt tripping someone only worked for some situations, and all she wanted to do was keep him from lying to himself if he really wanted to stay. Bright brown eyes looked almost pleadingly up at him.
His mood from before lightly returned at her suggestion. Spend sometime with her? She needed another like her. Another luperci. Another canine. "Well then," he lightly gazed over at the rolling waves. He was naked already it wouldn't waste time to go back into the salty water. "How about we take a dip?" Then he gave her a cocky smirk and turned to run off towards the water.
"Last one in is a rotten egg!" he cried like some sort of pup and plowed through the sand. A chuckle escaping his mouth as he found he could care less how stupid he looked. There was something telling him he wouldn't have to care what Pia would think because, well, Pia was a sweet girl. She had a way about her that signified happiness and all the opportunities to gain it.
As he reached the water it lapped about his feet and splashed at his running. Jumping into the air and diving under a wave, letting the salt sting him in various cuts from random things and letting the water wash him clean. Clean of stress. Clean of thoughts. At least for the moment, he'd be fine. Until the water got to deep, or the darkness of the debts started to envelope him again.
