[html]
SOMEWHERE THERE'S A CRACK IN THE SIDEWALK
BIGGER THAN THE SHADOW OF DEATH IN THIS TOWN
She let her slouching bag drop to the soft earth, exploring the territory with crimson eyes as her plum dress billowed in the slight breeze. The grass was high here, and tickled her exposed ankles as she made her way towards a menacing display. Wolf skulls were mounted on wooden pikes, some now just pale ivory bone, but others still bearing debris and decaying sinew. She outstretched a hand, running her fingers along the smooth surface of one of those unfortunate wolves’ skull. It was eerie, and she knew that it was a sign for those who came near this land – Keep out. At the same time she found it rather intriguing.
The thick scent of coyote was present here and she was sure it was some sort of band that resided beyond the borders. She had never known life in a collective group like that. Ryan and her mother had been loners all of their lives – like gypsies moving from place to place. She would have been surprised to know that she had easily found the place where her supposed father lived. Yet, she had yet to discover his presence there.
[/html]
[html] http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj31 ... a/ctop.png); background-color: #74693D; background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;">
_____The day was lazy, perhaps too lazy to suit her tastes. Gabriel and Anselm had left with the prisoner and Corona had been hanging around the borders off and on with baited breath. She had never met Talitha, but already she had established a mental bond with the girl that ran just as deep as the one with the others who she was related to. So there was a sense of fear and of wonder of just how she had been treated. And for the most part, Corona certainly hoped she was still alive.
_____But now something else had caught her attention altogether, putting her almost hypersensitive for the moment senses to work. The shift in the midday wind had drawn attention to a presence that she wasn't familiar with. So while everyone else seemed to be doing their own thing, Corona left her impromptu post and ventured along the borders. A short while later, the scenery spit up—much to her relief— a coyote. One who was studying their rather creative decorations.
_____“Good thing they don't bite, huh?”
[/html]
[html]
SOMEWHERE THERE'S A CRACK IN THE SIDEWALK
BIGGER THAN THE SHADOW OF DEATH IN THIS TOWN
She trailed her fingers along the bone, pausing for a moment as her gaze fell upon the empty stare of those dark sockets. For a moment she swore she saw dark eyes peering back, but was instantly corrected with a blink of her lashes. The voice that came, however, startled her. She looked up to find a golden female starring back at her. She offered a smirk, pushing bangs out of her eyes, "I suppose that would only help with their purpose." She let her fingers fall then, as if she expected the skull to do just that.
"Do the wolves and coyotes not get along here?" She asked, only guessing from what she saw. "Or are there no wolves left to dispute with?" She tossed her gaze towards the skull for a moment, indicating her sarcasm.
[/html]
[html] http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj31 ... a/ctop.png); background-color: #74693D; background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;">
_____The stranger's comment prompted a smile to thinly span across her muzzle, noting the well placed sarcasm and just how ironic it really was. “Something like that,” and boy, if only she really knew. “It's more like the wolves around here have a deep seated problem with the coyotes and hybrids. It's run in my family a really long time.” But of course anyone could see that she was very much a hybrid. Though in possession of a coyote body, Corona was very much dressed in a wolf's skin.
_____“So… what brings you out to this neck of the woods?” It wasn't every day that a coyote turned up at the borders and from what Corona guessed, it wasn't every day that someone with red eyes turned up. Like the strangely cloaked young man she had met in Laruku's cabin, this girl had a pair of eyes she felt like she had been before. The shade, the depth… very unique and very much an attribute to define her by.
[/html]
[html]
SOMEWHERE THERE'S A CRACK IN THE SIDEWALK
BIGGER THAN THE SHADOW OF DEATH IN THIS TOWN
Her blood red eyes caught Corona’s de le Poer blue, as she listened to her explain. "I see," Ryan trailed her words away, looking down the constructed row of pikes. She wondered if they had enough skulls to span all the way north to the mountains that loomed in the distance. If so, she could see why a wolf might want to avoid this area.
"I’m merely passing through," she told her as she picked up her large bag she had set on the soft earth. The long grass tickled her forearm as she made to sling her possessions over her shoulder. "I figured I’d stop to check out the décor, though," she added with another light smirk.
[/html]
I like your avatar!
[html] http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj31 ... a/ctop.png); background-color: #74693D; background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;">
_____She had met a lot of travellers, both wolf and coyote and of course, the mixes in between. All of them mostly did the same thing—travelled though an area and took in the sights, sounds, and the culture—and then they were on their way. She had did that herself, at least until she had heard of the untamed and beautiful countryside that made up South America. It had been so interesting, how detached it was from the north and the east, but was beginning to crawl once more with life. So it was with a knowing smile that she spoke on.
_____“Well, a word of advice would be to stay away from a pack to our southwest, Dahlia de Mai. Even though you don't have any affiliation with those of us in Inferni, they don't discriminate based on where you're from, but what you are.” The last thing she would have wanted the travelling woman to do was get herself torn up or killed, especially when she didn't seem half bad.
[/html]
Haha thank you! My attempt at art.  [html]
SOMEWHERE THERE'S A CRACK IN THE SIDEWALK
BIGGER THAN THE SHADOW OF DEATH IN THIS TOWN
She readjusted the strap on her shoulder, brushing her bangs from her eyes as a light breeze danced by. Maybe a place like this wouldn’t be half bad – a clan or whatever they called themselves. She had been a traveler all of her life along with Lene, but now she was completely alone. For a change of scenery, maybe she could check this place out. She decided then, nodding at Corona’s words, they she would stay in the ‘Souls area for a little bit longer and see what it had to offer.
"Thanks for the advice. I wouldn’t want to get myself into any unnecessary trouble." She looked back towards the skulls, pointing to the lands that stretched out behind them. "So is this…" she paused, trying to think of the name she had just said, "Inferni?"
[/html]
[html] http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj31 ... a/ctop.png); background-color: #74693D; background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;">
_____“Yeah, this is Inferni,” she confirmed with a nod, offering up another smile. Introductions and such weren't really her best suit, but Corona decided better late than never. “I'm Corona, also. My brother Gabriel heads up our clan and our mother did before us. So we've been around for a while.” And at some point, all three of them had done their share of travelling. But like her mother had once said, they all came back to home. All of them, something always brought them back to where home was. “Where are you from?” Everyone had a home somewhere, however brief it was.
[/html]
[html]
SOMEWHERE THERE'S A CRACK IN THE SIDEWALK
BIGGER THAN THE SHADOW OF DEATH IN THIS TOWN
"Seems interesting," she commented, though mostly to herself. She wouldn’t mind discovering what a life with a group of people could be like. Maybe, just maybe… she would decide to join in with this place. See how it was, what they did. If it wasn’t what she expected, she could always leave, right?
"My name is Ryan. Ryan Seton." It had been awhile since she uttered her mother’s last name. She knew about de le Poer and how that should have been her surname, but she refused to offer it to anyone. Why should she carry a name of someone she didn’t even know? Lately she had been leaving her surname off entirely during introductions. But somehow it had slipped out now, and almost tasted sour between her teeth. "I’m not from anywhere, really. I came from south of here, though I’m not really sure where that was. Or where this is. My mom and I have always been travelers – moving from place to place."
[/html]
[html] http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj31 ... a/ctop.png); background-color: #74693D; background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;">
_____Corona had always thought she and her siblings had very unique names. In reality, they actually did have some pretty weird names that came from places that she didn't even know (especially her mother's children, they had the most interesting of them all), but Ryan sounded a lot more masculine than the bearer. But that was what made it all the more fitting, in retrospect. “Well, the specific region we're in is what the humans called Canada. Apparently we're apart of an even bigger landmass referred to as North America,” Corona said with a shrug. “I really can't tell you much more than that, even though I've been to a few different places in the past myself. There's a region across the ocean called Europe and a place within it called France. Then a few weeks travel to the far south is South America.” Most of which could have been pulled from a map, but wolves and coyotes often didn't need them. They just went wherever in the hell they pleased and then again… how many of them could read, anyway?
[/html]
you = posting machine[html]
SOMEWHERE THERE'S A CRACK IN THE SIDEWALK
BIGGER THAN THE SHADOW OF DEATH IN THIS TOWN
Ryan was really interested to hear about all of these places and their names. She didn’t know that one person could be so knowledgeable, or even, where she could have possibly learned this all from. Though Ryan had seen books before, she had never been taught to read from them. Writing, too, was a talent she didn’t possess. The one thing that she did excel at, however, was sewing. Her bag, currently slung over her shoulder, contained all the fabrics she had ever received, as well as her sewing supplies. She made all of her own clothing and had even attempted making a few accessories – a scarf, a hat, and some mittens for her mother. She wanted to learn how to knit, but had never gotten it down completely. Her mother had started to show her, but they never had the chance to finish lessons. Now she had a long trail of knitted fabric that could never be ended. Unless she found someone who knew how, that was.
"I’ve never heard any of those names before, but I’ve must have traveled some of them. Probably all across North America," she remarked, wondering just how large this land mass was. "Say," Ryan started, titling her head to the side and shuffling her bag’s strap. "Does Inferni ever allow new people to live with them?" Was that how to phrase it? She was just curious if she could ever have that opportunity.
[/html]
I get called that a lot and often in both positive and negative ways! *dies*
[html] http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj31 ... a/ctop.png); background-color: #74693D; background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;">
_____Corona had never travelled the true expanses of Canada or its southern counterpart, but she had trailed along the coasts before. She had probably even been through the very place where they were standing and just didn't remember it. She thought that maybe one day she would, but for now her feet were firmly planted in Inferni, unless something derailed her and threw her elsewhere. But she didn't think life would be so apt to slam on the brakes now that it had hit the gas.
_____“Yeah, we do. Coyotes are welcome here, but if you're looking to stay, I'd have to ask my brother about it. His word is the law around here.” She liked the idea that Ryan might have been considering sticking around, because anyone else they recruited to their merry little ranks was one more over Dahlia de Mai they had and she was certainly an able body. “But only if you're interested in staying. I don't want to make you feel like you need to if you don't want to.” More importantly, Corona didn't want to seem like she was trying to push that offer onto her entirely, either.
[/html]
[html]
SOMEWHERE THERE'S A CRACK IN THE SIDEWALK
BIGGER THAN THE SHADOW OF DEATH IN THIS TOWN
Her brother Gabriel was law. That must have meant he was some sort of leader for them, but she wasn’t entirely sure what that entailed. Either way, she liked this idea of having a place to live. And not only that, but a place to belong. Ever since her mother’s death, Ryan kept traveling with no sense of belonging. Maybe that’s what she needed – to surround herself with a reason to live everyday. After all, what did she have now? Nothing.
"That’s great. I was afraid Inferni might not want outsiders coming in." Especially with that display of wolf skulls; but then again, Corona had explained that. "His name his Gabriel you said? Your brother, I mean." She took her bag and slung it over her opposite shoulder, relieving the first of its duties. She smiled at the relief it gave her, before continuing. "I think I may come back later today, if that’s alright. If I call for him, would he meet me here? So that I could ask him."
[/html]
*gnaws on the colours in said avatar now!*
[html] http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj31 ... a/ctop.png); background-color: #74693D; background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;">
_____“Yeah, he should if you ask for him when you call. I'll try and tip him off that you might come back around if I run into him too,” she said with another affirming nod. That way maybe things wouldn't seem so abrupt and strange. Then again, someone he didn't know asking for him may not have been so much abrupt as it was strange, but a welcome kind of strange once he got there and figured it all out. It would have been nice to have an unrelated body to make a connection with (of course, that was until she figured out that Ryan was actually already connected to them all in some disjointed, distant way), seeing how they had all been family for far too long. Not a bad thing necessarily, but they were quite a dysfunctional bunch.
[/html]
nom nom nom. we could probs close this now? [html]
SOMEWHERE THERE'S A CRACK IN THE SIDEWALK
BIGGER THAN THE SHADOW OF DEATH IN THIS TOWN
With the reassurance of possibly having a semi-permanent home, Ryan hitched up the shoulder strap to her bag and allowed her smile to spread. "Awesome," she easily commented, excited for when she would decide to come back. Even though she hadn't made up her mind 100%, she had a feeling there was a large possibility that she would end up at Inferni’s borders again. Next time, hopefully, she would enter their territory as one of their own.
"Well, it’s been great to meet you Corona. I suppose I’ll see you fairly soon." With that, Ryan turned, heading off to the north towards the Halcyon Mountain range. She had no way of knowing it, but she would soon find herself at Drifter Bay. It was there that she would come face to face with her father, and her decision about Inferni would be obscured. She turned back, waving goodbye to Corona, before heading off up over the hill.
[/html]
yaaaar.
[html] http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj31 ... a/ctop.png); background-color: #74693D; background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;">
_____With a nod to send her off, Corona watched until Ryan had drifted out of view before turning and getting back past the spikes and skulls and back to the place around the borders where she had been lingering from before, eagerly awaiting her brother's return. When she did reach there, it seemed as though he come back and she was sent further into the territory, soon to find Talitha and then her brother later on. But things would surely come together, as they always did.
[/html]
|
