check yes, juliet
#1
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Because of the dangerous rocks, Dohi had left Adonvdo wherever the horse chose to roam. All he needed to do was whistle loud enough for the Appaloosa when he was finished with whatever exploration he could accomplish; the equine was usually close enough to hear. Nvwadohiyadv was somewhere else entirely, never one to stick right by Dohi's side at all times. She was normally around, watching and making sure he didn't do anything stupid, but that hadn't been a major concern since he was very young. Since before he'd been sent on his Journey.

He was nimble on the rocks, and found himself easily in the Grotto. There, he found himself feeling much more at peace than he normally did. It was an almost inherit ability of his, to judge the peace about a place and to feel fluctuations and waves where it changed. He could sense a person's inner emotions and could sift easily through them to find the core of peace, where he could draw out their inner self. That was all too easy for the AniWaya man. At the same time, his empathy lent him a good deal more stress when a lot of Luperci spoke to him about their problems, and it was for these reasons that Dohi meditated.

It would have been the perfect getaway, but a slight wave of panic washed over him and he looked up to see the pirate ship. So it hadn't always been the picture of tranquility; that, he found hard to believe. How did it get into this little place in the beginning of things? He shook his head lightly, mumbling something to himself, and then began picking his way toward the remains, his wapiti skin boots making barely a whisper on the damp stone.

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#2
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While Dohi had always been able to access that inner calm, Itsihnalv had always managed to avoid doing so. It seemed to be in his nature to be chaotic, and he almost seemed to like it that way. He let his emotions take sway of him far too often, which was often what Uguna had been telling him to improve on. His badger guide had wanted nothing but to improve his character, but Itsi hadn’t really been complying so far. There was just a chord in the youth that liked living a little more wild than usual. Each to his own, he would always say.


The agouti wolf had seen the pathway to the Pirata Grotto fill up with water while observing the coast a few days ago, and had set aside this time today to go and investigate. He had entered in the cavern before his brother (of course not knowing he would be there), and busy set to looking around. He was first startled by the almost luminescent blue water, though this was a small shock compared to what awaited him further in side. His jaw hit the floor when he saw the stranded pirate ship, lying in tatters while skewered in several places by the rocks surrounding the grotto. A fiery passion for exploring lit up inside Itsihnalv’s heart, and he started to wade toward the monolith immediately.


He was mid-way up the rocks leading to the ship when a sharply familiar smell wafted to him, carried by the strange and unpredictable winds of the area. His dark eyes sought out Dohi, as he could identify him immediately by the smell, and he waved to his brother tentatively. Dohi was one who he had tried to distance himself furthest from in his more moody months of travel, as his brother’s peace was a little painful on the side of the more chaotic brother. “Dohi,” he ended up calling, waving once more. “Nice to see you here as well.” Now they were only missing his sister, Uwoduhi…
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#3
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His siblings were all very distinct in their personalities. Of them, Ayegali was the one he knew best, and he knew her to be levelheaded and easy at mastering a task, but also a leader at heart. He was almost her polar opposite, and hated any kind of strife, even if it was between one and oneself. He rarely ever doubted himself, knowing doubt led to stress and stress led to fighting within oneself, and often his confidence was also overwhelming. Uwoduhi was almost a mystery to him, but he hadn't really had a lot of time to get to know his youngest sister well. And then there was Itsihnalv, who was a little bit different from them with his nature of fire. It commanded the youth and fed him, and it had been that way ever since their parents had fallen to the hands of others.

Itsi had been like that throughout their travelling. He hadn't really talked to anyone and always had an aura of anger radiating off of him. He had been like that when he'd gone into the forest, and Dohi had been secretly afraid that he would never find his Spirit Guide while filled with such anger. Anger was like a large wall between one and forgiveness, and he also believed the Spirit Guides must seek those who wished forgiveness. They would not bestow their wisdom upon a wolf who was too arrogant and believed he couldn't learn from their guidance.

But his brother had pulled through with a badger spirit. Now, standing on the jagged path to the pirate ship and waving for him, Dohi had to hesitate in light of seeing his younger brother. Itsihnalv had been somewhat better since his Journey, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't lapse back into it. Like Itsi, Dohi had been avoiding his younger brother's uncomfortable presence while it was saturated with anger and the need to brood; any attempt he made at breaching that kind of barrier and bringing out his younger sibling's inner calm had been deflected, and he wasn't so keen on being around those with auras so dark. He knew that the two younger wolves had a lot more trouble accepting the deaths of their parents, but it had been some time ago.

Surely he was over it and over travel by now?

Aye, Itsi, he said in his lulling tone, which was deep and masculine but still seemed as soothing as a mother's. The feathers tickled his wrist as he made the first hop onto the precarious pathway, and worked his way quickly up, resembling a feline much more than a canine in his lithe agility. He reached his brother in time enough to return the wave, his tail flicking behind him in tandem with the movement of his ears to the sides. When did you get here? He didn't know if Itsi had ever caught up to Ayegali or not, but that could wait.

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#4
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He had known that there was a certain amount of tension about him and his Journey — not as much from feeling it from others, but by feeling anxious about it himself. He had worried of nothing more in that time than returning in disgrace, not finding a Guide because of the tumult in his heart. He had, however, managed to get past his blinding anger and slight depression to find Uguna, and since then had leveled out a little bit. He had a long way to go, especially if he was ever going to change his opinions of changing at all. He felt as though he was happy with how he was now. Uguna did not agree — he still believed that his soul was entirely too seeped in chaos, but Itsi didn’t see the need to change that now.


The younger brother watched with mixed admiration and envy as Dohi lithely sprang up to where he was. He had grace that was only rivaled by Uwoduhi’s, though his sister always seemed to be able to be graceful under all circumstances. Itsihnalv had trouble with keeping his calm long enough to try to appear graceful; his movements often came quick and clipped, like the fidgeting of a bird. He noticed, with a vague sense of satisfaction, that he was roughly the same height of his brother, if not a tiny bit taller. He made a small smile, which disappeared once an actual question had been posed. He resumed his usual neutral expression, and shrugged his narrow shoulders. “A few days ago; I set of ahead of the main tribe, to find Ayegali. I did, by the way. She says she is to meet with the surrounding leaders. She seems to be seriously considering creating new tribe lands here.” Itsihnalv’s distaste rang clear in his tone of voice. “I feel there are too many others here, and that it is too much of a risk,” he added grudgingly. He blinked away the dark emotion, however. “And you? Is the rest of the tribe here yet?” It had been a few days; he had imagined them to have caught up by now.
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#5
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he's everything you need
he's everything inside of you that you wish you could be

The tri-toned wolf immediately picked up on his brother's minor discord on his sister's decision, and a small amount of unrest settled against his breastbone and pushed gently downward. He didn't want there to be some kind of strife just because Itsihnalv didn't support the idea of setting up their tribe in a place inhabited by others, but at the same time, Dohi knew that the more lycanthropes there were in any area, the more likely for trouble. He wanted the optimal amount of peace possible, being a hater of fighting and not likely ever to engage an enemy without one hell of a good reason to, and therefore he found himself hung up over what to do. To agree with his younger brother was to suggest that other Luperci were bad, and that was certainly not always the case. Not agreeing with Itsihnalv, however, suggested that he dismissed the possibility of a risk, and he couldn't do that either.

I am certain Ayegali will be able to tell if this place is good for us by judging the other chiefs, he said, failing to note the difference between a chief and a leader. She will make the right decision for us all. They had to trust their chief. She was their voice and their eyes, their ears and their hands, and she would not wrong them if it was within her power to resist. Plus, there isn't a place on this Earth without Others. We must learn acceptance; not all Luperci can be bad as those we know.

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#6
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He knew that Dohi’s response was the right one, of course. No matter how his own opinions were set against his sister’s, her word was law in the tribe. He had never really questioned it; she had been the Chief of them since he had been born, and that was enough to make her seem to be the upmost law in his world. He trusted her more than he trusted anyone else. His older brother continued to speak the truth — as begrudgingly as Itsihnalv wanted to accept it — and eventually he released some of the tension welled up in his shoulders and shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest. “You are right,” he said eventually, nodding. “If Ayegali says this is the place, this is the place. I simply hope the Others of this place show their true colors when she meets them, so she may make the best decision.” And he hoped their true colors would be peaceful ones; he did not want his sister hurt.


And, with that, Itsihnalv’s mind quickly flitted to the next thing. He uncrossed his arms, looking over his shoulder at the half-destroyed ship. He then looked back to his brother, a quick smile flaring up on his face. “I hope you are as intrigued by this as I am,” he said excitedly, turning around and carefully making his way up to where the ship was impaled by the surrounding rocks. When he reached where they might leap on to the rotting deck of the ship, he waited for his brother. His curiosity sang for him to continue, but he managed to quell the urge and pause as to continue with Dohi.
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#7
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Their backdrop was drawn into the spotlight, and he returned his brother's fiery smile with a roguish grin of his own. An explorer's sense lingered far below the calm and clear shell of him, and he was itching to do anything but discuss the fate of the tribe. Sure, it was something he had to deal with, being the chief's eldest brother and the eldest son of the prior pair, but even he could let go of politics and wondering how things would turn out for a moment enough to scout. He was a lot more patient in nature than Itsihnalv, and picked his way toward the pirate ship more cautiously, but reached it swiftly enough. A quick hop placed him on the creaking and unstable deck of the ship, but he didn't feel any need to panic; it hadn't made more than just those noises.

I wonder how many years this ship has seen, he mused aloud, running a hand up along the cracked wood of the mast until the break, where it had been snapped clean off. He couldn't even tell what type of wood it was, or the age of it, simply because it was so waterlogged and old that it was impossible to know any longer. Wood grumbled underfoot as he moved cautiously across the wide deck, and the longer squeaks caused him to stop and freeze, sucking his breath in.

But at the end of the day, the scout would face any dangers if it meant he would have the chance to explore more.

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#8
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Once Dohi crossed over onto the unstable deck of the dilapidated pirate ship, Itsihnalv followed suit. He leaped on cautiously, landing on all fours as if that would distribute his weight more evenly and lessen the chance of plummeting through all the way to the rocks at the bottom, down below. He sighed with relief as the rotting timbers held, and he slowly rose to his feet. His older brother wandered over towards the mast of the ship — ignoring as the deck below groaned and creaked and protested — and ran a hand along it while speaking aloud. Itsihnalv’s ear flicked back as the sharp crack of snapping wood indicated that Dohi had broken something. “Too many,” Itsi responded, though his curiosity was far more overpowering than his sense of self-preservation at the moment.


He began to carefully make his way around deck. “I wonder if there is a passage to the belowdeck rooms,” he wondered aloud, trying to find a door or something that would become a portal to the unknown depths of the ship. He wondered what was down there. Treasure? Skeletons? Or maybe water, rocks, and a few crab and lobster? Whatever the answer be, he was intrigued nonetheless. After a few moments of searching the rear of the deck, however, he was sure there was no in-tact door lingering around. Probably had been lost or stolen over the years. If they were to get into the hull, they would have to create their own passage.
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#9
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Every second on the ship felt like he'd been placed into a fairy tale. Pirates didn't really exist anymore, and those who did were society's rebels. He had never met them, nor did he ever fancy he would want to. They were rebellious whether from society or not, at least in lore, and he had had enough encounters with violence in his peace-loving life to do him over. He could live without Captain Screwnail coming along to take his hidden treasure back, too.

We can break it. Dohi, of course, didn't suppose the idea of breaking a hole in the hull. The chances that breaking one hole would cause a massive collapse was high, and he didn't exactly want to find out what would happen. Nonetheless, the fervor of adventure did burn in him and urged him to do it, even if it was more risky than he would like. The closest he'd ever get to a burning feeling was the anticipation of the journey, and of course, the Ulagahasti was more than willing to go below the deck.

Just not so much to play games with risk.

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#10
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A fiendish smile wormed its way onto the younger brother’s features. “Now you are speaking my language,” he murmured darkly, wandering over to the middeck that was facing the back of the ship. There were two small stairwells on either side of him, with what would have been the wheel to steer the ship on the raised platform they led to. The wall that connected the two stairwells was what, if he had to guess, probably held rooms beyond. There was a great amount of debris covering the ground and walls, so it might be a joint effort to see if they could get in here. “If I was a room, that is where I would be,” Itsihnalv said, pointing to the area of wall in question. “If we can clear some of the way and get something to pry at the boards with, I think we can get in.”


With that, Itsihnalv lifted a broken piece of timber and tossed it off to the side of the ship, so he could approach the wall in question a little bit more. He took some of the plant life that had encroached upon the wall in his hands and took it down, looking more at the wooden wall with interest while he hoped Dohi was looking for something to start smashing the wall with.
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#11
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The tuxedo nodded his agreement; if he were a room, that would be where he was. Itsi had already taken charge of the situation involving the debris, so it was his job — he presumed, although it wasn't necessarily what his brother had in mind — to find a way to get in. If the ship was anything normal by human standards, there would have been a door hidden behind the debris, but they were assuming the worst and, if that were the case, then the chances were that there was nothing but wood there.

There was a lot of stuff on the ship that would serve well, but the best of all was a piece of the metal railing that had been sheared off in the collision with the cavern wall and bent on one end. He could've chosen thick, cylindrical chunks of wood, or some of the railing that wasn't bent, but simple common sense knew that a bent piece of metal could do a lot more damage than one that was straight.

This should suffice? he asked, hefting the long and surprisingly heavy "crowbar" and holding it up for his brother to see.

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#12
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Itsihnalv glanced over to the piece of metal that Dohi was carrying – it certainly looked like it could do some serious damage, and not just to pieces of half-rotten wood on this wreck of a pirate ship. “Yes, I believe so,” he responded before turning his dark, scrutinizing gaze on the wall in question. He was observing the planks of wood that were played out on the wall. There were the regular, horizontal boards that were the paneling, but there were a few more diagonal planks that had been haphazardly thrown up against the wall as well, as if to cover something. “See these?” he asked, placing a hand and gently pulling on one of the boards in question. “They are not part of the rest of the wall.” He grinned fiendishly. “I do believe that something is beneath them.”


They spanned nearly the entire wall, Itsihnalv noticed after some checking. Opportunities sprung up at it, and his smile broadened. Someone was hiding something under there, and it was the perfect height and width to be a door. And whatever someone wanted to hide had value to that someone, and that same item might hold some similar value to the two AniWaya visitors…
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