The wayward child of the Matriarch had come trampsing back to his mother's lands, though there was little or no real reason. He knew that Firefly had finally made her way back to Dahlai de Mai's lands and that his mother wasn't expecting him. Normally he would have respected a pack's borders, but when it came to his own mother and the things she nutured he wasn't so well behaved. Once in his young mind he'd had a notion to end the silver and gold woman's life for the injustices she'd placed upon him, after a year afar from her world he tolerated her with the same forced respect she passed off to him. They'd both wronged one another and neither would say they were sorry, but in the end atleast there was a peace of types between mother and child.
The steele hued male had been sitting along the edge of the small villa that spread out along the twin lakes. He'd more than just passed up boundries, he'd invaded right to the heart and soul of the lands, but what was anyone really going to do, take him before their leaders. He'd watched the autumn leaves falling down around the old fence and scatter across the soft dusty road before the winds picked them up and danced them once more up and away. There was no reason for watching the leave blow by, just something to do. Truthfully he hadn't exactly decided what he was off to do today, infiltrating to the center of the packlands had been enough, his mind really wasn't on actually trying to find something to do, it was off on memories of being tugged along by the hand of a crimson eyed fey who had somehow wrapped him around her little finger in the blink of an eye.
[html] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/ ... F-head.png); background-position:top; background-repeat:no-repeat;">
-had fun with this post.-
wc430
Jefferson liked autumn.
In fact, he loved it, and that was putting it lightly. The ruffled hybrid had never been one for the snow and bite of winter, but the crisp smell of reddening autumn leaves as they took off on their yearly waltz on the western winds was all too familiar for the male. Being the nature lover that he was at heart, Jeffers had always had a slight flair for seeing the foliage each year--it meant the unbearable heat of summer was ending and the frost of winter was still deferred for a few more months, and that expanded amount of time between seasons he favored, just as he favored spring. The old brute hated winter, and seeing the trees budding and the world rising from its own frosty ashes back into life was a peculiarly overwhelming relief on his behalf, but I digress. Jefferson loved autumn, and no gimpy leg was going to cast that away. It was one thing admiring the canopies aflame from a single eye, but it was rare that the hybrid felt so unusually whimsical that it seemed nothing could crash down the day. On his little stroll, lonely and perfectly happy as such, he had to resist every goofy smile to himself that kept arising upon impulse.
On the crisp autumn winds rose another scent--one almost repugnant and disgusting compared to the breeze of fluttering leaves. He paused and thought twice before raising snout to the sky; odd, the scent was definitely one he recognized, yet nothing of his pack. A brief glance from side to side concluded correctly--Jefferson was far into the heart of Phoenix Valley, and nowhere near the borders. Talons flexed and tore at the soil hardened from the nipping cold. A stranger was decided quickly; his speed, though limping only faster, picked up immediately as the scent was routed through the twirling winds. On most occasions, the male did not mind strangers and newcomers to the land, but this far into the valley? Hopefully the stranger was an acknowledged guest, but as the three-legged hybrid stood at the edge of one of the two twin lakes, he decided otherwise. The scent reeked of Iskata somehow--he hastily browsed his memories of the stories she'd shared with him--but there were far too many identities the grayscale hybrid could possess. He made quick conclusions and narrowed them down. A limp further, and the hybrid stood tall, scowl all too apparent and single eye focused and glowing with suspicion. "You reek of her," he growled lowly. "But you have no place on these lands."
| [/html]
DaVinci could have cared less if the owner of the voice had been the happiest most cheerful sounding tone in the world. When the sounds of the other reached his ears the only response had really just been a dim flicker of one tagged ear while his mind silently tried to figure out just what the fuck this busy body from Phoenix Valley was talking about. The first thought that came to mind wasn't his mother, but Ryan, he's recently been out strolling with the girl from Inferni and had assumed that her scent still clung to him. Raising his head up he twisted his head around as he grunted. "What the fuck does it matter what bitch I smell like?" he asked. He'd been thinking that the owner of the voice was just another coyote half breed hating bastard until he caught sight of the male and he realized that probably wasn't the case.
Standing there alongside the fence rail he flicked his tail in annoyance as he rolled his eyes at the second question. "Someone in these lands finally going to do something about that?" Most in the pack knew that the silvery blue boy came and went from the lands, always between Iskata or Deuce he was keeping updates on his sister and her finally seeming to get back to some stable sense. He knew she'd never be the same as she was once, but as long as she was finding some pace to set her life back on track then that would have to work well enough for him.
Really, by now there was no reason for him to be anywhere near the lands, the issues at hand were fading away and his mother and her co-leader had a pack to gather and tend to. He just really hadn't found a place to belong yet and somewhere along the lines he just kept finding himself falling back to Magdalena and his mother. Funny, the boy didn't think much of the woman, but always his trail ended where she resided it seemed.
[html] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/ ... F-head.png); background-position:top; background-repeat:no-repeat;">
wc264
His eyes thinned. Jefferson was quite the sarcastic himself, but the language and manner of this grey-hued hybrid was something even he could not appreciate. The male's green eye thinned at the target suspiciously, lowering his head as if to look further into the character's soul; the scrawny-looking stranger looked nothing like the matriarch he [kind of] knew, but he was only peering with one eye and a busied memory. His mind had been spiraling about his own family as of late after some things had been unexpectedly opened to him, but what he could appreciate most is that there was no way, no how he could have been related to a precocious steel-furred runt like this one. His scowl deepened and voice grew all the more grim, but did not yet resort to growls and snarls.
"Yeah," he grunted in response, flexing onyx talons into the soil. "You must have good reason for wandering this far into claimed land. Meeting someone? Hope it wasn't me, since I have no clue who the hell you are." A couple gimpy steps brought him a bit closer before he stood tall on his good three legs, tail curling at end. Recalling Iskata's story and the familiarity of the scent he carried, he was still trying to determine if this hybrid was the mate she lost and still pined for, or one of her children that had met a couple different traumas. Judging by the attitude, Jefferson could assume either pretty easily. "If you're here to meet someone, you should have stayed at the borders. Show some respect."
| [/html]
DaVinci turned away from the scene he'd been watching as it was obvious that the male wasn't going to leave. Settling back on his paws he turned and gazed at the male, his moody eyes looking over the rag-tag figure before him as a devilish grin spread across his maw. He had no problem with taunting the poor fellow at the moment. "She really does have a thing for the sick and needy doesn't she.." he asked. The remark killed two birds in one stone, his dear old mother and the gimp before him.
His fangs barely showing as the scowl of the male seemed to have permadently stuck to his face. DaVinci raised one brow at the question as he shrugged a shoulder and laughed. "Well, I could be looking for my sister.. but since it was you I met instead I guess it could be fate.." He twitched his shoulders as the thicker mane that flowed down his back fell back into place as he went on. "Believe in fate, Romeo?" he asked. The name more than ill suited for the beated and scarred male before him.
Yawning to reveal his fangs the hybrid boy ignored the last remark for the most part. "Relax Valley boy, I'm DaVinci.." he really wasn't in any mood to be much of an asshole beyond petty insults and weak jabs at the poor skrawny sight before him. He knew his mother still had some fight in her if he pissed her off enough, and he didn't exactly want her angry with him, atleast not at this moment.
[html] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/ ... F-head.png); background-position:top; background-repeat:no-repeat;">
wc211
At this point in time, possibly the weirdest look had crossed Jefferson's face as he stared at the steel-colored brute. His jaw had dropped agape a bit at the character's complete lack of relevance and seemingly unrelated banter, not to mention the couple sporadic nicknames the gimp had somehow acquired. He wasn't offended in the least as a result, so much as he was just confused by DaVinci's movements and speech. It was a good thing he wasn't part of Phoenix Valley; hell if Jefferson knew if he could handle this guy on a daily basis. His eye rolled.
"Enough, Chuckles," he sighed after the hybrid introduced himself, ignoring the new knowledge of his name. His green eye focused in on the stranger. "You're not impressing anyone here. If you're looking for someone, you'd best find a better way to do it next time." A shrug. He almost admitted that he was 'nice' for allowing it, but quickly swallowed the thought and dismissed it. He wasn't nice. He just wasn't in any place to be doing punishments, that was all. "Who's the girl? I might know her, but not if she's anything like you." He smirked lightheartedly, tail waving slowly from side to side. He nodded his head, "Jefferson." Simple enough.
| [/html]
The fact that the other was willing to play along after the simple roll of his eyes made DaVinci smirk, the name granted to him by the tattered and torn fellow. Raisinga brow he shrugged and said simply. "Suit yourself.." He Turned his gaze back towards the leaves that were fluttering down around them and scattering across the ground to create a blanket across the lands. His ears flicked back slightly incase the other had something important to say.
It didn't seem like long before the beaten boy of Phoenix Valley did indeed have something to say, a bit of a warning to the wise. With a roll of his eyes to match Jefferson's the steele boy gave his reply, "I really aim to impress, so I'll try harded next time, I promise mother." sarcastic of course were his words.
His stormy eyes met the single emerald one of the male as he asked about the girl. DaVinci shrugged, thoughtful for a moment before replying. "Depends, Magdalena can be as sweet as she wants to, as stubborn as our mother.. or she can come off as a moody bitch sometimes." He grinned and gave up the game. "Of course, she's normally up at mother's cottage.. I think. I could be wrong." He nodded to the name that was offered to him as he sighed, wishing that these lands weren't really claimed thatway he could come and go as he pleaded to this spot.
[html]
wc261
escape is never the safest path
His eye focused again on the precocious, steel-furred male as he spoke, but his words were like air that blew in and out of the hybrid's ears. Put simply, Jefferson hadn't the slightest idea as to what this 'DaVinci' was speaking of. His first assumption had been that Davinci was somehow associated with one of the leaders--he couldn't tell which, if any--but the name Magdalena had been tossed into the air. His sarcasm was unnecessary and though smirked upon, inevitably ignored for the time being. The last thing Phoenix Valley needed was another wise-cracking know-it-all like Jefferson himself. What would Iskata have said? The hybrid stifled a brief chuckle.
"Sorry, stranger, that name doesn't ring any bells here." A shrug and a shake of the head. Sure, Jefferson had lingered in the pack for a number of weeks, but his experience with his other pack mates ran thin. How many they actually had in total was unknown to him, but at the same time, it wasn't like he was caring all that much. "Don't know if I know your mother, either. I only know a few of them." That was pretty literal. "Are you sure you're in the right place?" A suspicious, almost sarcastic glance fell upon DaVinci then. It wasn't the steel-furred male's fault if he had ended up in the wrong place, but that seemed unlikely. Jefferson wasn't exactly the greatest of greeters either, but that could be left unsaid. The one-eyed male was always suspicious of something, though he always realized how his self was liable for fault.
|
[/html]
DaVinci couldn't help but shrug when the pack member admitted that he didn't know Magdalena, though it really didn't surprise him, Magdalena was a quiet soul who tended to keep to herself most of the time. He turned his stormy orbs towards Jefferson though when he mentioned his mother. A toothy grin was the answer that the scarred up hybrid was given as he raised and brow and asked. "Really? You'd almost have to know her to be living here." DaVinci was growing bored with the idle chatter along the roadside and with a backwards glance back at Jefferson once more he cocked his head to the side, a jerking motion towards the oldstyle fence and the Villa beyond.
"Well, since you're the one I've ran into instead of them.. let's find something worth doing." he stated plain as day before scrambling over the fence and walking through the large glorious trees that hung overhead. The leave sof the beech, maple and oak trees swirled around the male in a strange little dance on a swift breeze that swelled in his path. He didn't care if the other followed him but he expected that the Phoenix Valley male wasn't just going to let him wander free.. he did have that stubborn nature about him. Annoying, sortof like his mother in that aspect.
Tilting his head back as he gazed at the sky DaVinci suddenly asked. "So what's the deal with you, who let your sorry arse into this pack?" He grinned as he admitted. "I probably would have picked a nice tall tree and sat up in the branches waiting for the buzzards to come round.." He had no reason to even care who pitied the hybrid that shared the area with him at the moment but he figured he already had the answer in the back fo his head, only his mother was pathedic enough to take in every flea bitten creature of their deathbed and try and breathe life back into their world.
[html]
wc301
escape is never the safest path
Jefferson had been rather content with those he knew already in the pack; it was not that he was against newcomers, it was that he was cozy with the place and time at present, and anticipated change and feared for the statuses of those he'd already come to know. His memory had been triggered some time back and had since opened up some new perspectives and thoughts to him, and though he had shirked some of his duties as a Phoenix Valley member as a result, had been surprisingly jovial over the past week or so--a reaction not even he had foreseen. Regardless, his pack went on, and he had his things to do. However, it was this steel-furred creature that occupied his time and eventually took charge, demanding that they 'do something' before promptly questioning Jefferson further. A sigh escaped unintentionally, but the hybrid was not complaining. He had to make up for his laziness of late somehow, he supposed.
He could only hope they would run into whomever it was DaVinci was looking for shortly, because Jefferson had hardly the inspiration or patience to be babysitting the stranger. "Hilarious," the brute remarked with a rolling of the eye, though a slight smirk crept upon his lips.
"The matriarch took me in. It was a pity vote after the other leader lopped off my head with her words." There was a pause, as he recalled the day. The thought had once been a common occurrence, but ever since his memories had sparked, it had been fogged for some time.
"You'd best learn some mercy yourself if you want to get anywhere in this world. Hell, I've got this limp and these scars but I'm the one who came to stop you regardless. The buzzards would've had no chance at stopping me."
|
[/html]
Perched upon an old tree stump he wagged his tail like a flag at the words that the male said, his mocking smile turned back to the male as he crooned. "I knew it! She'd adopt you into her family if she could I'd bet." He shook his head and looked towards Jefferson with a look of a weary family member that had repeatedly been there when another had brought home every little critter asking if they could keep them. "Just what I need." he said. Another adopted member of their dysfuctional family. He turned in a circle on the stump to face Jefferson as he leaned down towards the scarred up male.
His eyes glittered as he asked. "Should I call you brother.." he paused a moment before shaking his head. "Noo..." stopping a moment to think he finally decided. "How about uncle.." He grinned and declared it again. "Uncle Jefferson." The male certainly did sound like an uncle with all the lecturing he was trying to grant towards DaVinci. Flicking his ears back for a moment the male just shook his head at the words of the other and laughed.
"You stopped me?" he asked doubtfully before turning and leaping off the treestump and trotting towards the lakeshore. Calling back over his back towards Jefferson the cocky moody son of Iskata kept moving away. "Hardly boy, I seem to still be moving and you're the one standing still!" He knew if he kept it up he'd probably end up in trouble.. or actually running into his mother, but the male was such an easy target for him.. and he really did like the silly little bantering. The hybrid hardly ever actually let himself relax enough around anyone. Why not some stranger.
[html]
wc291
escape is never the safest path
Family? Hell, Jefferson didn't need family. The hybrid had gone at least two years without the need for a companion or a lover; his groin did not ache for any sort of romance whatsoever and although he'd always had a soft spot for children that was never shown in public nor openly admitted (he had an image to maintain, after all), there was no inward desire to start producing from the loins. At the mentioning of "Uncle Jefferson", the hybrid responded with a sour, but sarcastic, scowl and stare to match before rolling his eye again and heaving a bitter sigh. The silver-furred creature never seemed to shut his yap, did he? Despite it, however, Jefferson made the rather surprising connection between DaVinci and Iskata, although it was one he'd rather not think about. Surely, this creature must have taken after his father. "Drop it," he grumbled, following the stranger at his leisurely, handicapped pace. "Nobody's adopting me anywhere. Not my thing." In retrospect, at least he was honest.
DaVinci struck him as the leisurely type himself, though Jefferson did sense an underlying tension or cause to suddenly relax in the midst of a stranger who had yet to let down his guard. He sensed no threat in the silver hybrid, especially considering the relation to the matriarch, but regardless knew of Iskata's rather complicated story about her family and its leavings and the like, and while he had little experience in how such matters actually worked, he stuck to the constant assumption he possessed that not everyone was trustworthy, family or not. Even family had its drives for revenge and those subconscious arguments that only appeared mid-conflict. He shrugged. "Where exactly are we going, then, in the territory that's not yours?"
|
[/html]
DaVinci shrugged at the words the male spoke so grouchily as he smiled. "Ok, okay.." He knew that when the Matriarch had you there was little way to get out of being adopted. Grinning at the male he laughed, "Don't say I didn't warn you though..." he said with a raised brow. DaVinci had never realized that his mother's role in the pack had made her feel once more like she had a family, even though technically the pack wasn't all blood relatives but to her they were family. The silvery boy really didn't get what the big deal with family was to his mother, he understood what family was, but why she craved to have hers so close.. that he didn't gather, or really wanted to.
He yawned as he trotted through the overgrown grasses and towards one of the twin lakes. Shaking his head at Jefferson's question, as to which he ignored the deal with territories, he decided last minute. "Clouded Tears had this hidden island in the middle of the lake.. maybe Phoenix Valley does too?" He'd never actually gone off to explore the island, but he'd known that Laruku and his mother had. Maybe if Phoenix Valley had something of the sort he could claim it as his own.. little secret that was. He had nooo intentions of staying within these lands. Now it seemed that if there was an island Jefferson would know about it too.. but the silvery male figured the gimp could never really find an island out in the middle of the lake, considering his injury.
[html]
wc219
escape is never the safest path
Did he need warning for something? Well, he hoped not. Of all the people he had met, Iskata was the least threatening in his eyes, even if she was at the head of the pack. Compared to Deuce and her hatred of hybrids, not to mention Pendzez and his youthful immaturity and recklessness, Iskata was a creature of divine wisdom and a concentration on what she was doing. She was not a bad ruler; he didn't like the idea of being "under" someone or the concept of a ranking system when he had first stumbled into Phoenix Valley, but nowadays he no longer regretted it. Jefferson was adaptable, he knew that. He was not always happy with change or needing to adapt in the first place, but he knew when he needed to do so.
He mentioned Clouded Tears; Jefferson's guard dropped somewhat, but the scowl on his face remained the same. He wasn't sure why these names were always such a surprise when they were brought up, considering he once had such a great relation to them all. "Doubt it," he grumbled. "I used to live there. I don't remember any islands or lakes, but I haven't seen any here." He stopped, giving the silver-furred male a sarcastic look. "Do you really want to see a gimpster swim, anyway?"
|
[/html]
DaVinci had yet to be thrown into the actual way of things. He'd always just got by on his own and spent his time walking the line between one breed and another not yet figuring out just where he belonged but no trying hard enough to find pain or kindness in one world or another. Now though, with a mind to wander the lands and discover strange places within packlands or unclaimed territories the male wasn't going to make it easy on his guardian. Leaping over a partly downed fence as he could hear the wash of the lakeshore Davinci turned about and gazed at the male from the opposite side of the fence as he spoke of Clouded Tears, having lived there once. "Well, you don't remember much about it then. Of all the fog and mists that clung to the lands you couldn't really miss the damned lake!" DaVinci wondered if perhaps the male was talking about another packlands with the same name but he doubted it. Perhaps the male was addlebrained or something. He just shrugged it off and grinned.
"Well of course I'd LOVE to see you have to work at keeping up with me.. perhaps a swim is in our future then!" He was a cruel and unusual guy, but it would just amuse DaVinci too much to see the gimp trying to swim. The male had no clue in knowing that swimming was generally easier than walking for those with injuries like Jefferson's but he'd like to just see what the male thought about DaVinci wanting to see him suffer.
[html]
wc210
escape is never the safest path
Jefferson's gaze wandered to the climax of the fence before glaring at the steel-furred male stone-faced, scowl rather dark and unappreciative for this little feat. He took a moment to wonder if the male was simply trying to piss him off, and to what extent he was succeeding, but thus far the male had yet to lose his temper. Jefferson could have called for help--a simple howl into the air would have summoned at least a few who could question this conniving creature a bit further--but his own pride apparently got in the way. DaVinci began to frolick away, and the hybrid was left trying to find a different way through the fence--fortunately, a gaping hole was located a little ways down, and the brute climbed on through before limping his way back into near distance of the stranger. He didn't much appreciate the insult, of course, but he didn't much care at the same time.
"Shut up a second," he grumbled, rolling his eye as he nonchalantly took his time in following the quick, ambling creature. "If you were here to see Iskata, you'd have howled for her by now if you're related to her." He snorted. "These aren't your packlands. Not yet, anyway, if that's the reason you came."
|
[/html]
DaVinci knew he was being an ass but he did what he was asked and slowed down. Watching the male with a slightly bored look to his face he grinned as Jefferson finally made his way around the fence and came back to sit himself near the blue grey hued youth. DaVinci's tongue lulled out of his maw as he laughed at the grumbling gruff that was now apparently his shadow until he decided to get rid of him. When he began to put things into place DaVinci shrugged and began to walk down the path towards the scent of water, and ultimately one of the two lakes.
Pausing at the turn in a bend that showed the first signs of the sparkling waters down below the boy's eyes turned to Jefferson as he smiled. "What, think she's too perfect to throw off one like us?" he teased, assuming the male had a thing for his mother. It wouldn't have surpised him, he knew his mother was striking though she had enough scars that you'd think otherwise.. yet the scars tended to only add to her beauty in some strange way. He just let the comments roll off his back as he yawned. "What pack would want a moungel like me? Why would I want a pack anyways?" He grinned at the male after his jaws snapped shut from the yawn. He chuckled and asked. "Ready for that swim now?"
[html]
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g210/ ... parrow.png);background-position:bottom;background-repeat:no-repeat;">
wc256
---
Literally speaking, Jefferson was not entirely sure what he meant by Iskata 'throwing them off', especially in the opinion of her own son, but the brute chose not to comment on it, finding reason instead to simply keep the limping pace after the absent-minded stranger who had become so comfortable with the lands. He seemed more familiar with the grounds there than Jefferson himself, though that was probably because Jefferson didn't have the time nor patience to do more ground scouting that usual. His position as Captain demanded he knew quick and easy exits in case of emergency, and that he did--but when it came to knowing the actual Phoenix Valley lands, well, his leg didn't really give him the leeway to do so. It hurt even when he was doing something useful, something good; the pain that stung through the limb was like a permanent reminder on who he had used to be, and now existed only to keep him from turning back. It was somewhat tedious, really.
"I used to say that," he scowled, resistant to opening up to strangers. It wasn't really opening up, really. He was just doing that lecture thing again. "I was a loner for years before I ended up here by accident. I was only going to stay until I could eat and take off without being noticed, but..." He shrugged, indifferent green eye staring at DaVinci stolidly. "Best you can do is give it a chance. It's not bad." He quirked a brow at the idea of a swim, and scowl grew sarcastic in a wordless reply.
| [/html]
DaVinci sat still as the male went in on his lecture, his eyes hadn't lost that sparkle as he grinned at the male like this was all a joke. In his mind it was, he could respect his mother at a distance or even close by but there was still a darkness that had settled in on their relationship and had made it hard for him to trust her fully.. though he knew what sort of a mental shadow he was of her past, of his own past. He shook his head as he stated. "No. you wouldn't catch me here to stay.." He shifted uncomfortably as he grumbled. "Ask your leader, she can tell you all about it." there was no reason that had to do with him loving the life of a loner, he actually enjoyed company.. but there were very few who could or would explain what has happened so long between mother and son.
The younger hybrid flicked his ears forward again as he moved downhill towards the lapping shore as he called back, the dark tone gone, "Com'mon... I best the water's still warm.." Fall was here but they could still enjoy the lakeshore, even if the water was too cold they could wander the shore and atleast get to know just what the place was like. DaVinci silently bet that half the pack even knew a fourth of their lands.
[html]
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g210/ ... parrow.png);background-position:bottom;background-repeat:no-repeat;">
Maybe we can close this up pretty soon? Couple more posts? wc219
---
"What happened?" He found himself interrupting, the comment on the water once again disregarded. Since when had the brute ever really cared about what happened to people? It was inevitable now, of course, to say that his months in Phoenix Valley had changed him, and he knew it. He was still the independent, crabby old gimpster he'd always been, and yet, the experiences and the responsibilities they shamelessly threw at a character like himself had changed him. Maybe they'd known they would. Maybe they were testing him, or proving that he was not the hopeless creature he'd always thought himself to be. He didn't know. Curiosity usually ran relatively thin with this hybrid, and yet he was still watching the silver-furred stranger with a steady green eye. He wanted to know... but more, maybe, because he knew this creature's mother, and their personalities were like opposing nations.
He cleared his throat, suddenly finding that time appropriate to plant his rear down and refuse to move any further, or at least until he got some more questions to satisfy curiosity. It was his duty, after all. "She might have changed. She's not the person you're making her to be. Or, at least not as far as I know." He shrugged. Everyone was two-sided to an extent. He could understand that.
| [/html]
|
