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The land reeked of wolves, and normally at this point Adelaida would turn tail and retreat had come this far (it had taken her nearly all day to work up the courage and evening was approaching swiftly) the voices of Alexey and Sankor played through her head, urging her on. At times they were soothing, encouraging, her brother’s and sister’s unconditional confidence in their timid siblings, but at other times the imaginary voices turned mocking. They jeered that her life was pathetic, her beliefs and feelings sick and wrong, and that too drove her forward. Adelaida tried to be accepting, tried to get over her fears, open her heart to those around her, but she failed often. The only thing to do was to try again.
So many others had scorned her, but there was one female who despite her prejudices had not snapped back at her. Iskata, the shifting wolf with cattle. It was this pack that the female resided in, or rather presided over, and maybe Adelaida would find her today. Or maybe the lady was out and Adelaida would be left waiting on the borders. Still another scenario was that someone else would find her, and then who knew what would happen? Adelaida felt her heart rate accelerate, her stomach turn over on itself and in a whisper she soothed herself, as she imaged Sankor would if he were here. It’s okay… you’re fine… everything will be fine...
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Oh hi! wc328
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He had his fears, but they ran slim. Concerns of acceptance and belonging were of little matter to he; where Jefferson was, he existed, and the rest of the world simply lived around him and dealt with whatever shit he was managing. The hybrid was a very neutral, very apathetic character. It didn't take much to piss him off, really, but under most circumstances, Jefferson could maintain a neutral and indifferent point of view, which fortunately was an asset that he didn't realize was so appealingly useful. When it came to conflicts, he could word his way through them peacefully if he so wanted, but in general, he didn't usually resort to peaceful circumstances. Actions spoke louder than words, after all. Blood didn't faze him. Strangers didn't faze him. What was he fearful of? Hell if Jefferson actually knew.
"Hey," he said rather simply, scowl evident and brows furrowed. His single green eye was focused on a dark-furred female who was standing rather sheepishly along their borderlines; seems he had run into a number of faces seeking acceptance into their pack recently, and as this was now the custom, Jefferson was becoming less and less suspicious with each new face he met. He might have jumped her, somewhat, as he'd used his unintentional knack for sneaking up behind people when they were lost in thought, and was now watching the back of her head and awaiting some kind of response. She sure didn't look like she was... looking for something, or so he observed. For all he knew, she was either joining, or she was looking for Deuce or Iskata--those were the two normal reasons that people showed up at Phoenix Valley... but perhaps he was just a pessimist. She'd been mumbling something when he'd stepped near after catching her foreign scent in the air, and it was clear as day that she was troubled about something, anyway. "Uh, have some business here, or just admiring the sights?"
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“Hey,” Adelaida heard the voice and jumped, just the tiniest bit, gritting her teeth and trying to control her breathing before she turned to face the maker of the voice. It could be a coyote, it could be a shifter, it could be both and Adelaida just wasn’t quite prepared to face whoever awaited her when she turned around. It’ll be okay… Adelaida whispered under her breath to herself as she spun around to meet the male. Bright eyes took in the creature before her, scarred as if he had fought in a thousand wars, Adelaida could not help but flatten her ears against her skull as she took in the tawny pelt colors, reminiscent of a coyote heritage. Yet she controlled the rest of her body, save for the quick paced breathing and accelerated heart rate that always seemed to haunt her now.
I’m… I’m looking for Iskata… Is she here? The land smelled of her, but that wasn’t always an indication. Scents could linger long after their maker had left, longer than they should sometimes. Iskata might be out on business or pleasure. Or she might be busy. There were a million different reasons why Adelaida might not be able to see the female, and Adelaida had no real reason as to why she should see Iskata. Adelaida had just come here, on a whim, not really understanding her own motivation. Swallowing hard, the fragile like female stammered as best as she could an introduction. My name is Adelaida..
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Jefferson cocked a brow when the timid, nervous little thing looked him over. He recognized that look in her eyes, a sort of fear one could only possess when things were plaguing the mind. His single eye spared her a similar look-over, and instead, his mind twisted and turned with thoughts he began to put together and suppose conclusions. She was on their lands looking for Iskata, which was fine, except that it was plain as day that she had no idea where she was going, nor did she have a certain amount of experience meandering Phoenix Valley or its borders... or so he guessed.
He began to wonder how much the world would suffer if Iskata suddenly kicked the bucket, seeing as so many wandered onto their lands looking for her. Had any of them even heard of her accident, or were they just being rude? "She's not taking visitors," he answered stiffly, closing his eye and beginning to limp past her nonchalantly. She didn't much interest him, no, but she was not welcome there. They didn't need more strangers frolicking their lands and stressing out Iskata at the same time. As he stepped in front of her, he turned and blocked her path and forced a crooked smile, and out of his throat crawled a sickly-sweet tone: "Nice to meet you, Adelaides. I'm Jefferson." The smile dropped to a bitter scowl immediately. "Now, I suggest you leave."
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It seemed Adelaida’s excursion was to end much sooner than she had planned; her eyes grew more fearful as she looked over the scarred creature in her path. The masked female had not expected such a rude greeting, she had envisioned disappointment yes, but not rejection. Adelaida felt her stomach lurch and her heart beat quicker as she stared up at Jefferson’s one eye, and knew that the best way to get her organs under controlled was to remove the source of stress, which was the grizzly male before her. There was no reason for a good bye, so Adelaida turned to go, but Sankor’s mocking voice filled her head at that very second. How easily you give up little sister, no wonder Alexey couldn’t stand to be around you any longer.
With a sudden burst of defiance, to both her imaginary brother’s mockery and Jefferson’s suggestion to leave, Adelaida spun around and spoke in a stern voice, one that had not issued from her mouth since her arguments with Alexey. No. I want to see Iskata. Adelaida stared at the male, taking in his marred body and empty eye socket once again. Instinctively she knew this was not proper procedure, she was an intruder on these lands and thus she should submit to this male, but already she had made her decision. A bit more shakily, Adelaida stammered, trying to keep the strength she had felt only seconds before in her voice. Why can’t I see her? Why won’t you let me see her?
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I like this thread. :B
The brute's stern, scowling expression brightened a little when the defiant little girl suddenly swung around and shouted back at him in an act of aggression that he was beginning to think she had been lacking. His eye widened a little and his brows raised--it was obvious that she had taken his appearance for more than granted and was undeniably fearful of it, as harmless at the cyclops could potentially be. It seemed there was a bit more to this unexpected visitor than he'd anticipated, and, evident by the smile that suddenly stretched across his face, he was pleasantly surprised. He laughed--laughed!--and smiled calmly at her, evidently impressed by her sudden display of a back bone. "That's more like it," he said, like some sort of father trying to teach his children an important life lesson. Hell, he was four years old. The brute was old enough, and he had never taught anyone anything... well, not since he joined Phoenix Valley, anyway. The pack was changing him more and more each day, but deep down, well, he could still be an ass.
His tail waved comfortably from side to side and he cleared his throat. "For her sake, you shouldn't see her," he began, eye wandering to look elsewhere. He didn't much care that she was afraid of him; he didn't change who he was for anybody, but apparent by his demeanor, things could change him. That was what the pack had done, after all. His smile wavered now, forming a rather desolate-looking frown. "She's lost her sight and she's pretty banged up. Right now, she just wants to be left alone. That's the truth, Adelaides." He nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders, returning his gaze to her.
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Just as surprising as her sudden shown of strength was the reaction Jefferson had had to it. The creature before her was pleased with Adelaida, and for a long moment Ade didn’t know how to react. Anger, forcible removal, and reprimands were what the small female had expected and so rarely did she receive encouragement from anyone but her siblings she did not know what to do with it. Yet he smiled calmly at her and she took the cue and attempted to return the smile. Perhaps having a back bone did pay off, and in the future Adelaida would remember this moment and take a stronger stand when the situation warranted it.
And yet, access to Iskata was still denied, but at least now there was a reason. Breathing in slowly, after so many rapid changes of emotion, Adelaida now had to deal with confusion and the long awaited disappointment. Still gusty from Jeffersons encouragement, Adelaida managed her inquiry with no stammering. I’m sorry to hear that. What happened to her? Knowing full well that the male didn’t have to answer her, she asked in hope that he would throw her another bone. Perhaps an explanation would suffice for a reason to divulge what might be private information. She was my friend… Adelaida faltered, for that was not completely the truth. Iskata had attempted friendship and Adelaida had thrown it back in her face, now the confused female wanted to make amends but her path was blocked.
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He frowned then, releasing a withdrawn sigh and turning his weary eye elsewhere. He wasn't exactly bursting with energy over the attack or Iskata's present condition either, that was obvious. She might have seen Adelaida, but... the girl probably would have ended up disappointed somehow, or better yet, completely turned away by Iskata altogether. The ex-leader had become stubborn, coldhearted in her sudden blindess to everyone and everything, including Jefferson himself, though the two had been fast and close friends. He missed those days already, hating to already consider them "old", when they had only been more than a month or two before. He just wanted things to go back to normal... and they never would. That enough was obvious.
"She was attacked by a bear," he said calmly, all energy and joy now absent from his tone and demeanor. "I found her and we managed to sew everything up, but... she's lost her sight, and I mean all of it." He was obviously referencing his own scar, at which subject he shrugged. "You jumped when you saw me. You'd do a lot more if you saw her right now." The woman's face was scarred all over, and together with her constant frown, he couldn't stand to look at her anymore without feeling the strings at his heart being pulled. "She's... She's my friend too, Adelaida." He took this into consideration a moment, then flicked his ripped and battered ears backwards. "...I guess it's only fair if you want to see her. I can lead the way," he sighed, starting his limp away. She had the right, as much as he did...
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Jefferson provided the answer, and Adelaida balked internally at it. A bear could have killed her, and for the first time Adelaida considered that Luperci were not invincible. Certainly she was not, and though she had yet to admit it to anyone, not even out loud to herself, Adelaida was one of them, and she still was mortal, able to get hurt, able to die. Suddenly the thought of seeing Iskata scared her more than the idea of not seeing her. Jefferson had been right, she had no right to barge in and demand anything. Adelaida didn’t know what she was doing, but Jefferson did. Wait.. no.. you’re right. Let’s leave her be then. Seeing her and being turned away by Iskata herself would undo all the good work the lady had done before, Adelaida did not want to undo herself.
Adelaida was ready to turn and go, there was nothing left for her here and though she hadn’t seen Iskata, the trip had not been fruitless. She had met Jefferson, and he had sparked the tiniest fire in her, made her able to fight, if only for those few moments. Even if the fire had gone out now, it could be lit again, Adelaida was sure of that. At least she knew it was possible still, even with Alexey missing and Sankor living his own life. On a whim she turned back, mustering all the courage to ask more questions she knew it wasn’t her place to. How’d you get yours? Your scar I mean.
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His muscles relaxed somewhat when she agreed to let Iskata be; the one-eyed brute was looking out for the blind lady still, even though he continually told himself to give up on her, that she wouldn't recover and she was now beyond hearing. Even the compassion he possessed somewhere within himself that was or could be exposed wouldn't even be enough to shake her out of the spiraling daze of melancholy and depression she'd willingly flung herself into. Iskata didn't want to get better. She couldn't accept all the change that had so suddenly surged into her life, and so... although change had happened to her mentally and physically, she would not change again in its aftermath... not for herself, not for Phoenix Valley, not for Jefferson.
The shoulders of the cyclops sunk a little when the conversation suddenly twisted away and to the origin of his scar. How ironic for her to mention the only one on his face, when his body was littered with the grim wounds from head to foot like some sort of abstract painting gone wrong. Sarcastically, he scoffed a little but released a sigh thereafter, turning to her once more and pointing his good eye in her direction. "Goddamn bears," he said simply. Mother bears and their ignorant defenses over their children. His eye was pained. It shifted away, the humor suddenly lost. "Goddamn bears, popping up everywhere."
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Goddamn bears. Adelaida flicked her ears back, both at the language she was not accustomed to using, the Koios rarely swore, and at the thought of bears. It was another item to add to her ever growing list of anxiety inducing situations. Sure, bears had always been in these lands but their numbers were fewer than the wolves and they mostly avoided the others. Her father had made sure the children had never encountered the animals and as an adult bears had not been an issue, yet here they were causing a nuisance. I’ve never seen a bear. Adelaida was not sure why, but that information came willingly from her lips. She wanted Jefferson to know.
Blue eyes looked past the male, as if by some miracle she could see Iskata, as she had the last time. Yet all that came to her was a question, one she was not sure she wanted to hear the answer to. What of… what happened to the bear who… Iskata? The words would not string themselves together but combined with the questioning look in her eye she hoped Jefferson would know her meaning. Had the bear gotten what he deserved, or had he, like so many villains in Adelaida’s life, gotten away scot-free? Impulsively more questions came forth, the demons in her head egging her on. Jefferson… does your pack ever have problems with Inferni?
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She'd never seen a bear? Well, good. They were horrible creatures. Brainless manifestations of blood, teeth, and claws. That mother bear had attacked him for no reason--her children had been hopping around on him, not the other way around. She hadn't known how much she'd been screwing over his entire life, how much his entire being was impacted by her cruel slices and snaps. She'd protected her children from that terrible, one-eyed beast whose rage couldn't even be controlled--though it had never even surfaced. A couple good, wide swipes to his starved, waned, and emaciated body had been enough to throw him around and bang him up quite a bit, and tossing his limp and spilling body from thereon had just been for fun and show. The image of his mauled, destroyed leg forever stuck in his mind. Bone, blood. Where was his fur? How much blood was he losing from the horrendous scar in his chest?--Was that why he couldn't breathe? Why he was drowning?
"Good," he muttered grimly, eye thinning and glaring else. Damn things. "Stay away from them. Stupid animals don't know any better than to chomp things up for the hell of it." He snorted and thought back to Iskata, when he'd discovered her by the brook outside the packlands. Jefferson had never heard his own voice climb to such volumes when he'd commanded Tyrone to find his father. He hadn't run so fast with the dying woman over his shoulder than he had when he was four-footed and still alive. "Don't know," he responded subtly. He really had no idea, anyway. "Idiot was long gone before I got there and found her. Hell if I know where the thing went, but I hope it's dead."
When she mentioned Inferni, though, he perked up a little. Hadn't DaVinci mentioned something about Inferni, too? "No, not as far as I know," he said, attention mildly perplexed. "I've run into a couple coyotes around, but not in the packlands. I'm half coy... I don't care what they do. The leader, though... she's a bitch about them. If we run into problems, it'll be her fault, anyway." He rolled his eye. "Why?"
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Swallowing hard she felt as if she had made a mistake by asking. Further more she had no idea how to answer his question. She had not expected a “why”, wasn’t it obvious enough? Inferni was a blight on these lands, a growing tumor that was better off removed. Mistakenly she believed that everyone, at least everyone not of Inferni themselves, felt that way. It was the only clan in the lands that did not keep their members from out right attacks on innocent wolves, and what’s more it was made wholly of coyotes and wolves. Of course, the creature before her was not full blooded wolf, yet Adelaida had overlooked that, assuming that as he had joined a pack he did not aligned himself with the devilish creatures that swarmed the wasteland. I.. I don’t…
Adelaida was about to claim she didn’t know why she had brought it up, but she did know. Bears were a menace, sure, but a clan of coyotes an even bigger one. There had been no rhyme or reason behind their attack on her, three against one, and she still bore the scars from it. Yet she did not want to bring that up, did not think that she would receive sympathy for her ordeal. Perhaps she had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just… be careful with them. Maybe he didn’t have to be careful, he was a hybrid after all. Coyotes could be like that, only attacking the wolves, Adelaida had always felt they targeted her own species. Perhaps I should go now, let you get back to your duties … Leaving when anything got awkward was Adelaida’s specialty.
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Just be careful with them, she'd advised him. It'd been some time since he'd been scolded or given advice on something, considering his pack position for the past couple months. But of all creatures to offer up some sort of advice, he hadn't expected yellow-streaked Adelaida to mention much of anything out of turn after her first little outburst. However, he shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly nodded. "You as well," Jefferson commented, green eye watching her earnestly and patiently. "Just keep in mind... that not everyone is your enemy." Well, it was true. He'd looked pretty scary before, but he'd shaped himself into a "nice guy" throughout the conversation, hadn't he? Ah, well. She turned to leave, and he straightened his back and did as well. "You're welcome back here," he added as she started away, his back facing hers at their distances. "If you need to run or hide... Stop here. I'll look after you. Just keep that in mind." That said, the gruff old gimp began to limp away, off to do whatever duties still remained on his agenda for the day.
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