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indent Crouched low, the Aquila was a mottled mixture of black and gold against the snow. It had been raining for most of the day, washing out the thinner spots of ice, leaving the ground wet, cold and muddy. Though not ideal hunting weather, it would have to do. Two days with no food was enough to drive him into the weather. A cry from above indicated the direction he needed to turn. Despite his lip and his attitude towards others, Marlowe was an invaluable resource. Slowly, Gabriel followed his directions and was soon rewarded.
indent The white-tail was injured. A fall on the ice, a patch of too-deep snow, whatever the cause. It was limping. That was enough. With the rain dampening his scent, Gabriel managed to get much closer then he expected. By the time he was moving, the deer caught on. The mud and the snow slowed them both, but it was that wounded leg that cost the deer. It tumbled, hit the ground, and then brayed as Gabriel leapt on it.
indent Killing had never been difficult for the hybrid. He was a soldier first and foremost. Survival was an instinct. Once he heard the windpipe crush under his jaws, he began dragging the beast, trying to find a dry spot. One of the smaller, lower caves offered him shelter. With Marlowe swooping in after him, Gabriel shook his coat free of the cold water and turned to the task at hand. The raven, offering him praise, took his earned position at the beasts head and went right for the eyes.
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One drop hit her nose, then another, and another. She wasn't used to this, this rain stuff. In the North, it had only snowed--there had never been rain. Siobhan wasn't sure whether she liked it or not; it didn't gather on the ground like snow did, but it made her parka wet faster. The coat was fur-lined and kept out the worst of the cold, but it was next to useless if it was wet; the rain seemed to seep right through it despite the lining, chilling her over time. But she was determined to get out and around, to learn more about the lands that Ezekiel loved so much. They could have gone anywhere, really, and she'd said that she would go wherever he wanted to travel to. And Inferni had been all he'd been able to talk about. She rubbed her cold hands together, trying to create some warmth, then changed her mind, shoving them into her pockets. Was there anywhere else around these territories where she'd be able to get a new coat? This one would dry, yes, but maybe she would be able to find something more rain-proof. Now she was more used to being warm all the time, instead of cold, and she didn't want to give that feeling up. Back home, there hadn't been coats...or blankets or furs. She supposed now that warmth was just another thing that her mother had taken away from her. Like the food. Except that she had at least known that food existed. She hadn't known what being warm was about. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of movement, and she turned toward it. There were different sorts of animals in these lands, and maybe it was some kind of prey that she'd never seen before. Siobhan started toward the area that she had seen the creature, red eyes narrowing as she looked quickly about. Nothing. There were some caves nearby, but she didn't see anything out in the open. She put her hands back into her pockets, turning back to go the way she'd come. Maybe she'd run into someone who could tell her where to go to find some more of those "clothes" things.
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indent It was Marlowe who spotted the girl first. He let out a short burst of noise, startled by the white figure. Gabriel tensed, but when he managed to make out the form in the rain he recognized it in an instant. That peculiar little girl his son had brought home. Swallowing what was in his mouth, the Aquila made his way to the front of the cave and called out. “Siobhan! Out of the rain!"
indent Turning back, Marlowe fixed the doggish leader with both eyes. Were ravens able to frown, Gabriel had no doubt that was what his companion was doing. “What?” You talk to her like a soldier. At this, the yellow-eyed man frowned. “I doubt she’s fit for that,” he grunted. Unperturbed, the bird kept his gaze fixed. All warfare is based on deception, he offered, earning a cocked eyebrow from the hybrid. Turning back towards the cave entrance, he called out again. “Come on!”
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She didn't know what to do with herself in these new lands. The one thing that this place had in common with her last home was the snow, but she had been told that in a few months even that would be gone. By then she would hopefully have explored the lands a bit more; maybe she would find someone who had once lived in the same place she had. But what if it did get really warm? She had never been anything but cold. Her mother hadn't ever built a fire--the only real warmth she'd found had been from the bits of meat that her mother had provided. A sudden burst of sound made her jump, claws scrabbling on the ice. She hadn't even heard what had been said, being too preoccupied with the volume, and she looked frantically about. What had made that noise?! Siobhan looked a little harder, making out the form just inside one of the nearby caves. Gabriel! And it looked like he wanted her to come inside the cave, too--he was shouting something else, now. She was able to enter the cave without having to duck much, and stood just inside at an area where the rain couldn't get at her. "Gabriel was calling to Siobhan? He wanted to see her?" He had a kill in front of him, something that he'd caught. How did one catch something as big as that? Thinking that over, she put her hands up to her mouth, breathing onto them to try and heat them up. "Gabriel has seen Ezekiel today?" She always wanted to know where Ezekiel was at.
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indent He regarded her as something of another child; perhaps, in some way, like the one they had lost. Ezekiel treated her like a younger sister, though Gabriel was assured that there would be no children for some time from his loins. Faolin was his one and only, and he would not let her go until he had confirmation of the fact he was denying. “I think he’s out,” the Aquila offered, realizing his son had been somewhat flighty of late. His sister was the same way, though. “You shouldn’t be out in the rain,” he added.
indent Marlowe made a noise, though if it was speech, Gabriel did not understand it. Eyeing the raven suspiciously, though this was partially in jest, he nodded at the carcass between them. “Have you eaten today?”
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She hadn't noticed the bird before, but when he squawked she cast him a surprised look. She had never seen a bird inside of a cave, only outside. She had seen one fly into a cave once, but it had become frightened and flapped its wings until it was able to get back out. There hadn't even been many birds up in the north, not as many as they had here. And the ones up there had all been a bright white color, never as dark as this one was. "Why does he stay in here?" She wondered aloud. Perhaps there was some kind of magic involved, or maybe the bird was some kind of a captive. At the news about Ezekiel she nodded her head. He wouldn't be with her all the time, even though she wanted him to be. He had to go and do things by himself, too. When Gabriel mentioned her being out in the rain, she shrugged. "Siobhan was looking for Zeke. She thought to find him." She looked back up at Marlowe again, watching him. He really was a strange animal. He didn't look scared of her at all. Then she was being asked a question, and her attention snapped back to Gabriel. She had to be very honest with him, even though she knew that the question had to be a trick. Mother had always asked her that, too, even though she had known the answer. Of course she hadn't eaten, never having learned how to catch things for herself. But Mother had always found it very funny to ask anyway. If Siobhan ever lied, and said that she had eaten, then she would eat in front of her. "No."
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indent At the question, Marlowe let out an indignant squawk and puffed up his feathers. “I stay because I choose too, pup!” Rolling his eyes, the hybrid shifted his weight and licked the remaining taste of blood from his muzzle. He was amused despite his lack of such in his body language. The doggish male was not one particularly well known for his communication, even though he was able to handle himself quite well in political situations.
indent Smiling slightly, he shook his head a little. “Well go ahead and eat up.” Rolling both of his shoulders back, he adjusted his weight and laid onto his belly. Gabriel’s tail curled around his side and he turned his head towards the entrance, even now remaining ever vigilant.
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She couldn't tell what Marlowe was saying; it all just sounded like a lot of squawking. "Isss...he talking?" She questioned, sitting down next to the kill. She had never seen a whole entire dead deer before, just pieces and parts of something frozen and long dead. This was fresh, and still warm. What parts was she supposed to eat? She remembered that her mother had given her the legs before...maybe that would be a good place to start. She took a few bites, ripping through the skin and getting to the muscle without much of a problem. After a couple of hungry bites she stopped, chewing what she had in her mouth and swallowing before speaking. It was only polite. "Sio likes him. Can she have a bird like him someday?"
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indent “He is,” Gabriel said, well aware that Marlowe was more then capable of speaking in their tongue if he chose so. The raven, unaffected by their antics, shook his head and continued to pick at the carcass. The Aquila blew steam out of his nose and kept his eyes on the outside of the cave up until the point that the girl spoke again. He turned his head over his shoulder, giving her his full attention.
indentThe question made him cast a sly look at the bird, now ignoring them, and he smiled thinly. “He's not really a pet. My mother befriended him and he’s stuck around since then.” Save a trip south with his sister, of course.
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"Does he help you?" She queried, taking another bite. This food was really good! Back home, the food hadn't been as good tasting as this. It had never been anything this big and fatty, either--always lean hares or birds...sometimes mice or other small rodents. She wondered why her mother had chosen to stay up in the north instead of coming down where there was more food. Mice were really hard to catch, and they were barely more than a swallow.
"We eated birds, me and Mom did. He looks good...tasty. But with this other food here...this tastes much better than he would, I am thinking." She nodded.
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“Only when he wants to,” the Aquila spared a glance to his feathered companion, who shot him a look. His eyes turned back to the strange little girl and as she spoke, he began to grin, and then let out a barking laugh as she mentioned eating the raven. Now truly offended, the bird jabbed his beak at the white coyote and spoke in the common tongue, so she was able to understand. “You brat! If you ever try it I’ll rip out both of your eyes!” Gabriel exhaled laughter through his nose.
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