She yawned a bit as she padded through the main street of the city. Wolves had come and picked this street over again and again, but she was sure she would find something for Pilot here. She was determined to find something that he would really, really like, and something that he would be able to use. Before she had given him an arrowhead necklace, and he did wear that all the time…but he couldn’t really use it for anything.
Her mismatched eyes looked out upon the shop windows. Many of them were iced over, with snow hanging off of them, and she couldn’t see inside of them. She’d have to search through each shop to see if there was anything interesting in them, because she couldn’t see inside of them.
Dierdre pushed one of the doors open, stepping inside. The shop was at the same temperature as the world outside, but there was less wind; a relief. She didn’t know what kind of shop this was…there were shelves of dishes everywhere, some of them broken, and a few knives lay on the floor. Maybe some kind of a home-decorating shop? Or maybe it was a shop for selling things for the humans’ kitchens.
She sniffed around a little before heading back outside, going into the next shop. This one had different types of weapons hanging on the walls, out of werewolves’ reaches. No wonder no one had picked this shop over-the stuff was too high up to get to. But she did want one of the bows that were hanging up there….she grabbed a few crates from the corner, standing up on top of them to try and reach. Even though she was in her taller, werewolf form, she couldn’t quite get to them.
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">The male didn’t know why he’d come here, of all places. Certainly he needed some time to get away from the stresses of his life and the all the wolves he’d failed, but to come here… a monument to an entire species’ failure. Perhaps he needed some perspective in life. He couldn’t help his friend and protect his pack at the same time; he’d come to terms with that now. But no matter how badly he messed up, at least he hadn’t brought extinction down on his entire race.
Phoenix just wanted to wipe his paws of the matter by now. Things would smooth over eventually. They had to, once the other wolves in the lands came to see that his friend was no threat to them. And he didn’t need the respect of the Jaded Shadows alphas to be a good leader to his pack. They knew him, and they had faith in him—perhaps more than he deserved, but it gave him strength to carry on. He only hoped that his friend would forgive him for being unable to support him.
An unexpected scent was in the air, reminding Phoenix of home. He grinned when he recognized the wolf it belonged to: Dierdre, his daughter. He needed a friendly face right now to brighten his day. The winds scattered her scent and made it hard to track her down, but eventually it grew stronger around a more industrial part of the city. He tried a couple shops before finding her inside one, apparently trying to reach something. Grinning, he opening the door, finding his presence announced by a bell tied to the door. “Need help?” he asked, walking up behind her. “Whatcha want one a’those for?” | [/html]
[html]It was almost like they’d put the weapons there just to thwart her; she couldn’t reach them, and there wasn’t a lot of other things in the shop that she could use to stand on. There was one specific bow that she was looking at, a longbow with a matching quiver hanging beside it, and that was the highest up. She frowned and sat back down, contemplating this. There had to be some solution to the problem. She could throw things up there, maybe, to knock it down? But then she would be risking the weapon…it could get chipped, or break if it dropped from so high.
She heard the bell on the door and had whirled partway around before she realized who it was, and relaxed back into a normal position. This wasn’t an enemy, or even close; this was family. She grinned, her tail sweeping some of the dust up from the floor behind her. ”I can’t seem to reach that top one—the ones that I /can/ get to are either broken or not the right type”
The cinnamon colored wolf stepped back, toward Phoenix. What had been going on lately in the pack? She was interested in keeping up to date…but she’d been sick for a while, and had been stuck inside the den. ”I’m looking for something for Pilot; he’s really proud that he’s able to do the same things as me, now—I thought that he could try a new kind of hunting, too. I read that the humans use these things, sometimes” She would ask about the pack while they looked for something to get the bows down; she didn’t want to jump right into politics from the beginning. ”How’ve you been lately?[/html]
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">Phoenix wrapped an arm around his daughter and brought her against him in an affectionate half-hug, regarding her proudly. Once his protégé, now she was an adult in her own right. She even had a mate and, very possibly, it wouldn’t be long until she became a mother. Then the cycle would be repeated; cute little bundles of white fur would tag along behind him as he made his way around Storm, asking every conceivable question about the world around them. “Copin’,” He answered her honestly. With most other members of the pack he had to maintain of façade of infallibility, but Dierdre was family and she knew him better than that. Besides, if he couldn’t be himself around his family, then who could he be? “Moon’s gone now, too. He went t’find Sun.” That left him with just four children—out of seven. He didn’t want to lose any more.
He hoped Pilot had been keeping her informed while she was sequestered away in their den. Phoenix didn’t feel like explaining the happenings of the past few months because it felt like a list of his failures. Speaking of her mate, Phoenix looked up to regard the human contraptions lining the walls. Phoenix loved Pilot like a brother, but he didn’t know about giving the guy an arrow. “Y’sure ‘bout that?” he asked. “Pilot’s a decent enough hunter, yeah. But I don’t think he really enjoys doin’ it, after… y’know… bein’ raised by prey animals.” Pilot just wasn’t a killer, like some wolves were. “Mebbe he’d enjoy somethin’ more… artistic? I saw a place full a’musical instruments as I was comin’ here. ‘Course, s’up t’you. I bet you know him better’n me by now.” | [/html]
[html]Dierdre shouldn't have been surprised by the news that her ever-travelling siblings had left again. She leaned into the one armed hug then turned it into a two-armed one, holding onto the older wolf tightly. She had a lot of respect for Phoenix, knowing the strain of leadership. She'd seen the way it had affected Physe; he'd turned much more serious after becoming the alpha.
"It's like...you're no longer allowed to have a life of your own. People look to you and expect you to just drop all of your problems and pick up theirs" He had said.
"I'm sorry. I've been pretty ill lately--I think I had some kind of flu--Pilot told me a little, but I wasn't in much of a talking sort of state...
She had thought about a family a while back, before she'd gotten sick, but hadn't thought to act on it. She and Pilot were completely devoted to each other--but they hadn't taken the next step yet. Maybe her illness had gotten in the way of it...she couldn't be sure. But now that she was well...
Dierdre thought that if she asked, Phoenix might allow it, for her to have pups of her own. She wondered at that for a little. Would the children have the same eyes as her? One blue and one gold? Or would they take more after Pilot, and have two blue. Maybe one would be orange, like her father Thanos and grandmother, Fatin.
Phoenix distracted her from her thoughts a moment later, and she released him from the hug. She scratched her head a little, thinking about what he'd said. He was right! She hadn't really been able to think of anything else for him, and had thought that this would be something new...she hadn't thought about it from that direction, though. She had, smartly, never brought squirrels home, but he usually ate some of the rabbit that she brought. Mostly, though, Pilot ate fish. Fish looked much, much different than squirrels. Maybe he didn't feel the same when he ate them.
"We should definitely go there, then! I wasn't sure what to get for him--I've been wandering around looking for a while, now. A musical instrument...that would be perfect! Something he could use. And I'm sure I could find some music-I think I remember seeing some in the library. And maybe there will be some in the music shop! I'll come back sometime for this bow-maybe I could use it instead"[/html]
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">Phoenix had yet to build up decent defenses against the strain of leadership. He still felt too much, still worried and fretted over whether he was doing a good job or not, or whether he had handled this or that situation right. Already he had blown any chance of amity between himself and Dierdre’s so-called grandmother, the alpha of Jaded Shadows. Normally, the lack of friendship with a woman that arrogant and accusing wouldn’t have bothered him… but she had influence over the other leaders in the valley, and Phoenix worried that she could make trouble for him if she wanted to. All just because he had wanted to help out an old friend of his.
He nodded as she spoke. Pilot had told him about her condition, and he’d sent her a couple catches of his own. He would have visited her himself, but Iskata had explained the concept of quarantine to him, and he didn’t want to spread the illness or catch it himself. It wouldn’t do to have leave the pack without an alpha for a couple weeks, not in these dangerous times. And he didn’t want little Ember, Icarus or Kansas catching it either. “I’m jus’ glad you’re still ‘round, is all,” he mumbled.
He was glad that she liked his idea, but theer was still some merit to her bow and arrow idea… perhaps just for the wrong wolf. “Y’know, I’d like t’give one a’those things a try myself,” he said, pointing upwards at another bow that had bow his eye—the biggest one in the shop. “Mebbe we could try it t’gether. Let’s get ‘em down now, eh?” His last statement was said with a note of mischief. Since it was just out of each even for him, they would have to work together to get them, like a real father and daughter team. Without saying anything more he dipped down, squeezing his head in between her legs and then gripping her knees. “Y’ready?” he asked, looking up at the girl he had helped raise. He would have lifted her up then and there but it would be safer for her to know what was going on so she could maintain her balance and not sent them both falling down. | [/html]
[html]She nodded when he spoke again, looking down at the ground. Wolves came and left from the pack a lot, some passed away and some just ran away. She used to feel bad every time someone she knew went away...but slowly, she was accepting that it was just life. That she could either feel bad about them leaving, or dying, or she could think about the good times they'd had together. Sometimes the wolves came back, like she'd come back after she had left. She'd keep hoping that for Sun and Moon.
"I'm glad I'm still around, too. Pilot's kept me going. I really love him a lot...I don't know where I'd be without him."She said honestly. "You too, dad."
Dierdre looked up when he pointed, toward the bows again. He wanted one too? She didn't see why they couldn't go for them now--while there was still two of them. She laughed when he bent down to lift her up onto his shoulders, nodding. "Yep, I'm ready! Up we go!" She reached up as he raised her, going for the bow that he'd been looking at before. She held onto it with one hand, taking her preferred bow off the rack with her other hand. [/html]
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">Phoenix wasn’t too proud, but he didn’t think it was appropriate to admit to Dierdre that he had needed her just as much as she needed him. His benefaction to her had not been entirely altruistic. She’d come looking for a father figure the same time he’d been in desperate need for someone to care about, and for someone, anyone, to care about him. She’s had a knack for showing up when it was furthest down, too, helping him forget his troubles, if only for a moment. “You an’ Pilot are both lucky t’have each other,” he observed. It was odd, being the father of a wolf old enough to have a mate herself, but he enjoyed having Pilot officially be a part of his family.
Phoenix couldn’t stop chuckling as he lifted her up onto his shoulders. The last time they’d done anything like this she’d been much smaller, and not quite as heavy. But he was still considerably larger than her and he managed. Sometimes being over eight and a half feet could come in handy. “We make a good team,” he commented as he lowered her to the ground and pulled out from between her legs. He took the bow he’d chosen and inspected it carefully.
“Y’know how t’work one of these things?” he asked as he pulled off an arrow and set it in the bow. He pointed it away from them and took aim to test the strength of the string. Long ago his friend Drako had told him the story of a human who’d taken from the corrupt wealthy leaders and distributed the spoils amongst the poor. This had been his weapon of choice and Phoenix had seen a couple pictures of it in use. The trick would be learning how to aim with it. Obviously it could be done… he just wasn’t sure how. | [/html]
[html]She almost lost her balance as she was set back on the ground, but regained it after a moment. "If I hadn't come to Storm I don't think I would have met him. Or...things would have been different, even if we had met. Sometimes I wonder if...Lucifer hadn't...well, if me and Pilot would have met anyway, later on." She admitted. "I'm glad that you and him get along, too; it makes things a lot easier. I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't liked him"
Dierdre handed him his bow, looking hers over. She'd seen pictures of bows in books before, but had never actually touched one herself. "I've never used one of these, but I've read a little about them. I read that humans used to use them to hunt, sometimes. Before they made their other weapons." She watched as he put an arrow to the bowstring, mirroring his moves with her bow. [/html]
Phoenix smiled as he thought back. Of course he liked Pilot; the guy was like a brother to him. Even so, he recalled what he said to Pilot the day he'd mentioned his affections for Dierdre. She'd grown up without much in the way of a real family, and no matter how much he liked Pilot, if he'd ever do anything to hurt her he would hurt him back. Phoenix was just protective of his children, and he'd figured it was his fatherly obligation to say something like that. Besides, now that Pilot had firmly cemented himself into place as a member of his family, the same protectiveness now extended over him as well. "A'course I like him," he said. "I hope you two start a family of your own someday. You'd be a wonderful mom."
The brunneous wolf hadn't originally intended to actually shoot and arrow, but with it actually in the bow and ready to go, he was mightily tempted. And there was a human manequin in a camoflauged jacket right in front of them, so on a whim he fired the arrow. It sang as it flew into the air and went straight into the platic human's heart. He grunted when he saw the result. Obviously he would need more practice--he had been trying to aim for the head. "These're gonna take some gettin' used to," he observed.
[html]
Dierdre was a little surprised at his words. Her? A wonderful mom? She hadn't had too many little ones to practice mothering on, but did babysit her younger brothers and sisters occasionally. It was a little different, because she knew that they weren't hers, but she was able to do a bit, with teaching them skills and helping them solve some of their young problems. She liked that; it made her feel more useful in the pack.
"I haven't...talked to him about it, but I've thought about it before. Storm's a wonderful place for little ones to grow up; I've learned from experience. I wonder what he'd say-he likes the pups here well enough..I think that he'd be a really good father"
She fired her arrow as well, but it completely missed the target, sinking into the wood of the wall behind it. Dierdre didn't feel too bad about the damage, because no one really lived here or cared about the buildings here any more...they could shoot them up as much as they wanted and not get into trouble for it. Half the buildings were in shambles anyway.
She nodded to Phoenix, resting the bow's end on the floor. "We can meet up another time and practice, with some real prey" She offered. Using the bows reminded her of some of the things she'd read about old human weapons. They'd had these metal things that they used to kill each other...the book had shown some pictures...the metal things shot out little pieces of something at the target at a really fast rate. She wasn't sure what exactly was shot out, though. And how would they be able to make enough force to shoot it out really fast?
Dierdre frowned, thinking this over. "I haven't found any other weapons shops...I read about this strange weapon-I think they called it...a goon? gun? I'm not sure. But it worked a little bit like the bows do, shooting things out at people. But they were made of metal. I've never seen one..it'd be interesting to find something like that."[/html]
The patriarchal wolf knew that Dierdre would be a good mother because she knew exactly what not to do from her own mother’s example. Besides, he had seen the way she acted around his children, her brothers and sisters. She cared about them and took good care of them whenever he and Iskata needed a break or had other things to do. Besides, she would most likely mimic the parenting skills he had used on her when she was a pup. Of course, back then he hadn’t really considered that he was raising her like a father. He just took care of her when she came to visit because it was the right thing to do… the realization that he’d become a father hadn’t hit until she was an adult. “So do I,” he agreed with her.
Not wishing to waste more time in the store, Phoenix retrieved the two arrows and returned Dierdre’s to her. “I was thinkin’ we should practice on a tree or somethin’ first. That way we won’t hafta worry ‘bout losin’ any arrows before we’re ready t’put them to use.” It would have to be someplace away from the rest of the pack, a place that few visited. He didn’t want to have to worry about someone walking in on them and accidentally getting a wayward arrow in the gut. He wanted to master this tool to help his pack, not kill anyone in it. “Let’s go find somethin’ for your mate now,” he suggested.
Phoenix held the door open so Dierdre could follow him outside, all the while listening to the words she spoke. Even though he was planning to use a human weapon the species and their lifestyle still made him nervous somewhat. “Sounds dangerous—even more dangerous than these things. No wonder they killed each other out, mostly. I’m glad that pack of ‘em finally left.” They were a strange species. They’d created so much yet at the same time destroyed just as much if not more.
She thanked him when he handed her arrows back, going out the door with him. The cold air was just as strong out here, and it blew her fur around a little bit as she walked. She'd been thinking about looking into some clothes, something to keep her a little bit warmer; during the time that she'd been sick she had lost a lot of weight, and it was harder to keep warm when she was out by herself.
"Yeah...I wasn't sure what to make of those humans. If they'd stayed it wouldn't have been good...I didn't want to even believe that they were here...but I saw one of their dogs, and talked to it."
Dierdre waited for him to point out the instrument shop, thinking this over. "I wonder if we keep acting like that...if we keep acting like the humans, if we'll end up dead like them"
Sensing Dierdre's cold, Phoenix once again wrapped an arm around her and brought her against his own warm fur. Not a word was needed, he just understood how she felt. Even though he had to concentrate to bond his mind with another's, he didn't spend so much time with his family without getting attuned to their minds. Iskata, especially. Whenever he closed his eyes he could feel a part of her in the back of his mind, just as she could feel him. It only brought him closer to them, made him want to protect them even more.
After the first time he'd seen the human settlement Phoenix had avoided them as well as he could. Other wolves had been bolder than him, but at the time the male was going through a rough patch and his sense of curiosity had been on hiatus. Besides, he'd convinced himself that he couldn't risk dying and leaving Sun, Moon and Dierdre without a father. At least that was the rationale he'd had at the time. "Th'way I see it, so long as we don't become dependent on th'humans' things we should be a'right. Like these bows... we don't need 'em. We've hunted our whole lives without human tools. These're jus' for fun, mebbe t'save us some time down th'road on a hunt. Th'blankets an' pillows I got in my den I don't need either. You'd be surprised by some of th'nasty places I've slept in. BUt I like havin' 'em jus' cause I can, now." Phoenix in no way ever planned to allow himself to become humanized. He would remain a proud, wild wold until the day he died.
"What was th'dog like?" he asked after thinking about it a moment. "Could it talk like us, or like th'humans? Was it even intelligent?" He couldn't imagine why a canine would subservient itself to another creature, human or otherwise. It was just undignified.
"It was really intelligent. Pilot taught me how to speak with animals..but this was more than just an animal. Usually when I talk to squirrels or birds they have simple things that they're thinking of..like gathering nuts or seeds. But this dog was talking about journeying with the humans. What it was like to be there with the humans. I guess they were there with the humans because the humans gave them food. I don't understand it, though...couldn't they just hunt for their own food?" She was confused by this, and it came through in her voice. Why couldn't the dogs be more like wolves? Dierdre had grown up knowing that someday she would have to support herself by catching prey. Did the dogs not have to live that way? Nothing would make her serve a human, not any kind of food. Even if it was really good tasting.
"It just seems really weird to me. I'm glad they're gone."
Phoenix snorted at the concept. To depend on another being for food, even as an adult, was just ridiculous. It was lazy and dishonorable in his book. He'd had to support himself practically his entire life. Of course, with the way humans had covered up the world with their artificial environments, perhaps dogs were unable to hunt. Humans liked to mess with the natural order of things; perhaps this had affected their enslaved canines adversely. Perhaps the humans had even somehow altered the way dogs were to make them easier to control. It was a disturbing thought , but it seemed like the humans were capable of anything. "Me too," he agreed.
Finally they reached the music shop, and Phoenix ushered them inside. It was just as cold as it was outside but at least they were out of the wind. He surveyed the various instruments scattered about. Most had fallen off their stands by now, and many lay broken. He couldn't see a single stringed instrument that had all its stings unbroken. Many of the brass instruments were worn and everything was covered in dust. "Well... take your pic. There're some books over there, look like they might be 'bout learnin' how t'play these things. I wouldn't know where t'begin," he admitted.
[html]She was glad that they'd been able to find the shop, and that the door wasn't broken so badly that they couldn't get inside. Dierdre walked in after him, looking around. She had never seen a place like this before; it was so neat! There were cases for the instruments below the ones that were hanging up, and a few dusty old cases in the corners that could have possibly held instruments inside of them. She gasped as she looked at all of it; she couldnt' believe she'd never seen this place before. What she wanted to do was take each one home and let him try them...but they'd be way too heavy.
Dierdre grinned at Phoenix. She was so glad that they'd stumbled upon each other; they'd each gained a bow, and she was going to find a nice gift for Pilot, too! She looked at a few of the stringed instruments, noting the broken strings. "Maybe I can find some strings, too...they've got to have parts to them in here somewhere. If I can't find any today I can come back another time to look for the parts. I really think that one of the stringed ones would be right...this big one, perhaps," she pointed to a cello, "or maybe this littler one" She gestured toward a violin.
She picked up a nearby violin case, opening it. "I'll put it in here to keep it safe while I carry it. Pilot and I can come back to the city later to look for some replacement strings...I'm not seeing any around here. But this'll get it started. I'll grab a book, too." She picked up an instructional booklet, curling it so that it would fit into the quiver with her arrows. "I'm sure he'll love this--it's the perfect thing for him. Thank you so much for showing me this place!"[/html]
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">Phoenix couldn’t believe that the humans had so many different musical instruments. Some seemed like only minor variations of each other. Did they all sound different? But then, he had never really heard human music, though his father had taught him of a few of their songs. Walking closer to inspect the violin, Phoenix plucked one of the unbroken strings on it, making sure his claw wasn’t extended before putting his finger to it. It made a high-pitched sound that surprised him. This would probably take Pilot longer to master than his bow would take him. But if anyone could figure it out, he was sure his son-in-law could.
Out of curiosity Phoenix picked up a small box beside the violins and after blowing off the thick coat of dust opened it up. “Y’think these are th’strings it needs?” he asked, tilting the box so Dierdre could look in. He was enjoying this day to no end. It was just like old times, just him and Dierdre hanging out together. It had been too long since they’d had some quality time together. Sadly he had little time to spend on quality time with his other children either, since being alpha now took up a large chunk of his day and whatever time he had for them had to be divided evenly amongst three. “Heh,” he chuckled, “Don’t mention it.” | [/html]
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