The tiny child of Inferni was sitting on the steps of the mansion glaring at the overrun flower gardens, remembering how cruel and sharp the little thorns and vines were to her the last time she'd been out adventuring. She wasn't for certain just what she wanted to do today, there never seemed to be anyone her age around and all the adults had things of their own to work with. She'd heard that there was a new puppy in the clan lands but she'd yet to see the child. She thought that perhaps someone was just saying that to keep her quiet but it didn't really matter, as long as her monster stayed locked away in her nightmares and didn't come back into the real world she could live with being slightly bored until she grew up a bit.
The small girl found it odd though that while Siobhan had atleast begun to grow taller and larger she was still the small little kid with the same short stature. Her vocabulary and speech had begun to inprove, probably because the adults had grown tired of hearing her baby rubbish and had started to correct the girl. She never took notice of their corrections but the echoing words and phrases did take their toll on her ways after a while. She sat on her rump staring at her ribbonwrapped tail, the lilac ribbons had grown dull and were beginning to unravel. They weren't as pretty as they once had been but she didn't have any to replace them with and Dabi wasn't around to tie them all nice and pretty. She missed Dabi. Before she could stop herself she was sniffling as tiny little tears sparkled in her eyes.
Hiii![html]
They don't tell you what to say
when your whole life has gone to hell.
"Zana?" Wasn’t this little girl the same that DaVinci had tied to a tether that day Ryan had gone to meet his family? It had to be her, wasn’t it? Ryan made her way towards the girl, wearing the plaid dress which had been abandoned during the months of pregnancy. Though snug, she found she could actually get it on again. She crouched next to the girl, the shadow of the mansion blanketing them in its cool embrace. "What are you doing here?" She asked curiously, raising a brow in confusion. Didn’t DaVinci say that this was his sister? Judging by the way Ryan had been received by DaVinci’s mother, she wouldn’t be happy to know her daughter was in Inferni of all places.
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The small girl had heard the soft voice call her name and slowly her lilac eyes lifted up to see the form of another female moving towards her, she flicked her ears back slightly as the lady crouched down next to her. Zana moved away slightly as she asked, "How do yous know me.." She couldn't remember meeting the clan member before but she had called her name and was asking her questions. She bit her lip as she shook her head at the question that Ryan asked her. She wasn't about to answer anything the lady asked until she could fit her in her little files she stored in that tiny little mind.
She flicked her ears forward for a second as she was thinking, "What you doing here?" she asked back. She would get this figureed out sooner or later.
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They don't tell you what to say
when your whole life has gone to hell.
Ryan frowned slightly as the little girl moved away from her, but she pushed forward a small smile as she titled her head to the side. "I’ve meet you before," Ryan told her gently. "It was a while ago now... about two months, I think." Ryan had actually been pregnant at the time without even realizing it. "My name is Ryan," she told her, hoping maybe that would ring a bell. Still, it didn’t explain why the little girl was here. She was going to figure this out though, that was for sure.
She settled herself onto the ground, the plaid fabric falling gently past her knees to veil her thighs. "I live here," she told Zana with a nod. "Well, not here at the mansion. Over there," she pointed, "towards the shore." She looked back towards the cute little girl, noting now the unusually gorgeous hue to the child’s eyes. "Does DaVinci know you’re here?" She asked, finding it a little painful to speak his name for the guilt it caused to resurface.
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Zana watched the crimson eyed lady as she began to grant her an answer to how she knew her. The small child frowned as she shook her head, "No remembers!" of course she wouldn't remember, she'd wobbled as far away from DaVinci as the leash would allow and as soon as she'd been free she'd raced across the cabin to terrorize her poor nephew. She probably could have recalled the snow, the cabin and poor Tyrone that day but she'd been oblivious to the bitter words that had been exchanged back and forth between the adults. She frowned at the lady as she narrowed her eyes and wondered if this woman was telling her the truth.
IT didn't take her long though to learn that she was a clanmate and probably was trustworthy. The small girl watched her, no longer glaring but quiet as she explained where she lived. Zana wrinkled her nose and commented on her home of choice. "Too close to 'tupid birds.." she said as she wrapped her little tail around her paws and suddenly glanced up wideeyed as the woman spoke the name she hadn't given her. "I looks for daddy.. Dabi.. no knows." she admitted, her ears pinned back against her skull as she began to look a little guilty at the truth. She hadn't even thought of how DaVinci or Jefferson might feel about her just rushing off on her own adventure in the middle of a snowstorm.. but she was alright, that's all that mattered. "Am I in troubles?" she asked softly.
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They don't tell you what to say
when your whole life has gone to hell.
Ryan let her brows twist in confusion. She was here looking for her father? She tilted her head then, letting her gaze trail to the sky while her mind searched through stored memories. Davinci had said that Iskata was Zana’s mother, but had he mentioned who her father was? Ryan couldn’t recall. But then, what would give Zana the impression that her father was here? Surely Iskata wouldn’t have had a child with someone from Inferni, judging by with what bias she seemed to have had when Ryan had spoken of her name and her home.
"No, you’re not in trouble," Ryan reassured her. How true that was, she didn’t know. She wondered how the little girl had gotten here on her own and who had put the impression in her head that her father was here. "I was just curious," she told the girl, nodding to prove that everything was okay. She studied the little girl closely, noting the color of her pelt and the shape of her frame. Ryan had to wonder… she did look coyote-ish. Her stomach twisted a bit. Perhaps Iskata had fallen into an unfortunate event with Hybrid as Ryan had, though Ryan didn’t realize that the cruel male wasn’t into their gender. His mishap with Ryan had been a mistake; rather unfortunate for them both. "Who’s your dad?" Ryan decided to ask then, hoping that the child knew.
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Zana stood up on her tiny paws as she walked around Ryan, staring up at the lady with her strange hued eyes as she spoke up. She sniffed at the edge of the clothing that the woman wore she glanced up at her when she stated that Zana wasn't in trouble. She wagged her tail slightly, glad to hear that she wasn't going to be yelled at for being here. She smiled slightly as she settled back on her rump and stated simply. "A wolf found me.. she thought that my da might be here.. or atleast that someone here might know him." She hadn't even admitted that to Gabriel, but then again no one had asked why she thought that her dad would be there. She glanced up at the lady again and asked. "Do you thinks she was right?"
The small Lykoi girl titled her head to the side as she thought for a moment before sighing and shrugging her shoulders. "Monster called me Lykoi, there's lots of those here.. but not a daddy one.." She frowned, though she'd found lots of family members in the lands she hadn't found one that she had been allowed to call father yet. She hoped that he would appear soon, she wanted to see just what he was like, if he was anything like DaVinci or Jefferson.. or like her monster.
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They don't tell you what to say
when your whole life has gone to hell.
This really was a confusing case, and Ryan wasn’t sure what to make of it. Of course, she could ask DaVinci, but that wasn’t really an option. She wanted to, so bad, but things with him had hit a wall since Ryan had been with Hybrid. It was not a proud thing at all, and she still felt shame in thinking of it. The only remedy was to look at Valkyrie’s little smile. That little girl made everything whole again in the Inferni woman’s heart. "I don’t know," Ryan told Zana, truly unsure at this point. She didn’t know anyone here who could have had a child with Iskata. All of this seemed so weird.
She wasn’t sure what Zana had meant by Monster, but Lykoi struck a bell. Corona’s surname was Lykoi, though Ryan didn’t know of anyone else by that name. She looked towards Zana, frowning a bit. She was stunned that this situation was so confusing for her, but mostly she felt sad that little Zana herself seemed so lost. "Well, I’m sorry that I can’t help you with that," Ryan told Zana gently. "Has anyone been looking after you here?" Surely she wasn’t wandering around Inferni entirely alone, was she? "‘Cause you’ll always be welcome to come stay with me and my daughter."
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ooc-oh, Iskata's that bad that no one would sleep with her? >D
The small Lykoi girl's eyes were a little disappointed as Ryan announced that she couldn't really help her, but more questions seemed directed at the little girl soon after, there were always questions and never enough answers. She nodded her head though as she spoke softly. "Zeke and Gabe have beens.. but it's crowded there.." The den had really become crowded lately and even though Zana didn't take up a lot of room she felt a little strange sleeping among the whole host of distant family members that were so open and welcoming dispite the little bit they knew of her.
She was suprised suddenly when Ryan offered to let her stay with her. Her lavender toned eyes jerked up as she tilted her head to the side but didn't answer right away. She frowned softly and tried to think if it was alright to just up and move from one spot to another. She wasn't for certain if Zeke or Gabe would want or like her to move, but she was curious to see where Ryan lived as well. She scuffed her paws on the stone beneith her feet a few moments as she tried to make sense of it all.
Suddenly Zana gazed up at the other lady with those soft lilac orbs as she spoke, the little girl wasn't really sure what to think of this lady who knew DaVinci. She looked away shyly though when she realized she was being watched too by Ryan before she finally got up the nerve to ask, "How do yous know DaVi.." She probably could remember the lady if she thought back really hard but she didn't like to think about the past, the horrible memories of the monster always seemed to resurface and terrorize her dreams after doing that, so instead she stared out across the bramble filled gardens as she flicked her ears back and waited.
Sorry for this horrible wait![html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... ump/08.png); background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;">
She was surprised to hear that it was Gabriel and his son who had taken the little girl in. She didn’t know much about the skirmishes between Inferni and Phoenix Valley, but she found it ironic that the Aquila would be caring for Iskata’s child. She nodded slowly to herself, wondering about this. Of course, all of the wondering in the world wasn’t going to do her much good. Instead of trying to fit together puzzle pieces that she didn’t have, Ryan let it go for now. Everything would rise to the surface in the end.
"How do I know DaVinci?" Ryan asked, stunned by the girl’s choice of question. She wasn’t sure how to respond to it, and she could feel her pulse quicken beneath her ribs. "Ummm," she started, still unsure of what she could say to explain to the little girl. "We’re friends," she decided upon, adding a smile for good measure. "We’ve been friends for awhile."
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The small reddish gold child peered up at Ryan as she suddenly asked. "Where this daughter?" Ryan had mentioned that she had a daughter, and though she knew that all children had to grow up at sometime Zana was unsure of if this child of her newly found packmate would even want her around. Zana had a hard enough time with Soibhan, another girl might be too much trouble for even her. She was really curious as to what Ryan's home looked like...ok, so she was downright nosy, but who could blame her, she was just a pup.
When Ryan spoke of DaVinci again she sat almost quietly as she waited, it seemed to take Ryan an awfully long time to answer and Zana wasn't really sure what to believe when finally she was graced with the answer. "You's sure... friends?" She'd thought that friends were those that were always around to play with or go running about with. She'd seen Jefferson and DaVinci around together quite a bit with Ty and Skylar but she couldn't even remember Ryan. She was starting to wonder, but there was still a lot that Zana didn't understand so she was almost at easy just letting it pass by too.
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Ryan studied the little girl’s appearance, and much like others had told her about Valkyrie, she felt that Zana would grow up to be a very beautiful woman. "She’s back home, taking a nap in our den," and Ryan suddenly felt guilty for leaving Valkyrie there on her own. They were safely in Inferni though, so Ryan had the piece of mind of knowing nothing would happen to little Valkyrie.
The little girl had obviously caught on to Ryan’s hesitation, and now she wanted to know: was Ryan being honest? "Yes, friends," she replied, nodding her head. "I haven’t seen him in a while, because my daughter is very young and I have to take care of her." She moved a few feet away from the girl and the mansion looming over them so that she could step into the sunlight. The shadow of the building was kind of dreadful, Ryan had decided. The weather was still very cold, and Ryan wanted to absorb as much of the friendly rays as possible. "Do you want to come meet her?" Ryan asked suddenly, referring to her daughter. "You can come meet Valkyrie, and see our den if you want. I’m sure she would love to have a friend."
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Zana seemed satisfied atleast by the next answer that the woman had granted her about her child. It seemed logical that the girl might be sleeping if she wasn't here right now. Zana probably would have been sleeping if she hadn't been so lonely and the stupid seagulls hadn't been harassing her again. She really was so tired of being tiny but everyone kept telling her that oneday she'd be all grown up, she just wished she didn't have to wait so long.
When Ryan finally gave a firmer answer on how she knew DaVinci Zana just gave up and decided that MAYBE she was friends with him. When Ryan moved away from the small girl she stood up quickly, not wanting the lady to leave her so suddenly. She cast a worried look to the lady but it seemed that she'd got the wrong impression as Ryan asked her a question that made her squeal with delight.
She couldn't help but wag her little ribbon wrapped tail as she turned those lilac orbs up to Ryan excitedly. "Yes, oh yes!" she giggled. "Will she be awake? Do you think she'll wanna play?" Zana asked, her questions rambling together as she bounced up and down already ready to go.
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The most genuine of smiles found Ryan then, and she could see Valkyrie’s enthusiasm about the world reflected in Zana. Being a mother obviously had caused several downfalls in Ryan’s life, but it also brought her great joy. The young woman had come to appreciate the small things in life, and sometimes her daughter would show her the wonder the world offered in the simplest of ways.
"I’m not sure if she’ll be awake or not, but I’m sure she’d love to play once she finds out that you’re here." Ryan swung a hand through the air, motioning for them to begin their trek towards Ryan home within a home. "We live fairly close to the water too – that’s Val’s favorite play to play, so I’m sure she’ll want to take you there." She always tended to keep a close eye on her daughter, but she would feel more at ease letting the girls go off a bit further from the den by themselves, as long as they stuck together. "Let’s go wake sleeping beauty up," Ryan suggested while the mansion seemed to fall away behind them.
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She had suddenly brightened when Ryan ushered her along to follow. Zana liked the idea of finding a new friend and she laughed when Ryan said that they were going to wake Val up to see if she'd like to play. She pranced along around the older female asking the annoying chattery questions that children were always filled with. "What she like? Does she know how to swim? I don't know how to swim! I bet the water is too cold to swim in though!" and on and on she went, happy to finally find that there was someone other than Soibhan to play with in the lands.
Forgetting the gloomy mansion already Zana glanced up at Ryan and asked worriedly. "There won't be any birds there will there?" She REALLY didn't like the seagulls and lately it seemed the birds were getting meaner and meaner and she couldn't do anything but run and hide. She missed playing at the beach but too often she was chased away by the flocks of birds. She didn't wanna get chased away before she got to meet her new friend!
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Before Ryan had the chance to answer the first question, up popped another. All the chatter didn’t bother her at all, though. And in fact, it made the young mother eager to get back to her den. She knew the two girls would have plenty of fun playing together and talking each others’ ears off. This was going to be great.
"Well," Ryan started, trying to think of how to describe what Val was like. "She’s really playful and has a big imagination. I’m sure you’ll get along just fine. And she’s never been swimming before, but I bet the water’s too cold, too." Plus, Ryan didn’t want her baby wadding out into the ocean just yet. She was definitely not old enough; at least the worried mother didn’t think so.
She hadn’t noticed any birds the past few times she had been along the shore, but then again, she hadn’t really been searching. "I don’t think the birds’ll bother you, sweetie," Ryan told her, hoping what she said was true. "And if they do, just bark at ‘em! It’ll scare back into the sky."
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omg, you reply to fast.. I'm still trying to play catchup with all my other threads 
Scampering too and fro as they made their way across the territory Zana found her overcast mood suddenly dissolving with everything that the woman said. She laughed as Ryan began to describe Val, getting ready to meet the gir that she didn't know yet already knew they'd be perfect friends. Her eyes lit up as another range of questions was fired out. "What does she look like? Does she like the seagulls? I don't like the seagulls. They wake me up ALL The time!" She was panting slightly as she tried tp keep up with Ryan but was too excited to stop running about so much.
When Ryan told her that all she had to do was bark at the seagulls Zana pouted slightly and shook her head, slightly worried that she might get herself into trouble again with the birds as she edged closer to Ryan and whispered. "They don't like me.. I think they wanna eat me.." She glanced up at the sky, hoping that the birds didn't hear her if they were close by.
Hehe. :3[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... ump/08.png); background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;">
And the questions just kept rolling while Ryan smiled, shivering slightly as a soft breeze blew by. "Well," she looks like a mix of me and Hybrid, is what she should have said, but instead told Zana, "she looks similar to me, I suppose." In fact the two little girls themselves shared very similar coloring. "And I don’t think she would like the seagulls, either. They don’t seem too friendly," though they had never bothered Ryan before.
"Eat you?" Ryan asked, chuckling softly. "Well, you know that Gabriel would never let that happen! So sir. Not on his lands," she gave the girl a reassuring nod, looking forwards to determine how far they were from the den. "It’s just up here," she announced, pointing with a slender finger towards the rocky formation that was situated not far from the water’s edge. It was here, near Inferni’s caves, that Siobhan had helped Ryan dig the den for her and her daughter.
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The tiny girl couldn't help but keep darting her eyes back up at the taller woman as she grew more excited the closer they drew towards the beaches. She had to keep looking down though or the poor kid was going to end up tripping over her own paws. She couldn't help but giggle when Ryan said that her daughter looked like her. "I don't look like my mommy.." she said, as though this was something to be proud of. Truth be told if she could have remembered much of her mother before the horrible accident she'd actually been very attached to the silvery gold female.
She finally did stumble and took a rolling tumble as she landed with an 'oof' and shook her head. "Seagulls are evil..." she said seriously as she moved closer to Ryan as the woman seemed to continue on about the birds. The little girl didn't even seem to react to her clumsy fall at all as she glanced around looking for the birds. "Gabriel can't be everywhere though.. can he?" she asked with wide eyes.
They began to draw closer to the den and at the words from Ryan the small hybrid child shook with excitement as her eyes shined. She couldn't believe she was going to get to meet another puppy her own age! "Really? Almost there?" she asked as she skipped ahead a few feet and faced back to Ryan's side happily.
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Ryan didn’t need to be told to know that Zana was in no way a mirror image of her mother. That fact alone was what made her wonder so much. It frightened her a bit that Zana had similar coloring to Valkyrie – the blacks paws, the stripe down her spine, and the rusty red of her coat. Of course, there were obvious differences too, but Ryan’s mind didn’t care to focus on those. What if? No… that couldn’t be the case.
"That’s true, I guess he can’t be everywhere at once. I suppose you’ll just have to be careful around those seagulls." She wasn’t sure what to tell the girl, since she hadn’t faced the problem herself. It made her worry for Val, but she figured the two would be fine as long as they were with each other.
"You alright?" Ryan asked, watching as the girl lost her footing for a moment. Kids always bounced right back, though, and the little girl was trotting right along again. "Here we areee!" Ryan called, racing down the small slope that lead to the den. She bent down by the entrance, placing her hands on her thighs. "Valkyrieee," she hummed softly. "We have a visitor." And from inside the den, she heard the soft rustle of a tiny body moving. "Comin’," it replied groggily.
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