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indent Icarus had gotten older and already he was almost four months old. It seemed like yesterday that he was curled inside the den with momma, yet to see the outside world. Even though it had only been some time since that had happened, he was already losing memory of it. It was as if a fog had come down over that side of his brain, shielding him from ever prying into those initial life memories. But it wasn’t as if that was too much of a problem. Icarus was making plenty of new memories to live by.
indent He had been restricted from stepping a paw outside of Storm after his little adventure to Inferni’s beach about a month ago. The whelp pouted and moped around for a while, trying to reverse his father’s disciplinary action, but had given up with the invitation from his sister to play. After that, he had almost forgotten about the world outside of Storm’s borders – he was having too much fun within them.
indent However, daddy had come to Icarus and finally removed the Storm-only ban. He was now free to romp around neighboring Clouded Tears and the neural areas. Inferni, though, was still greatly off limits. That didn’t bother Icarus too much. He was excited that the outside world had been opened up again. And of course, with his first chance, he had skedaddled outside of Storm and made his towards Clouded Tears. He didn’t really know anyone there, but he hoped he would find adventure either way. Maybe they would have something like Inferni’s beach too, where he could find himself a quest!
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Beppe had, by now, figured out that if he stayed on all four paws he minimized exposure to the snow and didn't get quite as cold. He had also found that this land held many things that were so strange to him, like the strange shape of the pine trees, the strange fat birds and their strange songs, and these strange new revelations were constantly drawing the boy out of the air he warmed into chillier areas. The wonder that was hidden under each new discovery was enough to keep his heart pumping anyways, and the adventure was definitely worth frosty paws.
He had not yet met anyone in Clouded Tears yet besides Jasper, which struck him as slightly strange. The boy was accustomed to a tight knight group, or at least he had always thought that's what regular packs were like. He wasn't really bothered, anyways, though he would have liked to practice his English a bit. Perhaps hee was even starting to be a bit lonely; a new beginning seemed to suggest so many possibilities that the young wolf still hadn't seen.
So, when he saw someone in the distance, someone that looked to be just a bit smaller than him, he smiled softly and headed over. Beppe kept his distance as he pulled up beside him, matching the other's pace; he wasn't quite sure what was normal here and wanted to err on the side of caution. Lifting his eyebrows, he said softly, "Hello."
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Hey! Thanks for joining. Sorry for the wait.
indent Icarus wasn’t really sure what he was going to find in Clouded Tears to keep him entertained, but something in the back of his mind told him that he wouldn’t be disappointed. It might take some time to actually discover something, but he knew that said something would pop up eventually. He just hoped that eventually would be sometime before his curfew came into effect.
indent The brown colored pup bounded along through the snow, coating his belly in soft flakes that melted in the air and caused his fur to clump in small rivets. He was still a pup, but already he could tell that he was getting bigger. In no time, he would loose his milk teeth and be hunting with the rest of Storm. He just sort of hoped that that time would come sooner.
indent The voice that came then startled him and Icarus lost the rhythm that had been carrying him along so nicely. His bounding paws tripped up and sent the Storm pup flying forwards, and tumbling in the crusted snow. "Owww." He groaned, looking up as he waited for the world to stop spinning. As it came to a rest, an unfamiliar black face was looking towards him. "Where’d yah come from? I ‘idn’t even see yah was there!" He regained his footing and shook himself off, sending bits of snow flying free from his coat. "You must be a Clouded Tears pup. I’m Icarus. I'm from Storm."
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The Italian boy was maybe even a bit more surprised than the smaller wolf when it tumbled over, and his muscles tensed and his eyes widened. There it went, face first, right in the snow. Beppe winced; the snow was so cold! The poor little thing! He moved towards it quickly, hoping to help, but the other got back up almost immediately and shook, seeming completely unfazed by the snow. Beppe felt vaguely embarassed for rushing to his side, but the other didn't mention it and the apprehension was gone quickly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you.." he said softly, before nodding. "Yes, I'm from Clouded Tears. I am called Beppe. Pleased to meet you!" He smiled broadly, eying the snow that was still clinging to the other's fur. "Aren't you cold?" The Italian boy could imagine himself shivering and completely miserable if he were to trip and tumble into the snow. He didn't even really want to think about it, either.
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indent Icarus had to admit that he was a little bit cold from his tumble, but he was too excited to be free to wander Clouded Tears that thoughts of his personal comfort soon were hidden behind his excitement. He sniffed at the air as if held some sort of secret but discovered only that it smelled thickly of Clouded Tears wolves. Icarus, however young, knew there was a difference in the smell here from Storm. He didn’t, however, realize that it was in fact the smell of different leaders. He was so familiar with Storm’s scent mostly because it was his father’s.
indent "Yeah, I’m alright. It ain’t that cold. Besides, I’ve got thick fur tah keep me warm." Icarus, who was colored a deep brown considerable to his dad’s coat, looked at the onyx colored pup in front of him. Surely, they were rather different, but Icarus still felt some sort of connection with him. Perhaps it was because they were both youngsters. Or perhaps it was because they both were out here exploring alone. At least, he thought they were alone. "Whatcha doin’? Are yah out here alone?"
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And the sun will set for you
Perhaps Beppe's fur was not as thick as the other's; the cold had already soaked through his fur and he hadn't even taken a spill. Or, perhaps, the younger wolf was just more used to the climate. Either way, it made Beppe doubt his ability to stay comfortable when the colder months came. The boy would deal with that when it was an actual issue though, and for now he pushed the idea to the back of his mind and tried to enjoy himself even though his toes were amassing a nice collection of ice clumps.
"Good," he replied gently, not really knowing how to reply to that statement but still pleased with it. As Icarus regarded him, the Italian boy noticed his striking blue eyes. This was unusual to him; he hadn't seen anything like it before. Interesting though, definitely. Beppe liked that there were so many things here that were strange to him. "Yes... and you also?" Beppe hadn't marked anyone else around, but perhaps they were sneaky. He took a quick glance first over Icarus' shoulder and then his own. The fog was not quite as thick as usual, and still he didn't see anyone. He let his own eyes rest on his acquaintance once more.
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indent "Yeah, I like to go an’ explore by myself. My brother comes with me sumtimes, but not today. I came by myself." He looked around at the area around him, hoping to find that no adults had wandered into the vicinity. Even though Phoenix had given Icarus to be here, the boy still wanted to feel a sense of adventure. By avoiding the adults, he created a sense of tension and adrenaline fueling excitement. "Say Beppe, d’you know somewhere we can go an’ play?"
indent The pup took a few steps further in the snow, watching them as they sunk deep enough to where to snow reached a quarter way up his legs. His paws were a little frigid, but the excitement of being with someone new, in an entirely new place, replaced any thoughts about the weather. "I ‘aven’t been to Clouded Tears before."
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The sparser corners of Clouded Tears had been left unexplored by the boy, and when the puppy asked him if there was anywhere nice to play, Beppe's mind spun. He tried to picture different places in his mind, to try and find the area best suited for playing, but truth be told, the Italian hadn't done much of that yet. Just the other day he had wandered over to the rocky shore of Lightning Bay and scuffled playfully with a new friend, but that had been the extent of it. The rocky beach was definitely not a good place to play, and if they weren't a reminder of a good time, Beppe would have resented the bruises. Icarus seemd curious about the Clouded Tears territory, though, and Beppe didn't want to disappoint him by taking him away to some other place.
"Well, if you would like we are able to go see the lake.. It is quite nice." He hesitated for a moment, letting his gaze linger over the puppy's shoulder as he tried to imagine what else could be done on the land. "Perhaps we would be able to find a rabbit in the bush, and then we could chase it..." He threw in, hoping that it would catch the other's attention. Beppe was almost certain they'd be able to find a rabbit; there were so many hiding in the underbush, even in the winter. "Are you hungry?"
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indent Icarus grinned now, for he had found himself a playmate for the day. Nodding to the suggestion, Icarus was more than happy to head towards the lake with Beppe. He figured it would be really neat to see. "We don’ have one in Storm. We just has the river, but my dad says the river comes from Yawrah and that Yawrah comes from a kind of lake." He took a few steps forward, as if to set off the adventure and march to their destination. However, Icarus didn’t know where that was, so he had to pause and wait for Beppe’s navigation.
indent He couldn’t deny the fact that his stomach felt a little empty, so the idea of chasing rabbits sent up a flag for Icarus. "Ohh boy! Yeah, that’d be fun! I’m hungry and a rabbit would be good!" He wasn’t sure if he would be able to catch it, but maybe the duo could team up and it might make things easier for them. "Le’s go!"
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[html] [/html]Beppe was trying to visualize the Yawrah river trailing upwards to a lake, but his mental map of the territories was so empty and vague that he had trouble picturing it at all. He hadn't even visited the Storm territory, and decided that sometime soon he would wander over there. Unlike the state of affairs with Inferni, there didn't seem to be any tension between Clouded Tears and Storm. Though, Icarus was young and often time conflict wasn't something one could pick up on until later in life. Anyways, he didn't seem guilty being here and Beppe could only assume that no one had told him not to be.
"Oh?" the boy lifted an eyebrow and peered at the puppy, nodding. "This is the only lake I have seen so far... But I will see others one day, perhaps I will find that one which the Yawrah comes from." He smiled and, with Icarus' agreement, began to walk towards the lake. The other's eagerness pleased him and he tried to step briskly and keep a bounce in his step.
"Good! We will catch a big plump one, even though they all are to be a little scrawny in the winter." Hunger hadn't been haunting the wolf before, but now the thought of rabbit made his stomach yearn a little. Truth be told, he hadn't chased a rabbit for fun for a long time, perhaps even since he had left Italy. The underbrush here was a little trickier to run through and he had stumbled many times before, but with a new friend he would certainly find quite a bit more fun in it than when he was hunting on his own.
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indent The Storm youth was quite pleased at the adventure he had discovered here in Clouded Tears. With his new friend Beppe falling in step beside him, Icarus didn’t think that anything could put a damper on his day now. Even if they weren’t successful in their little hunt, subconsciously he knew that his taste for adventure and the unknown would fill the void that his stomach felt.
indent "Well, we might hafta get two then, if they’re gonna be scrawy. But mebbe there’s one that’s eatin’ everyone else’s food and he’ll be big and fat!" Icarus grinned and licked his lips at the thought of a tasty meal. He wondered if Beppe’s skills would be any better when it came to hunting. He hoped so, since his weren’t exactly top notch.
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[html] [/html]Oh, what a revelation! Beppe had not thought of it that way; perhaps the only reason that all the rabbits seemed a little scrawny lately was because some new rabbit had come to town and was overeating his welcome. He was sure that in this case, the two new friends would have to find the King Rabbit, the one that had been hoarding vegetables beneath his layers of rolling fat, the only rabbit that did not get cold in the winter. He would be known by all the other rabbits only as The Glutton, and they would quiver as they felt the earth shake beneath his massive paws. Now was his time for justice. And what a splendid meal he would make.
The ebony boy's lips crinkled into a deep smile with the suggestion, and he glanced towards Icarus with his eyes full of light. "We will be finding this fat rabbit, fattest of them all... We will find his lair, bigger than yours or Is!" He hopped a little as he walked. "And then all the other rabbits, they will get fat again. And oh, we will get fat as well!" The boy grinned, eyes roving across the territory that stretched before him. Motioning to the closest bushes with a nod, he said more quietly, "We can start to find him over there."[html] [/html]
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indent This other boy really was smart. Icarus liked him for that. As soon as they found and stalked the fattest rabbit of them all, the two boys would soon be living a life of delicious decadence. They would grow up with full bellies all the time, and there would be plenty of thick, juicy rabbits hopping around for them to catch. Icarus wiggled in anticipation.
indent His blues eyes shot towards the bush that Beppe indicated, letting a grin take over his youthful features. "I bet he’s tyin’ to hide from us. He ain’t gonna get very far!" The boy lowered his posture, creeping closer to the snow dusted brush. He didn’t smell anything, but that didn’t put a damper on the anticipation that this adventure was creating. "I’m gonna get chu!" Icarus called out, flinging himself forward and onto the bush, hoping to scare the rabbit out of his hiding spot.
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i fought in the old revolution
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Beppe's paws were tingling with the potential of their plan. Not only would they be content with their full stomachs, they would be helping the other rabbits, as well. Now, one was not supposed to be happy with the death of one of their own kind, a point against their own team, but what about the human's King Louie the sixteenth, what about Stalin? If Beppe could take his very limited knowledge of human history and apply it to his real life, he could be sure that these rabbits would hail them as heroes, or at least be pleased with the situation that would fold out in front of them.
He grinned with anticipation as Icarus threw himself wildly at one of the bushes, and immediately adopted an expression of amused disappointment when no rabbit ran out. "No, certainly he won't get very far... Maybe we shall try another bush." He, too, sulked close to the ground, sneaking around the shrubbery. The boy crouched to pounce, but pulled himself back up almost immediately, giving the other a wry glance. "I have an idea... surely this rabbit will be making the earth shake as he walks, so if we put our ears against the ground perhaps we can hear him, and hear if we are getting closer or farther.. true? Perhaps it will be quicker than jumping on bushes all day long." He grinned, narrowing his eyes for a moment, before resting the side of his head against the ground to listen for the fat King Rabbit.
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indent No rabbit. Dang, and Icarus had been so sure that the fat guy would come scurrying out, along with a pawful of food that he was holding captive from all the other rabbits. But no, nothing of the sort happened. Instead, Icarus was left with small scratches and disappointment that his plan had failed. He pulled himself away from the brush, shaking himself as to free his coat from any bush remnants. He looked towards Beppe with a dissatisfied look, but that changed to a grin when he heard the other’s newest innovation.
indent "You’re absolutely right!" Icarus called out, almost flinging himself to the ground. He pressed his head against the dirt, until he thought his eyeballs might pop out, but still he heard nothing. He tried holding his breath, so that he would make no noise, and waited for the sound of the obese king rabbit.
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i fought in the old revolution
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The Italian boy was having a ridiculous amount of fun, even though they had not yet found a clue as to the location of the king's throne. It was nice to have a mission, especially when it had such a lucrative reward. A mission also seemed to be a wonderful way to make friends; making suggestions and solving problems seemed to be an excellent bonding medium. This was the kind of fun Beppe liked the most, and Icarus was certainlly one of the best wolves ever to join him in his game. Of course, without the Storm wolf's groundbreaking Fat Rabbit Theory, there would be no game at all!
Beppe pressed his ear harder to the ground, a small smile on his face from how the other's eyes appeared to be bulging. Not hearing anything, he followed Icarus's lead and held his breath. Still nothing. Unless Icarus had really good ears, he probably wasn't hearing anything either. "You hear something?" He stood back up, eyebrows furrowed. "Perhaps the King Rabbit is having his mid-morning nap. Then I think we should go deeper into the bushes and try to get in the closeness of his castle... then we can hear him snoring." Surely such a selfish, dignified creature would take up his throne where the bushes grew high and the food was bountiful. After all, The Glutton wouldn't be able to go very far to get his food.
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indent No, nothing. Not a sound at all. Icarus was sure that this would be the key in finding the master of all rabbits, but it had been unsuccessful. He lifted his head from the ground, though his one ear remained slightly higher on his head than the other. Frowning towards Beppe, Icarus shook his head. "Nothin’! I was so sure that we was gonna find him that way." He cast his blue gaze around, as if something might trigger a new, innovatice idea. But the Storm youth could think of nothing new in hopes of seeking out the fat king.
indent His snores! Of course. Why hadn’t Icarus thought of that? "Ohh, that’s right! I bet his castle is big, and made of carrots!" It was funny to think that maybe the fat king had made his house out of food. Icarus imagined his own den made out of what they ate, but he didn’t think a meat house would be a thrilling as a bright orange carrot castle. "Let’s look", Icarus told him, taking a few leaping bounds over to where he thought the bushes looked thicker.
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Of course, the fat rabbit would have been caught by now if he wasn't a sneaky little beast. He must have a way to hide the tremor caused by the impact of his massive feet, and perhaps he had a giant tail to brush away the craters he left behind. Or, maybe he even had some little supressed rabbit minions to do it for him. This was all quite curious.
One thing Beppe liked the best about his new friend was that they seemed to be capable of making innovation after innovation, each new one better than the last. If they continued on like this, they would not only catch the Fat King Rabbit, but perhaps also go on to rule the world. "Yes! Carrots! It had slipped my mind, how rabbits and their carrots go, and I am sure you are right." He grinned widely. This method would also be quicker and easier, not having to pause every once and a while in silence to put their ears to the ground or listen for snores.
The Italian boy bounded after Icarus, still grinning, and kept his eyes peeled. Surely, among the dreary colors of post-winter, a bright orange castle would be easy to spot. Beppe was sure that The Glutton must have some ingenious way to disguise it so as not to be found and eaten so easily, but the boy couldn't think of it at the moment. Hopefully it would come to him, and if not, he was sure it would come to his friend. Perhaps it was just so nestled within the bushes that anyone not looking for it would be unable to find it.
Fat King Rabbit was in for a surprise.
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