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Gravity had guided her footsteps, drawing her downhill through copses of snowy-branched trees and past clearings where the flurries of snowflakes had turned the earth into a mostly untouched blanket of white. Perhaps all the plants and stones were asleep under there, Legacy thought, waiting for it to get warm again, because she'd seen how snow could be melted by heat. And there was no question it was cold; her breath clouded the air before her. It was getting mistier all around though, which couldn't possibly be attributed to her breathing. Now she was only just outside the borders of her home, and yet the atmosphere was definitely changing. There was air like clouds hanging around on the ground, and the light seemed to have diluted slightly, giving a shadowy feel to the woodland before her.
Today she had woken up with a craving to stretch her legs and explore. Being unaccompanied wasn't the most appealing prospect, but she'd known she would have to do it again sometime. And here she was, among stark trunks somehow different and more enigmatic than other trees. Legacy thought or knew, in a hazy way, that there was a soul or spirit to everything. Perhaps this place had other spirits than the ones she knew. It made her spine tingle unfathomably and she stopped, glancing around in all directions, ready to turn around and leave this weird place.
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[html]She sniffed a little as she walked; she was starting to get a cold.
Empusa's paws made tiny prints in the snow as she walked along, going toward the Haunted Woods. Merit had to be around, still, and this time she was really going to teach him a lesson. Last time she had allowed him to pin her to the ground, to stand on top of her...but this time he wouldn't be so priviledged. She'd been learning about wolves lately, about how horrible they were. They always tried to steal the coyotes' lands away from them, her elders had told her. How disgusting.
The young coyote looked about, her red eyes searching. She couldn't wait to see him again. Was it just the anticipation of /really/ beating the crap out of him, or was it something else? She shook the idea out of her head, expelling a long, vaporous breath into the cold air around her. No, that couldn't be it.
"Merit, I know zat you're around here somevhere. Come out."[/html]
Legacy, retreating from the place that had made her hair prickle, jumped as she heard something. A young voice - a stranger, and here was very close to her home. She was alone, and the other person was talking; there might be more than one. Her green eyes flicked around warily, looking for the form of the girl she'd heard. Had they mentioned Merit, her brother? Legacy wondered if this stranger had caught sight of herself, Legacy, and mistaken them. They weren't alike, but they were similar. She took a few hesitant steps in the vague direction of Empusa and huffed perplexedly into the icy air. Was it a possible friend of Merit, or an enemy?
Deciding to give the situation the benefit of the doubt, she called out. "Hello! Who's there?" her raised voice seeming to echo, peculiar and dim among the trees and snow.
[html]Do you want them to get into a scuffle, or just be wary of each other?
Empusa sat down, sighing. She didn't like being away from the clan's lands...and she didn't like this strange territory a bit. The only reason she knew how to get this far into it was because of her nose; she'd smelled the other pup, and had followed it, hoping that it might be Merit.
The girl heard a voice nearby, a young one. Was it him? Her ears perked up, and she looked in that direction. She could almost see something in the distance...she took a few steps, and there it was! But no, it wasn't Merit. This youngster was about the same size, though...
"I am Empusa Lykoi--from ze coyote territory. I was looking for Merit--I 'ave looked everywhere else except this place...and I am glad for zat...this place iz very strange indeed"[/html]
[html] she wouldn't want to fight, but Empusa could try it anyway if you like 
So it was her brother's name she'd heard.
There was never an uninteresting moment when running into a stranger, for unlike the older versions of her own caste she hadn't learned how to sit back and let things pass her by. She had to be right in the thick of it, meeting her fate head-on and grappling. Though, now, not physically unless she had to - that way lay loss of control and being overpowered, neither of which appealed.
But this was an Inferni-pup by her own admission. If it was another lunatic, Legacy was prepared to flee. Still, she knew her pack and even family had friends in the coyote lands. They couldn't all be crazy, could they? Cautious, head tilting, she approached the girl on light wary paws and they faced each other. As she came, she replied. Empusa had been forthright, so she returned the favour.
My name's Legacy Kali, from Jaded Shadows.
She stood still and frowned a little. It was obvious that they shared a home but would it be better if Empusa knew she was Merit's sister? Better to keep it neutral for now.
What d'you want with Merit? [/html]
[html]How embarrassing. Empusa couldn't tell her the real reason that she wanted to see Merit, that she...dare she say it....liked him. That would be disturbing! Coyotes and wolves weren't supposed to like each other...it was un-natural. She knew that there were some hybrids out there, and she was a hybrid herself, but her mother hadn't lived in the same world she did. Or at least, Empusa didn't think so. She didn't understand how she could even have been born...why a coyote would have consorted with her mother.
"Vat I vant with him is none of your business--are you his keeper?" Better to keep it this way. If this pup knew Merit, and Empusa told her about how she felt, she might go and tell Merit! Or she might go and tell the coyotes. She would be in a lot of trouble if any of the coyotes found out that she actually liked playing with wolf pups.
"So you do know him" She said, frowning. Why else would Legacy want to know what Empusa wanted with him? "You are his...what is the word..girlfriend"[/html]
[html] Of course it had been natural for her to look out for her brother, though maybe it wasn't like that in some places. Legacy felt responsible for all her siblings - she was the most confident of them, and it was natural for her to feel like a leader. She didn't know that coyotes and wolves weren't meant to get along, well, she knew that some didn't, but always assumed there had to be something more behind it than species, despite all appearances. She wouldn't have understood Empusa's embarrassment, even if she had explained herself.
The girl spoke as if offended or irritated. Perhaps it was her usual bearing, or maybe she was annoyed for some reason. Now it made more sense than ever that she had come here to attack Merit, just as Legacy had been attacked herself. An attempt to do the same here and now would have had her running for cover, but the idea that her family was under threat, even from just one youngster, that was different; that annoyed her rather more than she'd like. She'd have to handle herself carefully, and not lose her temper.
Course I'm not his keeper, she said with a little disdain, but I'm still not going to just let you go and find him, and attack him too, I bet!
Her green eyes narrowed and her heart quickened - and then she had to stifle a giggle at Empusa's words. Imagine that, her and her brother! Still, the other girl wasn't giving anything away, so she wouldn't either.
What would it matter if I was? You'd be hunting me down, too? [/html]
[html]Attack? Merit? She never would have dreamed of it. She only wanted to play with him, to wrestle around in the mud and get good and dirty. That was what they'd done last time, chased each other around Jaded Shadows, over all of the moss and dirt and mud--and then washed off at the river. It had been such a wonderful day...she'd never felt so free or alive. No one in Inferni ever wanted to play like that...they mostly just wanted to fight.
She gasped at what Legacy said at first, her mouth falling open. After a few moments it snapped back shut, and she replied. "I vould not attack him--he is...a friend of mine. A good friend. He did not say anything about you to me, though--I think that you are lying." Unless Merit had started going with this girl after he had played with Empusa. How rude of him!
"I do not hunt volves...I am part of a volf myself. My...family likes to hunt them...your kind...I followed once, but did not find it to my taste. So consider yourself lucky, Shadows-pup" She didn't know what saying the truth would do, if Legacy would believe her or not. It didn't really matter, though...as soon as Empusa had grown they would begin her more intensive wolf-hunting training...she would probably have to side with Inferni or face being kicked out of the clan. That's how she saw it. "I thought...zat Merit might vant to see me again" She admitted. "I am coming of age in only a few months.."[/html]
All her concern vanished. A friend of Merit, not an enemy, even though she was from the coyote pack and Merit had never mentioned her. Of course, maybe Empusa was the one that was lying, but Legacy didn't think so. At least this proved her right, that you couldn't judge everybody the same way just because they were from a certain background.
He never said anything about you, Legacy explained, but then, he's not always talkative. I know him quite well, you see. She grinned, then added, I'm actually his sister!
As for seeing him, she didn't know what to say. First Empusa would have to find him, and as evident from her own position far away from home he could be anywhere. It wasn't an inviting prospect. Legacy was willing to help, though. Her brother was sure to be more willing to join her in her intricately thought-out games if his other friend was there. But first there was a pressing question she wanted to ask. Why is it that your family hunts wolves? As 'someone on the inside', Empusa should have a better idea than she did about this.
[html]To tell the truth, Empusa wasn't at all sure why they did what they did. Hunted wolves. It was just something that they did. She didn't know what racism was, or if they were only hurting the creatures because they were wolves, or because they didn't like the pack leaders. A few of them had spoken about not liking some of the pack leaders, she'd overheard that, but was that the entire reason?
"I do not know. I think zat they think zat is is fun. Maybe zey think that the volves will not overthrow them? I heard that some of our lands used to belong to volves...they got kicked out?"She was relieved to know that this wolf wasn't Merit's girlfriend...but now she was faced with an all new problem! Legacy might tell someone that she had been here. Asking about Merit. "We are not supposed to play with wolves, I don't think. I would be in trouble if they found out, I am sure"[/html]
[html]From Empusa's rather unsure words, Legacy gleaned the impression that there were either lots of reasons or maybe none at all. She couldn't begin to guess at the history the violence had built up for itself, and she would have balked from the knowledge. One thing was obvious to her, they didn't do it for food. What other reason could there be for killing? Concepts like revenge, racism and competition floated around vaguely in her head but something, perhaps optimism, kept them back.
Empusa's next words disappointed the girl; she'd been looking forward to playing, maybe finding Merit, getting him to join in. It stung her that such a convuluted idea would cause the mysterious 'they', which she supposed was the fierce-sounding coyotes, to stop this happening. Frustration sparked in her green eyes and she chewed at her lip thoughtfully.
"No one here would hurt you, though." She said this after a tiny pause but as if with the utmost confidence, praying it was true. No one she knew would attack a child, surely not. "So it's fine, just as long as you come here and we don't go there." The sentence was almost a question, albeit one that made the preferred answer plain. As far as she knew her mother and the pack itself had friendship ties with Inferni, but that way Empusa's 'they' wouldn't know about her acquaintance. Either way, right now it felt like touch and go whether the Inferni child would want to stay around now. Especially as Legacy had thought she had other intentions at first, and been so defensive. [/html]
[html]She wondered sometimes...if she had been born looking more like a wolf, would she have been denied entrance to Inferni like her mother had? Empusa knew that they knew that she was part wolf, but she looked like a coyote...a small one, at that. So maybe they forgot from time to time. That didn't keep her from worrying about it, though. If Inferni was right, and wolves were bad, then that made her part bad. Which didn't make sense to her, because she didn't think that she was a bad wolf...coyote...hybrid. That's what it was. A hybrid.
She didn't fit into Inferni very well, that was true. But what other option did she have? Would they be angry if she left? She wasn't sure. Maybe she would talk to Faolin about it. But would the matron laugh at her? Faolin didn't like wolves very much, she remembered.
"I wish to leave Inferni, sometimes...but I do not know how. It is the place that my mother told me I had to go--she told me that I had family there--but then she dissapeared. I 'ave not seen her since the day we were both supposed to join Inferni." Empusa hadn't been a member of Inferni for all of her life, only for the last few months. She'd been born in the subway in the city, far away from it all. So it should have been easier to leave it behind. Why wasn't it easier?"What is life like here, in a pack? Everyone gets along? Is there fights?"[/html]
Legacy had meant sporadic visits when she'd thought about Empusa staying, not relocating permanently. Now she realised the part-coyote girl had already left at least one home. Maybe it wasn't such a step for her, to move somewhere else - but if she had family ties there, it had to be difficult. Legacy was all but horrorstruck at the thought of leaving her own family behind. But Empusa had said sometimes she wanted to leave. There had to be something in this place, Inferni, that was making her feel that way. Unless she was just tired of living there, wanted a change of scene. Legacy knew the feeling, often her instincts drove her to roam afield and explore different places. Just the feeling of travelling was good, especially after spending a long time in one spot. For her, though, there was always somewhere to return and those you could count on. Not so for Empusa.
Her mother had disappeared. This news was distressing for the Jaded Shadows child, and her ears lowered sympathetically. Her answer to the questions posed came in a somewhat subdued voice. "We get along pretty good. Lots of my family is in this pack, there is a big den in some caves." She peered out of one eye at Empusa, considering how to continue. "I sometimes fight my brother and sisters... Are there fights in Inferni?"
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ooc:
secretly falling apart
There was a nice coyote in Inferni, one that had taken care of Empusa since she had arrived there. After her mother had been denied entrance to Inferni because of her wolf-ish looks, Empusa had slept by herself. Faolin had found her the next day, cold and halfway frozen to the ground, and had helped her out. Shown her about fire, and cooked food. She really was grateful for that...and she did love Faolin like a mother, but there were some things about Inferni that Empusa didn't understand or agree with...she wasn't sure if Faolin did, or didn't.
If something big happened between the wolves and coyote, Empusa wasn't sure what she would do. She might move then, if something made her choose between the two. But for now she was okay with going back there to sleep. She knew she was safe in Inferni, if nowhere else. It was just wolves that weren't safe there.
"You cannot come to visit me, but I can come here to see you" She said after a few moments, nodding. Now she understood. "I am glad that you all get along together. I don't know about how brothers and sisters act...I was born with a brother, I think...but I don't remember meeting him. There are sometimes fights in Inferni, mostly only when a wolf comes in. Sometimes we spar against each other, though--to test our strength. You do that here too, yes?"
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It did seem to the child that conflict was a part of life. How she thought about that, she wasn't sure yet. Oh, she knew almost instinctively how institutions like the ranks were important - if you knew your place, you were content. As a creature of nature and the wilderness, a wolf or coyote was inherently a physical beast and as such, strength and speed could make one powerful. In Legacy's experience however there were other traits that made a good leader or a good wolf, even in isolation from physical prowess. Wisdom, character, loyalty to the pack - especially in these ever-changing and ever-challenging times. She couldn't say she was averse to violence where it was deserved, though. For the most part, her philosophy was still shifting, unsettled.
It was fun to spar, but the currently peaceable environment of Jaded Shadows didn't seem to make it a necessity. "Yes, a little," she answered, thinking of playful moments and chases among the trees. Like she had with her brother and sisters. "Why don't you come to Jaded Shadows now?" she suggested. "We can try to find mon frère." The French slipped out through habit; she often called him that. [/html]
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