amazing, because it is

[Maria Agapito]

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---- Beppe had wandered away from her and Maria wondered where he went. He seemed to be able to maintain himself in this land, however, she could not. She knew little English and Beppe was her only source of translation. She grimaced as she moved around the land, taking in the area so she could become accustomed to her surroundings. It was definitely different than city life in Europe. Her thin arms were wrapped tightly around her upper body as she moved and found the center of the pack lands, observing quietly. So far she hadn't met many other wolves other than.. Jasper and now, well, she was going to try. It would be hard without her son and no one to translate or figure out English words and their meanings.

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[Ahren de le Poer]

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indent The blonde had finished up his tasks for the day (with the borders closed, he had no reason to worry about strangers) and had taken down a large hare after surprising it. It had been the first thing he had killed with his own hands in the past few weeks, and he was carrying it by the hind legs. There had been little blood—he had snapped its neck with one solid motion. Shaking snow from his shoulders, the red-eyed male had not yet noticed the woman he was approaching.

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[Maria Agapito]

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---- At first, the young mother hadn't notice the other approaching. The first thing she did notice was the smell of blood and hare, then followed by that of the wolf nearing her. She spun around on the balls of her feet to see the other male carrying a dead rabbit in her direction... sort of. She smiled a little but made no effort to wave, but eventually she decided to speak. "Buongiorno," she said first, catching herself. She realized that maybe he didn't know her own language, and she eventually needed to learn. "He-hello," she tested, the words foreign on her tongue.

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[Ahren de le Poer]

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indent Now he noticed her; a skinny woman with a faint smile on her face. The woman’s voice came next, speaking a foreign tongue. It was not one he knew, but he did recognize its country of origin. Her English was broken and heavily accented, and he offered her a friendly smile.
“Bonjour,” he offered, wagging his tail once to show he was friendly.
“I’m sorry, je ne sais pas Italian. I only know French and German.”

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[Maria Agapito]

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---- The other understood, and she was pleased. She understood the French he used but she had to think about it first. French and Italian were similar to certain degrees but she was just about as good with French as she was English. A smile was hanging on her muzzle as she broke her self-embrace to give him a slight wave before approaching. Maria didn't see this going very far but she needed to be friendly, especially if he was apart of this pack. "Maria Agapito," she spoke softly, her name drifting from her lips in heavy accent. "Little English, little French, no German," she said, offering him little. Perhaps she could break down some of the English, or better yet French and maybe he could do the same.

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[Ahren de le Poer]

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indent He liked her. This was in part to the fact that she reminded him of Europe, and the thick accents and crowded streets. She neared, and he gave another shudder to remove the snow from his coat. It was piling up in his dreadlocked hair, as it had been doing since it began. “Ahren de le Poer,” he smiled, his own mixed accent coming out in a breath of steam. “Care to get out of the cold? I live over there,” he pointed towards a patch of trees, marred only by the ramshackle cabin (if one could call it that) he had built.

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[Maria Agapito]

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---- Ahren. She nodded as he spoke his name, indicating she understood, but his follow up statement was something she was confused with. She understood the word cold and live, followed by his pointing and she nodded again. Maria turned in the direction of where he was pointing in order to see his cabin. She looked around her to see if her son were close at all but to her dismay, he was not, but she continued on anyway with his offer. "I have..." she paused, thinking. She was mainly thinking about times when her son and her had traveled the sea by boat, wondering what the English speaking sailors had called her son. "...child, Beppe," she added. "English," she continued, unsure the word to use for knowing the language.

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[Ahren de le Poer]

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indent They began to walk, and she spoke in that broken English as they moved. Pulling the door open, he moved inside and offered her a seat on the small bench constructed out of a felled tree. The building itself was very small, with one medium room in which they now stood, and two smaller offshoots on either side. Grabbing a length of twine, he quickly wrapped up the rabbits hind legs as he responded to her. “I have a son here, Jasper.” He spoke slowly, as if this might help make things easier. “Are you hungry?” He asked, hanging the rabbit up on a branch inside the building. A fire was soon lit in the small fire pit in the center of the room, in order to fend of the cold outside.

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[Maria Agapito]

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---- "Jasper," she said with a smile as she sat down. "Sapere Jasper," she said, watching him hang the rabbit. The question asked made her hesitate the answer. Hungry was a word she knew by traveling with English sailors, but it took her a minute to register it with food even after watching him hang the rabbit. "Sì," she said with a nod, lifting her hands to hang over the side of the fire to warm her fingers.

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[Ahren de le Poer]

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indent Drawing his knife, Ahren cut the rabbit down the belly, yanking the skin off in one solid yank. He put the skin aside, planning to deal with it later. Walking to a nearby shelf, he ran his eyes along the jars in place. Most were Misery’s (used in apothecary work) though several were his own. Tobacco and marijuana, several other useable herbs. Pulling a small metal pot from the same shelf, he stepped outside for a moment to fill it with fresh snow before putting it on the fire, alongside the rabbit.
“I hope you like tea,” he said with a smile.

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[Maria Agapito]

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---- "Sì," she repeated her answer to his following question. By now, Maria pulled her hands back and rested them on the tops of her knees patiently, watching him preparing the pot and the rabbit at the same time. Her nose fluttered at the scent of everything coming together and a smile was well formed and almost permanent on her muzzle while she waited. "Bello," she comment about the smell and idea of everything. Ahren reminded her of home, almost, of Piero. He had been his own wolf, rogue, she supposed, and imagined that was why she had become so attracted to him: he was everything she was not. Now, however, she was starting to see that she was turning into that type of person.

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[Ahren de le Poer]

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indent Ahren had lived like this long before he had gone to Europe; very little had changed in his patterns. Curling his toes slightly, he settled on another small bench. “It doesn’t compare to Europe, I’m sure,” he said with certain knowledge. “But its better then anything else around here.” Except perhaps the den he had lived in while Chimera still stood. Though underground, it barely felt like it. Before he had left, he had made a point to close it off and hide it. Just in case. “How old is your son?” He asked, rolling a cigarette.

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[Maria Agapito]

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---- At times, Maria missed Europe, and had it not been for Beppe's adventurous side, they would still be there with Piero. Though, Maria wasn't so sure if she would be happy or even if she was happy now. She was quiet for a moment, thinking about it. Often times she wandered what her past lover was doing at times, if he mourned for her or had moved on. The young mother couldn't really see him mourning. He didn't seem like the type, to say the least. However, Ahren changed subjects on to her son. "Sette mesi, il vostro?" she tried. Perhaps the similarity of languages would come through, but if not, she had an idea of how old Jasper was just by guessing on their first meeting.

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[Ahren de le Poer]

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indent Everyone had a long lost lover. Ahren had Matinee, who for all he knew was in North America now. He doubted it though, though he did not doubt they would see each other again. He wore her ring and would until he was given reason not to. A dark tipped ear perked at her words, and while the language barrier was there, it was not as terrible as he expected. He gathered enough to understand her. “Nearly a year,” he said, putting his hand above the pot of water. It was not warm enough yet, but he took the time to turn the rabbit over.

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[Maria Agapito]

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---- "Met Jasper," he tried for, tilting her head a little. Though his response to her question wasn't clear to her, she smiled and nodded anyway. By looking at him she could guess his age and assumed Ahren's words clarified them for her. She kept a smile on her face, though it grew weak, as silence came over them. Her teal golden eyes stared at the fire, watching the pot of water. Un vaso di orologio non bollisce mai, she quietly thought to herself and finally looked away, wondering about the statement herself. She couldn't remember where she heard it, but nonetheless turned away anyhow.

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[Ahren de le Poer]

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indent He nodded at her comment, finished rolling the cigarette, and placed it aside in order to dry. The water had begun to produce small bubbles, signaling to him that it was warm enough. Tea was something that while easy enough to make, though mixing herbs was a process of trial and error. Of course, having grown up with apothecaries and learned some of their ways, he was well enough aware of what herbs did what. The pot was moved away, left to have the herbs to soak, and he deemed the rabbit done. Removing it, his hands worked quickly, ripping the carcass in half and giving one to her.
“What part of Italy are you from?” He asked before ripping into the meat.

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[Maria Agapito]

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---- Maria gladly took the half of the rabbit he handed to her, holding the warm meat in her hands. The taste was different cooked and often times she preferred this over raw meat anyway, having always grown up accustomed to it. Taking a bite before answering his question, her teal golden eyes looked up at him in wonder. "Milan," she said, slightly muffled after chewing, and finally swallowing. "You go?" she asked, wondering if he had been to her country or not, after assuming he had been to Europe in the first place... he seemed to humanized, at least.

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[Ahren de le Poer]

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indent A few more bites finished off his meal, stripped to the bone. He put the scraps into the fire and rose, moving to grab two saucers from the same shelf of odds and ends. “I saw the Vatican once,” he commented as he began to strain the tea. “But never went further north then that.” Extending one of the would-be cups, he took his seat again, drank some of the tea, and continued speaking. “It was beautiful,” he added quietly, eyes growing cloudy with the memories of the place (what few there were).

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[Maria Agapito]

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out of character
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in character
----- Maria heard the word Vatican and nodded her head, smiling. When she was younger her family often took trips around the country but as she grew into an adult, her parents had stopped. She had missed those times and since her family activities died around she strayed from being close to them, finding other things to get herself into and it was the start of the story on how she ended up entirely on another continent. Maria didn't really have anything else to say, instead eating the rest of her rabbit in piece until all that were left were bones and other bits that she didn't find edible, tossing them in the fire much like he did.

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