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He was sober for the first time in weeks since losing the puppies, and had been for days. Somewhere in that drunken blur of time Whinnifred had taken her leave of Phoenix Valley. Lysander had emerged one morning to find a note tacked to his door, but her scent wasn’t all too fresh. How many days had he stayed holed up in his cabin, draining bottle after bottle? How many days had it been since she left? He wasn’t sure. The note did not explain why she was leaving, only stated that she was. Lysander was partly amused at the fact that he had lasted longer than she. The women had seemed like a stable wolf, seemed dedicated, had even offered up her womb to incubate children of his. Now it all seemed so silly, and Lysander smiled smugly as he crumpled up the note and flipped it over his shoulder. “Au revoir.” His voice echoed out at no one and he pushed the women from his mind for good.
Now he was finally going out, being useful, for the first time in a long time. Although he knew the pack kept cattle and probably had a store of meat it seemed to easy to him, to lazy. Nor had he participated in any of their pack hunts, he didn’t see the use when he could just go about setting snares and dead falls and come back to collect his meals. Six rabbits and a quail were the fruit of his labors now and he carried them back towards his home. Dropping them at his cabin door he moved away and set about collecting wood for a fire. Smoked meat would keep for a while, though the rabbits wouldn’t keep him fed for too long he hopes that the dead fall would produce something soon. In the mean time he set about to prepare his meat, every once in a while looking up and about to make sure none of the nosey pack members were out and about.
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Sorry D8 I didn't notice that you'd made the post.
Asariel wandered around through her pack's territory, a glum look on her face as she walked. She was in a bad mood, if it wasn't obvious. She had a somewhat foolish theory, as most young girls experience once or twice in their life, and that was the "fact" that she was never going to meet someone of any interest. Gosh, lighten up girl! She wandered through the forest towards a cabin, the sharp stench of old alcohol reaching her nostrils. This had sparked her curiosity; who had been drinking and why?
The pretty lady wandered closer until the homestead came into view; she spotted a male not too far away. She slipped closer, standing a couple two or three feet away from him as she contemplated what to do. She could go over and strike a conversation, or, she could leave, hopefully unnoticed. But, she wouldn't be completely unnoticed - her scent would have leaked through the air by now. She shifted awkwardly; Asariel hadn't been counting on running into anybody at this point and time. "Um, h-hello," she stammered, then silently cursed herself. She was never this timid, around anybody. Why now?
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Sorry, I was away for two weeks!
He was just about to set the wood on fire when he heard a voice behind him. “Oh bugger.” And he didn’t turn to face the lady who had addressed him. Instead he struck the match to the stone and watched it ignite, then lowered it to the dry grass and twigs at the bottom of his wood heap. The hungry flame quickly devoured the kindling and it wasn’t long before the bigger pieces of wood began to catch. Sure his fire wouldn’t die out, the bulky husky turned slowly to see who it was who interrupted him and he hoped they did appear too hungry. He didn’t quite like to share.
Eyes widened at the female and a stupid grin appeared on his face. “Oh, well hello there miss, sorry to have kept ya waiting.” She was pretty, and a pretty female was always much more tolerable than an ugly one. Or even an average one. Perhaps he hadn’t given Phoenix Valley enough credit, were there others he should be getting to know. “I’m just about to make a meal, care to join me?” His smile was charming, his eyes warm, but his mind of course, like many males, dirty. He was only glad Whinnie was gone so she couldn’t warn the ladies away from him. Even if he had no shot, it was the chasing part that was fun.
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It's okay...I didn't know you were away or else I wouldn't have sent you that message nagging you about the post x)
Asariel rubbed her upper arm and shifted herself a bit closer, a small smile appearing on her lips. The male easily towered over her; did she feel a bit intimidated? Just a little. Poor little sap, everything about the male drew her in. His charming -- yet intimidating in her eyes -- smile, his warm eyes...she was sucked in before she had a chance to get out. She was slightly surprised at the male's reaction when he first saw her; the silly grin and the widened eyes did not slip past her. "Sure, I would very much like to join you," she said when he offered to share his meal, her feet bringing her closer to him still.
A soft sigh escaped her lips, figuring she should introduce herself. "I believe I should introduce myself...my name is Asariel." she said, her voice soft and flowing. Shy, yes. A flirt? Most definitely. Personally she didn't care if the man gave her his name or not; mysteriousness was always a turn on for most women. She sat herself down, making herself at home, not bothering to wait for an invitation. He'd already invited her to eat with him, so why not sit herself down as well? Asariel looked up at the male with green and blue hued eyes, their expression warm and inviting. My my, whatever will we do with you?
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Lysander watched the girl, he could see his charm work. It was as if it clicked. He looked, he smiled, he spoke and it just clicked. His grin widened, not only at his own success but at the female too. Easily she took a seat and he liked that she already was making herself at home, for now at least. Later when he grew tired, if he grew tired, his mood could change completely. His mood could change completely now, for Lysander merely lived whim to whim. Right now his whim was entertaining the female, and he turned back to the flame, putting the single dead bird and two of the rabbits aside. He’d have to pluck the one and skin the others but he didn’t mind the work.
“Do you prefer rabbit or quail? I only have one quail, but it’s just for you Asariel, if you want it.” Lysander noted the way her name rolled off his tongue. Very rarely did he remember names, they normally weren’t important, but maybe he’d remember this one. It was fun to say at any rate. He set to work with his knife and hands and soon enough the meat was roasting in the fire. They were small animals and would be cooked soon enough, though he didn’t even know if the lady preferred her meals cooked in the human fashion or raw, as some canines still ate it. He spun around, facing her. They were both of Phoenix Valley, they should be able to find some common interests. “You’ve lived here long?” Lysander wasn’t new anymore and still he didn’t know any of his pack mates. Not really a one.
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Asariel was otherwise oblivious to the male's coy charm; she was too wrapped up in the thought of a new possible friend. He seemed kind enough, though she noticed he did not give her his name when she asked. Oh well; mystery was all part of the allure. The young woman watched him with the rabbit and the quail, noting that he was skilled enough to have caught himself something, perhaps with a trap. The animals didn't appear like they had been caught by an animals jaws, but then again, what did she know? "Oh, anything's fine, really. I'm not picky. I'll eat pretty much anything that you put in front of me." She said, looking slightly sheepish.
She plucked a piece of grass from the spot where she sat and began to twist it around her fingers, careful not to slice the fragile thing with her claws. She heard the man's voice speaking to her; she looked up and blinked. "You've lived here long?" he inquired. "Oh, I've lived here for...a couple two or three months, actually." She frowned. Has it really been that long?" she mused. Yes, she supposed it had been. Seeing as she had arrived in the middle of February...that would make it almost three months, now.
Time flies.
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Lysander pulled the quail from the fire, the small bird roasted quicker than the rabbits and was already done. For himself he pulled a half cooked rabbit, and left the others to finish roasting. He was sure the quail wouldn’t be enough for the women, as small as it was, but he didn’t want to offer her half raw rabbit. To him it didn’t matter, raw or cooked or half cooked, but if he was going to do something for another he liked to go all the way. No half finished jobs. That wasn’t the way to impress someone.
“Here.”He offered the meat to Asariel and sat himself opposite of her, crossed legged. For a while he just slowly chewed his meat, he had heard her answer but decided to take a moment of silence to think about it. Two or three months. That had been about the amount of time he had lived here. It did not surprise him that they had never met before, Lysander knew he spent too much time enjoying himself away from the pack lands to really get to know his fellow pack members. With Winnie gone he could really only recite the names of the two leaders. Maybe now was the time to remedy it.
Swallowing the mouthful of meat, he cleared his throat and offered the pretty woman a smile. “You must of joined right after me. Or right before. ‘Cept I don’t remember you at the meeting they had, right when I joined. A wolf of their’s had died, the old leader or something.” He remembered some of the faces from that meeting, her’s wasn’t among them. And ever since then he hadn’t seen a single one. “Where do you hide out at then? If I’ve never seen you around before now.” He bit off another chunk of rabbit flesh, his steel eyes fixated on the girl before him.
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The woman took the meat graciously and murmured a small thanks before digging in, taking a big mouthful as she watched the male. She wondered if she should try for his name again, but for now she would settle for calling him sir, or something. She found herself immensely attracted to the man, even though she knew nothing about him. She thought he was the kind of man that she would like to get to know more, but then again what did she know?
Asariel returned his smile as she listened to his words. Ah, the meeting. She had heard about it, but had never actually attended. "Oh, I probably joined just after you. I wasn't at the meeting...I was too busy exploring. I do that a lot...I never seem to just sit still in one area. That's probably why you haven't seen much of me," she confessed, taking another bite of meat. "So what's your story?" she inquired curiously. Asariel met his eyes and stared him down, offering him another charming smile. Yes, he was the kind of man she wanted to know indeed.
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Lysander smiled at the girl, she was so simple, innocent, or maybe it was only he hadn’t really gotten to know her just yet. It had been a long time that he had settled down for nice, cozy, innocent chat. Most meetings, within mere moments, turned into something else, a game, a battle of wits, something. It did not continue on, back and forth, politely, with both participants on the same page. Normally Lysander was worlds away from where anyone else was. He itched to turn this meeting into another one of those games, where the other person doesn’t know they are playing, but Asariel seemed so trusting of him.
It had never bothered him before, that he lied and others believed it, but he didn’t want to lie to her. The husky brute couldn’t explain it. “My story? I don’t have one. I’m just here. It was just a nice pack I thought, and I stay out of the way of the other pack members and that’s just it.” Or most of it. He didn’t tell her what he did for fun, but she hadn’t ask, so he wasn’t lying. “I’m Lysander, by the way.” It was nice to have a name to call others by.
Rising he went over and pulled more rabbit meat from the flames. The quail was too small for Asariel, he decided without asking her. Coming back and handing the meat to her, he smiled. There wouldn’t be much smoked meat left for him to store, but he didn’t mind. Normally it was all about himself, but today he didn’t mind sharing. “So, you know the other pack members well or no? I certainly don’t. DaVinci and Jefferson are about the only names I can recall.” And Winnie, but she was gone gone gone and Lysander decided he didn’t miss her one bit.
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OOC: Gah, I need to get posting. Asariel's rank is suffering >.<
Asariel smiled sweetly as Lysander. Hm, she liked his name. It was different than the others she had heard in her lifetime. She listened to him talk while she nibbled away on her meat, nodding slowly as she thought to herself. When she thought about it, he wasn't much different from herself. She tried to stay out of the way of everyone else, though she had met a few of her packmates - DaVinci, Addison, Honoré, and now Lysander.
She looked at him in mild surprise as he handed the other bit of meat to her and she took it almost hesitantly. It was rude to just take others food, even if it was being offered. She took a bite out of it and chewed as he spoke again. Truthfully, she didn't really know the other packmembers very well. She knew that Honoré could be a major pain in the ass, and that DaVinci was kind of the same in his own way, but other than that....
"No...I don't really know too many here. I've had a run in with DaVinci, Addison, and Honoré, but, to say that I know them well would be a lie. I'm friendly, in many ways," she couldn't help but throw that in, just to be a smartass, "but I'm not really the most social. Does that make sense?" She frowned suddenly as she began thinking. Maybe being friendly was just a sort of mask - maybe she wasn't very nice at all. Perhaps she was the super phsyco-bitch from your worst nightmare.
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Friendly but not social? Lysander was social, just with everyone who wasn’t in his own pack. He could also be friendly when the mood struck him, like now. He also knew no boundaries. Steel eyes stared at the girl across, as he chewed slowly and methodically on the meat of the rabbit. The grey and white husky was amused by the girl, but he wasn’t sure just why. Everyone was interesting, there was merit in talking with anyone so long as you knew which questions to ask. And Lysander, when he wasn’t telling stories, loved asking questions.
“What keeps ya here then? I mean, if you aren’t really close to anyone in the pack?” Perhaps it was none of his business, and anyone could ask him the same thing. No one in the pack meant anything to him, Winnie hadn’t really either. She had been fun, a warm body, but would he have laid down his life for her? Not a chance. If Phoenix Valley fell to war or famine or any other disaster in the next hour, Lysander thought that if it didn’t serve him to serve them, he would just abandon ship. Maybe go back from where he came from. Everyone came from somewhere. “Where’d you come from anyhoo?”
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Asariel stopped chewing and staring at the male for a minute. She was caught off guard by his question. She frowned thoughtfully then. Why was she here? It was a free world, and nobody could make her stay in the pack if she chose to get up and run away. Asariel had to admit that she had thought about leaving the pack once or twice, and she reasoned that if any hardship struck she most likely would abandon ship as well. She frowned at Lysander for a moment before answering him. "Well...I don't know why I still stay, actually. Maybe the thrill of meeting one such as yourself," she said with a charming smile, her eyes warm and inviting.
Who did she thinks she was, attempting to flirt with Lysander? She wasn't some amazing temptress or even really good at flirting. Mostly because she'd had no one to practice on. Oh well, he was just probably one of those jackasses who had the whole wham bam thank you ma'am thing goin' on. She sighed softly -- good men had always been hard to come by. Asariel had vowed to herself that in the event she found someone, she wouldn't try to change him for the better. She would take him as is.
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The questions stumped her, and unlike Lysander she didn’t even make up an excuse. She admitted she didn’t know and Lysander liked that. Honesty. Even if her statement was followed up with an attempt to flirt, she had been honest first. So many females just weren’t honest. So many female were just as bad as himself, if not worse. “Such as myself? What about myself. You don’t even know me.” It was the truth, and if this girl did know him at all she probably wouldn’t give him the time of day. Most females didn’t after they learned his true nature, unless their own faults and shortcomings aligned with his.
She hadn’t answered his question, where did she come from before now. Perhaps it had been too bold of him to ask, but he didn’t ask again. Instead he smiled at her, his eyes twinkling they way they did whenever he thought of something fun to do. “Let’s play a game though, you can get to know me. You ask me a question, anything, about myself and I’ll answer for ya. Then I get to ask you something.” He smirked, sometimes his questions were out of line, but if she agreed to it they both could learn something new. “You want to play?”
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OOC: I'm upset about leaving now that I know what you had in mind for Ly >< although if you really wanted to do it I might have more muse for PV and I could tell Svara that I changed my mind. But I think that might be only if you want Ly to be actually seriously about her instead of just a little fling. Up to you now.
Asariel eyed Lysander for a moment, before she reasoned that no, he couldn't hurt her. He wouldn't, would he? She sat back and crossed her arms, smiling. Yes, she would play his game. She smiled innocently at Lysander and opened her mouth to speak. "Very well, Mr. Lysander. I'll play your game. You go first." She said calmly, still smiling. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of questions he would have in mind.
Something wanted to move closer to him; a part of her almost wanted to press herself against him. She frowned as she caught herself. Did she really want to get close to this man? He was right, she didn't know anything about him. However, nonetheless...She stood up and walked over to him, lowering herself beside him. She offered him another smile and waited for him to make the first move.
Unless he insisted.
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Curiously he watched as she changed her seating. He knew what it meant, females (in his naive opinion) were easy to read. When they were receptive to his charms and wiles he knew it, and Asariel was indeed. He could say and do the scummy things he did with other girls, love 'em and leave 'em. He knew he could, it might take some work, but in the end he would win the game. He almost always won. Yet he didn't want to. The husky brute knew that often times it hurt for the other, the girl, sometimes they didn't care, but often times it hurt. Normally he never gave their feelings a second thought. Yet today, for whatever reason, he didn't want to hurt her. Maybe it wasn't the day, maybe it was her. Lysander didn't know, instead he only offered her a warm smile as she seated herself beside him.
“Okay then, let's play.” He acted as if he was thinking, but really this game never took much thought on his part. Questions came easy, for her was a curious creature and never afraid to push the limits of social rules and restrictions. Being polite, he could do it, but he found that it was not really worth the effort. "What was your mothers like?" Maybe she had expected a different question, maybe not, but he watched her, and waited, sincerely, for an answer. Any answer, there was never any wrong answer in this game.
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Asariel looked at the man, staring up at him with a slightly amused expression. Indeed, it wasn't the question she had been expecting, but she would answer it nonetheless. Chances are she would end up asking him the same questions. Asariel lacked creativity sometimes and now was one of those times. She took a moment to think, trying to sum her mother up. "Well," the young woman started, "My mother was always understanding. Though what I had for her to understand I don't know," she laughed, then continued. "She wasn't always there for my siblings and myself...I don't know what she was doing. She looked a lot like me." Asariel frowned. "I didn't really know my mother too well. She was always very quiet and never told us anything except that she loved us, no matter what."
She looked at Lysander, briefly wondering what she should ask him. He seemed like a complex being, though maybe he wasn't. Maybe that was just a mask."Alright, then. A simple question; do you have any siblings?" Again, she wasn't the most creative, but she could be if she put her mind to it. She would bide her time and wait to see what kind of questions Lysander would ask her, then she would center her questions around things that were semi-related to those.
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Lysander watched her curiously as she spoke, he wouldn’t say it out loud but his father had once told him that women either grew up to be like their mother or the complete opposite. The male knew it wasn’t completely true, but he had seen it happen more than once. Knowing how one was raised was also a good indicator of how one would be when they were grown, of course, Asariel was already grown. He only needed to get to know her better if he wanted, but Lysander liked to figure others out before they had a chance to figure him out. It was all part of winning the endless game of life, he always had to be one step ahead.
Her question was an easy one, and perhaps he would give her more information than she bargained for. "I have three brothers, Lyle, Leroy and Leland. They were the first litter my mother had and the last one she will be able to have, she had a hard time giving birth to us." Lysander had never really thought too hard on it before, but the three siblings he had were the only ones he’d ever have, but even that knowledge did not spur him to better his relationship with them. “Leroy lives around here now, Leland did but went home.” He paused, his eyes locking with Asariel’s. “I’m not very close to any of them.” What he really meant was that he was not very nice to any of them, but he somehow, despite wanting to be honest with her, he did not want to make himself look bad in her eyes.
Coming up with another question was not hard, but finding one that was not too boring or too personal was a little tougher. Still, Lysander had an agenda and his questions mirrored that. “Do you have any children… do you want children?” It was an important question.
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The young woman ran her claws through her dark, wavy mane, nodding slowly as she listened to his explanation about his siblings. She ran their names through her mind. Leroy, Lyle, and Leland. The L boys, she thought to herself. Then out of curiosity, she tried all their names together. Leroy, Lyle, Leland, and Lysander. Very nice, very nice indeed. She wondered what their family was like. Then she wondered what he was like. He seemed nice enough now, but what would he be like in the future? She looked up at him with teal eyes, trying to figure him out without actually asking him any questions. A hard task, indeed.
Asariel started and stared up at him when he mentioned children. "Ch-children? No, I have none. I want them, though, some day in the future." She smiled, then mulled over another question to ask. There were so many, but so few. "Where did you and your brothers come from? Or were all born here?"
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The girl seemed surprised at his question and almost at a loss. Her answer was brief and to the point, where as he could have gone on and on about the children he wanted. The children he had had, though admittedly they were not his own. Still she wanted them, that was good. Lysander thought that everyone should have them, though he knew most didn’t make very good parents. He didn’t even make a very good parent, not really, but he wasn’t bad. Oliver and Jake had been safe in his care, until Jake had run away and gotten lost. Both had been well fed and happy. Someday, he could do it again.
Lysander rubbed his chin theatrically, mulling over memories of back home. For a while he just looked at her, squinted towards her and smiled, all part of building up the suspense of his answer. “Well, it’s a ways away from here, west. Far west.” Leland probably hadn’t even gotten back home yet, and he had left Aniwaya a month or more ago. Lysander smiled at the thought of his brother trekking back west. “There were hundreds in our clan, many of them dogs, mostly artic breeds like myself but some not. Wolves too. Lots of us.” He shrugged, that was home, and he didn’t really know much else to say on it. Life there wasn’t like life here, but here was a very strange place indeed. “How much longer you gonna sit there and talk with a fool like me?” He grinned, he hadn’t expected his company to last this long.
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Asariel listened to him. West, huh? She nodded. She liked the west -- then again she was from south west from Nova Scotia, which is where they were now. "The west, hm? I'm from the west as well. Well, it's more South West from where we are now." She said, looking up at Lysander with inquiring green eyes. Hundreds, hm? She found that hard to believe, only because she had never seen such a number in her life. She had no doubt Ly's clan had been that large, though. "My clan wasn't all that large. Very small actually compared to what yours was. We only had about twenty five in our ranks and it was dwindling. Some kind of disease was wiping them out. I escaped before I got sick." She explained, then she suddenly wondered why she was volunteering this information to him. He was still a stranger to her, even though she'd been talking to him over the course of almost two hours.
"How much longer are you gonna sit there and talk with a fool like me?" He said with a grin, catching her completely off guard. She stared up at him, momentarily wondering if he wanted to be rid of her company. Well, if he wanted to be rid of it, he should have told her to leave! But, as she watched him, her small bout of anger disappeared. "However long you wish to talk to a fool like me." She said, smirking and crossing her arms over her chest. She briefly wondered what he thought of her -- did he like her, or was she just a thorn in his side? She reasoned that he must like her, if not just a little bit, or else he would not still be here talking to her. Stupid misreadings.
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