[html] Character Name: Glider Sa'riel
Character Birthdate: 01 OCT 07
Luperci?: Yes
Your e-mail: fusedeidolon@gmail.com
AiM: fused eidolon
How did you learn/hear about 'Souls?: The first time I heard about it was ages ago, and honestly, I don't remember. 
"Ve-ve-vewy cowd." Glider murmured to himself in an anxious whining sort of puppy voice.
His tummy had been grumbling for what felt like centuries, but was really more like a day or so. He had wandered for around one and a half so far, sleeping intermittently when he managed to find an unoccupied den. Very simply because of his age, it was about as much as he could take. It was mildly surprising that he had not been snatched up by a hawk or something as an easy breakfast. Luckily, being young, naive, and innocent, Glider had no idea just how very threatened his life was. So he didn't stand around shivering from fear.
In fact, he had started out in high spirits, but now, with his second day getting to its halfway point, he was losing his sense of adventure. Tiredness, hunger, and the general tediousness of walking meant that he was about ready to just fal down and sleep in the snow. The young boy huffed out a gentle breath of a sigh, dark ears twitching. His nose caught something and he paused. It was a weird bunch of smells, all over the place, of wolves. Why, though? His family had been a gathering of loners who travelled together: pack places were foreign to him, because they were mostly just avoided by his gypsylike parents.
But Glide knew it meant adults, so he stretched his neck out and let out a series of puppy yips. Which really was more of a summons for a hungry predator, but so far he had been lucky, and the gods were with him. Hopefully for him it would stay that way.[/html]
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">Welcome to Souls! You picked the right pack. Phoenix collects orphans like some people collect comic books.
Phoenix had been four and a half months when he had finally decided his parents weren't coming back. Of course, he didn't believe they had willingly abandoned him--times were hard because of the drought, and they had seven mouths to feed. They had always given him and his litter mates all the love and affection they could, never showing signs of being the kinds of wolves who would so callously leave their children to die. But, in the end, Phoenix had ended up alone and scared, forced to fend for himself. He had probably used up a lifetime worth's allotment of miracles throughout his five months living the solitary life, yet here he stood, against all odds.
Here he stood, indeed. He was now the father of children of his own and the alpha of the oldest pack in the Bleeding Souls valley. Both were major responsibilities that he took with the utmost seriousness. He would not fail them, as his parents had failed him. So he remained vigilant at the borders, looking out for intruders and hoping against hope that his lost daughter would return to them someday. He almost missed the puppy's yips, but fortunately a breeze carried the call a bit farther and right into a waiting ear. For a second Phoenix thought it was his imagination, but that was enough for the hopeful father to lower his bow and retrieve his arrow before rushing off towards the source of the sound.
Phoenix ran as fast as he could on two legs, hoping to find his Firefly at the border and fully prepared to use his new weapon on the bastard who had kidnapped her, if he was still around. Instead he came across another small puppy, much too dark to be his daughter. Still, the sight tugged at the male's heart. It was an all-too-familiar sight, and he hoped that if Firefly was still alove out there she was at least being taken care of by her captor, rather than having been left to die or... no, he didn't want to even consider that. "Hey there, kid," he said as he sat down beside the young child. He hoped that he wasn't too frightening a site, an eight-and-a-half-feet dark brown male with scars and markings over his body and a human weapon in one hand. Even his voice was scratchy and harsh, though he tried to soften it to a comforting tone. "Where're your parents?" Do y'know?" | [/html]
[html] Aww, thanks. And of course I had to pick Storm, it's awesome like that. 
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Glider nearly had a complete heart attack when the big werewolf seemed to appear out of thin air before him. Of course, Phoenix had in no way, shape, or form really just appeared, but honestly, the young boy had been so caught up in his own racket to pay attention to anything else. Ears that were still a bit stubby fluttered backward and he scooted back a few paces on his rump. Mostly because he wasn't used to those in werewolf form. His father had been, a few times that he could recall, but really, they were dim memories, and due to the fact that he was rarely involved in interesting things, little Glider had not been knowledgable of things like the mysteries of the Luperci.
He whined, softly, before throwing himself onto his back, tail tucked to tummy, ears plastered to his head, and tummy showing in a universal puppy sign of submission. It was a "I'm young, don't hurt me" sort of stance. And one that, had he known better, he might not have taken. Some would gladly take that warm, soft tummy and tear it to shreads around these parts. Especially since he probably would take no care to the difference between wolf and coyote, that could have gotten him into a lot of trouble. As it was, he seemed in no harmful position, but remained on his back because it was what his father would say was the right thing to do. "Submit, shut up, stay there." That was all too frequent a set of commands.
Glider's ears did prick forward, tentatively, as the big male spoke. Although it wasn't really necessary, as the voice seemed extremely loud to him even without his ears forward. Wiggling a bit, he shrugged dark shoulders, face a picture of confusion. "I d'o. Dey says, mownin', we goes. Wakied up, dey gones." The boy replied, thinking. "Me wook fow two da's nows, kin'na fin' dem." Glider explained further, hoping his volunteered information would not lead to him getting into trouble from the Very Big Werewolf.[/html]
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">No matter how many times he saw the sight Phoenix was unused to having wolves submit before him. Despite the fact that he was in a position that many held in reverence he didn’t consider himself better than anyone. Well, okay, he knew he was a better person than a murderer or a rapist, but that went without saying. He would have been just fine spending the rest of his life in the Jager Fuhrer position and leaving the leadership duties to someone else. Unfortunately there hadn’t been anybody else when Gibraltar had needed a right hand wolf, and then eventually a successor. If there had been anybody else to do it, Phoenix would have gladly handed the reigns to them so he devote his entire life to raising his children. A simple life was all he’d wanted.
Sensing he was making the boy uncomfortable, Phoenix lowered himself closer to the ground and attempted to appear less intimidating, even wagging his tail encouragingly. The boy’s story seemed unusual, but sadly not improbable. Phoenix wondered what possible reasons could cause a parent to abandon a child, especially one as healthy-looking as this boy. “Have y’smelled ‘em anywhere nearby?” Phoenix asked. If they were still nearby Phoenix would gladly have taken some time out of his day to return a lost child to his parents, although if they had abandoned him willingly then that was probably not the best idea. He had taken in unwanted children before, and theer just happened to be an empty spot in his den. “Are y’hungry? I caught a rabbit a little while ago an’ was savin’ it for later. It should still be warm if y’want some.” | [/html]
[html] He noticed that the older male crouched, as if inclined to soothe him. This was a baffling thing to Glider, who was panicked when he realized that the older male's face was nowhere nearby anymore from the angle he was at. Squirming over onto his stomach, the young boy peered up at the huge werewolf with bright silver-blue eyes. Mom and Dad had said he wasn't good enough, some time ago, and with the vision of this huge adult, he was sure they were right. Glider would never ever be that big! He was just a runt, runt, runt, like they had always said.
His memories of being told he would not make it through the winter faded into the background, though, as the adult spoke. Inquiring if he had smelled his parents. Well of course he had ... "Bac' dew, den dey go fwoo a wivaw, an' no kin smell dem wound hewe." So far, he had no smells at all that were familiar nearby, and all he could smell was a lot of other wolves. Like this big wolf. At the mention of food, though, his ears perked and he thumped his tail, eagerly peering up at Phoenix with tongue lolling happily, all of his fears and frustrations forgotten temporarily in the universal love of puppies for food. "Wabbit!" Was his simple reply, though the sudden storm of tail wagging and the bright, adoring look that had come into his eyes probably told his answer.[/html]
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">Hey, who else have you played on Souls?
Phoenix had been blessed with a litter of four strong, healthy pups (even if one of them was gone now). And even if any of them hadn’t been born in the best of health, Phoenix would have loved them anyway. Still, he knew the stress and torment that a runt could cause from watching his old friend Drako’s litter. They were a lot of work and didn’t always pull through, but their lives weren’t valued any less then their healthy siblings’. That was just how things worked here in Storm. Everyone was given a chance to make something of themselves, no matter their origins. Otherwise, Phoenix himself would never have become alpha.
If this boy had been his son, Phoenix would have treated him no differently from the other pups. He loved children, and seeing the brightening expression on his muzzle Phoenix almost forgot the sad circumstances that had brought their paths together. “It ain’t far from here,” Phoenix said, getting back up. He thought of shifting back but then he would have no way of carrying his bow, so he opted to remain in optime state despite the considerable size difference between the two. With a wave of his arm, Phoenix motioned for his new guest to follow. “Do you have a name?” he asked as they walked. The massive male knew to keep his pace slow so the youngster could keep up. He had always liked dealing with children, even before becoming a father. There was a simplicity to their worlds that Phoenix found charming. “I’m Phoenix, th’Alpha of this pack. We’re called Storm.” | [/html]
[html] Let's see ... At one point in time, Nikael, but that's SERIOUSLY old. Adan (Mordulin's son), Cross Valiant, Ketori, Claret Eclissi, Vladimir Russo, Conway de le Poer ... and a few others that I forget, probably. :3
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As the older male got ready to walk and gestured at him to follow, the puppy scrambled to his feet. He fell over on his first attempt due to his haste, but quickly picked himself up, tail wagging excitedly so that it nearly knocked him over again with its enthusiasm. This was new to him, an adult that wanted to feed him particularly. Especially considering before, he was always ignored, eating away at the scraps once they had finished. There was only one time he remembered that this hadn't happened, when Tailspin had actually tossed him a piece of meat. Sometimes, Tail had been good like that, but usually it was just ignoring. Not really active torture, just silence, which was somehow worse.
Which was why he warmed so fully to the niceness that Phoenix offered. He was already prepared to do anything that the big adult asked him to do, because he felt safe here. With this ... alpha? "I's Gwidew! Grr, Guh-lie-der." He had to sound it out, since he knew he didn't have it down yet. "Wass'a awfa? An'a ... pawk?" The boy asked, wrinkling his nose. In his group, there were no such things. There was Mama, Papa, Brother, Sister, Aunt, Uncle, and one Cousin. But that was it. No alpha, no pack. So the word had him quite perplexed.[/html]
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">Whoa… that’s quite the list there. I’m familiar with Vlad and Cross.
“Glider?” he finally made it out, smiling all the while. The adult remembered how his own name had given him trouble at first. It was odd how quickly he was becoming attached to the boy, especially after the disappointment of finding him instead of his daughter. It was an odd bit of irony, he had gone to look for his daughter who looked nothing like him (except for the eyes) and instead he’d found another boy who he had no relation to yet could probably pass as his son. And just as a father might, just as he’d done with his own children, he began to answer the boy’s line of questions. “A pack is a big group a’wolves who live t’gether an’ help each other,” he said. “They don’t hafta be related, like a big family, but we treat each other like a family. Th’leader is called the alpha.”
Finally they arrived to where he had hidden the catch. Phoenix stuck his arm down a hollowed knot in a dead tree and pulled out the meat. The outside was already cold but the insides hopefully still retained some of the dead creature’s body heat. At least it hadn’t stiffened up already. Biting down into it to get past the fur and undesirable parts, Phoenix relished the taste of blood that dribbled into his moth before setting it down so the poor hungry boy could have first pickings. “Eat up… then we’ll talk ‘bout what t’do with you next.” He had a good idea just what he could do with Glider, but he wouldn’t force anything on the young lad. | [/html]
[html] Heh, yeah. They were two of the more recent ones. Adan and Nikael are way old school, a few years. Ketori was around back when Chimera first got founded ... Conway is one of Kaena's many children ... good times. I have had to leave a few times because of parents' banning it when I was younger and then school overload, but you probably know how it is with Souls. Once a Soulser, always a Soulser.
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At his name posed as a question, Glider nodded, gazing expectantly at the adult. Because he didn't realize, really, at first, that the adult was merely confirming his name. As he was given no orders, though, he figured that it must have been something other than command that had led to Phoenix's query. He was about to ask what the adult had meant when the older wolf started to explain what packs and alphas were. So they were like a family, but not a family. And he was the leader. "Wike a'daddy?" Glider asked, ears flattening. "Daddy sed he'z leadew, obey ow be weft b'h'nd. Bu' I away'z dud, away'z obey'd. So's why dey go wiffout me's?" His heart hurt. What had he done to be left like that?
Glider's hurt and sorrowful thoughts were dissuaded by the presence of food, though, and his little nostrils flared, head moving up, ears perking at the concept of meat and blood. Although he had rarely gotten as much food as this - wow, it was a lot, at least for him - he still knew the smell oh so well. And when Phoenix put it before him, almost a complete rabbit, he almost had a heart attack. "W-wow, fanks!" He woofed, before lowering his head to chow down. Figuring this was a temporary nicety that would soon turn out to be a cruel trick. It had to be, right? No one ever told him he could eat this much. Although, of course, he nowhere near finished it before his tummy got completely full and he plopped back contentedly on his hindquarters, staring adoringly up at Phoenix. Not saying anything, because he had already said thank you.[/html]
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">Hah. Phoenix has been my only character in the two years or so since I started out here.
The adult had no answer for the boy. If Glider hadn’t realized it already, soon he would have to learn that grown-ups were not the omniscient beings that young ones believed them to be. Phoenix would provide the Bilder with whatever knowledge he had to offer, but since he had never met his father that was not an answer he could provide. He looked at the boy sadly as he watched him eat. Though outwardly he remained calm, sitting down and watching Glider gourge himself on what was probably his first meal in a long time, his head was an explosion of ideas. He knew he should talk to Iskata first but didn’t feel like he had time. Besides, he knew what she would say. If there was one other wolf that Phoenix knew inside and out it was his mate.
“You’re welcome,” Phoenix said, being mindful about his manners to set a good example. “T’answer you’re question, yeah, I’m kinda like a daddy. But I’m also a real daddy, too—I have pups of my own, same age as you.” Acting on fatherly instinct Phoenix bent down to clean the boy’s bloody muzzle a bit. Satisfied he drew back to look him over once again. “Y’know, b’fore I came here t’Storm I lost my family too. This is a good place t’make a fresh start, an’ make your own family. That’s what I did. If you want, you can stay here. You can even join my family if you wanna. I jus’ lost a daughter. My other children miss her a lot, but I think havin’ a new brother might make ‘em a little less sad ‘bout it. If you wanna, that is.” It was all that Phoenix could do, really. He had no way of finding the boy’s old family and at this point he wasn’t sure if this was the best idea. Here in Storm, Glider would be welcome, perhaps even happy. Of course, it was completely up to him. | [/html]
Good streak! 
[html] Oh there it was! Glider had been anticipating some sort of something that made this food a trick, and Phoenix was lowering his head. The boy cringed, anticipating a nip, a scolding, something, but he got ... a lick? The boy peered up at the adult with baffled puzzlement. Why would that happen? He had done nothing right. The only times he got licks were when the group got fed really, really well, or when he was particularly dirty and it actually bothered Mother. Otherwise he just went about mostly untouched, except to scold, nip, or otherwise drive away an annoying runt from underneath their feet. So it was that he wasn't sure how to react.
As Phoenix started to speak and explain more about the family, and then mentioned that Glider could join his family, be a brother to some puppies, the boy thumped his tail against the ground. Oh wow! This was all too much to take in at once! He stood up, and impulsively mimicked the nurturing gesture of the alpha before him by giving Phoenix a loving puppy lick to the underside of his chin. "Reawy?! I'd wuv two!" The boy exclaimed, hopping up and down. Then, abruptly, he drooped, peering at the ground. "An' ... an' you's nawt weave me? I no wanna be weft 'gain." The idea of gaining a new family with this Phoenix, but then being abandoned again was - to say the least - horrifying. Once had been far more than enough for him.[/html]
[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j40/k ... efinal.png);background-repeat: no-repeat; padding-bottom:140px; background-position: bottom center;">What was a good streak was this thread. I don't see any reason to hold you up any further. I've already asked the SA to title you up, so consider yourself officially a member of Storm. Let's say after this Phoenix took him home to meet his pups, eh?
Perhaps Phoenix had gone a bit to far with trying to clean the boy before talking to him a bit. Phoenix was acting more out of habit than anything, and besides, this child really got to him. His own children were lucky, they had two parents that loved them, even if three of their siblings were now gone. This pup had nobody and nothing, just as Phoenix had once. "I'm here t'stay, Gilder," Phoenix promised. While he couldn't promise the boy that he would be around his entire life he would never willingly abandon him. "You can even call me 'papa' if y'want... that's another word for daddy. Welcome t'Storm an' th'family." Phoenix once again stood up, towering over the boy. "C'mon. Let's go meet th'rest of your new family." | [/html]
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