there's nothing stranger than a stranger.

[Jael Soul]

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        Against the sandy colored grasses and low brush Jael's flawless, snowy coat stuck out violently. However, at present everything was colored in faded shades of monochrome shadow as the sun had not yet fully risen. The sky was a dark blue, flawless save the pink and orange clouds tinted by the yet hidden sun. The west was a deep navy shade, while the east was colored the pale, bright shade near what would be seen in the afternoon, with gradient colors between. Birds had begun their song hours ago, crickets still chirping in the long grass even through the dawn. Slinking through the brush, Jael snapped playfully at an insect that flew inches from his muzzle. Still a puppy, not yet grown into an adult wolf, he had his moments where age showed through the protective mask that life had begun to develop over his interior.
        Tail swishing behind his back like a cat, he lowered his body to the ground and eyed the cricket in a predatory manner. Leaping, he snatched it up in his jaws, immediately regretting his actions as bitter innards exploded into his mouth. Spitting, he wrinkled his muzzle, reminding himself to to never eat a cricket again. Boredom overtook, followed by laziness, and Jael found himself curled up beside a rock, nearly hidden in the grass save the brilliant coloring of his coat. Eyes closing against the sunrise, he yawned and buried his muzzle in his tail, planning to nap for a few hours before finding something else to occupy his time.

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[Kaena Lykoi]

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http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/rp/kae/ ... tblood.jpg); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; background-position:fixed; padding-top:248px; padding-left:25px; padding-right:25px; padding-bottom:10px;"> mall-caps;">Out of Character     I can't reply till much later at night. D: In a half hour I have to go to work for like, ten freaking hours. I hate holidays so hard.. mall-caps;">In Character    The Lykoi matron had been here just under two weeks now, and she was quickly growing acclimated to the way things worked now. They were not so different, and the Lykoi began to slip back into the familiar role of the subordinate, the foot soldier of the clan. It was more comfortable than leadership for Kaena, for sure—certainly, she had not minded leading Inferni. It had not been an unbearable, unnecessary burden; however, the Lykoi was not built for leadership, and diplomacy was often the last thing on her mind. And it wasn't as if a Lykoi didn't rule Inferni now anyway.    The sun was beginning to rise, signaling the beginning of day. Streaks of lighter color appeared to the east, devouring the bruise blue-blacks and purples of night. Though Kae still had yet to pick a permanent spot for herself, she had been sleeping on the coast, tucked beside a fallen log. It hadn't rained yet, though, and today clouds teetered over the horizon, creeping along through the sky and threatening storms for later, but Kaena thought that wouldn't be until the afternoon, at least. The sun was hot already, and the day promised to be even hotter until those clouds washed the land.    Something bright caught her eye, and the Lykoi turned her head inquisitively, her vision drawn to that snowy spot. The canine ambled closer, her footsteps audible as they brushed past the grass. The ashen hybrid could smell his coat, and though he had the white fur of a wolf, the youth smelled distinctly of Inferni, announcing him as one of her clan mates. She had yet to see his face and his eyes, as they were tucked beneath the tip of his tail. He appeared to be sleeping, and the coyote thought it best not to wake him, altering her course to pass by him instead. No need to bother anyone in their sleep.

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[Jael Soul]

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        that suuucks. i hate my job thought too, so it's alright. i call shareholders all day and demand their proxy votes. and i could care less about mutual funds and corporations and all that bullshit. xD;

i'm bleeding but i'm alive i'm breathing but I could die
i can't explain why I'm made this way, tell me you see we are all the same
        His dreams were blurred phantasms mingling esctasy and agony—eyelids twitching under the frenzied movements typical of REM-stage sleep. He dreamed of his mother; of blood and darkness and the happiness he wished was real, only to awaken and realize would not come to pass. The soft sound of footfall interrupted his thoughts, bringing his consciousness closer to reality and further from fantasy. The instinctual light sleep of a predatory and prey animal, ready to fight and die at a moment's notice. The faintest sound lifted him to alertness and Jael's eyelids flicked open—pupils retracting painfully from the light that illuminated the morning. He blinked, looking right into the single golden eye of a scarred stranger. Head rising quickly, faintly bristling as he further looked on the monochrome-hued creature.
        The extent of her scars was massive, even across the hollow socket of an eye long missing. Obviously this woman had seen her share of bloodshed, that much was apparent. But by now, his heart had slowed to a normal pace and the surprise had worn off, leaving him to fall back into usual apathy. "Good morning," he said brightly, the rest of his manner suggesting he thought otherwise. Not from the stranger, but by things in general that haunted his thoughts—such as the blatant hatred and disregard of his blood-siblings and his obviously mismatched existence here within Inferni. He wondered vaguely if this creature could possibly be his father's mother, from the vague description provided by his sire that did match this woman. A scarred hybrid with one eye and ashen pelt. Anything was possible.

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[Kaena Lykoi]

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mall-caps;">Out of Character     Not wanting to go to work actually was okay, because I ended up having a really good day and making a shitton of money! Ugh. I can't imagine giving a rat's ass about any of that stuff, either. D: The phrase "mutual funds" just makes my brain glaze over. XD Also, this post sucks because I pulled twelve hours today and I am le tired. D: mall-caps;">In Character    She hadn't been very quiet in her approach, and as the pallid canine sprang to his feet Kaena winced, disliking being awoken herself. The Lykoi almost bristled herself, fully expecting a quarrel over waking up the hybrid, but none came. Instead, he greeted her rather happily, wishing her good morning. The Lykoi had stopped moving, and now that the stranger was up and she had a look at him, she saw he was in fact a hybrid—she had thought he was a wolf at first. There was virtually no coyote in his face—he had the long, blunt muzzle and the smaller ears, a broader forehead and an altogether bulkier look to his face, but he was small yet, and Kaena could see hints of his mixed blood in his relatively slender body and smaller stature. Still, to one not accustomed to hybrids, he was entirely passable as a purebred canis lupus.    "Sorry," she mumbled, still half-expecting the canine to explode into a flurry of curses and shaking fists. Instead, he seemed entirely... indifferent. It was not a cold or callous detachment, more or less lethargic disinterest, as if he were not a part of the world spinning around him. His eyes caught her attention, and they were almost like hers—shades brighter and flecked with deep vermillion. There was a tickle of familiarity, and her head cocked slightly to the side, her eye narrowing as she studied him closer. "Kaena," she introduced herself, supposing she required no surname within packlands. If he knew her or he was another Lykoi temporarily lost to her (there seemed to be too many these days—the last few days, she'd met Enigma, Zana, and Halo. Her talk with Gabriel had been rather illuminating, and she knew she had many relatives running around here now.

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[Jael Soul]

[html]haha, it's fine. :] and omg, you have no idea. >__<; worst is campaigns, because it's like a political election between a dissident shareholder or what-have-you, and the corporation itself. and you have to call people and sway them to vote either way and actually -know- what you're talking about and have a real conversation with them. and i-don't-care. xD;; and lol i work literally right next to medieval times in the meadowlands corporate center, and yet i've never been in my life. haha. lame.[/html]

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        She seemed to be thrown off by reaction to being woken up so suddenly, even muttering an apology as though expecting him to be angry, rather than apathetic. But Jael wasn't--honestly, he could care less. He even threw on a smile for good measure, stretching and yawning to fully wake himself up to better regard this strange female. She introduced herself and interest was immediately piqued, now watching her with full interest. Fangs flashed faintly as the smile became a little more honest, pushing himself into a sitting position.
        "I've heard of you," he said, tilting his head as was a common habit of his while he took in her scarred, monochrome visage. "You're my grand-mother," the pale boy continued, suddenly realizing what he'd revealed and wondering if he'd made a mistake. His father was a traitor to his own blood and clan, and Kaena undoubtedly would not be impressed with such information once she realized who exactly his sire was. He swallowed hard, looking away for a moment before allowing his vision to again meet the she-wolf. Jael was ashamed of his parentage and it showed.

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[Kaena Lykoi]

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mall-caps;">Out of Character    Omfg I haven't been there in years, I loved it when I went in like... eighth grade. They had really, really good chicken. >_> mall-caps;">In Character     The coyote looked at the youth closely, studying his features. His eyes were striking—they were just slightly yellower than her own eyes, but when they caught the light they lit up like fire. He had a strange smile across his face, one that didn't touch those flaming eyes. When she dropped her name, the smile changed, growing deeper and broadening to take up his whole face. It seemed like the first real emotion the canine had shown since Kaena had woken him up. Everything else seemed almost false, forced—just mechanical actions he was forcing himself through. He'd heard of her—this didn't surprise her so much, she was, after all, one of those who'd set the foundation of this clan into the ground, rooting it firmly within the earth.     He confirmed that tickle, and it was Kaena's turn to smile, her off-white canines flashing clearly against her black lips and pink gums. They were still razor sharp and deadly, gleaming in the dawn's light. He seemed bothered, however, and the Lykoi's head tilted to the side, her brows furrowing. "One of Vitium's kids, eh?" she said, though there was no derision in her voice. The hybrid before her was family, damn his father's sins—and even for all the strife Vitium had caused, parts of Kaena still loved him and would always, no matter what he did. "I'm surprised he came back," she said softly, content to leave Vitium's past at that if the snowy canine so desired. His reaction had been enough, but perhaps he had heard fantastic tales of her brutality; such things would have intimidated her when she was a yearling, too. Despite all of her rage and love of bloodshed, family was it for Kaena—beyond that, little else mattered.

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[Jael Soul]

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haha, yea. every year a class went was always -not- the class i was in right on through high school. >| (370)
        Even without him stating it, she realized quickly enough who his father was. Vision sought her face as though trying to read her mind and see what she was thinking. Jael didn't want to be rejected by someone he'd only just met for the sins of his sire. He didn't get to choose who he was born to any more than he could choose what breed and species he would be or what he looked like. Life was just a random roulette and you were powerless over what you were given. Just as his siblings hated him for looking like a wolf, he could see strangers hating him for the deeds of another simply because he was directly related to them, created by them. But Kaena's voice lacked hatred and the boy breathed faint relief--even if he was still ashamed of what she now knew. Jael couldn't hold his head high when stating his parentage though he belonged to so extensive a family.
        "I'm sorry for what he's done, if it makes any difference," the pale creature stated softly. "He never came back though. I doubt he ever will. Even if he does, he'll have to answer to his own children, now that we know he's a traitor to his own family." He fell silent, almost wondering if he dared ask what rested on the tip of his tongue. Finally though, he allowed it to spill forth. The boy couldn't stand to live without knowing the answers to questions that haunted him, especially if the answer had possibility of being gained. "What happened?" He breathed, barely able to speak, wishing half to simply not talk about Vitium and forget about him entirely, and yet wanting to know so much more. Why did he go against his own family to defend a single wolf in the first place. Why did he preach against wolves, and yet was exiled from his own clan for siding with one, saving it from the death it had walked itself right into? He wanted to know everything there was to know, and always did. Gabriel had told him some of the story, but Jael wasn't yet satisfied.
        Wasn't it curiosity that killed the cat after all?

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[Kaena Lykoi]

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mall-caps;">Out of Character    Class trips suck anyway! I literally went on like, two high school class trips, otherwise I'd just stay home for the day. And I never went to high school dance, not even prom. Fuck prom. :| mall-caps;">In Character     Vitium had defied his blood, and he'd spoken out against the very thing that bound Kaena and her children and her children's children together. He was the first to do so, and Kaena's retribution had been swift. She remembered the first time he returned, his scarred, half-destroyed face and his strange lover, the one who'd proclaimed all the lands as borderless and belonging to no one. Strange looking dog, that one was. Kaena didn't know what the hell a hyena was, otherwise she might have recognized Serwa as one. He had seemed off, then, too—going just as quickly as he'd arrived, slipping off again.    The coyote listened to Jael speak. He needn't apologize. Vitium had already paid the price for his crime, a lifetime of separation from the clan that bred his family. Kaena had no say in his return anymore, and even if she did the answer would still be no. Gabriel held that power now; though Kaena could see him outside of the territory if she so desired, there was very little of her that even felt love for Vitium anymore. He was her child, and part of her would always love him, but he'd betrayed her and his clan, openly defying everything that made them Lykoi. "You're here," she started, pausing to think of the right words. They were difficult, but they were there. "Some part of Vitium must still be Lykoi if he told you of Inferni." The coyote's thoughts drifted during the silence, and she did not find it awkward, instead dreaming of Vitium. Would she even trust him to meet him somewhere alone? The thought struck her like a blow to the gut, and discomfort showed on her face briefly as Jael mustered his question.     The coyote's mind flashed back to the day, and she was standing again on Inferni's beach, the sun shining down. She remembered that foreign scent, one that did not belong, and she recognized it as a wolf of Aremys, the pack she had driven to the far side of the territories, reclaiming what had been Inferni's once upon a time and then some—the woods and the house that had once belonged to Syemv. The coyote hybrid crouched down and then settled onto her rear, sinking into the knee-high yellowed grass that made up the majority of Inferni's territory. She indicated Jael ought to do the same, and waited a moment before she began to speak.     "Once, a coyote named Kidorah ruled Inferni. She let a wolf pack settle directly south to us, even conceding a piece of our territory to them. When I became the leader of Inferni some months later, a wolf named Hollow Nothing came to me with revenge on his tongue; he would join his forces with mine and we would drive the Aremys pack out. We succeeded," she said, pride creeping into her voice. She remembered that puppy, and the horrified look on the big wolf's face. Fuck them—they brought it on themselves. Inferni might have gone soft briefly, but that was only a lull in the violence, the eye of the storm passing over Inferni. When Kaena returned, so did the terror.     "A few weeks later, one of the Aremys wolves returned to our borders and demanded answers—Gabriel, Hybrid, and I were poised to send him six feet deep, and Vitium exploded onto the scene, attacking us and defending the wolf. He spoke out against all of us and proclaimed attacking Aremys was not justified," the coyote said, her voice growing sad at her child's denial of his very blood. "The wolf escaped, and I exiled Vitium and marked him as such." Cold crept into her tone then, recalling the way she'd opened up his flesh with her claws, her son's blood across her very fingers. Every ounce of her said he'd deserved it then, and there was only the faintest edge of remorse now. Only now, only at finding his children alive and well in Inferni, well-aware of their coyote past and their grandmother.

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[Jael Soul]

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lol. i never went to a dance.. ever. high school or middle school. and i never went to prom either. i went to a concert in nyc that day instead. :] ..and this thread makes me miss zaets.. xD;; (492)
        In Jael's lifetime he'd never known Vitium to have returned to Inferni, and so assumed he never had. Why should a traitor wish to return to the place he was banished from, unless he longed that strongly for his family to the point of not caring if they killed him. When Kaena spoke, she too seemed to search for the right words to say to him. And yet her words almost did make him feel better about his father in some strange way. He would of laughed had he thought about it--it took a loving mother to present her own child in a good light, no matter what he'd done. It was only a truly loving mother that could overlook anything her child had done and still love them, even when logic told her he was wrong. Faintly, a dull ache entered his chest as he thought of his own mother, wondering if she was even still alive. Would she still love him, no matter what he'd done? He wished he knew.
        A pained look crossed Kaena's scarred features before he spoke again, biting his tongue once he'd asked, wondering if this entire topic was something he shouldn't bring up with her. But instead she lowered herself to the ground and motioned for him to do so as well, as though she was going actually talk to him. The pale hybrid moved into a more comfortable position, peering at the ashen woman through the sandy grasses that contrasted so greatly with his snowy coat. She began to speak, telling him how a former leader gave some of their land to a wolf pack. She became leader and along with a wolf joined their forces and together drove the wolves out of their former territory. After some time, one of the banished wolves returned, demanding to know why they had done it. But before they could kill him, Vitium stepped in and protected the wolf. The wolf got away and Vitium was exiled.
        Honestly, Jael didn't know what to think of this story. His father had turned against his own family for the sake of a single wolf, and yet he almost did seem justified. The boy didn't have any prejeduce against wolves, being one himself. But was their attack on the wolf pack honestly right? Obviously, it had been their land first, but it seemed Kidorah had given it to them--they hadn't stolen it or any such thing. The single wolf should have been killed for his own actions, had he trespassed full of anger and aggression, attacking the coyotes of Inferni in revenge. But was Vitium even just a little bit right, overlooking breed for deed and seeing something wrong in the attack on the pack? Jael wasn't sure how to feel now, and he spoke, voice remaining unsure, as though expecting to say something wrong. "Why did you attack.. Aremys?" he asked, the strange pack's name unsteady on his tongue.

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[Kaena Lykoi]

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mall-caps;">In Character     The coyote's thoughts were lost in Vitium. Why had he gone and done what he did? She had no answer for that; upon his second return, after leaving with that strange hyena lover, he came back empty-handed, imperceptibly different but not so much so that Kaena could have ever guessed what he did next. He had argued with Gabriel, speaking out against the Lykois and Kaena's war. Then he had betrayed them openly, attacking her and Gabriel. What had driven him to do such a thing? Kaena remembered Serwa well; she had spoken of a world without borders, where the earth belonged to itself. The Lykoi did not believe in such a thing and she thought that the strange canine was daft. There was no such thing. Inferni's land had belonged to her, just as it belonged to Gabriel now. She hadn't known Serwa was Vitium's lover until later, long after she'd chased the trespasser from their midst.     The youth's next inquiry dove even further back into history, nearly four years past since that fateful night the pirates had landed to the north of them. Kaena hadn't been in Inferni, then, but she had learned what happened upon her return two months later, finding their already narrow territory clipped of its southernmost portion. She looked at Jael for a moment, her golden eye searching his bleached face. It had seemed obvious to her—they had stolen Inferni territory. Sort of, anyway. They hadn't taken it by force, but they had settled on it without asking first, and Kidorah had allowed it afterward, having had some neutral agreement with the first leader of Syemv blossom into neighborly relations with Syemv's descendant.     "I wanted our territory back," she said, looking almost quizzically at the snow-colored hybrid. The answer seemed clear to her; it was true, during their time with Aremys the wolves of the pack had not been outwardly hostile, but Kaena had still held a considerable amount of bitterness over that lost little patch of land. "I wanted to send a message to the other packs that Inferni was no longer a weak little coyote clan, scratching out a living on a godforsaken beach," she continued, confidence growing in her voice at the last sentence. Her single raptor's eye regarded Jael, searching his face for a reaction.

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[Jael Soul]

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this post is shit. i apologize. :/ (323)
        In some way he almost did want Vitium to have been justified in his actions. He wanted his father, his own sire, his own flesh and blood to not have been banished from his pack and family for something worthless, but something legitimate. And so while he hated the bastard and everything he'd done, the boy seemed to be searching for some excuse to believe in the strange man. He didn't want to be the offspring of a traitor and a monster, but a man he could look up to and speak his name with pride. Every little boy wanted a father, and Jael was no different. Until he himself became a man he'd always seek a male mentor to look up to and mimic, learning how to behave and live his life. The old man he'd met long ago and taken his violin had taught Jael some things, but he had been old, and now lay dead somewhere far away. Jael wanted a real father and a real parent, and Vitium filled neither of those roles presently.
        "I guess," he replied, trailing off, still seeming somehow dissatisfied with the whole situation. Obviously, coyotes were the scapegoats of nature--the beings of lesser value and thus deserved to be mistreated and exterminated in the eyes of supposedly superior creatures. Politics meant war and to gain land one had to fight and kill over it, pushing the current residents off. Blood had to be spilled to truly mark a territory as one's own. Jael knew all of this. And yet, he still, still wished Vitium was an honorable creature. But he couldn't see the male rising to the defense of the murder of a few wolves when he had so vehemently spoken against them to his children, corrupting them and filling them with blind hatred. To this day the pale wolfling didn't get Vitium and his choice of action, and didn't believe he ever would.

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[Kaena Lykoi]

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mall-caps;">Out of Character     <3 No, mine does. D: mall-caps;">In Character     The coyote read his dissatisfaction, and filed it away in her brain for later use. Did that mean Jael agreed with Vitium? He had a strangely apathetic face; he did not seem to display many emotions clearly, but she had seen the disappointment flash there, and Jael did not seem to agree or disagree with her. Jael was not his father, clearly—but his origins were murky. Kaena did not know to what extent Vitium had tainted him, if at all. Surely, Gabriel would have detected sedition in any amount. Jael would have to be completely secretive if he were to plot anything against Inferni, and his uncertainty just a moment before had either been a slip or a sign that he was truly an Inferni hybrid. Though the hybrid was not an optimist, she believed the best of her kind.     The hybrid leaned in, her golden eye roving his coppery-yellow ones. "Vitium raised you?" she asked, knowing nothing of the history behind the pallid-furred youth before her. Gabriel had only said Viti had triplets, nothing of their origins, their mother, their story. There was nothing but calm curiosity in her scarred face, and she reached out after a moment to pluck a bit of a leaf from his hair, flicking it away absently. There was little of the dark-furred hybrid in Jael; he had the smaller stature and some blurry features, but none of Vitium's wildness, the strangeness in him that had existed for as long as Kaena had known him.

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[Jael Soul]

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(572)
        Jael despised Vitium, but he didn't want to. He knew his father's nature and actions went against his own beliefs, but he didn't desire to hate his own sire. But the roulette of nature had provided the boy with such a fate and there was nothing he could do to change that unless he gave up everything he believed in. He sighed softly, looking to the scarred hybrid before him. She had accepted him readily, unlike his own father and siblings, and Jael felt a softness there he'd rarely experienced before. Kindness swayed the boy far easier than violence or threats, and the boy knew that for the moment with her and her family was where his loyalty lie. Every living being desired to be accepted and loved whether they knew it or not, and Jael was no different. The wolf in him demanded loyalty to the end, even if that meant dying for what and who he believed in. He held a sort of attachment to his mother, but it was simply residue from his childhood, for she'd been kind to him as a baby, but he hadn't seen her since. For all he knew she could honestly be a wicked woman and he was a fool for believing in her.
        Only thing he could do now was seek the truth and make his own determination, rather than hanging on to the emotion relayed on him from a naive infant that held out it's arms to anything soft and warm, evil or not. She asked him a question and the boy nodded his head in response--she-yote plucking a leaf from his fur in the gentle manner a mother might. She seemed to simply be honestly curious about his origins, but the boy wasn't unaware of possible ulterior motives. "Kind of," he finally said, adding voice to his initial reply. "I was raised by my mother, but when I was only a few months old Vitium attacked her." He swallowed hard, eyes darkening visibly with emotion. He was unsure if he wanted to continue, telling her everything. Her son had already been banished from this place, but she deserved to know everything about her own child, even if it hurt. "He raped her. Then he stole me and my siblings away from her." Fangs had faintly bared as he spoke, anger rising within his chest like a fire growing amongst dry wood.
        "He tried to justify his actions saying she deserved it because she was a wolf. That simply because of how she was born it was okay that he did horrible things to her. He tried to raise us to be like that, and told us to come to Inferni because we had family here. Conveniently though, he left out the part that he was a traitor and had actually been exiled. Halo and Enigma, my siblings, always believed him more than I did. Truly, I only came here because I had nowhere else to go," he admitted, having never wanted to be alone. The flame died behind an awkward shyness, almost as though he was ashamed he had admitted all of this, and that that was the truth of his existence. But it quickly sparked back up for just a moment, speaking once again before fading into silence, each and every syllable filled with a vicious, violent venom that seeped into the very octaves of his voice. "I hate him."

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[Kaena Lykoi]

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mall-caps;">In Character     Whatever fear Kaena might have held about Jael's attachment to Vitium and his ways was resolved, and Kaena was too happy to swallow them. He spoke and Kaena got the filtered version of the story first. It was heavily edited and gave only the sparest details, a familiar tactic to the silver hybrid. It was the number version of the story, the one that didn't hurt quite so badly—Kaena could talk about the wolf she'd loved once, the one who had been killed by another lover—but still, she could hardly think of Zulifer without hurting. Jael continued, and Kaena listened raptly, wishing to know everything she could about Jael and his father.    The ashen hybrid's head jerked in response to the next sentence, and her eye flared with anger. Vitium had raped someone? Wolf or not, she had not raised her children that way, and a deep, immediate sense of regret filled the Lykoi. The hybrid's face contorted with emotion, disappointment and rage at her son. She had only inflicted such a fate on Salvaged because he'd done the same to so many others, and given the chance, he would've done the same to her. If he had gained the upper hand on the beach that night, she would have been raped and killed. It wouldn't have been wrong, either way—Salvaged and Kaena were long at war, and in the throes of battle all of the rules, regulations, and civility were suspended. They hadn't dueled at dawn; they had crept after each other in the night, slaughtering whatever and whoever hindered them.     He seemed to have finished, leaving her with an aching, endless sense of loneliness. He had his siblings, he had his clan... but there was something in him that seemed incredibly isolated, cut off from the whole rest of the world and buried deep within him. He spoke just once more, a clipped, short sentence vibrating with more frenetic emotion than she had seen from him before. The hybrid had nothing; she knew she had just hurt him just as clearly as if she had driven a knife into his heart, and she hurt for him. Vitium had betrayed her, yes—but he had lied about everything to his very child, portraying himself as a valued member of a clan that no longer tolerated his presence. Vitium must have known Inferni would have killed him if he had returned, otherwise he would have hand-delivered his children.     The hybrid moved closer to him, moving to wrap an arm around him. She wasn't sure how he would react to the touch, but damn it, she would hold him anyway. He was her grandchild, and he needed it; he deserved it. "Oh, Jael," she began, breathing his name like a sigh. This was much the same way Kaena would have felt about her own mother had her father not saved her—assuming Kae survived the woman's abuse. As it was, Delphine's death so early in Kaena's life hed left her with just a vague, painful memory of the woman and a loose grasp on her ancestry, the dogs that had spawned Delphine's mother and the vicious coyotes that had spawned Delphine's father. "Part of you will always belong to Vitium, just like part of me will always belong to him. He's family, closer to us than any outsider can ever be, no matter how far away we push him," she continued, pausing at length to consider her words. She sorely wished there were some magic phrase, some panacean mantra she might whisper into his ear to whisk the pain away.     "Nothing we can do to change it," she said, disappointment again creeping into her voice. Anymore, she wasn't certain how to feel about Vitium—surely, she still loved him; he was still her child. Yet there was that lurking emotion, that quiet, creeping feeling that filled her heart. It was fear; she was afraid of Viti. He was her child, her flesh and blood, sewn together in her very body from nothing, and she would see him again, someday, somewhere—she hoped when she did, she would be wary enough of him. She could not let her guard slip just because of who he once was. Her child was gone, Kaena realized, and she mourned him, that same endless ache replacing that slithering, foreign feeling of fright.     "There aren't many I'd wish rape on," the Lykoi stated, though her thoughts glared pointedly at Salvaged. She'd have to think hard to add to that list. She wasn't sure what to say next—any phrase she could think of made it perfectly clear that Jael was a product of a filthy, immoral act, and this was not something she wished to remind him of. "But maybe someday, you'll be able to square it with him," she finally suggested, though cautiously. The last thing she wanted was to see either of them die, but maybe Jael's idea of vengeance wasn't quite so extreme as sending his father six feet deep.

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[Jael Soul]

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(459)         Their birth hadn't been planned or even consummated between two creatures that loved and cared about each other. Colibri hadn't wanted them and hadn't chosen or made the decision that would create them on her own. They had been forced upon her and she'd had to bear the hybrid children of a man she would obviously of despised, forced into an act that had been tainted and made dirty by the way it was presented. Each time she'd of looked on her children she would of remembered, unable to forget their origins and having to relive a moment she'd probably have preferred to forget forever.         Kaena's reaction in some ways mirrored Jael's when he thought of what his "father" had done. She was angry, and perhaps tinged with sadness. But that was to be expected and Jael knew his words would bring hurt when he told her the truth of his origins. No mother wished her son to grow into a man she'd hate and despise for his actions. It had been her place to raise him, and in some ways she may even feel she'd failed, for good upbringing was supposed to mean a good soul. And Vitium in so many ways betrayed and hurt his mother and family with his selfish, foolish actions.         After he'd finished, Kaena surprised him some, moving closer and allowing an arm to embrace his form. Faint intrigue showed in his features, but it was quickly overshadowed as he moved into her grasp, nuzzling her chin with a dark, wet nose. He could imagine her as his own mother, not Vitium's, and he was almost envious. The she-yote spoke again and he lowered his eyes faintly, knowing her words rang with truth.         "I know," he said softly, voice fading back into a barely audible level. "I never chose him, but as long as I live only he can be my father. Others can pretend, but it's his blood that runs through my veins and always will, even if it cut my wrists and drained my blood," the boy continued darkly. His heart was naturally good, but the boy had lived an existence less then ordinary, and was accustomed to standards many his age had yet to experience in their short time on earth and had been predominantly sheltered from. Physically, he appeared younger than his nine-months dictated, but his soul was older.         "Maybe," he replied, vision finally completely lifting. "If the coward ever has the guts to come back here. I'm not wasting my time trailing him across the planet." Just to kill him, he added silently, knowing it would probably pain her to know what Jael would like to do if he ever encountered Vitium again in this lifetime. It wasn't pretty.

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[Kaena Lykoi]

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http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/rp/kae/kae_disorder.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;">     Kaena herself had known the pain and violation of rape when she was very young, by one so close to her as her half-brother. No, they hadn't been raised together, and yes—he was a good few months her senior, but they were still family, and Kairo had contaminated that bond between them. She had been determined to avoid the same fate since, and she pitied the next creature who tried to take advantage of her in such a way. She would rip that man's soul from his very body and eat it. Salvaged had only suffered so because he had done it to so many—and that was her fault. Kaena had introduced the young wolf to sex, she'd bred the evil who had single-handedly inflicted a flood of cruelty onto the lands. She was responsible for him, and in the end, the ashen hybrid had fulfiled her commitment and put an end to the monster.     The coyote listened to Jael, nodding all the while. As much as she couldn't change it, she was Delphine's child—nothing could change that. She had no mother, just a foggy memory of a vicious woman. Jael had a clear, definite memory of Vitium and his lies, and now he knew definitively that his father was a traitor to the blood from the very mother he'd spoken out against. The Lykoi offered another sad smile and squeezed him closer, tucking her muzzle over his. "But my blood runs in your veins, too," she reminded him, though it was a gentle one. He was like her—one parent who was stolen too soon, and one parent he did not want. Andre and Delphine, her father and mother.     The hybrid listened to him with two sable ears, the tattered remnant of one closest to him. Salvaged had ripped and ravaged that ear, but she'd taken his eye from him, tit for tat. His words warmed her, and she nodded. It was the best course—for sure, Vitium would be back here, someday. Perhaps he would have enough wit to keep away from Inferni territory and his family. It was unlikely—blood called to blood, and especially with his youth here, he would want to come back someday, perhaps forgetting that his mother and brother would be waiting, witnesses to hise apostasy or maybe just hoping they'd forgiven him by then. "Right. He might not come back to Inferni for a long, long time," she agreed. "He knew better than that after he took you guys. But if he's anything remotely like the rest of us, he won't be able to stay away forever," the coyote said confidently.     Most of her children had eventually returned, if only briefly. She did not want to think of Vitium as dead—but in truth, what was he to her? Her child, yes, but he'd spoken out against their attack of the wolves and especially against her—would he even hold respect to speak with her civilly, or would he simply attack her? She wondered, her heart aching. She deserved it from him; she'd thrown him out of Inferni as the Aquila, never for a second considering their blood relationship. But he'd trashed that bond himself when he'd attacked them with intent to draw blood and let that Aremys wolf slip away. Kaena didn't know what to think.

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[Jael Soul]

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(376)         Kaena's blood was his blood as well as she so dutifully reminded him, and he was almost grateful. He could endure the bad when overshadowed by much better things, and he could consider Kaena to be one of those. He didn't say anything in response, simply out of habit of keeping quiet much of the time, though he'd heard and absorbed every word she'd said. "If he lives long enough," Jael replied, fangs longing to tear into the bastard that'd sired him. His deeds repelled even his own mother, defying even what his beloved clan believed in. Their hatred was more for survival and revenge, unlike the blind ignorance their father had tried to ingrain into their heads. But Jael liked to think, choosing his own destiny over what was laid out for him.         He was neither wolf or coyote, but for now he'd chosen the coyote's side, remaining with that part of his lineage. But he would never blindly hate wolves, longing to rid of the hatred that existed between species so similar. What did killing and maiming get for anyone save more hatred and misery? Personal vendettas were one thing, and perhaps justified in the child's eyes, but not indiscriminate murder. Vitium was not a wolf or a coyote in Jael's eyes, neither his father. He was simply a monster he desired to destroy, removing his undeserved existence from the world. "It's stupid," he began softly, dwelling on the hatred that existed between breeds simply for blood alone. "to hate someone just because of how they were born."         He wondered if she'd strike him for such a comment, knowing she herself despised wolves just as most of Inferni did—or at least tell him off. But he was referring just as much to wolves and their violence against coyotes, as he knew they did for greed and competition, feeling the need to exterminate the lesser predator. "If we weren't related or within Inferni's borders, would I of lived past the first few minutes of our encounter?" he asked with a rueful smile. Despite being pliable, his beliefs were strong and his morals a large part of who he was—this being, the boy wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind given the proper situation.

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[Kaena Lykoi]

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    The hybrids walked a thin line. Neither world fully accepted them—some of them ran too small to even compete with their larger wolf bretheren, but their obvious wolf heritage made them despicable to some coyotes, too. There was always Inferni; though they had established it as a coyote clan, Kaena herself had been subleader, and it seemed from the start Inferni had always been a hybrid clan. Other than this single place, Kaena did not know where else her kind were so readily accepted. They were outcasts in the worlds of the pureblood, and Kaena had stood for that for enough of her life to know she did not want to be part of a lower caste. So she had fought and slashed her way out of that bracket, painting her name in the sands with the blood of her enemies.



    Sable-dusted shoulders shrugged at his statement, and the hybrid looked uneasy for a long moment. She had already condemned Vitium to a harsh life by ousting him from his birthpack; it was not so much of a stretch for the coyote to simply imagine him dead. It was more convenient that way, anyway. She didn't hate him as his children did, but she certainly did not trust him, and it was a stretch to say she was even fond of him anymore. There was a piece of Kaena that would love Vitium forever, no matter what he did—her children could not fully extract themselves from her heart. Even if Andrezej had raped one of his sisters, putting Kaena in almost the exact predicament Gabriel had been... Kaena did not know for certain if she could have acted like he did, pulling the life so callously from a family member.



    The youth spoke, and Kaena was impressed by his wisdom. His mind and soul had years on his body—years on her, even. In many ways, Kaena was still very much a stunted child, parts of her never having advanced past their developmental stage. It was as if the power had gone out and the clocks were stuck on that very moment when the electricity died. When Kairo had forced himself on her, parts of Kaena's mind had simply ceased to grow. The Lykoi matron peered at her grandchild thoughtfully, mulling over his words. She did not mindlessly hate; on the contrary, Kaena had loved three wolves in her lifetime, and there were small pockets of wolves she would even extend a helping hand to—namely, Fatin's family, Ahren's family.



    His next words caught her completely off-guard, and the surprise showed plainly on her face, though her brows immediately knotted in thought, taking on much the same expression she'd held while thinking on his previous words. His blood certainly still mattered, and Kaena would have caught that tiny blur of coyote across his features regardless of their relation. Would he still be a de le Poer? This, too, mattered—or did it? She took another long look at Jael, and realized what his question meant. He looked the perfect part of a wolf, and he knew it. "I can't say for sure," the Lykoi matron said, shaking her head. She was too arbitrary to ask "what if" questions of—it all depended, it depended on whether he was still a de le Poer, whether she recognized the coyote in him, her mood at the moment, his behavior—with perfectly careful steps the might have become the best of friends. With blatant insults at outright rage at each other, she would have slit his throat as quickly as any others. "Sometimes I don't understand myself," was the best she could offer, shrugging helplessly at the pale hybrid. "If we were civil to each other as strangers?" You probably walk away without a mark. I'm feeling nasty or you say the wrong thing..." she trailed off, not wishing to continue. It was a difficult thing for Kaena to admit, and her yellow-gold eye turned toward the ground.

[Jael Soul]

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sorry, this is blah too. ><; (301)         Other than the instinctual hatred and tales Vitium had told Jael from when he was young, the only thing he could figure out about Kaena and her relationship with wolves was that she must have once had some sort of personal interaction with at least one to have created his sire in the first place. Vitium was less coyote than wolf from his father, the man named de le Poer, who'd at some point even been a part of Inferni before being exiled, as his uncle had told him. But Gabriel had also told him to ask his grand-mother herself about him if he wished to learn more though, so Jael at this point could only make assumptions. And whether or not her hatred was blind or justified he could only guess at. Kaena's surprise was evident at the question he'd asked, allowing it to show on her scarred features. "So if I'd said something stupid or you just weren't feeling particularly nice that day, I'd be in bloody pieces on the ground?" he asked, that not fully honest grin lingering on his lips.         It amused him though that only by chance could they be friends. But everything was chance after all, even who and what you were born as. Unless in a previous life you did something good or bad and that somehow dictated the direction of your current existence. Or there truly was a magical, omnipotent deity out there that purposely laid out a path you must walk along to encounter enlightenment, intentionally challenging you and your faith along the way. "So why do you hate wolves anyway? Is it because they're all assholes that like to eat coyotes, or something else?" the youth asked conversationally, discussing deadly, deep matters as though he were simply remarking on the weather.

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[Kaena Lykoi]

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http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/rp/kae/kae_disorder.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;">     The Lykoi herself was a quarter wolf, albeit red wolf. Some said that canis rufus was merely a hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote to begin with, but others regarded it as a separate species altogether. Kaena's brain made little distinction; a red wolf was still just that—a red wolf. Her father had been mostly red wolf, with that golden-red coat that presented itself in some of her children, but still. Even his muddled coyote heritage showed through in his small muzzle and enlarged ears, though the Lykoi pack had bred only with only wolves and red wolves exclusively for a generation prior to Andre, and his siblings had become the mates of wolves—leaving all of Kaena's cousins far more wolf than they were coyote. Kairo, her half-sibling, had been nearly all wolf, just the faintest hint of coyote running through his blood.     The coyote shrugged her charcoal-dusted shoulders, regarding Jael with that long golden eye again. "Maybe," the coyote said, looking mildly distressed. The thought was depressing, to say the least, but she had considered lying to her grandson and found that idea far more abhorrent than admitting to being a killer. "If I was many years younger, I would have attacked you on sight regardless of the circumstance," she said, her face hardening as she thought of those times in her life. There was little she wouldn't have tried to kill. She was reckless and stupid, and she was damn lucky she had survived it.     His next question again surprised her, though she managed to mask it this time, looking away from him and into the growing shadows. The sun was on the rise, though the pre-dawn shade still lurked over the earth. Blue-gray darkness still lingered in deep pockets here and there, though Kaena could see the pale gold streaks of the sunrise beginning on the eastern horizon. "They don't all hate us," she told him, knowing this was no big revelation. For all her wariness where wolves were concerned, there were friendly ones, and there were ones she would have called friend. Ahren and Zulifer lurked clearly on her mind. She had been able to overlook his wolfishness because he had sworn to be a coyote; it was only much later she realized that was just plain crazy, and he was just as much a wolf, regardless of his beliefs.     Ahren was a different story altogether. She hadn't really meant to love him, and if they'd met under different circumstances, she might have tried to kill him, too. But his eyes had reminded her so much of Zulifer's, just a shade darker than the bright red of her first dead lover. "I don't hate them all," she said, her voice softening into a raspy whisper. "If you hadn't already guessed or known, your grandfather Ahren was a full-blooded wolf, born to the alpha of Chimera and the leader of a religious cult." She had never met Thavardo, but she had stepped gingerly over her bones and smelled the decaying stench of her death, the black stains where her flesh had rotted over the red carpeting of the church, now burned to ash just as everything else in the former territory.     Her voice was the same uneven, soft tone. She sounded ragged and years older. "Your great-grandfather was a wolf, too," she said, admitting her own dash of wolf. She was a least a quarter, if not more, though her mother's coyote blood sang the strongest in her features. She had never known her father's exact percentage of wolf versus coyote, though she knew that he had been predominantly wolf, perhaps just a quarter of the original coyote of his great-grandfather remaining in him. "And it was his son—a wolf—who caused me great pain when I was still a child. His mate—a wolf—killed him for protecting me. A wolf killed the father of your eldest uncle out of simple jealousy. Wolves killed the aunt and uncle you'll never know—Ikatha and Baneesh. Wolves have taken a lot from me," she said, and it seemed simple enough from her. She had been taken from, and in return she would take—randomly at times, and pointedly at others, as she had with Salvaged. Still, she spoke of the long dead with a cracking voice, especially as she mentioned her children by name. Neither had made it past their first year, and both had been mercilessly and ruthlessly slain by wolves, supposedly because they were Inferni youth and coyote children—the less of them that saw adulthood, the better for a wolf.

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