New days, new faces

Dawali Amara · 12-01-2009, 07:04 PM

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Haha!
Word Count: 312

come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops

His face was grave, disappointed even. While there were many things Dawali did not care about, children was not among them, and it broke his heart when small ones were abandoned. Of course, sometimes the reasons were valid, and he could understand in some cases, but still it went against everything he believed in. He shook his head and gave a little sigh before looking back up to the female whose company he was enjoying. "Either way he has lost something valuable, I guess. But he was lucky to come across you, I'd say. Pups rarely manage well on their own."

His ears moved in interest as she showed him her tattoo, and he nodded as she told him about her family tradition. It was in many ways the same as their feathers, but not. Everyone in the tribe wore the feathers, but only her family bore that symbol. Some of the prouder families, especially the chief's bloodline, carried certain symbols associated with their name, but not as tattoos. "Traditions are valuable. It clarifies for ourselves and our children who we are and why we are here. " That was how he had been brought up. It might sound like some vague wannabe philosophy, but for him it was everything. Everything he did defined who he was, and everything he did was tradition. "Thank you. I think the ones to signalize rank were added as the tribe grew. With so many individuals it's hard to remember how to address everyone properly." It was like wearing a brand that says "I am above you in rank, I have more respect than you, you should obey me". And in some ways that might be strange, but it was also extremely useful. There was never any doubt on who to obey and how to behave, and it saved a lot of time spent doubting and guessing.

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Kaena Lykoi · 12-18-2009, 07:06 AM

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Sometimes I do such dumb things on rereading. :O

Where red wolves were concerned, Kaena was not absolutely certain as to how to regard them. Rumors told her that most of them were at least half-coyote in ancestry anyway, and their blood had been interbred with many coyotes over the years. That was just rumor, though, and Kaena had never heard any concrete information on that. Fatin had been partly coyote, but she could trace her coyote heritage to recent ancestry, and even identify the relative that had imparted that blood to her. Still, they were wolves—but her love of Fatin and this encounter with Dawali was leading her to believe they were not so bad, different from regular wolves in some way. The hybrid had no idea what she was referring to with such a distinction; the idea of subspecies was unknown to her, and she made no distinction between different kinds of wolves. Perhaps faced with something like a Mexican wolf or an Indian wolf, she'd be able to overlook the "wolf" part of their names. Still, the her surname's literal definition in one of the old languages was wolf. Kaena herself was a hybrid, and the wolfish instincts she condemned often sang strongly in her head, influencing her behavior to a degree even she did not realize. It was instinct, embedded so deeply into the ashen-furred canine's programming she did not even perceive she was acting on wolfish thoughts at times. Dominant behavior and aggressive behavior was where it showed most openly, for these were the times where Kaena possessed the least control over her emotions and her body.

Dawali seemed genuinely concerned for young Mason, and the hybrid's single eye regarded the wolf for a moment, shining brightly. Even a virtual stranger seemed to recognize the motherly qualities within Kaena; her scarred muzzle split into a grin and she shrugged her shoulders. "'He's got a whole clan looking after him, little prince he is," the hybrid said, laughing quietly after she spoke, looking at Dawali after stilling the laughter in herself. "Nobody else to share his rank as long as he's been in Inferni, though," the hybrid said with a frown. It was sad Mason did not have any playmates his own age, but then again, Kaena had never witnessed a particularly playful side of the young man; he was an austere and stoic presence generally, looking to impress his elders and Kaena more than anything. The silver-furred woman did not worry for his development because of this, but she thought perhaps he might be bored or lonely at times, having no one around to share the trials and tribulations of youth and adolecense. The hybrid woman herself had been raised in such a way, without playmates and denied of her sisters. His story was not so strange to Kaena; indeed, it was painfully familiar to her. The hybrid woman thought of Mason and wondered how he was at that very moment. It wouldn't be long until he was an adult, of adult rank and expected to serve in Inferni, and that was when the real test of his life began. Kaena thought he was well-prepared for full clan membership, but only time would reveal the truth of that.

The russet-furred wolf again spoke of tradition, and the hybrid once more found herself agreeing with his words. Tradition was extremely important, as it was linked intrinsically to history. Tradition strengthened history and supported it, a literal symbol of the power of history. The silver-furred hybrid was quite big on that subject—no one new better the story of Inferni from its birth to the present than Kaena, as she'd been witness to almost all of that history, and even made some herself. The hybrid woman had carved her history into the flesh of others and written it with their blood, certainly, but that was evident anywhere in the lengthy story of the coyote clan. Kaena had been the gasoline to the fire in some instances, a willing and able participant in others, but she was present everywhere, and thus no one had ingrained the story better into his or her head. She reveled in every moment of it, and desired someday to trade a writer to commit the story to memory. "Agreed. Tradition gives strength to history, which should be remembered and revered," the hybrid mused, finding it strange to pull such philosophical wonderings from herself. She did not often converse on matters like these, though it was quite comfortable to be speaking with Dawali, who in a strange way reflected her own values and views. She had not expected that, but it was pleasing to find out that he mirrored her and vice versa in such a strange way.

The coyote listened once more as the other canine spoke, and she tilted her head to the side, surprised by the problem. Inferni had never been so large, but in more recent days it had grown immensely, finding itself with many new members, not all of which Kaena had immediately been able to place. These sorts of waves occurred sometimes, where several newcomers might stumble on their clan at once, but it seemed as the joiners petered out so did the loyalty of the newcomers, who seemed to use Inferni as a recuperative space for their health and strength, and simply move on. The clan had never been so large as to require badges of rank, but she could see their usefulness, and she nodded at this slowly, as the idea was just dawning on her. "That is clever—though it's sad to say we've never had quite that problem over in Inferni," she said with a grin, shrugginer her shoulders. It didn't matter anyway; their core was solid and strong—Gabriel, Anselm, Kaena, Halo, Hybrid. There were others moving closer, establishing themselves—Samael, Rikka, Razekiel, Snake, Hezekiah, Cotl, and Mason. There were the unknowns, newcomers yet to prove themselves of worth in Inferni. "I think it'd be a pretty nice one to have, honestly," the hybrid said with a sly grin.

Dawali Amara · 01-01-2010, 07:54 AM

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Sorry for this wait, I was away and such :]
Word Count: 812 - SoSuWriMo

come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops

Kaena described the young male as a prince, subject to all the clan's affection and attention. Judging by her face and laugh, he was well taken care of, and Dawali chuckled with her. It was the same process as when a childless family finally recieved their first, or took in a stranger; everyone wanted a piece, and everyone wanted to show their affection, ending up in the child becoming completely showered. It was a good deal for this child, certainly. But her next sentence reflected exactly what he had thought immediately after: a lone child is perhaps doted upon, but ultimately a lonely child. Dawali had spent a lot of his time with children when he was an adolescent, and he knew that the children without siblings were often those who grew up first. They strove to reach the adults in mind, and abandoned their care free life as a child thinking the life of an adult was desirable. Perhaps none of them regretted it, but he doubted that. In a sense, they were robbed of a long and playful childhood. But, this Mason had gained life, and so his cut of this deal was larger than the loss of a long childhood anyway. Dawali's smile shrunk a little, but the child was lucky no matter from which angle you looked at this. "Ah, well that's just how it is, I suppose. If you want to take the trek you are welcome to take him along and come share a day with our litters, though the hike is formidable for an adult, and even more so for a young child." As he finished the sentence his shoulders and arms moved to form an apologetic shrug, a gesture not even made consciously. Such things were pretty much automatic for him.

Their conversation held a philosophical air to it, and though he felt as if he was mostly talking about himself (and that was a trap to enter), he took more part in this conversation than he had in others with a similar subject. Perhaps it was the openness he felt from himself, and answered in the scarred female in front of him. Perhaps it was his lingering surprise upon finding that this "frightening" band of individuals seemed harmless to him. Sure, they could probably be vicious when provoked, but then again, who wasn't? When defending that which is important to him, any wolf or coyote would turn into a flurry of claws and teeth: that much he was certain of. His head moded in a nod and he smiled and uttered a wordless sound of confirmation - yes, agreed indeed. "M!" Really, it felt as if the two reached higher levels of intelligence together than he could reach alone. Perhaps this visit should be repeated one day, so that the two of them could muse like this again. It felt fruitful. "Imagine a world where no one cared about the achievements and struggles of their parents, grandparents. What a loss of wisdom it would be... If you have no history, have you a self at all?"

As she commented on the system of feathers signalizing rank, the two returned to the subject of big tribe versus small tribe, and Dawali nodded, smiling, as she concluded that having the numbers to crave such a system would be quite nice indeed. Yes, it had been nice, but now he was mostly the only one that held his feathers with tribe; though the other members might decorate themselves with feathers, they knew nothing of their meaning in the true AniWayan system. Just days ago he had caught one of the puppies wearing an eagle feather, and had had to put him into his place: the eagle was one of the holiest animals they knew, and its feathers were reserved for the Chief alone. It was not out of pride or arrogance he had done this, but if there was just one element of that tradition he wished to teach his small tribe, it was that of the eagle feather. After all, how successful could a land-animal ever be in catching a mighty bird such as the eagle? No, the feathers would mostly have to be found on eagles that had died on their own, which just proved how inaccessible they were. They ruled the skies, and should be respected. Their long and elegant feathers were not the playthings of a puppy, and it was a great honor to wear them. "Yes, it is clever.. I think it was my previous Chief who thought of it, I'm not sure. It was like that when I grew up anyways, and it's quite some years ago." He winked as he said that, for neither of them were young, and she could perhaps see the joke in this. Going on 6 years old, he was truly the senior of his tribe.

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Kaena Lykoi · 01-03-2010, 09:39 AM

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It is okay! <3 Word Count: 811

It was especially important to socialize puppies to the world and the many dangers and wonders to it. Keep them too close and they grew up to be frightened, neurotic individuals who yelped and jumped at every slightly strange noise. Let them run too far and they killed themselves before their first birthday or got hunted down by a wolf—even faced with this very nice AniWayan diplomat, Kaena could not chase such thoughts from her head. After all, both Ikatha and Baneesh had been killed just yards outside of Inferni's territory by stray lone wolves with nothing better to do than perpetuate the hatred that had existed between coyotes and wolves for many centuries and many generations before Inferni had even been a twinkle in Zarah and Kaena's eyes.

It was difficult for Mason to relate to the rest of the clan, Kaena was sure. Snake was perhaps the closest in age to the Tirones Minor, but even then the Hastati did not exhibit many puppyish qualities. A more playful canine of his rank might have snuck off to the Occasus Promontorium to frolick and play with the clan's youngest member, but Snake did not seem to have an ounce of playfulness in him. He was all seriousness and stoic faces, and while Kaena certainly appreciated that most of the time, this was one instance where she might have preferred some playfulness in him for the benefit of another clan member. Then again, it would have been just as easy for Kaena to take Mason somewhere nice and play with him for several hours, but then she ran the risk of the rest of the clan seeing her rolling around like a puppy. Such a thing was unfit for a coyote of both her age and rank, and Kaena was not particularly inclied to play in the first place.

His offer was unexpected, and though it surprised the hybrid, she couldn't help but feel warmed by it. It seemed these two did share a lot—including a very genuine love and concern for puppies. Such a thing was not rare among canines, certainly, but it was one more thing Kaena could add to her tally of similarities between herself and Dawali, one more connection to bridge the gap. "Thanks for the offer," she said, truly thankful for it. "I'll probably end up carrying him on the way back, but it'd be worth it to get him some friends his own age," the coyote said. She didn't know when her own duty would allow her to take the youngest member of Inferni to AniWaya for a playdate, but if it was at all possible, the hybrid would make an effort to get out there.

"We'd be running in circles, repeating the same mistakes over and over again. No progress," the coyote laughed, shaking her head as she envisioned such a world. It was close to humanity; they had not learned from their actions and now they paid for it, rotting to bones and replenishing the fertilizing layer of earth. At least they had bequeathed their technology onto another race to replace them, though the canines would have to be certain to get a better grasp on humanity's history. There was no reason to pick up right where the humans had left off, slowly destroying the planet by chipping away at her defenses and natural processes, altering the ecosystems where it suited them. Sure, it would have been nice for the wolves to overpopulate deer, rabbit, or other prey animals, but such actions had a myriad of unforeseen consequences. The slightest tip of the scale could send things careening wildly out of control, and canines too could find themselves on the list of "extinct" right alongside humanity.

The scarred muzzle of the coyote split into a grin, and she laughed. It was true; neither of them were spring chickens. Age brought wisdom, however, and the hybrid woman felt they'd covered quite a lot of familiar ground in this. Perhaps Inferni could not hope to drag AniWaya into their troubles a direct sort of ally, but it was good that they did not have to worry about aggression from the pack. Then again, there was such distance between their territories it only made sense for them to be at least neutral toward each other—to Kaena, AniWaya was like Storm had been, simply too far to consider troubling or to worry about receiving trouble from. "Getting on in years, huh? It does get tough for our age bracket," the hybrid said, teasing just a little. Even she had a few years to go before she began overtly showing signs of deterioration; Luperci could live as old as fifteen or sixteen without beginning to experience serious problems relevant to age. It was just another one of the perks of their viral mutation, she supposed.

Dawali Amara · 01-04-2010, 06:07 PM

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<3
Word Count: 724 - SoSuWriMo

come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops

Despite the distance between their packs, Dawali felt that he had achieved something today, and perhaps something that would last. Perhaps not an ally to lean on in times of trouble, seeing as the distance was too big and also because the clan's reputation would certainly not help negotiation (diplomacy would always be Dawali's preferred method of resolving anything), but they seemed a good candidate for a pool of friendly faces and friends. He was glad that Kaena accepted his offer; much could be achieved through the young ones. Even if perhaps the current leadership might resist an alliance of any sort (old personalities liked to stick to their old ways, much like himself), the young ones were the future of any pack, clan or tribe. They would find a way to nurture their friendship, and Dawali believed such things could never be anything other than fruitful. Smiling, he nodded at his new-found friend. "I'm looking forward to your visit, then, whether it is now or later. Just signal at the borders if you are afraid of encountering our scouts." Winking, he felt clever to make such use of irony. His own scouts, however skilled and trained fighters, would never be a problem for a female who had seen battles such as this one. He did not have to ask; her scars and her demeanor spoke for themselves.

A chuckle escaped his throat as she made her joke, and he felt that he agreed with her. True, they'd be headless chickens, without purpose, probably passing their time making others miserable, or just focusing on ruining their own lives over and over. No, knowing one's ancestry and knowing one's history was vital to their own identities, that much he was certain of. He remembered how he spoke with the elders as a child, and marveled at the vastness of their knowledge. They said that no living thing could know everything at once, but it had seemed to him that perhaps the combined minds of the elders of the tribe knew everything there was to know about this world, and worlds beyond. They had taught him to read the fumes of a fire, to ride a horse, and to send the dead into a new existence with the proper prairs and blessings. He was a deeply spiritual man, and it was all their work. Now he was the only elder, but he would never reach their wisdom, surely. They were living proof that history had to be nurtured, re-lived, re-thought and told to the young over and over, for it was a resource unlike any other. "Yes.. I imagine we would simply cease to exist, much like these humans, though I doubt we'd leave behind anything quite as impressive as their stone cities." To him, concrete looked mostly like stone. The cities made him shudder, for it was as if the spirits of the dead clung to those places, yet deep down he could never call their constructions anything other than impressive. His and Hemming's Town Hall was nothing compared to their mountains of residences.

Their conversation had moved from the heavy philosophical to the enjoyable small-talk, and Dawali found himself grinning widely. True, they were not among the youngest here. In fact, he had met very few who was his own age; it seemed to him that most were quite young, maybe averaging on around three or four years. He followed up on her joke with another, mostly at his own expense. "Haha, well the added years certainly don't help when trying to catch the eye of a female, I'll tell you that!" In fact, he was not lonely. Quite content, though his family was scattered in every direction and his only mate was dead. He had never felt as if he was meant to find another, and so had settled with this life he had created for himself. But of course, searching for love was something anyone could relate to, and was the perfect safe subject in any conversation. At least, so he thought. He laughed at his own joke and winked, not intending it as flirting, but perhaps it could be seen that way. In any way he was right; there were no females in AniWaya at a suitable age for mateship with the Chief. Hell, he could be all of them's father!

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Kaena Lykoi · 01-11-2010, 06:54 AM

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We could probably wrap this up soooon. Mason is too old for playful visit, sadly. D: Buuut we could plot another thread soon?! 580.

The hybrid woman had been alive a long time and experienced quite a bit through the years, and she knew a friendly face when she saw one—there was nothing to fear from Dawali or AniWaya unless the coyotes sought trouble there. The silvery coyote did not know whether or not this meant that Gabriel would see things the same way, but the Centurion had high hopes that her son would heed her words. There was no reason to start trouble where it did not seek them, and Inferni certainly did not need any extra trouble. The tensions with Phoenix Valley had seemed to tide over, though the hybrid felt a certain unrest where Dahlia de Mai was concerned. She had fought Haku and he would seek her blood sooner or later—the coyote clan could not afford to make any extra enemies.

The coyote woman nodded her head and offered the other canine a grin at hs statement, figuring she was more likely to scare someone with her fearsome appearance. It was no lie or secret, and the hybrid would have it no other way. Sadly she did not know if she could offer the same sort of offer to him—Inferni tended to be extremely careful about who it allowed on the inside, and if Dawali or any of his kin encountered anyone other than Kaena they were liable to face a rather pissed off and territorial coyote. "You'd have to howl for yours truly if you stopped by Inferni, unfortunately," the coyote said almost apologetically, her coal ears folding halfway back against her skull. She didn't want the coppery-gray male to take offense to this, but it was for his own good that she told him this now rather than he found out the hard way.

Speaking of humans and cities intrigued the hybrid, and her coal ears perked up. She took a particular interest in human technology she could easily adapt—she had little use for living in skyscrapers so far up from the ground. The thought was downright frightening, though Kaena Lykoi would never admit her fear aloud. "Myself... I prefer to stay close to the dirt," she said, adding an almost nervous laugh to this. "I don't see why we'd even want to build such things," she said. "They are impressive, though. I'll give them that," she admitted. Impressive wasn't quite the right word in the coyote's mind—it was a tad closer to fear for her. She couldn't imagine wandering to the teetering tops of some of these monstrosities.

A grin flashed on the hybrid's russet-furred muzzle, and she shrugged her shoulder somewhat slyly, giving the red wolf a look that was just a moment longer than it ought to have been—the silvery coyote could hardly help her instincts, which were attraction to Dawali for what he was and the strangely comforting similarities between them. "I'm sure you could still catch quite a few ladies if you tried," the coyote said, the tips of her canines still showing in her smile. She was not above a random fling here and there, but an actual relationship with Kaena Lykoi was harder than trying to turn lead into gold. Everything where she was concerned withered and died or ran away from her screaming. "Maybe you just aren't looking in the right places," she said, more reassuringly. If she could still catch someone like Jacquez—even for a night—Dawali certainly still stood a chance.

Dawali Amara · 01-15-2010, 09:48 AM

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<3 Sorry for the length! I swear I wasn't trying oO
And sure, we can wrap it up! Oh and if Dawali learns of what happened to Kaena he'll totally be like "... -grumble-" (he's heard about Haku before) and offer his healing to Inferni or something. But I dunno if Dawali is likely to learn this, seeing as Kaena probably won't go around telling a male she's met only once? Thought I'd say so anyways.
Edit: lol, just as I was writing the last paragraph my music player changed to a super-sexy song. Now I almost want them to throw themselves at each other :p
Word Count: 1070 - SoSuWriMo

come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops

His head bobbed in a nod as she spoke. It was easy to understand, to him. Always be safe, always make sure your borders are secure. Trust no stranger, and Dawali was a stranger to all of them but this female. Perhaps the ones warning him about Inferni had been mistaken, for if their leader shared his mother's values they could certainly not be so bad. Perhaps they were merely cautious. It was one thing to be vicious on the bad side, but perhaps the other packs around here had been untrustworthy. He did not know; Dawali maintained a good relationship with the packs around here. His alliance with Phoenix Valley had yet to produce any actual action, and so for now they were simply friends with their neighbors. He did not know Cour des Miracles well, but after being invited to a race he felt that they were on good terms — especially as Haven had been the one to win. He had been told lately that Cwmfen had left these lands, and the Kalona regretted not seeking her. It had taken some time to get over his actions in regards of Brennt, but now he felt that it had been justified. It had not been murder; it had been justice. Take a life, lose a life. But he had never sought the warrior female out after it all, to see if she was all right, if her wounds were healing and if he could aid her in any way. They had done it together, after all, and she deserved his respect. Seeing as he had never come on bad terms with a representative of each pack, he could be mistaken when he thought that AniWaya was safe. You don't know your friends well before you see how they behave when upset with you. Still, he could honestly say that he had good relations with every pack in the area, his close neighbours in Crimson Dreams and Phoenix Valley in particular. "I see — that's not a problem at all. I'd much rather be extra polite than to be over-familiar and step on someone's toes. And it takes time to build friendships." He smiled, confident that she did not misinterpret, as if he meant that Inferni craved special attention compared to others because of their reputation. Of course with his friendly neighbours he could come and go as he pleased (at least to a degree), but any relationship took time to build. All in all Dawali was a nice guy with much flexibility and room for understanding in his heart. One could only hope that fate would not bite his tail for that.

He chuckled as she hinted at a fear of heights. Well perhaps not a fear, but simply a preferance for not being high up. He'd been inside the buildings of Halifax, and he had helped build two-story buildings in his youth. Two stories were not so bad, but some of the buildings in Halifax were much taller than that. The way they swung made him nervous whether he was on the outside or inside of them. Once he had turned and gone back as he could almost feel the floor crumbling under him. He never was comfortable there anyways, and he saw no reason why he should be there at all. A wolf only belonged high up when he had climbed there. "Hehe, yeah. They make me uncomfortable." His head tipped to the side and he smiled. Yes, it was strange to build such things. Then again, he did it himself, in a way. He built roofs for them to live under, seeing as caves and such were not necessarily easy to find in their claimed lands. Their focus was elsewhere when finding land. "We build roofs for ourselves, simple buildings of wood so we can be sheltered from the weather — but nothing even slightly comparable to what the humans have done." He was wrong, but he did not know that. What would he feel if he knew that the path his people was on was the exact same one that after many years had made the humans to build their concrete towers? "I don't think I can ever build something like what they have." And for that he was glad. He did not make things that made the world smaller, and himself with it.

A slow smile spread across Dawali's face, for though he was old and had not had a mate for years, he was not completely blind. This little moment of flirtation had not been his intention, but still he saw it as a sign that their connection was not one built on diplomatic politeness. He could count on this female to be his friend if he saw her again, else she would never have answered to his comment. In a way it was reassuring, like knowing that she was not false with him, as one polite diplomat would have been until mutual trust was achieved. He chuckled at her, and
repressed a blush. Oh she would not have seen it anyway, as his face was red-colored already, but still. Though he enjoyed such things he would always be shy. His one hand went back behind his head to scratch his neck, elbow pointing up towards the skies. "Hehe, maybe, maybe." He winked back at her, but felt the familiar sensation of nervousness rise in him. Luckily, Kaena did not continue, and this was a relief to him. If she had, she would have put him in a very uncomfortable position, which could have ruined their encounter altogether. Instead they moved back onto love as a subject in itself, and Dawali lowered his arm as she spoke her words, though the already nervous Dawali wasn't sure if he saw some remnants of that little moment that had just passed in them, too. "Perhaps... We should just start a senior's club, I suppose." He chuckled at his own joke now, and stood there bluntly. He would never be comfortable dating someone the same age as his daughter, and so if he was to find someone it would be outside AniWaya. And if he did that, he would either have to leave his tribe or make her stay. It would create all sorts of potential problems to make his head ache, for he knew he could never leave his tribe. It was a subject best left alone.

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Kaena Lykoi · 01-19-2010, 08:11 AM

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Oooh. I do think we should plot another thread in the very near future—I'll PM you with an idea! XD Dawali is adorable manthing, he is. xD 696.

The coyote clan had always had something of a fierce reputation. In past times it had certainly been more deserved; the silver-furred hybrid had not stood for any kind of trespassers. She had not allowed her predecessors' concessions of territory to stand—even if it was just a tiny strip of beach, it had been Inferni's first, and it wasn't exactly like the wolves had asked for that little piece of territory they'd taken, at least not in Kaena's memory. Truth be told, the hybrid could no longer recall the tiny details she'd once been able to recollect; her memory was beginning to grow fuzzy in parts, gray fog overtaking things that had once been sharp and wonderfully clear. All in all, that was not so terrible of a thing—the coyote woman was forgetting some pains of the past, leaving some things that had plagued her back in time where they belonged.

Dawali did not seem to have a problem with the idea that he would have to howl for her alone; the hybrid woman was glad for that. It was an unfortunate fact of life that her wolfen friends would not be so easily accepted by some others in the clan. There were varying degrees of prejudice among her clanmates. Hybrid tended to hate wolves universally; they were lower than dirt to him. Gabriel seemed to keep some amount of friendliness where his cousins were concerned—perhaps it was due to their greater hybrid percentage that this was made easy. "Thanks," she said, sounding fairly relieved he hadn't taken offense. Then again, he didn't seem the type; he might not have subscribed to the same policies as Inferni but he did not show them any derision, either. Once more she was happy she'd chosen to perambulate to these parts on this day; good would come of this meeting, she was almost certain of it. "Maybe the day will come when the rest of Inferni would welcome you, as well," the coyote said, a smile on her face.

She could understand roofs for protection from the elements; it wasn't so different from denning up to rear children. Previously to their humanization canines had much preferred to roam their territories, but with the advent of things like personal belongings and the like, coyotes and wolves alike had more reason to settle into more permanent dwellings. "That seems similar to holing up in caves to me... humans were trying to reach the sun or something," she said, somewhat derisively. She did not understand the human fascination with the sun—she could still recall the story of Icarus and how close he flew. It would seem the skyscrapers were built for the same end, to draw humanity closer to the great fire in the sky. The hybrid could understand reverence for it, but that came with a fair amount of respect, too. "Unnatural, I'd want to say," she added.

Kaena often thought that perhaps there was something inherently wrong with her; maybe there was something simply off within her programming which made it impossible for her to settle with one canine. She would have, given the opportunity—but it was perhaps fate that she would always end up loving a wolf. The first and only who might have fully integrated himself into Inferni and remained hers forever had died at Salvaged's hand. Zulifer was years and years dead now, and the old remnant left of him in the world would be Kerberos, and who knew where he was. The wolves she loved had been raised in entirely different worlds, and perhaps her own prejudices would never allow her to fully accept them for what they were. And so it was that Ahren and Fatin both had drifted out of her life; Ahren had left by choice at first, but now he was dead and in the ground. Fatin had decided to roam the wide world again, who knew where she had gone. "Hah. Sadly, I figure it'd be a pretty small club," she ventured, grinning. It was a fact of life that few lived to old age—life was not generally kind when it came to their life.

Dawali Amara · 01-20-2010, 05:06 PM

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Yes! PM me
Word Count: 902 - SoSuWriMo

come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops

His ears interpreted her words as a wish for the future. That she, too, hoped that one day their two populations might have a trusting relationship, despite their differences. He certainly hoped that her son, the leader, would be able to see his cause and goal with this meeting (if she would tell him about it, that was), and not read falsehood into his actions. It was easy to misinterpret a polite stranger's words as mocking, or sweet-talk, though Dawali did neither of those things. Still, he had been met with clear distrust in other situations. He was glad that Kaena was not such a person. Truly, he could return from this meeting and feel as if he had one solid link to Inferni. It was not a link to read any deal into, nor was it a link he knew he could rely on should he be in need of aid. No, what he thought was that this strong link, Kaena, she would perhaps enable him to understand them. And if he could understand them, he could avoid stepping on their toes, as it seemed so many had done in the past. Whether they were oversensitive, or the other past packs had simply been unthoughtful, he could not know. But he knew that he did not want anyone at all on his bad side, and certainly not the most rumored clan of fighters around the place. Smiling politely, he mirrored her words in a new sentence. "I certainly hope that that day will come." His sentence was more formal than the course their conversation had taken, but he felt the need to emphasize his mission here once again; peace, and friendship.

She distinguished between the buildings of AniWaya and the buildings of humans, and although what she said was true, he felt that that was not all of it either. Perhaps she would change her mind should she ever come by AniWaya and actually see the buildings; it was sort of an understatement from his side to call them merely roofs. Still, though, he had no goal to reach the sun, and her point was not lost to him at all. He nodded, and after she concluded her thought he replied, his face quite grave. "It certainly isn't natural to me, anyway. Then again, most of the humans' remains here gives me chills." In his eyes, anything related to that species was unnatural.

Dawali chuckled as Kaena's dark remark reached his ears. True, perhaps it would be a small club. "But a quality club, certainly," he winked, smiling. He did not know how many were around his own age, but he certainly felt on the outside. Perhaps he was lucky to become so old, seeing as this place was living proof that wolves usually did not live that long. It was strange, for in the tribe he would not have been regarded as old just yet, only when he reached around 8 years or so would he gain that title. Those over 10 years were generally considered elders. His own age, though, was just... the prime of one's life, perhaps? The peak in the middle there. It was strange to find that one's upbringing failed so miserably here, in that sense. Here, he was old, one of the oldest around. He wondered why so many young died, and why so many around his own age left this place. Perhaps it was a secret he would only discover the answer to at a much later point.

Their conversation had become quite long, and they had covered many subjects, though as much as the chief enjoyed his new acquaintance's company he could not help but to glance at the sky. Gvihita soared above, and she was growing impatient: he could feel it. It was also growing darker, and he did not exactly fancy doing the trek home in complete darkness. He didn't reckon he was invited to sleep in the clan's territories either, seeing as he had not met with the leader himself, but his mother. While that was certainly beneficial, it gained him no immediate answer to questions such as "would you be interested in an alliance?" or "can I stay here for the night?", for such answers were not Kaena's to answer, else she would have behaved quite differently, he was sure. Smiling, he stood up and smiled. "It is growing late, and I better be on my way." Eager to leave, the great eagle now dove down and landed clumsily on his shoulder. It was only so big, and her talons could grasp much bigger things than it, and thus sometimes it was difficult to land. Sure, she could fly the whole trek home, hell, she could leave him whenever she wanted to, but the Chief suspected she had been keeping watch. Though she was from an entirely different place as the two whose company she shared then, she could perhaps get tired? He didn't know, but it was obvious she would prefer the trek home sitting on his shoulder. Perhaps she had some juicy stuff she wanted to taunt him with; he had no way of knowing. "Kaena — I have enjoyed meeting you. Can I trust that you will visit us in AniWaya sometime?" Smiling, he gave her that same bow as he had given her upon their meeting, but he did not immediately leave though he rose from the position.

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Kaena Lykoi · 01-21-2010, 08:01 AM

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<333 Smart Sie should remember she says she is gunna do stuff. :|

Once more the hybrid woman was quite glad that she had come out to these parts today; she had not known she was going to meet Dawali, obviously, but now that she had she was extremely glad that she did. They were very similar, and the hybrid woman held respect for the man and his ornaments of rank and honor. They were not meaningless bibelots; they each had a purpose and definition, it would seem, and the hybrid woman was fascinated by that—tattoos also carried that same purpose, and for the reason that they could not be torn off, lost, or otherwise damaged (as piercings and feathers might be), she preferred them. However, tattoos also had some weaknesses—they could be cut over and scarred, they could fade with time. It had not been a terribly long time ago that she'd gotten her own chaos star, but already the brilliantly red tips of it were beginning to fade, turning a paler, pinker color rather than the once blood-red the tattoo had been.

The coyote woman certainly did not anticipate any problems with AniWaya—she knew Gabriel preferred to stick to the defensive, and if Inferni did not anger Dawali's pack and the reverse did not occur, everything would be just peachy. The hybrid's hopes were not overly optimistic; she knew her Aquila's policies well by now. After all, he was her son—and he was more wolf than coyote. She could not disagree with the way Gabriel chose to run Inferni; it had worked exceedingly well thus far, it would seem. She had only been back a few months, but they had been peaceful ones without conflict, other than a few wolves traipsing on their territory—but that was par for the course, and the hybrid woman would have found it strange any other way. There was a certain joy in chasing trespassers out and reinforcing the notion that the coyote's borders were just as strong as the wolf's. None of the trespassers had been AniWayans, after all.

Here was where they seemed to diverge; Kaena could see some use for human objects. Medicine was something developed by humans—wolves had not made medicinal pastes as Naniko did before they gained fingers to craft such things. Then again, these things were wholly good—no evil could come of healing the wounded and sick. Such crafts were pure of heart, to be certain. "They had a few good ideas, but many strange ones, and many more bad ones, it'd seem," she said, speaking of the fact that there were no more of them left. Humanity had inflicted its plague upon the earth, and now they were simply no more. The other canine's comment about the quality of the club drew another grin from the hybrid, and she nodded her head in full agreement—one did not get to be the age she was with, or even the age Dawali was, by being bullheaded and ignorant. She couldn't think of too many other canines to equal even his age—many died young. It was a sad fact of life, living in the wild, but it happened.

The hybrid woman had hardly noticed the passage of time, and it was almost a disappointment to the hybrid to see Dawali intent on packing up, though she did not raise a hand to stop him. Such a thing would have been strange for her to do, and instead she merely nodded her compliance and smiled. His question drew another nod from the hybrid, and she too stood, not wishing to seem like she was improper or lingering in some way. "I would like to see how the other half lives these days," she said, a faint hint of amusement on her face—she was certain she would not find Dawali's pack was so terribly different from her own. From the sounds of it, it would not seem like it. "Besides, now that I've gotten such an invitation it wouldn't be right to refuse," the hybrid added, half a grin still plastered on her scarred face. "Take good care of yourself," she said, an uncommon sentiment from the silver-furred hybrid; she did not generally say such things, but she suspected it would be some time before she could leave the clan to get to AniWaya. She did not generally find reason to travel beyond Halifax—though with Dawali and Aniwaya far to the south, the hybrid woman now felt she might have good reason to travel that way.

Word Count: 648

Dawali Amara · 01-21-2010, 08:35 AM

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Muhaha, I am super-Marit!
Word Count: 840 - SoSuWriMo

come dance with the west wind and touch on the mountain tops

He chuckled darkly at her last sentence. And many more bad ones, it would seem. Oh, they had learned from defying the spirits, certainly. From what he could tell, from all the buildings and whatnot, they had to have been an arrogant race, to think that they could claim this earth as their own. He was too young (ironically) to know this for sure, but the elders of the tribe spoke knew stories from the time before they could all shift onto two legs. They were more like myths from a time long gone, and Dawali had always thought that the memories from that time surely had some blurred sequences that could not be regarded as truth. For all he knew, this ability that allowed them to change their bodies had also allowwed them to think better, to remember better, and so the stories from the past were rendered useless. Still, they told of a time when this now-dead species had ruled everything, had taken what they wanted with no regard for any other species. Ever since he had heard that story as a child, Dawali had thought that they were evil, but this impression dwindled over time. Now, he believed they had simply been too arrogant, perhaps also stupid (despite their grand achievements and buildings and contraptions he would never understand). They had tried to tame this world, to guide it where they wanted it to go, and something had happened at some point that had taken their lives and enhanced the lives of those such as himself. In his view of the world, this was the revenge of the spirits. They had seen how the humans did not respect the world they had been given, and had punished them. Those who had suffered had been given a gift, had been chosen to rise and reclaim these lands. For a spiritual man such as himself, this was the perfect explanation. This was why he protected himself from their mindset, from their devices and from their cities. Still, he knew that some things were practical, like ember's sword, no matter how it made him uncomfortable. "I suppose there are elements that could be used to our advantage... " He paused, not really certain what he meant. "But all in all, I just can't stop thinking that, you know, they're all dead." Dawali Amara did not want to be dead, so he left the things of the dead alone. He knew better than to anger them, and even if their spirits did not go the same way as wolves' did when they died, it still felt strange to touch their things.

They both stood, and he smiled as she expressed the wish to come and see what life was like in his tribe someday. The Chief believed he had found a friend today, and just as it had been with Cwmfen, an influential friend. Sure, Kaena's son did not have to listen to her, but what son didn't lend an ear for their mother every now and then? In that sense, he was killing two birds with one stone, or hell, even three; he gained a friend, he learned of Inferni, and he might have some good words about himself reach their leader's ears sometime. It was all good. This chat with the female had put him in a very good mood, as well. Gvihita bristled her feathers impatiently on his shoulder, but he simply ignored her. He gave a polite chuckle at her comment on the invitation, and looked at her sideways as he extended the fun of it for just another moment. "You wouldn't want to offend all the youngsters to the south." He winked and smiled. He stretched his arms as if readying himself for the trek home; it was a long way. Good thing he had come prepared, bringing some pleasant furs along with him. He would just stop and sleep somewhere along the way. There was no reason to attempt to do this in one day, after all. Perhaps he would even pass through Dahlia de Mai, instead of walk around it. She bade him farewell, and he smiled widely. Such phrases were not used in diplomacy, and while he had come here with a mission, he left here with a friend. "I'll try my best." He said, still smiling. This social business was taking its toll on his jaw muscles! "Be well and safe until I see you next, then, Kaena Lykoi." He gave her that nod-and-a-bow once again, before he raised his right hand at her and turned away. He was glad that he had not run into a different Inferni member than this one; perhaps he had more reason to be glad than he knew. A meeting with another one could have taken a drastical turn in a different direction, but it hadn't. Dawali Amara left for home in an elevated mood, and while Gvihita continued to taunt him on the way back, trying to find any reaction in him, her efforts were wasted.

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