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Xeris had decided to spend the day at the beach. She had been wandering along the coastline in her optime form, relaxing and taking in the sunlight. For the first time in a while, it wasn't raining or storming. A few fluffy white clouds decorated the clear blue sky, but other than that the sun was shining full force upon the earth. The white wolfess felt her toes warmed by the sand as it took in the sun's heat. The roaring waves beside her were gentle and calming. It was really a perfect day.
She'd been thinking about Pendzez. Of course, that was what she thought about most of the time nowadays. She really did love him, and wanted to be with him, but today, she wanted to think on her own for a while. It was hard for her to believe that she had a mate now. If her mother could see her now, she would be proud. But Xeris knew that her mother was far away, if she was even still alive. And thinking of mothers, Xeris wondered if Pendzez wanted pups. It would be an interesting experience, becoming a mother. And Xeris was thinking that she was almost ready for that experience. But she hadn't been around many pups beside Rendall, and the little bluish-furred pup was growing into a young adult now. Perhaps she'd need a bit more experience around children...
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[html] http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/temp/masontable.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;">A sunlit day seemed wonderful to the sandy-coated boy. The Inferni youth had spent much of his time on Hades' Beach. He was still trying to perfect the art of fishing. He had yet to be successful, but he knew that this was a skill he wanted to hone. But before he could refine the skill, he had to have a lot of practice. Mason was a determined boy, and if it was physically possible, he would have spent all twenty four hours of the day trying until he experienced some success. "Fishings" were elusive creatures, to say the least. With his limited skill set and knowledge of the damnable creatures, the most he could do was snap at the shimmering waters and come up with a mouthful of ghastly tasting salt water. Even so, the yellow-eyed boy was double and triple is efforts, if need be. He wanted to surprise Kaena Lykoi and bring her an entire barrage of the sea creatures. He had never actually seen what one looked like while it was alive, but he could guess. Hezekiah had given him alternate ways of stalking the creatures, and he would continue to try his way. But for now, he would try the tried and true method. If not, maybe the boy could find a sand crab to bring back to Inferni. The boy walked across the old highway and onto the sand before he stopped and saw a white lady there. He scrutinized her warily, not approaching her. "Are you looking for fishings?" the boy asked begrudgingly. She was an adult and probably better at getting food, and so she would probably want use of the entire beach. It only made sense.
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It was by some incredibly odd coincidence that as Xeris was thinking to herself about pups, one such young creature happened to appear. Xeris turned her golden eyes toward the youngster, playfully wandering along the shoreline. It wasn't until the boy came closer to the white wolfess that she realized something was wrong--this was no wolf pup, but a young coyote. She recognized that scent of Inferni on him. But he was just a boy, even younger than Rendall had been when Xeris first met her. And, the white-furred woman had to admit, the little coyote pup was, well...rather cute.
Looking for fishings? Xeris thought over the boy's words. This gave her an even better impression of his age and, as much as she hated to think it, made him seem even more adorable in her eyes. But she had to bring herself down to earth for a moment and recall that this little cute boy could grow up to be a snarling, ferocious coyote fighter out to destroy as much of wolfkind as he could. She saw his golden eyes and wondered if he was related to the devilish coyote woman who had attacked her. "No," she replied at last, rather hesitantly. "I'm not fishing." She decided to leave it at that for now, to see if the boy would be curious enough to speak with her or wander off disinterested.
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[html] http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/temp/masontable.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;">He did not recognize this white woman's scent. It was obvious that she was not a coyote or coyote hybrid. Or perhaps she was, but he knew that she was not part of his clan. That did not necessarily make him distrustful of her, but he was definitely wary. He had spent time as a loner, a considerable amount of time considering his youth. He had learned harsh lessons, and one of those lessons had been to watch his back, especially with strangers. He brightened somewhat when she announced that she wouldn't be hunting for fish. His tail wagged behind him, although he was not aware of how it betrayed him. "'Kay, I'll be fishings," the boy announced. He figured it was only the polite thing to do, considering the fact that she had been at the beach first. The young boy trotted up to the water and looked down at his blurry reflection. He would have tied to pounce on them from a rock perch, but he could not see any rock formations nearby. Sighing, he lowered his maw to the water and got a noseful of salty water. It was all part of the territory, but that did not mean that the boy had to like it.
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ooc-ness
Xeris watched absentmindedly as the boy walked to the water. She noted that he didn't seem particularly wary of her and acted awfully relaxed around a stranger from an enemy pack. "You must not have been here long," the white wolfess mused, almost more to herself than the boy. "Who are you? You are from Inferni, aren't you?" The questions had spilled out of her mouth before she could think clearly. It was a bad idea to interact with the pup, she knew that. But he was just a child. It couldn't hurt. And she needed some time around children, didn't she?
The white female lowered herself onto the sand, sitting down and wrapping her arms around her knees. She watched the small coyote as he curiously gazed at the sparkling ocean, searching for the shadows of fish. "So, you've come here just for fishing?" she asked. It seemed odd--surely there were fish-inhabited bodies of water somewhere in Inferni's territory. Maybe he, like her, had an affinity for wandering. Or maybe he got lost. Her golden eyes focused on his small form for a while in silence, and then she spoke up. "Would you like me to help you?"
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[html] http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/temp/masontable.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;">"I am part of Inferi!" the young boy declared proudly, his tail erect and his chest puffed out as he said it. He was proud to be part of the coyote clan, and he was pleased that the white woman seemed to know where he had come from. He had not been part of the clan for very long, but he had done his best to keep Inferni's scent clinging to his pelt. He hoped that the woman had been able to smell it on him. In his mind, that made things more official and real to him. He trusted both Kaena and Gabriel's word, and they had told him that he was part of the clan. However, it was still wonderful to be identified as part of something larger than himself. "I is also Mason Hesiod," the boy added as an after thought. It was all well and good that the wolfess knew he was from Inferni, but he also had a name. He would not mind if she called him by the clan's name, but he knew it would make things simpler if they knew each other's names. "What is your name, lady?" he asked, before his yellow eyes returned to watch the water. "You's can help if you wants," the boy said, stalking a bit to the side as he thought he saw the glimmer of shining scales. "I was waiting for Kaena to teach me, but I want to surprise her," he said without taking his eyes from his game. It did not dawn on him that this woman might not know Kaena. To him, the scarred woman was larger than life and it only made sense in his young view that she would be a presence for everyone else too.
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can you make sure that Mason gives a physical description of Kaena? Xer won't recognize her otherwise. thanks <3
As she had thought, the young boy was from the rival coyote clan. Xeris frowned. It was probably a bad idea for her to be here. But she'd stay for a while. He was just a boy. "I'm Xeris," she replied. And then an idea came to her mind...perhaps she could use this boy to get information. She still didn't know all that much about Inferni--maybe he could tell her. Maybe her name would even ring a bell to him due to her recent...incident.
He mentioned a woman named Kaena. Probably his older sister or something, the white wolfess thought idly. "And who is Kaena?" she asked as she walked closer to the water, kneeling down beside Mason. Her golden eyes scanned the sparkling waters. Perhaps she'd be kind and help the young coyote out. He hadn't done anything wrong, had he?
It was quite the ethical conundrum for Xeris. Help an enemy--who was just a child--or selfishly leave the child alone. Her parents had been purists of sorts, saying that only wolves were "good." She'd spent an important part of her life defying her family's ideals, believing that everyone, no matter who they were, deserved the same treatment. But what if someone found out? Would her fellow pack members be angry with her...?
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[html] http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/temp/masontable.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;">"Kaena is from Inferni," the coyote boy said, his eyes still wondering over the sparkling waters, looking for the tell tale signs of shining scales. Xeris was more than welcome to watch him, if she wanted. Maybe she would want to go fishing later, but for now, he was confident that he had the best chances for catching fishings for Kaena. Mason Hesiod was often a focused youth, but now he was able to multi-task. When he had been only a few weeks younger, he would have found it more difficult to have a conversation and actively hunt, but now that he was more settled and his mind was more at ease, it was much easier. It seemed that Xeris did not know who Kaena was. It didn't make sense to him, but she seemed all right enough, for a wolf, so he decided to elaborate for her sake. If she was curious enough, he could give her some answers. "She has an eye like mine," he said, turning his face to her. His golden colored eyes gleamed. "Hers is darker, and she has only one." Looking closer at the white wolfess, he saw that she also had yellow eyes. "Darker than yours," the young boy said. Kaena looked different. Scars marched across her and crossed her body in patterns. But he did not think that took away from her. It showed that she had lived life and had survived. That was a mark of success for the young male.
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apologies for the wait.
The young boy began to explain the identity of this mysterious Kaena figure. Xeris' ears perked forward, curious. She'd figured that this mysterious woman was from Inferni, and Mason confirmed this. She only hoped that this Kaena would not come to look for Mason and discover him interacting with a wolf--the last thing Xeris needed was another conflict with Inferni. The wounds from her fight had just healed, she was just beginning to feel better...
Apparently the most memorable thing about this mysterious coyote woman was her eyes. The same color as Mason's, a gold.
But then she realized what else the young child had said. Kaena had one single golden eye. Xeris' own bright eyes suddenly widened with realization. Images flashed in her mind, images of the bloodthirsty one-eyed coyote woman who had attacked her. Was this boy her son? Her brother? Her friend? Xeris, breathing hard, took a step backward, and then another. This was bad. "Kaena..." the white wolfess murmured. "Her name is Kaena...the one who attacked me."
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[html] http://digital-bonsai.com/katew/temp/masontable.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat;">Mason turned to regard Xeris more fully now. He had all of his attention on her. His oversized ears stood straight up on his tawny head like sails and his coin-yellow eyes were wide as he took the ivory colored woman in. She began backing away from him, one step at a time. He found this odd. She was the adult, and he was the child. If this situation was a dangerous one, she would be the greatest threat. But it seemed as if fear or shock had taken her over.
"Kaena wouldn't do it without a reason," he said, staying where he was. His body language was strong, his back arched and his tail erect. It did not matter to him that Xeris was bigger and older. He knew that Kaena was a lot of things. She was kind, but also capable and strong. But he did not think that she did things without a reason. "What did you do?" he asked curiously. There wasn't accusation in his words, but he stood firm by his belief that Kaena would not arbitrarily attack someone.
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She watched the coyote boy, her golden eyes unblinking. The youth before her seemed so innocent, and yet he looked up to the vicious coyote who had attacked her. He seemed confused, perhaps because of the white wolfess' own shock and confusion directed toward him. She wondered if Kaena had taught him to fight; he certainly displayed aggressive body language, a daring thing for such a small pup faced with a much larger adult.
Naturally, Mason defended the coyote woman. Xeris felt her muscles tense. He asked her what she had done. A small surge of anger rushed through her body--she had barely done anything. "I got lost end ended up in Inferni's territory," she responded. "I tried to explain myself and be friendly but she wouldn't listen to me." Xeris had stopped pacing backward now, and stood firmly in place, waiting.
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[html] http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j19/S ... ranges.png); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat: no-repeat; width:300px; border:1px #000000 solid; font-size: 10px; line-height: 12px;"> The boy shook his head when he heard her version of the story. He realized that she probably wasn't lying, but he did not feel like her re-telling represented the entire story. The coyote boy had great faith in Kaena, and he knew that she would not act indiscriminately. If she was a loose-cannon, she would bring danger to the rest of the clan. The woman might be fierce, but she was not a fool.
"There has to be somethings elses. Some other informations." She stood firm now, but Mason did not feel intimidated. Perhaps he was too caught up in thinking this through and defending Kaena. He knew that she could defend herself and probably did not care what others thought of her, but he cared. "I got lost too, but she didn't hurt me," he said, sounding both frustrated and earnest at the same time. He was trying to convince her while telling her that she was wrong at the same time.
"A wolf came to Inferni," he said, beginning to tell her the story of the events for the week before. "He came, and he did not leave when he found out that he was on our ground, in our home. He did not give us respect and he hurt me," he said, for some reason now he starting to see similarities between the strange wolf and Xeris. "You should stay out of other's homes...My home is a place where I am supposed to be safe."
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ooc: this is kind of a sucky post sorry D:
Xeris watched Mason's reaction carefully. She saw him shake his head and wondered if he believed her. What she'd said was true, of course; she had tried to be courteous and friendly but was just suddenly attacked. It hurt to think back to that day, both mentally and physically. She could still feel the ache in her side from the long scar there.
"You're a coyote," she said. "She wouldn't attack you if you got lost. Wolves and Inferni don't mix, particularly those from Phoenix Valley like myself." Was it possible that this child didn't know of the rivalry between the two groups? If he had, he probably wouldn't have stayed around to speak with her. Xeris did not want to hurt this boy; he was only a child, after all, but she did need to make sure he knew what was going on in the world around him.
She was intrigued by his story of another wolf who was attacked. The woman hadn't heard of anyone else in Phoenix Valley being injured, so she decided that this wolf must not be someone she knew. This, however, only confirmed the fact that Inferni would treat any wolf roughly, no matter their pack affiliation. "I wasn't trying to invade the territory," Xeris snapped. She suddenly realized that she was defending herself against the accusations of a mere child. "Inferni may be safe for you, but it's not safe for others."
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