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» ember! if it's ok, maybe he has enough time to at least figure out rough member count/num of males nd females before she finds him? then his scent would be all along the border and she could be super suspicious, too 
Anselm had enjoyed his night out with the boys. Given that things in Inferni seemed a little off-kilter, it was exactly what he needed. Although he didn't like to admit it, Anselm had always craved some sort of mutually understanding company. The guys he'd met in Halifax, as strange of a crew as they were, had fit the bill just fine. The hybrid certainly wasn't opposed to the idea of meeting up with them again later. It had been a nice retreat both mentally and physically; there was no inter-pack drama, no business, only alcohol-fuelled nonsense.
Afterwards, though, he was feeling a little out of sorts. Perhaps it was the hangover. Complacency and apprehension had been wed shotgun-style, and their little love-child was some strange sort of restlessness and overconfidence. Perhaps he would finally go to investigate that other pack! Anselm knew nothing about the Aniwayans, though he may have heard the name somewhere, and he knew the rough location. It was unusual for him to stray so far from Inferni, but he knew he would head home again before very long.
Unfortunately, as he pressed onward, he became more and more aware of how out of place he really was. When he'd first rejoined his family, he'd smartly snuck off before the clan's scent could really penetrate his fur and be completely obvious. (Strike one.) He could play the part of the innocent joiner or loner and nobody needed to know the difference. Now, though, it was obvious he belonged somewhere else... and that somewhere else was basically across the map. Somewhat apprehensive, he went against his usual better judgement and opted to remain in his seccui form. (Strike two.) When he dealt with strange packs, he usually wanted to appear as unimpressive as possible; lupus form was ideal.
He still had enough of his wits about him not to completely trespass, of course, but he was determined to make this a quick, guerilla-style investigation: get in, scent as much as he could, and get out with nobody being the wiser. | [/html]
[html] http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a329/ ... _horse.gif); background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> Sure ^^
The day had been an oddly sunny one; the wolf had been growing used to the almost constant rain that they had gotten over the last few weeks, and to look up and not see a single cloud in the sky was different. She couldn't say that she was doing well, not after what had happened with Dawali, but she was getting along. She'd spent a day holed up in her den, not speaking to anyone, just thinking...and now things seemed to be back on track. Unlike the last time that she had been rejected, she wasn't trying to harm herself or get into any fights.
She walked along the inside portion of the border in Optime form, wearing one of the dresses that she had found in the city rather than her usual cloak. The cloak was heavy and would be good for winter, but she didn't need it now. She wanted to wear something, though, to cover herself up. The dress had a modest bodice and light, airy sleeves made of an off-white cotton material. The rest of it was a medium red color, not too dark but not too light, flowing down to her feet. Ember carried her sword with her despite the fact that she wore a dress, something that might have been considered unladylike for someone else. She was a warrior of Aniwaya, though. Not an ordinary girl.
A strange scent came to her nose as she walked, and she stopped for a moment to glance about. It smelled like whoever it belonged to was pretty close...but she didn't see anyone. Were they running? She didn't recognize the smell, not having been up to Inferni, but noted it as being odd and out of place. She started after it, running slowly, leaping gracefully over fallen logs and dodging trees and bushes.
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» That avatar is awesome O:
Inferni's numbers had been dwindling. While it was natural to experience an outflow of members, there were usually just as many joiners coming back in to recharge the ranks. There was a steady equilibrium, but something had happened to upset this balance. It alarmed the male slightly--it wasn't even winter yet. Well, perhaps towards the end of fall they'd get the usual drifters that sought refuge for the winter before moving on. Those sorts of coyotes and hybrids weren't exactly what he would have liked to see joining their ranks, but so long as they pulled their own weight during their occupancy and helped to keep Inferni competitively sized, they would have to do.
This pack wasn't much different than the rest. They seemed to have a slight lead on the coyotes in raw numbers. There also seemed to be a disproportionate amount of females, though it seemed as though the Alpha was male. His second in command was clearly female, though, and... shit. Anselm's nose rose from the ground and tested the air--somebody was nearby, and it smelled like the most dominant female. Though his last encounter with a dominant female (Geneva) had gone moderately well, the hybrid liked to steer clear of the leadership for obvious reasons. They were the most suspicious and the most protective--they had gotten their rank for a reason.
Instinctively his tail dropped between legs and his dark tipped ears fell flat against his skull. It was about time to jump ship--he didn't feel like trying to explain his way out of this one. He turned and immediately began to head further east away from the marked borders, though his path drifted slightly north as well... unwittingly taking him closer to the female. He kept as low to the ground as possible, but the vegetation could only do so much to mask his vibrant golden form. Clearly he was meant to stalk in tall grasses and prairie; it fit well back in his home territory, but here he just stuck out all the more.
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[html] Marit's so awesome for making it for me!! Maybe they could talk for a bit and then she could decide not to trust him and run him off?
Aniwayan hadn't been doing the best number-wise, but they were a hearty bunch and would make it through anything that came at them. Who wouldn't want to join with them and meet their spirit-animal? Only with Aniwaya could a wolf discover that spirtual part of themselves, through the teachings of the tribe and the many old traditions.
She came upon the other with caution, teeth bared and ears pricked forward in caution. She didn't recognize him at all. His pelt was interesting, not one that she often saw. It reminded her of Dawali just a little bit, but he was part red-wolf. She wasn't sure what this one was. "Are you a member of the tribe, come to join with us?" She shouted from a distance. Aiyanna had just come back, after all.
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Works for me! :]
@&#&$Anselm expected displays of dominance when he was a guest on foreign soil--he didn't necessarily anticipate shows of outright aggression. Her dark lips pulled back to reveal two rows of straight, pointy white teeth, and his muscles tensed on instinct as he prepared to bolt right then and there. It was only her words that froze him in place, though he'd already lowered his posture considerably. His tail remained planted firmly between his legs and he gazed pointedly off to the side of her, not wishing to incite further anger or an attack. His dark-tipped ears stayed planted against his head. He was banking on something here--something that told him most (sane) folks wouldn't all out attack someone who bothered to submit (psychopaths like Samael and Hybrid were excluded).
@&#&$"Err... tribe?" he wondered, genuine curiosity inflected in his tone. Despite the general bulk of his secui form, he had an easy time keeping lower than the towering optime--but just to be sure, he kept his head level with his shoulders or lower, knowing damn well he'd be a fool to take on anybody on their own turf. Backup was just a short howl away and Inferni already had enough enemies. He was not here to make more; he was simply there to discover and investigate. Not that she necessarily needed to know that.
@&#&$He blinked after his inquiry for a moment, then swung his heavy head as he stole a curious glance at her face. "I think I'm just sort of disoriented," he admitted with a shameful, apologetic tone. Though this was a flat out lie in one sense, he played up the part of him that was socially disoriented by this encounter, allowing his words to sound as genuine and smooth as pure silk. That was the trick he'd discovered when it came to lying--to exaggerate some part of the fallacy that was true and embrace it so completely that it could only sound real, spoken with no hesitation, sideways glances, or nervous tics. [/html]
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She wore a vial of water around her neck, a tie to her spirit-whale Utriu. The orca could now appear or disappear by his own will. Before, he had only appeared for her when she was near water, floating up from the depths of the ocean. She wondered about it sometimes, if he was a ghost or just some nice spirit that had stuck around to help her out. He had seemed to prefer the ocean, but as long as he was near some kind of water he was alright with appearing for her.
He came now, a long black and white figure that was invisible to all but Ember, observing the newcomer and looking to the dark wolf. "He does not look like tribe." She glanced up at Utriu, then back to the other wolf. Utriu knew what was right and wrong, even if he didn't. The whale was right; this one didn't have any feathers or beads in his hair at all...something just felt a little bit off. "Oh. Well...is there something I can help you with, if you're not looking to join?" She asked him, eyeing him carefully. "One of our leaders was attacked a few months ago...I'd be careful if I were you, wandering around Aniwaya's borders."
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@&#&$The female peered up into the treetops and he found his gaze lifting skyward in turn. He wasn't sure what he expected to see--perhaps a flighty songbird or skittish squirrel at best, but alas, there was only the vegetation waving back at him on a gentle breeze. His blood-red eyes focused on her face briefly again in question, though he only studied the tip of her snout, and then her chest when he decided he could not figure it out.
@&#&$Anselm knew there was more to life than what met the obvious senses--sight, taste, scent, touch, and sound--there was that indescribable tingling you got when someone gave you a bad vibe, there was the fact you could touch your own paw to your nose with your eyes closed and not miss. He could accept and manipulate these sensations, for though they were (strictly speaking) intangible, they still had concrete manifestations in the physical world. He would never be able to experience things like she did... heck, if anyone tried to explain their system to him in detail, he'd assume there was something foul in their water supply and they were all hallucinating. He'd never seen (or felt) concrete proof of an afterlife, ghosts, or god; he was too analytical, too scientific, and even if such things did exist on some alternate plane they did not affect him here, so there was no sense in worrying about it.
@&#&$Taking a brief moment to mull over her question, he rose to his feet and peered left, then right, then up--then he turned in a circle and glanced at the land behind them before returning to his original position. "Which way is northeast?" he wondered simply, head inclined slightly to one side. His sense of direction was better than that, though the thick canopy overhead prevented him from using the sun as a navigational assistant and he figured it was a valid question she would surely know the answer to. It also made it somewhat obvious, he hoped, that he didn't intend to linger there for very long.
@&#&$The words she said next caused his expression to visibly drop and he lowered his head again, glaring to the left before looking back at her somewhat forlornly. "Yea.... my bad. But, do you know... who did it?" Somebody help him; he hoped to high Hell it was nobody from Inferni. Even they should know better than to attack a leader. As much as he would have liked to trust his clan-mates, sometimes he just couldn't help but assume the worst. [/html]
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She didn't think that Utriu was visible, and when Anselm's eyes lifted up to the treetops she coughed awkwardly. She probably looked crazy. "My spirit guide is advising me." She explained. But would he know what that meant? She hadn't known it before she joined aniwaya. "We have spirit guides here who advise us and guide us on our path. Mine is a large whale named Utriu. If you would like to meet him I can request that he make himself visible"
At his question she pointed off into the trees to the Northeast. "This way." She wondered why he wanted to know who had attacked them--maybe to keep up on inter-pack relations? She didn't think that the wolf who had done it was from a pack, though. "If I was given his name I don't remember it any more...he was a big wolf, a loner, I think. Dawali is doing much better now, too." Ember didn't want him to think that their tribe was vunerable.
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» So maybe he could try to appear, and Anselm won't see him anyway? -Not sure how this kind of thing works.- Kind of a see what you want to see, believe what you want to thing?
"O... kay?" he stammered uncertainly, bewildered. What was she talking about again? Spirit guides? Her explanation didn't really help him any--she actually had seemed less insane before she'd opened her mouth on this one. At least before he could assume some random animal had caught her attention, not an invisible floating whale. The hybrid now took a moment to examine her in more detail--nothing about her seemed particularly crazy; so far she had been extremely reasonable, really. It was natural to investigate strangers at the borders and it was normal to engage in civil conversation if they seemed non-threatening. This, though, threw a wrench into everything and he clearly didn't know what to do about it. Maybe it was a joke?
A pensive frown had overtaken his countenance, though he successfully blinked it away when she returned to the subject of Dawali's assailant. At once his confusion was replaced by relief--ah, so it hadn't been anyone from Inferni. Here he visibly became more relaxed--the tension he'd felt was largely subconscious in origin, though he was rather aware of its dissipation in turn. "Well, I'm glad your leader is alright." He crinkled a brow, shaking his head. "I'm sure that loner will get what's coming to him; gotta be a bloody moron to attack an Alpha," he said, clearly unaware of Brennt's brief imprint on 'Souls history. The simple brown wolf had been one of his daughter's friends, once upon a time.
"Well, thanks for the directions," he said, at a loss for anything else. He wasn't sure what else he could gather from Ember without seeming mighty suspicious. He took a moment to do a quick mental run-down on the "data" he'd already collected about her tribe, adding a few qualitative notes about an incident with an aggressive loner and a hallucinating Beta. Then again, she'd sort of implied they all had these "spirit guides;" was that part of her own delusion, or was the entire pack nutty? He really couldn't decide if the whole situation was more hysterical or horrifying. | [/html]
[html] Sure  that works. :3 And close?
There were a lot of questions being asked...but she didn't really mind answering them. Telling that Dawali had been injured didn't show any weakness in her eyes, because he'd beaten the hell out of the wolf who had done it and had killed them. He wasn't God, and she doubted that anyone could have escaped a fight like that without injury.
"Yeah, you're welcome. Now that ya know where Aniwaya is, I expect that there won't be any other random run-ins with you." She said. She would wait for him to go completely out of her sight before leaving and heading back to her den.
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