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Set in Lunenberg, sorry for rambling and stuff! Please don't join if you're not actually going to be replying or if you have a tendency to 'forget' about threads. .____. 1000+ words.
#####Standing in the old human town, Vigilante stared at the small house in front of him. He had spent a couple of weeks searching through the old town until he found the perfect old house. It was quaint, a faded sea-green color, and it seemed to be in decent condition. Considering he had been planning to build a house up from scratch, he was glad to know that places like this one did exist. It was already furnished, too, which was nice. He would try sleeping in a bed, and it would be a new experience, but it would be nice, regardless. The bed in the main bedroom was even very large, and he was pleased with the rest of the furnishings. Some things, such as the strange black box with a screen in front of the couch, would not stay in the house, or he would just put it in one of the unsued rooms. There was even a kitchen, and from what he knew, it couldn't be that hard to cook, could it? He could learn, anyway, so that he could have the skill.
#####There was a pile of things by his feet that he wanted to move into the house, and he was hoping he could learn to work with this substance - Metal, Heath had confirmed - and then he could make things that would be useful to those around him. Just as he had told Heath, he had gone to the stables and picked up as much of the scrap metal and the tools that seemed like they would be useful, and now they were waiting to be moved into his new house. The water crashed behind him, and though the ocean was a new thing for him, he found the sound almost relaxing. The sun was behind him, fading away into the nothingness that it would soon become, but that did not bother him, and neither did the cooling air. His long and thick dog fur would keep him warm throughout the entire winter; he wasn't worried about that.
#####More important than the house, or the tools, or the ocean was the large horse standing behind him impatiently. Feeling the hard, velvety nudge against his shoulder, Vigilante turned around to stare at the magnificent beast. When he had gone to the stables, he had not been planning to look at the horses, as he had done once in the company of a female whose name he did not know. His plan had been to only find the scraps of metal and the tools, but he had been found by a horse instead, and he didn't know how to make him not follow him, once Vigilante had let him out of the pen. The dark bay stallion was full grown, it seemed, but the man could not determine an actual age. Something about him must have drawn the horse to liking him, since he hadn't been able to shake him since finding him.
#####By now, Vigilante was willing to accept that the horse had chosen him and that he would need to learn to work with him. But first, where to put him? There didn't seem to be much room inside the house for the stallion, but he did not want the horse to be running around wildly. If that were the case, it would have been better to leave him at the stables. "It's time to stop calling you The Horse," he mused, studying the beast thoughtfully. There had been a name written on one of the doors to the small stalls inside the stables (it was faded, and he had been practicing his reading a bit with passerbys in the city, so he was able to determine how it sounded from the letters), and though it was doubtful that the name had belonged to this particular horse, he couldn't help but think it might be a suitable name. "Nádherné," he said questioningly, tentatively reaching to pet the horse's nose. The stallion seemed to approve, snorting but allowing Vigilante to stroke his nose affectinoately and slowly while they stood.
#####The door to the house was not locked, though if it had been, time would have rusted away the unused object. Though he did not know what to do with the horse yet, Vigilante did know that he wanted to put his metal pieces and tools inside, so he did that quickly, leaving them right near the door to be dealt with later. After shutting the door, he moved in the direction of the area behind the house, hoping it might yield some answers about what to do with Nádherné, and thankfully, it did. There was a shed behind the house, and though it looked a sorry sight, he knew he could fix it up. It was larger than one would expect, so he supposed that he could put Nádherné in there comfortably for the time being, until he built a bigger enclosure for him. It was nearly empty, too, which was nice, except for a strange assortment of tools. Some looked useful, while others seemed like a waste of space, and still some others looked dangerous. While his new companion watched him warily, the dog hybrid set to work on removing everything from the shed, putting everything in a mish mash of rusted objects a few feet away.
#####When he was finished, Vigilante stayed on his knees while Nádherné lowered his face to the luperci's. This close, Vigilante was nervous to make any sudden movements (the horse was significantly larger than him, as he had expected), but he hoped to eventually have the kind of relationship with Nádherné that the riders in the race had obviously had with their horses. "What do you say, good sir, just for the night? I'm certain I will be able to build something more fitting soon," he added, trying to compromise with the beast, though he had no idea if the horse could even understand what it was that he was saying. It was possible he didn't. Horses and luperci likely spoke very different languages, considering he couldn't quite understand the horse, either. Standing, he motioned into the open doorway of the large shed, and surprisingly, the horse acknowledged this with a nod and entered without too much hesitation. Proud, Vigilante worked the glass window out of the door and closed it, giving an opening about the size of the horse's head for him to see from and, if he chose to, put his head through. "There."
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His first birthday had passed without any sort of pomp or circumstance. The Aatte male had even forgotten the event until a few days afterwords. A year old. So much had happened in a year. So much had changed. What would this year hold for him? Haven could only hope that the turmoil would be lessened in this one. He had endured so much. His mothers splitting apart, the revelation of what his sire was, leaving his birth pack, his birth mother succumbing to addiction, his love abandoning him, drunkenly losing his virginity with Princess and all the drama that had come from it. A heavy sigh was heaved from his lungs as he recalled all of it.
Drogon snorted and his graceful head swung around to playfully nip at his luperci's leg. The Knight smirked down at the beast and patted his neck. Yes, a lot of bad had happened, but there was good in it too. He had become a knight like he had always dreamed, he had formed a close bond with the stallion he now rode, and there was Princess. Her image danced through his head. The yearling's heart wasn't healed yet, and he still had his doubts about love, but if anyone could fix him perhaps she could. A Knight and a Princess. It was how the stories were supposed to go. Stories usually didn't come true he had found, or at least not in the ways you expected them to, but maybe this time it would. Maybe a part of the fantasy he had had in his head as a child would return to him.
The Cour des Miracles hybrid had set off this day for a leisurely ride, Vowkeeper strapped across his chest. Idly Haven felt the pink scars that ran across his front. They had finally stopped causing him discomfort but they were still clearly visible. He had a feeling they would not remain so forever though. The cuts had not been too savage or too deep, so they would fade away with time. One would still be able to feel them though, if their fingers felt over his ribs and stomach. He had done his usual patrol of the borders and then had sidetracked to look through the town that lay within their borders. The Knight hadn't spent too much time here, really only that time where Firefly had given him the tattoo that adorned his inner forearm.
It seemed quiet, but not unnaturally so. Just peaceful, the crashing of the ocean ever present. Drogon's hoof clopped noisily on the street as the pair moved along. Bi-colored ears were pricked for any other noise and for a while found none, but soon he heard some rummaging sounds coming from up ahead. It seemed the mustang had sensed something of interest as well and his pace turned to a canter, quickly bringing them to the source. They came up to a house just in time to see a horse disappear into a shed of some sort. There was pack member overseeing this all. Haven had seen him at pack gatherings, but they had never been formally introduced. "Never seen anything quite like this before," he said, some humor coloring his voice. A soft smile was on his face as he and Drogon watched the other pair.
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300+ words.
#####Though he always kept an ear open for any stray sounds, he was pleasantly surprised when he heard the other's approach. Turning, Vigilante studied the orange boy and the stallion with him, recognizing him as the one who had won the horse race some weeks prior. Before replying, he glanced over his awkward handiwork quickly, almost as if to agree that it was, indeed, strange. "He followed me from the stables when I went to find some scrap metal and tools," he explained, his hand resting on the hole in the door to the large shed. "I couldn't get him to leave me alone, and since I was considering finding a companion in a horse, I couldn't very well be angry with him. I needed somewhere to put him, because he obviously doesn't fit in my house, and after I cleaned this out and took the window out, it kind of looked like the ones I saw at the stables." At least, he hoped that it looked a little similar, because he didn't want his horse to be uncomfortable. He was just very new at the idea of keeping another being for any reason he would need the horse.
#####It was nice to have the chance to meet one of his other pack mates, so in the normal polite manner, Vigilante offered his right hand. Some here had been receptive to this, while others, like the lovely Tokyo, had not quite understood his intentions. "I'm Vigilante. Pleasure to meet you," he offered, waiting for a name in response for a proper greeting. Reaching up, the mixed man ran his hand over the horse's nose, feeling the warm, velvet-like fur that covered it. Was it really as strange as his younger pack mate implied, what he was doing? He was very new to this, and did not quite know what was acceptable and what was not. "This is Nádherné. How long have you been with your horse?" he questioned, still refusing to acknowledge the idea that they potentially owned these creatures. To own them would be to take away the free spirit they possessed, which he liked in them. It drew him to them, almost, intriguing him greatly.
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Sorry to barge in <3 I like these guys. Plus I need Silv to meet more pack members for her future.
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Silverfox was lost, for probably the umpteenth time. Every since leaving home all those months ago, she had never really had a good sense of direction; and one distraction after another often led to disorientation and inevitably a giant, red “lost” stamp on her forehead. Pensively, the girl drew her salmon-hued tongue along the outside of her lips, pausing tenderly on the three round silver studs against her upper lip. Nervousness began to creep in as the scent of many different canines began to intrude, and it didn’t take her too long to realize that she had intruded upon the territory of a pack—something she did often, quite on accident.
She tried not to fret suddenly, knowing that she just had to find someone soon and politely ask her way out before she was deemed a threat and killed on the spot. Hopefully this was a nicer settling than some of the ones she had crossed her in the past. Self-consciously she grabbed her own hand, glancing over the x-shaped scar that lay intricately upon the back of it. Frowning, the female pressed forward, her wild tangle of silky-black hair blown back softly by the tender breeze that scented of a storm later.
A house in the near distance grabbed Silv’s bright, attentive eyes. Perking her ears, the ebony lady heading into the direction, unsure of who or what she would find—and it would turn out to be a bit of a pleasant surprise. A horse, was the first thing she saw; a tall, swarthy, muscular stallion. And just beyond him, two Luperci standing before a stable-like front. And was that… another horse inside? The black wolf swallowed hard, suddenly wondering what these two guys with horses would do to her. Draw and quarter?
Still, she drew nearer. She stayed on alert, eyes wide and ears erect until she was near enough to hear some of what they were saying. Quietly, she cleared her throat and peered towards them both, pressing her ears back in a respectful manner. Hey… I’m sorry to be a bother. I’m afraid I’ve gotten myself really lost, and I… well, can you help me? Silv smiled hopefully, feeling a tad shamed about her recklessness. She hugged herself lightly, still looking between the two.
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Haven was still relatively new to the concept of luperci finding companionship with horses, but he had quickly realized how strong and important those bonds could be. Finding Drogon had been a surprise, or rather, now that the thought over it, Drogon had found him. It could have just been the apple he had been carrying around, but Haven liked to think it was more than just that. Every since then their bond had become stronger everyday and now they trusted one another completely. "Does he not like the stables? You could always keep him there, there are plenty of stalls. But I understand if you want to keep him closer. My house isn't far from the stables and so I'm fine with keeping Drogon there." The stallion huffed deep in his broad chest and nodded. He didn't know low speech, but he swore sometimes the mustang understood his words perfectly. The Knight looked back at the shed with a new perspective. He supposed it did look a little like a stall. "Now that you mention it I can see it." It would serve.
The Aatte got down from Drogon as his packmate introduced himself. He grabbed his hand and shook it. It wasn't a manner he usually used to greet others, but he had done it on a few occasions. "I'm Haven, and likewise." His smile was broad and warm. He really did need to make an effort to get to better know the members that he wasn't acquainted with, he just hadn't really been in the mood for such things lately. "A good name. As I mentioned before this is Drogon." The dark stallion stamped his hoof on the ground and bowed his neck. "How long? Hmmm, I think it's been about three months." That much time had passed already? It was hard to believe.
Haven had been so caught up in talking to Vigilante that he hadn't noticed there was something that didn't belong. The sudden clearing of a throat made him wheel around and take in the strange dark woman. The Knight's face hardened and his brows came together. They were deep into the claimed lands and any wolf knew better than to wander into a pack's lands, lost or not. "Do you realize you've intruded on claimed lands?" He would be willing to escort her out, but first he wanted to know if she were sorry for the breach in social conduct.
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500+ words.
#####It was an idea, though Vigilante did not know how practical would be for him to leave the stallion at the stables. By the way the beast had followed him so insistently, it had not seemed at all likely that he would be able to escape the watchful eyes and the determined hooves of the blood bay horse. To be fair, the dog hybrid had not actually thought of leaving him at the stables but still calling him his companion, but he was fond of the idea of keeping the horse closer by. There was no real reason, considering he did not know how to ride a horse as Haven did, and he did not know of what else the horse could do for him, but it was comforting to think that he was not completely alone out here. As far as he knew, he had been the only one to take up residence in this old, abandoned town, though it offered many buildings that could serve as housing, along with houses like the one he had claimed. It was possible others lived here, too, but he did not know of any. Perhaps he would take a walk around, just to see if anyone else had taken up residence in the town.
#####Before he could verbally respond, they were joined by another, completely foreign scent, and very shortly, the ebony female came into view. She spoke, and his higher ranked pack mate responded in a cool manner which Vigilante likely would have observed as well, had he answered her first. Naturally, the scent of a pack was always heavy in the area around the pack's territory, as well as within, so it was difficult to accidentally enter, in his opinion. Probably it was just his nature to be cautious of everything and everyone as per his training, but he found it incredulous that someone could say they were lost when they had to have knowingly entered the pack's territory. Granted, their pack was not the most formal of packs, and he doubted his King was overly protective of the area, seeming to be much more jolly and vicious, with very little for cares in the world. That was just his take on the King's attitude, and he found it admirable, but not quite how he would do things, in the case of being the one heading the pack. Thankfully, that was not, and would never be, the case.
#####Regarding the female with the distance between them, Vigilante nodded, as if to confirm what his superior had asked. From what he could tell, it seemed to be less of a question and more of a statement, because it would be hard to not know that she had trespassed unless she did not have a sense of smell - a very unlikely scenario. "Where do you happen to be lost from?" he questioned, wondering if they might be able to help her in finding her way out of claimed lands, and if they could perhaps aide her in not making this mistake again in the future.
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[html] http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v515/ ... topban.jpg); background-position: top center; background-repeat: no-repeat;"> Going to say Haven escorted her out of the lands. Short.
Hooves clopped loudly on the hard surface of the road announcing Haven's return from escorting the stranger outside of Cour des Miracles land. The Knight shook his head, he didn't understand some people. She must have smelled the borders and crossed over them and continued deep into the claimed territory. It was lucky for her that she had done this here and not in Inferni. She would not have left unscathed if that had been the case. Even he had not been exactly pleasant to her as he showed her out. He had warned her not to do anything so foolish again and then turned Drogon around and headed back to where he had come.
Coming back to the yard of the house that Vigilante had claimed he dismounted with a sigh. "She'll get herself killed doing that. Anyway, where were we?" Hopefully they could pick up where they had been so rudely interrupted and put this annoying incident behind them.
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Glad we got that settled. >_>; 500+ words.
#####Vigilante had waited patiently while Haven had gone to escort the intruding female out of the pack's territory, keeping himself occupied with the area around the makeshift stall the horse was in. Certainly his pack mate would return, since they had been having a nice conversation prior to the female's arrival. To keep himself busy, the man had opened the door slowly to the shed, trying not to hit the edges of the horse's massive head. The size difference between them was completely astounding, and he truly hoped that the horse would not be growing much more. In height, they were similar, he noted as the horse left the shed in a manner that suggested he was attempting to humor his keeper, but other than their height, the horse was much, much larger than he was. That seemed like a possible reason that others were able to ride their horses, but he was not particularly keen on doing so just yet. Not only did he question how tame the horse was, but it seemed like it would be so strange to do, in theory.
#####Nodding his agreement, he turned back to his pack mate, knowing his words to be true. Thankfully, she had wandered into this pack, which was more accepting than others. However, they were not a pack that was completely accepting to those with a lack of sense, so she would do well to avoid making the same mistake again. He just could not understand what compelled some to trespass, as if it were something acceptable and nothing out of the ordinary. In all of his life, he had not wanted to trespass to do his job. Occasionally, it had been a necessary evil, but there was a very obvious difference. The female had not seemed threatening in the least, and she had willing approached them rather loudly. He, on the other hand, had trespassed with intent to kill and leave. In such a case, could pack boundaries really be considered? It was the lesser of the two evils, though both had been done each time. Even though he had done it so many times while doing his job, it did not mean he found is socially acceptable.
#####"I was asking you about Drogon," he said, testing out the way the name sounded coming from his mouth. He had asked how long Haven had been with him, receiving the answer of three months. That seemed like ages, compared to the few hours he had been with his horse thus far. "Did you find him here, or did you already have him?" Haven had likely been in the pack longer than he had, and because of that, he could only assume the horse had been found here, since he had been in the pack for longer than three months. Still, he knew that some must have already had their horses when coming here, or found them elsewhere, since he knew that Heath had found Lumiere prior to joining this pack.
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Haven nodded his head, smile slowly returning to his features. That's right, they had been talking about the horses. He was hardly an expert on the subject, but he supposed he did have more experience than Vigilante so he would be happy to shed whatever light he could on the matter. "Oh yes, Drogon." The stallion's head perked up and he nosed his luperci's shoulder. Those deep eyes looked at him as if expecting something. He looked back at the horse confused for a moment and then laughed, scratching the place between his ears. "I don't have an apple for you right now, sorry buddy." The brown-black ears flicked back and he snorted in annoyance. Haven shook his head, still chuckling. "If anyone ever tells you they're just dumb animals they're wrong. Supposed they don't understand our language but sometimes I'm not so sure they don't." He and Drogon had never had a problem of not understanding one another.
The Knight remembered the day he had met the mustang well. It had been the same day that he had discovered his sword in fact. "I found him after the pack had formed, off to the west. There was a herd of them and I had an apple in my hand. While I was looking at the group he came up behind me and started mouthing at the apple. I ran into my aunt and she gave me some rope and I brought him back here. Most of the other horses were rounded by Firefly not too long after that." Haven had also done a lot of work to restore and clean up the stables and racetrack, but he didn't feel the need to go and toot his own horn about it. "I'm guessing Nádherné was part of group in the pastures?" He knew that the filly that followed Jac around had been with them, but maybe he had been a wild one that had found the others and just been looking around.
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<3 And I decided to change the speech color, because I didn't like the color of the other one. ^^; 500+ words.
#####Their conversation was once again on track, and this seemed to please Haven after the rude interruption. The bond between the younger luperci and his horse was as obvious as the one Heath had told him about his relationship with Lumiere, except he could actually see the bond instead of just imagine it. He smiled in response to Haven's explanation, assuming it was true. It was difficult to imagine that there was a complete language barrier between the two species, because while he could not understand what his horse said or thought, it seemed that Nádherné was able to understand the things he said. The horses in the stables were not completely tame, he had been told, but there had not been a problem thus far. "I believe it," he mused in agreement. That Haven thought such a thing with such an obvious bond between boy and hore did not surprise him in the least.
#####Remembering the day he had been in the orchard near Dahlia, Vigilante recalled telling Adelaida that he was interested in restoring some of the fruit trees. As far as he knew, there were some within his pack's territory as well, but he had long since forgotten his ambitiolns regarding that. Haven's mention of an apple reminded him of that. "Do all horses like apples, then? Aside from what he eats on his own, I'm rather uneducated about what I should feed him," he admitted, turning his head to study the stallion beside him. He was glad that he had opened the door while Haven was gone, because seeing the stoic horse outside made him feel as though they could be comfortable with one another. He was still wary, but he was glad to know that he could apparently trust the horse near him and others, luperci and horse alike.
#####The name Firefly was unfamiliar to him, though he knew he had not met everyone in the pack. However, if hse had been here three months ago, then he must have seen her at some point in time. During his first few weeks in the pack, he recalled meeting two females and not learning their names. The scarred female had been revealed to him as Svara, but the other one was still unknown to him, and was possibly this Firefly. They had, after all, met near the pasture with all of the horses. "He was," he confirmed, though it did not really require an answer. For someone so inexperienced with horses, he would never have trusted himself to be near horses that were not enclosed or relatively tame already. He still did not know what he was going to do about the horse, either. The shed seemed like it would do for shelter, especially if he built fencing around it, but what would he do to occupy him? "What do you do with Drogon? I'm not sure what one does with a horse, really." It was a poorly worded question, and for that, he grinned sheepishly.
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Having a close bond with an animal outside canines was something he had never experienced before and unlike anything he had seen growing up. For a while his mother Anu had had a bluebird that followed her around, but the bond that he shared with the stallion was much different than that. It was of course different than any friendship that he held, but it wasn't any less strong nor did it matter to him any less. Drogon was someone that Haven knew would always be there for him. The horse would never do anything to betray his trust. He knew he would always feel safe with him. Drogon didn't judge him or look down on him in any way. It was a comfort to have that to turn to when he felt low. If he hadn't had the horse's companionship getting over Siobhan leaving would have been a much tougher process than it already had been.
"From what I've observed they do. Drogon loves them. I think he'd eat them all day given the chance." After all, it had been an apple that had first brought them together. Whenever he got the chance he always tried to bring some to the stables. "As for other things they like hay and oats. That's pretty much what Drogon's diet consists of, though I'm sure there's other things they can eat too. One day I'll have to go to the city and try to find some books on horses so I can know more." Heath was really the one in charge of the stables and the horses, but Haven liked to know as much as he could as well. When he wasn't at home or out patrolling the lands he was usually in the stables caring for Drogon and cleaning things up.
He could sense a bit of embarrassment from Vigilante, but he didn't pay much attention to it. He had been just as clueless about horses when he had found Drogon. "Well, when I first got him I just spent time with him and fed him and started building our bond. One thing that you need to do is make sure they know that you're in charge. I don't think horse herd behavior is that much different than our pack behavior. So I'd eat first and then feed him and if he nips at you just nip right back." From what he understood it could be dangerous if the horse thought they were in charge. "After that was when I started to try riding him. It took a lot of time and practice, but we both really enjoy it. It makes border patrols much faster and easier and it's faster when I want to go visit my family back in Crimson Dreams. It can be really calming too, rides have helped me get through some rough patches."
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Yay! Haven gets another one of my characters' 100th posts. x3 I <3 you, and him, obviously! 500+ words.
#####Someday, Vigilante hoped that he could share a bond with his horse that was as great as the one that Haven shared with Drogon, or Heath shared with Lumiere. It was a foreign concept to him, just as the horses had been upon first seeing them upon his arrival. Their distant cousins, the deer and caribou that ran rampant throughout the forests and tundra respectively, were creatures that he was far more familiar with, but he had never considered turning to them for companionship. Simply put, they were creatures coexisting in te world, as well as necessary prey. He was curious as to whether or not the same bond could be accomplished between a luperci and a cousin of the horses. If not, what was it that made the horses capable companions, while the others were not? Perhaps, he thought, it was relative to the way that the humans had kept horses during their reign over the planet, while they did not keep deer, as far as he knew.
#####Though he had admitted to Heath that he could not read, and while that still stood firm and true, he was proud that he had been able to read and piece together some of the faded letters on the doors to one of the stalls, giving his horse that name. Maybe he could eventually learn to read on his own, and then he, too, could look for books in the library, as Heath had done and Haven would do. It was becoming increasingly obvious that his way of being was easily considered obsolete here. His life had been spent living in natural dens, not even entertaining the idea of inhabiting old human dwellings. No one had ever kept animals as companions where he was raised, and until arriving here, he had never met anyone who could read old human writing. Life in his old pack seemed, for all intents and purposes, far more simple than it was here, even if his life in particular had not been.
#####Just as he suspected, it would take quite a bit of work for him to become close enough to the horse to even entertain the idea of climbing on the beast's back. Though he did not fear much, it was something he was incredibly wary of. "I expect that it will be quite some time before either of us are comfortable enough to consider riding," he mused, letting his eyes fall down the horse's neck to his back, the place he would presumably have to sit if he were ever to try and ride him. Focusing his attention back to his superior, he decided that getting to know the orange boy might be a good idea, as well. "Have you been here since the creation of the pack?" It seemed to him that it came out sounding to be out of the blue, but there had been a train of thought leading up to the question, beginning with Haven mentioning family in Crimson Dreams. That made sense, as he knew the pack was fairly new, as he had only joined a couple weeks after its creation.
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Haven had not always lived such a "humanized" life. He had been born in a cave and lived there for the majority of his childhood with the rest of his family. He had loved exploring and meeting new people, learning new things. Though even from his earliest days he had had a keen interest in the extinct species and all they had left behind. Jazper had gotten him interested in their music and instruments, his mother's stories had made him interested in knights and princesses and dragons. When he had grown up and explored the city it had only made that thirst for knowledge all the more powerful. Now he spent all his time in his optime form more or less, he worn clothes, he played the guitar, he trained himself with his sword, he lived in a house. None of it really ever struck him as unnatural though. It all just fit him and he was happy with the way he was.
The Knight nodded in agreement. It did take a long while until it would be wise to attempt riding. He had a feeling that just like relationships between other wolves, relationships between wolves and horses progressed at different paces. Some probably happened quite quickly and others took a long time to develop and grow. "Yeah. You'll know when the time is right I think. Just take it slow and easy and it will happen when you're both ready," he said smiling. Horses were large, powerful creatures and both parties needed to be comfortable and prepared before trying any riding. There were inherit dangers of such an activity, especially if they both weren't ready. Vigilante could fall and hurt himself badly. "If you ever want help or lessons though just let me know, I'd be happy to assist." It'd probably comfort both of them to have someone with at least a little experience helping them along.
The subject of the talk shifted to him, but Haven didn't mind. They two males needed to get to know each other too, not just blabber on about horses. "Yeah, I was one of the founding members. I wasn't exactly in the best place before it all came together. The pack kind of gave me the strength to overcome my problems." If it hadn't been for Cour des Miracles forming, he really didn't know where he would be now. "How about you? Were you in any other packs before you came here?"
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Sorry this is crap. :< 300+ words.
#####Nádherné snorted loudly, rudely interrupting the flow of conversation, and Vigilante could only assume that was the horse's way of letting him know that he agreed that it would bne quite some time before there would be any riding going on between the two of them. The was fine with him, truthfully, if it ever did happen. Initially, he had not been planning to ever get on the back of the horse, but discussing it with Haven had given him a slightly different view in that he might consider it seriously as time and their relationship both progressed. "I will remember your offer," he promised, tucking it away in the back of his mind. His confidence in having the horse had grown slightly since beginning this conversation, but he simply did not feel as though it was something he could do alone and still feel completely sure of the situation if and when it presented intself. It would not be something to take lightly, and he felt that it would need to be treated delicately for anything good to come of it.
#####It seemed as though many who came to this pack had not been in good shape before joining, though he was curious to know the circumstances of what had happened with Haven. It was simply in his nature to want to know the answers to everything, and if he had not been keeping some of his own secrets, he might have considered asking for more information or probing deeper in hopes of his superior giving up the information willingly. However, his respect for privacy, both his and the privacy of others, dictated his silence for asking any other questions of the boy. "I belonged to one, far away from here. It was very large compared to this pack, but I did not know many of them on a personal level, so it was easy to leave when I decided it was time and enough had happened." The only one who would have kept him there had died by his hand, so of course there had been nothing left for him to stay there for, especially after giving up his profession.
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As the other stallion snorted Haven couldn't help but let out a hearty chuckle. "See what I mean?" It was that kind of behavior that lead him to believe that the horses could understand them perfectly well, despite the supposed language barrier. After all, for as much as they were "humanized", they were still animals to start off with. Much different animals than horses, yes, but still animals. They could understand those subtle noises and gestures for what they really were. Nádherné was communicating with them and doing so quite effectively. Drogon made a huffing noise deep in his chest that sounded somewhat like he was laughing too, not at the new pair, but just at the attitude that the other stallion had. Drogon had quite the attitude himself.
He was thankful that Vigilante didn't question him about his problems right off the bat. Haven didn't mind admitting that he had problems, but going in depth about them was not something he liked doing with people that he barely knew yet. Princess had been an exception, but after what he had gotten them into she hadn't deserved anything less from him. Also while they hadn't exactly known each other well, there had been many ways in which they were hardly strangers. Haven nodded his head after the older male was done speaking. "I see. What was it like where you came from? Was it much different than here?" For all his explorations Haven had never been outside of Nova Scotia and was always interested to hear what it was like in other areas. "At least it wasn't too hard to leave. Leaving Crimson Dreams wasn't easy at all, but it was something that I needed to do." There were still times where he had the desire to return to his birth pack. There were so many fond memories and good feelings there. Still, this was where he belonged now, this was where he was needed.
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#####Chuckling his agreement, Vigilante nodded as Drogon also made his own noises. He was certainly going to have his hands full with Nádherné, considering the attitude he already seemed to posess, and he hoped he might be up for the challenge. It did not seem like he actually had much a choice, as the stallion had decided to claim him. He did not view it in the reverse, and he expected that it might actually affect Haven's suggestion that he assert his dominance over the horse. Because the horse had made that very first decision, it seemed possible that it might be difficult for him to reverse the roles that they took in their newfound relationship. If he found that he was having trouble, though, he would certainly put aside any of his pride necessary to ask for help. Vigilante was not so vain to think that he would never need help from anyone; he knew he did.
#####The discussion of his birth pack was skirting around the uncomfortable subject of his past, but he did not mind so much because it could easily be avoided by speaking strictly of the pack itself, not the happenings of it. "Like I said, it was significantly larger than any pack I've heard of here. It was very rare to see anyone using their sihfted form frequently. I believe I was the one who used it the most, actually," he added, realizing it almost for the first time. It did make sense that he would use it most frequently, with the exception of his cloaked Elders. "We lived mostly like the old wolf packs, though the majority of us were dogs. Human things, for the most part, were completely new to me when I arrived here." He almost laughed at the memory of exploring the plane with Hanna, or the first time he had realized that most of his new peers were much more used to a humanized lifestyle.
#####Crimson Dreams was one of the packs he was not familiar with in this area, though he had met some from a few of the surrounding packs, including Dahlia de Mai, Phoenix Valley, and AniWaya. It was possible, even, that he had met some from any other packs here and was just not aware of it. "Was Crimson Dreams much different from here?" It seemed to be a safe enough question, as he did not want to pry into the details of his pack mate's history, but the dog mutt was genuinely curious about the other packs in the area, both those that he had heard of, as well as those that were new to his mind. He did not know whether he planned to find out more about the other packs or if he planned to visit them ever, either, but the general knowledge that he sought was always useful. At the very least, it could give him a way to relate to others that he might meet from those other packs.
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For some reason Haven had it in his head the the larger a pack, the larger the chances that they were more integrated into the human way of living. He couldn't say why he thought that, one of those unfounded assumptions that we all make from time to time he guessed. So when Vigilante began to explain how things were in the pack that he had come from the younger male was surprised to hear how very different it was from the lifestyle that they were both living now. It was strange to think that they didn't even shift much. When he had been little, being able to change forms had been the thing he had been most excited about about growing up and he had waited for that day with anticipation. Now it was the form that he used the most often, rarely changing back into his four-legged form. At first he had when he had wanted to travel, but now he had Drogon and the mustang could travel much faster than Haven ever could on his own.
"Wow, I'm surprised to hear all that! It's strange to think of a place where they barely shift and don't really deal with human stuff, considering how things are here. Especially in Cour des Miracles." There was no denying that their current pack was incredibly humanized. Many of them had horses and both he and Heath rode them. To his knowledge they all lived in houses of some sort or another scattered throughout the land. The majority of the pack seemed to prefer their optime form as well, he knew that Jac never left it and Ruri barely did. "Coming to live here must have been a bit of a shock for you, huh?" It was like the complete opposite of his old home. Though if he hadn't been all that happy there then maybe it was a welcome change.
When asked about how Crimson Dreams compared to here Haven had to think about it for a moment, his gaze shifting to the sky above them. "Hmmm, it was pretty similar, but there are differences of course. Most of it stems from just the feelings of the pack, you know? In Crimson Dreams everything is very family oriented. Most everyone lived in this really huge house that was in the lands and so were we always close to everyone, I kinda miss that." Here everyone was spread out, the feeling of camaraderie wasn't quite as strong. "One of my mom's and her friend Savina were the leaders and then my other mom got promoted to leadership as well. Savina leads it now with my adopted mom, my other mother did something bad," he recounted, frowning a bit. It was still hard to believe how far his pale dam had fallen. If he even saw her now he didn't know if he would know her at all. From the way Mati had described things it didn't seem like he would. "But anyway, having female leaders was one of the main differences too. They handled things a lot differently than Jac does, obviously."
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#####Memories of his old pack were a mixture of fond and miserable ones, and he wished so much that he could remember more of the good times. Up until his first birthday had been a good period in his life, though his physical training had begun when he was roughly four months old, and the mental training of what was wrong and needed to be punished had begun when he was just older than seven months. His missions had not begun until after his birthday, though, so he could not say that the early memories had been bad in the least. There had been good things after he had begun his work, such as his sister and the birth of her litter, but those times were predominantly branded in his mind to be something negative. It was not something that could be helped, no matter how hard Vigilante tried to remember the good things over the bad that he had experienced.
#####"Oh, it certainly was," he agreed, thining back to how out of place he had felt for some time after joining. Now, he still felt a bit out of place, but he also felt at home. For the time being, this was the place he belonged, and he did not see that changing at any point in time soon. "It was just what I was looking for, though, even if it was completely bizarre at first to find myself in a place so accustomed to the old human ways of life." He had come here with only one human thing, the dagger he had used in every killing except his sister's. It was still with him, settled neatly on the bedside table in his room, a reminder of everything he had done and now lived with. However, his life was significantly more humanized than that. He had never pictured himself living in a horse, and most certainly had never imagined himself keeping another animal for himself. Completely and entirely odd.
#####Haven's words were very vague, but he was very intrigued about this "something bad" that his mother had done. Certainly he would not ask, but old habits die hard, and while he would not act on such information now, he still found it intriguing. Almost as much as that, he was also curious about a pack that seemed to be completely female-run. He saw nothing wrong with that idea, though he suspected it would be different from any pack led by predominantly males, especially ones like Jacquez. His old pack had been run evenly by males and females, although the Elders had usually been male, with the rare female. "Jacquez is a unique one, indeed. . . Unlike anyone else I have ever met." The claim was only half true. There were some that he had known that he could see having some similarities to Jacquez, but they had not been around long enough for him to really know them. He had only known their names and crimes, generally speaking, and had never learned more of them than that.
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He was sure that some people wouldn't understand how you could go from one way of living to a completely different way and be at all content, but Haven did. The way he lived here wasn't very different from the way he had lived back in Crimson Dreams, but it was still different and he had needed that change. He still missed being so close to his family, but at the place he had been in his life when Cour des Miracles had formed to go back to them wouldn't have helped him. He would have used his family and the familiarity of life there as a crutch to avoid dealing with his problems instead of facing them head on and trying to change things for the better. He had needed the job that Jac had given him, had needed the responsibility of it. It had given him the feel of importance that he had needed as well as something to focus his energy on instead of dwelling on the negative. In this way he completely understood what Vigilante said. "I understand. Sometimes you just need a change." Of course he hadn't the slightest idea of what the older male had really been through, but it was a basic concept that he could easily grasp.
The Knight couldn't help but chuckle at Vigilante's response concerning Jacquez. The King of their pack was certainly one of a kind. "Heh, yeah, same here. Just when I think I've gotten used to him he'll still do things that surprise me. We don't always see eye-to-eye on things, but deep down I think he generally is a good guy. At least when it comes to taking care of the pack." Haven couldn't make the claim that he was a "good guy" to the women he casually slept with and then tossed aside, that was something that irked him, but he supposed as long as no one got hurt then it really wasn't his concern even if it did bother him. The Aatte male was incredibly sensitive towards females, seeing as he had two mothers and had been the closest with one of his sisters. He didn't like to seem women treated so shamefully, but at the same time calling Jac out on it would only get him in trouble.
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Wrap up soonish? :3 300+ words.
#####If there was anything he agreed with the most of everything they had discussed (considerably a large amount, since he did agree with everything they had talked about), it was simply that. Living a stagnant life was not good for anyone, and he knew that there would always be an itch to leave in someone at, at the very least, one point in their lifetime. "Absolutely," he agreed, glad to know that he was not the only one to know and acknowledge this fact. Thankfully, Vigilante felt as though he might not be needing a change any time soon and that he would be happy to live in this pack for possibly years. It was so vastly different from the pack he had been born into, with very different customs, personalities, and an exceptionally different way of life, but it was exactly what he needed. For the time being, he was more than happy to be a member of this pack. It was comfortable for him.
#####Their King was a subject of curiousity for him, and he supposed it might be related to the fact that even Haven was surprised by some of the things he did. Vigilante had only met him once personally, and then briefly at two pack gatherings, so he could not say he actually had anything to base a similar opinion on, though the collie did seem like a very surprising creature. Most of his pack mates were, as was the usual for him, strangers in the same world as his him. They lived in the same place and inhabited the same life, but they were strangers all the same. The King was no different. "You trust him, though, yes? I would assume so, as you label him as a good guy, but I do not know him well at all," he explained, hoping not to offend his younger pack mate.
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