the sky was full of wings
#1
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http://sleepyglow.net/souls/gifts/gabrieltable.jpg); background-position: bottom center; background-repeat:no-repeat; text-align:justify;"> Princess. Set in the Sugarwoods.


    There was no denying that autumn had come. All around him the leaves were a kaleidoscope of gold, red, and oranges. Gabriel had always enjoyed the fall due to its temperature, finding it the most comfortable of all seasons. Summer was often too hot and carried the threat of drought (or flood, as this past one had), winter incredibly harsh, and spring still remarkably cold and often far too soggy to do much good in. No, autumn was the perfect season for Gabriel. With his dirty-gold coat and dark markings he blended into the scenery, something that was of great aid while hunting. He was, in fact, doing so now—at least, beginning to.
    With so many leaves on the ground, scents were held captive by the earth and released by each step. It was enough to boggle the senses, and there were enough to thoroughly confuse an inexperienced hunter. Gabriel was no such thing, and had narrowed his search down to one specific scent. He had been tailing it for nearly twenty minutes now, moving at an easy pace that allowed his kind such stamina. Eventually, the deer would stop, and then Gabriel would have his chance. For now, though, he was content in his task.


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#2
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That's relatively close to Inferni, right? ^^; 500+ words.


######The Inferni clan was one she had been warned about. Anselm had told her that it was full of madmen and murderers, and the pompous Jantus had told her not to do something stupid when she had mentioned that she planned to go there. Of course, this had only encouraged her even more, and she was completely certain that she was heading in the rigth direction. Though she generally preferred her shifted form, loving the way that her mane looked and the way that the human dresses fit her so well, she was running in her regular wolf form today. It was the form that Anselm had seen her in during their one meeting, and it was much more efficient when it came to moving great distances, so she had decided to use it that day, deciding that it would be the most efficient form to use. Running in the direction of Inferni, Princess was conveniently "forgetting" that Anselm had told her to go to the garage in Halifax if she wanted to find him, as she had decided that an excuse to go to Inferni was to tell Anselm how great his advice had been. She had made up with her brother, and things were even progressing with Haven, so she absolutely had to tell him the great news.


######A similar scent to the one she remembered of Anselm reached her nose, causing Princess to move in earnest. The outline of a canine was visible among the trees and, as eager as she was to see this menacing Inferni and to find Anselm, she refused to acknowledge that the smell did not seem completely identical. It was no matter; surely that was related to the time that had passed since they had met on the rocky shore. "Anselm! Hey, Anselm, wait up!" she shouted, nearly tripping over herself in her eagerness. Princess supposed she was less excited to see Anselm than she was to possibly see the dreaded clan, and she figured that being with Anselm would give her a reason to go closer. She could always just ask him to talk and walk with her, and then she could casually move in the direction that she thought Inferni was in, since he had not seemed particularly keen on her visiting there, either, having warned her off the idea and what not.


######The closer she got to the figure among the trees, however, the more she realized that he most certainly was not Anselm. For one, they looked different, and smelled different, despite the obvious scent of Inferni on this male, as well. Coming to a halt, Princess stood awkwardly, ears pressed back against her skull nervously. Despite her earlier bravery, being faced with an actual member of Inferni that was not Anselm was completely intimidating. "Y-You're. . . Not Anselm," she said, feigning coolness and fixing her posture so that she did not seem nearly as alarmed as she had upon first realization that this was not the coyote she was looking for. Perhaps she did not need to worry, however; surely not everyone in Inferni could be crazy or bloodthirsty, and maybe she was lucky enough to come across someone who was not interested in hurting her. Just maybe, and she certainly hoped so.


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#3
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    Someone behind him was yelling, and Gabriel came to a stop almost instantly. The noise was unfamiliar. His head turned, seeking the source, and found it bounding towards him. Well, not so much bounding anymore. It was a young wolf, one whose scent he identified as familiar to Anu’s. What struck him as peculiar was the fact that she had been calling for his cousin. This puzzled Gabriel, considering he recalled Anselm using other names when he spoke to members of the wolf packs when he was spying.
    There was only the slightest change in his face, a moment where his muzzled twitched, to suggest that he was even perturbed by her presence. Gabriel studied the girl with the same intensity he would have any stranger, raptor-eyes reading her like a racehorse. “No,” he confirmed. “I’m not.” Shifting his weight, the doggish male tilted his head slightly, as if her presence alone seemed perplexing. “Why? You looking for him?”


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#4
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300+ words.


######Princess feigned composure in front of the unfamiliar Inferni member as he confirmed what she already knew, believing that she could possibly still get to know a little bit more about the infamous clan from this one if she could not find Anselm. It had the potential to be easier going through someone she already knew, although she expected that he would have seen through her thinly veiled attempts at getting closer to Inferni's borders. Still, she had been hoping Anselm would have played along, as it seemed more likely than this stranger willingly showing her around. At least he did not seem to know why she was there immediately, or seemed slightly surprised, judging by the tilt of his head. Somehow, it reassured her to know that she had not been found out immediately, and it helped her to regain her usual tendencies and let go of her initial nervouesness about the male.


######"If you must know, yes, I was," she answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world at that moment and that anyone should have known that immediately. If she had not been looking for Anselm, then why would she have been calling his name and come so close to the area she knew him to be from? It seemed so very simple to her, but perhaps it was not as obvious to everyone else what her intentions were all of the time. "A while back, he helped me out and then gave me some advice, so I wanted to come and tell him that his advice had really helped in a few ways, and remembered that he was from Inferni," and I also wanted to check out the clan, as well, but I don't want to make that openly known. "Anyway, you smelled a little like him, so I guess I thought you were him. Do you know him?" It was very likely that he did, as they were from the same clan, but she knew that there were many members of Crimson Dreams that she did not know personally.

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#5
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    It was certainly apparent that she was looking for his cousin, but why in the world a young girl would come calling was beyond him. Had she been older, he might have been able to write it off. Luckily, the girl explained the situation. Of course, having a daughter who was once her age, Gabriel read her intentions almost instantly. There was no doubt an appeal to seeing the dangerous coyote clan (Talitha had gone after Dahlia almost instantly once he told her not to), and keeping this in mind, he focused his attention on her fully.

    “He’s my cousin,” the Aquila explained. Lifting his head, the charcoal-brushed male studied her face. “He tell you to come to Inferni?” Anselm, no doubt, wouldn’t have done such a thing. If Hybrid, or (heaven forbid) Samael found her, she likely wouldn’t be going home in one piece.




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#6
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300+ words.


######The appeal of the clan was enough that she had come this far, and she was not planning on leaving just yet. Holding her body as high as she could, considering her generally small stature, Princess eyed the Inferni member cautiously. He seemed to accept her presence well enough, though she was under no delusions that he was particularly receptive to her. It was still something, and it was almost definitely a good thing. At the very least, she probably wasn't going to get eaten today! The Dreamer was practically setting herself up for something bad by venturing so close to the territory, but she had not been able to help her curiousity, and she seemed to have gotten lucky once more in her wandering. Nothing too terrible had happened to her yet, as she always seemed to salvage a bit of luck, whether it be another's interference or her own ability to get out of a bad situation.


######The family resemblance was not there, as far as she was able to see, with the exception of their scents. That made sense, as it had been that fact that had thrown her off in the first place so that she thought this one was Anselm. Physical appearance did not mean much, truthfully. She did not look all too similar to her own brother, with her shades of brown and tan and his monochromatic scheme, so it was acceptable that cousins might not look exactly the same. "So who are you, then?" she asked, before feeling the rush of warmth to her cheeks. Evidently, she had not been as sneaky as she had thought she was being. The male before her probably knew his cousin very well, and would likely know that Anselm would do no such thing--the exact opposite. "Well. . . No. But I was curious," she admitted, cleverly leaving out mention of the fact that he had specifically told her not to go to Inferni, and he was not the only one to have done so.

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#7
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    There was a certain appeal in exploring the dangerous parts of the world. Gabriel had certainly been tempted himself, in his youth, to do such a thing. Now that he was older and wiser (and had quite a few more scars), his only desire was to be left alone. So in a way, he understood her. Mostly, though, that fatherly part of his brain believed that it was necessary to turn her around then and there.
    “Gabriel,” he offered, studying her face to see if there was any reaction. He knew for a fact that many of the wolves in Souls talked about Inferni and its leaders as if they were monsters. While his mother was a Cyclops and he no doubt a hellion, they were (in his eyes) not half as terrible as the beasts to their south. “I don’t think he’s around,” the doggish male continued. “You should stay away from our borders regardless—some of my coyotes aren’t very nice to strangers.”


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#8
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300+ words.


######Knowing his name was nice, even if it did not solve her desire to explore the infamous clan. It was for the best, though, since she had only ever been advised not to. . . All she needed was to be stopped in the process of trying. Later, she would likely appreciate the fact that he had not let her blindly walk into a situation that could quickly turn dangerous, especially as Princess was not one to recognize danger immediately. More often than not, it only ever occurred to her after the fact that she might have put herself into a dangerous situation. For a while, something like that would not have mattered, but now she had reasons to keep herself safe. There was no way she could let something happen to her, because she had to stay with her brother. They could not be separated again. Along the same lines as that, she now had Haven to keep herself safe for, as well, even if she did not know what was going to happen between them.


######The name was as unfamiliar to her as Inferni had been until Anselm had told her about the clan. "Never heard of you," she offered, although she was not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that she did not know of him prior to this meeting. He could not be all bad, since he was Anselm's cousin and had not mauled her upon first sight, she figured. Still, she was curious to know why everyone said that the clan members were not the nicest of the bunch, to put it simply. It wasn't as if she planned to offend them (although she did so often with others, even when she did not mean to). "Well, what if I'm not a stranger? I'm Princess Chance." There. Now, she was known to both Anselm and Gabriel, and that meant she was not a stranger anymore. "Why does everyone say that they're not very nice, anyway?"

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#9
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    Her childish notion of not being a stranger made him raise his eyebrows while simultaneously half-shutting his eyes, a rather humorous expression. He was not surprised by this, but it seemed rather entertaining regardless. “Because some coyotes would rather tear a wolf apart then talk to them. If you went to Inferni looking for Anselm and the wrong person found you they’d tear you apart.” Hybrid would, just because he felt like it—Samael might do something far worse, even at the risk of being discovered.
    “Why are you so interested in Inferni anyway?” He probed, black whiskers turning up towards his nose. Gabriel was intensely curious, amber eyes boring into her face.

table by alli

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#10
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300+ words.


######Princess was growing frustrated now, knowing that he was not likely to escort her over to Inferni, and that he seemed to think (like everyone else in the stupid world) that it would be a very bad idea for her to go and visit the clan. Was there something wrong with simply being curious? She had never liked being told what to do, and now, multiple persons had told her that going to Inferni was a bad idea. Anselm, she supposed she should listen to. He had saved her from a strange wolf with bad intentions, and she thought he would deserve that much respect. Jantus, she did not care if she disobeyed. All that he had said and the way that he had spoken had seemed completely patronizing. Gabriel, now, she supposed she should listen to. He was the second Inferni member to tell her it was not a good idea, so that should have been hint enough. Still, she did not like being told what to do, even if it might be for her own benefit.


######The negative relationship between wolves and coyotes, especially those of Inferni, was nothing she was aware of. "But why? I don't get why they don't like wolves. Nobody has explained to me anything, just that they're not nice. Muderous and madmen were two other words used," she added, leaving out that it had been Anselm to say that. Perhaps Gabriel wouldn't like knowing that his cousin said something like that about their own clan. As the question of her intent was turned on her, Princess shrugged simply. "I guess because everyone says I shouldn't be," she answered truthfully. Was that not why she did a lot of the things she did? Maybe it was related to her self-absorbed mother and the spoiled way she had been raised, but she liked to do things she had explicitly been told not to do. It just made things more fun and interesting.

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#11
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Wrap up soon? :]

    “Bad blood,” he explained, knowing it was not enough. “A lot of us have been hurt by wolves. What goes around comes around,” he added, and flicked one ear dismissively. He did not need to explain that he had seen wolves kill coyotes over and over. Both sides had gone for blood—in Scintilla, the wolves had struck first, but the coyotes had taken their violence to a new level. Jezebel had used torture and poisons in ways he couldn’t imagine. Eli had shown him the way to use God’s wrath on those who demanded it; just as he had done to Laruku. That felt like an eternity ago, and maybe, perhaps, it was.
    But then again, it didn’t feel like the world had changed. “For your own safety,” he said, the tone in his voice now a warning. “Don’t go to Inferni. Turn around and go home.” That being said, the large hybrid placed his body directly in her path. Clearly, he wanted to see her turn around and go home. “You seem like a nice girl, and it would be a shame if something happened to you.” No women, no children.
    Someone amongst the madness had to carry the moral compass.
table by alli

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#12
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Sure. =3 300+ words.


######What Gabriel said simply did not make sense to the Dreamer, and as a result, she adopted a confused pout as her expression. Princess did not understand, but more than that, she could not even fathom beginning to understand the situation. "But. . . I have never done anything to them," she said simply, trying to understand why they would hurt her because they had been hurt by someone else. Did that not make things worse? That would be the same as something hating her because they hated her mother, such as Savina. Evidently, Savina was a better role model than these silly Inferni members, since it was not very polite to hate someone for something that someone else did. "I didn't do anything, so I don't see why I should get hurt. Why don't they just go find the wolves that hurt them, and take it up with them?" she suggested, completely serious. It seemed like an easy enough solution to her, but then, she wasn't a coyote with "bad blood" issues, whatever that meant in their own little world.


######Princess sighed heavily then, knowing that there was absolutely no chance of her getting to Inferni now, since he was standing in her path and obviously expecting her to leave. It only meant she would have to try again, but of course, she would also need to be much more sneaky next time. All she wanted to do was get close; she wasn't going to trespass or anything! Still, it did not seem like this was the right time to try and point this out to the larger male before her. Even with his additional warnings, her curiousity was only that much greater. "Fine, I won't try to go now," she agreed, tone suggesting that she meant "now" as in "from now on," when in reality, she only meant that moment. "But promise me that if you ever decide to let anyone check it out, find me! I do wanna see it, I just don't want to get, well. . . Eaten." At the very least, she was trying to behave and make him believe he had convinced her otherwise. Forbidden fruit was always sweetest.

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