[html] 
» kol!
The waning light of day filtered through the scarce canopy, which seemingly grew thinner by the minute. Only the most stubborn of leaves clung to their autumnal colours--not a speck of green was left, and even the magnificent reds and yellows were succumbing to their fate, turning dull orange and brown. As the sun raced to hide behind the horizon, hazy thoughts of his afternoon fell with it; just as surely lady Luna ascended to her evening throne, nearly three quarters full and shining brilliant white--enough to obscure the stars directly adjacent in the sky--his mind and movements grew sharp, clear, and brisk. Wallowing around the Sugarwoods with Ms. Monroe had proven to be a relaxing way to fritter away the afternoon, but as always when the fog of smoke cleared and the dull of the alcohol subsided, he knew it was time to move on.
Had he passed through here even two hours prior, he may have overlooked a ghost of a memory's scent without a second thought. All of a sudden, though, he found his steps halting as his nose crinkled and drank in the cool air of twilight. Anselm lowered himself carefully to the ground in a crouch as his ruby eyes squinted at the lightly scattered leaves on the forest floor; he picked one up thoughtfully and brought it to his face as if it were a flower, scenting it carefully before placing it back where he'd found it. Already his body was shrinking; already his mind was made up and the rest of him was adapting to catch up. He would track this puzzling scent--it had not lingered so close to Dahlian borders on his last pass through the area.
Now on four legs he could follow her trail swiftly; his movements were hasty yet silenced--he knew full well the slightest mistake could trigger a shit-storm from Dahlia's barbaric horror of a Beta. It was the same risk he took when he went to visit Cwmfen, and he was paying as much attention to Haku's scent trails as Kol's. Their lines converged at one point on the border and here he faltered, ears pivoting constantly as he kept on high alert for any sign of movement or life. Only when he was confident there was none did he lower his head to the ground again, carefully picking apart the trails that seemed to diverge once more.
How rank and awful was the male's; how it reminded him of death and the stench of rot. His expression dropped as he considered turning and fleeing from the scene, crashing into his den, and simply having a restful night of sleep. As appealing as this idea sounded, he knew life was never so simple. Above the stink of Haku was the light, feminine musk of a friend of an enemy--one who he'd deliberately avoided in battle before, and one who had done the same in turn. The hybrid simply sat now, puzzled; what to do, what to do? Curiosity killed the cat; satisfaction brought him back. With that, he dared to trail after her just a little bit further, eyes questioning and mind ever alert.
 |
[/html]
[html] 
Out of Character
BWEEE!
In Character
It would be an understatement to say she was surprised. The woman's first night back in the treehouse had been fretful, the brief encounters with Haku weighing heavily on her mind. Much had changed in Dahlia since she'd been torn away; she had begun to wonder if she truly still belonged there at all. Unfortunately, nothing could be said for making rash decisions, and only time would tell if those she deemed her chosen family and pack would still think of her in the same light.
The Stormbringer's second day had found her rising early, the treehouse eerily empty without the steady companionship of Elliot. The first part of the morning had been awkward, with the woman wandering on her own with no true purpose. She'd thought of dropping in on Alexey, then thought the better of it as Alexey was no longer the only inhabitant of Kol's old house in the cemetery. Unnoticed, the former scout's paws fell into a familiar rhythm, and the blackened female found herself falling back into old habits, patrolling the Dahlian borders in her energy-conserving lupine form.
Her day-long patrol had proven uneventful, but it had served two purposes. The jaunt had filled the woman's nose with a few new scents apparently belonging to Dahlians, and it had at least made her feel as though she had some sort of purpose and restored a familiar sense of normalcy to her mind. The sun had set through her self-given task, and the brightness of the moon as it drifted on the crisp night air added a new spark to the woman's steps. There was very little left of the border to patrol, and then she would have to figure out something else to occupy her restless thoughts for a time.
Apparently, she wouldn't have to search very hard.
The very last leg of Kol's patrol provided the very thing that could distract her from her less-than-satisfying homecoming. Not far into the lands of Dahlia, in truth perhaps only a few feet, the woman could make out the outline of a russet-colored canine following some sort of scent trail. Stopping quietly, Kol took a moment to draw the cool night air to her nose. The only trail she could discern was her own, having diverged from Haku's after their brief meeting the morning before. It was not this fact, however, that made her tilt her head in surprise. The scent of the unknown stranger was incredibly familiar, and it took a mere few moments for the memory of an unwilling enemy to come to mind. Glancing around to make sure no one had seen the Inferni male yet, Kol approached boldly, her voice soft and low so as not to disturb the quiet of the night. "Anselm! Is that you? What on earth are you doing in Dahlia?? Do you have any idea what Haku would do if he found you here?! I thought you were smart enough to avoid stupid risks!" Reactions warred within her. On the one hand, she was glad to see the male she considered an unlikely acquaintance. On the other, his current whereabouts put the hybrid in a very precarious position, one she wasn't sure she could defend adequately should trouble arise.
Table by Fishie! |
[/html]
[html] http://i950.photobucket.com/albums/ad34 ... e_base.png); background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-bottom:130px; background-position:bottom center; background-color:#EFEEEC">
» I guess I can post since office hours got cancelled. -Drowning in work.- D:
It didn't take them long to find each other; good. Less efficiency implied more sloppiness and neither of those things were congruent with his style. His charcoal-tipped ears fell back to half mast as she approached, and though his tail lowered from a neutral position to a comfortable drop between his legs, it was wagging nonetheless. These motions paused momentarily as chastised him for his presence, and his head cocked to one side and he offered an offended huff. "It's nice to see you, too, Kol," he purled, his mock-hurt expression morphing into a rowdy grin as the tail wagging resumed. "And yes, I'm sure his ego would inflate like a balloon until he exploded with it--but hey, that might be doing the world a favour."
And with that, his mind was made up--even if Haku did find them, he could fucking suck it. It wasn't as if the tattooed hybrid was here to slaughter their children or rape their women--nay, that was more the shit-brown demon's style, although the bronze canine figured that the Beta was too thick or hypocritical to realise it. It was not as though he had no friendly acquaintances in Dahlia: with Kol's return, the count was up to three. Regardless, he didn't wish to cause her any unnecessary headaches, and so he figured it was best to keep this little liaison on the down-low. He knew from his random encounter with Firefly that Haku was not above victimising his own pack mates--that anyone was loyal to the freak only spoke of their own mental sickness as far as he was concerned.
"But really; hadn't noticed you around since I got back. Can anyone blame me for wanting to investigate? Black amethyst is such a rare and stunning gem." Though the musk of another male permeated her coat like some sort of perfume, Anselm had never been very good at biting his tongue when it came to well-deserved flattery targeted toward the fairer sex. Savina could vouch for him, though--it was all playful and innocent enough. | [/html]
[html]
OOC: Been drowning in work here too, thanks to the stupid holiday season coming! DX It's like people need their money or SOMETHING! GAWD!! 
She couldn't help it; a soft smile and a chuckle escaped her lips at her friend's quip. In truth, Anselm was the first friendly face she'd seen since her return, an irony that was not lost on the Dahlian. It wasn't very long ago that the friends' packs were at war with one another, and she inwardly flinched as she thought of her last encounter with the de le Poer. The last time she'd seen him had been during the battle, a battle in which she avoided him as much as he'd avoided her. Thankfully, things between the two packs had simmered down to a quiet resentment and distaste, which could make spending time with the hybrid she called "friend" a bit easier now.
Kol raised a brow lightly at the male's remark about the Lilium. Anselm's lightheartedness was a welcome change from the dark atmosphere of the past few months. "Unfortunately, I have to admit you may be right. I've only been gone a few months, but even in that short time he's slipped even farther into his own twisted world, it seems. I used to have faith he'd overcome it somehow; now I'm not so sure." A true regret tinted her violet eyes with her words. She'd seen such similar self-destruction in members of her own bloodline, leading to a feeling of kinship with the beta male. Unfortunately, she was also well aware that most who slipped down that path of dark insanity could never be pulled back. Her grandfather had thankfully been one of the rare exceptions.
The soft smile returned to the woman's lips as she put thoughts of Haku behind her. Anselm looked healthy and as good as ever, and it truly did warm her heart to see her friend again. His flirting comment brought a roll of the shewolf's mentioned amethyst eyes, and a soft chuckle from her throat. "Well I'm glad to see you haven't lost your smooth tongue in my unintended absence. Such sharp wit is a rare find in a male." Her lips curled into a mischievous grin at the comment, and she moved to brush past him teasingly. Suddenly aware that there were still technically on Dahlian soil, Kol paused to posit a suggestion. "What do you say we step just past the border? That way if someone sees us, it won't become a twisted misunderstanding. I've never been good with politics." She winked at him with the remark, smiling and turning to walk toward the border not far away from where the friends had reunited.
Table by Tay
[/html]
[html] He wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Last time he had talked shit about Haku, Cwmfen had more or less told him to watch his tongue (though she'd hardly pressed the issue). He wondered briefly if the psychopathic Beta would consider any words spoken against him as an act of treason--after reaching his own conclusion on the matter, he found Kol had instantaneously earned at least a dozen more points in his book.
Though Anselm was a devoted creature when it came to the handful of things he really cared about, he saw no worth in blind loyalty. He trusted and respected Kaena and Gabriel for their competence and wit, but if he'd stumbled back home to find someone like Hybrid or Samael at the helm, he would have simply walked away then and there, never to look back. Those that unquestioningly obeyed a demon--one that would just as quickly take their own heads for a moment's displeasure--were ignorant fools. Haku Soul was a sickness, a cancer of 'Souls that was better off dead--and he was relieved that the charcoal woman seemed to know it, too.
It seemed as if he was forgetting something, but before it came to mind she slipped past him: a successful distraction indeed. He blinked dumbly, his tail swaying behind him lazily thrice before he cocked his head and pivoted to look after her. "Hey, you're the boss," he said simply, falling into line behind her. Despite some of his reckless tendencies, he was largely a careful creature--he didn't want anything to be misconstrued either, from where she stood on up.
"So what took you away, 'n what brought you back?" he wondered aloud, as if he'd just been stricken by her word choice for the first time: unintended absence. Although he hadn't entirely intended to wander off for a year himself, it had seemed the only logical thing to do at the time... but somehow, he doubted that the driving force behind her expedition was the sudden realisation that she had dozens of illegitimate children roaming the planet. [/html]
|
