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Okay, so the post order is Jesile, then Empusa. I'm guessing we'll assume that the two of them have been playing for a while already, and trouble strikes in Jesile's first post as agreed? Oh, also, can we forward date this to the 26th?
Skoll was in a good mood. He hadn't spoken with Aivyr in a long while, but the other day he had given him the announcement that he was issuing a challenge. His old war buddies, and their friends as well, were encouraged to take him up on this. The challenge: participate in a tournament with every one else who accepted the challenge, and win. It would be a perfect way to see his friends, and to give them something to look forward to. A few of them had been broken after the War of Shadows, and while he had pulled them through it in one piece physically, their minds hadn't faired as well. He had to admit: if you were going to go to war, the Shadow Priests were not an ideal first enemy.
Thoughts of reuniting with some of his far off friends put a spring in his step and a smile across his scarred muzzle. He was currently in the Concrete Jungle looking for arrows. One of his had broken today, the arrowhead had bent against a rock after missing his mark. Given that the death bolts were not indestructible, he would do well to seek out replacement ammunition.
With all of the equipment he was carrying around these days, he really needed to settle down somewhere. He had been located in the Moaning Woods at first, then Tranquil Springs, now he spent the vast majority of his time moving back and forth between the Yawrah River Territory and this place. Perhaps he should set himself up in one of these shorter human houses. They were spaced out very evenly and were for the most part identical, so his presence shouldn't be difficult to veil; a perfect setup, provided he could find a way to distinguish between homes himself. It would still take some though, but the idea had merit.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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The 26th is cool with me  [html] The city was spectacular in every sense of the word. Sure, it was a desolate wasteland filled to the brim with dangers of broken glass and debris, but it was a treasure trove of objects and even ideas. It was the first time he had set foot there, and his mind roved over everything he saw over and over again. He felt like a human child in an amusement park might. There was so much to explore here that he could barely sustain himself, and his attention constantly shifted erratically between this and that. Luckily, he had Empusa there to keep him in check.
Deviating from the path of pavement laid out before him, and unsure of whether the girl was actually behind him or even close by at all, he entered an old, decaying building, the door already nearly off its hinges entirely, without any sort of handle or knob, and idly hanging there without a purpose. There was nothing of any real interest inside but a table and a few chairs; these were things he did not care to investigate at the moment, because he had found a staircase. As he ascended, having shifted to biped form in order to better examine various objects of interest, the stairs creaked slightly, though he paid little attention to this.
When he reached the top of the stairs and entered into a hallway, he called out to Empusa to take a look with him. A few doors lined the hallway, but each one he pushed open was entirely empty. At the very end, he clumsily jostled the door, as it was a little more stubborn than the others, and he entered into a larger room than the others, with a few stray bookcases lining the walls. The far wall had a large window, and in front of it sat an oak desk. He strode forward, the floor creaking heavily under him, until he reached the table upon which a book sat. However, he never got a chance to read the title. As he leaned forward, the floor gave way, and he barely managed to yell at the top of his lungs before there was a thud and then darkness. |
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Sure!
secretly falling apart
Empusa was content with following along behind Jesile; he seemed to know where he was going. She didn't really care where they went, as long as she got to go with him; they got along pretty well, and she didn't mind hanging out with him. Especially if he was going to be the leader...Empusa knew certain parts of the city very well, like the subway system, (she'd been born there), but this part was completely foreign.
She looked around a bit in one of the houses as Jesile went upstairs, padding up the stairs when he called for her to come and look. She heard a crashing sound, then nothing...and when she got to the top of the stairs, Jesile was nowhere to be seen! The red eyed youth noted the hole in the floor and approached it, looking inside....and then she fell as well, as the weak floor gave way once more, landing her next to the other coyote, unmoving, covered in dust and debris.
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Because it's kind of confusing in the post: Skoll sees the staircase, but doesn't go up the stairs. I assumed that the two of them fell--with part of the second floor--onto the first floor, so Skoll ran past the stairwell over the the wreckage.
The werewolf's head snapped to attention at the sound of hundreds of pounds of rubble crashing down through one of the houses. It was just then that the wind brought the scent of canines to his nose. Damn it. Running to the house, he tried the knob of the back door. Locked. Throwing his shoulder into the slight human construct, it burst in a spray of splinters from its lodging. Looking both ways, waiting for his eyes to acclimate to the dark, he saw the staircase, and then beyond, where the floor had fallen down. Had they fallen down through? The wreckage was unreal, piles of books and a heavy, upturned desk amid the wreckage. As he stood there, he heard a groan rise up from the house. The walls seemed to shift slightly. He had to get out.
Amber eyes searching, nose straining to discern the scents of the...coyotes! through the dust and the wood and the paper, Skoll ran through to the ruined room and rummaged through the debris looking for whoever had triggered all of this. The supports for the house began complaining, years of neglect and termite damage compiled with a missing floor and supporting wall, and the ancient human domicile was finished. The ominous shifting of the house was getting worse, the sound of straining wood growing louder and louder as Skoll rooted through the rubble. Damnit, I'm going to be buried! Plaster began issuing forth from the ceiling a floor above him, before Skoll found the first of the children.
"I've got you," he said mechanically, having already registered two distinct scents from the air. Setting the first child over his left shoulder, he continued digging with his other hand, before fishing out the second. Gathering the second up under his right arm, arm around his middle, the bronze were struggled to breath deep enough to gather his strength, particulate matter gathering in clouds in the stagnant air of the old home. He could barely duck beneath the door the first time, it would be much trickier with two children in tow...he would have to maneuver half of himself out to let the first child off before he and the other could squeeze through. He laid the first onto the porch outside, kneeling down and setting her across the cement as gently as time allowed, as some vital support cracked inside the building, and the collapse reached completion. The werewolf wrapped himself around the small canine still inside with him as the building slid horrifically to the right. The walls moved with lightning quickness, slamming down into the ground with an earth-shaking crash.
When Skoll opened his eyes, he saw the wall nearest him and the young boy a few inches from his head, and a board...a single board, the broken end of a support structure, having snapped in two and become wedged between the falling wall and the floor, creating a triangle of safety just large enough for a hunched over, eight-foot tall werewolf sheltering a child, to remain, a hair's breadth from impact. Backing quickly out of the portal, the last support groaned, and then gave way, the last wall of the house collapsing with the rest. He set the boy alongside his friend...or was it his sister? Releasing a powerful sigh of relief, he sat down on the grass and looked to the two of them. Had they been hurt?
"Are you two alright?"
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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not confusing at all! [html] There was not enough left in him to exert the scream that desperately wanted an escape. He could not differentiate between the various pains that sprang up, one by one, as his brain was able to process them, and there seemed to be no breath left in his lungs. He struggled for a moment or two, to inhale without also inhaling micro-debris and the clouds of swirling dust that began settling around him. So self-absorbed in his own predicament, however, that he could barely grasp reality when what was left of the floor crashed down to his level. He did not realize that Empusa had also joined him in his fall.
Gingerly rolling to his back, he groaned heavily, and a blinding pain shot through his right leg. Again, he could not cry out, but instead clenched his teeth tightly, and raised his hand to clasp his head where he could feel the blood pulsing like the rapids of the Yawrah. For a moment, he thought that he might just pass out, and if the rest of the building fell down on him, so be it; he would die and the pain and knowledge that there was little he could do would be obsolete, tossed into oblivion. It wouldn't matter. He wouldn't care. Everything he now had, everything he had found... none of it was a thought in his conscious (or subconscious, for that matter) mind.
His eyes closed and he tried to imagine himself on the beach, in the sun, on a glorious day where the surf rolled in fiercely, but where the clouds parted so that he could see the blue of the sky. This image could not last long, and it did not, because he began to hear... things. He was now imagining that there was someone to save him. Yes, there was someone there, someone saying words which sounded to him like a jumbled mess, faded, far away. And then, there was the sounds the building was making, angry with him, groaning it's own disapproval. Something lifted him and the pain in his leg screamed for mercy, and he thought he might have heard himself cry out something along the lines of a whimpering yowl in his mind.The something then let him go and more words came, this time, just a little clearer. Are you two alright? He didn't think he was even sure of what it was referring to. |
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secretly falling apart
She was out for a few minutes, she was sure...because when she woke up, she wasn't inside the house any more. Empusa whimpered lightly, trying to move her legs and finding them difficult to lift. It was then that she realized that she was being carried, over somebody's shoulder. She tried to open her eyes, but the ground spun before her. When she was put down, she kept her eyes firmly closed; it was way too scary to look at. She still didn't even know what was going on...or what had happened.
She could hear more cracking sounds, and she clenched her eyes shut even more, trying not to hear it. That sound was a bad sound! The red eyed youth could hear a voice nearby, asking a question, but she wasn't sure what question it was asking. Or what the question had to do with her. She began to speak, her eyes still closed, shaking her head back and forth. "Ma jambe ! Que s'est produit ? Ma jambe fait très mal, et je pense qu'elle est cassée !"
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Neither of the coyote kids seemed completely themselves yet...the boy who had almost had the house collapse in on him with Skoll hadn't said anything, and the girl began speaking in gibberish...or at least a language that wasn't recognizeable to him. They both seemed to be alive, which was a good start, though the fact that neither of them had spoken bothered him.
The boy had blood coming from his head...what was he to do? Skoll reached down to the deerskin satchel he'd kept with him for so long, the one that had been replaced by the human pack he'd gotten from the human structure. Pulling it from around him, the muscles in his arms corded as they pulled apart, and he tore it down its length. What emerged was a much slimmer version of the original skin. He was no healer, but he knew some rudimentary first aide...it would be difficult not to, given his lifestyle. Walking around the smaller canine, he quickly wrapped it around his head, covering the wound. Hopefully, the pressure would successfully stop the bleeding.
"Tell me you guys can speak english?" he said, head turned to the girl. He spared a brief glance behind him at the house that they had just avoided being under. Why had he risked his life for these two? It was the right thing to do, part of him said. Another part of him wanted to deny it, to say that he had decided against helping these people, but he couldn't stop himself from being what he was. No matter how bitter he got toward the way this place was run, he would never be able to sit back and do nothing, at least not in regards to innocents like these.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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[html] There were things going on, he could tell, but it was difficult to tell just what. Eventually, however, he pulled himself together and he opened his eyes, the image blurred for a moment before coming into full focus. There was a large, scarred male wrapping something around his head, who then asked if they could speak English (he and Empusa? he hadn't seen her yet, but that must have meant..). "Wut?" he replied rather stupidly, and then he turned his head one way where he found no Empusa, then the other, and there she was. She didn't look all that great, either, and it occurred to him suddenly, that it was all his fault.
"Who're you?" he asked the large male. He had wanted to say thank you, actually, but he wasn't sure how to say that in order to express the full extent of thanks he intended, and it was not as though he had any right to question anything of the wolf who had saved their lives. But he didn't know. Pain still radiated from his leg and his head, but otherwise, he didn't feel terrible, even after falling through a floor and having debris crash down around and upon him. He knew that if he wasn't dead yet, then he would have to be alright, and he was far more concerned with his companion, but apparently she had been the one to speak a language he'd never heard before, which to him as well, sounded like nothing more than distorted and broken attempt at speech. |
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"Oui" She answered weakly, lifting her head up from the ground. She felt like she was going to be sick; her stomach hurt, and her head was pounding. Yes, she spoke English...but she wasn't comprehending that English wasn't what she was speaking. "Je ne comprends pas ce qui s'est produit" "I don't understand what happened" Empusa slowly stood, swaying from side to side. "Ze house--vot happened inside ze house? I do not remember...I just fell into darkness. Jesile--I was behind you"
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The bronze wolf breathed a sigh of relief as they both began speaking. Okay, nobody had been killed. That was a good start. It seemed, too, that they both could speak in a language he could understand, another definite plus. At any rate, though shaken up, even banged up to a degree, they seemed to be mostly alright. Still...I'm as lucky as they are. Don't know what I was thinking.
"I'm a wolf who lacks a good deal of sense," he said as he studied the rubble. He could have died in there trying to get them out, should have. Hell, by rights, even given my actions, that girl should be the only one who got out of this alive. That last wall should have fell on the boy and I. Was that luck, there, or fate? He blinked, deciding to put those thoughts off for another time. These young ones had to get reoriented for now, they'd been through a lot in the last few minutes. "Though, since 'senseless wolf' doesn't exactly appeal, you can call me Skoll."
Looking to the male, Skoll was curious too what had happened. Had it simply collapsed, or had they been doing something? He knew that human technology could knock down those structures, he had seen Izyx toying with some very dangerous chemicals and devices, but even those these two were coyotes like him, he knew that the awkward inventor's secrets were not common knowledge.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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[html] He replied with all he could muster, a bit of ill humour, though he didn't smile. It was all more of a 'thank you', than anything else. S'good. That yer senseless. Skoll. He spoke in fragments and tested the name, partially to assess his own coherence and ability to do simple things. Like mimicking. He was more or less all right, he just needed to wrap his head around what had happened, and pull himself together. To accept reality. Was that ever an easy thing to do? In Jesile's world, nothing particularly bad ever happened to anybody, and when it did (like now) it was easy for him to pretend it wasn't there, because it felt better that way.
Jesile. This's Empusa. Who was speaking French. Apparently she wasn't aware of the fact that neither male could understand a word of what she was saying. The boy sat up gingerly, careful not to agitate his leg, and slowly turned his head toward the girl, raising his brows a little in attempt to tell her he could not understand without saying anything. It seemed like too much effort, which was more pain than he wanted. [/html]
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It had been such a long time since she had been around anyone that spoke French--she didn't know why she was speaking it now. After the realization hit her she closed her mouth, starting over again in English. "I apologize. It is good to meet you, Skoll. And thank you, Jesile. For..the introducing. I am sorry that I fell in as well--I did not notice that you had gone under until I was already falling"
She smiled a bit. Despite all that had happened, she didn't feel too bad...her head still hurt a little, though. "But...We should not trust wolves. Gabriel would not like us being around one"
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The two coyote pups introduced themselves, and seemed to be alright, now that all of the danger was behind them. The lad seemed had come around, and short of the language-switching, the girl seemed fine. The exchange that followed was a decidedly odd one. The girl, Empusa, was very polite to him, but she was also quite open about how the two of them should put some distance between themselves and the wolf who had pulled them out of the building. There's some gratitude for you, he thought for a moment, before banishing the thought. These two were only children, and they were being raised with the same prejudices that their forebears had possessed. It wasn't their fault, and the fact was, it was probably best that they not trust wolves. In the atmosphere of hate that the coyote queen had created, there were probably wolves out there who would permit harm to come to them, if not cause that harm themselves.
The mention of Gabriel shouldn't have been surprising, but it was. When he'd first fought with the young male, the Lykoi-son been fresh out of pup-hood, not even two years old and already raring to go at it with the wolves of the surrounding packs. He'd already gone abroad and involved himself in some trouble independent from his clan, or so the old wolf heard. That's an early start down a dark road, he thought, but he didn't know whether leadership over a pack would help or hurt that path. One way or the other, the young male was more stable than his mother had been, so it was better for everyone that Inferni answered to him. At least, so far. Skoll knew that he was more rational than Kaena, but his aggression at the helm was yet to be seen.
"No, he probably wouldn't. If you two are okay to walk, you'd best get moving back to Inferni. Be ready to do some explaining though, since showing up all banged up with a wolf's scent on you probably won't go over well with your leader." He didn't know what the coyotes called their alpha, but leader worked in lieu of a title. As for the kids, he'd stick around long to make sure they got to their feet before leaving to conclude his own business in the jungle.
[html] Not your fault, he replied to Empusa in a conclusive tone, because it wasn't. It was his. He should have been the one to be more careful, but he quite obviously had not. As if that wasn't bad enough, a stranger had risked his life to save them. The whole ordeal seemed a blur now, and he could not remember the exact moment when the floor had given away with such little excess weight. The only thing he could remember was heading to the desk, and then waking up in darkness. It was probably for the best, really, just to push away the most traumatic bits. He recognized the fact that he could very well have died in there instead of being rescued, but he still felt invincible. If it were not for his injuries, the shock could wear away and it would be as if it had never happened.
Uh.. why? Why not trust wolves? He could understand that it wasn't the smartest idea to trust a stranger, but the girl had specifically mentioned wolves. Jesile had never been exposed to hate based on species, and so the concept wasn't one he could even conceive. It was baffling, really, and while he took the older male's words to be a sign that they should be getting back to Inferni, and safety, he wanted to be able to understood what they apparently understood automatically. What was more, he had never met Gabriel, and he wasn't sure Gabriel would even know who he was without an explanation. What would it matter to him if he socialized with a wolf? |
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There we go, done and done! Fun thread, guys.
Skoll couldn't suppress a wan smile. Why not trust wolves? Good question kid. The best answer doesn't make sense, but you'll be making enemies if you do trust them, and those enemies probably won't be wolves. All in thought, he wouldn't actually say that to him. He had no desire to play a role in ostracizing this pup from his family, though if he grew up to be like Kaena, he might end up fighting him someday. Still, acceptance was important, and some would hold it more important to be one of the group than to go unmangled. Then again, not all coyotes acted on their distaste, some just...stayed away from wolves. It was sad to think that this innocent would be poisoned against wolves by Gabriel and his family...a shame indeed. Still, from where he was, there wasn't much he could do to influence the culture of Inferni other than antogonize it.
"It's complicated," he said, fully aware that Empusa wanted to get away from him with Jesile as soon as possible. "Suffice it to say that Gabriel will probably be happy to explain it thoroughly. I've had some coyote friends in my life, one was even like a niece to me, but some--maybe most--of the coyotes here see us as a threat. Many wolves see the coyotes as a threat for this reason." The idea was laughably backwards to him...he had seen Inferni attack others before, but never once had he seen anyone else instigate the aggression toward one of theirs first. Not from anyone who lives here, anyway. There had been the instance with those two had accosted Luka...he had almost died that day, and would have had it not been for her healing touch. Still, they hadn't been an established pack, and he didn't hold every coyote to the standard of SteelRose or Kaena.
Rising to his feet, he waived the children away, and set off down the road from which he'd come. Hopefully they'd make it back to Inferni alright. He knew that this deed here wouldn't mean anything to Gabriel or his cronies, but it didn't matter. He hadn't done it for them, and he didn't owe them anything either, despite all that they accused him of. He knew he had done what he'd needed to do that day, and though he regretted that Gabriel hadn't ordered his younger siblings away, it had come down to him or the Lykois, and he valued his own life more than theirs. He had no doubt that these two would hear about him in that context sooner or later, and maybe they'd hate him after that. Again, there wasn't anything he could do. If hating him brought them acceptance by their friends and family, maybe it was best that way.
~The lyrics are from the best song ever written.
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