special guest star

Vieira Lykoi · 01-01-2010, 07:31 PM

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The last few weeks have been rather quiet in the cave with Kaena. They did not talk often and when they did, it was short and most of the time orders but it got to the point where she ran out of things to do. The activity in Inferni was not like Eterne and she did not have orders barked at her left and right or the constant threat of punishment looming over her head. She was thankful to have Kaena has an owner, compared to the others, and Vieira was becoming quite comfortable. The elder coyote was quite difficult to figure out and often times unpredictable but if she was kept in a good mood, everything ran smoothly.

Today, unfortunately, Kaena seemed off and while Vieira was piddling around the cave and making sure things were cleaned. It came to a sudden end when Kaena just snapped and told her to leave the cave. It shocked her and Vieira was quick to do what she was told to avoid any sort of violence (whether or not it might have happened) and was lost out on her own. Vieira never left the cave unless she needed to (or told otherwise) and now she had the entire territory to visit and part of her was afraid to go too far in case the leader needed her.

After an hour or so and nothing, Vieira decided to leave the area of the caves and moved north. She found a territory she had not seen before as the snow dusted ground expanded in front of her. The sun was out for once after a cloudy morning and the air was cold with wind. Her arms crossed over her chest as she stood still, her golden eyes staring off into the distance without any real purpose of being there.

Anselm de le Poer · 01-01-2010, 07:53 PM

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@&#&$ His recent excursion had yielded interesting results and wrapped up much quicker than he might have anticipated. Having the two guard dogs to keep tabs on the garage simplified his life greatly. On his trip to Crimson Dreams, he'd learned even more of the atrocities Haku had committed, and he even got to introduce himself to the newest members of the Marino family. Anselm had grown rather fond of that entire crew; in a different life, maybe he'd be amongst their ranks instead of Inferni's.
@&#&$As was customary upon his return to the Inferni lands, he did a quick sweep of the borders. After two joiners had washed up on the beach, he decided to give the less frequented stretches greater attention. Anselm hadn't been to this sunny spot of the land in what seemed like ages--usually nothing even remotely interesting happened here. Today, though, it seemed he was not alone. The secui paused in his steps as he regarded the slight woman curiously; hers was a scent that was strong around the caves. That it was so omnipresent in that region and he'd yet to see her was curious.

@&#&$"Hey," he called out simply, figuring it was polite to alert the woman to his presence. He veered off slightly from their perimeter and began to trot easily towards her.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-01-2010, 08:03 PM

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Vieira's fingers wiggled against her arm, they were stiff and cold, and she wished she was back in the den. She would have been fine to curl up inside her small room and leave it at that but Kaena did not want her around and Vieira could not argue. The woman did not expect company and when she heard a voice nearby, her head shot back behind her to look at the man before she found her gaze elsewhere. Her body turned to face him, her muscles tensed, and she let out a long breath.

It had been a while since she last met someone (or seen anyone for that matter) but it was for the best, in her opinion. She preferred to stay away and it was less complicated to just be limited to Kaena. Meeting others did not bring good reactions (Rikka had been proof of this, as well as Gabriel) but it had given her a friend (Snake) and now she was meeting a coyote she had not seen before. "Hello," she called out and did not say anything else.

Anselm de le Poer · 01-01-2010, 08:19 PM

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@&#&$His advance ceased briefly when he noticed her tension, though for the moment he assumed he'd simply caught her off guard. Anselm always projected a cool sort of confidence, and though the tattoos and wild mane made him appear somewhat dangerous, his clanmates (and most of the population at large) really had no reason to get hyped over him. His subconscious couldn't shake the feeling that she was bracing for something, but so far he didn't consciously register anything unusual.
@&#&$"That's an interesting piecing," he noticed, gaze locking on the ring immediately, if only for the fact that nothing else about her really stood out. Needless to say, he was oblivious to any significance it might hold. "Aren't you afraid it could get ripped out?" he wondered (much as he did whenever he met anyone with similar accessories). "Guess I've always been more of a fan of tattoos, eh?" he added, flicking his recently done ear with a grin. Cotl had done a good job and the abused flesh was healing nicely.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-01-2010, 09:04 PM

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The first thing he mentioned was her piercing and her arms uncrossed, her thin digits lightly touched the cold piercing but she dropped it as she considered this. It had been a concern once upon a time but it was not her place to question what Astaroth chose to do and how to answer the male was proving to be difficult. Her arms tightened back over her chest and she twisted her lips into a frown. "I guess so," she said quietly. Her nose wrinkled slightly at the familiar piercing. Half the time she did not know it was even there unless someone was using it against her.

"What tattoos do you have?" she asked, suddenly wondering if Astaroth or Sivaro had ever considered a tattoo for her and if they had, what they would have gotten. Her jaw tightened at the thought and she was thankful they had not done such a thing and hoped Kaena was not considering it, either. One piercing was enough humiliation, not counting the sort of things she had to do on a daily basis.

Anselm de le Poer · 01-01-2010, 10:17 PM

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@&#&$Her voice came so hushed he had to press his ears forward in order to hear her easily; coupled with the frown, he worried that he might have offended her. She didn't make it seem as if she'd considered such a thing in the past, and he offered an apologetic look--he didn't intend it as a criticism of her choices (obviously he had no way to know she'd never had one in the matter). Everyone was allowed to decorate themselves as they wished, regardless of whether or not their decisions made sense to him. Clothes were another thing that he just didn't understand; they got caught on things and made movement awkward. He much preferred to go au naturel.
@&#&$"Just three," he replied, the inward frown dissolving as they seemed to be moving forward with the conversation. "Just got this one recently," he said, flicking the ear, "but this one here"--lifting the front limb in question--"and this," he said, twirling about and lifting his hind foot so she could see, "are older." One shoulder lifted in a canine shrug as he resumed his former position. "So who are you, anyway? I've noticed your scent around the caves before, but I guess I've been too wrapped up in other shit to stop and say hello. I'm Anselm."

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-02-2010, 08:47 PM

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While Anselm presented each tattoo, Vieira watched them and considered how they looked. They were neat but weird to her. She had no idea how they were applied to a canine's fur or skin but she did not imagine it was very pleasant. The piercing of her septum had been uncomfortable, even if she could not remember the pain exactly. When it was tugged on or she was dragged around by the piece of jewelry, it stung and made her eyes water. "Do they... did they hurt?" she asked cautiously, as if she was afraid of the answer and she was not entirely sure why she wanted to know. Kaena had a tattoo, she realized, but she did not know the relevance of it.

"Anselm," she repeated softly and her ears twitched upon her head. "My name is Vieira Lykoi," she introduced. "I belo—" she stopped and her ears fell back in defense and she reconsidered suddenly. The responses she got to this in the past had not been comfortable and while she knew she needed to tell the truth, she wanted to relax. "I live with Kaena Lykoi," she corrected a second later with little hesitation. Part of her had expected the other to already know about her, it had been over a month know since she arrived, but he did not recognize her right off the bat as Gabriel had weeks ago.

Maybe her name rang a bell and she braced herself for his reaction.

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Anselm de le Poer · 01-02-2010, 09:49 PM

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@&#&$He could no longer recall where he'd first run into the symbols that were now inked into his flesh, though he could remember the document containing the information of interest. It was a small pamphlet, really, no more than five pages long. Each symbol was printed along with the warning it tried to convey and there were a couple brief paragraphs following each heading. Only certain words had stood out to him--radioactive, mutation; biohazard, virus, disease. They seemed all too fitting given what their world had become, and the bright colours were enough to catch anyone's attention, even if they were unfamiliar with the explicit symbology. Such colours were meant as clear warnings in the natural world--maybe that was why the humans had gone with them.
@&#&$"They do a little at first, but it becomes more of a dull, distant pain after awhile," he responded. "You have to keep them clean for awhile once they're done, too, or you risk infection." Not that piercings weren't much the same in that regard. Her title grabbed hold of his attention and quickly pushed any thoughts of body art to the back of his mind. He didn't really recognise the Lykoi in her but come to think of it, there was something kind of familiar about her. Having never met the sire of Ahemait, Razekiel, and Samael directly, the connection in his mind was much more vague and abstract--he couldn't place it consciously. "Huh, do you have any other full-blood siblings here?" he wondered, surprised he'd never heard of her before. It seemed like something that should have come up, if not through conversations with Kaena or Gabriel directly.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-02-2010, 10:24 PM

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Vieira listened and began to wonder what it would feel like to her. She would not know until she got one for herself but she was sure, if she ever had a choice, she would not take one. It looked odd on the canine but he liked them and that was all that mattered, at least. The slave did not go on about them, of course, because he changed with the introduction and she had nothing else to say on the topic. Her eyes narrowed slightly when he asked of siblings instead of what she imagined but she did not unwelcome this. Perhaps it would be easier to speak as if nothing was wrong but she knew in the back of her mind she was deceiving him and it took more than enough self control not to blurt out her status within the pack.

"I just have half siblings," she breathed a response. "I'm not sure if they are all here. I think Samael Lykoi is here," she said. She could not recall exactly but she knew one or two of them were here. The names of Samael's littermates were lost and she felt awful for not remembering. They were not her brother and sisters, anyway, and she knew a relationship would not happen between them. She could not be on an equal level with any of them. "We share the same father," she added and her tail twitched. "As well as Eris Lykoi but she lives where I am from," she explained. Eris did not share the same father with her but had been convinced she had, no one knew otherwise except Kaena and the information that this was a lie would not come out on the elder woman's own free will.

Her hands dropped to her side awkwardly, unsure of what to do with them, while she explained further. "I have not met the three that lived here," she said to be safe, just in case they were not here. "Just Eris," she added with a subtle shrug and her jaw tightened with this information.

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Anselm de le Poer · 01-02-2010, 10:59 PM

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@&#&$He peered at her curiously, puzzled. "I guess I sort of see the resemblance, but you've got truckloads more half-siblings in that case," he offered, trying to be helpful. He was still working off the assumption that she was Kaena's daughter--why else would she carry the Lykoi title? When she explicitly stated that they shared the same sire alone, he became even more confused. "Err... Sam's here, so is Razekiel. I haven't seen Ahemait in nearly two years, though," he explained. "But wouldn't that make you full siblings?" he pressed, perplexed simply because it didn't all add up. He wasn't trying to make her uncomfortable, he just couldn't figure out how she could be a Lykoi, share the same father, and only be a half-sibling to the members of the Astaroth litter.
@&#&$The last name she dropped he was unfamiliar with as well. Eris? Although he was not Kaena's keeper, he did find it peculiar he'd never heard either of these names before. In reality, there was a handful that had just never come up: he didn't know about Arkham, Conway, or Kerberos either. The last two were before his time in Inferni and although Arkham had lingered in the area after the fire, it had been under a different alias and they'd never crossed paths. Maybe just because all of those he did know about--Gabriel, Corona, Molochai, Rikka, Samael, Ahemait, Razekiel, Rachias, Vitium and the late Andrezej--it seemed weird to not know two. Out of eleven, why would he have heard of nine but not the last couple? So far as he knew Vitium and Andre were the black sheep of the family; if Vieira was here now, she obviously wasn't an outcast.

@&#&$"Well at any rate, if you're looking for Sam he's pretty elusive. Raze's easy to spot, though--or more correctly, smell," he said with a grin. He wasn't sure where either of the coyotes had settled, honestly; they didn't seem to have well-defined residences like most of the rest of the clan. The majority of them lived in the caves but lately the mansion was experiencing an influx of tenants as well. These were all just signs of Inferni's success.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-02-2010, 11:16 PM

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The woman shook her head but she did get a response before he went on about her half siblings and questioned her and she shook her head again. "No, no... just... just them," she said though Vieira did not like to correct someone but she knew what she was talking about. Her body shuddered slightly from the stress but easily disguised as being cold. "We just share a father," she murmured and did not know the Lykoi name was as limited as everyone thought. She was the sister of Eris Lykoi and she did not question the woman giving her the name to replace that of her father.

"My mother died shortly after I was born," she explained and she felt a pit of emptiness that had always been inside her. Vieira felt no real emotion about a mother she did not have and had no idea what others went through that she missed out with such a relationship. All she had was a relationship askew with her father that was nothing like it should have been.

Vieira wondered if she should find them one day when she was away from the caves but she had no real desire to actually go for them. They were coyotes that were more important than her, higher than her status, and she would feel no real connection to them. Her only link to a relationship was Kaena and she had no purpose for anyone else. Her pseudo-desire was in making Kaena happy and making sure everything was in place when required. It was years of training wired into her brain through persistent training and punishment. She wanted to comment about meeting them, whether or not it would happen, but she did not know what to say. Somehow I do not want to meet them did not seem appropriate.

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Anselm de le Poer · 01-02-2010, 11:43 PM

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@&#&$The gears in his mind were spinning in overdrive, grinding together so hard that he was starting to get a headache. Then suddenly everything clicked into place: "Oh!" he exclaimed lightly, "So you're not Kaena's daughter, but maybe one of her sisters' children or something?" This seemed a likely solution and he felt foolish for not considering it sooner. He didn't really know if Kaena had siblings (if so, he hadn't heard of them), but in his mind this was the only explanation that could possibly make sense. Given that his connections to Gabriel went super far back in their family tree, he supposed it was silly to think that Kaena was the first and only branch of the Lykoi line.
@&#&$His features softened when she mentioned that her mother had passed on. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said, but guilt kept him from saying much more on the subject. Almost all of his children had never known their father--he liked to tell himself that losing a mother was worse, but it was really just a way of justifying his own irresponsibility. He'd left them high and dry without a provider, and he didn't know too many males that were keen on raising another wolf's children. Some of the women he'd bedded with belonged to packs, so presumably they were provided for, but he knew that the majority of them did not. That was another strike against them, maybe--what pack wanted to take on so many hungry mouths and dependants?

@&#&$"I haven't seen either of my parents in at least three or four years now; I still assume they're kicking along somewhere, though," he said, knowing full well that "somewhere" may have been hell on earth. "So you're from... somewhere further south, I take it?" he wondered, finally picking up on the fact that she seemed to be "shivering." She was of a smaller stature more customary for their southern relatives--he knew because his mother had been much the same. "This place is pretty barren, but I know a few spots to get out of the wind at least," he offered with a smile.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-02-2010, 11:53 PM

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Vieira was starting to feel frustrated. She did not often have this sort of trouble explaining her relations (most others did not seem to care) but she should have stuck to the entire truth to begin with. She exhaled a long sigh and shook her head to the new information Anselm took on without her. It was simple enough, in her mind. She was the child of Astaroth and some strange woman and only related to those mentioned before. "No," she said and tried to keep her tone as even as ever. She did not need a report back to Kaena on her tone while Kaena was as upset as she was. "I am not related to Kaena. I am only connected to her through ownership," she said and should have explained, but she did not. It was not the thing she was trying to explain.

The woman did not know what else to say to explain and her eyes dropped further and looked at her feet while her hands returned to cross over her chest again. He went on about things and she did not take note of them for memory but instead nodded. It was information that was not important to her and she could not find reason for it. "Yes. From Mexico. I was taken there after my mother's passing," she said and twisted her lips in mild discomfort. "I was just a month or two old," she said, having no real recollection of her mother other than a form of a feminine and petite coyote figure that had no face. Her mind to not focus on it long because he offered a place out of the wind. Her jaws parted to object, to announce she should go back (and only because she felt a little overwhelmed with the investigation) but realized she had no where else to go and company was not all that bad, anyway.

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Anselm de le Poer · 01-03-2010, 12:18 AM

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@&#&$"Ownership?" he queried, brows knitting together. It seemed as though both of them were growing perplexed--he simply could not know that she "had no choice" in responding to his questions. If a topic perturbed someone enough, they would usually make it clear that it was not something up for discussion by simply not answering or changing the subject. Eventually he began to realise just how one-sided their conversation really was--he was the one asking all of the questions and she hadn't really said anything outside of what he'd "prompted" her to say.
@&#&$When her gaze dropped and she began to clamp up, he finally decided to give it a rest. He really shouldn't have been surprised that she was upset, he guessed--he was stirring up all these rotten memories of her deceased mother, after all. "Er, y'know, forget about it. I'm sorry," he offered, feeling somewhat useless. Usually he was pretty good at making others feel comfortable, and the fact that he was inadvertently doing the exact opposite was troublesome. Was he losing his touch? Although he was still somewhat curious over her word choice, he assumed it was just some trivial thing he was not understanding. This whole conversation was chock full of miscommunication so far.

@&#&$Her silence implied consent, so far as he was concerned, and he began to pad along quietly, leading the way to the little alcove in the hills. He sincerely hoped he hadn't fucked her day up too badly--this reach of the territory was usually so secluded, she'd probably just wanted alone time and wasn't expecting to find his nosy ass there. No more words spilled from his mouth as they moved--he was waiting, waiting for her to ask him something or tell him she wanted to leave or suggest some new topic of discussion. If nothing came of it, he'd just have to figure something (less personal) out himself.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-03-2010, 12:31 AM

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"I belo—" she said but unfortunately cut short. Her gaze lifted only a fraction and did not meet his face at any point. He cut her off in order to drop the conversation and apologize. Her jaw was still slack to speak, to explain, but he did not want to anymore. It left the air between them uncomfortable, at least to her, because he did not know or understand what she was trying to say. If he did not want to speak about it anymore, she could not press the issue but at least she did not have to try and make things better when she was evidently making it worse. After this meeting, she would not beat around the bush when she met someone. It would be one of the first things that come out of her mouth.

I belong to Kaena Lykoi.

Anselm moved from their spot and Vieira unhooked her arms from her chest another time, dropping them lazily to her side and she easily fell in step behind him. She did not catch up to walk side by side but her distance between his backside and her front did not appear to be all that major. He did not speak, either, and that meant she did not either. While the information of her predicament tingled the top of her tongue, she did not speak of it anymore. Occasionally, she looked up and admired the territory that was before. For the last few weeks, the most she saw was just the outside of the cave from the opening or the surrounding area when she had personal business to care of and it was a nice change of pace, at least. She did not know when she would get this chance again and she hoped it was not because Kaena was upset. She knew, in the back of her mind, it was her fault (if only partially) and it was enough to upset the slave as well.

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Anselm de le Poer · 01-03-2010, 01:03 AM

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@&#&$They reached their destination in record time--as usual, he knew the most efficient way to get anywhere. Before them was Halcyon mountain, its peak capped in snow as it would remain for the rest of the season. Above, the blue sky was dotted by puffy white cumulus clouds; the storm that had dumped the snow on the ground now had come to pass. Anselm moved down the hill--more skidding than walking--and stopped once he reached the little pocket that seemed strangely sheltered from the wind. Here he sprawled down easily in the snow, going so far as to roll around in it--hey, it was important to scent mark these far reaches of their turf, too, and this seemed more appropriate than stopping to take a whiz in front of her.
@&#&$While he was on his back, he couldn't help but glance at one strangely shaped cloud--whether it looked more like a deer's antlers or a tree he wasn't sure. "Hey, what do you think that one looks like?" he asked her, his eyes glinting with mischief. If she seemed uncomfortable discussing such dire adult things, perhaps some good old fashioned regression would get her to come out of her shell. It was a silly game he hadn't played in years, but sometimes the most ridiculous and simple things were the most necessary. Anselm felt bad for making the woman so uncomfortable and if this failed, he'd be out of ideas. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-07-2010, 01:59 PM

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Vieira remained at the top of the peak while Anselm went down first. It looked a little dangerous and her tiny form did not have the balance he seemed to prove he had. She stepped forward and carefully placed her foot on the slant downward where he had gone and used the traction of shaken snow to keep her balance. He rolled around in it at the bottom, something else that was strange to her, and finally settled in a standing position a few feet away from him. She did not know what do to at this point and she just stood awkwardly and waited it out. Her golden eyes looked elsewhere, focusing on the snow near her feet until he spoke and she was shaken from her empty mind.

She glanced toward him until she realized what he was talking about. Staring at the cloud and trying to evaluate his question. It was odd and she didn't know how to answer, she was not even sure what he was talking about. "The... the cloud?" she asked and looked toward his form on the ground and shifted her weight. "I don't understand," she added. To her, it looked like a cloud. Did he not know what they were? Her golden eyes narrowed slightly as she glanced toward the sky, staring at the cloud that formed no other real shape other than something abstract.

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Anselm de le Poer · 01-07-2010, 09:46 PM

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@&#&$Every passing moment, every nervous gesture, every failed attempt at communication afforded him a quick glimpse into her psyche. As time wore on, he grew increasingly perplexed by the general energy she projected--she seemed overwhelmingly uncertain of everything, lacking the confidence to give straightforward answers or contribute anything to the conversation that was not asked of her directly. It was borderline distressing; had she not seemed comfortable asking about his tattoos earlier, he might have assumed he was intimidating her, although really he didn't know how such a thing would be possible while he was rolling around on the ground like a goof ball.
@&#&$Her unimaginative response brought a visible frown to his face, and he flipped over onto his stomach and pushed himself up into a lazy sit, his head tilting to the left as he regarded her strangely. "Guess you never played that game," he eventually concluded, defeated. Even this was sort of hard for him to wrap his mind around; he was fairly confident if he asked anybody else the same question, they'd come up with something a little better than "a cloud" (short of someone like Hybrid or Samael, who'd say such a thing just to be scathingly sarcastic, he was sure). Certainly these childhood pastimes were not limited to the tiny patch of Vermont. What did children play when there were no pelts available for tug of war and they'd already exhausted themselves playing tag or keep away?
@&#&$"Are you okay?" he finally wondered aloud, seeing no point in pussyfooting around the issue any longer. "You really don't seem happy; like you don't want to be here or something," he prompted, though he really wasn't sure how to continue. He didn't feel as if he had to apologise for anything; it wasn't like he was forcefully keeping her here against her free will. What singular event could have triggered this sort of behaviour? He had no way of knowing that this was the result of years of torment, of being broken down and "dehumanised" since birth. That sort of depravity was far beyond his comprehension--Anselm knew nothing of the world from which she had came, and if he did he'd probably be disgusted.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-07-2010, 10:27 PM

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Her jaw parted slightly as if she were going to say something but Vieira did not understand. It was a game? And it was a game he did not explain. For a moment longer, her eyes rested on the shape of the cloud and tried to figure it out herself. Her imagination remained in the back of her mind, untouched and packed away and ultimately unable to find something. Her ears twitched at the conflict in her mind and she lowered her gaze, staring at the ground and offering a distraught sigh. The life in the clan was not for her and she felt out of place. He did not speak further and she dropped it just as well. Vieira imagined there would be peace after this, or perhaps Anselm will go. It was not necessarily what she wanted but she felt silenced on what information he needed to understand and she could not find it in herself to tell him unless he asked.

When he spoke, she tapped her fingers on her arm awkwardly with the need to do something with them. "I am okay," she said blankly and without emotion. She did not have any other response for him, she could not tell him how she really felt when she was so disconnected from her own emotions. She had never been able to let them out to begin with and it was always about how her owners felt. If they were happy, so was she. At least in a weird and twisted sense. She was not being violently punished for something if they were happy but that did not go as far as saying she was not abused. "I think Kaena is upset," she said. Vieira had been told of the problem a few weeks ago but she did not know whether or not it was why she was off today.

Vieira knew well enough about the abuse Kaena might have gone through but she was not able to compare. Kaena was a free woman when Vieira had not. Vieira had no choice to fight back or no right to feel violated when she was toughed, she had no reason to deny whatever happened to her. Kaena, on the other hand, had every right as a luperci to feel as she did. Perhaps it was easier for the slave to be forced out of these emotions when Kaena had it to eat her up and was not used to such a thing Vieira had been exposed to before.

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Anselm de le Poer · 01-07-2010, 11:11 PM

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@&#&$She claimed that she was alright, but it didn't take a licensed therapist to read into that devoid expression and see that not all was fine and dandy in the world of Vieira Lykoi, the coyote who held no blood ties to the Lykois at all. Anselm understood the need for family and clung to some rather abstract connections himself, but he'd never forsaken his own identity in the process. He identified with a number of the Lykois as if they were his in laws. Although such terms seemed nonsensical when used to describe (distant) "cousins" with whom he shared no blood, the sentiment felt right and so he would stick to it.
@&#&$Needless to say, the slight tawny woman was clearly perturbed about something. People that were "okay" didn't skulk about, twiddling their fingers and avoiding all eye contact--even though staring was impolite (and approached taboo), most creatures at least stole a few curious glances or looked up every so often to indicate that they were paying attention. He wasn't sure he believed her at all, and his mouth had opened to state as much when she tacked on a quick, insightful remark about Kaena. His mouth shut again and he considered this, resolving that her actions now made much more sense.

@&#&$Naturally he could not know her concerns were rooted in some demented issue that essentially embodied Stockholm syndrome in its rawest form--he assumed they were simply altruistic in nature. After all, Vieira had stated she lived with the scarred Centurion. Anselm thought it was natural to be especially concerned with the well-being of anyone an individual was in close contact with, and it was difficult to get much closer to a person than sharing the same quarters with them. He would certainly be upset if ever he sensed unhappiness or distress in Alacrity--he probably wouldn't bother hiding his own anxiety over the matter, either.
@&#&$And so, his features softened and he offered her a sympathetic wag of his tail as any prior frustration dissipated with the sharp January breeze. "I must admit I haven't seen her much lately, other than to talk business," he confessed, thinking back to when he'd found the two Germans on the border, one seemingly right after the other. He'd mentioned Cotl's idiosyncratic brother to her before rushing off, and she'd shown up during his interview of Fritz, but she'd seemed largely normal at the time. Maybe he wasn't paying enough attention? "Let her know if she wants to talk, all she needs to do is give me a call, yea?" he asked her, not really knowing what else he could say on the matter. Surely Kaena knew the whole clan had her back if she needed them--if something bad happened she'd tell them, right?

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