[html] I have permission from Sonia to join this pack, in case you're wondering. Also, this is private for Kumu.
Character name: Ari Sohs
Character birthdate: May 16th, 2007
Luperci? Yes; Ortus.
Your email: upernovian@gmail.com">supernovian@gmail.com
Secondary contact: AIM - supernovian
How did you hear/learn about 'Souls? I've been here before, but it was from affiliation with WWS.
Come on. Keep up. Ari stumbled again, struggling to keep up with the gaunt form of his older brother. He was tired — really tired. His brother had been leading him like this for hours, and Ari had been trying to figure out the destination for the whole time. He couldn't figure it out. He had never been this far south before, and never this close to the ocean, which he could smell on the wind. An unwanted pit of terror began to well up inside of him. What was going on? Where was Nikolaos taking him?
The darker form of Nikolaos kept pressing on, never once turning to look back at Ari. Ari had never been close with his brother, or any of his family for that matter. He was afraid to ask where they were going, and what they were going to do. His brother wasn't as angry as Pelagios, but he made up for it with an uncomfortable air of impassiveness. The core of it was that Ari wasn't afraid of Nikolaos at all. He was afraid of what he would answer with.
They continued south and, before long, Ari smelled something that made the fur on the back of his neck stand on end. Other wolves — an entire pack, from the smell of it. N-Nikolaos— he started, but his brother threw up a hand to stop him. He shushed with a tiny whimper, stepping over the scent border. His brother pressed on, and hurried his pace. It didn't seem like Nikolaos wanted to be caught there. He drove further into the territory, moving very quickly. Ari was having a tough time to keep up but, suddenly, Nikolaos stopped. He turned to face Ari for the first time since they had left. Stay, Nikolaos commanded, as he would a dog. He went to pass Ari — to leave him there. Nikolaos! Ari yelped, following a step. His older brother stopped as soon as Ari had taken a step toward him and whirled around. He rigidly grasped Ari's shoulder and shoved him to the ground. Stay here, Nikolaos said more deliberately, his dark eyes emotionless. Or, was there emotion? Was that the tiniest hint of... pity? It disappeared so fast, Ari thought he had imagined it. Nikolaos turned and began to leave once more, and the reality of it all dawned on Ari. He was being abandoned here. The kid began to cry, muttering Nikolaos' name under his breath — pleading. If the pack that lived here found him, they might even kill him. He was being abandoned here to die.
Nikolaos stopped. Ari's hopes began to rise once more, but Nikolaos only turned to look at him over his shoulder. Stay here, Ari. Please. Ari could see pity once more in his eyes, and he wasn't imagining it this time. Stay here, stay alive. I'll... I'll come back for you if you do. Nikolaos turned away, and Ari thought that he heard his older brother say, I'm sorry, before leaving once and for all.
Ari backed up until he was at the foot of a tree, yet remained sitting on the ground. He hugged his knees to his chest, sniffling periodically. He didn't feel like running — what was the point? This new place seemed dangerous. He thought that it would be better to wait and see what would happen. If something bad did, well, thus ended the story of Ari Sohs. If it didn't, well, the story was about to come to a whole new chapter.
So he waited, tears slowly leaking from his blue eyes.
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Midtown lyrics. *point*
[html] It was a quite impromptu sort of adventure that had taken Valentine out of the pack for the day. The mid-afternoon sky was already fading fast towards sunset, and he was rounding off the last couple of miles before the heart of the territory and the den that housed him. He couldn't help but think to himself that spring would be after them soon, but unfortunately couldn't really draw up any memories of it from when he had been there. Yet he had been born in the middle of spring; his birthday was creeping up just as fast.
Winding down the paths of the archaic-seeming forest, he mingled easily with the evergreens and spruces, paying little heed to the varied kinds of wood in the forest. He was focused on getting home and getting out of the cold, toying more with an important find that was more his thing; a banjo. How on earth he always managed to uncover the strangest things out of the human city was anyone's guess, but it was the banjo which was oddly enough, his instrument of choice. But before he could even begin to think of how much tuning and attention it would need, something else caught his eye on the path ahead of him.
The dying light of the sun cast shadows all around the both of them, though in a way it only seemed to give luminescence to the particular hardwood tree that the boy sat against. If it hadn't been for the way he was coiled up on the snow at the base of the tree, Valentine may not have even noticed him. Instead he stopped a bit short on the lumpy inclined he was on as a blank expression set on his face. Was… he crying? “Hey, kid, what's wrong?” [/html]
[html] Yes, indeed. 
He heard the footsteps and glanced up with a simultaneous feeling of hope and despair — it could be Nikolaos coming back to get him, or it could be an angry pack member wanting to know why the hell a scrawny little kid was sitting on their property. Unfortunately, it was the latter, but he didn't seem that angry. Ari wasn't even sure if he was overly concerned! That was so odd. Back at home, trespassers were chased heartlessly from the territory, and if they weren't fast enough or came back, well... It was just how things had gone.
Not here, though? It wasn't enough to rekindle the fire of hope in this boy yet. He was sure that they'd probably just kick him out and he'd be dead within a week. He simply looked up at the golden-eyed adult through his unkempt hair, and blinked as he asked a question. The curious expression in the other wolf's face made Ari somewhat self-conscious, and he quickly rubbed away the tear-streaks from his face with the back of his hand. H-He left me, Ari whispered, hating the tremor in his voice. He had to grit his teeth angrily to keep tears from re-emerging. Crying would not be very becoming for a kid his age before an adult that age. It was a sign of weakness. He j-just left me. Alone. In comparison to how a kid who had just been abandoned should sound like, Ari's words sounded pretty empty. It was probably because he hadn't accepted it. Then maybe he'd start to be a little more hysterical. Let's just hope that that didn't happen.
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[html] The banjo that had been strapped to his back tugged uncomfortably, the strap sliding closer to his throat as he shuffled his stance. Valentine adjusted it for a moment, taking a firm hold on the worn leather strap as not to be choked. “Left you here?” he asked as though it needed to be clarified. Who left him here could have been anyone; father, brother, relative of the male gender. Tough predicament; Valentine wasn't really sure what to say or do about someone like that. He wasn't really the comforting sort, but he wasn't exactly going to tell the kid that he had some bad luck, either. “Where are you from? This is Jaded Shadows.” [/html]
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Ari nodded dumbly, looking away. He wasn't sure what was going to happen. The wolf didn't seem too threatening right now — he was carrying an instrument, and unless he planned to bring it down on Ari's head and keep smacking him until he ran away, Ari didn't see much threat in the stranger's body position. His brown ear twitched at the more questions, and he stirred to once more look in the direction of the wolf, but didn't look at his face. He was intimidated. North, and west. A place called Veneficus. And this place was called Jaded Shadows. It was fitting, though it would be more so if all the trees were covered with leaves. Ari bit his lip, wondering what to do. He had an idea, but it was risky. But who was he to be new to risk? Was he to care anymore? He took a breath and looked to the dark stranger, I can't go back there, either. M-My brother said not to come home. And he s-said that, if I stay alive, he would come back. He stopped. Was he supposed to ask for a home here? To be looked after? That was too much. Ari swallowed painfully, swiping his hand across his face to wipe away whatever remains of tears there were. He had to act as strong as possible. Weakness was unacceptable. So d-do you think I could stay here until he comes b-back to get me? he said in a slightly quieter voice, petrified of the verdict.
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[html] The name didn't ring any bells with Valentine, though he thought that maybe they had a strange way of getting rid of someone. It would have probably been easier to deal with being run out of a home rather than led away from it and told not to come home. But the dark-haired boy didn't know what to say, so he shrugged instead. He certainly didn't care of this kid stayed or not, but also knew that it wasn't really his decision. “I guess you could, but I'd have to ask my leaders. You want me to call 'em?” [/html]
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It was no wonder that Valentine had never heard of his home — they had gone to extensive lengths to make it to where they were "safe", and by living in a God-forsaken swamp. No one ever bothered them, but it was a tough life. To think on it for a moment, Ari wasn't going to miss it, but he still couldn't get over the fact that Nik had left him here. He couldn't get over why. He had been a good little brother — he had always done what he was told, even if he wasn't that open to others. Why... He swallowed heavily, a bit awkward due to the fact that his overwhelming anxiety was so offset by the stranger's simple lack of care. Ari certainly didn't mind or anything, but he was still a bit shaky about the whole thing. His eyes glanced up to the golden ones of the dark werewolf and darted away. He nodded again to answer the question, whispering a tremulous, Y-Yes, please.
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[html] The very least they could do was give the boy a little bit of solace, even though he didn't know if Fatin or Tayui would take him in. He figured that Fatin might, but Tayui he wasn't for sure about just yet. One was a mother, the other didn't strike him as being one. Raising his head in the cover of twilight, he gave a low call for one of the two, before letting his voice settle and offering the ragged boy a kind smile. Only time would tell from here on out. [/html]
The woman had been skirting away from the entire pack lately, but for different reasons than the norm. Phasma's absence was huge and left a giant hole in the pack. Fatin could no more ignore it than she could claim to be a reclusive male. When Valentine's call caught her attentions, she headed towards him, her two-legged gait easy and careful. There was no need for another loss to the pack, not now. When she approached the two and spotted the younger boy, her eyes softened considerably. "What's going on?" She asked Valentine, not sure of what exactly she had been called into.
[html] Sure enough, the scarce few moments that passed by soon revealed someone coming down through the trees. It was just the red whisps that he caught from in between the trees that told him it was Fatin. His smile was directed towards her at first, though it eventually sobered up so he could reply. “His family dumped him here and told him not to come home, so he was wondering if we've got room for him here.” Now that he thought about it, he hadn't even asked the kid his name. Oops. Oh well… [/html]
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His imagination dashed forward much faster than logic could — creating fantasies of a huge, nine-foot-tall giant Alpha Male with shaggy dark fur and glaring white eyes coming into the area, breathing a bit of fire, and then finding that Ari wasn't satisfactory to be in the pack but was just fine for a bit of a warm meal. He shuddered, entirely thinking it was possible. The warm smile offered to him by the stranger helped a bit, though, but he couldn't help but be petrified. Some of these fears, however, were dispelled when the one whom he had called for arrived. The one wasn't what he had imagined at all — in fact, she was the opposite. There was something glimmering in her green eyes that made him feel much more at ease; that is, right before he averted his eyes to the floor in respect for the female. The nonchalant manner in which Ari's misfortune was presented to the Alpha Female acted almost as a physical blow to the boy, and he stared lifelessly at the ground. Nevertheless, he shifted position so that he was sitting on his feet with his arms clenched before him. He lowered his head in reverence, and also in a silent prayer that she allow one small ray of hope to be shed on his life which was quickly receding into hopeless shadow.
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Luckily for the young boy, Fatin Kali was a creature known for her overly large heart. Reaching back to push a bit of her trademark red hair from her eyes, she smiled gently down at the little face of youth before turning her attention back to Valentine. With a sad, knowing sort of nod she accepted the tale given to her and knew there was only one course of action to take. "My name's Fatin...do you have a name?" her voice was naturally kind, as years of being that way had trained it well. Never had she taken on a harsh sort of stance with leadership, she had managed to follow the wonderful example given to her by Mordulin on how to lead with grace, dignity, and a heart. "I think you would like it here...I Have children of my own, just five months old. They'd love someone else to play with, if you'd like to stay here and wait for your family." her eyes, when they turned to Valentine, betrayed her thoughts. She didn't think his family would return, they rarely did.
[html] It was with that knowing sort of look that Valentine knew that the kid's folks wouldn't be coming for him. If they did, it wouldn't be for a good reason. It was very much like the sad sort of story that his mother had told him about when she had described just how things went about. How life itself was often a bit more like a cesspool than a meadow of wild flowers. He wasn't sure if he could live with something like that, but at the same time he found himself highly apathetic to it all. Valentine chalked it up to the fact that Phasma had only recently died and here he was, trying to busy himself. His gold-eyed gaze lingered between the red-haired woman and the boy, not sure whether or not to say anything, or to leave them both to their own devices. [/html]
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There hadn't been very much compassion nor kindness at Ari's last pack. Such things were just the same as turning your back on strangers, leaving you open for a knife. It was strict, but it had supposedly kept them safe. He gradually looked up, somewhat impassive, to the woman to see if she was kidding him — baiting him so he'd fall for the trap of a cruel joke. But nope; what he saw in her green eyes seemed completely genuine. How weird. He nodded to her question, rolling around the name 'Fatin' in his head a little bit before replying, Ari Sohs, ma'am. Her offer was truly the best he could possibly hope for. To stay here, where there were people to make sure something happen to him? And wait for his brother? He swallowed, fighting back emotion. To not take this would be completely insane. I-I'd be happy to accept. Thank you so much for your kindness, Fatin.
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