reintroduce myself as a man with a cause

Snake · 01-02-2010, 11:29 PM

412

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He was still unsure of where the war had sprung from, but apparently Gabriel had declared it on the Dahlia de Mai wolves because of something their devilish king did. But it was not his place to question, it was his place to act; luckily enough for Snake, he had a tactical mind for this kind of thing. He considered the borders of Inferni, trying to place his mind in that of their lupine enemies. He wondered if the wolves would even stage a frontal attack anywhere, but if they did, they had several options. He doubted they would come by sea—it was too frigid to swim without being hypothermic before reaching Inferni, and the beach was too open. That was probably the same for the rocky Wastes borders of the clan. No, if Snake were a Dahlia wolf, he would come through the woods. The scents there were confusing and the trees offered shelter. So that is why it was there that he focused his own protective endeavors.

First he looked through the landfill, gathering up as many pieces of straight steel as he could. He spent the early morning ferrying them to the forested border, slung over his strong shoulder. He knew that would not be nearly enough, so he began to scour the Forest of Nod for broken branches and smaller saplings that might serve the purpose as well. Eventually he found himself near the borders, sitting on a boulder. He had a small stack of staves and sticks and such next to him, with the metal beams on the other side. He was shaping them with the edge of his knife, stripping off branches that deviated from a generally straight form. He knew that, even when he had these, it wouldn’t be the end of it. Neither would be putting them up. He would need rope or vines or something to lash them with, and still it would be a pretty big effort.

Snake knew he could make traps, but they only worked once. Why not build something like a makeshift fence? It would work until it was overcome, and there was no chance of friendly fire. These were his thoughts as he cut the branches with his knife, trying to figure out where he would get something to lash them with. It was roughly noon and he had many more days of this to make any kind of indentation at all in the borders of Inferni.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-10-2010, 11:53 PM

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[/html] SSWM: 309

Kaena had given Vieira another day to get away from the cave and her mind was set on not running into anyone. If she had to, she would walk back and forth between the border and the cave area just to make sure Kaena did not need her. She did not enjoy going to the border but it was direct order from her owner and she could not disobey, not matter how much she disliked it. Vieira never complained and with how testy the woman has been lately, she did not want to risk making her angry. Vieira had avoided any sort of punishment in the last few weeks and she did not want to start now.

The scent of Snake took her mind off her struggle for the time being and she felt rather comfortable around the male. He seemed comfortable enough around her and did little to stress her out. Rikka and Anselm had played quite a toll on her mind but Snake was easy to get along with. When she approached, her eyes scanned what he was doing before resting on the ground where his feet were, his body sitting against a rock as he worked.

Vieira straightened her arms to her side and lightly tapped her thighs as she closed the distance a little further, only a few yards away from him. She would not approach if he did not want her near and and she offered a bit of a smile and wag of her tail before both features settled away. "Snake," she called for a little attention and waiting for the instructions to stay or go at this point. She needed a little bit of company to keep her mind off being away from Kaena and a good reason to be away from the border should her owner show up at any minute.

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Snake · 01-11-2010, 12:12 AM

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391

When doing menial tasks, as he was doing now, he generally became very distant and hard to catch the attention of. His mind had, for all intents and purposes, left his body as his hands moved as if by minds of their own. His knife darted with silver swiftness, stripping away branches that made the stakes deviate from straight up-and-down. Drop one finished stick, pick up another, start again. He found himself deep within a pattern that was hard to break out of, and his mind—which usually became blank in times like this—began to drift back in time. Even though he had only spent a few months there, his memories of New Haven were always the thickest and most memorable. The preparation for battle and war were always present in the atmosphere there, though it was generally upon factions and uprisings within the city itself. It felt the same to him. He did not hate New Haven, he did not hate Patriot, but it was upsetting for him to feel an air of similarity between here and there.

He noticed that he had company only when she called his name. He stopped what he was doing, glancing up, his olive eyes glinting in the shadow that his bandanna cast across his face. “Vieira,” he greeted, his tone completely neutral, though he regarded her well. Generally, he liked the coyote woman. She was tentative, but she seemed kind enough. And she was not over-emotional and complicated like so many other individuals—their personalities were somewhat similar. It was easy to speak with her, so he mostly enjoyed her company.

“I’m thinking about making a kind of fence, a rudimentary boundary, if you want to help.” He dropped the finished stake he had been working on, gesturing towards the stack of finished ones. “I was going to take these and put them up around the forest border, a foot or so between them, and then lash them together with vines.” It would’ve taken forever to find enough steel and sticks to put up a complete barrier, so he was making due. This would be an initial deterrent, though it would not be foolproof. “Do you want to help?” He knew that the girl was always willing to do whatever work was offered to her; that was a quality that he respected.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-11-2010, 09:09 PM

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Vieira's skills were limited to minimal tasks. She could cook, clean, garden, and a few other things that did not take a lot of thought. It had been driven out of her like everything else so whomever owned her could mold her to their will and do as they pleased. Trying to understand the games Anselm explained had taken quite a toll on her mind that she had not been able to handle and she felt a little embarrassment she could not recall feeling in a long time. It was her fault, she decided, because she had not been outright with him in telling him what she actually was and when she tried, it was too late. He shut her up before she was able to get the words out and now she felt odd about it, as if a disgusting taste was in her mouth with worry he might say something and a punishment would be served because she had not been completely honest.

When Snake explained what he was doing, her eyes went from each item to gather what he was doing and it looked simple. He was doing a little more work than it sounded and she worried she might not be able to help but the suggestion of looping vines or something seemed simple and easy enough. "Okay," she said quietly without really saying she wanted to help. The woman was indifferent about the situation and if it pleased Snake for her to help, then she was. If she could not keep Kaena happy in this moment, she could at least please Snake for a little while. Vieira turned her head and looked at the trees lingering above her and expected vines to be within her reach but there were none right away.

"What would you like me to do?" she asked with an idle twitch of her tail and she offered a few steps closer, just a few feet away, and waited. She could gather vines if he wanted her to or hand him things. Vieira was willing to help in anyway she could. It would be good for all of them, herself for getting it off her mind, Snake, and Inferni as a whole. It was a nice change of pace from checking the borders and doing simple household chores she had to repeat from time to time and something new to exercise her mind.

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Snake · 01-17-2010, 12:57 AM

411

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Though it wasn’t really within Snake’s available facial expressions to look very pleased, he felt so—he was happy to have someone help him, as this task was definitely a little more work than just for one coyote. He had planned to work on this for the next few days—weeks, if necessary—if not just to keep himself busy and productive. Knowing that someone else might help him, if not for just a small portion of it, was definitely a bonus. He was already considering what she could do to help before Vieira herself asked. He wasn’t sure they would be able to find what they would use to lash together the stakes here—the trees were of a different type than those of the deeper woods. No, he would probably have to go out and gather those later. Might as well scavenge whatever rope and line he could find from the landfill as well…

He dropped the branch that he had been stripping twigs from onto the pile he had been making and then put the knife away. Slipping from the rock that he had been perched on, he picked up a good many of the pieces of iron and steel that he had found near his den. He knew it would probably be best if he handled the heavier pieces that would make up the boundary. He looked to Vieira, gesturing with a flick of his head for her to do the same for some of the branches. Then he began to walk towards the Inferni borders in the forest.

As soon as he reached where the line of skulls, placed proudly upon their pikes, were located, he stopped. He dropped the lengths of metal that he had been carrying, though picking one up from them. Making sure Vieira was there to see what he was doing, he judged a space maybe a few feet away from the nearest pike-mounted skull and jammed the piece of metal into the ground. The soil in the forest was of the right consistency that it seemed to be pretty stable. He then looked to Vieira. “What will go between them will probably have to be found later, and somewhere else. For now, just put these in intervals of a few feet between the skulls. I can probably finish things up later.” He then retrieved another piece of steel, jamming it into the ground a few feet away from the first one.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-17-2010, 01:23 AM

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Snake did not give her information right away in words. She looked at the items he picked up and carefully she made her way in his direction. He started to move away and Vieira lowered to the ground, gathering a bundle of sticks and a steal rod or two. It was heavy in her arms, she was not all that strong, but she pushed through it and stood. She adjusted her load and made sure she was not going to lose them or fall over from the weight. Her arms curled around the bundle as tightly as she could and held them to her chest. Unfortunately, they started to pinch her bu she simply gritted her teeth and pushed through it.

She came to a stop a few feet away from him, bent over, and dropped her pile. It made a louder noise than she expected and she felt as if she had done it wrong. Her arms burned with the work from point A to point B but she was glad it was over now. When her arms got their entire feelings back, she turned to watch Snake as he pushed the rods into the ground. After her instructions, Vieira curled her fingers around the rods and moved toward the same line he was standing and traveled several yards away. She did not want to get in his way or want to mess up his line so she started a bit away.

Vieira pushed the rod into the ground with a little more struggle than the man had. Her strength was minimal but she was able to push through after a grunt or two in addition to a little force. When she stepped back to make sure it was straight, she knew she would be sore when she was finished and would drag herself back home exhausted. The woman did not complain or take back her offer to help and instead turned to get another rod and repeat the process.

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Snake · 01-18-2010, 05:09 PM

389

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He could hear her footfalls, and he guessed from the delay that she had thought to pick some of the items up. That was good—he could probably get through what he wanted to do today quickly enough to hunt early and get a better night’s sleep. If she performed admirably enough, he might even think about asking Kaena if she might let her help him out on this little project over the next few days. It was worth a shot, right?

Once they arrived at the boundary and he instructed her in what to do, they simply kept working at it. Either alternating on the same line or working in opposite directions, the work passed much more quickly with an extra pair of hands to help. Vieira might not have been the strongest or hardiest of workers, but she was determined and didn’t complain. Snake respected that in her—those were generally the first steps towards becoming someone truly exemplary (at least when it came to menial tasks such as this). He was sure if she got some training, she might even be formidable.

Neither of them were what anyone would call conversationalists, so the work passed in near-total silence, besides the occasional guidance from Snake. Eventually things around Inferni were starting to darken, the sun sinking and taking all the color of the world with it. Still, he thought they might have a few good hours left of sunlight before it got too dark to work. He looked over to Vieira, most of all the sticks and poles having been already put up in the ground. “Unless you have to be elsewhere, you could help me look for something to lash them together with. I was thinking we might find at least something in the Dampwoods.”

They were not far away—Inferni bordered Arachnea’s Revenge and the Dampwoods, and had part of them in its boundaries. He thought there might be thicker vegetation towards the center, where hardier plants were still living. It didn’t necessary have to be anything like vines—a good mass of brambles would be even better. One could cut through a vine, but who would risk it with thousands of barbs? Of course, maneuvering the brambles from one place to another was a different story. But first they would have to find them.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-19-2010, 10:50 PM

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The work was tedious but she liked it. She was able to keep to herself unless Snake said something or she had a question about it but for the most part, she was able to get back and continue on as if she were alone. It meant no one else was ordering her around or doing anything else to her. She was comfortable around the male and enough to feel relaxed and having her guard down. Pushing the stakes into the ground was tiring and her hands started to feel as if they were going to cramp up and fall off. She pushed one down with all her strength and felt an odd sensation in her hand and losing the feeling for a second.

She clenched her fist and shook it, trying to get the nerves back and a moment later it was back to normal. The slave flex it just as Snake turned to her and request a change in duties. Her eyes flicked in his direction and a moment later, she nodded. "I can go," she said, her mouth hanging ajar for a moment as she considered the daylight hours. "I have to be back by nightfall," she said. Normally she would not have limited herself to someone's time but when she had a specific order from her owner, she could not disobey.

Snake · 01-20-2010, 11:34 PM

322.

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Snake was used to labor, especially the tiring and monotonous type, so he did not feel any stress through the long minutes of work. He enjoyed seeing his work paying off—once it was finished he could finally allow himself one of those rare moments of self-satisfaction which only came to him after either work or fighting. He was a simple creature—or perhaps a very backwards one—and these were the simple things in life that made things seem to work out well. There was no one to offend, there were no opinions on the line directly. It was simple as pointing and clicking, almost.

The Hastati was very impressed with Vieira—he knew that she was nowhere near his own physical level and yet she continued along without even the barest hint of a complaint. That was true strength, he believed, though he did not want to know where it had come from. Probably from being beaten into her, from all he knew. Snake had his own troubled past, and usually did not bring it up—he of course didn't think down on Vieira for choosing to do the same.

When he offered a change in task, she seemed up to it, though she had to get back by nightfall. Snake understood; he did not want to stay out here any later than he had to either. "Considering the time, we might just go out for recon today," he said, using the military term casually and without a second thought. "I am thinking about maybe finding some thorns, some brambles, that we can collect later and put around these stakes. We will just have to find some of those plants, and I will come back later to get them." Collecting them would be a thorny issue (pun intended), but he didn't mind such superfluous pain. He wouldn't want to inflict it upon her, so he would bear the burden alone.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-21-2010, 05:36 AM

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Vieira listened carefully so she knew what to look for and she was thankful Snake did not ask her to do too much more for the day. It was getting darker and she worried she might not have enough time to get back. She lifted a hand to rub something out of her eye and took a few eager steps away from her last post and toward Snake to let him lead her to the specific location. She had been here over a month now and knew very little of the pack. She could get from the caves to certain territories and then certain areas on the border until she found her way back.

"When will you put them up?" she asked quietly as she waited, her paws following behind Snake wherever he led. "I can tell miss Kaena about it," she offered in hopes the woman would let her help. If she were going to be away from the cave, she knew she actively needed to be doing something and with the war, there happened to be plenty. Unfortunately, Vieira was limited because she did not have the knowledge of war, the physical strength, or anything to really add other than tedious work Snake had found for her today.

Snake · 01-22-2010, 12:40 AM

That is a dirty lie and you know it. |: 301.

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He did not want to go too far into the Dampwoods, as he wanted to get home in a reasonable time as well. So they continued on for perhaps five or ten minutes of walking; Snake answered her questions as they walked. "Within the next few days, probably," he responded when she asked about what his time frame was, though her second comment was a little interesting. Kaena knowing about this little venture would be very useful—she could lend Vieira, someone else, or maybe even choose to come and help herself. Regardless, that meant it would get done sooner and Snake would not have nearly as much work. And though he did find solace in monotonous and boring tasks such as this, he could go insane after a while as well.

"Here we go," he said in his usual dull tone, not seeming surprised or satisfied at all. He approached a copse of dead trees—one could tell they were dead and not simply dormant in winter—which had probably died due to the thicket of thorns, brambles, and other sharp plants that were choking them at their roots. He checked around him, the sky, memorizing where this place was. "I'll come back here later and see about getting this stuff and moving it back to the borders. If you want to talk to Kaena about any of this, I wouldn't turn away any help." Of course, that was only after she got permission from her master. Snake had no comments or opinions on the odd relationship that existed between Vieira and Kaena, and he believed that it was not his place. The small coyote woman with him seemed healthy enough, so he supposed things were going well for her. Just as well as anyone else in these lands, anyway.

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Vieira Lykoi · 01-25-2010, 01:21 AM

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Vieira liked to be useful and to keep her hands busy. If she was active, it was one way to avoid punishment. Helping Snake was a good enough reason not to directly be on the borders alone and she was sure Kaena would approve. She was helping Inferni with the upcoming war and though it was not a direct order and she did not finish the border check, she had to hope for the best. If Kaena chose to reprimand her, then she would take it. She knew she was not necessarily following orders but it kept her mind on other things and she was rather fond of Snake. He treated her with indifference, not necessarily acknowledging it but he did not ignore it. It was as if she did not have to feel worried about how she was around him. She was obedient and followed his orders, but they came without punishment and she did not have to worry if she did something wrong.

"I will talk to Kaena and I will come back to help, if she allows it," she said and smiled something genuine. It was a strange occurrence when most of the time her "happy" emotions were fake. Even in light of her potential punishment from her master, she could not find the worry inside her to hold on to it. When she would have to leave Snake's presence, it would crash upon her but she was all right for now. "Will you be here tomorrow?" she asked, wondering where she would be able to find him. She did not want to roam the entire territory of Inferni in search of him but she would if he did not give her an answer. Her arm lifted to rub her elbow as she stood there in waiting, worrying about the sun as it was starting to disappear into the earth faster than she wanted.

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Snake · 01-26-2010, 12:58 AM

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384.

Truth be told, their childhoods might have a few similarities. Snake may have not been abused as much in the terrible ways that she had been, but he had certainly been tormented similarly. He had been trained to the point of physical exhaustion and then put through psychological and mental scenarios that had drastically changed his outlook and his point in life—such was easy to say by his utterly emotionless existence. He found contentedness only in work, and that was usually because he hated the feeling of being idle, just as Vieira thought that it would keep her from being punished. No one would probably rebuke him if he did not work as tirelessly as he did, but he knew that it would be detrimental to himself as a whole. If he was not doing something to occupy himself, his mind began to wander to places that he would rather not go. No, it was much better to remain busy, remain the same. Change was such a frightening thing for him sometimes.

Regardless, it seemed as though he would have help in his personal crusade to put up a physical boundary around the southern forested borders. Okay, he agreed, his stony expression becoming slightly looser as he observed the genuine glimmer of a smile light up on her face. Yeah, I will, he responded to her other question, shifting his weight nervously between his feet and continuing, I suppose I will see you again then. Kaena willing, of course. The Hastati did not want to drive a wedge between the Centurion and the girl who was her property.

He bid her goodbye and then escorted her a part of the way to the Caves, diverging his own path when he grew too near to his own home in the Landfill. Then he did his usual routine at night—he rekindled the fire that had faded into coal and ash, drinking the remainder of a bottle of some fiery liquor that he had found earlier. He lie down on his back near the fire, staring up at the stars as they began to come out. Then eventually he grew tired and crawled inside the car that acted as his den, slamming the door and bundling up in blankets before falling into a dreamless sleep.

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