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He was silent, not replying to her insisting that she would tell her owner herself. Perhaps that was how it should be, and perhaps Snake should not interfere with the coyote woman and her hybrid master. But there was a fledgling plan that was beginning to flesh itself out in his mind, though he did not entertain it much now—he might mention it to Kaena, though. That did entail somehow getting them to the Caves, where the silver-furred woman usually was. He shifted, readying himself to stand. The wound on his shoulder burned and it reminded him of the bite wound that he had recently healed from on the same shoulder. That one had come from a wolf, though; an insane, red-haired woman whom had attacked him for no reason at all. Just when he thought he was getting healthy again, things like this happened.
Snake stood, taking a step closer to Vieira. The coyote woman was trying to sit up, catching her breath with her head resting on her arm. The coyote offered his hand, willing to help her up—if she had been bad off enough not to be able to walk, he wouldn’t have had an issue carrying her again. It seemed as though she was healthy enough to make the trek to the center of Inferni, though. He would definitely keep an eye on her, though—it wouldn’t be good if he allowed her to fall or collapse on the way to Kaena.
“I’ll escort you back,” he offered softly, knowing that there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell he was going to let the Quintus walk home to Kaena alone. Not only could she succumb to the pain of the wounds on her back, but there was also the vague chance that there were more Dahlian marauders in Inferni territory. As soon as she was ready to get going, he began to lead the way, making sure that she was good enough to walk and then still keeping an eye on her progress.
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Vieira was thankful Snake did not ask for more from her. She wanted to rest, curl up in her blankets at the cave and disappear but she knew the night was far from over. She had Kaena's anger to deal with and whatever the woman chose to do for whatever she could find wrong. Her ears fell back against her head as she looked up to Snake, taking his hand with both of hers and pulling herself up. She whimpered from the pain, bent over at the hips from the pain in her back. A long moment later, Vieira straightened herself out and took a long breath. It hurt like hell but she had to tough it out long enough to get back. She just wanted this night to be over with. "Thank you," she said and nearly burst into tears again but her hand rubbed over her eyes to for pressure in order to keep from tearing up.
The walk back was painful and she felt unusually slow. Each step sent a ripple of pain to her back and it started to get hard to breathe. Several times the slave had to stop or grab the man's arm to take a breath, rest, or anything else in order to calm herself in order to keep herself going. When they finally made it back to the cave, she hesitated to go further. She resisted the urge to look at Snake but she could not stop herself any longer. Her eyes watered and she lifted her hand to stop herself again and moved toward the entrance of the cave. Her eyes were downcast, shame radiating off her form, and she put her hand against the wall to hold herself up. Vieira lost track of Snake, whether or not he came inside with her, and instead tried to look for Kaena. She did not call for the woman and instead waited.
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I wasn't absolutely sure where either of them are right here, I assumed Viei was just in the entrance of the cave and Snake was hanging back a bit, if this needs to be changed please let me know. ^^ 433.
It had only been moments Kaena was returning to the caves herself. Inferni had been a flurry of activity lately—there simply was not time for random excursions out into the wild beyond the border anymore. All of her time was spent in preparation, looping around the borders more times than she could remember. All of Inferni was on the utmost alert; the clan was on hyper-alert at the moment. The meeting the other day had left them all with a feeling of unease, though the silvery coyote believed they were prepared to engage in war. She did not know whether they were prepared to dethrone Haku Soul. It would require violence; it would require hatred and cunning deeper than his own, and such things were hard to come by in normal canines. Even Kaena herself doubted her own issues and viciousness was rival enough to Haku's.
The hybrid woman was settling down in her cave, a fat winter hare laid out on one of the stone shelves toward the entrance to the cave. The stale smell of blood wafted throughout the cave, but it hardly bothered Kaena, who was used to such things. She had killed two of them just under an hour ago toward the upper corner of the coyote territory, past the strange springs and into the waste. The rabbits were one type of food that was plentiful on the Waste; the rabbits liked the soil type, it would seem, and their burrows occasionally made for dangerous ankle traps, though most Luperci were quite able to detect the underlying scent of rabbit and know to watch their steps. The hybrid was beginning to wonder about Vieira when there was a noise toward the entrance of the cave, drawing the coyote's attention.
The smell of blood increased exponentially with the haggard figure in the door; the coyote's single eye widened and she took several quick steps forward, looking from Vieira to Snake and back again. Snake hung back a few feet behind Vieira, who seemed to clutch the cave's wall for support. Without hesitation or thinking much, the coyote offered out her own weight to help the other canine inside, carefully looping it about Vieira's waist, leaving it there to dangle lightly rather than press onto the girl's flesh. It was obvious enough she was wounded; Kaena could not yet tell where it was most serious, as the Quintus's back faced away from Kaena. The one-eyed hybrid looked to Snake, her silence and stricken look posing the question just as well as if she had actually spoken it aloud: What happened?
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It was slow going, but it didn’t bother Snake—he was very patient, waiting whenever she was overcome with pain and had to rest. He understood partially what she was going through. If one’s mind was not conditioned to ignore pain, it was completely overwhelming to one’s system. When Snake had first begun pain training in New Haven, he had sometimes spent days alone, recovering from what had happened the day before. It was in those torturous hours that he had learned to distract his mind, to focus on other things, to lock away the pain so he didn’t have to deal with it. She didn’t have that ability. What she was feeling now might be just as excruciating as when Foxhound had sliced him open with a knife, leaving the one scar that was visible across his ribs.
Eventually they did make their way back to the Caves, and then to where Kaena kept hers along with Vieira. The injured coyote woman slipped away from Snake, who held back from the cave entrance—part out of politeness and part out of his fear of subterraneous areas. Apparently Vieira’s master was there, for she appeared at the injured woman’s side within a few moments. She looked between the girl and Snake, who did not move and did not speak. He was studying her expression. Was there anger? Guilt? Satisfaction? He was very suspicious of Kaena sending the virtually-defenseless coyote out on border patrol, though he kept that to himself for now. He had no place in telling the Centurion how to treat her property, even though he had felt much more righteous about it moments ago at his own den. He saw the confusion that eventually came upon Kaena’s face. He spoke up without warning, “I believe Vieira wants to tell you.” To show that fact, he took a step away, giving her the floor.
Sure, he could have said that she had gotten attacked. He could have boasted that he had driven off the trespasser himself, giving him some nasty reminders of the encounter—though he had gained one himself. He could have sniffed at bandaging her and caring for her. He could have questioned Kaena on what she was doing by sending the girl out alone anyway.
Instead, Snake did absolutely nothing.
He had remarkable self-control.
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There was movement inside the cave and Vieira looked up to find Kaena moved toward her. Her ears fell back against her head and her golden eyes dropped to the ground, tears filling her eyes within seconds of the sight of her owner. She flinched when Kaena was within a foot of her and tensed her entire body. She expected some sort of lashing despite Snake standing somewhere behind her or the fact she really did nothing wrong. In her mind, she was convinced she had done something to anger Kaena. She was late and hurt and could not defend Inferni as was the purpose of the border control. Her eyes closed as she waited for the worst, her claws trying to dig into the stone wall of the cave but they only caused a pain to arise in her thin fingers.
Kaena's touch was far from aggressive and angry and instead it was comforting. The touch of the elder woman's arm made her twist in surprise lightly. It was no where near the wound but it was enough to shake her. Her head turned into the woman, her hand dropping from the wall, and she put her weight against her owner. She could not hold back the tears of pain and embarrassment when Kaena exerted a kindness she had not expected. Had it been any of her other owners, she would be enduring more wounds than she could imagine and the fact Kaena was being kind sent her over the edges. Tears soaked the fur of her muzzle again and she rested her head on the chest of the woman to hide away from what had happened.
Vieira inhaled a long breath of cold air and Kaena's scent. Snake spoke up and in that moment, Vieira regretted what she said earlier. She did not want to tell Kaena what happened. She did not want to speak or think of it ever again. Her golden eyes turned with her head to look at Snake and watched him fondly for a second before she pulled away. Her body was stiff with the pain and how tight the makeshift bandage was around her torso but she was not complaining about it. "I was... I was coming back from the border and attacked by a wolf," she said. Unfortunately, the woman did not know the scent of Dahlia de Mai and the male had not given any real sign of his belonging to that pack. He was just a wolf that had nearly taken her life.
"He clawed me in the back and Snake... he saved me," she said and glued her golden gaze to the floor and stared. After that was when things were fuzzy. The wolf hit her in the back of her head and there were several minutes she could not remember, whether or not from the hit or her brain blocking out the pain in her body. "He took me and wrapped me up... I'm s-sorry, Miss Kaena," she said, apologizing in a hoarse voice she barely recognized when she realized how unable she was to control herself.
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The silvery coyote could smell the blood. It was on both of them—dripping down Snake's front, spattered in smaller places over Vieira. The hybrid's yellow eye sized both of them up, deciding immediately neither was in any danger of collapsing and dying within her doorstep. The Hastati remained mostly quiet, his stoic and stony face appearing no more or less emotional than it normally did, until he indicated that Vieira wished to speak for herself. This brought a hint of surprise to the scarred woman's face; the Quintus tended for meek and mild rather than outspoken at all times, and the hybrid could not fathom what might have happened here. Had the two of them fought? Had Vieira attacked Snake? The hybrid did not know what to think; the smaller, paler coyote seemed to crumple up into her arms, leaning heavily against the hybrid's chest. Instinctively the coyote wrapped an arm around her, her hand brushing against what appeared to be bandaging for just a moment, shying away from the strange material instantly to avoid hurting the other canine any further than whatever wound it was beneath them.
In a moment the other canine began to speak, her words shaky and frightened. The hybrid wanted to reach out and pull her closer again, sorrow and regret showing on the scarred features of Kaena's face. She should not have sent Vieira there alone, she should have at the very least made absolutely certain the tawny canine was carrying the knife—whether or not she had training with it wouldn't have mattered. A weapon was better than relying only on physical strength, of which Vieira had little. The silvery Centurion shook her head in disbelief at the Quintus's apology and extended her arm again, waving her fingers to indicate the smaller coyote ought to step forward and come in close again.
"Come here. Don't be sorry. It was not your fault," the hybrid said gently, in the soft tone generally reserved for speaking with puppies. She and Vieira had not been in perfect accord thus far; by Kaena's figuring they were still feeling each other out, learning each other's boundaries and limits—of course, since the relationship was unequal in many aspects, the silvery Centurion's were far more respected than the smaller canine's. She looked to Snake, her golden eye glittering dangerously. She had her suspicions—they required confirmation. "Was it a Dahlian?" she asked, figuring the answer already to be yes—she could not smell him on either Vieira or Snake, but the last thing Inferni needed was someone other than Dahlia de Mai harassing their borders.
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One might have to be blind to not see that Vieira was petrified of how Kaena might react—that alone made Snake a little nervous. Though he didn’t think it was likely (but what had that ever stopped from happening?), if Kaena decided to pin all the blame on the coyote woman, he might have to step in and do something about it. He was still firm in believing that she had no place being out on the borders alone—only the leaders and the Hydras of the clan probably had the skill enough to do that. He watched silently as the Centurion stepped forward, causing Vieira to cringe and look away. He could not see them, but he imagined he could smell the salt of her tears in the air. But then the aging woman offered a more compassionate touch, and Vieira’s light-furred form crumpled into her. Some tension that had been building up in his shoulders released some, though he was still on edge. As he looked at them now, he realized that they looked so very much less like master and slave and more like mother and daughter. Perhaps there was more of an emotional bond there between them than he had thought.
There was a pause between when he said Vieira wanted to explain herself (which she had insisted upon only minutes ago) and when she finally leant back from her superior, offering the short words that, in summary, described what had happened. Kaena reached out to her once more, soothing her as one might a fretting child. Snake watched, feeling somewhat awkward and distant from such an emotional moment. It did not make much sense to him. It was almost a blessing when Kaena looked his way and offered him a straight question.
“Yes, he was,” Snake said without any uncertainty. It was a scent that he remembered strongly from his own fleeting visit to the borders with Hezekiah and the flight that they had made with Haku Soul nipping at their heels like a hound from hell. He also remembered it from his first few weeks living in the area, the scent that belonged to the pale-furred woman with the fiery hair that had attacked him for no reason. But there had been a subtle difference. “The scent was not as prominent as it should have been for a longer-time member, though, Kaena. I believe that they might be recruiting. This one might have been new, and was seeking to prove himself to the leadership.”
Which made things all the more dangerous. Since Gabriel had led the initial charge against Haku with Samael, things had been generally calm. It felt as though both sides were feeling out their boundaries, and fortifying themselves in their own lands. But both seemed to be growing exponentially—as if newcomers were like vultures, sensing the bloodshed that was to come. Sooner or later these hotheaded arrivals would want laud and award, so they would go out to try to prove their valor. It was then that Snake feared things would begin to become truly dangerous. There was nothing worse than an enemy who had nothing to lose, and closely behind that was an enemy who had something to gain. Position, respect, honor—these were things that some creatures fought to the death for.
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Vieira's imagery of this situation was taken and torn apart. Kaena did not once yell, hit, or blame her for anything. Instead, Kaena said it was not her fault and that made the woman feel weird. She could not predict anything the woman might do and she struggled to find the correct thing to do. She felt she had too much room to move here but Vieira did not know where to go. She was suggested to fall back in Kaena's arms and reflexively (whether it was out of the need to be comforted or because Kaena told her to was unclear) leaned into her again. Her head rested on the woman's chest, the tears stained into her muzzle soaked into the dark fur of her owner, and she listened to her heart beat.
There was a question Vieira barely caught and she almost pulled away to admit she had not a clue to the answer but Snake was quick enough to respond. She stayed in position and closed her eyes, realizing how exhausted she was. She wanted to curl up in her blankets and sleep the pain away, wishing she had something to dull the pain in her back. Even standing this way was painful enough. Part of her wanted to ask to go into her room and hide away until it was all gone but she could not find the courage. She knew anything could change in an instance but she clung to how gentle her owner was being and took it for all it was worth. She took a long breath, hot air escaping her lips onto Kaena's fur. She had no idea what would happen after this, after Snake was gone, but she hoped Kaena's kindness would continue. Even if it were for only a little while.
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Maybe one more round out of each of us?
 It was as she had suspected—Dahlia de Mai was already nipping at their borders, biting at the bit that held them back. Without Cercelee in place to hold Haku back from destruction, there would be nothing in between the rest of the world and his malice. Inferni could stand it—and perhaps they were lucky he'd decided they were the best targets, for the hybrid doubted of the other packs' ability to withstand the man's cruelty. The silver-furred Centurion did not think Phoenix Valley, with Naniko and her children, would be able to stand in his way—nor the same with Crimson Dreams and their kindly wolves, Anu and Urma. Perhaps if Jacquez was crafty enough he might be able to stave Haku off; Jacq had seen a hell of a lot through his life, as the missing arm could attest. AniWaya might stand a chance—though Dawali seemed a kindly enough wolf, the hybrid did not doubt he would fight fiercely to protect his children. Then again, could the same not be said for all of them? Who amongst the packs would stand by and allow a monster to ravage their lands? She did not think any of the packs in these lands would stand for their subleader's rape, not after so much tension already existing between the two packs. Maybe they would all have had the ability to contend with Haku's madness, given the proper motivation for the fight.
The silver-furred coyote looked to Snake and nodded her head shortly in response to the other canine's first statement, her golden eye going wide with fury at his next words. Who would be twisted and depraved enough to follow Haku Soul? Certainly they knew he was headed for oblivion; if Inferni failed to crush him and dethrone him, the other packs would not be too long in banding together to smite him. The hybrid woman had high hopes for her own clan, however, and they extended beyond the usual arrogance she carried—the clan was twenty-eight strong at the moment, and though many of their members were newer (or in Vieira's case, useless in combat) sheer size was certainly an advantage against their enemy. "Thank you, Snake. You've been a Hastati long enough, I think. This proves your worth as a Hydra," she said, her eyes on the wound on his neck. "You ought to go and take care of yourself now. Rest up," she said, her tone taking on some softness—she cared for each and every member of Inferni. They were all extending limbs of a larger tree, strongly rooted into the ground here on the waste. Gabriel would not disagree with Snake's promotion once he heard of the coyote's bravery today.
The hybrid held close the other canine, stroking her soft golden fur. This was a strange occurrence for Kaena as well; it was not often that Vieira even seemed to show much emotion besides fear for her. It was nice—the hybrid held her close but carefully, trying not to so much as brush against the wound on her back. The silvery coyote knew they were not simple flesh wounds; they must have been very painful, especially when so fresh. The hybrid peered on the bibelot on the smaller canine's nose—she supposed Viei was lucky her attacker hadn't selected that as his target. "Come on, you should lay down, too," the hybrid said, worrying about the other canine's position as she slept—sleeping on her back would be near impossible. The hybrid turned slowly, keeping close to Vieira lest the other canine topple over and end up injuring herself further.
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480. Last post. :3 Loved this thread.
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Snake knew so little about the neighboring packs—he knew that Dahlia de Mai was their enemy, and that Phoenix Valley had once been but now they were having an uneasy peace (Snake had gone there with Anselm and they had been warmly invited into the territory by a woman named Naniko, so he assumed they were not very defensive). He knew a little about Cour des Miracles, as Daisuke had said that he had liked that pack and Snake himself had met a pleasant wolf from those parts. But he knew absolutely nothing about Crimson Dreams or AniWaya. In the end it didn't really matter. Snake assumed from the beginning that they were alone in this; alliances were not to be brought in. Inferni had declared this war—and justly, as he thought—and they would have to be the ones to finish it as well.
His olive gaze remained on the two as Vieira seemed to realize that she was in no trouble (nor should she be, in Snake's mind) and that things were going to be okay... well, at least as okay as they could be. He was happy that she had come to this realization, as she didn't need any more stress at the moment. She had nearly died today, and Snake could have as well. Once more, he owed his life to those who had wanted to use it for their own use. Patriot, the Bosses—he should thank them, their actions were actually saving lives out here.
Kaena spoke up after a while, directing her words to him. His ears perked with surprise as she mentioned that he was to no longer be a Hastati, and that he was fully graduating to being a Hydra of the clan. Personally, he thought himself too young and inexperienced. But then again, this was the Centurion, and there was a war to be fought. He had no place to argue. After a moment he dipped his head, respectfully saluting with a touch of his right fist to his left shoulder and murmuring, "It is a honor. Thank you, Kaena."
Her second suggestion did not need to be given twice for Snake to take it. He looked to Vieira, though he wasn't sure she was paying too much attention to him. He didn't mind in the slightest. He gave them one more nod and the barest hint of an artificial smile on his stoic lips. "Get better soon," was all he offered, in a quiet tone that had the barest pulse of warmth in it. Feeling awkward with this uncharacteristic statement and the affection between Kaena and Vieira, Snake left without another word. The new Hydra needed to get home and keep up with the first aid of the slash on his shoulder. He couldn't go and let it get infected when there were more battles to follow.
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303[html] [/html]Vieira paid little mind to what Kaena was talking about. It was not directed at her and while she knew she should listen (and sometimes she did when others spoke around her as if she were not there) she did not. The woman was promoting the only coyote in Inferni that treated her without a title. He was indifferent and did not care for her slavery and it was not mentioned. He did not command her but did not seek for her freedom; he was not obsessed with her being property as some others had been. Perhaps Snake was a friend of hers but she did not know or understand that sort of qualification. Astaroth, Sivaro, nor Eris had given her the pleasure of having someone to call a friend and had never shown any real care that they might have been considered as such.
Snake was gone after a few minutes and Kaena turned her attention back to her. Her fear was temporarily subsided of being punished and she rested her head against whatever warmth she could get. It was the first time fear of the woman did not exist but her fear was far from gone. She expected the horrible would to barge in and finish his job but it did not happen. She was feeling a level of contentment she had not felt in a long time (or at all, if she could remember) and instead just let the woman direct her back to her small room. It was not a bad place to sleep but she worried about how she was going to find comfort. Resting on her back was out of the question and any other position did not hold much appeal. Vieira had no position to desire and simply wished to cease her existence in this moment.
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