608 WOO!

Itzal had wandered out to this forest, and he found that he liked it. It was really not a surprise, he had a natural like of trees and wooded places. He did not know why he loved them so much. But he did know he was always at peace when there were trees around him. It was not strange to him. It was normal. These trees were natural beauty, it showed that even when their were places of evil and uglyiness, there are also those of beauty. He smiled to himself from his perch among the trees.

He had come out early, and found a nice little path, it looked like it was walked upon, if not regulary, enough so it stood out. He was perched in a tree above it. It was funny how few time peoples look up. Being on two legs had given him the means to climb the tree easily. and he was not to high that jumping down would be a problem. He had just been dosing off, the wind blowing through the tangle of branches, it made him smile. He would have to make this a regular spot for him to visit. He liked it here.

Just as he was finally starting to feel himself lowering his mind into that clear pool of sleep, where things became muffled, and thoughts were clear but forgotten when you left. But before he could settle himself into the pool, he was pulled out by the noise of someone approaching. He shifted and listened, not sure if he had truly heard it. But yes, there it was, the growing sound of feet approaching. He watched as he slowly saw a figure come. He waited until the wolf was close enough and inhaled. It was a male, though that had been obvious when he had gotten close enough for Itzal to make out his build. He sighed, and then smiled. He might as well try to make a friend. Before he got lazy and never got down from this tree.

"Hi. He spoke, wondering if the male would jump from the random voice. He would probably laugh if he did. But in good humor, not to be a jerk. Though he could defintly do that to if he felt like it. However, he was feeling light hearted right now and was not feeling mean. He looked over the male. He did not smell like he was from Inferni, which was not surprising. He rarely saw anyone from his pack out here. He was the only one that really liked to travel, or at least, the only one that he knew of. No, this one smelled of a diffrent pack. A pack he was not familar with. Hmm, maybe he would find out about a new pack today. New to him anyways. He closed his eyes and waited for the stranger to respond, and he let his head fall back against the tree trunk. I should really find a place to live in the pack territory. He knew it was a problem he had to deal with eventually, but there was just something about sealing it. Making his recongnition about being in the pack officially scary to him. His first pack had been his family, they were killed. His next, he stayed with for a week and was abused and beaten, and then, nothing. Just him. All the packs he had been with were either wrong or taken from him. This one he was in now seemed good, and nice. But they could still be taken from him, or kick him out, or..... He just was not ready.

WC: 457!

Itzal smiled with his eyes still closed. It did not sound like the man jumped. Which is good, it meant he was aware. He listend to the man introduce himself. And then let out a heart felt laugh at the thought of someone chasing him up a tree. "Nah, I climbed up here. I like forest, and I figured this was a good spot where no one could sneak up on me. Plus, it is also a good place if I like napping." He was surprise he was being so friendly, nothing would have stopped the man if Itzal had not spoken. But he was bored and new, so he figured he might as well be friendly with strangers. Especially if they did not pose a threat. Which he was pretty sure Niro did not. He just did not look the part of someone who would attack a stranger on a forest path like this. Unless provoked.

He shifted forward and stook up on the branch and then jumped down, landing on the ball of his feet and bending his knees to absorb the impact of hitting the ground. Then he stood up straight and smiled at Niro " My name is Itzal, it is nice to meet you Niro." He yawned and then shook his head from side to side. Ugh, he would not be surprised if he came down with a cold. Even with his fur, he should be cold. But he wasn't. He did not really feel it, which is why he went around with only jeans on. And even those were barely more then rags. Most had holes in the legs. He smiled at himself as he thought of the ones with the holes in very bad places. He did not mind not wearing clothes. But the one week he was in his second pack, he we abused when in optime, and very much attacked. They played dirty, which is why he wore the jeans, and because of the especially bad scar on his thigh that he liked to hide. But he shivered, not from the cold, but from a chill that ran up his spin from the thought.

He closed his eyes and stretched, hearing his spine pop. He leaned back against the tree, again letting his head fall back and hit the trunk. He opened his eyes and looked again at the wolf. "What pack are you from? And since I know you will ask, I'm part of Inferni, newest member." He smiled a friendly smile at Niro, even though he could not tell why he did. He was feeling unusually friendly. Or maybe he was just bored. Either way, at least he had someone to talk to. "Were you going somewhere?"

700 XD!

Itzal was ok with whatever pack Niro was from. Though Inferni was not on good terms with some other packs, Itzal did not make it a personal goal to dispise others from whatever pack they were from. Itzal liked to judge people based on how they acted and treated others. So far Niro had treated him nicely, even if he was a complete stranger. He smiled to himself. Of course this did not mean he trusted Niro. No, Itzal's trust was very rare, and very few people could claim to own it. But that did not mean he was unfriendly. Even though he was usually not so out going and friendly to others. He was probably just in a better then usually mood as well.

Itzal's ears perked up at the name of the pack that Niro was coming from. He had not heard of it before. And then the part after that peaked his curiousity even more. He wondered why Niro had to go visit his kids. But he sensed this was a private matter, and Itzal would not intrude. Especially since Niro barely knew him. Itzal was understanding of others having their need of privacy. "OH, I've never heard of that pack before, and if I'm, keeping you from your kids I am sorry, Maybe I can walk with you, if you do not mind that is? Itzal then thought about his own reasons for privacy. He was lost in thought of why his own privacy mattered to him when the bird shifted.

Of course Itzal had noticed the bird before, but this was his first time truly looking at it. It was strange, he was not use to seeing Others with pets like this. Though he knew some others did have close friends. He could just not see himself getting so attached to another animal of that kind. One of his own kind maybe, but not any others. But he still admired the type of creatures they had. He looked back at Niro "Is that your pet? What kind of bird is it?" He kind of liked the way the bird looked. It seemed kind of neat. And it almost seemed like it could sense the way Niro was feeling. Itzal could understand the want to keep such an understanding and loyal bird close.

Itzal smiled at the thought of navigating the forest and laughed. "That is why I really do not try to navigate. I just head in the direction I feel like, and if I smell the scent of a pack's territory, I walk the other way. Itzal really did just that. He liked it, reminded him of when he was all alone, not that he wanted to go back to that way, and not that he wanted to relive some parts of it. It was just familar to him. He thought about how he had lived on his own. Fighting enough time to get some scars, killing enough. Learning to survive. He had had rough times, but they helped him become stronger, and for that he was grateful.

He had been pretty lost in his thoughts. Remembering the good and the bad. The times when he had been in pretty seriously jams, but had manage to wiggle his way out. It was amazing how sneaky he could be. But Niro mentioning he had meant one of Inferni's members snapped him out of his spider web of thoughts that were all muddled in his brain. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to focus. Not that he needed it, but he liked the smell of the air. "Who was it? I might know them, but I might not. I'm still new so I have not meant all the others yet." Itzal really was curious as to wether or not he knew the coyote or hybrid, chances were he did not, but he never knew. Maybe they would have a friend of some kind in common. Itzal looked up at the tree, remember how the spot looked so he could return if he wanted. He did not know if the male wuold let him tag along, but either way, he should probably get going.

OOC 764!

Itzal nodded at Niro as he gave the ok for Itzal to walk with him, and mentioned his mating being worried if he took to long. Itzal thought about what it must be like to have a mate to be worried. Itzal could not imagine, seeing as how no one had ever been worried about him. His mother had been, but she was dead now, and she could no longer worry about him. His father was dead as well. The one pack he had been in was his uncle's, though Itzal did not consider his uncle family. The only time that pack had ever been worried about him was when his wounds looked like they were to close to healing, then they got worried and beat him again, so they could teach him to submit, teach him not to question their ways. There was one other time someone close to him had worried about him, but it had been worry of him leaving, of losing him, not of where he was or what might have happened to him. His throat clenched at the thought of her, and he felt like he was going to be sick. He was not sick though, and he was sure Niro did not notice it at all. He was good at hiding what he felt, especially his pain. So the thought of having someone worried about him in that aspect was not one he was use to, it made him kind of sad, that he had no one. But that was the way he had lived, the way he had lived to survive. Knowing that if anything ever did happen to you, no one would care, or notice was just a price you had to pay. But maybe that could change now that he was in a pack. Or maybe it would never change, either way, he could not do anything about it just by wondering.

Itzal looked at the bird closely as Niro explained that he did not really see it as his pet but his companion. Itzal again nodded his head, this time in slight understanding. "It must be nice, knowing that you have someone you can trust and rely on just as much as they trust and rely on you. And I'm not really familar with all the species, so the golden eagle part means nothing to me, sorry. And I must say that is an interesting name, Marahute." Itzal watched as the eagle flew away. He figured it had probably done that countless times, and would return to Niro when it was ready. He imagined what it must see, up there in the air, and smiled, it probably enjoyed the view. Itzal looked back at Niro "I must say, they have a sort of beauty about them. The way they fly through the sky, and their feathers are amazing." He was being honest with what he said. He saw beauty in a lot of things, and he looked for it, because if he did not, all he was the bad and the flaws.

Itzal listened as Niro tried to remember as best he could the name of Itzal's packmate that he had meant. Itzal thought through the names of the members he knew, but could not think of any that matched the one Niro described. "Hmm nope, does not ring a bell, but like I said, I'm new and do not know everyone yet." Itzal was still curious as to who it was, but Niro could not know more then Itzal himself did as to who it would be. So Itzal shrugged it off for the time being and followed Niro as he started walking again. Itzal kept close to the trees, since that is where the shadows were thickest and he enjoyed being in the shadows. It was something he did naturally, sticking to the most shaded areas. He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply as he savored the smell of the air. He opened his eyes and yawned some "So you do anything special? Like have any skills or anything?" Itzal figured he should make light conversation to pass the time, since he had offered to accompany Niro in the first place so he had someone to talk to. Itzal had no problem with the silence, and more often then not, he liked to think more then talk. But right now he was feeling talkative, and did not want to seem rude by just tagging along with Niro and being silent. It might make Niro uncomfortable, and Itzal did not want to do that.

1019!

Itzal had never been truly abandoned. He had just had those he cared about taken away. His family was killed and he was hidden in the pack. The pack abused him and he ran away, so he abandoned them (not like they probably cared) and his father could not go on living and died. No, he did not know what abandonement felt like. He only knew what if felt to lose what mattered most to you. He did not hold it against anything. It was just what happened to him, he was use to it. If he got close to something or someone, then it was ripped out of his life painfully. At least it use to be painful, now he had just gone mostly numb, living as seperate from others emtionally as he could be. But that was part of settling down, getting a permanent setting, and maybe see if things stayed the way they should. He was not very hopeful, but he had been wandering over half his life, he had been fighting during that time mostly, fighting to survive, and now he just felt like it was time to try out living in a pack. So far it was not to bad. But he was still hesitant to commit himself entirly, afraid the second he did it would all come crashing down around him. He did not want that, and felt like if he was not truly connected, then maybe it would not hurt when it did come down on him. He was sure it would, but he could not help but have the tiny flicker of hope that maybe he had found an actual home where he could learn to live among others. Sure there would still be conflicts and fights sometimes, but it would not be constant, he wuold not be surounded by all the killing, the fighting. Maybe that was finally in his past, and this was the start of his new future. That tiny flicker of hope could not stop saying that one word in the back of his head, maybe. He wanted to believe it, but he was just to unsure. He sighed mentally. He would just have to wait and see how things went. Maybe it would get easier with time. Ugh, there was that word again, maybe, maybe, maybe. He figured there was no point worrying about it, he could not help the walls he had put up to guard himself over time, so he would just wait and see how it played out with time.

Itzal had been listening to Niro while he had been caught up in thought, and had caught some of his first words. "Oh, yeah, I guess no one would know better then her. And she is a hunter of the sky, we are just hunters of the land. We are not so diffrent from them." Itzal agreed partially with Niro's comment about how they were lucky creatures, and that it was no freedom a wolf could have. "It is true, we can not fly over the land, but we ourselves are lucky. We have legs that can carry us fast. We can shift to walk on two legs, and see the world from a diffrent perspective, and we have Secui, where we can be stronger and faster, giving us gracefulness and beauty. Just as we will never experience flying, they will never know what it is to feel your body running across the ground, your leg muscles pushing you faster and faster. I love running because it is what I'm made for in a way. I'm made to be able to run faster then my prey, or longer, and I'm made to be able to fight to defend myself. I take pride in those things." He had looked up at the sky about halfway through his speech. Though he did not mean to give it as a speech, more as just what he saw and felt. He finally sighed and looked away from the sky, then his ears perked at the name. Hmmm he did not know of a Clover, but he racked his brain, the name Lykoi hitting something in his memory. Where had he heard it before. Oh yes, Sepirah who had greated him at the border, she was a Lykoi, and she was related to that big family that helped make up the pack. "No I do not know a Clover Lykoi, but that last name does ring a bell. They are a big family, and I would probably not know one from the other even if I had meant her. I'm sorry to disappoint you." Itzal had noticed Niro's hopefulness, and wondered what connection he had to this Clover girl. Maybe they were just good friends. Itzal shrugged it off, not wanting to ask and be rude. He then listened to Niro's skills, nodding at them. "sounds like you have some good skills." He smiled when he was asked what he could do. "I can track, hunt, fight, I'm awesome at stealth. I do not hesitate to kill, if you count that as a skill. And I can give tattoos. I'm agile and quick on my feet, and not to bad with my knife there." He gestured to the ouch hanging at his waist. It was very true that he was "not to bad" He was actualy very good. He could throw it with deadly accuracy and had killed rabbits and other game with it before. It had also slit many throats, but he did not feel like adding that into the conversation. Something told him that would not be the best note to finish his list of skills on. Some people were surprised with how ok he was with killing, but it was just part of him now. Something he had learned and accepted growing up on his own and wandering. If most others were a hybrid in dangerous territorys with wild loners and crazy packs around, and they were only half a year old, they would have learned to survive too, even if it meant killing ruthlessly.

1187

Itzal walked along side Niro. Looking around at all the trees, thinking of all the diffrent animals that would live in this forest during the summer, and spring time. Really live, not this quiet, though he did not mind the quiet, but not this quiet stage of slumber, of a place where the snow covered everything, like a white blanket, covered the dead expression in it's eyes. As time when on the blanket will fade, and the warmth will cause the plants to sprout, like they are deciding to try again, the animals will awaken, and find a new time awaiting them, and it will start again, the time of awakening, before the time of slumber. He did not perfet either or, one has its up and downs, and so did the other. He could not help however, to wonder how many animals would appear in these trees, how easy it would be to hunt? He hoped there was still some challenge in it, he liked the thrill of hunting. But he just looked around at the trees before shrugging, if he was still around in the spring and summer like he planned on being, he actually planned on sticking around for a long, long time. Maybe the rest of his life. Itzal smiled at that. Could he go that long with out moving on? Without having the things he cared about taken from him, or lost? His smiled turn to a small grimace. He was not sure if things would work in his favor for that long. But he was willing to wait and see, to at least try and live a life in a stable pack. If there was suck a thing as a stable pack. Which so far, he was not sure if there was. He had not been in Inferni long enough to tell if iit was stable or not, but if they let him in, then they at least did not require their members to be of sane mind. Itzal was probably far from sane, some parts of him were just down right demonic, let along being insane. But Itzal liked to think that he was not to insane, at least the part of him that is in control isn't, but Itzal knew that even if it was, it was not as crazy as he could get, he had been worse before, and now he was okay, not good, but maybe he was ok.

Itzal had moved his ears to pick up what Niro was saying, and looked away from the trees to Niro. He nodded at Niro's agreement. "It is one thing to be ashamed of yourself, which you are not, at least to me you do not appear to be, but it is another to want to be something entirely diffrent, just because you are to blind to see the good things you have. " Itzal said, and when he said it, he did not say it as in a lecturing tone or anything, just as a simple fact in his mind. There were certain things he had grown up so far and learned, and this was part of it, to him, you should not wish to change things, unless you knew what you already have. If you did not know what you already had, and wished things to be diffrent, you could lose something you did not know mattered so much to you, you could be totally diffrent from who you once were. It was not right to take the things you have for granted, because you could always be worse off then you were. When you feel like you have nothing, it makes what you do have all the more special, and if you wished to change things, you could lose not just that, but a part of yourself with it. Itzal sighed as he thought about all this. He did not say it out loud, because he felt it would just be rambling, and Niro was not someone that would take things for granted, Itzal was sure, so Itzal did not have to say anything about it to him. Niro was smart, Itzal could tell, he would know what mattered in life, and he had said he had kids, so Niro probably knew that somethings in life, you shouldn't change, cause you do not know where they would lead.

Itzal nodded at his words. "Yeah, big families can be confusing, and I am not sure if all packs usually have a big family, or if it is just Inferni. But I would probably confuse myself more trying to learn all their names and relations. And I've never heard of a big family that would leave a pack, it seems if so many of them are rooted there, they are likely to stay. But I guess some of them do." He shrugged. He did not have a big family, and probably never would, so it was all very foreign to him, having so many people related to you by blood. Itzal noticed Niro mentioned a court and the Name Russo. He did not know what he meant by court, and knew no one with a name Russo, so he just shrugged it off. He did not feel like prying, so he would not question it more. Though he had to admit, he was just a tiny bit curious, but he could bring it up later if he wanted, and if he had time. He looked up at the sky, looking to see if he could spot Niro's bird, but did not see anything really, and looked back down. He wondered if the bird was off hunting.

He smiled at Niro's words about not being a fan of figthing and being good at tracking. "I wasn't a fan of fighting at first either. But I find that when you have to fight to survive, it grows on you. And yeah, I figured you would be good at a thing like tracking, since you have to too hunt. Do your birds ever help you to find prey? Or do you always find it yourself?" Itzal wondered how the bird would do that. Maybe he could fly up and see it and Niro followed it, or something like that. It seemed like something that Niro might have to train it to do, but he had said he was a Falconer, which probably meant he trained and worked with birds, which could possibly be fun. But Itzal did not feel like it was ever something he could pick up, he would just not get into it. But he had to give Niro credit. Itzal thought it was probably something unique that he did, that many others probably did not. But he could not say for sure, since he himself had not meant many others. Maybe a lot of people around here had birds that went places with them and helped them catch prey. It jsut seemed unlikely to Itzal. "Are there many others with your interest and like of birds?" Itzal asked just to shine some light on what he wanted to know.

1097

Itzal sometimes just rambled on and on. He did not like it, but figured it might be a reaction from having no one to talk to for such a long time, he did not know when to stop talking. He got annoyed with himself sometimes, he much perferred to ramble on in his thoughts then his actual words. He would think and ramble on for hours in his thoughts, if he did not finally put an end to it. He look at Niro and wondered if he ever rambled on. It did not seem like it, but Itzal could not judge so quickly. He had barely had any conversation with the man, and they were hardly familiar with each other. So it would not surprise Itzal if Niro actually did ramble on, just not when he was talking to complete strangers. Itzal shrugged, and then looked at all the trees. He wondered if any of them would make good bow and arrows. He was not sure how to make one, or even where to look for the right kind of wood, but he would find someone that could help him learn. He wanted to learn how to fire the bow and arrow. He wanted to take up a new weapon to pass the time, and he had been interested in the bow and arrow when he had learned about it. It seemed like a great invention, and one that could be easily made even now. Since wood was plenty full and The bow and arrow relied on the users Physical strength to pull back, and their mind to aim and fire correctly. So he figured it would be good for him, since for some reason he had an interest in those kinds of weapons, ones that got their power and speed from him. Swords and knives were metal, already hard and strong, but bow and arrows are wood, that can easily break, and you must have a certain control to use them. And Itzal was always working to control himself better, while at the same time pushing himself to new limits. Knowledge and skill with this weapon would help Improve himself, but it could take a few years of his life to learn to truly use them. He wondered if Niro had ever used one. He was a huntsman after all, like he had said earlier. But maybe not all huntsman used a bow and arrow, maybe some used other things. Itzal was not sure, but it did not matter that much, either way, he had to try and get his hands on a bow and arrow. So maybe he should find some would? Gather it up? No, he figured first he would trade for one, or his teacher, who ever it will be, might give him one to use. And anyways, He still did not know the kind of wood too gather. So he would just have to wait.

Itzal sighed as he looked back at Niro finally catching on to the fact that Niro was talking. God he had to stop zoning out like that, eventually Niro might notice and get offended. Itzal nodded as he heard Niro's words. "It is good that you know how things are and all." Itzal stopped nodding and tried to flip his bangs out of his eyes, but they just feel right back into place. He chuckled to himself. He loved his bangs, and they were always covering at least one of his eyes, though he could see through the hair, and they always feel in a certain way of his face. He sighed as it did, but with a smile on his face, he looked at Niro as he contiuned talking and Itzal focused to pay attention to his words. He wanted more children?! Itzal thought that was funny, but did not laugh, in fear of offending him. "I have no children, I'm not yet old enough to, unless they were someone elses, which I do not plan on taking in as my own, but you never know, I guess it could happen. But yeah, I do not have any of my own, and I do not think I would ever gave a big big family, but I wish you luck in getting the big family you want. And yes, you do already have a start, a nice one to." He looked up at the sky and wandered if he would ever even have children of his own. Maybe, or maybe not, he just could not help but wonder about it. He was not sure, and now was not the time to get too distracted in somehting that at the moment, can not be helped. So instead he focused on what Niro said next, Itzal's face plain, without a smile. He felt like he was smiling to much, since he had been forcing himself to.Itzal was surprised to hear that he had lived in some place called..floridea? He was not sure, and had never heard of the place, but he was most surprised that Niro had to fight constantly to keep him and his sister alive. " Oh, sounds kind of like my past. Well I guess you are right, people are changed by the same situations diffrently. I just so happen to come away diffrently then you did, oh well." He shrugged, even though this view into Niro's past did surprise him. He did not know it would be anything like the violence Itzal himself had experienced.

Niro then asnwered about He mentioned how on big hunts he used the birds to help him, and how he trained them to find herds in mere minutes. Itzal nodded impressed. They could defintly be useful, he thought, when it came to tracking and hunting. He figured it only made sense for Niro to train his birds to help him do his job, since they were good hunters, and would have a better view of their suroundings then him. Itzal nodded again at the mention of the AniWayan. Itzal could not recall if he had heard of that pack before. But before Itzal could think deeper into it, Niro changed the subject to him setting up a messenger system between packs. This really caught Itzal attention, since he had never thought of that. "Wow, that sounds so cool, I hope you have good luck with that. Would the packs let you do that? I mean would they trust you enough and all?" Itzal was truly curiuos about the messenger system, since it could be very useful to the packs.

386

Itzal watched as the man nodded in response to his comment about the pups. Itzal understood that Niro was thinking and just let him think, enjoying the silence. He was not one that needed constant chatting to fill the silence. He enjoyed just walking and not feeling pressured to talk. Itzal thought about pups. He would probably not mind having them when he was a tiny bit older. But first he had to find someone who loved him enough to have his pups, and who he loved enough to give his pups to. Something he did not think likely to happen anytime soon. Itzal could never really see himself falling for someone. He had once before, and it ended badly, though it was his own fault. He pushed those thoughts out of his head though and wondered what it would be like to be a father. He hoped that maybe some day he would be able to find out. But he knew that maybe that was not the best path for him.

Itzal stopped as he smelled the scent of the border getting closer. He did not like to get to close to the border so he stopped and sighed. Listening what Niro had to say first. He nodded. "That would be a good use, and of course you would need permission. I think it would be good to wait till spring to, but when spring time comes, I'll have to stop by and see how things are going. Unfortantly this as far as I go. I need to start heading back anyways, and I do not want to go to close to the pack borders. It was nice meeting you, Niro. You seem like a nice guy, I'll be sure to remember you, should we ever meet again." Itzal turned and started to walk away. Waving back at Niro once. He did not wait for a good bye, he felt himself getting edgy being that close to another packs lands. He waited until he was out of sight of Niro to run, letting his two legs carry him as fast as they could. He was still fast in optime, faster then most, but he did not perfer it for running. He could not help but think about what Niro had mentioned. About being a dad.