WOO FIRST 1K+ POST. WC: 1074

Itzal like the pine trees out here. They reminded him of the place where him and Alyssum first meant. But there was a defintly diffrence here. These parts of the woods were out of pack territory. So far the dampwoods were one of his favorite places of Nova Scotia. The ground was littered with pine needles. So his movements were almost undetectable. Though they were usually that way, the pine needles helped even more. He had stopped to get a drink by a small stream. Its cools waters were clear and refreshing. Clear enough for him to see his reflection. He looked ok in Lupus form. He could see the definte wolf in him. But he also noticed the subtle signs of his coyote blood. He wondered what he looked like in optime. It had been a while since he had seen himself. But he did not feel like changing to find out.

He moved away from the river and picked up his bag in his teeth. He had brought a pair of jeans for when he shifted to optime and set up camp for the night. He trotted through the trees, looking around and imagining how great this place would look at night. He would not have long to wait to find out. Already he could see the light as it began to fade. He was not to far in the woods from his own packs territory. maybe a half our or so. But he like it out here, and it made him feel nice sleeping under the trees and stars. Plus, he STILL had not picked a place to call his home in Inferni. He just kept pushing it off, trying to delay the inevitable.

He sighed and wandered into a nice clearing. Looking around. He had not gone to far from the stream, which was a good thing. He planned on using it for water and he need to wash out his piercing soon. He had been following Sky's instruction's perfectly. He would have to go visit her at the end of the month to get it checked out. He still sometimes took the piercing out and admired it. It was a delicate design, nothing to flashy, he could have done it himself with the right supplies and brushes. But maybe that is why he picked it. It was beautiful, while at the same time being as simple as could be. It showed something did not have to be elegant and complex to be beautiful. Even the most simplist of things have their own natural beauty. But right now was not one of those times. He had his piercing and was circling the clearing. He was going to have set up camp here for the night. Which meant it was time to shift.

Itzal looked around to make absolutly sure no one was around. It was not his modesty he was worried about. Being naked was nothing he was ashamed of at all. It was that moment when he shifted that he was vulnerable to attack. He could not control himself and his skin shifted and his bones changed. And then their were the scars. The one on his inner thigh that was obvious from about ten feet away even. All his other big ones, like on his belly and back, some on his legs were not as visibly but still seeable if you looked closely while you were close to him. His smalls ones were covered by fur and were no problem. The funny thing was. There were only a few scars he did not like ohter people to see or ask about. Others he was fine with showing off.

He shifted then, feeling himself change. It was faster then when he had first done it. He had been born with the skill. And most of the time he loved it. Other times he feared what gave him the power to shift. And at other times, he hated his being diffrent then the original. But over time he had learned to cope, and now it was pretty fast, though not as fast as he had seen some of the older ones do it. He finished his change and got out his jeans, pulling them up. They were ripped at his knees on both sides, and on on the lower part of his ankle. He laughed at how abused his jeans were. He should really get some new ones. But he just had to much histrory with the three pairs he had. And his history meant a lot to him. Even though he had promised himself to move on from the past. He was not doing so well apparently.

He gathered some wood for a fire. making sure it would be nice and warm and not spread. He pulled his lighter out of his bag and lit the logs. Then he watched it. He loved fire. Not only for the warmth, but for what it represented. Freedom. The ability to be wild and dangerous. But at the same time it takes others to control it, cause on its own, it was unstoppable and destructive. Like he was once upon a time. Maybe he felt a connection to this fire, on some level. He blinked and stood up, smiling as the sun moved even lower. Hmm, he decided since probably no one was around, he might as well go for a dip in a nearby pond he had found. Or maybe it was big enough to be a lake? He was not sure, but he got up and ran through the trees until he arrived at it. He knew if someone came a long his campsite they might wonder where he went. Or they might find him out here. But he doubted that would happen. He stripped out of his jeans and ran into the water. Letting it cover him and drench his fur.

After messing around a little, Itzal just let himself float along the water, thinking of his pack. And how welcome they made him feel. He was happy he had picked Inferni, happy he had meant Alyssum and the rest. But there would always be a part of him that would miss being like the fire. Wild and free. But it was not like much had changed. He was just part of something bigger now. And for once, it did not scare him as much as it use to.

If you do not like the fact that he knows she is watching, I can change it, I just figured he would since it kind of goes with his stealthyness. 1058

Itzal was not cold. Not that it surprised him, he was almost never cold. That is why he went shirtless even in the dead of winter, and why he could swim through this water and not feel anything. He was actual more surprised that the lake was not frozen over. It must more around a lot when the wind blows to strong, so it shifts and turns to much for it to freeze, which was good for Itzal, cause it would be hard swimming in a block of ice. He was enjoying himself, the relaxing way the water slapped his body as small waves formed. He closed his eyes as he floated, listening to the sounds in the air and the smells that were being carried to him. He liked it in the water, but not as much as the forest. He could not stay at the ocean, maybe for a while, but eventually he would have to venture out into the trees and the plants, he would have to inhale the scent of it, just to calm himself and feel peaceful. The water moved to much to ever make him feel truly at peace, but he still liked the calming affect it had. If he had been human, he probably would have lived in the trees, near the ocean. He wondered if other would rather live at the ocean but near the trees. He probably would have been weird to them, his personality and everything. He shrugged it off, he did not care when he was weird to other canines and luperci, so why would he care about humans. Maybe the reasons luperci and other canines were ok wiht being diffrent and weird from each other is because they all are. Some are hybrids of many kinds, some are purebreds, some are diffrent species then others. They all had diffrent coloring, scars, and patterns in their fur. They were all unique, maybe the humans weren't. He wondered about this, while still paying attention to what his sense were telling him. His eyes were closed and he sighed softly. Then he thought of how cold this water might be. He chuckled softly to himself. It is the dead of winter, and he was floating in the water of a lake that was probably freezing cold. He wondered why he never got cold. Maybe his souls and heart were so cold, nothing on the outside of his body felt cold to him. It would not surprise him, he was a killer, or at least he was when he had to be. Another part of him was by nature, it only survived to kill, and it enjoyed it. He however tried to be warm and have a heart when he could, he was not a mean person all the time, it was just natural untrusting and guarded behavior. He had a hard past, and that left him with some habits of coming off as a jerk, when he could really be a nice guy. He sighed again.

Then he smiled to himself, a smirkish smile, his natural one. His real one. It was an amused smile, and he was amused. He loved how lately, people had been trying to sneak up on him. He was an expert at stealth and being undetected, and with it came an expertess at telling when others were sneaking around him, or trying to sneak up on him. He figured that as long as he knew that the wolf was there, and it did not know he knew, he could just leave her be for now. If he noticed it doing something that might be dangerous for him, he would react before she got a chance. Maybe she was just curious. But either way, he kept his attention slightly on her, curious himself as to what she was doing. She might have come looking for him, if she found his camp, but other wise, she was probably just wandering around and had come upon the lake, and him. He knew his knife was in the pouch tied to his jeans, but he would not need it. He could shift, or he could fight in optime, though she was in Secui, and would have size on her side, he would be more nimble and agile. He was not saying he wanted to fight her, just that he was considering all possiblities. He sighed again and open his eyes slightly. The sunsetting was only a few minutes away. He smiled at that. If there was on thing he loved other then the forest and trees, it was the dark. He could almost completely disappear in the dark. Though he did not have a problem of that in the light either, it was a lot easier in the dark. He closed his eyes again, he considered hunting when he was done with his swim, he debated it, thinking of what he might be able to catch, but he decided that he would confront the wolf first and see what she was doing out here and spying on him, if she did not confront him first, which he thought she might since she was still sticking around. He sighed, and dived under the water, swimming around to the otherside of the lake and getting out, not one the side she was on, or his jeans, but the other one, his back to her. He did that so he would not have to confront her so soon, he wanted to see what she was doing and what she wanted to do next. Itzal let the water run down his body, figuring he could air dry, he liked feeling the water, and he knew he had a good body, he could not help but wonder what it would look like when the sunset and it reflected off of the water in his fur and on his body. He figured it would be a shame he could not see it from a diffrent perspective. But he wondered what the wolf would think, and it made him smirk, his back was still to her but he turned around, making sure not to look right at her, so he did not make her suspicious. But he could not help but grin at the thought of her watching him and thinking he did not know.