OOC 973!

Itzal did not worry about being quiet. After all, he was the one who was looking for trespassers, he was not trespassing. And he had no doubt if he wanted to, he could be silent. In secui it was harder then usual, but he was an expert at stealth. He walked along, still listening for any trespassers. And then he heard footsteps. He listened and smirked. There was someone coming, he could tell, even though they were trying to be quiet, he was good at picking out soft sounds. Being stealthy went both ways, he was good at being quiet, and usually he was good at telling when others were trying to be quiet. He could tell the canine was coming towards him, so he stopped and waited. Who ever it was would show themselves soon enough, and if they were a trespasser, it would be stupid for them to walk right towards him if they knew he was there, if not, then they were just walking into a perfect trap. If it was someone on patrol like him, then they would have no reason to attack him. He wondered who it was? Probably someone he did not know, since he knew only a few members of the pack, and even fewer outsiders. He yawned softly, and looked at the skulls again, smiling at how someone must have come out here and taken the time to line them up. He was curious if who ever it was had done it willingly or had been assigned the job. Maybe it had been a pack effort, and they had done it together, though he doubted it. He listened to the wind blow in his ears and listened as the steps got even closer.

Itzal was only a little over a year old. But he had been through a lot and was a lot more familar with the hardships of life. He had been killing other canines since he was half a year old. And for the seven months or so that he had wandered, he had killed more and more, and he had experienced a lot of growing up in those short few months. He had praticed at his skills of stealth, of his fighting. He killed without mercy if he had to, and he did not get attached. Except for one time, and he still regretted it. He had made mistakes, and he had learned. When he meant someone, he saw both a possible enemy, and a possible friend. If friend was the right word. Since Itzal did not let himself get attached to others normally. Though he had decided to join a pack and settles down, and with that change, had hoped to become a little less wild, and a little more normal. He had also been running, running from himself. From the thing that had been born in him when he was by himself, when he had been killing. He had learned control, but even now, he sometimes was scared, scared of what part of him was. He shivered slightly at the thought of it. Then he shook his head and looked at the trees along the border again.

Then the one had heard appeared in his sight. He instantly smelled Inferni on her and knew she was a pack member. The she asked to join him and he looked her over for a minute. "Sure, I'm just patrolling a little, since I have got nothing better to do. I'm Itzal, newest member in Inferni, who are you?" He could not say no to the female, at least not without seeming rude, and it was not like he had any reason to be hostile to her. But he was not feeling very social, and he usually did not feel social. So he figures the girl could tag along and wait for him to warm up. Eventually he would, it just took him sometime. He was not a very trusting person, and he did not always see people like they were nice. He made sure to get to know their personality usualy before he felt anything more then neutral feelings for them. But he did give the girl on of his smirkish smiles. He got up and started walking again, figuring he should get on with the patrol instead of just sitting wasting time. She would follow if she still wanted to join him.

He smiled to himself when he noticed the diffrence in size between them. Him in his secui form was almost twice her size. His wolf blood made him naturally bigger then purebreed coyotes, even when they were both in Lupus form, with him in Secui and her in Lupus, it made him seem like a giant almost. He thought about shifting to make her more comfortable, but figured it would just take up time when it really was not necassary. He kept walking as he thought about the other female coyote he had meant that was part wolf like him. Alyssum. They had gotten along right away, and he defintly was not neutral to her when they first meant. He had been very chatty and smily with her. Something he was only like when he was in the mood to be. But with her, it did not matter what mood he was in, he would probably still have a smile on his face. He mentally shook himself to stop thinking about Alyssum, he was on patrol, and he had to pay attention and concentrate. Itzal noticed that he had stopped being so loud when he stepped. Barely giving off any noise when he moved. He must have started doing it without realizing, and he did not stop now. He figured he should be more catious, just incase next time it was not a pack member, but an actual trespasser.

No need to apologize, that is not short at all. I'm only writing so much cause I'm trying to finish SSWM on time. 1143 word count. And do not feel like you have to match me.

Itzal looked back at the coyote, wondering where she was from. Her coloring was odd, but then again, canines around these parts came in very many colors. She had black in various parts of her body. And she had one strange strip of it going down her back. It was odd in comparison to her reddish brown color. Itzal could not put a name to what it was. But it defintly contradicted with the black. And her eyes were some what similar to his own. Though his were a goldish yellow, and hers appeared to be a few shades brighter then crimson. A nice color, though it seemed like an uncommon one. He looked for signs of other breeds. He could not make out any noticable signs that she was anything but coyote, but he thought she smell faintly of wolf blood, but maybe he was wrong, either way, she was defintly small for even a coyote. He looked her over again, noting that she was not very muscled, but more lean, a good shape for speed and stealth, not brute strength. He smiled at himself at that. He himself was built for both. He was muscled, but also fast and nimble, very good at fighting and stealth. But while he was smart in a fighting and strategic stand point, he education after that fell short. He could not ready very good at all, and writing was alien to him as well. He wuold defintly stick to fighting and sneaky any day over the life of scholars and historians. But he had no problem with that life, it just held little interest for him and he lacked the skills for it. Though he had to admit, in some situations, those could be valuable skills to have. But his own skills could be valuable at times as well. Part of him laughed at the thought of having the skill of reading and writing over the skill of fighting and killing, but he ignored it, it was only a part of him, it was not who he really was.

He had to admit, once he got to the conclusion she would be better for stealth, she was not bad at it. Itzal had learned stealth from his father, or at least the basics. He turned out to be a natural at it. And in the seven months he had been on his own, he had become an expert at it, as well as fighting and killing. He was good with a knife, and only a knife. It was all he needed, or ever used. And he had to give her credit, she had potential to become a great scout, or a master at stealth. Itzal figured with some training, he could get better, though there were very few who were good enough to find him if he wanted to stay hidden, and very few who could teach him more then he already knew. But he was far from perfect, and could use some improvement. He gave the girl an approving look. Maybe if she ever wanted some help, he could teach her some things. He himself had an advantage on his side. His coat being black allowed him to blend in to shadows and at night time he was almost invisible. But there were still some things he knew that he could pass on. He mentally shrugged. If she wanted some help, she could ask, if not, he would not offer unless they become close friends. A very unlikely happening, since Itzal had almost no close friends. And he not about to let people into his inner circle of trust as easily as that. His inner circle of trust was very small. consisting of himself, and that monster part of himself. It might be strange to trust that part of himself, but it was still somewhat him, so he put trust in it. He just did not put control in its hands. He thought about it for a second and consider that Alyssum might be in his inner circle of trust, maybe after they got to know each other better. Or maybe she was already in it and he just did not realize it.

Itzal chuckled and gave his smirkish smile at her. He could not help but find the way she had corrected him funny. She merely stated she was the newest member as if he had said a name wrong, and she was giving the correct pronouncation. He liked the way she said that. He smiled a little more then it faded as he looked away. Maybe he would learn to like this coyote. Her attitude seemed ok. And even though, if she was the newest member, he was a higher rank then her, being a hunter as he was, though he was hoping for a warrior postion if he could, but even being a higher rank then her, he did not demand respect. He believed that people should treat him how they want, and in turn he would treat them like he wanted. He was not being on being respectful to his superiors, and did not care about it. He was naturally dominant, even if he was in a low rank, dominances was in his blood, he was related to an alpha, though a bad one, his father had been a beta, though one who was turned on. So Itzal was technical in line to be alpha, since his uncle has been mateless and childless, if things had been diffrent, he would probably have been taken under by his uncle and raised as alpha. He thought about how diffrent he would be if that had happened. He frowned slightly at the thought. He was happy with where he was and he hated his uncles guts, he was a cruel man, and even the thought that Itzal may have grown to be like him was an unpleasant one.

"Hi valkyrie, and welcome to the clan then." He smiled again to himself. He admired it when others had confidence and were loyal and smart. He valued traits in people more then their appearance or heritage. To him, the only thing that mattered were your actions and your personality. Not who you are and what you own. It was just the way he saw things. Everyone was equal in his eyes unless they had some bad attitude or something. And even then, it was their choice to act that way. Just as it was his choice to treat them like the bitches they were being. He chuckles to himself. He was such a pleasant person. He chuckled again as he could hear the own sarcasm in his thoughts. "So what brings you out here? Are you patroling for fun, or were you assigned to?" He was wondering what had made the coyote wander out here.

I'M SOOO SORRY this is so long. Feel free just to skim through it. It is mostly just rambling until the last paragrraph where he spills his life story. again, sorry. 1412!

Itzal wondered what was on the females mind? She seemed like she knew Inferni well. The way she spoke like she was comfortable here. And she appeared to know the border well enough. He wondered if she had maybe been in this area before. It would not surprise him, after all, it was not uncommon for other canines to leave a place and return sometimes. But why did she return? What was her purpose. He could not help but wonder. "Valkyrie, you seem like you are familiar with the area. Have you been here before?" His voice was void of emotion. If he did not know better, he would think that he had no interest, and was just trying to make conversation. But Itzal knew his curiousity sometimes got the best of him. He could not help but wonder about people, but he did respect their privacy. If they wanted to tell him, it was completely up to them, just like he felt it was up to him whether or not he wanted to speak about his past. And usually he would speak of it, but only in vague detail, so he could satisfy their curiousity, but not go to deep into it. He never went to deep into thought about his past himself. There were things he would much rather forget, but it seemed like no matter how much he tried, they always snuck back into his mind and thoughts. He sighed mentally. He would have to just learn to live with them, and just not thing about them as best he could. So instead of thinking about his past, he went back to wondering about Valkyrie's past. If she was orignally from Nova Scotia, where had she gone when she left? And why had she not stayed there? He would never ask these questions out right, or even hint at them that much. Maybe a little. But if he started to learn about a person, they in turn started to learn about him, which was something he was always hesitant to let happen. He was not always a good person to get to know. Which is the reason very few people had ever gotten to really know him. Really, truly know him. And he was not sure if he was ready to let people start to get so close to him just yet.

Itzal had been scanning the border closely, only moving his eyes and keeping his head as still as he could. His ears twitched every now and then as he listened for any sound. He took shallow, short breaths to see if he could catch any hint of a trespasser's scent. He was good at thinking and paying attention to his suroundings. He nodded at Valkyrie's explanation of arrving at the border and patroling. He could not help but adding a questioning ' again?' to her comment about getting a feel for the territory. But he shook of his curiousity so he could listen to her and patrol. He figured that there would be no trespassers today, but he could never be to safe, and it kept his mind occupied for the moment. He blinked in surprise when she asked him about how he had found Inferni. Was it just a coincednce he has just been thinking about his past when she was curious about it. It had to be, and he could not complain. After all, he had asked her where she was from, and he was curious about her past to. Maybe she was just trying to make conversation. Either way he felt he would have to answer her, and he would not sugar coat it, though he would not go into detail either. His past was one filled with pain and hardships. But he did not want others pities, he had survived, and he agreed with the saying that what did not kill you, only makes you stronger. There was a lot that had not killed him, and every single time it had made him stronger. I helped make you stronger, I was a part of it, we get most of our strength from me, you know it is true, why deny it? We are nothing with out me, with out my need to kill. Itzal did not hear the words inside his head, no, the part of him that was a killer, that we a black void in himself could not be heard by words, it was not another personality, not another being in him, it was a part of him that was dead inside and hollow. Like a part of him had died and become a demon, but it stayed with him. It could not communicate with words or noises, Instead Itzal saw it in his mind, like he was reading body laungage, he just knew what the message was, he could feel it.

Itzal sighed as he realized he need to answer her. "I just came here by accident, I was wandering, heading north. I will not sugar coat my journey and life for you, you ask how I found Inferni, now I will tell you." His voice was hollow, without emtion or feeling, it was like he was not alive, but dead, and his soul still wandered, whispering his story in the wind. " My father was a purebred wolf. His pack believed only purebred wolves were worth to live, and they were the only ones worth of being luperci and that it was only reserved for the alpha alone to be a luperci, the others were forced to live as normal wolves. My father was beta, and my uncle alpha. But my father feel in love with a luperci coyote, a purebred coyote, who would shift. They loved each other, and they had puppies. But they did it in secret, if the pack knew, the puppies would have been killed. Of course I was on of the puppies. After about half a year, a liitle before it actually, my uncle found out. My father and mother knew he was coming, and started to hide us in the pack. I was the first they hid, since at such a young age, I could pass as a purebred wolf. But before they could hide the others, my uncle found them and murdered my mother, she died protecting my siblings. My father was then banished. I was just a random wolf that had showed up, only about half a year old. No one knew I had been related to the other puppies. I lived with them a weak. They beat me, abused me, scarred me, anything to try and break me into submission of living their way. But I never gave in, I fought back as best I could. After a week, I ran, leaving the pack. I found my father. He barely had any strength left to go on after losing his mate and most of his puppies. He only survived long enough to teach me to hunt and survive. After that I lived on my own. I learned to track, hunt, I became good at stealth, learning to use it. I learned to fight, when I ran in to other wild canines, I fought and killed them. I learned to do it without hesitation. And so I became a killer, a ruthless, cold killer when I had to be. I kept heading north. And here I will leave out parts that i remember but never wish to think about. But basically I headed north until I arrived here, in Nova Scotia. I decided I needed a pack to settles into, and joined Inferni. So there, you have most of it, though not in great detail, it will have to do." Never once while he was talking did his voice change, adn when he was done, he looked at her and stared into her eyes. Letting her see the pain and suffering he had went to. He showed her the coldness in his eyes and soul. And then he smiled at her, trying to show her that he still had some warmth in him, even if it was a weak smile. Then he turned back around and walked on. "I can not say it was a happy life, but I can not change what is done. I am what I am, I'm just working on living with it now." He hoped now she would understand his distant attitude, and his untrusting nature.

1074!

Itzal had confessed more about himself in those simple words then she could ever realize. Those things defined him. That was his legacy, that was who he was. He might only be a year old, but he was to set in his ways to change. He was a puzzling person. Even he had to admit that. He could kill someone he had cared on conversations with, who he had smiled at, in a second, without hesitation. But he did not like it. Parted of him on the other hand loved it. And that part would kill when ever it felt like, it needed to kill, if it was in control it would need to kill, just like Itzal would need to eat and drink. But at the same time, when Itzal was in control, he was guarded and catious, but curiuos and (if he wanted to be) nice. He could put on many mask, faces, personalities. So many that sometimes he caught himself asking. What is real and what is fake? He could not help but wonder if others had the same problem. He figured some might, but others had probably never even stop to consider it. He laughed to himself at how care free some of the people around him must live. They were lucky, even though he had to admit. What was life without a bit of mystery? And what bigger mystery then who you really are? He contemplated the idea some more. A life with no cares, or a life with mystery and wonder. He could not deny that the very life he had, the one with wonder and mystery, appealed to him more. So Itzal figured he could not complain. He had lived his life this far, and he planned on living it out the rest of the way. though was some care free thinking to much to ask of himself? Why couldn't he think about how fluffy the clouds were, or how nice the weather was? Just normal, care free thoughts. He sighed. It was because he would never be a care free person. It too was something he could not change, so he just accepted it and decided to move on.

Itzal himself was starting to get hungry. He had not eaten since yesterday morning, but he had a good full rabbit. He had shifted a couple of time since then and was starting to feel the hunger biting at his stomach. He would have to hunt. He thought about his companion and wondered if she would want to hunt, or if she was even hungry. If he planned on hunting something small like a rabbit then he would have to shift to optime or lupus. Not perfering the brute strength and size of the secui when huntin fast and agile rabbits. In optime he could kill it with one swift throw of his knife if he got it right. And in lupus he could chase it down. Either way he would get food if he could find it. But he decided he should wait until after he was done patroling this section of the border. He could hunt anytime, seeing as tracking and hunting were easy for him. He wondered Valkyrie was at it? Maybe he would have a chance to see. It did not matter to him all that much anyways. Just his curiousity again. He was starting to wish that it had an off button. Itzal scanned the border again. She had not responded to his story. Which was fine by him. It meant she either could thiink of nothing to say, or just did not feel like saying anything was required. And nothing was required, she had asked, he had answered, he did not want her pity, her consulation, he had lived his past, he knew what it was like, and he knew that the things he had done and had seen were his burden, it was the price he had to pay to survive. But he had to admit, sometimes he felt like the weight was crushing him, he wished he had someone to share it with, someone would could stand by him. He knew that was not likely to happen, and the one time it almost had, he ruined it. Another burden to bare, another memory better left forgotten. "I'm not perfect, and I'll never claim to be, I've got the blood of a killer in me, I will admit that, but it is my past, it is what I had to do to survive, and no matter how much I regret it, there is very little I would ever change." He would only change a few things he had done, things that had changed his life.

He listened closely to her story. So he had been right. She was origanly from here. He found her story intersting, just like he found most peoples. Even though it was not like his own story, he found it held its own excitment and adventure as his. To her, it was her first time away, it was a new world, and he found it interesting that she was brave enough to go on that journey. He also found it interesting that the war had scared her. He had been under the Impression most member of Inferni had no problem with killing and bloodshed. Maybe she was just diffrent. He smiled when she mention being homesick. It was funny how Inferni might not seem it, but it could be a very comfotring place. He looked back at her and smiled. "I'm being honest when I say I find all of that interesting and very brave of you." Sure, he knew how to flirt and charm, but some things he just did honestly, with a flirtish attitude. And he could be charming if he wished it. It is just that he usually did not. "Are you getting hungry at all Valkyrie? He figured he might as well ask so he would know if he would have a hunting partner. He hunted better alone. But with just one other person, he would not do to bad. And it was only fair to let her come along if she wanted to. And whatever they caught she would get most off. He was a gentleman like that. And that thought alone made him laugh. Itzal was far from a gentle man. But you had to give him credit for trying.

1086, mostly a memory of his.

Itzal had been thinking about what he was doing here. Sometimes he just had to ask himself if he made the right choice coming to a pack. It was not Inferni he questioned, if he would fit in at any pack, he figured it would be here, He was was not use to having allies. And in a pack, your pack members became your allies. A pack is suppose to look out for each other and stand together. Itzal was not good at those things. Though he had to admit, there were some people he had meant when he was younger who he had worked to protect. He remembered that he did not always kill to keep himself alive. He had killed protecting wanders, like him, who were being attacked by others. He did not stay with them, or get to know them, but he had saved them. He did not know why he did it. It would have been easier just to move on, let the ones that could not survive on their own die, because he was sure no one would stop to help him if his death was near. Maybe it was something he felt he needed to do, maybe he felt like he had a debt to pay, for everyone he had killed himself. Though he doubted it, he had killed them to survive, it was what he did, he did not feel guilt. But it was the only reason he could think of to explain his unusual acts of kindness. He was a good guy at times, at others he could be evil, mean, heartless. He thought life was so much easier that way, when you only had to look out for yourself and not worry about others. But he could not help himself when he had saved those others. He stilled remember that Jackal. Those coyotes were going to kill it, it was weak, smaller then all of them. It had been even younger then Itzal, barely even 3 months. It looked like its parents had abandoned him. And the two coyotes could think of nothing but beating him to death. Itzal had watched from his cover in the trees a while. Fitting with himself, it had not been his place to interfer, but when the jackal begged for them to kill him quickly, end his life so he did not suffer anymore, the leader of the two had snickered and reached down, and cut the jackal on the wrist. Slowly, letting it draw out and the jackal squinted his eyes and yelped in pain. Itzal had not thought, he merely acted, in his optime form he dropped to the ground and snuck up on them. Slitting ones throat and he could remember seeing fear in the jackals eyes. It was a fear of him, he was worried that Itzal would kill him after he was done with the coyotes. In the moment of seeing that jackal so small, so weak, and complete terrified of him, he could not help himself. The other coyote had turned to face Itzal, having noticed him, and Itzal stabbed him right through the eye, then pulled the knife out and stabbed the coyote in the stomach , again and again, before slitting his throat. The coyote had died after the first few seconds, but Itzal could not stop, this man had done that to the jackal, had broken him, the only thing Itzal could think about was how so many had tried to break him, how they had tortured him, gave him scars that have faded, they did everything they could, but he never broke. And these two coyotes, these to punks, had broken this jackal before he even had a chance to live. Now he was scarred beyond repair, if not physically, emtionally and mentally. Finally Itzal had stopped, and started at the two bodies of the coyotes. Covered in their blood, he looked up at the kid, and he saw something strange. The Jackal was afraid, he was looking at him wide eyed, but their was a weird acceptance in his eyes. Like he had accepted that he was going to die, that Itzal was going to kill him just like he had the coyotes. Itzal did the only thing he could think of, he put pulled out some meat he had gotten from hunting, cut half of it off, and gave it to the jackal, only now seeing the bits of coyote in him. "That will last you a week, if you eat if wisely, try and survive long enough to find a pack to take you in." And with that he had turned and left, he just walked away automaticly, shocked at what he had done, at what had taken over him.

Itzal had been deep in thought, remembering the time he had saven another. It was the first time he did, and it only happened a few times after. But then he heard a voice, It said "thank you" and for a second Itzal thought it was the jackal, that he was here, after all this time just to thank him, then Itzal thought he had went crazy again, not the killing crazy, but the kind where he heard voices. Only after a few minutes did he realize where he was, and that Valkyrie was with him. It must have been her who said it. "Don't thank me, I did nothing to deserve it being said." The thought of all he had killed, and how he possibly tried to make up for it were still on his mind, making his voice sharp, he did not realize she was only thanking him for his words, but he still felt as if he deserved no thanks at all. He nodded when she said she too was indeed hungry. When she asked him if he wanted to hunt, he smiled, weakly. "Sure, if you think you can keep up, and if you think you can handle hunting with me." His voice had a slight joking tone to it, though his memories still gave it the grave feeling. He figured hunting would help clear his head and get his mind off of the little jackal. Though he wondered what had ended up happening to the little guy. He hoped he was doing alright, then reminded himself that he really should not care either way. He had done his part, no more could be asked of him. Or at least that is what he told himself.

1149!

Itzal had to admit, he was pretty hungry. And hunting sounded good. But he was not use to hunting with others. He had always hunted a lone, and since being in the pack, he had not gotten a chance to hunt with others. He would have to adjust to hunting with someone else, seeing as knowing him, he would probably do something rude like ignore her and just kill whatever he found by himself. But he would work on not being such a jerk to her. He need to work on that a lot lately. But he just sighed softly and smiled at her. He felt like hutning though, and if he had to, he owuld try and work together with her, she seemed nice enough, so he would not mind as much as he might have for a more obnoxious person. He just nodded to her, and wondered what it would be like to hunt with another. Probably fun, if he was in the right mood an not truly hungry. But right now he was hungry and just wanted to get down to business and get something to fee him. He figured he would just have to wait and see how things went. But he would try and keep them on track as good as he could. He was not worried about trying to find the animal, he was a good tracker. It seemed anything to do with survival out in nature he was good at. But stuff like reading and writing he fell super short. He was a very one sided person he noticed. Not very well rounded when it cames to the skills he had. He was going to have to work on that, maybe get someone to teach him reading and writing. He laughed at himself mentally, like he wuold ever go through with it, he never really quit, but reading and writing could never hold his interest, and he did not think he wouuld be all that willing to learn now. Itzal thought about why writing would be important, but he could not see it being of a use to him. He muched perferred his fighting. Though he sometimes did better stealthy, since in any open conflict, he started to fight with himself internally. The blood thirsty part of him wanted control during a fight, it wanted to kill them, release its rage and anger upon them. And he had to fight for control, which kept him distracted at times. It could be a bad weakness, since he sometimes could not move cause he was on the edge of losing control. He hated when it happened, so he much perfered to do it quickly and quietly. But sometimes that was not always the cause. But luckly he had not suffered to much from it. He usually regained control quickly, though he wondered if he grew to attached here, and he hesitate, if the other part of him would fight even harder. It was a scary thought. Sometiems it was satisified because it knew Itzal would kill, but what if it thought Itzal wasn't going to kill their enemy? Itzal had no way of knowing until he got in a fight. Which he did not plan on doing soon, he was not yet ready to make enemies, though he was certain he could.

She left it alone when he told her not to thank him, something he was grateful about. He was not in the mood to accept others gratitude. He was not going to let others thank him when he had no reason to be thanked, he had reasones to be hated, killed, shunned, tortured, liked if he gave people a reason, and untrusted, but not a reason to be thanked. So he did not say anything about it either. He looked at her, and then looked away. She seemed smart, and quick. He knew that coyotes were more nimble, and that he, for a canine with three fourths wolf blood was pretty fast by any standards. But he had still meant others who were faster then him, cause they were built for it and had more agility, though his was not bad, and they were never way faster then him. One thing he did was put his strength into his running, pushing off the ground more with his legs, and it helped to an extent. He smiled when she said she could probably handle it. He would see, though he liked her confidence, he was a pretty good hunter, and he did not just mean in speed, he meant in his stealth, his quickness to kill. He had never had a problem finding food, and he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt just as much as part of him enjoyed killing. It was the same for them, that rush of blood, the pure excitment of it. He had to admit he felt some of it while he killed, but that was just a little bit, not as much as the other part, who lived for it. He agreed with her that they should finish their patrol, and sighed. "We will see how you do hunting, I bet you could handle it. And yeah we should. Though I doubt anything is going to be there, and if there is. " He gave her a smirkish smile, his eyes somewhat cold but a joking hint in them. "I'll enjoy the warm up of ripping a piece out of them, and if they stay around, all the better, I have not killed someone in a while." He said jokingly, but he felt how true it was, he had not killed anyone recently, and not just since being in the pack, but since a while before that. Under normal circumstance, if he was out alone, he would have meant every word, though if it were normal circumstances, this coyote would not be standing next to him. He noticed her steps were not as loud as before. Though this close to her, and maybe a few more feet away, he could still detect them, but for someone who was not praticed at hearing others, they would probably have been non the wiser until she was right on top of them. Oh yes He thought, She has great potential. He smiled to himself with the thought. And then he could not help but wonder, if his life had not depended on it, if he had lived a normal life, staying with the pack he was born in until he was old enough and ready to leave, would have ever had become as good at stealth as he was not, or at fighting? He thought he probably wouldn't have been as good, or anywhere near as good. And that thought saddened him to think tha the would have been so much diffrent if he had not lived the life he had.

1060

Itzal was a pretty good hunter. Having been hunting without a packs help since about six months, he was ok. He could not use the tatics packs used, because he was alone. So he had adapted, so he had learned to hunt by himself. He was good at it, but not anything he could honestly say would stun others. The only thing he could think of that made him any better, was he could hunt in winter, when prey was scarce, and still find something. His prey usually did not detect him, or if they did, he would throw his knife, and would hit his target about eight times out of ten. So he wondered how this coyote hunted. He himself used sneaking tatics. Tracking when he found a scent or paw prints, and making sure he was silent, moving so the wind was in his favor if he could, and then attacking without giving a warning. He enjoyed it, knowing at any second he could kill them. And sometimes, when he would chase them, which he himself did not mind at all, he loved the thrill of it. He loved trying to run faster then his prey, he loved seeing how long it could elude him. It was a challenge for him, a challenge he loved to meet. He loved to push himself, to see how much past his limits he could go. He was surprised he had not killed himself doing it yet. Not just in hunting, but in everything, he would push himself to the point it could have been enough to kill him. But he never stopped. He couldn't improve if he did not push himself and take risks. Risks were worth taking to him, since if he did pay for them, then he could not change that, and there was not much damage he could take other then physical, which he would eventually recover from, maybe with a few scars, nothing more. And if he died, then he died. That was the end of it, and of him, so there was really nothing he could do about that either. And if he succeded, then he did, he grew stronger, he had pushed himself, and he had surpassed the challenge. So taking risks wasn't a problem for him, though he did not run out and do stupid things. He did not mean risks like that, he was not stupid enough to do something that would defintly end up getting him killed. Like running onto a pack's territory without permission. That would be stupid, and rude, though he could care less about rudeness. He was only nice if he wanted to be, and if he was trespassing, which he usually wouldn't, but if he was, he probably would not care about being nice and respectful. He did not care about being respectful under normal circumstances, so why would he when he was purposely ticking people off. He smiled to himself as he thought about all this. He was so strange. But he did not care. Itzal knew that he is who he is, and doesn't care what others say or thought about him.

Itzal was hungry alright. His stomach was grumbling some, and he sighed. He would have to change to lupus, which he would not mind doing. It was a pretty fast change, taking maybe a minute or so. But he was only one year old, and he had seen some of the older ones do it faster, so he figured fast changing came with age. He looked around looking for any tracks, scenting the air to see if he could pick anything up. He could not, but he knew that when he really got to looking he would probably find something. He was good at finding it, though he would not call himself an expert tracker, or anything like that, just lucky maybe. He had always gotten something, unless he wasn't really trying. He sometimes failed at tracking cause he never really tried, but he was going to try this time, cause he was hungry, and if Valkyrie was hungry, and he did not want to mess this up and end up leaving them both hungry. So he figured he would really try this time. He yawned softly, and then looked at Valkyrie "No, I don't have any preferences. I mostly just hunt whatever I can find. And I'm usually alone, so whatever you want to hunt is up to you. And put up with me if I'm a tiny bit short and not that good at coordinaitng with you, like I said, I am use to hunting alone and with my own habits." He spoke without emtion again, he was not a very forth coming person with his emotions, and Valkyrie probably did not care about them anyways. So why should he burden her with words of emotion or feelings. It was just he way he was sometimes. He wondered what Valkyrie's preferences were. If she had any, which she might since she had asked him if he did. He would honestly hunt just about anything he could on his own. He was happy as the end of this section of the border came into view. They could get ready to go hunting now, but first he had to shift. He figured he might as well do that now and stopped walking. He stretched out first then shifted. Feeling his body compact and become smaller, as his legs and muscles shorted and become thinner, not as muscled, his head shifting back to its regular shape. His tail shortened and he finished up changing. It had taken about a minute or two. He shook himself, and then stretched out again. He always felt weird after shifting. But he just looked around and shook his head again. He wondered where to go to hunt. "You ready? We are done patrolling. And we should be able to find something somewhere around here." Itzal wondered if he could catch something for himself and she catch something for herslf, but he figured he might as well try and work on hunting with others, since he was part of a pack now, and sooner or later would have to hunt with them. So he just looked around again and then looked at her to see what she wanted to do.