Oh You Know Her

@Gaiban

It had been a couple days since she and Runt had talked about all things they were planning for the spine. She had already place a rotting coyote head inside their borders and marked over their border. Now was time for something that would benefit her immediately. After checking to see if the coast was clear, she flitted over the border, her ears and eyes alert for signs of prey and predator.

After a little bit of walking, she found one of the Spine's many caches for the winter. Having been a member, she already had a pretty good map of the territory in her head, so remembering a cache close to the eastern border was no hard task. She knew that after she had left her scent along the northern border that they would probably heighten patrols on that side, so it was best to come from a different angle.

Her paws scrapped the snow quickly and efficiently away from the cache and she quickly discovered two fairly new snow hares buried there. Satisfied, she picked both the limp bodies up in her jaws and refilled the cache with snow. When she was done refilling it, she trotted off happily towards the border.

Oh boy. Here we go!

Gaiban was sleeping in his den, when he saw something glinting in his eye. That something was very interesting to him. He hopped out, and trotted after it. A trot turned into a hop. A hop turned into a sprint. Gaiban was so close to where the glint was, when he fell into the snow. He picked himself up, to continue, when he saw someone running away. Gaiban was nervous. He smelled dead prey on her lips. This She-wolf was probably a good hunter. Gaiban's Impulsiveness took over.

"Hey! Hey wait!"Gaiban shouted after the hunter."I don't think you are supposed to be here. Uhm - ah- sorry? but, this isn't authorized.." Gaiban hopped along toward the she-wolf. Not knowing what potential danger he could be in.

Mara stopped immediately when she heard a stuttering voice call her out. She set the two stolen rabbits down at her paws and turned to face the newcomer, a young white-furred male she had not met before. It seemed like the Spine was gaining followers quicker then she thought.

She blinked her big grey eyes at him, pulling off the look of innocence quite easily. He was cute, in an awkward teddy bear sort of way and Mara found herself wishing that he wasn't in her rival's pack.

"Oh! I am so sorry! I guess I was just too busy concentrating to notice the border." she lied smoothly, lowering her head and looking at up him with big doe eyes.

Big awkward Teddy bear. X3

Gaiban wasn't taught what to do in case of this, so he decided to be smart. He stuttered.
"So.. What's your name?" Gaiban got a good look at the She-wolf. She had greyish fur, littered with an almost rusty shade. And she looked..different. Gaiban felt himself get warm. "I'm-I am Gaiban." He tried to boister' some extra pride into his latter statement.

Gaiban was confused. This person was doing something on accident, right? But that was bad. But,.. He knew if he didn't do something to make her go away, his new group of friends would be disappointed in him. After pondering on it for a while, he decided on his plan of action.
"Come with me. Out here." He then proceeded to tilt his head away from the pack border. He then scratched his ear, quite unprofessionally. But he didn't realize this. Gaiban thought he was doing a fine job at keeping the peace.

He's so cute I just wanna snuggle him ^-^

He really was like an awkward teddy bear and the little look of confusion that passed over his face made him look even more adorable. Mara almost felt bad using his gullibility to her advantage. Almost. When he was able to stutter his name out, Mara gave him an embarrassed smile. This game was just too good to pass up.

She nodded and carefully picked up 'her' rabbits before following him out of the Spine territory and onto neutral ground. The thought of how Cara would feel when she found out the red trickster had slipped through her grasp yet again made her smile just a tiny bit more. Then an idea popped into her scheming mind. Oh, this would be fun indeed.

Having been in the Spine herself, she had heard the story about Jinx and Ptarmigan and how Cara ultimately looked up to Jinx as her mentor. Mara wondered how she would feel when this stuttering little wolf said he had met a tiny red wolf who went by that exact name.

"Nice to meet you, Gaiban, I'm Jinx." she said quietly, looking up at him with big hopeful eyes.

Sorry for the typo, it's difficult to write with the fancy fade..

Oh! Alright! I like that name. It's.. Unique!

Gaiban said. He thought this girl was okay! She checked out on the Gaiban exam. He then cut to the chase. style="color:#00403a;">ou. Are part of the Pine'?

Gaiban blinked when he said the word spine wrong. He had heard certain stuff about people like the person- He heard that people like this person was wise. And he also heard wise people tell good stories.

"Will you tell me a story? Or, are you wise? Cause, I am young and need guidance."

Gaiban mimicked Kaname slightly at the end of his statement. He knew little about what he was meaning, the words just slipped out.

"If you tell me a wise man's story each week, I'll pay you.. In food?"

Gaiban then ploppled himself down, expecting a great story with morals, and stuff. Little did Gaiban know he was almost sure to get filled with lies. Little did he know just being in contact with this Wolf was poison.

couldn't help myself
cara ain't having this

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]Being the prime Warden in the Spine and perhaps one of the most possesive wolves that resided in the pack it was almost innevitable for the exiled female, Mara, not to fall under Cara's radar. She was stupid to think she would not be noticed, and even more foolish to believe that any of her wolves would hesitate to perform her requests.
At least the ones who had heard of such.

With her nose trailing over the silken path of snow that made up one of her borders, the Queen advanced over her realms, her route being periodically interrupted for her to lean down to strenghten her markers it was in one of those brief stops that the repugnant scent of the female whose face she had dragged across the floor in a recent encounter wafted into her nostrils. Inmediately, with her tail raising erect over her back and her pale eyes filling with ire she broke into a furious gallop; her nose acting as a compass that would soon lead her to her treasure: Mara's head.

Finally she reached her target, but as she was preparing to barrel over the bitch and grasp her throat between her jaws she noticed the white silhouette of the youngling Kaname had recently accepted into the pack hovering near her. The thought that one of her own could've been betraying her trust caused a schreeching snarl to rip from the depths of her chest. Either the female was planting bad seeds into her ranks, or her wolves, out of ignorance, were unwittingly allowing her dire lies to get into their head.
Either way, Cara would not have any of it.

"Gaiban, get away from her. Now." she commanded, her words cold but never cruel. Though she had not exhanged more than perhaps her name with the young member she had never been reluctant to accept him, and in the end she hoped that would weight more than whatever poisonous lies Mara spoke into his ear.

"And you, Mara, get off my fucking lands or I swear your head will be mine today" she hissed, flaring her nostrils furiously as she broke the distance to place herself between the youngling and her future trophy. While she had not gotten in time to hear the bitch's claims to be Jinx, (because if she had god dammint Mara wouldn't be breathing) she still, unknowingly, crumbled the female's lie before the young Kappa's very eyes.

"Scram piece of scum" she warned, snapping her teeth with a loud click! before allowing another roaring growl to escape from her lips.
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Haha its fine, and very pretty
and now that Cara's here things are about to get even more interesting xP
And technically, they moved off spine territory, but that sounded bitchy so just ignore me :3

She gave him an odd look as he asked her some interesting questions before flopping down on his behind and looking up at her expectantly. She wondered how old he was compared to Runt because even though his size suggested otherwise, he was obviously very young. And sheltered. While Runt had fought for her life in a slave camp, he had probably still been snuggling with his Mama. Heck, he probably didn't know the first thing about life in the spine. She actually knew that for a fact, because the first thing you needed to know about life in the spine was to look out for small russet wolf and he obviously didn't know that because he was sitting right in front of her, asking for a story.

"I may not be wise, but I can tell you a story." she offered sweetly, sitting down across from him. It wasn't exactly lying, just leaving out some miner details. "Once upon a time, there was a girl. She had a cold heart and she tended to take her pain out on others. One day this girl met another girl, who was trying to be nice to her. The mean girl snapped at second girl and said some really nasty things. The second girl said it wasn't nice of her to do that and they got in a fight. The fight ended and they parted ways, expecting to never see each other again." she explained softly to the young wolf. "A while later, the mean girl became queen and you know what she did? She threatened the nice girl and made her leave the kingdom. The second gathered up her things and left, sad she had to leave her home. But things didn't turn out too terribly for the nice girl. The people of the kingdom realized how mean the queen was and they kicked her out, not wanting such a rotten leader. Then, all the nice girl's friends went out to find her and when they did, they brought her back and made her queen. After that, the whole kingdom was a better place." she finished with a breath, looking up into Gaiban's eyes to see what he thought.

She had only just finished her story when the evil queen herself launched into their nice little conversation. Hopefully Gaiban would be kind enough for this to work. Mara, a.k.a. Jinx, let out a startled yelp and backed into Gaiban's fluffy embrace, as if hoping he would protect her.

"Oh my! I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't mean to cross your borders." she squeaked pitifully, her eyes wide and frightened. "You believe me, don't you Gaiban? she asked in a frightened voice as she looked up at him with wide eyes.

Shit just got real. :E

"Wait!"Gaiban cried. He had never, ever thought of betraying authority. He rolled back, from the shock.The, Gaiban rolled himself up, and ran in between the two. "Why are you being mean like this?" She is just a wise person, who is-uh-.." Gaiban stopped, an anxiety far greater than anything before fell over him. He didn't know either of these people, really. He didn't know either of these people really even cared about him At least this one (Mara) was nice to him. The other just bossed him around. How did she even know him?

Gaiban took a small step toward Mara. She didn't see why she was so bad. Another step. Why was Cara being so brash? A final step. "Why should I even listen to either of you!" Gaiban was looking at Cara when he said it, but he was really talking to both of them.

"Who made you incharge anyway!?!" The words clanged on the floor like fresh ice.

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]There was no wordly power to stop the femle's ire from spilling from her mouth now. In a sudden flashback that transported her to their first meeting, Cara's eyes ignited with hatred. The thought that it could have all been avoided if Mara had stuck to her tier was unbelivable to the young Queen, who sdespite having her own criminal record of defiance towards authority had never been as brainless as Mara, who despite claiming to be a respectful of those who retaliated her respect had been the one to throw the first stone.
And now, unlike their other two confrontations she did not hide behind insults but on mock innocence.

A loud snort bloomed from the incredulous Queen.
She was truly the epitome of absurtdity wasn't she?
"She's the enemy" she barked, her head whirling towards the youth with a stern look on her face and her lips contorted into a disapproving grimace. "You know these borders very well, I scrubbed your face against them" she retorted, as she swung her attention back to Mara. Though the Kappa's words were not appreciated, and would be later dealt with, she was more concerned with what the air-headed bitch was doing here. Surely she wouldn't have come for round two of her beating, had she?

In the midst of the growl and mock whimpers, it had been Gaiban who had been caught in the sticky web between them. He chimed in with comments that despite being understandable if one were to be placed in his shoes, to Cara sounded to nothing but verbal attacks. With gestures alone, she expressed her great disapproval at his words, and with a lash of her tail and a low warning growl she sought to remind him who had opened the doors for him.
As it could be evidenced, Cara was a grudgeful creature that, be warned, was better to have as an ally than as a foe.

Mara's repulsive face scar stood as proof.
"Get the fuck out or get fucking killed" she insisted, moving like a prowling tiger towards the fugly bitch. While she had wanted the pleasure of ending Mara by herself, she already had a list of names she could call on given the youth made the wrong decision.
@Sitri , @Kaname and @Lotan from the top of her head. [/size]

Hold up, what just happened? What about the posting order?

She looked up at Gaiban with worry in her eyes as well as and obvious apology. "I'm sorry Gaiban, I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that, I was just scared." she whimpered, turning her eyes back to Cara who's face was a mask of pure hate. In order for this to work, Mara had to push all thoughts of dislike for Cara out of her head so she wouldn't blurt something out unwillingly. Instead she imagined that the advancing wolf was just one she had seen around before, that she really did have no idea what she was talking about. Her eyes widened in terror at the queens threat and she stumbled backwards, even further away from the border then she and Gaiban had already been. Her body shook with fear and she could smell it coming off of her in waves.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I swear I didn't mean to trespass! As soon as Gaiban told me, I felt terrible." she squeaked out, her voice trembling with terror. If it did come to it, she would run, but she hoped Gaiban would be okay. She had taken an honest liking to him and allowing him to face the wrath of a pissed Cara alone seemed wrong, but she couldn't really justify risking her life for the wellbeing of a stranger she just met.

Wait, stop the music. Mara & Gaiban aren't in spine territory. Oh well.

Gaiban looked up at Cara. Then, it suddenly all made sense. Cara was the evil queen. Mara was the nice girl. he knew there was something he wasn't getting. He didn't realized the potential danger he was in. He suddenly drew away from the Rusty wolf, and looked straight into the eyes of the alpha. He then proeeded to tell Mara's story.

"So..Can-an-Can..you tell me a story?" Gaiban was heartbroken. If he desired anything more in the world, it was someone to be motherly to him. He realized he was going to learn the true nature of the She-wolf he had come to know as a wise woman who loved all people. For the five minuetes he knew Jinx, he was devastated to know it was all a lie. Gaiban looked at Cara, tears streaming from his eyes. Time slowed down. What either of them could say in reply could change him forever.

mara is still too close for comfort :V

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]To Cara, there was no excuse or justification that would logically explain the female's intrusion other than the desire to create havoc. And while there was, according to Cara, about a thousand reasons for the youngling's loyalty and membership with the pack to be put in question, there was something that did not let the Queen put him into exile right then and there.
It was an instinct, one that despite not having yet reasons to develop, was latent beneath her skin.
An instinct to protect him from the damage the lying traitor was capable of.
She had threatened to kill her young, and as a member of the Spine, and a youth himself Gaiban was by extension, hers.

Not as an object, but rather as a member of her family; the Spine's family.
If it was acceptance what he had been after he had found it after the second he had pledged himself to the Spine; and while Cara couldn't be her mother and Kaname couldn't be his father, they could be (and this is a fact) a million times more welcoming than the scarred bitch ever could. With Cara's own brood coming in the Spring it wouldn't have been hard for him to integrate into the tight-knit unit that had become the Spine, but if he preferred to follow the bitch into the cold.. there was nothing Cara could do.

With her lips peeled over her gums to reveal sharp pristine fangs she looked focused her attention to the pest that was Mara. Like a leech that carried infectous disease she kept up her attempt to brainwash the boy with her lies, and Cara, who could not believe a single word she said as she turned to claim she had not meant to intrude, couldn't stop listening. "Gaiban, this is your pack -- she's an intruder, and an enemy of the pack's " she barked, this time her voice carrying more tactful tone.

She struggled to keep her anger directed at the female alone, especially after he had questioned the legitimacy of her authority, with her eyes shifting back to Mara she left Gaiban to digest the information he had been given alone.
If he the choice that he should stay wasn't obvious for him, then the fact that they had had welcomed him as their own was obviously wrong.

Again her words drapped themselves in venom as her the Queen, the viper that Mordecai had described her as at the time, directed her focus back at the traitor. "Don't swear in vain Mara-- you know I don't buy your act. Have you forgotten your relation with the Spine is beyond repair?" she barked, with her teeth clattering menacingly. There was no more time for dire excuses and faux apologies.
With a last throaty growl and a final snap of her jaws the Queen lunged towards the bitch, her intentions to either drive her to the ground or drive her off the neigboring lands of the Spine clear in her eyes.

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Last post for me :)

Cara's last words hit the petite girl hard and real, genuine tears sprung from her eyes. The spine had been her family for a good couple months and now this snake had turned it against her. She had loved the spine, been trying so hard to fit in a make friends. For god sake, this whole thing was started because that stuck up idiot couldn't find it in herself to help someone of a lower rank then her. Mara couldn't help but think that it was all her fault, everything that had happened. If she hadn't been in the pack, everything would be normal right now. She would still be patrolling the spine's borders, filling caches and working towards her warden trade. But instead, she was stuck on the outside, banished from her home and marked as a traitor.

So when the salty grey drops leaked out of her silver eyes, they were pretty damn real, wetting the red fur of her cheeks and making her vision blurry. She saw the hate in Cara's eyes and was ready when she lunged, dodging backwards and out of the way. She cast one last look at Gaiban, her eyes filled with sorrow. "I truly am sorry." she whispered before turning her back and leaving them both behind. Maybe he would see her side of the story and come looking for her, but maybe not and that would be just another bad relation ship because of Cara she could add to the pile.

Shall we end it at the end of this round?

Gaiban was a bit sad to see her go, but was also very tired from the trauma. The fear was gone.
But.
He had almost betrayed the pack. Gaiban rolled into passive submission, rolling onto his back, and showing his belly. He was really scared. Gaiban didn't know if he was going to get sent into the cold or not. He whimpered now, as he wriggled. Hoping he wouldn't lose this.Hoping Cara or Kaname or what have you taught him Why Mara was bad. He knew that so something like this doesn't happen again, he needs to learn. Study from a warden even.

But that was for later. Gaiban had survived his first life test.

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]Mara knew nothing of the Spine.
And her claims of doing so, were to Cara's ears nothing but bullshit. She might've been accepted as part of the pack before (maybe wrongly so), but she was ignorant to the history that bled from the raggedy slopes of the mountains. She didn't have the tiniest idea in the tiny pea-brain of hers of what the Spine, formerly Silvertip Mountain, was like. She had not met Jinx in the flesh, and she had not battled alonsige her against the Isle wolves.
She held no ties to this pack -- not like Cara did.

The tears that sprung from the female's eyes roused no emotion in the Queen, whose sole response at her lame apology was to scoff in disgust. No matter how sorry she felt, or pretended to feel, the prospect of being forgiven was inexistent. She had thrown the first stone and gone against the pack's subordination policies first. And it were these policies (with their respecive consequences), as ridiculous as may seem to her, the ones which at the time of joining the pack she had silently pledged to adhere to.

But that was a logic that Cara had no time to explain to her at the moment -- she doubted Mara would even understand anyways.
With her lips furiously drawn over her teeth she snapped her jaws closed, her teeth barely grazing the tip of Mara's fur as she receeded from her grasp."Fuck off" she spat, her eyes focused solely on the cowarding form of the smaller female as she slithered away from the Spine.

Only when she was nothing but a dot in the horizon did Cara turn her eyes away. While she would've wanted to give chase and drive the female as far as she possibly could she had stuck rooted to the spot, her body refusing to leave the confused youngling, who had now rolled onto his back, alone yet.
They had some things to discuss.
[/size]

Dakotah informed me Post order is off, so we can skip her now.

Gaiban ceased his wriggling, when Cara looked down at him. He whimpered softly. If he was going to get sent after Mara into the cold, now would be the time. Gaiban cringed, his body and tail tucked into itself in fear. Was he going to get sent off? The words tormented him, as they echoed in his head painfully.

He waited for the growl to escape Cara's mouth, this time directed at him. Gaiban managed to cough out a measly question.
"Am I in trouble? Gaiban whimpered, tears continuing to stream from his eyes.

okie dokie

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]A silent glare was all the boy recieved for the time being. While he had voluntarily (much to Cara's delight) rolled onto his back in a sign of proper subordination, the words he had spoken were unacceptable for the prideful Spine Queen. Yet, she made no move towards or away from the boy; locked in what seemed to be an eternity Cara stood still. Her body language not hinting aggression or hostility towards the boy but not showing any trace of acceptance either.

The ball was on his court.
That was the mercy act she would gift him with. If he wanted to leave he was welcomed to do so, for Cara would not give chase, and if he wanted to stay he was also entitled to, that if, he abided himself to the female's commands. "You questioned me, your Alpha" she began, her eyes never faltering from his own, "You ate up a stranger's lie before trusting your own pack -- your own leader" she continued, hoping that the simple action of stating his mistakes out loud would help the youngling recognize them on his own.
Of course he was in trouble.
But of course he'd have the opportunity to redeem himself too, if he wished to clearly.

"Give me a reason to believe Kaname was not wrong to accept you" she barked, her voice lacking any emotion; good or bad.
She did not growl, nor did she speak in the same soft tone she saved for those she was fond of.
It would be his answer, not her own feelings, what would determine his fate now.

[/size]

wow. Roleplay has never gotten my heart pumping this hard.. XI

Gaiban didn't know what to say. He was stuck in a stalemate, almost sure to go on forever. And every second was horrible. The pain growing louder with every word His Alpha spoke. What would he say? He had nothing. And if he was exiled, he would scamper off, like some little duck lost from his momma. That's all he was, really. He had no guidance. He had no moral code. He wasn't bad, he just didn't know better. He didn't know anything.

Gaiban's eyes sprouted tears. He had done something wrong, and he didn't even know it. Gaiban felt like a bastard* He had no mother, no parental figure at all, and was probably going to die. If he was going to die, he wanted to go the quick way, with less pain. Ten words escaped the white furred-males mouth.
"If your going to banish me, kill me now instead." Gaiban didn't want to live with the horrible knowledge of knowing he had been eaten alive. He was useless.
Why had he been accepted so easily anyway? It was a paradox. He had been accepted, a stranger, when another wolf, who could've helped the pack more, had been chased off. Why?

When I say bastard*, I mean a illegitimate child

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]To Cara's dismay, the boy failed to give any significant answer or reaction to her subtle reprimands. Instead he did what to Cara, resentful little Cara, seemed like a refusal to apologize or even awknowlegde his mistakes. Her eyes narrowed into thin sliths of pale yellow as the the youngling, stood motionless, waiting for her to leave the words aside and jump into action.
An action that would terminate him.

But she didn't move.
He was not going to die today; at least not in her arms.
"I won't kill you" she stated, her eyes still fixed on him as he cowered restlessly under her gaze. "Unless you repeat what has been done today" she continued, her voice hardening sternly as she sought to make him wriggle under her scruntinizing eyes now. She could not cave in these rules into the blank slate that was his brain as if it were a piece of paper and her words were ink, but she could engrave them with something else: discipline.

Subtly, she allowed her lip to raise over her gums to reveal her teeth in a fleeting snarl that was gone almost as fast as it had arrived. Maybe he had not yet proved himself of use to the pack, maybe --until now-- he was showing the complete opposite, but maybe he could redeem himself.
Just like she had.
Maybe, unconciously, within his gangly adolescent demeanour and his misunderstood way of approaching situations the pale male kindled a vague idea of what she would have to face in the future.
Kids, teenagers, mistakes & redeemptions.

[/size]

Last post for me!

Gaiban suddenly realized something from the females body language alone. He had done something wrong, and he needed to realize it. He needed to know exactly what he had done wrong, because the parental tactic of repeating his mistakes verbally wasn't quite working.

"What-what did I do wrong? Gaiban stuttered out, refusing to seem insubordinate in any way. He needed to know. If he did it again, he wouldn't know how to live with himself.

Another thing hit Gaiban. He was useful, in the fact that he was literally a blank slate: His fate could be molded completely by the wolves around him. He could learn to drag his own weight, and become efficient at it, even. He was determined to achieve redemption.[/color]

last post to archive this

[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]

[size=small]In spite of the initial defiance with which the boy had questioned Cara's legitimate authority, he was quick to subdue after seeing that in the Spine, there was no room to fuck up. Fortunately, he had seen sense through the female's devious lies and fortunately Cara had been around to stop her before he could be completely brainwashed.
Cara was cold and unforgiving, but as an aspiring mother, and a young wolf herself she held a soft spot for the misunderstood; for Gaiban.

"You doubted me" she answer flatly, not wantiong to elaborate on an answer she had previously given. From his looks it seemed that he really was ashamed, and that he was truly seeking her forgiveness.
Again, Mara's stupidity had backfired on her.
As she had tried to drive the youngling against her own Queen, she might've had just given him a reason to get closer to her.

"And now I doubt where your heart truly lays" she barked, eyeing him one last time before stepping back. The hostlity and dissapointment not yet fading from her eyes as she backpedaled from his shivering form.

"Prove yourself to me" she barked at last.
A command and a last warning for the boy who for the time being, would be under probation.

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