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interstellar - Lucy - December 09, 2016
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After her encounter with Cypress, the shadow child knew that she could not return to Neverwinter Forest. Fear and grief had gripped her so tightly that she could scarcely breathe as she had carried herself away from the forested wilds and into foreign terrain. Scimitar and Eshe were dead. As foolish as it was, she could only feel as though it were her fault. Had she not willed Rannoch from his home and taken him into the glen, he never would have been taken… and his parents would not have sought to find him so urgently. She had destroyed another home. She had taken more than she could ever return to the world, and it stung her. All that she could do was to run – and run she did.
It took some time for her to travel as far as she did, and when she found herself upon the scent of wolves, she moved with trepidation and fear. Casting her blue eyes along the terrain that sat before her, Lucy felt a twisting of her heart. The ache of hunger that had settled in her gut was finding itself difficult to withstand. Though she was gripped by her own anxiety, she knew that she would need a home.
A forlorn cry escaped her mouth as she craned her head back. Her eyes danced along the edges of the billowing grey clouds that gathered overhead. There were many days she wished she could live in the heavens, for she knew that she would not starve in the skies above. The dark child’s limbs shivered violently as she waited to see if her request would be met by any approaching wolves. Worrisome blue eyes searched the land for any signs of an approaching figure.
RE: interstellar - Indra - December 09, 2016
like lucy, indra had her own storm to contend with: she had taken to walking alone at night to assay the terrors that fell upon her. without laurel, indra was sick with isolation. she felt so alone that not even her packmates could offer enough distraction from the gnawing misery in her mind.
she walked mindlessly, the way a displaced ghoul might - one paw in front of the other. crisp outlines of her passing pressed deep into the powder snow. she would have walked this way until she succumbed to fatigue were it not for a cry that shook her from her subdued trance. indra stopped sharply and craned her neck, her breath billowing like fog into the cold night air.
it took her a while to find the creature that uttered it, and when she did for a moment indra wished she had not witnessed it. it was a wolf, clearly -- but so wracked by some dark aura that indra was scarcely brave enough to behold her. indra was struck immediately with the imagination that this was what a dead girl must look like -- for a moment she wanted to rush to comfort her, but a fear for her own well-being stayed her hand. she stared at the girl instead, unsure what to do.
RE: interstellar - Lucy - December 10, 2016
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Time stretched on while the ghoul waited for someone – anyone to approach.
When, at last, she caught sight of a figure, her body quivered. In her delirious state, the inky youth did not quite realize that Indra was only a few months older than herself. Fixing her sight on the other wolf, she swayed where she stood before dipping her head low and tucking her tail tightly to her rear. Try as she might, being alone for those days of travel were enough to have eaten away at her. Gaunt and ragged, the shadow glanced upward with pleading eyes and stumbled forward only a few inches.
Parting her mouth to speak was more difficult than she had anticipated it to be. Her leathery lips cracked from thirst. Instead of the sentence that she had hoped to form, all that could be heard was a weary and cracked “I… plea…” before she shuddered again and snapped her mouth shut. Fearfully, she tried to lower herself closer to the earth.
RE: interstellar - Zephyr Maverick - December 10, 2016
It was not the cry that brought him from the unit, but the wanderings of Saena's daughter, Indra: Zephyr wasn't sure just how old she was, but assumed that her wanderings were borne of the growing cubs curiosity.
When the cry split the wind, Zephyr's paws rushed forward to again find the girl -- he'd been trailing after her half-assedly, also keeping an eye out for a meal, and she'd been out of sight for a while now -- before something bad happened. It didn't occur to him that it might've have been Indra's cry -- there was only one girl around here, right?
Wrong.
Zephyr trotted into view of Indra after she'd found the source, and the ebony brute's apple eyes sccanned her protectively first. Confusion furrowed his brow, but he followed her gaze to another young female: a form as dark as his own was there, submissvely holding herself as if she'd done wrong herself. Reguardless of her situation, Zephyr's face softened and he turned to better face her, cooing softly to calm her nerves.
"Hello, little one. I'm Zephyr.... You are safe here. Where are your parents? I can take you back to them if you're lost?"
RE: interstellar - Saēna - December 10, 2016
Saena's ears twitched as a cry split the heavens, and her brow furrowed into a displeased frown. It was no secret that she found that sort of thing arrogant, and she hoisted herself to her feet with half a mind to put the perp in their place. Packs howled to announce their claim. When a loner did it on Duskvale soil, they were directly threatening that claim, and it was something the first bitch had no patience for.
But there was more to the story, she found as she drew close. A small black figure stood out starkly against the messy snow of the vale, and both Indra and Zephyr were in attendance. On a normal day she would have been pleased to see the subordinates handling the situation, but her face was marred with an ugly scowl instead that only grew as she closed on them. She prowled between Zephyr and Indra, drawing herself dominantly up, and when the dark-haired fourth sought to comfort the girl, a riled first female aimed a warning snap in his direction.
"No."
Saena had been in this position before. In Phoenix Maplewood, she had given home to nearly any creature that asked for it and had the good sense not to cross her borders. In so doing, she'd been forced to take in three young pups whose mother was killed not long after, and two of the three had been nothing but useless lumps that took and gave nothing in return for their entire stay. Reek had once brought home coyote pups, and overridden Saena's desire to be rid of them. The situation had been very much the same with them. Suffice it to say, Saena had zero interest in other wolves' kids when she could breed and have her own and raise them to be useful, where orphaned kids were usually poisoned with the lazy genes of their good-for-nothing parents, and she was apt to turn them away simply because they were no use to her.
The starveling Lucy was no different. She was neither related to Saena nor a picture of good health. There was nothing compelling about the five month old that made Saena want to take a chance on her, let alone waste resources and time on her, so she didn't. She bore down on the cub with a ferocious authority, lips and ears and hackles quivering, and commanded, "you'd best be going."
Please allow @Warbone to post next — it's really important that he gets in on this one! :D
RE: interstellar - Warbone - December 10, 2016
Warbone, who consistently made poor decisions in regards to foraging relationships, thought that the easiest way into Indra's good graces, would be through her stomach. Small game was no easy feat for him, but he'd managed to round up a hare in a snowdrift, and was eager to bring it to Saena's burnished child— the only wolf he had ever offered his own catches to. Even the first bitch herself did not get the same luxury; an eventuality that would be reserved until she was carrying new life for Duskvale within her.
The rabbit dangled proudly from the cyclops' mouth, following a recent trail of Indra, before it began to mingle with the scents of Zephyr and Saena respectively. His pace quickened when he heard the cry, mistaking it for the vale's youngest member before he converged in on a scene he wasn't quite expecting: the first female oppressing an unfamiliar girl.
Warbone surged forward with noise meant to cow his subordinates, but only implore his companion. The child she meant to send away would surely die without their assistance, but it wasn't out of sentimentality that he sought to stave Saena's paw. "She can be Duskvale," he said softly after dropping his catch, standing near Saena's hip and giving her an affectionate nibble there. He remembered their recent frolic (although the writer has yet to respond to such a thread xD), and wasn't keen on dismantling the fragile beams of a relationship that had finally begun rising from the foundation they had already made together.
"A little bit of conditioning," he murmured, passing his eye over the spidery girl; "and she could be more faithful to us than any of them." Steered in the right direction, she would know to owe them her life; and such an emotion fostered in a child, was far stronger than it could ever be upon the mind of an adult already settled mostly in its ways. All wolves were made loyal, but children had a certain level of dependency that he sought now to exploit. There would always be other days to dispatch her, should she prove to be unable to conform.
RE: interstellar - Lucy - December 16, 2016
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Her cosmic gaze danced along the figure of the other girl like a flickering blue fire, but it was easy to see that the embers were fading and so was she. Almost at once, other figures began to appear. The first was a large inky male with dabs of white that adorned his large frame. This triggered something inside of her and she reeled back to the night that the shadow had stolen Rannoch and fled into the wood. Her eyes were ripped away from Indra and focused on Zephyr with manic fear. His words were meant to be comforting – to save her from the wickedness of the wilds – but all she could hear were the words that rang to traumatic memory… ’take you’. Her inky pelt came alive and she quickly cowered from him, pinning her ears to her skull and quivering. It was as if his words were ice to her flesh and she could do nothing to escape them.
And then another; a female who was pale as a ghost, save for the fiery markings of ginger that adorned her face and ears. Lucy would have been relieved if it had not been for the quick dismissal that she had shown to the dark male. She watched with wide eyes as Saena snapped dominantly toward the brute. All at once, she felt as though she had made a terrible mistake. Glancing pleadingly toward the first – Indra – she begged silently for the other girl to say something to save her from a terrible end. Before she could utter a word, the aggressive female made it known that the shadow was not welcome there. She bore down over Lucy with a savage ferocity and her fangs glistened in the fading light. The girl did everything she could to make herself appear smaller. The wild woman instructed her to leave and she felt her heart both sink and skip. She would die if she left…
“She can be Duskvale.”
A pause as the small child turned her crown toward the final figure and openly gawked. Her mouth dropped slightly and she breathed in deep, feeling the chill of the air bring a shiver to her ragged little frame. Can I, though? she thought to herself with fading determination. The woman had made it clear that she was not welcome there. It was evident by her tone and her posture that she did not wish for a sad little shadow to join her ranks. But truly, what could Lucy offer them that they did not already possess? The more she thought about this, the more she found herself falling more and more into dismay. She had not been taught by any but the boys that had taken her in… and oh, she missed them with all of her heart. When the brute of a man spoke again, he made reference to her being raised and turned into a dedicated master of their art. The thought of being conditioned was frightening, but promising to a starved and frightened child. She knew that she needed to speak or she would be swallowed in the sea of wolves that seemed to appear from the darkness.
“I will - I will work harder than any you have seen…” she vowed in a voice that she commanded to remain steady. Still low to the earth, she cast her gaze between the male and female before her, too fearful to look at the young girl who stood not too far away.
RE: interstellar - Saēna - December 16, 2016
Skipping the subordinate wolves to keep this moving. Hop back in whenever you can!
Lucy shrunk down to the the tiniest size she could manage. It appeased Saena by virtue of instinctive reaction, but it did little to change her mind. The head bitch was simply not a generous sort of wolf anymore. Sparing resources for someone who was more likely to wander off, given that was the case with every child she'd ever taken in, appealed to her about as much as eating shit did. And eating shit did not appeal.
Thankfully for the stray child, Warbone swept onto the scene with compelling words. Much as the man might believe that, Saena turned flashing fangs upon him in an expression of displeasure. Reek had had a similar argument, and yet the coyote pups had amounted to nothing but a lot of trouble. Granted, she'd spent no time whatsoever on them and left them solely in his care, and with his own questionable reliability, perhaps it was no wonder they'd turned out so sour. "I am not here to mother orphaned children that aren't likely to return the favour, Warbone," she sharply pointed out. She almost added a vitriolic comment about how Lucy's parents must be stupid to have let her wander off, and how likely it was that their vagabond child had inherited that stupidity, but she clapped her jaws shut when she realized she was no better.
After all, she'd lost her children, but hardly thought of herself as an idiot.
Besides, Warbone was the true leader here. Saena held command over all the wolves of the vale... except for him. He could bend to her will if he chose to, but he was also powerful enough to defy her will. Whether she wanted it or not, he would make the final decision. So with a resigned growl, she stalked away from the fallen shadow, but her face contorted wickedly when the child spoke out her promise, and she bared her teeth at Lucy in a mistrustful growl as she replied, "you will." It was an order, and a threat. She was not going to be another pup to use Saena like Scarlett's useless brood had. Even Desna, who'd held such promise, had proven to be wayward, unfaithful, ungrateful, and ultimately, worthless to her.
Lucy would be faithful, or Saena would take her payment in blood, as she should have the first time.
RE: interstellar - Indra - December 17, 2016
sorry about that! please skip me next round, i will hop in when i can -- and feel free to PP indra in any way
indra felt some hidden hand repel her from getting too close; when the small thing lurched towards her indra sprung back mistrustfully. a small part of her was still compassionate, still caring -- but mostly, she was just scared.
she was relieved when zephyr approached - she swung towards him, siding behind him. he was an adult, he would know what to do. whatever he planned to do, it was interrupted by saena's abrupt arrival. with deference indra crawled towards her mother and stood besides her. she crouched as warbone approached, her dark gaze traveling between the three adults as they discussed lucy's fate.
indra did not feel compelled to speak, and so remained silent as the girl's acceptance was discussed. while her reservations were different than saena's, indra would always support her decision. as saena stalked away indra followed dutifully, casting the girl one last solemn glance before slipping after saena's heels.
RE: interstellar - Warbone - December 19, 2016
Warbone, as pretentious as he tended to be, felt nothing but curiosity and bemusement towards his companion's verbal vehemence against children. His ears remained forward, no uncertainty or edge to his expression that might otherwise suggested he thought similarly to her. He simply figured that she had been burned in some way by adopted children, which was easy enough to guess, and he did not fault her for her opinion— he could only seek to influence it, as gently as his natural demeanor would allow.
He had his prejudices too, after all, for if he ever encountered another one of his siblings, it would be a cold day in hell before he allowed them to remain in his pack. Sivra had made sure to ruin that for all wolves hailing from Tall Timbers.
Still, he had less of a desire to fight with Saena than he did to keep the girl, and in a heartbeat he would have killed the child if he thought it might break their still tenuous bond... but the pied queen seemed to scathingly relent before a debate could be had. He realized that she was almost as unwilling to defy him as he was unto her, and she chose to say nothing else about her aversion towards wayward children. Warbone, despite his partiality towards pups, decided then and there that this would be the only time he'd let Saena acquiesce to him on this matter. If another child came 'round, looking for solace, they would find none if she did not agree with it.
This tiny shadow, as lucky. And her timidly spirited words helped solidify his decision to take her under his wing.
He padded forward stiffly, seeking no permission as he buried his muzzle into Lucy's ruff and inhaled deeply. His tongue peered from behind the steel trap of his teeth, and he lathered the back of her neck in rough affection. "You will," he reinforced Saena's words in a gruff and forceful murmur, not needing to imply that she would lose her life should she betray them or prove unworthy. But he was not worried about this, and it showed in the way his body relaxed completely thereafter, and he motioned for the slim blackbird to take up the space at his side.
"Do you have a name, or would you prefer I claim you with my own?" Being the anomaly to this pack that she was, he decided to at least give her a choice; she could still be who she was, and grow from there, or she could be reborn entirely. A child of the vale.
RE: interstellar - Zephyr Maverick - December 19, 2016
Zephyr absolutely reveled in the way that Indra took shield behind him, thrilled to be needed even against another pup so fiercely-- but before the ebony brute could comment on the odd fear Lucy seemed to have of him, the First bitch was reeling forward with flashing fangs and harsh words. Ears fanning back and tail falling in deference, the Maverick listened with a furrowed brow of confusion and concern: was Saena really about to turn away a little girl? That was a death sentence.
But he would not disrepect her, lest he lose his throat to the First beast that now lumbered up to his partner. In Warbone's presence, Zephyr bent lower in a sort of bow before he settled in a sit behind them -- he wouldn't step in, speak out, but he could be here just to know what was going on, just in case he was needed.