shake it off

I'm sorry if this post is horrible. It's really early, but I wanted to get something up. For @Kieran! :) I'm also assuming she doesn't know about Bazi's rank change yet.

Kaskara wanted to explore, to find out information not only about their allies Tuwawi and Njal, but their enemy Shadow and his pack. She didn't want to go alone, however, and she knew next to nothing about where Shadow and his gang were living. She needed to speak to Bazi and soon, but their paths never seemed to meet anymore. Whenever she went looking for her, the white dove was nowhere to be found.

If Kaskara was the type to worry, she would be worrying about Bazi right now. But Kas wasn't that kind of wolf. It wasn't that she was callous or indifferent toward the girl (far from it, actually), but she felt Bazi could take care of herself, and if she needed help with something, she would be there to lend her alpha a shoulder or paw. Kaskara was walking along the creek this morning, enjoying the cool air, thinking about what to do. Maybe she'd go find her brother and ask him what he thought.

Kieran trotted along the borders his large mahogany body moving with the grace and nobility bred within it's recesses. He didn't really realize it, had never realized. He was just Kieran O'Malley, the second son of a King and Queen. He had loved being the second son, had hated the thought of the responsibility his brother had. He knew long ago that he would have not done well as a leader. He was more a warrior and vagabond, preferring to be in the fray and not worried about if he died what would happen to his pack. No that was solely his brother's right, but now there were none. All of them gone, lost to Kieran's most hateful enemy, as was Kiva. He shuddered softly and continued on, his green eyes dark with sadness. Fall was on of her favorite seasons, she loved all the colors, perhaps that was what his problem was of late.

He found that as he moved along, he was itching to go out and do something. If he stayed here among this pack doing nothing, he very well may lose his mind. He needed a task, a journey something to tear up the nervous energy that threatened to overtake his grief stricken soul. Something that he could strive for, something he could do to take his mind off of Kiva, and his family.

As he jogged he happened to notice another wolf from the pack and he chuffed quietly. He didn't like to speak too much anymore, well actually never had. However, it was worse now. No one here spoke his home language, and most did not understand him anyway when he did speak in their common tongue.

I apologize for the wait.

Kaskara was just about to turn her path to find Scimitar when wolf's chuff greeted her ears and she turned to see a slightly familiar brown wolf coming toward her. Kas smiled softly and returned the greeting with a soft bark, before turning toward him instead of away. She closed the gap between them with a few long strides but didn't get too close. While he was familiar, she didn't know him well.

"Good morning," she said, watching him. He was a large male, so she was smaller than him, but only by a little. "You're Kieran, right?" Kaskara had heard of the scarred brown wolf from her brother and Bazi, and had seen him a few times, but had never spoken to him formally. Today seemed to be the day they were going to break the ice. "I'm Kaskara Gladius. It's nice to finally meet you."

Kieran stopped moving mid run, his entire body coming to a stop and he simply waited for her to come near. If he wasn't mistaken she was the sister of Scimitar, but he could be wrong. He wasn't very sure, after all he didn't talk to many others really. He was a quiet wolf by nature, and in his grief had become even more introverted. He wasn't even sure if he could figure out how to live again.

She was not a tiny wolf, but she was not bigger than him. If he had to put a name to it he would call her sturdy, yes she was sturdy. "Top o' ye mornin' ter ya lassy." He returned her greeting, turning deep green eyes to her, but quickly averting his gaze. He did not want to be considered rude, especially if she was the sister of him. Besides that, he wasn't entirely sure of the hierarchy yet. "Aye oi'm kieran o'malley. may oi ask yisser name?" He realized with her next words he didn't have to ask her her name. He gave her a small smile, and he dipped his muzzle. The eyes were devoid of a twinkle, but they had twinkled once upon a time. "Well met kaskara gladius. so'tiz nice ter finally meet yer too"

It took her a moment to get used to his accent, but eventually she could decipher his words. "Good morning," she replied happily, glad that Kieran was at least amenable to her presence. He then confirmed that he was Kieran O'Malley, which was good to know because she hadn't known his family name before. Then he asked her name right before she gave it, and she felt a little embarrassed for speaking over him like that.

But he didn't seem to mind. He smiled and nodded, though she noticed a distinct lack of twinkle in his dark green eyes. It wasn't that he was outwardly depressed, but Kaskara detected a hesitance to open up to the world, perhaps because of his past. Kaskara understood that pain, but had been trained to hide it from others. Perhaps Kieran didn't know he was showing it, though to most wolves it wouldn't be obvious. "It's nice to meet you too, Kieran. I'm happy to finally put a face to a name formally."

Kieran did not mind that she spoke over him, that sometimes happened. It actually happened often for him, because often no one knew what he was saying, his accent so thick. He supposed he had some strange words for normal common words that most spoke, but he was an Irishman and he cherished that. He had no plans to change his words or his brogue. He would just deal with misunderstandings as time went.

He chuckled and scoffed at her in jest. "Waaat dis ganky bake 'ere? so'tiz not much ter mind. most mind de auld scar more often than not." He shrugged and gave her a small winning smile. "Waaat brings yer oyt so early me lady?"

Kieran's accent was thick and hard to understand, but at least Kas could discern that he was talking about his scar. She smiled a little awkwardly, not knowing how to reply, but spoke softly after a moment. "It's not that noticeable, your scar," she remarked. "It's healed nicely." Kaskara had her own smattering of scars across her front legs and chest, but they were not nearly so noticeable as Kieran's. They were small and thin, healed and covered by her fur, so they were nearly invisible now.

His next question was something she could understand. What was she doing out so early? With a shrug, she answered, "I was just out trying to clear my head. I'm hoping to make a trip to Duskfire Glacier, Tuwawi and Njal's pack, soon. I'm just not sure when I should go, or if I should take anyone with me." Kaskara paused long enough to give him time to speak if he wanted, and continued. "I was thinking about finding Bazi or Scimitar to ask their opinion."

He knew very well that his scar was noticeable extremely so, but he wasn't about to argue with her about something so trivial. Besides that he appreciated that she was being nice about it. He could make light of it now for the most part, at least where his looks were concerned. How he got it, he could never make light of that. "Tanks Kaskara."

He listened and briefly wondered why such a nice girl would need to clear her head. What could trouble her mind? He supposed they all had their demons, some were just more noticeable than others. "Mornings are best for clearin' yisser mind oi 'av foun'. as for makin' a trip, oi wud chucker it before snow falls an' yer shud alwus travel wi' someone."

Kaskara was getting better at understanding him, though she was far from perfect at it. She smiled just the same and replied, "I appreciate your advice, Kieran. I definitely plan to leave before it snows. I just wanted to see what the leaders preferred before I made any decisions." Little did she know that Bazi would soon trek northward as well, leaving Kas to look for Scimitar alone, and ask of his advice. For now, however, Kas was content to talk to Kieran and look for her leaders later this afternoon.

"What brought you to Swiftcurrent Creek?" she asked softly, seating herself across from him. She didn't mean to pry, and certainly didn't want to bring up any bad memories, but she was curious what had drawn him into this pack versus the others in the wilds. There were quite a few to choose from, and she was certain that Kieran's reasons for joining the creek were different than her own.

It was certainly admirable of her to wait and get all the permission from all the leaders. It was also a good thing to wait, get all the plans in place, but not to wait too long. Kieran would simply keep an ear open for a plan, he would like to go on this trip with her and whomever else she chose. Make himself useful in some way.

"Grief 'as broot me 'ere lady, grief." He shifted his weight, but didn't elaborate. He did not wish to talk of how they had been deceived, how the sworn enemy of him had taken his precious kiva. Had taken her and watched her die as she gave birth to his bastard children. Did not wish to speak of how they used his sister before she died, but she fought the whole way and took pieces of them all with her. How they left him with nothing more than a scar, and a broken heart alone and hurt, how he had been nursed back to health by an old man who never spoke until he left.

Fading this with a short post.

Kaskara wasn't too sure what he meant by grief, but if it was anything like she had experienced in her short life, she knew Kieran didn't want to talk about it. She changed the conversation to be more fitting for their first formal meeting, and they spent about a quarter of an hour talking about trivial things. She was glad to have met him, and she would definitely invite him on her scouting trip. Along with Falwasi, they would make a formidable traveling group. Kas said goodbye and went to find lunch then to take a nap.