the colours that i can't change

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As the morning sun peeked over the eastern mountains, Jinx had already risen, stretched, and departed her coastal home base. It was no secret that Jinx had been wandering a lot lately, though if asked about it she would merely shrug. She didn't believe there was any occasion to wander, nor any occasion to remain corralled at home. The Kesuk couldn't successfully pass her wanderlust off as pack relations journeys, for the only wolves she had encountered were those who evidently thought she was insane. Or, in the case of Hawkeye, though her insane to explain their own insanity.

No, if anything, Jinx was muddying any pack relations that might exist between Horizon Ridge and Blacktail Deer Plateau. She had yet to spend any time with her Alpha, by one's fault or another, and so any knowledge that the plateau wolves had informed him already of her misdeeds (in her eyes, acts of faith) evaded her. She had made herself at home in Horizon Ridge — as much at home as she could be, having her Alpha more or less as elusive as she herself was — and hoped for a quiet ending, that she may worship Sos until the day she died with no more excitement.

Today, Jinx chanced a trip south to Neverwinter Forest, the first place she had set foot in search of a pack upon coming to Teekon. She had largely avoided the forest, as she hadn't wanted to deal with slipping away from the pirate pack in the dead of night without so much as a warning of her intents. Jinx was good at that — slipping away without warning. But when her god called, what mortal wolf was entitled to know? What mortal wolf could claim their time was more precious than Sos'?

Today, though, she would speak with Styx and Katrina, be allowed into the borders, and collect her dried bracken ferns from her old densite. At least, that's what she'd thought, but the original marked boundaries of Neverwinter were devoid of scent. Instead, new boundaries had been drawn around a different perimeter, and the scent was different, if not a little familiar.

Undaunted by this, as Jinx believed her god and her loa would find a way to allow her to collect her invisibility spores, she threw back her head in a howl to summon any wolf capable of assisting her.

This sucks! I apologize. Crazy Christmas stuff going on so I had to rush it. :P

A deep sense of satisfaction lived warmly in her heart as she reflected back on the events of the past few days. She now had two followers. She had never before been the leader of a pack. Certainly she had been groomed and prepared for it by her mother and those of her birth pack, but the opportunity had never come to fruition. Now, in this land and in this ancient evergreen forest, she was realizing her full potential and the sense of wholeness that came from having a solid place to call home, and packmates who placed their trust and loyalty in her.

While scouting out game trails -- somewhat old, she judged, based on the faintness of scent and the thin crust of snow built up over them, but nevertheless worth checking out anyway -- she picked up the scent of a stranger nearby. Immediately, involuntarily, her hackles bristled and a soft, inaudible growl began to churn in her chest. She abandoned her trek along the aged game trails and made her way toward the source of that scent. It took a small while to get there, for she was some distance from the borders. When she arrived, she was greeted by the sight of a tall white wolf with a simmering amber gaze. Chakra remained a cautious distance from the stranger, her mane bristled and her tail held aloft, and asked briskly, "What brings you to my forest?"

OOC: It's no worry, everyone's busy this time of year!

IC: Though it was a bit of a wait, the tall Kesuk was awarded with the sight of a quintessential Alpha female, a sight that stirred respect in Jinx's heart for her fellow woman of power. Momentarily, she forgot that her pack was no longer Bon Dye, and forgot that she was not at its helm. But then again, hierarchy was relative, and if called into question it could be said that Jinx was Akhlut's second and it would not be far from the truth. They could be sisters in power, if only the Kesuk's musing was as true as she believed it to be. She could not have known Chakra was new to leading... She assumed the mantle of ruler so effortlessly as to appear born into it.

If there was any doubt of Chakra's status, it was waved away when she referred to her forest. Jinx assumed the status of lowly wolf by tucking her tail neatly between her legs, lowering her rump and hunching her shoulders to appear more compact. Her nose tipped upward to point toward Chakra's chin, and her tongue poked appeasingly from her lips even as her body wiggled into comfortable submission and her ears fell toward her head. Greetings, lady of the forest, her display said, I come here humbly and without harmful intent.

But, as always, it was rude to disobey a direct question from a Queen, and so Jinx opened her mouth to speak, spying an opportunity to represent Akhlut (though presently nothing could come of it). "My lady," she said, wearing a thin smile and drenching her voice in more courtesy than she had ever used, "I have come seeking audience with Styx and Katrina, but I can see they have been displaced. A worthy beast has replaced them." Her lips peeled back over the fronts of her teeth in a respectful wolfish grin, the typical pulling back of a submissive wolf accepting the power of another. "I am Jinx Kesuk, representing Horizon Ridge to the northeast. If I may know the name of the one who shall see Neverwinter prosper?"

Some of it was sincere, some of it was pretend, and all of it was dressed in pretty words. Jinx was ever a deceiver, albeit a very good one, and selective about using it, for truth was more easily wielded when deceit was not required... But if she could win Chakra's favour then she could win Akhlut's with her report of Neverwinter's continued peace with Horizon Ridge, and that benefited Jinx more greatly than merely gaining access to her ferns would.

Poop cigars. I'll have faster replies for you from here onward. :)

The strange she-wolf wasted no time adopting an appropriately respectful manner, and Chakra was satisfied. The mantle of Alphaship was still new to her, so it felt strange and surreal to have others submit to her so completely. Being a daughter groomed for future leadership had brought with it a certain degree of respect from others in her birth pack, but nothing like this. As the other approached her carefully and spoke with honeyed words that made it clear she'd been well taught, a feeling of pride and rightness bloomed deep within her. It was this that brought the small smile to her lips.

The white wolf introduced herself as Jinx Kesuk and stated that she sought Styx and Katrina. Chakra remembered those names; they had been the leaders of the pack that resided here before. A strange lot, they had been. Chakra herself had joined their ranks, but it had been a short-lived pack and drifted apart into nothingness fairly quickly. Their scents had long since been swept away by the wind. "I am Chakra Feralheart," she said, returning Jinx's introduction. "I ran with Styx and Katrina for a while, but they were not strong enough to keep their pack together. I do not know what became of them." She felt somewhat useless, not being able to tell Jinx where to find those she came seeking, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"Feralheart," mused Jinx when the pale Alpha introduced herself, with brows creasing questioningly. "A strong name, I take it?" It certainly sounded strong to her. Kesuk was the strongest name she had ever known, but there were other strong names in other parts of the world: Endore, Tartok, DeMonte. Few of them had ever come by her, but then, they ruled their respective pieces of the world, and rarely crossed paths. The name Feralheart implied the old way... Something that appealed greatly to Jinx, who suddenly found herself wondering if her loyalty to Horizon Ridge couldn't be more suitably placed elsewhere.

She gave no words to her thoughts. Instead, she inclined her head as if in understanding. "I ran with them as well, but never met them more than once." She approved of Chakra's judgment of them: weak, it said, though she hadn't expressly used that word. They had claimed to be raiders but adhered to a strict peace policy that had, in her opinion, contradicted their supposed lifestyle. It had been no life for the ex-Mambo.

"I originally came to collect some belongings I left here," she admitted, "but I am much more interested in you and yours. Did you take leadership from them directly? What of their followers?"

"Very," she replied simply, as Jinx inquired as to the strength of her name. In her mind, the Feralhearts were the strongest individuals she had ever met in her short life. So much blood had been spilled, so many battles won and lands conquered, so many travels undertaken and legends written. She was proud to carry the name and the legacy with her. In these southern lands, her father's name was a foreign one, unknown and unremarkable. But she had vowed to change that when she settled here. Some day, the name of her line would be spoken with awe and respect, and those of her blood acknowledged as the nobles they were.

She nodded to Jinx's comments about Styx and Katrina. The former Alpha pair had been an odd duo whose pack had been a bizarre thing that made no sense. Their ranks and duties were all given strange names she didn't understand, and their policies and ways had been contradictory and overly complicated to her. It was why she had remained mostly on the fringe of the pack. At the Kesuk female's questions, Chakra shook her head as she replied, "I did not take leadership from them directly, no. It was much less…exciting than that." She shrugged and half-smiled. The warrior in her regretted that the opportunity to win leadership for herself had never come up. That would have been fun.

"After joining their ranks, I went to seek my brother. I wasn't gone long, but when I returned, the pack had already dispersed. I do not know what became of their followers. I didn't know any of them, really. The glue that held us all together was very weak…as you know, I am sure." It struck her, at that moment, that she and Jinx had been packmates. However weak and shaky their pack had been, and despite the fact that they had never met, at one time in the recent past they had shared this place. It awakened in her a tiny, subtle sense of kinship with Jinx.

"If you recall where you left your things, you are welcome to collect them," she offered, indicating that they could talk while they walked.

<style type="text/css">q {font:13px Georgia; color:#BA6D00;}</style>Her ears hung back with poorly veiled disappointment that Chakra's position did not accompany a tale of bloody conquest—she privately believed Styx and Katrina would have better served the worms of the earth than any wolf in existence—but there was nonetheless respect shining in her eyes. The female had done the unthinkable: claimed the land left behind by a pack that had dissipated not long before her arrival. It was conquest in its own right, and respectable to the Kesuk, who believed in the philosophy of taking but never giving.

An excellent turn of events nonetheless, she toasted the Neverwinter queen, suspecting she might have the discipline to keep her own pack together. Jinx didn't think it was prudent to discuss her own reasons for leaving Neverwinter, and decided to stay with the silent implication that she had simply melted away into the night, dissatisfied with such lacklustre leadership as had been shown by the dark-furred pair who once headed it. There was no need to speak of Bon Dye and Jinx's own weak leadership there.

The opportunity to collect her ferns was gratefully seized, and she fell into step parallel to but somewhat behind the Alpha, mindful of her etiquette in lands that were not her own. Ordinarily, she might have tried something crafty here... But there was majesty in Chakra that reined Jinx in, and put a muzzle on her otherwise unpredictable self-reliance. Her gaze snagged on the ancient evergreens that towered over them as the pair prowled masterfully into the Feralheart's territory; they never ceased to amaze her, even now.

Tell me, she practically purred, pleased to be in the company of somebody who seemed to truly value what it was to be a pack wolf, what have you gathered of the other Alphas? I may speak for mine own, my lady, if it please you. She could speak for Hawkeye, too, but she dared not test any ground with Chakra, lest she find herself on the unfavourable side of the woman's ire for making comments about a pack that was not her own.

Chakra was not bothered by Jinx's avoidance of sharing her own experience with Neverwinter's previous tenants; she scarcely thought anything of it, simply assuming that, as in her own case, the pack had broken and drifted apart when Jinx wasn't looking. It was remarkable how simple it was for one's family unit to fracture under their own nose. Styx and Katrina, in her opinion, had been weak wolves, poorly fit for leadership. Perhaps too young, or just not quite ready. Chakra was by no means a veteran Alpha wolf herself, but she couldn't imagine letting things get that bad. She would rather have died than let her pack fall apart like that, with so little effort to hold it together.

Truly, her whole experience with the old Neverwinter pack was so unremarkable that the only time she ever thought of it was when someone directly brought it up, as Jinx had. It wasn't anything that bothered her, but it wasn't something she cared to spend time dwelling upon either. So when Jinx changed the subject toward more current matters, Chakra was content to follow the train of conversation.

Chakra noticed that, as they walked, the Kesuk female remained a respectfully slight distance from her own shoulder. Chakra noted and appreciated this gesture, but otherwise followed her visitor's lead, for only Jinx knew where it was she needed to go. They walked at an easy pace, and Chakra found herself idly thinking that she rather liked this she-wolf. She was quick of wit, sharp of tongue, intelligent and tactful, and she didn't ramble uselessly about things of little consequence. Ordinarily, Chakra was not so diplomatic or accommodating to strangers, but she understood that the wolf she was dealing with was not just another low-ranked lackey sticking her nose where it didn't belong. Jinx was the type who was worthy of respect.

"Frankly, I know very little of the other Alphas," she admitted in response to Jinx's query. "My only interest in them is that they keep their followers away from my forest." This was not spoken with any intent to make Jinx herself uncomfortable; rather, Chakra's own body language spoke of her enjoyment of the she-wolf's company. In general, she didn't mind the occasional visitor but beyond that, she wasn't interested in having anything to do with anybody else in the universe. The only individuals that mattered to her were the ones who resided within these evergreen borders. "Still, though, I am not so foolish as to think it wise to know nothing of those around me. The spider who never takes her eyes off her own web soon becomes food for the birds. I would be grateful for anything you would share with me of your own leaders."

<style type="text/css">q {font:13px Georgia; color:#BA6D00;}</style>Her head bobbed in agreement: an Alpha should only really care about their land, and extend their knowledge only so far as was necessary, to keep their focus on their pack. The wolf in Jinx knew this to be true, though the Mambo in Jinx had on more than one occasion disobeyed this law of nature. The Mambo in Jinx was much diminished, though... An appreciation for the ritualistic guarding of territory was grown greatly. Still, she also agreed with Chakra's comparison, and was quick to supply information, being easily persuaded with even unspoken promise of reputation.

You need not worry about Horizon Ridge wolves, my lady, she began. Our leader, Akhlut, is an adept disciplinarian. Our wolves follow his lead willingly, and for good reason: he has proven himself quite capable at maintaining his rule, and does not tolerate action that breaks wolf law. He seems to like the sun and the sea very much, but I'm not too sure what his affinity for it is. She followed too, since he hadn't yet done anything to entice Jinx to attempt a coup d'etat, not that it wasn't possible he ever would... She would not follow a weak Alpha, not ever again. My pack mates also seem like sensible wolves. I feel they have a similar respect for their territory, and treating others' with due respect, as your own.

As they walked, her eyes occasionally darted to the trees around them, until sudden familiarity tugged at her as her eyes snagged on her former densite, set in the acidic soil at the base of one of the evergreens. Here, she said quietly, picking up speed to pull ahead of Chakra and duck into the den. She was gone for only a moment before she emerged, clutching in her teeth a pair of ferns that had certainly seen better days. Since they were dead, the spores still clung to them fervently, and it was the spores that were important.

The Alpha of Blacktail Deer Plateau is... Strange, she said awkwardly around her curled and dried ferns as she fell back into step, fully expecting to be escorted back to the border now. Her name is Hawkeye, and she claimed that a voice in her head tells her things when I met with her. That was all Jinx would say about Hawkeye, not wanting to appear too pretentious as to claim an overreaching opinion of a pack she knew very little of. The voice, regardless of the Kesuk's professional opinion of its origin and meaning, was enough to make Hawkeye like Clarice, which made her potentially dangerous in Jinx's personal opinion. She couldn't know that soon Chakra would have an unsavoury opinion of Hawkeye as well; had she been that omniscient, she might have said more.

Damn, I thought I had replied to this. I win at failing. Sorry for the wait! :C

Chakra listened and learned, knowing that the information she was receiving was probably biased, but also realizing there was much to be gained from it as well. "The fact that I had not met a Ridge wolf until today speaks volumes of your Alpha's integrity and control over his members," Chakra commented after Jinx had spoken. It was not uncommon to cross paths with wolves of other packs whilst traversing through neutral lands; perhaps it was simply good luck on her part, but she had not yet met a single wolf from Horizon Ridge. This suggested that Akhlut kept a tight rein on his subordinates, and that earned him a modicum of respect in Chakra's opinion.

Jinx indicated that they had arrived at her old densite, and Chakra waited while the taller she-wolf went to retrieve her belongings. She thought it odd that a wolf should care so much for such trivial things, but she said nothing. To each his own, for all had their quirks and oddities. Jinx was only a moment, returning quickly with dried and withered ferns clutched gingerly in her teeth. As they turned and headed back in the direction from which they had come, Jinx went on to mention the Alpha of another pack. "Voices in her head," Chakra remarked, simultaneously amused and creeped out at the thought. "How odd. I hope they tell her to stay away." There was a comical edge to her voice as she said it, and she couldn't hide the half-grin that played on her face. If she had only known the irony of it all, though — the fact that, in the very near future, the very wolf of whom they spoke would pick a fight with two of her packmates on her own lands — she wouldn't have been grinning at all.

A moment of silence settled over them, but Chakra did not feel it awkward. A thought did occur to her, however, and after brief contemplation, she gave voice to it, "Why do you tell me all of this?" She glanced at Jinx, grinning slightly at the wolf with dead twigs and ferns sticking out of her mouth. "I am grateful for all you share with me, but…technically we are rivals, and yet still you give me useful information about your own Alpha that I might have otherwise had to learn through a spy. Why?" It was not voiced in a criticizing way, nor in a way to make Jinx feel foolish or question her wisdom for speaking of such things with Chakra. Rather, it was asked in a way that betrayed how truly ignorant she was in the ways of politics. It told more of her upbringing than she could have said with words. Where she was born, those who were not of her pack were enemies. She had been brought up in a world of black and white, only to end up here, in a world of greys. She genuinely could not understand why a wolf who owed no allegiance to her would have a desire to be helpful to her in any way.

<style type="text/css">.chakrastar {width:490px; background-image:url('http://ghostecho.net/stu/chakratab.png'); background-position:bottom center; background-color:#1D0D25; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #000; padding:20px 30px 140px 30px; margin:0px auto; text-align:justify; color:#bc6d89; font:15px/1.5 Georgia; border-top-right-radius: 50px; box-shadow: 0 8px 6px -6px black;} .chakrastar b {color:#E79876; font-weight:600;} .chakrastar p {text-indent:50px; margin:0px;} </style>table by hilli ♥

<style type="text/css">q {font:13px Georgia; color:#9E0853; font-weight:bold;}</style>Her head bobbed agreement when Chakra mentioned she had never met a Horizon Ridge wolf. She herself had never met a Neverwinter Forest wolf. It could be the fact of distance, as Jinx privately thought, or as Chakra said, the fact of discipline. It was not like a wolf to wander so far from its territory. Jinx was somewhat of an anomaly in that, but she had her reasons: the ferns would not return until spring, and the hard spores were precious to her. More than that, however, was Jinx's tenuous loyalty to Horizon Ridge, but it would do no good to tell Chakra of that.

She could have said much more about Hawkeye, how she was insane and flipped from one extreme to the next in mere seconds, but she would hold that information writhing under her tongue. Perhaps if she could claim to have followed Hawkeye once... But none of that information was to her benefit. Either way, she would reveal herself as a pack deserter, or an overly opinionated outsider, neither image particularly desirable. But she didn't have to think long on what she would say about the Plateau's Alpha, for Chakra was quick to turn the subject back on Neverwinter Forest, or at least, why a wolf from elsewhere would give any information at all.

Jinx's reason for that was simple: the further she could stretch her friendships, the more places she could go when inevitably she gave up on Akhlut's regiment of light. It wouldn't do to say that, but thankfully, Chakra provided her with a rather clever lie: Why, my lady, to prevent the spy! She chuckled softly around her ferns, glanced up to realize she had no idea where they were in relation to the borders (Neverwinter, it turned out, was somewhat labyrinthian, and easy to lose oneself in). Horizon Ridge has no secrets but each wolf's own secrets, my lady. From one strong family to another, it is good to know which rivals to keep the closest eye on, no? I assure you, you will find no quarrel with us. I will spread word of the Spider Queen's influence and sway over Neverwinter amongst my peers, and our wolves will respect your lands utmostly, in fear of the wrath of Feralheart. The Spider Queen seemed an unsavoury title, but it was a throwback to Chakra's earlier analogy, even if that was somewhat unclear.

Chakra would get no information about Horizon Ridge's layout, where it kept its caches, where its wolves denned, or what the easiest way to penetrate its heart was. She would get nothing about Akhlut's physical abilities, especially given Jinx knew nothing of them herself. Or maybe the Feralheart would get those things if she pressed a little... It has hard to say with the slippery Kesuk whether revealing things was beneath her or not. On one hand, she would bolster Neverwinter, and on the other, show disloyalty. Jinx danced a fine razor blade between misunderstood woman and villainous devil, but all to her own advantage.

We can probably go ahead and wrap this up if you want since it's a bit dated (my fault, for being slow with most of my replies). I loved threading with you, though. Jinx is such an interesting character. I'd be happy to plot or thread again with you anytime!

Chakra nodded as Jinx spoke, the other's words slightly skewed in some places due to the dry, prickly foliage in her maw. She again found herself impressed by how well-spoken the Horizon wolf was; she possessed a tongue of richest silver, and were Chakra a wolf interested in politics and diplomacy, she might have been tempted to make Jinx an offer on Neverwinter's behalf that she'd be hard-pressed to refuse. As it was, though, she had no motivation to ally herself with any but her own. Brute force and clear thinking would serve her better, in this case, than smooth talking.

"Mm, 'Spider Queen'," she commented, enunciating the words with sharp clarity, as if to taste them each individually. "I rather like that." Perhaps only one as reclusive and enigmatic as Chakra could appreciate the subtle implications of such a title. "And I would be most appreciative of your spreading the word of our dominion here. I would not wish to wage war upon a pack from whom such enjoyable company hails." It was fitting that a Spider Queen make both threat and compliment in the same sentence, and flash a kind smile while doing so. Gradually, as they wended their way through the labyrinthine forest, the trees began to thin and the distances between their trunks slowly began to widen. They were nearing the boundaries. "I have enjoyed meeting you, Jinx Kesuk. Should you need to visit our forest again, you need but howl for me and I will be glad to accompany you."

<style type="text/css">.chakrastar {width:490px; background-image:url('http://ghostecho.net/stu/chakratab.png'); background-position:bottom center; background-color:#1D0D25; background-repeat:no-repeat; border:1px solid #000; padding:20px 30px 140px 30px; margin:0px auto; text-align:justify; color:#bc6d89; font:15px/1.5 Georgia; border-top-right-radius: 50px; box-shadow: 0 8px 6px -6px black;} .chakrastar b {color:#E79876; font-weight:600;} .chakrastar p {text-indent:50px; margin:0px;} </style>table by hilli ♥

As Chakra voiced approval and appreciation for Jinx's flattery, she felt her lips pulled tight around her ferns. The appreciation humbled her in a way that she had never been humbled before. Nobody had appreciated her before. The wolves in Shearwater had thrown test after test at her sister and her, expecting them to buckle and fail, and watching with impressed eyes how the two rose to the occasion... But they had never appreciated the youths. Her family had never appreciated her, no more than they appreciated all the others. Bon Dye had never appreciated her.

Chakra appreciated her, or rather her words, and it was a welcome sensation. She returned the flattery, to be sure, which the Kesuk soaked up unabashed... But this was much the way Nanuq and Aktaie had been, once. Mutually respectful toward one another, when at long last the Nereides and Shearwater feud had ended. Perhaps this was what it was like to be in the presence of a goddess. "I am grateful for your offer, and for allowing me to gather these, Queen Feralheart," she said in a near-reverent whisper as they found their way back to the border. "I will be sure to do so. The Spider Queen shall be unopposed ruler of these woods."

There was little else to say, so with a spoken farewell hinging on worshipful, the Kesuk took her leave of Neverwinter... But in the back of her mind lingered the question of whether leaving was the right thing. Had she been capable of seeing into the future, perhaps she would have pledged herself to Chakra instead of Akhlut, but she saw no wrong yet in the leader of Horizon Ridge, and she was hard-pressed to leave the sea.