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Post by Zen on Jan 28, 2014 5:44:30 GMT
It was amazing how much could change in a single year. As Kai stood at the edge of the ocean, breathing in the salty air and admiring the late afternoon sun as it glittered on the waves, she reflected on all of the events that had brought her to this point in her life. Somehow, regardless of how many things she had lost in such a short amount of time, she wasn't unhappy. By now she had stopped trying to find any sort of purpose or meaning to her life and just took things as they came, day by day and moment by moment. She no longer felt hollow and weak the way she had in the months following her return to Tempest, Valkyrie's betrayal now nothing more than a fading memory. She had moved on. Maybe she had no worth to the rest of the world, but she didn't feel worthless. She had dignity and a sense of pride, and she still felt a drive to continue living in spite of how quickly her old life had collapsed around her.
Ryu had proven to be a failure in her mind, the pack a shadow of its former glory, so she had moved on from them too. While she had never officially declared she was leaving, her increasingly frequent disappearances from the packlands should have made it clear to everyone that she no longer wanted to be a part of what Tempest now stood for. The loner's life suited her much better anyway. Now she only had to hunt for herself, without worrying if the meat she gathered would go toward feeding the Iris cats that Ryu was keeping prisoner.
With her eye gazing out toward the horizon, Kai stepped forward until her three paws were swallowed by the sand and the water lapped against her legs. It was painfully cold, but she hardly cared. The fiery glow of the vanishing sun spread across her body and she felt relaxed, at peace. The only thing she was missing was some company, a friendly face to stand in the ocean by her side; sunsets like these weren't meant to be enjoyed alone.
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Post by Picasso on Jan 29, 2014 11:17:22 GMT
ZenIt was noon when Orion left the packlands. The stench of feline prisoners was becoming too much for the black wolf to bear, and he needed time away from the rest of his pack. Since Ryu and the rest of the members had bombarded the Iris Pride, it had been downhill since there. Orion had no idea what Ryu was capable of - he had assumed Ryu would have been a weak and pathetic leader. Instead, he had done what no other Tempest Warden or Mistress had done. Many were not happy about the recent changes. It had been something Brooke would never have lowered herself to; imprisonment. Orion knew the cats deserved it, especially when Orion still heard the tales of the brutal torture both Brooke and his own father, Gravity, had endured. And yet... Orion would rather they were killed and their bodies removed from the Packlands. An opinion held by many, but voiced by few. Heaving a sigh, the black wolf padded along the streets, mind aimlessly wandering in his lonesome thoughts. It had been months since his attack with Lee, but he was now partially blind in his left eye. It made hunting more difficult, but it hadn't affected him terribly. The rest of the wounds Lee had dealt on him had long since healed, however he still bore the scratches and scars. At first Orion had been embarrassed. Coming to the packlands with his tail between his legs and excruciating wounds had been deeply humiliating, however he now wore his scars with pride. If anyone asked, Orion would easily lie; he'd been in a fight with a lion, or a bear and managed to get out alive! No one really knew the truth of his peculiar wounds. A scent made Orion pause. He turned his head towards the glittering beach. It was late Spring, still too cool to go into the water, however Orion spotted a figure close to the shore. The scent was familiar, and Orion walked closer to get a better look. It wasn't long before Orion realised who it was. Kai hadn't been seen in the packlands for a while now, and Orion guessed she held different opinions to Ryu. Orion tried to cast his mind back to the last time he'd even spoken to Kai. They weren't friends, but Orion still clearly remembered the time they'd been patrolling together. It had been a grim day when they'd found the body of a fellow pack-member, but Orion had found he'd connected with Kai; something Orion rarely felt. Interest peaked, Orion stepped onto the sandy beach and started approaching the lame dog. She had stepped into the water, and Orion frowned. Surely it was too cold to go in? He stopped at the edge of the dry sand and rocked back onto his haunches, eyeing Kai curiously. "I wouldn't go in any further, if I were you," He drawled, "Unless you want to catch your death." |
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Post by Zen on Jan 30, 2014 21:09:30 GMT
She didn't have to turn her head to see who had approached. A twisted smile appeared on her lips and she gave a little laugh. "Orion, I've survived maiming, torture and weeks of starvation. You really think I'd let a little cold water kill me?" Kai looked down and squished her paws further into the soft sand. The cold actually felt pretty good and helped to relieve the stiffness in her muscles that she often developed. It had been a year since she'd lost the use of her leg, but her body still hadn't gotten used to the lack of exercise - going from a training regime that involved fighting and running for hours a day to barely being able to run at all was a hard thing to adjust to. Maybe she would never fully adjust.
And anyway, her fur was thick and heavy, especially since she hadn't yet shed her winter coat. She knew she'd be fine. "Guess you're too much of a baby to come over here and join me." It was then that she turned to glance at him for the first time. Right away she caught sight of his ruined eye and the pale scars that criss-crossed his flanks, wondering if they were war wounds he had earned from slaying the Iris Pride. They suited him well; he looked much more like a proper soldier since the last time she had seen him. Her expression gave no hint that she had noticed anything out of the ordinary though, and she continued to look at him calmly while awaiting an answer to her sarcastic little challenge.
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Post by Picasso on Feb 2, 2014 13:32:28 GMT
ZenThe laugh was nice, and Orion matched her grin as he stepped forward and felt the water lapping at his paws. When Kai turned her head to look at him, she gave no inclination that she noticed or cared about Orion's blinded eye, or the scars that littered his body. Orion wondered whether Kai was sick of dogs asking her what was wrong with her leg, or why she couldn't see in one eye. Already, Orion was getting pissed off with the questions directed at his fresh scars. It reminded him of a time when he'd been a coward, pathetic and helpless, and Orion hated himself for ever getting into that fight with Lee. The words washed over Orion like the waves, and Orion stayed where he was, not wanting to get any colder. "Don't come crying to me when you get cold, then," Orion teased, speaking easily to Kai. She looked far more relaxed than when he had last seen her. Granted, they had been on a mission to find a Tempest corpse, but she looked... content. Orion didn't do well reading emotions, but he swore the last time he'd seen Kai, she had been at war with herself. She had loathed her body for failing her, and yet... a year later and she seemed almost happy. Orion's eyes raked over her frame. The Tempest scent was faint on her body; obviously she had not been in the packlands for a long time. Nevertheless, she looked well fed. Orion wondered how difficult it was to hunt prey with a bad leg. Kai spoke again, and Orion narrowed his eyes. Was she baiting him? "Baby?!" He squawked, before propelling himself forward into the water. The salty water splashed up in Kai's direction, and Orion sent him a wolfish grin, "Don't call me a baby!" He growled playfully, feeling strangely at ease with the other dog. Orion stood beside her in the water, urging himself not to shiver at the cool water lapping at his legs. |
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Post by Zen on Feb 5, 2014 2:31:40 GMT
Smirking at how offended he was by her taunting, Kai watched, pleased with herself, as he took the bait and bounded into the ocean without hesitation. That had been way too easy. But her victory was cut short by a large splash that was obviously not an accident on his part, and she gasped and shook the icy water off of her fur before shouting an indignant "Hey!" Her eye suddenly lit up with a wicked glint and she moved in closer to him, hoping to catch him off guard and maybe push him down so that his face landed in the sand, but her nose caught something then. A sickening and familiar scent that now seemed to cling to the fur of every Tempest member who spent a lot of time in the packlands.
"You smell like cat," she pointed out, grimacing in disgust and stepping back away from him. "Here, this should help get the stink off you." She jumped and kicked up a spray of water that was aimed at his face, and just before he would have time to get back at her, Kai ran further out to sea until the waves were up to her chest. Now she was cold; if Orion hadn't been around to see, her teeth would have been chattering. But she kept on a straight face and tossed him a smug look that said try and beat that.
It occurred to her then how odd this entire thing was. They were two fully grown canines who barely knew each other, and they were splashing around and playing like little children. Her first thought was that she hadn't done this sort of thing since she was a pup - but then, she remembered she never had played with anyone when she was young. She didn't have any childhood friends. She'd been groomed into a soldier from the day she could walk, and trying to goof off with one of the other dogs would have gotten her a smack from her elders. It was strange how acting like this felt so natural for her.
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Post by Picasso on Feb 15, 2014 12:41:42 GMT
ZenOrion shot her a devilish grin as she squawked from the cold water. He wiggled his toes to stop them from going numb, but jesus this water was so cold! Orion knew it wouldn't be long before he was admitting defeat and going back to the shore where he could dry off. However, he could withstand the numbness and the pain for a little longer as he enjoyed his time with Kai. It struck him as odd that they had befriended each other so easily. Perhaps Kai was that kind of dog who could make friends with ease. He thought back to when she and Valk had become joined at the hip. The thought was gone as quickly as it appeared. Orion rarely thought of his wayward sister anymore, not since she had upped and left with little more than a goodbye. Wrinkling his nose, Orion sniffed his fur. He really didn't want to smell like cats, but the Tempest Pack was now swarming with the vermin. Whilst his head was turned, Orion had stopped paying attention to Kai. In his peripheral vision, he saw Kai jump up. Orion had no time to react to the sudden wave of water that collided with his head. Gasping at the freezing cold, Orion let out a yell and started to shake the water from his fur. The salty water stung his eyes and he had to squeeze them shut for a few seconds to let the pain subside. When he opened them again, Kai was further out to sea, and the black wolf frowned. What on earth is she doing so far out?Without thinking, Orion followed her deeper into the sea, the water lapping at his chest. "You'll pay for that," He growled into her ear, nipping at it playfully. Leaning back, Orion stared out at the horizon, wondering what could be past the huge expanse of ocean. Perhaps more land, with other beasts ruling the cities. He would never know; Orion would never be able to swim far enough out to sea to reach another country. He glanced at Kai and wondered what the hell they were doing chest-deep in freezing cold water. They must look insane, being completely drenched and yet still laughing at the stupidity of it all. Orion couldn't remember the last time he had played. As a cub, he had always been extremely serious and disinterested in his siblings. Orion had been wishing his cubhood away since the beginning, yearning to be an adult that could be respected and taken seriously. It was as though he had taken a step back now he was with Kai, and he was now reliving his cubhood months that he had missed. "We are a peculiar pair, aren't we?" Orion said in the silence, a smile curving on his lips. |
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Post by Zen on Feb 25, 2014 5:35:19 GMT
Watching him slowly trudge his way through the deepening water only made Kai's grin widen. She jumped back a bit when he neared her, expecting to get splashed again, but her demeanor changed and her body went rigid as he instead grazed her tattered ear with his teeth. Without meaning to, she let a short, low growl rumble up from her throat as she remembered how the Iris cats had ripped and chewed at her ears as they were maiming her. A violent shudder crawled over her skin and once it passed she gave Orion an apologetic look, bumping his shoulder in a friendly way to let him know she hadn't meant anything by it. Sudden flashbacks of her attack happened often and she could never predict what would trigger them, and there wasn't much she could do to prevent them, either. One year after the battle and her mind still wasn't fully healed from it.
His comment made her blink and turn her head toward him. She hadn’t really noticed until now, but he was right, they certainly were an unlikely pair of...whatever they were. She didn’t know if she was willing to call him a friend, exactly, since they still barely knew one another. In any case, she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to place any faith in friendship ever again, not after Valkyrie and Ryu had both proved to her how fragile that kind of trust was. But Orion was fun to hang out with, they had a lot in common, and he made her laugh. She needed that kind of thing in her life now more than ever.
“Heh, yeah,” she chuckled quietly in agreement. “To be honest, I never thought we’d get along. Valkyrie used to tell me all the time how annoying you were and what an ass you always used to make of yourself.” She glanced again at the scars around his damaged eye, smiling. He’d gone into battle against the Iris Pride and gotten vengeance on the cats who crippled her. He was brave and strong and a much more honorable canine than Valkyrie could ever claim to be. “But don’t get me wrong, you can still be a pain sometimes,” she quickly added, flicking some water droplets at him with her tail.
When her body had relaxed to the chill of the water, Kai turned her attention back toward the setting sun and frowned. “So, how're things back home? Are you still happy in Tempest?” She didn’t know why she had asked - maybe a part of her hoped he would admit that he wasn’t. And then what? For a while she had entertained the possibility of starting some sort of protest or rebellion against Ryu, but now that idea seemed like nothing more than a hopeless dream. Still, she would have liked to know that she wasn’t alone in her feelings about the pack’s new direction.
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Post by Picasso on Mar 3, 2014 11:20:02 GMT
The growl made Orion pull back in shock. Her whole body was still and her eyes were glassy, as though she was no longer with him. Within a second, it was gone. Orion cocked his head, wondering if he'd imagined the sudden outburst, but Kai seemed know exactly what had happened. It was clear this wasn't something Kai wanted to talk about, and Orion wasn't going to question it. He wasn't good with emotions, and they were not that close. Kai clearly still had issues about what happened to her last year, but Orion was not the wolf to pour your heart out. He was emotionally stunted and had enough trouble working out his own feelings, let alone other's. Turning to meet Kai's gaze, Orion wondered what other friends she had. Did she honestly have no one to talk to? Orion knew how close females could be together, and wondered why Kai hadn't found anyone else to be her companion. Granted, she has trust issues, but suffering in silence can be an awful thing.
Valkyrie's name made Orion's ears twitch. He rolled his eyes and let out a short laugh. Orion had never had the best reputation in the Tempest Pack, although he as getting better. Since his sister had left, Orion was showing his true colours. His anger and bitterness towards his family had turned Orion into a thug, trying to pick a fight with anyone who looked at him the wrong way. These days, Orion had mellowed out. He was calmer and felt respected in his pack. "I'm a dick," Orion agreed with ease, "Although I've been worse. I probably gave Valk a hard time because of it. But that's what adolescence is all about, right?" He leaned into Kai and knocked her with his shoulder, hoping to make her stumble off-balance. He sent her a wide grin before gazing out at the lowering sun.
He sighed. The next question was a hard one to answer. Happy? Orion had no idea anymore. "I am not one for talking about feelings..." Orion began warily, "But I feel as though I don't belong. Too many things have changed since Brooke's death. I thought I'd be happy with Ryu's ruling, but he is nothing like what I expected. My family have gone, I have no friends, and the pack constantly smells of damn cats!" Orion let out a shaky breath. Perhaps he should take a leaf out of Kai's book and just leave. But where would that get him? The pack offered protection and food in the winter. Whilst Orion knew he could survive without them, it was nice to have the pack to fall back on, if he ever needed them.
"What about you? How is the loner life treating you?"
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Post by Zen on Mar 8, 2014 7:14:52 GMT
Kai smiled in agreement, “Yeah, we all make stupid mistakes when we're young. But hey, we sure grew up into a pair of mature adults, huh?” She regained her balance after he had given her a playful shove, then proceeded to kick up some sand and seaweed in his direction. Just when she was starting to feel at ease again, his blunt opinions about Tempest made her expression darken, and she was a little surprised at how much they mirrored her own. Like him, she wasn't good at expressing feelings or finding the right thing to say, so she had no words of sympathy or encouragement to offer. All she could do was sigh and stare sadly out at the ocean, wondering what Tempest had done to deserve the fate that had befallen it.
She gave some thought to his question, then shrugged casually. “It's not much different from how my life was in Tempest, really. Guess I'm just used to being alone.” Adjusting to the loner's way of life had only been difficult as far as hunting was concerned. For the first few weeks it was a challenge to catch enough prey to keep herself from starving, but she had learned better techniques for ambushing small animals and was now a better hunter than ever. She couldn't imagine going back to her old life, relying on the pack for survival instead of taking responsibility for herself alone.
Kai looked at Orion carefully. “Y'know, there's not much point in staying in that place if it makes you miserable,” she said, her voice low. “Maybe...it would do us both good to have some companionship? I don't know if being a loner is the thing that'll make you happy, but it might be worth a shot.”
Maybe it was a little too weird to ask him to live with her, given how little they really knew about one another. But then again, packs and hunting groups weren't always formed between canines who already had some sort of established relationship. Sometimes it was just a matter of survival. “Hunting will be easier if we split the work between us, and staying somewhat close to the Tempest lands should keep us protected from the cats that still roam the city. I mean, I'm not trying to say that you can't survive on your own without me, but...you know...it's just an offer,” she finished somewhat awkwardly.
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Post by Picasso on Mar 17, 2014 17:40:36 GMT
Orion turned head away from the incoming seaweed and sand. It his chest and he glanced down to look at his dripping, dirty torso, laughing lightly. Orion felt far away from maturity, not that he minded. Sometimes acting like a cub masked the awful things that happens in daily life. Whilst Orion had not had a terrible life so far, he had already been in a couple of battles and it had not been pretty. Orion enjoyed the thrill of a fight, he loved ripping through a cat's throat, but... something felt different now. Now the Tempest had changed, he no longer felt so patriotic for his pack. He watched with contempt as the felines were degraded and sentenced to a lifetime of imprisonment. Orion knew little of his own parents, but he was well aware of the fact they had been enslaved by cats many years ago. It was almost a taboo to speak of Gravity these days, but he heard whispers from the elders of what the old Warden had endured during his time in the Iris. Even Brooke had suffered under the feline's paws. Sure, the Tempest are just avenging their loved ones but it was an endless cycle. The Tempest had become no better than the Iris in the end.
If anything, Orion was disappointed with the choices his pack had made. With the cats enslaved, it gave them an opportunity to escape and rebel against their captors. Why not just kill them? Orion was not a sadist. He did not opt to torture the felines in his territory. Orion was a warrior, a committed Soldier of the Bloody Paw. He fought, not tortured. There is no challenge in beating a feline to a pulp. There was no thrill or excitement found gouging a cat's eye out. If anything, it sickened Orion to the core. So now... Orion is drifting. He loves his pack like a family, they're the only ones he's got, but he also loathes what they stand for. Brooke and Gravity would be turning in their grave if they saw the Tempest now. A shambles.
Kai's proposition nearly made Orion laugh. Most lone couples were mates or siblings. The thought of surviving alone with Kai peaked his interest, but also terrified him. Orion was a pack-wolf. He was used to surviving with dozens of other canines. He was used to fighting and hunting and eating with them. Could he cope with only one other canine for companionship? Could he and Kai make this work? He gazed into her eyes and a smile broke across his face, "What a strange pair we would be," He laughed, "Valk would be appalled!" He grinned cheekily. He'd made up his mind. He'd been miserable in his pack for far too long, and now he could actually get out and live his life. "Sure. Why the hell not? Kai and Orion. It's got a ring to it, eh?"
This was probably the weirdest and yet most exciting thing Orion has done. And he's invaded the Iris Pride territory. |
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