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Post by Hunter on Oct 19, 2013 18:32:23 GMT
Why had he gone here to this desolate place on his own? He wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like it would be dangerous for him to go here despite being on his own – no one really roamed the Lexis Tribe’s former territory any longer. And he’d never really been on the Lexis Tribe’s territory before. Which was why, on this day, he’d decided it was about time. How peculiar it felt to have lurked more on the enemy’s territory than the peacelovers’. What kind of punishment would the once peaceful tribe have given an intruder from one of the city’s dominant parts? They surely wouldn’t have killed him. They had never seemed like a tribe who’d wanted blood on their paws – especially not the blood of a creature that could bring them trouble in the future. No death. Then what? The black and white Canaan Dog suspected that he’d never get to know. The Lexis Tribe was long gone now, killed by Tempest as they’d attempted to attack the canine pack - and the few survivors hunted down and slaughtered by the feline pride as the one peaceloving canines and felines had tried to flee.
Four deer ran wild as they spotted the predator. It wasn’t like he alone was much of a threat to them, but of course they wouldn’t know. He might as well have had a pack of his hunters with him to take down the game. Ryu suspected that the herbivores could never get too cautious. After all, this city flooded with predators, which also made him wonder why the deer had been inside it in the first place. Normally his hunters searched for prey outside the city’s boarders, but perhaps this abandoned place had become some sort of safe haven for the stronger herbivores. He’d keep this in mind and ask a group of his hunters to look out for this place a little more often if his assumption was right.
The early morning sun shone down on his spotted back, and he enjoyed what little warmth it gave. Winter was at end and spring was knocking on the door. The snow had begun melting which could be occasionally seen around the city where grass and concrete started to show. Ryu tensed his body and jumped up upon an old car in the junkyard. Here he sat back on his haunches and started licking his wet toes on his front paws as the sun continued to warm his body, still thick with winter’s life-giving coat.
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Post by Zen on Oct 25, 2013 16:23:42 GMT
It was no wonder hardly anyone bothered to hunt here anymore, Kai thought as she looked out across the wasteland, a place that still reeked with the lingering remains of Lexis’ scent. She was standing at the peak of a large hill made of metal scraps and broken machinery, letting the breeze blow against her tattered ears, when she spotted Ryu. He was walking straight toward her, but didn’t seem to have noticed how close she was. Not yet.
Her eye followed him as he leaped on to the roof of a rusty human machine. Should she say something? She didn’t really want to talk to him. At all. Seeing him there reminded her that she only had a few weeks of freedom left before the Iris Pride became a part of Tempest and she would be surrounded day and night by the stench and noise of cats. How could he allow such a thing to happen, even when he knew there were canines in the pack who disproved - or, like her, were horrified - at the thought of those monsters living with them?
For months now she had been festering with outrage and disgust over his plans for Iris, but maybe now was the perfect chance to tell him exactly what she thought of it, of him. It was obvious that they needed to talk. There were things she desperately needed to say, feelings she had been itching to get out to him ever since the last pack meeting. Before she could change her mind, she lifted her chin toward the sky and let loose a deep bark to draw his attention toward her, if it wasn’t already.
Kai glowered down at the Tempest leader, wondering whether to approach. She decided against it and remained standing tall atop the rubbish heap, the hairs on her neck slightly bristling as the two of them locked eyes. “So, what brings you here? Don’t you have a battle to be planning?” she asked tersely. |
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Post by Hunter on Nov 9, 2013 11:47:52 GMT
He hadn’t seen her at first, but her bark toward the sky gave her his rapt attention. With a fast tug of his neck, Ryu looked up at the crippled female canine whom he almost immediately recognized as Kai. A member of his pack who had been lost for long after a brutal rescue mission but then returned a few months ago… forever marked by the chaotic event. He hadn’t spoken with her for a long time now, actually it felt a bit like she’d been avoiding him, but he might as well be imagining things. He was very busy with keeping an overall focus on the pack which made it hard for him to focus on each individual. So perhaps there was nothing wrong at all. At least he hoped so, because he was wholeheartedly happy to see Kai standing there, knowing she’d returned to the pack out of loyalty and duty though she wouldn’t be able to fight properly again. In Ryu’s eyes, Kai was important to the pack even though she couldn’t fight like the Soldier she once had been. He hoped she knew that.
The black and white tail slowly started wagging behind his back as he turned to face her fully as she stood there, looking down at him. But it stopped as soon as Kai spoke up, shortly and coldly acknowledging him. It didn’t take a genius to see that she wasn’t as happy to see him as he was to see her. Something was wrong. Something about the battle. He remembered that she at the pack meeting hadn’t cried out in joy at his announcement, but he hadn’t known that his decision had created a black abyss in their already fragile relationship. His brow furrowed slightly in confusion by her harsh words and he sighed lightly under his breath. “I could ask you about your location too, but I strongly assume your first question has no real interest for you,” he said calmly with a little, warm smile on his rogue-looking features and sat down again. “What is wrong, Kai? Something is bothering you - that you show me clearly. So let us talk. You should know you can tell me everything.” His voice was friendly since he had no intentions of brushing her away like a non-important matter. He might be the alpha, and his words were law, but everyone in his pack had their right to voice their opinion. He tilted his head a bit to one side as he interested perked his ears, waiting for the angered female’s reply.
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Post by Zen on Nov 11, 2013 4:19:56 GMT
Kai casually averted her gaze and let it wander back out across the vast junkyard. True, she didn‘t particularly care why he was here. But she decided to answer the question he had indirectly asked anyway. “I’m out hunting, since that's pretty much all I'm good for. What, you expect me to just sit around the packlands all day and gather dust?” She bit her tongue and held back from starting a pointless argument with Ryu. He clearly didn’t understand the reason behind her cold attitude toward him, and the helpless confusion in his voice almost made her regret how she had been treating him for the past few weeks. Before that meeting, they had been friends. He was the first person in the pack since Valkyrie that she had started to form a real attachment to. Now...she had no idea how to feel about him.
A long silence passed. Then Kai approached him and spoke determinedly, “I thought the point of this final attack on Iris was to end the war, so why would you choose to keep the felines alive instead of wiping them from the face of the earth? I can’t share my home, my food and the air I breathe with those monsters. It will drive me mad. I just want to forget, Ryu, and move on with my life...but how am I supposed to do that if you force me to live with the animals who ruined me?”
She let out a huff of air and stepped back, staring him down in challenge. “Give me a good reason you’re doing this besides the need to satisfy your stupid lust for revenge. A reason this will actually benefit all of Tempest. Name me one, and maybe I’ll change my mind.” Kai eagerly waited for an answer that would prove her wrong. Perhaps there was a part of Ryu’s plan that she wasn’t getting? “By the way, I’m not the only one who’s concerned about the direction you’re taking Tempest in,” she added, thinking of Orion. She knew there were others too, even if they chose to keep silent about their opinions. “If this pack becomes nothing more than another slaughterhouse for cats, don’t be surprised if you wake up one day and find us gone.” A frown creased her features and there was a genuine sadness in her eye. She didn’t want it to come to that. She loved Tempest and her homeland dearly. But she was also unwilling to sacrifice her happiness just because of an old loyalty to a pack that didn’t really need her anymore to begin with.
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