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 Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 4:01 pm
 His little paws moved loudly over the earth, crunching leaves and twigs and anything else they could find. He blamed it on them being large and bumbly. He was a large pup, but his paws and tail were bigger than usual, almost unproportional. He unearthed a stone, stubbing his toe and pulling his foot close to his body with a small growl.
Where was he, anyway?
He had wandered away from home. He had slipped out from under his mother's usually watchful eye. Slipped away into darkness now that the sun was down. Everything around him had quickly gone silent. No birds sang. No crickets chirped. It was like the calm before the storm.
And Squall was hopelessly lost outside of Gomorrah.
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 5:28 pm
 Night meant little to one who couldn't see, but Cyclops usually held to old circadian rhythms, anyway. Crepuscular like most wolves, he settled down once the sun had fully set, alerted to the time by his internal clock, the silence of the forest, and the cooling air. He lay curled in the dark, the leaves that blew by his only cover. On the edge of sleep, his ears twitched subconsciously as a small creature roamed noisily by in the dark. His senses were attuned to catch the most innocuous of sounds, but this animal wasn't even trying to be quiet--a bad idea, in the dark.
Stirred from slumber, he lifted his head, inhaling deeply. It was a wolf walking by, but a pup, not likely to know the dangers that lurked out here. Cyclops, on the other hand, knew all too well.
He pulled himself to his feet, his nose to the ground to track the pup. He didn't want to startle it, so he walked heavily on purpose. As an adult male wolf, he didn't fear attracting unwanted attention in these neutral lands. The only thing he feared were bears or evil wolves; the first had no reason to attack him, and the second were hopefully not lurking nearby. He cleared his throat as he approached the stumbling pup. "Where are you going?" he asked.
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 11:25 pm
Squall's rump rose in the air as he pranced around a crinkly leaf. It blew across the earth a few times before settling and the pup's eyes zeroed in on it. He dropped into a playbow, feigning to the side before pouncing. His forepaws landed noisily on his new toy.
He grinned to himself. Even in the dark, he knew he'd gotten such a prize! And ever since Rumor had disappeared, no one tried to take his fun from him. There was no more bullying in the litter. Even though some deep part of him missed his sister fiercely, the rest of him was pleased. Even Momma seemed nicer.
Between the crinkles and crackles of the leaf as he began to shred it, his ears pricked forwards. Something...Something was coming towards him. He stood, uncertain, suddenly wary, then began to walk backwards, ears flattening and tail tucking. He considered calling out for Momma or Dad, but he decided to keep his maw tightly shut. Was it a bear? A badger? Or worse... Another wolf. A wolf not from his pack. A rogue. A shiver went down the tiger-striped wolf's back.
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 11:37 pm
Cyclops stopped in his approach, somewhat confused. His other senses worked better than those of sighted wolves, but they were still no good at pinpointing anything. For that he needed touch.
"Hello?" he called. Perhaps the little one, fearing him, had finally receded into the protection of silence. It was a bright move, if frustrating. Cyclops lowered his nose to the loam and began to sniff. Now directly over the pup's trail, his approach could be more direct. He began to move forward once more, tracking the scent over the dead and dry leaves. He kept his nose in the earth until he caught up with his prize, his muzzle bumping soft wolf fur. He inhaled deeply--a male pup, who definitely smelled of a pack, a large pack. Cyclops relaxed somewhat. At least he wasn't alone. Perhaps all that had to be done was to return him to that pack.
"Hello?" he said, again. "What are you doing out here, little one?"
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Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 11:43 pm
Squall pressed himself close to the ground, staring at the bright blue wolf, unmoving except for the quick breaths as his heartbeat raced. Who was this stranger... He searched the other male's face for any sign of aggression, and found none.
He also found that the rogue had no eyes... How could he see? Squall gaped in horror.
"H-H-Hunting," he replied quickly, uncertain. "Who are -you-?"
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 2:59 pm
Cyclops realized that, stepping out of the shadowy woods with his blood-red face and scars and stitches where his eyes should be, he was probably not the most pup-friendly picture. He pulled back a few steps, lifting his head.
Hunting? Well, that was a good one. Cyclops wasn't stupid--no pack in its right mind let a pup go hunting. Even if that was what the little one thought he was doing, he was surely no good at it. Still, he would play along.
"I'm called Cyclops," he said in response to the question. "What's your name? Where are your parents?"
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 7:49 pm
Piper had taken Squall and Rumor out hunting early one afternoon. The other pups and Father had stayed behind, but Rumor proved that she was the better huntress, even at ten weeks old.
Squall, on the other hand, wasn't so great... He had failed, miserably. In a family that tried to be better than good, Squall merely wanted to learn how to hunt on his own, so that next time, he could show off his skills.
"Cyclops..." The pup tried the name out on his tongue, playing with it in his head. "I'm S-Squall. My momma is Piper, my pop is Hurricane. They're the alphas of Gomorrah. Ever heard of it?" His head tilted to one side and he gave his tail a delightful wag, as he was no longer frightened. Nervous, but not afraid.
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 9:50 pm
Cyclops sits, mimicking the pup's head-tilt, though of course he didn't know that. Gomorrah, Gomorrah… he had heard of the pack, through others, but not of Piper and Hurricane. He thought it was ruled by Lilith? Perhaps his information was out of date, and he filed away the new facts. Outside of the new, he knew little; those who lived there apparently did not go out of their way to make themselves known to outsiders, which was fine in Cyclops' opinion.
"Yes…" he replied slowly. "Yes, I have heard of Gomorrah. Can you remind me where it is, Squall?" Maybe he would want to take Cyclops on a tour, where the older wolf could leave him with his parents, no harm done.
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 9:55 pm
As the strange, no-eyed wolf sat down, Squall followed suit, scootching a little closer to the older male. His tail thumped the ground again and a shy smile peeked out. "Gomorrah is home," he replied easily, looking over his shoulder. Looking for his boundary-lines.
Ears twitched for a moment before falling back. "I...I can't go home yet," he murmured. "Ya see. Momma took us hunting, me and Rumor. Rumor caught something and I didn't... I'm not a good hunter..." He took a deep breath. "I want to catch something for Momma. I can't go home until I do..."
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 10:56 pm
Cyclops was a little surprised when he heard and felt the pat of the pup's tail on the ground. Obviously he was over his fear, but he still didn't seem confident out here. He listened to the pup's explanation.
"Oh." Well, that was decidedly more complicated. And what did he mean about rumors? "Well…" He thought quickly. What should he say? Obviously Squall wanted his mother's approval. Was she truly disappointed in him, or was he blowing things out of proportion? He wished he knew more about Gomorrah. Perhaps this was a rite, that the pup needed to hunt before returning home. Cyclops did not want to be responsible for his failure.
Cyclops lowered his head down to where he estimated the pup's would be. "Well, Squall, do you know how to hunt at night?" he asked, his voice conspiratorial. "It's much different than during the day, you know."
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 11:32 pm
Squall just wasn't a confident puppy. He wasn't bold or brash like his mother, nor was he loyal and cool-headed like his father. He wasn't brave like Swell or bossy like Rumor or fun-loving like Moscow. He was a follower, a skittish little follower. Gomorrah was the wrong pack for him, it seemed.
His storm-gray eyes watched the big blue male with a frown. His heart gave a little flip in his chest. Surely Cyclops wasn't going to take him home. He wanted to nab something for Momma... He wanted to show her that he, too, could be great.
"I...I don't know how to hunt at all," he admitted softly, looking down at his paws. His eyes searched the other's face. "Could you teach me?"
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 11:54 am
Cyclops smiled to himself. This certainly gave new meaning to the phrase the blind leading the blind. "Sure, Squall," he answered. Standing, he swished his tail back and forth a few times. "At night," he began, "animals all go to bed, right? So we have to find something that went to bed underground."
He put his nose to the ground and started sniffing, hoping the enthusiastic little pup would get the picture. Then he picked his head up again. "But we have to be very quiet," he added, "so that whatever we find doesn't wake up and run away, okay?" Hopefully the clumsy pup could manage that. Either way, Cyclops was pretty sure he could send Squall home with something to show his mother, even if the pup took a bit more of a helping role.
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Posted: Thu May 28, 2009 8:39 pm
Squall had looked down at his feet and at the leaves underfoot, but when Cyclops said 'sure' like it was the easiest thing on the planet, his head jerked up. A smile grew on his face and his tail began to wiggle. "I...I see," he murmured, thinking of little oppossums and squirrels curled up in bed with the blankets pulled over their shoulders. How peaceful... He almost didn't want to wake them.
Quiet. Right. That would be a longshot. But Squall would try his hardest. He beamed up at the blue wolf. "Okay!" he agreed readily. "Lead the way!"
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Posted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 11:52 am
Sniffing once again at the ground, Cyclops could only assume Squall was following his lead. With night hunting, when your prey was hidden and sight mattered little, Cyke was in his element. After only a few paces into the thick of the woods, he sensed a vole and its babies sleeping among the root system of a low-lying fern.
He turned back to where he senses Squall was. "Here," he whispered softly, just audible over the night breeze. "Can you smell something here?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:57 pm
Squall padded after him, trying his best to be soundless. He placed one paw after another, tail low, head high, eyes searching but locked on Cyclops at the same time. As the older male stopped and turned, he froze, looking hopeful.
Smell? He took a deep breath, snuffling around. Yes... Yes he could. But...he'd never smelled anything like that before. What -was- it? "Yeah?" What did he do now?
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