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 Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 1:41 pm
Stepping outside of the fort, Faylun looked at Winterlace.
'It's our first day out as Apprentices, Lace. I can't believe how fast the time's gone by. It seems as though it was only yesterday--well, technically, it was only yesterday, that we Bonded.' Smiling up at the clear, sunny sky, Faylun sighed.
'I can't wait to see our new patron. Apparently, and this better stay between you and me, he's really cute. As well as respected. I think he was a Sergeant up at that other pack, White Shadow...I wonder what caused him to move here?'
Fay, you know as well as I do to not nose around about these kind of things. They'll reveal themselves in time.
'Yeah, I know. But I'm just a naturally nosy person.'
How would you feel if somebody found out the truth about your past? And stop blocking me from your mind. I deserve the right to know about my bond.
'I'd go and bite their head off, probably. And it's not my fault! I think it's like an automatic thing... I don't want to remember it again.' Frowning a little, Faylun picked at the cuff of her sleeve. She hated it when Winterlace used their one-sided telepathy to her advantage. Sometimes Faylun wanted to look into the mind of her bond,as well.
Look. Lace nudged Faylun gently. There they are.Turning away from Lace, Faylun could see a tall, lean figure striding up to them. A white wolf with bright red markings was by his side. Taking a deep breath, Faylun studied her new Patron carefully. He had a solemn-looking face, brown hair with interesting gold tips, and striking golden eyes.
Don't be nervous. Don't be nervous. Don't be nervous. Act normal. Act normal. Faylun chanted to herself.
'Hello. I'm Faylun. I think you're my new patron and I'm your new apprentice?' She said in a rush, blushing a little bit. So much for not being nervous.
.....
As she saw her new Mentor stride up, Winterlace was disappointed. She was expecting some other wolf, not one that was nearly as small as her. I could outrun her easily. Hmph. I could definitely hunt better than her, too. I don't need a mentor. If wolves could roll their eyes, Winterlace certainly would. Faylun's attitude towards her human Patron was that of a schoolgirl. Nipping a little at the back of her Bond's knee, Winterlace tried to remind Faylun to stay official and respectful, not flirty. Sitting down obstinately, Winterlace looked regretfully at the caves in the distance. More than ever, she wished she was there frolicking with her littermates.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 6:52 pm
The golden-orange eyed male glided across the snow dusted ground towards two obviously new characters in the fort. He had earlier been informed by the Captain that he was taking on an apprentice. Not that it was his first time. No, he’d been through this before. He knew the drill. He flipped his hair gently, getting a bit of it out of his eyes. There she was, the new eighteen year old apprentice of his. It would be fun to learn and read this girl. After all, each of his former apprentices were different from the other. She was certain to be different as well. Not that that wasn’t obvious from the black heart she wore openly on her face. Looks like an interesting pair, don’t they? he asked his bonded wolf.
The red and white wolf laughed gently. Yes, they do, but then again, all your apprentices so far have looked, and were, interesting people. I just can’t wait to drive that new wolf into the ground by leaving her sorry little behind in the dust. More correctly, in the snow, she replied. Despite her understanding nature, the she-wolf wasn’t afraid to kick one butt all over the field before letting them go. Besides, after so many wolves underestimating her, the reactions never got old. The new ones were pretty fun to see as well. Finally, they reached the new wolfrider pair. Peppermint stopped short of the blue and white wolf, and settled down on her hind legs, curling her snow white tail over her paws. Greetings, Winterlace. She would see how the young adolescent replied before acting. If she was respectful, and lowered herself in the correct stance, while using the right voice and words if she knew how to speak, then she would be fine. If not, she would fine herself flattened to the ground by the cherry red stripped wolf. Pepper was stronger then she looked.
“Greetings, Faylun,” Dylan said as he came up to the teenager. His eyes were hard, but hidden in them was a glint of humor. The girl was obviously trying not to seem nervous. Of course, she was failing at it. A small grin wiggled its way onto the man’s mouth. “Yes, you are correct. I’m your new Patron, Dylan Silvin,” he introduced himself. “Welcome to New Eve.” That was the first time he had said the words and it felt weird to him. After a few more times, it should be fine for him, or at least he hoped.
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 2:57 pm
Faylun lightly patted Winterlace on the head, reminding her to pay attention. The last thing she needed was a show of Lace's lack of discipline in front of their new leaders. Smiling again, Fay relaxed a little bit more. Her patron seemed, well, nice, and almost as every bit uncomfortable as she was. Then she saw his eyes glance towards her cheek for a second, and her hand flew up unconsciously to cover the black marking on her face. She was used to people staring at the heart. Sometimes she wished that she could remove it; after all, it wasnever her decision to have it tattooed there. But still, it was useful. Every day when she looked in the mirror, she was reminded of what she had left behind, and to never make the same mistakes before.
Faylun blinked. She wasn't going to dwell on that, especially not in front of a would-be stranger. Putting on another mask of eagerness, her silver eyes sparkled as she asked, 'So, what are we going to do today?' Then, a sudden thought flew into her mind. 'Wait. Are you going to the Winter Ball?'
Growling a little bit but still willing to listen to Fay, Winterlace looked Pepper straight in the eye with a bit of defiance, but lowered herself into a respectful stance nonetheless. She was dying to race, or fight, or compete in some way with the wolf, but her cool logic prevented her. Lace was small, smaller than her Patron, and young as well. She didn't have much experience, and she accepted that fact. Winterlace was competitive and annoyed, but she was no fool. Softly barking out, 'Hello, Peppermint. I'm taking you're my new Patron?' Winterlace felt a little worried. She could tell Faylun was distracted, much like Lace had been a few minutes before, about the past. One look up and her worries were confirmed. Her bond's pale hand was up her her cheek, discreetly covering the black heart tattoo. Nudging Faylun again, but gentler this time, Lace reassured her that nobody was going to ask any questions about it. At least, she hoped not.
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 8:03 pm
Dylan suppressed a chuckle when the female’s hand flew to her check, covering the inking. The girl seemed to lose herself in her thoughts much too easily. He was going to have to fix that, now wasn’t he? Leaning in close so that his face was inches from Faylun’s, the rider raised a hand and poked her opposite cheek. “You really shouldn’t worry about that little marking over there. If you keep losing yourself in the past, you might get yourself killed out on your first battle. Then this training would be absolutely pointless wouldn’t it be?” He was blunt. That might be half the reason he was misunderstood so easily now a days. But, he wasn’t going to lie. Whoever came into the fort as an apprentice should have already known the dangers. If not, their fault.
Straightening himself again, the brown haired male looked down. Why’d he seem to get apprentices that always seemed to have some disadvantages? The female stood a good five to seven inches under him. Granted she wasn’t the first one who had a height disadvantage, it was just that she was his first full nine month apprentice. The rest had all been ones who their Patron’s couldn’t handle or they died or disappeared. Aka, they ran away from their students. Dylan didn’t mind much about the number of apprentices that had been pushed onto him. It was alright with him. It was just, couldn’t they give him a well rounded student at least once in his life. The Private heaved a light sigh before hearing a growl.
A low growl ripped itself out of Peppermint’s throat and as soon as the adolescent turned her head, she lunged forward pinning Winterlace to the ground. Listen up, pup, she started, emphasizing the word pup. Be glad that I’m your Patron and not some of the other wolves. Be especially glad that I’m not LunarFlare otherwise you might have had blood spilling from your sides already. The snowy wolf may be nice and understanding, but she was a hard worker and would not allow such from a new wolf. It would be in your best interest to learn how to properly act in front of those who rank higher then you, which at the moment means me, all Gamma wolves along with the Alpha. You won’t become a wolf who will bring embarrassment to me and my rider. That is, unless you want to embarrass your rider so badly that you put her in a position that may take years to get out of. The former Beta’s voice was a clean, sharpened blade.
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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 7:37 pm
Faylun, taken aback by her Patron's bluntness, felt the smile fall quickly off her face, replaced by a cold look. She glared at Dylan's face-it was unnaturally handsome, but she couldn't let herself get distracted by that-and silently dared him to talk like that to her again. She felt a rush of defiance at her new Patron, mixed with a hint of resignment. It didn't help that Dylan's wolf was pinning Lace down on the ground as well. Still, Fay didn't blame Peppermint for attacking her bond. Winterlace's demure attitude was a bit annoying. And probably fake.
'Alright. I'll stop spacing out...if you tell your wolf to stop strangling Lace.' Fay said. Her silver eyes stared straight up at Dylan as the hand covering her cheek fell away from her face. 'And you didn't answer either of my questions...Dylan? Is that what I shall call you from now on?'
Winterlace couldn't breathe. She wheezed a bit and fell limp underneath Peppermint's weight. FAY! Tell her to get off of me! Lace thought furiously. She was just as small and petite as her bond, and it was useless to fight against Pepper's fury. Still, Lace couldn't help think it was a bit unfair that Peppermint had pounced on her the moment she'd turned around. She was taken by surprise. Peppermint! No fair! But alright. I suppose I'll have to go along. Winterlace's voice held a defeated tone, but the cunning look in her eyes was almost sly as a fox.
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Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 6:48 pm
Dylan smirked a bit at the young apprentice. “Good, you’re actually rather attentive,” he said, glad that the female had picked up on him not answering her questions. If she hadn’t, well, that meant there would be quite a bit of training they would have to do before they could start on the really tracking and fighting stuff. “One, yes, Dylan is what you can call me. Two, whether I go to the dance or not is for me to know and for you to try and find out if you really want to know and three, I will not tell Peppermint to get off of your wolf for three reasons. Reason number one, I’m not too keen on being crushed by having a wolf sit on me. Next reason, Peppermint is mad, and you never do anything that will get a full grown, angry wolf to snap on you. That is not a smart move at all. Finally, well, Peppermint will pound Winterlace until she gets it into her brain that she cannot defy or show disrespect to a wolf of higher ranking. Right now, she is at the bottom of the rung so unless she wants the Alpha to rip her apart when they meet, then she needs to learn how to act correctly.” Well, it was and the fact that the white and red wolf could be wickedly ruthless when she wanted to be. He should know. He was bonded to her. “Oh, and by the way, I suggest you learn from what’s happening to Winterlace right now because the Captain is not exactly the best person to look at with those eyes and I am not afraid to toss you little butt all over until you show the proper respect.” The Private’s eyes were hard and not in the least bit joking. He didn’t care how much guts the girl carried on her. She would show respect or he was going to tie her to the tree to humiliate her.
The cherry snow cone wolf looked at Winterlace with daggers. Her claws were starting to dig into the younger wolf. Not enough to cause blood to drip, but they were still digging in. Listen up, pup. Life’s not fair. It never is! she snapped. You think the centipedes are just going to wait for you to be looking to attack you? No, they’ll double team, attack you from blind spots, do whatever they can to kill you. Pepper was not a happy, fluffy wolf. She was angry wolf who completely ignored Lace’s defeated voice. She was a nice wolf, but she wasn’t a saint of a wolf. She would beat the adolescent into the ground before she became an adult. Besides, she was a former Beta. Winterlace’s little tricks weren’t going to work with her.
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 6:06 pm
'Let's make another proposition, then; I'll respect you if and only if you'll understand that I'm not used to these circumstances. It's true I went through some training at the Academy, but I think they skimped on the etiquette part with me. You do know that I only spent a few weeks there, right?' Faylun asked, a slight hint of annoyance in her voice. Her new patron was pretty strict, and it didn't help that he thought she was a little odd, too. She understood that she had a complete lack of experience, but Fay decided that her resolve would make up for it.
'I'm not one of those people who give up easily, Dylan. But I will respect you...in a way...if you promise that you'll be a little more relenting.'
Then, with a more playful tone to her voice, she added, 'I really do want to know if you're going to go to the dance. And once I have time, I will figure out if you're going, and with who you're going. But I suppose that now isn't the time to talk about those frivolous things.' Sighing, she swiftly pulled out a slender wooden practice sword, and dived at Dylan. 'Come on. I'd like to train a bit." I think you'll soon find out I'm a lot more capable than you think, Fay thought to herself with a slight smirk. She completely ignored Dylan's quips about Winterlace. Her bond was definitely strong---well, definitely smart---enough to handle Peppermint by herself. The only question was if she'd get harmed in the process. Winterlace suddenly twisted to the side, wincing as Peppermint's paw pressed on her throat, nearly winding her. But still, her sudden movement had loosened her Patron's weight, if only by a little. Lace could use that to her advantage. She wiggled again and managed to place her snout right around Pepper's front paw, the one that was pinning her to the ground. Giving it a sharp n**, she let go for a second-- Only to clench down on Peppermint's leg again, with jaws of steel. Barely breathing now, Lace said as calmly as possible, Alright, Pepper. I understand about centipedes, even if I've never seen them before. They might be poisonous, they might be large, but I can bet they aren't as stubborn as I am. Now let. go. of. me. Before I bite your paw off. Alright? Still clamping her mouth on Peppermint's leg, Winterlace felt a bit of discomfort. Her fur was a little matted from sweat, and she hated getting messy...And the fact that she was seconds away from blacking out didn't help very much.
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Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 7:52 am
Eustace exited her barracks with an exaggerated yawn. The paperwork was piling up on her desk and every attempt to clear it off was met with an stack of equal size the next day. The forts were really meant for several leaders. Sure, the pack could survive with only one Alpha to lead them, but the paperwork was enough to kill whatever fateful person received the job of a solitary Captain. She sincerely hoped that LunarFlare would mate with someone soon, but he seemed more intent on watching from the shadows and disciplining when needed. Love was the last thing on his mind, she supposed. Eustace had just pulled an all-nighter and as far as she was concerned, yesterday had not ended yet. She couldn't be sure what time it was, but it didn't make any difference. When she wasn't needed for paperwork, she needed to patrol because heavens knew people just couldn't behave on their own. That was something else this fort needed. Sergeants, Betas, people to take the bloody work load off the only authority figure in New Eve. Eustace sure didn't feel like an authority figure. She was constantly tired, constantly irritable, and constantly being undermined by people who just refused to understand the lengths she was going to in order to keep the fort running smoothly.
LunarFlare followed Eustace, stepping out of his lonesome, oversized den. Eustace patted him on the side and yawned again before walking in a sluggish pace toward the training field. Her pose was the usual, upright with her hands clasped behind her back, stomach in, shoulder's straight. It was an easy way to hide her exhaustion, though anyone who was close enough would be able to see the bags under her eyes and the dark circles. Hopefully, that would be enough to discourage any mischief among the privates. She swore that the first person to lob a snowball in her general vicinity would get latrine duty for the next month and would be refused gloves. When the two arrived at the training field, Eustace was greeted with some disturbing news. An apprentice approched her and saluted.
"Permission to speak?" The apprentice asked formally.
"Granted," Eustace answered, nodding. This was a good start to the day. She loved apprentices for the sole purpose that they had the easiest time respecting her. She had been at the fort longer than any of them and she was certainly older. Maybe that was the problem with those troublesome privates.
"Apprentice Harte and Private Silvin were seen exiting the fort earlier today with Peppermint and Winterlace. For training, I assume," She said nervously. The news might have put Eustace in a bad mood, but she wasn't angry enough to kill the messenger. Eustace nodded.
"You are dismissed." With a heavy sigh, Eustace made her way to the doors, LunarFlare having gone off some distance to forcibly correct another wolf's posture. After a moment of waiting at the door, Lunar caught up and they left to find Dylan and Faylun.
The two weren't difficult to find. Not many went outside, so even if they had been way off in the distance, they would have been easy to track down. Having been a former Sergeant, Eustace had expected more of him. Maybe that had been the reason he left White Shadow. If he was fond of breaking the rules there, then there would be no reason for Calla to want him there. She hadn't been very forgiving as a patron and she definitely wouldn't be as the Lieutenant. It wasn't like they could confiscate his wolf and send him back to wherever he came from, so what was the next best thing? Sending him over to New Eve so that Eustace had to deal with him.
As Eustace and LunarFlare approached, they noticed -since disobeying some pretty obvious and very strict rules clearly wasn't enough- Peppermint and Winterlace were having a little spat. Now, LunarFlare didn't usually involve himself in these petty squabbles, but something like this while a wolf was still very young could be very damaging. While both forts were recovering from a crisis, they couldn't afford losing any wolves, or having them disabled. A low rumble started in his throat, loud and threatening. He didn't bother with greetings. One look and any wolf in the fort would know who he was and Peppermint knew that what she was doing was wrong, which was likely why the group had to leave the fort to do it. All he needed was for Peppermint not to submit and then he had all the excuse he needed to do the exact same thing to her that she seemed intent on doing to Winterlace.
Distancing herself from the situation with the wolves which LunarFlare would handle smoothly, Eustace approached Dylan and Faylun. "Do I need to point out that you two shouldn't be out here or will you both kindly make my job easier and take this to the Training Field where it belongs?"
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