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 Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 6:59 pm
 With all of these pups springing out into the season, it had made Gabrielle not stingy with motherhood as she used to, but rather long more for her own parents - a complicated story of its own. There was still no trace of Caydenn, and at times she considered maybe looking for clues to his disappearance, but for the moment her mind was on her mother; her poor, maddened, regretably furious mother. Where was Liriel now?
Gabby had wisely kept away from her mother's den for many weeks, thinking this could allow her time to cool down. Why she thought this was anyone's guess - Gabrielle was the hopeful type after all. Maybe Mother's temper has simmered down since then, she thought as she followed the famiilar scent towards the forest. Maybe she will see sense and put her anger into something constructive . . .
She smelled blood and began to see bits of fur here and there along the path. One part of a squirrel, like a dislodged paw, tail hair, a fogged-over eye. The stronger the scent became, the less erratic the body parts were. By the time she saw the familar glow of light from Liriel's lantern, Gabrielle was sure she had seen the full detail of a skinned rat.
Sense indeed . . . Oh God, help me be strong for this, she prayed before announcing her presence through loud pawsteps.
"Mother? It's me. Are you . . . alright?" A very, very stupid question, btu she was at a loss for words. How else could she greet Liriel after so long?
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 7:32 pm
Liriel lay in the back of the den, her head resting on her paws as she stayed deep in thought. Her den was gruesome, that much she would admit, but her new hobby offered her a level of catharsis that nothing else could provide for the time being. She was just laying there, gnawing half-heartedly on some poor beast's thigh bone when she heard Gabrielle enter, her ears shifting forward curiously as she watched her approach. Ah..good...I've been needing to have a bit of a chat with you..little one..
"Define 'alright', Gabrielle...What does that word mean to you..?" She tilted her head and watched her daughter closely, her eyes piercing, judging. Already she had made up her mind that she would need to toughen up her brood..make them into warriors. But Gabrielle..she needed to start with her first, as she seemed to need the most help the soonest.
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 3:09 pm
Ah, so she was not frenzied! Good, good . . . Maybe there was a chance yet. "'Alright' is knowing you are alive and well, Mother," Gabrielle replied, giving a tentative smile as she entered her mother's den. "At least right now it does." Liriel's pair of pale yellow eyes pierced through her, and the adolescent was uncomfortably reminded of Moghedien's own cool gaze she had found herself under on several occasions; neither of these were pleasing to be the focus of. She tilted her ears back, trying to look diminutive so that she might not give Liriel a reason to grow hostile.
"I-I'm happy to see you again," Gabby continued with genuine emotion. "You were so angry before, I didn't want to disturb you . . . You've, er, been working on your skinning technique, I saw. The bones are very clean. So, er . . . how are you?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 4:54 pm
The masked femme could barely hold back her smirk , noting Gabrielle's apparent fear. Ah..she's stuttering..that's good. I hold some power over her young mind still..Perhaps it won't be so hard to get started..
She clapped a paw down over the leg bone she had been working on and fully lifted her head, giving Gabrielle her full attention, her golden eyes not budging from her daughters.
"I am alive, child, but 'well' is not a word that I would choose.." she slowly rose to her feet then, stretching as she went, purposefully drawing out the time between her words, "I have realized, Gabrielle, that I don't have much in this world. I have my position in this pack...and my...children." she paused again, her voice tinted with purpose and leftover sadness and disappointment even after her chat with Moghedien. "I have no mate, or friends to speak of...It has become clear that I need to make the most of what I do have, lest I wallow forever in mangled fur and bones..It all begins with you and your siblings..do you understand this, Gabrielle..?" Her tone stayed flat and even, almost mechanical as she spoke and stared plainly at her daughter. It still pained her to this day to look at her, see those colors mixed with her own fur pattern, but she mentally pushed it aside. She had to focus on the task at hand, not the fresh scars from the recent past.
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:08 pm
Poor Gabrielle, she couldn't imagine what was going through Liriel's head right now. It was such a great gap that Caydenn had torn in them both, father and lover lost in one fell swoop one mysterious night, a simple one night stand that had very long-lasting consequences. It pained her to hear such a dead voice coming from her own mother's lips, and this showed in her eyes and tone. "I-I'm sorry, Mother, I didn't mean to leave you alone," she apologized quickly, stepping forward to nuzzle Liriel affectionately. "I really didn't, I just - just didn't know what to do for you . . ."
She swallowed. "I understand. I-I've been trying to prove myself. The queen is letting her spy teach me his ways, and I've told the king that I want to be a lady. So . . . So, I've been working hard, Mother, like you want me to. And Cas, he's also training under the king and is getting very strong." Would this please her?
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:25 pm
Liriel allowed Gabrielle's nuzzling, just lightly returning the gesture as reinforcement, partly to ease her anxiety enough for the young female to focus. "Rest assured that I will tell you what to do from now on. You seem to be set upon the right path, you have good aspirations for your future.. but I hear things from others that make me wonder.."
She shook out her fur and turned her head to Gabrielle, tilting it slightly to one side, her voice gaining curiosity, "I've heard that you have been getting friendly with the slaves..could you tell me why that is..?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 5:42 pm
She heard things? "Things"? Oh God, the slaves . . . "Th-That is . . . Um . . ." Crap, how to explain this? Gabrielle looked away for a moment, still pressed gently against her mother's neck; it was soothing, whatever her situation was now. "Only one of them, Kerai. He's like a babe, Mother, nothing more. Adrieal I have nothing for, and frankly I'm sure he hates me after I terrorized him as a pup." She smirked a little at the memory; back then, 'Dri had been such a coward. Now he was far more bitter and a complaining sort. "The third one I don't know about yet, he is Lord Hades' tribute to the king upon arriving."
There wasn't any need to mention her faint flirting with Kerai after all. It was just fun, right? An attention-seeking tactic when her mother and most of her siblings had went reclusive and left her to her own devices. All in the past now, just all in the past . . . It wasn't as if Kerai seemed to think there was anything in their friendship after all.
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Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2010 6:26 pm
Liriel's brow raised and then furrowed slightly in confusion. Of course..terrorizing the slaves was perfectly acceptable..but her dealings with this one named Kerai caused her slight worry. "...Kerai is like a child, you say..? But why do you even bother with this slave in the first place, daughter? Those individuals are our slaves because they are the lowest of the low, child, spineless..the reason they stay our slaves is because they don't have it in them to be better..like us." she said, her eyes visibly showing her concern for Gabrielle's reputation. "Our reputations are important, child...your friends reflect who you are. You are going to be a Lady, Gabrielle, like me, and you should put yourself at that level."
She lifted her posture now, composing herself like the Lady she was and pacing gracefully about her den, her head lifted regally as she walked and spoke. "You want everyone to know who and what rank you are when they see you, you want them to see confidence and poise, grace, control, and strength." She paced a circle around Gabrielle now, sizing her up. "You should associate with others that are at your level, as well as the ones above, as you want to have friends in high places. Associating with slaves.." she looked to Gabrielle, sinking down onto her belly again, her head low and her tail hugged submissively around her leg, crawling some to demonstrate and punctuate her point, "..will make others wonder just how far you are from being like them..do you see?" She raised herself up again and looked questioningly to Gabrielle, her voice a little lightened and more lively from her playacting.
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Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 7:23 pm
Gabrielle hung on her every word, wishing she could just acquiesce to her mother's concerns and nod, just be able to say that she had just been acting like a silly, hormonal girl since Caydenn had left (her version of depression as an excuse?), that there was nothing at all between herself and Kerai beyond his respect for her higher rank, that their time spent together was just an act . . . But Gabrielle couldn't go back on that, could she? Would she betray her own friend just to ensure her status?
It sounded so wrong in her head, yet Liriel's words were also terribly right. Already she could tell she was getting scrutiny from Moghedien especially, and if that spread to the king, then her life might easily become as bad as a slave's at Reign of Terror . . . Gabby swallowed hard and followed her mother's movements about the cave, eerily reminded of Mog's equally fluid movements, able to transplant the queen's cool silver gaze with Liriel's golden one. There was nothing, nothing outside of this pack if she was forced to leave, or worse . . .
Please forgive me, she thought with a silent prayer, bowing her head at the same time. "You're . . . You're right, Mother," Gabrielle replied quietly, shamefully. "I should know better than to think myself responsible for a slave. I will not associate myself with him unless I am ordered to."
And there she was, feeling like the lowest of the low, one who betrayed her only friend in order to continue to grasp at what social stats she did retain in Reign of Terror. God help her if this was not the right decision, oh God help her . . . She had to forget that she had promised to keep him safe many months before, back when she was but a carefree pup bothering a lord one morning's walk.
Gabrielle lifted her head, looking contrite. Mother knows best, she reminded herself. You owe it to her to listen to her advice. "Confidence, poise, grace, control, strength," she parroted back, sitting up straighter. Apparently what she had been doing these past few months was not enough for Liriel . . . Then she would just have to work even harder.
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 1:19 am
Liriel actually smiled as she watched her daughter take on the more dignified posture, nodding to her in approval. "That's right, daughter, get familiar with how that posture feels, that's how a Lady should carry herself..a little princess, even.." she said, stroking and fanning the young one's confidence, hoping to encourage a little flame to mayhaps spring up from her daughter's softness. Gabrielle was her daughter after all, just because her father was a troublesome little snake didn't mean she shouldn't act and feel like the princess she should have been, damn it.
"Now..my little princess, you must know that it isn't entirely necessary for you to keep away from the slaves..but you must know that there's acceptable ways to interact with them. Our slaves are our servants..they can be sent on errands, made to do menial tasks that aren't worth our full attention..and they can be our entertainment. We're free to do whatever we please with them..but kindess..it simply does not happen in this pack, my girl.." She circled her again, settling in front of her and watching her responses to her words. "You may disagree with that..but you will find yourself in the minority here. The best you can do is to leave them be if you're too tempted to be...kind...especially in front of your peers." Liriel shook her head softly, almost dissapointed she had to make this point to a pup of her own, but she wasn't going to avoid it. If she can't mold her daughter to believe what the pack does, she could at the very least..teach her how to put on the mask to hide her true feelings. Here, she lowered her voice, "If you want your own slave or minion you would have to capture or trade for one..but then he or she would be at your mercy, and your mercy alone. Moghedien has one, a bodyguard of sorts, and she is not cruel to him. So..one could say that cruelty is not a necessity in this pack..but..do not interfere with the possessions of others. You would not want Lord Clooney hurting or meddling with your property, would you? It's only common courtesy..." She took a deep breath now, leveling with her daughter. "Even if that Kerai is important to you, remember that he is only at the mercy of another because he lacks the strength and spirit to be anything but what he is..."
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 5:40 pm
I am a princess . . . Aah, if only she had been told this more as a pup, she could believe it! Not now, not when Gabrielle was fully aware of just how powerless she was in this pack. But then, most here wore masks of civility and others the masks of chaos - her own mother wore a literal mask, and what better mask had there been than the one that had been placed upon her father's pale face! It was almost funny to consider how deceptive most of the members were here, and yet there she sat as innocent as the very slave she was denouncing. Perhaps it was time to consider practicing the art of acting, even if for her own purposes . . .
Gabrielle listened attentively, keeping her back straight as it pleased Liriel so, even tilting her head up just the slightest so that her chin was jutted ever so slightly forward, her blank face adding to the imperious expression upon her face. "He is a most useful slave, Mother," she replied with a strange amount of confidence. "Compliant without complaint, has no will of his own with an open mind to commands, and he appears to get things done. I think he would be a waste under someone as brooding as Clooney and that someone equally bitter is more suitable. Say, Adrieal." She followed her mother's movements with her eyes once more, keeping still and proper and, somehow, calmer than before. "I imagine the lord would rather a slave that gave him sport rather than a weak smile, whereas I have already charmed Kerai into my paws as it is. He would do whatever I ask of him, Mother, just as the queen has Damon. Adrieal, on the other paw, is as useless as an argumentative and overgrown squirrel to me.
"Frankly," Gabby added with a wry smile she did not use (ah, how Liriel might see a bit of herself in that wronged smile!), "I believe Clooney is too affected by Selene's loss to be a stable lord. I was with him that morning, and he was terribly broody. For all we know, he might be wasting a valuable resource in that slave - why not give him an already wasteful one for his troubles? It might give him incentive to bring fresh blood. Or perhaps he could ask Hades for that new one that came in; he is certainly all smiles just like Kerai, but his work ethic is questionable as of yet. I know that the Lord Hades does not care for him, though, so it would be a fair trade."
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 6:45 pm
Liriel's smile held as she watched her daughter, listening to her speak. Gabrielle was learning rather quickly now..she was catching on. All the better, the faster she learns, the quicker her transformation into a rank-worthy young lady.
"Yes..now you're thinking like a Lady, I knew it was in there somewhere.." she smirked and winked at Gabrielle as she spoke, staying seated opposite of her, "However, If you plan to take Kerai as your own slave, it might be wise to wait for the opportune time to do so. Once you have earned your place as a Lady and established yourself, trying at that time might be more successful, as opposed to trying sooner...seeing as youthful dalliances are still not very quickly forgotten.."
For now, Liriel was pleased. Her daughter wasn't so far off track as she had thought, she just needed to get in on the masquerade that was surrounding her, and learn a little acting. Every wolf in this pack had something to hide, whether it be their thoughts, emotions, motivations...or soft spots..
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 7:18 pm
At her praise, Gabrielle broke into an elated smile, the crack in her "Lady Face" she didn't mind. After all, it was her own mother, her flesh and blood; and family could alwasy be trusted, even in this masquerade of wolves, yes? This was the wolf that had kept her safe when she had nightmares about the unborn sibling or dreams of other wolves' pregnencies several days or weeks before they even realized they were with pups. "You're right, I should wait . . . Oh, it's just that I've been waiting so long!" Who thought that adolescence could stretch forever?
"But you're right, you're right, Mother," Gabrielle told herself with a nod. "Patience to add to the list. You can help teach me these things so that I can make you a proud Lady too. And . . ." And we can spend more time together, like a real family, she thought with eagerness. "and if you need anything, I can help you with that too, Mother. I really have missed you all this time."
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 8:50 pm
Ah Gabrielle..she was always the one she needed to keep happy..so long as she was happy, she was motivated and eager to learn, and that was all Liriel could hope for. She smirked softly at Gabrielle's words, shaking her head softly.
"Yes, patience my girl..don't wish too hard to grow up now, adulthood comes with a whole new set of trials and problems and complications as stumbling blocks in your path...Once you reach that rocky path you'll be wanting to double back and walk again on younger paws.."
She gave a rueful sigh as her thoughts sunk in and moved forward, nuzzling Gabrielle's cheek briefly as she stepped toward her bed of furs near the back of her den, gently settling herself down. She gave Gabrielle a sort of faraway look, finally realizing that time was truly passing for her the longer she sulked. Her pups were not far from becoming young adults..and she was still young yet, but she had to wonder what was next for her in life. The alpha she had yearned for was paired off, and her litter was almost grown..and they were all she had left until the went off on their own. What then...?
Liriel took a deep breath, nodding to Gabrielle as she continued to speak. "Yes..I'll teach you everything I can, your siblings as well. The biggest way you can help me is to learn the best you can..and help your brothers and sister stay on track as well..this is a team effort now.."
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 9:36 pm
Fully agreeing, Gabrielle allowed herself a bigger smile. Mother had calmed down, was now rational and nurturing again! Oh heavens above, thank God for this sparkle of hope! "Right, team effort," she echoed, remembering her last encounter with Cassius and who the two of them psyched each other up for future plans. Family minus dad! This could work, this could still work. "I'll listen as if I have four ears and two brains," she told Liriel with a tail wag. "Cas can be the muscle, I bet he's really good at fighting now. And Baal . . . can be the beauty? Or the lure for females. I can be the spy who gathers information. And you can be the mastermind that coordinates us, Mother!" Gabby listed off happily. "A working, functional family! We'll make the king and queen proud, and maybe . . . maybe he'll recognize us above the other lords and ladies for our efforts."
Maybe even make us a second, lower-ranking royal family at his ear, she thought, which was a big stretch of course, but forgive a girl who was caught in elation that visiting her mother was turning out so much better than she could have ever thought. All she had ever wanted was to make her happy, and both power and being the prime exmaple of a dutiful daughter seemed to do that.
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