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 Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 8:17 pm
 Treading wearily, Kamiya made her way up the path toward the pack border. She was exhausted -- doubly so because of the pup hanging from her jaws. The little boy seemed fit enough to walk most of the journey, if they kept taking breaks, but the girl was tiny and weak. But still very heavy.
She paused, setting the pup down for a moment so she could catch her breath. Roshan had been calling her Nakine, which Kami thought was a bit absurd; naming a pup "hope" at a time like this seemed almost like cursing it. Still, who was she to say anything to the contrary?
She lingered here in the shade longer than was necessary. The others had offered to come help, of course, but she'd declined. She thought even bringing Roshan along was stretching her luck. What was her guarantee that Lalita would even take the damn pups? She'd be lucky if he even remembered who she was. It certainly wouldn't help to have the whole gang tagging along.
But there was another reason she lingered here. Another reason she wanted to be left alone. Although she would never admit it aloud...she would miss these pups. She had tried not to get attached. She hadn't named them, had tried to spend as little time with them as possible, tried to convince herself that she didn't care about them....but, deep down, she loved them. Because she was their mother.
She hoped, for their sake, they didn't feel the same. Hoped they'd be young enough to forget her, or even hate her. So long as they stayed in the pack...and stayed safe.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, the petite orange wolf threw herself back up to her paws and scooped Nakine back up in her maw, walking forward as briskly and business-like as she could stand. The border where they'd first met wasn't far now...hopefully Lalita would be somewhere easy to find. The last thing she wanted was to answer questions for some bunch of strangers...or be accosted for trespassing.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 8:37 pm
 Roshan followed silently behind Kamiya, occasionally pausing to give Abhidi a gentle nudge, or to pick him up and carry him for a few paces. Kami might have been ready to abandon the babies, but he certainly wasn't. He loved them already. Loved them more than he had any right too, honestly -- but here they were, two small bits of home.
The home he had destroyed.
Not with his own paws. He reminded himself of that daily. But, still, he had as good as murdered every last one of them. So if he could somehow make up for that atrocious deed by helping with these pups...then so be it.
He smiled fondly down at Abhidi. That one would have done so well, he thought. Brighter even than his mother...he could have risen in rank, made her so proud....this all must be breaking her heart.
Not that Kamiya would ever show it if it was.
He had never been closely acquainted with her in the pack. She was a scout, and he a hand-servant, spending most of his time tending to the pregnant females, keeping an eye on the pups, assuring they all were properly nourished. He had known her mother, of course -- she had been a concubine for one of the nobles -- but not Kami.
Now that they were just two of the three remaining members, though, he felt much closer to her. Perhaps this bond wasn't felt by the little orange wolf, but it certainly was for him.
He waited patiently for her to begin her journey once more, and followed after silently. He could only imagine how difficult this must be for her. He wouldn't make things difficult by adding his commentary where it wasn't wanted, and so he turned his attentions to the scenery. A very nice place, this. Extremely strange, coming from the beach as he had...but he liked it.
It almost reminded him of....where he had come from, before the raid that had brought him to Kapu'Moana. That thought made him smile a little bitterly.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 8:49 pm
 From her vantage point, swaying lightly between her mother's jaws, Nakine was getting an excellent view of the territory.
She wasn't sure where they were going, or why. Nobody had told her. Still, it was a grand adventure, and for her part she was thoroughly enjoying it.
She twisted around a little, ignoring her mother's annoyed grumbling, to try and get a good look at her brother and see what he thought about all this.
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 5:59 am
 The one that was bright like mother was having a bit of a difficult time keeping up with the adults pace. They took huge steps while he couldn't walk that far that fast. Abhidi was jealous of his sister being picked up like that. His uncle didn't pick him up for that long. He only got nudges.
Huffing, he snapped at Roshan's nose at the last nudge and waddled away. The pup was a bit on the fat side, like most pups, so it was doubly as hard for him to try to keep up with his mother. He couldn't whine either. Mother didn't like him whining, and frankly, he was afraid she might yell at him or something. She seemed really tense!
Looking up to his sister with a jealous glare, he put his nose in the air and just concentrated on trying to keep up.
Are we there yet?
No sooner had he thought the words, they stopped for a rest. With a joyous noise, the puppy flopped down on his side and started panting. It was hot, it was sticky, he walked forever and he didn't know where they were going anyway. Not like he remembered. It was so hot! He wanted some water and some food. He walked off their last meal.
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 6:12 am
 Lalita hadn't even thought of the girl he'd potentially slept with after beating her in the tournament. Of course, he felt really bad for having to win, but he couldn't let a girl beat him! Some of the others in the pack might have teased him mercilessly for it! He got enough teasing because he was in love with someone he couldn't have, his father wasn't mated yet and his sister was more like a mouse than a wolf. How was any of that his fault? He rolled his eyes as his sister followed him out of their shared den.
So what? He still lived at home with his dad. He saw no reason to separate, seeing how the one he really wanted wouldn't have him and he didn't want anyone else. Lalita figured it was easier to just live with his father than to dig him a new den for a family he'd never have.
His ears lowered as he walked through the border. His sister wouldn't follow him out here. When he went hunting, he went far. Jaya didn't like him going to hunt, but between him and his dad, she stayed fed that way, so why was she complaining? It wasn't like she did anything to contribute to the pack in any way, shape, or form.
His line of thinking forced him to stop and his tail to sink between his legs. How could he think like that about his sister? She couldn't help the way she was. It was mother constantly abusing them when they were pups. Telling them they were mistakes, that she didn't want them, that she never loved them. Then she went and dumped them on a dad they'd never heard about before. One who didn't know how to show emotions or give words of encouragement. Instead, he learned through tough love what it took to be an adult. Lalita didn't like that he was becoming like his dad. He didn't want to be bitter and surly. He wanted to be warm and open and just the complete opposite.
"Man...."
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Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 9:42 am
Kamiya paused again, once more setting down the pup as she lifted her nose to the air and sniffed. She tried to remember what he had smelled like. She hadn't lingered very long when she had been through -- a day, at most. A little flirtation, some flattery, a good time, and out while he was asleep: that was the way she'd always done it.
Always. Hah. As if she would have ever considered this before leaving her home. Never! Well, it was settled now, at any rate. There was no chance of her ever seeking out the company of a male again, no matter how good it made her feel in the short term. Fighting off depression wasn't worth all this.
She didn't bother to lift Nakine again this time as she started forward once more. She had caught a scent, and it seemed reasonable enough that she was on the right track...
Nakine, delighted to finally have free run, scampered back down and ran a little circle around Abhidi, tail wagging freely. "Where do you think we're going?" She asked, her dark blue eyes gleaming excitedly. She gave him a playful n** and scurried to catch up with her mother, although even this bit of exertion left her a little winded and her tongue lolled from her maw.
Roshan smiled encouragingly at Abhidi, sensing that the pup was done with all of this. And who could blame him? "We'll be there soon," he murmured, with an anxious glance up at Kami; truthfully, he wasn't even entirely sure where they were going, so he didn't know if he could make that claim, but he thought he might. "We'll get you some dinner and a nice rest just as soon as we can, alright?"
He trailed after Kamiya at a slight distance, a little bewildered at what precisely they were looking for. Did she even know where they were going?
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 7:23 am
Their mother didn't say anything to the pups, which was fine. She didn't talk a lot, except to tell them to eat, hurry up or something. Their mother never seemed to want to get to know them, and it made the male half sad and half annoyed. Maybe he should be like mother. Just not talking and always really intense to the point it scared him. Only sometimes though. Their mother wasn't really scary, but she had a scary feel around her from time to time.
Now, though, he whined when mother was on the move again. Huffing, the male climbed to his feet and looked to his sister before shrugging. "Mom doesn't talk to us, how should I know?" He was grumpy. Tired, hungry, a tad thirsty. Abhidi just wanted to eat, drink and sleep.
But nooooo. He had to struggle to catch up to mother again.
A scent caught his nose. Oh wait, he knew this scent. Blinking his green eyes, he tilted his head and headed for the scent. It couldn't be. It just couldn't. Kami had made it clear she wouldn't see him again when she snuck off after their night together. So why was he smelling her now? Why this close to his den? He picked up the pace and started into a full run.
His tongue hung out when he finally spotted her brightly colored pelt. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her, and a male... and two pups. The pups looked nothing like this male, so maybe .... Nope, he wouldn't go there. He wasn't about to put two and two together. They couldn't be his. They'd only done it once! Once wasn't enough for pregnancy.
"....Kami?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 7:44 am
Nakine gave a guilty look at her brother. She felt bad that she'd been carried most of the way up, while he had to walk. She didn't know why Roshan hadn't carried Abhidi...but then, she had a suspicion that if she could have made the trek on her own, mother never would have carried her either. Still, it didn't feel fair, and that made her insides squirm uncomfortably. "...Oh. Yeah." She offered him a meek little smile.
They got their answer soon enough, however, as they rounded the corner and a male came into sight, tongue lolling. Nakine's dark blue eyes widened and she gaped at him. "You look just like me!" She blurted out. And so he did, for the most part -- their brown fur and the pale marks along the face were distinctly identical.
Kami smiled wryly at the pup's announcement. She tried to look anywhere but at Lalita. She thought she might curl up and die of embarrassment. "Lalita," she said, mumbling towards her paws. "I...er...need to talk to you."
She took a deep, steadying breath and forced her eyes over to look at him.
Roshan hung back, politely wandering away to sniff at some wildflowers, trying hard not to eavesdrop on the conversation. He felt bad for all of them: bad for Kami, trying so hard to pretend she didn't care for the pups when obviously she did....bad for this male, having responsibility suddenly dropped upon him...and he felt especially bad for the pups, not knowing what was coming.
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 7:52 am
His ears flattened as he saw the look on his sister's face. Looking to the side, Abhidi sighed and just looked down to his paws as he tried to hurry to keep up. However, he bumped his nose against his mother's leg and oofed when he fell down. Whining, he looked up at his sister's exclamation and then blinked. Who was he? He looked just like his sister! How could that be? Mom didn't say anything about having an older brother. And clearly the concept of a father didn't strike him.
He moved to hide with Roshan. He didn't want to talk to this guy that mom wanted to talk too. Looking to his sister, he yipped for her to come over and smell the flowers too. It seemed mom really needed to talk to him.
It was confirmed when the little girl blurted out looking like him. Apparently they were his children. s**t, this was NOT good. His father would seriously kill him if he found out about them. His dad was always telling him to be careful when he encountered a female. And guess what he wasn't. Apparently, he wasn't careful enough. His tail curled between his legs slowly as his ears flattened a little.
"Ah... Of.. course.." he couldn't tear his eyes away from the puppies for a moment before looking up at Kami again and looking embarrassed and sheepish. Then he looked to the male that the boy pup had wandered over to.
Sighing, he started to walk a little ways away, having a feeling Kami would follow him. "..What do you need to talk about?" Lalita was trying to act cool and calm, but he was shaking on the inside.
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 8:08 am
Roshan smiled at Abhidi. If the pup wanted to hide behind him for a little while, that was fine by him. Anything to make this whole unbearable situation just a little easier to deal with.
Nakine hesitated, torn for a moment between following after her mother to see what she was going to talk about, and sticking with Uncle Roshan and her brother. Doing a nervous little half-dance on her paws, she finally darted over to the flower patch where those she knew had congregrated, though she couldn't help but send curious glances back over her shoulder to that strange male who looked so much like her. It was so strange! Abhidi looked just like mother...and now Nakine looked...like this man. She cast a curious look at her brother to see if he had any idea what was going on here.
Kamiya followed Lalita a short distance, and when she spoke her voice was low. "I'm sorry to do this to you," she said, and she meant it. She was sorry that any of this had happened, and sorrier still that this wolf was the one to deal with it. He looked so young. But, at least he had a pack, unlike many of the other males she had been with while searching for some level of comfort....maybe that would make a difference. "I...I just went home, to my old pack. And it's....gone."
She paused here, not sure how she should continue, not sure she could even articulate the issue. She didn't want to come out and say that she thought someone might be out to kill her and the other two Kapu'Moana survivors. "I...don't think it's safe, for the pups to stay with me. Not without a pack to keep an eye on them. And this...this is a nice place. They'd have lots of wolves looking out for them here."
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 8:55 am
When his sister looked to him, he shrugged. How would the pup know what was going on? He knew as much as she did. Occasionally he glanced over at that other wolf and their mother. The swirl was the same on his shoulder as on Abhidi's. They had the same green eyes, too. But that's where the similarities ended.
s**t. She was giving them to him. He couldn't say no, they were his. One look at the girl and anyone could tell she was his. His ears pinned lower and he looked to the side, not even able to meet her gaze. Her pack was.. gone? Did that mean..
"..Why don't you stay. We're always accepting new members. You and the pups.... even... that male back there..." He looked to the male and then to the pups again. Questions floated in his head, but he couldn't ask them. Not yet. He wasn't ready for this! He didn't think this would happen to him. This is exactly what his father warned him of. Those poor pups. He knew what it was like to be dropped off by your mom, with a strange male and a strange pack. "...They'd adjust best... with you here with them. ...I mean I know what... it's like. This... Well..." He couldn't get his thoughts together.
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Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:58 pm
Kamiya took a deep breath, staring down at her paws, careful not to look at him. Tears burned at the back of her eyes, but she blinked them away rapidly. "I...don't think that's a good idea," she said, finally. Something caught in her throat but she swallowed it back. "My...it's a long story."
She exhaled a long, shaky breath. Something in her chest cavity shivered. "I...my pack. They're...they're all dead," she said, finally, and her chest hitched. Her lip trembled. "I'm afraid that....whoever did it...will keep looking for me. I have to...to..."
She had to go back, retrace her steps, cover her tracks and lay a false path down....anything she could do, to try and keeps the pup safe. It was the only way.
Roshan glanced over his shoulder at the young lovers. He watched the trembling in Kamiya, and it frightened him. She was a very strong, capable wolf...and seeing her close to breakdown for the first time after everything that had happened made him extremely nervous.
Still, he couldn't let that damage the pups anymore than they already had been. "So," he said, loudly, hoping to capture their attention. "Nice sort of place, isn't this? I wouldn't mind staying here for awhile. The grass is nice and soft."
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 12:03 am
When the strong female started trembling, Lalita's brows knit together. "Look, the pack will protect you. Roshan can stay too. We'll fight for you and the pups. We'll keep everyone safe.." He seriously couldn't be a single dad. It failed miserably with his dad; the rest of the pack took care of him and his sister instead of his dad. He had quiet respect for sway, yes, but at the same time he sort of resented him for not taking care of his pups. Now, when he needed it most, he couldn't take care of his family.
Lalita dared moved closer, nosing her cheeks, wanting her to feel at ease. "If you don't stay forever, then for a few days, to get the kids adjusted... To explain to them why you're leaving them with me.. It doesn't look like they know what's going on.." He looked to the pups and then to Roshan. He was on the verge of panicking.
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 12:14 am
She shook her head, firmly. Run away. That was Kami's longest, deepest feeling, the instinct that took over and drove her paws into motion, that led her life. If she ever stopped moving, she would die.
"It'll just be harder, the longer I stay," she said, firmly. "Lalita...I...I'm so sorry about this. This isn't...something I wished to happen."
She was already pulling away from them, shaking slightly with her overwhelming need to get away, to run from her problems rather than face them. "They'll be all right here. It's a nice, big pack. Plenty of others to tend to them. They'll be okay."
Nakine lifted her blunted maw up to blink at her retreating mother, completely baffled by what was going on. Where was she going? Why wasn't she coming? She looked between the adult males, looking for an answer.
Roshan took a deep breath. This wasn't going well. "I'll stay," he said. "If you'll have me. Whatever happens...I'll stay and...help."
Truth be told, he wanted far away from his surviving Kapu'Moana packmates, and the bad memories they carried. Besides, he had grown quite fond of the pups during his time with them.
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 12:42 am
Nothing he could say would stop her. Lalita knew that, and yet the male just wanted someone else to claim responsibility for what he'd done. Sighing hard, the male nodded and pulled away from her completely, turning his back to her. "Fine... leave.. You're welcome to come back, though.." He was hurt, scared and looking over to the puppies, he had a feeling he was in over his head. Perhaps Roshan would take care of them, be their father. Lalita was in no position to do that. Yes, he was mad she was just dumping them on him like this, but he was mad at himself he'd gotten careless and gotten her pregnant.
It would have been nice to know she was pregnant before all this happened. "....Roshan, you're welcome to stay. I'll need help. I'm no father. My father didn't teach me anything because he didn't raise me."
Yet more pups for the pack. He was bitter right now.
They were leaving them her? He raced over to his mother and raised up on his hind legs, putting his paws on her side and looked at her with a hurt and questioning look on his face. Leaving? Why wouldn't she be here with them? Tears brimmed his eyes as he just looked at her, whimpering, tails between his legs. Maybe if he looked pathetic enough she would stay.
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