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 Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 11:01 pm
Cyrus was not a compassionate nor a caring creature, in fact, his very nature was described as malicious. Even towards his so-called brother and sister, he was crude to without a second thought, and yet they remained by his side. So was the bond of siblings, though it's doubtful that they truly were siblings of the same blood.
Cyrus saw the worst in most everything and brought misery to those around him- this is probably why Vaati was less fond of him than Reikka. True that Vaati enjoyed a trick or two, here and there, frightening people and things to their wits' end and playing with their minds. Reikka was shy, but logical and intelligent, and knew that Cyrus couldn't be all of the antagonizing beast that some thought him to be. It just didn't make sense.
---
In any case, Cyrus had strayed from their company. They, all three of them, were familiar with most of the island's forests and regions, but he could still manage to stray away from them when he felt like it, and they knew not to go after him, for awhile at least.
Though he was surrounded in the pine trees of the forest and the prickly undergrowth was thick, the ground was becoming increasingly more hard and uncomfortable to the pads on his paws. By this, he concluded that he was either to the almost-direct east or west of the river, which flowed down from the mountainous regions of the north, where the volcano rumbled calmly, but not without threat.
Cyrus' wings gave a twitch, his eyes narrowed and pupils slitted, the usual scowl in place on his maw, ears tilted back and long claws piercing the ground every step he took. From afar, he could hear the river's gurgling, and knew that he was on the western side of the island, where the lake was located farther south.
He gave the air a quick sniff to be sure of any other beings of life nearby, but from inhaling so many scents, it was hard to determine. Life presided near water, after all. That is why he was making his way towards the mountains and the great volcano that loomed over the island. What kind of a creature would preside or wish to be in the company of a still-active volcano?
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Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 11:46 pm
Inari padded lightly over rough terrain, small puffs of dust rising from where he stepped. He’d had his fill of foolish ulaya, retreating to a quieter place. His ever-present glower of distaste settled in place as piercing eyes scanned the area which was, to his relief, decidedly lacking in company. Despite his determination to put himself as far from others as possible, the constant low rumble that filled the air held him back, instead circling around just above the base of the volcano, white fur slowly dulling with dust.
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 12:00 am
The overwhelming stench of sulfur grew as Cyrus approached the towering volcano from the confines of the forest. He would have to rely on his vision from now on to detect any other Ulaya, which narrowed his field, but was keen nonetheless.
Treading onward, he continued towards the volcano's base. The trees were few and scattered now, and the ones that happened to be nearby were covered in ash and soot. It was like snow, and even for one so crude as Cyrus, it was calming. Ash tumbled silently into the river, eventually dissolving along the way and becoming so scattered that it didn't pollute the waters in the least. All was quiet, save for the rumbling of the sleeping volcano, which was also quaint and peaceful in its own rights.
Though his expression of malice, boredom and distaste remained, Cyrus was truly lost in the odd beauty, and so had yet to notice Inari prowling nearby.
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 12:30 am
Inari cast a cursory glance around at the terrain, scowl impossibly deepening at the sight of another ulaya. He was somewhat surprised, though, to see one of the rare and striking undulcan instead of another crass commoner. Hard eyes watched the others every move, he wouldn’t give this ulaya the satisfaction of driving him away. Despite his inner thoughts, Inari’s face showed no outward change. Tilting his head slightly, he gazed upon him curiously.
Ruffling his fur, whisps of ash rolled off him.
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 12:43 am
Cyrus' sharp eyes caught the hard-to-spot Inari once he had shaken off the soot from his fur. If not for the disturbance in the serene flow of the ash, it might have taken much longer to spot him with the hue of his pelt so much like that of the ash.
Upon seeing Inari, his eyes narrowed even further, almost to mere slits, and his scowl grew slightly. He assumed that Inari had only shaken off the dust because he wanted to be seen, and that itself got Cyrus a bit riled up.
There was many an occasion on which he wished that his wings would grant him flight, but he knew well from failed attempts that it simply was not so. This was probably because having the gift of flight would make him even more of a scourge to others.
He refused to allow the snarky Ulaya to interrupt one of the few times he could be at peace, so he continued towards him, but also close to the point of ignoring him.
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 6:45 pm
Inari blinked and narrowed his eyes, untrusting of this ulaya and slightly taken aback that he was now headed his direction. Lifting himself from his haunches Inari watched warily, his body tense in anticipation – he was in no mood for confrontation.
He was far from skilled in physical combat, preferring to use words and wit as his weapons, and if this ulaya wanted him gone… Fur rising with tension, Inari scolded his expression into one of unintrest. As the other approached closer, Inari found it difficult to simply walk away now, and instead found himself calling out to the other. “Do you have business here undulcan?” His tone was more pompous than intended and more out of habit than spite.
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 9:15 pm
Cyrus' eyes snapped to the Ulaya as soon as the words left his mouth. If only he had stayed silent, then all would be well and they both could continue on, minding their own business. But no.
Not only that, but the hint of arrogance in his voice irked Cyrus further yet, but he forced himself to remain as calm as he could in answering. The Undulcan's wings gave a twitch out of irritation, as if trying to brush it off. Eyes narrowed and ears tilted back, he ran his tongue over his impressive fangs behind his closed mouth.
"More business than you, I would imagine. However, 'tis quite plausible that we have equal business here, or even that I've no more than you. Either way, it makes no difference t'me in the least."
Cyrus' slitted pupils made a couple of rounds over Inari quickly, before snapping back to his eyes. He had enough time to note that his fur was standing on end a bit, and so he felt confident that he could overpower the Ulaya, if need be.
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Posted: Sun May 27, 2007 11:02 pm
“You’re sure good at saying a whole lot of nothing.” Inari bit out. It was unlike him to get so riled up over a few words from another – and knowing this simply fueled his agitation. He made as if to add to his comment before pausing. Huffing slightly at the others scrutinizing gaze Inari snapped his head to the side, breaking their eye contact, to glare defiantly at a small boulder a few paces off.
Inari could practically feel the others strength rolling off him, and he found himself easily dominated by such strength – A feeling foreign to him, but almost refreshing in its own way.
Returning his gaze back to the other now in front of him he couldn’t help the itching feeling of curiosity take him. “…Who are you? Or rather, what’s your name?”
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Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 12:09 pm
Cyrus let out a snicker, one of his fangs protruding from the side of his mouth as he did so. He was aware of his hold over Inari- physically speaking, at least. He didn't know enough about him to determine anything otherwise, so he would wait things out until he did.
Ash continued to tumble down from the volcano-top, not too far away. The river gurgled nearby. Cyrus gave his wings a quick flap and folded them to his back while Inari was glaring at a rock to escape his own glare. His claws tapped at the ground as he listened to the purple-gemmed Ulaya ask his question.
"Cyrus is my name."
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Posted: Thu May 31, 2007 6:50 pm
Inari simply looked at Cyrus for a moment. Not with a gaze of spite, or a critical eye, but just simply… looking.
Standing, Inari shook the ash from his coat, sending out a cloud of gray, only to have more ash to tumble down on him. He inwardly rolled his eyes. “Well then Cyrus, a pleasure to meet you.” Jutting his chin out he brushed past Cyrus, making his way towards the gurgling river not too far off. His fur was becoming matted standing so close to the volcano, and it was, well, becoming uncomfortable.
The river was surprisingly clear for where it was located, the swift current quickly sweeping away any falling ash.
Sticking his muzzle slightly into the running water Inari pulled back, sneezing harshly as water found its way in his nose.
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Posted: Thu May 31, 2007 10:40 pm
As much as Cyrus wanted to press on, farther towards the volcano and it's ever-threatening serenity, he felt inclined to stay back to inquire Inari as to his name, at least. His reasoning was only that it was rude of Inari not to have given his own name to Cyrus when he had given him his own.
For a while, he simply stood there, glaring off into the distance with his malicious stare and a very defined scowl. At last, he snarled at himself as he turned around towards the river and Inari. When he asked, "So, what's your name then?", it was gruff and impatient. Ulaya of royal decent or not, he would not be ignored by some pompous p***k, or whomever this Ulaya thought he was.
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Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:35 pm
Inari hadn’t been expecting Cyrus to give him a second glance before continuing on his way, as it was Inari was quite shocked to find the other asking for a name. You’re not fooling anyone. The words escaped Inari’s mind almost sulkily. It had appeared to him quite obvious the other had intended to stay clear of others, if not there was no reason to go to such a place as this, right?
Frowning slightly Inari shook himself a bit, trying to regain composure. “It’s… Inari.”
Pulling back from the small stream Inari stood, not quite sure what to do with himself anymore. His ears twitched, a quiet whistle reaching them as air rushed past small cracks in the earth from where he was situated.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 12:13 am
Cyrus' dislike for this Ulaya grew at every passing moment, but of course, Cyrus was an odd one indeed, a bit of a masochist and sadist all in one even. By disliking this Ulaya so much, it gave him some sort of twisted pleasure that made him snarl and grin on the inside all at the same time.
But really though, Inari just turning around on him that way- it infuriated him, it insulted him. How dare he!
As all this chaos reigned in his mind, Cyrus withheld his composure like a true gentleman, though it was out of pride that he could do so.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Prince."
The 'Prince' thing rather came out of nowhere, for he really had meant to refer to Inari as, well, Inari. His thoughts must have gotten the better of him, but he didn't mind in this case. That would be his new nickname for this p***k, 'Prince'.
He walked forward, only a few steps so that he was by Inari's side and in front of him just a bit, glaring at him with a smirk which exposed a single fang on the left side of his maw. His tail flicked from side-to-side, nearly brushing against him a few times, but not quite touching the other Ulaya.
"So, I take it you're all'lone then?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 1:27 am
“Oh, the pleasures all mine I’m sure commoner.” Inari snarled, involuntarily taking a quick step back at Cyrus’ approach, his fur standing on edge slightly. His poise was slipping more and more every minute that passed in this Ulayas presence.
“I am, at the moment that is” Inaris voice held a sharp edge to it as he replied to Cyrus’ question. “Though I’ve got a pack to be getting back to, so if you’ll excuse me…” Inari made to move past Cyrus, his senses aflare with an undercurrent of danger that seemed to seep from the other.
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Posted: Sat Jun 23, 2007 1:41 am
Cyrus was beginning to have fun with this unwitting Ulaya. His snaggle-fanged smirk quickly shifted to a fanged grin as his eyes bore down on the back of Inari's head. One of his forelegs shot out to block Inari so quickly that it seemed more like a reflex.
"What's your'urry?"
The Undulcan's tail was swaying slowly behind him, and this time it brushed gently against Inari's side. He ran his tongue along his fangs and lips and brought his snout close to Inari's ear so that his breath ruffled the fur somewhat.
"I'd love for you t'stay~"
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