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 Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:35 pm
If another kin were to come upon them then, it would see that Howl could only stand there, watching helplessly as the other buck disappeared.
In reality, he was trying to watch but couldn't, so he gave up, not prone to helplessness and disappeared as well. Blood drying on his face in a mask of violence that told lies about his nature.
------
Less forgotten this time because of repetition, but cast aside because of its inconsequence to daily life and its inability to interfere with his hunting, the other buck was far from Howl's mind. Occasionally he was reminded of the buck when the scent of blood and Swamp mixed in a particular way, but it intruded no more than memories of other kin who had the significance of conversation, like Beloved, or memories of hunters in his childhood, sand rushing beneath their hooves.
This moment was not one of those particular moments where any memory was intruding on his peace, none but the memory of his naming dream. Here, hidden in the shadows, where he lay in the hollow of tree, Gale pressed to his side, he was a ghost, entirely dead to the world because that was as much significance he had to the rest of the Swamp.Ruriska Omen could sit on him. xD /kicked
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Posted: Wed Sep 18, 2013 11:52 pm
Omen thought of the buck now and then. Days afterwards the image of the blood-touched Acha had refused to leave him. He hadn't been certain why. The morbid beauty, he guessed. But time lessened most things and as Omen’s travels continued, he thought less and less of the strange buck that had mysteriously come into his life on two coincidental occasions. But right now, at this present time, all thoughts had fled his mind except survive. The sudden clamour of noise and motion would have woken the dead. This was no stealthy hunt but a desperate fight. The untried against a formidable foe. Omen wasn't even sure how he’d angered the wolf. But it was mad and he had the fighting ability of blade of grass. The best he could do was to avoid the snapping jaws, continually backing up. He was afraid to turn, knowing the beast would be on him in a heartbeat. Amorpheous I thought to myself, ‘what does this rp need more of Ruri?’ and I answered ‘more killing, obviously’.
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Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 12:07 am
All of a sudden, Howl's hard found peace was broken by the sound of a hunt. The crashing made him think that perhaps a kin was hunting something exceptionally large, but it then became clear as the hunt was right in front of him, clear enough to see in pale fuzzy shapes that it was kin being hunted. Instinct sent Gale sailing from their resting place, her growl matching the wolves.
Equally fleet footed, Howl was at her side in half a breath. He stamped his hooves, making to charge, but not quite striking the wolf. It was not so much that he could not kill another hunter, he could and had innumerable times in the past, but it was that he could understand the drive of the hunt, the snapping of jaws and though he sought to drive the wolf away, could not bring himself to kill another hunter in the midst of a hunt.
When the wolf did not back away and instead tried to strike again, Howl lashed out with a hoof, glancing off the wolf's neck and drawing blood. There was a snarl and yelp before hunter regarded hunter. Again, faking a charge, Howl bared his teeth at the wolf and this time it was enough to make the wolf turn tail, though it did pause in its escape, which only prompted another feint from Howl.
It was only when the wolf was truly gone that Howl turned to regard the kin it had been hunting, and only then that he realized who it was.
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Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 12:38 am
Omen had retreated until he had been halted by a tree, then there he had stood, staring with wide, unbelieving eyes as the familiar buck came to his rescue. Rush of Wind, his mind supplied the name as he watched the swift but fierce battle. Then the wolf was gone and Omen was left alone with his saviour. He was trembling, he realised with distant alarm. Was shock setting in? How embarrassing. Yet all he could really think of right now, was how terribly messy his hair must be.
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Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 3:29 pm
Howl stood for a long moment, unsure what he should do, before finally speaking, “Are you okay?”
It was fairly obvious that the buck, Omen, he had to remind himself, was not alright. He might only be a gray blob in Howl’s eyes, but the fuzzy edges of his form were shaking. He shuffled forward, closer to Omen but did not touch. Gale, though, did not have Omen’s resistance to comfort. She slipped past her hunting companion with a flick of her tail before going up to Omen and pressing her wet nose to his leg and crowding close against his shaking limbs.
Howl was not good at accepting comfort or giving it, so he could only stand there, wondering if he should offer the buck something to eat, the only thing he really knew how to do.
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Posted: Fri Sep 27, 2013 11:39 pm
"...I’m... fine..." The shaking slowly subsided, with Omen caught between mortification at nearly being eaten, gratitude from being saved and uncertainty, over what to say next and how to deal with the dog now pressed against his legs. Omen had never understood the whole ‘pet’ thing. Animals were great but it wasn't as if they could talk to you. Still, he appreciated the warmth. "Rush of Wind... right? I... well... thank you." He eyed the quiet buck and then added with obvious false cheer, "we just keep running into each other."
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Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 12:09 am
"Ah- Yes, we do. And yes, Rush of Wind." Howl wasn't quite sure what to say in response. He wasn't upset at the interruption to his rest, far from it, but socialization did not come easy to him. It was almost as elusive as his dream, as uncomfortable and hazy as his dream was fluid and vivid.
Keeping very still because he wasn't sure what to do, he focused on Gale. It was easy to keep his eyes low on the dark shape of his companion rather than on the buck. It was easy enough to meet other kimeti's eyes because they glowed, but it felt wrong to Howl because they saw what he did not see. He gleaned no meaning from it.
"Omen, you said?" He paused. He nodded at Gale. "Are you okay with her being there?"
He didn't want her to be taking up his space if he wasn't comfortable with the closeness.
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Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 4:04 am
The buck took in a deep breath and slowly let it out again. "She’s fine, thank you." He wondered if his siblings would laugh at him if he told them this story. His children certainly would... well, at least two of them, and Cursed Fortune would get a giggle out of it without a doubt. A Kimeti buck saved by an Acha, they would laugh. But this Rush of Wind was a magnificent creature; quiet, deadly and beautiful. Omen knew he couldn't compare. "I owe you a great debt."
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Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 3:51 pm
Howl did not know his siblings, or his parents, and he wasn't sure if they would pity him or praise him, wish him dead or be glad that he had survived. What was an acha who could not see? What was an acha who found did not find joy in all aspects of life? Because Omen seemed fine with Gale pressed against his side, he didn't call her back, he hardly considered a comfort; she was a companion, a partner, but they did not comfort each other.
He turned his head away, unsure, and then shaking his head, just a slight movement, at Omen's statement. "No-"
He paused, searching for the right words, "There is no debt."
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Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 8:37 pm
If their last two meetings were any indication, this one would end up just the same, with one or both of them simply walking away. But Omen didn’t want that this time. Fate, if you could believe in that sort of thing, had brought them together. That had to mean something, right? "Yes, there is." This was the only way. The only thing he could think of to stay by this Acha’s side for just a little bit longer. Long enough to understand what he was feeling. "I must repay it. If you would allow me to travel with you for a time…?" Amorpheous I think if Howl says yes, we can end this soon.
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Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:24 pm
Howl couldn't leave, not when Gale was so intent on staying with Omen. Perhaps she knew something even he could not comprehend, breathing there quietly by the other buck's legs, warm and comforting. So he stayed and when Omen asked if he could travel with him, he only had to think for a short moment before answering.
"There is truly no debt, but if you would... like to travel with me... I- I would not object."
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Posted: Sat Sep 28, 2013 9:36 pm
A weight he hadn't realized he had been carrying lifted from him. “Thank you…” was all he could say, but the words were laden with feeling and he couldn't help but smile. Omen truly hoped they could make a firm friendship out of their fateful meeting. Amorpheous I'll mark us done, unless you wanna add something?
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