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 Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:10 am
Kai scrambled to keep up, although he had to work hard not to go back and investigate. It still hadn't fully settled in that he could die. Still! On to bigger and better things.
"You're quite remarkable," he said, conversationally, as he managed to catch up with him. He panted a little. He was soft around the edges (and the belly) and a bit out of shape from a life of ease. "I think your ears and nose must work better than my eyes. If you could see you'd be some sort of super-wolf."
It wasn't really flattery -- he meant every word of it. He really was totally astounded by the other wolf's ability not just to survive on his own...but to identify a bear (and her gender!) and navigate an escape from her.
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 8:02 pm
Alkos followed Kai when he heard the wolf approach, glad they were no longer split and that they were lengthening the distance between them and the bear. The bear, too, didn't appear to be giving chase, but he still kept on his hurried pace, resulting in multiple stumbles and apologies.
When Kai spoke, he wondered if the wolf was poking fun at him, but by then he was already certain Kai wasn't the type. Still, he couldn't help but to question it, for everything he did had always been considered sub-par compared to his sighted brethren, and he slowed his gait, contemplative.
"Really?" he asked, uncertain, his steps measured and searching the ground before him as he waited for a response.
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 11:42 pm
"Oh, unquestionably," he said, nodding emphatically. "You should teach me, sometime. I wouldn't go hungry nearly so much."
He ducked his head a little bashfully at this. He was ashamed not because he failed at providing for himself, but because he had spent his life not needing to.
"...Say. If you ever want to take up wandering, for awhile...or maybe join a pack...?" He turned hopeful eyes toward the other, struggling to keep up the pace which he was hoping was now unnecessary. "Well, I've got one in mind, anyway. If you ever want to."
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 12:23 pm
Simply being able to see already had Alkos hold Kai in high standing. As such, he could not help but to feel a warm burst of pride from the wolf's words, despite their earlier encounter with the bear which proved how sheltered the wolf had been. It was rare for him to be complimented so and he self-consciously slowed his pace even more, sweeping the earth with his paw before taking a step, perhaps even more exaggeratedly than normal, for despite the warmth it brought, he felt the compliment undeserved, and wondered to see if Kai would take it back now.
"A pack?" He was startled by these even more unexpected words, and his voice was unintentionally sharp with a bitterness that surprised even himself. He had been expelled from his pack for his failing eyes, and believed the handicap would make him packless forever. But he realized now that a pack was still an option because he trusted Kai, but it did not bring the same warm feelings as the compliment had.
"I... I cannot," he replied, trying to keep his voice as it had always been and struggling with his dark emotions.
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 10:09 pm
Kai's ears flicked back as he considered this. "Why not?" He asked, innocently -- genuinely curious. Perhaps there was something Kai didn't know about packs outside of Kapu'Moana. Oh, who was he kidding -- books could be filled with the things he didn't know about the world.
"It's not the usual sort of pack," he added, a bit uncertainly. "No politics or hierarchy. Just...wolves, banded together. And keeping those other sorts of packs on their toes."
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 3:40 pm
"Perhaps..." Alkos replied, although more out of the unwillingness to disappoint his new friend than anything. He had never been part of his pack save for the one he had been born into and had lived alone since then, giving him very limited options as to what packs could be compared to. His expulsion was something he didn't want to face again, but he couldn't imagine expecting anything else. The only doubt he had of that was that he honestly believed Kai wouldn't knowingly suggest one if the end would be bad and as he continued to mull it over, he asked, "How many packs have you been a part of?"
Embarrassed by his reason for staying wary of pack life but still curious as to how much experience Kai held with it, he hoped the male wouldn't mind the shift of attention and simply answer.
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:07 pm
"Er...well...two?" His brow furrowed. "Well, just the one actually, this new one hasn't really been formed yet. Verdauga is out searching for more members."
But he had total and complete faith that the pack would be great, as it was formed based on ideals, and in Kai's world there was nothing as powerful as an ideal.
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 1:32 pm
Well, that was twice the number of packs Alkos had been in, at the very least. But... the second was new, and still unformed? It would mean Kai was in the same boat as him, at least somewhat, and he wondered what had made Kai leave his original pack in the first place. Had he, too, been kicked out? (Perhaps for his obliviousness when it came to dangers such as bears?) Curious but unwilling to ask, he left his question unvoiced.
"Is Verdauga the pack name? Or the al--." A loud rumbling from his belly interrupted him and, believing for a second that it belonged to the bear, he tripped from his own fear.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 1:28 am
"My friend's name -- he's founding it, so I suppose he's the alpha," he said, and grinned. He heard the sound from Alkos's belly, and he at least recognized it for what it was -- perhaps because, as if on cue, his own belly had let loose a terrible rumble as well.
"Say. Before all this mess with the bear, I think we were looking for food. Do YOU know where a river is, so I can get us a few fish? I'm quite good at that."
Well, by which he meant, he wasn't as hopeless at it as he was other things.
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Posted: Sun Jul 31, 2011 12:38 pm
Alkos quickly righted himself (and nearly fell again when Kai's own belly growled) and continued on, glad that Kai had continued speaking at the time, for his voice, in addition to the sound of his steps, made it easier for him to re-align to their course. He had by then recognized the sounds for what they were, but wasn't sure if he should laugh at his own actions or be embarrassed for them.
"Oh," was all he said in response when he finally spoke, partly because he wasn't sure what else to say next and partly because his most recent err had refreshed his own failings to himself, making him even less willing to consider a pack. And so, when Kai changed the course of their topic, he quickly followed.
"A river?" Only the slight hesitation in that question hinted at his fear of water. Still, the offer of a meal was tempting, and he had no desire to further reveal his own flaws. It would be good, too, to be the one to help Kai instead of the other way around, he thought.
"I think I know where we can find one."
His aversion to any large body of water had compelled him to always keep track of their location. He had never thought he would use the knowledge to purposefully take himself there, but now, with just the slightest of doubts, he veered to their left and led Kai towards a river he had passed earlier in the day.
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:09 am
"You're a lifesaver once again," he said, with an appreciative grin. "Honestly, if it weren't for the protection of the Sea Goddess watching over me, I'd be dead a dozen times over, I think. I never realized how much trouble there was to get into."
As arrogant as it sounded, Kailani really did believe that he was protected by a cosmic force of good luck -- a guiding hand of fate. Any other explanation would be absolutely unfathomable to him.
"They don't let me hunt at home, of course. They say it's too dangerous. So the only food I get for myself is fish. Works alright for me, really...I like fish a lot."
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 1:34 pm
Alkos was once more curious about Kai's pack, from the sea goddess he had never heard of to the fact that a perfectly healthy wolf such as he was kept from hunting (and he didn't even seem bitter about it at all). Only the nervous chills he was beginning to grow as they approached the river kept his usually questioning mouth shut, and he was beginning to reconsider his decision. It wouldn't have been too bad to live and be thought a spineless omega than to have drowned... right?
Still, the sound of gushing water could be heard now and it was too late for him to change course. He tried to say something in response suddenly, worried that Kai might reconsider their relationship as friends if he lacked in the manner department. Unsure as to what to say, however, he ended up declaring he had never tried fish before and wondered how one went about catching them and if they were good or not, all at the same time, making his words little more than an unintelligible mumbling.
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 12:15 am
Kai tilted his head, glancing curiously at Alkos. "Sorry?" He asked, politely, not at all bothered by the other wolf's unease. "I didn't quite catch that..." He flashed a sheepish, self-deprecating grin that suggested he misheard things quite often.
"The thing with fish is they're very erratic to catch," he said, conversationally, as he started forward for the water, hardly noticing that the other wolf seemed to be hanging back. "Sometimes it's really easy, sometimes it's nearly impossible. Totally luck of the draw."
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:50 pm
The grin, along with the assurance it was meant to offer, was lost on the blind wolf. Alkos faltered as a result -- he attempted to repeat his words, then silenced them once more when Kai began to talk, unsure as to the proper place in which he should speak.
Finally, he settled for more mumbles by the time Kai had finished, although they were a tad more distinct this time around, one could suppose -- there were a few agreeable sounds that could be made out: the vocalized equivalent of a wolf bobbing his head (as if in understanding) in regards to a topic he knew nothing about.
By then he had stopped a good few bounds away from the bank. He had led the other here out the shameless desire to attain some sort of ally, but it was not enough to disperse his fear of water and he could not help the low whine that slinked from his lips like a mouse.
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Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 11:51 pm
Kai leaned out over the water, the tip of his tongue creeping out from the corner of his maw. Finally, for the first time today, he had lucked out: the river was full of big, lazy fish, schooling so thickly that he could reach down and snag one.
And reach down and snag one, he did.
In fact, when all was said and done, he had managed to pull out six of the squirmy things -- a veritable feast of flopping silvery scaly dinner.
"Dinner...is served," he said, with a grin, feeling like he'd done something right.
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