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 Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 6:08 pm
It was dark, and had been dark for some time out on the tundra. The night seemed endless, stretching on and on. More than one day had passed in total darkness during the cold harsh winter, only the greatest survival experts could last out here in such weather. The weaker, or perhaps wiser, found other places to go if they could, but there was a certain peacefulness in it. A surreal feeling only encouraged by the way the colors might play across the sky, the Northern Lights as they were called. The darkness might be frightening or overwhelming to some, but the dawn after such a long winter night was only that much more precious.
Eyes the pale frozen blue of the iced river they’d passed earlier gleamed faintly in the starlight, watching intently as the first pale sliver of lightening color touched the horizon. The dawn of spring was coming. He and his constant companion would soon stand in light again, even if only for a short while. But the young reindeer they had stalked would not. Kirai sat back on his haunches for a moment, pleased with the way their expert teamwork had brought down such a large kill. It was perhaps only average for its species, but a challenge for two lone hunters nonetheless, and alone he might have gone hungry instead.
But that were merely part of the world, suffering and starvation merely obstacles to overcome or perish beneath. And the dark red dhole had no intentions of perishing, not yet. Not for a long while. He was a fighter, born and bred to survive when even the tough got going. He’d been touched by the gods themselves, and would not vanish like an insignificant moth in the frost. Nor would he permit Ivanova to fall, not while he still breathed. She was loyal, and she was of the old blood. More like her would be needed for his goals to be realized, and he doubted he would ever find them.
No, they would need to bring outsiders in as well. That had been done before, he remembered somewhat. There were those who could be considered worthy of joining, who could learn and understand the ways of the warrior, who knew to respect the gods even when it seemed they’d been abandoned. But still…old blood, blood that had been so ruthlessly shed. That would always be precious to him.
”Come,” he invited quietly, a habit he’d grown into as the leader she seemed to respect him as for all he was the younger. He was, after all, one of those who’d been touched. And surely he’d been chosen, for none of the others had he seen since that bloodied twilight. None but Ivanova and the now passed injured warrior who’d saved them both.
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 8:27 pm
 Ivanova twitched an ear toward Kirai. Steam from the corpse’s still-warm innards coiled around her head and was dragged away into the crisp, biting wind. She’d settled down on the opposite side of the carcass. With just the two of them, she usually didn’t have to wait until he finished eating to take her meal. Tonight she’d gotten too entrenched with filling her complaining stomach and it was a few moments before she looked up from the kill. He ears flattened in silent apology and she licked her lips on her way to his side. The strange, rainbow-colored light lent the tundra an odd, shifting appearance. It seemed it should have come with great sound or music, but the wind howled empty and the dry, dead grasses hissed as dully as ever.
She didn’t bother questioning him he wanted to go, trusting there was cause in his decision. Instead she eyed the twisting colors on the earth with a sort of respect. Sometimes, she found herself taken with mysticism. Nights like this, coupled with the way the breeze ruffled the paw in Kirai’s fur and made it seem to waver, were almost enough to make her say how resonant life seemed for them, how miraculous and fated their roles seemed. Of course, she wouldn’t let herself sound so nieve, not when she was the eldest. Despite her deference to her companion, her extra few months of life gave, in her mind, a responsibility to be level-headed. So, instead she spoke in a calm voice that was never as neutral as she imagined, but stayed faintly warm unless she were truly roused. “If we don’t go far, we can eat from that reindeer on the morrow.”
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 9:28 pm
Kirai eyed her for a moment, licking his own muzzle as she licked hers, savoring the taste of their prey's blood though he had satisfied his own hunger for the moment. His ears were pricked, the chill howling wind biting through his fur, though not enough to cause him more than mild discomfort. And mild discomfort he could more than live with.
But he could feel the cold starting to grow deeper, and preferred to find a place to shelter rather than spend the darker part of the night, the part he chose as a time for sleeping, out in the open. He was a survivor, that meant he wasn't stupid about things like freezing to death. But they didn't need to rush... there was time still. And if she was hungry, then she might get cold. Food made it easier to stay warm, or so it seemed to him.
"We've time if you aren't finished," he informed her, his own eyes lifting towards the dreamlike whirl of lights overhead. She was, of course, right to suggest returning tomorrow. He'd planned on doing so himself, it was foolish to waste food when they might not find more.
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 9:45 pm
Ivanova afforded the downed prey a glance. It was all browns and dark, gorey reds that did little in the light besides glisten wetly. “I’m fine,” she assured after a considering moment. Now that she was standing and not caught up in gorging herself, the weight in her stomach felt heavier, almost uncomfortable. It reminded her of a wolf she’d seen once from afar. Alone and at a distance, the she wolf had been clearly pregnant. With her stomach so absurdly distended, Ivanova had laughingly wondered if she’d have been able to hunt. She wasn’t so full now as to waddle as that ridiculous wolf had done, but leaving the carcass for the night would be no trouble.
Head low, she brushed against Kirai’s side, encouraging him to lead on. She was looking forward to lying down out of the wind and maybe talking with Kirai a bit before drifting off to sleep.
((*EDIT: going to bed. suuuuuper tired, will get back to you tomorrow))
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Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2010 10:08 pm
Kirai watched her attentively as she studied the remains of their prey. She'd helped to bring it down, it was rightfully half hers. If she was still hungry, then they would wait. Just because he was satisfied didn't mean he cared to risk her health. She was important after all. Not only was she old blood, but she was capable and strong. And loyal. He was more than pleased to have her as his companion, though he never thought to show it. There seemed little point after all.
"Then we'll go," he nodded, proud to lead, pleased that she, though older, never commented otherwise. He remembered seeing a few of those tall scraggly trees, the best shelter they'd find out here other than a dark deep cave. They kept the wind off, that would be enough. It had to be, there simply wasn't anything else.
Perhaps he should take her away from the tundra, return to the milder places. The forests he vaguely remembered, the mountains he'd seen reaching towards the skies... Someday he should like to conquer those mountains. But, in the mean time, he would find his way back to those trees...
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 9:05 am
As pups they’d pretended to go on hunts and invade other dhole’s territory, looking for a fight. Ivanova still followed him in much the same way now. They were fed, only a few minutes away from rest in this desolate land, but before the corpse of trees could block their line of sight she gave a paranoid glance around. No movement, save for the strange lights dancing in silence. Rear guard duties completed, she ducked in after him.
The trees had grown in a gradual depression of earth, likely protected as saplings from the bitter wind by the gentle relief. Now the hollow was further spotted with smaller hollows among the twisted roots. They searched for a short time until finding one large enough for the two of them. Ivanova settled and brought her bush tail around to cover her legs, though they were still hot with running down reindeer. Besides her crushing jaws, her legs were likely the strongest part of her. She was a short, stocky thing, powerful and well suited to travel over the years, but perhaps a touch unfeminine in structure. Her coat made up for that, slick, healthy, and charmingly curled on her chest. With her tail curled up to cover her leanest parts, just looked like a great, puff of dark fur splattered in blood, thanks to the mottled red in her fur. She grinned, pleased with their situation. “Do you think we’ll continue east tomorrow?” she questioned.
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 2:29 pm
That she would follow him he'd no doubt, so the dhole didn't bother to check for her presence. He did not look behind himself, he did not test the air for her scent or listen to see if she were walking with him. He didn't need to do so in order to know she was there, as she always had been. Ever since they'd been on their own it seemed they'd been almost constantly together, he the leader and she his loyal companion. Someday he would lead a pack, their pack again, and he'd not a doubt that she would be at his side then as well.
Kirai searched through the hollows of the roots of the depression, looking with her to find a spot for the both of them to fit. He sat on the edge, looking out at the odd lights in the sky as she settled, his own dark red tail curled loosely around his paws. He was taller than Ivanova, though not by much, and powerfully built. There was an old memory about someone mentioning his taking after his father, though who had told him was no longer clear. Perhaps it had been his mother, though he only recalled the words, not the voice nor face of the one who spoke them. It was something that he probably ought to have been mournful over, but it wasn't. It was just a piece of information, one he might think about on occasion, but no reason to act any differently than he currently did.
"Yes," he replied simply to her question, though he did not turn his cold gaze from the frozen lights that danced across the dark sky. East was the direction he felt was right, and certainly it was as good as any other direction might be, though he was reluctant to head further north into the black and cold.
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Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 7:17 pm
Ivanova nodded and laid her head on her paws, not to sleep, for she was not very tired yet, but to look at the sky and her leader. It had occurred to her before that she could have left him long ago and joined another pack. She was of suitable appearance, skill, and strength to rise in rank as well, good enough to get exactly what she wanted from life. She could even now be living comfortably enough to have her own litter and spend her casual hours as a mother if she so wished. But that wasn’t what she was meant for. The gods hadn’t saved her from the rest of her pack’s death to have her squander her life on selfish indulgence. She had a strong sense of duty toward Kirai, and not only him but towards his dreams. There would be another pack one day, a people gathered and born, all forged into a cohesive unit, something beautiful and strong, something unstoppable as the rainbow play of lights flooding the hollow the two dholes now rested in. Thinking of this, she suppressed a smile, lest she have to explain it, and rolled her eyes toward Kirai. “I’ll talk to some birds tomorrow. They might know if there are any shattered tribes or packs, or wanderers in that direction.”
It was a rather clear hint. She’d long been anxious to act on Kirari’s wish to begin reforming. The circumstances were never right – they were both either too young or in hostile territory or alone in a wasteland such as this, but she had always been too eager to stop reminding him of action. She’d been reminding him more frequently in the recent months. Even being the eldest, she did not appear very senior at her age, but surely youth no longer opposed them from beginning their work.
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 7:23 am
Kirai's ears swiveled back to her as she spoke. Talking to birds again? He was quiet for a long moment after she finished speaking, his ears relaxing back to face front. He didn't sigh, he didn't shuffle anxiously, or look around. Those were motions for a nervous cub, or an impatient thinker. He was neither, and so he would not do so.
The pack. Ivanova was always so eager to bring it back. It was good to know he was not alone, but he'd no desire to struggle only to watch his plans fall to pieces. He'd taken the time to work things out, he wanted there to be no mistakes, none at all, when the time finally came. Was it here now? Was he ready yet to begin? It was an interesting question, one that bore contemplation, and one he thought of often. He needed to decide upon a territory, whether he would return and reclaim their old lands or choose a new place. He needed to find others, able in body and spirit, who would join them, for two did not make a pack. But...perhaps... He was old enough now, others might be willing to follow him as Ivanova did. And she was not alone in her eagerness to see their pack reborn.
"If you hear anything interesting, be sure to let me know," he murmured, though his attention appeared to still be on the stars. He wasn't much in the habit of looking at people all the time while they talked, but that didn't mean he didn't listen. "I wouldn't mind changing direction if the news suits, though I would prefer not to move further north."
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Posted: Wed Jun 16, 2010 8:56 am
Ivonova didn’t quite hold her breath while waiting for his answer, but her ears twitched very slightly when it came – suppressed excitement. He was really considering it at long last! OF course, that did not mean the pack would spring from the earth tomorrow, there were doubtless years of labor to look ahead to, but perhaps they could begin in a week or two. Maybe longer, if the area proved to be deserted as it seemed, but this was nevertheless a start.
Shee made a doggy grin since he was looking elsewhere, and though she kept herself still, her eyes shone gleefully, or perhaps that was just the odd light. “I’ll do that,” she agreed, and spoke again after a short pause. “I know we don’t have lands picked out yet, but if we found one or two others willing to join us, they could travel with us without too much extra burden. When we do find our place, they could give us an edge in defending it.” Kirai plans were usually already given thorough consideration, but she thought discussing them out loud helped sharpen them, as well as keep them on even footing.
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Posted: Sat Jul 03, 2010 6:20 pm
Kirai nodded slowly as she spoke. He approved of her entirely. Her ideas, her mannerisms, everything. She was what he was looking for to rebuild his pack. Strong, loyal, and clever. He didn't want a group of mindless followers, he wanted a strong cohisive unit that could work towards the same goals because they shared those goals and believed in them. Not because someone bigger told them to. That was pointless.
"That seems like a solid idea," he agreed, "I am not certain we will find any like that here, this is a cold place, and seems empty. But in time..." The dhole trailed off thoughtfully, his eyes fixed on the strange lights that danced above. "Tell me. Shall we return to the mountains to rebuild our pack? Or would you prefer to start anew in the forests?" Her opinions were valuable to him, it wasn't just his pack after all. "You're welcome to think as long as you would like before choosing a final answer," he added, still not bothering to look at her. She was there, he knew she was. And she could hear him. So why did he need to look over his shoulder to find her?
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Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 4:02 pm
Ivanova drew and released a long breath. It swirled in front of her face the way her thoughts swirled in her head, full of conjectures and notions. She was silent with deliberation for a moment, but it wasn’t a long before she spoke. “I’ve thought of this before. I prefer the mountains myself for prey. We might grow best there, but the mountains are more defensible.” She rolled on to one side and shrugged the opposite shoulder. As usual, she looked to him when they spoke. It didn’t annoy her that he often didn’t bother looking at her. She made her thoughts evident in her speech, but he was a bit harder to read and she used the physical cues. The thoughtful look of him now, for example, didn’t seem to have much to do with his measured tone.
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Posted: Mon Jul 05, 2010 4:27 pm
Kirai waited patiently as she thought, his attention seemingly focused on the multihued lights that danced in the sky above. But his mind was busy, sorting through ideas and organizing memories. He wanted to do this great thing, but it frightened him. What if he wasn't as ready as Ivanova believed him to be? Doubts were a weakness, but he needed to consider carefully. He refused to allow any mistakes to ruin this. Not this time. Not him.
"I think so as well," he responded when she finally did speak. "It will be good to be near the sky again." They'd been down here in this wide dark place for so long... maybe it was about time they found their way back into the light.
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Posted: Fri Jul 09, 2010 5:08 pm
((XD I made a fail typo in my post post. It was supposed to be: “I prefer the forest myself for prey. We might grow best there, but the mountains are more defensible” But oh well. Screw it.))
Ivanova was fearless about the matter – a luxury for those who did not lead. Her responsibilities all laid in effort. In terms of work, decision making, following orders, and keeping the peace she was only accountable for her performance. Kirai would be the one who would be held responsible for the entire success – or failure – of the project. A leader had the unfair lot of having to be perfect, and when the time came that their pack of two laid roots and grew, Ivanova would realize this more fully and be glad of her lot. She might have been the older of the two and a clever advisor besides, but she needed Kirari’s strength for this more than her own wit.
She didn’t consider this at the moment though and simply watched him, trusting and structuring her plans around the lattice of his wishes. She smiled and threw a somewhat fanciful glance skyward. “It seems to miss us,” she agreed, not noticing her almost superstitious slip.
((figure we can wind this down in another tag or two. If you’ve got any more pack ideas let me know. <3))
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