1-
It was hopeless! He would never find his father. He'd been searching for over a year now, month in and month out and for nothing! He didn't even know what his sire looked like; he only had a name: Kuro. "Black Grin".
"Even if you found him, why would he help you?" he muttered bitterly to himself.
Rend, as the wolf was known, had fought with his brother Maim not too long ago and his black and copper pelt bore the scars to prove he'd lost.
He glared down at his reflection, a snarl rising on his lips. Rend rarely got angry, but when he did, it was always towards himself.
"You--"
A sharp voice cut him off and the wandering vagabond whipped around to greet his attacker...with a whine,
-2
She was one to never look back. Who knew what the past held, afterall...and if you did know, you shouldn't go back. Ever.
It was one rule of this she-wolf.
Bipolar was a lowly omega, a sikla if you would. She'd been raised to stand up for herself, but it was a rarity if she did.
Today, the violet pelted wolfess was paroling the border. The border of what? Nothing. The border in her mind. In all actuality, she was hoping to meet the blindfolded fisherman again.
So she headed towards the river only to hear a voice, soft and sharp, snarling. The omega fell dead in her tracks, peering out of the brush to see not the pink pelt of Paranoia but instead a scraggly, scarred vagabond.
"And you are?"
The wolfess made a bold step, feeling her oats as she leapt from her spot to greet this stranger.
3-
Rend flattened his ears and dropped his tail between his legs. He'd been careless. This she-wolf owned these lands and now...and now she was going to kill him!
But it was quite the opposite. She stood, watching him with curiosity in bright blue eyes. Not an alpha, or even a beta, but an omega. Her body hung loose, though her upraised scruff showed her displeasure.
Rend offered her a smile and a whine, dropping to his side on the ground. "R-Rend," he murmured, looking past her. "My name's Rend."
4-
Bipolar blinked.
For having so many scars, battle wounds in her mind, he was a coward, A lowly coward! Nothing to be afraid of; the fear and uncertainty dripped off of him like water.
"You don't look like a Rend," she huffed, stepping forwards to sniff him. He lay still, paws drawn to his chest and throat exposed. He was lower in the food-chain than she was!
But...
She gazed around nervously. "Who were you talking to?"
-5
He giggled, a laugh of near hysteria. Rend. A disgusting name he was never able to shake. What if his father knew him as such? Rend... To rip apart, to maim. He wasn't Rend.
"I don't know," he said. "It's the name my mother gave me. My brother is Maim."
This resulted in a snort from the shewolf. Disdain, perhaps?
He forged on, rolling back to lay at her feet but able to spring up at any time. He wasn't a paranoid wolf, but where one wolf was, there was usually more and he didn't need trouble.
"I was talking to myself."
-6
"Yourself?" asked Bipolar with another snicker. Wow, it seemed this one was a true catch. But still, there was something about him...
Couldn't be the fact that he's a walking skeleton can it, Bipo? she thought to herself.
Indeed, he was a scraggly boy. He needed a real meal. She was doubting he could hunt properly.
"Well, Rend. You look like you need to eat... And since I prefer company when I hunt, looks like it's your lucky day."
-7
It was Rend's turn to look confused. She was offering him a hunt? His eyes narrowed. She just wanted to use him. She needed his talent...
Or not. She herself was well-fed with a shiny coat. Not bad for a loner. The same couldn't be said for Rend.
"Why me?"
-8
"Er...because you're skin and bones? I can count your ribs, pup. You look to be seven or eight! An easy kill for a disgruntled hunter."
-9
A whine rose up in his throat. Kill? Someone wanted to kill him? Who? Did she know them?
He must've looked panicked as her eyes grew wide and she shook her head.
"I...I'm not very good," he said after a moment. "I won't be of much help."
-10
"Then you need some lessons, huh? I'd be willing to teach you."
Not only was this Rend character company...but he was willing company. And he knew nothing of her past. Although, he'd figure it out on his own and she'd be back to being alone once again.
"So whatcha think, pup?" Because surely he was younger than her... Or did his temper just make him seem that way?
-11
Rend kept his eyes glued to her form, watching her, trying to figure her out. She'd just met his sorry soul and now she was willing to teach him how to hunt?
...just like Dad was going to do? He'd lived his life searching for the possibly dead wolf so he could learn how to hunt and fight and now a stranger lone was going to teach him?
Too good to be true.
"What's the catch?"
-12
Bipolar groaned. What was with this wolf? Here she was, in a fairly good mood, offering to teach some overgrown whelp how to hunt and he was questioning her?
Her brows furrowed and she let out a snort. "Company, pup. But obviously I'm some stranger-danger that you, as a PUP, can't trust...so forget it."
And she turned to walk off, offering tough-love when she wanted to lay beside him, motherly instincts stirring with a coming season.
-13
Rend's eyes grew wide and he lunged after her, skidding to a stop a few feet ahead before cowering. "N-No! I need...I need your help... Please."
Other than her calling him 'pup' as if she was older than him, he could tolerate the femme. If he found her name...
"I don't have family or a home. I don't know how to hunt and I need help. I'll beg if I have to..."
-14
Bipolar smiled as she heard him leap into action. Whoever said sikla couldn't manipulate were terribly wrong.
"No need to beg," she laughed, peering down at him. Her earrings jingled together as she cocked her head to one side. "I'm Bipolar." And she offered him a paw.
-15
Rend offered a sheepish smile, his tail wagging briefly.
Bipolar... Wasn't that a mental disorder? She was awfully bold to tell him a weakness. "I'm sorry," he said. She stared at him and he blinked.
"Oh... Your name is Bipolar!" he figured out, backpedaling. "Nice to meet you."
Instead of getting angry, the omega merely laughed, though it didn't reach her eyes and Rend decided that maybe she was bipolar afterall.
Maybe. But he could deal if it meant hunting lessons.
