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 Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 9:26 pm
He was wandering again-something that took his mind off from other things. From his past meeting with others of his kind. He disliked them-their ways and their openness about everything! He hated that-how open they were with everything. Their past, their thoughts.... he disliked it very much. He'd rather keep such things to himself-contently. That was the way he was raised. It wasn't any one else's information to know. They did not need to know everything about him and he really hated that. They'd ask questions and he'd barely reply-as was his custom. Why waste words on such things. He was precise with his words and did not waste them. If he could, he wouldn't speak at all but.... sometimes that was a needed gift. He padded along, his golden eyes half lidded in thought. He was starting to grow weary of this traveling. His paws had an ache to them-like he used to have as a pup when he ran all day with is siblings. He wasn't a pup anymore. Perhaps he'd find something to eat. He lifted his head and inhaled deeply-scenting for prey.
Laughingstar padded around with a smile on her face, eager with her fresh start on a new day like this. She and her siblings were still unused to their pack's customs: this included the usual exploring/hunting/gathering at night time. Funny how their packmembers were nocturnal. It would take her and her sister and brother a while to get to that point, she thought.
Her nose and ears helped to guide her along the savannah ground, though she still went at a slow pace, just in case she ran into anything that wasn't moving and she couldn't detect. Like a rock, or a sudden, steep hill. That was never fun. But since she was out by herself today, she let her eyes stay open. Their pink hue stared unseeing at everything around her. Usually, she preferred to keep them closed, since she knew they sometimes frightened or worried others around her. But today, she was free from that 'burden.'
Letting a giggle escape her, Laughingstar picked up her pace to a trot, heading towards the smell of water nearby. A long, deep drink sounded good right now...
He didn't really smell anything interesting-course the wind was blowing all hectic like at that moment. He made a distasteful look and simply turned-walking in a 90 degree angle of his original path. Why not, he had no lines to stay in. Not yet anyway. His keen eyes kept an eye out and sure enough he could see something in the distance. He lifted his ears and tail-his nose scenting again. It was a wild dog. Female. Younger than he. He was about to turn away and keep going another direction but something compelled him to move forward-go towards her. It was awkward for him and he was confused but... he had to know who she was. Weird. He gave himself a dirty look, padding along with tense shoulders. Weren't they always tense. His dark feet barely made a sound-he was a true hunter at heart.
He got closer to her and lifted his head to look upon her. He was nervous-why? He didn't like that he was nervous.. Made him feel weak. He sighed, hoping she'd notice him so he wouldn't have to speak out to get her attention.
She didn't see him, of course, coming towards her from the left. Her nose was filled with the scent of fresh water and her ears happily flapping in the wind as she ran faster that she failed to notice him while she was moving. But once she reached the watering hole, still grinning, and had the chance to sniff the air once again, his scent suddenly overwhelmed her. It startled her. She skidded backwards in a half turn, now facing his direction with wide eyes.
For some reason, his scent was intoxicating. Laughingstar had never encountered such a smell before, let alone that of another living creature. She could tell that he was a wild dog as well, though older than she. But she couldn't hear him walking. He was being too quiet. That made her nervous, as well.
Being without eyes, she relied entirely on her nose and ears. He was taking control over one of them, and completely bypassing the other.
"H-hello?" she called out tentatively in a greeting, her voice soft on the cool breeze that played between them.
He gazed upon her and felt something stir in him-like leaves rustling during a storm. It was strange and he took a tentative step back-as though she was something that unnerved him. He startled a bit when she spun and faced him with those lovely pink eyes-eyes that stared at him but.. did not see him. It took him a moment to realize it-that she could not see him at all. Strange, she was moving so well on her own. He lifted his head to see if she was indeed-alone.. and she was. He scented no one with her. He was glad she made the first act of speaking-he was bad at starting it. "Hello." He said simply, his deep voice a bit rusty from lack of use. He cleared his throat, giving himself another look of disdain. "I did not mean to startle you." He added.
He sat down with his tail wrapping around his forepaws. He was very curious to know-how she saw so well-but did not. He was also curious to why she made his heart race. Race so much. Suk shook his head-he did not understand.
Oh, thank goodness. He -was- real. She had been thinking, for just a moment, that it was her imagination playing tricks on her. "Oh, it's fine. I'm sorry I didn't realize you were so near, earlier. This water smelled so good that I couldn't help but lose myself for a moment." She gave an embarrassed chuckle at the confession.
His voice had sent shivers down her spine, and now his scent was completely wrapped around her body and mind, almost like a drug. She longed to hear him speak again, for some reason. It worried her. Why was she acting this way towards a stranger? Her siblings would never approve. Her sister, especially. It didn't matter if she had a heart problem: -no- one troubled with Laughingstar. But the blind wild dog was glad she was alone. There was little awkwardness with only the two of them, at least.
"I'm Laughingstar," she introduced herself, unsure if she should use that name or one of her other two: the formal version of her new name or the one she was given by her parents at her birth. "A pleasure to meet you, sir."
He watched her react to his words and could not help but smile at her. There was something there-something that tempted him. She tempted him to speak again-she was waiting for an awsner. He looked around-a bit self concious (though he'd never admit it) and not sure if he wanted to speak aloud. "Laughing star... that is unusual... but not unpleasant." He said, his voice still thick with lack of use. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to say his name-he guessed that was the custom of doing this sort of thing. He really didn't talk to others-exchange words... or anything really.
He lifted his head and curled back his lips and spoke. "I am suk..."
His voice..oh how she loved to hear it. Her eyes blinked closed for a moment, before opening them again, forgetting her manners to keep them closed so as to not startle him. He hadn't mentioned it yet, so she hoped he didn't mind it too much.
"It's my pack name," she tried to explain. "Have you heard of the Peke Na, perhaps? We have two names, one more proper than the other. Laughingstar is my common name, and my other is Uchekaji-nyota, which means the same thing, just in a more 'proper' sense, if that makes any sense at all." She laughed again, her voice soft. "I was given a different name at birth, before I joined my pack. It was Basasha, or Asha for short. My siblings, wherever they may be, would recognize me by that name." It was confusing, at times, when to use which name and for what reason, but she managed so far. She hoped she hadn't confused him as well, or bothered him with all her talking. For some reason, she felt the urge to be herself around him, but at the same time, Laughingstar feared scaring him away. She wouldn't like that at all, not when she seemed to be so attached to him already.
"Suk," she repeated, her smile growing. "Simple but individual at the same time. I am glad to meet you, Suk. What are you doing around here, if I may ask?"
He was rather attracted to this individual. He didn't know why or for what reason but why bother going that deeply into it. He sat back and watched her blink oddly. He was attracted to her pink eyes-they called to him. She called to him. It was like she was sucking him into her-begging him to open up to her. He could not keeps his mouth shut. "So many names... I am only suk as of now..." He paused and thought for a moment. He did not like to speak without knowing what it was he was saying. "I have not heard of the Peke Na. And I am simply traveling. I move when I grow weary of things. I have been weary of late. " He paused again. "But I am searching for something-something I cannot explain."
She sat down too, only to be more comfortable while this conversation continued. And she dearly hoped it would. As he was attracted to her (though she knew nothing about it), so was she to him, even though she could not see his physical appearance. She could smell him, hear him, and yearned to be so close to him to simply touch him. Even for a second. A half-second. It would be enough.
Laughingstar shook her head at herself, pretending to flap a bug away from her ears. "Yes, it does get a bit ridiculous at times," she agreed. "Searching for something?" That caught her curiosity, and her interest peaked in a romantic, completely unreasonable way. There was no way he was secretly searching for -her-. No way.
"Do you think you've found it yet, whatever you're searching for?
I imagine that, soon, you might get a feeling of what you're looking for. So I wish you luck in that, Suk. It's hard to find something you don't know anything about. Trust me, I know," she joked, winking a blind eye at him.
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Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 3:09 pm
He watched her sit and was tempted to sit beside her for no reason. Why was he being so bold? That disturbed him further, and he gave an awkward gaze around him-to assure himself that he was not sleeping. His eyes gazed upon her and his heart skipped a few beats. He lifted his head at her when she made a joke about her eyes. "So you are blind as I suspected." He said softly. Almost as though he was entranced by her eyes. He was. He found them startlingly beautiful. There was something about them-no... something about her that peaked his interest.
"I don't know how to explain it." He said looking at her with a soft expression. "I feel as though I have." He added, feeling utterly estranged and creepy for saying such a thing. She was younger than he... and yet her sweet face and even her scent intoxicated him. Made him hungry in a way. "I feel as though I am close to finding it.
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Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 4:41 pm
She nodded, still smiling. "I am. I have been since birth, actually," she shared. It didn't bother her to share something like that, though. She was rather used to getting strange looks (she was told, at least, by those who could see them) and strange reactions. A lot of apologies, of course, for them not "realizing" that she was blind at the beginning of their conversation.
Laughingstar had to say, though. Suk was one of the few who hadn't apologized or tried to make an excuse for her being blind and him not noticing it beforehand. But perhaps he had, and was just now mentioning it out of being polite.
How endearing of him. Her smile softened.
"I'm glad you are close, then. If I can help in any way, please, just ask. I'd love to assist you if I can. In my pack, we each have different jobs. Mine is known as the Finder, as I can find things pretty well. Not excellent, of course, but I try my best."
And yes, she did very well know the irony of being blind and her pack's only Finder. It fit her, though, and the job made her happy.
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 7:59 pm
He lifted his head. Such strength for someone to live their whole life like that. It took so much power in someone to adapt and cope with something like that and look at her now, she walked well in this environment. He was impressed by her already; more than he could say for that other feeling. That strange compulsion.
"I am impressed."
He lifted his head. So she was in a pack. He had actually been seeking out a pack that he thought would suit him. He inclined his head more. 'Finder. What a brave skill...' He said approvingly.
"I am actually very interested in the sounds of this pack... would you like to tell me more Laughingstar?'
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Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 8:28 pm
She could feel her face start to heat up from all the compliments and she became embarrassed quite easily. "Oh, it's not that big of a thing," she mumbled, half to herself and half to him. As much as he was feeling new, strange emotions, so was she, and that put them in the same boat. Together. Which was the exact reason why they were feeling these things in the first place.
Life was a funny thing.
But she beamed at his interest in her pack. "Of course, Suk! I'd love to tell you more. We're a very friendly pack, and mostly like to interact and hunt during the night-time hours. We all live around a great tree we call the Father Tree, and our dens are all underground around the great tree. Our Chieftess, Wisdomchaser, is a very strong and wise leader," Laughingstar continued. "Her lifemate is Risktaker, and he's a very kind wild dog as well."
She blinked and tilted her head at him. "I'm sorry," she giggled. "All this must be terribly new and overwhelming. It would probably be much easier if you'd like to meet everyone? They're better at explaining things about The Way and our pack than I."
Her eyes darted from side to side, as if she was staring into his gaze, then glanced away, and then shyly came back to meet his eyes again. She had a feeling that she had pinpointed the spot on him, for she would have felt silly if instead her eyes were focused somewhere else. Talking to him, however, felt calm and soothing. She liked talking to him. A lot. So much that, in fact, she realized that she would rather spend an entire day just telling him different things than risk the chance that she would never see him again.
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2009 6:53 pm
He watched her blush and could not help but smile a bit himself. What a silly girl. Course she was young and that usually ran with being silly. But he found that a rather neat trait and did not see it as a flaw.
"Wisomchaser..." He said. They must all have names like that-bonechewer and what have you. He nodded his interest, listening. Then she invited him to have him come to see the pack for himself. It took him a moment of deep thinking, his eyes half lidded in thought. "Sure... lead me on." he said, standing up and noticing her staring at him. He sort of chuckled, giving her a sly look.
"You star struck little laughing star?" He asked teasingly, which was something he did not do often actually. He was not one for really talking about things. He would rather just... think about it.
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Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 7:56 am
She grinned at him and stood as well, shaking her back legs out and wagging her tail. This was exciting: Laughingstar had never brought back a rogue to her pack before. But she had seen it done a few times, at least. The pack member would bring the newcomer to Wisdomchaser and Risktaker, and they would talk for a while. It depended on her Chieftess whether or not they spoke in private, or with her mate at all.
Half of her hoped that they would speak in public, so that she could hear and see what they were saying and how they responded to Suk's curiosity about the pack.
"It's this way..." she trailed off, pausing in her forward-motion to turn around and lead the way back to her pack. Her head turned around to look in his direction, and she blushed again. But she grinned slyly and shook her head.
"Not star-struck. I'm not sure of the word for it, honestly." Although star-struck was a good adjective for it indeed. That was about as close as she could get to describing the feeling she had right now.
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 3:28 pm
He sat and observed her. He liked the way she was and how she represented herself. Her happiness at life and her representation of herself being blind-she did not look blind. She looked radiant and joyful. He found this a very attractive quality but he would never tell her that.
He stood up and began to follow her-his impression of her growing more as she walked. She was used to it, the absence of sight. He could not help but back up out of her way and smile devilishly. She was blushing-was he making her blush.
Females. He had to sigh.
"Really..." He asked. Stepping up and preparing to follow her-he gave her a small tap on her back paw to let her know he was there. "Lead the way Seeker."
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