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 Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 8:16 pm
 Cyclops stalked over the new pack's territory, observing first its system of defenses. The border was planted with bushes that would, when full grown, make a mighty wall of thorns, briars, and sense-irritating poisons. The large blue male hoped it would be enough. Right now, many of the plants were only in their first year of growth -- a group of wolves who wanted to get through them, could.
The wall would not be enough. The pack alphas would have to be willing to train up some of this pack as warriors. Fanta had said he wished to use this pack as a force for good -- well, the only way such a force would be built would be through strict training, and Cyclops was unsure the young alpha had the life experience to do so.
Cyclops had seen terrible things in his life. Before he'd lost his eyes, and after. His first family pack had been torn apart by evil wolves, and then, just when he thought he'd be happy again, he'd found a darkness lurking in his mate that he had never believed could exist. This curse... would it follow him to this pack? Had he found a new home only for it to be ripped apart?
He paused at the spiny border. He could feel the wind blowing over the plants; he could leap over them easily, here. Should he run from this pack, to watch it from afar, as he sometimes did to other wolves he had saved and returned home? He feared what might happen if he did not leave. Yet Cyclops feared not staying, too. He wanted to build a home again. He was starting to tire of the life of the traveling warrior. The indecision paralyzed him.
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 11:49 am
 Long legs padded softly through the forest, dainty cat-like paws covered in dirt from her previous excursion. Her honey-coloured coat was covered in places with burrs and sticks, but neither they nor the numerous small cuts along her muzzle seemed to affect her. If anything, the complete opposite. A happy grin was spread wide on the female's face, tail swinging easily in rhythm behind her as she walked. Xanthe had spent the entire morning crawling through nigh every bush and trotting down every path she could find.
Since the female had stumbled, quite literally, upon the pack she had been swept up into a whirlwind of fantasy. The beautiful roses that grew like the strong walls of a fort along the pack lands and adorned the pelts of the alphas and their family were incredibly magical. So much like the fairy stories she had heard as a pup, and so much like she wished to be. Sweet yet strong against the elements, protecting home and family with thorns still able to face against unwelcome intruders.
And soon, alphas willing, she could be part of the Rose Guard. To tend to these flowers with care and hope, watch them grow enough to brush even the clouds themselves! Why, it would certainly be a sight. Stopping to sniff delicately at such a rose, Xanthe allowed herself a delighted laugh. When they all bloomed in the spring, carefully kept during the oncoming winter, everything would smell of roses.
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 4:02 pm
Bright blue ears swiveled forward than back. Cyclops was sure he heard something, but the wind brought him no animal scents. Everything was masked by the flora. Another disadvantage, he noted. The sound was growing closer. It sounded like light padded footsteps, but without further input, he could not tell what they belonged to. A fellow wolf, perhaps, but it could just as easily be a cougar or lynx.
His feet shuffled as he took a few steps backward. "Hello? Is someone there?" It was best, usually, to ask first. Cyke did not fear being attacked by a lone predator of any sort. He could handle himself one-on-one, even two-on-one, depending on the strength and skill of the attackers. He'd spent much of his adult life honing himself into a weapon of defense.
He heard a light laugh, not of a threatening sort, and consoled himself with the thought that it was probably just another pack member who'd taken a walk amongst the more aromatic plants. Still, he tensely awaited a response to his question. If he did not receive one, he felt no qualms about warning off the other with a more violent response.
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 7:14 pm
'Hello? Is someone there?'
Preoccupied, it took the female a moment that they weren't just words on the wind, or her imagination. Was there really someone out here with her? Ears flickered to an alert position, head cocked as Xanthe started towards said speaker. Though by now she assumed that it would be obvious that she were about, it would be decidedly rude did she not meet whoever had called out.
Or perhaps it wouldn't be a pack mate at all! In this seemingly enchanted wood, perhaps it was something even matchingly as splendid. A three-horned deer, snacking amongst the flowers. A faery-like bird, small enough to sit in her ear, like an insect, with a tinny little voice to tell her secrets and advice. Giddily she picked up speed, taking a shortcut underneath a prickly bush and bam! She met almost nose to nose with another wolf apparently admiring the foliage as well.
"Who're you?" The female asked bluntly, starting to give the large male a once over. She certainly hadn't seen him before. Or if she had, she'd forgotten. But she didn't forget, she made sure of that. Her still tilted in curiosity, lilac eyes raised to his face. . .
Stepping back quickly, the wolf choked on her next breath.
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 7:31 pm
Immediately upon hearing the female's voice, Cyclops body relaxed from its stiff posture. His tail hung loosely and his ears were pricked forward attentively. The voice was certainly that of a wolfess, and now that she was closer he could scent under the perfume her species.
One corner of his mouth quirked upward at her brisk question. Didn't anyone have manners anymore? Then again, he had been suspicious and ready to jump her just a moment before. Perhaps she was just as suspicious of him. He didn't know every pack member yet, and he was sure she didn't, either. She wasn't the female who'd been there the first time he'd met Fantasia -- Chantily -- but their brusque manners seemed similar. Perhaps this pack attracted strong females.
"I am Cyclops," he said. He heard her swift intake of air. Was that her reaction to him? He couldn't say he wasn't used to it, though it was usually the older wolves who restrained their reactions best. The pup Squall had nearly turned himself over in fear the first time they had met. Cyke couldn't blame him. A beast with no eyes would be terrifying to a little one. Then again, it was the pups who seemed to get over it quicker, too. "A member of this pack." For now, though he didn't say that. No matter what he eventually decided, he didn't want anyone to become suspicious. "Who are you?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 7:45 pm
Of course she was surprised. The female blinked experimentally, as though it was just some sort of illusion she saw. But between milliseconds of darkness, the startling view before her didn't change. Oh. It was what he looked like. For a moment after he spoke she was hesitant[strange for her] to reply, still trying to figure out his difference. In fact, it was a great deal good for Cyclops that he was in fact, blind. Because she stared without concern, and would've whether or not she knew he could see.
She still wasn't decided if he could. "Cyclops.." She tried the name on her tongue, and nodded decidedly, as if accepting it personally.
"I'm Xanthe. Also a member." She added quickly after, nodding her head sideways as though getting used to what she presumed was a normal type of introduction. "Does it hurt?" It was barely a breath before she asked again, though the tone in her voice was not fearful as much as unbiased curiosity. She spoke without thinking sometimes, like a wolf younger her years. Yet it certainly was not meant to be rude, just matter-of-fact.
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:04 pm
It was a familiar question to Cyclops, that and its many variations: Does it hurt? Is it painful? Can you feel that? Doesn't that feel strange? But he never wished to assume the other wolf was talking about his eyes, just in case they weren't. He didn't like drawing attention to his disability, not because he was ashamed or uncomfortable about it, but because he didn't want to make it seem like he was throwing a pity party for himself. It wasn't like he wanted everyone to notice and comment on it. But, well, he wasn't offended, if they did.
He nodded in greeting as she told him her name. She had probably been there, that first night, when many of them had met, but Cyclops had not really personally said hello to anyone or gone out of his way to greet those he hadn't met. He wouldn't have been able to differentiate her scent from any other wolf. Then he responded to her query, trying to keep his voice upbeat. "Do you mean my eyes?" he asked. "No, no... they don't hurt much, anymore. They can get sore, in the cold or the wet, but it isn't terrible." Cyclops didn't know that the stitches the doctor had put over his eyes weren't meant to be permanent, but the strong twine had remained with the wolf, and never caused him more trouble than his original injury would have. He appreciated them, actually, preferring the closed-eye look to the alternative of having two sagging, unseeing sockets.
"Were you coming through the bushes?" he asked, trying to turn attention away from himself. "Aren't they sharp?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:22 pm
"Oh. Well that's good." Xanthe replied, sincerely caring that they were of no harm to the wolf. She had just met him, but once someone had given her their name, in a way they gave up the right to not being looked after. Caring for others wasn't any sort of bizarre passion or calling, the female just didn't care to see anyone else uncomfortable. It wasn't any fun if they were in a huff about something.
A pleased grin spread across her face and her tail waved behind her as she looked at Cyclops, attempting different ways of keeping eye contact on his face. It was hard to look someone in the eyes when they, well, didn't have them. It was somewhat of a challenge though, and she accepted it readily.
"Of course they are. But that's what makes it more fun, doesn't it? Knowing that you were strong enough to get through when someone else couldn't? Besides, it did get me here faster." She answered easily, as though it was common knowledge that hedge-travel was normal for a wolf. But she neglected to mention the fact she went underneath them. Sharp none the less, but if he was able to see, he may have taken her secret route and been just as fast. Had he been a close friend, she may have been inclined to tell him such a secret, but she may want to race him later and couldn't have him beating her using her methods!
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:58 pm
He appreciated her concern... and her dropping of the subject. Thankfully, she didn't seem to obsess over his injury as some did. Nor did she treat him as half a wolf. There were those who, stumbling across the disabled, couldn't seem to find their words as they would with any other wolf.
Cyclops allowed himself a low chuckle, from a throat that wasn't used to such sounds. He supposed that might make it more fun, yes.
But is the pain always worth it?
He shook such philosophical thoughts from his head like one might shake off a fly. "But where were you coming from," he countered, "that here is where you needed to be so quickly?" He realized that she was probably, like him, wandering the pack territory, with or without aim. But that brought about a conclusion and end to the conversation, and he didn't think he wanted that. It was nice, sometimes, to just talk with a companion for a little. Perhaps he needed his faith in this pack restored, and perhaps this female was the one to do it.
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Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 8:55 pm
Thinking, the female cocked her head to the side, lilac eyes still locked on his face. Yet the answer to his question was an easy one, once she realize what it meant. She wasn't daft, neither was she a genius for that matter, but her mind would catch onto one thing and lead her from her current train of thought sometimes, causing her to lose and pick up at the end of sentences. Almost an attention-deficit quality, but more because of daydreaming.
Frankly, Xanthe wondered what he saw behind those shocking[although she was growing used to them] stitched up eyes, like lashes grown far too long that dwarfed the eye itself. Or like a centipede, sleeping on his face. With that thought the female laughed once more, a grin spreading wide on her own.
"Just around the other side of the bush. It doesn't matter, because I came because you asked." Or rather, she'd come to answer his question, much to nosy and interested as to the speaker than the spoken. In a way it was the same. He'd asked who was there, and the female had showed up to show him.
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Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:00 pm
His chuckle turned into a full-blooded laugh. Maybe she was being obtuse on purpose... or maybe he just should have been more specific. Her answer was true, certainly, it just didn't answer the question he meant to have asked.
"Well, I didn't ask you to crawl through the bushes, certainly," he said. "But we're not exactly in the center of the territory. I mean what you doing all the way out here, wandering the border alone?"
That was reasonable to ask, wasn't it? He didn't want to seem pushy or nosy. It wasn't as though he were worried for her safety -- as she was probably capable of taking care of herself -- or suspicious of her activities. He just liked to know what other people were doing. That was partly the blindness -- he could not confirm what he thought by viewing it, so he tended to ask questions -- and partly because he was something of a micromanager. Cyclops liked to be sure of things, to be positive they all lined up in the right order like a trail of ducklings. That didn't always work out, but it was nice when it did.
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Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 8:02 pm
Well it wasn't as though she didn't have a good time doing it, the bush-crawling. "Oh." Xanthe laughed to accompany him, tail beginning to flicker pleasantly behind her as she looked up at the male. "Fool, you just should've asked me that before.
I was hunting faeries of course." The female gave a glance about, grin spread wide and smug across her muzzle, leaning in as she said it. It seemed a logical enough thing to do, and though the thought had only come to her as she wandered aimless, it soon became her objective for the day.
Or gnomes, or mushroom-mice, or three-pronged deer. Whatever would fit the scene. Yet, she found but another wolf. Interesting in all his ways, he may have been as intriguing as any other creature here. Her gaze shifted and she lifted an eyebrow at him. "Yourself? This is a ways away from the dens, isn't it?" She feigned a suspicious attitude, sniffing for emphasis.
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Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 9:24 pm
Cyclops stood in stunned silence for a minute, even ignoring her insult of 'fool,' something which he would've taken too personally otherwise. Fairies? She believed in fairies? Maybe she was being poetic; maybe that was what she called butterflies.
Or maybe she just believed in fairies. Was that such a crime?
Her next question quickly pushed those thoughts from his mind. He heard her voice change from conspiratorial to skepticism and become, for a moment, worried. But what would she suspect him of? He hadn't done anything wrong. Just, perhaps, thought a few things that might be considered, at the least, ungrateful to his new alphas.
"I was inspecting the borders," he said, his voice bold. He turned his head toward them, mimicking the actions of the sighted. It was something he was used to doing, aiming his head at the object of his attention, even when it was useless, now. "The plants are growing well, but..." He smirked. "If they are a passable barrier for fairy-hunters, we'll need more than bushes to prevent a true attack."
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Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 10:13 pm
Though he was unable to see it, she pulled back her lips to give her own toothy grin. "Pah! As if any barrier could withstand the strength of determined faery-finders. Though they'll certainly be out of luck if we keep talking this loud about them." A 'serious suspicion' could only last so long with her bubbling personality, and her voice soon broke from the facade.
Xanthe nodded seriously, turning away from where he indicated towards the woods behind her once more. The creatures of tales were not friendly as wolves were, but were painfully shy. Being talked about would scary them only further. And at some point she would find something magical among these bushes and trees, besides the biting pain in it's beautiful branches.
"But," She breathed, turning her full attention back to Cyclops, moving forwards to stand at his side, craning her neck to see over the wall of flora. "Why would we need to be ready for an attack? The Order doesn't have any enemies." Her voice was prodding, her brow furrowed slightly. The prospect of a big fight excited her, for they were almost always the climax of a good story, but fights did have losing sides. And losing sides generally meant wounds and death, in what wars she had heard on wind from her father and brothers.
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Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:45 pm
The smile fell from Cyclops' face at Xanthe's question. He felt and heard her move closer to his side, and brought his muzzle to where he assumed her head was. Briefly, he wondered what her appearance was. She must have been small enough, delicate enough, to slip beneath the hedge. Was she a dark color, able to blend in with the foliage, to hide if need be?
"There are wolves who are enemies to the whole world," he said, his voice low. He could feel the fur of her coat brush his whiskers. "And there are those who wish to destroy any who try to bring peace or beauty into it." For that was the point of this pack, wasn't it? To protect and defend wolfenkind. Cyclops had seen enough evil to know the task would not be an easy one.
He turned his head away, not wishing to be frightening or depressing. "If you don't mind me asking," he said, "what do you look like? I like to able to 'see' my companions."
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