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 Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 9:36 pm
 Iosef was keeping busy, but that was exactly how he liked it -- because being busy meant he was earning his keep, and it also meant that he didn't have too much free time to worry about the troublesome thoughts that tended unfortunately to crop up into his mind.
Presently, he had been set to the task of clearing out a nest of spiders that had taken up residence in the base of a hollowed-out, dying tree. He wasn't entirely certain that the spiders were poisonous enough to cause any alarm to the Sisters, but with pups now in the packlands he had decided to err on the side of caution. The thought of anything unfortunate befalling a precious young life always made Iosef's insides churn.
Today, Iosef was working with a smile, humming quietly to himself. It had been good to see his sister again, alive and well; he had never thought he would hear her voice once more, and knowing that she was safe brought closure to one of the many raw, wounded places in his heart. That she had chosen not to return to Antianeira was baffling, but he respected her decision, and she seemed happy enough with her choice.
It wasn't the sort of choice that Iosef would have made...but then, he mused, he wasn't a wolf well-suited to a different sort of lifestyle. As baffling as it would be to an outsider....well, Iosef liked being a slave.
But enough thinking, more action! He chastised himself for allowing his thoughts to stray and forced himself back to the task at hand: destroying the webs and killing the spiders without being bitten.
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 9:42 am
 Look at this mess, Azalea thought as she inspected the dens. Why did they bother to keep slaves around if they didn't do the small jobs they were given. Honestly Penthesilea was far too soft on them letting them get away with half finished jobs all the time. She would change that one day soon, then they would learn to not only respect Azalea as the princess of the pack but fear her as well. Padding along she looked for that smart mouthed pup Glacier but he was no where to be seen right now. He best not be off having fun with the Queen as there was far too much unfinished work around here.
Looking up ahead she spotted one of the more loyal slaves to the pack. In Azalea's opinion he was still quite useless but at least he was more attentive to his duties than Glacier was. Well it was time for her to have a bit of fun at this males expense "Slave." She called out as she padded towards him. "Just what are you doing?"
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 5:32 pm
He stopped, paw poised over the web, and looked over his shoulder, catching sight of the small green pup. He smiled fondly at her; he loved children, and she was an especially lovely little thing, destined to grow beautiful and powerful and everything a good Antianeira wolf should be. "Clearing out these cobwebs, ma'am" he said, apparently not noticing any ill-humor in her voice, and treating her with appropriate respect -- even as a pup, she outranked him, and he would not forget it. "This tree is infested with spiders, and I'd really hate to see anyone bitten." He glanced back at the tree, biting his lip thoughtfully; what he really needed was fire. He'd seen fire before, up close, when lightning had struck a tree near where he had made his den in his loner days. If only he could find a way to harness that...his brow furrowed and he considered his other options.
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 5:54 pm
Azalea tilted her head as the slave addressed her. Finally a slave that knows how to show proper respect to a sister of the pack. Though honestly he could have bowed his head as well, she was princess after all. So he was clearing cobwebs out of this infested tree. Why do just that? Why not get rid of the tree itself, surely if it got infested once with spiders it would happen again. Giving her head a shake Azalea reminded herself that this was nothing more than a stupid male slave so he wouldn't think of things like that. Nope they didn't think much at all, they were given a task and for the most part did it. But they needed to learn to solve these problems more efficiently.
Luckily for this slave Azalea had come along in time to give him some pointers - pointers that would be accompanied by snide remarks and mockery of his gender and rank. But surely the male wouldn't mind, and even if he did he couldn't exactly say anything negative to her without fear of a vicious beating from one of the older sisters. "If it is infested then why not remove the tree itself." She said as she moved closer to the slave giving him and the tree an inspection.
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 8:27 pm
"You know," he said, brow furrowed, "that's an excellent idea, ma'am." He circled it, focused primarily on the task at hand, still utterly oblivious to any negativity from the pup. "It's dead," he said, lifting up a paw to rap on the trunk, listening to the hollow thud. He continued, speaking primarily to himself. "Totally hollow, just a log really with a few roots left....I wonder how many it would take to get it pulled down..." his brow furrowed thoughtfully. Oh, but as soon as it came down, the spiders inside would come pouring out....Hm. He flopped to his haunches and glanced back at the pup, making sure she was maintaining a safe distance from the spiderwebs. She was so self-assured! He did wonder what had caused her to take sudden interest in him, though..."It may take awhile, though, uprooting the whole thing and discarding of it. Is there any more pressing task you need of me, m'lady, before I get started?"
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 8:39 pm
"Of course it's an excellent idea, I came up with it." She said as she stood just a bit straighter than she previously had been. It was oddly refreshing to have a slave not only listen to her but also give her praise for her ideas. Though honestly she wasn't even sure if the old tree could be moved, she had just wanted to see him work harder and most important at something she tasked him to.
Watching him circle around the hollowed out tree clearly thinking things through Azalea thought that this slave would be a good mentor for that little blue pup. Sure she knew this one was already technically teaching the younger slave, but clearly he needed to be instructed on how to properly teach another. Lowering herself gracefully onto her haunches Azalea looked upon the slave once more. "Well what are you waiting for slave, start the job!" She half yelled the order. Clearly he didn't understand that if there had have been a more pressing job for him to do she would have ordered him to do so already.
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 8:56 pm
"Oh, apologies," he said, slightly startled -- but thoroughly not intimidated by the small pup. If anything, he thought her insistence was a little adorable. But he certainly wouldn't let her know that! "I'm simply considering the best way to fell the tree, without risk of injury to you, ma'am." He glanced back at her, and there was perhaps just the faintest glimmer of amusement in his eyes; he had grown up in this pack, after all, and at the time there had been more pups, playmates his age of the superior gender. Hierarchy games were something he was well-accustomed to. "Do you have any suggestions?"
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 9:02 pm
Azalea rolled her eyes and let out a huff. First she had to tell him to get rid of the tree and now he wanted to know the best way to accomplish that. Males! This was just more proof that they had no place in this pack, they were weak, stupid and just far too inferior to waste their time on.
"I do not fear getting hurt slave. It is a part of life." Her training had taught her that. Pain was something that one embraced in battle, not feared. Fear weakened ones resolve, left them open for attacks. She feared nothing. Not even the wrath of the Queen should she be caught doing something wrong. "Must I do everything for you?" Giving her head a shake. "You're the one that needs to do it. Just dig it up!"
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 9:10 pm
"Alright," he replied, with a shrug, and returned his attention to the tree. On the bright side, the sun was still shining overhead, which meant that the spiders -- which, as near as he could tell, were predominately nocturnal -- were sluggish and asleep inside. "But please, stand clear...I wouldn't want you getting hurt." And he didn't, although at this rate he may be the only slave in the pack with that feeling.
He rose to his hindpaws, tentatively, pressing his forepaws against the tree trunk with all his weight, pushing into it. It swayed just slightly but stood quite firm.
Dig it up? Hmm. Two birds, one stone? Feeling satisfied, he began digging at the base of the tree, moving the dirt in such a way that it filtered into the hole at the base of the roots on the side occupied by the spiders -- caving in their hidey-holes and tearing through the webs with the dirt clods even as he hollowed out a place beneath the tree on another side. He'd smooth it all over later.
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 9:24 pm
Was he telling her what to do now? She would stand clear is she wished to stand clear, not because he told her to. Being the stubborn type Azalea stayed put right where she had been sitting. There was little to no danger of getting hurt from what she could see - and honestly if she did the fault would be on him. And Azalea would revel in watching him get beat over something like that.
She watched him with hawk like eyes looking for any excuse to yell at him. Oh how she loved to yell at the slaves. And at least this one didn't throw smart remarks back at her like that blue pup did. Stupid pup, thinks because Penthesilea took him in he could get away with anything. "You are making an awful mess." It wasn't entirely true, but she felt the need to say something. The more she pestered him about the job the better she felt.
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:36 am
 Since being banished to the dens after Pen's fight with Achilles Glacier had done his very best to both keep out of trouble...and avoid the green menace. It was just his luck that he would come across her pestering Iosef. Deer Dung! That wench always seemed to appear in the worst places possible, but she looked fairly involved in watching th spotted wolf dig up a tree.
Why exactly he was trying to dig up a tree Glacier wasn't sure - it seemed like a silly thing to try and do to him - trees were giant! But whatever it was keeping Azalea busy and if he could just turn around and get out before either Iosef or Azalea noticed him he could find something else to do on the other side of the dens. Maybe he could pretend to clean out one of the abandoned one - and take a nap instead. Azalea wouldn't be caught dead serching a dusty abandoned den and Iosef looked far to busy to come looking for him too!
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:39 am
"I am," he agreed, grimly, without looking up from his work -- except for the occasionally glance out the corner of his eye to make sure she was alright. He felt bad for her, being the only female pup in the pack right now. She must be terribly lonely....no wonder her only form of amusement was bossing about the slaves. "It'll look better momentarily, though."
He looked up from his work, examining the mound of moist dirt that covered the spider-infested hole, and the cool divet beneath the roots on the other side. He sniffed this new orifice, checking for any potential pests, before withdrawing, circling back to the dirt-mound, and patting it down with his paws, flattening it.
He caught a glimpse of Glacier over her shoulder, and his eyes glittered; he knew very well what difficulties the pup had with his age-mate. To distract Azalea, he asked, "You have a brother that lives in the pack, training as a slave, is that right?"
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:53 am
Azalea huffed. "It had best look better." She mumbled quietly. Honestly was it that hard to do ones duty without making more of a mess than what it started with. Worthless slaves. She watched him start to pack the earth down in an attempt to flatten it but it was still quite bumpy and uneven. Just another thing she would yell at him about.
As she opened her mouth to do so he asked his question about her brother. "I suppose he is, though honestly I don't know why mother just didn't get rid of him with the other." It didn't make sense to Azalea to keep one worthless male around and get rid of the others. "Nightshade will likely be a better slave than that other pup." Speaking of which shouldn't he be here helping Iosef? He had best not be off spending time with Penthesilea. Following silently behind Glacier, Cleite had remained hidden within the trees as he made his way towards Azalea and Iosef. She had been charged with escorting him to and from his duties now, a job she took very seriously. Noting the look on the pups face when he saw the little green terror here Cleite stepped out from her hiding spot to stand behind him, so that when he turned around he would meet her gaze. A gaze which told him to ignore the other pup and help Iosef with this job.
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 11:02 am
Glacier had his ears tipped towards the two wolves as he turned about - by the sound of their conversation neither of them had noticed him yet, which was great news and he practically skipped as he started off in the other direction. Until a dark shadow fell over him and rising his eyes up from the ground he spotted the sturdy paws of Ceite the lynx. Bother. Meeting the Lynx's gaze Glacier wanted to whine and plead and beg to be allowed around her.
But the Lynx was as ever stubborn as only a cat can be and despite his pleading puppy eyes which he worked very hard at making as sorrowful looking as possible Cleite's gaze didn't change. It wasn't fair! Glacier hated Azalea and the lynx knew it! If he hadn't known how much trouble it would get him in Glacier would have run away into the woods or bit the Lynx right then and there! But those would be unforgivable offenses and so he merely huffed in frustration and trudged towards Iosef and the Green witch.
"Miss Assalea" He greeted her in a polite and respectful tone, clearly hoping that his jab at her name would go unnoticed or be chalked up to bad pronunciation. "Iosef" He greeted the other wolf "Do you need help?"
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Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 11:13 am
"He will be a good servant to you," Iosef said. He thought about his own sisters and smiled. He glanced up again, seeing the lynx, and his brow furrowed; he hadn't heard about the attack on Pen, and seeing Cleite clearly escorting Glacier was something of a shock. He hoped everything was all right.
"Greetings, Glacier," he replied, pleasantly, stamping down some more on the ground at his paws. "You may help if you wish...I'm dealing with some spiders that live here, and may try to get rid of this tree if I can." He smiled kindly at the pup, and, unaware of what trouble and embarrassment the question might cause, "You're not afraid of spiders, are you Glacier?"
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