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 Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:29 pm
 Kami awoke with a tremendous yawn, and was temporarily disoriented. She was quite used to waking up in odd places -- being a wanderer lately, everywhere was an odd place, and she did tend to sunbathe quite a lot -- but this was different. She lay, for a moment, in a patch of shade, and tried to remember where she was, and how she had gotten there, and why.
Oh, right. The tree-slayer and his squirrel. No, not his. The shaman's. But whatever.
Huh. So she'd managed to spend a whole evening out with them, had she? Time flies. She wondered if Marion had set out the search party yet. The thought amused her. Pleased her, somewhat, also, to think that perhaps she was missed. But she wouldn't count on it.
Yawning and rolling to her paws, the orange wolf gave a long-tremendous stretch, curling her tail over her back and popping each joint systematically.
"You up yet?" She called, casting her eyes around for the others.
And that's when she noticed the birds.
She blinked, falling back heavily to her haunches, maw lifted skyward. Was it time for migration? She'd never paid much heed to the behavior of the feathered beasts before, but now they were making themselves rather conspicuous, roosting thickly in the trees and blotting out the sunlight that would be filtering through.
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Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:36 pm
Birds.
Birds.
Birds everywhere!
Thable never thought much about things that weren't right in front of him. It stood to reason that now, surrounded by birds, they were all he could think about. One had become many, and they'd multiplied so fast it just couldn't be natural. As the son of a shaman he knew if something didn't seem normal it probably wasn't.
He went to examine the area for any sign of his mother before Kamiya had so much as twitched in her sleep -- a scent, a clump of fur, small paw prints. To walk a mile one must first walk a step. He wasn't the type very good with this kind of nitpicking detective work, but damned if he didn't believe a lot of effort and heart could make someone into something they weren't.
Sniff. Sniffsniff.
No scent.
Thable had lifted his head. He looked up.
Ten birds.
Thable took a step, lowered his head.
Sniffsniffsniff.
Thable looked up again.
Twenty birds, give or take a few.
Things went on like that until he was sure there must be a hundred of them. What really unnerved him was the congregation contained species he hadn't really seen together before. Black ones, brown ones -- he was sure they had names the same as he was "a wolf", but he didn't remember what they were.
"Uhh... Hey, guys."
Silence.
"...Right. Well. You're all... creepy, so. Right. Goodbye then."
Thable rushed back to the others, finding them both side by side, staring up at the sky. He never thought he'd be so grateful for the company of a squirrel. "Did you see all these birds?"
"Did you see that stupid wolf asking stupid questions?"
Or not.
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Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:40 pm
"No," she replied, her tone a bit distracted. There were so many of them! It was kind of a marvelous thing, really. Just imagine if the whole lot of them could be trained, as a cohesive unit, to do one's bidding...a whole skyborne army...."I've gone temporarily blind."
Skyborne army. What if that was what they were? Infuriating thing about birds was the way you couldn't see what they were feeling. Always the same expression, whether they meant to help or to harm. Useful skill, really. But frustrating to receive.
With some effort, she tore her eyes from the birds and glanced instead to Thable. "Not friends of yours, then?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:49 pm
As a pup, this would be around the time he trampled the ground with his paws and threw a fit. Thable was older now, more mature. He'd do the adult thing and scowl at them instead. "No, I don't know any birds."
The squirrel had his suspicions about the matter, but the last time he had seen Aleu, she had a single airborne companion and nothing more. Her skills must have grown since then, but to such a degree... This was impressive to say the very least.
He wasn't all that surprised when the birds fought with each other to get a front row seat on the dirt, acting as though it were holy ground and they were devotedly religious fowls. In a way, that's exactly what was going on.
Aleu appeared from the underbrush, trying to weave her way over the many bodies at her feet. "Alright, enough."
Alas, 'twas no good. Wings flailed, feathers flew everywhere; squawking, screeching, pecking and clawing. Just to be near her. She really could have done without this little... fanclub.
"Thable? Is that you?"
As if there was any mistaking that coat.
"Aleu!" A joyful cry not from Thable, but a certain squirrel, who viciously fought is way through the crowd of birds to reach her. "Aleu! Shaman Aleu! I'm so glad you're well!"
Thable snorted loudly. "Suck up..."
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Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 9:58 pm
Kami, still back on her haunches, turned her attentions toward the wolf from the underbrush. This day was getting weirder and weirder, and she'd only been awake for a few minutes. Too much strangeness before breakfast was unhealthy.
And those birds.
Kamiya hadn't much experience with shamans -- and she was a bit skeptical about what she had -- but she'd certainly never seen this. Not in birds, at least. It reminded her an awful lot of how certain sniveling underlings-desiring-power acted around Kailani's father, actually, and that realization put her in a sour mood.
But it didn't last long, before the squirrel was off to join the fan club, and the weirdness quotient stabilized just a little. Somehow, that made sense. Her brow furrowed, just for a moment, and then her expression resumed its usual sardonic flavor. "Not the shaman we're looking for, then?" She asked, quietly, casting a sideways glance at Thable.
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Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 11:20 pm
Thable's solid eyes drifted to the side until they met hers. "No, a different one," he concluded. "Mom is grey. --Mostly. And a lot smaller. She's kind of wolf you know when you see her."
In other words, when Kamiya saw Ran, she would know she was looking at the Ran.
"This one is Aleu. I should have figured she was around."
Aleu wasn't thrilled with having a passenger, but she'd never been much of a confrontational wolf, so she didn't say anything when Squirrel sprang onto her back. He didn't add much weight. She hardly noticed him closing the distance between herself and the others.
Thable greeted her. "Aleu."
"You're looking well." Aleu took the time to take in his appearance. She did the same with Kamiya. "Is this your sister or...?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 11:29 pm
Ah, right. Grey -- like the squirrel. How could she forget with such a convenient visual reminder.
Her ears flicked toward the dusty-colored female and she took a moment to look over her. She smelled funny. Had a lingering scent on her, one Kamiya couldn't place, but which put her immediately on edge, and she felt her hackles raise despite herself. She found herself on her paws without realizing she was standing.
....Sister?
That caught her off-guard. She blinked and looked back at Thable. The idea amused her, somewhat, and she shook her head. "Ah, no." Her blue eyes flicked back to Aleu's. "The name is Kamiya. I'm helping Thable here look for someone, in exchange for him doing the same for me."
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 3:55 pm
Aleu found this situation had gone from annoying to amusing with just one line. The birds were tolerable if she got to be part of this. Ran's little family never failed to entertain. ("Family" referring only to her children, else they'd be anything but small.)
She scratched her ear with her hind leg. "Who? Maybe I can put these followers of mine to good use for once."
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 4:38 pm
Kamiya glanced sidelong at Thable, not sure if it would be alright to divulge this information. They all seemed to be on friendly enough terms, but she didn't want to be the idiot that said something unwanted.
She'd just skip over the shaman bit, then. That was Thable's business, not hers. And truth be told she hardly cared about his quest. She returned her attention to the bird-shaman. "I'm looking for an old packmate," she said, aiming for vagueness not so much to protect Kai, but because she didn't want Thable to start in on the 'Princess' bit again. "Blue male, with gold marks." She gestured vaguely to her forelimb. "A bit of an idiot."
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 8:12 pm
'You could have left it at 'male' and I'd have assumed that," Aleu said in jest -- mostly. The men of the wolf world were seriously lacking in the area of intelligence from what she knew of them. She turned to Thable expectantly. "Your mother or Raja?"
Had to be one of those. This playboy, had he not looked so much like Ekundu his lineage was undeniable, she would have thought was secretly Kaho's. He wouldn't take a girl out to find another a girl.
...Probably.
Thable did not disappoint her logic. "Yeah, for Mom."
Aleu nodded and looked to the sky, thinking. "I haven't seen Ran... But I did see a blue wolf not too long ago. Up by the two-leg pack. I think they probably killed hi--"
Errr.
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Posted: Sat Jan 01, 2011 8:17 pm
Her attentions snapped suddenly onto her, eyes narrowing, ears folding back. She hadn't believed that red-and-black loner when she'd said something similar, but the nonchalance with which this shaman spoke made her know she wasn't bluffing.
Well, wouldn't that be just great. "Two-leggers?" She asked, a bit mystified. There were humans near enough to her pack lands that she had once or twice been past their settlements, on a scouting trip, but she'd never encountered one up close. The prince would have almost certainly never seen one before in his life. Hardly surprising he'd bumble face-first into a death trap. "Is that what that smell on you is?" She asked, more to herself than the other wolf, and then carried on. "...Where? Maybe if I can drag the body back with me....?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 5:46 pm
Drag the body...?
Aleu didn't like the turn this harmless situation was taking. Wolves were split from their friends and forced to track them down all the time, but this was something more... political? Something she didn't want to get wrapped in if it would put herself or the two-legs at great risk. (Aleu was not the best shaman on a personal level; Ran was much better.)
"I don't know where. I didn't follow. To the North of here is what I saw." She nodded in the very same direction. "I haven't seen Ran at all, sorry. If one of you can see her little friends she'll be easier to find."
Thable shrugged his furry shoulders. "I still can't see them. I don't know about the princess."
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 6:07 pm
Her ear flicked. She didn't even bother correcting him. She wanted to go investigate immediately -- preferably before the body started decomposing, if that's what it came to -- but she sensed there was no overbearing sense of urgency from the others, so she held herself back for a moment.
She glanced back at the other two. "So you didn't see him get killed?" She asked, her tone inscrutable. It was hard to say if she was relieved or annoyed. She weighed her options, uncertain how she felt on the topic. What if she couldn't go home? Could she make a life for herself, here? Find the inherent...charms...of this world?
She gave a long, appraising look at Thable -- a look that was, perhaps, a bit inappropriate for the situation -- and sighed. If she had to settle for this bizarre, ridiculous world, she may as well get used to the locals.
Kamiya snorted, shaking herself. She wasn't giving up to despair just yet. Annoyed, and now thoroughly confused as to what the others were talking about -- what did he mean, he couldn't see them? -- she took off toward the North with no further acknowledgment of the others.
If she had to make a contingency plan...she needed to know.
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 6:18 pm
Aleu shook her head. That was the last thing she said to Kamiya that day, be it through words or gesture. Knowing she was a princess (or so she thought when Thable had said so and she'd done nothing to refuse the idea) made the shaman feel on edge. She lived by the way of man more than wolf, and this stressful heir-drama she'd always tried to avoid.
But she had to admit something. "She seems better than Hayley."
Thable snorted, silently agreeing, but having no time to express their mutual viewpoint when Kamiya was already up and running. "Thanks, Aleu!"
Let no one ever say Thable couldn't run. He managed to get around Kamiya, trying to block her (reckless) path (to possible destruction). "Woah, woah! Don't go running off like that!"
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Posted: Sun Jan 02, 2011 7:18 pm
Her ear flicked, though she did not pause, and she caught the edge of their words. Who the hell is Hayley? she wondered, but shrugged it off. No matter now.
Kamiya was not a stupid wolf, but she was one occasionally given to recklessness. She was the sort of creature who, once given an obstacle to overcome, tended to barrel right through it with little regard to whether there may be a more sensible path around.
And now, faced with what she considered a very simple question -- was the prince dead or wasn't he? -- she chose to find the answer to that, rather than to tumble down into the much more confusing myriad of possibilities brought up by that other question: what do I do if I can't go home?
She'd made a good distance by the time the other caught up. She nearly barreled into him -- or, given her petite stature, practically under him -- before grinding to a halt, glaring up at him with steely eyes. "Like you could stop me," she said, in a half growl.
Yes. Being angry at Thable. That was significantly easier than this slow, creeping terror that she'd never go home.
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