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 Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 7:53 pm
Rage yawned, rolling onto her side in the side and looked to the oncoming dawn. The sky was painted pinks, orange and hued blue. Amber eyes blinked as she came to stand, shaking herself, ruffling her fur, hackles, loosing sands hold on her. Sneezing she smiled to the lulling sea foam waves that receded to reveal the tide pools. She headed along the shoreline towards the other side of the packland borders to see what washed ashore.
Perhaps a new meal.
Perhaps a new trinket for the shaman.
Perhaps a new face to meet, or, nothing at all.
She hoped it not be the last.
Stretching her legs she began to run at a lope, enjoying the salt air in her lungs, breathing deep she smiled, running with the light that raced across the Outrider lands.
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 8:21 pm
Quinn had a few things on his mind:
A nice meal. A warm place to sleep for the night. The companionship of someone...a lady-friend perhaps, but now he was just day-dreaming. Quinn hadn't known affection in...well, too long. That was lifetimes ago.
The pale yellow-furred wolf padded over the land, pausing occasionally as the scent of unfamiliar territory caught his nostrils. He was probably trespassing, he thought. That was the way of things these days, you couldn't walk a stone's throw away from one territory before you were bumped up into another. No room to breathe.
Still, pack life had its advantages. He had known that once, hadn't he?
...indeed.
Shaking away these sudden, gloomy thoughts, he lifted his head once more and closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the breeze, the sound of the ocean. Simple pleasures. The sunset, the turf...those were things that didn't disappear out from under one's paws so easily as....other things.
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 8:47 pm
As she breathed deeply a scent crossed her nose and she halted. It took a moment for her mind to process the information. She half expected her mate, or perhaps the pale female, Amara, to be on the shore at this hour. But this was unfamiliar, male, and alone. Quirking a brow she looked behind her, her paw prints were well within the sand. No bother trying to hide them, hide herself. This male coming from this side of the packlands was either passing by, passing through, looking for a home or looking to invade.
Regardless, if she needed aid, the others would not be far out beyond her call.
None would refuse a call to paws of the alpha, of course.
She did not take a step further, as the shore came to a bend and she did not want to be caught off guard, just in case. Ears twitching, she howled out, questioning, Who are you, why are you here?" and Come.
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 9:24 pm
His ear flicked, brow furrowing as he heard what was indisputably a summons. So someone had caught his scent, then. He smiled wryly, padding forward toward the sound, not bothering to respond verbally. She would see him soon enough, and then she could decide what to do with him. Eat him, perhaps? Throw him into the sea?
Quinn smiled. Dramatics had never been his forte.
He came around the corner, stepping into vision -- pale but conspicuous, boldly marked with ink-splatters of black over his yellow pelt, hardly one to fade out of notice. "You called?" He asked, pausing some distance from the she-wolf to take a good once-over of her, sizing up what sort of wolf she was.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 8:23 pm
Rage watched as a pale male came from beyond the bend. He was the hue of the sky where blue mingled with golden light before midday. She huffed, taking in his scent, kept her head high, raised her tail, kept straight eye contact.
"I did," she stated simply. His eyes fell onto her, and hers to him.
She was not one to make assumptions.
She hoped he was not one to.
Rage was not one to be trifled with. Not one to anger.
"You've come to the lands of the Outriders, friend, are you traveling?"
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 8:59 pm
"Wandering, morelike," he said, with a little self-deprecating smile. "Traveling would suggest I have both motive and destination."
He looked her over thoughtfully. She was confident and striking, and clearly a wolf not only with a pack, but a position within it. He remembered a time when he could have said the same for himself...but that was a lifetime ago.
"I do not, however, mean to trespass. Apologies, madame, if I intrude."
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:58 pm
Rage eyed him, lowered her tail somewhat but kept her head high still, kept eye contact. "Wandering can lead you to the strangest, but most intriguing places, even home, it is how I came to this place when young." She looked to the north, where she had come from smelling like smoke and fire, so long ago. She smiled though, those days were over, many things had changed.
"I don't mean to be so forward, friend, I only mean to keep an eye on those who come to my pack, see if there is a reason, and if so, a way to help. We are just wary, you understand, as we are increasing our numbers."
Her ears twitched as she listened, watched his body, tried to get a feel for his personality. He had such a forefront.
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Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 4:36 pm
A smile -- small and sad -- touched upon his maw. Home. He was not so optimistic as to think such a concept could exist for him once more, but he was certainly willing to try. "Quinn," he offered, with a dip of his maw. "You can call me Quinn, if you like."
He had considered changing his name, after....but it wouldn't have made much difference. He had run so far that the only demons following him were his own, and they all knew his name.
He lifted dark eyes to look over her once more, intrigued by her countenance. "So it is a pack I stumbled across, is it? Lucky that I didn't find myself at the bottom of a cliff instead."
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Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 8:22 pm
Rage nodded at his name and smirked at his comment, holding in a laugh, "If cliff jumping is what you prefer you missed that by a few miles, Quinn." She swayed her tail and felt the sea foam touch her toes. The tide was beginning to roll in, hopefully tonight there would be a decent hunt or fishing.
Slippery beasts.
"Quite the pack, if I do say so myself, I am Rage, the alpha of the Outriders. I've a subordinate alpha as well, although he does take to his own," how to explain, " he came here with some of his own people from another pack a little while ago, noble wolf, very strong. Surprised you didn't run into him yet, quite the eye sore," she laughed.
"If you are tired of wandering, Quinn, the Outriders can offer you a home, a family, if you are up to the task of becoming part of it," she smiled. "Survival lies in strength, and everyone has a part to play."
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 12:53 am
He grinned then, the first easy smile since the interaction had started. Cliff diving? Hardly. But an amusing thought, all the same.
"Subordinate alpha?" He asked, brows raising and ears pricking at the thought. The way she spoke of him intrigued him, and he wrestled for a moment with a way to ask the question that had swum to the forefront of his mind. "...Is he not your mate, then?"
What an intriguing concept! And then, what she said next baffled him even further. "...You extend welcome generously and freely," he said, and there was both gratitude and awe in his voice. He waffled with the decision, then plunged ahead. "I...do not deserve so much kindness, I'm afraid. But I would not say no to a place to stay for a few days." Then, because it seemed important to say, "I won't be a bother to anyone. I can take care of myself, and will do my part to help where I can."
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 10:49 am
"Oh,no, " Rage laughed, shaking her head. She could never see that blue mass of white and extra fluff as anything more than a close friend, perhaps a brother. "Not my mate. My mate hardly enjoys being so close to leadership, politics, but he is there for guidance and advice if needed."
Daemon had his choices, but Rage would not give up her position, not after promising to Phib.
"You damper yourself too much with disrespect. You come to the Outriders with a blank slate Quinn, you come as a newcomer, a friend, and someone new to find a place here. You are welcome to join this pack and make a name for yourself here. Whatever is in your past that puts so much haste on your decision, let it go, and let yourself the ability to make your own choices here and now."
She smiled, nodded and flicked her tail, "The Outriders is a pack, and a family, we all do our part, keep to ourselves sometimes, but are part of one unit. Why not leave your wandering days for a bit, and have a taste of family for a while? If you don't mind my presumptions, it seems, from my point of view, it seems as if the chance would suit you well."
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 11:41 am
The thought that came into his mind, unbidden, was: ah -- so you're still available? But that was quickly quelled by what she said next. He mentally chastised himself for thinking it. Why would that have possibly occurred to him to ask? What did it matter to him if she was mated or not?
Maybe the wandering had begun to addle his brain, after all.
"You might be right about that," he said, dipping his head. She was very forward. He liked that -- he liked wolves that spoke what they thought and didn't try to hide anything. He had been a wolf like that, once. "I appreciate your offer, and I will happily take it, for now at least."
Always the hesitation. She'll think there's something wrong with you, he thought. She'll think your secret is worse than it is.
But was anything worse?
He chided himself again quickly. Of course it was. Don't be ridiculous.
"...Is there anything I should know?" He asked, perhaps a bit meekly. "Any rituals or beliefs or...enemies...I should hear about?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 8:05 pm
"Then, for now," Rage said with a smile, almost a smirk, "I welcome you as part of the Outirders Quinn. You may feel free to speak with the guards and hunters to see which post might suite you best, unless you would prefer to be a watcher from the cliffs, we did mention cliff diving earlier, did we not?" she laughed.
She watched him, in silence.
If only she were a seer. Or had one handy.
Alas, only a shaman closeby.
"We believe in family, strength in numbers, and we only wish that one's privacy is respected, as well as pride is respected. As for enemies," her wounds had quite healed over from the last attempt of invasion.
"Some, the guards know of them, the worst is a gray and black male, with black markings, white eyes, he usually has a band of misfits with him, his name is Croanyl," she flicked her tail. She wasn't sure how much she should say.
"I do not know much of your past Quinn, nor you of mine, but know this, in time, if you wish to ask me more, I am open to it, and I hope the same may be vice versa. But for this wolf, this male-" she hated speaking his name.
"If he comes again for blood, it would be mine he wants."
She shook her shoulders, breathed deep. Let a smile on her maw. "For now, let us forget of the past, want me to show you where open dens are? I'm sure some of the girls will be thrilled to meet you."
Rage could see it now, all the single ladies swooning.
What had she done? She laughed at herself inwardly, oh, this would be a wonderful time she could tell. There was something Quinn would not say, but everything had their own little secrets, she only hoped he knew she could help if needed.
"Shall we?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 10:16 pm
He tilted his head. It would appear he wasn't the only wolf here with some secrets -- but then, she was much more open about her past. He almost envied that of her. "You're very kind for a wolf with a price on your head," he said, marveling a little. "You must be very strong, to be so confident."
He wished females had been built like this back home. Maybe that would've made things different.
What a strange and ridiculous thought. He brushed it aside immediately.
"I'll keep my eyes out, but I must say I'm not much of a warrior myself. Best to keep that business to the experts."
Lying came so easily to him...but she seemed to understand that about him, and not mind. "Following you, m'lady."
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 2:03 pm
"There are things that are, hard to explain, I do have one gift that the beast himself cannot have any forsee," though she did not wish to let Quinn know. Not just yet. Just in case. Besides, it was best to keep that little secret at bay from as many as possible, to keep the others safe...
"Some of the guards, or warriors here, have trifled with him before, again, strength are in numbers, and tactics, perhaps, one day, I'll show you myself, or have one of the others try you out," she eyed him, smirked.
Yes, no doubt many would like to give it a go with a new comer.
"Welcome home, Quinn."
And they walked on.
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