|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 12:43 am
 It had only been a few days since Tisiphone and her wolves had been allowed into this beautiful territory. In all likelihood, they were still on probation and might be sent away for anything as minor as a misunderstanding, so Tis could not quite bring herself to call this place home, or think of this pack as hers. Not yet. Perhaps, in time, she might. For now, she wanted to see how her wolves were adjusting to these unusual locals. Whether they were happy here or would not be able to tolerate the place for any length of time. If any one of them were unhappy, they would leave; however much Tis hoped they could make it here. They were family. The group came before the individual. It was as simple as that.
With her own mixed feelings about this place swirling around in her mind, the dark female caught sight of bright green paint. Now, why was Heyoka just there, looking like her insane little mind was hatching yet another mad scheme? This did not bode well.
Before her foundling could launch into her plan, whatever that might be, Tisiphone trotted up to her and nudged the younger female with her shoulder.
“Heyoka,” she said. “I hope you’re not planning an early death for yourself again.” It was as much a warning as a question. Just what was the girl up to? Was it going to get them chased out of the territory? And more importantly, was it likely to get the young female killed? Unfortunately, whatever the answer to the first question, Tis suspected that the answer to the other two was a resounding yes…and she had little hope that she could keep Heyoka from going through with it. The best she might be able to manage was delaying the inevitable.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 1:27 am
 Fun is where you find it. That was Heyoka's motto -- or one of her mottos, anyway. Other mottos were "live on the edge" and "life's too short not to take risks".
But at the moment, Heyoka was battling with a complicated slurry of emotions, the end result being an overbearing desire to do something stupid. Granted, this was the end result of most of her thought processes.
She wasn't sure she'd be able to make friends in this new pack. She'd never had a pack before, nor any particular need to make friends -- Zanza and Captain and Tis had been all she'd ever needed -- but she suspected that now that she was around other wolves, she'd be expected to be social, and she wasn't comfortable with that at all. For one, she didn't know how to make friends. For another, she was feeling pretty foolish for the way the whole bear situation had gotten out of hand. She was keenly interested to see the shaman again, or even to have a chat with that mohawked-fellow...but she suspected that none of them wanted a word with her, seeing as her first step onto the territory had involved inciting an injured bear to murderous rage.
Well, how was she supposed to know any better? Honestly.
As a way of coping with her insecurity about the whole social situation, Heyoka had taken to exploring the territory in her free time. The one thing this Acropolis place had going for it, she thought, was the mountains. She liked the peaks; they were both serene and exhilirating, and she could stand at the top of one and incline her head to the sky and feel the wind in her fur and feel truly, totally free.
She was standing atop one of these peaks when she caught the scent of her "big sister", and an ear slid back toward her but she did not speak just yet. She was contemplating how best to jump from the peak, and whether she would be able to make it very far without permanent injury. She knew there was a river down somewhere...if she could just aim for that...
Of course, she didn't know the story of a certain other wolf who had fallen from this very peak to his supposed death...but if she had known it, she would have been very curious about it indeed.
"I don't have a death wish," she said, and giggled a little despite herself. "You worry too much, big sis. Besides, what's to say I couldn't grow wings and fly?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 11:04 am
“And you don’t worry enough,” she growled, ignoring the sister comment. “Wolves do not simply sprout wings and take off. Not even ones as silly as you. If you don’t have a death-wish, then you could at least act like it.” Tisiphone huffed in exasperation and came a little closer to the Heyoka, enough to get a good look at the view below. She snarled slightly at it and re-focused on her foundling.
“So what is it you’re really doing up here?” Though the reckless little wolf might want the world to think she was simply mad, Tis had known her for most of her life. Watched her grow up. In that time, she had come to know Heyoka better than that, at least a little. Enough to know that, whatever drove her, there was more to it than simple thrill-seeking for the sake of thrill-seeking. Enough to worry about the wolf beneath the surface.
So, what was bothering her young charge enough to drive her to the peak of a mountain? Was she really not liking it here? Did she have a problem with the pack members? Surely, if they were being cruel, Tis would have heard about it by now. Right? And surely Heyoka would not have stood for it. No matter what. So, what was the problem?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 5:22 pm
"What bug crawled up your bum," she muttered, but she knew better than to think Tisiphone was much more grumpy than usual. Honestly, all things considered, she was downright friendly.
Still, she relented and pulled away from the edge, the dirt crumbling away beneath her paws as she did so. "I'm enjoying the view," she said, evasively. Heyoka didn't talk about her feelings if she could help it. Most of the time, she tried not to have feelings, if she could help it, unless exhiliration counted as a feeling.
She left it at that for a long moment, allowing her gaze to return back to the admittedly impressive view. Then, because she couldn't help the words from tumbling out, she asked in an incredulous whine, "We're staying here, this time? For real?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2011 10:16 pm
Tisiphone growled, warning Heyoka to mind her manners, but there was no real hear to it. The young wolf was always flippant, not unlike Zanza’jin. But that was the least of her worries at the moment. Enjoying the view? Just who did she think she was fooling? Well, at least she had backed off. That was something.
Oh. Those questions. Perhaps that was really what was bothering her. Unlike Tis, Heyoka had never known a steady home. She had the painted wolves. A family or sorts. But no lands to call her own, and certainly never a group as large as Acropolis to consider pack. Nothing solid to belong to save for Tis’s wandering band. The idea of such a steady home as they might find here would surely be a strange concept for her young foundling. Was she so anxious about it?
“I believe that we might really be staying this time,” Tis said, not wanting to give false promises, but also believing her words. Unless something drastic happened, it seemed like they really could stay here. So long as they wanted to. Of course, that was the trick, wasn’t it? If Heyoka remained truly miserable here, they would move on. No matter how Tis felt about the place personally.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 10:54 am
Casually, as though the whole thing hardly mattered, she asked, "Do you think they like us?"
If it weren't for the slight tautness of her grin and the hard gleam in her eyes, you'd think she didn't care about this at all -- as though it were a throw-away question, something to laugh at. But there was seriousness lurking beneath the surface that Tisiphone, knowing Heyoka as she did, would be unable to miss.
Heyoka shifted from paw to paw, the sudden awkwardness of this emotional moment just too much for her, and her eyes darted about wildly in search of something to do. Her eyes caught upon a tree -- a great, scraggly thing that looked ready to collapse under the weight of age -- and she made for it, jumping for the low branches.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 5:37 pm
The older wolf felt a pang in her heart at this sign of vulnerability from the reckless hellion. It was so uncharacteristic. A glimpse of whatever lurked beneath Heyoka’s brash exterior. But there it was, staring Tisiphone in the face. The younger wolf had never been open about her feelings, not that Tis could really talk. She wasn’t any better. Still, no matter how hard they tried to ignore it, all of them had hearts bearing scars from the past.
Then, Heyoka made a break for a particularly rickety looking tree, and Tis was called out of her inner musings.
“Get off of that thing,” she snapped, her ears flattening with temper. “It’ll probably crush you when it collapses. And if they didn’t like us, they would hardly have let us stay, now would they?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 11:26 pm
"Well, they might like us," she admitted, ignoring the command to climb down. Instead she wriggled her haunches and made to jump into a higher branch, scrambling for a foothold. She hoisted herself up, standing very shakily between two boughs. Wolves were not built to climb trees, and her blunt claws were useless to keep her steady. Ah well. All the more reason to keep moving.
"But they might not like me."
She jumped, then, and snapped at a high limb with her jaws. She succeeded in grabbing hold of it, only to let go almost immediately, doing a roll in the air like a very drunken trapeze artist. She landed on a low limb with enough force to bend it, and it cracked, threatening to snap off entirely.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 9:46 pm
A soft growl rumbled from her throat when Heyoka kept going higher, and of course, she nearly had a heart attack when the daredevil went somersaulting through the air. The black she-wolf stood stock-still and waited with bated breath as the limb bent and creaked ominously. A gusty sigh escaped her when it miraculously held. With that, she glared at her young charge, refusing to admit that the sight might have been the tiniest bit impressive.
“Heyoka,” she warned, not at all amused. “You think you’re a cat? Or a human?” Though, honestly, she had no idea why she was even bothering. Heyoka rarely listened to reason under such circumstances. Perhaps it would be best to sort out her issues as quickly as possible. Maybe then she would not feel as compelled to tempt fate.
“What makes you think that?” she asked, eyeing the branch suspiciously.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 3:27 pm
The branch swayed and creaked as Heyoka stood on it, head and tail held high as though tight-rope walking. She stopped, when Tis spoke, and gave her a withering look. "You don't even like me sometimes," she pointed out.
What bothered her most was she had never needed to be liked before. She wasn't sure why she cared so much now.
The branch cracked again and she jumped off; it swung back up, raining down leaves in her wake. Her body was crackling with electricity, with energy that was begging to be used, energy that threatened to spill out and possibly consume her. Her skin crawled. "Hey, you want to race?"
And without waiting for a response, she took off running -- mercifully, not in the direction of the cliff.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:34 pm
A scowl made its way onto the she-wolf’s maw. It wasn’t that she disliked Heyoka at times; it was simply that the younger female could drive her to wit’s end. Especially when she was being like this. Then, the grey female had the gall to take off before she could get a word in edgewise.
Tisiphone slumped and rolled her eyes toward the sky. Where did Heyoka get all of that energy? It was almost enough to make Tis feel old.
Almost.
With an aggravated huff, the black she-wolf took off after her foundling. They were not through, yet.
It did not take her too long to catch up to Heyoka, despite the younger wolf’s speed. Of course, the whole situation made Tis want to tackle her and beat some sense into her, but it probably wouldn’t work, anyway. Then again…
Tisiphone launched herself into the air and slammed into Heyoka’s side, making the two of them tumble one over the other until they came to a stop.
“Quit being an idiot, Heyoka. You know I don’t hate you. Nor do the others.” In fact, she loved the younger wolf as though they shared blood ties, though she would never admit it aloud. “So quit whining like a spoiled whelp. What do you have to worry about, anyway? If they don’t already, these Acropolis wolves will come to like you. It’s an unfortunate fact that you grow on people…not unlike mold.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 2:43 pm
Heyoka registered that the black wolf had caught up with her approximately two seconds before the impact occurred. She rolled onto her side, laughing, pawing at the other; her tail swept the ground and the hyena-like laughter spilled out of her in waves. It took a few minutes to compose herself.
"You're the moldy one," she responded, once she had gotten the giggles under control. "Moldy AND crusty, and old." She stuck her tongue out, half hoping that Tisiphone might bite her. She was placated. Moreover, she decided, it didn't actually matter whether anybody in the pack gave a damn about her, as long as Tis did. Tis was the boss.
Heyoka had a very difficult time conceiving of anyone else being her alpha.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 3:15 pm
“Who are you calling old and crusty?” she demanded, nipping at Heyoka’s shoulder. “I am not old. You’re just a snot-nosed brat.”
And just what had caused this sudden turn-around in her attitude, anyway? From pouting to hysterical laughter in seconds. Really, there was no understanding that girl. Still, the giggly wolf’s joy was infectious and Tisiphone found herself grinning and wagging her tail. She nudged Heyoka once more with her head before untangling herself from the other wolf and plopping down next to her.
How was it that Heyoka could always bring out her inner pup? Well, whenever she wasn’t fearful for the younger wolf’s life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 3:29 pm
"I'm glad you found someplace for us to stay," Heyoka said, sprawling out onto her back and squirming slightly to get comfortable. Her tongue lolled out of the side of her maw, lazily.
This was about as close to an emotional outpouring as the grey wolf was likely to come.
After awhile of silence, she glanced over at her. "Do you think that bear is alright?" She asked. Her mood had improved greatly, but the bear wouldn't get out of her thoughts. Maybe it was because of the shaman. She couldn't stop thinking about that, because she had never seen one before. "You know I didn't really want to hurt it, if it was somebody's friend....right?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:54 pm
Tisiphone remained silent for a while, thinking of the bear and her woes. Though the she-wolf had never had pups of her own, she knew well the feeling of loss. Too easily, she could have ended up just like that bear. Yes. She could sympathize with the ursine.
“The bear will recover,” she said at last. Honestly, the physical wounds were the least of the bear’s worries. Though, the shaman had seen to those. It was everything else that she would be having trouble with. She needed to find the will to live. Perhaps Tisiphone would try speaking to her, later. Female to female.
Regardless, Tis knew that Heyoka had not really wanted to harm the bear. The young wolf was many things, but deliberately cruel was never one of them.
“We will make this our home. Perhaps the bear will do the same. Of course, then you would have to try getting along with her.” She glanced sidelong at the younger wolf.
“An apology might be in order,” she hinted. Besides, with her reckless behavior, Heyoka could do worse than to befriend a bear, should it come to that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
