|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:19 pm
 Given her encounter with Chimera the other day, Senka had a lot to think about, and not all of it was about the pack. Well, at least not about the pack in the same abstract, distant way that it had been before. Now, she was curious on a much more basic level. A level that pertained directly to a wolf who was so desperate to leave with her. Of a certainty, this was much more personal than she had expected things to get, even if she did not care for Chimera in the way that a female cares for a male. No. It was nothing like that. This was something that called to her rarely-stirred morals. Something that she felt was right on a basic, instinctual level. Freedom. Or at least, a lack of slavery. There were hierarchies in every pack, of course, but this? The whole principle rubbed her the wrong way. Oh, the irony. Imagine Senka, or all wolves, taking up such a noble cause. Bryanni would laugh to see her now. Still, it was not as though she were declaring war on the whole thing, or even the pack in general. She did not even particularly want to stir up any trouble. At least, nothing as major as rebellion. She simply wanted to ask some questions, perhaps sow a few seeds of doubt in some minds...and help one unhappy male get his freedom. Not that she wanted to be directly involved in that last, but neither did she want to simply abandon him. What was a poor little female like herself to do?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 11:47 am
 Iosef had heard that there was a visiting female in the pack -- some sort of foreign dignitary, no doubt, coming to forge an alliance with the strongest pack in Telk. Or a wandering storyteller. Either way, she was more important than he was: that was all he needed to know. Of course, the mud on the Queen's paws was more important than he was.
He was achingly curious about the visitor, but had so far maintained his distance. It was not the place of a slave to go fawning over celebrities. He would maintain his duties, as he always did, and if their paths happened to cross then so be it.
Today, his duties involved killing the infestation of young rats that had taken up residence in one of the empty dens. It was, in fact, Taiyou's old den. Where had that wolf disappeared to? It made him nervous and sad to think about. What if he had played some role in her absence? It was unbearable to consider.
Circling around the den entrance, he paid careful attention to every possible exit-hole a rat could take. Now...to seal those up before he went to ground....
He was so thoroughly absorbed in his task that he was largely unaware of his surroundings, despite being rather close to the center of the territory.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 12:02 pm
Her mindless wanderings soon brought her the heart of the territory, where she found an admittedly curious distraction. However, Senka was not going to complain. She welcomed it.
The grey female watched the calico wolf putter about one particular den for several moments, trying to figure out just what he was doing and failing to come up with a reasonable answer. At a loss for ideas, and tired or guessing, she came a little closer to the male.
"Is this some strange ritual that you have here?" she mused. "Because I cannot come up with any other explanation for what you are doing."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:53 am
He jumped, slightly startled, and fell back into an immediate position of deference, ears laid back and tail held between his legs. His long, delicate legs trembled slightly. Ahh, so the visitor had found him, had she?
He glanced up, peering up from the ground with his violet eyes, and chanced an uncertain smile. "I'm killing rats," he said, sheepishly. "But if it pleases you, I could alter my duties. Is there something I might do to improve your stay, m'lady?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 2:45 pm
My, but he was a skittish one. What did they do to him to make him tremble so?
“Killing rats?” she asked, amused. “At home, that is a game for pups. Helps them practice, you see, for bigger prey.”
Given such a menial task, and still he wanted to do more? Do something for her? What an odd beast. Perhaps he would simply rather be doing something else other than this, and merely lacked an excuse to give up this duty for something more entertaining. Or perhaps he truly did not care.
“Kill your rats or not, but I would speak with you, if you do not mind.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 7:50 pm
He smiled, his violet eyes -- clearly the same shade as Chimera's -- glinting with a sort of soft kindness. "They get unruly, if left too long," he said, gesturing to the den, which seemed to have no side entrances. "The Sisters are busy with training and patrolling, and have little time for the dull work of maintaining the dens. Sometimes if a kill is left too long, the rats come."
His brow furrowed, as he realized he was probably talking too much, and about nothing of interest. "But, I suppose a few extra moments will not make any difference, and your time is valuable." Of course her time was valuable; she was female, and not a slave. Therefore, she must be doing something much more important than he was. Like breathing.
"I believe I made your acquaintance, once," he said, hesitantly, trying to think back. Now that he saw her, she was familiar. He recognized her garnet-colored eyes. He thought back on his doomed journey to visit his father. "I also believe, at the time, a number of my children may have behaved foolishly. I apologize."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:00 pm
Senka shrugged, unconcerned with his family's antics when they had first met. It was entertaining enough while it had lasted, and that was all she really cared about.
"Are you suggesting your time is not valuable?" She asked. "A sad thing to say about one's self. Ah. I do not believe I caught your name before. I am Senka."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:17 am
"My time is as valuable as the task that consumes it," he said, his smile still lingering on his maw. In truth, Iosef was much happier working than he was during his leisure time. Work was easy. Work was simple. Life, however, was exquisitely complicated and unnecessarily difficult.
He had two unruly sons and a mate whom he loved but could hardly stand to touch. And a complicated father who he wished had stayed absentee forever. And then, of course, there was....him. Tui, who he had expected to be gone forever.
"My name is Iosef," he said, in response to her other question.
Something moved in the corner of his eye, and reflexively he pivoted on the spot and darted for it, moving with cat-like precision as he darted into the den and clamped his jaws over the fat grey rat. He emerged, seconds later, with it limp in his jaws and set it down at his paws, looking slightly sheepish.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 1:10 pm
A sad fate, indeed, made all the more pitiable because he did not even seem to mind it. It was all Senka could do to refrain from laughing when he reappeared with the rat, looking like a pup caught scratching his rump at mealtime. Well, she had said she did not mind if he killed his rats while they spoke.
"Aside from this," she said after she had herself under control. "What other tasks are you given? What do you do when you do not have a task?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 9:10 pm
"I kill pests...the rats are the worst, but there's others to deal with. We slaves drag away the carcasses from the dens and bury them away from the main territory...keep the dens clean...do odd jobs for the Sisters, whatever they need."
Say what you will about Antianeira, Iosef thought, but they were the cleanest pack territory anywhere in Telk.
"I try not to have much leisure time, if I can avoid it. There are plenty of other slaves to keep an eye on. And I am favored with the pack's nanny, so I can assist with the pups at times."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 1:17 pm
No free time? Perhaps he liked to keep busy. Or perhaps he did not like to have time to think. If she were in his position, she might not want to think about it, either. He enjoyed tending pups, did he?
"And your family? What of them? If you avoid leisure, is it not difficult to spend time with them?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 31, 2012 6:59 pm
Something caught in his violet eyes and flickered with quiet ferocity. Pride, perhaps, and love. He shook his head. "I spend time with my pups when I am able," he said. "My three sons tend to duties by my side, so we are able to work together." Well, for the most part. Chimera was always thinking up excuses to slack off from his duties, and Romir was...well, usually off being Romir. But Perdicas behaved himself, at least, and the other boys usually tended well enough to their duties.
"If I do not see my daughters as often, it's alright. They are busy warriors-in-training, and they bring honor to the family."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 4:11 pm
So, he speaks only of his children. What of their mother? Did she not warrant any mention? Did he not care for her, or was he forced to deal with her?
"What of your mate?" she inquired, determined to have her answers. "Do you not see her?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 11:46 pm
"Oh. Seraphin. Yes." His mate. His ears drooped, the sheepishness overtaking his features once more as shame burned in his eyes. Of course. How could he have forgotten? "Well. As I say, I am favored with her. So I help her tend the pups, when there are any, as my duties permit."
He could hardly believe that Orithia's children were already half-grown. It hadn't been so long ago that Orithia herself had played alongside his pups.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 11:59 pm
Such a lackluster reaction. It was dutiful, to be sure, but that was all. Where was the passion? Where was the emotion? It was as though he were speaking of a stranger, not one intimate to himself. There should be love or hatred or at least a little lust, but there was nothing. How odd.
"And?" she prompted. "Do you not care for her? Spend time with her? Feel for her? Do you not love her?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
