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 Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 4:50 am
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Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 4:51 am
Inugami strutted across the Flock territory, her feathers flared and her tail held high. She was getting old enough to seriously begin hunting, but much to her frustration, she hadn’t performed as well as she’d have liked. Though she had steady feet and a wolf’s long jaws, her performance was – dare she say it? – average.
Both her parents were exceptional hunters. She left her father when she was only a month old and did not know much of his side, but her mother’s father had been a good hunter, too. It was in her blood, and yet she was on par with those with wobbly little hooves and talons meant more for clinging to trees than running on land. She was sure she’d be a disappointment to her family, but she’d only started, and there was still hope. Worst case scenario, she’d have to impress them some other way.
That’s what she was doing now, stepping towards a cluster of males as if she owned the place. All her siblings had been sisters, and her father was the only male she knew for an extended period of time. She looked up to him, and he was all she had to serve as a reference. She was sure, therefore, that all Flock males were strong, and that the females were simply stronger. She’d prove herself by being the youngest soquili ever to tame one of these brutes!
“You!” she called as haughtily as she could, directing the command towards a red-haired stallion. His markings were bold, like... like blood! And he had wings and sharp talons on all of his feet. Yes, he was the most impressive of all in this group. “Come here.”
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Posted: Sun Aug 04, 2013 12:12 pm
Raven had been minding his own business. His mother was one of the hapries of the flock, but his father was a winged soquili. He was upset when his mother left, but knew it was only natural in the Flock. He gave a light sigh as he tried to ignore it. He was a special harpy child after all. He had talons and wings, but never really wanted to fly away. His ears turned toward a rather light and girlie voice. He looked to see a young foal with feather and a tail. He'd never seen a flock member like this one before. He was a bit confused as to who the father could of been. "What do you want, fur ball?" Iris asked with bit of anger in his voice. He wasn't up for some foal's games this time.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 2:08 am
“I want you,” Inugami said, drawing closer. She gave a delicate sniff, as if to imply she thought the fact was obvious and that it was only because of her mercy and generosity that she refrained from calling him a “stupid butthead” outright.
However, whatever supremacy she felt from that was short-lived. As she neared, she realized there was a strong height difference between them. Although her eyes held an eerie, commanding blaze, it wasn’t very impressive having to crane your neck to look up to your inferior – especially when said inferior already seemed to be treating you like a child. She’d wanted instantaneous submission from him, but she was used to tumbling with her siblings for dominance and did not mind his words too much.
Still, her position was growing precarious, and she head-butted his chest to both punish him and assert her authority before stepping away, hoping the distance between them would make her shorter stature less conspicuous.
“Do you hunt?” she asked with a flick of her tail, her head cocked curiously to the side. Although her mother and sisters were working hard to teach her the ways of the Flock, she hadn’t retained everything just yet. She hoped to get extra hunting lessons from him if he was capable – there was no shame in admitting an adult could be more skilled than a foal, after all – forgetting that he’d need an escort to do so, and that she, young as she was, would likely be denied the role.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 4:21 pm
"You want me? What would a little furball, like yourself, would want with a male harpy?" Iris asked with a light roll of his eyes. His patience was slowly getting to the last straw. He was hoping for a normal, relaxing, day at best. He shook his head then gave a grunt when Inugami head-butted his chest. He growled with claws ready to strike, but held back as he knew he would be dead if he touched her. "Do I hunt? What kind of a stupid question is that?" Iris asked with a completely confused expression on his face. He gave a sigh then shook his head. "Look, Fur ball. I don't get out much, but I do know a few good things about hunting. Wings and talons make everything easier." He said boasting a bit as he felt his ego go up just a little bit. "Were you coming to me to teach you how to hunt?"Asking as he knelt down to look at her eye to eye. He wasn't afraid of her, but one day he would be.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 5:52 pm
If Inugami had been more accustomed to the ways of the Flock, she may have been appalled by the male’s lack of respect. As it was, she thought she could see her sisters – her blood sisters – in him, and she regarded his words with the same mix of good-will and competitiveness as she would towards a rival sibling. Of course, she was already alpha here. She was just playing nice.
“My name: it’s Inugami,” she said, giving him a chastising n** on the nose. “But ‘Mistress’ works, too. What do they call you?”
At his boast, she lowered her ears, then snorted and lifted them up again to hide the show of weakness. Had she really made it so obvious she needed help? She let her gaze drift off to the side, feigning indifference at his question and planning her next words to sound as aloof as possible.
“Maybe. Maybe not.” She whirled away, as if more interested in inspecting the scenery behind her than the topic at hand, accidentally papping him on the face with her tail as she did so. She froze, and then continued speaking as if nothing had happened. “But if you know so much about hunting, you might as well enlighten me.”
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 6:20 pm
Iris had know he was stepping out of line as far as respect for the young foal. But he really didn't care. He didn't want to play any stupid games. He gave a light growl when Inugami gave his nose a chastising n**. "I am Iris-Raven, Son of Aldora and Naxos. Iris or Raven is fine with me." He introduced himself as he gave a light bow. He needed to learn to be more respectful, just like his father before him. "How about Mistress Inugami?" He asked as he began to stand up completely. Papping Iris on the face made him sneeze. He wasn't use to fur tickling his nose, after all. "I'll teach you, but only if you get me out of this holding area. I'll show you how to hunt, even if you only have paws." He said as he tried to convince her. But it was a long shot in his mind. "What were you wanting to learn, exactly?" He asked somewhat nicely.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 7:14 pm
This time Inugami responded to the growl, turning her neck to watch him over her shoulder, her fangs bared in warning. Her teeth were meager little things, and if she’d attempted a snarl herself, the sound would’ve resembled a baby’s gurgle more than a threat. Still, the intent was there, and she was pleased to find him more complaisant, attributing his change to her efforts rather than his own will. She turned round to face him once more.
“I’ll call you Iris, then,” she said, rewarding his obeisance with a gentler nuzzle to his nose before he stood upright, out of her reach. She frowned, reminded of her father and the day she’d parted from him. He’d stood over her like this, too. But it’d been her choice to make when she left him, hadn’t it? She’d made her decision, and she would live with it.
“Mistress Inugami’s fine,” she continued, glad he wasn’t angry with her. His progress was doing wonders to her confidence, and the lofty tone in her voice returned.
“I’ve the feet of a predator, Iris. I’ll be a better hunter than you!” she said proudly, holding her head higher. She was more than willing to fulfill his request if she was able, and she padded off to look for a mare that could give them permission, commanding him to follow with a wave of her tail.
“I want to learn how to be quiet – how to get close to ‘em even with these eyes. Though any tips that’ll give me a leg up would be dandy.” She shot him a sharp-toothed grin.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 7:51 pm
Iris wiggled his nose from the nuzzle. It was soft, yet different from what he was use to from his mother. He noticed her frown, but payed no attention to it. "Good. He said as he looked down to her. He scoffs lightly then gives a light chuckle. "That's all you want to learn?" He asked with a raised eye brow and ear twitch. He was confused as to why a pawed harpy would want to learn to be quiet when their fur would help keep them quite. "Well hopefully with my help you can learn to be quiet. We can take turns." He spoke lightly as he caught up to the foal after they got permission to leave the male living grounds. "It's not too hard to learn since you are younger than me. Besides, that nose of your will help out too." He added as he boosted her ego.
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Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2013 8:26 pm
“Well... there’s pouncing and grabbing and quick killin’ blows and different landscapes and prey types if you wanted to offer,” Inugami said with a laugh, obviously enjoying herself. She opened her mouth, ready to send another volley of suggestions his way when she saw a mare nearby. She paused, smiled, and sauntered over, her splendid male in tow.
If she was expecting the mare to be amazed, she was quickly disappointed. The harpy was an older member: more traditional and rigid in her ways. The circumstances of Inugami’s birth were not well-known, but it was clear she hadn’t been born in the Flock territory. If her mother had willingly chosen to consort with an outsider, she’d be considered unclean. There was no solid proof of anything, but Inugami was still addressed with a harshness Flock-born fillies wouldn’t have received.
However, the mare could only speculate, and she knew Inugami’s grandfather suffered from a curse that drove him to bloodlust if he did not hunt regularly. It was with much reluctance that the two were given permission, so long as it was nearby where she could keep an eye on them, strictly practice, and the foal was not endangered in any way.
Although Inugami was excited to be allowed to roam with Iris and show him off, she’d be lying if she said the mare’s demeanor hadn’t affected her. She remained silent for some time, leading the stallion as far from the mare as she could. She was feeling low, but she was resilient, too, and Iris’ encouragement was enough to bolster her.
“I’ll be kicking your butt before you know it,” she said with an appreciative smile. “How do we start?”
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 1:32 pm
"Calm yourself!" Iris said after the flock-mare had been out of sight for a little while. "You must learn to be one with nature in order to be able to become a great hunter!" He spoke with a thundering voice as he stomped his front legs onto the ground. He was tired of how prideful this young foal was. "If you want to become a skilled hunter then do as I say..." He growled as his wings flapped with anger. "I will break your happy go lucky spirit into that of a killer..." He told her seriously as his claws dug into the dirt. "First we will have to do a few vocal exercises.Give me a low growl..." He told her then took in a breath of air. Letting out a low, but powerful growl that made him sound almost predator like. "Now your turn."
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Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 7:27 pm
Inugami chuckled. Her spirits were still buoyant, and she thought Iris was simply playing dramatic. Not one to deny a game, she twisted her features into a grimace, her muzzle wrinkling and revealing a full set of pointed glimmering teeth. She pounded the earth when he did, stood up smartly when he didn’t, and looked for all the world like a ready and willing soldier.
At his growl, she could not help the flicker of awe that lit her eyes. When someone roared, you knew you had to watch out for a fight. But when someone snarled so low the sound nearly snaked across the air... well, that could mean anything. And there were many things worse than physical wounds.
She lashed her tail, arched her neck, and then: rrrrrrrrrr. The sound resembled an aggressive purring and was as threatening as a sheep’s bleating. However, the longer it lasted, the deeper it went. For a moment, it was the menacing, steady rumble of a predator. And then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone, tapering off into the shrill, high-pitched ending note of a howl.
Inugami blinked. She hadn’t meant to do that.
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Posted: Fri Aug 09, 2013 7:03 am
Raven gave a light chuckle as he listened to Inugami give her best growl. It was good, but not good enough. "Not too bad, but not that great either." He said as he looked down to her. "Now we shall practice how to step quietly. Being able to get a paw or claw up on your prey is key to catching them." He said as he made a motion for her to sit down. "Now close your eyes. I'm going to try to sneak up on you after I count to ten." He said lightly as he took a few good long steps back. He shook his mane and his tail as he got ready. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Nothing, but silence filled the air. Not even light foot steps on the grass was heard. Raven had to learn much of this as a foal to be able to follow the females to learn his hunting skills. Before long he gave a whinny as his clawed foot was close to Inugami's face. "See what I mean?" He elaborated.
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Posted: Fri Nov 29, 2013 11:49 pm
Inugami gave a wag of her bushy tail. Her growl may not have been the best, but she was glad to see Iris chuckle. Sure, she was serious about improving, but she was serious about them having a fun time while they were at it, too. If she didn’t enjoy herself, she wouldn’t have much motivation to learn, after all.
She kept her eyes and ears on him while he spoke, her senses trained intently upon him. No one could doubt he was her superior when it came to hunting tactics – for now, at least – and she could be courteous enough to give him the respect he deserved. When he motioned for her to sit, she sat, and when he requested she close her eyes, she did. Of course, she opened them a crack to remind them both that she still held the power here, before closing them smugly and awaiting his approach.
As the seconds ticked by, her smile faltered, then drooped to a frown. Was this a trick? He had left her? She squirmed, wanting to peek but knowing the glow of her eyes would be a dead giveaway of her betrayal, even from a distance. Then, a whinny.
“I didn’t hear you at all!” She pretended she hadn't jumped at his call and instead stared hard at his feet as if to search for some magical device. He’d no fur at all between his taloned toes to soften his footfalls, and no make-shift padding, either. And yet, his steps were lighter than her own. “How’d you do it?”
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