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 Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 1:38 pm
The day was warm, unseasonally so for this time of year. The autumn sunlight beat down on the shore - evening hues of deep red, orange and pink. The surf seemed to glow from within as the waves crested and broke against the light sand. The surf pooled around a small limp form which lay still, silent. White and black fur was plastered tightly against Quin's body, some small pieces being whipped up by the wind as it blew off the sea and over him.
A cough, wracking, then shivering. Quin moved at last, a thin dribble of water coming out of his mouth as he tried to pull himself to his feet. His thin puppy legs wobbled as he tried to stand, falling once, twice and then managing a stumbling few steps. He stopped, drew a ragged breath, and tried to at least hold himself upright and get away from the surf.
Briskly, he shook, his fur fluffing out weakly. His tail drooped, ears pinned back as he looked around himself at the unfamiliar landscape he found himself in. He didn't recognise the place and it seemed uncommonly cold to him. Quin felt very alone indeed.
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Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 2:01 pm
Sleepless nights. She’d been having a lot of them lately. There was a pain in her body that wasn’t there before. It was a quiet kind of pain- the kind that lurked in the dark only when no one was talking, or when Phib finally fell asleep and left her awake. It troubled her, but she didn’t make much mention of it. Unfortunately- she didn’t have to.
Winter coats were growing in, leaving the bulk of the pack looking like funny half formed clouds. The puff grew up in the front, and dangled off in small clumps of wool that itched. But as her coat grew in- there was a certain reflection of unhealth about it. Pigment was fading- and the yellow stripes that had once circulated her coat were becoming more unrecognizable against the grey of her back. Even her black foot seemed to be fading into muted shades. Of course- most of this she knew only because of Phib’s scolding remarks about not taking care of herself.
But somewhat sickly or not, it hadn’t been enough to keep the seer from doing her usual list of strange, and pleasant things. She was bidding farewell to the flowers as fall came in, and doing more crab hunting by the shore.
And so she was doing- stumbling about as her glazed blue eyes caught the rays of the warm sun reflecting off the water. The crabs were getting larger- and a bit more tricky for even a seer to handle. The particular offending crab she faced seemed rather agitated that she wished to bother it, and furiously waved his major claw above the minor, threateningly hawking it above her nose.
Amélie snorted and took a careful step back. “Ah, ah-“ She spoke lightly as the crab took the momentary retreat as his time to charge. A ping fluttered her head signaling the crab’s movement; and she pulled back as it ran past her, and into the mud flats. She whined softly and licked her nose, skewing her head in the direction of the victor crab.
“Oh well...” She spoke to herself, and rose her head upwards. Something was trying to get her attention; and she felt the odd pangs of de javu in the wind. She had dreams about the sea sometimes. And why not? She spent a lot of time around it. But for a seer- dreams could often be something of a different matter.
She had felt this One before, standing on the beach with her paws half in the mud and her lips smirched just so. Something in a fragment. She listened to the de javu, and dutifully began to pad down the beach.
If something wanted her attention, it would need to wait a second for her to remember how it all went...
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Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2006 2:39 pm
Quin's soft blue eyes, reminiscent of soft summer anemones, alighted on the older female instantly as she came into his sight. He had tentatively begun to make his way up the beach, dancing around seaweed which had been stranded along with him. A long piece of the slippery, stringy stuff had seemed to chase him, catching about his short legs as if alive. He had quickly chomped into it in a bid for freedom, and now a piece of the salty foliage dangled from his tiny jaws - a testament to his victory over the evilly entangling overgrown algae!
He stopped now, watching her dance with the crab from behind a rough, barnacle covered boulder. His wariness was borne of instinct. She was older and larger than he and unfamiliar. He couldn't catch her scent, though, as the wind was carrying up the beach from behind him. The salty air felt like it was stripping his fur off his back, his skin splitting about his paws and lips, his nose drying. He huddled protectively against the rock hoping both that he both would and would not be found - for a pup an adult was an essential part of life.... but he didn't know this one.
After a moment of debating internally, weighing up the pros and cons, he decided that he really would be stupid to sit here, freezing, alone, on a beach he didn't recognise and hope his parents would find him. He stepped out, bearing his straggly piece of seaweed before him and yipped a greeting "Aluu!"
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2006 2:39 pm
Wind- salty now. It always was, but in a state of half dream, they held more meaning. Here, here- somewhere, the whales were singing. They didn’t sing like they did before. Perhaps they were not looking for love anymore. She remembered that time with Rio fondly- and that conversation with the great sea itself. Odd, how she remembered things at unnecessary times. But in her mind, although never clear, these things lent themselves for one another. Although blinded, in her mind’s eye she saw the form of a child laying in the surf, having floated up from the morning. Foam swirling around the color of sand.
“Oh!” The seer peeped- but the child wasn’t floating anymore, and hadn’t been since she had started to approach. He was awake and moving; although she only felt him faintly. Pups had different minds then adults, and she tried to avoid reading a child’s thoughts. But his voice she heard well- a soft and faint cry of ‘aluu!’ in the distance.
At once her tail broke into a nervous set of wagging, and she eagerly ran forwards. “Hello, hello!” She called softly and anxiously.
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2006 2:52 pm
Quin's black and white patched hide quivered ever so slightly as they grey female began to move towards him. She looked more spry than he would have credited and he wondered slightly if he had misjudged the possible threat of this old wolf.
Her wagging tail and friendly look, though, combined with what, overall, seemed like a very submissive attitude set him slightly more at ease. He drew his small body up to its full height and tried to be a good testament to his breeding! His bedraggled fur, fresh from a brush with the sea, really didn't help this.
He couldn't quite catch her words as she replied to his call but they seemed unaggressive. He took a few steps forward and, although it was encrusted with salt, still a little damp and cold, wagged his tail just a little.
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2006 2:59 pm
Old- she had never thought of herself as old. She was still half as young as Phib- but she took the child’s thoughts about her apperance and lined them up with Phib’s reccent ridicule. Perhaps she was not so well at all– but, ah. She’d never been one to worry about herself. Even the brief thought dispelled them, and as she moved closer her body quivered with worry over the sea bathed child and a silly eagerness.
Even eager, Amelie was somewhat slow moving. She walked on a diagonal- something somewhat akin to a strange chess board, and she changed the direction of the angle every so often so she did not run into the sea. “Hello, hello.” She called again softly and finally stopped a few feet from the child. She did not go further- holding until she was sure she would not scare the boy away.
Nervously, she cocked her head and licked the end of her snout, the end of her tail sweeping softly behind her. “Hi-“ She spoke. “I am Amélie–” Had he really floated in with the tide? Or had her mind gathered that from a strange world of fantasy?
"Not so usual, to be seeing puppies around-!" She stammared, not knowing what to say, but taking her nervousness over his condition into a constant sprawl of gentle [if not rambling] words.
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2006 4:17 pm
Her odd walk, looks, submissive posturing and now garbled, odd words all came together to give Quin the impression that this female was a little not right in the head. He was wary but she was seeming less and less like she might be able to do harm to him and more like she could do with some help herself.
At the end of the day, however, he was a pup and she an adult and so, without even thinking about it, he moved forward again with his body low, ears flicking up and then back and up again in a sort of hopeful I-am-a-cute-little-pup-you-should-care-for-me-whimper sort of way that all pups seemed to know from birth. His tail shuffled somewhat pathetically still as he looked around and then directed a question to her in the most respectful words he knew "Aluu.. hawa keerus idria foruna?" Where am I, Mrs she-wolf ma'am?
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2006 4:31 pm
Amelie frowned, and titled her head, feeling the jargon thoughts of a child roll off of her head. She took no mind to it- if she failed at caring about her own health, she cared even less about how she appeared. Always humble- she never wanted to appear something she was not. Nor did she want power to invade her. She feared such things, and what they did to others. Rather then revel in her abilities- she shunned herself as much as possible to keep the temptation away.
But she could not understand the child’s voice- and for a moment, she wondered if she was incorrect in hearing. How strange! A foreign tongue, perhaps? From his mind, she gandered the meaning, but could not decipher if the boy could understand her own tongue.
Cautiously, Amélie lowered herself. Perhaps a child would not be so shocked by her manners, if she tried. She did not like flexing her mind so- particularly on a child. But if he did not understand her, perhaps this would be best. Hopefully, her words would translate well in his mind.
This is the eastern side of the beaches, love. She never spoke to others, save Phib or Rage, in the manner that she now did. She hesitated before continuing- My mate’s lands- in the Outrider territory. Are you alright? You come from the sea?
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Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2006 4:53 pm
Quin was somewhat concerned as the female lowered herself down. It was not behavior he was used to in an adult and added to his uneasy feeling about this place. He was even more unprepared for what followed. It was as though some slippery eel had gotten into his ear whilst he lay in the sand and was squirming inside his head, making pictures and words and pushing about his thoughts.
He yelped quickly and took a step back as if the she-wolf had snapped at him. The thing in his mind, though, had coalesced now into a coherent picture. He couldn't really understand the words themselves but they seemed to form an image in his mind as if this other wolf was showing him how things were rather thna telling him. Young minds are nothing if not flexible and, although he was spooked by the intrusion, he kept his wits about himself enough not to let this odd feeling overwhelm him for too long.
He picked the facts out from the siuation. She was telling him he was alone, he did not understand this 'eastern beach' he had seen or head of ' the Outriders - a flash of several unfamiliar wolves. This wolf was the mate of the Alpha of this territory. These things together made him feel as though he had swallowed a heavy pebble - his stomach sinking downwards.
The rest... Was he allright, he had come from the sea? He remembered home and he remembered this place - an odd world in which he had woken up in; or at least he thought he had woken up.. He was not entirely sure what had occured between those two states but he guessed that he had come from the sea to this place.
"Idria conara. Avara ha idria suma arare" I'm not sure. The sea, yes, was where I awoke. he answered both of her questions.
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Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 7:51 am
Amelie’s ears flicked, for a moment seeing flashes of strange foreign lands. No, she supposed the pup had no come from the sea...but she recognized none of those places as areas near. One might have been skeptical as to that assumption, being she was in fact, a blind wolf. But through thoughts of others and various dreams, she did have a fairly good knowledge of what the world looked like around her. In general, at least.
He spoke so strangly! But the words caught her ears softly, and intrigued her. “The sea-“ She started, pulling back in consideration. “-Did you fall in? Can I find you a way back?” She asked, but somewhat doubted the effectiveness of her questions. She was nervous over his condition, and slowly, she approached a bit closer, her head pressed so far low to the ground that her chin scratched the sand and her body quivered.
Hoping not to scare him off, she faintly flicked her tongue against the pup’s cheek. It was salty and wet, and a bit too cold for a puppy.
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Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2006 3:31 pm
Although he was getting used to this strange form of communication the new questions she seemed to pose him made him pause for thought, a black crevasse seeming to form at the edge of his psyche as his small mind began to cope with the thought of the distances he'd gone from his homelands.
His small body shivered as he considered the questions, the first show of the fact that he truly was as young as he was. Just as his feeling of lonliness and strandedness began to crystallise the grey female's warm tongue touched his shivering muzzle. Instinctively he nuzzled forward towards her - this warm adult who offered her help to him.
"Idria ha amara..." I want to go home.. he said softly - not consciously trying to appeal to her this time. The wind had dried him for the most part but it had robbed him of his heat and left his fur caked with stinging crystals of salt.
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2006 1:03 pm
Amélie’s heart burned, and she lowered her body closer to the earth with a slight squeak. She was too easily moved by children- which was probably hard to believe, consider Amélie was moved by just about everything. The child was thick with salt crystals, and even though her minds eye saw him flounder in the sea, she could hardly accept the fact that he had been in such an event. It was a miracle alone that he had survived. He should talk to Rio! Amélie’s thoughts blustered to herself as she tried to baby the pup with gentle flicks of her tongue. Rio, and his water shaman ways- he would know what the water had done to keep him safe. Perhaps it was some sort of destiny?
“I don’t know how to get you home...“ She softly thought, translating his strange words somewhere between their minds. “We should take you somewhere warm.” She spoke, her body quivering as her nervous mind was unable to keep the empathy from swallowing her as well. Phib would know what to do. He always did.
She hovered over the child for a moment, smelling the top of his head cautiously, before gently picking up the child by the scruff of the neck. She continued speaking, her mouth unnecessary for such words. “We’ll find your home.” She promised, although even as she tried to search the child’s mind for it, she could find no bearings.
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:14 am
Quin's sense of danger twinged slightly as he was picked up - but the gentle female's mothering licks and non-verbal assurances worming their way into his mind, calmed him a little. He couldn't imagine her doing something unkind to him but, then again, you never did know. Perhaps the fear came from the thought of her mate - who owned the vast land hereabouts and even this part of the tempestuous ocean which had dragged him here, away from home. He must be a powerful alpha..
In any case he was now in her maw, legs dangling and not really able to do much about it. He thought on her assurances, that she'd try to help him, and clung to those as if to a liferaft. He was on an ocean again now - one of uncertainty and doubt - something extremely uncomfortable for the logical minded whelp.
"Umatras..." was all he replied. Thank you.
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2006 7:22 pm
Amelie smiled affectionately, and hummed lightly against the pup’s coat. She would have to clean him off. Perhaps one of the new mothers could look after him until they found out how to return him, she thought? But perhaps she was being too forth-thinking. It was sometimes hard not to be, given her condition. For now, she’d take him to Phib. He pretended not to like kids- but he was a father, nine times, and surely he’d know what to do with a tired child. It brought a flutter to her chest- oh... she would have had a million children if only...
“It is alright.” She said again with a smile, and carried the pup up the beach with a slow gait. She got around well for a blind wolf, no doubt partially because of her ability to ping, but she was not about to go blindly running around either. There was only so much she could absorb at once.
It was a slow trip, but luckily she knew he was not far away. There was no other’s mind she knew and kept a hold of quite like his. She knew it was invasive- and it broke all of her other rules she held for people. But it was addictive, being with him. She got to know his thoughts well; the good and the bad.
They approached from the side, and strewn about the large sea rocks, Phib lay stretched out; sound asleep. Gently she placed the pup down a few feet from him, before stepping over the child and moving to the large black mass. “Phib-“ She called softly, and poked him with the edge of her paw.
He snorted lazily and shifted, his muscles flinching underneath the poke. “Phib- wake up.” She spoke again, and moved to touch him again. This time however, he snapped awake, and jerked somewhat from her, his eyes wide.
“What- what?” He asked, looking around. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing, nothing.” She calmed, and he noticeably looked older as he sunk down as the tension drifted. “Oh- well, no, not nothing-“
He rose his head and blinked.
“Look, Phib-“ She spoke, gesturing towards the child. “He washed up from the sea.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:28 am
Quin, for the most part, used the time being carried by the strange grey female to catch some shuteye. It wasn't that he intended to just that - as he was being carried - the lilting motion rocked him softly into a comfortable snooze. He awoke sharply, though, as they approached the large dark male.
The pied pup wasn't sure he had seen such a large looking wolf before - even lying down Phib looked impressively intimidating to the young wolf. Quin tried to clear his mind of it's fuzziness, and falteringly tried to gain footing as he was put down. He watched the pairs discoure. This must be her mate, then, the alpha she had spoken of.
The male looked as though he could wolf down Quin in one gulp and Quin tried his best not to look too edible. He drew his small, salt covered, ruffled and skinny body up as best he could, puffing out his chest and trying to stand to a sort of wolfish attention.
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