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 Posted: Thu Feb 25, 2010 9:35 pm
(AIM log between Milo & Yttra)
It had been too long since Adriana had seen her alpha. It wasn't that she missed him particularly. She'd found company in the occasional passers-by and the bear cub she'd found in the woods, the little Calvaria. But if Liens was to become a true pack… she knew he was working on things, but she wanted to be kept updated, at least a little. Some sort of recompense for having stuck around so long.
She wandered past the old church, past the dens, finally coming to the waterfall. It was strange, the way the sound stayed at a muffled rumble until you passed the trees and then suddenly BOOM, you heard the mighty sound of the water tumbling hurriedly into the pool below. It was a lovely place, in her opinion the best the packlands had to offer. The ruins were lovely, but the decay frightened her a little.
---
Sirius was troubled. The alpha often thought upon packs matters, and at times the ideas and logic flowed through his veins like soured honey, however today the taste seemed particulary bitter. things were not going according to plan, and try has he might, he didn't seem to have the energy to keep moving forward. What was it that irked him so. Was it the lack of progression? Yes, that was a big part of it, but what else had caused the great king such torment. Hedwig. Yes, that was it. He missed his first, and only mate, and now he was dealing with the consequence of having lost her. The result was the pack was imploding in on itself. He had become sullen and distant, while the wolves, wolves he should be offering kinship and a place among brothers, were passing by. He stood, in a half crouch, as he stared among the edge of the pool, eyeing the little fishes that could be seen through the crystalline waters as he pondered facts and figures he coudln't control.
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Ah, there he was, the proud male with his dappled coat. Even crouched before the shining waters he maintained his regal disposition, though perhaps there was something a bit forlorn about him, too.
Adriana didn't notice. She was not the best at body language but in her mindset, Sirius was the alpha first, and an actual wolf second. She stalked up to him, her tail swishing behind her. Even if he was the alpha, he was still a male, and once in awhile males needed dressing-down.
"Sirius," she addressed him, "what are we doing? With this pack, I mean. There's hardly anyone around anymore; we can't continue like that."
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Sirius saw her reflection in the water first before he slowly ticked his eyes upward and saw her true form. He sawed absentmindely and batted the watter, destroying his mirror image as well as hers. His ears flickered at the words while he mulled over them. He admired the she wolf. She was as brass as his hedwig and that made the ache in his heart grow larger still. He turned towards her, eyeing her carefully, sizing her up. Sirius was not the type of alpha to stamp down his underlings and throw his weight around. No, in his pack even the smallest voice may bear council with him so that he in turn may be the deciding factor. He prided himself on being a good leader, but a firm leader. "I know," he said finally, letting out a deep sigh. "What you say is true Adriana. It is my doing and I know this. I have been..." he looked at the water again and mumbled, "In mourning. That has clouded my judgement I am sorry to say." *
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As Sirius looked at her but refrained from speaking, Adriana began to grow a little nervous. There was nothing like an awkward pause to make one's confidence falter. She didn't feel any better once he finally said his piece. It should have felt nice to be vindicated, but the alpha looked so truly disappointed with himself that she could feel only sadness, and she felt like a complete fool as he finished his statement.
Was Hedwig gone for good, then? Left or… or left forever? No, surely someone would have told her if the female alpha had died. But being abandoned by one's mate could be more terrible than having to deal with a death.
She, too, looked downward. "I'm sorry, Sirius," she mumbled. "I shouldna said anything. I know it's… hard."
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"It is alright," he said stiffly, turning away before he managed a more honest, "It isn't, but it will be. I have not seen hide or fur of her for...some time." It pained him to say that his love, his true love, had left him, but the hurt rose higher when he thought it was possible that she had...dare he think it? That she had passed. The thought made him feel light headed and dizzy. "You are right, however." he said, raising himself up and trying his best to show he was still the king of his kingdom. "We must press forward. It is high time we got some new blood here."
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She lifted her head again, a slight wag returning to her tail, pleased to be moving away from the sad topic. "Yes," she said hurriedly, eager to move on, "we must!" Then she tilted her head to one side, a bit puzzled. How had she found Liens…? She'd simply stumbled through the briars one day and come across it, been welcomed by Sirius and, and Hedwig. How did one go about actively finding new members? "How shall we start?" Even if she wasn't sure what the task was, she was eager to begin.
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He stood up, shook some of the fallen leaves from his pelt and thought carefully. "I will not let Liens down," he said solemnly, "We shall start by picking ourselves off and welcoming all who cross these lands. My time of folly is over. We will not accept our brothers who have been tainted by man, but for all else we must welcome our doors. We will show them the ruins and it is there we shall know their character. If they are worthy, we will let them inside. We can only build this pack from the ground up. One by one."
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Adriana shivered a little, thinking of the ruins. She didn't envy the newcomers at all. Then she perked up. Now that they had a real goal, she felt much better. "Yes," she said, excitement creeping into her voice. "We need to... to make ourselves known!" That sounded good, in her head.
She was not fond of man, either, though unlike many wolves, she didn't fear humans. She'd met some once, and found they were just as afraid of her as she was of them, though she didn't stick around to find out. After that, she didn't see them as the scary apparitions told of in puup-stories.
---
Sirius felt better himself. It did his soul good to concentrate on something other then the loss of his life, wherever she may be. "The land will grow, Adriana, you will see," he said happily, "I can see it. In my mind's eyes. In a few moons this place will flourish and you will have the knowledge that you helped bring it to pass."
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Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2010 8:18 pm
That sounded almost like a prophecy, something Adriana took very seriously. She nodded solemnly, though she wasn't sure just how much good she would do in building the pack up. But if she was all they had…
"Sure, boss," she said, glad he sounded happier. "Where will we begin?"
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"We must work on getting in touch with the brothers and sisters at our reach now," he said with a decisive headnod. "One day I would like the pack to be blessed with the touch of a shaman or the knowledge of a seer. Perhaps there would be young ones running rampant in our home one day."
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Adriana's tail wagged furiously behind her. She stood a little taller, proud to be a part of her alpha's plan. In the back of her mind, she hoped that Sirius' mention of pups meant he could heal from the loss of Hedwig; that perhaps someday another female would stand by his side. It would take time, but it could happen.
A shaman or a seer... There had been a seer in her old pack, but he had been an old wolf who spoke mostly in pandering platitudes, and Adriana was unsure if he was a fake or if he'd preferred to keep his true prophecies silent out of fear. She'd never met a true wolf with power, but she was interested in the prospect. "What role would the shaman or seer play?" she asked.
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"A very important one," he explained, "I desire only one shaman. A male fit to cleanse any wolf that has been tainted by man. I seek to find one whose gift is in purification. For the seers I seek three, females. To give council and to help me see beyond what my own eyes will show. I have a place for these wolves, if we should ever find them."
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Adriana bristled a bit, at the gender roles. Her old pack had been heavy on the patriarchy and she resented it. Although... Certainly a pack always needed more females than males.
"To cleanse how?" she asked. "If a wolf has already been with man…" She trailed off and shook her head. "I don' think y' can undo that."
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He chuckled a bit, his laugh as deep and rumbly as his voice. "I would agree with you, on normal terms, but we must remember that there are those that are not entirely lost. Perhaps their tryst with man is brief, perhaps their stranges colors have not fully saturated their fur. Those we cannot throw to the wayside. We are only as strong as we are in abundance." He reached down and nipped her ear, a show of affection, to which Sirius was more then happy to provide his loyal comrades. "Surely, you understand?"
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Her alpha was gracious, but Adriana knew that already; she had known that from the moment he had welcomed her onto his lands. "D'accord," she rumbled in agreement. She nudged him under his chin, a respectful return of his affectionate gesture. "How're we gonna know, though?" she asked. "It's easy to tell, with you and me…" She was black and white, and he was a patchwork of greys, colors found naturally in the forest. But what about the young female Silhouette, who Adriana had spoken and played with in a stream one day? She, too, was covered in lovely shades of grey--and stripes of pastel pink. She was still a true wolf, though. "…But, how much leeway can we give?"
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He thought about his, eyes showing only glimmers of what he was thinking and feeling. "The base coat must be natural," he said in affirmation. "We can allow splashes of color here and there, but these wolves we must be wary of. We do not know how tainted their souls are by these abornormalities and it does not take an omega to know these wolves will do poorly in the hunt. "
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His words reassured her spirit. His reasoning was sound; even if she thought of herself vainly as a clever wolf, she was neither so logical nor reasonable as Sirius. "Oh, a'course," she said. "Ain't nothin' worse than being conspicuous." She almost felt sorry for those boldly-colored wolves; even if some prided themselves on their unusual coats, it must be terrible, to never be able to slink unnoticed among the rocks and trees.
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"Indeed," he affirmed. "I wish to train wolves in my camp, good strong wolves that can be sent out and carry on missions. These wolves would do terrible at it." Another low chuckle escaped his maw, "Perhaps we could have them be nursemaids."
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