Whisps of Time (OPEN)

[catch22]

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[atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/hslzqc.png] Torn sat with his eyes closed, the night mist from the lake wrapping around him. This world was new to him, and he felt disconnected. Here things were blurry, dim, hidden by the fog. So much had happened to him in his life, and yet he was young. Granted, he was no pup, but he was young compared to many. What did it all mean? Life had to have a meaning of some sort. Then again, why did it matter, things happened, it was no use attempting to understand why. "You're useless to us." Torn started and opened his eyes, in shock saw what looked like a member of his first pack, the one he was born into. He stepped forward toward it but lost the wolf in the mists. Torn shivered. "Look, poor little gimpy out by himself, lost in the mists" The voice seemed cold, snarling, mocking Torn. He refused to listen, and turned began to quickly walk away from the hallucination. Then he hit the water. He must have started in the wrong direction. Looking down Torn saw his reflection in the lake. He was fine, what was he doing running from all of these mental images? He had wanted to leave, but instead he sat, staring at his reflection. The reflection of a cursed wolf. Someone or something was responsible. Torn just wanted to know what, he was determined to figure it out if it killed him. He settled in by the lake to ponder his questions.

[Angelus in Cord]

It was not uncommon for the mist to reform and reconstitute itself into the haunting ghosts of the past, for Angelus in Cord’s mind was fraught with monsters—metaphorically and physically. Her father, the King Rusharka, was one monster whose memory would haunt her footsteps forever. Even if this blue Sennyo saw his corpse, nothing would keep the nightmares at bay. If anything, the confrontation of his death would lead to worse dreams—ones involving the corpse coming to life and trying to kill her, for example. The Sennyo was both young and old, she had outlived all the non-Sennyo wolves who were birthed at her time by quite a long shot, making her an elder by some, but her timeless face was young and hadn’t lost the pup-fat she still held after twenty-five years. There was only one wolf whose body came to mind just then, for he had always loved this time—not night but not evening, a cross between the two, when the fireflies came out to light up in strings.

Her lover, Warren, was dead for months, but his memory still pricked her eyes. The fog seemed to make itself wolf-like, vaguely, and if you imagined you could see it. And imagine she did, and she imagined that it was Warren, that he was there right next to her, the real one- not a fake one made of fog, but the real live thing next to her.

“Tis’rieka, meinen lüv?” Are you good, my love?

Of course, there was no response and her fantasy faded away. The fog didn’t respond, instead its pale form shivered and then dissolved, her words destroying whatever being was trying to inhabit it, like a Harbringer... or a real ghost. It gave her a shudder, Angel’s heart began to pump faster and she whirled and tried to stumble away, afraid of the sudden malevolence she was beginning to feel from the fog-form, her imaginationg running away with her. She ran on, trying to metaphorically escape her past, ignoring the catching brambles and tripping several times in her mad rush.

Then, unable to control her careening, and unable to see through the fog, Angel neared the dejected Lupus. The form was wreathed in fog, and for a moment she leaned back and tried to shove her legs out in front to prevent herself from meeting this new, unknown ghost-form, but it got more real as it got closer, and her speed was not easily checked.

With a sickening crack she slammed herself into the back of the Lupus, flipping over him and rolling up his back and off his head, before spinning a cartwheel in the air seconds before her hardly heavy body splashed into the lake. Kicking frantically, she was spinning in circles under the water, it had suddenly dropped off into water something like four feet deep, and since she was confused, the thin and frail Sennyo was under for a little over thirty seconds before she finally began to saw the surface. Confused, wet, and suffocating, she swam towards it and then broke it, breathing and gasping.

[catch22]

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[atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/hslzqc.png] Torn glanced over his shoulder. A long-strider, a Sennyo, was barreling out of the mist at him. That was strange. Torn had not many long-striders in his past, and certainly none of this resemblance. Still, the fog was surely just playing tricks on his mind again as he turned back to the lake, still thinking about the odd long-strider. If it was a trick on his mind, he would know, which meant something. Then it hit him, both literally and figuratively. Torn was practically flattened as the wolf ran into him and flipped over his head. Torn's head splashed into the water and soaked his fur on his face. Unsure of exactly what was transpiring Torn stood and shook himself, attempting to locate his assailant. The lake. The long-strider's head broke from the water. Obviously NOT a hallucination. Torn didn't know what this wolf was doing, but he wanted to help. On the other hand if he did help, then it could have dire results. He took into consideration that he could not swim with his stone-coated leg, and that a forcefield would drain his energy. Neither was acceptable. He would wait and watch. "Are you all right?" Torn spoke quietly, after his face full of water, he was unsure if he would go into a coughing fit, and that could incapacitate him. No, just being polite would be fine, especially since he didn't want to appear threatening. Not that with his face all damped down and a stone leg he could anyway. I wonder why...

[Angelus in Cord]

He was a lupus, and definitely a solid and real one at that. Standing smaller then her and much heavier, he was something she recognized immediately. Angelus in Cord’s eyes ran with water and as she waded to shore, he spoke.

A native, then, and quiet one at that; this wolf was someone she hadn’t seen before. Of course, with her limited knowledge of this place, it wasn’t a surprise. In response, she answered fluently in her own language.

“Órr con fu pistaniá,” I am fine. “Cíon por ti?” How are you? It was not a friendly greeting, more of a frightened and gasping one, and Angelus pulled herself out of the water and shook to rid herself of the liquid. Her wings buzzed and fluttered, trying to dry out. Her antennae flopping about, and her strange words might’ve given the wolf a fright, so she reverted to his tongue.

“I am good, you?” She said haltingly, disliking her inability to speak fluently, but proud of herself all the same. Her naturally flowing, silvery voice made the words into music, making up for the strange choppiness of the sentence.

“I am sorry, I no hurt purpose,” She apologized, once again the words inconsistent and awkward, dropping from her mouth like flies instead of rolling off like pearls, and it aggravated her that she, Angelus, could not speak like she was supposed to. Why didn’t this language come fluently, easily, as her first language had? What made her struggle so with simple phrases and words; mispronouncing things and unable to speak to most wolves because of this?

“Pór liéssencé?” Forgive me? That message would carry across, if the words didn’t the tone and expression would.

[catch22]

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[atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/hslzqc.png] Torn glanced at this long-strider curiously. She spoke in a off-color dialect he had heard in the northern wastes. He doubted this was where she from, she seemed too fragile. Unfortunately he never had the mettle to attempt communications with the beasts that spoke it. She then spoke in his own native tongue. She had been here long enough to know a little. Torn watched appraisingly as the long-strider came onto the rocky shoreline some distance away. He noted the wings and antennae. Assuredly a long-strider. But her voice was smooth and elegant, even with unfamiliar words, and combined with the looks, this wolf seemed apologetic. In any case, it obviously wasn't an attack Torn took a moment to consider what to say. It needed to be simple, but with an unknown culture he wanted to give the best impression possible. He cleared his voice, and spoke softly and as gracefully as he could, taking care to enunciate his words. "I understand you didn't mean to do it, you must have taken a nasty trip. I hope you know what I speak, to what do I owe the honour of this meet?" Torn was rather proud of himself. He managed to keep in a rhyme to facilitate communication. He remained sitting and relaxed, he wanted to appear as peaceful as possible. He still didn't know who this was.

[Angelus in Cord]

Her soggy paws did not help with getting off the slippery rocks gracefully, and as she jumped from one jutting rock to the very solid surface of the earth, her backs paws skidded and she splashed back into the water ungracefully on her belly with a loud, ‘OOOF!’

[/i] And as she resurfaced a long stream of profane words with musical and very dark intensity escaped her delicate navy maw.

As she finally waded back onto the shore, the oaths stopped, but her dark eyes sparkled with distaste at the water behind her before turning back to the male in front. He was strange—one back leg was odd and seemed to be made of rock—and it confused her.

There was recognition on his face, mildly, when she spoke, and she wondered if perhaps he had heard of her tongue. Angelus shook herself again, then sat down and began to wash herself with her tongue, mostly her front legs and the parts of the shoulders she could reach. Her wings fluttered rapidly as they dried, and Angelus’ ears pricked as he spoke.

"I understand you didn't mean to do it, you must have taken a nasty trip. I hope you know what I speak, to what do I owe the honor of this meet?" He was kind, but spoke slowly as most did. Irritating, for they did not speak fast and with conciseness that she was used to. Of course, she didn’t realize they thought she didn’t know what they were saying, and just assumed they spoke that way.

“Isíbel, I is Isíbel,” She answered, “Re ti’ska?” What is your name, friend? She asked politely, leaning towards him and standing up.[/blockquote]

[catch22]

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[atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/hslzqc.png] Torn fought the urge to react as the wolf splashed back into the water. From there a series of strange words spewed from her mouth, and it was fairly easy for Torn to imagine what the language consisted of. Recovering herself the wolf came to shore, and Torn felt her eyes take him in. He felt moderately uncomfortable and shifted his shoulder blades back and forth. Isíbel, so that was her name. The way she spoke made Torn's pride at his earlier verse fade away. It was rather cryptic for a sentence he thought now, and decided he wouldn't bother with attempting to seem eloquent. Re ti’ska? It was a question, Torn was fairly sure. Since she gave her name it would be only polite to give his he mused. "I am Torn." Torn didn't bother with explaining his name anymore, it just was. If others thought it was an adjective, then, well, they would figure it out sooner or later. She stood up and seemed to move toward him. He stood, starting to take a step back, but he hesitated. It could just be her culture, so he didn't move and instead stood awkwardly. He wanted to keep up a conversation though, so he took her question and tried to model it into his own. "Re ti' home?" Torn didn't truly believe he had asked where her home was, or even if it was anything halfway coherent, but it was a start. I wonder why...

[Angelus in Cord]

It was amusing for this young female, to observe the younger male’s attempt to speak her language. He was a cub, in her opinion, because he was only what? Only 2 or 3 years old? That was hardly a young adult for her species, though it was irritating, she couldn’t get this out of her head. I mean, when you’re taught something at a young age it’s very difficult to rid yourself of. He spoke something that was absolute gibberish.

“Re ti’ home?”

“Home? Home is back,” she flicked a dismissive ear behind her, eyes never turning away from in front of her. “Re ti’ home is no right; is ‘Sómeé tín mi,’” She corrected with a smile and wink. “You ask nothing if say, ‘Re ti’ home,’” Angelus said, her eyes flashing with humor. Her thin and now wet tail wagged gently, her expression charming; apologizing for mixing him up and then correcting him.

The dark blues and light blue and silver in her coat glowed eerily in the half-light, her eyes dark and mysterious and deeper then the ocean. The antennae began to glow brighter, the strange light seeming to emanate from her coat dampened in comparison to the brightness of the glowing orbs atop her head. They flicked, and she knew it would be foggy for the next half-day, until about the afternoon tomorrow when the heat would dissipate the mist. How did she know this? The mist was beginning to thin, and there would be only enough to last for a few hours. Afterward, she could only assume it would be bright and sunny, something that pleased her. The sun was always to cheering and brought joy to the still-puppy-at-heart Sennyo female Angelus in Cord.

“You name Torn? As’ofín,” Beautiful, The young Angelus smiled brightly to Torn, her expression cheerful, happy, and friendly; the entire being open and ready to accept a new, shiny friend: Torn.

[catch22]

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[atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/hslzqc.png] Torn watched her reaction. His point seemed to be made, as she replied that home was back. Back where, Torn decided not to push. Torn let a low chuckle come forth as she corrected his grammar in the foreign tongue. She was enjoying herself. The the most bizarre thing happened. The long-strider's antennae began to glow. Torn stood, watching them as they flickered. So many strange sights in the world he had yet to see, he reminded himself. As the light faded the Long-strider's mood seemed to brighten considerably. Puzzled, Torn accepted that it had something to do with a sense she had. You name Torn? Torn gave a gentle smile and corrected her."Your name is Torn?" He repeated after her. The second word he was unsure of however. As’ofín. Whatever it was she seemed pleased about it. He made a second attempt to at least seem polite. "Isíbel tín As’ofín." Torn wasn't entirely sure what he said, but he returned the smile confidently, hoping to give the appearance he knew exactly what he said. Of course, he may have butchered it, but it seemed logical. I wonder why...

[Angelus in Cord]

There was a smile on Angelus’ face as she was corrected by the male, and she laughed softly, the noise tinkling. Her face broke into a smile, the antennae glowed softly and illuminated portions of her face, her teeth glinting with a bluish hue and her already blue and silver face taking on a similar blue hue. The female was clearly enjoying herself, and she sat down with a wide and gloriously brightened face, her eyes wide and encouraging.

“That what you say?” She asked, her face open. “I no say that, but that is good?” Angelus continued, one brow rising in a comical expression of amusement. Then he decided to speak—again in her language. And this time, her jaw dropped and her eyes narrowed slightly. What he said made her confused, because it was absolutely correct; yet he contained no accent, and he couldn’t have possibly known what to say…

“Sción tor naçque?” What did you say? She asked, “Correct,” She said, for some reason she sounded on edge, every trace of the previous and precious smile gone, replaced by suspicion. For some reason, it was wrong. That was not right, something was wrong. Suddenly, she laughed internally at herself. She’d gotten uptight because that had been what her mate, Warren, had said to her throughout his life—but with her real name. Angelus tin as’ofin, Angelus is beautiful, the rough translation.

“Sorry, I no meant it,” The smile returned full force, effectively attempting to erase whatever social atrocity she had just committed by acting in such a strange, difficult to understand way. “Forgive?” Angelus continued her wet tail wagging and splattering water and mud behind her in a comical way.

[catch22]

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[atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/hslzqc.png] Torn was legitimately enjoying himself before he realized it. Of course, that's when he realized it. He should not be having this much actually fun with a total stranger. He reminded himself to back off on too much of it. That though was sadly dashed from his mind as she responded, asking further about the grammar he had corrected her on. "Yes, that is good." Torn started to force a smile, but it turned into a real one. His second comment caused her mood to darken however. She said something only characterized as snappy, and she did not look near as trusting or friendly as she had. As Torn began to think of things he should be doing, she said he was correct, and relaxed again. It seemed a bit more forced, but it was there, and she explained she didn't mean it. Without proper grammar. Torn gave a thin smile. He wouldn't bother with it. "Of course you're forgiven. If you don't forgive, you never get anywhere." He glanced at her tail wagging with mud, and he had the shocking realization he could curse her by being around her. He was filled with self-loathing for not thinking of this sooner. "I'm sorry... Torn said softly as he took a few steps back. "But I am cursed. It's not good company to keep I'm sure." He didn't think she would become cursed, or that it was bad to be in his company, but friendly company, just having eachother for the sake of it, as much as he wanted to... he just didn't know. I wonder why...

[Keinvarii]

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[atrb=background,http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/Somatra1/kback-11.jpg] "Speaking" ooc: As I have yet to see a joining thread from Angelus, her presence on pack territory constitutes trespassing, we can make this out to be a joining thread, but know that Keinvarii is reacting in accordance to this transgression. Keinvarii walked silently through the snow, her large paws muffling the sounds of her footsteps as she tracked an unusual scent. There were too many smells unfamiliar to the Queen of late, wolves that sought it wise to seek entrance to the Centena`s lands without her permission. She had been good natured enough about the matter, but enough was enough and she was going to issue a statement that required pack members to be on high alert for wolves that were not of their own. The Queen was generous enough, she allowed loners to frolic on the border of the territory, but she had gone through much diligent work to ensure that the inner sanctuary of Lake Amarenthyst remained safe from prying eyes. It was her responsibility to the land to protect it from impure assaults and in turn the Earth provided her pack with sustenance and protection. The scent she had been tracking became more prominent and small pawprints appeared on the thin layer of moist snow that covered the rocky shores. Keinvarii enjoyed the shores greatly; they spoke to her and carried news from the earth amongst themselves. Pausing she decided to crouch down behind a mound of frozen reeds and rocks, closing her eyes and letting the echoes from the stones talk to her. In the darkness she began to see shapes immerge, the ground was alive with vibration and even though she could not have seen the two wolves from this distance she saw them clear as day through the echoes, her sight heightened in an impossible fashion. Using this method the Queen could see her whole territory, upon the cliffs a brave buck walked, otters woke to dive into the lake, and in the forest crows bickered over a carcass. However her vision was trained on the two wolves, Torn, whom was vaguely familiar to her and the pack`s Priest under strict trial. It was the female, a sennyo by the shape of her, that drew her attention. Yes, this was not a pack member to her knowledge, she had yet to meet them and yet to receive word of her presence among the pack`s numbers. Her fellow High Estate wolves always reported to her when they had accepted a member, this way she could be sure whom was supposed to be in their midst and whom was not. A fierce scowl crossed her face as she regained her normal sight, eyes hardening into a bitterly sharp blue as she streaked across the shore, a hunter`s pose with her ears trained ahead. Enough was enough; this matter had to be dealt with before it progressed further. Leaping over a particularly large rock she gave a reprimanding growl, staring at the willowy female with an angered look upon her face. Her voice rang out towards the stranger and she addressed Torn with a brief nod, “Whom do you think you are to walk upon these lands without permission?! I haven't heard tell tale of you, speak now with due haste less I find reason to expel you on sight!” To the Queen trespassing on sacred ground was a great affront, and if this wolf sought to join then Keinvarii might decided to overlook the transgression, however, other reasoning would merit retribution and action. The fur of the female lupus` back bristled, her tail raised and she stared the other female down, claws extended in her anger. K e i n v a r i i 's . S o n g

[Angelus in Cord]

For a moment, she was confused. Cursed? The wolf obviously wasn’t cursed, what would give him that opinion? Was he told to be cursed, or had strings of bad luck made the thought appear in his head? About to answer with a simple, ‘no, you’re not cursed, you’re good,’ the loud sounds of footsteps alerted her. Flicking her ears up, she caught movement in the trees before suddenly, boom. A wolf lunged forth with a growl, threatening. Another Lupus, she could scent it. The waves of earth and rock scent rolling off this female in waves, along with the obvious rage rippling the air, Angelus in Cord felt a threat looming.

Immediately her ears pinned back, she hadn’t scented much of a pack here, mostly wolf, but still. She hadn’t made the connection.

The wolf was roaring at her, screaming in the language Torn used, but with a sort of…-accent? - To it. Angelus’ eyes rounded as—after a second of silence and echoing—she realized an answer was needed, as well as the fact she didn’t have one. The female before her was absolutely mad with rage and snarling fury, and Angelus leaped up and back, pulling her head back and stepping back for a moment, fear making her spit out words in her own tongue.

“Keién! Obscúrun to’lore!” Great Spirit! What demon are you? She shrieked, her eyes perfect circles; Angelus backed up again, then turned and leaped forward, looking over her shoulder as she dashed into the trees, fear striking her heart and lending wings to her feet. Her legs were nearly three feet long, giving her the advantage of speed to outrun the wolf, who she feared was following her, she could feel the threat looming. Her grace and speed and fear allowed her to flee, but the unfamiliarity of the forest made her repeatedly stumble, and at one point she was hindered for three minutes as she misjudged the height of a fallen tree and ended up flipping onto her back on the other side.

[catch22]

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[atrb=background,http://i55.tinypic.com/hslzqc.png] Torn didn't know what to think. In fact at the moment, all he noticed was a very VERY ticked off pack leader. He looked at the brief exchange, seeing the look of shock and confusion on the Long-Strider's face. She shrieked something out in her native tongue, and bolted. Was she a spy perhaps? What had scared her? It didn't matter. "Stop!" There was no way that Keinvarii would be able to catch her, even with her tripping all over the place. He closed his eyes and pictured the area the fleeing wolf was running toward, and made it a wall. He grunted as the pain short through his leg and he gave a yelp uncontrollably. But upon opening his watery eyes a shimmering force field in his view. He noticed he had tunnel vision. He hoped she wouldn't touch it, it was weak, and he could barely hold it there in his mind. If she did it would probably drive him over the edge, and it would dissipate easily. (((OOC sorry for the short post, I've been babysitting my niece. I'll make sure I stay on top of things though. )))

[Somatra]

Torn/catch, this post is short 30 words to reach the minimum word count of 200 words per ic post, please add on and I will reply.
Thank you,
Som