Grumpy Face [OPEN to all characters named Leo]

[°Nepara°]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][tr][atrb=background,http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q21/winkatuck/2woo-1.png] Yup, Nepara was tracking down an all too familiar scent. That of a certain fire lupus 'friend' of hers. She looked up as she gasped in awe, a lone unicorn grazed a couple meters from her in the distance. The eremus only wished Leo could be there to see it. The horned horse dug at the dirt before glancing up directly at her. She stood completely still as it took off into the distance. She shrugged it off, as long as it had not attacked her. She was okay with it keeping it's own space. She laid down in the flowers as she rolled around and took in all their lovely scents. Today would be a good day, she just knew it! Now if only she could find her fiery friend. Where had he been lately anyways. Surely he was nearby? "Leo?! Heeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooo?!" She got up and sat in the tall grasses and pouted. She wanted them to play but he was probably hiding from her. Maybe she was wrong about him all along? Maybe he really was just a big grumpy face all the time and actually hated her... No! Leo liked her, at least as a friend right? But what if he was avoiding her because he secretly liked her more than that?! He did try to comfort her that one cold desert night and she felt he was trying to hide that he actually cared. Nepara giggled as she got up and started walking along in hopes of some water. She was quite parched from rolling around in the dirt. Maybe where there was some water she would find Leo?! She sure hoped so, she was beginning to get lonely without him pretending to insult her on their travels.

[Leo]

Leo had been attempting to hunt. He had come across the scent of a jackalope, and had tracked it down. He had watched it for a while, working out a way to catch it. He was in a wide open space, so he could hardly lure it into a corner. No, he would need to stalk it. A cat like approach, but it would be effective. He lowered himself to the ground, leaning back on his hunches. He moved silently, his paw steps light. The long grass hid him from view, and he was getting closer and closer to the jackalope. He could almost taste it.
He was about to pounce, when a loud voice called out. A loud, familiar voice that called out his name. He rubbed his teeth together, aware the jackalope had already bolted, and was long gone. A growl escaped his throat, and he turned on the spot, his tail lashing. Why was it every time he failed a hunt, Nepara would either have caused it, or would be around at the time. He knew the female had been following him. Ever since that night in the desert, he had taken extra care to make sure he wasn’t being followed. Of course he knew he could outrun her, and he probably had more stamina too. He could go days without sleep, and so did so, just to give himself the advantage of distance. A few times he had contemplated covering his scent, but decided against it, as it either meant getting wet, or covering himself in a fowl smelling…thing (the less said, the better).
However, now he was irritated. He headed towards her, having no trouble finding her. After all, she had alerted the entire prairie to her presence. How did she ever survive as a loner? Oh yes, by annoying her enemies to death, like the giggling stretchy demon she was. He smiled slightly, using the nickname he had given her in his head. He couldn’t wait until he had an opportunity to say it out loud. Hmm, how about now? His mood lifted by the chance to share his insult, as he stormed towards her.
“Oh, if it isn’t the giggling stretchy demon, herself” He ‘greeted’, padding towards her. “With her great skills at annoying, and scaring off all the flipping prey!” He added, his voice rising towards the end, and his fur bristling.

[°Nepara°]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][tr][atrb=background,http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q21/winkatuck/2woo-1.png] "Leooooooooooooo!" She jumped around like a pup and even took a playful pose, her rump in the air as she pounced around. The little eremus got up and liked the side of his face. " I missed you! Why did you run away again? I could'a losted you and you could'a gotted eated by something! Oh that reminds me! I saw a huge unicorn! You missed it..." she giggled again as he greeted her with a fitting nickname. "Ooooe, you think when I make my pack I should title myself that? It sounds rather scary! Rawr!" she jumped at him playfully, attempting to squish him under her weight. "We need a nickname for you now too if Imma have one..." she sat down across from him now as she began to think. Her ears twitched as her stomach grumbled. She had not had time to hunt recently since she spent all her time tracking Leo down. She ignored it for now, it wasn't an uncommon side effect of being a lone wolf. She started to miss the empire for a moment before it hit her. "How about Blacky?! Or oeee, how bout grumpy! You always act so grumpy! It's perfect! Sir Grump Face!" she teased him. Nepara stood up again as she howled. "Sir Grumpy Face and his sidekick the Giggling Stretchy Devil! Evildoers beware! Hehe..." The little eremus shook her body off the remaining flowers and pollen as she sneezed.

[Leo]

Leo rolled his eyes. I actually give up, what is the point anymore? He thought to himself darkly. He closed his eyes, blocking out her voice. He probably should have kept his nickname for her, to himself. After all, she never was able to tell the difference between the ‘I want to be left alone’ tone, and the ‘oh, I love you so much, you are so funny, and so wonderful, and I am truly blessed by your company tone’. Needless to say he never used the latter.
He wondered if it would be better to say nothing, and simply walked away, but he felt compelled to have the last word.
“Perhaps we shall be the evildoers. There are too many nice wolves in the world, lets get rid of a few” He commented, opening his eyes. He decided to play along, twisting her light hearted humour, into that of his dark and twisted mind. “And while we’re busy killing some wolves, we can enslave others, and force them to worship us as gods” He continued, his tone low and void of all emotion, except for dark pleasure. “And we can make them suffer, make them wish they had never been born. And the ones we do kill, will beg us to finish them off, because we would have skinned them first, and sliced open their skin, and leave them to rot in their own blood” He smiled slightly, as if he was enjoying the idea. He was hoping his sick words would disgust her enough to leave him alone. Even if they didn’t, it might prevent her ever using a nickname for him again.

[°Nepara°]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][tr][atrb=background,http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q21/winkatuck/2woo-1.png] "huh?" Nepara paused as he continued with his rant about how they would harm and destroy other wolves for the sheer delight of it. She felt like she was going to choke on her own words when he mentioned them 'rotting in their own blood'. She looked at him, concern lacing her features as she felt her face heat up. "You don't really mean that, do you Leo?" she whispered as if they were surrounded by other wolves that would hear her otherwise. She gulped as her concerned tone was soon replaced with one of ballistic qualities. She snarled as she pounced at the fire lupus once more in an attempt to hold him to the ground. "No!" she shrieked. Tears slowly began to fall from her face down onto him. She would not allow him to become a bully and harm others. He was good, she was sure he could be. What if he didn't want to... the thought slowly passed her mind. Just like before. What if he actually doesn't like you Nepara. What will you do then? She felt like her blood was boiling as her hairs stood up on end, a crazed look in her eyes as she left her mouth gaping and open. She panted as she felt her tail elongate, allowing it to try and wrap itself forcefully around Leo's. She would pull it off if need be to knock some sense into him. "Look! I... I know you can... can be good. You're not a bad wolf Leo... I know you aren't. Or... at least I don't want to believe you could be.." she let the last comment trail off as she glanced away from his gaze. "Please, I... I really like you. I, I only follow you cause I... I have no where else to go and I- I don't want to join another pack that is just going to disband like the last one I was in was. You=you could join me! We could start our own pack! And-and you could have a higher rank too! Wouldn't that be fun?" the female eremus ranted as she mumbled again, licking his face lovingly. "Wouldn't it?"

[Leo]

Leo reacted instinctively, lashing out as she tried to pin him to the ground. She was stronger than she looked, but brute strength alone was not enough to pin him. He kicked out, pushing her off him. He swiped a paw in her direction, meaning to unbalance her, growling as he did so. He lowered himself, his muscles tensed, and his hackles raised. He growled again, more menacing. He was seeing red.
He hadn’t expected such an impulsive reaction. The worse he had anticipated was her completely ignoring every word he said. It was ironic as that is what he was now doing to her. He felt her tail wrap around his, uncomfortable tight. He felt a spike of pain, but he ignored it, releasing it as an angry growl. He leaned back on his hunches, ready to strike her, regardless of her hold over him.
Before he had a chance to pounce, he felt moisture on his face. He blinked, noticing that Nepara was crying. Odd. She reacted violently, and now she was upset? What? Surely her expression should be one of anger, not one of distraught sadness, and helplessness. Emotional reactions were beyond logical thought, and so were beyond him, which meant that he was drowning in a sea of complete confusion and bewilderment.
It took him a while for her words to make sense to him. Was she worried for him? Emotional attachments were bizarre to him, but even for a normal wolf, surely you wouldn’t get attached to someone who openly insulted you, and especially when she barely knew him. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t logical. It was…Ow! He clamped his mouth shut to prevent from crying out. His tail was beginning to burn. Burn? He realised that sparks were igniting his body, engulfing him in flames. He blinked in surprise, realising he had lost control of his power, for the first time ever.
He suddenly felt concerned that this would seem like a weakness, but as if in response to his thought, the fire engulfing his body grew hotter, even for him, someone resistant to fire. He took a deep breath, trying to pull the flames into him, or at least take back control, but he was struggling. Emotions could affect a lupus’s power, but he never felt emotions…But now, now he was doubting himself. It was as if his emotional side, which he had buried long ago, was resurfacing and taking control.
“You might want to get off me, I have no control over this fire. You’re not resistant.” He spoke the words before his brain could catch up. He was sent into a sudden turmoil, an inner battle tearing at him. His pride urged him to show no weakness, which meant showing no emotions. His thoughts abused him for warning her, when she was a threat and he should allow her to burn. His instincts were sent into overdrive, unable to comprehend the course of action, when this situation seemed beyond fight or flight. And his emotions? Well, he couldn’t tell. He was being swamped with a sudden onslaught of powerful emotions that made no sense. His barrier had been broken, and now there was nothing to prevent it all getting in. He growled again, but this time at himself, not at Nepara.
The growl seemed to affect the fire. It burst into a roaring inferno, the flames spreading from his body, and setting the grass alight. He realised that if he couldn’t control the fire, than it would become wild, and spread, burning the lands and all who stood in its way. Which meant Nepara. Why did he care? He didn’t know. He didn’t. The fire roared again, more of the undergrowth catching light, the flame rising.
“Get off me so I can…” He started in a growl, but was cut off as the flames rose, bursting towards him. He turned his head, shielding himself with his paw, even though he knew he was resistant to the flames. He didn’t even realise that he had stepped in front of Nepara, blocking her from the blast. He truly had lost control, and the fire was spreading rapidly. He tried to reel it in, to control it, like he had always been able to do. It was bizarre. His problem had always been his difficultly manifested fire, while he had always been able to control. But here he was, unable to stop creating it, but unable to control it.
“Leave. If I can’t get this under control it will spread. At least I’m fire resistant.” He ordered, his tone void of emotion. He didn’t even glance at her while he said it. He didn’t even know why he was protecting her, for surely she had proven herself a threat. But since when does a threat cry? Maybe she was a different kind of threat. The threat that was able to destroy his internal barriers, and take away his control. He wondered briefly if she had some form of mind control that he didn’t know about. It was possible, for he seemed to be acting under a power than wasn’t instinct, nor was it logic. It may have been emotion, but he had been numb for too long to figure out whether it was or not.

[°Nepara°]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][tr][atrb=background,http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q21/winkatuck/2woo-1.png] The eremus could barely contain her growing fears as something attached itself to her tail that caused a searing burning pain. Her first instinct was to let go of him. But she didn't know if he was doing it on purpose to make her let go, so she held on as the fire began to burn through her fur on the ends and around her tail. It hurt, but she didn't want him to hurt either. She cried out in pain as she finally lashed away from him. She laid their in a haze as smog and smoke began to lift into the air around them. She slowly came to as she gasped as the fire began to engulf the grasses around her, the delicate and innocent flowers disintegrating before her eyes. She scrambled up to her four limbs as they wobbled like jello below her. She simply couldn't muster the strength to move from where she stood as the flames tickled her hooves. Nepara move! Go before the fire kills you! She stood in awe of the fire as as a blast came towards her, she flinched. When she opened her eyes again, Leo was there... he had blocked the fire from harming her. So.. so he does care... she felt the tears start to flood from her as she scrunched her face up in agony. The sobs came all to quickly as she struggled to see where everything was now. She coughed and choked on the smoke the fire emitted into the air. I.. need to... get.. away... Her mind and body cried. She stumbled to get a move on, but her power was proving difficult to help her escape. Her legs collapsed beneath her as she helplessly pulled at the burnt grass under her. Nepara continued to cough and choke as the flames seemed to get brighter and trap them both. "L-leo!" she coughed again as she slowly stood again and tried to focus on using her power to keep her legs stiff long enough. She managed a few feet before the smog became to the much for her lungs. She collapsed once more, everything else a blur as she strove to try and stay in concisouness. She didn't want to be alone. She wanted Leo to be okay and she wanted them to be able to be friends. No. It couldn't end like this... it just... couldn't.

[Leo]

Leo was aware that Nepara was not leaving. He ignored her, deciding she must have a reason for standing still. He turned towards the fire, closing his eyes. He tried to feel the spark inside him, but he was been drowned in unfamiliar feelings. He couldn’t control it, and every time he tried, the fire just became stronger and more powerful.
He clenched his teeth together and tried harder, pushing through the onslaught of emotions to discover the spark within. He felt it, and tried to ignite it into a flame inside of him, so that he could control the fire. He felt a familiar tingling sensation spread through his body, warming his blood. He felt relief blossom in his chest. He would be able to control the fire now, surely. Then, he heard Nepara cry his name, and the feeling left, and the fire grew much taller. In the time he had been focussing within, the fire had engulfed much of their surroundings, and smoke was rising in the air.
He wasn’t aware of how resistant he was to smoke, although he expected that it would be more than the average wolf. He turned, spotting Nepara on the ground, coughing. Her eyes seemed out of focus, and she was clearly losing consciousness. He frowned, gaze returning to the fire. He could probably recreate the spark, and tame the fire, but by then, it would be too late for Nepara. Sighing, he walked towards her, trying to rouse her, but with little success. He knew she had inhaled too much smoke to escape the raging fire on her own.
He nuzzled himself under her, and tilted his head back, so that she rested on his shoulders. He was glad that she was light, like most eremus. He would have tried to drag her by the scruff of her neck, but that would have taken too long, and by then, she might have inhaled too much smoke to even wake up. He didn’t truly understand why he cared. She had always been nothing but an annoyance. At this thought, the flames grew larger.
Leaving his thoughts behind, he pushed through the wall of fire, careful to keep Nepara out of most of the blaze. He could hear and feel the vibration of a stampede of animals, fleeing from the fire. He wondered how many of them would escape the hungry flames. Moving on, he followed the stampede, hoping that it would lead to safety. He had left the fire behind, but he was aware that it would spread quickly, probably quicker than it would take him to attempt to control it again. He increased his pace, but he could only go so fast with another wolf on his back.
His muscles began to tire, and he felt himself grow weary. He put it down to the extra weight, unaware that it was the due to the distance he was from the fire caused by his power. He knew he was getting closer to the children’s lands, and paused. Glancing back. He could only see the smoke rising into the air from here. He spotted a pool of water, where it must of rained, and trotted towards it, placing Nepara on the grass next to it. When she awoke, she would need water. He doubted the fire would travel this far, but he wasn’t sure.
He closed his eyes again, surprised when the spark inside him attacked him. He flinched, the tingling sensation turning into a painful stinging that spread throughout his body. His head began to throb with the effort, but he kept going. He called to the fire that was raging through the prairie, calming it. The stinging sensation increased, but he could now feel the fire he had caused, turning into a small flame. He kept calming it, draining the heat from it, until he felt the last little flame flicker out. The minute it did, his vision began to blur, and his thoughts became muddled. The spark inside of him seemed to be burning him from the inside. He felt himself grow hot with fever, as shivers raked his body. Confused, and disoriented, he stood, trying to rid himself of the pain, but his legs seemed unable to support him and his body collapsed to the ground. His vision turned to darkness as his eyelids flickered closed, and he was aware of his heavy breathing, and the burning sensation, before he succumbed to unconsciousness.