Following the Scent :: Open

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[atrb=background,http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv343/jesshilltop/dios01Mid.png] The hairs on the his back prickled up. He could feel it. It was like a thousand eyes were on him. A load buzz next to his ear made him snap, catching nothing but air, although he could see the bugs hovering above the surface of the water in a cloudy thicket, blocking the little light that was penetrating through the trees. He could have sworn it was mid-day but the looming branches of the swamp created a dense dusky curtain. Dios felt a sharp jab on his hind quarters, it didn't hurt so much as surprise him. Then it started to itch. He grumbled and tried to ignore it as he was keeping his balance through the chest deep water. Why had he come to this place? The itch was getting worse. He reached his paw out through the murky water expecting to it to touch the bottom but it just kept going and he fell head first into the marsh in an ungraceful splash. Water instantly shot up his nose and he coughed taking in more liquid. He lashed out with his paws in a wild paddle as he tried to reach his way out of the darkness. Did something just slither past his leg? He tried not to panic. He was totally out of his element. Wolves don't swim! His left claw caught hold of some soft spongy overhang and he heaved himself forwards, partially slipping as the mound gave way. Dios was above the water, but just barely. He thought he had only been a couple steps away and in the shallows. Hell, everything looks shallow, and I ended up in a sink hole. And that burning, scratching, annoying itch was back too! He swung around and attempted to chew it into submission. He growled in frustration. Coming here was his idea, and his idea alone. What a great idea Dios! Coming up with ideas wasn't his job, he was the tooth and claw of executing them, but now he had to think for himself. He had followed the stench of the creature that had caught him hoping that it might lead him out of this world and back to Mawd but instead he was in this forsaken swamp. He sniffed the air, he was not far off now.

[Siren]

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[atrb=background,http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq94/NuckyGirl/siren-3.png] Softly, the female Cael stepped ahead. She dipped her head below the overhanging mosses, and tried her hardest to avoid the murky wet below. Siren started to hum a bit, but the legendary voice of the Cael wove through the thick, dark trees, echoing with an ethereal beauty. Her high notes rose to the heavens before falling back down and she pricked her ears, her own thoughts paralleling that of the wolf she had yet to meet. Why did I come here? So far, she had been careful—knowing the horrible mistake it would be to fall into the water. And, left ear turned around. I heard a splash, and wondered what it was. There was one thing for me to do, and that was simply to investigate. What matters the perils? Who cares about the hardships? There is only me and there is that splash. Besides, it sounded harmless enough. Siren’s body followed the direction her ear turned and she then approached the origin of the splash. Her indigo paws stirred in the mud and the wet mud made her hind paws tingle because they wanted to change, but were not exposed to enough water to do so. Her first form, her true form. Why did she want to leave it? And Siren was surprised with this dark, blue eyed male. She lowered her own silver eyes, smitten with his looks and convinced to pull him into her fairy tale world. A right prince. For sure! And now, I, the princess, must ask him a simple question. And in her odd happy voice, that gentle, running, babbling tone, Siren asked him plainly, “Will you be my prince?” Her hope-filled eyes held a rather dulled expression and her eager words were sincere. She wagged her indigo tipped tail and her heart beat lovingly for him.

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[atrb=background,http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv343/jesshilltop/dios01Mid.png] He wanted to burst out of his skin! Things were wriggling through his fur. He could feel it. He took another bite. He tasted the bitterness of his own blood. It hurt, but for a second. One blissful second, he felt nothing. Then the burning would return faster and more furious than before. He felt helpless against a power he couldn't see. Move! Just move and get out here! Stop following the monster. Nothing good will come of it! Dios rose and stretched a paw across the water, testing for his next step. Like a blind dog. Then he heard a song. It was a gentle hum. As soon as it touched his ears it washed the pains of his body away. He didn't seem to notice that he had changed direction and his feet were happily trotting to the source of the sound. It felt...good. It is the creature tricking you! But it is not! It was different. Then he saw a wolf at the waters edge. She was speaking to him, it was more a wondrous feeling than words. Prince? “I could be...” he answered, and strode up to the female with the indigo paws. The strangeness of the situation never occurred to him. He was living in the moment, and right now he was happy.

[Siren]

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[atrb=background,http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq94/NuckyGirl/siren-3.png] Suddenly, it seemed that Siren created a boundary between reality and thought. She gave a gasp and immediately jumped back. Her hind paws gently touched the swampwater and she looked behind her; she already felt the tingle of change flowing through her blood. Her ears were pricked, catching his words that he maywell be her prince. Silver eyes sparkled as she bowed her head ashamedly as she scattered her gaze askance. “I…I…” She stuttered. For once, her voice was grounded and without that airy, half-sleep tone she usually carried. Her paws grew to small buds as her tail lashed out powerfully behind her, growing in size all the while. She retreated to a deeper part of the swamp, trying to hide her shimmering scales from the Lupus. And she dipped her head below the surface. By now, not even the alligators dared to approach her. Her chest rose and fell, fluttered under the water. She wanted to cry, for fear that the wolf would hate her now and think her crazy. She broke the surface with an elegant push of her dark nose. Her wet face neared closer to the Lupus. Now that she was out of the clouds, fell on earth, she watched him with real eyes. And it was then, she begged herself to dream again. He was not shining like an angel any longer. Now, he was simply a wolf. The naïve female dragged her front half onto the land, hiding her serpentine tail beneath the murky water. Fright-round eyes gazed curiously at the male and a squeak in her wispy voice revealed her feelings of fear—fear that he had seen how attached to the water she was as a Cael. “You… didn’t see anything, right?” Silver-shimmer eyes, like pacific gems glimmered in the rare lights that played in the swamp. Her own frame wobbled at the elbows from the weight of her body. She backed up a few steps. Thinking that she was speaking her mind, she said aloud, “And I can keep pretending… And I can keep acting as if I belong on dry land…” But she could not forsake the water, try as she might. Water was home. And she had not yet strayed far from it. This was her punishment of her in-between, her indecision.

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[atrb=background,http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv343/jesshilltop/dios01Mid.png] The song ended abruptly and he was thrust from the dream like hazy back into the dark marsh with this...wolf. He blinked, he saw the serpentine tail she was trying to hide. What was she? For some reason he was captivated with her shining body. “I see you.” His liquid blue eyes darkened, “Do I frighten you?” Dios grinned, careful not to reveal his fangs, “I don't bite.” Unless you want me to. How odd that such a female with an enchanting voice would suddenly shy away. He must look like a monster. But why bother with me in the first place? It didn't make sense. Not that he had any notion of understanding the other sex. “Why did you call for me?” he asked the wolf shrinking into the water, her beauty diminishing with every inch into the mud. “Please keep singing,” he urged. The dream, the happiness, it was fading. Don't play with me! He thought darkly.

[Siren]

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[atrb=background,http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq94/NuckyGirl/siren-3.png] Silver-indigo coils wrestled in slow-motion, writhing eerily in the dark waters. They were bright whenever the small song of sunshine would hit them, but dark when Siren's tail sank below the surface yet again. The swamp was silent, as if the awkwardness of the Cael and the Lupus were to be stretched out into infinity. Silver eyes glitter-gleamed with a quiet curiosity. The question within them was not of him, but of herself. Her ears were set in that odd expression of lupine uncertainty. One was pricked forward while the other was folded back, like a box half-broken down. Her lip trembled as she bit it and Siren then lowered her other ear before she cast her gaze into the murky waters, forcing her long tail underwater, simply because she still wanted to pretend to be his princess. That fairytale echoed a soothing tune in her spirits. Shyly, she started to speak, though she started in a stutter, "I-I... can sing. Just... g-give me..." and her voice died away as she shut her eyes, took in a deep breath. Give me a moment. Can't you see dark-colored prince, that I am in the form of a wicked serpent? Yet you only want my song! Should I take it as a token of love... or as the certain clue that underneath that perfect veneer lies the mind of a madman? Either way, you are still, quite handsome. And either way, I should still give you what you want... Siren cleared her throat and her eyes popped open before a soothing melody escaped in the form of a hum. It bubbled in the air, running like a brook in its sweet and golden notes. And then, she circled her mouth and howled the beautiful song of Siren. No other wolf could claim her song because, rightly, she could only sing from her bright soul, and the tender lyrics of a child's thought burst from her imagination, cutting a shining gash in the half-shadowed swamp: Do you hear a lovely voice escape this heart of mine? With purity and expecting my voice to glitteringly shine In the darkest branches, whose claws like evil snatch The soul of this pretty place, once bright, but 'twas no match 'gainst the drifting murkiness that swamp-song always brings Now I wonder, hopefully, what I can save as I sing. Maybe! Maybe! This stifling swamp will morph again With the light of my song. It will, but I ask when When oh when will my pow'rs show the once-land 'twas? Perhaps, I'm mistaken and always a swamp it was.

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[atrb=background,http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/vv343/jesshilltop/dios01Mid.png] Her voice warmed his heart as she sang. He felt strength build within him, and he arched his head back to howl along. The swamp melted away, he closed his eyes and dreamed of Mawd. He was racing along with his brothers along a mountain trail, fresh air filling his lungs, the thrill of the hunt pounding through his veins. Branch and brush swished by and they streaked through the forest in a wild chase after a stag. They were laughing. The image faded and Dios smelled the stench of murk and grim. The singing had stopped. When he opened his eyes he saw the shinning scales and azure paws of the she-wolf before him. She seemed to glow in the blackness. This half-wolf, half-sea creature gave him hope. Maybe she knew a way out of here. Maybe she knew the way back to Mawd. “Thank you,” he said gruffly, and took a moment to compose himself. “I am Dios, son of Ragnorok leader of the Maw..” and I am lost! but he could not bring himself to say it. Will you help me? he dare not ask. The words stung his very soul and died upon existence. What would his father think? Shame. Shame. Shame! She was watching him. Did she know her power? How easily she controlled him? Half-wolf, heh. He wanted to be controlled. He had wanted the fantasy for a moment. He was stronger than she was...wasn't he? His thoughts were confusing him. He didn't even know what she was. All he knew was she was not a Lupus! “Who are you? What are you?” he demanded, not caring the order of the answers, only that they were answered.

[Siren]

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[atrb=background,http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq94/NuckyGirl/siren-3.png] Siren lowered her silver gaze. Her heart still shimmered with the final notes of the song and she felt her breath magic into the swamp’s heavy haze. The Cael wolf writhed in the inky waters—dyed from the trees that stood in the waters. Her scales were dim underneath the dark shallows and half-in, half-out that she was, she could hardly move to escape. Her coils literally boiled under the surface, stirring the loam from the bottom into froth. Her honeyed voice flowed from her mouth in sweet ribbons. “I’m Siren, princess of the ocean.” Her disillusioned thoughts rushed out, but her words sounded sweet yet. And she smiled wider, “The song of the sea rises from my throat to the limpid heavens! And tumbles down to feed the world like rain.” She gave a sigh and stared evenly to him, her voice clearly stating, for once untainted by her eyes staring through the rosy lens of imagination—of a world that didn’t exist. “I’m a Cael.” His dark form trembled before me and I had to have him understand me. A brutish native of this land. He didn’t speak in my tongue. In an effort to civilize him and educate him, I needed to reach out for him. So that he could reach out for me. “Come hither, native,” she said, now completely lost in her fantasy. Her bright eyes now were half-shut in a beautiful calm gaze. She became the romantic portrait of serenity and a smile dreamed upon her face. “I’ll show you what it means to be a Cael.” And she shifted her body, slithering so that she faced him broadside. With a twitch of her shoulder she gesticulated that she wanted him to feel her fur go to her scales. That beautiful gradient that spelled the bloodline of the Cael wolf. “I’m made for the water. Even my song is like the water of sound.”