Wrong turn...

[Cypress]

A vast blue sky blankets the mostly featureless desert of ice and snow. Upon the bleak surface is the form of a wolf, trudging through the slush of the early summer. Intense green eyes glare forward, determined to explore and find something, anything. She is heading south, the scent of an arboreal forest. She still was unsure how she ended up on the tundra, the last time she saw trees was closer to her homeland, she was just walking. After an encounter with an unpleasant murder of crows, she had been redirected towards the icy flat terrain. Her wrong turn, as she was now telling herself it was, had brought her here. She didn't turn around because she could faintly sense some life just across the corner of this desert.

The wolf pauses on an exposed rock. Her brown pelt of soft fur is raised to keep in the warm air that the weak sun was now providing. Small streaks of green can be seen decorating her body all the way down to her sloppily docked tail. Upon her strong head is a pair of back swept black horns that curved ever so slightly to the sky near the tips. She is clearly a yagi in appearance, but her size was at the smallest end, she only stood forty inches, her weight had just reached 190 before she left. However since she began traveling, she had lost weight and it could be seen in her light belly, she was partially emaciated.

Her appearance aside, she was bound and determined to get somewhere, she had not quite decided where though, she just knew that turning back was not an option; her pride would not allow it. She takes a moment to examine the pads of her feet, they were cracked and one paw had begun to bleed. She was not used to walking on ice for days; she just looks at her wound, contemplating how much further she could go.

[kerplunk]

KIRRALEY
^{advisor to Balkamir Yikaxy Empire}

Kirraley moved quickly over the Ivare Tundra, her new home, the word home, it tasted funny in her mind, she hadn’t yet tried it out in real words, she was kind of afraid that she might like the way it sounded. She hadn’t fully accepted everything yet, but she knew accepting it was going to come soon and most likely hit her like a rock. She wasn’t sure that at this moment she wanted to accept the truth of it, the finality of it. She shook her head and moved her pace into a faster pace. She was running at a comfortable loping pace, she was more doing this as a stress reliever, yes being the advisor in the Empire was very stressful, even though this was her first day on the job. It was more the stress of being back in a pack after all these year’s of staying true to the promise of staying a loner that was stressing her out.

Finally she stopped after she nearly tripped over a chunk of ice. She stopped and sat down. “I am in a pack.” She said to herself. “I, Kirraley, am the advisor to the Empire.” She repeated, wording it differently, but both times they were just words, there was no meaning behind them when she said them. She, unlike Empress Sheba, was not taking to being in a pack as well as others were. It was just because she was out of practice, at least that’s what she kept telling herself and hopefully it would be true. A breeze flew to her and a scent was in it, the scent of an unfamiliar wolf, as Advisor of the Empire she felt it her duty to see who was on there land. As she set out she realized she wasn’t technically in the actual spots there territory was mainly focused around, but even so Ivare Tundra belonged to the Empire.

Kirra finally set her eyes upon another wolf and as she got close she saw it was a wolf with horn’s, it reminded her of Sheba, she needed to learn the names of the different wolves. She sniffed cautiously and caught the scent of female, then as her view became clearer she realized the female was very underfed. She needed some better health care, finally Kirra came within speaking range, as she got closer she slowed her pace. Then when she was close enough she sat down, but her legs were like loaded springs ready to pounce up and out if need be. “Hello.” She said after a moment of silence, then she was in a debate to say anything else. “Im Kirra, advisor to the Empire, the territory you’re on.” Kirra said, but she didn’t actually feel this female was much of a threat, at least not in the state she was in.

[doki]

The hesitant little wolf walked along, his limp leg dragging uselessly. His ears her up and his eyes were wide with fear as he moved his head back and forth, back and forth. He was a very cautious wolf, especially in unknown territory. He scanned the tundra, hoping to find food. His stomach growled for food and he sighed. "I-I'm trying. I c-can't see anyt-thing." He spoke to himself. If anyone saw him, they would think he was crazy.

As Dokimer went along, the cold wind brought unfamiliar scents. He stopped, suddenly getting nervous, though the wolves were no where to be seen yet. "M-M-Maybe they a-are ni-ice.." He murmured to himself. His tails twitched as he gathered enough courage to keep walking.

Before long, the scent grew stronger and he saw the females up ahead. His tail twitched again as he the two females. Even they were bigger than him! He looked at the brown female and figured she was a Yagi, like he was, since she had the long horns on her head. His pittiful buds he called horns would probably make her laugh. His ears lowered as he slowly limped towards them. He flew behind a pile of snow, shaking. "M-Maybe I s-s-shouldn't go..." But he was frozen where he was.

[Cypress]

Cypress' ears flicker as she hears another approach. Her eyes narrow at the introduction, she did not mean to come off as prickly, but she had not realized she was on someones territory. She sets her hurt paw down and stands to face the other wolf. She stood a little taller than the resident, however she attempts to keep her posture submissive. Her docked tail lowers a bit, "The Empire?" She asks, her voice is low, steady. Her fur is still raised a little to keep warm, however she was trying to lower the hackles so she was not perceived as a threat.

Her nares flare and she lets out a low growl as she turns her head toward the scent of yet another wolf. It had been weeks since she had seen anyone, she was a little skittish to say the least. "Does he live here too?" Her question was guarded, she knew she was in no condition to fight off any attack from territorial wolves. She twitches a little under her green eyes, she didn't want to be chased off from another area. She left her main home to escape persecution, she really didn't want to be chased away again.

[kerplunk]

KIRRALEY
^{advisor to Balkamir Yikaxy Empire}

Kirraley was in predatory mode, the new female had seemingly assumed Kirraley was here to chase her off, but truth be told Kirraley didn’t care if she was on here or not, she could stay or she could go, Kirra didn’t have any intentions to chase anyone away. She doubted that she’d live through the aftermath if she did, no doubt Sheba would be extremely angry with her if she did. Sheba did after all only want love in this pack, love wasn’t in the act of chasing someone off, that was more of a hateful thing and Sheba would definitely disapprove. Kirraley hadn’t messed up in this new pack yet, she didn’t want to start now, screwing up on the first day of work wasn’t exactly the way to get your bosses favor.

Kirra finally spoke. “The Balkamir Yikaxy Empire, led by our beautiful Empress Bathsheba.” Kirraley had to bite back a bitter tone in the annoyance against her, it wasn’t exactly her fault, Kirra just had a short fuse and having someone nervous in her presence all because she mentioned the word territory agitated her for no other reason than Kirra was just an irritable being at this moment. Suddenly a noise made Kirra flick her ear’s back and for a moment she went into predatory mode until she smelled the smell of a male wolf, she turned, then after a look at him and then back at the female wolf as she asked her question. In response, she looked at him and said calmly, “No, he isn’t. There’s only three members to our small pack as we only recently started it up, though there’s bound to be more soon, the Empress wants it to be built on the basis of love and letting everyone who wants a home in.” She then turned back to the wolf.

“You are?” She asked, she decided to ignore the male wolf for now until he approached them, he seemed skittery at least to an extent. Kirra was beginning to regret having come all the way over here, feeling that she might should have stayed farther away, coming over here wasn’t exactly the best idea, especially since it seemed these wolves didn’t exactly want anything to do with her. Of course it wasn’t like Kirraley could have expected this, she was just trying to fulfill her duties as Advisor, second-in-command, whatever one wanted to refer to it as.

[doki]

Doki gulped, as the female wolves had noticed him. His little tails twitched nervously and he looked around wildly. When they spoke of him, he flinched, but did not move. They slowly seemed to be ignoring him, which is what he wanted. He didn't like to be put on the spot. "Well... They don't seem mean..." His thoughts trailed as his body shook, the cold beginning to get to him.

The little Yagi wolf drew in a deep breath before slowly lifting his paw. He careful pawed his way around the mass of snow, his head low and his eyes on the ground. His ears twitched nervously around the females, as he didn't move any farther that where his paws were planted. "H..H-Hello.." He stuttered, looking up for only a moment before his gaze went back to the snow. He pawed at the ground softly, hoping they weren't looking at him and his awkward Yagi appearance.

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[Cypress]

Cypress went a little rigid at the brunt response, it seemed that this Kirra was as abrasive as herself. Though the fact that this was supposedly an accepting place made her soften a little. "Love? How can a place be built from love? There isn't much in this world." It was clear that she was bitter about something in her life. She had shielded eyes that hid a deeply rooted hurt.

She clears her throat, she wanted to change the subject, "I'm Cypress" She dips her head slightly in respect, it seemed that this wolf was not entirely comfortable in approaching her. Cypress saw herself reflected a little in the other, smaller female. It was a little encouraging that she was not the smallest wolf, though she knew Kirra was a different species. She was not close enough to the male to see what he was just yet.

The silence was a little too much, Cypress was interested in acceptance, but her pride was choking her, keeping her from being inquisitive. Her intense eyes cast down to the ground, she notices her bloody paw prints from turning around. She was not going to be chased away, but she didn't quite want to be leave at the moment. She was cold, hungry and lost. Not to mention very tried, her endurance was great, but she had not eaten in over a week and had barely stopped for water. She coughs again, "Uh...Kirra, was it? You don't happen to know of any good hunting near by, would you? It's been a while, and I am a little on edge."

Her ears flicker again and she starts a little as the male finally approaches and speaks. She didn't hear him come up. Her eyes widen when she notices that he had horns...."You are a Yagi?" she could not believe it, there was one out there that was smaller than her! She could not help but allow a little glow to show in her eyes. She had been cast out of her home land because she was smaller than average. She was on the very end of the scale, and that was not good enough for her family so they had shunned her....Maybe this tundra place was not so bad.....

[kerplunk]

KIRRALEY

The she-wolf seemed to relax a bit when Kirraley explained more on the pack, so it confirmed Kirra’s suspicions of her being afraid they were going to run her off, she felt slightly guilty for having come off harsh but she didn’t let it show. Kirraley was a hypocrite, she hated rude creatures, yet she herself wasn’t always the nicest of beings, it wasn’t like she intended to, just after a life of mostly solitude interactions with other’s wasn’t her strong suit. She sighed inwardly and tried to push off the hard exterior, unfortunately it wasn’t a particularly easy thing to do and it was something she had trouble with. Then the she-wolf snapped out a rather bitter comment on the pack being built on love, though Kirra tried not to show it she was laughing inside.

“It’s unusual, but she only wants to behold a home for all to have, somewhere anyone despite appearance, size, attitude, besides all of those bits and pieces that make up an individual, somewhere to call home.” Kirraley answered with a straight face, although it was hard, she had to admit she herself had her disbeliefs on the way this pack might work. She wasn’t going to question it though, she had already sworn her loyalty to Bathsheba in the simple word, “Okay”. The memory of it sent an icey trickle of worry up Kirra’s spine, she was still having difficulty accepting it, but she knew she wouldn’t leave or abandon her leader, she was one of the most loyal wolves one might encounter, mainly because she doesn’t want what happened to her to happen to anyone else.

Kirraley had to say she was softening to the she-wolf, Cypress, as she had called herself, it seemed that the two had a lot in common, she was bitter inside but she wasn’t willing to speak badly of her pack, despite the want to express her opinion. Then she asked about food, Kirraley came to the assumption that the she-wolf had been traveling for awhile now. Kirra hadn’t lived here long enough to know everything, but she had caught the scent of small foxes, those wouldn’t be too difficult to catch and though they were small it would replenish some of the vitamins and nutrients that Cypress needed. “Well I know where there was a scent of foxes not to far from here.” Kirra made a motion in the direction of which she had smelled it. “It’s not big, but its enough to get your strength up and well.” Kirra added. “Once your ready, if you so desire, then I would be willing to go with you hunting for bigger game, I don’t usually go for actual food nearly as much as I go for having fun and no doubt, once you meet Bathsheba, she’ll offer you a home here on Ivare Tundra.” Kirra finished, just in time too, as the male finally approached.

His shaky hello softened Kirra’s hard exterior and made her realize he didn’t need the tough rather rude Kirra she presented everyone. She looked to him her gaze soft and replied, “Hello.” The simple word wasn’t much but it offered comfort and she wasn’t rude at all. Though it seemed Cypress was much more excited with the male’s appearance as he was Yagi. Kirra looked and realized that they both had horns, much like Sheba’s, then she realized that was what the species was named, Yagi. “Bathsheba, our leader, is Yagi as well.” Kirra added, it was more of a surprised comment as she had just learned something new, then quieted down for the last time.

[doki]

Little Doki shivered nervously as he felt their eyes hot on his fur. He knew they were looking at him and his ears were plastered to his head. Especially when the female Yagi asked if he really was one of her species, his lip quivered and he took a step back. He didn't want to get laughed at.. He knew that he was very odd in appearance. His stubbed tails were also stuck to his body, as he was very scared at the moment.

Though, when the non-Yagi femme spoke, he felt just a tad more relaxed. Her voice was soothing and he enjoyed hearing the voice. "M-mhm.." He murmured, his mouth closed. He looked shyly at them, not quite sure of what to do. With a hesitant step, he opened his maw to speak.

"I'm... D-Do..kimer.." He said slowly, his voice quieting the more he spoke. He knew he had a stupid name, he had been made fun of it a lot. "B-But you can c-call me.. Doki.." He said finally, nodded to them before fidgeting again. He swayed where he stood, trying to think of what to do next. Would they laugh at his name? Should he run? For the moment, he didn't move at all.

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[Cypress]

Cypress tilts her head slightly toward Kirraley at the mention of Bathsheba. She wondered how big she was. She hoped that she was accepting as it sounded. She looks to Doki as he finally speaks more than two words, that was interesting, Cypress almost expected him to wet himself right there. She noticed he shrunk back at how surprised she was that he was one of her own. "Er, I am only surprised because you are small, like me. All the yagi I have met are larger than me, aside pups, you know?" She stops, hoping she was not scaring him, "I'm Cupressus, " She felt the need to use her full name for him, she could not place why, "You can call me, Cypress."

With that, she allows for a slight smile to cross her maw, despite her fatigue, maybe she could be nice. Plus, being warm seemed to calm the male down. She turns back to look at Kirra, "As for hunting...I would not mind company..." she glances at the male too, inviting him to join silently. However, she had to swallow her pride, she knew she would not be good at hunting alone today, "I have hurt my paw on the ice...so I may need some help." Her ears flatten when she says that and she casts a glance to the ground ,she hated asking for help, it made her feel weak.

[kerplunk]

KIRRALEY
^{advisor to Balkamir Yikaxy Empire}

A metallic scent wafted to Kirraley’s nose, one she recognized as blood, then as she glanced around for the source, she noticed something she hadn’t before, Cypress was injured, on her paw’s. Kirra felt a pang inside, she had been rude to this wolf at first, it wasn’t right, obviously she was near exhaustion and here Kirra was giving her a seemingly hard time. She didn’t ponder on it too much as the wolf male started to speak as did Cypress, so she listened to both in turn, but she could tell the male wolf was nervous. What surprised her was he seemed to enjoy and relax slightly at Kirraley’s voice, the oddity of it made Kirra pause. She had never had someone actually really seem to enjoy her… It made her stop really, all her thoughts revolving around the reaction he had given her. Dokimer was his name, she smiled and opened her mouth to introduce herself, but first she waited til Cypress finished her introduction.

“I’m Kirraley,” She said in the same sweet voice as before, her gaze soft. “But you can call me Kirra.” Then she turned to Cypress as she talked about hunting. The she-wolf was seemingly embarrassed that she had to ask for help, Kirra had empathy in that case, she herself didn’t particularly like asking for help. So to perhaps make it easier on her Kirra did her best to shrug it off as though it was normal and didn’t bother her a bit. “Yea, sure that’d be great.” Then after that she decided to address the injury that Cypress talked about. “You can stay here in Ivare Tundra until you’re better, if you want, of course.” She said kind of awkwardly, she hadn’t had a moment where she was nervous about these kinds of invitations and such in a long time, in fact she couldn’t really remember a time she was in a case like this. Then suddenly remembering Doki she turned to him with the same soft gaze and said sweetly, “The invitation is to you as well, though you aren’t injured, your welcome to stay as long as you want. As a guest or if you’d like to join the Balkamir Yikaxy Empire.” She said softly “That goes for you as well, Cypress.” She said shyly to the she-wolf, consider this her offer of friendship as well.

Kirraley didn’t remember there ever being a wolf she would consider a friend, or anyone for that matter that she would call a friend. She was used to the hard exterior, but getting into this pack was starting to get to her head. She had to go have a pep talk with herself, she had to get her head back on straight, she couldn’t let this pack change who she was in terms of personality. In fact, she liked the way she was, it kept her safe from any mental pain. The physical part of pain she could deal with, it was something she didn’t mind and in fact had a soft enjoyment for pain she could fix. When it came to the mentality side of things, those were things that only time could heal and even then time didn’t always fix the pain, it was always there lurking in the back of your mind waiting to pop up.

[doki]

Dokimer kept quiet as they introduced their names. He continued to sway back and forth, waiting for an opportunity to open his mouth and talk. Though, he bit his lip, considering whether he should or not. What if he said something stupid? He kept his head low, eyes looking up to the females and immediatly back down again. When Kirra said the invatation to hunt was for him too, he twitched nervously.

"I.. I..." He couldn't bring himself to speak as he gazed endlessly at the snow. His ears were still plastered to his head. After a long pause from him, he finally brought his gaze to meet her soft eyes and slowly nodded. "I... Think I-I will..." He murmured quietly, thinking it over. He wanted to see this empire, and this Bathsheba she kept speaking of, but was very scared of what he might find.

The little Yagi looked to Cypress, feeling a little closer to her rather than the other female. He nodded slowly to her, his wide eyes flicking back to the ground once again. He knew what she ment. He was most likely the smallest Yagi anyone had ever seen. His paw scrapped at the ground, tails twitching. He moved his paws back and forth, making patterns in the snow. His attention eventually drifted from the females and he became more relaxed, intent on his pattern-making that had no particular reason at all.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Cypress]

Cypress lifts her eyes back up to Kirra, feeling a little less closed off. She picks up her paw and examines it. "I think a rest will be nice. " She glances between the two, "we could hunt now, perhaps get better acquainted with this land?" She was trying to express her thanks, and maybe even show that she was open for friendship.

The cut on her foot was clotting, but she was not entirely sure if it would hinder hunting just yet. She had not really felt the pain because her paws had been numbed by the cold. She stands up to test it, she grimaces slightly but tries her best to conceal it. Her poorly docked tail lowers, accepting the fact she was in the presence of a ranking wolf, she was still a lone wolf at this point in time.

Her intense green eyes fall back on Doki, taking in his appearance, she also felt a closer connection to him, surely he had seen what she had, at least in some way shape or form.

[kerplunk]

KIRRALEY
^{advisor to Balkamir Yikaxy Empire}

There was most obviously a connection between the two, caused mostly by them being the same species, Kirra wondered if she might find that connection with someone of her kind. She felt a slight pang of jealousy but she shrugged it off, reminding herself that connections weren’t something she wanted to make, they broke to easily and most often once being connected an attachment formed and usually when it broke it left you bleeding. Kirraley switched her train of thoughts to wonder where Bathsheba might be, she had smelled a unfamiliar smell, but it intermingled with Bathsheba’s, Kirra decided that once she left these two she might go find her Empress. Kirra knew better than to get distracted when she was around two wolves she had just met and barely knew, least of all trust. So without further thought on the topics that ran through her mind she turned her attention onto the two, in a few seconds her tough layer was built back up and she was back to herself again.

Dokimer accepted her offer hesitantly, Kirra nodded her head in acknowledgement, then turned to Cypress who was just beginning to take her up on her offer. Once she had accepted she asked if Kirra wanted to go ahead and get started hunting, so to get better acquainted with the land. It hadn’t occurred to her that Cypress needed to hunt now, but after the question she did realize it was obvious, Cypress was in need of some good nutrition for her body. Kirraley knew she would go with the she-wolf, but this put a dent in her plans to go find her boss. “Alright, the scent of the foxes came from a few miles south of here.” She said finally after a few minutes of silence. She was weighing her options inside her head, debating on what she would do, but it wasn’t too hard of a decision, she had after all agreed to go hunting with Cypress.

“Doki, are you planning on coming with us?” She asked the timid male wolf, looking over at him, the hard exterior that had rebuilt itself being torn down into a sweet gaze that she tried hard to resist giving. Kirraley couldn’t bring herself to try being harsh towards him, he didn’t deserve it.

[doki]

Dokimer looks hesitantly from wolf to wolf as the attention was put back on him. He twitched timidly as Cypress stared at him, as if her eyes burning into his pelt. And then Kirraley looked to him, but he found that her gaze was soft and offered kindness to him. He stared at his paws, bitting his lip as he searched for words. "Y-Yes.." He finally spoke quietly, looking shyly up at the two females.

The Yagi male slightly lifted his head, feeling a bit more relaxed around them now. He took a deep breath, taking a little paw step forward. "I-I would like to c-come with you..." His ears lifted as he realized that he was finally around other wolves, and they weren't laughing at him. His tails wagged in a strange motion, almost jerkingly; but they were still wagging. A shy little smile peeked at the corners of his mouth as he blushed for no particular reason. Well, they aren't mean.. Why don't I go with them? It will do me good... He nodded softly, waiting for another reply.

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