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Post by poseidon on Nov 14, 2009 10:44:40 GMT -5
"Yes, Captain." Pos replied to Cypress. Her cold stare gave him a feeling of despair. He felt the wind pick up again and shivered. He lowered his head and pinned his ears back. He walked with shame. What had he done?
He was led to the prisoner dens and he layed down, feeling ashamed and trying to solve the question of how to prove, and better yet, impove, himself.
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Bathsheba
Loner
[M:350][A:4]
Spigot
Posts: 218
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Post by Bathsheba on Nov 14, 2009 11:35:20 GMT -5
[atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,420,true][atrb=background,http://i37.tinypic.com/p60eo.png] Sheba smiled because it seemed that this new wolf showed the degree of respect that the new Empress was looking for. She put her weight more towards her back end as she raised a paw in a pointing gesture toward the two wolves she had sent to the dens. “See them? They are of my pack? And see what happens when one does not realize his full potential and thinks he’s at the top of his game.” She leveled her eye to the Lupus female. “You don’t seem to be such a fool.” Burning eyes. They held such a fiery expression—that of a true leader’s.
“If it’s just a home you seek, then you can make a den in a random cave. If you want a place to stay, you have my permission to stay here. But. If you truly want to serve under the grandeur of the Empire, then you have already been accepted.” Sheba smiled.
“You were a Lupus, strong in your magics.” Sheba’s smile grew. “A power that can take the muscled brute to his grave. A soldier. I’ve had to face one of your kind before. I’m happy to have one on my side.” And she gave Forestia a new rank. And a new pack. Then, she started to pad towards the den. The new wolves had been accepted.
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Post by branded on Nov 27, 2009 18:04:42 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true] | [atrb=background,http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq94/NuckyGirl/wolfeh-9.png] "Wait!" chimed a small voice. "Empress! Empress Bathsheeba!"
There was a loud splash and a whimper as a Cael dragged herself out of the water and onto the riverbank. Her hooked claws scrabbled against the slippery lakeside and she brought her tail down hard into the water to propel herself further. When her paws found purchase, she hauled herself upwards and into the mud, but her progress slowed to a crawl.
"Hang on, darling! I'm coming!" she yelled. "Be a dear and wait, would you?"
She lifted her long, silver tail and swung it from side to side, sending waves of mud across the grass. She began to inch forward again, slowly at first, and then she was racing through the sand with the speed of a bullet, as quickly as if she were swimming in water. By the time she reached Forestia, she was running hard on all fours, and she flew past Poseidon, her paws barely touching the ground. Even when she reached Bathsheba, her dripping legs tirelessly pumping underneath her body, she was still running.
Sabire careened into the edge of the forest, her eyes stretched wide and her tail streaking behind her like a banner. Where were the brakes on these clumsy land legs? A sudden swerve to the right brought her straight into a thicket of withering bracken where there was a tremendous crash, followed closely by a succession of small snaps as the dry branches broke beneath her weight. Then there was silence.
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Bathsheba
Loner
[M:350][A:4]
Spigot
Posts: 218
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Post by Bathsheba on Nov 28, 2009 23:31:44 GMT -5
[atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,420,true][atrb=background,http://i37.tinypic.com/p60eo.png]
Sheba lazily turned an ear backwards as she heard a faint sound. Thinking nothing of it, she slowed and said, “You guys go on ahead.” Her voice was separated in pants. And the leader dropped to the back as a silver streak flashed by. Her ears pricked curiously as she limped to find a balance and turn her head toward the anonymous shape.
“Wolf?”
It was more an inquiry than anything. Sheba truly didn’t know. The dull green Empress gave a sigh and said, “Get out of the brush.” Her heavy frame limped toward the prickly, dry branches. Sheba gave a low growl, not knowing what to expect, but also not knowing if she could take it. It was an unstoppable force from what she had seen—half sliding on the ice and half flying through the tundra.
She then stomped and stopped before the brush, her rusty eyes focused on the brush, as if to summon the wolf that was hidden inside. Come out. Come out. The female wolf narrowed her eyes distrustfully. “Anthony? Ready yourself.” Her mate’s empty head was slung over her shoulder, the slitted eyes watching unseeingly.
Ready yourself.
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Post by branded on Nov 29, 2009 8:51:03 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true] | [atrb=background,http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq94/NuckyGirl/wolfeh-9.png]
"Argh!"
The Cael struggled in the undergrowth, clawing desperately at the brambles as they encircled her writhing body and pulled tight, embedding frozen thorns into her sides. She rolled on the ice and kicked out at random, but the thicket refused to let go of its prize, and with a mighty groan, it dragged her back into the shrubbery. In the darkness, she thrashed against the branches--outstretched as if to embrace her--but only managed to get herself trapped in a messy tangle of thorny tendrils. Blood trickled slowly down her pelt, mixing with sweat.
"Help!" At last she gave up to the protests of her aching muscles, and swallowing her pride, or what was left of it at this point, she howled with the last of her strength. "Help! My dear, are you out there? Oh, please, help!"
Dear me, what will the Empress think of me now? She'll think that I'm daft! She'll spurn me right here, in front of all these wolves! Oh, the shame. The shame! she thought bitterly, tears forming in her eyes. Perhaps I shouldn't have come here. Yes, Caels are not meant to leave the water. The Great Spirit is punishing me for going against the very core of my nature.
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Bathsheba
Loner
[M:350][A:4]
Spigot
Posts: 218
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Post by Bathsheba on Nov 30, 2009 11:56:31 GMT -5
[atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,420,true][atrb=background,http://i37.tinypic.com/p60eo.png]
Sheba gave a quiet growl as she settled Anthony on her shoulders. The voice of the wolf—a distressed and frustrated sound escaped the brush. The massive Empress took a tentative step forward. She wasn’t being cowardly; she was being careful. And then, a cry for help. Bathsheba smiled as she easily strode up to the brush. Finally, she saw the white wolf trapped in the thorns. Sheba gave a heavy sigh and muttered, “Pathetic.”
She heaved herself, not to help the entangled female, but to watch. Her fiery eyes watched quietly. “If I help you, how can you learn to help yourself?” The Empress walked slowly, circling the trapped wolf. She could smell the blood and crinkled her nose at the scent.
And Sheba didn’t realize the irony in her words. She was a washed-out facsimile of herself—a mere shadow of what she used to be. She set her dead mate on her shoulders. She was overweight and broken. And she was telling this Cael wolf to help herself.
Help yourself!
But she drowned out that simple command. Right now, she was perfect as she was. She was delusional.
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Post by branded on Nov 30, 2009 15:29:58 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true] | [atrb=background,http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq94/NuckyGirl/wolfeh-9.png]
"Pathetic."
Two silver eyes, ensnared in the brambles, flashed like jewels.
"If I help you, how can you learn to help yourself?
"Empress, I beg your pardon, but why don't you help yourself as well?" Sabire hissed. She was not one to take a direct insult passively. "Females need a dainty figure, but you-," at this, she attempted to look down her nose at the mammoth wolf, but her position made it extremely awkward, "-you bring shame to our gender. Those horns need sanding, too. Oh, and don't get me started on your hair."
She rolled her eyes, and squirmed. The thicket sagged a bit before letting the Cael free with a sigh, ignoring her as she tumbled across the dirt. She skidded to a jolting halt in front of Bathsheba.
When she realized that she had stopped, Sabire jumped to her paws and quickly regained her composure, casually drawing a salmon pink tongue down her shoulder to lick her wounds as if the embarrassing past few minutes had not happened. Perhaps Bathsheba would catch on and do the same.
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Bathsheba
Loner
[M:350][A:4]
Spigot
Posts: 218
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Post by Bathsheba on Dec 1, 2009 15:38:34 GMT -5
[atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,420,true][atrb=background,http://i37.tinypic.com/p60eo.png]
Sheba gave a lupine scowl. She already didn’t like this wolf who thought of herself so highly as to back talk to her. “I can bring shame to no one but myself—my family and loves are dead… except dear Anthony. Get off of my lands if the only thing you can do is insult me.” She narrowed her eyes and sat on her haunches, too fat and too lazy to start moving really. She growled then and turned her back to the female. Crooked spikes poked haphazard through unruly fur and her ruined posture made her large stomach look even paunchier. She wasn’t one to follow the intricacies of the unspoken language—that of gestures and expressions. Instead, she said, haughtily, “Besides, you never needed my help.”
She turned around on her heels. However, a small thought did tug on her mind. She let Anthony roll off of her back and watched his slitted eyes. They seemed demonically pensive, and completely focused. They were burning a hole in her hide—figuratively of course. The Empress let a small growl escape her throat and then turned Anthony over so that the back of his pelt lay on the ground in a heap.
Sheba gave a slobbery lick to her paw and then wiped her bangs down so that it was wet with her drool. Downcast eyes showed a sense of hopelessness. She scowled again at her Anthony. She left him there and then said, “You look like some china doll. And you expect me to follow suit!” She stomped the ground, paced angrily, and stopped.
Her eyes looked skyward before she let the forbidden words roll off of her tongue. “Then again, I did used to be a pretty wolf. Ask Anthony. It’s the reason we became mates.” She threw her baleful gaze to the female Cael. “You believe me… don’t you?”
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Post by branded on Dec 2, 2009 4:17:07 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true] | [atrb=background,http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq94/NuckyGirl/wolfeh-9.png]
Her eyes gleamed with a guarded intensity, shining like pearls.
"Hah," she sniffed haughtily, her nose in the air. "Dear, no one would believe such a thing, but I-," she paused dramatically, hoping to add a touch of suspense before going on, "-I can make you beautiful. I can make the Lupine, your subjects, worship you on their knees. The birds shall drop from the sky at your feet just to gaze upon you. The fish will throw themselves in your path just for the chance to feel the touch of your lips."
A large smile graced her face, revealing small, pointed fangs. She herself was an example of her skills. Her silver fur was long and silky, her eyes lustrous, and her frame was filled out and curvy, much unlike Bathsheba’s round chubbiness. Roses blossomed on her cheeks, flattering her face with a healthy pink glow. Her Lupine tail was a feathery plume, as if she had plucked a cloud from the heavens and fastened it there.
“Allow me to transform you, Empress. Give me food, water, shelter, and a permanent home in your residence, and I shall set into motion the metamorphosis that is long overdue.” She snapped her jaws to punctuate her point, her teeth making a series of sharp clicks as they interlocked. “Make your choice, my dear. Will you stay as an insatiable, insignificant caterpillar, or will you become a beautiful butterfly?”
Her greed made her eyes cold and hard, and made her expression seem almost menacing. Do it. Her eyes burned holes into Bathsheba’s coat, just over her shoulder where the pelt of her deceased mate was usually seated. Take my offer and become what you were meant to become... in exchange for power, of course.
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Bathsheba
Loner
[M:350][A:4]
Spigot
Posts: 218
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Post by Bathsheba on Dec 2, 2009 15:13:25 GMT -5
[atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,420,true][atrb=background,http://i37.tinypic.com/p60eo.png]
The new wolf gave the Empress dreaming thoughts as she went through a poetic overview of what used to be… and what she promised could be again. Anthony stared empty-eyed to his once-mate. She jut her chest out proudly, “And?” Her and nestled in the whirlwind of thought that the Cael produced and was lost.
And what?
And then, Sheba realized what the Cael was saying.
Sheba lowered her ears as the Cael continued a merciless assault on her self esteem. The Empress gave a sad sigh as the words pricked bleeding marks in her already-broken heart. She roared to life. She was like a machine revving up and beginning her own raging retaliation. “I’m not insignificant, you damn fool.” And her hissing words slithered into the air with disturbing force.
“If beauty is so important, then why are you begging me for a place to stay?” Sheba stood up, tall and straight. Her overweight body seemed to be just a tad slimmer as she regained a leaderlike and proud posture. However, it didn’t have much of an effect on the way she looked—more on the power she exuded. She was Bathsheba! An ex-commander, a former mother, and most of all, a present Empress!
“Let me tell you,” and here, Sheba reversed the situation with a gleaming, slightly insane smile, “Let me tell you, insignificant caterpillar, that I’ve fought wars. This broken horn, speaks volumes of what I used to be.” She gestured a paw to her half-horn. “These eyes! Can’t you see the glory that once was?” And her embery gaze burned a hole through the female.
“Let me tell you that you do not know anything of what it means to be worth something. You are nothing more than a knickknack. A small item that is best forgotten and that one should merely toss to the side!” She roared to the female.
“If you change yourself, you can expect me to revise my views. I do wish to be what I used to be. I know what I am now. But right now, I’m a leader and a wolf isn’t able to speak poison to a leader without expecting her tongue to be cut off.” She leveled her gaze. “Speak down to me again and I’ll make damn sure that you can’t speak again.” She nodded as her words exploded forth; her desires became known, and her mind echoed with such reverberating strength that they resounded in a perpetual reflection of thought-noise.
Sheba settled down. “Still, such audacity must be rewarded.” The dusky green Empress smiled as she walked to her Anthony and picked him up. She set him upon her back with a tenderness that was a sure display of the love they once shared—one whose whispers she still entertained with an almost religious faithfulness.
“You seem a perfect member of this pack. I’m not above learning from you if you aren’t too pig-headed to reform yourself to reach your potential.” Her eyes softened to a maternal light and she bowed her head before raising her head again—as if she needed to do that to establish the momentum to move forward. She moved, heavy step-by-heavy step, toward the den.
Mentally. Emotionally. Sheba was at a standstill.
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ooc: I really think your wolf fits as a second advisor I love her personality. It complements Sheba greatly and will be fun. Two advisors seem great too
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Post by branded on Dec 3, 2009 4:04:18 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true] | [atrb=background,http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq94/NuckyGirl/wolfeh-9.png]
Sabire, with much effort on her part, kept her gaze steady as Bathsheba drew herself to her full height and loomed over the Cael, a tower of unruly hair and malicious spines. She sensed the Yagi’s anger flare and burn like fire. Preparing for what was to come, she planted her feet firmly on the ground and dug her claws into the forest floor.
“I’m not insignificant, you damn fool.”
She felt her ears flick back.
“If beauty is so important, then why are you begging me for a place to stay?”
At this, Bathsheba stood up impossibly tall and straight, her chest visibly swelling with pride. All Sabire could do was blink. She was lost for words.
What had happened to the wolf? What had inspired such an abrupt change in her? She didn’t seem as if she wanted to fold up within herself and disappear, as if she wanted to run off into the darkest corner at the end of the world and weep. Not in the slightest. Now she was regal, majestic even. The combination of her bulk and height was awe-inspiring.
She exuded power, and her voice demanded obedience.
”Let me tell you, let me tell you, insignificant caterpillar, that I’ve fought wars. This broken horn speaks volumes of what I used to be. These eyes! Can’t you see the glory that once was?
Unable to help herself, Sabire leaned in towards the scowling wolf as near as she dared, deaf to the wolf’s vehement words. For once, she was actually looking at Bathsheba, studying her closely with searching eyes, and indeed, she found that which she had not before.
The wild, feverish sparks dancing in her eyes, the dignified carriage, had they always been there?
“-tongue to be cut off.”
She jerked back, her tail lashing at the ground in apprehension. Did she hear right? Did the Empress just say that she was going to have her tongue? Her heart quivered and fear pricked at the back of her mind, asking her body to run for it—to flee to the safety of the water. At the corners of her eyes, Sabire glanced at the sparkling lake, her stomach twisting itself into knots as an overwhelming wave of homesickness suddenly washed over her.
She felt nauseas sitting still without the gentle motion of the water to rock her back and forth in its familiar, comforting rhythm. The air was too thin on land, and the gills beside her throat were starting to dry up. Water, she thought, yearning dreamily of the brush of seaweed and the roughness of sand. Oh, what I wouldn’t give just to taste the water again! But Bathsheba commanded her attention.
“You seem a perfect member of this pack. I’m not above learning from you if you aren’t too pig-headed to reform yourself to reach your potential.”
Then, Bathsheba dipped her head in a small bow and turned around. Her heart seemed to stop beating in its tracks, her lungs unable to supply enough oxygen. Her eyes widened with each step Bathsheba took, realization slowly creeping in. She was in!
Even though she knew that Bathsheba could not possibly see her--unless she had eyes in the back of her head, which was an accurate thought considering the things one could hide in such tangled, overgrown fur—Sabire returned the bow but bent lower, the tip of her nose touching the grass.
“Thank you, Empre-” she stopped short, wondering whether “dear” would be suitable now that she was servant and Bathsheba was mistress.
After a moment of intense arguing with herself, Sabire just let her words hang in the air as she stared after the black speck of her Empress. Perhaps, one day, Sabire would help her, after all, who was more fit, more able, to transform a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly, no matter how fat or green—or grand—it was.
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ooc: Lol. Thanks for the promotion, Empress Spick. We shall see how this goes.
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