Joining the Kingdom

[gi]

Gi stepped lightly through the harsh sand. Her long legs let her walk from the woods all the way out here. She had come to join a pack and there was a new pack here. Whether or not they would accept her was another matter.
Her long attennae wavered as a hard gust blew. Gi lowered her head and mustered through. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. How anyone could live here was beyond her. But her sisters were counting on her. She would never go back.
As the wind slowly died she reached a patch of beach grass. An unknown wolf had left its scent here. Probably one of the pack. She breathed in the scent. With her target acquired she set off down the dunes. Soon she saw pawprints ahead.
Gi trotted now and looked ahead. Where were they? The scent was faint but it was close. The Sennyo turned around and pondered by an open fennec fox den that had been cleared away. Then she noticed that the pack scent was all around her. North and east too. Hmm she thought. Then she got a tingly feeling. Positive that she was onto something she crawled into the fox cave. Yes the scent was in here too. Very heavy.
The females ears flattened. This was it. As she got in deeper she found she could stand up again. The scent was almost upon her.
"You there!" she shouted. "I am Gi of the Wood. I have come to join your pack and to find new friends. Shall you accept me?"

[maat]

Heavy footfalls and the stench of decay trailed behind her every step. Ma'at was headed deeper into the territory, exploring the lands she'd just claimed as her own. She had little reason to worry about heat stroke or exhaustion, her body long past its expiration date. As such, her stamina had yet to wane as she set her course towards the pack's dens. It was not a good idea to leave the slave unattended for too long.

But as she walked, a rather strange scent caught her nose. This particular land was coated in the stench of a family of foxes. The desert was large and she had yet to mark all of her boarders with the scent of death, so it was not surprisingly that this particular area was not yet fully fortified. What caught her attention, however, was the smell of a female somewhere within her presence.

A growl rumbled low in her throat as she began to pursue the intruder. Sure her claim was still new and her pack not quite a pack, but Ma'at was not one to tolerate trespassing. There was another in her lands unannounced. But as she passed a small fox hole where the stranger's scent was strongest, she couldn't help but let out a raspy chuckle. A feminine voice echoed from its opening, demanding acceptance. How strange, a wolf wanted to join a family of foxes!

The Mortui poked her head into the fox hole, for that was the only part of her large build she could manage to fit without having to dig. She was still too close to the surface to see whoever it was that was in there. Her voice carried well enough, however, as she shouted back to the stranger. "Ey now, there's a new 'un. Ya smell too much like wolf t'be makin' a 'ome wit' foxes."

[gi]

Gi looks up confused. Then she shakes her head as she realizes her mistake. She was following the scent not the wolf. How could she be so stupid? Gi shakes the dust from her auburn fur and pads out of the fox den. Now she could finally meet the pack member she had been tracking.

"Excuse me," she says as she approaches the wolf. "I was only following your scent. I thought that you were in there."
Gi waited for the wolf to say something. She had not made all that great of an impression and might not be accepted. Now all she could do was wait for the Mortui to reply. The Mortui reeked of death and decay. Gi stuggled to not wrinkle up her nose in disgust. True it was rotting but could it not at least take a bath? Was this the leader of the desert pack? She wondered how anyone could have enough pride to lead a pack in such a state as that.

[Fahrenheit°]

When was the last time I was here? It was when I tried to kill myself with a heatstroke...That was this desert wasn't it? It's impossible to tell...it was smaller back then and wolves had called it Valadir.

Fahrenheit's body showed no signs of yesterday's abuse. The gaping wounds across his neck had vanished; his tail had grown back to it's full length; even his intestines were back in their proper place in his stomach. His most recent suicide attempt had failed yet again. Fahrenheit was not surprised, however. He had lost hope along time ago that he would ever end his unnaturally long life.

Fahrenheit trudged slowly across the painted sands of the desert , unaware that it had recently been claimed. He hadn't even considered a wolf wanting these lands a possibility. Who would want these shifting sands as a home? It was so...barren. Who could feel safe? No one. There were dragons here. They loved the desert. And that was why Fahrenheit had returned. He hoped to recruit a dragon to tear him apart. He had gotten one to do it before, but this time he would ask the dragon to eat him. Maybe he can get two different dragons to eat him!

On his way to a known dragon's den, Fahrenheit came across a curious scent. A scent that he hadn't smelled in a long while. He grinned at the invisible scent trail, seeing another chance to get help with death. He followed the scent to a decaying female with her head in a Fox's den. "My lady, why ever do you have your head in that hole?" Fahrenheit slipped easily into the role of a handsome young stranger. He had played this role more times then he had fur on his body.

He looked over the undead wolf, feeling a kindred spirit. They did not die, just as he did not die. Mortui were his favorite type of wolf, but he had seen one for at least a hundred years. He grinned at her, taking no notice to her terrible smell of looks.

[maat]

The approach of a gentleman pulled her attention. Pulling her head from the den's small opening, she cocked it to one side curiously, red eyes scanning his redder form. That raspy chuckle parted her lips again as she gave her body a harsh shake, dislodging stray fur and a tooth or two. Her bones popped noisily as she stretched, a tell-tale sign of her older age and the stiffness of her dying body. Yet still she grinned, backing up from the hole enough to let whoever was in there climb back out.

"Patience, m'boy," her voice croaked, eyes returning to the hole. In a matter of minutes a Sennyo appeared from the underground depths. No wonder the creature had so easily fit. A Sennyo's body was much thinner and lighter than the build of a Lupus (the base of the Mortui's genetic twist). Where Ma'at could not fit, this dainty female could travel with ease.

The undying female rose to her full height now that both parties were gathered, and an intimidating picture she made. Only half her teeth lined the gums of her mouth, one ear hanging limping against her head by a few strands of flesh. Her colorful fur was matted in the places she was not balding. At least she had no gaping holes in her sides from which organs could spill, the maintenance she'd performed on herself earlier patching up those little imperfections. The confidence she carried herself with, however, and the comfort she had with her own body was enough to clearly mark her as the ruler of these lands.

"Ey now, strangers. What business 'ave you in my lands. I am t'Pharaoh, Ma'at, servant of t'igh Deity Apocalypse. Welcome to t'Kingdom of t'eru-Bes."

[gi]

Gi bowed, her nose touching the ground. So this was the pack's great Pharaoh.
"Oh Ma'at, supreme ruler of these lands!" she announced. "I, thouest not worthy of thee, but I am willing under your glorious reign to serve thee, to worship thy gods, and be of your followers. Art thou willing to accept a loyal follower that shant think twice about sacrificing hisself? For, if thou is, he must look no further. I Gi am willing to fulfill that role.

"O great and powerul wolf! Pharaoh of the pharaohs! Gi seeks to humbly serve thee. I shall obey your every command. I shall rejoice with you when our enemies fall! I will bleed for you, live and breathe for you, and in the end die for you. All I ask is that you will accept me into your pack. I ask not for love or respect. Just to serve under your rule."

Gi looked up, her body still in a bow. The Mortui stood over her. Her heart beat erratically against her light pink chest. She noted what a pitiful and weak position she was in. This large thickly built wolf could kill her in seconds. She might kill her too. Ma'at probably would not mind a new hide that was not aged and matted.

[Fahrenheit°]

Fahrenheit had gained excellent control of his facial expressions over his long life, but he could not help but to crack a smile at the Sennyo's long-winded speech. "Are you serious?" He chuckled. "That was a bit much, wasn't it?" He shook his head.

He was a bit biased towards Sennyo. He had loved one a long time ago, and she tore his heart out. Now he treated all Sennyo with contempt, even though it would be in his best interests to befriend them since they lived longer then any other wolves. He shook his head again, clearing his mind of the past. Of her.

He turned his head toward Ma'at, his face contrite. "Sorry, my lady, I was unaware that this land had been claimed. Please, you can punish me however you wish for trespassing." He paused and considered Ma'at. It had been a long time since he got to be in the company of a delightful Mortui. He looked over her walking corpse, and decided that it was about time to start a new game. He had never tried to join a religious pack before...it might be fun.

"The great Apocalypse, you say? Surely, not the Apocalypse." He said, letting surprise and delight cross his face. "I have heard of his greatness even in the north, where I'm from. Dear Pharaoh, how about I join your pack, so I too, can serve the great and revered Apocalypse." He assembled his face to appear earnest, and he bowed his head. "It would give me great honor."

Fahrenheit was lying his ass of. He had never heard of Apocalypse. But he was certain that he could pull this lie off, and if he couldn't then hopefully the Pharaoh would try to kill him, and it would work.