Orphans of Battles Past (Invited Members Only)

[falkryn]

Falkryn watched the situation unfold. She didn't like much that Keiaki seemed to pose a threat. That was until he opened his mouth. She mentally relaxed, he sounded nice enough. The way his long tail coiled into the depths below had been intimidating.
Yahiko once again exchanged introductions. His suggestion about fishing reminded her of seagulls and other sea birds she had seen. How they would sweep down and gulp up their unsuspecting prey. They looked so graceful and their method seemed efficient.

"Should I try it first, Falkryn? To make sure its affective, I mean."
Falkryn nodded, then decided to add,"I would like to try too. It sounds effective."

[verra]

At first, Yahiko and Falkryn seemed a bit intimidated by Keiaki's formidable appearance. As soon as he started talking, showing no signs of wanting to eat them, they seemed more at ease. He certainly had some good ideas for their fishing training. Diving would definitely work better for them than the jump-in-and-chase method that Verra used. She swam around a bit, submerging herself and searching for the koi Keiaki had seen. She could easily make out the glint of scales through the clear ocean. She resurfaced. "Yeah, the fish are right over there," she confirmed, gesturing with her head toward the area they were swimming.

Falkryn's silence was beginning to irritate her. "Should I try it first, Falkryn? To make sure its effective, I mean." The quiet, wind-colored Keiyou hybrid seemed happy letting Yahiko speak for her, but it bothered the Cael. "Why don't you go first, Falkryn?" she suggested. "You'll do fine, I'm sure." She glanced at Yahiko, hoping he wouldn't try to answer for her. Perhaps she was simply more introverted than he was, but Verra was never the type to really think things true. She had decided that Falkryn should be more assertive. Falkryn's opinion was irrelevant.

[yahiko]

"No, let me do it! I already asked. Here, I'll do it now just to show you!." The orange wolf was already in the air before he finished his sentence, coming towards the area that the two Cael had pointed at.
He saw the gleams of fish through the afternoon rays of the sun, and smiled.
"Got 'em!"
After looking for a specific target, an golden koi, he dove down to try to snatch it with his paws. But right then he realized he didnt have any talons like birds did, so when his paws hit it he didn't get the grip and lost his balance in midair.
"Gah!" Was all he exclaimed before he crashed into the water, forcing him to paddle to shore.
He shook his pelt and flapped his wings to remove as much water as possible.

"I'll get it next time!" He exclaimed confidently, taking off into the air again and flying so he was above the koi once again, which were now a little farther from their original position, he could feel his wings being a little heavier from the water soaking into his feathers.
Looks like I'll have to catch it in my jaws.

So he dove down again... And lost balance again, splashing into the water.
This pattern continued to happen about four more times, and even though his body was exhausted, he still wasn't going to give up.
So he took off one more time, and he swore that behind him he heard laughing. Even Falkryn had a sense of humor, he knew.
So he tried it one more time, eyeing a white one with black spots this time, and when he when down close to the water....
He caught the fish in its jaws. He hurriedly flew to shore because koi were heavy fish.
He dropped it onto the sand.
"Got it this time! Your turn, Falkryn. I'm sure you can do it."

[/justify]

[falkryn]

Watching silently as Yuhiko tried time after time she studied his movements in order to correct her own. She knew it would be easier said than done. Figuring it all out in your head is easier than implementing it in your movements but she felt it wiser to do so anyway.
When Yuhiko landed before them with his catch he looked tired but satisfied.
"Got it this time! Your turn, Falkryn. I'm sure you can do it."

Falkryn nodded and stood, giving her wing an experimental flap before pushing off with her hind legs and taking flight. She gather altitude but realized that she couldn't see any fish from this high so dropped lower. There she scanned the water. The koi were just starting to regroup after her bright friend's assault. She chose an orange and black one as her target. She tucked her wings in close, and took a deep breath as she dove. A split second after she hit the water she opened her jaw. Smooth scales caressed her tongue as the fish flew past but Falkryn clamped her jaw down to late.
She swam deeper then propelled her body upward into the air. With great effort she snapped her wings open and beat them as hard as she could. Finding an air current she glided letting her feathers dry out a bit before returning to pick a new target. This time she caught the slippery meal and waded back to land.

[verra]

Yahiko insisted on going first, but Verra held back her snarl at being argued with. She wasn't disappointed. He missed. And again. And again. And again...She laughed maliciously as he grew more and more wet. Eventually he did catch his fish, but she wasn't too annoyed by that. She gave him her best icy grin. "Oh, well done, bird wolf. You got a swimming lesson and caught a fish all in one go!" Her voice was full of poorly concealed sarcasm. Her look dared him to retaliate. Falkryn, who she had, for no apparent reason, decided to take a liking to, did much better.

"Good job, and on your second try! That's really quite good for a first-timer. You're a quick learner, Falkryn. Of course, observing previous mistakes," she looked pointedly at Yahiko, "can be an excellent learning method." This time, her smile was genuine. Perhaps it was petty, but Yahiko rubbed her the wrong way. He'd need to show a little respect before Verra would return the favor. Oddly, Falkryn hadn't exactly proven herself in any spectacular way, either. She had barely spoken three words. Better than the orange one who had apparently been insulting, but not by much. She turned to Keiaki, waiting to see his reaction to the hunt.

[thewolfoxfactor]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[atrb=background,http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/230/3/1/Big_blue_by_Paivikode_Mivd.png] "That was pretty good, guys. Orangey guy, you too. I was the exact same way with fishing and its supposed to be natural for me, so go ahead and blow of whatever Verra says." He turned to the other Cael. "Maybe you should lighten things up a bit, didnt you ever know that those who have the most failures have the best success out of all?" Yahiko, the way that he had tried numerous times with no reason to give up... Keiaki would wait until tonight to learn the story of these strangers. Such resolve had to have a story behind it. Everyone had their own story... "What are you so pissy for, fish wolf!? One of these days I'll be the best fisher you've ever seen!" The orange wolf exclaimed, probably calling her a fish wolf on purpose, for based on knowing Verra she has probably introduced herself by now in her kind of manner.

[yahiko]

Yahiko had already dove into the meal, for being a loner had its consequences, especially on how often they could eat as well as this.
He listened to the snake wolf, and felt glad that somebody was defending him. Falky could, if she talked, that is. Though she did better in the fishing than he, but that was because she had good eyes. She analyzed every detail of what he was doing, so in this case he was like a guinea pig, or the test.
He failed to ignore the she-wolf Caels insults.

"What are you so pissy for, fish wolf!? One of these days I'll be the best fisher you've ever seen!" He retorted lamely, going back to his fish.
"Once I've achieved my goal, I'll have learn it all, fishing, hunting on ground and in air, I'll know so much I'll be the one teaching you."

[/justify]

[falkryn]

Falkryn's mouth twitched in and echo of a smile. She didn't really like Verra snapping at Yahiko but she wasn't threatening them. And Yahiko wasn't about to let her talk down to him. Taking her catch over to where Yahiko she settled down by her flame colored friend to eat.

She finished her food and rested her head on her paws shifting into a comfortable position. She looked at each wolf in turn, studding bother her friends and the two Caels. She wondered where thing would go from here. She was quiet for a moment longer but wasn't sure if anyone else would voice here thoughts.
"So what now?"

[verra]

She shot Keiaki a look, not bothering to get worked up over his attempts at reassuring Yahiko. He was nice, and he seemed to understand that she was naturally less than sunshine and rainbows to everyone. From the sound of things, though, the orange hybrid had been a bit bothered by her needling remarks. Poor him. She couldn't work up much sympathy quite yet. "Perhaps the success of those who fail so many times is more gratifying, in the end, but I don't think it indicates that he'll be any better than those to whom it comes naturally. Practice all you like, bird wolf, but you'll never be a Cael, and I'll never fly. Teaching only goes so far. I suppose that's life, though."

Falkryn's simple question required a bit more thought. What now? They were all young and homeless, and probably underfed. Verra didn't know what the Keiyous' story was, and wasn't sure she cared. All that mattered was that they were all there. Four lives intersecting on one beach, without much idea of how long it would last. She didn't want to leave for a while, and their chances would be better if they stuck together, at least for a little while. "I don't know. I'm staying here for the night. The water's better than the cave. What are you two doing? Headed anywhere?" She swam over to the shallows, and rested on her belly, watching the three others.

[yahiko]

"Headed anywhere?"
Now that Yahiko thought about it, their original plan, or more like Falkys plan, was to hunker down here for the night.
"Nah, were gonna stay down around here for the night and get going tommorrow."
He looked at the snake-wolf. It was almost like he wanted something from him.
"Why are you guys just travelling around anyway?" He asked. Just like Yahiko had thought, the snake wolf did have a question for him, and it looked like that he would have to explain everything from the beggining. From the terrible past to the future of hope.
"I'll tell you tonight. Its kinda a long story."
He knew the strange wouldnt have to remind him, for when it came to his goal, he wouldn't, and couldn't, forget to tell the tale.

[/justify]

OCC: SHORT I KNOW i have a long post intended for the life story.

[falkryn]

Disregarding Verra's sharp attitude toward Yahiko the multi colored wolf rested her head on her paws. Falkryn hadn't meant for her question to lead to a story of their past but it was too late to take it back now. So she hunkered down to listen. She wasn't too fond of reliving this for mere strangers but theses two seemed nice enough, even with Verra's evident dislike for her bright companion.

ooc: Inspiration zilch

[verra]

Leave tomorrow? They were crazy. She couldn't think of anywhere better to stay. Even if they weren't Caella, they could at least live on the cliffs. Verra half-shrugged to herself. If they wanted to abandon what could be a paradise, it was fine by her. As long as she could stay, and find enough food to survive, she would have a hard time convincing herself to leave. One adventure over land was quite enough for her, now that she had re-discovered the ocean. Then again, maybe the Keiyou wanted to keep going for much the same reason. She had to swim, they had to fly. Plenty of birds felt the need to migrate. Some fish did, too. If Yahiko didn't want to live in the same territory as Verra, she wasn't about to stop him.

"Well, if it's that long, you might as well start talking now. We have all night, after all." Verra relaxed, sinking lower into the water. She put her head on her paws, letting the waves swirl around her face, caressing the blue fur on the edges of her cheeks. Her eyes were half-closed, but her ears were up and alert. She was drowsy, but she would pay attention. At least to most of the story, anyway. If it was interesting. Full sleep could wait at least a little while.

[yahiko]

As the sun had started to set, Yahiko started to remember the sad days of the past, and how harsh they were.
"It's a long story to tell. I hope your up for it." If he told their story, maybe they would support he and Falkys cause. Just maybe. But like he said, it was a long story.

"It all began when we, meaning myself and Falkryn, were just six months old. We lived in seperate packs, she and I. A battle over territory had started and raged into a full out war. In the end, there were no survivors but she and I. We both thought we were the only ones alive. I was very scared and for a long time I thought it would all end, and I wanted it to. But one day after having found some meat to eat, I found Falkryn. She was from the enemy pack, but I knew that she was just like me, she needed help, and somewhere to go. So I helped her out. I told her all my new beliefs and that war would turn to peace while I was around, and it seems she liked what she heard, so we went everywhere together for a year, searching for survivors or any other pups that may have needed places to go. We found a few and helped them on their way, but tragically, some we were too late to save. We grew up together, growing stronger and being able to survive on our own instead of needing to be taken pity on, which never actually happened because no one really cared about us, and now after another half a year, here we are. So we dont have anywhere to go, but were always looking to help people. Thats all we can really think of to do, we have no reason to have a life to ourselves. I dont want to be alone like I was as a puppy, and I dont think you do either Falkryn, right? Well anyway, thats our story. Our story of a goal to create peace."

He was done. Good. He didnt like that story. He said it was long when it really wasnt quite that long, it was just a lot to think about, making it seem longer.

[/justify]

[falkryn]

Falkryn closed her eyes at the memory. Flashes of broken carcasses that had once been her family and pack. The awful feeling of loneliness and emptiness made her close her eyes. The only comfort she took was all those that Yahiko and she had helped along the way.

Now sitting in this darkened cave with two strangers, recalling the past she shivered. Would they understand their plight. The struggle of surviving with only each other to rely on. Every one had their story, just maybe they could understand their story.