I will not bend -Hati/Open-

[Xiomara]

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[atrb=background,http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/Somatra1/xback-Copie.jpg] "Speaking" Xiomara walked along the lake shore in the early morning hours of the day, her silvery elk antlers stabbing at the growing lightness of the sky, a blue-ish grey light casting the haunting land in a cold glow. Mist swirled about the majestic shape of the female, and she stood tall and strong in the shadows that were objects in the fog. Dark cold steel eyes gazed upon the lake without feeling, and the female’s head was tilted proudly, long saber teeth flashing in the rays of light coming through the fog. She had served as second in command to the Empire, a small but fierce pack in the forbiddingly frozen lands of the Tundra, but no more. The blizzard that had blown through would have killed any living creature in its path without mercy and the powerful yagi had been forced to submit to it and flee. Luckily she had come across her former Empress, and since then she had stuck faithfully by Cypress’ side out of respect for what she now considered her friend. Whom else would she travel with if not a fellow yagi? Proud of her species and stubborn to the bitter end she still considered her loyalties to lie with the smaller yagi. However on this early morning she traveled the land on her own and in solace, perfectly docked tail flicking with restrained restlessness. Slightly on edge in the fading fog she glowered at the overcast sky, sharp forest green marking running over her eyes in arrow formation and streaking down her cheeks highlighting the almost savage strength that she had to constantly harness every day. Hungry from her travels she tracked an animal scent along the shore, nose to the ground as her large paws padded confidently over the rocks. This land was warmer and humid than the terribly dry and bitterly frigid territory she was used to, but she knew there would be more game to find as long as she did not intrude upon the pack’s land. She had not deemed it of interest to join the Enclave, refusing to submit to being a powerless female that she knew very well she would never be and would never have conceded to faking. The Children, although having a good reputation, were too family oriented and she needed the thrill of being able to use her strength. This Centena Accord was an odd pack, new to the point that she knew very little of them except that they were a rather solitary bunch with noble ranks. She had heard that ranks were not passed upon gender and this was fine, but still it did not interest her to join and have to pay homage to the Earth. It just did not seem necessary as far as she was concerned as what would be would be no matter how one sought to deliver gratitude. Scoffing at the ridiculous thought she snorted decisively and tossed her thick green mane to flick the thought off. No, she would remain a rogue, she was adept enough to handle herself without the need of pack protection and traveling with another yagi certainly did not hurt. With a solid build that was toned and stocky without being too masculine, the female was distinctive and with an unusual pelt and eye color for a yagi made a statement. Of course she did not care to make impressions, she would do as she pleased and make her own path as desired. Right now she was enjoying being able to travel and stretch her limbs, covering great distances every day and marveling in pushing her muscles once again. As long as she kept moving and did not settle then harnessing this consistent sense of restlessness might be bearable and company that agreed with her would seel the deal nicely. Her path had been lost before the Empire, it had given her a purpose to strive for, and with the blizzard nothing was really right anymore. Frowning she supposed that for once her size and strength had fitted and she had not needed to worry about pussy footing around others in order to soothe their fears. In the presence of other strong wolves her size and brute strength had merely been an asset that had not been feared but respected and she had enjoyed finding a place in which to experience this sense of comradeship once again. X i o m a r a 's . S o n g

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[☽ Hati ☾]

A long days travel…

That’s what it felt like to the navy-dashed lumen. His resilient stride alleviated the forest; the birds that weighted its weak limbs. In his wake, the birds took to the air--retreating to their accessible firmament above. A heavy shadow followed this lumen…it was dark and full of detestation. What a disgusting place... The early morning light broke through the mass of branches and leaves that surrounded him. He had to pause a moment, letting his eyes adjust to the abrupt spectrum. Once adjusted, his large head reared around, his eyes fixating on a following figure. After a moments pause the hefty wolf, Hati, continued.

His eyes callous…ruthless…firm. Hati hated this area of WonderWhy, he had visited it once before. The scent of a pack territory filled his nostrils temporarily before he puffed it away with an insensible snort. Who was he to care about such things? He was a rouge…forever a rouge. Packs were trivial to him, and he believed they had no purpose. They were but full of wolves who depended on each other, as he saw it. Unlike them, Hati believed that the only one you can trust is yourself…especially in this world. He also considered himself superior to most. Hati thought of himself, at times, to be reasonably keener than others, although he recognizes when he meets a certain wolf who is better…better? No…just an illusion. Hati told himself what he wanted to hear; that he was more deserving than them all. Thoughts began to swell at his mind, so he just tossed them aside for the moment.

Hati’s paws treaded delicately along the forest floor as he neared the lakeshore. His nostrils flared up, dripping with moistness. Air was pulled into his nose and his mouth salivated momentarily, catching the delicious, sweet scent. As he caught the fragrant scent of the lake, Hati made an abrupt stop. His legs locked and his tail raised to a neutral position, letting the wind caress his fur in a soothing manner. The large lumen arched his neck, tipping it from side to side until he felt a sense of comfort. After relaxing his upper body, he unlocked his limber legs and turned once more, as if there was someone there.

In fact, there was someone…

It was the first wolf that Hati had attached himself to. (Although, this is just a very light attachment.) He doesn’t even consider this wolf as a friend, just a parasite that he can’t seem to get rid of…or so he tells himself. It was under odd circumstances that the two of them met and Hati regrets remembering it. The brash wolf snapped himself back into the present and lifted his lip. It quivered in displeasure.

A small puff of peeved air escaped his nostril “Damn…come on, will ya?” he called, his voice gruff yet suave. “We’re almost there…”

[[ sköll ]]

Hati amused him.

The brute, so gruff and stand-offish -- for some reason, had decided not to kill him in his sleep. The thrill of his "friendship" was only spurred by that very possibility; all of Skoll's friends (since he had known his siblings, in any case) had been near-homicidal jerks. Something about playing them to his whims did his heart good -- and a good fight now and again always helped to bleed off his own bottled rage.

And rage he had quite a lot of, even if he did not express it as nakedly as Hati.

They were traveling together now, loosely, fitting surprisingly well together despite their obvious differences. Miles rolled on quietly beneath their feet and eventually the pair reached yet another territory claimed by a pack -- the place reeked with their scent -- but the selfsame area offered the promise of fresh water.

At some point during their trek, Skoll fell into his old habits and slunk into the underbrush with a feline sort of grace, his paws falling lightly on the earth and his pelt all but invisible between the leaves. He knew they would come back together, though, he and Hati -- and if he were to be truthful, he might even admit he sort of liked the other wolf.

“Damn…come on, will ya? We’re almost there…”

.... Sort of liked him, except maybe his damned, condescending tone. Skoll, still hidden, rolled his eyes and peered ahead to track the form of a strange yagi pacing the land. It was the cold breeze singing through his fur that finally spurred him into action, yagi forgotten, and the lumen leapt from his hiding spot to stand, proud and very much visible, before Hati.

"We're almost there," he said, dropping the pitch of his voice an octave and mimicking Hati's ever-present scowl, "We have to do important grumpy things, mutt, harumph!"

The guise cracked as he laughed, shaky and giggling, and almost immediately he spun rich blue light around his own fur. Patterns and watery shapes settled into his new pelt, shifting subtly to match Hati's own coat. Giggling again, Skoll commented with an excited snort: "Look, look, Hati, we could be brothers--" and scowled once more, lifting his lip to show yellowed canines.

"... Oh, and, there's a lady over there. You should go and woo her with your talent of wordcraft. So eloquent you are, darling."

[Xiomara]

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[atrb=background,http://i1218.photobucket.com/albums/dd415/Somatra1/xback-Copie.jpg] "Speaking" The fog was finally lifting as the yagi made it to the reeds to settle down and wait to be able to see enough to properly hunt. The large female could eat to her guise, her build demanded more sustenance then the average female in order to maintain itself in good health and right now she was beginning to feel the first aggravating pangs of hunger. It was unusual for Xiomara hunted at regular intervals to avoid feeling hungry, taking down prey when she found it to prevent this nagging sensation. Prone to distemper and a rather fowl disposition, feeling hungry only seemed to intensify these sensations and annoyance flashed through her strict eyes. What would she give to sink her long sabre fangs into a juicy hide and taste the delightful meat from the better fed game that littered this territory…Scowling she scanned the nearby woods for any sign of movement, intend on finding nourishment as soon as possible. Woe be the wolf that came across this hungry female, niceties would not be exchanged until she had been fed and so with resign she lifted herself from the reeds to approach the forest borders. In the brush a jackalop sat munching on some low hanging branches, too preoccupied with the meal to notice the yagi quietly watching it with hungry eyes. Her mouth began to water as she looked at it`s well fed hide, the prey in the Tundra was all skin and bones but she could tell this one would be fleshy and its blood would run hot for longer. Crouching down she waited until the creature had its fill and began moving out from its shelter, its beady brown eyes darting to and fro as its little nose quivered in fear. The jackalop`s ears swivelled to try and detect any sounds that would alert it to danger, with its stomach full his full attention was now back on his safety and reaching the shelter of his den. There there, Xiomara thought, no need to bolt, just a bit closer… Suddenly a noise startled the beast and it took off at a full fledged sprint and letting out an enraged growl Xiomara took off after it, simply tearing through the brush in an attempt to catch up the fleeing animal. Out of the corner of her eyes she thought she caught sight of the two wolves that had startled her meal, but she gave them no attention, hunger demanded her focus. Pushing forward she closed the distance, leaping over a fallen log to land in front of the horned rabbit with a decisive snort. Her paw came to claw at the ground as she advanced, cornering the creature against the massive trunk that lay upon the ground, and she snorted with satisfaction, tossing her great antlers she began to close the distance. Sure the little beast could try and dart, a valiant last attempt at saving his life, but why bother? Apparently the rodent thought the attempt would be worth his while for he let out a terrified screech and hoped into the air clambering to make it over the log and to safety. Moving quickly Ximomara advanced and leaped after it, heavy paws landing on the creature`s back as her deadly fangs came to impale themselves into its tender neck. Smirking with satisfaction she picked up her meal and moved back towards the lake and away from pack borders, blood dripping down her coarse black neck. The two wolves, lumen by appearance, appeared to still be in the vicinity and as she walked pass them and towards the water she gave them a disdainful glare. Goofs, she thought viciously as she growled softly to ward them off from her catch. Placing the dead jackalop on a rock she settled down and began to tear at its flesh, the delightfully warm blood running down her maw as she buried her face within her prize. The meat was considerably more flavourful than the jackalops of the tundra and she growled her approval. Turning her gaze to contemplate the pair of what appeared to be lumen she said without much interest, “Do you make it a habit to scare away other`s prey?” A flick of her docked tail was the only indication that she was actually annoyed; in truth the chase had been most welcome. X i o m a r a 's . S o n g

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[☽ Hati ☾]

When Skoll emerged in front of Hati so abruptly, the male wolf sneered at him…a common expression he displayed to his traveling companion.

"We're almost there," he said, dropping the pitch of his voice an octave and mimicking Hati's ever-present scowl, "We have to do important grumpy things, mutt, harumph!"

Hati’s sneer turned into an aggravated snap as Skoll mimicked, quite well, Hati’s ever-present scowl. “Indeed…” There were no further words needed than that…especially when Skoll ha captured Hati’s appearance perfectly.

"Look, look, Hati, we could be brothers--"

Hait was now even more pissed, his brow deepened with resentment. The robust wolf detested such an idea “Brothers?! If that were so, I would gladly kill myself…” he huffed. He marched around Skoll a few times, eyeing the unique mimicry he did before he came to a full stop-

"... Oh, and, there's a lady over there. You should go and woo her with your talent of wordcraft. So eloquent you are, darling."

Just like the time they had met, Hati shoved his nose into Skoll’s “Fool!” he barked. Hati fell slightly backward, slumping in irritation at Skoll being too thoughtlessly delighted about all of this “Go ‘woo’ her you say…you damn moron!” he growled pushing against Skoll’s side, lightly. (Although, his ‘lightly’ was quite strong.) Hati had not noticed that him and Skoll had startled the female’s prey, he instead was thinking of what to do.

His conclusion: Why the hell should he care?

Hati snorted and looked at Skoll; about to explain in detail how Skoll was a fool and to that they should just keep going…But something caught his attention. A female…striding right past them with a disdainful glare…as if thinking them to be mere goofs. The robust male eyed her coldly as she passed the two of them. His fur peaked in provocation. So, Skoll was telling the truth, hm? He eyed her as she made her way to a rock, tearing at her prey. His lip flexed upward about to show his canines in an hostile fashion.

“Do you make it a habit to scare away other`s prey?”

Leisurely, his lip lowered. Coincidentally, today, Hati was quite tired and his hatred and emotionless appearance diminished effortlessly. “Skoll, you can handle this…” he said, leaving the insult of completely being ignored to the female. He didn’t seem to give a care for her, nor did he give care for having been one to scare her prey away. Like he would care for such trivial thing…

The large lumen looked at Skoll alone, his eyes had become tired and he seemed to be quite sluggish, even though his aurora cultivated a destructive and obscure presence.

“Go for it imp…go ‘woo’ her. So eloquent you are, darling.” A unexpected smirk showed on Hati’s face as the words softly flowed from his maw.