Escape (Hafalong)

[Leo]

Leo slipped through the forest, deciding to head away from mafia lands. After his encounter with Scorch and the other female, he didn’t think they would hesitate to kill him should he attempt to enter their lands again. He had already crossed the scent border that marked their territory, but he could still smell the scent trails of other wolves, meaning the mafia must cross their own border a lot.
Despite knowing he was in danger, he couldn’t help but smile a bit. It was probably due to the large amount of adrenaline pumping through his system, making him feeling invincible. He paused, catching another scent in the air. It was a jackalope. He stopped. He was technically outside of mafia territory. Besides, it would show them that he wasn’t scared of them.
He lowered in a crouch, following the scent trail, until he spotted it, hidden away in the undergrowth. He felt saliva begin to build in his mouth, and he crept closer. The jackalope had the advantage of speed, but in the forest, it would be easy to outsmart it, and lure it into a trap, that it could not escape with speed. This one was quite small. Probably young, as its horns hadn’t fully developed. An idea came to mind.
He took a full paces back, and gave a flying leap towards the tree. He found support for his back legs, and used the ridges in the tree to pull himself up, and onto a overhanging branch. He wasn’t high off the ground, but he was directly over the little jackalope. Judging from his position, the jackalope would run to the right when it saw him. Leaning backwards, he pounced, aiming a little to the right off the creature. As he suspected it ran to the right, and into his paws. It took one bit to kill it. He grinned, beginning to eat.

[Hafalong Rambling]

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[atrb=background,http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/lilDiablo_/hafmid2.png] Sometimes I... remember things. They can't be my memories. I was never a pup. I would know if I had been, but I haven't, and so I must have always been like this. I must have been dropped into the world like this. I've always been Hafalong. There was never anybody else. Even beneath the thick canopy of the jungle, the heat and humidity persisted. If anything, the leaves above held it all in, making the ground soft, making the leaves damp, filling the trumpet-like flowers with dew. Hafalong shook himself from nose to tail, giving his wings an extra shake. He had fallen asleep beneath a pile of leaves, and the condensation had leaked through, soaking him to the skin. He uttered a short growl of annoyance, pulling the last of the leaves from his feathers and licking the dirt from the yin-yang symbol on his chest. This done, he raised his eyes and looked around. He was just beyond the edge of the Mafia territory, doing a bit of patrolling, more because he wanted to than because he had to. Out here, the noise of the living was outnumbered by the clamor of the dead, a sound he felt more comfortable with these days. To normal ears, perhaps, the jungle was only the sound of insects and the damp, uncomfortable heat, but to Hafalong, it was so much more. Near to where he had slept, there limped a Sennyo, a greenish ooze leaking from the corners of his mouth. His eyes were blank, and his throat was swollen to the point where he could barely moan. Hafalong had seen that happen to a young jackalope once, the result of a deadly plant that grew close to the jungle floor. Beneath the roots of a tree several yards away resided the rotting body of a wolf who had fallen prey to the bite of a Patience Darkly plant. His ghost dragged itself along on it's front legs, its lower half missing. All around, the moans and cries of the dead echoed, silent to all but a rare few. Hafalong left his sleeping place, trotting through the thick vegetation with no real direction in mind. He knew that he would have to return to the Mafia sooner or later, but for now he was content to wander. There were baby birds chirping in the branches of the trees, their cries sharp. Hatching in the jungle was much noisier than hatching season anywhere else, and the variety of birds was larger as well. Pausing to assess the state of his stomach, Hafalong considered flying up and kidnapping a chick or two, but ultimately decided against it. It would be better to wait a week or two, when the chicks became fat and fluffy, and began to fall from their nests in their failed attempts at flight. It was in the midst of this decision that Hafalong nearly walked past the other wolf. Between the groans of the dead and the cries of the birds, he had been too preoccupied to hear the wolf munching on the carcass of a jackalope, and with so many ghosts wandering in and out of his vision, he hadn't realized that the wolf was even alive until he caught the scent. Startled, he jumped back, a mangled cross between a yelp and a growl escaping his throat. He tensed to attack the trespasser, but then remembered that he had already crossed into the neutral area of the jungle, and, therefore, the other wolf was allowed to hunt. Relaxing, he settled into a sitting position, muddled thoughts running through the broken tangle that was his mind. Wolf... wolf... lupus wolf? No wings, no antennae, no horns... lupus wolf, then, yes. Or cael? No, too damp, they would be... no, maybe not. he shook his head, confused, then addressed the wolf. "You. What are you doing here?" he shook his head again, trying to clear away some of the confusion, "But... erk... you're allowed to be. Here, not there. Not over the line, but... yes, here is okay, you can be here. I meant to ask, er... but you're not there, so... no. Never mind. You're alright, then." he nodded, tail wagging ever so slightly, pleased that he had somehow managed to finish his thought.

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[Leo]

Leo jumped to his feet hearing a growl of alarm. He turned towards the noise, eyes wide, and his body tensed, ready to strike. He relaxed, raising a quizzical eyebrow at the wolf as it started to ramble on. It seemed not all mafia wolves were focussed on appearing dangerous and violent. Only the two he had met. Although, from what Altan said, they were all like that. Still, that was a biased opinion and the wolf in front of him couldn’t be described as violent, nor did he seem particularly dangerous.
“Right…” He responded, rolling his ‘R’, and stretching the word out. He licked his lips, removing any stray blood that might be clinging to his muzzle. “I’m guessing you’re from the mafia, and you’ve already figured out this is neutral land. You look like a…I’m not sure, I think you’re a hybrid, of a keiyou and something else. Don’t worry, I feel no prejudice against hybrids.” He explained, scanning the wolf carefully. “Well, who are you?” He repeated the wolf’s earlier question, but he tone was light-hearted, rather than mocking. He was still too close to the mafia border to be his usual insulting self. Besides, he hadn’t learnt much about the pack from the two wolves he had met, so this might be a chance to learn more. He might end up joining them after all. Maybe. Probably not, but still, best to achieve what you originally set out to do.

[Hafalong Rambling]

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[atrb=background,http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/lilDiablo_/hafmid2.png] Hafalong tilted his head, his brain deciphering the wolf's words. He understood the language perfectly, but somewhere in his head, the meanings became muddled. He waited a moment, allowing his mind to properly order all of the words. "Mafia..? The Mafia... yes! That's it. I am from the Mafia, yes!" he wagged his tail, pleased that he had remembered, "And yes, I'm a hybrid." he paused to lick his wings, swishing his fluffy tail, "Part lupus. That makes us cousins, aye?" his smile was warm, but his eyes were cold, calculating. He wished he had brought his little leaf-bag with him. It would be quite a chore to transport one of the wolf's eyes all the way back to his den... "Who am I?" the question caught him unawares. Most people didn't bother to ask him his name. It seemed that they either already knew it, or didn't care enough to ask. For a moment, he almost forgot who he was. "I'm Tiats- no. No, that's not my name. That's not-!" he lowered his head, putting a paw on his muzzle. A lump formed in his throat. Memories flickered in his mind- Mama, Apollo, Bezdomny, the father he never knew, hunting jackalopes, chasing birds, wrestling with his brother, Dust, calling after him "Tiatsu! Tiatsu, come back here! You'll fall over the edge, stupid pup..." -and then vanished, nonexistent, inconsequential. "My name is Hafalong. Hafalong Rambling." he removed his paw from his muzzle, his tail resuming its wag, "And you? Do you have a name?" Eyes... eyes... his were cold and blue, like ice. But the other wolf... his were gray. Hafalong didn't have a gray eye in his collection. The little bit of blue in them pleased him as well. Let wolves think what they liked of the Mafia. That they were all insane, that they were all murderous, that none of them had souls. Most of what they thought was true. Hafalong was no exception.

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[Leo]

Leo was aware of the blue gaze boring into him, seeming to penetrate his very thoughts. He blinked, watching the wolf trying to remember his name. That is…unusual, Leo thought, wondering what would cause the wolf to be so…well, idiotic and forgetful. He was wagging his tail, and Leo was instantly reminded of the eremus, Nepara, but pushed the thought out of his head. It was irrelevant.
“I suppose we may be distantly related…” He replied, narrowing his eyes slightly. There was something bizarre about this wolf, that was almost…wrong. Leo felt his muscles tensed, but he made no move to show his discomfort.
“Most wolves have a name” He responded, hinting slightly to Hafalong forgetting his own name. “Leo” He added finally, examining the other wolf. He was glad that he had made his decision not to join the mafia (not that he would be welcomed there anyway), as this wolf seemed so…distant. The way he spoke, it seemed excited, and as if he was speaking far ahead of his thoughts, but then his eyes, they were so cold and calculating, they betrayed his true nature that he hid before his friendly appearance. Leo couldn’t help but be intrigued.
“You seem unsure of yourself?” He commented, although it wasn’t exactly mocking or insulting, merely a question. Hafalong reminded Leo of a wolf he had met on his travels. A wolf that had been emotionally scarred, and reacted by blocking all memories of his past life, until he forget who and what he was.

[Hafalong Rambling]

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[atrb=background,http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/lilDiablo_/hafmid2.png] ”Unsure… of myself..?” He tilted his head to one side, contemplating this. Unsure? Hafalong? Unsure of himself? What was there to be unsure of? He was part Keiyou, part lupus. He was approaching five years, if he hadn’t already reached or exceeded that age (who ever takes the time to count?). He could see ghosts. In fact, his one friend, a ghost named Mortus, constantly assured him of who he was. If Mortus said that he was Hafalong, then he must be. ”No. I’m very sure of myself. I am as I am and I’m not anybody or anything else.” he nodded as he spoke, trying to force his mind to accept what he was saying. However, there was still a little tickle, a little nudge. Tiatsu, that nudge said. Hafalong hated it. ”I have to be sure of myself, you see. If I weren’t, I’d loose my mind!” he leaned forward as he said this, nearly touching noses with Leo. His tongue lolled between his sharp teeth. A demonic smile split his muzzle. Looking deeply into the other wolf’s eyes (although there was no light in his own), he asked innocently, “You don’t think I’ve lost my mind, do you..?” Without pausing to await an answer, he jumped back, snapping at the air and growling, which quickly faded into laughter, and then growling again. Just as quickly as he started, he stopped, although the smile still persisted. ”Leo, eh? That’s a nice name! I like it! I wish I could take it… take names the way I take other things…” here he locked eyes with Leo again, desire stirring in his chest, ”Taking this… taking that… and the screaming! Ha! I’ve never heard screaming like that! It’s the most pleasurable thing! There’s nothing like it in the world!” He laughed again, throwing his head back as he did so. However, just like before, he stopped abruptly, slinking forward. ”Why don’t you come to the Mafia territory with me?” he asked. His voice was soft, and for a moment, he didn’t move. For that moment, there was a brief flicker of sanity, a brief escape from the tangled mass of his mind. The flicker sparked in his dead eyes, seeming to cry out for help. Then it was gone, extinguished. ”Yes, come home with me! I’ve got such a lovely little den! And my collection! I could show you my collection!” he slunk a little closer, ”You have such handsome eyes… has anybody ever told you that? I love them! There’s something… special about them! I’ve never seen any eyes like that!” he shuffled his paws, head lowered like a bashful pup, ”You… you wouldn’t mind… you wouldn’t mind giving one to me… would you?” He looked up hopefully, mind teetering between a polite request and a forceful robbery. The smile shrank, and then grew again, larger than before. ”Just one… just one pretty eye… a pretty eye for Hafalong… please? Please?

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[Leo]

Leo took a step back, eyes scanning the strange wolf. His instincts screamed at him, his body exploding in the fight or flight response. But his mind watched, observing Hafalong, and listening to the words. When the wolf asked whether Leo thought he was mad, he opened his mouth to reply, but didn’t get a chance, as the wolf continued to ramble on. The laughter was insanity, and Leo felt his heart quickened, adrenaline pumping through his system, preparing him for either a fight, or a run for his life. He continued to listen, but he made no attempt to reply, as the words were a stream of madness. When the wolf finally stopped, Leo replied, his gaze hardened. He suddenly felt very protective of his eyes.
“In answer to your first question, I do indeed believe you are insane” He responded, although it probably wasn’t a good idea to mock and insult and already deranged wolf. “As for your second question, I can assure you that I will not be welcomed within mafia borders” He added, the scar on his side responded with pain. “And as for your last question, I’d prefer to keep my eyes where they belong, and I suggest you move on, unless you want me to steal your eyes” He finished in a growl, hackles raising. The time for pleasantries had ended when Hafalong had started to speak.

[Hafalong Rambling]

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[atrb=background,http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a190/lilDiablo_/hafmid2.png] Hafalong took a step back, startled by Leo's aggression. For a moment, his mind grappled with everything that was being said to him. The first thing that accessed his mind was the idea that Leo would not be welcome in the Mafia. Must've made somebody angry... he concluded, Must've done something bad. A bad dog. A bad, bad dog. The second thing that came through was the idea that he might be insane. Leo had said that he thought this to be true, but Mortus said otherwise. Mortus wouldn't lie... would he? I'm not insane... I'm not. I'm not! I'm perfectly fine! Nothing wrong. Nothing... wrong... Lastly came Leo's threat. This took the longest time to reach Hafalong. He stood still, mouthing nonsense words, a low whine building in the back of his throat. His mind rolled about, dancing in no particular direction. Mama is dead now. Dunno why. Killed... killed. Did somebody say something? Never mind, not real. Not dead. Death isn't real. I'm not real. Nothing is real. What is real, anyways? Don't know, don't know, don't- Eyes. And it clicked. The whine that had begun to build finally released itself. Hafalong lowered himself to the ground, whimpering. "Just one..." he murmured, studying his paws, "I only wanted the one... one pretty eye... that's all. That's all I wanted! Why are you being so mean? Why are you growling at me? Why..? Why..? I don't understand. I'm a good dog. I don't do bad things. I ask before I take. You can't say that I don't. I'm a good dog. I'm a good dog!" he raised his eyes, staring longingly into Leo's, "But... you... must be... a very... bad... dog." he tilted his head and smiled, tail a-wag, "Made somebody... angry, didn't you? That's... that's why... you aren't welcome, isn't it? Yes. That's why. You're a bad dog. A very bad dog. And..." his mind teetered, tottered... and fell, "And bad dogs must be punished, otherwise, they never learn." No chance for return. Whatever had been holding him back had snapped. He half-lifted his wings, jumping back to give himself more room for maneuverability, then fell into a fighting stance. "Want to play a game, Leo?" he giggled, "Just you and me. We'll play together! It's a game called 'Bad Dog.' It's like puppy-play. We wrestle, but with teeth and claws and blood! A punishment game. If you can beat me until I am either dead or can no longer attack, then you are a good dog, and I'll allow you to leave. If you run, or if you can't best me, then you are a bad dog, and I get to take one of your eyes... and maybe your life!" he smiled warmly, "Oh, but don't worry! We can still be friends if I kill you! I'll make you one of my ghost friends, like Mortus! We'll have fun together! The Mafia will let you in because there's no way they could stop you! "So what do you say, Leo? Want to play?" I'm not insane. If I were insane, I couldn't do this, could I? Mad wolves don't play games. Mad wolves can't make games. Mad wolves... mad... mad... anger... fury... burning... hatred... Sadness... I'm sad... why is he being a bad dog? Don't understand... don't... under...stand... Such nice eyes he has...

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