On Butterflies and Blood

[Mymic & Essy]

An oddly clammy wind was passing through the fine grass that rimmed a deep and mysterious sink hole. There was nothing inviting about the giant hole in the ground, only darkness and moisture it seemed. Moss and shade loving plants seemed to be deeper in the 25ft drop, but none so far up as where the sun was kissing.

A set of paws was planted on the edge, the left fore one a terracotta orange, the rest sooty black. The odd one out seemed to be taping the dull nails as if waiting for something. Anything. The orange tipped tail swished back and forth, faint white spots seemed like only bone dust on the mostly black fur. The lean figure of a female wolf was silhouetted in golden sunlight. Her shadow reached into the hole, disappearing into the shade.

The uncomfortable wind tussled her dark fur all over her finely boned body....except her chest. There was a dark, sticky substance staining the black of her front, the terracotta splashes seemed rusted...the faded white spots pink...Blood filled the air. Her muzzle was agape, panting almost in anticipation, blood was there too, clearly it was not her who had been injured. Her hazel eyes seemed crazed...excited....begging for something.

There! A slightly movement in the shade coming up from the bottom of the deep hole. The fluttering orange and black of a large viceroy butterfly floated up out of the dampness. The insect came up and hovered in front of the wolf's face. She instantly started speaking to it:

"Oh Essy-wessy-messy-mosted, Esmos! Did it splat!? Did the brains fly and paint the rocks? Is the pretty red every where?" There was an eerie look in her eyes, her shrill voice seemed to echo down the chasm. "Did he get what he deserved? I heard the cries from here, Essy! Tell me tell me tell me!"

The butterfly floated in front of her, then a soft voice came from the daemon, "Yes. Splat. Agony. Red, decorating. Bones, split." It was an odd voice, the short and sporadic, even with an underlying sound that could not quite be described. It was enough information for the wolf though, she squealed and blood thirsty delight. "Ah-ha! That's what the silly fawn gets for kicking me!" She yelled down into the sinkhole, "Take that! That'll teach you! Ah-hahaha!"

She spun around in a proud flourish and kicked a few clods of dirt down the lip of the trail. Esmos fluttered after her and alighted onto her shoulder as quietly as a whisper. Mymic's eyes caught the sky and she sighed happily, sitting down to enjoy the sunset.

[ULYXES !]

Rumours of new land, and the absence of just about everyone in the packlands had summoned the male to investigate. He hadn't seen the islands, but he had heard murmurs of wolves who had. Driven by sheer curiousity and a need to travel, he had left the mountain range - all but bare now, save for the smell of the few pack members who frequented it (was Linnea pregnant once more?). The journey was long, but good. It was nice to have time to clear his mind. He flew at whatever time he was awake, whether that was during the day or night. Unfortunately he never really knew when sleep would take him.

Ulyxes was lucky today, and he was flying in sunlight. He dislikes soaring through the air in the dark, mainly because his vision wasn't good enough to mark the land well. He had no idea of the layout of these islands, nor of the smell. He had been traveling over water for a while, and whenever he did at night, it frightened him. What if he suddenly needed to sleep? Over water, with little to no chance of land? Drowning seemed imminent. But today this did not occur, though he knew it could not be discounted. Either way, his sky blue eyes found shapes in the distance.

It took him a few moments to register the land below him as he soared above. It appeared to be some sort of giant depression in the ground. But just as soon as he had spotted it, the usual weakness in his body took over. His head began to spin and he spluttered to regain himself. If he didn't land, he'd fall asleep. Groaning, he focused his mind on landing safely. Which is exactly what the brown male did, and once his feet touched the soft ground, a little ways away from the edge, he fell asleep quite quickly.

It wasn't until several hours later did he stir. He was masked by a bunch of bushes, and he could hear a voice from a ways off. He could hardly make out the words, as he forced himself from sleep. Letting his jaw open and his tongue curl in a yawn, he rose, his ears jutting forward to pick up the noise. He knew the wolf - a female, he could tell - would notice him quite soon after he stood, but he didn't quite care. She seemed quite caught up in something, and something was flittering about her. He strained his eyes, trying to see. Shrugging and dismissing it, he walked from behind the bushes, towards her, his eyes wary.

She seemed to have blood on her. Whether or not it was her own, or someone else's, Ulyxes had no notion of. Furrowing his brow slightly, he let out a soft growl, neither intimidating, nor friendly. Just an alert to his presence.

[Mymic & Essy]

Mymic heard the growl and turned to look at the newcomer, no hint of aggression on her blood-spattered face. He had wings and looked as if he had just woken up, she didn't even wonder how long he had been there, she didn't care. Her tail wagged slightly, "Well Hi." She was clearly trying to be friendly, though her voice was abrasive, her social skills never really developed fully.

She looked at the butterfly on her shoulder, as if asking him permission to do something. The insect made an odd motion, but didn't speak. The female pouted and turned back to the male, starting to look bored, "Why sleep so close to a big hole? Might fall in. Who are you?" A bit straight forward, but it got the job done. She lifted a paw and scratched at her under belly, the movement dislodged some of the blood that was caked on her fur.

Her hazel eyes fixed on the male the entire time, as if calculating some formula in her mind. Would he be worth the time it took to talk to him? Would he make a good practice dummy? Would he splat as loud as the fawn? SO many questions she was thinking of, yet not one she was in the mood to act on. She would let him decide it for her....

[ULYXES !]

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[atrb=background,http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/6073/ulyxesbkground.jpg] Sleep still hung heavily in his eyes as she turned towards him. Her blood stained face sent chills down the male's back, and yet, why should it? Was the wolf not a hunter, one who hunted animals for nourishment? Blood was a part of his heritage, and yet something about the morbidity of the blood coating her fur, unsettled him. It was one of those things he couldn't even place as he stared at her with wide blue eyes, focusing and refocusing as he adjusted to the light. She spoke, and her voice too was strange. He couldn't help but wrinkle his nose slightly in distaste, as if she was a bitter cup of coffee that he had just sipped from. Of course, Ulyxes was not familiar with coffee, or cups. But her words required a response from the slightly reclusive male, and so he plastered a hesitant smile across his face, nodding his head very gently. She seemed to now have something upon her shoulder, and he blinked hard, adjusting his eyes, and staring at her. She seemed to have a sort of butterfly on her, a thing which was strange as well. He ignored it though, speaking a slow "Hello" before she spoke yet again. Who was he? He noted her straight forward attitude, blinking slowly, and finally taking a step closer. He hardly noticed her scratching, intent on trying to formulate the proper words in his mind. "Uhh, I wasn't exactly thinking of that when I fell asleep, to be honest with you," he said softly, staring blankly down at the hole. He probably should have planned that one better. Though he was a fairly sound sleeper once he did sleep, a couple wrong rolls... and he would have been quite dead. "My name is Ulyxes, from the Shinkou Mountain Range. And who might you be?" he asked, unaware of her thoughts. He probably would make a much more impressive sounding splat, if she had the chance to throw him into the pit.

[Mymic & Essy]

She watched him with an eerie gaze as he came closer. Like they eyes of a reptile, waiting for right moment to strike. Her stiff tail twitched a little as he spoke of the hole. " What were you thinking of? Eating? Killing? Flying?" Her eyes floated up to his wings, as if she were assessing the possibility of removing them to try them out for herself.

He gave his name and a location she was unfamiliar with. Must have been a northern place, she came here from the south. She did puff out her chest a little as he asked her name, "I am Mymic! And this is Esmos" She seemed almost offended that he had to ask who she was. Not that she was nefarious in these parts or anything....yet. She sniffed the air, there was water near by. She looked at her paws, there seemed to be a bit of mud on them. As well as blood of course, but she seemed more concerned about the mud.

She had an even stride over to the corner of the sink hole and peered down. " Essy go find water. Let me know." She turned around and gave a creepy smile. It was not intended to be creepy, again, it was an attempt to be friendly. Her butterfly flew off her shoulder and seemingly floated down the pit.