penny for your thoughts.

[lydia]

Long, dry grasses tickled the underside of a little ball of fire. Well, the figure prowling through the Savannah wasn't exactly fire. If she had been, the entire area would have been up in smoke by now. Lydia just happened to have a coat of smoldering embers accented with oranges white.

Today she'd wandered out to the Cover. Though the scent of fresh game was in the air, she wasn't really looking for a meal. What she really wanted was a safe place to think. Since joining the Republic she had somehow only managed to meet Obi, and while that was all fine and dandy it also posed some problems. What she knew of her leaders was mostly hearsay from the young male, and the extensive time she'd been spending with him was raising a lot of questions. Never before had she been so... utterly charmed.

Finding a relatively out of the way spot, the female flopped down to her stomach. Her three tails twitched idly behind her before curling around her body comfortingly. With a soft sigh she laid her head atop her paws, lids drooping lazily in the sun. She wasn't sleeping, rounded ears perked and attuned to her surroundings. It was just easier to think when she wasn't distracted by her visual field. Too bad even when he wasn't around Obi seemed to command the largest focus of her attention. For the life of her she couldn't figure out why she was so drawn to him. Sure she was a bit of a flirt, but, this was beginning to feel a little like something more.

[Keely]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][bg=546b56] The distant sound of giggling could be heard floating over the warm switchgrass. Some of the taller stalks wavered as something was moving past them, bending them to the will of the small creature. A giant grasshopper sprang above the grass, a surprised laugh followed it. As soon as it landed, a bright yellow ball of fur and tails leaped out of the grass, attempting to mimic that insect. Bright purple eyes gleamed with joy, a smile shone through the browning grass as Keely finally came into veiw. The small lyxxus bent to the ground once more, trying to make her light brown-socked legs match the stance of the patient grasshopper. She only succeeded in raising her rump in a play bow, four tails waved behind her like flags. The grasshopper sprang to life once more, this time Keely decided to try pouncing it rather than mimicking it. The bright white lily pattern on her chest heaved with giggles and panting. Obviously she had been playing this game for a while now. She didn't really notice the scent of another lyxxus near by. Her brown tufted ears were back as if she were stalking the bug. However every time he jumped her ears came up with renewed interest. She was smaller than most, having been the runt of a very large litter. Her petite form seemed just to be that of an over-sized pup, her personality seemed to match it. Her pink tongue was lolling by the time she lost track of the hopper. She shook out her pelt, to free it of any debris she may have gotten while playing in the grass.

[lydia]

The distant sound of laughter caught her ears, causing the offended appendages to twitch slightly. It was too far off to be much of a disturbance, however, and so Lydia remained where she was. She was comfortable, if not a little on edge. She didn't really like the path her thoughts were taking. Her little crush was too confusing and she didn't want to dwell on it. And yet her mind kept going back to Obi.

Thankfully that laughter was growing louder. Opening her eyes, her head lifted slightly to peer through the surrounding grass. There was movement a little to her left; the was also the general direction of the sound. Curiously, Lydia pushed herself up, sitting back on her haunches as she stared through the thick grasses. She wasn't really sure what to expect, but if it was giggling then the creature couldn't be too harmful, right? Cautiously she called out a soft, "Hullo?"

[Keely]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][bg=546b56] She jumped a little at the voice of another. She was not scared, just surprised, she giggled a little at her own jumpyness. Once she regained her composu--no once she was able to stop giggling for a second she gave a cheerful yip, "HI! I'm Keely! Who are you? Are you new? I haven't seen you before! Do you want to join the pack?! Have you joined the pack and Fyodor didn't tell me?! " All four of her tails were wagging in different directions, so her body was more along the lines of vibrating with excitement rather than swaying. She took a split second pause to bound over to get a better look at the female, coming fully out of the grass to be seen. Her pale nose caught a familiar scent, " Obi? You smell like Obi! That must mean you joined. Why didn't he tell me! I will have to go beat up the meanie...." She nodded, trying to look stern, but her maw could not retain the blinding sunshine that was her smile.

[lydia]

A whirlwind of questions overwhelmed the young Lyxxus, her eyes widening slightly as she tried to make heads or tails of what was suddenly being asked. It seemed the giggling had belonged to a child? No... That couldn't be right. The creature that emerged through the long grasses had more tails than she herself. It was a slightly older female with a much younger personality.

Lydia had to blink several times, trying hard to keep her composure. A part of her wanted to glare indignantly at such immaturity. She knew better than that though. She hadn't missed the female's name, Keely. Obi had mentioned a Keely. She was his sister and one of the Consuls. This was one of her alphas? Apparently hyperactivity ran in the family, though this female was ten times more excitable than her brother. Lydia was having a very hard time letting go of her initial judgments in favor of being polite.

Of course, the first thing that blurted out of her mouth was not something she'd wanted to say. Her mouth moved faster than her brain as she murmured a slightly panicked, "Please don't hurt Obi!" Realizing her little slip up, the female flushed beneath her fur, embarrassed that her musings had carried over into her speech. Her ears pulled back slightly as she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to try and calm herself. Dealing with females was so much harder than conversing with males.

"I mean... I'm Lydia." Her voice was a little sheepish as she forced herself to answer the other questions. Oh how the little Lyxxus hated talking about herself. Unfortunately, this Keely seemed like the highly inquisitive type. Derailing her would be hard. "I've actually only met Obi, though he's told me quite a bit about you. It's nice to meet you, Miss Keely." There. Redemption. A soft sigh escaped her as she watched the Consul curiously. Now that the initial shock was over it would hopefully be easier to show her true colors.

[Keely]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][bg=546b56] She almost looked alarm at the outburst of not hurting her brother. " What? No I Won't REALLY hurt him, I love him silly!" Her tails still wavered, this time more on beat and in the same direction, "Do you like him? I don't like people I hurt getting hurt, so I think you like him." Her logic was flawless in her mind. Sure she was naieve, but not unobservant. " Ly-di-a!" She announced the name, playing with it on her tongue, usually she would shorten names or add 'y' or 'i' sounds to the end, however Lydia was fun to say on it's own, so for the moment she would leave it as that. Her eyes were alight with pure joy and happiness. Obi made a friend, that was good, he and Toby needed to make more friends. " It's nice to meet you too! I hope Obi has been nice to you, sometimes he can be mean." By mean she meant closed off, not that Lydia knew that. The runt lyxxus trotted around her new friend. " Have you met Fyodor? He's my mate, he's nice and people say he is quiet, but I don't think so!" Here quiet meant, less energetic than Keely. Again, not that Lydia knew that, but as far as Keely was concerned, she did. Then her mind jumped topics once more, " So why are you out here taking a nap? Are the caves not comfy? Or are you just warming in the sun, it's nice to sleep in. As long as you are hidden a little, dragons are around here somewhere, but I have not seen them recently." She looked up at the clouds, OH! There was a cloud that looked like a dragon, " That cloud is the only dragon I see!" She giggled a little at her own joke, before turning back to Lydia. " The clouds pretend to be lots of things, ever notice that?"

[kiyallanne]

The Lyxxus-Myou hybrid was feeling very pleased with herself. She had discovered that the yellow grasses in the Republic's territory were great for camouflage. They didn't taste very good, but after gnawing on a few blades, she blended right in. The jackalope she held in her jaws was proof that the moderately icky plants paid off. Kiya wasn't particularly hungry, so she had begun to head back to the dens. Not being terribly familiar with the territory yet, "heading back" turned into "wandering through the really tall grass, pretending to have a sense of direction." Fortunately, she wasn't alone in the Cover, and soon chanced upon the scent of pack mates.

Not wanting to waste time, she sprinted toward the source of the smell, practically running into Lydia and Keely. She dropped the jackalope, and immediately turned to her sort-of-alpha-but-actually-Consul. "Keely! Guess what?!" she exclaimed. "I can use all this grass to catch food!" She beamed proudly.

Without missing a beat, she turned to the unfamiliar female. She never turned down a chance to meet new friends, unless, of course, they were mean not-Lyxxi wolves. This was a Lyxxus and a pack mate, and therefore definite friend material. "Hi there! I'm Kiya! Who're you? Would you like a jackalope?" Realizing only then that Keely and the red one might have been having a conversation, she stopped talking. One wouldn't want to be rude and interrupt anything, after all.

[lydia]

The normally collected, smug Lydia was thrown for such a loop by the Consul's innocent questions. Was she really that obvious? Her cheeks were as flamed as the colors of her pelt, embarrassment gnawing away at her. It took all her strength not to snarl and glare. The Lyxxus did not take well to accurate accusations she wasn't quite ready to admit to.

Thankfully, Keely seemed to have trouble staying on one topic. The incessant line of questioning was overwhelming, but it at least gave her an excuse to ignore the less desirable inquiries. Lydia didn't like talking about herself to begin with. Right now she was thanking the stars for how easy the other female was to derail.

She sat a little straighter, head held high as she lightly shook it back and forth in the negative. "I haven't met Fyodore yet." It wasn't that she was proud of not having met the other leader. Lydia just felt more at ease when she adapted a stance of superiority. It was comfortable for her, a look she'd always worn. Right now she needed every little bit of comfort she could get if she was going to survive the hyperactivity of Obi's sister.

Her shoulders shrugged lightly as she thought over why she'd been laying in the Cover. It was kind of just where she'd ended up. She hadn't factored in the sun or the threat of dragons. Now that she thought about it, maybe being out on her own hadn't been the smartest idea. She still wasn't all that familiar with the lands and the hidden dangers they held. A frown tugged on her lips.

"I was just... thinking." It was a rather lame answer, but it was surprisingly honest. All this thinking was beginning to try her nerves. Her mood was turning sour as insecurities threatened to envelope her. In an attempt to calm down, she closed her eyes and sighed. Keely had really forced her into the spotlight.

Fortunately or not, their little conversation was interrupted before she could say much more. Lydia eyed the huntress curiously. Were all the wolves of this pack unnaturally friendly? At least this one wasn't excessively questioning her. Her frown twitched into a smile as she shook her head in a polite denial, attention drawn from the Consul for a moment as she prepared for another introduction. Maybe now that someone else was present the spotlight wouldn't be so much on herself. "I'm Lydia. Nice to meet you."

[Keely]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][bg=546b56] She looked back down at Lydia, leaving the clouds to be on their way once more. " That's ok, You can meet him later today, i think he went patrolling the land a few hours ago." There was the faintest hint of concern in her voice. She didn't like it very much when he wandered off alone, it wasn't that he was not capable. Keely knew he was more than capable and strong, but he grew tired easily. Her smile never faded though, her eyes as bright and happy as could be. Her attention was immediately grabbed by the arrival of Kiya. She spun to face her on her feet, tails wagging. Her eyes widened as the wolf spoke of a new magic trick, "Oh! That's amazing! Can you show me?!" her body wriggled with excitement. She looked back and forth between her two friends, she loved that her pack was growing. "Kiya's magic! She changes colors!"