I Never Could Resist... ((Keiaki))

[verra]

The smell of the sea. It was in the gentle wind, swirling around her. She closed her golden eyes, giving way to the salty scent. Verra had missed the ocean. Brief stops in freshwater pools could never replace it. It's unimaginable vastness, filled with life and color beyond any land wolf's dreams, was always just as stunning as the first wonder-filled days of puphood. Even the climate was perfect. No snow, no ice, just cool winds and water that never seemed to be the wrong temperature. So close to her favorite place in the world, she forgot why she had ever left it.

Her long legs quickened their stride as she raced along the sandbar. Her gait was a bit off, but she could still move with decent speed if necessary. The first waves lapped at her forepaws, but she couldn't wait to relish the feeling. As her hind paws dipped into the sea, the fur began to change. It was an odd sensation, the clumping of fur into scales. The feeling spread up her body, as limbs became a fish tail, and her tail became a long, graceful fin. She ducked under the surface, readjusting to her natural way of moving. The Cael way. She resurfaced, letting out a sigh of relief. Here, at last, she could relax. Verra, for once, let down her guard. Perhaps she would go back on land, perhaps not. In the moment, she couldn't think about the future. The ocean was irresistible, and she couldn't imagine letting go too quickly. Perhaps she would even search for other Cael. She had missed her kind's company more than she liked to admit.

[thewolfoxfactor]

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[atrb=background,http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/230/3/1/Big_blue_by_Paivikode_Mivd.png] Things were quite subtle in the Ocean. The waves lapped against the shore, the trees in the distance wavered in the breeze, and the goal to become stronger stayed in Keiakis head as always and would leave under no circumstance. No matter the pain he was faced, the harshness he was brought unto, nothing. He would strive through all of it, and he certainly wouldn't die before he could do anything to make a change in the world. Such a big world would require a lot of strength and a crapload of guts, which was exactly what Keiaki had even though he wasn't the smartest one out there. But right now he was just resting in an sea shore cave, keeping away from the heat of the sun cooled down by a small puddle that had formed from recent rains. He was all curled up around himself, almost protectivley. Clear scars from the efforts of strength improvement, stuff like working on better coiling by crushing trees but being splintered by the wood, hunting more dangerous prey land prey like unicorns, and an alligator he had run into when he had gotten lost in the swamps. But whats this? A wolf came pelting through the trees, clearly excited about something, for the wolf went straight into the water. Identifying it as a femme, he realized after the she-wolf had gone into the water her hind half became a fishe tail that she was a Cael, like him, but with fins. He yawned and stepped out of the cave he was in, revealing himself to the afternoon sun. He was kinda cold, and much too groggy to go after the she-wolf despite his insanely curious instincts. So he went to a rock to sunbathe on, but when he heard some splashing he was awoken from his half-slumber on the rock..

[verra]

Verra almost missed the blue wolf completely, being so absorbed in her swimming around. She would never have noticed if she hadn't been coming up just as he came into the light. She immediately felt a bit embarrassed about losing her cool so easily. Without even quite being aware of it, she felt a bit of hostility toward the stranger. How dare he trespass on her secret place? Her rational side realized that she had no more claim to it than he, but she still wasn't about to go back to frolicking and splashing with an audience. He seemed to ignore her, just going up to sit on some rock and sunbathe. She couldn't be sure that he had seen her, but she definitely saw a snake tail where hind legs usually were. Another Cael! Being ignored didn't go over well with her, though, and she put aside the excitement of seeing another of her breed. Her anger was fairly superficial, of course, but that didn't stop her from swimming over to where he was lying.

"Who are you?" she asked, putting as much hostility into the words as she could. She glared up at him, half in and half out of the water. He was a bit battle-scarred, but certainly not bad looking. A Cael, and handsome...Such thoughts didn't help her mood. He's probably a stuck-up jerk, she reassured herself. Attraction made concentration difficult. Verra certainly wasn't about to let it get in her way, though. Not before she made sure he'd respect her.

[thewolfoxfactor]

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[atrb=background,http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/230/3/1/Big_blue_by_Paivikode_Mivd.png] "Who are you?" There was certainly some hostility in the she-wolfs voice, apparently she thought the place was hers alone and maybe was insecure about being around someone else. But Keiaki was very curious for this new stranger. Her scales were a beautifully bright hue, unlike his, which were a dark navy blue color. The she-wolf was staring like she wanted him out of there, but he didn't feel like backing down so easily. At the same time though, he wasn't going to be hostile back. Nah, he was too tired for that. Normally he would just yell back. But his sleepiness might prove to be useful in this encounter. "I'm Keiaki. Why, you got a problem? Your kinda, I dont know, mad at me for something? What did I do?" The words barely came out of his mouth, and if it wasn't for his Cael voice he would have sounded bored and old. But the voice kept him sounding like he was some bit awake and kept the flow of the youth within him. .

[verra]

He sounded tired when he replied to her question. "I'm Keiaki. Why, you got a problem? Your kinda, I dont know, mad at me for something? What did I do?" He didn't sound too intimidated by her tone. She had to pause for a moment before answering. Technically, he hadn't done anything, so she couldn't really complain. She wracked her brain for a good excuse for the unreasonable nastiness. As being rude was her baseline, she could come up with a sharp retort to almost anything.

"What did you do?" Verra repeated, as if the question was a personal insult. "It's more what you didn't do. Most wolves would have the decency to introduce themselves, rather than just...ignore everyone!" she ended lamely. She didn't have a real argument, and she knew it, but oh well. She wasn't even sure if she wanted an apology, a fight, or what. She swished her tail back and forth impatiently, hoping he wouldn't notice her discomfort. The more she thought about it, the less she really wanted to start a squabble. She wanted to talk to someone who would be able to empathize about living on land when one was made to swim. Unfortunately, her pride wouldn't let her admit it.

[thewolfoxfactor]

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[atrb=background,http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/230/3/1/Big_blue_by_Paivikode_Mivd.png] "Yeah, whatever. Its not like everybody goes around these days introducing each other. Besides, you can't go yelling at me for something that you didn't do either. Thats being a... Whats it called... Oh yeah, a hypocrite or something like that. Hey by the way, you from around here? Because I've been here for a little while but not what I would call home. You visiting here too?" It was only now that Keiaki was finally getting into the spirit of being, you know, awake. But the beauty of this stranger was the most entrancing part. The piece to the puzzle of why he wasn't ignoring everything and sleeping through it all. Or was meeting such a beauty, perhaps, a dream in itself? Besides, it was only recently that Keiaki had started to meet other people, like that those two Keiyous and that cocky Yagi. It was encounters like that that gace him the little social experience that he had..

[verra]

She bristled a bit at his casual disregard of her (admittedly shallow) complaint. Being wrong irritated her more, but he was right. Verra hadn't wanted to seem hypocritical, and she couldn't object to honest criticism.

"Well, I'm Verra," she informed him, her tone softening a bit. Still not wanting to seem totally wrong, she added "and just because no one does, doesn't mean they shouldn't. It's nice to be noticed."

Hey by the way, you from around here? Because I've been here for a little while but not what I would call home. You visiting here too?" Another wanderer, then. His small talk distracted her from any lingering anger, and she relaxed. "I've just been wandering around, myself. Don't really have a place to stay, but I might stick around here. Can't stand being away from water for long." How did he manage to get through her defenses so fast? She was still a little wary of this serpentine Keiaki.

[thewolfoxfactor]

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[atrb=background,http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/230/3/1/Big_blue_by_Paivikode_Mivd.png] Another wanderer? Maybe she doesn't have a family either, like me. Or maybe she lost them and shes trying to find them. The thought came to his head. Surely wolves without families was normal for loners? After all, the reason that any wolf was usually alone was because they had nowhere to go, nowhere to belong to. Which would mean no friends, family... Uggh, its an awful living, and he hoped that it would change someday. "Well of course you cant stand the water. No Cael can, really." He stretched his front legs and slithered off the sun bathe rock onto the sandy beach. "Hey, you bored? You wanna like, go do something? Its kinda hot and im heading back in the water, if that doesn't bother you." She better not have a problem with it, were both Caels after all. He grunted in his head, if that was even possible..

[verra]

Yes, it was definitely a Cael thing, she agreed mentally. She watched him slide off the rock, slithering towards the shore. It was oddly interesting, seeing how easily he could move with his snake half. She was useless until her scales dried off. Watching him, seeing the sun make his bright green markings glow, was terribly distracting. When he asked her if his coming into the water would bother her, she almost forgot what could possibly make him think it would. She scolded herself, bringing her head back to the present.

"Sure, it's not like I'm not busy at the moment. What would you have in mind?" She turned back to head to a more comfortable depth, then looked back to watch him. She hadn't seen snake Cael before, and, after seeing how he could move on the beach, she was quite curious to see how he swam.

((OOC:: SHORT. And for whatever reason, it kept disappearing, so I had to retype it 5 times. I'm too tired for thees, computerrr!))

[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] "Huh? Oh, umm, I didn't have anything specific, but I was kinda hungry and theres this cool island back there that I gotta show you. Its kinda like, emm, sightseeing?" Keiaki really wasn't a good public speaker. Truly. He had some of the worst social skills that he knew of. Maybe it was a snake thing? No, couldn't be. It was just his own bad experiences of life and the fact hes never really met anybody other than three wolves. That was it. He wasn't even talking as much as they were. And despite his rambunctious personality, he didnt use it oddly enough, once he found a reason to get mad at them. But here he was inviting a complete stranger to follow him and show "his" special island to her. Without waiting for an answer, he dove into the water, his serpentine tail swerving from side to side to be able to swim a well as his front legs doing some paddling. He was looking at the coral reefs, wondering if the stranger was down there watching or if she was about to, or if she simply got bored and left.

[verra]

An island? Her curiosity was certainly aroused. She followed his lead, wondering where this special island was hidden. She hadn't seen any island but the one connected to the sand bar. The nearby cliffs were probably just blocking it from view. That would be useful for any pack in the area, provided they could swim. Of course, most wolves probably wouldn't be the best of swimmers. They couldn't all be lucky enough to be born as Cael.

She dived down after him, watching his tail undulate from one side to the other. His sheer length was incredible, and she suddenly felt very small. Verra followed his gaze, and almost gasped in a mouthful of water. The beach above was relatively dull, but the reefs below were amazing. The intricately twisting coral, of what seemed like a hundred different varieties. Just as varied were the brightly-hued fish, all swimming in and out of sight, in a constant stream of motion and color. She had seen coral reefs before, but hadn't expected to see one here. The fish were making her hungry, but even being wolf-sized, she was too large to outmaneuver any of them. Larger, more accessible snacks wouldn't be too hard to find. Maybe there was a food source on the island.

"What's so cool about this island of yours?" she asked him.

[thewolfoxfactor]

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[atrb=background,http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/230/3/1/Big_blue_by_Paivikode_Mivd.png] "Whats so cool about this island of yours?" There was only one kind of answer to such a question, a question that represented greater importance than she even knew about. "Let me just show you the island." So he swam farther in underwater, going towards an upward slope in the sand, where the land met up with the air. It was going to the island, a place that he could no longer describe other as just an awesomely cool place. Others would call it beautiful maybe, but he didnt really have that kind of perception of life. Well, with the exception of Verra, who was quite beautiful. He came to the surface of the water and slid over the sand. "This place... There was this one time... I think I scented my parents here."

[verra]

The afternoon wasn't the best time to view the beach. The gray rock of the cliffs hid the sun, leaving the sands dulled by shadow. It was still pretty enough, though Verra preferred looking at the water, but it would be much more striking later in the day. The island would always be lovely. It was far enough out to receive plenty of sunlight, and the white sands seemed almost to glow. It's wasn't huge, but that hardly mattered. She liked it. It was quite cool, indeed. However, from the other Cael's words, its significance was probably more than just aesthetic. "This place... There was this one time... I think I scented my parents here."

"Your parents? I take it you haven't seen them in a while, then. Did you live near here when you were a pup?" It sounded like there was a story to be told in that. She wasn't sure if he wanted to tell it or not, but the story was there. Plenty of loners didn't want to talk about their past, so she tried to avoid asking about his family directly. She no longer had the slightest desire to provoke this mysterious stranger. Personally, she was fine with talking about the past, not that there was much to tell. It had all already happened, and she doubted that she'd ever get around to going back.

[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] "I'll tell yah, if I ever did see them, I would have remembered. I don't remember a thing, and my whole life I've continued not seeing them. This island is the only clue I have that their even alive. But its just dust on my shoulders now, I just gotta keep going, no matter how much pain I face. Otherwise I won't get anywhere, just sitting around here and praying. Thats being weak and selfish." Those words were probably some of his strongest, they didnt burn yet they reminded him of his past, but it also reminded Keiaki that all this time, he was kept alive by something. Somehow, something wanted him alive for a purpose. Perhaps it wanted him to find his parents once again, but letting him become stronger simply by not having them there when he needs them the most. But there was something else, too. There was the one thing that he sought after that he could see everywhere but could never truly find or receive: Friendship. It was that one thing that drove him crazy, and the need for a friend, to be able to tell about his past in a way they understand and someone that will support him, as well as he supporting them. He sighed, quite loudly, loud enough for Verra to hear, anyway.

OOC: I think you next post should give a clue that she kinda likes him, maybe for what hes saying?

[verra]

She was silent for a few moments after he spoke, just processing. She had expected something a little bit less intense, and felt a little uncomfortable. Whatever personal issues he was living with were his problem, and she hardly felt capable of fixing them. Then again, she wanted to seem friendly. Friends listened to problems, even if they really didn't want to. She didn't want to, but his brave talk didn't make it sound like it was hurting him any less.

"Um, I'm sorry. Do you want to...er...talk about it?" It was said almost as a question, as she didn't really know how she was supposed to answer. Before he could answer, she let out a rush of what was meant to be encouraging advice. "At least you're old enough to take care of yourself. A lot of wolves don't see there parents much, even if they are still alive. I wouldn't worry about it. They have their life, you have yours. Don't waste it." Though probably not the most comforting words, they were all she could think of to say. She didn't want him to be unhappy, but wasn't sure if it could be helped. Even if he did believe that plowing through was the right choice, Verra had to wonder why he returned to the island. Willingly causing himself pain by coming to the island just seemed stupid. Or did it relieve the pain? She couldn't tell.