To be young and free...

[kasmira]

Kasmira crouched in the long, swaying grass, of the Connewa Meadow, the bright purple Lupus' nose raised, ears and eyes alert. Using her earth powers, she tried to mix her scent as much as possible with the surrounding greenery, hoping her prey would come closer. The jackalope sat, gingerly nibbling at some fresh spring grass. Huh, at least you get to eat! she thought.

Minute by minute, it was inching closer, mostly because Kasmira had tried to make a path grow,with her powers, of fresh grass to her ingenious hiding spot. Small greenery such as grass, flowers, vines and sometimes small bushes were easy, but when she had once tried to make a tree, it had cracked in two like a twig.

However, Kasmira was getting tired: She had been here for what seemed like hours, although she knew it must be just minutes. Her back legs were starting to ache for being ready to pounce for so long, and her stomach was growling. She narrowed her bright green eyes as her unsuspecting prey came closer, and she dug her claws a little further into the warm, moist earth.

Oh yea, she thought, you're going down... As the jackalope sat a couple feet away, Kasmira pounced, fangs bared as she ripped into the animal's throat. She tried to be quick so the animal wouldn't have to suffer. After satisfying herself, Kasmira lifted her head and stretched her tired muscles. She trotted to the river, making sure to stay away from the parts that were crumbling or flooded. After washing herself off, she found a spot of grass away from the river, and flopped down for a quick nap. She knew she was out in the open, but was pretty sure this land belonged to no pack. I'll just be quick, then continue my journey someplace else, she thought, as she closed her eyes.

[catch22]

Torn sighed. He hadn't even started practicing his powers and he was already dreading it. Even before, when he had a future as being trained, he was never confident. He took a deep breath, he was ready. There was no pack here, so with luck no one would mind.

He tapped into the pool of something that pretended to be nothing most of the time. His vision blurred, and then came in to focus differently. He saw the earth, in shades of grey. He had learned some about what it meant. White was soft rock, Black was head rock. And the little lines of white were where cracks were. That was as far as he got though.

He decided he would make a shelter, for the night. Torn liked planning ahead, it made him feel safe when nothing else would. He saw a crack in the ground. He wanted it to go up, but he wasn't quite sure how hard he needed to push, so he gave a shove. Hard.

A split second later he knew that was a bad idea, more than anything he could have done. It wasn't cracked through, only on one side as opposed to what he thought he had seen. Instead it stuck to the ground beneath it, only tearing out a small chunk, but the ground heaved with a loud rumble. Torn was rooted to the spot as he realized that the ground was getting closer. Then it hit him.

((OOC Torn is knocked out at this point ))

[kasmira]

Kasmira awoke with a start, heart pounding as a rumble shook the land. Bouncing up, she looked around, her ears ringing. With her extended sense of hearing that came with her earth powers, she pressed her ear to the ground, tuning in to the earth. The rustle of another jackalope, probably scared by the sound, the tiny feet of hundreds of bugs... Finally she found what she was looking for: A heartbeat of another wolf.

It wasn't too far from here, so she got up, shaking herself off of any grass that might linger on her fur. Since her hearing was particularly tuned in to the earth, the sound was probably twice as loud for her, so she was still a little startled. Nearing a group of rocks, she noticed another wolf, probably a Lupus judging by his coat, unconscious beside a bunch of large rocks. Wow, she thought, did you do this? She sniffed at him, gingerly and as quietly as possible: He might be hurt. Kasmira lifted her head and glanced around, seeing no other wolves in the area.

Kasmira glanced back at the unexpected wolf, just a little afraid: She was alone, and although could probably out run him if need be, she doubted she could fight him off. But he doesn't look mean, she thought. Since night was beginning to descend, the sun lazily settling in for the night in the distance, she decided to stay near this unknown wolf. He might not want to wake up alone. I hope he's okay, she thought, as she lay down beside him. This time I'm staying wide awake, she thought. Who knows what might happen...

[catch22]

Comforting blackness was slowly becoming replaced by a certain amount of discomfort. After a while Torn had recovered, but still lay there. Well that's what you get for catching a pile of rocks with your face though his cynical part of his mind.

He groaned a bit. He was not a particularly talented Lupus in his mind, in fact far from it. The most he could do was lift and chuck rocks that were already disconnected from the ground. He rolled his tongue around in his mouth and tasted blood. Probably from his face. He cracked his eyes open, it was at least a couple hours from when he had been messing around.

He lifted his head and looked down at his crippled leg. It seemed to have been spared for the most part, of course, it still was as hideous as ever, and Torn snorted at it.

Lifting forepaws up he pushed himself standing. And promptly fell over again. No, that's not happening, you've gone and drained yourself again. Once again the cynical part of his mind took over. He then seemed puzzled at something he had seen. Gosh he was slow right now. He turned his head over to the purple only a little distance away. Wolf. Torn blinked. Then the novelty hit him. He turned and attempted to escape it, shuffling himself around since he couldn't stand, or move very well, terrified. He was going to die, he was sure of it.

[Somatra]

Somatra had been enjoying a quick swim in the too-cold-for-comfort river when it hit her, a large wave rather uncharacteristic for rivers in general. Sputtering she desperately tried not to inhale the water overlapping her head and commanded the wind to help push her to shore. Once on shore the rumble that seemed to have produced the wave subsided and she plopped her soaked wet mass on the ground. She grumbled from under her wet fur, “I don’t know who is responsible for this, but there is going to be some severe retribution.”

She got up and shook the water out the best she could, spraying droplets in every direction and let the breeze start to dry her coat off. Then it hit her, the smell of other wolves. Thanks to her previous experiences after joining the Children’s pack she quenched her desire to run over and say hi and instead perked her black tipped ears up to listen for any sound of dispute. Hearing none, she swiftly crept through the grass, keeping low to the ground as her muscles tensed awaiting any quick movement.

Up ahead she could perceive a bright shade of purple moving in the grass as well. She did not recognize this wolf, but she could smell other of her pack members from her. She must be from the Children as well, Som deduced. Picking up a second wolf’s sense she jumped to the conclusion that she may need help. Tensing up her hind quarters she leaped up and landed in front of the purple wolf taking a defensive pose. However, she recognized the other wolf from a previous encounter. Som immediately loosened her posture and gave the other wolf a smile. “So which one of you is trying to drown me?”

[kasmira]

Kasmira was less startled at the other wolf's arrival, mostly because she looked vaguely familiar and Kasmira had been wide awake for a little while now, her head resting on her front paws. Kasmira stretched and stood up, grinning at the new wolf, a female by the looks of it. "Well, it must be him," Kasmira answered her question, nodding at the other wolf who looked just a little panicked," since I just found him here unconscious. I don't know what happened." She glanced at the blue wolf's coat, noticing she was quite damp. Deciding it wise not to mention anything, she looked at the other wolf and smiled, noticing he was awake.

Concerned, Kasmira approached cautiously, just a little closer than before. Who knows, she thought to herself, he looks a little afraid of me. I wonder why? Naturally a friendly wolf, she called out to him: "Hello! You seem a little, uh... Out of sorts. Anything I," she glanced at the other wolf, a blue lupus like her," er ,we, can do? By the way," she added, wagging her tail slightly, "my name's Kasmira."

She noticed it was getting dark outside, the stars beginning to show up in the slowly darkening blue sky. "What exactly were you doing anyways?" She laughed, trying to lighten the mood: "You gave me quite a scare!"

[catch22]

Torn's eye's darted between the two. Apparently at least the purple one had been here. The other, the blue, seemed familiar. Ah yes, the Cadre incident. She had been there, however she had no idea who she was, so he still didn't trust her.

Torn stopped attempting to push himself out of the way and instead, just lay there. The second approached, and Torn's eyes went back. Out of sorts was putting it lightly. Kasmira. Torn scribbled away the name in piece of his mind, and let it sit. However he didn't say a thing.

It was getting dark, and the glimmer of stars began to emerge into the sky. What was he doing? He was asking himself that question constantly. As far as him scaring anyone, well, that was probably not an isolated event considering his leg.

"I'm just moving through the area. I don't want any trouble." It was true. At least one of them had pack scent on them, and that generally meant trouble. He flattened himself as well as he could into the earth, his eyes darting between the two, unable to judge whether they were considering eating him. He was not going to be lulled into a false sense of security by good manners, they were to easy to duplicate.

[Somatra]

Somatra looked at the wolf who seemed to be trying to become part of the earth and wondered why he seemed so nervous. Well Som, she chided, what the hell would you be feeling if you were being confronted by two other wolves and were outnumbered? She sat down and said in a casual voice, “Oh hey, no worries, I was only jocking around.It may just be me, but I think we have crossed paths before, my name is Somatra and I am a Guardian for the Children of Hvitur Ari. Oh course you can call me Som if it makes it easier.” She gave a friendly grin and decided to lay down, a bit tired from the unusual swim.
Turning her attention to the purple lupuse, she cocked an ear and asked, “So what pack are you from Kas? Haven’t seen you before in this area, course I haven’t been through this area before either.” She chuckled a little; meeting people was always interesting to say the least.
Curiousity finally pushed Som to ask, “What was that ruckus anyways? Craziest swim I’ve ever had. Imagine, a wave in a river, can’t say I see that every day…And if I hadn’t been in the water it would have been cool.” She eyed the pair, and remarked to the wolf lying down, “If it was you, and you were just passing by, then you really know how to make an entrance.” She bent her head and licked her paw to clean off some remaining specks of dirt, the brown making an unappealing pattern on her white fur.[/size]

[kasmira]

Kasmira glanced back and forth between the two wolves, confused at the male's behavior. Why was he so scared of them? She gave herself a brief check-over, hoping she had no blood left from her earlier hunt. That might scare other wolves off, to see her covered in blood. However, she was not, so she sat down, tail wagging. This was turning out to be interesting, and after weeks without company, Kasmira was happy to stay.

Smiling she addressed Somatra: "Well, I'm currently part of the Children. And I've been hanging out here for a while. It's a great place to meet others." Wondering if this made her seem like a stalker, she quickly added:"Well, you know, not that I go looking for anyone, I just... Er, enjoy the quiet. You know," she said, grinning at the other wolf, "besides the rock slides and all." Since he still looked frightened and a little freaked out, Kasmira went on full "Wanna be best buddies?" mode.

She was enjoying herself immensely, since one of the reasons she had came to the meadow was to meet other wolves, since she was getting lonely traveling alone. Deciding the male might be feeling left out, she said to him as she stretched and lazily flopped down: "Well, I'm glad you don't want any trouble. Neither do I. And you are?" She immediately regretted asking him that: Not every wolf, in fact few were, quite so open and friendly as her. "Not that you have to tell us or anything, but since we're already here, er, if you feel like a bit of company or whatever. If not, that's fine too." She smiled at him, resting her head on her front paws. Maybe now he'd feel less scared?

[catch22]

Torn didn't relax for an instant. He found that people that seemed to be nice, usually wanted something. He wasn't going to be sucked into that attitude. The two wolves for all he knew were working together. As the sudden flurry of questions shot by he didn't speak a word. He was in trouble, or so he thought. He continued to inch backwards, very slowly so as not to hurt his leg.
Yes, he remembered the other wolf now, right before he had... torn cut off the thought. He wasn't ready to go into that. Instead he only gave his name.
"Torn." He looked between them. "What do you want?" He didn't want to make it sound pleading, but he was afriad it may have come out that way. It was true. He had no idea how long he had been out, and for all he knew they were ready to just keep him here until more arrived, or perhaps they would just finish him off themselves?

[Somatra]

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[bg=FFFFFF] Som stared at Torn, slightly put off by his lack of response. With a straight face she replied, “Vell, now dat you mention it, actually I vant ta suck ya blood.” She let her answer sink in before breaking out into a grin and laughing at the absurdity of the thought, her amber eyes bright with a devil-ish spark. “In all honesty I don’t really want a thing, except maybe to say hi, hold a conversation. You know, relatively normal stuff. What pack are you from?” Small lines of frustration appeared on her muzzle as she tried to think of a way to put him more at ease. He might be trying to lure us in to a trap, or trying to gain intel for another pack, Som thought as the quiet idea crossed her mind. Perhaps it would be best to watch what I say as well. She sniffed at the air and let the wind circle around in an attempt to pick of anymore wolf scents. However, she could not find any and not but the scent of spring vegetation floated back along the breeze. He sure is a strange one, she decided. She turned her ever wandering attention to Kas, the purple wolf evidently a rather friendly one. “Am I ever glad to have met you then, it has been tricky meeting people from the pack, some tend to be put off by my over enthusiastic approach to things.How long have you been in the Children for?” Her black tipped tail twitched pack in forth and she kept an eye on Torn just in case quick action was needed.

[kasmira]

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[atrb=background,http://i.imm.io/5klG.jpeg] Hum, thought Kas, he seems a little nervous... Maybe he had got into a fight with another wolf and was afraid they were working with him/her? She started wondering why he would be so defensive, and still came up with nothing. Maybe, she thought to herself, I've just never been in his situation. I'd better be extra friendly, maybe he just needs some time to warm up. After hearing Som's answer to his question, Kasmira chuckled. "Well," she answered, "I'd really just like some conversation too." She twitched her tail absentmindedly. "I haven't been with the pack very long, I just got tired of wandering around, I guess." She grinned and added: "Although it looks like I stilll do sometimes." Since Torn didn't seem very talkative at the moment, she turned to Som and asked out of curiosity: "So, what does being a guardian mean?" She hoped Torn would realise they were harmless soon enough, since she was beginning to get worried: What if it was him that she should be afraid of, and not the other way around?

[kasmira]

OOC: *crazy manical laughter* Ah ha ha! I love my new table! Lyta made it.

[catch22]

((OOC Sorry for the late reply, finals ate my life))

Torn relaxed, but not much. He attempted to stand carefully, but his overall goal to hide his crippled leg failed in the end. He limped a little bit backward, allowing himself to just suck up the pain. The Children? He was fairly certain it was a pack, but he wasn't sure. And they were talking about guardians whatever that was. He didn't like what it sounded like.
If he was on land with a majority of pack members, he was in a disadvantage. Especially if this other one was a guardian, he still wasn't sure.
"I'll just be off then shall I?" Would he be able to just walk away? He hoped so, he thought it would be fairly easy. Then he remember he just exposed them to the fact he was badly crippled. He could now be considered a target, even if they were openly 'friendly'. He watched them carefully as he backed up, still a little groggy from being asleep.

[Somatra]

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[bg=FFFFFF] Torn wanted to go so soon? Heck, they had just begun their swapping of stories and what not, to leave would mean missing out on the fun. Gaining information was a crucial element to survival, and Som wanted to know more about this odd wolf. When he stood up she noticed his crippled leg, and it dawned on her that this was perhaps his reason for being so shy. Having a physical disability in the wild must be hard, survival was a merciless game that selected only the strong. That is unless you had connections and allies that had your back. " Well, I'm not going to stop you from leaving since its not my style, but it would be appreciated if you could hang out some more." She was hesitant about addressing his leg, not wanting to put Torn on the spot, but she was curious how he had gotten the disability. She let the matter rest for the moment, perhaps she might learn the story later on. For now she simply asked, "I can only speak for myself, but I would be very interested in learning your story. I find each wolf has something unique to teach others from their own experiences." Addressing Kas' question she said proudly, "A Guardian is responsible for keeping the pack members of the Children of Hvitur Ari safe from harm. We get to patrol borders, help out wolves in distress, and face trespassers, from what I know. I prefer to extend my responsibility as a Guardian so that I may be of assistance to other packs as well, but my loyalty lies with the Children. What about yourself?" The purple wolf seemed too good nature to be a fighter, but exteriors were seldom as simple as they seemed, which she thought was perhaps the case with Torn. It took guts, intelligence and inner strength to survive with a disability, to say the least.