` i can feel you (dred&tikaani)

[maybe]

A large wolf sat quietly on the bank of a shallow stream, watching it trickle gently across pebbles smoothed to perfect roundness in the doldrums of time. His sunset-orange eyes burned like wildfires as they stared intently at the flowing water, perhaps struggling to derive some meaning from the mindless movements of nature. His sensitive ears could just make out the sound of his sister's deep breathing from the large cave in which she slept, which was a few minutes walk from the riverbank. The two littermates had been traveling together since their mother passed, and they had had little contact with other wolves. Life as a loner was risky at best, and at worst, downright dangerous; but Dred knew there were few animals who could take on himself and his sister and hope to win. Therefore, he felt safe and secure with Xombi at his side, as she did with him. Alone, he knew that he could survive, but life was just more pleasant and easier with a companion. Wolves were not meant to live alone.

However, his sister's constant presence could get monotonous, and Dred enjoyed small spells of solitude, times in which to simply be, and not have to talk or think or act. He inhaled deeply of the crisp morning air, expanding his large chest and letting the air flow into him and fill him up. He released the pent-up breath with a powerful gust, ruffling the thick black fur on his chest. Suddenly, his ears pricked as a small rustling sound intruded upon his private thoughts. Eyes narrowed, he peered around, trying to discern the source of the noise. He was not worried, however. The creature that produced such a small sound could not possibly be a threat to him, being such a massive beast himself. But still, it unnerved him. The feeling that he was being watched began to creep up on him, making his pelt tingle unpleasantly.

[Kailolu]

Tikaani was tired and irritated. Her ears twinged with pain each time the little bat-eared fox on her back complained. He just wouldn't shut his mouth. Where are we going? You're lost aren't you. I'm tired. Why don't you ever listen to me? Remember when you got us lost in the swamp? I'm hungry. Carry me! The constant nagging was growing unbearable and the only respond Tikaani had was to growl back. This made Rama nip at her ears or claw at her neck. Even though he was such a pain, Tikaani loved the little brat. He was the only one she felt safe around, and the only one she felt normal around.

"There's a big rock up ahead. Let's go to it. It's hot, and I'm hungry."

Kani rolled her eyes and shifted her shoulders, causing Rama to lose his grip and crumple onto the ground. "Quite whining, let's go over here. I'm hungry too." And so, the pair padded next to each other around some trees until they reached the boulder. Kani hopped up and sat down, closing her eyes when a cool breeze ruffled her fur. When her eyelids peeled open, the small black fox was sitting in front of her, looking at her with those big, soulless white eyes. The two looked at each other for what felt like eternity. Then, in unison, they opened their mouths and let a winding smoke slide out. The stream of mist that dripped from Rama was white, twirling with a very subtle green. He was bored, and tired, which was to be expected. From Tikaani's open maw fled a light blue-ish purple spectrum, which mean she was feeling accepted and calm. The two, like statues, stared at each other, exchanging emotions.

Tikaani felt a wave of chills hit her body, making her fur stand on end. She felt like she was filling up with light, it made her insides feel warm. And then she was full. The both of them closed their mouths when they heard something. Before Tikaani could rush Rama away, the little fox took off in the direction of the sound. "Rama!" Tikaani snapped, standing and wagging her tail in anticipation and fear. She didn't dare go after him, knowing if it were something dangerous they would both be killed.

Rama maneuvered around trees and dove through a bush and froze. Sitting there was a giant multicolored wolf. The small fox was practically the size of the wolf's paw! A tremble ran though his body and he flattened his ears to his head, dropping his body to the ground. Never had he seen a wolf this big or this terrifying. He had truthfully never been this frightened before. And then, he whimpered.

Tikaani had been holding her breath for so long she heard the small cry that came from her friend. And she came running. Heart pounding wildly, Kani ran as fast as she could, following the trail Rama went. She broke sticks and ran through leaves, not caring the least if she made sounds. When she ran around a large bush, she froze at the same sight Rama had. Despite the fact he was at least three times her size, the black wolf quickly moved to stand over her fox companion. She stared at the wolf with her piercing white eyes, hoping with everything she had inside that the male wouldn't try to hurt her or her friend. Swallowing the fear she had in her gut, she stood tall and lifted her head. "Please tell me, stranger, are you going to harm to us?" She made her voice solid so she didn't appear afraid. She hopes her little bravado lasted.

occ;

word count; 616
muse; 80.6%
tags; Maybe! ((Sorry for the rambling post, haha))

[maybe]

Dred let out an involuntary gasp of alarm as a tiny, skittering mass of black fur shot out from under the bush the large wolf had been examining. The horned beast raised a brow, trying to catch the creature's scent, but it was very faint. This, in itself, was very strange indeed. The fox, or at least that's what Dred assumed it was, was standing right in front of him, but barely a whisper of scent came from his pitch black fur. However, this was not the only thing that caused Dred to flinch with alarm. When the tiny black fox looked up to meet his eyes, Dred felt a cold shiver of revulsion, like ice in the pit of his stomach. The creature's eyes were pure, milky white; not the white of old age or blindness, for Dred knew without a doubt that the fox could see, but a cold, unfeeling, soulless white, like ice.

The massive beast was immobilized by shock, unable to do anything but stare into those deep, soulless voids. It was a surprise to him, then, when a much larger canine leaped out of the bushes and stood firm over the cowering fox. This one was much larger, about the size of an average female wolf, maybe a bit smaller, and she had the same shimmering black fur and those empty white eyes. Dred's jaw dropped, and he managed to close his massive mouth with great effort. Who were these creatures? Better yet, WHAT were they? Were they alive, or spirits? Or both? Could they be a figment of his imagination? But no, Dred had never been prone to overimaginative thoughts, that was more like Xombi, who was always making things up. Again, he tried to scent them, but it was as if they were miles away, their scent was so faint. But there was definitely a scent, and it filled him with a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach, almost as if he was tasting their fear.

And then it spoke. Dred shook his head, surprised to hear her voice. It was like a gentle breeze, or a cool, refreshing spring. It took him a few more seconds to realize what she had said.

"Hurt you?" he questioned, unable to fully comprehend the idea. "N-no. I'm not going to hurt you; I'm not one of those who derives pleasure from harming innocent creatures," he narrowed his eyes, letting his hatred of ruthless killers fill him up for a moment. But then, it slipped away as easily as it had come. "I'm Dred," he said, forcing himself to make polite conversation with these canines who looked so strange. "Nice to meet you."

[Kailolu]

Tikaani's fur bristled and her hackles stood erect as the beast in front of her seemed confused. When he spoke all Kani did was stare, unresponsive. The fiery pit that formed inside of her heart was washed out with cooling waves of relief and curiosity. The stranger said he wouldn't harm them, but perhaps he was a weaver? One to twist the silky threads of speech into a web of lies. This made Tikaani skeptical, and in turn, caused her to keep her guard erect. Since Tikaani was acting as a body guard, Rama crawled out from under his companion, never losing eye contact with the giant horned male. And, without saying a word, he slowly stepped back, stretching his eyelids far open to emphasize his bottomless eyes and disappeared into the bush.

Kani was well aware Rama wasn't going anywhere, so she remained put. At first, after the wolf, known as Dred, introduced himself, Tikaani was reluctant to give him her name. But, she knew that life was full of mysteries. Who knew if he could do something to her by knowing her name? It didn't matter, if Kani died then she would finally become what she's always wanted to. A midnight star. "Tikaani." She said icily, shifting her jaw as a new aroma met her nose in a rather unpleasant greeting. "Where is the other? I smell her on you." Kani's voice at this point was neither nice nor cruel, so she was merely defending herself and her companion.

"Tikaani, mind your manners. Dred, sir, you're name is rather ironic to your behavior. Are you sure you don't want to rip into her throat? Watch her blood spill? It would be fascinating really. Our hearts don't beat, so perhaps you wouldn't get to relish in the sight of glorious rich red blood spilling onto the floor. But still, the urge must be there somewhere, correct?"

The sarcastic, nonchalant voice came from the bush behind Tikaani. At Rama's suggestion to Dred killing her, she didn't flinch. She knew he didn't mean it, but she truly wished he wouldn't offer her up so openly like that. What if Dred took up the offer and actually hurt her? Yes, being a star was her dream, but she was still young and had plenty of time to explore the rest of her life. Kani took a bold step forward, shielding the bush even more. "Ignore the voice that comes from my companion. He shouldn't be sacrificing me so easily. Rama, you've grown bold after losing sight. Come out."

And, for once, the little fox listened. He walked out like he owned the place, chest puffed out, ears erect. He lowered his haunches to the ground and stared intently at the male wolf, leaning against Tikaani's leg. "What'll it be? I think you should try it. I've never seen her blood before. I'll bet it'll be glorious."


occ;

word count;479
muse; 80.4%
tags; maybe!

[maybe]

Dred's confusion only grew with each word she spoke, increasing his curiosity about who, and what, these creatures were. A feeling of unease began to creep into the back of his mind, piqued when the small wolf mentioned his sister. He struggled to keep his hackles from rising, making the fur on his back and neck tingle unpleasantly. What sort of powers did these two posess? Was he wrong to assume that, because he was bigger and fiercer, he was safe? In retrospect, it seemed like a foolish assumption, and Dred mentally chastised himself for letting his guard down.

"My sister," he said with a feeling of reluctance, although his voice was steady and calm. "We travel together." He nodded curtly, as if to punctuate his words with a note of finality. That was all he would say. Then, his ears pricked as the tiny fox creature spoke from within the bushes. Its voice was eerie and cold, and Dred suppressed a shudder as the words hit his ear like an ice-cold blade. At first, he did not know how to react, but he shook his head, clearing it of the mental fuzz that seemed to pervade the air the more these creatures spoke. He had never encountered such strange and terrifying individuals before. And yet, as creepy as the fox's voice was, his words were all the more disturbing.

"Names do not always reflect the true nature of that to which they belong, white-eyes," he said, squaring up his chest and looking down his bright orange nose at the talking shrubbery. "For example, my name could be Foo Foo Cuddly Poops, and it would not change my nature in the slightest. My mother named me Dred, and my sister Xombi, because they are traditional Muertos names. That is the clan, or subspecies, to which we were born. We all have some variation of markings that represent bones and, well. . . death. But not all of us are ruthless and cruel. Actually, very few are. We Muertos wolves are, for the most part, honorable canines. And I am priveleged to count myself among that number. So no, I do not wish to kill or maim your friend, night-pelt, despite how fascinating it might be." Dred finished his oration with a polite half-bow toward Tikaani, tipping his head to her in a most curious gesture.

Another thing that was rather unique to the Muertos wolves was the use of descriptive titles or nicknames, such as white-eyes or night-pelt. They were meant, mostly, in a respectful way, used to highlight an individual's most interesting or special attributes. They could, however, be used in a roundabout insulting manner, but Dred was not the type for petty name-callling. Despite his discomfort and confusion, he fixed a polite smile upon his ruggedly handsome visage and looked at Tikaani expectantly, and noticed for the first time that she was extremely beautiful, albeit in a frighteningly morbid way.

---

Wordsies: 490
Muse: Fairly good
Tags: Kailolu
Notes: Sorry for the short period of inactivity. I have two jobs, a horse, and a boyfriend, so sometimes things get crazy. I'll definitely be making more of an effort to get online in the future. This is starting to get goooooood. ;)

[Kailolu]

Tikanni began to grind her teeth together and her ears twitched at Dred's name calling. 'White-eyes'. She grew stiff with each word he spoke but couldn't stifle the amused scoff at the name he gave himself. Foo Foo Cuddly Poops, quite the imagination. The black Fae thought as she listened to him ramble. With her white eyes locked on his, she let her mind wander to her companion, who was acting rather passively compared to how he usually is. Was this because of intimidation, or respect? Hardly anything phased Rama, that was the truth. Only a year ago had the little being come face to face with an angry bear and handled the situation so nonchalantly, he slipped away leaving a bewildered look on the larger predators face. If only Tikaani had been there, that would have been the story of a lifetime to pass on. A twitch of her tail and she was drawn back to the conversation, just catching the last sentence of Dred's little bravado. The smile that tore at her mouth made her chuckle. She made an incredibly over dramatic bow to the larger wolf, leaving a rather creepy smile on her face as she never lost eye contact. "Why I thank you, dear sir, for sparing my meaningless life."

Rama was less amused as Tikaani was and refused to show any emotion. He shrugged after his female companion spoke. "Suite yourself." He aimed the comment toward Dred, "Though if the urge lingers under that exterior, be my guest and slit her throat. She's quite meaningless, as she so easily stated. "

A twinge of pain struck Tikaani at this comment, and her face showed the hurt as she stood up. Sure she was used to Rama offering her life, but never had he actually admitted that she was meaningless. Now she had no reason to say it herself, but it was not the truth. She valued her life, and didn't think she lived without purpose, but suddenly she was beginning to rethink. No real meaning was there for the strange wolf. She was cursed and set on the planet with a fox that seemed to care less about her each day. He was all she had, Tikaani had no life without the witty thing. If he meant everything to her, did she truly mean nothing to him other then a source of food and entertainment? The black Fae retracted her emotions and dropped her tail. She stared at the ground and thought about what the fox said.

The little male realized the heaviness of his words on his companion, but he did nothing to correct it. Instead, he boldly walked forward to examine the large mutant. He got close enough to touch the monster, but he flicked his tail and chuckled. "Pay no mind to her. She bounces back rather quickly. Give her a minute." While he spoke, he walked around the brute, pondering his markings. They were like none he had seen, and they intrigued him. "You said you were of the Muertos? I've seen hundreds and heard of thousands, yet this is the first I've heard of your species. Are they an ancient race?"

Occ;

word count; 545
muse; 70.6%
tags; Maybe!