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Post by Kailolu on Nov 25, 2011 1:18:05 GMT -5
Kihlan smiled at her enthusiasm. “I’m going to go find something to eat, and then we’ll go.” He could care less if she followed, though inside he wished she would stay. If she spooked away a promising snack, he’d get grumpy real fast. He moved to the top of the boulder, flapping his wings as he moved. By the time he reached its peak, he was ready to take off and he did. Ki’s plan was to catch a couple mice since he didn’t want to have a heavy meal before a flight. He tended to have digestion problems, something he inherited from his father, which kicks up whenever he flies.
Flying over the top of the canyons, he listened and watched for movement. His ears perked up when he saw a rabbit. That shouldn’t be too big. Ki watched carefully to see what the creature was doing. It was grazing, obviously not paying attention. Folding his wings, Kihlan dove toward the rabbit. By the time he was a few feet from opening his wings to slow himself, the critter darted to the left and started to run.
The white wolf cursed under his breath, hitting the ground and tearing after the creature. He saw the rabbit’s burrow in the distance, and he felt rather cocky. He assumed that he could catch it and lost focus for a second. That split time cost him and by the time he realized it, the rabbit dove into the hole. Ki didn’t give up that easily. He began to tear the ground up, staining his belly almost instantly. Ohh, you’re not getting away that easily, he growled mentally. He shoveled the ground up, faster then he expected. He whined eagerly, letting his tongue loll out of his mouth.
He pulled up loads of dirt, occasionally reaching out and ripping a mouthful of ground up to get more space. He stopped for a moment, letting his front half rest in the large hole he created. His butt was plopped down, legs folded up. He looked up, sniffing at the air once to see if any of the rabbit’s buddies were hanging around. When he smelled none, he turned and continued to dig. Much to his surprise, he actually reached the end of the rabbit’s den. This must have been a very inexperienced critter if he only had one entrance. The small brown furry creature was trying to doge the wolf’s jaws, but Ki grabbed it and bit down hard. There was a crack, and then the rabbit was still. He ate it quickly, remaining half in the ripped up burrow. When he finally was back in the air to the water, his face was covered in dirt as well as his chest and legs. It was caked on some places and it was annoying him as he flew. He made it to the water and waded in, dunking his head once to try and get the dirt off. It just made him muddy, but he didn’t care for appearance. “Come on, honeypup, let’s go.” He returned to the air, irritated at his now wet and muddy fur.
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Word count; 523 Muse; 80.7% Tags; forte!
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Post by Forte on Nov 25, 2011 1:37:38 GMT -5
After another drink from the river, for the road, Zephyr followed Kihlan up into the sky, struggling for altitude. She regretted coming all the way down here now, and she huffed and puffed all the way up, even going so far as to try to claw her way up the side of the cliff. She collapsed when she finally reached the top, out of breath but pleased with herself. She rolled onto her back and squirmed around in the dirt and grass, enjoying the feeling, and after a few moments she sat up and looked around. She spotted Kihlan a bit further away, flying low, and she was eager to get going but she knew better than to interrupt his hunt. She had time to stretch her own wings. Zephyr jumped off the edge of the cliff and flapped hard, soon catching a weak thermal and riding it higher. She waited in the sky, also scanning the ground for movement, but in the dusk it was hard to make out shapes, so soon she quit and began to reminisce about her life in the old pack, especially her brother. Boy did she miss him.
Before long Zephyr spotted Kihlan making his way up toward her, and as he got closer she burst out laughing at the mud that caked his fur. "You got it..." She meant to put a jibe at the end of that sentence but she had never been good at thinking those things up on the spot. She hoped Kihlan wouldn't notice. She took her place a bit behind them and their journey began.
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Post by Kailolu on Nov 25, 2011 1:52:16 GMT -5
Kihlan waited for a nickname at the end of her sentence but got none. He smirked at himself as he took lead in the sky, flying directly over the river. Flapping hard, he glanced back at Zephyr before pushing her up suddenly with a burst of wind. He pushed her and himself up higher and higher until he got to his desired altitude. And then, he cut his power short to avoid wearing himself out.
He gave himself one extra boost so he could fly above Zephyr in order to talk with her. He might as well get to know her if he was going to take her to the ocean. “So, Zephyr, where do you come from? The plains, mountains, forest, artic, or the desert perhaps?” That was a good conversation starter, or so he guessed. While awaiting an answer, he made sure to keep a good distance between them, watching how far her wings came up and how far his went down. This in mind, he got as close as he dared, constantly keeping his eyes on the space. If she got closer to him, he would send a gentle current of wind to press her back down, or use it to push him back up.
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Word count; 208 Muse; 77.7% Tags; forte!
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Post by Forte on Nov 25, 2011 2:12:06 GMT -5
Kihlan's gust of air caught Zephyr squarely beneath her wings and she rushed upwards with a delighted gasp, then burst into giggles. "I see what you meant," she shouted over the roar of the wind in her ears. She flapped hard a few more times, making use of his help, and before long the two wolves were about as high up as Zephyr had ever been, and she had done her share of experimenting with flying in her day. She could barely tell the trees below apart from each other. Zephyr's heart soared with her.
The wind was quieter now that Kihlan had stopped using his magic, and the air now merely made a calming sighing sound as it moved in her fur and feathers. She could hear her friend's voice well enough. "Umm... Zephyr hesitated over his question. "You can't really fit it into any of those places," she said. "It's a while southeast of here. Flat, like the plains, but there were trees. I'm sure there are prettier places, but I haven't been to them yet." She was headed toward one now, she thought, and smiled. She assumed the ocean would be pretty, anyway. The way Kihlan had described it. "And what about you? I guess you probably come from a land far, far away, huh?"
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Post by Kailolu on Nov 25, 2011 19:19:30 GMT -5
Kihlan listened carefully, looking ahead at the setting sun. The canyon’s had nearly swallowed the fireball, and this caused the sky to be purple, orange and blue. It truly was a sight he enjoyed watching. He glanced down at her before reaching down and nibbling on his leg to scratch an itch. As he’d expected, she asked him where he had come from. He happily obliged to answer, finding it another excuse to exaggerate on his stories.
“Far away yes. It’s taken me many days to reach here, I lost count after fifty.” In fact, that part wasn’t a fib. It had probably taken him longer then that to reach the river, but he truthfully didn’t know how long it took. “We didn’t stay in one place, me, my mother and my aunt. We traveled constantly, but mostly we were in a forest. Not many open places, but plenty of space to run. Now that I mention it, since of the space, there was a lot of game. I single handedly, with all of my experience and strength, took down a fully grown bull elk.” He raised his head and nodded in approval. Yes, that sounded just right. “It may have put up a fight, but in the end, it was no match for me.”
Ki then quieted down and watched the sun finally slip beyond the horizon. It was then truly dark. The brown stained wolf tilted his head and looked up, feeling a breeze rustle his fur. Was the air current stronger up there? Without a word, Kihlan forced a gust of wind under his wings to send him farther up, flapping to gain altitude faster. He stopped and waited, keeping his wings flat out. Sure enough there was a nice, fast moving air current. He looked down and focused on the brown female, manipulating the air to bring her up closer. If they stayed up here they could soar and not have to flap as much.
Once she was close enough, he cleared his throat to speak. “I apologize if I’ve startled you with that,” he said with a chuckle. By ‘that’ he meant the wind. He hoped he hadn’t scared her or damaged her spirits. The last thing he wanted to do was deter her from accompanying him on their adventure.
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Word count; 583 Muse: 70.0% Tags; forte!
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Post by Forte on Nov 25, 2011 20:05:51 GMT -5
"A bull, all by yourself, huh?" the female chuckled. She didn't believe him completely, but again, she wasn't just going to say that. There was no harm in his exaggeration. "I've never killed anything big," she admitted, "because I don't need to. Just one wolf can't eat a whole elk or anything, so why take that life?"
Zephyr's father had tried to raise her to believe that all other animals, especially prey, were inferior to wolves and that she should not lament their suffering or loss of life. Prey were simply there to feed wolves. One day, he had instructed the pack to attack a fawn, which they had done, and also taken advantage of the doe's reluctance to leave her baby and killed her too. Zephyr's brother had refused to participate or eat at the kill. Many times he had taken his sister on outings and shown her how birds squirrels and deer all cared tenderly for their young. Prey animals have emotions too, he had told her, just like us. We can't waste their sacrifices for us. We don't only choose the weakest of a herd because they're the easiest to catch. We also choose them because those animals are going to die anyway. We, wolves, grow out of death. We must respect our prey, because without them, we die.
Zephyr's brother had taught her compassion for other species, and because of this she hated to hunt, and she never killed animals with young. She was often hungry. Like now, a while after that rabbit, her stomach was beginning to growl faintly. But she would not hunt again at least until tomorrow.
Zephyr didn't sense the air current above until Kihlan left her side. She watched him climb higher, then flapped hard again when he hoisted her up with another gust of air. She was almost as happy as she had ever been, flying so high and fast, with a friend. Maybe she was as happy as she had ever been. Even her puphood days with her brother had been marred by the presence of her father. "No worries," she replied and smiled at him, "I like it." Zephyr quieted down for a few minutes, then said, "You weren't born into a pack?"
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Post by Kailolu on Nov 25, 2011 20:43:24 GMT -5
Kihlan fell silent. He looked away, nibbling on the tip of his tongue. Why did she have to bring up such a tender subject? For some reason, knowing he wasn’t born with a pack, made him feel lesser then other wolves. He’d never feel that sense of completeness. The pride he could have felt. But how could she have known that? He didn’t disregard her question. “No, I would have been had my mother been a loyal mate.” Should he tell her why? He shrugged inwardly, he might as well. She’d probably ask anyway. Kihlan took a deep breath and let out a sigh before he started.
“My mother was mate to an alpha in a small pack. She had everything she could have wanted, but knowing her, she wanted more. She had secret a rendezvous with the neighboring pack, which is where my father was alpha. He’s the one I got the wings from.” Ki looked down at the water, admiring the way the moon reflected off the shimmering surface. “My would-have-been father was outraged and killed my littermates when we were born and banished my mother. He thought I was dead, but I wasn’t.”Ki looked back and his belly, wincing as he saw the scars under his rustling fur. “So, my mother took me and raised me alone for a little bit until she ran into another exiled wolf from my father’s pack. She’s like my aunt, not related to my parents, but she was close enough. Don’t ask me why she was banned, I don’t know.” Secretly, Ki was glad she asked. It felt good to talk about it. He liked to tell others about his problems, only because it made him feel better. He shook his head at nothing and smiled. “What about you, sunshine? You born into a big powerful pack or amongst banished loners?” His voice wasn’t upset, in fact, it was rather happy. The weight on his chest was lifted just a little higher with each word he said.
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Word count; 337 Muse; 70.0% Tags; forte!
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Post by Forte on Nov 26, 2011 20:29:12 GMT -5
Zephyr listened passively to Kihlan's story. Well, not so much a story as what he normally told, she could hear in his voice that he was being truthful. And why shouldn't he be? She had never judged him or been cruel. Even now she didn't think any less of her companion.
The she-wolf was not surprised when Kihlan reciprocated her question, and she smiled at his wording. "Big and powerful," she replied. "We were all one big happy family. Well...except my father. He was never happy. He acted very...entitled, you know? As if the whole world was his for the taking and he was doing everyone a favor by being alpha." She quieted momentarily, trying to get her train of thought back on track. "But yeah, we all loved each other and were kind and all that. My brother was my favorite." Zephyr stopped. He was so important to her, almost sacred, and she didn't particularly want to want to talk about him. It would feel...just wrong somehow. So she skipped over her relationship with him and finished up. "Then he left one day and I wasn't far behind. I've been on my own for a long time."
Zephyr hadn't particularly disliked all that alone time. Evidently, isolation was not one of those things that got to her, although she knew a lot of wolves hated it, being of a social species and all. Zephyr didn't mind it because it meant she could do what she wanted without having to worry or fuss over what someone else wanted. She had been lucky so far with Kihlan because he had agreed to do what she wanted. She didn't know what would happen when and if they had a disagreement, and she hoped not to find out.
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Post by Kailolu on Nov 27, 2011 19:54:18 GMT -5
Ki rolled his eyes at her answer. How could he have even doubted she be born by loners? She didn’t have the attitude that came with solitariness. He listened quietly, his spirits sinking slightly when she said she had a happy family. He didn’t. Every day was a struggle for him, he never got away easy with anything. Kihlan turned his attention back to his companion so he wouldn’t miss parts of her story. He looked down at her when she spoke of her brother. He had wanted to hear more, but she skipped it.
Kihlan licked his nose before speaking, “Doesn’t being alone, for lack of a better word, annoy you?” Sure Ki himself found he liked being alone, but not all the time. He liked the freedom of not having to follow someone else’s rules. He was more of a fly by the moment kind of guy. One that liked to live his life the way he wanted to, not caring about judgment.
But Zephyr, with her being so outgoing, straightforward, and friendly, Ki couldn’t even imagine someone like her liking private life. While awaiting his answer, he tried to groom himself while he flapped. The mud had dried and hardened, making his neck, chest, and legs uncomfortable. He chewed on his chest, ripping out clumps of mud as well as fur. Once they landed he would have to give himself a good bath, definitely.
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Word count; 273 Muse; 50.5% Tags; forte!
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Post by Forte on Nov 27, 2011 23:31:22 GMT -5
"No, it doesn't," Zephyr replied, remembering her months of happy solitude since leaving her pack. "I've found that it makes one happier to be alone because you don't have to worry about anyone else. You want to fly fast? That's fine as long as you don't have to make sure you don't leave someone behind. You want to do loops or dives? Sure, as long as there's no one gets jealous or anything. And I like to do those things." Zephyr brought her legs close to her body and spiraled a few times to illustrate her point, then caught up to Kihlan with little trouble, with the help of his wind current. "No one in my pack was like me. They were all very...down-to-earth." She grinned at her joke. "My brother was the only exception. He was..." Zephyr had a hard time finding a word to word to fit him, and in the end decided, "He was a free spirit." She flashed Kihlan a sly smile and said in a slightly mocking tone, "I think I am too, don't you?" If he said yes then that would mean she appeared to him the same way her brother appeared to her, which would please her greatly. Zephyr momentarily wondered if it was a good thing that she was trying so hard to emulate her brother. She was her own wolf, she knew that, but had her image of him become an obsession of sorts? She immediately pushed this thought away. No, her brother was a great role model. He was a great wolf. If Zephyr turned out like him because of his influence, then she would be very content with that.
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Post by Kailolu on Nov 29, 2011 23:17:59 GMT -5
Kihlan was surprised at her answer, but was impressed. He liked the way she thought, and agreed eagerly with a nod of his head when she spoke of not having to worry about another. He was caught off guard when she spiraled, and at first, he thought he knocked her out of the sky with his wind. But, he turned his head to watch and saw that she had done it on purpose. She caught up quickly and continued. He smiled at her joke but didn’t speak and instead looked ahead and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the wind tickle his nose. He opened one eye to look at her after her question. “Oh absolutely.” He said with a closed lid eye roll. “You live by your own rules, and don’t let others tie you down. I don’t think there’s a better explanation of a free spirit then you.” His voice was sarcastic, but that was a habit. What he said was true, and he admired the way she acted. Even though it got on his nerves once in a while. Ki thought for a moment, wondering how to keep the conversation going, even though he liked his silence. “You have mentioned your brother several times, yet refuse to elaborate on him. What was he like?” Ki had just gotten the gist of what he was like, but he was curious about him. He wanted to know what his personality was, if he was an adventurer, or a loner. If he was a passive, or aggressive. Was Ki meaning to get into personal details? No, but he liked to know things.
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Word Count; 273 Muse; 30.3% Tags; forte!
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Post by Forte on Dec 1, 2011 0:36:41 GMT -5
Due to Kihlan's tone Zephyr could not tell if his answer was sincere or not, and this threw her into a defensive mood. She stayed silent while he did. Being told she was wrong was one of those things she couldn't stand, and there was the possibility that Kihlan did not agree with her. Most of the time disagreements didn't bother her, but when it came to how others viewed her, she was serious even though she didn't want to be. To be aware of the way one was perceived was not the way of the wolf she wanted to be.
Zephyr gave a rude snort of laughter at the wording of Kihlan's next question. "I didn't refuse, you just didn't ask." But this reply quickly declined in causticity as her thoughts turned toward her brother and she left no pause for her companion to retort. "He did a lot of exploring and going places. Sometimes he was gone for days at a time, but he never took me with him. I wished he had. But he was protective of me and didn't want me to get hurt so he didn't take me on his more grand adventures. Also my father didn't like him gone, much less still another one of his children. My brother...was pretty much the opposite of my father. They argued a lot." Zephyr laughed, never having thought of her brother as a rebel. "My brother liked to help people, but my father--Notus--he...saw wolves as above all other species. And saw himself as above all other wolves, for that matter. Put himself first. But my brother, he liked to help people." Zephyr liked to help people too, but she also liked to be put first. Only a few times had these two sides of her come into conflict and she had not yet determined the rules of their intersection.
((Found a place for Notus!))
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Post by Kailolu on Dec 3, 2011 15:59:34 GMT -5
Kihlan scrunched his face up, ready to make a sharp comeback, but before he could speak, Zephyr went on answering his question. Ki turned his head away as if ignoring her, or paying attention to something else, but in truth, he was listening. After all, he still was curious. He snorted loudly, louder than he had meant, when she mentioned her father saw himself above others. What a load of bull. Ki couldn’t stand wolves like that, even if he himself acted that way occasionally. “He sounds just peachy.” He mumbled, looking ahead. They remained on course and Ki kept himself silent for the next hour. He started brooding, finding some way to retaliate against Zephyr’s tone.
Ki had stopped using magic, as it started to tire him. And he didn’t want to deal with her nagging at him if he suggested they land. So, he flapped more often, searching for a natural air current, and occasionally crossing one. His shoulders ached and his wings were growing sore. A familiar smell entered his nose and Ki swung his head around to try and peer behind him. What he saw caused him to growl. A nasty looking wall of rain clouds was headed their way. “That’s what I get,” He grumbled to himself, using a burst of air to push him and Zephyr up. He had to get them above the rain if they were to keep dry. But the higher he pushed the higher and closer the clouds got. Kihlan cursed under his breath, taking away his power completely. “Hey, princess, we have to land and let this rain pass. If we get wet its gunna slow us down.” With that, he tucked his wings and let himself fall. He was going to decide where they stay, and she was going to shut up and plant a smile on her pretty little face.
Her attitude set off his moody behavior and now he was getting angry. The fact that he unknowingly brought bad weather made him even more aggravated. Kihlan now flew a few yards above the water, scanning the sides for places to rest. A cave caught his attention, well up along the wall of stone the canyons produced. He aimed toward it, glad that the clouds hadn’t obscured the moon yet. If his only light was gone, then they’d be done for. The while wolf rotated his wings in a circular fashion before touching down on the outside of the cave. It was smaller than he had thought, hardly big enough to fit the both of them. Kihlan growled mentally. If they were to both remain dry, they’d have to squeeze together. Oh well, better that than wet wings. He walked in, holding his wings as close to his sides as he could and collapsed with a huff. It shouldn’t take long for the rain to pass, and they could soon be on their way.
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Word count; 487 Muse; 80.5% Tags; forte!
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Post by Forte on Dec 3, 2011 20:40:29 GMT -5
After Zephyr snapped at Kihlan she could tell that he was not in a conversational mood. She felt a bit guilty, not having wanted to offend him for real, but she was too proud of a wolf to apologize. He would have to just get over it. He remained silent for a long time. That was fine with Zephyr, flying made her tired, too. Maybe not as tired as Kihlan, but still.
The female did not remain alert for the entire time that the two wolves flew in silence. Flying was not one of those things that required intense attention to be paid to it, and after a while her mild fatigue transformed into genuine sleepiness. Several times she caught her mind speaking gibberish to her, which it did whenever she was getting on towards sleep.
A lurching sensation in Zephyr's stomach brought her back to full consciousness, and she realized that the two wolves were climbing higher again. The wind had changed--she was getting an ominous vibe from something behind them. She turned her head to look over her shoulder, and what she saw made her gasp. It was so beautiful. Storms had always been attracted to storms, so powerful and emotional. Zephyr had two sides--the happy wild side, and the crazy wild side. Storms, specifically thunder, lightning and wind, brought out the latter in the little wolf, and she loved it. But she knew that to fly in a storm was insanely dangerous.
Sure enough, Kihlan told her, with an added jibe, that they would have to land. She nodded and followed him, the wind now roaring in her ears and rushing through her fur. Her feathers shook and her eyes watered as she fell faster, and she imitated Kihlan not far behind him, confident that she would be able to keep up with his aerobatics.
Soon he changed direction and she looked ahead--a cave in a cliffside by the river. She followed him, hovering above until he entered the cave, and then she went in, too. It was small, but Zephyr hadn't really expected luxury sleeping arrangements on this trip. Her irritation with Kihlan having faded, she settled down at the entrance of the cave to watch the storm with one of her rear paws touching his back, hopefully getting the point across that she didn't want him to be angry with her anymore.
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Post by Kailolu on Dec 3, 2011 21:29:57 GMT -5
Kihlan’s temper soother faster then he thought it would. He watched drowsily as Zephyr settled next to him. His gaze shifted down when he felt something touch him and realized it was her foot. Well obviously she didn’t have any ill feelings toward him at the moment. If she harbored any kind of hatred toward him, she would either have picked somewhere else to land, or she’d be pressed against the wall as far away as she could. And truthfully, he was no longer angered by her attitude. He was grateful for her company and was happy to know they were on the same page again. Ki flattened his ears to his head when he let out a loud yawn.
He blinked sleepily and shifted his shoulders, nudging Zephyr as he did so. His chest and wings ached, but he could put up with it. Maybe if he got a little sleep he would feel better. Or he would feel too tired to keep going. He decided to risk the gamble. “Hey, buttercup, I’m going to catch a few minutes of sleep. Wake me when the rain stops.” On that note, he tucked his head between the two wolves, keeping his face buried against his belly fur. It only took a minute before Ki was fast asleep. While he slept, he dreamt the situation they were in. Lying in a cave, watching the rain fall. Then he saw himself roll out of the rock shelter and tumble down the wall, and the second he hit the water, he woke with a violent jerk.
Oh how he hated those dreams. Ki figured he had been asleep for only a minute, so he didn’t pull his head out from under his wing. He laid there, listening to his companion. The sound of air flowing from her lungs, the sound of her heart. The sound was comforting and he let his head touch her side gently. He fell asleep with ease again, but this time had no dream.
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Word count;334 Muse; 70.2% Tags; forte!
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Post by Forte on Dec 3, 2011 23:47:19 GMT -5
Zephyr yawned soon after Kihlan did and not for the first time she noticed that they seemed to be contagious. She remembered that mother had once told her that wolves tended to imitate each other without meaning to when they were comfortable with each other, and Zephyr wondered if the yawning had something to do with that. In any case, Kihlan seemed to have accepted her silent peace treaty and she nodded in response to his request. It took a bit of effort not to squirm when Kihlan buried his head into the warm space between them--Zephyr was quite ticklish--but she managed and enjoyed the physical contact. She stretched her wing and rested it on his flank to keep them both warm, then laid her head on the cool, damp ground and watched the storm go by. In a few minutes the rain started, and soon after that water was dripping like mad from the jagged rocks that formed the upper edge of the entrance to the cave. Occasionally lightning would flash between the dark clouds and a burst of thunder would sound and then rumble away, but she was less excited by it than she usually was. Usually she was standing outside, staring at the sky, heart racing. Now the sound only made her skin tingle a bit. She was tired and the warmth of the cave calmed her. Soon she too was drifting off to the sound of rain on rock.
Zephyr woke some time before dawn while the sky was lightening, and the first thing she noticed was that she ached from being cramped up in that tiny cave. Groaning, she rolled over and stretched hard every which way, knocking Kihlan about too. The rain had stopped so she had no qualms about this, seeing as he had asked her to wake him. "'Morning, sleeping beauty," she smiled and left the cave, enjoying the cool morning breeze in her fur.
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Post by Kailolu on Dec 4, 2011 1:58:06 GMT -5
Kihlan had slept peacefully throughout the night. He stirred occasionally when the thunder rumbled through the canyons. Lightning storms here got fairly violent, but this one wasn’t in the category. It was more of an annoying cold fly that wouldn’t go away. Ki was in a deep sleep when he got kicked in the head. He growled lowly, not as a warning, but simply expressing the fact he was tired. However, his companion kept stretching, and kept hitting him. And so, with much effort, Ki pulled his head out from under his wing. Almost instantly her paw pushed against his face and he pulled away quickly. The sudden movement caused him to whack his head against the cave wall and he yelped loudly.
“Ow.” He said, turning and looking at the rock. No blood meant a happy wolf. Well…a happy tired wolf. Ki took up the space when Zephyr exited the cave, stretching his limbs out. He felt a few bones pop and he felt better. He started to drift again, but with the force he hit his head, it gave him a headache, making it impossible to fall asleep again. The white wolf sat up, leaning against the cave wall, eyes closed. “Is the rain gone?” He mumbled sleepily. Of course it was, he had seen outside, but he wasn’t thinking right. He was really tired.
Reluctantly, Ki opened his eyes. It was just starting to get light out. They might as well get a head start before the sun came. It would be incredibly hot, especially how high they would be. He knew they’d have to land and drink water frequently. The sleepy wolf lifted himself and walked outside, laying down on his belly next to Zephyr. He let his head rest on his paws. “How hungry are you?” He grumbled, taking a deep breath and letting out a loud sigh. If she needed to eat, she’d have to find something fast. They would need to get a move on before the sun came up. The reason for this, was that it would soon get too hot, and would exhaust them faster slowing them down, and because Ki would be too unmotivated.
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Word count; 364 Muse; 70.6% Tag; forte!
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Post by Forte on Dec 4, 2011 23:23:50 GMT -5
"Yes it is," she replied, stretching and folding her wings a few times. She felt so refreshed, which surprised her, seeing as he hadn't slept all that well, but she wasn't going to question her good mood. The ledge outside the cave was rather narrow and Zephyr used this as an excuse to take up one of her favorite poses: clinging to the side of a cliff with her front paws, back ones against the rocks below here and wings spread wide. This was something else that thrilled Zephyr, as if she were a mere slip away from death. In reality she was not, her wings would of course save her, but still.
The female hesitated before answering Kihlan's question. "Not very." This was not completely untrue. She certainly was hungry, but she had been hungrier before. Zephyr didn't want a hunt to put them behind schedule....She laughed inwardly at this thought. They weren't on a schedule. The two wolves were in no hurry whatsoever as far as she knew, she was just eager to see a new place. But contrary to what one might believe, Zephyr was a patient wolf as long as what she wanted was, at that moment, coming to fruition. If she wanted to get somewhere and was flying there or knew that she would be soon, not a word of complaint would pass her lips. On the other hand, if Zephyr was not sure when she would be continuing her journey, she would mope and whine.
Zephyr pushed herself off the cliff face and flapped hard to stay at her altitude, warming up her wings and doing a few loops before she asked Kihlan, "And what about you? Any morning hungries?"
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Post by Kailolu on Dec 4, 2011 23:53:53 GMT -5
Kihlan opened an eye when Zephyr responded. Oh pish posh. She had only eaten a rabbit yesterday, of course she was hungry. But Ki didn’t question it. He gave a sigh and curled up against, pressing his face against his belly, blowing warm air onto his cold paws. At the sound of wing flaps, however, he lifted his head to see his female companion warming up. He watched her fly around and do some acrobat moves in the sky. He gave a nod at her question, “I imagine we’ll be flying all day, so we might as well find you something to eat now so we won’t have to stop later, whether you’re hungry or not.” By we he meant himself, and he lazily used a gradual burst of air to lift him to his paws. “Go ahead and drink, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Without waiting for a reply, Ki shot himself up, climbing the sky faster then he normally did, all thanks to his wind.
It didn’t take long to reach the top of the canyon which provided a nice flat. He yawned loudly and looked around for movement. The white wolf mumbled under his breath. Rabbit again? So be it. Ki, feeling unmotivated to actually chase it down, used a strong air current to pin the rabbit to the ground. It screamed, and this startled him. When the wolf landed, he let up on the wind and the rabbit lay still. What? Ki moved forward and sniffed at it, and the second his nose touched it, the creature jumped up and ran. Growling, he ran after it, catching it within a few seconds. He broke it’s back and laid there for a moment, licking the carcass. One for him, and now one of Zephyr. Ki left it there and set off at a trot, sniffing the ground for another hare. A mouse darted in front of him and out of instincts, he lunged and caught it. He ate it quickly, thinking this would be easier. He then started to mouse and caught several more, this made his slight hunger leave.
Ki found his rabbit and grabbed it before taking off to find Zephyr. She could have the rabbit, and if she refused to eat it, then he would. He found the cave they were at and he landed quickly, dropping the body and moving to the side. “Eat.” He commanded, leaving no room for a reply again. He walked off the cliff and let himself fall before opening his wings above the water and soaring above it. Ki lowered a paw and let it skim the surface, looking ahead to make sure he wasn’t going to run into something. What could you possibly run into in the middle of a river? A fish. Once before he was flying this low and a large strange looking fish jumped out and hit Ki in the head, which made him fall into the water. He was going to make sure he didn’t make that mistake again. Grumpy and tired, he worked out the kinks in his wings and shoulders, gaining altitude and landing on a rock ledge to rest. He was ready to go, and he looked down, searching for his companion.
occ;
Word count; 544 Muse; 60.7% Tags; forte!
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Post by Forte on Dec 6, 2011 21:43:01 GMT -5
Zephyr nodded from her place in the air where she hovered, then took advantage of the air current he created to buoy herself to the rim of the canyon as well, where she landed, being in the mood to walk for a bit. She had hardly used her legs since yesterday. She had expected to find some puddles left over from the rain last night, but instead the ground seemed to have soaked most of it up. She trotted along the top of the cliff, enjoying the cool breeze that smelled so clean and fresh after the rain. Soon she came upon a rocky outcrop where she found several puddles and drank her fill.
Suddenly, a grasshopper chirped from the long, swaying grass nearby. Zephyr's ear twitched toward the sound, but when the insect was silent for a few seconds she refocused on enjoying her environment: the sound of the river below, muted; the refreshing breeze, the flat, rather mundane landscape that had a beauty of its own nonethe--there was the grasshopper again. This time Zephyr's entire head swung in its direction and she waited patiently for it to come again. When it did she rose to her feet as softly as she could, keeping her eyes focused on the spot she thought the insect was until it chirped again. She stalked it like this until she was nearly upon in, then pounced--she had missed and the grasshopper rose from the grass near her. Zephyr leapt vertically into the air, snapping at the bug, but missed again. It disappeared into the distance. Zephyr laid down in the grass, concealed and camouflaged by her tan coloring.
Before long she heard faint flapping sounds and she sat up to see Kihlan returning. She loped back to the edge above which they had slept and dropped down to the cave, and soon Kihlan arrived with a gift. She received it wordlessly, not entirely pleased with being told what to do, but her stomach was now growling like a bear and she ate quickly while her friend warmed up.
When little was left of the rabbit but bones and fur she half-flew, half-climbed the rest of the way up the cliff and spotted Kihlan resting. She walked over and sat next to him, waiting for him to suggest departing.
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