Excuses, excuses [Kailolu]

[Forte]

"Sure is hot today," Zephyr panted to her companion. The two had left the plains behind a while ago and now flew over a green forest that stretched as far as she could see. The sight had amazed the young wolf at first: she had never really seen a forest before. There had been groves of trees in her old pack's territory, but most of the land had been open. To be honest, Zephyr was extremely curious about what the forest looked like from the ground, but she would never admit that to Kihlan. Surely he had seen forests before. Exploring one would probably bore him. Still, Zephyr kept an eye out for anything on the ground that would give her an excuse to land. The afternoon was hot, too, so perhaps before long Kihlan would suggest landing for a rest.

At least the warm air meant more updrafts. It wasn't necessarily more easy to fly today; in fact, the warmth meant the air was more turbulent. But it flying was certainly more interesting today.

The heat was just approaching unbearable when Zephyr saw a large, shiny clearing in the distance. She would recognize water anywhere. "Hey, look there. We should stop," she said.

[Kailolu]

Kihlan was, for the most part, silent through their flight toward the woods. He’d occasionally scold her like a parent whenever she complained, but then straight after he’d give his share of protests about the heat and how tired he was. Truth being he was never really tired, he was just unmotivated. The only thing that kept him going at this point was he feared Zephyr would get lost and injure herself should he ever abandon her. Ki was looking ahead rather than down at the trees. He lived in the forest for half his life, so it wasn’t interesting anymore. Sure there was the occasional strange scene that he stumbled across, like the time he saw a fox and a raccoon making forbidden love. But for the most part, it was boring. If you’ve seen one forest, you’ve seen them all.

For now though, he was incredibly tempted to drop out of the sky and find a nice place to sleep. The sun was unforgiving and it was causing Ki to be uncomfortable, his body practically overheating. Since he was zoned out, complaining to himself about how hot he was, he was a startled astronaut out of space when his companion spoke. Ki turned his head and looking out to where Zephyr pointed and he swear he could have died at that moment. There was nothing better on a hot day then a lake of cool water to soak in. “Yeah,” He murmured, focusing his energy on the atmosphere to create a steady stream to help them get to the water faster. The white wolf flapped his wings a bit harder, making better use of the wind. It wasn’t too long before he landed in the water and practically drowned himself in it. Ki lapped up the cool liquid and then waded out deeper, finding the shallow bits warm. He lifted his wings to refrain from getting the larger feathers wet, but moved until the water was nearly running over his back. “I don’t think I’ve ever loved water this much before,” He called, a grin spreading across his dark muzzle.

It was only a couple minutes standing did he realized that he was still hot. So, he decided to give it a try and submerge his wings. He flapped hard, splashing water everywhere while he shook his body, almost imitating a bird bathing in a puddle. And it helped a bit, cooling the largest part of his body. Now drenched, the male shuffled his soaked wings against his side and turned to look at Zephyr. It had been rather serious between them for the past few hours since her trust in him was tainted when she found him questioning himself if there was a better way getting to the ocean. So, he barked loudly and ran full pelt toward her, slapping his wings on the surface to splash her. Then the second he was close enough, he playfully tackled her, whining with excitement. He had been alone for some time, so he hadn’t had the chance to play with another wolf. And besides, Zephyr was so helpless, he couldn’t help himself when he dove at her shoulders, nipping at her, trying to coax her into a game.


OCC;

word count; 539
muse; 60.9%
tags; forte!

[Forte]

Zephyr followed her friend down, but she waited until she was nearly over the lake before turning her nose down, folding her wings and diving straight at the darkest part of the lake, where it should be the deepest. The rush of air itself was cooling as well as exhilarating, but not as much as the water would be, she knew. At the very last moment she opened her wings and strained against gravity, trying to make her landing softer--it worked, but the small wolf still made a surprisingly large splash as she hit the water upright. She managed to keep most of her flight feathers dry and held her wings high above water, but like her friend she found this unsatisfying and tiring to boot. After relishing the refreshing cool liquid to find that Kihlan had submerged his wings, she shrugged. What the heck. And she did it too, dunking her head first and then pulling herself down fully into the water until she was really swimming. Oh, bliss. Oh, rapture! Immediately her body felt ten times more rejuvenated, which made sense if she thought about how many blood vessels there were in her wings. She stayed still in the water, floating, chest pleasantly and achingly full of air, until it expired and she had to resurface with a gasp. Perhaps, she thought with a grin, I'm a fish as well as a bird.

Having quenched her thirst and refreshed her body the tan wolf made her way slowly--the extra surface area her wings gave her body also added more drag--to the pebbly shore, where she stood while she regained her breath. Swimming sure took a lot out of a wolf. But Zephyr hardly had any time to rest before Kihlan rushed at her with a playful bark. A grin broke on her face and she started to run but the water she had not yet shaken from her fur weighed her down. Instead she turned to meet her friend's attack head-on and tumbled head over paws with his momentum. Yipping with excitement, she sank her teeth into the fur of his neck and held on, rolling him underneath her. She was happy that Kihlan wasn't mad at her for...well, being mad at him. True, finding out that he didn't really know where he was going had been an unpleasant surprise, but after brooding about it, she had to admit that she could have been deceived by a less nice guy. Yes, she was excited to see the ocean, but she had her whole life to get there. She had to enjoy the journey as well as the destination.

[Kailolu]

Ki just about lost it when Zephyr rolled him around. His tail beat against the ground faster than it had in a while as he tried to grab hold of her neck while she chewed on his. His wet wings flailed against the ground as he tried to move them to get the upper advantage, but he felt so water logged that he couldn't. He clawed at her stomach and chest while squirming with utter joy, all while yipping and wailing like a pup. Instead of going for her neck, he clamped on her leg, his ears flattening playfully as he growled. After some serious thrashing, he somehow managed to pull away from Zephyr’s grip and he kicked her off before trying to jump over her. Upon trying to impress her, he made an utter fool of himself when his legs caught her wings and he fell to his face. This did not discourage him as he jumped up and started running, expecting her to give chase. Not much ran through Ki’s mind at the moment, other than he was having fun. The only other wolf he had played with was his mother, but that was short lived since she didn’t really like to rough house. Zephyr on the other hand, was over flowing with energy, which he enjoyed. That meant he could chase her till the cows come home and she’d still have energy to spare. Or at least, she might.

OCC;

word count; 242
muse; 50.0%
tsgs; forte!

[Forte]

How lucky it was that Zephyr's wings happened to be in Kihlan's way when he tried to jump, and how funny it was when he faceplanted right into the unforgiving earth. She let out a half-yelp, half-cackle of hilarity before attacking, but her friend was quick and was already up and running. Zephyr took chase, tongue lolling from her grinning, crazil-barking mouth. She held her wings up as if she were flying, but angled them down so she would be pushed into the ground and get more traction. It was a technique she had figured out all on her lonesome and she was very proud of the science she had thought about and done in order to develop it. But in her excitement her wings were far from still and while it helped, the difference was not as significant as she had achieved before. Still, she lost no ground on Kihlan as he sprinted across the shore, just as happy as she was. Boy was she lucky to have met him. He was a lot like her brother in some ways. Fun and pretty laid-back, but he also tended to get on Zephyr's nerves, which her brother had never done. Whatever. She was sure she got on his nerves, too, and as long as Kihlan was playing with her so happily, she wouldn't hold his worse times against him.

Suddenly, ahead of her friend she saw a large gray boulder jutting out of the ground like a ramp. An idea popped into her brain: if she could jump off that boulder she could get airborne quickly and probably catch up to him. Zephyr's grin turned evil as she prepared to execute her brilliant plan.

[Kailolu]

The sound of Zephyr behind him made him overjoyed as his tongue flapped in the corner of his mouth as he ran. This was so great, so grand! He was truly enjoying himself, and was sharing a relation with a wolf he never got the chance to do in the past. Several times did Ki stumble over his wet feet and almost kissed the soggy earth again, but he managed to catch himself each time. Unlike his pursuer, he did not notice the giant rock, even though it was in plain sight. Instead, he was focused on the little island in the middle of the lake. Plenty of duck and geese were nesting there, and some swam in the shallow water around it. Perhaps if he ran through the crowd, they would startle and fly up, obscuring Zephyr’s view and giving Ki a head start.

Eh, it was worth trying. Turning as sharp as he could without falling, he bolted for the island, flapping his water logged wings to try and propel him forward. It created a bit of drag, but he made it to the island and almost instantly did birds start flying. His plan backfired, as now he was running blindly as well, being pecked and hit with flying bodies from all angles. He started laughing as he tried to run through, as if the bird swarm never ended. But what felt like a few minutes was truthfully a few seconds and Ki didn’t see the drop off in the water on the other side of the island. He wasn’t more than a few feet into the water when he lost footing and his head went under. When he came up spurting and laughing, he now tried swimming to shore. His wings, now useless, dragged behind him like heavy weights, but he managed to keep his nose in the air. When his paws touched land he trudged out of the wet and turned to look at Zephyr, a wild grin upon his face.

OCC;

word count; 335
muse; 60.3%
tags; forte!

[Forte]

Only seconds after she noticed the rock, it was upon her. But Zephyr was ready. As she was climbing it she noticed that it was longer than she had thought and not as tall, but still usable. At the edge of the rock she jumped, propelling herself both forward and upward, and as soon as she felt herself falling she opened her wings just enough to let her glide down the couple of feet the ramp rock had gained her. Of course, the gliding was more like rocketing, and as she descended right towards her friend she couldn't prevent the escape of a wild cackle of joy in her own cunning. And of course it was premature. Of course Kihlan had to switch directions. Surprised to find that the ground below her was suddenly devoid of wolf, she bit the dirt hard, sliding several feet and creating dark claw marks behind her while somehow managing to keep her footing. Her momentum died and she turned her attention back to the fleeing tail of Kihlan, now several yards ahead of her. He had entered the water. With more yelps of excitement she bounded after him, using her wings to get as far out over the water as she could before falling in. Were the water just an inch or two more shallow she would be able to wade, but her claws only grazed the bottom of the lake as she swam determinedly after Kihlan, keeping her wings above water.

When Kihlan had almost reached it, Zephyr noticed the island. How cute, she thought, and then stopped dead as dozens of geese and ducks erupted in flight and started attacking her friend. "Heheheh..." Another evil smile appeared on her face as she watched. She would not suffer the same onslaught. Zephyr kept her distance as she swam around the island, clearing the point just in time to see Kihlan come up sputtering. Now exhausted, she followed him to shore and collapsed, panting but happy, in the grass. "You're fast," she commented with a laugh when she had caught her breath.

[Kailolu]

Kihlan flopped over on his side, careful not to lay on his wing. He let his tongue hang out of his mouth as Zephyr approached and he smiled again, panting. “Always,” He chuckled, sprawling out in the grass and stretching his legs. Boy that was fun. It was nice to step back from their journey and take a break. Heh, they might as well take a break like this every ten minutes, since there was only one thing Ki wanted to do now. Sleep. But he was too excited and hot to take a nap now, so he’d have to wait and calm down a bit. The white and black wolf rolled over his wing and onto his back, wriggling a bit in the grass. Ki looked up at the blue sky, trying to slow his breathing so relax. It was so blue up there, only a few clouds. It truly was beautiful. How he loved to fly on a day like this. Everything was alive and moving. The animals all swarmed near the water, other strange little creatures basked in the sun until it was too hot. The trees were bright and green, and the birds sang songs all day. The only thing Ki could think of better than this was a windy day were he wouldn’t have to exhaust his powers.

After a couple minutes of heavy breathing, the male stood up, shook the water from his fur and wings, and dragged his tired butt into the shade where he dropped again. Ki stretched again, his neck contracting into his shoulders as his legs stretched to their full length. He took in a big breath and held it as he made himself comfortable, closing his eyes and rubbing his cheek against the green grass. “You hungry?” He asked, releasing the air in his lungs. He was hungry, definitely. He wouldn’t mind going out by himself later, but if his companion was hungry as well perhaps they could team up and find something a bit bigger than a few mice and a rabbit. “I want to stay here a while longer, get something to eat, then we can leave.”

OCC;

word count; 360 *Giggle snort* (Is going to play xbox now)
muse; 50.7%
tags; forte!

[Kailolu]

.:Mother Nature:.

May the odds be in your favor

[/color]

While Kihlan and Zephyr played in the sun, the temper of an old bear has been torn and undone. He charges the two with fury in stride, run little wolves, run and go hide!


An old territorial grizzly bear has caught wind of your wolves. One's wing will be injured, but will heal in 4 In Game days. Decide amongst yourselves who the victim will be.

[/color]


[/font][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Forte]

Zephyr followed Kihlan's lead and stretched out in the sun. It wasn't nearly so hot now that she was sopping wet; in fact, the warm sun, combined with the gentle breeze (a zephyr, if you will), made for very comfortable conditions. She stretched out her wings so they would dry faster, laid her cheek on her paws and closed her eyes halfway, fully intending to take a nap. She had thought Kihlan had wanted to, too, until, through the fog of sleepiness, she heard him get up a few minutes later. She opened her eyes and shot him a look. "Are you crazy? You want to hunt now? It's like a million degrees!" This, of course, was bull, given that the water had cooled her off substantially, plus the forest was shady as all get out. In truth Zephyr was lazy. At that moment, however, her stomach contested. "Grurrururur," it said, and Zephyr sighed. She had been so comfortable. "I am hungry though, I suppose we cou--"

A sound interrupted her, and for a split second Zephyr stood stock-still, head cocked and ears perked, wondering what in the world could have made that sound. Then another sound came, that of some massive creature charging through the brush, and as the tan-and-white wolf whipped around to see it, an enormous brown bear erupted from the underbrush a mere dozen meters from the two wolves, emitting the first sound they had heard: a vicious snarl worthy of the devil himself. Zephyr yelped in fright, whirled around and took off down the lake shore, supremely aware that her wings were still quite wet and heavy.

The grizzly's pawsteps sounded like thunder, its breath sounded like a wind storm, and if she was not much mistaken, it was drawing steadily closer to her. Desperately she tried to flap her wings and get airborne, but they were still too damp to get her off the ground. She abandoned her efforts immediately, and in the moment she folded them against her sides a small, round rock seemed to sprout up out of the ground: Zephyr noticed it too late. Her front paw landed partly on it, and she was thrown off balance. She yelped again as she pitched forward, trying her best to stay on her feet, but in vain. The young wolf tumbled head over heels and came crashing to the ground, and as the giant, old bear bore down upon her, she screamed: "Kihlan!"

[Kailolu]

Ki’s ear twitched at her sudden objection. Well that was interesting. He figured she’s jump at the opportunity to keep moving, and it would be him protesting to stay. Talk about some major role reversal. Yet surprisingly her complaint was justified. Yes, it was hot out, and thinking about it made the male sleepy. He scoffed at her answer though. “Ohh, stop complaining. You’re soaked to the bone and you think it’s hot?” He asked with a laugh, wriggling around to lay on his back. Ki gave a deep throated chuckle when he could actually hear Zephyr’s stomach growling. He was about to comment, but she had him by a head. “Suppose we could what?” He asked, stretching his neck back to look at her. Why had she stopped talking? Since he had rubbed his head on the ground as she spoke, he did not hear the sound that she did. But the expression on her face made Kihlan nervous. He rolled over onto his side quickly, a sudden wave of protectiveness hitting him full force. A growl pent up in his throat and he released a rather savage one as he sat up. Something was running at them, and Ki knew it. He stood quickly and stared at the bushes, every hackle from his neck to his rump standing on end, despite him being drenched in water. And then there it was.

A bear came charging from the brush full pelt at them. Stunned in place for a split second, he took off in a random direction, running into the woods. If they split it, the bear would go after him. He was larger and posed a greater threat. The bear had to be chasing him. But Kihlan was wrong. Very wrong, because as he skidded to a halt and raised his head to listen, he heard the beast’s thundering paws chasing something alongside the pond. Zephyr. Dread washed over the male and he went running as fast as his legs would go, his wings pressed tight to his body to provide less drag. Ki was still in the woods, running parallel to the lake. He moved closer, clenching his teeth as adrenaline kicked in. Zephyr seemed to have a good head start, but shock gripped Ki’s heart as he saw the gap between the two predators close. He had to act eventually. Kihlan pushed himself to run faster, if he could get ahead of the bear, he may be able to run between him and Zephyr and draw the grizzly’s attention away from her. Yes, that was what he was going to do. Dodging a tree, Ki exited the forest and started to gain speed past the bear, but to his complete utter horror he saw the one thing he wished would never happen. Zephyr tripped. He had to act soon. The bear closed in on Zephyr. He had to act quickly. She screamed his name. He had to act now.

With his built up momentum, he crashed into the bear just as it was about to reach his companion. The force stunned him as he was knocked off his feet and into the lake, but did nothing to the bear other then make it stagger and infuriate it. No longer was it focused on the small female, no, it was fixated on the stumbling Ki. Water splashed in every direction as the bear charged. Ki was not a fighter, he didn’t fight ever. He had been in small skirmishes before, but never had he been in a full blown brawl, especially with a bear. He had to run, there would be no way he could fight the bear long enough for Zephyr to get away. “Zephyr! Get out of here! NOW!” Ki commanded, scrambling to his feet and fleeing in the opposite direction, the bear hot on his heels. He was running in water. It was a bad move, and it continued to make him almost fall to his face. But that meant it was difficult for the bear too. If he could just go long enough, he could use his magic to hoist him up without his wings. But there was a sharp spike of pain on his tail. Kihlan realized too late that the bear was far too close for his plan to work. He had to try now! Ki opened his feathered extensions and tried to summon his magic. It started to work, but what he wasn’t counting on was the bear sinking his teeth into the thick part of his wing. Immediately the two beings crashed into the water. Kihlan screamed (yelped/yipped whatever) as the weight of the bear crushed him. A wall of liquid was constantly thrown up, obscuring the attack from watching eyes. The bear tore into his wing, thrashing the wolf around like a rag doll. The water wall, once blue and clean now ran red with blood as the fight continued.

Between his shrill cries, and the angered sounds of the bear’s snarling, Kihlan was choking and sputtering in the water as his head kept being forced under. He was going to die either by drowning, or being torn apart. In front of Zephyr. No, he couldn’t. He had to do something. Without meaning, or trying to, Ki’s magic protected him. There was such a loud blast of air that is nearly burst Ki’s eardrums. There was a piercing ringing sound, and everything seemed to move in slow motion to him. The bear was a blur, tumbling away into deeper water. Droplets were raining from the sky from the force of air, hitting Ki’s eyes. (The lemon juice!) He had to get up and run. It seemed painfully slow, but the white and black wolf got up and took off running in a dazed fashion, stumbling and tripping as he maneuvered through the crimson water. He stumbled into the woods, panting and wheezing, coughing up a mixture of blood, water, and mud. Ki didn’t feel afraid anymore. He wasn’t afraid for his life or Zephyrs because before he disappeared into the woods, he leaned against a tree and watched the stunned bear wander off, shaking his mighty head. Ki couldn’t move anymore, his body was shaking and he was too shocked to walk another step.

The wolf sank to the ground, sprawling on his side, laying on his wing. What just happened? Everything was a blur, a greater surprise then he could have imagined happening. The pain refused to sink in, he was still too pumped with adrenaline. What he didn’t feel he would later, and it would hurt dearly. The bend in his wing was missing feathers, pouring blood, and revealing muscles below the thin layer of skin. He had claw and bite marks on his back and shoulder, but they weren’t as deep. The bear’s main target was his wing, and he definitely got his target good. Kihlan’s rolled a bit and he licked his nose, looking around like a lost pup. Zephyr had to be safe somewhere, there was only one bear and he was long gone by now. Feeling oddly relaxed and warm, Ki laid his head down, confused. He felt tired, his eyelids sagged. He was a hero, he rescued the princess. His deed was done. Now it was time for a nap.

OCC;

word count; 1,219
muse; Infinity%
tags; forte!

[Forte]

Zephyr curled her body tightly and cringed as she lay on the ground, eyes looking straight into those of the monster that, in moments, would be tearing her limb from limb. She saw every scar on its grizzled old face, every yellowed tooth, every nick in its ears. When the bear was ten feet from her she closed her eyes as tightly as she could and screamed again, still hoping against all probability that she would live to see another day.

The thud of Kihlan's body hitting the bear's did not register with Zephyr until instants after the bear should have had her. She was too busy marveling at the fact that no teeth had met her flesh, nor claws, for that matter. She was impossibly intact.

Zephyr hadn't realized she had been holding her breath until she heard a tremendous splash, and gasped and her eyes blinked open. Terror for her own life was replaced by terror for her friend's as the scene before her unfolded: Kihlan thrashing around in the lake and the bear bearing down on him.

Zephyr's strength suddenly seemed to multiply ten times and, instilled by Kihlan's peril with a determined anger at the bear, she spread her wings and took off. The water was mostly gone from them now, and now that she could put all of her strength into moving upward rather than forward, it seemed as easy as pie to gain twenty feet in mere seconds. She registered her friend's order, but there was no way she was going to just leave him. No freaking way. Instead she hovered over the two snarling beasts, ready to dive at the bear, but what happened next stunned her beyond any action.

Time seemed to slow down as she saw the bear lunge for her friend and sink its teeth deep into his wing. Immediately Kihlan turned on the bear and the two were enveloped in a froth of water and blood. Now it was impossible for Zephyr to determine who was where, which left her a helpless observer to the fight rather than what she wanted to be, a participant.

Whining in frustration and making tight, low circles over the bubbling water, Zephyr was totally unprepared for the thunderous eruption of air. An air current stronger than any she'd ever flown in caught and carried her, tumbling, a few meters, but she thought fast and closed her wings, sinking toward the ground until she no longer felt the wind, and looked back at the lake. The bear seemed dazed and was retreating--whether on purpose or just because it didn't know where it was going, Zephyr didn't know--and Kihlan was going the other way, emerging from the shallows onto the shore, looking just as dazed as the bear. For a moment she was torn between following Kihlan or following the bear, but she decided on the bear, so that if the bear changed its mind and came back the wolves would have a warning. She gained more altitude while the bear crossed the lake, then followed it as it crashed into the woods on the other shore. Flying low and slow over the trees, she could hear the bear below her as it ran through the woods, making a beeline away from the lake. She followed it for a minute and when it didn't alter its path, she turned around.

Zephyr landed back at the lake and followed Kihlan's strong, bloody scent to where he had fallen and now lay unconscious. Zephyr pored over his body, looking for wounds and finding only minor scratches, before turning her attention to the wound on his wing. Ragged, bloody feathers hung from it at every angle, and blood was streaming steadily from the teeth marks at the joint. At least the bite looked clean. Zephyr laid down next to her friend and started to work on the wound, pulling out the damaged feathers before starting in on the wound itself, licking the blood away. Hopefully it would stop bleeding by the time he woke up.

[Kailolu]

Kihlan watched the entire situation play out before him; the playing in the water, the resting on the shore, and the attack. He looking into a puddle and watched it like a movie, curious as to why he didn’t remember any of it. The wolf peered closer as he watched himself be attacked by the bear in the water, somewhat annoyed that he couldn’t see much due to the water. He was also annoyed at Zephyr for flying so low. Why was she so reckless? First the bison stampede, now she was interfering with his first fight. ”Get. Out .Of. The. Way!” He screamed at her. Ki’s blue eyes followed her floating body as she chased the bear, but eventually his gaze fell upon his own tattered being slumped against a tree. Leaning closer, the water screen threatened to go up his nose. Ki tilted his head to get a better look at himself. He snorted in disgust. “Get up you pathetic pup.” The insult was dished with a rather harsh tone and he scrunched his face up.


A cold pang of realization coursed through Kihlan’s body. It made his hair stand on end. He was watching his day go by. He was watching himself play with Zephyr, and he was watching himself get beat up by some big stupid bear. How was this possible? Ki’s stomach dropped to the floor along with his jaw and he leaned toward the image before him. Zephyr was pulling out his feathers. “No. No! NO, NO, STOP!” He wailed at the image. “YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE ME BALD!” He complained, circling the screen and glaring at the young female. She then started to pull out his long feathers that stretched to the ends of his wings. He stood in shock, staring as she plucked him. “STOP IT!” He screamed, lashing his tail and pawing at the image. Was he actually watching what was going on in the real world? Where was he anyway? Kihlan looked up and saw nothing but black. Pitch black, endless darkness. A sudden light hurt his eyes and he stumbled back away from the puddle he’d been observing. The light was blinding, and he didn’t notice it surge toward him until it was far too late.

Kihlan jerked awake with such a jolt that the uninjured wing he had been laying on propelled him off the ground. The sudden feeling of being in the air startled his powers as well, creating a random gush of wind that moved the tree tops. Along with that, his very much injured wing jerked as well. Zephyr had cleaned it to the point of no bleeding, but the sudden forceful movement caused it to start up again. The movement of his wing combined with the use of his powers ended Ki in an awkward position on his back. He quickly rolled forward and sat up, shaking his head hard and trying to blink away the blurriness he saw. Ki licked his muzzle and looked around, muddled. He was still out of it, not fully awake. He knew he wasn’t all there because he saw Zephyr but she was on fire. Pink fire at that. The injured wolf stared at her, utterly confused. “You’re…hot. Don’t… burn yourself.” He spoke slowly, as if she would suddenly set him on fire as well if he spoke too fast. It was not meant to be a compliment, more so a statement. An odd one. The pain in his wing was very dull and not sharp enough to get him to notice. It was the smell of blood that got his attention. Ki turned and looked at his wing, leaning away in shock when he saw a rather large chomp taken out of it. He had to have been passed out for an hour or two because the sun was in a different position. He looked around, his eyes wide, ears laid against his head. The colors were all weird, the sky was pink, the grass was blue, and the trees were red. What was happening? Ki’s eyes darted everywhere, taking in the strange sites. Yet as the minutes passed, things started to return to normal as his conscious began to wake up.

OCC;

word count; 705
muse; Infinity%
tags; forte! ((Lol, he's going to see the Cheshire cat eventually XD))

[Forte]

Once Kihlan's wound had (finally) stopped bleeding, Zephyr stood up and stretched. Her body was terribly sore, from the stress of the attack, she guessed, and she wanted nothing more than to take a nap, but she could not. That bear was still out there somewhere, and chances were she and Kihlan were still in its territory. Instead she sat sphynx-like next to her friend, listening for the sound of anything approaching. Not that there was anything she could do about it if the bear came back. She could fight it, but she would almost certainly be killed, and then the bear would gets its revenge on Kihlan. She could run, but that also ended up with Kihlan dead. This had occurred to her soon after the attack, and she hadn't thought about it since. She didn't want to.

Luckily, the silence was punctuated only by the growls of Zephyr's stomach.

Zephyr hadn't realized that she had been nodding off until Kihlan started awake, which caused Zephyr to jump too. She looked around wildly for danger, but saw only her friend, staring at her, looking very confused. And bleeding again. Zephyr frowned but remained expectantly silent, waiting for him to say something. To thank her for cleaning him up. For watching over him. To say what a relief it was that she was alive. Instead... "Don't burn yourself."

Zephyr glared at him, speechless. That's what he chose to say? She was searching for the words with which she could most effectively chew him out when a thought occurred to her: Fever. Her irritation turned to concern and she stepped forward to examine the raw, bleeding bite mark again. It was always possible that the bear could have been carrying some disease. The female's jaw clenched. She wouldn't be able to help him if that were the case. She didn't know how to treat diseases.

With a sigh, she stepped back again and finally spoke: "Are you thirsty? We can go to the lake for a drink...."

[Kailolu]

Kihlan’s eyes bulged when he watched a duck fly in slow motion. What was happening to him? The trees suddenly had mouths and were chomping on their own leaves, laughing and spitting foliage everywhere. Everything suddenly vanished and was back to normal when Zephyr stepped close to him, a somewhat irritated look on her face. Ki furrowed his brow at her, wondering what she could possibly be mad at. She gawked at his wing, but he was too focused on her changing expressions to notice his wound, or the dull paint associated with it. The male snorted and pulled his wing away, standing and glancing down at his paw. There was a cut, showing red against his black fur. Ki cocked his head at it and let his ears erect. How did he get that? Zephyr’s voice cut his thoughts and he looked at her and nodded. Turning, he moved to walk next to her as he began to speak. “I had the strangest dream.” He started, wrinkling his nose as he tried to remember. He had wanted to sleep after they were playing. Perhaps he had one of those crazy realistic dreams about the attack. “After we laid on the beach; I dreamed a bear came and chased us down.” The dream seemed to vivid to be a dream. “It bit my wing and I was lying by a tree. You started pulling my feathers out.” He said with a rather scolding voice. It’s not like she would actually do that.

The male reached the water and left no room for Zephyr to speak as he rambled on with his story. “It was so odd. I was watching it all happen from this puddle of water. But there was no bottom to it, no dirt around, no forest. It was like I was levitating. There wasn’t anything, except this bright light. It…ran at me, and I woke up.” He silenced himself for a moment to lap up some water. It was the best water he’d ever had; it seemed to sooth the fire in his belly with such relief it gave him goose bumps. Ki swallowed the water and slowly let his wings sag to the ground. It wasn’t until his injury pressed against the mud did he realize what that gnawing pain was. Now it was him staring at the wound, blinking and waiting for it to disappear. Kihlan shifted his jaw, and looked to the direction they had come from. Sure enough, there was a trail of blood that stopped by a tree. The tree. A jolting shock hit him and he instantly was circling Zephyr, searching every inch of her for scratches or cuts. “Are you okay?! Did he bite you? How’s your paw? Did you hit your head?” Ki fired the questions with little room to respond, all while nudging her around to see if she was limping or had open sores. He completely ignored his wounds, despite the pain growing stronger with every little movement he made, but he was far too concerned for Zephyr’s safety to worry about himself.


OCC;

word count; 516
muse; 100%
tags; forte! ((Sorry for the shortness)

[Forte]

Zephyr stayed close to Kihlan as he walked through the forest, studying him for signs of unsteadiness. He was acting so strangely. Clearly he remembered what had happened, but he thought it was a dream. Worse yet, he wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise to tell him that it had not, in fact, been a dream. Zephyr frowned again as he mentioned the feathers, annoyed more than anything by this one comment. She hadn't pulled out that many, just the broken ones. Normally his body would have to realize that they were useless before they would fall out and regrow, and Zephyr had just cut out that part of the regeneration. Besides, if anything were to keep him from flying, it would certainly not be the missing feathers. It would be the wound itself. Which was still bleeding. How had he not noticed it?

Kihlan's recount of his dream quelled her indignation and replaced it with horrified pity. This dude was clearly out of his mind. If it had been anyone else Zephyr would have taken off and left him to fend for himself, but Kihlan had become more than a friend. He was...someone who protected her, who looked out for her. She hadn't needed him before she had met him, but she certainly did now that she had become accustomed to him. Well, not now, no, she didn't need this mad wolf to look out for her.

As soon as Kihlan shut up Zephyr started talking: "Kihlan, it wasn't a dream, we really were attacked by a bear! It got your wing, look! I did pull feathers out, but I was completely within reason and don't you get mad at me. They'll grow back. And I think you did magic? and the bear ran away and you stumbled into the woods and I cleaned your wing and now you made it bleed again..."

He said nothing, but stood there, looking around. Zephyr could almost see the gears turning in his head. Suddenly he began to circle her, asking questions, voice dripping with concern. Relief washed over her and Zephyr broke into a grin. That was better. She laughed at his last question. "My head is fine, it's your head I'm worried about."

[Kailolu]

Kihlan ignored her statements that what he dreamed was real. It had to be, right? It wasn’t like Zephyr would chew on his wing. He was still overwhelmed with concern and refused to believe her when she claimed she was fine. “I saw you trip.” He started worriedly, nosing and sniffing at her forehead for signs of damage. “You had to have hit your head.” Ki ducked under her head to observe her other side, poring over her like she had some life threatening illness. Just as he was about to check her wings for feather damage or sprains, her words registered in his mind. “My head?” He asked suddenly, creasing his brow in confusion. “I’m fine, don’t start worrying about me.” He stewed, nosing at the joints of her wing. “This hurt?” He asked, adding pressure onto the bend of her wing his injury was on. While Ki fussed and continued to ask if anything hurt, his body was at work fighting the pain and trying to calm the adrenaline that raged through the wolf’s body. The thought of Zephyr being injured was far too overwhelming for the male, and it made his body ache with dread.

She was more than just a friend to him, and he had become incredibly fond of her over the course of time they’d spent together. His feelings toward her were not of desire and lust, but of an unfamiliar protectiveness and sense of love. Ki never experience life with siblings, but he supposed Zephyr was almost like a little sister. Always complaining, always arguing, but remaining at his side no matter what the world dished out. Perhaps that’s why he was checking her legs for scrapes, while he had puncture wounds in his neck and shoulders and a chewed on wing.

A burning sensation spread on Ki’s forehead and he stopped fretting over his companion for a moment to raise his head and look across the lake. The fur on the back of his neck stood on end and he nodded once, eyeing a bush and asking for the wind to push it to the side. Sure enough, in the distance, the bear was watching. Its body posture didn’t suggest another attack but it was enough to make Kihlan nudge at Zephyr and guide her from the lake and back into the woods, his tail in a submissive gesture. He wasn’t about to act hostile to a bear that kicked his butt. Ki didn’t slow down, but picked his pace up to a trot, pressing his wings close to his sides as he moved silently through the woods. While he lead the way, he felt every movement jar at his wounds, especially his wing. He knew he’d have to rest sooner or later to give his body time to heal, but now, he had to get himself and Zephyr out of danger.

Kihlan remained silent and trotted quickly, hoping Zephyr would trust his judgment. He lost track of time and at that moment he stopped and looked back in the direction they had come. He no longer smelled the bear, and knew the lake was far away. He turned to observe his surroundings. The trees were close, many thick bushes had been spread apart for deer and other critters to pass through. The grass was long and green, and there was no signs or scents of any predator other than the two wolves. Ki let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and sniffed at the ground as he searched for a suitable spot to rest. He decided on a bush that stretched tall enough to provide cover from the elements but was compact enough to keep them warm should it be cold tonight. With a loud, almost exaggerated groan, Kihlan crawled into the protection of the shrub and stretched down. “I hate to burst your bubble, sweetheart, but I don’t think I’ll be flying today.” He suddenly realized he had stopped giving her his little pet nicknames and it made him a bit sad. He turned his head and raised his injured wing to lick at the blood that was still flowing, glancing up at Zephyr. “I heard your stomach earlier. Go find something to eat, alright? I’ll be fine for tonight.”

OCC;

word count; 713
muse; 100%
tags; forte!

[Forte]

Zephyr shook her head incredulously as Kihlan messed with her wing. It was the same one that his injury was on. He must have a concussion or something, she thought worriedly. In which case he just needed time to come back to his senses. "I'm fine, Kihlan, I promise. Don't you trust me?" She looked into his eyes, pleading for him to see reason. But he was looking away, across the lake. An unnatural gust of wind blew over the lake and made the bushes sway--behind one of them, the bear hid, watching them. Though she was in no hurry to get in a fight with that monster, a low, instinctual growl rose in Zephyr's throat. "Time to get out of here," she muttered and allowed herself to be steered away by Kihlan.

It seemed like a long time before he decided to stop. Zephyr was convinced that they had left the bear's territory long ago and had passed many good resting spots along the way, but then, she wasn't that familiar with bears so she didn't know how far it might come, and she figured with Kihlan...in the state he was, it was best that he be comfortable. Finally they stopped in a grassy glade and Kihlan crawled under a bush. "I don't think I'll be flying today," he said.

"No kidding," Zephyr replied, amused and relieved that finally he was acknowledging that he was hurt. "You rest, I'll go get us both something to eat, okay?" She took a few steps away, then added, "Howl if you need me. I'll be close." Then she dived into the bushes in search of prey.

She was glad they had left the lake area before resting. The fight with that bear would have scared away everything within a mile or into hiding, but here there was enough to go around. Within minutes she stumbled upon a young rabbit, killed it, and then another that had confusedly tried to run away by running right under her paws. With difficulty she picked up both the bodies and trotted back toward the glade.

"Here," she said, dropping them by his nose. She laid down next to her friend and pulled one of the rabbits closer to her and started to pull out its fur.

[Kailolu]

Kihlan rolled his shoulders achingly and laid flat. His body felt stiff and weak, and he felt shameful to be in such a state in front of Zephyr. His ears swiveled and he gave her an off smile. He scoffed and laughed as she began to depart. “You howl if you need me, sugar.” Ki nodded a farewell and gingerly pulled his wing up to his face. Yeesh, getting gnawed on by a bear hurt. He carefully licked the wound, wincing as his teeth jarred the roots of some of his larger feathers. Ki pondered how long it would take to heal. The wound wasn’t frighteningly large, nor was it too painfully deep, so he judged within a few weeks he’d be fine. The wolf scrunched up his nose as an idea rolled into his mind. He’d been able to fly using his air current alone once or twice before, so perhaps he could give it another try.

He cleaned his injury for a few more moments before he glanced at his shoulders and hips. His white fur was stained with his blood and mud. Wading in the water later on would be nice. His puncture wounds would sting a bit, but the cold water would numb him right up and allow him to relax without his body weight pressuring him. Sighing heavily, he rested his paws on his head and waited for Zephyr to return. Sure enough, she was trotting toward him with two rabbits crammed awkwardly in her jaws. Ki let out a gentle whine in greeting, wagging his tail a few times as she took her place next to him. “Thanks.” He took his rabbit’s ear between his teeth and pulled it close. He felt hunger edging into his empty belly, and while he normally would skin it carefully and finicky, he simply ripped off a chunk of meat from its hip and ate it, fur and all. Kihlan was silent until he had practically stripped the rabbit clean, and by then, he was so tired and sore that he nearly fell asleep with meat still between his jaws.

Ki rolled carefully onto his side, lifting his wing a bit to use it as a prop to lean against as he pushed away the remainders of his meal. He wriggled against the ground, and tucked his head against his legs. The subtle position change was enough to put him right to sleep without uttering a single word to his companion. And through the afternoon and night, Kihlan slept like a rock without budging. When he finally did open his eyes, the sun had already come out the next morning.


OCC;

word count; 539
muse; 20%
tags; forte! ((I don't know why, but this post is so terrible that it makes me want to jump off a bridge into a pool 2 feet below.))

[Forte]

Zephyr watched, her concern for her friend easing, as he wolfed down his rabbit. A healthy appetite was always a good sign, plus he was calling her nicknames again. And he wasn't spewing nonsense anymore.

When Kihlan had stripped his rabbit Zephyr thought about giving him hers too, but it wasn't like she wasn't hungry. She ate more slowly while he went to sleep, then scratched all the bones, fur and remnants of her hunt into the bushes by the glade. The sun was setting by that time, and though she was tired, Zephyr felt restless. She paced the clearing for a bit, telling herself she was keeping watch, but her mind was elsewhere. At the sea. Their journey had been delayed. Not that she was upset about it. How could she be upset when her friend lay injured? Still, she longed to see it, and to see her brother once more after all this time.

Eventually Zephyr opened her wings and climbed up to the tallest branches in the trees to watch the last rays of light fade from the sky. The stars were shining brightly before she returned to the ground to sleep beside her friend, her nose pressed into the fur of his neck.

((Bahaha! Imagine how I feel now. I'd jump off a bridge four feet up, at least.))