Excuses, excuses [Kailolu]

[Kailolu]

Kihlan woke with a start. He did not jolt upright, nor did he twitch his legs feverishly. His eyes simply opened as fast as a rock would sink. Rolling his eyes around, he observed the scenery around him. The sun was not at its highest point; the sky still rosy with the morning light. Kihlan let his eyes wander to his faithful companion. She was sleeping quietly at his side. Her presence gave him comfort, and he leaned gently into her touch. The green trees contrasted against the pink and blue clouds, a flock of fast moving black birds maneuver through the air with a grace that made Kihlan green with envy. He truly was a klutz in the sky. The distance call of a bull elk, the humming of Acacias and the patter of some smaller animals paws lit up the world around him with soothing sounds. And—just for a moment— Ki sat there and enjoyed the sunrise.

A twig broke somewhere in the distance. It was quiet; something small must have cracked it. Whatever it was, it sent chills down Ki’s spine and he slowly lifted his head, ears alert. He listened intently, muscles frozen in place. He summoned his powers, and focused on bringing the scent of whatever creature it was back to him. The cool breeze against his face signaled the return on the wind he cast, and he inhaled deeply. Turkey. His mouth started to water. He had only eaten a few turkeys in his life, but the meat was so soft and tender, he relished the taste every time he managed to take one down. What a wonderful idea! Zephyr had taken care of him, fed him, it was only common courtesy to return the favor in some way. Careful not to jar his wing and wake his companion, Ki crept away silently toward the sound. He kept a constantly flow of air in his face to help him towards his target, and before he knew it, the turkey was in sight.

There was only one— a young Jake. It had to be last year’s chick, for his beard just barely protruded from his feathered breast, and his spurs were round and soft. Kihlan stood, concealed by a bush as he watched the bird. It was pecking at a pinecone seeds scattered around the base of a tree. The Jake turned his back to Ki— he burst from his hiding place. Startled, the bird tried to fly away, but Ki was on it before it had the chance to leave the ground. He killed it quickly. It wasn’t far from where Zephyr was laying, hopefully. She had the tendency to wander off and get herself into trouble, which would have Kihlan bustling about trying to find her and keep her safe from the dangers she seemed blind to. He could not blame her though, she was simply being herself, and Kihlan treasured her company. Ki grabbed the floppy neck of the bird and started to drag it back. The opening that marked the area they had taken shelter in came into view and his eyes scanned eagerly for his troublesome partner.

OCC;

word count; 528
muse; 70%
tags; forte!

[Forte]

Zephyr had slept like a log after the events of the day before, so when she woke it took her a minute to gather her wits. What time was it? The little wolf opened one eye for just an instant to look at the golden light filtering down through the canopy. It appeared to still early pretty early in the morning. Why was she so sore? Yesterday's encounter with the bear had taken quite a toll on her body.

With an uninhibited groan, Zephyr rolled onto her back, eyes still closed, and wiggled around like a dug-up worm, enjoying the scratchiness of the grass and the feeling of stretching her muscles. After a moment or two she opened her eyes. Something didn't feel quite right. She craned her neck to look over her shoulder to wake her friend, only to realize with alarm that he was not in the glade with her. Zephyr sat up, worried. Normally she would just assume that he had gone to find water or food or something, and wait for him, but after the way he acted yesterday, she felt it would be a good idea to find him quickly. Not only was he still injured, but that bear could also still be around. Or other predators.

Suddenly it occurred to her that the forest was eerily quiet. No birds sang. No critters scuttled in the underbrush. Zephyr's heart started beating faster. She would not call to him in case there was indeed something in the area. She didn't want to draw attention to her presence, or Kihlan's.

She stood and started to sniff around the clearing. There was the spot where he had slept, saturated with his scent. The edges of the clearing were a bit too close to that spot for her to tell which way he had gone, so she stepped a ways into the woods, circling the glade until she picked up his fresh trail. He had been here recently. She followed his scent until she came upon a patch of fresh blood and some very large feathers, a sight that calmed her greatly. Kihlan must be hunting. The body of the bird was gone, so she bet he had gone back to the glade. Zephyr made her quick way back, retracing hers and Kihlan's steps, until she caught sight of him. "Kihlan!" she barked happily, unrestrainedly leaping on top of him. "I was worried! You should have told me you were going off, you big dumb."

[Kailolu]

A dull ache formed in his empty belly that weighed him down with a mix of irritation and concern. Why can’t that woman stay put? He eyed the matted grass that showed where they slept and hauled the kill toward it. Releasing it with a thud, he moved to Zephyr’s sleeping spot and sniffed. Her feminine scent wasn’t hard to miss, and it was thick in the air. She must have just left. Figuring she went out to look for him, he went back the way he came and retraced his steps. They were bound to run into each other. But after a few minutes of smelling nothing but his musky scent and the blood of the turkey, he began to worry. What if the bear got her? They were still within a few miles of its territory border, so there was the chance that it could come back and have a go at her. She was small, vulnerable. Kihlan failed to realize that she had wits about herself, and that she would most likely fly away if she were attacked. Instead, he imagined her trying to outrun the bear instead. A hot wave of fear boiled under his skin, making his fur stand on end.

Kihlan moved at a hurry pace, blinded by anxiety— fearing that his companion was in danger. He tripped over rocks and tree branches, and scratched his nose on a thorny bush. He was rushing back the way he came, praying that she had returned to the clearing. So caught up in the flashing images of Zephyr being attacked by the large bear, he didn’t smell her fresh scent covering his own, nor did he hear the paw pads around him.

“Kihlan!”

Startled by the loud voice, he didn’t have enough time to register in his brain that it belonged to Zephyr before she threw herself upon him. He let out a loud oof and stumbled under her weight. He collapsed against the ground, wagging his tail fiercely with the relief that Zephyr was safe. Kihlan began to laugh at her concern and wriggled underneath her. “Ohh, but you looked so cute when you were asleep! I wouldn't dare disturb something that adorable.” He teased, attempting to raise his low voice to a higher, more feminine sounding one. Ki planted his feet and shoved himself up, supporting her for a minute before leaning to one side to slide her off his back. After making sure she didn’t stumble, he stepped over and nipped lightly at her ear. “Besides, I’m the big bad wolf. No need to worry about me, sunshine. It’s you that I’m always worried about.” He nudged her with his wing and started the short walk back to the glade.

The adrenaline that surged through his body was ebbing, and he was soon content. He noticed that he felt on edge every minute Zephyr wasn’t at his side, and he chastised himself. Perhaps he was being over protective. Maybe it bothered her? He let the thought go without a second look as they came upon the clearing. He raised his head proudly, eyeing the kill with hunger. “Hope you like turkey, princess.” He said with a smile, passing the bird and dragging it a bit farther than he had previously set it. The wolf sank to his side and spread his injured wing out along the ground, stretching it. Making room for Zephyr, he used his paw to roll the bird onto its back and started to pluck the feathers from its chest, eager to get to the warm meat below.

OCC;

word count; 598
muse; 80%
tags; forte!

[Forte]

As Kihlan heaved himself to his feet, Zephyr slid off his back and landed nimbly on the ground, scowling good-humoredly at his teasing her. Surprisingly, she didn't mind his nicknames at the moment. Zephyr growled and playfully shoved against his shoulder with her nose. "I'd show you just how adorable I can be if your wing wasn't hurt." Normally Zephyr might be irritated that Kihlan felt that he needed to watch out for her, but at the moment she was in such a good mood that she gratefully appreciated it. Had Kihlan not been with her yesterday, she would have died almost for certain. But then, he had needed caring for, too, in the aftermath. That's what friends are for.

When the two wolves broke into the glen, the body of a large bird caught Zephyr's eye. A turkey! She had only eaten turkey a few times before. Her pack had been large and so had mostly only hunted large game--deer, bison-- but sometimes hunters who went out alone would bring back one of these birds. Their meat had always been delicious. And now she only had to share with one other wolf. "Are you kidding me?" she said enthusiastically, bouncing up to the bird to sniff at it. "I love turkey!"

She took Kihlan's lead and sat down next to him, watching him pluck the feathers from the body. It occurred to her that he might want help, but she didn't offer, partly because she didn't want to get in the way, and partly because she didn't fancy getting feathers in her mouth. Instead, she sat and waited and yammered away about the strangest animals she had eaten (a cockroach), various dreams she had had (a vast expanse of still, purple water), the birds that flitted, singing, above their heads.

[Kailolu]

Kihlan worked eagerly, pulling out mouthfuls of feathers while Zephyr yapped away about all kinds of things. He made sounds of interest and agreement whenever he saw fit to let her know he was listening, when in truth he had pretty much tuned her out. His belly gurgled and clenched impatiently, causing a sharp ache to spike deep inside of his gut. The large feathers were easy to get rid of, shaking his head was enough, but the smaller feathers pricked at his eyes and nose. He gagged and coughed at some that tickled the back of his throat, but he ignored it and went back to work. In no time, he had plucked the majority of the underside of the bird; not bothering with the wings since he knew there wasn’t much to them. He spat out some small feathers and let a strong breeze blow them all away. Turning to Zephyr with a smile, he said, “Dig in.”

He stripped away skin and muscle and chewed contently, savoring the soft meat. While he ate, he glanced up at the sky. There weren’t many clouds. That was a good sign. They would start walking today. Zephyr could fly, but Kihlan knew he was going to be grounded until some of his feathers sprouted and his wound scabbed over. It shouldn’t take too long, he thought, tearing another piece from the bird. It didn’t look all that bad now that he thought about it. Sure, there was crusted blood and some grass bits in the wound, but it didn’t look so raw. By now, he had eaten half of the turkey and his hunger was sated. He leaned back onto his side and yawned contently. He glanced at Zephyr and cleared his throat. “We’ll start walking today. It shouldn’t be too long until my wing heals up, and by then we’ll have made it pretty far.” Kihlan laid flat and stretched his limbs, rubbing his shoulder against the grass. “Don’t worry, buttercup, I’ll get you to the ocean sooner than you think.”

Time Skip

After a week and a half, Kihlan’s wing was just finished healing. But it didn’t matter. He knew they were close. Extremely close. He could feel the cold air from the sea, he could smell the salt. He was nearly shaking with excitement, but not because they had nearly reached their destination, but because he was eager to see how Zephyr would react. Currently, he was maneuvering through strange trees that were almost like vines. They grew deep into the ground in strands, making it difficult to crawl through. He squeezed through a tight gap and turned to wait for Zephyr, who he was sure— in the mix of his enthusiasm— had gotten left behind due to his fast past. A familiar sound rang in his ears and he turned his head to peer through the mangrove trees. Was that a hint of blue? Yes! “Zephyr!” He shouted animatedly, bouncing around as he waited for her to catch up. “Zephyr, we made it! We’re here!”

With that, he took off at a sprint, tucking his wings in close to him. There was a fallen tree that had caught on another, providing a wonderful takeoff ramp. Panting with delight, he bolted up the trunk and for the first time in nearly two weeks, he flew. His wings were weak at first, achingly delightfully as he flapped to go faster. He climbed the sky, flying above the treetops. And there it was. Crashing, rolling, churning— the beautiful ocean. The water was bright blue on this sunny day, and Kihlan couldn’t have wished for a more perfect moment. He barked happily and flew toward the familiar body of water. It expanded as far as the eye could see in all directions, endless water. He quickly maneuvered toward the sandy beach and was running to the ocean before his paws even touched the sand.

OCC;

word count;
muse; 50%
tags; forte!

[Forte]

Zephyr's hunger, stimulated by the smell of blood and the knowledge that she would soon get to eat her favorite meal, grew steadily as she watched Kihlan pluck the bird, until at last he gave her permission to eat. Tail wagging at light speed, she crawled forward and tore open the turkey, whining with happiness and content.

After her pangs of hunger faded she slowed down and allowed Kihlan to eat as much as he wanted. He had barely eaten since the bear attack and, for once, she put his hunger ahead of her own.

When he was finished she dove back in. The bird had been large and fat, so there was plenty left to fill her belly. She pricked her ears and raised her bloody head, though, at Kihlan's mention of walking. "Walk?" she said incredulously. For some reason she had thought they would rest around here until Kihlan could fly. Zephyr hated walking. She hadn't walked long distances since she had first learned to fly. Even on hunts with her old pack she had flown above her packmates to look out for prey and ambush it from the air. The young wolf heaved a sigh at the thought of walking what Kihlan made her think was a very long way. But strangely it didn't bother her as much as she thought it would. She had her friend to keep her company on the long journey. It wouldn't be that bad. It might even be enjoyable.

Time skip.

For the previous few days Zephyr had convinced herself that the air was getting cooler. It had been sweltering in that huge forest, but as the two wolves traveled east, she would occasionally swear to Kihlan that it felt cooler. Today Zephyr had started to smell something strange. It was salty, with a hint of decaying things, but it was cool and exciting. For the first time in a long time she felt it might actually be possible that she would see her brother again.

She was still getting used to not flying; it was like not being able to change altitude while flying. She couldn't go over or under things, like she might dodge a cloud or flock of birds in the sky: she had to go around, and while these close-growing trees were hampering hers and Kihlan's progress eastward, it was just a game to Zephyr. She bounced off tree trunks and weaved through vines and splashed through puddles as nimbly as she could, challenging herself to move fast and not fall.

Unfortunately she sometimes got so wrapped up in her game that she forgot to pay attention to which way she was actually supposed to be going. For the hundredth time, Kihlan's voice caught her ears, but this time, it wasn't worried or annoyed. There was excitement in it. And those magical words: We're here.

She could hardly believe it. The ocean, at last! Abandoning her game, Zephyr raced in the direction from which her companion's voice had come, and she saw it too: the chink of blue through the trees. Water!

Just ahead of her, Kihlan took off into the air, and she followed suit, unable to contain a couple of joyful yips as she cleared the canopy and caught sight of what could only be the ocean. She pumped her wings hard to gain speed and soon she was flying over a wide stretch of lovely white sand. She followed Kihlan down, but she did not land, instead skimming above the hot sand toward the water. When finally she reached it, she allowed herself to crash into the sapphire-blue waves.

It was much colder than she had expected, and she didn't expect the saltiness of the water when she opened her mouth, but the waves were just too fun. Up, down, up, down. It was like flying on the strongest, but gentlest air currents she had ever known.

The waves gradually worked the little wolf back to the shore, where she trotted along the waterline, staring into the horizon, which, strangely, looked curved. Vaguely she wondered why that would be, but she didn't let herself get caught up in thoughts like that. The sea was too new and enthralling for her to worry about such little oddities. She would enjoy this new experience on this beautiful day with her best friend without a care in the world, just as she liked to do best.

[Kailolu]

Kihlan crashed into the chilly waves, shivering in delight. The water soaked through his fur and dampened his feathers. Normally he wouldn’t run into the ocean, knowing the dangers all too well, but the waters weren’t as fierce as they generally were, so he thought it safe for the moment. Besides, he didn’t want to deter Zephyr in anyway, she had gone this long journey with him to reach the ocean and now that they were here, he wanted her to enjoy herself. He didn’t go out far enough to feel the need to swim, staying close to the shore. He kept a close eye on Zephyr, she had gone out farther then he had, and it wouldn’t be the first time the ocean claimed a life. But to his relief, she washed up on shore and was moving alongside the water, her eyes bright with curiosity and excitement. He dropped into line behind her, his eyes focused on the waves that rolled up onto the beach and wet his sore paws.

To add to the beauty of the ocean waters, a single dolphin leapt out of the water before disappearing completely. “How ‘bout that?” He asked with a smile. It had taken longer than he thought, but he promised he’d get her here. And now that they were here, what would they do? The ocean was vast, and there were many sights in the water as well as outside of it. He’d help her have the best experience here, she deserved that after putting up with his all of his complaining and bickering.

Kih picked up his pace to trot next to his companion when a glistening object in front of her caught his eye. The wolf leapt in front of Zephyr, bracing his legs so she wouldn’t knock him over from his sudden move. “Hey…” He said slowly, moving out of her way so she could see the squishy being that lay on the sand. “Don’t touch these, alright? They sting you. Like a bee, but worse.” He hadn’t touched a jellyfish before, but he heard of what happens when you do. Someone long ago told him that she had been stung by a jellyfish and she got painfully sick and couldn’t eat for days. Kih didn’t want to death with Zephyr puking her guts up and starving herself just because her curiosity got the better of her. Besides, she needed to enjoy herself here, not hurt herself. “It’s called a jellyfish. See those stringy parts? Those are what sting you. They use them to electrocute their food so it can’t move. I think they’re sticky. Don’t get too close, now.”

OCC;

word count; 443
muse; 20%
tags; forte!

[Forte]

"How about what?" Zephyr asked absentmindedly. She had been too absorbed in the rest of the beach to notice the dolphin. The beach was covered in beautiful shells, and these waves were fun to chase. As was a small group of stilt-legged birds that followed the water's edge and pecked at the sand.

Zephyr caught sight of the clear, shiny blob sitting on the sand just as Kihlan leaped between her and it. Just as well, because Zephyr surely would have touched the jellyfish had he not warned her. Although....

"Just the stringy parts?" she asked, and without giving Kihlan time to answer, she darted around him, bowed in front of the jellyfish, raised her paw high and brought it down on the globular part of the jellyfish. It didn't hurt, so she quickly prodded it with her nose. It felt slimy and surprisingly firm. "Hah!" Zephyr couldn't help but let out a joyful laugh. The ocean was weird.

She started, bounding, again down the beach, loving the windiness of this place. It felt strong enough that if she were to open her wings and let it, it would lift her up and away over the water.

Far ahead she noticed a conglomeration of seabirds that she had never seen before. They were large and mostly white, with yellow legs and yellow beaks. They seemed to be squabbling. "Kihlan!" Zephyr called out over her shoulder, then took off, sprinting toward the birds, tongue lolling. The wolf was running so fast that the birds almost didn't notice her before she was upon them, but as it was, they all simultaneously opened their wings and lifted off the beach. Zephyr could have followed, but something had caught her eye.

The birds had been crowding around a dead creature. It was huge and fat, and covered in short, brown fur. It had red peck marks all over its body, and one of its eyes was missing. But despite that, as Zephyr examined its face, she realized that it looked eerily like a wolf. "Kihlan," Zephyr said hesitantly, her eyes glued to the face of the animal, "What's this?"

[Kailolu]

Kihlan turned back and looked toward the water. “There was a dolphin.” Zephyr’s question send a tingling feeling down his spine and when he turned to give her a look, she was darting around him. “Get—No don’t—Zeph—STOP!” He fumbled over his words and legs trying to stop her, but by the time he gained a bit of composure, she was taking off down the sand – unscathed. Kih’s face fell and he glared after her, stubbornly putting his paws together. Why wouldn’t she ever listen to him? He huffed to himself, fluffing his wet feathers and giving the jellyfish a heated stare. “This is your fault.” He snapped, giving it a wide birth as he walked past it. Just as he was about to lay down in the warm sand, Zephyr called to him with an excited voice. Was that a hint of urgency? Kihlan was running before his eyes processed what he was watching. His companion was darting through a giant flock of seagulls. Immediately, he slowed his pace and watched the birds, trying to see if Zephyr wad amidst them.

Rather than frightening the birds further, she was staring at a body on the beach. Kihlan trotted quickly to her, brushing her back with his wing as he pulled along her side. Her voice was cautious, wary as she spoke his name. He stepped forward confidently and peered at the creature. His eyebrows knit together and he scrunched up his face. He knew what this was. He had seen one before, never spoke to it, but followed it. The creature dwelled on both land and in the sea, and if memory served correctly, his Aunt once referred to them as a waterdog. Kih was silent for a moment, wracking his brain for a name. What was the darn thing called? Sill, Sean, Sharn, Wheal Walrus… The gears clinked in his brain at that last thought and he turned to Zephyr. “It’s a seal.” He said, nodding to punctuate his statement. “My Aunt called one a waterdog—since they live on land and hunt in the sea, which makes sense I suppose.”

While he and his friend examined the corpse, the ocean waves climbed farther up the shore, a few yards from the body. The wind picked up without Kihlan asking to, which in turn blew the smell of the seal into his face. While normally he would welcome the scent of a dead animal, which meant food, a seal was not a proper meal for a wolf. He wouldn’t even think of eating one, and he would be mortified if Zephyr would. Why, he’d lecture her for hours about how a proper wolf wouldn’t eat that salty sea creature! He was blabbering to her about ways he thought it could have died— drowning, starvation, sickness, old age— and was so engrossed with himself that he didn’t notice the wind getting stronger. It morphed with a five foot wall of water, propelling it with frightening speed toward Kihlan. Before he knew what happened, the speeding wave crashed into him, sending him tumbling a few meters up shore. Frightened, Kihlan tried to open his soggy wings to fly away from the random tidal wave, but his confusion turned his powers against him. Water from the ocean raced up the shore, combined with the stream of fiercely blowing air, and Kih was catapulted down the beach again, tumbling helplessly in a flailing ball of wings and legs.

He yelped and cursed as he went head over heels farther from Zephyr in a ball of water and sand. He shouted a rather pungent curse word and forced all the wind in the air to stop, causing the water to fall flat. “What the hell…?” He gasped, untangling his limbs and standing on wobbly feet. He was a quarter mile from the body of the seal, and there were plenty of holes in the sand that he was sure his face created. Kihlan was embarrassed, confused, and angry. He shook his body hard, blinked the sand from his eyes, and started to stumble toward a dried patch of washed up seaweed. He was walking through a puddle of water, heading toward dry sand, but it never came. That was when he angrily looked down and realized the puddle was following him. He stepped to the right, left, front and back— the water moved with him. Kihlan stared at his reflection in the puddle that trailed him. What the hell was going on? Then it all made sense. It had to have been Zephyr! She hid her powers from him! The brat! “Zephyr!” Kihlan snapped. “That wasn’t funny! You could have drowned me!”

OCC;

word count; 781
muse; 100%
tags; forte!

[Forte]

Zephyr's voice was quiet as she repeated the name of the dead creature: "A seal..." She just couldn't get over how much it looked like a wolf. It had large, dark eyes, an intelligent-looking face, a long muzzle. Its nose looked exactly like a wolf's nose. It even had whiskers. She couldn't help but feel that a live seal would not be too different from her. It saddened her to think that the fate of its body was to be pecked away by shrieking, ugly birds.

The ocean even seemed to grieve the loss of this animal, as the waves suddenly grew stronger and approached the seal's body, as if to take it back into the depths. But it seemed that the seal was not what the water wanted. Zephyr saw the huge wave coming just in time to leap out of the way, while Kihlan was not so lucky. The wave hit him full-on and carried him away down the beach at a speed that Zephyr was surprised the sea could achieve.

No...this was not just the wind and waves at work. Frozen with amazement, Zephyr watched the water that held Kihlan captive, separate from the rest of the ocean, but keep traveling down the beach. That was impossible...right? There must be something else at work here.

Kicking herself into motion, the little tan wolf opened her wings and flapped a few times, rising off the sand as easily as she had suspected it would be earlier. The wind carried her after Kihlan, and after a few moments the wave suddenly died and formed a calm puddle around her friend, which rapidly disappeared into the sand. Zephyr landed next to him. "Kihlan, are you okay?" She sniffed at him and examined him, but she was far from experienced enough with injuries to determine whether or not he was hurt.

"Me?" Zephyr cried indignantly, hurt that he would think she had caused that. "I didn't do that!" She was angry until she noticed the puddle beneath Kihlan's feet, and saw that it followed him. Something clicked in her mind, and suddenly it was funny. "Kihlan," she began, unable to hold back short bursts of giggling, "I think it's you doing this."

[Kailolu]

Kihlan was still sputtering and coughing when Zephyr asked if he was okay. “Okay?” He spat. “No I’m not okay! Nothing is okay about this!” Physically? He was fine. His pride was crushed into a pile of dust, and he glared angrily at his companion, as if that would rebuild it. He stretched his wings out, feeling for aches and pains—ignoring Zephyr as she defended herself. He simply scrunched his face up and snorted at her reply. Kih turned away, slamming his paw down in the puddle. He was fed up with her games. A little splash to the face would have been tolerable, but this? Too far, honeypup. As if to fuel his anger, Zephyr started to giggle. A dark, fuming glare was cast her way in response. If looks could kill… Well… Maybe maim. Or you know… kick sand in her face.

Her next few words made him scoff far louder than he had meant to. “Yes, absolutely. Thank you, oh wise one, for pointing out the obvious. I absolutely meant to do that. All me.” His sarcasm did little to mask his anger and annoyance. Kih tucked his wings in and shook more wet sand out of his fur. “You and I both know I have nothing to do with water.” To prove his point, he sent a rather rough wind gust at her. “Only wind, remember?” Kihlan huffed and started to walk again, his body flaring with heat. He felt wounded in more ways than one and wanted nothing more than to slip away and find some way to redeem himself. The water never left his paws, it continued to follow his every move. He suddenly burst out in a hard, forced laughing fit. “That’s even funnier the second time!” Kih continued to force sarcastic laughter as he walked away, stomping his paws to splash the water. “I don’t know about you, but this is hilarious! Just awesome! I. Can’t. Imagine. A. better. DAY! KNOCK IT OFF!” His voice grew louder with each word, and when he spit out the end of his rant, the water evaporated.

He stared at the ground. The puddle was gone. His brow furrowed in confusion. “But that’s…” He started, stepping a few feet away. “That’s not possible.” He turned to Zephyr. “That isn’t possible. That doesn’t just happen to someone!” Kih quickly ran to his companion and pressed against her side for comfort. He ducked his head under hers, looking down the beach. Perhaps there was someone out there watching him make a fool of himself? “Zephyr…” He leaned closer, poking her cheek with his nose. “Don’t lie to me. You really had nothing to do with the water?”

OCC;

word count; 450
muse; 60%
tags; forte!

[Forte]

Kihlan's harsh words struck Zephyr more deeply than any she could remember him having said to her so far. It wasn't quite so much his meanness that shocked her as the fact that he even had it in him to be so mean. She had thought they were friends, but friends didn't say things like that to each other.

With each syllable that came out of his mouth, the smile on Zephyr's face gradually faded and transformed into an open gape.

His cruelty had stunned Zephyr into silence, but gust of wind that Kihlan sent at her caused her to instinctively tense up, and it was this insult that caused her to get moving again. Without a word, Zephyr turned and started to walk down the beach in the opposite way as Kihlan.

She didn't even know where to begin to be angry Kihlan. He had no right to say anything like that to her. Even if she had been at fault for that weirdness, it wasn't so horrible that he should get that upset over it. He had been so protective of her this whole journey, but in the end, Zephyr could have used some protection against Kihlan.

Suddenly Kihlan was next to her, pressing against her. With a wrinkle of her nose, Zephyr extended a wing in an attempt to push him away from her, but it was Zephyr's lighter frame that moved a yard or so sideways, which didn't really convey the anger and frustration she felt toward him.

His question caught her off-guard. She stopped and stared at him for a few moments before bursting out, in a voice almost completely composed of growls so harsh that it hurt her throat to form them, "NO, poop-for brains, I DIDN'T. AS I TOLD YOU. I have NO clue why you didn't believe me. WHY WOULD I LIE TO YOU?"

[Kailolu]

Kihlan was caught off guard by Zephyr’s yelling and he stepped back from her. His first instinct was to defend his foolish masculine pride. How dare she snap at him! “Because you—” Suddenly he was at a loss for an excuse. She hadn’t ever lied to him about anything, nor had she said anything that would lead him to distrust her. Still though, he had the need to shield himself from his own stupidity and arrogance, and push back against her for what he thought was a just reason. If there was one thing Kihlan didn’t like, it was being in the wrong. And that’s exactly where he was. He was so heated with embarrassment that he couldn’t muster something creative to yell at her, so all he did was growl and summon a burst of air so powerful that when it caught him beneath his wings, he was propelled into the air so fast that it felt like he had been slammed into a boulder. He ran away from Zephyr, from his foolishness, from the water, and from himself. He climbed the sky with impressive speed, pumping his aching wings as fast as he could and pushing his powers to the furthest they could go. He flew straight up until he disappeared into the clouds.

Kihlan kept a steady wind current under him so that he could stall in the air and simply float. His face scrunched, and his breathing was hard and fast. Heat flared through him in painful pulses, and to try to escape, he started to fly higher. The cold air made him think. He knew he was at fault here. He had no reason not to believe her, and now he was humiliated and upset with himself. His behavior was something he should be ashamed of, and the longer he stayed up in the sky, the guiltier he felt. Kih’s paws tingled and he quickly cut his powers. If he exhausted them now, he wouldn’t have the strength to land without injury. He huffed and puffed and stared angrily at the clouds around him. He couldn’t confront Zephyr now. He wanted to hide from her, to find privacy from anyone who might have been watching.

The pulsating heat started to calm in his body, and all he felt was guilt sitting heavy in his empty belly. All this time doing all he could to impress Zephyr, and get her to where she wanted to go and he messed it all up with his thoughtless arrogance. Something had made a fool of him and the first thing that he thought to blame was the only wolf that had done no wrong in his eyes. Why? Because he didn’t want to be the one at fault. He felt emasculated, and awkward. Most importantly, he didn’t want to apologize. He didn’t want to talk to her, for he not embarrassed himself, he had taken away her faith in him. Rather that yelling, he was curious as to why he didn’t humor his way out of the situation like he normally would. Kihlan sighed heavily. He flew in the cover of the clouds for some time, mulling over the thoughts in his head, before he slowly dropped down toward land. It took a few minutes, but he saw the beach and the ocean. The dead seal was just a speck in the distance now, but he didn’t steer toward it. There was a rocky outcrop that pieced off into the ocean. That’s where he wanted to go.

Kihlan reached the boulders and landed softly on one, tucking his wings and lowering his head a bit. The rock was a meter or two out of the water, and the waves that crashed against it tickled his paws with spray. He couldn’t bring himself to find his companion; he needed to punish himself mentally before he talked to her. His heart fluttered and his stomach clenched. “Now you’ve done it, buddy-o.” He grumbled to himself, slowly sinking to his belly. He laid on the warm rock and watched the ocean waves, hunching his shoulders and ruminating in silence.

OCC;

word count; 688
muse; 70%
tags; forte! ((Hah, Kih, you're such a jerk!))

[Forte]

For once, Kihlan didn't have anything clever to snap back at her. Zephyr looked at him expectantly, making no effort to hide the anger on her face, but Kihlan said nothing more, only summoned a powerful blast of wind that lifted him up faster than Zephyr had ever seen, and even raised her a few feet off the ground before she found the presence of mind to close her wings and let herself fall back to the burning sand. With a short, vexed sigh, Zephyr watched Kihlan disappear into the clouds. Good. She didn't want to be around him right now.

She stood still for a moment, at a loss for what to do now. Nothing looked as good as it had just a few minutes previously. The turquoise water seemed to shine less brightly, the waves rushing up on the sand sounde less pretty. The shrill cries off the gulls, where before they had sounded alien and interesting, were now only annoying.

Zephyr didn't feel the need to think about Kihlan. He had been wrong to yell at her, and she knew he would realize that and apologize eventually. She just had to wait. Zephyr was not the one in crisis. She only wanted to fly, to let her mind drift and her frustration seep out of her until she felt hollow and light. That was how she had always dealt with her problems. Walk it off.

And if Kihlan wanted to see her again, well, he would have to come find her.

Finally, Zephyr opened her wings. The heat rising off the sand made what felt like a bubble beneath them, as if it wanted to take her away from here, and with a few flaps, she let it, again choosing the opposite direction as Kihlan.

She stayed below the clouds, gliding only a couple dozen feet off the sand, the heat from which which continued to keep her in the air with almost no effort on her part. From this vantage point she could see several lithe, gray shapes in the waves, slicing through the water as easily as Zephyr rode the wind. Were those dolphins?

She followed them a ways, watching them leap and play, until they turned away from the coast toward the open sea. In turn, Zephyr looked west, toward the vast stretch of land that was her home. As the sea was to the dolphins, so the land was to Zephyr. It was full of possibilities. What mysteries did that land hold? She had heard about mountains--rocks that towered miles into the sky and were blanketed in snow--but she had never seen one. That was something she would very much like to see.

Ahead of her the beach morphed into a stretch of sharp rocks with pools of water gleaming between them. Zephyr landed on one of these large rocks, her mood suddenly slightly improved by the prospect of exploration.

The tidepools were not what they had seemed from the air. They held what appeared to be miniature ecosystems, with strange creatures and plants in them. Zephyr wondered how they had gotten there.

Zephyr found a large pool and laid down on a rock next to it to study its contents. Several green, tentacled, flower-like things, and several five-pointed things, neither with any eyes or recognizable features to speak of. A strange, clawed creature, the shells of which she had seen littering the beach, that scuttled to and fro, doing who knows what.

Suddenly one of the rocks in the pool moved. Before Zephyr's eyes it transformed into yet another alien, a creature with a bulb for a head and several long tentacles that acted as legs. Swiftly it closed the gap between it and the smaller shelled creature and pulled it beneath is globular head. The tentacled creature flashed blue, then white, then blue again, and then returned to its rock-like color. The shelled creature did not reappear.

Wow, Zephyr thought. The ocean is so...weird.

[Kailolu]

Kihlan yawned and laid his head on his paws. He tried to think up something he could say to Zephyr, but nothing came to mind. His subconscious was drowning in self-pity, there was no room or time to think up ways to apologize. He still didn’t want to. Why couldn’t she just say sorry for snapping at him? No, she’d yell at him for overreacting and shouting at her first. The wolf groaned and rolled onto his ride, rubbing his shoulders against the uncomfortable rock.

Had Zephyr been male, this wouldn’t have happened. If she were a boy, she would have simply laughed at him and teased him about having his butt handed to him by a water wave and his own powers. Kihlan grumbled to himself and growled out a sigh. “Damn it all…” His eyes closed momentarily and he clenched his teeth. “Where’s your pride now, big boy?” Dragging himself unwillingly to his feet, he turned and hopped from rock to rock until his paws met the sand.

He had a sour look on his face as he slowly started to walk back the way he came. He moved a bit to walk in the water. The sand felt cool on his paws. Kihlan looked out to the ocean and gave it a doubtful stare. What's going on? He asked mentally, turning and watching his paws sink into the sand with every step. A a gentle prompting wave rolled up to him and separated itself from the ocean. Startled, Kih tried to step away. It surrounded his paws and stayed firmly underneath him. Chuffing, he sulked down the beach again, staring down at the water that followed him. He growled at his reflection. “Yeah, yeah, I know it wasn’t completely Zephyr’s fault.” Suddenly, the water shot up and splashed his face. He let out a surprised bark and quickly shook out his fur. “Okay!” He snapped, “It wasn’t her fault at all.” The water settled and pooled around his paws again. “Great. My subconscious controls you.” The puddle rippled, as if in agreement.

Rolling his eyes and letting out an aggravated huff, he picked up his pace to a trot and followed the path he had seen Zephyr fly. Time rolled by and eventually he found her at a tidal pool and he awkwardly walked toward her. Kih avoided meeting her eyes, and instead, kicked at the puddle around him. He swallowed a lump in his throat and felt his heart weigh down. Kihlan scooted closer and stood a few yards behind her, his shoulders slumped. He cleared his throat and averted his gaze to the tidal pool. “I uh…” You what? Kih clenched his teeth and shifted his wings uncomfortably. Did it suddenly get really hot? He chewed on his tongue, glanced up at her, and quickly looked away. Then, so quiet that even he had a hard time hearing himself, he grumbled out, “…sorry…”

OCC;

word count; 490
muse; 50%
tags; forte!

[Forte]

After watching the creatures in the tidepool for a while, Zephyr found herself drifting off. The sound of the waves rolling onto the rocks a ways away was very soothing, and combined with the warmth of the sun, it was a recipe for sleep. She began to dream. In a notable one, she was flying above a pod of dolphins, sharing in their playfulness and happiness, only to look down and see her brother swimming and leaping out of the water with them. Oh, right, she thought in her dream, I need to look for him. She had almost forgotten about finding her brother.

The sound of a clearing throat brought her too. Kihlan, she guessed, and her brow furrowed. She was still a little angry. But whatever. She sat up, but didn't turn around to look at him, instead choosing to stare, unseeing, into the water of the tidepool while she waited for him to speak.

When he did, Zephyr sighed with frustration. Some apology. She barely heard it. She got that he was embarrassed, but really, how hard was it to own up to a mistake and put a little effort into an apology? After a moment of irritation, Zephyr had to let it go. She probably wouldn't have apologized at all in his situation. She could be stupidly proud sometimes. A few moments passed while she took a deep breath and tried to let go of her remaining anger. Finally, she spoke: "I know. It's fine."

((Ugh, I'm so sorry. I'm a terribly person for making you wait. Forgive meeee.))

[Kailolu]

Kihlan shifted nervously when Zephyr finally spoke up. She had accepted his pathetic excuse for an apology, but he still felt uneasy. His wings tensed and clung tight to his ribs as he climbed up a different rock than Zephyr and sat down. Kih bit down a growl as he watched the puddle from before slither up the rock and pool around him, soaking his tail and haunches. He peered into the tidal pool, ignoring the puddle below him. His face became taut and he furrowed his brow. What was he looking for? Kih nibbled gently on the tip of his tongue and braced his legs as he leaned farther over the rock to look into the water. “There,” He said eagerly, shifting in the salty water around his paws. “Next to that red starfish, see?” Kih had quickly found something to ease the tension off him and hopefully spark an interest in Zephyr to get her past the awkward moment between them. “That long, green thing, right there. That’s called a sea cucumber.” He waved his wet tail and splashed a bit with the readiness to move on with their adventurous journey on the beach.

Kihlan looked to Zephyr and rubbed his wings against his hips. “Surely you’ve eaten grubs before. That’s what they remind me of. The taste I mean.” The last time he had been to the sea, one of them washed close to shore and Kihlan was tempted into take a nibble. It had a buttery, salty taste to it that reminded him of thick fat white grubs that he found in dead trees. “The insides are red and stringy, kind of like the jellyfish on the beach.” He explained. “You can bite one in half, and as long as one of the halves goes back into the water, it’ll heal and regrow its parts. It’s…cool.”

OCC;

word count; 310
muse; 40%
tags; forte!