Pilot
32 - Fae - No Rank
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"Nah, nothing like that... It was just me until I met Xani."Perhaps it was the way that he worded things, but it always seemed that every answer Wolf gave or things that Pilot observed about him the more questions the female ended up having about the brute.
'Nah nothing like that...' It was simply just puzzling. Nothing like what? A family? At some physical point that wasn't possible, everyone had parents at least in the biological sense. No one just 'appeared' out of nowhere.
But perhaps he meant it in a rearing sense? Maybe his parents left him or something... it would potentially explain some of his odder tendencies like the pine cones and the lack of apparent ability to eat fresh meat.
Suddenly a wave of pity and guilt washed over her, and despite her attempt at hiding it, some probably fell over her features too. She tried masking it as quickly as possible, scrunching her face into a weird sort of crinkly smile. Thankfully Wolf had spoken again, asking about her own rearing.
"Yeah, my family and I grew up on the coastal edge of the ice. It was me and my mom and dad.. and my three littermate brothers." She smirked a little at the thought of her brothers, their boyish antics both having been an annoying and endearing quality. "We lived in the rock caves with a few other wolves, but nothing at all like this grand Pack is. It was comfortable enough, I never remember ever going truly hungry as a pup. Overall I'd call it good.. definitely better than other stories I've heard.." Her voice petered out a bit, the guilt still hanging in her head. What if his parents really did leave him to fend for himself, the struggle to simply eat and survive always looming over him as he grew up?
"Anyways puphood was good, we worked, we ate, we prospered enough to be comfortable. My brothers and I played and learned natural skills from the adults and earned our way as we grew to help provide as well. You could imagine how fun it was to be the only female, a small one at that, in a litter of boys." She chuckled. "Perhaps I owe it to them on my tenacity and my achievement of surviving enough to be here now. Who knew that 'Sister Hunt' would actually be helpful down the trail?
A game much like hide-and-seek tag 'Sister Hunt' was a favorite game among the boys. Allowing Pilot however long it took for the next cloud to pass the sun, the brothers would set out in search of their sister, using all three's developing hunting and tracking skills to locate her hiding position. Once spotted she would have to run away from them until caught. It was up to Pilot to see when was the right time to bolt... go too early and she might have given away her spot that may have not otherwise been found yet, go too late and there would be no way for her to escape in time. Typically she would find it fun for a while, but unfortunately the tenacity of the boys usually outstretched her own. Although she didn't know it at the time, these games did teach her skill of lean speed in running, something very beneficial in her years on her own.
The blonde continued with her story.
It was all well and good until the tides changed." Her thin head nodded as she remembered. "After that things shifted though. I was already an adult now mind you, a young one at 17, but an adult. The ocean almost seemed angry at us, time after time the caves we called home would get swallowed permanently by the waves and we'd have to move homes again. And the herds changed too. We used to be able to find herds of all kinds. Caribou, mammoth... you name it, with enough searching we had it. For a while everyone just kinda said nothing about it, almost as if ignoring the changes would make them stop. But of course it didn't and in the end only grew worse. Herds kept leaving to the point that days would go by before we could find a single animal, nonetheless a whole gathering."
At this Pilot sighed, a very small, but lightly sad smile grazing across her maw. "They tried making due, instead of listening to reason. I told them that we should follow the herds, there was obviously some reason for the leaving, but it apparently fell upon deaf ears. Eventually after quite a few years of getting by I just decided that I needed to make my own choices and set out on my own. I truly wish things hadn't changed, but it is what it is. I departed on good terms and well wishes, despite no one coming along with me. It could have been worse, I just hope that they are still just as fine."
Again the fae nodded. "And I hope we find what we are looking for too, wherever that actually may be. All I truly hope for is safety and the ability to survive without too much struggle."
Pilot fell quiet, her silvery eyes turning to the scraggly brute beside her. The night hid most of his features, but a few of his lighter spots gleamed against the bluish glow of the snow. She hadn't meant to get so philosophical all of a sudden but it kinda came out before she could stop it. Something about him made her do that too. Perhaps it was his odd way of things. Questions about him still bubbled in her head but she suppressed them, waiting to see if he had any more questions for her.
Attican
73 - Brute - Keeper
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Lani's laughter echoed through the otherwise silent area, the barking laugh cutting straight through him. Despite it all a whispered smile passed his mouth, realizing all too late that something like that had really had to have been expected, intentional or not.
The graying brute let a rumble pass his throat, a final release of muscle tension leaving his body. Lani had done a wonder on him, that was for sure. She closed in on the last gap between them, causing him to hold his breath again for a moment. But even still it was not as much even as it had been before. Unfortunately for the female, he was simply a tough nut to crack with past histories and memories to suppress him. But by her record as well it didn't appear that she was about to give up any time soon.
Her head slid under his chin and for a second the Keeper froze stiff. However manners got the best of him and despite of his conflictions, he rubbed his lower jaw against her forehead and the place between her eyes. He still kept everything clear of his face, but it was to be warranted from his still very much healing injuries to the one side.
"Nah, you've done more than enough lovely. All I ask is that I can spend the night with you."The Keeper nodded slowly, the movement more like a bob. His head pulled back to look at her, an ear twitching to a brief breeze. Silence drew like a curtain between the two, his head running quickly in thought. The lack of light and presence of stars was not forgotten.
"Seems to me that your wish is rather cut short of its fulfillment, granted the position of the moon." His tongue met his nose. "It appears to me that you will have to rest with me two nights to meet its requirement."
Although wordy and perhaps awkward to translate, it was with the sincerest intentions that Attican spoke. A touch of heat rose to area of his ruined eye, making his head turn away from both that and a bit of embarrassment. Behind him his tail pulled in slightly, rounding his back end.
Unsure of where to go from there or what to really say (an oddity for the brute who's job and best thing to do was speak) he turned about-face, looking like he was suddenly leaving the white female behind. His head lowered nearly straight to the ground itself, squinting to see what was in front of him. However at last moment before he would disappear from Lani's presence, he turned to his right, sniffing out a spot partially covered by a dead bush. Putting his freshly loosened muscles to work the Keeper dug beneath it, finding the root and pulling it out completely. What was left behind was a perfect bowl of snow, most of the circular shape covered by dead leaves. A rare, dry barrier between their bodies and the snow.
"Huntresses first?" He asked almost sheepishly, standing next to the leaf nest. This had been something he had done for Annu when it had been available for him to do so. Doing it now brought back memories, but he swallowed them for now, trying not to think about it. "Come rest." He offered again, motioning towards their bed.
