Random Writing

[.kestral]

Just, stuff really. Bits for characters, stuff for friends, that sort of thing. Feel free to tell me what you think.

[.kestral]

Lilliana's Song

My name is Lilliana, and this is my story. It is not full of kindness and light, not full of happy tales of adventuring in the woods, or playing games with my siblings. That was all when I was a pup, now that I am older we have lost each other, we are all alone, separated, dragged apart by the fates. We can feel each other, in our hearts, our minds but it is not the same. Cytor is despairing, he is hurting, lost, scared. Serenade is with another, another wolf, he isn't the gentlest but he loves her, she is safe. Bayonet he grows darker, crueler with every passing moment, if feel him pushing us out, pushing us away. But me, I lost so much, I was attacked, my sight.....gone. In this story you will not hear about the colours of the trees, the plants, the sky, how could you. I can't see them to explain.

We begin after the attack, me, shaking in the woods, my eyes oddly painless, just the gentle drip of blood hitting the ground beside me. I can feel the strong wind ruffle my pelt, can hear the violent swaying of the trees as the storm grows. Cytor is strong in my mind, his warmth wrapping around me as all of there voices urge me to get out of there, to run before the storm hits. They can feel my fear, my desperation, even Bay is pushing at me to move. Thunder claps above me and I shudder crouching lower to the ground. The rain begins, drops that feel like bullets tearing into my fur. I let out a yelp, dropping my head, my paws don't want to work, don't want to move. I let out a scream as I hear snapping and cracks all around me before I am thrown from my paws. Firm jaws grip my scruff as a large shape barrels me out of the way, gripping hard and dragging me under what must be some sort of rock, I can smell the dryness, the rocky shards dig into my belly as I am lowered to the ground, shaking. A nose gently nudges me and I look up, nothing of course, just the blackness.

"You must be mad, couldn't you feel the storm? Damn it pup. Did you want to die out there?" Said a harsh voice from above as a rough tongue rapidly licked the blood and water from my fur.
"I....I couldn't....who are you?" I said tilting my ears back worriedly. The wolf, I could smell that much snorted and there was a thump as he led near me.
"Faolán" he said gruffly.
"Little wolf? Well you certainly don't sound little" I said honestly as my siblings voices settled in my mind.
"I was a runt, no one expected me to survive. Now I'm the biggest" he admitted a little pride creeping into his voice.
"Now sleep little pup, we can talk more when this storm stops" he growled.
"It's not little pup, it's Lilliana" I growled back before curling up to sleep.

[.kestral]

Kakirou

Character Belongs to Kessler

Cold, dark, misty, foggy, harsh, eyes closed, wind biting, fur puffed, head high. A sigh emerges as a puff of white air, eyes open to the shadows, to the cold, the ice on this mountain. I lower my head to watch the world, the one I can see through the clouds, the green hills, the great forests, the lakes and oceans, the creatures that roam, the ones I never see, I never meet. Up here on my mountain there is only me, only me and my thoughts, thoughts that grow sadder and darker, thoughts that seek more, that seek comfort. A large gust blows my head to the side forcing me to close my eyes again, I let out a small snarl pushing against an impossible force to raise my head, I have little, this mountain cannot take everything from me. It may make me alone, but I have my strength, I have my life....I just wish I was down there, down with the others, one person pushed me away, because of them I have chosen this home for myself, away from all. Because of them I dead the lower slopes, fear who I may meet, fear betrayal. Was it my fault? Did I push them away? If so I deserve this, this solitude, I deserve to sit on my peak, alone.

I frown as the snow begins, looking up at the white clouds I tilt my head curiously as a face seems to emerge. I snort and shake my head, this mountain really was driving me mad, now I was seeing faces in the clouds. With a small growl I pushed myself to my paws, the cloud received a filthy look as I leapt from the summit landing gracefully on a ledge below. My tail lashed elegantly as I ducked under another ledge and lay down, paws crossed in front of me. My ears perked as I watched the sky, watched the ground around my shelter become dusted with soft white. My paw twitched and I growled, my tail lashed and I frowned as my body pushed me unwillingly to my paws. Before I could think I leapt into the heavy downpour, sliding through snow, rolling in the wet, cold, soft, ground.

My fur was drenched in moments as a dark shape hurtled towards me on brown wings. The bird, the hawk let out a cry as it flew under me, darting in and out of the snow, in and out of the shadows. For a moment I was a child again, darting through the snowfall after the bird, a smile on my face for the first time in months as the lean shape flew circles around me. I leapt landing on it, gently pinning it with my paws. A huge flurry hit and as I looked down it was gone, nothing there, beneath me in the snow. Anger welled up and I let out a yell of rage sinking to the ground. The snow piled up around me as it grew stronger. My head fell onto my paws pitifully, there hadn't been a hawk, there never was. Curling up I shook, I was alone, always alone, still.....alone.

[.kestral]

Not many people remember there birth, there first few moments of life, as humans rush about, fussing over you, cleaning your fur. I was pulled from my mother quickly, as the only pup in my litter the humans took great care while checking I was okay, checking everything worked properly. Finally, after a few long minutes I was placed back by her side, on a warm, dry bed. I felt her tongue licking the human scent from my fur before I fell asleep. That was the most relaxed part of my life.

For the next four months after that I was allowed to live as every pup does, I was allowed to play, to chase, to explore. The humans were always watching, taking notes, the scratch of the pen on the pad became background noise, became unimportant. Until I turned four months, on that day my mother was taken. The humans moved her into a nearby room, I could smell her, hear her. But we weren't allowed to be together. The next day I was taken from my room, taken into one made of cold metal, with cold, gloved, masked humans. I struggled against this...this new, this unusual place. A human held me down as another placed a cold mask on my face. As I breathed I felt myself fading, falling into a deep sleep.

Waking up from that sleep was horrific. The pain, my screams, I couldn't believe they came from me. Couldn't believe how much it hurt. My leg was wrapped in thick bandages, from my paw to my shoulder the white wrappings covered me. The skin beneath burned, stung, it felt like a thousand needles, crushing me. I was in agony for days, the humans giving me painkillers, they only dulled it a little. It wasn't until a new man arrived that my pain stopped. He gave me something new, and finally, after a month they removed the bandages, showing me the cold steel, covered with my fur. They had taken my leg, and replaced it. They were turning me into something, and it scared me.

[.kestral]

This was written as a character application

Landon always loved being warm, it made him feel tingly and comfortable, safe and secure. Maybe it was something to do with his unique family, maybe it was something to do with him. But being warm made him happy, while being hot made gave him a headache, and there was always a fine line between the two. Being snuggled up in a blanket with a friend, or family, that was warm, safe, comfortable, but fire, open flames, fireplaces, even sparklers at times, they were hot, uncomfortable and even frightening.

Landon didn't feel threatened when the warmth approached, and relaxed even more when a gentle, pine and coffee scent washed over him. They were the smell of Raz, a smell he knew well. Raz was a friend, one who had always been there, always been a source of comfort for the young one. He felt fur brush his side and looked up at the bigger canine with a gentle smile before returning his gaze to the city that lay sprawled below. It was a beautiful place really, unique, when people heard city they thought of cold bricks and harsh metals. But this city was different, it was wood and mud, it stretched along with nature rather than tearing it apart. As a cub Landon had always stuck close to home, but with his small group of friends he had recently found himself wandering, and this was one of the places they had found. He always returned home of course, always found the others, always made time to visit and to tell them of the world he was exploring.

He sighed softly as his thoughts went to his family, this had been a longer trip than usual, and even though he knew everything was likely fine he couldn't help but fear for them. Raz seemed to sense his unease as a large fluffy tail wrapped around his small frame and from the left another warmth, and another scent, water and mud, approached. A soft breath huffed against his ear and he turned his yellow eyes on the newcomer as Ducky bounced around next to him. The pup held a squeaky duck toy in his mouth that quacked with every bounce.
"Needtaseewhatwefound" the pup yapped quickly, the duck muffling his words. Landon grinned and shook his head.
"Slower Ducky, we don't understand squeakspeak" he huffed amused. The young pup looked thoughtful for a moment before plopping the toy on Landons paws.
"I said, need to see what we found. Its so cool", without another word he plucked the toy off his paws and bounded down the hill towards the city. With a thoughtful, shared look Raz and Landon followed.

The walk to the city was brief but Landon could feel his paws beginning to tremble as they approached. He was used to the odd looks and even odder comments when he opened his mouth, but he hated it. Raz sensed his discomfort and moved closer, a literal warm presence as they padded into the calm city. Ducky was bounding ahead and it only took a few minutes to spot the rest of the wandering group, Sol and Hallowed were trying to calm an excited Ducky but looked up, Sol giving a polite nod and Hallowed his usual white grin.

Cold always radiated from Hallowed, even his scent was cold, like the first chill of winter. It made Landon uncomfortable and he hated to get too close. But Sol, was definitely his favorite to cuddle, warm fur, and a smoky, comforting scent that reminded him of home. But Hallowed had his uses, his superior size, and unusual pelt drew attention to him rather than to Landon, and for that he would always be thankful, after all Hallowed loved the spotlight. The young dog was snapped out of his thoughts by a gentle tap on his shoulder, he jumped and felt Raz chuckle behind him.
"Sorry, but at this rate the little Duck will wet himself, and that would be humiliating" he muttered. Landon looked back around to see Ducky still bounding around like a month old pup, wanting to show them what he had found.

With a nod from Sol, the 'leader' the small pack padded after the pup who with no care bounded through the city, he managed to avoid obstacles with ridiculous reflexes and intuition, which was a miracle as he spent most of the time trying to walk backwards. Landon couldn't keep the grin off his face as he watched, Ducky could make the grumpiest of animals smile. It was almost impossible to look at him without a grin. Raz chuckled from beside him as the pup dodged yet another tree root.
"Is it much farther Ducky? We don't want to get lost" Landon called kindly. The pup stopped for a moment twitching his ears around, listening before shaking his head.
"Notfarsoclosenearlythere" he said through his duck. Landon rolled his eyes, catching the words far, close and there. He guessed they were nearing, or hoped anyway.

They followed for a few minutes before they came across a small building, set into the roots of a huge oak tree.
"Herenowwarmsleepplace" the pup mumbled tail wagging. The pack looked at him in confusion when the door opened and a wolf padded out.
"Ah. You bought your friends" the canine growled, but it wasn't threatening, it was a welcoming growl. Landon still snuggled against Raz's thick fur, looking at the wolf warily.
"Please, don't fear. Your friend was wandering the city when he got misplaced, my partner and me found him and offered him a place to stay for the night. It gets cold out here. He insisted on finding his friends and we got worried" the wolf said, the sincerity in his voice seemed honest and Sol looked at the group. He might be the leader, but there decisions were always made together.

"I trust him" said Raz honestly, Hallowed nodded in agreement, giving the wolf a thoughtful look. Ducky had clearly already made his choice, and Sol looked happy with the idea. Landon looked at the ground, he could see blankets through the door, could see where cracks had been covered to hold warmth. With a flick of his tail he nodded and got a warm smile from the wolf.
The pack shuffled into the room and a gentle warmth enveloped them, blankets and cushions littered the floor and a single lantern hung beside the door.
"It's not much, but its comfortable, and safe" said the wolf giving them a polite nod as he padded off into the adjoining house.
The pack padded into the center of the room, drawing the blankets together, making almost a nest. With practiced ease they curled up, sharing body warmth, there breathing evened out until it matched and almost as one they fell into a calm, comforting sleep.

And that, is where this tale ends. It is one of many the group shared, sometimes more of them, sometimes less, but always a pack, always a family.