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Kalanna Rai
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 10, 2006 2:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

*nods and puts pen away* Okay I'll finish at least one before I post one more. I'll keep it that way too just because I value everybody who want's to participate in my stories. I only wish I could spare myself from bodily harm on this end....*batts away another sharp stick* Poke
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 10, 2006 6:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

*slaps self* I finished reading this chapter, but forgot to comment. Forgive me.

I agree with Shady, I think we don't have time to wait for the seventh. If there this last wolf is really part of the Seven, he or she will find the pack nonetheless.

Not much of a decision really. I know Smee wants to hear some life stories, perhaps they could be told as they journey to their destination.

Oh and I agree with Smee. Hold off on any more stories. It's hard enough trying to keep with this giant influx of stories this year.
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Kalanna Rai
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 9:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vote now!
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

*cowers* Yes Ma'am! *salutes*

I say go on. Whoever else who is supposed to join, I am sure will either meet us in transit or at the birth place. Cool

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Voted.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:20 pm    Post subject: Chapter Seven: A Winter Wood Reply with quote

Well I have to get cracking on these SG's if I ever want to finish any of them so it's sharp turn arounds on my polls folks. This one went with the pack of Six moving out so...
-------------------

Chapter Seven: A Winter Wood

Dane realized he couldn't hide in the bathroom forever, every second he stalled was a second lost...and he had a feeling Sirriath would brook no delays. Mustering all his courage he strode back out into the living room. Four pairs of eyes instantly snapped to his face, awaiting his orders with an easy acceptance. The last pair negligently swept over him from under a thick thatch of black hair.

"We must move, there is no time for rest. For those of you with injuries I must ask you to heal them if you have not already done so." It was a risk, asking them to use their powers when the moon was this close to full, but it was going to be an even bigger risk to use the Lope to travel across space and time...without the Council knowing.

With a shake of his head he blurred into wolf form and, for the first time, knew what others felt like when they saw him. To have Xerender walk up next to him in wolf form, and dwarf him, was a humbling experiance. Yet he only locked eyes with the black wolf who's ears flicked back a fraction of an inch. That's right pretty boy, just wait till later and we'll find out what you're made of.

To his great surprise Xerender answered. Now is neither the time nor the place to rip you to shreads. The stars move in troubling patterns and I'd hate to have you injured when they need you. Dane widened his eyes in surprise. His mental sheilds were nothing to Xerender.

To take his mind off this troubling discovery he turned to adress the rest of the pack. "Tonight we shall take you to the Winter Wood. It is a dangerous place, being directly in the center of the Cursed Lands. The three packs that claim that territory for their own are vile, cruel, and more than willing to spill our blood just for tresspassing. They grant no wolf safe passage and show no mercy." Before he could speak more Xerender came forward.

I don't claim to know more that one who was born in such a place but if you need a visual aid you might take a good look at the scars on my muzzle. I ventured into the Winter Wood once and only once. I took with me one companion, a wolf by the name of Vaner. He and I were all that was left of our pack, the High Tor wolves. Allie sucked in a breath and she and Dane exchanged glances.

The High Tor pack all had outstanding warrents of execution on their heads. It was said that a few years ago a young wolf from that pack had delivered a deadly insult to the the Council Alpha, Ajax, and for his insolence the whole pack must suffer. The details weren't clear but it was known that Ajax had two ears before the encounter...and only one afterward.

Yet Xerender continued his story. Vaner and I thought that the only place safe from the Council was in the Cursed Lands where no law could go. What we didn't realize was that the Council didn't bother with the Cursed wolves not because they were 'unclean' but because they were mad. There were mouldering bones everywhere, chewed and cracked for marrow. Bones of our people chewed by our people. It was sickening... Celest shifted nervously, Ricky looked green, Allie and Dane were shaking their heads, and Kohaku looked ready to faint.

They came out of nowhere on the fourth day. Vaner fought well but...when they were finished there wasn't even enough to lick up. I...I used my powers... He abruptly turned away from the group and silence dropped over him like a hastily lowered portcullis. It was clear that the topic wasn't up for discussion. Whatever his 'powers' were it was clear that Xerender wasn't going to elaborate.

Allie cleared her voice. That's not to say that the name of the Council is unknown in the Cursed Lands. Every wolf knows of them and the pack Alpha's even have the abilites to reach the Council Glade, but being affiliated with the Council will get you nowhere...being affiliated with us...well Dane and I technically are members of the Shadow Pine pack. That means that two of the packs are our bitter enemies and one pack...

Dane stepped forward. The Shadow Pines are a little more honorable than the other two...but not much. They won't turn us out but don't expect kindness or any extending of rights beyond those of food, water, and rest. Seek not to enter the dens or any of the sacred groves. And whatever you do don't go Moon-mad! The Cursed ones have no choice, they'll become true monsters as is dictated by the curse and when all is over some will still be wolves, others will have changed into men. But I warn you if you go mad in the Cursed Lands you will bring the Curse upon yourselves. Are you ready to move?

There was silent assent from those assembled. Dane swung his head to look at Xerender. I trust that your powers are not those of the Lope? Xerender looked at him scornfully. Celest stepped forward.

Sir I have the power of the Lope. Kohaku moved next to her.

And I the power of the Howl Dane nodded. The pair of them working in concert with the rest of the pack lending support...

Not I. Xerender's thought broke in on his own. I cannot lend my power lest it kill us all. We'll leave it at that. Dane turned to look at Xerender. He was a big wolf and if they had to drag him through...Xerender shot him a scornful look that seem to say 'drag...I think not'. Well he was still another set of fangs when it came down to it...provided he'd fight this time.

Whelp! Of course I'll fight! The humans...I once made a promise to someone special I'd never harm a human when the moon neared full... That made sense...if Xerender went mad...Dane shuddered.

With gestures and flicks of his expressive tail Dane managed to get Celest and Kohaku to concentrate their efforts while power from Allie, Ricky, and himself flowed into them. The world lurched as the pack began to move through the tunnel of space and time. Dane was shocked. He'd expected the black wolf to be a dead weight since he was contributing no power, yet he seemed to weigh no more than a shadow or a breath of air.

The landing was jarring and sudden, the pair exhausted by their sudden loss of energy. Dane swore in the language of wolves. He was a rather poor leader. Here he'd only just gained control of his pack and already he was driving them beyond their limits.

They hadn't slept in who knew how long, hadn't eaten in about the same amount of time. He knew next to nothing about each of them, save Allie, and now he'd just stranded them in the middle of the second most dangerous place on the planet. Xerender chuckled.

There is a cave not far from here where the Cursed ones fear to tread.

How do you know?

I recognize this place from my first venture into this wood. I was injured and tired and I decided to make my last stand in that cave...but they would come no farther than the edge of the trees. I shared it only with the bones of an Elder long gone and a tiny pool of fresh water in the back, a Geia's pool I think they're called. Come I will show you the way. He waited for no reply but began to move off in the direction Dane thought was west.

The pack looked after the black wolf then turned to face their leader...Which way would they go?
------------------
Well?
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Go west. You have no better leads at the moment. Follow Xerender Smile
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shady Stoat wrote:
Go west. You have no better leads at the moment. Follow Xerender Smile


Does Stoat like the furry black wolf? Love
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

*grins* I like puppies. They're more fun to tease...
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 6:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I suspect she'd get eaten.
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 11:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

He'd use her pelt as a dish rag. Very Happy No offense Stoaty...
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 18, 2006 11:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

*grins* None taken. Weasels survive by not getting into those sorts of situations in the first place Wink
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 12:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ahh but you're a Stoat. Even if stoats are members of the weasle family that's like saying a ferrit is the same thing as a mink...


And I know some ferrits that might take offense to that...
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 3:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Speak to many small furry creatures do you Rai?
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 19, 2006 7:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Small furry creatures go many places that a large scaley dragon may not...
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So it's similar to Aseops Fable about the lion and the mouse then?

Voted, and winning.
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 8:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm perfectly capable of pulling out my own thorns and getting out of my own nets thank you...
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 9:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wolf, stoat, ferret, whatever creature I maybe, I don't want to be casually wandering a cursed place alone, and tired. With that much said, Xerender seems to be more experienced in the ways of survival.
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:10 am    Post subject: Chapter Eight: Tales of tails Reply with quote

Right it's life story time as they can't go anywhere without resting first...
------------

Chapter Eight: Tales of tails

While Dane was reluctant to seem subseviant to the black wolf he had to put his pack before his pride. He gave the rest a curt nod and one by one they fell in line behind him as he loped up to Xerender's side. The black wolf gave him a quick glance out of the corner of his eye before slowing his pace just a bit.

Kindness...from you?

It's not beyond me. I just choose not to exercise it much. For some wolves in some places, such as this, kindness is a weakness. A soft spot for your foes to lock their jaws into and hold until your life gives out. Varbodane could understand that sentimate and, as he trudged through the chest deep snow, he gave grudging respect to this wolf. He had no right to judge if he knew not the motives.

Slowly the cave came into sight and Xerender let out a breath Dane didn't know he'd been holding. Worried you were lost? The massive black wolf shook his head.

Was worried we'd been spotted but so far our luck holds. With that he scrabbled the last few paces to the cave's entrance and ducked inside. He emerged a few moments later, his tail waving slightly. This is the place. Quickly inside! He stood guard at the entrance until they had all filed in.

With a slight sigh Xerender followed them. How did he ever get himself into this mess. Because you followed the vision. You saw her and smelled her and had to have her. He shook his head, trying to clear the lingering scent of the white female out of his head. When he'd first encountered the pair of them, Varbodane and Alkesta, his heart had lept in his chest.

They had smelled so like her, were such close kin...it had been such a letdown to find out that she wasn't with them, that she was somewhere else. He padded into the cave, claws clicking on the slightly warm stones, and settled himself on a bed of moss and lichen. Around him the weary pack licked their wounds and settled into the familier rhythem of a resting pack.

For a moment no wolf spoke, neither aloud or in the silent way. Then Varbodane's quiet voice filled the empty, ackward, space. "For the moment we are all safe, or as safe as we can be in the Winter Woods. We have depended on each other to reach this place because of a quest laid upon us by one we all barely know. For all the time any of us has spent with Sirriath we might as well have been chasing snowdevils.

But she is not the only one we know nothing about. We know very little about ourselves. Most of us never laid eyes on each other before this day, now we find that we must hunt together or fall seperately. I'm not asking for you to bear your soul to us, to unlock the deepest secrets of your selves. But a little bit of your story would be much appriciated."

For a moment he was faced with blank looks then, to everyone's great surprise, Xerender spoke up. "You know what my pack was. You know how I came to know of this place, how I came by the scars on my muzzle. But I owe you more explanation than that. I cannot explain all my actions and I ask neither your pity nor scorn. My tale is simple and easily told...once I find the time to start."

They fixed their eyes upon him, unblinking, and Xerender curled a little tighter to himself. "I was born on the high bluffs and the red cliffs of the High Tor pack. My father was the leader of the pack, the alpha wolf, stern and proud. My mother...my mother was a human, from the town just inside the edge of our boarders." Xerender looked defiantly into their eyes, daring them to make the slightest remark about his mixed parentage, but when none of them spoke he continued.

"When my father first met her he was young and foolish and in desperate need of blending in amoung the humans. My mother was kind enough to take him in, give him work on her ranch. Yet the animals shied away from him, sensing the wolf within' him and not liking him for it. Yet my mother wouldn't dismiss him.

I know not how the courtship began, nor how it ended. I know only that my father had been long returned to his pack by the time I was born. He left before my mother even knew that I was to be born into the world. For the first fifteen years of my life I lived as a mortal, a human.

I thought that our world, our kind, was no more than an urban legend, a myth made by hollywood to earn money. Then, shortly after my sixteenth birthday, I learned the truth. My mother had gone to town that night and I had told her I was going camping. All that week I'd been feeling itchy and irritable. Ever since I'd..." He stopped his telling for a moment, grasping for words to fill the blank.

Finding none, he continued on. "I was curled up in my pack the first time it hit. A scent, drifting past my nose. I couldn't sleep, not with it hovering around me like a cloud of expensive perfume. It seemed to be poking and prodding at me, urging me on to do things I'd never done before, had scorned others for doing. Then, at last tormented beyond reason, I struggled out of my blankets.

They seemed to tangle around me like some entrapping web, hot as a womb, and I was beginning to feel pain. I thought I had stones in my sleeping bag, but that didn't explain the kinds of pain that were sweeping me. Be grateful, all of you, that you were born wolves not men. You knew what to expect when your form first blurred the line between man and beast. You knew and didn't fight it, welcomed it with open arms.

I did not." His ears flicked a moment as a growl for the pain he'd suffered escaped Celest. "I don't know how I did it, made it out of the sleeping bag, but the next thing I knew I was standing on my feet panting...my four feet. I thought I was crazy, didn't want to believe that all those myths might have been tue. Then she came.

At first I thought she was a ghost, so silent and white, just a fragment of the cirrus of the moon come to earth. She was beautiful, my teenage mind could only equate her beauty with that of the Homecoming queen, and the queen paled by comparision. I knew, instictively, that while she was physically my age, her mind and soul were much older.

I won't lie to you and make up her words. Nor will I tell you what passed between us that night. But I will say that I wasn't ashamed of my inner beast after that. I went home the next morning and made my mother breakfast. While she showered I laid out a table for one and left a note in my place.

I havn't been back since, don't even know if she still owns the ranch or not. Instead I became the wolf and sought out my father's people. At first they wanted to call me a lone wolf. I was much battered and beaten before they threw me at my father's feet.

At first he didn't want to believe, but too soon he was forced too. In both wolf and human form I took after him, smelled like him, and after I came into my full powers he no longer had anything to be ashamed of. I, the half wolf, was stronger than any other in my pack. Too soon my father began to see me as a rival and he sent for the wisdom of the Coucil to see how he could be rid of me.

I will end my tale here, saying only that since the distruction of the High Tor pack, and maybe even before, I have been left to my own wits and my own devices. My one goal in life has been to find the white wolf. I've tracke the scent of her all the way around the world, and that's what eventually led me to your city."

For a moment silence again came over the group then the golden she wolf stirred from her position on the floor. "My name is Kohaku, which means Amber, and I was born to a pair of Japanese wolves. You may find it strange that werewolves can be found in Japan but since the time of the first ancestor it has been so. My father was bitterly disspointed at my birth, he'd been hoping for a strong son yet the spirits deined him once again. Thus he was left with my sister and I.

He trained us as he might a son, trying to hid his guild in the honor of having two noble daughters, yet my golden coat helped matters not. In Japan it is the silver pelt such as you twins bear that is much favored. I was seen as an ill grace child for all my good points. Yet my mother loved me and taught me the mystic ways, that I might find shelter with any pack because of them.

One night, while I was frustrated trying to master scrying in a pool of water, the moonlight shimmered into the image of a white wolf. With infinite paitience and care she showed me the right of it, and the right of the Howl as well. Then she told me that when the spring of Orange cherry blossoms came I was to go to America and seek her out.

Thus I did, though my mother wept and my father scorned me, warning me that should I ever return to his house such punishment as never before was seen would befall me. I have not dared to question that statment. Instead I came here and I was sorely treated. I knew too little English to understand that I was being taken advantage of.

Had not Xerender found me I know not what I might have done, perhapse even lowered myself to begging on the street. I just remeber that I was standing in an alley, every rib in me sticking out through my fur, and fleas crawling through the dirt and filth that was matted over me.

A noise startled me and when I turned he was there. At first I wanted to run, being to tired and weak to fight, and the I decided to give him whatever it was he wanted. Instead of doing what many an uncooth male might have done he simply looked at me and asked 'Little sister are you hurt?' I was so grateful I could have collapsed right there. Instead he led me back to the warm place where he stayed, showed me food and kindness and asked for only one thing.

Had I seen a white wolf. When I told him of the wolf who'd taught me scrying I realized they were one in the same. Since then I have travled with him, never feeling safe unless I was by his side, and yet not once has he ever asked of me that which so many males would. For that I give him honor above many and you should as well."

As if to make her point Kohaku got up and moved on shaky legs to where Xerender was curled. Without so much as a sigh he moved off his warm bed of moss and lichen, settling down again once Kohaku was comfortable. Celest looked at them.

"So you're...what I mean to say is...are you..."

"No little one. We are not mates." Celest's ears waggled in embarassment and it was Ricky who came to her rescue.

"There's a song out there about a boy named Ricky who wasn't any good. That was me. I was always a little too wild for anyone, a little too dangerous. Then, one night as I nursed a bottle of tequila, she walked up looking like jailbait and sounding twice as good to my booze soaked mind. When she crooked her finger I couldn't stop myself from following.

I was her errand boy, ran and got this, fetched that, made sure things were running smoothly. Before I knew it I'd been clean and sober a year or more and wasn't looking back. I never thought that she'd ask for payment, thought that working for her was enough. See she had some curious habits and I wasn't inclined to ask about them like someone else might have been.

Then, one night when the moon was shining like a silver dollar in the sky, she asked me what I felt like doing. Before I could stop myself I answered 'I want to run in moonlit medows and feat on a new slain deer.' I was horrified. Her I'd just let the biggest secret in my life, something I'd never given away in a boozed fit or fuzzy high, on a whim.

But she only laughed. I didn't realize until later that she was a Hunter, that she'd known me for what I was all the long. Soon she started bringing others of our kind to her house. They'd all look shocked when they saw her tousle my hair and send me to get something else. It was one night when she was 'entertaining' that the white wolf appeared to me.

'Go find the Forked Tree pack. They have need of you.' I couldn't disobey. I fled that night and ran until my pads ripped open and I left a blood spore a bat could have followed. I barely made it to the pack's lair in time."

"Yes," Celest pipped up. "I remember. I was a member of the Forked Tree pack. Born and raised amoung my Mother, Father, and seven brother's and sisters. Our pack was large, simply because we took in any wolf willing to obey our rules. I was a bit wild, a bit headstrong and I loved to greet the newcomers.

When Ricky arrived I didn't know what to make of him. He looked as if he were fleeing some great evil, and at the time he seemed perfectly safe. We took him in, cleaned him up, and he proved to be a useful fighter. Then, one night, the Hunter lured us all to an abandoned werehouse.

She was working for the Council it turned out, looking for traitors and spies. You two were with her...you know what happened." Dane and Allie turned their eyes toward the stone floor in shame. "The werehouse burned to the ground. Everybody...gone in a flash. I would have been too if it hadn't been for the white wolf. She picked me up like I was a newborn pup and whisked me outside, dropping me only a few feet from Ricky. We've stuck together ever since, trying to build a pack from the dregs of our kind.

Rath was the best, the strongest, the nicest...and now we all know who she is. She's the one who brought us together, who's making us share all the pain, hurt, and anger. She's saved us all at one point or another and now she's asking payment."

Dane cleared his throat. He looked at Allie who nodded slightly..."Don't you wish to hear our tale?"
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, since it's a time for tale-telling, go ahead - listen to 'em all Smile
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, just keep going.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 11:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why stop the stories now? Best hear what Sirriath's brother and sister have to say about their childhood.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 02, 2006 3:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Vote and be damned. Very Happy
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 2:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shouldn't you be saying vote OR be damned?? Razz

Voted.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 4:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I thought I already was - damned that is.

Now I'm winning too.
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lordy, we're all winning. And yes you're already damned, now you're damned twice.
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So Dane and Allie...spill your guts...
-----------------

Chapter Nine: Twins

With the exception of Xerender, who probably could have managed a look of intense boardom when a meteor hit Earth, the wolves crowded in close, waiting to hear what they hoped would be a profound explanation. Slowly Dane outlined the events on the day of their birth, their dead mother, their flight through enemy territory, Sirriath's call.

They remembered how the spirits had come out of the snow on silent feet. How they'd woven in amoung the real wolves but had been like blasts of icey air. How the small pack had been jumpy and nervous, save small Sirriath, who'd hung limply in Therese's mouth with eyes like whirling ocean depths.

"And I remember just staring after her as those spirits took her away. I wanted to ask why but my whimpers were just interperated as hunger, fear, and cold. They didn't think I cared, didn't think we understood...but we did. We felt her loss from the first, an empty chill between us." Allie took over for her brother, blending her narrative seamlessly with his.

Her voice was pitched low, strained with emotions shame cheif amoung them. The memories were painful, the remembrances of an hours old pup being shunted and unwanted. Xerender's tail twiched in involuntary empathy, he could understand what it was like to be unwanted. Near him, Kohaku thumped her tail in encouragement and Allie, taking heart from her tale, continued in a steadier voice.

"We were nursing with a strange she-wolf when the Council's courier came to collect us. Never said a word, just scooped us up like a man would pick up dynamite covered in fecal matter. And we were off, flying through time and space until he dumped us out in Council grove at Ajax's feet. At first we were scared, we didn't understand. We didn't know anything about the Prophecy they were speaking of."

For a moment the weight of the Prophecy, the entirety of which was unknown to all present save for a few propagandic passages and the hated names they contained within it. Xerender, Alkesta, Varbodane, the wolf of the stars, the wolf of the streets, the wolf of the jewel, Sirriath...

Dane cleared his throat. "But we were fed, sheltered, and brought up with the knowledge that our sister, the white wolf, would some day destroy us all. We were told, every chance they got, that we were the only hope for the Children of Loki, and we believed it." The last bit was only a soft whisper.

And Alkesta's voice was even softer, even though the keen hearing of the wolves picked it up as easily as a shout above the wind, which was beginning to pick up outside. A few more snowflakes drifted down from the sky, thickening and quickening with each passing breath the wolves drew. A storm of epic proportions was brewing out there.

"And yet, each time danger threatened us, she came back. She'd always be there, a wolf only moments older than ourselves, yet somehow ancient and all powerful. A broken leg here mended, scorched fur there regrown. Nightmares chased off, evil spirits banished, dream haunts destroyed. Anything that could have caused us harm...the white wolf was there." Tears stood plainly in Allie's eyes.

The wolves could well understand, such things must not be easy to tell, especially to near strangers. Despite the stories already told, much had been with held from those tales, and did you really know a wolf until you'd been back to back in battle. Who knew what really lurked behind the gem-like eyes of the others.

"At first we hid her visits from the Council, we didn't want to believe, couldn't believe, that she was evil. But then, as we grew older and it was pounded into our heads, we saw less and less of Sirrath and each time we did, we told the Council. They knew that she moved freely about the spirit realms and worried that she'd seek to possess us. We began to believe that all those times, when she'd helped us, were purely for her own selfish reasons."

The pair of them sat, shoulders rounded, ears drooping, hunched in shame and despaire. For what was not told in the words of their tale, what they could not tell, came through in a thousand other ways. The scents that wafted off of them, the way they leaned on each other for support. They were telling little more of their story than the others had, with holding all that was too painful or simply stuck in their throat, unable to be voiced. And if Xerender was reading their minds he was keeping that information to himself.

"Then," Dane's voice was hardly more than a whisper. "Then came the day when the Council told us she'd returned. We felt the moment she crossed the barrier in our bones. It howled in our ears like the song of the Gods, a beautiful, terrible thing. And we knew our duty, as the Council had instructed it to us, and we began to hunt down the wolves whom were pointed out in the Prophecy. We hunted down the High Tor pack, The Forked Tree pack, declaired that the Amber wolf should receive no aid...we were terrible."

"Can you forgive us?" The plee was plural, the voice choral, the meaning amplified, and the import doubled. Slowly Ricky touched his nose to the dirt, showing his loyalty. Celest belly crawled forward and licked their muzzles. Kohaku beared her creamy throat. Xerender only snorted and flicked his ears a bit but they noticed his lips remained firmly over his teeth...he was willing to give them respect if not forgiveness.

Outside the storm howled, white and furious, and something howled within it. Xerender snarled softly and walked to the mouth of the cave. "Damn. There's at least twenty of them out there...most of them almost as scarred up as the marker trees around here." Dane joined Xerender at the cave mouth.

Any ideas?

Besides fighting and dying?

Options would be preferred.
For a moment Varbodane thought that the big, black wolf would simply charge out there and take all the Cursed one's on. But instead he only gave a low, evil sounding snarl and turned to face Dane.

You're right options would be nice.
------------------------
What options might they have?
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What's the shape of the cave? Is there anywhere they can group to defend a narrow pass? If only a few wolves can get to them at a time, then they should be able to fight their way out of this, or wait their way out.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 4:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shady brings up some good points about the cave. I can't think of much to add at the present moment.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 3:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe send Blackie out by himself, while the others make a break for it.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 05, 2006 4:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is it certain that there is going to be a fight? From what I gleaned these other wolves could be just circling the place, so perhaps the Dane and the others could wait for them to leave.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 3:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

voted... yay


haven't we already heard their tale? why do we need to hear it again Confused
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That was last chapter's poll WB. Wink We're still discussing what should happen now that Allie, and Dane's tale have been told. And now we have enemies outside our doorstep.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 8:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry for my lazyness...

The cave entrance is so narrow that Xerender and Dane are too cramped to do anything other than move forward or backward. Xerender can't really fight in it at all but Dane should be able to hold it by himself.

Once through the tunnel the cave opens up into a circular space that could comfortable fit twenty wolves with some old bones to one side and pool in the back. The pool is fed from a stream that comes from a crack in the rock, too small for any wolf to fit through.

And yes, the wolves outside are just circling the 'fight or die' option referres to the fact that, to their thinking, they only have the options fight the wolves outside or die of starvation here in the cave. However I'm hoping you guys can come up with other options soon so I can post the new poll.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 10:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The only other idea I can think of right now is the one of surrender.

I guess another option now that I am bit more awake is trying to talk with these wolves, but that seems pretty hopeless since they seem intent on killing the group. But it could be likely that one of the Seven could be in that pack.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 6:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hang on... am I missing somthing here? Wasn't Sirriath, End-Bringer, meant to be one of the Seven? I'm not ruling out the possibility that she, with her knowledge, is going to be in some way still with them as the last one of the Seven in spirit. Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad Angel
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 1:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I didn't think she was one of the Seven. Maybe. She is the one that has organized this group, and she told them to meet her at the place where she and her brother and sister were born.
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Right as soon as this poll goes down, if I'm online at that time, the new poll will be going up.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 16, 2006 4:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Can't wait, Rai. Cool
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 12:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Okay the poll's finally up! Vote!
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