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Post by cptkickercutleg on Dec 17, 2011 8:49:28 GMT -6
Bitter winds caress the frozen landscape, howling between the thousands of looming pines, a lone wolf trudging through the thick crusted snow.
Graal lifts his greying muzzle to the cold night sky, his amber eyes closing as he basks in starlight.
He takes a long, deep breath, and howls.
It had no words. No meaning.
Raw emotion rips through the winds, a roar of pain and confusion, bitter regrets and sour loneliness. He expresses his entire life in a single breath.
Exhausted, out of breath and out of reasons, he lies down in the numbing ice to rest...
"Frosta tag mesch..."
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Post by Midnight on Dec 17, 2011 9:27:29 GMT -6
Midnight stops and stands, rigid, listening to the howl. There were no words to explain it. It pained her to hear a wolf in that much pain. She lifted her face to the skies, and a single tear rolled down her face. She howled back, only saying she was coming, and nothing more. Head down, she trudged through the storm toward the lonely voice, until she came upon the owner of the sad song. She sat and said, "I'm sorry."
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Post by cptkickercutleg on Dec 17, 2011 9:56:11 GMT -6
Graal solemnly shakes his head, cracking his tired eyes slowly open.
He looks up at Midnight.
"Hai Drappa... There is no need to apologise for my pain..." he sighs, "My pain is of my own design..." he adds, he whines, Amber eyes closing again as he turns back to lie down.
"I don't hate you, I don't want you to feel insulted, I only hate myself..." he thinks, huffing ice from his nose as his head settles into the burning snow.
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Post by Midnight on Dec 17, 2011 10:18:37 GMT -6
Midnight looked forlornly at the broken spirit by her feet. She laid next to him, trying to keep him warm. She snorted unexpectedly. 'I would be dead if Thunder came around right now,' she thought to herself. She smelled the air and kept scanning the horizon for other wolves or a shelter. Spreading her wings over the shape next to her, not taking her eyes off the land scape, she said, "Tell me."
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Post by cptkickercutleg on Dec 18, 2011 5:58:19 GMT -6
(( Sorry about the slow reply, I had a crazy 18th to attend to  )) Graal makes a half-hearted attempt to shrug Midnight's wing from his back, then settles his head back into the snow with a small moan.
The seconds stretched for hours, his heart burned to tell someone how he was feeling, but his pride insisted he'd only be laughed at...
"Persistent Drappa..." he thinks to himself, finally giving in after less than a minute.
"What is there to say... I am a traitor to clan and Pack, I left my family to die and ran away to be happy..."
Graal lifts his soaking muzzle and looks up at Midnight.
"I can't think of a worse betrayal than that... I left my friends, my family and my lands to die, and now I have nothing, nobody, nowhere to protect..." he growls, closing his eyes. "And I still only think how it affects me..." |
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Post by Midnight on Dec 18, 2011 11:56:53 GMT -6
Midnight knew it was male pride that made him shrug her wing off and make her wait for an answer. "Don't be a fool," she said, "just let me warm you a little, and then we van find shelter." It was bittersweet in a way, because she wanted to help him but didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Satisfied that he was sufficiently warm and well enough to travel she stood and shook, saying, "Alright, there is an abandoned bear den not far from here. Just swallow what's left of your pride, and let me lead you."
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Post by cptkickercutleg on Dec 18, 2011 17:31:17 GMT -6
Graal huffs out a long sigh and stands on shaky legs, made numb by the icy snow.
"Fine." he grunts, avoiding eye contact as he shakes the loose ice from his fur, revealing his thick, soft, grey and tan pelt, knotted with scars and soaked by icy melt-water.
"Lead the way. I'll stay alive as long as my death will cause grief." he comments, tiredly stepping towards a small tree to lean on and wait for her to make her move.
(( Avoiding eye contact is a sign of respect, not disrespect. ))
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Post by Midnight on Dec 18, 2011 19:04:56 GMT -6
Midnight brushed her pelt against his and started off so he didn't have to watch her. She appreciated the sign of respect, and thought he at least was sensible enough to do it. She slowly made her way to the den. When they arrived, stopped and nudged him in. "Go on in, I won't be long." She scraped together a pile of snow at the entrance, partially to find it and to block the wind. Then she set off to find bedding and food. She only hoped no other wolf was nearby, because she didn't want to deal with that now. 'Hm,' she thought, 'wonder what Graal would like...' Coming upon a river, she could a couple fish and and a large blackbird. Jaws full, she was heading back when she tripped on a stone and fell heavily on her paw. Crying out, she felt tears rush to her eyes and felt her paw dully throbbing. Cursing, she got to her feet, gathered up the prey, and began the slow and painful trip back to the den, limping heavily the whole time.
((ps what did he say in the first post when he said frosta tag mesch?))
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Post by cptkickercutleg on Dec 19, 2011 3:32:48 GMT -6
(( Ice take me ))
Graal's ears twitch at the sound of Midnight's yelp, swivelling to pinpoint her location.
He knew it was not an attack, he knew it was an accident and little more, but he felt the pain as his own and cringed in sympathy, "Never hurts to help a Vulf in pain, especially a Drappa who cares about you..." he thinks to himself, standing again.
He slides out of the small den, little more than a shadow in the dark, a breeze in the wind, silent and unnoticed, trailing Midnight's scent as he searches to return her comfort.
After a short while, the scent he follows is overlapped with a stronger scent nearby, and Graal turns to see Midnight hobbling back towards the den, prey in her mouth.
"Midnight." he says, announcing his presence so as not to startle her as he pads up from behind the injured wolf. "Spread your wing over me, lean on me and take the weight off of that paw." he offers, a grim smile on his face.
"You know, in my lands, they used to say that the endurance of pain and self-sacrifice is the only way to enter paradise for the short while before the next life." he says, trying to make conversation and take her mind off the pain in her foot while avoiding awkward questions.
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Post by Midnight on Dec 19, 2011 9:53:44 GMT -6
Midnight stopped and lowered her head. "You have a good heart Graal." she murmers. Doing what he asked without protest, she let him help her back to the den. She had no idea what was going to happen after that. She didn't know where Graal would want to go tommorrow. He seemed ready to die when she found him. He said he didn't have anywhere to go, and neither did she. Lost in her thoughts, her paw bumbed a rock, and she flinched. 'I'm glad I didn't give up on him.' she thought.
(( Oh ok ))
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Post by cptkickercutleg on Dec 19, 2011 17:51:51 GMT -6
Graal guides Midnight into the cave, her weight pressing him into the thick snow as they walked.
"This is what They wanted me to do..." he thinks to himself, a small smile of satisfaction as his legs freeze, the cold biting into them as surely as any predator.
"Suffering to bring happiness to others. Enduring so that others may have peace, to take on the weight they cannot... Apparently not just metaphorically..." he ponders, a small grin spreading across his face as he supports Midnight.
"Lie down in here, Drappa, I will bring you something to help with the pain." he says, nodding to her before heading towards the icy forest.
"I won't be long."
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Post by Midnight on Dec 19, 2011 19:08:27 GMT -6
Midnight let out a small sigh when she sat down. "Thank you." She dug a small hollow in the snow and covered the prey to eat later. She calmly started to lick the blood off of her paw where the rock had drew blood. She decided to ask him what his next move would be. She expected them to stay in the den until tomorrow. After that she hd no clue.
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Post by cptkickercutleg on Dec 20, 2011 17:57:12 GMT -6
Graal steps silently into the cave, breathing from the walk as if he'd run a mile. A small golden flower hangs between his teeth, the roots glistening with an odd mucus.
He steps towards Midnight and lays it on the ground in front of her.
"Eat the roots and stem, avoid the flower." he says, struggling to breathe. "Poison..." he wheezes, a brief explanation before he drops to his belly in the opposite corner, holding his breath, then blasting it out, breathing as infrequently as he can manage.
(( The pollen causes swelling in the throat which obstructs airflow, but the swelling only increases when the diaphragm moves, which is why he is trying to breathe slowly, giving his body a chance to fight back. ))
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Post by Midnight on Dec 20, 2011 18:38:35 GMT -6
"Thanks." Midnight does what he asks without argument. After eating it, she felt a little better. "What are you going to do after this?" she asks him. "I havent got a clue for myself, I was just wandering when I...found you."
((if your human character is approved, i think after Rely posts you should go. Ill send her a pm now. I dont think shell mind it.))
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Post by cptkickercutleg on Dec 21, 2011 16:54:13 GMT -6
(( I've posted my character, Cercius, I'm just waiting for approval now  )) Graal gives a long wheeze, coughing violently, then takes a deep, clear breath, his tense muscles finally relaxing as his airways widen.
He looks towards Midnight with an apologetic nod and a shrug,
"By the endless love of Tor, I truly know not what to do next. Maybe I'll go back to my den in Toai, stay with Thunder a while longer, but it seems to matter little. Whatever I do, I'll survive in this cursed world until my penance is complete. Life and death are an impossibility for me now, I could never join a clan in my condition, and I wouldn't want to..." he says, trailing off with a smile.
"Tell me, Midnight, what is it to be alone? To you I mean, how does it feel, and why?" |
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