Hunter Gatherer [Rel, Open]

[cptkickercutleg]

Cercius stands on the edge the shore, his head raised to catch the sea breeze, soft, wet sand running between his bare feet as he steps closer, closer to the receding water.
Crash! Woosh! Crash! Woosh!
The waves sing, a soothing melody of air, water and rock, a familiar sound to him.
He crouches down, running his hands in the water with a wistful smile.
He turns, looking at the wolf that was trying to watch him without being caught.
His nose was stronger than an average human's.
He turns back, smiling to himself.
"Oh, I see..."

[Relairah]

OoC: Omg sorry!! I just saw this right now DX *dies*

iC:

It had been a long time since she had ventured far enough away from the humans to where it typically was not a concern to run into one. Humans, in general, stayed away from the wolf territories, fearing them for their tales of monstrous beasts with supernatural abilities. Then again, the humans were not so unaware of the fact that there were half-bloods and the like among them as well. It just depended on the village... the person. In this case, she highly doubted this human was a normal one. As a result of being off a ways from Abunage, she typically carried her wolf form. It made blending in and not drawing unnecessary attention a whole lot easier.

Well... it seemed this one was hardly concerned with a low profile. She smirked to herself. Screw it then... if only for now...

She closed her eyes, the transformation taking only some time as she shifted, losing fur and her features changing. Finally, she stood on her two feet, wiggling her toes in the earth. She had to admit.. it never got old. She loved exploring the differences in each form. But now was not the time for such. Briefly she remembered she was naked and turned toward the pack she always carried with her. Clothes donned, she began moving forward easily. She placed her hands behind her back and leaned to the side, looking up at Cercius and giving him a wide grin. "Well, well, I don't recall ever meeting you before." She stood straight, breathing in the ocean smell deeply. "Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

She glanced toward him again, silver flecked blue eyes alight. She loved the feel of the breeze as it toyed with her blue-streaked silver hair and whipped her skirt about her legs. It wasn't often she got to come here and it was nice to visit again.

[cptkickercutleg]

Cercius' face lights up with a small smile as the stranger changes form.
"Truely, the wolves of this land have talent." he thinks to himself, refusing to turn and see her.
"Probably naked..." he thinks with a small blush.
As her voice calls out to him, his mind snaps back to reality, and he turns despite himself.
"At least she's dressed!" he thinks, smiling awkwardly.
"Greetings my lady, my name is Cercius Codasius of the Otonami, it is a blessing to meet another of our kind so far from humanity, and so close to wolf packlands." he says, the greeting tumbling from his lips, sounding rather more officious than he would have liked.
"Voh spech Vulftung, os voh nort ken tung oh Tor?"
(( Do you speak Vulftung, or not the language of Tor?" ))
he asks, muscles relaxing slightly, a small smile spreading across his face as he bows slightly to her.
"Truly, she is beautiful. Such control in a Lycan, I have not seen before. Is she different to me? A different kind of Vulfen?."

(( Sorry about the long reply time, I forgot to bookmark the thread, and then I lost my muse for Cercius >_< I'm replying as often I can ))

[Relairah]

She raised a slight brow at his formality. In truth, she had been expecting something slightly different. But then, she knew better than to try and read someone just from appearance. She inwardly scolded herself for her suppositions. Pushing that aside... she wasn't one to dwell on mistakes.

She wondered what he meant by 'our kind'. Did he mean the werewolf part? Or his clan? She certainly wasn't the latter. Yet somehow she did understand what he asked when he inquired about her knowledge of Vulftong. She wasn't fluent, but she had heard of it before. Mostly from stories her mother had told her of her father... that was a long time ago. She found herself becoming curious.

"I do..." she responded, "but vaguely. I'm always open to learning something new though," she said with a grin.

She stepped forward slightly, letting the waves flow over her toes. "So, Cercius. It seems you're a far way from home. How do you find yourself here?" she asked, looking up at him.

[cptkickercutleg]

Cercius could feel by her short silence that his formality was unexpected from somebody as unkempt as himself, thinking how different her reaction would be if he were wearing normal clothes, rather than linen pants, a green leather jacket and nothing else.
"Perhaps you'll start wearing silks around instead of rags now eh? Dream on Sikla, you can't afford or make them, you're lucky to have these." he mentally berates himself with a subtle shake of the head.
"Besides, if she has knowledge of Vulftung, perhaps somewhere along the line, our ancestors are the same, in which case, she may believe me some half-capable Vulfen, with potential to change but not the ability..." He muses, his head cocking slightly at her next question.
"Have you not heard of Ashory?" he asks, making reference to the town near where he grew up, remembering the cold grey shores and the lukewarm sunlight as the ocean breeze tickled his nose.
"After all the Vulf-kin were driven out, Lady Windwalker and I were left, she had been there for time immemorial, and as such, she decided it was time to move on, so I, and some friends, left the island on a raft, quickly making sail for the nearby continent. Once we got there... Bran was... Cercius bites his lip, turning away slightly, and clenching one fist in the cool water, crushing the sand between his fingers.
"Why am I telling her all this?"
"I split from the group after that, and wondered for about 2 years, following rumours and trails, but I came here eventually, by boat. It seems that some of us are still loyal to our kind, and I was granted free passage on a ship by the Vulf-kin captain, we landed here and I've been wondering around since..."
"It's a lame story, but true enough, there's no need to mention my only pack-brother... After all, he's moved on, why can't I?" he thinks, relinquishing his grasp on the cold sand, pulling his numb hand from the water and wiping it unceremoniously on his pant leg.
"Well, she knows everything about me now, what about her?"
"So, uh... What about you? I can tell you're Vulfen, but you're not anyone from the Otonami, how did you come to this land?"

(( I'm hoping the sea-scent should disguise the fact that he's Vulfen, he's trying to masquerade as a human with Vulf-blood, that is, a human born to Vulfen parents but unable to change, brought up to accept and aid the Vulfen but not one of them. ))

[Relairah]

Roenna was silent as he told her his story. She could feel the emotion in his voice when he described the loss of one of his friends and her face softened for a moment. Ashory... The name brought back a flashback of her own. A tale her mother often wove for her before bed. But it was vague, and she had never known the place herself. Only in stories.

She focused on what he was saying, pushing the flashback from her mind. There he was using that term again. 'Our kind'. She couldn't figure out what he meant. Whether he meant, werewolf kind, or those of his clan. She had a growing feeling he meant 'werewolf kind'. She glanced at him, curious about his wolf form... well, if he had one. At the moment, it was unclear, but the way he kept speaking of it...

He turned the attention on her and her eyes widened slightly. Finally, she grinned. "Oh, fine, I suppose it's only fair I tell you." She paused, glancing once more toward the sea. "I grew up west of here, with my mom. She told me stories of Ashory and the Vulfen when I was a kid. Mostly because I was always asking about my father... I never knew him. Anyway, when I was grown I decided to search for him. So I've traveled since. Here, this land, I mean, has been my biggest lead. But no sign of him. Well I guess I'm not too sure. I mean I don't know what he looks like or anything so I dunno how I'll be able to tell. Maybe he and I look alike." She gave a small laugh, her fingers unconsciously going to the pendant at her neck and tracing over its shape.

"I found this in my journey... though for now it's just decoration. I think it has some sort of magical property. If I can learn it... maybe it will help me." She gave a shrug.

"Anyway, aside from all that..."

She paused, turning her gaze upon Cercius once more. "What do you say we go do something... entertaining?" she said with a grin.

[cptkickercutleg]

Cercius watcher Roenna's face break into a smile, his own heart rising as she begins to tell her story.
"Her parents were Otonami? Perhaps... More likely her father was, or maybe even is, but I won't give her false hope for that..."
He nods and smiles at all the appropriate places as she speaks, his eyes glance to her pendant as she motions to it, then wander down slightly before he catches himself, looking back up at her face.
"You dirty little animal, you! You're almost as bad as me! Though I would have taken action by now!"
The voice laughs, echoing down his spine, even if only he could hear it, it was still unpleasant to hear himself compared to a monster.

"What do you say we go do something... entertaining?"
"Did she catch me looking!? What does she mean? Is she hitting on me, teasing? Or what if I'm not supposed to think that? What if she just wants to play a dangerous game, Graal told me those who live here have almost no sense of safety, and Abubage proved that much..."
Cercius hides his thoughts below a hardened act of indifference, his formidable acting skills up against her sense of smell, "I really hope that sea-salt is as strong for her as it is for me..."
"Where did you have in mind?"

[Relairah]

All the while, Roenna had, in fact, noticed his eyes wander here and there, although she really didn't think much of it. Here was something she had learned. Men were attracted to women, for the most part, and as such, checking out to see if there was interest was normal. She was not so naive to think any man, even a gentleman, would keep his eyes to himself. And with this acceptance of normality, it hardly bothered her. However, it was also true that Roenna was a little bit conceited about her appearance, and she did like to tease and flirt. That did not, however, mean she was doing so right now. Well, not necessarily...

She looked off slightly at his question, "Oh... nowhere in particular..." she mused, before turning away from the sea and walking back up the beach. It was true that the smell of sea took up most of her sense of smell. It wasn't that she minded. Actually, she wasn't even thinking about it. But she was the kind of girl who liked to move around, and simply staring out at the sea in a pondering-like fashion... that just wasn't her thing.

"I dunno about you... but I'm a little hungry. Besides, since you're rather new here, you probably are not only unfamiliar with the prey, but also the landscape. Or am I wrong?" she asked with a teasing grin. "Anyway, even if we aren't going anywhere, something might come up and surprise us!" She laughed as she picked up the pace a little, hoping he followed.

[cptkickercutleg]

"Oh, believe me. The prey of this land is not even close to what I've seen on the way here. Walrus, seals, crocodiles, snakes as big as a grown man, if I hadn't have been taken traveling with my mother as a child, I'd not have known anything of the creatures I've seen, never mind their names, but an elk here is an elk anywhere, Does are Does, and shape-shifters are shape-shifters, regardless of where they are from."
"I wonder who, or what, she thinks of when I say Shape-Shifters, what first springs to mind..." he muses, standing up to follow her as she turns to go.
"Do I bore her? Does she believe me a simple Vulf-kin, or does she realise who I am? If she lives among the humans in Abunage, she'll probably be aware of the fact that they hate me..."
"So where do you stay, Drappa?" he asks, catching up with her as she walks towards the forest.

[Relairah]

Okay, so she was wrong. But that was just because she had wrongfully assumed he had only arrived in this land recently. The way he talked, he had been here a while. She wondered why she hadn't come across him before. Then again, it was a big place and there were a lot of creatures here.

But he was right, about the prey, that is. "True," she said in response, turning around again and walking backwards. She did catch it when he mentioned shape-shifters. She thought it was interesting he used that term instead of 'hunter'. It was true that in her experience, shape-shifters were usually more powerful hunters than the average wolf or other hunter. So she knew he had meant to say something specific. She was growing more and more certain of his identity of a shape-shifter - and using what he had said before, of specific kind wolf. Though still, there is a strong difference between a shape-shifter, and a werewolf. Though when it comes to transforming, the two terms were often interchanged between others.

He brought her from her own musings when he asked where she stays. She smiled at him as he caught up and she turned once more, skipping along. "Oh, where-ever I please," she stated. In truth, there wasn't a particular place she had named as 'home' at this point. She spent too much time traveling, going this way and that, here and there. She was sure someday she might settle down.. but until then, she slept wherever she was comfortable.

"What about you?"

[cptkickercutleg]

"Oh, where-ever I please" she said, and he smiled slightly.
"She truly has no idea who I am, and I meet her while I'm sane, Tor is smiling today!" he thinks, inwardly celebrating a fortuitous fate.
"What about you?"
"Oh fate, you are a fickle and cruel mistress."
He steps up, taking the lead as he thinks, staying quiet for just a bit too long for it to be comfortable.
"I lived for a time in Abunage, but I think they fear me now, and all I did was protect them..."
He pauses again, taking a deep breath,
"Lately, I've been sleeping where and when I can, in trees, even in a bear's cave a couple of times, but I can't even call a region home, unlike my brother, but he doesn't care, he'd rather I die in my sleep, an embaressment faded into obscurity..."
He keeps walking, back straight and eyes dry, but his voice portrays the pain his body does not.

[Relairah]

She paused a moment, watching him as he walked ahead a little ways, before she regained her movement, catching up to him this time and listening as he finished. She was curious as to why Abunage would fear him all of a sudden if he were protecting them.. unless of course he were a werewolf, in which case, she could see that happening quite plainly. Yes, she was absolutely, 100% certain of what he was now. Still, it didn't matter to her. And perhaps he meant to have kept her guessing for his own reasons. But either way, it certainly did make things a little more interesting.

Now was the question of exactly what sort of werewolf he was. For she knew there were many different kinds. For example, she was different than what a lot of folks would typically think. And she was very grateful for that.

Rather than asking about what he was, she felt the question of what had happened in his past that had caused such a hatred for him from his brother. 'Isn't that what family is for? To depend on no matter what happens?' Then again... it had always been just her and her mother. Even if she met her father, she couldn't say she would trust him. Unless he had had a very good reason for leaving them all alone like that. She pushed it from her mind. Cercius' situation seemed different. Or was it?

"I'm sorry, Cercius," she said finally, softly, reaching out a hand to touch him, but hesitating, dropping it to her side once more. "That your brother feels that way, I mean. It must be hard for you to be alone considering you were raised as part of a clan." She was going out on a limb. But she was trying to be sympathetic. She hoped he understood her intentions. "If you don't mind me asking... why is it that way?" She paused, "I mean... only if you want to tell me, of course." She bit her lip, glancing off. She didn't much like it when the mood was so serious. But she wasn't that socially ungraceful as to try and change it for her own comfort-ability. She did give somewhat of a crap about others - sometimes.

So she waited in silence for his response.

[cptkickercutleg]

"I'm sorry, Cercius... That your brother feels that way, I mean. It must be hard for you to be alone considering you were raised as part of a clan."
Cercius slows down, his hasty stride becoming more of a sedate trudge as he looks up at the sky with a thoughtful expression.
"I imagine I've said too much now, and the game is up, if you haven't guessed yet, I am a werewolf." Cercius would half turn, gazing at Roenna to gauge her reaction before continuing.
"And as a werewolf yourself, you're aware of the many types that our kind have, and my clan were comprised of three kinds, the Vulf-kin, both Man and Vulf unable to Change, but sharing blood, and Vulfen, who possess Man, Gouru and Liiru, as I do." he bites his tongue for a moment, slowing to a halt as he closes his eyes, sighing.
"We are not the same, you and I..." he says simply, almost expecting her to take offense, but he continues before she can comment.
"You are stronger in many ways. You maintain your mind, who you are, when you Change, and your Changes are fast, painless. I saw that much."
He looks at the floor for a moment.
"Perhaps Graal is right to hate me..."

[Relairah]

Once again she found herself silent, listening as he gave his response then explanation. Yes, he was right. She had figured it out. Although, she had had her suspicions from the beginning. It was more that he had more strongly confirmed it in her mind. Nevertheless, she didn't see why it really mattered whether she knew about what he was - considering she was one - sort of. But then he explained further... and she knew what he was talking about.

"Yea," she said softly, affirming she did indeed know of the different kinds. He was right that she was fortunate to maintain herself no matter which form she took. In fact, she had not met many werewolves who followed old human horror tales and such. Yet she knew that the kind Cercius said he was was the kind that had marred human legends in the first place. Now it made more sense what he had said earlier about protecting Abunage and them hating him.

Still, he was wrong to a certain point. She released a soft sigh. "Well, it wasn't always so... that it was as painless as you saw. It used to be worse. Perhaps not as your transformation, no, but when I was first learning it was hard. Perhaps the fact I keep my mind is what helped me learn more control over it and development as well." She paused, "it still isn't as painless as I made it look. I'm just good at hiding it." It was the way she was. Always being mischievous and smiling. She hardly ever told anyone some of the deeper things about herself within her heart.

Perhaps she was only telling him because of the manner of the conversation.

"Perhaps Graal is right to hate me..." he said.

She looked at him suddenly, a bit surprised those words had just come from his mouth. Then she scowled and frowned. "I don't know this Graal, but I don't think his hatred is justified. Perhaps it is true that you lose yourself when you change, but you can't help it. Hating you is easy. It makes it where he doesn't have to take any responsibility to help you, to forgive you, or to simply be there for you. This Graal sounds like a coward to me." Another pause followed her words, them rising somewhat from her getting a little riled up, but she felt very strongly about werewolves, no matter what kind.

Finally, she asked, "Is Graal a changer, like us?"

[cptkickercutleg]

"Well, it wasn't always so... that it was as painless as you saw. It used to be worse. Perhaps not as your transformation, no, but when I was first learning it was hard. Perhaps the fact I keep my mind is what helped me learn more control over it and development as well." Cercius wasn't too surprised at this revelation, a small nod from him indicating he had already assumed this.
"En pups oh Larka, chefkah gút, eel, en doth nort helleck and Vah doth."
(( "And the children of Larka, change well, fast, and do not hurt as we do." ))
He intones, as if quoting an ancient text or story,
"We know your kind, and envy too, for your heritage is noble, while ours is evil, a demon of retribution sent by the gods began our curse, and we are his children, even as diluted as that blood is, we remain tainted by that evil..."
She paused, and he looked at her again, not with the same eyes as he had before, but more focussed, puzzled by her as she grins at him.
"It still isn't as painless as I made it look. I'm just good at hiding it."
And skilled she was, for her eyes were bright and mischievous, aware and curious, unshadowed by the ghosts of pain or suffering, and this surprised him, for he had always assumed that a change would leave someone, regardless of who, crippled by pain after a change, at least for a time.
But his tongue slipped and her face grew suddenly serious.

"I don't know this Graal, but I don't think his hatred is justified. Perhaps it is true that you lose yourself when you change, but you can't help it. Hating you is easy. It makes it where he doesn't have to take any responsibility to help you, to forgive you, or to simply be there for you. This Graal sounds like a coward to me."
All cheer drops from Cercius' voice as she talks, slowing his pace to a standstill and he crouches, putting his fingers against a pair of wolf paw tracks, cold earth shaped around warm feet some days ago.
"I was supposed to protect his blood-brother. I failed..." he says quietly, his voice evidently holding back emotions as he stares at the prints.
"He is twice the Draegga I could ever be, he has moved on, caring for his new sister, seeking a mate, and I remain stuck in the past..." he whispers, frustrated and apologetic at the same time.
"Even as I love him, I am a danger to everyone and everything I hold or ever held dear... He's right to push me away... "

"Is Graal a changer, like us?" she asks, finally the question that would draw the subject away from painful histories and troubled family.
"No, he is Vulf, but his father is my father's cousin, which makes him Vulf-Vulf-kin, while my mother was pure human, both sharing the same Draegga, but my mother was free to do as she wished, and often took me around the world to far off places." he smiles, remembering a far off childhood, innocence lost now to the ages, but always remembered.
"I miss those times..."