|
Post by Fierfly on Apr 25, 2017 9:36:30 GMT -5
Shantias:
Duality was not amused with her flippancy about the idea of a fake mother and he turned away, scoffing at the idea and insisted that he'd do his best and stay in the pack with or without her approval. The crooked smile grew slightly deeper at that and she smirked, one giggle escaped and Duality curled back up into his tail and grumbled to it. "No, you're definitely not bad for the pack. I don't know that you're good for it...exactly, but you're interesting." he tried to turn his pack on her but she followed him and lightly pounced on his back like she did with Mother to get her attention. "Where are you from Duality? How come you're so grumpy?" this interrogation had just gotten interesting.
|
|
|
Post by CursedErin on Apr 25, 2017 10:16:30 GMT -5
Duality's ears flicked as the pup spoke again. "What're you still doing here?" He questioned, lifting his head back up and turning to look at her once she pounced onto his back. "See, she's annoying you, k-" An agitated voice had started, before quickly getting interrupted by the same voice from earlier. "Do not pay them any mind. Do as you please. It said, hushing up the voices and bringing them down to murmurs and whispers. Meanwhile, Duality seemed to stare endlessly at the pup before sighing a bit and figuring he should answer her questions again.
"I'm not exactly from the area... But I've been here for most of my life." He replied, giving a fairly vague answer. In truth, he didn't even remember where he had come from, the North, South, East, or West. He just wasn't entirely sure. His short tail thumped the ground next to his stomach as he debated answering her second question. "Why am I so grumpy..?" The male repeated. "I guess it's hard for me to earn people's trust anymore... Because of the voices telling me to do things. Though oddly enough... Ah... Never mind, I won't bore you with the details." He replied. "Do you want me to come up with a couple of crappy questions in response..?" He asked, giving Shantias a rather expressionless look, figuring she might want some questions asked back again.
|
|
|
Post by Fierfly on Apr 26, 2017 17:11:03 GMT -5
Shantias:
Duality didn't seem to like her following him. Too bad for him! She was curious! "I'm still asking you questions. Got a problem with that?" that one she didn't expect him to answer, what did Mother call it? Was that one rhetorical or sarcastic? She wasn't sure, another thing to follow up on when she went back to the den later that night. Duality finally sighed and hesitantly began answering her questions. He wasn't exactly from the area, she could only assume he meant the Valley because that's the only area she'd ever heard of in her young life and unless she decided to leave it, the only one she'd ever see - but he said he'd been 'here' for most of his life, so she supposed he'd either been just outside the border or away from the forested territories of it. A simple enough answer.
As for why he was so grumpy: this would be interesting: he didn't trust. Voices told him to do things. Voices? What voices? She couldn't hear anything. Maybe it was the voice inside Mother sometimes mentioned, the voices she heard in herself and from her siblings. Was that why he was so cranky? She couldn't exactly blame him. He snappishly asked if she wanted him to come up with some more stupid questions in response and she wrinkled her nose again. "Not if you're going to be a grouchy-puss," she snarked in reply. Then stared up at him, studying him again. Duality was no small wolf, no one ought to have been able to tell him what to do (except for Mother - everybody had to mind Mother or Shantias would have personally gone after them to make them march back and receive punishment), she felt sure of it and voiced her opinion. "If I was half as big as you, I wouldn't let the voices tell me what to do." she declared stubbornly.
|
|
|
Post by CursedErin on Apr 26, 2017 17:33:54 GMT -5
Duality shifted some as she asked him a rhetorical question, eventually raising himself back up and facing the pup evenly once again. He blinked curiously at her as the word 'voices' seemed to finally let most of what he had said fall into place for her. Although, he was sure she didn't full understand once Shantias explained that she wouldn't let voices push her around if she was even half the size of the large male. He chuckled a little and watched her. He felt a bit of a grin on his muzzle, when was the last time he had smiled? His ears flattened back a little as he thought of how to respond.
"I wish it was that simple... But." He started, before raising a paw up and unsheathing one large black claw. He'd been quick about it and pressed it just to Shantias' forehead. Duality didn't impale her, nor even left a mark he just simply seemed to be pointing. "You know how you might have a single voice in your head, perhaps telling you if you're hungry, what the right thing to do for you would be, et cetera?" He retracted his paw and raised it to his own head, placing the same claw against the side of his noggin. "I've got so many that I can't even count them. Each one wants something else, up until recently... I've just been listening to the loudest one to try and keep them quiet. It's like if you were in a crowded area with hundreds of wolves, all screaming and shouting and asking you to do something... Only difference here is, I can't just leave them." Duality ended his statement, sheathing his claw and letting his paw thud back to the ground. He no longer seemed to have the grin on his face, once more he was expressionless and staring at the pup.
|
|
|
Post by Fierfly on Apr 26, 2017 17:54:37 GMT -5
Shantias:
Something about her sarcasm or rhetorical question or whatever it was got to Duality and he actually slipped a faint smile. This guy sure didn't make much sense, but he was definitely interesting. The smile deepened with her stubborn declaration of net letting anyone boss her around if she was half his size, but he shook his head, telling her it wasn't that simple. Shantias felt somewhat disappointed again. Grown-ups were always telling her that things just weren't as simple as they seemed. Why couldn't things be simple? What was the point of things being complicated and grandiose when they could be solved quickly? Everything had a quick and effective solution if you could find it, she was convinced. Duality seemed determined to prove his point and delicately with exact control extended one sharp black claw to her forehead and began to explain. While she might have had one voice telling her she was hungry or she oughtn't to do something, he had many voices, hundreds of them, all screaming at him to follow what they wanted. Hundreds of them? That sounded cramped and noisy, plenty of reason for him to be a grouchy-puss. He retracted his claw and calmly stared back at her. She wasn't sure if he was waiting for her to reply or not, but she'd never had any problems expressing herself before.
"I don't know about 'hundreds of voices' - honestly that sounds like a lot of trouble and a lot of headaches - but I hear more than one voice." she raised her head and tried to make her voice flow like her mother's, "Be patient Shantias, you will start to learn soon enough," now she made a scornful, squeaky pitch. "If you're the alphesses daughter, then prove it." Now a giggly one for her sister, Kaisra: "Don't be silly Shantias! Let's have some fun!" a deep, solemn one deep inside her, "Choose wisely," she turned back to Duality. "Definitely not hundreds of voices, maybe my head isn't big enough for that many, but I hear more than one for sure, some inside my head, some from others that follow me." she sat back and shrugged, curling her long, silly tail about her forepaws. "I guess everyone has a couple of voices telling them to do different things: Good or bad or crazy or important, whatever voice we decide to follow...I think that's what's called making a choice..."
|
|
|
Post by CursedErin on Apr 26, 2017 18:09:12 GMT -5
Duality seemed interested in her response and even steadily tilted his head as he went on. He had opened his muzzle to interrupt her when she started with a voice that seemed like Perjury's to him. He'd silence himself however as the pup went on with a few other voices, and then ended it with a rather bold statement. Or at least it felt bold to Duality. The same claw unsheathed itself and tapped against the ground for a moment while he thought.
"This child is right, Duality." Started the calm voice, the one that had interrupted all of the others! "The choice is yours... Be a slave to these simpletons inside your head, or be the ruler of your own design? It mentioned. Nearly ever hair on Duality's neck stood up as he shut his eyes tightly. The most frustrating thing to him was there were no faces to his voices, no imagery of what they might be like. The voices Shantias had used surely seemed to have certain faces behind them, Perjury being the one he knew at the time.
Steadily he'd let his eyelids open back up to watch the pup again. "I suppose you're right..." He muttered, seeming to finally agree with the pup for once. "I won't dwell on it too much, Shantias, but I do appreciate your visit anyways." He added. It felt strange to Duality. To have a choice? He had always just wanted the voices to shut up, but now it seemed they weren't as loud. As if the world around him were much more audible. Perhaps he'd be able to distinguish between friend and foe with this different look on life, he wasn't sure. He also still wondered if the White Wolves could help any, he was unsure. Whatever he thought, he at least knew that joining Frigid Plague was no longer a mistake, despite the few voices that told him it was.
|
|
|
Post by Fierfly on Apr 27, 2017 9:21:31 GMT -5
Shantias:
Duality watched her carefully as she corrected his thinking that he was the only one with turmoil around him or in his head. His head tilted to the side: a thoughtful posture and his eyes constantly searched and scanned her, watching how she moved and the different expressions on her face to gauge everything that fell from her mouth. When she finished he stared at her for a moment like she'd said something profound - a child prophetess or something and tilted his head back and tapped his favorite claw on the ground as he contemplated all she'd said. Shantias reviewed her answer as well - it had made sense hadn't it? Yeah, anyone with half a brain should have been able to follow her logic, the same worries that plagued everyone. The need to explore, the small yearning to know where home was and be there; siblings demanding her to play, her wanting to have her own adventure, her mother's voice telling her to be patient, her father's to be wise and the many worries inside she'd never reveal to anyone about how sometimes she worried she would not be able to do either.
Duality finished his think session and studied her again, nodding slowly and he agreed with her. Well, if Duality could follow her reasoning then she figured she must have been alright and could apply the same advice to herself. He went on to say that he wouldn't dwell on 'it' too much (she assumed he meant the dumb voices that made him so grumpy) and that he appreciated her visit. For some reason that made her beam and the long, silky tail beat the ground once or twice in pleasure that she'd been able to help. No...it wasn't just helping, that was a good-wolf thing...she liked knowing that she was useful to her mother's pack in someway, she'd helped this member to help put some of his mind in order: she'd proven to herself that she was worth it, that was a good start. Would she tell Mother about this? No, probably not, Father either, they could find out themselves if they really wanted to, this was as much a mission for her to prove herself as it was a mission to prove herself to the pack and her parents. "Do you want me to stay and come up with some more 'crappy questions'?" she quipped back at him, impish grin of delight with one crooked corner daring the giant male.
|
|
|
Post by CursedErin on Apr 27, 2017 13:58:44 GMT -5
Duality gave a wicked taunting smile with his black canines, this time as Shantias spoke back up to him. It gave him that crazed and insane look on his face, matching the oddly colored eyes that always seemed lifeless. "That depends, you want me to answer, or them?" He retorted back, bringing his voices back up again. He seemed to have a more firm grasp on the voices inside his head, though he wasn't entirely sure how long he'd be able to listen to his own thoughts. For the large male it felt rather blissful, able to listen to himself and speak clearly to the wolf pup sitting in front of him.
Of course he had meant his words in a teasing manner, though of course she could always choose to pry around inside his skull some. Though he wasn't sure she'd enjoy the answers that she might get! Either way, he thumped his short tail against the ground once and softened his smile to a grin. It seemed the wolf was enjoying the company now, seeming to like having someone to talk to. It took him a little while to get to that point, but there he was!
|
|
|
Post by Fierfly on Apr 28, 2017 15:02:49 GMT -5
Shantias:
Duality grinned down at her wickedly with her flippant question and replied with a crazed expression of...the she-pup wasn't quite sure what... "That depends, you want me to answer, or them?" the way he was saying it and staring at her ever so spookily sent a mild shiver up her spine and raised the little puppy-ruff, but then his expression relaxed and he backed off the creepy-factor. He'd just been fooling around: good! I mean...not that she'd been scared or anything! No way! Shantias was never scared, but he did have that one way of looking at you that made you wonder sometimes.
She rose up on her rear legs and stuck her ears straight out to the sides of her head. "Ooh..." she exaggerated fear with a low, spooky wail just short of a howl and waved her claw paws to add to the effect. She let her ears right themselves and stared back up at him. "Well, which one's been answering all this time? That one's been the most interesting."
|
|
|
Post by CursedErin on Apr 28, 2017 18:15:48 GMT -5
The large wolf seemed to enjoy Shantias' reaction, enjoying seeing the bit of fur raise up. He lived for those moments, perhaps a bit sadistic in imagining that on a victim's face again. He mentally shook the thought from his mind, not everyone was the enemy to him now, he had to fight with and for the pack. More than that, he wanted to prove the voices wrong and protect the pack the best he could, though it might've sounded more righteous than anything. Duality blinked curiously at the pup as she wondered who was talking after giving him a faux wail of fear.
He snickered a bit at her, enjoying the wail some before answering. "A bit of both... Though I tried to make it mostly me I guess." He said before getting himself up to all fours. He shambled back a little before laying himself down. He crossed his split-colored paws over one another and hovered his head over the wolf-made pillow. He did this to get more down to Shantias' height, making it a bit easier on both of their necks to look cleanly at one another.
|
|
|
Post by Fierfly on May 2, 2017 8:24:11 GMT -5
Shantias:
A little bit of both. Shantias grinned and rolled her eyes at Duality's grin and subsequent snicker to her fake wail and elvish face only accented with her stupidly long ears. She cocked her head and watched the older male settle down comfortably more at her level. Good! Now they could have a proper conversation, she liked feeling that she was equal to other wolves. Above them; she still had to prove and earn that sort of position like her mother had, but if they could take her seriously and treat her as an equal then she wouldn't complain.
Now she made her face collapse into half a pout, the chubby face drawing out and the lower jaw hanging in dread, like the face of a child whose mother is calling for them to come for a bath and they've just gotten delightfully messy. "You mean I'd have to go all the way around the hundreds circle?" she shook her head and again picked up her expression. "Good thing I can't think of anything, we'd be here an awfully long time I could, going around and getting the opinion of all your voices. I think Mother might even have to come and get my for bedtime, it would take so long." she eased herself back on her haunches and stared back at Duality, waiting for his response.
|
|
|
Post by CursedErin on May 2, 2017 10:05:22 GMT -5
Duality started to relax, his head felt much more at ease as the voices eased into whispers. There never seemed to be any silence for him, or at least not for very long, but at least it was quieter for him. He blinked curiously at her as she gave him a pouting face, his ears flicked and tried to listen for Perjury. Perhaps she was trying to call the pup home? Then he found out why she pouted, as the pup seemingly mocked the voices in his own skull. He narrowed his eyes as he tried to think on the situation.
He assumed she was only mocking them and not himself in the matter, and would keep his cool for the meanwhile. "I suppose it would take forever then... It'd be tough for me to give you any honest answer about myself though, they've become such a big part of me." He replied. Lazily, he laid his head down over his paws now, looking up at Shantias while he relaxed some more. "But it's up to you if you want to try any questions, or whatever else. I'm not picky."
|
|
|
Post by Fierfly on May 2, 2017 19:33:31 GMT -5
Shantias:
Duality seemed a little ruffled with her dramatizing of the situation and the idea of having to go around the "circle" and asking all of the voices in Duality's head for their individual opinions, but she wasn't much concerned about it herself. He didn't seem very much agitated and laid his head on his paws, he agreed that it would take a while, especially since the voices were not always clear and sometimes felt like a part of him - she also understood that, all the different ideas and voices that called to her were becoming more familiar and she was recognizing different parts of her sometimes wanted to do different things, but they were all her nonetheless. He lazily cracked his eyes and prompted the she-pup to keep asking questions if it suited her, he wasn't picky. Shantias shrugged and yawned a little - it was only just after mid-day, she wasn't tired or really bored, simply growing restless. "Not really, honestly you're the first member of the pack I've met and been able to question, not counting Mother and my sisters because - well - Obviously, it's Mother, this is her pack, so obviously I don't need to question her. And my sisters..." the she-pup shook her head, "That would not go well. Kaisra would think it was one of her silly games, Vint would probably say it was a waste of time, and Narcotic...well...Narcotic might be okay with it for a while, then she'd get bored and say it was stupid - it's not stupid. Anyway you're the first one I've talked to and been able to ask any questions, so I don't really know where to go from here question-wise." Of all the things that could be said against Shantias, it could never be said that she wasn't blunt or afraid to speak her mind.
|
|
|
Post by CursedErin on May 2, 2017 23:03:18 GMT -5
It didn't take long for Duality to follow Shantias' yawn a few seconds after. He was personally getting tired, despite the time of day. He often traveled at night as a loner, and had met Perjury not too long ago this morning. Fatigue was starting to get to him, but he'd keep himself awake while the pup was here at least. After all, what kind of a den host would he be if he didn't The idea seemed odd to him, having a den to call his own. It was surreal, he'd blink a few times and snap out of a day dream while he focused back on the she-pup, who was going on about her family once again. "Ah... Can't be too bad though, to actually have a family anyways. You should consider yourself lucky. If you can't come up with anything to ask though... I suppose we might be done here, Shanti?" He said at her with a gentle smirk, adding a bit of a nick-name in at the end. His eyelids drooped a little but he'd force them back up, curious as ever to what the pup would end up saying. Of course, he ended up drifting into a day-dream again, this time wondering what it might've been like if he had an actual family. One that didn't call him crazy, one that didn't drive him over the edge... One that he hadn't attacked. His ears folded a little as he looked away from the pup, the bad memories returning for a moment and the voices kicking up in volume once again! He shut his eyes tightly for a moment and barred his teeth as he quieted them, only to open back up to look at Shantias. He was wondering how much longer he could keep the thoughts and voices in check, he was at least hoping to do so while Perjury's own daughter was in front of him.
|
|
|
Post by Fierfly on May 6, 2017 22:58:27 GMT -5
Shantias:
Duality also yawned and cracked his eyes. He wasn't allowed to do that, she was already dangerously close to feeling tired, she didn't need him spreading yawns (she'd already made the discovery that yawns were contagious, and unlike other pups the thought did not amuse her). He looked like he was drifting off to sleep and she was briefly and sorely tempted to bat him on the nose until his eyes popped open on their own and he argued her tangent about her family. It couldn't have been too bad to actually have a family, she should have called herself lucky. The she-pup briefly considered that. "I don't know that I'd call it lucky, but I suppose it depends upon how you look at it."
Duality was looking drowsy again and suggested that if she couldn't come up with other questions they might have to call it a day. This may well have been the situation, surely there were other pack members she could interrogate, although she might have to come back to Duality: he kept saying how lucky she was to actually have a family - a real family. Had he not had a family? Was that even possible? Didn't everyone have to start out in a family? Mother kept on saying how she'd grow up, she could only assume that she knew that from experience, which meant that Mother must have had to grow up at least a little bit (she didn't fully grasp the concept of her mother once being a newborn, but some progression and learning she could understand). Still, Duality was looking tired and after telling her about the turmoil from the voices in his head...she wasn't sure she was ready for more complicated answers from this fellow, not until she had more information and asked Mother what all she knew about the stranger. She could afford to wait. She curled her lip at the nickname - she did not favor pet-names...but she had the strange feeling that this one was going to stick. "I guess so, and I have other wolves I need to interview. Thank-you for your time Duality," she gave in and batted the enormous nose, though gently, more like a tap as his lazy eyelids started to drift shut again. "I'll let you have your nap." she scampered to the den entrance and started to leave when she had a thought, hesitated, and turned back. "Remember Duality: it's your choice." with a quick toss of her head and a brief stumble from the clumsy paws, she was gone.
-Exit Shantias-
|
|