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Post by Meds on Mar 10, 2018 15:18:47 GMT -5
Kanga, Acribus;Kanga's mood was the only thing hampering him on the wintery, bright day. He wasn't full enough, this winter providing some of the poorest hunting he had yet been privy to, and even worse than that—he had dreamt of Midnight Silence again. That troublesome wolf's words were tumbling through his head—Tiago, or Miago, or something like that—and for the life of him, he couldn't change his thoughts. What was Midnight Silence truly like? He knew the answer to that as an outsider, of course (evil, ruthless, without morals); but what about as a member? Was that actually the answer that the dark-part of his mind was pulling him towards? He doubted it, or at least wanted to doubt it... but there he was, sitting at the top of the Hillside Vista and staring across the Heathlands towards Midnight Silence's distant border. A crunch behind him caused the giant's head to swivel, red fur flashing out from below his neck. Kanga was not surprised—he had heard footsteps behind him for some time—but who did they belong to? His thoughts went to Manaaki, almost hopeful, but soon his ears detected that the sound of the oncoming creature was not nearly heavy-enough to be his twin. A second later, a skinny, decrepit-looking wolf slunk out of the bushes. It had red highlights along its snout and ears that looked like blood after a hard-fought battle. Kanga noticed a good-many other scars as well. It was Acribus, the Beta of Midnight Silence—unless he was very much mistaken. Acribus looked up slowly, registering just how large this mammoth was up close. He had met Kanga before, but only in passing and always from a distance. The white fur of his neck caught the weak sun, an ever-constant reminder of the love of his mother in a life long gone. Kanga watched him closely, aware that on his other side and close by his back paws was open air, travelling non-stop until the floor of the valley below. "Kanga," Acribus wheezed, his voice grating against Kanga's ears. "Why, hello Acribus. I would say it's a pleasure and a surprise—but frankly it's not, and I think you and I have been enjoying our hike together for some time, haven't we?" His voice was deep, strong, and decidedly rich compared to the other withered thing. Acribus lifted a lip, revealing yellowing-teeth. He had heard of Kanga's loose tongue, and already his patience was being cut thin. "Unless you're interested in actually joining Midnight Silence," Acribus murmured out of his shattered throat. Kanga had trouble masking the shock that passed over his face. He told himself that Acribus couldn't have known of his doubts—it was simply something to say. "Do not skulk around my border or any hills overlooking it any longer.""Your border, is it? Yikes, well take it from me, don't tell Fjord. I think he's operating under a different idea." Acribus ignored him. "I don't like the idea of you scouting out our borders just to run back to your mistress Blaise." Acribus fairly spat out her name, so disgusting did it feel on his tongue. Kanga's own lip lifted then, flashing a pearly tooth. It was one thing to insult his Alphess, but to insult him? Wait, he had that backwards... "Oh is that what I'm doing?" Kanga snorted. "Thank goodness you're so quick and clever, because boy was I ever curious.""Watch your tongue, mongrel." This brute was not taking him nearly serious-enough. "Alright hold on a minute. Let's just get some things straight, because I feel like we're veering off-topic here," Kanga said, his existence grating more on Acribus by the second. "I'll do whatever I please, I'll go where I like as long as it doesn't cross over any marked territories—and I will never, ever watch my tongue." He stuck it out just to prove it, and that was what pushed Acribus to the limit. He quickly crouched down and prepared to strike, which Kanga adapted to all-too-quickly. So this skinny mutt wanted to tussle, did he? Kanga almost laughed outloud. Acribus' trained eyes quickly sized up where they were standing. The edge was behind Kanga, that was positive—and then he realized something more. The brute was larger than him (so much larger, it was entirely laughable), but they did not stand on solid ground. That was a theory Acribus was keen to test. Wasting no time then, the Beta lunged forward into the fight as if something possessed (or perhaps something addicted). Kanga dodged, ignoring as his feet broke through the crust to the soft snow below. As the crazed-Beta came in again, all teeth, Kanga sidestepped once more and brought a crippling smack to the side of the skinny-male's head. Acribus became instantly dazed, almost losing his footing. The off-white male shook his head clear, and went in again, though this time he feinted to the right. Kanga swiftly moved left once more, but Acribus was quicker in that moment. Aided by snow that did not break under his weight, he snapped sharply at the underside of Kanga's chin. Kanga sunk through the snow, moving slowly, and when he felt the bite he snarled, the humor dying in that moment. Kanga then ducked low and lunged into Acribus' forthcoming bite, feeling teeth break skin. His forward momentum was such, however, that as Acribus lifted to bite once more, Kanga's all-powerful shoulder caught him under his own chin. The two males smashed to the snowy ground, Kanga on top. Acribus did not give up, he never did, and only ceased biting and scratching when Kanga's jaws closed over his skull. Kanga's teeth clenched with enough strength to subdue the Beta. Kanga found his footing, and with his powerful back, neck, and shoulders all working together, he lifted Acribus from the ground by his own head. Kanga gave a powerful shake back and forth, his neck muscles bulging, then reared up and flung the scrawny thing away from him. Acribus flipped sideways in the air, landing in a heap and sliding perilously close to the edge of the cliff. His head was bleeding, but he was not dead. He scrambled away from the edge, wanting and needing to continue the battle, but was hit with such a fit of dizziness that he couldn't even stand. Kanga bent down and roared so loudly, that for once, Acribus felt the desire to fight leech out of his bones. He faced the red-brown monster, still on the ground, and went still. Another crack sounded somewhere behind them from the bushes, and Kanga, thinking another Midnight Silence body was there to continue the fight, spun around and bellowed once more into the foliage. He didn't even notice the rather-bad couple bites under and around his neck that had begun steadily trickling blood into his pelt. Fierfly
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Post by Fierfly on Mar 10, 2018 17:10:14 GMT -5
Kailypso:
So much for spring, another violent snow-storm cloaked the Valley in a new, thick blanket of snow and sent prey scurrying back to their holes. Squirrels were getting thin and gamey after the long winter and Kaily's belly numbly growled. She should head back to the forest to do some more hunting, it was more sheltered there - but maybe she could find a better view of more hopeful hunting from up high. Besides, part of the reason she'd come out here was to have an explore around and an adventure. She enjoyed running across one end of the Valley to the other and back again, learning the lay-out of the land and all that, this venture too could be justified.
She'd stumbled across the unclaimed territory quite accidentally. The border had nearly been buried under all the snow, and the scent was faint - obviously it hadn't been marked recently. She'd paced back and forth in front of the border but not crossing for a good twenty minutes, hackles raised and looking back and forth for someone to come. Was anybody home? Was it as abandoned as it smelled? Should she go in? She had no intention of claiming it, just wanted to use the highground to look down and get a better lay of the land. But she didn't do packs and pack lands - she felt she shouldn't be pushing her luck, no telling if someone was home after all, but curiosity won out over bad blood and bad memories and she went in. It was actually quite pretty with the winter snow, frosting the red-brown and yellow cliffs, the weak sunlight giving it all a muted grey-white shine. It had been a good territory, a pool from a spring of fresh water, fortified cliffs, plenty spacious for a decently sized pack. She briefly wondered why the earlier occupants had left...
She was nearly to the top of the desired cliff. It was a splendid cliff, not quite as high as the Mountain where the White Wolves were said to have lived, but tall, even, a majestic old sentinel of rock and fairly friendly for pups or limping travelers. She happily trotted up the accommodating trail worn by many paws tread over before and took in a deep breath of the clear, winter air.
That's when she smelled the smell of packs, tension and blood.
Her ruff went up and her eyes narrowed. She opened the nares of her nose and folded her tail under her belly, slinking down to lie on the rockface and creep across it on her toes. She could hear snaps and fighting up ahead. A wiser wolf might have turned and run, but she was curious and pressed forward, despite the danger she sensed ahead.
Keeping cover behind some of the fragile brush the rocky soil supported, she peered through the thick tangle of bare branches to see why the sounds of a tussle had stopped. She leaned forward too far and snapped a branch, and before she could blink, a large copper mass barreled through the briars, knocking her off her feet. It was on now!
She bared her teeth and let her ruff go. Rolling with the impact over her back and back to her paws, she leaped up to club the attacker's maw before she realized she almost couldn't reach - she'd only met two wolves where so far off the ground that she was even too short to club a too-curious nose, a gray ghost and a gentle giant, and the flash of red and brown out of the corner of her eye told her which it was.
The vicious wrinkle and snarl of the freckled muzzle melted and her eyes assumed a more natural, sociable size. "Kanga!" she dropped back on her haunches, It was a small world after all! It hadn't taken long at all to find him again, and she hadn't even been trying. -Hold on, he didn't really have that much red in his coat did he? "You're bleeding!" she accused, rearing back again and gently leaning a paw on his chest to look up at the underside of his chin and throat to better examine the wounds.
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Post by Meds on Mar 10, 2018 20:07:04 GMT -5
Kanga, Acribus;
Suddenly, Kanga bellowed another angry growl into the bushes and dashed in. Acribus raised his head, feeling significantly less-dizzy by then, and watched him go. He didn't disappear—the scrub brushes weren't tall enough to hide him any—but his focus shifted. Acribus tsked to himself. Had the positions been reversed, Kanga would have been dead by now. Only weaklings or wolves too stupid to do one thing at a time stopped halfway through a fight. Just because he hadn't gotten up again, that didn't mean the fight was over; except that apparently, in this case, it did.
In the bushes, Kanga quickly registered that he recognized the scent and checked himself, letting the growl die in his throat. It was none other than Kaily, the little and easily-riled female he had met a few seasons past. Surprisingly, instead of choosing to berate him for his growl or not letting her ruff down, Kailypso instead barked a hello. Kanga was about to respond, when his words were stolen and she barked once more that he was bleeding. She rose onto her hind legs and rested a paw on him, which only led the brute to believe that he had been cut under his chin. But now wasn't the time for socializing or healing-practices. Kanga stepped backward out of her reach, nodding a quick hello, but then turned fluidly, lips peeling back and ears flattening as he stalked back to Acribus.
"Go," Kanga said, his voice broken by the snarl building in his throat. Acribus leaned back on his haunches, ears flicking as blood trickled down from his temples. He didn't actually feel like going, especially when things had just started to get good... He glanced behind him to the cliff edge close at hand. And besides, were anybody to have authority here, it would be him, the Beta of the powerful pack not a league to the North. But he had lost a fight. Lost, while he still had breath within him to stand. A disgusting display, really. He knew somewhere in his mind that he was a smart wolf, and continuing to challenge a wolf like Kanga without more of an advantage was fool's play, but that didn't mean the choice to walk away didn't rub his skin raw.
A pitter below him caused the Beta to dip his head, whereupon he noticed that the snow around him was quite littered with droplets of his own blood. Head-blood, no less. He would be swelling tomorrow. He looked up at Kanga and let his own lips peel back. "And why should I?" He croaked out, purple eyes flicking to the tiny female now approaching. Kanga snorted in exasperation. It was rather obvious, he thought—since he had been about to get his head cracked open like a bird's egg. But somewhere in the back of Kanga's mind, a tingle-like sound sprouted. Somehow, and for some unknown reason, it was suddenly appealing to him to stay on Acribus' good side (as much as possible after a tussle like that). Kanga turned to Kailypso, swallowing his growl and forcing himself to sit down, keeping the dirty-white male in his view. "K—Kailypso, this is Acribus." It was clear that being polite wasn't his first choice, nor his favorite.
Acribus turned, raising himself onto skinny legs. Now a wolf like this, he thought, would be an easy job. He was devilishly strong, surprisingly so, and nothing brought him joy like the look in a wolf's eyes who had previously underestimated him, moments before he ended their lives. He knew what Kanga was doing, or guessed well enough. It was like a code among wolves that brawled—and though Kanga put on a pretty face for Blaise, Acribus was reasonably sure he had the brute figured out. The fight was over, regardless of whether or not Acribus would have willed it to be so, and with that came a certain (grudging) mutual respect. Acribus himself often ignored this unspoken rule altogether, but he had a guess that Kanga wouldn't, and would instead try his best to at least not start another brawl. Such things were wastes of time (though Acribus loved them) and opened the aggressor up to more possible injuries (though Acribus feared them not).
"Beta," He croaked through his broken throat towards the tiny thing. "Of Midnight Silence... at your service." Could a wolf lace a threat within their own introduction? If so, Acribus just had. Kanga squared his massive shoulder, gluing his eyes to the seemingly-scrawny. "Yes, the Beta was just leaving, weren't you?" He cast a quick look to Kaily, then turned his eyes back to Acribus.
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Post by Fierfly on Mar 12, 2018 12:27:14 GMT -5
Kailypso:
Kanga's thoughts were elsewhere. He briefly nodded to her greeting, ignored her attempt to investigate his wounds - she was able to identify teeth marks before he stepped away and stalked back through the bushes, flattening the branches and clearing a sizeable path for her. curious and not the type to just leave a friend, she followed in his wake to see where he thought he was going. She wanted a better look at that wound - she was no healer but she could at least try couldn't she? Further more, it was generally good manners (not that she had many of them herself) that when a friend greeted you, you greeted them back and made some small talk, wasn't it? After all, he'd been the one to bowl her over (she was starting to feel it on her backside where she'd first landed), why not stay and talk a while?
She soon saw why.
A dirty, grey, black and red he-wolf sat near the cliff edge sulking at Kanga. Blood dripped from several head wounds and again she identified the cause of the punctures as teeth. Whatever it had been about, it had been a nasty fight with so much blood drawn, and it was eye-opening to see Kanga's teeth mark around another wolf's skull. He was big enough where if he pulled the same move on her he could have cracked her head open like a sparrow's egg, and get nearly the same result with other wolves if he didn't practice self control. She liked to think that she knew him a little better than that, of course Kanga was willing and able to exercise some self control, but she wouldn't have blamed him a bit if he hadn't. Something about the male felt off. Her ruff erected itself again and her ears tipped back, not the vicious ear-clamp of aggression that Kanga's were doing, but enough to convey her displeasure with present company.
"Go," Kanga snarled,
"Why should I?" the stranger croaked back, eyes flicking to her, only encouraging her to bristle more.
Kanga rolled his eyes and growled lightly, but made grudging introductions. Acribus wasn't a terribly large wolf, but was decently proportioned, maybe a bit smaller than her sire. His coat was coarse and grungy, the black and red accents were nothing unusual or amazing, it was his abyss-like eyes of obsidian and the pervading smell about him that got her guard up and she swished her tail in displeasure. Definitely a pack wolf, and definitely not of Secluded Sunrise. From a rival pack? It was all she could think of, the fight had been pretty violent for anything else-
"Beta of Midnight Silence... at your service." Acribus finished evenly in his gravely mutter, still eyeing her.
Midnight Silence, that pack of murderers Kanga and Manaaki had warned her against during their first encounter. That did it. Her hackles were full up and ears back much further and she honed her gaze in on the beta. He didn't look to be in any position to begin fighting again, but would he care? If they delighted in killing and spilling blood...
Kanga picked up on what could politely be called 'displeasure' radiating from her. "Yes, the Beta was just leaving, weren't you?" he gave Acribus a pointed look to get the message across.
"He doesn't have to leave if he doesn't want to Kanga," Kailypso breathed evenly, drawing herself up and trying to look respectful and dignified. "Your reputation proceeds you Beta," she quickly dipped her head in greeting, "I've been curious about the great Midnight Silence since I heard about it." her posture and tone were reasonable enough, but something about her eyes and the way she accused him with them spoke her true intent. She loathed this pack, she despised them - them and everything they stood for. No, 'despise' was too mild a word to explain her feelings, she wasn't sure what a stronger word was, but she suspected one hadn't been made that would explain her regard for the killers of mothers with pups or others who fought to save what they sought to destroy.
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Post by Meds on Mar 12, 2018 20:09:10 GMT -5
Kanga, Acribus;
Beside him, Kanga saw Kailypso's ruff raise. So help him. He withheld a snarl of frustration, preparing to physically quiet her should she try and taunt Acribus, or worse, challenge him. Acribus was not a wolf to tangle with—especially when adrenaline was already thick in his veins.
Acribus' purple eyes flicked all over the small female, and a grin revealing yellow and broken teeth split his mouth. She seemed defensive... ears back, ruff extended. He fought not to lick his lips. There was something very tantalizing about a female who thought she stood any sort of chance against him. Kanga noticed the way his eyes lingered on Kaily's throat, and cleared his own pointedly. Acribus didn't seem surprised by the sound, and instead slowly turned to the side to look at him. Kanga had beaten him this time, yes—but something about the grungy-looking male made his blood run cool. He was not intimidated (Kanga was not intimidated by much), but Acribus was the sort of wolf that simply reeked of danger and near-madness.
Kailypso spoke up then, telling Kanga that Acribus didn't have to leave if he didn't want to. The brawny red and brown male snapped his head to look at her. Her words showed him, plainly, that she had no idea who she was speaking of. Kanga was about to say so, when Kaily continued, speaking then to Acribus.
Acribus hung his wiry neck in a mock-bow, then straightened and strode around the other two in a slow, wide, deliberate circle. He dragged his front paws across the snow, upsetting the rest of the untouched snow. "So polite, this one is," Acribus croaked to Kanga, sizing her up obviously and sounding for all the world like a frog that had had a bad day. "Do you think, Kanga—" His eyes took in the giant once more. "That she knows what she's saying?" Kanga interrupted then, before Kaily could get angry. "Acribus, leave. Kaily, he has to." His eyes found the Beta once more. "I think I hear Fjord crying for you." Acribus' lips lifted in distaste, but ignored Kanga and turned to Kailypso once more. "My reputation, you say?" His voice held such a note of false-interest that it was almost palpable. "It's about time. Tell me, Kailypso—" Long, personally-sharpened claws dug rivets in the crust of snow below. "What is it that they say about me?"
Kanga didn't move from his position beside Kailypso, but he shifted so his thick fur was pressed against her shoulder. In this way he could be sure he kept his eyes on Acribus, as well as be sure that she didn't move. "Don't answer that. Acribus, leave. You're no Beta here—just another wolf in my way." Kanga's voice was tainted by a deep and unattainable growl, his shoulders arching and his eyes darkening.
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Post by Fierfly on Mar 13, 2018 15:47:32 GMT -5
Kailypso:
If looks could kill, Acribus would be long dead from both her glare and Kanga's and she might be severely maimed with the way Kanga's hazel orbs were warning her to shut up or else. She felt him tense and saw his jaw clench. She coudln't blame him, she'd really stuck her paw down her throat this time - her gimpy one. Her and her fat, gimpy mouth, why had she said that? She wasn't a physical match for Acribus, surely if he'd managed to scratch Kanga then he was stronger and healthier than he looked, and that meant she couldn't assume an advantage with anything. There she went, talking with her heart instead of her head again. It would be the death of her one of these days.
Acribus mock bowed his head in turn and commented on how polite she was, then asked Kanga if he thought she knew what she was saying. Oh, she knew exactly what she was saying. What she hoped to accomplish she had no idea, and how it would turn out, she din't want to hazard a guess. She was being foolish, she should shut up now and let Kanga drive him off - why had she insisted he didn't have to go? Idiot, Kailypso, idiot!
Kanga barked for him to leave - Fjord was crying for him. The alpha? Probably. Acribus ignored the jibe and turned to her. He wanted to hear about his reputation - what she'd heard. His phantom eyes bore into hers and she felt breath freeze in her chest - not out of fear, but in reservation as she steeled herself. What to say?
Kanga cut in again, reassuringly pressing his shoulder up against her, turning himself into a shield if Acribus got any ideas. He told her not to answer, spat at Acribus again and warned him to leave as eh was simply another wolf in his way, and shot her one more killing look that told her to keep her mouth shut. Now who did he think she was? Hadn't she promised she would be good and not pick a fight? Hadin't she? She made it a point to keep her promises, she wouldn't say anything stupid, but she would answer. She shrugged, "Mostly that Midnight Silence has the darkest wolves the Valley has to offer. Professional, able killers. A beta must be a step above average to get the rank, huh?"
Yeah, Kanga's looks had permission to kill her now.
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Post by Meds on Mar 14, 2018 12:30:05 GMT -5
Kanga, Acribus;
Acribus watched Kailypso closely. He got the idea that she had a big mouth with a lot of things to say, but that she often didn't know where she was going, or where her words would take her. When he looked at her anew, he saw the breath within her still. One grubby ear flicked, and his brow lifted tauntingly. Ah, more words? He kept a grin off his mouth, but looked instead to Kanga, as if to chide him for not keeping her reigned in. Such big words could hurt such a little wolf... Kanga felt Kailypso inhale to breath, and though he didn't look at her, he could have crushed her in that moment. When, when woudl she keep her mouth shut? Fortunately, he didn't think that Acribus could find offense in what she said—but he was wrong on that count.
"Able killers?" His ruined voice somehow made the sun seem weaker, and the snow seem darker. "Oh more than that, little sweet. Able would imply that they did it only when they had to—that they were capable of such things but did not take joy in them. I can assure you that Fjord has filled his ranks with the type of wolves that are so much more than able—they are gifted in it." Purple eyes flashed once more, the light highlighting the sickly green within. "Though you are right in saying that I, as Beta, am a few heads above the rest." Let her take that as she would—no matter how she did, it would probably prove to be right. Kanga rumbled out another growl, then stepped forward, almost lunged, towards Acribus.
"Alright, you've said your piece. You've made your show. Now go, before I open you up and see if the inside is really as disgusting as the outside." Acribus rolled his eyes unflinchingly as the red and brown giant lunged at him. He had no doubt that Kanga could do such a thing as he said—but he also didn't doubt that he could give the brute a good run in the mean time. Maybe take a paw or an eye in the process. Would Kanga still be such a threat if he were crippled? Ah... ah, but time would tell. Fjord was planning the war at that very moment... perhaps Acribus would search Kanga out amid the fray and see for himself. Unless... Suddenly within the Beta's mind's eye, he saw Kanga mowing down Midnight Silence's competition. Suddenly it made so much more sense to fight with him, rather than against him. Could such a thing be achieved? The cogs of his sick mind began turning, and a half-smirk quirked his mouth once more. Acribus sighed, a wheezing and winded thing barely capable of being called a breath, then turned and looked at Kanga in a new light.
"Do stop by some time, Kanga," He rasped. "I'm sure Fjord would be interested to meet you."
Kanga gave one last growl, a thunder-like sound that shook the very air around them—and then Acribus was gone. The sounds of his paws faded quickly, for he was so thin.
-Exit Acribus
Kanga swallowed and allowed his thick fur to settle down. After a second or two, he turned to Kailypso, still either un-noticing or uncaring of the cuts along his throat.
"As far as Acribus goes," He said, looking at the little wolf with a dark glint in his eye. "Don't push him."
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Post by Fierfly on Mar 14, 2018 14:29:44 GMT -5
Kailypso:
All three of them would have been dead if looks could kill - never mind earlier. The whole conflict might have been avoided that way, and it might not have been a bad thing if they were able to avoid it. Acribus's eyes darkened and a dark, lifeless green flashed. "Able" did not begin to describe - Midnight Silence wolves were willing to kill, it was sport to them, a favorite past-time, even an art, something sacred to be drawn out and executed perfectly as many different ways as the mind could articulate in detail. Able was not the word he would have used, though she was right in that he was a few heads above the rest. A shudder danced up her spine and irked her ruff even more and she wondered if he meant heads as in station, or heads as in how many he'd sent rolling...
Kanga lunged and growled for him to leave or else he'd tear him open. Acribus lifted his lip in distaste, but did not push the matter, only invited Kanga to drop by and visit: "I'ms ure Fjord would be interested to meet you."
With a roar that shook the air Kanga bared his teeth one last time and the grungy beta finally left. Taking the same trail down that Kaily had taken up.
It was like a great weight was taken from her ribs and she was finally able to breathe fully again. Kanga took a deep breath, settled his ruff and stepped away, watching to make sure Acribus didn't turn back, and then sternly addressing her, looking down like a parent addressing their lippy, wayward offspring.
"As far as Acribus goes: Don't push him."
Her first response: A roll of her candlelight yellow eyes and she helped herself to a better look at the gashes on his throat. "Who, me? Why would I ever do that?" her words were heavy with sarcasm and it rolled down her chin like molasses. She could feel the headache coming on of him telling her to be careful and all that - well, maybe she didn't have time to be careful. Then what, huh? She was an adult, she could make her own decisions. "My dam would know what to do about those cuts," they were not vitally deep, but not exactly superficial. Acribus had actually gotten him pretty good, not enough to stop the giant juggernaut, but any mark at all was still impressive, and disconcerting. "Not that it matters, I don't know that any herbs grow in the snow." she actually wished her dam were there, and maybe Feena - she'd always been good about knowing where the herbs liked to hide in all kinds of weather for all kinds of ailments. "At least you won't lose too much lifeblood from it."
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Post by Meds on Mar 15, 2018 11:54:46 GMT -5
Kanga;
To Kanga's warning, Kailypso rolled her eyes. The gesture set the brute to grinding his teeth. She replied with a decidedly sarcastic remark. Kanga knew that she had meant it to seem flippant—why would she do something dangerous, she wasn't that stupid—but he decided to ignore the sarcasm. In truth, though her inflection made it seem as if she would never dream of doing such a thing, the words themselves rang true. "Because," Kanga said, unclenching his teeth. "I think you have an idea that you could offer up some sort of challenge to a wolf like Acribus. You'll recall being quite challenging of me as well, once upon a time. I think you would do something like that because you've always been lucky enough to escape the true consequences of what you say." His eyes traced to her bad shoulder. He couldn't quite recall if she had said how the injury had happened, whether she was born with it or if she had faced the consequences of something—but that didn't change what Kanga thought. Either she had faced consequences once upon a time and had since forgotten, or she never had and was in danger of learning. "I don't know why you disrespecting a wolf that, frankly, demands it bothers me. Perhaps it's that you and I shared a pretty honest conversation once upon a time and I consider you a friend. I don't know," He fixed her with a hard stare of his silver-ringed eyes. "I have this weird hang-up with the idea of my friends getting torn to pieces." He could tell that whatever he said she was probably going to take with a huff, so he let the topic die. He didn't need to tell her to be careful, he supposed. Either she would be and stay safe, or she wouldn't—which would result in either her getting very lucky and remaining safe, or her being brought close to death by a wolf like Acribus. Unless Kanga stood by to safeguard her all the time, he had no control over what would happen; and frankly, that sounded like a nightmare to him, and he knew she would feel the same. So he didn't comment on it further. What would be, would be.
The russet brute was pulled from his thoughts when Kailypso mentioned her mother. Supposedly she knew her way around injuries. A sour taste in the back of Kanga's mouth distracted him for a half-moment as he wondered if his mother would have known about the same sort of thing. In any case the little female seemed concerned. Kanga didn't really understand that, as the cuts were only providing a light stinging at most; however, when he looked down and saw the snow dirtied underneath him, his brow raised. With the distraction, all bad thoughts wiped out of his mind as easily as clouds on a windy day. "The oily weasel actually got me," Kanga said, lifting his paws to look more closely at his blood along the ground. "Wouldn't you know it, he actually got me!" He was more surprised and impressed than angry, really, but all the same it was a little bit disconcerting. Kanga lifted his big head slightly to better gaze down at Kailypso, eyes wide. "It's not so often that I bleed, you know." Which was of course, entirely untrue.
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Post by Fierfly on Mar 15, 2018 12:21:47 GMT -5
Kailypso:
His jowls bulged with the effort of keeping in what he wanted to say and Kanga managed a much more diplomatic answer than he probably wanted to say, but he wasn't too light handed with it. She thought she could challenge him and kept dancing with disaster because everyone else always swooped in and saved her. Darn right! Why did everyone always jump in to save her? She was getting tired of it. Why was she so disrespectful? Acribus actually commanded a nod and some respect for his position and skill - why was she so eager to get herself ripped to pieces? He'd considered her a friend, he didn't like to think a friend could get ripped to shreds someday and she was just asking for it. Kailypso bristled, not aggressively, it was just her temper showing and she growled under her breath.
"I'm not an idiot Kanga, I wasn't trying to challenge him - my heart got ahead of my mouth and I said something stupid, that's all. Gimme a minute and I can talk my way out of it again. I don't try to challenge anyone, I'm just trying to be careful - then I get told I'm being too careful and when I'm not careful, they tell me I'm being foolish - I'll bet that bite's going to get infected," she sat back with a thump. "Gosh dang it all, right when I could use some of those stupid tricks - any idea where yarrow grows? At least...I think it would be yarrow, maybe it would be burdock for this..."
She paced around on the clifftop in search for a piece of greenery to dig up one of the healing roots - then remembered that there was a solid six inches even on the high ground and that she wouldn't be finding the little plants she wanted - not that she was sure they grew here, or even how to apply them once she found them, she'd probably do it all wrong.
She lifted her eyes to meet Kanga's accusatory stare. "You really want me to learn? Let my mistakes catch up with me. I know I've got a big mouth, well, let's let it run and maybe I'll learn to keep it shut. I'm all grown up and finally away from home, just let me bee a grown up and figure things out for myself." she wasn't trying to be unreasonable, it was just her blunt, to-the-point manner getting ahead of her again, she back-peddaled. "It's not that I don't appreciate you standing up for me, I do..." for a moment, a memory surfaced, and a gray-black he-wolf stood in Kanga's place before jaws entered his throat and he crumpled. She frowned at her recollection, "But you can't save me forever, and I at least ought to have the chance to return the favor."
There, that's it, she'd let her springy trap run long enough, she was closing that conversation. Kanga had finally had enough of her fussing and eyed the snow around him where he was trailing blood. She shrugged, bad shoulder only half rising. "Yeah, that son of a snake got you, it doesn't look awfully deep though, you'll live."
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Post by Meds on Mar 15, 2018 12:36:01 GMT -5
Kanga;
She exploded, though the radius of the blow was somehow contained. Her voice didn't raise, and nor did she growl. She just gave him a piece of her mind, which Kanga thought, was probably fair. Who was he to her to tell her how to act, anyway? But then she switched topics so quickly that he couldn't help but let a grin sneak past his stony exterior. Rebuke, rebuke, rebu—concern. He chuckled deeply, the rumble feeling a lot more natural to him than that of a growl. Such a firecracker, this one was. "Infected?" He said, letting a note of false-concern flavour his words. "Do you think we'll have to rip it off to save the rest?" He blinked, all seriousness. "I've been told my head's the worst part of me anyway."
She asked him where some kind of plant grew then, and the confusion was real in that moment. Kanga blinked slowly, then frowned, then looked around at the bloody snow. Yarrow? He nor Manaaki had never resorted to plants for healing. Perhaps they should have a time or two, but they never had. Such things came with the territory of wrestling to the point of drawing blood on the daily, and being too distracted or too proud to really give pain the time of day.
"And alright, I'll stop stepping in," He said as the small female bustled around the snow, looking for what, Kanga had no idea. "Though can I at least stand by to watch? I'd hate for you to die without anybody there to remember you." She then said something about returning the favour for him. He didn't comment on it, he didn't want to irk her, but he was a little bit curious as to how she would do such a thing. Mostly, any saving that Kanga required was all talking, and Manaaki did that. As for Kailypso, why, she seemed to have almost as big a mouth as Kanga himself did. In his mind's eyes he saw an image of her trying to talk their way out of a problem Kanga had caused, and just deepening the issue for everyone. Another smile traced his lips.
When she said he would live, he heaved a sigh and cast his eyes back across the land toward the Midnight Silence border. "Why do you think he asked me to come by after a less-than-pleasant interaction?" He frowned. Why had the Beta been following him at all, in fact? "Is he so obsessed that he can't let a fight die?"
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Post by Fierfly on Mar 15, 2018 13:01:28 GMT -5
Kailypso:
Kanga was really just a big teddy bear. That dang crooked smile slipped back onto his maw and chuckled at her huff that his bite was going to get infected. The smile persisted in a ghost around his mouth and in his eyes, but with a very grave, serious voice, he asked, "Do you think we'll have to rip it off to save the rest? I've been told my head's the worst part of me anyway."[/i]
She snorted and couldn't help but chuckle. "Heck if I know. It'll probably swell, but I don't figure it'll kill ya." Kanga really was a good guy, and she'd been honest with Amora, they did relate to each other. Both were brassy and had the temper or charm to match - both had their rough spots, neither was a born diplomat and loners in their own right - and has stubborn as they were they'd found a friend in each other and were willing to stick their necks out a bit for it. And Kanga was going to honor her wishes. Thank you Kanga! Finally, someone who took her seriously. She was about to fling a grateful prayer heavenward when he asked if he might at least stand by and watch, and that he'd hate for her to be killed and have no one remember her. The light, feminine brows lowered and the head tipped back inquisitively as her nose wrinkled in some thought and confusion. She dared say that thousands of wolves died and were never remembered - she'd always planned on being one of those anonymous souls who tread the earth and when their time came, passed on. She believed in honoring the dead, Heaven knew plenty had done the noble things that deserved to be remembered - but her? "Knock yourself out, but I don't think I'm worth the time of looking back to remember." there she went with her too-forward bluntness again. Time for a subject change.
Kanga stared off in the direction Acribus had gone in, presumably the border of Midnight Silence, and wondered aloud why he'd been invited to go after such an encounter that got both of them bleeding and had nearly gotten Acribus a cracked skull. Kaily also studied the path of red-stained paw prints as the blood from his headwound had dripped onto his trail. "I don't know, but I don't like it." she pursed her lips and knit her brow thoughtfully. Why would he invite Kanga to come? What exactly had he said? That Fjord would like to meet him? Fjord was the alpha, yes? It couldn't have been good. "I'd ignore him." she shrugged, "It does kinda make ya wonder though..."
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Post by Meds on Mar 15, 2018 13:21:46 GMT -5
Kanga;
She said it would swell—what, his head or his neck? His head was already pretty puffed up, if Manaaki could be believed—and everybody knew he couldn't anyway. Kanga considered saying such, but somehow, as if a gift from the White Wolves themselves, he kept his mouth shut. She was right, as well. It would take a lot more than a few scratches to bring him down... though wouldn't it be ironic if that was, indeed, what killed him one day? The merest infection, bringing down a giant?
She then put down his little joke, but when she put it down she brought it to a more serious level. She mentioned that she didn't think she was worth remembering. Well, everybody was worth remembering... Was there a way Kanga could say that without seeming forward, or worse, giving her the wrong idea? But what was the right idea? "Come off it," He said, swinging his head back to face her and lifting a lip slightly. "This world has enough martyrs. I won't sit here and convince you you're worth remembering, but you are, so stop that." His eyes shadowed for a minute before she responded to his question about the evil pack. The shadow left to be replaced by a confused glint. Truly—why had Acribus bothered with his leaving sentence?
"I know you would ignore him," Kanga quirked his brow and fixed her with a calculating smile. "But a wolf like Acribus chooses his words carefully... I would too, if my throat was a shattered ruin bringing pain to any that heard it." Kanga didn't want to believe or even think that Acribus had tuned into Kanga's own thoughts, in however small a measure. Kailypso was here, she was good for a distraction. Midnight Silence was not what Kanga wanted to be thinking about. "So what have you gotten up to since our last interaction?" His grin turned inward, slightly sideways—a good indicator that the brawny male wanted to leave the seriousness behind to make way for a lighter topic.
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Post by Fierfly on Mar 15, 2018 14:15:06 GMT -5
Kailypso:
Kanga did not share her sentiment. The world had enough martyrs, but everyone deserved to be remembered. She could have pushed the matter, but Kanga called for her to stop 'that', whatever 'that' was. What? Her trip to martyrdom? No, martyrs were remembered and goodness knew she wasn't doing much worth of martyrdom. She did plan to die one day, hopefully not for a long time, but it would happen, and she had no plans to make it grand or flashy. She'd make some good pals while she lived, Kanga, Manaaki, maybe she'd take Amora up on her offer and swing by and visit Secluded Sunrise a time or two. She'd chase the sun from sunup to sundown, she'd learn to get past her gimpy leg, maybe she'd make a difference for someone, and if she prayed very hard for a miracle she might fall in love and have a family all before she ended her time - but they were all far off into the future, and were all those simple, everyday things other wolves did anyway, not worth looking back on she felt, but Kanga had asked her to stop, so she kept her fat, gimpy mouth shut and followed his line of thought as he moved on.
Obviously she would ignore Acribus, the crooked smile cocked in the slightly-off angle and his eyes twinkled in amusement. Kailypso was a stubborn little rock, and she would ignore a blizzard if she took it into her mind to. But Kanga wasn't like her in that respect, and the invitation had sparked more of his curiosity than it had hers. Acribus was the kind to choose his words carefully. She nodded, she'd met those who were very much the same - Manaaki was a bit like that, ever a diplomat, every treading on his toes, never saying what he didn't mean all to keep the window of opportunity open for some future occasion. What future opportunity with Kanga would benefit him but putting him out of his misery? She couldn't begin to fathom. Kanga shook his massive head and pushed the matter from his mind and switched gears again. What had she been up to since their first meeting? "Not much, roaming those West Redwoods mostly, chasing squirrels and hares, seeing what there is to see..." yes, she'd been chasing the rodents - not always catching them. She wasn't a terrible hunter - on the contrary, her skills had improved since she'd come to the Valley, but if you put her on a scale, she'd lost a bit of weight since their last talk - not enough to be able to tell with her mussy winter coat, but enough to attest she was not gifted at the sport and her practice of it was out of necessity. She'd even needed help with a catch last spring... "Oh, I ran into one of your Secluded Sunrise members," she tried to recall the details. "A ranked one, the beta I think? Black coat, wooden paw. What was her face?" she tried to think, "Aurora or Armor..." she'd said she knew the boys well, hopefully Kanga would recognize the description.
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Post by Meds on Mar 15, 2018 17:21:55 GMT -5
Kanga;
The shift in topic might not have been seamless, but it did the job well enough. Kanga leaned back on his powerful haunches, trying to ignore the feeling of blood dribbling down his front half. Kailypso seemed as if she wanted to say more on the topics that had been quickly avoided, but fortunately she held her tongue. Either of them ever holding there tongue was something of a miracle, Kanga reflected, but by the Kaily was speaking again, so Kanga refocused. Ahh, the Redwoods. Hadn't that been where they met? Kanga hadn't been back since that day, actually—which made sense that neither wolf had run into the other in the time in between. He nodded along quietly. Some of those squirrels and rabbits actually didn't sounds have bad to the brute in that moment, but they would probably smell his blood before he arrived. Curse Acribus.
"Ah, another Secluded Sunrise member—you must attract us like flies," He smiled warmly, waiting to hear who it was that Kailypso had met. As soon as she spoke of the wooden paw, Kanga knew it was Amora; though, in the recent past the Bettess had lost that wooden leg of hers. Not by accident, of course—fully on purpose for the greater good—but lost it she had. Kanga didn't feel the need to mention that to Kailypso, though. He nodded his big head once more. "Armour, I like that." A rumbling chuckle. "But her name is Amora, daughter to the Alphess and just as fiery. Manaaki and I met her in our first season in the valley." He thought back. It had been so very long ago that Amora had suggested to Manaaki that he should get Kanga a leash. And for all the ime that had passed since then, Kanga had really only ever had brief conversations with her. That was Amora's way, he figured. Brief, tactical, formal. But Manaaki on the other hand... well, that was a different story. Silver-ringed eyes glinted in a mischievous smile.
"Yes Manaaki took quite a liking to her..." This was only half-true, for as far as Kanga knew, Manaaki and Amora had spoken of none of this; at least, not on any real level. But he knew the way his brother's mind worked. "I never thought that he would go for something like that—" He hadn't pictured either of them with a mate, ever, really. "—but what do I know? The brute's practically a stranger to me." His grin quirked still further and he chuckled once more.
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