View From a Hilltop [Closed]

[Fierfly]

Kailypso:

Her mouth turned up at Kanga's joke. She did seem to have a knack for finding the other neutrals in the Valley, the only problem was that they were the neutrals aligned with a pack. She'd said it before, she'd say it again, a pack wasn't her style. She'd tried it for the better part of her life, it hadn't well suited her - and she was in no great hurry to go back to it.

He chuckled at her mistakes - good tries - but the name had been 'Amora'. Of course! She should have thought of it herself. "Daughter to the alphess and just as fiery." Ah yes, hadn't he said something about not quite starting off on the right foot with the alphess? She tried to wipe the dust off her memory. Trees - they'd been knocking down the trees and had taken half the border out with it when the alpha - Blaize? - discovered them. If that alpha was half as pragmatic and reserved and organized as her daughter, she could see why that might not have been the best start, but Amora had a looseness to her when she chose to reveal it. She had the 'twinkle in her eye' of adventure and a more spirited soul. Still formal, still reserved - but she'd tasted the forbidden fruit of adventure and thrived on it. That may have been one thing the two females shared though they came from opposite sides of the territory so to speak, but their conversation hadn't been long and maybe she was mistaken and they really didn't share much at all...

"Yes Manaaki took quite a liking to her. I never thought that he would go for something like that - but what do I know?" that made her head jerk up. "M-manaaki's sweet on Amora?!" she spluttered, eyes popping large as goose eggs in disbelief. Immediately she knew she should have kept her mouth shut - it was not her place to pry into Manaaki's personal life, but hang social propriety - she was curious! She tried to scrape together her assessments of both wolves - Manaaki was quiet, organized, mild-mannered, Amora was quick, to-the-point, pleasantly wise and aloof - would that mesh? Hang it all, it wasn't any of her business. But the very idea of the grey giant or the efficient leader stopping to make puppy eyes at each other...back again was the helium balloon effect on her lips - she wouldn't poke her nose into it, although this did give her another bit of incentive to visit Secluded Sunrise and observe this phenomenon for herself...

The last phrase caught her off-guard and pulled her from her schemes. Practically a stranger? He said it in good humor, more amused with his brother than anything, but she wondered - they'd seemed fairly close to each other last time - nearly telepathic, keenly aware of each other's moods and habits and what would hurt or bolster each other. "I know how that goes," she snorted, shaking out her coat and taming the rough back down to a nice, settled pile of scruffy fur along her spine - she'd tame it down completely one of these days without someone else grooming her, but in the meantime, scruffy and crazed she'd look. "What about you? Knocking down anymore trees?"

[Meds]

Kanga;

The surprise in her voice when Kanga hinted about his brothers' affections was comical. Such surprise and disbelief coloured those four words. Kanga nodded vigorously, his ears flapping and flashing the red underneath his brown fur. His eyes twinkled before he spoke again.
"I didn't believe it either." Though it hadn't exactly come as a shock. It had been so gradual, so inescapable, that when it seemed Manaaki had actually made up his mind, Kanga had already known for months. He fixed Kailypso with a gentle, warm stare. "It's new. Fresh—though I see from what you know of my brother, it comes as a bit of a shock to you, as well. Did you speak with Amora, much? Do they seem like a good pairing?" His eyes danced. Somehow, in his mind, he could picture Kaily and Amora butting heads; then again, if he thought hard enough, he could see Kailypso butting heads with anybody.

His joke about Manaaki being a stranger didn't seem to be taken as well. He smiled, the expression assuring her that it had been no more than a joke; but had it? Kanga himself had been quite distracted as of late, his thoughts poisoned by dreams and imaginings of Midnight Silence. It was dangerous territory that he was playing with... even so, however, all he had to do was but think of Manaaki to settle the worry in his stomach.
His brother had been there for him in even the worst times—back in the beginning—and Kanga knew that even if they had started on slightly different paths, that their paths would always parallel the other. Kanga was nothing without Manaaki, and vice versa. Both knew it, and neither wanted to lose it.
Kailypso then continued the casual flow of conversation by asking about his own recent past. Kanga gave a goofy grin.

"Just one," A rumbling chuckle. "Other than that, the usual, you know... eating well but not eating quite enough, fishing the Alphess out of frigid water underneath a layer of ice, tussling with the Beta of Midnight Silence..." His eyes danced one more time as he fixed her with a little smirk.

[Fierfly]

Kailypso:

Kanga, like any good younger sibling beamed, teeth forming a grin of mischief and he nodded so enthusiastically that his ears flopped. Eyes twinkled in fun and she knew she wasn't the only one intrigued by the possible pairing in anything more than a polite social interest - she felt Kanga would have liked a few opportunities to tease Manaaki about his crush, or who knows? Maybe he already had.

He'd been somewhat caught off guard as well, it was new, different from what and who he knew Manaaki to be. She understood that, she'd seen wolves change as they aged. Still, he noticed that even with her brief impression of the grey giant she too was startled with the revelation. His turn to wonder - had she spoken with Amora much? Did they seem like a good pair? His hazel eyes danced in fun and she wouldn't have been surprised if he waggled those great, dark eyebrows of his conspiratorially next. It was something to think about.

"We didn't talk long, she started it and cut it off pretty quick." she scraped her memory for details. "I don't know about them being lovers - she seemed pretty professionally oriented..." she stopped, there had been one thing the beta had given away that might suggest the pair could work. "I think she's got a soft spot for the two of you though, 'my boys' is what she called you - and I guess of the two of ya Manaaki would be more her speed. She's the planner type, ya know? She and Manaaki are both going places. Wolves like you and me?" she shrugged, "Some of us are just along for the ride." she cocked her head and thought hard. "I think there's definitely some possibilities, but for either of them to be all flirty and lovey-eyed," she shook her head. "Nope, I can't see that. But what do I know?"

Kanga chuckled at her query about his habit of knocking over trees. He'd only felled one recently. Only one? That pack of his wasn't taming the habit out of him, were they? Other than that, it was business as usual, eating well, but not enough - she nodded sympathetically. She knew the feeling - all year she'd had the feeling she wasn't quite eating enough. She'd filled her tank well and her coat was glossy enough and she was healthy, but a truly full belly was a luxury a loner didn't often come by. Kanga was in a pack, but he was enormous, it must have taken mountains of sustenance to really, properly fill his tank. Other interesting happenings of late, rescuing the Alphess from the frigid waters of a frozen-over cage. She shuddered, she could tread water, but since her gimpy shoulder she'd never been a fantastic swimmer. Getting trapped beneath the ice was not a pleasant mental picture. He'd been tussling with the beta of Midnight Silence, and that was about all.

"And that's all 'the usual'?" she asked, arching her eyebrows dubiously,

[Meds]

Kanga;

Apparently Amora had opened up a reasonably-stimulating conversation, then cut it short. Such was her way, as Kanga had noticed. Manaaki was not like that, though he was sparing with his words (or at least more clever with them than Kanga was). Perhaps two similarly quiet-minded individuals were but a perfect match. Kanga, personally, would much rather end up with a similarly loud and outgoing mate, or at least one that he could joke with and that took him as he was. But he supposed Manaaki might have the same general thoughts, and could therefore completely understand why the Bettess who was more thoughtful than thoughtless, would be so appealing.
"Ah, Manaaki can be pretty professional..." Kanga said, thinking about his most well-known friend. "After all, it's him that's talked me out of bad situations more times than I frankly care to count." A goofy, quirky smile. Kanga was not a wolf to standby and let normalcy prevail.

It was a little bit of a surprise, hearing that Amora had referred to them as 'her boys', but then again, Kanga supposed they had run into each other more times then average for a pack in such a large territory—and they had certainly had their share of adventure on those occasions. There was Alexro, the brute that was daft enough to try and attack her while Manaaki and Kanga stood by like great, hulking, protective shadows; after that, of course, came the group-effort of hauling the Alphess away from an icy death; and the other interactions, the more casual ones, such as bantering back and forth, arguing, challenging... Yes, Kanga supposed that such a term was fitting, both professionally and personally.

"Oo, lovey eyed?" Kanga's muzzle wrinkled in distaste, imagining Manaaki putting on the moves. It was something he had wished never to have to picture, or really think about, ever in his life. "Now there's a mental image that'll be with me until the day I die. Hey, where's Acribus? Get him back here." He ducked his head, peeking up at Kailypso with a hidden grin. She then questioned his synopsis of the past however-many seasons, and Kanga nodded, straightening once more. "More or less. I had a Warrior-trainee," He smiled, though the training had gone largely ignored when the pup seemingly disappeared. "And that cursed pack has really been in my mind, lately." He cast his eyes back over the land, towards Midnight Silence once more.
Even though it was just land, like anywhere else, somehow it seemed silent. In reality the hilltop was much too far away to hear anything even if there had been anything to hear, but it just seemed... dark. Like a haze was over it. It was dangerous, but also intriguing...

[Fierfly]

Kailypso:

Kanga wrinkled his muzzle and made a face. "Ew, lovey eyed? Now there's a mental image that'll be with me until the day I die. Hey, where's Acribus? Get him back here." she rolled her eyes - what was becoming signature fore her and shook her head at his impudence. True, picturing such reserved wolves as Manaaki and Amora wasn't exactly what one would picture for romance - she didn't find romance a priority at the moment, so thinking about it in any great length gave her much a similar reaction Kanga's: like she'd tasted something bitter. No, that wouldn't do, that was not an idea she wanted floating around in her head to the grave, so she refused to try and picture it. "Yeah, that's the way to do it, give him that idea to haunt him 'til the day he dies."

To her follow up to his adventures being "usual" he insisted it was in some respect or another. He'd had a warrior trainee, though his use of the past tense suggested that things were slow again. He nodded toward Midnight Silence and said that it had really been on his mind recently. Kailypso also turned to look at the territory. "Worried about 'em? Or looking for a stray to poke at?" she couldn't help but twitch her lip in amusement. Kanga had been so careful to try and convince her that she wouldn't stand a chance against a Midnight Silence wolf, prompted for her to promise not to provoke them, to not look for trouble, and yet, he may well have been doing exactly the same thing.

[Meds]

Kanga;

Kailypso rolled her eyes at Kanga's request to bring the Beta back. Perhaps she wasn't in the mood to joke about such things yet. In reality, Kanga shouldn't have been, either. His neck was still steadily dripping. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if Acribus had gotten an artery. No, he then thought quickly. The bleeding would have been much more intense if that had happened—wouldn't it? He shifted, not exactly wincing, more feeling his bones as his injuries and the muscles around them began to stiffen slightly. He sighed.

Kailypso then mentioned giving somebody an idea that will haunt them until the day they died. Kanga's brow lifted. Did she mean him? The image of Manaaki and Amora to haunt him for eternity? Or did she mean Acribus, dangling Kanga's life in front of him and then sneaking it back at the last second?
He was going to ask for clarification, but couldn't quite figure out what to ask—so he let it slip from his mind.

"Oh, a stray to poke at for sure," Kanga said, flashing his teeth in a would-be fearsome snarl, but his eyes danced as he directed his teeth at his friend. "No I just... ever since that old brute spoke to us about it—to me. I've just been wondering about it." Then Kanga remembered something. "You said you had met him before, didn't you? What's his story—that you know?"

[Fierfly]

Kailypso:

Oh, of course he was looking for a stray Midnight Silencer to poke at. He flashed his teeth and the ginger brown ruff splayed for a moment, before calming and the dangerous canines curved into their signature, harmless crooked smile. He could switch back and forth so quickly, from being a threat to being nothing more than an enormous, friendly play thing. A luxury to being so large she guessed, being small, always looking over her shoulder as Kanga had put it - she often had her guard up. The extravagance of letting it down, of not constantly looking around her and preparing for a threat was one she didn't often come by anymore. She'd never had to be too concerned in a pack - but she had no intention of going back anytime soon. Let her guard be up, let her learn and toughen up from these experiences, it'd do her some good.

No, he was joking again - she shook herself back to reality. Ever since the old brute had spoken to them about the pack - the thought had been nagging at him. He turned to her curiously. Hadn't she said she'd met him before? What further information did she have? She scrambled for their first encounter again - old brute? There had been Kanga...and Asrael...and oh! That one! she couldn't recall his name either, and neither encounter with him had been particularly pleasant. She lifted her lip in disdain at the memory. "Very briefly, a little earlier in the season. I was looking for some supper - he'd been fishing and caught a dandy old trout, nice big one too. He lands the ol' whopper and starts yelling at it, bragging up that-" she furrowed her brows and lowered her voice to her best impression of an older, gristly male not quite being reasonable. "'You've eluded me these many seasons, but I've got you know you - you fish!'" she assumed her normal voice. "Kinda crazy about it actually. I was just standing there, watching this old geezer out of his mind screaming at that poor dying thing flopping on the snow and he turns and snaps at me that it's rude to lurk." another eyeroll, "I was not lurking, I was lamenting that he'd scared away the rest of the fish. Anyway, I tell him it's equally rude to ruin the hunting for other folks and to mock a fish as it's lying there dying - and he said - what was it? 'If you can't mock a fish, who can you mock.' I got the impression he's a little...unhinged I guess. Not quite all there in the head - a bit aggressive conversationally, prone to making assumptions he's got no right to make, he thinks he knows it all and doesn't - likes to play with wildcats and see how long before he gets hurt - ya know?"

[Meds]

Kanga;

Kailypso sized Kanga up as he flashed his more dangerous side before letting it settle under a layer of crooked smiles and brown fur once more. She never made Kanga feel underwhelming, that was for sure. Even when she was poking fun at him or likening him to a large teddy bear (Whatever that was), she never made him feel small. This was an important feeling for Kanga, because even as one so large, he had had more than his share of feeling small.

Kaily then launched into a long-winded and extraordinarily acute explanation of the old male that had put all this nonsense about Midnight Silence into Kanga's head. Kanga watched and listened on with a slightly amused expression, not daring to interrupt the onslaught. When she seemed good and finished, Kanga's ears flattened against his skull in jest.
"Yoikes. Remind me never to play with prey in front of you," His ears raised back to their normal, perked position and he grinned sloppily. "I'll admit I didn't get quite that deep of a reading from the old stump; however, hearing that he seemed unhinged to you is a little bit of a relief." Kanga could recall far-too-easily that the senior male had said wolves like Kanga could do well in Midnight Silence. In the moment, it had felt an awful-lot like he had been able to sense the shadows in Kanga's mind—but perhaps it had just been a symptom of his old age, and the loosening of his grip on reality. Kanga had to hope so. Then again, he had seemed pretty on the mark with the whole thing.

Kanga shook his head once, violently. He didn't want to dwell on it. He shouldn't have even asked her about it. And yet...
"How crazy would it be of me to go over there?" His big head swiveled towards the haunting border in the distance. "How crazy?" He turned and looked at her, eyes giving a flash. "I've never been that close to the border before." Save once, but that could barely been considered an 'encounter'.

[Fierfly]

Kailypso:

Kanga pushed his massive ears back in trepidation, like a pup caught doing something naughty and teased: "Yoikes. Remind me never to play with prey in front of you,"[/i] and back came the sloppy, lopsided grin. She felt an amused turn play at the corners of her mouth and she allowed the slight incline, but shook her head. She shouldn't have to explain herself there - it was winter, screaming at the top of your lungs and alerting to all the possible prey out there where you were and not to go there was rude and made things harder than they reasonably needed to be. She'd played with her food before - as a cub - but that was another luxury she could not afford and coudln't afford anyone else to take when she was hunting on an empty belly. ...What was a 'yoikes'? She decided it couldn't have been terribly important and shrugged when Kanga admitted he hadn't read that far into the old male's personality or condition. "I'm an analyzer - maybe overly-analytical - cynical I guess, I'm not always right but...maybe eight outta ten?" another helpless shrug. She felt pretty solid with her assessment of the old fisher. He was unhinged, in his habits, in his assumptions, he was arrogant and presumptuous and she didn't like him - it was enough for her.

Kanga suddenly shook his head violently. That startled her out of her reflection - he'd probably just reopened his wound, he'd been still enough it might have been starting to seal - what happened? What did she miss? "How crazy would it be of me to go over there?" he asked, turning his gaze back to the border of the famed Midnight Silence. "How crazy?" his silver-ringed eyes rolled over to her and an eyebrow flicked, an ear twitched, and back to the border. Hm, that was a good question. "How crazy? A pair of antlers short of a mad elk." she was nothing if not blunt. "Kinda stupid too - given you've warned me to keep well enough away: but it's not like you couldn't handle yourself - you licked ol' whats-his-face-beta pretty good." she hadn't retained his name - or she had and it wouldn't hit her until the middle of the night sometime - that would be convenient, oh well, sometimes she remembered things word for word, sometimes she stored it in the back of her mind for later and never quite got around to 'later' and it slipped away from her, it didn't much matter, she had no intention of meeting him again anytime soon.

"Crazy? Definitely. Stupid? Eh, I'll give it to ya. Could you pull it off? Yeah, I think so." it was her turn to look him out of the corner of her eye. "Why do you want to go?"

[Meds]

Kanga;

Kailypso mentioned that she was an analyzer, further proving her point by analyzing how much of an analyzer she was. Kanga felt his teeth flash for a moment in a smile. He wondered if her self-assessment had been on purpose, or if it had just been something silly for him alone. When he shook his head, however, his smile faltered when he saw her eyes fall with concern to his injury. He would live, hadn't she said so?
To her credit she no longer fussed over him, which was appreciated. Kanga was big enough to deal with his injuries alone; at least, the physical ones... He gave his head just one more shake, ruffling his neck fur as if to prove that he was fine.

She then answered his question, truthfully and bluntly—as he had wanted her to. He knew such an answer was likely from a wolf like Kaily. That was why he had asked her. He sighed as she gave her assessment, and he swung his head down in a grudging nod.
"I know," He rumbled, eyes flicking to the border and back again. She even reminded him he had told her not to go and do the very thing, which he had forgotten about. "That still stands," He eyed her. He had absolutely no right or ground with which to demand things of her, or make her promise anything... but if his concern could keep the fiery female alive for even a season longer, he would take it.
Kaily then surprised him, however, when she said that she thought he could probably pull it off. Kanga felt his chest broaden slightly—she was right. He could. It would be a non-issue. But then she kept speaking. Why? Why did he feel the pull to do this thing?
His big head flopped downward toward the ground, and he stared at his paws sullenly. Red fur flashed as his ears flicked. Why? It was a good question.

"I have... this curiosity within me," His voice deepened, if that were possible. "This nagging, unrelenting, unquenchable curiosity..." Darkness, too, but he didn't really want to speak about that. "Ever since I was told by that old buzzard that I would do well in Midnight Silence... I have wondered." A deep growl rolled out from his throat. "Blame it on my past, blame it on my father—" A slip. His eyes widened slightly. He hadn't meant to mention his father. "—Blame it on whatever you like," He cleared his throat. "But the curiosity is eating me away."

[Fierfly]

Kailypso:

He rightfully acknowledged the insanity of the idea - good for Kanga...but if he already knew...did he value her opinion? Eh, maybe he was just looking for a second one - an unbiased or an oppositely biased stance to balance out his thinking, get some feedback - and she was plenty opinionated and an analyzer - she fit the bill nicely. When she mentioned the stupidity and the inconsistency of his debating going over when he'd warned her to keep her distance, he eyed her stiffly: the warning still stood. He had no right to tell her where she could and could not go, but the warning was much appreciated - now the ban she felt was something overstepping his bounds: but they had come to mutual terms. She had told him that it was a promise she couldn't make and he had reluctantly accepted it. Now, she hadn't gone there yet and had no plans to anytime soon and she felt they'd reached a commendable compromise.

Still, he did have an edge on her, and it came in the form of brawn and tighter lips: he was not so prone to shoot his mouth off when his temper got the better of him, and that could make him live longer. She had no such gift - no patience, no tact, and the beta had not seemed to appreciative of those qualities (or lack thereof in this case), and even if Kanga should be discovered and upset the Midnight Silencers, he could hold them off well enough - he'd just proved it and she had no doubt he could and would prove it again without hesitation. His chest puffed slightly at that. She tried not to smile - leave it to Kanga to take a compliment in such a gruesome analysis.

Still, he had two out of three against him in that it was crazy and stupid - hang ability to cope: that was turning it into a bit of gamble. Why would he want to take those chances for a mere visit? This query agitated and he sulked to his foot paws and twitched pensively as he weighed how to answer or even if he should answer at all - she really had no right to know, but he'd asked her opinion, may as well find out what she was offering her services for.

"I have... this curiosity within me," his voice dropped an octave and the reality of the struggle showed on his face and in the way he spoke. She understood curiosity well enough, no sentient creature was a stranger to some degree of curiosity, and she had her own questions that made sleep elude her as she pondered them, but none included a death-wish found in trespassing. Still, this was a different curiosity, not an idle one, not a playful one, not a death wish - something deep that called to him, something he could not avoid, something that seemed ever to follow him and occupy a corner of his mind - maybe he didn't put it quite so deliberately or in so much detail, but that was the essence of it - a curiosity like this would not leave a wolf lightly and knowing all of this agitated him. He growled and his fur prickled lightly, "Blame it on my past, blame it on my father - blame it on whatever you like, but the curiosity is eating me away."

His father? His past? She clamped her maw shut and bit the inside of her lip before she could ask - there were broken homes and families in this world, she knew it well enough and was intimately familiar with the distress and disrepair it could breed in the members, but she pushed the memory aside before she could really dwell on it - that could come later. "Well...they do say that curiosity killed the wildcat, but they never say if it was from investigating or letting it grow and eat at them." she pursed her lips thoughtfully and pushed them to one side. "It's your choice Kanga - closure's something I guess everyone could use at one time or another. Just - whatever you do, don't get yourself killed, okay?"

[Meds]

Kanga;

To Kailypso's credit, even though Kanga thought he detected a subtle flash in her eyes at his slip up about his father... she didn't make any mention of it. Kanga was reminded of their first encounter together, and again appreciated that the female, though young, seemed to have a deep sense within her about what not to talk about. Kanga sighed. Perhaps he should just open up to her. They had known each other for a few seasons, now. He considered her a friend—she was easy to talk to. Maybe it would make him feel better, especially in the eye of Midnight Silence, to get the thoughts out of his head...
But no.
He couldn't do it.

Speaking to Manaaki was different—though even his twin had been absent as of late—he had always been there for Kanga. He had lived Kanga's past alongside him.
But to an outsider? Who knows? It probably wouldn't have been as bad as he envisioned it... but he still couldn't seem to form the words.

Suddenly, she was talking again. Answering his own question, most likely. He gave his head a shake and focused his eyes on her. She was more or less telling him that thought she didn't think it was a good idea, she wouldn't (couldn't) stop him if it was his choice. He growled low in his throat, and then flopped on the ground, looking for all the world like a massive, overly-muscular pup.
"No," He sighed, pawing heavily against the blood-marked snow. He shook his great head and turned his eyes away from the misty border in the distance. "I would get myself killed, more like than not."
He wasn't wrong. Frustrating...

"Perhaps one day... but today isn't that day." He brought a heavy back-paw up to scratch at the marks in his neck. It was starting to get itchy, by then. "Though it would be nice to skewer that Beta..."

[Fierfly]

Kailypso:

Please? Just don't get yourself killed. Nope.

Her tail flared and swished in agitation - was this how he'd felt when she'd refused to promise to stay away from Midnight Silence? Okay, maybe she'd had this sort of reply coming to her - dangit Kanga! Sure she had it coming to her, but what had been that speech just now about being able to remember the dead and not going out and needlessly getting yourself killed? Huh?! Practice what you preach! She was about to say as much when he shifted back up and scratched at the wound, musing that perhaps today wasn't the day. Wasn't the day for what? going to the border or getting killed? Hopefully both.

"Though it would be nice to skewer that Beta..." he mused,

A lip quirked up, "Save some of him for the rest of us there Crooked Smile, I'm sure plenty of folks have personal accounts to settle with his kin." It was nothing personal toward Acribus - it was what he stood for. She was not typically the vengeful type, but nor was she the sort that could stand to watch from the sidelines and do nothing. Huh, there was that balance and martyrdom thing again... oh well.

She curled her tail about her haunches and let it wrap around her feet. So maybe she didn't have much of a tail, it kept the cold off her toes when she employed it. She shifted, a thought coming to her. This conversation had been gruesome enough, she shouldn't push it but...

"Kanga? Can I ask a sort of personal question?"

[Meds]

Kanga;

Kailypso was aggravated by his casual joking, he could tell by the way her tail thrashed and her eyes narrowed slightly, her nostrils flaring just so. A smile tugged at his lips, and he felt himself wanting to push her even further, but alas, he kept his big mouth shut. One could only tempt fate so much in one day.

When he mentioned Acribus again, however, a bit of the skeptical light in her eyes died to be replaced with a more positive-looking energy. He supposed that was all for the better. She mentioned that she could easily imagine plenty of wolves having beef with Acribus. Kanga nodded once, heavily. He didn't know much about the Beta, but for such a skinny wolf, he packed a significant punch. Wolves didn't get that way by happenstance—Acribus was well-practiced in the art of dealing out death. Kanga wondered how many was on his count...

Then, pulling him from darker thoughts, Kaily curled her tail around her back legs, and seemed to hesitate over something. Kanga watched closely, heaving his bulk up from the ground into a sitting position himself. When she asked, Kanga's eyes narrowed, though his smile grew.
"I'd be offended if you didn't. I make a habit of prying into others' lives—why should I get treated any differently?"

[Fierfly]

Kailypso:

She had no right to be - not really. His personal life was his personal life and she had no business poking her nose into it, but he smiled and insisted she could. "I'd be offended if you didn't. I make a habit of pry9ing into others' lives - why should I get treated any differently?"

Had she said it, it would have been a good deal more sarcastic and bitter - but he said it was okay, he was the forward, blunt time, she took him at his word. "Would - would you die for your brother?" she asked meekly, almost in a mew. Eyes dropping and head dipping, craning her worn, slender neck down as she studied the snow beneath her paws. "And do ya think he'd do the same for you? - I mean, actually do it?" Such opposites those two brothers were - loud and funny, quiet and sober. Manaaki had a sense of humor sure enough, but it was tame, muted and withdrawn for a time and place it would be appropriate, Kanga was an adventurer, he lived out loud with his heart in everything he said and did - letting the world see and judge and condemn him as they would, taking it all in stride. Brassy, warm, vibrant copper and cool, misty, calm grey. Even their eyes were perfect inverses, rich dark ringed with light, playful hazel and cool and empty ringed with sharp, black intelligence. Complete opposites - and yet they stood by each other. Was that how things were supposed to work?

"Not that I want either of you to die anytime soon." she assured him, "Don't go getting any ideas in your swelled head Kanga, just..." ...she couldn't think of any way to explain herself with this one - she didn't want to explain it - shoot - she owed him an explanation for this one...oh she wished she'd never asked!