Turn.a.little.faster>the{world}will_follow.after!

[' ' K.O.T.O.R.I.]

It was cold. It was all that Tse really knew about the world right now: cold and mean. Really, really mean. The poor little cub shivered against the onslaught of the wind caterwauling through the trees, slithering through his fur. He sneezed, feeling miserable. It was like a nightmare that he couldn't seem to wake from: his mother was gone, his sister was gone - there was nothing here but the cold wind, and the darkness. And the cold.

Paws fighting against the depth of snow which covered the ground ahead of him, he was struggling to walk; at first he had scampered, dashing from one bush to the next but seeing that no one had come to take him, he had eased himself into a slower pace -- only to get caught up in the excitement, and found himself hopping from one step to the next. For a long time that had worked with him well, making him feel as if he were truly going somewhere, but eventually that fuel burnt out and the quivering muscles of his stomach was the only consequence that mattered. He hadn't gotten cold until night had fallen and he had been too frightened to sleep -- too frightened of the noises and the rasping breath as creatures passed his terrible hiding spot, snorting in disgust before lumbering away. Probably, they had the sense to know that where a cub was lain, the mother was undoubtedly near.

So he was safe, though Tse himself didn't know it and only whimpered low in his throat as he prayed that his mother would arrive, that his mama -- mama! -- would suddenly manifest from the darkness and sweep him up in her jaws and take him from here. He wanted the warmth of the den, of his body pressed against his sister, of her own tongue sliding along his body. Tse shivered, the watery-green glimmer of his eyes turning tears as his nose twitched hiding a sniffle as he trembled in the blowing wind. The dark seemed to go on and on and on and he was too scared to even think of taking more than one step forward.

Of course that was before the owl hooted entirely too close to his head, it's gigantic wings spread wide like some creature of death come sweeping down to snatch at him. And you know, perhaps that had been the owl's intent and lucky for Tse it had missed. For Tse: well, he ran.

As fast and as far as he could until the trepidation of his heart could hardly take it anymore and he was left feeling hollow, tired, hungry -- goddamn was he hungry! -- and cold. Curling up at the bottom of a tree, he had curled up, his little body a ball of fluff as he buried his head beneath his paws, his tail tight against his flanks as he trembled like a leaf. The dark, it seemed, would never go away and it scared him.

Quivering, he finally succumbed to sleep knowing that the sun had to be close, and it's warmth would heat his ...... his eyes flickered shut and he passed on into sleep, held by the fast current of dreams as he relived yesterday over and over and over and over.

Until he began to whimper and scream and fight, waking in a fit of fear, pulse pounding in his heart, crying out for a mama he didn't have any longer. He whimpered, "Mama?!"

word count;; 585
tags;; Open/All/ {Alpha?}
OOC;; Joining your pack
post! ^^ say hai to Tse!

[roka]

Teeth chattered as cold nipped at the skin underneath thin autumn colored fur, the icy wind cutting through to the bone as the young female continued on through the freezing snow. Roka sides, her breath coming out in a puff of mist as she shivered again, hunching her shoulders against another harsh gust of wind. Winter, ugh… how she hated the season so. Nothing good came of it, in her opinion. All it brought was cold, suffering, little prey, and death. The she-wolf whimpered and hurried onward, her warm brown eyes searching for a place where she would curl up and try to keep warm.
A small rumble from her midsection reminded Roka of how hungry she was. She hadn’t eaten a single thing since… she whined again. Since she and her brother had split up. She shook her head clear before thoughts of the he-wolf could distract her. She couldn’t think about such things right now. She had to find some shelter and something to eat.
With little hope in her heart, Roka lifted her muzzle to the sky and took in a deep breath, her mouth opening a bit to run the air over her scent glands. Bushes, undergrowth, snow, water, and… there! Brown eyes snapped excitedly to the left, ears perked up with interest as the sent of a snow hare reached her twitching nose.
Shaking with excitement, she couldn’t help but charge toward to animal, not bothering to even think about stalking. Of course, her thundering paws alerted the creature to her presence and, without a second look, fled. But Roka was fast on it’s heals, her long and powerful legs carrying her to nearly as fast as the hare. She was so close, so very, very close! One leap and she would have it! With a little growl she jumped, jaws gaping to expose glistening fangs that she planned to close around the animal warm flanks. But, being the poor hunter she was, she missed. But not by much; instead of closing around its flank like she had planned, Roka found her fangs digging into one of the creatures kind legs.
The hare screeched in pain and tried to kick free, but its struggled we’re futile; it was hers. But, being the kind sort, Roka ended its life quickly with a swift bite to its neck, hopefully not causing it any pain. Her hope renewed, Roka picked up her kill and looked around for a safe, and possibly warm, place to eat it. Maybe she could survive after all…
Not able to find a good place by simple sight, Roka decided she would try by scent, maybe catch a whiff of an old fox or badger den.
Lifting her head to the breeze once more, the female took in a huge whiff through her mouth, running it over her scent glands once again. Tree, rock, moss, snow, tree, rock, moss, snow, snow leopard, tree, rock, mo- Snow leopard?! Eyes widening in alarm, the she-wolf crouched in a defensive position, a small snarl on her face, ready to protect herself… but nothing seemed to be there. Her snarl slowly melted into a line of confusion and Roka took another small sniff. Yes, definitely a snow leopard, but a young one, a cub, she could tell by the small hint of milk scent that still accompanied the smell of the creature’s actual pelt. What was such a young cub doing way out here?
Curious as always, Roka scooped up her hare and trotted toward to scent, her ears perked up in interest. As the scent grew stronger in her nostrils, sounds of the little cub could be heard as well. Small wails and murmurs could be heard up ahead, and Roka quickened her pace slightly, worried. Was the poor little dear okay? Finally, the she-wolf broke through a small wall of bracken and spotted, curled up under a nearby tree, the source of the scent she had been following.
“Oh, you poor thing!” She gasped, dropping her prey as she stared at the cub. Poor little guy looked scared to death! Where was his mother? It hardly mattered, seeing as Roka, not pausing to even think about her actions, had already gotten down on her belly and started to crawl toward the young cat. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

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OOC;; Neh... sorry, I haven't rp'ed in a while so im a bit rusty DDX Sorry...[/size]

[ketsueki]

It was getting late, she wouldn’t be out in this weather for much longer. Though her thick fur could certainly handle it, for she was built to handle worse storms then this. Earlier that day she had gone out for the hunt, it was the packs job to go out and gather what food they could to wait out the storm, which was likely to be a couple of days. They had a store of food buried near the entrance of the dens, but still more was needed to last the next couple of days. Today her kills had been successful; she brought two rabbits and a small dear down. Right now she was out to retrieve the rabbit she had killed earlier that morning, it was a bit of a hike away which meant she would be coming back to the dens around night fall. Another gust of wind ruffled her thick coat; even now she was starting to feel winters icy bite. But she enjoyed it, the cold always invigorated her. She trotted faster, it was twilight now. There, like a beacon of light, she found the tree which she scented to mark where she had hid her kill. Her paws made quick work of the snow, uncovering the frozen hare. She picked it up in her massive jaws, and scanned the ground with her forest green eyes which stood out eerily in the dark light. Her tracks had been covered by snow long ago, and she could hardly see two tail lengths ahead of her. It would be hard getting back, but she knew these lands like the back of her paw…which was quite cold at the moment.

Without a moments hesitation she started her journey back. Gliding over the forest floor like a thick mist. Her paws kicked up the snowy white down and she quickly covered the ground back to the dens. Her snowy white paws and legs blended into the ground, making it hard to distinguish where the snow ended and she began. She would have blended into the snow completely if it wasn’t for the cape of blood red fur that started at her nose and ended at the tip of her tail. Her fur was thick; her winter coat had grown in making her look twice her normal size. Her fur was long, and a rather large amount of fur surrounded her neck and upper half of her body, causing it to look almost like a lion’s mane. Or those whom have seen the two legged movies would call her looking somewhat like lassie. But that didn’t matter to her for the thick fur kept her warm and toasty in harsh weather like this. Her forest green eyes cut threw the wintery weather; they glowed slightly reflecting any little light that reached them.

It was dark now, but she was close to the dens. Her nose picked up two unfamiliar scents; no one should be out tonight. She had given the order to her pack that they would stay in the dens until storm passed. Only a chose few would hunt if needed, and these weren’t the ones she had picked. She quickly made her way over, her paws not making a sound. Two figures came into her view, a wolf, and a young cub. The cub was shivering, and apparently having a bad dream. Without wasting time to announce her presence she walked up, dropping the hare next to the other wolf.

”He’s sleeping…not a good thing to do when your cold…”

On cold nights the last thing you would want to do is sleep. The kit did not have the scent of an older feline on him, and the new wolf did not seem to know the kit either. Either way as the leader of the Traitors she would not stand by and watch the freeze. She would take him into the Traitors pack and take care of him until he could decide what pack he wanted to join. She looked over at the wolf, she was unsure if she was a Canitao or a new Traitor. But either way it was to far for her to travel to the Canitao region, she to would come back to the dens.

Can you carry that hare and the one you have and fallow me please? I’ll get you two to a place that’s warm, and you can tell me your business on these lands”

Her voice was kind, but left no room for argument, she knelt down and picked the kit up by the scruff. She carried the little feline like a mother would, she had raised cubs before so she knew how to hold him gently but firmly so he would not slip from her jaws. With out looking back to see if the other female was fallowing she continued on. Soon after they were ducking into a well hidden cave and descending down into the depths of a dark cave. The cave suddenly opened up in a grand cavern, the whole place was lit with a green glow from the many warm pools that littered the ground. The calming noise of water crashing came from a waterfall at one end of the cavern. This was the source of the warm water that heated up the caverns to a nice comfortable temperature. A drastic change from the cold weather up above. Looking up at the cavern ceiling, it to was lit up by thousands and thousands of glow worms, taking on the appearance of a nights sky. It truly was a beautiful place. She placed the kit down and gave it a small lick to smooth its fur, the kit would be warm and toasty soon. When he wakes up he would be given a good meal to fill his belly. She turned and waited to see if the other brown wolf had fallowed.

[' ' K.O.T.O.R.I.]

There are always imprints of love that seep through even the most hazy memory and claim the body. This is one such: the feeling of jaws, tender, gentle around his neck; heat, a body sliding next to his; female voices, a comfort that soothed the stiff kitten hackles that wrinkled over the bird-like bones that jutted from his back. He was curled up, numbed to the cold, whimpering, frozen in the wasteland of the things he did not wish to know, to remember - most importantly the screech of his mother, that eerie high pitched sound of defiance as her claws skid over the rocks, found purchase in flesh, bone and metal. She fought for him - of that he knew well, and for his sister too though she had been grabbed around the neck and tagged.

Tse's voice wobbled, turned a little nauseous at the end as his belly growled, cramped from food he did not eat, from milk that he had not been able to drink to strengthen his bones. He was dying, would die within the next few hours if he kept to trunk, huddled against the bark as if it were to grow fangs and protect him. Mama, the little one thinks, Mama! and wrestled with the phantoms of his fears that confuse him, evaporate and twine about the truth so that his memory becomes faulty, like smoke that fills his head, his nose, his body quivering from restless energy that his soul cannot deal with. He cries because he cannot wake up, because he cannot find the strength to stand when all he needs is his mother who is still his Goddess, the female who ruled the very world he stepped in, ate it, breathed in, lived in. She was his everything, and he was just a lost comet striving to find the current of gravity which had once bound him, heart, mind and soul.

His breed was of the solitary nature but at this tender age when all he knows is the gentle, loving touch of a mother's tongue, the wholesome taste of milk hot in his belly and the rumbling of her whiskers tickling him, he was everything but solitary. He would die, and die all too easily if he did not find the strength to rise against the pain of living, of being separated from the feline which had sought only to protect him. How was she to know she would be dragged off and chained? Who knew, who knew -- but she must have suspected and it was in this that the child would grow into a brute and the brute if not treated right would sup on the poison of this abandonment, would feed his bleeding heart on the poison of her treachery. She took his sister from him, he might start to think if others were not careful to nurture his angel heart.

The scent of wolf was foreign to him - he did not know it, and did not know it for danger and so did not wake from his dreaming; but female he knew, and female he associated with safety so when Roka, darling little soul that she was, crept up to his body, he reached out in his sleep, turned over even as the cold pale pads of his paws were freezing over, that the coat which had not had the chance to grow out was not thick enough to shield him from the bitterest breeze which blew at his very bones. He mewed, a pathetic, blind-sighted sound as his eyes flicked open - a blurring image of eyes, of muzzle, of fur brushing up against him and he was drifting off again, pulled tight by the leash of cold. It numbed him, sapped at his energy as the drowsiness knocked him out, her words rolling off of him like oil on water. Untouched, unable to penetrate the deep shell he had fallen into even as another, more powerful creature came their way. Was it fortune that put her in this path, or the devil himself come to gawk at the death of this innocent cub?

Wind blew through the rattling empty-armed branches, the wood clattering together as it powerfully crushed the trees together, a cacophony of wailing sentiment that would have pierced the little cub to the core had he been awake: but he was gone into sleep, and was not able to touch reality. Instead he slipping further down, down into the current of death, led by the flickering light of a cat just out of sight, it's tail raised high where glorious firelight seemed to be igniting. He followed in his dreams, not knowing that the further he strayed from the path the further he followed into death, to the line that would stutter the breath in his chest and the blood in his veins. It was not to be, not yet, not yet at all -- and the new wolf, Alpha though he would not know for days came and swept him up in her own vortex, aligning the desperate little block of his comet into her own atmosphere and swung him around.

Her jaws touched his neck, gathered the thick fur about the scruff so that he hung unharmed from her strength and even in sleep it was a feeling he was used to and he was able to scamper back the way he had come - his dreams giving him breath, though he did not know it. He swayed beneath the bones of her teeth, his tail swishing along the ground as she moved with a liquid grace that rocked him beneath her. It woke him, this gentle lullaby, a melody of the body that soothed him, blinked his blue-green eyes at the world spinning before him and swatting the thick flesh of his paw out at the air. He mewed, a soft pleading sound even as she placed him down on the ground; his tail swished, strength coming slow and at times not at all when he peered up at her, intimidated by the size of her. So big! he thinks, but knows his mother is bigger.

Yet it is not his mother that looks at him, but this creature he has never scented before, never known before and it puts him ill at ease even as she has carried him gently, been nothing but motherly toward him. Tse mews again, a soft questioning sound as he lifts his muzzle - short and flat - up brushing against the fur of her legs. So different in shape and yet it was a power of it's own and Tse was mesmerized by it, even as his stomach tightened in hunger and his baby-teeth flashed beneath the black line of his lips. He does not speak, though he definitely can at this age, but instead looks at her with the imploring, wavering eyes of a child wanting to trust but frightened to do so.

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word count;; 1166
tags;; roka, kit
OOC;;[/c] --

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[roka]

Roka whipped her head around as a new scent became present; another wolf, female, older than she was. She turned as the she-wolf come up beside her, unsure if she was a friend of foe. Still, her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the other wolf warily. She was obviously an alpha, or some other higher rank; the grace and authority with which she walked told as much. It was familiar to Roka, the stance and grace, her mother and father had taught it to her many times during her trainings; Head high, ears perked, tail up, legs straight, muscles slightly tensed. They had told her the simple portrayal told other, lower ranking wolves that they were in charge and not to be meddled with. The posture screamed pride and power, something that demanded respect. Yes, she knew the position quite well.
She watched as the she-wolf picked the young cub up, telling her to bring the prey along as she led them away. She did so, scooping the limp bodies into her jaws, and trotted after the she-wolf, still slightly wary but unsure of what else to do. Where was she taking them? She had said it would be warm and probably safe seeing as she was taking a cub so young to it. At the moment, that’s all Roka really wanted; some place out of the snow. Ugh… she really did hate all this cold weather. ’And there’s only more to come…’ she thought to herself bitterly as she trudged through the white powder after the she-wolf.
Finally, the three entered what seemed to be a cave, slipping inside to reveal a huge glowing cavern. Roka gasped, dropping the two hares. This place was beautiful! The young wolf could honestly say, in all her travelings, this was the most amazing place she’d ever set her eyes on. She stared for a moment, her brown eyes wide and amazed, taking in the scene before her until she realized she was gawking. With a little shake of her head, the she-wolf picked up the hares again and trotted farther into the cave, her eyes still darting around in amazement.
She came up beside the other she-wolf, her eyes turning the slightest bit wary, and placed the hares beside her before turning to the cub, her eyes turning soft and her tail wagging a little bit. The kind soul that she was, Roka lowered herself to his level, a friendly smile on her muzzle as she stared at him with those warm chocolate eyes, and whispered quietly, her tone equally warm and friendly “Hello there little one, I’m Roka. What’s your name?”
She decided to take it slow, the poor thing was probably terrified. She wouldn’t ask anything personal of him for a while, like how he was alone at such a young age. Asking his name was the simplest thing she could think of at the moment, and telling him her name would only make him more comfortable. At least, she hoped it would.

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