Sex: Male
- derp i like silly titles. taken from "One Day More" (Les Mis).
His eyes were more steel than gold as they swept the strange clearing that had opened up amongst these snow-laden coppery rocks. This was a strange place. There was something about this place that seemed different from the other places he had visited. There was... a presence here, and although the scents had long faded, there were some well worn trails of paw prints leading into a series of what looked like dens, to the creek, and out into the forest. Had others lived here, once upon a time? Datura's eyes narrowed as he scrutinized this abandoned home. Weak. Why was everyone so weak? Who would just up and leave their own home? Why had they just up and left? Who ever had lived here and been failures.
A small, self-satisfied grin curled upon his lips. His pack would not be weak. His pack would flourish, expand, thrive. For it was not a matter of if, only a matter of when. Datura was not blind to the instincts within him that spurred him towards dominance, up and up and into the clouds. He had a destiny waiting for him out here. Somewhere. While, for now, he lived with his mother in the Pass, he did this out of loyalty, out of duty. For now, he had only this family up in the mountains. But one day... one day he would make his own family.
And they wouldn't be weak like Bella or these ghosts of Copper Rock Creek.
At some point, in a past life (or what felt like one), she'd wandered near here. She'd come to visit Ruiko, since he'd long since left Swift River. One speck of family that didn't see her as the mess she truly was. Still was, if she was being honest with herself. It had been a brief meeting before she'd gone away again. She wasn't sure what drew her away from the Falls, her new proclaimed home, through the woods to this Spring now. There was no scent left. Nothing meaningful. In fact, she'd almost gotten lost, depending entirely on scent to lead her there. When there was nothing to follow, she had to use her eyes. The feeling of cold fingers pulling at her long fur caused the girl mild discomfort. Physical contact was so strange to her now. Bracing herself against the cold and flakes of snow that fluttered down through the trees, she came out of the trees to find the Spring finally. Truly secluded. The tawny woman let out an exhale, warm clouds of breath rising forth and disappearing in an instant. This could have been her home too, once upon a time. But who knew what would have really come of that. She was cursed, fated to destroy every chance she had. Why not just leave Ruiko with what pleasant memories he had of her, rather than think about what she could have done to wrong him, too? Sitting at the edge of the woods, she settled to her haunches, shoulders rolled forward, a buffer against the cold. She sighed again, longer, shakier. Her life had been one long fairy tale, except rather than the heroine or the princess, she was the villainess, the catalyst, causing an avalanche of destruction that she'd never be able to stop, and she'd never even know the true and total consequences of. <b style="color:#5c312b">"speech." |
table by bryony |
Suddenly the breeze shifted and carried towards him some intriguing information.
He was not alone.
The grandeur of his elaborate dreams had steady inflated his confidence. He hardly batted an eye. The scent of a stranger could not scare him now. In fact, his cruel smile stretched and deepened on his face, now. Were they watching him? Thoughtlessly he straightened his posture, his tail rising from his heels. The first rule of being a king was to always look the part, and Datura tried his best never to let that mantle slip and falter from his shoulders. Eagerly, he thew a glance over his shoulder, scanning the edge of the forest along the creek for his audience.
Ah, there you are. She couldn't have been more than five hundred paced away, moping beside the water as if she were one of the ghosts haunting the memory of the Creek wolves. For a second his confidence wavered —could she be a ghost? Ever since that terrible run in with those zombies, Datura had nursed a very secret superstition. The breeze teased his fur, pulling him back to reality. Are you weak, too? He pushed himself towards the girl. There are no zombies and there are no ghosts. Don't be a baby. No one was safe from Datura's radical conservatism, not even Datura, it seemed.
"Well hello there, miss," he said with a booming voice and a broad smile, his tail waving once, twice in greeting. Might as well be polite. "I was just sitting here, thinking to myself, and I wondered if I might ask you something." He would always keep his wits and manners about him.... especially if she was a ghost.
In her mildly depressive state by the water, she'd failed to realize that there was someone else here. Or perhaps she had noticed and failed to really care. Though the latter was less than likely, as she wasn't one to air out her deeper emotions. She'd been looking down towards the water, watching it flow beneath the layer of ice. Little bubbles here and there caught her attention, until her eyes lifted upwards, spotting the brightly furred stranger not far off. For a moment, her eyes widened before her ears twisted back, and pale eyelids dropped back so Borlla could resume her more indifferent expression. He was a child in size, but seemed confident enough from the way he walked. It pulled a smirk onto Borlla's muzzle, ears turning back up. As he moved towards her, she rose to all four paws, tail waving slowly behind her before it curled upwards slightly, the tip of it twitching in a mildly friendly motion. It stopped as he spoke, and she lifted a brow. How formal of him. Someone taught this kid manners. <b style="color:#5c312b">"Yeah?" The woman answered, trying to keep her smile friendly, rather than mocking. <b style="color:#5c312b">"What might that be?" She hadn't exactly been expecting to run into a kid, especially not a polite one like him. Her nose twitched slightly, stinging slightly from the cold air, but caught his scent regardless. She wasn't quite sure what it was though. Maybe he'd be kind enough to fill her in. After she found out exactly what he was going to ask her. <b style="color:#5c312b">"speech." |
table by bryony |
Inwardly he cringed at the roughness of her speech. There was no sort of hello or anything... she jsut seemed to dive right in. Over eager, he told himself as he sized her up. Eagerness was one thing —it was almost like paying a compliment to your guest— but to be overly eager was to be overly ripe. Was she lonely? Is that why she seemed to forget her manners? This is a waste of time. he told himself, She's probably just uncultured. She's not your concern. Civilizing someone was a huge investment on his part, and he reserved that only for family. For Adonis.
If he were a more observant wolf, he might have caught the subtle incredulity of her expression. But he was not. He longed to be an adult, and as long as he was treated with some semblance of respect and deference then he was satisfied. An older wolf might have felt ridiculous talking so formally, but the golden boy continued on as he always had, "What do you think of this place, miss?" He asked, making a broad gesture with his muzzle to indicate the abandoned pack lands hidden beneath the snow. "Would you have liked to have known these people?" As always, a smile played on his lips, although it was hard to tell whether it's lightheartedness made him seem more handsome or if it's cryptic darkness made him seem foul. Ceremoniously, he took a seat on the ground and let his golden tail fall over his golden paws as he waited for her response.
It was hard not to stop and wonder what life would have been like had she grown sooner out of her possessive attitude. She never would have driven Corinna away, emotionally, and perhaps she never would have left, and no one would have been angry at her. Maybe Ruiko would have left, but part of her feared that such terrible feelings she left in her wake, she...Tainted everyone somehow. Maybe it was a narcissistic feeling, that she was the sole cause of all the bad in her family. But hefting all that weight upon her shoulders at least gave her a sense of comfort. There was a source to all the evil in her life, and it was her. She didn't need to find someone to pin the blame on, because she was right here. Life always felt easier when not everything was an unknown. Borlla eyed the boy with faint amusement, pleased to have someone pull her out of this terrible stupor, even if his question wasn't as mysterious as he might have thought. <b style="color:#5c312b">"I think it's a very nice place. It made a lovely territory." She answered generally, her head teetering as she answered and her eyes scanned the snowy clearing for effect. After a moment, she looked down at him again with a faintly smart look on her face. <b style="color:#5c312b">"I did know them. The leader was my brother." Interesting to know that most of her direct family was gone now. She could only assume Kinis and Triell were still about somewhere, but they probably weren't too interested in seeing her. They had the most reason to be upset with her. The sister that had harassed them throughout childhood and then abandoned them. <b style="color:#5c312b">"What about you, goldie?" She teased, all social graces, if they'd existed, thrown to the wind. For a kid, he was serious and kind of weird. It felt good to harass him. <b style="color:#5c312b">"speech." |
table by bryony |
She wore this faintly smug look on her face that he couldn't make much sense of at first. It was as if she knew something he didn't. If it irked him, his body language gave nothing away, although his ears twisted back and forth briefly as he waited for her response. Which was in past tense. What game was this girl playing at, he wondered, not nearly as insightful as @Adonis. His dark brother might have picked up on the fact that this pale loner had said that "it made a lovely territory," but all Datura could do was puzzle over the the statement, wondering if it meant more but unable to see how. Ominous frustration passed over his face as his brows came together in thought.
Luckily, she connected the dots for him. He didn't even have to wait very long. "Oh," he breathed neutrally as he listened, though inwardly he felt very awkward. Well, good thing he hadn't just gone bursting into the conversation saying this and that about her brother. That wasn't to say he was jarred from his opinions, no... he just wouldn't dare admit them to someone who had a familiar tie with this land. Datura knew how strong his own bonds were to his family. If someone had called Adonis stupid, why, he would have thrown a right hissy fit. Only he was allowed to call his brother names. Only another moment had passed before he added, "That's very interesting."
Perhaps if it was best if he turned back now, if he abandoned this topic of conversation. The golden boy would have just hated to make himself look like an ass, even if he disliked her informal mannerisms and the whole "goldie" thing. First, a quick lie to answer her question, "Oh, I don't know. I was just trying to figure out what have made them all leave." There, that wasn't so bad, although he realized he was moving awfully close to personal territory. He hoped she wouldn't get all girly and weepy on him... or anything like that. Shows of emotion had always vaguely disgusted the boy, especially if they were the histrionics of a stranger. "I mean, it seems like a perfectly nice place to live... Don't you wonder where he's gone?" He had to admit, he was still very curious. Perhaps he would be alright if he only pursued this topic for a little bit... he could always change the subject later.
His thought was a curious one though. Where did Ruiko go? It was a legitimate question, but Borlla was hardly interested in answering it now. The point was he was gone and there was little she could do about it now. Her shoulders rolled, mildly uninterested. It was something she probably could have asked Corinna, but the woman probably would have torn her head off. What was left of her family was gone. And if it wasn't truly gone, it certainly didn't want her around. So it was easier to be uninterested. <b style="color:#32527a">"Not really. It's a common occurrence among the Tainn's, it seems, to leave without a word." It was true. <b style="color:#32527a">"I'm interested to hear your theories though. Indulge me, goldie." Her ears pressed forward in mock curiosity. Borlla wondered if he'd ever snap, or maybe it was all an act. <b style="color:#32527a">"speech."
<3 but i would like anotherssss later
That she was just resigned to this... this... constant come and go of her family was deeply frightening to Datura. He had never considered that familial ties might be be severed with much less heartbreak than his had. When he gave up Belladonna he had to rip out a part of his own soul... and now that he thought back on it, there was still a dull ache in his chest, an emptiness. With a small frown, the boy regarded his apathetic companion, wondering as hard as he could. His brother might have decided that the more people you lost, the more empty you felt until you couldn't feel any more. But no answers came to Datura, who was not smart enough to make connections between himself and strangers, and out of fear he decided he should hate the pitiful, lonely girl who floated around without a family. It was wrong to wander, wrong to abandon your family.
"No," he responded at her invitation to speculate and meddle into her family matters, "No please, it's really not my place..." And since it appeared that this girl was incapable of feeling any awkwardness over the situation, Datura would had to bear the weight of embarrassment the for the both of them. His golden ears lay quivering against his head as his eyes searched the ground. This had been a mistake, just a huge mistake. He should have never opened his trap, never asked her about this place. He shouldn't have even come. "I'm... I'm so sorry... I should... I need to go."
Quickly the boy dipped his head in a clumsy attempt at goodbye. For a moment, he looked up at her face as if he were searching for something familiar, for something emotional... but finding nothing, he took it as his cue to leave. He hauled himself up and turned away, heading east towards the mountains and family he had always known and would never never dare abandon. Suddenly he found himself longing to be with Adonis, to seek comfort from his presence and advice. He longed to forget this strange white girl, the ghost of the Tainn family.
But the woman wasn't blind. She'd clearly impacted this boy greatly, and it was far more hurtful than a silly nickname. For someone so young, he seemed so...Aware. While he was busy fretting over her lack of emotion regarding Ruiko, she was busy pitying him because what kind of childhood was that where you found yourself weighed down, even for a short time, by the problems of others? She'd never considered it, but of course it was probably cruel of her to make his very serious inquiry into some big speculation match, drag him into her ghostly personal drama. So, he took it down the other path in the fork in the road. He left. As he struggled with his words, certainly not part of his idiolect, she began to feel the discomfort that she should have felt moments ago, something to salvage this interaction. But the girl simply wasn't willing to sacrifice whatever selfish emotions she currently had to placate the boy, and so she watched him leave. <b style="color:#32527a">"speech."