Swift River the aesthetics of an instant

tainn family > all. :E

http://a.imageshack.us/img717/5995/70049898.png);"> I CAN BARELY BREATH, CAN YOU HEAR ME SCREAM?       Dead. It was a concept she could understand with ease; she disliked it, rejected it for far sweeter memories, but she knew the reality of the situation. Abandoned, however... It was different. Puzzling. Annoying. She wanted the scream, to cry and to be held; childish impulses that she refused to acknowledge and refused to bring to light. Junai was icy, her paws stomping restlessly along the bank of the fast-moving river, her thoughts racing at an alike speed.       Deserter. He had never struck her as someone who would abandon her or their family and she glared, mumbling profanities under her breath. He might as well have been dead, now hadn't he? Did he even remember them now? Had he even cared from the start? <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“It's doubtful.” The thought infuriated her and depressed her all in one fell swoop; his—she found his name to be a taboo, both in her mind and in the air—departure had changed something, made the minute cracks in their family all the more clear. She wondered how long it would be before someone else decided they wanted to leave, wanted to go frolic with woodland fairies and tick-infested mongrels. Before long, Indru and Ruiko and Niija and Ioni... Would they all leave? Her ears pulled back at the thought and she flopped exasperatedly onto her stomach, mumbling darkly, <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“Well, then I'd finally be in charge.” In spite of her desire for power, the image that her head provided secretly brought terror to her rather frail heart.

He had been trying to locate his little sister ever since his encounter with a black wolf in the forest, and as he followed her fresh scent tension radiated off his body in tendrils that you would swear were almost visible. It wasn't so much that he was angry, but more that since the death of their parents his protectiveness of all the Tainn's had increased tenfold, even of the ever capable Niija. They were his kin, what he loved more than anything, and though he had failed his parents he would not fail them too. This self-given responsibility weighed heavily on the boy, disturbing his sleep and causing nightmares to replace his dreams.

Junai was alone, and in the pack den, a perfect scenario if there ever was one. He approached silently, a skill he knew his yearling siblings would adore to perfect, and watched her, worry for her causing his stomach to curl. He loved them too much for them to be hurt again. Junai, he called, when he saw his sister agitated pacing and words, are you okay? Instantly his planned interrogation was forgotten and he rushed towards her, bright eyes wide with concern. His young sister looked tense and stressed, not a look he wanted to see on her. What's happened?

http://a.imageshack.us/img717/5995/70049898.png);"> I CAN BARELY BREATH, CAN YOU HEAR ME SCREAM?       Words sounded behind her, masculine and uncertain; Junai didn't care to respond. The voice was easy to identify as none other than the pack's leader, though Junai didn't bother to move and address him properly. She remained still, her dark ears pulling back in what seemed to be a mixture of annoyance and sadness. Her emotions conflicted, fire and ice—she wanted isolation so she could whine as much as she pleased without judgement, and yet she wanted company so her restless and weary soul could be comforted. Mentally, she thought dryly to herself, 'You're such a drama queen, Junai.'       Exhaling slowly, Junai lifted her head and turned her gaze upon him, her pale eyes seeming rather exasperated. <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“I keep thinking about him.” Whether he knew who she was talking about or not remained to be seen; she assumed he knew what she meant and thus didn't bother to clarify, refusing to break her taboo. <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“I don't want to, but I keep thinking about that piece of crap and the way he just... just skipped off and he... he didn't even care!” Her tail lashed out angrily with the last words and, at the memory, her thin lips pulled back slightly in one of her most fierce snarls yet.

(This post was last modified: Aug 01, 2010, 02:41 AM by Junai.)

The matter of correct submission was forgotten briefly in his concern, though he was annoyed at her dismissal of his questions, emphasised by her disregard of his rank. But when she spoke he listened eagerly, hoping to find the root to her worry. Her first words caused him to freeze, his recent conversation with a black wolf popping straight to the fore front of his mind. Him! Again. He was about to respond to her quickly, something threatening with the words 'den arrest' in it, before she spoke. This time it was just worse, he did what? A tempestuous snarl cracked through Indru's once quiet facade. He did what!? He shouted, echoing his thoughts, too angry to be any more coherent and come up with something new. He.. you.. he just.. I am going to kill him! Indru seethed, the previous night flashing through, the lies he told him!

The Tainn breathed in sharply then exhaled abruptly aiming for a force to just blow that Weldering away from here, wherever he was off gallivanting and seducing females left, right and center. That boy — Weldering, he spat the name out like it was leaving a bad taste in is mouth, me.. wait, me and Ruiko we need to have a talk with him. He grunted, barely even thinking of Junai now, his attention so solely focussed on that black wolf and the various ways to cause him immense pain. At once he remembered her and he turned cold eyes on her, and you. You can stay here, and not speak another word to him!

http://a.imageshack.us/img717/5995/70049898.png);"> I CAN BARELY BREATH, CAN YOU HEAR ME SCREAM?       Her words brought a surprising amount of rage and her snarl faded into an expression of dumbfounded surprise at his question. Wasn't it obvious? Indru had been at Hidden Tree when that moron had made his lovely departure, essentially saying, "screw you guys, you're hardly my family" in the process. What he meant was soon clarified, however, for we went off on quite the, ahem, eloquent tangent.       Weldering. Well, that cleared some things up, but not everything—she was confused as to how he knew the monochromatic loner (had that moron trespassed?!) and confused as to what the heck he was so angry about. Wasn't it obvious that she was fine? Unless he thought... <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“You're such a spaz sometimes, Indy.” The comment was spoken with a sigh and she added, a little more reassuringly, <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“Weldering made me a little... sad, I guess, but he didn't, uh... physically do anything to me. I would have beat him up if he tried.” The last words left her grinning a little devilishly, the apparent severity of the situation lost on her entirely.

After she had spoken he watched her suspiciously, leaning towards her and sniffing her sceptically, finding only faint traces of Weldering, which still could suggest something had happened, though perhaps not as serious as he first expected. Well he seemed to suggest to me some 'stuff' had happened. Indru nodded, still watching his sister suspiciously and waiting for any signs of her being at unease and nervous, lying perhaps. What were you two doing? Her phrase about beating him up made Indru nod with approval, though he much doubted her effectiveness if something did happen, hence his tension over the delicate matter.

What did he do to make you sad? He inquired, sitting down now that he had calmed, Junai putting him at ease nothing too terrible had happened, he wasn't expecting puppies yet, anyway. Though Indru had tried to appear unaffected about the events that had taken place for the family he wasn't sure how successful it was, and he was aware his sorrow was shown in his eyes and hung over him like a weight. I don't want you to be sad, I want to protect you, keep you happy and safe. He smiled at her, leaning forward to brush his muzzle against her own in an affectionate gesture before making himself pull away and wait for her answer.

(This post was last modified: Aug 01, 2010, 10:57 AM by Indru.)

http://a.imageshack.us/img717/5995/70049898.png);"> THERE'S A PLACE I KNOW IF YOU'RE LOOKIN' FOR A SHOW       Weldering Darksidy was an idiot; her brother was an idiot. If only the former was more suave and eloquent like herself—being vague with Indru was never the way to go, especially recently, it would seem. If only the latter was more calm and considerate (this Junai knew she was not, though hardly cared if it didn't apply to herself)—his uncanny knack for jumping to the worst conclusions was a little hurtful. What, did he think she'd go frolic about with some random stranger? Did he think she wasn't competent enough to handle herself? 'Jerk.'       <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“We talked. I yelled at him, he was just all, 'neighbors are friiiiends' right back.” She paused, giving a rather exasperated sigh. <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“He said new wolves were good, that they brought in new blood. I think they're just a pain in the butt, don't you?” Junai watched as he seemed to calm down, sitting near her while posing a rather delicate question. She looked to the side, ears pulling back in a familiar mixture of annoyance and sadness—she didn't like these emotions, clear and glaring weaknesses, but now that they were out... Well, there was no point in dodging it, she might as well vent her feelings. <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“He told me his family... burned... too. A whole island. And if I think about him, even if I reeeeaally don't like him... I think of mom and dad and the others.” Unthinkingly, her tail lashed out and her lips pulled back and she exclaimed, <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“I hate it!” She just wanted to forget the past year of her life, to forget that her mother and father had even existed, if only to spare herself the pain of having them gone. After a moment, she gave a heavy sigh and said quietly, <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“You are protecting me and keeping me happy and safe, but... But that was dad's job and mom's.” 'You took their place.' She both adored him for taking the major role and hated him for acting as a replacement. As much as she loved her brother, he was really no replacement for their parents—no one was, not really.

Smiling at Junai's question Indru nodded in half agreement. Some lone wolves are okay.. some not so much. You have to be careful though, remember they are strangers, we don't know them, or their motives. He stressed, leaning forward to place an affectionate lick on her muzzle to drive the point home. It was important to stay on your guard, with the recent pack upheaval it was clear Swift River was not as strong as it could be, not as strong as Hidden Tree for example, but it was getting stronger every day.

As she spoke of the similarities of Weldering's past and their own Indru nodded again, understanding that perhaps she had found solace knowing someone who had experienced the same circumstances. For a moment Indru wondered whether this Weldering had perhaps made it up, as a way to trick Junai into telling him things, but it seemed to outlandish for even him, so he pushed the thought aside. At the mention of their parents Indru stopped, unsure what to say, feeling his stomach drop. I-.. I'm sorry, then. I get that.. But you need someone to protect you, would you rather I didn't? He asked, a little hurt as much as he tried to hide it. The Tainn had felt that he had helped his family, at least he had tried the best he could, pushing his own needs aside for their's, the thought that he had failed, already, was a horrible one that curled in his stomach.

http://a.imageshack.us/img717/5995/70049898.png);"> THERE'S A PLACE I KNOW IF YOU'RE LOOKIN' FOR A SHOW       Lone wolves were okay? It left her blinking rather stupidly, as if unable to comprehend that idea of anyone but family being trustworthy or even tolerable. Even her siblings could be unbearable sometimes and they were related, bound by familial ties that none were willing to break; she could scarcely imagine being able to tolerate a stronger for much longer than a half an hour, in all honesty, though she supposed that she didn't need to try and chase them out of Relic Lore. Maybe Indru even wanted some for the whole "fresh blood" idea that Weldering had going, though the notion of his brother finding a girl annoyed her; change annoyed her. Regardless of her qualms on the matter, she said, <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“All right, I'll be more careful.” She smiled, perhaps a little weary and forced, at his affection; the idea, in truth, was a little overwhelming to her. Being careful was for wimps, in her mind, though if Indru said it was a necessary precaution, she would try her best to keep on her toes.       That smile was fragile and faded as soon as she mentioned Weldering, because thinking of him left a bad taste in her mouth—the similarities irked her. Why couldn't he have just been some nobody? Instead, he had to mention his past and that damn volcano and, and suddenly she was sad whenever she thought of him! But he hardly mattered now, for the pain her words had brought her brother were all too clear and Junai stiffened, uncomfortable in the situation. She didn't like sadness, didn't like displays of weakness—they left her twitching anxiously. <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“I...” She hesitated, uncertain as to what to say. <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“I want you to protect me, I just... I wish mom and dad still could, too.” She felt bad, saying that, perhaps even terrible. She felt just plain evil, essentially telling him that he just wasn't good enough, but... But he understood, didn't he? Did he truly enjoy being an alpha if it meant their parents were gone? She doubted it. After a moment, unable to keep away the guilty, she leaned forward and nudged his cheek tenderly, mumbling rather incoherently, <b style="color:#333E4B; font-family:georgia;">“I'm sorry. I really am happy you're sticking around, I just miss them, you know?”

At her words Indru sighed happily, a small sense of relief washing over him and his eagerness allowed him take her words with more truth than he perhaps should of. Thank you Junai, he breathed, leaning close to her to nudge her with his nose affectionately. It meant a lot to him if they could keep themselves safe as well as letting him, after all he couldn't be everywhere at once, protecting and guarding them, as much as he wanted too.

Indru nodded in understanding as Junai spoke of their parents, it felt so different without Rihael leading their pack like before and Lani being the tender, caring mother. I miss them too, he admitted, smiling sadly at Junai, it's so different without father leading us. Now it was Indru's responsibility, and he didn't even have Rihael to turn to for advice, and now Honijo had left.. he had lost his uncle as well. It's scary for me, to know I am being relied on when I'm so used to relying on them. It was a confession that he wasn't sure he should of voiced, but it didn't change anything, he was determined to do everything well and keep them all safe. You don't need to explain, Junai. I understand. He didn't want the female to feel guilty for telling him how she felt, after all it made everything easier if she could open up to him, he was to be their main carer now that their parents were gone, him and Ruiko anyway. Besides, Honijo is still around, he didn't desert us.