Riddle Heights In their steps

<i>sorry for the sucky post</i>

the suns going to shine, and sometimes the clouds will rain.

No protest from Kiche she had made it on her way. She did not realize at all how absorbed he was in his thinking, she was letting her own mind race with what ifs. And upon the high rock she waited as the scene unfolded beneath her. She had no idea what Kiche was seeing, but his stance changed marginally from hostility to peaceful. It was seeing this, her ears flipped downward, and she leaned downward trying to get a look for herself. She could not see anything but dark, unknown figure about her size if not smaller. When Kiche backed away Arlette's heart fluttered at his odd coughing wondering if this was some kind of singal. Before she could make heads or tails of it he spoke, asking quite sweetly, the sweetest Arlette had ever heard him talk to a stranger, to come out. Would she? She asked herself, feelng the odd prickling cold feeling on the back of her neck. It was extremely rare to see Kiche be so...friendly. Especially to some unknown lady. Arlette could possibly like her, but she would have to see for herself. The quick breaths of the girl, panic if Arlette ever heard it, drummed loudly beneath her paws, being made louder in the curve of the rocks. Softly whine played in her throat. It's alright. She wanted to assure the wolf. If Kiche was alright with her, what did she have to fear? The young Lyall wish she could convey this to the female. Like always answers just were in the stretch of a paw. They were elusive.

After a moment the lady pulled herself into the open sunlight, but she looked anything but fine. Arlette had never felt sympathetic to a stranger, but right then she did. If their places had been traded she would have been the same way. For a moment her body wanted to be scared to by the high exposure radiating from the wolf. Arlette was focused, and tried to concentrate her senses on the world around them. The warm sun on her flesh, Kiche's new approach, and the fresh breath she would almost think was the mountain's. An heavy frown upon her face she let her eyes shift to Kiche's wondering what he was thinking, or what they should do with the wolf who was so very scared. Arlette wanted to prove to her she need not worry. To hush her whines, and still her shaking body. Those feelings were not exactly new to her. She often liked to comfort her mother, and sister. She felt an unsteady breath catch in her throat from her thoughts of uncertainty why she wanted to help the lady. It came back to empathy.

She could not help her up here. "It'ts...okay," she beamed, half cooed, slowly making her way down unto the same level. Then about half way down her brain was moving faster than her body, and her paw caught upon a tall enough rock, in a deep enough dip, and she was rolling down the rest of the rocky steps. The world was nothing but a spinning ride of colors, and hard hits to her tender frame. Since her momentum had not been to great, she stopped where she had first started the climb, a tangled mess of gangly legs, white, and brown splotches. "Owww," she whispered so quietly, letting her teeth cut into the edge of her gum to quiet any more sounds.

<blockquote><ul><span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'><a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3pltmw6cmI' target='_blank'>♬ dunno why, but i thought of this song.</a>
KICHE ISN'T CREEPY AT ALL.</li></ul></span>
Maybe he was selfish, maybe he was stupid. Unconsciously, he yearned to fill the crack that had been left in his heart, <i>his world</i> by Aisling's absence. Maybe he didn't care who filled it as long as it was filled... But Kiche was sure, more sure than he had been in a long time, that this girl was a kindred soul who had also been unceremoniously dumped in Relic Lore. He was <i>sure</i> that God had put her here for him. He was <i>sure</i> that God wanted him to protect her, to cherish her. Perhaps that was the reason Pangur had taken Aisling away... because she was too good for him, too pure for him. An sinning saint was no fit consort for <i>the Announcing Angel</i>. Part of him wondered if perhaps he had been wrong about her all along... but the rest of him longed to forget, to move on, to accept this gift that God had given to replace the one that had been taken away.

The saint held his breath while he waited for the girl make an appearance. There was no grace in the way she scrambled from the crevice, and no romantic ray of sunlight fell upon her to make her sparkle or shine... She was sordid and skinny, a xylophone rib-cage and spindly, grey legs. In all respects, besides her malnutrition, the little wolf was unremarkable, common. But to Kiche she was a <i>gift</i>, she was a beautiful, broken dove. He would have fallen to his knees, stooped to a bow, anything to express his utter reverence... but suddenly she was on her back, squirming on the rock face like she was sorry. The red man's heart ached to see her so crushed in submission.

Forgetting that there were boundaries between strangers, Kiche stretched his muzzle forward and gently touched his nose to hers —a kiss. He kissed her in the only way he knew how. "<b>What are you doing on the ground, sweet heart? Please get up, we won't hurt you.</b>" As the "we" slipped out of his mouth, he suddenly remembered that Arlette was still here. Swinging his massive, ruddy gaze upward, he was just in time to see Arlette's fall from grace.

"<b>ARLETTE!</b>" he called, his voice strained with worry as he leaped towards her, "<b>Are you alright?</b>" She was like a daughter to him, and he wouldn't stand to see her bear any scrapes or bruises or frowns. Plus, Jayse was like to kill him if he brought her daughter back in more pieces than she had left. He had been so distracted that he hadn't watched her, and she could have really hurt herself... Guilt exploded in his chest. Even the mountain goats slipped sometimes. Cautiously, he cast a look over his shoulder at his little dove, wishing to know her every thought.
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(This post was last modified: Mar 27, 2012, 09:08 PM by Kiche.)

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Nice song, Kiche isn't creeping at all... <.< *fondles OC spray in pocket* lol j/k wolves don't have pockets!

<blockquote>The voices were smooth, sweet, caring. She could almost believe she was home... except for the lack of trees and blinding light. She slowly rolled onto her stomach just in time to catch the young wolf falling from her perch. A sharp intake of breath was all she allowed herself before slinking closer low to the ground, the hair on her stomach still dragging in the dirt, her tail could be confused as non-existent and her ears were pinned flat to her skull.

<b>"So-sorry..."</b> she whispered gently, quickly checking each of the young wolfs limbs to check for signs of broken flesh or bone. Apparently this child, already larger than herself was called Arlette. It was a beautiful name to be sure. <b>"I'm Ani..."</b> she stated quietly while she continued to check the younger wolf over. The sudden calling for her skills, while not enough to bring back all of her former confidence was enough to help her find her voice at least. <b>"It doesn't look like anything is broken, can you get up? Make sure you take note of where it hurts the most..."</b>

She hadn't seen a willow tree for months, but she turned to the ginger male no less. <b>"Willow would help to ease the worst of any pain, but I haven't seen any for months..."</b> She refused to meet either of their eyes. She never would have fallen if Ani had hidden better, and the small wolf blamed herself. As usual, it was all her fault...</blockquote>

Sounds like a Kiche song to me <3

the suns going to shine, and sometimes the clouds will rain.

She was aware of someone screaming her name, when her eyes opened she realized it had been Kiche. Faintly she blinked, trying to focus on his face while slowly nodding her head. Tomorrow she'd feel where exactly she had landed the hardest. Right now she was happy she had not went further. Her bright yellow eyes found the warm brown of the unknown lady. Arlette merely stared at the chocolate liquid not seeing brown eyes before, and wondered why hers were brown. Arlette would sometimes not have minded brown eyes as rich as the dark earth. Did she just say sorry? The young one's ears flattened to her head. She wanted to say it's okay again, but found her mouth was rather sour. She released her teeth's grips on her fragile pink flesh of her mouth. She could not answer, suddenly feeling very self conscious, and embarrassed for what she had done. She did not mind how the wolf looked her over. She reminded her of Elettra in that way, and something sparked in Arlette. This wolf, so scared was no monster. She was afraid of monsters too.

Arlette wanted to sit up but was not sure how to accomplish this. The world was a little topsy turvy, and she continued to focus on Ani's face. A light, shy smile touched the girl's lips. She could not exactly say I'm Arlette. It was obvious she was. "Hi," she quietly murmured. She twitched the end of her toes, and began testing the rest of her appendages. She was perfectly fine. She was about to try to get about, when she said take note of where it hurts the most. That's when she felt the rough singe of pain underneath her cheekbone, and the left side of her hip was kind of throbbing. Those were minor things, and she rolled slowly over, even more slow pushing to a stand. "I'm...okay. My cheek hurts a little though," she raised her head to reveal a small patch of red blood. She held still for inspection, and then slowly placed it down. She did not like being scrutinized, and she did not want either to feel worse than they did.

The word willow her eyes snapped from Aniu to Kiche. She'd never asked about Elettra's remedies, and now wish she had. She had wanted to after all. A soft inhale puffing out her chest, she gingerly reclined to her haunches placing her wait to her right. "Ters, willows down," she pointed where the Swift River cut it's way along the vast lands of the Lore. She tired to look at those brown eyes again saying, "But it doesn't hurt that bad." She smiled, the end of her tail giving a partially wag. She had not luxate anything. And she was no in enough pain to eat willow, but surely stored the bit of information away for later use.

<blockquote><ul>i am a terrible person. :c sorry guys.</li></ul>
"<b>Willow?</b>" Kiche echoed dumbly, his voice tense with a strange anxiety. His thoughts were straining to run in several different directions all at once. Suddenly he forgot that this beautiful creature was the love of his life that God had given him. All he could think of was <i>willow</i>. Willow trees, where he had made his <i>home</i>, where he had nearly <i>died</i>, the graveyard of his human-past. What on earth would she want with <i>willow</i>? Something seemed awfully suspicious about this — was this heathen medicine? Something rather like fear and disgust stirred in his fluttering soul. Herb lore was... was not something he could trust. And... <i>willows</i>. It just seemed so coincidental... <i>too</i> coincidental, even. What were the chances of finding such a soul as this, who was filled in part with everything that was familiar and amazing, but also with everything he had distrusted and forsaken.

<i>Was it a sign?</i>

While the grey dove —no, <i>Aniu</i>, which sounded almost similar to Aisling, to <i>Angel</i>— inspected Arlette for any serious injuries, Kiche found himself staring at her with undisguised scrutiny. If this was a sign, what did it mean? Was this God's subtle hint that he had been mistaken, that this girl was not, and could never be his? Did it mean that he was wrong? Or was this —and this question was the hardest for him to wrap his mind around— a gentle push towards accepting the heathen practices, a <i>challenge</i> to accept even what he found repulsive about the heathens. To love this girl, this gift, this challenge... it would mean he had embraced "<i>the wolf</i>" entirely.

Doubt began to seep into the cracks in his fractured soul, until he was drowning in it. Could he still love this girl if she straddled two worlds? Was it even possible for <i>him</i> to belong in two worlds? It scared him that he was unable to come up with an answer. Despite everything though, he felt he was <i>drawn</i> to Aniu, felt like he had to give it a chance. Abruptly, his stare softened as he gradually returned to reality, watching Arlette gesture towards the forest of willows far below them. "<b>Oh, yeah,</b>" he added lamely, again speaking only as an echo, "<b>There's a whole forest of them.... it's... really beautiful this time of year, actually.</b>" The last part was spoken as soft as a sigh, with a grace that seemed out of place with the anxious and conflicted priest.

Out of the blue, he blurted, "<b>I... I could take you sometime.</b>"

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<3 School is important =) excuse the crappiness. Dead arm from tetanus shot :(

<blockquote> The young girl seemed upset and Ani began to cautiously back up. She had done the wrong thing again. Said something wrong... But then the unexpected words left the young girls lips. She was ok. Relief passed down the small wolfs curved spine, her tail dusting the earth beneath her in a nervous but excited wag. It was bad the young wolf had hurt her cheek, but at least no serious damage had been done. It was only a little graze thankfully. Her nevously quite voice almost gushed <b>”As long as you keep it clean, it shouldn’t give you any troubles...”</b> As she realised the words that passed her mouth she flinched, fully expecting a reprimand. But what a foolish thing to say. Obviously the girl took care of herself.

As the male questioned her mention of willow she flinched again, lowering her head and focusing on his paws. He sounded almost suspicious in his questioning and it cut her deeply. Having no understanding why they hadn’t chased her off yet, she began to wonder if this was all a game to them. <b>”It helps to take away swelling and pain. Tastes awful though... Handy thing to know if you’re ever injured and...<i>alone...</i>”</b> she almost choked on the last word as she explained to the ginger wolf’s toes, wondering when they would change their minds like all the others. How long would she manage to remain free of the pain of teeth digging into her flesh? Bouncing from one area to another, always being driven off before she had a chance to state her case... The shudders started up again and she closed her eyes, trying to even out her breathing. They had given her no reason to feel this way. She was being ridiculous.

The softening of his stare was like storm clouds clearing from over her head and she could not help but inch closer to the larger wolf. It seemed company was having a positive impact on her outlook and her tail once again swept the earth beneath her. At the mention of a whole forest of willow, and the suggestion that perhaps he would take her there sometime, her entire demeanor shifted. She was behaving almost pup-like, an excited child whose parents had finally returned with food for her. She couldn’t contain herself as she darted forward and bathed the mans chin in gratitude before swinging and doing the same to the pale young lady, careful to avoid the fresh graze. She was energised and uncontrollable in her elated mood. Finally calming a little, but unable to still her tail, she kept her back hunched and head low. <b>”I’d like that very much!”</b> she almost yipped excitedly. Could it be she had made some friends?</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Apr 10, 2012, 11:45 AM by Aniu.)

the suns going to shine, and sometimes the clouds will rain.

"Okay, I can do that," she responded with a strong wag of her tail. She was much less nervous when the lady was speaking. It was more normal in Arlette's book, and easier not to let the sense of fear take over her own body. Then she flinched like Arlette or Kiche might have hit her, and her pale brows furrowed. What was wrong? The girl was tempted to close on her, and simple ask the question. Something about that seemed like the wrong idea, and she turned her head to Kiche. He knew where the willow was too! Arlette looked at him expectantly. Surely he could help the scared wolf, he had helped her...

Her yellow eyes cast to the soft voice, and Arlette had to smile letting her tail brush against her hocks. "We have a healer in our pack Elettra, but I'm always to afraid to ask her 'bout stuff." She mindlessly blurted out of her own uneasiness, as if it might break the weird tension. Suddenly Arlette was eager to ask more, what else about healing did she know? She didn't dare when she started trembling with fear. It was then she looked at Kiche again, silently demanding he did something. Maybe it was more of a please help her look with her tender pale face. Then he seemed to do it in Lettie's eyes he offered to take the scared stranger, and that seemed to do the trick. The change was immediate. Instead of this jumpy little gray furred rabbit she became an excited puppy. Arlette let out a happy yip, her own tail wiggling at the touch to her lower jaw. Maybe Kiche did have some way with God.

"Why don't we take her now? It's on the way home Kiche!" She exclaimed, her paws shifting along the stone as she paused to look over the edge. She would love to take her new friend home, and if Kiche liked her all the better.

<blockquote><ul><span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>want to do a continuation thread in the willows? i'll make it if ya'll like. if either of you two want to post once more after this, feel free.</span></li></ul>
How a tree-bark could take away pain was beyond him. Willow trees only seemed to <i>bring</i> him pain. That forest was full of pain for him, although he loved it still. But that was how things were, the things that brought him pain were the things he loved the most. <i>Aisling</i>, the memory of her was like a dark, ugly bruise on his heart. "<i>It tastes awful, though...</i>" Looking down at her, the red saint saw a girl who knew much about the world, who talked about willows but said so much <i>more</i>. She knew, she knew about the pain of willow-memories and loneliness, she knew <i>him</i>. The way she choked on her words made his heart ache, and it occurred to him suddenly that this was how she felt too. He suddenly slipped and fell so much further in love with the little dove, his past and present intertwining with hers.

Arlette threw something into the conversation that would have slipped the saint's attention had it not been for that name. Elettra. A dark shadow crossed his face. <i>She's no true healer.</i> Aniu, his sweetheart, had demonstrated a much deeper understanding for healing than that bitch ever had. Suddenly a switch flicked on in the darkness behind his eyes. <i>Little Dove can replace her!</i> Then... then no one would need to miss Elettra when she left — maybe this was why Jayse was so attached to the dark monster. Pleased with himself for single-handedly fixing everyone's problems, a self-satisfied flashed on his face.

Things began to happen in slow motion, but even so, Kiche hardly found the time to react as Aniu rushed towards him. <i>I love you,</i> he wanted to say. The words were on his lips, his mouth hung ajar. She loved him, he was sure, and she would embrace him and cover him in kisses. <i>I must be dreaming. Oh God, I'm dreaming.</i> Her tongue brushed against his chin and suddenly he stiffened as a cold finger ran down his spine. He was about to tell her, tell her he loved her... but suddenly she moved away, to bath Arlette with similar affections. His heart sank, but part of him had known all along that he was being ridiculous. Little Dove wouldn't love him so easily, so quickly. She might be a gift, but she was also a challenge. <i>I will make you love me,</i> he promised silently, as Arlette spoke. The smile returned to his face, as deep as ever, "<b>I would never dream of leaving her here. Yes, come on, let's go.</b>"

Reaching out to give Aniu's ear a quick lick, he turned to begin the decent...
<ul>fade ouuuuut?</li></ul></blockquote>

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