salvation

Sorry it's shortish. :o

The morning sun was warm, not yet at it’s highest peak in the sky, the world around him not yet at it’s highest temperature. It was still early enough that the dew that coated the grasses in sticky, sweet droplets had not yet dissipated. Kasimir preferred to do his heavy traveling in the early mornings, or late evenings, when the summer days were not heavy with humidity, or so hot. Having been born in the far North he was used to the cool summer’s and colder winters. Like majority of creatures, Mother Nature had seen fit to grace him with the convenient ability to adapt. Though he was not crazy about the scorching heats of the summer in Relic Lore, or what he had known of them so far, having only been in the lands for a few days, at most, he had already adapted his habits to fit the more logical times of day. Besides, prey was more abundant in his “favored” times, as well, seemingly not all that fond of dying of heat exhaustion, such as himself. Bright, turquoise eyes surveyed the lands around him as he paused, having caught a strong, yet undeniable scent of pack borders a few yards from where he currently stood. This was not the only pack he had scented since he first arrived, but it was the first that the nagging insisting voice inside his mind demanded he approach and, at the very least, speak to in regards to potentially joining. Summer would not last forever, for winter was always coming. Though he could survive adequately enough to keep himself alive as a loner, he did not exactly fancy the persistent loneliness that plagued his days and nights.

It was with thoughtfulness in each step that brought him closer, until he remained a respectful distance away from their scent markers, dominant and fresh, he noted, that he stopped. Living in his birth pack for as long as he had, Kasimir, son of a Guardian and Hunter, was nothing special and had not been invited so readily to patrols or acceptance of new pack members; this, likely, put Kasimir at a disadvantage and at a loss for knowledge of what would be expected of him, apart from showing proper submission which was simply, common sense. So many questions swam around his mind, would they speak the native tongue of the North? Or would he have to fumble and stutter his way through his English, while fluent, was more or less, rusty. The Northerners spoke their native tongue around each other, only speaking the ‘common’ language around company, which was why it was a required learning staple of the children. Though the “Vikings” were not overly diplomatic wolves, they all played the part at some point or another in their lives, and communication was not only an art but a necessity. A key, so to speak. Soft sigh was given, before he tipped his head back, muzzle rising to the sky as he let out a soft call, speaking of his presence and intentions of potential interest in joining, before it ended, short and sweet, and he waited, patiently for someone, leader or otherwise, to approach.

Kasimir
even my memories cannot drown me

Shade found himself at the borders, though his mind was with his son who still had that fretful cough. He had to find Lachesis very soon to see if he knew a simple sure for it. He had been ignoring everything, not even walking around the borders to patrol, just to walk. But the alpha was quickly snapped back into the mind that he had to stay in when he found a male very close to his borders. "I trust you know that your night next to our borders. Shade Slayer, alpha of Pitch Pine Trail." He offered a name and a warning, as he always had in times like these, even when he was just a second, or a third ranking male in the Ridge he went by a name and a warning.

The man was decent sized, and looked to have a strong build to him, something the pack could use. But it was in truth, something to be cautious of too. He knew many enemies to want his hide, Elettra being one of them and if this man was sent to the Trail to hunt them down, he might win against the alpha. "What is your business here?" He asked, his tail had curled up in dominance and he stood tall, as the common greeting of alpha to loner. He wouldn’t let anyone harm his children, Adsi and Karp were just puppies and he would defend them with his life. He doubted it would come to that though. He simply wanted to know why the man graced them with his presence.

Shade had often wondered about the things that led to a wolf presenting themselves, perhaps it was looking for a family member as he once had, and Ace had once too. Perhaps it was being lost and needing a home as Capella had. Or maybe it was a place to settle down as Anastasia and Lachesis had needed. Forgetting who they were and being brought to the pack as Spectre had or running from their past as Silver had. Whatever it was, the trail was always open.

If you hover the mouse over the German a translation provided I coded it right, lol, should pop up. :-) Don't mind me as I play with how he interprets English and accordingly speaks it out of "whack". I'm going for something realistic with the language barrier and different way of structuring sentences. xD

There was surprise in Kasimir’s expression, despite how briefly it lingered, at how quickly his call had been answered; and simply not in a short howl back, but in an actual presence of an Alpha. Surprise was quickly chased to admiration though this was fleetingly shooed away. There was something to be said for Alpha’s who were quick to the scene, and while a subordinate would have sufficed it was always nice when an Alpha arrived first since, as far as the North’s laws (at any rate) it was only the high ranking leaders that could actually accept wolves into their ranks. The man was quick to offer words, all in the “common tongue” that left poor Kasimir almost gaping at him, perhaps comically, much like a fish out of water. The tone in which was used suggested that he had been warned of something and immediately, the Northerner’s ears slicked back against his skull, tail tucking close to his hind legs in submission. In the slow way in which Kasimir, spoke English, he processed the words given to him, rearranging the strange sentence structure to help him make better sense of it. “Sprechen Sie Deutch? Die Zunge des Nordens?” Kasimir asked in his rapid native language, his breath a hitch before he understood that, maybe, this Shade Slayer, Alpha of Pitch Pine Trail (which seemed like such a mouthful to Kasimir) did not, in fact, speak the language of the North, unless by some small chance he did. To be sure though, he figured it might be better if he attempt to communicate in the common tongue he’d been addressed in. “Uhm,” Kasimir paused, expression thoughtful as he realized that he had yet to actually answer for being close to the borders in German or otherwise. “I do not mean to close,” A inhale was given through flared nostrils, unable to help but thinking that it didn’t sound quite right.

Kasimir felt inferior, in the face of this Shade Slayer, as the man’s tail rose in a common display of his power, but more than that, it was in Kasimir’s struggle at being able to communicate as well as another wolf born speaking the “common tongue”. He had been born learning German, English was later taught as a secondary language. He understood it, but it sounded…broken when it spilled from his lips, worse yet for the accent his voice carried. Shade posed another question, and Kasimir reworded it, wondering if maybe he should introduce himself, before or after attempting to answer it. “I am Kasimir,” Salmon pink tongue drug across his lips before he took another deep breath, pre-thinking his words out. “I am calling for a pack for home.” Again, this didn’t sound correct, or even, remotely flowing. “Pack to call home?” He tried, attempting to re-arrange the words so they might make better sense. Kasimir got the distinct feeling that either he might be turned away, or this was going to be an extremely long meeting.

Kasimir
even my memories cannot drown me

(This post was last modified: Jul 15, 2013, 04:48 PM by Kasimir.)

<3 Your officially the best wolfy like person ever for making it so realistic with the English being all mixed up!

Shade did not understand his words at first, and his head tilted to the side a bit as he tried to understand what kind of tongue it was that the man spoke in. Then he said English, and as Shade somewhat expected, he was looking for a home, and he could get one in Pitch Pine Trail, but that was if he could handle it. "Well, a home can be provided for sure here, but what do you have to offer us, and do you have a name?" He asked, knowing that he would ask about the language in a second, but this was officially pack business and so he had to get the important questions out of the way. Perhaps this man could even teach him a few words from that language.

Uncertainty is one thing that Shade found in a lot of wolves on the border, but he seemed confident, like he knew he could do it, or perhaps Shade was looking at the situation wrong. He was sure that this man could fill a variety of roles within the pack, roles that Shade needed to fill, he already had at least one guardian and one scout {Ace as the guardian and Silver as the scout} but they were always in need of good hunters and fighters, even teachers to train the young pups who were growing fast. He was sure that if no one wanted to be an official teacher, the entire pack would take the pups off and train them to be good packmates, hunters, fighters.

aw, shucks. thanks, lol. <3

It was obvious enough in Shade’s tilt of his head and the fact that a response was not made in return, that he did not speak the language of the Northerners. Idly, Kasimir wondered if any of this Pitch Pine Trail spoke it, though, the second it flittered across his mind as a thought it was shot down as unlikely. If, per chance, he was accepted maybe they would be able to help him learn to improve his common tongue so it was easier to understand. There were valuable seconds of pause between the time Shade’s words were spoken and how long it took Kasimir, who, more or less thought in German, to translate it so they better made sense to him. In a tense situation, where intentions might be misunderstood those valuable seconds might be enough to cost the Norse boy (despite that he recently passed his second year mark) his life. Or, mildly, leave him with a few scars. He could find a home here, Kasimir understood, so long as he had something to offer Pitch Pine Trail in return. This, was not unexpected and, likewise, made sense. Living in a pack wasn’t a free ride to laze about and do nothing. It required teamwork and each member to pitch in something unique. Given his origins his first instinct was to offer some sort of fighting skills, but, because of Kasimir’s rather gentle nature, and refusal to spill blood without proof of a crime that warranted death, he was not given much in the way of training in battle. He was a perfectly able fighter, because he was taught but not to the depth of which most required their guardians to be. That was out. He was an adept hunter, of course, being it in his nature as a predator, but he could not be sure it was something he wanted to commit himself to. That was better left for someone with more skill and practice.

Kasimir was silent for a while, his face locked in an expression of serious contemplation. “I am good with children,” Kasimir spoke his English slowly, his tongue forming accents that weren’t necessary but hardwired as it was to German, not something the Northern could help. Likely, no matter how much time he spent in Relic Lore, around those that spoke the common tongue, while he would be able to improve his English and it’s sentence structures, he would not loose his accent. He hoped, despite it’s unlikeness, that he never did. The accent and language was all he had of his home, little hallmarks he never wanted to lose. “My common language is rough, ehm, but maybe I could try to be a teacher?” Kasimir suggested, hoping that his words had came out right. He had a fondness for pups, and was often left to care for them when the warriors had went off. On top of his lack of a penchant for blood, he was also smaller than the other males, most of which who bigger, broader or stockier than him.

Kasimir
even my memories cannot drown me

[I'm gonna add Kasimir to the group, but we need to stretch this thread out to 10 replies
]

Shade smiled to learn the man wanted to teach his little ones how to hunt and fight, how to survive the world around them. He gave a nod, and he was told that the man’s common language was rough. "What was that other tongue you were speaking, the one I assume is your native tongue?" He asked the man in front of him. Kasimir seemed nice and respectable, a man he would love to have in the pack, but he wanted to get a bit picky with the wolves he took in. He was blessed with an interesting range of men and women, and he needed to be careful for the safety of everyone. The space in the pack was limiting. He would, of course, accept the man in the end if he qualified.

He had certain concerns, like ILL had a man after him, though he vouched that if he were followed here, he would leave and not let the pack be harmed. It was that promise that allowed him to call Pitch Pine Trail home, otherwise, he probably would have been turned away and sent to risk the lives of someone else’s pup. There was Anastasia who had offered life to the pups; she now was called the female alpha of Pitch Pine Trail. There was the scout Silver, and the other potential scout as ILL. There was his main Guardian Ace and there was his hunter {maybe} Capella. There was Lachesis, who would grow to be the pack healer, and he would be good at his job. There was Spectre, who had forgotten who she was and would most likely be a hunter while they tried to jog her memories. Everyone had a place, and he would too provided he added up to the background area.

(This post was last modified: Jul 18, 2013, 01:11 AM by Shade.)

Ok. :-)

A smile was given to him by Shade, Kasimir watched, when he expressed an interest in helping to teach pups. Kasimir was surprised to see such an expression, but returned it with one of his own. If he was given the chance to teach the children -- able to prove he was worthy of the job, provided there were children to teach currently, to say that is would not be a surprise would be a lie. The language barrier, Kasimir feared, now more so than he ever had, might hinder him. He understood that he was hard to understand, that his English was far from perfect. While he had the ability to understand in just fine, some where along the line wires became crossed in his brain when he attempted to speak it back and the words came out -- not always mind -- but most of the time in the wrong order. “Deutsch. She would….nein…You would call it German.” Kasimir finally got out after he struggled with it for a few seconds, offering Shade an apologetic and sheepish smile. In the face of lands that mostly spoke the Common Language, or so it seemed to Kasimir, not that he’d given himself the chance to really explore to see if this was true, or not, it was still, embarrassing. To think he was fluent enough in the common tongue to be able to speak it, only to find out that he wasn’t nearly as good as he’d been led to believe.

“I’m from the cold north,” Kasimir said spoke, then, despite that Shade had no asked. It seemed to Kasimir that the region he was from in the North spoke, mainly, German. They liked to call themselves a harder breed of wolves. They, that survived in harsh winters and cold summers. Most of them were built to endure what Mother Nature threw at them. Most of which with the thick coat of the Arctic and the size of a Mackenzie Valley Wolf. Being nearly almost all Eastern Timber himself Kasimir was easily the smallest male they had. His name being a paradox -- who names the smallest, albeit fastest wolf “The Great Destroyer” when his nature was, for the most part gentle? Though it was his home, though he was raised upon it’s traditions and beliefs and language, it was little wonder, in truth, why Kasimir had not entirely fit in there. “I left on good,” Good what, Kasimir? Salmon pink tongue swiped across his bottom lip as he thought about what word he needed at the end of it, because though he couldn’t be one hundred percent correct but the sentence felt incomplete to him. “Uhm, it was good.” He finished lamely, feeling embarrassed once more.

Kasimir
even my memories cannot drown me

German, Shade couldn't say that he had never heard of the language, he was from the north, just not as far north as the man in front of him. He had heard the occasional word, but he had never heard someone say a full sentence in German, at least not until he had met the man in front of him. Shade's tail had a bit of a wag to it, and he had lowered his tail as well since the man understood, he was in charge and the man was to obey. That was the message that Shade sent and when the wolves understood it, he saw no need for the respect or formality of having a raised tail. Oh he certainly was an odd one.

Shade let the thoughts occur in his mind in order, he had started to have a few weird feelings after he had run into the white wolf Spectre which he had brought back to Pitch Pine Trail after she had lost her memory. It wasn't a bad weird, and part of him thought it was a crush, however he had never had that weird feeling with Rosealia. He pondered it for a bit, his eyes focused, narrowed at the ground. His mind then snapped into reality in the time to talk to Kasimir. "Kasimir, I too am from the north, though I am from an area without the cultural diversity with German. I've heard of it, though that was very brief." He replied truthfully, that was one thing that he was good at. He was good at telling the truth, and also hiding it.