I'm coming out of my cage

Post Prompt : Lyrics
I'm coming out of my cage
And I’ve been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down

Everything that drowns me makes me feel alive

Halgen had been becoming a bit bold since joining Magnolia Glen. His ambitions grew and a fire raged inside his heart. Part of him sought out the vengeance on his family that he thought they deserved. Part of him wanted to challenge through Magnolia Glen's ranks until he rose to the top or almost the top. Part of him wondered if coming out of his cage was a good idea at all. The last part of him drove his determination. He had been doing anything and everything he could to aid the pack he resided in throughout the winter. Food was his main concern. It was scarce and even when food was found it was scrawny. Barely any food left throughout the winter and with breeding season soon a desperate worry raged through him.

Hal scoffed at himself as he walked through the forest. What once would have been shrouded with red ferns and trees was covered with a powdery and light snow. His feet crunched into it as he continued to weave his way through. A small sigh as he pressed forward. A blizzard stung his face, harsh winds flew through his fur but he pressed on. He couldn't back down anymore. It had happened. He was finally learning about what his father thought. He was finally learning how to be the man his parents wanted him to be. He was coming out of his cage and he was doing just fine. A grin pressed on his muzzle as he knew what he was going to do next. He was going to challenge James.

(This post was last modified: Feb 11, 2014, 09:17 PM by Halgen.)

Caniri found himself wandering in unfamiliar lands. He should probably should have been closer to home, considering the whether had begun to get a little nasty. He squinted his eyes against the gale and folded his ears, but the rest of him was unfazed. His think coat made sure of that. He had left the territory searching for some form of food. It wasn't likely he would be able to find anything out here but he had to try anyway. He had to show this pack, more importantly, Phineas, that they hadn't made a mistake in accepting him.

He hadn't met many of the wolves in the pack yet, but he intended to soon. He still couldn't believe the fact that Jaden had turned up in the same pack he was. What were the odds of that. He shook away the thought. He needed to focus on his task. They needed food. There was a pup back at the den that needed its belly filled. So he continued on. He wondered what exactly this pack had in store for him. Part of him wanted to leave come spring, to go looking for Lani, but the other part of him wanted to stay, to earn his place and fight his way up through the ranks.

He was so lost in his thoughts that it took him a second to realize he wasn't alone. There was another wolf out here. He watched the shape move through the snow and approached warily. His nose caught the scent as it blew towards him. It was a pack wolf, judging by the way it carried the scent of Magnolia Glen. Trotting through the snow, Caniri pulled up beside the wolf. He didn't know him, but he didn't see the point in putting it off. "What are you doin' out here? Ain't it a little rough to be out?"

Everything that drowns me makes me feel alive

Halgen turned to the scent of Magnolia Glen, a wolf younger than him and therefore below him in the rankings. He let his tail raise higher than the other man to assert his dominance as he was asked a question about being 'far from home'. They weren't too far from the Glen and Hal needed time to think. "It's called scouting." He told the man in a flat and dry tone. The fact that the yearling was bold enough to question him being out of the territory bothered him. Hal was just trying to stay busy. He was scouting for everything but all he managed to see was frozen fractals spiraling all around in the cold and harsh winter winds. The winter would kill. It had already claimed the life of the prince of the Glen.

The sooth of the winter danger had sunk in when Kyros died. The alphas had reacted badly when he had found them with their son on the hills. The sadness that had ripped through the pack in general was overwhelming and so he got away from it to scout to food. A small gulp as he looked up and tried to see the sky. He wished he could see the blue sky and he wished for the sun to shine down and warm his back once more. The winter wasn't done yet and so he had to look to the others in the pack for support as they looked to him at the same time. That was the way of the pack.

As Caniri walked beside the male, the stranger raised his tail asserting his dominance. Caniri, if reluctantly, lowered his own and turned his gaze aside. Even if he didn't like it, he wasn't about to screw up. He studdied the male. He was older than Caniri, and seemed a bit somber. Caniri found that the whole pack was, in varying degrees. The loss of the pup had been tragic for the pack. And though Caniri hadn't known him personally, he felt sad that someone so young had been lost.

When the stranger responded, it wasn't in a friendly tone. It didn't phase Caniri though, it would take a lot more than that to rebuff him. He had lived with his sister after all. He mentioned the fact that he was scouting, and while and honorable line of work, Caniri couldn't understand how he was able to see a whole lot in the first place. Turning back to the stranger he said, "I'm sorry if I came off a little...authoritive. I didn't mean to be. I was just curious. My name's Caniri." He wasn't sure how the other would react to the friendly banter. It seemed rather odd considering the situation, but he figured the best way to deal with the hard times was to have a few times where thing could be a little lighter. Caniri watched his surroundings, not forgetting his original purpose. He wouldn't be distracted, because the danger was no less great, but he didn't see why he couldn't do both things at the same time.

(This post was last modified: Feb 11, 2014, 10:04 PM by Caniri.)

Everything that drowns me makes me feel alive

The cowardice man who was unusually bold and brave listened to the yearling speak. He apologized for coming off as a bit more dominant and stated he was just curious. Hal didn't really respond. His eyes narrowed as he looked around. He should really be getting going but the boy was still there. "Nice to meet you Caniri." He said simply as he looked off into the distance. A smile crossed him and he wondered if what this boy was made of. "Tell me. What role do you want when you're old enough to get it?" he asked because he still had no idea what he wanted to do. His dull amber orbs looked and examined the wolf that was seemingly built for guardianship with his size.

All wolves were different, Halgen had figured that out when he was much larger than his sister yet not a fighter. He supposed he might be a late budding because he seemed to be alright with fighting now. He was constantly changing from day to day, but he didn't really care. As long as his heart and soul was still intact then he would be just fine. He waited for the youth to answer his question and thought about where he would be scouting out. That wasn't good enough. He needed a reason to need to scout it out. For food? Possibly. Protection? Another good clause. He wanted something more from life. For the first time in his life, Halgen wanted to be a leader of something. Leader of an expedition somewhere? Not good enough. Leader of a hunting patrol? It would do. Leader of a pack? Perhaps that was his goal.

Caniri walked in silence for a few seconds, gazing around the barren land, as he waited for the other to respond. Caniri wasn't sure what to think of this male, because he answered kindly enough, yet he seemed so distant. Caniri also realized that the male had jumped right into asking questions and yet he hadn't even giving him a name in return. "And you are?" He kept his tone light, friendly but he wondered what exactly this wolf was like, what made him tick.

In order to answer his question, Caniri turned his gaze to that of the stranger. It was a calm, cool gaze, but not unfriendly and not challenging. Caniri liked to be able to look at the people he was speaking to. It was a matter of honor and respect. He hoped that the male wouldn't get offended.

"Well, I suppose it'd depend on what I plan to do. If I stay, I think Ill try to become a guardian. Its what I'm good at. I protect people, and I fight others. Sometimes I can't..." He trails off, not wanting admit that sometimes he can't control the animal that rages beneath his skin when the innocent were threatened. "If I don't hang around, I think I'd like to have a pack of my own. I had one back home, but...its not something you'd be proud to claim, ya know?" His pack back home had been full of horrible, evil, bloodthirsty and pain hungry wolves. He had also spilled his own family's blood on the soil. He couldn't stand to stay.

As Caniri's mind realed, he fought to pull it back in. He wondered what the stranger would make of his answers and if he would tell him that he had his head in the clouds. "What do you have planned?"

Everything that drowns me makes me feel alive

Halgen took a deep breathe as the curious yearling continued to ask him questions. His name? That wasn't too personal given that they were packmates."Halgen Dominique." He informed the yearling in a simple tone. His eyes held the calm gaze he had been sporting since the apology. He had so many stories he could tell this yearling about how curiosity killed the cat. One time he had heard of a wolf who had a certain ailurophilia, or liking of felines, which led to him being killed by a cougar. Such an off topic thought had reached his mind. "Your curiosity is probably one of your greatest abilities, but at the same time it can be dangerous. Have you ever heard the term 'curiosity killed the cat?'" He asked.

Another guardian to the pack. Halgen was not normally an irritable wolf who could not stand others being disrespectful and he had no idea why he felt the way he had now. The fact was that was how he had felt. He saw the potential in the boy and while Hal was not older than him by any means, he was indeed curious. "Tell me more about yourself Caniri. I like to know who my packmates are. When I fight off a stubborn and violent loner, I want to know who it is I'l protecting." He explained the the yearling as he gazed in his direction. A smile on his muzzle as he relaxed a bit. He briefly let his tongue slide over his muzzle before looking further.

(This post was last modified: Feb 22, 2014, 03:42 AM by Halgen.)

Caniri's mind wandered as he walked beside his pack mate. He wasn't entirely sure what he was going to do. He wanted to stay. This was a good pack. They had taken him in even in hard times and he wouldn't mind serving under Phineas. But having Jaden here complicated things. He really liked her but their relationship was rocky and he didn't know if would go anywhere. He also needed to keep looking for Lani. He wasn't going to give up on her. His companions voice pulled him back. Finally he had name to put with the face. "Nice to meet you Halgen." He listened as he continued on. Curiosity? Sure Caniri had a lot of it but he was usually one to keep it mostly to himself. In his old pack, you didn't go around asking a ton of questions unless you wanted to loose a strip of your hide. "Yes, I've heard it before. I just figured it was safe to ask since you already had. Normally I mind my own." Caniri didn't miss the fact that Halgen hadn't actually answered his questions. Did he have something to hide?

As it turned out, it seemed that the older male was just curious. Maybe he had just spaced the fact that he hadn't given Caniri any clear answers. We'll see. He wasn't exactly sure what his pack mate would want to know. "What do you want to know?" Caniri was willing to tell his pack mate about himself, but he wasn't about to reveal his darkest secrets either. They would have to earn that trust first. He wasn't about to let out the fact that he had killed his last alpha either. He wondered if that would be enough cause for Phineas to toss him out. Would he even give him the chance to explain himself? Or would he automatically consider him a threat? Whatever the case, Caniri wasn't going to let anyone know unless he needed to. Not unless he trusted them. "You didn't tell me what you had planned, by the way."

Everything that drowns me makes me feel alive

What did he have planned? The other man brought up a good point as Hal racked his brain to figure out what he had planned. The man took a deep breathe before giving an answer. "I'm not too sure what I have planned for myself anymore. I want to be a Guardian who constantly patrols the borders, a hunter whom finds enough prey to feed the pack. A scout who can alert the pack of enemies. I can't do all three at the same time and I'm not positive which I would prefer to do more." He told the other wolf honestly as he took a deep breathe. He was quite uncomfortable with the current conversation for some reason and most of him just wanted to leave the yearling to find solace in being alone where he could think freely and aloud.

"This has been a nice conversation Caniri, but I think it would be best if the both of us get back to doing more productive things. Yes?" He asked as he waited for the other man to respond and then take his exit before Halgen would take his own. Halgen had a lot to think about but he managed to push it all to the back of his mind. Was the man {himself} hiding something? Halgen had no clear thoughts anymore. Often they were plagued with mystery and desire for something greater. Leading a pack? Sometimes he thought he could despite not having a leading bone in his body. He took a small step away from the man and tilted his head.

Caniri listened intently as the older male talked. He could understand not knowing. He himself had to consider whether he wanted to stay and make a place for himself here, or whether he would continue looking for Lani. Could he do both at the same time? And what about his dreams of having his own pack? He wasn't sure what to do. The one part he couldn't relate to, was the filling of different roles. Caniri knew what he was good at and knew what role he wanted to take. He wouldn't make a very good hunter unless it was large prey, where he could throw his weight around. Scouting just wouldn't do it for him either. If he was being honest, if he stayed with this back, he would very much like to be a guardian and become Phineas' second. It was a large dream to aspire to but he didn't think it was unreachable. It would take a lot of work, and probably a lot of challenging, but he do it if he really tried.

His companion seemed slightly uncomfortable as he finished and seemed quite antsy. "This has been a nice conversation Caniri, but I think it would be best if the both of us get back to doing more productive things. Yes?" Caniri stopped moving, slightly disappointed but hid it well. "Oh, ya. Of course. You're right, we should get back to work. It was nice speaking with you Halgen." He gave a departing nod before turning on his heel and trotting away. He was sad to end the pleasant conversation but there was work that needed to be done.

{Exit}

(This post was last modified: Mar 09, 2014, 11:09 PM by Caniri.)