Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold

@Chulyin

everything that kills me makes me feel alive

While Karpos was keeping himself busy at all times possible with whatever was needed to be done, it began to bother him that he never saw Aponi other than when he went to sleep at night. Was she avoiding him on purpose? Did she not want to be around him anymore? He rarely ever saw her since the claiming and he felt as if he had done something wrong. The young man was a very anxious wolf. He suffered from anxiety and sometimes paranoia. This was the main reason he was up at midnight. Sometimes it helped him forget the world to just look up at the stars and talk to his father. A religion had not been laid down to Karpos but a code had. Honesty. Loyalty. Friendship. Honor.

Karp offered a smile as he engaged in a casual conversation with the deceased man. "What Aponi had said on the mountains about her brother; that will never happen with me. I won't leave dad. But... it feels like she's avoiding me. I only ever see her when she returns to the communal den to sleep. Have I done something wrong?" He asked knowing he would not receive an answer. The black boy started through the forest as he lost himself to thought. Perhaps a border patrols would get his mind of things? Maybe even a hunt if he could find food. The food was gone but he had been extremely lucky as of late when it came to finding carcasses. He had found one at the borders when he met Quick. He had found one while talking to Mapplethorpe. He had even found one while scuffling with Mercy.

(This post was last modified: Feb 23, 2014, 08:18 PM by Karpos.)

(screeee you should have pm'd me. :C i would never have let this thread sit for so looooong! also, i'm assuming it's nighttime?)

Chulyin was never one to malinger. He patrolled with the utmost diligence, and could even be considered obsessive on occasion. But sometimes, even the most steadfast knight needed to sleep. Throughout hours of sleeplessness he would tread on, almost constantly moving, not desiring to be still lest the sandman catch up with him. When he did stop, however, sleep almost instantly conquered him. Even when the sun rose and fell, eventually pulling him from sleep, and his bones ached, and he didn't wise to rise and face the sun, he did anyway. Who knew what drove the man on. His sister, perhaps, the driving force of everything the man did...Or perhaps it was the perpetual, unshaken optimism that one day he might feel something.

Sometime in the early afternoon, he'd retreated to the den to nap once his paws had started dragging through the snows. Chulyin had intended for it to be short-lived, a quick resting of his eyes, but when he woke, he felt the warmth of his packmates around him, and no light shone through the opening ahead of him, the light did not greet his eyes as it usually did, as he rested so close to their entrance. Nostrils flared in mild irritation as he rose, sliding quietly into the night. He might've become something of a ghost in recent weeks, finding himself more active in the night time. Maybe as some unconscious awareness that if there was food, he'd have a better chance of getting it at night, when it was harder to see him. Regardless of the reasoning, he was out now, whether he wanted to or not, and, wide awake, he wandered towards the borders, keep his steps high and his head low, acutely aware of his surroundings.

As he neared the borders, the cold air, which stung his nostrils, also alerted him to the presence of Karpos. Out late again, it seemed. Lifting his stature slightly, he peered around the tangled trees hoping to catch a glance of the boy that seemed nearly his clone. "Karpos." Chulyin spoke, just above a whisper, the command, hoping to draw the boy out.

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention

:) It was my fault xD I spelled Chulyin as Chuylin in the tag so you didn't get it!

everything that kills me makes me feel alive

The only things from the outside world to penetrate the boy's thoughts were words spoken by another wolf. He recognized the voice and so he turned to see Chuylin, the Queen's brother. With a small sigh he turned to him. "Hello Mr. Chulyin." He offered with a small and forced smile, he just wasn't sure what to think anymore. His eyes obviously held something much deeper than what he was letting on to. "Whatcha doing out here so late?" The chocolate ex-prince said with a slight hint of curiosity in the subject. The moon above the was only light omitted from the sky other than the stars which dimly glowed that night. His head tilted slightly. His eyes were not zoning but his thoughts were.

He wanted desperately for his entire family to be reunited once more. It was as his heart ached for every time a wolf stabbed him in the back. Mum, Da, Adsi, Momma Ana, Uncle Lachesis, Auntie Pella, Uncle Ace, Uncle Ill, Uncle Aeo, Aunt Silver. He repeated the names of every wolf he no longer had any form of contact with in his head as he waited for an answer from the Prince. Would he be a prince since his sister was the queen? Or was it only the queens children were princes and princesses? Strange thoughts raced through his head. Nonsense, he didn't need to worry about such things. Karpos then worries some more about what Aponi thought of him. After hearing what Mercy had said about her, he began to wonder if he was just some kind of man servant being used.

Chulyin moved forward through the winding branches and quickly spotted the boy, Karpos. Clearly he'd walked in on something...again. The dark man was no fool, and knew when he was being fooled. "I could ask you the same thing, boy," He answered. "I've come out to check the borders." Rather than deny the kid a real answer, he responded as honestly as he could muster without becoming long-winded. His sleeping habits weren't the most riveting of conversation as it was. The boy seemed distracted and Chulyin frowned. He seemed far too young to be harping on issues of the past. His eyes did not turn upwards as though in a dream, admiring the stars that twinkled deftly above them. No, Chulyin's copper eyes remained trained upon Karpos.

"Why do you worry yourself with the past?" The man asked, some dim frustration within his chest beginning to gain power. He could not lie that family meant almost everything to him; he'd walked unfathomable distances to find Naira. "Or if you care so much, why not find them?" His voice was not unreasonably harsh, and perhaps his questions betrayed his confusions. Not everyone thought as he did, but perhaps they ought to. Another question lingered upon his tongue, but he held it back, wanting to hear the boy answer first. For a mere second, he wondered if he was being cruel. This boy had lost his home and his family...And, of course, he was still just a boy. But Chulyin wanted to know.

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention

everything that kills me makes me feel alive

Karpos was listening and yet he wasn't. Chuylin asked him a simple question and he answered with what he thought was what he thought. "I can't sleep again." The words were barely a whisper. Too often had the pup stayed up to the earliest hours of the morning, just past midnight and sometimes half way between midnight and sunrise only to fall asleep and wake up a few hours later. Karpos was not braced for the next question he was asked as he struggled to keep himself calm with it. Why did he worry about the past so much? He didn't know, but he knew the answer to the next question he offered. "I know where they are, but I cannot visit them. Mr. Chuylin, they are in an enemy pack now." He said weakly to the second in command.

Yes, Lach, Pella, Ana {formerly belonged to}, Aeo. They all belonged to that Cut Rock River pack that he had heard whispers of. It seems Cut Rock River didn't like Hollowheart Keep too much and vice verse. He'd be attacked if he dared venture down to visit his family there. It hurt him more that he had promised to visit his Aunt Capella when he was a bit older. He would not be able to and so they would have to find some way to meet on neutral ground. His breathe was a little shaky. He didn't even look in Chuylin's direction. "My aunts and uncles are all residing in Cut Rock River."

They both seemed plagued by something larger, either physical or mental. Something that gnawed without rest upon their minds. Karpos' problem might have been within the physical realm, but that didn't make it any more graspable. And spending night after night awake would inevitable cripple them somehow. The dark man nodded sagely at the dark boy's response, simply agreeing with him. He received no answer in regards to the past, which left Chulyin disappointed. But hopefully Karpos would sit on it, and find an answer eventually. He sighed heavily, eyes closing for a moment while he let that sink in. "I would hope that you might choose us over them, Karpos," He said, eyes opening to look intently upon the boy. In all honesty, the man wasn't sure what to say beyond that. How cruel, to make a child choose between his pack and his blood family. He cared little for the minutiae that was Cut Rock River. It was hardly an obstacle, so long as he respected their boundaries and they respected the Keep's.

His tail swayed behind him thoughtfully, eyes now ascended skyward to admire the dim stars. Would he allow Karpos to linger on this further, or perhaps push it aside and urge the boy towards greener pastures? The River pack was close, close enough that Karpos could easily leave them and rejoin his family. And he hadn't. But that didn't mean he wasn't thinking about it. Pink tongue slipped over his jowls and he regarded the boy again. "You don't have to call me Mister, boy." He said finally, clearly taking the road a bit less traveled, hoping that Karpos might follow him down it.

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention

valar dohaeris.

karpos slayer

all men must serve.

There it was.

Karpos had known it would be coming as soon as he had started to talk about his family and not being able to see him. With a sigh he turned to one of the few pack members he looked up to. There were exactly four wolves from Hollowheart Keep that he looked up to. Mapplethorpe, Chulyin, Naira, Sagacity. In that order exactly. "Mr. Chulyin, I wouldn't be here right now if I had chosen them... I just can't help but miss them and want to see them." He said in a hoarse voice, the last part had been rather difficult to get out. His eyes held something uneasy but it was quite obvious that he was no liar. He took a small breathe and looked at the ground. The snow that had so commonly fallen in the winter fell upon the chocolate brown boy's pelt.

It was no catharsis either.

The guardian had told him to not say 'mister.' Karpos, despite willing to follow the wishes of the man, felt like it was not something to do. "With all due respect, I must Mr. Chulyin." He said calmly as he looked at the man for some sort of response. Part of him feared what the man would say about his little refusal. He was a Keep ward now, he had no room in his heart for fear. He had little room in his heart for anything. He had what he needed. He had his personality and independence and the love in his heart that he tried to save for the few that he honestly and truly cared about. Calling an older man or woman as 'Sir' or 'Mister' or 'Misses' was part of his soul he felt.

Chulyin hadn't considered this actually. When he pined, he could only figure that the way to fix it was to go to the person. Why stay where you were when what you wanted wasn't there? Chulyin had left his birth pack because those he longed for were no longer there. But @Karpos did not share this view, clearly, and Chulyin could respect that. Or perhaps, while the boy wanted his family, he wanted something within the Keep more. His mind did not linger up this long, of course, and instead could only nod in response. He would not argue, but only hope that he might somehow be able to assist the boy in finding what he wanted.

And perhaps to disappoint and confuddle the man further, Karpos insisted that he must call Chulyin 'mister'. But Chulyin found that he felt neither of those emotions, instead his lips drew back in a smile, slight as it was, and he chuckled deeply. "Well, I hope you might change your mind one day." He answered, ears twitching. For a moment, he thought about what Karpos had said earlier. "Perhaps I could escort you?" He asked, head tilted thoughtfully to one side. Cut Rock River might have been enemies, which only meant that it would not be wise for the boy to go alone. Even if he was there to find his family, they could presume it false, attack him on site...Chulyin did not desire to start a fight, but simply act as a bodyguard in case things did get rough.

Lurking until the end of July - Please PM/tag me to get my attention