A Meeting of Gentlemen (Takoda/open)

[Kenai]

Once again, he was alone. Cherokee had her own responsibilities with Airila that took her away much to soon but he would manage. He always did. The painted male missed her but he had his own resposibilites he must focus on as well. He was Pallaton, he had purpose and others who relied on him. He couldn't disappear whenever he wished. But this is what he wanted and certainly didn't regret or begrudge it. 

Stretching deeply before he stood up to his full height and turned his face into the sunlight with those dark burnt orange closed as he enjoyed the rays on his face. After a moment of being so silent and still that he may be mistaken for the rocks surrounding him, Kenai opened his eyes and jumped down from the rock ledge he was resting on.

A new day, a new course to take as he still explored his home. He wanted to know all about it, each crevice that could be used in some unknown battle that may or may not ever take place. The threats however seemed to be growing new packs sprouting up by the sounds of it and those Kairos wolves only were getting stronger. He had to be prepared, being the only warrior of Eden....well that only one he knew of...it was his sole job to make sure everyone was as safe as possible. 

Scanning carefully, his burnt gaze stopped on a form he didn't recognize. Tilting his head, he observed for a moment or two before his paws turned to carry him closer to the stranger. "Greetings." He called out to be certain he didn't sneak up on the dark brow wolf that was now identifiable as a male. Some didn't take to well to being spooked. "Kenai is my name, sir." He bowed his head respectfully, noting the scent of Thanatos entangled in his fur so Kenai concluded this was not a trespasser, perhaps another pack mate he had yet to meet.


Takoda

OOC: I'm awful at openers but here ya go ^^

[Takoda]

Takoda's life in Eden was such a stark contrast to what Exousía had been like. Thanatos had been only kind and welcoming despite the now-Hastiin having been a complete stranger at the time—he had not even attacked despite Takoda being on claimed territory! Takoda smiled to himself; perhaps being in a pack would not be so terrible after all.

Since joining the religious pack, Takoda had remained around the area of Zozyr's Glory—or at least, the area that smelled like Zozyr's Glory—he was almost afraid of venturing further. What if he went too far? Eden was such a nice pack. He would not want to anger it because he had gone over borders. "Better safe than sorry" the warrior's mother had snapped at him when he asked why he could not be treated like visually able wolves—although in context the words had a different meaning, they did apply to Takoda's situation at that moment.

Another good thing was that the young Mackenzie Valley male's wounds were healing well. His flanks only felt scarred now, lumpy rather than wet with blood, and the scarring would likely fade and lose their texture with time as had his other scars from his pack's—no, previous pack's—vicious attacks. Exousía could become something of the past. Eden was Takoda's home now.

Smiling contentedly at the though, Takoda did not notice that another scent had grown gradually stronger. It mingled well with the scent of Eden so it was harder to locate, but the thing was rather easy to feel when he bumped into the stranger. Startled, the blind wolf jumped back and offered his apologies, taking note that the other wolf was male.

"My apologies, sir! I am blind, you see, so sometimes I bump into others," Takoda said. "By the way, you do smell of Eden. Are you, by any chance, another fellow member? I just joined not long ago so you might not know of me."

---

Words: 358
Tags: Kenai
Muse: Meh. Still working out his character.

[Kenai]

 His eyes raked over the stranger, taking in the battered scars and he had to admit his curiosity was peaked. What was his story? But that question was replaced by what was he doing? The hazel eyes male simply walked into him, Kenai was only confused as to why he would do such a thing. It was light enough outside to see clearly, surely it wasn't an accident. Perplexed, Kenai waited for some sign of what was going on.

Blind...His mask cleared as soon as he registered what the stranger said. "No harm done, sir. It's quite alright." Kenai's voice spoke quietly, since he figured the stranger may be more sensitive to sound without the gift of sight. 

Smilng at the question, Kenai nodded but then realized with a touch of embarrassment that he couldn't communicate by simple gestures. "Yes I am. Pallaton in specific. Let me welcome you to Eden, newcomer. By what name do you answer to?" He kept his tone polite and open to further indicate he took no offense to the run-in. 

"This is the first pack I've ever been a part of. Still getting used to it frankly." He looked around at the land, it was comforting to be able to call this home but having been a wanderer for so long it was not part of him yet to lay his head in the same place two nights in a row. But old habits die hard.

Looking back at the chocolate male, Kenai stood relaxed to see if there were any questions in particular he may like to voice. Meeting the Alpha may have been a bit unsettling for a loner, although Thanatos was a gentle leader that Kenai had a hard time picturing someone being scared of him if they were accepted within the ranks.

Takoda

[Takoda]

The presumably Eden male was friendly, like some loners that Takoda had met back when he did not live on Anikira. However, those had been loners. The stranger introduced himself as an Eden wolf—a Pallaton. It seemed that Eden was a stark contrast to the other pack that the Mackenzie Valley wolf knew of, Exousía. So far, everyone that the new member had met had been kind and welcoming. Yes, he had only met two wolves, Thanatos and this male, but it was still giving off a good impression to Takoda. And in Eden's lands, the Hastiin felt rather calm and at peace with the world rather than victimised and conflicted for his eyesight issue back on the distant Greek island.

"Greetings, Pallaton. I am Takoda, obviously still a Hastiin since I just joined. What are you called, sir?" Takoda asked in response, wanting to put a name to the scent.

When the other Eden male said that this was the first pack that he had been in, Takoda wondered if he ought to count his natal pack as a pack. Sure, he had been born into it, but he had never been wanted in it. Well, at first, things went well, but he was rather young when the Shaman had told him that he would go blind eventually from whatever had happened to his eyes when he was born and the whole pack seemed to have turned against him. So had Takoda truly been a member of Exousía?

"I was once a member of a pack—born into it—and was rather respected there for being the heir to the throne until the Shaman told me and my father that I was to go blind. See, I had eyesight once, although it was bad and I would have eventually gone blind. My mother got really angry at me hence the wounds that you probably see on my flank and also is the reason why I went blind prematurely. So everybody kind of hated me there, plus I never really fit in since it was a fierce pack based around raising tough warriors. I still consider myself a good fighter but I don't enjoy violence unless necessary, unlike my birth pack. So you could say that I was never a true member of it so, in a way, Eden is my first pack as well."

Takoda wondered if he had rambled a bit too much. Did the stranger really care about Takoda's past? He did not want to bore the male or scare him off. He was simply not very used to social situations having been raised in such a way, but he did want to make friends. All of the other pups had made friends and they were normal.

Kenai

[Kenai]

It wasn't until Takoda had asked did Kenai realize ha had failed to mention his name alongside his rank. "Forgive me, my name is Kenai. A pleasure to meet you." Soft spoken Kenai merely listened as Takoda went on about his past life which was apparently rather tragic. His sight stolen rather than lost and scorned for being different. While Kenai could not relate in any substantial way to Takoda's troubles, the burnt orange eyes softened as the chocolate wolf finished his tale. The kind hearted male couldn't fathom how a pack could turn on their own blood for something so (in his opinion) trivial.

"My sympathies for your troubles." The soft spoken Kenai began, hoping that Takoda wouldn't find any offense in his tone or words. After they had just met and Kenai was unsure if this was a rather touchy subject for him despite sharing it so early in their relationship as pack mates. "I whole-heartedly welcome you into Eden's confines and can promise that you will be seen as an equal member of the family." Hmm perhaps 'confines' was a poor choice, after all that sounded more like a prison than a home however it was meant kindly. 

He had a feeling he should also mention Elohim, but still didn't have a good grasp on the workings of the religion and didn't want to make a fool of himself by misspeaking. So he simply avoided the subject for now until he had a better idea of it.

"Do you have any plans now that you have someplace to call home?" Sincerely interested, Kenai only hoped he wasn't being too nosy. As Pallaton, he had the responsibility of protection and service. Cherokee wasn't even in the same pack as he was which both made it easier since he could focus on his duties during the day but also made things a whole lot harder since he couldn't see her pretty face when he wanted. But they knew it would be difficult when it started. They chose this course.


Takoda
Sorry for the rambling

[Takoda]

Kenai. Kenai, the Pallaton. "Well, may Elohim bless you, Kenai," Takoda replied, trying out the deity's name. He was not used to being faithful to a higher being, but if such a kind, benevolent wolf could believe in Elohim then there had to be some truth in Him. His existence seemed rather plausible to the Hastiin and he indeed had been feeling the sense of peace and belonging that was said to overcome canines residing in Tiayr so there had not been any reason to question the mutual belief in Elohim that was within every Eden member.

An equal. Never in the male's life had he been an equal, an everyday member. He had either been revered and almost worshipped as if he was some god or scorned upon like the devil's spawn. Another thing that intrigued Takoda was how Kenai worded his sentence—he referred to Eden as a family which was yet another thing that the Mackenzie Valley wolf never truly had. His family had never been loving like he had seen the other, everyday families be. There was never the tight-knit familiarity of families in Takoda's life—his parents had come together as a power couple, two wolves with apparently supreme genes to systematically produce strong warriors and his siblings were never close to him. They had always hated him—envious of the attention that he had as firstborn son at first and then, when his ocular problem was revealed, they had joined in with their peers in bullying him. To think that he would have another chance at being in a family warmed the male's heart.

Hearing the Pallaton's question, Takoda started thinking. He had never really thought about the future—if he was to be honest, he had not expected to survive the swim, perhaps even jumping off of the cliff. His only motive then had been to escape the island and to end his suffering, either by death or by finding another place beyond the expansive body of water to start anew. Thanatos had been so welcoming and friendly towards the foreigner that it had convinced the ex-loner to join Eden. It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, to become part of a pack again, and no planning had gone into it. After some thought, Takoda replied, "Well, I have seen families together—ordinary, functional families. I would like to start one of my own one day and be a better father than my own. There is no rush, though. I'd like to have pups with a femme who I love, not any old she-wolf." There were also the plans to gain some sort of warrior position, but at that moment, the thought of having a family, a true family, not just having family as a euphemism for a pack, appealed to Takoda more than finding a use in the workings of a pack. That was important to him as well, but the newly thought of concept of offspring excited the currently virgin male.

Calm down, Takoda, the male told himself. It's not like you're going to just find a random female and start a family with her anytime soon.

Kenai
OOH foreshadowing for Takala :0

[Kenai]

He smiled as Takoda tested out the name of Edens patron God. He seemed to be fitting in quite nicely already. 

It wasn't long before Takoda started painting a picture of his plans, hopes for the future. Nodding as he listened, even though it wasn't seen, Kenai understood the desire for family. He was raised in a close knit family, he even came here with his sister to search for a missing relative. Then everything was perfect again when his uncle had a family and they found a place within it as easily as ever alongside them. Then within a blink of an eye it was gone. Kenai was truly alone for the first time in his life. Wandering endlessly until he came here, the earthy wolf even met a girl. True she wasn't from the same pack, but that made no difference to him. 

"There is no need to rush a thing like love. You are wise to wait and find that special one. Now I may be classed as a romantic but I heartily believe it is true to say that love can't be found just anywhere and made to work." He sat down and brushed the ground with his tail, "I wish you the best in your endeavors, Takoda. I'll tell you now that females within Edens ranks are sparse. In fact I can only think of one whom I don't believe is attached and is of age. But don't let that break your spirit, new wolves pass through often so there is plenty of opportunity to meet agreeable wolves from all walks of life." He just thought it would be good to let the dark brown wolf know what kind of playing field he was in since he was still rather new.

Takoda
Takala!!<33

[Takoda]

Chocolate brown audits listened as Kenai spoke, informing the larger male that it was indeed best to wait until 'the one' came along. Takoda nodded vaguely as the Pallaton said that there were very few females in Eden. But a pack was not going to restrict the warrior—a pack never had and never would. Although his loyalty lay with Elohim and Thanatos, Eden was in no way a boundary for opportunity to Takoda.

"Don't worry; I most certainly will wait until the time's right." Curious about the other Eden member's own life, Takoda added, "So, what brought you to Eden? And do you have any family of your own around here?"

Takoda was rather new to the pack but did want to get acquainted with it—after all, he would likely spend the rest of his so far fairly short life in Eden. Getting to know his packmates was one of the many things that the Hastiin ought to do, but he would work on it. Kenai was a start, and slowly, the newcomer would become not so much of a newcomer and then a full member of the religious pack. He looked forward to finding acceptance within a pack; it was as if he did have a family, as if he was part of an extended group of friends. The thought of such a previously foreign concept warmed his heart, the concept that he would have what he thought would never be his, all happening so suddenly and spontaneously.

He wondered, just then, if Kenai would have a lot of family in Eden, if any. Did many of the pack's members have familial ties? Or perhaps they all came from scattered origins, virtual strangers not so long ago, united under the deity known as Elohim and bonding over nothing but Him. Perhaps large families were abundant in the devout group's ranks, or perhaps most had offspring somewhere on the continent. Takoda was genuinely curious.

---

Kenai
Sorry for the wait! <3

[Kenai]

He was glad to hear there was no rush on the blind males part for a mate. After all it wasn't something one just decided, at least he never believed it to be so. Maybe some could justify that but he felt a mate had to be special and fitting. He didn't plan on Cherokee, at all actually. It was a chance meeting and something just clicked. Rather a whirlwind romance which he need really had thought would happen to him. He was so awkward around females in general.

'I have a mate, Cherokee. But no other family, I have lost all I had called mine quite some time ago. A sister, uncle, his mate and nieces and nephews, all were taken from me. As for Cherokee and I, it is a rather new development for us but I hope one day we could start a family. It may prove difficult since she is of Airila and I am Eden but with patience I believe it will work." Patience was something he had in spades but even this would prove to test his limits, at least he had a feeling it would be so. He still had yet to approach Thanatos about it. The rules of having a mate were fuzzy since he never thought he would have one, he never asked. 

Oddly enough, talking about the ones he had lost seemed to be getting easier. Yes he blamed himself a great deal for not being there, but dragging out their deaths in such a melancholy way couldn't possibly be honoring their memory. Perhaps he was finally coming to grips with it after over a year of wallowing. Of course he would forever miss them. He would always love them. Those faces still popped up when he closed his eyes, that may never go away. But he didnt want it to. 

Takoda
Sorry for rambling...