Desert Hauntings

[irirangi]

Iri had to bite back a snort at the first words of the old one. The way he spoke of the young alpha made Xinelil sound no better than a pup. Was a pup truely fit to be running a pack? She let her mind wander, silently mulling over her opinion of the Arctic brute they'd met earlier. He didn't seem to be too young, but to be naive to the was of nature was just as much a downfall as youth.

Only an indignant huff from the other-worldly alphess brought her from her musings. She tilted her gaze down slightly, eyeing her firey companion curiously. The Iranian seemed to have a rather strong reaction to what the old one had said. In all truth, Irirangi hadn't paid his words too much attention. She'd picked out the key words, keeping herself in the loop, but other than that she had let herself get lost to her own devices.

Alya, on the other hand, had taken in every word with rapt attention. Her eyes narrowed as her brow furrowed, an displeased huff escaping her lips. Funny indeed! Humph! There was nothing funny about what had happened. She had failed as a leader, a role model, and alpha. She had let down those she trusted. She had let down the ones that trusted her. And here was this old male pointing out the irony of her downfall.

"I'm so pleased I can amuse you." It was near impossible to miss the sarcasm dripping from her tone of voice. Her small body bristled with annoyance. Alya did not like to be laughed at, even if Siscarm wasn't really laughing. "When you are the one trying to regroup after facing the wrath of Pievunt-An and find one of your kin surrounded by rogues out for blood, see if you still find things funny. I do not want your pity. My mistakes were my own, my loss great. I have no intentions of leaving until I set things right."

Passion was burning in eyes. Alya's words were spoken with conviction. It was true, she probably would not tire of her extended stay in the living. At least, she would not do so any time soon. She had a self given purpose for lingering in the land of the living. And, being the stubborn, head-strong femme that she was there would be no peaceful rest for her until she achieved atonement. She would not even think of moving on until she saw the Occasus thriving with a strong, new pack and the rogues that destroyed the Zahir as good as dead.

The Maned femme tuned acutely into the conversation the second she felt the eyes of the elder on her. A complacent smile decorated her maw as her auds twitched, taking in the words directed at her. "Honestly I should be more surprised that you actually see her," she drawled, motioning to Alya with her nose. She didn't know that Siscarm didn't really see her, but if he was to address her then she would speak. It was only polite, and Alya was already riled up enough for the both of them.

With a quiet sigh she took in his smile. She then gave the explination he sought, not so subtly shooting a few glares in her small companion's direction. "I am Irirangi. Iri, for short... Much like yourself I tend to spend my days wandering. The little princess here seems to have picked me as her successor though. I'm still not sure what I quite think of that, but for now doing as she asks keeps her annoying chatter to a minimum."

Iri couldn't help but smirk as she caught Alya's eye. The alphess was positively furiously. Had the Maned fae been afraid of ghosts, the glare this particular one was sending her would have been enough to stop her heart. It was no wonder Alya had been chosen as the alphess. She may have been small in stature, but her presence could be quite intimidating when the time arose.

[jiminiminy]

ooc: I 'aint 'fraid a' no ghosts! Also, 100th post!

bic: Siscarm knew exactly what he was doing when he didn't answer the former alphess' venemous sarcasm. Someone else, who either didn't know she was dead, or didn't understand much about the plane of unlife, would have listened to every word and treated her sayings the same as if she were still alive. The elder knew better than that. No matter how worked up that this little femme got, there was nothing that she could do to him past annoying him to the verge of insanity, and, judging by the words that had been spoken by the alphess' currently unseen companion, she likely wouldn't really help the small femme in the event that Alya took it upon herself to exact some sort of revenge on the old brute. In theory, he could say anything and not have any physical retaliation.

"It is true, is it not, that sometimes we help others simply for our own person benifit, not innocent helpfulness. Not to say that she doesn't deserve help, after what she's been through, but you might find yourself in a predicament as well." As he spoke, Siscarm took one or two shaky steps toward the hidden femme's position, under the impression that if he stood closer to her he might be able to spot her outline in the darkness. However, though he trod carefully, the brute didn't go too far, the femme might be a little closer than he thought, and tripping over a wolf was rather rude in the best of circumstances. Considering that the puppet wolf was following more or less direct orders from the ghostly one, and she didn't much like the presence of the wolf, she might be tripped off against him alot easier.

"And Miss Alya, you must accept my apology." Siscarm froze, not sure how close he was to Irirangi. Her pelt must have been darker than Alya's, or maybe he might have a better sight for these kinds of things. Not like it came up alot. "You see, at my age, for I truly am older than you both, you come to realize something." The elder turned back to the ghost, abandoning the prospect of finding the other one. She must really be good at hiding, considering she was doing so well without trying, or maybe the elder was just getting worse at finding. "The only difference between comedy, and tragidy, is whether it happens to you..." He paused for a moment, as if to think of the next words to say. "...Or to someone else..." His words no longer rang with any particular emotion or tone, simply falling from his mouth, his head dipping thoughtfully for a moment.

"Whelp." Siscarm's head returned to it's rightful place above that of Alya's, though his eyes wandered to where Irirangi had been heard previous. "I can't help but feel sorry for cutting our visit short, espically since we just met, an after all the good it's done." His gaze returned to Alya, giving her a smirk, one of mutual disrespect. "While you both may be comfortable here, one of you so much so as to the point that you remain protecting it beyond death, I am better suited for the colder regions of our fine island. If I stay here much longer, there'd be problems for all of us." Siscarm turned from them both, well, where he assumed both were, heading for the exit of the perpetual darkness. About three feet from where he'd entered, the elder brute stopped, turning his head back. "Oh, and Irirangi, I hope that you find a solution to your...predicament..." That said, the elder trotted the remaining distance outside. After squinting in the light for a moment, he began plodding the way eastward, beginning to pant from the sun and heat after only the first few steps. These lands may be beautiful, but they were among the hardest ones to travel in.

And the inhabitants weren't exactly helping.

[irirangi]

"No act is selfless," Irirangi quipped back, head tilting to one side. It was a short, mockingly bitter responce. It didn't hold the venom of the former alphess's words, but it was still unpleasant. It was a defense mechanism. And as the old one wandered closer, it was the only defense she had. His movements were cautious and slow, making it obvious he didn't trust her. Likewise, her faith in Siscarm was lacking given the fact that they barely knew each other. While she knew enough not to harm her elder if he drew too close, that made no gaurentee that her words would not hold that razor edge that often appeared in her conversations, even if it was involuntary.

Reguardless, the corners of Maned fae's mouth tilted themselves into a smirk. Her silver optics bounced between the frames of the old male and the tiny ex-alphess. She really was in quite the predicament. A bossy alphess with no intent of fully passing on had decided that she would be the perfect vassle. It was a job she didn't want as well as a job she was currently doing out of convenience. If she wasn't careful she would be ending up with more responsibility she was willing to handle.

Speaking of the alphess, she was visibly bristling. Siscarm had ignored her. Completely ignored her! First he seemed to mock her, and then he ignored her. Unacceptable. His calm, passive demeanor was more trouble to her than the rogues had been. She could handle a fight. A fight would release all of her pent up frustrations. Maybe then she'd be a bit more pleasant and accepting. Instead, the way everything just seemed to roll off the Arctic male with little to no consequence was infuriating and further forced her to bottle her emotions.

As his gaze drifted backs towards her, she couldn't help but fix her glare on him. So now he was willing to address her, eh? And with an apology no less. This caused Alya's brow to furrow. The spirit hadn't been expecting an apology. Then again, she was more accoustomed to dealing with impolite youth. In a way, Siscarm's attitude was a breath of fresh air. For a second she stood slack-jawed. Then, slowly she dipped her head in respect before locking her eyes with his. "Apology accepted. I should know better than to take my frustrations out on another, and for that I return the sentiment." It was a rather roundabout approach towards an apology, but it was still enough to make it known that she was indeed regretting her earlier sarcasm. The brute had only come in search of answers.

Both females reacted to Siscarm's sudden words, one raising a brow while the other's further furrowed. So the heat had become too much for the old one. Iri barely noticed the temperature and the weather had no affect on Alya's spirit. The Iranian returened his smirk with a deep scowl, which in turned caused her leggy friend to mockingly smile. The smile was wiped from the Maned's lips at his final words, however, becoming replaced with a frown that matched the spirit's.

She said nothing as she closed the gap between herself and the cavern's exit, eyes trained on the retreating figure in slight frustration. Alya glided along at her side, both of them blinking into the sunlight. Neither female was pleased with what had just transpired, but there was no helping it. Before she was fully sure the male was out of earshot, Iri quickly called out, "Travel safely!" It was the least she could do, all things considered. She then caught Alya's eye and with a nod from the former alphess they began to poke around the base of the volcano, looking for any other signs of life.

~*~

End Thread