Mirthless Mirage [open]

[ulrich]

A Life Squandered

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[music]

The vast span of the horizon rippled and shimmered in the summer heat; the landscape was stark and without shadow, as the intense sunlight glowered directly overhead in the cloudless sky. A lone wolf moved at a slow and tired pace across the plain— seemingly the only living thing in the midst of the sparse drifts of scanty, scrubby hills. As if burdened by a heavy weight, his steps fell sluggishly onto the hot and dusty earth. His mighty head hung low and spiritless, eyes on the ground ahead of him. Ulrich was exhausted. A cumbersome world-weariness was upon him now, dulling his senses, his body, his mind… he was utterly forlorn. The steadfast strength and unbreakable perseverance that had brought him halfway across the world to this very place seemed distant and out of reach now, and the years were catching up to him.

So many years. How many years had he been searching for her? He had followed her tracks in earnest, day by day, from place to place, ceaselessly… never giving up, not even when hopelessness and futility threatened to mislead him from his course. His path had been unclear at times, but his eyes were always on the final goal of his mission… to find the she-wolf Athabasca, and pass on a final message, her grandfather’s last words… that her family had been alive for all those years she believed in grief that they were dead, and they had devoted the very last of their lives to bringing her home.

But her family was dead. Her grandfather was dead. Athabasca, too, was dead.

Tanaga’s dying wish disintegrated into nothingness, forever lost and never to be fulfilled.

Ulrich’s mission had been a failure since the beginning. Only now, having come so utterly close to the end but never reaching it, did he realize with insufferable remorse that these last years of his life had been wasted. Turned to dust and blown away in the winds of fate. Never to return.

There was nothing to do now but keep living— but for what? And where? He had always dreamed of returning home, but deep in the dark of his heart he knew it was highly unlikely that he would ever make it back. It had taken him years to get this far, taken him through the prime of his life, and truthfully… he didn’t know how to get back. The years, certainly, were not coming back. By the time he found his way back home, it would be time to die— granted, that the journey itself did not kill him, or the pack that had driven him out in the first place did not finish what they had started so many years ago.

No, Ulrich would never find his home again.

In the midst of the vast plain, the wolf stopped, dead tired, and lifted his weary head. His deep mahogany eyes gazed with a dull and dwindling hopefulness at the eastern horizon; far off, beyond the rippling horizon, the distant shapes of mountains lingered like a mirage to taunt him. He was going there, because he had nowhere else to go.

[Deleted]

Somehow, she had escaped him! Sariya managed to slip away from Zethrox, and she was now enjoying a merciless, frolicking time in the sun. The pup ran, tripped, spiraled and giggled. It was such great fun, and she wondered why she had never wandered away before. "Mama and gray-grandpuh won't even be able to catch me!" she squealed, barreling through the grass that was taller than herself by far. It was such a wonderous day; why wouldn't she be allowed to wander until now?

SLAM!

The little femme had not been paying attention to her steps, and she had unintentionally struck a much larger, and definitely more threatening, wolf. Sariya gulped a little, looking up at him; where had he come from. "I don't know you!" she screeched at the brute, a little growl building up in her chest as she puffed herself out in an attempt to look larger. "Mama's gonna come get you!" she lied in a sing-song voice. What she thought was a very convincing tone was quite obviously a lie as she danced around the brute with little care to the consequence.

Sariya was quite proud of herself for having discovered the intruder. "You're gonna be in trouble mister. Mama doesn't like when strangers are walking around here!" she goaded the brute with a smirk. "I'm Sariya, and this is gonna be my terry-tera-ter... My land some day!" she tripped over the word multiple times before correcting herself. She was getting better each day, but there was still room for improvement. "But you're not being very smart. Mama says you should always howl before you enter someone else's land. See?" she giggled, and then threw her head back to let out a cute, yippy howl. Little did she know, that howl would soon bring her mother or great-grandfather running.

"I guess I get to hold you prisoner now," she told the stranger tersely. "I can't let you run away because then mama won't believe me when I tell her about you. I'm gonna be so important to this pack and everyone will love me because I'm super smart!" This time, she puffed her chest out with pride, prancing around with excitement. "So, since you're my prisoner, whatcha doing here? And what's your name? And do you want to play?" she spewed out the questions one after another.

"Please be my friend!"

[ulrich]

Playing Along

---

[music]

Ulrich was so lost in the haze of his downtrodden thoughts that he failed to hear the pup approaching through the scrubby weeds; taken rather by surprise as she barreled straight into his foreleg, he looked down at her with a wide-eyed, irritated glare. The pup was a mouse in comparison to his own size, and he hadn’t even budged upon impact. Ulrich merely stood rigid and followed the dancing little punk with his stern, silent mahogany stare—slightly taken aback with awe and confusion at the sudden interruption in his thoughts, by this…

This…

Prancing…

Little…

“KLEINE WELP.* Cease your frolicking. You are giving me headache,” Ulrich growled, obviously in a grouchy mood.

He was tempted to shove past her and continue his path through the dry grass, especially now that she mentioned he was on pack territory—something that made him both unnerved and slightly annoyed. He was in no mood to deal with more pack wolves at the moment… or ever again, for that case. But he realized now that their scent was in the air, and the little pup’s howl would have them rushing to find her any minute now…

And Ulrich was so… utterly… exhausted. Too tired to even think of making haste getting out of here before Sariya’s pack arrived. The brute grumbled to himself through gritted teeth.

“Fine… Ich vill be your prisoner.”

With a weary, aggravated sigh, the large brute settled himself down into the grass, ignoring the bothersome pup’s questions for the time being and merely keeping his vexed stare on her. His mighty head was settled on his foreleg, tiny clouds of dust being stirred from the ground upon his every distempered exhale.

He found the pup’s overconfidence slightly disconcerting; wandering about on her own, confronting strangers that could snap her neck in one swift bite— it wasn’t safe, and she could easily get herself killed. Luckily for Sariya, Ulrich was no pup-killer. She was safe enough, for now.

But then again, what did he care?

"Please be my friend!"

Ulrich scoffed at the remark, sending a poof of dirt into the air. It settled on his nose, eliciting a big, wolf-sized sneeze—

Translations:
*Kleine welp = little pup

[Deleted]

Sariya abruptly paused, staring up at the stranger with a perplexed look. "Really?" she whispered indisbelief. She had not expected him to actually agree to stick around. Like most strangers, Sariya thought he would take off running when she came into view. While she thought it was because she was a tough little thing, the truth of the matter was that Zethrox or Akihra had always been stalking in the shadows, protecting her from any potential harm.

There did not seem to be any animosity in the brute's voice, so Sariya peered up at him in wonder. "What's your name?" she asked with awe. Her remarkably short attention span once again left her prancing around, tripping and rolling in the tall grass. Her great-grandfather would be sure to find her now, and the thought hit her.

"Gray grandpuh is not gonna be happy when he finds me..." she whispered, suddenly fearful. Then came the tears. "I don't wanna get in trouble! All I wanted to do was have fun because Mama's always busy with her alpha stuff! I miss my sister!" she cried suddenly, painfully unaware of her surroundings any longer. She collapsed on the ground, her little body quivering as she sobbed. It was terrible to be lonely. No one wanted to play with her anymore, she did not have any siblings, and her mother was always busy. "And-an-and you du-dun wanna be my fri-friend either," she sniffled pitifully. Her cries dulled almost as instantly as they had appeared, and then turned to anger.

"Why don't you like me? WHY?" she snarled angrily, her cold silver eyes locked dangerously on the brute. She may have been a quarter of his size, but if looks could kill, the brute would be in serious trouble right now. "You're on Mama's land without permission, and do you know what that gets you?" A cruel smirk crossed the pup's face. "Trouble... More trouble than I will get in," she whispered cryptically. "You shouldn't be here. I don't like you," she growled. It was a night and day change from two minutes earlier, but now the little femme was puffed out in anger, not egotistical prancing. She was pissed, and had she been twice her size, the brute would have been a prime target for her emotional outburst.

"Mama's not going to be happy." Her stare grew cold and distant.

((OOC: Sariya's prone to random emotional outbursts.))

[ulrich]

Better Friends, Than Enemies

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The great wolf’s brow rose as suddenly the fluffy ball of energy became a fountain of tears. He stared at her in apathetic disbelief, quite unsure of how to react. Before he had a chance to make up his mind, however, she was up again and glaring daggers at him— which he was not intimidated by in the slightest. If anything, it caused him to roll his eyes in ever-ascending annoyance. He lifted his head from his paws, towering over her without even having to stand up.

“Mein name ist Ulrich.

Und Ich do not take sassing from prickly little pups whose attitude ist larger zan zey are.”

His voice was deep and rumbling, his impatience rather distinct. He would glare coldly down at her for a few moments as if by doing so he might make her keep still— but then it occurred to him again that she was only an ignorant pup, and the chances that she even understood what he meant were slim.

With a tired sigh, Ulrich would be gazing dully past her at the long grass. He almost wished that the pup’s parents would arrive already so that he might be relieved of her presence… but they were nowhere in sight for now; he was stuck here with her. Perhaps he could polish off some of the situation’s abrasiveness, at least making it more tolerable for the time being... and maybe even get himself out of the apparent trouble he was in. He pondered this for a moment… and then the cold, hostile look in his eyes vanished; replaced by a subtle glint of feigned concern. He tilted his head, speaking slowly, thoughtfully.

“…Und besides… How can Ich be your friend if Ich am already your prisoner? Zat makes us enemies, nein?

…You don’t vant to be enemies, do you?”

As if the last words were meant to be a threat, Ulrich grinned slightly, showing his large teeth—but the smile itself, however fake, was meant to negate that. He was just giving the question a bit of an edge, after all…

[akihra]

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[atrb=background,http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/3046/kiratablemid.png][atrb=width,450,true] How could Zethrox have been so irresponsible? Akihra growled angrily, her paws flying across the territory as she rushed to her daughter's side. All I asked was that he keep her safe, and he could not even do that? she thought frantically. Why had she thought it was a good idea to step away from her daughter to greet the other alpha? Had she not seen the potential for disaster that was brewing right under her nose? Zethrox was not in a stable mindset, and she had foolishly left her daughet in his care. Now, she was out in the prairie, where the grass was taller than the pup. How did she know that Sariya was not hurt? Akihra's pace increased as she caught the scent of an unfamiliar wolf in the wind. There's a stranger here, near my daughter?! she thought, her temper flaring. Kira had never been the aggressive, confrontational alpha, but she was furious right now. Her daughter was in danger, damn it! Spying a mess of fur in the grass not too far off, she pulled back on her pace slightly, drawing to a halt not three feet from the brute. Her nostrils flared. …You don’t vant to be enemies, do you?” "No, I don't believe we do." Akihra's response was curt and her tone was sharper than razor blades. "Sariya, get over here, now," she snarled at her daughter, watching the pup comply instantly. She returned her focus to the unfamiliar wolf, who had not made any aggressive movements toward her daughter, but she was still livid. Why was there a stranger here in the first place? Did the pack not secure the borders like she had specified? "I am Akihra, the Haishin Alphess. I must say, it would have been better to meet under better terms than this, wouldn't you agree? What is your name, brute?" she asked, her eyes still slightly narrowed at the wolf. She did not make any motions to suggest that she planned to attack the brute, but Akihra made sure her body was positioned quite obviously in front of her daughter, shielding the pup from the unwelcomed stranger in the grasses. "We will talk later," she snapped at Sariya, who responded with a quiet whimper and slight attempt at apologies by wagging her tail. Akihra's mismatched eyes remained fixated on the brute, watching every movement of his muscles to be sure that nothing would surprise her. This could be tricky business, or this could be easy. Which way was it going to be?

[ulrich]

Wrong Place At The Wrong Time

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He heard her coming, and his heart sank slightly. He did not want to deal with this. Not at all.

Ulrich’s deep sepia stare snapped from the pup to the she-wolf, who looked more than just a little angered by the situation before her. Obviously, it looked bad— he was a stranger on her territory, talking to her pup… she had every reason to be furious with him. But of course, Ulrich wouldn’t let that faze him. He felt a pang of bitterness toward her, for making whatever assumptions she had about him, and making an enemy of him so quickly. It was no different than…

A dead she-wolf, lying in a crimson patch of snow. Her fur was sticky with her own blood. Someone had torn her neck open.

Ulrich padded over and sniffed at the corpse in dismay, wondering who could have done such a thing—

“You.”

He looked up into the stranger’s eyes bewildered.

“You— YOU MURDERED MY DAUGHTER!”

The stranger roared in grief-stricken fury, lunging at Ulrich with his teeth savagely bared—

Ulrich’s life had been ruined by one terrible, fateful moment. He was reminded of that as he stared hard into those bicolored eyes; he saw the blind fury of the alpha he had fought and killed, all because of a stupid misunderstanding. Yes, the bitterness flared up inside of him, and he felt a peculiar resentment toward this female. He rose to his feet slowly, his eyes never leaving hers.

…He would not allow fate to repeat itself.

“Zer ist no need to be prickly, Frau Akihra. Ich am not here to make trouble.”

His was a deep, stern rumble close to an agitated growl, but it was not condescending. Of course, he did not intend to challenge her authority; merely to take a stand for himself.

“Mein name ist Ulrich. Ich am no enemy unless you make one of me.”

He glanced over at Sariya, who was hidden behind her mother’s legs. His gaze was cold, displeased… but still; he was not intending to lecture this alphess on how to raise her own pup. He simply had very little patience.

“You should not let ze welp run vild. Zer are vorse things she could run into zan ze likes of me.”

Ulrich sat on his haunches, making himself appear less towering. He was not keen on being submissive, but he would certainly refrain from causing any more conflict by appearing to challenge her authority.

[akihra]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,450,true]

[atrb=background,http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/3046/kiratablemid.png][atrb=width,450,true] "Ja, ja. Ich verstehe, Herr Ulrich," Akihra responded with a slight chuckle. She appraised the germanic wolf; it had been quite some time since she had come across another with that background. While she was not of that blood herself, she had, at one point, traveled with a few german-speaking wolves and picked up bits and pieces herself. While she did not carry an accent as Ulrich did (or have a german name, for that matter), she was amused by this encounter. Her previous anger was fading quickly, as the brute assured her that he meant Sariya no harm. While she was still frustrated by his intrusion, she would not resort to violence to resolve the issue. "Her great-grandfather was supposed to be watching her, that ancient fool. Apparently, I cannot take care of any of my duties without a tagalong," she smirked. Akihra was more bitter about it than anything, but she was trying her hardest to keep her temper reigned in. The last thing she needed was to take out her frustration on the loner. "What brings you to my territory, Ulrich?" she inquired softly. Kamari was somewhat of a passing point to the northern lands, but it was rare that a wolf ended up here without a purpose. Whether or not Ulrich happened to be one of the rare wandering loners was yet to be seen, but Akihra suspected that he had not found his way here purely by accident. He seemed to comfortable here, considering it was a claimed pack land. While he was physically making an effort to appear less dominating, Akihra could tell that this brute was used to wandering alone, and he could definitely take care of himself. While Akihra was intrigued as to why the wolf was here, that did not excuse the fact that he was in her territory without being announced or invited. That in itself would present a nasty challenge; they would need to secure the borders more thoroughly if she were to keep her pack safe. If a harmless stranger can get through, then a dangerous rogue can get through too, she thought worriedly, glancing down at her daughter who had yet to speak. The femme was certain that Sariya was simply thoroughly chastised, and that was good. She needed to learn that while this pack would one day be hers, she was not free to run around putting herself and others in danger. "Sariya, I believe you owe this wolf an apology," she ordered sternly, leveling her head to that of the pup's. She gave her daughter the stink eye, and the little pup then murmured a quiet "I'm sorry" before burrowing herself back into her mother's fur. "She is definitely a handful," she sighed, then looked the brute in the eye. "While I may not be concerned about you threatening my pack, I do find it disconcerting that you are here without being announced." She looked at him with a inquiring gaze, hoping to pry his intentions from him without a fight.