Catch My Breath [Scout]

[Deleted]

As Maitryi trotted determinedly across boulder after boulder in the direction of Turxos Creek, she was reminded about the day not to long ago when she had become a true member of Tassos. The pack's mighty alpha had rescued her lifeless body from the toxic ash and soot left behind from an apparent eruption, and the brute had been kind enough to go a step further and offer her a place within his pack despite her deafness. Not an hour after this, the pair had been traveling across these very rocks when Kibeti had nearly rammed right into her. Once everything had been sorted out, the Arabian had discovered that the newcomer was just another kindhearted canine. The two of them seemed to be on their way to a strong friendship. But, all of these events seemed lifetimes away in Maitryi's mind. Since then, she had had very little interaction with the other members of Tassos and the days had stretched on and on.

Being a subordinate, the femme did not have an organized duty within the pack, but she had been informed that a rank change would be made soon that would promote her to the rank of gatherer. Until then, she had decided that she would help out whenever she could and get to know a handful of her new pack mates to fill time. But, to much of her dismay, no real occasion had arisen in which she would be able to do either of those things. Her nose had caught the scents of many different canines that she assumed were members of Tassos, but she could never work up the courage to track down the owner of the scent. What would they think of a mostly deaf wolf? Would they try to avoid her, or worse, would they take advantage of her disability and try to harm her? Based on the kind and understanding reaction from Rasalas, Mai doubted that she would come across a canine so cruel, but there was no way she could be certain that all Tassos members would be quite so accepting.

Loneliness flooded through the female's veins as she neared the edge of the creek that she had been looking for. Maybe they were already avoiding her, maybe they had heard of the pathetic new subordinate who couldn't hear even a volcanic eruption. Who would want to get themselves involved in such a daunting task as befriending such a helpless creature? The wolf shook her crania vigorously, attempting to shove the thought out of her brain. She knew that she was not helpless, why should it matter what anyone else thinks of her? She had survived through pain and suffering much greater than most, and the Arabian had remained strong through all of it. But, the truth was, she did care about what the others thought of her. The femme wanted to be liked and respected within this pack, not looked down upon and belittled. If the others really were trying to avoid her, Maitryi just wished they would come forward and meet her before judging her so quickly.

The relaxing gurgling sound of the creek in front of her - at least she assumed it was relaxing - soothed her puzzled mind. She stretched her neck downwards to lap up some cool and refreshing liquid with her parched tongue, and yellowish orbs spotted her reflection clearly in the moving water. Turxos Creek surely was one of the highlights of Xisyn, it definitely made even the most worry some creatures appear flawless and beautiful. Too bad life wasn't exactly so perfect. With a sigh of peace and comfort, the canine lifted her crania from her drink and sat down to admire the pure beauty of the surrounding landscape. Although the past few weeks had caused such insecurities for the little Arabian, she knew for a fact that her time in Tassos was only beginning. There had to be someone here who would understand her like Rasalas had and not treat her like she was any less of a wolf than any other. There had to be.

---

count :: Six hundred and eighty-three.
muse :: Pretty good considering how long it's been since I've posted with Maitryi
tags :: @scout
notes :: none

[Deleted]

The direction that Scout was headed was not an easy one. He had decided to go down to Turxos Creek that day and see what was going on there. He knew that some of Tassos' members were still around in the area. Xisyn had become a part of the pack's land when the volcano erupted and it had saved their lives. For that, Scout felt a special connection with the place. A year or so ago, when he had first come to this land of Anikira, he would have laughed if anyone would have told him that he would have fallen in love with the land of a pack but now, it was so real. He had changed so much and his life had been changed forever. He had met so many wolves here that had been crucial to his growth as an individual. He had met Aries, the original alphess of Ryala. She had first accepted him into the pack which kick started his growth. Before, he had been an overgrown puppy. He was concerned with playing with ground animals and napping in the sun. Now, he was a pack wolf and took care of his responsibilities. He had become an "adult" mentally. Everyone gets there at one point but Scout had just got there a bit later than some others.

When he reached the creek, he saw a female Arabian sitting there. Rasalas had accepted this female when the volcano had erupted and she was currently a subordinate. He had also heard of the partial deafness of the female. It must be hard for her to adjust to life within the pack with such a disability on top of almost dying from the volcano eruption. He wanted to make her feel welcome. Rasalas had just promoted him to Beta of the pack and it was his responsibility now to take care of the members in a new way. Before, he was the shaman and took care of their physical and sometimes psychological issues but now he was their leader..or one of their leaders. That word sounded odd to the Iranian wolf. He had never pictured himself as a leader before but, Rasalas trusted him with this honor and would not let him down. Regardless, he now had to take care of the pack members on a new level.

"Enjoying the view?"He said to her as he approached, obviously talking about the beautiful creek that now belonged to the pack. He sat next to her and he too looked at the water and took in it's beauty. It was good to slow down and enjoy little things like this and the company of a fellow pack member.

[Deleted]

The pretty Arabian femme had not heard the paw steps of the tall brute’s approach, but she could certainly smell his scent growing in strength as he came closer to the creek. Maitryi had not been ready to tear her gaze from the beautiful sight that was Turxos Creek, but she felt the need to do so just to be sure that she could read the male wolf’s lips if he decided to speak to her. Reluctantly, the female turned her head in the direction that she believed the canine was just in time to catch the words, ’Enjoying the view?’ She smiled sheepishly up at the Iranian male, who she believed to be the recently appointed Beta, Scout. Mai was not quite sure why she was embarrassed for being seen gazing into the slow flowing creek, but she could feel her cheeks become hot beneath her fur. The brown-eyed male had appeared just in her moment of desperation, and she was glad he came. So why couldn't the Arabian just spit out a response?

"Y-yes, it is quite stunning indeed," she said, the words rolling off her tongue awkwardly and in different volumes. It was difficult for the deaf femme to speak with a normal tone when she was so out of practice. Clearing her throat softly, the female continued in a more steady voice this time, "It is nice to meet you, sir. Scout, is it?" The Arabian directed a friendly smile towards the male, hoping to make a decent first impression. So far her only true friends within Tassos were Kibeti and Rasalas, and the last thing she needed was for a wolf to dislike her. Or, at least she assumed that the two Tassos members were her friends. Rasalas had in fact saved Maitryi's life, and Kibeti had provided a small meal for the Arabian femme when she had been nearly starving. If those acts were not strong enough to form a friendship, what was?

Shuffling her petite paws in the sandy soil beneath her, the femme gazed over the brute's shoulder into the distance. The memory of her beloved mother sneaking off that one evening replayed within the little female's brain several times. She had placed all of her love and trust in the paws of her mother, but that didn't seem to matter one bit when she snuck away without even a simple whisper of goodbye. Would this happen again? Would Maitryi end up putting her entire heart and soul into a single wolf just to be hurt once more? That certainly was not the ideal route for the canine, and she hoped that the situation would not repeat itself. If it did, she was not so sure she would have the capability of trusting another wolf - ever. It simply did not seem intelligent to continue placing trust within another wolf when each and every time the Arabian femme ended up devastated and alone.

Focusing her vision back onto the Iranian male standing before her, Mai remembered her mother gently caressing her tiny puppy body and reassuring her that one day, the right brute would come around and love Mai for who she was, despite her scars and deafness. The femme wasn't exactly impatient for this day to come, but now and then she thought about the words she heard and wondered when and where her 'true love' would appear. Honestly, the female was not sure that there was any brute out there who would treat her the way she wanted. So far, the only brute she had truly gotten to know had been her father, and he was certainly not the most caring or kind wolf around to say the least. And of course, the fact that the female had never had any bit of experience with love in a romantic sense contributed to the negative feelings she had towards the possibility of finding 'the one.'

---

count :: Six hundred sixty-nine.
muse :: Decent
tags :: @scout
notes :: Sorry for the wait on this. <3 Did we want this to turn into the mating thread? Or were we planning on having another one for that? I can't remember what we decided.

[Deleted]

Scout smiled back at the Arabian female after she had turned her gaze to him and away from the beautiful scenery around them. When she spoke, her voice was awkward sounding and at different volumes. Scout was being polite as he listened to her and she soon found a volume that she stuck with. Rasalas had told him that the pack had a new member who was deaf and she must be it. He knew it had to be hard to not be able to hear and to have to read lips whenever she wanted to talk to anyone. He nodded as he alternated gazes between her and the stunning water. "It's nice to meet you too, Maitryi"he said to her and smiled before continuing. " And you don't have to call me "sir", just Scout is fine."Scout had never seen himself as a real authority figure. Respect was nice but he believed that respect was shown through actions, not calling him "sir" or bowing to him. He was never into that sort of thing anyway. Rasalas had appointed him because he trusted him and his judgement. Not because Scout was this demanding, self-righteous individual who scared all the members into submission. He knew that was not the way to treat others. He was a member just like her only he had more responsibility. They all slept in the same den, ate the same food and walked on the same sand. There was no reason for her or anyone else to be treated like they were less than him or Rasalas.

Seeing that Maitryi was looking over in the distance, Scout followed her gaze, wondering if there was something over there. Seeing nothing, Scout stood up and dipped his muzzle into the cool, fresh water and got a drink. The water was delicious and the cool liquid refreshed him. He hadn't realized how thirsty he had been until now. He really should remember that even though he didn't feel thirsty, to get water whenever it was available. Living in the desert was hard and one didn't know when the next opportunity for the life giving substance would be available next. He then took a few steps back and sat next to Maitryi again. He looked at her, she was beautiful. Her brown coat and her gold-ish colored eyes were a stunning match. Everything about her was enticing but, Scout was a gentleman. He wasn't about to push anything on her after just meeting her. That would be very scary for her. Her deafness didn't scare him. He knew that it was a medical condition that she had but it didn't affect her personality and what he could tell from just meeting her was that she was a sweetheart.

Not wanting to look creepy, Scout looked away and back to the water. He thought about the future some more. His future was getting closer and closer every day. He was already four years old which was almost 30 in people years. He had a good 6 years left in him and if fate were kind, he could possibly have more. But, within the next few years, he'd probably need to retire from his position and take a less taxing role. He couldn't be so irresponsible to think that he could keep this job until he was 10 years old or older. But he would like to have an heir to take his place from his someday. Vixen was a good wolf and she had been so respectful of him when he taught her everything that he knew about herbs and being a shaman but she wasn't his daughter. He was very traditional in that sense. He wanted his own flesh and blood to take after him. He also wanted a life long mate. He wasn't interested in messing around with several females like some of the young males around were. He wanted to find one kind, respectable, loving, caring mate to be the mother of his children and to be his companion for the rest of his days. It had appeared that Rasalas had found love in Aowyn so, it would be possible for him to find love too. He only wished that it would be sooner, rather than later.

---

@maitryi
Words: 711
Muse: Not too bad
Notes: I think we agreed to have their mating thread be later as they hardly know each other in this one.

[Deleted]

Yellow orbs scanned the masculine figure before her, searching for any type of flaw. To much of her disappointment, not a single imperfection could be found upon him. It was a foreign feeling for the canine, but for some reason that was unknown to her, she could not seem to pry her eyes off of Scout. Not wanting to appear as if she was staring at the brute, every once in a while Maitryi would blink a few times or glance over his shoulder. However, no pleasure came to her by gazing at her surroundings. The Iranian male's rich, brown colored oculars in contrast with his dusty-brown pelt that had black streaks strewn about in the most beautiful patterns was stunning enough. Still, the clearly perfected tall, lean structure along with his pointed muzzle were among the many factors that contributed to his handsomeness. The subordinate had never been so fiercely attracted to another wolf before, but she did not even think to comment on such a stupid feeling. This brute probably had his eyes on one of the prettier, more graceful femmes in Tassos. Why would this authoritative canine even think to have a liking for a scarred, deaf female? She was lucky he even decided to approach and speak to the disgraceful being that was herself.

Internally shaking her head in disapproval, Maitryi was able to quit staring at her Beta and use her brain for once. What if Scout was a total jerk and would take advantage of a naive, deaf female without a second thought? He must not be too awful considering that Rasalas had appointed him as Beta, but it was still a lingering possibility that he was not as kind and understanding as the female hoped him to be. Her past should've taught her not to trust wolves so easily, but it seemed that she continued to assume things about others that just might cause her to fall into a deep hole of trouble that she won't be able to climb out of. Suddenly, words began to form on the Arabian's lips and she simply could not hold them back any longer. "Well, Scout, I'm rather new to Tassos as you probably know already, and I was just wondering if you could maybe tell me something about yourself?" The young femme was surprised at the tactful way she had been able to ask for information from the brute, although she hoped that the conversation would not take any awkward turns anytime soon.

With a small sigh, Maitryi reluctantly turned away from the male and faced the glistening creek that had been gurgling beside her the entire time. Or, at least she guessed that it had been producing a soft, gurgling noise. Her hearing abilities had obviously worsened to some extent since she first joined the pack, seeing as she had originally been able to hear a faint murmur whenever a wolf would speak to her. Now, the female could only hear a soft buzzing sound that never left her ears. Maybe this was the need of her listening abilities. Maybe the severe damage that her father had done when she was a young pup had finally lead to complete deafness in both her right and left audits. Gazing at her disfigured reflection caused by the small ripples in the water, Maitryi could not see anything special about her. Sure, she could tell the difference between different herbs and berries, but plenty of wolves could do something as simply as that. In her mind, there was nothing about her that could make up for her disability. The word stung even when she thought about it. Disability. It was true, the subordinate had to carry around the weight of a disability for her entire life, no matter how successful she may become.

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count :: Six-hundred forty-six
muse :: Somewhat decent.
tags :: @scout
notes :: Sounds good. ^^ Sorry for the wait on this.

[Deleted]

If someone were to ask Scout if he thought himself to be attractive or masculine, he probably would have laughed. Scout had never been the most handsome guy around. There had always been bigger and better and more impressive males around. They were flashier than him but Scout had never thought that one needed to be flashy. However, Maitryi was one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. Her ears were large like his only hers were perfectly large. Her beautiful brown coat shown in the sun and uncut diamonds couldn't compare. He had never seen a more beautiful female in his life. She was soft and kind and beautiful. He couldn't have asked for better company. He had never been so attracted to another female in his life. Her physique was distracting and breathtaking. His thoughts were only to make her happy. At that moment, he only wanted to see her smiling. It broke his heart to think of her being upset. He wanted to stop at nothing to give her everything her heart desired, anything that she wanted, she would have. His eyes fell softly on her as he smiled at her. He had never met anyone quite as enchanting as Maitryi.

Her question for him surprised him and also caught him off guard. He hadn't been so nervous to answer a question before in his life. What if she laughed at him? Surely such a beautiful female had males drooling at her paws. She must have had her pick of any male she chose..why would she pick someone like him? His plan was to answer her truthfully. He had learned through experience that honesty is the best policy. If she didn't like him for who he was then he knew that it wasn't a good fit. "Well, I was a loner for a while. I traveled around the Island, free as a bird. I also taught myself about the art of medicinal practice. After I had a good grasp on it, I started helping other wounded or sick loners so they could continue living the life that they chose and wouldn't come to an untimely death. While I was out herb hunting, I came across Rasalas and Aires who accepted me into their pack. I had thought about joining one before but I could never go through with it until I met Rasalas and Aires."He had talked too much. He had always been talkative. He hoped that Maitryi wouldn't see him as being conceited. "Would you care to tell me about yourself?"He was interested in hearing from the beautiful female. She must have had a much more dignified past than he did. She could have been from royalty and was here because of a great disaster. Of course, he was from royalty as well but he didn't want to tell her that he had ran from his family for fear of responsibility. He wasn't that wolf anymore. He was different now. Being on his own had changed him. He had almost starved to death after brining a young princess home and he had been helped by so many wolves. He would be eternally grateful to those wolves who changed his life.

[Deleted]

Maitryi read the brute's lips carefully during his spiel about his former life. She rather enjoyed learning about other wolves' lives, because it gave her a sense of what her life could have been like. That is, if her father wasn't a deaf psychopath with no sympathy for others whatsoever. When Scout explained that he taught himself the art of medicine, everything began to make sense. Of course he learned about herbs and such, he was the former Shaman of Tassos. That was one thing that the pair had in common anyway: they both taught themselves how to treat wounds. The Arabian assumed that the male did this for a much different reason than to keep himself alive, and she was right. He had done so to assist other loners who needed medical help, so he must be just as kind as he seems. Even Maitryi would hesitate to treat a random loner that she came across by chance. She wouldn't be able to trust the canine enough to be able to come close enough to help them. Yes, she was an overall sweet, caring femme, but wolves she has never seen before tend to spook her.

Aries.. The name rang a bell inside the female's brain, but she couldn't connect the name to the memory. Suddenly, it all came back to her from the day she had stepped foot on Tassos territory. Aries was the alphess of a pack called Ryala which had existed before Tassos. Aries had been blind. A glimmer of hope settled itself upon Maitryi's heart. If that blind femme could lead a pack successfully despite her disability, that meant that she was capable of great things too. Maybe, just maybe, the fact that Scout had joined a pack lead by a sightless canine meant that there was a sliver of hope that he wouldn't discriminate against a deaf wolf as a friend, and maybe that friendship could lead to more...

The Arabian's thoughts cut themselves off at the sight of the words that were shaped by Scout's perfect lips. She knew it was coming, so why was she so nervous? Because she had never told a soul about the life she'd had before coming to this pack. How was she supposed to put into words how horrendous her life was and how shut out from the world she had been? The handsome male in front of her would probably think Mai was pathetic, and what if he shared her life story with other packmates? It wasn't exactly the reputation she wished to have in this wonderful second chance at life that she had been blessed with. But, she trusted Scout. Even though they had just met, the femme felt as if she could trust him with her life. "I was the daughter of two loners, and my father was... abusive," she answered in a small voice, though the word 'abusive' did not come close to explaining the horrors she came home to after a long day of hunting and herb gathering. "He was born deaf, so he wanted us, my mother and I, to feel his pain. He would yowl loudly into my ears while attempting to tear us limb from limb, and that is what caused my deafness," she paused, trying to regain her composure. "Short and sweet, Mai, don't bore him to death." "One night my lovely mother escaped without saying goodbye. That left all of my father's abuse to come down on me. After a while, I was able to escape as well and stupid me ran right into a volcano eruption. Rasalas saved me, and well, here I am." She was done. It was over. Now someone else knew about the hell she had lived through for the first two and a half years of life. All she had to do now was wait patiently for her Beta's reaction.

---

count :: Six-hundred sixty-four
muse :: Not bad.
tags :: @scout
notes :: I was anticipating a much more emotional Mai, but she pulled through alright.^^

[Deleted]

Scout had never had trust issues before. One could say that his overly trusting nature was a fault of his. Every wolf he met, he assumed they had good intentions. He never assumed that they would lie to him or take advantage of him until they proved him wrong. It was a noble way of thinking for some but foolish for others. Scout had never had any reasons for having issues with trust. He had been born in a family where truth and justice were above all else. Of course, his father had been overly pushy and demanding of his young son which had made him leave his birth pack in the first place. That would be one thing that the aging Iranian male would never do to his children, should he ever have any. He knew what it was like to have impossibly high standards growing up. All he wanted to do was nap and bask in the sun. If his father had allowed him to do that, perhaps he would have come around. It was ironic really the situations that had unfolded in the wolf's life. He had originally run away from responsibility and here he was now, the wolf with the second most responsibility to a pack. Sometimes when he thought about it, it made him chuckle. Perhaps, had he stayed things would have been different but he wouldn't have traded this life for anything. He had wolves now who needed him and he would never leave them. He only wished that he had someone to take his place and take care of the pack and Rasalas should something happen to him. Scout felt as if his life was incomplete and that a family would fill his void. He wanted a mate and children to enrich his life.

When Maitryi began telling him her story, his heart reached out to her. How could anyone harm such a beautiful creature? He looked at her with concern and care in his eyes. She said that she had been able to escape from her father and that she had ran into the volcano. However, when she called herself stupid, Scout's heart broke. She wasn't stupid, she was kind and wonderful and beautiful. Scout moved himself closer to Maitryi and nuzzled her. It may have been over stepping some kind of boundaries but he wanted to comfort her. "Don't ever call yourself stupid, you're wonderful,"He said to her as he allowed her warm body to come near to him. She smelled wonderful and he wanted to stay there forever, close to her. But, he didn't want her to get upset with him for what he did. He went back to where he was before and warmly smiled at her.