Serenity At Its Finest (OPEN)

[Deleted]

Spirit returned to her usual peppy self, allowing her friends to see that she had not been too affected by the quarrel. As hurtful as the words exchanged had been, she decided to move past it and continue with her life. Her mother had often told her it was not best to dwell on things that could ruin a good friendship, that it was better to forgive and forget, just to move on. She was glad she had taken her advice, or the young female definitely would have ruined something precious, something she treasured above all other things. Another wolf's friendship, and one coming from her packmates. She was glad of such a relationship, for each of these wolves could have chosen to hate her and ignore her, make her life a living hell. But they didn't and she appreciated it, or else she would be extremely lonely in her life, turning bitter and having recluse herself from the world. The thought was horrid in itself, and she shook it away.

Spirit trotted out the entrance of the cave, proceeding to whirl in a circle in an attempt to catch her own tail. She stopped, realizing how silly she must have looked, and laughed happily. She was glad with her strange ways and personality, for it even brightened her day. When one wakes up, you can choose to be in a good mood or in a bad mood, as her mother often told her. She missed her mother, but did not regret running away and joining this pack. Her mother was the only one she missed, she did not miss her father or her former so-called mate or any of the other wolves that had been in that pack. She was happy here, in a smaller pack where everyone accepted her and where she could get along with all of them. She did not want to dwell on the past, for it made her sad and she didn't want to be sad in front of others.

She turned around to watch as her companions followed her, then gave a light smile when Haze licked Kastiel's ear. However, there was a slight tug in her heart and she frowned again, the image of mates coming to her mind when Haze did that. It wasn't that she was disappointed in the action, but it was just a reminder of what she had gone through. Mates were a touchy subject and, even though she believed it would never happen to her, just seeing others like that pained her. She turned her head to gaze at nothing in particular, hiding her sadness. She was not jealous, no, she was far from it. Just the very thought of mates saddened her, almost angered her. She knew it was because of the male that was supposed to be her mate in her last pack, but he hated her and turned her down numerous times, even after being so nice to him all the tie. In front of the entire pack, he even said that she was a worthless pile of dung that was not worth mating with.

Spirit swallowed the lump in her throat and turned back around with a bright smile. "Let's go, you two! Hurry up!" She cursed mentally at herself when her voice broke and wavered, revealing she was not all right. She ignored it, though, hoping the others would not notice it. She did not want to worry them nor did she want to be asked about it. She would still need some time before she would be able to tell them the full extent of her story, what had all happened to her. She wasn't quite ready to tell them and would only do so if she was asked of her background. She trusted them, but the memories were almost too painful for her to even recount it in her head. Physically, it made her chest ache and her heart hurt, but she refused to show it in front of them. To her, their happiness was more important.

[seadragoness]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,430,true]

[bg=000000][atrb=background,http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff153/Lumarinam/kastiel-background.png] The thoughts that swirled in a muddled pool in his mind distracted him from his surroundings for the moment. In his own territory, inside this cave, with these two wolves beside him he felt relaxed enough to let his mind wonder; a rare occurrence by anyone’s standards. So it was he did not notice Haze bound towards him until she was right before him. His ears turned back in a moment of suspicion. He didn’t lash out at her however – even his cautious nature could not cause him to bring harm to the members of this pack. She licked his ear, and he couldn’t help but feel there was an apology somewhere in this action. He let out the breathe he had not realised he had been holding, and turned his eyes to her. When he smiled now there was something more relaxed about, a little more open in thanks to her kind gesture. So maybe he would never become accustomed to the socialization required in a friendship, yet it seemed despite this the wolves where ready to welcome him in there fold. Maybe his higher status as Beta had something to do with it, or maybe it was there gentle nature’s he could see in there soft eyes. Kastiel had moved to the front of the group as they moved from there cave. As they made there way to the exit Spirit seemed to get caught up in the excitement, chasing her own tail in a puppy-like glee. He was grateful, glad that she had relaxed this much, that there argument had passed and there was no lingering doubts or bitterness. As Spirit rightened herself she called out for the two to hurry up. As she spoke however her words seemed to brake, splintering under some inside pressure of sadness, something that was affecting her. He couldn’t judge what it was that had upset her, what it was she was trying to hide. He could only guess, and wonder if maybe she was not as alright after there argument as he had first thought. He moved forward then, and having bare-all experience of his own to drawn from, he mimicked the kind gesture Haze had made to him. He stood before Spirit and gave her ear a friendly lick. “Alright Miss Impatience” He teased her, eyes shinning as they looked into her own bright orbs. “We’re coming” He tore himself from her gaze to look at haze, but even as he did so he tried to judge the lump that made its way to his throat. Was she still effected by there argument? Was that what worried him? But even as he thought that he knew it ran deeper. He was afraid of losing her friendship, an irrationally strong feeling, like now that he knew her he couldn’t stand the idea of not knowing her. Of course, every friendship was important, but why did this one feel subtly different?

image {c} [e-mail]
Manip {c} Haptic to Sea <3

[kiipcha]

Haze smiled gently, but on the inside her mind was cheering that she didn't do something to make things even more awkward. Her social skills were lacking and she had worried that the lick on the ear would be considered too rash. She then turned towards Spirit to hear her joking command and picked up her pace. But the way Spirit's voice cracked worried her. She assumed the warrior just felt anxious after the argument, but there was also the possibility that the femme was experiencing some sort of suppressed memory. Did I cause it? Her heart sank at the thought that she had triggered a bad memory. Haze didn't want to mess up her relationship with Spirit, especially considering that the femme would be teaching her how to fight. And the last thing she wanted was to get on the wrong side of a warrior of the pack. In order to save herself from getting worked up over what could be nothing she quickly went with the idea that the femme was merely on edge from the argument.

The silvery female moved closer to the other wolves, smiling softly as Kastiel licked Spirit's ears. She knew that the beta had noticed Spirit's change of voice as well and she was glad that he was trying to cheer her up. But the happy tone in his voice seemed strange as if he was bothered by Spirit's thoughts as well. When he turned to her her worries were confirmed as she could see it in his eyes that he was anxious about what Spirit was feeling. Haze looked down at her paws as she walked, knowing that her attempt at an apology had most likely made things even more awkward. Her mind stopped its celebration and was instead filled with the thought that perhaps she shouldn't have given him that lick on the ear.

[Deleted]

Spirit was not at all surprised when Kastiel came up and licked her ear. She sighed a little, disappointed with herself when she had revealed her emotion, when they had noticed her break in her tone. She wished they had not sensed it, because even she saw the expressions in their eyes that worried over her. She did not want them to think of her that way, did not want them to fret over her well being, as her problems were her own and she did not want to wrap them all up in it, place the burden on their shoulders instead of hers. The pain of her past belonged to her and her alone, it was hers to shoulder, hers to carry. It was not something she would get rid of so easily, and she doubted she would even get rid of it completely. Even though the new pack was helping with it, they did not know the entirety of it, but their presence alone urged on the forgetting.

She pushed the thought aside quickly when Kastiel nicknamed her, then said they were coming already. She smiled brightly at him, holding his gaze, and her tail wagged happily. It was a facade, however, just as it was most times. She wished to tell someone of her past, just get it off her chest, but she was afraid to, afraid that she would be a burden to another if she were to tell them about what had gone on in her life that caused her sensitivity towards seeing or even thinking of a mating pair. She leaned over and licked her beta's cheek twice, then trotted a few feet away from him, attempting to keep the sadness down her throat. She did not speak for a moment, but placed her golden gaze on Haze, wondering why it was that she had her head down as she walked. Smiling, she said, "Haze, if you walk like that you're bound to run into something! Trust me, I've done it plenty of times."

Spirit chuckled at her statement as she bounded over to the female and nudged her face, hoping to get her to look up at her. It was then that the tundra wolf decided to hide her sadness again and began bouncing around like a rabbit would. Her paws sprung her up a good several inches and she seemed to dance around the two excitedly, her eyes sparkling and her smile bright and 'happy', no matter how fake to her it was, it was her goal to make others happy. "Where to first, then? The beach? The mountains? The forest?" She stopped, almost stumbling over her own feet and sat down in confusion, staring at the ground. Her brow furrowed, then looked up at Kastiel. "Which one is closest again?" She laughed at her own statement, remembering why it was that she had come out there in the first place.

"You know, I came out here to get to know the territory better, but I just forgot which section of the territory is closest to here." She stuck out her tongue a little, closing her eyes some, a gesture she often showed when she felt she was being a ditz once again. There she was, showing herself as a fool in front of her packmates. She would not dare do so in front of a stranger, but only in front of those she knew, such as Kastiel and Haze, even in front of Torio and Valmai would she do it. Spirit was only comfortable being a fool in front of those she knew well enough. Granted, she had only known Haze for the course of about an hour, she was still part of the pack and Spirit respected her enough to be an idiot like she was being. The thought made her laugh, "I am such a dork!"

[seadragoness]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,430,true]

[bg=000000][atrb=background,http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff153/Lumarinam/kastiel-background.png] Kastiel didn’t like the atmosphere that seemed to have settled over there little group. The wolves here where thinking a little too [/o] hard, and a little too gloomy, and the Beta was at a loss on how to pick up the morel here. She heard Spirit sigh, couldn’t help but feel that Haze was being dragged down by the emotions in the air, and for a moment he felt helpless. Spirit looked at him then and smiled, a soft, sweet smile that came accompanied by the light wagging of her tail. Her face lit up in delight and Kastiel felt in that moment that he owed her, well he had been at a loss she took action. Maybe it didn’t matter if the smile was real or not – maybe it only mattered that it meant that much to Spirit to try anyway. Kastiel found his face relaxing into a gentle expression of his own. A look of thanks in his eyes as they lingered over Spirit’s for a little longer. She licked both sides of his cheek, a small gesture. He felt her breath tickling his fur, felt the warmth of her tongue against his cheek, and then it was gone. She went with it, bounding away from him and towards Haze in an easy gesture. Leaving the Beta’s mind reeling, momentarily blank for reasons he couldn’t comprehend. When Spirit spoke next her words where for Haze, and the Beta found himself berating himself for letting his attention wonder, for not catching how the other wolf hung her head as through in shame, or a self-conscious attempt to make eyes slid over her without seeing the gentle, beautiful wolf inside. Kastiel moved towards her as well then, flanking her other side so she could never forget she wasn’t alone. “Now, why would you try and hide that pretty face of yours, Haze?” He could see, so clearly, the gentle and friendly wolf inside. She striked him as some one willing to help, wanting to be there for others. Someone as nice as that should never feel beaten down, the need to hide. Whoever did that to her... well, if he ever meet that wolf lets say it wouldn’t be Haze who ended up hanging her head low. It would be the flea-ridden maggot instead. Spirit had pushed against the others face in an attempt to get her to raise her head. Spirit never stopped thinking about others, even well she was hiding away her own despair, keeping it from bringing the others down. She was eager to bring there minds back to the original purpose of leaving the cave, keeping her demeanour light and bouncy. He respected her for that – far more then she would ever know. In fact, for it, he let a smile break through his defences, and then he did something unthinkable. He bounded forward and leaped up, touching the air with his nose in a puppy gesture. A piece of him felt like he was being a fool, felt self-conscious, even, but he ignored it. He was taking his example of Spirit, and that made it worth it. “Rather then go where its closer, lets taker her to the important places, such as the den, the borders, and the prey-grounds?” He spoke it as a question, and looked first at Haze and then to Spirit, clear that both wolves got a say in the final decision.

image {c} [e-mail]
Manip {c} Haptic to Sea <3

[kiipcha]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true]

[bg=000000][atrb=background,http://www.evolo.org/wolf/Haze_fallingwater.png] Haze glanced upwards at Spirit's words but it was at Kastiel's voice that she could feel herself blushing underneath her fur. She then felt Spirit nudge her head upwards. The small female flinched slightly at the unexpected contact but lifted her head anyway. She felt the sudden need to invert into herself with two pairs of eyes on her, but forced herself to keep her head up and her paws moving forward. Haze then tilted her head as she watched Spirit dance around the cave like a young pup. Haze had never seen a wolf so carefree and could feel a twinge of jealousy rising in her, knowing that she normally had to try extremely hard to even relax her guard let alone prance around without a care in the world. But the silver femme's jealousy quickly turned to surprise as the beta mimicked one of Spirit's actions. Instead of joining them in their happy movements, Haze kept walking but allowed a small smile to creep onto her face. At the mention of getting to see the dens, borders, and prey zones, Haze nearly did a flip for by getting to see all of those places she would finally be able to attend to pack duties such as scent marking the borders, guarding the dens, and hunting for prey. At the sound of hunting a bigger smile started on her face as she knew that she could practice her hunting and perhaps one day make a name for herself as a hunter. Her tail wagged slightly and she did a small prance and moved closer to the two wolves. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" The pep in her voice shocked Haze and she suddenly felt self conscience. "I mean, umm, can we please go?"

[Deleted]

OOC: I'm sorry for the late reply, I was on vacation and just returned a few hours ago. Nice table, by the way, Haze. I should get Spirit one. ^^




Spirit watched as Kastiel walked over to Haze and spoke to her, offering his presence as something that told her she was not alone. Of course she wasn't, that was the way a pack was supposed to work. Each member stood by one another and supported each other, no matter how much one may or may not even like the other wolves. It was just a simple thing. Though she could not describe it, it was just something she had felt was supposed to be there when in a pack. It was there in her old pack, just not as strong. The bond she felt with Kastiel was one that she had felt with an old friend of hers and the bond she felt with Haze was already strengthening in the same manner. Her tail wagged happily as she grinned at Haze, letting her know that she was there for her as well. She would never turn against Haze, especially now that she was in the pack.

The black furred female watched as Kastiel smiled and was surprised. She had not a memory since meeting the beta of him ever smiling like he just had. It was a strange thing to see, but it was also comforting. It was good to see the male loosen up every now and then, especially in front of newcomers. Perhaps Haze would come to see that smiling was not a normal thing for the male. What he did next, however, almost made her trip in surprise. Kastiel bounded and leaped up a little, almost a pup-like move. It completely befuddled her and she froze where she was standing, staring with wide golden eyes at Kastiel. That was definitely out of order, and it made her curious. She wanted to know what was wrong with him, if even anything at all. He was certainly acting out of character, but perhaps it was the presence of more than one wolf that made him act that way. She couldn't be sure.

Spirit was only snapped from her reverie when Kastiel spoke again, telling of how it would be better to visit the more important places rather than the places that were closest. The dens, the borders, and the prey areas were definitely more important than simply sight seeing. Once again, the beta was right there. She glanced at Haze when he did, as if he were waiting for her approval as well. However, she was unaware for a moment that he had turned his gaze to her. She blinked, then looked at Kastiel. For a moment, she did nothing, then grinned brightly at him. Her tail wagged vigorously to show off her joy, or...fake joy for that matter. Whether it was real or not, she didn't care. Her only priority was to make others happier, and to make sure they stayed that way. It was almost like a life long goal for her, though subconsciously she did wish for more than that.

"Sure thing, Kastiel~!" She chimed happily, bounding around once more. Her cheery demeanor might have been overwhelming at some points, but she certainly couldn't help it. It just seemed to be a natural reaction to everything in the world. Her darkest secrets only haunted her when she was alone and she would not allow others to see that she had those secrets bothering her. She refused to let others know she was hurt and she didn't want to burden others with her secrets. She bounced around some more and listened to Haze as she cried out with them wanting to leave, then back tracked and made herself sound just a little more shy. It was almost as if she hadn't done such things or wasn't allowed to. "Don't be shy, Haze. No one will punish you for doing stuff like that. I mean, look at me. I'm a never ending ball of energy and annoying as all the crows in the world. Yet, I haven't been chased away~!"