xx THE COLDEST HEART -- [lucana]

[Deleted]

A cruel smile cast itself upon a snowy white mug.

You can come out now.

--xx--

The day was an interesting one. Winter had finally set in. Icy tendrils of wind clutched at the warm bodies of living creatures. The wind moved in quick burts--biting any warm flesh that it caught ahold of. The sun seemed to hide behind every passing cloud. It gripped each cloud with its warm, yellow rays, clutching at it and clawing at it as it passed. As soon as it was fully exposed upon the earth, it shined dimly, as if afraid to expose itself this day. The trees sang with a dark cry. The very grass moved languidly. All of nature cried out in dark foreboding. But a lithe, impossibly strong form moved stealthily through the terrain in rebellion. Black audits swiveled constantly, picking up every single sound that existed. Snowy paws lightly touched the trembling terrain in utter silence. Green eyes searched the dim light for any sign of life. A curious look commanded the white face and green eyes. And then the darkness began to fall. The sun seemed to set with a strange urgentness, and when it finally touched the horizon, it gripped at it with its rays. It snagged it, dragging itself lower and lower until it disappeared altogether. And then certain sounds began popping up everywhere: nighttime noises. They chattered, cricketed and whooed.

A wet, black nose inhaled deeply. Snowy white fur flashed in the darkness. The moonlight could not contain the form that slunk around stealthily. It moved around, completely unnoticed, despite its white coat and green eyes. Its stealth was mastered so well that even the incredibly contrasting color of its coat did not reveal it.

And then, suddenly, the white form became completely still. As still as a statue. Black audits swiveled around. Nose quivered for only a moment. And then the form was in action. She moved swiftly, but in utter silence. Quietly trailing a lone wolf. He was small, frail. He was a Red Wolf. And he carried the weak gene: she could smell it in the air even before she came upon him. He retained a slight limp from some unknown injury. He had two different eye colors--one grey, and one brown. He was handsome. But the stealthy she-wolf knew him better than that. She had been tracking him--watching him--for days. He was her mission, and tonight she would strike. He was obviously weak from his physical attributes, but Zaida knew the rules well: find everything out. It was rash to kill on the spot, unless you had Yahvi's omniscient mind.

So she had studied the unfortunate bastard for a couple of days until she was sure. He was a softie: weak mentally. He loved the weak, took pity on them. He never cast aside someone who was in need. He reached out to anyone who was weak or hurt, and tried to help them recover. He was weak. And tonight he would pay. Why wait until he had opportunity to reproduce and pass on his weak genes? Then the pups would have to die. Needless bloodshed that could be prevented by destroying the sperm donor. Zaida tracked him quickly, coming upon him mere minutes after hearing his companion depart. She was swift. Tonight she was hungry. She would not drag things out longer than necessary. She pounced on the wolf and killed him before he had fully realized that anyone else was even there. As she tore into his tough hide, she heard a noise. Someone had seen her. She ignored it for a few moments. If it was a threat she could track and kill the wolf quickly. In order for her not to have noticed this, the wolf must have either been there the whole time, and had not stirred, or her stealth matched Zaida's perfectly. But no matter. It could easily be dealt with. Zaida continued her meal until it was almost gone. Then she lifted her head, smiled cruelly, and flashed her green eyes in the direction of the wolf. Her eyes were brighter than normal as the life of her victim flowed into her veins, strengthening her tremendously.

You can come out now.

words xx 000
muse xx the classic crime/anberlin
tags xx @jayname
ooc xx sorry that it took so long to finish this. Hope you like it, Jayy!!

[Deleted]

An ordinary looking brown she wolf wandered through the cold dark landscape, leaving a trail of light pawprints behind her in the snow which would soon fill in and render her path untraceable. Anikira had been a dull place to her so far. The only wolves she had encountered had been dumb loners who had easily fallen for her trickery and, while it was nice to get free food, they hadn’t been much of a challenge at all. She hoped she wasn’t slowly losing her skills due to lack of use… But, no, that was unlikely; they had been drilled into her personality from a very young age and a lifetime’s training could not simply wear off that easily. Still, she wished the island wasn’t so boring – she hadn’t come here to find a retirement home.

At that moment, the flash of movement in the distance caught her attention. Sharp hazelnut eyes focused in on the form of a lone white female making her way through the snow a little way ahead of her with a stealthily determined air to her stride. Quick, yet efficient in her movement, the female looked as though she were hunting something – perhaps a snowhare or a small deer of some kind – although now that the experienced huntress looked closer, she somehow had the feeling that the other femme’s style didn’t quite match the technique needed to kill a small prey animal. She moved swiftly, as if her quarry was moving at a steady pace too, even though, by the looks of it, it hadn’t noticed the predator’s presence. That was a little odd. Few prey animals would be moving alone through the thick snow in wolf-infested territory at this time of night, although whatever it was could just be young or very stupid.

The dappled brown female shrugged in a half-hearted effort to dislodge her curiosity. There was a wolf hunting at night – big deal. But… perhaps she should follow it, just in case. It wasn’t as if she had any other plans for the evening, and if the hunter did make a kill, it was possible that she could convince it to share the meal with her.

So the mixed she wolf doubled back and began to follow the intriguing white femme from a distance, stalking the stalker with careful precision to all her movements so as to not give her position away. She made sure to remain downwind of the white female she was tracking; luckily the breeze was fairly strong and constant tonight, so there was no chance of her scent drifting. Not that it really mattered anyway. If any wolf caught her faint scent, they would most likely think she was a deer, as the bloody prey-scent of her last meal easily overpowered her natural body odour, which had been muted by the femme’s routine of long and frequent baths. Still, she could tell that she would have to be cautious around this wolf; even though her attention seemed to be mainly focused on her prey, her black-tipped ears often swivelled to listen for danger in the surrounding lands.

Suddenly, the ghostly huntress dashed forwards into the blackness of the night, and the female behind her increased her pace to a lope in order to get close enough to see what the other had caught. It was not what she had been expecting – not at all. The brown-coloured femme came to an abrupt halt as she saw the body of a red wolf thump to the ground, the white wolf’s jaws at his throat. Unfortunately, her sudden stop had caused the snow to crunch unnaturally under her paws, a small sound which only the most alert wolf would be able to pick up, but a mistake nonetheless.

Not knowing that the female had in fact noticed the noise, the loner continued to watch as the dead male’s body was torn apart with savage teeth. So, the strange white she wolf was a cannibal. Dull brown eyes watched the female tear into the flesh of her victim, unaffected by the horrific sight of a wolf devouring its own kind. After all, she herself had resorted to cannibalism once or twice before when prey was scarce, and she did not exactly have the right to judge the morality of others. No, the mixed breed’s mind was on another question.

Had hunger been the only reason why the male had been killed? Somehow she doubted it. The white female looked to be well-fed, and seemed weighty and powerful in proportion to her smaller-than-average height. He could be a wolf who had wronged her – Fenris knew there were plenty of males like that in the world – but surely she would have allowed him the chance to plead for his life before she wasted him if revenge was her goal. So… Could this possibly be one of those wolves she’d heard rumours of? The mysterious elusive pack which had so suddenly appeared on Anikira and which had slowly begun picking off the weak, as the stories said? The nameless femme wanted to believe it was true – she needed some more excitement in her life. The striking white huntress before her certainly looked the part; a deadly powerful aura seemed to surround her, even without considering the fact that she was currently crouched over the dead body of one of her own kind.

Breath caught in her throat as the female suddenly lifted her sharp green eyes and stared directly towards where she was standing – not out of fear as one would expect, but out of excitement for the possibility of what was to come. As she slowly obeyed the wolf’s invitation to come out of the shadows, a name came floating into her mind, and she grasped at it, eager to see which direction it would take her. She could already feel the beginnings of a story behind it, building a new mask for her to wear in the company of this stranger. Lucana… the ruthless savage female, the eager assassin. Yes, she could work with that.

“Not bad. Not bad at all…” Lucana grinned. Her tone dripped with admiration for the way the white she wolf had so quickly struck at her prey. The foolish male had indeed been dead before he was even aware of the danger behind him, and that showed some skill. The plain brown female’s posture was low and slinking as she drew closer to the hunter and her prey, but when she stopped she stood confidently, meeting the stranger’s green eyes with her own. “That was a neat kill. You look as though you have experience in the area, if you don’t mind me saying.” The female nodded to herself, then after a pause continued.

“Hmm… I hear there is a wandering pack newly formed on this continent… A vicious powerful pack which targets and murders the weak. Say, you wouldn’t happen to know of it, would you?” Lucana’s eyes gleamed as she leaned forward, eager to hear the she wolf’s answer. She knew it had only been a rumour she had heard, and the compulsive liar knew better than most not to believe every word a wolf told her, but she still dared to hope that she had come across a nice bit of intrigue on her night-time stroll.



(( OOC: This is one of the longest posts I've ever written xD ))

[Deleted]

Zaida could sense the very slight hesitation of the wolf who had observed her as she slowly crept forth out of the darkness. She could smell the surprise in the air. The watched had not known that she had not gone unnoticed. Zaida's cruel smile grew very slightly, and she allowed a speck of insane delight to sparkle in her eyes. Sharp green eyes picked out the approaching form. Female. Of fairly average build. Physically, nothing really stood out. But she could be tested easily. Zaida knew instantly when the stranger's mask began to form, as she almost always wore a mask herself. She could sense the very slight tingling of subtle confidence in the air, and her sharp ears picked up the very slight difference in the femme's walk as the mask became solid. This was going to be fun.

Not bad. No bad at all.

She could have been referring to the fact that not only had Zaida noticed her far before she was aware of that fact, but that she had known her exact location, despite the stranger being hidden by trees and night, without making a sound. But her voice gave away that she referred to Zaida's impeccable assassination skill. Zaida half-turned her body toward the other wolf. Her black tail swept the ground silently, destroying all evidence of her presence. The female slunk towards the snowy wolfess with slow movements. She stopped at a relatively safe distance, and then stood tall. Her posture shouted confidence, and she met Zaida's piercing green eyes with her own muddy ones.

That was a neat kill. You look as though you have experience in the area, if you don’t mind me saying. She nodded to herself, as if confirming her flattering comment. Hmm… I hear there is a wandering pack newly formed on this continent… A vicious, powerful pack which targets and murders the weak. Say, you wouldn’t happen to know of it, would you?

Zaida's cruel smile became dark and she laughed horribly. Her green eyes sparkled with murder, and the speck of insanity that sparkled in her eyes grew. She slowly took one small step toward the stranger, and then another. Her steps were slow and deliberate: that of a hunter.

Do you think that flattery will get you what you want, bitch? Maniac laughter rang out, green eyes sparking dangerously. What makes you think I know this pack, hmm? That shitty filth? She didn't have to incline her head toward her recent meal. Tonight's your lucky night. I do happen to know of them. I've been spying on them.

Zaida's eyes glittered dangerously. Her mask was perfect. No holes. She had been wearing it most of the night, so she hadn't come up with anything new at the arrival of the stranger. This would be how the stranger thought she was. Zaida was certain that she would think that she was a murderous, half-insane cannibal. It was fairly close to the truth. Close enough that it made the mask more believable. She was rarely wrong. She could be wrong, but she was so rarely wrong that none of her family had ever seen a situation where she had been.

What would you like to know?

words xx 000
muse xx the classic crime/anberlin
tags xx @jayname
ooc xx ooooo!! I like this thread! My muse is exploding!! And really? LOL. I feel honored, Jayy<3