Boulevard of broken dreams

[Kismet//Accalia]

Shizune kept her nose close to the ground as she walked, her blind, clear eyes half closed since she had no need to keep them open. She could hear the battling wolves in the clearing not far off, but she was not part of a pack, so she found no need to participate in the battle. All she knew was that the stupid Blood Mist wolves had come from Hellfire and were trying to take over, or something like that. Shizune couldn't help but laughing at the other wolf packs fighting the Bloodies. She wondered curiously how her life would be if the packs were all dead.

She lifted her nose to the sky and sniffed around. So good so far, no pack wolves had decided to take the battle to the lake. She sighed, happy the only thing to worry about right now was loners and rogues. One wolf had tried to fight her once because of her disadvantage, but she had been trained to fight blind. Her claws dug at the ground as a sudden thought of fighting in the battle crossed her mind.

[Sivoncé™]

Across the gently lapping waters, the spectral figure watched the world silently around him. It was hypnotic, mesmerizing in every shape, form, and way. Or maybe that was just because he'd been dead the previous day. He still was dead -- his heart had picked up a slow thump. Life, for Death, was what death was for most wolves. It was a slow, getnle thump, unsteady and eerie, but it was there. When Death had been born, there had never been this annoying thump. In the Twilight Realm, it had been quieter, not so scraggly any annoying. I suppose it's confused because I'm not alive or dead or whatever that means to me. I'm somewhere in between.
Raising his head, he caught sight of a femme in the dark. She looked like she was hunting, but he wasn't so sure. Curious, he crept closer, doubting if she would see him, wondering if he she say hello. She smells like a loner, she probably won't even know who I am...
"Hello, there. Er....how's the prey running?" The semi-transparent figure woofed hoarsely.
That doesn't sound like me at all. What's with this raspy voice?

[Kismet//Accalia]

((aw, why did I get one of the most evilest wolves in history))

Shizune pricked her ears and moved her head in the direction of the voice. "The prey's running terrific," she said sarcastically. "I just caught, like, ten rabbits yesterday. Yep, life as a loner is perfect for me!" She turned away, her lips lifted up into a silent snarl. I wish I could see the idiotic face of that wolf. Maybe I'd have a reason to rip his muzzle off. She sighed and turned back to the wolf. "Sorry about that, I've been in a bad mood lately. Who are you suppose to be, though?"

[Sivoncé™]

(( Uh, excuse me, Death hasn't been evil since he died, where have you been? 0_o And Flame/Death resurrected themselves to try and figure out the problem w/ the Hellfire wolves. I'm sure he would still be flattered, though ))

Death eyed the she-wolf thoughtfully for a moment, picking up on the staring film over her eyes. She was well-trained, probably -- she seemed to look right at him -- but she was blind. She couldn't see him. He heaved a sigh of relief. Thank you holy spirit force, or whatever! Dang, it's a good thing she can't see....this is a moose-headed idea, but I still want to....I want to talk to somebody, damnit!
"Oh, er, my apologies," he barked hastily, voice still a freakish croak. Well it's a good thing she can't see me, but my voice is probably making her flip out. "I'm not from around these parts....my name is....er....my name is...."
Can't tell her. She'll freak. The wolves of this time don't remember me....they think I'm still evil. ugh...name....name, I need a name!
"My name is Htaed. That's Hit-eed. Native of the mountain bases a ways farther down than these terras. Who are you?"

[Kismet//Accalia]

((meh, well, I don't keep up with the '1st Generation' wolves ))

Shizune flattened her ears and a small smile crept onto her lips. "I'm Shizune, but you can just call me Zune, as in Zoon-ney. I should be the one apologizing, I didn't mean to snap at you like that." She quickly bowed her head, but stood straight up in a dominant position. "What brings you to these parts? Personally, I would've stayed back near the mountains if I were you." Not that she knew what was up with the mountains. She had heard that the packs came somewhere from the other side of the mountains. But then...did this wolf follow them?

[Sivoncé™]

Death, or Htaed, as he was now pretending to be, found himself smiling tentatively, though he knew she probably wouldn't be able to tell. Maybe she's good at sensing feelings? Who knows. Other senses are definitly sharper when you're blind, though. I wouldn't want to cross her.
"Just exploring a bit. I don't typically like staying in one place too long, but this lake seems nice. The only downside is what I've heard about the wolves around here from other loners. There's packs here, supposedly, which would explain the reek when I came in this way. It's kind of unnatural, don't you think? So many wolves stuck in one place all the time -- I could never manage that!" He felt himself oddly fit to play this role. I haven't been part of a pack for so long, and I kept to myself in the Twilight Realm....I almost believe what I'm saying. I don't think, if I was alive, I would like living in a pack much at all....Zune seems friendly. Maybe she's heard things about Blood Mist? "What about you -- you a native here?"

[Kismet//Accalia]

"I didn't always live in this particular area, but I have lived close by the packs." Shizune was becoming quite amused by this wolf. She rarely liked to talk to clueless wolves, but the way this one was acting was quite interesting. "For however long I've been living here, nothing bad has happened to me. Some of the wolves are quite annoying, but nothing to be worried about." She shrugged as she thought of the two wolves she had interacted with a few weeks ago. They were both idiots who had jumped into the lake to find out that they couldn't swim. "There's like, four packs here fighting another pack. What it sounds like is that a bunch of 'dead' wolves came alive to take over or something like that. Who knows, the packs have weird myths and stuff, so I don't like to interact with them much."

[Sivoncé™]

Death felt laughter bubbling up, despite the fact that he was laughing at himself -- at his history, at his own state of being, and at his former entanglement with the packs. He chuckled deeply, which sounded too high-pitched and tinkling for his taste, but the sound only made him laugh harder. He rolled his eyes, calming, and eventually speaking. "Dead wolves, do you say? Really? You say these packs have myths but....do these myths condemn possesion of sanity? I've never heard such dung in my life! Well, living here would definitly be interesting, in any case. Do you live around this lake, or make your den elsewhere?" He still snickered a bit, becoming fascinated with the sound of his spectral voice. I sound like a wolf with black cough and wolfnip!

[Kismet//Accalia]

"I sleep wherever I need to," Shizune said. "I like to wander around... a lot... so anywhere where I can rest safely, I will." She pricked her ears and turned to the direction of the Twilight Clearing, curiosity covering her face. "Yes, this place can be quite interesting, and you came at a good time, too. The packs sometimes go to the Twilight Clearing for some meeting they have every other moon. And now that their actually fighting well..." She turned back to Death/Htead. "...It's pretty dangerous to be a loner right now. I don't think those pack wolves like us much."

[Sivoncé™]

Death felt sadness creep over him as the loner described the packs. They're regal, all high and mighty, and they don't even pause to think of the life going on around them, do they? To them, loners are unfortunate souls, homeless wanderers. They don't have a place anywhere....it's a creul life. And the loners...their resilience lets them laugh. They deserve Twilight in the afterlife and guiding their paws as much as any other wolf...
"Fighting? All in one place? Must've been one heaping mass of fangs and fur! Geeze, how did they all even fit in one place?" He inclined his head slightly as she talked about the repurcussions it may have for the loners. "Well hey, if they get too pushy....I can push back, and it would seem to me that you can, too. In fact, most loners I know wouldn't take too kindly to being told what's what or attacked by some religious pack cult."

[Kismet//Accalia]

"You know what, you're right!" said Shizune, perking up a little. "I'm sure many of the loners are tired of being picked on. If we could work together, we could convince the packs that we loners aren't here to be bossed around..." She cocked her head to one side and her eyes stared curiously ahead. "But, will there be enough of us to tell them? I mean, I've seen those meetings, and there's tons of wolves in those packs. If comes down to a battle, it'll be pointless and we might lose. Unless the battle the packs are in right now weakens them enough." Her voice had quieted down a little until it seemed like she was talking to herself. She shook her head, reminded herself that there was company, and straightened up. "What do you think?"

[Sivoncé™]

Death thought carefully, completely taken with the idea of the loners standing up against the packs. At this moment in time, it seemed like he was a regular wolf with regular concerns. No thoughts of fixing Hellfire ran through his mind now. He thought hard about the problem with the loners, then voiced his suggestions. "Well, I don't think it's in our nature to stage an all-out united fronal attack. We're loners -- we shouldn't stoop down to their level just to fight them off. I say we should pass on a message to all of the loners we meet. If we run into a patrol of irritating packwolves, we can call for them and meet up to give them some nasty wounds to remember us by. No need to stage an all out war. If they come back with more, we'll just send 'em away again -- no problem," he woofed, shrugging his shoulders. "They shouldn't make us into a pack just to survive with them."

[Kismet//Accalia]

"Guess that's what their plan was all along, then," she said mainly to herself. "But, you're right. Guess we just have to hope for the best. I still don't like the fact that they come onto our land every now and then for meetings. Don't understand why they can't do it in their own territories. I think we should talk to them at least about that." She turned her head to the direction of the Twilight Clearing and a low growl rumbled from her throat.

[Sivoncé™]

Death raised a brow at her growl, a bit amused now. "You want to march into a mass like that? Besides, their probably so dense they think it's their land to come and go on." He snickered a bit, amused by the irony of the situation he was in. "Think of what would happen in they came into some of our popular places....hm, say the mountains, or the free meadows. They'd totally get beat up. I have a feeling they'd do the same thing, though it is rightfully ours." He looked up at the sky, the moon high in the cloudless night. "That's why I suggested picking them off in smaller groups -- we stand more of a chance there," he explained. He turned his eyes to the emptying Twilight Clearing, sadness creeping in as he spotted wolves he recognized from his watches in the Twilight Realm. "It's a shame. They could be doing so many more useful things than wasting their time here, mauling each other and killing somebody's eardrums."

[Kismet//Accalia]

"And they think we loners fight a lot," Shizune asked, more like a statement than a question. "But, no, I don't want to go talk to them right now. I'll just wait until the fight is over probably. Maybe then they'll actually listen when they're in a weak condition." She turned to Death/Htead, her expression emotionless now. "I just thought of something. You said you came from the mountains, and the packs came from the other side of the mountain, so how much information do you really know about them." There was slight suspicion and wariness in her voice, but she had felt this question building up until it just had to come out.