Beneath the Skin [Open]

[Whinny]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,480,true][bg=758C0F] ~Kaya was slowly picking her way through the dead smokey forest, Her eyes were soar and she could feel them start to water. She quickly blinked back the tears that were caused from the thickening smoke. Even though the fire was a little while ago, the smoke seemed to cling on to the damp air. She took a deep breath allowing the smoke to go deep into her lungs. As quickly as she inhaled the smoke, she started to cough. She scolded herself for being so stupid. Looking down Kaya stepped over the dead twigs that lay there motionless on top of the light layer of snow. Kaya had been traveling for a while now, looking for somewhere to settle down for a little while. Then she would be back up on her feet. She had figured this old forest would be a good place. It looked pretty dead from the first glance, so hopefully she wouldn't have any unexpected encounters with anyone. Kaya blinked quickly. then started gazing around for somewhere she could lay down. Looking up at the gray sky she saw the clouds huddling all together. She couldn't help but smile. It was so long ago when she had been able to huddle up with others for warmth. But that was then. She made a choice to leave it, and that was that. As Kaya walked she let her mind wander away from her. She wondered what it would be like to be in a pack again. Letting pictures fill her mind, she shook them away flattening her ears against her white head. She reminded herself again that alone was better. You didn't have to rely on anyone but yourself, the only one who Kaya knew she could trust. She alerted her senses, listening to the sound of her own walking. She stopped suddenly feeling small snowflakes falling on her coat. She licked her lips gathering the snow that landed on her muzzle. Kaya listened for a moment, The silence was such a lonely sound. but that was the way she liked it. She told her self with a quick nod of her own head. The snow started to fall more heavily now, so Kaya walked under an old dead tree for the littlest bit of shelter. Sitting on her back end, Kaya wrapped her tail around her body covering her paws. The pads on her feet were so worn, it hurt to walk on anything that had the littlest bit of sharpness to it. Especially rocks. Kaya always tried to stay away from anything that would make her seem weak. But right now, Kaya could feel how much sleep she had missed the past few nights. The sky was darkening and the snow was coming down in a steady pattern. Kaya closed her eyes and concentrated on her own rhythmical breathing.

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[skye]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,420,true][bg=f3e795] Delicate crunching underfoot and the hushed pelting of white from overhead, she could barely believe her eyes. Everything seemed so surreal, so different from the ordinary, and yet, so ... familiar. A memory felt like it tried to bubble up from her mind, but as she paused, concentrating on it, it simply vanished. Oh, if only she could remember something, anything, but nothing would come to mind. Suddenly the world was a wheeling, careening blur. "Agh....", her voice, a whisper, whimpered in protest to her throbbing head. She felt herself double-over, trying to hold her skull between her front paws. Every time she tried to remember, it always hurt, exactly like this. Her eyes watered as the newly-sprung headache continued to gush waves of pain. As the screaming in her nerves lessened, her feet wobbily found their way to firm foot-holds and rose her once again to full height. With nausea still wrenching the contents of her stomach, she scanned the area as best as she could to make sure no one had seen her moment of weakness. A telltale shadowy figure in the background seemed to linger. "Go-....aghHHHHH!!", she tried to speak, but as soon as her tongue set itself in motion, her headache only seemed to get worse, and her last hoarse syllables heightened to a near scream. "Go away! My land! Get away!", she shouted to it, bluffing owning the land simply to ward the other off. Whether or not it was watching or actually within shouting-distance, she didn't know.

[Whinny]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,480,true][bg=758C0F] ~Kaya was dozing off when she heard something in the distance. She shot to her feet and blinked hard. She crinkled her nose, trying to smell through the think smoke, which was slowly disappearing as the snow was thickening. Kaya couldn't smell anything certain, but the smell was definitely different. She listened closely, trying to ignore the pound of her own heartbeat. When Kaya heard something again, she was sure it was another wolf, "Oh great..." She said to herself as silently as she could. She thought of ways she could avoid meeting this stranger. SHe could duck down and try and hide in the snow? No. He coat was to dirty for that. Another wolf would be sure to see her. She could run? That idea sounded delightful to Kaya, but she knew better. If she was to run, who ever it was would probably be to follow her and think she was weak. So Kaya got ready to stand her grown. She took a deep breath, clenched her teeth and pulled her gums upward. She squared her feet and bowed her eyebrows. She would be ready for who ever it was. Giving a quick nervous glance around Kaya started to focus her eyes on the other wolf that was slowly coming near.

[skye]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,420,true][bg=f3e795] As the last of her voice dissipated into the lurking stench of death and decay, the stranger reacted, seeming to grow bigger in the distance. She squinted her eyes to see better, and was able to make out a fearsome snarling expression. Deciding that a fight was immanent, she mirrored it's posture, grimacing back with her fangs exposed, and her four paws grinding their claws into the earth for a better grip. But she knew as strong as a fighter she thought herself to be, that she was in no condition to be fighting. The muscles in her back right leg began to spasm in exertion, and continued to tremble as the floodwaters of headache-hell continued to rise. Her head dipped and her eyes closed; she knew this was no way to fight, but her pain-receptors screamed for relief. As the seconds ebbed away, so did the pain. "It hurts...", she whispered to herself, trying to subdue the pain. She tried her best to raise her head level again to look at the other, but as she did, the nausea returned, threatening to empty out what little stomach contents she had. "I can't fight you!", she called out to the other. Her legs wobbled, trying to hold her steady but unsuccessful even at that.

[Whinny]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,480,true][bg=758C0F] ~seeing her appoint give in, Kaya slowly relaxed her muscles, "okay." She agreed. She saw her appoint was not in good condition. Kaya couldn't help but wonder what had happened. She tilted her head to the right, What happened..? If you don't mind me asking.." Kaya spoke quietly but yet loud enough she knew the other wolf could hear. Showing that she was not going to attach Kaya sat down and studied the other female. She was never good at small talk, so she always just tried to keep the other talking while she thought of a way to leave without making her seem scared. But this time Kaya truly was interested in the story of how the other female got hurt.

[skye]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,420,true][bg=f3e795] "Okay"

[/font], the stranger's reply could not have fallen on more welcome ears. Succumbing to the loathing gravity nipping at her unsteady paws, she collapsed onto her stomach with all four legs splayed out awkwardly. With no need to fight, she could concentrate on nothingness and let her body heal.

"I...", she tried to respond to the other's question as it happily plopped onto it's stomach, but her own words would come no more. Scrunching her eyes together, she focused on her breathing, until at last the swells of agony inside her skull ceased. She quickly climbed to her feet, taking a moment to arch her back as well.

"I get headaches...", she replied, unsure of how to explain it, and certain that her explanation was both inadequate and a complete understatement. She hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry for being mean.", she grumbled, barely audible. "So who are you, and where am I?", she asked, trotting forwards slowly, her stub of a tail hanging passively. As she neared the white stranger, she stretched her neck forwards, trying to sniff the female politely.


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[Whinny]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,480,true] ~Kaya watched as the other she-wolf dropped to her stomach like a spread eagle. Kaya couldn't help but feel a tad of sympathy for her, but right away she pushed it back down. She listened as the stranger tried to speak but her voice just seemed to disappear. Kaya watched as the she-wolf slowed her breathing then climbed to her feet. Catching Kaya by surprise she braced her muscles, but relaxed not long after when the she-wolf started to speak again. Kaya scrunched her eyes and perked her ears to hear the quiet voice. "No, don't be sorry." Kaya reassured the other wolf. "I wasn't really going to fight you.. It was just the best way i could to defend myself." Kaya explained while studying the face of the wolf who stood before her. "And I am Kaya. Who might you be?" Kaya said while watching the other wolf approach her, feeling her muscles tense automatically. She told herself to breath steadily, so she did. Sniffing The other she-wolf politely, she tried to memorize her sent. "So where do you come from?" Kaya figured it would be best if she knew something about the sent she was trying to memorize.

Sorry its so short! D:

[skye]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,420,true][bg=f3e795] "Kaey-ah" , she repeated, sounding out the syllables, and trying to commit the name to memory better. Having gathered enough of the females' scent to commit to memory, she backed a few polite steps and lowered her weight onto her haunches, propping herself up in a sitting position. "I don't know. That's what triggered the headache.", she stated in a matter-of-fact tone, trying not to think about the answer to the question, but only a surface answer. Unsure what to do, she looked around, half expecting to find a pink elephant or a green walrus, but finding nothing interesting, she returned her gaze to the white female, and scrunched her eyebrows in a sympathetic look. "Hungry."

[/color], she admitted, aware that her grammar and sentence structure was awful, but not wanting to admit more than a single word of her embarrassment.

"How long have you been here? Is there good game?"[/color], she tried to strike up a conversation to pass the time, hoping to find out more about the manner of this wolf and at the same time appease her stomach in some menial way. "Are you a packwolf?"[/color], she added, as her mind also wandered to wondering about if there were other groups of wolves here.


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