fly, fly, baby don't cry [OPEN]

[smudge]

"one more thing, before i graduate...."

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takoda. [bio]. ~ 2 years. bobcat/caracal mix. loner. free for all.
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The city wasn't far now.

Even with his hazy vision (the bobcat mix had woken only a short time before, groggy from a poor day's sleep), Takoda could make out the dusky outlines of Hexasol's main attraction, the decaying town center. For half a moment, the young male couldn't recall what time of day it was. The twilight hues stretched across the heavens suggested early dawn or darkening dusk, and thanks to his lack of sleep all night, he wasn't sure if he had slept through the day as well as the night. Grumbling under his breath, Takoda paused to give his face a quick wash and his sore eyes a rub. His eyes scanned the ground for a puddle to check his reflection in, even though he was sure the face that would stare back at him wouldn't be a pleasing one.

A shallow dip in the road caught his eye. Sure enough, a relatively stagnant pool of water came into view, and he didn't hesitate in staring right into it. He looked nothing short of a childhood monster, with his bloodshot eyes, desolate expression, and clumpy hair. As unfavorable as the water's condition was, Takoda needed more than his dry tongue to clean himself. With a tentative paw he splashed water over his face and hastily wiped it off. It didn't do much to relieve his nausea but lifted the grogginess a bit. Judging by the heavy heat and growing shadows, Takoda finally decided it was near nighttime. The clouds were beginning to build in the sky, implying a storm was on the way. Takoda grimaced, returning to his feet and stalking with extra speed and meaning towards Hexasol. Thunderstorms were always a neat phenomenon to observe- as long as you weren't caught in the middle of one. Takoda imagined one of the old broken townhouses would make for a delightful front-row seat to the show, if he could make to the city in time.

It wasn't until Takoda was on the brink of civilization that he realized he could have used a snack for the road. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten a decent meal, one that didn't include scraps, bones, or small rodents like mice. A few times he had been forced to munch on reptiles, especially in the drier parts of Hexasol where he risked starvation if he was too picky. There will probably be rats in the city, Takoda reminded himself, even though the rodents were infamous for carrying disease and sickness. Casting a remorseful look over his shoulder at the disappearing shrub land, it dawned upon him that hunting now before entering the city would be his best option. The thought of carrying a full-sized hare all the way down wasn't appealing however, either. Takoda shrugged off the concerns and resumed his hurried walk.

Upon arriving on the piece of road locals called "Straight Bit", Takoda's resolution finally appeared to him on two stubby legs. Perched on an exposed and untrimmed tree root, it was preoccupied with pecking at some sort of food item it had managed to find. Takoda immediately huddled down, slowly shifting himself to a more hidden spot and stealthily advanced on the magpie. His tiredness caused him to drag one of his rear paws by accident, startling the bird early. Fortunately for him, he was close enough to spring up in the air and catch the bird mid-flight, bringing the creature swiftly to both the ground and it's death. Satisfied with his make-do hunting skills, the youth halted his travels to make time to eat the bird outside. It would be less messy that way, considering he had to pluck out all of the feathers before consuming the bird. The storm was still quite a ways off, anyways.

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"...never let your fear decide your fate."

[Hunter]

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[atrb=background,http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx34/Kitten_Lovour/wolftablemid.png] Actions. ; "Speech." ; 'Thoughts.' What have you put yourself into now, Vladimir? he thought as he looked up on the darkening sky. It wasn’t just getting dark it also looked like a storm was coming up. Closing his eyes and sniffing in the air, the white wolf decided that it wasn’t too late. He could still make it to town before rain would fall. A glint was found in his eyes as he opened them and he darted down the hill. Hexasol could be a dangerous place if you went the wrong places, but as a stray, Vladimir knew where he most likely could go unharmed – besides, Hexasol was a fine place to stay with an upcoming storm, especially since it was closer to him than the forest was. Running through the marsh, Vladimir didn’t feel old at all. He was more than seven years old now, but even in the harsh winter where he had turned seven, the signs of age had been few. And now, with summer beginning, Vladimir still felt strong and healthy. He was fit for fight and able to take care of himself, and talking about being fit for fight… he was still bulky as an ox, so it wasn’t often that anyone dared cross his way – and if they did, not much more than some show off growling was needed. After all, Vladimir didn’t want to fight anyone unless it was strictly necessary, so training had always been a necessary part of his life to keep off potential enemies. Well, even before he had become a stray, he had needed to be strong and scary of look, but that was a different story… a different life. Flying over the railways in two leaps, Vladimir was quickly getting closer to the city. He could hear the rumbling of thunder far behind him, but no lightings cracked the dark clouds. At least not yet. He was heading for Straight Bit since that was the place where it would be best to spend the night. Other creatures might already have taken the church, so his common sense told him not to go there even though he almost would be passing by. Finally reaching his destination, the big wolf ceased his strides and came down to a trot. He let his tongue hang out of his mouth as he searched for a decent place to stay for the night as he came across a dark figure. The feline wasn’t big compared to him, and the scent told Vladimir that the feline mix was quite young. And alone. He stopped and looked around, wondering why the feline hadn’t sought a proper place to stay. After all, Vladimir hadn’t seen many creatures on his travel here – many had already found a place to stay so they didn’t have to be outside in the storm. ”Hey young one! You might want to hurry up a bit,” he shouted and looked up to the sky again. His voice was slightly absorbed by the wind that started to rage in the streets and he trotted closer to the feline, not sure if he’d heard. He wasn’t scared of the feline attacking him – his size alone wouldn’t make him an easy opponent to the younger feline. It was then Vladimir realized why the strange mix was out here. He could now see that feathers flew around the young male who was busy eating his newest kill. ”Sorry to interrupt you, buddy, but a storm is coming up, you should get away,” he said loud enough for the feline to hear when he had come closer. He stopped at a fair distance from the feline, just to make sure not to scare him too much since he, after all, came from behind the stranger. 625 words/notes: Yay, Vladimir is getting some love!

[smudge]

"one more thing, before i graduate...."

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Takoda decided he didn't care for birds much. There wasn't much meat on the scrawny magpie and the bones were as fine as splinters- causing him to nearly choke on several occasions - and he just didn't have the time or the patience to consume the prey whole at the moment. The wind was beginning to pick up and the bobcat mix was sure any minute now the rain would start to spit down on him. It was then a low voice collected his concerns aloud, causing Takoda to flinch. He whipped his head around, trying to keep a calm expression even those his eyes were as wide as saucers. Dangit, Takoda, keep your head out of the clouds, he silently cursed himself, wondering how on earth he was still alive with such terrible awareness skills.

The creature that had appeared was a white wolf, and a massive one at that. Takoda was a tall, lanky fellow, especially for his breeds, but he was nothing compared to this beast. Takoda's limbs were still frozen in terror, but the wolf's calm facial expression paired with his warning words detailed a different story from a menacing enemy. The stranger had also made a point by keeping his distance, a move Takoda very much appreciated. He relaxed just enough to reposition himself, but held a stony eye on the canine. His parents had never particularly warned him about dogs, especially since they were loners and denominated by nothing such as Iris, so Takoda wasn't sure what to think. This was probably the most he'd ever interacted with one, especially a wolf.

The wolf appeared to be softly aged, with a mature voice and a sturdy body build. Takoda felt an interesting and unexpected surge of envy. Wolves were even more remarkable up close, he decided. Sure, Takoda was a wilder breed himself, but felt insignificant under the wolf's almost harrowing gaze. Takoda gulped. He had felt defensive at first, but now he saw that there was no reason to become snippy with the stranger. That would only ask for trouble, and there had been no trouble to start with.

"Uh, oh, yes, I was just trying to curb my appetite before hiding in for the night, yeah," Takoda stumbled a bit, feeling like a blubbering fool as always. The sound of his voice was unfamiliar to him, and rather weird-sounding. It was low and not uniform in tone. He winced, trying to refocus on the current conversation. "B-but thanks. What about you? Are you finding a place to stay too?" Internally, the bobcat mix was beating himself over and over again, begging for himself to stop talking. Evani had told him once, better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. And what a clumsy fool he was.

Casting a dubious glance over at the sky, he could see just how much closer the clouds were, now thundering in at twice the speed. No wonder the white wolf was so perturbed...Koda had lost track of the time. Lifting to his feet, the youth resisted the urge to take off in the opposite direction. Instead, he tentatively took a few steps forward, beckoning the wolf to follow if he wished. After all, as anxious as he was, walking off from a conversation was not an option.

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"...never let your fear decide your fate."

[Hunter]

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[atrb=background,http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx34/Kitten_Lovour/wolftablemid.png] Actions. ; "Speech." ; 'Thoughts.' The young mix flinched, indicating that he hadn’t heard Vladimir coming. As the young one turned around, Vladimir could see a hint of fright in his eyes, but otherwise the young feline looked fairly calm. Luckily the fear was quickly dismissed from the feline’s expression, but he still admired how the bobcat mix stayed aware of the big, white stranger in front of him. It was only good that the younger male didn’t prove to be naïve and trust any mild looking creature he came across – it could save his life one day if he should meet a stranger with less pure intentions than Vladimir’s. When the bobcat mix spoke, Vladimir found the feline’s personality quite timid. Whether it was because a big wolf stranger was standing almost right in front of him or because he was that in general, Vladimir couldn’t know for sure. For a second he couldn’t determine if the mix had finished talking, because it seemed like the younger male was trailing off. He then started speaking again, slightly stuttering this time, and the older wolf smiled gently at the feline, knowing that the young male felt rather awkward – for whatever reason Vladimir wasn’t sure. He didn’t know if the male still was scared or if he generally had a hard time speaking with strangers. Besides, Vladimir started to wonder, he didn’t know what the feline had been taught about canines. This was Hexasol after all, and a war was going on… but he couldn’t find the smell of the Iris Pride on the youngster, so he was quite sure that the feline didn’t belong to the pride of crazy felines. ”I’m sorry if I scared you, that indeed I am,” he started out, still with a gentle smile. Small drops of rain then reminded him about the lack of time the two of them had before the storm would be right over them and he quickly continued. ”Indeed I am - and we better find something quickly unless we want our coats soaked with water,” he said with a glint in the eye and looked down Straight Bit, trying to find a decent place to stay. His eyes lit up as he saw a house which still looked fairly intact, and a crack in the door opening told him that the door already was open. ”Here, follow he,” he said and darted forward, not waiting to look if the young feline was following him. With less than fifty meters between them and the house, Vladimir quickly came to stand before the door. He pushed it open with a shoulder, not having to put too much effort in the work before the door opened enough for him to enter. Something else – some big creature – must have opened it before him, so he sniffed before walking in, just to make sure that no one was… home. But no one was there. Whoever had cracked the door open was long gone, only a faint scent of lion was here, but it was several days old, maybe a whole week. The Iris Pride must have hunted the lone lion away if he or she had refused to become a member of their pride, or – which Vladimir didn’t hope was the case – welcomed the rogue lion as a new member of the pride. As things were, Vladimir thought the Iris Pride and Tempest Pack were big enough as they were already. They were always looking for new recruits, and he hoped not that his new little feline friend would become one of them. ”Seems like a decent place,” he said into the darkness of the house, his voice slightly echoing. He trotted inside and already enjoyed the warmth of it – not to mention that it was dry in here. He jumped up in a sofa, and dust flew around him as he placed himself in its soft pillows, making him sneeze. ”Make yourself comfortable kiddo,” he said cheerfully as he saw the bobcat mix stepping into the house. ”It seems like we have a long night ahead of us.” 679 words/notes: Assumed that Takoda chose to follow him. Tell me if you want me to change it ^^