Sister (Sofika only)

[Karolek]

It had been a long time since Karolek's interaction with the wolves of Arnlan apart from contact with his sister. His enjoyment came from stalking the darkness alone and watching the other wolves. Although watching is the incorrect word. Teasing. Toying. Tricking. His ability to move undetected within his pack lands made it fun for him to sneak up on the subordinates, make 'spooky' noises and scare the hell out of them. Yes, everyone was cautious in Arnlan.

They treaded carefully even though they had nothing to fear. This idea of the pack leaders being so mysterious was given added effect with the strange markings on each of their faces. The glowing green spots on Karolek's maw and the striking blue of his sister, Sofika's must have been very distracting to the pack mates.

Rolling his shoulders, Karolek rolled across the terrain with swift and elegant ease; with the shadows; in the shadows- he was the shadow that cast the forest into almost complete black abyss. He was going towards Sofika. They had... matters, to discuss. He did not know what the outcome would be however hopefully it would be for the better. He resented the fact that she was more open with the subordinates. He hated that they got so close to her. Perhaps it was brotherly protection- he did not want her exposed to the riff raff and common folk in the land. He wanted her to remain hidden and safe. She often got annoyed at him for spending zero time at all in the packs presence. He didn't mind, he loved to tease the others and make them frightened- keep them on their toes! Alert! Conscious!

Karolek did not want Arnlan to fall into a lovey dovey illusion that everyone was safe within the borders. Infact they were not. A pack could attack at any time and with the diminishing numbers, well, any fool could see Arnlan did not offer an army of resistance.

Was that why she was spending more time within the ranks? Trying to promote everyone to band together? He tried to understand- he did! But honestly, he didn't want some sick wolf banging on his cave door wanting to 'talk' or discuss 'rank' when he was trying to sleep. Silly wolves. Perhaps he would be more accepting if him and his sister got together and spoke to one another properly. He should no doubt apologise for always running off and leaving her to deal with the pack on her own, on several occasions. Depending on how the short meeting went would depend on whether or not he wanted to keep pissing her off or admit wrong and apologise.

[Sofika]

It was like a paradox.

Shadow watching shadow, dancing within each other, enmeshing and coming apart. Like swirling black oil on the water's surface.

She watched her brother pass by her form hidden just behind the dead leaves.
Quickly, silently, fluidly, she trotted from the bushes to a fallen tree, then hopped to another fallen tree, stuck at a 45 degree angle, and catwalked up the length of the trunk until her brother was directly below her. As far as she knew, he hadn't detected her presence yet.
She leaped silently from the tree and landed on the soft, muddy earth, directly in front of her brother.

"It has been a while." She whispered in undertones of indignation.
Where had her brother been?

((lol sorry short post tired))

[Karolek]

He hadn't realized that his sister was up in the trees (because, really, when does anyone ever look up?) and was mildly surprised when she dropped down in front of him. His face, however, remained impassive, and he gave no indication that he hadn't been expecting her to appear like that for hours. Karolek was skilled at keeping his thoughts hidden - and yet, unlike his twin's quietly mysterious nature, the male took pleasure in portraying completely false emotions. He was more likely to smile creepily than stare blankly, and so he did now, with that grin of his that seemed to show all his teeth.

"Just for the record, I let you sneak up on me like that. Knew you were there."[/color] Which was, of course, completely untrue, but there was no way he was going to let Sofika get the better of him. Even if she probably wasn't in the mood for his jokes (was she ever?) after he'd been gone for so long. "Erm...yes," he began awkwardly, head lowering slightly as if he were a child being punished for coming home late. "About that. I'm...sorry."[/color] Why did apologies have to be so difficult?

"But you seem to have done well while I was gone...!"[/color] He said lamely, smile widening despite the fact that he knew the compliment was hopeless and that he was probably about to receive a verbal beating from the twin he'd abandoned.

[Sofika]

"Just for the record, I let you sneak up on me like that. Knew you were there." her brother said with a toothy grin. Sofika remained stone-faced, except for a slight twitch forward with her lips which was a fraction of pursing them indignantly.
"Erm...yes," he continued, "About that. I'm...sorry."
His head bowed and the tone in his voice convinced her he was genuinely sorry. Her body posture relaxed just a fraction.

"But you seem to have done well while I was gone...!" he said, smiling. This brought Sofika's shoulders back up and her ears swiveled back.
"I suppose." she said, no indication of emotion in her voice or in her blank face, "where have you been?" her eyes darted to Karolek, taking a step toward him.
"Arnlan is nearing it's death throes. There are only a few who's allegiance has survived thus far. We have been in the shadows too long, we have been hiding and now so are they. I have been making an effort to be seen, and show them that Arnlan still lives and breathes, even though raggedly."
"...And what have you been doing?"
A hot wave of anger washed over her but she did not react to it. The whole of Arnlan seemed to be held up only by a thin piece of twine, expected to break at any second. She couldn't support Arnlan alone, or just watching from the shadows while Sallin grows it's ranks. The only thing neccessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

[Karolek]

For a second, he'd had her - Karolek was well attuned to his twin's body language, and that momentary relaxation was like a beacon of hope. His ears pricked slightly, reassured...until, of course, he had to make that stupid comment, and that beacon went out with a snap.

"Where have you been?"

The dreaded question. Where had he been? Suddenly the excuses he'd thought up seemed pathetic. He said nothing, averting his eyes (though the gesture would have gone unnoticed) and shuffled his paws. It was a huge effort to remain still as she drew closer, to not tuck his tail and run into the shadows, where he'd been hiding for so long now.

"Arnlan is nearing it's death throes. There are only a few who's allegiance has survived thus far. We have been in the shadows too long, we have been hiding and now so are they. I have been making an effort to be seen, and show them that Arnlan still lives and breathes, even though raggedly."

Guilt consumed him - how could he have left her? Left the pack? To be sure, he cared considerably less about the wolves that lived here than he did for Sofika...but maybe that was exactly what she was trying to tell him. The lesson that he was evidently having so much difficulty learning. The pack was supposed to be his family, he was supposed to protect them. Love them.

"...And what have you been doing?"

"...Nothing." Admitting his own faults seemed like the hardest thing he had ever done, but he was willing to do it if it meant his sister would stop being angry at him. "Nothing I say...can justify my behavior." It was his turn to step forward now, and as he did he slowly reached out one thin forelimb, attempting to hook it behind one of Sofika's legs and pull it toward himself, in some kind of canine, thumbless handshake. If he'd managed that without getting his face bitten off, then Karolek would lean forward and press his nose gently against the side of Sofika's muzzle, right between those bright blue dots.

"I'm sorry. Really."

[Sofika]

"...Nothing. Nothing I say...can justify my behavior." "

Karolek extended a foreleg and hooked it behind Sofika's, taking her paw in his. She lowered her head at the sight, slightly confused. It was then that he moved toward her and pressed a nose to the side of her muzzle.
"I'm sorry. Really."

He felt bad, and he meant what he said.
Being the antagonist of the situation made Sofika feel empathy toward her brother... indeed, she had not been involved in the pack much more than he had. He was a trickster and preferred to dwell within the shadows and watch from a distance, while she was a guardian, showing her face and interacting a bit--correcting mistakes-- before it was time to retreat.
She stilled for a moment, then moved out of her brother's grasp and stood. Waving her shaggy black tail slowly and placidly, she lowered her haunches and sat just before the trees ended, overlooking the now snow-laden meadow where the majority of the pack would hunt.

What had these lands become? Even the most loyal of members were starting to thin out and hide within shadow, just like them. Maybe they should encourage that sort of thing. It would give Arnlan that creepy appeal but... as Sofika's defensive thinking took control, what if Sallin decided to act against them? As soldiers stormed their lands, would any wolf dare to remove themselves from hiding?

Either way, in the end, they had each other, and at the risk of sounding like a sappy childrens story, if they didn't have each other they wouldn't last long.

"You are forgiven."

She turned her head and held a sidelong glance at her brother. She smiled, swishing her tail against the beaten earth that they swore to protect even if no one else would.

"I would not be dissapointed if I asked you if you are still set in your mischevious ways, eh?" She figured a change of subject would lighten his mood.