In the Veils of Mist

[archer]

The land of Arnlan had proved so far to be a good place to live. It was myterious, yet he its own quaility to it. The place was spooky, but not too much that nobody came here. In fact, he had found that there had been many seeking as he had to be accepted into the back. In the back of his mind, Archer pondered upon the female known as Myth. Seemed to know little of the pack called Sallin. It was an amazement to him how she did not know of the cruel and heartless pack in which his brother made his living. The dark gray male shook from head to toe as a silent rage quivered through his nerves when the scent of an oncoming rabbit approached. He laid down in the mist, remaining hidden in the shadows. Both of his brown eyes were glued on the path ahead of him. There was a movement and the moment he lifed his head, a rabbit appeared above him. With practiced skill, he brought down his teeth, and crushed its ribs, piercing its lungs and heard all at once.

The rabbit gave a few twitches as he lowered his head and proceeded to dine of his meal. He snarled out of habit. Many times, his meal had been stolen by others, including his brothers. He attacked anyone that touched his food. The last wolf to due so was some arrogant dog that had thought it funny to tease Archer. He had not lasted very long under his jaws. The wolf had let the male live yes, but no without giving himn a good scare. Sometimes it was needed to put holes in other, particularly when they threatened the only thing you had eaten in weeks.

Archer made short work of the rabbit and laid back down, completely hidden and masked the veil of mist. He was invisable to anyone that looked at the land. The water vapor clung to him and his scent no longer existed. He smiled and waited for someone to come this way. He decided to make friends and have a few allies here. After all, he wanted to be an assassin and would work hard to prove it.

[nightblood]

{{Well... I wanted to wait for others to join so Archer could meet them too, but it's taking them a while...}}

A shadow lumbered through the mist, making no effort to remain hidden. It was useless anyway. Arnlan seemed to have its own cloak to hide its inhabitants. NightBlood was one of many members, a Sentry with the secret goal of becoming Beta. A secret known olnly to herself and her cousin, ShadeBlood.

The vapor billowed and moved with the wind, however slowly it was moving. The massive wolf made the thin cloud swirl and wave as she passed through. Like almost every night in Arnlan, the land was peaceful. She liked it this way, despite the slightly spooky outlook the land gave to newcomers. It fit her personality perfectly.

A sudden movement and a snarl broke the silence. Night lifted her head with relative speed and directed her eye and ears to the source of the sounds. Something in the voice was familiar, but new all at the same time. She broke at a steady gallop to investigate the disterbance. Probably someone hunting. All the same, you could never be too careful.

[grebo]

(If no one minds I'll join in with Grebo, but I can't do it till a couple of days' time. I'm leaving home tomorrow and there's lots to do!)

[archer]

Keen senses, he knew there was someone out there due to his keen senses. His nose never lied and he knew the scent, the sentry that had accepted him into Arnlan. It was only a few days before, her name, as Blood. A fitting name he told himself as he laid eyes upon her. He moved slowly, accurately, through the mist. One moment he was there, the next he was ten feet away to the right. It was a game of his, to remain hidden for a long time, testing them. The remains of the rabbit lay forgotten, his scent mingling with the bones. The male wolf would have laughed. A moment later, he was behind her, and rose up to his fiull height. He was silent, his stpes muted and his breathing undectable. He was a master of the kill, but she was not the intended target, nor would Nightblood ever be. He spoke, his voice deep and mysteroiys. "Ah, Blood. Nice to see you again."

A moment later, he ducked down again before swerving sharply to the left. "This mist is perfect to hone my skills even more." He fangs struck outward and a bird, alive but onconscous lay in his mouth. It had seemed to materialize in front of him as he had snatched it with care, making sure not to mar it in anyway.

With that, he walked toward her and set the bird down, offering her food. His brown eyes looked into her, his gray pelt shimmering in the mist. He looked like he belonged there. "Tell me" He spoke softly. "How does one go about earning a rank?" The tone he used was curious.

[nightblood]

NightBlood glanced behind her at the first sound of Archer's voice. Nothing. He had dissapeared into the mists again. She strained her ears to hear him, but he remained invisible by sound. With nothing else to protect herself by, she raised her tail and pressed her ears forward, displaying a sort of dominance that wouldn't be too insulting if Sofika or Karolek desided to appear.

"You too," she replied gruffly. If she could actually see him, the statement would have been true. Indeed, he had been one of her favorite accepties. At his second statement, she turned to the left just slightly, enough to glimps him from the corner of her right eye before he shifted out of her sight.

A wry grin escaped her sulky expression. He was toying with her. The male was proving his skills as she had asumed he had. He was quick and stealthy: exactly what his build suggested. When he finally came into view, she was able to recognise him at last. Yes, she remembered the pelt and the stature. They were of the same height.

She looked down at the semi-dead bird and back up at Archer. His brown eyes seemed to be reading into her very mind. She half-wondered if he could see through her bad eye as well. Barely stiffling a shiver, she silently wished she had the same ability. It would surely put more fear into potential enemies. After a moment, the wolfess broke the eye contact and lowered her muzzle toward the meat.

The bird was just begining to wake up before she denied it the hope of returning to life. NightBlood snapped it's neck instantly and bagan to dine. She had never eaten a bird before, so she was surprised to find it so tastey. Sadly, she would never have the skills to catch one herself. It wasn't like fishing. You simply had to be patient when fishing. With birds, you had to either be very fast, or very lucky. Night was neither.

"Tell me" He spoke softly. "How does one go about earning a rank?"

Ears, previously folded backwards in subtle gratitude for the small meal, quickly jumped forward at the question. Her muzzle was frozen in mid-bite. Slowly closing her mouth as blood dripped from her chin, NightBlood brought her head up to meet his. Her eyes met his once more, but unafraid this time.

"... Sofika and Karolek have little time to assign ranks. The alphess has given me permission to... evaluate those who show potential in sertain ranks. If my findings are satisfactory, they may allow one to hold the rank that I have suggested."

Her answer was short, but, amazingly, she had actually thought through it. Designing the answer to be less blunt than she would have initially blurted out. On any other occasion, she might have very well said "I choose it. End of story." Of course, that might have been a simpler way to put it, but it wasn't all that true. The alphas would have a say in it...

"Why?"

[archer]

As he weaved and moved about, he saw her take a dominant stance out of her protection. He would not strike, but he could if he wanted to. They had some respect for one another and that was enough for him to take her as an ally and only slightly lower his guard. The stance she held would not be insulting to him, but maybe to the alphas. It was the desired affect that he seeks from everyone. It helped them to hone their awareness, something he knew few had the capabilities to do.

"You too,"

Half true, he told himself. Though he smirked as she grinned wryly. They were so much alike, yet so different. She no longer seemed to loom over him, but instead, they were equal height. He watched her carefully, eyes scanning over her with care. She was a large wolf, as was he. He could teach her the ways of the silent kill, his way. Archer pondered upon this for a moment, but never allowing his consciousness of the world to fade.
"You desire the skill" He spoke matter-of-factly. Many wolves had envied him but very few he consider possible apprentices. They had made eye contact and in all his years of reading others like a book, it had been easy to see the lust for power within her.

"... Sofika and Karolek have little time to assign ranks. The alphess has given me permission to... evaluate those who show potential in certain ranks. If my findings are satisfactory, they may allow one to hold the rank that I have suggested."

As she dined upon the creature, she spoke to him. Her wordws rang in his ears for a mmoment and he pondered his own answer to this. Since she had not directed a questino at him, he found no reason to answer her, and sat back on his haunches. His reason for asking was simple' however, obtaining the rank would not be. He wnated to ben assassin and if Nightblood wanted to be fast and skillful as he, he would teach her. There eyes still locked together.

"Why?"

His eyes narrowed dangerously, as ifd there was something he knew she did not. "I seek the rank of assassin." He spoke calmly, yet those brown eyes seemed to look through her. His eyes nrever left her.

[nightblood]

She nodded at his statement, but persued it no further. There would be time later. There always was.

Teeth clenched at his answer. A tiny bone that she had picked up from the bird was pinned between her jaws and its pointed end was lifted until it broke through the skin of the roof of her mouth. The bone cracked as the pressure bared down upon it. Soon her own blood mixed in with the bird's as it leeked from her mouth.

For a moment, NightBlood took no notice of the pain. Pupils narrowed when she could finally feel it, but she made no sudden movements. Remaining as unreadable as she knew she could be, she slowly and gently relaxed her jaw muscles until the rib bone could not longer reach the roof of her mouth.

He wants to be an assassin? She made herself focus on the prospect, ignoring the wreched pain that seared within her. He was skilled enough, yes, that was plain. Painfully obvious, in fact. So why, WHY was she afraid to answer him? Blood couldn't remember the last time she had been so fearful.

A wiser wolf might have been able to realize the reason for their fear. NightBlood... she had to converse with herself...

-He'd have to prove he can kill more than a bird.-
~I don't want him to be an assassin. What would happen if we ever went to war? He could get hurt.~
-And I care... why?-
~...~
-... Oh- Bleeding Hearts of the World- UNITE! This CANNOT be serious!-

No, it was impossible. She had only met him a few days ago. NightBlood? Fond of someone? The word was most unfamiliar to her.

There was no time to think! She needed to give him something to chew over for a few moments while she tried to sort things out in her mind- but what? Couls she talk through her nervousness? No. He'd see right through her. She needed a short, swift answer.

Never breaking her stolid facade, she made her mouth form words with part of the bird's ribcage still on her tongue. "You seek to kill your half-brother." She blinked, trying to recolect the name. Ah, yes: a name as heartless as her own. "BlackRage." It was an assumption: one she hoped was correct.

At the name she had given, she turned her head, keeping her good eye on Archer, and spat out the bone, trying to mask it as a pointed fact that she disliked any and all Sallin wolves. With that, she began to stew in her mind questions that were far from being answered.

Why did she feel for this one? One who was little more than a stranger to her? What business did she have in the matters of love? She had been taught to be a fighter: THAT'S what she had grown up to be. But now... now that she was cripple... Was it possible? Could she love? Part of her wanted to scream 'NO.' and fight it away. The other half... the part that had accepted the fact that she could no longer fight and hunt properly... It was curious. This was a new prospect.

No, but surely not. She could never truely 'love'. Perhaps she was only fond of him. Yes, that would be it. Wouldn't it?

{{Aww, Nighty's cornfuzzled. ^^ }}

[archer]

[[lol, she is in love. Just to tell you though, Blackrage is no longer on KO]]

Her movements, her actions. It was far too easy for him to read her, like flipping through the pages of a book one had read. He knew here, and she seemed so familiar. Archer did not know much of fondness for others, but he certainly was not about to let his emotions rule, or was he? Archer was not the type to speak openly about his feelings, rather, he worked them out later in his head until he could tame them and make sense of them. He was a beast at times, but yes, he could feel love and compassion toward Nightblood, though the question that remained was whether or not she felt the same way toward him. Archer had to think.

"I am an assassin, but yet, can I love? It is forbidden for me to show my emotions to her, but maybe I could learn to-"
-Wait! What, I mean come on, I don't know her that well, but I just want to-
NO! NO! no! Archer you know better. This goes against everything you know"

Suddenly, he smelled blood, her blood. His tail wagged and he whined to offer her comfort. He could see her distress, and to his surprised, it bothered him. Archer certainly felt odd. After all, he hardly knew this wolf and yet something inside him told him that she was the one he was meant to be with. He was growing more and more confused.

"You seek to kill your half-brother." "BlackRage."

"Yes I do and I much as I hate to say it, he would kill me without hesitation. I am not strong enough to kill him." His voice was bitter and he coiuld see through her act. She was acting weird, and he felt the same way. He wanted to hug her, and he cringed inwardly at the thought of loosing someone else. "Nighblood, I can tell something has got to you, and if I am correct, you feel as I do at the moment." He spoke quitely, nervously. He had to say it. "I find myself attracted to" He paused gulping. "You"

[Hah ha, that will be funny]]

[nightblood]

{{Kay... BR not in KO... So THAT'S why he wasn't replying to his design thread! *shoots self with pop-gun* XDD }}

NightBlood gave him a strange look when he whined and waggd his tail. She swallowed the amount of blood that had collected in her mouth. A twinge of pain annoyed her, but it would eventually heal itself. Although it would be slow. Mouth injuries were always slow to heal, much to the bitter fury of the victem.

"Yes I do"

Her eyes softened at the prospect of a fight, of killing. For a moment, it took her mind off things, but as Archer continued... she found herself regretting she had said anything. He wasn't strong enough? But surely quick enough...? He could get a death blow in before any Sallinian wolf could blink twice!

There was always the possibility of her training him. She was in no fit state to truely fight, but perhaps a sparr? Yes, she could train him. After all, there were no warriors help him.

What came next sent NightBlood's head reeling in chaos.

"Nighblood, I can tell something has got to you"

'Just a scratch', she thought to herself before she could say it aloud, referring the cut in her mouth.

"If I am correct, you feel as I do at the moment."

'What? Pain? Oh, please, don't say it. I know what you're going to say! Forget it! Drop it!'

She wanted so badly to ignore the next statement, to avoid it completely. But she couldn't control others. This was the one right she knew she could never take away from anyone. It was also the one right she now wished she could take, if not for a moment.

"I find myself attracted to," He paused gulping. "You."

Had she no self control, NightBlood might have just strangled herself right then. But she was frozen. It was as if her legs were forever glued to the ground, refusing to move. Her tail slowly lowered, as if it was the only limb she could move. Her ears flew backwards. If one could see her skin, they would mistake her for a corpse. Pupils narrowed in fear, not wanting to look at him, but at the same time, unable to look away.

What could she say? Could she lie, avoid the awkward conversation? No, he'd see right through her as he had then.

She could feel her legs turning to jelly, weakening right under her. She had only the strength to sit down. She tore her eyes away from him and looked down at the meal he had caught for her. She took a deep breath, lungs feeling as if they had been deprived of sir for years. Contemplating an answer, she could only mumble a few words under her breath and growl her frustraition.

"Against everything... Taught to hate... Why? ...damn it..."

{{This is getting SOOOO... lovey-dovey... A pair of killers...? THIS IS TWISTED!! XDD }}

[archer]

(Twisted... yep sounds about right. I would be worse if one of them ran)

What was it that made the most unlikely of pairs see one another as lovers? Archer had been asked nothing before, but now he was asking to forget everything he had ever been taught to allow himself to freely care for her. It was like asking him to slit his throat, yet, he wanted to be with her. It was that loving need he had never understood, but know he finally could see the truth.

"He nearly killed me once. I got away, barely. I can move faster than he can, but he is older, has more training, cannot feel regret or compassion." He looked at the sky above them, no moon. It was a new moon and there was no light, just as there had been that night, the night that they had last battled. Archer uncosciuosly touched a scar on his left fore leg and whimpered softly as the memory seemed so real now.

"The one thing I regret, the one thing I have never told anyone was that my mother died by the fangs of another and I with all my training, could not save her. That is why I leave, to help those that need me, those like you and the rest of the pack. Any Sallin wolf touches you or me, and I will rip their throats from there necks in cold blood" He sounded so hurt, so angered, yet his pain so clear.

He watched her sit down and walked toward her, but did not dare touch her, instead, he growled. It was deep and threatening, asking her if she wanted to test him. He opened his jaws and revealed his teeth to her. They were sharp and deadly, yet he seemed to smile. It occured to him, she might by angry at him, but he was ready to hold off an attack if it came.

[nightblood]

{{One last OOC: I invited Sina and Grebo here earlier... It'll be funny if they both walked in right now. XD
Edit: DUDES! I looked back on their profiles- they're the same height! *fixes post*}}

NightBlood watched as Archer bared his fangs and walked toward her. She understood the question quite clearly and answered in the same way. She bared her own teeth as the fur on the back of her neck bristled and stood up. She pressed her ears back against her skull, showing a more defensive reply rather than aggresion. Her posture said clearly: No. I will not fight. Not you. Not ever. I can't win and I know it.

After a moment, she calmed down. Her head inclined, lowered until it was clear that she had been saddened by something. Her own mother had died giving birth to her. For the first few months, she had thought it was her doing. That was until she learned that famine had weakened her mother's body, allowing her only enough strength to give birth and pass on.

"It is not your fault that your mother died," she said, pulling her eyes away from him. She did not want to be read again. "And, had you not lived, you would not be able to avenge her."

The words tasted bitter in her mouth and she regretted saying them at all. They brought back the memories of her blaming herself for BayRun's death. She would have liked to die, to kill herself... had it not been for ShadeBlood...

She forced herself to look at him again before she continued.

"You have the markings of a perfect killer, Archer. A perfect assassin. You need only little training, ad that is mostly in the area of stregth. I can teach you, but that would only be after and IF Sofika or Karolek give you the rank. I can speak with them, but I cannot control their desision."

Once more, she tore away from him, turning her blind eye toward him, trying to keep the bannished questions at bay. It was no use. They barreled over her as if all of them combined formed an avalanch. At any other given situation, she would have waited until she had time to herself to think about 'back-up problems', as she called them. Problems that could wait until the initial situation was taken care of. But this was different.

Archer had acknowledged that he felt the same way. Usually, she contemplated how the others might react or what they would think or point out. She could cover them from all sides. Now that she knew what he thought, it was much harder. She couldn't counter his reaction with a better one, for what he felt and what she felt were both the same. Not only that, but like so many other times as of late, she was torn between what she was taught and what she was feeling. Usually it was thought that controlled emotion, but now... it was like emotion had escaped and was running rampant in her mind, messing things up and destroying reason.

[archer]

He watched with a sinister glare that he had honed over the years. His seemed to be the depths of hell. She was on the defensive and he was ready to fight, but she backed away from the challenge, declaring she would not win, she could not, not ever against someone like him, like Archer.

Archer had always has had close relationship with is mother. She was always kind and understanding, the source of compassion in the harsh reality of training. He understood he could die at any time and that he would cease to exist. It was that memory of his mother's life fading before his eyes that made him come to realize this. He teeth clenched together.

"You have the markings of a perfect killer, Archer. A perfect assassin. You need only little training, and that is mostly in the area of stregth. I can teach you, but that would only be after and IF Sofika or Karolek give you the rank. I can speak with them, but I cannot control their desision."

Archer heard something besides her words, a suggestion. "A most suited answer. I need some strength training I agree. Yes, I will accept whatever they choose."

"It is not your fault that your mother died," "And, had you not lived, you would not be able to avenge her."

After a moment of contemplation, Archer laughed sadly. "I as good as killed her. I stood frozen and was terrified. My emotions got in the way.…

He looked her in the eye and smiled, but averted his gaze. "Assassins are not supposed to love or care, but I do anf that is why I suffer. You Blood are the same. I know. Your build suggest you are a fighter, a killer as am I. This feeling is unknown to me and I do not know how to act.

He was the one to pull away and look at the skies above him. Archer closed his howls are a howl ripped clear from him. It was sad and lonely, yet so beautiful.

[Blackfeathr]

((ello there, may I join?))

[Electus]

((I'd want to as well, when the situation is less....awkward.))

[nightblood]

{{I say yeah, but wait and see if Archer says different, if you would. ^^ }}

"Assassins are not supposed to love or care, but I do and that is why I suffer. You, Blood, are the same. I know. Your build suggests you are a fighter, a killer as am I. This feeling is unknown to me and I do not know how to act."

NightBlood looked up at him and waited until he finished his howl, forcing herself not to join him. It was too sadening and joining would just make it worse. She hadn't cried in years and she sure as Hell wasn't going to start now. Besides, if she cried now she doubted she would be able to stop herself. But she found the familiar beginings of a break down. Her eyes began to water, but she managed to blink the tears back. She sniffed and couldn't stop her lip from quivering. She masked her shivering by shaking the fur on her head and neck. A moment passed before she could speak again.

"Me niether. ... Part of me wants to run..." she said truthfully, not careing that Archer could probably see her answers. "Part of me wants to know if I'm worthy to love..."

The word tasted funny in her mouth. Familliar, yet unknown. She loved ShadeBlood as more than a cousin, a sibling. She had loved her father until she found out he was a ruthless leader. She had loved her aunt and uncle for taking care of her. But it was all family. In Draviria, there was no love outside family. There was fondness and affection, yes, but other than that, the land was heartless beyond kin. Despite her years beyond Draviria, NightBlood still carried that teaching... but now... now it was fading.

-I have no time for love. I am a warrior by blood.-
~Draviria has gone.~
-He does not deserve me. 'Let no one have your heart.': BrokeBone's dieing words!-
~What else have I been denied? What else has that land kept from me?~
-DISLOYALTY! TRAITOR! FILTH!!-
~NO.~

Her expressions only revealed glimpses of the fight inside her. One moment she growl, the next she whined and pulled her ears back. The glimpses only lasted for half a second and they were low and subtle, but she knew Archer would know what was going on. If he had been trained like her, the same thing might be happening to him. But she dared not look up at him again.

"I admit, Archer, half of me cares for you... and would hate to see you die. The other half could care less and suggests I leave you to your fate if you bacame an Assassin. Perhaps... maybe... Would you like to be a hunter instead?"

Night growled once more as a tear hit the dirt beneath her.

"Damn it..."