Nowhere Like Home

[michelle]

Well, if you could really call Synl that for Shrike. She'd been traveling to and fro for some time, without much success. Her job was to collect any news that would be of use or at least of interest to the pack, but Rakine Port had been a disappointment. Having pestered the locals mercilessly, she concluded they were far too busy working all the time to sit down and tell a few good tales. While this wolfess was grateful to have a home to come back to and catch her breath, she'd been hoping for some adventure as well. Now her scent was masked with the scents of the wilderness beyond the borders of Synl, and being the breed of canine she was, Shrike didn't expect to be welcomed back with arms open wide. She doubted anyone but Kahvie remembered her -- she hadn't been here long before departing to the nearby ports to accomplish her job as a socialist.

Now she stepped across the border, one that was not evident, but one that existed all the same. Shrike was wary now, cautious of the consequences of being gone perhaps some time too long, also being the breed the dogs here distrusted, and coming back with nothing but failure to speak of. Sure, she would set out again and try her luck somewhere else -- that is, if she could. What would happen now, she wasn't sure, but Shrike didn't expect anything too bad. Perhaps when a warrior or a higher rank like that of Beta or Gamma failed their duty the results were much more unpleasant, but what did she have to show for what she'd have retrieved anyway? Maybe she should just stay a subordinate and wander away sometimes... no, they would surely suspect her of being a spy.

The truth was, Shrike was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Meaning to say, Shrike loved to venture into new territory just to do it, but she was not a loner at heart. She had no one to journey with, and she needed this job because she could not wander away from Synl without it and escape suspicion, at the same time needing the perennially autumn forest as the place where she could kick up her heels and not worry about waking up to find a stranger chewing on her back. But, moaning about her issues wasn't going to find her a comfortable place to sleep or keep her stomach from gathering a layer of dust. She gave both a mental and physical sigh, padding noiselessly through the woodland. Wine-hued locks of fur fell around her eyes, brushed aside with the motion as Shrike raised her head to keep her eyes on the path before her.

The wind made the trees stir, leaves whispering to one another, toying with Shrike's ebon, wine, and caramel fur. Her bright chartreuse eyes were emphasized by the dark fur that surrounded them, though her eyelids drooped with fatigue. The wolfess' steps became heavier, caramel-edged paws plodding slower with each stride. Her ears began to sag as well, while she fought back a yawn. Somewhere behind her, a twig snapped -- a shot of adrenaline had her alert and aware of her surroundings again, but if anyone was to look closely at her posture and stance, it was obvious that she needed rest and perhaps a bite to eat sometime during the next twenty-four hours, or she was just going to curl up where she stood. Peering blearily through the forest ahead of her, she shook her head with another sigh and pushed onward, deeper into Synl.

[swift]

It was hard being Swift. It was something that she would never deny, but would rarely complain about. She was caught in a world that did not willingly accept her kind - her characteristics. But she had found a place to call home; a place where she could live along side those who were like her. Marked and hunted. Or at least, that had been the plan. But too many in Synl seemed to simply be here for the fun of things. To find a family, company, and a nice warm place to stay for a while being been cheerful and merry. That, was not the life for Swift. True, she did not want war. But the young dog did want retribution. It was not so long ago, now, that Sallin wolves had attacked and killed her father - leaving her for dead. The scars were clear upon her skin, and she had given up hiding from them long ago.

Padding below the ever-autumn-leaves, Swift stopped to gaze at her own reflection in a small puddle that the recent rain had left behind. She was a weathered looking thing; lithe in body, with wild, uncontrollable brown and ember fur, which always fell to the sides of her eyes in stray strands. Her eyes, though, were forest eyes. Glittering pools of emerald green and silver-grey, merged with the rich fire that resided most of all in her heart. Swift's eyes were one of the few things that she actually liked about herself. She did not care about the rest. Her left ear was torn right through - a mark of Sallin, and a small, almost unnoticeable scar ran down that side of her face. On the opposite ear, there hung three earrings; fastened there by a human in Rakine long ago.

Her left front paw adorned a slim, silver bangle, and around her neck Swift wore a deep-red bandanna. She was such a strange thing to look at, but in truth, she did not want to change. This was who she was, and everything fitted in with what was on the inside. But for too long now, she had been a wanderer. She wanted purpose in Synl - not a place to rest her head. She had thought about bringing this up with Kahvie herself, but the alpha always seemed busy. Perhaps one day, Swift would get her chance.

Suddenly, the wind changed, and an unusual scent filled the air. It was one that the young dog had smelt all too often, and she turned her nose up to it at once. 'Wolf...' she thought bitterly. It had been the wolves of Sallin that had destroyed everything she loved, and since then, Swift had rarely trusted their kind. Sharply changing her direction, she trotted quickly through the boughs and bushes in the undergrowth towards the source of the scent. She had a duty to Synl, even if no one had appointed her as more than a Greeter. If this was indeed a Sallin creature, she was ready for the attack.

But when Swift spied the wolf through the branches, she was relieved to find that at further inspection, this lupine did not have a smear of Sallin upon them. There was however, if Swift was remembering correctly, something of Rakine about her. Could it be that this was an ally with news? Feeling reassured and even more confident, she padded casually out from her hiding spot and into the path of the oncoming wolf. Lifting her tail in a dominant fashion, Swift half-smiled at the newcomer. "Who are you?" Her voice was harsher than her face, but she knew well that she could not show weakness. Synl was growing stronger, and whoever this she-wolf was, Swift had to show pride in her pack.

[michelle]

(( Just so you know, I've kept this thread in mind, but it may be a few days until I can reply due to schoolwork. ))