God knows I got a good heart, but my blood is filled with demons. The yearling had found himself here, of all places, far away from the icy lands that his family currently resided in. However, not so long ago, they had once lived near here, and Galileo found himself missing it a tinge sometimes. Tiber had vanished after the move up north, and Galileo had adored his cousin. To recognize that Keki's family had disintegrated saddened him; Galileo knew that his cousin deserved happiness. She had been adopted by his aunt, so that made her his cousin, despite being about as old as his parents. It might have sounded strange to some, but to Galileo it was simply a fact of life. Galileo loved all of his family. It was that simple, for him. He would protect them all. However, it was unlikely that anything would happen while he took a short trip away from his family. Things were just incomplete without his dearest sister around, and Galileo couldn't shake the feeling that if he just wandered a little further, hunted a little harder, he would find her again and he would take her back from her mysterious journey and return her to his family. He missed her. He missed how happy things had been when they were younger, before any of them comprehended the meaning of demons. Was that melodramatic? Yeah, it really was. Snorting softly, the multi-colored male padded through the thick grasses, his ears swiveling wildly as he made his way along, more on edge than he was willing to admit. Something about this place seemed off. Maybe it was the fact that he had picked his way around about three snakes already. They were all grass snakes, entirely harmless things that had fled when Galileo approached, but he was unimpressed by the concentration of them. What was it about this place? He would not have been caught dead here if it hadn't been for the fact that he was exploring. Unlike Cross, Galileo wasn't the kind of wolf who swam to islands to see if he could, but he tested himself in his own way. This was one of those tests. How long could he stand to be away from his family? And could he face the outside world as easily as his sister had? coding by lutara & kat I?m fighting myself, believe me.[ G A L I L E O ]

Sounds and scents overwhelmed her at times, overloading her still developing her remaining senses as they compensated for the one that lacked. Everything was strange and new and frightening, and yet the babe had not managed to find a permanent place to call home. It was difficult, honestly, to navigate enough to find the borders of a pack and having made a den near these lands, she rarely wandered far from it simply because, well, she couldn?t see where she was going and there was danger lurking everywhere for her. As a result, Sikte suffered greatly. Her frame had grown thin, because all she was able to do for herself was scavenge and more often than not she was chased off by another hungry creature or an overgrown buzzard simply for nothing more than the fact that she could not see to defend the meal she had found.

It was on this particular day, however, that she had been fortunate enough not to be chased away - a rare stroke of luck, and she had eaten all she could. There had not been much left on the carcass of the prey, not nearly enough to fully quell her hunger but it was enough to temporarily silence the rumbling that seemed rather constant. It was good enough for now, and feeling that gentle satisfaction, she turned and slowly made her way back to the vicinity of her den. Blind eyes flicked every now and then as she moved with tremendous precaution, head held low as her nostrils flared and ears twitched, both the only aids she had to help her find her way back. Every so often, the yearling stumbled over a rock or a twig she did not know existed, but she still kept pressing forward. The warmth on her back was fading, a sign that the sun was beginning to set and she did not desire to be away from her den after dark. She was more vulnerable then.

Finally she felt the familiar brush of thick grass against her coat, but as she stepped into the open, an unfamiliar scent hit her and she froze, head shooting up. Silvery eyes rolled in her skull and heart thudded in her chest as her head swiveled to attempt to pinpoint where the strange musk was coming from. Swallowing, she called out to the stranger she could not see, voice trembling slightly in mild fear, ?H-hello? Who?s out there?? If she could shrink and slip away, she most certainly would have. But because she couldn?t, she simply remained frozen in one spot, hoping that the owner of the musk was not someone that harbored ill intentions.

The wolf would stir when a soft, unfamiliar voice reached his ears. It was distinctly feminine, but certainly the voice of a stranger. Galileo pricked his ears, head tilting slightly as he padded through the thick grasses. It took him mere moments to draw close to the female who had spoken, and he found his blue gaze settling on . . . entirely blank pinkish gaze. This wolf seemed to be entirely blind. Sort of like his mother, but more extreme. Galileo twitched his ears, frowning a little as he placed his paws carefully on the ground. "My name is Galileo," He let the words roll off his tongue in a hopefully nonthreatening manner.

The male hesitated for a moment, examining the gray and white female before him before he continued to speak. "Are you all right?" Internally, he berated himself as soon as he spoke. She might assume that he was making fun of her blindness or something similar. Of course, the thought couldn't be farther from Galileo's mind. He simply didn't wish to come across as cruel or any wolf that one should be afraid of.

Determined not to make a fool out of himself, Galileo let himself fall silent, his breath forming a soft plume of steam in the cool air. The multicolored creature would then wait for the female to respond to his comments.

table by lu for use on alacritis