In Your Head They're Still Fighting
OOC: vague after raid Viper was taking more than extra time on herself the last few days. Was it good care? It could have been, but she was definitely over working herself even if she didn’t show it emotionally. Though she wasn’t very easy to read emotional wise, other than just content or not content. She had taken runs around the Shrine borders and along the coast line nearby daily and they lasted what seemed like hours with walks in between. As if she was patrolling the borders only she wasn’t, and other wolves had taken those duties at the time of her so called “training”. She sported her armor since she had come across it, she had come to her own conclusion that she would never know when it would come in handy. The size of other wolves was nothing she was ever afraid of, but she had become aware that they were more a problem for her perhaps starting after Noir maimed her. She’d only have her mother to curse for her tiny frame among all these giants, but her physical ability never phased her ego before and it wouldn’t now. Ever since she lost to Jupiter during the raid, her eyes were open now. Though she already had the feeling of not letting anyone close to her in general, after this whole situation with Jupiter and having her hopes up, she was done thinking that anyone could really be her friend. And now all she wanted to do was get stronger so that would she ever come across Jupiter or her mother again, she would really show them what she had become. It certainly was spiteful and egotistical, but she couldn’t care one bit. She now seemed to have more obsession with those she hated than letting others in now. She had changed a lot in the last season or two. Viper slowed to a walk as she went to take a short break, but it wouldn’t be long before she would go back at it again. |
Every day he ventured further and further from the halls where he'd been born, curious what the surrounding areas held for him. Today, he was still safely ensconced in the familiarity of the shrine, though he had moved further into the pallid trees surrounding his home. This was where he stumbled across a strange wolf, who was wearing.. something. He recognized that wolves could cover themselves in various extra furs and layers, but wasn't fully aware of their meanings or contexts. Slinking through the close quarters of the dense forest, the young boy found himself becoming more aware of the noise he made when he moved. The adults didn't make nearly this much noise, even though they were way bigger than he was. Pale violet gaze sought the figures of others nearby, but didn't find any. Curiosity won out over introversion in the young boy's mind, and he continued his approach. Of course, he made sure to take the opportunity to practice his stalking. All awkward limbs and oversized paws, he was forced to slow down dramatically as he slunk closer. One paw in front of the other, trying his hardest not to let the snow crunch too loudly underfoot. Charcoal auds shoved forward, he sought to take in every sound he was making, including his increasingly ragged breathing as he strained his muscles more intensely than he had likely ever done previously. Finally, he was close enough to see the other wolf more closely. Had they noticed him? He wasn't fully sure, but whatever they were wearing sure looked neat. The violet marked boy took a few moments to peer through the undergrowth, examining the fine crafting of the garment. There were plenty of poky parts, and a few shiny bits. He wanted to wear something like that too! His joints were beginning to protest a bit too strongly at having been crouched in the cold for as long as he had, so he finally stood up and stepped delicately through the foliage. "I don't know you." he said simply, frowning ever so slightly at the wolf. She was covered in a lot of very small marks, where her skin poked through her fur. That didn't look very nice, what had happened to her? Suddenly he noticed that she wasn't all that much larger than him, like so many of the adults were. He was nearly half her size already, maybe more. Was she also a kid? "Are you a kid too? Did your mother make that for you?" he questioned softly, brows furrowing. He gestured with one oversized forepaw at the garments she was clad in, tilting his head to one side in question. "talking" thinking actions |
The sound of footsteps and crunching behind her bothered her, but she was getting used to the number of wolves around her in the pack. Though she was secretly alarmed by the stalker, she tried to ignore them as she went about on her trail. Her ears faced backwards to the noise, and after so long she couldn't help but come to a halt and wait to see if the stranger meant business. And the tiny wolf child would come out of hiding. Odd colors were not something new to Viper, which may have been surprising that she lacked interest in them if there were any wolves that knew her immature mental state. But as the wolf-child came out with a statement like she was a stranger to the pack, Viper would turn to face them and squint down at their attentive form. She wouldn't really know what to say, she didn't know them either? But luckily the kid would have something else to say before she could just awkwardly turn around and continue her run. Or maybe not so luckily because what the wolf-child asked was not something Viper chose to dig up. "What? No, I don't have a mother." Her voice was blunt and even maybe a little rude, but she actually didn't intend to sound that way. Usually Viper would have lashed out at such a comment. She didn't want to remember her parents. But somehow through her series of unfortunate events, she had become less violent to the thought. Maybe it was because she had let out some of that resentment onto Aranea, or maybe it was her continued fear of rejection that soothed her nerves towards others. "No, I bought this stuff. Seen a bunch of wolves with stuff like it, so I had to have some." |
The way she squinted down at him stirred something strange in the boy's chest, and he wanted to scowl at her. He wouldn't though, because that was wrong. Rudeness was not something mother tolerated, and he wasn't yet good enough with words to express his disdain artfully to skirt the boundaries of impropriety. "What? No, I don't have a mother." she grunted, and now the young wraith was taken aback. No mother? That wasn't good, who was taking care of her? She looked old enough that she didn't need milk, but she shouldn't be out and about with no mother to keep her warm at bedtime and tell her stories. That wasn't good at all. Before he could unleash his tirade of concerns upon her, she spoke up again. "No, I bought this stuff. Seen a bunch of wolves with stuff like it, so I had to have some." she explained, and that made some sense. Well, the part that she'd seen others with them, and decided she also wanted some. She was strong enough to go out and get what she wanted, though the concept of 'buying' was a little bit fuzzy to the young male. Regardless, it made sense that she was in the pack, under the watchful gaze of God and the family. She was strong, and didn't seem like the type to idle, if she was willing to go out and acquire those neat garments. "How did you bought it? Can I also do that too?" he questioned next, keen to learn if he could adorn himself in a way similar to some of the wolves he'd spotted through the treeline around the shrine throughout his day. "talking" thinking actions |
As much as Pontifex may have thought Viper was a child, or at least not an adult, Viper didn't notice. But with his questions he put aside, Viper didn't know anything of the Kleins or Abraxas or the mix. Hattori is who recruited her for one, but even with her older age where she should have been more aware of the history of Auster and Boreas, she was absent in a lot of that time. Either enslaved or in hiding. So the God or Gods that Pontifex would have known would be unknown to her. And in a way she could have created her own religion where she believed she never had parents and just somehow magically appeared in the lands and started from scratch on her own. Of course saying she was never born was a huge lie, but in reality her survival skills were mostly discovered by self care. The pup would ask how she bought her items, and if he could too. And being her not entirely smart self in regards to how pups had different rules and guidelines than adults, she wouldn't think to tell him he couldn't buy his own armor or that he wasn't allowed to leave the pack borders. Common sense lacked severely in her mind, and it seemed she came across a number of things that she would learn in the future were wrong for safety, rules, or whatever else. "Um, yeah, I found a wolf that could make it for me and I gave them meat from a deer and a turkey for it." Viper didn't really know how to make the armor herself, and she would probably lose patience pretty quickly trying. She also didn't know where to find or craft such items, so she found someone who could. Simple as that? And as a side note, Viper wasn't keen to correct Pontifex on his literal misuse, because she for one was not good with words as an adult. Perhaps not the best company for a pup in the midst of learning. She looked around a quick couple of seconds before squinting back at the pup, "I should probably get back to my run. I've gotta train hard now." She wouldn't be so quick to turn and run though. She may have been pretty dumb and bad at being social, but she was trying to learn to start acting polite. Not that she was good at it at all. |
There was very little hesitation in the other wolf's voice when she spoke, and the boy didn't know quite enough to be aware that she might not be trustworthy. She wasn't that much bigger than him, after all, so she couldn't be too much older. If it was fine for her to go, then why not him? "Um, yeah, I found a wolf that could make it for me and I gave them meat from a deer and a turkey for it." she told him rather flatly. Her voice was very different from everyone else's, he realized a little late. The way she pronounced her vowels was distinctly different from his mother, or his sisters. He had heard a few other wolves talking, some of whom had their own strange ways of speaking, but he was unfamiliar with her accent. He swayed a little where he stood, a side to side shift of his weight as he mulled this over. He didn't have those things, but he could probably find some cool stuff around the shrine. While he was thinking, he almost missed the pointed look she directed to their surroundings, before shifting away from him. "I should probably get back to my run. I've gotta train hard now." she said, and he perked up almost instantly. That sounded cool! Delicate crown tilted to one side, curiosity sparkling in two toned eyes. "What are you training for?" he asked softly, fuzzy banner beginning to sway excitedly at his rear. He always wanted to learn new things, and see what the world around him offered up. "Mother says its very important to train hard, and never get lazy." he added with a solemn expression. At least, that was what he'd picked up from her lessons so far. They were always making sure to learn their prayers perfectly, and watch Obi mix the herbal oils for the shrine. He wondered if this wolf was a great warrior, like some of his family, or if she was still learning. "speech" |
The young one would pursue her as she went to turn off, and where as it may have been expected for her to roll her eyes or even show annoyance that he still showed interest in her, she actually didn't. Viper had little to no experience with pups, and as stated she didn't see them as different than adults. She, after all, was on her own at a very young age so how would she expect rules and borders for a little, young pup? Her gaze turned to him as he came on, slowing to stop for only a second before moving on to a walk with him beside her. She still had little emotion to her features, she tried to keep silent most of the time because she had come to learn that her words would wind her up in trouble or even that she was very uneducated compared to those around her. But she wouldn't let questions towards her go unanswered, especially in her journey to impress Hattori. "I lost a fight. So I'm going to train real hard and then maybe go back and beat the other guy up." Like that couldn't go a wrong way with the young pup. There was a lot of hidden emotion that Viper had in her loss from Jupiter, but there wasn't much she could do about it right now. She wasn't allowed to go back to Fireside, and she wouldn't spend her whole life waiting to track Jupiter down and set things right. As much as Viper didn't care, or used to not care at least, about the structure and authority under a pack, she wouldn't deny what the boy's mother had taught him. "Yeah, there's a lot of things you have to do if you want to survive." Viper herself had to struggle to learn how to hunt and live on her own. She still to this day didn't have an actual den simply because she was never taught how to dig one. In her birth pack she lived in a stone cave, so there was no digging that. So through her life on her own, she slept in caves, old broken dens, or sometimes just under the stars. |
She let him keep walking alongside her, and didn't shut him down immediately. Instead, she seemed amicable to continue talking to him. She didn't pull any punches when it came to explaining the reason for her continued training that day, "I lost a fight. So I'm going to train real hard and then maybe go back and beat the other guy up." she told him. Dark banner swept over his heels a few times in excitement, though he refrained from squealing or giggling. That was for babies. He found himself nodding along, though whether it was intended to be encouraging or approving was a mystery to even him. That just seemed like the appropriate response. By now, they were well within the treeline around the shrine again, weaving between pale trunks as the boy sought to soak up whatever wisdom she opted to impart. "Yeah, there's a lot of things you have to do if you want to survive." she added in response to his comment about his mother's teachings, and he found his interest further piqued. "Can you teach me some of the things?" he questioned softly, kohl auds shoved forward with interest. He wanted to know more about being an adult, so his mother wouldn't have to worry about him. He knew some of the basics, like killing small animals to eat, but he wasn't very good at it yet. Maybe he could impress everyone if he knew more than his sisters when the topic came up in the future. "speech" |
While some may have admired the young one's interest to learn, or even found it as cute, Viper did not. Though Viper also wasn't the opposite either. Perhaps she just wasn't used to being among others, and her mental ailment didn't help for sure. "Um, I mean, I guess." She had never taught anyone anything, and she had learned on her own that way anyway. She had a general knowledge of what to do when she was left on her own and only took it from there. But it didn't seem to do her much justice. Sure she was still living but not having a good upbringing had put her in multiple harsh situations and altered her way of thinking all together. Viper did not think herself as weaker because of her smaller form, but she knew that there were many more giants than there were wolves like her, "Well, you got to be fast to catch prey." If she wasn't fast, she'd probably be struggling on fish her whole life, "And you got to know how to surprise your attacker when you are fighting." Viper was often coming from underneath her opponents, while she didn't think that was just a way she had to fight because she was much smaller. Most of her advice would probably be meaningless mostly because she wasn't intelligent enough to think she had to do things differently because of her physical attributes and her past. But she wasn't the best with word either. |