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Topic: Broken shadows (Read 928 times) |
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DesertRain
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I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you...
 
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Broken shadows
« Thread started on: Aug 8th, 2006, 01:16am » |
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The wolf arrived on the shores of the Nation of Air not too long after the day she was shot. The wound wasnt as bad as the wolf thought it would be. The bolt was taken out, thanks to some helpful rocks that seemed made for the job. After that, she was careful to stop and wash it with her tongue.
She limped into the town, keeping to the shadows the best she could. Her eyes fell on the delicious food prepared for the morning market and she yearned to steal a few peices of fruit or meat to ease her aching stomach. Her thoughts of food diverted her attention from her path and she ran into a pair on legs. She looked up into the black eyes of a huge mastiff.
Trapsing about on my territory? Have you no respect for the old ones? The dog asked in an old harsh tone.
Terribly sory, sir...I was only looking for a bit of food... The wolf began in a soft whine. I did not mean to offend you...
Off with you, young miss. Wolves are not treated kindly in my town...especially severed wolves... He was referring to her having no pack.
Yes, sir, I will be on my way... The wolf tucked her tail between her legs and backed up into the shadows again.
Be sure you do so soon...there are less merciful dogs than I... The mastiff growled a warning and turned to sit by his master's fruit cart once more.
The wolf went down another alley way, startled when she heard human voices. She peeked her head around a corner to listen in.
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BleedingMascara
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #1 on: Sep 20th, 2006, 12:20am » |
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The young girl walked toward the familiar break in between the city buildings with a purposeful stride. Past the small pub known as the Last Eagle. She turned right into the alleyway next to the pub.
Twisting and weaving her way through the piles of alley garbage, the stench of rotten food reached her nostrils. Yet, she pushed forward to her destination at the back of the alley, stopping only to brush the blonde hair that had fallen out of her braids back from her face.
At the back wall of the alley she was about to make her way left to continue behind the Last Eagle when she caught a movement near a dumpster pushed up against the back wall.
The young girl refused to brush off the suspicious, blurred movement as a mere alley cat. Moving toward the dumpster a vague shape began to take form in the hazy darkness of the alley.
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DesertRain
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I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you...
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #2 on: Sep 20th, 2006, 01:01am » |
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The wolf croached low as someone came close to her. She shook with fear and tried to look small and insignificant. Her long white tail tucked under her and she stared with wide eyes at the shape came closer. She wanted to be somewhere else. Oh please, don't let whoever see me...I don't want to be hurt, I don't want to die...
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BleedingMascara
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #3 on: Nov 13th, 2006, 10:36am » |
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The small girl took a deep breath and and pulled her father's barber razor from her pocket as she drew near to the shadowy figure. Her heart pounded and she lent up a silent prayer to the gods that she often had heard her mother speak about. Please, may no one have followed me here. Anywhere but here.
When she looked up again she could she the figure begin to take shape.
Pointed ears...huge paws...a tail. A dog? No, this creature is way to big to be a normal street mutt. ....A wolf? Impossible! I haven't seen a wolf since...
A memory of her childhood, in a place far from this nightmare, came back to her, but she quickly brushed it aside before the tears could spring to her eyes. She had no time to show such weakness.
She felt no need to fear this wolf and she put her razor back into her pocket. Her enemies were to blitheringly stupid to be able to enlist the help of such a noble beast of the woods. The young girl kneeled down in front of the wolf. The wolf stared at her in terror as she reached her hand into her pocket. But as the girl pulled forth her last piece of bread, the wolf devoured it before she even had a chance to offer it.
Watching the wolf eat, she began to notice that this wolf had very strange markings on its pure white coat. A black crescent moon on its front leg. When she looked up her the wolf's leg, she caught sight of a stone hanging from it's neck. A beautiful tiger's eye dangled from a rope tied around the wolf's neck.
How strange...This wold must belong to someone. Surely, some child just tied this rock around it's neck thinking it would keep their pet safe from harm.
The wolf had finished the bread and turned to look at the girl. She looked up from the her musings and peered into the enigmatic golden eyes staring right at her.
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DesertRain
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I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you...
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #4 on: Nov 13th, 2006, 10:49am » |
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The wolf licked the last of the bread crumbs from her muzzle and crept forward slowly. She hadnt known humans to be kind and this girl's intentions might not be pure. But the young wolf was lonely and her hope was overpowering. She slowly licked the girl's hand and laid her head on the girl's bent knee. I dont know who you are...but are you kind enough to take me with you? The wolf wanted to speak, but knew her speech fell on deaf ears.
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BleedingMascara
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #5 on: Nov 13th, 2006, 2:30pm » |
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The girl petted the soft fur on the wolf's head and then scratched behind it's ears and under it's chin. Looking at the wolf, she said, "I am sorry, but that hunk of bread was the last of my supplies. I am on my way to restock though."
Lifting the wolf's head off of her she slowly began to get up. She continued to make her way to a door at the back of the alley that had a small light hanging above it. This is alleyway is where the Last Eagle dumped all the garbage that came from running an inn with an all night bar. Luckily, there were no drunks back here to deal with like there had been last time.
The Last Eagle was also the residence of the closest the girl had to a family in the harsh, unforgiving world of concrete and smog. She felt something following her and flipped around only to she the wolf looking up at her with pleading eyes.
"I suppose you intend to follow me now, neh?" the girl inquired of the wolf. The wolf was probably only wagging it's tail at the sound of her voice, but the girl took it for a 'yes'.
The back door to the Last Eagle flung open as soon as the girl had knocked on it and the girl found herself swept off her feet in the embrace of a larger, older woman.
"Nhadala!" the woman cried, "I knew ye would come back for food. Ye always do. A little beggar ye are! I 'pose ye jus' want the norm, neh?"
The woman released Nhadala from her suffocating clutches and nodded in reply to the cheery old cook's query.
"Hurry on in! Don't ye be standin' out there like a little thief in the night, " the older woman said as she hurried Nhadala through the door.
Just as the old cook was about to close the door, she spotted the wolf.
"Looks like ye have made friends with a street mutt, ye have," the older lady chuckled.
"She is not a street mutt. She is a wolf, Hildegard. I am sure that she has owners somewhere in this city," Nhadala corrected.
"Ah, ye have such a way with God's little creatures. It's like ye can speak with them er somethin'. You can always tell when they be girls or boys." Hildegard was always full of praise and love for the little girl who had stumbled upon her doorstep a few years ago. "But, youn' miss, I told ye to never call me Hildegard. Hilde, or Auntie. None of this uptight crap."
Nhadala was about to make a remark about how easy it was to tell the gender of any given animal, but she decided that it would be wasted on Hilde.
"Yes, ma'am," she mumbled as she grabbed two bowls off the counter. Nhadala filled one bowl with water and the other bowl with ripped up pieces of bread.
Hilde looked at Nhadala, who was busy filling the bread bowl to overflowing proportions, "Are ye goin' try to find the pup's owners. It would be no sweat off ye brow, if ye did, neh?."
Nhadala didn't look up from her task. "Hmmm...yeah," she said with a lethargic tone in her voice.
"Young miss, now don't ye be lyin' to me," Hilde tried to sound as serious as she could. But Nhadala was paying her no mind as she sent the two bowls in front of the famished wolf.
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DesertRain
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #6 on: Nov 13th, 2006, 4:46pm » |
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The wolf wagged her tail, her feet prancing up and down in anticipation of food. She stuck out her tongue, expressing her happiness. Once the bowls were set down, she instantly scarfed down the bread and then lapped up the water. In two minutes, the food and water had disappeared.
Happily, the wolf sat down and stared up at her new friend in thanks, tilting her head to the side in a way humans often descibed as 'cute'. The word meant nothing to the wolf, but humans seemed to like it. Her tail swept the floor rapidly and she seemed to smile.
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BleedingMascara
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #7 on: Nov 13th, 2006, 5:43pm » |
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"Ain't the pup a cutie?" Hilde said as she watched the wolf vigorously wag it's tail.
Nhadala scratched the wolf's ears as she walked by to get supplies ready come-what-may. She had just finished up her last mission which involved the elimination of a duke in the next town who had trouble keeping his nose out of places where it didn't belong. It was a fairly easy job and no one had followed her that she knew of. She had never been spotted before and she liked it that way.
Of course, Hilde knew what Nhadala did and she didn't approve. But that didn't stop her from calling Nhadala Little Miss Murder. Hilde knew that she couldn't stop Nhadala quest for justice, or vengeance as Hilde said it truly was. But Hilde knew better than to stand in the way of the detemined girl and did not try to stop her.
"I am packing some extra supplies this time," Nhadala said nonchalantly.
"What!? Where are ye going?" Hilde couldn't keep the worrying from creeping into her voice.
Nhadala tried to lie the best she could to Hilde,"A new job hasn't come in yet, but I am going to search the surrounding area for some work."
The young girl packed up all her supplies in her satchel and made for the door with the wolf at her heels.
"Be safe little miss! And make sure ye find that pup's owner!" Hilde called after her as the door closed behind the wolf's tail.
The girl and the wolf made their way back through the garbage strewn alleyway. Nhadala knew she had lied to Hilde about where she was headed. She has been feeling restless lately. The city air became more and more oppressive every day, to the point of unbearable. Nhadala had a strange urge of beign cut off from something, but what she didn't know. She needed to get out of the city to something greener and purer. Nhadala felt a pang in her heart when she thought of never seeing Hilde and her makeshift family at the Last Eagle again, but it was a pain that she could bear. Be strong she told herself. Hopefully, the wolf would stay with her where ever the wind ended up taking Nhadala. The the journey wouldn't be quite so lonely.
The opening back on to the main street was like a breath of fresh air, even though the city was still layered in smog. The two companions made there way down the main street to one of the city's many main gates.
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DesertRain
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #8 on: Nov 13th, 2006, 6:12pm » |
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The wolf trotted along, content as could be, but something kept nagging at her. The streets were quieter the longer they walked and shadows seemed more prominant. She walked closer to the girl, protectivly scanning the area for any threat. The wolf knew that they weren't alone. She spotted a quickly moving shadow on the side of them and everything inside the wolf snapped. Her eyes widened and her fur stood on end. Her ears went up and her claws dug into the earth. She snarled menecingly, feeling angry for the first time in months. I've been searching a long time, humans... Her growl tore through the silent streets. A human male stepped towards them, dressed in black and holding silver throwing knives. The wolf attacked then, her voice calling out to all humans who dared to intended to hurt Nhadala. AND YOU WON'T TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME!
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BleedingMascara
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #9 on: Nov 13th, 2006, 8:30pm » |
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Evening quickly turned into night as Nhadala and the wolf walked toward the East Gate of Alamathea. The city shadows grew longer and longer the further they went. Many people would only travel during the day, but night travel was what Nhadala prefered. The cool air, the light of the moon illuminating everything it's silvery glow.
Nhadala looked down at her wolf companion, knowing she would feel the same. However, the wolf seem to become increasingly tense with each step she took. Nhadala stopped and turned toward the wolf hoping to release some of it's tension.
Suddenly, the wolf lunged toward a shadow. The ferocious action of the wolf sent Nhadala tumbling backward in shock. She half dived, half tumbled into the alcove of the nearest shop's piazza.
From there Nhadala looked out to see the wolf growl at a man dressed in all black. The glint of knives in the man's hands told her that he wasn't just an inncent victim in this matter, but she would stay back and watch until a clear oppurtunity presented it's self.
Nhadala was questioning whether this man had been stalking her since a previous mission. The feeling made her stomach queasy. But her thoughts were torn away from that subject when the wolf attacked the man.
"AND YOU WON'T TAKE THIS AWAY FROM ME!" scratched through Nhadala's thoughts like a sharp wind that quickly blows across the prairies in the winter. Sharply stinging and then gone. Where had that voice come from? Nhadala looked toward the wolf, engaged in battle with the mysterious man. ....It couldn't have been.
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DesertRain
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I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you...
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #10 on: Nov 13th, 2006, 8:58pm » |
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The wolf clamped her jaws on the man's arm and he yelped in pain. He didnt know there would be a dog with her, but that wouldnt stop him now. He stabbed the wolf in the almost healed wound. She let go in surprise and the man rushed towards his first target.
The wolf shook the pain off and jumped up. Her jaws clamped down a second time, this time, against the man's neck. He was prepared for her this time. His hand came back, slashing the wolf's wound once more. She tried to hold on, but a second slash was carved across her chest. She yelped and let go. The assassin wasn't going to let her interfer again. He kicked the wolf in the side, sending her to the ground. She coughed and blood dripped from her mouth. She shakily got to her feet and tried to advance, but her body wouldn't let her move.
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BleedingMascara
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #11 on: Nov 14th, 2006, 12:14am » |
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Nhadala was on her feet and running toward the man as soon as he plunged his knife into the wolf's shoulder. She flipped open her father's barber razor as the wolf was hitting the ground. She swung at the man as he was turning around to come after her, and opened a gash across his left arm.
The man in the long black coat flung around and punched Nhadala in the ribs knocking the air out of her lungs. Nhadala fell to the ground gasping as the man grabbed her hair to pulle her head back and deal the final blow.
As he raised his injured arm back to slash her throat, Nhadala jabbed her barber razor into his injured knife arm. The man's eyes bulged open in pain as he flung his arm away, ripping the wound open even further. He threw his head back screaming in pain.
Nhadala locked in on the oppurtunity and sliced the mystery man's throat open. His scream turned into a bloody gurgle and he grabbed for his throat, his eyes turning wildly in panic. Nhadala knew it was too late for him though as the blood from his cleaved jugular spray over her face and clothes.
As the man's final death throes began to subside, Nhadala began to loot his pockets. While she had Hilde at the Last Eagle to provide for her, Nhadala was still a street urchin and had to know how to provide for herself. She stuffed the man's belongings into her pockets.
The fight would have attracted the locals' attention she had to move and now! Nhadala made her way to the nearest alley entrance, but then caught sight of the wolf laying in her own pool of blood. Grabbing to wolf by the front and back legs, Nhadala pulled as hard as she could. The injured crew had hardly made it behind a stack of crates when the city guard arrived in the street to inspect the body. Luckily, the wolf hadn't been bleeding enough to leave a blood trail. That would have immediately blown their cover.
Nhadala inspected the wounds only to find that they were not life threatening. She began to treat them with the supplies she had on hand. Nothing fancy. Nhadala was in the business of blood letting, not blood saving.
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DesertRain
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #12 on: Nov 14th, 2006, 1:55pm » |
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The wolf ached everywhere and she longed to find a way to end her pain now. She raised her head and began to lick the wounds to seal off the blood, letting her new friend wrap it once she was done. The wounds would bleed through the bandages, but it wouldn’t take long for them to clot and heal. She stood, testing her strength and found she could move as long as she didn’t jar herself too much.
She pushed her nose against Nhadala’s shoulder, as if asking if she was okay. Concerned gold eyes peered into her face.
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BleedingMascara
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #13 on: Nov 14th, 2006, 2:31pm » |
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Nhadala finished bandaging the wolf's wounds and sat back against the alley wall with a sigh of relief. The wolf slowly got to her feet and began limping around in the small space behind the crates. Nhadala resisted the urge to pull the wolf back down to ground for rest. She trusted that the wolf's nature instinct knew the extent of the wolf's body better than she would.
Nhadala peered out from behind the crates to spy on the city guard's progress on there newest murder case. They had already carried the body away and seemed to be dispersing from the crime scene. The man in black must have been a common criminal, or some mercenary. A man of complete and utter unimportance, so the local law enforcement could care less about his untimely death. One less person to cause them trouble when they would rather be at a bar drinking.
The young girl knew that if it had been her body out there it would be the same situation. She took all the money out of the man's pouch, riffled through the remains, found nothing, and threw the wallet aside with a sigh.
The wolf came over and nuzzled against Nhadala's shoulder. She scratched the wolf's ears and got up. It was time to go. If that man had been sent to kill Nhadala, there must be some price on her pretty little blonde head. When the departed assassin didn't return, his failure would become apparent and more would come.
It would be impossible to go out the East Gate now. Nhadala would have to find a new way out. She stared down at the wolf. Animals were good at finding there way out of tight places. Nhadala and the wolf would have to find a new way out of this cesspool of a city.
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DesertRain
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Re: Broken shadows
« Reply #14 on: Nov 15th, 2006, 6:24pm » |
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The wolf sniffed and found a small opening in the wall, easy for a child and a wolf to fit through. She slipped through the opening and woofed to signal Nhadala.
An odd feeling came over the wolf as her feet touched the forest floor. Something was going to happen. It wasn't good and it wasn't bad either, it was exciting and frightening. She wondered if the journey inspired the feeling or maybe it was the bread acting up in her stomach.
She looked up at the forest and gulped. Hopefully, this journey would come with good things, not the bad things she was imagining. Maybe she'd even get her new friend to guess her true name.
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