The Smoking Pose. xxKop

[Caoimhe]

The air had cooled from the recent rain that had droned through the forested lands but it had started to acquire a pasty feel, thick and smothering even as the bouts of fog rolled in. Summer was a fickle season in the harsh lands of Transylvania, rare to give a day of peace and it was all too common for the weather to change in a period of a few hours. There had been several suns of immense heat, where the larger putnar of the forest had suffered in their thick pelts and lay lethargically around the dens, irritable from the heat and unwilling to exert themselves and thus gamble with a chance of heat stroke. There were a few Vargs that were fortunate enough to have thin pelts, but others had fur that was so thick that the sweltering orb of Fenris seemed unbearable. Now, in the stifling thickness of the morning, the rain had seemed to only worsen the air of Ge-Rad: Not only did it aggravate the heat and thus the temperaments of the wolves, but it filtered through the traces of lera, putting dampers on the naturally acute senses of the hunters- even those of such a skilled pack as this. Although the herla herds had nearly doubled in size, the deer could flit through the dense air before their scents could even be traced, their sure-footed hooves dancing through the slick grasses and mud swiftly and carrying them away from the ravenous Vargs. Despite their reluctance to move and tire, every other species of animal keened and moved, as if attempting to put the thick-furred canines to shame. They did, though, stirring through the dens at the break of the morning, like any other pack. Summer, for all of its benefits, seemed to at least a few of the putnar as something that they could have survived without.

The young femme that padded slowly forward had a worried look about her, flashing in her cyan eyes beside irritability. Her pelt, unique in its silver-brown brindle basecoat and splotched patterns, was one of the more thinner ones in Ge-Rad, though it was slicked tight against her slender bodice, slightly muscled but nothing extreme for her age. Her auds, stiffly erect atop her fine crown, didn’t bother to curl side to side; there were no predators for her here, in her own dwelling, and she wasn’t on a hunt, whether it be necessary for her pack’s current survival or for her own pleasure, though her nostrils flared for scents. Silent paws carried her smoothly across the terrain and foliage, black nails seeming lacquered from the wetness they had acquired through the trudging of the grasses. The humidity had affected her as much as the others, dampening her sleek pelt and making every burst of color that embellished her pelt darker, even the intricate mask of silver and white that decorated her face, further enhancing the flamboyant azure of her eyes. The wisps of fog curled around her maw and slithered about her paws, cloaking the majority of her form until the heat banished the pall- something that, at the rate that the sun was growing at the present, wouldn’t happen for several hours, if at all this day. Even as the thought ran through her mind, the brief rumble of thunder clapped through the sky, and the churning gray clouds stirred, as if threatening with another humid rainfall.

She hadn’t minded the heat as much as some of the others, not only for her lightweight fur but for the fact that she had been able to spend more time either mulling over her own thoughts or being around her beloved uncle, Kop. There were many Varg that had yet to learn of the abilities that she had recently been identified to possess- those of The Sight –but she had no doubts that word would spread quickly enough in such a...tight knit horde of wolves. Instinctively she had always suspected that it was some way or another linked to the infrequently established gift, but now it was clear- especially since the current keeper and Seer of the Vale had accepted Caoimhe as her apprentice. Excitement churned right alongside fear in the she-wolf’s stomach- it wasn’t exactly something normal, now was it? While the young hybrid hadn’t ventured to the Vale as of yet, she knew that it would be necessary if she was to be trained in the arts and powers of The Sight. Despite the curiosity and anticipation she had to be trained, the apprehension seemed to be the more powerful and lethal of them, and she had been up late nights thinking about how her pack would react- if they would treat her differently, or if she would still be considered normal. Kalli supposed that it truly wouldn’t matter; she had the support from the ones she loved the most, like any Varg would have.

The flicker in the edge of her mind tracked the movements of her avian companion and protector, his gold and chestnut feathering not too easily discernable in the fog that she looked up into, but the sharp keens that he would emit every few minutes was. He traveled with her everywhere, even when she didn’t know exactly where she was headed- a time like this, for instance. As she trekked slowly forward, her distance from the dens growing, the fog began to increase, becoming thicker and stifling her lungs, as if every intake of air was becoming harder, and she realized that she must have been moving towards the middle of Ge-Rad, to the lake that could be found in the dip of each side. She and her brothers had ventured there many times either with or without other packmembers accompanying them, but she held the memories close to her heart. Stopping, her thick tassel rose from its place between her darkened hocks to curl in its sickle shape over her back, not quite brushing the hairs and thus not completing its usual hook. Caoimhe began moving at a diagonal down the slope, for the grass was slick and she wouldn’t risk a tumble, before her pads struck level ground and she found herself tail-lengths from the silver of the tarn, the fog’s thickness extreme over the rippling surface and the cool wind brushing against her pelt, sending miniscule droplets to spray her face and muzzle. The flickering sensation that she knew as the link between she and her falcon dimmed as she grew farther from him but she ignored it as she gazed down into her own reflection, hazy from the effect of the miasma that shrouded the dip in the land. It was a nearly tentative move, however, as if she wouldn’t like what she saw- in the end, the only recognizable thing was the pair of bright cyan eyes, staring back at her.

(((….)))

[Kop]

Kop made his way carefully through the mist, finding that most of his senses had been impeded by the dense blanket of fog the young dragga had decided early on that it would be safer for him to be wary of how he traveled about Ge-Rad despite his familiarity with the surrounding area. High above the sky rumbled with the promise of another downpour like the one that had taken place not too long before, however Kop didn’t seem to mind this in the slightest and continued on with his trek. With the arrival of summer the weather had grown increasingly warm as the days grew longer and longer, for those such as Kop it was uncomfortable time as his pelt, which had remained rather thick despite the changing seasons, was unsuited for such unbearable climates. Most days usually found Kop sleeping in one of the various dens Ge-Rad had come to provide in an attempt to hide himself from the scorching temperatures, his preferred spot had become small, shallow cave he had found in a small rocky outcropping near the lake. His own personal den.

Admittedly it wasn’t much, especially since the young varg had been forced to enlarge the inner chamber to compensate for his overall size when he had first stumbled across it. However due to its proximity near the lake and the surrounding vegetation it was a great deal cooler than most places during the summer making it the ideal place to spend the day. But not today. The humidity, though uncomfortable, was only a minor inconvenience to the grizzled mann, the heavy blanket of mist coupled with accumulating storm clouds above acted as a shield protecting him from the affects of the summer heat.

His pelt heavy with moisture Kop continued padding through the thick miasma, after being cooped up for so long the young varg was eager to venture the fog and spend time with his niece. He hadn’t seen Caiomhe in a few suns and had grown curious as to her whereabouts as the young wolf-hybrid had often remained by his side since his return to Ge-Rad, rarely straying too far from his side save when Kop felt the urge to be alone, more often then not to test the limits of his injured leg in secret as not to worry her or anyone else that might become concerned with his activities. Admittedly Kop had started to grow anxious as to Caiomhe’s whereabouts, surprisingly causing him to become more irritated then usual though he wasn’t completely sure why. Part of Kop wondered if perhaps Caiomhe had finally grown bored of him while another part wondered if someone else had managed to steal the attention of his niece away from him, Kop couldn’t help but feel hurt at the thought that Caiomhe might actually be bored with him however the very idea that someone might have stolen the brindle furred femme away from him caused him to bare his fangs menacingly.

Shaking his head slightly and giving out a slight sigh he continued picking his way through the muggy conditions, using his three good legs to probe for any obstacles that might bar his way or prove a hindrance to his progress. In the distance he could make out a strange shape ahead of him though as distorted as it was Kop couldn’t make out what it was, curious the grizzled varg altered his course slightly so that he would be able to circle around the unknown figure without being spotted. Despite his dampened sense of smell Kop knew that his quarry was headed towards the lake, employing all the stealth he could muster Kop quickly began closing the gap between himself and his designated target. It halted at the waters edge and as Kop neared it’s image began to sharpen and take on a more definite form until Kop found that he could make out certain characteristics and features of its form, it was varg like him from what he could tell only slightly smaller being a female, her thin pelt was different from most other varg he’d seen, a mixture of various shades of brown and silver arranged with a splotched pattern forming around the baseline of her pelt, the normally strange array of color had taken on a darker hue from the moisture it had collected from the dense fog, slender muscles lined her lithe form adding to her already elegant beauty and despite the rolling mist her features were still sharp and pleasing to the eye, even without seeing her face Kop knew that her eyes were a cyan blue like her mothers and that she was beautiful. But then, what else would his niece be.

Delighted by the fact that she had inadvertently saved him a great deal of searching Kop was tempted to come forward and announce himself but hung back instead, slightly tilting his head to the side and taking a moment to admire the young fae from behind. Niece or not he had to admit that Caiomhe was growing up to be quite attractive, he briefly wondered how long it would be until potential suitors start showing up and making their presence known to her. How would her parents take to someone courting her at such a young age? Kop bit back an amused chuckle. Still employing as much of his stealth as possible Kop quietly made his way towards Caiomhe’s current location, he had no way of knowing whether she could sense him or not but hoped that the surrounding miasma had affected her senses as much as it had his. It was hard, his wounded leg rarely ever cooperated with his wishes forcing him to in a somewhat staggering gait more frequently then he would have preferred. However Kop found that if he concentrated hard enough he could force the crippled limb to function as it used to before he had been injured allowing him to move unhindered for a brief interval of time, however the only downside was doing so always put a great deal of stress on his leg and ultimately wined up causing him a great deal of pain afterwards. But at the moment that didn’t really matter much to the grizzled varg and he continued his painstaking approach on Caiomhe, tongue snaking out from within his maw to lick her cheek lovingly as he pulled up beside her. “Hey little one, what you looking at? Mind if your uncle Kop joins you?”