Spirit

The sandy, golden bleached wolf slowly sombered into the marsh. Her right eye was still stained red from an earlier fight, making her vision in that eye nearly exterminated permenantly. A single stream of stained blood had made the constant illusion that she was crying. She had not come here for any reason, other than that she wished to be alone. She laid down in a spot covered in muck and moss. It was a bit far from the main ravine, but she could easily see if there was anything approaching. She sighed quietly. She had lost everything now. Her pack, her friends, and now........although it had almost always been this way, not even her sister was on her side. She longed to appologize to Tri-Tundra, to beg forgiveness, but there was no way she could explain. Her gloomy eyes looked to the nearby ground, knowing there was no way she could ever be forgiven. No one had forgotten.

Forbidden

Brute walked in, he was prowling around for others to join the pack he was in, and ones who opposed them, and Aaka. But then as his nares was sniffing the air, he picked a familier scent, long since smelt, but still familier. As he followed the scent he came upon some tall reeeds, looking slowly around them, he saw Spirit laying on the ground, she looked sad. Slowly he walked around them and towards her, a low friendly bark was emited towards the dove.

Spirit

She lifted her head up, auds perked, at this farmiliar sound. Eyes wide with a litte surprise and confusion, she tilted her head and her eyes darted to and fro until they came upon the farmiliar wolf. She froze. She wanted to say something, but, didn't know how. She could never explain satisfactory of why she couldn't go back to the pack. And Aaka.....she didn't know if she was friend or foe anymore....not since the fight she had pulled spirit into....she stared at him for a bit, building up the courage to speak, then closed her eyes and said. "Hello, Forbidden." She then looked to the raviens to make sure there was no danger, and also avoiding his eyes. She liked this wolf, but she had the feeling he would never be able to forgive her after what she had done.

Spirit

She looked around, slightly confused now. It seemed as if Forbidden had disappeared. "Forbidden?" She called out softly.

Akili

The young alligator, hardly two feet in length, came plodding over the ground. Her movements were a bit slow due to the cold, but at least the marshes here were one of the warmest places in the valley.

Always eager to make a new friend, Akili continued her treck until she could see Spirit. "Hello!" she piped out to announce herself. "I'm Akili."

Spirit

She jumped, startled, ears pinned flat against her head, until she realized there was no mal intent. She glanced, sorrowful, to Akili. "Hello." She said with little more than a monotone. "I am Spirit....I think." She looked doubtfully to the ground, but then lifted her head. She wished to be polite. "It is good to meet you." She smiled faintly.

Akili

Being a reptilian, she wasn't so good at judged facial expressions. But it was clear to the little alligator that Spirit wasn't in the best of moods. Akili moved closer, and after a moment, she spoke, "Hhhmmmmm. You seem down." the reptile paused again before adding, "I'll bet you're hungry. That always gets me down when I go hungry. Or if you're like Dima, perhaps you can't find your mom? Or maybe other wolves keep bothering you?"

Although her questioned might sound a bit peculiar, she was being sincere. Akili was applying her own knowledge to try and figure out what was wrong. Of course, Akili's knowledge of things didn't always relate to well to what wolves know.

Spirit

She laughed at the questions that were from the little aligator. It may seem to any other wolf that she was being too nosy, but she could tell there was a sense of politeness about her. However, when she mentioned of other wolves, she eyed her carefully. She had an odd, insulted look about her. Embarassed at not being sincere after the alligator being so polite herself, she turned her eyes away, speaking her answer with many pauses. "Im sorry...I...I guess....I guess it is....other wolves. I just don't blend well with them. I have commited...what to some would be treason. It is a long story." She looked up from the ground. "I suppose you don't have much else to do?"

Akili

She was blissfully unaware that she was being nosy and possibly offending this wolfess. This little gator was a bit nieve when it came to judging personalities she couldn't quite grasp. If Spirit was trying to hint her mood to Akili, it simply went right over her.

"Treason, huh? I'll bet that's what my brother has done." She pointed out in a very thoughtful tone. "But... what is treason? Aggravating others?" This was a new word for her because most of her kind never had much bonding or alliances with each other, so there really couldn't be any treason. Then a new thought came to her, "Oooo, have you eaten another wolf? My friend Flurry says wolves don't eat each other like we do, but is that what treason is?" Akili spoke of canibilism as if she were talking of the weather or some other low-key topic.

Spirit

She gaped, laughing slightly through her open mouth, when she said of eating another. "Eat another wolf? No, of course I haven't." Her expression turned into a sad, depressed one, her eyes lowering to the ground, then returning straight to Akili's. "No, treason, treason is sort of like...." She thought of how to explain it. "Treason...it is when you are friends or are in a pack with someone, and they think you are on your side, but when a fight comes or something......well....you switch sides and go against them, doing even worse. Not eating another, but nearly killing one." She shivered at the thought of Mitya. "I should explain." She said, and so began her story:

"It was many many months ago, and I had joined a pack with my friend, Aaka. Aaka, however, was omega, the lowest position possible. I appeared to be on Cortinarri's good side, so I would defend her and appologize for her. Until....Aaka got into a fight, like she always does." She sighed, and shook her head slightly.

"I came to help her, but found out I was fighting my packs allies, or friends." She translated as she went. "I didn't want to hurt them anymore, so I merely rammed one of them. But....they fell into the brush..an- " She choked a bit, not crying but her voice slightly shook. "And...she got really badly hurt. So bad, that she was sent to the Wolf Center. I don't know if she got out yet."

She shook her head, dissapointed at herself. She added. "Now, there is a fight beginning, and I don't know whether I should help Aaka, or Cortinarri. My..sis-" She shook her head again, even her sister hated her. "My sister is friends with her mate, whom she saved when he was a pup." She continued. "I want to help in the war, but I don't want to fight on the wrong side. Maybe, if I go with Cortinarri, they can forgive me, but, Aaka shall be my enemy, as well as all of her siblings!" She fretted....what would she do......?

Akili

Again the little alligator listened the wolf, trying to understand the talk of omega and allies. She was pretty sure she knew what allies were now; friends or family... something like that. Omega? Well, perhaps it was like Dima; someone who couldn't dominate anyone else and had to be very careful around others. Her golden, speckled eyes were one of the only things that could show real emotion on her reptilian face. And for the most part, they should strong concentration and a bit of vagueness as she listened to the story.

Upon hearing 'Wolf Center', Akili snorted slightly in disgust, knowing that was a bad place. Starlit and Flurry had told her about that horrid place where humans were. It began to dawn on her just how upset and fretted Spirit was, and it made the little gator more sympathetic and eager to help. "I would stay with family." she offered after a moment of thought. But this said on the basis of instinct mostly; little alligators stuck together and found protection with each other. Even their own mothers wouldn't attack them when they were past a few years old.

"But if your sister hates you... and, oh, wolves don't have many siblings do they? I think I would stick with the side that has the most friends.. er, allies. Safety in numbers." Akili looked up hopefully at the wolf, wondering if her advice was good for a wolf or not. To her it was perfectly logical, but then again, Spirit's past was far more complicated than Akili really understood.

Spirit

She shook her head but replied. "Wolves do have siblings, just not many, as you said. Usually, of course. Aaka has older liter brothers and sisters as well." She pondered the little gator's opinion for a moment, then added. "Aaka probably has best numbers, but she is on the side of the shadow lurkers. I could never trust them. I suppose.....I should go and appologize to Cortinarri. I need to help her win this war." She looked down. "Even if I don't want any part of it."

Akili

She gave a slow nod, putting things together in her mind still. "I see, I see." Her words were slow and still thoughtful until she looked up brightly at Spirit again, "I suppose you know more than I would on this wolf stuff. War, treason, and allies. We alligators help each other out now and then when dealing with food. That's it!" her voice rose a notch in excitement as an idea came to her, "Bring this Cortinarri some food, and she will surely be happy with you! I would help you with this war stuff, but I'm too small to be much use. And land isn't really my thing... that is, if you are having this war thing on land."

Spirit

She shook her head as she asked herself. I have no idea what this war is about, and I am on her side already? How do I know what the right choice is???? She sighed, and shook her head to Akili. "Food will not save me as it may save you, for food is a gift to us most times. Gifts are not the equivelent of actions of another's behalf." She then smiled. "Thank you for this, I enjoyed our chat. If I live through the battle, I shall come again and tell you how it worked out." She nodded, then her eyes became fierce and she darted off.