welcome to your new hell, Welcome to the Menagerie. Or as we like to call it, Dome Sweet Dome! We are an eight-year strong futuristic shapeshifter and sci-fi creature roleplay, dedicated to bringing you a world unlike any other; a world in which your character has become an experiment and must fight for survival in a domed city, cut off from the rest of the world. Choose to be any animal in your fight for survival in an artificial world built by the Keepers as they subject you to experiments beyond your control. Choose to wander the world inside the walls alone, as a Rogue, or find safety in numbers in one of the groups known as Rings. How will you survive?
60 - 65 ºF
blustery with scattered showers spotty sunshine
YEAR 2309
shift bans.
» Cougars (aka Puma, Mountain Lion, Panther)
» All Tiger Species
» All Lion Species
» All Wolf Species
» African Leopards
group bans.
none.
encouraged !
FEMALE CHARACTERS! create a RETRO or ANTHRO and get 250 CP + a free skill! read me for more info!
last updated: april 19th, 2016
Click on each Ring or Retro group image to view their ranks!
GROUP UPDATES
CARNARING
Jocelyn Edelwolfe is the new Alpha! Seija Mulviene is the new Beta, and Grey is the new Delta. Lead Hunter is now Boone Haywood, Head of Border Patrol is now Noelle Ndango!
FALLENRING
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FULSIRING
Fulsi has a standing treaty with the Nakoma, granting limited access to their fresh water.
NAKOMA TRIBE
-
ANALOYA PRIDE
a while back, the Analoya suffered a suspicious poisoning of their river, luckily with few casualties; the Bellator are suspected of having taken part in it, and there are whispers that Pride leader Wanderer is talking alliance with the Nilda for access to their clean water.
BELLATOR HERD
As new leader of the Bellator, Loril has instituted some rank changes. See this thread for more information!
LAWAII FLOCK
no updates!
NILDA PACK
no updates!
CARNARING QUICK STATS
ALPHA -- Jocelyn Edelwolfe, Clouded Leopard, played by IronChild
BETA -- Seija Mulviene, Spotted Hyena, played by Seija-chan
DELTA --Grey, Mackenzie Valley Wolf, played by Kriss
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The leopardess was nearly late to Studio Ess. She had promised to meet Husher by dusk on the third day, to recap on what the two of them had seen and heard. Strangely, on her journey there, she did not even think about leaving him, about running away and not coming back. Maybe it was the news of her discovery that weighed her down, or a sense of loyalty that she had lost upon coming to the Menagerie and found again, by some miracle (or weakness, as Cole would put it).
She pushed herself to the brinks of her stamina. Cole had left Fallen territory, jogging as a human, with the knowledge that she would make it farther faster in that form (she could sweat, and handle the heat better during the day). Once it cooled, she transformed into a leopard, and made it the rest of the way. She remembered when she used to jog outside the Menagerie, down city streets and through hills and valleys and... everywhere. She missed that. And she missed her music, too. The sound of her breath wasn't nearly as distracting, and the burn in her abdomen and muscles would go numb at intervals, only to flare up again as she continued.
By the time she reached Studio Ess, it was nearly dark, and she was afraid that Husher might have left, with the thought that she had abandoned him. Afraid. It was a word Cole hadn't used in ages. But she would be particularly displeased if he as gone (she mentally rephrased the whole thing in an attempt to make herself feel better, because she was not, in an way, shape, or form, attached to Hush). She slowed to a walk at the edge of the building, her pale eyes flicking towards the entranceway. At first, she didn't even smell him. Maybe it was because she was too busy regaining her breath--maybe not. As it was, she loped to the entrance of the Studio, nostrils flaring, until she caught the scent of the wolf and made her way inside, even as she panted loudly. She followed it, and--there. He was looking out the window, no doubt waiting for her. But Cole had approached from the opposite side.
He glanced at her. She wasn't being particularly quiet, being that she still couldn't breathe. But her adrenaline was going, and she was... happy, excited, a kid on Christmas. She couldn't remember the last time something good had happened to her.
Maybe it was the sheer excitement. She had figured it out. She knew where his daughter was! She knew where Grey was! Before she could ruin her own excitement with that thought, she slipped into the room, and crouched, her butt in the air like an oversized house cat. Her ears flicked forward, mischief in her eyes.
He missed her. He missed her so much it ached, like a knife in his back that he couldn’t reach. He took a deep breath and let it go, but the sorrow remained. Sakura had been the love of his life, what would he do without her? The world just didn’t make sense without her in it. Deep in his chest, a mournful howl yearned to be released … but he could not, would not, free it. Not yet.
Akane was here somewhere, she had to be. He had failed her that night; he had failed them both. UNIT had stolen his family, their lives ruined in less than an hour of terror and misfortune. It was all gone. All he could do now was find his daughter, and start putting what remained of each other back together.
Husher had done his best not to dwell on the past, Sakura would not have wanted that and Husher always did what his wife asked – even in death. It was hard, and only the goal of finding Akane had held him together thus far. Breathe.
The suspicion that he was a shifter had never occurred to him. Akane had shifted into a fox as such a young age; he assumed that all shifters sustained their first change as children. Instead it took the threat of his family that had stressed his instincts into forcing the dormant change, and he had given them hell for it.
Not much was clear about that night, but he remembered seeing Sakura’s dead body and Akane being taken. Oh Sparker, I’m so sorry, he thought to himself.
Cole had somewhat eased him. Looking after her for so many weeks had kept his attention focused on the now, and she had proved to be excellent company once they had gotten to know each other. A few days ago, she had insisted they could cover more ground separated and Husher (being honest with himself) figured she’d split.
Despite his prediction, he was unsurprised when the large cat appeared. The muscles in his face relaxed, and the tension left his shoulders. It was not until that moment he realized he had been worried about her. Caught in his thoughts, he did not see her until it was too late – POUNCE!
Before he panicked, the familiar scent hit his nose and instead of fighting he rolled and tail wagging play fought back, long black legs stretching out has his teeth gently mouthed her ruff. He growled and hopped over her. It was then that her words hit him, and he froze.
“You … found who?” It was not that he did not understand. He almost didn’t believe her. He'd had no luck himself, and it was easier to believe he was mistaken.
“My daughter?” he asked hesitantly, rumbling in shiftertongue.
Cole experienced a moment of childish satisfaction as she roused the wolf into a play-tussle. It lasted only seconds, before the news had Husher frozen. Cole rose and licked her chops, wearing the satisfied expression of a very large house cat, after being fed. She let the words sink in, and stared his disbelief in the eye with a self-assured expression.
"Yessir!" It was delivered with more playfulness than she would have usually used, and her hindquarters wiggled in another over-exaggerated threat of pouncing. She slid her paws down against the floor and lowered her body in a mock prowl. Cole walked a semicircle around him, and then butted him affectionately against the shoulder. "I found your Fox. She's in Fallen. A... a... Christ, what are they called?" Cole cocked her head, pinned her ears. "Tenderfoot!"
She decided that now was not, exactly, the time for play. She rose again, tail still flicking, as she padded over to the window. She braced her paws on the sill and stretched her spine, still feeling out of breath. "I met the Beta when I was in their territory. And he arranged for us to be escorted by a couple of Hunters or Scouts. If we explain why we're there, we'll be taken to her." Cole was not... not happy, exactly, but content.
Cole was content, for the first time, in a long time. And then that bastard had to go on and ruin it. Her mind flicked back to what Quick had said. I know him. He's a bit of an ass, though. Hush's daughter wasn't the only one there. Cole did not mention this, and used her feline face to hide her conflicted emotions--happiness, and then a bittersweet rage that cut her to the quick. Grey. His new name is Grey.
What hurt was that she could remember it now. She had not realized until Quick had told her it, but she knew why he had chosen that alias, as well. It all made sense.
The group they had been a part of had a term for shapeshifters in their midst that were neither moral or immoral, but worked diligently and as good soldiers. They called them the "grey ranks", because (if Cole was remembering right) the term "grey" was defined as a intermediate between black and white, that has no hue and reflects and transmits only a little light. It was a phrase she had been forced to memorize upon joining the group, but it had not stuck to her like it had stuck to the younger children.
A "grey soldier" was the ideal. They did what they were told, without question. That is what he had done to her (followed his orders, neither good nor evil in his actions) and when she had told him, "You are a true grey rank, aren't you?" she had meant it as an insult. She had meant it in a way that cut him to the quick. You are not the passionate man you pretend to be. You are a stone-cold killer, and love and hate are things that are just a game to you, something you play at. You feel nothing, you sonuva--
It was too painful to remember. She couldn't believe she had forgotten.
The whole lapse of her attention lasted only a few seconds externally. Mentally, she was still reeling when she glanced at Husher. It didn't show on her face. Cole merely offered a leopard's version of a purr, but it was only heard when she exhaled, and it was rougher than a housecat's. It was also entirely fake. "Do we go now?" She was sure he was biting at the bit, metaphorically. Even as she began to drag her mental feet. I don't want to see him.
The words at first did not settle as logical sentences. Fox …Tenderfoot …. Taken, these words rang in his mind blurring out all else and he almost asked Cole to repeat herself, but lucidity took and he turned away, shifting into a man. Leaning against the railing, he took a deep breath and sighed. His thoughts were jumbled and if he hadn’t have taken the moment; he might have attacked the girl just to get answers from her. However it was not his intent regardless of instincts to harm Cole, and he willed himself into control.
Husher had not the experience as some had in his wolf form in dealing with human emotions and he took those few moments to be sure of his next actions. Once he had regained himself, his grey eyes snapped to the feline. “Let’s go,” he said his voice rough and gravelly.
It seemed the next second the dark wolf and light spotted cat where hurtling toward the Fallen territory with determination and stamina. After the initial reunion their interaction at taken an almost solemn tone, which Husher (consumed with his internal thoughts and fears) neglected to notice and once within the new territory they were met by strangers.
Cole shifted and stepped up to speak to the guards, forcing Husher to trust her with negotiations. He was trained to take point, but as it was Cole who had acquired the intel, he allowed her to take the fore and stood back … appearing as a silent, large, but intimidating shadow to quietly embolden the girl’s presence. The large black wolf remained at her side, less than a foot away and watching their surroundings carefully.
Cole had some moments of startling clarity, and that instant was one of them. Let's go. It crushed her monumentally, although she did not show nor admit it. It became obvious in those seconds that Husher's priority would always be his daughter. That was understandable. But he was normally perceptive, and he did not pick up on the sudden shift in Cole. She was a liar, but he knew how to recognize those lies in anyone, much less someone that he knew. And he didn't notice them now, or was too preoccupied to care.
The journey back to Fallen passed in silence; Cole, because she could not bear both the weight of Grey and this understanding of Husher. It was petty, she knew, to be upset at all. He just... He's been looking for her. He needs to find her. And now he has, and he can't quite believe it. And yet no question came up about her well-being, or the sudden nature of her melancholy.
You didn't ask if I found him too, Cole thought, just before they breached Fallen territory, and she was forced to talk with a group of Scouts about who they were and why they were there.
She told them the truth, which was rare for her. That Quick had given her permission, and they were looking for a girl. Hush said his daughter's name, which slipped all over again from Cole's mind, and she led the wolf behind her as they followed a Fallen Scout to the train-cars. They were nice, making idle chitchat. But Cole didn't trust them any more than she ever trusted anyone.
The Fallen, a girl named Shea, knocked on a train-car door. It was late, and it took several moments of stumbling and a few curses before a blurry-eyed, disheveled-haired man slung the door open. Cole took him in with a sweep of her eyes. He was tall, with a darker complexion, brown hair, and eyes that looked like bitter chocolate. He was not wearing a shirt, and his pants seemed hastily thrown on in the summer heat. Cole noted that they were not zipped. He had five o'clock shadow on his jaw, and she gauged his age to be in his mid to late twenties. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stifled a yawn. "Da?" A thick accent added emphasis to the foreign word.
"These are the two that Quick told us about, who've been looking for your Tenderfoot." Shae quipped, looking from Slansky to Cole.
His eyes widened, flicked from Cole to Hush, and then his expression went blank. Cole knew that look well--it was one she was practicing now. She had shifted into her human form without meaning to, feeling suddenly apprehensive as to where this was going, and placed a hand on Hush's ruff. She knew it would do little to restrain him.
At that moment, there was a muffled sound from the dark of the train-car. "Slansky?" It was a girl's voice, made thick with sleep.
Shae, simultaneously, glanced at Cole with a sheepish smile. "Do you want me to go find Grey for you, too, ma'am?"
Cole froze. The feeling that all hell was breaking lose hit her squarely.
Akane sighed contentedly in sleep and turned over, settling against Slan and hooking her leg over his. In the weeks since the oasis they hadn’t spent a night apart, save when Slan was out on patrol. Her nightmares had taken hold a few times, but when she awoke, Slan was there with awkward if not progressively comforting words and eventually she began to dream soundly.
After she returned from the mission with Grey, she had not been sent out on another with him, or anyone else. If it was because she had not passed whatever test she’d been on, or, (as she rather suspected) because Slan might have said something she didn’t know – or care.
A hollow banging sounded from the door, waking them both. Slan sat up with a narrowed grumpy glare and sighed, then kissed her neck with a mock growl before pushing to his feet, pulling on a pair of pants, and heading toward the door. The girl grinned and stretched, it was only a bit earlier then when they usually got up, and Akane wanted to start her meditation.
Da? he asked, and she regarded his tanned shoulders and backside with appreciation. Your Tenderfoot, her ears picked up, and she snagged one of his shirts, large enough to fall to her thighs, as she drew nearer the door.
”Slansky?” her voice was light and hesitant, unsure why his frame had gone rigid and tense.
Husher’s inner dialog on the way to the Fallen was ongoing, stealing his concentration wholly on getting to her. While Cole spoke to the ring members, his attention was suddenly ground to a halt. Her scent was everywhere. Light eyes darted around to seek her out desperately but she was not in sight. Only pure willpower and a life of discipline kept the black wolf from rampaging through the camp on a hell bent run to find Akane that instant.
That … and despite his desperation to find his daughter, he would not leave Cole to fend for herself in hazardous territory, especially since she had taken such a risk coming with him. The gesture was not lost on him, and later (once he had been reunited with Akane and less distracted) he fully intended to tha ,,,
Da? Several things happened at once, but the very first two was Cole’s staying hand and Husher’s scorching ferocity. Akane’s scent was all over him, and when the man’s dark gaze met Husher’s an unholy noise rumbled from the lupine’s depths. It was then that a pair of hazel blue eyes a perfect match to his own appeared under Slansky’s arm, attached to a short slim girl with long wavy brown hair, and a shocked expression.
There was snarl so deep, so savage, and so familiar Akane completely forgot herself and ducked under Slansky’s arm.
”Daddy?” she whispered with trepidation, but in a split second her delight shifted to horror. ”Dad…”
Akane saw the wolf’s line of intent, set with a murderous shimmer and she screamed in a boggling combination of plea and heart wrenching protest
”Dad! NO” – the slight girl stepped in front of Slansky, just as hair pulled from Husher’s neck, leaving black fur in Cole’s grip.
Akane heard Slan’s Czech oath, and she was suddenly airborne as his strong armed slipped around her waist and hauled her off her feet. He whipped her from the way as a hundred and fifty pounds of unrestrained homicidal black wolf slammed into Slansky.
Husher leapt the same instant Akane moved, but the man flung her from harm’s way before Husher’s teeth, claws, and insatiable wrath descended upon him with unchecked resolve. Husher’s paws landed on Slansky’s chest, his hind end landing off kilter as they slammed into the back of the train car. Slansky’s arm braced up under the wolf's neck, holding off his sharp teeth intent on ripping his throat out.
There was a weight as his back and hands gripped his fur, there was yelling and the wolf’s ears flickered. It was Akane, her tones pleading and weeping … why was she crying? Suddenly, the miscreant seemed much less important and Husher turned to Akane whose head was bleeding and face was tearful. In a breath Husher had shifted into his human form, and pulled Akane into a bone-shattering hug.
She was speaking, and mumbling but he was not listening. The feel of his daughter in his arms again, to know that she was safe … he felt her hands press against him as she smiled sweetly then pulled away to dash over to Slan where he remained on the floor. Husher moved to catch her hand but she was too quick, and a growl escaped him.
It was only a second that Akane had been knocked out, but she was on her feet before she had time to process the wisdom of her actions. Reaching the wolf, her hands seized his coat – her fists hitting him as she screamed, begged, and scolded ”Enough! Daddy please! … Slansky! …. DADDY get OFF of him.”
After several terrifying minutes when Akane almost looked around for a weapon (she’d figure out that instinct later), Husher had shifted and enveloped her. She quieted, just for a second. She could hear his heart thundering and his ragged breaths, as she breathed in his familiar smell. It made her eyes water … Slansky her mind shifted, and she pushed against her father to look up at him.
”Daddy, that’s Slansky. He found me out there! I’d probably be dead without him a few times over,” she said hiding her fear with anger and pushing away from him, and turning to kneel next to Slan. In that instant nothing was more important than making sure he was okay.
”Slan, are you okay?” she moved closer to him and barely touched his face when Husher issued a warning growl. Akane bit her lip and ignored it.
Slansky Kirov was not expecting this kind of awakening. He was still blinking the sleep from his expression when he took in the slim, redheaded young woman and the wolf by her side, a comical image that made him think of red riding hood. Just as her fist knotted in the wolf's fur, Slansky registered something.
Daddy?
Oh, shit.
There was a split second when the wolf's aggression showed--a drawn lip, a glint of fang--and then the animal was hurtling at him, heedless of anything in his way. Akane was there one moment, and then Slan was reacting to the situation, shoving her out of harms way (as gently as he could manage). The wolf slammed into him, raw muscle, and he barely managed to wedge his forearm in the wolf's jugular before Akane's father was snapping at his face and throat.
The horse inside of him was screaming, frantic with fear and anger. The man had a better control on it, although with each jerk the wolf made towards his throat, Slansky's strength weakened. He prepared to hitch up a leg or aim for the animal's eyes with his free-hand, but he was distantly aware of Akane's voice--
The wolf was less so immune, as her shouting continued. He shifted abruptly, and shoved himself away from Slansky, to embrace his daughter. The Czech-Russian braced his hands against the floor and drew himself up in a position where he could stand more easily, with a hot flash of rage. The bastard just tore into my home and attacked me! It was a brief moment of anger, as several things fell into place. Daddy. Akane had called him Daddy. That meant that this wolf was her father, and, and...
Well, Akane was in his shirt. And his pants weren't zipped. Which was rather incriminating. He was also several years Akane's senior. His mouth had gone dry, and he tried to haul himself to is feet, but Akane was kneeling beside him before he had the opportunity. “I'm fine, I promise.” He raised a hand to her wrist, index and middle finger sliding against her skin in a brief moment of contact. A pair of steady eyes to her. Inside? He was still reeling. “Are you okay?”
He was infinitely more worried about her. He raised a hand to the bleeding on her head, brows furrowed. The tears on her face made her seem young, and he wiped them away with his thumb.
Then he became aware of the foreboding image of her father out of the corner of his eye, and his hand dropped reluctantly. He had never thought he'd have to deal with a woman's father, quite frankly, much less in a place where murder was perfectly acceptable. Slansky hauled himself up, and her after him, so that the pair were standing. He turned to face Husher with a closed, defiant expression.
Cole watched the ordeal, which lasted mere seconds, with a pair of widened eyes. She had known something bad would happen, when the shirtless Fallen had revealed himself, and then Hush's daughter behind him.
The Fallen girl that had escorted them swallowed, making weak protests at the conflict, but Cole merely shrugged. "He won't kill him." She wasn't as sure as she sounded. Her gaze flicked to the girl. "Lets put that question of yours on hold."
Cole braced her hand on the floor of the train-car and pulled herself up. She went first to Husher, not getting in his way, but standing beside him. She looked at him briefly. It might have been courteous to ask about his well-being, but she knew it was a stupid question. He was not okay. Nothing about this was going well. Her hand hovered near his wrist, not a warning or a restraint, but more of something to try and ground him.
The Fallen had put a few inches of space between himself and Hush's daughter. Cole watched as he cast a stunned glance at Hush, and then something hardened in his expression. "You're going to beat the shit out of me." He said it in shiftertongue, with an accent. It was not a question. "Lets get it over with, if we can't avoid it."
Husher’s chest rose and fell with each ragged lungful he took, trying to calm his anger. No. He was already furious, and was barely keeping himself from tearing this kid apart. No. He couldn’t even call him a kid, what was he? A few years younger than himself?
A few words shifted between the two, and distantly he felt Cole’s presence. Inexplicably, he settled. He regarded the … man … boy … kid, Christ – his hand went through his short hair and rubbed the back of his neck. He smelled blood, his nostrils flared and his search landed on Akane.
Let’s get it over with, if we can’t avoid it, Husher’s gaze took him in and dismissed him just as quickly as he paced over to Akane, turning his shoulder into the pair protectively – and effectively separating Slan from his daughter. Akane crossed her arms, and took a step back.
Cole had drifted behind Husher, guarding his back and in a separate part of his mind he sent up a prayer in thanks to whichever God had sent her to him.
”Sparker, did he hurt you?” his tone was coarse and deep, and she turned her eyes up – their reflection something of legend.
”NO, he was protecting me. As he has for months now,” she crowed at him. The audacity she had shown throughout her time with Slan was no less vibrant in front of her own father, and he scowled at her. Sucking in a breath, she looked down a moment …
Slansky took a step forward, his mouth open but before a word was said Husher’s fist had connected with his jaw, and sent him flying.
Slan was fine. He was fine, she smiled and hiccuped a laugh that was half humor have fear. Are you okay? When his hand lifted to her face she nodded, his steady eyes lending her strength. She took a deep breath in resolve, and took his hand to help her up. She was shaking, but her head leveled and her shoulders squared. Slan reluctantly inched away from her, Akane blanched.
In an instant Husher was beside her again, crowding her away from Slansky and corralling her by this … girl with red hair. Taking a step back to more easily look him in the eye, she almost bumped into Cole when Husher asked her if Slan had hurt her.
She bristled, and told him that Slan had kept her from harm … she saw movement out of the corner of her eye but before she could stop him, her father’s fist had sent Slan sprawling again. Akane gasp and wriggled out of strong hands to slid across the floor to where Slan lay limp. Fear pulsed through her, and for what seemed forever she couldn’t breathe … until he moved.
Akane’s head snapped in Husher’s direction. ”Nanda! Could you NOT kill my boyfriend?!” she demanded and suddenly her anger shifted to another level. She knew Slan was tough, and would coddle him later. For now she rose to her feet and took a step forward ...
His patience was wearing thin, mostly at the man's dismissal. These weren't ideal circumstances by any means, but that didn't mean that he should go on and ignore Slan, and pretty much disregard what Akane was saying.
Did she have to repeat herself a third time, for the words to get across? He stepped towards Husher, heedless of the redheaded woman, but he hardly had time to blink before he was punched solidly in the jaw.
He saw stars, and when his vision cleared, it was to a split lip and to find himself on the floor. Again. He was pulling himself up as soon as he saw Akane's expression, grimacing. Even with the situation at hand, he caught on the word "boyfriend". And was pleased
“Akane.” His voice was thick. He had stood by now, and was wiping blood from his mouth. He reached out to her, grabbing Akane by the hem of her--no, his--shirt, to pull her into his chest. The gesture was infinitely possessive while being simultaneously protective. “Its alright, dorogoy. I deserved that one, probably.” Slansky's eyes sparked truly for the first time, when he raised his gaze to Husher. He did not say it out of confidence in Husher's morality--he said it out of confidence of his own resilience.
Husher's reaction had been immediate the first time, and as soon as the idiot Fallen touched his daughter again, Cole watched him stiffen and go to strike him a second time. Cole intercepted him before he had the opportunity to sock the idiot a again. "Hush." Her tone was not pleading, merely soft. "Stop it, right now. I get you're upset, but you just found your daughter, and if you didn't hear her, this man has protected her." Cole thought that was important--she sure as hell didn't trust the sucker, but she thought that Akane's safety spoke for itself.
That, and... "Not to mention he keeps touching her, even after you've knocked him down a few times. If he had any sense he wouldn't be doing that, but he is, and he sure as hell was more concerned with her well-being than his." Her fingers closed on his wrist, not restraining, just... there.
She could not remember the last time she had so casually touched someone. Or the last time she had acted as a peacemaker. The Fallen girl was standing at the base of the train-car, blanched and confused.
Her steps were halted by a tug on her shirt and Akane relented without a fight, hiding her face into Slansky’s shirt. There was a part of her that felt she was betraying her father, he was obviously unhappy – he had found her, right? But another part, a more compelling part spoke of Slansky. Husher was her father, and a good one but in the face of a furious father many men would have bailed – and Slan had not. And, Akane did not think it was just for his pride …
I deserved that one, probably. Akane looked up to Slan and shook her head, her face expressing sorrow, disagreement, and pain. Despite her father’s wrath, she lifted to her toes and kissed his cheek. No. He did not deserve any of it.
His daughter’s flagrant display of affection pushed Husher into motion, but he was halted by a pressure at his wrist. Cole. Hush, she didn’t know it – but that name would stop an avalanche in his mind. Sakura … pain reflected in his gaze, and he looked down and back to Cole as she spoke.
This man has protected her. More concerned with her well-being than his, the first part calmed him however, the second sent him into another round of fury.
”More concerned? I’m sure. The day that an adult male takes to bed with a fifteen year old girl, especially the one of which is my daughter…” rage rippled through him visibly. His eyes rose, meeting Slansky's eyes in unshakable accusation.
It was Akane's turn to be afraid, though she was sure she was the only one to begin with. Doubt crept through her ... it was now that Slansky would toss her aside, now that he knew. Her heart leaped into her mouth and suddenly she froze. It was now that he would cast her off.
Her kiss settled his nerves, but he kept his eyes on Husher, apprehensive of his reaction. It surprised Slansky when the redhead came to his aid--he did not thank her verbally, or even with his expression, but he was about ready to throw himself at her feet and kiss her shoes.
Until something that the redhead said managed to piss Akane's father off all over again. His expression, this time, was downright venomous. Slansky was sick of it, though--he wasn't a bad guy, and he was ready to defend himself--
Fifteen.
Did he just say fifteen? Slan's defiant expression went slack. He slowly released his hold on Akane, so that he could regard her face. “Fifteen. Fifteen?" The rest of the world fell away. His mind was full of images of her skin, of her touch, of the taste of her mouth--and she was fifteen? He was disgusted with himself, and more than horrified. He took a step away from her, still not certain if it was true. But it would explain Husher's reaction to him.
“I thought.. I knew you were young, but I thought you were at least eighteen. I told you that... and... and you let me believe otherwise?" There was a note of disbelief in his voice, of some small betrayal. I'm just trying to do the best I can. That was what he lived by, and this--this... this was not the best he could do. It was wrong. She was barely out of her childhood.
What have I done? He felt guilty, then. A hot rush of shame that flushed his skin. He had deserved more than what Husher had just done to him.He deserved to be taken out and beaten, or put in a cell to rot. The fact he had not known made no difference.
Cole did not release her hold.
Of course, it did not help as much as she had hoped. Husher's comment made her visibly wince, but her eyes went to the pair--Cole thought that the girl looked afraid, but the reaction in the man was instantaneous. Shock, and then disbelief. Fifteen? The blush that colored his cheeks made his shame all the more tangible.
Cole didn't think he had known, but what was her opinion, in this entire situation? When she had him had met, he was four years her senior--
Grey. She had forgotten. Dammit. Her eyes flicked to the Fallen girl, who was still there, quiet and anxious at the edge of the train-car. “Do you know where he would be?" It was impulsive. In those seconds she had the courage to ask it.
The Fallen looked surprised, but she nodded after a pause. These people are crazy. It was clear that was what she was thinking. “Find him, please." Cole's request slipped without her intending it to.
"Are you sure--?"
“Go!" At that, the girl winced and shifted into a dove. Cole turned back to them, wishing that the little episode had been overlooked. It would be a while, she imagined, before he appeared.
Translations____
Last Edit: Jul 2, 2013 22:27:27 GMT -5 by Slansky Kirov
The snort Husher expelled was of disbelief and judgment. Suuurreee he hadn’t known. It was then he thought back, just for a flash of how much he and Sakura had trusted her even at a much younger age. When parents were worried about their kids in day to day activities, they as parents had been concerned that Akane didn’t take enough advantage of her own age. She was an old soul, always had been. Still he pushed it aside, it did not excuse … he felt that pressure at his wrist, and he leveled out enough to hear Slan words.
Whispers, kisses, secrets, ecstasy, his lips, his fingers, his breath, his touch.
It all rushed through her mind and it meant something to her. What, she wasn’t sure but she had not lied that day in the oasis. Would it mean less, simply because she had never told him her age? He had never pressed the issue, and she had never revealed her age … a stubborn part of her argued that he was being disloyal, but the larger part lashed it into submission.
Ommitance is betrayal, it whispered and she shook. He had every right to be angry with her.
She bit her lip, took a deep shuttering breath and looked down. Suddenly it all seemed too much, he probably thought this was something she did all the time. Her eyes closed a minute against her inner guilt but they opened again to look him square in the eye.
”I’m sorry,” she whispered, impossibly reminiscent of the first night she had slept in the Menagerie without Slan and had nightmares. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, that night they had said such mean things to each other.
”I’m … I’m not sorry about our time together, I’ll never regret that. I am sorry I kept the truth from you.” Her words were barely audible, broken up by her shaking through a sad smile. Her hand lifted to his face, but dropped instantly before it made contact.
There was some words between the girls behind her, and she took the moment to collect herself. What Slan must think of her … Akane could feel her father’s eyes bore into the back of her head and she took a deep breath and turned, taking a step towards Husher and Cole.
”She’s right, he’s not to blame. I am.” She paused, unable to help turning once more to look at Slansky. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out … what could she say at this point?
Abruptly she shifted into a fox, and scrambled out the door. You let me believe otherwise? It echoed in her mind, and her fox ears flattened as she scurried up the hill.
Surprisingly, Husher did not go after his daughter immediately. Confident that she would stick around somewhere outside, he took a deep breath then regarded Slansky with another dangerous glance. He was still not quite certain Slansky was a upstanding man, and what was more was the elevated anger in Husher that Slansky had turned on her.
No, not turned on her. His gaze was out the door. He'd made a mess of things. Sakura was likely shaking her head in heaven.
This, Slansky thought, was why he had never thought of her as young. Her apology came without him demanding it, without him even needing it--he was blaming no one but himself, in actuality. Him, for being stupid, for overlooking her youth and, and--taking advantage of her.
But then again, Slan had never taken advantage of her. He looked at Akane, trying to find answers, desperately wishing that they could go back to the morning when he had woken with her pressed against his side, a familiar and comfortable warmth. He could find no words, nothing to explain what he was feeling, and he was left in a paradox of wishing her hand had touched him, while simultaneously being thankful that it had not.
After she left, he felt the heavy weight of her father's stare, as well as the girl's. He turned to them, his mouth dry. “I didn't know," he said, not as an excuse but a statement. “If I had, it wouldn't have happened. But now that it has, I can't undo it, and I'm not about to let her blame herself for everything that just happened." Slansky did not wait for a reply. Akane was his priority.
Slan threw himself down and out of the train-car and went after her. She had not gotten far, having paused at the top of the hill. He called her name, and jogged the remaining distance. He settled on the hill beside her. “Shift, dorogoy." Once she had, he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.
He was siding with Satan, but he didn't think he could live without her. It was a cliche he used to scoff at, but she was someone that made him laugh, and made him... happy. He kissed her forehead. That was hard to let go of so easily, moral obligations aside. “We've had this talk already. Life is too short to get stuck on numbers, when all our years are already limited." It was not that simple, but it was a start. “You've never acted your age, Akane, and I think we should take happiness where we can find it. I mean, you should have told me, but part of me is glad you didn't." It was a thing that shamed him to admit, but he felt he had to.
He paused. “Don't stay angry at your dad, either. None of this is his fault--he probably wasn't expecting me to open the door shirtless, with you behind me. Tell your old man, though--" his tone took on a devilish note. “--that he has a mean right hook."
He laced his fingers through hers.
Cole was quiet after the pair of them left, rubbing her temples at the drama that had played out. She had released Husher's wrist, suddenly uncertain, considering the circumstances.
She remained standing out of unease, although she allowed herself the privilege of leaning against the door of the train-car, looking out at the silhouette of man and girl in the close distance. She feared the return of the dove, which ended up being far too soon. She had nothing to say as she waited, with a combination of bated breath and apprehension.
The girl had come back in her pale white form, and shifted in front of Cole. "He's coming, ma'am." Her eyes looked at Hush, and then the pair of Fallen in the distance. "I see that you guys worked it out?" A tentative comment, but Cole was no longer listening.
Her eyes were fixed on the... familiar and unfamiliar shape of a wolf... thing. Black, with a slinky, cat-like body and tawny stripes along his body. His tail coiled lazily, with disinterest, until he raised his eyes to the pair of rogues in the train-car. It was clear that the dove had not told him what was happening, merely that he was needed.
The recognition was immediate. A shock of gray eyes that met hers initially with a lack of expression, and then it transformed into one of shock. He staggered forward, and rose as he did so, into a man.
It was like she was staring at something out of her dreams--something that was not real. Cole was frozen, her heart beating in her ears. It was him, it was him. The memory was there--the fresh sting of betrayal, the thought that she would never remember his real name, or half the things they had done together.
"Nycole--"
Was that her name? Was that the thing that eluded her?
Cole looked away, rage bristling inside of her. I hate him. “You sonuva--" the words were brief, before she launched herself off the train-car, shifting mid-air so that when she hit his shoulders, it was as a slim leopard.
I hate you!
But the thought was not so simple.
When they hit, he used her own momentum against her, tossing Cole to the side--she hit the ground and rolled to her feet, first yowling and then... her ears pinned, and she shifted back into a girl. Her expression was raw. “You left me... You left me." Repeated, with a sort of fear and childish disbelief.
He had. That was the bear bone of it. He had left her. He had broken her, completely.
Translations____
Last Edit: Jul 2, 2013 23:49:19 GMT -5 by Slansky Kirov
Pain radiated through her body, sapping her energy from her stamina and air from her lungs. It had taken everything she had to leave, just leave. At the crest of the hill she had stopped, panting for breath in her twin-tailed foxform, but when she did a voice she could never have predicted spoke.
Hazel blues widened in shock and disbelief as Slansky ran up the dune to catch her, and her heart stopped. Before she had the chance to create the multitude of reasons she could come up with that he was here … shift, dorogoy. It was a quiet command, and easy request. Without permission, her body shifted into the human girl that she was. No. The human woman. There were no victims in the Menagerie. Those that survived wouldn’t have made it as one.
His arm around her shoulder surprised her further, it was enough of acceptance without the insistence of closeness. His words were heartfelt. Happiness where they could find it, before she could stop herself her eyes lifted to his and a small smile slipped to her lips. With his paused, she thought she would get the ‘but speech’ … but she did not.
She took a deep breath, turning her head to where the train car sat below – the outside commotion caused her little disturbance before she turned back to Slan and her fingers lifted as they had before and touched his face. They caressed the coarse stubble that she was so fond of; Akane smiled then … so completely it reached her eyes.
His finger laced through hers. She turned, hands on his shoulders and jumped. Her knees locked at his sides as his hands caught her for balance, swinging her in a circle once. In this position she could look him in the eye and with arms around his neck, she regarded him with a fathomless stare for several moments, then waggled her eyebrows and kissed him well enough to knock him from his feet.
It was almost impossible for Husher to admit, but the man’s confession rang true and he felt a twinge of respect in the depths of his anger and confusion for the boy … the man … the ki- what the hell was his name again?
The pressure at his wrist was suddenly gone, and a whole other scene unfolded before he had gotten over the first. With the arrival of the Fallen member came a strange creature landing between feline and lupine. Already set against logic, Husher had somehow formulated in his mind that the slinking cur had to be Grey, and when Cole attacked Husher followed.
Never would he insult her experience that she could not handle herself, especially against such an adversary but neither would he leave her. Leaping from the train-car so close his chest brushed her flank he spied Akane and Slan on the hill top, her legs around …
Cole toppled to the ground, and Husher issued a deep snarl covering for her whilst she regained her feet. When she shifted, Husher remained a large black wolf at her hip. He forced himself to concentrate on Cole … Akane would be okay, he reassured himself. Cole had more than earned his allegiance, and he would keep to it through thick or thin.
Husher had not known the nature of Cole's parting or relationship with this fellow, but it was very clear when her human face conveyed a deep hurt … her voice baring an accusation that went beyond a simple boyfriend and girlfriend relationship. His lips peeled back over sharp white teeth at the echo of her voice, his tail high and his stance dangerous.
Regardless of his feelings (chaotic though they were) he still awaited cues from Cole, as she had doubtless done when he had first attacked Slan only a few minutes ago. They were a team …
Grey had not expected the dove shifter to land in front of him as he dodged his way through the Fallen camp, intending to stop by the sinkhole to check on the Carna there, before going hunting. When he said that there was a girl looking for him, he was at first bemused--and then downright afraid.
Not many things rendered Grey speechless, but this was one of them. The way that the Fallen girl held herself made him anxious, and he insisted that they make it there as quickly as possible. She obliged, shifting, and he followed her. You could imagine his surprise when he did not find himself at a familiar train-car, but Slansky Kirov's.
He felt exasperated, suddenly. Surely, Akane didn't need him, not after she disappeared in the middle of the night and Slan told both Iskander and Lincoln that she wasn't going on missions with anyone but him. Grey's eyes caught on the pair of them on the hill as he followed the dove, and his ears perked. Akane had wrapped her legs around Kirov's waist, and they were kissing in a way that made him stagger--
It was then that Grey felt eyes on him. He turned his face towards the open door of Kirov's train-car. And saw her.
He had not... He had not... She looked just like he remembered, but with a new sharpness to her expression. They locked eyes, and he was shifting into his human form, reaching for her, wanting to say everything on the tip of his tongue--
But then she shifted, and slammed into him. No amount of consolation would fix it, he thought, as her claws tore holes in his shirt and he shoved her away out of reflex. Grey jerked into a crouching position, instinctively going for his knives--only to move his hands away from them, raising his palms flat-out towards her.
The wolf's growling concerned him less than the way that Cole was looking at him. He remembered what he had told Akane a few weeks ago--he didn't believe in apologies.
But he had never been more sorry for anything in his life.
- - - - -
It took all of Cole's self-control not to do one of two things. Either burst into tears, or rip his face off. His defensive posture resolved her, and caused her expression to harden. The sound of Hush beside her was a dull reassurance as she straightened her posture, and tried to put her thoughts in an order that she could understand.
He, this man in front of her, was the reason that she had suffered. He was the one that had brought her into that hellish cult, and the one that had been beside her when they had done horrible things. He was the one that had hunted her down like a dog, once she refused to continue doing those horrible things, and ran. He was the one that had stood over her, apologizing and holding her hands, as her memory was wiped. He was the one who had looked her steadily in the eyes as she faded in and out of consciousness, and placed his jacket over her shivering body.
"Hush. He's not even worth it." Cole's hand dropped to the wolf's scruff, the words not so much for his benefit as they were for her own.
Grey's expression, which had been surprised and confused and desperately raw, became one that Cole was all too familiar with--it was the face he wore when he'd held her close and kissed her temple, or neck, and said that he loved her--when one or both of them needed to be consoled. "Nycole--I didn't have another option. If it had been someone else, they would have killed you. Don't you see that?"
Desperation in his voice, panic in his eyes. He reached for her, and she flinched. The pained expression on her face caused him to draw back. "They wanted me to kill you--a mercy killing. You know all about those, Nycole, and... I didn't want that, I didn't want that. I had to get rid of your memory." What Grey did not say was that he trusted no one else to do it, if it was unavoidable.
Cole did not want to hear this. She didn't want to hear his excuses, his lies--he hadn't saved her, he'd condemned her. "You couldn't have just let me run?" The question slipped without her meaning it to.
He hesitated. "I first found you a week after you left the Imperium. You were in Shanghai buying fake identification. I... I made sure that your other tails didn't find you... I let you go." And it was the hardest thing he had ever done.
Cole's eyes hardened. "And that's all there is to say about this, isn't it?" She had closed down suddenly, fighting down the urge to run--Hush's presence beside her was the only thing keeping her grounded. It seemed unreal, standing there, in front of a ghost. "Leave, Grey. I don't... I can't. Just. Go!" She ignored the fact that she had asked him here, and she shouldered past him violently to make her way towards the two Fallen at the hilltop. Grey knew her well enough to understand that pursuit would be futile, that any of his words would fall on deaf ears.
It was like defeat.
He watched her go, but turned to her companion before he had a chance to follow. He had not overlooked the comfort she sought in the wolf, that was eerily reminiscent of what he used to look like, and he was full of hot jealousy. "You... I... Is she..." Words failed him. He was still in shock. He had come to the realization--the acceptance--that he would never see her again, and in the flesh, she broke down his walls and his resolutions. Now he couldn't come to terms with it--that she was alive, and here, and amendments were both possible and impossible. "Is she... happy?" Grey did not know what else to ask.
He had seen something irreparable in her eyes, and now he was left standing there, wringing out his hands in front of him.
- - - - -
Slansky watched the approach of the redhead woman who, once at the crest of the dune, offered her hand to both of them. He could not help but note the barely controlled fury that she held herself with, the anger that radiated from her eyes. He also took note of Grey behind her, and the brief conversation they had shared, one that had a lifetime's worth of... what, he didn't even know. He hadn't heard a lick of what was said, had merely observed the postures and gestures as he tried to regain his sense of balance--Akane had kissed the holy hell out of him.
"I'm Cole." A simple introduction. She offered her hand to Akane, then, and gave a shaky smile. Slansky thought that she was running--turning her back on Grey, for whatever reason. The air she held herself with was fierce, but... was she seeking distraction, or escape? This is weird as hell. The whole day seemed like a dream. He listened quietly as Cole continued. "And I think we'll be getting to know each other." This was delivered to Akane, with an uncertain smile.
Husher was silenced when her hand touched his fur, her fingers gripped tightly. No part of her shook but those fingers, and the wolf’s hazel blue gaze stared at this man that clearly was responsible for so much pain. As the dialog between them explained only a piece of their history together, Husher grew more tense as he realized … this man was the reason Cole had been put here.
His hackles went up, and his ears flattened. His fixed stare never moved from Grey and the anger that had already been building was almost too much. His muscles were twitching with the desire to lunge, take the man’s throat in his teeth and send him back to hell.
Suddenly, Cole dismissed Grey shoving past him to take long strides up the hill. Husher didn’t move, instead he watched the man – if he went after Cole he’d have a hell hound on his heels. However, he turned his attention to the black wolf whom still regarded him with a condemning stare.
Grey babbled, then asked if Cole was happy. Husher didn’t move for what seemed a long time until his ears caught words between Cole, Akane, and the kid … man … what the hell was his name! The wolf’s legs moved slowly, keeping eye contact until he came up alongside the man. Husher sneezed with a great shake of his head, and turned away to trot up the hill.
His dismissal of the man, was as complete and heartless as Cole’s had been.
Akane was grinning cheekily, but Slan’s attention had shifted and she turned around.That red headed girl was headed towards them, and Akane turned in Slan’s grip – secretly she was thoroughly pleased with his arm around her waist, like he wasn’t quite ready to let her go yet.
When the girl reached them, a hand preceded her name. Cole, her name was Cole. Without hesitation Akane offered her a smile and took her hand. Cole seemed – well unhappy was an understatement, but Akane didn’t know anything about her. Still the redhead’s demeanor worried her.
I think we’ll be getting to know each other, she said her expression hesitant. Just then, Husher had appeared next to Cole again and Akane’s eyes dropped to the black wolf, the rose back to Cole. ”Are …. Are you dating my Dad?” she asked incredulously.
”I mean, like that’s okay … I guess. Well it’s not like my mom died years ago,” her attitude shifted from happy, to irritated, to excited, to sadness, and landed on anger. ”Seriously Dad! What the f***!?” Slan made a nose behind her, and she shifted in his grip she half turned to him to see what his expression was … then remembered. She whipped around angerly.
”AND NANDA! Why didn’t you tell me you were a shifter!? You let me think for years that I was the only one!” the hand around her tightened, and she fought his hold. Fury and hurt radiated off her in waves, her hand managed pry his grip from her but only for an instant and she took a step forward only to be hauled back into Slan.
”You never told me! You never told me about The Menagerie!? Never told me about shifters! Nothing! I knew nothing how could you DO that to me!” she continued to fight Slan’s hold.
Husher had gone from anger and alarm, to guilt and his tail fell and his gaze dropped. Ears wilting on the side of his head, he took a step forward but ducked as Akane’s foot almost cracked him in the head.
What hurt more was knowing that he deserved it. Grey didn't follow either of them, nor did he demand that the wolf answer him. He stood there, hands shoved in his pockets, trying to made an excuse for himself, but there were none. And Cole was not going to listen; he'd seen it in her expression. He lingered, for several seconds, before he shifted, and tore off in the direction he had come.
Unfinished business was an understatement. But he wasn't going to find any answers today.
- - - - -
Slansky was guilty, holding her in his arms again. But he was also glad. She managed to settle him. His jaw was still throbbing, frankly, and he wasn't exactly ready to meet the redhead or her father (officially, it seemed).
As it turned out, he wasn't the one in danger. Her dad was. Slansky's eyes widened at her reactions, at the way he felt her tense and shift and struggle in his grasp, only so that he could haul her back against his chest and hold her tight. He didn't know what to say. And neither, it seemed, did her father.
- - - - -
Cole was becoming increasingly disorientated and anxious. It had been a long, long time since she'd been around so many people, and none of them were familiar but Hush. She visibly flinched at Akane's comment, but before she had a chance to defend herself (and Husher), his daughter continued to snap, going off on a tirade.
Cole could understand confusion, and misunderstanding, but she sure as hell wouldn't be cussing out her father if he'd gone through such measures to find her. Her expression hardened. “No, I am not dating your father." The term tasted sour in her mouth. “And does it not occur to you that he has been looking for you since you were sent here? He has gone through Hell and highwater to find you and make sure that you were safe, and you haven't once treated him with... with... I don't know, affection! How long has it been since you've seen him?"
Jesus. Cole rubbed her temples and knelt beside Hush, to put her arm around his neck and push her forehead against his shoulder. It was strange, but his very presence calmed her, comforted her. His scent was the only familiar thing there, and it was the only thing keeping her from running. Her entire body was trembling. “Maybe if you stopped trying to kick his head in, he could give you an explanation."
If anything, the man's efforts to keep Hush's daughter in his arms were amendable. Cole felt sick.
- - - - -
Slansky fought her throughout the duration of it, trying to keep her calm. He didn't know what to think. He was still in a state of... well, shock. And bewilderment. Eventually he simply hugged her to his chest, and dropped his mouth to the edge of her ear. "Akane, honey. Calm down. Just... give him a chance to talk?"
It was an anxious comment. Slansky was bad with family ordeals--his father had died when he was young, after all. But he felt like if he'd ever had a chance to make things right with his father, he would have jumped on the opportunity. And there were a thousand holes in the story, he was thinking.
How …. Dare she? The red head didn’t know her from eve! Really? And Slan too? After she had- fine, she was wrong. Akane had never seen her father ‘quiet’ in her life, and now that there were things to talk about even Slan was taking his side, she was getting lectured by some twit she didn’t know from God knew where and …
Abruptly she shifted into a twin tailed foxed, snarled and twisted from Slan’s grip. It was too much, and…
It was quite sudden. Although Husher had been caught off guard by his daughter’s reaction, her outburst and Cole’s defense over him was suddenly wrong and he moved into action.
A snarl broke from his depths, and he lunged from Cole’s grip, almost knocking Slan over and catching his small daughter in her vulpine form on her back.
Akane scrabbled, growling for a moment before Husher’s jaws clamped gently around her muzzle in correction. She had gone too far, and Husher despite his guilt was still her father. The red fox whimpered and trashed, but Husher snarled again, biting a tad harder on her maw.
The vulpine relented, baring her throat, her bulging light eyes averting in vexed respect. Husher, unlike many alphas was not a control freak, and despite the anger she could cause he was not reckless with his punishments.
When he rose to his feet, Akane’s ears lifted and she moved to get up … Husher immediately snarled at her and she sank down and looked away. She dare not look at Slan, her pride would not allow it. How embarrassing, she thought. It seemed much harsher in animal form, but as Akane had shifted, Husher suddenly held the instinct to hand the situation. Had they both been in human form, he’d be more well prepared.
Husher shifted, ran a hand across his chin and took a breath before turning. ”Now, introduce me Rookie,” he said softly. Akane rose, shook out her fur once to allow collection and shifted into a girl. As a human, she did not look him in the eyes and turned to Slan.
”Yes Sir,” she straightened. ”Dad, this is Slansky Kirov,” She almost winced when she looked to Slan, and with her palm up gestured to her father. ”Slan, this is my father … Mr. Husher,” she fumbled but figured it would make her Dad happier to have the slight seniority.
The taller, older man nodded to his daughter in quiet praise before putting his hand out to Slansky, his face bereft of expression though his eyes were watchful. ”Hello Slansky, thank you for watching out for my daughter.” He did not apologize for the attack, he would have done it again – but what was past was past and he could see the kid … man … Slansky had mettle.
He turned to Cole, his face remained impassive. ”Cole, this is my daughter Akane Husher and her … boyfriend?” His eyebrow lifted as his eyes narrowed as he looked at Slansky for his reaction. For now Akane thought, he must be feeling the need to run as far away as he could right now, and she didn’t blame him. ”Slansky Kirov,” finished Husher.
Sakura would have shot him for letting things get so out of hand, he was so lost without her sometimes. ”Akane, this is Cole … she is a friend, and is the one who found you for me. I owe her a great deal,” his voice was almost dangerous and his tone dropped.
Akane understood, and bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood. She could give a rats ass who … ”Ima Wa,” Husher said sharply. The girls head rose to look Cole in the eye then bowed with a fist to her palm in Japanese style. Her father was right, her mother would have been appalled.
”I am pleased to meet you most honored Cole,” she said formally. ”I thank you for the trials you have been through to bring my honored father, and myself together at last,” there was no sarcasm in her voice … no malice. Every word she spoke was with gratitude. Eventually she would have said as much anyway but under Husher’s supervision his daughter would not dare push things farther.
Slansky really, really wanted to go back to bed. Forget about the whole damn day. He sensed that Akane was about to lose it, the more she struggled, and when she shifted into a fox his concern had grown into exasperation. He released her without struggle, thankful when her father intervened, even if he nearly pushed Slan over--
Only to have it escalate quickly from there. He glanced at the scene, and raised his gaze to the redhead, who had gone pale and was holding a hand to her lips. She met his eyes, and her exasperation and anxiety was palpable. Which he thought was an overreaction. It wasn't like Husher was mangling her or anything. Slansky's gaze returned to the wolf and the fox, and a part of him wanted to intervene, but he knew that wouldn't go well. Besides that, he figured that it was a lesson Akane was going to need.
So he stood there, awkwardly waiting for it to end. He politely averted his eyes, sensing that Akane was probably writhing in embarrassment at this point. When Husher shifted, Slansky was relieved. Now, introduce me, Rookie.
He had never seen Akane so cowed before. Although he tried, she would not meet his eyes.
Slansky nodded at her father, feeling uncomfortable but knowing that disrespect was not an option. He almost said that it had been his pleasure watching out for Akane, but then he rethought his choice of words, afraid that Husher would take them more literal than he intended. "Of course, sir."
And her... boyfriend? Slansky nodded, trying to keep the smile off his face. Those little outbreaks aside, this is going better than I thought.
- - - - -
It was going terrible.
Cole was antsy, unable to keep herself still. She felt laid out in the open of the desert, without any brush in sight, without any hiding spot of cover. Hush's daughter's reaction was making Cole increasingly defensive, hostile. She was bristled, ready for fight or flight, even though neither seemed necessary.
The introductions slid off her like water from a duck's wing. She couldn't hold the names, and her head was beginning to hurt. Hush's little fox spoke something more respectful towards Cole, but the words put her on edge--they sounded like a lie, even if they weren't intended as such, and she could only nod, hardly hedging her expression of distrust.
I can't do this. Their eyes were on her's. Hush's daughter and the horse man--she had recognized the word Kirov as something to do with horses, although the word itself did not stick any longer--and she averted her gaze from both of them. “It is... nice to meet you." Delivered through gritted teeth. “I'm going to go for a walk, I think. Let you all catch up. I've got... a headache." She could not help but chastised herself for her behavior, for being so damned awkward with the whole thing.
Which was an understatement. She shifted without waiting for their reaction, and started off in the opposite direction of the train-cars, wanting to get some space.
His eyes were still fresh in her mind, looking at her in a way that only he ever did.
