[. No need to be alone. .] [. Closed .]

[petzisme]

(sorry if this is trippy... I was really tired)

The wild canine haunched her shoulders lightly as the evening breeze became more fierce. It whipped through the trees with a swooshing holler and nipped at her rump with no regard for tenderness nor personal space. While already a relatively small creature, as far as members in the Canidae family went, the violet one some how managed to make herself appear smaller. She scrunched a little tighter to protect her inners from the onslaught, tail fluffing to its fullest and coiling around the majority of her lower body.

Funny how only twenty minutes ago the raging winds were strong enough to make her rocky home unstable, yet still gentle and warm enough to only give the average passerby a light chill. Now, it seemed to double its efforts, for cold was beginning to trickle down to the bone. Of course, as they sunk ever deeper into darkness, the earth cooled and brought with it, more powerful allies. The true power of the thorn: it grows.

Signs of the increasing speed were everywhere, from the highly audible sound to the way it ripped some small, green petals from their summer homes. Some fought fruitlessly with their invisible foe to remain in the twig's warm embrace, but others acknowledged their fate and released their confines to go on to bigger and maybe even better things. Aroha's blue eyes watched as the leaves rained down slowly upon the forested ground, the rich emerald shade hardly visible in the moonlight.

A few were collected by their unseen foe and charted away to some distant place, but others were allowed to fall close to their mother trees in delicate swirls. Her focus had shifted from her companion to nature in that brief moment, leaving her unaware to the small leaflet that perched weightlessly upon one shoulder. That is, until an eggshell muzzle with teal lining started drifting towards her. Instantly her eyes settled back on the male with a confused expression.

Occasionally, particularly eager company had been known to get overly affectionate with her rather fast in her meetings, so when the Selkian decided to drop his head very close to her own, it was almost natural of her to assume he was after something. She froze, entire form growing rigged and her lips almost pulling back in a snarl... but then he withdrew and she realized his true motive. A leaf on her shoulder. How chivalrous. Slowly, the fox relaxed and a smile found it's way to her maw, while she nodded approvingly towards the nervous question on his handsome face. Aroha even took it a step further and leaned forward a little to lick the side of his maw with two long, slow flicks to show her gratitude, then listened to his statement before replying with her own... serious concerns now imbedded in their word play.

"Perhaps, but then what greater gardener is there, but Mother Earth, herself: growing every rose and supporting them on her life force? What happens when that bond is broken? Should the new guardian strive to reconnect that flower back to the nature in a new light, where he can rejoice in its wild splendor... or should he forget the rose, allowing it to wither and die, so that he may gather the seeds for a future crop?"

[theeraven]

[Modified upon request of the loverly Petzi, didn't mean to confuse you fluff. -licks-]

Nature was unleashing her wrath upon the forest such as an insurgent upon the helpless bystanders in a war. Daetien and the fox could do nothing for the fragile fronds as the winds lashed at them, tearing them from their wildly shifting branches. Daetien was amazed by how fast the storm had blown in, for not so long before he’d found himself here with the vixen, the night air had been cool and the breezes still. Now they faced the merciless forces of nature in all of their violent glory.

Then as he pulled back from her, spitting out the leaf, leaving that questioning gaze across his face Daetien was both taken aback and surprised by her actions. Slowly she’d reached across and lapped quickly twice at his muzzle. Nothing more than gratuital licks, but still Daetien couldn’t help feeling a flicker of emotion within his mind. Steely blues watched as she flashed him an approving nod before settling back on her haunches like before.

A bright flash overhead, caused Daetien to jerk his head only just in time to see lightning split the sky in two with it’s silent eggshell etchings. Not three seconds later thunder cracked loudly all around the two of them. Daetien peered over the violet vixen almost protectively but let the thought slip from his features immediately. He didn’t want to go off half-cocked just because he feared for her and believed that she was in danger sitting out in the barrage of nature. She was a fox, wild and free, she could very well take care of herself without the need of the large alabaster and turquoise canine in front of her. Daetien did not intend to go all sorts of overprotective toward her in the grips of natures fury and make her believe that he was a psychopath.

Still, he watched over her, gazing near and around her, his steely blue eyes tracing the contours of her feminine violet curves. After a few seconds he allowed his gaze to find it’s way back to her enchanting features and let them rest upon her eyes once more. The fact that she had not snarled, or worse, bitten him when he removed the stray leaf from her shoulder both satisfied and pleased him all the same. Daetien was beside himself with the pleasure of it all. He watched her features as they’d curled back in a smile and the corners of his own lips pulled back in a grin just the same.

When her melodic velvety voice caressed his ears once more, Daetien listened ever intently to each and every syllable with the fullest of his attention. He read over each of them carefully, noting that she had a beautiful manner of speaking. She took time to word her answers and each of her replies was enough to explain to Daetien and leave him guessing at the same time. It was wonderful and he was so pleased of the whole thing. Again he waited for her to finish before he gave his answers to her once more.

“In all actuality, I believe the rose is best left to her own devices in the wild. Still, One such as I would go one protecting, sowing, watering, and caring for the beautiful thing until the end. The beauty of said rose is something to be protected, loved, and cherished beyond all measures.” Daetien smiled softly at this metaphorical statement. Of course he would care for her and protect her with his life... if she would let him. Daetien would not, could not ever keep her captive, would never try and control her life. After all, she being a fox meant that she was exactly what it meant to be wild and he would never take that way from her. It reminded him of something he was told by a Torquehelmian once: "I'm like a wild stallion, I can not be tamed. But if you leave that pen open and offer me a bit of grain, I'll come in for a nibble every day. Close the gate and I'll jump the fence and you'll never see me again." Daetien held true to those words. She was the wild and he could not tame her. He wouldn't want to.

[petzisme]

Clack!! Sssssszt! Something bellowed into the crisp night air, making the wailing wind seem like whispers in comparison. Seconds before it, a brilliant flash of pearly white set the navy sky ablaze, while the beam shot down towards the Earth and vanished into some distant unknown. Or was it really the distant lands from which the lightening erupted and scattered across a thicket of clouds? It moved far to fast for canine eyes to determine the start and finish, only that it stretched between to points for a fraction of a second, and then it was gone. Silence followed immediately the visual display, until the sound of the blast caught up with it and let out its ear splitting roar fashionably late.

Long, violet ears flicked softly at the noise. Their owner fancied she could feel the blast reverberating in the air all around her as she and her pale companion sat like two stone figures in the night, being assailed relentlessly by the storm's fierce blows. It seems even the forest around them could not be a formitable barrier against the onslaught. She sighed softly, the chill starting to make her even more uncomfortable, especially while she sat there unmoving. Aside from that, exhaustion was slowly working its way back into her conscious, another part of her mind gently reminding her that sleep was of the essense... and her entire reason for meandering around the City. If that wasn't enough, the light throb in her head had returned now, making her feel ill- dizzy.

The female yipped gently, unable to fluff any further with her summer coat and finally gave into the weather went another clasp of thunder roared. She leaned forward onto her forepaws and drifted across the damp grasses with such an elegant grace, that she might have been floating. Even with the wind baggering her form, the fox managed to flow across it in almost pure darkness, her medium blue eyes glowing red. She padded directly past the larger one casually, her body pressing against his ever so faintly as she did so, with her tail trailing along his chin the rest of the way until she had passed him by entirely. Once a few feet behind him, she paused and twisted only her head back, ears flicking as she processed his words. She spoke nothing in return at first, only let her deep eyes carry the message for her... two small beacons glowing through the darkness on a dark, velveteen body. Follow me. They screamed, as if longing to seek shelter before any more discussion could be had.

Her look only lingered long enough for him to catch it and understand, then she turned back around and started off into the night, using only her intuition and her natural senses as her guide through the outskirts of the city in the wee hours of the morning. She knew of an empty, abandoned shop down one of the side streets in town that could serve as a more accomodating place until Nature decided to be nicer to them both. It wasn't heated or anything special, but it would be an lovely break from the wind.

[theeraven]

Daetien’s ears flexed back as close to his skull as they were permitted to go. Anything to provide any manner of protection from the fury of the wind. Mother Nature’s airy steeds were in a frenzy around as they bucked, kicked, and made a general raucous. The two of them seated in the middle of gale, tail over paws could do little about the wrath being invoked upon their sensitive ears, eyes, and noses. Daetien blinked softly as dust threatened his eyes, stirred up by a particularly strong gust. Tucking his chin a bit further and ruffling his fur as much as he could he tried with all of his effort to resist the chill.

Efforts in vain, Daetien’s frame racked with chills as shivers were sent cascading down his spine all the way to the tip of his lengthily furred tail. Thunder cracked once more overhead and the sheer loudness of it all stung his finely-tuned eardrums. Anyone could plainly see now that the two canines were chilled to the bone, visibly shivering now. He knew she was cold. It wasn’t like him to let another suffer at his expense. But before he could say anything, the vixen rose to all fours once again and moved off past him. When she was near his side he could just feel the most minute pressure as she leaned on to him most subtly. Craning his neck, he turned to watch her walk away, the tip of her tail passing just under his chin. Daetien’s skin was renewed with a whole new set of goosebumps at the caress.

His steely blue eyes caught hers as she turned back quickly, gazing directly into his visage. He got the idea. It was well time to get out of the storm and seek shelter from nature’s unrelenting barrage. Daetien too rose silently, shuddering again as he turned to follow those violet curves into the darkness. Keen sight traced along the silhouette in front of him from the pyramid-like ears down to her shoulder blades. From there he ran his sights down her spine over her hips, stopping at last to watch her delicate paws as they maneuvered lightly over the soil. Apparently she knew where she was going. Daetien wasn’t complaining, and for the moment, he followed in silence.

[Spiderfly]

Petzi and Raven both receive 1 token each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe. This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe. Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!

[petzisme]

(So sorry for the delay, dearie.)

Lithe paws picked their way through the darkness at a slow, but constant rate. It wasn't that she was having a particularly hard time finding her way, but the female did not wish to leave her companion in the dust. Her blue eyes glowed an intense red when the moonlight reflected off of them in just the right way and her angular pupils dialated just enough for her to see with relative ease in the poor light. Granted, she was not a Spade, who were capable of seeing anything in black and white with exquistite clarity, but she did have a crespuscular predator's vision.

Merciless gales ripped through the wooded areas fiercely and were almost doublefold as the trees thinned. The closer she drew to the city, the harder it became for her to hold herself firmly to the ground. It was true that all Cards were relatively the same size and about as large as Earth's biggest of all cats, but even with that weight on her paws, Nature's invisible rage was a force to be reckoned with. She weaved along the grounds in such a way as to place a tree, bush or building between her and the Wester'ly breeze, but there were still portions were she felt she would become the next Dorothy. Damn shame she didn't start in Kansas.

Her glance only shot back at Dae once throughout the entire ordeal to make sure he was still behind her as they made it to town and she turned down several short and somewhat "sketchy" side streets in rapid succession. Her pace had increased once she saw the dim streetlights and the faint glow of candles beyond some windows were people either always left a light on, or had risen in the night to use the facilities. There would be no other reason Aroha could fathom any Card to willing go out in this storm. Her tail flicked in aggitation, though the moment was even more sensual then her typical sway now that it moved at sharper angles and forced her hips to flow with it. Aside from that, she rippled with the wind, contorting so her long, thin muzzle guided her way through it and cut it around her, paws digging firmly into chilled soils in order to gain ground.

After what felt like ages, she finally found what she was looking for. It was at the corner of a dark building with a single door overseeing the very end of the alleyway, an overhang half torn off and dangling before it as signs of weather abuse and overall abandonment. The wood creaked, even from this distance, but the foundation was stable enough for the two floors it contained, considering it was directly connected to several, more stable structures surrounding it that had new paint jobs and signs of recent use. One might stop to wonder why this one was never touched, but then again, one didn't kick a gifted horse in the mouth.

Aroha smiled softly and raced the rest of the way down the narrow street to the small entrance way. The broken canopy partially concealed the door, but she knew it was there. She poked her nose forwards until it vanished into a small grove on the wall. After a few moments a rummaging, she seemed to find a whatever she was looking for a little click chirped over the storm for just a second, then the front door creaked open an inch. She grinned a little, but didn't tarry any longer. Pulling back from the tiny, near invisible hole, the vixen nosed the door open swiftly, then ducked inside. Coming? Her airy, mysterious voice called back to Dae from within the portal.

[theeraven]

[. O.O.C. - Going through a LOT right now, sorry it took so long babe. I am not feeling at all well. Sorry if it sounds stupid, I did my best. My eyes hurt from crying so much. I am gonna go lay down. .]

[. I.C. .]

Daetien followed her exquisite form through the darkness, over the rough forest terrain, gazing silently after her. His steely blues carried after her lithe paw steps and peered watchfully into the trees, almost as if half expecting something, some monster of sorts to come barreling their way as it sought some sort of shelter for itself. Still, Daetien knew within that all of the forest dwelling creatures would be holed up in their cozy little nooks and crannies waiting out nature’s fury. Perhaps he’d been foolish to wander about aimlessly this night, foolish to sit here in metaphorical conversation with the fox when he could have high-tailed it back to his den under the ancient dogwood tree and followed suit with the others in waiting out the storm. Still, he was here. The cold reality of it all made quite evident by the wrathful force of wind as it snarled all around him and sunk its fangs into his tender skin.

Overly large paws graced the ground in succession with a quickness that screamed his enthusiasm to be rid of the wind and out of the storm. He was glad the two of them were well on their way to finding a place to shelter away from the bitter gusts all around. A crackle of thunder overhead caused Daetien to wince slightly. The clouds were probably too thick for him to see the high lightning now. Daetien pulled his ears back against his skull as another strong gust threatened the two canid forms as they trekked through the silence. The promise of warmth and stillness caused Daetien to traipse onward without care at the bitter cold.

Passing through the shadier side of town, Daetien hovered next to her like a sort of bodyguard, keep steely blue eyes peering in all directions for any manner of threat. When she took off, Daetien quickened his pace and followed her with all haste, never leaving her side for a minute. When they had reached the building, he paused as she momentarily disappeared from his line of sight. Daetien’s heart beat quickened, having her in there alone made him slightly nervous. But before he could call out to her to ensure she was safe he heard the click of the door and watched it swing inward. Softly she called out to him and Daetien was more than happy to oblige his companion as he stepped over the dilapidated threshhold into the darkness.

The large canine could feel her warmth next to him, her soft breathing. His sensitive ears picked up the steady beat of her heart that showed her willingness to dive right in unafraid. Daetien was pleased, she seemed fearless. Though she didn’t need him to look after her, he was bound to her now in the manner than she had shown him to the shelter, and he was going to protect her as much as she would let him for doing so. The night was turning out to be something entirely different than he had expected when his large paws had found themselves carrying him off on yet another of his late night wanderings. Something else entirely indeed, though he couldn’t say it was a bad thing. She made him feel good, he liked her company and though Daetien expected nothing to come of their meeting, it had proven more than he was expecting already.

Leaving her side, his sniffed his way across the heavily dusted floor, sneezing once as he explored their newly acquired shelter. The walls were paneled in something that appeared to be cedar, which was warped and peeling in places. The floor was tarnished, scratched, and smudged hardwood with notches, nicks, and scrapes all over the place. The windows were intact but covered with dust. To the left was an old unused fireplace encumbered with pieces of burnt timber and a large pile of ash beneath the grate. To the right was an old overstuffed sofa on top of a long Persian-looking rug, both next to a narrow wooden staircase that Daetien could only think probably led to the attic, while four large pillows lay next to a window on the right side of the fireplace. They were a bit dusty but looked comfortable and relatively unused. Daetien padded over the dusty floor toward the pillows and with his nose pushed them closer together before gazing questioningly back at the vixen. A crackle of thunder could be heard out side while the steady tink, tink of rain off the windows found its way to Daetien’s ears.