Post by Akante on Feb 1, 2012 0:19:47 GMT -5
Miss. said:
There had been moments within life where nothing had been known, done or even captured within her mind her senses had hardly captured or caught on to changes. It was a mystery to her how she had become rootless, an unfamiliar shell without much inside of it being moved from every corner of the earth in her tiny eyes and moved to new places crossing the edge of the earth in her fragile world to suddenly be put on a patch of ground and told that she was home. Adjustment hadn’t come and her golden eyes had done nothing but blink. Was it possible numbness and the stress of travelling into the unfamiliar land that had paralyzed her senses? With intensity an electric bolt went through her and it awakened her and her senses, bolting her instincts alive. The angry snapping turtle loosened its grab of her nose, fear and pain drove her toward her den in a whimper but once inside she realized it was empty. She hadn’t expected anything differently but her natural instinct was going to mommy and suddenly there was no mommy. For seconds a numb feeling came over her this time her body alert to the numbness and her brain ticked by to finally awaken her senses. Mom was gone.
She was supposed to feel something. But the numbness simply grew and she didn’t feel the connected to her body or emotions. She tried to blink, closed her eyes tightly shut and open them again. She got the feeling back in her legs only to realize she had lied down and she got up on her feet not wanting to be ridiculous. She left the den and walked to the water again this time not dipping her head down but simply watching the reflection of herself curling in the water, twisting and twirling by the wind. She had been taken from edge to edge and the face of her mother seemed to be distant. Comprehending the sense of time and distance was hard and odd she was not certain how far away her mother but she knew it was too far away for her to ever see her again. She couldn’t remember how long ago it had been they had just pulled her up and away and she had dangled in the mouth of someone and they just ran and ran and ran. Had there even been a mother? Had her mother left her or given her away? So she was an abounded child. For some reason that didn’t cause a chain reaction of confusing and abounding issues but a content feeling of knowing that she had not belonged with her mother. Her mother had not loved her and that was a fairly simple and easy conclusion to come to or at least the best she could come to for a 2 months old pup.
Akeail said:
Sonja moved slowly though El Dorado. Her eyes were open wide, she kept her eyes out for pack-mates and possible intruders. The day was kind of loud, but she still kept her eyes out. She half waddled around, seemingly her paws were taking her some wheres, she didn't know where exactly, but somewhere. After a bit the polecat heard a soft whimper, frowning, she came to terms that it sounded like a pup, when did Rita get a pup? She sighed softly, but something was bothering the little beast. She turned and walked in the shadows, taking her time, she knew that there was little place for the wolf pup to go, so eh. She learned a bit about the pup, other than age, as she walked. The pup was definitely female. She paused and hid in a clump of grass as the pup in question walked past. She moved onto what little of a path there was that the pup followed, and well, followed.
She was quiet for a few moments as she came to a stop behind the much taller pup. She being all of five inches tall, was probably not the best to talk about heights with, everyone was a giant to her. And she was excruciatingly short. After her brief conflict, she moved to the water, she would simply stand next to the wolf pup, her eyes on the water. After a bit she would speak softly, "Whats wrong pup?" She'd churp softly, not really excited, or saddened or anything like that, just gentle and curious. She would lift her head to look at the pup directly, "Is there anything i can help with?" She'd ask again before quickly introducing herself, "My names Sonja," The bright blue eyes met light brown, if not a dark gold set of eyes, this pup was sad, scared, and conflicted. She was more for trying to help the pup get out of this mood, maybe even playful. Sonja would play, she played alone a lot. Maybe the pup needed someone to play with. Someone that she could call friend.
Miss. said:
Being frozen in the simple state of numbness was oddly convenient, she felt sharper and her mind and senses were no longer numb but the opposite. She couldn’t exactly find the right emotion for the things that went through her she was unable to find the trigger to an unstable mind, it had already rooted and manifested into her mind and a simple answer and conclusion seemed to be the solution in form of a sort of denial along with the logic. She had been left but she couldn’t register it, she was unloved and had to create her own love. The trigger she was looking for inside herself had went off silently and only rooted, something that was bound to grow over the years, bound to become a part of a head, her mind and her need for perfection to be recognized and loved. There could be nothing but perfection and it made her a peculiar child that the manifestation began at this point, that the wrath seemed to be, not locked away, but embraced into a state of numbness of just no longer feeling the emotion anymore. It was taken into account that she was unable to feel anger or sadness but she wasn’t sure she needed it. She was fueled by something called perfection.
The idea was just a seed, planted into her mind by the simple idea of becoming recognized and loved. It was sore simple, there was nothing else to it but that. Become something and something of perfection, troublemakers were seen but hushed away she had seen that too much already, the mothers tried to right them and felt shame and what shamed people they hid from others but that was not exactly what she wanted, she wanted something more powerful than that recognition for her perfection, betterment and of course for what she could do. She was not to be recognized as some great leader that was simply not her place, rather it was her place to be recognized by a great leader and rewarded for her perfection in actions. There was just one flaw to the plan. A two months old pup didn’t really know how to achieve perfection. That would have to be her goal then, achieve it, perfect the meaning of it and do it better than anyone ever had. That seemed like her rightful place.
"Whats wrong pup?"
What was that? Her adjusted ears and eyes were watching out for this being that she did not recognize. The nose inhaled the strange scent of unknown, moss and grass and the pack. It belonged here like the sun belonged to all living beings and her puppy age had not yet passed despite whatever conclusion she might have reached or considered, her instincts told her to get up and be defensive. When she had been with her mother her reaction would have been to hide behind her and wait for her to growl the threat away but there was no mother now and so her bristle rose. Not as a warning signal or an aggressive manner but in awareness to the presence of this being she did not recognize. She had seen otters before and this creature reminded her of the otters in the water, but the fur, the built and the scent was not the one of an otter, it was not recognizable to her and her nose vibrated to get in the scent and remember it. ”Nothing particular is wrong. Or maybe something is wrong but I am not keen to tell a stranger.”
She didn’t feel like to be one of those giving her away by simply saying how it all was she didn’t say the last part as if it was a truth, for actually nothing was wrong. She had found herself and her purpose, something most people didn’t do before in their adult lives and even then it was something most didn’t acquire before long after birth and she stood there as 2 months old on the breach of adolescence and knew exactly what she was made for and what she wanted. Whatever life would throw at her she couldn’t lose sight of this. Her wary eyes watched as the creature made a move that made her bristles settle. She simply sat down and looked at her directly throwing out any chance of an aggressive move. Otim gave the move a thought, recoiling with instincts she wanted to keep her defensive pose but curiosity was yet in the young child and soon she sat down as well not exactly sure why she sat down as well when standing was just as well.
"Is there anything i can help with?"
She almost replied in an instant of “No!” but her mouth kept closed as she thought that through. Achieving perfection had never meant to act solo, in the sense that help and “guidance” could be used. However she was not keen to have any glory taken from her but even so she was in need of general information as such that there was no glory in knowing about this pack. It was something everyone of this place could or should be able to help her with so actually this odd creature could help her, she could tell her what she needed knowing of this place, she could tell her how to achieve something. But wording it as such gave off a scent of power and if there was one thing Otim knew it was that everyone wanted power. People would kill and steal all in the glory and name of power it was an idea that had manifested thousands of years ago in the mind of any creature with a certain trait. But it was not power she wanted neither trouble.
"My names Sonja,"
”Sonja..” She took her time to think for just another second and decided the best approach was innocence, curiosity and as a child she had it all. She had to use this to her advantage for as long as she could once she grew into an adult they would question her words if she said just the least bit wrong but as a child she was allowed tiny mistakes. Something she would rid of as soon as possible of course something such as mistakes were to be cut off by the source and she was not particularly interested in having others around her make such mistakes either. No it had to be done as perfectly as possible her childhood would have to serve as practice for perfection then until she could fully achieve it. It was the right thing to do for the purpose of herself and her goal. For her goal there were no limits within this world or the actions and measurements to be taken. She had to plan it carefully. Now how to word oneself…
”Sonja you can help me. I try and understand how this place works, how does one help the pack?”I want to be of service. It was a good and clear message and it was the right handful of truth. She didn’t like serving the brainless and she would have to see that she served those to her own liking who weren’t too dumb to actually recognize her once the time was right to be recognized she had to find out who lead who, who was she to serve in her childhood and who was her main goal? Well obviously the ultimate goal was set from the beginning but she had to measure her steps on the ladder, not walking too far or jumping over a step on the ladder in that sense she needed to be humble in her actions, she had to ensure she did right and took every step right. One wrong step and she would fall and she did not intend to start over. She had to do it perfectly right from the beginning even if the first few steps were broad and secure, they would soon become high and narrow and a constant balance. She would achieve such balance.
Akeail said:
Sonja watched the pup as she seemed to be uneasy with her sudden appearance, not that she was in anyway a threat to the pup, she was heavier than herself by atleast fifteen pounds. Yeah, so no threat, She asked what was wrong, and got a 'riddle' for an answer,
”Nothing particular is wrong. Or maybe something is wrong but I am not keen to tell a stranger.”
She wanted to answer in a riddle, but decided against it, she sat down and sat up, watching the pup with curious and calm eyes, she waited for a moment, watching the pup relax a little as she settled herself into a sitting position, She asked if she could help, even if her answer was a 'riddle' it was obvious something, even just a small something, was bothering the pup, She watched as the pup seemed to bristle slightly before being quiet for a few moments. Sonja took this as a good sign, she would have simply pestered until the truth came out truthfully. With no answer from the pup still, Sonja introduced herself,
”Sonja..”
Sonja watched, her round ears perked with interest as the pup relaxed further,
”Sonja you can help me. I try and understand how this place works, how does one help the pack?”
She let out a few churps,"Good question, good question." She took a breath, "Well, personally i cant exactly help with that, cause im kind of useless on the boarders." She thought a moment, "Well, to help the pack first off," she gave a sympathetic glance, "You've got to be atleast half a year before you can start training for a rank, you can learn of the ranks, and im pretty sure i remember them all." She lifted a paw to her muzzle, using a clawed finger to stroke her chin, "Im a Rigger, which means i make things for the pack," She churped slowly, "The more helpful of ranks would be the Watchman, they accept wolves, and other creatures into the pack." She brooded slightly, thinking of another rank, "There are Sirens, they leave the pack to seduce males to come to the pack, Scoundrels leave the pack to steal from humans." She added quickly, this was a rank she dearly wanted though being a rigger could be fun too. "The Captain, or Alpha, is Rita," she added to the pup, giving her a stern look that meant she needed to know that, and she needed to remember it, "There are Gunners, they are the pack's offense and defense, meaning they beak up fights and they defend the pack when the need arises." She tapped her finger on her chin again, "There are Surgeons, the healers of the pack, Stewards, or stewardesses, they are essentially the pack mothers and fathers, they raise pups..." she frowned suddenly, "I don't think there are any at this time though..." She shook her head finished with most of the ranks now, "Sailors are the unranked, or newly accepted," She looked at the pup next to her, "You'd probably be a Whelp, or pup, and last but not least for the pack ranks, Scallywags are those who have done something to endanger the pack, they can be slaves and or prisoners from other packs." Taking a large breath she tapped her finger on her chin again, "Any questions about ranks? These arn't all of them, but at the moment, they are the important ones." Her blue eyes would show her patience for the pup, hoping that she was actually listening, all of this would help her, specially if she knew what the ranks were. Maybe the pup would even tell Rita that she taught her about the ranks and pack. That should be interesting. She would calmly wait for any questions the pup might have before continuing.
Miss. said:
Otim had not meant to be rude or create any non-understandable riddle for Sonja to crack Otim couldn’t brag with high intelligence, she was no mastermind behind the schemes at this point she was nothing but a child wanting success and only recognizing it as a form of love to be recognized and liked. At this very point it was all she knew and cared about as a child. Her words at the stranger had been a defense mechanism, telling her to not get personal, keep her distance in not asking too much and that Otim did not trust her enough to be one of those openly telling her worries, she did not want to tell her life story, her short time with her mother and how she barely remembered her and her scent, how her presence slowly had faded as she had been a sleep only to wake up in a stranger’s fangs it had made everything seem so unreal, that her mother merely had been a dream and nothing else. She had run and hid and been found and after it all she was not exactly a dream child for anyone. She wish she was worth a lot more than just being that little piece of something that someone had picked up out of mercy.
"Good question, good question."
Otim were no longer on her toes about this creature as she seemed willing enough to actually answer her question and help her. Half a year before she could train for a rank... Just 4 months then, but 4 months was more than enough time to be prepared because she was not going to make a fool out of herself when she stood there. She said nothing as Sonja explained the mere basic ranks and Otim paid attention as she tried to pinpoint something that interested her. Rigger had no interest to her, “making things” did not sound like something she could do nor wanted to do. She was not creative or anything of that sort she didn’t feel as if she was without talents rather that there was missing a position in which she could be useful in. Watchman? No, it didn’t sound like it was good enough and she weren’t interested in a job that required her to be talking alone. Who would ever recognize a watchman for anything great? It sounded like a fifty-fifty thing, if you were a good watchman accepting a lot of people into the pack who would promote you and gain fewer members in because of it? It seemed insane in her eyes that someone would promote a useful watchman unless they were fair and no one was. Out of the question.
"There are Sirens, they leave the pack to seduce males to come to the pack, Scoundrels leave the pack to steal from humans." Sirens were out. She did not intend to “seduce” anyone or even try it, it sounded as such “quality” or ability that she did not even want to know about or how to do it. It was completely out of her category and was very low on her to do list of things she needed to learn about. Scoundrels or basically the thieves were maybe interesting but the very way she was presented to them did make her nose wrinkle upward, if she had not been a small child maybe she would have seen it differently but the sound of stealing and being completely immoral seemed sort of like the wrong direction to go if she wanted to become something. It was not in her intention to be one of those “darn kids” she wanted to be respected and regarded highly if possible one day, so criminal? No thank you.
"The Captain, or Alpha, is Rita," that was useful information. The name did sound familiar actually it seemed to the name of someone she had met or at least heard mentioned before but not as “alpha”. She wrapped her head around it and took a big mental note on the name Rita, intending to try and meet her, find her and impress her once she was half a year old and hopefully Rita would want to see her and obviously Otim couldn’t just walz in and have her look at her do a lot of tricks it had to be more casual, the right place at the right time and her puppy brain was planning several scenarios already before she put it on hold, telling herself that first she needed a rank to work toward, to train and become of the right age, then it was time to plan on how to impress Rita. So far none of the ranks were suited for her, maybe she had to settle with some second best thing?
"There are Gunners, they are the pack's offense and defense, meaning they break up fights and they defend the pack when the need arises. There are Surgeons, the healers of the pack, Stewards, or stewardesses, they are essentially the pack mothers and fathers, they raise pups..."
Taking care of pups would not be her cup of tea or at least she couldn’t see herself in such position, it did sound promising though, being a babysitter would entitle that you did know your homework about the pack and the better you raised someone’s pups the better a reward. Gunner however seemed like brutes but also a way to prove some kind of justice and to show you knew of well and awful, that you could work and work hard. Both were good ranks to prove some worth even if neither of them was really showing up some of her brighter colors and interests but it seemed that Sonja was finished and she did say there were other ranks, but these were the basics then. The few she had to pick between before aiming higher, probably the ranks in control of the others or those closer to the alpha were the ones not mentioned. They were obvious ranks that she could not hope to gain right away, instead her effort would be in picking up knowledge of the pack and learn how to fight and fight well. She listened as Sonja named the sailors and the slaves and her own rank as a whelp. She knew that much of her own rank, that not much was expected of her yet. So be it, she would show that something could be expected of her.
"Any questions about ranks?” She watched Sonja’s blue eyes and the pup did not say or give anything away at this point, Otim had stopped thinking like a child, sure her mind could be chaotic and a little too logical in a puppy like way but she didn’t worry about what was going on in the mind of others, the curiosity was not present anymore as it had been, she had only the interest of finding what she was looking for. Love, affection and reorganization. ”Thanks Sonja. No, no question.”
Akeail said:
As she made sure the pup understood what she was saying, she finally asked if she had any questions, the pup paused for just a moment before replying,
”Thanks Sonja. No, no question.”
"Alright." Sonja took a breath, "Now, the pack, is called El Dorado, it means 'The golden one' in another language." She paused, "I think Rita named it for the Tar pits." She shrugged slightly, "Either way, She expects us, as her underlings, to bring in valuables, or trinkets, thus, why Scoundrels leave the pack to steal from humans." she paused again before looking the pup over, "Just so you know, there are one or two humans in the pack, even a horse." She chuckled dryly, "Then of course me, for the odd balls of the pack." She took a sharp breath, damn, what would shark think of her actually teaching a pup about El Dorado? Who knew, who cared... Shark would probably tell her she told the pup all the wrong things. Shaking off the feeling of doubt that settled over her, she continued, "Being a Multi-Creature, or a mixture of creatures, it weakens us, somewhat, and strengthens us in many ways. Rita expects those in the Sailor rank, get out and start going after ranks as soon as possible." She'd glance at the pup, "Meaning as soon as your six months, you've got to know all about the rank you want so you can go to the recruitment, when and if there's one at the time." She sighed, "Either way, you will be very well off to start working for a rank at six months," Sonja would stop to wink at the pup, "Big koodo's there Kiddo." She stopped, frowning, "By the way, whats your name?" After the pup would tell her name, assuming she did, she would bow her long frame and say, "Nice to meet you Otim." If not she'd just shrug. "Well lets see. What more can i tell you..." Tapping her finger to her chin, she would speak again, "El Dorado shows rank, status and importance through scars, tattoos and accessories, the best, and really, only way to obtain these are if you've done something incredible, and have earned them. Humans, and riggers typically make the accessories and Rita or higher ups will dole them out to whom ever deserves it." she'd churp and tap her fingers counting off what she told Otim, "So, thats ranks, and some facts... Uh. Right..." She looked at the pup almost sympathetically, "Theres a trial you'll undergo, its kind of like an acceptance, and i can't say i know what will happen, cause i really don't." She took a breath, "It could be just questions, but i dont think so. You'll have to prove why you want the rank you want, and prove you can stand on your own." She would look at the pup and ask again, "Any questions? I think thats the last of it for now..."
Miss. said:
She had not yet found the rightful value of herself in this pack, she couldn’t help but wonder whatever or not there was anything here she could do that would prove useful to anyone here, she was feeding up the knowledge given to her and was settled on trying to learn how to fight. A gunner seemed more appropriate than stewardess. She was not awfully great around other children, she didn’t like their whining, their kicking and pushing and disregard of their movements. Who knew how that would change throughout her life, as for now it was the less likely out of the two, she would train to become a gunner and still feed herself with information and if Rita thought she would fit better as a stewardess she wouldn’t fight it but quietly see it as a waste of her own talent. "Alright. Now, the pack, is called El Dorado, it means 'The golden one' in another language. I think Rita named it for the Tar pits." Tar pits? She browsed her memory for it and only one thing came up. Danger. She had never actually seen tar pits but she recalled them being hot, watery yet dangerous, it was something she had heard mentioned but never had explained to her, she had heard threats not directed toward her. Where was it? Oh the trade road. She had been traded off to a tribe, carried and dropped many times over and at one place someone had said they would throw him in the tar pits if he didn’t do his job right.
It was definitely danger. She could only imagine what kind of fluent acid was meant as a sort of treat to anyone who disobeyed them. It was odd how power seemed achieved by the means of things that were not related to them, she had only too often heard someone say “they will kill you if you disobey me” they had servants for everything in life and grew lazy. She could hardly imagine such leader being able to take up a fight or challenge, letting others do the kill for them as it was too difficult for them or like they didn’t want to bother but it would seem that all in all they were afraid. They were Afraid of would could have happened if they opposed, fought back fighting for their life and it scared a king, a queen and so they let the public tear them down and kill them. It was much easier to blame someone else for not doing a good job if they let them escape or lose it didn’t make them look weak after all, they just made the others look like fools for not doing their job right. She couldn’t help but feel resentful of the idea of being one of those to be ordered around by someone else who was too lazy. On the other hand if Rita really did exceed in such laziness it would be the job of someone like Rita to put her to the test, right?
"Either way, she expects us, as her underlings, to bring in valuables, or trinkets, thus, why Scoundrels leave the pack to steal from humans.” There was a lot of talking at this point. More talk about stealing and Otim felt herself growing sort of bored to hear about the pack. Maybe this had been a mistake? They stole they were thieves and made a dishonest living out of it. She had landed into a territory of nothing but thieves and dishonest beings. Great her entire moral system was going to get ruined at some point she could sense that much. She would try and be open minded then, on the other hand would people didn’t hold on to, too well they couldn’t be too fond of. That seemed sort of more right. She apparently had to start thinking like that to get anything done here of value. She kept listening as she explained how humans lived here and a horse, creatures such as herself, weakness and strengths in having so many creatures living here.
”Rita expects those in the Sailor rank, get out and start going after ranks as soon as possible. Meaning as soon as your six months, you've got to know all about the rank you want so you can go to the recruitment, when and if there's one at the time. Either way, you will be very well off to start working for a rank at six months," Otim was still listening, making a pinpoint upon the part of recruitment as she would want to remember that for the future in some months. She would need to train for that, need to be prepared to go up for a gunner’s recruitment. She could very well expect to be told to spar or fight someone and so she would have to be perfect. A recruitment was meant to collect new members into a rank however Otim wanted to exceed all expectations, be seen and watched for how well she did, she could not settle for second best in any fight. Second best was just not the best.
"Big koodo's there Kiddo. By the way, whats your name?” Her eyes moved up to the blue ones, for moments not saying anything before deciding that it was best to have that cleared out, she needed her name to get around anyway. ”Otim.” At one point in life it would be the name everyone would recognize. She watched as the odd creature bowed and she returned the movement not wanting to seem hateful toward her. If that was custom she had to get used to bowing to others despite seriously not liking the feeling or the taste she got in her mouth. "Nice to meet you Otim. Well let’s see. What more can i tell you... El Dorado shows rank, status and importance through scars, tattoos and accessories, the best, and really, only way to obtain these are if you've done something incredible, and have earned them. Humans, and riggers typically make the accessories and Rita or higher ups will dole them out to whom ever deserves it.” So she had to get all fashionable? That seemed right out odd, but she could live with that, so the more stuff she had dressed up in the higher a status she had? Scared would probably be obtained well enough in fights she couldn’t imagine not getting a few on the way to the top. The rest had to be obtained by the high ranks then. She nodded her puppy attention was starting to run out but she was forcing herself to focus and listen at this point, she had to grow up faster, 4 months was hardly any time at all to become the best fighter in the pack.
"So, thats ranks, and some facts... Uh. Right... Theres a trial you'll undergo, its kind of like an acceptance, and i can't say i know what will happen, cause i really don't. It could be just questions, but i dont think so. You'll have to prove why you want the rank you want, and prove you can stand on your own. Any questions? I think thats the last of it for now..."
A trial? Sounded just like the thing she needed for Rita to see that she was the best choice for anything and that she deserved to be here. She couldn’t mess it up though on the other hand there was no way she could mess any of it up, she was definitely going to succeed there simply couldn’t be any other way for this to go but her being the best in whatever tests was thrown at her. ”I will succeed the test.” She spoke with confidence and security there was no hint of doubt in her words. She knew it and soon the others would know as well. She was not made to fail her entire being was created and shaped to succeed and be perfect, it was nothing but arrogance that strove her toward being so certain in herself but then again who wasn't arrogant in this world? She didn't overplay her arrogance she just had confidence in herself, something they would soon admire in her. To trust herself and her worth.