Instinct by Law- RP

[Tabitha Canario]

Dark shadows covered most of the forest floor as the tall trees blocked the moonlight that strained to peek its light on the figure racing through the darkness below. A glimpse here and there cast a grayish silver spark that shined through the branches overhead, no noise recognizable except the whispering of the creatures that scurrying out of the path of the enormous beast padding silently through their territory.


"'She's Coming..."' They quietly spoke to others as their voices began to spread to the next animal closest in hearing range.


"'Run before she gets us!"' Some quipped in alarm as the Smokey Beast drew closer to some trees and bushes hiding small inhabitants unable to climb to safety.


As more and more animals ran for their survival and others hid in their protective dens, the beast sprinted on, ignoring all around her as her sharpened eyesight stayed on the road she drove through with her massive furred body. Her paws enhanced with long claws for tearing apart her enemies and prey, padded lighter and faster as she gained speed, turning her body into a barely visible blur to all who was gifted with nocturnal vision. Her body, though massive in size, was slim and covered in the ashen color that gleamed starlight in the moons radiance while otherwise turned to shadows in the darkness of the trees. With a powerful jaw to snap her prey's necks easily and with razor sharp fangs to chew through the toughest of muscles and bone without a thought, the beast tore at branches in her way and snapped at creatures brave enough to come into her sight. Her eyes though once a brilliant sea green were now an addicting honeyed yellow with shards of hunter green surrounding the slitted pupil that searched for the one it hunted and tracked with the sensitive snout at the end of her long muzzle. Her flowing tail twice as long as her sleek body trailed behind her like the wind blowing softly against her fur. Long ears lay flat against her head as the beast tried to rid the voices of others around her and focus on the sound of her wildly beating heart thumping within her chest.


"Where are you Kaleb? I don't have time for games..." a voice as soft as a feather and as sweet as peaches called into the night, reaching a pair of reddish blonde ears a ways away.


"Oh but sister I was merely just talking a run through the forest to easy my inner beast. Nothing more than that." A warmer huskier toned reply filled the air around her, making her turn sharply to the east where the voice was perceived the loudest.


In no less than a minute the enormous creature burst into a clearing filled with moonlight and tall knee high green grass that came up no taller than to her ankles. On the otherside of the clearing was an auburn blonde wolf a head taller than she was. Upon spying the male, the female wolf's fur shimmered to life matching the other's reddish coat. With eyes the same color as her own and a tail just as long, the two were identical now. The female snarled at the larger male in front of her and bared her sharp fangs at him in anger. The male was sitting on his hind legs calmly, his head held up toward the full moon above them as he merely ignored the female.


"Calm down Sam. I was merely taking a walk." He barked at her in a firm even tone, showing his assertiveness to the other wolf.


The female snarled again more venomously as she took a step forward, her fur along her spine and tail held straight into the air behind her raised in rage as she rose to the challenge from the male and not backing down submissively.


"Don't call me that! My name is Samirah, damn it!" She spat out with a snap of her teeth at the end for emphasis.


"But I love calling you that! It fits your rough tomboy attitude." Kaleb practically purred as he made a soft growling sound, egging her on as he ignored her challenge.


Samirah growled at the larger wolf and lifted her head in the air defiantly as she turned her huge body around and began to walk away, knowing it would irritate the male.


"At least I know how to fight properly Mr. Gray!" she spat back out over her shoulder, drawing a bark like growl from her brother as the insult took root.


"I know how to fight!" he snarled back at her retreating form as he stood up and trotted after her, his tail whipping viciously behind him in an irritated twitching.


Unknown to either of them, a pair of eyes watched with curiosity down wind from them......


(Anyone can jump in here! )

 

[AllHailDago]

Zaleth looked down upon the pair of bickering Wolflings from a copse above. He watched them banter back and forth as he stroked the scar that ran through his icy blue left eye, over his nose and down through his lips to his chin. He did this whenever he was either concentrating or nervous. His hands were currently elongated slightly as he was half changed into his tiger state. His fingers were long and ended in sharp claws that could cut through bones and flesh alike. He pondered whether or not to follow them. He had picked up an uncanny pass time of simply stalking other changelings for sport. He never actually does them any harm by it, he just wants to see how long it takes certain ones to realize he is following them. Thus through fun he increases his own abilities and those of the people he is following.


He has been following these two for two weeks and they have yet to have a clue about him. He decided that if they did not realize it tonight he would simply allow himself to be seen. They lost their last chance and he has decided to show himself. Maybe even become friends with them. Zaleth makes friends quite easily as his personality is friendly towards anyone who doesn't directly insult him or anyone or thing he cares about. Oh or if they take his food he gets mad too. Zaleth leaps down from the copse landing silently as a moth dying in a flame. He then turns the falling energy into a light roll and stands up. Most might mistake him for somewhere between the ages of seventeen and nineteen, but really he is about seventy five years old. This isn't old at all for his race where many live to be four to five hundred. He is considered little more then a teenager like those he looks like. Although he has much battle experience and work experience many others in his clan outrank him by much. He is in the age range of those who go off to roam the world alone and do as they please as most of the solders clansmen have done. It allows them to get all of their unintelligent thoughts and drives out young as to better serve the clan. He has another thirty years of doing as he pleases and so he will.


He crouches down on all fours and begins the full transformation into his tiger state. Suddenly his clothes tear and all of his body begins to sprout and grow long thick orange and black hairs. As they grow longer patterns ranging from raging infernos, striking lightning storms, and crashing waves appear all throughout his coat. A tail of about one and a half feet long with a rounded end stretched from the bottom of his spine. Whiskers grow from his face and white tufts sprout from his cheeks. His eyes change from blue to green and the scar becomes even more protruded. His feet and hands become paws and his claws grow longer and sharper. As the transformation is completed in a matter of about seven seconds Zaleth Manth has become a killing machine rated as on of the most powerful and feared in the world. He has more muscle then five humans and can jump a distance of fifteen or more feet in a single leap while running. He can now run somewhere between fifty and seventy miles an hour depending and can eat a hundred pounds of meat with relative ease. With all this in mind he silently runs off in chase of the two wolves who have yet to realize his presence.

 

[Tabitha Canario]

(That was perfectly fine! I like your detail too.)


Kaleb followed his sibling back into the forested area, his ears slightly flicked back to hear any unwanted sounds. He had felt an unusual presence lately but had tossed it off as his sister who usually made his nerves stand on end. This had been going on for two weeks now seeing as they had taken a trip three weeks prior to investigate their territory borders and were on their way back. He had planned on going alone, not wanting to be bombarded with the packs usual playfulness or the hassle of trying to control the younger pups from chasing off possible prey but Samirah had followed him almost as soon as she had discovered he had set off by himself and would constantly try to irritate him. Even now that they were traveling back to their den, he still tried to roam alone but she had tracked him well and found him every time no matter the patter he used to dislodge her. He had given up on this last trick and decided it was best to keep her close so as to not anger his father again for abandoning her without her own pack. She was a good hunter and a good tracker like most of their kind but she was still slightly a pup in terms of their kind and had yet to fully wonder like a rogue.


"Why are you not trying to run from me now?" her voice intruded his mind as she came to a halt just in front of him, her head turned to look at him with curiosity and suspicion.


Kaleb barked with laughter and brushed past her, his shoulder nudging hers in a gesture to keep moving.


"I'm already in enough trouble with father as is with disappearing without proper pack or guard. I don't need him finding out I left you out here alone." he growled with a sharp intake of breath at the end.


The wind shifted suddenly then, changing its once northern course now back south and along with that the scent of feline. Samirah and Kaleb both froze as they sniffed the air, their muzzles lifted to get a better whiff of their visitor. The smell of wood smoke nearly choked their sensitive sense of smell but the faint hint of apples drew their attention much sharper than the first scent. It was the beginning of spring and apples had yet to even begin to blossom in their region, making both of the reddish blonde wolves to turn back in the direction they had come, their bodies curling around another facing opposite directions so as to not be ambushed from behind. Samirah's greenish gold gaze searched with a vicious iciness into the darkened woods as her paws flexed and dug her razor sharp claws into the ground in preparation of a fight, while Kaleb gazed about almost tediously, his own golden green orbs looking dully at every shadowed space he could see and into every tree branch in search of their feline friend.

 

[AllHailDago]

As Zaleth strutted in his tiger form like the true king of the jungles tigers were, not those wimpy lions, he noticed that the wind changed slightly and he noticed his scent drifted off in the direction of the two he was play stalking. A mistake he had made purposefully as to make sneaking up on them more fun. As he looked through a bush onto the two he began circling them and found himself downwind of them again. As he did he looked onto them in curiosity, he had never seen their kind in person. Yes of course stories had been told of their kind but stories and reality hardly ever looked the same. As they realized his scent from upwind they began to act very alert looking all around and watching every angle. Too bad they'd never see what was coming next. As they searched he backed up about thirty feet and then ran full speed, jumping fifteen feet through the bushes and landing about five feet from the female as to give some safe room. Then he yelled in the common tongue that all the people and creatures of the world speak, "BOO!"

 

[Tabitha Canario]

When the tiger landed near Samirah, it wasn't long before her claws were fully unsheathed and striking out toward the oncoming threat. The words startled her at first making her large paw hesitate for a second and miscalculating how far the feline really was but still stuck to her attack, barely landing her paw on the tigers right shoulder blade, leaving light scratches behind in its wake. Kaleb turned toward this possibly enemy and growled viciously, never one to like being surprised but his eyes soon glowed with interest as they landed on the form of his foe. He did have a slight curiosity about felines though most they knew were always trying to ambush them and wipe our their packs. Samirah was of the opposite mind of her brother though and began to take steps back from the couple inches bigger feline with her fangs bared and her growls loud to tell the tiger that she was not pleased.


"Who are you and why are you on the Eastern Lands?" Kaleb snarled at him in the same human tongue both species knew, his tail whipping behind him like a snake slithering in the water.


"And why are you following us?!!!" Samirah nearly spat out as her eyes stared lividly at the male before her, copying her brothers motions with her own tail though raising it slightly to be above her back to show she meant business and not play.

 

[AllHailDago]

Zaleth took the strike to his shoulder in stride. He had suffered worse and his pain threshold was extremely high as was all of his kinds. He watched as both reacted to his presence. The female was obviously unhappy with his trick and more afraid then she let on. The male just looked, well he looked curious honestly. It was as though they both had the same track of mind as to wonder what the other was like. Zaleth sat and curled in to lick his wound, better safe then sorry, and clean it. After giving them both a moment to realize he wasn't threatening them in anyway he turned back to them. He looked at each.


"Well first i would like to apologize for scaring you.", he nodded at the female, " I am Zaleth Manth of the Tiger Clan. And to answer your questions. My kind have a stage of their lives where almost all we do is impulse based and general the most hectic and filled with odd stories. When we his this stage the elders send us off into the world to fulfill our impulses and get it out of our system before coming back to do our duties in our clan. I am of that age. And as to why I am here is simple. I have this small intrigue as to see how well I can avoid notice from other species. I heard that the Wolves were some of the best trackers and most alert of all so I had to try to see how long i could pull it off. You were the first one's I saw when I crossed into your lands so I picked you. I have been following you for two weeks and got bored having gone obviously unnoticed. So I decided I would allow myself to be seen. This whole scare you thing I thought up last second when I felt the wind change and knew that you'd know I was coming. Just as previously said, impulsive. Lastly, if I have offended you in any way I wish to apologize wholesomely." After finishing Zaleth finished he bowed his head and shoulders while keeping his eyes on those he was looking at. A gesture of respect in his clan.

 

[Tabitha Canario]

Kaleb relaxed a bit at the introduction and grinned wolfishly, his tongue lapping out onto the side of his bottom jaw as he sat on his haunches and slowly wagged his tail in a friendly manner most obvious to others. His ears perked at the mention of other wolves and he snorted as he heard that they had been tracked for two weeks.


'I knew something was wrong. Stupid sister getting my instincts and senses all messed up,' he thought to himself as he glanced at his sibling in annoyance before looking back at the Tiger named Zaleth with interest.


Samirah on the other hand only got more defensive as the hair along her back and the nape of her neck raised in irritation. Her long reddish tail twitched with her vexation while her ears and green eyes stayed focused on Zaleth. As soon as she was far enough away she finally sat down though the hair never settled back down and her gaze never tore from the male tiger. She was mad at herself for not noticing sooner the possible threat on their lives and also the stupidity that she had instilled without bringing her pack with her still being a younger adult barely out of pup status. She was also infuriated with her sibling who also had not noticed the Males presence in the last two weeks. She really wasn't mad at the tiger himself but she was still not very trusting with felines ever since a rogue clan of that same species decided they wanted to over throw the current wolf changeling ruler of the Eastern Kingdom. She didn't know how many times she had faced off with one of their kind and almost lost her life in a struggle but she was not going to let this one if he was trying to trick them, get the better of her. With that she lifted her paw that she had struck him with and licked the slight blood that had gotten onto her fur.


"We also have a similar tradition though we are usually placed in packs for protection and left to either climb the ranks or separate and go rogue." Kaleb's calmed husky voice rang around the area they were in as the wind continued to breeze through and ruffle their coats.


"We forgive you, but I am sure you will have to win over my dearest sibling," he added after he cast another glance at Samirah who just sat, looking relaxed and at ease though he knew she was guarded and ready to pounce if the tiger even so much as moved.


"Win over can be easily done but all I wish is for you to merely show me that I can trust you and not have to guard my hind or throat from your larger claws." she purred in a sweet way, her voice very soft but with a hint of deadly promise should he try to do the latter.


Kaleb rolled his eyes at her but offered another grin at Zaleth, ears going slightly lazy as one stayed cocked toward the tiger and the other lowered to the side facing his shoulder, the pair making a L shape.


"She tends to be a bit grouchy when someone sneaks up one her," he commented with a grunt of rumbled laughter from his chest, his tail making a thumping sound on the grassy ground.


Samirah growled at her brother in a warning tone but other wise ignored him and spoke again to Zaleth.


"I don't like surprises that's true but I don't like being stuck with my brother for more than an hour more." she yipped with mean intent getting the reaction she wanted and purring slightly in pleasure; Kaleb's yelp of protest and his tail to stop wagging.

 

[AllHailDago]

Zaleth listened intently without moving watching both with an expression of obvious curiosity. He twitched his ears back and forth as they finished speaking. "Well as i don't know your names i will reply as i can. To you Male Wolf, thank you for the hospitality and I say I completely understand the way that female family members act quite often. It is no problem. As to you female I will give you the best gesture I can to prove my honesty and inhostility. I will transform to my human from and then I could not hurt you nearly any before you could both over power me." After saying such Zaleth leaned back and began to change. It took all of seven seconds again and when he was finished he stood at his full, powerful, scarred six foot human form. He also stood completely naked. He had forgotten his clothes nearby in the bushes. Granted he had no fear of being naked, as he was "well endowed" enough to know attracting a mate in any clan in the world would not be a problem. But being nude in human form in front of company he had no idea of the customs of, and in front of a female to boot was quite a problem. "Oh, my apologies. I forgot about this.", he said quickly. Then he turned and ran into the bushes he grabbed the spare clothes he brought, a loose fitting pine green t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans. He never wore shoes or socks or underwear. It was for convenience and training both. After he finished dressing he ran back into the clearing and sat in place on the ground after turning a few circles first. "I hope this is fine and a acceptable gesture of good will." He said in his basso voice.

 

[Tabitha Canario]

"Forgive our manners," Samirah replied immediately and flattened her ears in a show of embarrassment as she forgot her anger and let her own guard down.


In a matter of seconds she was transformed also fully nude in her natural state. Her hair of the same reddish blonde as her fur in her beast form hung in loose curls around her shoulders reaching her hips wildly and covering most of her creamy pale skin that shined slightly with perspiration that comes with shifting. She did not run or cover herself though, the thought of modesty only present when she was at court with the other nobles she had been raised with and not when among others her kind in the wild. She had also been use to being nude from being with pack having had to strip clothing many times with them all and sometimes even sleeping in small areas together for warmth like the pack they were. Her once golden green eyes were now a full sea green in color and glowed slightly with the night vision her kind were blessed with and looked upon Zaleth in a more friendly gesture. She only came up to Zaleth's shoulder though, being only five foot and eight inches in height but quite curvaceous in the hips and torso area having been blessed from the above with a proper woman's body. The sight of Zaleth had been pleasant but not foreign and they had never brought clothes with them, usually staying in their beast forms as much as possible when out on their own to avoid others.


"My name is Samirah. Most call me Samie though since it is sometimes hard to remember." she purred in a gentle tone as she stepped forward barefoot and outstretched her arm and hand in a hand shake to offer peace.


Kaleb followed his sister and Zaleth's way, shifting almost instantly with the practiced ease of his years and looking much like his sister. He had the same reddish blonde hair though it was layered and feathered everywhere in slightly wavy curls around his head and teasing the nape of his neck. His eyes darkened to a deep emerald in color with a golden ring in the middle, his lashes long and thick like his siblings. He stood close to Zaleth's height though short only two inches. He was well muscled though not like those rampaging morons who looked like their arms were going to consume their heads, as well as the abs that over took their stomachs. Kaleb had a flat smooth waist with a broad built chest, his legs fitting right and strong with the rest of his body. He also didn't mind his nudity though he knew it could be strange to the tiger who seemed a bit sheepish in this own show of proud manhood.


"My name is Kaleb, Kale for short. Sorry about not giving our names. It has been some time since we have had to use our manners, having been out for nearly twelve years with people who already knew us." he spoke in a warm baritone, his lips pulling into a similar wolfish smirk he had bestowed in his beast form.


"We do not care for clothing so much when out here though I do warn you to have at least bottoms on when you enter an Eastern village. The humans in this region as very modest and have more innocent thoughts than us creatures who are use to the natural state we are born in. You may or may not choose to wear clothing with us but i dare say you will need it if you are not use to cold nights." he added as his smirk widened more, showing pearly white teeth with much larger canines than a human should have.

 

[AllHailDago]

"Well, thank you for the advice and kindness. And yes I am familiar with the customs of humans. Who by the way are terrible stalking material I must say. And I am very used to cold nights and have spent many. I am not normally as shy about myself but I did not know your customs and did not want to offend. I dare say that is clearly not a problem." He smiled widely and showed teeth. "I have nearly thirty to forty years of free time left, am I to take what you said as a sign of invitation to live part of that with a wolf pack? And what does that entail? Must I stay for a certain period of time and do you have any rules I need hear about in advance or customs I might offend if I do not know them?" He asked quickly and curiously. The idea of living with the wolves was a great offer in his mind. A way to sharpen all of his skills and learn new things. He wasn't only adventurous, he was also a inquisitive mind.

 

[14hca14]

Luca padded slowly through the monstrous forest; his massive pawsteps masked by the thick layers of wet leaves. He had been dispatched days ago to track down the sight seeing Prince and Princess who had just disappeared without escort leaving the Eastern Royal Courts in absolute chaos. However disappeared was not exactly the right word because that would imply that they had merely vanished without a trace but these two had left a trail, a faint one but a trail none the less. Of course to anyone else this trail would have been non-existent. Even his soldiers, all amazing trackers, doubted him saying that he had finally lost his touch that his gift had faded. In a way they were right, Luca was taking them the long way because he knew that Samirah and Kaleb could handle themselves and if he just dragged them back to the “safety” of their kingdom they would resent him. He needed them on his side in case something really dangerous happened or Lavender’s gifts were discovered.


But now the game was up, they had been flouncing about in the soggy forest for long enough and his men were tired of the thick underbrush. Even at the moment he did not have his full brigade with him, no at this moment Luca was alone while his regimen slept in a camp a mile back. The changeling knew exactly where the two nobles were hiding and now he was going to have to convince them to come back. The man had not a clue of how he was going to do it. The forest had a mystery about it that absorbed its visitors and for some that was enough to make them stay. It was the reason he had never brought Lavender out here, for he knew that the moment she saw the way light streamed through the branches creating perfect rays that caught the dancing fog she would be lost to him. She was not old enough to be on her own, of course she begged to differ but once again she was too young to know.


How could anything compete with the sheer power and grace of the forest? It stretched on what seemed like infinity and was ever changing the palace was stagnant. Some called it busy and bustling but that kind of chaos was not what most true changelings adored and longed for. No if they had enough canine in them they wanted to experience life in the wild and surrender to their natural instincts. Of course Luca couldn’t say that to anyone, if he wanted to keep his job he had to bring Samirah and Kaleb back without creating a scene but he was still going to apologize when he got to them.


The soldier paused and raised his nose to the wind, he was checking to make sure he was still on the right track. The cool evening breeze wafted over his wet black nose and reinforced what he already knew. The Prince and Princess were a few lengths in front of him but they were just hidden by tree cover. However what he was not expecting was the scent of another changeling, especially one of feline dissent.


With a low growl of frustration, in response to the new complication, Luca shifted. He quickly dressed in his gear that he carried around in a pack on his pack. He wore a pair of brown trousers and creamy white tunic that left untucked. The Commander knew how to put himself together but right now the finery and rules of the moment seemed pointless. He sheathed his sword and pushed through the final layers of underbrush revealing himself to the three changelings in the clearing.


He eyed the scene before him trying to put together all the possible scenarios. The interaction was not violent at the moment but at the same time Luca did not trust anyone that easily. The feline changeling was on foreign territory and at the moment his motives were unclear. The Commander liked to have a full understanding of a situation the moment he aw it and for every puzzle piece to be clear instead of blurred and potentially misleading. However he trusted the two to know what they were doing and to be cautious in their interactions with strangers. He decided to broach the subject later though.


“Samirah, Kaleb you gave the courts quite a scare,” he said resisting the urge to smile. Secretly he wanted to congratulate them for roughing in the forest by themselves. It showed guts and that’s the kind of smarts and courage he wanted to see running the country.

 

[Tabitha Canario]

Before Kaleb or Samirah could answer Zaleth in anyway, a rustling in the the brush behind them caught their attention then their eyes were met with their friend and one of the castle guards, Luca. Samirah's green orbs lit up at the newcomer and a purr like sound rumbled in her chest, escaping her pink lips.


"Luca! Why are you out here?!" she yipped at the male, her eyes taking in the normal attire he wore and the sword at his side with blatant regard, but with Kaleb's next words she gasped and growled slightly in annoyance.


"He is here to take us back, since we did just run away from the evening ball about to take place with the neighboring Lord Rokin's timid daughter and gluttonous son. Why else would he randomly come here?" Kaleb mumbled as his eyes glared slightly at his fellow canine before they looked back at Zaleth with barely suppressed irritation and a bit of humor as he said, "Seems we have been found out. This is our friend Luca. You are welcome to come with us and be a part of our packs as long as you do not stir up any trouble or kill anything other than normal prey, such as deer or elk. We do not tolerate human killings in the East and the Eastern Castle unfortunately does require clothing."


"I wouldn't be surprised if he brought the whole royal guard with him either..." Samirah muttered as her shoulders slumped and she began to walk towards Luca, her body quivering as she began to shift.


Kaleb watched with sad eyes as his sibling became her reddish furred beast and after reaching their escort home, laid down by his booted feet whimpering. He knew she hated being treated like a pup when she was just blossoming into the brave ferocious creature she turned into. That had been one of the purposes of wondering off by himself. He had hated always being watched within the castle grounds or walls, all eyes always keeping him within sight unless he was in his own chambers which only made him feel like he was in a cage. His own personal pack along with Samirah's helped to ease the tension of being kept locked up but they could only ease it for so long before he began to snap at them. Samirah had only known the call of hunts and run for the past few years and even that being as small as it can in their aging process had began to effect her anyways. Soon she would begin to feel the pull of the nights and the call of the moon. Soon they would have to begin running more and more at night without the castle knowing just to behave normally. It was their curse of being fully canine and a wolf changeling at that instead of a feline or another of the different species known in the other regions. Their kind had a more wild tendency than the rest and that was why their kind was killed more from them going fully raged. A yelping sound broke Kaleb out of his thoughts though and whipping his head toward his sister, almost couldn't hold in the mirth that bubbled within him.


"What are you doing here Satine?!!" Samirah nearly roared at the blue black pup that was trying to devour her long tail with a small black leather bag attached to it's neck.


Satine, barely the size of a normal wolf with shiny ebony fur and cerulean blue eyes, lifted her head at Samirah's human tongued words with the said wolfs tail within her jaws and merely cocked it to the side as her ears perked at the female wolf before her in questioning. Samirah growled at the pup and pulled her tail slowly with Satine still attached toward her own muzzle to nip at the pups neck. Satine yelped in surprise and shifted almost immediately, the tiny wolf becoming a young girl about the age of eight. The ebony fur turned to shoulder length hair and she shrank to maybe the height of four feet tall. With pouty blue eyes, the young girl grabbed the bag around her neck and quickly put on the dark green dress she had within along with matching slippers. After she dressed she looked at Samirah and whined.


"I came to make sure Alpha was safe! Kaleb-Alpha is not a good alpha and would put Alpha in danger!" she yipped before she turned swiftly toward the said male and growled weakly at him as she nearly yelled, "And He did! There is a cat here!"


Kaleb rolled his eyes at the pup and turned to look at Samirah who barked with laughter and sat up, her tail wrapping around the waist of the little girl to pull her in between her massive paws. He heard Satine whine at the gesture but saw her stay where she was put and stayed quiet as Samirah sniffed at the bag. Turning from the two to look at Luca, Kaleb smiled.


"I'm guessing the brat tailed you even after you told her no and left her with the rest of the pups and packs, huh?" he snickered before he looked at Zaleth to judge his reaction to the new wolf and to tell him more about the East if the tiger was in fact wanting to join them.


"There isn't much to know except you will need to be civil to the lords and ladies that come, any fighting within the castle walls are to be held at the training grounds or the private rooms located on the western side of the palace, and trips into town are to be escorted with a guard for your protection in case of an attack from a rogue clan of thieves I need to take care of on our return back to the castle, though I highly doubt they would effect you being that monstrous tiger beast." he joked with a smirk as he began to walk toward his sister and her pup packmate.


(((SOOOOOO SORRY FOR THE LONG ABSENCE! School work and regular work kept me away from you guys! I promise to reply sooner! )))

 

[AllHailDago]

Before a response came to his questions Zaleth noticed the bushes rustle as another changeling appeared. He was toting a sword and his body language gave a clear and decisive point that he did not know what to make of Zaleth and that he was on his guard. Zaleth liked him instantly, especially as he seemed both familiar and relatively friendly with the two Wolvlings he had just met. He seemed to need to bring the two back to their pack even though it was clear he had no want of such things. Zaleth began to stroke his long facial scar as he thought. Then a smaller cub-like halfling appeared and grabbed Samie's tail. She transformed into a young brunette child and began talking of Alpha's. When she reached the cat comment Zaleth couldn't help but smile. Cat was one thing no one who had anything but a death threat or death wish would call him. Ahhh the innocence of children. He gave a short gruff laugh at the proceedings. Then Kaleb turned to him as to gauge his reaction. Zaleth gave him a large toothy smile and listened as he explained what to expect if he wished to join them.


"Ah yes, I would be understanding of the rules and proceedings of your culture if I came with you. And you need not worry about the way I would speak to your High Elders, I mean lords and ladies, as I have developed manners in spades in order to join and watch how a few other societies work. I have already tried all feline societies and human society as well. As for hunting you need not worry. I do not eat human, it disagrees with me most of the time.", he said with a small joking grin. "As for clothes I will adjust to your way of life and wear clothes or not as is customary. And rogues, well you have put that quite simply. I fear no rogues in my tiger form. It would have to be very, very many or a group of seriously seasoned warriors. I thank you for the compliment to my form. My clan takes monstrous as a high level compliment. I would look forward to traveling with you and learning of your ways.", Zaleth's personality seemed to switch as he said this becoming more refined and professional. His different personalities clashing as he goes from rogue wanderer and warrior to high gentleman. His mother teaching him well.


{ooc: Don't worry. I understand, I am occupied with school as well.}

 

[Ricia]

The cream colored tiger stumbled around the forest; a leather pack often seen on pack horses was strung snuggly across her back. She soon leaned into a prone crouch, listening closely for the faint cry she was almost curtain she heard. Often because of her large and built body, when she slumps to the ground it sounds like someone had just thrown and rock into the mossy floor. Another effect her body entails is she is repeatedly mistaken as a male, though she can honestly admit most of her muscles and body bulk are from her travels.


Standing still for only a moment, she lifted her head and parted her jaw, moving the air past the sent glands registering the scents one by one: Herbs, trees, squirrel, stale wolf, and deer. Deer was what she was looking for. She was such a clumsy hunter in the Forest; she worked better in open aired areas. Continuing to lumber forward the peaked through a bush out to see a small group of deer.


Food, She thought. She had not eaten in days. Lost in the forest, no food rations from the last town she had stopped at and she’s been unable to find a water source that actually had some kind of fish in it.


Leaning forward she felt her muscles ripple under her coat and she got ready to pounce, advancing one paw towards her pray. Snap. NO! She the deer began to scurry every which way, she glanced down to see she had stepped and a branch. Quickly launching herself out of her hiding place she tried to chase down one of the deer, and to no avail. Panting hard she collapsed in the clearing in the soft moss surrounding her.


She felt so weak, “not eating really takes it out of you.” She said to herself in good humor. She felt her vision getting darker, “Hmm… maybe a small nap will be ok… I can try and hunt again.” Soon after she hearing herself promise a meal later, she fell asleep from hunger.


(OOC: I hope to have fun with you guys! I hope this post was ok. )

 

[Tabitha Canario]

Kaleb grinned in full happiness and then stilled in mid step as the breeze in the air shifted once more, bringing with it another scent of the species in front of him mixed with honeyed amber. the scent was pleasant to his sensitive nose but the feline musk that clung to their kind sent off alerts in his mind and made him immediately shift for a better defensive approach if the newcomer was a threat. Locking his eyes with his sisters who were wide with alarm, Kaleb growled at her and Satine in a deep protective and commanding tone.


"You need to go with Luca and head back to the rest of the guards."


Samirah merely grunted at Kaleb and pushed Satine toward Luca, knowing the canine would protect her faithfully as her paws already began carrying her toward the scent that wafted in the warm air. Soon she was racing through the trees, her massive body falling into an easy rhythm that came with many years practice and hard training. She moved swiftly, her tail flying behind her like a noiseless flag and her muzzle raised slightly into the air to track the feline in her territory. Her thoughts were already taking over into the instinctual, her eyes sharpening to take in her surrounds with great detail, but before she could proceed further, Kaleb was in her path and stopping her immediately.


"Go to Luca and Zaleth and protect the pup." he growled at her with warning, his fur bristled along his back and his tail held high to signify his dominance.


Samirah growled back at him, her body lowering into a crouch to attack but her mind snapped out of her trance like state almost instantly at his presence. With a whimper she turned her form away from him and ran back to the others a short distance away, her jaws closing around the nape of Satine as the girl shifted upon site of the female wolf and ran the opposite way of the enticing feline scent.


Kaleb sighed with relief when she backed down and left but sucked back in another fresh breath and headed in the direction his sibling had been previously advancing upon. It wasn't long before he was coming into a clustered part of the forest, the trees thicker and more lush with vegetation. The birds overhead sang their soft sweet songs but took to the skies at his approach, fleeing from the danger they knew he possessed. His ears perked to listen for any sound besides for his own breathing and steps through the thicker grass that grew under his paws, trying to detect any sign of danger the scent that drew him in itself presented. When nothing came and no sounds besides for a soft humming invaded his ears, Kaleb went deeper into the area, his nose trying to sniff out his target. His heighten senses led him to a small clearing and his eyes fell upon a slumbering tigress, her colors slightly surprising him as he had seem most very vibrant and not so palish.


'Very beautiful all the same,' he thought to himself as he silently circled her, his nose sniffing at her fur to see if she was still part of the living. He could smell the scent of dehydration on her, the way her skin on her ribs sank a bit closer to her body hinting to him that she had probably not eaten in a while though that might have just been this tigresses way of living. In curiosity, Kaleb drew a bit closer to her, his muzzle pressing against the felines flank briefly in a nudge before his paws quickly took him many steps away from her in case she launched an attack in defense against his roughness.


((You did great! I love the detail! Sorry about the delay, I had to work later than I thought. :/ All the same love you guys for joining and making sure good characters! ^^))

 

[Ricia]

“There is so much fish.” The Tigress said out loud. There in front of her was fish, fish everywhere! They were flying in the sky and swimming in the grass. In one big sweep of her pawn she scooped up a paw full of fish. Their colors were all vibrant a beautiful, she purred and swished her tail “Gooood fish, delicious fiiisssh.”


She turned her head when she felt something nudging on her side. When she looks to see what bumped her, she noticed it was a really big fish. “Silly fish, do you want me to eat you too?” she purred, but then it dawned her, this is a dream, and that was a real poke to her side. Baring her teeth she felt herself jolt awake and fling a sheathed paw down on the side that she had felt herself get nudged. Her entire pelt was standing on end with the thought of a threat.


The paw made a loud ‘THUMP’ on the ground where Kaleb was not standing just moments ago. The thump had indicated that the strike had a lot of power in it, but her claws were seethed so it was purely meant to pin down who ever had gotten close to her.


Lifting her heavy head of the ground she tried to focus on Kaleb but was seeing double of everything around her. Opening her jaw she breathed air to discern that there was only one wolf standing here. She was probably in someone territory; she was very foolish to let herself sleep somewhere she knew not where. Closing her eyes again she opened them back up noting that she could see straight again.


She stayed very still. She choose her words carefully, the wolf did not look like it was looking for a fight. He looks very young, she thought. “I apologize if I am in your territory. I’ve been quite lost. I won’t lie, I have tried to catch prey, but I am a poor hunter, so not a single hair has been touched on any prey in this forest.”

 

[AllHailDago]

Zaleth reacted calmly with all of the commotion of the sudden disturbance. He turned his olfactory sense off when he was speaking with the wolves. He now brought it back to full strength and was slammed with hundreds of senses of every kind. From his own woodsmoke and apples scent to the wolves around him and all of there various scents. The smell of game not too far from where he stood. The smell of fear on the young wolfling and wariness on the older one. Then he adjusted and found the one they head reacted to. There was another tiger in this forest. Zaleth quickly changed back into his tiger form, all three hundred fifty pounds of it. Then he pursued the scent to a clearing to find Kaleb and the tigress facing each other. She was apologizing for attempting to hunt on their land. So to see where this went he simply walked to a tree nearby and jumped the fifteen feet into the tree branches as quietly as the beat of a dragonflies wings and watched.

 

[Tabitha Canario]

Kaleb felt Zaleth approach and merely watch from above them, his eyes still glued to the mysterious tigress in front of him. When she had swiped her paw at him he was thankful he had fast reflexes and instincts, otherwise he would have been pinned and possibly slightly crushed under the heavy weight the tigress still possessed in her size. His muzzle lifted slightly in the breeze, consuming the scents of the female and Zaleth along with his own strange strawberry mixed rain scent. He didn't understand why he smelt more like a female should but it seemed to draw in the opposite gender just as well as a musky masculine scent so he didn't complain, plus he loved strawberries. When he heard her speak and apologize Kaleb almost grunted with disbelief.


"You do not have to apologize for hunting on this land feline. All of us hunt for survival wherever we are." he spoke to her in a soft tone, his greenish yellow eyes glinting though with humor as he added, "Though I'm sure fish are more your preference than that deer I smelt you were possibly trying to get."


Kaleb's ears perked toward her to listen to her breathing and then flattened slightly to do the same to Zaleth. He could hear Samirah far off, though still slightly closer with Satine growling and yipping to be let down.


"I can run on my own Alpha!" he heard the pup say, hearing his sister growl in response before he again focused on the tigress in front of him, remembering his manners about introductions like he had lacked with Zaleth.


"My name is Kaleb. With whom might you be? I know most of the tigers in these parts and I have never seen your colors before. You must have been in the East for a while though since I can no longer smell any other foreign soils on you other than our own lands." he questioned with curiosity more befitting who he questioned than his own canine descent, but still asked as he wagged his tail to offer comfort and friendliness to the seemingly shy and quiet female.


Then an idea sparked within his mind and he turned to half face the tiger above him while still having half of his form facing the tigress.


"Have you seen her around before perhaps Zaleth? Maybe a kin of yours that tailed you?" he called up to his new friend as his eyes danced with his amusement and silent laughter.

 

[AllHailDago]

Zaleth raised his eyebrows as Kaleb talked to the female. Well at least he had relearned his manners from their encounter. As he looked up at him and asked if Zaleth knew the tigress Zaleth swore he saw a glint of laughter in Kaleb's eyes. Zaleth leapt from the tree and landed with a quiet thump on the ground below. He walked forward into the tigresses line of sight as to not alarm her and said, "No, she is both unfamiliar in looks and scent. She must me from an offset clan or maybe she is in her Wandering years such as I am. Either way I have never seen her before." Zaleth then sat comfortably down and circling the spot a few times and curled his tail around himself relaxing quite visibly but keeping one eye open.

 

[Ricia]

When the wolf had told her that she had not to worry about hunting and made a joke about her preference to fish, she purred in response, though her purr sounded strained. When the wolf had introduced himself, she merely bowed her head in greeting, before she could reply however Kaleb spoke to a ‘Zaleth’. Soon after a male tiger had descended from the trees, speaking lowly about where she might have hailed from. She panicked a little, parted her jaw and scented the area once more. There were a lot more wolves in the area, but strawberry and leather was the most pungent of all at the moment. Moving into a more comfortable position, the Tigress sat tall and proud, despite her hunger pains.


Lifting a paw she crossed it over her chest and bowed her with one leg, kind of like what humans do, “I! I hail from no tribe, I was born a Nomadic Tigress, and continue to move in the ways of the nomads. I know stories, poems, tales and song, dances and music! Humans call me a Bard, Others call me a Storyteller, but in truth I am just as I said before, a Nomad. My name is Chemi, please to meet both you Kaleb, and Zaleth! Although I wish it be under much less embarrassing circumstances! I have just recently came to the lands, so I do not know much about them, so I suppose that means I am a tad lost.” Lifting her head up and placing both her large paws side by side, she wrapped her tail around, keeping her shoulder straight and her head tall.

 

[Tabitha Canario]

As Zaleth landed on the ground and came into view, telling him what he thought he already knew, Kaleb merely smirked wolfishly and stood up. He took a could of steps around the tigress, his eyes roaming over the female to see exactly how much she had been deprived of food while in his territory and creating a wider circle in case he was scaring her a bit with his movements. He didn't like others starving if he could help and soon after appraising her condition and listening to her introduce herself Kaleb made a purr of his own that was more of a soft growling.


"It is a pleasure to meet you Chemi and a nomad you say? I love listening to stories. If you agree as Zaleth has, you may join me and my pack while you are here and tell all that you know! I have many that would be curious to listen and more even to hear your voice as you presented us with your music. In trade, we can show you how to hunt in these forests so in case you are roaming in the area again by yourself you may not go without substance. Plus my sister would love to meet you. She was actually on her way to discover you here before I turned her around in case you were with the local clan that doesn't like us very much." he told her with his best charmed tone, happiness and smiles at the beginning before he added a bit of displeasure at the end as he mentioned the rampaging felines that continued to try to take over their throne.


His eyes shifted then to gaze at Zaleth then, intense green eyes the color almost exactly of rolling grassy fields meeting with icy pools of arctic blue. Kaleb's tail twitched with impatience as his thoughts flew through his head in a blur trying to plan everything exact in that moment. it was only a few seconds before he was happy with his plans and grinned again, his teeth flashing pearly white and sharper than blades. He turned his attention back toward Chemi, staring into her almost identical eyes to his briefly before he returned them Zaleth grinning wider and letting his tongue slightly lap out of his mouth.


"Do you either of you have a bonded?" his voice suddenly broke the silence, curious but serious as he looked between the two felines.

 

[Ricia]

Chemi purred at Kaleb’s offer. He was being pleasant and warm, she enjoyed people who spread kindness and his offer of her coming to tell her stories and dance pleased her. A fair trade indeed. “I assure you I have not met this tribe of Tigers. I hold no loyalties to any tribes.” Watching Kaleb as he made large strides around her she tried to make herself not seem weak, still not completely at ease.


When Kaleb asked if she had a bonded she nearly laughed, the sound coming as a chocked roar. “I have met many smucks of assorted species who wish to be my mate, some charming, others just flat out rude, but I find myself always turning to the road.” Her tail swished and twitched slowly, “A few even thought they could force me to mate, oh how wrong they were. Regardless, I know few of my own species, and forgive me Zaleth, but I have had few good encounters with tigers. So in short, no, I have no bonded, for my bonded has always been traveling, maybe if the right man came along, I’m sure I would be suckered to commit.” She purred loudly and dragged out the last of her words.

 

[AllHailDago]

Zaleth sat up after the conversation switched on having a bonded. In truth he has had many opportunities to mate but decided that he wanted to mate only with someone he could deal with and who could deal with him in equal terms. He at the current moment didn't plan on going back to his clan. He might well become a rogue. Honestly as one great elder from a time lost said, "All who wander, are not lost.", and he couldn't agree more. "No I have no bonded and didn't plan on one for quite some time. But, honestly, who ever plans for it outside of a royal family. I do ponder though, why it is you might ask?" "And as for you Chemi, I take no offense to that fact. I have met few Tiger changelings who i could trust outside of my own clan, and few in it as well. So no, offense not taken." After saying this last comment he turned back to Kaleb to get his answer.

 

[Tabitha Canario]

Kaleb nearly howled with happiness when he got both negative answers, his eyes dancing with childish joy and mischief. His once barely mobile tail began to wag like a puppy who had just gotten his belly rubbed, fast and lethal to those closest. He trotted over to the path he had come into the clearing from and stopped near its edge, turning his head to gaze at his companions and new friends as low limbs with green vibrant leaves brushed against his furr.


"I understand the no bonded, being unmated myself so I am in turn going to make a huge deal out of this fated meeting with you two and we shall party till the week has us exhausted beyond compare!" Kaleb yipped out with pleasure, his ears perked toward them but then twitching every which way as he heard birds flying to different branches above their heads, some even daring to swoop down close to his own muzzle before they soared above and flew away.


Kaleb then settled his eyes on Zaleth as he jerked his head toward the direction he knew his sister was waiting in. 'Probably impatiently too,' he murmured in his mind before grinning widely.


"I wish to show you off of course. Its not every decade we get friendly tigers in our territory." he growled out in good humor before he sprinted off in the opposite direction he ahd wanted to go in, the smell of a river close by drawing his attention.


Throwing over his shoulder, he spoke to Chemi with a laughing bark, "Follow me if you want to eat! I know a good fishing spot a good two miles away!"

 

[Ricia]

When Kaleb had started to plan a party, Chemi ears perked. She had heard of customs among humans to celebrate unmatedness, but rarely had she been to a Changeling celebration for the unmated batch. Purring loudly Chemi loved to party regardless; she always felt she was good at entertaining. Already loving what was being promised in the future, Chemi was further enticed when Kaleb had mentioned at river with fish in it. Nothing was better than fresh fish!


Chemi immediately got up and followed Kaleb, catching up behind him in two large bounds. The smells of running water soon began to lull her. Her stomach lurched and hunger gnawed inside her. She felt the pack on her back feel a little lose from her nap earlier, she had forgotten to readjust it, but she didn’t see it as a problem just for a short jog.