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 Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 3:22 am
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Griz gave a small smile when everyone agreed to what she said. They would have done just about anything to get her to come back, of course. But they did agree that she did need to go see Wind and Egan. They all felt that Wind would forgive her easily, though. There were times that his forgiving nature was a bit too... forgiving... But it paid off with those that had hurt him or even insulted him a time or two....
Griz looked down at her with that small smile still in place, "Why don't you go on ahead. I need to get these idiots settled back down to finish eating then see about getting the little ones into bed. I still have business to attend to this evening, after all," he said softly to her, though his smile showed that he was teasing her just a bit.
In the kitchen, Cass eventually pulled back when he was a bit more calm, her purr calming him almost as much as the fingers through his hair. While he was physically the age of a human pre-teen, for a Were he was closer to being just a bit younger than that. But for Cass, there was a part of him that had 'grown-up' way too soon and in ways that would have made a saint cry.
This was one of the few moments when he showed his age and acted like a young cub, so there was hope for him. It also showed how well the pack had treated him and how much he trusted Saoirse.
He kept his head down as he pulled back and wiped at his face, "Don't tell anyone I cried, would you?" he said in a very soft voice, clearly not wanting any of the rest of the pack to think less of him for crying like he had.
But the one thing about it all that was probably the most heart-wrenching about the whole thing was that he hadn't made a sound as he'd cried. That usually only happened as a result of pretty bad circumstances and was something that someone taught themselves.
Casee eventually raised his head and looked towards the doorway, simply looking at it for a moment. Then he nudged the other cubs to wake them up so that they were all waiting when the nurse came back into the room with bowls for all of them. They all waited patiently for him to set the bowls down for them then devoured their meals.
Casee, though, waited on the bed beside Za'Vira. Once the others had been fed, he nudged the female and licked her face to wake her up. The male had brought her some broth with a few pieces of meat still in it for added protein since she was still healing.
Only when he was sure that she would eat did Casee get on the floor to eat his dinner, though he kept looking up at Za'Vira to make sure that she finished off all the broth.... |
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 11:37 pm
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Saoirse tightened her grip on the young cub before allowing him to pull away from her. She gently wiped his cheek off with the back of her hand, before running her fingers through the front of his hair with a confused look. Poor thing was still frightened, but seemed like he was a bit more settled after burrowing himself in her chest, which made her glad that she was able to offer some semblance of comfort to the cub.
She shook her head at his words before gently nudging his chin upwards by putting her fingers underneath. "I would never betray your trust Cass. If you do not want anyone else to know, then they shall not know." she murmured in a soft voice.
Soarise wrapped an arm around his shoulders and let him rest against her side, so that he could still feel the vibrations from her low purr. It was barely audible, so unless someone was standing close to her like Cass was then no one else would barely be able to hear it.
"You have a place where we can shift into our feline forms, yes? Would you like to go run with me. It has been a long time since I've let my lioness out." Saoirse asked him, hoping to distract him for a little while longer. And plus, it had been a really long time since she shifted. Her scent was much stronger as a lioness, and she hadn't wanted her brother to be able to track her any easier. Now though, this place was protected so it was safe for her to now do so. An eager anticipation rose up in her chest as she waited for Cass to respond to her request.
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 3:55 am
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Griz watched the girl leave then got everyone else situated and calmed down before he headed back into the kitchen just in time to hear Saoirse's question to Cass and had to grin at the excited look on the boy's face. Honestly, he looked like a little kid in that moment and Griz knew that she'd given him something the boy would dearly love to share with her.
"Go on Cass. Go show her what Ash made for us," he said softly, a calm tone to his voice that showed how much he'd come to understand the boy in the short time he'd been here.
Cass actually jumped at that one, though he only kept it to one bounce, "You gotta see it, Saoirse! It's totally cool and amazing! Griz, you gotta come too!" he said, his excitement showing in every word. Especially when he grabbed both their hands and pulled them out of the kitchen and towards the back end of the house, with Griz trying to protest and blushing the entire way.
Back there was a staircase that went down to the basement, where the general training areas were as well as the group showers. One more level down was a paradise for the shifters.
Ash had created an underground, indoor forest for them. Complete with magically created sun-and moon-light and naturally shifting seasons that didn't affect those like Griz. For the first time in his life, he got to play in snow when it was snowing down here. And it wasn't just a pine forest. There were other environments down here that catered to all of the shifters. And since it had been created magically, there was nothing for Saoirse to worry about. Down here, she could let her lioness out without worry for as long as she wanted to. She could almost disappear down here forever, if she wanted to.
Once down the last set of stairs, Cass simply shifted and kicked the shorts away before he ran and jumped into a pile of leaves with a mock-growl. Griz hesitated since he'd have to strip down to shift and finally moved to simply sit on the stairs with a small smile, "Go ahead, Saoirse. I'll just make sure that no one else disturbs you two while you play. I'll explain all of this as best as I can later," he offered, still blushing and hating that he was reduced to looking like a red lightbulb.... |
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Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2018 5:32 am
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Saoirse grinned when she felt Cass' excitement about shifting with her. She must have said the right thing to cheer the young cub up. He started tugging her hand towards the staircase on the other side of the kitchen when Griz walked back in, sans Samirra.
Raising an eyebrow at him, she didn't get the chance to ask the questions bubbling up before Cass was grabbing her's and Griz's hands and tugging them towards the staircase again. In his excitement, nothing else mattered apparently. And Saoirse could not fault him for that. Her questions could wait.
As soon as they were downstairs inside the indoor forest, Saoirse couldn't help but gasp in shock. It truly was an indoor forest, complete with a soft wind rustling the leaves and the sounds of birds off in the distance. 'What sort of magic..' she trailed off in thought as she took in all the details. She had never seen anything like this in her whole entire life. Feeling Cass' excitement building within her, she quickly put her hands to her borrowed pants to strip them off, but when she saw Griz siting down instead of stripping with her she paused.
Tilting her head to the side, she looked at him with a question in her eyes in which he answered. Unsure of why he wasn't shifting with them, Saoirse nodded her head once before stripping completely out of her clothes. She had spent so much time of her life growing up in lioness form that nudity didn't bother her. Unlike it did Griz…
As soon as she was clothes free, Saoirse felt the change overtake her body and let out a sigh of relief. She stretched her haunches out as far as they would go, reveling in the tawny muscles, before turning her furry face towards Griz again. Walking slowly over to him, she nudged her light blonde head against his knee before looking at him with bright blue eyes. You could still see the flecks of green in them even in her feline form as she once again looked to him for an answer.
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2018 10:02 am
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Griz had to smile as she nudged his knee, "You're beautiful, Dama..." he told her softly then took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as he easily read the question in her eyes. A glance behind her showed Cass chasing a butterfly through the trees so he judged the cub to be suitably distracted and looked back at Saoirse, "Alright, I'll shift... But if you have problems with me out of my clothes, just don't say anything. Okay? I only just got the other females in the pack to stop with the comments and I'd really rather that they didn't start up again..." he finally said softly, hoping that she'd understand what he meant.
Since the pack was made up of more than just wolves, he'd considered that he might have plenty of opportunity to find a female he could settle down with. Unfortunately, they saw him strip down to shift right after he'd gotten here and comments had been made on his... size... And they hadn't been complimentary about it...
He started with taking off his boots and socks then stood up to strip down, blushing again when it came to taking off his pants. She certainly got a good look at him as he finished going down the stairs so that he could shift his form. He hadn't exaggerated about anything.
Then he shifted into a bear. But his was a throwback, a 'recessive' as some called it. He wasn't a bear most people remembered since they were extinct now in the wild. He was a Short-Faced Bear, an Arctodus, also known as the giant short-faced bear or the bulldog bear; specifically, the Arctodus simus, the largest of the species. As a shifter, his animal form was larger than the actual animal had been. So while an actual Arctodus could look a grown man in the face while standing on all fours, Griz could look in two-story windows with a small hop or look into third-story windows while standing on two legs. They were also the only known species of bear that didn't hibernate, though he'd gotten used to it as a cub with his family.
His fur was several shades of brown with black and white markings on his face that almost made it look like someone had done a skull on his face with finger paint. While it was striking, it was simply Griz, so the cubs all had gotten used to seeing it.
He didn't look at Saoirse after he shifted, knowing that his animal size would give her a bit of a pause at first. Instead, he looked for Cass. He didn't really have to look, though. The cub bounded out of the trees and latched all four paws around one of Griz's legs, or tried to. The claws helped the cub latch onto enough hair that he became a temporary 'growth' on the bear's leg. But Griz had apparently expected it because he just stood there and look at the cub for a moment, then finally turned his dark brown eyes onto Saoirse to finally judge her reaction to him...
One thing about Griz that she might consider was that there were very few shifters that would consider taking him on in a fight. Not even her brother was that suicidal... |
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2018 6:26 pm
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Saoirse tilted her head to the side as she regarded Griz's choice of words in slight confusion. She didn't understand why he was embarrassed to shift, unless he didn't feel comfortable shifting around her? That thought made her more uneasy than she let on, because she thought she was growing on him and Cass...she knew they were growing on her.
Before she could analyze her thoughts too much, Griz took a step away from her and started to strip down. Her eyes widened as she took in every inch of skin that he bared before taking a step back and turning her head away. If her lioness could blush, she'd be ten shades of red right now. She knew of other shifters, but outside of her brother and a small handful of others, she had never seen someone strip and shift so close to her before. Her tail flicked behind her before she sat down on her haunches and wrapped said tail around her feet in the pose of a true feline, her head still demurely turned away to give him a smidgeon of privacy.
When she felt the magic of his shift dissipate, she slowly turned her blue gaze back to him and was startled to find how large he was. She was so startled that she didn't realize she had taken a few steps away from him, not out of fear but just so she could look up into his face. She should have been scared at the size of him, but all Saoirse could think of was what a cute teddy bear he was. Giving a chuff she slowly made her way towards him, her tail swishing lazily behind her but Cass beat her to it. Watching the young cub latch on to his large leg, the lioness couldn't help the slight rumbling that almost sounded like a laugh. When she felt his focus on her, she turned her oceanic gaze upwards to meet his, letting him know that she found Cass' antics amusing and that she wasn't afraid of him, although she should have been because of his size.
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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2018 9:55 pm
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Za'Vira Lucio
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Za’Vira woke up without any issues, and carefully sat up in the bed so that she could eat the meal that had been provided. While Za’Vira ate she couldn’t help but wonder how long she had been out since the last time she woke up, her body was if anything she wasn’t in as much pain as she was the last time, and her energy levels were at a much higher level than they were when she arrived at the pack hall. She’d been drained of every bit of energy she could have mustered and to a degree she still was feeling very much weak, like every bit of strength she had was being sapped from her, and the fatigue it caused showed as her hand holding the bowl shook slightly. Za’Vira took her time, and taking note of Casee glancing up every now and then to make sure she ate, the broth was surprisingly good the bit of meat added to the flavor and gave her something to chew on. While she ate she took the time to glance around the room finding it to be very basic but very much roomy, the bed was comfortable which was something. Before her packs untimely demise, they didn’t really have beds per say since they were nomadic and spent most of their time on the road, rather they had bedrolls and fur blankets to keep them warm, as well as tents to keep them dry when it rained. Za’Vira sighed lightly as she bowed her head the pain was there, there was no question about that, reality was still catching up with her since so much had happened in such a short period of time, there would no doubt be times when she would mourn, especially for the loss of her mate, but the pain only seemed to fuel her anger, and while she didn’t show it, she was ready to burst from a pain-induced rage but she controlled herself since she had little ones around her, if she needed to vent she would do it when she was well enough to hold her weapons without worrying if she would collapse from exhaustion.
After a while Za’Vira finished her meal she put the bowl off to the side and bowed her head for a moment before she looked up at the man slightly concerned “can I ask you something?” She looked at the pup who’d woke her up and smiled lightly moving a hand to pat his head slightly eventually she looked up “why help me, why accept me into your pack. I…” she stopped not really sure how to continue she was still exhausted her head was fuzzy, her ears drooped slightly before she continued “I’ve never seen another pack accept others so willingly” She sat there and just watched with interest though her eyes would slightly divert to watch the pups around her with slight curiosity.
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Posted: Sat Sep 29, 2018 4:42 pm
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The male looked at Za'Vira for a moment then did his best to answer her question as Casee jumped back on the bed and laid next to her, "We accepted you because Casee wanted you with us. We accepted you because all of us came here in similar situations. We accepted you because we need you as much as you need us," he said softly then considered her for another moment before doing something she probably wasn't expecting.
He got on his knees next to the bed and showed her the left side of his neck, where his Mating Mark had turned into a silvery scar. But it had a set of nasty raised scars going cross it, four lines that came from claws. He had other scars from that day, but he wasn't going to strip down for her to see them. He stayed in place without looking at her just yet, allowing her to get a good look or even touch the scars if she felt the need to.
"I lost my pack and Mate too... All in one night... They left me with this and other scars. I showed up at the Marketplace here, still bleeding from the attack. Wind found me there and Egan carried me here. I was shocked when I found out that the pack Alpha had carried me here without knowing anything about me. They patched me up and gave me a room. The cubs slept with me to help me heal, though they were Bethany's cubs back then. After I'd healed up enough to tell them what had happened, Egan promised me revenge then the pack took down the pack that had attacked me," he said it all softly, but somewhere in it all it seemed as if he'd forgotten she was there.
Then Casee moved to lay across her lap so that he could lick at the male's face a bit, making him smile as he ruffled the young cub's head a bit, "After I'd been here a while, I'd gone out to one of the farms to get supplies. Simple run to make, but it's a bit of distance. I didn't mind it. It got me out of here for a while and into the sunshine for a couple of days. I was almost to the farm when this tiny wolf cub came running out of a stand of trees and ran into my leg. That wasn't an issue for me. I did, however, have a problem with the two large wolves chasing him. I don't know what made me do it, but I shifted and attacked them. Surprised me when I actually took them down. I shifted back and went to check on the cub. He was actually pretty hurt so I patched him up as best as I could and brought him back here. He actually needed the doctor for a few days but the doctor put me in charge of his care then suggested I learn more first aid. Thanks to Casee here, I've been studying at the hospital ever since. He hasn't shifted in the entire time he's been here, so we don't know what happened to his pack," he added, knowing that Casee wouldn't mind her knowing about it.
In truth, he worried about Casee not shifting. Too much longer and he'd have trouble shifting at all.
Somewhere in all of the 'explaining' he'd forgotten her questions. But, somewhere in all of it, maybe she had her answer...
Griz gave a grunt at the look from Saoirse then gave a very gentle movement of his leg that tumbled Cass back into the leaf pile. He always had to be careful in animal form because he knew he could hurt someone easily, so he rarely shifted these days.
Once Cass was distracted, he turned back to Saoirse and gave a gesture with his head towards the trees, encouraging her to go on and let loose. When she hesitated, he simply reached over and tapped her rear end. Well, for him it was a tap; for her it would feel a bit more firm at impact. But it was enough to get her moving. And once she was moving, Cass gave chase; further encouraging a bit of a romp.
Griz held back a bit. If he got started running, he'd leave them behind. He also had a harder time with the wrestling bits, since he could hurt someone so easily. So he mainly acted as 'muscle' when the pack needed it, as well as Egan's Second. Needless to say, the python that had hurt Cass was going to be in pain for a while. If he survived Griz's visit later tonight... |
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Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2018 12:53 pm
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When she felt Griz tap her on the rump, which caused her backside to dip towards the ground, she narrowed her eyes at him. Curling her lip in defiance, she felt her ears lay against her head as she sniffed loudly and turned away from him. She put her nose in the air as her tail flicked, giving away her playfulness, behind her before taking off into the surrounding trees. She looked over her shoulder and gave a loud chuff towards Cass to get his attention and as soon as she had it, they took off into the tree line.
She ran along the worn out path, jumping over small trunks and climbing half way up some of the larger trees before leaping off and over Cass' small body. A few times, she allowed Cass to catch her and they tumbled around before she would take off again. It felt so good to be able to play in her shifted form again without any worries. She had missed her lioness.
A little while later found Saoirse and Cass lightly panting as they came to a small stream that was magically inside the indoor forest. She was so amazed at the details that went into this place. She never in a million years would have ever thought it was possible to do something this large and have it be so real. Stopping to get something to drink, she lapped up the cool water greedily as she watched Cass do the same before plopping down in a small heap next to her. She had probably worn the poor cub out, but he had kept up with her for the most part so she was very proud and just a bit surprised.
Once she had gotten her thirst under control, she laid down next to Cass and stretched out her overused muscles. She would definitely feel it later, but right now she couldn't have been more content and happy.
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Posted: Sat Nov 24, 2018 9:00 pm
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Za'Vira Lucio
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A tear ran down Za’Vira’s cheek as she looked at Casee and wrapped her arms around him holding him close to her “you poor dear” she held him close in silence for a time before she continued “listen little one, you need to change soon lest you cause yourself more harm than you need” Za’Vira’s held Casee close and leaned in and continued though she whispered softly so only he would hear “listen little one, you have a future ahead of you but don’t stay like this or you will hurt yourself and I am too weak right now to help you if that happens, so please for me child don’t let those around you worry about your wellbeing by staying like this for too.” she stopped at that point and held him close for a moment longer before she released her hold on him and looked at the man again her eyes filled with pain and weariness, it was clear she was struggling to keep going, though her body seized up before she could say anything to him causing her to immediately cry out in pain, her soul had nearly left her body due to the severing of her soulmate, which surged debilitating pain throughout her entire body, she struggled to regain control but ultimately lost consciousness her body having been pushed to it’s limits, which only showed that while her physical form was starting to heal her soul was far from being recovering fully.
Her soul screamed in pain and while she had lost consciousness the pain could be felt radiating from her, but as much as her soul wanted to move on, something kept it from doing so, like there was a greater purpose that went way beyond her desire for revenge, whatever be the case it kept Za’Vira’s spirit from leaving, it gave her a reason to keep fighting even though she knew not what it was she was fighting for or was even aware she was fighting for this greater purpose.
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