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so what if you can see the other side of me ............................................................................................. The bitter chill of winter prodded him, icy fingers twisting their way through his thin coat. A gruff snort fell from his curled ebony lips, tinges of annoyance causing his blood to boil and his fur to stand on end. The ocean water laughed from behind him, crashing upward onto the shore and reaching desperately for his feet; dreaming of drowning him in a frozen, watery grave. But the desperate waves would not have him... not today. Mother Nature could mock him all she pleased, but Cypress would never bend; never falter. Not when his mind had been crafted for perfection. Powerful paw steps brought him forward, his body shifting through the golden sands that were warmed ever so slightly by the dull winter sun. Bright green eyes scanned the vast expanse of beach, searching for signs of life... but greeted only by empty air and hollow smells. Lifting his head into the air, the male sniffed in an attempt to separate fresh scents from old, but had little success thanks to the overpowering odor of the saline ocean. The only way he would find civilization would be to move further inland, he was sure of it. And so he moved forward, toward the trees that lingered safely in the distance, covered in a light dusting of snow. Oh, if only these lands knew what rubbish had just washed upon the shore... if only they knew of the outcast that had been so foolishly banished from his own kingdom to wreak havoc elsewhere. Perhaps they would have had a party there to kill him where he stood. .............................................................................................

Don't forget that you can make as many threads at one time as you want to! So you don't ever have to be bored, hip hip horray. = ]

Athena Stick Nike • Victory Incarnate • Athena

The ocean, a mysterious thing. What kind of wolf could have pledged to have swam the ocean? As wide and deep as it was, a creature could only make so much headway in an element it did not belong in. On the surface, a placid blue of frigid temperatures that seemed to stretch as wide and far as the sky. But beneath, a treasure of things that wolves could never truly know the extent of, from the deepest darkest depths, the number of clownfish species, to the different color varieties of brain coral. To say that one swam in the ocean could do no more justice to the massive body than dipping one's toes into the sun. But the Athena that presently occupied the aging body would easily claim such a thing, without a second thought of it's implication. She'd just as easily claim to have swam in outer space, if she knew what it was. In the olden days, the great unknown was always prefaced with "there be dragons". Until the very moment that a distant land mass had been explored, it was presumed to be occupied by many-headed ethereal monsters of imaginative nature and realistic impossibilities. From that moment that it was discovered, it would be named, cataloged, and the myth of dragons dispelled and applied to every other unknown thing left. But inside this bag of bones there was a dragon, a great second personality waiting to explode forward and try to consume the world in flames of chaos and destruction, desiring nothing more than plumes of ash and scorched earth of eternal suffering. "I wonder if there are pink marshmallows.", Athena's voice was a faint whisper, her eyes examining the sky as she walked forwards precariously, with a sense of balance that seemed almost at any moment that she might fall over. As her eyes slowly fell from the sky back to ground level, she spotted a rather curious thing. A male wolf was off in the distance, but for once, it seemed that Athena was having trouble recognizing her own species. "Are you a marshmallow?" She drew all of her limbs, previously occupied with walking, beneath her, so that all four of her paws touched, and she stood like an inverted triangle. Her head tilted automatically to one side, cocking to an extreme angle, and her ear flopping down with the power of gravity. Her stub of a tail held it's neutral relaxed position. ".

Waves abused the shoreline as the brown paws left prints in the sand. The ocean breeze swept back Hythyr's hair as if had fingers to run through it. He sniffed the salty air, enjoying the new sensation as he explored the outer lands. As he traveled contently, he gazed at the huge body of water before him. He wondered at the sheer size of the sea, it's arms extending out and hugging the horizon. It was a much different place from the inner parts of Torva. Hythyr had never seen the ocean before but he recognized it from the way he had heard others describe this mass. He took it all in until he saw movement on the corner of his vision. Was that Athena? Hythyr wondered what she was doing out here and went to speak to her. He saw her speaking to a strange male as she spproached. This newcomer seemed confused and Hythyr went to investigate. He came up and spoke to the old grey lady that had taught him in that sentry course he had attended. "Well fancy meeting you out here Athena! What brings you here." Hythyr turned to the Timber wolf before him. "Greetings stranger. I'm Hythyr, Alyxian Champion could I be of assistance?" He looked soaked from head to toe. Hythyr thought that he perhaps tried to take a swim out in the ocean. Hythyr didn't think that was wise, but he would help the guy if he was injured and if he could. "Hythyr howls."

Table by Yahtzee

Waves abused the shoreline as the brown paws left prints in the sand. The ocean breeze swept back Hythyr's hair as if had fingers to run through it. He sniffed the salty air, enjoying the new sensation as he explored the outer lands. As he traveled contently, he gazed at the huge body of water before him. He wondered at the sheer size of the sea, it's arms extending out and hugging the horizon. It was a much different place from the inner parts of Torva. Hythyr had never seen the ocean before but he recognized it from the way he had heard others describe this mass. He took it all in until he saw movement on the corner of his vision. Was that Athena? Hythyr wondered what she was doing out here and went to speak to her. He saw her speaking to a strange male as she spproached. This newcomer seemed confused and Hythyr went to investigate. He came up and spoke to the old grey lady that had taught him in that sentry course he had attended. "Well fancy meeting you out here Athena! What brings you here." Hythyr turned to the Timber wolf before him. "Greetings stranger. I'm Hythyr, Alyxian Champion could I be of assistance?" He looked soaked from head to toe. Hythyr thought that he perhaps tried to take a swim out in the ocean. Hythyr didn't think that was wise, but he would help the guy if he was injured and if he could. "Hythyr howls."

Table by Yahtzee

Waves abused the shoreline as the brown paws left prints in the sand. The ocean breeze swept back Hythyr's hair as if had fingers to run through it. He sniffed the salty air, enjoying the new sensation as he explored the outer lands. As he traveled contently, he gazed at the huge body of water before him. He wondered at the sheer size of the sea, it's arms extending out and hugging the horizon. It was a much different place from the inner parts of Torva. Hythyr had never seen the ocean before but he recognized it from the way he had heard others describe this mass. He took it all in until he saw movement on the corner of his vision. Was that Athena? Hythyr wondered what she was doing out here and went to speak to her. He saw her speaking to a strange male as she spproached. This newcomer seemed confused and Hythyr went to investigate. He came up and spoke to the old grey lady that had taught him in that sentry course he had attended. "Well fancy meeting you out here Athena! What brings you here." Hythyr turned to the Timber wolf before him. "Greetings stranger. I'm Hythyr, Alyxian Champion could I be of assistance?" He looked soaked from head to toe. Hythyr thought that he perhaps tried to take a swim out in the ocean. Hythyr didn't think that was wise, but he would help the guy if he was injured and if he could. "Hythyr howls."

Table by Yahtzee

so what if you can see the other side of me ............................................................................................. He hadn't been expecting company in the vast expanse of sandy wasteland. He'd expected only the companionship of the rotting driftwood and the distant array of timber. His body sought rhythm, eventually falling into a steady thump, thumping of his paws that dragged him determinedly onward. A busy mind buzzed, thoughts flashing images of crimson power through his mind's eye. Conquest surged through his veins, seeking a power that had been so unceremoniously ripped from him. Bones cracking... eyes crying. The desolate images made him smile with devious delight. And then, in the distance, a misted gray figurine. She swayed, drunken either by exhaustion, dementia, or delight; her body swaggered, moving quite obviously in his direction. Cypress allowed his pace to slow, a surge of annoyance bubbling up in his chest. He suppressed the urge to snarl as she stopped in front of him, a load of indistinguishable garbage falling from her jaws. Despite his inner turmoil, his desire to push her smaller frame aside, he remained outwardly pleasant... patient and blinking as she muttered again: "Are you a marshmallow?" A what? "No," he murmured simply, tail lashing behind him, his taller frame towering as the older woman sat herself. Ears perked, flicking around as the sound of more paw steps caught his attention. "Well fancy meeting you out here Athena!" The man's deep emerald eyes light up with familiar recognition; Cypress felt his toes curl. He didn't have time for this foolishness. But suddenly, the odds turned in his favor as the man, called Hythyr, introduced himself... introduced his pack. Cypress smiled pleasantly, portraying a kindness that hardly mirrored the black thoughts that lingered, sinister, in his mind. "Greetings stranger. I'm Hythyr, Alyxian Champion could I be of assistance?" "Perhaps you can, my friend. My name is Cypress," came the deep, ringing baritone. Cypress allowed his ears to perk, bright eyes blinking into those of the man that now held his full attention. "I've recently been separated from my family," he began, turning briefly toward the delusional woman and wondering what use she could really be. "And I've been searching for information about this place... about the inhabitants, and the packs. Do you know anything? Or perhaps you could tell me about your own pack." Information was key... perhaps this unexpected meeting would give him just what he needed. .............................................................................................

Athena Stick Nike • Victory Incarnate • Athena

Athena's body jolted, as if someone had poked her shoulder. Turning, she faced the new voice and viewed the sight of another male she'd never seen before. But this one seemed to know her. "Who are you.", she murmured aloud, though mostly to herself. Her ears flicked back in annoyance at his introduction, feeling as if he was stealing the spotlight. "Oh, I want to join a pack too! We can be such friends!". Little did Athena know that she was part of another pack, in fact, the leader of it, thanks to the division of her two personalities. But her body was currently plagued with the half-intelligent one who couldn't much be helped. She continued chattering idly. "We can eat together and sleep together and clean eachother's ears and we'll never be apart, we'll always be such good friends, wouldn't you like that?", her voice droned on, until Cypress began to speak. "You're not the only one, Cypress.", she turned to address the man, now sounding rather smart. "Everyone who comes here is missing someone, we're all missing our families and homes. Even the ones who are born here eventually loose their families as well. ", she paused. "It's because you're a marshmallow. ", she leaned forwards and whispered. "We're all marshmallows. We lived, we died, and now we're marshmallows. You must have drowned at sea. That's okay. We can still be friends. " "Is your father Kiril? He too is looking for his family, sons and daughters who are grown by now. Maybe you two are related. He would be so happy to see you. It does get rather lonely, you know, being a marshmallow. Eventually we'll all figure out how to escape...", her voice drifted off as her head cocked once more and craned upwards to watch the "sky marshmallows", er, the clouds, drift listlessly in the robin's blue above. ".

Hythyr was confused at Athena's not knowing him. She began going on about how she wanted to join a pack. Hythyr was about to say something about her already being in a pack, but held his tongue. Maybe she was a little sick, he didn't want to startle her. Instead he asked her a question. "Are you feeling alright Athena? You don't remember me?" Hythyr turned to the other man. The newcomer was certainly polite. Hythyr didn't detect the slightest bit of hostility from him. He said that he lost his family and was trying to find out more about the land. "You've got yourself quite a predicament, buddy. You're in the land of Torva, a pretty vast land. There are a few major packs including my own. However, none of them are around here as far as I know. You're on the outskirts. most packs lie further inland." The man seemed to be covered in saltwater. He had obviously washed in from the ocean. "How did you get in the ocean? It's really treacherous. You could've really hurt yourself out there." Hythyr looked at the man wondering where he came from. "Hythyr howls."

Table by Yahtzee

Hythyr was confused at Athena's not knowing him. She began going on about how she wanted to join a pack. Hythyr was about to say something about her already being in a pack, but held his tongue. Maybe she was a little sick, he didn't want to startle her. Instead he asked her a question. "Are you feeling alright Athena? You don't remember me?" Hythyr turned to the other man. The newcomer was certainly polite. Hythyr didn't detect the slightest bit of hostility from him. He said that he lost his family and was trying to find out more about the land. "You've got yourself quite a predicament, buddy. You're in the land of Torva, a pretty vast land. There are a few major packs including my own. However, none of them are around here as far as I know. You're on the outskirts. most packs lie further inland." The man seemed to be covered in saltwater. He had obviously washed in from the ocean. "How did you get in the ocean? It's really treacherous. You could've really hurt yourself out there." Hythyr looked at the man wondering where he came from. "Hythyr howls."

Table by Yahtzee

Hythyr was confused at Athena's not knowing him. She began going on about how she wanted to join a pack. Hythyr was about to say something about her already being in a pack, but held his tongue. Maybe she was a little sick, he didn't want to startle her. Instead he asked her a question. "Are you feeling alright Athena? You don't remember me?" Hythyr turned to the other man. The newcomer was certainly polite. Hythyr didn't detect the slightest bit of hostility from him. He said that he lost his family and was trying to find out more about the land. "You've got yourself quite a predicament, buddy. You're in the land of Torva, a pretty vast land. There are a few major packs including my own. However, none of them are around here as far as I know. You're on the outskirts. most packs lie further inland." The man seemed to be covered in saltwater. He had obviously washed in from the ocean. "How did you get in the ocean? It's really treacherous. You could've really hurt yourself out there." Hythyr looked at the man wondering where he came from. "Hythyr howls."

Table by Yahtzee

Sorry to make you wait! I went on a small vacation, :)

so what if you can see the other side of me ............................................................................................. The elder gray female seemed to continue to bask in her delusional insanity. She insisted on ignorance, refusing to acknowledge the earthen male that claimed to know her. He believed that her name was Athena just as soon as he believed that something so traumatic had happened to her that she would shut herself out of reality. Bright, unreadable eyes turned toward Athena again as she continued to sputter at him. "We can eat together and sleep together and clean eachother's ears and we'll never be apart, we'll always be such good friends, wouldn't you like that?" His expression did not change. "My dear, my dear Marshmallow," he purred, suddenly smiling. If she wanted to come with him, perhaps he would let her. Maybe he'd regret it when the idle chit chat refused to end, but he couldn't help but be intrigued (and entertained) by her crazy ideas. Perhaps she would prove to be a useful companion. A key pawn. She continued her talk of death and pink marshmallows, but Cypress directed his attention toward the more sane (and more willing) Hythyr. Cypress could sense a deep compassion about him, and a nobility. Hythyr was a man willing to put his life on the line to assist another wolf... it was too perfect. Hythyr explained briefly the location of the packs, but the information was rather vague. "How did you get in the ocean? It's really treacherous. You could've really hurt yourself out there." Cypress allowed himself to laugh, a light chuckle that was nearly drowned by the roar of the waves. "The important thing is that I made it. I've made it and I've found company." His answer was cryptic; but what man would want to talk about the abandonment of his family to strangers? What man would want to talk about his own treason in front of future friends...? "Is your father Kiril?" Was she still talking? "I'm afraid not," he purred again, looking for contact with her eyes and blinking. "Tell you what, Marshmallow, perhaps our friend Hythyr here can take us inland. We can look for the packs together." Eyes drifted toward the earthen male, perking his ears as if asking: 'You will help us, won't you?' Cypress needed nothing more than to locate these packs and assess them. Befriend them. Conquer. He needed this. To spite his useless, so-called family. .............................................................................................

Athena Stick Nike • Victory Incarnate • Athena

Tilted cheeks indicated a sympathetic smile that accompanied a vigorous nodding. The expression faded as a clueless look took residence, and then it too passed to the same sad expression as before along with a shaking of her head to indicate 'no'. Seconds ticked by but the head-shake continued for far longer than one would normally gesture, her tail picking up momentum in a happy wagging motion, if only the rest of it's length wasn't absent. Her eyes and lips were both vacant for once as she listened silently, with the demeanor of a child fidgeting while the grown ups spoke. When at last it was her turn, she took every opportunity she could muster. "Oh, oh, I know, I know, pick me!", she tried her best to bounce up and down but her movements equated to little more than a weak pulsating in her back. She spoke as if called on, but didn't seem to know how to stop. "There's Renatio and Asteria the religious, and Dieu their reincarnation now led by Icarus, a band of traders with everything from slaves to spices. Oh, but you don't want to pick on them, each one of them is a deadly assassin for hire, they really do peddle everything. And then there's Renatio. Oh, but I said them already. And Orion that got merged with the remains of Asteria into Sirius that got destroyed by Renatio and then rebirthed into something else because Panther disappeared again. And then there was some other things but I forgot... Oh, and then...", she chattered on like a pre-teen describing her first kiss over the phone. ".

Hythyr was getting more and more concerned at Athena's mental state. Surely there was someone in her pack that could help hr with her fragile mental state. This Cypress seemed friendly enough. Perhaps he would help Hythyr escort the sick Athena back home. Hythyr gave him a warm smile at his suggestion to see the other packs. Hythyr was about to respond when Athena began ranting on about a bunch of other packs. Hythyr had never heard of them before and wasn't entirely sure any of them still existed. As she went on Hythyr came a little closer to Cypress and whispered to him."Look, I'd be more than glad to help you, but my friend here isn't quite in her right mind. I've never seen her this way before. I think we should take her back to her pack so someone can help her. What do you say?" Hythyr thought that this wolf would have some compassion. Hythyr raised back up and faced Athena."Very good Athena. Shall we go see some of the packs then?" Hythyr hoped that the condition was only temporary so that he could tell her what was going on. Of course, her dominant personality might already know about it. Hythyr wondered what had caused this volatile mental condition and what he could do to help. "Hythyr howls."

Table by Yahtzee

Hythyr was getting more and more concerned at Athena's mental state. Surely there was someone in her pack that could help hr with her fragile mental state. This Cypress seemed friendly enough. Perhaps he would help Hythyr escort the sick Athena back home. Hythyr gave him a warm smile at his suggestion to see the other packs. Hythyr was about to respond when Athena began ranting on about a bunch of other packs. Hythyr had never heard of them before and wasn't entirely sure any of them still existed. As she went on Hythyr came a little closer to Cypress and whispered to him."Look, I'd be more than glad to help you, but my friend here isn't quite in her right mind. I've never seen her this way before. I think we should take her back to her pack so someone can help her. What do you say?" Hythyr thought that this wolf would have some compassion. Hythyr raised back up and faced Athena."Very good Athena. Shall we go see some of the packs then?" Hythyr hoped that the condition was only temporary so that he could tell her what was going on. Of course, her dominant personality might already know about it. Hythyr wondered what had caused this volatile mental condition and what he could do to help. "Hythyr howls."

Table by Yahtzee

Hythyr was getting more and more concerned at Athena's mental state. Surely there was someone in her pack that could help hr with her fragile mental state. This Cypress seemed friendly enough. Perhaps he would help Hythyr escort the sick Athena back home. Hythyr gave him a warm smile at his suggestion to see the other packs. Hythyr was about to respond when Athena began ranting on about a bunch of other packs. Hythyr had never heard of them before and wasn't entirely sure any of them still existed. As she went on Hythyr came a little closer to Cypress and whispered to him."Look, I'd be more than glad to help you, but my friend here isn't quite in her right mind. I've never seen her this way before. I think we should take her back to her pack so someone can help her. What do you say?" Hythyr thought that this wolf would have some compassion. Hythyr raised back up and faced Athena."Very good Athena. Shall we go see some of the packs then?" Hythyr hoped that the condition was only temporary so that he could tell her what was going on. Of course, her dominant personality might already know about it. Hythyr wondered what had caused this volatile mental condition and what he could do to help. "Hythyr howls."

Table by Yahtzee