Tell me your s e c r e t s ! [OPEN]

[dogtagxo]

ZAIRIAN

[/i][/b] The wolf said in a calm tone, one reflecting a egotistical royal brat who gets everything they want.

[ notes; sky orb = moon | no, he isn't really a god. LOL but zairian believes he is a god in rebirthed form, in the shape of a wolf, so he has a very strong and overwhelming attitude | open! ]

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[oatmeal]

Lorelei lurked in the dark, but the moon was full today. The silver orb cast her light down, making the earth below shine. Today was dangerous, but she was hungry. Lore moved, the skull over her face bounced, but stayed on, hiding the disturbing scars, the injury that practically took her face away. Her tongue lolled out, her bottom jaw stuck in a smile. Tonight, she was going to be lucky. Tonight she was going to hunt. The Chernobyl plant was hardly a place to hunt, but it was usually safe from prying eyes. She usually didn't meet wolves.

The silent female's movements were smooth. She understood how to survive alone. She knew the tricks of the land, the secrets told only to those who succumbed to nature, to those who had to live on the brink of death. And she had avoided others—something that shriveled up her wolfness, turned her into nothing more than a fable. A wolf that existed through stories.

The soft lilac of her form was conspicuous in the night. But so was the horned skull she wore as a mask over her face. She could smell nothing—that sense long stolen from her, forcing her to live through her other senses. A wolf relied too much on his nose usually. She hadn't realized how important and integral that sense was until it was taken from her. Her cyan eyes narrowed as she saw a shadow trotting. She kept in the weeds, lowered herself, stilled her tail.

She pricked her ears as he spoke. "Come now, come now, any who lurk. Your master is here." She flattened herself in the summer scrubs. No, he hadn't seen her! He couldn't have. But what if he did? Was this a sign that she should reveal herself?

Lore exhaled a breath through her maw. It was her sigh. She could feel the tension of the moment in her body, making her feel tight, trapped. The sigh had released some of the pressure. Cemented her decision. For the first time in over a year, she emerged. The skull gleamed in the moonlight, the horns looked frightening. Cyan eyes inside peered through the eye sockets. She moved slowly, which made her seem more like the picture of a monster—a phantom of the darkness. Inside, however, was a soft, naïve female, who hadn't had contact in over a year. As she neared him, she realized that this was what she hungered for. She didn't speak. She stopped her approach, still far away. She tilted her head. Her tail was high, not because she was dominant, but because she was confident. She had lost the meaning of dominance and submission in her time alone.

And so, the wolf had summoned the monster from the dark.

[dogtagxo]

ZAIRIAN

[/i][/b] Zairian said, stepping forward and raising his nose up and taking in the scent. Upon backing up, he boldly looked away, to the towering reactor that still stood from behind. For the wolf had no fear of being attacked, as he was a god, and god's did not die if only to save their creations.

"Perhaps a deformation, quite like my own jaw, slacking slightly off to the side for whatever reason. Crooked, I call it. It makes me gorgeous."[/b] Said the wolf with a calm tone, swinging his head to look back at the wolf before him. "Tell me now darling, beast of the night whom has answered my wild call, what is your name? I assume you know mine, but in the case of you, unfortunately, not knowing who I am, call me Zairian."[/b]

[ notes; tagged - oatmeal's lorelei ]

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[oatmeal]

Lorelei brought her head back to a straight position from her curious tilt. At the mention of the skull that hid her face, she retreated a few steps backwards. She couldn't risk that he would see her. She presented herself respectably, with good posture and a steady eye. But there was something feral in her cyan eyes, set in the shadowed holes. She had been alone for too long and his advance made her nervous.

Her tongue, which usually hung sideways from her mandible was pulled into her mouth, neatening up her appearance a little. Giving her a little less of a crazed look, though the scarring around her left eye made it impossible to completely get rid of the insane expression. However, just tucking the tongue back into place made her seem a little more serious. She had her ears sharp, honed on him. Her eyes followed his every movement. He appeared to consider himself a god of sorts by the grandiose of his speech and the pompous manner in which he held himself. The silent female let him look her over as she looked him over.

His crooked jaw drew her eyes in. His mouth opened and shut as he spoke, a canine poked out due to his cross-bite. However, instead of ashamed of his deformity, he was proud of it. If only she could feel that much pride over her own appearance. But she felt too many times the sting of rejection. It was what made her run into her isolation. It was what made her live like a hermit. What she lost in the domestic nature of pack life, she made up for with the savagery of ruthless nature. Mercy didn't exist out here in the same way it existed in wolf packs, in the basic society of wolves, where they exchanged words and interacted.

Instead, she had left herself alone. And, if this wolf hadn't been attracted to the echo of disaster that still hung around this place, she would have hunted in peace and stayed alone. However, she was a little happy for the break in monotony, though unsure of what it would bring. So, she would not remove her skull mask. It was hers. She was still a shadow in a story.

She spoke one word, her name, for that was what he asked for specifically. "Lore." Her speech sounded round, almost muddy. The lack of most of her muzzle made it harder to articulate, but she managed. Perhaps if she gave him that, she would stop pressing him about what she hid underneath the horned skull she wore upon her face. She was rather surprised that she still possessed the ability to speak. She hadn't heard her own voice for such a long time. When she still had her entire muzzle, she remembered how sweet and pure her voice was.

Despite her fearsome appearance, that half-crazed look in her eye, and the skull mask, it was easy to observe that she was a shy wolf, delicate almost, and every thing about her made it seem like, if you blinked, she'd just run and be just a memory that barely registered as real.

[dogtagxo]

ZAIRIAN

[/s]

"Oooh m'lady Lore, a pleasure to meet a being who walks the lands I created. Don't be.. shy, is it? Or cautious..."[/b] Zairian's sentence trailed off into mumbles as he thought to himself and pondered what to say next when it suddenly hit him. "Ah! Or nervous. I will not 'harm' you, fear not, I am here on a expedition of sorts in the towering mountain behind myself. I welcome you to come with, or walk in the shadow of my presence, if you will." Invited the brown wolf as he turned sideways, looking at her still, and nodding his head in the direction he planned to head.

Zairian was going to get as close as possible, for ego-boosting reasons perhaps or just to hunt. He never questioned his own actions, as the actions of a god were not to be questioned, even by himself. Which of course could be broken since he was almighty. Never once did it occur to the male that he was anything less than what he saw himself as and that there was a possibility of his attitude coming off as annoying. In fact, he figured that others envied his great looks and bold attitude. They had to, right?

[ notes; tagged - oatmeal's lorelei | good jebsus Zairian has quite the personality LOL ]

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[oatmeal]

It was true. Her cautious nature had forced her to think that perhaps this male had aimed to injure her. She had been injured before and it was easy to be distrustful. In any other case, she would have parted from him, ignore his invitation to investigate the reactor. However, he spoke of these lands as if they were his. Lore had lived here for years, sometimes moving into a different area, sometimes heading into the town and finding small treasures to keep as her own in her nest in the shrubs. She could remember each morning, waking up, alone. She would hunt the lands, the prey weren't exactly plentiful, but she had learned to read when nature was ready to give her one. The foreboding presence of the nuclear reactor keeping wolves at bay. And, if that didn't work, a small fleeting glance of her figure, a skull running through the woods, could send them running. From the sweet voiced, elegant princess she used to be, she changed here, in this land. Her transformation made her believe that, at least in a small part, it was hers.

As he marked his direction with a nod, she looked down the path he wanted to take. It was a path that she knew. Her quiet steps hadn't disturbed the soil or the weeds. She was careful when she hunted. She knew that she should be more careful with this wolf. Surely, wolves have crossed this land many times, but never had they summoned her to appear as this one did. She kept herself steady, wondering how he could read her so easily. She didn't realize that her isolation had made her expressions more honest. Perhaps it paid to be honest in other ways as well.

"I've been," she said, simply, pointing toward the reactor. Her injury made it hard to catch the consonants at the ends of the words. She spoke in vowel-heavy speech. She wondered if her knowledge would anger him or surprise him. However, she thought that it was best to lead him to the place he wanted to go. She didn't truly understand his dominance, but knew that he thought highly of himself.

She tilted her head. She didn't see his attitude as rude or bold. She didn't have many recent wolves to compare it too. All she knew was that he was one of the wolves who hadn't been separated from other wolves and, therefore, understood where he fit in a world of wolves. He placed himself as god. But Lore couldn't even do that. Her capacity to automatically place herself in some sort of social hierarchy had been long gone, the skill worn away in isolation.

[dogtagxo]

ZAIRIAN

[/s]

Zairian stood there with a slight frown for a moment and let her words roll around in his ears before it registered what the wolfess had said, and once it made sense for him, the wolf grinned once more. She had some sort of speech or speaking problem, clearly, perhaps he had given that to her as a special gift without even realizing it! For some reason this made the males paws feel like they were tingling, sparking some strange excitement from within. He'd done it again in his mind -- something god like and wondrous beyond any others imagination.

"Right, right, good! Well then, let's head down the path, and if you will, perhaps; the wolfess first?" Zairian said nodding at the path and stepping aside. He would let her led. Within his skull the mind raced thoughts back and forth, not even wondering if he would somehow end up leading because he'd somehow make her let him. Everything was in his control, somehow and someway, he felt more empowered everytime he was with another canine. It was an unexplained feel and only a true god would know that!

[ notes; tagged - oatmeal's lorelei | sorry this is sort of short. o: lore can lead them closer to the reactor if you want :3 ]

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[oatmeal]

Lore held her ears sideways. She was uncertain about whether or not he really wanted her to lead him to the reactor. He seemed friendly enough, though odd about what sparked the light in his eyes. He seemed to enjoy interacting with her—at least as far as she could tell. The female wolf wondered if this Zairian, as he introduced himself as, was an eccentric friend or a crazed enemy. She couldn't decide, but as he stepped aside, she felt pulled toward the task of leading him simply because she knew where to go and she would be good at it. It seemed a wonderful opportunity, especially since today, since she was called out, she decided that it was as good a chance at any to try to assimilate back into the culture of being a wolf.

She pricked her ears forward, a silent way to tell him that she was going to take him to where he wanted to go. Perhaps she could hunt and bring down prey bigger than a rabbit or a squirrel for once. Not that they didn't provide ample subsistence, but simply because a change in pace was welcome. Lore moved ahead of the male, her walk sped up to a light jog. Her body remained steady, not bouncing, her legs absorbing the shock expertly, barely leaving a trail of paw prints in the dust between the weeds and shrubs. Her pale lavender form was easy to follow, which made up for her silent, practiced strides through the weed patches and wood lots. Her rushed gait continued as the ominous building loomed ahead, getting larger and closer with each step. She didn't speak a word as she led him. Finally, Lore started to slow.

The reactor had done its damage. The trees nearest it looked a sickly shade of green, as if the poison that the reactor had emitted through the air so long ago remained in the soil. The building seemed whole for the most part, its design was reinforced, but poor for the task. When it was still of use, the reactor seemed far too open, playing with the air, vulnerable to nature. It had been built before the scientists were ready for its mad power.

Humans had been taking their grand inventions to a smaller and smaller scale. They had conquered the seas, learned to fly, and split the earth for its treasure. Then, they played with cells. And eventually, got so small that they split atoms. And the smaller they played, the more power they had. Even Lore, who lived at the plant, felt the sinister history behind it. Felt old story where the quest for knowledge corroded into the greed to control. And the wolves contributed nothing to the disaster. Instead, they were the aftermath. And they were the ones who had to live here.

Lore looked up at the ominous structure. The story it told was etched on the bones of her descendants, and the wolf who followed her, as well. She nodded toward it, practically at the doorstep to the building. So, there's your reactor. What now? She tilted her head. Her skull gave her the look of a reaper, especially given the disaster site. She was curious as to why he wanted to go to this place. She had traversed here many times. Though there was something haunting about it, awesome even, she had gotten used to it. Nothing special happened at Chernobyl these days.

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OOC: Don't worry! As long as your word count is over 100, it's good.

[dogtagxo]

ZAIRIAN

[/i][/b] The wolf said with a nod of approval as he began to pace back and forth, tongue lolling out for a moment before retreating as if he hadn't intended to do that. "This building is majestic, almost like a god, maybe even as brilliant as myself. Have you ever entered it? Just gander at its appearance, the structure and almighty being of it!"[/b] And as if the wolf had planned it, in the distance, lightning crashed down and thunder roared. It caused the fur on the wolf's back to bristle momentarily before it laid flat again.

"Pardon that," Zairian said, as if he'd caused the distance storm beginning to roll in. "Perhaps we should seek shelter from the nearing storm. If you wish to seek shelter with me, that is."

[ notes; tagged - oatmeal's lorelei | gander - to look at. | ]

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[oatmeal]

Lore couldn't smile in the traditional sense. Missing most of the top half of her muzzle, the only thing to show that she smiled were her glittering cyan eyes: A pale blue with the smallest touch of green in them. Something about their twinkle showed that she was happy that he praised her. She hadn't been praised for a long time—in fact, she couldn't remember the last time that anybody said something good or kind to her. It was one of the reasons she retreated into the wilderness, isolated herself from others, and her only companions were the howl of the wind and the rain on her back.

Because she was focused on Zairian, she hadn't noticed the damp feeling of the air, the taste of rain on her tongue. These were things that would have told her that the storm was brewing. Instead, she didn't realize the heavy clouds rolling closer. She didn't see the turmoil of storm until the flash of lightning and the clap of thunder. Her gaze shifted, her eyes peering through the eye sockets of the skull. She studied the storm. It was going to come soon. Instead of being frightened by it, she was used to it. She was used to too many terrible things. Some would say that she was ruthless and feral when she was just accustomed to a harsh, lonely life. The forks of lightning that fractured the sky and the crash of thunder were only indicators, nothing more.

He asked if she wanted to seek shelter with him, but she was going to seek shelter anyway. This was her domain. Practically her territory. She never had a wolf come so close to the place that she claimed as her own, silently, and lived by herself in, but never before had a wolf found her, summoned her, and seemingly conversed with her—who was an image of death with her skull and the wicked way her tongue lolled to the side. Her lovely eyes were touched by the scarring that affected her face, giving her a crazed expression if one couldn't see the small twinkle of emotion in them. Her injury took away her expressions, but she found that this wolf read her easily—probably because she behaved in the way that he expected and because the wilderness had made her honest.

Lore gave a small purling noise from her throat, to get his attention without speaking. She beckoned him with a nod of her head and then started toward the hole in an adjacent building. Ivy had embraced the walls and it hung over the low hole, making it hidden. Lore ducked into it, lowering her head as to not catch her skull on the top of the opening. She was in the building from which workers used to move through its halls, just average men running a machine, doing their little parts like cogs in a clock.

Though the fences around Chernobyl had long since rotted away, eaten by the vegetation, the building was still a good, dependable shelter. Lorelei poked her head out of the whole before ducking back into it. She was too familiar here. This life had gotten too comfortable. And it wasn't a great life to begin with. So far, her meeting with Zairian made her realize that she could do better. That she could still interact with other wolves, and, therefore, perhaps even find a place in a pack or even a mate. No, that was too hopeful. She had to remember not to be too hopeful. Lorelei nestled in the man-made den she had found over a year ago. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly. Somehow, she felt a little giddy. She had never shared her shelter before.