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 Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:54 pm
 Chilapa padded forward slowly only partially aware of how close to her goal she was. For some time now she had wished to come here, wished to see him, but mother would not allow it. So she had done the only thing that seemed logical at the time and that was to sneak off. Oh there would be hell to pay when she returned, mother would likely drill her into the ground with training or possibly even lay a beating on the young wolf. But this was her chance, probably the only chance she would have, in order to do this. Her one chance to finally meet the wolf who was her father. Chilapa had seen him, once or twice, at a distance of course as mother would never allow for her to go anywhere near him or any of the slaves for that matter.
Now today she would finally get to see him up close, talk to him. She hoped he would be receptive to her visit, but chances were he would think she was just like her mother when in fact she couldn't be more opposite. Yes, she was a warrior, trained hard to be that way, but she was not her mother and never would be. The cruelty that Varia so constantly shown was quite absent in her daughter. Bringing her paws to a stop Chilapa inhaled deeply, she could do this, she could face him and treat him like an equal. Eyes scanned the area, she could smell the heavy scent of males in the air indicating that this was the place. Moving forward once more Chilapa kept her eyes open for any sign of patrols or the one wolf she was looking for.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 7:16 pm
 It was conceivable that Chilapa's risky circumstances, in combination with her formidable will, had influenced this whole situation to work in her favor - for Cas was on this side of the territory, and visible, and alone.
If she had had any doubts about whether she would recognize her father, they would be gone. Out of all his children, Chilapa took after him the most, and it would possibly be unsettling to spot her stripes, her pale paws, her white muzzle and chest, on what amounted to nearly a stranger. And it might also be strange to see the traits she identified with herself put to use on such a great big teddy bear of a wolf; his white-tipped tail was wagging as he ambled, wide face angled downward, and roved along over a trail he was following, huffing pleasurably at the ground to revel in the unmistakable, heart-melting smell of puppy tracks.
He missed his puppies.
He wasn't even looking for this one - although it would be a bright point of his day if he did manage to catch up with this little whelp. He just liked the smell, and the way it poignantly brought a lump to his throat, a little pang to his heart, reminding him of his boys when they were still young enough to fall asleep in the middle of play, to lose track of their paws and tumble like little unwitting acrobats. They were no less entertaining now, but they were a heck of a lot less cute.
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2011 7:28 pm
It didn't take Chilapa all that long to realize she was being followed, those long hours of training each day ensured she would become aware of such thing. Yet the wind was not in her favor so she could not smell just who was her follower. Part of her wished it was the one she had come looking for, but what if it was and he was merely trying to run her off? Well, then she would go home she supposed but it would pain her if such a case happened. But of course she also wanted the upper hand in all of this, and that would involve not letting the one who followed her get the jump. So zigging and zagging Chilapa made her trail a bit more annoying to follow and then proceeded to loop around.
Her speed and silent paws allowed her to backtrack without the other hearing her. Undoubtedly they would smell her, catch her scent and that would belie her direction but that didn't matter. Coming from behind at a slight angle to the side. There! Her first clear and relatively close view of him. Her heart skipped a beat, this was the moment of truth, would be be accepting or turn her away. Bringing her paws to a stop she paused for a moment to wait for him to see her, there was an odd smile that crossed her maw, showing her obvious uncertainty of the situation. "F-father...uh..." Wow, she really had no idea what to say just now. All those weeks of planning this out and she forgot what she had wished to say. "....uh...hi." Really? That's what she said to him 'hi', what a terribly lame thing to say.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 3:31 pm
For a good long moment, through Chilapa's fumbling for words, all Cas could do was stare in open bewilderment. He knew, almost instantly, who this must be. He thought about her more often than not, but what was happening here - his daughter standing before him, acting like a daughter - he had never allowed himself to entertain this fantasy. Right from the outset, she had been Varia's, and no sane wolf challenged what was hers.
But look, here she was - and he didn't know her name. She had cared about him enough to come and seek him out, and he hadn't even bothered to ask after her! His heart clenched in a resounding pang of shame, and he bowed his head for just a moment, long enough to realize that he wanted to see more of her. She looked tough, even at her age, in a way that was distinct to Antianeira; he could see the discipline inherent in a Sister's training in the way she held herself, the quietness of her steps, and felt curiously proud that she should be such an upstanding example of her pack. How bizarre and wonderful to think that his daughter would be a fine warrior! He let out an overwhelmed cough of a laugh, mirroring Chilapa's awkward smile, his forepaws prancing nervously. "Wow, hello!" He felt a little dizzy. Keep talking! "Did you, ah...did you come all this way to visit me?" He sounded at least a little baffled. He could feel a compartment of his heart yawning achingly open, which hardly made introductory small-talk any easier.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 6:28 pm
Seeing that awkward smile on his face, no doubt similar to the one she herself had, made her nerves relax a bit. Obviously they were both unsure of the current situation but something told her that they were both welcoming this. Swallowing hard Chilapa took a step forward. "Yes...I came to see you." And then after a moment pause she added. "And my brothers as well." If he would let her see them of course, she really didn't want to push her boundaries too much during her initial visit.
Clearing her throat Chilapa set her mind to focus. If she approached this more like training than an awkward first meeting she would be able to get through it. Focus, discipline and perhaps a bit of hard work would see her through this. "I just figured that since I was old enough to decide for myself I could come and see you, see where you were living. It seems...a lot different here." And to think she was just at the border, but borders could say a lot about the the pack. This one seemed much more relaxed than back home, fewer guards out looking for intruders and from what she had heard from Penthesilea and Orithia, the wolves here were much friendlier. New experiences led to new knowledge right?
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 1:32 pm
For a moment, his body roiled with goosebumps. She had come to see him - wish fulfillment beyond what he ever could have dreamed. He shuddered as it passed, and then they were back into the wild, uncomfortable territory, Cas imagining with a pall the way Django would react to her, then settling on an uneasy pride that her brothers would meet her as equals, come what may, face her with their heads held erect. Minus a fair bit of discipline, one could almost say they were turning out more like Sisters than anything else - and that was not necessarily a bad thing.
Chilapa spoke again and he buoyed up from his reverie. He beamed, shyly, his paws still fidgeting. "This is about the most surprising thing that's ever happened to me, but, uh...I'm very happy you came." His eyes made it clear that this was an understatement, before overflowing with mirth at her own downplaying of the situation. "Well, it's a little different, yes," he beamed, "a bit more wishy-washy than you're used to. Care to have a look with me?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:18 pm
Chilapa took note of the sudden changes in his body, the way he seemed a bit uncertain of the situation and yet at the same time seemed to be full of energy and happiness like a young pup. She found it all quite endearing and a drastic and welcome change from life up north. There the males were so subdued, well except for the Queens consort when he didn't think anyone was around, but she knew him well and was grateful that the male was in the pack. She would never forget the day a long time ago when she was a young pup that he hide her away in a den so she could get a much deserved rest and even took the brunt of mothers anger over it.
Her smile grew wide as her father spoke. "I'll admit I was worried about how you would receive my visit. Surely you were expecting me to be much more like mother is." Of all the wolves within the pack to be like Chilapa never wanted to be like her mother. "Wishy-washy is fine, a change of pace is certainly needed." Tail wagged in delight. "I'd love to look around with you." Chilapa took a few steps forward ready to be shown around by her father.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:41 pm
The mention of Varia seemed to check the maned wolf; the exuberance in his posture quieted, and his wagging tail stilled contemplatively. He had expected that. And already he could tell he would regret that oversight, as much as he could regret any of the things he had done in life. "You were a complete surprise, it's true," he answered, staring almost shyly into her strange-familiar face. "I, um," he began, and then hurriedly thought better of saying anything against his old Head Warrior: the near slip-up was nearly enough to give him the heebie-jeebies again. Moving on, however..."Well, a change of pace is what you'll get," he assured her, turning, "going from flying to swimming about sums it up, I think." Making sure that Chilapa was coming along, he began a leisurely patrol through the Northern area of his packlands, aware that the sights were no different than those in the place they had both grown up in. "You'll get a kick out of it here, it's like being in a whole new world. Seeing wolves interact is like watching aliens! You wouldn't believe how long it took me to stop noticing it so much." His eyes crinkled in a rueful sort of smile as he remembered. "And not so many big, bossy ladies, of course. For good or ill."
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2011 11:25 am
She was a complete surprise. Somehow Chilapa found that both relieving and yet got her curiosity going. Had her father truly thought she would be just like her mother? A shame her mothers poor reputation had sullied her own just because they shared blood. But this was proof that Chilapa would always need to work extra hard and prove that she was not like the head warrior but an individual wolf. Padding along beside her father Chilapa had a grin on her face. "I look forward to seeing the other wolves in this pack, I really want to see how things are run here." It would no doubt be a huge difference between what she was used to but if she were to take on a different role than warrior in her pack then having a knowledge of things outside would be beneficial.
"And how are my brothers?" She asked curiously, and really couldn't wait to meet them for the first time either. There was so much to do on this trip and she wasn't sure she had to time to see and do it all. Perhaps she would need to make more trips down here in the future, no not perhaps she definitely needed to do so. This was where most of her family lived and they deserved to see her, much like she deserved to see them.
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 7:16 pm
It was just as well Chilapa said nothing further about her being a surprise, or Cas would have fallen over himself, possibly literally, trying to explain. He was not one to judge other wolves negatively, not ever, and would probably chastise himself for the rest of his life for assuming his daughter would take after Varia, since it happened to be that she didn't. Chilapa had kept her thoughts to herself, though, and saved them both the ordeal.
He continued to lead her through the fringe of the territory, motivated dually by not knowing how on earth he would introduce her to her many relatives, and by the desire to have her here, all to himself, for just a while longer. Her kindness and her maturity were a revelation for him, and every time she spoke he felt beatified, and had to fight not to get ridiculously sappy. When she mentioned her brothers, though..."Ohh," he sighed, "your brothers are alive and kicking." He smiled ruefully, embarrassed of his parenting and disconcerted at having this brought up in front of his lost daughter. "You know, part of me still wishes I could have brought them up in Antianeira. Had the situation been different, I think Anatto and Vercinix would have been happy there." He blinked, glanced downward. It occurred to him she might not know their names, might not even know how many brothers she had. "Django, though...he's nearly as ill-fit for slavehood as your mother." He arched his eyebrows meaningfully, and then sighed as he found himself faced with the topic. "I want you to meet them, of course," he admitted, "but I'm worried about the reception you might get." He looked pained, apologetic. "Nearly everyone will be happy to meet you - your aunt and uncle, your cousins, everyone in the pack. Your brothers, though...let's say, you might have to win them over."
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Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 2:43 pm
Walking along Chilapa waited and then listened to her father as he spoke. He at times seemed embarrassed or shy talking about himself and her brothers, but how would she know about them if she didn't ask. So two of her brothers might not have found the life of a slave all that bad, but this Django would have been bad for the job. "It would have been nice to have grown up with them. Though I doubt mother would have approved of their presence even if the circumstances had been different." Like it or not, she knew the details of how her and her brothers came to be and what transpired after their birth. It was a shame really, but there was no way Varia would have behaved different, nor would her hate driven mother ever change.
"A brother ill-fit for slavehood and a daughter who is ill-fit to fulfill the role laid out before her." Chilapa let out a slight chuckle while shaking her head. "Mother certainly didn't get what she wanted out of us." She had forgotten just how much family she had down here. Up North all she had was her mother, and of course all the Sisters they were like an extended family. But here there was plenty of those who were related to her by blood. "Don't worry, I'm used to having to work hard to prove myself, this shall be no different." If they accepted her in time that was fine, if they never did she would accept that as well.
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Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2011 8:23 pm
Nice to grow up with them, indeed...Cas felt his heart constrict, torturing himself with the notion that he might have taken Chilapa with him, and had a solemn, disciplined, respectful daughter here with him. He gave his head a little shake, dispelling the impossible thing. If you took Varia out of the equation, none of the answers you got were reasonable.
So instead he listened to his daughter talk, the formality of her speech making him nostalgic for his beloved old home. "You know, I suppose what she wanted was to give birth to as many little Varias as she could. Which is..." insane. "not especially reasonable." He paused for a second to look at her and smile; was this the happiest day of his life? It had to be close. "You know, I can't see how they wouldn't like you. Django will probably be obnoxious, but-" He almost said, but that should just remind you of Varia! Oh, fumbling fawns, he was so unused to watching his mouth! "But he's like that to everyone, so you can really ignore it," he finished instead. "Want to go see if we can find them? I imagine we'll run into a cousin or two of yours on the way, maybe even your aunt!"
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