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 Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 7:01 am
Silence. Silence and darkness went hand in hand, they were the best of friends, never liking to be seperated for too long. And now Skadi sat in both. She was sprawled out in a patch of grass, her eyes watching the shadows as they devoured the land. There was something so corrupt, so twisted about the shadows – the way they were you, but not, they way they ate at the sunlight. It send shivers down her spine – excited shivers, as Skadi was not afraid of something like darkness. No, that was for other, weaker fools to bother themselves with. The dark was her cover, the dark was her comfort, the dark was a part of her. In the darkness intentions were hidden, in the darkness you were hidden. The fog, the thick clouds that travelled over the land, had no such admiration. They only blurred what one could already see, you were not truly hidden – not in the same way – and the fog moved. It was tricky, it was difficult, fog was not to be trusted.
She was silent now, even her mind’s rambles became hushed. Blank eyes stared out, passed the fog, passed the darkness searching for someone. As fun as it was to be left with your own thoughts Skadi prefered the company of others when it all came down to it. Minds were for molding, emotions for toying, when you put both together Skadi could not resist the temptation of such a toy. Though, if Skadi was a child, she would not be the type to play gently with said toys, no, they’d be thrown out soon after purchase. Such a shame they weren’t refundable.
Someone would come along soon enough, someone was always sent to amuse her, they always found their way. The fun part was guessing, guessing who would next emerge out of the fog. An innocent or a corrupt? Or, one in between. To be frank, Skadi didn’t believe in such neutral packs, no one was neutral, everyone had opinions. They were a clan of liars, that was all. Cowards, unwilling to truly speak their mind. That was fine though, a small – almost smug - grin playing on her face, not everyone was as bold – not everyone could be as bold – as her. Not everyone was that special.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 7:34 am
It was cold.
Caspar moved across the bleak, dark lands and watched the thick, rolling grey clouds of fog twist around his thin body and over his head. It was a dull day, flat and emotionless, the blackish weather only adding to his already irritated persona. He twisted his neck and growled lowly, sniffing out the air for any sort of sign that there was something about that could keep him entertained.
The fog comforted him, engulfed him in a welcoming silver cloud that hid his faults and fears, hid his insecurities. In his clouded sanctuary, he could wrap it around him, delve deep into its curling, slipping tendrils and stay there forever.
Despite the fact that he was, in fact, for once wanting to be by himself, Caspar's insatiable hunger for amusement, along with his greed for getting his way, was what what driving him to keep moving. His claws scratched at the decrepit green grass and the dirt underneath as he walked, nose pointed forward.
He was nearing the edge of the fog. Breathing deeply, inhaling its damp, smoky scent one last time, Caspar stepped free of his refuge and emerged onto the flat, shadow-smeared land.
The first thing he saw was a hound.
She lay on the ground a few feet away, her sleek black fur, threaded through with a light turquoise barely visible in the dim light. Her glowing white eyes stared into the fog where he had just left.
Caspar growled, his shackles rising.
"Who...are you?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 7:48 am
A voice. She had been given someone new to play with, charming. Her head turned – slowly, eeriely – to face him, eyes meeting his. She was but a ghost now, her blank eyes something odd, a gift most hounds lacked. Did they scare him? Did her abnormalities send shivers down his spin? If so he should learn that those different were always the most interesting.
She now took him in, judging him from what was presented in front of her. He was purple, with traces of hearts here and there. An odd colouring for a male, but Skadi would not be caught a hypocrit – even if it was in the depths of her own mind – and so her tongue said nothing of the fact. He was a male, an average, ordinary male. Some had physical quirks, that this male pocessed little of. But perhaps, perhaps what was under the surface, perhaps his mind would be more fun.
Growling, why did one always growl? Her thoughts steady as she further analyzed the male, leaving him to ponder in the silence. Did they feel rage already? Did her presence send sparks of anger off? Or perhaps he was threatened, was he wary? Was he afriad? There was one way to find out.
Her mouth opened, and sharp spikes of teeth glimmered as her jaw was still for a moment. Perhaps further agony if he didn’t have the same appreciation for silence that she did. “Who am I?” She echoed, quietly. Her voice was soft, a whisper, like wind it was soft, taunting, free. She stood up, calmly, no defences set up at that moment. There was no need to start a fight so early in their meeting. “I am hound, I am a voice, I am a riddle…” She continued, her voice as eerie as her blank stare might’ve been.
”I am you, and you are me, we are the same, we are different. But perhaps,” another pause, “Perhaps you do not seek answers so deep, perhaps your mind can only process simple things like name. My name doesn’t matter, not at this moment. All that matters to you is the fact that – at this moment – I’m not going to rip your head off. “ Her voice gained volume towards the end, but it was still calm, unafraid, unflinching.
”Tell me a story, dear traveller – for at this moment I don’t care for your name – where are you from? Where are you going?” Once you learnt their intentions, they were easier to mold.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 8:10 am
She was different than what he had expected.
Caspar turned his head, sliding his body around to pace slowly around her. The smoky black fur, those eerie, soulless white eyes...he took it all in, drinking in the air of self-confidence and underlying intelligence, breathing in her unusually lyrical way of communication.
He was not sure what to make of her. Obviously he had run across something interesting, but Caspar was not in the mood for anything dull, which made her riddled words all the more fascinating. Her voice curved around him like a soft wind, whispering things that he could not understand.
Sitting back on his haunches and wrapping his tail around his hind feet, Caspar let a slow smirk cross his muzzle.
"A story, dear girl?" he said lightly, tilting his head to the side. "My story...well, it is a very...enlightening tale to be told.
"However..." he paused, his eyes locking to hers. "I am not one to reveal everything about myself on a first meeting. But I can say that I am always up for entertainment of some sort. I love to both provide and gain amusement for myself through various ways."
Caspar grinned cheekily, the off-white of his razor-sharp teeth glinting in the watery light.
"Tell me - will you entertain me, nameless one?"
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 9:09 am
Skadi saw potential in him, interest sparking in her mind. He too was selfish; he too was playing the game – the game of life – for himself. That was good, good to see she was not in the presence of a naïve full, one who was weak minded. Though, it might not mean she would be able to be as manipulative as she would’ve liked. His guards were up; he was wary of her or at least mistrusting. Not as opened as others, such a shame. But, that didn’t mean she was unable to get something out of him, Skadi could always get something out of someone.
”Well, Sir Mystery, I do hope you will enlighten me sometime soon,” She murmured, a soft comment to his lack of details. Skadi would have to find other ways to get through to him.
”Entertain you? And how might I go about that?” Now it was she who circled him and his odd colouring, her flank gently pressing against his side now and then, a faint touch and nothing more. She then stopped, sitting herself down so that she was opposite to him.
”I am no slave, I am not a servant, I am just like you. I am here, and you are we and we are here for none other than ourselves.”
He was no fool, this much Skadi could tell and so each phrase would have to be chosen more carefully than if her company was another, different soul. Perhaps they could even get along, a soft laugh emerged in Skadi’s head. Perhaps.
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:54 am
Caspar could almost feel the female's gaze burning into his fur as she slowly circled him, her pale eyes never leaving his own. Pushing down the underlying feeling of being slightly intimidated, he left his expression as amused, and didn't lower his eyes. The stubborn, self-reliant feelings roared up inside of him, making it impossible for him to look away first.
He was relieved when they both looked away. Warily he listened to her speak, and then said lightly "Sir Mystery? I rather like that nickname.
"However, I go by Caspar here in this mortal world, Lady of Secrets." he teased, stretching out and letting his paws reach to just a few inches away before reclining back and laying down on the cool, sparsely grown grassy ground. He let his head rest on top of his paws and watched her from half-lidded eyes.
"Tell me, Lady - would you embrace the darkness if it came to you?
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Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:19 pm
"Names are interesting things, they give one power over another, Caspar. One calls out a name and the other will respond, silly little things, but powerful nonetheless." She paused, now looking down at her company, she doubted his name was one she'd soon forget.
"Lady of Secrets is not such a bad title, perhaps I'll embrace it for the time being." Skadi would reveal her own name to him in due time, but not now, later. In her confidence she felt no fear for Caspar, she was not wary nor frightened by his presence, but he held some sort of mangled respect from Skadi, and that alone was an almost impressive feat (in Skadi's mind, mostly).
"And who is to say, Sir Caspar," she mixed both names now, "that I have no already?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 8:57 pm
"Well, Lady of Secrets,, since you will not tell me your true name - I cannot be the one to judge what you have done with the dark as it comes. For me..."
Here Caspar trailed off, his long tail switching back and forth, like a snake coiling through the sparse grass. He looked blankly across the field, his eyes unseeing the female hound as his mind threw him unceremoniously back in time.
It's dark. So dark, I can't see. Please, someone. Where am I? Why can't I smell anything but the rain? So much darkness, it's wet, too wet, I'm soaked through to my bones and I'm shivering. Where am I? Who am I? I don't understand, I can't understand what's going on. Please, someone, help me...
Caspar snapped out of his memories. The hound was staring at him, hardly any emotion showing on her muzzle, but her eyes...those blank, white eyes that were both frightening and fascinating all at once.
She intrigued him, this hound. To the point where it almost scared him. At the very least, it unnerved him, to realize that he was actually interested in another creature other than himself. So used to relying on his own, to providing solely for his own interests, satisfying his own greed, that it made his head spin to think he wanted to speak more with this female.
"Ah, dear Secrets." he said lightly, shaking off the filth from his thoughts. "You do so entertain me. As for me and the dark, well, we are very good acquaintances. To the point of which I cannot tell which begins...and which ends."
"But," he said, standing up and stretching before sitting back. "I cannot take all the spotlight. Tell me about yourself, oh silent one?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 5:36 am
“Ah, the dark,” she began, whistfully almost, after Caspar had stopped, “the dark is my shield, the dark is my refuge. Whether we are friends or not, I am unawares, but we treat each other we respect, after all, we both gain from one another. It is the dark that hides me in the night, and it is the dark that casts shadows to amuse one, it is the dark that sets fear into a youth’s heart. And yet, I have always been by his side. An apple, a snake, the dark is a tempter and perhaps one I cannot refuse.”
She paused, wondering how much – and what – he’d take out of that mess of words. And then Skadi moved on,mentioning other issues at hand.
”My name? I have told you, dear Caspar, that names have so much power. And why should I relinquish such power to you? Especially knowing that, in a way, some of our thoughts are aligned with one another’s. But, I will amuse you today, grant you such an honor, listen carefully Caspar…” Her voice changed as she spoke, getting softer and softer and then there was the whisper, the hushed sound that followed, “Skadi.” If he truly wanted to know it, he would listen, he would hear it.
”So you too, have embraced the darkness, this much is in plain sight, but what has brought you to such a conclusion? Some are born with the feeling, but others, others find it. Perhaps you left alone? Unwanted? Perhaps you were lonely or wronged and the darkness was the only one who would take you. Come, Caspar, tell me how you came to be. Enlighten me.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 2:53 pm
Her name was breathed upon the wind, like a fleeting glimpse of things that were out of his reach. A taunting breeze, flittering around his thin-framed body, as it just barely touched upon his silky fur, then danced away.
"Skadi."
Caspar tasted the name, testing its weight upon his tongue. He let it roll through his mind, imagining the heaviness, the intimacy of knowing her name.
It was strange, too strange, to feel this closely interconnected with another hound, when all they had done was exchange names. Caspar fought the involuntary panic that threatened to rise in his throat, pushed back the on-edge feeling that seemed to always overtake him at this crucial moment.
But names were important. As she - Skadi, had said, names were unimaginatively powerful objects when placed in the right claws. And here, sitting alone with her on these empty, barren lands, as she spoke of the past that he hated, Caspar was all-too aware of just how much a name could do.
"Enlighten you..?" he said slowly, his ears twitching. "Abandoned, yes, perhaps you could put it that way. But I was more...thrown away, than this abandonment. It would have been more preferable, compared to what I have lived through."
His voice had grown bitter, the anger starting to seep through to the undertones of his words.
"Thrown away...not once, but twice in this lifetime. Yes, the dark is my lover." he said mockingly. "We have come to a mutual admiration and respect for each other."
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 3:09 pm
There was something about Caspar, this Skadi wouldn’t deny. He was different? No, not quite. Rather he was similar, similar to none other than herself. She liked this petty conversation, as simple as the exchange of words had been. She liked talking to him, and to this she held as much dislike as he did. Attachment was not something Skadi favoured, not to another soul. Darkness, silence, they were a separate matter. But enjoying the presence of another of her kind - that was where one must draw the line, with attachment came weakness, and so it was time to banish such thoughts.
“Thrown away? For one to be thrown he must place his feelings in another, foolish mistakes. We are here to crumple one another’s hearts – if one still processes it – to stomp on one as quickly as they came and drink them for all they are worth. We are here to use one another, even the most benevolent of alphas enjoys barking orders at those she deems lower. And those, those that do not play this game of queens and kings, they are but fools, fluttering helplessly in a cold breeze. Silly little beings who have yet to come to grips with themselves, have to yet to realize what they truly are. Naïve sort they are.” Her comments were light, though far from joking, though Skadi hadn’t been the joking sort in this conversation, had she?
“So there are things that stir you’re anger then, Caspar, good to know,” Yes, very good to know. “But now, what ambitions have you? For surely you are not living life just for the sake of it, and when you twist the weaker one’s will you know you live more than just for yourself. Surely, there must be an aspiration underneath your fur…”
And then her voice became soft again, trailing off into nothing as Skadi allowed herself to be submerged in the silence. The darkness her cover, the silence her friend, the silence a pause to allow her to clear her mind and rid herself of chaos. The silence an opening to see all the flaws and talents one processed. The silence a feeling left hanging, silence that drove one into intrigue or insanity. Yes, her and silence got along perfectly.
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Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 8:59 pm
Caspar felt shivers all up and down his spine. That talk, all of that talk about placing his feelings in another, crumpling one another hearts, being foolish and naive; it was all too close for comfort for him, and he kept his tongue after the pair lapsed into silence together, fearing that whatever he said would be too full of suppressed emotions, feelings that he had long since been keeping submerged and out of place, hidden beneath the layers of smooth arrogance and mockery, pushed behind the sarcasm and the roughly hewn wit. Deep inside, Caspar knew that he was a hopeless being, a damned hound that would never be accepted by the ones he had somewhere inside always wanted to be accepted by.
And so, he said nothing, merely sat in solemn, contemplative, and yes, ultimately comfortable silence with this female, this Skadi, while he thought of an answer to the questions she had asked. After a long, long quiet, he said, rather lightly, "Ambitions, you ask? I have but one at this time, one only.
"To be my own self. I need not the assurance of others that I can do something. When I feel as if I can accomplish a task, I set out and I complete it, whether by my own hand, or by the help of my friend the Darkness here, but never by the hand of another hound.
"And of you, Skadi? What do you wish for in this lifetime?"
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Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 6:32 pm
"How interesting," Skadi said quitely, comtemplating what Caspar had spoken of. "Independance, that is something too strive for. But dismissing the hand of another, there I beg to differ. After all, your company can offer so much gain, if you know how to pull the proper strings..." Her voice drifted off into nothing, opening up, sharing thoughts this was not something Skadi did actively and now she was beginning to worry if she was spekaing too much. But then there was the other question.
"My ambitions?" She paused, stirring her thoughts and carefully creating a calculated stew.
"There are three powerful influences in this world Caspar, love - which I do not feel for - then there are riches - which I have not a care for - but the third, the third tempts me so. Fame. Oh, who does not want to make their own mark on the land? Who does not want to be known? Worshipped, respected, adored. Perhaps that is love, in a sense, but truly I crave fame. I wish to have my name known and that is all." Yes, that was quite honest indeed.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:07 am
Caspar rested his head on his paws, glancing up at Skadi through half-lidded eyes.
"I do not deny that being the one to pull the strings instead of being pulled by them interests me a great deal." he said lightly, as if barely touching upon the subject, dancing around it on nimble feet. "But I cannot depend on another as most in this world do." Caspar scoffed, tossing his head. "There is too much at stake to lose, too much that can be lost to the whims and fancies of someone else. It is pathetic, unbearably stifling, to believe that we should have to lean on another's shoulders to get through this place, to get through our lives."
"As for fame..." Here Caspar paused, stretching out his back legs before standing up. "I am a very big lover of fame, of being recognized for my achievements. To contrast that, I am not likely to be happy about being accepted. I do not need the assurance that I am to be accepted by another's standards when I have my own standards to adhere to. I have no need for another."
The conversation was beginning to feel too close to home for the hound. Caspar slipped past Skadi, briefly and lightly pressing his flank against her side before continuing across the vast plains and towards the forest beyond.
"Well, Lady of Secrets? Will you join me in an adventure?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 10:28 am
"And it is here, dear Caspar, our thoughts divide," Skadi paused, her words calm but perhaps lined with the traces of pity, "for, I have no problem relying - as you call it - on others. They are fools who search for a purpose, I give them that and then some. They want to please, they want meaning, they want pleasure, they want riches - I care not what their heart yearns for, you just provide. Provide enough, or nudge them in a direction which will prove to make yourself favourable and then..." Her voice trailed off, fading into the darkness. The smallest twang of mistake played in her head - was she saying too much to this hound? Revealing too much? It was wrong to cast away the shadow that hid you, and yet she had been so relaxed about it. "Then... you reap the rewards." She finsihed, her voice a uncertain whisper, not for the facts she was sharing but for how she felt about betraying her usual nature. It was an ill feeling in her, but something she couldn't dismiss all at once.
"Don't bother yourself with such lies, there is always one we wished to be praised by, always something or somehow who we long to have nod our way. Don't fool yourself with such lies. I know this well, even the most dense know this... Perhaps you just haven't met that hound yet, perhaps," she mused, subtly shifting the conversation from herself. Talking about him, that was fine, that was what she wanted.
She stood on her paws now, as he passed her, fog swam at her heels and her lank eyes followed Caspar's gaze. There was nothing out there, there was everything.
"An adventure, you say," she moved towards him, her steps quiet, "do tempt me, pray tell, what sort of adventure would we be pursueing?"
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