Kiona  © CatWhoHas14Tails
Kita  © CatWhoHas14Tails
Achak  © Draco
Kanook  © Draco
Olathe  © Draco
Ayashi  © Draco
Takoda  © Draco
Dartanion © Draco

Kiona gasped sharply, obviously not expecting to be pinned to the ground so fast. She looked up at her assailant and was a bit surprised to see Achak towering above her, not looking happy at all. A small drop of blood trickled from his eyebrow. Kiona clasped her eyes shut, her body tightening expecting him to kill her right then and there, her tail curled between her legs. She felt a whimper slip from her throat and Achak heard it. He let go, but only to pin her face into the ground with his paw, to keep her from moving as he spoke.

Achak growled, stern, making sure he was heard. Everyone around them was silenced by fear or shock. "I have no idea where your constant thirst for violence comes from, but it will stop and it will stop now. You are not in your accursed 'human world' any more. Your filthy 'master' may have went easy on you when you made the same exact foolish move on me, but I will tolerate NO violence in my pack. As long as I am in charge, you have no power here. There are rules to follow and you WILL live by them. I should not have to tell you the consequences if you do not, is that understood?"

Kiona let his spartan words sink in, stunned that she had lashed out to a higher power (yet again), frightened that she may have been killed just now, and thankful that she hadn't. Her eyes were still clenched shut, trying to keep the tears from escaping. She refused to show her mental helplessness to him, but she whispered a faint affirmative. Achak then growled at the gluttonous wolf, which had a small piece of meat at his toes.

"And you know better than to steal," he said as the wolf shrunk down in cowardice. "I will tolerate none of THAT either." Achak calmed down after noticing that Kiona was afraid of him and gently let himself off her. The last thing he wanted was to be feared. The odd thing was that this was a third time he witnessed Kiona...lose herself. He was beginning to wonder if she was doing it on purpose or if it really was something beyond her control. He had never seen any animal react to anything so little so violently.

As the pack parted for a bit, Achak walked in his own way, leaving the hybrid to her thoughts while he tended to his own. He was, however, interrupted by someone. It was Dartanion. He approached with his tail lower than Achak's.

"Think she's going to be too much trouble?" Dartanion asked.

"I don't know," Achak replied, heaving a sigh. "I need to think on it. I know that this kind of...situation has happened with her before. While I was scouting, I remember seeing her attack her human. He deserved it, but just the same...she seems extremely bloodthirsty from time to time..." He remembered the look on her face that night after she bit the man. She seemed aghast at her own actions, as if she could not believe what she had done. Even so, he now was not sure if he was going to keep her in the pack long if she was going to continue to act like this.

"Don't be too hasty, Achak," he objected, knowing what Achak was probably thinking. "If what you said earlier was true, about her human leaving her for dead, then removing her from the pack will equal the exact same sentence. Although, I seriously doubt her human did intend to--"

"Doubt all you want. I know that human had cruel intentions...just like the rest of them." he snuffed. His fur stood on end at the mere thought of the creatures. "And I will not lower myself to a human's level. I will still consider what I will do with her on my own." Achak and Dartanion bowed their heads respectfully and separated.

Meanwhile, Kiona lay by a tree in solitude, licking some blood from her paw that had been from her original meal. She felt she gained some nutrience from it, but she was still hungry and lapping at the blood seemed to quell her hunger. A large shadow overcast her body and she growled feeling a tad threatened. She calmed a little bit knowing that it was Kanook.

"What?" Kiona asked, rudely. Aside from her irritation at losing her only good meal in a few days, she was mad at herself for angering Achak. She did not want him to have a poor impression on her, especially since she was only part wolf and mostly dog.

Despite being rude to, Kanook remained polite. "Nothing. I just wanted to talk." Kiona looked at him skeptically. "That was quite the impression you presented back there." He quickly changed the subject. "I pray that you're not injured." He noticed her licking her paw, thinking it was a wound from the fight.

"I'm fine. A wimp like that guy couldn't hurt me if he tried." She went back to her paw, which was now clean, hoping to look busy so that Kanook would dismiss himself, but he failed to leave.

"I can tell you're upset about angering Achak, but don't be too misunderstanding," he continued. "He--"

"I understand fully," Kiona stood up to walk away, obviously having her fill of Kanook's company. "He's the leader, that's what he does. He punishes the dense. I know well of how to lead, I did it once myself. And I say he's far to kind and that my punishment was not hard enough. I deserved worse."

"Why is that?"

"Because I'm neither wolf nor dog. I'm both. Not dog enough for dogs, not wolf enough for wolves. I'm both cursed and blessed with my heritage." Kiona realized she was rambling and silenced herself. She started walking away, not really knowing where to go, and not really caring if her departure offended the older wolf. All she knew was that she did not want to mingle with any living thing, nor did she want anyone to think her crazy.

"I'm sure that since you understand Achak's actions, he'd understand yours...if you explain it to him." he proposed. She didn't face him, but responded by heading in Achak's direction. She knew relatively where his location was, just by sniffing the air and grasping his unforgettable scent.

It didn't take too long to find him since he didn't stray too far from his pack. He was perched on a small mound which was out in the open, observing his surroundings. The moon was slowly rising for the night. He turned his head to look at Kiona. Both of them seemed surprised, for somewhat different reasons. Achak was surprised that Kiona was approaching him and Kiona was a bit shaken when he looked at her. His stare made her go still. When he turned his head back to look forward, she slowly approached him with her tail somewhat curled between her legs.

Achak sighed. "You don't have to approach me so timidly. I know you've learned your lesson."

Kiona trotted beside him and sat. She stared at the moon peeking from over a mountain. Nothing could really be heard but the occasional howl of the wind and the breaths of the two canines. They would've been able to smell the trees above them, but they were completely consumed in the other's scent to notice. They tried not to let it be known that their scents were appealing to one another.

Achak and Kiona remained in silence for a few moments, merely enjoying their company, but not letting anyone be aware of it. Little did they know that as they sat in the silence, they were slowly remembering their interest in each other. Being quiet was driving them both secretly mad.

"I wanted to apologize for earlier," Kiona spoke. "I...really don't know what came over me. Not that any excuse will make a difference in my stupidity."

"Well...at least no one was hurt."

"But...you were hurt." she whispered, looking at him with her eyes that shown with shame in herself.

Achak looked up at his brow. He had completely forgotten that she did in fact draw blood, but his blood coagulated well and the bleeding ceased for the time being. He looked back at the hybrid, who almost looked so ridiculously contrite it was adorable. Even though she was a bit odd and violent, he couldn't help but smile at her to assure her that it was okay. "It's only a scratch."

Kiona looked away, a bit skeptical. "Yeah...but I could've hurt you as bad as Thomas...er, I mean, my...master." She remembered at the last second that he didn't seem to like humans too much. He stood up to leave and scoffed.

"Since you're not living with humans anymore, I'd prefer it if you didn't mention them at all in front of me." He started to walk. Kiona ran to his side.

"Could you at least tell me why?" she asked. "What do you have against humans? I mean, yes, there are bad men, but not all are--"

"They shot and killed my father in front of my very eyes," he replied sourly. "When they intended to kill me and the others." The hybrid blinked, although not in the least bit surprised such a terrible event occured before him. She knew that humans shot and killed wolves, and even dogs, and she couldn't really blame him for hating humans for killing his father. But it really was no excuse to hate them all.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to bring up such terrible memories. I don't know what I'd do without my dad."

"It's fine. You didn't know." Achak wanted to change the subject. He wanted to try and understand why Kiona acted the way she did, so he made a detour around the area where the pack was located. She didn't seem to notice, and if she did she pretended not to. "So...your dad must be pretty great."

"He is," she said. "It's been such a long time since I've seen him, I barely remember him anymore. But I don't remember hating him ever. He was very good to me, despite how I feared him at first." Kiona wasn't sure if this was a good way to go in a conversation with him, but she knew it was better than telling him how her father saved an entire town of humans from an illness.

"You feared your father? Why's that?"

"Well...I grew up in a society that feared wolves. And I guess you could say it brainwashed me, because I was scared of my dad,