"Peace be with you." [JOINING]

[Cobяa]

♪ ZAяI ♫

> You're so fxxking special, I wish I was special. But I'm a creep; I'm a weirdo.
What the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here. <

Creep lyrics © Radiohead

Snowflakes drifted down from the smokey sky, reminding everyone who traveled through here that it was always winter in the Peaks.

Shuddering slightly at the chill in the air, Zari puffed out her feathers to try and insulate herself better. She didn't like the cold too much as her Alternate; after all, the raptor was from a warmer climate. Dipping her head slowly, Zari's eyes started to close -- she was listening.

Splish!

The sound, although faint and almost inaudible, made Zari's off-white head whirl around. She had passed a small creek on her way there, so the Shifter was positive the sound came from that general direction. Clacking her beak in slight annoyance at having to move in this frigid air, Zari ruffled her feathers once more to get rid of the snow that had accumulated on her shoulders. Inching closer to the edge of the branch where she was perched, Zari peeked at the ground. She was at a fairly high altitude; this was a large evergreen, and she was on a branch about halfway up.

Then, crouching slightly, Zari prepared for takeoff - spreading her wings, flapping once before leaping. She was in a nosedive toward the ground, wings now tucked in and ready to spread once she grew closer to it. When she was no more than three and a half away from plummeting into the white blanket, she spread her wings suddenly and started to soar through the trees, kicking up some of the newly fallen snow with the force she had created.

She was, in a sense, graceful in flight, despite her size. Soon, she reached a point in flight where she didn't have to flap more than once per minute, and one could tell she was intentionally slowing down. As the sound of rushing water grew louder, Zari landed gently on a stone near the edge of the water, caught off-guard slightly by the slipperiness of the thin layer of ice. To keep herself from slipping into the water, the Shifter planted her talons on a flatter surface of the rock.

Splish!

Snapping her head toward the noise - which had grown a bit louder - Zari narrowed her eyes. In one fell swoop, she dived and plucked the turtle out of the shallow water with her razor-sharp talons. Then, placing it on the ground, Zari watched for a moment as the turtle raced for cover; it had sensed danger, apparently. A little too late, perhaps?

Knocking the little reptile onto its back with her feathery head, Zari figured she should just put the poor little guy out of its misery quickly. So, pecking the turtle with a little bit more force, she cracked the shell and punctured the skin, piercing the chest and killing it. When the turtle stopped squirming, she started to pick away at the shell, revealing the reptilian hide beneath it. Soon it was naked, and she sighed.

Dear ancestors, I thank you for this meal, blah blah blahhh. . . she rolled her eyes to help her stop thinking about the constricted feeling in her throat, which normally lead to tears. Her mother always used to nag the pups for digging in without grace, and so it was just a force of habit for Zari now.

A slight breeze picked up, disturbing the fresh snow surrounding her. The snow accumulated around her until it suddenly stopped, and she was now sitting in her original form, black pelt glowing with the light of the setting sun. She was about to start eating, when she realized the smell of other wolves.

Oh dear lord. she had to admit, that was the first thought that came into her mind, and it startled her. Yeah, um . . . I should probably let them know I'm here. . . So I don't get, like, mauled or whatever.

Now that she thought about it, the scent was kind of intriguing. But she knew it wasn't a good time to get distracted, so she sat back on her hind paws and threw her head back, parting her lips to an "o" shape.

Then, letting out the famous, "yeah, I'm here, just to let you know" howl, Zari cried for a straight minute before stopping. Her howl was carried by the wind and it echoed through the trees, loud enough so all could hear.

Pleassseeee let this go well.

○ "Zari speaks" ● Zari thinks ● "Male speaks to Zari" ● "Female speaks to Zari" ○

› иotεs - This is horrible, I will admit. I just don't have too much muse to make an astounding post at the moment. xD The next one will be better, I swear.
› listεиiиg to - Where Is The Love by The Black Eyed Peas
› woяd couиt - 728

» this layout was made out of random by Cobяa of Wishing; get your own, you lazy person you!

[Glaciers are Cold]

caustic is a meanie,

you take too long can i kill you now?

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,520,true][atrb=style, background: url(http://i53.tinypic.com/a2vuas.png); padding: 5px; text-align: justify; color: #202020; text-transform: lowercase;] It was snowing again. Great fat flakes plunged downwards, coating the glacial earth with layers upon layers of pale silk. The flurries had colored the landscapes into iridescent pearls. There were baby blues and pale-rose pinks flourishing. The vanilla frosting swirled with dips and twirls all across, setting the mood for a peaceful atmosphere. But to offset this was a darkening sky. It was like a drowned navy, its fringes almost white, and dark in splotches. It was heavy and thick too, and shrouded with a thin layer of wispy clouds. And in the very center of it was a shrieking-white form gliding smoothly over the tranquil-for-now sky. Caustic stared skyward in wonder. She admired its flawless flight, its gentle beauty. The way it cut sharp strokes through the waterless air, and smoothed out the wrinkles. It was rather small, but its power was obvious. She watched and longed to soar with it, and perhaps her heart just did, it certainly felt like it. Free… free… free… Freedom itself was a powerful thing, and here she was, literally grounded. And suddenly, she felt her limp body become heavy, as if chains shackled her throat like a diabolical necklace, and a string a metal pearls confined her body to the snowy earth. What would it take to be free, she wondered. Or did she want to know freedom's weighty cost? The freely floating bird banked sharply and dove down. The similarly painted she-wolf watched its progression until the pale bullet shot beyond what she could see. There were straggly trees and pointed stones barring her view, so she struggled up. Her paws, raw from treading ice all day, somehow picked their way through the trash of nature. Finally, she had scaled the top and had a picture-perfect view of the little valley below. There was a bubbling brook that had emptied out into a much wider lake which dwarfed its parent stream. The water rippled and undulated as it was exposed to the elements: hurtling snow and bitter wind. More splashes marred its glassy surface as a flurry of movement occurred. It was the bird. Swiftly, Caustic pounded down to the waters, before pausing just at the edge. She turned to the bird, curious as to whether or not it was the shifter she had met before. Although as she recalled the other held more golden tones in its feathers; this one's paper-feathers were too bright. Abruptly, the snow swirling around seemed to erupt in a tornado that engulfed the bird, spinning and whirling so fast that the she-wolf's eyes nearly bled. She squinted against the light as it slowly died away, leaving a pure-white wolf in its place. So it was a shifter. And one she hadn't met before it seemed. The shifter seemed to pause before leaning down to rip at the flesh at her paws. The tangy smell of the dead flesh caused Caustic to wrinkle her nostrils. It smelled of the sea, something she was not entirely fond of in large quantities. But the other wolf hesitated and instead shaped her lips into a perfect full-moon, letting loose a rippling howl. Somewhat perturbed, Caustic leapt out and snarled, "Quit it! Do you want the others to hear you?" Then she stopped. Well, it was pretty obvious that was her intention. She lowered her voice. "Trust me, you don't want to meet them, we're a vicious lot." She snarled to demonstrate her supposed viciousness. True, not all of them were that bad, but some could tear the flesh off another wolf without them even noticing until it was too late. There were all kinds of ruthlessness too. Betrayal, violence, torture, just to name a few. And what was Caustic's ruthlessness? She was a quiet sort, a traditionalist she supposed. She would perhaps do anything to preserve the traditional way of life. She… liked the violence, the mangling. It was how things were and she was determined to keep it that way. Was that ruthlessness? Was it? Was it that easy? Presumably, yes.

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words 674 tags Zari notes She's referring to Bristol, a shifter with a… hawk's form I think? credits rinne

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