Lykaios & Tifa

[Tifa Lockhart]

Arik and Kira listened intently as their companion spoke of his pack. They envied his family's closeness, how much they supported one another. They'd never known such kindness from their own people.
"It must be nice to be special," Kira murmured, setting her bowl aside and drawing her knees up to her chest.
"We were never special," Arik continued for her, picking up where she'd left off seamlessly. "We're less than nothing to our tribe... we were disappointments... failures." He sidled over to sit beside his sister, looping an arm around her shoulder.
"Our parents were the first fertile pair for generations... the tribe was aging dangerously. Everyone pinned their hopes that they would give life to another lone child that could continue the cycle... but instead they had us. Broken, only half people," she sobbed, leaning into her brother's chest.
"It is hard, being broken... but we get by," Arik continued, trying to smile and seem content, despite his sister's distress being the same as his own.

[Lykaios]

He lost his grin as soon as he realised it had upset Kira learning that in his pack, he was special. He'd taken for granted his position, and it had never occurred to him that his new companions might not be as lucky as he was. His expression switched to the Huan equivalent of sorrow, as he attempted to reassure the pair. He wasn't really aware of everything he could say to them, but it was not wise to leave things unspoken while they were upset.

"It's not always a blessing being special, pups. My siblings and I shall be made to fight to the death, to decide on the Alpha. As well as the one to survive the Culling; being made to fight the present Alpha. If the present Alpha wins; he has to kill the one to challenge him. What do you mean by broken, pups? I sense nothing broken about you both. But rather, you both appear to be strong for Adrinite's to my senses." he said, eyeing the pair sadly.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Both Arik and Kira seemed horrified by the notion of having to kill ones kin just for the sake of control. All they had was one another, the thought that they might have had to kill each other seemed completely alien.
"I could never do that," Arik breathed, squeezing his sister tighter. "Such bloodshed seems so pointless..."
Kira placed a hand on her brother's cheek then, before stretching up to kiss him softly, urging him to relax, she'd felt how tense he had become.
She then turned back to Macari, a little grim faced as she ventured to answer his question.
"Our tribe was cursed a long time ago by the goddess of Love, Mel. She fell in love with an Adrinite woman ((Not a typo )), but when she was spurned by her, she cursed all of our people. She split the soul of the Adrinite woman's first born child... embodying the one being in two incomplete bodies." Subconsciously her hand dropped to her stomach, and Arik curled his arms tighter around her.
"Now the women of our tribe rarely bare lone children... most children born are twins, like Kira and I..." Arik continued for her. "Twins born are incomplete... and therefore cannot bare children of their own. The hopes of the tribe depend on the single-born... the complete children."

[Lykaios]

Macari wasn't quite understanding Adrinite culture. The curse sounded like it made sense, and he assumed that a 'Goddess' was something greater than an Adrinite, hence the ability to curse it's people. But he was struggling to get his head around something.

"Pray, if the firstborn is cursed, why do Adrinite families not just bear more pups? Would that not grant 'complete children'?" he asked, curious about whether or not that had been previously thought of or not, by the Adrinite peoples. He was a moderately intelligent Huan -which was intelligent by Huan standards- but perhaps that was an oversight the Adrinite pack had over-looked, when trying to replenish their species.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Though both the twins seemed amused by his logic, they sadly shook their heads.
"Unfortunately, the curse did not stick to just firstborns. For a time all children born there after were whole... but now it is unpredictable. A complete pair may give birth to all complete children, or all incomplete, or an unpredictable mix of the two... it is a gamble," Kira explained.
"And our people do not live terribly long... making the number of children they can bare fairly limited," Arik added softly.

((Blah, getting so short >.<))

[Lykaios]

Macari's tenderised body was still aching lightly, but it was bearable having been healed by the elven woman who had just as quickly vanished form their midst, upon tending his wounds. He eyed Arik cautiously. He had witnessed Macari rending the man's flesh, and had quickly had his expression turn to devestation and horror. Macari felt to blame for their simple and bloodless life coming a sudden halt, despite knowing that there had been no way for him to control the movements of this 'so-called' Shadow King of the humans.

Add to that, the horrors that must have been part of Adrinite existence, being cursed to the point of rarely finding breeding pairs amongst their kin would be difficult. Macari knew no such terror, coming from the Huan race. His kind bred and bore multiple off-spring at one time. Somehow, the mother knew if there was something wrong with her pups and dealt with it immediately. It was all so normal to him, that only the strong were kept while the weak were disposed of or left alone -in the hopes strength would come- in deep forest for days. Macari had always been strong, as had his breed siblings. They'd been told they were special, that they bore the spark of Juura; father of their kind, in turn with the strength of the mother, spirit of the earth they cherished.

"Pray, that is terrible. Is there no way to overcome the curse?" he asked, despairing for their kind. At least their race was beautiful, not just in appearance, but in nature. Unlike the humans.

"My siblings and I were special because we are the children of our kinds father, we are told. And so, we will unite the packs, or destroy them. Ultimately, we shall die. As is the fate of those born to Juura destiny. Our kind's father, Juura angered the Land-Mother, who turned her back on him after birthing more of our kind. We are no longer held in contempt by our Land-Mother, having forgiven us the sins of our father, but those born to his spark are destined to rule and die." he told them his fate, neither mournful nor afraid. It was his lifes pre-determined path.

"Which is why Huan of my colour fur are uncommon."

((Shall we press on to new and adventurous heights, then?))

[Tifa Lockhart]

((I suppose, though I'm not sure what sort of thing exactly we should launch in to... suppose we could just have the village attacked and such, so Macari takes the twins away to safety? Something like that... :/))

Kira and Arik listened intently as their Huan companion went on to explain the nature of his importance to his clan, and how his fate was some sort of pre-ordained thing.
Kira immediately found herself detesting the idea that someones future could be decided for them, and that they would get no say in it. She found it even more surprising that he would be accepting of that, and capable of just sitting down and letting it play out as it was supposed too. If she'd only been able too, she would have loved to walk away from everything and defy her fate. She wanted nothing more than to bare children of her own, to hold their soft hands and paddle with them in the rock pools she and her brother frequented so often. She still fought the idea deep inside, though her body would never allow her.

Arik meanwhile rejected the story for far different reasons.
"That gods should leave well alone," he grumbled when Macari was done. "It's hard to accept that beings of such great good, could commit acts of such evil, or bare such over-reaching grudges."
He'd always been embittered by the Adrinite curse... he had not broken the heart of the Goddess of Love, but yet her hatred extended to he and his sister as well. Their teachers preached that one day when she found the love of another, she would forgive them and relieve them of their curse, but he didn't believe it. He believed that she would never stop, not until every one of their people grew old and died, leaving behind nothing but a memory of a sea-side race.
He could not fault her entirely though, for without her curse, he would not have his sister... and he loved her more than anything else on the earth, he could bare being an outcast, being frowned upon, as long as he had her at his side. So he could not imagine how Macari must have felt, knowing he would one day have to destroy his brothers and sisters, and perhaps all his kin.
"Is there no way you can change your destiny?" he murmured softly. "No way you can go your own path, rather than the one chosen for you?"
Kira nodded, her brother voicing the question she'd wished to ask herself.

[Lykaios]

Macari nodded his large head at their question: destiny could be changed and shaped by one's own actions. How it played out, was usually decided in advance, but a creature of intelligence would find it possible to alter how it happened. He knew that, and though he was sure of his fate, he did not worry about it. He had time to get focus before his life would be determined.
"I know you can alter the means, pups. Pray, I don't but know how one could defy fate. Perhaps that is left to those who don't think about it?" he supplied.

"I have considered advancing my fate, and restraining. Though both concepts are tough to comply with. For me; fate rushes at it's own pace. Not mine. Some could defy fate, but I think I cannot."

He perked his ears at a sound close but out of Adrinite earshot. Muffled footsteps and voices, were in his head. He sniffed the air, his nose finally back to normal.

"Humans!" he growled and cursed a lone word in his tongue.

((Sounds good. Got us a start...serious mindblank...)

[Tifa Lockhart]

Kira curled against her brother, frightened. They didn't have to speak Huan to know what he was now alert too. They also knew there was no point running... for they might unintentionally lead the humans back to their village... and Adrinites had no hopes of protecting themselves.
"Arik..." she whimpered, burying her face in his chest, inhaling quick, panicked breaths. The scent of his skin soothed her a little... knowing he was there was relaxing enough for her, but her heart raced quickly in her chest. His soothing hands ran up along her spine as he made comforting noises with his mouth.
"What do we do?" he whispered to their Huan companion. He was not really in much of a state to protect them... "Do we run? W-Where will we go?"

[Lykaios]

Macari listened intently to the distant sounds. Not yet able to make out how many were advancing towards them. The Adrinite heartbeats had intensified drastically to his sudden alertness, and they were terrified of what was to come. He was certain he hadn't recovered enough to defend them, but he had to save their lives. Even if it cost his own. Arik posed a question, and Macari thought about it briefly.

"There's little we can do, pups. Especially in my state. Pray, pups; running seems the best option. Into the forest. I can keep you safe in the forest." he responded, and struggled to his feet. They had to leave immediately, and while they still had time; he would likely not be able to maintain great speed for lengthy periods of time. There was still a long time before his pack arrived. At the best, his actual siblings would arrive in hours, at full speed.

"We need to leave, pups. I can only protect you so long. Your pack will hopefully be alright till my pack arrives." he added, attempting to reassure the pair.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Arik helped his sister to her feet, a hurried hand sliding over her hair and her body to tidy her appearance and try to soothe her with his tenderness. She sobbed softly as they moved forward to join the Huan. They both seemed terrified, but ready to do what they had too.
"We can't let them find the village..." Arik whispered.

[Lykaios]

Macari stopped for a moment, having sensed a hastening in his packs movements. They'd been a few days out, but with the increase to their speed, his two siblings would be arriving in a couple of hours, and the rest of his pack a few hours after. They must have sensed his sudden unease and tension, and decided to come help faster.

"We will need to decide quickly, pups. Shall we stay and fight till my brothers and sisters arrive soon, or shall we make an escape? This is your pack-home, pups. It is your decision." Macari said, knowing what it must be like to be terrified, but worried about the lives of their kind.

[Tifa Lockhart]

The twins looked at each other then, some sort of silent discourse transpiring between their locked gazes. Finally Kira gave a whimper.
"No we can't leave them all, what if they get hurt? O-Or..."
"I don't care," Arik replied, cutting her off. He raised a hand to cup her cheek, running a gentle finger over her soft pale flesh. He then drew her in close to him, wrapping his arms around her, his fingers caressing her long tresses of green hair. "Your safety is all I care about."
"B-But..." she whined, not even finishing her protest. She knew there'd be no arguing with her brother.
"We have to go," Arik relayed to Macari. "I want my sister as far away from this as possible."

[Lykaios]

Macari looked torn between the two and their differing decisions, and wanted to save their people. But primarily, save these two Adrinite's he had already given up lots for in the past two days. He was willing to take them deep into the forest where they couldn't be found by the humans, but was finding it hard to decide whether he should leave them hidden, and go to the village and protect their kind. He grumbled slightly, and looked oddly at the pair.

"Which shall I do? I could hide you deep in the forest, and return to save your village...or shall I just protect you both, hidden deep in the underbrush."

[Tifa Lockhart]

Kira dropped into silent sobbing at her brother's side, knowing he would make the decision for her. She also already knew what he'd say.
"My sister is the most important thing to me," Arik declared, holding his sister tightly. "I want her safe before anything else."