The Hunted Desire (Accepting Profiles now)

[Gail Akriest]

Akiera glanced at his hunter friend. "... I've never been called 'human' before. By the time I was old enough to understand, I was just another werewolf; I've known nothing else." He chuckled. "You know, I think you would have a very good point on the whole human/werewolf point but for one thing." He sighed, all joy having left his eyes.

"Not a lot of people are like you: you just see us as another race with an unfortunate past. I wish more people saw us that way, but... to them, anything different scares them, and so they hunt us, kill us, and glorify the slaughter of our kind." He smiled sadly. "It's not that we reject hum... your kind. They reject us: If we were to reveal ourselves, it would be the end of us."

Akiera looked down, looking almost ready to cry. "If Hu... people. If people allowed themselves to look at us the way a drifter like yourself does, then we wouldn't have to live in fear." A single tear fell from his eye. "In all honesty, though our physical abilities outmatch all humans by a considerable amount, my kind is deathly afraid of yours.

He stopped and got control of himself. He was a kid, of course, but he was responsible for the lives of the other lycanthropy victims: He was the one they looked to when things got rough. He glanced at Kat and Tala, knowing they had seen his momentary weakness. "I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be the controlled one, but..." He put on a weak smile. "Hell, I'm still a kid, same as the rest of us."  

[Squiggle~Me`Penguins]

Tala smiled at her friend. "It's fine, we all need to cry sometimes. We've all got some bad fault that wasn't ours. But we'll get through, I know we will." She looked around at the three of them. She turned to the hunter "Why don't you join us? Like a union perhaps, a joining between the hunters and wolves. We can help each other understand and live better. I know it sounds cheesy but.." She fiddled with her long brown hair before putting her hand on the sheath of her dirk. "It's worth a try, isn't it?"  

[Noltic]

"Well companionship seems to be finding me of late. so why not."

He lookaed down at his hands. He hated himself and his hands. He was never meant to create only destroy and he knew that. He longed for the days when he was younger, when in actuality it had only been two years prior.

He longed for the days when he was intelligent and wise. Longed for the days when he wrote poetry. Those days, were long gone, but none knew what lay over the horizon, and if he was indeed fighting for a better world, he couldnt do it alone.

"First I'm not a hnter.... My coat is just red because it was the one issued me by the army and i dont have any money to replace it. Second, your physical ability has nothing to do with who should be afraid of whom. The neandrethals died out to the sapiens, and the neandrethals were ten times the men. It's fear, fear is instilled in you along with the hatred and disdain, and it causes you all to be weak. But fear of what? The worst thing you could lose is your life, and a life of prison in fear is no life at all. You form small-time resistances and rob caravans and kill hunters, and thats the only reason there are so many hunters. If you were organized, if you were courageous, if you had a rallying cause, you could be fighting the army not bounty hunters. Th government makes me sick, but you three should be sick at what you fear. I'll help you all, but you three must also help yourselves."

With that he slammed his hands onto the crate and jumped to his feet.

"Allright then... I'm kinda tired, and with that im going to find a park unless any of you have questions."  

[Gail Akriest]

Akiera sighed with an ironic smile. "Fear? yes, fear. though not of your kind." He shrugged, speaking only to himself, though he had no doubt tala and Kat could hear him: Lycan ears picked up more than the human ear. "And organization... the only thing keeping the lycanthropy victims in the town from become just another band of insignificant 'freedom fighters' isn't the fear of death: death is just another fact of life. we fear captivity, bondage. We fear knowing that there is something we are a part of, yet being unable to do anything about it." His smile was widening. "This town in particular has a facination of capturing us and treating us as a showcase. Before they kill us, of course." He looked down. "Tell me, friend, have you ever been held captive? It breaks the spirit, tears it apart, until only hoplessness and a want of death is left." His voice was full of rage now. "We don't fear death. We fear the total annihalation of who and what we are."  

[Squiggle~Me`Penguins]

Tala grabbed Akiera's arm. "There's no point getting angry here." She pointed out. "He's like us in some ways but not others, at least he's not tried to kill us already." She waved her arm at their new found friend. "Stay here, I'm sure no one will disturb. And at least it's a sort of roof over your head." She turned to Katt "Are you going back to that pub inn place where you sleep? I might join you and see if they've got another spare room."  

[jinxercat2006]

((sorry for not being on, i've been grounded sweatdrop ))

Kat had been sitting there watching them speak for a while, contemplating her options. "We could all use a random bag of loot, but that hope never flies." She smiled at the hunter warily, but turned to Akiera instantly. "Since when did I side with you? You cannot control me." She turned away, pressing her cold fingers to her temple. Calm down... she told herself. Don't be angry, that's the last thing we need now...

"Hell, you can all stay if you want to. It'll be warm, and I think I have some extra blankets somewhere." She pondered for a moment. "I think I could pilfer some food from downstairs as well."

She was still a little leery of having this strange nomad stay with them, but for some reason, his attitude and disposition did not ring warning bells in her ears. I wonder why he does not fear sleeping in a room of three sleepless and hungry werewolfs...  

[Noltic]

Something in the kid's rant had gotten to him. He had been held captive, and he knew what it was like. His spirit seemed to drain and his eyes were distant. His mout fell open and he breathed raggedly.

He pulled up his sleeves and looked at the scars. The ragged rings of flesh that half a year chained in a corner of a dark room had done to him.

"I have been held captive. When you desert the army they send you to jail. When you desert covert ops, they lock you in a room with no widows and no lights hooked up to an I.V. and completely cut off from the world for 6 months. I don't mind being alone because i was for half a year. Completely alone in a grimy dark room with no sanitation. and my spirit never broke. It never broke because there was a reason to fight on a reason to remain unbroken. After that i was given some clothes a dishoneourable discharge and a boot in the a**. Im probably lucky they didnt kill me."

He sighed and stood up. He scratched hi hair and recovered himself.

"Don't assume that no one can know your pain, can i ask you... have you ever been completely alone?"

Sighing he knew this kid's kind well enough. He was tough he could handle himself and probably a few others, but he was still young. he needed to learn to relax more or he was gonna turn into a half-mad ball of stress.

Pulling out a hair elastic and tying back his hair he turned to the girl who he had shared his food with.

"If you're willing to put me up, id be more than glad to accept your hospitality. As for food, im pretty sure i could rustle up enough for myself and a few other people. So... to town then?"

He adjusted his fedora and kicked open the door to the warehouse..."lets go."

"O, and by the way my name, if you care to know it, is Nicholas."  

[jinxercat2006]

Kat listened quietly to his story, secretly knowing that everyone here had a story. Everyone fought for a reason. She tuned her head so fast she thought it might break at the word "alone". I thought I had blocked that from my memory... She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead again with her now numb with cold fingers. Somehow this calmed her, though the hunter's tirade had brought on cold thoughts of the near-forgotten. Voices screamed in her head, one of them her own...

"No... NO! I won't..." "I can't put myself through this again..." "SHUT UP! LISTEN TO ME!" There was a loud crack, and then a silence, though it was cut like knives by piercing whispers that grew louder and louder until they reached a deafening volume.

Kat shook herself from her thoughts. The last thing she remembered was the hunter giving his name. Nicholas... She tried to smile, but her mouth was unwilling. Sighing again, she said, "My place isn't that far from here, about two or three blocks." And with that, she trudged out the door.  

[Noltic]

Nich followed the girl, unaware with the others, be they following or not.

Something about the girl seemed odd and they passed the walk in silence, he would have felt rude had he interupted her revery. She was very deep in thought and she looked shaken.

He sighed, he didnt think such a beuatiful young girl should have a reason to look like that.

Again he thought to himself that she couldnt be much younger than he, but she was experienced in her life, she lived alone, but she seemed new to being a werewolf. Overall she was very responsible.

He reached to place a hand on her shoulder but withdrew it.

He was never shy around anyone unless he had a reason to worry about what someone thought of him. That hadnt happened in years, many many years. Ever since the years when he had been a poet.

He sighed this girl, she was getting into his head, and he felt for her. Not like others in which as long as he helped them with their problems he lived concience free. Somehow, he had a desire to make this girl happy.

Forcing my hand 'tis the will of a devil, though guiding my course intent of an angel

He chuckled, he was slowly coming back, all this company was getting to him. The solitary shell he'd developed was melting.

This time he placed his hand on her shoulder and asked in a condolescent tone."Hey... you gonna be allright?" Just as they stood in front of the door to the inn.  

[Gail Akriest]

Akiera, listening to the hunter tell his story, sighed. Nicholas... you were, in a sense, lucky. At least you had someone who cared about you... He had never had that luxury: He'd been abandoned as a child, and was raised by a crazed lunatic of a lycan. His childhood had been one beating after another. He'd never known love, never known friendship. Then... they came. The village had been razed, and he, the only survivor, have been held captive, alone. For six years he'd been a showcase, a prisoner without shackles: in a way, that was worse than being tied down. He'd been jeered at, beaten, tortured, all for the pleasure of others. And then... It all stopped: he was forgotten. He sat in a dark room, with no food save the rats wandering through the cell, and living off of rainwater. I know all too well the pain of being alone... When he finally had escaped, he was still alone until he reached this town. They took him in... and he was still alone. Just another lycan. Until... Until Tala had come. It was then he had finally found a friend. He was no longer alone. With her support, he found the confidence to exert his true abilities as a tactician, and as a leader. With her help, he had gained confidence. I owe her so much... He shook out of his reverie, and smiled. He had had a hard life... but at least he wasn't alone anymore. He chanced a sideway glance at Tala, and felt his heart fill with hope and love, love for the one who had entered his solitude and pulled him free of it. He resisted the urge to hug her: It would be sort of embarrassing to do that in front of Nicholas and Kat...

Shaking himself a bit, he stood up, his eyes now holding their usual glint again. "Wait for us!" he called after the two leaving, and holding Tala's wrist he ran to catch up with them. that's right... I'm no longer alone.  

[jinxercat2006]

Kat was walking in silence, still wondering why her thoughts, which she had locked from herself for so long, finally were free to torment her.

I guess I'll just try and deal with this. To forget the past... I should be able to push that aside and live in what now is one of the happiest times of my life... These four broken people... now finding sanctuary within themselves and haven with each other. Maybe I was right for coming here. Maybe I was meant to come here.

Kat started at Nicholas's touch, but finally forced a small smile from her weathered and weary face. "I'll be fine. Some sleep will probably be best." She looked down, a little bashful, knowing she sounded and looked insane. I should explain it to him..

"I know you might think it's vacuous of me, but before I came to this town, I trusted no one. When I first met Tala back in the woods, I was tense, ready for an ambush. After being here for a while though, and having good company..." She looked up at his briefly. "I realize my mistake. It's bittersweet though. Being around people who have known misery as well as I have has somehow brought back things that I thought I've been rid of for a long time now."

She turned to the door and fiddled with a key hanging from a chain from her pocket. "The innkeeper always locks up at night... you've seen why..." She said quietly, almost a whisper. "He doesn't want people like us wandering in." She motioned for Akiera and Tala to be quiet as she unlocked the door, holding it open for the others to enter.  

[Noltic]

Nich smiled. He stepped closer to the girl to move from the othersway.

"First, if I've rehashed any repressed memorys, I wouldnt change anything i've said. You must deal with your problems, no matter how awful they may be. If you simply forget about them they never go away. So, with that in mind its always better to talk about your problems... but how about you start with your name seein as how i dont beleive youve given it as of yet."

Nich smiled, hearing her talk was encouraging, it made him feel a little closer, as if before, she were more than human.  

[jinxercat2006]

((warning, INCREDIBLY long post ahead..... smile ))

"I know you’re right." Kat said. "I just don't want to accept it." She smiled. "My name is Annu Kiyana." She rolled her eyes. "I blame my parents for that. Call me Kat."

She laughed. "So you want my life story? I assure you, it is not a page-turner. I was born human to my mother and father in a big city. For some reason that I have never managed to unlock, my father left one morning without a note nor trace that he was ever there. My mother raised me; trying to manage two full-time jobs and me took its toll on her. When I was 12, she and I were in our car, and I was sulking because she wouldn't buy me a new outfit for the dance at school."

Again, Kat rolled her eyes. "It seemed so important to me back then... anyways, we reached a red light and, from what I can remember and what the doctor told me, a car hit us, killing my mom and injuring me to the point of extreme blood loss.”

She looked into his eyes, trying to read his face for his reaction before saying casually, “I’m sure you’ve heard about the so-called myth that long ago, a man donated blood tainted with lycan DNA to the Red Cross. He passed it down to many people, each person becoming slowly wolf-like until they could transform at will. Somehow, the blood was passed down through generations. When I needed a blood donation to ensure my survival, they used blood from a tainted source, intoxicating me through my very veins.”

“When I was finally released from the hospital, I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know what. I lived with a friend for a while, but once I started to become… bloodthirsty, I had the mind to leave her and her family for their own safety. From there, I lived on the streets during the brief times when I wasn’t away in the woods as a beast. With the myth of the Wolf Virus becoming more and more popular, people got suspicious. I knew it was not a myth from experience, but I played no part in encouraging the spread of it. I’ve managed to restrain myself from human flesh, and, knowing what I am, have not donated any blood or made very much human contact at all.”

“It had been about a year since my mother died before I made what I thought was a friend. He was very kind to me, gave me shelter and food, but I soon believed that he knew indeed what I was. My thoughts were confirmed soon enough. I was about to lie down on the cot he had set up for me in his house when he held me at gunpoint and confronted me on what a monster I was. It turned out that he was one of the soldiers commissioned by the government to rat out the virus and “take care of it”.”

“I have nightmares now of when I was scared, so scared that he was going to kill me. He tried to silence me and stop me from screaming, so he shot his gun once into the floor. This terrified me more, and in a frantic outburst, I managed to get through the door before he caught me. It was nighttime, but some people still walked the streets. As I ran by, fleeing the pounding footsteps behind me, people stared and whispered because rapidly, I was beginning to run faster and I gained a wild look on my face. My eyes slowly turned from ice-blue to bright orange and as my heart started to race, I knew I had to hide. I ran to my sanctuary in the forest and the darkness swallowed me before I was completely transformed.”

“I ran so fast and so far, I didn’t even know where I was… Now it’s been two years since the car accident, one since I ran away. I’ve wandered the woods and the surrounding villages, stealing food and water; the things I needed. Falohn, who runs the inn here, saw me in my true form, but to my astonishment, he was neither scared nor surprised at my secret. As he told me, in Scotland, his native home, the ones able to shape shift into wolves are regarded to be spirits, powerful and wise, that protect and guide the people around them. Graciously, he offered me a room, so long as I not get into any trouble around here.”

Kat sighed. Now he knew everything. It was an all or nothing gamble. But how will he accept me now? she thought to herself. I am nothing but a monster to him.  

[Noltic]

"Heh... now isnt that a little better?."

He leaned in and hugged her. She smelt of the woods, and he thought it fitting, not repulsing or odd, but almost delightful. He released her and stepped back.

"Sorry... you looked like you coulda used that. Plus id rather you be offended than sad anyway." He laughed as je said this.

"Oh, if you care to know, the soldier who held you captive is dead. When he confronted you he was acting outside orders, he was acting on hatred, and I wasnt about to stand for that. Who knew that killing a fellow officer would be frowned upon."

He sighed, he wasnt proud of his behavior, but justice was being completely ignoredby everyone else. He had done what he saw asright. Then justice had attempted to crush his spirit. This was the reason he was no longer a part of society.

"Hey, im not about to sit in the street when theres a vacant room waiting for me... after you."

He made a small flourish with his coat and motioned his hostess in.  

[Noltic]

[Man... sorry mine was so short, but i typed it on a wii... thats 1 freakin key at a time... It took me like 20 minutes.]