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Post by nikki on Sept 8, 2007 17:12:01 GMT -5
Loup-garoux. The term was vaguely familiar, like a very old phrase he had heard years ago. A hushed whisper, a furtive glance, a door slamming... these things, these snippets of memories, could belong to anyone or anything. But Rian did have a faint recollection of the words.
"I think my dad was talking about that," Rian announced finally. He didn't add that his father had spoken of a certain loup-garoux with a vicious tone, implanted with a growl; that voice that he seldom used, only when he was really angered.
He didn't speak on the subject of trust or intelligence. They were matters that Rian didn't really feel comfortable discussing.
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Post by Envy on Sept 8, 2007 17:24:24 GMT -5
Watching Rian, Rafe took it that it was meant in a negative way. "They are very popular on the 'bring a dead one in, earn a prize' list," he explained, a bright light engulfing him, starting from his chest where his heart should be and was. He soon formed into his second form; human.
Tugging the black leather jacket over his shoulder more, his deep green eyes met Rian's face once again. The collar still hung around his neck, charm clinking. He'd never be caught, he always told himself, as he was too smart, too fast to be caught. How arrogant he was.
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Post by nikki on Sept 8, 2007 17:28:00 GMT -5
Rian's thin eyebrows contracted with concerned understanding. "Yeah..." he said, not managing anything else and merely watching in amazement as Rafe took on his other form. Rian had never watched a transformation such as that before; it was stunning to see.
"So why are you here, then, aren't you afraid that you'll get caught?" Rian inquired casually, leaning against the tree that shaded them.
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Post by Envy on Sept 8, 2007 17:42:04 GMT -5
"No," was at first going to be the only response from the loup-garoux, but he soon added, "There is enough room to run, enough room to escape if needed, unless they're really just that good of a shot. Running, running. That's what everyone always says I'm doing. Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to just stop and walk around, without being hunted for what I am."
Rafe touched the pewter spike that was painted to look silver, his other hand spread on top of the emerald blades he had sat on before transforming into this sixteen year old looking form.
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Post by nikki on Sept 8, 2007 17:57:43 GMT -5
Rian gave a nod, saying, "Yeah, the way everyone's minds work these days is weird. They seem to figure that anyone who is different should get put down." He was careful to keep the emotion out of his voice and concentrated on watching Rafe switch forms. "I think it's better to concentrate on distractions that keep us from thinking about killing," he half-jested with a smile that changed a lot of his serious face.
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Post by Envy on Sept 8, 2007 18:08:38 GMT -5
A smile traced over Rafe's lips, his eyes closing a few moments. "Mm, but it just doesn't work in a way to accommodate everyone." As his lids lifted, he looked at Rian, ceasing the stroking of the silver looking pewter spike. "You can sit down, you know. I don't bite people who haven't given me reason to chase them down."
That was wonderful wording, he thought grimly. It probably didn't help the boy to know that, really, when it was quite easy to set Rafe into a rage.
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Post by nikki on Sept 10, 2007 19:36:27 GMT -5
The weak grin flickered before smoothing back Rian's lips, and he clumsily sat down by the tree. "I guess I'll make sure not to give you a reason to, then," he said with a laugh that hid most of his anxiety. Prejudice might be wrong a lot of the time, but that didn't make it any easier to hang around a loup-garoux who could, if you were realistic, become enraged quickly and decide that raw Rian was rather tasty.
Then again, who was he to know if Rafe had a temper when he had just met him? Rian attempted to calm his nerves by looking up at the shimmering afternoon sun, but all that did was burn circles of light in the backs of his eyelids.
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Post by Envy on Sept 10, 2007 19:50:24 GMT -5
Rafe gave a light snort, which was his way of saying he thought Rian was funny. His hand even reached up and ruffled Rian's hair, something he'd do if he accepted someone. "Eh, elk and deer taste better than human in my opinion. I don't have a problem with you if you don't tell any of those hunters or anyone who'd come around looking to take my hide as a prize. Those bullets can really burn if they're silver."
He started tugging on the middle chain on his collar. It was a thing that to him meant being trapped in a world where the hunter becomes the hunted. Chained back from the life he could have. But what did he care? He was reckless, and he'd never be caught.
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Post by nikki on Sept 10, 2007 20:47:41 GMT -5
Rian smiled slightly, shaking his head and causing his now-disheveled hair to blow in the light wind. His hair wasn't very long, but he aimed to grow it out so he could look more like his father - he had inherited most of his mother's looks. "I won't tell," Rian promised sincerely. He'd never give away another human life, no matter what anyone else said.
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Post by Envy on Sept 10, 2007 20:56:51 GMT -5
Rafe grinned at the boy next to him, something he rarely did around new people unless he was planning on eating them later. This time, however, that was not the case. "You're alright, Rian. Whoever raised ya, they raised a good kid," were the words that poured from the mouth of the loup-garoux. But he was barely thinking of it.
He was thinking of running, of being free. Like when he was sprinting earlier, without a trace of worry, the scent of death far off.
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Post by nikki on Sept 10, 2007 21:01:40 GMT -5
Deciding that it would be foolish and rather tactless to mention his father's dislike of the loup-garoux, Rian replied with a bashful shrug that hid how he was actually happy with what Rafe had said, "Yeah, my parents are pretty good." And they were. Rian wouldn't deny that, though in truth he knew that he had just understated, but... what self-respecting ten year old is going to shoot off at the mouth about how wonderful his parents are to everyone he meets?
Recalling how they had met, Rian continued, "You like to run, huh?" He did, too, but there was quite a difference between there interests, he was sure.
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Post by Envy on Sept 11, 2007 18:01:40 GMT -5
The turn of his lips turned into a beam. "Yes, it is a very relaxing activity for the hunted. If I weren't prey for the bullets, it'd be wonderful to compete." Rafe made a motion of stretching, then gazed up at the jade leaves of the tree that shaded them from the blare of the sun. His orbs closed for a moment as he inhaled the sweet scent of plant-life.
"So, what do you do?" he asked casually, as if Rian were just one of his loup-garoux friends that he spoke to now and then.
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Post by nikki on Sept 11, 2007 18:28:41 GMT -5
"Couldn't you compete anyway, and pretend that you aren't a loup-garoux?" Rian suggested, though he knew that was a pretty large thing to ask. It'd be terrible to hide your true identity for fear of your life. Prejudice was such an awful thing.
"Uh... I dunno..." Rian brought himself back to reality. "I don't have any real hobbies. I just spend time with friends and my family, though I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a sword sometime." He laughed, though he spoke the truth. What a rush, to fight in the war, Rian thought.
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Post by Envy on Sept 11, 2007 19:58:46 GMT -5
A tiny chuckle escaped the lips of Rafe. "Don't get yourself in the middle of something you can't handle yet. Swords are good weapons, yet they have weaknesses. I know one that I myself cannot use, and it's risky at that," he rambled quietly. He had never in fact been human -- you were born this way or you weren't a loup-garoux.
"Death isn't pleasant to everyone," he explained farther, his eyelids slipping shut again. The aroma of fresh grass, tree leaves, the afternoon... it burned into his senses, and he could have gone to sleep there had there not been anyone else there, and had it not been in the open.
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Post by nikki on Sept 11, 2007 20:30:35 GMT -5
"I can handle it," Rian protested with a touch of defensiveness. "Nobody else seems to think so, but I know I can." Rafe's words reminded him of what his father had said: "You're too young, Rian. Someday, I'll give you your own weapon, because it is crucial for you to keep one just in case, but not at this age. You'll get one, just be patient. Getting one at a premature age will only twist your mind until you're just another victim of bloodlust."
Rian's father may have been right, and Rian realized that, but it was still a disappointment when he so wanted to handle a sword. To feel the cold hilt between your fingers, to thrust the shiny metal at a target, to win, to prevail, to be victorious...
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