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Post by Shehrazad on Jun 23, 2009 12:10:00 GMT 1
Maria eventually made her slow way back to the top of the hill where she had met Lion not long before. The Lion still stood there, proud and fierce, his mane flowing in the gentle breeze. He turned his head to face Maria's approach and fixed her with his uncompromising feline gaze.
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Maria
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Limp-Paw
Posts: 323
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Post by Maria on Jun 23, 2009 12:22:53 GMT 1
If anything, Maria felt like her whole life had been shredded. She limped before the Lion's gaze and shifted to her homid form and bowed deep. "Lion,lord of cats, I have returned. Hear the tale of my quest, I wandered long in the city of Berlin, until a young man helped me to the university laboratories. There I met a group of people who had the same goal in mind that you had set to me. So I joined their group and this evening we attacked the laboratory. But all did not go well, even if we got the animals safe from the harm, it was at the cost of a human life, a laboratory worker was slain by one of my companions. Only with growling was I able prevent further deaths. And as we fled, I was too engulfed with emotion to notice what the group was planning. As we had put all the animals into the vechile, the group left me fend for myself, a hollow thanks for my efforts. And as much as I wanted to, for the safety of the veil and our Caern, I could not pursue. So here you have my sorry tale, oh lord of the cats, judge me as you will" Maria said, keeping her position. Her hair stood out in odd angles, her clothes weren't as well placed as they usually were, and her eyes kept watering.
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Post by Shehrazad on Jun 23, 2009 20:08:27 GMT 1
Lion watched Maria as she told her tale, his eyes cold and unwavering. But when he spoke, his voice was sad.
"You could not stop them taking a life?" he asked simply.
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Maria
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Posts: 323
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Post by Maria on Jun 23, 2009 20:14:55 GMT 1
Maria sighed, feeling the sadness in Lion's voice. " Forgive me, I tried my best to avoid the situation by words, but before I could have a real effect on the scientist, one of the group I was joined to had attracted attention to two more scientist and another member of 'my' group seemed to consider speaking a wasted time and before I could stop him, he had driven his knife to the scientist" Maria said, the memory of the incident made her shake with both disgust towards herself for not being able to stop it and towards Dominic.
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Post by Shehrazad on Jun 23, 2009 20:27:39 GMT 1
Lion nodded. At least he seemed to nod, Maria couldn't really be sure.
"Words are powerful tools, young Galliard. But they will not always suffice. You must be as ready to act, as you are to speak."
Somehow, it did not seem that Lion was telling her off, although he was telling her what she had done wrong. "Tell me, what else have you learnt from this experience."
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Maria
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Posts: 323
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Post by Maria on Jun 23, 2009 20:33:41 GMT 1
Maria swallowed hard, she had learned something all right. But not very positive things the most of them. " Beside my failure at protecting life, I have learned not to lose my guard in situations that are unfamiliar to me, to do my own research before trusting others, always have a backup plan and how easily people can turn on me. But I learned something positive, how to blend in with humans and how to seem convincing" Maria said, instead of phrases she had thought out before meeting Lion, all of these came from her heart.
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Post by Shehrazad on Jun 24, 2009 8:45:10 GMT 1
"Those are all good lessons," Lion said. "I hope you will remember them. As I hope you will remember the more important lessons. Compassion and decency are not gone from the world of men. You may have had more success in dealing with those who followe reason, than those who follow extreme ideals. At least they will still listen. And furthermore, it is difficult to work alone, but there is great honour in taking the high road when everyone else has forsaken it. You must choose your allies more carefully."
Lion paused in his speech, and watched her reaction.
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Maria
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Posts: 323
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Post by Maria on Jun 24, 2009 11:09:35 GMT 1
Maria listened carefully to the Lion's speech, her shaking had ceased for a while and she kept her position pretty well. After Lion had paused she began to speak, thought her voice had gotten a bit rough. " I will remember them, Lion, lord of cats, my misdeeds came from my ignorance, and now I know better" she said, bowing down a little deeper, but a jolt shot throught her leg and she smacked up onto the ground face first. Maria quickly rose back to her position, looking embarassed for the little show. "Excuse me for that, Lion, I have used my bad leg too much.." she said.
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Post by Shehrazad on Jun 24, 2009 17:58:30 GMT 1
If Lion felt or noticed her plight, he gave no indication of it. He went on. "But you have done as I asked," he said. "And the animals that were rescued will find a good home, for although they are rash and their methods extreme, their words are true, and their ideals sound. You will remember this lesson, young Galliard. You will live with the knowledge that your errors led to senseless death. That is how I know you will not stand to err again."
He straightened up, and seemed to grow in size. At the same time, Maria started to feel his strength and his spirit. It was no longer difficult to stand. She could even feel her new packmates, although they were nowhere near. But something had definitely changed. "I will therefore give you a chance," Lion roared. "To run with my children, the Children of Dawn, Dämmerlicht. Go, find them, tell them you have succeeded. Tell them you have Lion's blessing."
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Maria
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Posts: 323
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Post by Maria on Jun 24, 2009 18:07:22 GMT 1
As Maria felt her energy return, she rose up to her feet. Both of them. She listened to lion as he spoke, and tears of joy began to stream down her face. "Thank you, Lion, my totem and teacher, you have given me a chance to prove myself and I will not spit on your hospitality, thank you" she said, starting to speak formally, then her voice took a more joyful tone. Maria then bowed deeply to Lion again and shifted to her lupus form.
Maria took her cane from the ground and began running towards the caern, her feet fast from the joy.
(( uh, could you link me the possible "be there next" place? ^^''))
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Post by Shehrazad on Jun 25, 2009 15:20:34 GMT 1
Maria's return, though not quite a run, was sped up by the rush of adrenaline that caused her to almost forget the pain in her leg. She hobbled along on three legs until she reached the bawn, and her pack was already waiting for her, warned by the Caern's keeper of her approach, although they did not know the outcome of her trial yet.
(Starting Tuesday and moving Monday out of Sync)
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Maria
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Post by Maria on Jun 25, 2009 15:26:55 GMT 1
As Maria saw her pack waiting for her, she gave out a loud yelp as she approached them. With a surprisingly graceful move from her, she stopped just before her pack in lupus and shifted to homid in a bowing position. "Dämmerlicht, children of Lion, your totem has granted me the honor of running with you. I succeeded" She said, her voice barely masking her joy.
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Yvonne
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Elpis' Ardour
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Post by Yvonne on Jun 25, 2009 19:29:41 GMT 1
Yvonne stands as tall as her short body can while she waits patiently for Maria to arrive. She looks up as Maria approaches, trying not to show concern as Maria runs on her deformed leg, and smiles at the news. "That's great, well done." She was, perhaps even still is, apprehensive about a metis being in her pack after having known her for such a short time. Lion's opinion goes a long way to help Yvonne accept the idea, and after a short pause she grins and looks around at her packmates - her other packmates, she corrects herself mentally, as Maria is one of them now.
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Max Heller
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Claws-of-Fire
Gott baut Menschen, wir bauen Roboter
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Post by Max Heller on Jun 26, 2009 8:26:47 GMT 1
"Knew you could do it," Max said with an encouraging smile. Metis or not, he knew her very little, but if Lion had accepted her, then there were no more questions to be asked. "Welcome aboard. Our pack shall be known as Dämmerlicht. I'm sure we'll have a lot of great stories to tell about it soon."
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Post by Shehrazad on Jun 26, 2009 11:07:05 GMT 1
The newly formed pack's happy welcoming of their fourth member was interrupted by a rustling in the trees. Adiyah noticed the jaggling spirit spirit first as it hopped from the top of the tree and landed at her feet. It was a grey squirrel, one that Adiyah knew very well, as she had charged him with watching over her home and her family. The squirrel did not look its usual lively and twitchy self. It was badly hurt, and it could barely keep itself upright as it relayed its message.
Help! Attack! Wolf-things!
As the squirrel only spoke in the language of spirits and Theurges, Max, Yvonne, and Maria had no chance of understanding what it was saying. To Adiyah the message was clear, however. The squirrel had been charged with watching her home, and it was under attack, most likely by werewolves.
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