[ where better to start than in media res, Kiara sweltering like she always is, her hands and personality rough. she's taken to stalking Jules these last few—days, weeks, months? does it matter?—the way a vulture stalks a kill (not a kill of its own doing, but a kill nonetheless). tenuous alliance, she tells herself, to the same tune as "I am became what I hate the most".
and some nights, like tonight, as the sun falls low and drags its red fingers through a purpling sky, it's less tenuous alliance, less a weary tolerance, and more taking refuge in someone she has come to know at least a little. at least enough. at least enough that their spats don't risk drawing blood anymore. verge, at times, towards physical altercations purely for the sake of some kind of contact—at least, that's how Kiara operates. when she isn't gnawing venison from the bone, having raced across forest and hillside to catch a meal that doesn't bite back.
joining him after all, in the end.
yeah, she couldn't care less about harming this guy now. now she just wants some damn forward traction.
with one hand in his hair, left there since she first yanked him close like she wanted to fight and then just... didn't, ] What gives, huh? Why do you get to be born a wolf, when the rest of us have to become like them just to survive? How come that was enough for you, but it couldn't save my father? We hunted in a pack. But you're alone, and I'm alone, like this, while Father and the other men are all caged and waiting to be put down.
[ she clearly doesn't expect any answer, growling and dropping her forehead tiredly against her own extended forearm ]
[ He doesn't seem to mind the company, even being "stalked", as it were-- though that implies his ignorance, and he's always aware of her presence, even far as it might be at any given time. And when they come together it's less that he's come to care for her so much as it is caring for, in a way any true wolf might recognize as adjusting to a perfectly unruly pup who, ultimately, just needs something to focus on.
Not that he saw her as a child, of course not. She was a woman in her own right, though his feelings were a little complex-- having had no children or younglings otherwise in his care in, well, ever, he had no real basis for it, but he sort of figured she was the type of person that dominance and physical might wouldn't break down or control... so, there was no point. It seemed more, to him, that she just needed something solid, or some attention, or what-have-you.
And so, given that, he's come to mostly ignore her yanks and grabs with no more than a slight scowl, leaning into the grip to ease the pressure on his scalp. He grinds the remains of some jerky between his teeth as she speaks, watching her, and only offers a small shrug as he reaches up to take her wrist and pry her hand from his hair. ]
Life ain't fair. Anyway, we ain't alone if we're together. I ain't thrivin', you know. You see me out here. Survivin' ain't really all it's cracked up to be.
Can't say what it is that makes people treat wolves like dogs, though. Caged and ready to be put down. Don't know.
[ her face scrunches slightly, but she doesn't stop him from pulling her hand away. turns her wrist in his grasp so it's palm-up, open. her frown stays. ]
Don't talk to me about surviving. [ she and Jack abandoned, dying. that'd have been alright. but they didn't die then, and she won't die now. ] Anyway, it's politics and bastards. The hunters are innocent, but that guy...
[ trails off. Kiara never lets too much slip before she trails off. ]
Forget it. It's not important right now.
[ can't reach them right now. she tugs her hand. ]
Thought you were supposed to show me how it is to be a real wolf, huh. I already know this part.
[ he has plenty of time to eat it, Kiara settling back onto her haunches now that the initial fight-response has passed, and she turns her face towards the surrounding landscape. instinctive to listen, watch, and wait. too used to being hunted, despite the title she stubbornly continues to bear. she will always be a hunter.
but—with this guy, she's just Kiara O. no, not even that. she's just Kiara, just dove. not for the last time, she wishes Jack were here. with Jack, she could fight him and get all this damn steam out, and at the end of it, after all his bitching about losing, she could fall against him and he'd know. know all that they're going through, and the helplessness of being here, and he wouldn't have to say anything to be a comfort.
hell. even Derek would be better than nothing.
even... this guy. ]
Hey, Jules. [ at lease she remembers his name, right ] C'mere.
[ he spends a long moment chewing, staring out into the dark of the forest around them. He takes a swig out of his canteen as she speaks again, glancing sidelong at her, and leans over towards her with his weight on one hand. ]
[ if she blurred her eyes, he'd almost look more like Derek. well. the hair's the right colour, at least. what matters, though, is that he isn't Derek—that that idiot is still free and doing something, somehow, to get the men out of prison, even when she's not there.
(she knows what he was like before she found him. she knows.)
rough exhale, through her nose. ]
I didn't say talk, I said come here. [ ha... disgusting. she sounds like her mother.
grinds her heels in the dirt and pushes herself towards him instead, settling heavily on one hip and leaning against him: shoulder-to-shoulder. ] Gimme some jerky, I'm hungry.
[ or at least wants something to occupy herself with ]
[ he accepts her leaning readily enough, burning with warmth despite the thin clothes and the frosty air, and rips his chunk of jerky with his teeth to offer her the most of it. ]
[ despite that, taking her portion without even batting an eye. it isn't raw, it isn't bloody, so it's better than what she had to make do with before. who cares if he's used his teeth. not Kiara. ]
I don't come second to anyone. Whatever you say about me, that's just the way it is.
[ them's fighting words, except for how she says them more like tired fact than a way to start a brawl. ] No one touches me unless I want them to. No one tells me what to do for their own pleasure.
[ she'll deck them across the face. with the mug of ale they wanted a dollface like her to refill all pretty-like. ]
[ grins a little sharply, a little wry, because part of her feels put at ease to get some pushback. she'd liked Peter when he was a soft and sweet kid, but she liked Derek and Jack because they were so fun to bully, and they always reared back against it, so it never got old. that's how their love worked.
before. ]
Oh, mean. [ says the mean girl. ] Kicking doesn't mean anything when you're already on the ground.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I GUESS WE CAN JUST REUSE THIS POST
p.s. sorry for no starter I Got Nothin
STILL FEELIN LIKE A SLEEP-DEPRIVED WORM BUT I'M HERE finally
and some nights, like tonight, as the sun falls low and drags its red fingers through a purpling sky, it's less tenuous alliance, less a weary tolerance, and more taking refuge in someone she has come to know at least a little. at least enough. at least enough that their spats don't risk drawing blood anymore. verge, at times, towards physical altercations purely for the sake of some kind of contact—at least, that's how Kiara operates. when she isn't gnawing venison from the bone, having raced across forest and hillside to catch a meal that doesn't bite back.
joining him after all, in the end.
yeah, she couldn't care less about harming this guy now. now she just wants some damn forward traction.
with one hand in his hair, left there since she first yanked him close like she wanted to fight and then just... didn't, ] What gives, huh? Why do you get to be born a wolf, when the rest of us have to become like them just to survive? How come that was enough for you, but it couldn't save my father? We hunted in a pack. But you're alone, and I'm alone, like this, while Father and the other men are all caged and waiting to be put down.
[ she clearly doesn't expect any answer, growling and dropping her forehead tiredly against her own extended forearm ]
This is exhausting.
no worries hun ur ok
Not that he saw her as a child, of course not. She was a woman in her own right, though his feelings were a little complex-- having had no children or younglings otherwise in his care in, well, ever, he had no real basis for it, but he sort of figured she was the type of person that dominance and physical might wouldn't break down or control... so, there was no point. It seemed more, to him, that she just needed something solid, or some attention, or what-have-you.
And so, given that, he's come to mostly ignore her yanks and grabs with no more than a slight scowl, leaning into the grip to ease the pressure on his scalp. He grinds the remains of some jerky between his teeth as she speaks, watching her, and only offers a small shrug as he reaches up to take her wrist and pry her hand from his hair. ]
Life ain't fair. Anyway, we ain't alone if we're together. I ain't thrivin', you know. You see me out here. Survivin' ain't really all it's cracked up to be.
Can't say what it is that makes people treat wolves like dogs, though. Caged and ready to be put down. Don't know.
gotta relearn how to rp
Don't talk to me about surviving. [ she and Jack abandoned, dying. that'd have been alright. but they didn't die then, and she won't die now. ] Anyway, it's politics and bastards. The hunters are innocent, but that guy...
[ trails off. Kiara never lets too much slip before she trails off. ]
Forget it. It's not important right now.
[ can't reach them right now. she tugs her hand. ]
Thought you were supposed to show me how it is to be a real wolf, huh. I already know this part.
Re: gotta relearn how to rp
There something specific you want me to show? Ain't all fightin' and fuckin'.
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If you want me to stick around, just say so.
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Guess you haven't.
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so he can grab another piece of jerky. ]
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but—with this guy, she's just Kiara O. no, not even that. she's just Kiara, just dove. not for the last time, she wishes Jack were here. with Jack, she could fight him and get all this damn steam out, and at the end of it, after all his bitching about losing, she could fall against him and he'd know. know all that they're going through, and the helplessness of being here, and he wouldn't have to say anything to be a comfort.
hell. even Derek would be better than nothing.
even... this guy. ]
Hey, Jules. [ at lease she remembers his name, right ] C'mere.
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What's up?
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(she knows what he was like before she found him. she knows.)
rough exhale, through her nose. ]
I didn't say talk, I said come here. [ ha... disgusting. she sounds like her mother.
grinds her heels in the dirt and pushes herself towards him instead, settling heavily on one hip and leaning against him: shoulder-to-shoulder. ] Gimme some jerky, I'm hungry.
[ or at least wants something to occupy herself with ]
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[ he accepts her leaning readily enough, burning with warmth despite the thin clothes and the frosty air, and rips his chunk of jerky with his teeth to offer her the most of it. ]
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[ despite that, taking her portion without even batting an eye. it isn't raw, it isn't bloody, so it's better than what she had to make do with before. who cares if he's used his teeth. not Kiara. ]
I don't come second to anyone. Whatever you say about me, that's just the way it is.
[ them's fighting words, except for how she says them more like tired fact than a way to start a brawl. ] No one touches me unless I want them to. No one tells me what to do for their own pleasure.
[ she'll deck them across the face. with the mug of ale they wanted a dollface like her to refill all pretty-like. ]
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[ kind of exasperated, raising a brow at her. ]
Don't come second to you neither but you ain't a wolf, so I'm not fightin' you about it.
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[ honestly Kiara just really hates hearing it cuz it reminds her she's actually not in control at all, ]
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[ with like. No heat in his words at all. ]
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[ this is a dumb argument and she knows it. but it does help. ]
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[ He says it kind of fondly, in his gruff way, and flops backwards to lay down in the dirt. ]
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[ she digs her toe into his thigh, just hard enough for him to feel it, but not hard enough to hurt. ]
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before. ]
Oh, mean. [ says the mean girl. ] Kicking doesn't mean anything when you're already on the ground.
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Bet ya sound real pretty when ya do.
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1/2
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(checks watch) yeah 5 years seems good