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Post by Bri on Jan 19, 2023 16:06:43 GMT
I was made to rise above it Timbers eyebrow raised when he explained that those around him just wanted to hurt him, all because they could. She wasn't naive to the world they lived in and that there were wolves out there who cared only to cause pain but the whole context was one that made her blood boil and her heart feel sick. Perhaps, her lost pups were lucky that they didn't have to endure such a world to be further hurt. The thought made her pain turn into that of sadness. Even with such a hateful world it wasn't fair the lives of her pups had been ended so abruptly by the one who was supposed to protect them. "To be treated like that is something I cannot tolerate." She replied cooly, having an idea of where this wolf could have come from, she'd met the leader of a brutal group at the pack meeting and it didn't take much to make the connections of where the man before her came from.
"Absolutely," she said to him without hesitation, she would risk her life in any moment for another. Perhaps it was her fatal flaw that would lead to her death, but even if that was the case she wouldn't stop.
"Well now you know someone who would," Timber added, her gaze flickering over Jet, "any injuries? Or is it only your pelt that's taken a beating?" She asked with a teasing tone. |
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Nov 19, 2024 22:03:32 GMT
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Post by Molo on Jan 20, 2023 15:53:00 GMT
Even still, this woman did not cease to amaze him. The further he pressed, the more unbelievable her answers became. If he hadn’t just experienced the evidence for himself. To be treated like that was something she could not tolerate, she spoke. And in the next instance, she confirmed once more that she would absolutely be willing to risk herself, even if it meant she could die.
Once more, the former sanzin found himself speechless, and all he could do for a moment was blink and stare. He’d also never really known anyone that told jokes, either. At least, not like this. As such, the attempt at humor nearly went right over his head. But after a moment, Jethro felt another tiny little smile cross his face.
”I think.. just my pelt. ” At that, though, he gave the stranger another once over. She appeared to be alright, too. Except for being absolutely covered in mud. But.. maybe he could help with that.
”I feel like I should thank you.. for helping me. This um.. might sound weird, but.. do I.. can I.. have permission to touch you?” He asked, tipping his head hopefully. An idea had come to mind that maybe could help.
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Post by Bri on Jan 22, 2023 4:18:41 GMT
I was made to rise above it As he stared at her Timber started to feel a little bit of awkwardness. Why was he looking at her like she had grown a second head? Was he that uncertain with kindness that it robed him of believing someone could be genuine? She looked back at him, wondering if he was going to say anything or if it was time for her to take her leave. She relaxed when she saw the smallest hint of a smile on his maw.
She nodded when he said it was just his pelt, glad that there wasn't anything seriously wrong with him. She was a warrior and a leader not a healer. She may know enough about healing to know what herbs to gather for the guild stores but anything more than that made her head swim and eyes cross until eventually giving up.
Timber parted her lips to attempt another grasp at humor when he was speaking again, tilting her head. "You don't need to thank me but...if you have an idea to get this gunk off then you can touch me." She consented, wondering what he was planning. |
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Nov 19, 2024 22:03:32 GMT
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Post by Molo on Jan 23, 2023 0:34:53 GMT
The look he received after making his odd request was one of intrigue or perhaps confusion. Probably a little bit of both, actually. But the lady didn’t refuse, and it seemed she even sort of had an idea of where his thoughts were going. ”I.. might have an idea,” he spoke tentatively. He really didn’t want to get her hopes up in case this turned out to just be dumb and didn’t work at all.
But it was worth trying, especially since she’d saved him. And even if she said he didn’t owe her, it felt like he really did.
It took only a few moments of searching to find another branch lying upon the ground nearby. Once he was sure it was suitable, the small former sanzin took one end of it in his jaws, before returning to the strangely selfless woman. Although a bit awkward to manage at first, he began to brush it across her shoulders and sides as best as he could, scraping away some of the muck and filth that had been caked into her fur there.
It would by no means clean everything off, that much he knew. But it might make her at least a little bit more comfortable by clearing off as much of the excess goop as he could. If he could get even half of it off, it would be even easier for her to clean the rest, when it eventually dried or she found a place to bathe.
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Post by Bri on Jan 30, 2023 21:04:32 GMT
I was made to rise above it "Okay..." Timber wondered what this idea was but she wasn't going to nuisance him with questions, staying quiet as she watched him, hoping he'd be able to get the muck off of her.
Her eyes followed after the man she had helped, not distrusting of him completely but curious as to what his plan was. Whatever it was she hadn't expected him to drag over a tree branch. Seeing it made her tongue run over her teeth as if checking for splinters, luckily finding none. Her body stiffened as he made the first swipe with the branch, the sensation odd but once she felt the weight of the mud lessen she managed to relax.
"Clever idea," she commented. glancing over her shoulder at him, she wouldn't have thought about it herself or had a way to try it but she'd have to try to remember this method if she, god forbid, found herself in this kind of predicament again. "If you would like I could do the same for you." She offered, thinking it would only be fair. |
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Nov 19, 2024 22:03:32 GMT
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Post by Molo on Feb 2, 2023 17:17:33 GMT
Clever idea, the woman offered, and internally Jethro tingled a little bit at the praise. He didn’t think anyone had ever spoken the word clever in relation to something he’d done. Ever. Praise had also been exceedingly rare, too, if not entirely nonexistent. Once in a great while, with the Sanzin, they’d at least acknowledged him for things, but…
Never praised. Not like that. ”Thanks,” he spoke back, though the response was muffled a bit by the branch he held. Jet continued though, trying to scrape as much muck off the taller wolf’s back, neck, and shoulders as he could, and once it seemed like he’d done that, he set the branch down.
The offer was reciprocated just then, and though Jethro honestly considered it for a moment, he shook his head. ”Nah. You already saved me. And I'm ugly, but maybe look better like this anyway,” he offered, a hint of humor there as he went for the same sort of joke the other had been going for earlier. An ugly little runt like him couldn't look any worse all covered in mud than he already did normally.
But then he noticed something. Amidst the muck, the woman had scars, but also strange.. markings? Across her nose and.. maybe under her chin? He frowned a little. ”Those marks.. do they mean something special?” He couldn’t help but ask. Jethro wasn’t sure he’d ever seen anything like them before.
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Post by Bri on Feb 3, 2023 23:56:23 GMT
I was made to rise above it With ever bit of mud that fell from her Timber felt lighter, a soft sigh escaping from relief. Every swipe of the branch made the tightness in her body lessen. Her eyes closed for a moment but the second Jethro threw around words of him being ugly they snapped back open, head turning as she looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"You are not ugly, I don't know who it is filling your head with these kinds of lies but I have a mind to rip out their throat." She said sternly, any sense of humor well over her head. In her younger years she hadn't tolerated cruelty and that trait sure as hell hadn't changed despite what she thought of herself.
She was ready to badger him for names until the subject was changed and he asked about her marks. "They are a sign of my guild," she explained with a softer tone but an edge was still underlying it, "every member receives a mark as a brand and I, being their Lord, hold many." |
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Post by Molo on Feb 4, 2023 17:57:11 GMT
The moment his self-deprecating humorous comment was uttered the woman’s eyes snapped open, her head turning about to face him almost immediately. Her stare was so intense that Jethro almost began to shrink under it, for it reminded him of how the sanzin used to come down on him with fury.
Though.. her words surprised him. There was anger in them, but not at him? And it was also somehow rather touching, even if wholly untrue. ”Well.. I’d have half a mind to let you, but.. you’d be killin’ someone ya just saved too. That’s one thing they were right about. Always said I’m no more than the dirt they step on, may as well embrace it. I've seen my reflection, I ain’t nothin’ more than an ugly lil’ runt.” He spoke with a shrug, certain of that belief but also dismissive of it. It was who he was. If he really was nothing more than dirt.. what did it hurt to literally wear a coat of it?
But her answer to his question about the marks did get his attention very quickly. The markings were a sign of her guild, and her, as the lord, had many of them. All breath seemed to leave his body just then. ”Lord.. as in.. leader?” He questioned tentatively, almost breathlessly, a new sort of awe and respect for the woman found now.
He was here.. with a leader? One that didn’t treat him as just inherently beneath her?
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Post by Bri on Feb 10, 2023 21:14:06 GMT
I was made to rise above it Timber stared back at Jethro, her body still rigid with anger that someone would treat him so poorly. She understood anger and resentment ran through the world and not everything was good and holy but that didn't mean it kept her from getting angry when it happened. She had her faults, she was fully aware, but she was not someone to tolerate injustice. "You are more than an ugly runt." She told him, the words make her mouth taste bitter, 'you at least have a kindness in you." She said, about to reach out and take the branch from him when it seemed his understanding of her rank clicked in his head, his voice reflecting that and for a moment she felt some loss.
Yes she was blessed for her lot in life she had now, her ability to lead a guild but at the same time she liked the anonymity it gave her to be new in this valley where she could speak to anyone as if there was no difference between them...until they understood her standing and ultimately would treat her differently. "Yes, leader." She confirmed, reaching and finally taking the branch from Jethro.
Without a word she turned and started to run it across the brutes fur, brushing off the caked on mudd. |
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Post by Molo on Feb 13, 2023 6:03:23 GMT
He was more than an ugly runt, according to the woman. Because she apparently thought he had kindness in him. Jet could sense the anger in her tone. Hear it. Had she been his leader, he might not have argued the point. Out of fear, or perhaps respect. But she wasn’t. And even if she had.. well. That had only stopped him some of the time.
”Even if the kindness part was true,” he spoke, which it wasn’t, ”doesn’t mean I’m not an ugly runt. I’ve seen my reflection. Back when this damn lake still had water, and before that, too. I know what I am, and that’s a tiny, ugly little fuckin' runt.” She could argue against him all she wanted. Nothing and nobody was ever going to sway the former sanzin of that opinion. The fact that she was a leader be damned.
She took the branch he’d discarded then, and moved to touch him with it. She was fast enough to brush a little bit of it off, though the former sanzin attempted to duck under the motion and then to back away. ”Don’t touch me,” he protested, and though there was bite to the remark there was no threat to the words. He didn’t want to fight Timber, not after she’d saved him.
But he wasn’t afraid of her either. ”I told ya I didn’t want y'to do that. I meant it, ugly or not.” By trying to do that, it almost seemed Timber was indicating she was no different than anyone else. Doing something to him he didn’t want, just because she perceived she could.
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Post by Bri on Feb 13, 2023 17:53:54 GMT
I was made to rise above it Timber cocked an eyebrow as Jethro argued with her, she didn't find anything wrong with him speaking his mind, even though she didn't agree with him she could appreciate that he was ready to voice his thoughts. Her other eyebrow raised as he berated himself, wanting to leap into an argument but she kept her mouth shut. In her younger years she would have leapt down his throat, telling him how wrong he was and that kindness could be a learned trait and that he had more worth, but time and experience told her to be quiet and let him speak.
His experience told him all these things were true and she couldn't rush in and just change him, hell no one could be changed. In some cases only actions spoke louder than words and this seemed like one of those times. If she pushed him farther...she could already see him running away and she didn't want that to happen. She made a move to brush him again with the branch, leaning forward until his protest reached her ears.
For a moment she stood there, staring at him but then opened her mouth, dropping the branch between them. She didn't huff, as much as she wanted to, but instead bowed her head to him politely, "fine then ugly little runt man be covered in mud and smell like dead fish all you want. I suppose it adds to this image of yourself in your head." She told him before lifting her head, tone teasing as a smile pulled at her lips, "call yourself all you want and make your choices as I do. I don't see you as an ugly little runt...but I do see you as a stubborn man with a nauseating odor." |
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Post by Molo on Feb 14, 2023 4:51:51 GMT
Jethro
The "Mistake"
Timber, it seemed, was choosing not to argue the point any further. Jethro wondered if she’d ever believed it at all, or if she’d just resigned herself to the fact that his opinion about himself wouldn’t be swayed by her words. Whatever it was, it didn’t matter.
When she spoke again though, not only did she not argue, but she.. almost affirmed him. Jethro felt a twisted smile developing on his face as she called him ugly runt man covered in mud and smelly, like dead fish. ”More like it. Except it don’t add to anythin’. I ain’t got no image, that’s what I’m tryin’ to tell ya.” He was just ugly. That was it. Period, end of story.
But of course - of freaking course - she went back on it. At least partially. She didn’t see him as an ugly runt, but did see him as a stubborn man that was very stinky. ”If it bothers you, walk away. I’m not askin’ you to stay. Leader like you’s probably got more important things to do than waste time on a f-kin’ nobody like this,” he spoke with a loose shrug, taking a couple of steps back and further away from the other.
He was not done yet, though. ”And, you’ve never seen me not covered in mud. So how the hell can you honestly say I’m not ugly?” There was genuine curiosity at that. How could this woman think that, when this was the first time they’d met?
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Post by Bri on Feb 21, 2023 3:13:36 GMT
I was made to rise above it "You do have an image, a stinky one." Timber continued to tease, if he didn't want to hear her true thoughts she'd resign herself to making jokes to placate him. Maybe one day he'd see otherwise.
"Well if I've never seen you not covered in mud I guess I can't make a solid judgement." She shot back to him when he challenged her about knowing if he was ugly or not. "And if that's the case then how could I walk away?" She asked, tilting her head at the man before him, wondering what had happened to make him like this, everyone had their stories and whether she was going to learn about his or not could only be told by time.
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Post by Molo on Feb 22, 2023 3:54:23 GMT
You do have an image, a stinky one, Timber countered again, her tone still teasing. He couldn’t tell if it was meant to actually insult him or not though. It didn’t seem like it, but if it was.. well. He didn’t particularly care. ”Fine, then. I’m good with that.”The former sanzin conceded with a shrug. ”Maybe it’ll keep others from botherin’ me.”
Jethro hadn’t considered that possibility, but it was one conceivable benefit to wearing this coat of mud. For as long as he could stand it, anyway. It was growing far too rancid even for him… but he wouldn’t admit that in front of the woman now.
She conceded to his point, supposing she couldn’t pass an accurate judgment about his ugliness. It was a tiny win, that grew just a little as the leader proceeded to ask one of the dumbest questions he believed he’d ever heard anyone ask to date. How could she walk away?
”Y’walk away by usin’ your legs. Like this,” he returned, turning about to demonstrate by turning about to walk away from the woman and the lake. He didn’t bother to stop, either. It felt like things were beginning to come to an end, with this encounter. So unless the stranger had some sort of debt or something else to ask or demand of him, there was no point in sticking around anyway.
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Post by Bri on Feb 26, 2023 4:11:05 GMT
I was made to rise above it This whole interaction had thrown Timber for a loop as she fought back laughter that was threatening to spill over. She did her best to keep her expression at a neutral as her olive eyes followed after the muddy brute as he walked away from her. She could chase after him or she could stay in her place, letting him go. It was a crossroads she hadn't been ready for and still remained rooted in place. "Where are you going?" The words finally escaped from her maw as her feet worked into gear, catching up to him after a few lopes.
From their meeting she assumed that this man was a loner, perhaps a dispersal from another pack and wondered what his goals were, if he had any or how he was surviving out here on his own. |
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