Iron carried a lot of responsibility within Gemini, which was something he accepted somewhat begrudgingly. He didn't object to it too strongly simply because the idea of almost anyone else in this pack having any amount of responsibility was terrifying to him - if it weren't for him they would all be long dead already. Or so he told himself as he carried out one of his many duties. Hawthorne had gifted Iron his very own forest as a gesture of kindness, but Iron viewed it more as a job that must be taken very seriously. He enjoyed the quiet of his private woods, but having something under his name meant he had to maintain it. Care for it. Keep it safe.

And right now he suspected it was not safe.

He'd been noticing signs of an intruder over the past few days. Strange scratches upon the ground, a foreign scent in the ear that was decidedly not-wolf. Normally Iron didn't care too much about other species, but this mysterious creature was something he'd never encountered before - and it seemed to be large enough to pose a threat, judging by the tracks it left behind. So he'd decided to take a day off from babysitting Serrate's fury and spent the day staking out one of the small clearings where he'd seen the largest concentration of tracks. Iron had been waiting quietly, laying down among some bushes that only half-hid him (he wasn't trying to hide from this creature anyway) for several hours now, quite unbothered by the lack of activity. Iron always appreciated peace and quiet, and he knew that in Gemini it was important to take it where he could get it. It was almost with some reluctance then, that he turned his head to acknowledge a strange noise. Perhaps he would meet his intruder now - he wondered what it would look like. Was it a carnivore? Was it a threat? How many legs did it have?

When the beast finally shuffled into view, Iron reflexively rose to his paws in, red eyes squinting incredulously. The creature was the strangest thing he'd ever seen, including the horse he'd met once long ago. It was covered in something that looked like spiky hair, sticking out far from its body (he could barely even see its body) like the longest whiskers he'd ever seen. It spiked tail dragged along behind it, and it seemed to take no notice of him whatsoever, which was almost more surprising as anything else. The large wolf stepped forward immediately, putting himself in the path of the intruder. The animal simply moved to walk around him. With a huff, Iron sidestepped to block it again. He wasn't sure if it could even understand speech, since it obviously didn't understand body language, but it seemed only fair to try, "Stop." No response. The animal tried to move around him again, and again Iron blocked it. He was beginning to get frustrated now, and he lowered his head so that he could stare directly into the face of the offending creature. This was one of many mistakes (the first being approaching the thing at all).

The creature turned around as if to walk away and Iron edged closer, as if he were attempting to push it along. That was when the spiked tail swung out without warning and raked Iron along the side of his muzzle. The wolf yelped in a most undignified way, shaking his head about wildly. It was not enough to dislodge the three large quills that were now embedded along the side of his muzzle. Iron snarled in anger, but it was quickly cut off by the fact that the gesture caused the pain in his muzzle to flare up even worse. It was burning now, his eyes were watering uncontrollably, but it seemed as though his noises had finally gotten through to the prickly creature. It had rolled up into a ball, sitting completely motionless a few feet away from him. Ignoring the pain and the logical voice in his head that said he should visit a medic, Iron laid back down where he stood, staring defiantly at the porcupine. So it was just going to stay there, all curled up? He could wait. This thing was not welcome in his forest, and a few little quills (disregarding the fact that his entire face was currently pulsing with pain and his eyes were still watering) were not going to stop him from disposing of it.

.

Everyday he had found himself wandering farther and farther from home.  Each day he made sure to remember the steps he'd made so he'd be able to retrace them and go back home when he was ready.  There were still a few places he needed to check before he did eventually go home to Gemini, but he'd make sure to look everywhere in the forests surrounding these places beforehand.  It was a brisk morning, even with his fur the wind cut through it and chilled him right to the bone.  He shivered as the leaves crunched beneath his paws, what he wouldn't give for the warmth of curling up next to- well anyone really right now.  He didn't really have anyone back home to curl up next to, but the thought of it warmed him some.  

It had been some time since he had left home, and hoped that when he did return, he'd would be remembered and he wouldn't be some distant memory that no one knew.  But-  that was something he braved in order to find Kariya.  Family.  It was all he had, and though they were adopted- they were his family still.  He'd risk anything for them, even the thought of never being able to return to Gemini.  As much as it scared him- he'd risk it all to keep his family together.  He'd even risk death- as he already had running into many different wolves out here.  Some gentle- others not so much- one almost killed him.  But he forgave her, she was not all bad.  There was something inside her that was hurting, and he couldn't blame her for that. Miss Katti needed a lot of love, and Ori wanted to give it to her- but she left him before he was able to.  

So he kept looking- hoping to find some sort of answer about Kariyas whereabouts out here.  Blue eyes lifted up towards the dismal sky, small, white flakes began to fall.  One landed on the tip of his nose.  Lowering his head, Ori smiled as it melted there- then his eyes refocused and saw- could it be?  Miss Katti!  Up ahead only a little bit away.  His smile widened, and he began to run towards her- excited to see her again, to tell her of what he'd found since they last met. "Miss Katti-  Miss Katti!"  he called as he ran to her.  His long legs covered the distance in a small amount of time, and as he got closer, he realized- no.  This was not miss Katti- this was not Miss Katti at all.  And his face fell into a frightened grimace as he slid to try to stop, only to collide into the Katti look alike.  He stumbled backwards, mumbling apologies as he did so.  "I-I'm s-sorry.. I t-thought..You were.. s-s-sorry.."

HOME | RULES | PLOT | COLORS | WANTED