The Tragedy of Life... {Open}

[Lead Healer Ratonhnhake:ton]

000 Words

Ratonhnhake:ton The tragedy of life is not death but what we let die inside of us while we live.. "Ratonhnhake:ton!" The deep voice Katon rose Raton from his thoughts and the rustic colored brute looked into the direction of his eldest brother, his littermate's eyes giving away all that had yet to be said. Pinning his ears back, Raton flicked his ears for his brother to enter but said nothing as he turned his attention back to his herbs, well back to what he had been doing before he fell so deep into thought.  It was only when Katon had seated himself across from Raton, did the Healer decide to speak. "You need not say anything Brother." he started, I know exactly what it is that you wish to tell me..." Raton lifted his gaze and rested it on his brother, a sharp pang of remembrance shot through him like wildfire and it seemed to every time he caught his brother's eyes on him. Tensing the male dropped his gaze. "And What I have to say to that is I---"  Raton paused and shook his head. "I'm not starting with this Katon." he grunted "as--"      "You are busy, I see that." Katon said flatly "But you need to get this in your head.. You will do no good acting the way you are now." the male's eyes narrowed towards his brother, his eyes flaring as he saw that Raton was moving herbs from one place to another.  "Stop that!" Katon snapped and moved his paw over the herbs, disrupting the piles. "Why don't you ever listen to me any more?"       Raton looked up sharply. "I have no need to listen to you.. We live separate lives and I ask that you kindle your tongue and your temper." the male's voice remained monotoned as he spoke to his brother, knowing that it only increased his brother's annoyance at his inability to get mad. "Please leave until you can talk without an out burst.." The Healer said as he looked down to his once neat piles of herbs and began to silently place them in the piles. "I have things I need to do, so hurry." the brute spoke without looking back up to see if Katon would obey or not.     Katon would only sigh, as he looked at his brother and speak in a softer voice "I only worry for you Ratonhnhake:ton, that is all.."  After his brother's departure, Raton would sigh and look over his herbs.  Why could his littermate not understand? Raton's eyes moved towards the exit just in time to see his brother's tail disappear. The pair of them, while they seemingly got along well , shared a bitterness between the two.. Raton knew, while it was not truly, that his brother blamed him for their other brother's disappearance  and Raton was angered and saddened that Katon did not care to look for the missing kin.. Pinning his ears back, he lowered his head  and gaze a soft sigh. He had always been a rather mellow wolf but as he got older he seemed to only wish to do his job and find his brother, he seemed to only go further into his shell and less likely to speak to others unless it was job related..

Template by Lachrymosa of Adoxography 2.0

[ketzia]

The tragedy in life is that, sooner or later, it must come to an end. Until that time when death comes knocking at life’s door, life is always running out. There is no true way to stop time, no way to deny it. There is no shield to create a barrier and extend the reaches of life. No mortal can suddenly become immortal, unless preserved in hearts steadfastly of those they love. Then the mortal becomes temporarily immortalized for a short duration, but only until the loved ones’ lives end as well. It is an endless circle this, round and round it goes. If it ever stopped, no one would ever know.

Ketzia watched with almost a predatory gaze as the two brothers conversed with one another. Her golden gaze shifted back and forth between them as each one spoke, and she waited patiently. The small female lie in waiting within the shadows, trying to make herself unnoticeable. That usually was not a hard thing to do for her, as Ketzia was made for this kind of situation. However, she knew that there were observant wolves in the world, and that fact could not be overlooked. Tip toeing around had its challenges, even for the most brilliant of predators. The woman almost always had an alibi for her appearances. Yet and still she eavesdropped on the conversation, not entirely knowing the context, but piecing things together as she went along. Something was going on between the two of them that was not yet open for discussion. Well, she could help be the mediator for the two siblings to become the voice of reason. The very thought made her heart lurch in her chest, but not for the usual reasons. A normal female would feel empathy for the brothers, hoping that they could one day mend fences. A true mediator would find a solution to the problem in a way that benefitted everyone. But Ketzia’s idea of “helping” might not prove to be so helpful. To them at least.

Watching as Katon left the area, Ketzia was left with the younger of the two. A smile that could only be described as malicious formed on the female’s features. Her tongue swiped greedily over her thin, black lips too. Finally Ketzia left her hiding place, and crept closer to Raton. Her dainty paws made for virtually soundless movement, edging her closer and closer to the healer. It would not be long now. Just a little bit closer, just a few more steps to go. Ketzia was on track to attack the male when he was not looking up. Her form of mediation and making up? Well, that was simple and easy. It was killing one brother off. Then there would be no more conflict, right? There would be no one to argue with anymore. And, on top of that, Ketzia would have a full stomach. That certainly sounded like foolproof plan to her.

For a moment as she was closing the gap between them, Ketzia thought of her own sisters back at home. She was the middle pup so she had one older and one younger than her. Thoughts about how close the three of them were passed through her mind for the briefest of seconds. Ketzia could see the laughter and the memories they had all made together. But those were starting to fade away with time. What used to be was turning into nothing but useless information. Useless information that she was not sure even really happened or not anymore. And so the memories were shaken away harshly with a brief motion of the wolf’s head. Ketzia was doing this chap a favor really; putting him out of his misery before misery truly set in. Or that is how she saw it in her mind. Ketzia’s mind was one that was always clever and sharp, no doubts about that. It just was not always rational though.

The small red wolf advanced within one pace of the bigger male, bunched her muscles, and made for the side of his throat. Her jaws opened wide, accompanied by a surprisingly loud snarl and reaching paws. Ketzia knew that the back of his neck would be covered with thicker fur, and the underside of his neck was harder to access from her vantage point. So the side seemed like the best option. There were a few possible outcomes to this situation, some good, and some bad. One was that the female was able to hit her mark and grapple with her opponent. The second was that the sheer force of her momentum would take him over, revealing jugular veins. Another would be that she fell short of her target. And yet another still was that she would get him, but he would overpower her. Only time would tell what the true outcome would be in that moment.

The tragedy in life is that death is always there to replace it. Thankfully life springs forth from the death that remains.

[Lead Healer Ratonhnhake:ton]

000 Words

Ratonhnhake:ton The tragedy of life is not death but what we let die inside of us while we live.. Ratonhnhake:ton let out a sigh as he skillfully moved his paw over the various leaves,roots and flower heads. The male's eyes were blank, not revealing a morsel of how he was feeling.  Without looking up, the male would rise to his paws and take a step to the side just in time to avoid her paws hitting him.   "Good try.."   The brute rolled his eyes and heaved another sigh as he tilted his head to the side. " Are you in need of something or was there a reason you were trying to attack me?"  The rustic male raised an eye then smiled. "No, never mind.. Cn I help you?"

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[ketzia]

Ketzia made a huge leap to close the gap between her and Raton. Her growl ripped through the air like it was wet paper, and her trajectory was on point. Unfortunately, there were unforeseen circumstances that she had not accounted for. Or maybe it was just one unforeseen circumstance…he had moved. Obviously something like this had to have happened before, for the male knew how to react in time. It was not that Ketzia had not been on track to land on her target, rather the target shifted positions. The female’s golden eyes widened as she saw this happen, and she knew this was not very good. Not very good at all. Ketzia rose into the air like a bird, but she dropped like a rock. For being such a small wolf, she landed incredibly hard and heavily upon the ground. Her jaw bounced harshly as she fell, and an involuntary “oof” left her mouth. While Ketzia was getting up, she heard the male’s words, and her ears perked on her head. Her eyes focused on him and there was some confusion there. It was interesting that he said what he said when he said it. He did not have to do that.

Could he help her? After she just tried outright to attack him, he was asking if he could help her still? Well, if it concerned filling her stomach with fresh, juicy wolf meat, then yes. Yes, he certainly could. The man seemed healthy enough to provide a decent snack for now and some more thereafter. Other than that, he really would not be of any use to her. She was a predator of both prey and other predators, that was just the way Ketzia had developed. Could she turn her life around and change her ways? Yes, that was still a possibility. But there was the question of if she wanted to. No not really. Desperate times called for desperate measures in her maiden pack lands. Since then that was the way that Ketzia operated. And, as they say, old habits tend to die hard. Ketzia’s golden gaze narrowed significantly and her shoulders hunched ever so slightly. Maybe he was not sincere when he volunteered to help her. Perhaps he was just mocking her failed attempt. This mildly frustrated Ketzia, but she could not let it show for too long. Getting over it would be her best solution to the problem at that point. If she lured him into a false sense of security, then maybe she could have another go at him later on.

The she-wolf had to turn on the charm if this mission was ever to be accomplished efficiently and effectively. She cleared her throat and summoned as much dignity as she could. How could she explain her way out of this one? Hmm…that was an interesting question. And it was one that she would have to devise quickly, or Ketzia would fall flat again. Not in the physical sense, but more in a rhetorical sense that is. “Oh I am sorry, friend wolf,” Ketzia began, trying to pad her faux pas with an upbeat manner. “I thought that you were one of my buddies. We were playing hide and go seek, and I wanted to surprise him. You know how it is, chasing after each other, rough housing, and all that pup jazz. Obviously I am not a pup anymore though, so it might have come on a little stronger than intended.” The wolf flipped a paw nonchalantly like it was no big deal. In all reality, it certainly was though, much more than she was making it out to be. Ketzia had a one track mind, and that was to take others out by surprise, and kill them.

From what she had observed previously, it was going to be hard to pull the male away from his prized collection of herbs. He would not even leave them for his brother’s sake, and they knew each other far better and longer. The male wolf had absolutely no reason to trust Ketzia, and she was aware of that. So, being that that was the case, she would have to work around that in some way, shape, or form. She did not exactly know what it was in that moment either, which meant that this whole thing would require patience. Sigh. Sometimes hunting stupid prey was the easier option to go with. There was no backtalk, no real struggling or waiting for long periods of time. They just were ignorant to her presence until it was too late. Hunting them was easily done and said in that specific case. That was the only real downfall of hunting those of her own species, they were smart. This one was no exception to the rule either. If he was, Ketzia would have been halfway through her meal by then. But no, the rule remained steady and firm with this one.

“Can you help me you ask? Maybe, just maybe, you could. But I would not let you do it for free, how about a trade? Does that sound fair to you?” she asked, a gentle smile forming on her lips. Ketzia even added a small tail wag for special effect. “How about I help you with your piles there, and then you show me where the best place is to get some grub around here, yes?” ‘And maybe then I will not have to eat you instead,’ her mind thought quietly. The she wolf had to draw him away from his work, or a second failure was the only option. It was very unusual for the female to fail multiple times at getting what she wanted. One time, sure, that was a fluke. Ketzia did not claim to be perfect. But after that one time, failure was not a viable option anymore. In that way, the female could be considered somewhat of a perfectionist.

“So, what do you say man?” Ketzia asked, mirroring his head tilt the same.