{open} luck and intuition, play the cards;

[webby]

"You're a spoilt brat, you know that?" Onisim scowled, as he unwillingly followed his sister through the forest. He couldn't wait for the day when he'd be alpha and not have to put up with Tallulah's whims. It couldn't come too soon, in his opinion.

"Daddy's the one making you follow me round No Man's Land, i'd rather you didn't," his little sister replied. If wolves could pout, that's what she'd be doing. What Tallulah said was true however - she'd rather not have to have her brother act like some sort of bodyguard but since her last episode in No Man's Land, where she'd ended up with a large amount of blood loss, Duke didn't seem to want to let her back out of Falling Moon territory without someone to look after her. Ugh, she wasn't a puppy.

"Do you always sound so whiny, or is it just to annoy me?" Onisim replied tetchily. He had far better things to do than this - for one, working out how to get the upper hand against his father next time it came to a fight. He couldn't even think properly with Tallulah whining in his ear.

Tallulah's eyes hardened for a moment. Her voice wasn't whiny, how dare he! It was fine however, because apparently she knew how to irritate him further. "Now now, behave, you're in enough trouble as it is with daddy," she replied smugly, knowing full well he'd probably snarl at her and storm off. Just what she wanted, really.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Someone kill her, now." He found himself muttering, and turning to walk away. How predictable.

[[Midnight]]

With a dead but freshly caught hare in his jaws, Justyn had managed to stumble upon Onisim and Tayuya right at the part where the sister started using Duke as...some sort of leverage. Then Onisim mumbled about killing her, and Justyn smiled through his mouthful of fur.

He padded closer to them, almost cutting off their path, but not quite. He sat down on the uneven dirt ground, watching the siblings. Then it occurred to him that these two wolves were directly related to Rose. He should get to know them... Sad and slightly revolting as it was to admit, Rose's family would be his family from now on. That's how he felt.

He dropped the rabbit to the ground, some blood still soaked into his fur around his dark lips, and he decided to join in the fun.

"Need some help with that?" Justyn asked out loud to Onisim, referring to the requested murder. Obviously it was a joke by the way he was grinning humorously. Well, then again, some wolves took murder and death like a game... But Justyn wasn't like that...

He glanced at Tayuya again.
Then it clicked in his head.
Tayuya had been recently injured in some strange happening.
Just like Zacharias, he thought to himself, his mood darkening for a moment. Maybe he could get a few answers from her, unlike useless Zach.

[mizu]

Stalking... Like a lion on the savannah. Each paw hit the ground with an inaudible thud as she eyes the siblings. She raised her brow. So, these were the first wolves she would see in this valley. She sighed. I wish the male were a little cuter... she thought.

Suddenly, Justyn appeared. Much better. She confirmed in her mind.

She peeled out of the shrub she had once peered from, her pretty black coat gleaming in the sun (or moon..?) light.

"Hello, I'm Taskah. And you all are...?" She spoke with her liquid voice.

"Sorry for intruding, I'm new to the valley."

[webby]

As soon as he heard a voice offering aid, Onisim leapt at the chance. "Yes! Now! Kill!" He barked, before pausing. He wasn't actually serious of course, but he could be a little slow, and in his slowness he wasn't quite sure that this other wolf realised he was joking. Partly.

"Well, maybe don't actually kill her," he said slowly with a wolfish grin as he turned his hulking form towards Justyn. He recognised the fellow-Falling-Moon by scent first and quickly sight, but he realised he'd never talked much, or perhaps even at all to Justyn. It was wierd how you could be in the same pack as a wolf for a good proportion of your life and never share a conversation with them. Not that it mattered much; Onisim wasn't the best with words.

Unlike Onisim, Tallulah kept her ears open a lot more to what was going on within the pack. That was Justyn, and he had something to do with her sister, Rose. Fabulous. This didn't amuse Tallulah much, not for personal reasons, but mainly because she was the sort of vain individual who thought everyone should have things to do with her rather than her irritatingly pretty sister (or anyone else for that matter).

"Tallulah, and this idiot is my brother, Onisim," she replied instantly to Taska in her ivory voice, choosing to ignore Justyn for the moment. She was slightly amazed that this wolf didn't know who she was (of course there was no reason why other than again her own self-absorption). Still, Tallulah supposed, the poor fae couldn't help it if she was new to the valley. "Lovely to meet you," she said, a winning smile fixed upon her face in an unusual moment of charitable-intentions.

[/blockquote]

[mizu]

She looked over at the so-called idiot brother. He wasn't as ugly as she'd thought she was. He was very bulky however, and probably wasn't very fast. But, you never know. "Nice to meet you both." She said, trying her best to be sincere. It was difficult to do that with her loud voice, though. On that note, she glanced at Justyn. Was he even alive? She shook the thought from her mind and scratched at her ear.

"So, are you three in the same pack? You all smell rather similar." She interrogated. These could be allies in the making. She clawed at a spider that skittered paw her paw. Smoosh! It was lifeless.

"Whoops."

[[Midnight]]

Well so far Tallulah and Onisim seemed like... interesting characters. Perhaps maybe irritating if he was around them for too long, but he could always walk away before they really irked him. Everybody deserved some irritating family memebers, anway.

As he was going to add on the demise of Tallulah, Justyn stopped and glanced over at the newcomer. Instantly his hackles rose; he didn't like loners. They were usually stingy. He caught the look she gave her but offered no real greeting in return.

He snorted, unimpressed as she so nonchalantly scratched an ear. For having no idea who any of those wolves were, she seemed much too at ease with herself. She was either clueless or a smartass. Who knew?
After she squashed a spider with her feminine paw, he raised an eyebrow and shot a look at the two siblings.

"It shouldn't be too hard for anyone to guess that," he sarcasticly cut the words in her direction, giving her a bored expression. Then he took a moment to reach down at his rabbit and tear a chunk of meat off, chewing it quickly and swallowing it almost whole. The blood by now had spread on his face, and he looked somewhat like an evil murderer with his hard face and bulky form. Ha, sometimes he wished he did have that reputation.

[mizu]

Taskah growled lightly at Justyn. He was awful snooty. "So, you insult me befor eyou say hello? I love the fact you are so well-mannered, NOT." She looked away with a nod of the head and a snort.

"So, what pack are you guys in?" She asked Tallulah curiously. She would have asked Onisim, but she was always a but shy towards males. Plus, Tallulah was the most welcoming so far.

[[Midnight]]

Justyn laughed out loud at her naive reaction - out loud, but as quietly as possible. This female was very unimpressive indeed. And the way she seemed to avoid the attention of Onisim just made her look even more entirely immature. This was going to be a fun bonding time with Tallulah and Onisim; at least, if they also felt the same way Justyn did.

"Clearly, whelp, you haven't heard of Falling Moon," he mumbled under his breath, his face still just all smiles as he bent his head low to lick at his rabbit's bloody coat.
"Wolves like you don't belong in a valley like this... You should pay more attention to who it is you're talking to before you get too comfortable," he added, his threatening tone a bit more of a low growl now. So quickly the amusement was wiped off of his face and he was instantly serious. She seemed like the type who would be slow if you beat around the bush.

I don't give anyone much credit, do I? he thought to himself, almost wishing he could smile again. But he didn't.

[mizu]

She shot him a fierce glare and bared her teeth. "No, clearly I haven't."

She got up, hackles raised. She walked slowly towards him, stopping a little over two miles away. "What is that supposed to mean?" She sneered in response to his remark, gripping the ground below with her talon-like claws. "Are you saying I can't take care of myself?" She took a step forward and lowered her head, "Because if you are, I'm afraid you are incorrect."

She looked at him with her glowing yellow eyes. How dare that wolf try and kick a loner out of unclaimed land! She risked taking a glance at Onisim and Tallulah, then looked back at Justyn in what seemed like a split second.

[webby]

Good lord. Not only had the poor girl nopt heard of Tallulah, but she hadn't even heard of Falling Moon. She must be a bit simple, thought Tallulah pityingly. First of all, it was pretty obvious that Justyn was in a high ranking position, so you'd think it'd be obvious to pay respect to that if you were a loner. Secondly, when surrounded by three of said pack members, two of which who were directly related to the Alpha, you mighgt be a bit less agressive. Ah well, people were just like that. Tallulah wasn't quite sure that she'd get as defensive as Justyn was being, but this should make for some form of entertainment at least.

"I'm sure you can take care of yourself, hun', but maybe trying to take on the Falling Moons isn't the best idea?" she said bemusedly.

Onisim felt a fight coming on, and he felt a small sliver of excitement run down his spine. He loved fights, they were what he was best at. And as far as he was concerned, it didn't really matter if this was No Man's Land, as long as the wolf was being disrespectful. He may not have been best pleased with the Alpha of his pack at the moment but it didn't mean he wouldn't defend the Falling Moons if it came to it. Heck, he'd enjoy it. The only problem was that he happened to have a slight sense of fair play that most Falling Moons seemed to lack - three on one surely seemed a bit unfair?

"Are you sure you want to take us lot on?" he said in gravelly tones, as his muscles tensed and he butted his head down in response to Taska's stance. His eyes glinted in a certain matter that seemed to say he'd enjoy this, as long as Taska was given fair warning as to what she was up against first.

[/size]

[zacharias]

OOC; urrrhhh *JUMPS IN*

Zach's large paws had been moving swiftly off course since he had picked up the scent of Justyn. There was no doubt that he was on a mission, a mission to seek out the seedy little fiend and get some answers. Since Zach had been attacked, it had become more and more potent in his mind that Justyn was the perpetrator. Who else? Zach hadn’t been around long enough to piss anyone else off and Justyn had been the first at the scene of the crime. All the signs pointed to him and that was enough evidence for Zach. The dark male stopped to scent the air; it seemed that Justyn was no longer alone. He huffed in irritation, why was there always an audience? His ears flattened to his large skull before carrying on – this could be interesting, if not anything else.

He paused as he caught sight of the four figures, easily picking the status of each. He didn’t linger for too long, the little gathering was much too inviting. He slithered through the remaining shadow in silence, his strides were small and swift and his body was low and streamline. The sudden light glinted off his silver eyes as he left the shelter of the winter-beaten forest. His ears pressed forward and he tutted as he came into hearing distance “That is no way to treat a lady.” He muttered in a velvety voice “Do you have to fight with everyone you come by?” he turned his gaze to the lone female who looked ready to attack at any moment, boy was she stupid. “Ma’am” He dipped his head politely before taking his place in the little congregation.

For the first time he let his sights steer away from Justyn and the loner and let his attention focus on the two completely unknown wolves. He could tell by their scent that they were followers of Duke. Zach offered an apprehensive nod before reclining to his dark haunches. He watched the loner as she stood her ground; he hoped she appreciated the fact that his discourteous intrusion could have possibly saved her life. He waited for Justyn to speak, he would surely demand why Zach was here. Their meetings only ever seemed resemble an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, so why bother tracking him down? Well, it seemed that they had a little unsettled business and while Almira wasn’t present, Zach was free to be as dark and spiteful as he pleased.

[[Midnight]]

Ohh, great. This little gathering couldn't have gotten any better.
And Justyn had just hoped to be the good guy today. Get to know Rose's extended family and get the chance to make her maybe that much happier. And here comes Zacharias, out to destroy all sanity in his life. He offered no return greeting to the loner and wished he could just flat out ignore the sap, but life wasn't fair and that would only make him look like a child instead of a man.

"I wish you would have treated my sister just as a courteous," Justyn remarked, remembering when these two had first met each other. Justyn and Zach really had crossed paths at the wrong time. Now they just might forever clash because of it. And so might he and Es. "I guess now it's a good thing you have a girlfriend- the females have nothing to worry about."

And as for fighting with everyone he came by... Wasn't that was this damned loner's favorite hobby? Seemed like it. From the moment the smart-ass first entered into Justyn's life he always had something wise to say. Certainly he had no rights to be calling other people contentious when he couldn't lick a rock without finding some reason to complain.

"I see you're all healed up. That's unfortunate. It must be embarassing to walk around when all your dignity has been lost," Justyn said, sighing almost as he spoke. Then he remembered that this was a party, and there were other guests. He looked at all of them with a curious glance, wondering who was going to leave now that it was getting crowded.
Just seconds before he was about to rip apart this ignorant female just to teach her some manners and a life-lesson. Perhaps he could just do a demonstration for her since it was likely that Zach would have some sort of retaliation here in a few seconds.
He smiled.

"Talullah is on the same page with me. Don't chew what you can't swallow. Three versus one is an instant victory."
It felt like now he was talking to two wolves instead of one. Zacharias was just as disrespectful as this other loner. Just not in that annoyingly feminine way.

[mizu]

Taska glanced round to the other two falling moons. They were going to attack you. Her growls eased quickly and she looked him in the eye. Her expression was one of utter disappointment.

"Oh, I had no idea you needed help." She smirked and backed up to sit down in the poorly formed circle of canines. "And I never said I wanted to fight, I was proving my point."

Glancing at Zacharias, she raised her brow slightly. He seemed like one of those people who paid extra attention in ballroom classes. wolves who were a little too gentlemen-like. Then she looked to Justyn quickly. The 'that's more like it' attituse had evaporated from her brain. Now this was just some dumb wolf who was trying to tell her what she couldn't chew, or... something like that.

[zacharias]

OOC; BLAH sorry for fluffing on for so long. I JUST HAD SO MUCH BOTTLED UP ROLEPLAY xDD <3

Zach's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as the female spoke. Not a breath of thanks? Not even a hello in return for his efforts of politeness? His lips twitched as a snarl fought to tear itself across his composed expression, worthless waste of life. Her gaze didn't seem to linger on him for long, he didn't blame her. He was an unsightly beast at best. His coal-black face, soiled with follicles of grey, distorted into its usual look of irritation.

He took to his all fours again, lowering his torso to the earth and leaning backward to stretch out his back. His spine released a few cringe-worthy cracks before he shook himself out. He felt his muscles relax and the burning urge to teach the clueless loner a lesson quickly fade. After all, this was No Man's Land. No one had to respect anyone out here, it was something that never seemed to occur to these conceited Moons wolves.

At this thought, his attention shifted back to Justyn who decided to lead the conversation down the usual path. Zach rolled his eyes and tuned out as the insults dissipitated into the breeze. He casually rearranged himself so that he was laying comfortably on the snow, propped up by an elbow. A loud chuckle erupted from the depths of the dark wolf's chest "Ah, half wolf, half windbag" He said, reducing his wicked laugh to a tempting smirk "You cling to the past with far too much passion, it's a dangerous weakness, you know." He said, lowering his gaze slowly to Justyn's neck "Like a neck... exposed and tender. The jugular just beneath the surface, pumping with red life-giving blood, waiting to be ripped out and left to rot." Zach's eye darted back to his face, smirking slyly.

And just like a cloud moving away from the sun, Zach's face lightened ever so slightly in preparation for a change of topic "Oh, don't worry your little head. No one is here to fight." Well, not anymore now that Justyn had some fairly burly company. He cocked his head with an air of mocked innocence "Tallulah?" He asked "And who would that be?" His eyes carefully ran over the possible suspects before losing interest "My girlfriend," He scoffed at the term used to loosely to describe his passionate, unstable relationship "Just so happens to be the old beta of your beloved pack," He shrugged "So I'd watch your tail when she returns."

Zach fondled a twig with his claws absently "Oh, and by the way, I will be accompanying her on her return." He said lightly "Packmates-to-be. I guess that practically makes us... brothers." He laughed darkly and snapped the twig. That would be sure to stir things up.

[[Midnight]]

{Umm.. yeah. I wear glasses and I cannot read that... xD Change it soon please??}