Aya Arakina

[Aya Arakina]

[bg=#170000][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=style,border-radius: 20px; -moz-border-radius: 30px; border: 2px #000000; font-variant: small-caps; font-size: 10px; text-align: center; padding: 1px] 'Better watch your back, I just might break it.'

AYA ARAKINA

Wolf-4;;Human-26 • FEMALE • WOLF • SRAIGHT •CUSTOM

Diamond in the Rough

And I just can't get enough

A lady such as Aya, if one could truly call her a lady in that context, could possibly be considered attractive to the human eye. A soft feminine face, her cheekbones high, but not angular, yet still softly padded, nary a harsh shadow to be seen. Save for those around her eyes, however. They aren't quite deep set, but just enough so to cast a slight darkness over her irises. Her eyes themselves are a strange sight, startling almost in their brilliant, liquid golden color. In the odd shadow cast upon them from her brow, they seem to have an inhuman glow about them, an animalistic spark within the vivid gold. Her hair is typically in an organized sort of chaos, strands whipping this way and that, one usually hanging precariously close to invading her eye. The color is not truly brown, but rather the deepest shade of it possible, giving it a sheer black look, but a flash of deep mahogany when struck by the sunlight.


Her build would be described as hearty, by most. She stands around 5'8”, her weight totaling at 162lbs. The weight is neatly distributed on her frame, not unsightly in any place. It took a toll on her bust, but this is quickly overlooked once any wandering eyes are corrected with a firm snarl. Her body is only seemingly unscathed, until one may catch a glimpse at her shoulders, which are often exposed by a thin strapped top. Her left is marred with a full chunk of its flesh missing, a hearty indent in her silhouette. The points of thirty-two razor fangs can still be made out in the scarred flesh, the soft pink scored with the darkened spots where the blood had once pooled in the pits they left. The mark is in the shape of what can't be described as anything other than the gape of a wolf's maw, where a beast had clearly bitten down and torn away what was once there. The wound never really healed properly, having acidic rain poured unto it soon after it was inflicted did little good for the muscles and joint underneath. Needless to say, it is now her lamed side, the muscles freezing up or spasming at the worst times possible. Her right is a bit better off, the scarring done there more recently. She had gotten into quite the tussle with a leopard, the wretch managing to rake his claws deep into her flesh, leaving a path of four nearly parallel gashes upon that shoulder. Sadly the night simply couldn't end there, she acquired another mark over those wounds, a long stab and tear that begins upon the topmost gash, and continues down the remaining three, connecting them all in what seems like a four-bladed scythe-like figure engraved deep into her flesh.


Her garb is little to be gawked at, a simple ensemble of a thin-strapped top and jeans, a set of delicate chains looped twice about her neck to serve as an accessory, a small silver key dangling from one of the lower links. Her skin is a healthy, warm peach tone, with just the slightest kiss from the sun that gives it a darker glow. Her clothing may not always make it through the day without some odd difficulty, her jeans somehow finding their knees shredded or hems ragged by the time the sun is rising once again.


The woman described above is little more than a wicked lie, woven to hide the beast from prying human eyes. In her bestial form, the oddities of Aya's illusion are well explained. A beast of a wolf, she stands at a rather daunting three feet at the shoulder, and tilting the scales to her frame of 162lbs of muscle and bone. Her lupine face isn't a far cry from that of her illusion, the same soft sloping grace, but on a larger scale. Her forehead a bit broader, making a slow descent unto her square-ish snout, equally broad in its own right. Her jaw is a bit more pronounced, however; all the better to house the dastardly set of daggers set into her skull that she calls teeth. Her brow is still set just slightly farther out, keeping the shadow cast over those sparkling golden gems that seem to burn with more intensity against her sheer, black pelt.


Her body is still sturdy, the weight of her illusion having set itself to greater use as muscle mass, stacking heavily on her scarred shoulders, flanks, and thighs, and especially on her neck. The heavy scruff of her nape isn't as jet black as is the rest of her coat, but the same deep brown of her illusion, with several ebony guard hairs streamed through it. The fur along her neck is thick, nearly a triple coat, the plush fur beneath the guard hairs sectioning off little tufts of it, making it poof our further from her body. This does little to make her look like a typical, streamlined wolf, but rather more like a miniature bear. The chains worn in her illusion are lost in the thick mess of fur, maybe glinting only once or twice in the light before being swallowed again into the inky black ruff.


Her legs aren't so much stocky as they are simply large, sturdy enough to keep a steady gait for a long distance, not so much for a sprint. The paws attached to these pillars are also large, almost awkwardly so. The pads are smooth, well filed with use, the claws on the other hand, still retain their razor-like quality. Her chest is just as bulky as the rest of her, rather barreling in its shape, her ribcage having a very slight taper to it, before smoothing out into her flanks, and hind legs. Her rears are well muscled, the calves toned for lunging and pouncing. The tail end of this creature is just short of comical, a pathetic bush of a tail flowing out behind her. It's ridiculously short, the tips of the bushy fur hardly making it to her rump. It could be considered endearing, seeing the sad little thing flailing about in the wolf's seldom used expression of glee.

It's All a Part of Me

And that's who I am

Aya isn't too much of a complicated beast, a relatively simple creature with simple thoughts and desires. Relatively, that is. Now just how Aya came to be in the mildly confused state she's now always in, is still a bit of a mystery. She still holds the traits of a simple wolf, an affinity for others of her species, love of meat and a nice warm, dark place to sleep in. The same old things one would expect from a dog, really, a simple craving for some kind of companionship and affection, the need to have a place to call her own territory. The things that have earned her disdain could also be expected, by some at least. The displeasure of human company, unnecessary loud noises, and of course a distaste for small or annoying creatures: owls, crows, squirrels and other animals of their ilk, saving a special sort of loathing for those of the feline family, namely the ones called mountain lions, or cougars.


This wolf holds few things more dearly than her friends and long lost family, the ones she lives for, the ones she'd die for. Aya was taught as a pup to hold her family above all, to take pride in where she came from, and of course, carry on the legacy of her pack. This wolf over human mindset hasn't always done her well, earning frowns from beasts that have dealt with human company far longer than she has. Though the silly humans and their guns don't quite rank on the list of things to fear, there are simple, expected things to be feared in their place. One being creatures larger than herself, seeing as she can't quite flee from things with much grace or ease. With this, comes the fear of an inability to protect herself, let alone her loved ones. To lose someone she holds dear, is the one thought that will truly terrorize her mind.


There is one thing she has acquired a strange fondness for, a bad habit really, known as drinking. Throughout her endless days of little to do but roam the streets of Vale under the cover of darkness and flickering street lamps, she'd discovered the lovely liquors by chance, sniffing through the contents of a passed out drunkard's bag of booze. She quickly took a liking to the harsh taste, particularly that of whiskey. The pleasant fog it made in her mind, and the comforting warmth it brought down her throat and into her gullet.


Aside from petty likes and dislikes, there is a slightly more complex side to this wolf, slightly being the key word. Aya isn't always what one would claim to be "socially acceptable", seeing as she can't quite shake off her distaste for human company, she's typically either stiff and awkward in public, or slinking through an alleyway in the dead of night. Though the latter is a bit more strange a habit to befall a lovely lady such as herself, there's not much she can do to avoid it, seeing as wolves are still being chased from the city or shot on site. Being forced to lurk about in the guise of a human doesn't do much good for her pride, having to adjust to those her ancestors so vehemently hated.


Though a proud beast, Aya is also rather...Shy, in a sense. She doesn't open up to others, or at least not without either a great effort on behalf of both parties, or the soothing properties of a few laps of alcohol. The few that manage to get to know this wolf are the ones that will likely have earned themselves a loyal, lifelong companion. She is rather quick to form kinship-like bonds to her friends, no sooner calling them a friend than a sibling. Her trust is relatively easy to win, should you get her to open up in the first place, but should it be broken, it is almost entirely irreparable. She knows very well how to hold a grudge, and how to hold it so as long as the begrudged shall live, which coincidentally isn't very long.

It's Time to Fly

And let's just say goodbye

Aya's story isn't much of what one could consider interesting, though that's quite dependent on who is listening to this wolf's tales of what she finds to be an average life, if not one that is slightly harder, plagued as she is by both her past and the present.


It all began many moons ago, in a far off land unknown to mankind, where beasts still roamed and reigned supreme over the terrain. The land holds no name other than home, to those who inhabit it, and holds no foothold in the pages of man's history. The various species of this land had each made their claim for rule over the small "nation", though none quite really managed to overcome the great wolves of old, as the old legends that Aya were taught so long ago claimed, that the land was passed down generation upon generation to the seven packs that lived there. It was a place of large, maybe even colossal beasts, each wolf measuring up to the standards of their extinct dire cousins, if not larger. And of course, each one held a superb sense of pride.


Aya's family was no different, she hailed from the great Shadow Pack, led by her father Tatsu, and his dear mate, Cho. She was among the firstborn litter of the couple, her father finally gaining right to the 'throne' once his own father had passed on, and immediately beginning his own bloodline to sustain the pack. He was a harsh father, and ruled with an iron paw, enforcing the harshest rules upon his pups, and kept his pack more like a well trained militant force than a family. Her mother softened the environment a bit, giving them comfort and occasionally scolding their dictator of a father. Oddly enough, even Tatsu bowed to her, perhaps from the harsh glares that could be made by the wrathful, golden gaze of his mate.


Aya was never quite in touch with most of her pack, being one of the firstborn pups to the leaders, she didn’t receive much of Cho’s comfort. And being second eldest, often took the brunt of her father’s harsh raising. It began on a rainy summer’s eve, Tatsu pacing nervously outside of the small birthing den his mate had chosen, whines far too pitiful to be coming from his great bulk issuing forth. He could hear the shallow, rapid pace of Cho’s breath, smell the pheromones that emanated from the mouth of the miniscule cave that she’d discovered, along with the mosses and worn bracken that she’d padded its floor with. The beast paced on through that evening’s rain, counting the different voices of pups as they were brought into being. They totaled at five, though one had fallen silent during the night. He would call to his mate, leaving her only to fetch food for the both of them, and only a month later, for their constantly famished brood. Both he and his love’s families were descended from the blood of the great wolves that had once roamed; the dires that towered over modern canines. Though they had lost some of their great size over the decades, they still held a significant amount of girth over the average wolf. Though another small shred of size had been lost in this new generation, the potential they held was clear. The pups had been named, the eldest, a strong willed female they dubbed Tyoku. The second was a quieter girl was Aya herself. The middle pup, a gentler male whom they dubbed Jun. The last was a scrawny little thing, Rei, who didn’t make it through his first winter. He was mourned, but sadly forgotten in the sweep of events to come.


The pups were showing great promise in their abilities, Tyoku always taking the challenges head on, Jun taking a more careful, calculated approach, and Aya… Simply threw her luck to the wind, hoping for the best, relying only on her instincts. Though the proud parents had held their doubts about their second daughter, upon watching her grow they noticed there was something awry with her tail, as it remained a stub-like appendage compared to her siblings longer, more flowing banners. They would pick on her for the sad little thing, especially Jun. His gentle days having worn off and away, his true nature began to shine through; a calculating, cruel wolf with a sharp tongue. Not at all what was expected by his parents, nor what was at all appreciated. His snide remarks often earned him either a hefty clap to the face, or a sharp snip from either of his sister’s budding fangs. He seemed to hit a downward spiral come their second year when Cho bore her second litter, often caught by his father while torturing small game. This went against every rule they had been taught as pups, to kill their game with mercy, in the most effective, painless way possible. The girls had bedded down for the night with their mother and the smaller pups, Rioku and Keiko, Jun nowhere to be seen. Their father had gone hunting with him, Cho told them. Yet Tatsu returned alone the next evening, looking worn and broken. They never once questioned what had become of their brother; the silent aura of death their father brought with him that night was undisputed amongst them.


The younger siblings were now going through the same training their elders had been put through, lessons in stalking, stealth, and eventually, becoming a lethal weapon. It was considered a given upon the small island on which the great packs lived, that of all of them, the Shadow Wolves held ultimate prowess in combat, for not only their size, but the uncharacteristic silence they had about them was considered the essence of terror itself. Needless to say, the Alphas were quite proud of their growing brood, though they had suffered losses, they were told their emotions would make them soft, and must keep a straight, or snarling face when confronted by any situation, namely those of sadness. There was one child, however, that had failed to reach the expected standards of the pack. The runt of Cho’s last litter, Shika. There was simply something…Off about him. He’d seemed alright at birth, if not a bit scrawny, more gangly than bulky, as the rest of the Shadow brood had looked. This assumption was proven quite wrong when he matured, upon opening his eyes, instead of the typical, oceanic blue of all pups, his were a flamboyant, flaming orange. His coat also proved slightly abnormal, the space around the tip of his muzzle and lips tweaked with snowy white, more than enough cause for his father’s retribution. Cho defended him to the best of her ability from his wrath, though it was never quite enough. He was bullied by nearly all of his siblings, namely Rioku. Tatsu never once rebutted Rioku for his behaviors, but rather seemed to keep a silent praise for his cruel son. Aya would have none of it. She sided with her mother, finding Shika’s flaws more endearing and reason to protect him than shun the pup. It was frowned upon, but with the protection of his massive sister, who not even his father would dare to go against, he was quite secure.


Despite earlier doubts and misconceptions, Aya had risen above and continued to go beyond her sire’s expectations, all but mastering the arts of combat and a stealthy slaughter. By her third year, she was considered the perfect Shadow Wolf, however flawed as their system may be. She was still quiet, always the stern, guiding hand for her younger siblings. She was sweet like her mother, to an extent. She would complement the pups if they’d done something well, and correct them, sometimes perhaps a bit too sternly, should they make a mistake. This didn’t earn her much praise from Tyoku, however. Her older sister often becoming horribly jealous of the one their parents called the “Black Rose” of their pack, their source of pride. Aya still held an odd affinity for her youngest brother that none of the others seemed to share, always going the extra mile to keep him fed when nobeast else would bother to consider giving him food. It was said that he would be the ruin of their pack, and it wasn’t long before the Tatsu had caught wind of news that the other 6 packs had encountered a similar issue, each bearing a strange, off-marked runt that year. Even when Shika was banished, quite unceremoniously, chased out of the pack’s territory by his own brother and sister, Aya kept her bond with him. They would meet every day, her bringing something for the scrawny beast to eat, return to the pack, and come again later in the day, and help him to hunt his own dinner. It brought her a sense of happiness, caring for her abnormal kin, as though she was somehow helping a cause a bit greater than just keeping a rejected pup fed and alive.


The fact that the rejected pup was being kept alive by the supposed best of the pack was a fact a tad too hard for Tyoku to swallow, and a fact she was determined to turn into a lie. It was nearing the end of fall and the harsh start of winter, when Aya was on her daily route to go visit Shika, though she noticed something was rather amiss when she arrived. She could scent blood in the air, and a familiar scent that wasn't that of her brother...


The wolf quickly stormed into the clearing, still rustling no more than the wind itself in her wake, her massive obsidian form slipped through the trees, spotting splashes and drops of crimson in the small clearing that her youngest brother called home. A silent snarl hissed through her teeth as she stalked up to the leaning stone at the center of the small meadow, seeing the small pansies soiled, their violet petals stained with the deep crimson of fresh blood. She caught the unknown scent again, its owner quickly registering in her mind. 'That frigid bitch..' The wolfswan snarled, tossing her head and charging into the dense forest, the thin trickle that was blood-lust slowly building a reservoir in her mind. With each bound she made, she saw more blood, spattered on the trees, slapped across the ground in deep gashes where claws had swiped, each sighting clouding her vision with a crimson haze. The scent of it was wretched. It swamped her thoughts, and drove her powerful legs on faster, stealth forgotten in the rise of destruction. All she could hear was the pounding of her heart, thudding painfully in her ears, but then a new sound pierced through the throbbing, he sound of a lupine scream, one of agony and fear. It was close, so very close to her. She went bursting from the tree-line, hardly even looking at the scene before her as she lunged at her brother's assailant.


Fangs met with flesh, claws hitting their marks, the she-wolves snarling and screaming in their furious tussle. The mass that was Aya's elder sister writhed and screeched, her claws scrambling to find purchase on her attacker's pelt, failing miserably as the stronger, more accomplished younger sister slashed her over and over again, maiming the once pretty pelt with deep gashes of crimson, her fangs eventually finding Tyoku's ears, which in turn were viciously mauled. When the elder finally submitted to her clear superior, whimpering and whining in a bloody heap, Aya pulled away, her face a mask of scarlet and obsidian, nary a single scratch to be found on her. "Leave." The victor commanded, her golden eyes settling on the bloody mess of her sister, a cold glittering of wrath sparking in her eyes. The wolf pulled her lips back in a cruel snarl, the defeated groaning with the effort of crawling to her paws, and limping away as fast as her battered legs may carry her.


With a snort, Aya turned to see to her brother. He lay curled in upon himself, paws clamped down on his head, whimpering and groaning to himself, hushed words slipping through the pitiful cries. She padded her way over to him, stooping low and gently rasping her tongue over his ears, nosing at his ruff. ”Shhh.. It is alright now, Shika.. She’s gone.” Her voice had taken to a different, warmer tone, soft and comforting. He was still shaking, his voice becoming frantic as the trembles became tremors. He bolted straight up to his paws, a panicked, crazed look glinting in his citrine eyes. His pupils were completely contracted, as he stared at Aya dead in the face.


”They… They’re calling for me… I have to go… I must, I must!” His words spilled out frantically, his entire body twitching with each syllable. “Watch for she holding the eyes of the storm… It is she who is calling me…”


And with that… He bolted. His gangly legs stretching far to carry him at a greater speed than Aya could ever hope to achieve. For a moment, she thought she could see the faintest outline of wings stretching from his back; the slightest shimmer of pale stars spangled through translucent feathers, passing phantasmically through the underbrush, his paws scarcely treading upon the earth. She shook the image away as a mere play of the light, turning back to the dens with a sigh. Hell would be waiting to meet her there, and it certainly wouldn’t be greeting her with open arms.


Months had passed after Shika’s strange disappearance, and an even stranger duo of wolves had recently passed through the harsh territory of the Shadow Pack. One a lithe, pitch black female, her eyes the color of the glimmering sea, their depths never seeming to rest, even passes of grey floating through the deep orbs. The other was a much larger brute, though still considerably smaller than the brawny Shadow Wolves. His eyes burning brightly through a strange mask-like marking that marred his clearly Timber face, dark brown fur that circled his eyes and muzzle setting him apart from those of his pack. They had only been passing through, they said, and left rather quickly, heading northwards, onto the cruel terrain of the Hackles, and into White Wolf territory.


Aya had snuck out to meet with these strange travelers, and was shocked to see the faint outline of Shika hiding in the brush as she met them. She called out to him, concerned, confused, and so dearly longing to see her dear brother after so long. It was a sharp pain in her very heart as he cringed away from her words, turning his head from her view. The female had said that he was different from the wolf she had once known. That it would never be the same for them, now that things were finally set afoot. Though Aya hadn’t the slightest idea of what she meant, she soon noticed things had changed since his departure. The game had become scarce, the light of day lasting only a fraction of what it should, the moon that greeted the cries of the wolves each night only a sliver of its typical glory each night, never fuller than a quarter, the crescent reigning through both the hours of night and day. For a moment, there was a faint glow of a jagged blue stripe running down the female’s face, from the crown of her forehead to the base of her nose, though it disappeared as quickly as she had noticed it. Left blinking and confused, it was clear that these strangers had something to hide…


It was bound to happen; one of the patrols, that would just so happen to be the horrible Rioku that stumbled upon their gathering. He stormed over the ridge, his substantial ruff bristling menacingly. He was nearly larger than Aya, though he fell short in girth. She could still outmatch him, in both skill and strength. ”You, leave!” He barked, the similarity of his voice to that of Jun was shocking to Aya, the same tone of cruelty and even the slightest glint of psychosis gleaming in his amber eyes. She snarled, getting to her paws and stalking over to him, raising her head high above his.


”How dare you to come unto these guests and demand for them to take their leave, though they are clearly under my jurisdiction. I suggest you leave before I teach you why I am of the elite in this land.”


Her voice was harsh, condescending on her brute of a younger brother. They both knew she could, and would hand his skinned ass to him on a silver platter if he didn’t back down, yet he wouldn’t relent… Not yet, it would seem. A snarl ripped up from his throat, enraged at the clear insult, though it was entirely true. He lunged at her, his jaws gaping and claws lashing out to find purchase. Aya raised up herself, her much broader snout hardly a fair match for the thinner, more elegant one of her brother. She had been blessed to resemble her father, where as Rioku held the more feminine features of his mother, a thin, elegant snout and figure, yet still bulkier than the average wolf. Their fangs clashed, the elder easily overpowering the brute, her jaws pushing unto his cheeks, twisting her head to be straight once more, flipping the smaller wolf in the process. She stood over him, clacking her teeth and snarling, dense fur raised and bristling, making her seem even larger than before. Rioku was left with no choice but to surrender, scrambling up from his side and loping back to the dens, likely to report the event, and the presence of these strange runts to Tatsu. As she turned back to see her new acquaintances, she saw just the dim flick of the Timber’s white tail tip slip around the bend and deep into the woods. She hesitated, wanting to follow, to see her brother once more, but she had a greater evil to deal with when her father would be informed.


As time went on, the state of the land continued in its steady decline, several members of the pack falling ill. Tatsu had claimed that the other packs too, were suffering from the hardships of this year, a member of the North Wolves had passed on to the Etherrealm. She had been a friend of Cho from puppyhood, leaving the Shadow Queen to mourn in silence. It wasn’t long until things began to unfold, Tatsu finally calling a meeting, something rather rare for the militant leader. He told his pack of the old prophecy, one that called for the end of their lives as they knew it, unless the chosen few succeeded in their fates. He called upon Aya, selecting her to go and track the supposed heirs of the Sacreds, and to ensure their safety, as they held the lives of many in their inexperienced paws.


Thus began Aya’s own journey away from her home, and far off track, into a place where man clashed in constant strife with beast, and where the wolves that had once held Paradise were now being hunted relentlessly. She had been travelling for weeks, living on little but water and the occasional lizard or foolish bird that stumbled across her path. She had been trekking through the Badlands for months now, searching in vain for what seemed to be a lost cause now. Eventually, she came across a small village oasis, where she had her very first experience with humans.


They were strange creatures, walking about like reared-up bears, with very little fur to cover them either, save for long tufts of it upon their heads. Aya was rather confused by them, and wanted nothing to do with the creatures. She saw something that looked remotely like a wolf, though much, much smaller, and with a strange coat, large brown spots and its ears flopped over. A strange place indeed. She called to it, watching curiously as its ears pricked up and it trotted over, its wiry tail flailing about happily. The creature, called a dog, declared his name to be Fred. She came to understand the story of this new land, where animals lived by these strange human things, and the beasts of Paradise had to hide themselves in the guise of these humans, should they want to survive. The wolf had a great deal of trouble accepting all of this nonsense. Who were these strange humans to claim the lands for themselves and make the beasts inferior? They hadn’t any fangs or claws, nor did they look very strong at all. Though Fred was quite determine to inform her that they did indeed have weapons that were greater than the brute strength of fangs or claws. These things called guns, knives, many things that sounded entirely ludicrous to the foreign wolf.


After perhaps a few days of staying with Fred and learning how to keep the attention of the humans at bay, Aya took her leave. She travelled on, the thoughts of how creatures could stand to live with these wretched men standing in superiority above them plaguing her journey. After slowly passing through the remaining desert the wolf had managed to stumble upon a forest. There was a strange feeling about the place… Almost like a sense of abandonment, as though it was forlorn in its emptiness. Few birds sang in the trees, and fewer still were the bits of fauna that ran through the dense undergrowth. It was as though the forest had been forsaken, as if no beast should be there without purpose. The wolf went on, the eerie silence of the woods setting her to unease, she longed for there to be some other beast to make some sort of contact with, be it violent or calm. A vaguely familiar scent drifted to her nose as she wandered, her path gearing her towards its source. It seemed to hold two distinct scents…. That of lake water… And something more gruesome. It smelled like a battlefield, though there was no sign of carcasses or the odor of death and rotting flesh, there was what must have at least been a sea of blood. It became more encompassing as she went on, the trees becoming scarce, the sweeping hills and flowing grasses of a meadow coming into sight. The ground made the softest of squelching sounds as her paw set upon it, the grass holding both a healthy verdant green, and the taint of deep crimson spread through its roots. She padded on softly, minding the resistant noises of the earth below her weight with a careful ear, her eyes adjusting to the strange haze she hadn’t quite noticed yet. There was a fine mist that settled around the grass, hugging around the trees, dancing through the small wake of the wolf’s steps. It had the slightest red tint to it, as though the waters themselves were contaminated with blood. She soon came across the lakes; the overwhelming scent of both sweet fresh water and the acrid, metallic taint of blood flooded her nostrils as her golden eyes set upon the restless waters, the reflection of a crimson moon hanging in the center of the largest pond, floating eerie and bright in the deep scarlet of the water.


She wandered around the great ponds, the strange serenity of the waves lapping against the sodden ground following her as she went, the crimson mist still hanging low to the ground and swirling about her paws as she stepped. Her nose twitched as a new scent invaded her nostrils, the unforgettable musk of a badger, coming from the forest’s edge. She followed the stench, padding hap-hazardously over the few tree limbs that must have been strewn about by a recent storm. Throwing her little caution she had left to the drafty wind, Aya spotted what seemed to be a suitable burrow for the odor, as the reek of it had now swamped an entire side of the forest. With little care, and entirely unceremonious, she crouched down and forcefully shoved her face into the burrow, calling a muffled “Hurro?” into the dark depths of the moist loam. Her massive paws moved up to join her maw, clawing into the dirt and shoveling great mounds from the mouth of the den.


“Aye, wot’s all th’ ruckus about, eh? Are ye tryin’ tae collapse moi den on me ye great oaf?! Git yer ‘ead outta moi door, will ye? ‘Aven’t ye sense in that fat ‘ead of yer’s? Oi know ye ‘eard me, Oi said git out!”


Startled by the sudden thundering of the badger’s low bass voice, the wolf found herself stumbling back from the ruined den, chased closely by the snapping jaws and terrible claws of the old beast that called it home. Still booming in his accented tirade, the wolf simply cocked her head as she watched the strange creature. The two broad, deep brown stripes that crested his head went from the rear of his nose, over his crown, down his nape and back and came to a close on the very tip of his stubby tail, his stocky legs clad stockings of the same brown, his dastardly strong claws an inky black against the rest of his relatively off-white coat. Beady black eyes glared up at her, a small, liver nose raised up and making his snout wrinkle into a rather adorable snarl that showed his stubby, but still somewhat sharp fangs. The she-wolf cracked a slight grin, her stumpy tail flopping about nervously. She wasn’t quite sure what to do with this situation. The badger looked her over, brown-dotted brows furrowed into a rigid frown of clear disapproval.


"Aye, well aren't ye goin' tae tell me jus' wot it is that yer' doin' 'ere Lassie? We 'aven't got any biggun's like ye these days, Oi can't even r'member when there were any wulf's like yerself runnin' around these 'ere parts. An’ wot in the ‘eavens might somebeast like yew be called by?"


The badger spoke in the same gruff tone, a deep chuckle escaping his thick snout. This seemed to be a familiar statement, despite the thick, rather rustic accent it was voiced in. She'd heard the same thing from the dog she had first met, though worded a bit... Differently. Taking a moment to gather her wits, the she-wolf finally spoke, for what may have been the first time in days.


”Er.. I’ve been searching for… Someone. And my name is Aya, of Shadow Wolf.”


She stumbled over her words, the memory of her father sending her off to go and find her missing sibling, and the rest of his makeshift pack to protect them from whatever may cause them harm… And she had clearly failed in that mission... And was likely never going to be heard from, or seen again. The male looked at her closely, before grumbling something unintelligible and getting up to his stocky paws. He turned and began to trot off through the forest, gesturing for the wolf to follow his trundling gait through the dense undergrowth. He led her on like this for a while, showing her the new terrain that she had come into, deftly avoiding any sort of human contact, though there was little to be had in the first place. They came to a halt at the outskirts of a ruined ‘city’ as he had called it, where the humans that were supposed Rebels had seized from the Nobles. She had learned that it was the Nobles that had set out to kill all the wolves, to prevent them from opening Paradise… The idea of it seemed farfetched, though there was not much she could say, as she herself had come from a land where the idea of magic was not all too ridiculous.


Aya remained with the badger, who she came to know as Rio, for quite a while, learning the ways of the land, and how to survive without showing that she existed. She came to ‘perfect’ her illusion, though the old mustilide often scolded her for not being able to change eye color, saying that the most talented of beasts can easily change it with their appearance. Though she quite heartily doubted this, she was still satisfied with her cloak, and felt it represented, and hid her well enough. It wasn’t too terribly long before the old badger began encouraging the wolf to head into the city, and to see how things were for herself. Reluctantly, she ventured into the Rebel City, and it was an adventure she’d never forget.


She had been wandering through the streets, the pavement coated in ash and soot, the scent of burning flesh and death hanging on the city like a deep, impenetrable fog. The wolf had not bothered with her illusion, having been told that several members of the Rebels themselves were wolves, and others various beasts. She kept to the shadows, prowling in silence, her golden eyes scanning about the ruins and rubble. A flicker of movement caught her attention, and the sounds of pawsteps reached her ears. A smirk crossed her features as she quickly stalked over to the source of the sound, paying little attention to the storm-clouds gathering overhead. She came to a skidding halt, seeing a massive wolf chasing after a small pup. A snarl rumbling in her throat, Aya charged after the wolf, slamming herself into the beast’s side, pulling her head forcefully away from her quarry and sending her sprawling into a pile of rubble. With a snarl, she rolled up to her feet, clacking her fangs against each other as she stood, her long tail held up high, head lowered and ears plastered flat against her head. Golden orbs flickered as she sized up her opponent, a female that was impossibly a bit larger than herself, a dark grey X cresting her chest, toes dipped in white, and the rear in a darker shade. A vicious sneer was on her opponent’s face, the large fae bolted, taking off through the ruins. Aya was quick to follow, scrambling her claws against the ashy pavement, she charged after her target, bulky frame setting her into a loping gait. The two chased after one another, Aya not quite fast enough on her bulkier legs, though that left her with plenty of fuel to burn in their lethal little game. She watched the wolf dart into a building, hopping across the rubble and swiftly leaping through a shattered window, neatly missing the remaining edges of jagged glass. She would be waiting inside there, for Aya to blindly follow and then ambush her… But no, Aya knew better than that… She looped around, finding a collapsed fire escape, she leaped and scrambled her way up the twisted monstrosity of metal, her stocky frame not quite as graceful as the other beast’s, but just as effective. Her paws slipped and slid across the now slippery surface as she just noticed the rain that had begun to fall; it was harsh and acidic, the soot from the fires mixing it into a muddy mess to climb through, and even harder to keep traction on. From the top of her newly claimed perch, the pitch black wolf took a lunge, throwing herself across the gap separating the buildings, landing heavily atop the roof that below which, her target was lurking, waiting to strike.


Aya half ran, and half slid her way to the opposite side of the roof, dropping not quite neatly onto a small window ledge. Her bulk forced her to scramble rather quickly, barely able to manage to turn and throw herself through the glass, razor edged shards of the window dancing across her fur, some managing to make thin slices into her flesh. She hardly noticed the stinging sensation, and was focused entirely on making herself a living missile, and setting her fangs into the larger fae’s side. With a snarl reminiscent of the boom of thunder, Aya landed roughly just before the wolf’s side, jaws agape and fangs glinting eagerly in a flash of lightning, her massive paws jarring the shock of impact up her thick legs, sending her forward to lay into her target’s flank. And yet, it seemed to happen in an instant, as golden eyes watched as the wolf moved impossibly fast, twisting out of her path, and her own jaws opening to set a heavy bite into Aya’s left shoulder. She screeched, in both pain and sheer fury as her assailant ripped back, pulling away with a hunk of the Shadow heir’s body in her fangs. She felt herself begin to fall, her left side giving out almost immediately as she watched in disbelief as the wolf darted away, scrambling out of the warehouse and around the corner. She staggered slightly, her left foreleg refusing to bear any weight. With an agonized groan, she limped and dragged herself from the warehouse, a silent hiss of pain escaping her lips as the acidic rain pelted down into the fresh wound, burning the muscles and wiping away any sort of fur that would attempt to grow there. It took her a while to limp back to the forest, and even longer to settle in and begin the painful process of cleaning her wounds.


It was months before the wolf ventured once again into the city, her courage taking weeks to work itself up once again, not to mention the horrid wound on her shoulder to scar over. She found herself once again in the ruined Rebel City, though this time… It was teeming with life… And reeking of death. There were corpses littering the streets, human, canine, and lupine, all strewn amongst the other. Her lips curled back in disgust, she padded through, keeping distance from the flames spewing from ruined buildings, and those that were busily claiming the various corpses with their burning tongues. Her attention was ripped away from the scenery, as the sudden screaming of a hound fast approaching her head on forced her to attack. She dove, tilting her head to the side and clamping her massive jaws down onto the dog’s throat, instantly silencing its cries, and with a lash of her head, the creature’s neck snapped. She dropped the corpse, and charged on, the taste of blood fueling on her long dormant bloodlust. Aya snarled, a vicious, twisted grin pulling on her features, her obsidian pelt darkened by the deep crimson of fresh blood, the light thrown by the twisting flames making her amber eyes flash in a most sickeningly mad way. She tore through the streets, stomping in the skulls of whatever dogs she could catch in her path, and even those of a few defiant humans that dared to raise their guns at her. It wasn’t all too long until the wolf spotted a familiar black beast, surrounded by an impressive circle of the hounds. There was no way she’d be able to fight her way out of that mess. Though the darker parts of Aya’s personality screamed for the poetic justice, the other screeching at the cries for revenge, demanding that she save the one who had so brutally assaulted her. She charged on, letting out a roar of a snarl, her fangs lodging themselves into the nape of a dog. She pulled up, rearing onto her hind-legs and using the body as a flail to ram into the other dogs, sending several flying into the nearby flames, the rest being dealt with by the other fae. She heard the snapping and popping of her flail’s spine as she whipped it around, followed by the sickening screams of the dogs that had been flung into the fires; and the pitiful whimpers of those that had been struck down from the force of her swings. She tossed her weapon aside, turning her now rather gruesome head to face the other wolf. Her muzzle was stained with crimson, thin trails of blood dripping from her lips as she panted, her fangs glistening bright in their scarlet glory, the light of flames sending dancing shadows across her ghastly maw.


”Your name?”


Her voice was flat, a harsh bark, even for her. It wasn’t that she regretted saving her, no; though the feelings of resentment were still incredibly high. She could tell the other wolf was just short of stunned, bringing the slightest smirk to pull at her bloodied lips. Not even Aya could be cruel enough to leave someone to a horrible death when given the chance to prevent it. She watched the black fae straighten, and scarcely manage to dodge a hissing bullet, watching it chink into the concrete wall where the wolf had once stood. Snarling, Aya tore herself towards the hunter who had fired, her jaws gnashing her fangs together, as she pounced onto, and ravaged the human’s figure. The corpse fell with a thud, the shadow wolf standing over the body, a limp neck slung down from her jaws. She failed to notice a rebellious sliver of skin that had clung rather desperately to her whisker, which managed to earn a chuckle from her renewed acquaintance.


”The name’s Shai. And yours?”


”Aya.”


”Right then, there’s another wolf out here, and we need to find her. Pure white, hard to miss… And sorry about that shoulder.. I’ll take care of it once this is over and done, eh?”


She spoke rather quickly, showing that there was indeed no time to spare. Her offer to make amends for Aya’s wound seemed genuine enough, though there was no time to dwell on it now. This was a battleground, full of the hazards of flames, bullets, and voracious hounds that were thirsting for wolf blood. It was hard enough for the two ebony wolves to survive on their own, let alone a third, likely much smaller wolf in her lonesome. A curt nod was all Shai needed to see before she darted off, Aya falling to her flank, one massive, gory black wolf running on either side of the ruined streets, splashing through blood and tearing through whatever unfortunate soul happened to fall into their way. It wasn’t all too long until the wolf was found, a lithe, pale form lying in a bloody heap atop a rather larger large hybrid; the mutt’s face frozen in the mask of a death scream, eyes opened wide as the blood continued to seep from the punctures in its throat. Aya immediately called her companion’s attention, a sob catching in her throat as she looked at the small, porcelain corpse that was lying atop her kill. She hardly noticed the hybrid’s own comrade come charging towards them, seeing it only once Shai had deftly lunged over the huntress and the hunted, her much larger mass toppling the mixed-blood and tearing into its throat, the sounds of gurgling serving as its last words as it suffocated in its own blood.


The duo stood in silence, a rogue tear streaking down Aya’s cheek, muttered curses issuing forth from Shai’s grimacing face. They were too late… The larger fae circled over to the ghostly shape, gingerly plucking her up by the scruff, and with little effort, hauled her off of her quarry. The gurgling of the suffering hound had been lost to both of them, that was until another wolf appeared on the scene, silencing it with a quick severing of its jugular. Aya found herself watching in mild disgust as the new, silver wolf bent and lapped quite freely at the hybrid’s torn neck, drinking its mixed blood like a vampire. A stern frown of disapproval graced her face as she waited rather impatiently for the stranger to finish their strange habit ಠ_ಠ.


”Seems you have made quite a mess here.”


A snort was all that Aya could manage for a reply, rather indignant of the new beast. It was a while before she bothered to inquire on the newcomer’s name; which she learned to be Shizuki. It then crossed her mind that Shizu didn’t seem quite right… There was something strange about her build. She fell short of being a wolf, but looked more like them than the slain mutts around them. A hybrid savior? How horribly ironic. The events that followed seemed to be of little significance. The bodies of the deceased mutts were piled high and set aflame, the fragile form of the shewolf all that remained in the barren building. By some miracle, be it the intense staring or the mournful howl that Aya had begun to raise, she stirred. Slowly, and shakily, but surely, the white wolfess got to her paws, standing much smaller than either of the two dark beasts, but such a chilled hostility shone in her coal grey orbs that Aya now knew just how she could manage to survive against the comparatively massive hybrid. The awakening of the pale wolf, Amaya, as she was called. The atomasphere around the wolves was tense, and only intensified as yet another beast showed up. Another massive black wolf named Seiko, a strange half of his face marked silver, various scars coating his legs and even jewelry in his torn ears. A silver anklet hanging from his left hind leg. The silver half-breed escaped rather silently, not drawing any attention to her exit. Aya found herself lying away from the gathering wolves, the three others seeming to have an unexplainable draw to each-other, as she watched them wander away as a cluster, almost forming an instant pack. She felt a small sting of regret as she didn’t follow them, not knowing what they would be facing, nor if she would ever have the fortune of meeting them once more. With a sigh, she ambled her way back to her home, holding quite the tale to share with that old badger.


Another year passed, the badger passing away with the winter, and the wolf migrating once more to find a new home. It was then that she stumbled upon the farther reaches of Paradise, and eventually, the City of Vale. It was a shock for her to run into Shai yet again, and it was a series of such meetings that brought the two former opponents to be close enough to be considered sisters, were it not for the strange physical differences. Aya now resides on the outskirts of the city, dwelling in both Paradise and among the humans, a lady by day, and a killer by night.

Your Voice is so Soft

Speak up so they can know you

Bright eyes scanned the crowds, searching for the trademark emerald and navy pattern that marked her friend's eyes. She pushed her way through the throngs of people, the brilliant gold of her irises flickering around in her constant search. Many of the persons would look at her, some stared, others looked quickly away. The young lady hardy minded, there wasn't much they could do if they found her secret anyways. It was a stretch to call her a lady in the first place, Her features were rather feral, unkempt ebony hair and predatory golden eyes that never seemed to calm. There was a reason for this that only the strays and pets could see as they milled about, only the eyes of another animal could see the monster lurking behind the human guise. She wasn't your average dog, that was certain. Her form was massive, weighing at least a good 150lbs, thick obsidian fur coated the beast, her eyes the same piercing gold. Her shoulders were marred by gruesome scars, her right bearing four slashes connected at their origins by a deep gouge, her left missing a chunk of flesh entirely. Her nose told her that Shai was somewhere nearby, but exactly where "nearby" was, she hadn't the slightest idea. How she would track down the other wolf through this mess was also a mystery. Aya never quite figured out how the humans had managed to cram so many stalls and wares into a single lane. Sure, it was pretty wide, but still, just one lane holding so much madness seemed pretty ridiculous. She kept her ears pricked for some sound that would tip her off, a scream or the sounds of battle, either one an almost guaranteed sign that Shai was lurking about.


As she walked, she soon felt something tugging at her heels and shoelaces. The wolf ignored it, figuring it would grow bored and go on its way. But it didn't. Eventually, she looked down, and was met by a scraggly mutt's face. It was a pup, but a mutt none the less. It was darting around her feet, nipping and letting out pathetic excuses for barks and snarls. The little creature's antics brought a smile to the wolf's lips. She bent down and lifted him up, holding it at just eye level, smirking at its feeble attempts to break from her grasp and lick her face. "Hold your horses you little um...boy." She tucked him into her jacket, much to the pup's dismay, and made her way towards the smell of a meat vendor. She waited in a little blerb of shadows until the vendor was preoccupied with another customer before she snatched several links of sausage from a hook. Aya walked off with the loot, dissipating back into the crowds. She took the little pup out of her jacket then, holding the seasoned meat in front of his nose, which he promptly latched onto and devoured. She fed him the remaining links, knowing he probably hadn't eaten in days. She scouted out a toy store as she went on, still holding the rambunctious little monster. She hoped that if she set him out front, some child would drag him off to keep him, much to their parents' dismay. Finding a good spot for him, she set him down, just by the open door. She was proven right not but a few moments later when she heard an excited squeal and sigh as she just left earshot of the shop.


A sound that she'd been waiting for soon reached her ears, a heavy thud and splintering wood. Exactly what she'd wanted to hear. She bolted off towards the source, shoving and sometimes trampling the unfortunate souls that were unable to move from her path. She ignored the outraged yells and profanities as groceries hit the cobblestones, just concentrating on how to get to wherever she was going before Shai left. The noises of an anxious group of spectators waiting to be pleased was growing louder, and soon enough she saw a wall of people forming. Aya barged through, ignoring the cries of outrage coming from those who had just lost their ideal seat to see the action. She cared not, her main concern was just getting to her friend before her victim became a red puddle on the ground. She finally shoved the last pedestrian from her way and was at the front of the ring, smiling in amusement at the man being held up by his collar, Shai hissing something angrily into his ear. She saw her figure waver, brown locks shifting to a bristling black scruff, face shifting to a vicious snarl. The wolfish features disappeared as fast as they'd come, though the man had definitely seen them, judging from the sheer terror radiating from him. She was waiting for her to deal the last blow to his face, though something managed to stop her before her fist had even swung.


She spotted the little boy that was now clinging to Shai's leg, foolish little thing. It was comical, how the massive fae was stopped by a midget attaching himself to her. Aya watched her drop the man and send him scurrying in her direction. it may have been unintentional, but she made sure the message really had gotten across. He was getting to his feet by the time he was a meter away, and she glared at him. She let out a deep growl, letting her own illusion falter enough for him to see her fangs. That was enough to send him off screaming. A few people backed away from her, the others already dispersing now that the spectacle had come to an end. The boy had left with his mother, leaving Shai to sulk near the ruined cart.


The wolf made sure everyone had returned to their business before she approached. She crouched in front of her friend, waiting a moment to see if there was any response. There wasn't. "Hey now, why so gloomy all of a sudden? That's not much like the Shai I know." She said with a smile, tapping her friend's shoulder lightly. She heard another man grumbling nearby, most likely the owner of the deceased cart, mourning his decimated fruits. One thing was for sure, no matter how hard either of them tried, they'd always know how to make a scene. It wasn't always their fault, you can take a wolf out of the wild, but it's damn impossible to take the wild out of the wolf.

(Taken from a thread with Shai, No Longer the Same)

Peel the Mask Off

Just who are you anyway?

RPr name:Aya, Ata, A-chan, Houkou, Hou, the list goes on...
age: 16
you got something to share: Not with you <<;
where you found our site: I live here .-.;
other charaters: Archived-Derrick Kirichiro, Kuma Takai
anything else: Cheddar cheesecake is bad D:

thanks to kae for this amazing template
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