i don't--i can't--bite (open)

[strix]

Creaking open the rusty gate, he wandered inside. The gravel crunched beneath his short, brittle talons. There were a few large, foreboding buildings just ahead of the collapsed wasteland. Their bricks showed signs of age; crumbling dents and scars shaped the concrete to be deformed. Weeds and other plant life had begun growing inside the buildings, around them, and in most of the fissures. In the eyes of anyone, they would just be run-down structures with a few curious points. But in the eyes of Strix the owl, they were much more than that. They were marvellous centrepieces; full of architectural wonder and brilliance. Half of the roof had closed in on one of the constructions. This perked the interest of Strix.

“Even in the most wondrous beings…There are always flaws...How interesting,” he pondered, continuing his tread down the stone path, “perhaps its brilliance resides even inside the structure?” The owl blinked his wide, yellow eyes, full of curiosity. The regal wooden door was slightly creaked open, even though it was almost off its hinges. The walls were plain in colour. The windows that remained were broken and shattered. The insides were full of puddles from previous rain, and the pictures that hung on the walls had fallen and broken down over the ages. There were staircases, crumbled staircases, which used to lead to the top floor. On the lowest level it looked like some sort of dungeon. Chains, shackles, and other weapons of torture resided deep in the dark cellars.

Strix had never been more interested in anything than now. His head told him to jump into the cellars, to have a look around. But something was stopping him from doing so. Perhaps, his instinct? His old friend; the instinct of the owl. It was one thing to be absolutely curious, and another to put your life in danger because of your interest. This building was all very exciting, but Strix decided to trust his nature. Turning tail he trotted off elsewhere. He wasn’t about to jump inside by himself.
The horned owl wandered back outside. The dust blew around wildly in the distance, and Strix squinted when a gust of murky wind roared his way. It almost blew him back but Strix steadied himself awkwardly.

“Perhaps staying inside is the best option. Maybe I am being given a sign of sorts?” Strix questioned the thought, but just shook his head and trailed back inside. He shook the dirt from his feathers, and clambered onto a collapsed table. He stood on the leg of it, looking around cautiously. His head rotated to check behind him.
“Nothing to report,” Strix sighed, “to me.”
Strix had always been wrong about looking for suspicious characters. One minute, he’d think that the coast was clear. The next, he’d be on the ground, flapping his wings about and scratching his talons at some crazy-eyed cat. The memories made him shudder.
“Egad, that fluffs my feathers.”

(NOTES; I'll do my banner and layout later. ono Thank you to WITH for accepting me! >w<

[Stardust]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][bg=gray] S t a r k ; { LET IT ALL BURN! I will burn first! God, I've tried, am I lost in your eyes? } Woot let's get this started! ...When we post the four-six posts we already wrote...XD & Got permission for the slight power-playing / auto-hitting =). xx Stark let out a small growl, making his way through. This somewhat strong wind was getting annoying. It had been nice, to feel the breeze at first to cool him off, but now he was getting too cold. ''Weather...it sucks.'' He muttered, quite childishly. He came up to a gate which had already been opened. Stark frowned slightly, before pushing the gate open more with one paw. Whatever opened the gate before him was obviously smaller. 'Maybe I'll finally get something to eat,' he thought to himself. 'that would be nice. I'm starving.' Looking around, he saw a few strange ruined structures. ''Huh.'' It would prove useful. The roofs were not in good shape, but they would still keep most of the wind out. He went up to one of the buildings, but froze when he caught a scent. Why had he not noticed it before? Most likely the wind. He stayed hidden for a moment, and then, after a silent breath, dashed into the building, hitting the door with force so it swung open even more than before. Pouncing on a figure he saw, his eyesight suddenly recognized this to be an owl. 'Oh shit!'

[/i]The male wolf's eyes softened in a split second, and he quickly closed his muzzle, so he would not bite the owl he was about ready to kill just a few moments ago. He hit the creature, making it fly across the room. He slid across the pavement, frowning in dismay. His lower body, which was up in the air due to the way he was going to tackle the creature, finally hit the ground. [/color]''Are you okay?!'' Stark blurted out to the owl, standing up quickly. ''I am SO sorry.'' He gulped. ''I didn't know you were an owl at first, I don't kill owls.'' For now, the male wolf's words were said very quick, and he was shaking a little from the shock of the moment. Eventually, he would still.

Stark's mind flashed back to when he had first heard an owl speak. This was the reason why he did not see owls as prey, anymore. When he had killed them before, of course, they had never gotten the chance to speak. But now it was different. He didn't really like to see anything that could talk to him and become his friend as prey. Sure, he might have been able to understand other prey animals but, eh, he'd spare a tasty rabbit if it spoke to him.

--

'Thoughts.'
''Speaking.''
''Listening to others...''[/center]

--
credits: hollywood undead; ''PARADISE LOST'' .
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[strix]

Strix was suddenly batted across the ground, sliding over and into a wall. “A-Are you- -!”

“Are you okay?!”

“N-No I am quite- -” The wolf was babbling too much for Strix to get any sort of words in.

“I am SO sorry.”

Strix, after that, did not pay attention to any of the other words that fumbled out of the canine’s mouth. Instead he briskly puffed his feathers, spreading and checking his wings for any injuries. He looked up at the wolf, annoyance in his voice. “Slow down you crazy buffoon! I cannot hear a word you are spluttering!” He looked at the wolf’s shaking limbs. “Stop shaking, you’re acting like I’m about to kill you!” Strix paused, realising the funny logic behind his just-said sentence.
“…Ironic, really. You know, since you almost killed me.” Strix lifted a foot, looking at it closely before putting it down again. “Four-legs. The lot of you. You’re all frivolous brutes.”

Strix studied the male closely. He seemed quite weak and unsure of himself. The actions that he was displaying were the signs of a subordinate giving in to an Upper-Clansman. Strix looked him up and down, a little confused. “Are you…Frightened?”
The term ‘frightened’ was usually applied to Strix’s usual dinner; consisting of mice and other rodents. He never thought that he would find himself using the term on a powerful mammal such as the wolf.

“It’s quite silly to be afraid, is it not?” Strix looked up at the wolf again, placing his wings in their usual position, standing up straight and cocking his head slightly. This new male was beginning to intrigue Strix; this occasion was quite odd.

(NOTES; STAAAAAAR your layout looks so pretty. ;A;

[Stardust]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][bg=gray] S t a r k ; { LET IT ALL BURN! I will burn first! God, I've tried, am I lost in your eyes? } :I Please it's so simple and boring. xx Stark blinked. Finally he was able to stand up straight again, without trembling. ''Four-legs. The lot of you. You're all frivolous brutes.''

[/b]

The male wolf scowled a bit, one of his ears going down in question. He was ready to admit that he was indeed frivolous, but he was not quite sure if he was a brute.

''Are you...Frightened?''[/b]

His ears twitched at the question. Sure, there was a small trace of fear, but not really for the owl. Mostly because he had almost killed the owl. [/color]''...No, not really.'' He admitted, ears that had once twitched now flattened as he backed up more, casting his gaze to the ground. His voice was a bit low, a trace of seriousness, sadness, and shame all mixed into one straight vocal line. ''I mean why would I be scared of an owl? I'm a wolf. ...But I am-er, was,'' he corrected himself, ''very shocked.''[/b] Stark waved his tail around just a bit, and turned to the side, though still keeping his eyes on the owl. His ears perked up once again and he gave a faint smile. ''Name's Stark, by the way.''

Stark paused. ''I bet I don't seem like much of a wolf to you.'' It was somewhat a mutter, but he knew an owl would be able to hear for sure. It did not really tribute to the conversation at hand, it was just a small comment to be honest, he wasn't sure how it had slipped out of his mouth.

His fading smile suddenly bursted into a big grin. His tail raised up high, he appeared much more confident than before. ''What's your name, owl?'' Stark questioned. His left ear kept quickly twitching, flickering. Finally it stopped, after it almost getting to the point of being annoying.


--

'Thoughts.'
''Speaking.''
''Listening to others...''[/center]

--
credits: hollywood undead; ''PARADISE LOST'' .
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[strix]

Strix had heard the mumble.
“Now now, no need to get self-pitied. I’m sure you’re just as much of a wolf as any other stupid canine out here. Oh. Forgive me. I’m known for stating my opinion out loud.” He paused, looking at Stark with an unamused expression. His words had a tang of sarcasm; and an unhealthy one at that.

Strix almost squawked when Stark called him “owl”.
“See here! You will not call me owl. I refuse to be called by such a name. I am not a monster. You will know me as Strix. Nothing more.”
Strix looked up, his frown suddenly disappearing.

“…Don’t you think they’re marvellous, these buildings? Look at the grandeur! The splendid fine-tuning of each and every carving made in the walls,” Strix ranted with his eyes ablaze with fascination, “it’s quite wondrous! It’s quite fantastical! It’s even a little bit fancy! Don’t you think so? Hoo! It just makes me so excited!” Strix nodded briskly with a smirk, his eye twitching in a mad-scientist type of way. He then turned quickly, towards the hole in the ground where the lower level was. He wandered over; his claws clicking on the floor as he did so.

“Have you seen this- err, Stark? This curious lower level. Quite peculiar isn’t it?” Strix hooted back at him, and then turned his gaze back down to the cellars. “We are going to jump down there. And you’re going first!” Strix chortled bluntly, smiling and trotting back up to Stark’s side. “Off you go. Make haste.”

Strix didn’t realise how blunt he was being. It was in his personality. Stark was probably confused, and rightly so. “You just tell me if there’s anything dangerous. If not, I’ll come right in after you. Quickly please. I am deeply curious about this whole set of buildings.” He continued to smirk up at Stark, his expression fuelling about 7 different emotions.

[Stardust]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][bg=gray] S t a r k ; { LET IT ALL BURN! I will burn first! God, I've tried, am I lost in your eyes? } OK, after Strix's next post we'll be done with our already-written posts XD xx His first words were blunt indeed, but it did not manage to hit Stark that hard, surprisingly. ''See here! You will not call me owl. I refuse to be called by such a name. I am not a monster. You will know me as Strix. Nothing more.'' Stark's grin turned into a quite sheepish one. ''Whoa jeez, calm down there, ow--I mean Strix.''

[/b] He said, his voice carefree.

Strix started to go on about how wonderful these structures were, and Stark had to admit he did not understand half of the words he had said.

''Have you seen this--err, Stark? This curious lower level. Quite peculiar, isn't it?''[/b]

Said male wolf blinked. [/color]''Actually, n-''[/b]

''We are going to jump down there. And you're going first! Hoo hoo!''[/b]

Stark's jaw dropped a bit. [/color]''Wait a minute now-''

''Off you go. Make haste.''[/b]

Giving up, he let out a sigh, and walked over. [/color]''...Are you sure this is such a good idea-WHOA!'' Stark had slipped, and was now sliding down the slanted ledge that led downwards into darkness. Not that he would have any problem seeing. ''OH NOOO!'' He tried digging into the pavement to stop himself, but it was no use, the pavement was not at all like dirt, and if it was dirt, he wasn't sure he would be able to hang on anyways. Besides it really hurt his claws.

''OOF!''[/b] He hit the bottom. ''Ow...''[/b] Stark groaned in pain, slowly standing up. Surprisingly nothing was not broken. 'Thank goodness.' he thought. Stark blinked trying to get his eyes to adjust, and they were adjusting, quickly too.

There was really no sounds-other than those that came from himself-or scents, except for a few but the owners of those scents seemed to be long gone. ''Uh...it's safe!'' Stark managed to yell back up to the upper level to Strix.


--

'Thoughts.'
''Speaking.''
''Listening to others...''[/center]

--
credits: hollywood undead; ''PARADISE LOST'' .
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[strix]

Strix looked down as Stark slid into the dark abyss. He blinked a few times to see what was in the shadows. When Stark hit the bottom and called out to him, Strix nodded, starting to mutter to himself. You can do this; it’s not that far down…Your wings will just act as a buffer. He puffed his feather chest with self-pride, and took a leap with a loud screech, flapping his wings around in a fluster, slowly coming down into the lowest level. His bright yellow eyes were wide in terror- or maybe even an odd kind of eagerness.

“I don’t know how they do it! Flying’s not in the least bit easy!”

Strix came to a crashed landing on the concrete below. When he collided with the ground stray feathers were flung into the air, as if he had been shot down by a gun. Strix mumbled a little, slightly frustrated with himself. It took him a moment but he stood up, shaking his feathers in a flurry of movement. Strix inhaled some air to regain his senses, and then started to trot down the hallway, without saying a word to Stark.
The jail cells were full of rust. There were no windows inside them.

“What a horrific sight,” Strix said aloud, “deadly for the claustrophobic.”

He continued walking, noticing something up ahead. It was a chair, with strange string coming out either side of it. A switchboard lay broken on a table; the buttons undone and springing out of the base. Strix stopped, raising the feathered horns on his head. “…It seems to be electrically wired,” he concluded, hopping up onto the switchboard and pecking at some loose wires. “Of course, it is completely stationary. There seems no source of electricity here anymore.”

But that’s when it struck him. A quirk of ingenious. “Perhaps we could re-wire it! If we just found a good source of energy, we’d get this strange contraption up and running again! We could see what it was used for, and maybe unlock a few mysteries…” Strix paused, thinking about what would happen. In fact, he paused for a while; just staring at the chair with amazement.

[Stardust]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,500,true][bg=gray] S t a r k ; { LET IT ALL BURN! I will burn first! God, I've tried, am I lost in your eyes? } Dgfdgd. SHORTEST POST EVER...Sorry WB. :c xx ''I don't know how they do it! Flying's not the least bit easy!'' Stark blinked. Strix apparently couldn't fly very well. When he crashed into the ground, a feather landed on Stark's nose.

[/color]''Ah...ah....ACHOO!'' He sneezed, the sound echoing. Stark sniffled as the feather was blown away by a gust of wind that had strangely found it's way down. Shivering a little, he followed Strix. He stood there with a dumbfounded look as the owl rambled on about something.

He glanced down at the ground. A few stray leafs were laying about, probably the ones that had snuggled into his fur. His gaze went back up to Strix who was staring at the chair. Uncertain, Stark responded with: ''Uh, sounds like a great idea.''[/b] He hoped that made sense to Strix, because he had no idea what the owl had just been on about. Stark walked up the chair, wondering what it was for. And just now, he had noticed some cells too. Strange indeed. Perhaps the owl had mentioned it, he wasn't quite sure.

--

'Thoughts.'
''Speaking.''
''Listening to others...''[/center]

--
credits: hollywood undead; ''PARADISE LOST'' .
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[strix]

((Sawwi for non activeness...Short post is short...)

Strix nodded, a smile spreading across his face. His head twitched as he flew off the control panel, going behind it to the wires. They were broken; dusty and old. Strix, if only for a second, wondered if it was even possible to re-wire them. But in his self doubt he gave confidence to himself, and pecked at a wire to check if it was dangerous to touch.
To Strix's relief, the electricity had already drained away a long time ago.
"Now...Let's see..."
He knew the re-wiring would take a while. But he didn't want to burden his new canine friend any longer. Stark looked bored.

"...Er, Stark, what do you say to looking around this place a little more before jumping into anything?" Strix offered, trotting over to his friend and jumping onto his head, pecking at his forehead.
The cells loomed gloomily to the right of the pair, with some of their rusty door hinges squeaking; their rusty barred doors looking as if they were about to fall off.