Hold your head high, heavy heart.

[aruki]

Thump, thump, thump...

The eyrie noise of Aruki's heavily pounding heart echoed through her ears as she struggled with her will to move one paw in front of the other. All she wanted was to lay down, and never make another move again. But I cannot just lay down and die. Not here, not now. If I'm going down, it's not because I submitted to it. she thought as she continued to push herself forward, despite the increasing pain and agony she was suffering.

The wind on the lonesome beach was picking up heavily, blow bits of sand against Aruki's body and into her dazzling yellow eyes. Even though her coat was rather coarse, the sting of the sand could still be felt. The epic battle of will power was still being fought deep inside her core. With each step, her legs started trembling even more, until she was almost unable to keep taking steps. Not to mention, her mouth grew more dry with each passing second, and her stomach churned and hungered for a nice, tasty meal of blood. Sweet, savory blood, she thought.

Come on, Aruki. You've got this. You're going to make it. she screamed inside her head. Her bellowing voice rang throughout the depths of her mind, so loud that it hurt her own ears despite the fact that she didn't even speak. The constant yelling at herself seemed to make her want to fight harder to keep alive.

By now, Aruki's head was hanging down low and she was staring at the ground. She gathered a tiny bit of strength from her inner being, just enough to lift her head high so she could view what was in front of her. She realized that she had finally made it past the dunes and was haulted right in front of an angry, swelling ocean. A depressed sigh leaked from her muzzle. Well, it's water, just not the wa- her thought was cut off by a swift movement just to her left. A small seagull was perched in the sand, looking for any sort of nourishment that may have been scattered there. Aruki grinned widely and eyed the innocent seagull as it pecked through the sand. Her body rumbled with excitement at the thought of having any sort of meal. She lurched forward, and jumped on top of the seagull. Frail bones were felt snapping beneath her razorblades called teeth, and warm blood oozed into her mouth. Sure, this wasn't the meal she preferred, but she would make due for now.

[Kit]

The sound of the curling waves echoed in the air, and the overpowering scent of salt licked at all of a wolf's senses. But it is said, when one sense is lost, another strengthens.....
~~
A rather small wolf was silently walking the beach, his oversized paws mute as the soft sand absorbed their impact. He gazed silently, his eyes looking towards the ocean, as his body moved forward. Then something more overpowering then salt hit his nose. It was slight, but he knew the scent well.... the scent of freshly spilled blood. He sniffed the air and turned his body towards the smell. Maybe if he was lucky, some predator had left some scraps for him to scavenge.... but as he drew closer to the scent, he was disappointed by the scent of seagull.
((he's in clear sight of Aruki, a white and grey wolf standing a respectable distance away))

[aruki]

Chowing down on the seagull, plucking out it's feathers and spitting them out on the beach as she went, Aruki was too caught up in her rather disgusting meal to even notice the scent of another wolf. After she finished off the last bit of meat - not that there was much to begin with -, she threw her head back and licked all around the edges of her mouth. Blood, yum. As she licked her maw, crimson-stained teeth flashed in the sunlight. The scent of wolf that was whizzing by her thanks to the wind finally caught her nose. Ears perked as she snapped her head to the side, scanning the horizon. After a moment of searching, her amber eyes eventually caught sight of the other wolf. She let loose a grumpy sigh and stood still, pondering if she should go near or turn the other way.

[Kit]

The grey white wolf sniffed the air and tentatively stepped closer. He hadn't heard anyone, and so drew closer still. "hello?" he said, the word coming out much like a question instead of a greeting once he was within earshot of Aruki. His tail was low, but ears perked and fully aware.

[aruki]

Aruki's ears twitched as the sound was carried to them. Hello, she gruffly returned his question, though her voice still sounded rather angelic and song-like despite her tone. And who are you? The she wolf was at a stand-still, not bothering to go any further as to meet this myterious wolf.

[Kit]

The wolf suddenly stopped in his tracks and flinched backwards, as if he hadn't been expecting a reply from the wolf no more then five feet away. His ears bent backwards and his body lowered into a more submissive stance. He obviously meant no harm. "Oh, uh... my name is Tris. I'm sorry if I've interrupted you" He said. There was something not right here. He was staring right at Aruki, yet it seemed like he wasn't looking at her. His eyes had no shine of light, no curious spark to them.

[aruki]

After listening to his reply, Aruki nodded and didn't bother stating her own name. "You didn't interrupt anything," she sneered. At that moment, she noticed the lifeless stare Tris was giving her and she was quite taken aback. Over-sized paws carried her a step closer, looking at the wolf oddly. "What's with the trance?" she questioned gruffly, her amber eyes narrowing at Tris.

[Kit]

The young wolf immediately dropped his eyes, letting them lock onto the floor. "sorry...sorry" he apologized. It was like all he could do was say 'I'm sorry'..... it was somewhat pathetic.
Tris felt his body slowly lowering as Aruki approached, and he started to turn his head a bit to the left. He felt uncomfortable for some reason...

[aruki]

"Am I that terrifying?" Aruki questioned as a snarl erupted through her rather tiny frame. She proceeded to go closer to the other wolf, still staring him down. Stopping directly in front of him, she smirked and her sharp crimson-stained canines glistened in the sun. Fierce eyes seemed to pierce through the wolf, haunting in a way. "Now am I scary?" she growled.

[Kit]

ooc: Note, Tris is actually a smaller species of wolf, so your wolf wouldn't be MUCH smaller if smaller at all
bic:
"I... " Tris seemed reluctant to say more. "I don't know. You sound like you wanna kill something" He said, his eyes still not looking at her. Now his belly fur was brushing against the ground. If anything, her snarls unnerved him. He wasn't much of a fighter, and preferred to avoid trouble. He was obviously sickla (omega) material....

[aruki]

[ ooc: Ohh, alright, I'll change that line then. Sorry. ^^ ]

Aruki moved her gaze to the ground while speaking, "Well, the thrill of bloodshed does interest me, but I'll offer you some sympathy. Though your submissive attitude is the correct.." she paused, glancing at him, then back to the ground. After a moment, she picked up where she had previously left off, "It also makes you seem ridiculously weak and vulnerable. Do you have no pride in yourself?" The voices in the back of the wolfess' head told her that she was wrong in having so much self-pride, but she simply ignored them.

[Kit]

Tris felt the sting of those words. "It's....just" He started. He once was quite the trouble making pup, always looking for adventure and trying to prove his might.... until his adventures backfired. He saw no point in trying to explain to a stranger he'd most likely never see again, so he didn't continue. Besides... judging by this she-wolf's way of thinking, there wouldn't be any excuse for his unconditional surrender to her.
"I respect myself enough" He finally said lamely, his head still turned away from her, and his eyes till on the ground.

[aruki]

A sigh left Aruki's maw upon listening to his words. Then she walked even closer to Tris, standing just inches away now. Manuevered in exactly the right position so that he would pretty much be forced to look at her. Some of the hardness in her eyes faded as she stuck her muzzle under his, forcing it so that his head was somewhat lifted up. She removed her muzzle from undernearth Tris', and stepped back, still gazing at him. The way he looked standing there so completely submissive reminded her of the way she used to be, before everything in her life went wrong. The memory of how sweet she used to be, as opposed to how ruthful and prideful she was now, stabbed through her heart like a stake. Why couldn't she just opress this memory?

And how was this wolf breaking through to her, despite his few words that had no intention of doing so?

By now her eyes had shifted to the sandy beach, but they casually flickered back to Tris every so often. It felt as if she was being ripped apart on the inside, torn as her insides struggled against right and wrong; pride and submission; kindness and ruthlessness; who she thought she should be and who she really was. The wolfess just wanted to close her eyes and not ever open them again.

[Kit]

Tris tensed as he felt Aruki's muzzle beneath his. To his amazement, she didn't do anything to him. He could feel the tension in the air fading away bit by bit. Even his muscles began to relax just slightly. He closed his own blue eyes and let his ears funnel the sound of the ocean's waves crashing against the rocks and sandy shore.
"It's a ... beautiful sound" He said after a long moment of silence. He was hesitant to speak at all; nervous he could still upset this stranger.

[aruki]

Eye lids drooped over her amber eyes, cutting off the scene of the surrounding area. The wooshing sound of the incoming waves caused her ears to perk in its direction. It truly was a lovely noise, though Aruki had never fully payed attention to it. With a slight thud, she sat her rump on the wet sand and continued to listen to the ocean with her eyes shuts tight.

"I'm... a mess," she quietly muttered, nearly breaking down into hysterics.