Getting Lost in the Big City

Ever since she had entered the city, she had wanted to check it out.There was so much she did not know or understand. After getting adjusted to life around Untamed's hideout, and with Biran finally alright with her leaving the safety of the halls and getting no useful information from her about where Chancellor was, Saddie was allowed to leave. With a chaperone of course. There were many to pick from: Laney and her dog Mako, Soori and her sharp eyes, Jesse Frader and his hawk eyes; but none of them were sent out with her. Oh no. She was given Fairfax. Yes, Westly Fairfax. He was a nice guy and smelled of dog. Maybe they were thinking that he was a bit easier for her to be around, or maybe he just was the only one around and willing to babysit her. Whatever the reasoning as to why he was sent out with her didn't matter.

What did matter was the fact that they had gotten separated.

It wasn't really either of their faults. Okay maybe both of them were at fault for this, but really it wasn't. They had wandered downtown and something had caught her eye. Moving away from her 'handler', Saddie walked into a chocolate store while Fairfax continued walking. Before she knew it, there was a sea of people between her and the werewolf boy. It wasn't like she was trying to lose the guy. Honestly, he was the only who she knew and he could speak for her. He was a wolf and understood her mannerisms. But now? Well now she was lost in a big city, filled with people who could talk freely. As a mute, to express the fact she was lost and needed to go somewhere was difficult. It got even worse when you paired it up with her inability to write much of anything.

This really wasn't the best of stations. Honestly it was maybe the worst thing that could have happened to her. What if she couldn't ever make it back? Following her nose was impossible. There were so many different smells she hadn't experienced. Even if she wanted to follow Fairfax's scent, she was not good at picking him out of the crowd. Her only choice was to hope that things looked familiar as she back tracked and maybe, just maybe, someone might be able to help her.

Shoving her hands into her jacket pockets, Saddie's large green eyes scanned the busy streets, trying to remember which way it was she had come from. This really wasn't good. This was going to be the first and last time she didn't pay attention to landmarks and signs of where she went. Letting out a heated breath, the dire wolf animalian started out into the sea of people, trying hopelessly to try and find her way out of this large jungle. Maybe, just maybe, if she found the forest, she could find her way back to Untamed. Forests were easier to navigate than this.

For being a wolf, he truly did love the packed streets of Twin City. They reminded him of his second home down in sunny Los Angeles with their throngs of people, numerous smells and sounds and it was… Comforting in a strange way. Being so far from the place he’d called home for years, the place he’d settled down into was strange to him now. Who would have thought of the wandering wolf missing a place to call home…

Fenrir strolled along the street at his leisurely pace, his hands stuck in the pockets of his black leather jacket, the sound of his boots against the pavement and the feel of well-worn blue jeans… It was all so familiar to him and yet… The scents were different. He wasn’t surrounded by the smell of humans, but rather so many creatures that were… kinda like him. They weren’t demi-gods or gods even, but rather they were mystical creatures of their own right. He still hadn’t quite gotten used to them all just yet, but he was taking his time to get to know them.

His golden eyes hidden behind his sunglasses scanned the crowd, but his nose pinpointed something… Very strange. Much more strange than most of the other scents around him. A dire wolf? He thought to himself. It had been far too long since he’d seen one, let alone had a conversation with one. A smirk formed on his lips as he tracked it through the sea of people. By the smell, it was a female, at least, so his eyes searched as he sniffed the air around him until he was right behind her. A small little thing with long pink hair and she seemed… To be looking for something?  

”Hey kid. Quite a scent you got there, hmm?” He asked as he gave her a curious once over. ”It’s the first time I’ve smelled a dire wolf in quite some time.” His lips curled into a cocky grin. ”What’re you looking for? Your sniffer broken or something?” The wolf teased softly.

This was getting her nowhere. Nowhere at all. A hand ran through her hair until she had enough to grip onto it. Why did everyone look the same? Why did people want to live in such a big place? And why were the buildings all looking the same? She started to panic. Saddie had never encountered such a problem as she did right now. People pushed past her with uncaring faces. No one bothered to say sorry if they bumped into her. She was getting overwhelmed. At least when Fairfax was here, he was enough of a calming factor for her. He was someone she could look to to see if it was okay to lash out or not. Now she was on her own. Now she was ready to lose it.\

On the brink of losing it, someone spoke to her. Spinning around, Saddie let out a deep and low growl. Her green eyes locked onto the man in question, staring him down as wolves do. It, however, did not take long before common sense gripped her. The being that was looking down at her was not just a wolf but a very dominating wolf. Her gaze shifted down as her posture become more submissive. If only just slightly. It wasn't good to go up against this man, even she understood that. But at the same time, she wasn't going to allow herself to be completely dominated.

And, once again, she was without the ability to communicate to him. She was getting frustrated. Growling to herself, Saddie made a motion to the wolf: Pen and paper.Maybe he had something she could write on? Pen and paper or even a phone would come in handy. Anything. Why she didn't think about bringing something herself, she would never know. Then again, she never expected to get lost or separated from Fairfax. Biran was going to kill them both. Man....this was a terrible day.

Carzeah spent his days under the roof of his daughter's home. The real one and not the many he seemed to be accumulating. It was a fated chance they met here actually, as he hadn't seen her since a good while. Since he had surfaced from Rolland as a nobody. Alesseah helped him out then too before bidding him farewell. Now was no different, but this time she wasn't leaving. Even if Carzeah tried to avoid ghosts of the past, this one was a ghost he could deal with rather well. Love was a foreign word, but the bond they shared was truly of close family ties. They looked so alike and so well for their age the neighbors believed they were siblings before assuming one was a parent to the other. Anything went in this city though. Carzeah spent his time up in her attic, with a desk, small cot, and a smaller dresser half filled with clothing to his name. Not a big deal though, the male didn't need a whole lot. Today he came down for breakfast, or at least what Hellkin's called breakfast, which merely consisted of a glass of wine and bread with oil. Seeing as they have no use for sustenance, wine and some solid food with oils were typically served in the nomadic societies so that they could be seen as normal by local Greek mortals. The wine was a spirit and flammable by nature, which causes a gaseous combustion in their bodies, as does fat and oils and other foreign substances. The internal combustion makes pockets of gas that cause a minor disruption in their equilibrium, causing them to become looser and more on their feet, or even lose basic motor functions with heavier consumption. Even if there was no such need, consuming in such a minor dose was common and perhaps the only time their kind shared anything or made the time to bond with one another, typically being such a solitary race.

Carzeah had noticed for a while that it was just his daughter in this home. Though he knew that she, like him, had only one heir in the world it did not stop him from wondering why her home was so completely barren. He decided to finally ask about it. "So you've been here much longer than I. Did you come alone? Have you always...been alone?" "Only about as alone as you." That was pretty alone if you asked him, but she was always one for sarcasm. Much like him back in the day. Glad to see she wasn't too tired for sass. "What of Rexas?" Her only son and his grandson. "He is in Rolland still with Vox. You know. He keeps an eye on your old queen." That was dangerous work if you asked him. Sounded like wishful thinking for his return as a leader to the Hellkin people. But those days were long over. "What of Alessandra?" The woman he once had paired with a very long...long time ago now to create the being presently before him. "She's...whevever mom wants to be. She was always a free spirit. Even when you reunited us, we didn't stay together for long." A shame really seeing as he spent tireless years trying to salvage that woman for the sake of his daughter. Not that Carzeah wasn't fond of her himself, but those were years long behind them. "Well, have you found a partner?" Curious as always. He chuckled into his wine to see his daughters face go red like a young girl again. "Don't you have someone else to bombard with personal questions?" Sadly, he did not. "You're the only one I've got, kiddo." "You should meet up with one of my friends sometime if you're that lonely. She's an Ice Devil. Maybe she can help you with your itch. You're gross." Obviously she had read him wrong. "Not what I meant? What do you take me for? You know, it may of been upwards of three thousand years ago but I still remember you-" "Enough, I get it. I'm sorry to accuse. But yes. It's as lonely for you as it is for me here. Can't find anyone...compatible. But as I said. My Ice Devil friend? She's quite excited to know there's a male version of me lying around. Maybe you can...hook up." Forward, wasn't she? Alesseah was right about one thing though, love was rough for a Hellkin in this town. If she was convinced this woman could help him out though, maybe he'd give it a shot.

"You're always helping me out, kid. When's it going to be my turn?" Carzeah got up then as his daughter penned down a phone number and handed it off to him. "Dad...you gave up everything to take me to Rolland and you saved my life. It gave me a son who is still my life. To me, I haven't even began to pay you back for any of that." She warmly smiled up to him and passed over the number, which he snatched with a slight huff. "And your son saved my ass more than a few times. Was the most loyal soldier I had. And you risked your butt to save me from a prison in Rolland. You don't just escape from Rolland prisons, Alesseah." His accent came out to match hers in his irritation and it made him gruffly grumble once more as he looked over the number. His daughter giggled a bit and roamed to his side to hug him. "You know. The same way you feel about Rexas is the same way I still feel about you? I hope you know that." It took him a bit of time to convey that, but he did. "Good to know I still have your heart after all these years. But really, get out. You deserve someone who cares about you like...you know. How mom and you used to care about one another." She separated from him but just to look at his face to make sure she wasn't throwing rough memories back in his face. She wasn't, he could agree with the notion. "I'm just trying to live, Alesseah. Whatever that brings me, I'll let it come. Don't you worry about me. I'll...give this woman a call though I guess." "Just live, dad. Until then, I have to go to work." She kissed him on the cheek then and was gone before he could say anything else. It was just him, himself, and this random phone number. With a long sigh, he realized he did not have the time to connect with new people. A walk though. A walk sounded much better.

Upon exiting the house, Carzeah walked along the sidewalk for a long and casual stroll. His feet didn't tire and his mind was always racing, which made time pass this way as if it was running by him. He wondered how well exactly he was living. Was he happy? Was he fulfilled? Was he influencing anyone? Was he admired or talked fondly of? Did he have a hobby or anything that interested him other than remaining to his thoughts while walking for miles? When the answers were all no, he wondered what he was doing and what he could do differently. A reminder was sent by air. A hawk companion of his, Circe, came and perched itself on his shoulder. People gave him a few odd looks but it was nothing the man of stone wasn't used to already. Typically, Carzeah hated birds. This one though has followed him around for years. A familiar of sorts, the bird was fashioned and summoned from his own energy long ago, back during his time among ancient Greeks in the battles of Troy. She helped him to keep in touch with his 'king' in Lemnos to give the play by play as years passed in such a vicious time. Circe was disbanded since his return, but did not dissipate and simply die. It seemed as though he was stuck with her. It ended up suiting them just fine. Carzeah always felt horrible for keeping such a magnificent bird to himself but she never had a desire to go anywhere else. It was as if he was home to her. Nowadays he puts her to good use.

Biran Everard has his own Helen of Troy locked behind secure walls that he cannot siege through. Though beautiful in her own right, Saddie wasn't a creature that he wished to court, but rather to understand. She was a damaged girl that reminded him of his own daughter actually. Simply, Carzeah wanted to raise her up. The young woman was mute though and could do very little for herself other than write in poor English grammar at first. He pitied her. But stealing her away for a week or so proved rather beneficial before her neanderthal of a caretaker nearly tore down the town in search of her. Saddie could write and he used Circe to deliver and return messages between them. Her writing got better with each passing day but there was still a lot to be learned. Ever since though, Biran doesn't let Saddie roam too far without an escort of sorts from his hold. Today seemed to be know different as he read a note from her that detailed that she would be going out with a man named Fairfax today. She seemed happy about it so he didn't let it bother him, but in the back of his mind he growled lowly at the thought of some ruffian goon out and about with something so...Saddie. No matter. For the sake of curiosity he gave Circe another note, one that was simple, but he sent Circe off to find Saddie again. With a telepathic connection to the bird of prey, he was able to locate Saddie and casually began walking in that direction.

But his travels didn't end him up in the predicament he expected. A familiar face looked to be speaking with her currently. "Fenrir?" The Hellkin lord stepped up to them as Saddie looked to be struggling to find something on her person. A pen and paper perhaps? Carzeah always had something spare lying around on him somewhere but all he could find was that piece of paper with the random woman's number on it from earlier, and of course a slick writing pen he always kept in his inner breast pocket of his jacket, right next to his cigarette case. He took out both items and handed the girl the pen and paper, waiting for her to write as he lit up a smoke with merely his finger tips. "I hope you're not giving Saddie here a problem." Not that he was, but the grin of the big bad wolf spoke nothing but tales of trouble. Is he giving you problems, kid? You look a bit frazzled. He'd send the telepathic message over Saddie's way in case she had a different story from the wolf's.

A growl? Fenrir was used to those, but it only made him chuckle softly as he stared back at her. She was ballsy, he’d give her that, but after a moment, she backed down and he looked away from her as well for a moment. He wasn’t trying to flex his power at all, simply curious about the creature in front of him. She didn’t smell like the dire wolves he’d known, something different and yet the same. She smelled almost too human to be an animalian, but too wolfish to be anything else. It truly did peak his curiosity.

The girl in front of him made a motion with her hands, pen and paper. He was a doctor, and he’d had to help people in all sorts of crisis’s back when, so he knew that motion well. Perhaps she knew sign language though? The wolf lifted his hands and signed, ”Do you know sign language?” Maybe she did.

The wolf didn’t get a response before a familiar voice spoke up and he turned to look at the other male and the only person he could remotely call a friend in this city so far. He smiled back at the man that called his name, strangely friendly and even slightly relaxed as Carzeah pulled out a pen and paper for the woman. They knew each other, but the wolf shook his head to answer his question. ”Simply curious. Her scent caught me off guard and I had to investigate. One doesn’t smell a dire wolf often anymore.” He shrugged his shoulders and held his hands up in an innocent gesture.

”I wouldn’t just randomly harass a girl in the middle of the street unless she was dressed to solicit such advances.” He grinned to his friend before looking back at the girl in front of them. ”Not to be impolite in front of a young girl or anything. My apologies.” He ran a hand through his raven colored hair as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. ’I take it she can’t speak, judging by her gestures? And you haven’t taught the poor girl sign language?” The wolf was teasing, he made if evident by the wide grin.

Saddie stood there, waiting for something to happen when Carzeah of all people showed up. Her bright green eyes lit up seeing that man before her. The two had been speaking back and forth with one another for a while. Weeks if not a month at this point. When they had first met, Saddie could barely write her name let alone get information across to someone. Biran had wanted to learn the location of the compound she had come from. In order to save Chancellor from the fate she fled from. But she had no way of telling him the information that he needed to know. Even with Fairfax and a few animalians around to translate for her, she was getting frustrated not being able to tell them she didn't know without going back herself. And Biran was not going to let her go right this second.

With Carzeah, he understood her need to learn. She had questions and he had answers. Best of all? He could speak with her directly. No words ever left their mouths, but they could have full blown conversations. A first in a very long time. At first, her questions were simple. As simple as her thinking. What was his name? Where did he come from? What was his life like? How did he learn how to write? Could he teach her? Could he explain how the world worked? He freely gave his answers and she soaked them up. Saddie's once very closed world started to expand. In the week or so she was with Carzeah, the red haired girl had learned much about the past as well as how this world worked. Money made the world go round just as much as power. Her way of thinking, to use brute force, while was good, was not needed for everything. If she could take things in a logical and calm manner, it would save her a lot of work later in life.

With every new answer, she gained more questions. But, such a thing was not to last. Biran had found her after a time and accused Carzeah of kidnapping her. While Saddie understood where the man was coming from, she did not appreciate it. She longed to be free. To Biran's credit, he never made her feel as if she couldn't do anything. He wanted to make sure she was safe. To make sure she understood that there were bad people here just like the people who had caused her harm back in her old life. She wondered how he would take it if she told him that by forcing her to stay inside Untamed or under watch made the dire wolf animalain feel as if she had a leash on? Likely he would crumble into self pity. That was something Saddie didn't exactly want to do to the man. She owed that man her life. He saved her from a much crueler fate. On top of that, he has given her a place to sleep, the clothes on her back, and food in her belly. But, she still wanted to see Carzeah....for no other reason to continue learning.

Carzeah had given her a piece of paper and a pen. Glancing on the other side, it looked to be a number and a name. Was this someone important to him? Well maybe not enough if he had given her the paper. Shrugging, Saddie started to write her note to Fenrir while speaking to Carzeah. No....He was just asking me if my sniffer was broken...it is. There are so many smells. So many people so many- In mid thought, as well as writing, the red haired girl stopped what she was doing. Glancing up at the other wolf, all Saddie could do was stare at him. A few times she had come across a girl who was....offering herself. It wasn't legal, that was for sure. And it was one of the lessons Carzeah explained to her. Running around naked wasn't exactly a good thing.People would take that in the wrong way. They would think she wanted to mate with them. That wasn't the case. She was simply naked. It was this lesson that taught her to always make sure she became naked in a safe location. Or had a second pair of clothes on hand. And it was this comment that caused Saddie to make sure she was wearing clothes. She wasn't trying to mate, right? No. She was good. I just got lost is all. I got separated from Fairfax and started to panic.

Finishing her note, she handed it to Fenrir. It said: 'I am Saddie and I am lost. I belong to Untamed. What is Sign Language?'

While Fenrir and Carzeah spoke and Fenrir looked at her note, Saddie attempted to mimic the motion with his hands. Was that what he was talking about? Was he trying to tell her something? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe he was just trying to swat something away? But there was something going on with his hands that was for sure. Not jut his hands, but his arms. Was this how people like him talked? How large and powerful wolves talked? as she attempted to do this, she transmitted one last thought to Carzeah. He is a very big wolf.

Carzeah merely shrugged to the wolf lord. So interesting, like she was a damn museum exhibit or something. But that was just his protective instincts becoming uncovered after years without use. Fenrir meant well and he wouldn't let some strange eon unused paternal nature get the best of him right now. He looked back to Saddie with his typical thousand yard stare and blinked slowly to her. No. You aren't broken. It's just a lot of scents in the city. Funny enough, a sense of smell wasn't a part of his innate abilities so he couldn't even help her out on this one. Though possessing orifices for both listening and smelling, it was merely a cosmetic guise. Part of their evolutionary pattern was to appear as human as possible at all times. Hellkin had an inability to perform those two simple functions as their senses were purely based on feeling out reverberations in their surroundings. He supposed that was the same thing the mortal eardrum was used for though. But Carzeah's entire body was a conduit for sensing even the slightest sound waves, rather than having a single or set of focal points for it. He recalled always indicating to his ear in a cheeky manner when one of his women always tended to nag and ask if he was listening. Of course he wasn't, they were incapable of doing so. Scarlet always loved that one.

We'll get you home, don't worry. Of course, that would be whenever she wished to go home. For now while she was out, she could probably make the best of her time without that brute's thumpy henchmen. It was just a matter of if she wanted to deal with him and Fenrir, which seemed plausible seeing as how curious she was regarding the other wolf as well. He is a pretty big wolf. One of legend. Maybe you can ask him about himself sometime. Carzeah finally looked over to the male wolf with bored eyes. Bored of him? Not quite. But to think he had time for sign language? That was somehow a language that escaped him. "I just know combat signals I'm afraid. Not even modern ones. Sign language wasn't something I took time to study. I at least taught her English, Latin, and Greek." He shrugged once more. "She's a bright girl. She'd pick it up pretty easily I'm sure if you spent a good week with her." The question was if they had that kind of time. Probably not with how much it pissed off Biran Everard last time. "If you ask me nicely though, maybe I can sneak some homework to her." The obsidian man actually had a smirk cross his lips, his head looking off to the side, a hand on his hip. Sort of smug for the wolf before him, but Carzeah couldn't disagree. It would probably be a very useful tool for her in navigating the modern world.

The wolf could only smile slightly and shake his head at that dead look that Carzeah always seemed to have. It was a look that humored him most days for some reason or another, a look that he had felt on the inside for far too long but had always been covered up with caustic sarcasm and scalding irritated. But he took the note from the girl, that smile not fading from his lips as he read over it. Untamed… He’d heard of the group here and there but hadn’t really come into contact with them.

A roguish sneer was sent that other man’s way. “No need to get your panties in a bunch, Carzeah. I’m sure you taught her well.” He complimented before turning back to Saddie as he watched her try to copy his hand movements. It was… Adorable. In the way a puppy copied high fives or head tilts or growls and snarls. It was really a strange feeling that the wolf had toward such a small action and his expression changed from mischievous to contemplative and curious.

”Sign language is how you can speak to people with your hands.” He said as he signed with his hands to match his words, talking slowly so she could copy him again if she so desired. ”We used it a lot in the hospital for patients that were deaf or couldn’t speak.” The unfamiliar feeling in him made him feel uncomfortable, but she was just a young wolf and unable to communicate the way she should and he felt… Sympathetic? Maybe even Empathetic? He didn’t know exactly, but he understood now why Carzeah had been so protective of her at first. Something about her drew that paternal wolf in him forward and he didn’t know how he felt about it. It was a conflicted feeling.

”Hell, it’s also easy to do over video chat, so I'll I'd need is a phone number. But yeah. It would certainly be handy for her to understand. Not that everyone else knows it, but a little communication is better than none to people who can actually understand it, isn’t it? He asked with another smile in her direction. ”If you want to learn, anyway, it would take away some of the boredom of just lounging at home.”

It was always nice to have reassurance from Carzeah. The small girl beamed up at him as he spoke to her, even telling her that the man before her, well the wolf before her, was one of legend. Really? No wonder Saddie felt the way she did. She kept her head low and did her best not to upset the other male here, though Carzeah didn't seem too overly concerned with him. Though, her chin perked up again when the red haired male had commented on how smart she was. It was a honor to be called that by him, the man who was teaching her so much. She had so many questions, so many things that she wanted to learn and this man had all the answers. At least on how to learn. Biran had a lot of answers she valued as well, but Carzeah was smart. Smarter than the men who had kept her in those cages for such a long time.

Her green eyes turned back to the man as he begun doing the hand signals again. This time Fenrir spoke slowly and allowed her to copy what he was doing. It pleased him, she could tell. Just by her mimicking him the first time he seemed to want to show her more. The two men started talking with one another, allowing Saddie to practice the hand signals that matched up to the words that he said. She wanted to keep even this little bit of information in her memory. People could talk like this. They didn't need to use their voice. People had found a way. A large smile formed upon her face as she showed what she had learned to Carzeah. Though it wasn't a perfect copy of what Fenrir did, it was still pretty good for seeing it once. But, something else came up. Something Fenrir had asked the red haired man beside her. A phone number? What was a phone number? Mentally, she reached out to Carzeah again, knowing that he would be able to hear her. What is he talking about? A phone number?

She had heard it talked about before, mainly around Untamed. People asked other people for their phone number. The red haired girl assumed that it had something to do with Untamed. Like a code of numbers that meant something important. But if Fenrir was asking for a phone number, then maybe it wasn't as super secret code as she thought it was. Maybe she was going to have to ask Biran what a phone was and how to use it. But...how would she explain why she needed one? That was the tricky part. For that, she was going to have to rely on Carzeah for help. First of all she needed to know what a phone number was and why it was important. Second she needed to figure out a way for Biran to then give her such a phone number to then hand over to Fenrir and Carzeah. Would she need more than one phone number? What if she could only get one? Then what? Why was everything so complicated?

As she stood there, trying to figure out a phone number and everything that came with it, a new scent had trickled into her nose. Searching, Saddie looked for the source of the wonderful smell. It was then that a man had walked past her with a burger in hand and a drink in the other. Now she was hungry. But she knew better than to simply walk off and search for where that man got the burger....or even simply attacking him for it. That was bad. Biran had to explain that one to her after he laughed about it. Returning her gaze back to Carzeah, she mentally spoke to him again. Can we get food? We never made it to lunch before I separated from Fairfax.