Zeke - Wary young Shadow Lupine

Zeke Full name -Zekeni Gender - Male Pack|Status - Member of the Nantika Clan Colour - Shadow Markings - Normal markings in ashen, as well as a golden sun marking on his forehead, hidden by the short spikes of his smoky mane. Possessions - None Eye colour - Dark, daunting purple. Build � Tall but lean, with slim muscle and long legs. Personality � Guarded, reserved, untrusting, wary, brooding. Pet - None. Mate - None. Pups - None. Parents - Not known. Siblings - Luna

He spends as much time as possible away form the company of others, exploring the territory of the clan silently save for the tread of his paws. There is much to be considered abnormal about him � not the least of which is his growth rate. He is easily twice the size of his sister, and can be taken already for a young adult when he is barely out of his childhood. He is steadfast about hunting alone, allowing only one other pack member who has earned his trust to be anywhere near him when he eats. It is just visible when he growls or yawns that his canines are a tad longer than they should be, and he is astoundingly quick to learn anything taught of him. He is a loner by nature and spends time regularly with only Lungaia, the pack�s head warrior who he has much in common with. Grudgingly he will submit to being babysat with Luna every so often, and he can even be pressured into spending time with Deayna. He shows much interest in war and fighting and when she is ready Lungaia will take him as a warrior in training and teach him the skills he will need to know to fare well in battle. Doubtles,s he will excel at this as he has everything he takes on in life.

The sun and the moon are at one, existing in as delicate balance as they have for hundreds of millions of years. During the day the sun is our energy, out light, and our warmth, and without it we would not exist. When the sun falls from view in the evening, the moon hangs in the sky, reflecting the light from the sun to remind us it is still there. But this poses the question: would we loose faith in the sun at night, if the moon were not there, or would be loose faith in the moon because it was not there to remind us of the sun? They are closely intertwined, but one must remember this: without the sun, weather we see it or not, the moon would never be seen. And yet it is the moon who keeps our hope through the night. To separate the two is to split the bond between them and ruin the solar-lunar co-existence. The sun and the moon must work together. Or both will fall.

Zeke could feel his sister beside him, whimpering softly for food and warmth and comfort. Zeke knew better than to bother. Luna, by all accounts, was normal. Whereas something of the shadow-element in him � the powers recklessly forced into his linage long ago � had caused a slightly odd occurrence in Zeke. He was gifted - or cursed - with a stunningly active mind, a mind that became active at the age of six days old, when both he and Luna should have been snuffling bundles of fur at their mother�s side. Grip changed all that. Zeke opened his eyes. They were a shade of dark purple, but more surprising was the fact a pup of a few days could see out of them. He turned to glance over Luna, lying beside him in the long grass, crying softly. Her eyes, as they should have been, were tightly closed. Unlike his. Zeke lifted his head. His mother, the scent and motion he had previously associated with her � she was not far away, in range of his new, slightly fuzzy vision. He had no names for colours and so could not then classify the shade of his dam, though he could tell it was the same shade as the darkening evening sky above them. He had no knowledge of blood yet, and so did not know this was the colour of his mother�s eyes. She was snarling at a very similar-looking Lupe, who, save for gender, could have passed for her double. The male laid his ears back and bared his teeth. ~It�s disgusting! I don�t know how you could have done it! Think of what Mother and Father would say to you!~ ~Ha, and you were their biggest fan?~ Zeke�s mother snorted sarcastically. ~You fought with them as much as I did, don�t try and make it my fault for leaving! You AGREED to come, Grip! We should have gone with Brute or Slater when they left, instead of sticking by our parents like faithful little whelps!~ Zeke stood silently, a little dark figure crouched at the edge of the long grass. He made no sound. Luna�s faint whimpers continued behind him. ~Yeah, I left with you so you could have your precious peace!~ Snarled back Grip. ~I�m your twin, Nip, you think I could let you wander away alone? And what do you do to repay me? Tchaaa! Hook up with the first male you meet! Cheap bitch!~ Grip dodged as she swung her paw angrily at him. ~I love Zane! I knew it would come back to this, you�re jealous of him, aren�t you? Well, it isn�t your life, brother, it�s mine, and if I want to mate a male and bear his pups I�m going to do so! Now, if you�ll excuse me, I have to go and meet Zane now. He, at least, loves the pups. They�re your niece and nephew, for hell�s sake!~ Grip spat at her, mockingly. ~They are no blood relation to me in my eyes. They�re his worthless runt-brats, nothing to do with me!~ Nip snorted in disgust and turned to fetch her pups. Zeke stayed perfectly still as his uncle�s next words rang out, dripping with false merriment. ~Good luck finding Zane. Do give him my regards~ Slowly, Nip stopped. Slowly, she turned around, struggling to control her expression. He couldn�t have... The triumphant, malicious look on Grip�s face said it all. But still, he sinckered, stretched his lips into a cruel grin. From where Zeke crouched, he could see the stains, the colour of his mother and uncle�s eyes, on his sharp pointed teeth. With a scream of rage Nip flew at her twin brother. He stepped back, dodged agilely, and with a sneer, tripped his sibling. ~Don�t do this, Nippy. You never could beat me when we were pups, you can�t now. Zane�s out of the way now, it�s just us again.~ She came at him anyway. And they fought. Zeke watched, as the sky above faded form his mother's coat into a void of any sort of colour. The dark clouds were blocking out the sun and the moon tonight as twins fought tooth and claw. He watched until his mother lay still, nothing more than a bloodied corpse lying in the stained grass. His uncle was panting heavily and it wasn�t just from the exertion of the fight. He had killed his twin, beaten her as he had when they were young and playing, alright � but she had left something for him to remember her by. She had torn a large chunk from his neck. He was bleeding badly as he limped slowly a few paces from her body. The injury was a fatal one. He lay down and began to lick his forepaw. Zeke turned and slowly crawled back to Luna. Her fur was the same colour as the round ball of bright light just appearing in the mother and uncle-coloured sky overhead. The round ball of light was high in the sky when the drifter arrived. He stumbled across the scene by accident, staring in horror at the body of Nip. Then he found the pups. Shocked, he stared down at them, momentarily at a loss what to do. Zeke was lying down again beside Luna and had his eyes closed. They looked like a normal pair of week-old pups. The other femme came. Dark faerie, and accusing the drifter of murder. But that assumption was put quickly to rest as they stumbled across Grip, life fading quickly from the wound in his neck. Lungaia was a nessicary warrior, a dark, cynical, brooding creature stronger and more frequent in actions that words. The glade the murder had taken place and Zeke and Luna had been orphaned in was on the outskirts of her pack�s territory. She would take no risks nor prisoners, Grip the murderer was far too close to her packlands for her liking. It was the dark faerie warrior who blocked Grip�s muzzle and saw the last life leave him. Lungaia gave the drifter directions to the Clan. They would ensure the pup�s safety, their home. Deayna Drifter nodded. Settling Zeke on his back, resting against his small battered traveling pack, he picked up Luna by her scruff. The drifter headed towards to the skunk faerie�s pack. Zeke and Luna were born towards their new life. And a dark faerie stayed behind to dig a double grave.

Deayna Drifter He found Zeke and his sister when they were but newborn pups. Helpless, one might assume because of it, probably true of Zeke�s sister� Deayna met a warrior of the nearby pack, who sent the drifter and the two pups back to the heart of Nantikan territory. Deayna is, by all accounts, Zeke�s unstated adoptive father. This position of authority is generally accepted with a grudging tolerance prone to occasional eruption as Zeke�s headstrong nature clashes with Deayna�s firm fatherly insistence. Luna Oh so few would recognize this bouncy, bright, playful amber pup as Zeke�s little sister. And there is a reason for that. Zeke opened his eyes and saw his sister at the age of four days old. He would retain this position of the background lookout� sometimes even guardian� but that gap between them would always be a gaping black hole, the space betwixt the sun and moon, a chasm forced into existence and wedged between them by the mutated force battered into their bloodline so very long ago. The shadows. Holding Zeke in their invisible cradle, they ensured that the dark pup would never be more of a brother than a semi-unseen pair of eyes from far off. "Black Clouds" This is making me crazy These black clouds following me So I look for signs of light But rarely I see them I return to my shelter And I crawl in a bottle I'm losing my will for this So over emotional Black clouds They rain down but They can't kill the sun Confession of depression This life I'm second-guessing Like ashes to ashes I always seem to fall down I'm tired of running It's time to face my demons Confession of depression This life I'm second-guessing My emotions are storming And tears fall just like rain Pain strikes like lightning Despair is becoming my friend I'm pushing myself to a point of self-destruction Black clouds They rain down but They can't kill the sun inside

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