Sarah's Beginning

[Romance]

Sarah was a bright red, not fire engine red, but close to that. She had black alining her back and shoulders, and the tip of her tai. She had a red spot on her nose that looked like a guitar pick, the tip pointing toward the center of her eyes. She had little white rectangular circles above her eyes, and black lined ears. She looked gorgeous. She walked through here, scared and alone. She howled for the nearest male, hoping he would take her as a loved one and offer her safety. She was sad that she was rejected by all the other males just because of her pelt pattern on her body, that enraged her. For males, it was always about looks, about beauty. It was never about the personality, or anything like that. NO! The looks is what matters apparently! It just wasn't right, it was unfair.

[Areo]

When one had nowhere to go and forever to get there, time had little meaning. Of course, mortals were not such things. They had little time to get where they were going and some either had no destination or not enough time to get there. Right now, Areo found himself among the few that had no destination. His sightless cloudy teal eyes could find him no horizon to chase, his sturdy limbs taking him on a whim after old scent trails and the scattered heartbeats of other animals. Right now though, Areo wasn't really chasing either one. He had no scent to follow, no sounds really guiding the way. What Areo sought was shelter. The spring day was warm and humid, abnormally so due to the storm rolling over the valley. For now the sky was clear but Areo needed no sight to tell him there were storm clouds creeping over the mountains.

Following instinct that had saved him many times, the ivory brute picked his way over stone-scattered ground, feeling the air growing cooler as he neared a cave. He could smell the dampness and stale air but it was shelter and soon he would need it. Water always made Areo nervous. The rain scattered sound and deadened scents making him almost completely blind in more ways than one. His ears and nose had replaced his eyes and when they failed, Areo seldom could rest safely.

As he was feeling around the mouth of the cavern, his ears perked. Someone was howling. The sound was a wail of distress and loneliness. Areo hesitated, ears and head up in the direction of the sound though he had no eyes to guide him. Eyes did little good in a dim cavern anyway. Breathing in deeply, Areo sought the scent of the distressed wolf. To his mild surprise he found it was female, the scent relatively fresh and the howl had been decently close. Might as well investigate.

Moving into the cavern, Areo kept his pace slow. With each step forward, he would pause and reach out with a paw, sweeping the ground for surprise drops or sharp rocks that would cut his paw pads. Sightless teal eyes stared downward as he moved, his gait oddly fluid and sure until he stopped. There were no walls ahead of him. It was a cavern, no longer the tunnel he had entered.

Standing still, Areo assessed the scents on the air. Yes, the female was there. Flaring his ears, Areo caught the patter of her heartbeat and smell her roughly a tail length to his right and three wolf lengths in front of him.

Raising his cloudy eyes despite their uselessness, Areo kept his eyes forward, waiting for a reaction.

[Romance]

Red fae twitched her audits to the wind that tickled them. She felt a vibration in the ground and turned her temples quickly to see a wolf white as snow. She never heard him coming. Of course, she hasn't heard a thing for 4 years. Not since that bear attack. A flashback started and she was defending her elderly parents from a mother grizzly. They had gotten too close to the cub and the mother went hay-wire. Sarah lunged at the bear, the bear roaring in rage in Sarah's ear made her have a major headache. Another jump by the bear's head and another deafening roar to the ear... everything was suddenly quiet. She couldn't hear the roars of the angry bear, she could hear the screams of her worried parents. She shuddered at the memories. She spoke her beautiful, velvet voice. Hello. I am Sarah. she said, her words were a bit scratchy, on account that she hadn't spoken in 4 years. She shook her fur and awaited a response.

[Areo]

Areo twitched his ears as the fem spoke. He adjusted his sightless gaze, knowing he was probably still slightly off. Even after years of practice he sometimes failed to look someone in the eye. In his defense it was really amazing he could get as close as he did but, others usually noticed. Focusing in on the fem's voice, he found the tones most heard to be pleasing to the ear but his keen hearing caught the hard, rasped undertone that came with lack of use. Whatever this femme's story, it seemed she hadn't spoken in a long, long while. Most would think the rasp normal, a mere imperfection or to some a pleasing tone but Areo could pick it up for what it was though he did not know the cause.

Leaning forward slightly but not stepping forward, Areo swept his nose low over the cool ground under his paws. There were no others here to cause distress for the femme but he had heard distress in her call. Curious.

"My name is Areo, why were you so unhappy? Surely you are not lost?"

Areo's voice had always been a pleasant one, a mix of soothing maturity and calmness but also mescaline and strong. His mother had always praised him for inheriting his father's voice and her untainted pelt the color of newly fallen snow. Vulcan had had their father's sandy colored fur but both Areo and Kimira had been solid white like their mother. Vitani had been somewhere in between, her coat lightly touched with gold but marginally white. Each of them had had lovely eyes ranging from honey gold to the warm tone of freshly turned earth. It was amazing what a good memory he had for a blind wolf, much less rendered blind by a blow to the head.

Moving forward just a little, Areo laid down in a sphinx-like position. His front paws were out in front of him, hind legs tucked neatly and his head still angled toward the fem, Sarah as she called herself. He kept his ears up, his only real way of communicating and understanding.

[Romance]

Sarah watched his lip movement very closely, trying to pick up what he was saying. Um... uh... she thought about his lip and tongue movements, seeing if she understood what he had said. She pieced it out after a moment. Oh! Okay. I'm unhappy because all males thinks mates should be chosen upon looks, and beauty, and coloration and fur pattern, and blah blah blah. They never think about the personality, you know. They never think about who the fae really is, for who she is. They always jump right to the looks, never who she really is. Sarah said. She sighed as a tear slammed the ground. She felt the vibration of it, and just sat there, with her head hanging. Her heart slowed a little, adjusting to her emotions. She sighed once more before sliding down to the ground with her forelegs. She lied her head on her crossed paws but raised it once more. What do you think it's all about? Looks? Or personality? she asked him. She felt the vibration of her beautiful voice within her neck. She liked that feeling, knowing that she was actually talking again. And as she used her voice, it became less scratchy, and more beautiful, velvet like.

[Areo]

Areo listened to the fem, slightly puzzled by her pauses. It sounded like she had been confused about what he had said, as though she did not understand. Repeating his statement in his head, Areo could find nothing really confusing about it. Maybe she was just surprised that he had approached and gotten straight to the point? Deciding to listen for more clues, Areo swerved his ears a smidge as she began to speak. It seemed her distress was that of many fems he had stumbled upon while traveling southward. The battle against beauty-addled brutes. It truly was sad to see that that was such a problem but, Areo had once been very similar. When he had had his vision, young and stupid as he was, a pretty fea had always turned his head.

Now, that wasn't very much of an option.

Her question made him ponder for a moment. He used to think about the looks first and then personality. Now? Areo hmmed for a moment, twitching his ears and looking downward toward where his paws were though he could not see them. After a moment, he raised his head again and unbeknownst to him, his gaze actually found Sarah's though he could not see her, eye contact was made for the first time revealing teal eyes darkened by blindness.

"I think of how they sound, their voice, their heartbeat, their presence. Appearance has little meaning to me anymore and personality is valued but not until I am certain of my own safety around another."

It was the truth. He would approach another if he felt safe with them and not a moment before. He had felt no danger from Sarah. She didn't smell like blood, death or illnesss. Her heartbeat was up but only because she was unhappy. She had called out but Areo had found no evidence of unknown attackers. She was safe. Thus he had approached her. Now he could feel out her personality. That was the only way he could really be certain of who he approached since becoming blind.

[Romance]

Sarah listened to him speak, his heart beat vibrated through the ground, and she read his lips fairly well. Then came the words 'personality is valued'. Her eyes lit up like a bright light in a dark room. She was starting to like this guy already. Finally! Someone is isn't like all the others guys. Finally, someone who really understands. Sarah said softly. She stepped closer to Areo, and knowing this would probably upset him, Sarah didn't care. She put her head under his and nuzzled his neck softly. She was starting to feel a feeling for Areo. She felt all bubbly inside, and knew instantly why... she had fallen in love with Areo. Already? you say? Yes, already. He was different from all the other guys, he was apparently the only one who truely understood this complicated fae, for he thought about faes with personality, not looks. She liked that.

[Areo]

Areo smiled gently at her exuberence toward his opinion though he got the impression she didn't understand why he was like he was. Personality was all he had to go on anymore. If he had his sight, Areo was almost certain his head would be turned by any pretty fae he saw. It was a shameful thing to admit but he was only male, young and relatively in his prime. It was natural and normal but...at least the way he was now was pleasing to someone. At times it was a curse, at others not so much as long as he knew how to handle himself. He was glad to bring a smile to someone's face today, however much it was a smile he could not see. He could hear the smile in her voice and that was enough.

Startled out of his thoughts, Areo heard her moving, coming closer. He stiffened for a moment until he felt her tuck her head under his, nuzzling his neck. It was a sign of affection more than acceptance or friendship and it surprised Areo to say the least. He hadn't really been touched since he'd left home mostly because a lot of wolves touched him out of pity. A tap on the shoulder to know where they were, a tail brush on his flank to say they were sorry, little things that in the end didn't really mean anything and didn't matter any more than mouse dung.

Relaxing a little, Areo breathing carefully to memorize her scent while he had the chance.

"I think you misunderstand" Areo said gently. "If you had asked me that before I became like I am, my answer would be one that would have turned you away. Perhaps your answer is better sought in a wolf that has the option of seeing the appearance and still appreciating the soul first" Areo said gently, nudging her nose away with the utmost care. He didn't want to hurt her or offend her.

Areo just wanted her to understand that he wasn't as different as she wanted if he had had any choice in the matter. If it had been his choice they never would have hunted that moose, never would have put Vulcan in danger and thus made him save his younger sibling. If she saw him with his vision, confident and maybe a little too willing to flirt, she would have pulled his hide off.

[Romance]

(probably... XD)

Sarah felt a surge of pain rip through her like a cyclone. He was like all the other males! She pulled away quickly from him and huffed. She turned her body away from him, her back to him. You are like all the other males, aren't you? she muttered. How dare this happen again! It was really getting annoying, if not, then frusterating. She huffed again and hung her head with flattened audits. She sighed sadly, maybe she would never meet that special someone, that someone who could and would really understand this red fae. She thought about what Areo had just said, and quite frankily, she didn't agree. He was better than that, that was her bet. But now, he was blind. It was about personality to him know. But if it weren't for that accident, she surely would rip him apart.

[Areo]

Areo wasn't surprised when she pushed away or when she sounded disgusted about him, growling and unhappy. Her heartbeat had sped up, the sound vibrating in his sensitive ears since she was still relatively close. Forcing himself not to wince or flinch at the accusation, Areo simply drew in a deep breath and let it out as a slow sigh. She wanted a perfect male that would see her for who she was regardless of sight or not. Areo knew himself well enough to know that he relied on presence and personality because it was all he HAD to rely on. His eyes were clouded and what would touch or hearing tell him other than information about the soul? He didn't want to hurt her or see her upset. Upsetting fems had always been something of a no no for Areo. He preferred to hear them laugh and be happy but not under an illusion.

"There is not a brute in this world that will see your soul before they see your appearance" Areo said, trying to defend himself. "I value the personality of every fae I meet because it's all I know about them. If I saw a wolf, battle scarred and bloody, I would not approach for fear of my life but I can't tell the difference between the scarred and the whole. When I was younger, I would chase faes and I'm not ashamed to say it was for their beauty but I never hurt them because each one I cared for when I got to know them. The outside will always be seen before the inside unless you've been clocked by a moose."

A lengthy explaination but, one Sarah needed to hear. He wasn't perfect. If he suddenly regained his sight, he would take a good long look at her but not for the soul reason that he was judging her against other faes. No. Judging beauty wasn't something Areo had made a habit out of. One fae was beautiful as the next but he'd been young and taken sight for granted. He'd glanced, not really looked. He was known to generally accept any sort of appearance and in all honesty he would probably approach a battle-scarred wolf to help them but...There are also the times when if he had sight, Areo would stay well enough away regardless. It was nature. It was instinct. Being blind just bent the rules a little.

[Romance]

Sarah felt the vibrations of his voice, barely picking up his words, but still did. Sounds, well... feels, like you took sight for granted. Then you lost it too a stupid moose. But, if you could see, you would probably classify me as ugly. she said sadly. Most males did call her ugly. She didn't know why, but it always hurt more than the last. Just like everyone else. she added. She felt heavy footsteps from the viberations in the ground and turned to see a large bull moose. It made it's husky bellow and stamped its hoof. It scratched the ground. Uh oh. Sarah said softly. Then she stood in front of Areo in a defensive way. The fae knew that he could protect himself and all, but she didn't want him to somehow lose hearing as well. Audits were back as she bared her teeth... the moose charged. In the blink of an eye, Sarah was flying through the air. She landed on her back and lost her breathe. She struggled for air as the world spun all around her. Her vision focused in time to see the moose less than three feet away. It picked her up by her hips in it's antlers and slammed her into a tree. She yelped with pain as it pushed her harder against the tree.