Zen Garden [open]

[Dakota Fisher]

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[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,false][atrb=width,420,true][atrb=background,http://i743.photobucket.com/albums/xx76/Dakota_edits/DakotaBackground_zpsbdd87f7b.jpg] The brisk morning breeze blew lazily through the yard, stirring up the dead and fallen leaves. Several large beasts stomped their legs and swished their tails, chasing away the pesky bugs that came with the slight chill. Frosty breath turned to mist as it billowed out of their noses, looking like a stack of chimneys. A single male hung over the fence, his dirt covered jeans brushing up against the old wood. He was thankful for his plaid long sleeve over top of his white shirt, otherwise the chill of the morning would be too much for him. He sighed softly, his war breath fogging the air in front of him. He had just fed the current 11 horses in his care, having to get up before the sun to make sure they were fed. While he had a lot of land for them to graze off of, it wasn't enough to keep the large animals going. He chuckled softly, shaking his head. These things were the only thing that got him out of bed sometimes. Hopping over the fence Dakota walked through the field, brushing his hand across the coats of the horses that he passed. They gave him a soft wicker, greeting him at the head of their herd. He made his way all the way to the back of the large pasture, hoping over that fence as well. In front of him now was a large forest with a well worn path cutting through it. With a smile on his face he began to jog down the path. After about a 15 minute jog, Dakota reached his destination. His Zen Garden. Before him was a large expanse of a soft white sand, turned a darker gray by the earlier rain. A number of large rocks were strategically placed in different patterns. There was a path of smaller, smooth stones that went straight towards the biggest rock in the very heart of the garden. Taking off his boots, he walked across the cold stones with bare feet. The sharp bite of the frosty rocks brought a certain focus to his mind. Drawing in deep breaths with each step, he slowly made his way to the main rock. Once he got there he was alert and focused, ready to center himself. Standing up on the great, flatted rock he stretched out his arms, mumbling soothing words to himself. Then he drew his center of gravity downwards and lowered his body, crossing his legs and his butt hit the stone. Then he placed his palms together and closed his green eyes. Hi breathing slowed, an he calmed his mind. Zen. That's all there was. -------------------------------- Words | 442 Music | --- Muse | Normal Notes | the forest is quite public from the other side, he is at the far back of it. They would have to wander pretty far to reach his land.

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[Saya]

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Crisp autumn air ruffled the dark female's fur as she padded silently through the woods. She moved with barely-contained enthusiasm, head low and ears pricked up. Alert. Excited. She lifted her nose to catch the smells on the wind. Saya knew she wasn't supposed to be doing this.... But hell, it was so freaking fun! Horses made such good prey. They were swift runners, and stallions or protective mothers actually fought back—so different from the deer that lived on the outskirts of town. Anyway, it wasn't as if she planned on actually hurting any of them, she just wanted to play at it. To stir up the herd and get them running. Find the weakest and cut them off from the others; drive it into a corner, push it until it wouldn't run anymore. If she could have killed it.... Mmm. Deer ran, but they were nearly always solitary, and there was little sport in it. No thrill of making a choice. No pleasure in successfully separating them from the shelter of the herd. They rarely fought. Still, they had their merits. Deer you could kill. There was satisfaction in the blood, at least, and pleasure in the meal that followed...... Saya shook her head to chase off the thought. Her predatory instincts were asserting themselves too much. She wasn't going to hurt the horses. She was only going to.... Crap. She knew that smell. That was the caretaker. She thought his name had something to do with fish, but she wasn't sure; she'd only seen him a couple times. Fishman? Eh, whatever. He smelled close. Too close for her to have her fun in safety. He might just be close enough to find her on his land, too.... She should probably leave. But then, she wondered why he was out in the woods, anyway. What did a Fishman need to do in the woods? Was he fishing in a stream somewhere? She didn't hear a stream, but she didn't smell a horse with him, either. Curiosity eventually got the better of her, and Saya carefully turned to follow the trail. It ended in a place that Saya at first mistook to be part of of Hana's back garden. Light-colored sand, strategically-placed large rocks. This place was way too far off in the wrong direction to be Hana's though... now that she looked more closely, the rocks were different, too. And the garden was larger than that part of Hana's property. A man, whom she could only assume to be the Fishman, sat on a huge rock in the middle. Saya wasn't sure what he was doing, but it gave her a sort of deja vu. She was pretty sure he wanted to be alone, but she wasn't really ready to leave, so instead she just sat at the edge of the garden, head tipped to one side as she watched him. Why was he called Fishman, anyway? He didn't look or smell anything like a fish. [atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,width:400px; background:#0a1017 url(http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/8342/oza.png) bottom center;,true][atrb=style, text-align:justify; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:12px; color:#05625f;vertical-align:text-top]

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[Dakota Fisher]

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[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,false][atrb=width,420,true][atrb=background,http://i743.photobucket.com/albums/xx76/Dakota_edits/DakotaBackground_zpsbdd87f7b.jpg] When his mind centered, he breathed in and out. As he calmed himself even further, found his further zen, his breathing slowed until it sounded like he was nearly asleep. But he was far from asleep. In fact, he was more aware than he had been in his waking mind. He could hear the horses pounding their hooves on the earth, snorting as they tried to pick out the sweetest patch of grass. And... footsteps. Four legs, padded paws... Wolf he thought. Slowly he pulled himself out of his zen and turned around, looking at the wolf sitting at the edge of his garden. "Why hello there wolf," he said, his voice calm and steady. He places his hands on his knees and leaned over, focusing his green eyes on the dark wolf. "What brings you to my zen garden?" He loved all animals, and was always jealous of the guards. He wanted one, a large companion about the same size as the wolf before him. In fact... this wolf looked really familiar. He wracked his brain to try and conjure up the memory of it. Then, it struck him. When he realized why he knew this wolf, his eyes narrowed slightly. "You are the wolf who chases my horses, are you not?" he asked. He was not angry, thankfully he had realized it now and not after his zen had worn off. If it had been before, he was scared that he would have grown very angry with this creature. Instead his mind was clear and calm. Dakota shifted his position, swinging his legs so that they hung over the side of the rock, his bare feet touching the damp sand. He didn't say anything else, but allowed room for the wolf to insert her own words and explanations. -------------------------------- Words | 299 Music | --- Muse | low Notes | Gah, sorry its so bad ><

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[Saya]

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Uh-oh. Busted. Saya had half a mind to vanish. How was she supposed to explain herself? If she could have seen herself, Saya probably would have burst out laughing; how often do you see a wolf fidget? But fidget she did, shifting her weight uncomfortably from paw to paw, ears flicking forward and backward; Saya avoided Fishman's eyes. The tip of her tail bounced nervously at her right side. Headstrong wolf that she was, however, her contrition quickly morphed into a sort of indignation, and she hid her fidgeting by standing up to stretch. First a play-bow, then each hind leg, slow and leisurely. "Chases your horses, yes," Saya admitted around a nervous yawn (handily disguised by her stretch—she was so freaking clever). "I never hurt them, though, do I? Can you really blame me? Horses are just so much better at running than deer." Saya considered the Fishman with her best approximation of a frank expression. "It's not like there's much else to do around town these days." As far as Saya was concerned, that was absolutely true. What did she and Hana do all day? Train. What did they do when they were done training? Sleep. And the next day? Train some more. Frankly, Saya wasn't even entirely sure what they were training for anymore—at least, sometimes she wasn't. It seemed like Nightfall was so far away; Saya hadn't heard of an attack in months. Had Xyla died or something....? Whatever.... Either way, she was bored. Zen garden, huh...? Yeah, that made sense. Hana pretty much ignored the small one in her backyard, but she remembered.... something. With sand like that. Little paw prints.... she shook her head, clearing away the thought. Ancient history. She tested the sand at the edge of the garden with one paw, lightly dragging her claws through it. Her paws were so large that her "light" touch left trails akin to the tines of a rake. Such soft sand. Saya wondered where it came from; this stuff didn't seem to exist anywhere except at Silver Star Lake, and that stuff was more more coarse. This sand had to be expensive. She looked back up at the Fishman, her tail wagging slowly behind her in a subconscious attempt to placate him. It was her nature to want to be friends, after all. "As for what brings me here, I was wondering what you were doing in the woods. Humans don't wander off into the trees alone all that often, you know." [atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,false][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,width:400px; background:#0a1017 url(http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/8342/oza.png) bottom center;,true][atrb=style, text-align:justify; font-family:'times new roman';font-size:12px; color:#05625f;vertical-align:text-top]

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