The Willow Tree

Humming faintly, Ashling sits under the willow tree and lays down with his hat over his face for this was his kind of night. Listening to the winds and the many singing insects, Ashling sighed silently as he laid there with his hands on his chest.

Jumping up which knocks his hat off his face, Ashling winces to the change in light and he stands up rather quickly which causes his joints to lock as he falls over as a white figure and he laughs embarrassed but was also glad no one saw his stupid ordeal. "What luck, but now I must call it quits" Fixing himself, Ashling stands up and takes his hat placing it on as well as placing his goggles on to shield his gray eyes from the sun as he leaves the willow contently.

Sakuda glances over to the tree as she walks up, her Inu Form up for everyone to see. She glances up the large tree with slight boredom, then she jumps onto the first branch, gripping onto it with her claws. "Nugh, this isn't as fun as I wanted it to be . . . Or thought, whatever." She sat on the branch, starring at the view the tree gave her.

Aella slowly and quietly wandered up to the tree, her hands tucked in her pockets, her eyes locked on the ground, and her hair was in her face, covering the slightly grim look it held, though there was a book tucked under her arm, looking old and worn, obviously read many times over, one that seemed like it should be thrown away and replaced, but there was no way she'd ever do such a thing. She highly valued it, and it was like it was a piece of her. As she walked along, she dragged her feet, though her eyes stared intently at the ground as she moved.

Sakuda blinked as she found someone close by, then she spotted a girl wandering around. She sniffed at the girl, then tilted her head. Her movements were flawless and silent as she moved to a branch to follow the girls movements. She paused on that branch, watching the girl with slight, very slight interest. She's a half-breed . . . Her lips purst as she glanced to her claws, then she sighed rather loudly, on accedent, as she sat back against the trunk.

Aella quickly lifted her head up as she caught the sound of the sigh, and as she did, her eyes were alert, the pupils slightly enlarged as she sniffed a bit at the air, quickly turning in the direction of the other presence, though as she did, she quickly flicked her arm out and sent the hard covered book flying right for the other person as a form of defense, as she stood, now still, facing them, her eyes now narrowed slightly, "Who is there?"

Sakuda blinked at she saw the book flying at her, but due to her wolf-like speed, she caught the book within her claws, then examined it closely, noticing how old it looked. She used the back of her knees to hang her from the branch, leaving her upsidedown for the girl to see from her collar-up. "This is yours, I assume," she said lightly, holding out the book to her. She tilted her own head, as if wondering about something.

Aella stared at the girl with cold eyes as she took in as much of the appearance as her eyes were able to see, "Tch." She stood perfectly still a moment as she tilted her head up slightly to take a sniff at the air, which just plastered a grumpy look on her face as she slowly moved forward and grabbed the book, pulling it away from the girl, "Yeah, good assumption." She rolled her eyes and backed away, her eyes never leaving the form of the other presence as she remained slightly on the defensive, the book held tightly in her hands.

Sakuda raised a brow at the girl's attitude, but then again, not surprised. She was use to people being rude to her. She kept silent, then whirled back into the tree, then leaped down, landing on her feet. She glanced over her shoulder to the girl, then shook her head and sat under the tree's branches, her back against the large trunk. She sniffed the air a few more times, before rolling her eyes and mumbling under her breath, which sounded something like, "can't believe . . ."

"shouldn't of said a thing . . ."

"never taking advise again . . ." and so on.

Aella was still slightly on the defensive since she was used to all her years of neglect, which was causing her attitude to be such away, she spoke, though her voice wasn't harsh, or even strong, mostly a soft whisper, giving away her true feelings of fear instead of the act of hostility she was trying to put up, "Hey.....what are you mumbling about?" She still held the look on her face, the fear being displayed in her voice, but not her face.

Sakuda paused her mumbling as her Inu-Ears twitched twice, hearing what the girl had to say. She leaned over the edge of the tree, using her hands to support her. She peered over the tree's edge, her hair falling over her shoulders. She blinked at the girl, a bit surprised she talked to her after being so harsh with her words. "I'm thinking about something a friend of mine said," she answered, her voice soft and inviting, like a person talking to an animal. Thanks once again to her wolf-senses, she was able to tell what the girl was feeling.

Aella nearly took a step back as the girl leaned over the edge of the tree, but caught herself and stopped her foot in the motion, forcing herself to firmly plant it against the ground again, her face faltering slightly in the facade she was trying hard to keep up, her lip twitching slightly, though soon after she plastered the scowl back onto her face and stared up at the girl, swallowing before forcing out in another soft tone, "What's that....?"

Sakuda tilted her head as she stared at the girl's foot movement. She became slightly annoyed when she realized the girl was still unaware that she herself wasn't going to harm her, for there was no reason. She laid onto her stomach, then rested her cheek into her right palm. "You're very guarded, arn't you? I can see you shake a little in your movements. I'm not going to hurt you," she said with a slight lazy drawl to her tone. She then raised her other hand to look at her claws, checking them for dirt or such.

Aella's lip twitched slightly and she threw the book at the girl again, though this time out of irritation, "W-well how should I know that! With how I've been treated. They all told me that too, but then they'd come into my cage and start abusing me....in more than one way." Her eyes were narrowed, and she was now a bit angry and irritated both, but still remained what had been there the whole time, her fear.

Sakuda, not being prepaired this time, was hit on the head hard by the book. She gave out a sudden cry and held onto her head and ears, making the ears lay against the top of her head as she gritted her fangs. "Owie . . ." When she felt less injured than the hit, then removed her hands and picked up the book, holding it out to the girl once more, sniffling. "My names Sakuda," she whispered, tears in her eyes.

Aella stared intently at the girl for a moment before being told her name, and slowly moved forward toward her, feeling slightly bad that she had hit her, though at the same time she felt as though she rightly deserved it and mumbled, "Aella...." She quickly took the book back and retreated back a few steps before grumbling, "Why are you crying? I didn't throw it THAT hard."

She glared sharply at the girl called 'Aella' before turning around and pouting. "I was NOT crying. Something got in my eyes when you face-planted me with that book," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes with her fingers. Her ears stayed against her head, but her tail layed out normally. She sighed and closed her eyes, making her tail and ears fade, just leaving her regular human ears. She blinked, then glanced over her shoulder at the girl, looking similar to her first sig. picture.

Aella grumbled more to herself, though it was evident that the girl would most likely hear it, "Yeah.....of course. At least I admit when I cry." She crossed her arms and looked the other way, the book hanging from her hand over her other elbow before slowly glancing in the direction of Sakuda before looking away again, now trying to act all tough, "Tch....what are you looking at?"
(Sorry, I'll have her actual look up in a sec, I got the siggy all made and then it didn't save right, so I have to do it again >.<)

(S'alright.)

Sakuda snorted at Aella's first comment, but the stood and dusted off her red outfit from her Inu Form. She brushed her hair over her shoulder, then turned around to face Aella. She stares a long time at Aella, just before a small smile cracks onto her face. "You're amusing," she said simply, before leaning against the tree's trunk with her back. "But I guess I have no right to judge, according to your outburst, you haven't had the best past life." She glanced up to the sky, her eyes softening as she watched a random butterfly flutter off.

Aella uncrossed her arms and looked at Sakuda again, "Amusing...? What am I...? A zoo animal...? You wanna put me in a cage too?" She wasn't shouting, her voice was fairly low, though it was evident that Sakuda had hit a nerve, completely ignoring the sympathy that the girl was showing, not wanting to accept it.

Sakuda glanced sharply to Aella as she caught the word 'cage'. She showed her fangs, growling a slight bit. "I don't like to be anywhere near cages, so I'd never put anybody in one," she hissed out, clearly annoyed by her stubborn attitude. She then turned her head away, pouting. "I don't care for zoos either . . ." She mumbled that sentence under her breath.

Aella gave a slight thankful sigh because of what Sakuda said, "Yeah....?" She sat carefully down on the ground and pulled her knees to her chest, placing her chin on them, "Cages are no fun.....zoos either."

"No, they're not," she replied in agreement, the solid, cold bars flashing past her eyes. She closes them, then sighs softly. "Trapping you from the world, keeping everything hidden and locked up. Only a few inches is the freedom you get, until the chain yanks you back in place." She opens her eyes, then glanced over to Aella with a smile. "I don't care for zoos, only because human is the dominant species around there."

Aella slowly lifted her eyes to look up to Sakuda and mumbled, "At least there was a chain to get them out of the cage...." She sighed and closed her eyes, "That's pretty lucky." She slowly pushed herself up and began to head towards the tree, letting her nails lengthening slightly to aid her in climbing up the trunk easier. She climbed until she was up in the tree and sat on the branch beside Sakuda.