You're brought into Toronto, Canada, either ordered by the Council to join the Pack or Clan that resides there for the impending war, to strengthen their numbers, and provide a hand within the war, or you've moved here simply to find a fresher start to life. Will you stand on the sidelines in the Neutral Territories? Or will you decide to take part and choose a side? Your destiny awaits you, make sure to head over to our homesite (link found in the Navigation Section) to begin your journey!
As silence settled over Kari and the other lycanthrope whom she had addressed, Kari felt her moment of pity and compassion for the other female drain away. "Oh..." the blond-haired lycan said, the hand which she had previously held out to shake falling to her side in a quite embarrassed manner. "I'm sorry..." With that, Kari turned and stepped away from the other female. Kari found herself feeling what to do, as many of the other lycanthropes present already engaged in conversation with one another, and several of the ones who were not were those who Kari had yet to find an opportunity to become acquainted with. Perhaps she could speak with Rayne or Willow? When she had spoken to them, though her previous conversations with them had been brief, both of the other females had seemed nice enough. As several of the others gathered in the kitchen began to take her place, Kari made her way over to Willow and Rayne, who were standing together, the latter seeming quite nervous, just as Kari herself was. The blond lycanthrope offered Rayne a nervous smile, as if to say 'You aren't the only one who is nervous'. She was just about to ask the dark haired female if she was alright when Acacia's voice broke through the gentle murmurs of the conversations around them.
"Ah, my my, it appears everyone is now present," the alphess said. "Let us get this meal underway. There should be a serving for you all, so do not hesitate to eat what is there. Please, everyone, do take a seat and dig in. Tomorrow we will hunt, but tonight, we will relax." As Acacia finished speaking, Kari looked to Rayne and and Willow with a hesitant expression. After a brief pause of silence, the young woman took her seat. At the moment, she had no one on either side of her. Seeing as this was the case, she looked up to Rayne and Willow with a smile, inviting them to come and sit with her if they so chose. She wouldn't mind the company of the two lycanthropes who she had already become acquainted with.
(OOC: Sorry if that first part's a bit awkward... Phoenix never replied and I wasn't sure what to do.)
Having checked the other rooms for the presence of lycanthropes and having found none, Kari made her way back into the kitchen. As she stepped inside the room, she was greeted by the sight of many people. Acacia and Christian were both still present, but they had been joined by others. Rayne seemed to have returned from collecting Genevieve, and both women were present in the kitchen. Genesis had also arrived. The only people she did not see were Willow, who was likely still getting ready, Everett, who she had seen leaving his room as Kari herself was moving to the kitchen, and Rux, who Kari had not seen since leaving to help with dinner. Kari, upon surveying the kitchen, also noticed that they had been joined by yet another lycanthrope, a quite young female with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. So this must be the former delta Acacia spoke of . . . Kari thought. Upon first hearing of the new female's arrival, Kari had been rather disappointed, feeling that this new lycan's arrival meant the loss of any chance she may have had at gaining a position similar to her old one in Carter's pack, but now she felt bad for the other werewolf. She seemed nervous, as well as rather lonely, by herself in a far corner of the room. Kari sighed. Then, though with clear hesitation, she made her way over to the newest addition to the group. Kari pitied her for being so alone, and had then felt compelled to be friendly towards the new lycanthrope who had seemed so alone, despite the way some of the others seemed to be acting towards her and Kari's own distant and cold outward appearance that came from her nervousness to be around others. "Hello," Kari said uncertainly. She certainly felt rude for showing such reluctance to greet the other female, but the apprehension which the others, Christian in particular, were showing the other lycan was making her uncomfortable. Despite this, she offered the new female a nervous smile and began to speak once again. "I'm Kari." Finally, in a rather tentative manner, she held out her had to shake.
Characters: Kari Varnan and Astrid Layton Duration: June 27 - July 5 Reason: I will be going on a family trip and I will not have access to my computer or the internet for the majority of the trip. I will try to get posts in for both of my characters today ^-^
Kari Varnan
The worst thing about being lied to is knowing you're not worth the truth.
Upon first being woken up, the young woman, Willow, had seemed startled by Kari, causing the older lycanthrope to become slightly on edge. Now the girl seemed to be relaxing somewhat, nodding to Kari in acknowledgement to her statement that dinner was ready. "Oh, yes. Of course. I'll be there." Kari nodded comprehensively, still feeling some concern for the younger werewolf as she had upon asking her if something was bothering her. At the question, Willow had laughed, a sound that seemed to Kari quite forced and fake, as though her good-natured laughter were a mere facade for whatever emotions truly lie within her. "Yes, I'm fine. They happen all the time. I just have a vivid imagination," Willow had said. Kari nodded her head. "Alright then . . ." Kari could tell that the other girl was lying, but she said nothing. If Willow wished to keep her emotions inside, the blond-haired woman could understand. More than 90 of her 203 years had been spent in solitude, leaving she herself in a constant struggle to show her emotions, especially amongst those which she was not familiar or comfortable with. She could understand Willow's hesitation to reveal the truth about what was bothering her.
As Kari turned to leave with a nod of her head, preparing to leave Willow to prepare herself for dinner, the younger girl's voice brought her attention back. "I... I guess that would be... Good." There was hesitation in her voice as she slowly spoke, telling Kari that the other woman was quite clearly struggling with this. Kari was tempted to repeat her earlier statement and tell Willow that she did not need to tell her if it made her uncomfortable, but she remained silent, seeing as Willow had proceeded to speak once more. "You know what, my brain's kind of all smush. But yeah, It would be nice. I'll see you at dinner." Kari smiled softly. Perhaps someday Willow would share any troubling experiences with her, but today, being the day which they had met, was most certainly not it. She would choose not to pressure the other lycanthrope further, and would leave well enough alone unless Willow came to her seeking consolation. "Okay. I'll see you later." She turned away for the last time and exited the room, listening to the soft click as the door shut behind her. With a soft sigh, she wandered away, searching the rooms for signs of other lycans who may have been present so as to send them to the kitchen for dinner as she was told.
Kari came to a halt just outside the door. The door was slightly ajar, leaving enough space for the young lycanthrope to poke her head in. She knocked as she did so, hoping to alert anyone within the room to her presence. She gazed cautiously into the room, her brown eyes drifting about the space, taking in the sight of the earth-toned walls, the beautifully-crafted stone fireplace and mantle, and, finally, the figure who lay collapsed upon the bed. The young, brown-haired female lying upon the sheets appeared to be sound asleep, though her tossing and turning and quiet mumbling told Kari that her unconscious state was most certainly not a peaceful one. Quietly, the young woman made her way over to the sleeping figure, leaning down slightly as she reached out a hand to gently shake her awake.
"W-Willow, isn't it?" Kari said softly, hoping that she had correctly remembered the younger lycanthrope's name. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but dinner is ready if you'd like to come and join us." She finished her statement with a polite smile. She stood back up, preparing to exit the room in search of any other lycans who might be hidden in their newly claimed rooms, but she halted in the doorway. The dirty-blond-haired woman turned to face the younger, and, with a worried expression, began to speak once more. "I hope I'm not intruding on your personal business, but I couldn't help but notice that you seemed to be quite restless while you slept. Are you alright?" The question which flowed from her mouth without much thought surprised Kari; ever since her pack had been ruthlessly murdered, slaughtered like livestock, she'd been afraid to trust anyone, afraid to care for anyone. Her demeanor, to many of those she met, seemed to be one of a cold-hearted and rude person. Now, she couldn't help but feel deep concern for the young woman before her, for reasons that she could not understand. Perhaps it was hope for a feeling of kinship with her new packmates. As beta, she had always been good at comforting both her subordinates and her equals and superiors whenever the need arose; it had been a self-imposed duty of sorts. For her entire life, she had been very compassionate, always caring for those around her Perhaps her desire to help offer solace to the younger female was, in part, a hope to carry of her duties of bringing comfort to those seemingly in need. And this young lycanthrope, whose agitated tossing and turning and mumbling of 'No, no, no Zephyr... Ruby...' brought Kari to her belief's conclusion, was most certainly one who seemed in need of help. However, Kari knew that Willow might not be comfortable with sharing whatever experience brought about such distressed slumber. "If you are not comfortable with explaining that's quite alright. I was just wondering if you would like someone to talk to about it." She gave the other girl a small, friendly smile, still halted in the doorway. She would wait a few moments until the younger girl had spoken, then she would leave to go round up the remaining werewolves.
"There's no need to apologize, I can assume you were already socializing with the other members, and there's always tomorrow night." Rayne's voice drifted through the air, her tone seeming quite formal. Kari smiled the other girl gratefully. It was true that she had been becoming acquainted with the others at the time which she had meant to be helping. One of the very reasons which she had wished to help was to become formally introduced to whoever else had chosen to help prepare dinner. But Rayne was correct. There would always be other nights during which she could help. She felt some of the stress leave her as she relaxed. Rayne, at least, did not seem angry with her.
Next came the light-hearted reply of Beta Christian. "I think we covered everything for tonight, but like Rayne said, there's always tomorrow night, and many more days to come." Kari smiled once more, now even further relieved by the fact that the Beta did not seem at all upset or frustrated that she had not kept her promise to help. "But," Christian continued, "you can go get all the members, make sure everyone's out of their rooms, and get them down here to eat." Kari returned the friendly smile which the male gave her and nodded her head comprehensively. "Alright," she said. "Thank you."
The young female lycan turned to leave, she noticed that the alphess, Acacia, had entered the kitchen. "Вкусно пахнет," came the heavily-accented statement from the older woman upon her entrance. Kari felt somewhat embarrassed that she had no idea what the alphess had said, but she brushed it off. "Hello, Alphess Acacia," Kari said in a friendly, light-hearted manner with a polite smile held upon her lips. She listened as the pack leader spoke once more. "It would seem we are eating well tonight," Acacia said cheerfully before turning to the other two females present in the room. "Rayne, Kari, please do go find everyone and let them know they're expected here for dinner." Kari nodded. "Yes ma'am," she said, wondering if she needed to be so formal. "I was just on my way to go do so."
As Kari turned to leave once more, the last bits of the conversation between Acacia and Christian reached her keen ears. "We've had another duo join us. And one of them claims they are a previous Delta whom has been 'relocated' from their old pack."At the alphess's words addressing the fact that a former delta had come to join them, Kari felt her heart sink. She had hoped to gain a high position in the pack, perhaps delta had it been possible, but now she felt as though she were watching her chances rush down the drain and out of sight, never to be held again. Her goals of a high position were not out of selfishness or an unquenchable desire for personal gain; no, they were simply driven by an emptiness within her and a fierce desire to prove herself. A voice inside her mind told her that, if she were able to gain a similar position to her former one in Carter's pack, perhaps things would go back to normal. Perhaps, with familiar duties to attend to, she would not be left feeling so empty and alone. This belief made up a quite large amount of her desire's driving factors, accompanied by her thirst to prove that she was not second best. Having aways been inferior to her brother, she had grown fearful of spending her life in the shadow of another once more. This was not to say that Kari did not wish to follow orders; she would obey whatever command was given to her with all of the loyalty and respect expected from each pack member and more. However, considering that she was not yet familiar with these wolves, she feared that whatever superior she was placed under may ridicule her just as her brother had. She did not want to feel helpless and inferior again at the hands of cruel words from the higher ranking lycanthropes. She wanted to prove that she was strong enough to help lead the pack as she had done before. Her goal felt useless now, though. The alphess and beta were aware that this newcomer was capable of being a high-ranking pack member, and they had never been given the information of Kari's former position as beta. She had thought that it would make her look selfish and desperate, so she had said nothing. Now, that seemed to be a mistake. She would lose her chance to another. Despair and disappointment were etched upon her face, but she disguised them as well as she could. It was useless to become distraught because of matters over which she had not control. She sighed unnoticeably and shook her head to clear her mind, stepping out of the kitchen and setting off to find the other lycans to send them to the kitchen for dinner.
Kari hesitantly entered the kitchen, first laying eyes on Rayne. She soon noticed Beta Christian as well, and she nodded to him politely as she had to Rayne before entering the kitchen. She nervously tucked a strand of long, dirty blond hair behind her ear and fiddled absentmindedly with the chain of her necklace as she looked around. A careful observation of the room brought her chocolate-hued eyes to find the table already laden with plates, each with delicious looking steaks and vegetables already carefully distributed onto them. Kari felt slightly disappointed; cooking had always helped her relax, and might allow her to feel a bit more at home in this place, but she had also hoped that working together with some of the other lycanthropes within the pack to prepare dinner might be a chance for her to become better acquainted with them. It was not only that, however, that made her feel uncomfortable in the situation. It was also the fact that she had offered her assistance in the task and then not followed through. It was likely that she would now be seen as rude or irresponsible, and that was the last thing she wanted so early on in her time with this pack: a bad impression.
"My apologies, Beta Christian, Rayne. I meant to help you with the cooking process, but it appears that I am to late." A light blush of pink dusted her cheeks, the rosy hue conveying her embarrassment of the situation at hand. She smiled sheepishly, quite obviously flustered by her mistake. She hoped that this would not make them think her to be flighty or rude, having not come to help as promised. Actually, quite the opposite was true of her; she was quite responsible, she almost never let a job or duty slip her mind, and she would never purposely leave another to do work meant for herself, she was most certainly not lazy so as to take advantage of another. However, one simple mistake could change a person's entire view, and leave their mindset of you biased through one event. Kari deeply hoped that these lycanthropes did not possess that sort of character, but at any rate, she hoped to fix her mistake. "Is there anything left to be done that I could do to help?" the young female asked kindly.
Kari listened to dark-haired young man as he spoke, her eyes sparked with polite interest. His warm, friendly tone had removed all suspicion the female once had that he might be aggressive or cruel. There was something deeply genuine about the kindness in his voice. "Hello Kari, my name is Everett. How was your journey here?" Kari smiled softly. "Hello, Everett. It's a pleasure to meet you." Kari's voice was soft and polite, the sharp edge to her voice now vanishing as she relaxed. The male before her seemed nice enough, and, with the exit of the Russian man to the front porch, the number of people had continued to lessen and allow Kari to feel more comfortable in her new environment. "And my journey was just fine, thank you. Not too far, I suppose. I hope yours was not overly arduous." She spoke to the other lycanthrope with a smile set upon her lips, her brown eyes holding a soft, warm expression to match.
It was not long after that a delicious scent began to waft into the lounge from the kitchen, and Kari realized with embarrassment that she had meant to assist Christian with making dinner. I'd best go see if he still needs any help... she thought to herself. She looked up at Everett once again and gave him a nod of farewell and a smile before turning away in the direction of the kitchen. Walking in that direction, she hesitantly pushed the door open and stepped into the doorway, looking to see that Rayne had also arrived to help. Kari greeted her with a polite nod and a soft smile before stepping fully into the room.
"I'd love for you ladies to help me, although I do think you should spend some time getting comfortable and finding your way around the house, you'll need to establish sleeping quarters as well. The rooms are down the hallway, and if you're curious enough, my bedroom is in the loft," came the voice of the beta, Christian, following her offer to help with dinner. Kari nodded comprehensively, showing that she understood. "Already inviting guests to your, how do we say, humble abode I see." The voice of Acacia followed soon after Christian's comment. Kari suppressed a small laugh, though a smile did grace her features at the sound of the alphess's playful taunting of her second-in-command. Kari looked up at the alphess, noting that she had only just recently entered the dwelling. The young she-wolf was surprised to see that yet another lycanthrope had accompanied her into the house, this one a bearded, tattooed man. A phrase in what sounded to be Russian issued from the man, causing Kari's interest to increase slightly. Perhaps she was not the only one gathered in the house who was not of only North American or English-speaking heritage.
Following Christian's explaination as to where the rooms were, Rayne and Genesis took their leaves, likely to go claim a room as their own. Kari decided to wait; claiming a room was not of her utmost priority. She was not picky when it came to such things, considering she'd spent the vast majority of the past several years living in the wilderness. Instead, she would wait to hear anything that was stated by the alphess or her beta, in case anything important happened. She would not want to miss it. A few moments later, Kari looked over to see that Christian, too, had disappeared. The group of Lycans gathered within the lounge was slowly diminishing in numbers, and Kari was beginning to relax a bit more, feeling slightly more at peace with a smaller amount of strangers.
The young female lycanthrope stood silently at the edge of the room for a moment more. Finally, a voice in the back of her mind whispered, a quiet message from her subconscious. Go on and be social. What's the harm? Taking a nervous deep breath, Kari stepped away from the wall. Her chocolate-hued eyes flickered uneasily around the room. With a light dust pink dusting her cheeks as shyness set in, the girl walked over to the black haired boy, Everett, whom she had seen before on the porch. He was now leaning alone against the wall, much the way Kari herself had been only moments before. "Hi," she said, her voice edged with a natural sheen of nonchalantness. "I'm Kari." The calm tone of her voice was not intentional, simply there as a shield, covering up a bit of shyness. Someone paying close attention to her demeanor would realize that she had not meant to sound so jaded, that she was simply hiding her nervousness to be around others. Normally, she wouldn't have even approached one of these other lycanthropes. However, if she were to fare well in the pack, she would have to become acquainted with her future packmates, to regain the friendly, sweet personality she had carried while a member of Carter's pack.
Kari's room is not the largest of those within the Pack House, but cozy and inviting nonetheless. Her walls are an inviting color of light blue. On the right wall of the room, there is a stone fireplace and mantle that add to the warm, inviting feeling the room gives off. Kari often keeps vases of flowers on the mantle in order to brighten up the room a bit. The far side of the room directly opposite the door is predominantly windows, with a built-in window seat. Nearby, on the lefthand side, is a wooden desk set into the wall. Her desk is often covered by neatly organized papers, notebooks, and pencils she uses for drawing. Above the desk is a large hanging bookshelf which is often full, as Kari loves to read. Her bed is positioned between two doors, one of which connects to the main hallway and the other connects to a closet. Her bed is covered by a simple white comforter, as well as several white and brown decorative pillows. A small nightstand sits next to her bed as a place for her to set things, often times where she places a book when she's been reading right before going to sleep.
Kari Varnan
The worst thing about being lied to is knowing you're not worth the truth.
Kari entered the lounge along with the majority of the new lycanthropes, following Beta Christian into the house. The young female leaned against a wall near where some of the others had gathered by a small bar, and Christian was making some sort of drink. Kari watched with some interest before a question came that sparked discussion among the werewolves. "Do any of you drink?"
"What's 300 years of living without a bit of alcohol?" came a response from Rayne. Kari laughed. "I've never had alcohol before, but I you said 300 years, so I guess I have an excuse. I'm only 203," she said, her joking tone matching Rayne's as her face split into a smile. Despite her apprehensiveness from before, she was beginning to feel more comfortable. Joking around like this was exactly the sort of thing she and her companions had done in Carter's pack. The memory brought a sad smile to her lips, as she gazed around the room at the small crowd of lycanthropes gathered in various areas about the lounge. Images of the past and reality intertwined in a vivid picture in her mind, and she caught herself imagining that the faces around the room her those of her former packmates. She would feel hope well up inside of her when she saw each familiar appearance, only to be crushed back down when she realized that it was only a warped sense of reality created by her still-grieving mind. Many years had passed and she still had yet to release her sadness over their seemingly-mindless slaughter. Now, with the Council seeming to force her to replace one pack with another, the painful memories were even more fresh in her mind than before.
"Also, I was getting ready to make Acacia and I dinner for this evening, are any of you partial to a specific diet?" came yet another question from Christian. There were a few scattered replies from various lycanthropes and an offer to help from Rayne. Kari spoke up, smiling slightly as she stepped away from the wall and closer to the bar. "I'm not, but if you need any help I'd be willing to assist the two of you."
Kari stood, still tense and obviously uncomfortable as Acacia addressed the group of lycanthropes gathered around her. All of them seemed to have been sent by the Council just as she herself had been. "It appears my curiosities of when the next Lycans were to arrive have been answered." Kari listened in silence as the Alphess addressed some of the others individually. Her interest was re-caught when the flaxen-haired woman's tone changed from being solemn to being playful and mischievous. "It appears Christian has been outnumbered today, I do hope he doesn't feel to overwhelmed by such appealing creatures." Kari concealed a small laugh at this, the Alphess's calm, playful nature allowing her to relax slightly. She was still far from being comfortable with so many others around, but seeing as her fellow lycanthropes were not at all tense-seeming, she let go of a small amount of her stress.
"Now, I'd like to start of by welcoming you all to your new home," Acacia continued, drawing Kari's attention to the house behind her as the Alphess gestured to it. "We have plenty of rooms available for you to claim as your own, but please do be respectful if it appears occupied then do find another." Kari nodded in acknowledgement to Acacia's statement. Her chocolate-hued eyes turned to the young, brown-haired man she had seen before as Acacia gestured to him in introduction. "Christian here is my Beta, I expect to hear of no one proving disrespectful towards him or any other." The Alphess's words were stern and commanding as she said this. Kari's eyes rested on Christian for a moment longer, flecked with what looked to be envy. She'd stood in his shoes before, and never in her life had she been happier. When she was the Beta of Carter's pack, she had loved every minute of every day. The dirty-blond young woman sighed. She missed her old life and her old pack desperately, and she would give anything to be with them again as their Beta, to have everything back to normal. But there was no going back. Not ever. "I will tell you now, I don't take kindly to those who break our laws. If you do not know these laws, feel free to ask although they should be easy to figure out. We are a family now, and so each of us is to get along." Kari gave the Alphess a small, small smile, concealing none of the sadness in her eyes. If only it was so easily to replace a family once lost.
The beginnings of tears began to sparkle in her eyes, but she blinked them back. She would not allow these lycanthropes to see her so weak, at least not when she had yet to learn to trust them. Kari had just begun to head towards the house when a voice behind her caused her to turn around sharply. Her eyes fell upon a boy with shaggy black hair and green eyes, who had just introduced himself as Everett. Kari gave him a shy nod of greeting. Two more voices joined the mix as well, these one belonging to a brown-haired girl with sea-green eyes, Rayne, and dark-brown haired girl, Willow. Kari once again felt nervousness crash over her. So many... a voice in her head whispered. Shaking her head as if to clear away the uncomfortable feeling that had taken root, she stepped towards the house. The young lycanthrope female followed the rest of the group into the house.
Kari faced the young woman before her, waiting patiently for a reply. It finally came, delivered in a stern voice tinged with dominance. "Your assumptions are correct, Kari. And what, exactly, brings you here? I'm sure you can guess, but, we don't really like intrusion upon private property." Kari's eyes narrowed the slightest bit, but she relaxed quite quickly. She had become unaccustomed to such harsh dominance in her years as a rogue, and even her years in her old pack had been spent as beta, a position where none but the alpha could speak to her that way. She did, however, realize that she had indeed intruded on Acacia's territory, so it was that Alphess's every right to speak to her that way. "I understand, Alphess. However, I was sent here by the Council, to join 'The Pack'. Your pack." Kari's voice retained every ounce of seriousness it had before, but now wavered with something else. Unsureness. Was Acacia allowed to turn her away? And if so, would she?
Kari's eyes flickered with anxious anticipation as she waited for the Alphess's verdict. For a split second, they landed on a young brunette man whom Kari assumed to be the same wolf who, previously, had been chewing on a stick, as the beast had now disappeared. She gave him a curt nod of greeting before turning back the the Alphess. It was not long, however, that they were joined by another new face. This was a blond woman dragging a suitcase behind her as she walked, the sound of which was the first thing to alert Kari to her presence. The girl asked a very similar question to the one Kari had before, inquiring if Acacia was in fact the alphess.
Before Acacia had the chance to reply, however, the sound of an engine cut through the still air. The motor cut off, and was soon replaced by the sound of footsteps that revealed a red-headed woman clutching papers in her hand. The woman exuded an air of dominance and superiority, which made Kari uncomfortable. There was no place for such things in a pack where you are to be a subordinate. The woman spoke up, introducing herself as Genevieve Tennant. Yet another new face made its appearance as Genevieve spoke, this one characterized by gradient blue hair and gray-blue eyes. The newcomer barely waited an instant before introducing herself as Lyula, her voice drawling with confidence.
Kari now found herself feeling uncomfortable. Everything about her screamed distrust, from the expression of wariness held in her chocolate-hued eyes to her body language, the way she stood with her arms crossed and her entire body tense as though prepared to attack or run. Ever since her pack's murder, Kari had not done well around people she did not know, and so many at once made her uncomfortable. Even though she was in her human form, a low growl still echoed in her throat. "It looks like I started something," she muttered sarcastically, not sure if anyone else could hear her and not really caring, either. She brushed a lock o hair behind her right ear - a nervous tick she had developed a long time ago and did whenever she was agitated - and gazed with discomfort towards the other four women. She backed away slightly and resisted the urge to enter her wolf form, where she had grown to feel most comfortable as she was better able to protect herself. No, she told herself firmly. She would remain a human so long as the others did. She would not allow herself to appear afraid in front of these people.
Kari padded at a swift pace through the woods, her body weaving gracefully between the densely packed trees and shrubs. Deep chocolate brown eyes flitted from place to place as though they were frightened birds, flickering in every direction in search of her destination. I must be close, she thought wearily, tired from the long journey she had made. Despite her exhaustion, the young lycanthrope kept moving. She had come this far; there was no sense in turning back now. Her thoughts drifted back to when she had received the command from the Ontario Council to go to this pack. What was to become of her if she found herself unable to find them? She shook away the thought. It was pointless to fret over such things.
As she continued to lope through the woods, Kari caught a glance of bright light through the trees, revealing an area where the woods were much less dense. The wolf's pace slowed to a brisk walk as her lupine face turned to examine the area more closely. Peering through the thinning trees, Kari glimpsed a rather large structure nestled within the clearing. A house? she thought to herself. What's a house doing out here in the middle of nowhere? Then it came to her. Perhaps this was the residence of the pack she was meant to find?
Riding on the hope that this was her destination, Kari slipped through the trees silently. As her paws hit clear dirt, unblocked by trees or shrubs, she took in her surroundings. Now closer to the house and with her vision unobstructed by plant life, Kari noticed two other life forms outside the house. One was a large male wolf, possessing a pelt of white flecked by a small patch of black, relaxing in the yard. He was chewing on what appeared to be a stick. The other was a young woman, perhaps a little older than Kari herself, with platinum blond hair framing her face.
Kari took a deep breath and stepped away from the trees, assuming her human form. Tawny and black fur melted away to reveal light skin and human clothes, consisting of dark jeans, sandals, and a light blue blouse. Long, dirty-blond tumbled over her shoulders in a cascade of smooth waves. She gazed warily at the male wolf as she passed, coming to a halt a few feet away from the young woman. She was now nearly certain that this was her destination. No average wolf was as large as the male, and it seemed unlikely that a human would be so calm around such a mammoth beast as the girl was. It was more than likely that the two were lycanthropes, the very ones she had been searching for. Kari's fiery brown gaze turned to the other girl. Her voice was completely serious as she spoke, barely the slightest hint of any other emotion revealing itself in her tone. "My name is Kari," she said. "I am assuming that you are Alphess Acacia?"
Get better Zoe 
