On Better Days [Dyani]

Though she was still angry over the way her position within Khalsa had seemingly been thrust upon her, Dyani had at least begun to cool off by the slightest of degrees, realizing that perhaps she had been impulsive in outright showing her hatred towards the few members of the pack that she had come into contact with thus far. Perhaps it would be better to use the advantages that she clearly held, use her feminine charms in order to make them think that they had won her over to their perverted ways of thinking before betraying every single one of the fools that called this place home. Even the females who made their home here would not be free of her wrath, for the vast majority of them seemed to have blindly accepted their lot in life, accepted that they would forever be pawns to the brutes that pledged their allegiance to Khalsa. It sickened Dyani to think of it- did they not realize that they deserved better? Did they not realize that they could easily overpower the males within this pack if they only stood together and fought against such demeaning treatment? That they could potentially change the fate that they had been saddled with, if they only rose up and sought to better themselves?

It was of little consequence to her what they may have thought, however. In Dyani's eyes, the females within this pack were little more than mindless sheep who had been brainwashed into following Khalsa's ways, and she would treat them accordingly unless given a reason to do otherwise.

Walking through the disgustingly saccharine lands of the Andor Oasis, Dyani absent-mindedly kicked small pebbles out of her path as she strode through, occasionally pausing to take an ill-tempered snap at the small desert lizards that would cross her path. Though they were much too fast for her to properly catch, they still provided a much-needed outlet for the anger and frustration that she was still keeping bottled deep inside, and unlike her other displays of anger she could always make the excuse that she had been trying to hunt should another wolf spot her in the act. The harsh desert sun beating down upon her black pelt was only serving to make her irritability rise even further with how hot and heavy her fur felt in that moment, and she was nearly debating the merits of wading into the water of the oasis to see if it could possibly serve to cool her down. A swim might help her to take her mind off of more troublesome thoughts, and she could easily catch a fish or two to fill her stomach now that she was actually permitted to take advantage of Khalsa's 'hospitality'.

She had just about made her mind up to wade into the water when the scent of another wolf came into her nostrils, causing her to stiffen slightly as she swiveled to see who it might possibly be. When the frame of another female came into view instead of one of the many brutes that called the pack home, Dyani felt her muscles relaxing by the smallest of degrees, watching in bewilderment as the other girl whipped her head back and forth with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. Just what was she hoping to accomplish through such a ridiculous act, other than making an utter fool of herself in front of respectable company? Unable to keep the amusement from showing on her face, the Red mix couldn't help but let her opinion be known in that moment, one eyebrow raised wryly as she spoke. "I suppose the myth about the desert heat causing one to take leave of their senses really is true," she drawled out, though her words were much less sarcastic and biting than they would have been had she happened upon a male of Khalsa instead of another female. Rather, they carried a twinge of amusement as she approached, head curiously cocked to the side. "May I ask just what you're hoping to achieve there?"

Word Count: 678
Playmates: Siren
Other: lmao she's such a brat I apologize

It would seem that the other female did not take kindly to her sarcasm, for a growl was quick to rumble from her throat as she pinned startlingly blue eyes onto Dyani's frame, asking her if she had ever eaten fish before in a terse tone. Ordinarily Dyani perhaps would have laughed at the show of dramatics, spitting out even more barbed words in an attempt to drive her present company away- or, perhaps, making the point that if she had dined on fish, she certainly wouldn't be eating it in such a foolish manner- but a sudden burst of logic caused her to put a damper on the anger that was threatening to overflow. If she could potentially talk to any of the females here and help them to see the error in Khalsa's ways, help them to see that they didn't have to settle for being treated like mere objects, then she would gain potential allies that could be used to her advantage if she ever managed to formulate a proper plan of escape. But that meant that if she wanted to use the other female in such a way, she would have to play nice for the time-being, or at least as close to nice as she could get these days. So it was that Dyani simply squared herself, her words coming out much less biting than they could have been as she answered the female's angry question.

"Keep your fur on. It was simply meant in jest," she drawled, perhaps a bit more tersely than she would have liked. How everyone in this god-forsaken place was so blind to statements that were clearly meant to be sarcasm, Dyani had no idea, but she wisely kept such a notion to herself as the other female rose and began to inspect her. "Yes, I've eaten fish before. In a slightly less messy manner. But no matter. I suppose everyone has different ways of enjoying a meal." Did this bitch honestly think her to be so much of a simpleton that she had never sampled fish in all her time spent on the mainland? It was enough to rankle Dyani by the smallest of degrees, but outwardly she showed no sign of her annoyance aside from a minor twitch of her ear as the other female drew near. Managing by some miracle to not bristle at the comment of her being a Ganika- she wanted so desperately to point out that they were all trophies in one way or another by serving under Khalsa's rule, that it was just as much of a 'pity' that she had ended up in this situation as it was for Dyani herself- but yet again the Red mix forced herself to bite her tongue. The females of this pack were not her enemies, as much as she hated them for blindly falling into the status quo of this place.

Instead, they would be her allies, her eyes and ears.

Her expression only turned sour when the other female mentioned that Beowulf must have had her, blue eyes narrowing into slits as she remembered how roughly the brute had taken her, how his scent still clung to her even now. A growl rumbled from her throat as she stood there, gaze blazing with anger over how Beowulf and Kalique had treated her. "I am far from a 'poor thing'. And if I have anything to say about it, that brute will soon realize it. He and the other male that was there." Dyani could barely bring herself to speak their names, so fierce and all-encompassing was her anger towards the two males that had so violently introduced her to the ways of Khalsa- and perhaps that was a good thing, for had she known just how truly devoted the female in front of her was to Kalique, she likely would have ultimately regretted giving name to one of her captors. "He came to me in the desert, and violated me. While expecting me to somehow be grateful for such an act, no less." Fur along her spine bristling not unlike an angry cat's, Dyani began to angrily pace back and forth, her rapid pace wearing a track into the sand beneath her paws. "He told me that my place would always be beneath him, but I would rather pluck my own eyeballs out than serve a heathen like him. I will hate him until my dying days. How anyone can be thankful for such treatment is quite frankly beyond my understanding."

Seemingly unaware of how her words could be taken as a jibe against the females who happily made their home within Khalsa's ranks, Dyani stopped in her pacing to face her company once more, further quizzical words falling from her lips. "Have you had a bad experience with him as well?" If this other female hated Beowulf as intensely as she herself did, perhaps they could find some common ground, despite the rather shaky start they seemed to have gotten off to.

Word Count: 839
Playmates: Siren
Other: Well she's at least making an attempt to be decent now

For a moment there was only silence as the two females stared at each other, seemingly sizing the other up in an attempt to discern whether the conversation was going to be worth their time or not. Dyani's blue gaze almost sparked with a challenge the longer the other female stared, a witty remark nearly leaping onto her tongue before she could think to stop herself. It did not matter to her whether her present company held a higher rank within Khalsa than she would ever hope to, or that she appeared to be more than a bit of a tight-ass in addition to being completely blind to sarcasm. Dyani had not gotten this far in her life by meekly cowering away from a supposed challenge. If this bitch honestly thought that she was going to go belly up and behave like all the other mindless drones in this pack just because of a few barbed words, she had quite another thing coming. The Red mix could give just as good as she got, and she fully intended on lingering in the area regardless of whether the other female was comfortable with her presence or not. If she could not make a potential ally out of this particular member of Khalsa, then she would have absolutely no qualms with taking her business elsewhere, and seeing if another party might be more amenable towards her way of thinking.

But then the subject of Beowulf came up, and from the vitriol that the other female spat out about the red-eyed beast, it was clear that the two of them possessed a common enemy. Muscles slackening by the smallest of degrees, Dyani impassively listened to the girl's speech, expression darkening with an expression that was equal parts sympathy and anger at the tale of just how roughly Beowulf had treated a wolf that was not only utterly helpless against him, but pregnant with pups. "He is just like every other brute in this pack. Cold, and heartless, and seeking only to take advantage of those beneath him. Then again, I have been treated this way by males my entire life. I suppose I shouldn't have expected much different." Completely oblivious to just how devoted the female in front of her was to her mate within Khalsa, Dyani twisted to nip at a persistent itch on her shoulder for a moment, mulling over her company's words. "I am sorry that you received such treatment at his paws. And you are correct to wonder why anybody would tolerate being used in such a way. Why these females will not wake up and realize that they deserve better than being treated like glorified trophies is anyone's guess."

So great was her disdain towards such a concept that she almost completely missed the other female's offer of friendship- so much so that when her mind finally allowed her to comprehend the words, she stiffened slightly, ears pinned back in slight shock as she swiveled to bring her company into her gaze again. "Friends?" she said softly, eyes narrowing for the briefest of moments. Dyani had tried to reach out to other wolves in the past, after all, attempted to extend an olive branch in an effort to gain some sympathy for the cruel way that she had been treated at the hands of her father. But either they had utterly turned away from her after discovering the extent to which her parental figure had abused her, or they had stabbed her in the back for it, leading her to be dragged back so he could do as he pleased all over again. It had turned Dyani from a trusting individual who wore her heart on her sleeve to one that had erected walls around her heart in an attempt to keep herself from ever being harmed in such a way again, and it showed in the way she glanced suspiciously at the older female in that moment, almost as if she were attempting to find an ulterior motive behind the kind words.

"What...what do you get out of this arrangement?" she asked, her voice uncharacteristically quiet. "I have nothing to offer you. Nothing but an offer to be free from this place, if you want it. Are you so certain that this mate cares for you? That he sees you as anything other than a trophy?" Dyani's questions were not accusatory or harsh, but rather soft and thoughtful, as if she were encouraging her present company to look inside herself and consider such a train of thought. "If I can, I want to help liberate the other females who are in this pack. They have to see that there's more to life than being treated like this. If I escaped from such a life, even for a short time, they can too. There is no future for me here, at the very least. I will not find a mate here. I will not find happiness here." A pause as her voice became choked, and then she continued. "But having companions might make it more tolerable, at the very least, until I can make my escape. If you would have someone as damaged as me as a friend, I would accept the offer. And let you know that you may call me Dyani."

Word Count: 886
Playmates: Siren
Other: hoo boy she's just an emotional rollercoaster ain't she