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<div class="arataniabox" id="arataniabox1"><div style="padding:10px;"><font color="#FFFFFF">The snuffles of a female wolverine were heard, and if one looked carefully, they found... a den. Dug deep into the snow and then earth, it had a very small chance of collapse. In the deeper recesses, a young female wolverine lay. She had her head upon her paws and her eyes were closed. She dreamt...</br>

<br>The taunting leer of the other female bore down into her own face. Tania struggled, her ribs erupting in painful fire and her lungs coughing up blood. The other wolverine cackled, glaring at the pitiful other woman.</br>

<br>"You....You are nothing!" The other female spat, her claws raking a new line down Tania's side. Tania hacked, more blood then phlegm coming up. Her lungs wheezed, screaming for air, but Tania's throat was blocked with more blood. Tania tried to scream, to cry...but nothing came. The female's face morphed into the features of the female... The female.... The one Tania had seen Tango forcefully mating. Her face. A cruel smile on it, teeth showing. Without hesitation, the female's head and fangs flashed towards Tania's gullet...</br>

<br>Tania screamed softly, the sound muffed by her closed jaws. Aratania jolted awake, quaking. Tango wasn't in. Tania stood as best she could in the den, scrambling outside. She felt paranoid, strained, and claustrophobic. Her claws tensed, digging deeply into the snow and flinging it behind her. Tania coughed, looking around. The carcass of the moose was here, and without a word, she moved towards it. There was some frozen meat left on it's bones, and though it was tough it came off easily. But when she tried to swallow, Tania gagged. Finally, she managed to get it down without it coming back up. Tania shuddered, distraught. <br>

<br>Lying down by the carcass, she sniffled. A tear streaked down her muzzle before disappearing into the snow...</font color></div></div>
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Kaoko always was a highly emotional animal, he knew that there was something wrong with her when he last saw her during the hunt. Knew that Tango hadn't realized it, but he had. Tango may not have known but Kai was Kaoko's best friend, he was closer with Kai than he was with his own mother. He knew things about her that Tango would never know, and he also knew thing about Tango that he never thought that he knew. For one, how Tango came across to owning that piece of land that he called home, and how it was that he got that mark on his chest that no one seemed to notice.

<P>Kaoko wasn't stupid, even though to others, it may have seemed so, he was alot smarter than what he made himself to look, but to find a friend that wasn't afraid of him for his size? -That was his one goal, his life purpose. Kai had been that friend, she trusted him with her children, and she trusted him with her secrets...

<P align="right">....and then the wolves killed her.</P>

<P>What Kaoko had once known as a life had ended that day when he held her lifeless body in his arms and cried his heart out to the gods high above, it was a sound that haunted the forest like a dismal spectral being that haunted the lives of every being that had heard it, a pain that he never was truely relieved of. His lost the life he once knew, and for him, everything changed. His friendships were used as a weapon and he hadn't realized it until it was too late. The wolves had used him as a tool to get what they wanted, and they had succedded, his friend was dead, and he was once more left alone in the world, they left him to bury his friend in the ground that they had killed her on, left him with her children to raise, left him without a friend, and no purpose to live.

<P>The life he had known had changed that day, and what he once believed was to be the ultimatum, allowed him to open his eyes. He found a new purpose the moment that the cub, Naxx, missing an eye, bleeding from his wounds, crawled into into his fur for warmth, as well as the other cubs that she had left behind. He found a reason to live his life, found a reason to think for but a moment, that the friends he was making, not all of them wanted to be his friends. Kaoko was a bear, and he was a <I>very large</I> bear. If he stood on his hind legs, one would shit themselves and find themselves pleading the Hail Mary despite the fact that five seconds before they were athiest. -He had become a tool, and he was used for his purpose... to intimidate. His strength was supreme, and his height was massive, the wolves had taken advantage of that, and they used what they could, before they threw him out.

<P>Living with Kai for some time, he learned alot about wolverines. Their ways and their beliefs, what Eywa expected of them, and what she wanted them to achieve. To a female wolverine, pride was everything, but so was the need to feel wanted, cared for, and of course, loved. But of course, -as much of the relationships of the world, love was never given. It was the word of a mindless idiot, there was no such thing as romance, there was only rape, and life was only the result of such enactions. The life of a female beast was not a pleasant one, it was one of hardship, enduring, and strife. There will always be a relationship.... but there will never be love.

<P>It was Kai that had told him such things, and as much as she was attacted to Tango, it was but a momentary attraction, a love that was short lived until the act was done, and she found herself living within his den, from that point, the love that she believed she had found, dissintergrated before her very eyes, and everything she thought she found? The providing father she believed to have located to raise her children? -He slowly slipped away, and never returned.

<P>And before his very eyes, he was seeing the very things that he had heard in her words. Tango was now attracted to Tania, and Tania was attracted to Tango, or so it would seem. But what he also saw was that before anything had happened, Tango was once more slipping into the very reputation that he was known for, and who was the victim this time? -The form that he saw before him.

<P>At first, he wasn't even positive it was her, all he saw was the rage of a sufocating female wolverine as she tried to eat but a piece of meat, and after several tries, eventually got the morsal down. Without the boys here, the place had lost the life it had once before. It became tainted, a stain that wouldn't wash out, a realm of stress and anxiety for the bear, and from what he saw before him, he wasn't alone.

<P>He watched as she lay down by the carcase, his eyes turning over to the den, Tango was no where to be found and that meant good news, but it also meant bad. Had he left her? Had he mated with her and left her to own bidding, her own fate? Left her a carcase of meat and that be his devotion to her? Or, was he sticking to his promises and hunting for her. Using her as a play thing until obvious signs of her pregnancy came clear, and the moment of birth? Promise them that he'd raise them... until they acquired a voice... and turn his back on them like he had done with Kai's children.

<P>He approached her cautiously, hoping that he would better learn of the situation as she continued to throw a fit that wolverines were well known for, but no fit came. No rage, only... tears.

<P>He always was a believer that one should never cry alone, and so he walked up to her and lowered his rump beside her, the size difference was quite clear, she was barly the size of a small dog compared to him, but there was much in relation. One being was that both of them held their heads low... the other? -They both sniffled, and both, had tears running down their eyes, in which the snow multiplied by adding it's containt to it's very own.
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<div class="arataniabox" id="arataniabox1"><div style="padding:10px;"><font color="#FFFFFF">The nightmares had started not long ago. The males were gone, leaving Tania and Tango. And what did Tango want? -Of course, she was in heat. That said it all. Tania sniffled again, burying her nose in her paws before she started to bawl. It was a quiet sort of crying, the type that you did when you were in your room, and you didn't want anyone to hear. Tango was somewhere- not here, thank heavens. If he had, she would have had to continue a calm, regal façade. </br>

<br>She smacked her tail on the ground, sending up flurries. Her sobbing was interrupted by...</br>

<br></br>

<br>Kaoko was sitting next to her, towering over her. At least he wasn't trying to get to her tail. She looked up, surprised. He was crying, too. What, or why, she wasn't sure of. But he looked upset, and he was crying too and it was nice to have someone next to her that didn't want something from her. Without a word, she sniffled and sat up. Tania looked between Kaoko and the carcass. Then at her paws. The snow was up to her ankles, since she had gained weight. She was not pregnant, not yet. But it felt necessary to comfort the big, white bear. Even if he did scare the crap out of her. She had long ago learned to fear white bears, the occasional brown bears, and the rare black bear. </br>

<br>Memories flashed back.</br>

<br>A den, warm and comforting...</br>

<br>Her den was gone, torn apart and destroyed by the humans. They burned it down, trying to flush out the wolverines. Only Tania and her brother had escaped... </br>

<br>A scream, and a rumbling...snow pouring down like a Flash flood...</br>

<br>When her brother had been killed. He had yelled something, unable to hunt Tania had to hunt for him... and when the wolves took what meager rabbit she had, he'd cursed. His death was like a blow, a new scar to forever mark the once innocent Aratania.</br>

<br>A fawn carcass... A huge white mass rearing up and slashing her face... her thigh straight to the bone...</br>

<br>The time she had foolishly walked straight into a herd of Moose cows. They had stampeded, leaving two dead fawns in their wake. Food she had scarfed down. A white bear had appeared, for some reason it started the fight. Oh, yeah, it was a mother. It had slashed Tania's thigh straight to the bone. The scar hadn't healed for months.</br>

<br>Two males...wolverines... after her. One was larger then the other, but it had scars.... Several. One eye was missing, it was scarred all over... The other had sharp features, and it seemed like it was a magpie....</br>

<br>Nuke and Naxx. Grade A Asshole One and Two. Both wanted her tail, and then were going to leave her.</br>

<br>Memories flashed and were gone. Some she remembered the names, the faces. The hunt weeks before. The death of the cow and bull. Then others... where it was the dark of night. Nothing was familiar. All was too black to see, but she had to keep running. Something chased her, another ran by her side. The howls of wolves around her, mocking her and her heritage. Blood, the ground swirling up to smack her in the face. Claws, teeth, fang and talon... It all melded into a horrible sort of story. One she wished was not hers, but was. </br>

<br>"B-bear...?" Tania asked, timid. "What's the matter? Did Tango hurt you?" Anger grew in her tone as she mentioned Tango. "What's the matter? I want to help." Her voice was quiet, soft. </font color></div></div>
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<b><I>"B-bear...?"</b></I> she had asked him as he sniffled once more, looking down at her -he studied her for but a moment, <b><I>"What's the matter? Did Tango hurt you?"</b></I> he nodded in objection as he thought about <I>her</i> once more, how at one point, she stood in this very spot when things had gotten th worse between her and Tango, and when she had first told him of their problems. How she had been trapped, how she relied on him for the six cubs that they had brought in the world, and how if he left her, they would have no where to go.

<P>He gave her a faint smile, <b><I>"What's the matter? I want to help."</b></I> he thought about things for a moment, <b>"Tango's being mean to you, isn't he?"</b> - he couldn't hold it in any more, he had to let it out, had to ask her, had to know for both himself, and for the bos. That Tango was up to his usual tricks, loving them one moment, hating the next. It was unfortunate that his best friend had fallen for the scheme, but she ws now dead. He wondered if in fact Tania was going to be the next piece of meat on his plate.

<P><b>"The question is, what be z'e matta' wit' you?"</b> he asked her as he studied her, knowing that she was hurt, <b>"I never liked crying alone. When I wanted to cry, I always look for something soft to z'hold."</b> he admitted as he looked down at her, <b>"Kai z'would do z'e same t'ing. And z'she liked hugz, too."</b> he said witha smile as he looked downather tiny frame, he'd have to be delicate with this one.

<P><b>"Good ol' Kokie give'z good hugz."</b> he hinted, but would not wait for her response as he leaned down on his side and put his arms forward in an attempt to give her a great hug of affection, <b>"Allz you needz ta know..."</b> he whispered as he placed his cheek against her own, <b>"You never be alone."</b> He had lost Kai to the wolves, he wasn't about to loose another. He'd protect this one. His eyes went soft at her warmth, the dampness of her tears nestled into his fur.

<P><b>"You can talkz to Kokie, Kokie will listen."</b>
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<div class="arataniabox" id="arataniabox1"><div style="padding:10px;"><font color="#FFFFFF">"Tango's being mean to you, isn't he?" The white bear looked concerned, and Tania was momentarily surprised. She had never known bears to be kind, to be caring. But the bear was here, asking her how her life was. He seemed to know what was happening... -Tango hadn't done this before, to someone else, had he? A pang of fear and desperation hit her, making her stomach churn. Ah, how cruel the world was. Never gave you a moment of rest, of relaxation, of peace. The males wanted you to mate, that was all you were good for, and afterwards? -Heck with you, with any cubs you had. Loss reared it's ugly head, clamping it's grief-stricken jaws around her heart. "The question is, what be z'e matta' wit' you? I never liked crying alone. When I wanted to cry, I always look for something soft to z'hold.Kai z'would do z'e same t'ing. And z'she liked hugz, too."</br>

<br>Kai. Who was Kai? -The mother of Naxx, Nuke, Cody, Trijazie, and Oseles?</br>

<br>"Kai... tell me about Kai. Who was she?" Aratania paused, "Please?"</br>

<br>""Good ol' Kokie give'z good hugz. Allz you needz ta know...You never be alone." The white bear- Kokie- leaned down and pulled her into a hug. For a moment, Tania was irritated. But she had felt so wretched the past few days, tormented. The loss of the males and everyone had made the lands seem... barren. If the wolves invaded, they were done for. Tango was thinking only about the next time he would be laid, not strategically, like he should be. Tania didn't struggled, only snuggled closer, pressing her face into his neck fur. He probably had no idea how much she needed those words right now. They were like a lifeline. </br>

<br>"You can talkz to Kokie, Kokie will listen."</br>

<br>Those words were like the key to a flood gate, and it all came gushing out- all of her problems, and her thoughts and feelings... "Kokie, you see. A couple days ago I was walking into the den area, and there was the food and all..." She sniffled, "And I saw Tango... and this other female. And the female was getting raped, Kokie. By Tango. I should've stopped him, Kokie, I should have saved her... but I got so angry, see?" She sniffled again, tears trickling down her cheeks and dripping off her furred face. "And I let him do it, Kokie. But I was so angry! And then, now, I realized I should've stopped him. Her face has been haunting me for weeks Kokie! Weeks! I can't sleep without having her face somewhere in it, and she hate me, Kokie! She wants me dead! And I feel so bad! But I'm so angry at Tango, he didn't mention it or anything like that... And I want him to feel sorry, to apologize, I want to apologize. I should've stopped him Kokie! I found him raping her..." She was pleading for the bear to understand, to now hate her. If he left her too... she was done for. </br>

<br>Tania sobbed, sniffling into his white neck. "If I could take it all back, I would." But those she spoke to were dead.</font color></div></div>
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He could only watch as she seemed to look a bit surprised at his words, a bit surprised at his actions aswell. How, rather than trying to tearher head off as most of his kind would've done when encountering a wolverine, he chose to be her friend instead. Kaoko was never an aggressive bear, he was calm and gentle, until he was made to bleed. There was soemthing about the site of his blood thatjust seemed to set him off immiedately, something about the very site of it, the very feel of it that made him angry. ANd even though he didn't know what, nor was he able to understand the logic behind it, he really didn't care. So long as another didn't inflict him any pain, so long as he didn't bleed, he was most likely the calmest bear in the entire tundra.

<P>But to see her cry had made him cry to. It was here that Kai had once sat in this very spot, it was here where she realized that her life, her lover, was beginning to loose interest in her, and it was here that she confessed to Kaoko that she wouldn't know what to do if he left her. And it was here.... this very spot... where Kaoko held her lifeless corps as it dripped with blood, nestled in the marks of fangs from the wolves that had butchered her alive... it was hear where Eywa heard him scream, dropping to his knees as he held her body to his chest, which had been smeared in her blood, with his mouth open and his roar of bemoan terrorizing the turndra. It was this very spot, that the life that he had believed to be fulfilling, had come to an end.

<P><b><I>"Kai.... tell me about Kai. Who was she?"</b></I> Kaoko turned his head, lost in his own words, <b><I>"Please?"</b></I>

<P>Of course she tensed, they always did. He was four hundred short of a ton, as he held her, he could feel her beginning to relax when she became aware of the fact that he wasn't a threat but more or less, a source of comfort.

<P><b>"Kai wa'z youngz', much like youz. But..."</b></I> he straid off as he felt her cuddling closer to him, nuzzling him along the cheek, <b>"She ran into a bunch of boyz, and they weren't too nice... they did bad thingz to 'er."</b> he said as he remembered how she had told him the story, <b>"Tango took herz in, and gave her a home, and eventually, they had babyz together. Naxxie, Cody, Nukey, Jazie, and Ocey."</b> he said as he lowered his eyes to a frown.

<P><B>"But Tango got overwhelmed, and started being mean to herz... they're love life grew spoiled, and eventually, he flat out began to hate her. Pushed her to the z'side. Kai had to do the hunting."</P> he began to sniffle, <b>"The wolve'z' were angry'z at 'er fer' z'stealin' food, they hurt me..."</b> he covered the scar on his nose, it was a mark that he was a traitor, <b>"Z'hey made me z'say were the den is... told me that they weren't going to z'hurt her... she.... she...."</b> he swallowed as he looked at her, <b>she was my best friend!"</b> he cried out as he felt his head hit the soft form, closing his eyes as he cried against her side, filling her fur with his tears, his form quivering and shivering in the manner of a young child who longed for the warmth of his mother.

<P><b><I>"Kokie, you see. A couple of say ago, I was waking into the den area, and there was the food and all."</b></I> it was her turn to speak, and his turn to listen. He glanced over his shoulder where the remains of the carcase stood boldly, he heard her sniffle, <b><I>"And I saw Tango... and this other female. And the female was getting raped, Kokie. By Tango. I should've stopped him, Kokie. I should have save her... but I got so angry, see?"</b></I> Kaoko had seen Tango do many things that were both, cruel and irrational... but to rape? That was something that he never thought Tango would stoop so down to. He felt a growl running through him. He watched as the tears trickled down her chin.

<P><b><I>"And I let him do it, Kokie. But I was so angry! And then, now, I realized I should've stoped him. Her face has been haunting me for weeks Kokie! Weeks! I can't sleep without having her face somewhere in it, and she hates me, Kokie! She want's me dead! And I feel so bad! But I'm so angry at Tango, he didn't mention it or anything liek that... And I want him to feel sorry, to apologize, I want to apologize. I should've stopped him, Kokie! I found him raping her..."</b></I> he gulped as she opened up to him, and he found himself bringing her in closer, wrapping his forearm acoss her chest and bringing her into the flab of his neck, she sniffled and sobbed, <b><I>"If I could take it all back, I would."</b></I> and with that, he gave her a soothing lick across the cheek, he admired her warmth, and the beat of her heart, the breath in her lungs... it made him feel like he had a purpose in life again. To be there for her.

<P><b><I>"No need'z to be scared... frightened... or alone... I be here at your z'side."</b> a bond was forming, and he could feel it. Only... it was stronger.
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<div class="arataniabox" id="arataniabox1"><div style="padding:10px;"><font color="#FFFFFF">Tania watched as Kokie started his explanation of Kai- the mother female wolverine, apparently, of Naxx and Nuke and Cody and Trijazie and Oseles. </br>

<br>"Kai wa'z youngz', much like youz. But... She ran into a bunch of boyz, and they weren't too nice... they did bad thingz to 'er. Tango took herz in, and gave her a home, and eventually, they had babyz together. Naxxie, Cody, Nukey, Jazie, and Ocey." </br>

<br>His accent was unalterably like a child's, and Tania watched with a craned neck as he lowered his eyes and pasted on a frown. </br>

<br>"But Tango got overwhelmed, and started being mean to herz... they're love life grew spoiled, and eventually, he flat out began to hate her. Pushed her to the z'side. Kai had to do the hunting." Tania drew in her breath, realizing that Tango might just do the same thing to her. </br>

<br>"The wolve'z' were angry'z at 'er fer' z'stealin' food, they hurt me..." He covered his nose with a paw, and Tania felt herself slip slightly. </br>

<br>"Z'hey made me z'say were the den is... told me that they weren't going to z'hurt her... she.... she.... she was my best friend!" Kaoko buried his face into Tania's fur. He began to sob, and she flinched, shocked by the cold of his nose and his tears- trickling down and into her coat.</br>

<br>As she explained, she watched his expression shift from sadness to confusion and shock and then he pulled her closer, hugging her closer. Tania squirmed just a bit uncomfortably- he was crushing her chest- and she managed to wheeze out, "You're...suffocating...me!" </br>

<br>Before huffing and struggling just enough to turn and gain more breathing room. Kaoko gave her a soothing lick on her cheek- it was confusing... why was he acting so? But it was comforting. </br>

<br>"No need'z to be scared... frightened... or alone... I be here at your z'side." A bond- it was weak now, but sooner or later it would be mightily strong. </br>

<br>((FAIL.... -__-))</font color></div></div>
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For every moment that he spent with her was like a moment that he had missed with Kai. It was time that he had missed, moments that he wished he had but couldn't come forth. He had promised that he would protect her, but in the end, it was a broken promise. A word that had failed to find it's meaning.

<P>For Kaoko, friends were a requirement. Though most of his kind spent their entire lives wondering aimlessly throughout the Tundra, Kaoko never wanted to live his life as such. He wanted friends, he wanted interaction, to help those who needed help. But in truth, it was to help him. Kai had described him as a "Ball of Love" -that he'd give love to those who needed it, give them company when they were lonely, to keep them warm in the coldest of nights, and to hold them when the terrors come forth. In the past few years, he had lost alot. His brother was killed by a hunter not too long ago, whom was his traveling companion, it was his first site of spilt blood.

<P>Often times, one would ask, <I>"what was it that made Kaoko calm, but furious at the site of blood?"</i> -if one looked beyond what they saw, Kaoko didn't see the blood as an object of pain, but more or less, an object that represented "loss". There was blood when he lost his brother, and there was blood when he lost Kai. He feared blood because in the end, he'd loose something else, and everything he had lost, had been remotely close to him, from family to close friendships.

<P>Of course, as he spoke to the young female in his affectionate grasp, he began to cry. He always was rather emotional, and considering with everything that he had been through, he had every right to be. His life would never be the same again, and most of all... all his friends were dying.

<P>He had made a promise to Kai that he would protect her, and it was a failed promise. But what he didn't want to see was another young and promissing female in the same spot, trapped, and alone -to meet the very same fate as the one before her. Kaoko, noneverbally vowed to protect this female before him, to be there when Tango wouldn't, and to comfort her through some of the worst of pains. He'd done it for Kai, he'd do it for her to.

<P>Of course, not even Kaoko knew the full extents of his strength, and didn't come aware of her discomfort until she began to squirm for breath, <b><I>"You're... suffocating... me!"</b></I> he uncurled his arms to release her, whiping the tears of distress with his own tongue, in which she responded to him by looking at him strangely, as though she was trying to understand why it was that he did such a thing.

<P>He looked down at his paws, blinking once or twice, <b>"I'm done crying..."</b> he began as he looked up to the skies, <b>"I've cried myself dry... -No more tearz to z'shed..."</b> he looked down at her before standing, <b>"N'a'ow, let'z play!"</b> he gently threw forward a paw in the direction of her rear end, before taking off in laughter, running through the trees that surrounded the denning area.

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