one on one with MyLostShadow

[nyctorin.]

V I V E K A / /

The tension between the two wolves was palpable, steadily rising and rising, fed by the blaze of Aden’s anger and the chill of the prisoner’s prideful defiance. Viveka knew what was going to happen, knew that the fighter’s close proximity and harsh words to Chronos could only end badly… yet despite noticing this, despite getting to her paws and trying to intervene before anything could happened, she was too late. A stark and sudden contrast to his cool facade, the Rat’s paw suddenly jerked into the air and violently slashed across Aden’s face in one swift motion, too swift for Viv or Orion or the attacked fighter himself to see it coming. The shock only registered on the smaller male’s face for a millisecond before he was sent kneeling to the ground with a strangled yelp, entirely caught off guard and thrown off balance by the smack. His face was scrunched into a painful grimace, and as a very stunned Viveka took a closer look, she could just faintly see the glimmer of blood shining through his fur, showing that the assault had torn not only toppled Aden, but torn skin. The boldness seemed to have been slapped right out of the fighter as he knelt to the ground, tail tucked and ears back like the omega he used to be.

Any shock that rippled through the camp was extremely short lived. In an almost immediate response, cries of outrage rang out from the crowd, a pure cacophony of angry snarls, barks, yells and howls. Several wolves made to lunge forward, as if they intended to teach the “lesson” Aden had been preaching about, but they were sensible enough to stay back and let the higher ranks handle it. ‘Course that didn’t stop their insults, their screams:

“How dare he?!”
“Get him out!”
“That’s enough!”
“Kill him! He’ll only do us harm!”
“Put him in his place!”

Normally, on any other occasion, Viveka might find herself overwhelmed with the all the infuriated and chaotic responses, her mind consumed by the war between acting calmly and acting upon her temper. No such war occupied her conscience, however. The tug to be civil simply wasn’t there. Seeing another pack mate get directly hurt by the Rat - especially vulnerable Aden - set her mind ablaze with the ferocious need to retaliate and protect. That certainly was enough, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to stand by and let him hurt one of her own. Not again. Driven by rage and without thinking, she lunged forward, first bowling poor Aden out of the way (for his own good of course), then turning on the prisoner, aiming to ram him back with her chest and snap at his face. She wasn’t built like him of course, she wasn’t a solid mass of muscle, not to mention the fact that she was also exhausted, so these really weren't very smart moves, but logic had no place in her mind at the moment. She just wanted him to get back, for him to hurt, to pay for his disrespectful/aggressive behavior.


--


As for Orion, his face had also contorted into a look of rage when the uncharacteristically bold fighter was viciously smacked to the ground. His tail arched over his back and his fangs bared venomously at Aquilo, looking ready to put him in his place once and for all, but before he could do anything, the red hued blur that was Viveka suddenly shot forward, belligerently setting herself upon the Ice Rat with a barrage of bites and ferocious barks. All the anger seemed to drain from Orion's expression as he now looked to the Beta in horror, flabbergasted by her actions. What was she doing?! This would only make it worse! True, neither parties were in good condition to be fighting, but at least Chronos had the size advantage; even if he was weaker than before, he could just as easily smack her out of the way as he had done Aden, if not deliver more damage out of cruelty/self defense. He didn’t want to spare the defiant male his much needed punishment, but Viveka’s well being was more important, more dire.

“Viveka,” he barked in alarm before rushing forward and grasping her by the scruff, followed by a few tugs backwards.

--

Caught up in the adrenaline rush, the Beta couldn’t register what was happening, couldn't tell that a comrade was touching her and not an enemy. Instinctively, her body convulsed in rebellion, desperately trying to squirm out of Orion’s grip. She even tossed a few disgruntled growls and snaps his way as she struggled to get free.

Then, suddenly, rising above the din of the heckling Fire Wolves and the Viveka/Aquilo/Orion struggle, a single voice was heard, loud and abrasive, “BY AZAR’S FLAMING PELT, WHAT IS ALL THIS RUCKUS?”

The chaos seemed to slow and voices died down, but a low murmur of complaint could still be heard in the background, even as the gathered crowd made way for the very agitated Saraf. His voice had been startlingly different from before, loud and husky from the strain of yelling. He clearly was not happy, yet his inner misgivings were quickly veiled by a diplomatically stoic mask as he surveyed the scene, eyes narrowed and jaw set.

Viveka was not fully aware of her Alpha’s presence until Orion abruptly released her, his brown gaze fully trained on the graying elder before them. She managed to untangle herself from the Lead Fighters and followed the russet male’s line of sight, fury still blazing in her eyes but fading instantly once she became aware of herself, aware of her Alpha. When the spark had finally fled her system, the adrenaline was quick to follow, suddenly making her feel weak and somehow twice as exhausted as before, coaxing heavy pants to start huffing from her muzzle. Saraf’s expectant and scrutinizing gaze was on her, sending waves of hot dread through her system, but she was incapable of speaking through her lolling tongue, incapable of strining together a coherent sentence under his gaze. In fact, it seemed no one knew how to explain what had happened….

Except Aden.

Clearly apprehensive and no longer as bold, the fighter had managed to finally pick himself up off the ground, albeit with a still tucked tail and petrified posture. He gravitated towards the Alpha instantly, both trying to earn the older male’s attention and distance himself from the Ice Wolf. Without hesitance, he quickly spat, “The prisoner attacked me!”

[MyLostShadow]

((ORION PLEASE CONTROL YOUR CHILD SHE'S SCARING MY LITTLE BABY ELSA))

A Q U I L O

A cold, cruel grin slunk its way on to Aquilo's face as his dirt-laced claws meet the fighter's cheek, the tiny daggers splitting the fighter's skin with ease. The force of the rogue's swinging paw had knocked the fighter of balance, to Aquilo's delight, and within only seconds the fighter was crouched down, ears back and tail tucked between his legs as though he were nothing more than a worthless Omega. Strange behavior, Aquilo thought, for a fighter.

The Ice Wolf was soon being bombarded with snarls, shouts, barks, howls, and cries of outrage and disgust. A few even had the nerve to lunge forward, as though to attack the prisoner who had stepped way over the line. He shot them a glare in response, similar to the one he had pierced the Ice Pack's sleeping Alpha with as he crept in to her den, murder his mission. They couldn't lay a claw on him without a higher ranks' orders, who so far seemed to still be sticking to the idea of keeping them as their "prisoner". Smart, or foolish?

“How dare he?!”
“Get him out!”
“That’s enough!”
“Kill him! He’ll only do us harm!”
“Put him in his place!”

Aquilo barely flinched, barely twitched an ear or allowed his face muscles to contort into rage or annoyance. His attention was focused solely on the Beta, cold eyes glued to her own fiery ords as he searched for a reaction: horror, shock, fear, any fleeting emotion in her eyes. Why? Why had he decided to play with fire and see just how far he could push the Fire Wolves? He had his final goal set in mind, clear as day and as unchangeable as stone, and in order to achieve his ultimate goal of bringing the demise of the Fire Pack's Alpha (perhaps then the Ice Pack would see how powerful he was and crown him as their Alpha?) he would need to figure out every weakness in the Pack's armour. Did him daring to strike out at the cowardly male unnerve the Pack? Outrage them? If he were to tear this pack apart, he had to first figure out their social structure, and who he should target to make said structure come crashing to the ground.

And there it was: a slight tense of the muscles, a slight tremble of rage from her legs, and a flickering of flames in her eyes as she lunged forward. Aquilo jerked backwards with slight surprise in his eyes, narrowly avoiding a snapping jaw; he felt a gust of air against the burned section of his face, each strand of fur around the injury standing on end and shivering with fear, as though it wasn't a wisp of wind, but smoke winding through trees, striking fear into the hearts of all forest creatures. A clunk jarred his ears as her jaw snapped shut.

He considered lashing out at her too, perhaps to get revenge for the burn on his face or the aching bruise where he had been smacked by the elk's antlers, but he held back. The risk of injury to himself (he was rather surprised that he had managed to avoid a bite from the Beta's jaws) was too great; the Beta may be tired, much like himself, though she hadn't taken kindly to him attacking one of her pack mates, and was clearly wanting to get back at him for it.

“Viveka,”

Orion lunged forward, grabbing the struggling Beta's scruff, much to Aquilo's relief, and tugged her back. As the wild, cracking jaws were pulled away, the Ice Wolf found himself relieving the tension in his muscles. It seemed that the Beta hadn't registered whether it was a friend or foe dragging her back, as her mad scrambling only intensified as she tried to break free. He even managed a tiny smirk at the amusing sight, despite the name Chronos still echoing in his mind.

“BY AZAR’S FLAMING PELT, WHAT IS ALL THIS RUCKUS?”

The harmony of snarls, snaps, and shouts slowly died, replaced by a drone of low murmurs as Saraf shouted above the noise. The ghost of a smirk fled his face, his features taken on a look of pure hatred towards the elderly male. Turning so his body was facing in the Alpha direction, Aquilo let out a small grumble, something between a snarl and a growl, as he addressed the Alpha:
"Saraf. So the liar has finally decided to show his face."

Aden scrambled towards the Alpha, looking as cowardly as he had before, with Aquilo pinning him with a cold glare as he waited to see what the pest could possibly have to say.

“The prisoner attacked me!”

An amused huff left Aquilo's snarling lips, "What a sorry excuse for a fighter, scrambling to that liar for...
protection? Attention? A sense of importance?" his fur prickled with anger once again, while his mind struggled to cope with seeing the wolf who had killed his siblings, "But I suppose you have to tell your pack something, yes? Even if that something is based on the severely twisted truth. Whatever keeps you as Alpha for another day, I suppose, prolonging the day when one of these mutts overthrowing you just a little longer". Voice raised to a thundering growl, the Ice Wolf raised his paw as though about to go storming towards the Alpha, though seemed to think better of it, and lowered it once again. Saraf was clearly not happy (they had probably woken him up with all the noise) and with the whole pack around, it wasn't wise to threateningly stomp towards the Alpha, nor spit out another spiteful remark. I'll kill him myself for murdering them... daring to taint their names with words like "trespasser". His claws scraped along the ground.

[nyctorin.]

{ viv: *RABID TODDLER NOISES* }

V I V E K A //

Here we go, was the only thought in the Beta’s mind, accompanied by a mixture of dread and irritation. Nothing good could, or ever would, come out of the Rat opening his mouth.

Both her gaze and Saraf’s slowly shifted to the prisoner as he made his outburst, Viveka first rolling her eyes before she turned and Saraf looking unmoved (if not equally annoyed) as usual. She couldn’t bring herself to make a sound, not a word or even a snarl, for she was far too out of breath, not to mention out of energy. This whole situation had just spiraled out of control (as interactions with the Ice Rat often seemed to do), and now that level headed Saraf was here, she felt less compelled to try and get it under control. Her words weren’t needed, and even if they were, it was clear she had little to no sway over the grey nuisance anyway. The Alpha could handle it… just this one last time, while she was exhausted, frustrated, and at her wits end… Then, tomorrow, after a night of proper rest and preparation, she would have her right mind about her and could properly deal with this... problem that she had brought into their ranks. For now, she would let her superior handle it...

Assuming nothing worse would happen, anyway.

Chronos’s comment about Aden was hardly heeded. They all knew why he acted the way he did; he was a coward, but not a coward born. He was a coward made, for years of service as an omega could certainly drive that kind of everlasting fear into someone. It was a pitiful display for a fighter, yes, but for an ex omega, the Fire Pack didn’t expect anything more from him. Instead, understandably, more attention was brought to the allegations towards Saraf.

Viveka inwardly cringed and tensed at the words, not at all eager to hear her Alpha’s reaction, but… Why? On second thought, shouldn’t she want to hear Saraf defend his side of the story? Hear him nip the Ice Rat's lies in the bud and assure not only her, but the entire pack AND the prisoner that he had not been in the wrong? Perhaps, she thought with a stab of guilt, a small part of her did doubt Saraf’s sincerity… Perhaps a small part of her wondered if Saraf really did wrongly kill those Ice Wolves… After all, anyone could harbor secrets, no matter how well you thought you knew someone… And given his hatred for him, it wasn't hard to think he might kill them, even if it was technically wrong...

No. She blinked hard and subtly shook her head. You’d put faith in the word of a lowly Ice Rat before your leader? Shame. She turned her attention back to the exchange with a newfound determination. Saraf is right. He is always right… and he will prove it.

Meanwhile, back to the elder himself, he clearly wasn’t as aware of the situation as the others were. He hadn’t been there when the argument started and Aquilo so loudly and emotionally made his case. He was also old, had lived quite a few years and done quite a few things. For anyone to make any kind of accusation against him, they’d need to be pretty darn specific, lest they wanted his fading memory to get in the way of setting things straight. Nothing immediately came to mind when the prisoner babbled on about “telling lies” just to ensure his place as Alpha. He knew it was an insult, obviously, but what more did one expect from a Rat? Exhaling slowly and speaking to no one in particular, he huffed, “Do I even want to know what the hell he’s rambling on about?”

Again, determined that her Alpha would set things straight and could not be wrong, Viveka finally found her voice and was quick to speak. Orion had started to explain, but she cut him off without a second thought.

“Alpha… Some time ago… there were two Ice Wolves… trespassing on our land, near the river…” Her voice was broken up by pants, her breath not entirely regained, despite her strong will. “As Aden was… quick to say… you killed them…” Her fiery gaze had briefly landed on the fighter in question whilst speaking, whom gave a quick nod to her words, and now she turned entirely to face the prisoner, brows narrowed and face hardened. “But this Rat claims that area belonged to the Ice Wolves at the time… implying they hadn’t been trespassing… Thus, he calls you a ‘liar’.” She turned back to Saraf. Her finishing statement was ended with a disbelieving huff, making her opinion on the matter very clear. Having explained the gist of things, she dared a glance back at the prisoner with a curled lip of disgust and a defiant gaze, silently saying “get ready to eat those words, Rat”. Saraf would surely set things straight, and this would all be over… Well, for tonight, anyway…

When she looked back to her Alpha, however, the look of realization dawning in his eyes caught her a bit off guard. He stood there, expression blank and eyes slightly widened, very clearly traveling back in time to that very day and imaging himself with the two soon to be dead Ice Wolves. He looked kind of surprised, like he didn’t expect that to ever be brought up again, at least not in this fashion, and for two dreadful heartbeats, Viveka dared to think he looked like someone that had been caught red handed… Her body language faltered. No… could he…?

Almost as soon as he had frozen, though, he came back to life, only stopping for a mere second. In his old age, any average wolf might assume he just been taking a moment to remember things properly, but perhaps a more observant wolf (or any wolf that knew him like Viv did) might have recognized the look of someone caught in a lie. Regardless, his mature, no nonsense attitude returned, a look of false apathy on his face as he waved off the accusation.

“Oh, that. Perhaps our esteemed guest somehow has a memory worse than mine, but those lands have been fought over more times than any wolf in our history would care to count. There’s always been arguments and fights over who it really belonged to, but at that time, it did belong to us.” His cold, yellow eyes fell hard upon the prisoner, not a trace of regret found in their depths. “And I disposed of those two Rats like you would with any trespassing vermin.”

Bold words for an elder, but being surrounding by younger, stronger wolves that would jump to defend him the moment should Chronos so much as bare a tooth, he had no reason to be afraid.

Saraf’s confidence in himself was enough to dispel Viveka’s suspicions… for now, anyway.

[MyLostShadow]

((Aquilo be like: "how dARE YOU SPEAK OF MY FAMILY LIKE THAT"))

A Q U I L O

He waited. Waited with his claws sinking into the ground beneath his claws, waited with his eyes narrowed and fur bristling with anger, waited for a response from them, from anyone, as his insides bubbled with both outrage and a sickening feeling that seemed to be silently screaming for him to turn tail and run far away, leaving behind the face of his siblings' murderer. He couldn't, though, not only because he was a prisoner trapped in the Fire Pack's camp, but because they wordless cry to run was being drowned out by a desire for revenge. The story the fighter had told was still ringing in his ears as the Alpha began to speak. Aquilo tensed.

"Do I even want to know what the hell he's rambling on about?"

Icy fangs bared, a quiet snarl sounded from the Ice Wolf as he pierced the elderly Alpha with a glare that seemed to be radiating with resentment. How dare he speak like that when he had slaughtered two Ice Wolves on their own territory? Not trespassers, not spies, not even wolves bent on destruction and war. Aquilo was the one bent on war, order, and power, Chronos was the calm, collected, and logical one, Dakota sarcastic and inquisitive, and finally, Azria and Xander: Azria had always been rather quiet (unless she was with her siblings or friends, then she could be quite loud), and Xander had always been incredibly helpful and thoughtful, always willing to do errands for others and help out even if he was exhausted. Aquilo always found himself admiring all of his siblings' natures, often finding Xander's readiness to help anyone (even enemies) confusing, and Chronos' constant calm exterior rather impressive. He could practically hear Chronos' echoing voice in his mind, telling him to stay calm as his head snapped around to face the Beta as she began to speak:

"Alpha... Some time ago... there were two wolves... trespassing on our land, near the river"

"They weren't trespassing" Aquilo instantly spat back. The acrid smell of smoke wafted towards him, twisting around his muzzle as his eyes briefly scanned the crowd of Fire Wolves. Viveka hadn't fully recovered yet from her little outburst - he figured that out from the way her words were broken by pants, like a wolf who had just returned from a hunt - though the rest of the pack were perfectly fine and, Aquilo registered with a low growl to the crowd, more than ready to jump at him, perhaps without their Alpha's permission if he pushed things too far. One face in particular stood out: the mother of the dead pup. Her other two pups were pressed against her legs, trembling as they tried to make intimidating barks which came out as nothing but high pitched squeaks. The female was glaring at him, not snapping and snarling like so many others, simply staring at him with a distant, haunted look in her eyes. I didn't mean to kill your child he thought as the image of the beige coloured pup entered his mind. How did it feel to lose not only a pack member, but your child? He tilted his head slightly, though his eyes soon darkened as the image of the beige pup morphed into his own siblings. He did know how it felt to lose your own kin, and so he turned away, mind plagued with dark thoughts as he continued to listen to what the Beta had to say.

"As Aden was... quick to say... you killed them"

Murdered. He murderer them he thought bitterly, but kept quiet. Aquilo locked eyes with the Beta, who had turned and was now staring at him with narrowed eyes and a hardened expression.

"But this Rat claims that the area belonged to the Ice Wolves at the time... implying that they hadn't been trespassing... Thus, he calls you a liar". She ended with a huff as she turned back to face Saraf. Aquilo kept his eyes lingering on the Beta, though his ears had perked and were twisted towards the Alpha, waiting to hear whether he would deny the claim. There was a pause. He looked towards Saraf, only briefly, daring him to try and deny that he had murdered his siblings. When he saw movement in the corner of his eye, he glanced back towards the Beta, who had fixed him with a defiant gaze and her lips curled up in disgust. You think my siblings would be foolish enough to cross onto your borders? Aquilo mirrored the Fire Wolf's expression, turning back to face the Alpha when she did.

He looked... surprised? The sides of Aquilo's mouth curled into a tiny, smug smirk, though his eyes were still clouded with anger. It was satisfying to see the Alpha travelling back to that dreadful day in those few, precious seconds, and Aquilo only hoped that he would find regret in the Alpha's yellow eyes.

Nothing.

Saraf's features had returned to normal. Aquilo's eyes narrowed, fur bristling with annoyance as the Fire Pack Alpha opened his mouth to speak, seemingly dismissing his accusations as though it were some throw away comment made by an Omega:

“Oh, that. Perhaps our esteemed guest somehow has a memory worse than mine, but those lands have been fought over more times than any wolf in our history would care to count. There’s always been arguments and fights over who it really belonged to, but at that time, it did belong to us.”

Liar! Aquilo's whole body tensed as his fur stood on end, making him look bigger. His tail stood arched over his back, posture tall and strong, as his lips drew back to showcase his frosty, deadly fangs. What made it worse was the stone-cold look in the killer's eyes, not a trace of remorse of regret found drowning in the sickly yellow glow. He would've liked to jump at the Alpha there and then, but, once again, he was painfully aware of the rest of the Fire Pack who would take any chances to attack the prisoner they had captured.

He opened his mouth to speak, but it seemed Saraf hadn't yet finished. Aquilo bit his tongue (he might've spat out some unsavoury comments if he hadn't) and shot daggers at the elderly wolf as he finished off his trail of lies.

“And I disposed of those two Rats like you would with any trespassing vermin.”

It took a split second for the Ice Wolf to register just what the Alpha had said, but when it had clicked, Aquilo could barely contain his rage as he announced his growing anger with a loud growl. "Blatantly lying to an Ice Wolf about a subject he knows more than enough about; I wouldn't expect any more from such a deceptive snake" Aquilo took small steps towards the liar, aware of the eyes around him but far too caught up in Saraf's words to care. His face had now changed from complete outrage to a much darker expression, though his eyes were still full of cold fury as they burned into Saraf's pelt. "You dare call them vermin in my presence? Dare call me a liar?" He stopped walking forward, now barely a tail length from Saraf's face. He could hear each and every breath, inhaled and exhaled in a rhythmic pattern, until his own quieter yet dangerous voice drowned it out: "You dare poison my brother and sister's names with such an insult? One much more suited to yourself, I think". He pinned the male with a glare, as though daring him to speak another foul word about his kin.

OOoooo snap it's all going down

[nyctorin.]

V I V E K A //

At Saraf’s words, a sickening feeling of dread rolled down the Beta’s back, a moaning voice in the back of her mind questioning why he’d chosen to say it like that. Those words would only further enrage the Ice Rat, making this whole ugly situation worse than it already was, and surely the wise male would know that? She'd have expected him to be a little more eloquent with his phrasing… then again, Saraf was known to be pretty blunt, not only because that was his personality, but also because he likely felt too old to sugar coat things anymore. Besides, he didn’t have anything to worry about if Chronos got upset; the entire pack would surely act as his shield. The only one put at a disadvantage by the prisoner’s anger was Viveka, and one could argue she had it coming for bringing the pest to camp in the first place. Saraf would be fine.

Still, even in knowing the elder would be well protected, it was perhaps upon instinct that Viv sprang into a defensive position when the Rat’s body language changed. His sharp fangs glinted menacingly in the flickering firelight, his tail arched over his back in a display of utmost dominance, and every strand of grey fur stood on end, making the already large male look like a beast. Not to mention the unmistakable rage in his eyes, the kind that could drive someone to… unreasonable action. What if he managed to lunge forward faster than anyone could counter? What if he just barreled past her, into Saraf, and ripped the aged male’s throat out? These worried thoughts were what drove her to crouch low, despite better judgement, every muscle in her legs bunched and prepared to shoot her forward. Her neck became level with her spine and she she too bared her fangs and arched her tail, her stance just barely crossing the line between challenge and on-the-defensive. Unbeknownst to her, Orion had also taken a battle ready stance, his body language much more subtle since he wasn’t directly between Saraf and the prisoner. A few others also seemed ready to spring, but then again, the tense crowd had been preparing for that the moment since Chronos first opened his mouth.

Despite the male’s rage, he somehow still kept himself in check, paws firmly rooted to the ground, though the way he angrily dug his toes/claws into the dirt did not go unnoticed; he was struggling to stay still. Viveka’s posture only slackened slightly, her body still held in a position that was ready to lunge. At this point, even if the male could keep himself from making dumb choices, she simply couldn’t relax until this fiasco was over. It felt more proactive and prepared to stay in a fighter’s stance when presented with a violent and angry foe. And after Saraf’s next words, the prisoner’s reaction only proved she was right to do so.

Now a venomous roar erupted from his throat, coupled by the Ice Rat daring to take several menacing steps forward. Of course, the Beta’s gut reaction was to stand tall and block his path, but his “leisurely” pace suggested this wasn’t an attack… The prisoner's attention seemed more focused on making a point... Quickly glancing back to Saraf, she found he was merely staring down at the younger male with narrowed eyes, clearly unmoved by the notion. It seemed he was even daring Chronos to come closer, and it then occurred to her that any sudden moves in this tense environment might be all it takes to set the prisoner off. Saraf’s look of apathy might not be a simple mask of superiority, but a necessity to keep things from further escalating… As much as it pained Viv to do so, she too was forced to remain still, dreadfully hoping the Alpha's choice to not engage was a wise one.

Saraf’s face betrayed no emotion towards being called a “deceptive snake”; truly, his ability to remain completely stoic, even when a mere tail length away from a stronger enemy, was impressive. To the prisoner’s next words, Saraf’s slow inclination of the head silently countered “yes, I do dare”, his face still void of regret. Then, the last words, much quieter yet just as venomous, murmured from the Ice Wolf’s lips, and that did merit a slight reaction. Surprise glittered in the elder’s gaze, his brows arching up when Chronos stated those wolves had been his own siblings. Viveka was also surprised by this, but that feeling quickly faded into clarity. So that’s why he was so upset about this… Why he had been crying and why it seems like the spirit of Calder possesses him... He's grieving. Though she figured this was kind of pitiful, she couldn’t entirely wrap her head around the idea, having never had siblings of her own... and, y'know, because he was an Ice Rat not worthy of her sympathy... Besides, it’s not like this excused his behavior in any way.

The look of apathy had now gone from Saraf’s face, he almost looked amused… cruelly so. Viveka knit her brows, put off by this new side to her Alpha.

“Ohhh, your brother and sister, eh? How tragic…” His lip curled and the amusement died from his face, replaced by an expression just as cold and bitter as Chronos's. “Tell me boy, how did it feel to have your family ripped from you, hmm? To lose those you held most dear?” His words were followed by a heavy pause, once again alluding to the incident in which Saraf had lost his mate and children to the Ice Wolves. “We’ve all lost someone to this horrid rivalry. Don’t act as if my actions were any less humane than those of your own bloody kind.”

After fixing the prisoner with a one final cold glare, he lifted his chin and looked past the male, eyes seeking nothing in particular. "I'm done humoring this situation. Everyone return to your meals and other nightly activities. Beta Viveka, Orion, somebody take this prisoner to where he'll be sleeping and keep him there; I don't want to be woken again." He paused for a moment and looked around, waiting for the crowd to return to whatever they were doing. As the gathered wolves returned to their positions one by one, he shot one intense look towards Viv, then slowly turned away and made to retreat back to his den.

[MyLostShadow]

A Q U I L O

What do you think you're doing? Trying to get yourself killed? Good job ice brain. That little voice inside his head was pestering him yet again as he stood continuing to glare at the elderly wolf. Ice brain? It was a common, jokingly used insult back in the Ice Pack, though after so long away from his pack it sounded foreign. It was Ice Rat now, he figured, and would be for quite some time. After all, the troublesome male didn't see himself leaving the Fire pack any time soon: to start with he was being watched far too much for a swift escape to be made (not that Aquilo does "swift escapes", he's in no way agile nor graceful, and has a "fight over flight" sort of attitude); and secondly he still had work to do in the Fire Pack, primarily finding a way to get rid of the Alpha, or causing a war that'd give him an opportunity to take over the Ice Pack. He would wait. Wait for eternity until Calder himself returned back to the earth if he needed. Patience was one of his greatest strengths.

Surprise. He caught the fleeting emotion spark into the yellow eyes briefly before it evolved in to...amusement? You won't be amused when I tear down your precious Fire Pack from the inside, and leaving you to wilt with them. The thought was accompaniment by the curling of his lips, and for his eyes to narrow in to a hard stare. The energy he was using to root himself to the ground, and not spring at the Alpha's throat, was nearly as exhausting as the elk hunt had been. He hadn't thought that a Fire Wolf's reaction to his siblings' deaths would've angered or unsettled him, much less the opinion of the wolf who had murdered them, and yet there was something about the amusement dancing in the Alpha's eyes that made him sick to his stomach, as though just standing and not knocking the amusement from his eyes was in some way not avenging his brother and sister.

“Ohhh, your brother and sister, eh? How tragic…”

The Alpha's face morphed into a bitter, stone cold expression. A small rumble sounded from Aquilo's throat, accompanied by an out-of-character, uncomfortable shuffle of his feet and a quick dart downwards of his eyes. There was no remorse in the elder's words: he hadn't expected anything more from the killer. He'd never get used to hearing such remorseless words spill from anyone's mouth, however, nor wipe the image of his dead siblings from his mind.

“Tell me boy, how did it feel to have your family ripped from you, hmm? To lose those you held most dear?”

Boy? Aquilo's fleeting feelings of sadness scattered at being called "boy", replaced with annoyance at the belittling remark. It took him a moment to realise just what the Alpha meant by the rest of the comment, but eventually it clicked. His family, the Ice Wolves had taken his family from him too. "Ah yes, I suppose you would know what that feels like all too well" Aquilo hissed back, speaking with the same level of remorse shown to himself. He didn't care for the Fire Wolf's family, for the increasingly annoying Beta, for the mother of the pup the elk herd had killed, for any of them, and he already made that very clear with his various patrols and attacks he had conducted in his past. The attack on the Fire Wolf's place of worship had only occurred to him after the death of his siblings, as a way of retaliating and trying to cause as much pain as he had felt that day. Was it wrong? Definitely, the attack was even controversial among the Ice Pack, who cared not for the Fire Pack's false god, nor their sacred grounds. He hadn't cared when he charged head first into the heavenly place causing chaos and destroying it, and he certainly couldn't afford to care now.

“We’ve all lost someone to this horrid rivalry. Don’t act as if my actions were any less humane than those of your own bloody kind.”

It was true, everyone had lost someone, whether that be a family member, friend, or just an acquaintance. But his actions any less humane? That he had to disagree with: his siblings hadn't been trespassing on the Fire Pack's land (in fact, if anything, it was Saraf would had been trespassing when he killed them), they just been patrolling the newly claimed borders when they were attacked. Had they been trespassing, then perhaps he could see why Saraf would attack, but the point was that they had been on their own land, which made their deaths seem even more unnecessary to the grieving Ice Wolf. He mostly ignored the comment of his "bloody kind", showing his disagreement with a noise that was half way between a growl and a huff.

"I'm done humoring this situation. Everyone return to your meals and other nightly activities. Beta Viveka, Orion, somebody take this prisoner to where he'll be sleeping and keep him there; I don't want to be woken again."

He rolled his eyes, fur bristling as though he were contemplating attacking for a brief, crazed second. Aquilo glanced towards Viveka and Orion, fixing each with a hard stare at the thought of being their prisoner. He couldn't stand it, especially as he had gone from a high-ranking Lead fighter to a Rogue in the blink of any eye, and now this? Prisoner? He much preferred the title of Rogue. He couldn't wait until his title would change again, wiping the thought of him being nothing more than an Ice Rat prisoner out of all the Fire Pack's minds, and hopefully gaining his desired ranking in the process: Alpha, it was his light at the end of the tunnel, and nothing would make him lose focus of such a goal.

"I don't need your half-brained Fire Mutts to escort me back to where I was sleeping prior too this little...trail of lies" he regarded with a slight edge to his voice. He'd returned, more or less, to his old, prideful self, who always seemed to be having some snide remark to make. "May Azar...", he spat the word out as though it were filth on his tongue, "...watch over you as you sleep. Or...has he abandoned you all now? I shouldn't think he'd take kindly to you allowing his sacred grounds to be... destroyed, I suppose you could say". His stare was cold, though within their depths there was a spark of hatred that always seemed to flare up whenever he set eyes upon the Alpha. Giving a quick glance around, mostly to see the pack's reactions, he turned, throwing a "I suppose we're done here now, Saraf?" over his shoulder as he went back to the tree he had previously been sleeping by, sitting down and turning to look at the Beta, a slight head tilt accompanying a slight smirk and a challenging look in his eyes as though saying: Your move.

HMMM nothing's going to "make you lose focus" Aquilo? Nothing...nothing at all?

[nyctorin.]

V I V E K A //

Now. Right now. Saraf’s back was turned. Viveka quickly turned to stare down the prisoner with wary amber eyes, knowing that if he was going to attack, it’d be now. Her muscles tensed and her toes dug into the ground, still prepared to spring, yet… nothing. The prisoner still looked upset (of course with the words that had been exchanged, who could blame him) but he still remained where he was, his own toes dug into the earth and firmly rooting his ruffled form. Viv relaxed, just a bit, her muscles slacking and her chest loosening. Saraf was no longer in any immediate danger and the prisoner was choosing his actions wisely. There would be no attack. It seemed he worst of that situation had passed... hopefully.

With that fear vanquished, she quietly sighed and shared a look with Orion, then met the prisoner’s icy gaze once more. They needed to do as told, but of course, their prideful friend wouldn't make it easy. He was glaring, as always, and made his point very clear even before he spoke: “Don’t come anywhere near me.” A scoff chuffed from her maw as she curled her lip. Believe me, I don’t want to.

He proceeded to snarl about how he didn’t need them to “escort” him anywhere and ended by referring to that scuffle as a “trail of lies”. Those words plucked her nerves of course, but she didn’t have the energy to argue any further; just offer a soft rumble of disdain in reply. She’d opened her mouth to speak, inform him that he wasn’t going back to the same place, but it seemed he wasn’t done (would he ever be?), so she closed her mouth and turned away with a look of annoyance on her face. Orion scoffed, but at her or at the prisoner’s growling, she didn’t know. Didn't care.

She’d initially intended to just ignore whatever remark he was going to make next, willing herself to just wait until he finally shut his muzzle so she could get a word in edgewise. But what he said next… It drew her attention. Her ears perked in his direction and she gave him a side glance, eyes wide with suspicious intrigue. The use of the name Azar was nothing new - everyone in the camp had used it at least ten times, children included - but when he dared to imply that their god had “abandoned them”, that turned some heads, the Beta's included. She turned to look at him with narrowed eyes and pinched brows, silently demanding to know what on earth gave him such a ridiculous idea. A few Fire Wolves that had heeded Saraf’s words and tried to get back to their routine now stopped cold and turned to glare at the prisoner. Though Viv wasn’t looking, Saraf had stopped as well, the front half of his body cloaked by the shadows of his den entrance, expression concealed.

They’d “allowed” Azar’s sacred grounds to be “destroyed”…? Those words rang bells… She’d heard talk of such an event that had happened prior to her joining the pack - everything seemed to have happened prior to that. A band of Ice Wolves had infiltrated the territory and vandalized the Fire Pack worshiping grounds. Normally, such an act wouldn’t be so surprising - the Ice Wolves coming over and wrecking something - and without any casualties or injured wolves to make it serious, it’d be brushed aside as just another Ice Pack crime. However, there was an unspoken truce between the two packs in regards to their sacred grounds - they are not to be touched, period. Regardless of the rivalry, the bad blood, and the blood spilled, the worshiping grounds were off limits on both sides. For that reason, it was the lowest crime that either pack could commit, one worse than a thousand deaths. Therefore, you could bet the Fire Wolves certainly hadn’t forgotten. She imagined his only reason for bringing up such an event was to stir the blood in their veins; get the last painful word. Foolish.

The russet female slowly turned to peer at Saraf, curious of his reaction, seeing how the comment was truly geared at him after all. Her Alpha’s grizzled grey hairs stood on end, and he remained frozen in place for a few tense seconds, simply unmoving. She couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling; whether or not he might turn around and snap at the Ice Rat for daring to remind them of such a thing. Viveka’s heart clenched with dread, not really because she feared things getting worse, but because she feared this exchange would continue on through the entire night at this rate… On and on until someone got hurt, or worse... But her Alpha did nothing. He still stood there and made to effort to respond. Instead, the prisoner was the one to move, finally turning his back to them and tossing a cocky remark over his shoulder as he went. Saraf’s ears flicked in response, but after another second of silence, he continued moving into his den, as if nothing had really happened. Regardless of how much that may have upset the elder... it was clear that he wanted nothing more to do with the exchange. It really was over.

She relaxed, again, but less so than before, knowing his little comment had put the whole pack back on edge. Her gaze swept the crowd still gathered, a look of seriousness on her face, eyeing each and every one of them until they’d all turned away and begrudgingly returned to their business, as Saraf had instructed. Good. That was that. Now just to take care of him, and this would all be over… until dawn. Ugh, suddenly that sounded less motivating that it had been before…

With a huff and roll of her eyes, she turned to face the Ice Wolf, whom was fixing her with a taunting “your move” look, smugly seated beneath his tree. Her expression only darkened for a moment, the female fixing him with her signature “go rot in a hole” look before lifting her head haughtily and replacing the face with something authoritative. Moving forward, Orion closely followed, a look of equal seriousness on his face. Aden merely watched from afar, very clearly not wanting to get closer.
Viv came to a stop mere inches from his resting place, glaring down at him.

“It’s almost cute how idiotic you are, thinking we’d let you sleep in our camp.” Her tone was blunt, the sarcasm not needing to be emphasized, for they both knew the day she’d legitimately call him cute would be the day Aden completely stopped being a coward. “Get up.” Now Orion stepped forward, ready to escort their pest to his true resting place; an abandoned cave some distance away. She risked a glance over her shoulder at the wolf that was supposed to be guarding Chronos. “Aden, come here. Go with Orion and the Ice Rat to the proper location.” She fixed the grey male with a challenging look that equally matched his, one hat clearly acknowledged her place above him, despite all the painful jabs he thrown at her; at all of them. You're still our prisoner, no matter what advantage you think you've gained. Ah... but it wasn't enough to think it... she wanted to say it... she too liked getting the last word. Honestly, didn't everyone? Malice flashed in her gaze as she decided on her finishing words. She lowered her head so their eyes were level, her face close enough to feel the puffs of air coming out of his nose. "You can go ahead and wipe that smirk off your face.

"I know you think you've 'won', but bear in mind that you're still our prisoner." She lifted her muzzle and brought it to his ear, daring to get close, wanting to rub it in his face, quite literally. "When this is over and we're through with you, every wolf in this pack is going to rip your pitiful carcass to bloody pieces." She then drew away and stepped back, casting him one last downward glare. "So remember that the next time you think you've succeeded in something." Satisfied, the female gave a nod to Orion before turning her back on the prisoner and beginning to walk away, finally able to put this god awful day behind her. She'd meant her words. Again, murder was... terrible. After being raised in the environment she was, it had almost been enough to make her a pacifist. Yet given all the things this... Rat had done as of late... she had to admit that the idea of tearing him apart was growing more and more appealing.

Perhaps she'd be a Fire Wolf yet.

Orion stepped in her place and woofed low at the prisoner, echoing Viv's command to get up. Aden had come closer, as instructed, but peered at the prisoner over Orion's shoulder.

{ not even a certain female who's name begins with a "V' and ends with an "a"??? HMMM? }

[MyLostShadow]

*throws confetti* Whoooop, end of the first day! ((Viv getting up close and personal there I see *nudges Aquilo*))

A Q U I L O

There was no response from Saraf. That was fine, though Aquilo had been hoping for a slightly bigger reaction. He had merely stopped in his tracks, dying grey fur standing on end, though his expression remained hidden. Slowly a grin crept on to his face, eyes flickering around the crowd and examining each of their faces. Saraf had insulted his kin, his family, his siblings; he felt no remorse in bringing the subject up, nor for his actions that day, even if they had been terrible and, before then, a completely unthinkable.

The frail Alpha had continued to walk into what Aquilo assumed to be his den. Aquilo's next move was to turn his head towards the Beta, seeing how she would react to his smug look. He hadn't thought it was possible for the looks she was giving him to be any sourer, but this one was much darker, with hatred radiating from her scowling features, soon to be replaced with a more authoritative look as she began stalking towards him, the Lead fighter following behind like a small, irritable pup.

“It’s almost cute how idiotic you are, thinking we’d let you sleep in our camp.”

Cute? A flicker of annoyance sparked inside him, though his grinning face remained unchanged. "Hmm.." he mumbled as though deep in thought, "Of course I can't stay here, much too hot and smoky for my liking" he chimed, though stayed rooted to his seat as she demanded he stand up. He was more interested in how her gaze had shifted to the cowardly fighter he had encountered several times this day, and how she was asking him to accompany Orion in escorting their prisoner to the actual resting place outside of the camp. She can't be serious? Aquilo stared at him with both curiosity and amusement.

A look of malice flashed from the Beta as he turned his attention back to her, mere inches from his face as she glared at him. He could feel the hot puffs of air on his face as she breathed, see each individual strand of fur on her face, smell the scents of burnt wood and cinnamon that lingered in the space around her.

"I know you think you've 'won', but bear in mind that you're still our prisoner."

Gradually the Beta's muzzle approached his ear, far too close to his unprotected neck and burnt, aching face for his liking. The male forced himself to sit still, however, though his muscles tensed, and a low grumble sounded from his throat as he listened to what the female had to say.

He hated the way she referred to him as their prisoner. Hated it. Such a prideful wolf hated the thought of being someone's prisoner, and the fact that that someone was the Fire Pack made it much worse. Even so, he'd still enjoyed the looks on the Fire Wolves' faces during the spat that had just concluded, and was rather optimistic about what further problems he could cause them; eventually he would leave the pack, and when that happened a war was no doubt going to follow. He still had high ambitions, his desire for the role of Alpha of the ice Pack never diminishing.

"When this is over and we're through with you, every wolf in this pack is going to rip your pitiful carcass to bloody pieces."

This. He let out a quiet, amused huff, eyes trained on the Beta and watching as she stepped back. Aquilo couldn't help but smirk at the unsettling thought that many others would deem incredibly threatening and concerning. "Is that so..." he hummed, tail tip twitching as though mulling over the thought. Viveka's voice was soon pattering against his eardrums though, causing him to rise to his feet as she mentioned something about "remembering that" and turning away as the Lead Fighter approached. He didn't greet the Lead Fighter, only stood up and eyed him with a look of disinterest as the male lead him away to the place where he would be staying.

The place was much like the cave he had slept in that very morning; it seemed so long ago, with water dripping rhythmically from the cave roof, creating an echoing, continuous drip. It felt almost like home. Throwing a glance towards Aden and Orion, Aquilo padded a little way into the cave, settling down next to a shivering wall on the icy stone floors, the comforting sounds of water droplets filling his mind and drowning out everything that had happened that day.


✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺ ✺

Aquilo's eyes had drifted open as peacefully as a snowflake drifting down from a slate coloured sky to settle on fields of white as far as the eye can see. Greeted by the rough grey wall of the cave, he blinked the sleep out of his eyes and allowed a yawn to escape his lungs. Still half asleep, the Ice Wolf remained on his side, reaching out his left paw to lightly dust it over the slate-coloured mass in front of his eyes. It felt coarse and cold beneath his paw, with small patches of water and moss dotted across the acres of rock.

After a few moments to wake up, Aquilo eventually rolled on to his front in one, swift movement, his jaw parting into another yawn. Gradually he came to realise where he was: not in his usual cave, but in Fire Pack territory, with Fire Wolves guarding him to make sure he didn't escape. Don't worry though, I'll be escaping soon enough he thought as he stood up, dew clinging to his fur. Raising a paw as though to begin heading outside, he paused when his eyes met the figures of the Fire Wolves, narrowing with both annoyance and hatred at the thought they he had to wait for their permission to leave. He'd gotten so used to life as a rogue that orders were long forgotten words, replaced instead by only one wolf's commands: his own.

[nyctorin.]

{*whistles casually while bumping their noses together*}

V I V E K A //

Upon falling asleep the previous night, she’d thought for sure she’d sleep all the way through it, given her exhaustion. Even from the moment she’d turned away from the Ice Rat and started walking towards her den, she had felt her steps and eyelids grow heavier with every stride, the true impact of the day finally collapsing down on her. The female had just managed to haul herself into the burrow and find a relatively comfortable position before surrendering herself to the darkness entirely, fast asleep in an instant… and yet… some unknown number of hours later, she was pulled back into reality all too soon, hardly well rested at all. Her head had been assaulted with a headache, her stomach was clenched in a fashion that made her nauseous, and a sense of anxiety seemed to be plaguing her. She’d merely groaned and rolled over, trying to ignore it, but she already knew she would never go back to sleep, at least not completely.

This had happened plenty of times before: in her old pack, the first night she’d gotten here, the night after her ascension to Beta, and on other less significant occasions. The culprit was a mixture of her anxieties and sense of duty. She had a job to do, things to plan for and mentally prepare herself for. While she slept, she was losing time, even if being well rested was just as important. She had a deep rooted need to get ahead, and because of this, her subconscious would nag her, make her anxious with the threat of failure if she didn’t get up right now and start mentally preparing for the next day. If she attempted to go back to sleep, it would just get worse, and at this point, she felt too awake anyway. Might as well get up.

Sighing with frustration that was aimed entirely at herself, she rolled back over and lazily clambered up onto all fours, then crawled out of her den only to take a seat outside. The world was pitch black, bordering on the strange eerie gray that came just before sunrise. No one else was up (as expected), and even the crickets seemed to have quieted some, sensing their time was coming to an end. She felt isolated during this time, and given the pressures placed on her by those around her, she honestly enjoyed it. No one around to bother her, no one around to pressure or judge her. Alone time was a virtue as a Beta. Normally, during the other times she’d gotten up this early, she’d head out on border patrol, but with her new responsibility of looking after that pest, she figured she shouldn’t take the risk of being made late… so she simply sat and thought.

Of one thing, she was certain: she would be ready to deal with the prisoner. Before, she’d had no idea what she was getting into, and if she had, she probably would’ve just killed him. Now, she knew his ways, knew that he was stubborn and would never flinch at a single threat made by her, so threats wouldn’t work. Knew that he liked to pull things just to upset her, so she should strive to not give him the satisfaction. Knew that he liked to get in wolves’ heads with the information he knew about them and break them down from the inside out, so she would do her best to hide the effects of his future prodding, not let her anger be so easily accessible. Lastly, she also knew he was perceptive, that even the slightest lapse in her stoic demeanor would be picked up on and exploited in an instant… So she had to work hard to be unreadable…

She narrowed her eyes and huffed air out of her nose, which materialized into translucent white smoke in the chilly autumn air. It certainly wouldn’t be easy… and that fact only added to her distaste towards the male. She didn't even know what she was going to have him do yet...

Given his outbursts of the previous night, she didn’t really want him in camp. Everyone, himself included, needed time to get over that. With the hunting fiasco, she would never let him anywhere near the elk again, but they had run off and likely not returned (a fact that made her stomach suddenly churn with guilt), so that wasn’t even a possibility. Perhaps hunting some smaller animals, yet given how fast they moved, it wasn’t something she could really supervise, and she wasn’t about to let him just run off and disappear (as much as she’d like to never see his idiotic face ever again). Saraf could have some ideas, but… again, with the events of last night, she wasn’t too keen on shoving the prisoner back in her pack mate’s faces, especially Saraf. Another wave of guilt washed over her as she wondered if he’d even want to see her. Just yesterday, at about this exact time, they’d shared an easy going conversation, everything more or less okay. Now…

She abruptly ended that thought and pushed herself to her paws, not wanting to start a mental downward spiral by thinking of all the things that were going wrong. She’d also become aware of the time, and that some wolves were getting up. In fact, upon closer observation, she realized they were starting to congregate near the hunters’ portion of camp, the Lead Hunter amidst them and speaking urgently. Curious, Viveka casually trotted over, her body language carelessly neutral. With so few wolves about, she didn’t feel it necessary to hold her head high, nor did she really feel like it. Had she thought about it beforehand, she probably would’ve pieced together what they’d be discussing, but she wanted to save her mind for dealing with the Ice Rat, so she simply asked.

“Morning Delia,” she greeted coolly, not willing to lie and call it a good one. “Organizing a hunting party I presume?”

The dark brown female met her gaze with a semi brooding look, one that was quite common for her. The Lead Huntress didn’t seem happy with the choice of leadership either, but then again, she was rarely happy about anything. At any rate, unlike Orion, she didn’t have a challenging or tense air about her, like she was ready to pounce; she had, more or less, accepted the way things were, and resigned to just being mildly agitated. Yet now, she looked even more so than usual.

“No,” she grunted bluntly. “The herd didn’t return yesterday. We’re heading out to track it.”

Ah, that would explain her attitude. Of course now Viveka suddenly realized the obvious, and she felt uncomfortable for having asked. It almost made it seem like she was rubbing it in the Lead Hunter’s face… She cleared her throat. “Right…” There was a short pause as she scrambled to think of something else to say, and then an idea occurred to her. What if she made Chronos help with that? Of course, if they ever found the herd, she’d make him turn around and head right back to camp so they don’t repeat the previous incident. Still, even with that precaution she was hesitant to let him near the elk again, finding such an idea to be stupid… but, once it was in her head, she couldn’t let it go. Images of the dead child flooded her mind, as well as the destroyed camp (which still hadn’t completely recovered) and all the injured wolves. On one hand, it was a reason to keep him as far from the herd as possible, and on the other, it was the driving force to her guilt. She still felt bad and still wanted to fix this mistake as much as possible… Surely finding the herd could be the final nail in the coffin? She’d be able to put this behind her and move on, knowing she’d done everything in her power to make it right. She took in a sharp breath, knowing the Lead Hunter still wouldn’t agree.

“With the loss of the herd and winter swiftly approaching, we need to hunt and store as much prey as possible… I think you should take your party and go hunting for smaller prey. I’ll set to work tracking down the herd.”

Delia’s eyes widened just slightly, apprehension apparent on her face. “Won’t the Ice Rat be with you?”

“Yes, but don’t fret; if I think we’re close, we’ll head back immediately and alert you to the herd’s position. He won't come anywhere near it.” Delia still looked slow to trust the idea, and though Viveka understood why, it did spark some annoyance within her. Regardless of the female’s opinion, Viv was still the Beta; this wasn’t a suggestion, even if she phrased it that way. With a bit more edge to her voice and a slightly harder stare, she added, “I don’t want a repeat of yesterday either, Delia.”

Finally, the Lead Hunter resigned and dipped her head. “You’re the beta.” With that, she turned away and began barking new commands to her hunters, alerting them to the change of plan. Viveka relaxed, reigning in her irritation, then began padding to the edge of camp. She tilted her head back and gazed at the sun, which had started its steady climb into the sky. With a plan in mind and guards to be relieved of duty, she figured now was the time to go fetch that nuisance. Dread gripped her once more, the dread of expecting the unexpected. She pushed it away however as she stepped out of camp and began heading for his den, stealing her nerves and thoughts. He would not get to her like he had the other day; she’d make sure of that.


****


The forest seemed to be gradually changing as winter neared. More leaves had fallen (and were continuing to fall) from the trees, stripping them of their colorful coating and leaving behind spiky, claw-like branches to pierce the sky. The sky itself was cloaked by a thin sheet of cloud, allowing sunlight to vaguely pass through, but still providing an overall dreary atmosphere. Viv apprehensively sniffed the air, knowing the elk would be harder to find if it rained, but it seemed clear… for now. A thin fog was concealing everything in the distance and cooling the air along with a chilly breeze blowing through, and everything was… eerily quiet. No birds or scuttling creatures in the underbrush. The crickets had long since gone silent. Just the sound of wind blowing through and her own paws pressing into the damp leaves below. She huffed and pushed onwards, ignoring the uneasy atmosphere. On any other day, she’d likely find such silence to be blissful; she knew it only bothered her because of what was ahead.

Seeing how the den wasn’t very far, she didn’t have long to travel before the cave was in sight, made apparent by the two Fire Wolf guards standing outside and... him. Irritation bubbled to the surface, rising in her throat as a low growl, but she pushed it down as she made her approach. At least she didn’t have to worry about waking him up, having previously suspected that he’d make that difficult to. As she looked around, she noticed Orion wasn’t there, but she hadn’t really expected him to be- he had more important duties to attend to. It did seem, however, that he had sent another fighter to take his place, clearly not fond of Aden doing the task alone. In all fair honestly, she was a bit relieved to see two guards on duty versus one, even if it wasn’t what she’d asked for. She had also had some… reservations about the idea, even if it had been her idea. The two guards’ sour expressions shifted when they saw her, both perking up in her presence, clearly anxious to be done. She stepped to them, head raised high and shoulders squared in that oh-so-Viveka way, and calmly yet firmly said, “You two are relieved of your positions. Return to your normal duties.”

With curt nods, they both quickly sped off, Aden at an overly excited sprint and the other guard at a more somber trot. She turned her head to watch them leave, though the pause was moreso dedicated to accepting her newfound company than ensuring her packmates got home okay. Once the fog concealed their forms, she gave the prisoner a cold, sideways glance, not saying a word, then turned and began trotting in a different direction. “Follow me,” the Beta commanded flatly.

She walked for a good meter or two before glancing back to make sure he did as told. No doubt, he’d probably ask what they were doing, but she hoped they could get a considerable distance from his resting place before she explained what was going on. She figured he’d be more likely to do as told if running back to his den wasn’t an immediate option.

[MyLostShadow]

A Q U I L O

Time seemed to be dawdling painfully slowly as he waited for either the Lead Fighter or the Beta to arrive. He had begun to pace from one wall of the cave to the other in an attempt to make the time go faster, his boredom clear as his keen eyes scanned the area outside of the cave, gazing at the array of leaves which painted the ground a mixture of browns, oranges, and reds. The two guards' eyes seemed to be burning into his pelt as he paced, as though they expected him to try and escape every time he stopped, turned sharply, and began pacing in the opposite direction. It seemed to take hours before the Beta finally arrived.

The moment she came into view, the moment he saw the blur of brown fur, he felt his face harden and eyes narrow into a glare. In all honesty, despite his various spats with Orion, he'd much rather be collected by him; maybe it was the beta's attitude, or the way she would snap back after every comment he made (the burn on his face was also a painful reminder that she would lash out at him), but whatever the reason, he was far from happy to be seeing her face again.

“You two are relieved of your positions. Return to your normal duties.”

Aquilo watched the two guards leave, his attention particularly on Aden as he sped away from the cave, clearly glad to be relieved from his guard duty. His gaze had soon shifted to Viveka though, eyes narrowed into a glare as she watched her packmates disappear, give him a cold, sideways glance, and then ordered for him to follow her. He rolled his eyes, letting out a displeased huff and edging forward slightly, much slower than necessary. For certain he wasn't going to make this easy for her, that was already evidently clear in the way he was inching forward at a snail's pace, though part of him was slightly curious about what they could possibly be doing. Hunting again? Surely not, he'd managed to drive the elk herd out last time. Helping at camp? Again, that seemed doubtful. So what? He didn't expect to be doing anything too important; it would probably be the most laborious, boring thing the Beta could think of, causing the male to inwardly sigh.

Continuing to walk till he was close enough to show he wasn't going to sit down and refuse to go, he reluctantly came to a stop next to her. "Another productive day ahead of us" he mumbled sarcastically, "Where are we going anyway? If it's an Omega's job I'm not doing it". The word Omega tasted sour on his tongue. Unpleasant. Perhaps when his brother and sister were alive he would've been more accepting, however after their deaths he had begun to gain darker and darker thoughts, his perception on many things twisting and changing. He'd considered what it would like to be Alpha before, but never thought to try and murder the Alpha, or act upon his dreams in any way, until his loss. He'd been kinder to others too, but that had all changed.

Everything had.

While waiting for a response, the rogue turned his attention to the sky above his head, meandering forward a few paces. Eyes trained solely on the mellow sky, he studied the cool grey clouds laying across the sky like snow covering a lost paradise: undisturbed and peaceful. A dull glow was all that managed to creep through the layer of clouds, however despite the dreary, grey atmosphere, it didn't seem like it would begin raining.

Blue eyes remaining frozen to the sky for only a short time, they were soon cast down to the trees and fog around him; whatever unpleasant task the Beta had for him, he had no doubts that the fog would make it even more unpleasant and difficult. He continued to walk at a slow amble behind her as she lead him away from where he had been sleeping the night before. Focusing on the fog and the way it's soft white tones reminded him of home, his ear were perked as he waited for the female's voice to speak up above the crunch of leaves breaking beneath their paws, and the gentle whistle of the wind among the trees.