The Wildwood is that a baton in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

from charming to alarming in seconds

The days only continued to get shorter and the tawny child was loving every second of it. Like many of the other Valles he thrived in the darkness and felt like winter had only provided him more time hiding from the sun. The only problem was winter at night had often become so cold that he couldn’t stray too far from home without getting chilly and slinking back to curl up at his angel mother’s side for warmth. Especially now that she was hurt.

He had not been present for the accident and hated that he had not been able to help her, and instead settled for visiting her often. Khalon could not be described as a particularly warm wolf, rather he was more likely to be called aloof or calculating, but he had a soft spot a mile wide for his mom. He was a mommas boy, so sue him.

Tonight though, tonight when the sun had set and he had slunk out past the borders he had discovered something that would delay his return. A pile of sweet delicious apples out of season that he had made quick work of gorging himself on, eating two back to back without stopping. Now he was beginning to feel a little….funny

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

Tori had found that she did not mind the darkness. It was irritating, annoying, and it often got in her way… but she managed with it just fine and that was all she could ask for. She prowled about, the shadows cloaking her brother far better than they did her white fur, but masking her well enough all the same. She ventured out further than she should have, of course… she had decided she wanted to go on a nighttime adventure, briefly wondering if any of the streams were thawed enough that she might be able to catch a fish. She had proven to be fairly proficient in such a task after Eros had taught her how, and often did her best to hone her skills there.

It was then that she caught that putrid scent, her nose twitching as her brow set and she stalked off towards its smell… her brother. While she was Daddy’s Little Girl (in truth, both her and Euna were, but she preferred to think it was just her), there was no doubt that he had their mother wrapped around his paw, and that made him competition.

And moreover, he was gorging himself on a pile of apples. She hissed quietly to herself as she prowled out, a possessive look in her eyes as she decided that she wanted his loot for herself. “Back of Khal! Mine!” She declared, not hesitating to lay her claim on something that did not belong to her… just as she always did.

from charming to alarming in seconds

The Valle boy was halfway through his third strange apple when he realized that his sister had appeared. She hissed and growled at him and he rolled his eyes. Torianna was always such a jerk - honestly, every single day it was something new with her and she lost it over someone else. Thankfully she had mostly grown out of her biting without warning phase but she was still a giant bully at every turn.

But, tonight he felt bold. He got to his feet and took a couple of unstable steps towards his sister and laughed loudly. His words were slurred when he spoke at an inappropriately loud volume, ”Oh grow up Tori,” but he wasn’t finished. He had more to say, ”not everything in the world is youursss,” The last word was long and drawn out, and followed promptly by a hiccup that seemed to come from his toes.

Khalon plopped his rump down into the snow, a stupid close lipped smile spreading across his muzzle and his eyes drooping half closed. He was pretty pleased with himself and could not see how this could possibly go wrong. Maybe he should have another apple?

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

She was not used to Khalon putting up such a fight when it came to her claim… and thus a brief moment of surprise crossed over her features before her eyes narrowed at her brother and she let out a slightly-less-than-playful growl at him. “Except it is.” She challenged back as she stalked forward, a hint of a smirk curving her features. He was bold, but in this moment she could tell he was also weak, under the influence of whatever the apples did to him to make him fall into such a docile demeanor.

“The world is mine because I make it so, and I will not let the likes of you stand in my way.” She growled out in a low warning, not hesitating to get into his personal space and his face. His rump was down in the snow, a stupid looking smile on his features, and she saw an opportunity to put her annoying twat of a brother in his place. What was he going to do? Tell mummy? In such a state as he was now?

She would attempt to snatch at his muzzle, to assert herself over him and push him backwards into the snow to disrupt his pleasant buzz, maybe even draw small droplets of blood from around his muzzle if she were lucky enough that he would fight back.

from charming to alarming in seconds

Oh she droned on and on and Khalon was growing weary of the entire interaction. It was a tale as old as time. Somebody had something even slightly cool and Torianna came stomping in to try to snatch it from them with brute force. Predictably she started getting all up in his face, and he was no longer listening to what it was that she was snarling at him.

He laughed and slurred, ”Ooo I’m so scared” Honestly, when was she going to give it up? He couldn’t wait for someone to come and knock her on her ass someday. It would happen sooner or later, that she would pick on someone she shouldn’t have.

But, for now she was all up in his grill and he suddenly felt…unwell. The world swam around him and his mouth filled with saliva as if he were about to dig into a fresh kill. She leaned in to grab his muzzle and just as his mouth got close to his he burped. Only, it wasn’t just a burp. Coughing, he retched directly onto his sister’s face. At least he felt a little bit better now.

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

His voice was laughing, and slurred and she found herself irritated immediately that he did not seem too fear her, or accept her rightful claim over his belongings… sure, it had happened before, but never with such a mocking nature. She always won and she was not afraid to prove it. She snarled, and then something… wet… hit her face, even got in her mouth, and immediately she gagged in disgust. Immediately shaking her head trying to shake it off, running her tongue along some snow nearby to try and get that god awful taste out of her mouth.

“You jerk!” She cursed aloud with a snarl again though she did not go for the attack like she normally did. She did not wish to further be covered in vomit. “You’re so gross! No wonder no one likes you.” She bit out with her tail raising, her fur bristling along her spine. She would settle for a dominance display, not quite recognizing that being covered in his vomit killed any real display of dominance that she could claim to have.

from charming to alarming in seconds

The tawny boy had not meant to throw up on his sister, but now that it had happened he had to admit it was pretty funny. The way she gagged and choked down some snow to try to get rid of it. Plus, normally by now she would be trying to pin him to the ground for his actions and she stayed far away. Maybe he needed to work on creating an overactive gag reflex if it meant he could have some relief from the constant onslaught.

Then she started going on and on and he couldn’t hold in his laughter anymore, rolling his eyes dramatically he shook his head. Patronizingly, he goaded, ”Oh please Tori, you think people like you?” Normally he avoided her, preferring to keep his skin intact, but the apples had made him bold, ”You’re nothing but a bitch and everybody knows it. We all just put up with you because we have to, but believe me nobody would care if you weren’t around.” Hell, he might even rejoice if he woke up tomorrow and she was gone. Or at least, that’s how it felt in this moment.

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

God, he was so infuriating! Even his mere voice grated on her nerves. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him as he insisted that no one liked her. She knew that to be false. Her dad liked her! And so did her mom! Eros had even offered to be her mentor! Why would he do that if he didn’t like her? Yeah, that was what she thought! Whatever was in those apples was clearly affecting his delicate constitution. All of her siblings seemed to have it, at least in her presence.

“If you think I’m going to believe a word you say, you’re mistaken Khal.” She shot back, continuing to try and get the putrid smell of his vomit from her nose. “I might be a bitch but at least I can back it up with something. What can you do other than roll over and play dead?” She shot back. He lacked a spine, in her opinion, and therefore his opinion was wholly unimportant to her.

from charming to alarming in seconds

She didn’t believe him, but to the tawny child it did not really matter. It just felt good to say it to her face rather than just behind her back to Tuwile. He hiccuped loudly in response at first before getting to his paws in an uneven kind of manner. He wasn’t sure he liked the feeling that the apples gave him but he liked that he had it and not his sister and that was well worth a little bit of wooziness

Shrugging his shoulders he slurred, ”Take a closer look Tori - the wolves leading the pack aren’t the ones who go around biting everyone all the time.” As much as he loved his dad, his mom was the one who was the leader, and he was learning that there was power in quiet contemplation. His sister apparently had yet to learn that lesson.

He was done with her, ”Now go away and go bother someone who cares, I’m done with your shit.” He liked swearing, it made him feel cool - like a grown up. But, he wouldn’t do it in front of Ma because he knew he would be chastised for it. Still, he could do it here and now because their mother was not likely to take his sister’s word over his as the adults were growing tired of the constant squabbling. They would tell them to work it out themselves, and as far as Khalon was concerned that was exactly what he was doing.

It's time to strap our boots on

Conquest

This is a perfect day to die

He was unsteady on his paws, and she stared at him like he was: prey. At the end of the day that was all he was. Annoying prey, that spoke with what she thought were probably meant to be harsh words but they had fallen on deaf ears leaving for no one to listen to.

She snorted at his words. “How do you think you get to leading a pack? Talking your way up?” She’d seen plenty from the wolves of the pack. Guarding the borders involved biting…. Hunting involved biting. The very things that provided them safety and security involved fighting and violence and laying claim over what was theirs. It had stuck with her.

“Oh yeah? What? Are you going to talk me away, oh wise and glorious leader?” She snapped, taking a step closer to impose herself in his space as she stared him down, puffing out her chest as she snarled. If he wanted to prove that a wolf could be a leader without taking a bite to get the job done, then she was inviting him to do so. Otherwise, she was going to demand that he be the one to leave. Leave her space and leave her spoils… his spoils, really… but it was a matter of pride at this point.