Drooping Willows said the man to the dog

the devil is & always will

Art by Marina!

"Wrong," Sven's voice hissed through the air, as his silver frame blurred onto the scene with a predatory speed.

Of course Morganna's children would hold such entitled opinions of themselves. Clearly she hadn't informed them of the bridges she'd burned. He would be damned if the next generation strove to mimic her errors.

His eyes flashed briefly to Sterling before honing on the one who had dared to toy with their boundary. He'd already gotten a taste of the child's attitude, and it seemed now he'd be subjected to more. Yes, just like their mother; the more unwelcome their troublesome paws were, the more they wanted to trample everything with them. Had they been any degree of considerate, he would've been glad to favor their blood and offer them hospitality. As it was, they were only proving to him that they were unworthy of the Ridge.

They were brats, and they needed to be put in their place. Sven had no problem teaching them the lessons their mother had failed to. His teeth went for Bojay's scruff while his bread chest aimed to ram into the youth's own. If his goal was met, he would promptly through the boy to the ground and stand over him, teeth bared and tail raised in warning. No blood would be drawn or bones broke, however; this was discipline, not violence.

be a gentleman.

It was very likely that there would be consequences for their actions, but Sterling didn’t care. He’d cross that bridge when they came to it. Both he and his brother would quick—they could easily evade punishment from the willow wolves if necessary. But he wasn’t worried. He was quick on his toes both literally and figuratively; he’d figure out a way to smooth things over if they were caught.

It didn’t take much convincing for his brother to step over the invisible line, a cheeky expression pressed against his tawny features. The dusty Archer rolled his eyes in amusement as he followed suit, his plume sweeping happily behind him as he crossed into pack territory. Still looks like shit, he commented with an amused snort, his brows pinched tight as he glanced over at his older brother. But where were the locals? Two strangers hanging out the borders; seemed odd that no one had crashed their party yet. They were just asking for loners to trespass…

Wrong. His head snapped around, his grin only widening as he regarded the silver wolf. I mean, I’d say it’s a pleasure to see you again, he started, his shoulders rolling back, but it really isn’t. He kept close to the borders, not venturing any further beyond the line they had initially crossed. Seems you’re lacking some security.

She didn’t like this, didn’t like it one bit. The dark girl had been watching the pair for a while now, assessing their movements and listening in on their conversation while she hid behind a tree. She made sure to place herself downwind so they wouldn’t scent her, an advantage she had by knowing the territory like the back of her paw. Her auds were cupped forward, drinking in their words like satellites processing information. They were troublemakers, she could feel it in her bones. They’d said it plain as day, they wanted to irk them. Cause a little mayhem. Well, if they wanted mayhem they were about to get it. She watched them slowly get closer and closer to the border. She heard a brief mention of Archer, processing the information but even though she was always excited to meet family it meant nothing if they weren’t respectful. Morganna hadn’t crossed over the border and she’d actually been born in the Willows. These cubs hadn’t, they had no claim despite what they might think.

As soon as the agouti one put his paw over the border her muscles tensed, ready to pounce and show them who really owned the willows. That was, until a silver blur found itself standing over her target. She felt a bit of annoyance settle in the pit of her stomach but she swallowed it down. It didn’t matter who got to do the rough housing, she supposed, as long as they were taught a lesson in manners.

The girl stepped out from the shadows, approaching with her tail level, appropriate to show she was below Sven but still held claim, along with a high head. Her amber-yellow gaze traveled to the other silver one who made a snide comment. She rolled her eyes. Nope she said with a pop of the p. Just waiting for someone stupid enough to step over, she said, leveling her gaze with the other. If he tried to make a move toward his sibling before Sven let him go he’d have to deal with her.

the devil is & always will

Art by Marina!

Completely oblivious to their situation, they both continued to push him. He managed to catch snippets of Sterling's back talk while he descended upon the other boy, but he wasn't about to release one to chase the other. He heard Adeltra come in as well, and was quite pleased with her words. He'd think that being forced beneath a wolf much larger and more powerful than him would cause the child to use some sense, but instead Bojay had the audacity to push back against Sven. The man snapped at his nape once more, giving it a rough twist and pushed down in an attempt to drive the point home. Now the child would likely feel a twinge of pain; the last warning to give it up and get lost.

Then, something utterly unexpected occurred. Their resident yearlings came barreling onto the scene, daring to turn on their alpha with cusses and, Sven reacted with a snarl, shoving him. He turned quickly, abandoning the child to now put his subordinate in line, jaws striking forward to attempt a muzzle grab. It wasn't like he was out here beating the shit out of the two of them, he was asserting himself over a troublesome kid who had earned his punishment. Odin and Kip both certainly had no business berating their alpha for his choice, much less in front of company, blaring weakness and dissent to youths that had already proven they liked to run their mouths.

Sven's anger was white hot, and his eyes held bitter disappointment within them as they regarded Odin.

"You both can coddle them all you want as you take them back to your mother. You can return to say your goodbyes, but you're no longer a part of this pack. The Ridge has no use for weak links."

There was no apologizing for something like this. He barely even knew Kip, the girl only known for being sour and attached to Odin at the hip. If they would jump to judgments and be so quick to turn on him in a situation as simple as this, they could not be trusted to stand with the pack, much less him, when they would be needed to. It was best the teen find another relative to crash with.

be a gentleman.

He hadn’t really expected things to go like this.

The scene exploded in front of him, causing the silver-dusted cub to take several steps back, his mercury eyes widening. First, his bold brother decided to basically slap the pale male’s face, but the attempt—surprise, surprise—was unsuccessful. An amused grin slipped onto his pale features as his gaze darted from the small ebony wolf to the larger male, who stood with a dominant stance. Clearly he was in charge, or close to it. Or, like the blue-eyed agouti, he just acted like he was. It was hard to tell with the Ridge wolves—they all appeared so fucking entitled. Bo-ring!

Then came the other two.

A black wolf slid in between his brother and Sven, his words directed at the pale wolf. What? Wasn’t this a Ridge wolf? Why was he defending them? He blinked, dumbfounded, but bit his tongue. He was bold, yes, but the Archer wasn’t stupid. He knew when not to speak. A female appeared almost immediately after the one-eyed wolf, her words cutting through the air and earning a dramatic eye roll from the Archer. Talking to them as though she knew them—calling them dumbasses. Luckily she seemed to be on their side, as well, otherwise Sterling wouldn’t have been pleased with her words. Just trying to say hello to the neighbours, he hummed in response, his expression smug as his attention returned to Sven.

He was not expecting what came next.

Sven was kicking them out of the pack?! Oops. But something interested him. The pale asshole had said your mother. Was this dark wolf, their defender, their older brother? His brows furrowed. What was he doing in Willow Ridge while his mother was elsewhere? That didn’t matter now. It appeared they were joining them on the hunt for mother, as they were no longer welcome in Willow Ridge. Good move, decrease your numbers. It’ll make it easier for us to pick you off. He shrugged, the fur around his neck fluffing out. Time to scoot, I think we’ve had enough fun here, he added as he nipped at his brother’s (Bojay) hindquarters, signalling that they needed to leave ASAP to prevent things from getting even more physical…

She had expected the young boy to back off, to show his belly and ask for forgiveness but instead he did the unthinkable. He hit Sven in the face. Her lips pulled up to show her teeth, a growl rumbling from her chest. The young Archer had never fathomed a wolf could be so...rude. So completely and utterly disrespectful. Then, even worse, a dark form flashed in the corner of her eye and she had just enough time to process who it was before Odin crashed into Sven to knock him off the boy. Her tail flagged and a foreign sound rumbled up her throat. For the first time in her life, Adeltra snarled. It was harsh and angry, utterly appalled by what she was seeing. Odin was one of their own, a subordinate to Sven. Why was he defending them? Her pale cousin wasn’t going to draw blood, he just wanted to teach them a lesson. It was a lesson that she herself had learned.

Kip joined in, snapping at the boys but with the way her posture went it was clear that she was siding with them. This was all a mess, a big stupid mess and none of it made sense! She watched as Sven regarded them, the words tumbling from his mouth causing her auds to flatten against her skull. She was sad, but she knew it was the right decision. If Odin and Kip were going to pick two intruders over their own pack then they had no business being there. She ignored the silver one’s response, finding him to be unimportant. He could take his brother, get them as far away from here as possible. Her amber-yellow gaze turned to Odin, a mixture of disbelief, anger, and confusion swimming in them. Just so you know, I have been in that position, she said, scrunching her maw in order to draw attention to the faint pink scars that ran there. And I’m glad for it. It taught me a lesson, knocked me down a peg so that I would never make that mistake again. Keep them in check because Sven was never going to cause them scars, but the next borders they cross that aren’t their own may just get them some, or worse. If you care about them, more than us obviously, teach them the lesson that you didn’t want Sven to. For their sake, she said, her expression serious.