The cruel smile that was twisting itself onto Galley's maw nearly transferred to Oliver's. Somewhere, some part of him enjoyed watching Drestig struggle to keep his composure. The part that blamed him- the part that wanted the elder wolf to suffer as much as he did. That part sucked up the guilt and fear emanating, letting it wash over in waves, increasing the will of his dark wishes.

How's this for payback, Oliver. This is what it's like lord over others with mere words. The poor bastard can't even focus his gaze! Hit him while he's down!

Oliver couldn't bring himself to move. Hit him while he's down? How could he hit him at all? He was frozen between intense desire, alienating hatred, guilty indecision, and apathy for the situation overall. He didn't want to be here. What was he doing here? What was he doing here alone? In a pack, but so very terribly alone. His heart contracted with the conflicts within, strained in the pressure his mind was taking, trying to decide...

Trying to remember.....

....It was too much. Everything was much too much. Wrenching his gaze away from Drestig's own, the small man forced his legs to move. Move him past Drestig, thought every step sent priceless. Yet Galley had one more axe to jab into the other wolf's side- "We won't ever forget what you did. It's simply a matter of time before your actions come back to you in full force, Drest."

And then he ran. Spurred on by fear and hatred and a sense of loss and hopelessness. He wanted to get as far away as possible, finally tucking himself into a hollowed tree at the edge of Bend territory. Heavy breathing accompanied tears as his mind raced to process what the hell just happened.What did I just do...?

"Speech"
My tangled mind You're still with me

He felt warm all over, like the hot summer sun was baking down on him from high above, even though his breath was forming tiny clouds in the air as he breathed. He was frozen, unable to even think any more, and yet he felt an urge to act, to do something! But what? Something... Say... Something! But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't. His body refused to move, legs once again shaking beneath him, the snow covered darkness blurring before his eyes as he struggled to focus, and failed. He felt exhausted, devoid of energy to do more than keep on his feet and try to watch Oliver. Even though he wanted to do more, needed to do more! He tried to push himself, to take a step forwards, to open his maw, to speak! Say something, ANYTHING! But it was lost. He just stood there.

Even when the younger wolf moved, Drestig's reaction was slow, like he was dragging his body through tar. Oliver walked towards him, and the Avalon took half a step back, though it took longer than several of the boy's forward strides. Ollie easily made it past, and Drestig was still in the middle of turning to keep his eyes on the other, when he delivered his last jab. The voice was the same as before, confident, cool, full of spite, and it made him reel.

Oliver set off running, and before Drestig knew of it, he was following, his legs moving of their own accord, kicked into action by that last comment; the last word. Drest..! No one had called him that since... Oliver had never done so, some of the others, but never Ollie... Galley did! He was done for, it had been too much and his conscience was starting to fail.

Though he was sprinting as his utmost, Oliver had quickly disappeared ahead in the darkness, his small body lighter and more nimble than Drestig's. It didn't really matter though; what had started as a chase was now something else entirely! He had to get out of here, away from his scent, away from the memories; Away! He continued even has he started to gasp, past the border, through the forest, into the darkness. He fled, because he was a coward, and he didn't know what else to do.

Word Count: 390