Ever since it happened, Trisden had been quieter. I think you've done enough, Elettra had said, and it had torn to the girl's very core; all the fears she had felt up until that point had melted and turned into one giant lump of festering guilt that sat heavily in her stomach and refused to budge.

Not long afterwards, Theodore Lyall had closed his eyes.

Dumbstruck. How could everything have gone wrong so fast? Trisden would replay the day many times in her mind, and every time she recalled it with perfect clarity. This was almost worse than having a skewed memory of events, because at least then she could have blamed it on something, anything, and genuinely believed it.

In her mind, Trisden was her mother's daughter, and her mother was incapable of mistakes. Trisden was the daughter that Jaysyek should hope for. Trisden was the heir and confidant and supporter that any leader should want.

Trisden was the daughter who got her brother killed.

There was no way around it. Every time, Trisden saw it through hindsight's eyes, saw her rash dismissal of the snake and her brother's blatant concern, and she cried as she watched herself take that step, every time the snake's lunge in painful slow motion, the two small puncture wounds on her brother's foreleg signifying the end. Nothing had worked. Her mother and Elettra, the two most capable, reliable, wise wolves she had ever known, had not been able to save him.

The curse of Trisden had been too strong, and Theo hadn't stood a chance.

Her eyes empty and lifeless, Trisden sat in the forest, staring at the sky. She knew better than to stray too far from the den, and indeed too far from well-known territory at all; the previously fearless girl now had a very healthy phobia of anything serpentine. It was not her own safety that concerned her, though, as much of that of her family; after all, the snake had not struck at her.

Maybe... maybe it should have.

Safe within her mother's borders, Trisden had not expected to be stumbled upon by a complete and utter stranger. The only time she had encountered unknown faces had been the one time she had strayed from the packlands, and the other were simply new recruits to the pack. As she perked towards the sound of someone approaching, her first instinct was that it must be one of the pack - but as the dark face appeared, a chill of dread ran down her spine.

Dangerous? Alone? Little one?! Weakened as she was by her torment, Trisden was still herself enough to bristle. She might have been young, but was quickly growing into the wolf that she would eventually become, and when she stood up and lifted her nose, her height was not as measly at it had once been, when she had done the same proud action to other adults. "Dangerous for you, you mean," she snapped, her heart pounding as she tried to make sense of it. Surely her mother would have told them about a new recruit... and surely any new members would know about the leader's children? But this wolf, she did not smell like her mother at all. This wolf was not of Grizzly Hollow.

The horrid ball in her gut pulsated. This was all punishment for her sins.

Fixing the stranger with a calculated stare, uneasy but doing her best not to show it, Trisden lifted her lip and did her best to look menacing, her tail creeping up over her hind quarters in a show of dominance. "You shouldn't be here."

When the stranger giggled, Trisden felt another chill, this one of horror. Instantly, she understood that this woman was unhinged in some way, and she didn't know how to deal with that. That the wolf acknowledged her guilt didn't help matters; Trisden backed away, unnerved and afraid for her life, convinced now that this was revenge on the fate that she had caused Theo. It was her fault, and now God was punishing her by sending an evil demon to play with her mind and - oh god -

She yelped as the female snapped at her, backing off quicker, torn between accepting the retribution and fighting it. She hadn't meant to hurt him! Kill you, torture you, whatever they do... bears and foxes and eagles and snakes -

"No!" she screamed, her horror turned to fury, her blood running cold and yet she was burning up, the heat in her face like the fires of damnation. It had been her fault, but she accepted that! She did not ask for forgiveness or salvation, for she would not give them to herself. She did not know what she wanted, but it was not this torture. "Go away, hell-demon!" she shrieked, eyes ablaze with fanatical madness, her head swirling with thoughts that she had not entertained for months. As she screamed, her words almost seemed less and less directed at the black wolf, and more at the world in general - for her true tormentor was not this tangible creature, she knew. Her instincts told her that the stranger was not a messenger of the divine, though to her deepest core she feared that this was holy retribution and not just a devil's game. "You don't know anything! You don't know anything! It was an accident! I have accepted my guilt, I have no need for this! Begone or I will bring the fury of God down upon you!"

Idiot, of course she was just a wolf, but that wasn't the point! It didn't disprove what she represented! Trisden's heart pounded as the stranger's words flew over her, only partially listened to. After all, who knew what evil speak she could be trying to use to further destroy Trisden's psyche?

It was all so out of place with her normal life, but Trisden could see no other rational reason for this to have happened. Nobody wandered this far into claimed territory unless they were looking for trouble, and nobody was stupid enough to look for trouble without a death wish. But that was the point - there was a death wish here, but it was so messed up, Theo had died and Trisden only wanted to know how she could fix it. But there was nothing to fix. She knew better than to ask God to bring back her brother.

"Don't touch me," she hissed as the female drew closer, in some mockery of comfort, talking about the death of family. That was the final proof that Trisden needed, for in what ordinary circumstances would somebody say something like that? No, now Trisden knew beyond doubt that she was not mistaken. She now understood this female's devilry and would not fall for it. Backing up further, she kept her eyes always on the evil one, her voice dropping from the screams but no less hate-filled. "Don't you dare tell me to calm down when I know why you are here - but it won't work. I'm stronger than that. I won't let you break me! I may not deserve salvation, but if He deems me worthy, I shall accept it. Your words are poison, snake, and I will not let you claim me too."

Oh, it was all becoming clear now.

She was often seeking out Trisden's scent, because with Theo gone, and Hocus more likely to sleep Trisden was the one she might count on for a good game. Besides that, she was not oblivious to Trisden's guilt over Theo's death. It had taken a toll on her elder sister, and the game was hardly what fun they use to have. None the less she was worried, and when she realized she was not at the den she went looking for her.

She doubted she could find trouble, she oddly steered away from anything like that any more. She almost felt the same, except she couldn't help but wander from the borders from time to time....following her nose. She was having a hard time with the whole concept of everything. It was something she had a hard time comprehending because her mind couldn't believe Theo was not around any more. She tried not to think about it, or she would start to bawl, and she would never find Tris.

In hopes to cheer her up, she tracked her steps trying to come up with ideas how to lift her spirits. It helped put the idea of Theo out of her head, and instead she was thinking of bizarre new games to play. She had caught a mouse the other day, by mostly luck, and maybe she could challenge Trisden to trying to get one before her. Tail low, and wagging she sauntered through Grizzly Hollow, stopping every once, and awhile to make sure she was headed the right way.

It didn't take long for voices to reach her open ears, and it took even shorter for her heart to race, and her legs to pick up speed. There was a stranger in the hollow, and by all means Trisden was not pleased. Instictively her hair bristled, and she spotted a strange black female nearing Tris. "Get away from my sister!" She barked, darting to Trisden's side.

Hatred was boiling in her chest right alongside the nauseating fear, and it gave her valuable strength in this moment of great weakness. She would not befall the same fate as Theo, not even if that was the end she most deserved; what would that prove? More importantly, how would that help anybody? Her mother's face, her scent, was something that she clung to. Trisden needed to be here for her mother. She just had to make sure that whatever curse had befallen her was removed, to end the poison which had been wearing away at the Lyall family ever since her father and Prosper vanished.

It was at this point that Arlette appeared, and this gave weight to both Trisden's courage and her terror simultaneously. She could protect herself, but how could she ensure both her and Lettie's survival against this devilry? Her sister was innocent, totally innocent. Should Trisden allow any harm to come to her, she would surely be branded a failure.

Perhaps it was this sense of conviction, of purpose, that the evil stranger sensed, for at long last she turned away, defeated. Trisden felt the thrill of victory swell in her chest, but could not allow herself to enjoy it; no, that would be petty, this wasn't a mere game - this was serious! Who knew how close they had come to damnation? Bearing her teeth, making sure to stand between her beloved sister and the mortal demon, Trisden watched the black female leave. Had this been a test? Had she passed?

"Are you okay?" she whispered, out of breath and emotionally exhausted, turning on Arlette with nothing but concern. She hadn't been touched with the darkness, had she? Her sister was so sweet and pure, Trisden simply could not allow her to be tainted. She kept one ear in the direction of the devil's wolf, and wasn't sure if she had heard the female actually leaving - was she actually still within the borders? - but first she had to make sure that Arlette was okay. A swift howl for her mother, or Elettra, would serve to see the black wolf gone for good.