The Young Hellion was padding through the thicket, just managing to slip through the diminutive spaces, and even sometimes having to back up and go another way. After just a few minutes, he had gotten lost, and had no idea where he was, or where he was going, but even so, he continued his wander, just meandering around, looking for something or someone, anything to relieve him of his bored state. To his relief, not much time later, the thickets opened up to clear land, and he breathed in the fresh air blowing from the East.

Bright amber eyes glancing around, he saw something that made him freeze, physically and mentally. It was Rayne. No, it couldn’t be, surely not. There were probably many wolves of that size and colour, he was mistaking the wolf for another. Slowly and silently the Young Hellion crept forwards and slightly to the side, as to see the face. What made him pause again was a single, sudden thought. It was him.

Hackles raising, lips pulled back and his tail and head raising, Anouke stared at the wolf that had beaten him, torn apart his pride, and made his encounter with his future co leader embarrassing and painful. The hatred he felt for the wolf was more than he felt for even the pack that had ripped his family apart, leaving him and his sister to fend for themselves, bent on revenge that changed him into the cruel and powerful wolf he was.

At that point, he remembered the order the dark fae had given him, a mission that he had to accomplish, or never return to her again. Making sure his hatred and anger was bottled down completely as to give off a calm façade, the Young Hellion slowly and regally walked up to Rayne from his right side, coming up behind him slightly. “Your sister…Neoma sends her regards and that she hopes you have found your other sister.” His voice was smooth and silky, and he stopped just a meter away, giving just enough room that he had a chance of evading an attack. He would attack the rust male, and attempt to give him a limp for the rest of his life, just as the dark fae ordered. And he would relish every moment of it.

Anouke watched in satisfaction as the rust-coloured male froze, and slowly turned his head to look at him with those orange eyes of his. He stared back, and snorted in disgust when the male stuttered and half yelped out a question while stumbling backwards, nearly falling over his paws in his haste to back away. His dark ears twitched at the next question, which was almost spoken in a whine, but did not reply. He would only speak back until a proper question was asked, and otherwise he would only gesture here and there, as the male wasn’t worth much words for him to express.

Watching intently with bright amber eyes, he observed as first the tail was tucked, then the folding of ears against the head, and lastly the lowering of the body to the ground. But what surprised him was the wince that followed, and the shifting of the left side. A smirk threatened to lift up the corner of his lips, but it didn’t appear. The dark she-wolf has ordered him to harm a leg so badly that it would give him a limp for the rest of his life, and now he had a target to aim for, one of which was already hurt. It would make the job that much easier, but he didn’t mind the difficulty of it, no, he enjoyed a challenge. But it was not just a mission he was completing, it was also a promise he had made to himself to see through, and he would.

Ears twitching as the rust-coloured male demanded in a higher-than-usual voice that he say why the dark she-wolf sent her regards and hopes, Anouke narrowed his eyes. No one but a certain someone ever demanded something of him, and if they did, they would face the dire consequences of it. But before he could do anything the male spoke again, trailing off as a look of realization came upon his face; his eyes widening. When he started shouting out that he was just like her, and that they both thought others to be inferior and ought to be dead if they didn’t think so too, a sudden malevolent leer appeared on the Young Hellions striking, shadowy face.

Calmly shaking his head as if he had all the time in the world, Anouke stared at the male with his bright amber eyes.
“The way her mind works would be incomprehensible to yours,” he said softly in a dangerous tone, barely blinking, and never looking away from the wide orange eyes before him. His fur bristled slightly at his neck and withers as he spoke again with conviction in his voice. “I am not like her, nor is she like me; we are the same, and yet different from each other. But inside, there is only one being that we are…” His voice trailed off slowly and carefully, as he would never tell a wolf that was not like them who they really were, they weren’t worthy enough to know.

“As for your last statement: we do not think, we know those that are not like us are inferior, and yes, if they do not agree, then they should be either dead or never to return.” A low growl emitted from the Young Hellion’s maw as he finished speaking. His ears flattened against his skull, eyes narrowing to slits, and his head lowering as he prepared to finish the mission the dark she-wolf had given him. He would not fail.

It pleased Anouke to see the shudder shaking the rust-coloured male’s spine, which proved that he was not fit to live in the world, or if he could somehow make himself invaluably useful to both him and the dark she-wolf, then he had the slightest chance of escaping death. But no, he could not kill him, not yet anyway, but he could have pleasure in doing it. She had only ordered him to give him an injury that would stay with him for the rest of his life, one that would remind him every day that he was beneath them, and should never go against their word, or face the dire consequences. Yes, it would end in death if he gave them the slightest reason to do it, although just being himself was enough.

Dark ears twitched as Rayne asked if he would be killing him. Not today… but soon he thought silently to himself with a malicious grin. But oh how he wanted to do it, the only thing holding him back was the memory of the dark she-wolf, she would get her way, or there would be no way, and he would never do anything against her wishes, for he surely would face her wrath, and that was something he didn’t want, for it would not be congenial. In fact, it would most likely be the end of him in life, as he knew she always gave out harsh punishments for those who disobeyed her orders.

But what the Young Hellion did not expect to see was the other male getting back to his feet and raising his head and tail, showing that he would not back down. A snarl ripped from his jaws as they stood just over roughly two meters apart, looking each other in the eyes. “No, but you will never be the same once I’m finished with you.” With no warning, Anouke sprang forwards, aiming to knock the other male on his back so he could get a clear shot at the already-hurt leg.

The Young Hellion’s initial attack only lasted for a few seconds, but what happened in those few precious seconds was very important to both his mission, and himself. As he leaped, the rust-coloured male moved to dodge his attack by jumping out of the way, but a strangled cry emitted from his mouth and his bright amber eyes saw the slight buckling of the left leg. It was then that the full bulk of his body smashed into Rayne’s, sending him sprawling and on his back, with Anouke coming out on top. His front paws pressed down heavily into the other male’s chest, and just like a snake, his muzzle shot down and he clamped his jaws into the left front leg, the one that had already been injured.

He could taste the metallic coppery flavor of blood in his mouth, and he heard the whimpering cry of the male beneath him. A snarl ripped from his muzzle as he bit down hard on the leg, hearing a satisfying crunch from the force of his bite, and he held still for a few seconds, feeling the male writhe under him, before slowly letting go. Blood trickled slowly out of the ghastly wound he had made, and he could feel the blood on his teeth and lips, and so, slowly running his tongue over his teeth and lips to clean them, his bright amber eyes shifted to meet Rayne’s own orange eyes.

Leisurely leaning in so his muzzle was right next to the rust-coloured male’s ear, he breathed out softly, his hot breath warming the male’s neck, before he spoke in barely a whisper. “I will not kill you this time Rayne, but if anyone gets word of what truly happened here today, both your sister and I will hunt you down until we find you, and your death will be slow and painful, with no mercy.” His last word was accompanied with a slight snap of his jaws clamping together inches from his neck, before he raised his head and looked down at Rayne, a malevolent glint in his eyes. “You got that?” He said simply, and louder, as if he could have whispered anything to the male, who looked so pitiful lying there on his back. But he deserved everything he received.

The whimper that escaped from Rayne’s muzzle caused the Young Hellion to give a disapproving snort. Pain should be taken silently, to show that said wolf was thinking greatly about why they were being punished, instead of crying out their agony and pain to the world, where those who heard it did not care, nor wished to intervene for fear of receiving a punishment in return. But the place he was in, the pack, the wolves all cared too much about one another. They told each other secrets, and what they had recently done. It was despicable, and he couldn’t wait until he really started messing the pack up, and then was free to leave.

Dark ears twitching at the pitiful rust-coloured male’s question, his lips curling back at the stutter lacing each word, and at the meaning of the words, possibly even the words themselves. Only wolves beneath them, unknowing to the power that they did not have, and believing that the wolves above them were unjust, would ask such a question. The true answer was very simple, for there were many things he could have been punished for, but the main reason was the only one the male beneath him had to know. Anouke would not waste his precious words on something that didn’t need to be said, nor would ever be said to ears that did not need to hear it. Rayne certainly didn’t.

A sneer on his devilishly handsome face, he stared down at the male, a low rumble resonating in his chest. “The fact that you exist explains everything…” Anouke trailed off lightly, slowly easing himself off of the male and padding leisurely in the direction of the borders. But after a few moments he paused and looked back. “You should do well in recognizing us for who we really are the next time we meet, Rayne.” With that, he turned back around and headed for the den site without a care for the wolf laying on the ground behind him, clearly in pain. Soon, someone would notice him and help him, like the family they were. But he had more important matters to attend to.