May 20th; the day of his brothers' presentation to the pack...

Today was the day for his younger brothers to finally emerge from the den and be formally introduced to the pack. Sköll knew how very important such an event was; for the past week it was all Angier and his mother had talked about. Day in and day out, Angier carefully kept track of the members of their pack, ever watchful for any behavior that he might deem inappropriate or undesirable around the cubs. All in all, it seemed fine, the silver-mouthed prince took careful note about how calm the Lyall seemed to be behaving. Well... at least until today. The actual introduction day.

It had all begun when Sköll opened his mouth and semi-accidentally told Angier that he was not going to attend such a royal event. He stomped through the willows, his gray-streaked fur bristled in minuscule spikes. His pointy black ears folded back in attempt to block out Angier's shouting. Angier was not his parent, he was a mentor and a subject beneath his mother, just as Guiness had been. The tawny Leader had no power over him as the prince, his mother's heir.

"Blah blah blah blah blah," he mocked, continuing on his warpath away from the den. "That's all that comes out of your mouth: Blah blah blahhhh... Shut up already." He took a glance over his shoulder to see Angier right on his tail, frustrated and obviously beyond angry. Sköll scoffed, snorting once as he continued onward, hoping to at least lose his superior through the trees once he found one of his somewhat secret hiding places within the willows. He had already seen the little fur balls, he had even carried one to the den, and that should've been a presentation in itself. This prince had far more better things to do than stare and coo and coddle his younger brothers who were more than likely barely walking and barely talking - which made them very uninteresting for the time being.

"speech."

table by bryony

It gave him a sense of satisfaction to listen to Angier Lyall bellow and roar out in frustration. Knowing that Angier knew he had no control over him made him even more pleased. Though, as the Leader began his usual count - the sort of thing that had only worked on him once or twice when he was a cub - Sköll stopped. He did an about-face and rolled his shoulders with a roll of his silvery eyes. He resisted the urge to bark back, to flash his teeth, and outright challenge his superior with a direct stare to his pale face.

Another scoff emitted from his mouth but, at the very least, he bowed his head and stalked back over to where Angier stood. With pursed lips he blinked up at the patriarch before looking away, an unattractive scowl present on his black and gray face. His upper lips twitched so that only his canines were visible. "You called, My Lord?" he half-sneered, his tail held out behind him in what was a borderline neutral curve. He stole a glance into that pair of pale golden eyes, discerning from them his step-father's utmost anger and disappointment. He really could have been civil about it all but instead, he opted for different route and had chosen mockery instead, "Or did you forget that I was excused? You mentioned yourself that you wanted it all to go smoothly, so why would you want me around? I helped carry them to the den and you said that would suffice. I thought you wanted someone to mind the borders while the pack assembled to meet... Deacon, Castiel, and Greer."

He let the names of his half-brothers leap from his tongue with an acidic tone, letting their father subtly know that Sköll, in secret, absolutely despised them. Angier also really hadn't said any of these things, but apart of Sköll hoped that his plea would at least be persuasive enough to get him "off the hook." He played another card in hopes of staving off the Leader once and for all, "If that wasn't you who said it, it was probably Mother who did then; and, she wanted me to run the perimeter before I went." He held his breath, bracing himself for his superior's reply. He continued to lie, "@Asriel even said he would represent the both of us." For a moment, he pretended to see something out of the corner of his eye, "I'd better go and you ought to be on your way or Mother Dearest will have us both up a tree--" now to lay down something promising, a bribe that Angier couldn't resist, "--here, let me go, and I'll bring you something back to bring to Mother. You can even say that you caught it yourself."

table by bryony