Whitestone Monadnock got me runnin' deep in the superstition

PP of @Lorcan letting go was allowed by Jacq c: @Craw

Mittani Morelli

you can think of me when you forget your seatbelt
and again when your head goes through the windshield

It was over and he saw the outcome from a mile away but did that mean he should have stopped early. Probably, but he didn't He wouldn't. He could not fathom the idea of willingly giving in. But there was no will in the way he was pulled to the ground. While he was already exposed he didn't go the full nine yards of tucking his tail and whining. He laid there still, eyes focused on the man who had a hold of him. But there was the voice of someone so sickly familiar.

"Enough."

"No shit sherlock." (Did wolves say no shit sherlock?)

His words were a scoff. He held a harsh respect for Craw that he perhaps didn't show it the best way. The grip on him was finally released and he flailed his legs out, kicking towards the male and hoping to land at least one blow. When his little display was over he shifted to his paws. Neck sore from that god awful mutt. "You know how I can get Craw, and I won't apologize for that. But it seems you've chosen your men wiser than I expected." His voice was cool and composed as he stared at the spider male. It wasn't a challenge just a harsh point out.

"speech"

Define your meaning of war

The words circling in my brain, You can treat this like another all the same
One of us is going down, I'm not running, It's a little different now

Black tipped tail raised to wave dominantly above the smooth curve of his spine as he stood over his defeated challenger. A low, long growl rumbled in his chest in encouragement for Mittani to submit and his vocals grew deeper and more intense with every heartbeat that passed where the white male did not tuck his tail under. Golden eyes narrowed into slits as he glared down at the man, frustration brewing within him at the sight of the man's defiance.

A familiar harsh voice snapped his attention away momentarily, as his russet ears pivoted around to catch Craw's authoritative instruction. Fangs were snapped in warning in the space between him and Mittani, and  with a dismissive flick of his tail, Lorcan cracked open his jaws and released Craw's older companion from his clutches. A sharp glance was shot towards Mittani as he thrashed his legs about dramatically, managing to kick Lorcan square in the lower jaw, before finally standing up.

Re-adjusting his mouth with a yawn, Lorcan made sure to give his tail one final dominant wave before lowering it back down to a respectful level as he approached Craw, greeting him with an apologetic whine. Listening to @Mittani make his excuses and noticing his failure to apologise, Lorcan shot questioning glance towards their superior. A look which clearly asked how @Craw was going to punish his old friend for such an audacious display of behaviour.

(This post was last modified: Jan 08, 2017, 06:18 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

Mercifully, it was enough. That it was @Lorcan stood over the challenger was not what he had expected at all, but in that moment it didn't matter; for all Craw knew and suspected, Mittani had merely been toying with the medic, because if he had been asked to put money down on an outcome, there would have been no doubt in the spider's mind who was more willing to go the distance.

And it wasn't like Lorcan wasn't a determined and strong individual, but his opponent was not exactly one known to play fair.

Lip curling at Mittani's dismissive words as he watched the white wolf get back onto his feet, Craw subconsciously took a step to move himself between the two wolves, as if to shield the medic. He missed how Lorcan looked at him, at how the man's tail rose in victory and dominance, because all Craw could see was one thing.

"Last time I watched you start a rank challenge, the other wolf walked away with one less eye," he hissed, the compliment to his fighting abilities laced with obvious displeasure for the sentiment behind them. Mittani had been pointed in his choice of words, as if he believed that Craw might have somehow lowered his standards in the last two years. If anything, he thought viciously, looking at the wolf in front of him, he'd raised them - but he was still coping with everything that had happened, and lashing out angrily at Mittani would serve no purpose other than short-term relief. Their friendship was much older than Whitestone, and yet Craw felt as though he were struggling with his priorities, with what was more important; life before the fall, or life after? It made him feel as though he were two entirely different wolves.

"I'm not as careless with my trust as I used to be," he said then, calmer, quieter, but just as pointed; Roake's face flashed briefly in his mind before he dismissed it, trusting that Mittani would be thinking of the very same wolf. The Morelli patriarch may have been violent and arrogant, but at least he had not been a betrayer. His sense of honour was far too strict for that, as dark as his nature may otherwise be. In some sense, Craw could not fault Mittani for doubting wolves he didn't yet know. "Did you even learn his name before trying to take his rank, Mitt? I know you can't stand to be on the bottom, and I don't expect you to, but... we have bigger priorities right now, you know that."

Four bigger priorities, waiting somewhere north for them to be told that it was all true.

(This post was last modified: Jan 09, 2017, 04:52 PM by Craw.)

THE MITTANI

Juliet loves the beat and the lust it commands
Drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands, Romeo

He scoffed and glared at @Craw and @Lorcan. "Well if a man walks away without it he doesn't deserve it now does he? And if you ask me I should've taken both of his eyes because we both know he didn't deserve either." He shoved his words out in a deep, dangerous tone. "And I believe your boy has everything in tact so I guess he deserves it." His eyes were coldly casted in the direction of Lorcan again.

Mittani couldn't help but laugh at Craw's next words. "HA! I tried to be nice, introduced myself, even offered to talk it out, I'm going the extra mile for you." He sneered. "But he was too overwhelmed to even offer me a simple name." His pale eyes looked onto the spidery man. "And I know we do but I run two agendas right now, Craw, and while yours may be first priority that doesn't mean I sacrafice my own."

The Morellia man took a deep breath and once again settled his focus on the man he challenged. "So if you care to tell me now what your name is we could fix one little issue." His voice overly calm and collective. God he wanted to shove the bugger off the monadnock.

"speech"

@Craw

Define your meaning of war

The words circling in my brain, You can treat this like another all the same
One of us is going down, I'm not running, It's a little different now

As Craw took a step forwards to place himself between him and Mittani, Lorcan shifted back and moved silently to circle around the back of their superior, golden eyes finally settling on the challenger from a safe distance. Black-tipped tail fell to sway casually behind his hind limbs, flitting slowly from side to side with interest as he observed Craw and Mittani silently. The story of how one of Mittani's previous victims had lost an eye caused a pang of uneasiness to swell within the pit of Lorcan's stomach at the sudden realisation of just how ugly thing could have become.

Lorcan shot a glare towards the white-haired man when he declared him to be still intact, wondering if perhaps there may have been a hint of threat within those words, for from Lorcan's viewpoint, the man sounded less than convinced that he truly deserved the victory. Lorcan had an instinctive feeling that Mittani was not the type to give up after just one set-back, so his lucky victory today would be unlikely to keep his rank safe for long.

Blinking away from his thoughts, Lorcan returned to the conversation just as Craw questioned if Mittani even knew who he had challenged. Lorcan's golden gaze snapped back to the white male, fully prepared for some audacious snarky comment. Lorcan's jaws gaped open in disbelief. Talk things through? Yes, but they both knew that if he had verbally refused to step down that Mittani would have just attacked him anyway - he had even admitted it himself. Closing his mouth, Lorcan did not attempt to hide the frown which creased his forehead, but he refused to argue back. He was tired and still teetering on angry; he didn't want to react and make himself look bad in front of Craw. He'd leave all that up to Mittani, who most certainly had it covered.

When Mittani asked him his name, Lorcan imagined snapping his jaws in his face. His tail flicked sharply behind him. Deep breath. "It's Lorcan." He replied, through half-gritted teeth. He'd miss out the 'sir' this time.  "Whitestone's healer." He quickly added, holding Mittani's gaze for a heartbeat or two to let that information sink in, for if he had been seriously injured, Mittani would have put not only his life in danger, but also unwittingly endangered the welfare of the entire pack. He then shot a pleading glance towards towards Craw, ears falling back and head lowing slightly: Can I go now?

(This post was last modified: Jan 09, 2017, 08:37 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

The thing was, Craw believed Mittani when the white wolf claimed to have gone about it nicely. It was just that the Morelli's version of nice was somewhat a step apart from that of most others, and while Craw could appreciate it - he had seen the genuinely friendly side of the man, after all, and understood how his head worked - when compared to a wolf like Lorcan... the difference between them was ridiculous. While Craw liked the healer plenty, he still felt the urge to coddle him, in a way that he didn't with Wraith, even though they were both gentle souls.

Gentle souls. That was the key, the thing which set wolves like Craw and Mittani apart from Lorcan and Wraith. The spider didn't want to be one of them, but that didn't mean he didn't value them, and he would be damned if another rough soul like himself was going to mess up the balance he had been so carefully maintaining.

Breathing evenly to keep himself calm, not wanting to appear to lose his cool in front of either wolf, Craw let Lorcan finish his curt reply (lips curling in amusement as he realised this was the healer's version of being furious) before he fixed the white wolf with a level eye. It was curious, how he looked at the arctic wolf as if he were two different men - one, the Craw of today, who saw himself lord of the north (or certainly this rock, at least) and took no shit from nobody, and yet he was also the young wolf who had looked up to the intimidating Mittani Morelli, had befriended the dangerous man, had relished his stories, had thought so highly of him that merely knowing that he was on Craw's side had made the spider feel ten times stronger.

It was this shared history and past love which kept a level of respect in his tone, respect for what they had shared, even as his tail curled and the Craw of the monadnock fought not to simply toss the man straight down into Lowest for his thoughtlessness.

"You are welcome to challenge up as you see fit, but at least try to integrate yourself into this pack first. You have my respect, but you must earn theirs; this isn't Ritter any more, Mittani, and your name and mighty reputation only means something to me. This pack is full of good wolves, wolves I trust, and I want you to trust them too.

"Twice now I have witnessed what happens to an dis-unified pack, and will not permit that to happen to Whitestone. Work with me, my friend. Make each other stronger. Like the old times."

Mittani

Tell it how you think it's going to be
I'll bite back with broken teeth

Mittani felt like the younger male was almost like a gnat. Just buzzing around, being so damn annoying, and the poet wanted to squash him into the earth. To end that little buzzing creature's life. The way he hung around @Craw was sickening.

"Oh well congratulations, @Lorcan." He sneered at the flaunted title. There was so much more he could have said but he didn't let it slip past his lips while the spider's attention was so dead set on him.

Speaking of the spider, Mitt flicked his ears towards him as he spoke. "My name will mean something to everyone from the North to the South and I won't rest till it does." He hadn't noticed how the pale fur of his hackles seemed to prick upwards. "But I'll settle until the others are taken care of and work with you. Don't waste either of our time, Craw." It wasn't a threat but merely a harsh statement. His tail flicked and he offered a snort. The poet was dismissing himself from this little meeting. He had wanted nothing more (for the moment) than the other wolf's rank and what he had left with? Nothing but a harsh talk and the rudeness of some pitiful excuse for a man.

-mittani's exit unless stopped-

@Craw feel free to reply or archive :)

Define your meaning of war

The words circling in my brain, You can treat this like another all the same
One of us is going down, I'm not running, It's a little different now

Lorcan remained a silent bystander to much of the conversation, golden gaze observing the white male as he lingered anxiously behind Craw. Though he did not raise his voice or spit harsh words towards Mittani, the agouti male was certain that their scarred superior was less than impressed with his old comrade's hasty actions. The healer still felt his heart flutter however when Craw did not forbid his friend from challenging up the ranks again, but instead merely stalled him. His russet ears fell back against his head and his golden gaze broke away from Mittani and darted down to the cold frost covered stone beneath him. It would only be a matter of time before the newcomer challenged for his rank again and the thought of that day terrified him.

Russet ears perked back up and his golden gaze blinked back up to meet the pale yellow stare of Mittani as he addressed him directly. The way the white furred man congratulated him sent a small shiver down his spine, as if the words had been laced with poison. Somewhere in there was a threat, he was sure of it. Lorcan done his best to remain composed. His eyes narrowed and he curled his tail back up above the level of his spine and gave it sharp defiant wave to claim his dominance over the male before he nodded his head towards Mittani in acknowledgement.

Keeping his eyes trained on Mittani as he spoke a few more words to Craw, Lorcan watched the man leave before he let his tail fall back limply behind him. His golden eyes flickered briefly back towards Craw in apology before he gave a thorough shake of his pelt and traipsed away silently in the opposite direction to Mittani. He needed some space.

-Lorcan exits-

(This post was last modified: Jan 16, 2017, 01:36 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together