Drowned Wood and you're doing your best to avoid me

backdated a day or two before the pack hunt
for @Vasco Viorel is looking for daddy advice
Dawn, hazy, 73F/23C

The Valle man had things he needed to talk about that he didn’t want anyone else in the pack to overhear. He needed the confidence of an advisor and seeing as his cousin had up and left not only the pack but also her small children he didn’t have many options. There was only one other wolf that he would trust to advise him in these times and that was his father. Once had had been reassuring him that he would be a good father and that he turned out to be untrue or else they would all still be home and alive. But, Viorel knew his father to be sneakier than he let on to be.

Viorel had considered consulting with Rochus, who he still suspected of being involved with Platon’s disappearance somehow, but had thought better of it. He was too closely involved with Vayko, and he didn’t want anyone else knowing of what he was thinking yet. Instead he had snuck out as the sun was coming up behind a smoky hazy sky, casting the world in a dangerous orange tint. Within earshot of the territory he had called to summon his father and then kept moving until he reached the marsh. Here he was confident they would not be overheard.

Pacing amongst the grey trunks and the shallow water he waited, he needed his father.

(This post was last modified: Jul 11, 2023, 01:41 AM by Viorel.)

Planning, scheming, brooding – what use was any of it when he was so outnumbered? If he could not win with a single, well-placed blow, then what options did he have left? Vasco Halex had never been a soldier, he didn’t have the courage to face his problems head on, he worked in the shadows – but those were few and far between in the Backwater. And while he had been idling, Rochus’ advantage had only grown – not only with Vayko managing to woo Clover and producing a veritable army of offspring, but Sharlee too had birthed a brood, before disappearing, dumping them on her brother. Meanwhile, Viorel remained frozen, just going trough the motions, his only meaningful decision being the banishment of his youngest son and the woman bearing his grandchildren, further weakening his grasp on the pack. So, when Vasco heard his son’s call, he was loathe to answer, sure that whatever he wished to discuss was either unimportant, or another blow to the Halex’s crumpling power. Yet, Viorel was not only his only remaining child, but also his leader, and the summons would need to be heeded, though he took his time in doing it. The second could not afford to lose his sons favor, no matter how useless it had been as of late. Stalking into the very woods where Xulia had finally found him, almost a lifetime ago, Vasco felt an ominous chill run along his spine – a memory of the state he had been in then, half a step from the grave, and how close death still loomed. But, when he spotted his leader up ahead, he shook off the feeling, forcing himself into a prouder posture before approaching the dark form; though his voice still slithered like a snake as he spoke: “You called.” Thoughts ”Speech”

Dawnthieves.de

Warning for swearing/inappropriate language in this one lol

It took his father longer to answer than the Valle man would have liked, though he let it slide given what a distance they were from the pack. Vasco entered the area, proud as ever and his voice reflecting the exact type of slyness that Viorel needed him for. All at once, staring at the smaller man in front of him the leader was strongly reminded of a fox, sly, quick, and in some cases dangerous.

Rolling his shoulders which were bunched with anger and tension, his voice was dripping with venom as he stated simply, ”I want to make them pay.” He thought it was clear who he meant, the Cove, the very wolves who had set this downward spiral in motion. If not for their idiocy then Sephrina would be alive, he wouldn’t have felt so beaten down, Isla would be with them, and Archer wouldn’t have gone looking for comfort dick first in Kateri. They had wronged them, and they needed to know what they had done.

That was what he needed Vasco for. Surely the older man would have the intelligence to advise him on how to make this happen, how he could spread the cruelty as Kateri had so aptly put it onto those who deserved it. He stared at his father, expectant, intense, hungry.

Whatever he might have expected, Vasco was thoroughly surprised by his son’s answer, not least the tone in which it was spoken. After so long of Viorel retreating into his grief, his father would have thought he had no anger in him; And certainly no desire for revenge… Not the moral and virtuous heir of the Valles; But a Halex… A slick, icy smile spread across the pale man’s face, voice hard as he answered: “Good.” Vasco’s grief might not have shown as outwardly as his son’s, but he had felt the loss of his grandchildren just as bad, and he definitely blamed Sanguine Cove for it. The fact that he also, partially, blamed Viorel for sending the children up the mountain in the first place, was unimportant at the moment. Vasco would be more than happy with the Cove paying the full prize; As long as somebody does! Taking a moment to size up his leader, Vasco debated just how aggressively to proceed – he didn’t want to go too far, only to have the boy back down, though he seemed plenty serious. In the end, he decided to let Viorel call the shots, settling for a simple, but enthusiastic: “So, where do we begin?” Thoughts ”Speech”

Dawnthieves.de

A fresh wind comes and clears the smoke from this area. {BWP}

Vasco responded almost exactly as Viorel had expected him to. There was no pretending he didn’t know who or what he was talking about, or like the mountain pack didn’t deserve it. His father was all in from the beginning and it only fueled the fire that had been smoldering deep within the salt and pepper wolf. It gave the anger and hatred the gust of fresh oxygen it needed to explode into actual flames.

The leader’s thoughts were only further enforced when the wind picked up and gave at least a few minutes of sweet relief from the smoke. It was as if the world was telling him that he was on the right track. Turning on his heel to pace in a manner that only a wild animal could pull off, Viorel’s thoughts were running a million miles an hour. He grumbled, ”I don’t know. I know I want to cause them as much pain as they’ve caused us, but I don’t know how.” It wasn’t like he was going to kill one of their kids. He was angry but there was a line.

He paused his frantic movements to size Vasco up, ”So go on, advise me.” He didn’t know his father’s involvement exactly in Platon’s disappearance, but there were enough clues to point that he wasn’t innocent either. He would know what to do.

Vasco had never aspired for his son to be like him – in fact there were parts of him that he was happy he hadn’t inherited – and simply seeing him flourish and succeed had been more than enough to make the father proud. But there had been times when the insidious man wished they had thought more alike, and his son wouldn’t be quite so honest and cordial. Sometimes, situations called for cunning and deceit, especially when your family was hurt. So, it was exhilarating to see Viorel agitated after so many months of inaction, finally looking to strike back. As he paced, Vasco sat back, his tail patiently tapping the ground as silver eyes trailed him back and forth. A delightful shiver ran down his back at Viorel’s words, his smile widening and head tilting ever so slightly – this was his element! “There are many ways to go about such things,” He started, voice initially soft but hardening as he went on: “but what they did…” A growl rumbled deep in his narrow chest; “That pain needs to be repaid tenfold!” Vasco would have no qualms about taking out several of the Cove’s yearlings in return for Sephrina, but despite Viorel’s rage, the advisor doubted he would agree to that; Not just yet, anyway… Still, there was plenty of ways to hurt others outside of murder, and then, accidents happened, just like with Platon. Thoughts ”Speech”

Dawnthieves.de

His father’s confidence which bordered on glee only bolstered the Valle man’s rage and determination. He had been festering this idea within him for so long, but too afraid to voice it out loud and now that he had, it hadn’t been rejected, rather it had been celebrated. Gold eyes looked over the smaller man who suddenly seemed perfectly in his element and the thought that he had something to do with Platon’s disappearance made a lot of sense. But it wasn’t the time to dive into those daddy issues, they had other problems at paw.

Vasco’s words rumbled out of him, and for just a second Viorel felt a moment of pause, enough to add, ”I’m willing to do whatever it takes, but I’m not killing one of their kids. That’s where I draw the line.” He wanted the adults to suffer, not the children. They were innocent in all of this, the subordinates and leaders were the ones who were supposed to be watching Sephrina and failed. There had to be a lot of other options that they could come up with where the punishment would suit the crime. Rolling his shoulders back into a proud stance he questioned, ”And whatever it is, we’ll need to be careful to protect our own from further retaliation, they need to pay for their crimes without them being able to confirm that we were the ones behind it.” They could assume of course, but they couldn’t get caught doing it.

It was almost surreal, to be discussing these things so openly. For so long, Vasco had been stalking the shadows, keeping his scheming on the sly. To be suddenly plotting like this, along with his leader, was a whole new power trip. Alas, his son was not quite as depraved as Vasco himself; Pity.. But then, that sense of integrity was what made Viorel such a strong leader of the Backwater wolves – a mantle his father never could have handled, and he knew it. However, he was content to be the devil on his son’s shoulder, and his enforcer too, when need be. Nodding his head grimly, he consented to the conditions; No killing, but perhaps… Already the pale man’s mind was teeming with plots as he listened in to Viorel’s second command, a sensible one, and one that would be easy enough to heed for a ghost like Vasco. “Certainly,” he agreed, more somberly now; “I’ll take my time, scout them out to discover their weaknesses, and wait for the pack scent to fade before I strike.” It would be some hard months, living on his own as he stalked the Cove, but it would be worth it, to avenge his granddaughter. Thoughts ”Speech”

Dawnthieves.de

The leader could see the gears turning in his father’s head as he processed the instructions. Viorel had never been one to be sneaky, or think this far ahead strategically and it was clear that this was a job best left in Vasco’s capable paws. Nodding in agreement to the final sentiment, all he could offer was, ”Okay, I trust you will get what needs to be done, done, before coming home. I’ll tell the others you’ve had some personal business to attend to and I have approved your leave, when the time comes.” Who knew how long it would be before they had their revenge. But it was clear that it was coming.

Nodding once more, Viorel turned towards home to take his leave. The less he knew about all of this, the better.