Willow Ridge all this over a family squabble

Nicolo wasn't stupid and as he listened to Craw's words he certainly got the impression that the other man thought him to be so. It was mildly insulting but he listened on and he had nothing to say on the matter until he brought up Adele. Pale, yellow eyes grew wide and Nicolo shot up from his spot voice louder than he intended it to be, "You keep Adele out of this conversation!" Nostrils flared, the charcoal colored man glared at the other. It was becoming ever clear to him now. Craw was certainly not the man that Nico originally thought him to be and the dark Archer did not want anything to do with him.  "As for Hecate," he continued, more calmly, "she's smart. No doubt she'll weasel her way out of the idiotic situation she has gotten herself into." His eyes were unforgiving as they peered at the dark man, his inquiry earning a dark look from the older man. His voice was rougher when he spoke, "Obviously the right thing, especially if I'm getting wolves like you to leave. Take who believe in your cause, Craw, because they don't belong here. Willow Ridge will become strong again because now it won't suffer from a child that won't always get her way." He snorted shaking his head and backing away. This conversation was a waste of his energy. "I believe this conversation is over." He sent one last retreating glare Craw's way before going to seek out one wolf whom he knew would never leave his side.

WesternStock @ DA, KYghost @ DA & Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

I'm sorry. He's insatiable :x

That the mention of the Archer's precious sister elicited such a reaction sent a shiver of vicious pleasure down his spine. Nicolo thought he was all cool and calm but Craw had found one of his buttons, so who was to say he could not uncover and press more? As the the pitiable leader promptly did a 180 on his stance of Hecate, no doubt to try and spite Craw somehow, the sneer on the spider's face only grew, and grew, and as Nicolo spat strong-sounding words which he surely couldn't believe, it only grew more.

Then the Archer turned to leave, and for a moment, Craw considered letting him go.

It was a very short moment.

"No," he rasped, stepping after the retreating husk of a leader, "I'm not finished." He thought he would get out of this that easily, after Craw had gone to the effort to find him, just because the conversation had taken a turn the soft little pussy cat didn't like? And to think that Nicolo had accused Morganna of being a child - at least she didn't run from hardship and adversity. It was clearer than ever to Craw that Willow Ridge was doomed, though probably to die a slow and suffocating death. Sad. Elettra had deserved to leave a greater legacy.

Whether or not Nicolo stopped to confront him, Craw would continue, walking after (and talking to) the man's rear if necessary. His tone was light, as if they were back to a conversational exchange, a small sign of how little he thought of the Archer. "I wanted to find out if you'd heard about the meeting Morganna held to discuss your incompetence and replacement. Did you know that every single male member of this pack attended, all the way from Skoll down to Niles and Sven, and none of them spoke out in support of you when she challenged her brother to usurp you? He missed his deadline, of course, and failed, but such is to be expected. Have any of them mentioned this incredible contempt for your authority, or do they all respect you even less than I do?"

(This post was last modified: Jul 08, 2016, 09:44 AM by Craw.)

Craw just couldn't leave it alone. The other dark man pursued him and mentally, the charcoal colored Archer cursed him, but he remained silent, listening to the other man's rampage. He did not stop moving though, not willing to see the man's crazed eyes as he spoke, as he envisioned them to be. The information that the other man gave to him was new to him and he would have never had gotten the intel if he hadn't walked away. Pleased with this, Nicolo stopped, turned, and watched the other man, pale yellow eyes cold. A smug smile formed on the alpha's lips, his words just as smooth, "I suppose you'll just have to find out for yourself, Craw. You're leaving soon. We'll see how many followers you have." And with that final statement, Nicolo turned to leave. If Craw chose to follow him again, that was his choice, but the Archer was done with child's play. It was time to repair what had been broken.

WesternStock @ DA, KYghost @ DA & Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

The 'confession' did not have the expected result. @Nicolò turned back with that arrogant smile and Craw had paused, wondering if it had not been a surprise after all - and while the man's short, sharp reply indicated neither way, it seemed, to Craw, an odd choice of rebuttal. Was he implying that Craw's own allies were to be mistrusted? The Archer didn't even know who was going to be leaving aside from Craw and Morganna, for he had only been told this development this moment. Assumptions. Craw had come to the man out of respect and some misguided belief that Morganna's uncle held some worth, had been misunderstood, but the more he picked apart Nicolo's retort, the more he found it empty. He had to be blowing air out his ass. Shame.

And he still wasn't finished. Stood here, now, Craw finally saw the family resemblance, saw how the cool and collected Nicolo fit in with the other Archers he was familiar with. "You are so like Skoll. You do realise that bluffing doesn't change reality? It's true that what I think of you and this pack doesn't matter," at least, assuming that things didn't go more sour and he could convince Morganna that the willows was better off uninhabited, "but it's mired in truth. You are incapable of owning up to your failures, or perhaps you just can't see them. I came to you out of respect, and so," he said, licking his lips, realising that spending anymore time on this no-hoper was a complete waste, "to honour that, I will leave you will some parting advice to find Hecate. Bastard baby Archers are better than no baby Archers."

Of course, Nicolo would do no such thing, Craw would bet his tail on it. He hardly expected the man to take the advice seriously through some petty and short-sighted sense of pride, though it was genuinely offered. If he had been the sort of man to feel guilt, he may have experienced it over the notion of taking from the Ridge some of its best and brightest. Wraith would come. Capable might come. Who did that leave behind, the too-old and the too-young and the utterly unreliable?

"I'll be sending a scout come summer to see whether you manage to strangle this pack. Now you can go."

If Craw is ready you can archive this. ;)

And still the other man wasn't finished. He continued to get in his space and while Nic wanted to do nothing more than remind the other man what personal space was, he did not want to give Craw the satisfaction of seeing him loss his cool. Perhaps most of the members would leave with them and Willow Ridge would have to scout for new members. Better off for them. Especially, if none respected the male enough to come to him to inform him of the meeting that had been formed behind his back. Craw was quite the spitfire, much like Morganna, and he could finally see why they fit so well together. The chaotic personalities just clashed and made more chaos. He did listen to what Craw had to say and even though the words flared his temper, he reigned it in. There was no point. They would be gone soon and there was no point in egging on the other dark man's ego. He continued to walk. At Craw's dismissal, he fought the urge to roll his eyes, flicking his tail harshly above the air with a flourish which he hoped gave the man the impression of a large, Fuck off. Luckily, it would not be long before he would not have to deal with the other man's antics and he would be left in peace. As he made his way away from the scene, he had every intention of going to find his sister. He would tell her most of what had occurred and leave out the more lewd details. Such suggestions were not made for her ears.

WesternStock @ DA, KYghost @ DA & Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief

He finally is! Have archived, sorry for the wait and thank you for a good thread <3

The Archer had no more to say, no more fire to draw upon other than to turn his back with an angry little flourish and walk away. Dismissed like the submissive bitch he was. Craw did not bother to hide the derisive sneer on his face as he watched the man walk away, contemplating just how differently he saw Nicolo now, how sharp a turn this meeting took. To think he had come out of a desire to be cordial! At least he had learnt all he needed to.

It was a shame the willows would be so doomed with them gone. What kind of leader let his subordinates behave in such a condescending and disrespectful manner? Craw may not have liked having to be submissive, but he had at least been able to do the right thing and bow his head while biding his time in this pack, up until the moment when it was no longer deserved or warranted. Craw would be nobody's lesser soon enough, so it did not matter if Nicolo found his manner displeasing. They'd be rid of one another soon enough.

Still, if any of Craw's subordinates ever spoke to them as he had just spoken to Nicolo, he would have torn out their throat. With a snort, Craw turned away, tail subconsciously flicking a little higher.