Poison Path Dust Bowl Dance

• man if I can't manage to use the word of the day in this post then I suck.

Datura, who had so long imposed his will on his younger sister, had just assumed that what he had done before he could do again. It was merely a matter of making his thoughts known. All he had to say was that they were going and Bella would roll over and comply — and this was the order of the universe. He took her for granted. To the golden boy, his sister did not have her own ambitions or wants. She was very much an extension of himself. She wanted what he wanted and together they worked together towards the same goals, because to Datura, that's what family did. Her idiosyncracsies, though, had always troubled him. He should have known what they meant. They meant she didn't love him. When Belladonna submitted herself to her brother she allowed these beliefs to grow. She nurtured this side of him whether or not she meant to. This, in the end, would hurt him most of all. His little sister had built up his ego into this brilliant and shimmering tower.... and she should would break it all down. Was it he who was the cruel one, or was it she?

"No,"

And just like that he was losing her.

The golden Aquila jerked back as if he had been hit. His mouth fell agape, and when he looked down at her again he discovered that she was staring right back at him. Discomfort prickled in his hackles. Belladonna had never looked him in the eye before. She challenged him with these golden eyes even though her terror was evident. Terror, he scoffed inwardly. She's still weak. He had not lost yet. Instinctively, Datura's tail rose higher and his honey-suckle fur bristled in his agitation. His grasp was slipping.

"You've decided that you are going, Datura."

Insolent brat! He would stomach no more of her cowardly defiance. What he could not do with words, he could still do with teeth. Like lightning his jaws reached out to snap at her. This was not an attempt to wound her — she was, after all, still family, and Datura did not injure family. No, he only meant to grab ahold of her ear and wrench her head downwards where it belonged. A little pain was allowed. Through clench teeth he growled softly so that only she could hear, his voice was poisonous, "You are coming or you're dead to me."

(This post was last modified: Jan 23, 2013, 10:06 PM by Datura.)

She didn't know who hurt more, he or she. She, who was facing the prospect of having her reality torn apart, her precious harmony ruined, and alongside all that, losing her brother. If she had to choose between Datura and Athena, Datura and the pack, who did she pick? She loved Athena almost more than anything, and the white wolf she had known as her mother was never cruel to her like Datura was. But he was her brother, and they had gone through everything together. Despite everything, her tie to him was powerful.

But... Datura, or her home?

She had to fight not to whimper and cry when he flinched back, her defiance taking him by surprise. She had known he would not be able to handle it well. She was not handling it well. When he grabbed her by the ear all she did was whine once, softly, in pained protest, but she did not pull away or try to wrest free. He was trying to keep control, she knew, trying to exert himself over her like he always did. Numbly, she wondered if his mannerisms were her fault. Clearly he saw Athena as no mother, and nor had they a father. In a way, Bella herself had been his sole example when growing up.

Seeing him now, seeing the man he had grown into, grabbing his sister in front of everyone and being the shameless bully he was, she knew that she had not done right by him.

It was, perhaps, a small mercy that his words were for her alone. To have such a thing declared in front of family and strangers alike would have broken her entirely. "I'll still love you," she whispered weakly, unable to say anything else, anything better. She knew it would not change anything. She was still saying no, and he would still be unable to accept it.

Datura or home? She tried to harden her heart and tell herself that she had made the right choice.

carry on, oh, little lonely prince

Adonis Aquila

The black prince hadn't realised he had been holding his breath as his bone head brother appeared. One by one, new wolves had arrived but none of them made him feel worried, he was surrounded by steel and armour, he felt no fear would come to him where he stood on the side of his mother. His hackles had risen when the White Witch had appeared, and he had allowed himself to release a growl in her direction with a narrow of his eyes. He would love nothing more than to have another pop at her... but she was his mother's problem now.

The golden boy looked as cocky and confident as ever and on some level he hoped the jerk picked him. To come with him and do the whole brother's thing, even if they didn't get along, he felt a bit of a pull to stand beside him, no matter how much of a pea brain he was. Yet when Bella, his beautiful sister, braced the scene he found his breath had caught again. He hoped, prayed that she would come to them, to be a part of her family, the ones who wanted her to stand with her through thick and thin. The family who would never lie to her, never leave her side again... they were the better choice in his mind, and the selfishness in him would quite happily drag her home if she didn't come of her own free will...

"Please... go."

He felt as if his jaw might hit the ground. She... she had turned them down? Turned them away? He didn't realise he had moved forward, but slowly, surely, his paws took him out from the line of his group and towards the only siblings he had and would ever have, in the whole entire world. "Bella..." he breathed quietly upon his approached. He wasn't sure if she heard, or if he had even been noticed as he approached the now bickering siblings. Datura it seemed, was coming. He felt his heart swell a little, but he couldn't enjoy the moment, not if they were going to leave her behind. "Bella please." he said again, but he did not expect what happened next as Datura snapped towards her, her ear caught and his tone deepened. With her whine, he did not hear the words they exchanged but it was enough to make him pick up the pace, from a trot to an all out run as he ran towards the pair, the others around him completely forgotten as if it were just the three of them in the entire word. "Brother... please. Let her go." he pleaded as he slowed to a halt, just in time to hear his sister whisper her saddened words of love. He felt his heart crack a little more, if she did not come with them, he would never hear her say those words to him. All he had ever wanted in his life was his family, his pack, friends. Was it too much to ask for them just to be together like it should be.

He wasn't sure if they knew who he was, if they had managed to work out tehs truth and link him to Naira. They weren't idiots, but it appeared as ever he had been forgotten. Forgotten by them, his parents; everyone. He was a shadow, nothing more. He thought back to when he had first spoken to his sister, around the lake as they made up silly names for the snow. He had felt happy, weightless but for a while until the reminder that he could not tell her the truth had ruined his mood. Now that she knew, would she think any less of him? He hoped not... her love was not just something he wanted, but something he had craved since first seeing her again. To have her not pick him... would bring a whole new weight upon his shoulders.

Calmly, he spoke to the wolf who looked so much like his mother. "Bella... please. Come home with us. Please, be my family." he whispered, trying not to appear weak to the golden boy but he knew his words were silly, no doubt his brother would take the piss out of him later, but he didn't care. He set his gaze into her eyes, hoping, with baited breath that for once, someone would chose him. "Our mother... she has suffered enough without us. We can be together now... everything will be right again. You'll see. Just... just come with us, please. I'll look out for you, I swear it." he pleaded once more, and prayed his words did not fall on deaf ears and that she was not as stubborn as the rest of the family, in that she might change her mind. "No more lies or secrets... please be my sister." he said and reached out to bump her nose with his. "Please..." he breathed.

(This post was last modified: Jan 23, 2013, 10:38 PM by Adonis.)

Let her go.

Rarely did her family interject when Datura was imposing himself, usually due to privacy. She could handle him, anyway - Datura didn't hurt her, not really. This was different, though, and she had been trying not to wonder how far he would go to get his way. When Adonis approached, Datura did release her, though Bella thought it was probably from surprise. Still, she jerked her head up and back quickly, so it wouldn't be quite so simple for him to re-establish his grip if he wanted to.

Adonis. Her gaze softened as she looked at him. She could see his sadness - he looked as she felt, deep down, despite her numbness. Adonis. Caught up in the desperation of it, she had forgotten about him. It had all been about her and Datura, her and Naira, her and her decision and whether or not she would be able to make it. But he was her brother too. It made sense, that; in the time they had spent together, Adonis felt more of a kindred spirit than Datura ever had. So why wasn't it the same? Was it as simple as who had and hadn't been there since she could remember?

But she had remembered him. Far back, deep down, she had remembered him at Naira's encouragement. His scent, nothing more, but it was there.

Then he began to speak, and his words were different to Datura's but the content the same, and Bella wilted. Oh, Adonis.

Naira had suffered? Briefly Bella glanced over at the woman, though she didn't know why. Maybe to catch a glimpse of that pain? As far as Bella was concerned, this whole situation was borne through suffering. Was it a competition, the wolf who hurt the most won the title, won the right to dictate who should do what? Naira suffered, Athena suffered, Adonis suffered, Datura suffered, Bella suffered. They should all get in a ring and shout at each other some more about who had wronged the other most, she thought bitterly, that would obviously solve everything.

Then Adonis promised to look after her, and she looked back at him again, surprised and touched. She believed it from him more than she would have from Datura. Maybe being together from birth meant less than she had thought? In that case, did she truly belong with these wolves she didn't know? It suddenly occurred to her that her father, her father, was probably among those at Naira's side.

A second passed, and she realised that the notion did not move her.

Bella had to guard the pieces of her heart from his final words, else they would crumble into dust and she would be incapable of breaking further. If she let herself fall apart... would she have the strength left for anything? She would be Bella, but she would not be the wolf they were all so keen to drag away.

And that was the answer. "I am your sister," she said gently, "Always." Why did all of her rejections sound so accepting? "Adonis, you - you don't understand. The lies, the truth, they... I don't care. What I know is that Athena loves me and raised me when Naira wasn't here - and I don't care why she wasn't here. I love this land." More than anything. And, possibly even more than that... "What I know is that I was born here."

Again she looked at Naira then, her glance pointed even though her words had been too soft for the woman to hear. Mothers and fathers, brothers, wasn't it all relative? Datura clearly rejected Athena based on blood, but that wasn't just turning his back on an adoption, it was turning his back on a year of love and care. Bella did not doubt that Naira would have loved them less, nor cared for them less, but that was not how history had happened. Bella didn't care for what-ifs, or what-might-have-beens. When she sat before a sunrise, or a snowstorm, or a cloudless night, it was to revel in what was right before her at that time, to relish the present, and to appreciate the hand that she had been dealt. Perhaps it was a mistake, but perhaps it was fate. In that case, the path before Datura and Adonis clearly led them in a different direction to herself.

But looking at them, at Datura and Adonis and Naira, she wondered if she would ever be able to make them understand. Maybe they thought the same about her, foolish and blinded by lies. A small part of her wanted to be with them, to have a blood family, and to see the lands that lay past the mountain, but it was not the majority, not by far.

"I'm sorry," she said, taking a step back, afraid of Datura's wrath and Adonis' hurt, but not scared enough to let herself be intimidated by them. She had to do what was right for herself, just as they were doing what was right for them. Would they begrudge her that?

• datura exists here. have fun everyone!

EVERYONE IS PRETTY MUCH FREE TO POST NOW

He felt someone come up beside him. Their words barely reached him, he was so far away. He was on an island in a stormy sea, it was just him and his sister. If he let go of her they would both be swept out into the writing tempest and be lost forever, he was sure of it. The golden boy didn't mean to cause he pain, he didn't... he was only holding on so tight so that he couldn't leave him, so that they would be together forever. They were alone in this world and —

"Brother— "

That word was enough to get his attention. Thoughtlessly, his teeth came away from her dark brown ear as he whirled about to face Adonis. A surge of love overtook the golden boy, who could so easily be swayed by the bond that they shared. There was no resentment in his eyes, only softness— even if Adonis was bossing him around. It was enough to hear that word. Brother, he whispered it again in his heart and he felt himself flooded with warmth. I've never had a brother before... Even if his black sibling's idiosyncrasies were gross and appalling, he was family, and family loved each other, they never left each other...

"I'll still love you."

"NO!" he cried, his head snapping back to face his sister, "I am done with you! I am done trying to love you." There was a bitterness in his voice that was heartbreaking and viscous all at once. He longed to lash out at her, but still part of him wanted to hold on to her. No, he had to sever the bond.

His voice trembled as if he were afraid of what he was doing, "You're not my sister." And suddenly he was flooded by feelings he could not name, could not know. He was too young for this heart break. His body, so small, could not contain the rage and the confusion and the loss. Suddenly it was embarrassing to be here, begging for this stupid girl who was not his sister. He could not here Adonis anymore. He wanted to leave. There was nothing left for him in Poison Path.

Abruptly he turned and began to walk away. He did not look back at the gathered wolves, he did not wait for them to show him the way back to his new home. He would wait for them farther along the ridge. He could not stay here. He had to be alone. His feet began to move faster and faster as the distance yawned between himself and his sister. But he did not look back.

Datura would never looked back.

(This post was last modified: Feb 04, 2013, 06:25 AM by Datura.)

carry on, oh, little lonely prince

Adonis Aquila

He listened, as calmly as a young wolf could, as he didn't get his way. She wasn't coming. She was happy to live the lie. To turn her back on her real family without even asking for more time to think about it. No, she was throwing her head in the sand and pretending that none of this was happening, that none of it mattered. He was not yet a master at hiding his emotions, and the hurt was evident on his face as he simply stood there, watching her, trying his best to drill it into his head that she was a traitor- that he, her family, wasn't good enough and that was enough to set off his inner demon.
Patiently, he waited for Datura's reaction which was perhaps what he was expecting- outrage, pain and anger. He didn't blame him, in fact, he felt the darkness within his blood begin to boil. He was ever on the fence, his goodness and darkness forever at war within him, but it was events like this which made it so easy for the blackness in his heart to rear its ugly head.
As his golden brother turned away from the poisoned wolves, he felt smug. He might not like the bone head much, but they were brother's and to him, that meant something. As the larger, lighter pup made his way away from everything he left behind, he let his icy eyes follow him for a lingering moment, ensuring he knew which way he went so that he might follow him. They were never gonna hug this shit out, but he just wanted to follow him and ensure that he was with him. His pride had been hurt, so he would not take that moment to be smug or tease, but be a lingering presence should he ever need it.

That brought him back to Bella. Leaving the vanishing form of his brother, he looked to her. His eyes were not as soft as before, no they were hard, narrowed and he was fighting the instinct to bare his teeth at her. "I thought you were strong. I thought you were smart." be began, his gravely voice but a whisper for her to hear. He didn't feel sorry for her, despite her obvious hurt. No, he felt angry that she betrayed him and his mother- he dare not looked at his mother he did not want to witness the hurt that her daughter didn't want to know her. He would carry her anger and hurt for her and piled it onto his already overloaded shoulders. "You are nothing but a stupid little girl. You do not deserve to share my blood, our blood." he hissed, his hackles bristling with every word as he rose up, imitating the posture his brother had shown her in anger. "If that is the family you choose, over your own flesh and blood who have done nothing but love you. Who travelled the world to find you again to be greeted with... whatever the hell you are, then you belong there with the snakes. Slither home, silly little girl. You disgust me." he finished, his statement ending with a snap of his jaws before he turned his back on her, vowing to himself that she was nothing more than a stranger to him now- there was no love, no ties, nothing between them. She had severed anything they might of had, or ever had.

Without even looking at his mother, he could not bare to see her hurt, he chased after his brother leaving the lake for the very last time. Thank fuck for that.

(This post was last modified: Feb 19, 2013, 11:21 AM by Adonis.)

She didn’t need to hear what the children were saying to see how this encounter was going. At least her son had the sense to see that he had been lied to all his life, and she took small solace in that. The hurt and anger both her boys radiated was enough to set her hackles on edge and as Belladonna walked away, a door closed in Naira’s mind. Both her daughters were dead. But she would not grieve for this one like she did the last. She knew Adonis would lead Datura at least a short distance away and cold eyes scanned over the gathered wolves of Poison Path, memorising ever face, and every scent. They would all pay in time, with blood. But she would not waste breath on them here anymore.

Without a word she turned from the border and headed after her sons, taking a path down the mountain, near the falls. Ghastly Woods would shelter them for tonight and tomorrow, they would take the path through the Secluded Spring to their home, as it was easily an overnight hike from this side of the mountain to the other. She didn’t need to look to know the Nomad’s followed her, and she hoped each of them took note of their newest enemies. These would be the first to feel their wrath, just as soon as the timing was right.

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