Willow Ridge NOOOPE!

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

(This post was last modified: May 30, 2014, 12:08 AM by Skoll.)

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

Angier had just about had it. He had courteously requested, politely asked, desperately implored, and quietly beseeched Sköll to turn up to the pack event he and Elettra had waited for for the past couple of weeks. Sure, Adelaide and Elettra had been right in correcting and manipulating his view on parenthood from a step-father's point of view, but in the Lyall's eyes, an event was an event. Whether it was mandatory to attend or not, it would have been nice if Asriel and Morganna's brother turned up to at least support their mother. He was just about ready to make his way toward the den when he heard a rustling through the grass. No surprise there... for here he was, His Royal Highness, skulking about and headed in the direction opposite of which he should have been heading.

"Where do ya think yer goin', mister?!" he hollered, turning about and following after the youth. "I've asked ya nicely an' yer still not goin'?! Hey..." He picked up his pace, his tail lifting up over his back as he growled in attempt to get Sköll's full attention, "HEY! Sköll... I am talking to you! If you don't turn around an' talk ta me at the count-a three, I'm gonna force ya to come with me." The punk mumbled something under his breath and Angier leapt forward in attempt to catch up. It was no use and soon enough Angier poked his head out from behind a thin curtain of willow branches, his voice loud enough to just barely be heard back at the central part of the territory, "One.... TWO... THREE! Sköll Archer GET BACK 'ERE!"

He left it at that, knowing full well that his threats of "tattling" on him to Elettra were no longer effective as they had been before when he and his siblings were barely older than Deacon, Castiel, and Greer were now.

Are you watching closely?
Taekwondo (M, W, F) | Rapid-Response Day (Tu) | WoW Nights (F, Sat, Sun)

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

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

It seemed his tactics had worked and nothing gratified him more than watching Sköll obey and approach him without any sign of open aggression. Once the boy opened his mouth, however, there it was, and Angier was thick enough to rise to the bait. His chest puffed up and his hackles rose, snapping his jaws in reply while the prince began to weave a number of lies. It all had the Leader thinking back to what he had said, what he had mentioned, and what he had initially planned. It was all a blur now that the day had finally come and Angier wanted nothing more than the presentation of the Archer-Lyall boys to go smoothly and "as expected." Sköll mentioned that Elettra might have been the one to give him permission to duck out and make for the borders or be anywhere but by the den to receive his new siblings. If Elettra had said something, he could not argue, and that was that.

He remembered what his mate had said when he had last mentioned something about her son being out of line, disruptive, and disobedient, and smoothed out the bridge of his muzzle. In turn, his ruffled display fell away. His hackles came back down and his lips concealed his teeth once more. "I'd better go and you ought to be on your way," Sköll then stated, "or Mother Dearest will have us both up a tree--" Angier was about to say something to put the yearling in his place, but the words kept coming. "--here, let me go, and I'll bring you something back to bring to Mother. You can even say that you caught it yourself."

If anything could describe the head of Willow Ridge in this moment it could easily be summed up in one word: Bribed. He might have already had the matriarch's heart, and even her love, but he still burned with a fire that pushed him to continually gain her favor. His eyes went toward the place where he thought Sköll might have seen something peculiar but eventually nodded and took a step back. He was right, though, to say that if neither of them showed up, they would possibly have a bad-tempered Queen on their hands. "Fine," he muttered, his eyes narrowing. "Go then. Get... But that something you promised me better be good."

Are you watching closely?
Taekwondo (M, W, F) | Rapid-Response Day (Tu) | WoW Nights (F, Sat, Sun)