Willow Ridge we are but marvel superheroes

...fearsome and impressive only in the universes of our minds.
Random Event: There is a full moon.

April 11th; Evening, After sunset; Fog; 36 ° F, 2 ° C

If @Elettra had thought that Sköll and Angier should have a talk, then she was going to get it. The trick, however, was this: when both parties moved in different circles, operated on different agendas and, most importantly, assumed the other had quite a bit to say in regards to recent matters, how does one broach such topics? Let alone find the time to track the other down without anyone else in the pack knowing? For Sköll, the solution was easy. He would get up "early," sometime just before the sun went down and begin traversing the borders for that familiar musk. Surely both Elettra and Piety wouldn't even realize the both of them had gone, being much too busy with preparing their birthing dens and keeping occupied with other things like checking nearby caches or simply relaxing the afternoon away.

The dark-furred prince crept through the now green willow branches, weaving in and out of them with ease as he made his way to the outskirts of the territory. While he had thought to pay @Piety a visit, just to bid her a good night, he decided against it and chose to focus on the task at hand. Find Angier and do as Mother Dearest had requested of him... Talk.

With every step, he chest swelled and his tail rose high into the air behind him, even his skull was held up high and level, as if any other position might cause his figurative silver-toned crown to slip from his swarthy temple. Despite the scars on his face, the prince still felt whole, perhaps even a bit more regal and more stable than he had been before. In the months that had passed to define the whole of his adolescence, he had found what it meant to be an accomplished member of his family and pack, to relish the freedom of being an older sibling without Asriel to pin him down, and to have found someone whom he believed was "the one." The rough path that had been carved out for him from birth was now soon to be paved in lustrous ore, the kind that glinted in the moonlight like a smooth-running river beneath his feet. Perhaps his whole motivation for finding Angier ought to be his need for approval, to finally hear for himself if he had the aging patriarch's blessing. If he also required Sköll to prove himself in brute force and intimidation, then he was going to do so.

Through the fog he slunk about, a stark shadow against a backdrop of paling gray. The fur along his shoulders bristled and stood up on end as he sensed someone coming. He stopped in his tracks, his pair of silver-hued eyes scanning the surroundings before him. His conscience warned him to duck down and be on his guard; and, obey he did... He backed into nearest willow, pressing his side against it as he planted his hind and fore paws into its roots. He only had to wait for a few minutes until his solitude was encroached on, the silence shattered for good...

(This post was last modified: Apr 12, 2015, 05:53 AM by Skoll.)

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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

It had taken sometime for Angier to finally detach himself from the Queen of Willow Ridge but when he finally had the confidence to do so, he headed straight for the borders, stepping wherever the rest of the pack had passed. Every tree they had marked with their paws, he reinforced with his own scent, often lifting a leg wherever a scent-marked tree had started to lose its signature "Beware! Willow Ridge Territory!" message. He had just kicked up some dirt when he realized that the fog had begun to creep over Relic Lore once more. In continuing on in his task, he would have to rely on his ears and nose more than anything once the sun had set and the moon had begun to rise. If the mist remained overnight, in the full moon the whole of the Drooping Willows would be rendered into a cloud-like wonderland that lit up as though it were still the middle of the day. The extra hours of productivity, however, he knew would be well-appreciated. As for Sköll and Greer, whose coats were likened to that of a new moon's midnight hour, he figured the two might have stayed tucked away in their hiding places to catch up on their rest and wait for the fog to disintegrate.

The Leader had just strode past a number of places where Elettra, herself, had just planted her distinguishing fragrance (which now read as: Queen, domineering Leader, and an expectant mother) when his nose twitched and that all-too familiar scent came to his senses. A chill ran down his spine and he spun about, already searching for that lanky, wolf-shaped shadow, the one that specifically belonged to his mate's second-born son. From his point of view, seeing as he had just come upon the area where Sköll had just step foot, it felt like he was being evaded. That Sköll's lingering need to be elusive meant that the prince was up to something... Especially at this hour of the evening.

"All right, ya little shit," he loudly growled, rounding on one of several trees just within sight. His bottle brush of a tail whipped about at the air. He faced the curtain of green-leafed branches, breathing deep as to confirm the prince's presence before him. "What 'ave ya done now? What're ya doin'?! Show yerself!"

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Skoll rolls a d10 and gets a 5. His attack is a hit.
Skoll rolls a d6 and gets a 4. He does 5 damage.
Skoll: 30/30
Angier: 27/32

Being likened to a child whose antics included hiding behind the living room drapes after causing an array of mischief, really could have tickled Sköll to death, that is, if he had been human. But, truly knowing that he could ruffle his step-father's fur by just being nearby, made a laugh threaten to bubble up in his throat. Did the Lyall really think that little of him? That his every move was fueled by some sort of malice? Had they not even realized that, through Piety's companionship, he, too, had a softer, more gentler, side... just like every other soul within his mother's pack?

When the Leader's growl had waned at last with the sharp order for Sköll to show himself, the prince grinned to himself, a snort of a chuckle emitting from him in amusement. "Oh, Angier," he cooed in an obviously mocking manner. "What makes you think I've done anything? I might've only just risen from my bed... maybe I didn't want to bother you. I know you and mother have been quite... busy." With how things have been going, Sköll's facial scars were on the mend - no longer a stinging, inflamed red - and that, alone, ought to be a telltale sign that he had truly been on his best behavior. It had even been weeks since the tang of blood (old or new) had been scented on his coat - anyone could question it and @Piety, who had been the only one in constant contact with him, could confirm such a thing.

In all truth, since the whole incident with Xetor, the dark royal had been much too preoccupied with making a suitable 'hiding place' for the mother of his children. While it had been clear for the past few weeks that her heat had been resolved, it was only now that reality had finally sunken in and he was making better use of his time. Instead of going about, spying here and there, he was scavenging old kill sites for usable materials - old antlers, scraps of abandoned hide, decent-sized bits of sun-bleached bones for stubborn and wiggly milk teeth, mouthfuls of soft moss and, if he was able to venture far enough, bits of aromatic evergreen branches to enhance the earthy scent of the place where Piety had made her resting place.

"You wound me, Angier," he droned, already exasperated as he took a step towards the bulky silhouette cast upon the willow branches in front of him. "Again and again... and again..." One more step made the fog around him push away to reveal the King Consort's masked face. Sköll's lip twitched upon seeing his superior's wrinkled muzzle, but he did nothing else apart from giving a disdainful snort. His tail came down and his ears went back as his gaze fell to the ground, "I was just looking for you, Mother said that we have to talk."

(This post was last modified: Apr 12, 2015, 06:22 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 rolls a d10 and gets a 9. His attack is a hit.
Angier rolls a d6 and gets a 4. He does 7 damage.
Skoll: 23/30
Angier: 27/32

"Oh, Angier," Sköll started, his tone of voice preparing for some sort of blow, an insult that stabbed into the Leader's very core. He mocked and mocked and Angier was easily rendered weary from it. As he had foretold, this was to be a game on the prince's terms and the Lyall had been left on his own to play it... for the sake of his queen and their family and pack.

His tail, which now directly mirrored that of his step-son's, was aimed skyward as his fur bristled. A growl was offered; whether it had been enough to intimidate Sköll was questionable, however. The sneering went on, but what came at the very end struck Angier as truth, a trace of sincerity. Frankly, it seemed like something Elettra would say and Sköll would only heed her words as a means to make her happy.

"Talk about what?" he snapped back. "If yer the one who's gonna bring it up, go one then. Tell me of th'unfinished bus'ness we 'ave between us... The sooner we finish this, th'better, an' you can go run off an' tell yer mother jus' how much of a fool I am so I can go on with what I was doin'." Right now it didn't matter if the monster of a prince had given him a proper display of submission. Tail down, ears back... No. What the King Consort was much too worried about was the look on Sköll's face and what sickening thoughts might have been skittering about in his abyss of a mind. Angier was not going to stand for it.

His patience was already threatening to wear thin with each second that had silently gone past between them. He let loose another growl, one that would no doubt startle the prince, "I'm givin' ya this one chance, ya got it? If ya so much as give me a slip jus' ta have some sorta victory outta this, I'll SKIN YA RIGHT 'ERE, RIGHT NOW! Yer mother could use somethin' ta keep yer siblings warm."

(This post was last modified: Apr 16, 2015, 11:31 PM by Skoll. Edit Reason: derp points. )

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Skoll rolls a d10 and gets a 9. His attack is a hit.
Skoll rolls a d6 and gets a 4. He does 5 damage.
Skoll: 25/30
Angier: 22/32

Of course, Angier had to go all out, to growl and instantly become all defensive. In Sköll's mental records, apart from the few (minor) squabbles they had had between one another leading up to the beginnings of "breeding season," he had done nothing terribly wrong to the tawny Leader. Now that the hormones had somewhat subsided, including his, everything had begun to sink in - the reality of it all and what he had recently done. Judging by Piety's wants and needs and slightly round belly (where she had once been lithe and trim), he knew by now what was to come, and he had only known it from recognizing his mother's changing physical shape from the year before. Pinpricks of both heat and cold raced from the top of his head and down his neck. His shoulders relaxed and he lowered himself onto the ground before the Lyall without a sound.

"Angier-" as if stating his name for the third time was a charm, he hoped if would work some sort of magic upon his superior. "I'm- I'm in dire need of your help."

Truthfully, on a night like this one, Sköll could have very well taken advantage of the fog and murdered Angier and be done with it all: the judging, the scorn, the ineffective discipline. No more Angier meant no more problems... Well, then there was the idea of being cast out from under his mother's figurative wing and stripped of his title and position. Had he had some sort of grudge against her, he could have done it, but when it all came down to it, the family needed the guy at the top of its hierarchy. Elettra needed him and, now, he did, too.

"I've done something," he confessed with a nervous grin. "It was an accident." His gaze flit up to Angier's throat and just how easily it could have been to latch his teeth into that but of vulnerable soft tissue. End him... like he had done to Xetor... The thought was easily cast aside with a scowl, though, when Piety came to mind. "I've broken a pack rule."

His eyes went up a bit higher to the Lyall's nose and the pair of pale eyes that shone ghost gray in the moonlight, not unlike his own. "Mother doesn't know. Not yet. I only said that she wanted us to talk because if I mentioned it you would talk to me... just like when my brothers ask for your presence." Just like as if I had been your son...

(This post was last modified: Apr 17, 2015, 01:12 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 rolls a d10 and gets a 6. His attack is a hit.
Angier rolls a d6 and gets a 1. He does 4 damage.
Skoll: 21/30
Angier: 22/32

A snarl bubbled up in his throat, yearning to be set free as to bully the lad even further. In mere seconds, Sköll was on the ground - Angier heard that characteristic thump on the dry grass - not belly up per se (surely that would have been a deed well below the prince's high standards). Angier was both relieved and set off-balance; on one hand he was not required to expend his energy to put the prince in his rightful place but, on the other, Sköll had done something wholly unexpected. It welcomed the question of wondering what had changed...

The Lyall's hackles had smoothed out and when he finally parted the willow branches with his snout, edging his head between the verdant vines, he was quick to notice the way the fur on his face seemed to have a few 'breaks' within it. Scars. Two of them, with the longer one snaking its way at a diagonal over a gray-hued eye. Dark fur against a moon shadow that was just as dark had Angier's head tilted in concern. He dared to take a step forward so that both of them were concealed beneath the willow's umbrella-like canopy.

"What did you do?" his voice had softened and it was clear in his voice that dread was quick to settle in. His nose was quick to work out that there was nothing immediately out of place about Sköll's pelt. No blood, no tinge of illness... some fear, maybe, but nothing else that was startling in the least. His brow wrinkled, still studying the prince, attempting to glean as much of his body language as he could. After some time, it had left him stumped. No hostility, no growling, no barks, no threats... Perhaps something, this accident had changed the boy for the better, but it was something that was not meant to happen at all. For Sköll, it had been all wrong.

Angier's molars grit together, "Sköll, what have you done?" His nostrils burned with each inhaled breath, "Who did ya kill this time?"

(This post was last modified: Apr 17, 2015, 01:13 AM by Skoll.)

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There is a rabbit\'s nest nearby. +1 Health

Skoll rolls a d10 and gets a 9. His attack is a hit.
Skoll rolls a d6 and gets a 5. He does 6 damage.
Skoll: 19/30
Angier: 15/32

Well, now, that was one low blow. A resentful glare inched its way up his muzzle and he openly stared at Angier, the hurt gradually coming to dwell with the anger in his eyes. "I didn't kill anyone," he hissed under his breath. If his looks could have killed, he might have accidentally done it already...

"I'm asking for your help," he repeated again, his plea more urgent than before. "Will you do it or not?"

His colorless eyes had glossed over and he looked away. If he had been Tom Hiddleston in the role of Loki Laufeyson, he would have easily been nominated for some sort of award for this sort of acting - making everything much too dramatic and exaggerating it all out of proportion to his benefit. He heaved himself up so that he was sitting with his shoulders hunched forward with his head and muzzle pointed downward, "An-gier..." His whiskered brows were in danger of touching one another as he winced, his lips trembling while he struggled to keep them sealed, let alone pursed. This was where everything truly hurt him from within; this was where the word "father" should have fluttered off his tongue in genuine need and want.

"I'm worried," he was going to kick himself later for pretending that this was all an act. "I'm scared. Not just for me, but for Piety. She's... She's the one and I..." It took an enormous amount of will power to keep himself from shutting down, from grinding his teeth together and shutting out the only father-like figure in his life. It was clear that Angier was listening and intently too. If he didn't tell him everything now, he was so certain that there would be no other opportunity hereafter.

"I was so... selfish, I did this to her and now I've done it..." A restrained cry slipped past his white-furred lips, the internal anguish at last becoming too much for him to bear. "I think she's pregnant, what are we going to do? I can't- I cannot be without her." He looked up and to the side to meet the Leader's gaze, stricken now with the very emotions that had bound Angier to Elettra. And, now, the dark prince understood what it was to love so deeply and devotedly... He understood.

"Please help us."

(This post was last modified: Apr 28, 2015, 10:45 AM by Maksim. Edit Reason: Bold tag was left open! Broke your post on mobile. )

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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

Angier rolls a d10 and gets a 1. His attack is a critical miss.
Angier rolls a d6 and gets a 6. He does 9 damage to himself.
Skoll: 19/30
Angier: 6/32

Sköll hadn't killed anyone. That was a relief; these days, ever since he had returned from his supposed search and rescues mission it was just too easy to go from one idea to the other. That was to suggest, if Sköll was capable of murder, who was to say he wouldn't do it again? Disappointment dared to run through his veins but what the Leader ultimately felt as his step-son continued on to mention why he was in such agony was pure, unadulterated pity. Sure, he had been in the boy's place some several years ago, felt what it was to be second-best at everything, to be treated as nothing but a shadow, to only successfully garner attention whenever he had done something drastic... but, with how Sköll had mentioned it all, it occurred to Angier that maybe Elettra's second-born had had it worse than him.

Then, at long last, a glimpse of the prince's actual soul, this particular rendition of him showing emotions other than anger, disgust, and disapproval for the first time since he had been roughly four months old. The man who sat before him was in shambles; it was as if the chaos within had actually gotten the best of him. The Leader met Sköll's eyes, whose irises were nearly ghost white in the moonlight, and he let out a whine in worry. In all those long months he had spent raising the young Archers, Angier had never seen or even heard Sköll cry once he fully understood how to utilize his communication skills.

Damn it... He had not been prepared for this nor was he emotionally ready to receive such news.

The first time he had met Piety was at the borders and, even upon first impression, it seemed she was nice girl. Too naive, maybe, when stacked up against the likes of Sköll, but after having heard of the girl from Sköll, himself, Angier couldn't have been told otherwise. In the boy's eyes, he had spoiled her with his characteristic avarice. It was a shame, truly, but what good could Angier do? And, why hadn't Sköll just gone to Elettra instead?

Perhaps everything had happened for a reason; and, perhaps, the time to bond with the most evasive of his step-children was why... for the sake of his mate's unborn grandchildren, the first of Sköll and Morganna's generation within Relic Lore.

The prince had caught him, ensnared and entangled him with his artful words. As it was the Leader could not just let Sköll go about this alone, especially after that one last plea for help. "I'll do what I can," he spoke, his words no more than a whisper through the encroaching fog. "But, know that I don't 'ave as much sway as you do... you know that." A small pause of silence came over the both of them as Angier searched the lad's face for some sort of confirmation that this was all real. By the looks of it, they could have both been where they were at the time of Sköll's first speech lesson... to that moment when the boy had gotten the great idea as to call Angier something so very close to "Fa-Fa," which rhymed with "Mama." In his heart Angier felt he couldn't allow it; at the time it felt strange and wrong and so scolded Sköll with a resounding "NO." The last thing the Lyall wanted to do now was to duplicate such a thing and risk losing the beginnings of this bond between them forever.

"Where is she... Piety?"

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Skoll rolls a d10 and gets a 7. His attack is a hit.
Skoll rolls a d6 and gets a 5. He does 6 damage.
Skoll: 19/30
Angier: 0/32

Angier, it seemed, was "all in" and already he was taking measures to protect him and the secret they both shared. Good... Very good. The sniveling on his part might've been bona fide, the pain coursing through him as real as Angier being there beside him in the flesh, but when it came down to the deepest, innermost parts of him, he knew for certain that this was all a front. The true Sköll would not whimper and whine, he would demand what was right... In order to get to Angier, though, he had to appeal to the Leader's paternal side - to blindside him with a surge of guilt and remorse for not caring for Sköll just as he had his own biological sons. Once broken down, surely, Angier could prove to be a possibly decent buffer between him and his mother Elettra. Maybe he would be successful in preventing the inevitable - suspension, exile, a trial... or other wise... Maybe. Angier did owe the prince quite a bit; and, it was about time he started paying his debt. Beginning with this...

A low note hummed from him as if he were thinking about just how true Angier was in acknowledging the fact that Sköll did have more influence over the Ridge matriarch. "@Piety?" he then questioned, standing up at last. "She's safe. I've made sure to hide her just within the borders or outside of them. The boundaries depend on who comes out that far. I've noticed that everyone seems to exclude the small thicket from our lands; you, meanwhile, walk around it... On your count, it's apart of Willow Ridge."

He stared into Angier's face, wondering if the location would come to mind. The Lyall had been there only a few days ago and Sköll was sure the brute would remember. "I've told her to keep away from the pack if she could help it," he divulged. "But I've been bringing her whatever I could find. Nothing from the caches, only what fresh kill I can get."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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