Hollowheart Keep Never lasts forever

With the changing of the season came the sweeping cool winds that tempered the afternoon sun, and the frost that threatened to bite the leaves at night. This close to a full moon, the nights had become quite chilly, though the mists had not yet frozen upon the grasses overnight. One more month, Mercy thought, and they'd be into a cold, dim autumn. By then, he hoped, he would have a home, now that simply rejoining his former pack was out of the question; it had vanished. All traces of scent had dissipated, fading into thin air, save for the scent of foxes. For whatever reason, they seemed to be drawn to this area- he'd scented three or four and had spotted two in the distance already. Now the scent of a todd came up again, much closer than it had before, and Mercy realized he'd been focusing on his sense of smell, rather than his sense of sight, and hadn't even been looking up to notice his surroundings. When he lifted his head, it stood there, looking at him almost as though it had been expecting him. 

He chuffed quietly, and the creature continued to stare back at him with clever black eyes- or were they green? He blinked and continued to stare at the fox, and decided that yes, the creatures eyes did indeed have a splinter of green colour to them. Stranger still, the fox sat down on its haunches, not 10 bodylengths away from him, still as calm as it had been before. Mercy's black ears tilted back and he lifted his head slightly, wary of the creature which seemed to be too trusting. He uttered a low growl but the fox didn't flinch, but a flicker of mirth danced in its eyes. Mercy quieted. There was no reason for him to get worried; it was a fox, and a healthy one at that. He simply nodded at the creature, who gave him the faintest hint of a grin before he continued on, altering his course so he didn't have to go one foot closer to the odd creature. 

It wasn't until he reached a stream and lowered himself to drink that he noticed a blur of red in his peripheral vision. He lifted his head, only to see the same fox again, looking at him with his merry greenish gaze once more, still holding a distance of 10 body lengths or so. It must have followed him- but he was sure he hadn't heard or scented it. He gave it a look which he clearly meant as a warning- follow me again and you'll regret it- but the fox seemed oblivious- or if not oblivious, it certainly did not seem as though he cared what Mercy wanted. So the young male decided to play the fox's game. If the fox was going to play coy, calm and cool, he could too. He drank serenely, and without giving another look to the fox, he started off through the keep again. 

When he looked back after travelling several kilometers, there was no sign of the fox. And it only occurred to him then, as he regretted the fox's disappearance, what the fox could have meant. Perhaps he was a sign; Mercy had memories that haunted him, and the more he regretted them, the more they followed him around...But unlike the fox, they weren't nearly as easily avoided. He considered this for a moment before he continued through the Keep as the evening light faded through the woodlands and the chill began to creep. 

@Mercy

The person that you’d take a bullet for is behind the trigger

It was a rare time that Karpos could find himself with enough spare time to revisit the haunts of his past, but this time it was necessary. In a way, he needed to remind himself why he was doing what he was doing and had to find a way to prove he needed to continue. He had lost contact with Aponi, not that he cared much since she hadn’t really helped in the search for Mapplethorpe’s murder, but he remained true to the cause. Aponi’s father had taught him a lot about how to fight and what he did now. It was that which had brought the now adult to the sight of what could be seen as former crimes. ‘Crime’ was an exaggeration, given that she left of her own accord just to screw with his life.

He had gained an ally at that, Gent, who swore he would do what he could though Karpos understood the struggles of time as Gent led a pack and had children to care for. No, the chocolate hued man might be the only one actively able to search. He walked through the ghostly forest, reminding himself that the past was the past as he narrowed his eyes, taking a look around for different things he could use as proof. He doubted he would find anything, knowing it had been so many months since the elder had been killed, but he was there to witness the scene and try and place the pieces together anyway.

There was a vaguely familiar scent on the wind, one of two that he willingly tried to forget about. Mercy. It was slightly different, yes, but it was the silver boy whom he had always had more of a rivalry with than anything. He shook his head, electing to ignore the scent as he crept through the stranger territory once more; knowing that soon he would need to start making his return to Hearthwood River, there was still the matter of a pack to guard.

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

The fading light made Mercy's vision blur slightly. The shadows had already faded into nothingness and been replaced by a greyness, as though a cloud had descended upon the land and stripped it of the colours normally present in broad daylight. He continued through the woods, remembering its little nuances- old holes in the ground, the burls on trees, the old deerpaths which had changed slightly since he'd been gone. The Keep had been hardly a home to Mercy, who had been very reluctant to leave the mountain, as had most of the pack. Had it not been for the cruel onslaught of winter and the threat of avalanches, they might have stayed there, and so many other bad things might not have happened. He and Aponi would never have been separated from the pack. They wouldn't have been driven to return to their homeland, leaving behind the others they'd once loved. Maybe he never would have left Relic Lore- but it was too hard to speculate. Things might have been worse had they stayed on the mountain.

My birthright.

He remembered Aponi, and wasn't sure what to think of the memory. Naturally, it stirred desire within him, but with that desire came shame. Still he wanted her, and the attachment still remained- but he knew he'd needed space, and he couldn't have asked for it. They would have grown weaker and weaker if they'd relied on each other as much as they had. He'd cut the tie while they'd still been young, thinking it was best to do so while they were fledgelings rather than as adults when he knew the pain would have been unbearable...But whether it was the right thing to do or not was still under debate. If it had been the right thing to do, he wouldn't have felt so bad about it, or so he thought.

His memories of Aponi, along with daydreams he'd had of her since he'd left faded away in a hurry when the scent of a familiar ex-packmate hit him. His lips pulled back, revealing healthy gums and teeth, but he did not growl; he tasted the scent, making sure it belonged to Karpos. Once, Karpos and Aponi had made him feel jealous. Once, he and Karpos had almost been friends. Once, Karpos had become a rival for power and rank. Now they were adults, but he had been a loner too long, and could smell that Karpos was a pack wolf. He could not rival Karpos, not with his physique lean from travel, and his memories of Karpos told him that his rival would have become much stronger while living in a nourishing pack. Still, he moved toward the scent, drawn toward the dark wolf who was now only a little more than a stranger, wearing a much heftier build and masculine physique. He stopped just when he could see Karpos, lifted his head from where it had been hovering just above the ground and stared at the brute with his cool, greyish blue gaze. Karpos would have the answers- but they might also be under lock and key. 

@Mercy

The person that you’d take a bullet for is behind the trigger

There were a lot of things to consider, something Karp had picked up on between homes when he had formally left the Keep in favor of the River. The facts were there: he couldn’t care anymore, and he had to look at things logically. While part of him wanted to slip back into the naïve shell of a pup he had been before actively stepping up and learning responsibility, the one that would carry rivalry over a girl he no longer could stand to be around, he knew that he couldn’t. Aponi was a bitch, and he had more than just his word for it. He had wolves to agree with him and a family to watch his back which was more than he could say for the loner in the area.

He had become aware of the eyes on his back as he poked around the area for more information. “Is it your intention to stare me to death, Mercy?” He asked, his head turning to proudly display the scar across his left eye. He had long since gotten over the self-consciousness that had come with the scar. It was a reminder that even family could turn their back on you, just another lesson. He kept his gaze cool, unyielding as his eyes narrowed slightly at the loner before turning his back once more, sniffing about the area for some indication. He knew what he was looking for; he just had to find it.

“Trouble in paradise, I presume?” There was a certain level of ice in his voice as he turned his full attention to the loner, curiosity hitting him as he bit back another comment, carefully choosing his words. He had known Aponi to be desperate and without Mercy when she came asking him for help to find her father’s killer, so trouble was the only thing he could assume. He held a certain authority in the air, claiming an icy stature that made no mistake.

There was no mistaking the resentment in Karpos' voice and posture when he first turned to meet Mercy's gaze, but the young man did not flinch. He remained silent for a moment, and for a second, thought he might laugh in good humour. Not at the scar across Karpos' eye, but at the tone in Karpos' voice. Now, as he looked at the dark man, he felt nothing; resentment was cleansed from his pelt, as was spite and jealousy. Karpos might have been hanging on to such things, but Mercy felt it was best to let those things go; he took a breath, and felt its calming effects. He could have spat something back sarcastically, but he felt he no longer wished to do so. This was a former packmate, and he owed him that much respect at least. He shook his head calmly, his features docile as he blinked. "Nothing of the sort," He said, in a genuine, almost apologetic tone. 

Karpos turned away and Mercy thought he might leave and if he did, Mercy's questions would go unanswered. But if he followed him and made demands, those questions would still go unanswered. Mercy would not tame the beast with harshness, but would appeal to it with humility, something he had begun to learn on his own. He noted that Karpos appeared to be looking for something, but he abandoned that search and turned back to Mercy, finally taking more interest in him. 

When Karpos spoke again, Mercy noticed something haughty about his voice, but he didn't feel put down; instead, he felt drawn to respect the way Karpos held himself and spoke. He was asserting himself and Mercy had nothing to assert- though in size they might have compared when they were younger, Mercy had grown lean and Karpos was more well nourished and maintained. Mercy's wiry physique couldn't match up to Karpos', and so he did not seek to challenge the stronger male. "I haven't lived in a paradise since..." He said, trailing off as he tried to recall, "...Well, I don't know if I've ever lived in one." He said, just a tinge of a smile hinting on his lips. Karpos, he was sure, would understand- their youth had not been easy, not through their first winter. "What happened to the pack?" He asked then, hoping Karpos would settle, see how harmless Mercy was, and be civil.

So sorry this is late </3

The person that you’d take a bullet for is behind the trigger

Karpos held a certain disinterest in why the other now-adult was there, simply because he wasn’t there to pick a fight but instead he was there to solve a murder. He held his suspicions about Elettra Archer, simply because it wouldn’t have been the first time she killed another wolf, for which he was bias because of his father. However, the tone that Mercy spoke with, it made him start to take some sort of interest. His voice was different from when they had last spoken, when Mercy flipped out on him for yelling at Aponi and making her run away. His tone seemed almost apologetic which cause Karpos to lighten his stance slightly, allowing his tail to fall into a soft wag and his eyes return to their normal state, no longer narrowed.

Karpos would nod at his next words, neither of them had an easy childhood, that was a fact. “Yeah, I know.” There was a small smile threatening to tug at his lips that he kept under control, until Mercy asked about what happened to the pack. He didn’t even have all the answered to that. “I don’t know the full details, only what Nova and Aponi told me when I bumped into them.” He would warn before beginning to fill Mercy in on what he himself knew. It wasn’t much, but it was something. “The pack fell apart; Nova suggested her mother had a part in it. It happened after Mapplethorpe was murdered. It’s why I’m here, I promised to help find his killer. As for what happened to the members of the pack? I can help you even less with that. Gent is up north, leading a pack that is allied with the one I belong to. I last saw Aponi on the mountain, and I think she was trying to reclaim Nomad’s Pass. Nova headed off in a random direction and I haven’t seen her since.”

It came as a relief to Mercy when Karpos abandoned what might have been seen as hostility for a much more neutral pose, even allowing his tail to wave gently from side to side. Mercy appreciated this as a sort of truce between the two of them, as he had decided some time ago to let go of his past grievances. His own stance remained complacent and subservient, and he showed no signs of moving from it. The wayworn lad was relieved that Karpos did not see any point in engaging him, though Mercy would have avoided the altercation at all costs. He might not know the terrain as well as Karpos did, but he would have done his best to outpace the brute if he had to make a quick getaway. 

He felt that Karpos could relate when he spoke at first, and Mercy's ears perked slightly when Karpos mentioned Nova and Aponi. He listened closely for any sign of regret which might mean something terrible had happened to them- and his heart sank when he heard how bleak Karpos' voice sounded. His throat tightened and he braced himself for news. What he would get from Karpos might not be the whole story- from what it sounded like, he was an outsider from the information- but it would be enough, he decided, certainly if the information had come from Nova and Aponi. At least, he thought, the news coming from the two of them meant that the two had survived whatever had happened to the pack.

His eyes widened and hackles lifted when Karpos spoke those chilling words. "Murdered?" Mercy growled, eyes narrowed. He averted his gaze and stared at the ground hard. He tried to think of any adversaries they might have had...But couldn't remember enough. Karpos had come back to hunt down the killer, and his eyes lifted. He nodded solemnly and listened mutely as Karpos spoke of Gent, Aponi and Nova. He knew then where he was headed next- to the mountain, of course, to find Aponi, especially now that he knew her father had been murdered- but what to do at that moment was beyond him. He was silent for a few moments when Karpos finished, and he shook his head. A knot had formed in his throat and he felt sadness creep in past the surprise and anger he'd felt. Mapplethorpe was dead. He looked up after a pause. "And Naira?" He asked, and hesitated. Nova had suggested that Naira had had something to do with the pack's collapse. "You don't think..." He said and trailed off. Was Karpos hinting that Naira was a suspect? Or just that she'd led the pack to its downfall? He wasn't sure. His eyes clouded over for a moment when another thought struck him. "And Sagacity," He said quietly, and looked up, questioningly. Karpos had failed to mention what had happened to his mother. 

@Mercy

The person that you’d take a bullet for is behind the trigger

Karpos let the awkward tension he felt and the stunning silence settle in the air. Mercy questioned him, a growl to him as he averted his gaze, but Karpos kept his eyes on the silver form that he recognized as Mercy’s. When Mercy asked a question, he asked about Naira. “No, I don’t know what to think. I have a lot of opinions about Naira, but I don’t think she did this. All I know is she called the disbanding because that was all I was told on the manner.” Karpos clarified the situation, his eyes showing the inner turmoil as to how or what he was supposed to feel right now. Shouldn’t he feel something? Anything? He didn’t because he felt empty and that was that.

Mercy next asked about Sagacity, his mother. “I’m sorry Mercy, I haven’t heard anything about her or where she went.” Karpos took a deep breath. “Murdered. I’m bias, Mercy. I’ve been looking for the killer, but I can’t stop myself from blaming my father’s killer, since she’s killed a pack leader before. My logic, it’s twisted and my mind’s clouded… I don’t know if I can find the killer.” He admitted as he gazed at the silver boy, as if silently asking for his help. Karpos was looking only for the sake of Nova and Mapplethorpe, his friend and his former mentor, and he wasn’t doing it for Aponi… but maybe Mercy would do it for Aponi. It was a long shot, but it didn’t hurt to ask.