Vigils Keep Drown in doubt

For @Aytigin. Set directly after this thread.

Neha was in a dark mood. But, that was hardly anything new for the once proud Vuesain these days. Inspired by the possibilities that had come with her temporary position in the pack, she had regained some of her lost confidence. It was ill placed. Misguided. And in the end, lead to more harm than good. Another perfect, shining example of how her efforts somehow found a way to their teeth in her ass.

She wasn't sure what bothered her the most. The storm she had created, the damage she'd have to fix. Or her own foolishness. Or even the state that Nineva was in, those last few words uttered towards her. "Maybe you're what this pack needs." They reverberated inside her skull with a pounding force. No matter how many times she shook her head, as if to clear them away, they lingered. No no no! She was wrong! How could she say that? This pack didn't need her. They never would. It was to Nineva whom they pledged themselves to. Not some nobody just along for the ride.

Having forgotten why she had wandered onto the trail leading her to the lake side, Neha carried herself with her head lined low with her shoulder blades. In front of her she saw not the real world, but one obscured by grays and blacks, the details of which rubbed out. She didn't care. Unaware of her leap onto a cold rock meters from the shore, her body collapsed with a heavy thud. Staring blankly out towards the lake, her breath came out in a cold wisp. Maybe she'd just turn herself in to Driftwood and hope they'd call it even.

He hadn’t known Nineva didn’t want them hunting in the west. If anything, Ayti had expected her to have wanted to assert their dominance over the Surge pack... but now that he was thinking, it made sense why she wouldn’t want that. The Surge wolves had allies - Ayti knew that better than anyone. Which would suck if they got involved here and decided to run the Keep wolves away for good.

Now was the time.

Ayti had come to seek Neha personally before he went out after Nineva. The temporary lead was who he needed to speak to first and foremost. So he followed her scent to the lake and snorted when he saw her laying down.

”Dramatic,” he remarked breezily, padding up beside her and looking out over the moonlit waters. ”Come on. We fucked up. It’s not the end of the world.”

She wasn't alone for long. The voice of the large, dark male Aytigin broke the silence. With what seemed to be a monumental effort on her part, she turned her head to look at him. Her ears laid back against her skull, while her chin remained resting over her front legs. Her sides heaved as she forced out a humorless huff, brown eyes glinting in the dark.

Sure,he had hunted by her side. Supported her plan...shared her drive to show the Surge wolves they wouldn't be driven into the ground. But in the whole scope of things, what were but two wolves against many? "I'm responsible. If Driftwood retaliates, I must bear the brunt." Her voice came out low and gravely, as it often did in her dark moods. Her eyes shifted back blankly ahead towards the lake. "Nineva can't help me this time. Even if she wanted to."

Neha can often be found close to Aleister's side and therefore may appear in any of his threads.

”I mean, I’m partially responsible for it. But if I had known Nineva didn’t want it done, and her reasoning, I wouldn’t have done it either. It was pretty dumb,” he admitted, then cleared his throat.

Aytigin’s eyes flashed a bit and he nudged her. ”Sulking gets you nowhere. Up you get,” he urged. ”This may be the worst possible time for this, but I want to challenge you for your rank. Or... well, for co-lead. I don’t want to be the sole leader and I’m guessing you don’t want that either, judging from the fact you’re crumpled under the weight of one single mistake.”

He smirked and tipped his head to the side. ”Whaddaya say?”

Note for swearing.

 

Her cold brown eyes flicked to the side, landing on his face again. "That may be so. But you didn't know and I did." She shfted to one side, to face him. "I tried to make an example for the good of the pack. But I acted out blind impulse...putting us at risk instead." She stated with self bitterness lacing her voice.

What he said next stirred something in her. Not about challenging for her the co-lead position. That went in one ear and out the other. The phrase that she clung to, held substance, was pouting over a single mistake. Her body tensed when he nudged her, unaccustomed to the physical touch of others, however small. She only ever curled up with Aleister, when he shared the communal den space with her. Neha rose to her feet, far more quickly than he might have anticipated, given her defeated demeanor prior. She whirled to face him, ears plastered back, tail lashing. "One mistake you say?" She hissed out between clenched teeth. She cleared the rock in a flash, landing just mere inches away from the much larger male, bristling. "My whole life has been one fucking mistake after another! You have no idea what I've been through!" She bared her teeth, unleashing her emotional fury. Neha was like bomb ready to go off, and Aytigin had lit the fuse. "I came here seeking to forget...and now I owe her. Now even she isn't sure of herself anymore. She said it to my face." Snarling, she turned away harshly and spat at the ground. "I ain't cut out for this job."

Neha can often be found close to Aleister's side and therefore may appear in any of his threads.

// Abundant swearing

If this had happened before, when Aytigin was a Hearthwood or Surge wolf, he would've cowed right down in front of the leader when they acted in such a way toward him. But now that he was more confident in himself, braver and certainly more aggressive, the male simply stood still as the younger wolf lunged at him. He didn't flinch or snarl - just let her rage until she seemed like she was pleased with her tirade.

"Doesn't matter what you've been through," he stated simply when she was finished, flicking one ear and keeping his posture straight and neutral. "You act as though you're the only wolf with problems. Like you're the only one who's struggled." Hazel eyes narrowed at the girl. "If you're not cut out for this job, then step. Down. I'll take over, seeing as I'm the only goddamn emotionally stable one here right now. Hell, if you don't want this position and Nineva can't take it, I will do it. I'll take this from you. But now that I've seen firsthand how unstable you are, I can't let you continue to lead like this. Not only is it bad for you, it's bad for the rest of the pack."

His tail curled over his back dominantly. "Stand down, Neha."

Her anger was not for him. It was for herself, her life and this situation she had put the pack in. No one in the Keep truly knew how frail Neha's psychological state was, with the sole exception of Aleister. Her estranged brother was very possibly, the only reason why she was here at all. She remained turned with her back to him, eyes clenched shut. "No. I've been through too much. You don't even know where my problems begin." She wanted to say more, to let it out. All of it. But she couldn't. She felt her throat closing up, keeping all those words bottled deep, deep down, never to feel the air.

He wanted her to step down. Why was he so intent on being at the top? What good could he do for this pack? She stood still, facing away, as if refusing to acknowledge his challenge. After a long stretch of silence, she spoke up. "Nineva trusted me to this position." She began lowly, as if speaking only to herself. Turning her head just so, she peered at him over her shoulder. "Do you think that I ever wanted this? I accepted because I had to, because it was what's right." She stated, with more strength rising briefly in her voice. Then it returned to it's usual, hollow pitch. "And here I am again...seems when I do that it isn't enough or in some way turns against me." A perceptive wolf would listen closely to her, finding there a hint pointing to her long track record. As he declared her to stand down one last time, she looked at him for a long moment. All emotion wiped off her face, and an air of maturity surrounded her. He may have received a taste of her temper, but now that she was more composed, she stood tall. "Make me. Nineva trusted me and I don't intend to back down without a fight. Even if my emotions sometimes get in the way." Her eyes narrowed, her own tail curling over her spine. "Prove to me you're worth it." She issued her challenge, her facade stony, a far cry from what once was.

Neha can often be found close to Aleister's side and therefore may appear in any of his threads.

// Note to self: this takes place October 3rd
Ayti's first attack is a hit
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Aytigin understood that she had gone through a lot in her life. He didn't know just how much she had gone through, of course, but in that moment she reminded him of another girl he hadn't spoken to in a long, long time. She sounded to him like she was victimizing herself, and that was not the way to overcome past trauma. It was a steep slope, and if she didn't stop herself, she would keep falling for the rest of her life.

Being so clouded with emotion and despair was not acceptable for leadership. At least, Ayti didn't want a wolf like that in charge of his own life.

"Then I'll make you," he said simply, and like with his fights with Elias and Yuka, the massive man lunged forward and moved to slam his body into Neha's side to bowl her over. His ultimate goal was simply to knock her over and pin her down, not to actually harm the younger wolf. He didn't want to cause damage to a packmate, and it was clear he was holding back.

{ooc}Neha's attack is a miss./ooc] 

Through narrowed brown eyes, the Vuesain stared Aytigin down, not in the least bit surprised by his un-willingness to submit. She had noticed as of late how he had climbed the ranks. It only made sense he would want the top spot now. She wondered why, what his motives were. That if he had come to meet her here by the lake for this very reason, today. Once this was all over, then maybe she would get her answers.

"We shall see." Was all she said in reply, her voice emotionless. Reflecting back on her lesson with Yuka, she widened her stance slightly, stiffening her muscles. But a fraction too late, as her challenger charged. His body careened into her flank, sending her skidding and tumbling down with a yelp of surprise. He had gotten lucky, she liked to imagine. Swiftly rolling back to her feet, Neha darted out of the way before he could use his weight to completely pin her down. Strength was not one of her strong points, but speed was. Whirling round, she danced nimbly with him and looked for an opening. When she believed to have found one, she aimed for the loose scruff of his neck. She'd only pinch, not draw blood if she grabbed him.

Neha can often be found close to Aleister's side and therefore may appear in any of his threads.

Ayti's final move was a hit.
Permission given to powerplay.
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He hadn't managed to knock her down the first time, but he didn't plan on making that mistake twice. She tried to grab for his scruff, but he saw it coming and instead of jumping back, he took a page from Ellery's book and went beneath the female. It wasn't luck - he'd just had more experience than the younger wolf. Though perhaps he had a bit of luck dodging when she was so fast.

She wouldn't win this.

Aytigin, after ducking her initial attack, twisted beneath her and lunged upward in an attempt to take her with him. He managed to shoulder her down onto the bank and pin the woman down with his full weight, still not using teeth. But he had her down now, and he would be shocked if she could come up out of this.

"Give up," he snarled, baring his teeth and growling lowly in his chest so that she could feel it.