Dead Empress Backwater that green light, i want it

Rank Challenge for @Vayko.

Despite the struggles plaguing their pack, Eros was still make strides forward. He'd officially been bestowed the role he'd been seeking since childhood, and had one rung on the ladder of their hierarchy behind him. Practice, it had felt like. Seri was his best friend, he couldn't imagine ever actually feeling pitted against him. His uncle, though?

This felt real. This felt like a score that had needed settling long ago.

Eros waited for their paths to cross rather than hunting the other down, allowing fate to have some kind of say in this encounter. When it spoke, he acted. When the other Valle came into view, his tail flagged high and his chin raised. Peach eyes pointedly tried to capture Vayko's gold and his teeth would bare, a silent dare for him to disagree; Eros was the more dominant wolf here.

Vayko was… tired. He was tired of a lot of things that were happening in his life. He was tired of glares, of snarls in his direction. He was tired of being walked on because he had just tried to do the right thing. He was tired of this pack. He was tired of the way his family continued to spiral into their own victimization and pathetic behaviors. It was met with irritation. He was tired from chasing after the kids, from pulling his weight as more and more wolves disappeared without a word and yet somehow did not seem to earn the ire that he had earned for sticking around.

Vayko was sick of it all, and every day his patience spread more and more thin. Every day, he felt the anger he had felt as a yearling filled with piss and vinegar building up inside of him begging to be released.

And then his nephew showed up.

No, not his nephew. This was not one of Sharlee’s children. At this point, it felt as if he was barely family.

Immediately he would snarl, though exhaustion would still hint at his features as his tail arched above him. He would not take this from some snot nosed kid who barely knew the difference between his right and left paws. Eros, for all of his life, had been sheltered. He’d been handed a stack of poor cards, but Vayko would not continue to coddle him as so many others had.

Vayko Valle

Vayko didn't back down, as expected. Instinct made the next step well known. Eros moved in, a low growl now building his throat as a nonverbal warning. His chin tucked while his ears and crown remained high, teeth ready to snap as he got into Vayko's face. He would wait only a second for deferment that he knew would not come before escalating. His jaws would strike out at the other wolf's muzzle, an attempt to force acknowledgement of that which Eros sought to assert by forcing the other's head downward.

Vayko would not stand down… as Eros postured at him, he snarled. As if that was going to work? Against a man who’d seen more violence in the matter of a few months than Eros had ever actually seen in his lifetime? No. He would rear back away from the man's muzzle grab, his teeth barely catching the edge which Vayko quickly pulled away. He would dart around him, aiming to snap at his tail as he ran past him without trying to bring about bloodshed.

Despite it all, he would not sink to the level of Vasco… nor would he try to bring further pain to his cousin by inflicting grievous wounds on the boy… no, instead, he would taunt him until he gave up, realized he could not beat Vayko, and move on so that Vayko might get back to his children.

Vayko Valle

(This post was last modified: Aug 01, 2023, 09:10 PM by Vayko.)

His longest fangs scraped against fur and skin, but the rest caught only air. Eros pointedly kept his body as elastic and ready as possible, moving fluidly after the other wolf. He could hear the clack of Vayko's teeth somewhere at his flanks, cueing him to angle inward. They had briefly created a circle between them, chasing one another's tails, but rather than follow through in completing that shape Eros dodged inward abruptly. His aim was to slam a hefty shoulder into Vayko's hip and thus throw the other wolf's balance.

Eros wasn't here to maim either, but he also wasn't giving in like his cousin may think. He had a goal that, in his eyes, would benefit everyone he loved and even the estranged outliers like Vayko himself. This would not end until Eros either physically could not continue, or he had forced his uncle into submission.

He had a certain determination and vigor that Vayko could not deny… the boy wanted it, even if he was a boy. Perhaps it was hypocritical of Vayko to think, knowing that he had been in a similar seat at a younger age… he had been Viorel’s second until he had been old enough to ascend himself… so perhaps he should not be as hard as he was on Eros… then again, his anger was not directed really at Eros despite the sharp words between them earlier in the month… no, it was directed on a certain member of his bloodline.

They circled each other for a moment, and Vayko braced against the ground as the boy slammed into his side and hip, sending him akilter but he managed to remain on his paws, reaching his maw around to try and grip loosely around the boy’s shoulder in return, contorting his body as he did so to nearly fold it in half like a fortune cookie in order to reach for it.

He would make him earn it. Vayko still did not think Eros could win, but if he could it would not be without a hefty fight.

Vayko Valle

Eros had hoped for more of an impact, but was happy at least for successful contact. Even if it was inch by inch, he was determined that the tide would turn in his favor until Vayko's rank was his. The other wolf's jaws were then coming for his shoulders while the rest of him continued on its path away and out of the tawny youth's reach. His larger body was not swift enough to elude this maneuver while still pursuing, and he felt his uncle's grip at his nape. It was a particular pressure point, one he could feel in his toes even as Vayko did not have a full grasp of his neck. When he was a child, it would have been enough to crumple him. Now, Eros had the willpower to withstand it.

Rather than try and dodge or pull, Eros pushed into it, aiming to effectively headbutt Vayko anywhere from his chest to his lower jaw, whatever he made contact with. It could jar the other's grip, or it could backfire.

The grip he got was not one he was happy with, despite it’s success. He had wished to Force the man down. Gods, perhaps he was getting old! Though he wasn’t even that old to begin with, just two years older than Eros himself was. He growled as he tried to pull the man down, making Eros’s push less effective though it was effective nonetheless. He felt his teeth go in and he pulled back with a hiss, blood from his gums from the impact as he spit, hints of it dripping though it was all superficial.

He had to admit, it was a good play, but that hardly mattered in the grand scheme of things. Instead, the other man went for his chest and jaw, catching the side of his neck in response near the shoulder, away from some of the neck’s most sensitive areas. Vayko brought his paw up to batter at the man’s head in response, hoping to knock him off as he threw all of his weight on him to try and topple him over.

Vayko Valle

Locked into close-quarters now, Eros' moves became increasingly forceful. Instead of a battle of brutality, it was a face-off against their muscle strength. He was at least able to shake Vayko's teeth but he still did not have an advantage. His uncle was focusing on pushed down, but the younger wolf was immensely stubborn. His limbs refused to give, and he continued pressing forward, but it seemed clear this would be a stalemate if it continued exactly as is.

Eros' first thought was to shift so as to slip past the other wolf's chest and ram his shoulders roughly into Vayko's gut, hopefully upending him completely. He hadn't forgotten his uncle's injury however. Instead, he met the man blow for blow, using limbs and jaws to try and grapple him directly. Vayko was his elder, but he was far from old. Still, there were advantages to Eros' youth, and he hoped that they would shine now.

Your toxic I'm slipping under

With a taste of your lips, I'm on a ride

The boy showed more strength than Vayko thought he had in him, being able to hold steady against the never ending push of Vayko’s weight against him. The boy shifted to throw blows at him just as he had done to the boy. There was a certain matter of almost respect between them, at least that Vayko felt... something that was already different from his challenge with Vasco.

But Vayko would not be counted out yet. Instead, he would attempt to hastily throw his own weight to the ground on his back, attempting to wrap his limbs around him knowing the risk of what it could do to his shoulder, aiming to throw him into the dirt by pulling in the very direction Eros was already applying force. He hoped he’d be able to catch the boy by surprise and end up overtop of him through a quick rise to his paws in order to stand over the boy.

(This post was last modified: Aug 05, 2023, 11:14 PM by Vayko.)