Wild Cherry Orchard I Told You So

<blockquote>After seeing Vlarindara and trekking about the base of the mountain in order to find something to eat Angier Lyall was rather surprised when he found himself before a rather tall tree. He observed its grandeur and stared in awe about how easily it towered above the treetops. Various scents of prey and predator criss-crossed through the grove but many, aside from a couple of hares, had visited several days ago. While he had been concerned for the white lady and was keenly interested in what she planned to do in the spring he had gone off this way in search of food and <i>a pack</i>. Not Vlarindara's {old} pack, per se, but a hierarchy and family to be apart of.

He cast his golden gaze to the spaces between the trees. His eyes widened from the half-lidded expression he had adopted while wearily wandering through. Angier wasn't sure why but the forest seemed alive now more than ever. Some distance away a large creature stirred and somewhere high above him the birds began to chatter amongst themselves. Even the winter air had filled his ears with a gentle whisper every so often. He took a deep breath and froze in his steps after walking a few steps away from the colossal landmark; he felt like he was being watched...</blockquote>

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Far still from her homelands and seemingly farther by the day, her weariness of those within her home drew her away, as though to protect her own skin from what she believed to be another back-stabbing to come. Certainly, the woman was a target, far from a fool from their trickery of a broken soul, as Jaysyek so easily lapped up as milk from a mother's teets. Her last visit to the Willows had brought her to an understanding of her interest in the land, if only second against the cedar which she currently lived. She often visited them, with an inkling to call it her 'escape' route, though knowing well of her inability to due anything with it, without the trusted followers needed and, without a partner. Though the breeding season lay near, and in her age, her body beckoning of what only came natural, Elettra's mind still strayed from the idea. Not in her (nearly four now) years of life, had ever a man grown far beyond a mere physical attraction and it would seem the subject of ruling was only a matter of business then hopes and dreams of love and a family. Such wishes were mere fantasy, a fairytale dream she'd never reach, much less attempt to.
The very idea caused the hairs along her spine to bristle, bringing her to travel in the opposite direction of the willows to here, the orchard. To her surprise, she would find a man which she had met upon her very first visit to the willows, as her very first visit to this grove now. Out of all the roaming rogue wolves, she would have not thought to find this one yet again. In her determined trek to no where, she would stop suddenly, her head rising to it's full height where a silvery gaze would stare into his direction- at first, as though she'd seen a ghost. It looked like Borden in some ways, but by his darker timbered coloration and larger build, it was obvious he was not, but the lesser known brother of the pair.
Perhaps it was she whom had been the thing watching him all this time, for she was uncertain of how long she had stood there before once more her body took action, moving forward slowly as she would make way towards him, her approach just out from his left side. “You were right; you were always right.” It's a grumble under her lips, as though she hated to have to admit it, though she would not regret her decision to have told him- not yet at least. ”I should have never trusted Borden the way I had...” He'd been so much kinder then; seemingly wiser, caring, concerned of his members and confidant in his position. He was nothing of the man which she had placed her trust into, and it was times like these why she remembered her trust was hard to come by in the first place- it always had a way of being shattered. Now, that she had said it allowed, she was unsure of what she had told him, though there was no mistaking what seemed a mass of weight lifting from her tensed shoulders.

<blockquote>The fur along his neck prickled and he was not surprised to be approached. His head craned to his left where a shadow of a figure appeared from between the trees. She looked familiar and would have said something if she had not spoken first, confirming that it was indeed the dark lady he had encountered last summer underneath a rather sad-looking willow. Her tone was unreadable to him but the words she offered told him that he had been right. That she had been wrong to trust Borden. For a moment he seemed dumbstruck as he stared at her, trying to backtrack his archive of memories about what he had told her on that rainy afternoon.

The conversation came back after he recalled how the air between them had been tense as she refused to confirm any of his musings. He, on the other hand, while nervous in her presence tested what information she was willing to give up. She hadn't believed him then, but now here she was, telling him point-blank the absolute opposite. The blank expression twisted into a half-amused, half-smug smile with his eyebrows slightly lifted. <b>"Funny that it took you that long,"</b> he scoffed, looking fully at her now. <b>"Borden demands leadership; to deny him what he thinks is rightfully his is... pfffff... He'll do whatever it takes. Don't test him. He'll snap right back and after only so many trials he'll just... absolutely <i>lose it</i>."</b>

Angier entertained the idea of Borden facing this regal lady down, how their resilient personalities would clash to some degree before he reinvented himself to take the upper hand of the situation. It would be a good fight, he resolved, but how dire the situation was now, he could only guess. <b>"What'd he do to you, sweetheart?"</b> he queried, his tone slick and teasing on the tip of his tongue. <b>"Plague you with lies? Tell you things that he instantly took back? Did he... try to advance on you?"</b> The last question brought a sort of eerie sneer onto his muzzle, perhaps his sibling had cracked just enough. If he had changed after all this time, certainly Borden could have become the power-hungry beast he had set out to be.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Feb 29, 2012, 07:40 PM by Angier.)

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Her ears turned back, her eyes a narrow upon him, studying him from what at first was a dumbfounded, shocked expression, to a smirk, smug and filled with cockiness. She would allow his state without any mocking gesture or anger in return, but merely watch him in wonder of what he might say, when he said it. He would mention how long it took her to figure it out and as he scoffed, she scoffed in turn, snorting at him. It had not taken her as long as Borden's brother thought, after all, most of the time that had passed between their meeting and the last, Borden had been absent, his return, only just more recent by a month or so. "What he thinks is rightfully his and what is, are two different matters." She comments delicately, only a hiss over her silvered lips.
There was a flicker of her ears, perking and her muzzle crinkling to the pet-name he now offered her, but didn't bother to take much into it, assuming the man did not think much into it himself, ether. He began to question of what had went wrong, teasing even as he prodded and Elettra would grow more tense though only to slack. Her days as of late within the pack did not supply much rest. She was constantly tensed, constantly weary. With the breeding season just around the corner, her defensive stature turned into more of a need to escape, to run. Only once had she allowed her feminine hormones to get the best of her, a mistake that now sent her packing now. However, with the many rogue men about (much like Angier himself) Elettra doubted that running would do her much good this breeding season, lest she find herself in an unfavorable position by a man dying for leadership, much as Borden himself...
"No." Her words quickly snapped, to shut down any thought Angier had before he could finish them. "...And he would not have the balls for leadership, had he." The warning was offered, though the man whom it was directed to was not here, despite the similarities Borden and his brother shared. Their differences were obvious, be a lighter coat and an eye color of a much more pure gold. Angier was bigger too, much, and it was a wonder why he was not the one striving to rule for a pack. "Not far after our meeting, Borden left the pack, some wild goose chase for his son, but he was gone for months. It was only Jaysyek, Raigo and I left to care for all the children. Prosper, who he was searching for...I found him dead." She pauses, her expression grim. "Theodore died soon later; a snake bite." That she shamefully could not cure. "The pack suffered much because of his abandonment (as a leader, as a mate and as a father) and now he seeks to crawl his way back up to the top, where he does not belong." And she would not stand for it.

<blockquote>She drew a line across his words, clearing up that his brother was probably attempting to blur the lines between the difference it what belonged to him and what didn't. Angier continued to grin, even as she let out a curt <i>"No"</i> in attempt to sever any trains of thought he kindled about Borden troubling her or causing her distress. Her comment about the older Lyall not having the grit to lead a pack made him snigger as if she had been stating something rather obvious. Before he could even snap back or test her boundaries about the matter she continued to divulge the fact that Borden had abandoned his pack... looking for his son. For months. <i>Wait... what?</i> Angier's eyes narrowed but he remained silent and let her finish. Perhaps she would reveal more information than he had hoped for. After all, how could Borden drop everything to look for one pup? Surely he had to have had more than one heir? Their mother had been blessed (or cursed, actually) with four boys and only one girl.

Elettra, Jaysyek, and one other pack member had looked after the pack in the wake of his brother's disappearance. Two puppies had died in his absence and, now, he was back with hopes to reclaim the place he had once held at his mate's side. She made sure to emphasize that he did not belong at the head of the family he had established and, for one reason or another, Angier let out a vulgar laugh. <i>She was kidding, right?</i> <b>"Oh-ho-ho,"</b> he guffawed. <b>"You think yer gonna stop 'im? Hmm? An' how're ya gonna do that exactly?"</b> He looked her over, absolutely tickled by her words but did not continue to mock or deride her after he took note of the dismal expression that had settled onto her features. <b>"I offer my condolences about your losses though,"</b> he offered in a genuinely respectful tone. <b>"But, seriously, sweet'eart, <i>what did you expect</i>?"</b></blockquote>

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His sudden laugh to her dismay; to the whole of Grizzly Hollow's dismay, causes her body to tense, her teeth to grind. Her eyes, silver and pale with their coldness, land upon him in a full narrow, but beyond this laugh, he dares not mock her further. His next words are true to the pack's losses, which only moments ago, he seemed to have laughed upon. Her head lowers, to align with her spine protectively, her irritation and readiness obvious. After all, though Angier mocks his brother she does not know how deep the dislike between the two brothers truly is and means not to pass secrets to someone whom could easily turn it against her. They were brothers, after all, and Angier had done far from anything to place Elettra's trust into him. Unlike Borden, however, he had not broken her trust, ether.
”Just this exactly, actually.” And why would she not expect him to return, knowing that the rank of lead male would be open and sure that he would return to it's placement, even if the pack did not at first open arms to him? He was, after all, the father of what was left of his children. However, it was clear by now, Jaysyek no longer was his angelic prize and had moved on. Still, as it were, Elettra would not expect Borden to simply stand back and allow this to happen without a fight. It was a fight which Elettra Archer had expected and a fight she was very much prepared for, a thought which led to the smirk upon her expression now. Jaysyek had been foolish to allow his return into the pack, not only Kiche, but it would be a downfall that in time, surely she would recognize. Elettra would be there to the end, as her loyalty offered, but she would not fall with her, this much she had promised. Elettra would not let Jaysyek's kindness and foolishness be the best of her. ”...And it's going to be one hell of a fight.” It was the calm before the storm and Elettra was left to tremble in anticipation for it.

<blockquote><i>My, my... this turned out to be quite an entertaining afternoon.</i> The Lyall studied her as her defenses immediately went up after his mocking and sympathetic statements fled his mouth. One of his large tawny ears swiveled to one side before turning forward again. <b>"You're... going to fight him? Yourself?"</b> he asked slowly, pausing briefly between each of his words. <b>"Oh... I don't know about that. What makes you think that sheer force is going to knock him down?"</b> He lowered himself into the muddied snow as his brows rose, <b>"I don't mean that you can't bring him down,"</b> he was quick to add after noting her build and size. <b>"But it's going to take more than a few postures and nips and whatever."</b>

A sly smile started to creep its way back onto the sides of his muzzle. <b>"Ya want t' really get to 'im? Why not try <i>intellectually</i>? Mind games... drive him <i>mad</i>. Tell him that she doesn't love him anymore. I'm pretty sure you're sharp 'nough to pick out and emphasize some things he might have not noticed or successfully ignored."</b> Both of his ears turned back as he thought of what else to lay out on the table for the dark lady, an armory of words or a bag of tricks... <b>"What's Borden to you, anyway?"</b> he asked, the mask on his face distorted by bemusement. <b>"And why are <i>you</i> so concerned with what he does?"</b> Now that he had thought of it, he had to wonder... Sure his parents had themselves wrapped around Borden's forepaws but as far as Angier and his siblings were concerned, the attention his parents had not given them in excess was to their benefit; anyone who fell for his brother's ploys - dressed up with a gentlemanly essence - were certain to find themselves, well, <i>played up</i>. Angier had found that out the hard way more than once when they were young. As to why anyone would get so entangled with Borden's schemes was very much beyond his grasp, but perhaps if she struck a familiar chord they could strike an alliance of some kind. A tie, albeit thin, to a pack wolf is surely better than none while searching for the life he ought to live out.</blockquote>

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“Now, now...I didn't say all that.” She would murmur through her teeth at the mentioning of she taking the man down herself. Surely, if he tried anything funny after Kade had already made it into leadership, trying to force him out just so he could fuck Jaysyek, Elettra was pretty sure it would not only be her on his back, or Jaysyek, but perhaps others too. Jaysyek had made up her mind on whom she wanted at her side and although Elettra did not go into detail to this man here, knew enough if her alpha wanted him at her side, he would have already been there. ”Postures and nips? Is that really all you think I'm capable of?” She speaks, mockingly with a tisk-tisk there after. All she needed was to wait for her leader's word should she be needed to back down Borden off his false pedestal , and it would be with far more then 'postures and nips'.
When he went into detail on what she could do to Borden- mind games, filling his head with thing to drive him mad, Elettra would simply nod in what seemed false interest. She had no reason to bother whispering bullshit into others ears for it to make way to Borden, or to even face him off herself and tell him that Jaysyek did not want him anymore. Surely, it would only enrage the wolf, not to mention, Elettra didn't know if Jaysyek still felt anything for him, and gossip was unbecoming (mainly if false) of the noble woman. There was little Elettra could do whilst Borden fought to keep it cool, but awaited Jaysyek's judgment should Borden's ill intentions ever come to light. Perhaps, with the breeding season just at their door, Borden would miss out on his chance at ever finding his place at Jays side. Still, whilst El knew little of his plans she did not expect him to lay belly up so easily. Elettra would only be left to wonder if it was love driving him, or power.
Now, being questioned of why she cared, caught the dark woman from her revery, her body tensing further, muzzle wrinkling up into a snarl. Had he not been listening this whole time!? Borden had betrayed the pack; betrayed their trust by leaving them in their weakest of times, when they needed him most- through the winter, through the pups youth. Lives were lost because there was little wolves to watch over the kids. They went nights hunter with the thoughts that the Hollow had become a dying pack. Through Raigo, Jays, and Elettra's own loyalty and devotion, they had prevailed- not because of Borden. Perhaps he had planted the seed, but it was not he which had made it grow and strive. Elettra's trust in Borden as a wolf (as their leader) and perhaps with some of his children (as a father) had been shattered beyond prepare and it was obvious Elettra was far from the only wolf who felt this way. "I cannot stand back and allow him to hurt this pack again..." Her words were a mere whisper from her lips, but with nothing less then true meaning- determination. Her eyes were no longer upon Angier, but passed, deep with her thoughts. If he made it as leader once more, whats to stop him from leaving again? What can prove that he will not hurt Jaysyek once more? Mistreat his children with neglect? Who's to say others would not die under his watch?
Her throat tightened, a small choke coming over her as her head would fall and turn away. She would be a fool to allow herself to trust the man once again, and she would not be a fool! Perhaps Borden's children would turn around in time, because he was their father. Perhaps by love, Jaysyek would forgive him, but Elettra would not have the truth by marred by the gloss of family or romantic affection. She saw the man, clearly, for what he was, when he had left. Elettra had found out what he was capable of, through the hollow gazes of his two dead sons.

<blockquote>She mocked him in return and it made his tickled grin broaden. At least he knew that someone who knew <i>how to fight</i> was able to curb Borden's warpath if the circumstances called for it. He shook his head and she nodded in reply to his tip. Once he mused about her interest in the masked man, he drew back slightly upon the sound of her growl. <i>Yeesh.</i> The words that finally left her lips made him nod. All his years of ignoring his brother left him with the impression that whatever Borden did was something small and generously appraised. He had failed to realize that his brother had actually done something so terribly horrid that it had scarred a whole pack even though it continued to survive in his absence.

As if he had been given a cue he whispered darkly, <b>"What's stopping you then?"</b> His tail twitched. <b>"Respect for your beloved leader? Her choices? What about all that could be had if you managed to keep him in place? What about the rewards to be had if all the viable harm that Borden could cause could be averted once and for all?"</b> He stared at her, imagining for a few seconds a flash of mottled gray and black fur. <b>"Why not introduce her to another? He will be no match for jealousy in the face of another suitor if she favors him, I'm sure."</b> Offering guesses of how his sibling might react might have been a poor gesture but he presented them nonetheless. The only thing that could possibly be against his words were time; but, it was surely inevitable in the end that the hunger for power was one thing that Borden would never be able to quell. Her words echoed in his ears and he scoffed again. <b>"You probably know him better than I do these days... but I'm tellin' ya now, if you do not stop him, things will only get worse."</b></blockquote>

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He would then go further into detail, as though, despite being brothers, he truly meant to do harm to Borden. Perhaps it was only brotherly rivalry. Perhaps Angier only meant to watch his brother squirm, to be at the bottom for the rest of his life, so that perhaps he could gain the glory in which Borden had seemingly stole from him. However, how far was Angier willing to go before he would revert back to just what he was- Borden's brother. Would he stand to watch the whole of the pack chase Borden from the Hollow? Would he allow even his death?
Elettra's pale gaze would lock upon the paled yellow of the other man, hard on her expression, as she studied him, listening to every word. Of course, it was her respect for her leader- respect for her word. Elettra's lawful nature bounded her to this and although she did not trust Borden, was trusting of the woman whom ruled over her. But there was something in her that also kept Elettra back- rejection. Although Elettra did not trust Borden, what is Jaysyek did? What id she did still love him, despite her choice to have Kade lead at her side? Borden had yet to do anything and although Elettra did not wish to wait until something bad happened, what other choices did she have? Tearing into him, kicking him from the pack, such things were above her to do. Could Jaysyek trust Elettra's words over Borden? Over Kiche? She had not before and still feared she would not now...
The very thought caused her hackles to rise. Sure, Kiche and Borden had been there longer, but they had left, with broken trust and empty promises in their wake, where Elettra had not. She had guarded, fed, protected, healed and even buried her pups where their own father laid absent. The thought that Jaysyek didn't trust Elettra's gut feelings caused her gut now to twist; her teeth to grind.
She found herself there, a mix of wild emotions; anger, sorrow, irritation, pity, betrayal. To his last words, she would shake her head sharply, deep black, silky ears folding against her skull as her brow harden and a nod came into Angier's direction. "Thank you." His words were heard and all his suggestions true, but it still left Elettra with little options, not whilst Borden had yet to do anything and Jaysyek was sure he had changed (just not for the better). Not to mention, the fact that their was already another man, but the information Elettra would rather not give up to Angier. Shifting her weight, her eyes would part from the male, scanning the orchard for but a moment before yet one more fleeting glance was offered to the male and with that, she turned to make her leave.