He kept to the borders.He could no longer feel the pain from when his mother had smacked him, but she'd made a mark on his consciousness nonetheless- the boy didn't want to leave the pack's borders...But at the same time, he did. He resented her for the way she'd treated him. It had been wrong for her to hit him, hadn't it? He kicked a pebble idly. There was no way she could treat him like that. He hadn't gone that far from the pack, and he'd been fine. He'd left a trail behind so he could find his way back- he'd been as responsible as possible, even though he'd been breaking the rules. So why did she have to blow things out of proportion? The breaking point had come when he'd simply told her what he knew was the truth- he wasn't really her son.
He roved along the borders of Nomad's Pass with his shoulders somewhat hunched and a sour expression on his face. He decided, then, to leave the pack. He could leave the pack and return without getting hurt- his mom- no, Sagacity- would see. He'd grow up tough, a wild rover. Someone who couldn't be restrained by rules made by someone who claimed to be their mother. She'd taken him in, yes, but she wasn't his biological mother...The was nothing, or close to nothing. Part of him still wanted to run to her, apologize and earn her love again. But he had a tinge of the same pride that his mother had, and with that controlling his movements and putting wind into his sails, he left the pack and strode out into the mid-morning light that shone freely on the plateau.
@Mercy
It felt good to stretch his legs. To be away from other wolves. He could act like himself without someone else watching him. His long, muscled legs made the climb up the steep mountainside easy, for a while anyways. He had stopped previously for a few moments, deciding on whether to take the easier way up the mountain, or the more challenging. With a smirk, he had chosen the difficult way just because he could. But after what seemed like a few hours, his legs had begun to get sore. The Young Hellion was used to flatlands and small hills, but he had never gone up a mountain, purely because his sister didn’t want to. Whatever she said, he acted out. He loved and trusted her more than anything else, except for himself.
He didn’t care that the muscles in his legs were screaming out for a rest, he just wanted to get to the top of the mountain. So what if he was sore the next day, life for him was pushing it to the extremes, and causing hell for others, especially those in packs. His lips curled up in a snarl at the thought of pack wolves. All but he and his sister had been killed by the Midnight Pass Pack just because they could, and from that day on he had wanted revenge. Nothing could change his mind, not even his sister. That was the one thing that he wouldn’t comply to. If in the future she didn’t want to continue toying with pack wolves, then so be it. She could go and join one and live happily ever after, but he wouldn’t stop. It was the only thing except for his sister that kept him wanting to live.
The sound of a pebble cascading down the mountainside caused the Young Hellion to prick his ears and look around. His bright amber eyes spotted nothing, dark furred and pointed ears heard nothing, but his jet black sensitive nose could scent a wolf. It definitely wasn’t a lone wolf like him, which made the corners of his lips almost twitch up in a smile. He could have fun with this wolf, whoever it was. Scanning his eyes over his bulky body, he made sure that his fur was clean of any debris and laying smooth across his body. Perfection was one thing he strived for, mentally and physically. First impressions decided how he would react to the wolf and the pack that it lived in.
Almost running up the steep mountainside (which was now starting to level out) the Young Hellion came upon a small, dark furred pup and studied it. He guessed it was around four months old, as that was how much time had passed since the month that all pups were brought into the world. The pups’ fur was dark grey and black, with silvery hairs beginning to show on his brows and forehead. Its muzzle was inky black, yet the eyes that he could see were still puppy blue. By now, they should have started changing to their adult colour, but it seemed like this pup would have blue eyes forever. The pup also had long, lanky limbs that seemed like they’ve been stretched out too far and too long on his body.
Coming to a halt about a foot away from the pup, he still stared at the pup, but his bright amber eyes were fixed upon its puppy blue eyes. A smirk graced his handsome features as he stood to his full height, although he kept his tail even and head slightly above his shoulders. It seemed as if the pup was running away from home, because he could only faintly scent the packs borders. The Young Hellion cocked his head slightly to the left, still staring at the pup. He could have real fun toying with and corrupting the pup, maybe even eventually meeting his mother, if he had one.
The tip of his brown tail twitched to the side as he lifted up his right leg –which was all white- and flexed it calmly. Whenever he met a new wolf, he always did that, but why, he didn’t know. “Well look at us here. Running away from home, aren’t we?” His voice was deep and soft, yet also full of volume, like a bass guitar. He would attempt to make the pup trust him, and then he could make it do things that normally wouldn’t be done. But he wouldn’t let the pup lallygag, no. Every day he would meet him and they would do something else. Maybe after a while, he could even extract valuable information about the pack the pup lived in, and use it to his advantage.
Oh, this was a beautiful day for the Young Hellion.
I can because I want to,
I want to because you made me.
For a little while, Mercy felt his pride float him along like a balloon on an updraft, carried by an invisible force he didn't question. His stride became slightly longer as he moved, feeling tough with the resolve he'd come to. This was where he was meant to be- he felt natural, easy, casual. The plateau was easy to traverse, unlike the mountain which he was beginning to dislike considerably. With each step he took he felt himself becoming more comfortable with the idea of going out on his own, even if he wasn't allowed to do so. His mother would never catch him- he'd made sure of that. Besides, this was what he was meant to do. It just felt right. So nothing could go wrong.He heard the sound of claws on rock and dirt and immediately sank into a defensive pose as he whirled around. At first he saw no one, and lifted himself so he could better scan the landscape. The sound ceased as the wind picked up, making it harder for him to hear. Skeptically, and with a bit less confidence, he turned to continue on his way, shoulders lightly hunched, as though to say that he didn't like the fact that the mountain was playing tricks on him.
And then there was the sound again- and he turned around once more, eyes blazing this time to see a wolf- tall, thick and cloaked with a sensuous and swarthy coat, save for his creamy underside and strangely light paws. His eyes were bright and fierce, and Mercy stood his ground foolishly, though he felt his heart fluttering inside his ribcage like a bird frantically trying to escape from a predator. He wanted his mother. He wanted her there now. She was nowhere near as large as this guy, but she definitely had a better chance of protecting him than he had of protecting himself.
He wasn't hunted down, but the male stalked forward with the keen interest of a tiger watching a deer nonetheless. Mercy didn't allow himself to bolt or cower to the ground, but couldn't stop the very tip of his tail from quivering. He bit his lip to keep it from trembling and inhaled a breath as he told himself to calm down. Maybe this guy was just tough, like @Crowe, but like the snowy male, not dangerous. He looked up into those amber eyes when the male came to a stop very close to him. One of his paws lifted- one which had a white sock that extended up to his knee but no further- and Mercy could see the muscles flex and relax, as those long, curved claws moved dangerously.
"No," Mercy said. He wasn't running away from home, after all- he had every intention of returning. "I go where I want." He said prudishly, defiantly. He didn't like this guy, for some reason...
The Young Hellion watched in amusement when the pup whirled around to face him, puppy blue eyes scanning over his own dark pelt. The boy stood his ground foolishly, and Anouke’s jaws opened just an inch; lips curling up ever so slightly so pearly white canines could just be seen. He had nerve standing up for himself like that, against a wolf he didn’t know. But at the same time, he felt admiration for the boy. When he himself had been younger, he would have done exactly the same thing. Although, the wolves he stood up to were either family members or pack mates. In ways, himself and the boy had similarities, even though they hadn’t officially “met” just yet.
Bright amber eyes studied the boy -whom appeared to be either nervous, scared or excited, maybe all three- and raised one eyebrow as he picked up the tip of his grey tail quivering and the soft biting of his lips with sharp, puppy teeth. It seemed that the boy was trying to calm himself down, or he may just be biting back the urge to yowl out for his mama and prove to Anouke that he really was a wimp. Who knew?
“No,” was the boy’s reply, and it sounded as if he was scared, although it could’ve been the fact that he was still young and his voice always sounded like that. The Young Hellion twitched his right ear to face the boy –which had a triangle-shaped nick taken out of it from a tooth- while his left stayed in its normal pricked position. He often kept one ear out for any wolves that may stumble by; a defensive thing really, while the other listened attentively to whichever wolf he was interacting with.
“I go where I want.” The boy finished prudishly and boldly. Once again, he had much nerve standing up to Anouke like that, although it was probably because he had never heard of him before. Which was a good thing, for now at least. Only until he and his sister got back into the gist of things like they had before entering Relic Lore and splitting up; his sister scouting out a new pack and him searching for new victims to play with. He was sure the boy and him could have much fun together, but only if he cooperated and willingly went along with his plans and ideas.
Staring at the boy with a soft smile that he had to force onto his face –he hadn’t smiled properly since the day all but him and his sister had died- Anouke lowered his dark head a few inches so it was slightly above his grey head. He would attempt to make “friends” with the boy first and hoefully gain his trust, if that worked, then he’d start the real fun. “Is that so? Well I daresay you are very brave to wander by yourself outside of pack borders.” The trick was to compliment them so they fell into a false lull of security. Then he would strike when they showed a weakness.
Being evil and devilish was the most fun a wolf could have.
I can because I want to,
I want to because you made me.
Run.The boy's flight or fight instinct begged for him to run, but he knew it was foolish. Though he knew he'd stand no better chance trying to defend himself, he felt that his demise would be better faced head-on, rather than running and allowing himself to get caught. This male would have no problem catching up with him- the area was broad and flat, and Mercy would find nowhere to hide in order to escape his jaws. Running might even provoke the male to chase him, and if he, for some reason, didn't intend on harming him while he stood still, then he'd stand still. There was no way to tell- but running away did not seem like the best option.
He did not like the way the stranger looked him over and sized him up to be something very small. Of course, Mercy couldn't know exactly what the male thought of him, but the pup perceived the look in his bold eyes to be one of amusement. And he took it with contempt. He didn't like being patronized and he felt as though this wolf was trying to make fun of him for being little and trying to be bold. Well he'd show this loner who he was- he stayed rooted to his spot and didn't waved from his stance.
The words came on a low and sensuous voice, one which was calm and relaxed, but not without a tinge of mirth. The compliment came and normally, Mercy might've been more humble, but now was not the time. He had to be exactly what the man said- he had to be brave. "I am," He said, and the words came to his lips with surprising ease- he hadn't expected them to. In all honesty, he wasn't normally very concerned whenever he went out on his own...And he'd been doing find, before this stranger showed up. So yes, he was brave.It gave him a bit of an ego boost. He shrugged one shoulder. "It's nothing scary." He admitted with an off-handed tone. He looked away, his gaze scanning the horizon. He dearly wished that Crowe would show up and beat the pulp out of this loser, but he wouldn't dare cry out. He knew he could easily be killed before his voice even finished ringing on the air.
Anouke stared at the pup, whom didn’t move even an inch –save for blinking and breathing- before speaking. He liked the pup immediately, mostly because he was reminded of himself. Courageous, brave, bold, not too bad with the ladies. The best trait a guy could have. I all depended on how one used them to their advantage, whether to further either themselves or others.
The corners of his lips twitched up in another smirk at the pups words of "I am." he pup was much braver than some wolves that he had seen. Albeit, they had been much smaller than himself, but the pup was probably only acting brave as a cover up for another emotion. Some wolves attempted to look brave in front of him, whereas they were actually scared out of their wits. But the pup looked genuinely unafraid of him. Either that or he was very good at hiding his emotions from others that sought to put their nose in others’ business. Like himself.
The Young Hellion watched as the pup shrugged one shoulder and admitted that it wasn’t very scary being by himself. Seeing as not many wolves would climb a mountain, he figured that was why the pup wasn’t that scared of other wolves. Anouke looked away from the pup for a few seconds to look around; making sure that no one was close by. He wanted their interaction to be one-on-one, with no one else listening or joining in.
Looking back at the grey pup, Anouke forced a smile upon his face, but it didn’t reach his bright amber eyes. “If you have the courage to talk to a complete stranger like you are, then you must be the bravest and brightest pup in your litter.” He wanted to make the pup trust him, otherwise his plan couldn’t work. But he just couldn’t expect the pup to trust him straight away, even if he wanted it to be like that.
The Young Hellion couldn’t always have his way in life.
I can because I want to,
I want to because you made me.
Had Mercy been more perceptive, he might've noticed the way the tall, swarthy male looked around, and that it meant that within him there was a small trace of insecurity- he might've known that he was looking to make sure that they were alone and he might've taken this as a warning sign. He had no idea that abductions took place, and though he'd been told that other wolves were dangerous, he had yet to see even one wolf in his life bring danger to another wolf. To prey, for sure- he knew that wolves could kill, but he still sincerely doubted that a wolf would kill or hurt another wolf, unless it was for a good reason.The male's comment didn't flatter Mercy much, given the situation surrounding his birth. "I have no siblings." He stated. "They died." He said, without much emotion. After all, he'd never met a wolf who had died, so he didn't know what it truly meant. Death was a concept which had been explained to him, but he still did not grasp it in its totality. His siblings had apparently died before they'd even had a chance to open their eyes. He'd asked about them, once or twice- there had been two others, two females. But they were gone. And in their place he had Nova and Aponi, who were as good as siblings...But right now, he wanted to be a loner.
"You're not that strange," Mercy said. "So why're you called a stranger?" He asked. Simply because he didn't know the male, didn't mean he thought he was strange. He was merely questioning the entomology of the word, which simply didn't seem to make sense. He paused. "What's your name?"
Eventually he was able to see the two more clearly, no stalking was used to conceal himself, Crowe came through the area like a tank. When he did show on the scene his stance was set forward and his tail high. "May I ask what you are doing out here with one of our pups?." The faintest trace of a growl could be heard in Crowe's voice. He would feel no remorse in forcibly removing this male from his territory. Crowe was in rare form, fed, calm and directing his anger at one whom was not trying to help him, or trying to have nothing more than a conversation.
@Mercy and @Crowe
It seemed that his compliment didn’t flatter the pup very much, seeing as he spoke that his siblings had died with no emotion in his voice, and what seemed to be a hardened expression on his face. The Young Hellion had always wondered what it would have been like to have no siblings. There would be no one to contend with for attention –though that wasn’t very hard to get for him anyway- and he wouldn’t have to share everything with them. But at the same time, it’d be very boring and he would have no one to prank others with. There was also the fact that he’d wouldn’t be able to put the blame onto his sibling if something went wrong.
The Young Hellion’s eyebrows raised as the pup spoke again. That was a question –or rather statement- that he hadn’t been asked before. But nevertheless, he composed himself and attempted to put a friendly smile on his face, but as before, it didn’t reach his bright amber eyes. “How about we just say I’m called a stranger because you don’t know anything about me?”
He didn’t want to have to tell the pup what the word “stranger” meant and why it was used, he just wanted to get the conversation onto a more interesting topic. But when the pup asked him for a name, Anouke’s ears twitched slightly. He hadn’t been expecting that. Giving out his name wasn’t a thing that he usually did, but seeing as it was just a pup he figured it wouldn’t do any harm to tell him. “My name is Anouke Kasekhemre.” Pausing, he stared at the pup for a few moments before speaking again. “Seeing as you now know my name, what is yours?”
It was then that the Young Hellion spotted a large, white male walk up to him and the pup, his stance screaming out dominance as his yellow eyes stared at the pair. When he spoke in a voice that had a trace of a growl in it, Anouke could barely suppress the interest the urge to change his posture to a dominant one and fight it out with the large, white male. But if he wanted the pups trust, he would have to follow the “rules” as they call them.
Lowering his bright amber eyes to stare at the male’s chest, he spotted the faint trace of black, of what seemed to be just a few black hairs on his white coat. His ears swiveled from their perked forward submission and he lowered his head and tail to shoulder height. That was as far as Anouke would go in submitting to anyone. He followed his own rules, and would never beg, plead or cry. But in this case, he would be submissive to the large, white male, even though he didn’t want to be.
The Young Hellion paused for a few moments, contemplating what he would say, and how he would say it. He didn’t want to get the pup into trouble, as that was not a way to gain the trust that he sought to carry out his devious plans. Slowly raising his bright amber eyes to meet the large, white male’s yellow eyes. His dark head cocked slightly to the left as a smirk crossed his face.
“You could say that I merely….stumbled across one of your pups. We were just having a chat, nothing more.” Anouke put emphasis on the word “your” as he spoke, as he doubted the pup was his. But maybe the wolf liked to think that. With a mischievous glint in his eyes, the Young Hellion stared at the large white male for a few seconds, the corners of his lips twitching up into a smirk. “But, if you had come later, it may have been more than just a….chat.”
Oh, he would make the large, white male’s thoughts run in circles from his mind games.
MERCY get your things, we're leaving when the morning birds are singing, we're sailing. Mercy wasn't completely satisfied by what the male told him about him being a stranger. He still didn't come across as being strange- not that Mercy knew what to look for in a strange wolf anyway. Strange, to him, would be a wolf acting in a way that didn't make sense. This male made sense to him- he was older, stronger, and had an attitude- things that he could recognize easily. He did feel the same lingering fear he'd felt when he'd first realized that he was being watched, but his stubbornness and spite kept him from showing much other than a mix between a scowl and a pout. The stranger introduced himself as Anouke, and then asked Mercy what his name was. He had two names to give- not a first and last name, as his mother didn't have a surname and therefore had none to give him. But there were two names he identified by- Mercy, which was the sweet little boy his mother loved, and Crowchild- the boy who wanted to be a man like Crowe. Thus, his current, preferred moniker was give. <b style="font-family:georgia; color:#fefefe;">"Crowchild." He said, with a nod. And for some reason, having exchanged names, he felt better in the male's presence- less intimidated. As soon as he caught Crowe's scent, of course, he felt even stronger. He felt a bit ashamed, being found out by the white male he respected so much, but he mostly felt relief. Nothing could harm him now that Crowe was there. Mercy held his ground when Crowe joined them, not wanting to run and cower by Crowe's feet. He didn't need the proximity to feel protected- nothing could happen to him as long as he was within sight of Crowe- he knew this perfectly well. But for some reason, the stranger, now known as Anouke, chose to be creepy rather than respectful toward the male who'd come to protect him. Though Mercy was young, he caught what Anouke meant when he'd emphasized the word 'your.' Though Crowe hadn't called him my pup, he still felt as though he belonged to the behemoth of a wolf nonetheless. Mercy's lips quivered and then pulled back at what was a thinly veiled threat. A soft growl came from his throat. He knew he was i nno placec to make threats, but at least he could feel no fear, being there with Crowe. He wanted nothing more than to be big and strong enough to fight this stranger off- even if he did fascinate the young boy. <b style="font-family:georgia; color:#fefefe;"> |
table by mimi |