Sacred Grove Winter winds

Gone Tomorrow

Things were growing progressively more tense as the seconds passed. She could almost taste the tension in the air. She could certainly feel it. The fur along the back of the Tainn brothers' backs was standing on end, and the already gigantic beasts were even more ginormous. She felt so small in comparison, even though she herself was not a particularly small creature. Gray ears perked no top of her head as Indru spoke up, instructing her to leave. But she remained rooted to the spot, feeling his body press back into her, as if he was willing her to leave. Her eyes sought out Ruiko, not wanting to leave in fear of him. But he did not say anything, though his posture became even more threatening, and dominance or not, Corinna decided she had to do what was best for her in this moment. Stepping back, she cleared the two completely. Unwilling to turn her back on the two warriors before she was out of the way of any potential harm, she watched them with narrow eyes. Once out of the way, she slipped quietly off, headed towards the heart of the pack lands that she could now call home, leaving the two brothers to fight out their dominance without her as an audience.

Corinna left quite quickly under Indru's suggestion and though he felt relief as she disappeared into forest the way the tension stepped up a notch, now it was only he and Ruiko here, did not go amiss. Indru was not one to be easily intimidated however, especially not when he felt the right to lead the pack lay in his paws, and as Ruiko raised his own tail to mirror his own Indru took a confident step forward, head raised and proud, fierce orange eyes locked onto Ruiko's. Indru had founded the pack and it felt like no lie to say that the family looked to him in times of disaster and in his eyes, as the pack mainly consisted of their blood, did that not mean he had the majority of the pack on his side? Staying behind when a drought threatened them did not equate to good leadership in Indru's eyes, if Ruiko had of been leading them at least half of them would be dead as the water may have sustained a few but it wouldn't of managed a pack.

Indru's movements brought the males closer, another display that he was not threatened by Ruiko's return challenge, and Indru's ear's flicked forward on his head as his movements stiffened in preparation, showing his readiness and strength. Along his spine Indru's fur stick up like needles, emphasising his size so that Ruiko would know he was not a wolf that could be overpowered by his brother's considerable bulk, as while he may be huge Indru was certainly not tiny himself. Another step brought his front paws equal and he remained with them fully extended to aid his height, but it was clear that they could flaw to the sides and drop his posture into a defensive position in an instant. Sparring was not new to either of them and as each other were their main partner each knew how the other moved and reacted. It was the fact that a clear winner was never possible with the boys that kept tensions always high between them, unlike most Leaders there was never a clear winner with either of them concerned.

And so the silver she-wolf left, and there was a moment of silent determination between the two males. Indru believed himself to be the head of the family; a patriarch he was, but Swift River no longer was made up by the bloodline of their siblings. Avalloc, Damascus, and Ranger had sworn their allegiance to him. Indru had taken the family and left this land to him, and Ruiko had built a new pack.. one that had survived and mastered the disaster of no water. Swift River was a new pack now, and Indru might have founded the location.. but Ruiko had founded half of its members under his rule.

Indru challenged him clearly, and Ruiko was agile in his first movement. His brother had initially closed the distance between them, and with a low snarl of warning, the hefty regal wolf swept forward quickly, his jaws snapping down with defined authority to try to clamp themselves over Indru’s muzzle; a grip that would not hurt his brother, but would keep his assertion firm. His paws boasted his figure by spreading further apart for better balance while Ruiko’s ears erected forward to reveal he was not going to back down, and without hesitation, the male began to brutally barrel his figure to his brother, hoping to push him back in to place.

(This post was last modified: Feb 07, 2011, 02:33 PM by Ruiko.)

The first moment was made by Ruiko, as Indru knew he would, as his brother was not one to back down from a challenge and would instead defend his rank. It was a common scene for both of them as even in Hidden Tree, neither of them yet experienced a leader's role, the pair use to battle for the highest rank constantly. Indru heard his brother's snarl and then saw the gap between them close completely before Ruiko's jaws opened and lunged for Indru's own. He felt his brother's hot breathe and a scratching of his teeth on his nose before he could pull away, quickly dipping his muzzle beneath Ruiko's and bringing it up the other side, clear of any dominant grip he wished to place upon it.

Quickly his brother changed tactics and Indru soon felt his brother's shoulder against his own, a considerable force pushing upon him and, before he could get knocked down and hopefully before Ruiko could react, Indru pulled away sharply letting the force drop from him and trying to make Ruiko lose his balance. Trying to use an advantage he could Indru spun from his position to face his brother's side and lunged forward to try and capture his brother's muzzle in his own jaws, swinging up onto his hind legs as he did so hoping the distraction of muzzle biting would allow him to throw his forelegs and weight onto Ruiko's shoulders and knock him to the ground.

Indru had managed to evade his grip almost entirely, and while Ruiko rolled his shoulder forward and push against his brother, the other Tainn had pulled away, spinning his figure around. As Ruiko’s paws had been spread apart for better balance, the sudden change from his impact did not cause him to fall, but in the split second it did take him to recover Indru had reared up to his hind legs as his jaws now sought Ruiko’s snout.

As Indru’s jaws clamped down, they caught the top of the leader’s head as the male had dipped his head down slightly, his own figure shuffling swiftly so his side was nearly perpendicular to his brothers. Indru was a large wolf as well, and the weight upon him was tiring, but not half as tiring as the constant struggles of dominance between the two, but because of where Indru had placed his paws on the leader, Ruiko was unable to fully move to the position he wanted. Ruiko attempted to quickly roll his shoulder once more, this time closer to his brother’s side, hoping to not only knock him down to level, but perhaps cause him to fall as hopefully Indru’s balance was compromised.

Lame post, I'm sorry. Tired. D:

The silence was only broken by the odd growl or grunt in the familiar battle that the pair had done many times, it was not the way they had been taught, Rihael had always said words were a waste of energy when you could show it physically. The familiarity of the situation almost made Indru think they were back in Hidden Tree, sparring again under their father's watchful eye as he called out improvements to the pair of them, back then the line between friendly practice and a serious conflict had always been blurry, so ready to fall on either side. Here though, without Rihael, it was very clear on which side of the line this sparring match fell on and this time it was for a much more serious matter than a rank upgrade, it was for the right to lead the pack. The result would be significant as instead of Ruiko accepting Indru as the leader after their tragedy or Indru leaving the pack in his paws, the one holding the title at the end would of won the most important role in the pack.

A growl of frustration escaped Indru when he saw he'd missed his target, his teeth scraping harmlessly across Ruiko's head instead of the muzzle grab he had hoped for. Indru allowed himself a sliver of satisfaction when he could feel his brother's movements hindered by his weight but it was short lived when he felt him balance slip when Ruiko rolled his shoulders. Precariously, as he landed, Indru managed to keep on his feet but it was a heavy landing with all his weight behind it and brought him down lower in a crouch than he would of liked. Quickly, before he hoped it could be taken advantage off, he lunged upwards, jaws opening as he tried to wrap them around his brother's muzzle again hoping that the surprise of the attack would grant him more success. Indru extended his legs fully as soon as he could, locking them into place as they splayed out in front of him for balance and strength ready for what Ruiko tried next.

Indru’s figure came heavily down, though his brother was quick in his movements to gain his footing. Ruiko had always envied that about Indru; while he was tank-like himself, Indru was stealthy and spry, with the muscles to back it up. But Ruiko was quick to take his advantages, and as Indru was falling, the male attempted to shove his frame heavily against his brother, though the other Tainn was already lunging upward toward him.

His brother’s initial low crouch though for the moment gave Ruiko an advantage of height, and as his brother snapped upward, Ruiko snapped his own jaws downward as he pushed himself harshly forward, his paws moving wider apart from one another to even his balance as he hoped to come on as directly in front of Indru as he could. Indru’s jaws did not meet their intended grip upon his muzzle, but the second’s teeth did clip the front of Ruiko’s chest to give him a flesh wound. A small pool of blood formed where Indru’s teeth had marked, though Ruiko knew his brother had never meant to draw blood. Heaving his entire figure, Ruiko was using Indru’s previous fall to give him an opportunity; the male’s jaws were gaping open, a low growl bubbling from his throat as he aimed to grasp the back of Indru’s nape if only to force him down in to submission.

It was very easy for a challenge between some wolves to be solved quickly and clearly, one of them having a clear advantage and winning without much effort, however it had never been that way for the two brothers. Indru tasted blood in his mouth when his intended attack had missed and he felt a flicker of guilt, but it was not an uncommon for their altercations to turn more serious under both their determinations to win and blood was almost always draw even in small amounts. He got no pleasure from the flesh wound he had made however and knew that when this was over, whichever way it went, he would try to apologise to Ruiko.

As Indru had expected — and tried to avoid — his lower than intended crouch gave him an disadvantage and when he heard his brothers growl and saw his movement he knew that Ruiko was not going to miss the opportunity. Abruptly he felt his brother's jaws on the back of his shoulders, teeth tight against the mass of excess fur and skin that hung there, and he knew he had merely a moment before he would then feel Ruiko's impressive weight along his back too, pushing him down. With a heave forward Indru pulled himself free of the jaws, feeling his flesh tear and rip in the process, leaving a painful but not too damaging wound along his nape. A growl of pain broke gave the only indication that it hurt as he continued to push and force himself out of Ruiko's grasp, knowing the wound was worth it to avoid being crushed beneath him like a disobedient pup. Quickly, light on his feet, Indru spun as soon as he was free lining himself up against Ruiko's side before aiming to barrel his shoulder into his brother's ribs, lifting himself up slightly just before he would hopefully make contact so that his weight pushed down on him as well as across. Then to try and make the most of the opportunity he reared again and tried to drop his weight on Ruiko's shoulders and back, hoping that his weight on his brother's potentially weakened balance would pull him to the ground.

Ruiko cringed noticeably as he felt the rip to his brothers flesh, and while the wound was only minor, his eyes instantly fell upon the angry red upon Indru’s scruff. He grew weary of this; no matter who came out on top at one point, there would always be another challenge. Another shift in the hierarchy. More accidental blood spilt, until potentially one day one would deliver an accidental killing blow. For the first time in his life, Ruiko Tainn was weary of battles. He had once craved them.. the daunting dance to see how would reign supreme. Now, all he wanted was Weldering’s flesh, and for his family to be at ease. This fight was different than most; the males were at the age of three and would be having families. Ruiko did not want this inconsistency to continue, and he knew his family could not handle it anymore either. Ruiko Tainn wanted much more than this: he wanted to be the patriarch of his own family.. to teach his knowledge to his young. This would never happen with he and Indru constantly fighting for who should wear the crown.

Indru spun and launched himself at Ruiko, who wasn’t quite expecting the sudden attack with his mind elsewhere. The male locked his limbs and Indru pushed him against the snow before rearing up to force him down once more. Before his brother could put his weight on him once more, which gave Ruiko time to once more cause his brother to fall if he maneuvered properly, the leader instead did something unthinkable.

A snarl erupted from his jaws, and he fiercely pushed himself away from his brother, his pelt bristling dangerously as he put a good distance between them. There was no submission in his stance; his muzzle lifted proudly and his tail arched high along his back. “This is finished, Indru,” he growled, disappointed in himself. Disappointed in his brother. “Even if I managed to throw you down now you still wouldn’t live under my lead. You’d challenge time and again, even if it meant leaving our family with an unstable pack and life. I learned to follow you once, but you never learned to respect me enough to follow me.” His eyes remained bright upon his brother, knowing the other Tainn would refuse to see it. “I built this pack Indru. You left with our family, and only you and Triell came back. Damascus, Avalloc, Ranger? They followed me and I kept them safe and healthy. It’s clear to me now though that you will never follow anyone’s ruling but your own, and we can’t be in the same pack. We were never meant to be in the same pack.” He sighed, shifting his weight slightly, but not heeding any submission to the male who had taken his pack. “I’m leaving.” It’s all yours.

Quickly the atmosphere suddenly changed Indru felt himself shoved back, a deep snarl breaking through the previous half hearted growls and the anger in it caused Indru's fur to stand on end and his nose to wrinkle as his lips pulled back from his teeth, a snarl of his own crackling in his throat. A brief thought ran through his mind, that this was it, finally when their battles would not end so harmlessly with minor damage without Rihael to calm them down, but then Ruiko spoke and his thoughts were forgotten. Like you lived under mine, Ruiko? Indru retorted, anger clear in his own voice, a memory of them in the Thicket of Secrets, his brother challenging him over his choices with Feather, challenging when it was his decision to do what he wanted. Neither of them could accept the other as leader, it just wasn't in their instinct. Rihael had taught them to lead not to follow.

Indru was not so irrational to deny that there was not truth in some of Ruiko's word's, but it angered him that he seemed to think it was only he who was in the wrong, who was saintly and who took Indru's leadership without any protest. You cannot live under another reign either, Ruiko. If the drought had not struck how long would you of followed me without this result? It would not have been long, Indru was sure, and with breeding season so close it was on a catalyst to their collision and conflict. Or are you such a lowly, modest wolf that you are happy to follow another? Indru would be the first to say that the statement was a lie but he hoped it would help Ruiko see sense and not blame him for a conflict that was bound to happen, that everyone had known would happen. Even if Rihael's life had not been shortened prematurely one of them would have eventually led Hidden Tree and it was well known the other would go elsewhere.

His brother's last words stung but Indru did not show it, fine. Go then. He would not apologise or whine at his brother's feet if he wished to leave on bad terms, Indru would not feel guilty for challenging something he felt was right. The pack had been his, he had founded it, started it, and if Ruiko had chosen to stand in temporarily in his absence it was not his fault if he could then not take a challenge from it's original owner. A leader should expect challenge, they should expect to prove their wolf, surely Ruiko did not expect to have everyone follow him blindly?