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Post by nightblood on Jun 21, 2008 16:47:40 GMT -5
NightBlood rushed toward her den. It seemed foolish to think he would be there, but some small part of her hoped against hope that he would return to the safest place to be in Arnlan. Alas, it was not to be. The Beta returned to an empty home. Why had she not seen sense?
Tears streamed from her face and onto the cold stone floor. She would have howled if she thought he would answer. She knew he didn't want to talk to her, but she also knew it was important to do so. Taking a paw up to wipe the liquid from her eyes, she attempted to retrace Armageddon's steps. The last time she had seen him was at the meeting.
She bolted toward the clearing, hoping the dew from last night hadn't completely cleared the scents. Upon her arrival, she was relieved to catch a heavy wind of Arnlan scents. Two ran off in one direction. Army and Pollux. She had forgotten tat Pollux had gone after him. She had to thank her soon.
Following the trails, the Bet was horrified by the direction in which they went. Archer had taken this exact path once. Hopefully this wasn't going to be dejavu.
Blood stopped in her tracks, terrified. There had been an obvious struggle at the cliff. Some of the rocks had fallen in the water below. Both Pollux's and Army's scents were dangerously close to the cliff. Slowly, she moved her muzzle down to catch any scents that went farther down. Army's was down there.
Tears flooded her eyes again. She whimpered and sat down, too shocked to move. She was too late. She would have gone into a panic if a strong wind hadn't picked up and sent more of the male's sweet scent to her nose. Turning her head sharply, she expected to see his form approaching her. But that wasn't the case. The scent was coming from deep inside the forest.
She struggled to get back up. The near heart attack had almost killed her. Her back leg was stiff and wasn't helping at all. Not to mention the large headache now pulsing through her mind. The blood on her head still hadn't dried.
She followed the scent for as far as it took her. It seemed to be somewhere near Mortil's den. Out in the middle of no where. That's where she should have suspected he would go.
Suddenly, the scent trail stopped. NightBlood put her nose to the ground and sniffed around, trying to find it again. It seemed that this was as far as the wind would take her. She pulled her muzzle up and looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of him. She turned at every sound, hoping to find him standing there, watching her.
"Armageddon... please..." she whispered. She was desperate to find him. The Beta wasn't sure why, but she suspected she might find comfort in his presence. "I love you..."
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Post by Blackfeathr on Jun 21, 2008 22:09:33 GMT -5
Yes, Armageddon should have done the right thing and went running back to NightBlood's den to await her return from her Beta duties. He knew that Pollux was right and NightBlood needed Armageddon more than ever, when she was about to birth pups... from a forced bonding.
He wanted to do the right thing... eventually. For right now he wanted to be alone. Surely it isn't healthy to brood by himself, but he felt like it was the only thing that wouldn't kill him. Going back to the ground he walked on in a different life, and entering that den with their mingled scents was just... too much for him right now.
This part of Arnlan must have fallen victim to a forest fire. The usually black common trees were scorched even blacker, their twisted dead branches forking an overcast sky. An even layer of white dust covered the ground completely lacking of foliage. The twittering of birds was a distant memory, there was no life here, but for a whisper, live voices that the trees and the earth had not heard in a long time.
"Armageddon... please...I love you..."
Armageddon's ear twitched. He was laying on his side behind some large boulders. His eyelids slid open slowly, while his mind registered who owned that particular voice. A dagger seemed to slowly cut into his chest.
"Go away..." he said exasperatedly, drawing his limbs and tail closer to himself, much like a pup being awoken by his mother all too early in the morning. He tried to run away from doing the right thing, but he failed, it seemed to want to follow him.
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Post by nightblood on Jun 22, 2008 10:29:35 GMT -5
"Go away..."
Ears perked up as NightBlood's head shot dead on in the direction of the voice. It came from behind some boulders. Slowly, she rounded the rocks until she could see the form of her lover laying there in the shade. She pulled her head back behind the rock quickly, however. After all, it was unlikely that he wanted to see her, let alone hear her. But she had to talk to someone. It only made sense that she should speak to the one who was in as much pain as her at the moment.
"Armageddon, I don't know what to do..." she admitted, easing herself into view. Looking at her now, it was hard to believe she was Beta. Her head hung low and her ears were back against her skull. Her tail was even up against her stomach as her body hung low to the ground. She never looked more submissive in her whole life.
Her voice was laced with a sense of terror that would normally be hidden if she was talking to anyone else. Her eyes were glazed with fear. She wasn't afraid of how the black male would react to seeing her, but of how things would turn out for them. It was hard to determine what the future held now. And she was horrified by that.
"I'm scared..."
She took a step forward, gazing at Armageddon with sad eyes. She wanted nothing more than to curl up beside him and disappear, to be forgotten.
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Post by Blackfeathr on Jun 24, 2008 19:03:18 GMT -5
"Armageddon, I don't know what to do..." came NightBlood's voice from behind him. He slid his eyes to the direction of the voice, and did a double take, lifting his head up to look. NightBlood looked positively pitiful, lowering herself on the ground like an Omega. It hurt him to see her this way.
"I'm scared..."
"That makes two of us then." Armageddon said, shifting so he was on the flats of his front legs, staring at her fully.
She took a step forward, her eyes sad and scared. Armageddon's lips pulled back in an undecided frown, and he sat up, facing NightBlood.
"What are you going to do... what am I going to do..." he said, more like thinking out loud. He was curious to what NightBloods plan of action would be, if she had thought about it over the past day. If she agreed or decided to step down, either way, they would lose.
((Craptastic ;_;))
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Post by nightblood on Jun 24, 2008 21:44:28 GMT -5
"That makes two of us then."
NightBlood wanted nothing more than to run up to him and cower in his shadow. She held herself back, however. They both needed to be strong. She stepped closer until they were inches from each other and sat down before him, scared to death that he would run and looking over her shoulder as if she was afraid she was being followed. She had a right to be paranoid. She didn't know Anek's personality and so if he were to find her with Armageddon, he might assume she was breaking her orders. Her very coat shivered as she shook with fear.
Turning back to Armageddon, she risked attempting to give him a quick lick on the muzzle. Wether it was successful or not, she slowly began to lie down, bringing her hind legs and tail closer to her and reaching out to Armageddon with her front paws, hoping for some comforting touch from him.
"What are you going to do... what am I going to do..."
The new Beta took a few moments to clear her head. Her breathing became deep as she tried to calm herself down. It was working, but slowly. Soon, a few options were raised from the thicket of confused thoughts.
"I don't know what Anek is like... but if this is just a service to the pack, I can relinquish the pups off to a surrogate mother after about a week or so. Then we can start our own family. If we leave now, our pups wont have a safe place to live."
NightBlood raised a paw to her bruised head, wiping off some dried blood. She had almost forgotten her the close call she had earlier when Night and Blood nearly became separate again.
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Post by Blackfeathr on Jun 25, 2008 22:33:09 GMT -5
She sat close to him until her face was inches from his, and drug a tongue across his cheek. He closed his eyes in a blank emotion as she did it, opening his eyes when she laid down, letting her toes touch his. He scooched up closer, attempting to gently drape his thin black legs over hers, as if in protection. He realized how vulnerable NightBlood was at this time, the usually tough-as-nails, proud female was literally submitting to everything, trying to find protection in him. He knew that she would probably do this to no other wolf. He thought of what he did--or tried to do, mere hours ago and hated himself for it. Why was he so selfish? He was a coward. Now was the time to make up for it.
"I don't know what Anek is like... but if this is just a service to the pack, I can relinquish the pups off to a surrogate mother after about a week or so. Then we can start our own family. If we leave now, our pups wont have a safe place to live."
He relaxed his tense shoulders slightly at the thought of NightBlood not having any sort of romantic affair at all with Anek. That was one of the other irrational thoughts he had, that NightBlood knew Anek and asked the alphas to announce it as a "forced bonding" so Army would go far away and never return. But this was not the case.
NightBloods second statement dropped through him like a sharp slab of ice. Giving the pups away after they were born, as if they were unwanted. He felt the pain of being the black sheep-- or wolf, as it were. His mother, in great pain every day of bearing the son of a murderer... his surrogate father... left the family because he couldn't bear to see the face of a killer... his brother, hating him... The pain was as fresh as if he were living through those torturous days again. And he was going to cause the torture of these pups-to-be. Now he knew how hard it was for his surrogate father.
He sighed long and soft.
"Very well. I know you've probably gotten shit from everyone and their bitch about what you have to do, and personally I am not happy about it either. But even if the pups are given to a surrogate mother, we should--you and Anek should," his throat closed painfully as he choked back tears, "...go and see them. I dont know what Anek will think of this."
He looked up at her with a blank but surprised expression. Start a family? He'd absolutely love it! But...
"...Where are we going?"
Wondering to himself if NightBlood was planning some elaborate secret escape plan from Arnlan, he searched her face for clues as to what was going to go down.
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Post by nightblood on Jun 25, 2008 22:52:37 GMT -5
"Very well. I know you've probably gotten shit from everyone and their bitch about what you have to do, and personally I am not happy about it either. But even if the pups are given to a surrogate mother, we should--you and Anek should... go and see them. I don't know what Anek will think of this."
NightBlood looked at Armageddon. He looked as if he could drown in his own tears at any second. She hadn't really thought of the feelings of the pups. They were mere balls of fluff and skin. The more she thought about it, however, the more she came to realize that even they would have an opinion on this. But the urgency in Armageddon's voice on the subject made her guess that he had a similar past that might be repeated here.
"They will know I'm their mother... I... I will love them as my own... If the time comes and they wish to choose between parents, those who want to affiliate themselves with me... they might accept you as their father instead..."
Night took a paw and wiped some liquid away from her eye, hiding her face for a brief moment. She hated the thought of any pups coming from her being the heirs to anyone other than Armageddon. If she could pretend... and all three sides be willing to... It just might make it easier on her mind.
"...Where are we going?"
"Going?" the Beta asked, confused. It took a moment to register. "Oh, I just thought that it might have been possible to leave Arnlan and avoid all this... But Sofika has made it clear. 'No one leaves Arnlan and lives.' As Beta, I must be under and enforce that rule..."
She trailed off, not wanting to remember the awful time when she first heard that rule and lost Ziko after it. He was gone now. Her grieving would not bring him back. Even if he was still alive.
Blood leaned forward to nuzzle Armageddon. She sighed and rested her head on her paws, and consequently, his as well. She felt so much safer here with him.
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Post by Blackfeathr on Jun 25, 2008 23:59:42 GMT -5
"They will know I'm their mother... I... I will love them as my own... If the time comes and they wish to choose between parents, those who want to affiliate themselves with me... they might accept you as their father instead..."
Armageddon let the air hiss slowly out of his chest. Of course, they'd probably take more to him... he was a puppy magnet, after all... that is, until the mother would realize who their children were playing with and whisk the lot away, growling and snapping at him. He didn't know what Anek was like, though. He did not even see the bastard. He couldn't help but feel some animosity toward this unseen, unknown wolf. Though, what male in his position wouldn't?
"Oh, I just thought that it might have been possible to leave Arnlan and avoid all this... But Sofika has made it clear. 'No one leaves Arnlan and lives.' As Beta, I must be under and enforce that rule..."
Armageddon cocked his head in confusion. NightBlood seemed to have contradicted herself. She wanted to leave, but then she didn't? More of this bureaucracy. Suddenly the goal for her to become Beta seemed like a setback now. So they had the pups ordeal sorted out, but one main problem still remained. Anek...
Apparently, according to Sofika, the wolf was a strong, able-bodied warrior. He could snap Armageddon like a sapling if he had the temperment of a jealous lover.
As he thought to himself he felt the brush of Blood's warm fur against his, and he returned the nuzzle. She laid her head on her and his paws. He looked down at her dark fur and licked the top of her head absently.
"It's going to be hard for me... I've lived through this before..." His deep low voice resonated in her fur as he rested his head on her nape, his thoughts in a far off, long gone place.
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Post by nightblood on Jun 26, 2008 8:15:30 GMT -5
NightBlood's tension eased as the male massaged the top of her head with his tongue. The pain from the hole she had made there was fading. She let her ears hang back, at ease and generally unalert to the rest of the world. If her father had seen this he would have attacked her in an instant. Fathers be damned at this point anyway. A mother was what she needed. Perhaps Pollux was in the mood for talking.
Her ears perked suddenly, remembering what she had found on the cliff's edge. She had forgotten to ask. As she opened her mouth to speak, it was eased shut again by the pressure on her neck. Aww... Well, she couldn't yell at him now.
"It's going to be hard for me... I've lived through this before..."
At that statement, she would have made eye contact with him. Being in this particular position, that wasn't possible unless she wanted to throw him away from her completely. Instead, she turned her head slightly and looked up at his ear from the corner of her good eye. She didn't know much about him. Perhaps she would find the reason he had tried to jump in his story.
"What do you mean?" she asked, hoping he didn't mean that he had had pups in a similar situation. Well... maybe not that. She would willingly accept pups from other relationships. She had just been hoping that they could have been each other's first loves.
Absently, the Beta began licking his front leg. He may have gotten some injury from the cliff. Perhaps she'd find it and sooth him.
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Post by Blackfeathr on Jun 26, 2008 20:27:01 GMT -5
Armageddon's tongue grazed across a metallic tinge of blood. He found its source, a small hole that concerned him. What had she done? Instead of running imagined scenarios through his mind, he concentrated his efforts on licking the wound clean. But after that last leading statement he knew that the ultimate question would crop up.
"What do you mean?"
He stopped cleaning to speak. This would be a long story.
"I was the product of a forcebreeding between a tyrannical dictator, Patamon, and a docile Alpha female of a small pack, my mother," he began, paused to collect his words, and moved on, "Patamon was a cruel wolf who terrorized and slaughtered many wolves around the area. From what I've been told, he had worked with human hunters at one time to help obliterate an entire pack, save for one pup, who escaped, but later fell off a cliff and lost his memory. That pup grew up to take my mother as his mate. Well... according to my mother... one season, Patamon led a raid into our pack, looting our food stores and killing our members. He took my mother hostage and forcebred her. I was the product. My surrogate father... my mothers mate... knew whose son I was and it was so difficult for him to care for me, seeing the face of a killer, the cause of his memory to be lost, and his pack to be dead. My mother birthed two other pups that season, my brother WhiteGold, my sister Rayne. When they grew older, WhiteGold soon found out that I was the son of a killer, and hated me blindly for it. My sister, well, she tried to stay out of it, bless her."
He paused a moment, wondering if he was saying too much. Well, it was something she needed to know. He knew about some of her history, anyway.
"My surrogate father left my mother and the pack one night... I don't think he could take it anymore. When I came of age I decided to leave, to get as far away from this land as possible, away from my brother, my surrogate father, my real father... though I fear I am a marked wolf, that he and his pack are looking for me. I've had several encounters with him or his cronies, trying to make me join them. I've refused, and they've tried to kill me several times. Its been a while since I've been tracked though. I hope they've lost me. And if its not them, its others. I'm always glared at or exiled from territories, just because of the blood that runs within me. But I am a GOOD WOLF, DAMNIT!" He nearly yelled into her fur, fresh anger roiling hot within him.
"They shouldn't judge me. Thats what I thought when I first heard that announcement, NightBlood. I thought that the Alphas knew of my tarnished nature and made sure they didnt get any Arnlanian pups sired by me, or tried to get me to run out of the borders of Arnlan where I'd be killed, to get rid of me once and for all."
He lifted his head to resume his gentle cleaning of her wounds, as she cleaned his.
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Post by nightblood on Jun 26, 2008 21:41:32 GMT -5
NightBlood stopped licking to hear his story. The spawn of a tyrant... Much like herself. Her father loved her, though. It showed through his training. He wanted her to be strong so he would never loose her. The whole pack was full of tyrants, and yet there was that common bond between them even as they were fighting among themselves. What love did Armageddon have? None. Save his sister and mother. Perhaps this was the edge Armageddon had. A tiny glimmer in an otherwise hereditary black heart.
"I'm always glared at or exiled from territories, just because of the blood that runs within me. But I am a GOOD WOLF, DAMNIT!"
The Beta nuzzled his shoulder as the black male shouted into her coat. His voice didn't frighten her. She knew he was only angry at those judgmental packs that dared suggest he was anything but a fine wolf. She herself didn't give much of a damn for the wolves who ran from her sight, though.
"They shouldn't judge me. Thats what I thought when I first heard that announcement, NightBlood. I thought that the Alphas knew of my tarnished nature and made sure they didn't get any Arnlanian pups sired by me, or tried to get me to run out of the borders of Arnlan where I'd be killed, to get rid of me once and for all."
This time NightBlood did pick up her head to face him. She locked eyes with Armageddon, all seriousness in her voice.
"If that was their plan, I would have run away with you in an instant. But Anek would have known about you as well. He would have been informed of this. He was just as surprised as we were."
Blood leaned into Armageddon's chest, a paw lifted up to cling to his shoulder. She would breath in his scent and sigh if he allowed her touch. She was grateful for her now clean wound, after all. She would have continued nuzzling him, but a thought crossed her mind. She paused and blinked slowly, brining her eyes up to meet his once more.
"Armageddon... I don't think I could live here without you. It frightened me to death when I found your scent at the edge of the cliff. I thought I'd lost you forever..."
Both eyes glistened with tears once again, threatening to fall. She managed to hold them back, for now.
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Post by Blackfeathr on Jun 26, 2008 23:41:40 GMT -5
Armageddon's eyes widened as NightBlood locked her eyes with his for a moment, speaking in a serious tone.
"If that was their plan, I would have run away with you in an instant. But Anek would have known about you as well. He would have been informed of this. He was just as surprised as we were."
Ah yeah, didn't think about that, Armageddon thought to himself, feeling foolish. Well, he had not stayed long enough to see this unknown wolf, so he wouldn't have known. It was a load off, though, to have his fears dismissed. Just a little bit of stress lifted, just a little.
NightBlood lowered her head to press against his chest and sighed, draping a paw over his shoulder. He curled his head over hers, his nose quivering for a moment, taking in any new scents.
He felt her shift under him and he lifted his head to let her lift hers and she looked at him square in the eye again.
"Armageddon... I don't think I could live here without you. It frightened me to death when I found your scent at the edge of the cliff. I thought I'd lost you forever..."
His expression didnt know if it wanted to smile in happiness of someone needing him or frown of the fact that they were anguished by his recent choice, or attempt. His mouth went into that frown again, making dimples in his young face.
"Oh NightBlood..." he said in a disquieted whisper, "I'm not going anywhere."
He broke eye contact, looking down with half-lidded eyes. "Well... I thought I was those few hours ago, when I just... completely fell apart... and... gave up." Tears threatened in his eyes, but he willed the thoughts away. He looked back up at her with an earnest smile. "But thank Pollux for her tough love."
His expression turned concerned as he saw tears in her eyes.
"Oh, don't cry..." he drug a tongue over her cheek lightly and quickly.
He looked around quickly, the frown frozen on his face. Standing up slowly, he looked to NightBlood.
"We should get moving. This place, eh," he moved his paw in a shaky 'ehh' motion, "kinda not doin' it for me. Lets head to some place more comforting, aye?" a thin smile curled up his nose as he winked at her.
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Post by nightblood on Jun 27, 2008 0:12:14 GMT -5
"Oh NightBlood... I'm not going anywhere."
Blood gave a sigh of relief. Now she had his word that he would stay with her. She gave him another quick hug, but was surprised to find that his eyes had fallen when she came back up to meet them.
"Well... I thought I was those few hours ago, when I just... completely fell apart... and... gave up."
Well that confirmed it. He was the second mate she had almost lost over the cliff. It would be wise for her to stay clear of it from then on. The next wolf to get too close might go over the edge. And next time it might not be a mate...
"But thank Pollux for her tough love."
So that was confirmed as well. Pollux had made it. Their future pups owed her their lives now. She needed to remember to thank her dearly for her kind deed.
"Oh, don't cry..."
NightBlood smiled when he pulled his tongue away and pulled up a paw to remove the residue, chuckling a bit.
"I'm not crying," she said, sniffling.
His quick snap to attention made her nervous. Were they being watched? Her ears perked as she too glanced around, searching for some sign of a moving shadow. Arnlan was full of shadows- friendly and not.
"We should get moving. This place, eh,"
The Beta looked up at him. She raised an eyebrow at his wry grin as she stood up and leveled eyes with him. His sudden changes in moods had her suspicious.
"kinda not doin' it for me. Lets head to some place more comforting, aye?"
Suddenly she got the message when he winked. A mischievous smile etched its way onto her muzzle. She knew what was on his mind. Every male got this way. She had received the same signal from Archer, but they were unable to do anything. She had not been Beta at the time. She was suddenly very grateful that the Alphas waited so long to announce her promotion.
It wasn't every day that one found their perfect soul mate. Who were the Alphas to deny the pair the right to each other? Besides, NightBlood was not yet in season. She would not be breaking her order and Armageddon would have this one advantage over Anek, even though she wouldn't be bearing his pups.
"To the den, sweetheart?" she asked, stepping forward and brushing her back under his chin playfully.
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Post by Blackfeathr on Jul 7, 2008 14:32:48 GMT -5
NightBloods powerful body so gently caressed beneath his chin and he smiled. He made a low sound of happiness as he walked around and licked her muzzle. He noticed the mischevious smile curling up her maw and he narrowed his eyes as he grinned.
"Ye read my moinde, lassie..." he said in a mock-irish accent, something he picked up from some unnamed wolf around here.
His coy smile faltered, turning into an undecided expression. "Problem is..." he frowned, "Where ARE we?"
He sniffed the air, but it was still. Looking up at the sky, he scowled. Arnlan was always overcast, it seemed.
He looked to NightBlood in concern, hoping the Beta would know the ley of the land and could get them out of this barren wasteland without getting too lost.
[[Bleh, short post.]]
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Post by nightblood on Jul 8, 2008 0:08:29 GMT -5
"Ye read my moinde, lassie..."
NightBlood giggled at the Irish accent- something she wouldn't have been caught dead doing in front of anyone else. Giggling was for little girly-girls who thought anything anyone ever did was funny. However, in her current frame of mind, giggling at his voice sounded very appropriate.
"Problem is..."
The Beta frowned. There could be no problem. What bad luck dared show its face here, at the time she had was most happy ever since the announcement of her forced breeding? Surely nothing in its right mind would force her back down the path of depression. She would attack it on sight! Where was this problem hiding?
"Where ARE we?"
"Ummm..... Hmm..." came NightBlood's caught-off-guard answer, "Good question."
Looking around, Night tried to recall a time when she had been in this part of the woods before. None came. This was an area of Arnlan yet to be explored. She was begining to take for granted all those border patrols she had taken part in. Surely an adventure or two wouldn't have done much harm...
She began sniffing around, trying to find the scent trail that would lead them toward their safe haven- her den. She only found damp air. It was about the storm. Their scent had been so faint that it was easily washed away by the very humidity in the air. And to make things worse- it was slowly becoming darker. Had they been cats, it wouldn't have been a problem. And even though canine sight was better than humans', it was not much better at night.
They were truly lost.
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