Regarding things that must be said... [NB]

[Electus]

Mortil walked amongst the gnarled trees of Arnlan alone, his face thoughtful and brooding. The new Lord had many things on his mind aside from the lofty rank he now held. He was only a step away from his aspiration of becoming a warrior to be respected...and feared. But foremost was his responsibility of training Nightblood's litter.

And that was what the warrior wanted to talk to her about.

So he had wandered his way to her den, sniffing around for a sign that she was nearby. His head swiveled this way and that, until his sight fell upon a shadow inside her den.

"Nightblood?" he asked, padding further inside, "We need to talk."

[nightblood]

"Nightblood?"

On any other night, the Beta could sleep through a storm. Tonight, however, her sleep was a light one. She would wake up at the sound of a cricket's chirp.

"Mmhp?" came her groggy response.

"We need to talk."

Blood was in the back of the cave where it was coolest, lying on her side facing the rock wall. There was a considerably large lump where a dent for her stomach should have been. It was as if someone had opened her up and stuck a 30 pound rock in her gut and sewn her back up. She was fat, but not bursting. The pups had at least another week to gestate before she would need to go to RavenShard to discuss birthing plans. They would be born a few days after that, a week later, tops.

Groaning, the female picked herself up. Once stable, she yawned and shook her fur to wake herself. She stood up and blinked, looking around to view her guest. Once she caught sight of him, a tired smile graced her muzzle. He might have seen it. She was shrouded in shadow, but a wolf's eyesight might have caught it.

"Hey Mortil," she said through another yawn.

The Beta moved forward, padding into the dim light. If she had stayed where she was, a passing wolf might think that Mortil was talking to himself. She sat down next to a dent in the rock where water had collected and took a quick drink.

"What's up?"

[Electus]

"What's up?"

Mortil looked meaningfully at her stomach. "That is." he said pointedly, sitting down on his haunches. "If all goes well, I will be training them." at this point, the ash-grey warrior arched an eyebrow. "Harshly. Very very harshly." He stood again, circling slowly around the spot where he had sat. "There are things that must be drilled into them before however." He looked at his friend while continuing his implacable circling.

"Perhaps it is not my place to say it, but they must be pampered before they are trained, they must be used to every comfort in the world. Anything they wish must be provided for them. When they reach the stage where they can talk, bring them to me."

His next explanation might be a bit extreme to Nightblood, but he knew he had to go through with it anyways. "When you bring them to me I will strip them of all sense of self. I will strip away every notion of who they think they are, young though they might be, and rebuild them into the warriors they need to be. I do not care that they hate me, only that they learn. And learn quickly."[/b]

[nightblood]

"That is."

Blood gave a polite chuckle at his answer.

"If all goes well, I will be training them. Harshly. Very very harshly. There are things that must be drilled into them before however."

The Beat layed down on her side, keeping her front half upright and alert. Anything Mortil had to say, she would hear it. At least that was her initial thought.

"Perhaps it is not my place to say it, but they must be pampered before they are trained, they must be used to every comfort in the world. Anything they wish must be provided for them. When they reach the stage where they can talk, bring them to me. When you bring them to me I will strip them of all sense of self. I will strip away every notion of who they think they are, young though they might be, and rebuild them into the warriors they need to be. I do not care that they hate me, only that they learn. And learn quickly."

For the first time since Mortil's fight with Archer, NightBlood bared her fangs at him. She growled, bringing her ears down flat only to tell him that she wasn't about to attack him. The way he was talking, she thought he was going to raise a horde of zombies warriors.

"There is no need to strip them of their identity, Mortil. While I agree their training MUST be harsh, we do not want to stoop to a Sallinian level training program. That is not the Arnlanian way. Besides... I don't pamper anyone."

[Electus]

"There is no need to strip them of their identity, Mortil. While I agree their training MUST be harsh, we do not want to stoop to a Sallinian level training program. That is not the Arnlanian way. Besides... I don't pamper anyone."

Mortil snarled, snapping his fangs. The reaction was reflexive, but he lowered his ears as well. "You misunderstand me." he said, voice even. "I aim to remove their sense of self...and build them back up with a sense of group. The sense of group is a deeply ingrained thing in wolf packs...it's almost instinctual. I will increase this link, but in order to do that, I must be able to remove their belief that they come first. No. Their packmates and fellow warriors come first. They must know that. They have to believe that. It sounds...like Sallin, I suppose. But I promise you that I will not do anything you - or I - would regret."

He sat back again, his temper cooler. "You'll have to pamper them. If you do, it will be that much harder to train them, but the results would be that much better. Learning to break free from their pampered life would teach them the value of breaking beyond their imagined limits, something a warrior must learn. This was the way I was taught by my father." he locked his eye with Nightblood's two. "Before Umbra awoke in me. Comfort is an illusion, a chimera born from familiar things and ways. Comfort narrows the mind, weakens the flesh and robs the warrior spirit of fire and determination. They will learn that, and they will seek it no more."

His look almost changed to one of pleading, but still it remained a stern and proud mask. "You must understand, Nightblood, that these pups will grow into wolves that will either stand alone or together, facing our enemies from without..." he took a breath before saying what needed to be said, "and within. They will our next generation of warriors, and I aim for them to learn everything from me, so that when you and I and others are gone, they will pass what they have learned on to others that will come after. They must learn to react with grace and agility, fight with berserk ferocity. They must be what I and Umbra could never be."[/color]

His face was grim, but adamant. "They must be one and together, and death shades all."

Mortil sighed, laying flat on his stomach. "I'm sorry that it has to be that way, Nightblood. I love you like a sister, and I would bite off my own paw before hurting anyone in this pack...but deep inside me I know...Umbra is watching, waiting, laughing. He mocks me deep inside..."

"Coal black. With eyes as red as blood." he whispered, voice dry. "His fangs are so sharp, and his voice is always so cold. I don't know why he's not acting like he was before, but it scares me. Terrifies me. Part of me hopes he's going to be dormant more often. Part of me is horrified at what would happen if one day..." he left it hanging.

"All I remember...is opening my eyes, and discovering the piles of dead bodies around me. Then I felt my left eye burning, and my vision gone and that side of me..."

The Lord suddenly cried out in rage, slashing the air in front of him vehemently. "Dammit, Nightblood! Why...?"

[nightblood]

"They must be one and together, and death shades all."

Despite her condition, NightBlood managed to hoist herself up with a growl, folding her ears once again to show she wasn't going to try to harm him. She paced, pausing as each growl began to grow into a snarl and then repeating the process with a quick turn. Finally, she stopped at a large area of the rock wall. It had been clawed by her on the nights that she felt the need to vent anger. The Beta sat down, facing it, and placed a paw on the claw marks.

"... Very well... Just promise me that you will engrave in their minds the need to protect their packmates, to do them no harm. I don't want them growing up to be like... me..."

She hung her head in sorrow as Mortil recalled his story. She was reviewing her own in her head. She didn't know if she had killed anyone, but the attack was never supposed to happen. BrokeBone had taught her better than that.

"All I remember...is opening my eyes, and discovering the piles of dead bodies around me. Then I felt my left eye burning, and my vision gone and that side of me... Dammit, Nightblood! Why...?"

Turning, Blood walked calmly to the gray male's side and aimed to place her muzzle on his cheek, something she remembered Aunt StarFall doing when her pups needed comfort.

"We must all go through a dark tunnel before we reach the light at the far end. You have friends now. Hell, you have family now. If you think of me as your sister, then here these words- I will never let anything like that happen to you again, brother."

[Electus]

"We must all go through a dark tunnel before we reach the light at the far end. You have friends now. Hell, you have family now. If you think of me as your sister, then here these words- I will never let anything like that happen to you again, brother."

Mortil smiled. "I am honored to call you family."

He gazed outside into the expanse of Arnlan, his face brooding. "Don't worry, Nightblood. My father taught me well. I'll do the same for your pups."

"But this silence...it makes me uneasy. Call it a hunch, but I feel it in the air. Menacing and dangerous. Sallin is stirring. I fear that war will come sooner that I expect."

[nightblood]

"We will meet it," Blood answered grimly, lifting her head and peering out of the mouth of the cave, "Sallin will know we are more than a troublesome side-line spectator..."

Grinning, the beta lowered herself and layed down beside her friend.

"Besides... If they are the kind of fighters you say they are, the pups could take one down after a month's worth of training."

Perhaps she was overestimating him, but if not a month's worth, then surely two. She bumped his shoulder playfully, trying to lighten the mood. She paused, however, when a quick pressure built and released suddenly on the left side of her abdomen. She growled and twisted her head toward her bulging gut.

"Kick me again, you brat, and you'll catch hell from me with your first breath of air!"