A Quick Visit with Death (Acceptance/NB)

[Shantik]

Or so he only wished. His blood-coated breath came slowly and studdering, though he tried to calm it. This was not where he wanted to be, this was not his favorite position, and he was ruining his reputation. If only his old pack could see him now...heh, they might just finish him off.

Mirage was as beaten and battered as any wolf on the brink of death. His usually smooth, silky silver fur was marred in several places, and matted with the blood from his throat and several injuries to his legs and main body. A particularly nasty gash split the top of his usually slim muzzle, and the red liquid leaked down his chin, dripping from his mouth. In short, he was in a very bad state.

He took one last step before collasping on the trodden path he had been walking. He could tell by scent that this was the border to a wolf pack. Like he needed that. After all, it had been a group of rogues that had split his fur and tried to kill him just moments before. Sad, since he was one himself. Maybe they didn't trust a small guy like him who was obviously blind in his right eye. Any other day, he might've done his best to kill them all, but at the moment, he was tired, beaten from a cat encounter before, and catching the beginnings of a bad cold. Not a good combination at all.

As he started to close his one eye, another scent caught his attention. Wondrous. Maybe they could kill him off. He looked up, unable to keep the slight growl off his lips, and could only wait.

[nightblood]

NightBlood's response to a distant growl was one of her own. She had just passed the area from which she heard it, why didn't she smell anything unusual before? With a determined snarl, she turned right around and headed the opposite direction. No doubt some wanderer had found the border. But what was that smell? Blood! An injured wolf seeking refuged, mayhap? Or a murderous fiend from Sallin after its latest kill? Whatever it was, they stunk.

It wasn't long before Night came upon the subject of her interest. Preferring to observe first in case she needed backup, she stayed within the shadows and waited for the beast to call out for aid. She noted his curious pelt and midnight blue eyes. A strange creature indeed, but still a wolf.

Blood sat down silently and ran her eyes over the male. What was he doing here? And what had happened to him? These were the questions she so desired that he answered.

[Shantik]

One ear twitched as Mirage quickly picked up on the seemingly distant sounds of another wolf. He could tell now that they were closer, and with a slight smirk, he realized it was a female. If he wasn't in this condition, he might have marked her as his next victim, but his mind was reeling too fast to even consider the option at the moment.

He lifted his head slowly, turning slightly to aim his half-closed eye at her. Just to show that he knew she was there. Why did she bother hiding? It wasn't like he could hurt her...at least not now. Any other day might have been different. He tried to push himself to his paws, but stumbled some. Growling at himself, he froced his paws under him and came into a sitting position.

"Come to finish the job?" He said codly at the shadow he barely saw behind the haze of red over his eyes. He closed his one eye, bowing his head a moment before looking back up. "What are you waiting for? Get it over with already!" This time, he words were more choked, as if he was having problems speaking, which he was.

[nightblood]

Blood was taken aback when he accused her of taking part in such activities. Her head jerked back and she shook her head in pity. Why on earth would she need to kill a loner? Unless they were working for Sallin? Stepping out of the bushes, the Sentry took on an authoritative posture. This wolf, though he was considerably smaller than her, was built for killing. She could see it in his eyes- an unfortunate trait left behind from her contact with Archer.

"My only job is to protect these borders," she said with pride, "I took no part in your attack and I do not plan to kill you unless you prove to be a threat to the safety of this pack."

With an air of forced compassion, NightBlood lowered her ears and head while studying this wolf's injuries. Each cut had been made with an average-fighter's claw. They had an idea of what they were doing, but were not masters in the art of killing... At least by her standards.

"Who are you?"

[Shantik]

Mirage let a hollow laugh escape his lips at her words. He shook his head, flicking his gaze occasionally to her and her obvious high rank. Well, higher than most, he assumed, with her stance and her tone of voice. "Hmph. Then you better do it now before I really cause some damage." That was more a bluff than anything else. For one, he wasn't in the mood for wreaking havoc, and this mood usually lasted a while unless confronted with an irresistable temptation. And he wasn't in the shape for it either. But he really didn't care, either.

Somehow, when he looked back up at this border guard or whatever she was, he only now noticed the interesting tattoo on her one shoulder. His one midnight eye blinked, opening wide in interest. He'd never really seen someone with an unnatural marking like that. He tilted his head to one side, curious about it, but then looked up at her inquiry. Alright, she had higher authority. He answered her first, though it was a dissapointment.

"My name is Mirage, if that's what you mean." He replied easily, turning his gaze from her.

[nightblood]

With a snort, NightBlood sat down, rumbling deep in her chest at this newcomer. She didn't have time for this. She either accepted or turned away wolves. There was no call for rescuing or taking in casualties of warfare, or killing them off for that matter. Not in Arnlan, anyway. She controlled herself only enough to keep from baring her fangs, but her lips quivered at the intent to do so. This suicidal wolf was doing a very good job of pulling on her nerves.

"Don't threaten this pack, Mirage, or you won't live to regret it."

She had to laugh inwardly at his name. She had known Mirages before. All female.

"Why so keen to die, anyway?"

[Shantik]

He raised one eyebrow at the amusement he saw dancing in her eyes as she spoke his name. He rolled his eyes, taking a guess at what it was all about. Sorry if the name he'd chosen after breaking away from his father had not been a 'girly' one at the time. Snorting in contempt, he grinned at her question.

"Oh, you must have the wrong impression. Just because one does not fear death does not mean they look forward to it. I mistook you for one of the rogues who attacked me is all." Wow, he was a good lier. And since he'd closed his eyes, she couldn't check to see if he was or not. But then again, he did not exactly say he did not fear death. And he didn't. He feared the mystery of what came after it.

[nightblood]

Blood shook her head with a grin at his reply. This one, on any other occasion, might have convinced her. However, his injuries might have made him a bit less wise at the moment.

"I've already told you that I had not taken part in your misfortune. But I echo your view of death. I am willing to die for this pack. When I do die, it will be while fighting for it."

With reluctance, Blood moved on to what her job was really all about.

"I can call for a healer if you wish to see one, but only after you swear your allegiance to the pack. If not, I must turn you away and you will receive no help from us."

The Sentry smiled contently once more. It would seem that Arnlan had another fighter in their ranks, or so she hoped. However much she found this wolf intriguing, there was a sense of danger about him. But then, the same sense also came from Mortil at first.

[Shantik]

Mirage was almost alarmed at her sense of loyalty. In reality,he'd never met a wolf so die-hard for their pack. They must take good care of her. But her mistake in sounding like she understood him made his grin return. If anyone thought they knew anything about him and his attitude, they were sadly mistaken.

But it was her offer that truly surprised him, and it showed. His eyes went from narrowed to wide in the space of a quarter of a second and his ears flew forward. Then, quick as they came, the signs dissapeared, replaced by mistrust. He chuckled dryly. "Pfft...you must be joking, to accept a stranger so quickly." His voice echoed with his disbelief and was laced with laughter. The very idea was absurd. There was no way she was being serious.

[nightblood]

He was right to assume she was joking. Blood smiled at his conclusion. Of course, he'd know how a pack works when accepting individuals.

"Naturally, I would be. But no, not now. You're injured. There is no way for me to test you for anything. I would turn you away any other day, but I'll be damned if you go about the rest of your life telling false stories of my pack's heartlessness."

The Sentry paused, keeping her eyes on Mirage, eager to see his reaction. A wind picked up and ruffled the fur on the back of her neck so that it stood on end. Or was that her instincts? Telling her she was making a big mistake? Perhaps she would find out later.

[Shantik]

She was serious. Mirage's grin increased until it split his lips, revealing his sharp white fangs. She might've been lucky had she just turned him away. He got fully to his paws, before being forced to remember his wounds and cried out as he fell back to his original position before the Sentry had come. He gave a shudder, baring his fangs at the pain that wracked his body. He reached back and licked the blood from a wound on his shoulder before trying again. And again, he fell. Cursing under his breath, he decided that fate had made this matter served to him on a silver platter. Just the way he liked it too. Minus the pain.

"Seems I've no other choice. Any rules and regulations you'd like to impose on me, Miss...?" He trailed the sentence, only now noticing he didn't know the femme's name. He gave her an inquiring glance, hoping she'd fill in the blanks.

[nightblood]

"Er... You can call me Night for now..."

Blood sensed the danger now. Her mind raced for a way to get herself out of this situation, her heart pounded along after it. She had a sinking feeling about this one. What to do, what to do?? There was a long pause before NightBlood found something that might scare him off. A wicked grin eased itself onto her face until she was absolutely sure it would work. Her fangs even peeked out from under her lips.

"There is one major requirement..." she said, her eye gleaming with a maniac laughter. "All new members must conduct a form of self mutilation. I.E. Bashing out one of their eyes. One with sight. It signifies their dependence on the gods for spiritual vision."

She was lying through her teeth, but she thought it made for a good story. She herself was blind in one eye, so it would give this tale some merit. It was up to him wether or not to go through with it. Without sight, he would be less of a danger to Arnlan anyway.

[Shantik]

Out of all the things she could've threatened him with, this would be the worst of them all. All it did was increase his wicked grin, if that was possible. His one eye sparkled. "In that case, I should already be in this pack." His smirk lessened a bit, until he almost frowned. There was a moment where he took the time to think. He knew full well she was bluffing. But there was also that thing he could back up with on her statement. It might put her on his to-kill list, but as long as she peeped not a word to any living (or dead) soul, he might not have to.

He grinned once more, and put all his weight on three paws as he reached a foreleg up to the forelock over his right eye. He shot her a final glance before closing his remaining eye and brushing the long fur out of the way, a stunt he might never have pulled while certain wolves still lived. And for good reason.

Hidden under that flock of long fur, now in perfect view to this almost absolute stranger, there was not an eye, but something that usually made anyone who saw it draw back in horror. All that was left of any eye that once might've existed was a sunken in, purple-red flap of clawed flesh. No fur grew around it, since scars of every shape and size were scored across all that side of his face.

Quickly, Mirage turned away, his grin totally gone now. "Does that count?" He asked in a deep, dangerous tone. Every time he did that, he had to resist the temptaion to leap and kill whoever had seen it.

[nightblood]

Blood shook her head after the shock of seeing such a thing on this male's face.

"I'm afraid not. It must be an eye that still has sight when one is accepted. Otherwise, it does not count."

She had seen the doubt in his face before. Hopefully the fear of going totally blind would cause him to leave. Otherwise, he would be deemed slightly harmless when both eyes were lost. She knew that any wolf could work just fine without sight, but there was a downside when it came to fighting with too many opponents. One could simply loose track.

[Shantik]

Mirage couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. He hadn't been this amused in quite some time. Quickly, he managed to settle his laugh down to a breif chuckle, though his eye sparkled with amusement. "Not scared of me, are you?" He shook his head, used to it actually. A frown quickly replaced his grin. "If you didn't want me here, you could've said so in the first place. A shame, it seems your pack needs an assassin."