The Death Shade [Acceptance]

[Electus]

A ghostly ash-grey form flitted between the shadows, his paws making no sound upon the soft ground of which he tread. He had just passed the border of Hallow Village into Arnlan. He didn't even have to look. He simply knew, by instinct and smell alone. Above him, the sky was an inky black, with stars glittering like pinpricks on black satin.

Mortalitas Umbra paused in his travel, stopping and sitting on his haunches. His fur was matted, with burs in his coat. There was a snarl in his tail that would take at least a week to chew out. A ragged scar crossed over his left eye, but that had always been there, or at least that seemed so to him. He simply sat and stared, thoughts whirling in his mind. Should he do this? Should he swear allegiance to another pack? Should he risk it all, life, honor, and oath, even thought there might be the chance of betrayal? The answer was crystal clear, which brought the ghost of a grin to his lips. Of course he should. Now was the time to face forward, and never look back.

With that decision in mind, Mortil got up on all fours. He continued to pad into Arnlan territory, head swiveling for any signs of life.

[nightblood]

Shadows were all that could possibly be seen in Arnlan. Day was indistinguishable from night, so one could guess why a single wolfess chose this hour to sleep when she was usually nocturnal. Perhaps she was confused of the time of day? No. One would probably loose their life by even suggesting it to her. NightBlood was simply tired. She had slept for two-days straight before, stirring only when disterbed by the announcement of daybreak by the irritating birds of the forest.

It was not birds that stirred this sleeping giant this time, however. It was a simple feeling. An unknown pressence was among the trees. Night growled and shifted, but could not deny wakefullness any longer. Besides, the pack could be in danger. And the intention of any such danger would only commence over her dead body.

Pushing herself up, the black and red-brown gray wolf got onto all four paws and shook herself brutally to fully wake herself. She stared into the darkness outside her cave. Yes, something was out there. Weither wolf or not, she did not know. It made no sound that reached her ears, but some how just knew. Perhaps some of the alphas' wisdom was rubbing off on her. Or maybe it was her sences that were heightened due to the darkness of Arnlan. Reguardless of what it was, Night had to find it fast or some untold horror might besiege the pack.

Grudgingly, NightBlood left the spacious cavern and pointed herself in the direction of this unknown pressence. A steady gallop was all she could ever manage with her limp, but no matter. She would find whatever she was looking for in the end.

It would seem that her guess at what direction to take was correct. Soon the great wolf could hear the gentle rustleing of leaves not stirred by wind. As soon as she was sure it was wolfkin, she called out.

"HALT! Or face death, intruder!"

[Electus]

"HALT! Or face death, intruder!"

My my..., Mortil thought. Someone's testy. Nontheless, he settled back onto his haunches. He could only guess that the black and red-brown wolf belonged to Arnlan. Best not anger one of the wolves in the pack you wished to join. His single eye glinted slightly in the darkness.

"Though I am sure that you are dangerous, I don't think death will find me..yet. Nonetheless, I will halt, if nothing else but to rest." Mortil tilted his head to one side, regarding the wolfess before him like a curious child. Finally, he spoke again.

"Mortilitas Umbra, at your service", he said by way of greeting. "I have no doubt that I am in the land of Arnlan. I have come to offer my allegiance..., his eye flashed, "And my ability to kill." He straightened, waiting for the wolfess's reply. In the meantime, he looked to and fro. The darkness of Arnlan was complete, and he could not pierce the darkness much. He shrugged inwardly. If nothing else, his sharp hearing and keen sense of smell would have to do.

[nightblood]

NightBlood slowed down and rolled her eyes at the male's responce. A haughty, arrogant yearling... It HAD to happen eventually. When she finally caught up with him, the young one spoke again. 'Mortilitas Umbra'? Curious name... very curious. No matter. Names were names. Perhaps one day she would find herself at the recieving end of a story on how he had come to own such a name. But now was not the time. And there was still a mass amount of doubt that he would even be accepted into Arnlan.

The giantess circled around the ash-gray male until she stood before him, allowing him no further acsess deeper into Arnlan. Her good eye landed almost immediatly on a scar over his left eye. No doubt he was blind as a result. A realization came over Night. So! She had a brother in this weakness! Such pride there was for finding another like herself! But no, she would not be so blunt as to point it out. They might acknowledge the simmilarity by silent communication, but she would not be the one to start conversation over it. There was a more serious matter at hand.

"Granted that you seek to join, Umbra, recruites are not permitted more than five inches across the border."

She paused for half a second, giving Mortilitas time to drink in the warning, then continued on, giving a snort at his added statement.

"Your ability to kill is shared by most, if not all, members of this pack. Tell me, what other skills can you offer, besides your lack of respect for land borders?"

[Electus]

"Granted that you seek to join, Umbra, recruites are not permitted more than five inches across the border."

Mortil lolled his tongue out in a silent laugh. That was not entirely his fault. Was it now? Were there guards? No. Sentries? Not that he had seen. Ah well. That was their problem, not his.

"Your ability to kill is shared by most, if not all, members of this pack. Tell me, what other skills can you offer, besides your lack of respect for land borders?"

It was his turn to snort. "If you insist on knowing. My lack of respect of borders aside...I have taken three hundred skulls in battle, I can move silently, kill silently. If there is a need, I can run from the farthest border of Sallin to Scatterstone in two days without rest, although I would probably need it afterwards. I can survive the harshest conditions, for the longest of periods." He arched a regal brow. "And although my ability to kill is undoubtedly shared, it is most likely unmatched by any except your Alpha." There, he said it. After all, they said confidence is a good thing, and every word in that sentence rang true. He was proud of his skill, and had every right to be.

"And might I add that my violation of the border was in no means my fault. I expected to be stopped long before this."

[nightblood]

Night considered his last few words. True, she told herself as she glanced to the left, the Sentries had been lacking lately, as she had not seen anyone stopping potential members. However secretive Arnlanian wolves were, she had expected to see others, having stayed so close to the borders. But she, it seemed, was getting the lion share of greetings and salutations from recruites, something she hadn't expected to recieve since she was of no rank.

Still, at the current matter, Umbra was getting quite annoying as he ran his arrogant mouth about how great of a killer he was. Three hundred skulls? Surely he was exagerating, as most young ones tend to do. But who was she to doubt him? Perhaps his birth pack required a murderous youth at an early age? Or, while allone, he somehow managed to walk through a pack of weaklings and kill all who opposed his journey through their lands?

Inwardly desiding to test his skills at the next opportunity, NightBlood continued questioning him, skipping over his last remark.

"Did your parents or guardians ever try to teach you any humility? Because you obviously didn't take. And speaking of Sallin, how did you ever come to know the name?"

She had put emphasis on the pack name for a reason, etching the pack's hate and resentment toward it in every syllable.

[Electus]

"Did your parents or guardians ever try to teach you any humility? Because you obviously didn't take. And speaking of Sallin, how did you ever come to know the name?"


Mortil could almost feel the acid in her tone as she mentioned Sallin. Ah. He thought that might be a touchy subject. He relaxed slightly. "I've tangle with their wolves a few times." He grinned suddenly. "They were horrible fighters. Didn't entertain me at all. But, I digress."

"Did your parents or guardians ever try to teach you any humility?"

Mortil stiffened slightly, his eye flashing in anger. "My parents died before they could teach my anything, let alone humility." he spat. He blocked his flood emotion behind a torrent of anger. "As for guardians, I didn't have any. My old pack soon degenerated into fighting amongst themselves. I had to kill my way through to escape alive." He sucked in a breath, breathing out slowly. "As for humility, I have no time for that. There is no time for humility in these wild lands. There is only hate, guile, loyalty, and anger. Surviving depends on it. You fight or you die, it was as simple as that."

But then the rogue wolf smiled. "Ah. I see. You doubt my abilities." There were several oddities about Mortil. One was his strange swings of mood, and the other was his chilling perceptiveness. Neither was really necessary, but one was an asset. The other was more a nuisance than anything.

[nightblood]

Slowly, NightBlood came to realize that they did not only share a similar blindness, but they were similar in their past as well. The only difference was that Night had grown up expecting to become leader before she was shut out of her path. That was her humility. He would need to find his own. Perhaps she was the one to teach him...

Night sat down and looked away from him, drowing in her own memories. She caught herself within a few seconds and looked back to face him with a stoney look about her.

"You will be confronted with pain soon enough, young fighter, but I do not doubt your abilities. You seem to be much like myself, so I will warn you: Do not take to this world with that out look. Arnlan is a much more peacable place than what you are accustomed to. Although we may be secretive about our individual natures, most of us do not distrust our pack members. At least, I know I don't."

She was speaking as if he had already been accepted, but Night was determined to halt his assumptions before they turned him into another one of her kind.

[Electus]

"You will be confronted with pain soon enough, young fighter, but I do not doubt your abilities. You seem to be much like myself, so I will warn you: Do not take to this world with that out look. Arnlan is a much more peacable place than what you are accustomed to. Although we may be secretive about our individual natures, most of us do not distrust our pack members. At least, I know I don't."

"I've faced pain before", Mortil muttered to himself. But to the wolfess he only said simply, "Fair enough. I've had more alarum and conflict than I should like. I do not mistrust my comrades, when they have earned my trust. If they have not, I will be nothing more than cautious."

He tilted his head to the side again. He was starting to get into that habit of doing that. "Might I inquire as to what your name is? I don't believe you've told me."

[nightblood]

Night picked her head up and blinked at him in surprise. Rare as it was for her to forget things, it was even less likely to find her unalert, as she was now. She pressed her ears forward and noted his curious posture.

"Night. You won't have my full name untill you've been accepted. Since you say you have overcome Sallin wolves, I'll call for the alphas to test you. Be warned though: If you have lied about your intentions to join, if you even suggest attacking my leaders, then your chances of seeing another sunrise will go from slim to none."

With that, NightBlood turned, kept her good eye focused on Umbra, lifted her head to the sky and howled. Like her voice, her song was deeper than most females'.

[Electus]

"Night. You won't have my full name untill you've been accepted. Since you say you have overcome Sallin wolves, I'll call for the alphas to test you. Be warned though: If you have lied about your intentions to join, if you even suggest attacking my leaders, then your chances of seeing another sunrise will go from slim to none."

Mortil inclined his head slightly. "Fair enough. He listened absently to her howl. He noted her single eye with his own. Two of a kind, he thought, bemused. "So," he said conversationally, "You like Arnlan?" He began to draw nonsensical patterns into the soft dirt with one paw, frowning as he did so. After several long minutes, he had somehow replicated his old pack's unspoken symbol: a wolf skull and claw, overlapping.

[nightblood]

NightBlood watched his paw absently as he drew in the dirt, then turned toward it when it began to take shape.

"It fits my personality perfectly."

It was almost as if she was talking about the picture, but, in truth, she was answering his question about Arnlan.

{{Let's pause this until Karolek or Sofika join us. ^^ }}

[Electus]

[ Alrighty! ^^ ]

[Karolek]

Another howl. These things were starting to become more and more common in Arnlan...And it seemed as if they were always coming from the same wof. The summoning was not an annoyance; merely a curiousity, and anyone who knew Karolek knew how much he enjoyed investigating things that were out of the ordinary. The ordinary, in Arnlan, was silence, and whenever this silence was broken, it was the Alpha's job to find out why.

And so, the dark wolf set off towards the call, moving at a quick, deliberate trot. He didn't want to keep them waiting; it was unusual for an Alpha to hurry for anybody, but Karolek didn't have the disrespect for his packmates that some leaders had. No, they were wolves too, and they had needs, just the same as him -- Today, it was his job to fulfill some of these needs.

He came upon Nightblood and the stranger quiet suddenly, and the wolf held back for a moment, almost hesitant. He had hurried to get here, but now that he had arrived, he wanted to make a good impression.

On second thought, scratch good. He wanted to make an impressive impression.

With that goal in mind, Karolek walked over to the pair, practically slithering, really, and came to a stop before them, with his usual crooked, disapproving frown. "Ah, I remember you, " He looked towards Nightblood, almost as if expecting her to be surprised by this fact. "And who is this?"[/color] Although it was obvious that he was referring to the stranger, the question was directed towards either of them -- whoever got around to answering first.

[Electus]

"And who is this?"

Mortil turned to regard the newcomer. He had heard him more than smelt him a few minutes ago, but he had paid no heed. He now looked the dark wolf up and down. There were interesting characteristic, and some less so, but the way the wolf carried himself, there could be no doubt. Mortil inclined his head respectfully.

"Mortilitas Umbra, at your service. I have come a long way to offer my allegiance, if you would have it."

Mortil's head swiveled from Night to the Alpha. She seemed to know him, but he shrugged inwardly, not surprised. In his opinion, the Alpha should know all in the pack, big or small.

"And perhaps I would have the honor of knowing your name?"[/color]