Shadow and Flame (Zair)

[Nightshade]

((Sorry for the long wait Zair. Right: this is a thread for Juu and Nightshade only.))


Finally, the darkness had consumed the earth. The clouds lay thick across the sky, swallowing the moon and stars in a breath of shuddering obscurity. To the east, the world trembled as the streaks of illumination struck the dusty earth like the pounding of some great fist, only surpassed by the roar of the thunder. It seemed as though the land was afraid - afraid to come out of hiding. Nothing save the storm and the howling wind stirred. In the dark trees, the shadows waited and watched with anticipation of the night's events. But the whispers through the boughs called to someone...or something. And all of a sudden, a voice cracking through the sky between the claps. It was not the wind that howled.

Nightshade had waited - waited and watched. The alpha had finally escaped the duties of that day, and had come deep into the heart of her territory as the light had begun to fail. There, she had stopped. The storm had rolled over her, and grasped at her very soul. But she had come here for a reason, and nothing could stop her from completing what she had been planning for suns. The test had been completed, and everything was ready.

The she-wolf's knife-like claws dug deep into the soil as she continued to call out through the darkness. With the storm it would be hard to be heard, but Nightshade had no doubt about what this night would bring. Juu would come...she could sense it in the air...she could feel it in her blood. Dropping her proud head for a moment, the alpha stopped to listen to the thunder. When she had been a mere cub she had feared it...now, fear itself was only a memory.

Suddenly, the night stilled. The storm held its breath, and even the trees stood and waited. Then, the rain fell. It came like a wave all at once, hurtling down against earth that had not felt moisture for many days. Nightshade looked up to where the shrouded moon wavered in the dark, and smiled as the water fell upon her fur; cool and wonderful. The wolf had always loved the rain. That was something that she could not erase from her puphood...even if she wanted to. Nightshade was merely a spectre in this low-light, only her glowing green eyes would constantly give her away. In the dark, all wolves' eyes shine emerald, and the alpha was counting on this tonight.

Juu had been one of the few wolves to enter Sallin who had actually impressed Nightshade. True, chances were she would not admit it, but it had been enough to make the often stubborn alpha consider a promotion for the young she-wolf. Of course, at first she had toyed with Juu, granting her only the status of member. But in her mind, Nightshade still had greater plans for her. First though, she would see how the wolf faired with this new trial. Power.

[zinly]

Juuku rested. Sitting like a menacing gargoyle atop some peak, she stared down into a ditch bellow her where earth had slid away and now a riverbed lay. It was dry and dark when night fell and all was swallowed in its chasm of a mouth filled with the glitter of greed be-speckling the pinpoints of saliva other affectionately called stars. There were no stars tonight, but Juuku-Jah hadn't noticed. She sat with the purpose of watching and waiting, her entire body stiffly poised while she played the post of relaxation. A wolf did not sit without purpose. Juu was waiting.

The thunderhead broke down and rain began to fall, drenching Juu within seconds despite her thick coat. To her, the rain water was filthy and cold making herself stick in the position she had permitted herself to slide into. No real soldier should let themselves ease away from their rigid posture during duty. Granted, no one had ever assigned her here or anywhere else. After all, those in Sallin did not speak to one another very often as far as Juu could perceive. Everyone moved as a group on pure instinct.

A howl broke through the pelting droplets and trickled through the ear canal and into Juuku's mind. She is calling. Her eyes glistening in green unison when they usually held so different of lights, Juuku rose to the cry of her master. Yes, Nightshade was her master for now. The alphess rose dominant over this other who now ran to reply to the precious call which she had waited for many days now.

A plethora of puddles lapped at Juuku's paws as they pounded the earth. Nightshade had called from near the middle of the land and Juu would follow the fine web of the forest to reach the center of the web in the hopes she would no longer be mere prey to the spider Nightshade sometimes was. I come, I come. Juuku-Jah lifted her head and echoed the call in return knowing Nightshade would be able to hear it. The sound was fierce and angry like a battle cry though Juu was not yet enraged, yet her blood broiled with apprehension of what might come.

She appeared out of the darkness; two level emerald gems dancing in the darkness to meet Juu's own. Why had she called her here while the rain flowed down in massive sheets to quench the great thirst of the drying earth. The cracks in the more barren patches of forest now burbled greedily with the rain, but what did Nightshade want? This wolf was not of the earth as Juu saw it; she was something far greater and far less which she must crush eventually. What trial has this obstacle stuck on my path? Juu wondered as she glowered from afar.

Moving closer, Juuku lowered her head in a respectful nod. "You called?"

[Nightshade]

Juu's howl broke through the sound of the thundering storm, its tone strong and as ever unique. 'Good.' Nightshade thought as she assessed the distance of the source. The she-wolf was making good speed through the darkness. The world seemed to be falling away, as huge chunks of earth slid away down the slopes to collide with the mudded soil below. It was the worst rain that that year had seen, and the alpha was revelling in it. As the very foundations of the land grappled for life in the grinding chaos, Nightshade stood still. Sallin peaked at the heartland, so she was quite safe here.

Finally, she saw the two emerald beacons which marked Juu's position. Another flash of lightening made her form glow for a moment, illuminating the two wolves and allowing each other the sight that they needed. Even wolves could not see in the total darkness. As Juu spoke, Nightshade allowed herself to smile - the cold smile of one who has been barren for uncountable moons. The younger she-wolf was ready and eager to serve as ever, but Night could hear the defiant resonance clearer than ever. Yes, Juuku-Jah was strong-willed indeed.

"It has been several suns since I allowed you to enter these lands." Nightshade spoke with her ever icy tone, her voice sinking into the sodden earth like the rain that fell so freely from above. "And the judgement time has passed." Bitter malevolence splintered through like the breaking thunder overhead. The alpha paused, allowing the statement to reverberate between the shuddering boughs and into the ears of the wolf who stood before her. Nightshade's mind had been made up - there was no changing it now.

Since that day when the two had first encountered each other, Night had indeed had Juu watched. Occasionally she herself would creep past in the undergrowth; waiting for the flaw that would destroy the young she-wolf once and for all. But in her eyes, and the word of those she employed as spies, there was none. Or at least, none that could warrant further investigation. So it was with a forever-sure-mind that Nightshade continued.

"You have...impressed, shall we say." Flicking her tail to the side, the alpha allowed the buffering wind to fly through her fur - the sharp feeling that it gave her almost as exhilarating as the first time she brought her fangs down upon another...the first time the she-wolf learned how to kill. With a shiver of anticipation, Nightshade remained where she was. It was usual for her to encroach towards another; but Juu knew that game. No. This was business. "And I feel that it is time for a promotion." She had thought long and hard on this; calculating whether or not is was wise to let Juu gain even more potential. It was dangerous, in a sense. Though there was no real threat here, Nightshade could almost see herself in the young she-wolf. She would have to be careful with this one.

Moulded correctly; Juuku-Jah could do so much for the great Sallin. But slip-up, and there would be no telling what events could come about. Nightshade was willing to take the risk.

[zinly]

Juu drew closer to Nightshade, feeling the dampness from the heavy rain as it seeped through her thick pelt to her skin making her feel cold. But the greatest cold was staring beyond at Nightshade who had called her; a wolf that she revered and almost hated for who she was. Such a wolf like the blackest piece of the night made her flesh crawl as she was washed over by the rain.

The entire time Nightshade spoke, Juu's eyes were narrowed blocking out the rain and twisting her visage into a formal scowl. To Nightshade, Juuku played the dark soldier filled with meaning at all times, for that was what Nightshade expected. Her head tilted back slightly at the mention of Night being impressed with her. There was no progress to proclaim for had not started terribly low, but she had proven herself. Nightshade was satisfied. Juu bobbed her head ever so slightly to allow Night to know that she had heard over the booming thunder and distracting bolts of lightning which slithered across the sky. Nightshade did not try to speak over the thunder; she was simply heard.

Juuku's ears flicked back at 'promotion'. What exactly did that mean and what price was there to pay? She turned her ears sharply forward again to listen to Nightshade, continuing her stiff stance like she was carved of stone listening to some poor vagrant rant at her paws. Yet Nightshade was no vagabond, she must have more to say than pointless compliments. This wolf always had a motive when she spoke.

"And?" Juuku asked, her fine brow arching slightly -- quizzically. Before pressing forward and congratulating herself for a promotion, she wanted to know what the catch was. What did Nightshade expect of her? What did Nightshade want from her? Juu knew what she wanted, but that would have to wait for the rain to cease. Now, she was a cold husk of herself; the soldier who took orders and nothing more. The cleansing rain made Juu empty, but filled Night with venom. Juuku-Jah had no doubt that she was being poisoned with every word. So be it.

[Nightshade]

Nightshade watched with cold eyes as Juu reacted to her words. She was hardly expecting the she-wolf to jump for joy - in fact that would have convinced Night that she had been wrong after all. But seeing that the younger predicted a catch...that was a good sign indeed. Many would say that you should never question a gift - but Nightshade had learnt long ago that this was nothing more than foolish. Indeed, Juu was correct. The alpha requested her skills and her loyalty...but perhaps later, something else altogether.

The rain still pounded hard upon the already sodden earth, and Nightshade knew through experience that the storm would not lift for several hours at least. This night was hers indeed. No stars could reach beyond the clouds and shine, and the moon barely managed it. The she-wolf saw it almost as a second darkness...not the dark of the night, when wolves hunt and howl - but the dark when the spirits rise, and wolves hide within the shadows. She smiled at the idea of it.

Nightshade too was not herself in the rain. Just as Juu was a barren shell, the alpha went back to her primeval state. A creature purely of rage and fire...the passion that had been locked away within. So lifting her piercing gaze into that of the younger wolf, she continued. "And - I feel that you deserve to have slightly more...control in Sallin. " She was not intending to give everything away yet, but the she-wolf did not even try to hide the untrustworthy tone of her harsh, brittle voice.

"I was thinking of something that would utilize your skills." A cold smile passed across the alpha's thin, grey lips. The scar upon her snout seemed livid in the flashing glow of the lightening, and the hollow depths of her eyes shone with an unworldly green light. She looked more undead than living. "Perhaps..." she pretended to be thinking further on her decision, even though her mind had been made up moments after their first meeting, not so many suns ago. 'How will you react to this, then?' Nightshade thought coolly. She could half anticipate what Juu would do, but there was always that margin of uncertainty.

"...a Warrior?" The she-wolf let the word splinter out into the air, before settling on the wind. She would not speak again until Juuku-Jah had made her move. It seemed that for now, the game was double-sided.

[zinly]

Amidst the thunder and lightning, and torrents of rain, and the second blackness, stood Juu. Eyes frozen like Jade in the ethereal light. Her visage set in a stony mask of comprehension. Juu understood the darkness and the veiling of every soul when the stars could not illuminate the world and tell tales of every being's sins and burdens.

Juuku was like charcoal and barely visible in the darkness, but with every flicker of electric light cutting raggedly through the sky, she burned like fire as the trick of her pelt change her hue entirely. Her very identity had changed with the storm, but within, her thoughts were still the same: to conquer, to revenge, to serve and gain power. There were more, but the great tendrils of these motivations had choked the breath out of most other ambitions or clouded them like an ancient wall in their dark foliage.

Her gaze remained on Nightshade steadily as she thought of the venom of Night's very name and why she toyed with her. Had the great she-wolf not yet learned that Juu would not crumple to her tricks of the tongue as she slowly rolled out her thoughts before Juuku. Every word Night elicited was like a forgery of a map close to the truth, but twisted ever so slightly that any who entered would be lost. Juu refused to even look at what the words meant and waited for her sentence. Was she convicted of a crime or a bland hero of a war-less era?

"Warrior." The word echoed in her mind as surprised collided with the anticipated. Juu had hoped for more, but expected worse. Nightshade had bestowed upon her a tremendous honour and a greater burden. Juuku knew that just because she had gained a rank other than a new-comer and mere member, that she would still be watched and under surveillance. After all, she had power now.

"Your kindness shocks like the very storm." Juuku replied, standing formally and upright like a soldier awaiting inspection by a commanding officer. Her head was held high like on that fateful day not long past. She was proud and accepted what Nightshade offered her with eagerness. Juuku-Jah was ravenous, but not utterly blinded by hunger.

"I accept your offer of rank and thank you." Still her head did not dip down from its post. "I hope that my skills you have assessed and my control are not misplaced for the time when you call for the other portion of this agreement of position." Bitter venom. Sour poison. Juuku thought as she consider Night's name over and over and pondered what must be going through her alpha's head. She was grateful that she had already gained rank and at one point, might have truly shown her gratitude, but those days were over. She was moving stone still jagged as she rolled.