Only the Strongest will Survive

[Sofika]

Sofika's head hung low as the last breaths of NightBlood's escaped, and she died. Her expression was stagnant, unreadable. Anger boiled deep inside her, but she refused to let it out. Her breath quickened slightly, but she steadied it before it was caught by any other.

"Sofika...I beg you...let me go. Let me fight. Please. Give me permission to do this. I am one of Arnlan's best warriors. I can do it. Please let me go..."

She slowly inclined her head to Mortil. They couldn't start and end a war with a single wolf, no matter how good a warrior he was. She and Karolek needed to organize the resistance, and fast.

She held her breath for a few seconds, then spoke.

"No." she growled, "Sending one wolf into a pack of murderers is completely asinine. We don't work that way. We're not going to waste a life. Stay here within the borders until a military is set up, and it will be soon." Her eyes narrowed beneath the sheath of fur, "and as you know, death comes quick to those who leave our borders."


((meh, not feelin in a Sofika-ish mood today, I guess :P))

[Electus]

"...and as you know, death comes quick to those who leave our borders."

Mortil stared at Sofika, a blank look on his face. The words seemed to echo around him, making him dazed and confused. He shook his head once, then twice, before looking at his alphess again. It didn't help.

I want blood.

I have a deal to make with you.

"Death comes quick to those who can be killed, Sofika." Mortil said quietly.

Without another word, he turned and melted into the shadows.

[nightblood]

"Death comes quick to those who can be killed, Sofika."

Kuruk growled in reply to the gray wolf's words. Shivering with rage, he stood up and faced the Alpha, eyes burning.

"I wanna kill Ni-Shade. She took Mommy away," he said, turning to look upon the face of his dead mother as her body started to turn cold for the final time in the night air. Finally, he looked away.

Death had never crossed the pup's mind before. He had been an innocent until now. The Sallin Alpha had taken away his most precious relative, the one who had given him life. It was common for most pups to be close to their mothers, but Kuruk's connection with her was possibly even greater than the one she had shared with Khenti. According to their stories, NightBlood and the youngest of her first litter had done almost everything together. Most of it was her doting on her son out of whim, but it was told that he had been saved from a pile of stillborns, the Shaman having thought Khenti was one of them because he had been laying so still.

Kuruk would have none of those adventures with his mother. All because the 'bitch of Sallin' had felt the need to kill the first thing she had seen on the border. Why? Why was he to be without a mom? Why had the first litter been allowed to spend so much time with her? Had Sofika let Armageddon father first, perhaps they would have had more time. Sobbing once again, he turned and buried his face in his father's fur.

"I want Mommy back!"

[Donn]

(( ))

There was howling. At first Phineas thought he might have mistaken it, but it came again. And again. And again. By this time the black wolf was already running. It wasn't a late-night pack meeting, no, these sounds seemed to tear at the sky itself. Something was rotten in the pack of Arnlan, Phineas could sense it. It seemed all too long before the smell reached him, and then he wished it hadn't. Amongst the varied scents of each wolf, came blood. It was that sharp, acrid smell, and as the scene came into view, Phineas came to realise precisely what was occurring.

Or rather, what had occurred. He had arrived too late to ever speak to NightBlood again. The alpha was there, and pups, and other wolves Phineas recognised. He stopped in his tracks, trying to quieten his panting. Somehow, it seemed to him that he would incur some unknown wrath if he dared disturb this moment. He was new to the pack, this seemed a private mourning that he, having only known NightBlood for a short time, was not privy to. Regardless, he stayed. Set back from the others, he stared at the body. He had encountered death before, of course, but nothing dulled the sudden shock, the numbing understanding that it was too late to ever see another pack member again. Phineas had liked NightBlood, from the moment she had introduced herself, in a manner dramatic enough for Phineas himself. He remembered mention of her pups, that would now be motherless. It seemed a different world all of a sudden, one in which Phineas could not have anticipated would end with such a murder.

Phineas snapped from staring at NightBlood. Somehow he now perceived it unacceptable to even look at her in death. Instead, he bowed his head, down low, mind blanking. He said nothing now. No promises of revenge, no funeral speech, no words of comfort. What could he say to this? And what would come after? His mind began racing again. Who did it? How did this occur? What would it mean for Arnlan? Phineas' train of thought stopped again, because he could not answer any questions. All he could do was bow, and lament.