Capybara hunt: round 1

A lazy afternoon had pretty much summed up the boys day, but now that the sun was climbing higher in the sky, his belly growled and he found himself suddenly hungry. Rising from the ground and abandoning his afternoon nap, Cloud headed to the nearby river for a drink. He was pretty sure he had smelled a large herd of deer that lingered nearby, but as he drank, he suddenly heard the sound of something he never heard before. Head quickly rose, the sound of splashing could be heard somewhere on the river. Squinting, he searched for the source of the sound until he spotted something brown moving through the water. Head tilted slightly to the side as he stared at it. It...looked like a rats Head? He was really confused now. Never before had he seen a rat that big, or at least...he thought it was a rat. He watched as it came ashore on his side of the bank, quite a long ways from him. And to his surprise, it did look like a giant rat! Except...it didn't have a tail. What the hell was it!? He stalked forward, already on the path to want to bring it down. "Speak"

art by Risketch

For being so hot and desolate, the desert areas of the south held surprisingly more prey than he was previously aware of before his stay. The capybara that seemed to inhabit the areas around Rio Grande certainly were among his favorite to hunt. They were fat, oversized rats with massive bodies, and they seemed relatively.. slow.

He had been picking off young ones seeking water from the Grande for about a week now, though they appeared to be getting smarter- moving further away from his chosen hunting grounds. He was scouting along the water's edge when he came across the faint scent of something unmistakable, one of his and Storm's long lost sons.

His beating heart drummed within his chest as his ears became incredibly tuned to their surroundings, even his claws suddenly became more aware of the clay beneath them as they tore through the terrain with each step. The lean wolf's usually relaxed and free movements began to become more choreographed, his muscles trained to precisely place each step for as much stealth as he was capable of. He was hunting capybara still, yes... however he prioritized the sight of his unknown son quite heavily above that. What would he even say if he saw him, what would he do...? Was this the one that led the pack Storm and Acere had told him about? He had so many questions already, and he didn't even know what this one looked like.

He listened to the sound of disturbed water as he moved down the bank, his ears flicking as his ruby gaze drifted to the other side of the river. One of the capybaras was climbing out of the water, and it appeared that he was in the wake of Cloud, just on the opposite side. His square muzzle lifted slightly as he thought, pausing in his steps as he observed the other for the moment.

He took in the white and gray colorations of the younger male, reminding him surprisingly of his half-brother, Acere. It was enough to curve the edge of his lips as he admired the strength quite obviously hidden in those bones. He cleared his throat finally, breaking the silence as he let out a wolven growl of a bark carry across the water to alert Cloud of his presence.

Without warning, Elias dove into the water, ready to catch the capybara if it chose to swim in to get away from Cloud. Though, there was another reason for him submerging himself, to hide his unmistakable scent for the time being. "Don't let it get away," he commanded. "They swim fast for as fat as they are, if he runs I'll grab him."

Medium Prey Hunt | Capybara | Round One

Capybara hunt: round 2

Bi-colored gaze was trained on the strange looking animal, but he wasn't quite sure how to approach. Did these things fight back? From what he could tell, it had pretty big teeth, and he wasn't keen on getting bit by it. Still, the hunter in him needed to bring it down...but part of him was hesitant. He was unaware of the larger male, not until he heard a splash that caught his attention. Confused for a moment, he looked around until he spotted another wolf coming towards him, a commanding tone telling him not to let it get away. What? His gaze shifted back towards the capybara, so far it hadn't cared about the other wolf. Unfortunately for it, there was another presence lurking around. "Chase it. Get it. Tear it apart. Taste its sweet blood..." His heart began to beat faster. Breath quickened, muscles tensing. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of whatever he heard. It wasn't the first time he heard it, no. But whenever he did, he would find himself among the unrecognizable carnage of whatever animal that had gotten in his crosshairs. He just...never had any memory of it while it was happening. "Shut up!" He fired back, forgetting that the other wolf was there. He ventured forward, body low to the ground as he sought to get in closer to the big rat thing. Gold and silver gaze never looking away. Mud sucked at his paws, the boy leaving deep imprints as tried to widen the area just a bit more between him and his prey. Closer...closer..."Go! Get it! Don't wait! Strike! Blood!" His mind shut down, and suddenly he was rushing forward a little too soon. The creature squealed in alarm as it began its rush to the water, and Cloud was racing to try and catch it. Unfortunately for him his paw would slip on slick mud the closer he got to the water, momentarily sending him to the ground. He slid on his side for a moment before scrambling to his paws, but even that wouldn't break the strange trance he was in as he hurtled into the water. "Speak"

art by Risketch

Elias wasted no time getting in the predicted trajectory of the capybara's escape route. He was transfixed on not only their convenient prey but the young man in his present company. His eyes flashed over to help when he heard him yell, 'Shut up!' Though, it did not seem like he was yelling in Elias' direction, no... Elias knew very well what his son was yelling at.

So he had a demon? Elias nearly forgot about the prey, wading in the water of the Rio Grande now solely watching the young piano key brute. He watched as he diligently ran after the capybara's trail into the water, and even watched as he fell and- almost as if in a craze- got right back to his feet like nothing at all happened.

The splashing sound of water nearer to him got him out of his mind, his eyes looking to the source on his right. The capybara could not see very well over the currents of the Rio Grande, not with as fast as it was attempting to get away from the male behind him- but with Elias distracted, it managed to get close enough to see him and realize the immediate danger it was in.

The capybara began to steer to its left, away from Elias and toward the bank that Elias entered the river from. Elias used every muscle in his body to turn himself against the current and follow. His toes were splayed out across his large paws, the webbing between them doing their absolute best to propel him forward and launch him after the capybara. His long legs made for great swimming strokes beneath the water's surface, and before too long-term, he managed to get closer to the bank than the capybara. The capybara was now faced with a volatile set of jaws, and with no other option, it redirected it's escape route back the way it came- deciding to swim with the current now and take its chances, hoping to be faster than the wolf that had initially started chasing it and swim past Cloud.

Medium Prey Hunt | Capybara | Round Two

Capybara hunt: round 3

He had thrown himself into the shallows, but somewhere in the back of his mind he wasn't keen on following his prey into the depths of the river. He had never swam before, and when his feet no longer felt the bottom a slight panic rose within and he turned around until he could feel the ground again. He watched the creature swim away, but it wasn't long before the wolf in the water herded it right back towards him. His own tail lashed, the boy crouching the way a feline would when stalking its prey. The voice in his head and dulled to a low murmur, but as the capybara drew closer, the voice grew. "Get it. Rip it apart! Taste its blood! Bathe in it! Destroy it!" Cloud shook his head. Subconsciously he hated hearing that voice. It always sounded so...dangerous. So bloodthirsty. It wasn't him. Or...was it? Was this really him? Did he truly crave blood and gore? He struggled with himself for a few moments, almost enough time for the capybara to make it back to the bank and make a mad dash towards the trees, but Cloud was quicker.

"Kill it! Rip its throat out! Don't let it get away!" A wild snarl left Cloud's maw instead of the 'NO' that he wanted to scream. Eyes bore the telltale signs of something wild and primitive. He wasn't himself. The mud coated beast dug his claws into the soil and moved forward with speed he didn't even know he was capable of. Fur bristled all over his body, the muddied parts sticking up in untamed clumps. Drool and spit flew from his mouth as his teeth bared as far as they could go. The capybara that was in his sights would have made it, perhaps if Cloud had better control of his ill mind. But the beast that resembled something rabid barreled right into it with all the force of bull, knocking it hard into the mud.

Cloud of course, would go tumbling with it. Feet tripping over its fat body and sending him rolling into the mud, but the voice urged him forward and the now bloodthirsty beast was on his feet once again. Lunging towards the capybara's throat, Cloud's teeth clamped firm and hard. The high pitched scream of the capybara would go on for several beats, until Cloud violently shook his head and heard the 'snap' of its neck. Mud and blood spattered every which way, coating him and the ground. But he wasn't quite done yet, no. He would continue to shake his head, digging his teeth further into the flesh of the creature. Canines ripped muscle and tendons, going all the way until the bone. Over and over and over he would rip into its neck, shaking and shaking until finally...one hard swing would finally send the body of the poor creature flying towards the water, landing just short of it in the mud. He was left standing there, the head of the capybara in his jaws. He was breathing hard, his trance not yet over even as blood spilled onto his feet and pooled on the ground around him. Even the other wolf had been forgotten...

Text speech Thought

Elias continued to herd the capybara toward the shore of Cloud for as much as he needed to. His long limbs didn't mind powering against the current, even if it wasn't the most graceful of efforts. He continued to steer himself so that he remained between the capybara and the deeper waters until the thing had no other choice but to join the shallows with Cloud.

Still unable to reach the bed of the river, Elias witnessed as the defenseless capybara had to simply watch while Cloud came to deliver its inevitable fate. Once Cloud managed to pull himself on top of the capybara and sink his teeth into the lethal parts of his neck, Elias moved to pull himself out of the water and onto shore while he continued to watch. The growling and the crazed look in the young man's eyes made Elias fall deathly quiet, and the memory of something familiar started to reel in the projector that ran near constantly in his mind.

Flashback

He remembered his first hunt with Eliana, when they were just four months old. It was shortly after the death of their father, and everything had been weighing down on all of them quite heavily back then. He'd raced ahead of her, wanting to lose her, as soon as he found the scent of a doe with a fawn. Without caring at all about what happened to him, he dove right in between the two of them with the speed of a demon and came down on the fawn with enough ferocity, he was quite sure the poor thing died on impact. He barely remembered what was to come next, as his world grayed and everything around him seemed to blur. Only the taste of blood in his mouth and the feeling of flesh sating his snapping teeth stuck out in his memory.

He remembered when everything calmed, both mother and fawn had successfully been brought to their demise- their corpses mutilated messes in pools of blood. A dismembered hoof of the doe was gripped in his maw, and the wide-eyed and fearful look of his bloodied sister seemed to be staring into his eyes. He remembered dropping the hoof immediately and running away from the scene of what they had done, pain radiating from several points of severe bruising and contusions along his body. He didn't care, he just needed to run.

End.

Elias lifted his chin as he watched the man before him give into his demons, just like Elias had done so many times in the past. He watched with an eerie sense of pride as blood made pools in the steps Cloud left behind in the mud. He was strong, and though his rage may need to be directed... Elias could feel promise within his son as he watched him. "Well done," he said, breaking the silence as he stood just a few feet away from Cloud. "I'm sure your demons are very... very proud of your work here today."

Medium Prey Hunt | Capybara | Round Three

Body heaved with the effort of all he had just done. Blood continued to drop to the ground in a steady, rhythmic pattern. Drip...drip...drip... His teeth were firmly latched onto the remainder of the capybara's carcass, the lifeless eyes staring into the void. The young male was covered in mud, the white parts of his fur saturated with blood and debris. He looked almost insane. Had it been his mother or someone else who had come across him, he was sure that they wouldn't be able to recognize him. He remained in this trance, and when the larger wolf made his way from the water to come stand several feet from him, wild eyes moved to fixate on him. Cloud's body remained rigid, but every hair on his body stood up. A low, guttural growl scratched at his throat, and it wasn't until the man spoke that Cloud managed to grab hold of some part of himself.

Gold and Silver gaze was wild with whatever had consumed him, pupils constricted even. But when the man spoke of Demons, Cloud struggled with himself for a moment before his mind fell back to reality at last. It was as if whatever had taken hold of him had let go after several heartbeats, visible by the way his body slowly became relaxed and his pupils returned to normal. The wild look that had been in his gaze slowly trickled away, and when he remembered where he was and what he had been doing, he froze. He remembered what he was holding, and almost immediately he dropped the head until it fell to the ground with a squelch and a dull thud. His heartbeat quickened, what was happening to him!?

He glanced around, stomach turning at the sight of the murder scene. What had he done? His gaze quickly returned to the larger male, eyes clearly showing the fear that he felt. "W-what do you mean? What's happening to me!?" Did this man know what was wrong with him? Cloud never understood it. He had done his best to hide it from everyone. To his knowledge, this male was the only one to have witnessed it. But of course, Ace's observations had been done in secret and without the young male's knowledge. Cloud was afraid, to say the least. He was terrified! What if he ended up hurting his mother? Or someone else he cared for? There was so much he didn't understand...

"SPEAK"

art by Risketch

He watched as Cloud seemed to come back to his senses and then drop the lifeless body of the capybara. Elias wished he could sit inside the boy's mind, see the inner workings of it and help him figure out what he was experiencing exactly. He recognized the terror on the young man's face and in his voice as he demanded answers. Elias anchored his weight down on his haunches and sat quietly in the mud, observing him for a moment before he warranted an answer.

"I can tell you. First, I want to ask you something. Do you know who you are?" Or, where he came from- that is what Elias really wanted to know. Had Storm told him? His curious mind couldn't wait before asking more questions, "And.. you do.. hear them, right? That's why you did this, that's why you made this mess. They told you to do it.. am I safe to assume this?"

He was desperate for an answer, but it wouldn't quite come fast enough as he waited. The larger male sat, staring at him. And after what felt like forever, the larger beast spoke. "I can tell you. First, I want to ask you something. Do you know who you are?" "Huh?" He was confused. Wasn't sure if quite understood the question. What did he mean? Was he asking his name in some odd way? "I'm...Cloudburst Wreckage..." Right? He had always been Cloudburst. Well...at least, as far as he knew. He didn't know his father. Didn't know anything about him, and he supposed he had never really asked either. Bass had sort of been there as a father figure, but Cloud never really questioned anything as a child. Cloud's heart pounded hard against his chest, drumming in his ears when the male continued on. He...he knew that he heard voices? Did the man hear the voice that had consumed Cloud? Did he say something during that massacre that he hadn't been aware of? How did he know? "I...yeah...something just...I can't...I don't..." He didn't even know what to say. He did hear a voice, and that voice controlled him. He never really knew when it would happen, or what would happen. Usually, he didn't remember when it did. Usually, he would wake up covered in blood, but this time...someone had been here to witness and draw him out of it. "I can't make it stop..." He whined, gaze falling to the ground as he stared at the bloodied ground. Walk, "Talk" Think

Every bit of confusion that Elias read in the young man drove him to believe his assumptions even more so. He related to this, and not even that long ago. Elias sighed when he stated his name, he had the name of a Wreckage- sure, and he was a wreckage.. but his blood was also under the same curse as all the Praetors. They had to serve, they had to channel their energy toward a purpose.. or they became chaotic. Of this, Elias was certain.

"Cloudburst Wreckage, son of Storm Wreckage." He gauged for a reaction from Cloud, having known his mother's name before he did. Perhaps this would be some sort of hint that led up to what he was about to tell him? Elias didn't expect too much for him to figure it out on his own, but he had a small amount of hope that his son wasn't daft. "That is who you are?" The giant hummed his question in near sing-song as he teased.

"Do you know about your mother- about your father.. about the wolves that survived for eons and passed their blood down to you by doing so? Your blood is special, Cloudburst." He paused, his intense and brilliant red stare looking into Cloud's own dual toned gaze. "Your blood is ancient and haunted by demons. These demons want you to take and want you to serve and do their work for them." He stressed his syllables, teeth articulating carefully as his lips parted in the release of his ominously low tones. He had hushed speech, keeping this for something just between the two of them should anything be nearby. "Your grandmother held the same silver in her eyes that you do in this one of yours. And this one-" he switched his attention over to his son's gold eye. "Remarkable, just like my sisters. It is said silver and gold are the colors of the souls claimed by demons that rightfully belong to the sun and moon. The souls of the land we claim, of the lives we take to eat. You hold both souls of the moon and souls of the sun- they want what is theirs. They want to devour and conquer, and they will force you to do so if you do not take hold and rise to strength yourself." Elias lifted his chin, waiting to see what his son would believe now after hearing all of this.

"Cloudburst Wreckage, son of Storm Wreckage." The man's response caught him off guard, and Cloud couldn't help the jerk of his head as he stared at the male, wide-eyed. "H-how did you...?" Did he know his mother? "That is who you are?" Truth be told, Cloud had never really questioned himself on that. He used to wonder who his father was, but time eventually got him to stop wondering, and instead, he merely focused on his life as it was. He had his mother, and the idea of a father had vanished into the air. He didn't know what to say, the cogs slowly turning in his mind as he stood there in stunned silence. There were so many things going on in his head that he didn't know how to sort it out. Or at the very least, which thought to focus on first. He remained quiet as the male continued, asking him about his mother, his father...brows knit together as he tried to comprehend all that was being said, but...he didn't quite understand it. What was this man talking about? Souls of the sun and moon? Demons? His...grandmother? The man's sister...? His eyes began to widen as his mind clicked. Slowly at first, but he eventually put the puzzle together. He took a step back, disbelief taking hold. This...no, it couldn't be...was it? His jaw opened a couple times, wanting to speak but no words reaching his tongue. Subconsciously, he knew what question to ask...but with it all suddenly coming at him, he hesitated. "How do you know all of this? I-I don't even know what you're talking about! I'm Cloud, son of Storm! I don't know who you are!" His voice cracked more than he wanted it to. He never asked his mom about their father...but then he thought about Ty, and the fact that his brother resembled this man more than Cloud himself. Is this who his brother took after? Is this...where his demons came from? "Wh-who are you?" he whispered. Deep down, he knew. But he needed to hear it. He needed to make sense of all of this. "Speak"

art by Risketch

Elias had been inspecting him for some time, curious to see how Cloud would react. This same curiosity extended to all of his children when he met them when he told them about who he was. Some pieced it together, some didn't.. almost all of them forced him to say it verbally, anyway. Elias smirked, one of his ears folding backward while the other remained upright and listening.

"I have a feeling you already know who I am, Cloud. I am your father, I have been looking for you. I need to tell you, and your siblings, of the both cursed and legendary blood that courses through your veins. I have plans to claim the burning mountain under the name of our ancestors, Ruina; you can find me there if you are ever curious." He lifted himself up dismissively, ready to give Cloud time to process all that he had said.

"Do you mind if I keep this? You can have the rest." He drew closer to the kill that they had secured, his square and marred muzzle lowering to the decapitated head of the capybara. His nose bumped it, rolling it sideways a bit. He held no interest in purposing it, truthfully.. though the skull would serve as a trinket and reminder of this day even if he were never to hear from his son again.

Cloud listened to the man's words, but he was too dumbfounded to speak. So...this was his...father? Did Ty know? He wondered...but then he doubted it. If Ty had known, he was sure that his brother would have come and told him. And yet, he hadn't seen his brother for quite some time. So he doubted that Ty knew anything about who their father was. He stared at the man before him, but he couldn't find his voice. All he could really do was not mindlessly as the man asked to take the head of the creature that had been killed. Bi-colored eyes watched as he left, and the monochrome boy was left to himself. The information he learned today stupefied him. He had met his father. The man that had given him life. It never occurred to him to ask his mother about his lineage, but now...now he knew. Some of it, at least. He wanted to know more though, so he filed away the location that the man spoke of. Maybe someday when he got the courage to seek him out, if he wanted to seek him out...he'd learn more. Still in shock, Cloud forgot about his hunger. So instead of partaking in his kill, he left the decapitated creature where it lied. He needed to find his mother...he needed to know why he didn't know about all of this sooner. -exit- "Speak"

art by Risketch