The night was cold and crisp and clear compared to much of the rest of the world. Erys had been told that it was supposed to be warmer this time of year, but it seemed the volcano had thrown everything awry. Erystotle was still sure it was because of him. He was cursed, and with Lydia giving her life to save his own the curse had manifested much more strongly in the eruption. Pyrrhic lost his father all because Erys couldn’t make himself say no.

The thin legged boy walked over the dormant moss as the stones glittered in the moonlight. His head hung shoulder height and his tail at his hips. He had to find the one who rescued him, it was time to admit his guilt and take his punishment. Erystotle leaned back on his haunches, his mind a blur with everything he was going to say to the older boy in the morning. If he ever got any sleep tonight that was.

For a long moment he debated about just running, but that wasn’t fair to Pyrrhic or the rest of his followers. Erys felt more than indebted to the Abraxas Lord, he had to make up for his curse. He didn’t have a huge skillset but there had to be something he could help with. If Pyrr even allowed him to stay.. The boy sighed heavily again, his future still uncertain.

Pyrrhic wandered the land aimlessly. Though he was fatigued he couldn't sleep. Any attempt to rest was quickly stymied by restless tossing and turning, and a mind that wouldn't be quiet. The ash clouds loomed in the distance. Though they weren't here yet they lurked in the distance a dark and ever present threat. Pyrrhic had fixated on this. He fretted over the next step. Today they were safe but what about tomorrow? His father and Benkos both always had plans but Pyrrhic wasn't sure where to go from here. This time of year Boreas was usually in the throes of a snow-filled winter which would normally make Auster a better choice, but the clouds that now blotted out the sun threw things out off. It felt like winter here too and it was that that stalled Pyrrhic. Did they take their chances and stay here or did they keep moving?

By accident Pyrrhic stumbled upon Erystotle. His ears slicked back as soon as his eyes found the boy's ghostly shape. For a moment he deliberated about approaching. Briefly he contemplated just leaving, but then it occurred to him that the boy had no doubt heard him. There was no escaping so he approached. "Erys? Why aren't you sleeping?"

Erys didn’t have a real sleep schedule these days. When he had been in Kesali being awake during the day and asleep at night had been the norm, but as he was growing and spending more time on his own he found quickly that he preferred the night time. He didn’t have to worry about the sun’s harsh rays on his poor skin, and the moon was much more comforting than the fire of the sun. Not that he thought much about it until Pyrrhic’s words were on the wind.

He’d been engrossed in his thoughts, so unknown to the Abraxas he could have slipped away unnoticed. However the boy was quick to turn his horned head in Pyrr’s direction. The confrontation had come much quicker than the boy anticipated. ”I..” He stuttered slightly, afraid of the reaction he was about to receive. ”I was thinking about things.” His silver stare was shifted to his front paws. He rubbed the heart shaped mark on his wrist with the other paw nervously. ”Things I needed to talk to you about.” Erys offered hesitantly before trying to find his friend’s gaze again. ”I’m cursed, Pyrrhic. I’m the reason all this has happened to you.” Blue marked ears fell to his skull in shame as he awaited the verdict.

Baffled by Erystotle's words, Pyrrhic just looked at the younger boy for several long moments. He studied Ery's pale eyes in the hopes of finding understanding in their mercurial depths. Finding none, he frowned in confusion as his pulse quickened. The promise of at last finding a place to lay his blame was tempting even though the reasonable side of him told him it likely didn't lay with Risen's newest arrival. In the depths of his being Pyrrhic wished for a mortal reason for his family's misfortune; it was a lot easier to be be angry with and blame a flesh-and-blood something than it was to blame an all-powerful invisible god.

Slowly he asked, "What do you mean?" Erystotle hadn't been there. He hadn't pushed the elder Abraxas in or dislodged the wrong rock on the mountaintop, kicking off a chain of events that caused Volkan to break open. As far as Pyrrhic knew, Erystotle had been in Auster and not Boreas, so how could it be his fault? What kind of curse could reach so far?

This was it, though his time in Risen’s care should have long ended. Before anything like this was allowed to happen. He looked up to Pyrrhic, worry in his gaze, as the older boy stared down at him. Had Erystotle known his history better his birth and subsequent abandonment another part of the curse. Or maybe the origin of the curse. He was supposed to die not long after birth, yet he was still here. A gift for the gods stolen away from them.

The land he’d come from was not one that was merciful, living sacrifice to their gods in the form of flesh of all ages. Erys would never know the huge kindness his mother did for him in sending him away, and for now he’d believe himself cursed for the events leading up to this moment. What did he mean?

”Bad.. bad things happen around me.” He offered up, ready to be chased away. ”Lydia found me, and Kesali took me in. Now she’s dead and Kesali is… gone. You took me in, and..” the young wolf whimpered softly as he offered a timid glance to the eastern lands. ”I’m so sorry I didn’t say anything before.” Blue marked ears clung tightly to his head as silver eyes returned to Pyrrhic.

Pyrrhic blinked once slowly in confusion and then rapidly as the weight of what Erystotle was telling him blanketed the young Emperor. He took a deep breath and looked away, his jaw working as he tried to decide what horned mortal's confession meant. Was he, Pyrrhic, not being slowly pushed away by God then? If what Ery said was true, what did it say about him? Perhaps he wasn't a coward after all; his anguish the consequence of a curse he had been ignorant of. Maybe he wasn't a failure. Maybe he was just unlucky.

Finally he looked to Erystotle and studied him with an unreadable expression. If what he said was true - and he wished it to be since it cleared him of fault - then what needed to be done with the horned youth?

"I don't know what to say," he began slowly. "This is your fault?" Selfishly he wanted to believe it. It was all too easy to take the insecurities he felt, the fault he placed on the Fallen God, and dump it on the head of a mortal. A suspicious edge crept into his voice, "Are you sure? How do you know?"

Pyrrhic was no longer as gentle as he had sounded when they first met and he’d been given a rabbit. He should have spoken up then, but the rabbit smelled so good and Pyrrhic had been so kind to offer it. The pale boy shrunk as Pyrrhic began to truly understand and questioned him further. He tucked his tail between his legs and looked up at the emperor apologetically. ”I only have the evidence provided.” He said softly, unsure how he could really prove a curse. ”You were so kind to me… I didn’t mean to, I wasn’t sure until.. until..” He murmured softly, knowing he’d messed everything up in not telling the Abraxas wolf.

As Erystotle spoke Pyrrhic found himself backing away in horror. He felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. Of course his discovery on the beach was too good to be true. Erystotle was a poison apple; beautiful on the outside but filled with nothing but evil. This was his fault. Erystotle had known what he was and yet he'd let Pyrrhic take him in anyway.

In a rage Pyrrhic threw himself at Erystotle. He aimed to slam his front paws into the boy's side and roll him over so he could stomp on him. "How could you! Bastard! You did this to me! This is YOUR fault!" He wanted to kick him across Auster. Just kick and kick until Erystotle was nothing but a sack of broken bones.

The horned boy just wanted to melt into the ground as Pyrrhic accepted his word. Erystotle was cursed, and the whole chain of events could easily be blamed on him. He accepted Pyrrhic’s kindnesses and kept his affliction a secret. He lowered himself even further for the emperor, as he backed away. He didn’t expect the sudden assault. His silvery eyes widened in surprise and then he was suddenly rolling backwards. The force was unexpected and caused the boy to yelp with pain and surprise as he was rolled backwards a few rotations.

Pyrrhic screamed at him, giving him all the rage he had been unable to unleash at the volcano. Erys didn’t fight back, he coward underneath the tall Abraxas. Ears tucked to his skull, tail to his belly and he tried to curl in on himself to help protect his softer spots. His brilliant fur was dirtied by the tumble and his mercury gaze shut tightly against the rage that was aimed at him.

”I’m sorry, Pyrrhic!” He whined as the bigger boy’s well aimed kick took the breath from him. ”I’m.. sorry!” He cried softly between breaths still making an attempt to protect himself passively, instead of getting away and to safety. ”i’m sorry.”

The horned boy offered no resistance which honestly only served to infuriate Pyrrhic further. "I don't want your sorry! Fight me you bastard!" He leaned down and screamed in Erystotle's face. "Fight me!" He wanted a reason to kill him. It wasn't satisfying to beat on a downed man; to look down on Erystotle who lay with his eyes full of tears and his tail tucked between his legs. Pyrrhic wanted a struggle. He wanted to hurt and to cause hurt.

And he wasn't getting one. Frustrated he snarled in Erystotle's face and then straightened, his jaw clenching as he briefly looked up into the sky. Suddenly his throat felt tight and his eyes stung. The next breath he took was a gasp. His lip trembled. "Just fight," he said softly.

Erystotle sunk further into himself as Pyrrhic yelled his rage at the smaller horned boy. He squeezed his eyes together tightly and shook his head only slightly in answer he couldn’t fight back. He deserved to be beaten and yelled at. He should have told the older boy what was wrong with him to begin with. He shouldn’t have ever taken his rabbit.

The assault was suddenly over, and Erys hesitated in opening his silver eyes. He peeked only slightly as Pyrr looked into the sky and lamented silently the tragedy Erys had caused. The pink skinned boy could recognize the deep emotion in Pyrrhic’s features and even after the explosion of emotion aimed towards him all he wanted was to make things right. To take away Pyrrhic’s hurt and take it as his own. As it should be. This was all the horned boy’s fault, and he didn’t know how to make it right.

He remained frozen where he was, unsure if he should run or beg for Pyrrhic to finish taking out his anger. Did he even deserve this life if he only caused misery and pain wherever he went. ”I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He shook his head in shame and whined softly. He didn’t know what to do.

Fuming now, Pyrrhic's gaze remained locked on the distance as he tried to make sense of his feelings. He still wanted to tear Erystotle to pieces but the tears now running down his face and the swelling emotions fueling them were threatening to overshadow his rage. Pyrrhic was just so tired and so angry and so sad he didn't know what to do. He would have been better off if he could just pick one. At least then he could more or less follow a script. Anger: rage maul Erystotle. Grief: collapse into a puddle of tears. Fatigue: curl up somewhere warm. But he was too sad to be angry, too angry to sleep, too tired to be sad.

Because nothing else came to mind, he snapped in a tone a bit too soft to be a real threat, "I outta kill you. I bet that's what He wants." In all honesty Pyrrhic almost felt as though his connection to the Fallen God had been severed. It was impossible to say what the Fallen God expected from him now. He felt lost. Adrift. And he had no idea how to get back to where he'd been.

He remained frozen, tail tucked and his body curled in on itself as he watched, transfixed, as the tears swelled up and fell down Pyrrhic’s features. Even in the dim light his emotions were palpable. Erystotle wasn’t any good to anyone, he only brought pain and caused this misery. The only thing to be done was to get rid of him. Pyrrhic should have killed him. Right then and there. Erystotle shut his eyes tight once more as he tried to summon any bit of bravery in himself.

With what little was there Erys steeled his nerves, and in one motion aimed to push himself against Pyrrhic’s chest. He’d want to bury his face in the larger boy’s neck, he’d grit his teeth and wait for the end. ”Take it, then.” He offered himself up softly. ”Soothe your anger, end my curse.” He tried to hold back his own tears, but facing his own end both frightened and disappointed him. He was supposed to go on, because Lydia’s sacrifice. His first curse.

His nostrils flared and he leaned away from Erystotle as the smaller wolf suddenly moved to lean against him. Pyrrhic didn't break contact with him as the horned wolf pushed against his chest, just recoiled in surprise and yes, perhaps a little revulsion. If he was to be believed this boy was more or less a killer. And Pyrrhic wanted to believe him, if only to have a flesh and blood reason to direct his anger towards.

Pyrrhic tucked his chin to his chest so he could stare down at Erystotle. What he wanted was a fight not...whatever this was. He didn't want it to be easy. He wanted to struggle. He wanted Erystotle to resist him so there could be closure. A fight would be cathartic, but this? This was confusing.

The pressure against his chest was oddly disarming. He blinked away tears and weakly shoved at Erystotle - a feeble attempt to resist. "You want to die?" he spit the question angrily; trying to provoke the horned mortal and bolster up his own crumbling rage. "You're pathetic."

He was lucky that Pyrrhic didn’t kill him outright when he touched him, but he'd do the opposite of what he’d intended. The Emperor was put off by his actions, he used confusion and it was super effective. Erys wasn’t going to fight him either, despite his appearance he didn’t really have a violent bone in his body. If he could make things up to Pyrrhic, he would have given his own life.

Erystotle waited for the teeth at his throat but instead he was pushed away. ”I don’t want to die.” The boy whispered. He blinked open silver eyes, his mismatched ears still clinging to his skull. ”I can’t undo the past.” He answered, his voice sounding stronger than his curled form should have produced. ”But if I keep going, what horrible things will I cause in the future?” He thought for a long time that he should keep going for Lydia’s sake. In the end it really should have been him beneath that tree, maybe none of this would have happened were it not for her selfless act.

Pyrrhic stared long and hard at Erystotle. He wasn't sure what to do with. For reasons he couldn't explain, Pyrrhic couldn't bring himself to kill the boy. If he would take the time to really look at himself he would see that he wasn't convinced of Erystotle's blame; he was allowing the boy to take it as a scapegoat. If it was Erystostle's fault than it couldn't be Pyrrhic's, couldn't be his father's and it couldn't be because of the Fallen God's. The problem with that was that it didn't explain why Pyrrhic couldn't hear the Fallen God.

He jerked his head away from the circle of stone and into the darkness beyond the pack's temporary border. "Move," he commanded coldly, but offered no explanation. Just because Pyrrhic couldn't bring himself to kill him didn't mean he couldn't put Erystotle where he couldn't ruin anyone else's life. Pyrrhic would see to it no one else's life was upended by the cursed boy.

With that one word Erys knew that this wasn’t going to end in execution. If Pyrrhic were to kill him it would have been right here and now. The horned boy didn’t know what was in store for him now, but with the tone of his voice Erystotle was now lower than dirt. He shrunk inwardly, his tail still between his legs as he crawls in the direction that was indicated. He whined softly, looking back over his shoulder once with liquid mercury eyes. His heart was beating again, but now it was even heavier. He feared the unknown, and he didn’t know what would be done with him now.

He hadn't yet made up his mind about what he wanted to do, but an idea was forming. Erystotle had to be dealt with. He was a danger to the Abraxas and not knowing the extent of his curse, Pyrrhic couldn't be sure how long he would remain a threat if simply chased out of the pack.

Banishment wasn't the best course of action anyway. He still needed to be punished for what he had done. If not for Erystotle, Malleus might still be alive. Even if he wasn't, who was to say that Erystotle wasn't the cause of Pyrrhic's problems? He could be the reason Pyrrhic couldn't hear God.

The boy began to crawl away in the direction he'd been told to and for some reason this irked Pyrrhic. ”You are many things, but a worm you are not. Get up and walk.”

-exit?-