WC: 258

Slipping away in the cover of night Ruin was once again in her element.

As with many Kleins, Ruin was a creature of the night, bathed in darkness and starlight with her black eye unburdened by the sting of sun. It was a secret she hid well, not even her parents nor siblings knew of the discomfort the daylight caused her and if she had her way they never would. As she pressed on further from the safety of the plains she found herself in a thicket, thick and tangled with a myriad of places for such a tiny and delicate girl for her to hide. It was quiet here, the air heavy with palpable tension making it a night unlike any other. Ma had said the world beyond the borders of Abaven was dangerous, but it was that very sense of risk that she craved. She had been on her best-which wasn't very good to start with-  behaviour for quiet some time, lulling her family and guardians into a false sense of security. And now it was her time, to strike out and do whatever she pleased. The more she was told not to do something the more she wanted it, needed it more than the food in her belly and the air in her lungs.

And thus here she was, alone as she ought to be. But not for long. At the sound of approaching footsteps Ruin slunk into the grasses and hunkered low, her lips twisted in a smirk as her gaze smouldered with anticipation.

Áskell stirred at the sound of a great-horned owl hooting in the distance. He snuggled deeper into his father's side then wrinkled his brow at how tightly his brother was wrapped around him. It was hot and he fidgeted. Yea, this wasn't going to work. He wiggled his way carefully out of his brother's grasp and away from his father's side. He took a deep breath of the dark night air and sighed at how much better it felt not being smothered in fur on such a warm night. They were only staying for the night so his dad hadn't bothered to dig a den.

He decided to go for a little walk, not far. Áskell enjoyed the spookiness and thrill of the night. The wind rustled the thicket grasses, sounding almost light a hiss. His ears flicked forward as he heard movement somewhere in the distance. It didn't sound terribly big. Puffing himself up he bounded forward. "Who goes there?"

WC: 162

total word count: 667


Ruin waited till the stranger got real close, near enough that she ran the risk of getting stepped on, before she leapt out of the long grass. For her position and with the lack of moonlight she looked as black as the night, a creature from the dark beyond. Like any young pup Ruin spent a great deal of time playing pretend, letting her imagination run wild and free and now was no exception. She loved the idea of being a spooky being, something strange and otherworldly and latched onto it with all her might. And what better way than to make the lie feel more by dragging in an unwilling participant, a victim if you will. Her teeth glinted white in the darkness as she faced the stranger, making a point of showing only her darkest eye, adding to her sort of demonic presence. With a wonderful strike of luck the bugs that cheeped and chattered in the night fell silent at her appearance, it was just the two of them now and the hushed breeze rustling the foliage that surrounded them. Way to set the mood huh?

"Shhh, be quiet. Or they will hear you." She turned a little, as if looking behind her to the darkest reaches of the thicket. For reasons she didn't quiet understand she felt the weighty prickle on her back as if something was actually watching them, but again chalked it up to her little game. "It is not safe for you here, you should leave wen you still can."

Áksell eyed the darkness then skittered back and fluffed up as a girl leapt out of the grass. Ugh! Stupid girls! He growled at her, his ears back and his fur standing on end as he tried to make himself look bigger than her. At the mention of some mysterious somethings though his ears flicked forward and he glared into the darkness before speaking loudly. "I'm not afraid! My dad can beat up anything, even treacherous owl spirits! He's just back there." Oh, oops. His voice immediately lowered as he realized he might accidentally wake up said dad and get in trouble for wandering off.

He turned back to the girl, voice in a low whisper. "Where's your parents, huh? Maybe it's you who should leave. This thicket belong to the spirit of Old Egrim. If I remember dad's story it was a naughty girl just like you that stole her golden fangs." The story started flowing from his thoughts to his mouth. There hadn't been a girl in the story but he now found himself compelled to reshape it. "They're supposedly buried around here from the first girl that was killed. Want to see if we can find the corpse?" He grinned, suddenly eager for adventure. "Maybe we can find it before Old Egrim does. She's been searching for decades according to my dad."

WC: 225
Total: 892

total word count: 1175

The boy was bigger than her but that wasn't saying much, considering how teeny tiny she was. He stood tall but not quiet as big as her looming brothers and Ruin found herself suppressing a smile as he roared into the night, only to quieten down a moment later. She didn't have much, if any, experience with puppies who weren't her siblings. As far as she was concerned they were all one of the same, potential victims and allies, it all very much depended on Ruin's mood. And oh boy was she feeling mischievous tonight. He asked where her parents were, as if that was enough to send her skittering home. As if. Perhaps she ought to be more wary of her Ma's ire since she'd been real mad the list time Ruin had snuck out, but the little Cavaliere-Klein had learned a lot since then. She wasn't so clumsy in her escape attempts, she was already long gone before anyone would notice her absence.

The same maybe couldn't be said for him though, funny.

"Dead." She said with an alarming aloofness, so matter of fact it surely had to be true. Right? His story was interesting though, more than enough to grab a hold of her attention and squeeze tight. She stepped forward, her eyes gleaming in the darkness. She was more than willing to except any excuse to run off on an adventure and finding a corpse did sound like a lot of fun now that she thought about it.... "Let's go!" She hollered, surely the two of them would find the body in no time at all, not realising that a decade was in fact a very very long time.

Ok, so maybe girls weren't all that bad. He grinned as she agreed to go searching for the corpse with him. She took off into the night and he quickly scrambled after her. "Hey, wait for me!" He bounded through the golden grasses, walking over dead leaves and trying to keep in mind where he was going. Eventually he stopped worrying about it. His dad could always find him, right? The wind picked up and his ears flicked forward at the sound of a low hoot. Did owls eat pups? He swallowed but didn't want to show any fear in front of the girl.

"Hey, my name is Áskell. What's your name?" He wanted to know who he was going corpse hunting with. At one point Áskell started sniffing the ground, trying to pick up some sort of scent. He wasn't sure if there'd be anything left from such an old corpse but maybe he'd be able to detect something that was off. Wait… what was that. "Something smells weird over here." He didn't know what the scent was but it had to be interesting. He started following it, climbing into deeper and deeper parts of the thicket until he came upon the source. Two beady yellow eyes peered back at him from the masked face of a raccoon who wasn't particularly happy to see to pups encroaching on its bed. It frizzed up and started screeching. Áskell started to back up, tail tucking.

WC: 244
Total: 1419

total word count: 1707

There was no time to wait! His legs were longer than hers, Ruin was sure he'd be able to keep pace easily enough and if not then tough luck. A sweet little smile tugged at her lips when he asked for her name, she was tempted to lie and give him a random, spooky sounding name off the top of her head but given that they might meet again one day she thought better of it. Besides she couldn't of anything suitable on the spot, might as well go with the truth.

"Ruin." She wagged her nubby little tail.

She slowed as she watched him sniff and snuff and did the same, her dark nose getting smeared with mud and muck in no time at all. Ma would be mad if she saw her in this state but that was something to worry about later. For now she was focused on the buzzing thrill of fun and adventure! But wait he was right, her nose wriggled as she sniffed the air and a grimace marred her pretty face. Ew! It smelled really bad, stinky and distasteful like the time her brothers had rolled in something gross. Despite herself she pushed on and followed Áskell, pausing behind him when the stinky creature came into sight and shrieked so loud she pinned her ears back against her skull in alarm. She let out a startled eep but surprisingly held her ground, just in time to see Lyre swoop down from the skies and donk the raccoon on the head with his pointy beak. Usually he was a quiet and reserved raven, more inclined to watch from afar but he could hardly fly idly by when Ruin was in trouble, right?