my, what big fangs you have

Since Aureus' and Eliphas' deaths, little Deus had been nearly inconsolable. He felt the burden of their losses squarely upon his shoulders, their lives both taken to protect his own. The only consolation was the constant self-reminder that Abraxas had a plan for them all, and he hoped his uncle's death served some purpose for their God. He stomped about the lake with the tantrum-filled pawsteps expected from a young wolf, kicking over small rocks and smushing the crinkly fallen leaves. Stomping on the leaves was his favorite of all, as the cracking noise that sounded beneath his foot was by far the most satisfying of noises.

He continued stomping and grumbling and peering out angrily over the border until his foot came down upon something squishy and he peddled back in surprise. Deus' heavy footsteps had disturbed the burrow of something, and the creature slithered out with a furious hiss. The snake was understandably pissed off, and though Deus' first instinct was to apologize to it as his mom might approve of, he felt the need to bite something. He growled back at the snake and it's tongue flicked out in a loud hiss of a threat.

Some types were venomous, that much Deus was clearly aware of on snakes. He knew he needed to avoid the fangs either way, and so he feigned to one side before jumping forward. He aimed to catch the thing beneath his paws, but it recoiled backwards just in time and he had to stop his face from crashing into the dirt. It lunged for him then, and with a startled yelp Deus threw himself away from the sharp protruding fangs. His eyes grew wide with alarm, his chest heaving as he realized exactly how close the potential venom-filled fangs came to him.

While Deus' resolve was breaking, the snake was still pissed at having his hibernation interrupted. It lunged for him again and again and Deus backpeddled, each paw pulling back from the snake just in time. Finally he realized he wasn't getting out of this with an apology anymore, and dove back into the fight. The next time the drowsy snake lunged, Deus pulled back and stomped back down. His paw came upon the snake's ... neck? (Snake anatomy was far above Deus' head, what a stupid looking creature.)

His opponent flailed beneath his paw and Deus realized keeping hold upon a slithery creature was not as easy as it looked. It struck out for him again and he was forced to release it else feel it's fangs upon him. He'd gotten himself into some deep, deep shit. That much Asmodeus knew. Their dance continued, the snake striking out and the direwolf pup dodging for his life. Deus felt like he was getting the hang of it - and maybe even having some fun - when suddenly he felt the sharp bite upon his small thigh and yelped out louder. Tears filled his eyes before the anger boiled over, and he shot forward with the fury of any other pup who was just handed a death wish to land his jaws around the thing's stupid face. He crunched and sheered, his teeth tearing through the snake and shredding the flesh and scales from it's in a fury.

Finally it lay dead before him and he was heaving, his lip beginning to tremble in fear. He'd been bitten by a snake, a snake he'd disturbed and had no idea if it was venomous or not. A part of him wanted to run to his dad or his mom or his uncle or his aunt, but the other part wondered what even was the point? Aureus was dead and it was Asmodeus' fault. Was this simply what Abraxas had in store for the boy? A sad, stupid death at the fangs of a grumpy, tired snake? It wasn't even big enough to feed anyone, even in would-be-death little Deus was as useless as they came.

He didn't feel like he was about to die yet, and still had feeling in the affected limb, so Deus padded himself dejectedly towards the lake to flop upon the shore in defeat. He already decided not to approach an adult about his predicament, he'd wait it out. If Abraxas had need of him, he'd survive. If he was to be punished for his life being traded for Aureus', perhaps his God would bring back his uncle. Either option would work for the pup, and he lay his head upon his paws to look down at the water. His eyes slid shut and he curled himself into a tight ball to await the surely-coming-soon death. Should it have happened by now? Deus thought that sort of thing went quicker than this. He'd give it a few more hours - maybe a good long nap - before declaring himself home free.

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