It was night, though it could be hard to tell for most.  The black and silver wolf had been raised to the dark of night and need not have solid facts to ascertain what was a true night by the time of day.  Roaming the mountain top Misery took note of where crystals sprouted up on the rocks.  He watched to see how fast new ones were popping up.  They were at best a nuisance and at worst a likely cause of the illness.  Now they had young pups that mom would want to be kept safe.  They were young and Misery had yet to decide if any would be useful to him but regardless they weren’t to let them die.

Disliking the number Misery decided he’d tell one of the other wolves to work on clearing up some of the crystals  Misery had no intent on touching them himself.  Taking a seat for himself on the mountain, he glanced up watching the fireflies dancing about.  What was their part in the mess?  There was a lot of work ahead for the pack to do, and his would most assuredly be delegating.

"Misery"

Mac was determined as all hell to get out of that den. Yeah, sure, it was comfortable and safe and whatever, but he wasn't really tied to it anymore. He considered himself a big kid now. He wasn't a little itty baby that needed to be hidden away from the world. Even though this was the only world he'd ever known, cloaked in darkness and surrounded with the pulsating glow of crystals and mushrooms. It was hard not to encounter any of those things, much less resist the urge to touch one. Even chewing on a crystal appealed to him at first, but he was smarter than that. Didn't wanna chip a tooth, right? Or something like that. He cared little for consequences of his actions, though he knew enough to realize what could play out if he decided to do something one way rather than another. Everything had a consequence in this world he was exploring. Everything. Little did he know how much the world had changed since before he was born, and how it had morphed this way, and how the actions of wolves led them either on a unique path..or a dark one.

But that wasn't too important right now. He cared little for others besides his own blood. Even then, his own blood could be competitive against each other, but he had yet to hear all about them in his short life thus far. He found himself wandering from the den on his own, because he found his siblings to be a bit boring. Plus, being on his own he could do whatever he wanted. Well, almost anything within pack borders. Technically he was supposed to be watched, as well. Upon seeing a figure sitting atop one of the smaller mountaintops, the spooted boy wrestled himself up to the male with relative ease - stupid little puppy legs - and trotted towards him.

He recognized the male as one of his kin, and he grinned his toothy grin. It almost seemed too wide, but he couldn't help it. He either flashed that twisted grin, or nothing at all. "Hey, you're one of my older siblings, aren't you?" He said, not bothering to wait for the male's reply as he plunked himself next to him. So many family members - the pack was practically all Kleins. It got confusing. Turning his asymmetrical spotted face towards the fellow wolf, he said, "I'm Macabre, or Mac for short." He didn't know how many within the pack knew his name already, but he introduced himself anyways. It made him stick in people's minds better, like a sickly glob of honey.

Misery flicked his gaze over to his little brother as the kid approached.  Speaking of the little darlings it appeared one had come to visit.  The boy was given an indulgent friendly smile, a good proper smile of an older brother that loves his siblings.  Who knew if he’d even decide to like one of the little shrimps.  

“Hello Mac,” Misery said in a friendly tone, “I’m Misery, to those outside the pack I go by Izzy.”  Outside wolves might find Misery to be a strange name and make them suspicious of the boy's nature.  Something more innocent worked better for his line of work.  

Misery let out a lazy yawn before laying down to be on the boy's level.  Misery could be lazy and at times enjoyed it, after all, there were others that he could talk into doing work so that he didn’t need to.  “Hmm, so,” Misery made a show of looking about then back to Mac, “are you supposed to be roaming on your own?”  It was probably fine but might as well hear what the boy would think of the suggestion he might be misbehaving.  It would be even more amusing if it turned out he didn’t have the permission of course.  Unlike when Misery was a little kid things were more dangerous and mom’s health was shaky.

"Misery"

Seeing that his older brother returned a smile of his own, Mac's tail thumped softly against the earth. His older siblings seemed so cool, he had yet to meet them all, though. He only knew what little their mother had told them. Maybe it was the confidence within him, or something else, but he didn't care what others thought of him -- including his family. He wanted to improve himself, make himself as powerful and strong as his body and mind would allow. Thus, this guy's appearance of approval of him and his younger siblings offered him some semblence of knowledge that they would get along. Maybe. Who knows what would happen?

After his brother introduced himself as Misery, or "Izzy" for short, Mac nodded, his grin unwavering. "Misery? That's such a cool name." Mac meant that in earnest - Misery had a ring to it that almost made him want to chuckle with pure. It was the perfect name for striking fear into their enemies' hearts - which is all he really ever wanted, anyways. Ah, he did mention his nickname, so to be polite, he tilted his head and added, "Izzy's an interesting name, too." It made sense, he supposed, coming from Misery, but it just wasn't as awesome. He mentioned outside of the pack, though, and the mere mention of that brought a glow of curiosity to his cold, grey gaze. Misery would have to tell Mac what his line of work was, considering the boy was deeply engaged in their interaction.

As Misery yawned and laid down to get closer to the spotted boy's level, he cracked the question of whether Mac should be out on his own. He sighed. He never really knew his mother in any other way besides how she was - crystals sprouting from her coat and a faint stream of ooze concealing her delicate features. To others, she was obviously unwell, but to him, he thought his mom had superpowers. One of which was being an awesome mom. Who could say their mom had crystals growing out of them, anyways? Still, her condition obviously seemed to tire her out, and he didn't see her as much as he thought she should. Oh, well. He loved her very much, but he couldn't just sit around and wait for permission. "Technically not this far, but she lets us go out," He replied with a shrug, looking out towards the landscape beyond. The fireflies twinkled like the stars above their heads, and he got distracted for a moment before turning back to his older sibling. "But since you're here with me, I guess I'm not alone anymore. So it should be fine!" He flashed him his signature grin, genuinely innocent, but so sinister at the same time.

Kids were kind of like snow right after its fallen Misery imagined.  A blanket of white with no history but time would put marks on it, whether blood, pawprints, objects falling on it, or whatever else.  What Misery had in front of him was mostly a white landscape.  Sure, the boy had some time with his siblings and mom to garner an opinion but there was a lot of shaping that could easily be done.  He was cheerful and seemed eager to make friends.   It was easy for Misery to smile at the boy, he was imagining how useful it could be if trained right, to leave Misery’s signature over the landscape.  He wasn’t fully sold yet, the boy had further tests to prove himself.

“Well, Macabre or Mac then for preference?” Misery slowly stood up, glancing southward thoughtfully as he added “I’m planning to head to the tree line.” A tilt of his head to consider the pup, “So, I don’t care if you stay out here and see if mom minds or not, that’s on you.” An eyebrow twitched upward, “or you can come with me if you plan to use the excuse of being watched.”  There was nothing more fun as a kid than exploring and seeing new things.  Misery really hadn’t planned to go that route but it served two purposes, it would likely make the kid enjoy being with him all the more if Misery let him have fun and he could continue testing how far the boy would trust Misery in anything he suggested.  Plenty of fun things to do along the way.  

"Misery"

Misery seemed pleased with the speckled boy’s appearance on the mountainous ledge, and he was pleased as well. Misery just had this..cool vibe around him, with something deep lurking beneath the surface of his initial appearance. Mac couldn’t wait to get to know his brother better and figure out all the aspects that made him, well, him. Perhaps he could teach him what he knew, because Misery was correct - the boy was but a pure white landscape. He had not yet been fully molded into a permanent character, and hadn’t had enough experiences in his short life to be able to formulate any clear morals, or right from wrong. He was a black and white lump of clay for somebody stronger to build into whatever shape they desired. Grey eyes peered eagerly at the older sibling as he asked Mac’s name preference.

The boy was used to being called Mac, as it was easier for his young littermates to pronounce, and it was easier for his mom to call him if he was out of line. Which, at this point, he probably was - but the urge to wander and explore the lay of the land was just too much to resist. "Call me Mac," He said, and then observed as his older brother stood up to prepare to leave. He mentioned heading out to the tree line, and as the boy peeked over to where Misery was facing, he could see the trees in the distance, the horizon illuminated only with the light of millions of fireflies. He also presented to Mac two options; one, he could stay here and wonder if mom minded or not. He knew right away that was the boring, dumb option. It was the ‘better’ choice or whatever, sure, but it presented no benefit to him whatsoever. What good would it do him sitting here? The other option, where he could walk with Misery to the tree line, was much more appealing, and at that sentence, he hopped up and trotted closer to his brother’s side, tail wagging and his toothy grin beaming. "Well, it would be silly of me to pass up an adventure with my older brother, now, wouldn’t it?" He smirked, clearly ready to go. His energy and enthusiasm for seeing the world beyond his den had no bounds.

Misery was in no rush, he rarely ever was.  Rushing made mistakes after all and if there were things that needed to be rushed others could be sent to do it.  So they would stroll over the mountainside.  Misery pointed a paw to some of the crystals, “So, you know those are why our mom is sick?” Might as well get some basics across.  “Mushrooms also can cause the sickness.  Of course, if they make someone as strong as our mom sick,” Misery paused to focus his attention on Mac, “I can only imagine they’d kill a young pup.” No pleasantries of just a bad idea or making you sick from Misery, it was a matter of fact death is a reality. “Don’t eat them, don’t chew on them, to the best of your ability don’t even touch them.” He shrugged his voice much more casual again, “Some have touched them and been fine.  I’ll be having a slave clear up a lot of them around the den soon but if I’m letting you wander with me I need to bring you back alive.”

Another test of course.  How would the boy handle the concept of dying, or listening to his older brother's warning, or even casual nature at mentioning death?  The truth was though as a young pup even hearing about death would be hard to acknowledge the finality of it.  They’d have to kill something soon as an example.  

“So, tell me, what are your favorite things to do or that you are hoping to do?”  Misery was actually curious just not for the reasons of a loving brother.  There were a couple of pups and he needed to see if any suited his purposes that meant knowing the kids inside and out.  What to weed out of them, what to encourage, how to bribe, and how to scare.

"Misery"

Misery began to walk down the mountain, but to Mac’s sloght dismay it was at a leisurly stroll kind of pace, and not the breackneck soeed he was hoping to achieve. He stopped himself from bounding down the terrain by trotting strongly by his older brother’s side, eyes curiously watching his every move. A perfect heel, if you will. With that, his brother made a note to stop and explain the crystals and mushrooms around them, and though Mac still had that urge to interact with them still, it was quickly snuffed out with Misery’s firm words. Mac watched him intently, his grin fading in lieu of a more serious expression. He wasn’t pretending to listen, he took it in with a surprising mature twist. His mom was sick because of the crystals? How could those dumb glowy sticks hurt anybody really? Unless you stepped on one maybe..then that would hurt. Still, when he mentioned the mushrooms also, Mac nodded, concealing the fact that he and his brother had been, erm, interacting with the bioluminescent fungi on their own adventure. He felt fine, but he’d take serious heed of his older, and therefore wiser sibling’s words. He nodded silently and honestly. He’d not touch one again, that lesson was smart enough to keep close. "I promise, Misery. I promise I won’t touch them," He said.

The conversation hung in the air, and the boy maintained a neutral demeanor as they continued, Mac keeping up with Misery’s pace with little to no problem. They were walking pretty easily along, anyways.

"So tell me, what are your favorite things to do or that you are hoping to do?" Misery inquired, to which Mac let the question sit in the breeze that carried for a while. What did he want to do? As a young pup, he still had many paths ahead he could take, friendships to form, his body to grow, his skills to develop, enemies’ skulls to crush- er, enemies to analyze, of course. He relished the idea of getting off pack territory, for the thought of remaining within the confines of a border for his whole life seemed, no offense, a bit depressing. Even thought it would always be his home, the abode of his family and littermates he so loved, he didn’t want to stagnate in a camp, maybe picking a spar with somebody or trying to make smart observations of his home. The world was so much greater than what met the eye. He knew that, beyond the trees and the mountains, there lay a whole expanse of land - with many strange wolves and packs and new adventures, as well as dangers, to encounter. It was not for the faint of heart to consider such an occupation in which one had to tread lightly, and understand the ways of non-Habari wolves. He also simply enjoyed the idea of toying with those he despised, which would be anyone he considered and enemy, and was weak. He didn’t like weakness. Thus, he would make himself strong, but grow some common sense and skill, too.

"I’m aware that there is a world beyond the borders of our pack," He said, offering a softer, but genuine smile. "And I’d like to see it. I keep dreaming of exploring places I haven’t seen before, and meeting new wolves. Most of all, I guess, I just wanna do my duty for the pack, for mom, and also to make me stronger and smarter." He paused to meet his brother’s gaze with his own curious grey orbs. "And of course..I love having fun, but I don’t just wanna stick around the pack grounds my whole life." Just as the grown ups said, you lived by learning, and Mac felt he simply woudn’t learn his full potential only in the safety of the pack. To make their pack stronger, he would be willing to take the risk of venturing into a scary, unfamiliar world. All the better.

Misery knew all about how to pick and choose a sentence.  Mac was promising not to touch them but left out that he had already done so.  Of course, it was possible the boy had left them alone.  The kid seemed healthy but Misery had been a child not all that long ago and doing stupid things was part of what kids did.  Misery considered trying to press on the issue but decided to let it go.  

Misery had no problem waiting for the kid to answer as they got towards the bottom of the mountain to where more grass was managing to make it through the rocky foundation.  The boy started listing off his dreams and the part about doing his duty was so fake in Misery’s mind that he could have rolled his eyes and called the kid on it but not this time.  Maybe the kid was that bent on ‘pack duty’ but considering his age, how little of the world he’d seen, and how little experience Mac would have Misery seriously doubted it.  It also just sounded too prepared, ‘do my duty for the pack and mom’

“Mmm…see the world?”  Misery seemed to consider that, “For the moment I’d think just learning all of the packland should keep you entertained for now and if it doesn’t you’re a fool.  It’s up to you to figure out why though.”  Either Mac would acknowledge interest in pack ground or he’d have a response to being called a fool.  It was kind of fun toying with a little brother to get a feel for him.  Poking and prodding to see what caused various reactions.

“It is a big world out there though, you are right about that.”  Might as well offer some acknowledgment of the boy being right about something and of course, the words were friendly again, “In fact, tomorrow I’m going out a short way to compare differences elsewhere to how they are on our land.  I could use someone to carry things for me.  You’ll do.”   It wasn’t an offer but Misery had just assigned him a task.  Misery wasn’t even making it sound like they’d be playing but that Mac would have to actually do work.  He assumed the boy would leap at the opportunity but they would see.  How much could his little brother carry and what all did Misery really need to take with him anyway?

Misery paused at the foot of the mountain, green fluffy grass and tree are all about, interestingly illuminated with the effect of the various growths, the fireflies, and the large moon. “One thing though,” Misery lowered his head so that he stared eye to eye with Mac, “You come with me then you have to do exactly what I say if I give you an order.  You also never, ever try to lie to me, deceive me, or feed me a half-truth.”   The warning was stated now.  It was best Mac learned young the cost of lying to him but it seemed fair to give a warning first.  Mac was a kid and that meant at some point he was bound to try lying.  They did all lie, right?  Misery sure as hell lied through his teeth as a child.  

The warning was lightened a bit with an added mischievous grin, “understand those conditions and I think you’ll have fun.”

"Misery"

He had to admit, the spiel about helping his pack and his mom did seem a bit..artificial. He offered a grin as Misery said nothing, a grin that simply said You know I had to throw in that mushy stuff to sound like a good little child, and because he liked to test out just how different he could sound in diffferent contexts. He’d develop his skills in acting and playing the part in time, though. For now he was but a naive child, one that hadn’t experienced much.

As Misery explained how it was important to know the packlands, the boy smirked as he kept his oace, glancing up at Misery with the slightest arrogant shine in his features. Perhaps to mask the fact that he wasn’t fond of being made the fool, but mostly he took no offense. His brother was taking a jab to him, and he’d catch on to his tricks soon enough. Not quite yet though. He did have a point - he didn’t even have much of the packlands figured out. Unless he did, he had no hope in leaving this place.

Misery then assigned him a task. It was to carry stuff, but all he could really focus on was finding differences in the labd . That meant exploring, being outside the den, slipping away from the watchful eyes of their mom for a while! So what if he had to carry things? He could handle it. The boy practically beamed at the prospect of being given a task to be useful, and said, ”Of course I’ll do, I’m strong!” Though he lacked height compared to most of his siblings, he felt he made up for it by musculature and speed, too. Attributes that came in handy for an infinite amount of tasks.

As they reached the foot of the mountains, the grass tickling his toes and the moonlight illuminated his speckled fur, he shooed away a firefly before Misery began to soeak to him in that serious tone again. This time, it was about lying. Never to lie, tell half-truths..and the tone indicated meant Mac had to listen. He was big enough to understand consequences for his actions, but eventually there’d be a time where he’d push the envelope and be taught a lesson. All in due time. His grin faded as he offered his best listening attention, taking in the warning with a nod in understanding. He understood the conditions.

With the wide, wicked grin sweeping his lips upwards, the boy nodded promptly. ”I can’t wait to get started!” He said, clearly eager, but also serious about learning. This guy was so cool. He knew he’d get the best education from him and help him get stronger. And crush those enemies, all that good stuff, really.

The boy had listened to his warning and had somberly nodded, good.  That was enough for Misery.  Mac was a child and therefore at some point would test his luck.  When Misery had to correct the boy in the future there was no doubt of the awareness to the warning.  The small black and silver wolf had been doing more work than normal and really and no reason to come here other than to see how the kid would react to different variables.

Misery walked out short ways on the grass, not too close to the trees that had crystals growing out of them, and laid down.  “Well, here you are.  I’m going to be busy resting here for a bit.  Mom will kill me if I let you die so don’t go far.  If you nearly get killed I’ll never take you anywhere again.”  The warning was given lazily with no real expectation Mac would be overly stupid right now.  “Have fun.  If it has bigger teeth then you don’t play with it.”  

Really, so long as Mac minded what Misery had warned him about on the strange growths he should be safe.  The kid would have to practically work at it to find danger at the moment.  They were still close enough to the mountain, far from the borderland and so long as the other wolves did their jobs the grounds were being guarded.  If the boy decided to get himself killed he deserved it.

Misery wasn’t watching particularly watching Mac closely but he would keep an awareness of him whether it be by sight, smell, or noise.  Misery’s main priority right now was planning for tomorrow.

(ending?)

"Misery"