By the gods, by all the gods above, Erik is angry. He is livid. There are too many things swirling in his head, too many things bubbling beneath the surface. There is rage. Wrath burns hotly in his chest. Hotly in his stomach. The burn in his throat... that never goes away. It's always there. Ever present. Erik doesn't know peace. He will never know peace, he will never know relief. It will hurt now, it will hurt every day, for the rest of his days. That's how he knows he's alive. If there's a day where the pain leaves him, then it will be the day all of the blood drains from his body. It will be the day that he no longer breathes. That's the only way.

That's the only fucking way.

It's with that rage, that wrath, burning thick and hot in his system that the boy sets out. Just to the north of the mountain, his gaze molten and shining. Raking over the world around him, looking for something. Looking for someone. Looking for anything. Erik wanted to fight. He wanted to bleed from new wounds, not the same old ones. He wants to feel something, even if it's just a new layer of pain. Shit, it's better than nothing at all. He'd show the gods that he bled too. They had to see him. They had to see the monster they'd created. They'd cursed.

The boy doesn't know what he's done to deserve this.

But he'd survive in spite of them all. He'd thrive in spite of them all. Spite, through all things, moves him. The boy's gaze is alight with something brilliant... terrifying, but brilliant all the same. On either side of him, sheer cliffs rise far beyond where he can reach out and touch. It feels... safe. He feels safe here. The boy is hunting, but not for food. Oh no, not for food. Erik is hunting for a fight.

What a fight he'll bring.

Erik sees the coyote before it sees him, but he's not very quick. A hulking, broad beast, Erik is a commanding presence and doesn't need stealth. By the time he engaged the beast, it's already called for backup. An eerie howl rising, one that's echoed back by two more. From the shadows, the rest of the coyotes melted. Three against one... but Erik wasn't going to back down from this. The rage of a berserker in his heart, he's already lunged at his original target, teeth gnashing. A snarl from deep in his chest.

A monster created by gods.

"Speech"

To keep her from being bored, Tenshi had told her to search for more winter berries. Not just elderberries though. A wide variety of them, and gather the bark that came from their bushes and trees as well. While it was too cold for much else to grow, Tenshi had promised that if she went north of the mountain she could find several different types of winter berries such as cranberries or wolfberries (weird name, right?). A different pup may have scoffed at the idea of searching for berries in the dead of winter, but Delphi enjoyed the challenge. Plus, there were a ton of smaller predators out by the sound that she could rough up while on her mission.

Set on making the adults proud (and maybe adding a few more pelts and snacks to her and Strai's stash), Delphi makes her way out through the sound. Her small paws make quick work through the sparse shrubs until stopping suddenly. Her companions stop, glancing around, noticing that the bushes they are near are not what they're looking for. They look quizzically at the girl until the resounding howls of coyotes send their furs bristling. Not far in front of them, Delphi is watching with wide eyes as Erik slams into a coyote. The two that approach not seconds later also have their sights set on the boy. She wouldn't let them overtake her friend!

"We gotta help him!" Delphi whispers to her companions before rushing forward to the trio of coyotes. Aiming for the closest one, Delphi lets out a rather disappointing call that was supposed to be a triumphant call to arms, but being her size and age, it was more of a puppy-like yowl. Still, it caught at least one of the coyotes off guard, causing it to freeze as she rammed into its shoulder. Her companions move around to distract the third one in the meantime while also keeping an eye on the shell-shocked coyote as Delphi bites down on the meat of its neck.

A dark, hearty chuckle rips from the boy's throat. He tosses his head, rolls his shoulders back. There's something wild about him in these moments. Hell, these are the moments he looks the most like his father. Headlong into the coyotes, it was hard to know exactly how many there were before him. It didn't matter. Three? More? Teeth on his sides, on his back. Teeth at his heels. Erik doesn't shrink, he doesn't falter. Launching into the beast before him, he can feel the rending of flesh and sundering of bone. Why the fuck did it have to feel this good? Brilliant, though. So fucking brilliant.

He's shining. Erik hears Delphi before he sees her, the yowl breaking the stillness around him as she launches herself into the coyotes too. Fuck, he couldn't let her get hurt in all of this. Dad would have his ass for it. She's so tiny, but watching her teeth sink into the creature's neck he figured she'd probably be fine. Right, as long as his pretty-much-sister didn't get eaten, they'd be in good shape. Erik could feel teeth in his foreleg, and brought his own jaws snapping down on the beast in turn. Fucking splendid, no? Yes.
"Speech"