His scent no longer gave a path to follow. Winter's unexpected arrival had swept away whatever musk left to a nonexistent memory. Leaving Melanth to stare frustratedly into the distance. She did not know of these lands. Their layout was completely different from what she was used to. A flash of memory from her past quickly presented itself in her mind at the realization. Shivering nights filled with snarled lips and blooded teeth snapping in her direction. The brief scene reared Helonia's presence. That familiar cold breeze that always followed whenever she chose to come forth sent a shiver through Mel's veins. "We're not there anymore. Stop thinking about it." Her rough, yet honeysuckle voice rang clear as day in her mind. As if she physically stood right next to Mel herself.

It took a minute for her to respond. Rose-colored gaze scanning the white earth for any sign of anything or anyone. A gust of winter's breath caressed the senses of her nose. Causing Melanth to sniff at the air. Picking up the aroma of a herd somewhere nearby. Her stomach rumbling in hunger as if to tell her to go t'wards them. "How can I not? Mother sold us to them without warning. Two years of torment before father found us. I can not just simply stop thinking about it." Her words were sharp in their release. She couldn't just forget or forgive. Sold an ungrounded brothel for male wolves to do whatever they wished to the females locked away. Melanth still dealt with the nightmares. Feeling the heaviness of different beasts. Their hot breath seething down her back.

Eventually, Melanth became accustomed to being used as nothing but a common whore. The idea of having pups was no longer a dream for a woman such as herself. Each litter that had been produced was swiftly taken away. Daughters sold. Sons killed. If only her family knew of the things she'd witnessed. Screams filled the night's air laced in painful whimpers. She could only keep her head down and do as she was told. Fighting only got her in trouble. Mel learned early on what happened to those who fought back.

Ears swayed to what she thought was movement. Holve prints littered the terrain and gave her a path to walk. Tail brushed the slender thickness of her thighs as she trekked forward. Eating would settle her mind. Not one for getting dirty or enjoying the chase of the hunt, she allowed Helonia to take over. Her devilish smirk shadowed what was once an indifferent expression. "Please clean us up once you're done." Hel stalked to the right of a large boulder. Attention locked onto the round-bellied deer. Surely ready to drop her brood any day now. If not that very moment. "I'll try.."

"Helonia"~"Melanth"

Perhaps it was a trick of the wind, a delicious delusion that had led him on the trail of his flesh and blood. At first the Ivory God had thought it was that disobedient girl of his, but alas. It carried a different edge to it, faint and ever fleeting. How could he not know who it was?

Setekh's crimson eyes glowed against the stark white of the snow-covered landscape. The unexpected sight of Melanth, a daughter long unseen, stirred something dark and twisted within him – a flicker of something akin to joy, though tainted by his own brand of madness. Sick delight tinged with the need to control. She was a nice distraction, but reclaiming her freedom for her, had been tedious and bloody; and the very reason his other daughter had fled from Khrona in the first place. Pity.

He moved silently through the drifts, his ivory fur blending seamlessly with the winter's canvas. Only the piercing molten red of his gaze betrayed his presence. The howl of the wind was a whisper compared to the chaos in his mind, a cacophony that had driven him to the brink and back again in his relentless quest for Absinth. The God had his moments of clarity, of sense and reason, but more often than not he was ravening of bad daughters and anguished laments. How my God bleeds! How cruel! It can’t be true!

But here stood Melanth. Another lost daughter, but on a different side of the coin from Absinth, fraught with memories of violence and despair that he had saved her from. If only Absinth had let him do the same for her, like he had planned. Thankless girl, Rebellious girl! His lips curled into a semblance of a smile, but there was no warmth in it — only the predatory gleam of a wolf who had found unexpected prey. He could see what she planned to do, the deer fat with its unborn fawn, so he decided to help her; in the way he thought best.

“Melanth, Helonia,” The soft purr of his voice cut through the stillness, dripping with a haunting blend of paternal pride and malevolent pleasure. “Run her down, trip her up — her own weight will do the rest.” Setekh's eyes narrowed as he breathed the words into the back of her skull, a chilling chuckle escaping his lips as he waited. He knew some of the machinations of her mind, but not all. Precisely why he wanted to see what she would do, his red eyes glinting with a sinister pride as he watched. Oh this wicked disjointment! Do not let her be a disappointment!

"speaking" | voices

Winter's breath swept the white earth passing by. It rustled the darkened snow coat of Helonia. Her gaze watched every slight movement made. A twitching ear to track the sounds surrounding the fawn. Delicate hooves planted so gently into the ground below. Having not picked up on the predatory scent nearby. Helonia embraced each second that ticked by. Tongue gliding with ease over moist lips. Already tasting the sweet substance that lies just beneath the tawny flesh of her prey. She prepared herself for the next step. Claws gripping whatever they could for balance. Hips wiggled with the shuffle of back paws as her body sprung forth. 

The fawn reacted immediately; though its response was quite clumsy due to the heaviness of her pregnancy. Long limbs tripped over one another. Giving Helonia the advantage to wrap her jaws around the fatiness of a thigh. Teeth sinking deep into the thick appendage. Followed by a guttural snarl of victory. She savored the way the deer yawled out in pain. Pushing the sound from the depths of her throat. Hel, too, could not help the devilish chuckle that slipped through clenched fangs. 

Another gust of wind carried another's musk towards her. The familiarity of it nearly made her halt in movements; but, not enough to stop what was already destined. Her head yanked the fawn's leg from underneath. Watching the soon-to-be mother fall with another loud cry. Had she not been so hungry perhaps she would have let the game go for enjoyment. That wasn't the case right now. Starvation drove her to the brink of destruction. Giving no room for argument as she released the thigh to then sink her teeth into the fawn's neck. Blood gushed like water into her mouth. Gurgling sounds of what once was a sound of despair filled the skies. Helonia grinned with pride. She didn't want the fawn to die so quickly. It wouldn't be much fun. 

From somewhere within, Melanth watched with high disgust. Knowing fully that her beautiful coat would be stained and completely disheveled from Hel's hunting. The thought made her pout in irritation. Even if Helonia had not paid attention to their father's arrival. She surely did. Drawing herself to look through their eyes to see the white male yelling out instructions. "So, he's finally found us. Satan himself hath arisen from hell to rescue us once more, Helonia." Her words registered into their mind and this snapped their head t'wards Setekh. The fawn was briefly forgotten for only just a second. She felt the moment it thought itself free and watched in amusement as it limped away.

There wasn't much to where it could go. They both watch in amusement as it drags its injured leg in an attempt to escape. "Seems our lunch is trying to run. Whatever shall we do, Father?"
"Helonia"~"Melanth"

Setekh's eyes gleamed with a sinister satisfaction as he observed Helonia's savagery. Her actions, the violent dance of predator and prey, stirred a familiar pleasure within him; for she was a reflection of twisted desires. A true daughter of his. The wind carried the scent of blood, mixing with the frigid air, an intoxicating blend that set his senses alight. Fire burned his loins, but he would not touch his pretty daughter now.

“Ah,” He purred, his voice a soft, chilling whisper that cut through the stillness like a blade. “How delightfully you two dance together, bound by blood and madness.” As he watched the fawn's desperate attempt to escape, a slow smile spread across his face, devoid of warmth but full of predatory glee. The sight of its struggle, the limping creature trying to flee, was a delicious spectacle. Setekh's eyes never left the scene, his gaze fixed on the interplay of life and death unfolding before him. Slowly the God moved closer, closer, molten gaze fixated on the scene.

“Do you see, my daughters? The futility of its struggle? How it clings to life, even when all hope is lost? Such determination, such will to survive, only to be snuffed out in the end. How poetic.” He mused, stepping closer, his fur a perfect and pristine match in the snowy landscape. He turned his gaze from his daughter to the fawn, still struggling to drag itself away. “Helonia, finish what you started. Show me the strength I know you possess. And Melanth, oh dear. Try not to fret over a little blood. It is but a reminder of the life we take to sustain our own.”

Setekh's eyes narrowed, his tone dripping with malevolent pleasure. “There is no need for haste. Savor the hunt, relish the kill. Let it be a lesson in inevitability.” He watched intently, eager to see how his daughters would respond, the chaos within him momentarily quelled by the anticipation of their actions. The scene before him was more than just a hunt; it was a testament to his influence, his control. And he reveled in it.

"speaking" | voices