Basilisk Saxe could not sleep. Faces of creatures once familiar to him haunted him -- the sound of his father's snarl echoed through his head not just tonight, but always, as though punishing him for his death. So badly, especially in the darkness of the frigid winter nights, did he crave the warmth of his mother and his siblings; how he wanted to see the few friends he had made in his travels many months ago. Cross, the boy who had sparred with him in the battlefield. Aegira, Jupiter's daughter who had so brazen ventured into the unknown; and Odette, who had seemed enthralled by him, and who had earned a fondness from the boy that was hard to elicit from him ever. He was still no more than a boy, a lost soul condemned to nothing but pain and anguish. And yet the sweet girl's face remained vivid in his mind, calling him to her, making him crave her presence once again. Was she dead or alive?

His thoughts would rouse him from the quiet rest, and he stirred near Cataleya and her children. His loyalty was unquestionable, and it seemed there was a sense of mutual belonging between them -- but he wanted more. Something else. The loneliness in his chest was growing far too painful for him to bear, though he knew it would never fade, but perhaps it could be soothed even if only minimally. Quietly he pushed himself upright with his forelegs, rising to all fours. He was fully grown now, standing at a rather intimidating height of fourty-once inches; clearly he was the son of Newt Saxe. His pelt, dark as the night, with but a flash of dark grey near his muzzle and chest, with eyes of a vivid purple. He would slip from the depths of the makeshift den he shared with Cataleya, into the cold night air, his paws carrying him west. He would avoid the southern lands, knowing the pack that held territory there.

He did not know how many hours he traveled, nor did he know what he was looking for at all - until a familiar scent reached his nostrils. It was not his kin, nor was it his friend from the northern lands, but a girl. His name was lost on her for a moment, but the brute would cease his rapid pace and stop to consider. Odette. The Queen of the sand castle. A sneer broke through on his normally cold features, his smirk instantaneous and fading just as quickly as it had appeared. His moment of reflection would subside as he continued forth once again, his stance powerful and fearless, a complete opposite of the torment that raged within the yearling's chest.

The stench grew stronger, but was intertwined with dozens of other scents. A pack lived nearby. And so boldly he would begin to intrude on their territory, the trees giving way to a desolate plain, upon which he rode like a warrior into battle, his destination unknown.

The night was clear and crisp, but it was missing something: it had to be claimed. That was on Odette's mind as she left the warmth of the den she shared with Chrysanthe. She left a sweet nuzzle to her adopted mother's cheek before she slipped out and into the night air. Her lungs filled themselves with the freezing atmosphere that came when the sun left and she didn't hesitate to embrace it. Gargoyle had been accustomed to the cold climates and it was in her blood, too. She enjoyed it, even if others didn't. Her frame was like a shadow across the winter landscape. Snow was everywhere and she intended to leave as many tracks across the unclaimed bits of Valhalla until she became weary. Adventure was out there, even if she was now isolated by the borders that kept her and the pack members safe. The taste to be out and about was too strong for Odette and she decided to eat her fill until she couldn't have any more! Her appetite would be satisfied sooner than she thought, for she wasn't even out in the open for five minutes when she caught an unfamiliar scent. Odette immediately took to the woods, gracing the outer row of naked trees to keep herself in the shadows. She stalked with braced legs, tail sticking straight out behind her and her ears pinned to her crown. Red and blue eyes sought out the source of the scent and she pinpointed the target. He wasn't too far off, but his identity was still masked. All she could see was a gargantuan form that had halted. It was too perfect! Odette's plan of action was sprung into life. She silently walked towards him, all senses pinned to the large stranger. Then, she made herself known by snarls escaping her now curled lips and exposed teeth. Her walking was brought to a brisk trot and she broke into a run as she got ready to leap and bring him down. Unfortunately, timing was not on her side that night. The scent that was inhaled before she could backtrack made her immediately remember a summer day on the beach with a purple boy. He had been tall and pretty and she caught the color from the flash of moon that shined through the bare branches of the trees. "Bask-" she said in midair, but it was too late. Her full weight of 125 pounds that came from her pouncing leap rammed into his right side. Her left shoulder crashed into his abdomen and she bounced back, landing on her stomach before quickly scurrying to all fours. Odette backed up, unsure if she was having reality playing tricks on her or if this was actually happening. Her nose twitched again and the thought of being unsure that radiated from her eyes changed to certainty. Yup. This was him. "Baskilisk..." she softly said, tones allowing his name to smoothly fall from her tongue. The seven and a half month old rose her head to show her full height of thirty inches. She wasn't her grown height yet, but she would be by a year old. Her form was already changing to resemble Ocena's: slender and firm with her father's muscles. She continued to watch the purple boy, pondering what he would do. Talk like this

The arrival of the female did not go unnoticed, but he found himself growing anxious at the scents that impinged on his being. It had been so long since he had been in a pack -- since he was merely a pup -- and he found it overwhelming. The threat of being found was all too real, despite his quiet vocal cords and his carefully placed paw steps. The earth here was stained with blood, and he examined the land as he crept forth. He could not hide if he was found, and he was not sure if this land knew of his parents. His surname wasn't exactly a thing he could shield himself with, but something he knew would condemn him someday. It would be the death of him, and that was something he was certain of.

As the female's scent grew more pungent, he would cease his gradually slowing approach forward, coming to a slow halt. His form would heave as he braced himself, unsure of what to expect. Always expect the unknown -- he would always hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. The slow crunch of his paws against the snow would grow silent as he shifted where he stood, straightening his back and letting his tail hang limply behind his, which was nothing short of massive. He was not quite as tall as either of his parents, but oh so close.

What he didn't expect was the girl to pounce -- and for a long moment, he didn't even know if it was the one he had met so many months ago by the sea. First there were snarls and other sounds of warning, and then he felt a pressure against his right side, colliding with him. His instinct was to thrash whoever it was that dare lay a paw on him, and his lips curled back into a threatening snarl, a growl bubbling up from within his chest and spilling from his hateful lips. He faltered only slightly, but quickly regained his composure, whipping around to face her. For a moment he watched, bearing his teeth but growing silent. "Are you a fucking idiot?" he would question her coldly, obviously a bit shaken, but more so angry. But his rage would subside, his moods as fluid as the ocean's tide, fluctuating with little warning. He was clearly the son of Kaios and Newt. The rage he felt, the need for violence, the burning desire to be in control while feeling so utterly helpless at the same time... he had his parents to thank for his shortcomings. "Odette." He would speak her name like a prayer, letting it spill quietly from his parted jaws, wanting no one but her to hear. Tasting it to see if it tasted as sweet as he expected it to. And a smirk would appear on his features then, his tail flicking once behind him. "What are you doing here?"

His reaction wasn't surprising to her. She had, after all, made him off balance and he was angry from being rammed into like an innocent bystander. A slight huff had escaped the female's lips, but she didn't voice her thoughts about how he deserved it. It slipped from her mind quickly, for she reminded herself that it had been at least two seasons since she had come across Bask in the sand at a month old. He could have changed from the little she saw of him emotionally and she kept it in mind. Baskilisk spoke her name and her eyes closed as a response. She enjoyed the way it fell from his violet kissers, like a curse word that was said with relish. A forbidden type of feeling came along with enjoying the way Bask softly released it into the cold air, and she allowed herself to like it for those few seconds. When her gaze opened, he inquired as to why she was there. Odette's tail, now hanging limply behind her soon-to-be large frame, swayed at the question before she answered. "I joined Valhalla," she explained, tones warm against the chilly air. "My parents never returned to the Cove and my siblings weren't around when I was there, so I came to the only place I knew held solace for my troubled heart." Ahhh, Ocena's way with words crept up in that statement, but she didn't mind. She hoped he wouldn't, either. Odette took a few steps towards him, her left shoulder slightly limping from the pain she had from the impact. She didn't show the way the pain was radiating from her ball-and-socket joint and muscle combined. Instead, she continued to speak with the same gentle words. "It feels weird, to be a part of a pack, but I suppose it is a nice change." Her bi-colored orbs searched his violet opts, pondering what he thought of the situation. "I haven't seen you in months...I was beginning to wonder if something had happened to you." Talk like this

For a moment, he regretted coming here at all. Why hadn't he traveled further north in hopes of finding his sister? Finding Cross and the snow rogues? He didn't even know if he would be welcomed there. But instead he was here -- standing in the land of a pack that he did not know. If anyone wanted him gone, it would be easy. He was rather defenseless against an entire pack, but he knew he could run if needed. And so he would stand, poised on the pads of his paws, as though ready to make a run for it if need be.

But even Odette did not seem keen on getting rid of him. Instead, her differently colored eyes watched him with something he recognized quickly as interest. He would shift where he stood to face her further, eyes narrowing as he listened to her speak. "This is Valhalla," he stored the information silently. It seemed her family had all but abandoned her. Perhaps they had something in common after all. A slight growl begun to bubble up from within his chest, but he silenced it.

"I have been waiting. Preparing myself." The brute would shift away from her, his purple gaze searching the horizon through the darkness as though waiting for someone else to arrive.
"I have been claimed by a woman. I have sworn to care for her and her children so long as she helps me." His words were vague and emotionless, and he found it difficult to turn back to face her. As though she might judge the path of life he has been walking -- and as though he cared what she thought of him.

Curiosity was a fickle thing, especially for one as na?ve as Odette. She didn't know the events that led up to Baskilisk being where he was in life. Her mind was vacant of the knowledge about the fights that occurred between his parents and the Sol of Ludicael and her lover. It wasn't her fault, especially since she had been out of the loop in regards to her family and pack life. When you were a Rogue, life was different than when you stayed in one spot. Bask spoke of preparing himself and being claimed by a woman who would help him until his goal was complete. Odette took a few cautious steps forward, her head turned up to gaze at the purple brute in front of her. "What are you preparing yourself for, Bask?" She asked, a note of apprehension underlining the inquiry. A part of her wanted to know, but then again, she wasn't sure if she would be happy with it. Then another realization arose in her mind. "You...you are owned by someone? How...how is that possible?" She looked him over, taking in his full form with a graceful sweep. "You have the same build similar to my father...I don't think I ever told you that." It was an observation she didn't mean to voice, but it was out there. Bi-colored eyes looked up to try and see his gaze, but he avoided looking at her and chose the horizon. Her ears slightly flattened as she furrowed her eyebrows and asked him quietly, "Are you...are you happy with where you are now?" It was surprising to see that she cared, but it felt...awkwardly right to be, so she trusted her gut and continued to hold onto it. Talk like this

Basilisk Saxe watched, waiting, for her reaction. Savoring the slight look of unease that washed over Odette's gentle features at his admission. Purple gaze would shine as a hollow laugh left his lips, an unpleasant but raw sound. "Revenge, Odette," he told her softly, his tones rushed and somewhat urgent. He had no idea that the woman he was seeking had abandoned her pack, had perhaps even abandoned the lands of Alacritia altogether; and even if he had possessed such knowledge, it would not quench the burning hate, lodged deep within his chest. "I was force claimed," he explained somewhat warily, shifting his weight from one paw to the next. His frame would move as he took a few steps to the side, as though pacing, in sync with the rapid thoughts that whirled around his mind. "She fought me, and she won. But I do not intend to escape from her quite yet. She has promised to train me. To help me." So long as he stayed with her. He knew her intentions -- to turn him into a killer. A ruthless thing. As far as he was concerned, she was only pushing him a bit quicker along the path that he had already been condemned to. Pain and suffering was all he expected, and though he desperately wished for more, he knew he had no choice in the matter.


Perhaps someday he would want to free himself, but he found comfort in guidance. In being controlled. Just like his mother. Odette offered him an off-handed comment about how he resembled her father; he simple made a soft huff sound and averted his gaze. "Happiness is so relative. I am alive. I am fine. What about you?" Did she, too, find comfort in her new pack? In rules and boundaries? Or did she seek something else here?

She could see the twisted eagerness that proudly shimmered in his purple optics. It made her stomach twist itself, but she didn't let it show. Instead, a soft smile caressed her features and her anxiety of what he was doing faded. "Help isn't a bad thing to have, but what if it ends up ruining you, Bask? How do you know it is a good thing for you now, when it could cause ridiculous consequences in the future?" Her bi-colored eyes freely expressed her growing concern, the fire of her drive, and -- possibly care? -- as she spoke. "Whatever do you need revenge for?" Her tones were gentle and quiet, for the answer she wanted to know probably would be the one branch that could break the beaver dam holding back his rage. It was something she wasn't afraid of. "If you say so," she chided about his statement of being fine. "Me? I am doing better than I was since the last time you saw me.." A hint of sadness echoed in her words and she broke her gaze from his to look at the snow that twinkled around them. "A lot of stuff has happened, stuff I wish hadn't, but had no control over..." She brought her eyes up to look at his, knowing that her pain probably didn't compare to his, but it was similar in ways that made sense. OOC: Bleh, sleep-deprived post. >< Talk like this

Odette had sparked an interest in him, just as Aegira had, but for different reasons. He had wanted so badly to corrupt Jupiter's daughter, to turn her against her mother, but Deteste had somehow earned a strange respect from Basilisk. And as her Aegira's caretaker, Basilisk was certain he could not get to the girl so easily. But Odette had been a rogue, abandoned by her parents and family -- now she was here, and she had partially admitted that it was because she wasn't content with being alone. Neither was he, but oh how different his intentions were than hers.

"Consequences..." he would repeat, letting a laugh fall from his lips. Slowly he would rise once again, as though finally recovered from the sudden impact of Odette's body, moving to pace near her, eyes shifting away from her and instead taking in the pack-lands quietly. "She didn't give a damn about consequences. Neither do I." It was all rather vague, but unsurprisingly she inquired what he needed revenge for. "my father was killed before my eyes. And my home was taken from me." His mother had failed him, his father had failed him -- but it was not them he wanted to punish, but the woman that had put the plan into action. A snarl would build in his throat, lips twitching as he fought them from revealing his fangs.

His rage consumed him; a curse that could not be lifted. Perhaps it could, but he had condemned himself to such a fate, knowing his sister shared the same raw need to avenge their father and reclaim whatever sanity they might have left. His purple eyes would land on her once again. "What has happened?" He asked coldly, though he truly wondered -- he doubted it could be anything like the memories that plagued him. Watching his father's heart be torn from his chest. Watching his family fall and scatter like ashes to the wind. Nothing, in his mind's eye, could compare.

Her tail flicked behind her - left to right - as she listened to him speak. Ears flattened against her skull and she looked at him with her endearing eyes. The turmoil that raged in his soul was one that didn't seem to be calming down anytime soon. As the woman he hated lived and breathed, he would be driven insane by the mere existence of her presence walking the earth instead of his father. Bask spoke of the deed that had been performed by this woman and a low growl escaped her lips. 'Why would she do such a thing?' she thought, anger slowly rising from out of nowhere. To see the purple brute in such agony and pain made her own heart hurt. She didn't know why, but it was something she couldn't ignore. Quietly, she watched him pad towards her and then look through the woods to the pack lands. Her haunches lowered themselves to the icy ground and her tail wrapped around her hind paws. When he asked what happened in a cold tone, she ignored the frost that came with his words and proceeded to answer him. "After we met that day on the beach, my perfect world became flawed. Papa and Mama disappeared and I waited at our den for months, hoping they would come back. My siblings also disappeared, although I have heard different lately. I don't know where my family is and I was alone until about a month or so ago...when I came here." She looked around them, raising her gaze to the sky and the trees that silently stood around them. "I don't know how permanent Valhalla will be for me, but for now, it is a good place to be until I figure out what I'm doing in life." She shivered slightly by a random breeze that shot through the area and her ears rose from sticking to her skull. "Everyone should have a place they can call home....but it doesn't mean it has to be a physical structure all the time." Odette gave him a side glance before she lowered her upper torso to the ground and stretched across the snow. With her eyes closed, she rolled around like a pup and allowed her fur to pick up the snow and ice that tried to hold on. When she ended up on her stomach with front paws stretched out, she looked up at Baskilisk with round eyes. "Even the most vengeful and raging souls need a calm spot they can escape to...where is yours, Bask?" She softly emphasized his name, like a whisper on the wind that could make your skin crawl. "Consequences or not, hate or not, there must be a steady beacon that sheds light for you." Talk like this