I have a secret fear, that I will love you still Maybe all my life, there are no secrets here Maybe I love you still, maybe all my life The soft trickling of the water spilling over the entrance to her den was the only echoing sound that reached her hypersensitive ears. Ebony pupils were dilated to the point of no color being visible. Her fur, once a rich and luxurious silver hung in filthy clumped matts, tugging on her flesh and making the skin raw and irritable. Her claws, carved and deadly scraped against the bitter stone, jagged and uneven as her legs paddled uselessly along the ground. Her body writhed against the heavy stones, muscles spasming, spine arching, cracking and relaxing, her plume became a writhing python of discontent... whether it was pain or pleasure that had captured the creature, it was impossible to tell... until one drew a touch closer to her and the coppery tang of iron reached ones nostrils. Blood was spattered upon the walls, the dilation of her eyes had nothing to do with narcotics or an indulgence in sins of chemical origin... only pain. I fear that when I lie, beside the woman I will call my wife Then I will hear your voice, your heart will call to me- Maybe all my life, all my life, all my life. The tiny life would gaze at the metal cage that surrounded her, barbed fences that sizzled and sparked with electrical currents, she retreated in fear, curling her tiny bodice into a compacted ball in the center of the cage. She sunk deep into the snow, shivering against the bitter cold, her breath coming in puffed wisps as eyes the color of ice sought her mother... or at least the scent she had imprinted on. But there was no one here, no one on this side of the cage. She was alone, and so very, very cold. The sound of crunching snow had her barely developed ears swiveling. Foolish hope blossoming in her chest as the large, cumbersome two legged creature stepped into her line of vision. It wasn't her mama. Fat fingers coiled around her scruff and she yelped as she was lifted from the warm spot her body had created. He smashed her down onto a steel table and she screamed, high pitched yelps and whimpers erupting from her larynx. He spoke in a language she did not understand and clamped something heavy with steel around her neck, a blinking red light glaring upon the ice. "Votre nom est Luce vous peu de merde, et tirerez-vous jusque au ya mourez-vous? vous ici je?"(Your name is Luce you little shit, and you'll pull until ya die... you hear me?) She screamed again, teeth sinking into something warm and soft as she struggled for her freedom and the two legged monster let out a scream, throwing her into the electric fence. She screamed again, scampering away from the steel walls muscles twitching in horrid spasms. The two legged monster roared his fury, drew a device from his pocket and pressed upon it... it seemed the fence was unnecessary and violently, her body seized. She collapsed under the onslaught of agony in her undeveloped body. At a tender two weeks, she wished her suffering to end. Dark flame of mine, light of the morning. Dark flame of mine, how do I, how do I, How do I know? Dark flame of mine, no destination. Dark flame of mine, how do I, how do I, how do I get over you? Blood oozed from the horrid gaping wound. The pain was its own aphrodisiac, filling her blood stream with endorphins, clouding her thoughts, logical thinking and judgment. No sounds escaped her larynx, she had no more words to speak, no more seductions to deliver, no more biting words, no more hatred to spew like a toxic venom, no more idiocies to cause... she was harmless, emotion had severed her, it vanquished a long thought foe and it would claim its kill. Her maw would stretch wide in a soundless scream of utter agony and tears would fall from eyes of ice like the tiny trickle of the stream that separated her from reality. Her muscles rippled beneath her flesh, protesting each swing of her pads, every irritable twist that made the injury worse. Blood and the salt of empty tears, her body rolled and the pool of maroon that had formed beneath her soaked into her fur, her maw, her snout, painting her a macabre shade of red. A splinter in the mind, imagination or a lonely heart. Am I the victim of manipulation or the woman part? And when my dying day reaches my open arms, I know I'll find, It will contain my fear It will assuage the torture of my mind, of my mind, in my mind. She would shift, chains rattling, elegant coat billowing as a strong gust of wind whipped through the mountains. The snow had long since numbed her pads and her breath carried billows of steam into the air. The chains were heavy, her back ached, her muscles trembled, her vision blurred, her chest heaved. Cold oculars carried as much sympathy and love as the bitter terrain that surrounded her. She would snort, claws digging into the snow as the team was halted. She would stare hollowly, without care or remorse as the male before her crumpled, collapsing into a quivering heap upon the snow, his breath coming sharp and strained, his coat ragged and mangled. The sharp crack of a whip mere inches from her audits had her ears swiveling backwards to pin against her cranium. The two legged monstrosities coiled their fat fingers around his muzzle, another plunged a syringe and a needle straight into the wolfs heart. She watched with cold, detached eyes as he screamed, fighting futily against the humans strong hold, but they injected him and suddenly the wolf was standing, on a cracked femur, a cardiac puncture of some opioid... brutal but effective. They made it another hour before the limb simply gave up the ghost and the male sunk with an audible scream of misery. The resounding gunshot would echo in her brain for hours to come. The bits of skull and brain matter that clung to her fur? That would stay a few days later. Not for the first time... had she wished that pistol to be blasted her way... put the poppy seeds she had hidden beneath her tongue were simply too divine, she bit into one, to numb and dull her senses, they took the pain away regardless if it was physical or emotional. The rattling of chains, a harsh command and she was straining under the weight of the massive cargo they were carrying... she was moving and that was all that mattered, muscles could tear and bones could shatter, but they wouldn't touch her so long as she kept moving. She crunched another poppy seed. I can't eat without you, baby. I can't dream without your love. I can't swim without your love. I can't see without you, baby. The dame stilled, her body ceasing its restless movement, her chest rise and fell with labored breaths. her scent it was gone... Neo's scent, it was gone. Replaced by the wicked tang of life's essence and the lingering inhibitions of death. her body trembled. Eyes fluttering shut and reopening, she glanced upon her forelimb, the gash ran the length of the appendage, drooling blood even still upon the rough stones. She had fantasized of this moment from the day she was born. What was that old quote? The one that old bastard of a wolf used to hum to her through the cold steel? The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had... but this one wasn't a dream. Her life would end amongst an empty choir, there would be no angels awaiting the last beat of her heart, only a plethora of demonic entities waiting to suck her down to the depths of hell... but surely physical pain could not compare to the utter ache of her heart. Such emotions she had never been made to feel and she knew they would destroy her... or perhaps they wouldn't? Perhaps they would merely set her free? Was this what true freedom felt like? Perhaps it had merely helped her to find the courage to do something she should have done years ago. She lifted her maw, with what little strength her body had maintained and gently brushed her tongue over the wound her own canine had inflicted. A stuttered moan left her maw at the sensation of pain. Neo... Neo would have to forgive her, she could take no more chains. The wound wouldn't be enough to kill her...probably, but it would set her free. Her cranium sunk back to the floor, a soft whisper of a name no one here would recognize, before the blackness took her. Dark flame of mine, light of the morning. Dark flame of mine, how do I, how do I, how do I know? Dark flame of mine No destination. Her legs would stretch, gobbling the rocky mountain beneath her as she flew. Chains would rattle like sirens calls in the wind as the rag tag pack shot through the snow. Explosions sounded from the mountaintops like erupting lava from a volcano. Chunks of shrapnel flew like obnoxious hummingbirds, impossible to evade, impossible to outrun. Chunks carved into the collar around her neck, until finally it gave up and fell uselessly into the snow. The slaves, all of them, they were free, they were safe, at least for now. Blood oozed from wounds festering with chucks of metal and only when she had reached the bottom of the mountains did she turn, the rest, leaving her behind in the dust. Black smoke billowed up into the air, blocking out the very sun. She wondered if it wasn't an ominous foreboding, warning her of the challenges she would face. surely nothing could be as horrid as the life of a slave? She starred for a moment longer than she should have before she vanished, deep into the Langes forest, shaking the brief moment of weakness where she yearned to be a part of that ominous dark cloud... nothing more than ash and dust, for she would never truly be free now would she? Their chains would linger even once the metal corroded away. First things first, she needed to find some poppies... she had wounds to treat. Dark flame of mine, how do I, how do I, how do I know? Dark flame of mine, light of the morning. Dark flame of mine, how do I, how do I, how do I get over you? (((OOC: Lyrics belong too the lovely Daniel Bedingfield! But he gave me such amazing muse for my beloved druggie that I absolutely had to use them. All credits go rightfully to him <333 ))) Speech,

((decided not to have Rune with him, but saying that they planned to meet))

i reach to the sky

The male looked up and sighed, sharp green gaze staring up at the dull sky as he allowed his mind to drift backwards. It had been two years since he had fled Taiyae with his sister, since the flood and destruction of his home. It had been two years since he had felt the touch of the goddess or the whisper of her silken voice. It had been too long, her presence was sorely missed in the young brutes soul, the feeling of something misplaced leaving him empty and drained. He sat back, sharp green gaze turned to the sky as they searched for her features outlined in the stars. When that didn?t work eyes would close and neck would stretch forward as if searching for that touch, the brush of her face against his as she had when he was young. He craved that touch, the sensation of flesh on flesh unlike what he had shared with Secret. No? It was similar to what he saw when his friend shared a touch with their children, a brush of skin on skin to show that you cared, to show you love without words. It was a touch that was strangely intimate, simple and without and strings or false promises as many other touches held. He had always been told that this whole world was full of lies, deceit, sorrow and pain. There was nothing anyone could do; it was in their nature to lie, in their nature to cause others pain even if it was unintentional. Everyone seemed to feel that without those emotions there could be no happiness or elation or love or anything of that sort. There could be no ying without yang and no positive without the negative.

The small male had slid out of their home beneath Clouded Pass, motioning for his sister to follow him but her steps were far more hesitant. He smiled at her as he glanced around, hoping they would pass the goddess?s wards without detection. Her small frame seemed to shrink into itself, withdrawing into her already seemingly malnourished frame. She slid along behind him for a while until they finally came to one of the many entrances to Diesal?s Hideaway. She came to rest by his side, glancing nervously up at him as she stood with her tail tucked and shoulders hunched. ?I was beautiful last night! Lets go see!?he whispered, sharp green eyes attentive as he nudged his sister encouragingly. He slid out from the narrow entrance, flank to hip with his red counterpart, his movements far more confident then his sisters as her eyes slid over the moon soaked valley. ?Look?? he said softly as he finally came to a halt, shoulder nudging against her?s once more and maw was jerked upwards. He watched as her eyes slowly stopped dancing about nervously and shifted to the sky. He watched as her eyes opened wider then he had ever seen, reflecting scene being laid out before them. He smiled as he settled back onto his haunches and leaned onto his sister slightly, eyes turned up to share the moment with his sister.

and call out your name

He sighed, shaking his head and slowly lifting himself off the hard ground, the starlight illuminating his form for a short time before he slid into the trees. He couldn?t dwell in the past, it was gone and there was nothing he could do about it. Everything that they had had in Taiyae was gone, the shy, reclusive little girl he had grown up with was gone with those memories. Stoic male allowed a sigh to slip from his lips. He missed her sometimes, missed the sweet innocent pup he had grown up wih but life is hard and it takes what it needs. for her to survive it needed her innocence so it seemed that it had all but been ripped away from her. He didnt want to see that happem to his childern. He had planned to spend the evening with his son Rune, to take some time and put it away especially for his son but somehow he couldn?t find the courage to go see the young male. He rarely felt the desire to communicate with his children, mostly because the few times he did see them he felt awkward and unsettled with them. Maia could prattle on and carry the conversation on her own but Vixe and Rune seemed more reserved, it made it harder to be around them for him. Though he had never thought of silence as awkward he worried about them feeling that it was awkward to be around him. Often he felt as though he was tryin too hard and over thinking where as other times he wasn't sure if he was thinking enough.

It was beautiful, the lights licking down at the cliff face before them, reaching down to touch the tallest leaks of Horizon Mountain. It started off calm, vibrant greens slowly spreading across the sky befor it seemed like a giant paintbrush was dipped in whites and links and splashed across that green. The lights moved in unison, spreading across the sky and slithering across the inky canvas. Heads tipped back, eyes reflecting the brilliance before them as jaws seemed to unhinge. After a few moments a howl broke through the silence, distant and solemn, probably coming from Pariah. The lights began to quicken in their dance, licking closer to the sound on the mountain. "Come on Vi! Lets call them to us!" Ky whispered, nudging his sister and smiling at her. He wanted to call the lights to them, to make them dance for his sister. He wanted to see her smile... Head tilted back and the tiny male drew in a deep breath, howl beginning to grow. Flames burst around his muzzle and the small pup jumped away from the pain, eyes snapping up as the goddess materialized before them. She was silent, blind eyes staring up at the sky. Vi had shrunk back, attempting to hide within herself. "We don't disturb them. Now get back inside." Her voice was low, commanding and dark as she stared unseeing at the sky. Ky slid backwards, ears pinned and maw bleeding from the fresh wounds, he backed up while keeping his sister close behind him. This was his fault, he would take whatever punishment the goddess would throw at them. But she seemed preoccupied, sightless eyes staring up at the beautiful lights. She didn't cast her glance back at them as they slid back into the darkness of their home.

and if i could trade

The dark male slid slowly through the stunted trees that frequented the forest, keeping eyes downcast and trained to the ground. The northern lights licked easily at the sky but he paid them no mind. The sound of a waterfall growing closer, he had seen it a few times but never explored in and this sleepless night seemed like one of the best times to explore. Head ducked as he drew closer, the spray off the waterfall dampening his coat. It looked like there was a path behind the waterfall, a narrow and slightly dangerous one but a path none the less. Head tipped and sickly green eyes cast a glance up at the emerald lights before head ducked once more and massive paws pressed heavily against the stone path. It was slick but not unmanageable, eyes turning into dark pools are pupils expanded to adjust to the darkness. but what he found wasn't at all what he expected. Blood covered the walls, a thin stream of the crimson liquid trickling from a leg that seem to protrude from the darkness the enveloped the deeper sections of the cave. Gaze softened as he slowly moved towards the figure, eyes sliding over her body tenderly before coming to rest on the wound that was most likely self inflicted. She was taller, slender with long legs and a more fluffy body. She was stunning despite her matted, dirty and blood soaked fur. "I've missed you goddess..." he murmured, sliding closer before coming to rest before her, sitting slowly then allowing his forepaws to stretch forward so they were almost touching but not. Eyes studied the female's leg, staying quiet as he lay there, not overly concerned about the blood trickling across the hard ground and into his dense fur. He needed to help her...

He slid out of his cavern once more after his sister had fallen fast asleep, frowning as he took a right rather then a left this time, maw still bleeding from the fury the goddess had rained down upon him. He slid quietly down the hall, the scent of fresh blood growing stronger and stronger the closer her got to his destination. He had recognized the look that had adorned the goddess's face that night, he had known what would happen later. So he walked with quiet resolve, slowing as he reached his destination. He drew a deep breath, the dark scent of blood almost more overwhelming then the normally scent clogging smell of sulphur. He dreaded the scene that would unfold before him, he knew what to expect but still his heart sunk as he poked his head around the corner to the goddess's temple. Blood was smeared on the walls, splattered across the ground. Bloody paw prints covered the ground in a straight line, marking pacing but the heap in the middle of the floor was where it had stopped. From this angle she seemed to be meditating, laying on her stomach with neck arched so her nose dipped towards her legs. Forelegs were slashed, sections chewed so white bone glistened maliciously in the dim light flickering from the hot springs and the moonlight filtering through the holes in the ceiling. Throat tightened at the sight, knowing that he was the reason for the goddess's pain, for her suffering, for her hurt. Slowly the young pup, no more then 3 months old walked towards the imposing figure positioned eloquently before him. She was beautiful in her own, morbid way. He moved towards her, sitting in front of her easily before sliding his paws forward so they would almost touch and he would lay on his stomach amidst the gore. It was the most serene the goddess had ever looked, visage void of any creases or lines that usually marred her features. Simply stunning...

i would

Speech!

Walk | Talk | Think He had waited for what felt like an hour or so within the forest near his mother's den, seated calmly amid the crisp, hardy foliage and patiently observant of his surroundings. It had been afternoon when he had gone there, but even by nightfall the wolf that he awaited, his distant father, still had yet to show. Though Rune felt he would have been justified in feeling any sense of anger or abandonment, he only felt a mild disappointment. He had been looking forward to spending time with his father, away from the impressive figures that his siblings posed. Vixe was always the first to show off, the first to grab the attention and hold it, while Maia, being the only girl of the bunch, rarely needed to try at all. She was vocal, adventurous, and kept up all too well with her brothers. And he, Rune, played second fiddle to them both, kept to the shadows while they held the limelight. It was no bother really - more could go unnoticed in the shadows than in the light - but every now and then he did long to get the same attention from his parents that his siblings did. Those rare moments simply felt few and far between. At last the spindly youth rose from the ground, his light grey frame turned darker by the shadows of the wood, and absently he shook it out. Already he was getting taller, but the fullness of youth still seemed to cling to his limbs and torso. Frosty blue eyes regarded the surrounding forest once more, his ears perked above his head as he listened to the natural sounds of insects going about their nightly routines. Maybe he forgot. It was a generous assumption, in favor of Kylar certainly, but a part of him doubted there was any truth to it. Unlike his mother, who played a heavily active role in the lives of her children even beyond that of what was required of her to keep them alive, the boy's father had seemed out of place among them, uncomfortable and nervous. Rune felt most like his father at these times, still out of sorts himself when around unfamiliar faces. Did he think them strange? Did he think them foreign? Was that why he struggled to be with them? He was usually very mild tempered, capable of letting small slights slip away unaccounted for, but tonight he was feeling a tad more impatient than usual. So rather than decide to head back to the safety and shelter provided closer to his mother's den - where surely Vixe and Maia lurked with their mother - Rune trotted off into the wood, frosty eyes half lidded lazily with his head low to the ground, sniffing and ordering things as he went. It didn't take quite so long as he had expected to find his father's scent - it was near; perhaps he had made an effort to see his son after all but had abandoned it in the end - and even less time to tell in which direction he had been moving. Rune followed slowly and meticulously, ensuring that the scent he trailed was indeed the one he sought and being cautious not to lose it to the others that crossed its path and led away. The going was slow, but he was confident every step of it, following the trail his father had left behind toward the waterfall that adorned one particularly rocky part of the territory. The grey youth paused within sight of it, his blue eyes taking in the water as it swept down the rocks and fell misting into the pool at its base. An interesting place, but it was not what he was after. Logging away the location of the waterfall, the pup continued after the trail, climbing among the rocks and eventually abandoning the scent simply to keep himself concentrated on not slipping. It might have been easy enough to traverse for an adult, but for a spindly youth like himself the complexities were a little more pronounced. Eventually he did reach the rise, and the scent of his father was nearly completely masked over by another, stronger one, a scent the youth was not entirely unfamiliar with but not expecting: blood. Brow knitting with a cautious worry, he crept further along the uppermost edge of the rocks, letting the smell guide him toward an opening in the mountainside. There he saw his father, lying upon the ground, blood pooling before him. For a split second he thought it might have been his blood, but as he took a hasty step closer he noticed the other, mostly hidden within the shadows and with blood completely coating the extended paw. Drawing on the calming presence his father exuded, Rune lowered his head rather nervously and stepped closer, pausing just outside the cave and to one side of Kylar. "Dad?" he questioned gently, the sound of his own voice resounding with such a dissonance that he flinched and wished to take the word back. But he made himself continue, voicing the true question he had and wished to ask to settle his nerves. "Is everything okay?"

((posting with Eve's permission))

She was motionless, seemingly lifeless except for the flutter of a heartbeat and the slow rise and fall of her chest. He was quiet, scarcely breathing as sharp green gaze slid over the older white female's matted and tattered form. The gash in her leg was deep, it was still bleeding quite steadily and he was fairly sure that it was the reason she had passed out. It would need treatment and it would leave a nasty scar. He could bring herbs that would slow the bleeding and help speed the healing process but at the same time he was afraid to leave her, afraid that the sliver of life she seemed to be clinging to. But if he didn't leave he might just watch her slip away. He lay quietly, churning over the possibilities and the scenarios that came with staying or going. Maybe she would be fine and he should just leave. She might wake up as his mother had and chase him off. But unlike in his past he was the best here, easily doubling the petite female's size, making her look like a pup in comparison. It was almost at the exact moment that a soft voice reverberated against the walls. Massive head lifted from paws, craning around to see the lanky grey furred male who's approach had been masked by the sound of the water fall. But his voice carried in the cavern, bouncing off the walls and amplifying despite his soft voice. Dad... Kylar was still getting used to being called dad but he still responded it, a slight smile spreading across his maw at the sight of his son.

"Rune... Its good to see you, though I wish the circumstances were better..." he said, voice a low rumble that didn't carry quite as well as Rune's more normal pitched voice. Slowly the massive brute pushed himself up with his forepaws and then lifted himself to his paws completely so he was standing over with motionless form, eyes downcast and looking at the beautiful white female that had done this to herself. So many memories of his childhood flashed before his eyes. "I don't know... I don't know who this is but she's hurt. Stay with her, I need to get herbs. Howl if she takes a turn for the worst" he said, already in business mode, going through the herbs he would need to find to help her. Not many grew in the mountains but Kylar had some dried ones at Vi's den. Nose brushed along his son's neck, an oddly tender motion for the young father, as he walked past him. He set into a lope as soon as he was past the treacherous, wet section behind the water fall. Vi's den wasn't far thankfully, no more then a couple minutes lope from Secret's surprisingly. He cut across the mountain, though, not wanting to get caught by Vixe or Maia or Secret for that matter covered in anthers blood and have to stop and explain.

Vi wasn't home, she never was these days, so Kylar reached in, sniffing through the herbs that had been torn up by their roots and shoved into the tangled mess of roots that covered Vi's ceiling to dry. Most were dry, a few needed to be a few more days. Not that he couldn't use them now... He grabbed plantain leaves, comfrey and cayenne before shuffling back out and starting an easy lope back to the cave the female had passed out in. He wondered if she had always been there. He vaguely remembered seeing her, maybe, at the pack meetings but knew nothing of her, not even her name. Why would she had done this to herself? Mind churned, working over the ideas as he reached the cave, walking slowly along the narrow ledge behind the water fall. Nod would be given to his son before laying his mouthful of herbs beside the female. The cayenne wouldn't help unless she woke up, though it might help her wake up. He would deal with with that in a bit, for not he motioned for his son to join him. "These are Plantain Leaves, you can chew them up and smear the paste on wounds, if you have a large leaf to wrap around it after that is best. It needs to be changed 3 times minimum daily. Comfy helps with bleeding but Plantain helps more. Cayenne should be batten, as much as possible without setting your mouth on fire, within 10 seconds most bleeding will stop." he explained, pointing to each before gathering the leaves in his mouth and chewing it into a paste before apply it liberally to the female's leg, attempting to coat it so the gaping wound was even with the rest of her flesh and now green. He would find a leaf tomorrow if she made it through the night.

Speech!

Walk | "Talk" | Think Kylar smiled. Surely nothing could be truly wrong if Kylar smiled? Rune couldn't quite bring himself to mimic the gesture, though he was soothed by the sight of it, his frosty eyes shifting with a quick peek at the unconscious white wolf on the floor of the cavern. Her fur was a tattered mess, and the smell of her open leg was quite overpowering, but in the light of day, with a wash and some care, he thought she might have looked pretty. Now, though, she looked half dead, an empty shell of what she should have been. It was sad, and upsetting, but at the same time frightening only because he had not the slightest clue what had happened. Letting his pale gaze shift back to his father, the young pup stared still with his brow knitted, understanding the danger of the situation even if he could not quite comprehend what had happened. He backed up a step to give Kylar room as the larger male pushed to his feet, and Rune noted the prominent smear of blood that covered his front end where it had seeped from the unconscious wolf along the stone to where he had laid. It was a disturbing sight, though he had to remind himself that it was not his father's blood, or at least as far as he knew. His dark coated father confirmed this when he admitted to being none the wiser about what had happened and even who the unconscious wolf was. And when Kylar instructed him to stay a sudden panic set in. But he was only a pup! What could he do? Just howl? Though his expression intensified, his jaw slightly tighter and his eyes suddenly more nervous, he nodded his head resolutely, reassuring his father he was up for the task despite his anxieties. His father thought he could do this; and so he would. The dull grey pup watched as Kylar left the cave the same way Rune had arrived and then turned in place to watch the unconscious wolf again. It really was a shame this had happened, for whatever reason. If someone had intended to kill her, then they should have done it completely. This was torturous. Shifting his gaze to the ground, Rune stepped toward the wolf, carefully avoiding the blood as best he could, before he found a relatively dry spot near her side that he reclined within to sit and watch her. He stared at her still face for a moment, wondering if she even knew what had happened herself. The fluttering yet consistent rise and fall of her side was reassurance enough that she was alive, but for how much longer? There was so much blood upon the ground as it was, and she really did look bad enough already. "Just don't die until he comes back, okay?" he whispered softly to the slumbering figure. "Let him try first." She was quiet and still the rest of the time that Rune waited and took no sharp steps out of this life, all things Rune was relieved of by the time Kylar returned with his mouth full of dried and partially dried plant parts. Getting to his paws, the youth watched attentively as his father approached and set what he carried on the bloody floor of the cave, stepping closer only when he motioned him to. He began talking about each of the different plants in turn, and Rune did his best to distinguish between them with the new information he was being given. Plantain leaves. Comfrey. Cayenne. No sooner had he finished explaining the purposes of each plant to his son, Kylar began forming the paste he had mentioned, and as he did so Rune watched him curiously. His father knew herbs? This was something unexpected. He had never really thought about his father spending much time studying plants and their uses before this moment, and as he applied the paste he had made to the injured wolf's leg he was suddenly very glad he did. Maybe even he would learn what he could, just in case the knowledge should ever become useful. Plantain leaves. Comfrey. Cayenne, he repeated, not wanting to forget his first unexpected lesson in herbs. The mashed up mixture settled well upon the wolf's injured leg as Kylar tended to her wound, and Rune continued to stand beside him, every observant and curiously watching. His father moved with such certainty, such prevision, that he began to wonder if his quick thinking and fast action could really have been in time to help the wolf from an early end. "When will we know if it's working?" he asked gently, hushing his voice enough this time so that it didn't quite ring so loudly as it had done the first. If the wolf should wake during his father's administrations, he didn't want it to be because of him.

Icy blue oculars would remain shut, they saw everything and nothing all at once. Her legs would twitch violently, haphazardly as her body lay flat and complacent upon the earth. She was a demon, a wicked creature wrought from pain and pleasure, the foulest of succubus. Her entire life had been a violent twister of hatred, sexual pleasure, and a fierce indulgence in narcotics. Pain and pleasure they were both realms that had constantly smashed together in Luce's world. A fierce kaleidoscope of sin, twining with everything and nothing. She had fought for her own pleasures, her own survival. The drugs had been a way of coping, a way of life. The drugs took away her rational thought, fueled her with twisted malice, seduction and aggression. They were her forbidden fruit, her apple of Eden... and then of course she had been felled. One would think a beast like her would be destroyed by tooth and claw, a stray bullet, a stake, something filled with blood and pain and agony and death. Staining her coat of liquid silver to a fierce crimson, revealing for the first time ever, the wickedness that had never truly vacated her twisted soul, etched into her by humans... but no. No such hero, no such blade, no such bullet had brought about her utter destruction. It was not beauty that claimed the monster, for Luce was beauty, the very definition of the coined phrase feminine seduction. She was damn near impossible to resist and simply divine in a realm of temptation. She was lust given a physical form. A deadly, lovely succubus... or at least she had been, until she had been stricken down like a fallen king or the walls of Jericho. The monstrosity lay rotting in the darkened depths of her soul. Its corpse decayed and putrid, infested with maggots and its gaping, soulless body left abandoned. No Luce had needed no hero to slay her, all that had been required was a young male, a pup scarcely one, no less. A tiny ball of spitfire and fur who had reminded her so much of the neglect and the abuse she had received as a pup. It had begun as sick and twisted as it always did, a foul twist to seal her fate and earn her a permanent rank in Tortuga's pack. She had used her body, her slippery lies, to lure the creature too her, but then he had bellowed out she was perfect, he had bellowed out that he loved her and suddenly the game shifted, the table turned. The demon recoiled, afraid and in shock, it screamed and it demanded the poppies, it demanded the numbness, it clawed and scratched and screamed and for the first time Luce had ignored it, because no one had ever cared for her before. She was Neo's slave, God forbid he ever discover that tiny fact. he didn't know it, but he healed her, he brought her everything she had never had, he made her better and slowly but surely the monstrous version of herself vanished. The poppies no longer held that swing song, that soft call of temptation. She wanted no stranger to mount and lay siege to her body, she only wished to protect him, to keep him safe, if she died knowing he was happy, her life would be fulfilled. Neo had so quickly, so violently, become everything to her, and the boy didn't know it, or perhaps now he did. The first sense that returned to her was taste. The foul taste of iron flooded her tongue and her long, slender legs, moved to brush her maw, as if to wipe the taste away, the coppery tang of iron penetrated her nose and fuzzy voice tried to decipher themselves within the shell of her ear. The dame would groan, her throat dry and miserable as she realized the sudden lack of moisture, her bodice quivering slightly as she was suddenly stricken by how cold she was. Finally icy audits slid open, peering into the utter blackness of her den and with a troubled groan she attempted to drag her limbs beneath her. She froze as she realized she wasn't alone. her brightly hued eyes drifting between the two. 'Who are you and what are you doing in my den?" Her voice was groggy and unsteady, but suddenly she remembered, it hit her like a ton of bricks, why she had attempted to die, to rejoin all of those who had done her wrong and suddenly it didn't matter anymore who these souls were or why they were here. A sob would rip from her larynx, and her maw would bury itself in the dark ones chest, her body wracking with tears and whimpered cries. 'He's gone... he's gone..." She would babble aimlessly. She wasn't showing yet, but she was pregnant and she would have to raise her pups alone. Without a father, and she couldn't do it, she wasn't good enough, they would be tainted by her, she knew. Speech,