Thank you Lube ♥ After what had occurred as a result of the last summoning howl Kaien had received emanating from the battlefield, the white witch was in no position to lounge at the heart of Tortuga?s domain whilst the possibility of chaos lingered in the air. Therefore, a few minutes after Kaien had departed for the arena, Morphine had followed in his pawsteps, writhing through the obstacles he had just moments before until she reached her final destination at the epicenter of the bloodied field. The moment she had arrived, she was appalled to recognize the challenge their own subordinate posed to the male - the Vecaan - and how completely ignorant the challenger was in believing the pack would be better suited under her leadership. Morphine had almost risen to her paws in adamant objection a multitude of times during the verbal argument between the duo, only desiring to prove the female wrong in every accusation she had made and every unspoken prediction that Morphine knew backed each intention Desdemona would pose. But she refrained from doing so; this was Kaien?s battle to fight and she would allow Kaien to fight it on his own, as she couldn?t protect him from this woman?s idiocy as she had with their last encounter at the battlefield. He could hold his own and he could conquer on his own - she knew it. She had placed too much faith in the male to have thought otherwise. But she was wrong. The physical battle had barely begun and Kaien had pulled back to submit even before Des had laid a paw on his pristine coat much to Morphine?s bewilderment. Her heart thumped vehemently against her chest as she attempted to comprehend what was happening, a rage she had never experienced before abruptly overtaking her as she finally came to terms with the fact that Kaien had just given up after his solid arguments against his opponent without a decent battle to back it up. No, he had not just submitted his position upon the tiers of Tortuga to a foolish canine who hadn?t even resided within the ranks for a long enough period of time and hadn?t learned her facts, but he had also completely disregarded how this would affect Morphine as well. She wanted to lead, to pull Tortuga from its overshadowing demise, and she desired this from the moment she had challenged the brute and he had just handed it over to Desdemona as if she had the power to resurrect Tortuga. Did he really believe Morphine so incompetent as to hand it over to Des, after all the plots she had conjured to aid the pack on its path to its eventual repair? Yes, yes he had. But the disappointment did not end there, as the statement from Kaien that greeted her ears next caused a growl to rip from her throat; he wanted Des to murder him so he wouldn?t have to hide his shame from the rest of the pack for submitting. Such a selfish decision caused the woman to adopt an entirely different perspective on the male; the Valhallans had been right and so had Viridiana and the bulk of Tortuga with their decision on this male?s capability. Perhaps the only reason she had even considered the male competent and overestimated his capability was because he had so willingly supplied her with the power she desired without a fight. No ? the woman perfectly understood now how much of a coward the brute truly was; he refused to battle for superiority over Tortuga with her, he had refused to fight even to kill a traitor with the Valhallans, and now he refused to brawl for the sake of Tortuga. And in that very moment, listening to Kaien speak those words, Morphine had had an epiphany, but an epiphany that had come all too late. She remained hidden from her vantage point, witnessing Des? compliance to Kaien?s request as her jaws lunged for his jugular with the fierceness of a kitten and the blood that trickled down his neck and chest to paint the silvery hue a dark crimson. She watched the flame that flickered within the depths of the male?s eyes subside and die but she refused to look away, allowing the intense emotions of both anger and sorrow to devour the apathetic barrier she surrounded herself with as he collapsed in a heap onto the would-be arena. She watched him die, horror painted across her visage and tears of shame that refused to fall flooding her eyes. That was it ? that was the end of Kaien. Long live the king. Her mind urged her to move and confront the murderer for her deeds, but her body remained rigid and her legs refused to propel her even an inch forward. You fucking coward? she choked, her voice a raspy whisper as she tore her gaze away from the pathetic carcass a few feet away from where she stood rooted. She was still in disbelief that the male had managed to disappoint her in such a manner; he would disappoint his father undoubtedly, but Morphine wondered if she was the one who would feel the most disappointment in Kaien?s actions. Despite her negative opinions on the deceased king, she still could not help but succumb to that sorrow and that disappointment ? he had become an ally of sorts and she had begun to appreciate his company, but all of that apparently did not matter to the male. But it did matter to the woman, no matter how much she wanted to deny it, no matter how much she needed her emotionless fa?ade to stand true instead of falter at his death. On impulse, she finally revealed herself as she strode forward towards his carcass at a quickened pace, overcoming her momentary paralysis as she pushed past the culprit to Kaien?s murder without much regard for herself. Once she came within close enough proximity to the corpse so that it became tangible, her muzzle tentatively reached out in the direction of his neck, her jaws molded shut although she desired to tear into him for what he had just done, her nose briefly brushing against his skin that had not been tainted with blood yet. Whether or not it was an action of affection or one to confirm he was truly gone was debatable even in Morphine?s eyes as she rolled onto her haunches beside him, lids draped over her eyes and thoughts buzzing around her brain as she still attempting to comprehend it all. Everything was opt to change now - everything. She remained silent for a few moments, fully aware that Des had not yet departed and was waiting for the inevitable reaction from her. She desired nothing more than to do unto Des the same that had been done unto Kaien, but she would refrain from such an action if only temporarily for there was much to be said to the girl. A few times, Morphine?s jaws parted as if she were to begin speaking, however, they snapped shut immediately afterwards as the words died in her throat. At last, after what Morphine could only assume to be minutes following Kaien?s demise, she finally grasped the words and stuck with them, her voice a monotonous drone as she addressed the other. Desdemona, if I would have known how much of an idiot you are, I would have seen that you were released from this pack from the moment some fool permitted you into it. She fell silent once more, her eyelids finally fluttering open to reveal the metallic depths beneath them, now clouded over in tears. Her gaze remained fixated upon Kaien as she did so, not even bothering to glance in the other?s direction even though her words were harsh and demanded immediate retaliation. The woman ? new Vecaan ? of Tortuga could have ended her life right then like she had Kaien?s; however, Morphine doubted she would pull such a stunt from just the insulting words her jaws spewed forth. Curiosity in Morphine?s reasoning would keep her from performing a second murder ? at least, that is only what Morphine assumed. You claim Kaien and I have single-handedly made an enemy of Valhalla. What reasons have we provided them with to loathe us as you claim? None that we had the capability to control. She shook her head then as she answered for the woman, assuming the woman knew the only contact Tortuga and Valhalla had had with one another was over Neo who had made the decision to betray his family on his own, not over the influence of neither she nor Kaien. If Valhalla had made an enemy of Tortuga, it was over Neo and Tortuga had little to nothing to do with it because they didn?t control his initial actions of betrayal. What you say of Kaien is true ? his unwillingness to fight has lost us some respect. But, dear, I will defend my own pride and say that I fought, so do not chide me as if I did nothing for Tortuga. Because you are wrong to say so, you?re damned wrong. Do not claim Kaien and I were so willing to go to war with Valhalla; do not claim we were doing everything within our power to ensure it happened. If you honestly believe that Kaien and I are so daft as to place Tortuga in such a position then I pity your unintelligence. I pity that you believe reaching out to Valhalla will solve any problems; I pity that you believe reaching out to them will have no repercussions. Valhalla will demand something of Tortuga, and not something insignificant. I can promise you that, Your Highness. Speaking of which, if you think Tortuga will willingly accept another new leader, a chortle slipped from her jaws, laced with mockery. Good luck. Speech,

Desdemona watched as the life drained from the wolf who had offered his life, to die at her fang than face the pack who loathed him, she could respect him to a degree for his decision, she would indulge him with a proper burial. She had respect for the fallen King and she would not disgrace him by leaving his body for the crows, but before she could begin Morphine, the ivory ex-Vecaan slithered from the trees. She didn't know how close the two had become and she would treat the dame with respect, so long as it remained mutual. Even in his final request, Kaien had never lost his honor, perhaps a bit in the way he beckoned for death. But he had not cursed, nor cowered and she had shown him the gentle kindness that he deserved. She was bathed in his blood she was the victor here, but it was bittersweet. She had not wanted to be a harbringer of death, she had stated her discomforts, he had responded and he had chosen no longer to fight. The massive ivory wolf remained silent but remained standing, lest the dame attack her, she would be prepared. It seemed however, that she would not take her demotion gracefully, nor would she accept Desdemona's reign, it was evident that the fae would hold nothing but hostility and Desdemona's tongue would click against the roof of her mouth. Respect and honor went both ways and it was made quite clear that the dame held none. Desdemona would wait with utter patience, ears pinned back against her cranium, face set in an unreadable expression as she waited for the dame to finish her rant. She should have expected as such. Humility was not within her blood, it mattered little. Desdemona was Queen whether the little girl liked as such or not. Kaien had receeded the title and Morphine only confirmed that her stripping of rank was well deserved. She was only proving Desdemona's point. Mindless aggression led to nothing. When finally she had finished two toned eyes would flicker far more cold and calloused towards the woman than they had been for Kaien. "Your opinion of me is misguided Morphine. You scarcely know me and you presume to know how I will lead, what I will do, and how I will act. You have been a Vecaan for well over a year and what have you accomplished, a pack meeting, a failed fight with a Valhallen... other than accepting a stolen pup, you have done nothing of vast importance, or if you had you choose to leave your pack members in the dark, pack members deserve your trust, not your lies. I hold no vendetta against you Morphine, despite your blatant disregard and disrespect for me as your Queen... and despite this I'm willing to give you a chance. You will bend at the knee, accept me as your Queen and your insipid words will be forgotten. Every last wolf will have their rank stripped, titles need to be earned, not handed out freely, there will be a tournament to decide my betas, and you are welcome to attend. If this does not suit you and you refuse this, consider yourself banished from Tortuga. You may have been able to run your tongue with Kaien, but I am not so generous. Choose wisely Morphine." The dame would bow and accept her or she would be exiled. Desdemona was not weak. Speech,

Thank you Lube ♥ Although Kaien had pleaded for death at the paws of Desde, Morphine refused to see her compliance to his request as an act of kindness simply for the fact that this woman ? this fiend ? had just taken three things away from Morphine?s grasp with a single action: her high-status title, her companion, and her pride. The behemoth of a creature that stood adjacent to her had berated Kaien and his leadership before announcing the challenge as well Morphine?s, and if Morphine had the capability to read minds she would have laughed a bitter laugh at the woman?s perspective on herself that she had been entirely respectful because she, in fact, had not. Alas, she had no experience in mind reading and instead remained silent following the conclusion of her biting yet eerily calm vocals, never once allowing her rage with the situation to manifest in the form of aggression aside from the slight twitching of her upper lip. The white witch was, indeed, one to keep a level head at times, and when she was not able to maintain her calm stature, she normally struck like a cobra; she never resorted to violence immediately following an event. This case had proven to be no different despite the circumstances. Her metallic eyes sluggishly escalated from Kaien?s carcass to meet with the heterochromatic eyes of the perpetrator, the few tears that had manifested as a result of the death cascading down her cheek as her gaze hardened to match the others. Whether or not the other chided her for allowing the tears to fall and saw to it as a weakness, Morphine would not care; she refused to allow this idiot the satisfaction of her shame and wore the thin trails of moisture with pride even as the other?s jaws unhinged in preparation for her retort. As the other began her accusatory speech, the infamous smirk that normally held claim over her lovely visage contorted the sorrowful expression to sardonic amusement, and a small laugh that lacked a mocking tone but sounded almost charming accompanied it. I claim you are an idiot because you seem to lack the knowledge that you can?t - can?t wave a magic wand and have everything return to its former glory. You seem to think that a change in leadership will unite the canines of Tortuga, but what makes you any better than Kaien ? than me? They don?t accept him because he?s new ? change is so bad, mm? She shook her head at this, the chuckle still prominent in her words. I say you have a misguided opinion of me, just by the way, for one failure in a fight does not determine my worth as a leader. No ? I have led this pack beside Kaien since the beginning of spring, therefore I have reigned as Queen for about half of a year with about half of the power as Kaien. And, perhaps if you pulled your head out of your ass and opened your eyes, you would have recognized things were being done in regard to Valhalla at the last pack meeting. It was no alliance, but it would have retained the peace. But, now that you?re Queen, I suppose it?s your job to tell Tortuga that they?ll not only be kissing your ass ? you know, someone who has done little to nothing for the pack, less than incompetent little me! ? but Valhalla?s as well! What fun! She practically fell to the ground in feigned laughter, her smirk now dominating her visage so that it was nearly impossible to tell that another expression had ever resided there. And maybe none ever had. But the monstrous woman?s next set of words derived a snarl from the ex-Vecaan, a snarl that rattled her chest and set the monochromatic fur lining her spinal column prickling in her outrage. Desde had had the balls to command Morphine and to speak down on her as if she was a mere whelp, not the experienced and respected Tortugan she was and had been. The white witch jumped to her paws, shuffling slightly backwards until she faced the larger woman head-on, her skull and tail held level with her spine as her metallic eyes glazed over in a deadly glare. You are not nor will you ever be worthy of being titled my Queen, she snapped, her vocals shrewd in tone but her words matter-of-fact. Why don?t you do yourself the favor and bow down to me? Or must I beat you into submission? Must I beat the new Queen of Tortuga and gift her some pretty little scars to bear upon the throne? With that, she allowed her ears to pin against her crown and her knees to bend, preparing herself for the attack she knew Desdemona would throw at her. She was not submitting to a fool who did not deserve it, and if Morphine had her way, the other would beg and plead for her mercy and wind up submitting to her. morphine's challenge to desde for dominance round 0 of _ attacks ` ? --- defenses ` ? ears pinned to crown, knees bent to enable easy movement, head and tail in line with her spine injuries ` ? --- as per the rules, you attack first and decide upon ze rounds. Speech,

Desdemona would hold no sympathy for the power starved wretch before her. She had cried for Kaien but the behemoth wondered how much of it was for show. The dame seemed ever the bitter sore loser that Desdemona deemed she was. She had not gotten her way, so now she would throw a fit, snarling and snapping like a misbegotten child. Desdemona had tried to make peace with the dame, had offered her, despite her utter lack of respect, a place amongst Tortuga, but the dame would not adhere to such a request and thus left Desdemona with no choice. She would snap, her words biting and bitter and Desdemona would sigh. Had she not already spoken as such? Had she not already stated her opinion? This conversation would go nowhere. The dame was furious because she was shaking things up, because she was making a stand, because she was taking action. What did she hope to gain from this? An inkling of her pride back? Regardless she would be banished from Tortuga. Such blatant disrespect for no apparent reason other than her demotion... she wondered what Kaien had seen in the hostile bitch to begin with. This was exactly the wolf Tortuga did not need. brash, brazen, hostile, quick to temper, and blinded by rage. Desdemona had merely leveled the playing field, made each and every last member of Tortuga a maggot. They had to weasel their way back up the food chain to get into a rightful place as a second... Morphine had merely been handed her golden ticket, because Kaien had not wished to fight her. Complacent she had been, but now when the shades were darkened and the pretty titles unshed, Desdemona realized what she should have long ago. Morphine couldn't give two shits about Tortuga... she just wanted power. No longer would Morphine be seen as something worthy in her eyes. In her eyes, Morphine would be nothing more than a shrieking pup who did not get her way. Unworthy of her time. She would not respond to the pointless taunts the senseless words, it wouldn't do her any good to do so, Morphine had chosen and she had chosen to betray Tortuga. Desdemona's head would rise along with her tail, showing her dominance. She would not play this child's game, no matter what she said Morphine's hatred would spew. There was no stopping insanity unleashed. "From hence forth you are banished for the lands of Tortuga. If you touch Tortugan lands you will be put to death. I will not have your hatred poisoning my home. I want peace for Tortuga, nothing less and nothing more. Kaien understood that, but it seems it matters not what I say. Your stubbornness and your pride have gained you nothing. Even if I was to fight you, what is it you hope to gain? You have no home, your pride has exiled you. The very thing that has wrought dishonor upon you, is the only thing you fight for. You are nothing more than a traitor, exiled and disgraced. I have been in far too many wars and I will not partake in mindless bloodshed. You will gain nothing. I will gain nothing. Nothing but more pride in the case of your victory. Blood in the case of mine." Her words were cold, laced with ice. She would dismiss Morphine, with no more than a flicker of her skull. "Throw your tantrum, snarl your discrepancies, I have a pack to tend too. You may be willing to tarnish your body and sacrifice your life, but I have things to live for, a purpose and a family. You will not waste my time nor my blood on a meaningless battle." With that the ivory dame would vanish back amongst the trees, she had no need to hear Morphine's response, she already knew it, more aggression, more hatred. Desdemona had a pack to worry about. A traitor whose thirst for power outweighed her loyalties, was not worth her thoughts. -Exit Desdemona- Speech,

Thank you Lube ♥ Morphine hadn?t lost, no, not to the girl before her; she had simply been disregarded as the secondary Vecaan for she really hadn?t attained much power or say in such a position, therefore, she couldn?t defend it. In that moment, hovering over the deceased body of Kaien and pondering over her losses and Desde?s flawed plans for Tortuga, Morphine desired nothing more than to earn her position back, not only because of her starvation for power among the others, but because she actually did give a damn about the pack despite what Desde ? who knew little to nothing about her and judged her based upon this singular event when she knew Morphine would be at her most fragile ? believed of her and her intentions with the pack. She had entered Tortuga?s hierarchy during its early stages under Nnoitra and she had allowed the majority of her life to revolve around it clambering the hierarchy until one day she had had the impulse to take Tortuga?s matters into her own paws so that it would thrive since Kaien had done little to nothing to revive it. Yes, power had backed up her motives; however, if she truly believed herself incapable to help the pack obtain glory, she would have never requested the position of Vecaan. But Desde didn?t know that ? Desde would never know that and would play a hypocrite and judge the white witch when she had been outraged that Morphine had done the same to her. If you can?t handle criticism, don?t dish it out. The reasoning behind her tantrum was not solely her demotion and Desde would be a fool to have believed otherwise. She had explicitly stated twice now that she was outraged by Desde?s pointless accusations that were not backed by evidence and her flawed plots for the pack; this was no rant simply because of her demotion. If Desde were to remain queen and serve as Tortuga?s primary Vecaan and had allowed Morphine to retain her position as secondary Vecaan, Morphine would have undoubtedly refused the proposal because of her belief in Desde?s incompetence and obviously pretentious nature. Tortuga would see no more progress under this fool than it had under she and Kaien; that much, Morphine had familiarized herself with the moment she had heard Desde?s argument before Kaien?s demise. But Desde held herself above the others as some sort of savior to the pack, as if she was sent by the gods to patch the holes that had been left in the pack that Morphine and Kaien had tried so desperately to mend and she would only disappoint herself when she realized the duty was nothing simple and was accompanied by harsh criticism if the demands of the members were not met in due time. Then and only then would Desde understand Morphine?s frustration with her expectancy for the immediate resurrection of a pack that had nearly breached death a few months before. Then and only then would Desde be fully capable of deciphering just what it was that ticked Morphine off. I will not have you speak to me and title me as a traitor. I have done nothing against Tortuga but speak out against your rule, foolish girl. Banish me if you can?t handle a challenge, for that is what you are doing. ?You fight for nothing.? You are no less a coward than he, she spoke, her voice returning to its previous monotonous state as she gestured towards Kaien?s carcass with her muzzle. And just look where he wound up. She shook her head at this, her tail mirroring Desde?s as it elevated above her rump, for Desde was no greater than she and Morphine would not treat her as such. She was a coward and would forever remain a coward in the eyes of the woman, and Tortuga would be reduced to nothing but cowards with her at its head. It was a pity and Morphine would live to witness how it all unraveled. That was all she was able to speak, for at once, the woman pivoted to face the direction of Tortuga, turning her back on the challenge Morphine had posed and losing respect in the process. But Morphine did not call after her, did not chase after her, did not force her to remain within the boundaries of the arena ? she simply smirked as her plotting mind devised yet another treacherous scheme. - end - Speech,