Forerunner
05-10-2017, 11:22 AM
He'd brought Lykos to speak to Dragon, to give his brother a safe chance to talk to Dragon without him needing to worry about the two of them going for each others' throats, so he simply stood back and waited while Lykos spoke. His pine-green eyes were hooded, though, troubled behind the calm, as he listened to their exchange. How could Dragon refuse to see what was so clear to him? That their mother had made a mistake - she wasn't perfect, no one was, and her treatment of Lykos, whatever her intentions had been, had been wrong, and Dragon had been wrong to continue it. Was he so stubbornly set on being right that he couldn't admit when he'd been wrong, and fix it? Was his pride so all-consuming to him? He kept himself as outwardly relaxed as he could, trying by example to soothe the obvious tension in the air. He quietly nodded to himself in approval of Lykos' moderate tone, pleased that Lykos had taken what he'd said to heart and was making the effort to smooth things rather than make them worse. Dragon though, clearly had different ideas, and Gryphon's relaxed air dissolved as Dragon angrily replied. "Have you lost your damn mind?" he barked, then shook his head sharply. "Don't answer that; you clearly have. What in the hell do you think gives you the right to make decisions for the whole family?" He stalked forward, putting himself back between Lykos and Dragon, shock beginning to solidify to resolve. He hadn't planned this... didn't want this... but as the words came he accepted them. This is what had to be done. "I didn't bring Lykos here to gang up on you, Dragon. I expected you to be mature enough to be reasonable about this and just talk it through. But you clearly haven't done any growing up since Mother passed Talis to you." He took a deep breath, lifting his head and firming his jaw. "Mother gave you Talis. But being alpha does not mean you can control this family. What you tried to do here proves that you don't deserve it. Hell, you don't deserve Talis and if I had any desire or ability at all to be an alpha I would challenge you for it right here. I'm not suited to being an alpha; I recognize that. But I can't stand back and watch you burn down everything that's important to me either. Regardless of whether Lykos wants to be part of the family or not," he didn't take his eyes off Dragon to glance back at his larger, darker brother even as he spoke of him, "you do not have the right to decide whether he is allowed to. He is still my blood. He is still my brother. And you will not take that away from me." He expected a rush of... something. Adrenaline? Fear? Anger? But all that came was a calm sense of resolve. He wasn't angry now, not at Lykos, or their mother, or even Dragon despite what he was planning to do. Still, he couldn't help the quiet sigh that escaped his teeth before he continued. A sigh, but his voice was firm and deep as he said the words. "I am still a member of Talis and have no intention of leaving unless I have to, and as you are my alpha I will accept any punishment that comes for this, but your actions cannot be allowed to stand. From now on I will be making decisions for the Ancora family, and if any of our brothers or cousins want to challenge me for it so be it. I will meet their challenge as well. But I cannot and will not allow you to continue to do so." So saying, he settled himself stolidly into a battle-stance, making his willingness to back up his challenge with his body and fangs if necessary. "Please stay out of this, Lykos," he spoke quietly to the brother at his back, though he didn't turn his gaze from Dragon. "No matter what else happens." How funny that he'd been so worried about Lykos and Dragon fighting that he hadn't even considered that he might be the one to do so. But then, he'd always been the one most stubbornly protective of his family, and if he needed to beat the living hell out of Dragon to protect him and the rest of the family from his bad decisions, so be it. GRYPHON vs DRAGON for DOMINANCE (right to Head of Family) Round 0/? Height 39" Build Medium |