Fallen Angel

Dominus' bright blue eyes locked on to those of his uncle as he told him about his family. He was curious, but the dread of what he was going to be told at the end of his story was apparent as fear kept his pupils small and his face completely neutral. Masked muzzle lifted slightly once Regulus mentioned rape, as he had never once been told this before. He knew Elias had evil in him.. they all did, all Praetors. Their blood was the blood of the demon Apollyon - but love for wolves and their pack was still a part of their beliefs. They had to treat each other with respect, with love. It was law in Ruina.

How did rape attest to that love? How did rape help Apollyon? How did....

Suddenly, it connected.

Souls.

His father must have farmed souls through brooding... and apparently, somehow made a wife out of one. Tyranis was his half-brother, he was likely the same, wasn't he? Was that why his litter was royalty, and theirs was not? How many wolves had Elias done this to? His mind whirled as he made all the connections, thoughts racing a mile a minute. Did that love and respect he was taught only extend to Ruina wolves, did that make everyone else victims to their harvest? If wolves could cry, he certainly would be. His young, fragile mind held no capability to keep itself from simply.. shattering. Before Regulus could even finish his speech, Dominus was looking back down to the lavender flower at his nose gently blowing toward him in the breeze. He whimpered and fell before it, his eyes locked on to the beautiful hint of purple as he silently prayed his love to his mother.

His gentle mother was all he could think about, her immense love for the world around her and healing led her to care for even Elias after what he did for her; but how could Elias do that to a woman he loved? Was it expected of a Demon Mother to tolerate this? Is that.. why she left? What else had he done to her? Is that why she left them with him... was he and Domina too much like his monstrous father? In appearance, at least, it was certainly undeniable.

"I never knew. I knew.. I knew he had done evil things, but never to her. My father... is... he... believes we have demon blood. That our purpose here is to collect souls and power... I was always so curious about the demons, and believed that.. serving them was honorable, that it made us.. immortal through the power of..." He couldn't finish his sentence. When he was a kid, he swore he could feel Apollyon in the presence of his father. He could feel that power, and it thrilled him. The first hunt the twins had was made in Apollyon's honor, and now he hated him more than ever.

"My mother was known by the Demon Mother of Ruina. She loved my father, she.. would use this herb in the den at night.. and lay with all of us.. she would calm him when he.. well, when.. the demons were loud. He told us they would guide him.. but it was at times frightening to watch and she.. she was there to settle him." He paused. He was slowly pulling himself together as he forced himself to let this out, to tell him. That's what he thought, anyway -- and then a split second later his sadness swept over him once again.

"She disappeared.. and.. I still don't know what happened to her." He sobbed, his eyes finally closing as he hoped like Hell that she really did leave him behind and not that Elias had harmed her. He didn't think so.. since.. their youth had been spent searching for her up until Domina's death. Even if she did leave him and Domina behind, it was... understandable with everything Dominus' was learning about her. He was empathetic enough to understand that.

Elias was worth killing in the eyes of Regulus and many others, but what they didn't understand was that.. Elias was a puppet and so was he. Would Regulus kill him as well if he knew that he was just like him, that those same demons spoke to him too? His mind was constantly at war with itself, between what was real and what was his own imagination. He wanted to not believe in them, to toss them aside, but how could he when he heard them?!

His eyes flashed up to the red wolf and he pulled himself together.. an ominous calmness suddenly sweeping over him. It was so drastically different from what he was just expressing; as if he was a completely different wolf standing up now with radiating pride and strength with ever fiber of his being. His jaw muscles tensed, teeth clenching as he looked up to Regulus.

'Breathe...' he heard his mother say and he listened. He calmly inhaled and lifted his square chin.

"Have you come to kill me, too? Am I just like him?" His voice was monotone even with his question, his eyes never breaking from the face of the wolf before him. Outside, he was serene - inside, his heart raced as he wondered how Regulus would answer. Dominus felt as though he was like him... just... perhaps more in control. His purpose here was the same, and.. eventually.. he would not be able to fight them off anymore than Elias had. He could feel that in his bones, he could hear it in their threats, and.. did that make him an enemy, too? Could Regulus tell?