LOST AND BOUND

Blood had been spilled. It had been some time now since the sacrifice, but he relived the events nightly in his dreams. Thick, crimson-red blood, sent cascading over the stones below, staining his cousin?s muzzle and painting a beautiful scene of sacrifice and devotion. The gods were pleased, and he felt their contentment resonate deep within his soul.


The entire thing had been so beautiful. He had watched unblinkingly as Katja swiftly tore our Auora?s throat in one clean, concise motion. Blood had instantly begun to pour and he had watched in obvious amusement at the horror and shock that spread among the wolves that had decided to attend the festival. It had not been a murder and yet some had reacted as though it was just that. Most of his attention had been on his cousins -- adoration gleaming in his eyes at the selfless sacrifice Auora had made for them all, and admiration for the bravery it had taken Katja to take the life of her own sister. She had not done it easily, but there was no regret written on her masked features.


The reaction of one in particular had bothered him. A man with a brown coat and yellow eyes, who had stood and questioned what Katja had done with fury. He had been so self-righteous and so ignorant at the same time. ?Think about all the beauty that could have been. All the potential that was just thrown away and tell me what about this isn't shameful!? Irritation had quickly grown to fury as he watched a fight unfold. Though Kapra was typically aroused by the promise of bloodshed, excited by pain and suffering -- this was not the time for such things. He?d felt his lips quivering, unfurling to reveal stained fangs beneath, a strange sort of anger bubbling up from within his chest.


But he would not let his day be ruined. He had fled the scene quickly after the deed was done, but not before placing a tender kiss to the side of Auora?s throat, tongue barely catching a hint of the sacred blood that had flowed from her torn throat.


Where would he go now?


His steps were aimless as he trailed away from the place where the festival had been held. The gods would guide him, he was sure of it. He wasn?t sure how long it was that he wandered, with no goal or purpose, before the storms began. A loud crack of thunder sounded somewhere in the distance, the loud clang of Thor?s hammer against the earth itself, resonating across the lands. The rain began soon after, lightning springing up across the horizon. The gods were celebrating! They were pleased at the offering Katja and Auora had presented them with and they wanted the world to know. The brute felt a bit of laughter bubbling up from his chest. He would head further west, leaving the chaos that threatened to engulf the land in the midst of their jovial celebration, and toward even more unfamiliar lands.


As he journeyed west, something incredible happened. His cousin?s scent was here. It was faint, but fresh, a sure sign she had traveled this way. As always, he would attribute this luck to the gods, quietly thanking them for the sign he had needed.

Katja hadn?t taken especially well to his presence, the few times he had reunited with her. Part of him knew why, but the elephant in the room would remain, simply pushed aside for discussion in the future. Truly though, there was no use bringing up Jaeger any time soon. He hadn?t seen his brother in over a year now, and though he missed him terribly, he knew one day he would see him again.


It was with fervor that he tracked her scent, thankful that the weather was much more temperate here than in the east. He would avoid the worst of the storms, his cousin's scent growing stronger with each hour that passed. Once near - he was surprised that these lands smelled as though they had been claimed by her - he would tilt his head to the sky, letting a haunting howl spill from his throat. The gods had done something great, he was certain of it, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it all.