She understood that she had no choice, and he forced the agreement from her, an agreement he believed she would be honour-bound to keep. He hid his smile, looking instead sternly at her. He had no need to gloat, he had gotten what he wished. “You will find that choice is a strong warriors right, and a weak wolfs delusion” he told her, not without a hint of pity for the young girls naive view. “You have will and strength, but those that taught you feared spilling your blood, you will find no such mercy's here” he told her, a touch of eager anticipation in his tone. He had a long road to go with this wolf, but he had an inkling what type of wolf she would become. A warrior for the Ashen Empire. Perhaps his right-hand warrior one day. “Of course - as my pupil, you will have certain freedoms you wouldn’t have otherwise” he explained, and true to his word the man tossed back his head, and howled for the little slave girl. His voice was a command, and he had no doubt she would obey. He sat back on his hunches and quietly waited, eyes trained on his pupil. "Speech"

Motif heard the call of the tyrant, and shrunk into herself. She now bore a sharp, newly closed wound above her eye where the sharp claws of the Empress’s daughter had rendered her flesh. Her eyes were puffy, red, and sore both from the blood that had filled them, and the many washes that had followed to clear them. She looked a little rugged and a lot dejected as she made her way after the howl.

She wondered if she was about to receive punishment, for the way she had spoken to Venom. She had almost stood up for herself, but had failed in the end, and collapsed in on herself again. She was a failure, and if she was the last of her family, then her ancestors must weep.

She almost didn’t understand what she was seeing when she arrived, blinking in confusion for a moment, before she cried out, the first sound of joy to pass her lips in a long time, as her dejected walk turned into a run, and she was barrelling into her sister, tears streaming down her face. “I thought you died, I thought you died!”

Blue and lavender eyes didn’t leave the fanged beast as he continued, almost gloating as he taught her one of his first lessons. Poem didnt let her sharp gaze leave him as he spoke about letting her blood flow. She stifled a reaction to the shiver that raced up her spine as he mentioned her few allowed freedoms. He didn’t explain precisely, and the thought worried her. She was going to have to figure out her boundaries by trial, and the error would result in the pain mentioned earlier.

He took the chance to summonMotif, and Poem felt herself become restless. She wanted to move to run to do anything but remain still under the heavy stare of her new.. teacher. She couldn’t see him as anything but evil. ”Such as?” Poem tested as she waited for her sister to arrive, curious about 1. how far she could push and 2. if he’d actually answer her question directly.

Motif didn’t take long though, and Poem was released from the mammoth for only a moment as her similarly sized sister crashed into her. Poem didn’t move out of the way, even after her embarrassing loss she wouldn’t deny her sister. Tears welled up and fell to her cheeks as she clung to her littermate and tried to process her sister’s words. ”No, I’m here.” She said with relief into Motif’s fur. ”I thought you died. When you left and didn’t even tell me..” She hadn’t entertained the idea for long but she hadn’t put it past the realm of possibility. ”Mom and Tato can’t wait to see you.” She whispered into Motif’s ear as she wished for privacy from that heartless stare behind them.

“Such as seeing your sister before I send her on her way, and denning near me instead of by the children of this pack, and having the freedom to concentrate on your studies instead of seeing to their needs.” he said, only a small part of the differences of what her life would be from what it could have been - had she entered Ashen as a slave instead of a pupil.

There was no annoyance in the man as he answered the question, and when Motif came forward, he took himself a respectful distance away to allow the two their reunion in peace. He took a seat and waited, ear casually tilted as he listened to what little pieces of their conversation he could catch. He wasn’t eavesdropping exactly, only hearing whatever they didn’t say quietly between them.

Motif had time to consider what Poem’s presence here meant, she was much too concerned with the realization that her sister was alive. The little girl sobbed a little at the mention of their parents names. “There alive?” she asked, she barely scarced to believe. She just wanted to curl up in the protective arms of her sister, and know that the world wasn’t quite as terrible as she had believed.

“I thought when the volcano erupted… it was just next to our pack, I was scared Poem. I thought I lost everybody… but you came for me, you found me. Can we go home now?”[ /b] she asked, a mixture of joy and misery in her voice - happiness to realise everyone she loved wasn’t died, and miserable at the idea of spending even another moment in this horrible pack. [b] “I don’t like these people, Poem”

He explained a few reasons for his generosity, and the boundaries were built up a bit more visually. She couldn’t show much reaction, as Motif was suddenly upon her. She was surprised about the distance the mammoth put between them, but it was enough to put her a little more at ease. Motif was going home. Edgar would find her, or Imperia, and Rhyme would be right there to escort her to where she needed to be.

Her sister was practically begging to be taken home, and Poem’s dark ears fell to her skull as she returned her words. ”Everyone is fine. They’ve moved to the Islands off the coast for now.” She assured Motif was a kiss on her sister’s cheek. Sirius gaze was heavy upon her. ”I’m not going back with you.” She said gently, worried what Motif might say or react to the news. ”Edgar will find you, and he’ll make sure Dad comes for you.” She said, tears beginning to well up into her eyes. She only just returned her sister to her arms and she was going to be ripped away again.

Motif looked at her sister, uncomprehending. The wolf, well the same age as her, looked somehow older. Motif felt like a child beside her sister, and never had she felt so separated from her before. Motif’s time away had aged her, and made her miserable, but Poem seemed stronger, and wiser.

The young girl blinked at her sister, muzzle wobbling a little. “I don’t understand” she said quietly. “I just found you again, why are you coming home with me?” she asked, looking at her sister with worry, and a touch betrayal. Hadn’t Poem come all this way to find her? Why couldn’t they come home together. She didn’t want to be separated from her sister again.

Sirius took pity on Poem then, and intruded on the quiet moment before the two. He crouched down beside Motif, looking at the sharp contrast between the two. He definitely saw a great deal more potential in Poem, then this miserable quiet girl. “Because your sister made a promise, in order to find you, now that’s she found you and you can go home, she has to make good on her promise” Sirius told the young girl.

“She will be okay, and you’ll see her again, she can come visit you in a few months, okay?” Sirius said, surprisingly gently. He had already gotten what he wanted, he had no reason now to be an asshole.

Motif was obviously confused, not that Poem could blame her, she hadn’t been very clear. She offered her sister a sympathetic look, but before she could answer the beast had returned. Poem gave him an uneasy glance as he softly explained their deal like he might talk to a frightened pup. She quirked a brow at his mention of her visiting in a few months, and she couldn’t decide if he said it because it was truth or to put Motif at ease. His life would certainly be easier if Motif was complacent.

”Tell Mom and Dad I’m alright. I have my price to pay and they can’t come for me.” No matter how much she wanted to return with her littermate she knew it wasn’t possible. She had to serve her new master for a year before she could see Abaven again. ”I’ve missed you, Mo.” She whispered into her sister’s ear as she aimed to hold her darker sister more tightly to her chest. ”I’ll see you soon.”

Motif held her sister tightly, expression more then a little wobbly. She wanted nothing more than to leave this place. She didn’t like its wolves, she didn’t understand them. As she looked to her beloved sister, and would see a maturity, a darkness, that hadn’t been there when they had been younger. She had a feeling Poem did understand them, better then Motif was able.

She forgot sometimes that they where the saem age, with the mature and certain way her sister held herself, or the protective, gentle nuzzle she gave the darker girl as she hugged her. Sometimes it felt like Poem was a sister years older, and someone Motif knew would always defend her. “I wish you were coming with me” she whispered. “Don’t forget me, come back to us, I love you” she whispered tearily to her sister before pulling away. She felt Sirius’s looming presence behind them, and she knew their time was up. “Poem…” she said, but whatever she was going to finish that sentence with, she didn’t, instead, she turned and began to run. Tears streaming down her face, her insides screaming at her for being a coward, as she left Poem there. Left her with those monsters.

-exit?-

After so much time searching and hoping and wishing desperately for her sister’s presence she was going to have to say goodbye again. Now Poem knew that her sister was still alive and that she would be home soon. She didn’t want to let go again, didn’t want to lose the support of a familiar and loving face. Motif didn’t belong here, she needed to be surrounded by those she loved. She needed to be allowed to flourish under the care of family.

”Me too, but I wasn’t strong enough.” She tried to keep the bitterness from her voice. Had she won her fight against Sirius maybe the both of them would be going home right now. ”I’ll think about you everyday, I’ll come back stronger and I won't let anything happen to you again.” She promised as Sirius began to put pressure on their reunion. She clung to Motif as she pulled away, unable to let her go willingly. ”I love you too..” She offered back as Motif said her name once more, and then turned to race away from the terrible place Poem was fated to remain.

Poem started after her, but Sirius’s eyes stopped her after only two paces. She did her best to withhold her tears, she couldn’t let the guard see her weakness. A heavy sigh left her, but Poem was determined to see her obligation through and one day be with her beloved family again.