Night cascaded over the land in a shroud of permanent darkness. Just how he liked it. Or how he had always known it. Lit by streaking stars and wavering auroras, Ghoul looked out at the den's entrance with boredom. Around him, everyone slept while it evaded him. Often he found himself sleepless with the trickling of thoughts invading his young mind. He thought about as much as a pup his age could. Glancing over at his slumbering siblings and mother, he thought it possibly safe to maybe go sit by the den's entrance without waking any of them. Slowly as he could stand from their nestled pile, the pale boy wandered to where the moonlight shone down. Around him, neon flora popped up between volcanic rocks. In truth, he enjoyed the scenery and hoped the world would stay this way forever. Stopping not a few feet from the mouth's opening so he could still see the shadows of his family inside, he plopped his large body down until his paws were up in the air. Staring at the sluggish stars in the sky, he could hear the rustle of Galtho stirring nearby. Of course, the bird would be around to make sure nothing would happen, but Ghoul was sure nothing would.

Misery’s main love of life was the art of deception.  The joy of spinning false tales with sprinkles of the truth, acting whichever way worked best for the situation.  Most of the time he disdained doing any more work than necessary.  However, that didn’t mean he’d avoid other work when it was necessary or when it piqued his interest.  This sickness was a thing that had to be figured out for the good of those who deserved life and those who were too entertaining to let die.  On top of that something so totally unknown touched his curiosity.

Misery had recently finished slashing open the rabbits he’d experimented on earlier.  He had cut open their heads, separating flesh from muscle and skull as he tried to find where the ooze was created from and if there were indeed spores or crystal pieces within.  Each one had individual differences in the state of their health and unfortunately, Misery hadn’t gained enough information to help matters.

His mind was working through what else he might try as he headed towards the den to check on their mother.  Pausing near the front of the den Misery spotted one of the pups laying along the entrance.  Misery peered within, he could see mom at least appeared to be asleep.  She was still seriously ill and she was one of the few he felt actual concern for.  Well, for now, she was sleeping, so now the black and silver wolf looked back to the kid at the entrance.

“Get lost on finding where the others are sleeping?”  The question was mild without offering any real opinion as to what Misery actually thought about it.

"Misery"

The sound of paws against rocks made his ears turn and his head rub against the ground. Placid curiosity lit his red eyes as he watched the black and silver wolf approach. Mama had mentioned that he had older siblings, but none of them had turned up quite yet to introduce themselves. His fur began to bristle as the older wolf stopped and peered into the den. Why did this one think he could just look into their sleeping area without permission? Narrowing his eyes as he stayed laying down on his back, his face fell into a bored look as the attention of the other finally turned to him. "Couldn't sleep," was all he offered in return with his own mild tone. Looking back up to the twinkling stars and buzzing fireflies for a moment, Ghoul figured he'd at least be nice to the guy if he really was his older brother. Finally rolling over onto his side so he could stand up on his large paws, he winced momentarily as the sharp rocks dug into his skin. Shaking out his downy pink fur, Ghoul turned his attention back to Misery. "What're you doing out at this hour, anyway?" He asks, his fur rising slightly between his shoulders before he sits with his tail curled neatly around his paws. Keeping a bright red stare on Misery, the young pup tilts his head slightly while waiting for a response.

Misery gave his little brother the most indulgent smile.  Everyone had to prove there were worth something to Misery before he’d believe it.  He gave out no free passes for being family.  How close to being inside the den did the pup need to be so that mom wasn’t upset at him.  Misery imagined that was somewhere along the line of thought going through the kid's mind.  Big world, he wanted to go see it.  The question was if the boy had thought to go out further without permission.

Misery grinned at the question of what he was up to, a well-refined roguish grin.  That was it, he grinned, but what happened to the answer?  Misery’s kept a general glance between kid and den as he considered options.  He could sleep out here to keep an eye on their mom or go elsewhere to rest or do a few more experiments.  More experiments meant needing more subjects to study and was he really ready to go hunting?  

“Try counting fireflies,” Misery teased the boy a bit, “There’s plenty in the sky.  If there are more than thirty-eight let me know.”  The small black and silver wolf said the last part somberly, “It’s an important number when considering swarms.”   Misery wasn’t in the practice of giving information before getting some of his own.  “It's unlikely you’ll count that many though, so don’t worry overly.”  Misery both doubted the kid could count that high, especially when the fireflies were so good at dancing about and confusing even an adult wolf trying it.

So would the brat take it as a suggestion or an assignment?  Would he open up more or try to press his luck with having Misery answer his question first?  Really though, considering where the fireflies were thickest wasn’t a bad idea and to some extent, a general number recorded might not be a bad idea.  Well, one more thing to be done.

"Misery"

Misery's roguish grin was unimpressive to Ghoul as his expression didn't falter. Letting his floppy ears fall to the side, he stared blankly at the older wolf with disinterest. His older brother continued on about counting fireflies and swarms, effectively avoiding his question. Unfortunately for Misery, Goul didn't know how to count that high yet, but not like he'd been practicing. Ghoul knew he had one mama and four littermates and those were the only numbers that mattered currently. What made Ghoul curious was why Misery decided to stop by the den when everyone was sleeping. Other wolves didn't come unless they wanted to see the new pups or to check up on mama. Blinking slowly, the pale boy yawned. Not because he was tired suddenly, but because he wouldn't fall for whatever tricks Misery was trying to play. "I have a feeling you didn't happen by here to count fireflies," his tone is flat as he glances over to the bouncing bugs. Sure, there were a lot of them. But since they'd been allowed out of the den, they had always been there and there never seemed to be more or less than there was the day before. Ghoul's eyes linger on the glowing bugs for a moment longer before moving back to Misery. "Are you going to answer my question?" The pup asks, his big eyes unblinking as he waits for Misery to respond.

Misery looked at the boy with his easy smile remaining in place considering the child for a few moments.  Finally, he lay on the ground near the kid to get face to face better.  “You didn’t say please,” mused happily, “Or tell me your name.”

Sure, the white pup wanted to play it cool and seemed to have a notion they were on equal standing.  Perhaps the pup thought he had guaranteed safety because of his blood.  Misery had the same blood and for today at least was larger and a hell of a lot smarter and more experienced.  The black and silver wolf had no intention to explain himself to a rude brat.

Finding where he would stand with kids early on was important.  He’d be happy to give more than one lots of his attention when he was around if it would gain Misery what he wanted.  But mom’s children could both be beneficial or irritation depending on how they grew up.  There was no point in teaching someone that would try to steal his fun.  How old the kids would be before he came to a final consensus Misery hadn’t decided yet.  There were unknown factors to be sorted out.

"Misery"

As Misery's smiling face lowered to the ground to be more on his level, Ghoul's frozen expression lay unchanged. Was the action supposed to entice a reaction out of him? Or was his older brother simply being kind? Ghoul decided it wasn't the latter for Misery's next words caused his ears to flatten ever so slightly. Did his older sibling believe him to be that much more important? Please and thank yous were left for polite conversations. And if this older wolf didn't know his name already, maybe mama didn't deem it important either. Pausing for a moment to allow the silence to drift between them as he blinked slowly, he tilted his head toward the side to appear curious. "And neither did you," he poses back to his sibling with an uninterested voice. Perhaps the games would work on others that allowed their emotions to consume them. But Ghoul was a different breed. Efficient. Purposeful. Emotions meant nothing and were only necessary if enticed by a severe event. Ghoul allows a few more moments of silence to drag between them as he mulled over the options of whether he should indulge the older boy. It wouldn't hurt, but he wasn't going to say please. There would have to be more beneficial than that. "My name is Ghoul," the large pup finally introduces himself, his eyes blinking a few more times before staring at Misery. "It's only polite if you introduce yourself in return," he adds on, lips curling just at the edges in a teasing manner. Maybe he would find out how emotionally driven his brother really was.

Misery lay his head on his own paws as he looked thoughtfully at Ghoul.  The kid gave in to sharing his name but was keeping indifferent with mild curiosity façade.  Misery pondered the pup for a moment but decided he could give an inch since the kid had, “I’m Misery,”  and even as a bonus he added, “I’m awake because there is work to do, and I’m here just to see mom isn’t any worse.  Not waking her up though.”

Misery imagined he should really try to get along with his siblings better.  The problem being this was a lousy time to get brothers and sisters.  The world was in bad shape and more importantly, the pack was in bad shape.  Misery wasn’t an emotional sort to worry about losing any bonds but the strategy of a strong pack he acknowledged  He also had to acknowledge some attachment to their mom and wanted to make sure she got well.  She would rest easier if she felt secure with the pack managing even while she was ill.

He was ready for all this to be fixed.  Misery had a future job he wanted to get started on.  He would finally get to start spying and was very curious about what he’d find there right now.  What condition were the wolves in Abaven in?  How much damage was the sickness doing to them?  It was what he’d wanted for ages, a chance to spy.
With all of that to consider was it really any surprise he wasn’t in a rush to meet his younger siblings?

"Misery"

Watching as his brother laid his head on his paws, Ghoul went back to his own laying position with paws in the air. Swiftly rolling over onto his back, he stared up at the stars as Misery responded. Ah, so he was on a mission. But work was there to do? It must have been older wolf stuff was the only conclusion Ghoul could have come to. His fur wanted to bristle at the mention of mom, but he relaxed when Misery assured him he wouldn't wake her. Huffing out a chilled breath, he tilted his chin so he could look at his brother. "She seems okay. Well, at least not worse," his voice is tender for once. Any time he mentioned mama, there was always tender care at the edges of his words. She was the light of his life, in the most motherly way. Wrinkling his nose as he swatted away a firefly, he thought back on what Misery had said. "What kind of work?" Ghoul asked casually, figuring he too could get to know his siblings better. If they were going to stick around, he might as well try.

Well, the attitude Misery disliked seemed to have faded some from the boy. Misery couldn’t expect nor did he want warm and fuzzy siblings. This would work fine the skunk-looking wolf acknowledged. “Wok on finding a solution to the sickness going around. Testing different theories and searching for patterns.” His eyes flicked to the firefly that Ghoul had swatted away a moment ago, “they are actually worth studying. The fireflies, the crystals, even where the moon strikes the ground versus where it can’t reach are all worth noticing.” The kid wanted insight? There was a decent bit for him.

“We don’t know how far the sickness could take mom or the rest of the pack. A cure needs to be found before anyone dies before mom dies.” Let that last bit sink in. Misery didn’t see any reason to hide the harsh realities of the world. Everything died, including wolves and including family. Misery was already trying to decide what tests he might do with the fireflies the more he considered them. Prior to now, it had been focusing on crystals and mushrooms but there had to be testing he could do on the bugs.

"Misery"