Word count: 977 words
Winter seasonal

The tar pits almost felt like a prison, but he did suppose that was the point. His wounds hurt, but it wasn’t like he wasn’t filled with basic healing knowledge. He’d found some herbs and done it himself, Eraithus was too upset to swallow his pride and go asking for treatment after all he was an odd party in all this and now he felt like he’d gotten himself mixed up in an affair he never previously would have. It separated him from his wife and his children, chewing on a rabbit bone he let the thing splinter in his jaw. His stomach gave a rumble and Eraithus simply growled irritated in response. The tar pits weren’t too bad of a place. It wasn’t as if he was actively trying to escape either. He was a good boy around the guards and he had spent his time brooding since Medusa put him in his place. Eraithus felt stripped of his noble status. NOT because of Habari and Recluse. His father had been a king - he came to these lands to spread their gene’s and guide strength and independence to the next generation. Yet he’d been patient hadn’t he, he’d been helpful he played the role he always had in order to protect his “sinister” addiction that now reignited when he pulled that scene on Medusa. He had kept thinking to himself, chewing on that rabbit bone, looking at his prized antlers the only thing he seemed to own now in his life.

Outside of the edge of the isolated tar pits he was in though he could see where the territory met new land. However, when he listened closer he could hear small yelps coming from a distance. Eraithus had grown up in a desert valley he recognized the calls of coyotes. Normally they grouped together during the winter when food became scarce. Many of their warriors had to pick them off for culling season. Honestly, maybe he wanted to die… he felt awfully numb to the world around him. Kespie had kept her distance with his silence. Even if the owl had let him know his family was safe. He would never give away their location but if he was here. He could get some rage out of his system. Coyotes caused problems for packs. Food stealing and if they were here to try to make a meal of him then he would enjoy the little snack after he had only been able to Savor the taste of Medusa’s blood.

The beaten warrior didn’t even take his antlers, he stood at the edge and watched as three coyotes moved. Yipping it was obvious they weren’t too keen on making themselves hidden. Not like he was better off anyway. Eraithus grinned, he wasn’t really doing this to protect Insomnia but if they liked bloodbaths he would give them one. Hopefully, some onlookers could watch him. He has been stuck in the pit after all and he’d show these freaks he wasn’t the “good boy” many thought he was. He wasn’t just the wolf who followed and tiptoed after another, was that what they had thought of him? The first of the group launched itself at him. Eraithus yelped as he felt jaws pierce his right shoulder. Yet it almost appeared that he laughed, a small pass of his tongue as he stared into the depraved creature's eyes. “Why thank you, I needed a wake me up.” Eraithus felt the other two go after his legs. Yet he was fast after that.

Adrenaline pushed through him, he swung his shoulders when the first let go flying into the dirt. The second Coyote snapped for Eraithus's face, the male rearing up and slamming his jaws into the smaller creature's skull. He didn’t stop there, the third latched onto his right leg causing him to crumple but with the second Coyote’s head in his mouth, it seemed the first was wary to approach. Eraithus tightened his grip, and with a sickening crunch, he could feel blood well in his teeth. The coyote screamed and the sound was like a lullaby to him. Eraithus shook his head, tossing the crumbled coyote as the third still with his leg in its mouth snapped up to Eraithus throat.

Eraithus skidded back feeling the coyote’s teeth latch onto the fur on his chest. Groaning he brought his bloodied teeth down. Grabbing hold of the skinny coyote’s scruff. Pushing down he saw the first coyote jump at him. Within a moment he let go of his captor. Swinging his jaws up they hit the mark on the first Coyote. His jaws found the windpipe with quick work with a wolf’s jaws. Blood spurt as Eraithus brought the first down on the third. The third coyote screamed when the body of the first slammed into it. Eraithus let go as the third coyote desperate as it was, began to scramble for an escape. Eraithus was laughing now, he hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. Racing forward he tripped the coyote, grabbing hold of the side of its face before he pulled. The ripping made the coyote crumble tripping over sand and leaving clumps of blood in its wake. Surely for anyone, it was a vision to be seen.

Eraithus was bleeding slightly, but it was nothing compared to the heat he felt around the rest of him. He took the bodies and piled them into a corner of the tar pit. “If anyone’s hungry, go ahead I guess.” he called with a shrug. Turning and taking out the throat of one of the creatures. He lapped at the blood before he pulled back and realized he was covered in the stuff. He kind of liked it though. He moved away from the pile, he didn’t want to impose on the members of Insomnia.

She had been watching with interest after she had come to do her daily Curse check. Eraithus was fighting a small pack of coyotes that had encroached on Insomnia's borders. She didn't bother to intervene, as she was more curious to see if Eraithus was actually able to handle himself, or if he really would need the help. If the coyotes got past him, then she would step in to stop them, but the more she watched, it seemed he'd eventually get it under control. She hummed to herself as she observed him for a few minutes, and after he piled up the bodies and called to whoever that would listen, she glanced at the bodies once more before deciding to approach. She wasn't going to eat them since she wasn't particularly hungry right now, but she would likely use their skin and body parts later. Instead, she strode right for the blue male, gaze locked on him. "Why didn't Eraithus fight like that against Medusa? He wants to free himself and his kids, doesn't he?" She stopped and dropped her rump all in one swift motion as she waited for his answer. "Medusa"

Eraithus hadn't expected Medusa to come to him. The man's blue eyes gleamed against his bloodstained face. He tried to keep himself under cool control but, he didn't find any anger there. The edge of his tail twitched as she spoke, it really hadn't bothered him how she spoke. Now he was softly curious about what Medusa had done entirely and what Recluse had done to her. Eraithus didn't want to go digging into his wife's past anyway. He wasn't even sure if he was going to see her again. Curse it all too, his brother would have told him he should have been following the path their father set out for them. He'd spent the last two years trying to make something of himself in a pack that saw him as nothing, even when he treated everyone as equals no matter their rank. Eraithus did suppose this was why he found it easy to talk to Medusa even if he wasn't ready to open himself up to a stranger who quite frankly had embarrassed him for the first time in his life. "I thought I did." he said truthfully. Taking a soft lick off his chest. "I guess I was just too stupid to see something right in front of me. I worked my ass off for Habari and got nearly nothing for it, so thought to myself in the end, why should I take fake friendliness when I can make something of myself here where I don't have to hide who I am." Eraithus shrugged. He stretched his shoulder, trying not to open the wound there that the coyote made. He'd have to wash it off and hopefully see if he could find any more herbs.

"I like the way your blood tastes Medusa, it's my favorite part of any wolf. So even if it takes a while I want to apply myself to insomnia. At least then maybe I'll see some reward for doing something." He was nervous, but he'd always had a habit of coming off cooly with things. Medusa could judge him all she wanted he'd decided. It wouldn't be the first time he'd been at the bottom of the totem pole. Of course, she could just maim him again and throw him out for the coyotes. He'd be okay with that he decided, at least he could fight and get away. Eraithus wanted life, a full serving of it.

"I thought I did." Medusa shrugged. But she didn't comment just yet. Instead, letting him speak whatever he wanted before she talked his ear off. "I guess I was just too stupid to see something right in front of me. I worked my ass off for Habari and got nearly nothing for it, so thought to myself in the end, why should I take fake friendliness when I can make something of myself here where I don't have to hide who I am." Well, now that was interesting! Maybe the two of them weren't so different after all. "Now Eraithus knows how Medusa felt." At some point, she had decided to work her ass off, even if it meant going against the rules of what her rank entailed. But if she hadn't done it, then she would've still been there stuck at the bottom and ignored, just without the experience. But since she did it the way she thought was best, (still ignored for the most part of course), she had learned a ton and had even surpassed Recluse. Though Medusa had won the challenge fair and square, she couldn't help but wonder how the half-blind bitch had even come into possession of Habari. It certainly wasn't by fighting...that was for sure.

When she spoke the next part, she was surprised to hear that. She narrowed her gaze slightly at him, wondering if this was a trick of some sort or if he was being real. She pursed her lips in thought for a moment as she mulled over his words. "Medusa doesn't know if she can trust you...yet. Eraithus was with Recluse. But Recluse wasn't there for you. You trusted her, but she didn't care, did she?" A rhetorical question perhaps. She didn't need to state the obvious, she was sure. But sometimes others needed to hear it said aloud. She knew damn straight that Recluse didn't give a flying fuck about Medusa since day one. Yet she forced her to stay in the pack for no reason other than...well...she had no damn clue! Over a mistake? Or just a power trip? Hell if she knew. She pushed those thoughts from her mind, however, before continuing. "Medusa isn't a know-it-all fighter, but she thought Eraithus could have done better. You did good, but Medusa expected more...heart...?" Was that the feeling she was looking for? It sounded about right...when Medusa had been ready to fight for her own freedom, she had been ready to give it her all. But Recluse had bowed out from that, so Medusa had given it her all in a bid for Habari. While others might have seen it as nothing but violent, Medusa had fought with every fiber of her being to prove herself. And won. She fell silent then as she waited to hear what else Eraithus had to say.


"Speech!"

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