Once lithe, bulky, and brimming full of muscle was now a compromised bag of bones that could hardly skip. Large paws felt heavy as he prowled across the plains. Along the horizon, the sun would begin to set as a summer heat settled across his shoulders. His ribs still stuck out and if one were to touch his spine, they could count each vertebrae. Ghoul was a shadow of a wolf he once was. He was determined to right that wrong. To fix his mistakes. He would no longer be the hot-headed brash youngster that struck out at others whenever he saw fit. No, he would be much more than that. Better than that.

For now, he lingered. He enjoyed living within Insomnia and if he played his cards right, he would become someone to fear. That was his goal. To never allow anyone to ever take what was his from him again. Not his mother, not his siblings, not some dumb fucking statue. Never. Again. Rage seemed to linger right beneath the surface these days and he tried to utilize it in his training. He needs to fill his skin once more with the muscle that he had spent every day using. Ghoul pined to hunt again. To feel the thrill of the chase, the stalking, the takedown. Every last bit of it was something he missed.

Which is why he was out here. His belly against the grassy dirt as his deer-like tail flicked behind him as if he were a cat. Both ears pressed forward and his toes stretched and splayed. His ruby eyes - now sensitive to the bright afternoon light - blinked slowly as he watched the hare nibble on some brush. Could he catch it? How could he possibly teach Cricket how to be a better hunter if he couldn’t even catch a fucking hare? A growl suddenly rumbles in his chest as he clenches his jaw. The hare hears him, freezing as its beady eyes turns to his hiding spot. As it takes off, Ghoul sighs and lets his eyes close and chin rest upon his paws. Maybe tomorrow.

G H O U L

Enki is a lost soul, set adrift on an endless ocean. Days pass by without his noticing, the only constant thing being the need to fill his body. He feels like an outsider, observing the natural needs of his own body while remaining oddly detached. Food is easy to get so his belly never hungers and there is plenty of room to roam in the tar pits so his legs never cramp from not being used. The world moves on and the boy drifts through it like a wraith. Nothing interests him anymore and even his once adventurous spirit, has been broken.

Yet, he does not surrender to the dark whisperings of his mind, instead clinging to this bizarre existence that he finds himself in. Enki cannot give up his tenuous thread on life until he has served his two years of life that he owes Medusa. After that… well he can only hope. His paws carry him around without the boy realizing where he is going. Suddenly, he feels the change, realizing he is no longer on the rocky grounds of the tar pit and instead on soft grass. The boy pausing and blinks as if he is waking up from a dream. It is, to his surprise, entering the twilight hours and the warmth of summer is wrapped firmly around his frame.

In his absent-minded wandering, Enki has made his way into the plains that border the tar pits. Turning back toward where his home is, a form off in distance off catches his attention and causes him to pause once more. Eyeing the shape, he realizes that they are of the same pink coloration. Idly, he wonder if it a member of his family. Paws plod slowly toward the thin wolf, the boy trying and failing to recognize the stranger. As he nears, the boy realizes that they seem to be nothing but skin and bones with some emotion lingering deep in the unknown wolf’s eyes. It feels like he knows exactly what that emotion is but he… cannot remember the name of it.

Clearing his throat as he gets closer, the boy’s flat, monotone voice asks, “Excuse me. Do you need help?” Enki knows he needs to make friends with other pack mates or, at least, not make them hate him since he will be spending next two years of his life in these lands. Might as well be helpful, or something, too. Plus, there is a nagging familiarity that hangs around the other male and the boy cannot seem to shake it. Eyes empty of the spark that once lived in them, he turns his baby blue eyes to the man and decides to try and figure out why he feels like he knows them.


"Enki Klein"

He is dozing when the sound of paws stepping toward him cause his ears to turn forward. Ghoul keeps his eyes closed, as if he doesn’t notice, but he is very aware of the pale boy that approaches. They are both pale in color, but in different manners - different fathers. Same mother though. This Ghoul knows. He can tell by the scent. It is familiar. He has met this one before, when he was really little. The memory plays in his mind. The bundle of younger siblings tumbling from his mother’s den. Ah, that mixture of emotion that had filled him back then - now gone. Emotion didn’t really bother him anymore. There is a clearing of the other boy’s throat before asking if he needed help. One ruby eye slowly opens as it looks up at the monotone boy. “Help?” Ghoul asks in return, his own voice slow and somewhat grumbly. Seconds pass by as he remembers the hare that he had wished he could snag. He mulls over the question and wonders if his half-brother remembers him. They are similar in appearance, but different in age - different litters, different fathers, remember? Instead, Ghoul exhales and lets one more beat of silence draw between them. It had been awhile, perhaps his brother didn’t remember him. “You’re the one she named Enki, yes?” He inquires as he lets his other ruby eye open so both of them are now trained on him. Like their mother, he is beginning to become sensitive to bright light. The plains offer no good shad so it is something he must adjust to. “I am your older half-brother, Ghoul,” he adds on, making sure to speak somewhat slowly so the boy can understand what he is telling him. It is then Ghoul wonders how many of the other litter ended up here since from his recollection… their mother had run away with the youngest to evade capture. Fuck him and Mac, right? Ghoul Klein

Enki gazes at the stranger as something stirs beneath the heavy gauze of his memory. Once vibrant baby blue eyes are now dead and dull, the shine of coat absent as all trace of life seems to have fled from the boy. A part of him yearns to question this wolf as to why they seem to bring up feelings of familiarity but, for now, he inquires if they need any help. The question is repeated back in a slow, grumbled way that speaks of… something. Since he had learned of his mother’s death, emotions have become a foreign concept, something half remembered and just as easily forgotten; so, the frustration goes unread by the grieving boy.

Eyes blink sluggishly as he awaits an answer from the wolf whose pink coat seems eerily similar to his own. The silence that stretches between the pair slowly becoming pregnant while Enki remains unaware of any tension that may be hanging there. As the stranger finally speaks, the boy’s baby blue eyes slowly widen and he jerkily nods his head in agreement, curious as to how they know the name his mother had given him. He is not left waiting long for an answer as it is explained that Ghoul is his older half-brother and the slow, deliberate way that Ghoul talks to him is completely missed by the broken boy.

Time passes as he gazes at his brother, blank and empty while his brain attmepts to connects the dots. After a few moments, Enki’s voice shakily says, “Recluse. You are her son too.” Suddenly, the dead expression shifts, giving way to a deep heart-rending sorrow and the boy chokes out, “Why did she have to die, Ghoul?” It is the first time, since he had learned of the news, that the boy has felt any emotions and he is quickly remembering why he had locked them away. The pain that he feels is real as his chest constricts and he sucks in a breath, the world spinning with dizzying lights as tears burn hotly in his eyes. Why did she have to leave him? It is a question the boy still is seeking an answer for.


"Enki Klein"

The pregnant pause stretched between the two boys. Both staring at the other as if they expected someone else to pop up and speak for them. When he was younger, Ghoul had been more... apathetic. Uncaring for those around him. Selfish, self-centered, and well, yeah just kind of a douche bag. But now as time passed since his mother's loss, he was beginning to understand. Emotions would come to him and he could actually reflect on what it meant. Which was why now as he stood there, staring at his brother (more like squinting), he could swear he felt his heart literally drop.

What had Enki said? Dead? What did he mean die?

Unfortunately for Ghoul, Galho had not yet found him. During the time that his mother's companion had come searching for them, he had been hiding away, healing from his broken legs. Surely the bird had told Macabre, right? Why hadn't his brother said anything? Then again, his brother had been sick as well. Wait, fuck. His mother was dead.

DEAD. DEAD. DEAD. DEAD. DEAD.

The word repeated itself boldly and loudly in his brain. He said nothing in response to Enki. Just stood there, now wide-eyed, with his mouth agape. No, that couldn't be. Pain radiated from his chest as if a blade had been driven through his ribs. An overwhelming surge of emotions choked his throat, drying his mouth, and forcing his eyes to water. He makes his mouth close, clamping his teeth together as his lips crinkle into a snarl. How could this be? Who had done this?

"Who?" Ghoul's voice is hoarse as he makes himself say the word. Fuck what his brother wanted to know. Why would he, of all wolves, know why their mother died? He had been here the whole time. Stuck in Insomnia until he could stand on his own paws. "WHO TOLD YOU THIS?" Suddenly he is screaming, teeth snapping toward his brother as his body puffs up into a defensive and aggressive posture. Hackles standing straight up, tail curled over his spine, both ears flat against his skull. Stepping toward Enki, he refuses to let his brother get away without telling him the answers.

G H O U L