I could feel the ramifications, now, of everything I had done wrong, each mistake I had made. Inadvertently I had turned my family from me, made them resent me. For this, I hated myself. For this, I also hated them. Like a tumultuous fire I could feel the fingers of my evil-doings lace around me. What had I done? What was the reasoning for the choices I had made? I didn't know, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know why I had made the decisions I had. Everything seemed to fall around me, my world, was broken, shattered, ruined

Moving with quickened steps I stopped over a clearing. Muscular thighs seated against the ground I felt as though there was something ethereal about this place, about the purity within' it. This, this was the time to rediscover myself and find out who I was, then, then I could consider going back to the throne, but for now I had to deal with the fact Cairo, my father, had chosen another, a child from his past, to take over, and honestly, it hurt. The impostor was not even an Adravendi, and I had to survive it, live with it until I was able to make amends for my sins. Apologies? Were they necessary? Would they make anything perfect in the world again? Equilibrium, that was what I sought, and perhaps, soon, I would find it.

Deteste was unsure how he had wandered so far away from the borders of his home but he did understand that the yearning need to escape from Laxago's pressing needs and morose mood had been sated and now a subtle sense of guilt began to well within his conscience. His walk had been long and, for the post mart, thoughtless. Only now did he pause to take in the steep stone faces of the cavern he had wandered into. A cool stream of water flowed beside him and he paused to serve his dry throat. The water, black in the shade of the cliff walls, echoed and splashed loudly within the narrow ravine. Not interested in delving deeper into the crevice Deteste turned directly around and walked until the land flattened and then altogether evened out into a grassy, pine-like wood. The vagabond realized he had wandered rather far from home, for the land of the Ludicael was nearly tropical and although he had made it this far in such quick time he was unsure, now that he was mostly aware of his self and actions, that he would be home again until sundown. And immediately upon his arrival it would be necessary to find game for Laxago who could not feed herself.


Guilt and responsibility began to weigh on his mood and although Deteste did not necessarily need to cough he did. The sound was the epitome of how he felt. The way home brought Deteste to the midst of the verdant green forest in which his ebony pelt was almost seamlessly unnoticeable in the deep shade of the tall tree's canopies. The tall grasses beneath him bent and pressed with the cadence of his step. Deteste had only began to notice a shortening of the grasses when he suddenly stumbled upon an clearing of the forest where sat a wolf the color of ash. Out of instinct, De found himself calculating the odds of battle between the two of them. He had had to travel long to find a pack that would accept he and Laxago and he did not expect to find much more kindness than he had already found. Deciding it would be best not to startle his unintended company, Deteste spoke with a friendly but guarded timbre, "Ho there, stranger." I offered a curt nod once his attention was drawn but made no move to come nearer.

S ilence was something I was proud to say I loved and I reveled in. There was something unique, as odd as it sounded, about being able to bond with yourself. To deepen the knowledge of yourself, and to really get to know who you were or who you were becoming. Now, chances were, you could be unhappy with yourself when you sat for long periods of time waiting for something spectacular to happen. Though, he was wise enough to know such would not happen. Especially not in the life he had been leading of late. A voice a solemn reminder that he could never be truly alone resounded in the distance. The empyrean would turn his head towards the sound, massive body coming to a stilled stance before the other, before his words brought about a sense of ease. Surely, the man was not out for a battle, and if he was, Collision was still, surprisingly, confident enough to have his hand in battle, "Am I intruding on your land? I found no borders, sir. Apologies,"

The stranger's question both confused and intrigued Deteste. These lands obviously did not belong to anyone thus the wolf before him must have been in deep thought. An eerie feeling pulled at Deteste for he immediately understood that he had stumbled into a stranger's private moment. He intended on only briefly acknowledging the man and making his way home again but Deteste found that he could not pull himself away. You are no intruder. This land is free. Deteste stated factually, timbre unreadable even for himself. Slowly lowering his rump to the sod beneath him Deteste sat and watched the stranger carefully. His affect was strange and De could understand that he was involved in some sort of conflict. It was because of these things that he lingered, regardless of the eerie air between them and his inward desire to leave.


My name is Deteste. he stated factually, his guard never failing him yet his affect remained cool. He no longer anticipated a fight but he was unsure what would come of their interaction and if Deteste desired to leave at any point it was best not to invest anything more significant than a name. He decided he would not inform the stranger of his position in the Ludicael nor would he state that the mangroves were his home. These were the root emotions of a leader that had began to manifest their selves in Deteste. He was cautious in all interactions but his intentions were never insincere. He was never prideful but he was always aware of self. He watched the stranger but without eye contact. It was as if he was staring straight through him, beyond and into the confirs that surrounded them. He did not want to make the man uncomfortable but did his best to strike a balance between comfort and the need for awareness.

He would find comfort in the fact that the lands upon which he stood had not been claimed, and he would certainly find some sort of relief that the brute that had come face to face with him wasn not a man of malevolence, yet if he were, he was putting up quite the show. Collision would bow his head to the other in a show of respect, not for hierarchial reasons, more so just because nobility was in his nature and he was not one to digress from such things just because events in his life had been particularly unfortunate.

Deteste, and interesting name, Collision found it to be synonymous with hatred though and was quite curious as to why someone would name their child something so akin to hate. Surely there was a story behind it, and the tale was none of collision's business, thus he carried on with business as per usual, "Pleased to meet you, I am Collision Adravendi," He would push himself to speak, emitting a small grunt, before words would be lost on him. He was not going to be pretend he didn't miss saying it, but fact of the matter remained -he was no longer the leader of Valhalla and for him to pretend to be, well, it was foolish and pathetic.

Deteste caught the stranger's glint of intrigue the moment he had spoken his name. For years now he had hesitated introducing himself with his full name but since joining the Ludicael and becoming a Sol he had started a habit of using his full name. It was certainly not pleasant. Nor was it humble. But it was part of his identity, a large piece of his past and he would do well not forget who he was. He had lived many different lives but he would not pick and choose which to remember. This strict honesty to himself was somewhat new. It wasn't that he had ignored his past but that he had not thought of it and lived more heavily in a present-day awareness. But he now knew it was necessary to have peace with evil as much as he had peace with goodness and it made a more authentic man of Deteste. It was not an easy thing to do but this mindset had allowed him to earn the respect of many.


It was not easy to miss the grunt after Collision's sentence and the difficulty that he had stumbled upon in his introduction was also not easily ignored. After exchanging a few words with the man Deteste realized that it was likely he belonged to Valhalla. This fact gladdened him for all Valhalla members he had met so far had been respectable wolves. He was unsure of the conflicts that had recently afflicted the pack but he was aware of the current alpha, Chrysanthe and that an alliance had been formed between Valhalla and Ludicael. But the fact that Collision did not openly tell Deteste that he was a member was strange. He was unsure what to say now that their names had been exchanged and though he didn't mean to pry into anything personal there was nothing else Deteste could think to say. "Are you of Valhalla?" the inquiry had no ulterior motive and the timbre of Deteste's baritone voice was gentle.