He wasn't happy. All the stupid rain had finally stopped, so at least he wasn't getting soaked on a daily basis. But all those soakings had finally caught up to him, and - horror of horrors - Hati had a cold. Had the hellhound been a little more objective about it he might have concluded that it was actually a pretty mild cold - he just had a stuffed up nose and a sore throat with a mild headache - but Hati was anything but objective. Disease, no matter how ordinary or common or mild it was, was Hati's personal enemy, his arch nemesis, his kryptonite. He hated - and feared it - more than anything else. To get to the point, he was pissed. The only thing keeping the sinus-pain-induced headache at a minimum was the weight of the skull pressing down against his muzzle and forehead, and Hati had absolutely no intention of taking the thing off any time soon, even though hunting with the heavy mask on left much to be desired. So instead he was huddled, miserable and furious, eyes glaring fiercely beneath the shadow of his skull mask, beneath the shelter of a bush. ""

The giantess' frosty gaze settled on the horned spectacle. Her face was impassive; the bland mask all she could muster in response to the form before her. Hati the murderer was within shouting distance. His hateful features would have gone unnoticed had the freakish mask upon his face not stood out so prominently. If not for the acidic gaze peering from the skull's sockets and the scent drifting her way, Skadi wasn't sure she'd have recognized him. There was no mistaking the signs. It was him. Ice flooded her veins. With cold intent, Skadi padded towards the traitor. She absently wondered if she could kill him. Once upon a time, she'd admired this brother and the ferocity that he faced with world with. While she didn't share his hatred of the Father, his rebellious nature had appealed to her. They shared a desire for something different, although that's where the similarities ended. It wasn't until the end that she had realized just how different their dreams were. Skadi had been crushed at the death of the Father, even more so knowing that it was a brother who had committed the sin. She hated him with a fire so hot it threatened to shatter the sweet persona she held dear. Skadi decided not to immediately act on the murderous rage. There was a part of her that, albeit small, craved to hear the why of it. Hati could have had it all. Instead he threw it away, squandered not only his birthright, but his right by victory. Everything Skadi had she had earned through blood and hard work. Nothing was given to her. That he had simply walked away from what would have been his had he not been so hard-headed amazed her. "Such a waste," she mused. Stopping before him, the fae regarded her brother coolly, her eyes settling on the curly horns that sprouted from his head. She was unsure of how to handle him now that there was a death between them. Her tone uncharacteristically dry, she said, "I must say, the skull does wonders for your looks." The words, though insulting, were delivered with a familiarity that made it hard to tell if she meant to be ugly or if she was joking with him. He could take it however he liked; his reaction would only serve to settle her into a course of action. "Speaking" -- Thinking

Apparently his nemesis the cold had managed to plug up his ears too, because the miserable demon didn't even notice the approach of another wolf until a pair of brown paws landed in his vision. A snarl, fierce and startled, felt like sandpaper on his sore throat and he nearly lunged for the intruder's throat. If he had to be miserable the asshole who interrupted his misery was going to feel a million times worse. But he'd gotten no further than erupting from beneath the bush that sheltered him before the familiar voice and scent and color all clicked in his head and he subsided. "Ska?i?" he rasped. She'd changed, grown up to sexual maturity in his absence so it wasn't any wonder that he with a stuffed up nose hadn't recognized her immediately just by scent. He shouldn't have been so shocked to find her here, not with Weth, Loki, Baldur, Thor, Nott, Freyja, and Akemi all running around too. But if he'd had to tag two siblings most likely to not take off as soon as they could possibly manage it it would have been Skoll and Skadi. They'd actually thrived in Hroovitnir's shadow. So what was she doing here? "About time someone noticed," he grunted in response to her comment about his skull improving his looks. He damn well thought it looked cool, and now someone actually agreed with him. His hackles lowered, his instinctive brawler's stance relaxed slightly though he watched her with a surly caution. "What are you doing here?" ""

He exploded out from under the bush with an all too familiar roar. So far he was just as she remembered him. This horned monstrosity, with his unkempt appearance and ridiculous hat, had been her childhood idol, second only in brilliance to their father. He did wrong, did his own thing, and that was precisely why she had adored him. In response to his atrocious greeting, the giantess lifted an amused brow. She didn't know what to make of him. He made no sense and it was infuriating. Why couldn't the situation be black and white? She wanted him to pay, to die as he deserved; she owed it to her father to kill him, which begged the question: would he have been proud of her for avenging him? He was a cruel, callous creature--she'd never been convinced otherwise--but nonetheless, her father had meant the world to her. The only thing saving Hati from a fight was an indecisiveness Skadi couldn't begin to understand. In response to his question, Skadi sighed. She felt the slide of her cousin across her back, felt the hairs along her spine get brushed the wrong way...felt the blood dripping at the corners of her mouth. "Well," she purred, brushing away the phantom sensations, "You see, some asshole killed my father and then ran away, leaving an incompetent fool to run things." The giantess shrugged and seated herself, wishing to convey that she meant no harm with her words. "When it all fell apart, like it was destined to do, I left." "Speaking" -- Thinking

Freyja looked upon the scene with something like a wry smile on her lips. It was a dark humor perhaps, similar to laughing at a burial, but humor nonetheless. She rolled her eyes at the pair, wondering if they might attempt to kill one another. It looked like that might have been Skadi's intent, so Freyja decided (reluctantly) to intervene. After all, they were family, right? A laughable concept but true. She did her best to ignore the deluge that had plastered her otherwise luxurious coat to her lithe frame. "You two make quite the pair," she purred, a small chuckle hiding in the depths of her tone. Hati looked absolutely ridiculous, and he appeared to be a bit under the weather. Freyja tried not to find too much amusement in that concept. Honestly, after their general disbandment, she had not mourned her Father for more than a moment. She did miss the opportunity though, the community, the training. She may not have liked the man's morals but his grasp of domination was something she had admired... "Mind if I join you?" She hoped her sudden arrival would throw them off. She had not seen either in... years, at the least. Keeping track was getting harder and harder, less and less important as time went on. "Talk" "You" Think

OHHHHHHHHHHH! Erm?. ow. Baldur winced slightly as his front limbs straightened, his pelvis dipping as he stretched his scarring back. He'd return to Alacritis a chewed up mess but thanks to Astrid and a funny little healer named Shilah the snow white ghost was back in tip top shape? almost. There was still no sign of Linne? Baldur bit his lip softly before continuing on his way. Surely she'd turn up again, he just needed to be patient. And while he was looking for her he'd look for Sigmarr and Sindri again. All in all he had a lot of searching to do. It was as he was passing through a field of tall grass that he caught a familiar scent?. Hati and? Freyja? Oh boy that was a toxic mix but all the same he was thrilled to catch the set of family! Hell at this point he'd run up and kiss Loki full on the mouth if it meant he'd finally reconnected with the rest of the group. Baldur picked up the pace, his lithe frame moving smoothly with only a few glitches as he shifted to far on injured limbs. Baldur broke through to a small clearing where sure enough there was? "HATI? Ha?haha.. hahahahaaha? What happened buddy? You go for the brain case and get that stuck on your head? Need some help? AND FREYJA, you are a sight for sore eyes!" He pranced over attempting to lick her affectionately on the cheek before his eyes rested on the brown femme. "SKADI? You're here to? Boy talk about your annual migrations."

Hati grunted in reply to Skadi's comment about him killing their father, in that irritatingly sickly sweet way she had of saying things, but inside his blood was boiling through his veins with a hiss of rage. How could she not understand? How could she not feel this... this fury, this darkness that ate away his soul piece by piece whenever the memories resurfaced? How could she not understand the terrible triumph of his teeth cracking through his father's throat, the spray of blood - he jerked convulsively when Freyja's voice joined Skadi's. Oh. OH. He'd DIED last night hadn't he? He'd gone to HELL and now the two most annoying people in the family were here to torment him until Ragnarok came. All that was missing was - His teeth gritted as Baldur's voice joined the girls'. Yes. This was hell. "No I don't need help. I like it. GIRLS like it too." His voice was a tad petulant... maybe more than a tad. But hey, he DID like the skull and... some girls liked it. Skadi had said it suited him anyway. Time for a distraction. Distract them from the skull! "What have you guys been up to anyway? Where's the rest of the family?" In other words, did he have to worry about anyone else jumping out of the shadows to ruin his day? ""

Ah. The only response her words got was a grunt. So was that it, then? The chink in his armor? She had half a mind to pursue it, but the presence of another drew her attention away. The sight of her sister sent a thrill of pleasure down her spine, the hollow in her chest warming slightly in the closest thing she could feel to joy. Immediately her attention shifted from the murderer Hati. "Freyja," she murmured, "Not at all." Before she could say more, a ruckus drew her graze away. None other than Baldur came prancing up and Skadi, at the sight of him, nearly grew weak in the knee. All this time searching for her siblings. Months with no sightings, not even a whisper to point her in the right direction, and then suddenly there was a group of them. Baldur was a bit loud for her tastes, but he was easily the easiest to handle. She could use his exuberance. "And Baldur too." Her eyes narrowed calculatingly. Far too pleased with the turn of events, she purred, "Hello." There was no time to waste. Among other things, there was vengeance to be had. What better way to raise the dynasty from the ashes than to rally them under the same banner? Blunt as a rock to the head, Skadi dropped all of her nice pretenses. "Akemi was raped, her body then further mutilated to shame her. She is pregnant with his bastard children and lives every day in fear of his return." She paused to take in their expressions. "I don't suppose you guys would be interested in joining me in delivering his head to her?" "Speaking" -- Thinking

Skadi was pleasant with her, even after so much time. The development was as interesting as it had been uncertain and the golden woman found herself pleased with the path her sister had taken. Somewhere in the mix Baldur was upon her, and she stepped into his affectionate gesture, glad to see him as well, though it looked as though he had seen his fair share of hardship. She meant to ask him about it, but before she could manage Hati was blathering about... something or other. She sighed and turned to raise a brow, caught in the middle of three siblings and not enough time or words to engage any of them properly. The word rape collided with her ear drums and she froze, waiting for the details. Akemi... Once so proud and full of zest, she had been defiled?! A growl tore out of her throat, azure eyes becoming chips of ice backlit by a burning rage. "What?!" she roared, leaping to her feet. How dare this vile scum... Clearly he had no idea who he'd been dealing with, and she was overcome with the urge to deliver a hard lesson. "Point me in his direction, sister," she snarled, voice dripping acid. She looked to the the male's daring one to oppose this suggestion, to back away from defending Akemi's honor. "Talk" "You" Think

Hot on Baldur's trail, Thor happened upon the group just in time to hear the word 'raped'. He froze half in and half out of the clearing, his gaze locked on Skadi. Normally he'd be thrilled at the sight of his siblings (okay, maybe not Hati) but whatever joy he had from them was killed immediately by the weight of his sister's words. Ice flooded his veins as shock washed over him. In a heartbeat it melted, replaced with a fury so intense the blood vessels in his eyes threatened to burst under the pressure. No greeting, no pleasantry, he jumped straight to the point. "I'm in." There was no need to explain further. Like Freyja, all he needed was a target. "Speaking" Thinking

BALDUR NEEDS A GROWLY TALBE haha

Baldur couldn't help but chuckle at Hati's reasoning for the skull. Sure? the girls were simple mobbing Hati. The snowy male flinched a bit at Hati's question. He didn't really feel like talking about his kidnapping or being forced into a fight ring, especially not with Hati of all wolves. Skadi purred her hello and Baldur raised on eyebrow. Her pleasant mannerism reminded him just a bit of Skolls. In a family that related mostly by fighting with each other over every possible thing the sudden pleasantness always put him slightly off.


Baldur sat down as Skadi continued to speak then he froze. No? NO what?! Baldur shook his head. There was no way he'd heard that right. A low growl rumbled in his throat, his body shaking with fury. "SHE WAS WHAT?! What low life piece of shit dared.... tell me his name, his appeareance his fucking scent and I will tear him apart and piss on the corpse! I'll devour his body and shit him out like the crap he is!" There was no need for Skadi to even ask, of course he was in. He'd hunt this low life trash to the ends of Alacritis and back again if necessary. There would be no escape.


Baldur turned suddenly as Thor entered the clearing but his mood had turned far to serious to offer a bubbly greeting. He simply nodded, eyes fixing on his brothers. This bitch was going to pay.


"Speech"

The irritating chatter of his siblings grated on Hati's nerves and started him on a pounding headache. All he needed now was for Loki to pop out of nowhere to throw a frog in his face or something to make this hell complete... He found himself peering suspiciously around them as if the green-eyed little goblin were actually there. Grumbling to himself under his breath he dropped his head to paw the heavy mask over his ears to release it from it's perch on his face, trying to relieve the headache. Then Skadi smashed him in the head with a rock. A rock of words. Static washed over him and he lurched physically as though he'd actually been struck. The world disappeared in an explosion of white noise buzzing through his ears. His siblings' various reactions didn't register. Thor's sudden appearance didn't register. All that was gone after Skadi said - Akemi was raped. She was maimed and then she was raped and she was carrying the bastard's bastards. She was carrying a dead man's bastards. The static dissolved into blackness and blood and rage. His muzzle gaped in a guttural snarl before he slammed the mask back on his face. "TELL... ME... HIS... NAME" he hissed, eyes blazing molten gold in the shadows of the skull. He wasn't going to waste his time on threats and posturing. All he needed was a name and a description and he would find him. The madness swirled and engulfed him but today it was his friend, not something to be avoided but rather embraced. It snapped at its leash but Hati merely patted it soothingly - he would loose it from its tenuous bonds soon. ""