Code © Skelle/Witchdogtor DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Things still didn't feel like they had calmed down. The pirates had collected their leader and Bae found he was steadily growing to not care at all for the pirate's actions. Their leader was out of his damned mind for attacking Haydee when the man had just decided to hold a bull shit thing over her head and escalate things beyond reason. Bae was of the mind to send his children and Lucy to another pack for safety until he was sure everything was done and over with. No matter how much the thought of not having an eye on Lucy and the kids would drive him mad.

Tonight though he was seated outside. His eyes were on the lights as they danced in the night sky. His thoughts were loud in his head as he sat there. His children weren't ready for war, nor for anything else. He could fix that, but they had all seemed to float and separate from him and Lucette now. Even Ikuchi had done so, it was unlike him. His one ear pressed back in thought. He had had his companions turn in for the night. Gav had been so scarce from his and Lucette's lives lately but he could hardly blame him. Nova had seemed to disappear. Even Tani and Jericho. A sigh escaped his lips.

Where had he gone wrong as a parent and teacher?

Maybe he should call for one of his sons? Jericho would be a good starting choice, he had seemed driven before to become a soldier. Maybe Bae should teach him the fundamentals of his birth family. The fact that deals could be made, promises in some's eyes, and they had to be honored. Deals with demons is what they had called them. He'd made a few of these. It was one of the reasons he couldn't run with his family now. He'd made a promise to keep Ethne safe, and as their Bruiser would do so, without fear of death.

He tilted his head back and sent a call to Jericho. A few lessons were going to be taught here tonight maybe. If his son answered that was.
"Speech!"

word count: 361

With the passing of Baecette many of his siblings had withdrawn, choosing to hide away from the world and all of its terrible problems that it keeps giving to them. Jericho was no different and the yearling can often be found in his own, small den, in the Falls territory, howling himself hoarse about all the injustices in his young life. All the while, the world continues to turn without his brother in it. Death is never an easy thing and this is the boy’s first real experience with it, which makes all the more difficult.

Night falls in tranquil silence around the Falls and Jericho slips out from his den, tracing pathways underneath the star-studded sky until he finds himself near the top of the falls. Anger mars his normally gentle features, hate for the Raiders and the fact they had kept him away from his brother is in his final moments filling his face and morphing him into... something not quite right. While it is not necessarily their fault, Jericho needs someone to place the blame on and everyone else seems to already be angry at them… so why not?

Emotions swell in his chest, choking him with confusion as he comes to a stop at the top of the falls where a gentle wind tickles the grass and plays through his fur. The boy wants to scream, to lash out at someone, anyone just he can make them hurt as much as he does right now. Head tilts back, ready to unleash a scream filled with all of the rage that burns like coals in his chest when the sky suddenly comes alive.

While the stars had been shining their heavenly light upon the earth and the silver goddess was lending her rays just moments before are now obscured by bright ribbons of light. Jaw drops open as he watches as vibrant greens bleed into startling blues while the dancing bands of light mesmerize him. Awe replaces the anger as he watches the phenomena, thinking how much Baecette would have loved to see this.

Sorrow slams into him at thought of his missing brother and Jericho suddenly wonders where his other siblings are. They all have drifted their own ways since their brother’s passing when they should have all rallied together and been a true family, supporting each other with love. Underneath the beauty and majesty of the unexpected light show, the youth realizes that all his anger has been misplaced. With the passing of his brother, he had felt abandoned and afraid of losing more of his family so he had retreated and become mad at everything.

The glow that the aurora casts down on the mortals below, illuminates his face and washes away the despair that had been rooted deep in his chest that had darkened his view of the world. With a sigh, a smiles appears, wiggling his lips as he realizes that he feels light for the first time in since his brother’s funeral. A summons from his father catches his ear and Jericho hears in it, the opportunity to learn how to better protect their loved ones.

Determination enters his form and he quickly treks his way back down the path and goes to his den, shrugging on his armor and attaching the scabbard to his shoulder, the boy then races out to where his father waits. Skidding to a stop in the clearing in front of his father, the boy looks up to Bae-Syl and admires the way the undulating lights above them make his rainbow markings seem to glow.

Pale, white eyes peer up at the older man and Jericho softly says, “I’m here dad. Please, teach me how to be a better protector.” Maybe, just maybe, if he had fought harder in the first raid, then there would have been no need for them to go on the second raid. And maybe, just maybe Baecette would have been surrounded by his family when he had passed. Features are gentle yet filled with resolve as he gazes at his father while the dancing lights hang brilliantly around his dark shoulders.





WC: 690
Total WC: 1051 / 1500



"Jericho Agatsuma-Kedieo"

Code © Skelle/Witchdogtor DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Bae-Syl sits, pondering how he will teach his son tonight. There are so many lessons he wants to give them all. But they all had dispersed into the winds. Gav had headed north with Beauregard to support his friend, a noble cause, so he should be back soon enough.

Bae-Syl narrows his eyes as a decision is made. He will begin them with a spar. It is the best way to teach Jericho. As he hears his son finally approaching Bae-Syl stands and turns to face his son. There in his eyes, Jericho holds determination to learn. Good. It would serve him well. Bae-Syl rolls his shoulders, a crack sounding from his bad one as it audibly clicks into place, yet there is no pain. Jericho asks, no demands, to be taught to be a better protector. A smirk slides onto Bae-Syl's lips. "You want to become better, then best me Jericho. Make me yield to you, then I will tell you of my family and their belief in strength."

He steadied his breath. The lights danced along both their forms and Bae-Syl was able to see as if it was daylight. A brief moment and a tensing of muscles, then a breath and they were released. He came jaws opening seeking his son's neck, as his body aimed to slam into him. His aim? To put the boy beneath him and show him just how strong his dad really felt.

"Speech!"

Words: 241
Total: 1292

Jericho peers up at his father as the aurora above them gives the older male an ever-changing halo of color. Shadows jump and lengthen, creating illusions and tricks to the boy’s pale eyes that are both amazing and frightening. Yet, with the extra light above them, the night has brightened and perfectly illuminates every curve of muscle on his father’s form. At the smirk that Bae-Syl offers, the boy arches a dark brow and silently takes in the offered words. With his armor and dagger, it hardly seems a fair fight but, ever the obedient son, he simply says, “As you wish.”

The lights above are reflected in the glow on their fur, chasing away the darkness that would normally accompany the night as he watches the way his father’s muscles tense underneath the Southern Lights. Easily he falls into his defensive stance, muscles responding with the fluidity that comes from persistent practice. Bea-Syl breathes and moves, releasing the energy he had coiled in one quick, explosive moment and Jericho reads his posture, the way his weight shifts, and the angle from which he comes at him

Without a sound, he shifts, paws whispering across the still grass as he dances away from the attack, ducking down and to the side to avoid the taller body of his father. The obsidian dagger remains sheathed as he immediately shifts forward, jaws opening as he reaches up to seek and try and grab ahold of his father’s throat, directly underneath his jaw line. At the same time, one front leg shoots out, aiming to try and hook around one of the older male’s so that he might pull it toward him and out from under Bae-Syl.

Heart thunders in his chest as he moves to attack his father, hoping to take him down so that he may earn the story that had been promised. The lights cast their green and blue hues onto the pair’s coats, making Bae-Syl’s markings appear to jump and dance with a life of their very own. Beauty surrounds them as they fight and Jericho takes heart that, no matter the outcome, he has tried his best.





WC: 359
Total WC: 1651 / 1500


"Jericho Agatsuma-Kedieo"