Citadel left the scent a mess. His emotions were a thunderstorm inside of him, and he was so angry he could barely breathe. He and his mother didn’t always see eye to eye, but this. this! How could she do this to him? How could she see him as lesser, as deserving of being stood upon by his own family! He couldn’t think about it without his pulse speeding up.

How could she!

He was so angry he almost walked right out of the Col without his gear and his companions. No. he wouldn’t let his mother strip him of his title, he wouldn’t let her strip him of his equipment either.

He turned around and hurried home, trying not to be seen. It wasn’t until he arrived that he caught his sister's scent. At home, and on bed rest until she had fully recovered. She practically was, and he knew she was going stir crazy. He should say something, he should see her. What if she, like Balrog, agreed with their mother? His stomach twisted, and he knew that would be one blow too many. He paused on the threshold. Torn, and undecided.


"Citadel"||"Selene"

After hanging out for a godawful long time in the clinic Selene had picked up some fun Ollie-isms. So when she inevitably heard the heart wrenching gut punching howl of her brother's sentence laid out bare in her mother's voice her initial reaction was -

"What the fuck?" She exclaimed loudly. Hoping to grab someone else's attention to get them to tell her what's going on. Instead, it sounded like no one moved, or no one was around in the den. She glanced around trying to squint at her dark blurry surroundings. She huffed as her new companion gently placed a paw on her back. They had been bonding for the last day so the cat could help her navigate the world around her while she recovered her sight. Her friend had her wait a little longer to see if someone would come tell her. But she was getting antsy after some time passed.

"Time to test it out! C'mon! I'm done lying around! Something's happening to Citadel!" Selene exclaimed bouncing out of the nest and immediately stumbling off kilter. She felt her new friend's nimble body support her. Together they started for the door and suddenly her brother's smell hit her face as the door opened and she smashed into his legs.

"Citadel! What the fuck was mom saying? Wha-did-i-miss?" Her mouth jumbled all the words out as her nose pointed up to where her brother's pointy head would usually be. She could just make out a golden smudgy color under the pointy smudgy shadows on his crown. She rubbed her eyes again to see if that would help clear her vision for the 8005th time that day.


"Citadel"||"Selene"

The decision was taken from him when Selene walked right into his legs from the open door. His lip trembled in a silent and unspoken snarl when he was startled. He was on edge, and pushing any button right now was unadvisable. But he managed to get himself under control and cut it before she could hear it.

He peered cautiously down at her, trying to determine if she seemed to have had any sight back. By the seems of it, no. Her cheetah was watching him cautiously. it had seen the snarl. He stuck his tongue out at the creature, his expression dark instead of amused.

“Mums gone off the rails. I’m leaving. I’m just here to grab my stuff, and check you were still alive.” He told her tartly, pushing around her smaller body and heading into the den. He’d already opened this can of worms, so no point delaying now and wondering if Selene would find him or what she’d think. He’d hear it now. He remembered what had led to her accident, and his gut twisted a little tighter. Selene was a goody good two shoes. She’d never understand.


"Citadel"||"Selene"

Her pink pad finally dropped from rubbing her eyes and she made a face as he pushed passed her. What happened to the brother who had sat next to her bed for so long when she was knocked out? She missed every facial expression, including the narrowing of her cheetah's eyes at him.

"Mums' always off the - Well I'll come too then! I'll get my stuff!" She said with a wide grin and made to grab a rucksack. She bonked her shoulder on the side of the doorframe as she turned too quickly to catch up to him. If Mom can make Citadel a Slave then what's stopping her from making HER a slave?? Yikes! She bounded ahead of her cheetah and felt around for the bag. The cat bounded over to her and frantically kept trying to protect the girl's head from hitting anything else like she was a drunk toddler.


"Citadel"||"Selene"

His heartbeat picked up at her words, and he was instantly at war with herself. Surprised, that she would even want to - he’d already left two brothers behind him - and fear. Remembering how she had looked when she had fallen. The bleeding skull, Oleander's words about head wounds being tricky. He was breathing a little quicker, his heartbeat jumped a little. Oddly enough, her words had calmed some of his anger. It took a little effort to reach down and grab some annoyance. More effort than it should have.

“You think I want you to come with me? You're a giant baby, and you can’t even see. You’ll just slow me down.” He said, loading derision into his voice as he grabbed a bag and stuffed it with some basic necessities. Food, a warm coat. Rook could carry it for him.

"Citadel"||"Selene"

Her paw finally brushed the soft leather of a rucksack and she was feeling around for its contents when suddenly... all the wind was pulled out of her sails. His sharp words hit her back like icicle swords and another stabbed her in the chest.
“You think I want you to come with me? You're a giant baby, and you can’t even see. You’ll just slow me down.”

Her brows furrowed as she spun around and faced... the center of the room not at all at him. "Ollie said my eyes'll get better! You don't mean that! And I'm faster than you! You can try to stop me!" She scowled at the room and turned back to the rucksack. She angrily stuffed a random knife and crumpled piece of paper into the rucksack from what she could reach and touch. The cheetah was at a loss and giving him silent wide eyes of "Please, -omg- stop her."


"Citadel"||"Selene"

The anger and fear and frustration at his situation boiled over. He didn’t want to hurt Selene, but she was putting his back to a corner! Why did she always have to be so stubborn, why did she never understand him and what he was doing? It felt like they were always on opposite sides, even when they wanted to help each other.

“Selene!” He snarled, slapping a paw to the stone as he whirled back to her. “Don’t you get it? Your blind! You're not faster than me! You're slow, and clumsy, and I’d have to hold your paw the whole way! I’m not going on an adventure, I'm not having a fun little spin outside of the Armada. I’m exiled The Queen forced me to make a choice, and I made one. Now I have to do this alone. Just me! So you’ll stay here, or I’ll challenge you, too. See if I don’t!”


"Citadel"||"Selene"

She felt the rumble in the floor under her feet more than she heard her brother snarl her name. It woke a part of her that had still been sleeping behind the fog of what happened that day.

The wordexiled echoed into her ears and for a moment the room was crystal clear as she spun around, though perhaps that was her imagination. The world was still dark and blurry as she tried to find him through the fog. He didn't mean that! He didn't! He couldn't! But she knew, there was a part of her that knew there was nothing she could do. She was clumsy. And try as she might she struggled to be a fighter like her brothers and sister. She would slow him down now while she recovered...

But she'll show him. She'll train harder and show him. She lifted the heavy rucksack, all 11" of her lifted it up and shook it at the shadow she thought was him.

"Fine! Run away... see if I care. Mr.Can't be responsible for anything. Leave!" She hefted the bag into a slingshot to land halfway across the room, scattering its random assortment of contents that were hardly fit for travel. She felt for the bedding before the tears could fall. Her ears pinned at her skull as she angrily stomped back into the nest and curled into the tightest tiny ball she could manage. Squeezing her head in between the pillows to hide her sobs.


"Citadel"||"Selene"

“Ugh!” he snarled, in the universally shared tongue of a wolf who knew his sibling would never understand him. “You wouldn’t know consequences if they slapped you in the face!” He yelled at her, not at all seeing how it made him a hypocrite and feeling rather sorry for himself.

He stomped to the door, turning one last time to see his little sister, injured and alone, curled into a corner of their bedding. Would he ever curl in a nest of his sisters again? His heart broke, seeing her there and he turned. Because he had no other choice. No other path left to him. He had to leave. He wouldn’t ruin her future, too. Angier and hurting even more, he stomped from the den with his scarcely packed back.


-exit unless stopped-


"Citadel"||"Selene"