✖ chaos

[✖ s a n n i]

So close!

Claws scraped against stone violently, and breath heaved, fast and heavy. Fire scorched in her throat as the air forced itself inside her lungs. Come on, Lupin, you can do this. Reassurance. Just like Bloodmoon did. Intelligence. Ignorance. Obliviousness. Juvenile.

Finally, Lupin's fangs bore into the neck skin of a hare, and it's legs began to flail as she lifted it swiftly from the ground. Wolf instinct. But she was a dog. How could this be? It didn't matter. There was blood, meat, food. Her starved belly groaned like a pack of a dozen wolves, and she opened her maw carefully, anticipating the hare's delicious flavour.

She grunted, almost screaming at herself inside. What the hell do you think you're doing? she snarled inwardly. This prey isn't yours! The Eiran wolves need it to survive. What about their pups? I need this more than they do, she growled back, aloud. Always a bad sign. Probably insane.

She took a huge bite out of the catch, savoring it's taste, making every precious moment last as long as it would. Which wasn't very. Dumbass, she scolded herself, knowing that this was wrong. She was a renegade. A dog. And she was a trespasser. She finished her meal quickly then, hoping that no one would find her scent and track her down.

So close...

[Wolfen]

Argo moved like a golden shadow, concealing herself in the dim lights of the northern forests. Her pups were large enough to be left on their own, and after five months the Eiran queen could resume her duties. The northern forest was always the spot she patroled; the misty darkness was comforting to her, and the safest place to stalk and lose a wolf... or prey.

But today... was it luck or intutition? Perhaps coincidence? Argo had been scenting the borders, remarking her posts, and in the process came upon a trespasser's scent. It was unfamilliar, not like that of the wild... either dog or, perhaps worse and more shameful, wolf who lived among them as one. At the moment, however, she didn't know, but her nose stayed low to the ground and before long she knew exactly what it was.

Deep, liquid gold eyes stared from behind, as she watched the dog hunt and take prey in her lands--something not tolerated lightly. The wolf moved, closer and closer, silence her biggest ally. Argo finally emerged as the beast consumed the meager rabbit, as she drew to her full hieght. With a cold, wintery tone--something which seemed so out of place in the cool summer enviornment---the Alphess made her prescence well known.

"The price for hunting in our lands is to repay the weight of the meat, pound per pound. It seems you've nothing else to barter with but your own flesh."

[✖ s a n n i]

Of course. Lupin looked the Eiran Alphess directly in the eye, something her subconscious told her she probably shouldn't do. Her green eyes focused on the wolf, noting that her long forearms could probably let her outrun and take down the smaller sized mongrel. Meaning her. Of course.

It seems that is so, Lupin said evenly, though the crazed voice was wailing inside her head, panicking. Stupid mutt! Crazy hybrid! Freak! She stood up carefully from the carcass of the hare, breaking her gaze away from the wolf.

So you must be one of Bloodmoon's old packmates. Am I correct?

(Gahh, sorry it's so short! X_x)

[Wolfen]

It was against the religion of wolves to speak the names of the dead. THey honored them with stories, metaphors and analogies of greatness, but never with their mortal names. From where Argo came from, to speak the name of one who passed on would trap their souls to the earth and prevent them from assension. It wasn't just to protect the spirits of the dead, but to prevent the pangs of grief which now radiated through her core.

Bloodmoon wasn't just a packmate, not to Argo. She had loved him, considered him as a mate, and the day she was going to ask him for a life long partnership, confess her truest feelings... he died. He protected his pack, her, and her daughter; he died a noble wolf and though she remembered him, she would never speak his name. She would not prevent him from entering the heavens, and from her being unable to move on.

He would want her to; he wouldn't hold grudges... but would he approve of what she'd become? There was no way of knowing, and the fact this mutt desecrated him only fueled an intense burning within the very pit of her stomach. The growl she'd supressed early resonated in her words, as she took a step forward, golden eyes blazing.

"I am the Alphess of this land and you have only this moment, Dog, to run. Say another word, and I will make sure it's your last."

Her threat was very clear. She did not know who this was, this dog which looked like a wolf, but it was a dog nonetheless, for it remained ignorant of customs and rituals, something that was extremely dangerous. The Alphess did not want to play any longer, for it wasn't a cool negotatior any longer but instead a grieving widow.

[✖ s a n n i]

Sand and dry soil shifted under Lupin's paws as she looked down, realizing that she might've made an error. She felt that maybe she had... offended this wolf. Even though she might become a possible enemy, Lupin didn't like to hurt others. Did something happen to him...? she asked herself, and she almost spoke the words aloud. She had left the Eiran territory before Bloodmoon's death, and had returned after.

She was flipping back through her memories to a few months ago, when she had first met him. He was kind to her, even though she was a trespasser, and he had even given her a meal. Her claws dug into the ground. He was gone. She could see the grief and anger plain on this wolf's face. A whine threatened to come up her throat, but it was suppressed. She didn't dare mention him again, though curiosity was burning through her mind.

Alphess? Lupin thought after she had spoken to her. This is the Alphess? Her shoulder fur stood on end, and her tail fluffed. Of course she'd be caught by the Alphess of the pack. It took her a minute for the words to sink in, and then she realized that she was serious. She felt her collar tighten a little as her throat swelled in fear, and was nervous without her mother or father, and the collar brought little comfort. She was no better than a whelp. It would take her at least until nightfall to escape Eira, and there could be other pack members ready to hunt her down...

No! This was the land her father had told her about. The land of freedom. The land of hope. Eriu... There were other packs in the great land her father's family had once lived in, but this one seemed the most fitting. Could she really leave to be captured by humans, or renegades? ...Or worse?

Nevertheless, the halfling turned around and started to pad briskly away, to see the light of another day once more, she hoped. Eira might not be for her after all. As soon as she reached a good distance away, she dared to speak another word to the Alphess.

I'm sorry. And then she was flying through the trees, as fast as her legs could carry her.

[Wolfen]

As the apology was breathed, Argo let the fire die down, becoming nothing more than smoldering coals. She watched the half-breen run off, disappearing into the misty wood, and she turned with a void expression. Chasing a trespasser of did not bring her particular joy, but dispatching with such an insignificant creature did make her feel all the more powerful; it was a nice feeling, knowing that you could protect your home.

But no more than a few steps later an icy breeze rushed past, nipping at her nose; it was strong enough that she had to shut her eyes, and she folded her ears back, trying to press on through the wind. However the gust only intensified, and the white wolf turned her head, taking the chill with her shoulder. But just as suddenly as it rushed through the trees, it continued about its way, as if running after Lupin.

Argo did not always put her faith in old superstitions--as her birthpack was fond of doing--but she could not ignore such a force. The wind was the carrier of all messages; all things had a voice, and the air made sure to communicate all the calls of every creature, dead or alive. The trees rustled in times of trouble, the birds jumped into flight; wolves sung their songs of welcoming, they cried their mourning dirges; the grasses hummed rustled tunes and the dead controled the forceful breezes.

In the absolute stillness which followed, Argo stood up striaght, ears erect and tuned in to hear the whispers of the forest: nothing moved. The dreadful silence troubled her, as she scanned the surrounding shadows... again, nothing. She continued in her homeward bound, but when not even a snapping twig yeilded an audible crack, the Alphess stopped dead. These northern forests were strange; spectres and shadows loomed in the eternal mist, spooking all the creatures which passed through. Argo could no longer ignore the omen, and as she turned back toward Lupin's exit she picked up her pace.

As if entering reality from a dream, noise bombarded her; the creaking trees and echoing bird calls resounded and a strange breeze picked back up, urging her onward faster and faster. Lupin had a head start, but the long legs of the while wolf would close any gap soon enough. Her golden optics peered deep into the dark, and as she raced through the woods at a full sprint, Argo raised her head and let out a quick call; it was a summons, and the message traveled on the winds, loud and clear: wait.

[✖ s a n n i]

(I had moved Lupin earlier, so here's the thread: runxwithxme.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=northernforests&thread=1704&page=1

Sorry for being impatient! >_>