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 Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 4:03 pm
 Achilles had been living closer to the others for about a little while now and he was beginning to conclude that he didn't absolutely hate it. For one thing he did get to see Pen and his children more - which was nice, Patroclus could spend more time with him and Achilles was more able to keep his eye on everyone else.
The silent observer on the hill so to speak.
Of course that also meant that all the others in the pack saw his wounds and no doubt had already seen the wounds on Varia and like Pen put two and two together fairly quickly. Mum had been the word so far however and whatever questioning..or loathing...or scandalized looks had been sent his way Achilles either ignored them or stared back with an equal look depending on the perpetrator. All in all it was almost a fun game and today was no different as he sat studying the others as they went about their business, a distinct air of boredom on his face...because bored was a look the sisters found particularly offensive on a male and that was hilarious.
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 5:21 pm
 A few subtle changes had come over Iosef, since Achilles had first met him. There was a lingering, omnipresent sullenness about him now. Where he had once so innocently acquiesced to his pack's wishes, now Iosef questioned the foundations of his lifestyle. Tui had, unwittingly, unlocked a part of him that he adored and despised, and then in his absence left him wide open and raw.
Fatherhood, too, had made some changes to him. It was easy to accept ill treatment when one was consumed by self-loathing. Seeing that same treatment befall others...others whom you love...well, that was something different entirely.
So seeing the wounds on Varia had brought Iosef great pause. Seeing similar wounds upon Achilles...well, the thought vexed and horrified and amused him all at once.
"Achilles," he said, greeting the other good-naturedly, even if he held his distance a bit upon the approach. His ears flicked before settling back to his skull. There was no one else around, he reminded himself, no need to be so nervous. He offered a wry grin. "...The sisters aren't, ah, working you too hard, I hope?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 5:32 pm
Achilles watched as Iosef approached, always so nervous and lately..quite unhappy though the mottled wolf couldn't exactly why, even he could not catch everything that went on around here though it irritated him to have missed something so obviously important to the patchy wolf. Not so much out of friendship really...Achilles didn't really think of himself as having friends..but certainly out of a sense of duty.
He thought himself the protector of slaves but obviously something had slipped through the cracks. Achilles huffed slightly at himself before nodding to the other. "Come and sit closer Iosef..it is hard to have a conversation with so much space between us" He invited the other wolf in a show of welcome...besides then they could talk quietly which in this pack was generally a good idea though Achilles was fairly certain no one lingered in the bushes at the moment. "The sisters are all having fun trying to work up the courage to come up here and give me a command for the most part" He told Iosef with a wink though he wasn't sure if the other would find this nearly as amusing as he did. "And you? I trust no one has been overly harsh lately?" Perhaps that was the reason for his sullen looks...perhaps he had been chastised by someone and taken it to much to heart. A part of him wished that the other would reveal it to have been Varia whom had vexed him so - if only so that he could make good on his threat to visit her in the night with fang bared.
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 6:05 pm
Iosef shrugged and, a bit uneasily, made his way closer. There were a myriad of reasons for his uneasiness. For one, Iosef was wary around a male who could very easily snap him in half. It brought up unfortunate memories of the crowd that had murdered his mother, and Alkaia.
For another, and much more practically, Iosef found Achilles to be undeniably attractive -- much as Abaddon had been, so very long ago -- and he didn't want to give himself away somehow. Although, he mused, it didn't seem very likely. Achilles was hyper-aware of many things within the pack...but also selectively oblivious. As, Iosef had begun to realize, were most other "normal" wolves.
That worked in his favor.
"It's been an admittedly hectic week, all things considered," he said, carefully. He paused, and then, seemingly at random, "...Do you have a family, Achilles? Outside of this pack, I mean. Siblings. A father."
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 6:22 pm
Family? The patched wolf almost certainly hadn't decided to come and speak to him for the sole purpose of asking about his family...but Achilles decided to humor him, if for no other reason then to try and ease the tension that radiated from him in an almost visible fashion. Iosef had always been the wary type it was true..but had also been highly confident of his role..almost defensive really and a comment like the one he had made earlier might have gained him at the very least a scandalized look from the other wolf...the half hearted shrug was not the Iosef that Achilles had met all those months ago.
In an attempt to further calm the other wolf Achilles stretched his front legs out in front of him and almost offhandly flopped down on the ground in a clearly relaxed and hopefully not threatening - if a touch lazy - fashion. "A family?" He mused "I did, once - My father trained me in my..work..but was bested on a job and failed to return one day, my mother let herself waste away from heartbreak afterwards and my siblings scattered like leaves on the wind,I imagine some of them are still out there though I do not know where. Why do you ask?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 24, 2011 6:36 pm
Odd, how he could be so....nonchalant...on the topic. But, then, Iosef mused, it must surely come with the job. And he himself didn't precisely cry about mother anymore.
Well...not most nights anyway.
"Family's a funny thing," he said, shifting on his haunches, wrapping his tail about his paws. His violet eyes wandered shrewdly over the other wolf. "Love them, hate them, you can't seem to get free of them."
He was silent a moment. He wondered if he should tell him about Adonai. "I've heard what you did," he said, then, cryptically enough. Somehow Varia's name had developed a superstitious power, as though speaking it would invoke her -- like a demon. Strange that his own sister had somehow been elevated to such power, and through such vile means. Pathetic, too, to an extent....for everyone involved.
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 11:29 am
Achille's listened as the other wolf went on about family -which he supposed he could understand given that he poor brute had Varia as a sibling. He had always gotten along with his own siblings well enough - but they were all independent sorts and without their mother whom had been the sap holding them all together they had all gone off to search for their own paths in life, a decision which he had never really regretted. Perhaps if Iosef had been raised to fend for himself more then he would have been happy to go off and make his own way too - but Achilles wasn't even sure if the patchy wolf could survive outside the pack now..stunted as he was socially.
"Not here to give me a lecture I hope? I grew weary of the rampant injustices being committed in front of my very face. No one else seemed to be willing to do anything about it" He told the other wolf..never quite coming out and saying exactly what he had done but not denying it either.
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Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 11:37 pm
He laughed then, a bitter laugh that was uncharacteristic in its quality. Clearly, something very deep inside of the patched wolf had broken, perhaps beyond mending. "No, I won't lecture you," he said, and offered him a sardonic smile. "You out-rank me, after all...if only just." His grin stayed upon his maw, just a hint of true mirth lingering beneath the bitterness.
He turned away, peering over the pack lands, expression thoughtful. At one time, he had believed in this pack, and in the values that it taught. Did he believe in it anymore? Did he believe in anything anymore? Where had it all gone?
Having a mate, a family...that was all he had ever wanted in his life. So why, now, was he so....empty? It was an emptiness that reached so deep that he suspected it must go further than just the absence of Tui, but...where had it all started? If it had been the death of Mother and Alkaia...well...why had coming back here felt so much like coming home? He had been so happy to see Penthesilea again and now...now he didn't even know what he was anymore.
He shook himself, realizing he had fallen silent for far too long. "No, Achilles," he said, at length. "I came over, to thank you, for your attempt. Not many would care enough to try."
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:24 am
Achilles snorted slightly at the rank comment - still there didn't seem to be much point in pointing out that in any other pack he would be considered the second Alpha rather then his daughter...Iosef he was sure knew that all to well, or perhaps it was simply a point that Achilles found irritating. Though...he was proud of Orithia despite his inner bitterness about it.
However the patchy wolves next words..angered him somewhat and he cast Iosef a withering look "Wrong!" He spat at the other beast though it wasn't really Iosef that his anger was directed towards "There are many who care enough here...they simply lack backbone. I've no problem with the concept of slavery...but I take issue with abuse, if you keep others to do things you would rather not then they should at least be valued and cared for with some concern for their well being...not stomped on like...like an insect..and if only some of the kinder sisters and the stronger slaves would seek such a change..then things would change. But no one is willing and everyone just wanders about like pathetic herdbeasts being poked and prodded in whatever direction the cruel desire" He concluded with a curling of his lip to indicate the complete disdain he felt for it all.
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Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 12:08 am
Iosef's ears laid back. He had never seen any sort of strong emotion from the other wolf, and it caught him off-guard. "Most of us are not so...gifted...in battle as you," he pointed out.
He hesitated a moment, not sure if he wanted to say what needed to be said. "Varia...she's so twisted, with power and anger...she's not the sister I once had. She's nothing but a monster. Empty inside." Just as empty as he was, he thought...though it was a different kind of emptiness, perhaps. "She will not stop willingly. She fought with Terreis, recently, and would have killed her if she could."
His brow furrowed. The memory still troubled him. That had been the turning point for him, where he had realized that Varia's hatred was not just aimed towards him, or even towards males...but that it ran deep in her blood.
He sighed. There was no point in going further along those thoughts, not with Achilles at any rate. He lifted his eyes to meet the head slave's, his violet eyes glinting. He looked almost dangerous, then; feral, like an animal backed into a corner.
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2011 10:22 am
Achille's outburst passed almost as quickly as it had come and he regained the composed almost serene look he generally upheld. Iosef would now know however that it was merely a mask worn to keep others from guessing wither his true intentions, knowing that he had betrayed himself in such a fashion irritated the wolf but there was nothing to be done for it now - and Iosef he reminded himself was hardly a target in need of tricking, if the act of masking his feelings wasn't so ingrained Achilles doubted he would even bother when it came to the patchy wolf.
"I have seen wolves like her before" Achilles told Iosef "Sometimes an assassin or mercenary in my youth would become so twisted in the power they wielded that all they once where and whatever moral code they once followed was lost, twisted or corrupted to the madness of the killing joy. It was a sad thing to see" Achilles confided to the patchy wolf "I fear that Varia has gone much the same way although her joy springs from the suffering of those beneath her rather then the kill" Of course Achilles stopped short of telling Iosef what had become of such wolves in his youth, his bi-hued eyes turning to Iosef in time to catch the feral look in his companions eyes.
For some reason that look on Iosefs face caused Achilles heart to hurt - Achilles would not have chosen the slaves path in life but Iosef had always seemed content with it - serving with a gentle grace that confounded the mottled beast even as he respected it. It all seemed to be changing now and Achilles feared iosef might have already gone to far down this new path to regain what he had once been, nor was Achilles sure if this was good or bad for the other wolf...only time could see to that and he heaved a soft sigh "Even gentle wolves can be taken by the madness...driven there by fear and bitter thoughts, such gentle creatures are not suited for such a life however and often times destroy themselves more so then any others. I have yet to decide if watching such self destruction is worse or merely the same as watching others destroy those around them"
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Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 12:31 pm
Iosef chanced to meet the other wolf's eyes once more. Achilles' warning about self-destruction met its mark, and he smiled bitterly. Funny, how the wolf had once been so innocent, so loyal to the sisters...and now, at a time when he should be happiest, everything had gone to s**t.
Well, not everything he reminded himself. He still had his pups, and they were safe, and happy. That counted for something.
"There is one favor I would ask of you," he said, after a long moment's pause. "If you are open to the task."
He glanced away, peering thoughtfully across the territory, into a copse of trees. "You might remember Tui, a newer slave? He's recently decided this life...isn't for him." Was there more bitterness in that statement than it warranted? Probably. "I'm afraid for him, if he didn't get far enough from the borders...I don't think it's safe for him outside."
He looked back to Achilles. "Is there a chance you could look for him, on one of your trips outside our borders...to see that he's alright?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:53 pm
Ah a favor - he had expected this visit of Iosefs to be more then a simple conversation and was intrigued as to what this favor might be. Of course upon hearing it a few things clicked in the mottled wolfs mind he recalled the way Iosef had looked upon Tui all that long time ago when he had first come to the pack, coupled with the change in Iosefs attitude and now the bitterness in his voice as he spoke of the other wolfs eaving Achilles wondered if perhaps there had been more then mere friendship between the two.
It was not unheard of and Achilles himself truly had no issue with it, of course the sisters likely would - he could almost hear the uproar about it now. Such an uproar would be problematic and troublesome for everyone in the pack, far more trouble then Achilles wanted to deal with and so he decided he would keep this insight well within his own mind. Returning his thoughts to the present Achillie gave the impression that he had merely been searching through his memory "That thin creature you brought with you when we first met?" He was quite sure it was the same wolf, more then sure really "I will be taking Patroclus out with me on my next excursion...such a task would be far more suiting for his first time out then a more violent one would be" He allowed after a few moments of silence "I will look for your friend, is there a message you wish for him to have or would you rather I merely observed him from afar and returned with news of his well being in secret?"
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Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:59 pm
His violet eyes followed Achilles for a thoughtful moment. He almost willed the other wolf to guess his secret. Perhaps because he was comfortable with him, in a strange way...or perhaps it was a self-destructive desire, a deep-seated urge to have it out in the open and be done with it for better or worse.
But he said nothing.
"Just see to his safety," he said, and withdrew his gaze. He felt foolish for even bringing it up, now. But it was too late to back out. "thank you."
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Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 10:28 am
Achilles eyes Iosef for a few moments as the other wolf looked away, part of him wanted to pry just a bit further at the patchy wolfs thoughts, figure out just what was up in that violet eyed head...but another part of him recalled the possible trouble that prying could cause...conversation out here were not always private and it wouldn't do for the wrong thing to be overheard by the wrong ears.
Perhaps he would prod Pen for some more in depth pack beliefs in the guise of becoming more knowledgeable about the pack to satisfy both his curiosity and the urge to put more of the puzzle pieces together about Iosef. It would probably make Pen happy too - she'd think he was actually taking an interest in this bizarre little pack of hers...two birds with one snap then. An excellent solution.
"As you wish, Patroclus and I shall be leaving after the first storm during the lull in the winter weather, we will return as soon as we have news for you"
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