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 Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:47 pm
((note - this is backlog RP from shortly after Rorret & Collier arrived))
Rorret was supposed to stay put. He understood this. The omegas were to watch over him until he was older, and then he was to begin training for this new lifestyle he had fallen into -- train either to become a demon of the sort his mother had told tales of, or to fail in this training and be consumed. He understood this, in a distant, rational sort of way, but it did not induce him to be any better behaved.
Most of the pack was gone for large chunks of the night. Hunting, in part -- but not hunting for beast or even for pups like himself. Stalking a different sort of prey.
There was a traitor. That much he had come to learn. It was the talk of the pack, whispered, muttered, growled, snarled. Rorret didn't know what a traitor was, but he knew that it sounded like Rotiart, backwards -- and he liked the sound of the word. He also knew that Rotiart was what the traitor was called. He liked that.
What he didn't like was being out of the loop. Rorret was a very obsessive sort of wolf, the kind of creature who needed to know everything, to see and hear all that was to be discovered.
So, intrigued to learn more, Rorret crept away from his den one evening, boldly wandering into the main pack territory, filled with the sort of confidence that only the very young can possess.
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 8:15 am
 Changes were on the horizon. Or so it had been said.
So why had so little actually changed?
Normally, one expects a great unsettling, an overturning of all norms with the sudden change of power. And yet, why did life continue as it had? The hunt for the traitor continued, the Brothers remained scattered on their seemingly-endless quests for the missing pack members (or ex-members as the case may be), and despite the anticipated threats to both his position and, by extension, his life...Fallyn remained unmolested.
Not that he was complaining. Hey, he was perfectly content to be shuffled to the bottom of the list of concerns, being greatly ignored for the most part.
Well, mostly. The olive green-pelted wolf padded along lightly besides his pack Brother, a pleasant grin covering his maw, his eyes gazing over the central pack lands with a seemingly relaxed and careless air. His steps were rhythmic, almost a loping gait in comparison to his companion's tense, stiff movements. Granted, they spent more time on the pack's outlying territory than here on the inner lands, but with the pack so spread out as of late, there was no reason they couldn't move inwards. Keeping the pack's home safe and whatnot while the others were gone, right?
He knew his companion was more comfortable the further away they were from strange pack's lands anyhow. Especially since the home dens seemed almost deserted of Brothers lately."Must you follow me about at all times?" The question was delivered in a tired, dreary manner, without the heat that the inquiry once held. As if the question had been asked many, many times before."Yes, you need all the friends you can get, dear Brother. I'll stop following you, when you start learning to make friends for yourself." It was almost a game, or at least a ritual at this point. Marrok grinned at the thought. It was as if the two had their own personal bond....if a reluctantly formed one, on Fallyn's part."Worse than a case of fleas, and twice as hard to get rid o--" Fallyn stopped, mid-muttered rant, his feet locked in place as he stared ahead in silent wariness.Having nearly collided into his Brother at the sudden stop, Marrok peered around Fallyn, curious as to what could have caused him to halt and fall silent. At the sight of the pup, he relaxed, grinning once more. The pup with the bit of cloth tangled about him; he'd seen that one about once or twice, though he didn't know much else of him. "Hey, kid," he called in greeting. "You lost?"
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Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2011 10:26 am
Rotiart, traitor, rotiart, traitor....terror, rorret, danger, regnad....assassin, nisassa....Rorret's mind dwelled over the names like puzzles, feeling that there was some hidden message here. A message just for him. After all, who else played the backwards-word game? He was the only one in his family, of that much he knew.
...So why had nearly all of his siblings been given backwards-names? Rorret had never met any other wolf in his admittedly short life who had a backwards-name. Except for this Rotiart.
Wheels turned, cogs spun, and Rorret's ever-active mind moved along at a brisk pace, faster than his paws could keep up with.
The scent and sound of two males assaulted the pup's senses and he, too, stopped abruptly. For a moment he stood stock still, staring up at the pair with shrewd mismatched eyes, and all was silent and still like some strange sort of standoff.
"No," he said, after a moment, looking carefully between the two. The blue one didn't have a tail, the way his sister Regnad didn't have a tail. Rorret had often wondered if perhaps his mother had eaten Reggie's tail. Now he wondered if this blue wolf's mother had eaten his. "I'm not lost. I'm exploring." He smiled, a strange smile that didn't make it to his eyes.
This was a very strange pup, an unnerving pup. The sort of pup who may have found himself abandoned in other circumstances, just for the sheer uneasiness he caused with his intelligence, his aloofness, his age beyond his years.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:33 am
Fallyn regarded the pup warily, through narrowed eyes beneath his shadowed hood. He couldn't quite put his paw on it, but the pup set his fur on edge for some reason. Creepy.
Marrok seemed much less bothered by the pup's strange air, or mismatched eyes, tail swishing lightly behind him as he answered with a chuckle. "Exploring, eh? Well, typical for most pups your age, I suppose. Just be careful where you end up exploring! Something might come looking for you instead!" He smirked, winking at the pup.
Much less blithe about the whole encounter, Fallyn continued to stare at the young one for a bit before speaking. "You...pup...what's your name?" He may step softly around the other Brothers, but as far as he could tell, he still ranked above mere pups, so Fallyn's stance was strong...if a bit rigid and tense.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:23 pm
He looked from one wolf to the other. He didn't know either of them, which didn't surprise him. He hadn't had much chance to get away from the omegas. He saw the stiff posturing of the tail-less wolf, and the easy-going amusement of the other, and hesitated, trying to decide who he should address. At length, deciding that the blue wolf was probably in charge, he looked Fallyn in the eye. "My name is Rorret," he said. Then, with the characteristic fearless bluntness of pups, he added, "Did someone eat your tail?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 7:57 pm
"What?!?"
Quickly stepping in before his Brother could respond further, Marrok chuckled and winked at Rorret. "Sure did, kid. But once they got a taste of him, they didn't want the rest." Honestly, Marrok was still a bit hazy on what had happened to Fallyn's tail, and it wasn't as if he talked about it. He could have sworn he remembered hearing a story once, but honestly...he couldn't resist having a little fun at his Brother's expense.
"Oh, be quiet, you pest," Fallyn snapped irritably, taking a half-hearted swipe at the green wolf. Who dodged. As usual.
Instead, he turned his attention back to the pup, sizing him up and trying to recall where he'd heard that name before. And it sounded familiar to another, he noticed... "Hey, Rorret, was it? You had a brother too, right? What was his name?" With not much else to do, Fallyn had managed to glean some information about the 'new recruits', if only so he could keep an eye on them. Best to know where one's next threats might come from, especially when one already had enough to keep up with.
"Guess the others have been too busy to look out for you pups, eh?" Not that he cared exactly...but someone had to keep an eye on them, and wasn't that supposed to be the omegas' job? Heck if he was going to do it, if they were all out and about!
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 8:16 pm
"His name is Collier," he said, in a way that suggested he didn't give a damn about his brother and wasn't sure why anybody else should, either.
He didn't bother answering the other question, as it was self-evident. Instead, he looked over the two of them appraisingly. Not so much as a smirk at Marrok's comment. Most pups would be charmed by an adult's jokes, but Rorret was not most pups.
"Who are you?" He asked instead, with the sort of bluntness that was only allowable in the very young.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 8:30 pm
No, Fallyn hadn't expected an answer, nor had he really needed one. If he hadn't know the answer himself, he'd be an idiot. Instead, he mused softly, "Collier, eh? Haven't seen him around in a while..." Not that he'd seen many of his Brothers around in a while, so that meant little. Still, if the pup was going to be short, so was he. He wasn't really feeling all the chatty today anyway. "Fallyn," he offered shortly, with only the briefest nod of his head, more as a formality of introduction than anything. Honestly, why was he being even that polite to the odd pup?
If Marrok was disappointed in the lack of response to his 'special' brand of humor, it showed only slightly in the subtle slowing of the wagging of his tail. Ah well, pups...never could tell good humor when they heard it. "...and I'm Marrok, kiddo," he offered, picking up precisely where his Brother left off. With a grin, and hoping to get one of the two wolves before him to open up, he tried to keep the conversation moving by questioning the kid. "So, find anything interesting in your explorations, Rorret?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 8:58 pm
He ignored Marrok for a moment, keeping his mismatched eyes trained on the blue wolf. Perhaps it was his absent tail that interested him, or perhaps it was some sort of sense he had that there was something important about him. "That's your name," he said, shaking his head. "Who ARE you?"
The idea of self-identity had instilled itself early on in this pup, and how he was very keen to see it explored amongst others.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 9:20 pm
What, his name wasn't enough now? What a strange little pup. And yet, not quite a pup, not with the way he spoke anyhow. Odd that a mere pup could cause Fallyn such unease.
Then again, he was a coward, was he not? Why be surprised that a puppy could sway his faux-strong stance?
Almost growling at himself to stop thinking, Fallyn turned a hard look on Rorret instead. So, what, the kid wanted to know more about him? Was that it? Well, he wasn't exactly in the mood to go spilling his life story at the moment, let alone to some barely-suckled brat.
Besides, he'd made it a point long ago to melt into the shadows like his Brothers. Better than calling attention to oneself that wasn't needed, especially amongst Brothers that might resent him his station. As if he wanted it in the first place. If he'd wanted the job, he'd have to be better suited for it, which meant that he could have probably defended himself and his rank better than he was at current. Nope, better to keep quiet and let the others deal with 'more important' pack business than himself. So, feigning ignorance, he waved sat on his haunches and waved a paw dismissively, "I dunno what you want, kid. You got my name. That should be enough."
Marrok eyed the ocean-hued wolf oddly. Oh, he knew what Fallyn was doing; feigning ignorance and whatnot. But why? With a pup? Did he think the pup would get the idea in his head that he could claim his position and attack Fallyn? The mere thought almost sent Marrok rolling with laughter, but he managed to stifle it to a mere smirk. Ridiculousness.
"Aye, friend," he chipped in, placing a friendly paw on Fallyn's shoulder, and ignoring the resulting glare. "You ought to know all about Fallyn here by name alone. He's our next leader, don'tcha' know? Don't be so modest now, Fal; you're the heir to the great Brotherhood! Best to get in thick with this one, kid, and mind your manners with him; could be your next Alpha, ya' know!" he chimed, winking at Rorret. He then had to dodge, leaping back before Fallyn's teeth could clamp into his paw.
"Oh, shove your tail in it, big mouth!" Fallyn snapped, sneering at the other wolf, fangs bared. He was the only wolf that the heir regularly showed any violence towards...and yet, little ever actually came of it. Still, he shot the other a warning look and ignored the other's blithe grin, before turning back to Rorret. "Ignore the buffoon, kid. It's really not that big of a deal. Especially not right now, with everything else going on." He sighed, lifting a paw to rub at the side of his muzzle. "It's a mostly honorary title; no real need for it anyway long as we already have an Alpha."
Not that there'd been much actual leadership as of late. The Brotherhood seemed in chaos and disarray; if ever there had been a time for an heir to the Alpha to be needed, it was now. But Fallyn wasn't offering to step up for the position. Especially not if the current Alpha returned and intended to take his position back. It was all his.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 9:43 pm
"Alpha?" His brow furrowed. A frown overtook his features as he contemplated this. "I met an alpha, when I was brought here," he said, slowly. "He had...scars, or lines, or something, over his face. I think his name was Rummy."
He thought that was a stupid name, but he didn't say so.
"But I haven't seen him since. Or lots of the others, for that matter. They're all looking for...someone." The traitor. Whoever that was.
He looked up piercingly at Fallyn. It had not escaped his attention that Fallyn did not seem very interested in the position.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 10:00 pm
"Yeah, Alpha. It means, 'leader', essentially," Fallyn explained, having mellowed a bit after his snapping at Marrok. Well someone had to teach the kid, and at least this much he could do. It was easy enough. "And uh...yeah, Rummy..." he trailed off, suddenly feeling awkward. He shuffled a paw in the dirt, glancing down. "I was actually the past Alpha's heir, technically...his name was Danel, and he was a great red wolf, who wore a glowing orb at his throat..."
It was awkward, but Fallyn was speaking. That was good enough for Marrok. Even if it was only a pup, it was a start at least. Progress was progress. So, he settled back on his haunches, content to stay out of the conversation and let his friend work on his social skills.
Fallyn had continued talking, describing Danel to the pup who'd never had a chance to meet the former Alpha. "He was...a great leader," he admitted, honestly. It was never the Alpha he'd had problems with...only his Weapon, when it came down to it. Even if he hadn't wanted the 'honor' of being named his heir, Danel himself had always been good enough to Fallyn. "He too disappeared after the search began," he continued, a note of sadness creeping into his voice. "There was...much despair at his disappearance," he admitted. "That's when Rummy stepped up to take the position, to reinstate order in the pack and reorganize efforts to search for the traitor. He uh...hasn't officially chosen his own heir yet..." he trailed off awkwardly, remembering the meeting and the way it had closed when Rummy took power. Fallyn's life, or at the very least his title and position of safety, were still up in the air, pending Rummy's word.
Like he needed a reminder of that.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 10:58 pm
His brow furrowed further. He didn't know what the word 'heir' meant, and he was having a hard time parsing it out from context. "...What's an heir?" He asked, finally, a little annoyedly. Rorret had a large vocabulary and had always been proud of that. The word games he played, and the conversations he listened in on, made sure of that. "Like...the kind you breathe?"
That didn't seem right. How could this tailless Fallyn be something somebody would breathe?
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Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 4:56 pm
Fallyn blinked, frowning at that response. What? Like the kind you...no, that wasn't right. "No, not like that," he voiced aloud, shaking his head. He didn't think so anyway. That'd be a stupid title to give someone, wouldn't it? At least, it didn't seem to fit in any way that he could make sense of. He wasn't that important to the pack...they all seemed to function just fine whether he was around or not.
"It's just a title," he continued. "It's like...you have the Alpha, who is in charge, and his Betas who back him up. Then, you have the heir, who in the event, and spirits forbid, something happens to the Alpha and he dies or steps down, the Heir takes over. So it's...like a backup Alpha? In training," he finished, sounding less that sure of himself in the explanation, but mostly because it was a little too close to home. He wasn't exactly objective on the matter, and he had no reservations that he had no place being the leader of a pack like this.
The Brothers held no respect for the 'weakling' Heir, as far as he could tell. Though, his main sense of comparison was the other pups of his own age that he'd grown up with. The countless scuffles showed that they held no respect for his 'honored position,' most of them wanting it for themselves. He'd fought well enough most times to protect himself...minus that fight where he'd lost half his tail...but honestly, he didn't seem to possess the confidence and skill to battle like a true warrior. And an Alpha should be both wise and strong. Fallyn viewed himself as neither.
He'd grown up, hated, resented by the others, favored only by the God-Alpha himself it seemed. But that wasn't enough to counter the constant doubt and pressure that came with the position of Heir, let alone the bloody shadow that seemed to stalk his very existence, threatening violence and death from the darkness every waking moment...
Fallyn would never admit, that he at least was pleased by the disappearance of the God-Alpha's Weapon. Good riddance.
Crazy, mad beast.
Even amidst the chaos left by the disappearance both their God-Alpha and his self-appointed replacement, Fallyn had to admit, that personally he felt things were better now, if only in that single sense.
What had happened to Rummy, anyway?
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Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:56 pm
"Oh." He tilted his head, cocking one ear as he tried to make sense of this. So that's why Marrok had made that comment about being the next leader. But why wouldn't he want the position? "But...if an heir is a back-up alpha...why aren't you in charge?"
It seemed like a sensible enough question to ask.
"I mean...if you were the...heir...to that Danel guy. Why did RUmmy take over instead of you?"
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