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 Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:51 am
 It had been a few days since Rorret had dragged a wounded and delirious huntmaster back into the territory. While Dios was still not satisfied about either the identity of the attacker nor the true location of the attack, nor even the true reasons for either male to have been outside of the territory's boundaries, he knew that there was little he could do about it until Firdaws woke. Even then, he had his doubts.
Would his brother remember anything? Would his memories ring true? Even if he did have his memories, and they were sound, would he tell the truth?
Such an annoyance. The great, blue warmaster hoped that Rorret's pet returned soon, though even that was a questionable source of information. Anything that was not a brother was untrustworthy, and even some of his brothers had proven to be...unwise in their allegiances in the past. Who was to say that there was not more of the same, now? Especially with Danel gone so very long.
He heaved a sigh. Life without the god-alpha was bleak. If he were being honest with himself, he would admit that the pack was in shambles. Crippled. Barely surviving. Merely limping along, refusing do disappear. Nothing like what they used to be. They needed their god-alpha. Now. He could only pray that Xihuitl would be successful.
In the mean time, he just had to continue doing his best. Right now, that included seeing to the welfare of his brothers. Particularly one in such an important position as huntmaster. They could not afford to lose Firdaws.
So, he made his way to the den his brother had been recovering in, hoping to find him awake at long last.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 2:40 am
 Good things: The pain had subsided somewhat; the fever had broken; Firdaws would live.
Bad things: The pain was still terrible; he hurt too much to move; there was a terrible empty feeling in his body, as though a part of him had been disconnected. It made him feel queasy and he was afraid.
That was the worst part. Firdaws had never been afraid of anything before in his life. But he was afraid now. Afraid to take a peek at the damage that damnable little songbird had done to him.
You're a Brother of the Shadowclan, a voice said fiercely in his head. He wasn't sure if it was his own voice, or the voice of his God Alpha. He had heard Danel speaking to him plenty of times, in his feverish sleep, and the voice was a comfort and a strength. It drew him back away from the dark places and led him back to safety and light and warmth.
You do not need your body. Your body is my body. Ahh, so it was the God Alpha's voice, then. Firdaws, not sure if he was awake or asleep, yearned toward it. Your body is mine. Your mind is mine. You are mine. I am your protector and your god. Why do you weep for something that was never yours?
Firdaws smiled, slightly, and tried to roll to his belly, but it was on fire. He lay back on his side. He heard someone stirring outside, and lifted his head weakly to get a glimpse. He wouldn't mind a visitor.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:51 pm
Even before he stepped inside, he heard a slight stirring from within. Good. Dios was greeted with the encouraging sight of pained amber eyes looking towards him. Firdaws was awake at long last.
Next came the real question: was he coherent? Could he answer the questions that Rorret danced around? Oh, the omega thought he was so very clever, but Dios knew. He knew there was something the younger male was hiding. Something left unsaid, some little untruth hiding amongst the facts. Someday, he would discover his secrets. Right now, however, he had to attempt to discern the truth of the huntmaster's ordeal.
He knew that his brother was fond of wandering outside of the territory from time to time. It was not entirely uncommon for him to disappear. Arkadios had never had any real reason to question these jaunts. They had never brought any harm, nor did he believe the huntmaster to be a traitor. However, this was different. He could have been killed, and they could not afford to lose another brother who was in a position of authority. Not now, of all times. Such leniency for Firdaws's ways could not be afforded any longer.
For all of this, Dios would have to question the male. But, how best to begin?
"Firdaws," he said, acknowledging the other male, giving no indication of his thoughts. Best make certain that his mind was intact first.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 8:39 pm
"Dios," he said, with a meager sort of smile, a ghost of his old mocking grin. His eyes leveled on the blue-spattered wolf, and something feverish and excited danced in his gaze. "I trust you haven't given away all my possessions and moved into my own den, just yet?"
He wanted to tell him about what he had seen -- about his glorious, prophetic vision -- but something stopped him. The voice in his head, perhaps. Or the fact that there was a voice in his head.
Danel heard voices, he reminded himself. Everyone said so. He was the mad king.
Not that Firdaws would ever, ever tell that to Dios. Talking negatively of the god-alpha to the blue wolf was an invitation for disaster and dismemberment, and Firdaws had been quite dismembered enough for a lifetime.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 8:56 pm
While the joking words were nothing to worry about -- Firdaws was always like that -- the light in his eyes was not promising. Was his wound still poisoning him? The warmaster could only hope that the damage was not permanent. The last thing they needed was a mad huntmaster...then again, that would not really be a problem, so long as he could still think clearly and remembered where his loyalties lie. It was not as though others of their brotherhood had not been...colored by madness.
But enough of that. He had questions that needed answering. Perhaps their quality could help determine Firdaws's mental state.
"What happened?" he inquired, completely disregarding the other wolf's question. It was ridiculous and therefore did not require an answer.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:15 pm
"Well. If I'm not mistaken, it looks a lot like somebody tried to make me a eunuch," Firdaws said, evenly, with a thickly ironic bitterness coating his words. He looked away from Dios, suddenly very interested in the inside of his den. He wondered whose den this had been.
He wasn't intending to be obtuse...but he was, truth be told, rather embarrassed about how things had happened.
"Food fought back. Was bound to happen sooner or later."
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:19 pm
Dios frowned at the other wolf's flippant attitude, but at least he answered the question...somewhat.
"I would not have expected you to get so careless, brother," he said. Although Firdaws was at least half clown, Dios had never known him to be sloppy when hunting. He would not have survived this long if he was, let alone earn the position of huntmaster.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:35 pm
"A mistake I'm clearly paying dearly for, now," Firdaws muttered. It was very well for Dios to be high-and-mighty and sling criticism around. Dios wasn't missing any of...himself.
His desire to share his glorious vision was dwindling as he remembered his much he rather disliked the warmaster. They may hold equal footing in the pack, and they may have held the same love in their hearts for the Shadowclan...but at the end of the day, it was hard to imagine a pair of wolves much different from each other.
"I saw him," he said, very quietly, regretting it even as he spoke. But if his vision had been true -- and in his heart, he felt that it must surely be -- then even stuffy old Dios would want to know about it. "Our God Alpha."
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:48 pm
Now, that caught his attention. Firdaws had seen Danel? So very close to home? Surely not. Yet, even as his mind cautioned him against the likelihood of it all, his heart still swelled in hope. It was possible, after all. It was possible. Xihuitl might have been successful. Or maybe the god-alpha had seen fit to return on his own at last, somehow sensing his pack's need. Could it be true?
But if it were true, then why was he not here now? Why had he not brought Firdaws home? Returned with him? For that matter, why had Firdaws not brought Danel home, instead? He knew how much the Brotherhood needed its god. Why had he failed to return with Danel, if he had seen him?
For that matter, why would the god-alpha choose to reveal himself to the huntmaster, of all people? Why not him? It was enough to made Dios simmer, though his demeanor did not reveal any such thing.
Whatever the truth, he had to ask.
"Where? When?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 9:55 pm
Ah, well. That had gotten a reaction. Firdaws felt something bitter rise up inside him. So what if he was angry? He had every right. He was less of a wolf than he had been. He would never be the same.
"When the fever came over me. He led...he led me back."
And now Dios would be angry. Firdaws wished he could get some small, cold satisfaction from that knowledge, but it wouldn't come. He only felt tired, and full of pain.
"You've heard the rumors. About the God Alpha being....more than a wolf. I...I think, now...." He lifted glassy, excited eyes to Dios. "He was inside of my mind."
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:13 pm
Arkadios remained silent, his thoughts and feelings at war.
He could not deny the jealousy he felt at the possibility that Danel had, indeed, helped Firdaws, been inside his mind, communed with him for however brief a time. Of course, he would not admit as much aloud. That simply would not do. Neither could he deny the anger, bordering on rage, that he felt toward his brother. Mostly because of his jealousy, but partially because of the dangerous situation he had placed himself in be allowing such an injury to come to himself.
However, the great warmaster was not a creature to be ruled by his emotions. It was far too dangerous for everyone around him. Instead, he prized his rationality and logic, clinging to it in order to keep the most dangerous part of himself at bay.
It was this logic that gave him skepticism. Of a certainty, he had heard the rumors about Danel's power. While he could not confirm them to be true, neither could he deny the possibility. Danel was a strong god-alpha. Who knew the true extent of his reach? Who was he to say that the god-alpha could not reach into the hearts and minds of his Shadowclan and guide them in their times of need?
Nonetheless, it was also an undeniable fact that wolves with wounds as grievous as the ones Firdaws had sustained were not always of sound mind. Especially when the wounds were left untreated for any amount of time, as Firdaws's had been. A sickness took them. A kind of temporary madness. Perhaps it was this that the huntmaster had experienced.
It was certainly the more logical answer...and it would please him more than if Danel had seen fit to come to Firdaws.
Regardless, he doubted that the still-wounded wolf would take well to such a denial...and it would be good for his cause if others in the pack believed Firdaws's story to be true. No. He would not refute the claim. Instead, when he spoke at long last, Dios continued his original line of questioning.
"Where were you that the god-alpha had to come to your aide?" Then, because he could not resist, he added, "And what did he see fit to whisper in your mind?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 10:54 pm
"I...don't really recall, exactly. I chased the b***h for a long time. We circled around. It all gets a little fuzzy." He watched him, somewhat apprehensively, not sure which he was most afraid of: the wolf's anger...or his skepticism.
"He told me to be strong. And he showed me our future." He smiled. He had heard stories of Seers, of powerful wolves who could enter the minds of others. Perhaps that had been at work, here. Was it so very unlikely?
Or maybe there was another explanation at work. Maybe the madness that had seized Danel had been...the guiding voice of some other God Alpha. Maybe that was the secret to their power.
But that didn't make any sense. Because that would mean Firdaws was meant to take over the succession, and that was patently ridiculous.
"He showed me a world covered in darkness, with shadows teeming with life. A new Brotherhood, stronger than before."
He thought he should probably leave out the part where he had been racing around in the clouds chasing after orbs of light.
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:43 pm
Well, so much for figuring out where it had occurred. Still, perhaps he could discover who? Unlikely, but still worth trying.
"Have you any idea if your prey wase joined to what they pass off as packs?" One did not often converse with one's food, but sometimes the food spoke despite of that, often promising bloody revenge at the fangs of its equally pathetic kin.
But as for the so-called vision...it sounded glorious. It sounded like something that Danel might say and that fact pained him as much as it angered and saddened him. How he missed his god. How dare Firdaws claim his blessing? Why would he not present himself to Dios, instead, if it were, indeed, a true vision?
Was his faith not strong enough? Surely Firdaws did not hold more loyalty for Danel than Dios did. Maybe it was a backwards compliment, then. Maybe it meant that Danel had faith in Dios. He knew his warmaster would not falter, even with such a prolonged absence.
So, perhaps it was because Firdaws needed that extra bit of hope? The extra encouragement to cement his belief? Or maybe it was because Firdaws had been injured. Perhaps the god-alpha only presented himself to those in need...and when was the last time Dios has been in such desperate straits?
Other than the fact that he was the one most loyal to Danel, and was therefore trying his best to make certain that all was ready for his return. Other than the fact that he was desperately trying to keep the pack whole and strong without the presence of the god-alpha. Other than the fact that even his patience was beginning to fray. How much longer must they wait without a sign from Danel?
Or perhaps this was it. This was their sign. This was the proof that Danel was still looking out for them, and he would return when they had proven themselves.
Or maybe it was as his logic insisted -- nothing more than a delirious daydream created by Firdaws's fevered mind.
"That is a worthy vision. May that future come true."
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:08 am
"She...I don't think so," he said, brow furrowing. He tried to think back to what he and the ladybird had discussed. How long had he stood outside of that fox hole? Too long. Yet still the memory was a painful blur.
How dare she.
"She...she didn't fight like a pack wolf. Pack wolves are all gone soft, the ones who aren't honorable. She fought like a wildcat."
He would have enjoyed the fight, if it hadn't ended so badly for him. Granted, if he hadn't gotten impatient...if he hadn't gotten himself wedged in that damnable hole...she never would have had a chance.
"That little silver omega. The traitor's son. I know you don't trust him." His eyes lifted, suddenly, and as he remembered. "But...he brought me home. I wonder if our God sent him to me. Who knows how long it would have been until someone found me, otherwise? There's no way I could have come home."
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:26 am
Hmm...still, he had no idea if this would be a continuing problem or not. Arkadios was neither as arrogant nor as naive as some of his brothers. He had not grown up among the Shadowclan. He had seen the strength and ferocity of some of the other packs. Experienced it for himself. True. Most were weak. Yet there remained a few who were strong still. Strong enough, perhaps, to pose a threat to the Brotherhood now, as weakened as they were.
However, his redoubled patrols had not turned up any sign of a mounting attack, so perhaps there would be no further trouble. Best be cautious, though. Now more than ever.
As for the traitor's son...it was not that he distrusted the boy. At least, not any more than he distrusted others. It was simply that he knew somewhere deep down that Rorret was hiding something, and Dios had not lived so long by ignoring his instincts. The omega was clever enough to cause real trouble if he wished it, and though Dios did not sense any disloyalty towards the brotherhood in general, he was not certain how Rorret felt about Danel. So, he kept an eye on the boy.
"I am aware of this," he replied. "He brought you to me." He considered the other male a moment. "Is there anything else you remember?"
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