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The piercing scream of an ending life that had shattered the thin air of morning had easily snagged the attention of the grousing male. Curiosity compelled him to pick his way through what snatch of land he had claimed while stopping to 'visit' his family--normally he strayed much farther from the rest of the herd, isolating himself for his own purposes and pleasure. The thought that his return had been greeted with the return of a traitor as well... Could it possibly be Toku who was so boldly hunting here? Nemesis quickened his stride, ragged red strands of crimson snapping furiously at the racing ground beneath his hard hooves. What luck that would be, able to confront that damned, sullied piece of horseflesh without needing to restrain himself. His sister wouldn't be there to play protector--which, he mused with curling lips and glinting fang, was pathetic in itself. He'd used her for nothing more than a shield and other things that made heated shivers of rage stir throughout his body. He wouldn't have it, simple as that. He'd gut that stallion so fast that the coward wouldn't even realize what hit him. At least, not until his own intestines befouled his legs and sent him crashing to the blood-soaked earth.

Glittering crimson and ebony pushed themselves forth from the early morning shadows, his breath escaping in slow, hissing puffs of steam from red-rimmed nostrils. The carcass of a deer was shuddering savagely with false life, but his sanguine eyes were fixed upon the deceptively delicate build of the mare who was eating with gusto. Malice. The bony sheets of his wings relaxed a hair, nestling closer to his muscular sides while the stallion began to approach. "Try not to choke." The rumbling timber of his voice grated raspily in his chest. The words were surprisingly dismissive--Nemesis' rough way of 'lightheartedness' as it were. He was still quite sour with his sister for bringing Toku back to the herd... Perhaps some of his smoldering questions could be answered if he pressed her hard enough.

He held her gaze for only a moment with a menacing sort of impassiveness, unresponsive, unamused. After a moment, however, a curving glimpse of fang gleamed forth underneath the velvet barrier of glittering ebony that made up his lips--a grin of his own. She shifted, respectfully, and he complied by shifting forward a pace or two less he seem overly unfriendly. He grunted slightly at her question, conflicted and therefore unable to respond right away. To rely on her kill made him feel... dependent, yet she was family, his closest, most important link to this world. His thick neck arched, vicious mouth stealing downward to rip away a bloodied mess of the deer's mid-section. Cooling blood splashed against his muzzle and abaited his foul mood almost instantly, his tail lashing appreciatively at the scent and taste. He hadn't eaten this morning, after all. Swallowing his mouthful, he licked his bloodied chops and glanced at her with grudging appreciation, then muttered something about how he'd hunt for himself later. This was her kill, after all--better if she filled her belly with it instead of letting him scavage like some halfblood.

"Thought I'd get to wet my teeth on something less satisfying." Came the cryptic remark as he locked eyes with her. It was true; he nearly dwarfed her in size, but how often had both their father and mother taught that size wasn't everything? Malice had a sort of cunning that Nemesis would admire. His strength and sheer ferocity could overwhelm most anything, this was true, but working himself in a blinded frenzy helped little in situations that required a clear head. "Some." He acknowledged, eyeing her still. "...Found a few lessers I'm sure you would have liked." His tone had definitely become more sly, eyes glittering before a rasp of laughter worked itself slowly in his throat.

The taciturn stallion snorted softly and clenched his jaws together a little. Most of them had gone down before they'd even understood what was happening... but there had been a few who'd slipped his baneful noose. It was to be expected that not every hunt would be successful, but ohh, how it smoldered in the back of his mind for weeks. It was expected, true, but that didn't make it any less revolting to think that his quarry would live another day. "Most." Came the grunt before he lapsed again into silence. He'd fouled his own mood with thoughts and choked off his own humor, resisting the urge to smash a hoof into the carcass still spilled at his feet.

His sister boldly opened herself up to his interrogation, further darkening his mood, but Nemesis had never been one to hesitate. He knew little of subtlties or doing things in a gentle fashion, hence his blunt brutality. "You say he's changed, that traitor. What benefits does his presence bring you--unless you plan on being just a brood-mare for him." He growled savagely, giving his head a ferocious shake. His agitation kept him from relenting on his sister, disgusted by the thought so much that his tail was beginning to smack against his flanks to work him into further fury. "What does he mean to you?" The stallion eventually managed to say, drawing himself up to glower. His viciousness was well meant. He was...concerned for Malice, as it were, and didn't like the thought of some filth manipulating his way back into their herd. Of course, he knew that she was strong and able to handle herself. That didn't mean he had to like it.

Lips snaked backwards to bare his teeth in an ugly grimace when his accusation was partially confirmed, and a low, quaking growl droned on and on within his throat. Of all stallions, she'd picked him... Nemesis' disposition was savage enough at the moment for him to view Toku no better than a lesser. His tail snapped back and forth, back and forth, its spaded edge digging cruelly into the soil beneath his stiffly planted hooves. "Hah! But hiding behind your flanks like some newly weaned foal was a safer option than not! Heed me, Malice; you may claim he has changed, but if he dares to speak to me so insolently again, I will not hesitate to rip his tongue from between his flapping lips." Nemesis snarled, his rage urging him to pace in frenzied, agitated lines. The urge to lash out at something nearly overwhelmed him, nostrils flaring and his eyes practically bloodshot.

After a moment more of his enraged stalking, the black beast forced himself to think things through. Mindless raging was not what he'd come here to do--not entirely. Malice could have settled on someone... worse, loathe as he was to admit it. "...I cannot see him as such." Nemesis finally replied, ears cocked back a fraction while he slowly studied his sister. If Malice was clearly the more intelligent of the pair, no matter how young. She would undoubtedly raise what spawn would come, be a proper influence where their father struggled to find his feet, as it were. He grunted a little, dismissing the apology with the faintest scuff of a hoof. "...I will not doubt your judgement." He intoned in a low tone. "Until he proves himself, I will not accept him. But you and I were both carry what it means to be a true Kalona in our veins. ...You were raised just as I was. If this is the path that you believe to be right, then so be it. I do not fault you." His voice ended with a faint rasp, unused to speaking quite so much, or so passionately at one time. Malice was family. Family was held in the highest regard.

"...He won't need his tongue to aid in furthering our lineage." Nemesis grumbled faintly and gave his head another toss.

Reasoning? She wanted reasoning?! He sucked in a slow breath through his gritted teeth, trying to douse his red-hot fury with the cold air. Rage was not the solution here; it was well known that he had difficulty controlling his temper, and that it clouded his judgement so much that thinking straight became difficult. Clever words and careful persuasion would be needed here for his usual method of solving problems--mutilating them beyond recognition--wasn't applicable here. "He still has yet to prove himself in my eyes." He stated roughly after a moment, hatefully trembling jaws struggling to form words he wanted to say. Intelligent, but not clever, Nemesis lacked the finesse that his sisters did when it came to skillful manipulation. "Though strength is not all that is represented by our race, it sometimes is what counts the most. If he cannot defend himself, he shames our entire family. I will test him myself and see if he is worthy."

He knew, even as the words left his mouth, that his reasoning somehow rang falsely. Wings rustled aggressively at his sides, stretching until the glittering crimson sheets of muscle groaned from the tension. Only then did he permit them to fold again, a hoof digging itself into the loose soil as he sought to recitify his wording. "...Think of it as a rite of passage. Though you are fully capable of handling yourself, I feel as though I need to prove to myself that he can be apart of our lineage. The only way I know how to do that is by taking him head on myself, see just what kind of stallion he truly is."

Malice's words forced him again to slow his mind, silently grateful that she was indeed including him in her personal business after he forced his way in there. "...If you have a better idea, then speak." He was curious to hear his sister's thoughts on how Toku could establish himself again with the herd. "You know him better than I. ...Malice. How was it that you two met?" He was almost surprised to hear himself ask such a thing. Then again, it was still puzzling to him. Had he sought her out? Had it been a chance encounter? He didn't even know that much.

"He acted as a coward would." The stallion growled low in his throat and gave an irritable toss of his head. "Attacking a lesser to try and prove his worth...? No. I cannot understand why that made sense to him, and he is still a coward in my mind." He had been young when it had all occurred, true, but he vividly remembered being instilled with why it had been so wrong of Toku to do as he did. It was true that Ruin had also attacked a female, but she, in turn, had hassled him when he was but a foal. Revenge was quite another story from proving one's worth. "...But." Came the low grumble of spoken thought, "If he can hold his tongue and stay respectful to our family, then I will consider tolerating him." The teasing words of his sister earned a snort from him before he idly extended his neck and snapped his teeth a few inches away from her shoulder, almost playful considering the way he gave himself another shake.

He couldn't say he was pleased by Malice's lack of information, but the longer she spoke, the more he seemed to realize how much of a toll this was truly taking on her. She still, in his mind, had chosen poorly... but she was one of his youngest sisters, and, though gruff as he was, he felt at least some obligation to help her. "...This is not your battle to fight. It is up to him to right the mess he left behind; do not feel obligated to step in. If he truly desires to be with you, then he will do whatever it takes." And if he did not? Then Nemesis' suspicions would be confirmed. He kept silent, however.

The question posed so openly to him mdae him uneasy, gazing at Malice with slightly narrowed eyes while he struggled to think of something to say. "No." That was simple enough, and true. "If you did not think this would be difficult, then you were a fool." He meant it kindly, side-stepping silently around Malice to better pace while he talked this through. "I only know that if this is something you truly desire, have no shame. If you doubt yourself, you will convince no one. ...I only worry for... what will be best for you." The stallion said slowly through gritted teeth, hating to open himself up in a manner such as this. "...I will stand quietly, for now. If things begin to go askew and you are blind it, then I will step in before failure can occur."